Zero Suit Samus (PM)

Zero Suit Samus in Project M and Project+
File:ZSSPM3.6.png
Universe	Metroid
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Zero Suit Samus (SSBB)

Zero Suit Samus's new costumes in Project M 3.5. Those match the Light Suit, Fusion Suit and Retro Suit Samus costumes.

Artwork of the Justin Bailey costume from Project M 3.5.

Zero Suit Samus is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. She was buffed between Brawl and PM, with many new tools given to her to aid in comboing opponents. She is currently ranked 13th out of 41, near the midst of the A- tier on the official tier list, slightly lower than her placement in Brawl, where she is ranked 9th out of 38.

Attributes

Zero Suit Samus is a powerful character with many great movement attributes that make her formidable to fight against. Her initial dash speed is as good as Sheik and Diddy Kong, but her max speed is much higher. This also gives her a dash dance on par with Marth's in size. Furthermore, she has the highest horizontal air acceleration after Wario and Jigglypuff (and tied with Squirtle), giving her strong mixups when jumping in. Her large, safe back air, huge down smash, and extremely quick up tilt can create a tough wall to get in on.

One powerful and unique tool in Zero Suit's arsenal is her down B, an extremely flexible flipping "jump". On it's own, it gives Zero Suit another powerful way to alter her trajectory in the air without expending her double jump. However, because Zero Suit can walljump or double jump out of the animation before it ends, it becomes an extremely powerful recovery tool as well. Her down B from ledge also helps gain her valuable space after recovering, and allows for flexibility in jumping up to the platform or even just wavelanding onto the main stage. Finally, it is a good edgeguarding and combo-ending tool. By pressing A, Zero Suit does a strong dive kick. The dive kick is a strong, long lasting hitbox that can be used in either direction from a down B, which makes it valuable for covering options when edgeguarding. Additionally, using down B allows Zero Suit to wait and follow DI after a linking move before committing to her finishing blow. Finally, the dive kick is easily edge cancelled, which allows for tricky movement mixups on platforms.

The other thing that makes Zero Suit Samus's recover so potent is an interesting interaction between her up B and her upward speed. Her up B will multiply any upward speed at the time of it's usage, allowing for a much larger jump than usual. By combining her down B, double jump, and up B, ZSS can easily make it back from nearly any position off stage. Additionally, it will boost the upward movement of any wall jump, allowing for death defying recoveries on stages with walls that go all the way down.

The main weaknesses of Zero Suit include aiming very low to the ground and her combo weight. Because she is so tall, it is difficult to hit a short crouching opponent with anything other than low aerials and her down smash, which get predictable quickly. Short enough opponents will even duck under her blaster, which can make fighting opponents with good crouches very tough. In terms of combo weight, Zero Suit falls very similarly to Sheik (in fact, due to a higher gravity stat, ZSS will stay vertically closer to opponents than Sheik for a given amount of knockback) with equally poor and slow descending options, which can give opponents extremely long juggles.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Zero Suit Samus received a mix of buffs and nerfs from Brawl to Project M, but was buffed overall.

Attributes

• Her short hop is shorter, helping with movement, aerial approaches, and combos.
• With Project M's improved tether recovery mechanics and a more versatile Flip Jump, Zero Suit Samus's recovery is much more efficient in general.
• Opponents can now button mash out of paralysis-inducing moves, causing followups to be harder to perform against quick enough players.
• On-screen appearance and transformation from Samus no longer produce Power Suit Pieces as items; these will always vanish when the animations are done, encouraging close-range combat.

