Samus (SSBB)

This article is about Samus's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For the character in other contexts, see Samus Aran. Also, for information about the result of Samus using her Final Smash, see Zero Suit Samus (SSBB).

Samus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Metroid
Alternate form	Zero Suit Samus
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Zero Laser
Tier	F (32)

Samus (サムス, Samusu) is a character that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Samus originally belongs to the Metroid series. She is a bounty hunter and uses a suit to perform strong attacks. Her different missions lead her all across the galaxy, making friends and enemies alike. Samus is a starter character and appears in the Subspace Emissary. Her alternate form, Zero Suit Samus, is acquired by use of the Final Smash.

Samus is currently ranked 32nd (out of 38) in the F Tier on the tier list, a significant drop from her 11th (out of 26) position in the tier list for Melee. Samus has relatively fast attacks such as her tilts and her smash attacks, as well as aerials with nearly no landing lag. Along with this, Samus has her trademark bevy of projectiles, far reach in most of her attacks, and great horizontal survivability (possessing both strong horizontal endurance and a good recovery). However, Samus's KO potential has been significantly nerfed in almost every area from Melee; Samus' strongest finishers don't start reliably KOing until beyond 125%, and none of her potential finishers are especially effective. Her KOing problems are exacerbated by her difficulty in racking up damage on opponents; most of her attacks deal low to mediocre damage, she has rather slow attacking speed (combination of slow movement and her attacks being ending lag heavy), and has one of the worst comboing capabilities, with few attacks being able to set up. Her projectiles were also nerfed; her Smash Missiles take longer to fire as well as travel slower and being unable to KO until near sudden death percentages, her bombs no longer explode on contact, and a fully charged Charge Shot cannot KO reliably until roughly 125% fresh (and it is rarely fresh as Samus players must often use it to keep opponents at bay). This has resulted in terrible matchups against characters beyond low tier, and terrible tournament results.

Attributes

Samus has a wide array of both projectiles and physical attacks, which can be used in promising combinations. Samus is a heavyweight and ranks in the middle of the speed-class. However, she is tall, which makes her easier to hit (a common problem amongst most of the game's heavyweights). She has very low KO power and high floatiness for her weight class. Samus can be awkward to fight effectively with against the game's faster, more graceful characters, but with a good combination of long and short-range attacks, she can be deadly. Samus has the third-slowest falling speed in the game, behind Peach and Jigglypuff. This is both advantageous and disadvantageous. On the upside, her floatiness can be used to bolster her aerial game. Staying in the air longer allows Samus to follow-up with other aerials; given that many of her moves have low knockback, she can create all sorts of continuous strings of low-to-moderate percentage attacks. More importantly, her floatiness allows her to have an above-average recovery game. On the downside, her slow fall speed also makes her recovery predictable and fairly easily edge-guarded (though, her floatiness makes her edgeguarding game easier and safer). Samus can also be easily juggled because her fast fall is still very slow and as a result of this her momentum canceling is poor and only makes her live slightly above average vertically despite being the 7th heaviest in terms of weight. Despite her ground moves being weak in term of knockback, they deal decent damage. Samus has much time to dodge attacks while throwing foes off with things like Bombs (and Bomb Jumping), or she can speed things up by using her surprisingly long Grapple Beam to zip to the safety of the edge. One of the most valuable uses of her slow falling speed is successfully meteor smashing an opponent who has no ground on which to land and still being able to recover easily. She also has the largest ledge sweetspot.

Her neutral special, Charge Shot, does great knockback at higher percentages and is a deadly projectile for edgeguarding, when fully charged. Samus has two kinds of Missiles: the Homing Missile homes on opponents and deals 5% damage; and the Super Missile moves in a fast, straight line and deals 10 % damage and noticeable knockback. Her up special, Screw Attack gives her decent vertical height, is a good out of shield option and can trap opponents for damage racking. Her down special, Bomb, makes Samus shift into morph ball mode and lays a bomb, which will explode after a set time period. Her grab has great range, but it is laggy if she fails to grab an opponent (although performing a dash grab can remedy this). In the air, her Grapple Beam can damage opponents and can be used as a tether recovery.

