Sora versus Toon Link Part 4: The Edges!!!
Smash Bros. Brawl Rap Remix
Pictures of these two fighting are pretty scarce, which is a surprise considering how similar to each other Sora and Toon Link really are.
My Edge Grading System:
Before we begin, here's how I will be comparing and ranking the arsenals of these two legendary video game heroes:
For each category, one Warrior's weapon or ability will be compared and assessed against the closest equivalent move of the other combatant. The one determined to have the advantage for his attack will get the "edge" against his opponent's move and it will most likely earn more points in the final statistics. Since there are multiple weapons in some categories, in order to take into account the Warriors' overall effectiveness at that situation I'll also be determining overall edges for each broader category and awarding additional points in turn.
With that in mind, before the Edges are determined let's take one final look at how our two combatants stack up!
Pre-Showdown Comparison: Sora versus Toon Link!!!
Tale of the Tape: Sora
Hometown: Destiny Islands at first, then Traverse Town
Age: 14
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150 lbs
Fighting Style: Aggressive Keyblade Combos supplemented with Attack Magic, highly mobile
Allies: Donald Duck and Goofy at his side, summoned Disney heroes
Motivations: Saving the universe, fighting evil, friendship with Donald and Goofy, love for Kairi
Track Record: Has locked many worlds from the Heartless, victories over Disney and Final Fantasy villains, the Chosen Keyblade Master
In order to win, Sora must:
1. Take the fight to Link and not let up-
Sora has superior magic reserves and a healing spell, so he can restore his health easier than his opponent can. The longer the fight goes on, the more it shifts into Sora's favor, and with his Allies and Mobility he could make it very difficult for Link to recover with a Potion or search for hearts.
2. Use Mobility to his Advantage-
Sora has virtually uncontested aerial superiority with his High Jump, and Superglide allows him to travel anywhere he wants to in a flash. Unlike Link, Sora can attack at any angle so the Hylian will have to make some guesses as to what attack Sora is going to try next.
3. Hit Hard and Fast with the Keyblade-
Sora has reach and strength advantages over Link, so if he can throw the Hero of Winds off balance the Keyblade can tear off large portions of Link's health quickly. Sora's combos are very swift, and once the first hit lands successfully the target will often eat the entire attack series.
4. Use Gang Tactics, plain and simple-
Sora has the advantage of having his two Allies at his immediate disposal, and this opens up all kinds of strategic options for him. A team mentality could save them all if the chips are down, and Donald or Goofy may just land that one attack that pulls Link out of his defensive shell.
5. Fight Equipment with Magic-
Sora's magical abilities can be used in all kinds of ways, from summoning powerful Disney heroes for aid to creating maelstroms of fire, lightning, and ice to overwhelm Link. His magic points can be easily restored in a variety of ways, so it'll be important for Sora to use his magical abilities to their fullest potential.
6. Remember his Past Experiences-
Sora has faced extremely dangerous foes over his quests, and many of them are probably stronger than Link is. Sora has an excellent track record in combat, so he'll be ready for anything when Link unsheathes the Master Sword for this ultimate duel.
7. Confuse Link into Submission-
Sora has access to all types of combo abilities and his attack magic can hit from all angles, so if Sora launches an all-out blitz with everything he's got, he could very well overwhelm Link with this show of power before the Hylian can figure out how the Keyblade Master ticks.
Tale of the Tape: Toon Link
Hometown: Outset Island, the Great Sea
Age: 13
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 130 lbs
Fighting Style: Well-rounded mixture of swordplay, evasion, defense, and ranged attack
Allies: Tetra/Princess Zelda, Makar, Prince Komali, Medil, Tetra's Pirates, must be summoned
Motivations: Saving the Great Sea from evil, friendship with allies, destiny as a reincarnated hero, adventure
Track Record: Explorations of the Great Sea, has cleared six dungeons of various types, victories over Ganondorf and his various minions, chosen by the Hylian gods as the Hero of Winds
In order to win, Toon Link must:
1. Think Strategically-
Probably Link's biggest advantage over Sora is that he has experienced situations where just brute force will not carry the day- instead, Link uses his nimbleness and various equipment to emerge victorious. While Sora charges into battle head-on, Link has the ability to adapt better to whatever opponent he is engaging at the moment because he has had to improvise to defeat all the bosses he has faced over his career.
2. Use Defense to Win Championships-
It's not flashy for the most part, but Toon Link has a very solid defensive game including a reflective, durable shield, all kids of evasion techniques, and the super-protective Magic Armor. Defense doesn't just keep Link alive- it also weakens and demoralizes his enemies, and it's evident that Link can take more punishment than Sora before he needs to recover himself.
3. Harass Sora at Range-
Unlike many of Sora's enemies, Link won't just stick to an attack pattern that the Keyblade Master can just avoid with Superglide; with the Hero's Bow and Homing Boomerang, Link has some extremely useful ranged weapons that just could strike the last fatal blow that he needs to win. Also, these attacks don't rely on finite magic reserves. Link will need to exploit these advantages if he hopes to have a chance against the extremely mobile Sora.
4. Not forget his Own Powers-
Link is the Hero of Winds for a reason- his Wind Waker can be very useful to disrupt his enemies' routines and even take to the air for evasion Also, if it is timed right the Spin Attack can repel the gang tactics of Sora's Allies with its area coverage, and lastly the Triforce Slash could be an effective tactic to strike back at Sora if he attempts an aggressive Keyblade combo.
5. Evade and Conquer-
Link's close range evasion is miles beyond what Sora has at his disposal, so to stay alive against Sora's Keyblade Link will have to implement his Z-Targeting skills and A-Counterattacks liberally. What Link will want most is to catch Sora with his pants down if the Keyblade Master dedicates himself to a lengthy combo.
6. Use Sora's Patterns against him-
As varied as Sora's attacks are, the Keyblade Master has fewer options at general offense than Link does; he can either charge with the Keyblade, fire off a magic spell or twenty, or retreat in order to heal or use a summon. If Link can figure out these patterns and react to them, he'll have the advantage in many potential combat situations.
7. Surprise Sora with some Nasty Tricks-
Much of Link's inventory has the potential to take Sora off his guard, since the Keyblade Master hasn't encountered such varied equipment as the Grappling Hook, Skull Hammer, or Hookshot in his past experiences. If all else fails for the Hero of Winds, Link may just try to use a surprise Bomb to blow Sora to smithereens before the teen hero even knows what hit him!
.......And now for the Official Prefight Show, featuring none other than the King of Pop himself!!! Give it up for.......
MICHAEL JACKSON!!!!!
Without further ado, let's see which Warrior will triumph in each combat category!!!
Sora vs. Toon Link: The Edges Are Here!!!!!
Offensive Categories:
Category 1: Close Range
Sora's Keyblade versus Toon Link's Master Sword and Mirror Shield!
None can dispute what Sora's Keyblade means to him; the weapon defines who he is, and it's the very reason that Sora was able to save himself, his friends, and the universe from the Heartless- and the teenage hero is practically made for the Keyblade. Its formidable length and light weight make it ideal for someone who has trained in the two-handed zweihander sword style all of his life, and the magic power of the weapon only serves to heighten Sora's inherent skill with melee weapons. The Keyblade is perfect for someone like Sora who relies on siezing the initiative to win battles because it hits hard and packs quite the punch. Against Link, Sora will try to use the Keyblade early and often for two good reasons- first of all, he has natural strength and reach advantages over his younger opponent, and secondly because it has been his primary means for taking down EVERY other enemy that he has ever faced before and there is no reason to believe that he would deviate here from what has saved him so often in the past.
Sora's Keyblade will be slightly slower to swing than the Master Sword, but not by much and the added reach and the hooking ability of the key end will aid him in a face-to-face duel. Sora will have to watch out, though, for Link's superior evasion which may be able to exploit his relatively long combo recovery time.
Sora's Keyblade will be slightly slower to swing than the Master Sword, but not by much and the added reach and the hooking ability of the key end will aid him in a face-to-face duel. Sora will have to watch out, though, for Link's superior evasion which may be able to exploit his relatively long combo recovery time.
Link's Master Sword is also a magical weapon with the power to slay evil, but the similarities end there. Link's preferred blade is one-handed and he uses it with a shield much in the same way that a Viking from eons past would have. Link's combo attacks are a pinch quicker than his enemy's weapon, and as Thrand has proven the Hero of Winds will get an advantage by being able to use the shield for defense and then striking quickly with the Master Sword. Link is also capable of executing four-hit combos while Sora is limited mostly to strings of three attacks each.
The Sword also has the advantage of having a quicker recovery time, and if Link's swing doesn't connect he always has the option of ducking behind the shield and trying again. Link's last major benefit against Sora's fighting style is that he will be extremely mobile and unpredictable up close thanks to his A-Evades and Z-Targeting. Link suffers, though, because of two things: first of all, he isn't quite as dedicated to this one weapon as Sora is to the Keyblade, and secondly the Hero of Winds has significant reach disadvantages working against him. Also, besides deflecting magical spells such as Firaga and Blizzaga the Mirror Shield doesn't have much offensive use.
With these facts considered, then, who gets the Edge between Sora's Keyblade and Link's Master Sword and Mirror Shield combo? While at first glance Sora should win this due to his greater potency and dedication to the Keyblade, Link does make a very good case for his weapons coming out on top. Probably where the deciding factor between these two comes in is this: in a battle to the death, would it be better to have a two-handed weapon with longer reach or a single handed one with greater speed?
In this case and this case only, I believe that the former is the better choice. Sora has trusted his Keyblade against every enemy he has defeated, and though Link may be able to win the game of evasion at close range that's something to be assessed in its own category. I'm not convinced that Link will be able to prevent EVERY hard-hitting blow from the massive Keyblade from getting through, and the end of the weapon may prove useful in trapping and manipulating Link's shorter sword. In this case, Might makes right even if by a very close margin.
In this case and this case only, I believe that the former is the better choice. Sora has trusted his Keyblade against every enemy he has defeated, and though Link may be able to win the game of evasion at close range that's something to be assessed in its own category. I'm not convinced that Link will be able to prevent EVERY hard-hitting blow from the massive Keyblade from getting through, and the end of the weapon may prove useful in trapping and manipulating Link's shorter sword. In this case, Might makes right even if by a very close margin.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Sora's Thundaga versus Toon Link's Normal and Hurricane Spin Attacks!
Despite what I was led to believe earlier, the Thundaga spell has an effective range greater than just immediately around Sora. However, through seeing hours of combat footage I'm convinced that the Keyblade Master uses this spell at this distance the vast majority of the time. As was elaborated in the weapon profile, Thundaga is Sora's primary means of covering his flanks by summoning a maelstrom of lightning bolts to strike the ground around him. Thundaga will definitely come in handy against Link because the Hylian will have to jump and dodge a fair bit to avoid the lightning and avoid getting fried. Although it's not as potent as the Keyblade or the combo special abilities, Thundaga is a great way for Sora to throw Link off his guard and hopefully expose the Hero of Winds to punishment via the Keyblade. Donald can also summon this attack if need be in order to cover Sora's back during a retreat.
Toon Link, on the other hand, counters with an area-affect attack that instead has to do with his sword. The Spin attack comes in two flavors: the normal spin creates a small shockwave around the Hylian and it can be used immediately with minimal recovery time. It doesn't cost magic to use, but the other variety does- the Hurricane Spin takes time to charge up, but Link can absolutely devastate an entire area with the move. He needs to hope that it's devastated too, because after it's all over Link will be helplessly dizzy for a few precious seconds. In every Zelda game to date, the Spin Attacks have been critical for Link to cover his flanks against enemies that most often outnumber him. Thus, it would behoove the young hero to use the Spin Attack early and often against Sora's allies and their gang tactics.
Link's Spin Attacks have a few weaknesses, and I'll elaborate on how Sora could exploit them here. The preeminent flaw of the Spin Attacks is that they are both two-dimensional; all that Team Kingdom Hearts needs to do in order to negate the Spin Attack is simply jump above it. Their superior aerial mobility will make this possible, and although it's not set in stone Sora's Guard MAY be able to absorb the normal Spin Attack's blow (although the shockwave would still inflict damage) In terms of the Hurricane Spin, that attack's effectiveness will be limited to those situations when Sora or his allies are stunned or distracted by other matters. Finally, Sora's Dodge Roll might enable him to avoid the shockwave if he can perceive Link's intentions quickly enough.
Link's Spin Attacks have a few weaknesses, and I'll elaborate on how Sora could exploit them here. The preeminent flaw of the Spin Attacks is that they are both two-dimensional; all that Team Kingdom Hearts needs to do in order to negate the Spin Attack is simply jump above it. Their superior aerial mobility will make this possible, and although it's not set in stone Sora's Guard MAY be able to absorb the normal Spin Attack's blow (although the shockwave would still inflict damage) In terms of the Hurricane Spin, that attack's effectiveness will be limited to those situations when Sora or his allies are stunned or distracted by other matters. Finally, Sora's Dodge Roll might enable him to avoid the shockwave if he can perceive Link's intentions quickly enough.
Therefore, it's another close race between two moves that have their unique strengths and weaknesses- another example of how Sora and Link have different solutions to the same problem. What determines the Edge in the case of these two attacks is the question of utility- how useful will these close-range moves really be to their users against their enemies?
When the situation is approached in this way, the Edge becomes apparent- while Sora's Thundaga is useful in situations where Link is exposed at close range, too often that won't be the case. There are simply too many ways for Link to negate or even take advantage of the drawbacks of Thundaga for me to award it the Edge, while the quicker to execute Spin Attacks will expose Link far less and also be plenty useful in fending off aggressive advances by Sora's Allies. The final nail in Thundaga's coffin is that Link has counted on the Spin Attacks since day one- he'll know exactly how to use them for maximum effectiveness, and they are a very commonly used part of Toon Link's greater melee tactics.
When the situation is approached in this way, the Edge becomes apparent- while Sora's Thundaga is useful in situations where Link is exposed at close range, too often that won't be the case. There are simply too many ways for Link to negate or even take advantage of the drawbacks of Thundaga for me to award it the Edge, while the quicker to execute Spin Attacks will expose Link far less and also be plenty useful in fending off aggressive advances by Sora's Allies. The final nail in Thundaga's coffin is that Link has counted on the Spin Attacks since day one- he'll know exactly how to use them for maximum effectiveness, and they are a very commonly used part of Toon Link's greater melee tactics.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Sora's Ars Arcanum versus Toon Link's Triforce Slash!
Sora's Ars Arcanum is his definitive melee special ability- he relies on it all the time in order to serve tons of raw damage when he HAS to win- basically, the attack is Sora's version of going all-in at Texas Hold 'Em, and he's the one who needs to have the right cards in his hands. Ars Arcanum does ridiculous amounts of harm to whatever is unlucky enough to eat the entire ten-hit combo, and it's extremely difficult to block (I doubt that Link's Shield would be up to the task, and even the Magic Armor would most likely not absorb all of the damage). If ever there was an attack for Sora to use when he needs that last great strike to emerge victorious, Ars Arcanum is it. If by any chance that Sora misses with the combo, he can always cut it off early to avoid retribution and glide to safety. In addition, the excellent reach of the Keyblade means that Sora can engage Ars Arcanum from a reasonable distance.
Which is the Triforce Slash. In case you were too lazy to read its profile, I'm including this Brawl attack because based on the circumstantial evidence available I believe that Link would have been able to pull it off at the peak of his ability in Wind Waker. The attack itself is much like Ars Arcanum except that it's even more powerful, costs even more magic to use and Link can use the Triforce's power to warp to his target while initiating the move. The Triforce Slash will be Link's absolute most potent move in this match, and he'll need to be careful to limit its use to when he's sure that it can hit. When it does, though...... let's just say Bye Bye, Sora.
The Triforce Slash will be very hard for Sora's gang to avoid, but fortunately for them they do have the evasive tools necessary to do so. Dodge Roll and Superglide will be the keys, and after the Slash Show is done Link will most likely be fatigued and drained of magic power. From here, all Sora will need to do is revv up Arcanum and it will be game over for Link. As such, the Triforce Slash is an even bigger gamble for the Hylian hero than Ars Arcanum is for Sora.
So, that's how this competition plays out- Ars Arcanum is more practical for everyday combat and used more often by Sora, but the Triforce Slash can absolutely destroy anything it targets, sparing Link from drawn-out battles. For me, this edge was easier to determine than the others because I took the reverse philosophy for determining the Edge here- How could the victims of these awesome techniques possibly survive them? Surprisingly, the answer's pretty simple.....
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Overall Winner: Close Range
When comparing Sora and Toon Link's Close Range abilities, something seems obvious from the start- Sora should get the edge, because of his aggressive fighting style. The Keyblade Master trounces Heartless, Nobodies, and Disney Villains with his chosen weapon just for kicks, while Link on the other hand certainly relies on his sword but he mixes it up with other abilities as well. It's a foregone conclusion then, right? WRONG.
Link takes the overall Close Range Edge because he has options besides just flailing around with a Keyblade or spamming Thundaga like it's going out of style. Unlike with the melee weapons edge, I'm fully willing to take into account more than just the killing power of the weapons here, and the more combat footage I have seen the more apparent it becomes that Toon Link is simply more flexible at combat up close and personal. While the Sora has physical and weapon advantages, they are moot if Link can dodge or block the Keyblade... and in most cases, he can. The Keyblade is longer than the Master Sword, but again this is moot if Link can get inside of Sora's comfort zone with the shield and use quick strikes to get his point across to the Keyblade Master.
Sora's Allies will certainly help him to gang up on Link and inflict damage, but the Hylian has faced these situations before and he'll be ready with his Spin Attacks. What seals Link's overall advantage at Close Range is his own nuclear option, the Triforce Slash. Should he ever have the strength and magic to use it in combat, the Golden Power will be an extreme danger to Team Kingdom Hearts.
Category 2: Mid Range
Sora's Sonic Blade versus Link's Skull Hammer!
Sonic Blade is the first Melee Special Ability that the Keyblade Master comes across, and as such it is his main heavy-hitting attack for nearly half of his original quest. At a cost of two Magic Points, Sora rockets forward about fifteen feet and strikes his enemy as he runs past. He can chain up to five of these hits in a row, and Sonic Blade is great as a move for rapidly closing the distance on any enemy imaginable. Against Toon Link, Sonic Blade could be quite potent because even though Link may dodge the first dash of the move, Sora can easily rocket again at a moment's notice and set his targets on Link again. The Mirror Shield will probably be able to repel the glancing blows of Sonic Blade, but I'm not sure that Link's reflexes will be quick enough to catch all five chances that Sora will get to land a hit. In addition to this, the speed of the charge could be a counter to some of Link's evasive maneuvers.
This doesn't mean that Toon Link will be powerless to stop the move, however. Before he starts his mad dashes, Sora must wind up for a moment and if Link has a ranged weapon such as the Boomerang or the Bow already out (pretty likely at mid range) then the Hero of Winds can get a free hit on Sora and stop the attack before it even begins. Also, if Link can block Sora as he runs past, the Hylian could potentially exploit Sora's momentary pauses to inflict damage of his own.
Toon Link responds to this test of mid-range melee weapons with something entirely different- his Skull Hammer, which is the opposite of Sonic Blade in that it costs no magic to use and is even more damaging, yet it is quite slow to use. What saves the Skull Hammer's usefulness somewhat is its long reach and stunning ability- the weapon can be swung around to keep groups of enemies at bay, and even if it doesn't connect the Hammer can still momentarily disable foes who are in the proximity of the impact. This use is obvious against Donald and Goofy, where the small-framed and slow Donald would be killed by a direct hit by the Hammer and Goofy would not be able to close the distance with his shield techniques.