Ground Attacks

• Jab combo has less hitlag making it faster on hit.
• Jab 1 has more startup lag (frame 1 → 2).
• Forward tilt does more damage (6% (upward angled)/6% (non-angled)/9% (downward angled) → 9/9/12%), and has drastically increased knockback (8 (upward angled/non-angled)/12 (downward angled) → 18/110).
• Up tilt has more knockback.
• Forward smash and up smash do much more damage (10% (front) 6% (back) → 14/8% (Forward Smash), 11% → 14% (Up Smash), and the former has higher KO potential and is a good option after a down smash. Hits foes behind her sends them above her, allowing to punish them with aerials.
• Dash attack does more damage (7% → 10%).
• Up smash knockback not compensated.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial has faster start-up (Frame 10 → 6) and it deals more damage (10% → 12%).
• Neutral aerial is a slightly weaker KO move.
• Forward aerial connects much more smoothly especially at higher percents.
• Forward aerial does less damage (6% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2) → 5/10%).
• New down aerial does much more damage (4% (aerial), (5% grounded) → 12%), and is no longer a stall-then-fall, but a stomp that bounces her upwards upon connecting. It has overall much more utility than her previous down aerial, easily popping up foes for combos, and also useful for edgeguarding.
• Late up air sends opponents opponents at a more horizontal angle. This removes its juggling potential but makes it more useful for edgeguarding.
• Due to her lower short hop, Zero Suit Samus can no longer do two up airs out of a short hop.
• Back aerial sweetspot is a slightly stronger KO move.
• Back aerial sourspot does less damage. (12% → 10%)

Grabs and Throws

• Zero Suit Samus no longer has a tether grab. This gives her grabs much less start up lag (frame 16 (all) → 7 (standing)/12 (dash)/10 (pivot) and end lag (frame 85 (all) → 30 (standing)/40 (dash)/36 (pivot)
• However, it also gives her grabs much less range and active frames
• Up throw is a better combo starter at lower percents.
• Up throw does less damage (10% → 6%).

Special Moves

• Paralyzer can now be dash canceled.
• Uncharged paralyzer can no longer paralyse opponents completely removing any potential followups.
• Plasma Whip now sends foes diagonally towards her, making it easier to start combos with the move.
• Plasma Whip deals less damage (3% (whip), 16% (tip) → 4/9%) and knockback (60 (base)/75 (scaling) → 50/80), no longer making it a KO option.
• Plasma Wire does much less damage on the ground (15% → 9%).
• Flip Jump gives more horizontal distance, and when used as an attack it acts as her previous down air, except that it makes her fall to the ground faster, does much more damage, and is a better KO move. In addition, pressing or holding the special button near opponents results in Zero Suit Samus footstooling and tripping them, aptly named a "flipstool", giving her a new option for tech-chasing.
• Flip Jump gives less vertical distance.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new Final Smash: Crystal Flash. It functions similarly to Power Suit Samus, but its initiation now produces consecutive-hitting hitboxes that drag foes in, rather than wind, and has a strong hit as she becomes fully cloaked with increased knockback for a total of 43% damage.
  • Crystal Flash can still change into Samus, but now requires holding the special button during the move.

Revisions

v2.6b

• Hurtbox size around her chest decreased slightly.
• Dash attack knockback slightly increased.
• Up throw angle and knockback stats adjusted slightly to allow for more reward for getting a grab.
• Down throw angle and knockback stats adjusted slightly to allow for more reward for getting a grab.
• Footstool knockback works like the other characters.
• Plasma Wire now controllable in the air.

v3.0

• Back air sweetspot is easier to land.
• Flip Jump no longer has invincibility.
• Down smash's knockback tweaked to always stun a grounded opponent.
• Neutral air's whip is now unclankable.
• Forward air's second hit trajectory lowered.
• Paralyzer's fully charged blaster shot is now unclankable.
• Plasma Wire's whip is now unclankable.
• Reinstated transform during Final Smash.

