Editing Samus (SSB)

[[File:SSB64 Congratulations Samus.png|thumb|250px|Samus's [[congratulations screen]].]]

Samus is a tall heavyweight character that is also rather [[floaty]], an uncommon trait for most heavyweights. She has the 4th fastest [[dashing]] speed, but combined with the 4th slowest [[air speed]], second slowest [[falling]] speed, and a long and slow [[roll]] heavily decrease her mobility. She has decent [[range]] and also has two [[projectile]]s, including [[Charge Shot]], which covers a great distance and is fairly powerful, being quite useful for keeping opponents at bay, but requires a large amount of charging to have KO power, and {{b|Bomb|Samus}}, which can aid her horizontal [[recovery]]. [[Spacing]] works quite well with Samus, with her forward tilt and back aerial being useful. However, she has a high and slow [[short hop]]. Her [[grab]] is one of the three tether grabs in the game, giving it excellent range, but has sixty frames of ending lag, making it the laggiest grab in the game. Her back throw is a powerful KO throw and is also tied with {{SSB|Pikachu}} and {{SSB|Donkey Kong}}'s back throws for the most damaging throw in the game. Her biggest flaw however is her notorious inability to perform a [[zero-to-death]] combo with her regular moves, though to compensate, she escapes many zero deaths with her floaty weight and [[Screw Attack]]. Her [[dash attack]] can set up tech chases, leading into a down tilt and a down air to kill; however, this is not a true combo at all percents. In addition, her down-air may not kill heavier characters such as herself or {{SSB|Donkey Kong}}.  

Overall, most of Samus's moves, while doing over 10% in most cases, have a high amount of ending lag. As a result of that, she lacks easy-to-land KO options, apart from her down aerial, which is an extremely fast [[meteor smash]]. While Samus's dair is a great edgeguarding move, especially against slow recoveries like {{SSB|Kirby}}'s or {{SSB|Jigglypuff}}'s, she has poor to mediocre edgeguarding ability outside of it, and her primary recovery move, the {{b|Screw Attack|move}}, travels extremely short horizontal and vertical distance, giving her a very poor vertical recovery. Her horizontal recovery, while still short and predictable, is slightly aided by her floatiness and Bombs. She is vulnerable to edgeguarding herself; an aerial Charge Shot can help prevent careless edgeguards, but her recovery is slow and predictable.

Because of her weaknesses, Samus has the worst matchup spread, having a losing matchup against nearly every character in the game, and also having only one even matchup, which is against {{SSB|Jigglypuff}}.

Samus was nerfed in her transition to PAL. While she benefits from the {{SSB|Teleport}} glitch covering more distance, which in turn gives her a slightly better approach option, her air speed has been reduced and her back aerial's extreme power has been toned down.

*{{buff|{{SSB|Teleport}} goes farther, making it a better approach option.}}

*{{Sm|emptyW|USA}} - The current best Samus player in the world. Won a tournament as Samus with {{Trn|Low Tide City 2022}}, taking it over players such as {{Sm|CTG}} and {{Sm|Spongy}}. He has garnered other notable results such as 5th at {{Trn|Keystoned 4.5}} and 9th at {{Trn|Keystoned VI}}. He previously peaked at 39th on the [[2021-2022 Smash 64 Power Rankings]], the highest a Samus player has placed on the rankings.

*{{Sm|HAMMERHEART|USA}} - A noteworthy Samus and {{SSB|Jigglypuff}} main that now plays {{SSB|Kirby}}. Before the switch, he placed 3rd at {{Trn|Keystoned}}, 9th at {{Trn|The Empire Smashes Back}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}} with wins over {{Sm|KD3}}, {{Sm|Fireblaster}}, and {{Sm|Razz}}. He was previously ranked 43rd on the [[2017 64 League Rankings]] when he mained Samus.

*{{Sm|SotoH|USA}} - One of the longest active Samus players in the United States, competing since 2015. While his placements can be considered inconsistent, he has made some notable placements in the modern era of ''Smash 64'' with 3rd at {{Trn|Rewind II}}, 9th at {{Trn|Low Tide City 2021}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Smashtoberfest}} with wins over {{Sm|Darkhorse}} and {{Sm|Waxy:Joe}}. Currently ranked 63rd on the [[2023 Smash 64 Power Rankings]].

For the longest time, Samus had been seen as a bottom tier character, frequently considered the worst in the whole game. The reasons for this negative perception are her lack of a reliable 0-to-death option, a slow and ineffective grab, and an overall laggy and predictable moveset. This perception of her would cause her to tie with Link on the first tier list of ''Smash 64'' and would be placed dead last on the second and third tier list. In 2009, a year after the publicization of the first tier list, Samus would find her best representive in Jouske, who won {{Trn|Kanto 2009}} and would be the most dominant player in Japan. Jouske would also win {{Trn|Kansai 2010}}, {{Trn|Kanto 2012}}, and {{Trn|Kanto 2013}}. These results would make Samus the only bottom-tier character to win a major ''Smash 64'' tournament. In North America, Samus would never hit peaks of the same caliber, due to character's nerfs in the North American version of the game and Jouske's lack of interest in travelling to compete in international tournaments.

However, the perception of Samus has shifted more recently to be more positive, as she now sits in the lower-middle tier, placing 8th on the current tier list. While Jouske would retire in 2016, other Samus players took the mantle such as {{Sm|SotoH}}, {{Sm|meipon}}, and {{Sm|emptyW}}, who took advantage of her floaty attributes to increase her survivability and use niche but highly potent kill options against high-tiered characters. emptyW would be the character's best representative in recent years, winning the regional {{Trn|Low Tide City 2022}} and placing highly at others such as 5th at {{Trn|Crovy Fest}}. These better results in comparison to years previous, aided into her more positive perception, but most would still agree that she struggles to make due with half of the cast and their more consistent advantage states.