Samus

Page 1
Background Info
Costumes
Moves List
-Weak Attacks
-Recovery Attacks
-Taunt
-Strong Attacks
-Running Attack
-Smash Attacks
-Throws
-Aerial Attacks
-Special Attacks





Background Info

Samus Aran is the intergalatic bounty hunter who stars in the Metroid series of games. She (Yes, it's a she, even though you can't tell from the outside. If I remember correctly, Samus is blonde and pretty good looking) always wears her power suit that protects her from hits and enhances her physical abilities. The most noticeable part about Samus is her right arm, which doesn't end in a fist. Instead, she has a big cannon thingy on her right arm. I don't think her arm is really broken, but she just has the cannon for her main weapon. In her games, she goes around battling space pirates and monsters. Now she has to fight the other Nintendo mascots in Smash.
In Smash, Samus is a character that is different than everyone else. Her smashes aren't very strong, but she has a very cheap special attack and the most powerful projectile in the game. Samus is also a pretty good jumper, and she can also spike pretty well. This combination of moves gives Samus a playing style like no other character.
Personal Stage: Planet Zebes
Personal Symbol: A lightling bolt over a dark circle. I think this is the screw attack symbol.
Entrance: Samus steps out an elevator thingy that comes out from the ground.
Character choosing: Samus swings her gun arm and loads her gun.

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Costumes

C up: Original Samus with the orange and yellow suit and the red helmet. This is the red team costume.
C left: Ewww... Samus in a yucky green costume with the red helmet. This is the green team costume.
C down: Samus in the orange and dark brown costume with the red helmet. Looks like she got mud all over her suit.
C right: Samus with the orange and pink costume.
Blue Team Costume (Only available in team battles): Samus with a purplish blue costume. This one actually doesn't look half bad. Better than the green one or the brown one in my opinion.

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Moves List

Weak Attack

Buttons: A, A while on the ground
Damage: 3%+7%
KKT score: over 208% for the second hit
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus jabs with her left fist, then clobbers the enemy on the head with her gun arm.
My Opinion: This is actually strongest weak attack combo in the game, but that isn't saying much. The move is not that great, but it's somewhat better than the other weak attacks. Samus can use these to hit people first to interrupt the opponent and set up a forward or down smash.
Rating: 2 out of 5

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Recovery Attack 1

Buttons: When lying back to the floor, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus sort of does a hand stand and split kicks in that position before getting back on her feet. Samus is invincible when she does this.
My Opinion: Not much to say about this really, since its your only attack option when lying on the floor facing up. Can get Samus back on offense if you manage to hit an opponent. Useful for clearing people who happen to stand too close for their own good.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Recovery Attack 2

Buttons: When lying face down on the floor, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus supports herself on her arms, then flips forward, kicking anyone near with her legs in the process, then gets back on her feet. Samus is invincible when she does this.
My Opinion: It's Samus' other recovery attack. It happen less often than the first recovery attack since most of the time victims of hard hits will lie face up.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Edge Attack 1

Buttons: When hanging on the edge with damage lower than 100%, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus pulls herself on to the stage quickly and delivers a swift kick to the ankles with her right leg. Samus is invincible when she does this.
My Opinion: Edge attacks can save lives, if you can time them. This attack can get edge guarders out of the way and therefore save Samus from danger. Use it only if no one's around or the edge guarder is standing close to the edge. Experienced players will stand a bit away from the edge if you (as any character) manages to hang on to it, so you need to evaluate the situation before you use the edge attack.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Edge Attack 2

Buttons: When hanging on the edge with damage over 100%, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Slow
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium slow
Reach: Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description:Samus slowly pulls himself back on to the stage, then delivers a punch to the stomachs (or face, for those who don't have stomaches) with her left fist. Samus is invincible when she does this.
My Opinion: This is worse than the low damage edge attack, but better than nothing at all. Same guidelines as above.
Rating: 2 out of 5

