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Official Official LINK VIDEO Thread

Cherished Doll

Smash Master
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
3,226
Location
Fishman Island
YOU CAN START SENDING ME THE VIDEOS YOU WOULD LIKE POSTED ON THE FIRST PAGE.!
plz include the character and players name.!

thank you for your help!
 

cjugs

Smash Ace
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
521
Location
Where amazing happens
Sheman your link is getting so good I'm very impressed you have a tendency to put ur self in your shield and spot dodge when the opposing character is building moments this works maybe once in awhile but u need to start using moves that will stop the opposing players momento because that's where u are the weakest that smufy guy had the same problem against the fox I watched where he got four stocked he struggled with this same problem and stopping momentum and learning to slow down the opponent will take u from a good link to just a really good smasher

:phone:
 

Skler

Smash Master
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
4,514
Location
On top of Milktea
Since i'm almost guaranteed to get to Apex now (fund is close to goal), I'll do my best to get a bunch of videos up.

:phone:
 

Ripple

ᗣᗣᗣᗣ ᗧ·····•·····
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
9,632
I'll be following you around at apex skler. to take photos and nonsense
 

Skeith

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
177
Location
Pharr, TX
NNID
Skeith1
3DS FC
2019-9982-9908

Bigglestheman

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Messages
136
Decided to just make a huge list of matches I knew weren't on the list. Also arranged the characters they're playing against so it's easier to add them to the lists.


Link :linkmelee:
Skler vs Mango - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVLVFX7_LlA
Skler vs Spife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kbGATn5Pjg
Skler vs Spife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybTcxKbvMgE
Skler vs Spife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF8w2IjahRc
Skler vs Spife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dk5GzB-DtU
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXNYuhbJA5g
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZB4h1nevsI
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8z3L91ic8
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic7r51_4-NU

Marth :marthmelee:
Skler vs Alukard - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCn7HPwIr4I
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSWgqh5d8UI
Skler vs PC Chris - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX2_kGObik8
Skler vs Cactuar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqZMK74fM-0
Skler vs Cactuar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNHA6qEuO7Y
Germ vs Taj - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euq5EabmkXU

Falco :falcomelee:
Skler vs Alukard - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtw6CB9Z4LY
Skler vs Moci - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLt6Ip8Rg4w
Skler vs Moci - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSBGmUcMLz8
Skler vs Mogwai - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqjWu4RyzxI
Skler vs Mogwai - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaNd2YH2xWw
HDL vs Axe - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNSRWeMumaA
HDL vs Axe - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQX72cCR6Y
HDL vs Zhu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ96rNG7cuc
HDL vs Zhu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krqb7JJJHNg
Germ vs Zhu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7GVKXL4SwI
Germ vs Mango - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=widhKOlvaeE
Germ vs Mango - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om5xTf7b4YM

Fox :foxmelee:
Skler vs Lovage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwcRpsYFes
HDL vs UUAA - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvuV7aGtPMo
HDL vs Kels - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5kpL2WF4E
HDL vs Eggm - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kSLpePyzq4
HDL vs Eggm - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF0MuLc8uxg
Skler vs Cort - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISc5fKGc43g
Germ vs Tang - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS_MmuVisHo
Germ vs Tang - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CFjBDckKyg
Germ vs Lunin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhc_LCb6q_w
Skler vs Vent - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvtbPnAjrSk

C.Falcon :falconmelee:
Skler vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGGQ9hqt954
Skler vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciKyPMXwUKA
HDL vs Vish - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZABkCz03UGA
HDL vs SilentSpectre - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ3pLPmFyv4
Germ vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wPtAOc79I
Germ vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCuEJ-KOmIg
Germ vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK9IFM9mthU
Germ vs Scar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzpH8_xykRU
Germ vs SilentSpectre - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0uj0X8kgqw
Germ vs Lunin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw1LRnOh8nE

Sheik :sheikmelee:
HDL vs Plank - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OcY3NxCrHM
HDL vs Plank - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FM4O7BELz4
Germ vs Lucien - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxlWMmz99BE
Germ vs Lucien - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mReJU-Umxk
Germ vs Lucien - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BvfIdbUzZ8
Germ vs Shroomed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwRXUMaqAB8
Germ vs DarkAtma - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0eGWJ_yKqE

Pikachu :pikachumelee:
Skler vs N64 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6-Izng-LF8
Skler vs N64 (Pikachu) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2nxRko6ffk
Skler vs N64 (Pikachu) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XBgX3-xUno
HDL vs Axe (Pikachu) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iusS3Lb5Pw

