Zero Suit Samus (SSBU)

Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Metroid
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Zero Laser
Tier	A- (30)

Zero Suit Samus (ゼロスーツサムス, Zero Suit Samus) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside Wii Fit Trainer and the rest of the returning roster. Once again, Zero Suit Samus is unconnected to her Power Suit-equipped self; however, she temporarily equips her Power Suit during her Final Smash. As in Super Smash Bros. 4, Alésia Glidewell's portrayal of Zero Suit Samus from Super Smash Bros. Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate. Zero Suit Samus is classified as Fighter #29.

Zero Suit Samus is currently ranked 30th out of 82 characters on the current Ultimate tier list, placing her at the bottom of the A- tier. This is a significant drop from her top-tier position in SSB4, where she was ranked 6th out of 54 characters, and is her worst placement in the series to date. Zero Suit Samus possesses fantastic movement that allows her to be fantastic as a hit-and-run character and even a time-out character, while also giving her a strong disadvantage state. Zero Suit Samus also possesses a long and fast recovery thanks to Flip Jump, Boost Kick, and her tether. She also possesses safe aerials and a projectile that complements her strong neutral game and grants her a strong aerial game.

However, Zero Suit Samus also has some notable weaknesses. Zero Suit Samus has issues closing out stocks consistently and her damage racking capabilities are unimpressive compared to other top-tier characters, making her ability to make comebacks rather poor. She also has poor endurance due to being a tall lightweight, making her susceptible to early KOs. Finally, Zero Suit Samus' out-of-shield options aren't as flexible as other melee-oriented characters, due to hers requiring more precision due their limited coverage.

Zero Suit Samus was initially considered to be among the best characters in the game and had strong representation thanks to Marss and many players in Japan, including Choco and Kuro. However, nerfs to her strengths, buffs to other characters, metagame shifts due to the addition of DLC characters, and a lack of activity from her best players led to a noticeable decline following the online era. Nonetheless, she remains a highly viable character.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Zero Suit Samus being the 19th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the 2nd character unlocked after Captain Falcon.
• Have Zero Suit Samus join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Zero Suit Samus must then be defeated on Brinstar. In World of Light, she is fought on the Ω form of Brinstar Depths.

Attributes

Zero Suit Samus is a tall, lightweight character, similar to Zelda and Rosalina, which alongside her low weight (tied with Meta Knight for the 7th lowest) gives her poor endurance. However, much like other rushdown-oriented characters, her mobility is among the best in the game: she possesses the 2nd fastest initial dash, the 7th fastest dashing speed, the 9th fastest air speed, the 15th highest air acceleration, and the 3rd highest jump height overall. Altogether, these attributes gives her an excellent hit-and-run playstyle.

One of Zero Suit Samus' biggest strengths is her outstanding air game, considered among the best in the cast. While her neutral aerial has noticeable start-up, it is decently disjointed and sends at an excellent angle for combos. This makes it one of her main tools in the neutral and is notable for having several KO confirms into some of her finishing moves. Her forward aerial is also a great combo starter due to its low lag and can be useful for edgeguarding, while it also has some KO potential offstage. Her back aerial is fast, fairly strong, and can be combo'd into from a neutral aerial at high percents, making it one of her primary KO options. Her up aerial is exceptionally fast at frame 6 and can be combo'd into itself repeatedly, making it a great juggling tool that can sometimes KO confirm into Boost Kick. Her down aerial is a stall-then-fall aerial with a meteor smash hitbox; while it is her slowest aerial and easily her most unsafe, it can nonetheless be used as a situational KO move and landing option. Finally, she is one of the only characters in the game with a grab aerial, which like most other grab aerials has long range and low lag overall, giving her a good approach against aerial foes as well as a niche recovery option.

While her ground game isn't as powerful as her aerials, it still has decent utility. Her neutral attack is notable for coming out instantly on frame 1, making it a reliable anti-pressure tool despite its poor damage output and range. Her forward tilt has good range, low lag, and can set up tech-chase situations and can trip at low percents when angled downwards, her up tilt is the fastest of its kind at 3 frames of startup and can be used as an anti-air, and her down tilt lowers her hurtbox and is useful as a ranged poking option while also being a decent combo starter. Her down smash has decently sized hitboxes with low ending lag and is an effective combo tool starting from lower percentages while at higher percentages, it can lead into KO moves such as Boost Kick or up smash; however, unlike most other down smashes, it only hits in front of her, limiting its utility for tech-chasing. Lastly, her up smash has impressive vertical range overall, deals high hitstun, has low enough ending lag for combos at low percentages, and has decent KO power, arguably making it one of the best up smashes in Ultimate.

Zero Suit Samus also has a decent grab game, as her grab has a very long range, while all of her throws deal at least 8%. Her forward throw can be used for tech chasing, while her back throw can force opponents into unfavorable offstage situations or even lead into her infamous Flip Jump meteor smash. Her up throw is a decent KO throw (which KOs starting around 170%), and while her down throw is ironically unsuitable for combos unlike other down throws, it can still follow up at low percentages if the opponent fails to act fast enough.

Finally, her special moveset has strong utility overall. Paralyzer, her neutral special, has a very fast charge time compared to other chargeable projectiles, and starting at mid percentages, will stun opponents long enough for her to be able to follow up. Plasma Whip, her side special, is a long-ranged attack with very strong utility: tapping the button will cause the move to become a multi-hitting KO option that KOs starting at 140% if fresh, while holding the button will cause the move to hit once and knock foes upward. While this version is less suited for offense and has more lag, it still has utility for setting up combos. Boost Kick, her up special, travels merely average distance as a recovery, but compensates with having many options that follow up into it (such as neutral and up aerials, Paralyzer and Flip Jump's burying sweetspot), while the last hit is strong enough to KO earlier than her forward smash and her strongest move overall. Finally, her down special, Flip Jump, is a 45° acrobatic jump that does not render her helpless in the air, while its followup kick can meteor smash foes in the air or bury them on the ground, and is fast enough that it will often leave slower characters (such as Ganondorf) in dangerous situations. It also grants intangibility on frames 3-12, making it an excellent tool for getting out of disadvantage.

Zero Suit Samus is not without flaws, however. Perhaps her most infamous flaw lies in her defense: while her recovery is among the most effective in Ultimate due to her abundance of recovery options, fast air speed, and high jumps, her aforementioned weight and tall frame give her very poor endurance, while her recovery options (except for Flip Jump) are linear and fairly straightforward to edgeguard, which can make her recovery predictable. This flaw is further stressed with her fast falling speed, as it is easy for characters with sufficiently fast combo attacks (including Mario and Pichu) to perform combos on her (although her frame 2 air dodges can somewhat alleviate this issue).

Zero Suit Samus' ground game, despite its strengths, is also flawed. While her tilts have passable range, and her up and down smashes are good for follow ups and KO confirms, her forward smash has high end lag for an attack of its kind and is not strong or consistent enough to KO reliably, making it arguably her worst move. Her dash attack cannot reliably combo due to its high ending lag, and her down smash, despite its follow up potential, is unsafe on hit at low percentages due to its low hitlag and knockback, meaning that the paralyzed opponent(s) can generally act before she can follow up.

