Zero Suit Samus (SSB4)

Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Metroid
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Gunship
Tier	A (11)

“	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 in Super Smash Bros. 4. She was confirmed in the Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8th, 2014, exactly a decade after Metroid: Zero Mission was released in Europe. Like Sheik, Zero Suit Samus is now a standalone character, which means that she cannot activate or deactivate her her Power Suit under any circumstances. Zero Suit Samus is once again voiced by Alésia Glidewell, albeit via recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Zero Suit Samus is currently ranked 11th out of 58 on the tier list, placing her in the A tier and making her the second lowest ranking top-tier character. This is a slight improvement from her high-tier placement in Brawl, where she was ranked 9th out of 38. Zero Suit Samus possesses a dominant air game, with two very safe aerials in her neutral and back aerials, while her up aerial is incredibly effective for juggling. Zero Suit Samus also has what is arguably the best punishment game, courtesy of her fast and nimble mobility, a paralyzing projectile in Paralyzer, and a potent combo game that can lead to either KOs or large amounts of damage in quick fashion. In addition, Zero Suit Samus possesses a long-distanced and varied recovery, courtesy of having two tether recoveries, a third jump in Flip Jump and her new up special, Boost Kick.

While she has outstanding positives, Zero Suit Samus also has some negatives. Aside from down throw, her grab game is very poor: while her grabs have very good range, they're all extremely slow and thus punishable if whiffed. Her ground game is also somewhat poor compared to her outstanding air game, while the potency of her off-stage presence is minimal despite her great aerial mobility and varied recovery. Zero Suit Samus also has a below average neutral game, requiring players to utilize great mix-ups along with spacing in order to efficiently rack up damage, score KOs, and avoid punishment.

Regardless of her flaws, Zero Suit Samus is widely considered to be a very viable character in competitive play, with players such as Nairo and Marss having won numerous national and regional tournaments, respectively.

Attributes

Zero Suit Samus follows a hit-and-run playstyle, which is reflected in her great mobility: her walking, dashing and air speeds are each among the best in the game, she has fast air acceleration, the third highest jumps, and the ability to both crawl and wall jump. However, her tall frame and fast falling speed make her easy to combo, while her high gravity and her status as a lightweight also make her susceptible to vertical knockback.

Zero Suit Samus' greatest asset is her superb air game. Neutral aerial has long range, low landing lag and launches at an angle that easily allows for follow-ups. Forward aerial is quick and decently powerful, making it a useful combo move at low percentages and a dependable off-stage KOing option. Back aerial has long range and high power, making it her most reliable aerial KOing option. Up aerial is very quick, has low base knockback, high knockback growth, and launches opponents vertically, making it an excellent all-purpose move. Down aerial is a meteor smash with a strong landing hitbox, though it is dangerous to use off-stage due to being a stall-then-fall. Lastly, Zero Suit Samus has a grab aerial, which she can use for spacing or as a tether recovery.

Her special moves also possess considerable versatility and give her good camping abilities. Paralyzer is quick, has decent range and the ability to paralyze the opponent, granting it excellent follow-up potential. Plasma Whip has long range and, like her grab aerial, can be used for spacing or as a tether recovery. It is also one of Zero Suit Samus' primary means of recovery, as it grants a decent amount of vertical distance and very long horizontal distance. Boost Kick is very quick due to coming out on frame 4 and is a decent recovery move, yet boasts impressive power, making it one of Zero Suit Samus' most viable KOing options, especially from out of shield. Lastly, Flip Jump allows her to move unpredictably, avoid attacks or mix up her recovery due to granting a lot of momentum, the ability to wall jump, and intangibility at its start. Additionally, its optional kick is very strong, being one of the strongest meteor smashes in the game, while also being capable of burying opponents and 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 smash attacks of its kind 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 percentages. 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, a series of up aerials leading into a Boost Kick can KO the majority of the cast at 50% near the upper blast line. The latter's loop hits also deal high base knockback and can KO if its last hit does not land due to SDI, even with perfect DI. Even with proper DI, this combo can also KO earlier if the opponent is near close to the edge of the stage. Combined with all the above, Zero Suit Samus has one of, if not the most, potent punishment games.