So, then, which of these Mid-Range melee weapons gives its Warrior the Edge? On one hand, Sonic Blade is extremely fast to use and it can combat Link's evasive style well, but its predictability may leave Sora vulnerable to a Hylian counterattack. On the other, Link's Skull Hammer is quite destructive and its unique stunning properties may prove useful for dispatching Sora's Allies, but Link should be wary of using it against the Keyblade Master himself. These attacks take completely different approaches to Mid-Range combat, but which is superior?
Here's the answer to that quandry: Sora gets the Edge here because while his Sonic Blade attack may leave him vulnerable at times, it also gives him some means of throwing Link off his guard through extremely fast strikes. Therefore, it's effective against the Hylian himself while Link's Hammer is at at best a support weapon used to keep Donald and Goofy at bay (Link has the arguably superior Spin Attacks for this use as well). That's why Sora gets the Edge here- the Sonic Blade is fast and reliable damage, and while he may get burned if he uses it predictably it's still a better offensive tactic than the risky Skull Hammer.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Sora's Blizzaga Spell versus Link's Grappling Hook!
Blizzaga is one of the linchpins of Sora's magical arsenal, and many Kingdom Hearts veterans (including myself) have fond memories of the icy spell that was cheap to cast yet potent and easy to aim. Donald also has access to this spell, so that cantankerous duck could use Blizzaga as well to distract Link for a few moments. The attack, as was mentioned already in its profile, projects an icy cone of frost immediately in front of wherever Sora is aiming, and its effective range is about fifteen feet in front of him. This will be a major benefit against Link, who may be used to being able to easily evade any enemy projectiles at this distance. Instead, the spreading effect of Blizzaga may nail him even if he leaps out of Sora's direct aim. Blizzaga as far as damage is concerned isn't particularly potent, but it does have the ability to stun whatever it hits for a moment and this could also benefit Sora's cause against his green-clad opponent.
Unfortunately for Sora, the aforementioned opponent this time is none other than Toon Link, and the Hylian has a few tricks that he could use to counter the icy shotgun of Blizzaga. If you read the profile, you'll remember that Blizzaga's main weakness is that it spreads gradually- this means that if Link can get within Sora's comfort zone before the spell is cast, he could either dodge the smaller cone entirely, or even worse, use that Mirror Shield of his to deflect all of that frozen magic right back into Sora's face! If that wasn't bad enough, the fact remains that the Keyblade Master must be stationary while casting Blizzaga in order to absorb the spell's recoil- and giving up the mobility game could be very costly to Sora.
Once again, Toon Link brings a utilitarian tool to a magic fight, but this time his weapon of choice is quite unique- the Grappling Hook is a twenty-foot-long sharp metal claw on a rope that the Hylian uses to swing from branches as well as harass his enemies. In combat, the Grappling Hook takes on a supportive role as it is mainly used to stun enemies (although it can kill Keese and Miniblins) and steal items for Link's cause. In the battle against Sora, I have concluded that the Hook will in fact be able to inflict damage against Sora and his Allies for this reason- besides its ability to kill bats, the Grappling Hook can also stun Moblins and Darknuts who have far more robust builds than the teenage hero of Kingdom Hearts. Besides, common sense seems to dictate that getting hit full-force by a heavy metal claw would hurt at least a bit. Besides merely hitting the Keyblade Master, the Grappling Hook's rope could also be used to entrap Sora's weapon and even strangle him if Link could ever get the chance (there is no mention of either of these Warriors' unarmed abilities, for what it's worth). However, the most useful feature of the Hook by far is its ability to steal items from whatever enemy is unlucky enough to suffer the claw's degradation. While Sora will be an extremely difficult target to hit with his Dodge Rolls, his Disney Allies may not be so lucky because neither of them have this ability at their disposal and they are both slower than Sora. Therefore, if Link ever gets an opening to use the Hook he stands a good chance of swiping one of those precious Elixirs away from the grasp of Donald or Goofy!
The reason that I was so detailed with the Grappling Hook's benefits is that it also has plenty of weaknesses in combat. While it can be used for killing, the Hook is not a real combat weapon and thus Link can't trust it to deal a severe blow against Sora or his Allies (especially with Aeroga shielding). Also, before he casts out the Hook, Toon Link must swing it a few times to gain momentum- this costs valuable time that Team Disney may well exploit. Finally, as was already mentioned Link is going to have an extremely hard time getting the Hook to connect with his main enemy, Sora.
It's yet another extremely close contest between these Warriors' weapons, and yet again determining a winner isn't made any easier by the number of differences between Blizzaga and the Grappling Hook. Sora's ice spell is a tried-and-true way of inflicting easy damage, but against Link specifically it may have significant difficulty if Sora's aim can't keep pace with Link's evasion and smaller stature. What handicaps Blizzaga the most, however, is that Link's not guaranteed to be injured even if the spell connects- instead, due to the reflective abilities of the Mirror Shield, Sora may be finding himself in the unfamiliar situation of having to dodge his own deflected spells! While the Shield won't cover Link entirely at long range, it's doubtful that a frosty hit to one of his extremities would put him out of the game for long.
Comparing this to the Grappling Hook (which as stated isn't even Link's weapon of choice at this range) is very difficult, but one benefit and one alone puts the Grappling Hook ahead of Blizzaga- the ability to steal items will be huge in this fight because Link won't have a healing spell like Sora does, and any potion that the Hylian is lucky enough to steal will be one less that Team Disney will have access to. A lesser but still significant reason for the Hook's superiority is that its rope will be something that Sora hasn't seen before in combat, and the hook end of his Keyblade in particular may be vulnerable to being snagged by Link's implement. Believe me, this one was a real pain to decide and some may not take seriously a Grappling Hook getting the Edge over a potent ice spell, but this time, however, it's different- simply put, while Blizzaga has a sizeable chance of backfiring on Sora at some point in this epic duel, Link's Hook has an equal chance of giving him a big break by either securing an important item or momentarily disarming the Keyblade Master and leaving him open for a more potent attack. These odds are enough for Toon Link's Grappling Hook to win a hard-fought Edge.
Comparing this to the Grappling Hook (which as stated isn't even Link's weapon of choice at this range) is very difficult, but one benefit and one alone puts the Grappling Hook ahead of Blizzaga- the ability to steal items will be huge in this fight because Link won't have a healing spell like Sora does, and any potion that the Hylian is lucky enough to steal will be one less that Team Disney will have access to. A lesser but still significant reason for the Hook's superiority is that its rope will be something that Sora hasn't seen before in combat, and the hook end of his Keyblade in particular may be vulnerable to being snagged by Link's implement. Believe me, this one was a real pain to decide and some may not take seriously a Grappling Hook getting the Edge over a potent ice spell, but this time, however, it's different- simply put, while Blizzaga has a sizeable chance of backfiring on Sora at some point in this epic duel, Link's Hook has an equal chance of giving him a big break by either securing an important item or momentarily disarming the Keyblade Master and leaving him open for a more potent attack. These odds are enough for Toon Link's Grappling Hook to win a hard-fought Edge.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Overall Winner: Mid Range
Now that everyone has picked up their jaws off the floor after that last decision, it's now time to determine the Overall Edge for Mid Range Weapons! Once again the Edges are split between the two heroes, but in fact this category is not difficult at all to determine. While Link's shorter weapons and reach make him an excellent close-quarters fighter, at a range just beyond that he has to rely either on sword lunges or his two niche weapons- frankly, neither approach will be very useful against Sora, and as such the Keyblade Master owns the overall Mid-Range Edge by default. Link's Hammer isn't fast enough and the Hook isn't powerful enough to be considered as serious threats to Team Disney, while Blizzaga and Sonic Blade, their own flaws aside, are both dedicated killing tools that Sora and Co. should consider themselves blessed to have.
What the real question here is not who has the Edge, but whether or not Sora can maintain enough distance at all times between himself and his Hylian adversary to see these advantages play out- just a bit closer and Link can bring his sword skill into play, and any farther and the Bow or Boomerang could arrive on the Hero of Winds' side. What is clear, though, is that Sora takes the Mid Range Overall Edge easily- item-stealing and shockwaves aside, Toon Link just doesn't have truly viable offensive weapons at this distance.
Mid Range Overall Edge: Sora!!!
Category 3: Long Range
Sora's Ragnarok versus Toon Link's Boomerang!
As was demonstrated already in its profile, Sora's Ragnarok attack is curious because it is an aerial combo and a projectile all in one. The melee portion of Ragnarok is similar to Ars Arcanum, although it takes place in the air. The focus of this comparison of homing projectiles, however, is the energy ball portion of the attack- after doing his thing with the aerial combo, Sora then charges a massive ball of energy in midair and detonates it, releasing a flurry of energy particles that home in on whatever is targeted. These projectiles swirl in the air and are excellent at finding the enemy, and their low speed is offset by their irregular flight pattern. When Sora faces down Link in this matchup, he will have the option of either using the full ability at a cost of three magic points or just the projectile alone at the cost of one point. For that price, the Ragnarok energy ball is a great value for Sora because of the volume and potential damage of the projectiles taken as a whole. Against Toon Link, Ragnarok will be particularly useful because of the erratic nature of the energy particles, meaning that the Hylian may have more trouble than usual trying to evade and block the swarming projectiles.
While Ragnarok is a unique projectile attack that's useful for Sora in many circumstances, there are some ways that it falters against the unique skills of Toon Link. While the Hero of Winds will be hard-pressed to evade the homing energy beams, he will be able to block them with the shield quite effectively and perhaps even deflect them back at the Keyblade Master. Also, charging the ball in the air requires a few seconds of Sora's time, and during this phase he may be vulnerable to a quick strike by Link.
While Ragnarok is a unique projectile attack that's useful for Sora in many circumstances, there are some ways that it falters against the unique skills of Toon Link. While the Hero of Winds will be hard-pressed to evade the homing energy beams, he will be able to block them with the shield quite effectively and perhaps even deflect them back at the Keyblade Master. Also, charging the ball in the air requires a few seconds of Sora's time, and during this phase he may be vulnerable to a quick strike by Link.
Due to their commonly shared homing abilities, Ragnarok is countered here by Toon Link's Boomerang. This weapon has been a Zelda mainstay since the first game of the series, and through the years the Boomerang has been modified into a tool that barely resembles real-life versions of the weapon. As was explained in the profile, the Boomerang is a magical homing projectile that returns to Link's hand after it has struck the enemy (it can also target multiple opponents at once). It can be quickly readied and thrown with great accuracy, which makes up for its lack of killing power. While I believe that it could certainly injure Sora and his Allies (for the same reasons that the Grappling Hook would), the Boomerang is mainly still a quick weapon that's meant to distract the target from its own routine enough for Link to follow up with a more dangerous implement. It may be able to do this job quite well against Sora because of his hit-and-run fighting style. Superglide won't be enough for the Keyblade Master to avoid the Boomerang's punishment- he'll need to combat in other ways if he hopes to minimize the club's effectiveness in battle. One other perk of Link's weapon- it does not rely on magic to work, so the Hylian will have access to this weapon at any time he needs it.
The Boomerang has some interesting flaws when it's assessed against Sora and Co, however. The main weakness of the Boomerang is that Link is vulnerable while waiting for the weapon to return- if Sora could avoid the weapon in any way, he could counter with an attack of his own. Also, due to Aeroga shielding the damage inflicted by the Boomerang could be minimal at best and even though the weapon is very quick Sora could still deflect it with Guard if there is enough space between the combatants.
For a refreshing change, these two Long Range weapons are actually quite similar to each other and thus are easier to compare- both Ragnarok and the Boomerang home in on enemies, inflict light damage, and also share a high projectile speed. Ragnarok has the benefit of doing slightly more damage and giving more value per use, but the Boomerang's advantages include a very quick launching time and the ability to home in on enemies faster. Both of these attacks are meant for the same thing, but which has the Edge?
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Sora's Gravaga Spell versus Link's Hookshot!
Gravaga has the special distinction of being perhaps Sora's most useful overall spell- it summons a large ball of dark energy to crush whatever Sora or Donald targets, and the said ball always materializes directly above where the enemy is standing at the moment. The spell has a good reach, which is why it is assessed here in the Long Range category. It's fairly expensive as far as Sora's magic goes (one Magic Point per cast), but for its ease of use and damage potential it gains high scores for overall usefulness. Against Toon Link, Gravaga will be quite useful because if and when it connects the spell won't just inflict significant damage to the Hylian hero; it'll also immobilize him for a few moments, enabling Sora to get a few extra moments to gather himself or seek another angle on Toon Link. Furthermore, the gravity spell will completely bypass Link's vaunted Mirror Shield; while the Magic Armor will eliminate damage for the most part, Link will still be immobilized by the attack. Once the spell hits its mark once, Link will always need to worry about a dark ball of energy materializing over his head.
None of this means that Gravaga will be perfect against Link, however. The most likely way for Link to combat Gravaga is through, you guessed it, evasion. The ball takes a split second to hit once it appears over the enemy, and though Gravaga has a large area of affect the Hylian may still be able to avoid it. Furthermore, like with his other attack magic Sora will need to be stationary to cast Gravaga- and the aforementioned delay may be all the time Link needs to strike back with an implement such as the Boomerang.
Against the impressive Gravaga spell, Toon Link takes an entirely different approach with his Hookshot. Unlike Sora's dark magic, Link's implement isn't a dedicated killing tool- instead, it's a multifunctional piece of equipment with many similarities to the Grappling Hook. It was elaborated in the weapon profile how the Hookshot is a superior weapon to its more primitive cousin, and I'll repeat it here as well. Simply, this is because the Hookshot can shoot its projectile at a greater speed and with more accuracy than the Grappling Hook, and it's also far more durable. While the Hook will struggle to inflict serious damage against Team Disney, the Hookshot will probably fare much better with its mechanically-shot and extremely sharp metal spike on a chain (probably equivalent to an arrow hit). Though the Grappling Hook's rope is longer, Link's Hookshot will have a greater effective range due to its more advanced design, putting it in the Long Range category. Sora will probably not see this weapon coming in the battle (he has never seen anything like it), so Link may have the opportunity to use it like a cowboy would utilize his revolver- hit hard and fast, with total surprise.
This surprise factor may allow Link to score a free hit or two with the Hookshot, but after this wears off Link will need to work far more strenuously to inflict damage against Sora's Dodge Rolls and defensive abilities. Donald and Goofy will remain easy targets, but Sora is a different story and he could try to use the Hookshot's slow rate of fire against the Hylian. This is because the weapon takes a second to rewind after it extends- while this means that it will never run out of ammo, the rewinding time will expose Link to all sorts of counterattacks if Sora can avoid the Hookshot's metal spike.
In this contest of hard-hitting Long-Range weapons, which gets the Edge between Sora's Gravaga spell and Toon Link's Hookshot? This may be a case of deja' vu, all over again, but it's largely the same comparison as last time- Sora has a very damaging spell in Gravaga, while Link counters with a more versatile but less potent offensive tool. As with the Mid Range Overall Edge, there's no real contest here- Sora's attack is far more useful overall than the Hookshot, and Link has far fewer ways to counter it than vice versa.
The Hookshot is an interesting concept, but unlike the Grappling Hook it doesn't have a special quirk to give it the Edge (this is interesting, because the Hookshot is a superior weapon for the reasons explained earlier). Another difference is that Gravaga is frankly a better attack overall than Blizzaga, so those two factors combine to reverse the result from that unusual Mid Range competition. To be fair to Link, however, he would probably not use his Hookshot that much since the Hero's Bow and Boomerang both are superior projectiles. It's no real competition- Sora's Gravaga spell is more useful for him in every way.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Overall Winner: Long Range
Long Range is a tricky category to define, because there is a lot of overlap between Mid-Range and Super Long Range distances that factor in. Despite this, both Sora and Toon Link have two weapons that can reasonably be considered as most useful at this distance. In the first comparison, Toon Link's Boomerang beat out Sora's Ragnarok ability based on its easier use and greater hitting potential. In the second, Sora's Gravaga spell had a clear advantage against Link's quirky but not-entirely-combat-oriented Hookshot. Yet again the Edges in a category are evenly split, and trust me this isn't to create reader suspense- one of each Warrior's weapons has a clear advantage over the other. The ultimate question is: who is more effective overall at Long Range?
Long Range Overall Edge: Sora!!!
Category 4: Super Long Range
Sora's Firaga Spell versus Toon Link's Hero's Bow!
The Super Long Range category, unlike the others, is pretty self-contained as far as both Warriors' weapons are concerned- while Sora could theoretically use Thundaga or Gravaga at a great distance, he also has two abilities that excel the most at this distence. Firaga is the Keyblade Master's first learned magic spell, and it's also probably his simplest yet most versatile. When Sora has a target, he can use Firaga by standing for a moment and shooting an exploding fireball at the enemy. He can rapidly fire multiple rounds at once, but in order to absorb the recoil of the projectiles he must stand still while doing so. Firaga can be used both up close and at a distance, but the high speed and long effective distance of the attack put it here in the Super Long Range category. When Sora and Donald have the opportunity to use Firaga in battle, it consistently proves itself because not only is it quick to cast but it also has a slight homing ability as well as the capacity to inflict sizeable damage on whatever opponent is unlucky enough to be hit by the firerball. In this matchup, Sora is going to use Firaga liberally because it's his best ranged attack, period. He can chain it faster than Thundaga or Strike Raid, and at a distance it's slightly harder for Link to avoid than Gravaga. What Firaga has going for it most here is its rapid fire capability- by spamming fireballs, Sora and Co. may be able to keep Link off his guard and thus protect themselves from the dreaded Hero's Bow.
Unfortunately for Team Disney, Firaga may not be quite as effective against Toon Link as it has been against their past opponents for several reasons. First and foremost among these is the Hylian's Mirror Shield, which he will have plenty of time to raise at a distance in order to deflect the otherwise deadly Firaga- Sora will need to be very careful with this, because by having Firaga blocked not only is he wasting his precious magic points but he also risks having fireballs reflected right back at him! If Link can't block Firaga outright, he can always use his quick sidesteps and flips to avoid the spell. One more prominent flaw of Firaga is its magic efficiency- each fireball costs half of a magic point, and if Sora casts it several times in a row he could be looking at a total cost of several points total for a questionable payoff.
Against the awesome capabilities of the Firaga spell, Toon Link brings to combat none other than his vaunted Hero's Bow! This weapons' capabilities were also described in the profile, but here's a quick refresher: while the Bow is out, Link can fire arrows at a rate of about one per second with great accuracy, and he can carry up to 99 arrows in his magically upgraded quiver. The arrows fly extremely straight and fast, but their penetration power leaves something to be desired.
Before I elaborate on how the Hero's bow will fare against Sora and his Allies, I want to first clarify an important point about the differences between Kingdom Hearts and Wind Waker that was brought to my attention. That point is this: because they are featured in different games, Sora and Toon Link have slight variations in their lock-on systems. A consequence of this is that Link isn't able to hold a lock on for quite the distance that Sora is with his more combat-oriented system. After much consideration, I have made the conclusion that Link's difference in lock on distance will not be a factor in the battle for this reason: when Link aims the bow in first person mode, he can fire arrows with no penalty in accuracy about as far as Sora can with his Firaga spell. This tells me that while Link's lock on distance itself may be shorter in Wind Waker than Sora's in Kingdom Hearts, this is only due to differences in game design and therefore it's not an indicator of Link's accuracy or effective range with the Bow. With all of that considered, I don't see any reason to rank either Warrior as superior in long-range accuracy- they will both be quite precise with their respective Super Long Range attacks.