Zero Suit Samus' out-of-shield game can also be rather problematic. While Boost Kick is very fast at frame 6 and can KO very early at the ledge, it lacks sufficient range in front of her and has a very hard time punishing cross-ups out of shield. While the aerial version has more range, it also costs 3 extra frames to start up (due to her jumpsquat) and as such is less reliable. Her up smash acts as a solid out of shield option due to its decent horizontal range but is still merely frame 10; although that is fast startup for an up smash, it is only average startup for an out of shield option. Her rather high short hop also causes her aerials to be unviable out of shield outside of forward aerial on certain characters, and her grab by default is very slow. As such, ZSS's out of shield game suffers immensely if the opponent spaces against her shield well.

Finally, while her grab game has some utility, it is still notably flawed. As her throws only deal passable damage at best, while up throw is her only KO throw (and not a particularly potent one at that), they are only generally used to deal damage if other close-range moves are stale. Her grab in general is also very laggy in startup and end lag, meaning that despite its long range, it is easy to punish from any sufficiently fast attack if it misses. Lastly, the nerfs to her down throw, which was easily her best throw from SSB4, make her grab game more suited for direct offense instead of damage racking strings, giving it limited utility overall.

In the end, Zero Suit Samus retains much of her playstyle from SSB4, being a hit-and-run character with a strong punish game, while the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate has improved her overall mobility and neutral tools at the cost of her potent ladder combos and overall KO power.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Zero Suit Samus was previously considered a dominating top tier character throughout the lifetime of SSB4 (6th out of 55 characters), with a combination of excellent mobility, impressive recovery and a highly deadly punish game that could easily turn the tables on a careless opponent. Likely as a result of this, Zero Suit Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate, but was nerfed overall.

Zero Suit Samus significantly benefits overall from the universal changes to gameplay mechanics. The faster movement speed further enhances her already excellent mobility, improving her approach and as such, her "hit and run" playstyle. The changes to air dodge mechanics improves her juggling capabilities, while not affecting her as much thanks to her great recovery and options to escape pressure. The universally reduced landing lag and more limited out of shield options allow her to retain some of her setups while improving on her mediocre neutral game, one of her most notable weaknesses in SSB4.

She has also directly received some useful buffs. Down tilt, arguably her worst move in SSB4, has reduced ending lag that gives it combo potential at low percentages. Up smash has reduced base knockback and significantly increased knockback scaling, turning it into a reliable all-purpose attack with combo potential at low percentages and KO power at high percentages. Aside from her lost ability to string lengthy and devastating punishes off of a down throw, Zero Suit Samus' grab game has been improved as a whole: her grab, previously one of the laggiest in the game, has been sped up, making it less risky to use; her new forward throw sends opponents in a lower angle, granting it the ability to set up tech-chasing; and up throw has increased knockback, granting her an emergency KO move at high percentages.

Finally, her special moveset has seen many improvements, as Paralyzer charges and fires shots faster, while Plasma Whip has had some of its lost KO power from Brawl restored and has a new version where opponents can be sent towards her for new setups if the button is held. Flip Jump executes faster in the air, both the jump and footstool stomp have less ending lag, and the manual kick can be inputted faster, which allows her to combo into it from her neutral aerial much more consistently and take stocks at very early percentages.

However, despite these changes, Zero Suit Samus has received some significant nerfs that generally halt the buffs she received. The most notable direct nerfs were to her outstanding punish game, which while still potent, has been toned down as a whole: her down throw has more knockback and ending lag, losing almost all its combo potential past extremely low percentages; up aerial has more ending lag, and both her down smash and Flip Jump's bury hitbox (especially the former) have less hitstun and knockback, worsening several of her setup moves and making it more difficult to capitalize on them and on KO confirms. Furthermore, the changes to the knockback physics make it more difficult for her to string her moves into the other. As a result of this, her combo game is significantly less varied and effective, now requiring Zero Suit Samus to utilize her improved mobility in order to land hits.

Zero Suit Samus' recovery, previously one of the best in the game, was also nerfed, as Plasma Whip takes much longer to grab an edge and has reduced tether range. Her KO ability, one of her previous weaknesses, has also been further defined due to the nerfs to forward smash's sourspots and forward aerial's power, back aerials and Boost Kick's hitboxes, and Boost Kick's reduced knockback (unless started from the ground), making it much harder for her to score KOs. Finally, in terms of indirect changes, while the faster mobility is a boon to Zero Suit Samus, it also allows many other characters to keep up with her and thus catch her more easily than before, slightly weakening her already problematic disadvantage.

