Zero Suit Samus (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Zero Suit Samus' appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Zero Suit Samus.  Also, for information about the result of Zero Suit Samus using her Final Smash attack, see Samus Aran.

Unveiled at E3 2006, Zero Suit Samus (, Zero Sūtsu Samusu), often abbreviated as ZSS or 0SS is a character that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Zero Suit Samus lacks power and stamina compared to Samus, but is faster. She uses a gun known as the Paralyzer, which can also be converted into a Plasma Whip, which can be used for a tether recover, similar to Samus's Grapple Beam.

The impact from Samus's Final Smash is enough to remove her Power Suit, transforming her into Zero Suit Samus. Zero Suit Samus is able to transform back into normal Samus by using her Final Smash, which causes her to get her suit back while performing a move similar to the Crystal Flash from Super Metroid. 

Midplay:
Samus can also switch to Zero Suit Samus while in battle by doing the up taunt, down taunt, and up taunt in quick succession. It appears to be rather difficult to achieve, as DOJO!! states, "It's not easy [...] Try it out next time you feel like showing off."

Though there is a very easy way to do it with either the GameCube/Classic Controller or Wii Remote + Nunchuk: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 1. Hold the GameCube/Classic controller/*Wii Remote sideways so your left and right hand thumbs are on the "Up" and "Down" taunt Control Pad buttons respectively.


 * For the Wii remote + Nunchuk, put your thumbs on the "1" and "2" buttons.

2. Press "Up taunt" first. This is the only thing that actually needs to be pressed in the right order.


 * Press "1" on the Wii remote to activate the "Up" taunt first.

3. During Samus's "Up taunt", rapidly press both "Up" and "Down" as fast as you can, make sure you are actually doing it as fast as you can.


 * For the Wii remote + nunchuk, press the "1" THEN "2" buttons and repeat rapidly. Do not press "1" + "2" at the same time, or else this will activate the side taunt.

You should be able to transform very easily using this method. For the GameCube Controls, using one thumb to mash the directional pad works fine.

Starting as Zero Suit Samus in Brawls:
Select Samus on the character screen and hold the following button before the match starts with the corresponding controller that is being used:


 * GameCube/Classic controller: Hold the R button.
 * Wii Remote and Nunchuk: Hold the Z button.
 * Wii Remote: Hold the Minus (-) button.

Starting as Zero Suit Samus in Adventure Mode:
After Samus regains her power suit during the Subspace Emissary, Zero Suit Samus can still be selected by highlighting Samus on the character select screen and pressing the following buttons:


 * GameCube Controller: Wiggle the C Stick in any direction
 * Classic controller: Wiggle the Right Stick in any direction.
 * Wii Remote with Nunchuk: Press the C button.
 * Wii Remote: Press the Minus (-) button.

This technique can also be used to select an alternate form during tournament mode, and works for all other multi-form characters in addition to Samus.

Role in Subspace Emissary
Samus is first seen breaking into the base of the Subspace Army. Soon she comes across a Pikachu being drained of its electrical power. Samus uses her whip to break the container the Pikachu is being held in, summoning a security force of R.O.B.s. Later, she comes across her Power Suit, but is confronted by two Shadow Bug clones mimicking her Power Suit.

After reacquiring her Power Suit, Samus and her new companion Pikachu come across Ridley. He grabs Samus and starts to drag her against the wall, until Pikachu returns the favor and uses Thunder, causing him to drop Samus. Once they defeat him, the duo exits the base and come across a cave.

Samus and Pikachu make their way to the Subspace Bomb Factory and find the Ancient Minister with the R.O.B. Squad. They prepare to fight, but then realize that he looks very sad. Soon, Diddy and Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon and Olimar find the factory and enter. A hologram of Ganondorf appears and orders the R.O.B. Squad to activate the bombs. The Ancient Minister tries to stop them, but is set on fire when Ganondorf orders them to retaliate. After The Ancient Minister is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, the characters set out and all join the quest.

Attributes
Zero Suit Samus is undeniably a finesse character. A player of Zero Suit Samus must know precisely when to use her few moves with killing potential so as not to devalue them due to Stale-Move Negation. That having been said, however, Zero Suit Samus can definitely rack up damage. Her smash attacks are high damage, low lag moves, as we as her tilts and her specials. Her aerial game is powerful, but has high lag on it, so it must be used with care. She is one of the faster characters, and she has a good recovery. However, Zero Suit Samus is a very light character, and her difficulty in finishing opponents is a huge impairment. Her grab leaves her incredibly vulnerable, and her up special, being a tether grab, leaves her open to be easily edge-guarded. All in all, however, Zero Suit Samus is an asset to anyone who plays Samus.