With that out of the way, how then will the Hero's bow fare against the Keyblade Master himself, Sora? From my comparisons of their fighting styles and game footage, it seems that Link will have quite a weapon on his hands in the Bow as its speed and volume of fire can't be matched by any of Sora's techniques. Link will have a specific advantage with the Bow because he has a degree of mobility while using it- unlike the stationary Sora, Link can still walk and leap around with the Bow readies (albeit at a slower pace), which means that in a war of long range projectiles Link will have more freedom to avoid Sora's attacks than vice versa. Also, the Hylian care launch his arrows at quite a rapid pace- although Sora can equal this for a short time with Firaga, he risks wasting his magic by doing so. Link, however, doesn't have this problem- he can keep firing as long as his quiver holds out without having to worry about magic. Sora won't be safe when retreating with Superglide, either- he'll have to rely instead on his teammates to distract Link while Sora recovers from his battle wounds.
That's an impressive list of benefits, but Team Disney is by no means up a creek without a paddle against Link's Bow. For starters, the arrows are relatively potent but they still don't do a ton of damage- they have been stopped by Darknut armor before, which tells me that the boy hero doesn't have the high bow poundage necessary to inflict serious damage or knockdown energy with them- with Sora's Aeroga shielding taken into account, this means that Link will need plenty of arrow hits to inflict major punishment on the teenage hero and his allies Another point pertaining to this is that Goofy will be equipped with a shield of his own, and thus he could give a bow-wielding Link problems unless he is taken out first. Besides him, Sora has the ability to rapidly close the distance with Superglide (perhaps nailing Link before the Hylian can react) and even Donald Duck could help out with harassing Thundaga and Firaga spells. Therefore, Link's Bow can indeed be countered by the coordinated efforts of Team Disney.
With that out of the way, how then will the Hero's bow fare against the Keyblade Master himself, Sora? From my comparisons of their fighting styles and game footage, it seems that Link will have quite a weapon on his hands in the Bow as its speed and volume of fire can't be matched by any of Sora's techniques. Link will have a specific advantage with the Bow because he has a degree of mobility while using it- unlike the stationary Sora, Link can still walk and leap around with the Bow readies (albeit at a slower pace), which means that in a war of long range projectiles Link will have more freedom to avoid Sora's attacks than vice versa. Also, the Hylian care launch his arrows at quite a rapid pace- although Sora can equal this for a short time with Firaga, he risks wasting his magic by doing so. Link, however, doesn't have this problem- he can keep firing as long as his quiver holds out without having to worry about magic. Sora won't be safe when retreating with Superglide, either- he'll have to rely instead on his teammates to distract Link while Sora recovers from his battle wounds.
That's an impressive list of benefits, but Team Disney is by no means up a creek without a paddle against Link's Bow. For starters, the arrows are relatively potent but they still don't do a ton of damage- they have been stopped by Darknut armor before, which tells me that the boy hero doesn't have the high bow poundage necessary to inflict serious damage or knockdown energy with them- with Sora's Aeroga shielding taken into account, this means that Link will need plenty of arrow hits to inflict major punishment on the teenage hero and his allies Another point pertaining to this is that Goofy will be equipped with a shield of his own, and thus he could give a bow-wielding Link problems unless he is taken out first. Besides him, Sora has the ability to rapidly close the distance with Superglide (perhaps nailing Link before the Hylian can react) and even Donald Duck could help out with harassing Thundaga and Firaga spells. Therefore, Link's Bow can indeed be countered by the coordinated efforts of Team Disney.
Both of these Super Long Range attacks have been long trusted by their users, and both of these heroes share an excellent ability to use them to combat foes at any distance. The fact remains that either Firaga or the Hero's Bow gets the Edge in this category, and the end result is closer than some may believe it to be. While the Hero's Bow has an excellent rate of fire, more importantly it can strike at the same distance that Sora's Firaga can without the magical limitations that plague the latter. Sora's Firaga, by contrast is clearly more powerful but this works against the Keyblade Master by requiring to stand still while casting it to absorb recoil.
Each of these ranged attacks can be defended against and countered, but I feel that Link has more flexibility overall here owing to his Mirror Shield and quick sidesteps. The lack of a shield haunts Sora again, because aside from outright evasion it will be very difficult for him to block the fast-moving arrows with his Keyblade, and he'd probably miss most of them if he tries (Sora wasn't raised as a Jedi) The Aeroga spell will give him decent protection against arrow damage, but the wind shield won't stop them entirely and Sora will still recieve some damage as a result. Donald and Goofy will provide some help in countering the Bow as well, but Sora could be at a major disadvantage if either of them is knocked out of the battle for a few moments and as previously stated Sora will be vulnerable even if he tries some quick evasive maneuvers with Superglide. The Edge in this weapon matchup is thus apparent- while Sora's Firaga puts up a decent fight, the Hero's Bow is one of Link's killer apps thanks to its accuracy, rate of fire, and ammunition capacity so it gets a definitive Edge here.
Sora's Strike Raid Ability versus Link's Elemental Arrows!
The Super Long Range category is concluded with a comparison of the combatants' heavy-hitting missile weapons, and the first one up is Sora's Strike Raid combo. While this attack is technically a projectile, it actually has more in common with Sora's other Melee Special Abilities such as Ars Arcanum than it does with his other magical projectiles. To summarize, when the ability is activated Sora launches his Keyblade straight at the indicated target and after it connects, the weapon instantly returns to his hands for another throw. Up to five consecutive throws can be chained altogether, with the fifth one yielding an added power bonus. While in the game Sora is totally stationary while using Strike Raid, for this battle he will be allowed to run and dodge roll as necessary between throws so he isn't quite so immobile; this will make up for the loss of his invincibility while executing the move (which was only included for game balance purposes). For this matchup, Sora will benefit mainly from the power of Strike Raid- Link may barely be able to block it with his shield, but unless he's solidly anchored to the ground the Hylian's guard may break under the stress of the Keyblade hit. If Sora can connect with the move, it'll do significant damage- more than any other projectile attack featured in this match. With a little distraction by his Allies, there is a decent chance for this approach to work.
There are a number of factors, though, that work against this scenario and these could erode the potential effectiveness of Strike Raid in the actual showdown with Toon Link. First off, there is a long windup period where Sora is not only stationary but he is also vulnerable to the quicker to fire Hero's bow- this makes distraction critical for the Keyblade Master to score a successful Strike Raid combo. Secondly, Sora's mobility will be severely limited by the move- as mentioned earlier he won't be immobile, but jumping will certainly be out of the question and he'll need to pause to take the shock of the Keyblade returning to his hand. The move will cost him two Magic Points per use as well, making it rather inefficient given its chances of success. Finally, the Keyblade takes a moment to actually reach the target so Link may have this time to react and evade the spinning projectile.
There are a number of factors, though, that work against this scenario and these could erode the potential effectiveness of Strike Raid in the actual showdown with Toon Link. First off, there is a long windup period where Sora is not only stationary but he is also vulnerable to the quicker to fire Hero's bow- this makes distraction critical for the Keyblade Master to score a successful Strike Raid combo. Secondly, Sora's mobility will be severely limited by the move- as mentioned earlier he won't be immobile, but jumping will certainly be out of the question and he'll need to pause to take the shock of the Keyblade returning to his hand. The move will cost him two Magic Points per use as well, making it rather inefficient given its chances of success. Finally, the Keyblade takes a moment to actually reach the target so Link may have this time to react and evade the spinning projectile.
The Elemental Arrows of Link's Hero's Bow were originally included in with that general weaponry, but further study revealed that there are some significant differences in how they function versus the conventional arrows and as such they are now featured in their own category. While the conventional arrows have a quick rate of fire but do light damage, the Elemental ones sacrifice some of this speed for more power. Link has access to three Elemental Arrow types: Fire, Ice, and Light, and they do what conventional wisdom says: fire ones set targets alight, ice ones freeze opponents for a second or two, and light arrows deal more damage and also are quite effective against dark foes. The rate of fire for the Elemental Arrows is about half that of conventional ones, but they are also over twice as powerful and they have the aforementioned special effects as well. Against Sora and Co. the Elemental Arrows will certainly do heavy damage for the same reasons as the conventional variety does- accuracy and inventory being their main assets. Although they have a cost to Link's Magic Meter, it's only about as much for him per shot as a casting of Firaga for Sora and due to the Keyblade Master's lack of a shield they could be far more likely to hit and inflict damage. Therefore, the high power and speed of the Elemental Arrows make them an excellent sniper weapon for Link if he should face an opponent who likes to use hit and run attacks.
Link's Elemental Arrows are not perfect either, however- as mentioned before, Goofy's Shield could potentially block even these magical arrows and the added delay in rate of fire means that the Hero of Winds will need to be especially careful if he chooses to utilize this weapon in anything but super long range. Although the special elemental effects would probably be inflicted on an unshielded opponent, I'm fairly confident in stating that Aeroga will protect from these afflictions although the damage let through would still be greater than that of a normal arrow. Finally, there is a magic cost for each arrow shot and owing to Link's trigger-happy nature a flurry of them could do significant damage to his magic meter.
As far as the winner between these two attacks is concerned, the conclusion is not that difficult to make because Link's Elemental Arrows are based upon his highly successful Hero's Bow but they also improve on that concept. Sora's Strike Raid attack, on the other hand, is very interesting based on how it works but it just can't match the versatility of the Arrows- Sora is taking a risk when he uses this attack, and many scenarios are possible in which Link could avoid Strike Raid and then retaliate against an exposed Sora.
Contrast this with the Hylian's ability to rapidly switch from the Bow to his sword and shield, and it's reasonable to suppose that the Elemental Arrows will both be more useful to Toon Link as well as leave him open for shorter periods against enemy retribution. Even with the elemental effects ruled out most of the time, Link's Arrows will inflict plenty of damage against Sora and the Keyblade Master's only options to combat this are to either launch a projectile blitz of his own or send Donald and Goofy to distract the Hero of Winds while Sora flies toward him with the Keyblade readied. Strike Raid may score several hits and it will be extremely effective when it does, but there are too many ways for Link to counter it to award the ability the Edge against a quality weapon such as the Elemental Arrows.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Overall Winner: Long Range
That's quite an interesting assortment of weapons from our combatants, but as always only one Warrior will capture the Edge in the Super Long Range Category, so let's review the matchups that have already taken place- In Round One, Toon Link's Hero's Bow narrowly triumphed over Sora's Firaga spell thanks to its higher ammunition capacity and likelihood of successfully hitting the Keyblade Master and his Allies Donald and Goofy. For the power weapons in this category, Link's weapon won yet again as his Elemental Arrows convincingly beat out Sora's Strike Raid thanks to their power improvements as well as the deficiencies of Sora's competing ability. Therefore, we have a one-sided sweep for the first time in this Edges comparison! That means that Link automatically takes the Edge for Super Long Range weapons, right?
Not necessarily, because the Keyblade Master also has a few other abilities that must be taken into account at this range in order to properly compare the overall effectiveness of our fighters. Of course, these weapons in question are Sora's Gravaga and Thundaga abilities, which are best used at other ranges but are also great attacks capable of being used here as well. Taken together, are Sora's abilities enough to steal the Overall Edge from under Toon Link's nose?
The answer is no, and Link indeed takes the Overall Edge here by a sizable margin because the Bow is better by itself than any of these individual weapons. The principal reason for this is the concept of magic use- long range combat involves plenty off attacks from both sides that miss their targets (Firaga, Gravaga, and Thundaga are more likely to miss here), and plenty of resources are required in order to sustain this shootout of dangerous projectiles. As such, Sora is at a disadvantage here because his ranged attacks all stem from his magic reserves- he has limited magic points to spare for this type of combat, and as such Toon Link with his ample arrow reserves will be able to outlast him in a distanced battle. The Keyblade Master can use items, search his environment, or ask Goofy for an MP Gift to replenish his magic, but this only goes so far if he also needs magic for Curaga, Aeroga, and his other attacks.
Combine these factors with Link's superior defenses at this range (including the Mirror Shield and his quick rolls and leaps) and his own very effective ranged attacks, and the Edge here is obvious- Toon Link can hit faster, more frequently, and more consistently from Super Long Range than Sora or his allies can, so he comfortably takes the Overall Edge here.
Super Long Range Overall Edge: Toon Link!!!
Category 5: Special Weapons
Sora's Partners Donald and Goofy versus Toon Link's Bombs and Allies!
One of Sora's most significant assets in his ulitmate showdown against Toon Link is that thanks to his Allies the Keyblade Master will have a decided advantage in the numbers game. Although Sora has the ability to fight alone, in reality almost every single one of his battles is waged with Donald Duck and Goofy at his side. Although they individually aren't as capable in the arts of war as Sora is, they do chip in their fair share of damage to whatever army of Heartless Team Kingdom Hearts is fighting at the moment. To review their abilities, Donald is a spellcasting wizard who has access to the same spells that Sora does, and he also has at least as many magic points as him. He primarily stays on the periphery of battle, pounding his targets with attack magic and supporting his two friends with Curaga and Aeroga. He isn't very skilled in melee combat, but in a pinch Donald can use his staff as a bludgeoning club as well. As far as Goofy is concerned, the dog is an up-close specialist who mainly uses his shield to bash enemies with various charging attacks and combos. In adition to this, Goofy can also support his allies with an ability known as MP Gift, which enables him to give three magic points to Sora or Donald in exchange for one of his own.
Although it'll also be covered in the Tactics section, here is a general summary of how Team Disney fights as a unit: While Goofy will immediately close for battle and distract the opponents with his shield, Sora typically opens with some attack magic spells and then flies in to finish them off with his Keyblade. Meanwhile, Donald attempts to keep everyone healthy while using magic from a distance to pick off enemies as well. In case anyone in the group gets fatigued, it's up to Sora or Donald to heal them and Goofy to keep their magic levels up. Typically, since Sora sees the heaviest combat he will typically use his friends to cover him, heal himself with Curaga, and then Superglide back into the fray.
In the ultimate fight against the Hero of Winds, Donald and Goofy will no doubt be an important asset just as they have been against nearly all of Sora's past opponents. Having each ally specialize in a certain area of attack really gives Sora options to take two approaches at once, and even though Link has been up against groups of enemies before he has ever faced three very tough opponents who work together to the extent of Team Disney. To be sure, the group will have plenty of opportunities to strike against Link when he is distracted, and it will indeed be tough for the Hylian to keep tabs on all three of them. In addition, the group will have the ability to support each other physically and mentally to help them in the toughest battle of their lives. Where a single opponent may quit or flee, a group mentality like Team Disney's is different- they are all close friends and they would never give up on each other.
As was mentioned in their profile, Donald and Goofy do have several drawbacks that prevent them from swinging this matchup out of balance against Link. It's been said before, but this fact is important so it deserves to be stated again: while they are utterly dedicated to their cause, Donald and Goofy are nowhere near the Warriors that Sora is and individually they would not be a match for the Hylian hero. Therefore, Link could stand to benefit if he manages to split up the group and finish them off one by one. They could be revived by Curaga or items, of course, but the revival won't be immediate and Sora would thus be more vulnerable with his team's numbers reduced. What complicates this is that while Sora will have command over his allies in this battle, in the game they largely do their own thing so communication between them may be an issue.
They won't always be covered by Aeroga, either; Goofy doesn't have the ability to cast the spell, and it's a lot to ask of Sora and Donald to shield themselves and him at the same time (though Goofy's shield partially compensates for this), and Donald doesn't protect himself at all times either. The last weakness of having allies is that Sora may need to divert his own precious magic points in order to heal them instead of pressing the attack against Link.
At first glance the duo of Sora's Allies Donald and Goofy may seem impossible to counter with a similar weapon, but Toon Link does have a trick up his sleeve that may just be enough to destroy this group of opponents in one fell swoop. This attack is of course Link's trusty Bombs, and these gunpowder weapons could give the Hylian a large advantage in firepower to aid his cause. The Bombs are pretty self-explanatory (read their profile for the whole scoop on them), but they also fill a critical role in Link's aersenal because they are primarily mid-range weapons. However, they can be used in a variety of other ways and therefore they are a natural fit for the special Weapons category. Link most often uses his bombs in a specialized role for situations when he needs something powerful enough to blow up a whole group of enemies, but they are also useful for destroying rocks and secret walls. The radius of a Bomb blast is about ten feet, which isn't very far but still enough to throw a tightly packed group of enemies into disarray. When Link readies the Bomb, he carries it in one hand (having the ability to use smaller bombs in Brawl) and when it's about to explode he throws it so it blows up the opponent and not him. Simple, right?
In order to use the Bombs effctively against Sora and Co., Link will need to put an emphasis on opportunism like never before. Since the Bombs rely on a three-second fuse to detonate, the Hylian will have to carefully time when he readies and throws the explosives in order to have them blow up at the opponents and not the other way around. If Link can manage to throw the Bombs with enough force, however, they'll be able to detonate on the spot- meaning that Sora and friends will have a precious second to avoid or try to block the explosion. Sora will have a difficult time catching them as well, since the Bombs are extremely volatile and he chooses to deflect most of the other projectiles that he faces. Furthermore, with the Keyblade readied the teen hero will have only one hand available to try to pull it off- a risky move to say the least. By far the most powerful aspect of the Bombs, though, are their surprise factor- with them at his disposal, Link can draw one out and detonate it at the enemy in just a few moments- and with the potency of the weapons comes the possibility of winning the match through a split-second tactical decision!
There are many drawbacks to the Bombs that warrant mentioning, however, and the list starts with the Bombs' range- they are mid-range weapons at best, so the Hylian will have a hard time using them if Sora chooses to flee instead of fighting on Link's terms. Also, whenever the Hero of Winds draws a Bomb he exposes himself to the risk of being blown up by his own weapon- the Bombs are capable of exploding early, and a quick strike by Sora or one of his allies could make this happen at the worst possible moment. Finally, the Bombs don't travel quickly through the air and thus the Keyblade Master could well avoid them if Link telegraphs his intentions too early. One last weakness of Link's Special Weapon has nothing to do with the Bombs- the Hylian does have the ability to summon Tetra and her pirates via a special stone when he needs help, but the uncertainty of her arrival means that I can't include this as a serious asset for Link's cause. He does have other friends as well, but none of them could hold a candle in combat against Sora, Donald, and Goofy- and frankly all Tetra does when she appears is contribute a few Light Arrows to Link's efforts, Therefore, Toon Link will mainly have to count on himself as he is outnumbered three to one by Team Disney.
Overall Winner: Special Weapons
Special Weapons is always a tough category to call because it serves as a miscellaneous grouping of sorts- these attacks are trademarks of their Warriors, but they also can't be put anywhere else, so often they don't have much in common. Strangely, this isn't absolutely the case when pitting Sora's allies against Link's Bombs since they can balance each other out- the Allies enable Sora to distract his opponents while he prepares the main assault, while Link's Bombs allow him to cope with many attackers at once, sowing chaos in their ranks and thus buying opportunities for him. Taking this into consideration, then, reveals quite an intriguing competition of weapons that highlights how these two Warriors differ in their approaches to battle.