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Taunt

Buttons: L when on the ground
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Fast
Description: Samus raises her right arm up and makes a mechanical noise.
My Opinion: This taunt is not very noticeable, and the sound isn't quite loud enough. Not the a very good taunt. The whole point of taunting is to get the attention of your opponents and piss them off.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Roundhouse Kick

Buttons: Tilt stick sideways + A on the ground. You can tilt the control stick slightly so that the kick angles a bit up or down.
Damage: 10%
KKT score: 151%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus picks her right foot, spins to her right and kicks with the right leg when she spins around.
My Opinion: This is weak even for a strong attack. I don't see much point in using this move, especially since Samus has one of the fastest forward smashes in the game.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Forward Sweep

Buttons: Tilt stick downward + A on the ground
Damage: 13%
KKT score: 113%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Lower than regular, but not quite flat.
Description: Samus crouches and sticks her right foot out in front of her. She will then to her left and sweep anyone in front of her off their feet.
My Opinion: This is not bad for a strong attack. It is reasonably powerful, and the flat launch angle will make comebacks harder for the enemy. A reasonable alternative to Samus' mediocre down smash.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Heel Kick

Buttons: Tilt stick upward + A on the ground
Damage: 8%+13%
KKT score: 119% for the second hit
Startup: Medium fast
Duration: Medium Long
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium, but the hit zone is pretty big due to the arc.
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus spins to her right and picks her right leg up to do a vertical split. The she'll keep turning back to the front while bring her foot down in an arc. Anyone standing in front of Samus will get her heel smashed into his/her head.
My Opinion: This move isn't bad, but there's not much use for it. It doesn't quite defend against air attacks and Samus' forward smash is a bit stronger than this. In usual situations, you are only going to get one hit out of the two hits that this move delivers.
Rating: 3 out of 5

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Shoulder Ram

Buttons: A while running
Damage: 12%
KKT score: 134%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium Slow
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus lowers her right shoulder and rams forward while running.
My Opinion: This is an okay running attack. Doesn't send people very far but it isn't too slow. It has its uses. When people have low damages, Samus can often go straight into a down smash for a little two hit combo.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Gun Jab

Buttons: Smash sideways + A while on the ground.
Damage: 18%
KKT score: 76%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus pulls her gun (right) arm back and then thrusts it forward with force.
My Opinion: This smash isn't particularly powerful nor does it have a long reach, but it is surprisingly fast. This is probably one of the fastest smash attacks in the game. It can come out of nowhere to hit people. Even though, this smash has its setbacks. The hit zone for this smash is very small, so if a small character is standing right next to Samus, this smash might miss.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Sweep Kick

Buttons: Smash down + A while on the ground
Damage: 16%
KKT score: 134% sideway, 133% for star finish
Startup: Fast
Duration: Long
Recovery: Medium Long
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Steep diagonal
Description: Samus sticks her right foot out in crouching position and turns to her right. She spins around once with her leg out stretched to sweep people off of their feet. This move hits in front and behind Samus, unlike the strong attack that only hits in front.
My Opinion: This move sucks as a smash attack. It's weak even on a full hit and it likes to give partial hits. The back hit is weaker than the forward hit but it doesn't really matter since both hits won't kill until very high damage. Unfortunately for Samus, this is the only down smash she's got and she has no choice but to use it.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Upward Flamethrower

Buttons: Smash up + A while on the ground
Damage: 10% times max 5 hits
KKT score: star finish at 161% for one hit
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium Long
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Straight up or close to it or even steep diagonal.
Description: Samus raises her right arm in an arc from in front of her to behind her. The gun spews flame as Samus swings her arm.
My Opinion: Hmmm... this is even worse than the down smash. This thing needs tremendous damage on an opponent to KO. You will probably never get all five hits to land on the same guy unless you are fighting giant DK or the Master Hand. It's a great move against the Master Hand, but not that good when fighting normal characters. The move is an okay air defence and can raise damage, but don't expect to kill anyone with this move.
Rating: 3 out of 5

