The Link Video Critique Thread

[Bigglestheman]

.................. ya know?

 

[MALVM MALVM]

I've been trying to pick up Marth and Falco but despite my hard work, Link remains my best character. *sigh* I guess I'll be sticking around for a while.
Playing Link is a lot like playing Euphonium; no one knows why the heck you would do that to yourself, you get no opportunities for advancement, and then you eventually pick up trombone and laser camp or wear a tiara.
Also, the Dorf's jump is exactly the same as Link's...

 

[Bigglestheman]

If you're not down with OPP then you don't know me

 

[BRLNK88]

Ganondorf's recovery is just long, it's still very predictable and easy to edgeguard, just like Falcon.
Spacies **** his recovery, Marth may need to edgeguard him multiple times but can make it just as hard for him to get back.
I would say overall Link's is better thanks to more options, even though he's basically screwed once his second jump is intercepted, depending on how far he is from the stage.

I play weird, quirky characters because my tech skill is terrible. Even my Fox is a hilarious mess when it comes to tech skill; I just spam bair.

lol, I spam nair with Fox, and I may or may not SHFFL it. Against average players and noobs you don't even need to SHFFL with Fox, he falls so quickly.
Shinespiking is easy, about the only thing I'm very good at with him.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

I would say overall Link's is better thanks to more options, even though he's basically screwed once his second jump is intercepted, depending on how far he is from the stage.

I think Link's recovery is significantly better than Ganon's: his up-B is faster and higher and hits people on the ledge, he has a larger sweetspot, he has hookshot and bomb jumps and bomb techs, he has better air speed, and he has projectiles to discourage edgeguarding in certain situations. Ganon has the Wizard Foot. Not that anyone has said otherwise, but I think the comparison is clear -.-

 

[BRLNK88]

I think I was looking at it from a standpoint of either character trying to recover against a top/high tier.
Spacies, especially fox, are gonna **** Link's recovery too. Marth can make it nearly impossible to get back for Link thanks to his gay *** dtilt. Sheik can just be Sheik.
Puff is prolly the only one that would have a harder time edgeguarding Link than Ganondorf.
And of course, Ganondorf is heavier and will be harder to send off stage. He is hypothetically more prone to be comboed than Link, but his high-powered moveset makes up for it. Link will need to rack up a lot of damage before getting a kill, whereas Ganondorf just needs a few hits.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Don't get me wrong, Dorf is still better. I am familiar with the frustrations of comboing/techchasing a Fox up to 120% only to be KOed by a shine at 20%. If a top/high-tier edgeguards correctly, Link won't make it back. But if they mess up (like if Fox misses the shine), Link's un-techable aerial up-B or un-techable hookshot can sometimes turn the tables, whereas Dorf's very techable up-B doesn't really help him as much.

 

[MALVM MALVM]

I find counter to be a much more annoying edgeguard against upb than dtilt, but whatever.
I've been playing Link for a year and change, but most of that time was working on Marth. I think I'm just smarter playing Link. Marth and Falco can definitely capitalize on a lot of stuff, but I just have more control and information on Link. I'd rather play smarter than faster, therefore Link.
Here's some food for thought: You can't win a match with a recovery. Pikachu has the best recovery in the game, and yet still is middle tier.
I feel Link mains come in three catagories:
1) OMG ZELDA GAMES SO PRO
2) People who get high off of recoveries
3) hipsters who think top tiers are too mainstream/OP/whatever
4) tires don exits
5) f*** it.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Don't forget 6) Link combos like a beast and is just fun to play.

Also, another vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFH_DRXlQ0

Also, what direction should I DI Fox's utilt? I get stuck in it here and here. DI away gets me hit around 3 times. Should I DI up and away? Down and away?

Also, critique in general regarding the video, please? (We were just messing around to test out my new recording device/software, so ignore everything up to about 5:05, which is where I start playing seriously). I know I need to work on my game vs. Fox when he is below ~30% especially, along with some other areas. Does anyone have any pointers?

 

[BRLNK88]

I think I would qualify for number 1 and number 6.
At the same time however, maining both Link and Marth has given me a thirst for playing faster characters, AND mindgaming with projectiles.
But I can't do Young Link, need to have the range and killing options as well.

 

[Bigglestheman]

Number 6 and 1 obvii.

 

[Skler]

I wish I got to play this game more often.

And didn't forget to a christmas guide update, but I lost my guide files which really murdered my will. Maybe...maybe I can rip the source off my own site and do things that way. But I probably can't upload it to my old school's site again since I no longer go there. Hmmm...maybe I'll just make a post about stages for Link.

 

[Problem2]

Don't forget 6) Link combos like a beast and is just fun to play.

Also, another vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFH_DRXlQ0

Also, what direction should I DI Fox's utilt? I get stuck in it here and here. DI away gets me hit around 3 times. Should I DI up and away? Down and away?

Also, critique in general regarding the video, please? (We were just messing around to test out my new recording device/software, so ignore everything up to about 5:05, which is where I start playing seriously). I know I need to work on my game vs. Fox when he is below ~30% especially, along with some other areas. Does anyone have any pointers?