However, Zero Suit Samus has some noticeable weaknesses. As mentioned before, she is light, tall, and has fast falling speed, all of which make her susceptible to combos or being KO'd early. And overall, aside from down throw, her grab game is very poor; her forward throw and back throw have no guaranteed follow-ups outside of a dash attack. Despite its long range, her grab also has the third greatest end lag in the game, surpassed only by Pac-Man's grabs and her Power Suit's Grapple Beam, making it very punishable if it misses. Flip Jump can only KO if the opponent reacts improperly. The overwhelming majority of Zero Suit Samus' attacks have hitbox placements that are high from the ground, making it easy for short characters to avoid getting hit, especially while crouching. Despite Paralyzer's paralysis effect, it is rather short-ranged and does not stay out for very long. As a result, her approach against most defensive and zoning characters is limited to dodging their projectiles with her mobility, powershielding, and either coming in from above with an aerial or fast falling and then immediately grabbing. All of the aforementioned drawbacks also make her very susceptible to momentum shifts, which in turn gives her a less than stellar neutral game.

Zero Suit Samus' custom moves are some of the most polarized in the game. New advantages are gained from using them, but each one has a noticeable disadvantage to go alongside them, to the point that some are inferior to her default specials due to their disadvantages outweighing their advantages. Blast Shot is faster and Electromagnetic Net lasts longer, but both sacrifice Paralyzer's immense utility. Plasma Dash and Whip Lash have better offensive potentials, but they are largely inconsistent, with the former also being less reliable at edge trumping and being more situational for recovering. Impact Kick is much stronger and Lateral Kick travels farther, but each has noticeable flaws: Impact Kick is much slower, which removes its status as a follow-up entirely and often makes it unable to connecting with itself, whereas Lateral Kick KOs much later, which hinders Zero Suit Samus' KO potential. Finally, Shooting Star Flip Kick and Low Flip have much less utility overall, with the former being difficult to hit with, while the latter is less reliable for both recovering and KOing.

Overall, Zero Suit Samus' potent air and punishment games make up for her weak neutral game. Despite her initial flaws and subsequent nerfs from game updates, she has very strong tournament representation, with players like Nairo and Marss having won national and regional tournaments, respectively.

Changes from Brawl

Despite being a high-tier character in Brawl, Zero Suit Samus has been buffed in the transition to SSB4. She has received a few more KOing options, particularly her new forward smash and her new up special, Boost Kick, the latter of which is also a 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 changes to hitstun canceling, which lets her combo opponents much more efficiently and reliably set-up many attacks and KOs.

However, Zero Suit Samus also received some nerfs. The most noticeable of these was to her Plasma Whip, which has lost its reliable KOing potential, while her aerial prowess is also slightly worse than in Brawl. Lastly, her down smash's stun time was decreased and thus slightly worsened its follow-up potential, while Paralyzer was slightly nerfed in update 1.0.4.

Aesthetics

• Zero Suit Samus' design is now a combination of her appearances in Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Other M, rather than her appearance in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. She now has her facial structure and beauty mark from Other M, while her physique now has its slightly shorter height and thicker proportions from Other M, as well as its lean musculature from Zero Mission and Fusion. Additionally, her eyes are now greenish blue, rather than green as in Other M or blue as in previous Metroid games, which is a reference to Zero Mission. Lastly, Zero Suit Samus retains her thicker, high ponytail that she has worn since Zero Mission, but she now wears her bangs from Other M. Her hair is also now of a significantly higher visual quality than in Brawl and its color is now a subdued, platinum blonde, rather than a vibrant, golden blonde. The Zero Suit now sports its design from Other M, while its dark blue portions have been slightly darkened. Additionally, it now comes equipped with a matching set of Jet Boots and metal bracelets, both of which are original to SSB4.
• Zero Suit Samus is more expressive. She now winces with one eye closed when being hit or launched, grimaces with both eyes closed when screen KO'd, and appears sad after tripping.
• Zero Suit Samus now speaks during her taunts, rather than after them.
• The Paralyzer now sports its design from Other M, rather than Brawl. Additionally, it now features magenta accents within its interior, which are most visible while in its Plasma Whip configuration.