Samus works best when transitioning well from the air to the ground. None of Samus's aerials have landing lag, with her forward and up aerials having no knockback except at the final hit. Samus can capitalize on this by canceling into more powerful moves like her forward smash and down tilt, or by using a fully charged Charge Shot in the event the opponent is a bit too far away. Missiles also factor into the air to ground transition; landing immediately after the missile has been fired negates the significant firing lag, so one can immediately follow up with another missile (of either kind). This lag negation allows for a "double missile" effect where Samus can fire one missile, land, and almost immediately fire another. These missiles can also stop opponents' recoveries, such as Pikachu's Skull Bash, Luigi's Green Missile, Jigglypuff's Rollout, Ike's Quick Draw or Wolf, Fox or, Falco's side special recovery, setting them up for an immediate meteor smash. A Missile Charge Shot combination is an excellent combo, but can sometimes be predictable, so Samus mains must learn to launch them unexpectedly. Her aerial Grapple Beam ("zair") actually acts as a move to complement this strategy, stunning opponents from far away with high speed, and also cancels immediately upon landing, which can combo into a down tilt or smash. Coupled with the Charge Shot's potency, Samus has no problem frustrating opponents from a safe distance, chipping away at her opponent's approach to best suit her. Although Samus has three different projectiles, she still lacks a reliable way to deal with opponents' projectiles especially since her shield roll is very slow (slowest in the game).

Samus' major problem lies in her extreme lack of finishing abilities. Her quickest KO move is her down tilt. But with vertical knockback and a small hitbox, has trouble KOing opponents before around 130% and is recommended to not be used until the right time as to not devalue it with stale-move negation. Also, her forward smash is quick and deals high damage, but doesn't KO properly before around 130%. Her down smash has rather low knockback, and doesn't KO reliably before 150%. Her only way to KO at lower damage percentages is using either the down aerial for meteor smashes or juggling with her back aerial. Unfortunately, the back aerial telegraphs itself, has a tiny sweet spot, and requires good setup, while the down aerial is rather slow and has a sweeping hitbox that also needs good placement, despite its fairly large hitbox. Even a fully-charged Charge Shot doesn't tend to KO until at least over 100%, making it one of the least KO-capable charged specials in the game, however it is still a good move for edgeguarding.

All in all, Samus can be a character of good and bad situations with her wide array of projectiles and a fairly powerful spike. A huge problem in competitive play is that Samus is easily chain grabbed due to her heavy weight and large size with the exception of chain grabs that are ineffective on very floaty characters, and can be infinite chain-grabbed by King Dedede.

Finally, given Samus' problem with KOing and opponents' difficulty in KOing her, high-level matches involving Samus can tend to take awhile, making time limitations in a match a crucial factor as well.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

As mentioned before, Samus's KOing power and projectile game have been severely nerfed. Her neutral aerial, her Charge Shot, and her Forward Smash all deal less knockback, and Super Missiles can no longer KO as well as they used to. However, her Down Tilt is more powerful, making it one of her very few KO moves. Her Grapple Beam extends very far and straight forward, and unlike Melee, throwing off opponent's combos and canceling quickly upon landing. Her Bomb Jump technique is less effective as recovery, and she can no longer attack out of Morph Ball form. While she is overall slightly slower, making her damage-racking and setup abilities slightly better. Her Homing Missiles are now much better at homing in on distanced targets, and her Screw Attack now traps opponents for damage racking. The last real change regarding her playstyle is that her Morph Ball bombs no longer explode upon enemy contact, as this ability has been discarded in favor of timed bombs.

In terms of cosmetics, she has been updated graphically, her Super Missiles now have a new design and are easier to distinguish from homing missiles, she has a new "toppling" pose when she is at the end of a ledge, and she has new sound effects to her moves. Her design is now from her appearance in Metroid Prime and onward Metroid games.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Dash attack - Shoulder tackles. Does 10% damage. Decent dash attack with diagonal-vertical knockback, but will rarely KO before extremely high percentages and is better for setting up a back aerial or other air games. Hits on frame 8-16.
• Neutral attack - Punches and attacks with Arm Cannon in an arc. Does 3%, then 7%, with a total of 10%. Good on short-hopping opponents close-up, otherwise the second hit can be easily shielded or shield grabbed. Start-up of 3 frames.
• Forward tilt - Spin kicks forward. Does 8% close range, 7% far range, 10% if angled up or down. Samus's best mid-range defense/spacing move. Angling this one makes a much bigger difference than with most tilts, however the kick's distance is sacrificed if tilted. Hits on frame 7-9.
• Up tilt - Axe kicks down. Similar to Captain Falcon's up tilt, though no disjoint and a little weaker. Inflicts 13% worth damage. Good knockback (with vertical knockback in grounded opponents and strong horizontal knockback in airborne opponents), long duration (hits on frame 15-18). Good for use beneath platforms, meteor smashing opponents against the ground into the air. Otherwise useful as a kind of anti-air move.
• Down tilt - Creates a fire burst on the ground with arm cannon. This is very similar to Snake's forward smash, however much weaker and less start-up lag. 14% damage. High knockback for a down tilt. Samus's quickest KO move, but laggy if shielded, has a small hitbox, and doesn't defend against short-hops well. Start-up of 6 frames.

