Highlights
- Modder Claude1308 is creating a unique version of Link in Super Smash Bros. based on Tears of the Kingdom, complete with new abilities like Ascend and Fuse.
- The Ascend ability allows Link to pass through surfaces or use a Hover Stone for recovery, while Fuse enhances his sword and bow to make items faster-moving projectiles.
- The mod is still a work in progress, but it closely resembles what fans might expect from the official version of Link in the next mainline Smash Bros. game.
A Super Smash Bros. modder is creating a variant of Link that's based on his Tears of the Kingdom iteration, complete with the ability to use Ascend and Fuse.
When it comes to Super Smash Bros. characters, Link is unarguably one of the most interesting to follow between games. With each new Smash Bros. that comes out, he either gets a whole new character based on his most recent game (such as Toon Link or Young Link), or his mainline version gets a moveset and design change to represent his most recent game, like what happened in Smash Bros. Ultimate Link being based on Breath of the Wild.
We have no clue when the next Super Smash Bros. game is going to be, but chances are that it's going to redesign Link based on Tears of the Kingdom, the most recent Legend of Zelda game. Well, if that does end up being the case then Twitter user and modder Claude1308 has given the Big N some excellent cliff notes to work off of, as they're currently crafting their own version of Link that utilises some of his abilities from Tears of the Kingdom.
Over on Twitter, Claude1308 shared a few clips of their current work on the mod, which has so far adapted two of his main powers from Tears of the Kingdom. The first one, and arguably the most impressive, is Ascend, which acts as Link's recovery move in the mod. When using this move, Link can either go straight through surfaces like he does in the game, or use a Hover Stone if there's nothing above him. It's an incredibly clever way of implementing the move, essentially.
The next move that Claude1308 has managed to implement is Fuse, which isn't given a specific input but I'd have to imagine that it's the downwards special since it works with both the sword and the bow. In a trailer for the mod, we can see that Link can fuse any item that he picks up with either his sword (which can make it as long as Sephiroth's) or with his arrows, making any item into a much faster-moving projectile. Again, really clever stuff and exactly what you'd see from the eventual official version of the character.
Combine that with an Archaic Tunic mod from GameBanana modder LN_310 and this version of Link pretty much looks exactly like you'd expect him to in the next mainline Smash Bros. game. The mod is still a work in progress at the moment, but if you want to see a sneak peek of it, then check out the trailer on Claude1308's YouTube.