In the end, Zero Suit Samus' nerfs have made her "hit and run" gameplan shift completely from SSB4. She plays less linear thanks to a wider array of options, as opposed to her more polarized kit in SSB4, though while she retains many of her advantages from the previous game and still possesses devastating punishes, her watered down combo game makes her early punish game and advantage less oppressive than before, now requiring her to play a much more patient neutral game, using her mobility to weave in and out and more carefully punishing mistakes, lest she be put at a disadvantage. She has also received slight nerfs through game updates, though these haven't drastically affected her viability. However, this all culminates in Zero Suit Samus performing worse than in SSB4.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Zero Suit Samus's model features a more vibrant color scheme. The material of her Zero Suit no longer looks homogeneous; her physique has been altered as well, with her figure now being leaner and more muscular and her bust being reduced. Most of her suit is now a lighter shade of blue with a matte texture, which matches her in-game design in Metroid: Samus Returns. Her eyes are a more vibrant green and less blue. Her skin is also paler.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new idle animation. She now holds the Paralyzer in a high ready position, similar to one of her idle poses and victory animations, and no longer bounces in place.
• Zero Suit Samus's walking and running animations have been altered slightly; she now bobs with each step.
• Zero Suit Samus propels herself forward using her jet boots when performing a forward roll.
• Zero Suit Samus now strikes a pose during her down taunt animation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Zero Suit Samus's jumpsquat takes 3 frames to complete (down from 4).
• Zero Suit Samus runs faster (2.1 → 2.31).
  • Her initial dash is significantly faster (1.7 → 2.42), now being the 2nd fastest in the game.
• Zero Suit Samus walks slightly faster (1.4 → 1.47).
• Zero Suit Samus' air speed is slightly faster (1.2 → 1.26).
• Zero Suit Samus' traction is higher (0.07 → 0.116).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-12).
• Zero Suit Samus activates her Jet Boots during forward roll.
• Back roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-14) and has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 33).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 25 → 24).
• Spot dodge has more startup and grants less intangibility (frames 2-15 → 3-14).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-25 → 2-26).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 46).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 12 → 6), which transitions faster into the third hit (frame 10 → 6).
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (92°/61° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 45° → 361° (hit 2)) to keep opponents on the ground, akin to other neutral attacks, and the first hit has gained a hitstun modifier, which is higher for the hitboxes closer to Zero Suit Samus (0 → 10/6/2). This allows the move to jab lock and connect more reliably overall.
  • The first and second hits' hitboxes are placed lower (Y offset: 12u/11u → 10u (hit 1), 11u/10u → 9.5u/9.8u/10u (hit 2)), allowing them to hit opponents at low heights slightly more effectively.
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.8×), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
  • The first two hits have a shorter hitbox duration (frames 1-2 → frame 1 (hit 1), 2-3 → 2 (hit 2)).
  • The first and third hits have more ending lag (FAF 21 → 24 (hit 1), 32 → 35 (hit 3)).
  • The first two hits no longer use set knockback (23/45 set/100 scaling → 20/15/10 base/50/33/20 scaling (hit 1), 34/50 set/100 scaling → 30/25/20 base/40/40/30 scaling (hit 2)), causing them to connect less reliably at high percents, without granting them jab cancel setups whatsoever.
  • The first hit has an altered animation where Zero Suit Samus jabs at a slightly lower height, matching its changed hitbox positions.
  • The first and second hit consist of three hitboxes instead of two, which are smaller (3u/3.8u → 2u/2.3u/2.5u (hit 1), 2.2u/2.8u/3.5u (hit 2)).
  • The third hit has altered hitbox sizes (4.2u/3u → 4u/3.5u) and a consistent horizontal placement throughout (Z offset: 6u/2u (frame 3), 8.1u/1.1u (frame 4) → 8u/2u (frames 3-4)) This increases its range on the first active frame, but reduces its disjoint on the second active frame.
• Up tilt:
  • The first hit deals less knockback (55/85 base/30/50 scaling → 40/57/30/40), and its aerial-only hitbox launches at a higher angle (150° → 138°), allowing it to connect better into the second hit.
  • It no longer grants intangibility on Zero Suit Samus' legs, making it less effective as an anti-air.
  • It no longer has anti-rebound properties. This prevents the second hit from hitting opponents after the first hit clangs, but can also prove beneficial by allowing Zero Suit Samus to escape subsequent attacks from opponents rather than remaining stuck in the move's ending lag.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 30). In combination with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it safer on shield.
  • It launches at a higher angle (60° → 70°). Coupled with the above change, this gives the move combo potential at low percents.
  • It moves Zero Suit Samus a much shorter, almost negligible distance forward. This reduces its range, but improves its utility for spacing in combination with its lower ending lag.
  • It has a different animation: Zero Suit Samus uses her left leg instead of her right.
• Dash attack:
  • The innermost hitbox stretches downward (Y offset: 10u → 10u-5u), with the late hit's also being larger (4.1u → 4.5u), allowing it to hit opponents lying down more effectively.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's second hit can be angled, allowing her to both hit characters in the air more reliably when angled up, and hit smaller characters when angled down.
  • Forward smash's hitboxes now properly match its animation, giving it slightly less start-up (frame 14, 27 → 13, 26).
  • The first hit has different hitboxes for grounded and aerial opponents, with altered angles (45°/40°/38° → 60°/40°/38° (grounded)/45°/18°/16° (aerial)) and set knockback (50/68/72 → 35/68/72 (grounded)/38/60/67 (aerial)), allowing it to connect more reliably into the second hit.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 63 → 65).
  • Zero Suit Samus doesn't move forward as much, especially during the second kick. This makes it harder to hit opponents from farther away.
  • The second hit's hitboxes on Zero Suit Samus's leg have less knockback scaling (109 → 97), hindering their KO potential, especially in comparison to the hitbox on her foot.
• Up smash:
  • The last hit has less base knockback (70 → 45), but much more knockback scaling (145 → 212). This greatly increases its KO power, no longer being one of the weakest up smashes in the game, and simultaneously improves its combo potential at low percents.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash applies hitlag to Zero Suit Samus, as well as to shielding opponents, reducing her advantage over paralyzed opponents and making the move easier to punish out of shield.
  • It has a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.6×) and deals much less knockback (50/40 base/90/50 scaling → 0 base/90/85 scaling), significantly reducing its paralysis time. In combination with the aforementioned change, this greatly hinders its combo potential to the point it is unsafe on hit at low percents, with the sweetspot not leading into a jab until around 12%.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 8 (neutral), 16 → 10 (forward), 11 → 10 (back), 9 → 5 (up), 30 → 24 (down)).
• Forward aerial:
  • Zero Suit Samus kicks at a slightly lower height, allowing her to hit grounded characters more easily at the start of a short hop.
  • The first hit has different hitboxes against grounded opponents, which launch at a higher angle (361° → 50°) and have more base knockback (50 → 60), allowing it to connect better into the second hit.
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second (frame 16 → 13).
    • However, the move's total duration remains the same, increasing its ending lag.
  • The second hit has less knockback scaling (116 → 104), hindering its KO potential.
• Back aerial:
  • The sourspot is larger (2.5u → 3.5u), placed closer to Zero Suit Samus (X offset: 1.5u → -1u), and takes priority over the sweetspot. While this covers a blindspot on Zero Suit Samus' upper leg, it most notably makes the sweetspot harder to land, as the sourspot previously covered a very small space and was thus almost negligible.
  • The move has a slightly altered animation: Zero Suit Samus is more upright while kicking and her left leg is more inward.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has slightly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 35). This hinders her ability to combo and juggle her opponents without landing, and makes successful ladder combos into Boost Kick much harder to pull off.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has less knockback scaling against grounded opponents (90 → 60), allowing it to connect better into the landing hit.
  • The landing hitbox is larger (8u → 9u), extends farther horizontally (Z offset: -1u–1u → -1.5u–1u), and is positioned higher (Y offset: 6u → 7u). This improves its range, especially against opponents above or behind Zero Suit Samus, further helping it connect from the main hitboxes.
  • The landing hit can combo into a forward aerial at low percents due to its increased range and the move's lower landing lag.
• Grab aerial:
  • Grab aerial has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 50).
