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
Tier	J (51)

Samus (サムス, Samus) was confirmed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 in the E3 2013 trailers on June 11th, 2013. She was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4. However, unlike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, she is no longer capable of transitioning into Zero Suit Samus due to the latter now being an entirely separate character.

Samus is currently ranked 51st on the tier list, placing her at the top of the J tier and resulting in her once again remaining a bottom-tier character like in Brawl, where she was ranked 32nd out of 38. Samus has a rather strong camping game thanks to her projectiles and Grapple Beam, along with a good air game that allows for powerful combo strings when she gains momentum. Her Charge Shot poses a constant threat to opponents, functioning as a fearsome KO move and a strong punish in many situations due to its high damage and excellent knockback. However, Samus is reliant on defensive spacing to keep opponents at bay; her moves are generally ineffective at point-blank range, with the exception of down tilt. Even at mid-range, Samus is prone to trading hits with opponents. Combined with her floatiness and mediocre mobility, this makes it very difficult for her to escape from juggling and other bad situations. Though she is generally considered to have improved from Brawl, with most other veterans having also improved, Samus has not really risen on the tier list. While Samus' representation is poor overall, she has a slightly more significant playerbase than other bottom-tier characters (even some that are ranked higher than her), with professionals such as ESAM bringing her some degree of competitive success.

Attributes

Samus is unique among the other heavyweights in the game. While she is tied with Bowser Jr. as the sixth heaviest in the game, she is a floaty character with slow falling speed and average air and ground speeds. While this gives her an easier time chasing down aerial opponents and forcing air dodges, it also causes her to be juggled easier, leaving her with few reliable landing options as her slow fall speed gives the opponent more time to punish her as she attempts to return to the stage. In addition, many of her moves artificially extend her hurtboxes, leading to trades, an opponent grabbing her invisible hurtboxes and in some cases getting punished after landing a move despite her being visually out of range of the opponents counterattack. Furthermore, some of the hitboxes on her moves, most notably up smash, forward smash and down aerial, have the issue of failing to connect properly or outright whiffing.

Samus' moveset is defensively-oriented, as she uses her projectiles to space, rack up damage from a distance and pressure shields. Many of her moves can be used to place opponents in unfavorable positions that can allow Samus to tech-chase or guarantee a shield break if Bombs are used in conjunction with a sweetspotted back aerial or a sufficiently charged Charge Shot. Many of her combos can rack up more than 30% and when using platforms to her advantage, she is capable of stringing her up aerials multiple times and even finish with Screw Attack, leading to a KO or at the very least dealing 40%-50%. In addition, back aerial is one of her best moves courtesy of its power, damage output and speed. Screw Attack can be used as a decent out of shield move, doing 12% and can KO near the upper blast line. Samus possesses a very strong off-stage game thanks to her high jumps, which enable to recover from nearly anywhere on the stage, stay in position for longer periods of time due to her floatiness, or bait the opponent by stalling in the air and punishing edge-guard attempts. Her throw game is also useful: Grapple Beam has impressive range, doubles as a tether recovery (with its range as such having been increased since Brawl) and it is useful for spacing when used as a grab aerial, but it still possesses considerable ending lag even though it has been reduced since Brawl and in update 1.0.8. Down throw is very useful for starting combos that deal respectable damage and can be used with her neutral, forward and up aerials at varying percentages. Finally, her pummel is tied with Lucas' as the second fastest in the game, although it is the weakest one in the game.