Attributes

• Zero Suit Samus walks faster. (1.33 → 1.4).
• Zero Suit Samus dashes faster (1.93 → 2.1).
• Zero Suit Samus' air speed is faster (1.034 → 1.2).
• Zero Suit Samus falls faster (1.43 → 1.7).
• Zero Suit Samus' gravity is higher (0.0884 → 0.12). This makes her short hops lower and faster, but hinders her vertical endurance and makes her more susceptible to combos.
• Sidestep has decreased ending lag (IASA 26 → 25).
• Jump is slightly lower.
• Zero Suit Samus is no longer connected to Samus via Final Smash, taunt, or menu input usage, with the former becoming her own separate character.
• Due to no longer being connected to Samus, Zero Suit Samus cannot use Power Suit Pieces, removing her ability to use powerful items at the start of a match.
• While Zero Suit Samus' metal bracelets are merely aesthetic, her Jet Boots have resulted in noticeable changes to her moveset.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack's first and second hits deal 0.5% less damage (2% → 1.5%). It also has increased ending lag (frame 23 → 32).
• Neutral attack's first and second hits have increased fixed knockback (10 (both) → 23/45 (hit 1), 34/50 (hit 2)). These changes make its hits connect together better. Its third hit also has increased base knockback (45 → 60).
• Zero Suit Samus has a new dash attack, a jet-propelled knee strike. Compared to the previous dash attack, it deals 1% more damage (7% → 8%) and it has a longer duration (9 frames → 12).
• Dash attack has altered knockback (30 (base)/80 (growth) → 100/40) compared to the previous dash attack. This makes it better for cross-ups, but unable to be followed up with tilt attacks.
• Dash attack has more start-up (frame 6 → 7), significantly more ending lag (frame 32 → 52), and less range compared to the previous dash attack. Its sweetspot also has a slightly shorter duration (4 frames → 3).
• Dash attack no longer has transcendent priority.
• Forward tilt has altered damage outputs (6%/6%/9% → 8%/7%/8%).
• Up tilt's second hit deals 1% more damage (6% → 7%) and has increased knockback growth (80 → 90), improving its KO potential.
• Down tilt has received an additional sweetspot that deals 8%.
• Down tilt has increased start-up lag (frame 5 → 8) and ending lag (frame 26 → 36), making it more difficult to start combos.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new forward smash, a mid-level side kick followed by a spinning side kick at a slightly higher angle. Compared to the previous forward smash, it deals 3% more damage due to consisting of two hits instead of one (13% → 16%) and its second hit has altered knockback (30/35 (base)/100 (growth) → 28/106/109), making it better at KOing. It also has decreased start-up (frame 21 → 13) and ending lag (frame 67 → 62).
• Forward smash has less range compared to the previous forward smash (though its reach is still above average). Unlike the previous forward smash, it cannot hit opponents standing directly behind Zero Suit Samus.
• Up smash deals 1% less damage (12% → 11%). It also has slightly increased ending lag (frame 47 → 49).
• Up smash is harder to SDI out of despite its SDI multiplier remaining unchanged (1.0x). Its final hit also has increased knockback growth (133 → 145), improving its KO potential.
• Down smash deals less damage (11% → 8%/6%). It also has more ending lag (frame 37 → 42).
• Down smash has increased knockback (40 (base)/50 (growth) → 50/90).
• Down smash deals less paralysis. This makes it more difficult for opponents to DI correctly, but slightly hinders its follow-up potential.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, forward, back and up aerials deal less damage (10% → 8% (neutral), 17% → 12% (forward), 13%/12%/12% → 12/10% (back), 10%/7% → 6.5% (up)), with only back aerial having its knockback mostly compensated (33 (base)/100 (growth) → 42/98).
• Neutral aerial is now properly affected by stale-move negation.
• Forward aerial's decreased knockback makes its hits connect together better, improving its combo potential. It also has decreased ending lag (frame 48 → 47). It also has a larger hitbox (5.5/4.8/5 → 6.4/5.5).
• Forward aerial's hits have shorter durations (First hit: 4 frames/Second hit: 5 frames → Both: 2).
• Back aerial has increased ending (frame 38 → 40) and landing lag (9 frames → 11). Its hitbox duration is also shorter (3 frames → 2).
• Up aerial's decreased knockback improves its juggling and combo potentials. It also has a longer duration (5 frames → 7) and now lacks a sourspot, giving it a more consistent damage output. It also has a larger hitbox (4.3/3/3 → 4.6/3.6/3.6
• Up aerial has increased start-up lag (frame 4 → 6).
• Up aerial no longer has a slash effect.
• Down aerial deals 1% more damage (5%/4% → 6%/5%) and its landing hitbox has increased knockback growth (90 → 110) and damage (5% → 5.5%). It also has decreased landing lag (40 frames → 30). It also has a larger hitbox (6/5 → 6.3/5.2).
• Down aerial's meteor smash hitbox's trajectory has been altered (275° → 278°).
• Zero Suit Samus now has a grab aerial. Like other grab aerials in SSB4, it deals damage (3% (early), 6% (clean)) and knockback, has long horizontal range, minimal landing lag and can be used as a tether recovery.