Peach :peachmelee:
Skler vs Cort - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3skKID-daM
Skler vs Cort - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbxUQoqe2Pg
HDL vs Armada - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZcov97AY94
Germ vs Pink Shinobi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N5TRcR3ZtQ
Germ vs Pink Shinobi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KP-TXBpsmw
Germ vs Pink Shinobi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnspoY1s0aY

Dr. Mario:drmario:
HDL vs Boss - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PeBDootSe4
HDL vs Boss - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qECgym4m2I
Germ vs Shroomed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAy77GHWGSI

Samus :samusmelee:
Germ vs Hugs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7SM0uAP-IE
Germ vs HugS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr9NM8C3qJM

Game & Watch :gawmelee:
Skler vs Darc - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huUl2KPYYao
Skler vs Darc - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN66HxOd-Vs
Skler vs Darc - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OE9QNDoDl8
Skler vs Darc - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_GrtMigcfw

Mario :mariomelee:
Germ vs Shroomed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY5V4SASgMs


DK :dkmelee:
Germ vs Mexican - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ussFTX9WzU
Germ vs Mexican - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ga2Y2w54CE
Germ vs Mexican - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu6RIvDPRhA

Jigglypuff :jigglypuffmelee:
HDL vs Hungrybox - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ORNjJsuR4o

Ganondarf :ganondorfmelee:
Skler vs Vent - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phy12xg3zKU









Skler vs Mafia (Falcon, Peach) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=incesgXqtto
HDL vs Tect (Fox, Falco) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf1Oyx4j9XU
HDL vs. ihavespaceballs (Samus)/Lovage (Fox) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGHAfx3iIL4
Germ vs Falcomist (Marth/Falco) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltHolKri7EI






Link combo Videos:
Skler - It's a Long Shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNHiQ7EwJ8k
HDL - Symphony of Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OLvv6jO7HQ
Germ - The Hylian Nightmare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMWYcVrljmA
Germ/Aniki - Chain of Destiny - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26nrBmZJ4pY
 

SAUS

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
866
Location
Ottawa
First time on stream. Go figure it'd be in the major leagues (APEX). The nerves clearly got to me, but yeah, crtitque away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfZoOC2cqo
Right off the bat, you start throwing stuff at him. This is fine. The problem is that you don't move enough. With Link, if you jump while using the boomerang and pulling out bombs, you can keep yourself moving which makes it harder for him to get in on you.

At about 0:25, you get a grab and throw him onto the platform. This is an okay option, but also consider doing a down-throw for the tech chase. Up-throw doesn't knock down until a little higher damage. Up-tilt is not good if the opponent is shielding on the platform. Not many people can shield drop, but this player did, so he got a free hit on you. I think up-smash is much better for shield pressure when they are on a platform above you. The multi-hit and little end lag make it much safer. It will also combo better at lower damage.

At 0:35, you land a down-smash. At this damage, down-smash is basically off limits against fast-fallers. They will land before you are done the attack even if they don't crouch cancel it. You should focus on retreating fairs and jabs or just projectiles when he is at low damage.

I noticed you use a lot of forward-tilts. I don't think this move is very good for anything other than edge-guarding, and even then, it is sort of like a 'last option' since it is all you can do from the stage if they get for the sweet spot (which would be better stopped by stealing the edge).

A little after 1:05, you land a bomb and follow up with a dash attack. Dash attack is like down-smash. Don't do it until they are at least at around 40 damage, and even then, you should only do it if they can't crouch cancel it. Bomb into forward smash is probably the best thing Link has against spacies at low damage. It deals almost 40 damage which puts the opponent at the danger zone where your down-smash can start knocking them down.

1:11, you get the up-tilt and then try to follow up with a down-air. fox is only at 38 damage, so this will not get you very much other than the 18 damage. Link's best move, imo, is his up-air. It is amazing for comboing space animals and can be used to juggle pretty much every character in the game. It may not have connected in this case, but it is definitely the better follow up to your up-tilt.

A little later, you land another up-tilt. I think you could have got a dash attack or down-smash to extend the combo, but you didn't follow fast enough. He misses the tech, and you punish with a forward-tilt. It kind of makes me feel like you tried to do a dash attack, but got a walk instead of a run, but I'm not sure. Either way, if they miss this tech, you should down-smash or up-tilt. Up-tilt is hard to do when reacting to a missed tech, so go for the down-smash. Fox is at the damage where it will pop him up and allow for some comboing. You could then follow that up with up-tilts or up-airs and then maybe get a tech chase scenario on a platform.

