Zero Suit Samus (SSB4)

Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Metroid
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Gunship

“	Zero Suit Samus Zeroes In!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Zero Suit Samus (ゼロスーツサムス, Zero Suit Samus) is a playable character that appears in Super Smash Bros. 4. She was confirmed in the Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8th, 2014, a decade to the same day Metroid: Zero Mission was released in Europe in 2004. Like Sheik and Zelda, Zero Suit Samus is now a completely separate character from Samus, meaning the two cannot transform under any circumstances.

Zero Suit Samus is once again voiced by Alesia Glidewell via reused voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Attributes

Zero Suit Samus is a hit-and-run fighter, with quick movement to back that up. She has the fourth fastest walking speed, very fast dashing speed, high air speed and air acceleration, as well as the second strongest jumps. However, her tall frame and fast falling speed make her easy to combo, with her high gravity and low weight also making her prone to vertical knockback.

Zero Suit Samus's greatest asset is her excellent set of aerial attacks, further benefitted by her great aerial mobility. Neutral aerial has long range, low landing lag and an angle that easily allows additional follow-ups. Forward aerial is quick and decently powerful, making it a useful combo move at low percentages and a dependable KO move offstage. Back aerial has long range and high power, making it her most reliable aerial KOing move. Up aerial is very quick, has low base knockback and high knockback scaling, as well as vertical knockback, making it an excellent all-purpose move. Her down aerial is a meteor smash with a surprisingly strong landing hitbox, but it is a stall-then-fall, making it dangerous to use offstage. She also has a grab aerial, something she can use for spacing or as a tether recovery.

Her special moves also possess a lot of versatility and give her proficient camping abilities. Paralyzer is quick, has decent range and the ability to paralyze the opponent, leaving them wide open to any attack. Plasma Whip has long range and, like her grab aerial, can be used for spacing or as a tether recovery. It is also Zero Suit Samus's primary means of recovery, and is overall excellent at that, granting decent vertical and very long horizontal distance. Boost Kick is very quick and very strong, making it a deadly out of shield option, as well as providing a decent recovery option. Lastly, Flip Jump grants a lot of momentum, gives Zero Suit Samus the choice to wall jump, and even makes her intangible at the start, allowing her to move unpredictably, avoid attacks or mix up her recovery. The kick is also very strong, being one of the strongest meteor smashes in the game. It also has the ability to bury opponents, leaving them open to attacks, most notably Boost Kick.

Finally, Zero Suit Samus possesses numerous and reliable KO set-ups. Down smash is one of a few in that it does not hit behind Zero Suit Samus, but just like the Paralyzer, it is very quick and can paralyze the opponent, allowing her to follow it up with a forward smash, back aerial, a grab, Boost Kick or Flip Jump, with the last KOing at very low percents. In addition, down throw itself has guaranteed follow-ups at any percentage below 160%. Depending on the opponent's DI, it can combo into forward aerial or up aerial, and sometimes back aerial and Boost Kick. This throw is also notorious for its ability to score very early KOs. Without proper DI (and occasionally with), a series of up aerials leading into a Boost Kick can KO the majority of the cast at 50%. The latter's loop hits also have high base knockback and can KO if the last hit doesn't land due to SDI, even with perfect DI. Combined with all the above, Zero Suit Samus has one of the (if not the) most potent punish games, as well as the most feared.

However, Zero Suit Samus has notable weaknesses. As mentioned before, she is very light, tall, and at the same time a fastfaller, making her very easy to both combo and KO. As a whole, her grab game is weak overall. While her pummel and down throw are very good at racking up damage, the same can't be said about the rest of her throws. Her forward throw and back throw have no guaranteed follow-ups outside of a dash attack, and her up throw cannot KO even at 240%. However her forward and back throw can be followed up with a Flip Jump which can score KOs very early. Her grab itself is also the third laggiest (behind Pac-Man's and Samus's), despite its long range, making it very easy to punish if it misses. All of the aforementioned drawbacks also make her very susceptible to momentum shifts, and thus grant her a surprisingly weak neutral game.

Zero Suit Samus is one of the very few characters that doesn't benefit from custom moves. While all of them have some advantages, they are outweighed by their disadvantages. Blast Shot is faster and Electromagnetic Net lasts longer, but both sacrifice Paralyzer's immense utility. Plasma Dash and Whip Lash can find better offensive use, but these cases are few and far between, with the former also being less reliable for recovery. Impact Kick is much stronger and Lateral Kick goes further, but the former is much slower, removing its status as a follow-up entirely, while also often not connecting with itself, and the latter KOs much later. Finally, Shooting Star Flip Kick and Low Flip have much less utility overall, with the former being awkward to hit with and the latter being less reliable for both recovering and KOing.