In terms of customs, Samus benefits from a few. Apex Screw Attack has slightly more start-up and the recovery it provides is slightly worse, but it does more damage and massive knockback to the point of KOing most middleweights at 75% from the stage and as low as 50% near the upper blast line. Screw Rush, while making her vertical recovery worse, grants more horizontal distance and KOs earlier then Screw Attack depending where on the stage and deals more damage, making it more useful for racking up percent. Relentless Missile, while traveling slower, has more accurate tracking as a homing missile while dealing less damage. The Super Missile deals more damage and slightly more knockback. Turbo Missile travels more distance and is considerably faster then both Missile and Relentless Missile, at the cost of dealing less damage in general. Dense Charge Shot is dependent on the match-up and the person's playstyle. As one of the strongest projectiles in the game, it takes a bit longer to charge, and has much less speed and range. However, it gives Samus multiple set-ups due to the length of time the Charge Shot stays in the air and with the increased damage, can force shield breaks much easier and KO much easier. Slip Bomb, while doing less damage, has the useful property of tripping grounded opponents and meteor smashing airborne opponents, making it useful as a set up for a grab or a punish and a edgeguarding option to spike the opponent. Mega Bomb can be used to stall opponents, since Samus can stay next to the bomb itself, Waiting until the Bomb explodes, allowing Samus to either retreat, launch Missiles, charge her charge shot or make the opponent approach. Melee Charge shot has a shorter charge time then both Charge Shot and Dense Charge shot, while also having considerably more hitstun and shieldstun with the inclusion of extra pushback after its use, making it extremely safe if shielded or outright whiffed.

Overall, Samus is a character that works best when using her Missile, Bomb and grab aerial for spacing in order to set up combos and either finish off pressured opponents off-stage or KO them outright with Charge Shot. Despite her veteran status, Samus' optimal playstyle is highly unorthodox; as she falls short in regards to either zoning-exclusive offense or melee-exclusive offense, success with Samus requires careful, calculated use of her various tools to keep momentum in her favor. She is a character hard to master, and rewards patient play like Shulk.

Changes from Brawl

Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, despite her status as a low-tier character in Brawl. Samus has gained several new KOing options, the most notable of which is her staple move, Charge Shot, which has drastically increased speed and knockback. The other noteworthy options include her forward smash, up smash and Screw Attack. Forward smash now has a powerful sweetspot in the form of a fiery blast at the tip of her Arm Cannon. Up smash and Screw Attack have each have had their knockback improved (though only to the final hit in Screw Attack's case), while up smash's hits now connect better to further ensure that opponents cannot escape it. Samus' dash attack and neutral aerial are also capable of KOing due to a strengthened sweetspot and increased knockback respectively, but they are not as viable in doing so like the aforementioned attacks. Aside from her new KOing options, Samus' combo game has also been improved; 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 chain attacks much easier.

However, Samus also received some nerfs that can offset her buffs. Her forward smash now has a new sourspot that is weak and runs along the Arm Cannon as well as more ending lag, while her up smash now deals less damage overall. To compound this, some of her finishers in Brawl, such as her down tilt and down smash, can no longer KO until very high percents. Her projectile game was weakened slightly, as Missiles are less effective due her losing the ability to perform her Missile Cancel technique, though her projectiles are still powerful in their own right. Additionally, many of Samus' attacks deal slightly less damage and have more landing lag (although these are universal nerfs among the cast), meaning that she still has some trouble in racking up damage. However, this has resulted in Samus being re-balanced to be slightly less reliant on projectiles while now wielding a slightly improved close-range game.

As many of Samus' issues were not addressed, she has little representation in major SSB4 tournaments. However, her few dedicated players like ESAM have brought her some degree of tournament success and continue to develop her metagame; because of this, she is seen as a difficult-to-learn character who can be quite viable and versatile when mastered that still suffers from major flaws that hold her back in the metagame, similarly to Shulk.

Aesthetics

• Instead of retaining her Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission-inspired design, Samus' design is now based off of her appearance in Metroid: Other M with some minor alterations. These include the addition of numerous black vents, perforated metal, an opaque visor, and the retention of her taller height.
• Missile and Bomb have updated designs, although Missile's design is still inspired by its appearance in Super Metroid.
• Samus' running animation has changed.
• Samus' Super Missile firing animation has changed.