  • It has a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.7×).
  • It causes the Plasma Whip to retract upon hitting an opponent, hindering its utility in battles with multiple opponents.
  • It has less tether range.
  • It deals consistent damage (3% early/6% clean → 5%). It is less than the previous clean hit, but more than the early hit.
  • It has a different hitbox size inbetween the previous early and clean hits (2u (early)/4u (clean) → 3u).
  • The Plasma Whip droops and lays on the ground during landing lag.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have less ending lag, especially pivot grab (FAF 69 → 59 (standing), 72 → 67 (dash), 80 → 62 (pivot)).
  • Standing grab has less startup (frame 16 → 15), and the hitbox on the Plasma Whip has a longer duration (frames 16-25 → 15-25).
  • The changes to jostle mechanics prevent dash grab from whiffing when initiated too close to the opponent.
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 16 → 17 (dash), 17 → 18 (pivot)).
  • Standing and dash grab's hitboxes at close range have a shorter duration (frames 16-19 → 15-17 (standing), 16-18 (dash)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has less startup (frame 2 → 1) and much less ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
• Forward throw:
  • Zero Suit Samus has a new forward throw: a kick to the opponent's chest.
  • It releases opponents at a lower angle (45° → 33°), allowing it to set up tech-chases.
  • It has more startup (frame 6 (hit 1), 8 (release) → 8, 9).
    • However, its total duration remains the same, giving it one frame less ending lag.
  • It deals less damage on release (7% → 4%), with the first hit dealing more damage instead (2% → 5%), and only base knockback slightly compensated on the former (50 → 58). This makes it less effective for getting opponents offstage, but allows it to set up tech-chases for longer.
  • It no longer uses an electric effect and SFX, instead using a neutral effect with kick SFX, but the first hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5×).
• Back throw:
  • The first hit has a larger hitbox (4u → 5u) that is placed higher (Y offset: 12u → 16u) and farther horizontally (Z offset: -12u → -14u), allowing it to hit bystanders more effectively.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals much more knockback (80 base/60 scaling → 65/93), allowing it to KO under 170% without LSI.
  • The first hit's hitbox follows Zero Suit Samus' leg instead of remaining static in front of her, allowing it to hit bystanders above her more effectively.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has less startup (frame 26 (hit 1), 28 (release) → 20, 22).
    • However, the hitbox now has 8 frames of hitlag when it connects. This makes Zero Suit Samus release the opponent slightly later despite the release occuring earlier in the animation.
  • It deals more damage (2% (hit 1), 3% (throw) → 4% (both); 5% total → 8%).
  • It has a longer total duration (FAF 46 → 52). When combined with its faster startup, this significantly increases its ending lag. This completely removes its guaranteed followups, no longer being Zero Suit Samus' most reliable combo starter, to the point it has gone from one of her best moves, to arguably becoming her worst, and is her least useful throw.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Paralyzer:
  • Instead of only having an uncharged and fully charged variant, Paralyzer now functions like any other charge move. This means that Zero Suit Samus can now release the move at any time, with the shots scaling in damage, duration, knockback and paralysis time as they are charged further.
    • This also makes Paralyzer safer, as if Zero Suit Samus starts charging the move, she no longer has to commit to the fully charged version.
  • The shots have a longer duration (22 frames (uncharged)/46 frames (fully charged) → 24/48).
  • The shots have increased set knockback for both uncharged and fully charged blasts (18 (uncharged)/65 (fully charged) → 21/70).
  • The shots are more orange in color.
  • The shots have a lower hitlag multiplier, especially after their first active frame (2x → 1x (clean)/0.7x (late)). This results in the move paralyzing opponents for a shorter period of time despite the changes to the paralysis formula, especially outside of point blank range, hindering the move's setup potential.
• Plasma Whip:
  • Plasma Whip's second and last hits deal more damage (1.2% → 2% (hit 2), 7.5% → 8% (last hit)), and it deals an additional hit of 1.2% damage on the same frame as the second hit. This moderately increases its total damage (13.1% → 15.6%).
  • All hits have larger hitboxes (4u/2.5u (hit 1), 2.8u (hit 2), 3.2u (hit 3), 3.5u (hit 4), 4.6u (hit 5) → 4u/3.5u (hit 1), 4u (hit 2), 3.5u (hit 3), 3.7u (hit 4), 4u (hit 5), 6u (hit 6)).
  • The first five hits use different angles (30°/10° → 20°/10° (hit 1), 10° (hits 2-4) → 17° (hits 2-3), 15° (hits 4-5)) and set knockback (100/60 base/30/70 scaling → 50/80 set/100 scaling (hit 1), 60 base/65 scaling (hits 2-4) → 80 set/100 scaling (hit 2), 60/100 (hit 3), 65/100 (hit 4), 60/95 (hit 5)), allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The last hit has less startup with a longer duration (frames 32-34 → 31-35).
  • The last hit launches at a lower angle (60° → 55°), and deals much more knockback (45 base/105 scaling → 47/138) on top of its increased damage. This significantly increases its power to the point it can KO at around 135% from the center of Final Destination if all hits connect (comparing to the previous version not KOing until around 195%), restoring most of its utility from Brawl and giving Zero Suit Samus another reliable finisher.
  • A different variation of the attack can be used by holding the special move button throughout it, which has Zero Suit Samus swing the Plasma Whip back and above her, instead of releasing a spark from its tip. This variation has more ending lag (FAF 56 → 63), and replaces the last hit with four hits (frames 31-35 → 31-32, 37-38, 42-43, 46-47) that use the electric effect and deal 4% each (though they cannot feasibly link into each other), launching opponents vertically (107°/95°/80°/75°) with different knockback (98 base/62 scaling) and a hitstun modifier of 4. This allows it to set up opponents for juggles, with the later hits having true combos into aerial attacks, and gives it anti-air properties.
  • Plasma Whip has reduced tether range and takes much longer to tether to the ledge (frame 2 → 20). This significantly reduces its utility as a recovery tool, although it can still be used as a recovery move with proper timing.
• Boost Kick:
  • The aerial version's first hit and both versions' subsequent hits have lower set knockback (150 → 130 (hit 1, aerial), 110 → 50 (hits 2-5), 16/12 (hit 7) → 12/10 (hit 6, grounded), 10/16 (hit 6, aerial)), and the second to fifth hits use the autolink angle (87° → 367°), allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The last hit has less startup (frame 36 → 35).
  • It has more startup lag (frame 4 → 6).
  • It has more landing lag (23 frames → 30).
  • Samus' air speed is reduced by more after using the move (air speed multiplier: 0.5 → 0.4).
  • It hits seven times instead of eight, with the previous sixth hit being removed, dealing less total damage as a result (16.8% → 15.5%). The new sixth hit has more startup to compensate (frame 24 → 28).
  • The grounded version's first hit has lost its farthest hitbox, reducing its range to the point Zero Suit Samus has to be right next to the opponent in order for it to connect. This worsens its effectiveness as an out of shield option.
  • The aerial version's last hit has less knockback scaling (209 → 184), causing it to KO roughly 25% later than the grounded version unless it is used close to the top blast line.
  • The move no longer experiences RCO lag.
• Flip Jump:
  • Flip Jump travels slightly faster and has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 39).
  • The manual kick can be inputted earlier (frame 19 → 14). Combined with the jump's faster animation, reduced ending lag, and her neutral aerial's reduced landing lag, this significantly improves its utility as a finisher as her neutral aerial can combo into the kick much more consistently.
  • The footstool stomp has much less ending lag in the air (FAF 85 → 60), and bounces Zero Suit Samus a shorter distance upward, allowing her to reach opponents sooner after they are buried.
  • It can no longer be ledge canceled.
  • The flip no longer grants intangibility on Zero Suit Samus's head, legs and feet for its entire duration after the full intangibility on frames 3-12 ends.
  • The kick has a shorter duration (frames 9-14 → 9-12).
  • The footstool stomp's burying hitbox deals much less knockback (60 base/100 scaling → 10/90), significantly hindering its followup potential, no longer possessing KO setups until very high percents if the opponent mashes fast enough.
  • The kick uses the "small" kick sound effect on hit rather than the "large" one.
• Final Smash:
  • Zero Suit Samus has a new Final Smash, Zero Laser. She summons her gunship, but temporarily dons her Varia Suit (using the same model as the playable version) and fires a single, long-lasting laser from the top of the ship, similarly to Aura Storm. The players choose where to aim the laser with a targeting reticle.
  • Zero Laser deals significantly increased damage compared to a single laser (0.8% loop hits/10% last/17.2% total → 1.2%/1.6% loop hits/20%/25% last/51.2%-66.6% total), and the last hit has much higher knockback, making it more powerful.
  • Zero Laser only has a single use compared to Gunship's maximum of five shots, making it deal less total damage if all hits connect (86% → 66.6%). The last hit also has a delay before being fired, meaning the Final Smash can miss. This makes it less versatile and consistent.