Smash

• Forward smash - Thrusts Arm Cannon forward. Below-average KOing power for a side smash, having high knockback scaling, but very low base knockback. It has fast start-up (10 frames), which can counter balance its poor reach and below-average knockback; surprising opponents up close after a cancelled forward aerial or whenever the opportunity presents itself. This attack is not likely to KO before 130%, unless charged. Due to its high knockback scaling, it is arguably Samus' most reliable finisher. It can also be angled upwards or downwards. Does 12%-19% damage.
• Up smash - Releases 5 fire bursts in an arc above herself. Moderately fast start-up lag (11 frames), but has punishable ending lag with poor horizontal reach. The first four hitboxes have negligible knockback, designed to link each hitbox. However, the up smash is easy to escape out of with DI, especially at high percentages. One of the least effective smashes in the game, this move can occasionally redeem itself by catching larger characters for significant damage at low percentages. It is otherwise very situational. Does 4-6% for each hit, dealing 23%-32% if all hits connect.
• Down smash - Spins around on the ground with her feet, sending her victims upward (back hit sends foes diagonally in front of Samus). Good for spacing. Fast start-up (9 frames), but the back hit does not happen quickly (only hits on frame 17) and the down smash has some ending lag, but the lag pays off if the leg behind her makes contact. It has fairly low knockback however, and will not reliably KO under 150%. Does 15-21% in the frontal hitbox and 14-19% in the rear hitbox.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Sex kick. Does 9% initially, 6% if hit afterward. Below-average knockback. Samus's large character model makes this neutral longer-ranged than many of the others in the game, but it's still a primarily defensive maneuver. Hits on frame 5-24.
• Forward aerial - Creates fire burst in front of her. Does 3-4% per hit, 18% total. Decent knockback on final hit. Cancels quickly enough on landing to follow up with a down tilt if someone was caught before the final fire burst. Great on ledge-hops, and an overall useful offensive move. Somewhat useful after down throw, as this move is a little hard to air dodge out of. Start-up of 7 frames.
• Back aerial - Spins once backward with kick. Does 10% damage with low knockback normally, 14% damage with good knockback if hit with the tiny sweetspot at the tip of her foot. Hits on frame 9-10.
• Up aerial - Spins in a drill upward. Inflicts 11% damage if all hits connect. Multiple hitboxes with low knockback makes this move one of Samus's setup moves. Incredibly difficult to air dodge from. Low frames for startup (5 frames). Autocanceled uair can set-up a Screw Attack.
• Down aerial - Swings arm cannon in an arc underneath herself, can meteor smash with average power and has a fairly large hitbox. Inflicts 15% worth damage. A great move to use while floating backwards over run-ins, but has a sweeping hitbox that needs good placement and is fairly slow. This is her only way to KO at lower percentages. Start-up of 18 frames and it ends on frame 22. Mostly used in the end of Samus' combos.
• Grapple Beam - Sends grapple forward, with long range. Does 4% damage, 7% with tip. A staple Samus move that makes Samus one of the best campers in the game, as it has the fast movement of a projectile that cannot be reflected. Combine with Homing Missile/Super Missile-cancels and Charge Shots for a tremendous long-range obstacle course for opponents. Longest zair (grab air/Z-Button in midair) in the game. Hits on frame 9-18.

Grabs & Throws

• Grab - Reaches forward with Grapple Beam. Incredibly laggy and easily punished if the grab misses, faster while dashing.
• Pummel - Hits with fist. Does 1% per hit. She sometimes cannot pummel attack Bowser. The glitch only takes effect on solid platforms or fall-through platforms, but no damage is inflicted on Bowser. Moderately fast pummel with very low startup frames.
• Back throw - Flings backward. Does 8% damage.
• Forward throw - Flings forward. Does 9% damage. Low launch power but a dash attack can make up for it at low percentages.
• Up throw - Spins opponent above her head and shocks opponent upward, similar to Zero Suit Samus' up smash. Gradually deals a total of 9% damage. Last shock from throw deals decent knockback, but not enough to KO.
• Down throw - Slings back over her head then slams down. Does 6%. Forward aerial is a good follow-up.

Special moves

Samus's special moves

Neutral special	Charge Shot
Side special	—	Missile
Up special	Screw Attack
Down special	Bomb
Final Smash	—		Zero Laser

Taunts

• Up: Salutes vigorously with her left arm as her Gravity Booster pulses.
• Side: Faces the screen and demonstrates the Arm Cannon mechanics.
• Down: Holding her arm cannon with her left hand, she aims behind her, then aims lower in front of her. Her cannon glistens each time she aims. Can sometimes trick opponents into thinking she will use a fully charged Charge Shot.