Attributes

• Samus is no longer connected to Zero Suit Samus via Final Smash, taunt, or menu input usage, with the latter becoming her own separate character.
• Samus jumps higher.
• Samus dashes faster (1.445 → 1.504).
• Samus walks faster (1.05 → 1.0615).
• Samus' air speed is slower (0.987 → 0.95).
• Samus' falls faster (1.07 → 1.25).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack's first hit has decreased hitstun and increased knockback growth. This means the opponent may shield between the first and second hits, or the first hit will launch the opponent too far away and thus fail to connect with the second hit. It appears that the move is intentionally designed this way, as mentioned by an in-game tip.
• Neutral attack's second hit deals 1% more damage (7% → 8%) and has increased vertical range.
• Forward tilt now has a sourspot that deals minimal damage, hitstun and knockback. The move also starts up 1 frame later (frame 7 → 8).
• Down tilt and angled forward tilts deal less damage (down tilt: 14% → 12%, angled forward tilt: 10% → 8%).
• Up tilt is better for setting up combos on grounded opponents and has increased knockback against aerial opponents.
• Down tilt has slightly increased range.
• Down tilt is much weaker, no longer KOing until 200%.
• Dash attack's sweetspot is stronger, now being able to KO at higher percentages. It also produces a more active sweetspot hitbox, and the move as a whole can now set up combos at very low percentages, most notably with its sourspot.
• Dash attack starts up 2 frames later.
• Forward smash now has a sweetspot at the tip that deals more damage (14%/13%/12% → 15%/14%/13.5%), KOing around 70% when angled upward and fully charged.
• Forward smash has 5 more frames of ending lag. It also now has a sourspot on the cannon that deals less damage (14%/13%/12% → 13%/12%/11%).
• Forward smash's sweetspot is indicated by a fiery blast that deals flame damage.
• Up smash has increased knockback, to the point where it can now KO at around 110%. The hits also connect better.
• Up smash deals less damage (23% → 18%).
• Down smash comes out faster and now semi-spikes opponents.
• Down smash deals less damage (hit 1: 15% → 10%, hit 2: 14% → 12%) and is much weaker, going from a reliable KO move at 150% to 180% assuming fully charged, and is now the weakest down smash in the game. Both hits also have 1 fewer active frame, and the move has moderately increased cooldown.

Aerial attacks

• All aerial attacks have increased landing lag, especially her forward aerial.
• Samus has a new neutral aerial, a swiveling roundhouse kick. Compared to her previous neutral aerial, it has increased knockback and can now KO.
• Neutral aerial has 3 more frames of start-up and its hitbox is significantly smaller, as it no longer covers her entire body.
• Forward and down aerials deal less damage (18% → 12.8% (forward), 15% → 10%/14%/11% (down)).
• Forward aerial now launches opponents at the auto-link angle and its last hit has increased knockback.
• Forward aerial can no longer auto-cancel from a short hop due to Samus' significantly faster falling speed.
• Back aerial's sweetspot is much stronger, making it among the strongest back aerials if the foot connects. The sourspot also deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%). In addition, the move now has a lingering sourspot that deals 9% damage with good Wall of Pain knockback, which allows it to hit opponents who dodged a clean hit.
• Back aerial can no longer be used twice from a short hop.
• Up aerial's hits connect better and the last hit can now KO at around 100% near the upper blast line.
• Down aerial comes out 1 frame faster.
• Down aerial now has a sourspot at the edges of the attack that launches opponents horizontally.
• Grab aerial now has two hitboxes, with a sweetspot located at the tip of the Grapple Beam.
• Grab aerial deals less damage (4%/7% → 1%/3.5%) and now has 8 frames of landing lag instead of auto-canceling.

Throws/other attacks

• Grab has 18 less frames of ending lag. When coupled with her incredibly fast pummel, this noticeably improves her grab game.
• Pummel has been fixed to always hit Bowser.
• Down throw has a better follow-up trajectory.
• Grapple Beam has increased range as a tether recovery.
• Front floor attack deals 1% more damage (6% → 7%).
• Back floor attack and edge attack both deal consistent damage (6%/8% → 7%).