Let's deal with the large gorilla in the room first- some may question the fairness of allowing the Keyblade Master the advantage of bringing his Partners to battle, but in my own view it's not only fair, it's proper. This is because the Keyblade Master was meant to have his allies in combat- without backup from Donald and Goofy, Sora would be overwhelmed by the numbers game and he wouldn't have any space or time to devote to strategy and maneuver- and without those his fight is lost from the beginning. The Disney Duo are far from the perfect Warriors and they wouldn't be able to stop Link on their own, but by working as a team the teenager, the duck, and the dog can use each other's support to grind down Toon Link's will and surround him from all angles. Communication will be a problem for sure, but it's simple math here- three is always greater than one.......
Unless that one has access to gunpowder weapons that can blow them all to smithereens in a single moment! The Bombs will be a vital part of Link's strategy to deal with being outnumbered (as well as the Spin Attack and the Bow), so we can't just write them off as automatically inferior to Sora's hired guns. The Bombs are just too useful for that, and one thing that may warrant even more effectiveness is yet again that surprise factor- most of Sora's past enemies have stuck to specific attack patterns, so the Keyblade Master may be a perfect target for a quick Bomb attack or two- I'm not confident that Sora would be able to react appropriately in this situation, so Link has the advantage in this circumstance. This is a strong reason to name Link's Bombs as the superior weapon, but can they really defeat the huge advantages that come with having Brothers in Arms?
Ultimately, while the Bombs will certainly take their toll on Team Disney I believe that the Allies will have a greater overall effect on the course of the battle. There is an excellent reason for this- the Bombs can wreak havok for sure, but Link isn't constantly using them either- Donald and Goofy, on the other hand, will always have Sora's back and they'll be capable of acting on their own to protect the Keyblade Wielder from harm. The effects of Sora's Allies will be felt in every category of this matchup, and though they may not get too many kills themselves Donald and Goofy are quite capable of contributing to the teenage warrior's body count at any range and in any circumstance- not just at opportune times. It's this unmatched versatility that gives Sora's Allies a close Edge in Special Weapons.
Special Weapons Overall Winner: Sora and Friends!!!
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| All For One and One For All, Team Disney- Slaying Heartless Armies since 2002!!! |
Category 6: Magic Powers
Sora's Summons versus Toon Link's Wind Waker!
Since the last comparison was so impossibly long, I'll try to keep it more direct here (hahaha, nice try self). Sora's Magic Power is the ability to summon the spirits of Disney heroes to fight by his side. There are six summons in all, and they are described and shown in the weapon profile. For the purposes of this assessment, I'll be focusing more on the general summoning power as opposed to specific characters. For starters, unlike in the game any summoned character will appear in addition to Sora's additional teammates because it's inexplicable as to why Donald and Goofy disappear when he uses a summon. With that established, let's assess how the summoned heroes will aid the Keyblade Master in the fight of his life....
When Sora activates a summon, it costs him several magic points and then he performs an elaborate display that lasts about ten seconds. I gather that it takes Sora this long to summon heroes because of the complexity of the rituals involved. Once the guest hero appears, Sora can use him for a special attack that varies between the summons. A brief description of them is here: Simba the Lion can roar to intimidate enemies as well as engage in melee combat (he's a lion, after all!) Mushu the Dragon sits on Sora's head and shoots fireballs, Dumbo the Elephant carries Sora on his back and can spray water at enemies, and the Genie launches various spells as he hovers around the arena. These different abilities distinguish the Disney heroes, but the basic concept remains the same- the Keyblade Master summons additional firepower for help when he needs that extra assistance to win.
The most obvious advantage of the Summons against Toon Link is that bringing an extra hero aboard increases the already significant numerical advantage of Sora's forces. With the addition of a mighty lion or a mischievous genie to Team Disney, the Hylian will have yet another enemy to track and defend against. In addition, the Summoned heroes are all different so Sora will thus be able to play mind games against Link if he manages to use the summons twice in a single battle. Besides this advantage, the Summons also can buy the Keyblade Master some time if he needs to make a quick escape for any reason.
I was extremely impressed by the benefits of Sora's Magic Power, but after closer analysis I found some drawbacks that may limit the potential benefits of the Summons in a heated duel. It isn't hard to guess where this leads- as stated before, the summoning rituals take a relatively long time to complete so therefore only a precious few instances will be available in the battle where Sora will have enough time to activate a summon. This seriously limits the ability because of Link's effective harassment attacks which could disrupt the process. Also, while each of the summoned heroes have their own abilities they also have their weaknesses- Link's tactical adaptability obviously comes into play here. Finally, the Summons do cost several Magic Points as well- yet another condition that must be satisfied to give Sora a crack at a summon.
Magic Powers is sort of a catch-all for miscellaneous arcane attacks that don't fit anywhere else, so as expected we don't have an exact match between the Warriors here. Link's Wind Waker changes the environmental conditions of the battlefield by using the power of the Hylian gods to influence the wind's direction and strength. With the magical baton in hand, the green-clad hero gets access to several ways to manipulate the winds to his purposes: he can create gusts to trip up and buffet enemies, use cyclones to carry him skyward or block foes' attacks, or just change the direction of the wind for sailing. The last part comes into play as far as general control of the winds is concerned- since he has such control over them, the Hylian will obviously be able to affect Sora's Aeroga barrier by limiting its duration or protective abilities.
As such, the Wind Waker won't be killing anyone directly (unless someone gets blown off a cliff), but it will be an exceptional asset since it can throw Sora and Co. off their game and be a general annoyance. Most significant as a benefit is that Link can just pull out the baton and use it right away- he doesn't have to wait for someone else to answer his collect call, and the Hylian can just put the Wind Waker away if he needs to react to an opponent. The strong winds will be another means for Link to combat the inequality in the numbers game since they can throw Sora's group coordination into disarray. As mentioned already, the Waker's impact on Sora's Aeroga will be felt by Team Kingdom Hearts as well.
Let's cut to the chase here about the magical baton's weaknesses- the main one is that Link must have at least some breathing room to use it, and this is made difficult because of the three-on-one situation of this match. The Wind Waker will be hard-pressed to kill anyone as well, and while Link could perhaps use the wind to cause a rockslide or something to inflict damage this won't be enough to count it as an offensive weapon. Once Sora and Co. realize that Link can be hit while using the Wind Waker (unless he is using Magic Armor), they'll certainly try their utmost to take advantage of this drawback.
Overall Winner: Magic Powers
As is plainly evidenced here, it's like apples and oranges when trying to compare these two Magic Powers- they are just meant for different things, but the competition is interesting nonetheless because it revives an old score in the DW mythos- what has the Edge between a purely damaging attack and one that affects other conditions of the battle? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is different every time it's asked because of variations between the moves assessed. In this case, we have a move that has the potential to be extremely effective but is awkward to use against one that's easily implemented yet short on damage. Let's go over how each Warrior's attacks will work against each other one final time:
Sora's Summons will definitely take their toll on Link because of the numbers factor as well as the great powers that the guest heroes have access to (Simba's a frickin' LION!!! Isn't that enough?). They'll also be rare in appearances due to the long times it takes for Sora to access them, but they'll be helpful for confusing and overcoming Link's defenses with more opponents than he can handle at once.
Link's Wind Waker, on the other hand, will see plenty of use but its main purpose will be for distraction against Team Disney- any means of disrupting their cohesion will be tried by the Hero of Winds as he will need to win the mental battle in order to have a shot at triumphing in the physical one. Sora will definitely be taken off guard by the baton's powers, but Link could be in trouble if the Keyblade recognizes his patterns and takes advantage of them.
It's time for the decision: does the damaging attack or the more versatile one win this time around? Due to the difficulties of comparing them, this edge has been the hardest one yet to decide, and the Warriors are almost even here. One could make a case for either the Summons or the Wind Waker, but after considering every potential scenario I've come to a conclusion- Toon Link steals the Edge by the slimmest of margins here, because one of the biggest things I take into account is how the given ability will affect the showdown as a whole. Just as Sora got the Edge in the last category for this reason, so does Link here- though it's not as effective of a weapon, the Wind Waker will see far more potential use over the course of five thousand battles and so it'll make its presence felt far more often than will the Summons.
Another important point that influenced this decision was the psychology of our two Warriors in adapting to these moves- While Sora has faced opponents with some ability to change the environment before, none of those past enemies has come close to being able to manipulate a force of nature at will- the Wind Waker clearly differentiates Toon Link in this regard. The power of wind will be an almost constant threat to Team Disney, and they won't quite be used to its nuances yet. In contrast, Sora's summoned heroes will be awesomely powerful yet they'll all be something that Link has encountered before- no matter how effective, they are all conventional enemies that the Hylian will be able to defend against in the usual ways (Simba's melee attacks are probably the only ones that could pierce Link's Magic Armor as well). Whether it's being blown around by cyclones, having their shields disrupted, or having difficulty pressing the attack as a team unit, Sora and friends will have more than just another enemy to deal with in the Wind Waker- they'll have to cope with a power that isn't seen but still tangible, an invisible enemy that'll make the whole battle more difficult for them to win. Thus, Toon Link's Wind Waker gets the Edge in Magic Powers by the slimmest of margins.
Another important point that influenced this decision was the psychology of our two Warriors in adapting to these moves- While Sora has faced opponents with some ability to change the environment before, none of those past enemies has come close to being able to manipulate a force of nature at will- the Wind Waker clearly differentiates Toon Link in this regard. The power of wind will be an almost constant threat to Team Disney, and they won't quite be used to its nuances yet. In contrast, Sora's summoned heroes will be awesomely powerful yet they'll all be something that Link has encountered before- no matter how effective, they are all conventional enemies that the Hylian will be able to defend against in the usual ways (Simba's melee attacks are probably the only ones that could pierce Link's Magic Armor as well). Whether it's being blown around by cyclones, having their shields disrupted, or having difficulty pressing the attack as a team unit, Sora and friends will have more than just another enemy to deal with in the Wind Waker- they'll have to cope with a power that isn't seen but still tangible, an invisible enemy that'll make the whole battle more difficult for them to win. Thus, Toon Link's Wind Waker gets the Edge in Magic Powers by the slimmest of margins.
Magic Powers Overall Edge: Toon Link!!!
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| The winds of fortune blew in Link's favor this time, but only after a ton of analysis! |
Bonus Musical Selection: Haydn's London Symphony, Mvt. 1
Defensive Categories
Category 7: Blocking and Counterattacks
Sora's Guard versus Toon Link's Mirror Shield!
So, then, here is where the Defensive capabilities of our two Warriors will be assessed and compared to each other in order to determine who has the Edge in each category. We'll start with the simplest type of defense, which is blocking. There's nothing complex about the concept, and since time immemorial the human race has stopped each other's attacks with sticks and all sorts of other things. Since this type of defense is the most basic, it'll be an excellent place to start when comparing defensive abilities. Up first is Sora's Guard ability, in which he uses his Keyblade as a means to stop his opponent's weapon and thus spare himself from damage. The impressive thing about Guard is that it seems able to take quite a large amount of force without breaking- the Keyblade is very sturdy in design, and thus it'll be able to repel most any sword-based attack that Link can muster. It's also very quick to use, since the weapon is light and therefore quite easy to manipulate. In terms of stopping other attacks, Guard may be useful to Sora in stopping slower projectiles such as the Boomerang and the Grappling Hook.
Since Sora puts so much of his energy into pressing the offense, it's predictable that his guarding abilities wouldn't receive the same amount of attention. Unfortunately for the Keyblade Master, he faces an opponent in Toon Link that has defeated guarding opponents before (such as Bokoblins and Darknuts) and as such he is quite adept at surpassing weapon guards with his Master Sword by using very quick pokes and feints. The other main problem with Guard is that it won't protect Sora whatsoever against either the lightning-fast Hero's Bow or the explosive Bombs- Link definitely has some options for combating Guard if its user comes to rely on it too much.
Link's preferred means of blocking his adversaries is predictably his reliable Hero's Shield. It's a typical medieval heater shield design, and its metal construction is sturdy to the point of being almost indestructible when facing attacks of most types. Devoting one hand to the shield gives Link flexibility with his overall attack plan because he can switch from blocking to swinging his sword in just an instant, and it also hides Link to an extent from his enemy to obscure the Hylian's motions in close combat. Besides this, he could also use the shield itself as a weapon through bashing or deflecting enemy spells- and this is where the Mirror Shield really shines (pun intended). None of Sora's attack magic spells such as Firaga, Thundaga, or Blizzaga are going to be able to pierce the Mirror Shield, which limits the Keyblade Master's options against an attentive Link. Furthermore, the reflective shield also has the ability to turn these spells right back at Sora and friends!
The Hero of Winds will put a lot of trust in the Mirror Shield against Sora, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own flaws. While the Mirror Shield does a great job of covering Link where it is, there is still some area that it doesn't cover so Sora or one of his Allies could still flank Link and bypass the shield altogether. In addition to this, some spells such as Blizzaga will cover a lot of area so the Hylian will have to cower in order to save his head and torso from getting hit. Finally, Sora does have a few attacks that can overpower Link's guard- Gravaga is the most significant example, but Ars Arcanum could give him problems here as well.
Now that both Sora's and Toon Link's blocking abilities have been compared, which one gives its Warrior the Edge? As a welcome change from last time, this one is very easy to pick for once. Sora will be able to rely on Guard against some of Link's sword attacks and projectiles, but parrying with a weapon is a poor substitute for the defensive capabilities of a shield- the Arrows will be very dangerous to the Keyblade Master, and it's not guaranteed that Sora's guard will hold against Links' deft swordsmanship either. On the other hand, Link's Mirror Shield will be quite effective against the majority of Sora's playbook and the projectile defense of a shield is far greater than guarding with a weapon and hoping for the best.
Matching Guard up against the Shield almost isn't fair to the Keyblade Master, but it does show how these two Warriors place their emphases on different aspects of combat- Link will need to rely substantially on his shield and blocking abilities in order to have a shot at the win, while Sora's fighting style doesn't quite lend itself to directly blocking enemy attacks. In any case, Link's Mirror Shield gets a definitive Edge for this category.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Sora's Counterattack versus Link's A-Counterattacks!
The second most basic tenet of Defensive theory after stopping enemy attacks is countering them in order to respond with an assault of one's own. In part two of the physical defense category, then, we'll analyze and compare the counterattacking abilities of Sora and Toon link in order to find out which of these legendary Warriors is more effective at bypassing opponent attacks and inflicting damage at the same time. As always, Sora fires first with his Counterattack ability. This technique allows the Keyblade Master to initiate a fast responding strike whenever he parries an enemy weapon, and the move is both very quick to execute as well as quite damaging. In order to access the Counterattack ability, Sora must swing his weapon at the same time that his enemy does, and at this point if he is deft enough the Keyblade Master will respond to the stunned foe with a sweep that covers plenty of distance. Not only is the adversary stopped in his tracks by this move, but it also opens up additional combo opportunities if Sora can sieze the initiative (even if he can't, perhaps his brothers in arms Donald and Goofy will do so for him).
Sora will stand to benefit with the Counterattack move against his current enemy Toon Link in several distinct ways. The most important strength of Sora's counter is that it'll give him a bit of a safety net at close range- remember, Link can swing his weapon slightly faster than Sora can so the Keyblade Master can catch the Hylian with an opportune parry if the Hylian gets too zealous with his Master Sword. In this way, Sora can slow the melee fight down to terms more favorable to him. Secondly, as mentioned Sora covers a lot of area with his sweep which means that it would not behoove Link to attempt to jump to his left or right to avoid the move- the Hero of Winds would still get nailed in this situation. Also, Sora has an ability that his enemy doesn't here- he can actively respond to a weapon clash, while Link must take a chance and leap or block of the same thing happens to him.
Conversely, there are ways that the Counterattack may fail to do its job properly for Sora. The main issue with Counterattack against Toon Link is that even though both Warriors would be stunned in a clash of weapons, Link would still be able to at least present his shield in the same amount of time that it takes Sora to execute his own move. Due to the stunning factor I can safely rule evasion out, but in terms of just presenting a defense against a quick swipe Link very well could defend against it if Donald and Goofy don't get him first. The only other problem with Counterattack is that Sora has a sizable recovery time after pulling it off; this isn't an issue if the Keyblade Master can successfully inflict damage on Link, but if the Hero of Winds can block the counter then Sora may be leaving himself open for Link's own special defensive ability....
Which is called the A-Counterattack. Despite having a similar name to Sora's comparable move, it is a completely different way of using enemies' attacks against them. Instead of being activated through weapon clashes, the A-Counterattack works when Link perceives a threat coming his way. If the Hylian can respond in time, depending on the nature of the incoming attack Link will either roll out of the way of a vertical cut or jump above a horizontal slice and then inflict a sword blow of his own. The vital part of this move is that Link at least gets a sense of where the enemy is going with its own move in order to evade it properly; in the case of this battle, the Hylian will be lucky because many of Sora's combo attacks follow the same basic format. Unlike Link, who has the choice of using slices, sweeps and thrusts at his own choosing, Sora tends to follow the same combo routines which is fine against the majority of Heartless enemies that he encounters.
Fortunately for Link, this tendency of Sora's to use the same move sets may enable him to take an educated guess or two and successfully counter the Keyblade Master's attack even with Sora's quick and aggressive style taken into account. It probably warrants mentioning as well that the A-Counterattack will be quite effective against Donald and Goofy; Sora's Allies just don't have the combat savvy or quickness of their human compatriot. Also, the leaps and rolls inherent in the move may prove useful in avoiding the Firaga, Blizzaga, and Gravaga spells in close quarters.
Those are some real benefits to be taken into account for Toon Link's cause, but considering the inherent nature of the A-Counterattack there are several ways for the Keyblade Master and friends to counter it. I mentioned earlier that Sora tends to use the same combo attacks over and over again; this may be true in the game, but as you well know I'm taking a few liberties with the actual game rules when I believe that common sense warrants it. Namely, Sora won't be forced into using the same combo all the time; he'll certainly have a tendency to do so, but it's absurd and unfair to assume that the Keyblade Master would be dumb enough to fall against Link's counters time and time again. Sora's a pretty smart person, and he'll realize just as his opponent will that mixing up his attacks is the key to victory.
By the way, one magic attack that may indeed be useful against Link's evasion is Thundaga; Sora will have to be quick on the trigger, but if the teenage hero can lure the Hylian into a trap then he could be in a position to nail him with this move. Additionally, Sora's friends may try to swarm around Link, thus limiting his escape options and making close evasion less practical.
By the way, one magic attack that may indeed be useful against Link's evasion is Thundaga; Sora will have to be quick on the trigger, but if the teenage hero can lure the Hylian into a trap then he could be in a position to nail him with this move. Additionally, Sora's friends may try to swarm around Link, thus limiting his escape options and making close evasion less practical.
The facts are clear that both Sora's and Link's Counterattacks will be useful to them in this fight, but for different reasons. Sora's ability will give him a way to counter Link's aggression with the sword, and as such the Hylian will need to use some caution when selecting the times that he is to launch atacks. However, it may be blocked by Link's shield and it wouldn't be useful against the Hero of Wind's many other weapons. Link's A-Counterattacks will enable him to exploit patterns that may emerge in Sora's combos for major damage. Additionally, with the move he will be able to manage Donald and Goofy if either of them close for a melee. Link will need to watch out, though, for Sora's Thundaga spell and his allies' gang tactics.
