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Disclaimer: I can't read Japanese, so I may have missed certain effects that are hard to test (such as shieldbreaker properties) and I don't know the names of the custom moves so I've completely made them up.
We're looking at Toon Link this time, who was probably my first real main in Brawl, I loved carrying my friends across the stage with Fairs and Bairs and completely outzoning them with arrows and boomerangs and throwing them into bombs I'd thrown earlier whenever I got the chance.
I haven't had much chance to play him properly in this game other than to earn customs, just because there's so many other characters I want to put time into first, but his customs are pretty cool after the disappointment of ROB and Olimar so this post should be a bit more interesting, he also has one of Young Links specials from Melee, stay tuned to find out which one! (it's the fire arrows).
Neutral Special 1 (Hero's Bow)
Toon Link draws back his bow and lets loose an arrow when you release the button, you can hold it indefinitely and the arrow damage and range increases with charge time, up to a certain point.
One change from Brawl is that an arrow will no longer exist until it hits the ground or goes offstage if I remember rightly, instead disappearing when it goes just under the vertical level at which it was fired.
Will travel the entirety of Battlefield and more when fully charged, but only goes about halfway at minimum charge.
The damage at minimum charge is 4% and at max charge it goes up to 12%, the endlag on the move is about the same as Brawl but you're no longer able to cancel it, it always plays the full animation.
Neutral Special 2 (Fire Arrows)
This variation is very similar to what I remember Young Link's neutral special working like in Melee, they fall drastically quicker, only travelling 1/3rd of Battlefield at full charge, but they stay in the ground for 2 seconds, damaging anyone who touches them.
The arrows do less damage whilst flying though, doing only 2% at minimum charge and 7% at maximum charge. They do 6% damage to anyone who touches them whilst they're on the ground, which isn't affected by charge time.
There's also a smoke effect on the arrow this time around that's similar to Toon Link's bombs, but the arrows don't actually have an explosive effect, it's purely visual.
Neutral Special 3 (Piercing Arrows)
This time the arrows fly completely straight and go through enemies and projectiles, they don't fly as far, only going the length of Battlefield at full charge, and they don't do as much damage (1% at minimum charge and 6% at max charge).
The move doesn't seem to be any faster than the default, though the arrows themselves are quicker, so I don't see much use for this move in 1v1s, the fact that it goes through projectiles might be of use to some people, but I'd stick with the first two honestly.
Side Special 1 (Boomerang)
http://i.imgur.com/51d4KDm.jpg
Toon Link's Boomerang does what you'd expect it to if you have any idea what a Boomerang is: you throw it, it comes back to you.
You can adjust the angle you throw it at by pressing up or down during the startup and it will bounce off of any floors on the way out, the Boomerang will come back to you whenever it reaches it's max range (which is 2/3rds Battlefield if you smash the stick, 1/2 if you don't) or if it hits someone.
On the way out, it will do 8% damage up close and 5% at it's max range and on the way in it will do 3% damage, the knockback is greater on the way out but it's still minor and will only kill at very high percents.
If it comes back to you and you're not in an attack animation, a grab animation will play that stops you from doing anything for half a second, so always try to use a quick aerial or a jab/tilt to skip this animation.
Also if the Boomerang doesn't come back to you, you won't be able to use the move again until it's left the stage, so watch out for that.
Side Special 2 (Slow Boomerang)
Link throws a slower moving Boomerang that will always do 4% damage, no matter when or where it hits. The knockback is similar to the default, though it might be slightly less.
The fact that it's slower moving means that it's easier to catch and that you can guide it around the stage somewhat, causing it to make large curves until it's been out for a certain amount of time and it will stop tracking and just continue on in it's current direction.
Another property this version has is that the boomerang will disappear if it hits someone on the way back, meaning you can instantly use the move again, so you can actually combo the move into itself in certain circumstances, though it's not exactly a useful or substantial aspect of the move.
Side Special 3 (Fast Boomerang)
Link throws a faster moving Boomerang that does 3% damage on the way out and 1% on the way in, instead of returning to you, it returns to the point at which it was thrown, meaning you can only catch it if you stay where you are or are on the exact same trajectory line as the boomerang. Knockback is similar to the default again.
Doesn't seem to be much else to this move, very similar to the Piercing Arrows, looks to be designed for FFA and doesn't really have much application in 1v1.