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Grapple Beam Throw

Buttons: Grab (press R or Z + A) while on the ground, then push stick forward, press A, press R, or wait for a few seconds.
Damage: 16%
KKT score: 80%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach (of Samus' grab): Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus reels the opponent in with her grappling hook (which comes out of the gun by the way) and throws the victim by swinging her arm forward. The victim flys away with electrical stun.
My Opinion: This throw is quite powerful for a forward throw and can KO quite quickly. However, Samus has a long range and therfore slow grab, so you better watch it when you attempt a grab. Missing a grab can mean that Samus will be knocked off the stage for good. Remember that only the outgoing path of the beam can grab people.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Backward Grapple Beam Throw

Buttons: Grab (press R or Z+A) while on the ground, then push stick backward
Damage: 18%
KKT score: 66%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach (of Samus' grab): Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Same as the forward throw, except this time Samus chucks the victim backwards and further away.
My Opinion: This is one of the most powerful throws in the game, but of course, it also suffers from Samus' slow grab. Unfortunately for Samus, her smashes are only mediocre so the throws will have to account for a fair portion of her ground kills.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Jump Kick

Buttons: A or R while in the air
Damage: 16%
KKT score: 91%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium Slow
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus sticks her right leg forward in an effort to kick anyone in front of her in mid air.
My Opinion: This kick isn't too bad. The power is pretty good for a neutral air move, but the range is a bit short. If Samus wants to knock someone in front of her out in the air, this is the move to use since the forward A is weak.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Forward Flamethrower

Buttons: A or R + push stick forward in the air
Damage: 5% times up to 5 hits
KKT score: 288% for one hit
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus sticks her gun out in mid air and the gun spews fire as she leans forward into a somersault.
My Opinion: This is even worse than the upward flamethrower. This move is weak and does even less damage. The chances of you landing all five hits is pretty slim. It's probably better to use the jump kick than to use this move.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Backward Heel Kick

Buttons: A or R + push stick backwards in the air
Damage: 14%
KKT score: 71%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus spins to her right and raises her right leg up and swing the leg in an arc while spinning. Anyone behind her will get a taste of her heel. She spins around back to her original orientation when the move is done.
My Opinion: This move is probably the most powerful air attack in the game of Smash, despite the fact it does only 14% damage. This is one of Samus' main kill moves and should be used often. It's not hard to hit with this move since there's an arc in the hit. Because Samus is a pretty good jumper, this back kick can be used as the finisher move as Samus jumps out and kick an opponent who is trying to jump back to the stage.
Rating: 5 out of 5

Screw Kick

Buttons: A or R + push stick upwards in the air
Damage: 2% times up to 5 hits
KKT score: none since the move has no power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: None
Description: Samus points her feet upwards in the sky at an slightly diagonal angle and corkscrews to her right. The left leg is straight and the right leg is slightly bent. Anyone caught in the move will receive mulitple little hits.
My Opinion: This is another useless move in Samus' arsenal. It has no power and doesn't do anyting particularly good for Samus. I stand corrected. There is a use for this thing. You can combo from this move into a screw attack. Might as well just use the screw attack first since its more likely to hit.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Downward Gun Poke

Buttons: A or R + push stick downwards in air
Damage: 14%
KKT score: star finish at 169% if victim is on the ground. This move is capable of spiking
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Straight down or very close to straight down when opponent is in the air and straight up if opponent is on the ground.
Description: Samus will point her head downwards towards the ground and pokes in the direction with her gun arm.
My Opinion: This move is pretty good. It is fast, and it has good priority, so it will most likely hit first against an upward attack. This is also Samus' spike move. Since Samus is a pretty good jumper, this move can be put into good use sending people down. Just make sure you don't hold the stick down when spiking since this will make Samus fall faster. Because of the move's quickness, it's possible to replicate Ness' step kick combo with this move. Basically, Samus hit an enemy on the ground, sending him/her up. Samus then will jump up and sent the opponent down again and before the opponent can get into a recovery roll or attack, Samus can come back down and pop the person up again. Repeat until the enemy escapes, pops up too far, or use the neutral or back kick to send the vicitm away. You gotta have great timing and Z-Cancelling skills to do this, but it's possible.
Rating: 4.5 ouf of 5

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Charge Shot

Buttons: Press B on the ground and Samus will charge. Press B to release the shot. Press Z, left or right to stop the charge. After charge stops, press B to continue charging or release the shot if charge is already full. Tap B rapidly to make Samus release little shots in succession. Samus can only charge on the ground. Pressing B in air will make her release any charge she has got.
Damage: 26%
KKT score: 49%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Range: Long (unlimited)
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus will go into a semi crouching position, point her gun forwards and begin charging if she's on the ground. You'll see how much she has charges by the blue orb that forms in front of the gun. Once Samus is fully charged, she will go back to ready position with her gun glowing. Press B to release a huge sphere of destructive energy to electricute any opponent that happens to be in front of Samus. If shooting in the air, the recoil will make Samus go backwards.
My Opinion: This is the most powerful projectile a character can do in the game of Smash Brothers, if you rule out reflected projectiles. A fully charged charge shot will kill pretty easily. The shots also have unlimited range, so Samus can shoot anyone within her line of sight. This is why you should never leave a Samus alone during a match because she will charge and shoot at you if you don't look out. You don't have to just use the Charge Shot for sniping. A fully charged Charge Shot can be used as an instant power hit at close range (I don't recommend doing this against a Fox though, because of the the reflector). Keep the shot charged at all times when playing as Samus and try not to waste the shot.
Rating: 5 out of 5

Screw Attack

Buttons: Push stick up + B. You can use the stick to control whether Samus spins left of right. If you press the stick to the left, the victims will fly to the right and vice versa.
Damage: 2% for the first hit, up to 13%
KKT score: none, power is constant
Startup: Fast
Duration: Long if it hits someone, short if it doesn't
Recovery: Slow (well, not until Samus lands on something)
Reach: Long (since Samus jumps upwards in the process)
Flight Path: Normal
Description: Samus will jump into the air somersaulting while surrounded by electrical energy. Anyone who gets caught will get shocked multiple times before being sent away. Samus gains more altitude if she does this from the ground than if she starts this move in the air. Samus can't do anything else until she lands on the ground or gets hit by something. All the hits of a screw attack together will break any shield.
My Opinion: This is arguably to cheapest move in the game of Smash. It can do some damage, but the most notable (or annoying, depending on your viewpoint) is the insane priority this move has. It has priority over just about every other move except maybe a fully formed Stone. During a screw attack, Samus is almost invincible. The screw attack can cancel out any small projectiles and hit. It also has a very good ability at sucking people into the attack. It's not uncommon to hit multiple enemies with this move. This is Samus' best air defence and a great way to get cheap damage on your opponents. Samus can also use this move to break people's shields. This is an okay comeback move too. Too bad this move can't kill, but nothing is perfect.
Rating: 5 out of 5

Bomb

Buttons: Push stick down + B
Damage: 9%
KKT score: 272%
Startup: Medium fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium fast
Range: Medium (will fall from the top Hyrule Castle platform to the big flat ground.)
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Samus will become a little ball in the air and release a flashing bomb that falls straight down. The bomb will explode if it hits something or runs out of range. It will bounce of the ground a bit if it still has some range left. These bombs will not hurt Samus herself.
My Opinion: This move is kind of useless. A use I can think off is to get some cover for Samus if she tries to land after being sent up really high into the sky. You can also sort of use it like how Jigglypuff uses Pound to recover horizontal distance. I personally never use this move as Samus.
Rating: 2 out of 5.

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