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have decreased ending lag (frame 85 (all) → 69 (standing)/72 (dash)/80 (pivot)).
• All grabs have shorter durations (13 frames → 9). Pivot grab also has increased start-up lag (frame 16 → 17).
• Grab has decreased range.
• Back throw deals 2% more damage (6% → 8%), although its knockback growth was compensated (60 → 45).
• Down throw deals 2% less damage (7% → 5%).
• Down throw has increased knockback (82 (base)/30 (growth) → 90/60) and transitions faster, improving its aerial combo potential.

Special moves

• Plasma Whip deals less damage (3% (whip)/16% (tip) → 2% (whip near)/1.2% (whip far)/7.5% (tip)), hindering its KO potential outside of stage spikes and edge-guarding.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new up special, Boost Kick. It is a jet-propelled, diagonal split-legged flying kick followed by a reverse roundhouse kick. Compared to Plasma Wire, Boost Kick deals more damage overall (4%-6% → 5% (first)/1.3% (loop)/4% (last)) and much more knockback, making it significantly better for KOing. Like Plasma Wire, it also has mindgame potential. Unlike Plasma Wire, it can punish rolls.
• Compared to Plasma Wire, Boost Kick covers less vertical range, making it worse for recovering. Unlike Plasma Wire, it cannot meteor smash opponents.
• Flip Jump deals 2% more damage (12% → 14%) and has lost its sex kick properties, giving it a consistent damage output regardless of when it hits. It can also bury opponents.
• Flip Jump's animation has slightly changed. Zero Suit Samus now produces afterimages during its arc and she leaps off of the opponent once she lands it.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new Final Smash, Gunship. She jumps into her Gunship and fires laser blasts towards the stage, similarly to Grenade Launcher. Compared to Power Suit Samus, it deals more damage overall and is significantly better for stage control.

Update history

Zero Suit Samus has been nerfed in game updates. Update 1.0.4 standardized her air dodge's animation in order for it to match the rest of the cast's air dodges, which basically increased its landing lag, while Paralyzer had its ending lag increased. Update 1.1.4 affected her weight and her Boost Kick was nerfed, as it now KOs around 5% later. Her most substantial nerfs came about in update 1.1.5, which affected her damage racking potential by decreasing the damage outputs of her neutral aerial, up aerial and down throw, while all of her grabs had their active frames decreased.

Despite these direct nerfs, Zero Suit Samus received indirect buffs due to the changes to shield mechanics brought about in update 1.1.1, as these changes make her Paralyzer's electrical attacks, particularly her neutral aerial, safer on shield. Flip Jump's kick is also one of her few non-electrical moves to benefit from these changes. Regardless of the nerfs, Zero Suit Samus is still a strong and effective choice in competitive play.

1.0.4

• Air dodge has more landing lag (14 frames → 21), now matching the rest of the cast.
• Up smash has more startup lag (frame 8 → 10).
• Up smash's first hit has a longer duration (frame 8 → 10-11).
• Up smash's loop hits all start 3 frames later.
• Paralyzer has more ending lag (FAF 25 (from release) → 29).
• Fully charged Paralyzer launches grounded opponents at a lower angle (60° → 315°), now keeping them on the ground. This not only makes it harder for Zero Suit Samus to get aerial followups out of the move (along with its higher ending lag) but it also notably prevents her from re-stunning fast fallers with another fully charged paralyzer, removing the move's ability to potentially infinite fast fallers.
• Fully charged paralyzer now has a negative trip chance against grounded opponents (0% → -100%). This prevents the move from tripping grounded opponents despite its adjusted angle.

1.1.4

• Zero Suit Samus is slightly lighter (81 → 80).
• Boost Kick's final hit has less knockback scaling (220 → 209), hindering its KO potential.
• Boost Kick's final hit launches opponents at a slightly lower angle launch angle (50° → 48°). This hinders its KO potential near the upper blastzone and while this does improve its KO potential near the horizontal blastzone, this is offset by the move's lower knockback, make it KO later horizontally regardless.