Up Special 1 (Spin Attack)
Toon Link charges his blade and then spins around, sucking people in for lots of hits on the ground or doing only a few hits when used in the air.
When used in the air, it can't be charged and hits 5 times, doing 14% total damage and decent knockback on the final hit.
If you use it on the ground, the move can be charged and is multi-hit, doing 12% total damage and decent knockback at minimum charged and 19% total damage with slightly better knockback at maximum charge.
As far as recoveries go, it's not the best, it'll take you to the top platform of Battlefield from the base platform, but it's nothing to write home about.
Neutral Special 2 (Hurricane Spin)
Somewhat based on the Hurricane Spin, from The Wind Waker, which allowed Link to move across the ground whilst using the Spin Attack, this is basically a horizontal variant of the default spin attack.
It loses the multi-hit when you use it on the ground and it takes longer to charge to max strength, but it will do 16% damage and increased knockback at full charge (10% uncharged, knockback is slightly lower). You'll also move about 1/3rd of the distance of Battlefield in the direction you were facing, but there's no way to control the movement.
Used in the air, it's still multi-hit but it's a bit harder to get all of them to connect, doing a total of 9-10% damage. It takes you further when used in the air, going over half the distance of Battlefield, but the vertical distance will only just get you on top of the two side platforms.
Neutral Special 3 (Rising Slash)
This variation basically changes the final hit on the default Spin Attack to a shoryuken of sorts, giving you super armour on the final hit and a nice vertical jump.
The move takes a similar amount of time to charge and it keeps the multi-hit both grounded and airborne, the uncharged grounded and the aerial version both do 14% damage and less knockback than the default Spin Attack and the fully charged does 22% and similar knockback.
When used as a recovery, it travels about the same distance as the default does, vertically, but there's no horizontal control whatsoever.
Down Special 1 (Bombs)
Toon Link plucks a Bomb out of his pocket, which can be thrown and explodes on contact for 4% damage, if you catch someone in the blast radius instead, it will do 6-8% damage.
The bombs have a 5 second fuse and will hurt you for the same amount as they hurt others, they can be grabbed by others and used against you and you can still drop them on a platform without having them explode by pressing the grab button in midair just above a platform.
They won't explode on contact with yourself anymore though, so you can't throw one then spin attack it to refresh your recovery.
Down Special 2 (Sturdy Bombs)
These Bombs are much sturdier and heavier, they'll no longer explode on contact meaning you can easily use them for stage control and they fall much quicker meaning you can't throw them as far.
They do a lot less damage though, only around 1-2% and the blast radius is about half the size, but what they lack in power, they make up for in knockback, having what seems like almost double the knockback of the regular bombs, being able to kill at the low, low percent of 225! Though regular bombs can't even kill at 300%, so I guess it's something!
The fuse length on these bombs is only around 3 seconds though, so you can't keep them on stage for as long as you might have wanted.
Down Special 3 (Short-Fuse Bombs)
In this variation, the fuse on the Bomb is much shorter, it will explode after only 1.5 seconds, so you have to be quick and not spend too much time thinking what you're going to do with it.
To make up for the short fuse, these Bombs have a blast radius that's twice as large and does 10-13% damage, the knockback is also the best of the three, being able to kill at 160%, though the knockback is purely vertical so it doesn't set up for edgeguards, which are important in this game.
The fact that they explode so quickly means that you can't carry it for a while and make people scared of the threat of the bomb, and if you get interrupted during the throw animation by a projectile, you're probably not going to have time to throw it before it explodes so it can be a very risky option.
And yes, the fact that these bombs explode quickly means that you can use them in conjunction with your spin attack to basically recover from anywhere more easily than with default bombs, though the increased knockback might make you think twice about it (Also, if you mistime it with the Rising Slash, the bomb will explode during you're super armour and you'll go into special fall, so watch out for that).
Final Thoughts
Bit more interesting that the last two, I think the default arrows are a good option but I'd need to play around with the Fire Arrows more, maybe combined with the Sturdy Bombs they'd give Toon Link some pretty good stage control options.
Recoveries are meh, the Rising Slash really isn't that good so I don't really bother with it, Hurricane Spin is pretty cool though, feels good to use.
Boomerang I'd just stick with the default, not enough significant changes to the others for me to care, although the Slow Boomerang is fun, the Fast Boomerang one seems pointless.
1211 or 2212 for me, I think.
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