After that f-tilt, you try to chase him with a boomerang. This is a very good option, and it is actually spaced perfectly. Basically, the boomerang covers the roll away, and stand up on spot, and you cover the roll towards. The problem is that you used another forward-tilt instead of a faster move. Again, down-smash would have worked here. It hits much faster than a forward-tilt.

After you get that stock, you start to move around a little more and the value shows. The fox has a hard time getting anything. A little more control with your movement and better placement of bombs and I think you could have walled him out very well. Keep in mind that dropping bombs is amazing against players that just run at you the whole game - like fox.

At around 1:50, you get something started again. You dash attack, but he is, again, too low on damage for it to be good. It works out for you and you land an up-tilt. You up-tilt again, but he could have teched away. He misses the tech, so it lands. I think if you did a turn-around down-smash, it would have combod, but it's hard to tell. Anyway, after the second up-tilt, you up-b. This is not a good plan. It will not kill him because his damage is way too low. you should go for more up-tilts or a dash attack if he goes too far.
Look at it like this:
- up-tilt lands
- if he is close enough and you have time, up-tilt again
- if he is close but will land soon, down-smash
- if he gets a little far away, dash attack

This will allow you to get good mid-percent combos so that fox will be at a more dangerous percent. You can follow up with up-airs or some sort of tech chase when they get away.

He gets back and does an invincible waveland. You throw out another forward-tilt and he upsmashes you. I don't really like the use of forward-tilt here or really against fox at all. It is slow and doesn't combo into anything.

Against fox, you want to get him to high enough damage so that your down-smash can get him into the air. Then, with good spacing, and baiting, and trapping with projectiles, you can get a good combo on him with up-airs and tech chases - mostly with dash attack and grab and sometimes a projectile. Link has very good kill setups with his grab and dash attack. Against spacies, up-throw, full hop down air works if you throw when they are at about 95-100 damage, and at about 120 damage, you can down-throw into up-b. Dash attack gives you a lot of kill options because it pops them into the perfect spot for a dair or fair and sometimes even an up-b.

At lower damage, retreating forward-air, spaced jabs, and retreating with projectiles are the best way to wrack up damage. It is important to note how the fox plays and to adapt your strategy to match theirs. Sometimes, it is best to not use many projectiles because the fox is too fast and aggressive. In this case, use lots of jabs and forwards airs. Spacing is important. If he starts backing off and try to bait out moves, pull back and get out some projectiles. Punish them for staying back too much. It's hard to pull off, but I think this is what makes a good Link - the ability to switch between range spam and spaced melee attacks at will and at the right time.

I didn't comment on the two first deaths because I think it's obvious what went wrong and it was most likely nerves. It also may have affected the rest of your game, so some of the stuff you did may not be completely fair to judge.

I hope this helps!
 
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Corona

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Messages
139
Location
Massachusetts
Firstly, I want to thank you for taking the time to provide such an in depth analysis. I really do appreciate it.

Right off the bat, you start throwing stuff at him. This is fine. The problem is that you don't move enough. With Link, if you jump while using the boomerang and pulling out bombs, you can keep yourself moving which makes it harder for him to get in on you.
Absolutely, could not agree more. I am a very projectile-happy player, and I usually have a lot more movement as I always try to get a bomb in my hands whenever possible.

At about 0:25, you get a grab and throw him onto the platform. This is an okay option, but also consider doing a down-throw for the tech chase. Up-throw doesn't knock down until a little higher damage. Up-tilt is not good if the opponent is shielding on the platform. Not many people can shield drop, but this player did, so he got a free hit on you. I think up-smash is much better for shield pressure when they are on a platform above you. The multi-hit and little end lag make it much safer. It will also combo better at lower damage..
As you said, not many players shield drop. I had no idea who DarkAtma was. I usually go for low risk options whenever possible. Put all of this together, and you have a person who throws out moves occasionally that seem random but that at the same time are risk-free and have a chance of connecting. Trapping an opponent with repetitive U tilts on a platform (as I do later on) is almost an automatic reaction for me when I have the chance. I paid for it but lesson definitely learned.