1.1.5

• Neutral aerial deals less damage: 10% → 8%, though with its knockback compensated (40 base/80 scaling → 38/96). Additionally, some of its hitboxes have less range (hitbox 1 front: 6u → 5.7u, hitbox 1 back: 6u → 5.6u).
• Neutral aerial has modified stretch positioning (hitbox 1 front X-axis: 11 → 10, hitbox 2 front X/Y-axis: 20/7.5 → 19/7, hitbox 1 back X/Y-axis: 9/14.6 → 6.6/13.8, hitbox 2 back X/Y-axis: 16/17 → 15/16.5). This gives it less horizontal range, but it can now hit small characters on the ground.
• Up aerial deals less damage: 8% → 6.5%, though with its knockback scaling compensated (110 → 125).
• The last active frames for all of her grabs are 4 frames shorter without its ending lag compensated: frame 29 → 25. This makes it more difficult to grab opponents out of their rolls or sidesteps with all of her grabs.
• Back throw's second hit deals more damage (4% → 6%). It also has altered knockback (70 base/60 scaling → 72/45).
• Down throw's second hit deals less damage (5%/7% total → 3%/5% total), though its knockback was also slightly increased (100 base/25 scaling → 90/60), making it somewhat more difficult to combo opponents at high percents.
• Plasma Whip has been improved: the first hit has more base knockback (80 → 100), the loops hits deal slightly more damage (.8% → 1.2%), the final hit deals more damage (6% → 7.5%), and various adjustments have been made to allow all of its hits to connect better. It also has less ending lag (27 → 24 frames).