v3.5

• Neutral attack deals slightly more damage.
• Dash attack now deals 10% damage on clean hit.
• Second hit of up tilt deals 8% damage.
• Down tilt does 7% damage.
• Both up and down tilt have slightly reduced knockback.
• Up smash now deals 17% damage if all hitboxes connect.
  • It now deals fewer hits.
• Down smash now deals 8% damage.
• Neutral aerial deals 12% damage.
  • It now has a smaller hitbox and deals slightly less knockback.
• Forward aerial connects better.
  • The second hit no longer decays in damage.
• All grabs are non-tether grabs, lowering her grabbing range.
• All grabs have less ending lag.
• Down throw is now weight dependent.
• Up and down throw have more endlag.
• Paralyzer has a faster start-up.
  • The laser travels slightly farther.
• An uncharged Paralyzer shot is now clankable.
• First hit of Plasma Whip deals 4% damage.
• Plasma Wire has faster start up.
  • The size of the whip is slightly smaller.
• Flip Jump has hell horizontal momentum.

v3.6

• Zero Suit has a new Final Smash: Crystal Flash. It is essentially the same as Power Suit Samus, but does not transform into Samus unless the player holds the special button during the move.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3% (arm), 2% (body)	Palm strike, pistol whip, hip thrust.
			3%
			5%
Forward tilt	↗		9%	Does an around-the-body 45° kick. This move can be angled, dealing more damage when angled down.
	→		9%
	↘		12%
Up tilt			5% (hit 1), 8% (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. Replaces her down smash as a semi-effective means of hitting opponents on both sides.
Down tilt			7%	Does a prone leg-sweep. Knocks upwards from afar, knocks diagonally at close range. Can combo into other moves well at low percentages.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Does a sliding kick forward with her leg extended. Can easily be followed up with tilts at low to mid percentages.
Forward smash			14%-12% (front), 8% (back)	Whips forward with her plasma whip. Good disjointed range, but poor knockback for a forward smash, along with some startup lag and high ending lag, being very punishable (especially to shield grabs). However, when sweetspotted, it can KO at around 100%. Hits slightly behind her as well, but damage doesn't increase when charged.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-11), 3% (hit 12)	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, and fast startup. Only the tip of the plasma whip does knockback (which is very low). It's possible to SDI out of it before the last hit connect.
Down smash			11%	Aims down and shoots her 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. Unique attack that can be followed up by a side smash, a grab or another move. Double down smash followed by up smash is an effective combo and can easily rack up damage. Also moves her forward a little.
Neutral aerial			12%	Spins the Plasma Whip around herself. Fairly long range, but with below average knockback.
Forward aerial			5% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Two forward kicks, with the second kick being stronger and slightly faster than the first. The second kick can be landed without first kick, but it requires correct timing.
Back aerial			13% (leg), 10% (body)	A backward kick that has high knockback. This move can KO opponents at high percentages.
Up aerial			10% (clean), 7% (late)	A single legged flip kick over her head. Has KO potential on lighter characters at around 100% if they are near the upper blast line. Hits slightly behind her too with low knockback.
Down aerial			12% (clean), 6% (late)	Does a quick downwards stomp. When it connects, the enemy will be knocked upwards and Zero Suit Samus will also bounce upward, allowing follow-ups or even another down aerial at low percentages.
Grab			—	Grabs the enemy with her left hand.
Pummel			3%	Knees her victim. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			2% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Hits opponent forward with gun. Can chaingrab most characters at lower percentages.
Back throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Kicks opponent behind herself. Extremely low knockback, rarely used due to there usually being better options available.
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (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			5% (hit 1), 2% (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.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Flips her legs around near the ground in a spin and gets up.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Flips her legs around upward in a spin and gets up.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Flips her legs around on the ground in a spin and gets up.
Edge attack (fast)			8%	Gets up while doing a kick forward.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and punches forward.
Neutral special		Paralyzer	4-6%	Fires a shot out of her gun, which deals a small amount of damage and paralyzes the target. It can be charged to increase the damage and the time the opponent is stunned.
Side special		Plasma Whip	4% (trapping), 9% (tip)	Samus shoots the Plasma Whip forward a long distance, with small knockback and damage throughout its length, and will also stun the target for a second. If the opponent is hit at close range they will be sent slightly upward, and when hit at the tip it delivers more knockback and sends the enemy behind her. In the air, it can be used as a tether recovery. It differs from her other tether move, the Plasma Wire, in that it has longer horizontal range, but almost no vertical range, giving Zero Suit Samus several options for tethering, depending on whether she is level with or below the ledge. The Plasma Wire can also grapple ledges that are below Zero Suit Samus's level, which can be useful for varying up her recovery.
Up special		Plasma Wire	6-9%	Zero Suit Samus fires her whip upwards, pulling anyone above her downwards. Should the tip connect with an opponent, it can either meteor smash or spike them, depending on whether her whip inflicts the penultimate or last hitbox, respectively. The player can chain this move multiple times to accumulate damage, and teching out of it can be difficult. The Plasma Wire can tether recover to any ledge above Zero Suit Samus, automatically grappling it. If the ledge is at or below the horizontal, however, it will not grapple to it. If the player is offstage but has not used their second jump, using this move will make them move upwards slightly.
Down special		Flip Jump	2% (footstool), 13% (kick early), 10% (kick late), 4% (landing)	Zero Suit Samus does a small flip jump, if the attack button is pressed after the jump she will attack by extend her foot and plunge downward in a stall-then-fall, however this move can lead to a SD if used offstage. If the move is used again on an opponent in the air, she will do a flip jump forward and the enemy will be sent downward.
Final Smash		Crystal Flash	1% (hits 1-18), 25% (hit 19)	Zero Suit Samus radiates energy, dragging in items and enemies towards her while damaging anyone close enough, and then launches the enemy with a bright flash. If the B button is held throughout the move, she will somehow regain her Power Suit, transforming into Samus. The attack hits with high knockback, but is hard to hit correctly due to its incredibly short range.