Overall, Zero Suit Samus's punishment prowess makes up for her weak neutral game. Despite her flaws, she has strong tournament presence, having high representation and very good results, with Nairo being infamous among the competitive community.

Changes from Brawl

Despite being a high-tier character in Brawl, Zero Suit Samus has been heavily buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. She has received a few more KO options, such as increased knockback on her new forward smash and her new up special, the Boost Kick, the latter of which is also a new potent out of shield option. She also gained more follow up options thanks to her faster down throw as well as improved spacing and recovery options thanks to her new grab aerial. Lastly, she significantly benefits from the removal of histun cancelling, which lets her combo opponents much more efficiently and set-up reliably many attacks and KOs.

However, Zero Suit Samus has also received some nerfs. The most notable of these was to her Plasma Whip, which has lost its reliable KOing potential. Out of combos, her aerial prowess is also slightly worse than in Brawl. Lastly, her emergency pistol was nerfed, as her down smash's stun time was decreased and thus makes it slightly more difficult to follow up on other attacks, while Paralyzer was slightly nerfed in update 1.0.4.

Aesthetics

• Zero Suit Samus has a new design primarily based on her appearance in Metroid: Other M, combined with elements from Metroid: Zero Mission, along with other modifications. The Zero Suit itself is based on its Other M design, though without the thigh holster for her Paralyzer and with new metal bracelets and Jet Boots, which are additions original to SSB4. Zero Suit Samus also has a more stylized facial design, with her blue eyes from Zero Mission and her beauty mark from Other M. Her hairstyle combines the higher, thicker ponytail and longer sidetails from Zero Mission with the bangs she had in Other M, and is a more realistic blonde color rather than bright yellow.
• Zero Suit Samus has two alternate costumes based on her attire from the endings of Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion.
• Zero Suit Samus has a wider range of facial expressions, such as a grimace with one eye closed when attacking and a dull, open-mouthed expression after tripping. Her mouth movements in general are also more clearly visible.
• Zero Suit Samus now speaks while taunting instead of after taunting.
• The Paralyzer has purple lights on the inside, which are most visible while using its plasma whip function.

Attributes

• Unlike in Brawl, she is a completely separate character from Samus, and the two can no longer transform into each other in any circumstance.
• Since she is no longer connected to Samus, she cannot use Power Suit Pieces, removing her powerful early-game item play.
• Her new Jet Boots provide aesthetic changes to some attacks and practical changes to others.
• Zero Suit Samus jumps slightly lower, reducing vertical recovery.
• Zero Suit Samus dashes faster (1.93 → 2.1).
• Zero Suit Samus walks slightly faster. (1.33 → 1.4).
• Zero Suit Samus's air speed is higher (1.034 → 1.2).
• Zero Suit Samus falls faster (1.43 → 1.7).

Ground attacks

• Jab combo deals 1% less damage (7% → 6%).
• Third hit of jab combos better.
• Dash attack is now a dashing knee strike instead of a flying kick. It deals more damage (7% → 8%) but has less range and is laggier.
• Forward tilt damage values are different (6%/6%/9% → 8%/7%/8%).
• Up tilt deals 1% more damage (11% → 12%) and has slightly stronger growth (80 → 90).
• Down tilt has an added sweetspot hitbox that deals 8%.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new forward smash, which is now a double kick forward. Compared to the old forward smash it comes out faster (frame 20 → frame 16), the second hit has stronger knockback (35 base/100 growth → 28 base/109 growth), and it overall deals more damage (13 → 16%).
• New forward smash has decreased reach, and can no longer hit opponents standing directly behind her.
• Up smash deals 1% less damage (12% → 11%), albeit with its knockback compensated.
• Up smash is harder to SDI out of.
• Down smash deals less damage (11% → 8%/6%), weakening the powerful utility it had in Brawl, although its knockback was compensated.
• The increase in knockback allows Zero Suit Samus to set up into her KO moves early.
• Down smash deals less paralysis, making it harder for opponents to DI correctly but overall making the move a bit less effective for situational followups.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial is now properly affected by stale-move negation.
• Neutral aerial comes out slower (frame 6 → frame 10).
• Forward air does much less damage (17% → 12%) without proper compensation on its knockback.
• Due to its reduced power, forward aerial is a better combo attack (into forward/up air) and both hits can land easier.
• Back aerial deals less damage (13%/12%/12% → 12/10%), though with its knockback (mostly) compensated. It also has more landing lag (9 frames → 11 frames).
• Up aerial deals less damage (10% → 8%) without proper compensation on its knockback.
• Up aerial's lower knockback makes it better for combos.
• Up aerial's start up is slower (frame 4 → frame 6).
• Down aerial has slightly more base knockback (30 → 35), has less landing lag (40 frames → 30 frames), deals more damage (5%/4% → 6%/5%), and the landing hitbox has more growth (90 → 110).
• Zero Suit Samus now has a grab aerial, where she fires Plasma Whip forward. Like most grab aerials, it has long horizontal range and little to no landing lag, and can be used to tether edges.