Moveset

• Zero Suit Samus can crawl and wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	A knifehand strike, followed by a pistol-whip, followed by a 12-6 elbow. Despite its unimpressive damage output, it comes out on frame 1, tying it with Little Mac's neutral attack for having the lowest amount of start-up lag of any neutral attack in the game. This gives it a useful amount of utility, such as interrupting attacks, acting as an out of shield option, or using its first hit to act as a set-up into Boost Kick for a KO at high percentages.
			1.5%
			3%
Forward tilt	↗		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)	A roundhouse kick. It can be angled, with the non-angled version dealing the least amount of damage, while the downward angled version can trip opponents at low percentages.
	→		7% (leg), 6% (body)
	↘		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)
Up tilt			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	A butterfly kick-styled scissor kick performed from a variation of the 2000, a breakdancing move. It is a semi-effective alternative to her down smash for hitting opponents on both sides. Can set up juggles and KO at high percentages, although it has high ending lag and does not hit grounded short characters, such as Kirby.
Down tilt			8% (leg), 6% (foot)	A legsweep. Opponents hit by her foot are launched vertically, while opponents hit by her leg are launched diagonally. Can combo into other moves well from low to high percentages alike, although its combo potential is situational. It can also be used to dodge projectiles and other attacks if timed correctly.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 5% (late)	Activates her Jet Boots to perform a jet-propelled knee strike. It can lead into a successful cross-up as a counter to opponents who try to grab her after powershielding. While it is fast, it does not have much range and has high ending lag.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	A mid-level side kick followed by a spinning side kick at a slightly higher angle. Due to activating her Jet Boots, the second kick has a visible sweetspot in the form of a small blast of fire at the tip of her foot. KOs around 110%-125%, making it her strongest smash attack. It is also the only attack involving her Jet Boots' thrusters that deals flame damage.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 0.8% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	Spins in place while re-configuring her Paralyzer into a handle to unleash a whip of plasma above her head in a twirling motion. It hits multiple times, has very low start-up lag, disjointed vertical range and decent horizontal range, although only the whip's tip deals knockback. It can also act as a follow-up from down throw at low percentages.
Down smash			8% (near), 6% (far)	Shoots her Paralyzer at a diagonal angle. It deals low damage, has delayed knockback and, like Mewtwo's down smash, it only hits on one side. Additionally, the blast is a projectile and thus can be absorbed, although it cannot be reflected due to being fired downward. However, it is a useful set-up option due to paralyzing the opponent briefly, with notable follow-ups including her forward smash, a grab or Boost Kick. With precise timing off-stage, it can lead into a sweetspotted Flip Jump for a meteor smash. At 60%-150%, with precise timing and close enough, two consecutive uncharged down smashes can lead into forward aerial, reverse aerial rushed back aerial, up aerial, Flip Jump and Boost Kick. However, these particular follow-ups require precise timing and Zero Suit Samus to be very close to the opponent. When spaced correctly, it is safe on shield.
Neutral aerial			8% (both hits)	Re-configures her Paralyzer into a handle and spins a whip of plasma around herself, starting by the front. It has fairly long range and deals below average knockback, which allows it to function as a useful set-up option for other aerials. However, it can be easily be punished against shielding opponents if it is poorly spaced.
Forward aerial			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	A flying kick followed by a roundhouse kick. The second hit is stronger and slightly faster than the first hit and it can be landed without landing the first hit, but requires correct timing to do so. However, it is difficult to land both hits unless taking advantage of upward and forward momentum from a jump. It is an ideal follow-up option from down throw if the opponent's DI has been read properly, as well as a decent KOing option off-stage at high percentages. At high percentages, the first hit can also act as a KO set-up due to launching the opponent into their reeling animation.
Back aerial			12% (foot), 10% (leg)	A reverse roundhouse kick. Its sweetspot is at her heel, which deals high knockback and can KO around 105% near the edge, making it a reliable KOing option. When spaced correctly, it is safe on shield.
Up aerial			6.5%	A backflip kick. Arguably her best aerial due to its excellent combo and juggling potentials, courtesy of its very low start-up lag, decently low base knockback and very high knockback scaling. It can combo into itself at low percentages and, with enough rage, it can lead into Boost Kick after a second one has been landed, leading to a KO. Due to its low base knockback, it is often unsafe on hit against characters that have a fast aerial attack to counter with unless she lands during the move.
Down aerial			6% (aerial), 5% (grounded), 5.5% (landing)	A diagonal flying kick, similar to Sonic and Sheik's down aerials. It is a meteor smash if her heel hits the opponent. Due to being a stall-then-fall, it is dangerous if Zero Suit Samus does not land on-stage, as it will not stop descending for some time, unless it is intended to trade hits against opponent's recovery. However, its extremely fast descent speed enables it to function as a counter to juggling as a mix up.
Grab aerial		Plasma Whip	3% (early), 6% (clean)	Leans forward while re-configuring her Paralyzer into a handle and unleashes a whip of plasma forward. It is the longest tether in the game, making it excellent for spacing and recovering since it functions as a tether recovery, and is also useful for edge-guarding. At high percentages, it can act as a KO set-up due to launching the opponent into their reeling animation. However, it has high ending lag.
Grab		Plasma Whip	—	Kneels down as she re-configures her Paralyzer into a handle and a whip of plasma comes out of it, which grabs any opponent by the tip of the whip. While it has long horizontal range, it also has considerable ending lag. The move's end has more vertical range, which is useful against small characters such as Kirby, who can otherwise crouch under the grab. A well timed grab can grab opponents out of their rolls and sidesteps.
Pummel			2%	A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			2% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	A small, point-blank energy blast from her Paralyzer. At medium percentages and depending on the opponent's DI and reaction, it can act as a set-up into Flip Jump, which can lead into an early KO if its meteor smash hitbox connects.
Back throw			2% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	A roundhouse kick. It is an infamous set-up for Flip Jump while near the edge due to Flip Jump's meteor smash hitbox, depending on DI and opponent's reaction. It can also lead into her back aerial until around 90%-110% as a DI mix-up against opponents attempting to DI away from her down throw.
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 8% (throw)	A backflip kick. It deals the most damage and knockback out of all of her throws, but has somewhat high ending lag, making it less suitable for initiating aerial combos compared to her down throw while still unable to KOing reliably.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Places the opponent to the ground and then axe kicks them. One of her best combo starters, it can lead into her forward, back (if the opponent's DI is read properly) and up aerials, a running up smash, and Boost Kick, with the latter combo KOing at high percentages. At high percentages, depending on rage, she can set up a semi-guaranteed KO combo with up aerial (against opponents attempting to jump out or air dodge) or Boost Kick (against opponents attempting to air dodge).
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	A spinning kick performed from the windmill, a breakdancing move.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Spins around to perform a low-angle roundhouse kick.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a low-angle, one-legged dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Paralyzer	4% (uncharged), 6% (charged)	Shoots a paralyzing energy blast from her Paralyzer. It can be charged for a longer stun time, but at the cost of lowered speed.
	Custom 1	Blast Shot	2% (uncharged), 3.5% (charged)	The energy blast is faster and has more range, but deals less damage and does inflict paralysis.
	Custom 2	Electromagnetic Net	0.8% (uncharged most), 1% (uncharged end), 1% (charged most), 2% (charged end)	The energy blast explodes in an ever-increasing range. However, it has minimal range prior to exploding.
Side special	Default	Plasma Whip	2% (whip near), 1.2% (whip far), 7.5% (tip)	Re-configures her Paralyzer into a handle and unleashes a whip of plasma forward. The whip itself deals repeated damage and its tip has a flame sweetspot, which launches opponents. Useful for spacing and can function as a tether recovery like her grab aerial.
	Custom 1	Plasma Dash	2% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 6)	A dashing pistol-whip instead of a whipping strike. Due to not emitting a whip of plasma, it cannot be used as a tether recovery.
	Custom 2	Whip Lash	— (whip), 6% (tip)	The whip of plasma draws in the opponent instead of pushing them away. However, only its tip deals damage and knockback.
Up special	Default	Boost Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 4% (last)	Activates her Jet Boots to perform a jet-propelled diagonal split-legged flying kick, followed by a reverse roundhouse kick. One of Zero Suit Samus' best KOing options, as it can KO the majority of the cast around 110%, while also being an excellent out of shield option. Can be angled forward or backward, which allows it to catch an opponent's air dodge, rolls, and edge get-up reactions. However, if it misses or its last hit does not connect, it leaves Zero Suit Samus vulnerable due to it rendering her helpless.
	Custom 1	Impact Kick	6% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2)	The hits deal more damage and knockback, but the Jet Boots' thrusters do not deal loop hits, which decreases its reliability of connecting the first and last hits.
	Custom 2	Lateral Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 5% (last)	The last hit deals slightly more damage and grants horizontal distance. However, the first hit grants much less vertical distance.
Down special	Default	Flip Jump	8% (stomp), 14% (kick)	A 720° Ce Kong Fan, a jumping technique used in the taolu discipline of Wushu. It functions as a third jump and grants full intangibility on start-up, as well as seemingly granting partial intangibility on her head and lower body while flipping. 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 deals more damage, has high KO potential and has a sweetspot at her foot that is a meteor smash. However, the move has high ending lag overall.
	Custom 1	Shooting Star Flip Kick	8% (stomp), 17% (clean kick), 14% (late kick)	The flying kick's sweetspot deals more damage and it functions similarly to down aerial, albeit launching Zero Suit Samus at a more horizontal angle. However, the jump grants less horizontal distance.
	Custom 2	Low Kick	4% (stomp), 8% (clean kick), 6% (late kick)	The jump grants much more horizontal distance and jumping while flipping helps Zero Suit Samus land faster. However, the jump grants much less vertical distance and no intangibility, while the stomp and kick both deal less damage.
Final Smash		Gunship	0.8% (loop), 10% (last)	Summons her Gunship from the background and jumps into it as it flies into the foreground. While Zero Suit Samus is piloting it, crosshairs appear on the screen, allowing her to fire a maximum of five blasts from her Gunship's cannons at any spot she chooses. When 15 seconds have passed or she has fired five shots, the Final Smash will conclude and she will return to the stage from the sky.

