Samus (SSB4)

Samus in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Metroid
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Zero Laser

Samus (サムス, Samus) was confirmed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 in the E3 2013 trailers. She was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4. However, she is no longer capable of transitioning into Zero Suit Samus, as Zero Suit Samus has now become an entirely separate character.

Changes from Brawl

Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. Samus has gained several new KO options: her staple move, Charge Shot, has drastically buffed speed and knockback. Her forward smash now has a powerful sweetspot, at the cost of hitting with the cannon being a sourspot. Screw Attack has increased knockback, making it an effective finisher near the upper blast line. Generally, Samus's attacks such as down throw and dash attack have been given better knockback angles, and with the removal of hitstun cancelling, she is able to string attacks much easier, improving her comboing ability.

However, Samus also received some nerfs to compensate. Some of her finishers in Brawl, such as her down tilt and down smash, can no longer KO until extremely high percentages. Her Missiles are less effective due to Samus no longer being able to Missile cancel, weakening her projectile game. Additionally, many of Samus's attacks deal slightly less damage and have more landing lag (although these are universal nerfs), meaning that she still has some trouble in racking up damage. Overall, Samus has been re-balanced to be slightly less reliant on projectiles (while those are still very powerful), while her close range game has been improved. Despite being low tier in Brawl, it is generally agreed that she has not been improved significantly.

Aesthetics

• Samus's overall design is now based off her appearance in Metroid: Other M with some minor alterations, including the addition of numerous black vents, a permanently opaque visor, and the retention of her taller height, as opposed to the previous three games where her design was primarily based on her appearances in Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission.
• Samus's Missiles and Bombs have updated designs, although her Missiles still draw inspiration from Super Metroid.
• Samus has a new running animation and a different pose when firing Super Missiles.

Attributes

• Samus is no longer connected to Zero Suit Samus via Final Smash, taunt, or menu input usage.
• Samus jumps higher, improving her aerial approach.
• Samus dashes slightly faster (1.445 to 1.504).
• Samus walks slightly faster (1.05 to 1.0615).
• Samus's air speed is slightly slower (0.987 to 0.95).

Ground attacks

• Forward tilt, down tilt, forward smash (sourspot), up smash and down smash all deal less damage than in Brawl.
• Neutral attack's first hit has less hitstun and increased knockback scaling. This means the opponent may shield between the first and second hits, or the first hit knocking the opponent too far away, failing to link to the second hit. It appears that this move is intentionally designed this way, as mentioned by an in-game tip.
• Neutral attack's second hit has more vertical range and deals 1% more damage.
• Up tilt is now much easier to setup combos on grounded opponents, and has more knockback against airborne opponents.
• Down tilt has slightly more range.
• Down tilt is much weaker, no longer KOing until 200%.
• Forward smash now has a fiery sweetspot that can start KOing at around 70% when aimed up and fully charged.
• Forward smash has 5 more frames of ending lag, and its new sourspot is weaker.
• Up smash, Cover Fire, deals drastically more knockback to the point where it can now KO at around 110%. The hits also connect better.
• Down smash is much weaker (it could KO at around 150% in Brawl when fully charged, but not until 180% in SSB4). It has also become possibly the biggest nerf on a down smash from the transition to SSB4 due to becoming her weakest smash attack (and by extension, the game's weakest down smash).
• Dash attack starts up 2 frames later.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial, forward aerial and down aerial all deal less damage than in Brawl.
• All aerial attacks (especially forward aerial) have more landing lag than in Brawl
• Neutral aerial is now a quick kick in front of her and behind her. Compared to her old sex kick, it has much more knockback and can now KO.
• New neutral aerial has 3 additional frames of startup, and its hitbox is significantly smaller, no longer covering her entire body.
• Forward aerial connects better, and the last hit has more knockback.
• Back aerial's sweetspot is stronger.
• Back aerial can no longer be used twice in one short hop.
• Down aerial comes out 1 frame faster, and has a larger hitbox.
• Down aerial now contains a sourspot at the edges of the attack that knocks back horizontally.
• Grab aerial now has two hitboxes, with a sweetspot located at the tip of the beam.
• Grab aerial now has 8 frames of landing lag.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing grab has 18 less frames of ending lag, which combined with her second-fastest pummel in the game, drastically improves her grab game.
• Samus's tether recovery has longer range.