Throws/other attacks

• Her grab has much less ending lag.
• Her grab has shorter range.
• All throws are stronger, which weakens Zero Suit Samus's follow-up options after a grab at higher percentages.
• Forward and back throws have less base knockback, which allow her to follow with a dash attack at lower percentages.
• Down throw is faster and leads into aerials more efficiently.

Special moves

• Zero Suit Samus fires Paralyzer in an altered pose.
• Plasma Whip deals much less damage (19% → 8%) and is no longer a reliable KO option outside of stage spikes and edge-guarding.
• Her new up special, Boost Kick, is a jet-propelled split-legged side kick that ends with an outside crescent kick. It has much more utility than Plasma Wire and is extremely powerful (KOing below 100% near the ledge). It can be used for punishing rolls, mindgames, and as a fatal combo finisher out of up aerial, down smash, Flip Jump (on grounded opponents at the end of move's arc), and down throw at high percentage. It is also a good out of shield option.
• Boost Kick lacks a meteor smash effect. It also doesn't reach quite as far vertically as Plasma Wire did, reducing Zero Suit Samus's recovery slightly.
• Flip Jump can now bury opponents. It also does more damage (12% → 14%).
• Flip Jump no longer has sex kick properties, now dealing the same damage regardless of when it hits.
• Flip Jump now produces an afterimage graphical effect. Zero Suit Samus also bounces off of her opponent once she connects.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new Final Smash involving her jumping into her Gunship and firing from the front of the screen, similar to Snake's Final Smash in Brawl.

Update history

Zero Suit Samus has been slightly nerfed in patch 1.0.4, with the landing lag on her air dodge being put in-line with other characters -and as a result, becoming riskier to land with it- and her Paralyzer having more ending lag. However, these nerfs can be considered negligible as she has still had a large representation in tournament play. The changes to the shield mechanics also slightly benefit her as her most damaging moves (except her Boost Kick) have high hitlag and great range, making them safe to space overall.

1.0.4

• Air dodge's landing lag standardized: 15 → 22.
• Up smash has increased start-up: 9 frames → 11
• Up smash first hitbox length: 1 frame → 2
• Up smash timing: hits on 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 28-29 → hits on 10-11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 28-29
• Paralyzer has slightly increased ending lag.
• Paralyzer (default), when fully charged, now has different effect on grounded versus aerial opponents.
  • Grounded opponent angle: 60 → 315