You used dash attack as an approach too many times. Anytime your opponent is standing on the ground is probably not a good time to be throwing out dash attacks. At these moments where you feel like you may catch him with a dash attack, trying using a the tip of a shffl'd f-air. You'll get a similar result while remaining much safer.

A decent Link.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

At these moments where you feel like you may catch him with a dash attack, trying using a the tip of a shffl'd f-air. You'll get a similar result while remaining much safer.

A decent Link.

Why, thank you, kind sir! I just played a bunch more games with Racketz and another guy today, so once I get those sorted out and uploaded (prob tomorrow sometime), I'll edit this post and add in the links. In the meantime, I'll practice spacing that fair on lvl. 4 Foxes.

 

[Zodiac]

http://youtu.be/aYy0fXIbeDM

So, I never fight any good puff's, but I usually just try to spam a lot and punish mistakes, any advice would be greatly appreciated, but I must also add that it was day 3 of apex and I was very worn out and tired, plus I was using a back up controller, thus the suicide.

 

[BRLNK88]

Just brush up on your Young Link, apparently that seems to work quite well...

 

[Zodiac]

I believe both match ups are about the same, except link can kill jiggs a lot sooner.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Nah, I think YL is better against Jiggs. YL's projectiles are better and his punishes ... well, they seem faster. Also, Link's greater power is less important because it comes at the cost of greater lag. YL dair works just as well as anything of Link's vs. Jiggs, imo.

Also, I said I would edit my earlier post, but instead I'll post here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llZTT_5Ba0I

I tried to implement the fair vs. Fox, but then again this was like the very next day. Feedback?

Also, just for fun 8D: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3agmPniGwcg

 

[BRLNK88]

Thats not the only reason, YL is FAST.
He can camp platforms and run away from Jiggs much better than Link can.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Yo, just got back from my first tourney in months (THC III) and have four sets with two good Falcos to look over.

vs. Girku 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnSmrjMuhzY
vs. Girku 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnSmrjMuhzY&t=00h27m52s
vs. Eef 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnSmrjMuhzY&t=00h12m58s
vs. Eef 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnSmrjMuhzY&t=00h36m43s
(yeah, they're all in one video, so sue me)

These are friendlies after the tournament. Rubyiris recorded several of my actual tournament matches, but the quality is horrible and the framerate is like 2 fps, so they are literally unwatchable.

Thoughts? I feel like I've improved a lot since my last vid, but I know I still need to camp more, I just have so much difficulty getting away from Falco ...

EDIT: I've just been to another tourney ("Smash Tournaments are Vitamins for Tucson") and have some more vids. Again, post-tourney friendlies because my laptop is too weak to record in tournament and the other guy who records is having issues with his hardware.

vs. Girku: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGACvT_gSRc&t=00m39s
vs. Eef: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGACvT_gSRc&t=08m35s (disregard everything after the Falcon matches, first time I'd played Falcon seriously in like months)
(Unless of course you are interested in my match vs. Angel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGACvT_gSRc&t=20m31s)

I feel like I also improved a lot between these videos and the pre-edit vids. I got a lot campier, and I'm trying to work some more of that into my style. Still, thoughts/tips would be nice.

EDIT 2: Yo peeps ... Just check out my YouTube channel. I've uploaded hours of Link content that is now available to the public, with more to come soon. Dates and other details can be found in the description of each vid. Been noticing lately that my recovery is very predictable, so I'll work on mixing that up.

 

[Jayk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Px54dwIsI&feature=bf_next&list=ULNeMU0LtXRPQ&shuffle=299762

 

[Tshadow7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c5r9v-YA4A

Hey guys my name is Emanuel and I'm new playing competitively, please critique :D destroy me, This Falco is above my level, I think i did better the first and the last fights

Thank you

 

[InTimidator]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY50W2ifNS8

 

[Zodiac]

I played a tournament set against saggy, a pretty technically sound sheik and won the set, But it was pretty close, I was hoping some of the better Link players could tell me what I am doing wrong in the match up haha.

Also, this was melee online, we had an extremely good connection though so critique it as you would an in person match.

Edit: It was really tempting to go fox, but for the first time I actually felt confident that I could win the match up, for about half a second I decided to switch, then changed my mind.
http://www.twitch.tv/zodiacsmash/c/2606804

 

[Blubba_Pinecone]

Alright, here's some friendlies with my training buddy, Rayku. The matches are against various characters and start at around 22:40 (before that we were playing Lighting mode, which... is also fun to watch).

http://www.twitch.tv/blubba_pinecone/b/442455132

I apologize for the video and audio quality, with my hardware and internet it is the best I can currently do. The video is smooth, but only 20 fps and interlaced. The audio is terrible.

Anywhoo, these matches should really show my weaknesses with Link, because Rayku is a very aggressive player, which is my biggest issue when it comes to dealing with other playstyles. He gets in my face, and I can't keep him out. From there I'm usually just deperately trying to get him off me and start a neutral game or gain positional advantage, but I find it very difficult right now.