Special moves

• Charge Shot charges slightly faster, fires drastically faster and it has increased knockback, making it her most viable KOing option.
• Missile covers less distance and Samus is no longer able to perform the Missile canceling technique.
• Samus can now only have two Missiles and one Super Missile on-screen at the same time. If she attempts to shoot a Missile while one is already on-screen, she will still perform the firing pose, but no Missile will be fired. Missiles also appear to target less reliably and Super Missiles deal less knockback then in Brawl, though not by much.
• Screw Attack's last hit has increased knockback, to the point where it can KO near the upper blast line at around 100%. It also has increased vertical distance.
• Bomb has decreased knockback, which improves Samus' combo game.
• Aerial Bomb does not stop her falling speed as much as in Brawl, harming its use as a recovery option.
• Zero Laser comes out faster and has a wider range.
• Zero Laser deals less damage overall.

Update history

Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the game's updates, but has been buffed overall as of update 1.1.1. The new shield mechanics in 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 are a mixed bag for Samus, buffing her projectile game while nerfing her close-ranged game. The new mechanics gave Samus a number of new Charge Shot combos that allow her to break shields, of which she previously only had one such combo. However, the new shield mechanics make most of her close-ranged attacks more difficult to land, and the only other moves that have been improved are her down tilt and forward aerial (which are already difficult to connect by themselves). Thus, while Samus has been buffed overall as of update 1.1.1 and is slightly better than she was in Brawl, she is still poorly regarded overall apart from ESAM's efforts. Like in Brawl, this is ironic considering her status as a very potent choice for tournament play when she is not wearing her Power Suit.

1.0.6

• Sweetspotted forward tilt deals 1% more damage: 7%/8% → 8%/9% and its knockback increased. This makes it capable of KOing middleweight characters around 180% at the edge.
• Forward tilt has received a sourspot to the middle part of Samus' leg. This results in it dealing little to no hitstun and 1% less damage: 6%/7% → 5%/6%.
• Forward tilt can no longer lead into Charge Shot tech-chases due to the aforementioned sweetspot's increased knockback and added sourspot.
• Super Missile's speed increased. However, the increase is negligible and actually results in it no longer being able to combo into Charge Shot if fired in succession.

1.0.8

• Up smash's hitbox sizes increased by 0.5.
• Up smash's last hit's hitbox size increased: 7u/3.5u → 7.3u/4u.
• Up smash's last hit's knockback growth increased: 135 → 150.
• Certain hitboxes in up smash have been split.
• Standing and pivot grabs' ending lag decreased: 79/92 → 75/88.

