Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Zero Suit Samus (SSBB)

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This article is about Zero Suit Samus' appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses of Samus' "Zero Suit" character design, see Zero Suit Samus.
For information about the result of Zero Suit Samus using her Final Smash, see Samus (SSBB).
Zero Suit Samus
in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Zero Suit Samus SSBB.jpg
MetroidSymbol.svg
Universe Metroid
Shares character slot with Samus
Other playable appearances in SSB4
in Ultimate

Availability Starter
Final Smash Power Suit Samus
Tier B (9)
Zero Suit Samus (SSBB)

Zero Suit Samus (ゼロスーツサムス, Zero Suit Samus) is a newcomer that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Zero Suit Samus is voiced by Alésia Glidewell in all regions, with a mix of grunts and short bits of English dialogue. She got this role and the role of Knuckle Joe in English through voicing Krystal in Brawl's English version.[1] Brawl is the first game where Samus has accessible voiced dialogue; prior to this, she had grunts and cries of pain in some past games, extensive text dialogue and monologues in Metroid Fusion, and an in-character monologue in Metroid Prime by Jennifer Hale (which went unused).

Zero Suit Samus can be played as by using Samus' Zero Laser, inputting Samus' up and down taunt rapidly, or by selecting Samus and holding the L or R button (Gamecube/Classic controller), Z button (Nunchuk), or the Minus button while transitioning to the stage select screen. In The Subspace Emissary she can be selected over Samus in The Great Maze and the post-game by hovering over Samus' slot and either tilting the C-Stick (GameCube/Classic controller), C (Nunchuk) or Minus (sideways Wii Remote). She also can transform back by using her Final Smash, Power Suit Samus.

Zero Suit Samus ranks 9th on the Brawl tier list, placing her in the B tier. She has an amazing aerial and juggle game, possessing very high jumps and low-lag aerial attacks that do good knockback and damage, with her up and back aerials being especially useful. She also has very fast mobility, noticeable especially in her jumps, and some of the game's most versatile recovery options, including her midair jump, side and up specials, and down special. Zero Suit Samus also has an effective spacing tool in her Plasma Whip (albeit not being very fast), powerful KO options, such as her forward, up and back aerials, Plasma Whip, and Flip Jump, as well as a great combo starter and KO setup in her down smash. Her Power Suit Pieces, in addition, are among the most powerful items in the game, and at the beginning of a match are very effective at damaging and shutting down the opponent. However, she has a poor ground game, with her tilts and smashes doing below average damage and mediocre knockback (though some of her ground attacks are still effective for combos), and a grab that despite its range, is one of the laggiest in the game, even when used as a pivot grab (unlike some other tether grabs). Because of this, her out of shield and defensive game (outside of maneuverability) are poor, due to lacking safe options on shield (her grab is unreliable due to its heavy lag), making herself prone to heavy shield pressure, and despite her good air game, she lacks reliable options for enemies below her; this can make her vulnerable to juggling from characters such as Meta Knight. Zero Suit Samus is additionally reliant on tether recoveries that can be edgehogged, although her high jumps and Flip Jump make her suffer less from this than other characters with tethers. Her advantages lead to rather above average matchups across the board, but this also causes her to suffer against higher-tiered characters. Despite her flaws, Zero Suit Samus has achieved strong tournament results.

Attributes[edit]

Zero Suit Samus is a tall lightweight who boasts excellent mobility overall. She has the fourth fastest dashing and walking speeds, tied with Bowser and Marth for the 11th fastest air speed, tied with Wolf and Sonic for the third highest traction, tied with Ness, Pikachu, and Zelda for the sixth fastest air acceleration, and the second highest jump. Her falling speed and gravity are above-average (15th and 13th highest, respectively). She is also able to crawl and wall jump, much like in her home series. On the downside, she has only a few amount of reliable KO options, with only her forward aerial, back aerial, up aerial, Plasma Whip, and Flip Kick reliably KO'ing under 125%. This puts her in the "hit-and-run" archetype group.

