------------------------------------------------------------------------------ /\ / \ / \ Guide to weilding the Triforce of Wisdom / \ / \ Version 1.0 / \ / \ Written by DaRkNeSsOfHeArT /--------------\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /____________\_/_____________\ Disclaimer: I do NOT own Nintend, Zelda, SSBM, or any other property of Nintendo. I. Introduction ________________________ Hey, it's me, DaRkNeSsOfHeArT, or DoH for short. This is my first ever FAQ, but that doesn't mean that it will be bad. If you read whats in here and practice, you can become a lot better with Zelda. I've learned alot from the board at Gamefaqs, and if you listen to them they'll teach you some amazing things. I became obsessed over the fact that many people played Sheik, Zelda's alter ego, while completely ignoring Zelda. This disturbed me because ignoring Zelda is ignoring what makes Sheik so unique; the ability to have 2 movesets, and an answer for every situation. Over time I have become alot better at the game; a result of hard work, effort, and patience. Zelda is one of two token princesses in the Nintendo world. Constantly rescued by Link from the clutches of Ganon, Zelda rarely sees any action. Until Super Smash Bros. Melee. Here, Zelda can use an extent of her magical prowess that she showed in LoZ: OOT. Not too fast, but very powerful, Zelda's magic can guide you to victory from the clutches of defeat. Don't expect her alter ego Sheik to be in here; a) she's almost a completely different character, and b) Xif has already written a FAQ on how to use her. I suggest you go there to learn both sides of this unique character. II. Why the hell be the princess? __________________________ Zelda is, by general consensus, mid-tier in the current metagame. She's the slowest, can't wavedash very far, can't jump high, and has some lag on her powerful attacks. But Zelda is an untapped resource. For those of you who play MTG, Zelda is like a blue control; you have to predict what your opponents are going to do and then counter. This new way of playing Zelda will hopefully lead to an increase in popularity for her. It's a way of playing offensive and playing some serious mind games with your opponents. And she does have her pros. III. General Vocab ________________________ There are some terms, and even techniques you are probably not familiar with. Some of these things are crucial for a good player. So please pay close attention to this section (Big thanks to DarkPhoenix87 for help on this section) Rolling - Left or Right while shielding. Zelda actually has a quick roll, an offset to her low footspeed. Sidestep - aka, Spotdodging. Down while sheilding. This allows Zelda to dodge attacks or projectiles. It lasts a long time, which can be a blessing and a curse. Very useful Air Dodging - L or R while in the air. Useful for dodging projectiles or getting past edguarders. Zelda has one of the longest air dodges out there. L-cancel- When L, R, or Z is pressed right before you hit the ground, you reduce the normal recovery time after an aerial attack. Shffl'd- This is an acronym meaning "Short-hopped, Fast-falled, L-cancelled." It is basically the most effective way certain aerial attacks can be pulled off, and is a must in competitive play. Shield grab- Hitting A or Z while L or R shielding. If someone tries an aerial (that's not shffl'd) use this to counter Sheild shifting- Using the control stick to angle the shield to prevent shield-stab, or provide extra protection in a given direction. Shield-stab- Attacking a shielded opponent where the shield's leaving a part of the character vulnerable, allowing them to bypass the shield's defense. Wavedash- Air-dodging diagonally toward the ground, as close to the ground as possible, will result in a movement that abuses the games physics by allowing a player to make themself slide across the ground. Most obvious with Luigi, Marth, Roy, Mewtwo, and Ice Climbers. You can turn around more quickly by wavedashing in the opposite direction of your run, then picking up on the momentum. Wavedance- Wavedashing back and forth. Wavesmash- A wavedash, then a c-stick direction Teching- When you are tumbling in the air after being hit, you can press L, R, or Z near the ground or a wall/ceiling, with or without a direction, to recover faster than usual. Holding left or right on a ground tech will result in a roll in the direction. Knockback- Refers to how far a character is sent after being hit by an attack. Priority- If an attack has a lot of priority, if it hits another attack at the same time it will over power the attack and the opponent will be the only one to receive damage. The more priority the better. Sex Kick- This term refers to any neutral aerial A kick that does damage after the actual movement of the foot is over. The attack gets weaker and has less knockback the longer it is out. The only exception is Dr. Mario. His sex kick attack actually gets stronger, and has more knockback the longer it is out. Fox and Falco's aerial backwards A are also considered sex kicks. Tilt attack- Holding any one of the four control stick directions, and hitting A. Some <, > tilt attacks can be aimed to the diagonal. Smash attack- "Smashing" any of four directions on the control stick plus the A button. The C-Stick is used for smash attacks too. Wall-jump- Hitting the opposite direction when your character is near a wall, and not tumbling. Works only with Mario, Samus, Young Link, Fox, Sheik, Falco, Pichu, and Captain Falcon. Peach can wall jump using the wallbombing strat. Chain-throw- Continually throwing another character in such a manner as to prevent them from landing. Sheik can do this with her down throw on a lot of characters. Dash-cancelling- During a run, pressing down will stop the run. Dash-Dancing- Quickly alternating left and right on the control stick, so the character only does the opening animation of the run. This is to be used for mind games, or feinting the opponent. C-Sticking- Used to describe the act of using the c-stick to do aerials, smash attacks, and other things in multiplayer mode. This will be used EVERY TIME you dash cancel into a smash attack. Edge-guarding- Using attacks to prevent the enemy from recovering to the stage. Edge-hogging- A character holding onto an edge will not permit another character to do the same. This is useful in preventing an enemy's recovery. The best way to edge-hog is to either wave dash or short-jump backwards onto the ledge. Edge-hop- A jump quickly following a press of down from an edge-hang will let characters do a short edge-hop. Most, if not all characters can do attacks out of this. Fast-falling- Pressing down while in the air will make your character fall faster than usual. You can fast-fall out of aerial attacks, air dodges, and failed ^B attacks. Young Link, however, is nearly unaffected by this. Hyper/Power Shielding- Shielding at the exact instant an attack or item hits your character. Will result in a white flash and the attack not hitting. Projectiles will be reflected. Directional Influence- holding left or right on the control stick while falling or going up to change the direction at which you are falling. (Abbreviates into "DI") Crouch Canceling- If you are crouching and you are attacked, you do not go flying and recovery from the attack almost instantly, it is a good way to allow yourself to counter attack the opponent by using down tilt immediately afterwards. Bat-drop- This is a technique done in Home-run Contest. If you jump or double jump, drop the bat with Z, and spike it down right after the bat hit's the bag, it does between 25 and 35 damage. Doing this repeatedly can get very high records. We use BD for short. No-Ping hit- Another Home-run contest term. If you stand underneath the sandbag, and face away, and smash the bat, if it hits with the back it will be sent flying the other direction further than a regular hit. It doesn't work at damages in the 120% range and above however. Tipper- A term mainly for Home-run contest. Hitting with the tip of the bat will send the sandbag further than any other part of the bat, and still further than a no ping after the 120% range. IV. General Movelist ________________________ A Moves On the ground: A - Short Flash Damage: 5% Knockback: Next to none Speed: High-Mid Range: Low-Mid Description: A basic A move, but it also can stun an opponent, relatively fast, but I prefer the forward tilt. Best used as a suprise stifle to begin your offense. The problem with this move is that, unlike almost every other neutral a attack, it doesn't clank or cancel out other moves. Tilt Forward/Backward A - Mystic Swipe Damage: 13% Knockback: Medium Speed: Mid-High Range: Mid-High Description: Zelda's ftilt is about as fast as Peach's, and can be angled at 3 different angles, a 0, 45, and 315 (or 180, 225, and 135) degrees. The upward tilts are great for covering a place where most of Zelda's moves don't provide with any sort of cover, as well as opponents who like to come in at an angle (FCing Peach, anyone?). The downward tilt is good after CCing, and it (depending on the DI) will send your opponent behind you for a bair. The regular tilt also sets up for a kick, as well as it can be used multiple times on fast fallers and then combo'd into a kick, if you can manage to get the first hit. It also can be used to kill floaties if you're having trouble connecting with a kick. Tilt Down A - Trip Damage: 7% Knockback: Little Speed: Med Range: Med Description: Not that strong, but it can be used on the edge of a cliff as a meteor smash! >.