Update history

Zero Suit Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates, but has been nerfed overall. Patch 2.0.0 nerfed her forward smash by adding a sourspot at close range while her Flip Jump has reduced base knockback, hindering her ability to KO aerial opponents at an early percentage from a back throw. Patch 3.0.0 nerfed her Flip Jump further as it travels a less horizontal distance, hindering her recovery.

However, her buffs in patch 2.0.0 allow her to grab ledges earlier when using forward aerial and up aerial while patch 3.1.0 allows her Plasma Whip to connect more reliably. Her Flip Jump has been reverted to how it was before patch 3.0.0, improving her recovery. Patch 7.0.0 would then reduce Flip Jump's knockback scaling on the burying hit, nerfing its confirm into Boost Kick, to the point where sufficient mashing will result in it being very difficult to get the followup at high percents although still possible if the player acts fast enough. Patch 11.0.0 increased the landing lag of Neutral Aerial and increased the startup time for Boost Kick. This reduces her safety on shield, and it weakens Boost Kick as an out of shield option and makes ladder combo kills using the second hit of Boost Kick harder. The increased lag on both moves make her combos have a tighter window but are still doable and she remains a highly viable character.

2.0.0

• Forward smash now has a sourspot at close range that has less knockback scaling (109 → 97).
• Flip Jump has altered knockback (60/100 → 25/145). This reduces the bury time at lower percents but increases it at higher percents.
• Zero Suit Samus can grab earlier after using forward aerial (73 frames → 71).
• Zero Suit Samus can grab earlier after using up aerial (75 frames → 59).

3.0.0

• The animations for the Grapple Beam have been adjusted.
• Flip Jump travels less horizontal distance (horizontal control speed 0.7 → 0.5).

3.1.0

• Plasma Whip's hits connect more reliably.
• Flip Jump travels more horizontal distance (horizontal control speed 0.5 → 0.7), reverting to its pre-3.0.0 behavior.

4.0.0

• Down aerial no longer has its downward movement disabled when used out of hitstun, though Zero Suit Samus still falls slower when using the move out of hitstun due to her vertical air friction not being disabled.

6.0.0

• Flip Jump's burying hitbox is no longer active during landing lag if Zero Suit Samus lands before the hitbox is deleted.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.
• Flip Jump's burying hitbox has much less knockback (25 base/145 scaling → 10/90), significantly reducing its bury duration, to the point opponents can mash out and escape KO setups into Boost Kick even at high percents.

8.0.0

• Zero Laser's final hit lasts three additional frames.

11.0.0

• Neutral aerial has more landing lag (6 frames → 8).
• Boost Kick has more startup lag (frame 4 → 6).

Moveset

• Zero Suit Samus can crawl and wall jump.
• Zero Suit Samus possesses a tether attack and grab.

