The Legend of Zelda (universe)

The Legend of Zelda universe refers to the Smash Flash. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from Nintendo's long-running and famous Legend of Zelda game series. It is a series of fantasy adventure titles produced by Nintendo throughout the company's history. It is widely considered one of the most influential video game franchises ever created, and has earned a spot as one of the company's flagship franchises alongside such notable series as Mario and Metroid. It has had over a dozen official titles which together have sold 47 million units, making it the 7th best-selling video game series ever.

Franchise description
As a young boy, Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto explored the hillsides and forests surrounding his home of Kyoto, Japan. One day, he found a cave entrance in the middle of the woods, and he explored its depths with the aid of a lantern. Miyamoto, after having created and established the successful Mario franchise for Nintendo later on, designed and released The Legend of Zelda for the NES in 1986, and the vivid memory of his past experience was clearly an influence on the game: cave and dungeon exploration was a major element in the game. For its time, The Legend of Zelda was quite advanced, featuring an open-ended game world to explore at one's leisure, puzzle-and-monster-filled dungeons to complete with dozens of pieces of equipment such as bombs, boomerangs, and a bow and arrow, and the cartridge's ability to save progress via battery-backed memory. The game was wildly popular in Japan and North America, and many consider it one of the most important video games ever made, because like Super Mario Bros. before it, The Legend of Zelda broke new ground into what a video game can be.

Zelda was made into a full Nintendo franchise in the years afterward with the release of several follow-ups: 1988's radical action-RPG departure Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, 1992's SNES entry The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (an especially highly-revered game by the press), and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. After another hiatus, the series made the transition to 3D on the Nintendo 64 in November 1998's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and it is lauded as one of the finest adventure games ever developed. With a new, more realistic design for the characters, a giant game world with a darker, more narrative mood imparted onto the experience, and a lock-on-based 3D combat system that would serve as a model for 3D game design forever afterward, Ocarina of Time became one of the most notable games in both the series and the game industry in general. It is because of this that the characters and properties from Ocarina of Time are featured in Super Smash Bros., and its direct sequel, 2000's The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, is featured as well in Super Smash Bros. Melee. This makes the stance of this series in the fangame based on this last one Super Smash Flash.

After Melee, the Zelda franchise went into a radical new direction in art style for the 2003 GameCube release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, featuring cel-shaded graphics and a very different cartoon-like incarnation of Link that would later be referred to as "Windwaker Link" to differentiate from "Ocarina Link". Fans were shocked initially but accepted the new style in good grace with the game's release. Since then the style has been continued in new releases such as The Minish Cap for GBA, Four Swords Adventures for the GameCube, and official Wind Waker continuation The Phantom Hourglass for DS. However, the franchise's Wii launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, went back to a more realistic character and world design independent of the other games, featuring yet another Link redesign. With a lengthy development time, Twilight Princess was met with very glowing reviews and is considered perhaps the best Zelda experience yet. Partially as a result of this, the "Twilight Princess Link" is the incarnation of Link that features as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the it's based fangame, sequel of Super Smash Flash, Super Smash Flash 2.

Generally, each game in The Legend of Zelda series is a fantasy-adventure game with action and puzzle-solving elements. The player controls either a boy or young man named Link, garbed in green clothing and possessing some of the physical characteristics of an elf, and in many Zelda games Link is called upon (by divine forces at times) to rescue Princess Zelda and the fictional world of Hyrule from (usually) the series antagonist, a demon named Ganon (or alternatively an imposing man whose name is extended as Ganondorf). The action often involves a divine relic known as the Triforce, a set of three magically bound golden triangles of great power. One aspect of the franchise to make it notable, however, is that not many of the games in the series seem to share a chronology and continuity, and some games may not even take place in the same reality as other games in the series. In a sense, there are many different Links and Zelda's (But Ganon is always the same person) found in the franchise, with different sets of these characters being associated with different games in the franchise.