> It takes some time to get used to, but it can catch opponents off guard. The spike is dependant on where you can hit the opponents body. Hit with it at either their chest, feet or head. It can be used repeatedly over and over on some opponents, like the CPU does. End it with the down smash. Decent for CCing. At higher percents, you can use this into a fsmash. I'd avoid this at higher levels of play; unless you're edgeguarding someone who can't sweetspot the ledge, like Captain Falcon. Tilt Up A - Protective Sweep Damage: 11% Knockback: Med-High Speed: Med Range: Mid Description: The arc that this move makes helps cover some of Zelda's weakness to diagonal aerial assaults; however, it's somewhat slow. Due to this fact, it's what useless, as up smash can combo just as well, KO just as well, and comes out faster and has virtually 0 lag. SMASH Forward A - Shining Palm Damage: Sweetspotted, 20% Knockback: High Speed: Fairly quick Range: Mid Description: Zelda's most powerful smash. It's a powerful land based KO move, and it's pretty damn fast (16 frames is the first hit, as fast as Pikas). However, unless you're playing version 00, you'll have to have good spacing to makeit catch all the time. In later version there are extra frames for DI, making it a lot easier to DI out of multi-hit attacks (which alot of Zeldas attacks are).However, with practice and wavedashing, you'll be able to space it perfectly, allowing for a great asset to your move pool. Zelda also pulls her lower body back when doing the move, which can help you avoid low hitting attacks. The hitbox is relatively big, and it can hit a ccing Kirby or Jigglypuff, on the last hit (which has all the knockback). Also use this move when edgegaurding, for if someone can't sweetspot the ledge and lands on the edge of the stage, they die. SMASH Down A - Compass Spin Damage: 15% Knockback: High Speed: Fairly Quick Range: Mid-low Description: THE FASTEST SMASH IN THE GAME. It comes out in 4 frames (faster than Peach's dreaded downsmash, and it'll clank with it too.) It's a 'get out of my space' type of move, since it hits low, surrounds both sides, and at high percents, sends at a low angle. This attack rapes in edgeguarding against characters with bad recovery, like the Mario Triplets. SMASH Up A - Power Sweep Damage: 15% Knockback: Med Speed: Fast Range: Med Description: THE FASTEST UP SMASH IN THE GAME. Also tied for 2nd fastest smash. It comes out in 5 frames, and has relatively little lag. It's priority is great, and it can be used to 'catch' downward assaults, like Link's dair. Combo's fastfallers easily, has high knockback vs floaty characters. A great move, but only if all the hits land. Make sure to catch them in the center of the attack. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Aerial Moves Nair - Magic Spin Damage: 4%-13% Knockback: Last hit will send flying, if not, then very little Speed: Realatively quick Range: Small Description: SHFFL'D nairs can be chained and combo'd into kick. Just make sure to touch the ground before the second to the last hit comes out, as that will make your job of landing the follow up move harder. A great move, learn how to combo with it, as it's the key to Zelda's air game. It can be used as an aerial 'get out of my face' maneavuer, but I prefer Nayrus for it lasts longer and has invincibility frames. Fair/Bair - Lightning Kick/Reverse Lightning Kick Damage: 5%-20% Knockback: High Speed: Fairly quick Range: High Description: Her best aerial. Stronger than Captain Falcon's knee, with better range too. The most essential move of Zelda's to know the sweetspots of. There are 3; one at the toe, the heel, and the ankle. It all depends on where you hit first. SH double bair is a great offensive wall; in fact, most characters won't be able to deal with it, due to it's speed, range, and power. However, the sweetspot can vary from opponent to opponent, like on Samus it seems to be more inside of her than say, Giga Bowser? Excercise the full range of the kick by always aiming for the toe sweetspot. Uair - Condensed Blast Damage: 13% Knockback: High Speed: Med Range: Med Description: Useful for intercepting downward attacks, due to it's a Disjointed Hitbox. However, there is a slight wind up time. Also useful for ledge dropping, but only if your opponent is above 80%, or else you'll get edgehogged when you try to teleport back up. Dair - Meteor Heel Damage: 8% Knockback: Med Speed: some delay Range: small Description: Zelda's other Meteor smash. Doesn't send people flying straight down, just stifles their recovery. I use it out of spite and contempt, but only at over 100%. You have better options. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Special Moves B - Nayru's Love Damage: 4%-12% Knockback: Medium Speed: Med Range: Med Description: One of nicest attacks in the game which can be used for reflecting other characters, use it when you feel like characters are invading your personal space or you can use it for edge guarding. For edge guarding use the corners of the diamond, this will stop most Up + Bs, Fox, Link, Gannondorf, Falco, Captain Falcon, and lots more, it will also stop the green missile - not sure about a misfire. Also out of a shield, jump and Naryu's to get people out of your personal space. The part that is in the direct middle of each flat part of the diamond is the weak spot in the shield. Know this well when using it against a direct attack. As for blocking projectiles, it has a slow recovery time after doing the move so if your opponent is close do not use this or they can dodge the reflected projectile and then get a free hit off you. To counter this, either WD back and fsmash, down smash, or sheild. Remember, a sh Nayrus can block things a regular Nayrus can't. You can also utilize the invinbilty frames before it starts to hit to block some fast attacks (tipper anyone?); however, this requires precise timing, due to the fact that you only have 8 inviciblity frames, IIRC. Nayrus Love can also be used as a psuedo shine spike. We call this (and general use of Nayrus) hexing. Hexing is actually one of Zelda's great moves that no one pays any attention to. It actually out prioritizes a very good number of nonprojectile moves in the game, but as all Zelda's moves go you have to make sure they catch. It works best edgegaurding Fox/Falco. Hexing can be used in two different ways, one is to stand on the platform and hex and the other is to jump out and meet them in the hex. The second to last hit is the hit that does the knockback but if you catch them in it, it doesn't matter because all of the hits will catch. When standing on the edge, you need to stand a little bit away from the edge so the side corner of naryu's goes just over the edge. The only way to grab the ledge now is with a perfect sweet spot and vs Fox and Falco it can work just like the chain. They have to try over and over sometimes 10 times to even have a prayer of getting back on and any one of these tries is a perfect time to edge guard and the likely hood is, if it's a stage they have to ride, they aren't getting back on. As for jumping out and TRUE hexing, think of it just as a shine or even a ranged shine. Just catch them in it on the side thats away from the stage and it equals instant death for any character. Hexing is great especially if you just hit them slightly out and jump out and hex, and gives easy very low % kills. B Forward - Din's Fire Damage: 7%-12% Knockback: Med Speed: Slow Range: High Description: Din�s Fire is a great long-range attack if you know how to use it properly. However there are some special things about it. When casting Din�s Fire you cannot move. This leaves you 100% open to any attack so ONLY use it when your opponent is far away and cannot run up and attack you before you finish casting it. The trick to using Din�s Fire is to make it explode where you anticipate them to be. This means you want to set it in front of them either aerial or on the ground as there is a delay and your opponent will run into it and be stopped in their tracks and fly upwards. This is the perfect time to follow it up with The Kick so as soon as you finish casting it run at them and get ready for The Kick. You can also Sh Dins and use the following explosion as a sort of fire shield to protect youIf you cast it right on top of them they can easily move out of the way or just shield so do not go blow for blow with long-range attacks as they can shield in plenty of time and you can�t. WARNING if you use this move midair it takes you a little bit sideways and leaves you completely out of jumps, you have been warned. B Down - Transform Damage: 0% Knockback: None Speed: Fairly quick Range: None Description: The best down B ever. Instant top tier. If at first you don't succeed, press down + B B Up - Farore's Wind Damage: 4% Knockback: Little Speed: Med Range: High Description: Zelda teleports in the direction of your choice. Has extreme range for a recovery move. You can deal damage to people if you touch them with the yellow wind things. Very useful for mindgames. EX, someone is coming at you. You use FW. They turn around, but you reappear exactly where you were. Learn how to control it. Keep in mind that you'll only be gone when you fully disappear. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Grabs and throws Grab & Attack Damage: 3% Knockback: None Speed: Slow Range: ...kinda horrid, use the dash grab, twice the range, with the same lag as the normal grab Description: Zelda shocks the opponent. Use it for extra damage. Great for teams, as you can stun the opponent while your partner charges up something deadly (Peach's downsmash, anyone?) Forward throw - Levitation Damage: 12% Knockback: Med Speed: N/A Range: N/A Description: Zelda throws the opponent forward. Use it to get people off of the stage. Doesn't really KO, but gets them off for a pursuit. Back Throw - Reverse Levitation Damage: 11% Knockback: High Speed: N/A Range: N/A Description: A Powerful throw, can KO characters with poor recovery at relatively low percentages. Zelda's most powerful throw. Also use this to set up for edgeguarding. Down Throw - Plasma Beat Damage: 9% Knockback: Small Speed: N/A Range: N/A Description: Excellent use for set ups at mid percentages for either fair/bair or the d-tilt spike. Also can be comboed with the dash attack. Fast fallers eat an fsmash from this at around 70%. Up Throw - Levitation Launch Damage: 11% Knockback: Med Speed: N/A Range: N/A Description: Shoot an opponent directly into the air. Again, use it for an aerial set up. With fast fallers at low percents, use in combination with the up tilt, and at mids, uair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Misc. Moves Dashing A - Magical Push Damage: 12% sweet spotted, 8% not Knockback: Med Speed: Fairly quick Range: Med Description: A great dash attack. At low damages it can be used repeatedly, at high damages, it can be used to set up for an aerial KO Ledge Attack Below 100% Damage: 6% Knockback: Med Speed: Med Range: Med Description: Okay, not as good as her over 100% one. It's better to roll or ledge hop into a fair instead. Ledge Attack Above 100% Damage: 10% Knockback: Med Speed: Faster than the other one, but not by much Range: Med Description: It's better to roll or ledge hop into a f/uair, especially if you're already over 100% On the Floor Attack Damage: 6% Knockback: Med Speed: Fairly quick Range: Med Description: Standard among floor attacks. Hits on both sides and is fairly fast. Either use this or a roll is you miss a tech. Up on the D-Pad - Taunt Damage: 0% Knockback: N/A Speed: N/A Range: NONE Description: Zelda has the worst taunt in the game. It's so subtle, they won't even notice. Anyway, she just closes her eyes and clasps her hands. Instead of doing something cool, like juggling magic from her hands. It's one of the shorter taunts in the game though, not that your opponent is actually going to notice you taunted >.<...But in a way, playing Zelda is a taunt, no? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Defensive Moves Big thanks to Mew2King for some stats info! Shield- Not much to say, except it covers most of her body unlike some people. You should try to shield more than anything else, because with a shield comes a shield grab, and you can throw back for a KO at a ledge or down throw into a fair/bair, or you can jump out of the shield and suprise them with a fair. Roll- Zelda has a fairly fast and simple roll, good to average compared to other characters. Often it can be better than her run. Don't spam it. Wavedash is more essential, since it can be used for spacing. Side step dodge- It's somewhat fast, but lasts a long time for a dodge. If you're good at it, you can predict when attacks are going to happen and then punish the attacker. Some characters, like Captain Falcon and Zelda, start their invincible part of the dodge on the 3rd frame. Note that for 99% of attacks, Zelda is invincible for the 2nd frame + (but certain explosion moves can hit her on the 3rd frame of the move so it still counts as starting it on the 3rd frame) Air dodge- Zelda has an amazing air dodge, if you're in the air and your opponent is in the air, don't be afraid to use it. Also use it for recovery if you're close enough to the stage. Especially for projectile attacks, Peach/Zelda dodge them longer than anyone (and 1 frame earlier than normal too).There's also how long the air dodge keeps them in air, like how Zelda/Peach's is MUCH quicker than the other characters, as when those 2 princesses air dodge they fall back down to the ground almost right away (I bet you didn't know that Zelda's Air Dodge goes FARTHER/HIGHER than Zelda's aerial jump, which is really weird) Ledge Roll- Its better than her ledge attacks, and better then the ledge hop if the opponent can take you in the air. Zelda has the 3rd longest roll at under 100%, and the 4th longest at over 100%. Ledge Hop- One of your two primary things to do while on a ledge, use it to get yourself into the air for a fair/bair. Wavedash- A must for all Zelda players. Use it to get out of range of some you can't block with Nayrus (tipper?), and most importantly, spacing. It allows you to maneavuer into a counter attack position. Essential. Superwavedash - It's tough to get used to, but once you can do it it'll be as valuable as your roll. You have to airdodge almost at 90 degrees (practically straight horizontal). It'll increase your wavedash distance at least 1.5x, about as long as Sheik's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Character Matchups General character strategies. Remember that this isn't a Bible (or in my case, a Torah) on how you should run your Zelda or that their character is always going to be like this; this is just general advice per character based on our experiences. Remember to be flexible also; this is one of Zelda's strengths and weaknesses, so don't be caught up just throwing out kicks randomly. -------------- Doctor Mario -------------- It's like Mario...but fat and on steroids...so that's whats in the megavitamins... His approach tactic is Pill Rushing, where he'll throw megavitamins in your face, stunning you and allowing him to follow up with whatever he wants. Nayru's Love will deflect the pills back at him and push him away if he's too close for comfort. Or if he's at higher damages, shield the pill and shield grab to down throw to fair/bair... The Doc's fair will send you upwards instead of spike, but it's more powerful; don't get hit with it, since you're easily KO'd by vertical attacks. Shield grab it too if you're on land, or block it with a SH Nayrus. His smashes are great on you; dont let him use it. He can combo you into them from a down throw. Like Mario, the Doc's recovery sucks horizontally, so, either dair or fair/bair him back to the ER. Remember, his fsmash has as much range as Pikachu's grab, so he'll have to get close to use it; WD backwards and then follow up. Down smash rapes his recovery, especially if he can't sweetspot the ledge. The Doc also has a great bair and amazing throw. His Sex Kick is unusual; it'll get stronger the longer it's out, which is inconvienient because he tries to hit atthe last possible moment. His throws are also pretty good; watch out for the down throw to up/down smash kill. His back throw is more a problem for other characters, but with your amazing recovery it shouldn't be too much of one unless you're near the edge of a stage with a close blast zone, unless you're at pretty high percents. ---------------- Mario ---------------- Good Mario's are total air whores. That's where they like to attack from. Shffl'ing their aerials...so Shield grab them. If you start to get hit by a string of them, tech roll out so you can't be strung. His down and forward smashes are great, yet they don't have much range; so stay out of it and then counter with a follow up attack, or use your forward smash, since it moves you in the start up. His Fireballs can't stun you like Docs, so he'll be using them mainly for a distraction. His recovery falls prey easily to either one of your meteors, so take advantage of that as much as possible. Make sure you avoid his fair, as it is also a meteor smash. Meteor cancel it if you get hit by it (jump as soon as you're hit). Watch out for his bair, as it's one of his KO moves. Otherwise, you'll be fine. He has a sex-kick too, and it's better than Doc's. Your uair can go through it if he's coming in from above, or you can use your long legs and kick him in the face. His fsmash has alot more range than Doc's, so be careful. His WD is pretty sweet, though not like Luigi's. Alot of times he'll try to edgeguard you with bair or uair; teleport to the stage before he's in range. ------------------ Luigi ------------------ Floaty McFloaterson. Normally very slow, but in the hands of an expert, he's suddenly wavedashing around. Sheild grab his aerials, though it may be hard since they're fast and have great priority. When you take him on the ground, dodge the wavesmash, and he'll probably still be sliding, so follow up with a forward smash or dash attack to a fair. The problem in fighting Luigi is that his priority is second to about Marth. You have to try and keep this fight on the ground, and only finish him in the air. Aim for his head, as most of his attacks don't cover there. Watch out for his dair too, as it can KO unexpectedly. His vertical recovery is horrid, but he's got decent horizontal. His recovery follows the pattern of forward b, then up b, so try and catch him before he gets back. If he gets you off he'll start charging the down smash for when you return to the stage. Try to get him with fair/bair before he can get you with the sex kick. Exploit his horrid vertical recovery by pursing with a dair or fair. Nayru's can be used to stop his wavesmashing advantages too. ------------------------------ Bowser ----------------------------- You can take Bowser to school. He's easily comboed as either one of your forms. At low percents, you can up throw into an up tilt combo. He's a huge target for your F smash and fair/bair, as well as you d tilt and dair. Since his vertical recovery sucks, you can get him low very easily for a kill, and with your recovery you can easily make it back to the stage. Bowser likes to come after you with shffl'd fairs, and he also has the shell shifting going on. He'll use his recovery move to disrupt combos and also juggle you for a bit. If he's using the 'Fortress try dodging out of it and punish him with a fair/bair. They also like to finish you with either the F smash or the uair. If they're coming at you for the uair kill, you've got only a few options. One is to try and out prioritize him with the dair. The second is to use Farore's wind and try to either pass him or make it to a ledge for protection. One of the best things about FW is that he won't know where the hell you'll end up, so don't be repetitive. You have to control the round, so confuse him. And remember...NEVER LET BOWSER (or anyone) KEEP YOU ABOVE HIM! If you try to shield grab him, he might Koopa Klaw you and then you'll be grabbed, so sheild grabbing him is risky. If you're playing a dumb Bowser or a CPU (oh, wait, same thing), they'll probably try to do the Bowser Bomb (down b). Avoid and punish. However, good Bowsers can use it right next to a ledge, reducing all of the lag. If you're fast, you can roll away and grab them out of the air. If not, then avoid and continue. ----------------- Peach ----------------- This wench is