On-screen appearance

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

Taunts

• Up taunt: Tosses her Paralyzer into the air, spins once and catches it behind her, saying "Is that all?"
• Side taunt: Swings a whip of plasma from her re-configured Paralyzer in a circular motion, saying "Try me."
• Down taunt: Re-configures her Paralyzer into a handle and then twirls a whip of plasma around her like a rhythmic gymnast while spinning multiple times on one foot, saying "You're mine!"

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Configures her Paralyzer.
• Stands up straight and looks around, holding her Paralyzer up 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 based on the jingle that plays when Samus Aran obtains an upgrade to her Power Suit or when a Metroid game is resumed from a Save Station.

• Performs Flip Jump and then performs a jet propelled somersault while grunting.
• Swings a whip of plasma from her re-configured Paralyzer before saying "Be still."
• Performs a stretch kick before grunting and striking a pose. The final pose is vaguely similar to the Screw Attack symbol used to represent the Metroid series.

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

Active

•  ANTi - A top-level Zero Suit Samus player.
•  Choco - The best Zero Suit Samus player in Japan.
•  Deimos
•  Griffith - Ranked 3rd on France's Power Rankings.
•  Luhtie - Has wins over ZeRo at 2GGC: Civil War as well as Elegant and Tyrant at Rise 2017.
•  Marss - The second best Zero Suit Samus player in the world and the best player in New England.
•  Mistake - Ranked 2nd in Ontario.
•  Nairo - The best Zero Suit Samus player in the world. The first person to eliminate ZeRo in a tournament.
•  Nick Riddle - The best Zero Suit Samus player in Florida.
•  quiK - The best Zero Suit Samus player in Europe.
•  Remzi - The best Zero Suit Samus players in MD/VA.
•  SmashSK
•  V115 - One of the best Zero Suit Samus players in Canada.