Special moves

• Charge Shot charges slightly faster and has drastically higher speed and knockback.
• Normal Missiles travel less distance. Samus can now only have two normal Missiles and one Super Missile on screen at the same time. If she attempts to shoot a Super Missile while one is already onscreen, she will still perform the firing pose, but no Missiles will be fired. Additionally, she is no longer able to perform the Missile cancelling technique.
• Screw Attack's final hit now has more knockback, to the point where it can KO near the upper blast line as low as 100%. It also travels more vertical distance.
• Samus' bombs, when used airborne, don't stop falling speed as much as in Brawl.
• Zero Laser comes out faster, and has wider range.
• Zero Laser deals 12% less damage.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Samus punches and then smacks the opponent with her cannon.
			8%
Forward tilt	↗		9% (foot), 8% (lower leg), 6% (upper leg), 7% (body)	Samus does a roundhouse kick.
	→		8% (foot), 7% (lower leg), 5% (upper leg), 6% (body)
	↘		9% (foot), 8% (lower leg), 6% (upper leg), 7% (body)
Up tilt			13% (aerial), 12% (grounded)	Samus does an axe kick. Aerial opponents take extra damage and are meteor smashed.
Down tilt			12%	Samus blasts the opponent's feet. Very powerful for a tilt.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Samus shoulder rams the opponent.
Forward smash	↗		15% (fire), 13% (cannon)	Samus punches forwards with her cannon, which releases a small blast of fire.
	→		14% (fire), 12% (cannon)
	↘		13.5% (fire), 11% (cannon)
Up smash		Cover Fire	3% (hits 1-4), 6% (hit 5), 18% total.	Samus arcs five blasts overhead.
Down smash			10% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)	Samus does a 360° legsweep.
Neutral aerial			8% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 clean), 6% (hit 2 late)	Samus does a pair of kicks, forwards and backwards.
Forward aerial			3% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-4), 5% (hit 5), 11% total.	Samus shoots five blasts forwards.
Back aerial			14% (clean foot), 12% (clean leg), 9% (late)	Samus kicks backwards.
Up aerial			3% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 6), 11% total.	Samus does a drill kick upwards.
Down aerial			10% (early), 14% (clean), 11% (late)	Samus swings her cannon downwards. Sweetspot will meteor smash opponents.
Grab aerial			1.5% (early), 3% (clean)	Samus fires the Grapple Beam forwards.
Grab			—	Samus sends out her Grapple Beam to catch the opponent. Has remarkable range.
Pummel			1.2%	Samus chops the opponent with her free hand. The fastest pummel in the game, but also the weakest.
Forward throw			9%	Samus twirls the enemy over her head, then flings them forward.
Back throw			8%	Samus swings the opponent behind her.
Up throw			1% (hits 1-5), 4% (throw), 9% total	Samus holds the foe above her, then blasts them upwards with the Grapple Beam.
Down throw			6%	Samus pulls the victim up, them whips them into the ground. Can be followed up with aerials.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Samus waves her arm cannon in front of her, then blasts behind her.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Samus delivers a low roundhouse.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Samus climbs onto the edge and sweep kicks.
Neutral special	Default	Charge Shot	3% (min), 25% (max)	Samus charges up a ball of energy and fires it.
	Custom 1	Dense Charge Shot	4% (min), 27% (max)	Takes longer to charge. Shots fired deal slightly more damage and travel at an extremely slow speed; up to three uncharged shots can exist at once.
	Custom 2	Melee Charge Shot	5% (min), 18% (max)	Fires a "shotgun blast" of energy that only hits at point-blank range.
Side special	Default	Missile	5% (homing), 10% (super)	Samus fires either a Missile that homes in on the target or a Super Missile that accelerates in a straight line.
	Custom 1	Relentless Missile	3% (homing), 12% (super)	Normal Missiles move much slower and persistently chase the target but are weaker; Super Missiles travels less range but are stronger.
	Custom 2	Turbo Missile	4% (homing), 9% (super)	Missiles pause in the air once fired before shooting out at high speed at the cost of damage.
Up special	Default	Screw Attack	2% (ground hit 1), 1% (ground hits 2-11), 1% (air hits 1-12), 12% total.	Samus leaps upwards in a high speed front flip of energy.
	Custom 1	Screw Rush	2% (loop), 5% (last)	Deals damage more sporadically with more control.
	Custom 2	Apex Screw Attack	2% (hit 1), 9% (ground hit 2), 7% (air hit 2)	Moves only vertically and hits only twice.
Down special	Default	Bomb	4% (contact), 5% (explosion)	Samus rolls up and drops a bomb, which explodes on a timer.
	Custom 1	Slip Bomb	2.5% (grounded explosion), 3.5% (aerial explosion)	Bombs deal little damage, but trip grounded opponents and meteor aerial ones.
	Custom 2	Mega Bomb	4% (contact), 9% (explosion)	Can only have one out at a time, but deals more damage.
Final Smash		Zero Laser	0.5% (fringe loop), 1.5% (main loop), 2.5% (fringe last), 5.5% (main last)	Samus fires a huge beam across the stage. The laser can be angled slightly up or slightly down

Update History

1.0.6

• Forward tilt (sweetspot) knockback and damage increased, can now kill middle weight characters around 180% at the edge. damage: 7/8% → 8/9%.
• Forward tilt sourspot added mid part of the leg with low damage and minimal to no hitstun. damage: 6/7% → 5/6%.
• Forward tilt can no longer lead into charge shot tech chases due to increased knockback on sweetspot and the added sourspots.
• Missile travels faster as a Super Missile, but the speed increase is very negligible.
• Due to the increased speed of Super Missile, it no longer true combos into Charge Shot if fired in succession.