There are various sub-chronologies of the Zelda games that can be pieced together, however, to form the various dimensions of the Zelda franchise. It's likely that The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link are part of the same chronology, and it's possible that A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening are part of another dimension's chronology as well. A far better-known and expansive chronology, however, is the one that begins with Ocarina of Time, featuring a young Link that can shift guises into a 7-years-older teenage Link, a Zelda that uses magic to change her appearance and identity into a stealthy ninja named Sheik to assist Link, and Ganon in his incarnation as a powerful human warlock named Ganondorf. These are the five character appearances that are featured as separate playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and it is the teenage Link from this dimension that is playable in the original Smash Bros. as well. This chronology is continued in both Twilight Princess and in Wind Waker, which take place in alternate dimensions. After Link defeats Ganon and saves Zelda in Ocarina of Time, Zelda offers to give back the 7 years he lost while his body matured in the Temple of Time so he could wield the Master Sword and become the Hero of Time. When she sends him back in time, she inadvertently creates a time paradox with two alternate dimensions. In the time line where Link did not go back 7 years, Ganon once again escaped death and began to again take over Hyrule. When no hero appeared to save them- possibly referring to the Majora's Mask game, where Link traveled to an alternate world-, the 3 goddesses flooded all of Hyrule, allowing the events in Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass to take place hundreds of years in the future. In the alternate world where Link was returned to childhood, he again meets Zelda as a child. But this time, powerful beings known as Sages know what will take place, and arrest Ganondorf and banish him to the Twilight Realm. Over a hundred years later, Ganon again begins to exert his influence over Hyrule, and the events in Twilight Princess occur.

In Super Smash Flash
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the thematic used in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee to represent the Zelda universe, so it was obvious this would be used for Super Smash Flash.

Character

 * Link: A teenage sword-and-shield fighter with elven ears, a green tunic, and a long floppy cap, the Link from Ocarina of Time was formerly a young boy from a forest but was divinely chosen to oppress the future rule of Ganondorf by being transported seven years into the future, where he became a brave, capable warrior in his older form and wielded the Master Sword along with the Triforce piece of Courage and was assisted by Princess Zelda in the form of the mysterious Sheik to combat Ganondorf. Link is never heard speaking throughout the games, he is only heard grunting and yelling in his many battles. He fights in SSF with his various tools from Ocarina of Time.
 * Zelda: Zelda is unique in that she is the only character in The Legend of Zelda universe who can be replaced by another character in the mid of the battle, the nimble Sheik, so she is two characters in one. In Ocarina of Time, she and Young Link met as kids and Link went off on his journey, but Link was sealed away in the Temple of Time right as Zelda's nurse, Impa, fled Hyrule Castle and right before Ganondorf took over Hyrule. Seven years later, she assists the older Link under the alias Sheik, but later in the game, she reveals her true identity to Link, and Ganondorf immediately kidnaps her and enslaves her in his castle, and it is up to Link to save her and the rest of the world. As a fighter, Zelda strikes strong but not all that fast. Players often prefer to fight as her quicker counterpart Sheik.
 * Sheik: Sheik is the alter-ego to the slower and heavier Zelda, so she is two characters in one. In Ocarina of Time, Zelda must flee from Hyrule Castle as Ganondorf conquers it, and after seven years, Link returns, so Zelda uses her magic to alter her physical appearance and attire to conceal her identity, taking on a variant of the name of the Sheikah tribe. As Sheik, she explains to Link what happened to Hyrule during his absence and assists him in his journey to bring down Ganondorf by teaching him melodies for his Ocarina of Time that allow Link to teleport across Hyrule at will. Later in the game, Zelda decides to reveal her true identity to Link. Sheik is not selectable from the character select screen and can only be accessed by transforming from Zelda.


 * Young Link: A unlockable fighter that functions as a clone of Link. The Hero of Time starts out in Ocarina of Time as a young boy living in a forest settlement with a race of child-like men called the Kokiri, but he is a Hylian and is fated to embark on an epic journey across the land of Hyrule in a quest to defeat Ganondorf, who plans to take over Hyrule. Though brave, Young link is ultimately too young to be the Hero of Time worthy of wielding the Master Sword, so when he draws the Master Sword out of its pedestal in the Temple of Time, he is sealed away for seven years, to return as an older Link to a world where Ganondorf reigns supreme. As a fighter, Young Link is expectedly less strong and resilient than Link, but with added strength in some of his other moves.

