Bow

Bow is a recurring weapon used by Link and his child counterpart, Young Link, in The Legend of Zelda series, also usable in the Super Smash Flash series.

Overview
When performed, Link and Young Link disarm themselves, take out their bow and arrow and aim it directly forward, firing it.

In Super Smash Flash
In the original Super Smash Flash, the Bow is 's and 's, which works similarly to its Super Smash Bros. counterparts, except Link and Young Link cannot charge the arrow, and it flies horizontally without falling. Both variants deal 3% of damage per frame. Young Link visually fires a Fire Arrow, much like he does in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but this is merely cosmetic as flame effects are not present in SSF; this said, there is virtually no difference between Link's and Young Link's Bow attacks.

In Super Smash Flash 2
For the reboot, Super Smash Flash 2, the attack has been renamed to Hero's Bow and it is now 's standard special move. The attack has been further expanded to match its mechanics from the official super Smash Bros. games: it can now be charged by holding the special move button to increase the distance and speed the arrow flies after releasing the button and the amount of damage and knockback that the arrow deals to opponents hit. When fired, the arrow quickly travels forward, falling as it flies. Uncharged, the arrow deals 7% damage and decent knockback to the opponent hit, while fully charged it deals 17% damage.

Bomb Arrow
Bomb Arrow is a new mechanic introduced in SSF2. If Link fires an arrow while holding a bomb, he will combine the two projectiles and fire the resulting Bomb Arrow, which has explosive flame results. However, it also does not travel as far a distance. Much like with regular arrows, the attack can also be charged for the same effects. Uncharged, the Bomb Arrow deals 16% damage and high knockback, while fully charged it deals 17% damage. Link can also fire an arrow into a bomb that has been previously thrown to create a Bomb Arrow, which deals more damage and knockback than a Bomb Arrow created with a held bomb. Uncharged, it deals 20% damage and high knockback, while fully charged it deals 23% damage.

The Bomb Arrow is more useful as a bomb, as the regular bomb can hurt Link and his teammates. It also deals more damage and knockback than the regular arrow or the bomb alone, making for an effective move to KO opponents with. However, the bomb can still explode and damage Link while he is charging the move.

Origin
The bow is one of Link's main weapons in The Legend of Zelda series, first appearing in its debut title. In each game a bow appears in, Link can fire arrows to attack enemies at a distance. However, Link has a limited amount of arrows he can use at one time. The bow used by Link and Young Link in the original SSF comes from the incarnation in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Fairy Bow. A bow under the name "Hero's Bow" first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask; however, the incarnation used by Link in SSF2 is based on its appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

In many games in the series, Link can also obtain and use magical variations of his arrows, including Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, and Light Arrows. Fire Arrows in particular appeared first in Ocarina of Time, where they are used for burning objects, setting torches ablaze, melting ice, and dealing more damage to enemies. However, using them also depletes Link's Magic Meter, so they must be used sparingly. In Ocarina of Time, they are optional weapons and as such are unnecessary for completion of the game, and only adult Link can acquire and fire them. However, Young Link uses them in Majora's Mask, where they are required for solving certain puzzles and thus are needed to complete those games.

Combining bombs with the bow to create explosive Bomb Arrows is a feature that first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, where the player has to equip bombs and the bow on the A and B buttons and press them at the same time, almost to perfect timing, to get the aforementioned Bomb Arrows, which immediately explode on contact. This feature would not appear again in another Zelda game until Twilight Princess, which directly allows the player to combine the bombs and the Hero's Bow as opposed to having to press two buttons at the same time. Bomb Arrows must be released from the Hero's Bow relatively quickly, as the bomb part will explode and damage Link if its fuse runs out. Much like in SSF2, a Bomb Arrow's trajectory will fall more quickly than that of an ordinary arrow due to the weight of the bomb on its tip.

Trivia

 * In SSF2, if tries to use Bomb Arrow with a thrown bomb after copying Hero's Bow from Link, the resulting Bomb Arrow will travel in the direction that Link is facing.