With all of that said, which one of these defensive abilities gets the Edge? Simply put, Link's A-Counterattack does because it demonstrates to me that the Hylian can get quite creative in his evasion in order to avoid damage. Sora's patterns will hurt him against the more versatile Hylian swordsman, and I believe that the Keyblade Wielder's recovery time would open him up to Link's counter if the Hero of Winds can accurately read Sora's movements.
Another factor influencing this decision is that neither Donald nor Goofy have the speed or reflexes required to beat Link at his own game, and this the A-Counterattack could dispose of them easily unless they manage to gang up on him. Additionally, the capability of Link to potentially block Sora's counter with his shield and then take advantage of Sora's recovery dulls the effectiveness of Sora's move and thus hurts his cause. With all of these possible scenarios analyzed, I feel pretty comfortable in awarding Toon Link the Edge here.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Overall Winner: Blocking and Counterattacks
The Hylian hero earns another sweep in this category, as both of his abilities were analyzed against Sora's matching defensive skills and found to be superior. As always, this doesn't automatically guarantee that Link will take the Overall Edge, so let's go over the matchups one last time:
In the first round of Blocking, the Mirror Shield was concluded as being far superior to Sora's Guard ability due to the facts that the shield can deflect magic as well as simply defend the Hylian better than a weapon parry can. It's been a long night, so that's as far as I'll go with this one- Link's blocking wins here. In our second matchup, we compared defensive special abilities as Sora's Counterattacks went up against Toon Link's A-Counterattacks. The result was certainly closer than last time, but Link won out again because his counters were more difficult for Sora to mitigate than the other way around.
Link has won both categories, then, and there are no outstanding factors that are enough to somehow give Sora the upper hand in Blocking and Counterattacks; therefore, the Hero of Winds convincingly takes the Overall Edge for physical defense. This outcome is understandable because of the nature of the boy hero's fighting style; Link puts a lot more of his investment into defense than Sora does, and therefore he'll be more familiar with the basic principles of up-close blocking and evasion. The Keyblade Master's challenge here will be to make sure that Link can't just rely on his physical defense to exhaust Team Disney to the point where they will be easy pickings for the sword and bow. Sora and Co. may have some tricks up their sleeves in this regard, but that doesn't mean that Link isn't deserving of the Overall Edge here.
Blocking and Counterattacks Overall Edge: Toon Link!!!
Category 8: Shielding and Recovery
Sora's Aeroga versus Link's Magic Armor!
Besides physical defense, the other main way to aviod damage in battle is through shielding. In the old days, warriors used the shield as a sort of first line of defense against enemy attacks; as time went on, this approach fell out of favor but the concept shielding is still a big part of fantasy and science fiction. The job of a magic shield is to act as sort of a net which catches the majority of attacks and disperses their energy for minor damage or none at all. This is exactly the capability that both Sora's Aeroga spell and Link's Magic Armor bring to the table, and this comparison will have an understandably significant impact on the total defensive scores of our two combatants.
With that point in mind, let's now review the Keyblade Master's entrant in this competition, the Aeroga spell. It's a round, swirling barrier made up of strong gusts that disperse the impact of weapon hits; it'll always repel half the damage of a given attack, so it's therefore Sora's primary defensive technique. The neat part of the Aeroga spell is that it remains in effect for a long time with only an up-front magic cost to Sora; for the price of two magic points, the Heartless Destroyer gets about thirty seconds of protection and as such he gets an excellent value for his magical investment. Donald is capable of casting this spell also, so the duck can defend himself with this as well and also cover Goofy or Sora as needs dictate. Aeroga has a limited ability to deflect energy projectiles, but more importantly it also can inflict damage on any opponent that touches the barrier.
Since Aeroga will be Sora's main defensive technique in this battle, he'll almost always have it active against Toon Link as long as his magic reserves will allow it. It's probably Sora's main priority besides Curaga in terms of magic, so he'll be sure to restore the barrier whenever he runs out- the Keyblade Master risks losing far too much if he neglects this responsibility, and he may also cast Aeroga on Donald or Goofy from time to time. The wind shield will be able to halve the damage incurred by almost any of Link's attacks, and as such it'll be indispensable for Sora in order for him to compete with the Hylian's superior health reserves.
Having a spell that protects for so long for such a minor cost has drawbacks, however. For being Sora's main line of defense, Aeroga still lets through fully half of the damage inflicted by any given attack. That's a major problem if Link's projectiles come into play, because that means the Hylian's Arrows, Bombs, and Boomerang won't be fully blocked by the wind shield. Also, each Warrior's shielding won't protect him from the enemy's strongest attack and so the Keyblade Master will have to watch out for the Triforce Slash. To round out the weaknesses of Aeroga, it should be mentioned that it does start to consume lots of magic points in order to keep Sora's team covered by the wind shield, and this could be made worse if Link's control over the wind reduces the spell's duration by even a few seconds. Therefore, Sora and Co. may have to make a difficult choice- do they let their shields lapse and use their remaining magic for an all-out blitz, or do they use the shields and try to grind it out against Link? They'll need to figure out the solution to this problem in order to have a chance at the victory.
Toon Link, by contrast, fires back with a totally different type of shielding: the Magic Armor, an enchanted crystal that uses the Hylian's magic power to project a barrier that can defeat almost any attack. Such a strong is predictably costly to maintain, and therefore it constantly drains energy from Link's magic meter when it's operational. However, the Hero of Winds is able to turn his armor on and off as situations allow so this liability is dulled somewhat. Link will certainly cound on the Magic Armor early and often against his current opponents, because it offers him a sort of "get out of jail free card" if the Hylian can't avoid or otherwise use his shield to block the incoming attack. As such, Link will be able to rely on it in order to blunt some of the Keyblade Master's trademark blitz assaults if he has the magic power remaining to do so.
This doesn't mean that Link will be invincible against his toughest adversary yet, however- the Magic Armor eats magic like it's popcorn, and even with a full meter the Hylian will only be able to use the Magic Armor for about twenty or thirty seconds. Thus, he'll need to save it for those circumstances where he can either totally pursue the offense to win or in order to defeat an otherwise critical blow by Sora. In the former circumstance, Sora will know about the shield's properties and he will react in turn by fleeing with Superglide and taking time to recover himself. Therefore, due to this factor it'll be difficult but not impossible for Link to use the Magic Armor as an offensive tool.
Also, Sora does have the Ars Arcanum attack which I believe would be able to penetrate even the super-protective Magic Armor. Finally, due to Link's camparatively limited recovery options it'll be more difficult for him to replenish magic for his shield than ot will be for Team Disney. This is a situation where Link has to fend for himself, and he won't have anyone to toss him an MP Gift when he requests it.
We have two very strong entrants for the Magic Shielding category here, and this edge was even more difficult to call than the Magic Powers one, if it was possible. I was tempted for a long while to just call it even here because both of these fighters have excellent shields that are good for different situations, but as you know I consider EVERY possible scenario before awarding the Edges. Let's review some of those first:
Sora's Aeroga will be an excellent all-around magic shield, and Team Disney will almost always have it up. The spell cuts any damage recieved in half, and it can also inflict contact damage as well as defend against the elemental powers of Link's Elemental Arrows. While it's initially cheap for Sora to cast, it does start to be an issue when his team needs magic points for pressing the attack. Despite this, we'll be seeing a lot more of this spell that its competitor.
Link's Magic Armor is the all-around better shield, and it protects him against virtually all of Sora's attacks. However, it is very costly in magic to use which means that the Hylian can only use it sparingly. This drawback is offset somewhat offset by Link's ability to turn it on and off at will. However, he will have a harder time replenishing magic than his enemy and this could be a major issue for him.
It was extremely tough for me to call this Edge, but ultimately when all of the factors were considered there was one magic shield that in my opinion gives its Warrior a slight Edge. That combatant is Sora, and although Link has an excellent shield as well it won't be quite the factor in the battle as Team Disney's entrant. There are several reason for this conclusion, and the main one is that Sora will be able to rely on Aeroga for pretty much the entire battle. He has more ways of replenishing magic thanks to Goofy as well as greater overall magic reserves, plus his spell is less costly for him to use. Therefore, Aeroga will be accessible to the Keyblade Master at any time as long as he has two magic points- this is pretty minor by his standards. Even if Sora can't use the spell himself, there's always a possibility that Donald will be able to cast it for him- as long as he has his friends to back him up, there's no reason to believe that Sora won't have access to the proteectin of Aeroga. Furthermore, the wind shield does do a good job at absorbing damage and while it's by no means foolproof it does give Sora and his friends at least a chance to be able to take a few risks without sacrificing their lives as a result. Team Disney's focus is on the offense, so they won't be penalized as much for having a shield that only absorbs half damage.
Link's Magic Armor is almost as good as Aeroga, and it nearly tied Sora's move here. It doesn't win for the reasons listed earlier- it's a magic hog that I'm certain Link will be able to rely on late in the game when its protective abilities would be most useful. Besides that, it takes magic away that could otherwise be used for the Hylian's potent Elemental Arrows- if he uses up his energy with the Magic Armor, he loses this potentially game-changing weapon. Additionally, he won't be able to have it activated constantly so the overall protection of Link's move doesn't matter when it's not up. The last reason I found the Magic Armor to be inferior is that due to mobility differences Link may not be able to take offensive advantage of the shield as much as he should. These factors don't mean that Link's Magic Armor will be useless, but they do indicate to me that Sora can put greater trust in his own ability. So, then, it's the Keyblade Master's Aeroga spell that gets the Edge in Magic Shielding.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Sora's Curaga, Elixirs and Other Abilities versus Link's Heart Foraging, Blue Potions and Elixir Soup!
In combat, taking damage from the opponent is inevitable so the ability to recover health in order to keep fighting is a major determinant of the outcome of any fight. Both of our combatants have their own ways of maintaining combat effectiveness, so let's compare how these two do so in order to determine an edge here. Like always, Sora goes first with his multitude of recovery abilities. In addition to his trusty Curaga spell, the Keyblade Master also has access to several potions as well as Second Chance, a power that allows him to survive anotherwise fatal hit. Goofy can also use MP Gift, which allows him to give magic points to whomever he chooses. Since this is a ton of ground to cover, I'll need to be less specific than normal when covering these moves.
Team Disney will have a ton of options when recovering, but Curaga will be by far the most significant move here. Simply put, Sora will have a much easier time healing with this move because he'll be able to access it on demand- there's no foraging and otherwise wasting time here. What's also helpful will be that Donald may be able to bail him out with the spell if Sora's too distracted to heal himself at the given moment. As for the potions, Sora's team will have six of them for their use as opposed to Link's five. The benefits of the other moves are obvious, and I recommend reviewing the weapon profile for more on them.
There are only a few drawbacks to Sora's recovery plans, but they do exist and they may be more siginicant than one may believe at first glance. As for Curaga, I mentioned previously that Sora has less of an ability to take punishment than his opponent does, and I think this is justified based upon the game footage I have studied. Therefore, Link will begin the match with more health than his opponent (although Sora will have a similar advantage in terms of magic reserves). This means that Sora will need to heal himself more often than his enemy, and this may hurt his cause. Besides, that, Curaga only heals about a third of Sora's health with a cost of time and magic invested. Besides that, as Lmaonade was kind enough to point out Goofy may not be the sharpest knife around and thus he may not use MP Gift at every opportune moment. Lastly, there is the potential that Toon Link could steal some elixirs from Donald or Goofy (although Sora himself will be hard to catch)
Unlike his adversary, Link isn't quite lucky enough to have access to a magical healing spell. However, the Hylian will still have the ability to recover hearts through what I call heart foraging. Basically, this means that Link will be able to find more health by cutting down bushes and searching around just like in the games. This costs Link nothing but his time, and he will always be able to find extra hearts to heal himself. This could aid him if the battle drags on for several hours, as the Hylian will never run out of resources to heal himself.
Link also carries three regular potions as well as two doses of Elixir Soup; this brings his item total to five. While this is fewer than Sora's six, this factor actually plays to Link's advantage because he only has to worry about healing himself. Additionally, the Hylian will never have to worry about his items being stolen (in fact, Link may even the odds further if he can swipe an Elixir off of Donald or Goofy). One last benefit that warrants mentioning is the double damage factor of the Elixir Soup; until Link sustains damage, the hearty stew gives him twice the sword damage as usual! When used in conjunction with the Magic Armor, the double damage property could be a real asset for Link.
Toon Link's disadvantages in recovery have been elaborated upon throughout this matchup, and what follows is a summary. What hurts Link the most in the recovery department is his lack of a healing spell; unlike his enemy, the Hylian will only be able to restore his health through the use of finite items or by foraging; the former option only lasts for so long before it runs out, while the latter puts Link squarely on the defensive against Sora and Co.'s aggressive and mobile attacking. Frankly, neither one is a substitute for Curaga, and Link's cause will be greatly impacted as a result. As for the damage bonus, it'll be valuable for Link only if he can force Sora into a corner; otherwise, the Keyblade Master will just be able to flee until he can sneak in a hit that deprives the Hero of Winds of his double damage ability. Finally, it does take Link a few moments to drink his potions; while the Magic Armor will spare him from damage while he does this, it's still lost time that Sora's team can use for their own recovery.
Now that both Warriors' recovery abilities and items have been assessed, it's time to determine which one of them gets the Edge here. Sora has the advantages of an instant healing spell and an extra item as well as a few other abilities, but he also has to worry about bailing out his teammates if they get items stolen or suffer damage by the sword of Link. The Hero of Winds has a higher item-to-fighter ratio, the ability to forage for hearts, and a damage bonus with the Elixir Soup. However, he is on his own when it comes to healing himself and he doesn't get a recovery spell. These are two quite different ways to approach the important area of recovery, but which one is superior?
Link's own recovery has its merits, too, which is why this contest turned out to be much closer than I had originally expected it to be. If the battle turns into a war of attrition, it'll be Link that gets an advantage due to his ability to live off the land with his Heart Foraging and maybe even collect ingredients for new potions. The double damage bonus may also punish Sora's allies if they aren't careful, but on a whole I have concluded that the Keyblade Master's approach to recovery is more flexible in the midst of combat, which is when the benefit of healing is usually needed most.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Overall Winner: Shielding and Recovery
Team Sora gets its first sweep of the match here, as they were able to best their Hylian opponent in both the areas of Shielding and Recovery. In the Magical Shielding comparison, the race was nearly a tie but Sora's Aeroga spell won out narrowly in the end because of its greater potential for use throughout the battle. Next, the Keyblade Master's Curaga spell and his items convincingly won out over Link's Heart Foraging and Potions because of the extremely useful nature of Sora's moves. With both categories won, then, Sora takes the Overall Edge for Shielding and Recovery.
It was a pretty close race here, but the versatility of Sora's moves was the deciding factor- they allow their user greater leeway in terms of usage opportunities, and although Link's techniques may be better at certain times on the whole they aren't quite up to the standards that Team Disney bring to the table here. What's certain is that this is a big win for Sora because so far his enemy has taken many of the significant offensive and defensive categories; if the Keyblade Master and friends could manage to seize the ultimate victory over Toon Link, then these Edges here would have played no small part in their win.
Shielding and Recovery Overall Winner: Sora!!!
Mobility Categories
Special Note: Before we begin with the Mobility edges, I'll explain my system for measuring these categories and answer the question of why I have divided it into two contests. Through some contemplation of the subject as well as because of my learned experiences in sword class, I have decided that Short Range and Long Range Mobilities are quite different and that they deserve to be assessed independently of each other.
Short Range Mobility is what I define as the ease of movement in the middle of combat for the purposes of attacking, flanking, and evasion. It's what you might consider to be "fancy footwork", and it focuses on how deft a Warrior can be in terms of dueling. For an example of this, we can compare a skilled swashbuckler such as Toon Link to an enemy Darknut from Wind Waker- obviously in this case mobility makes a difference as the hero of Winds can use his nimbleness to avoid and counter the slower foe's attacks.
This is clearly contrasted with Long Range Mobility, which is a more conventional definition of movement capability. This measures the ability of a Warrior to cover large sections of ground quickly in order to surprise, avoid, or get better position on enemies. Sora's Superglide is an example of this because with this move he is able to use his superior long range mobility to execute hit and run attacks on slaower enemies such as the Behemoth.
Therefore, since these two are quite different in terms of the skills required to be successful in each, they will be assessed in separate categories.
Category 9: Short Range Mobility
Sora's Dodge Rolls and High Jump versus Toon Link's Dodge Rolls and Z-Targeting!
As I just mentioned, Short Range Mobility measures how deft the Warrior is when dueling up close and both of our combatants use their own techniques to gain the upper hand in this situation. Sora's Dodge Roll ability is one that he uses quite often in order to avoid incoming attacks and make himself a smaller target, but he can also be used to roll around an opponent in order to get a better angle for his Keyblade combos. Here's how it works: let's say that Sora is facing Leon, a Warrior with a heavy sword that requires some windup time to use. As Leon winds up for the attack, Sora notices and Dodge Rolls out of the way of Leon's incoming Gunblade. With the attack successfully avoided, Sora can then exploit Leon's recovery time to chain a combo to to his back. In this way, Dodge Roll can be used as an offensive and a defensive tool for Sora. Against Link, the Keyblade Wielder's Dodge Rolls will pay off because he tends to use them in combat more than his Hylian opponent does. In addition to this, Sora's physique will enable him to roll for a greater distance per attempt than Link.
The main part of Sora's close mobility game is the High Jump technique, and unlike Dodge Roll this one is both unique to Sora and capable of being used by the whole of Team Disney. With the move, Sora leaps a good five to seven feet in the air which gives him altitude for aerial attacks or Superglide. Also, High Jump enables Team Disney to leap away from or over attacks in order to avoid them and get beter positioning. Like a ninja's best moves, Sora can use the technique to leap over an enemy and then strike them before they can turn around! High Jump gives Team Sora unquestioned dominance of the air, and this means that they will have an entirely new perspective to attack from that Link won't be able to match. By using their diversionary and gang tactics, the three mouseketeers could be able to constantly flank the Hero of Winds and thus bypass his defenses.
These mobility benefits come at a price, however. Team Disney will be hampered because neither Donald nor Goofy will have the ability to Dodge Roll, and this will hurt them against a deft opponent such as Link. Although it is technically a shared ability, I have never seen Sora's friends use the move during the first Kingdom Hearts. Besides that weakness, Dodge Roll will be impacted by the Hylian's excellent area coverage moves like Spin Attack as well as by Toon Link's own impressive evasion skills.
High Jump will be a more significant asset for Sora's mobility game, but just because it opens up the possibility of aerial attacks doesn't mean that the approach will be effective against everyone. More specifically, Link does have experience against flying opponents and although Sora can avoid some of his moves such as Spin Attack the fact remains that the Hylian's shield may get in the way of this approach. As for Sora's aerial defense, for the most part it is good although the Keyblade Master may be exposing himself to attacks underneath his guard if he decides to jump. Also, Sora obviously can't block while he is in the process of a High Jump.