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

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Level Chop (レベルチョップ) / Gun Hook (ガンフック) / Elbow Smash (エルボースマッシュ)	1.5%	A knifehand strike, followed by a pistol-whip with her Paralyzer, followed by a 12-6 elbow. It is tied with Little Mac's neutral attack as the fastest of its kind, coming out instantly on frame 1. The first hit can lock, but the height of the hitbox causes it to miss small or crouching opponents on non-slanted terrain. It also has a poor damage output, only doing a total of 6% if all three hits connect. Its main purpose is to disrupt grounded approaches or combos, as well as finish a combo on its own due to its instantaneous startup.
			1.5%
			3%
Forward tilt	↗	Spin Kick (スピンキック)	8% (leg), 6.5% (body)	A roundhouse kick. It can be angled, with the downward-angled version potentially tripping the opponent at low percentages. Its main usage is for spacing, due to its low overall lag and average knockback.
	→		7% (leg), 6% (body)
	↘		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)
Up tilt		Headstand Kick (ヘッドスタンドキック)	5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	A butterfly kick performed from a variation of the 2000 (a breakdancing move) followed by an upward scissor kick. It hits on frame 3, making it Zero Suit Samus' fastest tilt attack. It is also one of only two moves that hit in front of and behind her, with the other being neutral aerial, making it a good replacement to her down smash to hit both sides.
Down tilt		Ground Sweep (グラウンドスイープ)	8% (leg), 6% (foot)	A legsweep. This lowers her hurtbox more than her crouch, allowing her to duck under most projectiles with proper timing. Unlike in SSB4, it also works as a decent combo starter, as it can combo into forward aerial, up aerial, and dashing up smash at low percentages.
Dash attack		Jumping Kneebutt (ジャンピングニーバット)	8% (clean), 5% (late)	Activates her Jet Boots to perform a jet-propelled knee strike. It functions very well as a burst option and a whiff punish, due to it coming out on frame 7. However, it does not have much of a function otherwise, due to it lacking KO potential or the ability to set up up combos.
Forward smash		Jet Boot Kick (ジェットブーツキック)	5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	A mid-level side kick followed by a spinning side kick at a slightly higher angle. Due to it activating her Jet Boots, the second hit has a visible sweetspot in the form of a small, fiery blast at the tip of her foot. Unlike typical sweetspots, it has the same damage output as the sourspot; the only change is that it has slightly higher knockback scaling. Her side smash can be angled, but only the second kick changes in angle. It is often considered one of the worst forward smashes among the cast, because, despite its moderate startup, it is extremely weak, and it has very high ending lag despite this, making it a high-risk move with low reward.
Up smash		Shocker String (ショッカーストリング)	4% (hit 1), 0.8% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	Converts her Paralyzer into its Plasma Whip configuration and spins in place while twirling her Plasma Whip overhead. It possesses deceptively high hitstun with low ending lag, making it a solid combo starter at low to mid percentages, while still possessing decent KO power. It is also a very strong anti-air, as the attack has a huge disjoint above her head. All of these traits, combined with its long-lasting and disjointed hitboxes, have garnered it a reputation as one of the best up smashes in the game.
Down smash		Slant Paralyzer (スラントパラライザー)	8% (near), 6% (far)	Aims her Paralyzer downward in front of herself and fires a paralyzing energy blast at the ground. This move has poor KO potential, instead, it is used to initiate combos. The move has slow startup as it comes out on frame 20, but has very low ending lag with only 17 frames of cooldown which makes it excellent for leading into other moves such as Boost Kick for a potential KO at high percentages. Opponents are paralyzed much longer at higher percentages. It can 2 frame punish opponents, giving her true followups if it is timed correctly. Based on the ability to shoot her Paralyzer downward in Metroid: Zero Mission.
Neutral aerial		Whip Guard (ウィップガード)	8%	Converts her Paralyzer into its Plasma Whip configuration and spins in midair, swinging her Plasma Whip laterally around herself. It is often considered her best aerial and one of the best neutral aerials in the game for a multitude of reasons, the most notable of which is its combo potential. It can combo into all of her aerials in a very wide range of percentages, starting at 0%, and at high percentages (around 80%), it has a KO confirm into back aerial. At lower percentages (around 40%-60%), it has a notorious KO setup into Flip Jump, although it is sometimes inconsistent because of the sweetspot's small hitbox. Another reason it is so versatile is that it is extremely difficult to punish when landing with the move; against shield, its electrical properties and disjointed range make it difficult to punish, even on whiff or out of a parry. On shield, it is -4 at best, making it safe against out-of-shield options that can even be as fast as frame 5. Altogether, these traits make Zero Suit Samus' neutral aerial one of her best moves overall.
Forward aerial		Twice Kick (トワイスキック)	5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	A hook kick followed by a roundhouse kick. At very high percentages, the first hit has trouble connecting into the second hit; however, this, in return, makes it a good combo starter on landing. At low percentages, it can combo into itself, up smash, and forward tilt. At high percentages, it has KO confirms into back aerial, Boost Kick and Flip Jump. The attack by itself is decently strong, KOing offstage at around 100% and potentially even earlier, due to Zero Suit Samus' excellent mobility enabling her to go very far offstage and still be able to recover.
Back aerial		Sobat (ソバット)	12% (foot), 10% (leg)	A spinning hook kick. Very high knockback for an attack of its type, being able to KO opponents earlier than each of her uncharged smash attacks. It works very well as a combo finisher and KO confirm, being able to combo out of her landing neutral aerial, the first hit of her forward aerial, and her up aerial.
Up aerial		Air Kick (エアキック)	6.5%	A bicycle kick. Thanks to its minimal start-up and ending lag, very low base knockback, very high knockback scaling and low landing lag, it boasts excellent juggling potential.
Down aerial		Slash Dive (スラッシュダイブ)	6%, 5.5% (landing)	A diagonal flying kick, similar to Sonic and Sheik's down aerials, though unlike most moves of its kind, it meteor smashes throughout its entire duration. Has the slowest startup lag of all of her aerials. Due to this move being a stall-then-fall, it is extremely risky to use off-stage, leading to a self-destruct in most cases, though its aforementioned properties make it effective as a quick and unexpected sacrificial KO, as the opponent will be KO'd first if hit below the edge. Even when she lands on the ground, there is a high landing lag, making it easy to punish. Despite this, its extremely fast descent speed can enable it to counter a juggle if there is sufficient distance between Zero Suit Samus and the opponent.
Grab aerial		Aerial Plasma Whip (空中プラズマウィップ)	5%	Converts her Paralyzer into its Plasma Whip configuration and performs a whip lash in front of herself. It shares most of the same combos and KO confirms that her neutral aerial has, such as into back aerial and Flip Jump at high percentages; however, due to its lower knockback, it has an additional KO setup into Boost Kick.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Performs a kneeling lunge to unfurl the Plasma Whip. A hitbox appears at her hand, allowing her to grab opponents with less lag.
Pummel		Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット)	1.3%	A knee strike. Average power and speed.
Forward throw		Short Kick (ショートキック)	5% (hit), 4% (throw)	A side kick. It is arguably her most useful throw, as it is essential to her excellent tech-chasing capabilities due to its very low launch angle. It can even combo into dash attack against some characters, although the window for it to be true is rather tight.
Back throw		Kick Throw (キックスルー)	2% (hit), 6% (throw)	A mid-level roundhouse kick. It can launch opponents offstage and, if the opponent's reaction is read, it can combo into Flip Kick. However, this combo is extremely risky, as Zero Suit Samus has a very good chance to self-destruct if Flip Kick misses due to its high ending lag.
Up throw		Hold Somersault Kick (ホールドサマーソルトキック)	2% (hit), 8% (throw)	A backflip kick. The most damaging out of all of her throws, as well as her strongest throw; however, it doesn't KO middleweights until around 165%. To make up for this, however, its extremely fast startup makes it impossible to react to with DI.
Down throw		Knee Stamp (ニースタンプ)	4% (hit), 4% (throw)	Pins the opponent on the ground and performs an axe kick. Unlike in SSB4, it is a very poor combo starter due to having much higher ending lag; the only way it can combo into attacks is to read the opponent's reaction.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	A modified butterfly kick performed from a windmill (a breakdancing move).
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	A modified butterfly kick performed from a b-boy move (a breakdancing move).
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a spinning low-level roundhouse kick.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a low-level roundhouse kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Paralyzer	4%-6%	Assumes a kneeling position to fire a paralyzing energy blast from her Paralyzer. It can be charged, which increases its damage output the duration of its paralysis but at the cost of lowered speed. Targets hit by paralysis cannot be paralyzed again until making contact with the stage.
Side special		Plasma Whip	2% (arm), 3.2% (whip, base), 1.2% (whip, middle), 4% (whip, held tip), 8% (whip, pressed tip)	Converts her Paralyzer into its Plasma Whip configuration to perform a twirling whip lash in front of herself. The whip hits repeatedly, while its sweetspot, which is located at the whip's tip, launches opponents away, and can KO at high percentages. Alternatively, holding down the special move button will have the tip of the whip launch the opponent upward and toward her. While the held version deals less damage, it gives Zero Suit Samus an opportunity for followups.
Up special		Boost Kick	5% (hit 1), 1.2% (hits 2-6), 4% (hit 7)	Activates her Jet Boots to perform a jet-propelled diagonal split-legged flying kick, followed by a spinning hook kick. One of her best KO moves against a midair opponent. It can also be angled forward or backward, which allows it to catch an opponent's air dodge, rolls, and edge get-up reactions. The move is also a great out of shield option as it is very fast at frame 6 and is a potential KO option at high percentages, although the hitbox is directly in front of Zero Suit Samus and is very small, limiting its utility as an OoS option to very close range as it will very likely lead to a punish if it is whiffed.
Down special		Flip Jump	8% (stomp), 14% (kick)	A 720° Ce Kong Fan[1], a jumping technique used in contemporary Wushu. It functions as a third jump and grants intangibility on frames 3-12. It can deal damage in two ways: upon contact at the end of the jump, or by pressing either the attack button or special button during the jump. Upon contact, Zero Suit Samus performs a footstool stomp, which buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial opponents. Pressing the attack or special buttons makes her perform a diagonal flying kick, which is very powerful. The flying kick also has a sweetspot at her foot that can meteor smash aerial opponents but has slightly less knockback against aerial opponents. Overall, due to its sheer versatility as a combo finisher, recovery option, and an excellent tool for breaking out of disadvantage, it is commonly considered one of the best moves in the game and is arguably Zero Suit Samus’ best move.
Final Smash		Zero Laser	1.2%/1.6% (laser loop), 20%/25% (final burst)	Zero Suit Samus leaps upward and, while offscreen, equips her Power Suit before landing atop her Gunship in the background. A player-controlled crosshair then appears, and after a short amount of time (or when the attack button is pressed), the now-Power Suit equipped Samus begins firing her Zero Laser with an area roughly equal to that of the crosshair. Like the version used by her Power Suit-equipped self, it hits multiple times. Opponents take more damage closer to the center of the crosshair. At the end of the move, there is a brief pause, then one final burst is fired with enough power to launch opponents. Once the move concludes, Samus reverts to her Zero Suit and returns to her previous position.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	80	2.42 – Initial dash 2.31 – Run	1.47	0.116	0.008	1.26	0.01 – Base 0.085 – Additional	0.12	1.7 – Base 2.72 – Fast-fall	3	44.5 - Base 21.35 - Short hop	44.2

Announcer call

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• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Jumps out of her Gunship and uses her Jet Boots to briefly hover before landing.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Tosses her Paralyzer into the air, spins once, and catches it behind herself while saying "Is that all?"
• Side Taunt: Swings the Plasma Whip in a circular motion while saying "Try me."
• Down Taunt: Holds her Paralyzer near her waist, and then performs a pirouette while twirling the Plasma Whip around her body and saying "You're mine."

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' up taunt.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' side taunt.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' down taunt.