Anyways, critique is most welcome, since I want to keep Link on the map. We might be live streaming again later today. I'll tweet when I go live, if anyone is interested (twitter in my sig). He couldn't make it tonight, bummer.

 

[cjugs]

^ not working for me.

 

[-tRiNiTy-]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c5r9v-YA4A

Hey guys my name is Emanuel and I'm new playing competitively, please critique :D destroy me, This Falco is above my level, I think i did better the first and the last fights

Thank you

Hey! I've written sort of an analysis of your matches, if you ever wish to read them

EDIT: Just realized that your post is over a year old lol, god what am I doing with my life...
I'm sure you've gotten MUCH better by then because you played rather well for someone who "just started out".
Anyway... I took quite some time to write all that stuff so I'll just leave it like that, maybe that'll lead to some nice discussion.

- 0:50-0:53 ooh you probably meant to upb on the ground, I know lol, be cautious when throwing them out to edgeguard opponents who are offstage however
only do them if you're really sure you're gonna hit them and they don't expect it (like here, you would've actually hit him, it was still early in the match and he was probably still trying to figure your style out and you out and how you play)
- 1:10 you probably messed up a bit there lol, it's fine
in that situation, what you can do is just jump out and stick your big mighty foot out or even throw your boomerang at him!
both are surprisingly effective and there isn't really much falco can do there to save himself
- 1:17 at about 80% you can uthrow into dair for the finish or techchase on platform, much safer
- 2:22 careful with that upb, very unsafe if you miss thim and will get punished!
- 3:36 don't forget about uair for anti air approaches, difficult but rewarding!
- 3:38 roll is not a bad option
- 3:42 careful with uair in the air at very low percents, because if they don't enter hitstun after the uair (which happens at like 20-25%) they can punish you with a shine that can lead to a combo f.ex. (high-level players WILL do this) if you're too close to him after the hit, you can do "retreating" sh fast-falled uairs instead at very low percents to keep the distance while getting some damage on the opponent
- 4:08 bomb throw is not a bad oos option
- 4:24 careful with spacing, bad spacing > grab or shine oos, ALWAYS space aerials
- 4:28 could've just waited at the ledge, cuz falco's only good options there were airdodge or sideb
-> retreat a bit and see what he does... if he sideb's to the stage, punish it with grab/upb/whatever
- 4:36 great upb!
- 4:54 upb at low percents > not good, will get punished
- 4:57 good uair, even though he has low percent, its pretty safe to land if they're on a platform just above you
- 5:00 hmm kind of a weird dair lol, maybe you tried to read a spotdodge? dsmash could've hit him
- 5:54 you must DI!! very important! or you'll get comboed to death every time x)
- 6:25 you can shield sometimes against falco to see what he likes to do (but not too much though) and just roll away afterwards when you're done studying him. if you can catch up on his tendencies and read them, you can get some good punishes in for some unsafe moves (falco fsmash or utilt come to mind). you could've punished that fsmash for instance, since it is not safe on link's shield > you can shield grab or upb!
- 6:35 you should've uaired there, nothing to lose
- 6:45 save your double jump once in a while if you think your opponent might read it, or... well THIS happens
- 7:56 again DI DI DI, can't stress if enough, always DI away from falcos attacks, whenever falco hits you > BÄM smack those sticks, just get used to do it everytime he gets a hit
- 8:26-8:35 great play and reactions, very good!
- 8:50 good read on the jump and that usmash, don't be afraid do throw those out once in a while as it is surprisingly safe in that situation and has very few recovery frames after the last hit (try buffering a spot dodge after the last hit, you'll be surprised at how fast you can recover from it )
- 8:54 argh almost! good combo attempt, you will get those combos eventually, takes some time to get them consistently , just keep practicing
- 9:12 nice read on that grab attempt, just keep in mind that if he had shielded, he could've punished you with a ledge hop attack! (since he gets pushed to the ledge)
I'll just say that there are much safer options there for pressuring a cornered opponent, but hey you got the kill so I will shut up
- 9:52 good upb oos! there was nothing falco could've done there, good punish on that dair
most of falco's aerials (dair, nair come to mind) are rather unsafe if they are timed "early" on shield and you can actually even punish them on reaction when you get really really good
(dunno if you see what I mean lol, probably a bad explanation, just message me if you can't decipher my writing )

 

[SAUS]

-snip-

Hey, if you want to do some video analysis, there is some discussion going on in the official video thread that is stickied. Check it out here:
http://smashboards.com/threads/official-link-video-thread.100684/

My next local monthly is this weekend and I will have some new videos to post up. This time there will be Kage, Bam, and Lampadaires (also known as PKM Vodka). They all live in Montreal, which is only 2 hours away from my City. Kage is 4th on the PR there, Lampadaires is 3rd, and Bam is 2nd. Hopefully I'll get to play them a decent amount.