Inactive

•  Ned - Originally the best Zero Suit Samus player in the Midwest until switching to Cloud as his main.

Tier placement and history

Zero Suit Samus has been widely been viewed as a top-tier character ever since SSB4 was released. She became infamous for her highly rewarding grab combos that could lead into early KOs, varied methods of setting up KOs with her back and down throws, down smash, and Paralyzer, her ability to escape pressure with her aerial mobility and down special, and, as of update 1.1.1, the incredible safety of her electric attacks like her neutral aerial. However, she also has a few weaknesses, such as her laggy grab and lackluster ground game. Although players would often point out both her weaknesses and her representation only being above average for a perceived top-tier character, Zero Suit Samus' weaknesses were also perceived as negligible. Additionally, her top-tier status was supplemented by the efforts of dedicated professionals, most notably Marss, Nairo, Nick Riddle, Remzi and V115, who dominated their respective regions with her and whose tournament results had been sufficient enough to position her as the second best character in the game in the eyes of most players.

Nairo's efforts in particular have demonstrated the former points, being not only one of the best SSB4 players in the world, but also placing among the Top 8 consistently at major tournaments and winning MLG World Finals 2015 while using Zero Suit Samus, also notably becoming the first person to ever elimianate ZeRo, the undisputed best player in the world at the time, out of a tournament. Other notable placings included Nick Riddle placing 2nd at Paragon Orlando 2015 and 7th at CEO 2015, and Nairo and Marss placing at 5th and 7th at GENESIS 3, respectively. Because of these very strong tournament results, she would finally confirm her status by placing 2nd on the first tier list, being surpassed only by Sheik.

However, Zero Suit Samus received nerfs from game updates, with update 1.1.5 providing her most significant ones by exacerbating her grab game's lag issues and her immense strengths being toned down to an extent. These nerfs did affect her results, with some of her main players eventually becoming outperformed by other characters such as Cloud, and a small amount dropping her in favor of another character. As a result, Zero Suit Samus lost her Top 3 status and was ranked 8th in the second tier list. Although this was a moderate drop from her previous ranking, she eventually dropped further to 11th on the third and current tier list. While Zero Suit Samus remains a top-tier character, the improved tournament results of other characters and the below average size of her playerbase have both contributed to her current ranking.

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)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Gunship (Final Smash)

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• A Situation of some Gravity: Zero Suit Samus must defeat Rosalina & Luma while she is affected by high gravity.
• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Zero Suit Samus is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Brawl.
• Bounty Hunter Clash: As Captain Falcon, the player must defeat Zero Suit Samus. After some time, two Villagers will appear and must be defeated as well.
• Identity Crisis: As Zelda and Sheik, the player must defeat Zero Suit Samus and Samus.

Co-op Events

• Peach in Peril: Bowser and Bowser Jr. must defeat Zero Suit Samus, Rosalina & Luma, Zelda, Wii Fit Trainer and female Robin, but not Peach. KOing Peach results in a failure.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' splash art.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus' amiibo.

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  Preparing to use Plasma Whip.

• 

  Preparing to use Plasma Whip.

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  Using Plasma Whip against Link.

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  Using her forward aerial.

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  Fighting her Power Suit.

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  Double jumping to demonstrate her Jet Boots' thrusters in action.

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  Using her up tilt.

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  Wearing a Bunny Hood and being under the effect of Superspicy Curry, alongside Luigi and King Dedede.

• SSB4 - ZSS Screen-9.jpg

  Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Jumping.

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  Double jumping alongside her Power Suit, demonstrating their Jet Boots and thrusters, respectively.

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  Preparing to land the second hit of her forward aerial on Pit, who is being damaged by a Metroid.

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  Using Flip Jump alongside Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Fighting Rosalina.

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  Using her forward aerial against Pac-Man's forward aerial.

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  Using Boost Kick.

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  Two of Zero Suit Samus' new alternate costumes, which are based on her civilian clothes seen in the endings of Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission.

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  The civilian alternate costumes as they appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Alongside Ridley.

Trivia

• Zero Suit Samus is the only character in the game who has more than one way to access her tether recovery.
  • She is also the only character in SSB4 who has a special move that can function as a tether recovery.