Ground Attacks

 * Neutral Attack - Palm Strike, Pistol Whip, Hip Thrust. 2%, 2%, 3%, total of 7% damage.
 * Dash Attack - Similar in appearance to Fox's dash attack. Leaps off of the ground, leg extended horizontally, traveling forward a bit. Can easily be followed with the Neutral Combo at lower percentages. 7%
 * Forward Tilt - Similar in appearance to Sheik's Forward tilt. An around-the-body kick 45 degrees from horizontal (Up Forward Tilt). Can also be angled closer to horizontal (Forward Forward Tilt) or a quick, short ranged low leg sweep (Down Forward Tilt) Terrible knockback. 6%
 * Down Tilt - Similar in appearance to Sheik's down tilt, a prone leg-sweep. Knocks upwards. Good to set up combos. 6%
 * Up Tilt - Does handstand-splits while spinning in place, legs moving up to vertical. Hits twice. 5% then 6% damage, total of 11%
 * Forward Smash - Slashes forward with the whip. Fairly long range, disjointed hitbox, good knockback, hits a bit behind. 10%-14% damage in front, 6% behind.
 * Down Smash - Shoots paralyzer gun at the ground in front of Zero Suit Samus. Only hits in front. Low damage, delayed knockback, but stuns the target in place for a short time (depending on how much it was charged). Unique attack that can be followed up by a side smash. Double Down Smash followed by Up Smash is an effective combo. 11-15% Also moves Zero Suit Samus foward a little.
 * Up Smash - Samus spins, extending the Plasma whip up above her head in a swirl. Hits multiple times, long vertical (disjointed) range and decent horizontal range. 12-16%

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Samus spins the whip around her body in a similar trajectory to Marth's Neutral Air. Fairly long range. Always deals 10% damage, regardless of decay, and does not refresh decay on other moves.
 * Forward Aerial - Two forward kicks, each slightly faster and only slightly weaker than Samus's Back Aerial. The second kick is stronger then the first. 6% then 11% damage, total of 17%.
 * Back Aerial - Backwards kick, similar in speed, appearance, and knockback to Samus's Foward Aerial. 13%
 * Up Aerial - Flip kicks both legs above her head, similar to Fox's Up Aerial. 10% sweetspotted, 7% otherwise
 * Down Aerial - A Stall-Then-Fall. Samus stalls momentarily in midair, and then shoots down diagonally (similar to Sonic or Sheik's Down Air). If it hits in midair, pulls down with the trajectory of the attack, into the second hit. Upon hitting the ground, it hits a second time, knocking anyone close away a fair bit (not enough to KO). Like most stall, then shoot down moves, this can be used to cancel vertical knockback if used while being knocked back horizontally. This move can spike, but very dangerous when not over land, as it will not stop like Sonic's. 4% on contact, 5% landing, total of 9% damage possible.

Grabs and Throws

 * Grab: Reaches forward with Plasma Whip. Long range, but is extremely laggy if misses.
 * Pummel: Knees her victim. 2%
 * Forward Throw: Hits opponent forward with gun. Deals 2% then 7% damage, total of 9%.
 * Back Throw: Kicks opponent. Deals 2% then 4% damage, total of 6%.
 * Down Throw: Slams opponent on ground and stomps on them (similarly to Captain Falcon's Up Tilt). Deals 2% then 5% damage, total of 7%.
 * Up Throw: Flips into the air and kicks the opponent. Deals 2% then 8% damage, total of 10%.

Stickers
Since Samus and Zero Suit Samus share the same trophy base, it's important to chose which one you want to use, since Smash Balls don't appear in Adventure Mode, if one transforms into Zero Suit Samus, they will be unable to change back until the end of the level (Or in the Great maze, a save point). Focus on Leg, Energy and Weapon damage, and you should be able to boost both Samus and Zero Suit Samus evenly.

Taunts
Up: Throws her gun into the air, spins and catches it behind her and says "Is that all?".

Side: Uses her whip, flicks it and says "Try me."

Down: Samus spins multiple times quickly on one foot, twirling her plasma whip around her like a ribbon dancer and says, "You're mine."

On-Screen Appearance
Her Power Suit falls off as she stands up. Power Suit pieces can then be used as throwing items.

Victory Pose
Victory Theme: Metroid Power-Up Theme
 * Side Kick flex
 * Cartwheels to the screen
 * Slashes with her energy whip and says "Be still."

Credits Music

 * Ending (Metroid)

Trivia

 * Zero Suit Samus is the only character in Brawl to have three Tether recovery moves, two used for horizontal range and one used for vertical range (Her grab and side B are both horizontal and her Up B is vertical).
 * Samus is usually a silent protagonist in the Metroid series. However, Zero Suit Samus speaks in each of her taunts, and in one victory pose. She had previously never spoken outside of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, and then only in text. Brawl is the first instance of Samus' dialogue being performed by a voice actor. Samus' only voice prior to Brawl was in the form of grunts and "pain" noises in the Metroid Prime series.
 * Strangely enough, Zero Suit Samus makes a slashing sound similar to a sword slicing attack when she strikes with her legs (not her feet). Examples of this are: Up tilt, Up aerial, and Down tilt.
 * Zero Suit Samus is the only character who drops items when she appears on the screen.