She starts the match with a huge advantage over most characters in that she has readily throw-able projectiles that are extremely powerful and combo well with her glide toss. Many of her attacks have the advantage of coming out fast, and can combo most heavy weights with her aerials very easily.

Her side special has a huge sweetspot at the end (one of the biggest in the game, second to Zelda's side special) and the sour spot has the ability to push the opponent into the sweet spot, effectively KOing most characters around 110% if it's not stale. Her down smash has deceptively long range, extreme safety on shield, and sets up many combos, as well as KO setups. Zero Suit Samus is unique in the fact that many of her moves have large hitboxes and easy to hit sweetspots, this can devastate opponents as they are dealt a barrage of aerials and fast ground attacks. Her up smash is decent because it has fast start-up and its great to stop incoming opponents from above and puts them in good position for juggling, although it is can be easily escaped through SDI.

One of her few KO moves is her up aerial, a very fast flip kick that can KO as low as 90% if the opponent is near the upper blast line and possesses a very large sweetspot for such a powerful move. Both of her high jumps compliment this strategy. She also has 3 meteor smashes, her Flip Jump kick, if hit when she sticks her foot out, will spike opponents hard (even without doing this, the kick is still somewhat powerful and can KO most characters at fairly moderate damage percentages with strong horizontal knockback), her up special, if hit at the tip, will meteor smash anyone it hits and her down aerial (although this is an unreliable spike). Both of these can be used for any situation, giving her multiple surprise KO methods.

Zero Suit Samus, if mastered, is extremely dangerous and many players can find themselves down a stock or worse if they aren't careful. Her attacks and combos require a lot of precision which makes her a difficult character to learn and play effectively. The stale move negation can complicate her to get a KO, in spite of her having only a few KO moves and good edgeguarding skills. All of her tilts are quick (although her up tilt has high ending lag), with decent range, and have the added bonus of launching her opponents into the air. She has a situational though passable out of shield game (making herself prone to heavy shield pressure). Her aerial game is powerful with lethal kicks and long-ranged attacks, but her very high short hop makes approaches with aerials difficult. Her projectile, the Paralyzer, can set opponents up for KO's and deals a bit of damage. However, it's slow and needs to be charged up to go far. Her tether grab has incredible range (tied with Olimar´s Red Pikmin, only losing to White and Blue Pikmin, although her grab possesses the longest range in aerial opponents), but it leaves her vulnerable if it misses which is dangerous for a such a light character. Her smashes compliment her perfectly. Her up and down smashes are useful for their range. The down smash is perfect for set up KO's, and the up smash makes for an good launcher, and can stop opponents' midair combos, while her side smash is quite weak, in terms of damage and power, with high ending lag and considerable start-up lag, but with good range, even behind her. In terms of recovery, she can use her Plasma Wire and Whip as a tether recovery, but it can be stopped by edge-hogging, although due to her air speed and second jump being fairly high and combining with Flip Jump, she can usually come back to the stage without relying on her tether.

Moveset[edit]