As it could be expected, Link's different skills and fighting style lend themselves to a different approach to Short Range Mobility. First up for the Hero of Winds is his own Dodge Roll ability. While I pretty much summarized how using the move works in Sora's section, there are a few defferences to Link's move that warrant mentioning. Because of Link's smaller stature, his Dodge Roll makes him a smaller target against enemy aggression. The flip side of this is that Link's roll also covers less distance than Sora's corresponding technique. Both Warriors usually face enemies that tend to stand and fight rather than attempt evasion, so both of them may have trouble adapting to each other's Dodge Rolls. Link's advantage here is in the fact that he can take advantage of Sora's longer recovery time to have more attack opportunities than his counterpart.
As with before, the Dodge Roll is an important move but it plays second fiddle here to Link's main system of evasion. That is known as Z-Targeting, and whenever I have used phrases such as "Link's evasion skills" before I have been referring to this ability. Z-Targeting doesn't refer to the lock on system itself (which won't be a factor for the battle) as much as it does to the various jumps, flips, and sidesteps the Hylian has access to while targeting an opponent. As a brief explanation, whenever Link targets someone he has the options of doing a backflip to create distance from the enemy, leaping forward with a quick but powerful sword blow, or jumping to either side for avoidance or to gain a better angle of attack. Link is extremely quick with these techniques, and he can rapidly chain them together in order to avoid an enemy's combo or to just confuse the adversary into letting its guard down. There's a reason that I have mentioned the Z-targeting system so many times, and that's because it enables Link to pull off evasive maneuvers that the less nimble Sora just can't match. As with the Dodge Rolls, the Hero of Winds will be able to take advantage of Sora and Co.'s recovery time if he can pull off a jump or flip at an opprortune moment.
The main drawback of Link's Z-Targeting system is that no matter how nimble the young hero is, Link will still be at a disadvantage in the numbers game against Sora and his allies. This means that Link will have to work harder than ever to make sure that his acrobatics don't land him in trouble. Another weakness worth mentioning is the fact that Sora has quite a long reach with his Keyblade and is also quite fast himself with the weapon that chose him. Therefore, Link will have an even slimmer margin of error because of the Keyblade Master's range and unpredictability. Finally, the Hylian suffers because he lacks an aerial attack game; unlike Sora, Link will be firmly on the ground and he won't have the option of striking from seven feet in the air.
Overall Winner: Short Range Mobility
Yet again, our combatants bring two entirely different yet effective approaches to the same problem. Both Sora's Dodge Rolls and High Jump and Toon Link's Dodge Rolls and Z-Targeting give them an edge over their less mobile enemies in terms of close range fighting, but whose abilities give him the Edge in THIS battle?
Sora's High Jump will be useful to his team because everyone who fights by his side can use it as well; through skilled coordination with Donald and Goofy, the Keyblade Master may be able to execute a lethal attack plan from three angles- ground, air, and ranged! This approach may force Link to deplete his Magic Armor reserves sooner than he'd like, and thus from this confusion Team Disney would have an early advantage in the match. Also, the move ties well into Superglide by giving Sora the needed height to fly away whenever necessary. Dodge Rolls may help him to avoid a Hylian attack or two, and they could be useful when facing slower weapons such as the Hookshot and Skull Hammer. Team Disney will have to worry about Link's shield, however, and the quickness with which the Hylian can move it into position. Also, neither Donald nor Goofy can use Dodge Roll and even with the move Sora could still be exposed to Link's Bombs and Boomerang.
Toon Link's Dodge Rolls do much the same thing for him as Sora's, as their comparatively shorter distance is offset by Link's smaller target profile. Link will have greater opportunities to exploit recovery time, although this is offset by the Keyblade Master's allies and greater weapon reach. The Z-Targeting system, however, will give Toon Link a large advantage in close combat by allowing him to stay unpredictable against a larger and stronger opponent in Sora. The Keyblade Master will run a large risk in attempting a duel one-on-one against the Hylian, because Link just has more tricks up his sleeve in terms of evasion plus defense and it'll be too easy for him to avoid Sora's lunges and then retaliate with Master Sword combos. All is not lost for the Keyblade Master, however, because Sora retains the advantages of greater damage per hit, greater reach, and allies that may allow him to counter Link's nimbleness with some shock and awe of his own. With Donald and Goofy healthy and in the fight, Link will have far fewer escape routes than he would otherwise.
These are two strong contenders for the crown of Short Range Mobility, but I think that one entry is better all-around and that it will have a greater effect on the final battle. Not surprisingly, Toon Link gets the Edge here for a few good reasons. Most notably, the Z-Targeting abilities will give him tremendous flexibility in close quarters, especially when facing an enemy with a slower weapon like the Keyblade. Link's Dodge Rolls are tied with Sora's in effectiveness because even though the Hylian could take more advantage of them, his opponent will rely on dodge rolling more often for his general evasion needs. What made the difference for the Edge here was the difference in effectiveness between the High Jump and the Z-Targeting evasion. Sora's jumps will certainly be useful for him, but they also put Team Disney in a vulnerable state whenever they are used. I also took into account Link's shield here, which I think would be quite effective in blocking an aerial assault. Donald and Goofy's gang tactics could very well turn the tide here, but the options for getting out of trouble that the Z-Targeting system provides may instead keep Team Disney from getting all of their guns aimed at Link simultaneously. It'll be up to Sora to formulate a winning battle plan for his brothers in arms, but while doing so he'll certainly have to consider the close range mobility advantage of his most nimble opponent yet.
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| Link's Z-Targeting system allows him to carve up slow, dumb enemies such as this Bokoblin. Will it be enough to prevail against three determined and capable fighters? |
Category 10: Long Range Mobility
Sora's Superglide Ability versus Toon Link's Deku Leaf and Hookshot!
Now we come to the second mobility category, the Long Range comparison. The ability to cover distance quickly is one of the most important components to a battle strategy because it allows a Warrior to gain advantages in both position and resources, but more importantly it gives one the power to change strategies at will. This is because the Warrior with superior long range mobility can advance or retreat faster than the opponent, giving him the ability to dictate the course of the battle. The Long Range Mobility technique that Team Disney brings to this fight is the Superglide ability. Predictably, this allows Sora and his allies to fly through the air for several seconds at high speed in order to cover ground more quickly than by running. This is an obvious advantage for Team Disney because the Superglide ability gives them an easy way to advance at or escape from the battle. Also, it's worth noting that a faster target is harder to hit with most projectiles.
Sora and Co. will have a few things pertaining to Superglide to worry about, though. While the ability allows Sora to fly at high speeds, his course is also pretty linear and the Keyblade Master has a hard time changing course while gliding. This point will diminish the technique's evasive abilities against Link's Arrows somewhat, and there is also the potential for the Homing Boomerang to track Sora's course if the Hylian manages to pull it out in time. Besides that point, it should also be noted that Sora and Co. can't block incoming attacks while in Superglide- the team will have to rely on the numbers game, distraction, and Aeroga for defense here.
Once again, the Hero of Winds counters an orthodox move with several more unique ones. He's had mixed results before with this approach, so it's worth going into depth when describing the capabilities of his own Long Range Mobility moves, the Hookshot and the Deku Leaf. While Sora's move is a simple one that's great for most situations, Toon Link's techniques allow him to be extremely mobile but in a fewer number of scenarios. First up is the Hookshot, Link's weapon/grappling hook/spike on a chain that seems to be the jack of all trades in this fight. In terms of getting from point A to point B, the Hookshot enables Link to cover a lot of ground extremely quickly- even faster than Sora's Superglide. It's an excellent escape tool because it's usually unexpected- the Hylian can go from a standstill to flying away in an instant, and most enemies have a hard time deling with such a rapid change in spacing. Therefore, the Hookshot not only bails out Link when he needs it but the tool also throws off the enemy's plans of attack. One final thing that's worth mentioning about the Hookshot is that it's capable of vertical mobility- if Link spots a suitable target on a high ledge that he could use for tactical purposes, the Hylian could and would use that opportunity.
The Deku Leaf is the other half of Link's Long Range Mobility game, and it's focused on air travel unlike the Hookshot. The Hero of Winds can use the magical leaf as a parachute, riding gusts (which he can control with the Wind Waker) up and away from danger. The rate of travel with this technique is slow, but the potential for vertical mobility is unmatched by any other move in this battle.
Seeing that Link's techniques are more unusual than Sora's gliding move, there are bound to be some drawbacks that limit their effectiveness against an intelligent opponent. The Hookshot is unparalleled in terms of rate of travel, but Link can only use it on suitable targets (generally speaking, anything that's wood or looks like a target is fair game) and he can only grapple in a straight line. While the Hylian would travel too quickly to be a target while in motion, it does reduce the guesswork that the enemy needs to figure out Link's destination.
Overall Winner: Long Range Mobility
It would be expected of two able and equally matched Warriors to be close to each other in most areas of fighting, and Long Range Mobility is no exception to this rule. Yet again, both Sora and Toon Link show why they deserve to compete for the ultimate prize by fielding strong entries for this category. The tough part for me, then, is to determine whose mobility technique gives him the Edge here. This contest is at least as important for deciding an ultimate winner as the other mobility category because the ability to cover long distances in a short time affects everything from setting up ambushes to making retreats to enabling recovery and confusing the opponent. There's a reason that highly mobile Warriors such as the Mongols were so successful- by being faster than their enemies, these fighters could set the pace of the battles they fought to suit their terms. With that in mind, then, let's assess each of our combatants' moves against each other and determine a winner here.
Sora's Superglide move is a safe bet if there ever was one- it can be used in almost any situation possible, it's quick to execute, and it's just an all-around great tool for Team Disney to have. The mobility it gives Sora plays a major role in all of the Keyblade Master's other strategies and as such the teenage hero uses it all the time. In a nutshell, Sora wouldn't be an elite warrior without Superglide. However, with all of that said Team Disney will still have to worry about Link's dreaded Bow and Boomerang, among other threats.
Toon Link's moves, on the other hand, take a less traveled road by giving him excellent ways to quickly turn the positioning tables on his enemies. the Hookshot is lightning-quick to pull off, and in true Batman style the Hero of Winds can use this implement to fly away to safety or an advantageous position to recover or set up defenses. The Deku Leaf gives the Hylian something that his enemy just can't match- the freedom to travel the air without any height restrictions, or order to catch a breather or to just access a ledge from which he can revert to his trademark archery skills. For these advantages, though, Link's Hookshot suffers from its linear nature as well as its limited compatibility with targets. The Deku Leaf, on the other hand, exposes Link to major punishment if the opponent can get a clear angle for a shot at him.
The mobility techniques of Sora and Toon Link have been compared with every scenario taken into account, so now it's time to declare a winner. Which will it be, the general usefulness of Superglide or the unique benefits of the Hookshot and Deku Leaf? I expected this one to be a blowout for Sora at first, but as time went on I began to notice Link's advantages as well. However, two good moves are still not enough to overcome a single great one. Therefore, Sora's Superglide takes the Edge here mainly because it's such a big part of the Keyblade Master's whole philosophy on combat. To pt it simply, Team Disney relies on Superglide like a second right hand and it's an integral part of how they do battle. It's saved Sora's life time and time again, but most importantly it can be used any time and anywhere. While Link's moves have some interesting possibilities that could themselves aid him in this fight of destiny, they just don't have the versatility or the proven track record of Superglide that they needed for the Edge. Sora excels at Long Range Mobility, and movement is a larger part of his fighting style than it is to Toon Link. Superglide is perhaps Team Disney's killer app against the Hero of Winds, so the move gets a rightful Edge as a result.
Long Range Mobility Overall Winner: Sora!!!
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| Superglide's ability to be used in any possible circumstance gave it the Edge here, but I also factored in the team's experience with using it in actual combat. |
Intangibles Categories
Category 11: Training, Experience, and Tactical Knowledge
Sora's Tactics versus Toon Link's Tactics!
Sora: Headlong rush, attack with combos, be aggressive, confuse the opponent, attack weak points, defend others
The Intangibles comparisons are always less concrete to assess than the other combat abilities of any given matchup, but fortunately in this case our combatants differ in their approaches to Tactics enough that I can establish some basic conclusions in regards to how they stack up against each other. The Keyblade Master and friends approach battle with an intense passion that I have seen from few other fictional characters- from their combat footage (of which there is plenty in Sora's profile), it's clear that the gang makes all efforts to sieze the initiative in battle even when they confront enemies who have greater fighting capabilities than any of them individually. By taking risks and being the first to launch attacks, Team Disney greatly improves their odds to win against anyone because they swing the aspect of Momentum in their favor- and that's an X- Factor that we'll plug into the sim!!! ......Yeah, I had to do it.
Most of Sora's tactics were refined by engaging three types of enemies- first of all, squads of Heartless who attack in groups and launch simple, uncoordinated attack patterns. Against this type of threat, having the advantage of momentum is huge because the Heartless must rely on their numbers to flank and overwhelm Team Disney- if Sora and Co. beat them to the punch, though, the Heartless gangs quickly lose their chance to win because their effectiveness goes down with their numbers. The second threat type that has shaped Sora's Tactics consists of large bosses that his team needs to wear down by attrition. Examples of these include Cerberus, Chernabog, and the Dragon. Against these opponents, momentum means less than the ability to stick around long enough to reduce the Boss's health enough to defeat it. Through these types of confrontations, the Keyblade Master shows that he is not one-dimensional in his strategies because he can win battles through his recovery abilities as well. The final enemy type that has influenced Sora's Tactics includes swift and skilled enemies like him, such as his rival Riku, Antisora, Cloud Strife, and Sephiroth. These opponents, like the Keyblade Master, launch hard-to-avoid offensive blitzes against their targets and don't let up. Predictably, Sora has the greatest difficulty against this enemy type because against them he doesn't get the space he needs to retreat when he needs to use Curaga or a potion. Instead, he relies on Donald and Goofy to take some of the heat off him while the Keyblade Master splits his time between darting around with Superglide and countering the adversary's combination attacks with some of his own. In any case, it's usually a hard-fought battle but Sora does have an edge against these guys because of his greater moveset as well as his aforementioned Allies.
The questrion is, then, how does this all pertain to Sora's current opponent, Toon Link? As far as the enemy classifications go, I believe that the Hylian is a cross between enemy categories two and three because Link has heavy defenses and a slow running speed but he's also gifted with fast combination attacks and some excellent acrobatic abilities. I think that fits in nicely with how Sora is going to tactically approach this fight- he'll certainly be aggressive and mobile as he is against type three, but he'll also try to fit in some of the approaches that he uses against type two such as using evasion and Superglide to avoid damage while using his Allies to distract and wear down the opponent. When the factor of confusion is thrown in beacuse of the numbers game as well as Sora's quick tempo in general, it can be figured that Team Disney's tactical approach to combat can be effective if they combine the best lessons from their past experiences.
Unfortunately for Sora and his allies, there are some flaws in their tactical approach that could be exploited by a competent adversary such as Toon Link. As I mentioned already, the Hero of Winds resembles most the enemy type that Sora had the most trouble with over the course of his journeys- a nimble, intelligent fighter that has an expansive attack set as well as versatile strategies of his own. What puts Link above these other enemies, however, is that he doesn't box himself into exploitable patterns- while enemies such as Riku and Antisora cycled through predetermined attack sets, Link is able to use whatever move suits him best for the occasion. This versatility, combined with the Hylian's ability to strike from any range, will limit some of Sora's previously effective strategies such as the hit and run tactics that served him well in so many previous engagements. That is probably Sora's biggest strategic weakness, but the teenage hero's reliance on Donald and Goofy for cover can be a double edged sword as well- if the Keyblade Master can't bring the full might of Team Disney against Toon Link at once, then the Hero of Winds will have a much easier time of dealing with Sora individually.
Toon Link: sword combat up close, emphasis on equipment options, long range capabilities, defense oriented
Toon Link has some things in common with Sora in terms of combat strategy, but he also takes a different approach as to the main focus of his goals in battle. Against many enemies, it's sufficient for Link to just charge and hack away with the Master Sword's rapid combos. When the odds are tougher for him, though, the Hylian is also capable of mixing evasion, defense, and his attack equipment into his moveset as needed. I said it before, and I'll indicate it again here: the key to Link's tactical success lies in the Options he has to deal with varying threats to hiss well-being. While Sora is versatile to a point when it comes to his variety of Keyblade attacks and spells, he loses much of his effectiveness if he can't or won't seize the initiative of attack from the opponent. In short, the Keyblade Master is an expert at the offensive blitz but he suffers if his team is forced into playing a defensive game. Link, by contrast, doesn't have the help of his friends but he is also more flexible in regards to being able to counter enemy attacks- with his shield and magic armor, the Hylian can afford to take a few hits and then be able to strike right back when the opponent's guard is down.
Besides his defensive focus, Link also turns to his slew of weapons in order to get the advantage in specific combat situations. His equipment stands out because of the specialization each implement has- for some examples, the Hammer is for stunned enemies, the Bombs can destroy the cohesion of an enemy group, and the Bow of course is effective against opponents who prefer to stay at a distance. Therefore, Link's Tactics are always changing to suit the circumstances that the boy hero finds himself in during the given moment. Toon Link's enemies, particularly the bosses, all require some guesswork to defeat and some weapons are better than others against specific foes. Thus, throughout his quest the Hero of Winds is always measuring the strengths and weaknesses of his current enemies in order to formulate the most effective strategies for dealing with them. Against Sora and Co., Link will face by far the largest test of this ability to adapt properly due to the unique abilities of each member of Team Disney as well as the Keyblade Master's own aggressive mixture of weapon combos and attack magic. However, if Link can withstand Sora's blitzes long enough to figure out patterns he can exploit, then the Hylian's Tactics will pay off for him.
Guess what's new- this comparison is extremely tough to call! Sora and Toon Link have differences in the ways that they deal tactically with their opponents, but overall they have more similarities in this regard than differences. Both can be quite aggressive and just rely on power and speed to win, but they are also quite versatile in terms of the strategies and options they have for combating different threats. The thing is, this category is so close to call because each of these Warriors brings strategically what his enemy is least able to counter in a battle. For Sora, this is the capability of his team to be extremely aggressive in attacking while also working together like a pride of lions in order to bring down single enemies such as the Hero of Winds. For Link, it's his thinking powers, speed, defense, and attack variety that allow him to outwit, outplay, and outlast less versatile opponents like the Keyblade Master.
In fact, both Sora and Toon Link have faced portraits of their future adversaries in their pasts- Sora's struggles against Cloud, Sephiroth, and Antisora were explained before, while Link had a tough time to say the least against the one enemy that comes close to Sora's offensive prowess, Ganondorf. Both had difficulty against foes remniscent of this fight, but who can best counter the Tactics of his enemy?
When I asked myself this question, a slight but noticeable Edge in Tactics began to reveal itself. When Toon Link faces Sora, he'll certainly face the biggest challenge of his young life in trying to combat the aggression and group tactics of Team Disney. However, the difference is that Link might just have the know-how required in order to react to a new and disadvantageous situation- he's done it in the past, and while it won't be easy by any means the Hero of Winds at least has a chance to figure out Sora's weaknesses in order to exploit them. Link's evasion and defense could be a big help in this regard, buying him enough time to be able to counter the Keyblade Master's strategies with some of his own.