At 0:35, you land a down-smash. At this damage, down-smash is basically off limits against fast-fallers. They will land before you are done the attack even if they don't crouch cancel it. You should focus on retreating fairs and jabs or just projectiles when he is at low damage.
DarkAtma was too good for the amateur antics I was trying to pull here. A lesser fox in the same position would of gotten hit by another down smash after the first one.

I noticed you use a lot of forward-tilts. I don't think this move is very good for anything other than edge-guarding, and even then, it is sort of like a 'last option' since it is all you can do from the stage if they get for the sweet spot (which would be better stopped by stealing the edge).
This is where I beg to differ. The F tilt is very underrated imo. It is slow, and it needs a hard read to work right. However, with Link or any other low tier, you need hard reads. The hitbox over his head works well against short hop approaches as it trades worst case scenario (see :38). If I know the will stay right it front of me, the F smash is definitely the right idea. F tilt just covers more space.

A little after 1:05, you land a bomb and follow up with a dash attack. Dash attack is like down-smash. Don't do it until they are at least at around 40 damage, and even then, you should only do it if they can't crouch cancel it. Bomb into forward smash is probably the best thing Link has against spacies at low damage. It deals almost 40 damage which puts the opponent at the danger zone where your down-smash can start knocking them down.
Dash follow-ups to bomb hit confirms is another automatic reaction I tend to have. Duly noted.

1:11, you get the up-tilt and then try to follow up with a down-air. fox is only at 38 damage, so this will not get you very much other than the 18 damage. Link's best move, imo, is his up-air. It is amazing for comboing space animals and can be used to juggle pretty much every character in the game. It may not have connected in this case, but it is definitely the better follow up to your up-tilt.
The Dair that another hard read that proved to be low risk. I thought he would try to slip behind my U tilt range (as I tried to make him think I would just sit there U tilting forever), and I wanted to hit him with something with enough knockback upwards that I can continue to have follow up options. The Uairs would have ensued had I got him up to the top platform.

A little later, you land another up-tilt. I think you could have got a dash attack or down-smash to extend the combo, but you didn't follow fast enough. He misses the tech, and you punish with a forward-tilt. It kind of makes me feel like you tried to do a dash attack, but got a walk instead of a run, but I'm not sure. Either way, if they miss this tech, you should down-smash or up-tilt. Up-tilt is hard to do when reacting to a missed tech, so go for the down-smash. Fox is at the damage where it will pop him up and allow for some comboing. You could then follow that up with up-tilts or up-airs and then maybe get a tech chase scenario on a platform.
This is a spot where I like to F tilt. It got him far enough away where I could attempt that boomerang followup I tried there for free. I know a dash or d smash would have possibly continued the combo, but I was searching for a sure thing at this point.

After that f-tilt, you try to chase him with a boomerang. This is a very good option, and it is actually spaced perfectly. Basically, the boomerang covers the roll away, and stand up on spot, and you cover the roll towards. The problem is that you used another forward-tilt instead of a faster move. Again, down-smash would have worked here. It hits much faster than a forward-tilt.
I whiffed on the rang. It did not come back it time. A split second later, I would have gotten away with it.

After you get that stock, you start to move around a little more and the value shows. The fox has a hard time getting anything. A little more control with your movement and better placement of bombs and I think you could have walled him out very well. Keep in mind that dropping bombs is amazing against players that just run at you the whole game - like fox.
Bomb dropping was actually what I started tinkering around with after Apex. Go figure.

At around 1:50, you get something started again. You dash attack, but he is, again, too low on damage for it to be good. It works out for you and you land an up-tilt. You up-tilt again, but he could have teched away. He misses the tech, so it lands. I think if you did a turn-around down-smash, it would have combod, but it's hard to tell. Anyway, after the second up-tilt, you up-b. This is not a good plan. It will not kill him because his damage is way too low. you should go for more up-tilts or a dash attack if he goes too far.
Look at it like this:
- up-tilt lands
- if he is close enough and you have time, up-tilt again
- if he is close but will land soon, down-smash
- if he gets a little far away, dash attack

This will allow you to get good mid-percent combos so that fox will be at a more dangerous percent. You can follow up with up-airs or some sort of tech chase when they get away.
I hear you on that. At this point in the match, I should have been going for longer combos like you mentioned. I, however, make absolutely no apologizes for the U tilt, U tilt, Up B combo I did there. I wanted that Fox out of my space ASAP, and I do knock him off stage which is great.
 