For a gallery of Zero Suit Samus' hitboxes, see here.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack Level Chop (レベルチョップ) / Gun Hook (ガンフック) / Back Knuckle (バックナックル) 2% Knifehand strike, pistol whip, elbow strike. First hit out on frame 1, being one of the fastest moves in the game. The third hit is easily powershielded, although the jab is inescapable against aerial opponents.
2%
3%
Forward tilt Spin Kick (スピンキック) 6% Does an around-the-body 45° kick. Can be angled. At low percentages, it can make opponents trip if tilted down. However, at mid-high percentages, angle upward or forward will cause tripping more often. Very low knockback. Has a start-up of 6 frames. Can lock, like the dash attack.
6%
9%
Up tilt Headstand Kick (ヘッドスタンドキック) 5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) Does a handstand split while spinning in place, legs moving up vertically. Pretty good knockback at higher percentages, and at low percentages it sets up combos well. Has a start-up of 3 frames. Replaces her down smash as a semi-effective means of hitting opponents on both sides. Good OoS, although it is situational.
Down tilt Ground Sweep (グラウンドスイープ) 6% Does a prone leg-sweep. Knocks upwards from afar, knocks diagonally at close range. Hits on frame 5. Can combo into other moves well at low and high percentages alike.
Dash attack Jump Kick (ジャンプキック) 7% (clean), 5% (late) Does a sliding kick forward with her leg extended. Similar to Fox's dash attack. Hits on frame 6. Can easily be followed with tilts at low to mid percentages, and can lock if buffered properly. Has transcendent priority.
Forward smash Smash Whip (スマッシュウィップ) 10% (gun), 9% (late gun), 11% (whip), 6% (back, whip tip), 13% (whip base) Whips forward with her plasma whip. Great range, but has very poor knockback, especially at the tip and high startup lag and ending lag, being easy to punish (especially with shield grabs). Hits on frame 20. This move also attacks enemies from behind her, but with minimal damage and vertical knockback. The sweetspot on the whip mostly overlaps the hitbox on the gun, which outprioritizes it, making the sweetspot very difficult to land. Additionally, none of the hitboxes on the whip scale in damage when charged.
Up smash Shocker String (ショッカーストリング) 4% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-5), 3% (hit 6) Spins in place, extending the Plasma Whip up above her head in a swirl. Hits multiple times, has long vertical disjointed range and decent horizontal range. Has fast startup (8 frames). Only the tip of the plasma whip does knockback (which is very low). It's easy to SDI out of it before the last hit connect.
Down smash Slant Paralyzer (スラントパラライザー) 11% Aims down and shoots paralyzer gun at the ground in front of her, creating a lightning effect. Only hits in front. Low damage and delayed knockback, but stuns the target in place for a short time depending on the damage that the opponent has. Unique attack that can be followed up by a side smash, a grab or another move. Double down smash followed by up smash (or whatever is appropriate at the time, like an aerial) is an effective combo and can easily rack up damage. Also moves her forward a little. Can infinite Fox at mid percentages and other fastfallers to a lesser extent. Hits on frame 20, making it somewhat difficult to land, but has extremely low ending lag with only 12 frames of ending lag making it very safe on shield when combined with the move's range. Altogether, its excellent combo and KO setup potential combined with its extreme safety on shield have made it considered one of the best down smashes in the game if not the best.
Neutral aerial Whip Guard (ウィップガード) 10% Spins the Plasma Whip around herself. Fairly long range, but with below average knockback. Always deals 10% damage, regardless of stale-move negation, and does not refresh stale-move negation on other moves, decent spacing option.
Forward aerial Twice Kick (トワイスキック) 6% (hit 1), 10-11% (hit 2 clean), 7% (hit 2 late) Two forward kicks, with the second kick being stronger and slightly faster than the first. Because of the knockback of the first kick, it is difficult to hit with both kicks unless taking advantage of upward and forward momentum from a jump. Second kick can be landed without first kick, but it requires correct timing. First hit on frame 6, second hit on frame 16.