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	A knifehand strike followed by a pistol-whip followed by an elbow strike. It is notable for being tied with Little Mac's jab as having the fastest start up of any jab in the game. It activates on frame 1, making it excellent for interrupting attacks and a very effective out of shield option.
			1.5%
			3%
Forward tilt	↗		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)	A mid-level roundhouse kick. Can be angled. When angled down at low percentages, it can trip opponents.
	→		7% (leg), 6% (body)
	↘		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)
Up tilt			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	A butterfly kick-styled scissors kick performed from a variation of the 2000, a breakdancing move. Has fairly high knockback at high percentages. Replaces her down smash as a semi-effective means of hitting opponents on both sides.
Down tilt			8% (leg), 6% (foot)	A legsweep. Knocks upwards from afar and diagonally at close range. Can combo into other moves well at low and high percentages alike, though this is situational.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 5% (late)	Does a dashing knee strike. Can lead into a successful cross-up as a counter to opponents who try to grab her after power shielding. Fast but not much range.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Does a mid-level side kick followed by another side kick at a slightly higher angle. The second kick has a visible sweetspot in the form of a small blast of fire at the tip of Zero Suit Samus' foot, which is stronger and deals flame damage. Her strongest smash attack and a reliable finisher when used after her down smash. Can KO in the 110%-125% range.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 0.8% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	Spins in place, extending the Plasma Whip up above her head in a swirling motion. Hits multiple times, has long vertical disjointed range and decent horizontal range, and fast startup. Only the tip of the plasma whip does knockback. Can be followed after her down throw at low percents.
Down smash			8% (near), 6% (far)	Aims down and shoots her emergency pistol at the ground in front of her. Only hits in the front. Deals low damage and delayed knockback, but paralyzes the target for a short time. It is a unique attack that can be followed up by a forward smash, a grab, Boost Kick, or another move. The shot is a projectile, and although it can't be reflected, it can still be absorbed.
Neutral aerial			10% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Spins the Plasma Whip around herself. Fairly long range, but with below average knockback, though this lets her follow up with other aerials.
Forward aerial			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Two flying kicks, with the second one being stronger and slightly faster than the first. It is difficult to hit with both kicks unless taking advantage of upward and forward momentum from a jump. Second kick can be landed without first kick, but it requires correct timing. Good when used out of a down throw if read the opponents' DI.
Back aerial			12% (foot), 10% (leg)	A spinning back kick. Sweetspot is at her heel. It has high knockback and KOs around 105% near the edge when sweetspotted.
Up aerial			8%	A single-legged bicycle kick. Arguably her best aerial, it is excellent at juggling due to its fast startup, and even better at comboing due to its low base knockback and high scaling. It can combo into itself at low percents and, with enough rage, it can lead into Boost Kick after a second one has been landed, leading to a KO.
Down aerial			6% (aerial), 5% (grounded), 5.5% (landing)	A stall-then-fall. Zero Suit Samus stalls momentarily in midair, and then shoots down at a high speed into a diagonal flying kick similarly to Sonic and Sheik's down aerials. It is a meteor smash if it hits at her heel. It is dangerous if she doesn't land onstage, as it will not stop until for some time, however, its extremely fast vertical descent speed makes it an effective way to counter juggling.
Grab aerial		Plasma Whip	3% (early), 6% (clean)	Fires her Plasma Whip forward. Excellent for spacing.
Grab		Plasma Whip	—	Fires her Plasma Whip forward. Has long horizontal range.
Pummel			2%	Knee strikes the opponent. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			2% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Launches the opponent forward with a small, point blank blast of energy from her emergency pistol.
Back throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Roundhouse kicks the opponent behind herself. It is infamous for leading into a Flip Kick near the edge for a potential spike.
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 8% (throw)	Backflip kicks the opponent. This is her most powerful throw when it comes to knockback. However, it has somewhat high ending lag, with the down throw being the preferred way to get opponents into the air for combos.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Slams opponent on ground and then axe kicks them. Ideal for combos, it can combo into an up air, forward air/back air (if the opponent's DI is read properly), a running up smash or Boost Kick at high percents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%
Neutral special	Default	Paralyzer	4% (uncharged), 6% (charged)	Zero Suit Samus pulls out her emergency pistol and fires a paralyzing blast of energy. Can be charged for a longer stun time, but at the cost lower speed.
	Custom 1	Blast Shot	2% (uncharged), 3.5% (charged)	Higher range and speed, but weaker damage output and no paralyzation.
	Custom 2	Electromagnetic Net	0.8% (uncharged most), 1% (uncharged end), 1% (charged most), 2% (charged end)	Shot has little range, but explodes in an ever-increasing range.
Side special	Default	Plasma Whip	2% (wire, near), 1% (wire, far), 6% (tip)	Zero Suit Samus fires the plasma whip from her emergency pistol forwards a distance. The whip itself does repeated damage but the tip has a fiery sweetspot, which knocks foes away. Useful for spacing. It can grab ledges as a tether recovery.
	Custom 1	Plasma Dash	2% (per hit)	Instead of using her plasma whip, Zero Suit Samus performs a dashing pistol-whip. As a result, it cannot grab ledges.
	Custom 2	Whip Lash	0% (wire), 6% (tip).	Draws in the opponent instead of pushing them away. Only the tip does damage and knockback.
Up special	Default	Boost Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 4% (last)	A jet-propelled, split-legged side kick that ends with an outside crescent kick. Very powerful when the last kick connects, and is both one of her best KOing moves (as it can KO the majority of the cast at roughly 100%) and an excellent out of shield option.
	Custom 1	Impact Kick	6% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2)	The kicks are more powerful, but are performed only twice, which decreases the move's reliability of connecting all hits.
	Custom 2	Lateral Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 5% (last)	The move covers more horizontal distance than vertical distance. Does slightly more damage.
Down special	Default	Flip Jump	8% (footstool), 14% (kick)	A quick leaping dodge that can also strike enemies on descent, burying them. Pressing the attack button makes Zero Suit Samus do a diagonal flying kick that has high KO potential and is a very strong meteor smash if sweetspotted at her foot. Full intangibility on startup, and seemingly partial on her head and lower body while flipping.
	Custom 1	Shooting Star Flip Kick	8% (footstool), 17% (clean kick), 14% (late kick)	The flip does nothing, but a high-damaged kick is used if the button is hit again.
	Custom 2	Low Kick	4% (footstool), 8% (clean kick), 6% (late kick)	No invincibility. Has very little vertical distance, but a considerable amount of horizontal distance. Jumping while flipping helps Zero Suit Samus land faster.
Final Smash		Gunship	0.8% (loop), 10% (last)	Zero Suit Samus summons her Gunship from the background and jumps into it as it flies into the foreground. While Zero Suit Samus is piloting her ship, a reticle appears on the screen, allowing her to fire a maximum of five double lasers at any spot she chooses. When 15 seconds have passed or she has fired five lasers, she will return to the stage from the sky, ending the Final Smash.