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SAUS

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
866
Location
Ottawa
Firstly, I want to thank you for taking the time to provide such an in depth analysis. I really do appreciate it.
No problem! I think Link players need to unite a little more and share as much knowledge as possible. I really think Link could be a mid-tier character if people knew how to play him, but there are not enough videos of Link players for anyone to really learn. On top of that, basically everyone you ask would just tell you to switch mains.

I hear you on that. At this point in the match, I should have been going for longer combos like you mentioned. I, however, make absolutely no apologizes for the U tilt, U tilt, Up B combo I did there. I wanted that Fox out of my space ASAP, and I do knock him off stage which is great.
I still think it's better to keep the combo going. You knocked him off stage and got him out of your space, but that seems to me like you were sort of in a panic mode or you were playing scared. Link can 0-death fox or at least wrack on damage until he's 100+ without doing anything super crazy, and I think that would have been worth more. When fox is at 100+ damage, you can throw out nairs to knock him off stage and then go for an edge-guard from there.

This is where I beg to differ. The F tilt is very underrated imo. It is slow, and it needs a hard read to work right. However, with Link or any other low tier, you need hard reads. The hitbox over his head works well against short hop approaches as it trades worst case scenario (see :38). If I know the will stay right it front of me, the F smash is definitely the right idea. F tilt just covers more space.
I think up-tilt covers the same options, but it hits faster and it leaves the opponent in a spot that is much easier to combo from. I will admit that I haven't experimented much with the f-tilt, so maybe you know things I don't know about it. I just never find myself feeling like it's a good option except for when you are edge-guarding.

Here's a video of me playing last night. It was just a small local tourney with $2 entry. This is winner's finals. I got to grand finals later, but a bunch of people had to leave including the guy with the recording equipment and the guy who beat me in this match (so there was no grand finals).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SYTzcBwbrL0
EDIT:
I noticed I flubbed a bunch of edge guards which makes me sad. There were two instances where I did get-up from ledge so that I could punish his up-b, but I got up too early and then got hit by the fire. I will have to time that better for sure. There was also two points where I tried to take the edge but was too slow on it. I also didn't realise how close I was to winning game 2. So sad. I will get him next time though :p

I also wanted to show a video of me vs fox so you can see how I combo him. I played in a crew battle around a month ago (again, small local event, this time nothing on the line other than pride).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WrLOyTfxP4
I start playing just after 21:45.
 
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SAUS

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
866
Location
Ottawa
Got some more matches recorded at a tourney last saturday. I placed 2nd! :D

Me against Kage (he went Falco, CF, and Ganon in the first set, and Marth and Ganon in the second set):
WF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04VsvjAc8w
GF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7QRhPfq94

Me against Loki (Kage's disciple - a Ganon player):
WS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo4_Bl-dokM
LF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM--OUgPR0M

Me against Peach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2NV0n_n-I

Any tips or comments on any matches would be appreciated!
 

Corona

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Messages
139
Location
Massachusetts
Got some more matches recorded at a tourney last saturday. I placed 2nd! :D

Me against Kage (he went Falco, CF, and Ganon in the first set, and Marth and Ganon in the second set):
WF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04VsvjAc8w
GF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7QRhPfq94

Me against Loki (Kage's disciple - a Ganon player):
WS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo4_Bl-dokM
LF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM--OUgPR0M

Me against Peach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2NV0n_n-I

Any tips or comments on any matches would be appreciated!
First off, I want to say congratulations on making it to GF. That is no small accomplishment. I personally took particular interest in the Loki matchup. I MM'd Kage at one point and he told me lots of Link players play him like I did, so his knowledge of the matchup is probably amongst the best. I had a few note, but overall, you had him fairly handily.

I noticed in the last match especially, but in others as well, you throw out a seemingly random hookshot airs at very in opportune times (7:41, 8:19, etc). I noticed that they were OOS, so they may have been tech errors, but they happened too often.

I noticed that you got into a very interesting spot at 4:50. You secure a down throw, and I assume you were trying to punish a left roll or stand up with the UpB, but he instead rolls right. It leads to you going off stage and eventually getting killed at very low percent. The issue here is that you took the very predictable route of double jumping to the ledge. When in this spot, especially against a Ganon/Falcon not on a platform, I tend to jump under the ledge, UpB so that my head is hitting the ledge, and move left so I sweet spot the ledge. I picked this up from an InternetExplorer video, though I couldn't for the life of me find an example of it.

You have a very good game going on here on this particular matchup. I will look into the Kage match later.
 