If a player rapidly alternates the up and down taunts, Samus will transform into Zero Suit Samus in mid-match. However, this is risky, as Samus must undergo the lag after the Power Suit disengages.

Brawl Manual Description

The galaxy's greatest bounty hunter. Her variety of long-distance weapons make her lethal.

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in Subspace Emissary

Samus begins the Subspace Emissary in her Zero Suit, infiltrating a trap-riddled laboratory. After making her way through it, she encounters Pikachu trapped within a strange device that harnesses its electrical energy to provide power to the complex. Seeing that the device causes Pikachu pain, Samus breaks the machine. In thanks, Pikachu helps Samus continue through the lab. The pair eventually find Samus' Power Suit within a tank, guarded by two clones of Samus, wearing the purple Gravity Suit, prompting Samus and Pikachu to battle. When they are defeated, an alarm begins to wail, and the R.O.B. Squad approaches. Samus regains her Power Suit and blasts her way through them along with Pikachu.

As they attempt to escape the complex, Ridley strikes without warning, snatching up Samus and grinding her viciously against the wall. Pikachu electrocutes Ridley to free Samus and the two face off against Ridley.

Samus in the SSE

After escaping from the facility, Samus and Pikachu come upon a factory mass-producing Subspace Bombs. The two enter it, and after fighting their way through, discover the Ancient Minister in a room filled with Subspace Bombs. The allies prepare to battle, but the Ancient Minister does not seem to want to fight them. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, and Captain Olimar then break into the room, and all of them, including Samus, witness the Ancient Minister defy the holographic Ganondorf's commands. As a result, the R.O.B. Squad fires upon him, burning off his robe and revealing him as a R.O.B. as well. It turns out that all of the R.O.B.s had been forced to work with the Subspace Army, with the main R.O.B., the Master Robot, as their leader. The rest of the R.O.B.s activate all the Subspace Bombs in the room, prompted by Ganondorf's override, forcing our heroes to escape. As they rush to the exit aboard Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer, Meta Ridley races after them, furiously seeking revenge on Samus and Pikachu. The group defeats the space dragon once more, and escapes just before the Isle of the Ancients is engulfed in Subspace.

Samus and posse meet up with the rest of the Smash Bros. heroes aboard the Halberd. The Halberd is destroyed by the Subspace Gunship, but Samus boards her own Gunship and continues the assault on Subspace. Upon entry to the Subspace, Samus and friends are unfortunately reduced to trophy form by Tabuu's Off Waves.

King Dedede, Ness, Luigi and Kirby are revived by the Dedede Brooches and collect their friends' trophies. Samus and party venture through the Great Maze and defeat Tabuu.

Trophy

Samus' trophy in Brawl.

The intergalactic bounty hunter named Samus Aran. Orphaned at an early age, she was taken in and raised by the alien race known as the Chozo. The Power Suit she wears is a product of their technology. Her unique combat skills combined with her athleticism and Arm Cannon have seen her through countless missions.

: Metroid

: Super Metroid

Costumes

Samus's alternate costumes in SSBB

Trivia

• Samus (along with Olimar, R.O.B., and Mr. Game and Watch) never talks or makes any verbal noises. The only sounds she makes are those of her attacks and Star KO cry. However, she has a voice as Zero Suit Samus.
• In Brawl, if a player selects Samus using a Wii remote or classic controller, the screw attack sound from Melee will sound in the Wii Remote's speaker despite the fact that the Screw Attack makes a completely different noise in Brawl.
• Samus, Captain Falcon, and Yoshi are the only SSB veterans that remain the only character to represent their own series in Brawl.
• Throughout normal game play, Samus' visor is opaque. The only time the player can see her face from behind her visor is in the Subspace Emissary, where she looks at Pikachu after retrieving her Power Suit.
• Some of Samus' alternate color schemes mimic those of her Power Suit upgrades in the Metroid games: The Fusion Suit (blue and yellow), Dark Suit (dark brown with red visor), and Gravity suit (purple).
• In the Subspace Emissary, even though Ridley damages Samus before battling her with Pikachu, Samus' damage is at 0% when the battle actually begins.
• Samus used to stay her default color during a Team Battle while on the red team in the original Super Smash Bros. and Melee, however, in Brawl her costume is switched to be her pink and red suit during a Team Battle.

External links

• Samus's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Samus Character Guide at SWF
• Samus' hitbox size of each of her moves
• Samus's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice (part 1) (part 2)