your main rival for main Nintendo gal, and she'll kick your ass in this game...maybe. She's so special she has her own way of eliminating lag off of her aerials; float cancelling. Shield grabbing is not going to happen here. She eats down throw setups though. The other golden rule is to NEVER EVER EVER EVER CROUCH CANCEL AGAINST HER. Like don't even think about pressing down either, unless it's a cstick'd downsmash. She'll do her downsmash...and you'll take about 60-70+% in the face. That down smash has insane speed and priority, AND it has suction. Avoid and punish her in the lag, since it lasts a long time, or kick her in the head while she's doing it. Peach can also "Turnup Rush" like Doc. Watch out, sometimes she'll pull out the Grandpa veggie that does like 36% per hit, or even a bob-omb, or a beam sword >_<. Like Samus, it is best to rack up damage and either go for an all out kill. Beware taking her on in the air, because most of her moves (especially the nair) have disturbing priority. You can reflect the turnips, but not the bomb-ombs. Remember not to shield Mr Saturn, since he'll break your sheild in like, 3 hits. She's probably gonna come after you with an aerial, and if you sheild, she'll dair (which will eat your sheild) into a down smash which will hurt. She can immediately down smash out of any aerial except her fair. One advantage that you have is that Peach's physics are almost exactly like yours; however, not many people have played Zelda, so you'll know how she moves, and she might not know how you move. You can totally out range her in the air, your main problem is dealing with her absurd priority. If she comes in for an aerial, try rolling back, then superwavedashing forward into an fsmash or into a rising fair. Since Zelda moves her lower body back wards for the fsmash and the fair keeps you off the ground, you'll hopefully avoid the downsmash. Watch out for her up smash, as her upper body is invincible during it. The key in winning this match is offense, and not letting her get her set ups. ----------------- Yoshi ----------------- Yoshi's are somewhat odd; he's got a projectile instead of a recovery move. He can control it's trajectory, and it's got good priority, though if you Nayru's Love it it'll explode. Yoshi also has the DJC thing going on like Ness, though Yoshi's has more lag. Yohsi's second jump is also invincible; he'll take damage but it won't do anything, like the opposite of having the cloaking device on. His invincibility will stop after his groan does, so wait for the opportune moment. So you back throw him, then either down smash or edge hog when he gets near. Or you could pursue him with the fair/bair, but that's somewhat risky, as he could try and take you out with his fair as a last ditch effort. Good Yoshi's HAVE to wavedash like Samus to compensate for their horrid roll. Like Bowser, Yoshi can use his down B near a ledge and grab on to eliminate the lag. Watch out for his dair; it's a meteor smash and if he gets in all the hits, you'll have taken 56%. Just exploit his weight and lack of mobility, and especially his almost abscence of a recovery. -------------------------- Donkey Kong -------------------------- Donkey Kong has two advantages; one being his strength, and the second being that his limbs are extremly stretchy, like Jigglypuffs. This creates some sort of a problem because an aerial approach becomes difficult. The thing to remember is that even though he's got range, his priority is so-so. Once DK is in range, he is like Bowser; combo-able. He's a big target for fairs, fsmashes and your other strong attacks. Once hes at higher damages, back throw off the ledge and pursue; his Bowser-esque recovery makes him a great target for the dair. Go ahead, use it out of spite. ------------------- Captain Falcon ------------------- This match can go either way. On one hand, Zelda can do some pretty nasty things to the Capt. On the other, he can do some stuff back and it's the fastest character in the game vs the slowest. He falls like the Space animals, so edgeguard him like them and treat his aerials like you do Ganon. His fair is like yours, but with less range. Sheild grab, throw, spike, and you're done. Try to stay grounded for about 3/4 of the time to avoid his knee, since I believe it out prioritizes your kick.However your kick will always out range him; Your shine can also work wonders on him. You'll usually be able to see him coming in for the knee. Since he's a fast faller, up throw to repeated up smashes will work great especially on version one. His fast falling speed and poor recovery make him suspect to edgeguarding; fair, spike, or shine will send him back to the track. -------------------------- Ganondorf -------------------------- This match sucks. Ganon is the only character that can go blow for blow in the air against Zelda and win. However, your aerials are faster than his, and his recovery blows. Lots of shffl'd fairs, fsmashes, and well timed Nayrus can get a win here. I'll have to update this later, since I don't play many Ganon's >.< Watch out for his spikes when recovering (dair and down+B), and remember, he can kill you at extremely low percents. ------------------------- Falco Lombardi ------------------------- One of Zelda's closest matchups, next to Fox. You'll have to be on your toes the entire time, don't grow discouraged. Falco's going to approach with his SH(B/L) {Short Hopped Blaster/Laser}; this allows him to make an approach while stunning you. Unfortunantly, Nayru's isn't as effective as it seems, as he'll just tag you with the laser as soon as it ends. Nayru's will be effective in disrupting combos and KOing Falco, however. You'll have to sheild, and then combinations of jumps, Nayru's and sheilding to get close. On FD, you can mess with his preset rythm by sh Nayrus, as it'll reflect both of his shots at him. Falco is a fastfaller, so he can be chain grabbed at low percents with the up throw. The up smash proves to be rather effective also. Once he's off the stage however, he's practically dead, due to his extremely sucky recovery. Nayru's, spike, or kick him to finish him off; however, don't get caught under his forward b, as you'll get spiked. When you're recovering, you'll have two options; either sweetspot the ledge, which is risky due to Falco's spike (if you miss), or teleport beyond him, avoiding the spike. Another even riskier option is to try and intercept the spike with Nayru's. His vertical KO power isn't like Fox's, but his horizontal is just as strong; cut through the fsmash with Nayru's, and then punish. Try to never be off the stage for long; and don't pursue if he can recover with his forward B, as you'll get spiked. ------------------------- Fox McCloud ------------------------- ZELDA MUST BE PLAYED FAST TO COMPETE WITH A GOOD FOX. I heart Fox. Zelda does too. Unless it's an infinite happy one, then Fox will eat you and your babies with his shine combos. Both Zelda and Sheik can be infinately comboed by Fox, so I suggest you try to keep your distance, which, due to Zelda's slow speed, is easier said than done. However, Zelda can go toe to toe with Fox and Falco, and it's alot easier to do than shine combos. For fighting Fox, you've got a few tricks. He's edguarded with your Down smash as well as Nayru's, and also his fast falling speed helps you out; make sure you take advantage of this on Fox and Falco. This fast falling speed also will disrupt your down throw to fair combo, but his light weight makes him an easy target for fair/bair and back throws. Once he's off the edge,he's all yours to either fair/bair/dair, basically anything that will knock him further horizontally or further downwards will be a quick KO. Never let Fox get below you, as his uair and up smash are disturbingly powerful. Even his up tilt is capable of Koing you at higher percents. In a strange twist of fate, the space animals are eaten alive by your Nayru's Love. It absolutely ruins their recovery attempts. Stop his Fox Illusion recovery with this. Zelda can also chain throw Fox with her up throw at lower percents. Just like Falco, keep on your toes; this match can go either way ------------------ Ness ------------------ I think even Zelda is fast enough to dodge Ness' projectiles. At best he's going to PK Fire you, which is not going to do much, and you can see it coming enough to Nayru's Love/Powersheild him if you want to. If someone is dumb enough to use PK Flash, get to them and punish. Unfortunantly, you'll almost never be able to sheild grab him from an aerial. A good Ness (though few and far between) will be using DJC (Double Jump Cancels). When you attack in the middle of Ness's double jump, you stop any vertical movement, so if they do a quick double jump, aerial attack, and land, and they can do it quickly, Ness gets practically zero lag when he lands. You can outrange him in the air, because he has stubby arms and you have adult size legs. Generally he's slower to attack then you, but he can move faster. His dash attack is sheild grab-able because of it's afterlag, but it's fairly quick. If Ness is forced to rely on his Third Jump, he's screwed. You can dair him because he's almost like Fox/Falco recovering, a sitting duck. You can fair/bair him. Hell, you can even jump into the PK thunder before it hits him, effectively screwing him over. However, if he does manage to recover and hit you with it, expect pain, in the form of about 25% damage...so move out of the way, and if he doesn't grab the ledge immediately, catch him in the lag of the end of the move. Some Ness' like to guard with PK Flash, but sweetspotting the edge should keep you out of the fireworks. ------------------ Ice Climbers ------------------ Strangely awesome when they're desynched, the first thing on your list is to seperate them and KO Nana (or in some cases Popo, but whoever the lackey is). I've heard Nana has some sort of resistance meter since she doesn't take damage, and the less that is the easier it is to KO her. After you get rid of the lackey, down throw to fair or back throw work best in getting Popo off the stage. Mostly they'll use the Squall hammer to recovery horizontally; but it's somewhat limited vertically, but their jump has awesome vertical power. Standard edguarding techniques will work here. If you need to seperate them fast, kick them, then do a follow up kick on Nana; then go after her, and fend off Popo, as he'll try to save her. Stay away from them. They have one of the best grab games, and currently there's a bunch of grab combos at their disposal (not the mention the freezing glitch and the down tilt infinite combo thing O_O). Usually you won't be able to escape until you're at least 25% more damaged. Just remember to try and keep them seperated, and take advantage of the CPU's stupidity...Nana can be very dumb. Since she's CPU controlled, she can't DI out of your FSmash ^.