SAUS

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First off, I want to say congratulations on making it to GF. That is no small accomplishment. I personally took particular interest in the Loki matchup. I MM'd Kage at one point and he told me lots of Link players play him like I did, so his knowledge of the matchup is probably amongst the best. I had a few note, but overall, you had him fairly handily.
Thanks! And also thank you for replying :D

I noticed in the last match especially, but in others as well, you throw out a seemingly random hookshot airs at very in opportune times (7:41, 8:19, etc). I noticed that they were OOS, so they may have been tech errors, but they happened too often.
The random hookshots in the air are from me failing at catching my bombs lol. I think the problem is that I can catch them when I look at the bombs, but if I am paying more attention to my opponent, I tend to miss them :( I definitely need to practice that a bunch.

I noticed that you got into a very interesting spot at 4:50. You secure a down throw, and I assume you were trying to punish a left roll or stand up with the UpB, but he instead rolls right. It leads to you going off stage and eventually getting killed at very low percent. The issue here is that you took the very predictable route of double jumping to the ledge. When in this spot, especially against a Ganon/Falcon not on a platform, I tend to jump under the ledge, UpB so that my head is hitting the ledge, and move left so I sweet spot the ledge. I picked this up from an InternetExplorer video, though I couldn't for the life of me find an example of it.
That up-b miss was actually the result of this weird thing that happens when you d-throw at the edge with Link. I don't know if it happens to other character's but if you are facing towards the center stage with Link and do a d-throw, the enemy doesn't go nearly as high. I am pretty sure d-throw -> up-b should work at that percent, I just needed to account for that weird throw stuff.

You can try it yourself by rolling towards the edge and then doing a d-throw on a character that you know the height they go to normally from the d-throw. You can do it in training and then reset the damage and do it in the middle of the stage or something.

You have a very good game going on here on this particular matchup. I will look into the Kage match later.
Thanks :) I think Link is pretty good against Ganon. It's too bad there were no spacies in the higher parts of the bracket... Kage kind of kicked my butt lol but the matches were totally winnable at a lot of points, so I'm pretty happy with the performance (minus the tech flubs).
 

RedmanSSBM

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SAUS just wanted to say that your set vs. Loki was entertaining as ****. I hope to play you someday :)

Also, were you not at Get on my Level or something? I was hoping to see you there.
 

SAUS

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SAUS just wanted to say that your set vs. Loki was entertaining as ****. I hope to play you someday :)

Also, were you not at Get on my Level or something? I was hoping to see you there.
The sets against Loki were indeed awesome :D There was a lot of yelling and chanting but the recording equipment only took what came out of the TV lol so no epic crowd hype for the video.

I was indeed there :) got 0 stream time though :( so I have nothing to show. I placed 25th and there were 238 melee singles entrants, so I'm pretty happy with that. I guess you were there as well? It was so crowded and not a lot of people knew me, so it might have been a little hard to find me. I am not too well-known except with the old-school players near where I live (mostly Montreal).
 

Stutterfoot

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Hello SAUS, I'm a link main from Alberta. I've been playing for about a year competitively. Your games against Loki and Kage were very entertaining and eye opening to watch. I particularily enjoyed your use of uptilt after you land a bair or nair on shield, mostly when you land behind them. I've had trouble finding good link players to watch and learn from and I'm very glad to have found out about you. I plan on watching more of your matches later to learn more about how you handle various matchups. I will post video footage of myself playing soon, if you would be inclined to give me some pointers that would be greatly appreciated!

I have a question for you though... I noticed that you can apparently "hax dash" with link. I've been trying to get it to work for me for a couple of days and I was wondering if you could describe the input you use when performing it. I'm under the impression that a fast fall is necessary, and I'm not able to get it without flying past the ledge. Unless I hold in to the ledge after the dash, I miss it entirely so I'm not sure when to input the fastfall!
 

SAUS

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Hello SAUS, I'm a link main from Alberta. I've been playing for about a year competitively. Your games against Loki and Kage were very entertaining and eye opening to watch. I particularily enjoyed your use of uptilt after you land a bair or nair on shield, mostly when you land behind them. I've had trouble finding good link players to watch and learn from and I'm very glad to have found out about you. I plan on watching more of your matches later to learn more about how you handle various matchups. I will post video footage of myself playing soon, if you would be inclined to give me some pointers that would be greatly appreciated!

