Flip Jump

Flip Jump (, Flip Jump) is Zero Suit Samus's down special move.

Overview
Zero Suit Samus flashes as she does a Ce Kong Fan through the air. This provides some horizontal and vertical recovery, though the move's ending lag means it will actually garner a net loss to height if Zero Suit Samus does not grab the ledge, even if she comes into contact with a wall. It functions as Zero Suit Samus' third jump, but does not put her into a helpless position, allowing her to use her tether recovery and/or Boost Kick in addition, which compensates for its relatively short distance compared to other third jumps. In addition, this move provides a short period of intangibility for Zero Suit Samus during the initial rise (frames 1-12 in Brawl, frames 3-12 in Smash 4 and Ultimate). She cannot perform the Flip Jump again until she lands, even if she is hit before returning to the stage.

In Brawl, if Zero Suit Samus hits a wall while performing the Flip Jump, she will automatically perform a wall jump. She will automatically do up to four wall jumps if she continues to contact them soon enough, mostly in custom stages. In Super Smash Bros. 4, however, the huntress can only wall jump if the jump button is manually pressed, though she can still perform four wall jumps as in Brawl. After using Flip Jump in the air, Zero Suit Samus cannot land on a fall-through platform until the move has completely finished (i.e. she is level in height with when she started); instead, she will fall through it.

If the player inputs any attack button while Zero Suit Samus is flashing, she will stick out her foot at a 45 degree angle, performing a kick. Any aerial opponent hit by the initial extension of this kick will be sent downwards in an above average power meteor smash, while grounded opponents, if hit by the initial frame, will be sent horizontally with rather high knockback. If anyone is hit after the first frame, they are sent horizontally as well, being deadly off-stage. This makes for one of her few reliable KO moves. She can also perform her down aerial attack when just past the 180 degree mark. The actual kick is a sex kick, being the only special move with that attribute.

If the player attempts to footstool jump while Zero Suit Samus is flashing, she will do a special spinning jump that goes about half the height of her double jump. This also works on items and is commonly known as the "flipstool".

Zero Suit Samus will usually jump up and forwards in the direction she is facing, and then land facing the other way. However, if the player taps backwards as soon as they use the move, she will flip backwards. This is effective for playing mind games as they cannot predict if they are going to strike. The same thing happens with the kick, as the player can choose if she kicks forward or backwards.

Super Smash Bros. 4 adds a few more qualities to the move: any opponent in contact with Zero Suit Samus at the end of the move's arc will automatically be hit without the player's input. If the opponent is grounded, they will be buried. If the opponent is airborne, they will be meteor smashed. The player can still input a kick during the jump with an attack button. Peculiarly, if a teammate is caught at the end of the Flip Jump's arc, they will be footstooled, even if Team Attack is off.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate the move has been buffed further, now travelling faster with reduced ending lag that makes it a more effective tool at escaping disadvantage. Additionally, the manual kick can be inputted five frames faster, which combined with the aforementioned changes grants this move a potent kill confirm out of neutral aerial near the ledge at around 30%. However, the burying hitbox of the move has reduced knockback which reduces its KO setups at high percents. Despite this, this iteration of Flip Jump is considered to be heavily buffed and is commonly considered to be one of the best moves in all of Ultimate.

The Flip Jump is very useful for recoveries. However, there are many other uses.

Approach
One useful strategy for the Flip Jump is as an approach. As Samus, the player can run towards their opponent, and when they are a short distance away from them, use Flip Jump and attack. The opponent will most likely be trying to block an attack from the front, so the player can catch them off guard. One should keep in mind partners and Assist Trophies when using this however, since the attack will trigger when connecting with either of those (regardless of whether the assist is Samus's or the enemy's) causing the momentum to be lost, and sometimes killing the partner player (if done off the edge). Of particular note is the Andross assist who causes a full-screen trigger, making it fatal when trying to reach the edge.

Defense
A common use of the Flip Jump is defensive; when the opponent tries to attack the player, use Flip Jump to arc over their heads and counterattack. This can be mixed up with rolls and dodges to make Samus very unpredictable. The move can be scary for off-stage edgeguarders, as the attack can spike (and even if it doesn't spike, it still inflicts strong horizontal knockback), and the player can edgehog them in succession with a tether.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Flip Jump: Default.
 * 2) Shooting Star Flip Kick: Press the button while airborne to deliver a sharp falling kick, does not drive opponents into the ground while flipping. Bears a resemblance to Feint Jump.
 * 3) Low Flip: A flip that doesn't go very high but covers a lot of ground. Does less damage and knockback. Zero Suit Samus glows a darker blue than usual.

Flipstool video
A video of the Flipstool in action.

Glitch
On the Melee stage, or any other stage with a 45° slope, if Flip Jump is used while facing the slope, Zero Suit Samus will hit the sloped ground almost immediately after the move begins, resulting in no effect other than moving up the slope slightly. This can be done repetitively to make for an odd-looking way to go up the slope, but has no practical use in combat. This was fixed in.

Origin
The flip Jump, and the overall improved agility of Zero Suit Samus, is original to the Smash franchise. In Metroid: Zero Mission, she is no more agile than normal. The kick and fire effects are also original to Smash. Zero Suit Samus could only use the Paralyzer in Zero Mission. She was first depicted as being able to kick in Brawl, and the jet-propelled platform boots were introduced in Smash 4.