Idle poses

• Stands up straight and looks around, holding her Paralyzer towards her face.
• Makes configurations to her Paralyzer.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' first idle pose.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Ze - ro - Suit!	Zero Suit Sams!	Sa - mus Tu - ta Ze - ro!	Ze - ro - Suit!	Sa - mus -- sans combinaison! Sa - mus -- sans ar - mure!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Ze - ro - Suit! Sa - mus!	Saaaa - mus Ze - ro!	Sa - mus! nul'-kostyum!	Ze - ro Su - it Sa - mu - s!

Victory poses

• Left: Lashes the air twice with her Plasma Whip and says "Be still."
• Up: Uses Flip Jump and then performs a jet-propelled somersault while grunting.
• Right: Performs a stretch kick and then swings her leg into position to perform a modified passé while grunting. Her leg motions and ending pose seems to "draw out" her series symbol, with the stretch kick being the "circle" and the ending pose being the "S".

A flourished remix of the theme that would play when Samus Aran obtained a new power-up or addition to her Power Suit. It would also play when Samus defeated Ridley or Kraid.

• 
• 
• 

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

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

•  Choco - One of the best Zero Suit Samus players in Japan in the early metagame. Although he has never won a major, he came close several times, most notably placing 2nd at Umebura SP, 3rd at Umebura SP 5, and 5th at Umebura SP 4. His results and activity greatly declined following the early metagame, but he was still able to see some noteworthy performances in the early years of the post-COVID-19 pandemic metagame, including placing 9th at Kagaribi 7.
•  Kuro - One of the best Zero Suit Samus players in Japan in the early metagame, though he initially played Pit and did not pick up Zero Suit Samus until after the 2019 Golden Week events. He is the only Zero Suit Samus player other than Marss to win a major, surprisingly winning Umebura SP 6 as the 37th seed, and has also placed 5th at Sumabato SP 11 and 7th at both EGS Cup 2 and Umebura SP 7. His results greatly declined in the post-pandemic metagame before he went inactive in 2023, and he was never able to recapture the performances he saw in the early metagame.
•  Marss - The greatest Zero Suit Samus player of all-time, and one of the best players in the early metagame. He won four majors — Collision 2019, Smash Factor 8, DreamHack Atlanta 2019, and GENESIS 7 — and is the only Zero Suit Samus player with more than one major win. He is also the only notable Zero Suit Samus player from the early metagame to remain relevant in the post-pandemic metagame in spite of his focus on content creation, especially in the latter metagame's early years, although his overall results were still less consistent compared to his early metagame results.
•  shky - Though active in the early metagame, his results were less notable compared to other notable Zero Suit Samus players during this time, though he still had especially notable performances such as placing 2nd at Sumabato SP 7 and 7th at at EVO Japan 2020. His best performances took place in the first few months after the return of offline competitive play, when he placed 4th at Kagaribi and 7th at Kagaribi 3, making him the best Zero Suit Samus player in Japan during this brief period. His results greatly declined in the years since.
•  Shoe - The second-best solo-Zero Suit Samus player in North America, with her best performances taking place in the post-pandemic metagame. She is best known for her positive record over Riddles during the peak of his career, having defeated him at both Double Down 2022 and Get On My Level 2023, and ultimately placing 33rd at 25th, respectively. She has also seen great success at regional events, including winning the C-tier Keep it Chill 5: FIGHT! and placing 4th at the superregional Low Tide City 2023.
•  Yamanyon - Though largely overshadowed by both Choco and Kuro, he saw several noteworthy performances that were better than most other Japanese Zero Suit Samus players during this time, including placing 13th at Umebura SP 2 and 17th at Umebura SP 3, as well as some success at smaller events including 7th at both EGS Cup and Seibugeki 4. He became mostly inactive in the post-pandemic metagame, attending a couple of events each year with little success.

Tier placement and history

Zero Suit Samus had a lukewarm reception when Ultimate was released, as she was seen to be considerably nerfed from her last appearance, where she was a top-tier character. Many of her tools were watered down, most notably her throw combos and ladder setups. However, this lukewarm reception was reversed thanks to the myriad of outstanding results from Zero Suit Samus players. In particular, Marss established himself as one of the best players in the world after winning a few majors, while Japanese majors often saw many Zero Suit Samus players place highly, including but not limited to Kuro, Choco, and shky. As a result of these strong results, the general consensus believed Zero Suit Samus to be a solid top tier, with players such as Maister, as well as many top players in Japan, even arguing the character could be one of the best in the game.

However, the post-pandemic metagame saw a notable shift in Zero Suit Samus' reception. For one, she received nerfs to some of her best moves, hindering her combo game and KO potential; the nerfs were great enough to cause some players, including Marss and shky, to believe she was no longer one of the best in the game. In addition, her best players slowly became less active or started to perform worse than before. In particular, Marss began shifting his focus towards content creation, while Kuro and Choco began struggling to make it into the top 32 at majors. As a result, Zero Suit Samus' representation declined, from having top 10 representation in 2019 to not even breaking top 30 by 2022. The nerfs to Zero Suit Samus' strongest tools and decline in results and representation collectively mellowed out opinions on her, with most players no longer considering her to be a top-tier.

This opinion is reflected in Zero Suit Samus' placement on the first tier list, where she was ranked 26th in A+ tier, while also dropping down to the bottom of A- tier at 30th on the second tier list. This also marks the first time that she was ever ranked below her Power Suit-equipped self.

Classic Mode: Grapplers! Whips! Claws!

Zero Suit Samus' congratulations screen.

All but one of Zero Suit Samus' opponents are characters who use tether/extended grabs and/or tether recoveries. The only exception to this theme is Little Mac, who represents the theme of "wires" (as mentioned in the route's Japanese name) by using his wireframe outfit.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Young Link and Toon Link	Skyloft	Dark World (for 3DS / Wii U)
2	Ivysaur	Spear Pillar	Pokémon Gym/Evolution - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue	Ivysaur's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
3	Dark Samus	Brinstar Depths	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
4	Yoshi	Peach's Castle	Super Mario World Medley
5	Simon and Richter	Dracula's Castle	Simon Belmont Theme (The Arcade)
6	(×3) (×3) Little Mac	75m (Battlefield form)	Tunnel Scene - X	Horde Battle (3 at a time). Items do not appear. The stage is also made of wires, and the music track references how the Game Boy game X has wireframe graphics.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Zero Suit Samus has Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Zero Suit Samus in World of Light

Although Zero Suit Samus does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, she was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Zero Suit Samus' awakening battle is separate from that of Samus, who is vaporized in the opening cutscene.

Zero Suit Samus can be found and awakened in the upper-right volcanic area in the World of Light after defeating the Metroid spirit.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
29		Zero Suit Samus	Grab	7,500	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior

Spirit

Zero Suit Samus' fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode as Zero Suit Samus. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Zero Suit Samus has been unlocked. Unlocking Zero Suit Samus in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Her fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with her artwork in Ultimate.

While Samus herself appears in a number of spirits, including an unarmored "Young Samus" spirit portrayed by a Zero Suit Samus puppet fighter, the Zero Suit itself only appears in Zero Suit Samus' fighter spirit.