Sora, on the other hand, has a definite advantage over Link for experience against enemies resembling the Hylian. To an extent, he'll know what to expect from a quick and aggressive foe such as Link, and he'll also have the assets of Donald and Goofy for flanking purposes as well as the mobility of Superglide. I can't ignore, though, the trouble that Sora has had against these enemies as they were easily his toughest battles. When the Keyblade Master doesn't have the luxury of being able to hit and run at will (such as when facing Heartless mobs and large bosses), his tactics are strained because he's dealing with someone who can chase him and dish out fast punishment just like he does. The excellent defense and versatility of Link make this worse than usual for Sora in my mind, because against the Hylian he will be forced to bring the heat early and mix it up more than ever in order to keep Link confused and vulnerable. Not only that, but Toon Link brings a level of unpredictability that Sora hasn't seen before- he hasn't faced an enemy yet who can transition between completely different weapons at will, at random, and to take advantage of any situation!
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
Sora's Past Experience versus Link's Past Experience!
Sora: widespread travels, childhood training, duels, squad combat, death experience
Sora is a lifelong fighter, someone who has trained since childhood in the arts of warfare. Actually, the term "warfare" may be harsh, since up until his adventures started Sora's training consisted of duels with his friends. After the destruction of the Destiny Islands, however, the Keyblade Master is almost constantly fighting against a wide array of opponents ranging from Disney villains to the Heartless. In addition to experience against this variety of enemies, Sora is also constantly learning new spells and Keyblade techniques that allow him greater options for dealing with opponents. The other main factor of Sora's experience has to do with the variety of environments to which he has adapted his fighting styles- from deserts to cold stone castles, the Keyblade Master has seen a ton of different places and Sora has adapted to each one in turn.
It should be obvious that Sora has plenty of training and experience from his struggles against the Heartless, but it's equally important to mention his proficiency in duel scenarios. Against singular enemies such as Ansem and Riku, Sora has waged some close battles; this experience could prove to be valuable against Link because the teenage hero has learned from each of his duels. One can't ignore the experience of fighting in a squad either, because Sora has plenty of it along with his allies Donald and Goofy. In general, they get along well as a team and although their communication is sometimes to be desired their dedication to a common goal is not.
One final thing that warrants mentioning is that Sora has experienced death firsthand; in the game it's not explicitly referred to as such, but for all intensive purposes losing one's heart is equivalent to death. Although this factor won't affect Sora's combat abilities directly, I'd assume that such a traumatic experience would significantly alter one's mindset and personal views about fighting. Therefore, having this experience will benefit Sora by giving him greater will to fight to the end of life. In addition to this, a small chance always exists that the Keyblade Master could be revived like he was in the game.
Toon Link: trained by Orca and self-taught, five dungeons, exploration, sea combat
Toon Link, by contrast, became a Warrior only when he absolutely needed to; his sister Aryll was kidnapped, so he had no choice but to take up the family arms and train under Orca for his own quest. The interesting part about Link's training is that he learned to fight so quickly; after only a few days of studying under Orca, he already had his moves perfected and ready to use against any opponent. Formalized training in the martial arts can instill discipline and direction in a young student such as Link, but what matters even more is experience in the field against real opponents. In this area, Link has accomplished a great deal through victories over a variety of monsters in several different environments. Each enemy Link has defeated previously required a different approach in combat, so the Hylian has definitely gotten variety in terms of his past opponents' fighting styles.
In the category of Training and Experience, we have two entrants that specialize in markedly different areas. Sora definitely has the edge in terms of fighting experience, owing to his lifelong training and his many duels against some of the most persistent enemies this side of the Necromorphs, the Heartless. I just can't give Link preference here because the Hylian has clearly been fighting for a shorter time than Sora, and even though Orca's training was useful it's still no substitute for real battlefield experience. Fighting with some allies for a while is also a clear benefit, and having died already and lived to tell the tale only increases Sora's resolve to be on the winning side.
With that said, however, Link clearly has an advantage in terms of non-combat experience because of the nature of his past challenges. Wind Waker's dungeons required some degree of patience intelligence for him to solve, and as such Link didn't always walk into an open room and go hog-wild like Sora usually did. While Sora has seen more places than Link, it can be said that Link has learned more from what he has accomplished. The Hylian has experienced more unique puzzles than Sora, and these have in turn refined his ability to adapt to new situations.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Overall Winner: Training, Experience, and Tactical Knowledge
These three intangibles have been combined in a single category because in my view they are closely influenced by each other. All three have to do with discipline in a fight, and they are arguably the most important intangibles. In terms of Sora vs. Toon Link, the two contests were split with Toon Link getting the tactical edge for his versatility and strategic abilities while Sora won the advantage for Training and Experience. To determine an overall edge for this category, let's compare the outcomes of both matches and decide who deserves to win, shall we?
Toon Link is the tactical guru in the comparison, as his wide variety of attack and defense options could aid him in combating Sora's numbers game. By formulating a strategy to combat Team Disney, Link may buy himself enough time to disrupt and destroy their cohesiveness and steal the win. Link will have the factor of resourcefulness on his side, as he's shown to me that he is quite capable of using both his equipment and the environment for his benefit.
Sora, on the other hand, is clearly more experienced in combat- I'd say that the Keyblade Master and friends have about twice Link's tenure in the arena, and they can't be beat in terms of being able to dispatch armies of Heartless quickly. They have plenty of ability to work together, and this means that the sum of their powers is greater than the whole. In a contest of swordsmanship, Sora would have all the necessary tricks to overwhelm his Hylian adversary.
Training, Experience, and Tactical Knowledge Overall Winner: Toon Link!!!
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| Link's Tactical versatility includes his willingness to use any available object as a weapon- particularly the tools of his fallen enemies. |
Ratt- You Think You're Tough???
Category 12: Past Opponents and Defining Moment
Sora's Past Opponents versus Toon Link's Past Opponents!
Sora: Too Many to List, Overall Quality: Extremely High
These two intangibles categories measure the actual accomplishments of our combatants in order to determine who has an edge based on their fighting abilities against their most dangerous past opponents. As such, the contests of Past Opponents and Defining Moment cannot be overlooked because they are our most dependable measure of each fighter's overall combat abilities. Since this category is so important, then, I'll carefully consider the prior triumphs of Sora and Toon link to see who will enter this ultimate showdown with the best practical experience.
To say that the Keyblade Master's accomplishments over the course of the first Kingdom Hearts were exceptional would be quite the understatement; in fact, it's tough to find anyone Sora's age who has bested the level and variety of opponents that he has and it's even more difficult to find past enemies who have actually gotten the best of our teen hero. As I mentioned in the previous comparison, Team Disney has combat experience against three types of enemies and they are quite effective against all of them. The Keyblade Master and friends must be prepared for a war anywhere they go, since their Heartless enemies have the ability to materialize out of thin air and in large coordinated squads. I can't emphasize enough the value of fight after skirmish after battle, all the time; it has hardened Team Disney to the point where slaying Heartless is almost routine, and as such they can focus their attention to the real adversaries who wish their destruction......
Toon Link: Ganondorf's Minions, Temple Bosses, Phantom Ganon, Ganondorf, Savage Labyrinth. Overall Quality: Very High
The Hero of Winds does not face quite the variety or quality of opponents on his journey that Sora did, but that doesn't automatically write him off of this category either. Most of Toon Link's past enemies were monsters that had some type of allegiance to Ganondorf, and they varied quite a bit in fighting styles and abilities. Many of them were specific to the dungeons that Link explored at various times, and each type required a specific strategy to defeat. Many could simply be hacked to death to be sure, but this is a gross simplification of the Hylian's wider experiences against Ganon's monsters. It's already been demonstrated that some opponents such as Darknuts and Stalfoses were quite potent and they weren't the pushovers that one commonly associates with Toon Link's enemies. What is a more convincing fact for Link's cause here, though, is that he was always alone against hordes of monsters but the Hylian won every time; the Hero of Winds had to rely on his own ingenuity and reflexes to prevail, and he could never rely on help by anyone (with one major exception). While Sora proved himself by taking down the best enemies of his world, Link fought some tough opponents alone and therefore the experience gained is actually pretty similar between the two.
Besides defeating normal enemies, Link also has a record against boss opponents that is pretty impressive in its own right. The major opponents faced by Link are always larger than he is, and each one can only be defeated if Link finds out their weaknesses and exploits them. This taught the Hylian how to use his arsenal of equipment to the fullest as well as the importance of being patient and then trying to use the enemy's patterns against it. Link doesn't get to fight as many bosses during his quest as Sora does, but each one he defeats brought a totally different approach to the table that the Hylian needed to adjust to for the win. However, this doesn't quite excuse the gap in variety and difficulty that exists between Link's enemies and Sora's either; probably the only one of Link's past adversaries that could have stood up to a Sephiroth or a Riku was Ganondorf, and as was shown in the videos the Hero of Winds had a difficult time to say the least in that final struggle of his quest.
As the previous paragraphs stated, the competition of Past Opponents between Sora and Toon Link isn't quite as simple as it may appear at first glance. The Keyblade Master, of course, shines because of the sheer difficulty and variety of his past enemies- it goes to say that probably no other character Sora's age has gone through as much combat as him, and as such he gets an Extremely High rating in this category. Link's record is nothing to sneer at either, though, because not only did his past opponents take some guesswork to defeat, but Link was able to beat them all by himself and he did face some genuinely tough enemies as well (such as the Helmaroc King and Ganondorf). In addition to these two points, it's also worth mentioning that Link was never defeated outright by his opponents unlike Sora (although he was only able to slay Ganondorf with some help by Zelda). Here's the main question: are all of those valid points enough to offset Sora's clear advantages in opponent quality and number?
EDGE: Sora!!!
Sora's Defining Moment versus Toon Link's Defining Moment!
Now we come to the intangibles categories that are harder to interpret, and this is because they don't directly concern a Warrior's fighting abilities. Defining Moment and Psychology definitely play a role in a matchup to be sure, but it all has to be analyzed to see who deserves the Edges in these areas. Our comparison here is grouped with Past Opponents for a good reason- a Warrior's Defining Moment shows that fighter at his absolute best- a Defining Moment is what we remember Warriors for, and throughout history it's these struggles that have set some leaders above others. One's Defining Moment is often his greatest battle, but this isn't always necessarily the case. What I'm looking for in the Defining Moments of Sora and Toon Link is how they performed in the most dire circumstances imaginable- neither of these fights were against our Warriors' most powerful foes, but both showdowns demonstrated to me how their winners were able to adapt to and triumph over their mightiest past demons. Both of these heroes grew up emotionally thanks to these encounters, and both were tested to their limits in terms of combat as well. Therefore, the Defining Moment category will be assessed with two main points in mind- How great were the challenges to overcome, and how well did the respective Warriors meet them?
Sora: The Duels With a Fallen Hero, Riku
As always, we'll begin with Sora's entry, and in this case his Defining Moment came against probably the most personal enemy imaginable- his own best friend! Riku was always a friendly rival to Sora, but eventually the two became bitter enemies due to several factors- the most prominent of these was probably their ethical codes- Riku was never afraid to go out and grasp power, even at the expense of others. As was the case with another fictional villain, the young man let his paranoia and desire for one person (Kairi) override all other considerations. The fact that Sora possessed both the Keyblade and Kairi drove Riku past his breaking point, and he thus became a sworn enemy of Team Disney.
Riku was guided in the dark ways by Maleficent, and his powers quickly grew to the point where he was able to steal the Keyblade from Sora (the magical weapon is drawn to the strongest person around). Donald and Goofy left Sora as well, and therefore the boy hero hit a figurative rock bottom.
The story doesn't end there, however, because Sora eventually worked up the nerve to challenge Riku for his old weapon back. When the dark prince tried to kill him in response, Sora's allies came back to his side and their strength of heart won the Keyblade back to its original owner. Team Disney won the first battle, and as explained in the profile the defeated Riku gave his heart over to Ansem and became all-powerful in return. The culmination of this rivalry took place at the keyhole of Hollow Bastion, and in that battle Sora was able to single-handedly defeat a superior foe through the use of his quickness and strategizing abilities. After Riku's fall, the Keyblade Master had a decision to make: keep ones' own life, or make the sacrifice so that Kairi would live? Much to the consternation of his friends, Sora took the latter option and killed himself for the good of the Disney universe.
Sora's Defining Moment shows me some important things that set him apart as a Warrior, as well as demonstrating his competence in fighting ability. The major gain for Sora in terms of how he dealt with his circumstances was that he was always willing to try again and stand up to evil even against incredible odds- one may call facing down a Keyblade wielding opponent unarmed suicidal, but Sora was able to win the day through his convictions and the bonds he had with Donald and Goofy. In terms of his actual performance against Dark Riku, I have already elaborated on how that opponent took his fighting skills to the limit- Sora was alone against an enemy who knew him well and had greater offensive abilities, but through the help of Kairi he was able to beat even the tactics of Ansem himself. What really defines Sora, however, is his choice to accept death for the sake of another person. One may call him foolish for carrying out the deed, but I think it also shows his determination and devotion to the cause of good that few other heroes can match.
Toon Link: The Final Showdown with the Helmaroc King
In contrast with Sora's Defining Moment, Link's is more about personal growth than strength of conviction. However, I am comparing them because both moments demonstrate some of the best mental qualities of these fighters. Toon Link's feud with the Helmaroc King was what originally set him out on the quest of a lifetime, and even though Ganon reared his ugly head before long the bird remained a major threat until its defeat. The Helmaroc King was a big bird that served as the Great King of Evil's personal minion; its job was to kidnap girls with long ears in order to reveal the identity of the reincarnated Princess Zelda of folklore. Link only got involved in this story though a stroke of chance- The bird was pursuing the pirate girl Tetra, but instead mistook Link's sister Aryll for the surly buccaneeress. After the deed was done, Link made it his goal to find the Helmaroc King, defeat it, and free its captives. Unfortunately for the Hero of Winds, his first crack at this ended in utter failure- at a simple wave of Ganondorf's hand, the bird flung Link to the dark ocean and the boy was powerless to stop it.
Later in his quest, Link found the Master Sword and again pursued the Helmaroc King to its nest at the Forsaken Fortress. This time, the Hylian with his acquired skills was able to defeat the tower's Moblin guards and access the dungeon where the Great Sea's female children were being kept. As the pirates escorted the girls to safety, an evil yet magnificent creature swooped down to settle the score....
The actual fight of Link vs. the Helmaroc King was exciting, but not terribly difficult for the boy hero. the Hylian had by this point amassed much experience against large bosses, and by using his new equipment (particularly the Skull Hammer), he was able to outsmart and defeat the hawk of doom with only moderate trouble. After the bird was subjected to rotisserie, the Hero of Winds then went to confront Ganondorf himself..... and lost again quite convincingly. Only some quick action by the pirates and Prince Komali saved Link and Zelds from certain death by decapitation. His bravery was to be commended, but it was obvious that Link had not yet completed his maturation into the legendary hero that he was to later become.
As I hinted at earlier, this Defining Moment was all about maturation for Toon Link. What set this fight apart from the final battle vs. Ganondorf for me were two things: first of all, the Hylian's score with the Helmaroc King went all the way to the start of his journey and it showed how Link was able to greatly improve his abilities during his travels. Secondly, unlike in the final struggle Link didn't get any help here; he had to rely on his own merits to overcome an enemy with considerable size and strength advantages. In addition to these points, it's also worth mentioning that the Hylian was also willing to put his life on the line as demonstrated by his actions in freeing the children and facing the bird alone. Toon Link's story is defined more by his personal growth than Sora's is (probably owing to his younger age), and as such this fight is an excellent Defining Moment for him.
This comparison is an excellent example of how Defining Moments can be made for different reasons. While both Sora and Toon Link defeated superior enemies and demonstrated some of their best combat moments, it's also obvious that their moments defined them for different reasons. In Sora's case, it was his strength of conviction and emotional fortitude that allowed him to strike back at a corrupted foe and sieze victory from the jaws of defeat; without this toughness, the Keyblade Master simply would have never become such. Of course, the fact that he overcame an enemy faster and mightier than he was is also an impressive accomplishment! Finally, Sora's determination to pursue what's right until the very end nearly was the actual end of him, but this moment also defines who Sora is in terms of his mindset as a Warrior.
Link, on the other hand, won his own fame through constant improvement of his strategies and implements. Against the Helmaroc King, the boy hero showed incredible valor by standing alone and facing a challenge that had already defeated him before. However, even against this sizable threat Link was unfazed; he had matured to the point where he could master his old fears, and not even the Hawk of Doom could stop his quest to free the ocean from dark forces. The Helmaroc King was no match for someone who wasn't afraid of it anymore, and by defeating this opponent Link also slayed his past insecurities about not being good enough to save his sister. To be brief, Link had changed but his motivations had not.
Whose Defining Moment, then, is more impressive in demonstrating its Warrior's maximum physical and emotional capabilities in battle? Link's shows clearly that the boy hero isn't afraid of anything- no matter the challenge, he will attempt to meet and defeat it as long as it's for a good cause. By winning over the Helmaroc King, Link triumphed over his first major enemy and took the first step toward becoming a truly admirable hero. Despite those accomplishments, though, Sora's Defining Moment definitely showed to me that the Keyblade Master can take a lot of mental and physical punishment and still keep on fighting. When considering the angle of mental performance, Sora clearly wins for being able to defeat his oldest enemy and win back his friends through conviction alone. While Link's situation was also dire, it's evident that Sora was able to overcome greater odds and still win the mental struggle with his opponent. Speaking of Riku, he was a tough bastard for the teenage hero to defeat- but Sora was able to do it even when Riku was possessed by the Seeker of Darkness, Ansem. Such would be a formidable encounter for any Warrior, let alone a fourteen-year-old who was slower and weaker on paper than Riku. As far as his ultimate sacrifice goes, that at least demonstrates the lengths to which Sora is able to go for his cause. Sora's belief in himself is what defines him, and that has allowed the Keyblade Master to accomplish some outstanding feats. His struggles against Riku were the most impressive of these, and he wins the Defining Moment category for them.
EDGE: Sora!!!
Overall Winner: Past Opponents and Defining Moment
For once, I'll cut to the chase here; Team Disney gets the Overall Edge for Past Opponents and Defining Moment. In my opinion, Sora and Co. have simply fought and defeated a greater range and quality of enemies than Toon Link, and Sora has displayed superior mental toughness in his struggles versus Dark Riku. I'd elaborate further on the reasons for this Edge, but frankly the category edges explain all that's needed to be said. By winning this category, Sora has proven to me that his track record is simply better than the Hero of Wind's and as such he is entitled to every advantage which these past experiences entitle him.
Past Oponents and Defining Moment Overall Winner: Sora!!!
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| Sora's courage and love for others are central to his cause, so it's appropriate that his Defining Moment is the most significant example of this altruism. |
Van Halen- Love Walks In
Category 13: Psychological Aspects and Motivations
Sora's Psychology versus Link's Psychology!
Despite the fact that one's psychological tendencies are not a tangible weapon of combat, the way that one thinks plays a huge role in the outcome of mankind's wars. In fact, I'd say that psychological factors are one of the most significant parts of a Warrior's duty; in class, we always learn from our sensei that in order to win a fight, you must have already defeated your opponent mentally. It probably goes without saying that when everything else about two opposing forces is equal, the one that fights smarter is bound to win. Psychology's about understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the enemy, and prudent use of this information allows a Warrior to maximize the effectiveness of the other factors of combat at his disposal. With that point in mind, let's closely analyze the psychological tendencies of Sora and Toon Link in order to determine who can mentally win this ultimate showdown before it starts......