^ Don't Nayru's Love the ice shot unless there's only one; they'll just cancel each other out and leave you open for mashing. Sheild instead. If they grab you at around 80% you can pretty much expect to be KO'd. ------------------ Kirby ------------------ Severely depowered from the other game, Kirby still has a decent aerial game. Shield grab. He also has an amazing crouch cancelling game, so watch out for it, it's usually followed by a down smash or down tilt. After you knock him off you can either pursue for a fair/bair kill or wait on the ledge with a down smash then pursuit. He'll usually follow his down throw with an up smash, so watch out for that. Also, his uair is pretty good, but you should never ever let a character get under you. Like other characters with good recovery, usually go for an all out kill. Standard floaty tactics apply. ------------------ Samus Aran ------------------ Ever heard of when Wes gets beaten by Mow and Mike M? Think it's easy? Well you're wrong; this match is going to be extremely tough. I loathe and abhorr Samus. Why? Because she doesn't die horizontally, and Zelda's vertical KOing abilities are somewhat limited. Samus has a sweet projectile game, but projectiles need space to be effective. Most Samus players wont anticipate an offensive Zelda, so use that to an advantage. When you're in her face, take care to avoid her down smash and her aerials (especially her sex kick). The sex kick has a disjointed hitbox, which makes them un-shield grabable and gives it insane priority. Her down smash is also amazing. Her falling speed is floaty, but she's also like the 3rd heaviest character o_O... You're probably going to be constantly be dodging missiles, so an aerial approach is a safe bet. Because of Zelda's low jump, you can jump over the missiles and attack with a fair/bair. Samus has the best CC in the game, but she can't CC out of your forward smash When you manage to grab her, either go for a back throw at ledges or a down throw to aerial setup. Sffl'ing aerials on her shouldn't be a big problem because of her slow and laggy grab. Once you get her off the edge, she'll probably come after you with bomb jumps...which, unless you're playing an expert Samus is fine, because your projectile can be controlled to hit her, disrupting the bombs and not allowing her to get close enough to grab the ledge or grapple the stage. If they can outmaneaver your Din's Fire, try racking up damage to KO with an up tilt or a fair/bair, or even pursue them for a fair/bair kill off the stage, then using your massive recovery to get back safely. ^.^ ------------------ Zelda ------------------ Ah, the ditto match. This is going to be a battle of mindgames, and whoever can land the fair/bairs first. Zelda's somewhat floaty in the way she falls, so she's suspect to the down throw fair combo. You can shield grab her fair/bairs; then go in for a kill. Edguarding and KO throws are generally useless, due to Zelda's insane recovery; but she cannot travel up the stage like Fox & Sheik while teleporting. Like Peach and Jiggs, it's better to go for an all out KO at around 100% with the Kick. This match is one of those where you'll be sweating at the end. ---------------- Sheik ---------------- This sucks. Sheik will tilt you to death, then grab you, and slap you away like a dirty ho. This is Zelda's worst match up. However, you do have some adavantages. Kicks, and the fact most of your attacks have great knockback. Also, Sheik is easy to combo, and you can ftilt to fair sometimes. Avoid the grab and tilts. And your fsmash canc cancel needles, but it's pretty slow, comparatively. ------------------ Link ------------------ Link is slow AND heavy. A great combination for you. Alot of his combos start with either the hookshot or the bomb. You can do the whole Nayru's Love thing to reflect projectiles back or just shield (though shielding leads to sheild grabs and is much faster). You can even shield the bombs and throw them back at him or catch them in mid air. Watch out for the Spin Attack; it's got great priority and range. That and his dair are the two moves the Link worshipping n00bs SPAM over and over. If he's using it on land, watch for it to die down and then strike. Because of his weight, he's succeptible to back throws, and if you can dair/fair/bair him before he can use the spin attack, he's so dead. Your Nayru's Love can also seriously screw with his recovery. His shield grab, like Samus, is horrid; use fair/bair freely here. After the Spin Attack, aim for the head; also, if he tries to take you to the top, DI out of the Spin, then kick, as it should KO him off the top. Crouch cancel against Link pretty much the whole time. ------------------ Young Link ------------------ Much faster than his older incarnation, Young Link will try and combo more than use clear out attacks. He's much more reliant on projectiles to get this through though. The Boomerang can hit with more angles and you have to dodge it twice, the arrows stun more, and the bombs are comboable, as well with an improved spin attack. When you hit him, hit him hard, and don't give him a chance to start his own combo. If he hits you with the hilt of the sword on his dair, you'll get lit on fire, and be spiked; it's meteor cancable, however It kinda sucks since he's fast and your defense against projectles sucks, but get in his face and continuoulsy combo him, so he can't combo you. And remember: YOUNG LINK HAS NO KILL MOVES ------------------ Pichu ------------------ Don't worry about the Thunder Jolt approach; he'd hurt himself more than you. He's got good aerials, but little range makes him an easy target for sheild grabbing. Watch out for his up throw to Thunder combo at higher percents; he also has great vertical KO power. His smashes are really good, and remember to never teleport near the ledge if he's on it, as you'll get fsmashed. He'll mostly approach with Shffl'd nairs, block and kill. It'll be somewhat hard to sweetspot the kick, since he's so small. F/U smashes do the trick. Most of Pichu's game is heavily reliant on evasion. On stages like Final Destination, this is near impossible; exploit that. This is going to be somewhat hard due to the fact that most of your kill moves have very specific hitboxes; try fsmashing him in the air to negate his heighth advantage. ----------------- Pikachu ----------------- He can apporach like Doc with the Thunder Jolts, so remember your tactics. Watch out for Pika's up/down smashes. Pika also has INSANE vertical KO power, that is easily exercised on your light frame. The up smash is one of (if not the) most powerful in the game, and it's probably going to be his primary KO move. Once he's at a high damage you can finish it with either a tilt to a kick (or in some cases, just a tilt will murder the rat) or the down throw to kick. Remember to watch your below, or the Pokemon will juggle you to death. His ground game is pretty good, so try and take it to the air; but avoid his uair, it's a pseudo spike. Like Pichu, remember to never teleport near the ledge if he's on it, as you'll get fsmashed. Stay away from his down smash, which will keep you in the air and above him. Also watch out for the 'Thunderflip' combo, his up smash into thunder, it's nasty. Also, don't let him grab you, as you'll get thrown down/up into either an up smash to thunder or just thunder. Remember, Pika has no range. -------------------- Jigglypuff -------------------- This little gal gives most charcter's alot of trouble, even Zelda and her amazing fair/bair. Jiggs has the best aerial game in the game, so stay on the ground. If she starts doing the Wall of Pain (WoP), the key is not to try and out prioritize her, but to attack her in between her attacks. Since she's really floaty, down throw to fair/bair is a good option. If you cannot escape the WoP, then turn into Sheik and use da bairs. She can recover from extremly long distances, though, but the key is patience. And NEVER let Jiggs get a Screw Attack, and try to keep your distance from her because of the powerful rest; though if she misses, she's a sitting duck for a forward smash or a fair. The rest is a powerful tool, and she's got several ways to execute it. Usually it'll be Pound, drift back into rest. If they miss it, always kick, as they can crouch out of fsmash. Just like Peach and Samus, either go for a vertical Ko with the uair or just an all-out power KO. And like Kirby, strike before them to avoid their priority. ----------------- Mewtwo ----------------- Mewtwo suffers from "bad guy syndrome" just like Bowser. He's really floaty and light, and very slow, and is also a very big target. You can deflect the Shadow Ball since it's so slow, and some M2's will use confusion to pull you through platforms if you're near the edge. Advanced Mewtwos have great wavedashes, and some will often WD/SH into Disable...a nasty trick mind you. Just kick the crap out of him, he's alot lighter than you. His overall aerial game is pretty good. Watch out for his fair, it's freakishly fast for him, as well as his nair, it's both fast and has high priority. His up throw is pretty strong, and his back throw may give you some trouble. Watch out for his spike too. Mewtwo players have to have amazing mind games due to his severe weaknesses. They'll try to mess things around by using a combination of Teleports and air dodges, so be on your guard. At high percents don't go for the kick if he's on the ground, as he'll up throw you and you'll die. Mewtwo als has a great tilt game; it's almost on par with Sheiks. He may try to get you far away from the platform and pseudo-WOP you with his bair, but kick and return. Just remember your general floaty tactics and you'll do fine. Try to take him to stages with alot of walls, so he can't escape as much and he'll be easier to combo. Don't get grabbed at over 95%, or you'll die. ------------------ Mr. Game & Watch ------------------ Utterly bizzarre. His main killing move is his nair, and sometimes he'll get lucky with the Judgement after a down throw. His crouch cancel goes really low so you can't grab him, and he'll be using the spot dodge and wavedash for evasion. His uair is good for juggling, but it can't be l-canceled, so catch him in the lag. He's got a weak ground game and his paper weight will make him an easy target for fair/bair. Also watch out for his down tilt, as it's pretty good. I haven't really played a good Geedubya, so I'll get updates on this later. --------------------- Marth --------------------- Marth has it all; range, speed, power, and he's as gender confused as you...and pictish. This is going to be a little hard. Other than that, try staying as close to him as you can; he'll deal more damage with the tip of his sword. Press him hard, and use your decent range with the Lightning Kicks to gain an edge. His main star KO move, the up tilt, can be completely avoided if you crouch next to him ;D.Back throw off the stage, and edgeguard. His fair is good, watch out for it. His grab is really good too, but his throws are weak (damage wise). However, they can be chained, and he can throw you forward then combo into a tipped forward smash. Ouch. If he's coming after you, it'll generally be with either a foxtrot or a wavedash, or shffl'd double fairs. And remember the golden rule about Marth; there comes a point where if you're at high enough damage, he can no longer combo you for a KO, or KO effectively for that matter. Exploit this on him whenever possible, especially if on Hyrule Temple with the 'Cave of Life' (although it's banned in tourneys >.< ) If he's coming in for an attack, spot dodge then immediately fsmash or Nayru's. His floatyness makes him a prime target for alot of your combos, so exploit that. Try to keep him into the air, as it's there where you'll have a decent range. To approach, you must triangle jump. Remember, you can chain bairs on him, so do so, frequently. And always edge hog him, then do a ledge dropped bair. Also, use your disjointed dash attack to clank with his attacks, like Peach would. ----------------- Roy ----------------- Alot easier to deal with than Marth, Roy's sweetspot is in the middle of his sword; hitting there will increase the damage and knockback, so on that note try to press the distance between the two of you. He still has the disjointed hitbox though. He's also alot slower and falls faster than Marth. At low percents you can try the down throw near the ledge with the down tilt combo for a meteor KO. His horizontal recovery sucks compared to Marth; so hit him hard or throw him far. Remember he's got a decent ground game, but his aerial game is severely lacking. His uncharged Flare Blade has a ton of priority and power; watch out for his counter too, especially if he's countering your fair/bair, it'll do about 30% to you instead. Take him to the air, then fair/bair; his lack of an aerial game allows you to own him hardcore: be wary of his sweetspot, as you have to be in it's range to lightning kick. Watch for throw set ups to fsmash, because you can die at 90. _____________________ General Strategy _____________________ While not the combo king Sheik is, Zelda has a few tricks up her sleeve...er, glove. - Tilt to Kill - Zelda's tilts are generally used to set up for a powerful attack. Use her down tilt into her forward smash. At higher percentages, the up tilt and forward tilts are great setups for the fair/bair KO. Sometimes the tilts will outright KO an opponent; the tilt KO's work best on lightweights. Heavyweights are easy prey for Zelda's tilt too. Your down tilt will usually be unsuspected; use this advantage for spiking. - Use the Force, er, your throws - Zelda's throws are pretty good, so use them. Her back throw has strong KOing power, and at low percentages sets up your opponent to be edgeguarded. Her forward throw won't KO, but it also allows easy edguarding. Her up throw will set your opponents up for your aerial finish, and can be chained on fast fallers. Her down throw, while not chainable, is great for sending opponents at an angle perfect for your fair/bair. Always use her dash grab, since it offers twice the reach with the same lag. And don't worry about being cheap; throw your foes into low ceilings for KO's (ie, Termina) - Be Agressive B E...- Zelda's defensive game isn't as great as her Aggro- control. You must either learn to be agressive and always relentless, or predict what your oppoenents are going to do then counter. Playing a full defensive game will get you killed. Learn when your opponent is vulnerable, not just their character. Part of playing defensive is Zelda's dodging and rolling game. She can make up for her slow foot speed with her roll. Dodging and disrupting opponents attacks can set them seriously off balance, allowing you to take control. If you see an opening you should then pursue with a string of attacks for the KO. - Punish the Impudent - Zelda has a great game for punishing people who dodge. Her forward smash has to be almost dodged frame to frame. You can also use her down smash to hit people after they've dodged as well. - Timing is Everything - Most of Zelda's powerful attacks have specific sweetspots that must be learned. Her fair/bair and forward smash are perfect examples. They have incredible knockback and damage, but if you miss the sweetspot, you're opponents will crush you. For her fair/bair, you must learn when and where to kick. Find any and every opportunity to use this. And some opponents sheilds don't cover their entire body; you might be able to pinpoint an unsheilded location for a KO. - Shake that ***, but watch yourself - Zelda cannot cover her below. It's a fact of life. Always try to keep the opponent either level or above you. She is extremely vulnerable to attacks from below. Try to avoid attacks that will leave you open; Zelda's lightweight makes it easier to send flying than other characters. If someone does manage to get you in an upward juggle, try using Farore's Wind from the air onto a ledge, then hop up into a fair. Simple, yet effective. - Wronski Feint? - Zelda's defensive game needs serious mind games to back it up. Try faking going for a fair, then counter the opponents response by fast falling into a wavedash. Then your opponent is probably suffering some lag from whatever they tried to do. Also, if you sense that Mario/Doc is going to use the cape on your fair, use the bair instead. Also, since fairs and bairs can be used in rapid sucession, kick, then when your opponent thinks you're open, kick them during their approach. - Open Range - Zelda shouldn't have too much of a problem getting to her opponents. Really, only Marth can outrange you, but you'll generally want to be Sheik for that match. - SPIKE TO THE MAXORZ!!! - Both of Zelda's spikes are deadly at 70%. Try to connect as low as possible with the down tilt. Either on their feet or the characters head for best results; there are some characters you can't spike while recovering, such as Zelda/Sheik, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff, Roy, Pi(ka)chu, Ice Climbers, the Links, and Yoshi. You can also use the down throw to combo into the down tilt spike. Her dair isn't like Mario's meteor or Falco's spike, but is still deadly in it's own right. It can even spike through the platform. Not many people are going to suspect a spike from Zelda, so use it to your advantage. - Set Ups & Combos - Always find a way to set your opponents up. You can use tilts, dash attack, up smash or up throw to get your opponents into the air for a finish. A favorite combo of mine (though created by umbreonmow) is up smash, wavedash backwards, then forward smash. Another created by him is down throw, nair, jump and spike. - Know Your Limits - Know how far you can go. Know how long your roll is, your wavedash is and the general range on all your attacks. Also know how far you can recover from ____________________________________ Killing, Edgeguarding, and Recovery ____________________________________ Zelda has a few killing moves, but her main ones are her fair and bair. These can kill lightweights and those with poor recovery very easily at low percents. They also will send people far away from the stage, allowing you to edgeguard them. Once they're off the stage, your first option is pursuit. Since you have incredible recovery, you can travel rather far from the stage and still make it back. The first thing that comes to mind is your fair/bair. This will knock the opponent even further away from the stage or even ko them outright. The second option for pursuit is your spike. Though meteor cancel-able, it can also force them to use their jump at a point where they wouldn't want to; it also completely screws fast fallers. When recovering from the pursuit, try grabbing the ledge, just in case. Another standard edgeguarding tactic is the downsmash, which will send characters at a downward angle. You can also use your down tilt for spiking. Use these and Nayru's to prevent them from grabbing the ledge. You can also edgehog to prevent them from grabbing on. Wavedash backwards onto the ledge for fastest results. If they do manage to grab the ledge, you can forward smash through their roll. If you land on the edge from these edgeguarding tactics, you open up a whole new list of options. Do the drop down jump AWAY from this stage this time. Use a bair, and use Farore's Wind to get back. AS you should always do, use the first small jump to hang from the ledge, not the second half of the attack. When recovering, Keep two things in mind. Farore's Wind is a linear move, meaning you will travel in a straight line to your destination. There are 16 different angles that you can travel with it. Unlike some recoveries, such as Fire Fox, Farore's Wind will NOT allow you to curve up and follow the stage. You also can't maneavuer around obstacles, unless you can fall through them normally (exceptions are Mute City, the DK 64 stage and the stage with the DK rap, you can teleport up directly through the bottom of the stage). You also must learn how to sweetspot the ledge; this will allow you more options when returning and doesn't leave you open. If someone is edgehogging you, learn how to land directly on the stage too. Another great way to make it back onto the stage is to kick them and then get to the ledge. This will knock your opponent away from you (duh) and allow you to freely recover. ________________________________________ One Player Mode ________________________________________ ===================== Classic Mode ===================== --------------- One vs. One --------------- Nothing special, just take advantage of the dumb AI. Use items to your advantage. Watch out for the powershielding, that's their only talent -------------- Two vs. Two -------------- On higher difficulty settings, your CPU partner will get finished off fairly quick, so it'll essentially a One vs. Two battle. After you finish one, go after the second. ------------------ Three vs. Giant ------------------ On easy settings, your partners can generally KO the giant in one hit. I've seen Giant Link be OHKO'd by a Peach Bomber o_O. Other wise, he's just a big target for smashes and fairs. ------------------ One vs. Team ------------------ Strong attacks, such as fair/bair, tilts, up smash, and throws will do the trick here. You can get them near the blast line and back throw for easy KOs --------------------------- Master Hand and Crazy Hand --------------------------- These guys are pushovers. Aerials and up tilts work great here. If Crazy Hand shows up, finish Master off first, as he'll have lower health. The laser attack will allow you to score consecutive free hits on him; abuse it. All of his attacks are easy to dodge, just learn when and where he's going to strike. Shield and dodge as needed; you can shield the double team attacks ========================= Adventure Mode ========================= A rundown of the non-standard fights ------------------------ Mushroom Kingdom ------------------------ Avoid the small enemies. No need to take unnecessary damage. Take out the Yoshi's with up tilts, throws, and fair/bairs. ----------------------- Underground Maze ----------------------- Very simple. If you want, you can get the Link Master bonus by killing all 5 Links, or you can just go for the Triforce. There is one part where you can drop down to the fighting arena. If you see a short pit with just stones that's COMPLETELY straight, jump into it, drift left, and mid air jump and up B to avoid the fight. ---------------------- Escape from Brinstar ---------------------- Sheik actually does this alot better than you, but you can just double jump and if needed, a triple jump. ---------------------- F-Zero Grand Prix ---------------------- Since Zelda has a slow foot speed, Sheik is your best option for this. Otherwise, you can either roll the entire way (jumping on every third platform you see), or Farore's Wind the whole way. You can also cling to ledges and let the cars pass above you if needed. Farore's is the same speed as your run though. --------------------- Infinite Glacier --------------------- Jump and teleport. Dodge the Topis and Polar Bears. Almost as easy as Brinstar. _______________________________ Break the Targets _______________________________ Say thanks to Xif for these. And hold down a after pressing start, since all BtT strats are done with Sheik ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Beginner Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Target 1: neutral A as soon as you start. 2: double jump up B target below platform above. 3: ground neutral A target above platform. 4: drop down to starting point. Dash double jump to lower left triforce, shoot needle when you align yourself in the exact middle of the triforce, and you must be touching it. 5: drop down from there and Aerial back A target above platform left of where you start 6 and 7: get to very right edge of where you are, forward B the 2 targets, wiggle it while holding B and moving the control stick if it doesn't get to both 8: Jump to starting point, dash double jump right and repeat step 4, while making the direction right. 9: drop and aerial forward A target 10: drop to ground and ground neutral A. Target time: around 10 seconds, or just under it. /'\ / \ /'''''\ / \ / \ /____V____\ 3 # /\ _____ /\ / \ 2 / \ /''''\ # /''''\ / \ / \ / \ / \ /___V____\ /___V____\ ____ ____ ------ ____ y ____ 4 | | o 1 9 | | 8 # | | _u__# # | | # | | 5 ____ | | | | # | | | | ___ 10| | | |__ #| | | `~,__ 7 |--- |---| ````~,____|6 # '````````' # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Intermediate Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 1: Neutral A as soon as you start. 2 and 3: double jump towards right triforce, wall jump off of it, and aerial up A both targets above and below platform. 4: drop down to starting point, dash double jump left and shoot needle from under triforce. 5: drop down, aerial back A, l-cancel. 6: jump back to starting point. Repeat step 4, with right triforce this time. 7: drop and aerial forward A. 8: land, turn around and neutral A. 9 and 10: double jump, charge needles, and release when head is level to top blue strip of pillar you are next to. Target time: Low 9 seconds, under 9 seconds /'\ / \ /'''''\ / \ / \ /____V____\ 3 # /\ _____ /\ / \ 2 / \ /''''\ # /''''\ / \ / \ / \ / \ /___V____\ /___V____\ ____ ____ ------ ____ y ____ 4 | | o 1 7 | | 6 # | | _u__# # | | # | | 5 ____ | | | | # | | | | ___ 8| | | |__ #| | | `~,__ 9 |--- |---| ````~,____|10 # '````````' # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Pro Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 1 and 2: Double jump to the bottom right triforce, and wall jump the bottom left piece of it as you aerial up a targets 1 and 2. 3: Immediately fast fall and needle left before you land on the starting platform. 4: You can immediately dash jump from this platform left, double jump and needle the left most target. (your head should be positioned just below the bottom middle of the bottom left triforce) 5 through 7: Fast fall as soon as you can, and just before your feet are level with the platform to the left of the starting one, tap right, let go of it and press B to needle the left of the two very bottom targets, immediately small dash jumping right afterwards while needling again (you should land on the very edge of the platform). Then jump while drifting right and needle, this needle should go barely under the target to the right of where you originally start, and hit the bottom rightmost target. 8 through 10: As soon as you touch the ground, dash jump and aerial forward A at the same time, hitting the target to the right of where you originally start, double jump while still moving right and needle when your head is pretty close to the bottom middle of the bottom right triforce to hit the eastern most target. Tap A like crazy after this to aerial neutral A just above target 10, breaking it. /'\ / \ /'''''\ / \ / \ /____V____\ 2 # /\ _____ /\ / \ 1 / \ /''''\ # /''''\ / \ / \ / \ / \ /___V____\ /___V____\ ____ ____ ------ ____ y ____ 4 | | o 7 9 | | 8 # | | _u__# # | | # | | 3 ____ | | | | # | | | | ___ 10| | | |__ #| | | `~,__ 6 |--- |---| ````~,____|5 # '````````' # ________________________________________________ Home Run Contest ________________________________________________ Most of these are done with Zelda since Sheik's swing sends the bag straight up, though a couple use Sheik. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Beginner Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 1. Before you press start, hold A, to start as Sheik 2. Grab the bat, dash to the Sandbag 3. Smash up A when the Sandbag is on the ground and next to you for maximum damage 4. Repeat twice (charge slightly) (82-85%) 5. Down B (transform) 6. Dash underneath the Sandbag, backwards no-ping hit Bull's-eye: 1300+ feet (400+ meters) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Intermediate Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 1. Grab bat, jump to the right, throw the bat up 2. fast fall, uncharged smash up A 3. Catch the bat, bat drop aerial up A 4. 3 single jump bat drop aerial down A's 5. Tipper at 125% Bull's-eye: 1750+ feet (540+ m.