I have a question for you though... I noticed that you can apparently "hax dash" with link. I've been trying to get it to work for me for a couple of days and I was wondering if you could describe the input you use when performing it. I'm under the impression that a fast fall is necessary, and I'm not able to get it without flying past the ledge. Unless I hold in to the ledge after the dash, I miss it entirely so I'm not sure when to input the fastfall!
I'd love to analyze your videos :) I will also add videos here as I get them recorded.

You can indeed hax dash with Link. The input sequence is as follows:
- You grab the ledge (recovering or whatever).
- Tap away or down to let go of the edge. ***It's important to do this quickly - you get half a second of invincibility as soon as you grab the ledge, so to keep it, you have to let go as soon as you can.
- Move the stick inwards (toward the stages)
- Use your double jump. ***At this point, you've just done a regular edge-hop and you can do whatever air attack you feel like.
- When Link is a decent distance onto the stage, hold the stick down and away and air dodge (waveland backwards off the stage).
- As soon as Link is off the stage, fast fall. ***The important thing here is that you let go of down right away. You cannot grab the edge if you hold down, even if you don't fast fall.

In order to be fully invincible, you definitely need the fast fall at the end. You most likely miss the edge because you are still holding down after the fast fall. I hope that helps :D
 

RedmanSSBM

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The sets against Loki were indeed awesome :D There was a lot of yelling and chanting but the recording equipment only took what came out of the TV lol so no epic crowd hype for the video.

I was indeed there :) got 0 stream time though :( so I have nothing to show. I placed 25th and there were 238 melee singles entrants, so I'm pretty happy with that. I guess you were there as well? It was so crowded and not a lot of people knew me, so it might have been a little hard to find me. I am not too well-known except with the old-school players near where I live (mostly Montreal).
Haha I wish I was there, I'm nowhere near Canada though, I reside in Charlotte, NC. What are some of the tournaments you plan on going to? I know I'm going to CEO this summer.
 

SAUS

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Haha I wish I was there, I'm nowhere near Canada though, I reside in Charlotte, NC. What are some of the tournaments you plan on going to? I know I'm going to CEO this summer.
I'm not sure which tourneys I'm going to go to. I kind of wanted to go to Evo, but I haven't confirmed anything yet - I should really start looking at doing that and making sure my passport is good to go and stuff. I definitely want to go to Apex 2015, but that's quite a while from now. And damn checked google maps and you are very far from me lol. It'd be like a whole day driving each way.
 

RedmanSSBM

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I'm not sure which tourneys I'm going to go to. I kind of wanted to go to Evo, but I haven't confirmed anything yet - I should really start looking at doing that and making sure my passport is good to go and stuff. I definitely want to go to Apex 2015, but that's quite a while from now. And damn checked google maps and you are very far from me lol. It'd be like a whole day driving each way.
You would probably have to fly :p

Also, just out of curiosity, if you got 25th at GomL, how did you do in pools and how was your run through the bracket? Who was your easiest matchup, your hardest matchup, and your most unexpected matchup?

Seeing you being a Link main and getting 25th surely is nothing to scoff at, I'm just wondering how you got there. I only imagine you've been playing Link much longer than I have haha.
 

SAUS

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You would probably have to fly :p

Also, just out of curiosity, if you got 25th at GomL, how did you do in pools and how was your run through the bracket? Who was your easiest matchup, your hardest matchup, and your most unexpected matchup?

Seeing you being a Link main and getting 25th surely is nothing to scoff at, I'm just wondering how you got there. I only imagine you've been playing Link much longer than I have haha.
I first started playing in 2006. I played until Brawl came out (somewhere in 2008). In total, I played for about 2 years during that time. I've always mained Link. I played Brawl for about 1 year and then started getting bored. I played a bunch of other games in between then and when I started playing melee again, but nothing as seriously. A close friend of mine moved back to my city and I found out there were smash fests that he was attending, and I was immediately hyped. Then I watched the documentary and damn that brings back so many memories and good times. So ya, it was about November 2013 that I started playing again. In total, I've played for ~2.5 years as Link. I think my 1 year in Brawl and 1 year in BlazBlue (which I played after Brawl) made me better at the game.

As for GOML:
Pool:
I was lucky that they gave me second seed for my pool. Someone must have told them, because not many people know me :p
Anyway, first seed in the pool was 13th on the PR for Ontario (the province I live in, but I haven't been to many tourneys until recently so I'm not on there).
The pool was pretty easy - it was bracket pools because of the amount of entrants - first round was a marth that f-smashed too much. He obviously wasn't experienced. I 3- and 4-stocked him.
Next match was a peach (imo Link's best matchup in the top 8). I don't know how good he was but he clearly couldn't handle Link, so I 3-stocked him both games.
Next match was #1 seed, Kason Birdman. He plays fox and a bit of Link in friendlies. I 2- and 3-stocked him so I got out of pools with 1st seed for bracket.

