Zero Suit Samus (PM)

Zero Suit Samus in Project M and Project+
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.

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 middle of the A- tier on the official tier list, slightly lower than her placement in Brawl, where she is ranked 9th out of 38. However, in the official Project+ tier list, she is ranked 2nd in the S tier, a significant improvement over her standing both in Brawl and in Project M.

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. Her mobility has been considerably improved not due to her running and falling speeds increasing but also due to the reintroduction of wavedashing and Melee dash dancing. Some of her moves are significantly more useful. Her forward Smash is a superior kill move and the back hit sends her opponents up and towards her allowing her to combo out of forward Smash. Her new down aerial is much faster and has a lot more utility compared to her previous down aerial giving her a new fast combo option. Her recovery has also improved as her tether can no longer be edge hogged due to Project M's new tether mechanics and her new down special is more versatile. Lastly, she now has a non tether grab making her grab a lot more effective combined with her more effective throws due to Project M's physics changes.

However, Zero Suit Samus also received some nerfs. She no longer starts a round with Power Suit Pieces meaning that she no longer has access to powerful items she can abuse forcing her to play more aggressively. Her opponents are now capable of mashing out of moves which paralyse them ultimately making her paralysis based moves less effective. While her endurance has been improved from Brawl due to her higher weight, gravity and fall speed, they also make her significantly more vulnerable to combos. Her plasma whip has a lot less range and is no longer a strong kill option due to its reduced damage output and altered knockback angle although it is more useful for combos due to its new angle. Lastly, her up aerial is less effective at juggling due to its altered knockback angle and is a weaker vertical KO option although Project M's physics make it a more effective combo move and the move can now be used for edgeguarding.

Overall, Zero Suit Samus has much stronger offensive options at the cost of some of her defensive options.

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.
• Zero Suit Samus is heavier (81 → 85). This improves her endurance but makes her more susceptible to combos.
• Zero Suit Samus' fall speed is much higher (1.43 → 2.05) although relative to the cast, she still has the 16th highest fall speed. This improves her vertical endurance but makes her more susceptible to combos.
• Zero Suit Samus' gravity is much higher (0.0884 → 0.135) going from the 13th highest in Brawl to the 4th highest. This improves her aerial mobility, but hinders her horizontal endurance and makes her more susceptible to chain grabs.
• Zero Suit Samus walks slightly faster (1.33 → 1.35)
• Zero Suit Samus dashes faster (1.93 → 2.05)
• Zero Suit Samus' air speed is slightly slower (1.034 → 1.0)
• 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 as items; these will always vanish when the animations are done, removing her ability to use them further encouraging close-range combat.
• Zero Suit Samus now gains a significant amount of distance when performing a backwards glide toss although the removal of her power suit pieces makes glide tossing a lot more situational than it was in Brawl.

Ground Attacks

• Jab combo has less hitlag making it faster on hit.
• Jab 1 has more startup lag (frame 1 → 2). Jab 1 also can no longer be instantly spammed by holding the A button.
• Forward tilt does more damage (6% (upward angled)/6% (non-angled)/9% (downward angled) → 9/9/12%), and has drastically increased knockback.
• Up tilt has more knockback (55/80 (base), 70 (scaling) (hit 1), 70 (base), 80 (scaling) (hit 2) → 45/50/45/100 (hit 1), 50/100 (hit 2) and the second hit deals more damage (6% → 8%). The move also has a longer duration (frame 3-4 (hit 1), frame 7-8 (hit 2) → 3-5/7-12 and less ending lag (FAF 45 → 39).
• Dash attack does more damage (7% (clean) 5% (late) → 10/7%) and it's sweetspot has a longer duration (frame 6-9 → 6-10).
• Dash attack has more end lag (FAF 32 → 36) and no longer has transcendent priority.
• Forward smash deals much more damage (10% (front) 6% (back) → 14/8%), and has higher KO potential making it a better option after a down smash. If the back hit of forward smash connects, it sends the opponent above her, allowing her to punish them with aerials.
• Forward smash has slightly higher end lag (FAF 65 → 66).
• Up smash deals more damage (11% → 14%) and the loop hitboxes have altered knockback make them connect more reliably with the final hit.
• Up smash's knockback was not compensated and it has more end lag (FAF 47 → 51).
• Down smash has altered knockback (40 (base), 50 (scaling) → 75/20) hindering its ability to chain into itself.

Aerial Attacks

• With the exception of down aerial, Zero Suit Samus' aerials have more landing lag (10 frames → 16 (neutral), 16 frames → 20 (forward), 9 frames → 17 (back), 9 frames → 19 (up) though, this is compensated with L canceling.
• Neutral aerial has faster start-up (frame 10 → 6) and it deals more damage (10% → 12%). It also auto-cancels earlier (frame 42 → 37).
• Neutral aerial has less base knockback (40 → 25) hindering its KO potential despite its higher damage.
• Forward aerial connects much more smoothly especially at higher percents due to the first hit having set knockback (40 (base)/80 (scaling) → 25 (set)/100). The second hit also no longer has a weaker late hit.
• Forward aerial deals less damage (6% (hit 1), 11%/10% (hit 2) → 5/10%) although the base knockback on the second hit was compensated (40 → 45). The first hit is also less useful on its own due to its low set knockback. It also auto-cancels later (frame 38 → 40).
• Back aerial's sweetspot has higher knockback scaling (100 → 110) and one of the sourspots is now a sweetspot.
• Back aerial's sourspot deals less damage (12% → 10%), knockback (33 (base), 100 (scaling) → 20/110) and it now takes priority over the sweetspot.
• Up aerial sends opponents at a more horizontal angle (80° → 60° (clean) 30° (late)). This weakens its juggling potential but makes it more useful for edgeguarding. The sweetspot also has altered knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/110).
• Up aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 34 → 26).
• Due to her lower short hop, Zero Suit Samus can no longer perform two up aerials out of a short hop. She also can no longer auto-cancel neutral aerial or forward aerial out of a short hop because of this.
• New down aerial does much more damage (5% (aerial), 4% (grounded), 5% (landing) → 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. It also has less start up lag (frame 14 → 12) and has much lower ending (FAF 68 → 32) and landing lag (40 frames → 18) and it auto-cancels much earlier (frame 61 → 29) allowing it to auto-cancel out of a short hop .