Back aerial Sobat (ソバット) 13% (foot), 12% (leg) A backward kick that has high knockback. Can bait, combo at lower percentages, KO at high percentages, and can be bufferred or used twice in a short hop. Has a disjointed hitbox. Hitbox out on frame 8.
Up aerial Air Kick (エアキック) 10% (clean), 7% (late) Flip kicks both legs above her head. Has good KO potential on lighter characters at around 90% if they are near the upper blast line. Sweetspot is directly in front of her. Hitbox out on frame 4. At low percentages, it can chain into itself, like Meta Knight´s up aerial, being a very useful juggling move. Hits slightly behind her too with low knockback, good for setting up back aerials or up tilts on a grounded opponent.
Down aerial Slash Dive (スラッシュダイブ) 5% (aerial), 4% (grounded), 5% (landing) A stall-then-fall. Zero Suit Samus stalls momentarily in midair, and then shoots down diagonally. If it hits in midair, the move meteor smashes opponents but it is very weak and dangerous if she doesn't land onstage, as it will not stop until for some time, similar to Toon Link's down aerial, although, unlike Toon Link´s down aerial, it will always meteor smash. The move generally isn't used often due to being easy to SD with. It also has very high ending lag and landing lag, like most stall-then-falls, and is easily punishable. However, its extremely fast vertical descent speed makes it an effective way to counter juggling, especially since her falling speed is below average. Start-up of 14 frames. Upon hitting the ground, it hits a second time, knocking anyone close away a fair bit.
Grab Grab (つかみ)  
Pummel Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット) 2% Knees her victim. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw Stun Gun (スタンガン) 2% (hit 1), 7% (throw) Hits opponent forward with her gun. Can chaingrab most characters at lower percentages.
Back throw Kick Throw (キックスルー) 2% (hit 1), 4% (throw) Kicks opponent behind herself. Extremely low knockback, rarely used due to there usually being better options available.
Up throw Hold Somersault Kick (ホールドサマーソルトキック) 2% (hit 1), 8% (throw) Flips into the air and kicks the opponent upward. This is her most powerful throw knockback wise, being the only one capable of guaranteed a KO in Sudden Death. However, it has somewhat high ending lag, with a down throw being the preferred way to get opponents into the air for combos.
Down throw Knee Stamp (ニースタンプ) 2% (hit 1), 5% (throw) Slams opponent on ground and then axe kicks them. Ideal for combos, knocking opponents in a great position to followup with an up aerial or, depending on the opponent's DI, a forward or back aerial.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  6% Flips her legs around near the ground in a spin and gets up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  6% Flips her legs around upward in a spin and gets up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Flips her legs around on the ground in a spin and gets up.
Edge attack (fast)
Edge getups (fast)
  8% Gets up while doing a kick forward.
Edge attack (slow)
Edge getups (slow)
  10% Gets up slowly and punches forward.
Neutral special Paralyzer 4-6% Fires a paralyzing shot.
Side special Plasma Whip 3% (wire), 16% (tip) Fires the whip forwards a distance. Tip hitbox has high knockback. The wire can push the opponent in the tip.
Up special Plasma Wire 4-6% Zero Suit Samus fires her whip upwards, pulling anyone above her downwards. If used on someone who is on the ground next to Zero Suit Samus, it will knock them up, hitting multiple times, until they hit the end, at which point it will pull them back down. If used on an airborne opponent while off the stage, it will pull them down and they will keep going, effectively spiking them, though the tip of the Plasma Wire must connect with the opponent to cause this effect.
Down special Flip Jump 12% (kick clean), 9% (kick late) Zero Suit Samus does a small flip jump. It functions as a third jump and grants full body intangibility on frames 1-12. If the attack button is pressed after the jump she will stick out her foot in a 45 degree angle, which has sex kick properties and functions as a powerful meteor smash on aerial opponents that can be confirmed into from her down smash with proper timing.
Final Smash Power Suit Samus 25% (spin), 10% (shock) Zero Suit Samus radiates energy, dragging in items and enemies towards her, then somehow regains her Power Suit.