On-screen appearance

• Jumps out of her Gunship and lands with her Jet Boots.

Taunts

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

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Checks her Paralyzer.
• Stands up straight and looks around, holding her Paralyzer to her face.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Ze-ro Suit!	Ze-ro Suit! Samus!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A flourished remix directly from Brawl based on the sound clip 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 and Kraid.

• Backflips twice to the screen.
• Slashes with her energy whip and says "Be still."
• Does a side kick flex, making the Screw Attack symbol.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Zero Suit Samus	1311	1312	1112	2311	2111
	2312	2112	1211	1332	1132

Notable players

•  Choco
•  Dakpo
•  Leon
•  Marss
•  Nairo
•  Nick Riddle
•  Serudos
•  V115
•  VaBengal

Alternate costumes

Trophies

Zero Suit Samus

Samus is far from helpless when her Power Suit is deactivated. Sure, she loses a lot of the moves and weapons she had access to before, but her Jet Boots pick up the slack! She also has the Paralyzer, a versatile weapon that can shock her rivals or change into a Plasma Whip to grab edges and enemies.

Without her Power Suit, Samus Aran may not have her usual strength, specials moves or over-powered arm cannon, but her Jet Boots definitely kick things up a notch in their own way. The Paralyzer, her gun, does just what you'd expect it to, but it can also turn into a whip for attacking and grabbing onto edges while falling.

: Metroid: Zero Mission (02/2004)

: Metroid: Other M (08/2010)

Zero Suit Samus (Alt.)

Zero Suit Samus's up special Boost Kick involves a series of fast kicks that end with a swift, sideways-launching one. A perfectly executed attack will hit eight times! Her down special Flip Jump can bury a grounded fighter in the dirt. She can kick midflip by pressing the special button.

Zero Suit Samus's Boost Kick up special finishes with a swift sideways kick. If you start the move close to an opponent, you can hit them up to eight times and launch them sideways! Her main down special, Flip Jump, buries opponents if you land on them at the end of it. Alternatively, press the button again mid-flip for a drop kick.

: Metroid: Zero Mission (02/2004)

: Metroid: Other M (08/2010)

Gunship (Zero Suit Samus)

Samus's Gunship is her way of travelling through space and her base of operations when exploring hostile planets. In Zero Suit Samus's Final Smash, she can use her Gunship to fire powerful beams at other fighters, hitting them multiple times, even if they're hiding off-screen! At least they can be thankful it doesn't go on forever.

Samus's spaceship carries her through space and serves as her base of operations during her missions. Zero Suit Samus will call down and board her Gunship with her Final Smash. Once she's in the pilot's seat, she has a short time to unleash up to five powerful shots from the ship's weapons. Foes aren't safe even hiding off-screen!

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  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Gunship (Final Smash)

Gallery

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  Zero Suit Samus's splash art.

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  Zero Suit Samus's amiibo.

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  Holding her Paralyzer.

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  Firing her Paralyzer.

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  Firing an attack at Link.

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  Forward aeiral.

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  Below a suited Samus.

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  Using Jet Boots in the air.

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  Up tilt.

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  Wearing a Bunny Hood.

• SSB4 - ZSS Screen-9.jpg

  Her appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Zero Suit Samus airdodging.

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  Zero Suit Samus, with her power suit, showing off their rockets.

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  Zero Suit Samus about to kick Pit, who is trapped by a Metroid.

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  Flip Jump with Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Zero Suit Samus fighting Rosalina in the Boxing Ring.

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  Zero Suit Samus in her black Alternate costume fighting Pac-Man.

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  Zero Suit Samus doing the Boost Kick.

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  Zero Suit Samus's alternate costumes based on Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion.

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  The alternate costumes as they appear in the 3DS version.

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  Zero Suit Samus alongside Ridley in the Pyrosphere.