Bracket:
Round 1: My opponent wasn't there, so no games.
Round 2: M2K. Surprisingly, he beat me (lol jk :p). I actually got 2 stocks off of his shiek each game so I was quite happy.
Round 3: Vrud (a Ness player from Montreal). I beat him 2-0. He's a really good ness though :p
Round 4: Tian. I think he is the guy that lost the $1000 money-match? Anyway, I lost the set 1-2. I think the set could have gone either way, but I just didn't pull through.

Easiest Matchup:
- Peach

Hardest Matchups:
- Shiek
- Captain Falcon

Nothing unexpected because I knew the Ness player :p I had played him 1 week before at a local monthly (Montreal is a 2-hour drive from my city).

I think the Shiek matchup is not that bad, but I think I still need a lot of work in it. I find I make a lot of bad judgements and then get caught by surprise when my things don't work. It'll come from more practice. There is finally a Shiek in my city to play against :p
 

RedmanSSBM

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Sounds like you've had the good Link experience. It also sounded like your pool wasn't really that difficult if you ended up 3 stocking people for the most part. It's never fun knowing you have to play M2K in tournament, there's been many cases where I play against someone really good in bracket round 1 cause I'm not that great and seeding and yeah. I like Vrud, he's a cool Ness player, I didn't meet him, but I saw him play in person at Apex. It's always the Sheiks eh? Well, I mean M2K is no slouch, and neither is Tian, but I can only assume Tian got some grabs on you as well as some edgeguards that lead to it ending. That would have been a real nice upset if you did beat him though.

For Sheik, I think trying to camp her out is the safest option. not letting her get near you is top priority, and getting knocked off the edge means that Sheik just has to needle you a few times and that's it. Personally, I wouldn't play Link vs. a good Sheik just cause of how bad the matchup is. I'd much rather play Ganon or even a Sheik ditto.
 

SAUS

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Sounds like you've had the good Link experience. It also sounded like your pool wasn't really that difficult if you ended up 3 stocking people for the most part. It's never fun knowing you have to play M2K in tournament, there's been many cases where I play against someone really good in bracket round 1 cause I'm not that great and seeding and yeah. I like Vrud, he's a cool Ness player, I didn't meet him, but I saw him play in person at Apex. It's always the Sheiks eh? Well, I mean M2K is no slouch, and neither is Tian, but I can only assume Tian got some grabs on you as well as some edgeguards that lead to it ending. That would have been a real nice upset if you did beat him though.

For Sheik, I think trying to camp her out is the safest option. not letting her get near you is top priority, and getting knocked off the edge means that Sheik just has to needle you a few times and that's it. Personally, I wouldn't play Link vs. a good Sheik just cause of how bad the matchup is. I'd much rather play Ganon or even a Sheik ditto.
My pool was definitely easy. I think the majority of players are not a problem for me, so it was just #1 seed (and possibly #2 seed if I was not seeded) that would have given me trouble, and in this case they didn't (#1 seed could have easily been M2K or HBox or Mango which are all basically auto-lose for me). Considering there were 32 pools and I placed in top 32, I probably should have been a #1 seed anyway.

I don't even find that much that it is Shiek, it is more that I am not as good as I want to be at the matchup and some players are just better than me. M2K is obviously better than me but Tian is much closer to my level. The thing is, chain grabs are painful, but they don't auto-kill you. Needles are painful for Link's recovery, but they are painful for everyone's recovery. While a chain grab will easily do 50+ damage and put you off stage, Link's combos can easily do 50+ damage and put Shiek off stage as well. It all comes down to making good decisions in the neutral game.

Against Tian, I got chain grabbed only two or three times. My problem was that I made bad judgement calls on things like I thought I could shield grab a move that I couldn't or that I wasn't close enough to get hit by her fair. I did camp, but I find if I camp too hard, I lose my groove and it makes me play worse. I was definitely playing scared last stock, last game, so I got destroyed at the end. I also dropped some easy combos towards the end (jump-cancel up-smash instead of full-hop up-air - I did that twice in the last game which is really bad on my part).

If I played a different character against Shiek, I'd go falco or fox. I might try it next time - maybe for the stage they counterpick to.
 
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