1.0.8

• Up smash hitbox sizes increased by 0.5.
• Certain hitboxes in Up Smash split.
• Up smash (final hit) knockback growth: 135 → 150
• Up smash final hitbox sizes: 7/3.5 → 7.3/4
• Standing and pivot grabs have 4 less frames of ending lag.

Taunts

• Salutes vigorously with her left arm as her Gravity Booster pulses.
• Faces the screen and demonstrates the Arm Cannon mechanics.
• Holding her arm cannon with her left hand, she aims behind her, then kneels and aims lower in front of her.

On-Screen Appearance

Arrives from a save point.

Victory Fanfare

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. It is shared with Zero Suit Samus.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Samus	1211	1221	1231	1212	1222
	1232	2211	2231	3211	1213

Trophies

Samus

Samus Aran has fought her way across a variety of planets in the Metroid series. She wears a Power Suit designed by the Chozo, giving her incredible versatility in a fight. She can wade in, but she favors beams and missiles. A fully charged Charge Shot packs a serious punch!

The heroine of the Metroid series, Samus Aran. Her missions take her across the reaches of space, and her Power Suit gives her immeasurable fighting prowess. In this game, she uses a variety of ranged attacks based around beams and missiles. When her Charge Shot is fully charged, it can launch foes with devastating force.

: Metroid (08/1987)

: Super Metroid (04/1994)

Samus (Alt.)

{flag|ntsc}} Samus protects herself from overhead enemies with her up smash, Cover Fire, which can land multiple hits on anyone it connects with. Samus also fires a homing missile by holding sideways and pressing the special- attack button or launches a Super Missile by quickly tapping sideways instead.

Samus's up smash attack, Cover Fire, fires five small blasts overhead, making it great for countering incoming aerial attacks. Her Missile attack fires a homing missile if you hold sideways and then press the special button, but if you do these things at the same time, you'll fire a Super Missile.

: Metroid (08/1987)

: Super Metroid (04/1994)

Zero Laser

Samus unleashes a massive, long-range beam from her Arm Cannon as her Final Smash. Fighters on the edges of the beam will be drawn in, taking more and more damage. The sheer power of this weapon makes it tough to aim once it's firing, but it's possible to adjust the beam up and down.

In Samus's Final Smash, she unleashes a huge laser beam from her Arm Cannon that draws opponents to the centre of the beam. Quite handy, since the closer they are to the centre, the more damage they'll take! You can also angle it up and down (albeit slowly), letting you catch more of your enemies and create more havoc.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Zero Laser

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Samus is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• Galactic Avenger: Samus must defeat Dark Samus and Ridley in a 150 HP battle.
• Identity Crisis: The player, as Sheik and Zelda, must defeat Samus and Zero Suit Samus.

Co-op Events

• Final Battle Team-Up: Samus in her Dark Samus alternate costume is one of the opponents the player must defeat.
• Poisonous Planet: A flowered Samus and Olimar must defeat two giant Charizards in a 200 HP battle before their own health is depleted.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Samus in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Samus's amiibo.

• 

  Samus's appearance during E3 2013.

• 

  Samus charging a Charge Shot in the 3DS version of the game.

• 

  Samus firing a missile in the Wii U version of the game.

• 

  Pit breaking Samus's fired Missile.

• 

  Samus dropping a Bomb in the 3DS version of the game.

• 

  Samus charging the Zero Laser.

• Zero Laser SSB4.png

  The Zero Laser.

• 

  The second hit of her neutral combo.

• Little Mac Counter.png

  Forward tilt.

• 

  Back air.

• 

  Crouching.

• 

  Samus and Bowser fighting on Arena Ferox.

• 

  Peach, Wii Fit Trainer, and Samus.

• 

  Side by side with Little Mac.

• 

  Samus posing in the Boxing Ring.

• 

  Toon Link using the Gust Bellows item on Samus.

• 

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

• 

  Samus and Link simultaneously grabbing a ledge with their tether recoveries.

• 

  Samus battling enemies in Smash Run.

• 

  Samus in a new color change based on the Light Suit.

• 

  Samus as she appears on the 3DS cover