The Zero Laser is Samus' Final Smash. Samus charges her arm cannon and fires a large beam of energy that deals a high amount of damage. After firing the beam, Samus' Power Suit is "damaged" and falls off of Samus' body, transforming her into Zero Suit Samus.
After the beam has been fired and the Power Suit removed, the damaged pieces of the suit can be picked up and thrown as items by any player. The items have very high knockback and decent damage, but, like any other item, they also can be picked up by opponents and thrown back at Zero Suit Samus or others.
This Final Smash has a range of stretching about the distance across the thickest part of New Pork City. The Zero Laser also passes through absolutely everything, including the stage itself.
The Zero Laser lasts about a total of 4 seconds. The move's damage varies from source, but depending on the time the opponent remains in the laser, it can do from 40-78% damage. While not necessarily a one-hit KO, if used near the edge of a stage the laser can push opponents past the blast line, or close enough that the final burst from the Laser will do so, regardless of damage. It's nearly impossible to survive with more than 30% damage regardless of where you are when hit by it.
While Samus is using the attack, all nearby enemies behind her (as well as some items) will be pulled toward her and into the line of fire, if close enough. Also if enemies fall on top of the laser they too will be pulled into the attack.
The Zero Laser can also be angled slightly up or slightly down by tilting the control stick in the desired direction, though this does not have much of an effect on the laser's area of effect and cannot be moved above approximately a 30 degree angle. Also, due to it's time span it's user isn't really able to change direction effectively.
The transformation into Zero Suit Samus takes quite a while, and thus is easily punished. Even if you manage to KO everyone, there's usually enough time for that player to come back to life and get into position to attack just as the transformation finishes. So it may be better to fire it far above the ground, making the opponents harder to punish her. It is also possible, if the opponent is close enough to Samus when the move is initiated, for the opponent to jump over Samus using an Up-Special or, for some characters, a jump AND an Up-Special, or multiple jumps (which is enough to clear the top of the Zero Laser if Samus is on the same surface as the opponent) and then land directly behind Samus, avoiding the move but also allowing them to attack Samus as soon as the laser stops.
Finishing the Final Smash in mid-air does not put Samus (or rather, Zero Suit Samus) into a helpless state, however she will fall for quite some time until all her suit pieces fall off. If she is not above a platform, this is enough to KO her on almost every stage other than New Pork City, Temple, or some custom stages, and even then she might survive only if high enough to at least reach with Zero Suit's Tether once she can move.
Since the move doesn't engulf the entire screen and only a horizontal strip, some prefer to jump and then use the Zero Laser to maximize its area of effect. The reasoning behind this is that a shot fired on the ground will KO characters who are standing on the ground, but a shot that's fired even a short range above the ground will hit characters who are on the ground and characters who are a bit higher or trying to be able to stay above it's range.
As demonstrated in the Tokyo vs Kyoto match, Zero Laser's effect was slightly changed in the released game's version; it lasted 2 seconds longer than what it currently is.
Origin
The move is unique to Brawl, and the first to display Samus using the beam.
Originally, Samus's Power Suit is somehow lost in a crash when her starship is shot down in Metroid: Zero Mission, not involving any type of beam on her part.
The corrupted bounty hunter Gandrayda can use a move nearly identical to the Zero Laser when mimicking Samus' form in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, though, due to the game's release date, this is likely a coincidence or possibly a reference to Brawl instead. Also in Metroid Prime 3, Samus could access Hyper Mode, during which her charge beam move is strikingly similar to the Zero Laser, though this beam actually consists of two beams intertwined and rapidly fires streams of Phazon beams instead of one massive beam.
The Zero Laser may also have been inspired by the Hyper Beam, an extremely powerful attack used against Mother Brain at the end of Super Metroid, though their appearances differ, as well as the Hyper Beam having no known detrimental effects.
Glitches
- A glitch can be performed with this Final Smash that makes it so Samus doesn't transform to Zero Suit Samus. Performing it is the same as performing the Puff Up, Diffusion Beam, and Golden Glitches: play on Bridge of Eldin (or any stage with reforming terrain; this does not include custom stage Drop Blocks) and, when the bridge in the middle is repairing itself, go between the ledges, activate the Final Smash so that when the bridge is whole again, Samus will pop back onto the bridge without transforming, much like when how a character normally does when caught in the bridge's reformation.
- It should also be noted that Pit's Mirror Shield, when tilted upwards, can negate all but the final blast of this Final Smash. Whether this is really a glitch or not is unknown.
Trophy Description
Samus's Final Smash. The beam emerging from her Arm Cannon is dreadfully powerful and causes great damage to enemies. The beam travels slowly but can be swept up and down. The recoil of the beam is so great that it tears off her Power Suit, revealing Zero Suit Samus. The pieces of her armor can be picked up and thrown as weapons.
Gallery
External Links
| Samus' Special Moves | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Melee | Brawl | 3DS/Wii U | Ultimate | |
| Standard Special | Charge Shot | ||||
| Side Special | — | Missile | |||
| Up Special | Screw Attack | ||||
| Down Special | Bomb | ||||
| Final Smash | — | Zero Laser | |||
