Zero Suit Samus (Smash Plus)

Zero Suit Samus is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Metroid universe, she is listed as fighter #25 in Smash's modified numbering system and is classified as a lightweight character. Zero Suit Samus is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in versus mode or by defeating Classic Mode with Samus.
Zero Suit Samus remains largely unchanged from her appearance in Smash Ultimate. She is far lighter than Samus is on account of not having a power suit to lug around, and she has a variety of moves with her paralyzer pistol to stall opponents and set them up for combos. Despite her speed, though, she lacks many true KO options, forcing players to rack up damage and win slugfests with other characters to try and score knockouts. Her lighter weight also makes her a bit easier to knock out of the ring herself, though her recovery remains very good. Her mobility is her best asset when fighting as her, though not in the traditional hit and run sense. She has two normal jumps, can wall cling, crawl, and wall jump and has a tether grab.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Samus performs a three hit jab, starting with a knifehand strike, then a pistol-whip, and then followed by an overhand elbow strike to knock foes away.
*Side Tilt- Samus performs a roundhouse kick straight forward. The move can also be angled slightly up or down depending on controller input, with the higher version having slightly higher knockback, and the lower version having a chance of tripping opponents.
*Up Tilt- Samus tosses her Paralyzer gun in the air in an upward motion, catching it with her second hand. The move hits twice, with the second hit dealing knockback.
*Down Tilt- Samus performs a forward tripping legsweep that has the potential of tripping opponents directly in front of her.
*Dash Attack- Samus performs a jet-assisted knee lift, an attack which has a sweet spot right at the point of the knee where it does the most damage.
*Grab & Pummel- Samus fires her Pistol Whip which can then grab foes at a distance. This also acts as a tether grab. Samus pummels with a knee strike to the midsection of opponents.
*Forward Throw- Samus delivers a straight kick to the jaw of the opponent, sending them flying backwards. Zero Suit Samus' most powerful throw in terms of distance covered.
*Back Throw- Samus spins the foe around and delivers a mid-level roundhouse kick.
*Up Throw- Samus performs a backflip, with her feet smacking opponents in the jaw and sending them flying straight up at a very steep high angle.
*Down Throw- Samus pins the opponent on the ground with her foot, zaps them with her Paralyzer pistol, stunning them, before kicking them away across the ground at a very low angle. Other players nearby may also be hurt by the stun blast.
*Neutral Air- Samus spins around in midair, swinging her Plasma Whip laterally around herself. The attack hits multiple times, launching on the final hit.
*Forward Air- Samus fires a single hook kick in front of her for a relatively strong hit. No longer has a second hit in Smash Plus, though.
*Back Air- Samus hits a spinning hook kick directly behind her, which similar to Samus' back air has great launching power when it first comes out, but sours if it falls into opponents.
*Up Air- Samus does a back flip in midair, hitting a bicycle kick and then at arc's apex fires her jet boots to launch foes with a second hit. This attack has a sourspot if it hits on the downward arc, after the jetboots fire, and has bad endlag if the player lands before the completion of the arc.
*Down Air- Samus performs a flying kick straight down at a steep diagonal arc in front of her. Dangerous to use off stage, as it will cause Samus to fall quickly and leave little time for a comeback.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- Samus performs a single sidekick followed by a secondary sidekick in which she engages her jet boots, sending the opponent flying. Despite the high knockback on the second hit, the high endlag and relatively weak damage makes it a high risk/high reward move.
*Up Smash- Samus spins in place while spinning her Plasma Whip over her head. The move hits multiple times, drawing foes in on many of the hits in order to increase combo potential and then launching on the final hit.
*Down Smash- Samus aims her Paralyzer Pistol straight down in front of her and fires a single shot at the ground. The shot will hitstun anyone hit by it, with the stun animation lasting longer at higher percentages, allowing for followup moves by Samus.
===Special Moves===
*Neutral Special: Paralyzer Shot- Samus kneels down and fires a single shot from her Paralyzer Pistol. The shot will hitstun anyone on contact, the stunning animation lasting longer at higher percentages. Holding the special button briefly will also charge the shot, causing it to travel farther and to slightly more damage.
*Side Special: Plasma Whip- Samus will crouch down and unleash her Plasma Whip out in a curling forward motion, with an explosion at the tip as it finishes unfurling. The move can hit opponents multiple times, and the explosion at the end will launch foes. Inputting the attack as a Smash Attack will also cause the whip to travel slightly further.
*Up Special: Jetboost Kick- Samus activates her jet boots and rises up at a diagonal angle with her knee held high, before delivering a powerful kick at the end of the upward arc to launch foes. Works best against midair foes, but be careful as the endlag at the end makes it punishable if it whiffs.
*Down Special: Flip Kick- Samus flips forward over the opponent, landing on the opposite side. For part of this move, Samus will be intangible and unable to be hurt. If the jump lands on an opponent, then that opponent will be footstomped, either buried in the ground or spiked in midair. If the player hits the special button while in flight though, Samus will unleash a powerful diagonal kick with her jet boots to launch players. An incredibly versatile move.
*Final Smash: Gunship Barrage- Samus will jump off screen and then reappear in the background on top of her gunship clad in her armor. A target reticle will appear, and players can move it around the screen. When fired, the gunship will unleash a huge barrage of missiles in the general area which was selected, while Samus will fire her Zero Laser directly on the spot. The missiles do damage but have little knockback, while the Laser can launch foes on contact. When the FS ends, Samus returns to the match in Zero Suit form.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- Samus jumps off her gunship as it flies by and lands on the stage, ready for action.
*Idle Animation 1- Stands ready and holds the Paralyzer by her face as she glances around looking for threats.
*Idle Animation 2- Samus fiddles with the controls on her Paralyzer pistol before resuming battle stance.
*Side Taunt- Samus spins her Plasma Whip in a circular motion, confidently saying "Try Me."
*Up Taunt- Samus tosses her Paralyzer into the air and catches it, chuckling at the ineptitude of her opponent.
*Down Taunt- Samus crouches down and points the Paralyzer in front of her and then behind her, before holding it close to her face and then standing back up.
*Victory Animation 1- Samus slashes the air twice with her Plasma Whip and then tells the opponent "Be Still."
*Victory Animation 2- Samus spins in place and twirls her Plasma Whip above her head, chuckling and asking "Is That All?"
*Victory Animation 3- Samus flip jumps into frame and lands in a crouching motion, pointing her Paralyzer at the camera.
==How to Unlock==
Zero Suit Samus can be unlocked any of the following ways.
*Playing versus matches until she randomly shows up as a "Challenger Approaching" fight. Defeat her to unlock her.
*Defeat Classic Mode with Samus on starting difficulty 3.0 or higher.
*Unlock her in the Finale of World of Light by defeating her.
*Paying 1,000 Gold in the shop, where she can randomly appear (though rarely).
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters