For fighter info, seeYoung Link (SSBM) andYoung Link (SSBU).

Young Link
Official artwork of Young Link fromThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	WarioWare: Move It! (2023, cameo)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo 64
Species	Hylian
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Hyrule
Voice actor	Fujiko Takimoto
Article on Zelda Wiki	Young Link

Young Link (こどもリンク,Young Link) is one ofLink's multiple incarnations inThe Legend of Zelda series. Although several prepubescent Links have appeared throughoutThe Legend of Zelda series, the one that appears as a playable character in theSuper Smash Bros. series as "Young Link" is theHero of Time, the main protagonist ofThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time andThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

InSuper Smash Bros. Melee, Young Link is anunlockable character and returns in that capacity inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate after being absent from bothSuper Smash Bros. Brawl andSuper Smash Bros. 4.

Origin[edit]

The first appearance of a prepubescent Link is in theseries' first installment. This is confirmed byYoung Link's trophy description inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, which refers to the Link featured in this game as his debut.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also uses Young Link as a placeholder for the original Link:Pac-Man'sClassic Mode route usesYoung Link to representThe Legend of Zelda series' debut in 1986 and theSpirit Battle forLink (The Legend of Zelda) uses Young Link as apuppet fighter.

However, the playable Young Link in theSuper Smash Bros. series is based specifically on the incarnation who made his debut inThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in which the "Hero of Time" begins his quest as a young boy. Initially growing up inKokiri Forest under the assumption of being aKokiri, Link was eventually summoned by theGreat Deku Tree to receive his very ownfairy,Navi. During this, the Tree also reveals that Link is destined to saveHyrule by preventing adesert man clad in black armor from acquiring theTriforce, an almighty relic that can grant any wish.

However, the Tree is under attack by monsters pillaging his innards, and even after Link dispatches them, the Tree has nevertheless has been cursed to death by the man in black armor. Before dying, the Tree imparts his final words of wisdom, telling Link to venture toHyrule Castle.

Upon arriving at Hyrule Castle, a chance meeting withPrincess Zelda results in her telling him of her prophetic dreams ofGanondorf, who is revealed as the aforementioned man clad in black armor, as well as a young boy clad in green who would emerge from a forest while accompanied by a fairy. Due to fitting this description, Link allies with Zelda and proceeds to collect theSpiritual Stones in order to assist her in preventing Ganondorf from accessing theSacred Realm and acquiring the Triforce that lies within it.

Although Link is successful in acquiring all three stones, he is too late to reunite with Zelda, who escapes on horseback alongsideImpa, her attendant. However, Zelda nevertheless manages to throw theOcarina of Time into Hyrule Castle's moat, allowing Link to claim it and proceed with their plan of stopping Ganondorf. She then telepathically directs him to play theSong of Time in front of theTemple of Time's altar, which would open theDoor of Time and allow Link to access theMaster Sword that lies beyond it and use the sword to stop Ganondorf.

Upon drawing the Master Sword from thePedestal of Time, Link is accepted by the sword as its master. However, it nevertheless seals him away within the Sacred Realm, owing to him being too young to truly challenge Ganondorf. To further compound this, Ganondorf anticipated his and Zelda's plot and managed to acquire the Triforce for himself upon Link's sealing within the Sacred Realm.

Seven years later, a 16-year-old Link is awakened within theChamber of Sages byRauru, one of the sixSages. Upon explaining what happened to Link and the Triforce after he drew the Master Sword, Rauru declares him to be the "Hero of Time". Rauru proceeds to grant Link aMedallion before instructing him to awaken the remaining Sages and collect their respective Medallions in order to gain their assistance in defeating Ganondorf.

During this quest, the Great Deku Tree'snewborn sprout additionally reveals that Link is not a Kokiri, but actually aHylian that was left in the Tree's care byhis dying mother in order to survive theHyrulean Civil War that was going on at the time. This sprout would go on to be the Great Deku Tree inThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. By using the Master Sword and Pedestal of Time's collective power to travel back and forth between his childhood and adult ages, Link proceeds to awaken the Sages, gain their support, and acquire the Triforce of Courage to finally defeat Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

Immediately after stopping Ganondorf, Zelda sends Link back in time in order for him to relive his essentially lost childhood. A few months later, Link leaves Hyrule to search for Navi, who inexplicably left him after he placed the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time soon after stopping Ganondorf. During his search, he is ambushed by aSkull Kid wearing a mysterious mask. Upon giving chase after havingEpona, his faithful steed, stolen by the Skull Kid, Link winds up in the mysterious parallel world known asTermina.

Soon after Link becomes an unintentional ally ofTatl, one of the Skull Kid's fairy friends, he meets the mysteriousHappy Mask Salesman. The Salesman reveals the Skull Kid's mask to beMajora's Mask, an ancient artifact that possesses a tremendous amount of magical power. Link and Tatl soon encounter Skull Kid andTael, Tatl's brother and the Skull Kid's other fairy friend. Tael reveals a clue on how to stop the Skull Kid, which leads Link on a quest to stop him from using the vast power of Majora's Mask to launch theMoon into Termina.