Stats[edit]

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Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 81 1.7 – Initial dash
1.93 – Run
1.33 0.07 0.008 1.034 0.01 – Base
0.09 – Additional
0.0884 1.43 – Base
2.002Fast-fall
4 44.2109595 - Base
? - Short hop
?

Announcer call[edit]

Sound.png This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files.
The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages.
If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

On-screen appearance[edit]

  • Her Power Suit falls off as she stands up (similar to the result of the Zero Laser). Power Suit pieces can then be used as throwing items.
ZeroSuitSamusOnScreenAppearanceSSBB.gif

Taunts[edit]

  • Up taunt: Throws her gun into the air, spins and catches it behind her and says "Is that all?".
  • Side taunt: Activates her whip, flicks it and says "Try me".
  • Down taunt: Samus spins multiple times quickly on one foot, twirling her plasma whip around her like a rhythmic gymnast and says, "You're mine".
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
ZeroSuitUpTauntBrawl.gif ZeroSuitSideTauntBrawl.gif ZeroSuitDownTauntBrawl.gif

Idle poses[edit]

  • Checks her Paralyzer.
  • Stands straightly with Paralyzer besides her head, then looks around.
Zero Suit Samus Idle Pose 2 Brawl.png Zero Suit Samus Idle Pose 1 Brawl.png

Crowd cheer[edit]

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Ze-Ro Suit Sam-Us! Sam-Us
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Victory poses[edit]

A flourish originating from Metroid that played whenever Samus obtained a power-up, addition to her Power Suit, or defeated Ridley and Kraid.
  • Up: Backflips to the screen.
  • Left: Slashes with her energy whip and says "Be still."
  • Right: Side kick flex.
Up Left Right
ZSS-VictoryUp-SSBB.gif ZSS-VictoryLeft-SSBB.gif ZSS-VictoryRight-SSBB.gif

In competitive play[edit]

Notable players[edit]

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See also: Category:Zero Suit Samus players (SSBB)

Tier placement and history[edit]

Zero Suit Samus was originally a mid tier character, ranked 21st on the first tier list (September 2008). However, as Zero Suit Samus mains showed her effective aerial game and combo abilities she rose to 16th place on the second tier list (January 2009), then stayed at 15th until the fifth tier list (September 2010), where she rose to 13th place. She rose again to 12th in the sixth tier list (July 2011), and 10th in the seventh list (April 2012). After Salem won Apex 2013 using only Zero Suit Samus, she rose to 9th place in the eighth and current tier list, as of April 2013. Some people even believe that she belongs in the bottom of the top tiers; whether her current position is accurate or should be higher remains disputed, but her combination of mobility, powerful low lag aerials, strong recovery, and excellent stage control with her Power Suit Pieces makes her much better than initially thought.

Role in The Subspace Emissary[edit]

Zero Suit Samus in SSE.

Zero Suit Samus is first seen breaking into the base of the Subspace Army. Soon she comes across Pikachu being drained of its electrical power. Samus uses her whip to break the container the Pikachu is being held in, summoning a security force of R.O.B.s. Later, she comes across her Power Suit, but is confronted by two Shadow Bug clones mimicking the Power Suit.

After reacquiring her Power Suit, Samus and her new companion Pikachu come across Ridley. He grabs Samus and starts to drag her against the wall, until Pikachu returns Samus' favor and uses Thunder on Ridley, causing him to drop Samus. An infuriated Ridley attacks. Once they defeat him, the duo exits the base and come across a cave.

Samus and Pikachu make their way to the Subspace Bomb Factory and find the Ancient Minister with the R.O.B. Squad. They prepare to fight, but then realize that he looks very sad. Soon, Captain Falcon, Olimar, Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong find the factory and enter. A hologram of Ganondorf appears and orders the R.O.B. Squad to activate the Subspace Bombs in the factory. The Ancient Minister tries to stop them, but is set on fire when Ganondorf orders them to retaliate. After The Ancient Minister is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, the characters set out and all join the quest.

Samus helps the others to fight Meta Ridley, flees the island, gathers with almost all the rest of the characters, enters the subspace, is defeated by Tabuu and revived by the King Dedede, Ness and Luigi. She can help to defeat Tabuu in the end.

Playable appearances[edit]

After Zero Suit Samus reclaims her Power Suit, players have the option to use her Zero Suit form in other levels.

