Zero Suit Samus (SSB4)

Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Metroid
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Gunship

Zero Suit Samus (ゼロスーツサムス, Zero Suit Samus) is a playable character that appears in Super Smash Bros. 4. She was confirmed in the Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8, the same day Metroid: Zero Mission was released in Europe in 2004. Like Sheik, she is now a completely seperate character from Samus, meaning the two cannot transform under any circumstances.

She is once again voiced by Alesia Glidewell, via reused voice clips from Brawl.

Changes from Brawl

Despite being a high tier character in Brawl; Zero Suit appears to have been buffed overall in her transititon from Brawl to Smash 4, but not without some nerfs to counter them. While her Plasma Whip lost its reliable KO potential, she receives few more KO options to compensate such as increased knockback on her new forward smash and her new up special called Boost Kick. Less stun time on her down smash, makes it more difficult to follow up on other attacks, but she gains more follow up options thanks to her faster down throw. Boost Kick improves her recovery and gives her a new out of shield option. She gains more spacing and recovery option thanks to her new grab aerial.

Aesthetics

Her aesthetic design, like her armored form, is mainly based on her appearance in Metroid: Other M, though she still retains her taller and more athletic build, blue eyes, and hair style from Zero Mission. Her model is now also equipped with jet boots and some metal bracelets, and has a set of alternate costumes based on her appearances in the endings of Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion.

Attributes

• Unlike in Brawl, she is a completely separate character from Samus, and is no longer able to transform into the other under any circumstance (and vice versa).
• Since she is no longer connected to Samus, she cannot use Power Suit Pieces, removing her powerful early-game item play.
• New "Jet Boots" provide aesthetic changes to some attacks and practical changes to others.
• Her whip appears to have a slightly longer range in general.
• Zero Suit Samus jumps slightly lower, reducing vertical recovery but providing different combat opportunities.
• "Dashing speed" has been increased.

Ground attacks

• Third hit of jab can no longer be powershielded easily.
• Dash attack is now a flying knee instead of a flying kick. It deals more damage but has less range and is laggier.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new forward smash, which is now a double kick forward. Compared to the old forward smash, it's stronger (can now KO at around 81% when fully charged), and deals more damage (22% fully charged, up from 14% in Brawl). This makes it her most powerful attack, improving her previously terrible offensive game.
• Down smash is faster.
• Down smash deals less damage (and so correspondingly less paralyzation), now dealing 8% uncharged as opposed to 11%, weakening its utility.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial is now properly affected by stale-move negation.
• Back aerial and up aerial deal less damage.
• Up aerial's start up is 2 frames slower.
• Zero Suit Samus now has a grab aerial, where she fires her Plasma Whip forward. Like most grab aerials, it has long horizontal range and no landing lag, and can be used to tether edges.

Throws/other attacks

• Her grab has much less ending lag.
• Her grab has shorter range.
• All throws are stronger, which weakens Zero Suit Samus's follow-up options after a grab.
• Forward and back throws have less base knockback, which allow her to follow with a dash attack at lower percentages.
• Back throw deals slightly more damage.
• Down throw is faster and leads into aerials more efficiently.