• 

  266. Zero Suit Samus

• 

  274. Young Samus

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
242		Urbosa	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zero Suit Samus (100 HP)		4,400	Gerudo Valley (Battlefield form)	•Item: Lightning •Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified •Stamina battle •The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
274		Young Samus	Metroid Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Snake		3,400	Frigate Orpheon	N/A	•The enemy falls slowly	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
595		Jody Summer	F-Zero Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Captain Falcon		9,400	Big Blue	N/A	•The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight	White Land (Remix)
645		Lyn	Fire Emblem Series	•Zero Suit Samus		9,400	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	•Attack Power ↑ •Assist Trophy Enemies (Lyn)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge	Attack - Fire Emblem
728		Mimicutie	Kid Icarus Series	•Zero Suit Samus		1,700	Skyworld	•Item Tidal Wave	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy favors side smash attacks •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	In the Space-Pirate Ship
754		Meryl Silverburgh	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Zero Suit Samus		1,700	Shadow Moses Island	•Sudden Damage	•All fighters occasionally take sudden damage after a little while	Encounter
757		Rosemary	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Zero Suit Samus		1,600	Living Room	•Defense ↓ •Item: Food	•All fighters have reduced defense after a little while	MGS4 ~Theme of Love~
760		The Boss	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Zero Suit Samus (180 HP)		13,900	Garden of Hope (Ω form)	•Defense ↑ •Hazard: Poison Floor	•The floor is poisonous •Timed stamina battle (2:00) •The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage	Snake Eater
761		EVA	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Snake		3,600	Garden of Hope	•Item: Food	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy becomes more powerful after eating	Snake Eater
918		Mega Man Zero	Mega Man Zero Series	•Zero Suit Samus (160 HP)		9,400	Midgar (hazards off)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Zero)	•Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy starts the battle with a Beam Sword	Zero (Theme of ZERO (from Mega Man X))
955		Sharla	Xenoblade Chronicles Series	•Zero Suit Samus		3,700	Gaur Plain	•Item: Ray Gun	•The enemy's shooting items have increased power •The enemy starts the battle with a Ray Gun	Gaur Plain
971		Poppi α	Xenoblade Chronicles Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Daisy •Mii Gunner (Moveset: 2123)		3,800	Midgar (hazards off)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Jeff)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy starts the battle with a Beam Sword	Still, Move Forward!	Poppi QTπ
980		Chun-Li (Street Fighter Alpha)	Street Fighter Series	•Zero Suit Samus (140 HP)		3,600	Onett (Ω form)	•Jump Power ↓	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power	Chun-Li Stage Type B
1,202		Alexandra Roivas	Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem	•Zero Suit Samus		1,800	Luigi's Mansion	•Hazard: Screen Flip	•The screen will suddenly flip when the enemy's at high damage	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (Brawl)
1,296		Shantae	Shantae Series	•Zero Suit Samus		9,400	Pirate Ship	•Item: Transforming Types	•The enemy's battering items have increased power •The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge	Mob Smash
1,311		Ann Takamaki	Persona Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Giant Peach		4,500	Castle Siege (Throne Room)	•Item: Fire Flower	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Last Surprise
1,350		High Line (Guns Empress)	DAEMON X MACHINA	•Tiny Zero Suit Samus •Ridley		4,200	Halberd	•Move Speed ↑ •Assist Trophy Enemies (Jeff) •Item: Shooting Types	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy has increased move speed after a little while •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Metalopod	Guns Empress
1,353		S-Tetrimino & Z-Tetrimino	Tetris Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Samus		4,300	Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower)	•Sudden Final Smash •Item: Screw Attack	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash	Chill (for 3DS / Wii U)	Z-Tetrimino
1,376		ASTRAL CHAIN Hero (Female)	ASTRAL CHAIN	•Zero Suit Samus •Metal Shulk		9,500	Final Destination	•Item: Black Hole	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors special moves	Main Theme - METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER
1,451		Shiva	FINAL FANTASY Series	•Zero Suit Samus		7,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Krystal) •Item: Freezie	•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while •The enemy is easily distracted by items	JENOVA
1,480		Nina Williams	Tekken Series	•Zero Suit Samus •Mii Gunner ×2 (Moveset 2232, Special Forces Helmet, Special Forces Outfit)		3,700	Shadow Moses Island (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Karma

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
238		Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda (50 HP) •Link (60 HP) •Inkling (30 HP) •Donkey Kong (60 HP) •Falco (50 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (50 HP)		9,200	Great Plateau Tower	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •Defeat an army of fighters	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Urbosa
288		Adam Malkovich	Metroid Series	•Snake •Zero Suit Samus		1,600	Shadow Moses Island	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior	Young Samus Aran
1,306		Phantom Thieves of Hearts	Persona Series	•Joker •Pikachu •Captain Falcon •Zero Suit Samus •Chrom •Sheik		13,300	Mementos (Haru Okumura background, hazards off)	•Sudden Final Smash •Item: Daybreak Parts	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There	Ann Takamaki / Panther
1,328		Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Ike (120 HP) •Tiny King Dedede (120 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (100 HP) •Sheik (130 HP) •Tiny Robin (90 HP) •Zelda (110 HP) •Link (100 HP)		13,300	Yggdrasil's Altar	N/A	•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Jade

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' fighter card.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' unlock notice.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus on Wrecking Crew.

• 

  Performing her down tilt on Coliseum.

• 

  Performing down smash on Frigate Orpheon.

• 

  Posing behind her Power Suit on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Crawling with Snake on Shadow Moses Island.

• 

  Using her back aerial on Sheik on Luigi's Mansion.

• 

  Sora, Captain Falcon, and Zero Suit Samus facing off against the Dark Emperor in Find Mii.

Trivia

• For unknown reasons, Zero Suit Samus' taunt voice clips are not present in the Sound Test, making her the only character with this distinction.
• In the Japanese version, non-Japanese voice actors and actresses are credited without any transliteration to Japanese in the Sound Test. In the case of Zero Suit Samus, Alésia Glidewell's name was cut short, resulting in "Alesia Glidew". This has since been fixed.
• On the character selection screen, the icon in the Japanese version shows Zero Suit Samus' name within only one row, while in the English version it is shown with two rows. She shares this trait with Captain Falcon, Mr. Game & Watch, Pokémon Trainer, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, the Mii Fighters, Piranha Plant and Banjo & Kazooie.
• Zero Suit Samus' character showcase video, unlock battles, and Classic Mode credits use "Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior" from Super Metroid, a game where the Zero Suit did not yet exist. This may be a reference to how Samus would appear in various states of undress during the game's ending sequence, as "Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior" serves as the end credits theme for that game.
• This is the first game where Zero Suit Samus' default head icon depicts her hair tie as its standard red coloration, as both previous depictions have matched the Zero Suit's cyan coloration. She shares this trait with Peach.
• If Zero Suit Samus charges a smash attack while holding a Star Rod, she will not vibrate in place during the animation. This also applies to Byleth if he charges a smash attack while holding a Death's Scythe.
• If Zero Suit Samus starts charging her forward smash, the flashing effects will be focused on her Paralyzer instead of her left leg. This is a carryover from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where she uses her Paralyzer for her forward smash in that game. This visual effect quirk is also present in Super Smash Bros. 4.
• Unusually, the angled variants of Zero Suit Samus' forward smash do not cause the flames effects on her boot to terminate after the second kick.
• On the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site, Zero Suit Samus' blue casual attire is placed before the orange casual attire, whereas the order of the two costumes is swapped in-game.

Notes

1.^ translates to "Aerial Cartwheel" or "Side Somersault"