Exclusive stickers[edit]

Since Samus and Zero Suit Samus share the same trophy base, there are some cases in which certain stickers will not affect one of them. Since Smash Balls don't appear in Adventure Mode, if one transforms into Zero Suit Samus, they will be unable to change back until the end of the level (or, in The Great Maze, a save point). Aside from use of items, only Leg, Weapon, and Energy stickers will affect both characters. That said, all of Zero Suit Samus's moves consist of Leg or Weapon attacks barring the first hit of the jab, Forward Throw and Down Smash.

In Solo Modes[edit]

Classic Mode[edit]

In Classic Mode, Samus/Zero Suit Samus can appear as an opponent in Stage 6 on Norfair or Frigate Orpheon. Samus/Zero Suit Samus can also appear as an opponent in Stage 11, but only if she hasn't appeared in Stage 6.

All-Star Mode[edit]

In All-Star Mode, Samus/Zero Suit Samus is fought in Stage 7 on Norfair or Frigate Orpheon.

Event Matches[edit]

Solo Events[edit]

Co-Op Events[edit]

Ending Images[edit]

Trophies[edit]

Zero Suit Samus's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Zero Suit Samus.

Classic Mode trophy
Zero Suit Samus
Samus Aran without her mighty Power Suit. In this condition, she does not have the firepower she's famed for but is in full possession of the agility and athleticism she gained through her childhood training with the Chozo. Without the armor, she's also much, much faster. The weapon she carries is a self-protection device known as a Paralyzer that stops enemies cold.
GB Advance: Metroid: Zero Mission
Power Suit Samus trophy
Power Suit Samus
Zero Suit Samus's Final Smash. Samus loses her Power Suit when she fires the Zero Laser, but she can restore it--that is, she can return from her Zero Suit form to her familiar armored form. That being said, Zero Suit Samus is very quick with great reach, so there are tactical reasons to fight as is. If that's your preference, don't pick up any Smash Balls.
Wii: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Alternate costumes[edit]

Zero Suit Samus Palette (SSBB).png
Zero Suit Samus (SSBB) Zero Suit Samus (SSBB) Zero Suit Samus (SSBB) Zero Suit Samus (SSBB) Zero Suit Samus (SSBB) Zero Suit Samus (SSBB)

Reveal trailer[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

"Zaro Suit Samus"
  • Zero Suit Samus's grab, while a tether grab, is not a tether recovery, although it becomes one in Super Smash Bros. 4. She shares this disability with Yoshi and Olimar. In Ultimate, this trait is also shared with Luigi.
  • Zero Suit Samus's original artwork from her reveal differs from her final in-game artwork; in this case, the shading is heavier and her pose is slightly different. She shares this trait with Pit and Snake, though the differences in her artwork are not as drastic as theirs.
  • Zero Suit Samus, Falco, Peach, Pikachu and Meta Knight are the only five characters who have speaking parts in all three of their taunts.
  • Strangely, Zero Suit Samus's up tilt and up aerial have a slash effect along with making a slashing sound, despite that she uses her legs rather than any slashing tool. Kirby's up smash also shares this trait.
  • Zero Suit Samus is the only character to not appear anywhere on the character selection screen in Brawl.
    • Similarly, Sheik is the only character to not appear in Melee's character selection screen.
    • As Smash 4 separated Samus and Zero Suit Samus into their own character slots, Brawl marks the only time Samus and Zero Suit Samus are transformation characters and the only time Zero Suit Samus isn't seen on the character selection screen.
  • When selecting Zero Suit Samus on the tournament mode and SSE character selection screens, her name is misspelled as "Zaro Suit Samus".
  • Zero Suit Samus and Sonic are the only characters who are never fought in any form in The Subspace Emissary.
  • Whenever Zero Suit Samus gets Star KO'd or Screen KO'd, her Paralyzer vanishes. A similar effect happens whenever she gets hit by Blue Falcon.
  • Zero Suit Samus is the only female newcomer introduced in Brawl.

References[edit]

External links[edit]