Sora:
Strengths: utterly determined, strong motivation, team mentality, personal responsibility, loyalty of teammates and allies, unselfishness, love
Weaknesses: very impulsive, temperamental, poor decision making at times, personal issues with teammates and allies, stubbornness, love
As I pointed out earlier in the previous comparison, Sora's major reason to fight is to protect his firends. The Keyblade Master is extremely determined, and time and time again Sora has shown that he won't back down from any challenge. As far as this fight goes, he has a slight age advantage over his opponent Toon Link, and as a teenager versus a preteen his mental processes demonstrate a level of refinement over the more simplistic reasoning of younger kids. Sora's experienced a greater variety of tough situations over his quest than Link, and this owes to the fact that his story is darker in general than the more kid-oriented Zelda games. The Keyblade Master has lost loved ones, his home has been destroyed, and he knows how deal better with such events than someone younger, who perhaps could be naive about some of the harsher realities of life as a Warrior.
In addition to Sora's personal competence, his other main psychological edge has to do with his rapport with his friends and allies. While they don't always get along with each other, Team Disney usually sticks together and battle and they give one another encouragement when their chips are down. As such, it's clear that Sora has an advantage because of the team mentality of his friends. Something that's tied in with this is the factor of love- Sora's just entering puberty, and as such he is becoming quite drawn to his best female friend, Kairi. If her welfare is ever at risk, one can be sure that Sora will do everything in his power to relieve her.
Toon Link:
Strengths: high motivation, self-sufficient, good relations with allies, resourcefulness, strategic thinking, protective instincts, cool-headedness for the most part
Weaknesses: impulsive at times, distant relationships with allies, immaturity, hesitation, some bad decision making, sometimes gets into bad situations without help
Toon Link is only a year and a half younger than his current enemy, so it's no coincidence that he has many psychological aspects in common with Sora. Like the Keyblade Master, Link is very motivated in his quest primarily by a desire to protect loved ones sich as his grandmother and sister. As an older brother, and the lone male member of his family, Link already has some experience in responsibility as well as hard work. While it's not directly evidenced in the game, it's reasonable to assume that Toon Link had to take care of himself on Outset Island as well as his little sister (his parents aren't referred to in any way, and Grandma had only a small parenting role). It's definitely apparent later on that Link knows how to take care of himself when he takes on the high seas and treacherous dungeons alone, with only limited guidance by his talking boat.
As I have emphasized multiple times already, Link's past challenges have emphasized his problem solving and reasoning abilities above straight-up fighting. While he's certainly not inexperienced with the latter, the Hylian has also shown that he is capable of coming up with creative solutions to complex problems. It's this cool-headed and objective viewpoint of situations that has helped him to win the day against mightier yet perhaps less logical enemies like Ganondorf. The primary psychological benefit to arise out of this is Link's resourcefulness; he has shown that he is capable of changing his strategies in the middle of a fight in order to adapt to changing conditions. An excellent example of this comes from Link's fight against Puppet Ganon, although there are others as well. A final point worth mentioning is the good relations Toon Link enjoys with his allies- as far as I know, the Hero of Winds has never had a serious row with his friends- in fact, to the contrary many of them (such as Prince Komali) look at him as a role model to be imitated. Of Link's Allies, the most important one is Tetra/Princess Zelda, with whom he can communicate with at any time through the use of a magical stone.
Being slightly younger is both a blessing and a curse for Toon Link. While he doesn't suffer from some of the emotional issues of the adolescent Sora, the Hylian also misses out on some of the maturity that comes when one nears adulthood. He's seen plenty of combat to be sure, but rarely has he experienced the harsher side of warfare. His sister was kidnapped, but otherwise I just have a suspicion that Link doesn't have the track record in combat of Sora. The former has sacrificed himself for others numerous times, while Link hasn't had to make tough choices before. What the Hylian does have in common with Sora in terms of psychological weaknesses is a history of making some reckless choices; they haven't been as significant as the Keyblade Master's mistakes, but they have occurred. The one thing that the Hero of Winds has going for him is that he seems to have learned from his bad choices over the course of his journey; in fact, as I mentioned earlier Link seems to have matured a good deal by the end of Wind Waker.
These two adolescent Warriors have plenty of psychological traits in common, but due to differences in environment and age they also tend to view combat differently. Both were forced to take up arms to protect their homes and friends, but their psychological supports are divergent. Sora is a classical adolescent male personality who is competitive, aggressive, and strongly influenced by his role models Donald and Goofy. The aforementioned duo complements the Keyblade Master well in that they make up for two of his greatest shortcomings: thinking things through before acting (Donald) and restraining one's reckless tendencies (Goofy). However, this is an inadequate analysis of the team dynamic of the group; in this case, the sum is really greater than its parts because Team Disney works together for combat as well as encouragement. It's highly unlikely that any of the members will get demoralized or flee as long as the others are alive, but even without help Sora has shown that he's capable of facing opponents by himself (like Ansem and Riku). Sora himself is absolutely convinced of his beliefs, almost to a fault- his tendencies for teenage love and his energetic personality combine to reveal some traits negative for a good Warrior- in battle, it's often no coincidence that the reckless soldiers die first.
Toon Link, on the other hand, views things from a different angle and thus he has his own set of psychological strengths and weaknesses. The Hylian has proven himself to be incredibly resourceful and self-sufficient in his past quest, and his (comparatively) cooler approach to warfare means to me that when push comes to shove Link may be less likely to commit a fatal tactical decision than his Keyblade-wielding counterpart. However, this deliberation also comes with a price- Link may be less willing to take the risk that could win the battle. Link's main psychological asset for me is that he seemed to grow up more during his story than Sora did; the latter grew stronger and more responsible to be sure, but his personality remained essentially unaltered. Contrast that with Toon Link, who had a ton of responsibilities thrown at him at a young age but seemed to become mature beyond his years through his actions. There are two areas, however, where the Hero of Winds suffers when compared to his counterpart: first and foremost, he hasn't had to deal with the psychological stressors that Sora has, so there's still a question to be answered in terms of his reaction to a truly dangerous situation. He seemed determined and unfazed whenever he met trouble during his quest, but then again his home and family weren't destroyed by darkness either. The other shortcoming has to do with the absence of his allies in combat- they may show up or they may not, but in most cases the Hylian must do without help when confronting his enemies.
That was a lot of analysis, but what matters as always is who gets the Edge for this category. A strong case can be made for either contender because they have unique psychological profiles and characteristics. One can look at Sora's team mentality and never-give-up attitude and give him the edge for pure strength of character. However, through a (by no means easy) series of comparisons I have decided instead to award the psychological Edge to the Hero of Winds, Toon Link. It's pretty ironic that the younger fighter turns out to be the more mature Warrior, but that seems to be the case here. While Sora's dedication and energy are commendable, when watching his story I got the impression too many times that the Keyblade Master has something to learn about prudent fighting. He's managed to go far thanks to his partners, but they also give him a kind of crutch that insulates him from the consequences of his actions. Without Donald or Goofy to restrain him, Sora's aggression comes back to bite him sometimes and when alone he's also more vulnerable to a tactically-minded opponent. I think that his intense love for Kairi only exacerbates this situation because as like any well-meaning but naive teenage boy with a crush he tends to view things through the prism of someone else as opposed to what suits his own interests. Toon Link's own flaws, while not insignificant, seem to be less dramatic in comparison. The Hylian usually lacks the support of friends, but then again he has faced an entire quest while being alone most of the time and so this may not be as significant as it appears at first glance. It's true that Link is less motivated than Sora is to take risks, but with his emphasis on defense he has somewhat greater freedom to hunker down and wait for the right opportunities to attack. What really made the difference here for me is the maturity that Link gained over his quest- he seems to have undergone greater psychological development than Sora (in terms of decision making), and I have to take this into account when determining an Edge. Overall, Toon Link wins this comparison because he's a more consistent and balanced person who I think is less likely to lose because of his drawbacks.
EDGE: Toon Link!!!
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| Toon Link doesn't always wear green...... but he usually does. |
Sora's Motivations versus Toon Link's Motivations!
It's been a long ride, but we are finally at the lone remaining Edge to be decided! I saved the Motivations comparison for last for a good reason; because I feel that nothing prepares the reader for a match of this significance like an assessment of what it is that these Warriors put their lives on the line for every time they walk into the ring. The Motivation category is a subsidiary of the larger Psychological profile of a Warrior, which I have decided to group it with the category of that name. However, this trait is a slightly different type of cat because it forms the basis for most other thought processes that a Warrior goes through before, during, and after a showdown. It's been proven repeatedly that without motivation there is no way that anyone will willingly risk death, and likewise having a sound cause can be a major influence on troop morale and even tactical decisions. We have all heard of Henry V's stand at Agincourt (which I mention on its 596th anniversary), and the heroism of that king and his brother were able to motivate an outnumbered band of common soldiers to victory against some of the best knights in the world at the time. The motivational abilities of generals such as Julius Caesar, William the Conqueror, and Joan of Arc were likewise able to have a real effect on the outcomes of those leaders' respective campaigns.
Therefore, I believe that Motivation and Leadership do have an important role in warfare and as such I will assess it as a legitimate category. Of course, like always Sora and Toon Link will have motivational traits both in common and separate, so without further ado let's summarize what it really is that these two young Warriors are so convinced about!
Sora:
Protecting his friends, loyalty to others, desire to fight evil, love (Kairi)Sora's your typical teenage RPG hero, so of course his motivations are tied directly into his story. His biography contains a more detailed account, but to refresh the reader's memory I'll give a crash course here: Sora started out living an idyllic existence on his home of Outset Island along with his best friends. One day, an ominous figure appeared to him that predicted the coming end of his world. Surely enough, soon afterwards monsters known as the Heartless appeared from dark portals and utterly destroyed Sora's home. However, the young man's generous and caring heart caused a mysterious weapon known as the Keyblade to select him as its wielder. Despite having this newfound ability to combat the Heartless, Sora was unable to save the Destiny Islands and his family plus most of his friends were killed by the minions of doom.
It's apparent that Sora's circumstances tie into his motivations, but even before his adventure started the Keyblade Master showed generosity and concern for others. As was already stated in Sora's profile, because of the destruction of his world the teenage hero is willing to help anyone who needs it against their common enemy, the Heartless. Most often, this entails Sora and Co. getting involved in the local politics of the Disney world and assisting the local heroes against the villain threatening their home. Once the villain is defeated, it's then Sora's responsibility to "lock" the world using his Keyblade so it can no longer be corrupted by the Heartless. Although slightly naive about the process at first, Sora then matures to the extent that he accepts this task as his most important duty. The fate of every world is tied directly to Sora, so he goes into battle knowing the significance of his actions.
Besides saving other worlds from darkness, Sora's next major motivation is trying to locate and protect his friends. Many of them from the Destiny Islands are presumed dead (as we never hear from them again), but Sora's two major companions, Riku and Kairi, survive and play major roles in the story of Kingdom Hearts. Riku was Sora's best male friend and his cheerful rival, but as has been explained he turned to the dark side out of jealousy and paranoia. He serves as one of the Keyblade Master's most dangerous opponents for a time, but ultimately Riku comes to regret his mistakes and it's up to Sora to free his heart from Ansem's possession. Ironically, at the end of the story it turns out to be Riku who saves Sora from falling into the abyss of darkness. Riku, then, is a primary example of Sora's motivatrion- not just to protect others from evil, but also to turn them away from it.
I'm devoting a separate paragraph to the relationship between Sora and Kairi because it alone has the unique variable of love. It seems that the bond between these two is the strongest in the entire game, and it has been shown that Sora will do anything to protect and reunite with Kairi. I wouldn't call their relationship romantic love, but it comes rather close to being so. Sora and Kairi have sworn a mutual oath to be with each other in spirit wherever they go, and the Keyblade Master thus keeps a token of this promise as a charm. In fact, at one point in the plot it's reavealed that Kairi's heart actually resides in Sora; this is why Ansem/Riku wants to kill him so badly, and it's also why Sora decides to take his own life at his Defining Moment- the teenage hero values Kairi's live even more than his own, and I'd say that's proof enough of the strong motivation that Sora has torward Kairi.
The last, though by no means least of Sora's motivations is his commitment to his brothers in arms, Donald and Goofy. The three met up early on, and fought together almost every time Sora saw battle. They occasionally have had disagreements, but for the most part the three have a comraderie that naturally comes with having been in so many wars together. Protecting them is a big motivation for Sora, and one can be sure that the Keyblade Master will be careful to look out for them when facing Toon Link.
Toon Link:
Protecting loved ones (Aryll), Adventure, New experiences, Saving Hyrule (again), Rescuing Princess Zelda (again), Friendships (Medil, Makar)Note: most of this is copy/pasted, since I think I did a good job at explaining Toon Link's Motivations the first time around.
Toon Link's reasons for fighting evil stem from the fact that on his twelfth birthday, his sister Aryll is kidnapped by a mysterious dark bird known as the Helmaroc King. As Link's only sibling, Aryll idolizes her Big Brother and she relies on him to be there for her in tough situations. Needless to say, Link is more than a little distraught when his sister is kidnapped, and he almost drowns while chasing the elusive bird that kidnapped her. He is only saved by a band of pirates led by the young girl Tetra, who explains that the Helmaroc King kidnapped Aryll mistaking her for herself. At this notion, Link agrees to travel with the pirates to the evil bird's nest at the Forsaken Fortress. From this point on, Toon Link sets forth on a quest that will see him change from a scared boy on a lonely island to the Hero of Winds and the savior of the Great Sea. Above everything else, Link's primary goal is to fufill his destiny as a legendary hero and prevent the Great King of Evil from installing a reign of terror once more.
The plot of Toon Link's still follows that of most Zelda games, but this time Link has a more personal reason to begin his quest to save Hyrule. He makes some great friends as he explores the Great Sea and encounters and helps new people, from the Alito Prince Komali who ends up looking to Link as an inspiration to Medil, who is Link's first major quest helper, to Makar, the Forest Spirit who is rescued by him from the Forbidden Woods, to most importantly Tetra, who looks at Link as sort of a little brother but finally gives her admiration from her realization that Link is dedicated above all else to helping others.
Besides the goal of defending those who matter to him, Link's most important motivation is fighting evil and injustice wherever it may appear. Over the course of his journey, besides fighting Ganon and his minions Toon Link meets many average people and helps them in their own personal issues, from finding love to reclaiming lost possessions to simply finding a purpose in life. Link's goal in every Zelda game, it seems, is to right the wrongs that befall Hyrule and its residents.
Last and probably least, Link's motivations would not be complete without mentioning that as a boy who is just coming of age he wants to explore the outside world and see what lies out there in the Great Sea beyond his island. It's interesting that Link and Sora share such similar beginnings and motivations, but the desire for something new is a motivator for both Warriors. I actually believe that every kid feels this desire for independence when he becomes a teenager, so it's easy to sympathize with both Toon Link and Sora in this regard. After growing up for years and knowing nothing but their small islands, it's understandable that these two are eager to go out and make their impressions felt upon the worlds they inhabit.
It's obvious that there is no shortage of motivation to fight between these two, but how can we determine who gets the Edge here? Let's start by comparing their primary reasons for being warriors. For Sora, the rationale for taking up arms lies in a responsibility as the Keyblade Master to fight evil and lock every Disney world he can find from the Heartless. Toon Link's objective is similarly defined by an obligation larger than his own desires- in his case, he is the reincarnation of a legendary hero chosen by the Hylian gods to keep the peace and mainly fight Ganondorf. Both of these adolescent heroes have the fates of their worlds on their shoulders, so it can't be said whose motivation is greater here. Likewise, both heroes have secondary objectives of protecting others- in Sora's case, it's his close friends (Kairi, Riku) and brothers in arms (Donald, Goofy, and others) that warrant his loyalty while for Link it's his obligations both to his allies (Medil, Makar) and family (Aryll, Grandma).
As if the past two similarities in motivation weren't enough, both Sora and Toon Link are also highly motivated by members of the opposite sex! I've elaborated plenty about Kairi's role in the Keyblade Master's quest, but Link also has a close (though somewhat different in nature) relationship with his closest friend, the pirate girl Tetra (who is secretly Princess Zelda). Their connection is based more upon a commonly shared destiny to save Hyrule than any feelings of love between the two, but Link still puts a very high priority on saving Zelda whenever she gets in trouble. Zelda even returns the favor at one point, helping the Hero of Winds to finally defeat Ganondorf. It should be abundantly clear, then, that our two combatants share a lot of ground in common when it comes to motivations.
With that method of logic failing to produce a winner, then, how are we to determine who gets the Edge for Motivations? As an astute commenter suggested, we can instead look at the warriors' past actions and from them determine who is willing to go farther for his cause. Toon Link definitely risked his life for those close to him on several occasions, but it seems that Sora has the stronger emotional bonds to others and therefore greater motivation. There's his sacrifice for Kairi, of course, but some other examples of the teenage hero's convictions also come to mind. His speech to Ansem on the ruins of the Destiny Islands comes to note, but probably the best example of Sora achieving results through strength of character is simply whenever Team Disney comes across a tough boss or another dire situation.
It seems that the Keyblade Master is always the one who gives encouragement to his teammates to keep fighting, and this team dynamic is a big part of why Sora gets the Edge in this category. While Toon Link takes on many situations as a lone wolf and relies on his own tactical thinking to survive, in Sora's case success often rides working as a team in order to overcome the obstacle. Whenever the Keyblade Master's morale does fail, Donald and Goofy are there to pick him back up to fight again. As I mentioned in Sora's Allies section and several others, there's a certain dynamic at work when fighting as a group that often compels the individual members to do things they normally would be hesitant about. Link doesn't get this extra support and motivation, but Sora does so that is what determines the Edge here.
EDGE: Sora!!!
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| I'm using two photos here to showcase the two primary reasons Sora won this category; one is his willingness to do everything he can for Kairi and others, and the second is his ability to motivate and be motivated by his allies Donald and Goofy. |
Overall Winner: Psychological Aspects and Motivations
For being the final Edge of the match, the contest of Psychological Aspects and Motivations is also perhaps the most difficult of all to settle. Sora and Toon Link split the two advantages of this category, with the Hylian's cooler demeanor and resourcefulness winning him the Psychology edge and the Keyblade Master's team dynamic and instances of heroism giving him the victory for Motivations. As always, the question is to decide which edge outweighs the other. While it may appear that Toon Link should win this automatically (since motivation is a subset of psychology), it's actually very complex to determine because of how close the Psychology edge was and Sora's advantage in Motivation. In fact, I believe that the two perfectly match each other in significance! This is because Link's more even temprament offsets Sora's greater motivation and passion for his cause. I can see instances of either one prevailing here; Sora has just as much of a chance of rallying the team and pulling off an extraordinary feat to defeat the Hylian as Toon Link does to take advantage of the Keyblade Master's mistakes. Unfortunately, some intangibles just can't be precisely determined and I don't see either side getting a definitive overall Edge here. Instead, no bonus will be awarded and the scores of the individual Psychology and Motivation Edges will speak for themselves.
Psychological Aspects and Motivations Overall Winner: Even!!!
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| That's right, the final Edge to be determined is also a tie! It's clear that these two are well matched, and it'll be a close fight for sure. However, one Warrior must survive and the other must perish. Will the Chosen Keyblade Master or the Hero of Winds ultimately triumph in this Ultimate Showdown, which has been six months in the making? Go to Part 5 to find out!!! |
Thanks to everyone who has read and commented over the past few months, and remember to submit your final predictions for the battle!