Special moves

• Zero Suit Samus fires Paralyzer in an altered pose.
• Plasma Whip deals less damage and is no longer a reliable KO option outside of stage spikes and edgeguarding.
• New up special is Boost Kick, an upwards-moving dive kick that is multiple hits finishing with the last kick.
• Boost Kick has more utility than Plasma Wire. It has decent vertical and horizontal distance. The last kick is stronger and is now a KO option. It can be used for punishing rolls, mindgames, and as a fatal combo finisher out of up aerial, down smash, Flip Jump (on grounded opponents at the end of move's arc), and down throw at high percentage. It is also good for out of shield option.
• Boost Kick cannot meteor smash opponents like Plasma Wire could, despite it being buffed. It also doesn't reach quite as far vertically as Plasma Wire did, reducing her recovery slightly.
• Flip Jump can now bury opponents.
• Flip Jump now produces an afterimage graphical effect. Zero Suit Samus also bounces off of her opponent once she connects.
• Zero Suit Samus has a new Final Smash involving her jumping into her Gunship and firing from the front of the screen, similar to Snake's Final Smash in Brawl.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	Palm strike, pistol whip, hip thrust.
			1.5%
			3%
Forward tilt	↗		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)	An around-the-body kick.
	→		7% (leg), 6% (body)
	↘		8% (leg), 6.5% (body)
Up tilt			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Does a handstand split while spinning in place, legs moving up vertically.
Down tilt			8% (leg), 6% (foot)	A prone leg-sweep.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 5% (late)	Does a flying knee forward.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Does a double kick forward.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 0.8% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	Spins in place, extending the Plasma Whip up above her head in a swirl. Hits multiple times, has long vertical disjointed range and decent horizontal range, and fast startup. Only the tip of the plasma whip does knockback.
Down smash			8% (near), 6% (far)	Aims down and shoots paralyzer gun at the ground in front of her, creating a lightning effect. Only hits in front. Low damage and delayed knockback, but stuns the target in place for a short time. Unique attack that can be followed up by a side smash, a grab or another move.
Neutral aerial			10% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Spins the Plasma Whip around herself.
Forward aerial			5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Two forward kicks, with the second being stronger and slightly faster than the first.
Back aerial			12% (foot), 10% (leg)	Backward kick, similar in appearance to Samus's back aerial, but is faster and has a larger hitbox. Has high knockback.
Up aerial			8%	Flip kicks both legs above her head.
Down aerial			6% (aerial), 5% (grounded), 5.5% (landing)	A stall-then-fall. Samus stalls momentarily in midair, and then shoots down diagonally (similar to Sonic and Sheik's down aerials).
Grab aerial			3% (early), 6% (clean)	Fires her Plasma Whip forward. Long horizontal range and no landing lag.
Grab			—
Pummel			2%	Knees her victim.
Forward throw			2% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Hits opponent forward with gun.
Back throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Kicks opponent behind herself.
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 8% (throw)	Flips into the air and kicks the opponent upward.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Slams opponent on ground and then axe kicks them. Ideal for combos.
Floor attack (front)			7%
Floor attack (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip)			5%
Edge attack			7%
Neutral special	Default	Paralyzer	4% (uncharged), 6% (charged)	Fires a paralyzing shot.
	Custom 1	Blast Shot	2% (uncharged), 3.5% (charged)	Higher range and speed, but weaker with no paralyzation.
	Custom 2	Electromagnetic Net	0.8% (uncharged most), 1% (uncharged end), 1% (charged most), 2% (charged end)	Shot has little range but explodes in an ever-increasing range.
Side special	Default	Plasma Whip		Fires the whip forwards a distance.
	Custom 1	Plasma Dash	2% (per hit)	A dashing gun strike.
	Custom 2	Whip Lash		Draws in the opponent instead of pushing them away.
Up special	Default	Boost Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 4% (last)	A rising kick move. Very powerful when the last kick connects.
	Custom 1	Impact Kick	6% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2)	More powerful.
	Custom 2	Lateral Kick	5% (first), 1.3% (loop), 5% (last)	Goes more horizontal than vertical.
Down special	Default	Flip Jump	8% (footstool), 14% (kick)	A quick leaping dodge that can also strike enemies on descent.
	Custom 1	Shooting Star Flip Kick	8% (footstool), 17% (clean kick), 14% (late kick)	The manual kick flies downwards.
	Custom 2	Low Kick	4% (footstool), 8% (clean kick), 6% (late kick)	Little height, but more sideways distance.
Final Smash		Gunship	0.8% (loop), 10% (last)	Fires a max of five aimable lasers from the Gunship.

Update history

1.0.4

• Up smash timing: hits on 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 28-29 → hits on 10-11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 28-29
• Paralyzer (default), when fully charged, now has different effect on grounded versus aerial opponents.
  • Grounded opponent angle: 60 → 315

Alternate costumes

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

Zero Suit Samus's regular trophy can be obtained by completing Classic Mode and her alternative trophy can be obtained by completing All-Star mode.

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)

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  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

Gallery

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  Zero Suit Samus's introduction picture.

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  Holding Paralyzer

• 

  Firing Paralyzer

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  Firing an attack at Link

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  An aerial attack

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  Below a suited Samus

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  Using jet boots in the air

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  A handstand attack

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  Wearing a Bunny Hood

• SSB4 - ZSS Screen-9.jpg

  Her appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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  A diving pose

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

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  Zero Suit Samus about to kick Pit, who is trapped by a Metroid.

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  Flip Jump with Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Zero Suit Samus fighting Rosalina in the Boxing Ring.

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  Zero Suit Samus's black palette swap fighting Pac-Man

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  Zero Suit Samus's doing her new Boost Kick.

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  Zero Suit Samus's alternate costumes based on Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion.

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  The alternate costumes as they appear in the 3DS version.

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  Zero Suit Samus alongside Ridley in the Pyrosphere