1.1.1

• Up tilt's damage outputs have been reversed: 13% → 12% (grounded opponents), 12% → 13% (aerial opponents).
• Partially charged Melee Charge Shot deals 1% more damage: 5% → 6%.
• Partially charged Melee Charge Shot's base knockback increased: 30 → 50.
• Partially charged Melee Charge Shot's hitbox sizes decreased: 4u → 2.5u.
• Fully charged Melee Charge Shot deals 2% more damage: 18% → 20%.
• Fully charged Melee Charge Shot's knockback altered: 65 (base)/35 (growth) → 70/32.
• Fully charged Melee Charge Shot's hitbox sizes increased: 8u → 10u.
• Melee Charge Shot's recoil distance increased.
• Screw Attack's loop hits' weight knockback increased: 150/120 → 178/140.
• Screw Attack's loop hits' angles altered: 100° → 96°.
• Sweetspotted and sourspotted neutral aerial's second hit's hitbox sizes increased: 3.5u → 4u (sweetspot), 2.8u → 3.3u (sourspot).
• Sourspotted neutral aerial's second hit's knockback growth increased: 80 → 98.
• Neutral aerial's initial hitbox size increased: 5.5u → 6u.
• Neutral aerial's hitbox duration increased: 2 frames → 4.
• Neutral aerial's second hit's hitbox duration increased by 2 frames.
• Neutral aerial's second hit's angle altered: Sakurai angle → 45°.
• Forward aerial's loop hits deal 0.6% more damage: 1% → 1.6%.
• Forward aerial's landing lag decreased: 30 → 24.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Samus punches with her left hand and then performs a forearm club with her Arm Cannon. The first hit can jab reset opponents, but the attack is mediocre overall; opponents can act out before the second hit to shield or counterattack, while the second hit may not even connect at medium percents. First hit comes out at frame 3, while the second hit comes out 6 frames later. Second hit has KO potential at extremely high percents.
			8%
Forward tilt	↗		9% (foot), 8% (lower leg), 6% (upper leg), 7% (body)	A reverse roundhouse kick. Deals more damage and knockback with her heel, while her leg deals very low knockback. Can be aimed at strong angles, though if angled up, it can even miss medium sized characters like Mario. Comes out at frame 8.
	→		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)	Does a downwards axe kick with some slight startup. If an opponent is hit directly by her heel as it comes down, they take extra damage and are meteor smashed. If not, this move deals upwards diagonal knockback. Samus's strongest tilt, able to KO grounded opponents at 140% or less with rage. KOs aerial opponents at the ledge at 90% or earlier. Functions similar to Captain Falcon's up tilt but deals more damage and knockback. Comes out at frame 15.
Down tilt			12%	Samus quickly blasts the opponent's feet. Fast start-up, but high ending lag. Decently damaging for a tilt, although it cannot KO until extremely high percentages. It comes out at frame 6, making it useful as a option to punish opponents and racking up damage. With max rage, it can KO at 150% on middleweights.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Samus activates her thrusters and shoulder tackles the opponent. It lacks a hitbox at the start, meaning it can miss at point blank. Deals lower damage at the end of the tackle. Good follow-up potential, as it can lead into an up aerial or Screw Attack at low percentages.
Forward smash	↗		15% (fire), 13% (cannon)	Samus quickly thrusts her Arm Cannon forward, which releases a small fiery blast. Despite the blast's looks, it has an extremely small hitbox. An attack reliant on spacing, as only the blast deals dependable knockback which can KO at 100% from the middle of Final Destination; her arm KOs at 138% instead. Can be angled like her forward tilt. Angling up causes it to deal more damage and knockback, but this can typically miss due to its strong angle. Angling down can hit ledge hanging opponents.
	→		14% (fire), 12% (cannon)
	↘		13.5% (fire), 11% (cannon)
Up smash		Cover Fire	3% (hits 1-4), 6% (hit 5), 18% total.	Samus fires five fiery blasts in an overhead arcing motion. True to its name, this move works best as an anti-air attack, as its multiple hits give a good amount of aerial protection. Conversely, this move is unable to hit grounded opponents unless they are touching Samus. KOs at 115% uncharged and around 60-70% when fully charged.
Down smash			10% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)	A 360° legsweep. A semi spike, its speed is decent and provides protection against rolls and near ledges. However, its power has been significantly toned down since Brawl, as it is now one of the weakest down smashes in the game. KOs at extremely high percents, making it unreliable. However, the back hit deals more knockback, making it possible to KO at 150% with enough rage.
Neutral aerial			8% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 clean), 6% (hit 2 late)	A swiveling roundhouse kick. Hits on both sides quickly and auto-cancels from a short hop. The first few frames deal surprisingly strong knockback, makes it viable as a KOing option off-stage. However, its small hitboxes can make it difficult to connect.
Forward aerial			3% (hit 1), 1.6% (hits 2-4), 5% (hit 5), 12.8% total.	Samus fires five fiery blasts forward from her Arm Cannon while slowly arcing downward. The first four hits drag opponents into the rest of the move, with the last hit carrying the entire attack's knockback. Samus' main aerial move for both combos and protection. Extremely useful as a ledge get-up option or against air dodges due to its multiple hits, and using the move immediately after a short hop can hit opponents with the final hit before Samus lands again.
Back aerial			14% (clean foot), 12% (clean leg), 9% (late)	A back kick. In addition to being fast, its great knockback makes it an excellent KOing option, especially while edge-guarding. However, it has a small hitbox like her neutral aerial. Among the strongest back aerials if the sweetspot at the foot connects and can be used as a wall of pain if the sourspot connects. KOs under 100% and around 80% at the ledge.
Up aerial			3% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 6), 11% total.	A corkscrew flying kick performed diagonally. Hits multiple times, though only the last hit deals moderate knockback. Mostly useful in the air due to its small hitbox. Unlike most drills, the opponent can easily be launched before the move is complete. Grounded opponents can be hit by the final hitbox if Samus lands while starting the move in the air, although difficult to do so. It is her fastest aerial, coming out at frame 5. Useful for landing and breaking some certain combos. Can be comboed after a dash attack or grounded up tilt with another up aerial and can be finished off with a Screw Attack.