As Link's quest progresses, the clue turns out to be a reference to theFour Giants, Termina's guardian deities. Due to lashing out against Termina and its people long ago because of the Giants' decision to protect the land while laying dormant, the Skull Kid was expelled from Termina by the Giants. Ultimately, Link frees the Four Giants from being confined by the magic used by Skull Kid. With the Giants' help in halting the Moon's descent, Link then proceeds to destroy Majora's Mask after it abandons Skull Kid, who had used him as a puppet the entire time. Upon saving Termina, Link bids the Skull Kid, Tatl and Tael farewell before returning to Hyrule to resume his search for Navi.

Although Link is ultimately revered as the Hero of Time in a parallel timeline created upon Zelda sending him back in time, he becomes full of regret over his near-total lack of recognition as a hero within his own timeline. When coupled with his failure to teach hisskills to any successors during his lifetime, Link's regret became so significant that it prevented him from passing on to the afterlife upon his death. This subsequently resulted in him lingering on as asword-wielding, armor-clad spirit.

A number of centuries later, Link, under the guise of an ethereal, golden wolf, would encounter his bloodline descendant, the Link ofThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. After teaching all seven of his skills, Link finally eases his regrets and passes on to the afterlife, but not before bidding farewell to his descendant and offering him some final words of encouragement. Ultimately, these skills assist his descendant's destined growth into the "Hero of Twilight", who succeeds the Hero of Time as the savior of Hyrule by stopping theTwilight-based invasion led byZant and his ancestor's nemesis, Ganondorf. This marks the only time that two different Links canonically meet plot-wise. The only other example being inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where players can use anamiibo to getWolf Link, but this does not affect the story and is considered non-canon.

InSuper Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

As a playable character[edit]

Young Link, as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Melee.

Young Link appears as anunlockable character inSuper Smash Bros. Melee. He is aclone of hisolder self and differs in a number of ways: he is unsurprisingly smaller, weaker and lighter, yet boasts better mobility thanks to his much fasterdashing speed, ability towall jump and longerwavedash.^[1]

Although Young Link's special moves are burdened by his aforementioned shorter range, they nevertheless have benefits to compensate.Fire Bow^[1] boasts combo potential, thanks to itsFire Arrows' higher hitstun. Young Link'sBoomerang can be thrown at wider angles,^[1] while hisSpin Attack is useful for punishing rolls thanks to its multiple hits. Lastly, Young Link'sBomb has twice as many hitboxes as Link's Bomb, which give it greater damage potential and make it better in regard to combos.

Thanks to his strengths, Young Link is ranked 17th on thetier list, placing him in the C- tier. In addition to rendering him as a mid-tier character, this places him just one spot above his older self.

Trophies[edit]

As a playable character, Young Link has three trophies - a normal trophy won beating theClassic Mode with Young Link on any difficulty, and "Smash Red" and "Smash Blue" trophies are acquired by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.

Young Link's Classic Mode trophy inMelee

Young Link

Link's younger incarnation is often considered to be the true Link: he was a young boy in the very first Legend of Zelda game, and he has appeared as a youth in most of the subsequent games. Since his debut on the original NES in 1987, Link's appearance has changed over and over again, each time adding to the mystique of his incomparable story.

The Legend of Zelda (7/87)

Young Link's Adventure Mode trophy inMelee

Young LinkSMASH

Young Link is lighter and faster than his older self, and his Kokiri sword packs less punch. Even though his Boomerang has a shorter range, he has greater control over it. He's a smaller target, and while his Hookshot has less reach than the older Link's, you can still use it in midair as a last-ditch attempt to grab a ledge.

B: Fire Bow

Smash B: Boomerang

Young Link's All-Star Mode trophy inMelee

Young LinkSMASH

With a youthful spring in his step, Young Link can perform amazing wall-jumps. Once he hits a wall, tap the Control Stick in the opposite direction to send him leaping upward; you can practice to your heart's content in Target Test. His Spin Attack can strike multiple times even on the ground, and although it's hard to discern, so do his Bombs.

Up & B: Spin Attack

Down & B: Bomb

InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Young Link was one of the five playable characters inMelee who did not return inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. Instead, he has effectively been succeeded byToon Link, owing to both functioning as a younger, smaller, weaker, and faster version of Link. Toon Link also derives most of the moveset differences Young Link had from his older self, such as forward smash's first hit having set knockback, grounded Spin Attack hitting multiple times, and down aerial being capable ofmeteor smashing.

Various forms of Young Link, however, still appear asstickers fromThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Stickers[edit]

Name	Game	Effect	Fighter(s)
Deku Link	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	DefenseElectric+005 Resistance +5	All characters
Fierce Deity Link	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	AttackSlash+021 Attack +21	Link Zelda Ganondorf Toon Link
Link withGoron Mask	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	AttackSlash+017 Attack +17	Link Zelda Ganondorf Toon Link
Zora Link	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	SpecialSwimTime+060 +60	All characters

Deku Link (Zelda: Majora's Mask)

Fierce Deity Link (Zelda: MM)

Link with Goron Mask (Zelda: MM)

Zora Link (Zelda: Majora's Mask)

InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]

While Young Link does not make any appearance whatsoever inSuper Smash Bros. 4, his adult self is featured in the trophy "Adult Link (Ocarina of Time)". Young Link is also indirectly referenced viaLink's eighthalternate costume, which is almost identical to Young Link'sFierce Deity transformation. Lastly, Toon Link'sHero's Bow has acustom variation based on Young Link'sFire Bow.

InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a playable character[edit]

Young Link, as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.

After a two installment absence, Young Link returns as a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. When discounting the adult aged Hero of Time's cameo inSSB4 via the "Adult Link (Ocarina of Time)" trophy, this marks his first appearance of any kind in theSuper Smash Bros. series in 10 years. On a related note, this is also Young Link's first playableSuper Smash Bros. appearance in 17 years, a distinction shared with fellowMelee veteranPichu.^[2]

Although Young Link's descendant, the "Hero of Twilight", has been succeeded by the "Hero of the Wild" asa playable character inUltimate, Young Link nevertheless possesses mechanical and aesthetic aspects from both his own moveset inMelee and his descendant's moveset inSSB4. When coupled with the new Link featuring a number of noticeable mechanical and aesthetic differences, Young Link has been further decloned, though not enough to change his full clone status.

Spirits[edit]

Fighter spirit[edit]

Primary spirits[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
207		Deku Link		★★	1	2083	8335	1082	4328	921	3687	Fire Weakness	The Legend of Zelda Series
208		Fierce Deity Link		★★★★	1	4623	11561	2900	7252	1303	3258	Sword Attack ↑	The Legend of Zelda Series

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	こどもリンク,Young Link	Child Link
English	Young Link	—
French	Link enfant	Child Link
German	Junger Link	Young Link
Spanish	Link niño	Child Link
Italian	Link bambino	Child Link
Chinese (Simplified)	幼年林克,Young Link	Young Link
Chinese (Traditional)	年幼林克,Young Link
Korean	소년 링크,Young Link	Boy Link
Dutch	Jonge Link	Young Link
Russian	Юный Линк	Young Link

Trivia[edit]

• Young Link andDr. Mario are the only clones who are the exact same character as the character they are cloned from. However, in Young Link's case, this only applies to his appearance inSuper Smash Bros. Melee.
• Young Link is the only version of Link in theSuper Smash Bros. series who does not wield theMaster Sword.
  • Prior toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, he,Toon Link andRoy were the only swordsmen in theSuper Smash Bros. series whose swords consistently produced a punch/kick sound effect instead of a slashing sound effect for the majority of their moves.
• Young Link,Toon Link andCloud are the only swordsmen in theSuper Smash Bros. series capable ofwall jumping.
• Young Link andSnake are the only cut characters to lack a trophy in either version ofSuper Smash Bros. 4.
• Young Link andPichu are the only playable characters to skip more than one installment in theSuper Smash Bros. series prior to returning to the series in a playable capacity. Therefore, both have the longest gap for lack of playable appearances between installments.
  • Young Link is also the onlyThe Legend of Zelda character to skip an installment.
• Young Link is the onlyThe Legend of Zelda fighter to have never been aStarter character.
• Hyrule Warriors is the only other game outside of theSuper Smash Bros. series where the Hero of Time's child form is referred to as "Young Link" instead of simply Link.
• Even though bothSuper Smash Bros. Melee andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate give Young Link palette swaps based on the Goron and Zora Tunics, he was never able to change his outfit in eitherOcarina of Time orMajora's Mask.
• Despite Young Link being the only incarnation capable of becomingFierce Deity Link, only the "Hero of Twilight" and the "Hero of the Wild" incarnations reference this transformation, specifically viaalternate costumes.

References[edit]

v • d • e The Legend of Zelda universe
Fighters	Link (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Sheik (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Zelda (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Young Link (SSBM ·SSBU) ·Ganondorf (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Toon Link (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU)
Assist Trophies	Tingle ·Skull Kid ·Midna ·Ghirahim ·Moon
Bosses	Ganon
Stages	Hyrule Castle ·Great Bay ·Temple ·Bridge of Eldin ·Pirate Ship ·Gerudo Valley ·Spirit Train ·Skyloft ·Great Plateau Tower Underground Maze (Adventure Mode)
Items	Heart Container ·Bunny Hood ·Deku Nut ·Fairy Bottle ·Cucco ·Bombchu ·Beetle ·Gust Bellows
Enemies	Bubble ·Cucco ·Darknut ·Like Like ·Octorok ·Peahat ·ReDead ·Stalfos
Other	Bulblin ·Dark Link ·King Bulblin & Lord Bullbo ·King of Red Lions ·Koume & Kotake ·Majora's Mask ·Navi ·Phantom ·Sacred Land ·Tetra ·Yiga Clan
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate
Masterpieces	The Legend of Zelda ·Zelda II: The Adventure of Link ·The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Related content	Fire Bar

• Characters
• The Legend of Zelda universe
• Young Link
• Trophies (SSBM)
• Stickers
• Spirits