Stages
Like most other franchises in SSF (except for Mario and SSB franchises, both have two), there is one Zelda-themed stage featured:
 * Hyrule Temple: Also known as Hyrule Wasteland, this stage is a customization like Peach's Castle and Emerald Hill Zone that never has appeared in any of the original Super Smash Bros.; it consist of a vast rock platform with several pillars holding other thin platforms. Also it appears in the forth and seventh level of the Classic Mode and theAdventure Mode respectively.

Item
There is one Zelda-themed item in SSF:


 * Heart Container: In Ocarina and any other Zelda game, when Link defeats a boss, he wins one of these which increases his total life meter by one heart. As an item, any character who picks it up will restore 100% of his damage.

In Super Smash Flash 2
As a base franchise for the Smash series, representation from The Legend of Zelda came as no surprise revealed as being featured in Super Smash Flash 2. The franchise currently stands as the second most represented series in SSF2 when accounting stages and characters.

Characters
From the roster of the first game, only Young Link is absent and didn't return as a veteran character. To coincide with how the Zelda series is represented in Brawl and 3DS/ Wii U, characters base their appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.


 * Link: Link was the first veteran confirmed to return, being added in the demo version 0.4a. To correspond to his new appearance, some of his moves are also based on The Twilight Princess. Link now has the Gale Boomerang as his Side B, which will slightly drag the opponent towards Link upon its return. Link's Bow is now the Hero's Bow, though it seems to be identical in function, and Link can now charge his Spin Attack, but only while standing, not while in the air. Link's grab has also been changed to the Clawshot, which not only appears to be longer than the Hookshot, but also can be aimed at the nearest ledge when Link is recovering. His Final Smash is the Triforce Slash, which does heavy, prolonged, and concentrated damage towards one opponent.
 * Zelda: Zelda also returns from the last game, appearing for the first time in the demo version 0.9a along with Sheik. She is a slow, light character with attacks that deal great knockback. She retains her ability to transform into Sheik during battle and can be selected between the two on the character select screen. Zelda's Final Smash is Light Arrow, an inmence arrow shot influenced by light that she calls.
 * Sheik: Sheik returns as a playable character once again, and retains her ability to transform into Zelda during battle and can be selected between the two on the character select screen. She didn't appear in Twilight Princess but her appearance has been based on a "Beta Sheik" that was meant to appear in Twilight Princess, but whose design was never seen by anyone except Eiji Aonuma and his development team. She still has her own moveset, but like Zelda, her Final Smash is Light Arrow.

Stages
Super Smash Flash 2 has featured three (four, counting Temple of Time which was removed in demo v0.9 in favour of Hylian Skies) stages representative of the Zelda franchise:
 * Hyrule Temple: This does not necessarily represent a specific location in any Zelda game, though it does bear semblance to the temples in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It is essentially a generic depiction of the sorts of ruins that Link descends into and explores in many of his games. It is a gigantic stage, the largest seen thus far in Super Smash Flash 2. The cave-like paths lead on down the center-left of the stage represent the cave-like areas Link often explores in his games as well.
 * Clock Town: Clock Town first appeared in v0.8a. It can be unlocked by completing Target Test with all characters (except Captain Falcon) under 20 seconds. Based on the city of the same name that appears in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The layout consists of two hard platforms at the sides and one soft platform in the middle.
 * Hylian Skies: First appearing in v0.9, this stage is based on the world of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The layout is a landmass above the world map from said game that fades from the Light World to the Dark World periodically.
 * Skyward Voyage: First appearaing in v0.9b. The stage is based on the skies and places found through Hyrule on Link's adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Skyloft in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.

Items
As for now, two items are confirmed. The other one is a speculation.


 * Cucco: Originally confirmed as an Assist Trophy, it appears as a normal item now. Cucco is a small chicken that appears in nearly every Zelda game to date. It can be thrown like most other grabbable items. If the carrier jumps with it, the Cucco will start flapping its wings frantically slowing your descent. Also, if it is damaged enough, it will split into multiple Cuccos and one golden Cucco that attack you. That golden Cucco does more damage than the regular Cuccos.


 * Heart Container: Returns from SSF essentially unaltered in it's function of recovering 100% damage to the character who uses it.