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Aidan- Placed 3rd at The True King after taking sets off of Malachi and StereoKiDD, and placed 9th at The Flex Zone 2 after taking sets off of Luck and Envy. Currently ranked 9th on the NY/NJ Project M Power Rankings.
•  Arcana - Formerly ranked 1st on the Colorado Project M Power Rankings. Placed 4th at Revelation 2016.
•  Blank- Ranked 3rd on the SoCal Project M Power Rankings.
•  Darc-One of his secondaries.
•  Jason Waterfalls - Placed 9th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015 and 5th at Rewired 2016.
•  Numerics-Currently ranked 11th on the Massachusetts Project M Power Rankings.
•  Oro?!-Formerly the best Zero Suit Samus player in the world. Placed 5th at Shuffle V, 9th at The Big House 4, 5th at Shuffle VII, and 17th at Smash 'N' Splash.
•  Samn-Formerly ranked 6th on the Michigan Project M Power Rankings, but is currently inactive.
•  Tavi-Placed 25th at PM in the Big House 2.

Inactive

•  Leffen-Played her at Paragon Los Angeles 2015 and made it into bracket before DQing.
•  Mahie-Placed 7th at B.E.A.S.T 5 and 5th at Heir II the Throne. Now mains Marth.
•  Xaltis-Placed 17th at Paragon Orlando 2015.
•  Vixen-Formerly ranked as high as 6th on the Arizona Project M Power Rankings.

Alternate costumes

Project M 3.5 gives Zero Suit Samus three new costumes; one is based off Justin Bailey from the original Metroid, and the others are based off of Zero Suit Samus in the best endings of Metroid Fusion. They match Samus's Retro Suit, Light Suit and Fusion Suit respectively.

3.6 revamped the costumes due to cosmetic issues, and now match her appearances in the respective games.

An unreleased update was planned to revamp Zero Suit Samus' model, which would've made her the first character to have her Brawl model completely replaced in Project M. This updated model is very similar to her design from Super Smash Bros. 4 and therefore uses elements from Metroid: Other M, with the exception of her high heels being removed, her Brawl paralyzer being retained, and her Other M holster being added. This would have included all her alternate costumes as well.

Zero Suit Samus's alternate costumes in PM