Down aerial			10% (early), 14% (clean), 11% (late)	After a brief pause, Samus swings her Arm Cannon in a downward arcing motion. Hitting with the move's "trail" will meteor smash opponents, while the sourspot deals strong upwards diagonal knockback. Auto-cancels from a short hop.
Grab aerial		Grapple Beam	1.5% (early), 3% (clean)	Samus fires the Grapple Beam forwards. Can be a useful spacing option, as it auto-cancels from a full hop and has impressive range, being the longest grab aerial in game.
Grab		Grapple Beam	—	Samus sends out her Grapple Beam to catch the opponent. It has impressive range and is the longest tether grab in the game, though it is the second slowest in terms of endlag, making it very punishable if missed.
Pummel			1.2%	Samus palm strikes the opponent with her free hand. Tied with Lucas' pummel as the second fastest pummel in the game, only behind Lucario's pummel, but it is also the weakest in the game.
Forward throw			9%	Samus twirls the enemy over her head, then flings them forward. Low knockback growth prevents it from KOing even the lightest of characters unless with rage at extremely high percents.
Back throw			8%	Samus swings the opponent behind her. Lower knockback growth then even her forward throw.
Up throw			1% (hits 1-5), 4% (throw), 9% total	Samus holds the opponent above her, then blasts them upwards with the Grapple Beam. Can combo into a Screw Attack at 0% against heavyweights or fastfallers, but otherwise launches opponents too high for follow-ups. Like her forward and back throws, it possesses low knockback growth.
Down throw			6%	Samus pulls the opponent high above her head, then whips them into the ground. A dependable combo throw, as it can be reliably followed up with her aerial attacks, particularly her forward aerial, or a Charge Shot or Screw Attack at low to medium percents.
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%	A low-level roundhouse kick.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Sweeps the floor in front and behind her with her feet.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Samus climbs onto the edge and performs a sweep kick.
Neutral special	Default	Charge Shot	3% (min), 25% (max)	Samus charges up a ball of energy and fires it. Unless the move is already charged, Samus will instantly fire the weakest shot if used in the air. Gains excellent KO potential when fully charged, while a useful intercepting move at a low charge. KOs at 70-110% depending on weight, DI and rage. Can be used to break shields if used in conjunction after using her up/down tilts, Bombs, Super Missiles, aerials or her netural attack if both hits are shielded.
	Custom 1	Dense Charge Shot	4% (min), 27% (max)	Takes 30% longer to charge. Shots fired deal slightly more damage and considerably more knockback, but travels at an extremely slow speed; up to three uncharged shots can exist at once. This can be used as an edge-guarding option, as it can be used to trap opponents and put them at a tough spot. The ending lag after Samus fires the shot is increased. Deals more shield damage, making it even more excellent at shattering them in conjunction with Samus' other moves.
	Custom 2	Melee Charge Shot	6% (min), 20% (max)	Fires a shotgun-style blast of energy that only hits at point-blank range. Takes less time to charge, but the ending lag is increased. Has a massive amount of shieldstun and hitstun and gets pushed back after use. Making it safe if whiffed and if shielded against.
Side special	Default	Missile	5% (homing), 10% (super)	If the special button is held, Samus will fire a Missile that chases the target. If tapped like a smash attack, Samus will fire a Super Missile that travels in a straight line. Both versions deal low knockback. Can be used for a shield break if used in conjunction with a fully charged Charge Shot.
	Custom 1	Relentless Missile	3% (homing), 12% (super)	Missiles are weaker and slower, but have drastically improved tracking capabilities. Super Missiles cover less range, but are stronger and has increased KO potential.
	Custom 2	Turbo Missile	4% (homing), 9% (super)	Missiles pause in the air once fired before shooting forward at high speed at the cost of dealing slightly less damage.
Up special	Default	Screw Attack	2% (ground hit 1), 1% (ground hits 2-11), 1% (aerial hits 1-12), 12% (total)	Samus leaps upwards in a high speed somersault while discharging energy. Shoots upwards if started from the ground, while the move gains distance slower if started in the air. A useful out of shield, and deals good knockback that can KO near the upper blast line as low as 100%.
	Custom 1	Screw Rush	2% (loop), 5% (last)	Deals more damage and Knockback sporadically, but with more control. It also covers more horizontal distance, but at the cost of decreased vertical distance. More KO potential then Screw Attack depending on stage position.
	Custom 2	Apex Screw Attack	2% (hit 1), 9% (ground hit 2), 7% (aerial hit 2)	A much more powerful version of the regular Screw Attack that can KO as low as 50% near the upper blast line, depending on weight and DI and can KO earlier with rage. However, this version provides mostly vertical movement and only hits twice.
Down special	Default	Bomb	4% (contact), 5% (explosion)	Samus rolls into her Morph Ball form and drops a Bomb, which explodes on a timer. She can hit herself with the Bombs to bomb jump. Useful for edge-guarding or to force an opponent to shield. Deals good shield damage, able to break them if used with her up and down tilts or a fully charged Charge Shot.
	Custom 1	Slip Bomb	2.5% (grounded explosion), 3.5% (aerial explosion)	Bombs do little damage, but trip grounded opponents and meteor smash aerial ones. If done properly, it can act as a set-up for a grab or a useful edge-guarding option.
	Custom 2	Mega Bomb	4% (contact), 9% (explosion)	Samus can only have one Bomb out at a time, but the single Bomb deals more damage and provides a higher bomb jump. Deals more shield damage, making it more useful to break them if used with Samus' other moves.
Final Smash		Zero Laser	0.5% (fringe loop), 1.5% (main loop), 2.5% (fringe blast), 5.5% (main blast)	Samus fires a very large energy beam across the stage. The beam can be angled slightly up or slightly down.