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 (13 frames → 1).
• Forward throw has altered knockback (50 (base), 75 (scaling) → 63/50). This hinders its chain grabbing potential at lower percents while making it an even weaker kill move at higher percents.
• Up throw is a better combo starter at lower percents due to its lower knockback (80 (base) 60 (scaling) → 65/115) and lower end lag.
• Up throw does less damage (10% → 6%).
• Down throw deals less knockback (100 (base)/25 (scaling) → 68/78). This gives down throw chain grabbing and tech chasing potential while still being able to confirm into kill moves at higher percents.

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, allowing her to start combos with it.
• 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. It also has significantly decreased range.
• 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 (12% (kick clean), 9% (kick late) → 2% (footstool), 13% (kick early), 10% (kick late), 4% (landing), 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" which acts like her previous down special, giving her a new option for tech-chasing.
• Flip Jump gives less vertical distance. Zero Suit Samus also only gains intangibility if she flipstools her opponent which also has less intangibility frames (frames 1-12 → 1-4)
• 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 allowing her to use the final Smash without changing into Samus.

Changes from PM to P+

Up Tilt

First Hit

• Large hitbox BKB: 50 > 45
• Large hitbox size: 4 > 3
• Large hitbox angle: 130 > 136
• Small hitbox angle: 120 > 128
• Center vertical hitbox angle: 80 > 90

Down Smash

• Hitbox Sizes 6 > 5.35
• IASA: 20 > 24

Neutral Air

• Hitlag Multiplier: x1.0 > x0.9 This fixes an issue where some characters were unable to ASDI down nair

Forward Air

• Second hit BKB 45>40
• Modified hitboxes in order to add an aerial-only set of hitboxes that promote better linking

Down Air

• Y Offset: (0 / -2) > (1.2 / -2)
• Now stales properly

Dash Grab

• Startup: 12 > 9
• Y offset: (9 / 7.75) > (7.5 / 6)

Side Special (Plasma Whip)

• Hitlag Multiplier: 1.95 > 1

Up Special (Plasma Wire)

• First Active Hitbox: 6 > 7

Down Special (Divekick)

• Landing hitbox now only hits grounded targets
• Flipstool

ZSS must now press ‘A’ in order to wall jump out of a successful flipstool

Other

• Fixed bug on dthrow that caused release issues
• All whip based attacks now stale properly
• All parts of forward/upsmash now scale properly with charging
• Fixed a bug where down air bounce and down b did not properly apply momentum during knockback

Aesthetics

• Zero Suit Samus' design was changed to be similar to her design seen in Metroid: Other M.

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 tech

Labbing Discord Tech Post

Most historically significant players

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

•  Aidan - Ranked 29th on PMRank 2018.
•  Blank - Ranked 8th on PMRank 2018.
•  Malachi - Ranked 6th on PMRank 2023. Was formerly ranked 1st on PMRank 2019 using Sheik and Peach before switching to Zero Suit Samus. Placed 1st at Blacklisted 8 with the character.
•  Stango - Tri-mains Fox, Zero Suit Samus, and Donkey Kong and was ranked 4th on PMRank 2022.
•  Thalia - Tri-mains Fox, Zero Suit Samus, and Roy. Ranked 31st on PMRank 2023.

Alternate costumes

Project M

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.

Version 3.6. would be the final update to her alternate costumes, where cosmetic issues were corrected to properly represent 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' alternate costumes in PM

Project+

Zero Suit Samus is one of few characters in Project+ to have her overall design changed. Years after its initial reveal, the unused design planned for Project M became properly implemented in Project+. It incorporates elements from Metroid: Other M and Metroid: Zero Mission.

Like Samus, all her alternate costumes introduced in Project M were modified to match Zero Suit Samus' new design. In addition, two more costumes were included based on her appearances in the best endings of Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission respectively; the former gives her untied hair and black undergarments like the original, and the latter gives her orange shorts, boots, and shirt which is similar to the version in Smash 4. Her Fusion and Justin Bailey outfits have also been given recolors for team battles. Her Green Justin Bailey costume with black hair makes her look similar to her appearance in the Japan-exclusive Metroid: Zebes Invasion Order manga.

The pink Fusion Zero Suit Samus costume would be tweaked in version 2.5 of Project+ to be consistent with the other Fusion costumes.

Zero Suit Samus' alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: (Cadet Samus): Based off her cadet uniform from Metroid: Other M. This version of Samus is known as Young Samus in official material.

R-Secret Costume (vBrawl): Her design in the un-modded base game of Brawl, which come from her appearance in Metroid: Zero Mission.