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Pro Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 1. Grab the bat, dash to the bag, double jump and at the peak of your double jump, drop bat, fast fall and start an aerial up A. 2. L-cancel, 6 more double jump BD aerial down A's with fast falls. (You should barely if not at all be jumping higher than the Sandbag) (Grab, drop bat, fast fall down a (while spacing them), l-cancel) 3. Right away do a tilt down A 4. Grab the bat, aerial tipper Bull's-eye: 2900+ feet (880+ m.) ________________________________________________ Multi-Man Melee ________________________________________________ The wireframes are so weak that generally a single smash attack will do them in. Forward and up tilts also work, as well as fair/bair. Cruel Melee requires effort. When you start, roll left or right, let them come to you, then dodge, jump, up B, what ever it takes to get to the other side unscathed. When they come to you, down smash, this will send them out, repeat the last few steps until they die. Repeat until you mess up or get bored. ________________________________________________ Event Matches ________________________________________________ Event #3 - Bomb-Fest - Very easy, just exploit the AI. They'll often walk into the motion sensor bombs. Just throw bombs at them, and reflect them if they're throw at you. Even #4 - Dino-Wrangling - Up tilt to up smash works great here. Sometimes Yoshi will kill himself. Just rack up damage then throw or forward smash for the kill. Event #6 - Kirbys on Parade - Mostly they just run around. Fair/bair will Ko them in one hit. Event #7 - Pokemon Battle- This usually goes to whoever gets the first Pokeball. If he throws it at you, reflect and it's yours. While he's dealing with one, make sure you get any more that appear Event # 8 - Hot Date on Brinstar - Samus starts out at over 100%. You have a high powered fair. Do the math. Event #9 - Hide and Sheik - You can do this very cheaply by using your back throw on the lower right platform so they hit the main platform. Just don't Ko them as when they're Zelda, as it'll just reset their damage Event #10 - All-Star Match 1 - Easy. These guys seem to die quicker than in versus mode. For the first 3, a fair at about 50% will KO them. You can generally throw DK and Bowser around; DK will sometimes fall into the river, and then you can fair Bowser. Event #11 - King of the Mountain - You don't even have to Ko these guys, just survive the course. Think you can stay alive for a whole minute and two seconds? Event #12 - Seconds, Anyone? - Fair. The one move you'll need to use. Event #14 - Trophy Tussle #1 - Possibly hard if you're new at the game. Two characters will come after you; one will sit on one end of the stage. The AI is even dumber here than in versus mode, exploit it. Use your items to your advantage, and take them out with fairs and forward smashes Event #15 - Girl Power - Mini Zelda vs. Peach, Samus, and Zelda. They seem to be able to be KO'ed at realtively low percents. They also can hurt each other. If you get a homerun bat, you're good to go. Otherwise, fair, forward smash, and throw those wenches out of the stage. Event #20 - All-Star Match #2 - Another one, but almost as easy as the first. Kill. Event #21 - Ice Breaker - Kill Nana. Grab a Popo, throw, throw Nana off the stage and fair. Rinse and repeat. Event #22 - Super Mario 128 - EAAAAASY! Stand on a side and use Nayru's Love. And kill Birdo for me. Event #23 - Slippy's Invention - Not much to say, you can spam Nayru's Love to find where they are. After that, punish and edgeguard. It IS Falco and Fox, and you can even "shine" them to death with Nayru's Love. Pretty ironic, eh? Event #24 - The Yoshi Herd - Pretty easy, since almost any attack can OHKO them. Use your dash attack, fair, and tilts to win this. The last one is giant, but you can lure him to the left edge and back throw him. Event #26 - Trophy Tussle #2 - Hit and run, or teleport. One character again will be camping out on the edge, so deal with the other two first. Use strategies that work well on flat stages. Event #28 - Puffballs Unite - Pick a side, then shield grab to back throw. If they start surrounding you, fair or forward smash can get them off of your back. Event #30 - All-Star Match #3 - Pretty easy, and one less opponent too. If the IC don't get KO'd by the mountain, fair/bair them off the side. Event #31 - Mario Bros. Madness - You can stand on the right or left side and back throw to your heart's content if you actually want to get KOs. Otherwise, you can just avoid them for two minutes; sometimes Luigi will suicide himself. Event #37 - Legendary Pokemon - One of my favorite Event Matches, this will earn you Pichu. Jigglypuff will be going for the Pokeballs, and if she gets them, she'll almost always throw them at you. Nayru's Love. Then let either the Pokemon finish them, or fair/bair them. Event #38 - Super Mario Bros. 2 - Somewhat easy; they'll even attack each other. All three can be exploited to SD; you can also stand on one of the sides and back throw them beyond the blast zone. Event #40 - All-Star match #4 - Ugh, another one. Not much to be said, but beware the close blast zones on the Game and Watch level. Event #44 - Mewtwo Strikes - Concentrate on Mewtwo. He's rather lightweight, but he has very good recovery. Exploit the AI if you get a motion sensor bomb. Mewtwo is usually in the air...*hinthint* Event #46 - Fire Emblem Pride - Concentrate on one at a time. You can go to the little alcove right above the 'Cave of Life' (not the tunnel, on the left side) and spam your up tilts, uairs, and smashes when they come by. After they're at high damages, fair them to death. If you get alot of damage, head to the Cave of Life thing. Event #47 - Trophy Tussel #3 - Ew, I hate this stage. You can stay in the middle and try to catch them with an up smash, or fair/bair them on the sides and edgeguard. As with any trophy tussel, you can just retry it until you get an easy set of computers. Event #48 - Pikachu and Pichu - Kinda annoying, focus on the Pichu. They'll generally stick together on the platforms; try and fair/bair them for damage. You can KO Pikachu for a moment's peace, but he'll just keep going and going and going. The Pichu are alot tougher than in versus mode, also; make sure to use any good items that appear. Also never let them get you above them...you can get caught in three thunder's at once. Event #49 - All Star Match Deluxe - Thank G-d, the last all star. 6 opponents, all of which are pretty easy. Standard tactics and AI dupery are useful here. Event #50 - Final Destination Match - Master Hand & Crazy Hand. Actually kinda hard. if you don't know what to do. Use up tilts, smashes, and uairs on them. Take out Crazy Hand (left) first. You must learn when and where they're going to attack too. Sheik can actually do this easier than Zelda because of her speedy up tilts. Event #51 - The Showdown - G-d, I hate this match. I think Xif put it best when he said "This is hell reincarnated into a bunch of tiny pixels". Frustrating at first. Learn how to bait the AI, like making Ganon suicide when you're near the edge. M2 will also get pushed off while he's charging Shadow Ball. Giga Bowser kinda stands there, waiting to be attacked. Use the Pokeballs that appear; they can help you alot. If all else fails, keep trying, and if you still don't get it...then use Jigglypuff. __________________________________________________ Legal Stuff __________________________________________________ This FAQ belongs to DaRkNeSsOfHeArT(Landon Cox). The only sites that are allowed (so far) to use this FAQ are Gamefaqs and SWF. If you wish to use it, let it be for personal use only. My time and effort have been put into this so we could have a decent Zelda FAQ out there; stealing it is a major disrespect, so please don't. If you do, I'll eventually find it and then exercise my law degree. Or sic the Massad on you. Either way, you lose. Considering the recent GFAQs controversy at supercheats, I don't think anyone would try to...right? __________________________________________________ Contact Info __________________________________________________ If you'd like to email me, please do so at [email protected]. Try to put something along the lines of 'Zelda FAQ' in the subject so I don't delete it as spam. I already get enough of it, so don't send me spam. You are however, free to send in a critique or something; I enjoy feedback, just not hate mail. You can probably also catch me at the Gamefaqs message board, and also at the SWF board. AIM: If you need to IM me with a question, my AIM is j00ish shogun. Please don't waste my time; I'm usually talking to my friends or helping other people out. And if you cannot use correct spelling or grammar, please try to. I may live in Texas, but I'm only used to interpreting hick. And if you ask me if I want to date your sister, I will block you. And if you don't get an immediate (say, 5-10 minutes) then try e-mailing me; I'm probably out and was too lazy/buzy to put up an away message. ___________________________________________________ Useful Sites ___________________________________________________ www.smashboards.com - Also called SWF, the place to find tournies in your area. Very helpful people; also topics by character. http://s4.invisionfree.com/ssbmrpritt/index.php?act=idx - The ranking project. Want to help us complete it? Also, more info on character match ups. http://ee.1asphost.com/thephoenixrealm/ssbmterms.html - Part of darkphoenix87's site, has many, many useful terms in it. ___________________________________________________ Credits ___________________________________________________ First off, I'd like to say a big, big thanks to Xif for telling me the HRC, BTT, and MMM strats that were developed by Senju and Skeeto. Thanks alot. Secondly, I'd like to thank DarkPhoenix87 for his terms list; hopefully you learned a thing or two from it. Third, I'd like to thank all the guys at SWF for teaching me alot of stuff that made this FAQ alot better than it would have been if I'd made it without them. Individual shout-outs go to; EvilEvincar, who's FAQ helped out greatly, especially on the info about the tilts and spiking. UmbreonMow, for the more advanced combos that appear here. GoBolt for some more info on Zelda's meteors. Fourth, a very special shout-out to Warrior of Zarona, Decadent One, Xif, and Qwester for help keeping up with the great FAQ plan. Without them, I probably wouldn't have written this FAQ. Go thank them for me too. Fifth, to the gamefaqs community, for teaching me stuff and also entertaining me on all those nights I stayed up until 8 in the morning writing this (possible explaination for why it's so crappy). CJayC, for making gamefaqs. MMarell, for being generally cool as well as extremely Zelda knowledge-able. LordBowser99, for getting me into Smash, as well as suggesting me to use Zelda/Sheik...I bet you're regretting that suggestion after our last bout, eh?