On-screen appearance

• Arrives from a Save Station.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Salutes vigorously with her left arm as her thrusters activate.
• Side taunt: Faces the screen and demonstrates the Arm Cannon mechanics.
• Down taunt: Holds her Arm Cannon with her left hand and aims behind her, then kneels and aims lower in front of her.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Rubs her Arm Cannon with one finger.
• Brings her Arm Cannon down and then pulls it back up.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Sa-mus!	Sa-mus!
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.

• Fires multiple shots from her Arm Cannon while kneeling and finishes with a pose. The pose she does is based on the box art for Metroid II: Return of Samus.
• Does a side kick and then readies her Arm Cannon.
• Punches twice, fires from her Arm Cannon, then strikes a pose. The action is similar to Mii Gunner's neutral attack, while the pose is based on the box art for Super Metroid.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

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

Notable players

•  ChoZox
•  Depth
•  ESAM
•  GameProdigy
•  Jonny Westside
•  KayJay
•  Wes
•  Danish

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.)

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 bars are 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' amiibo.

• 

  Samus' 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' Missile.

• 

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

• 

  Samus charging Zero Laser.

• Zero Laser SSB4.png

  Zero Laser.

• 

  The second hit of her neutral combo.

• Little Mac Counter.png

  Forward tilt.

• 

  Back aerial.

• 

  Crouching with Marth near a Steel Diver.

• 

  Samus and Bowser fighting on Arena Ferox.

• 

  Peach, Wii Fit Trainer, and Samus showing off a height comparison.

• 

  Side-by-side with Little Mac.

• 

  Samus posing in the Boxing Ring.

• 

  Toon Link using the Gust Bellows on Samus.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus with her Power Suit showing off their Jet Boots and thrusters, respectively.

• 

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

• 

  Samus battling enemies in Smash Run.

• 

  Samus in a new alternate costume based on the Light Suit.

• 

  Samus as she appears on the 3DS cover.