Zero Suit Play Style Development

[Ares And Enyo]

Ok I think it is time that this zero's sub forum start focusing on her game play because I don't know about you but she has so much potential and could be one of the best characters. So for any one else who has the game and is trying to main ZSS lets post here and work on our ZSS development.

So I don't know about anyone else but it seems like in Brawl winning is based on playing on your strengths. Melee it was basically the fasted most accurate person won. This game seems to be different (but that could change as more is found or I could be wrong) in that regard. So I pose the question to you ... pikachu. He has the same style quick, light, and moderately ranged. I don't know about you but I think ZSS should be greater than an electric rat this time around. I think pikachu's greatest advantage is his attacks are generally faster and less laggy, have large hit windows, and moderately better knockback. Over-b spamming is too laggy for this character so has anyone developed a good strategy (besides armor pelleting) that Zero can use on that rat?

[Sideem Slingh]

I'd say it's a little too early for this. All we can do is speculate at this point, since only a few of us actually have the game (although it's a lot more of us than I thought).

As for pikachu, I think the best choice would be to get pikachu in the air. From what I've seen, his aerials are moderate to bad on knockback, the best of them probably being his nair (or maybe his dair, I haven't seen that performed). In either case, his front and back hits don't seem to have knockback at all, so I'd say try to bair or fair him a lot. Use the neutral b to force him to jump and then dominate. I'm not sure about his dair, but uairs should be fine, I HOPE. And, as always, don't get above him.

My final OPINION: try to get him into the air, and then take it over from there. If you're on the ground, go ahead and use Zamus's up smash, to make sure he's not too close, or up B if you want to grab him or whatnot. I think Zamus's air game will be much better than pikachu's.

Mind you, I'm not happy saying this, because I have this nagging feeling that I'm COMPLETELY wrong. I'm still waiting until March 9th.

[Ares And Enyo]

hmm ... the air - yea I can try the air but I get the feeling he out prioritizes me there ... but it is harder for him to kill there... fair, bair, and nair, uair all work work well - his **** nair has so much priority and sucks you in ... but I think you are right - in the air is where I need to battle him - can't fight on the ground pika has very little lag and puts damage on fast

I wouldn't say it is too early to start working on play styles for Zero - other characters already have people working to develop them - let not let zero suit be the retarded one come tournament time.

[Sideem Slingh]

Believe me, I'd love to develop strategies, and I'm just as eager to see them appear on this board. But I don't have the game, and many don't, so I don't expect much.

So I guess you have Brawl, I'm assuming? Lucky you : P good luck on finding a good tactic against pikachu, I'm not of much help here.

[Ares And Enyo]

well thanks for inputting hopefully within a month at least one fairly competent play style can emerge - yea I have brawl and from what I can tell playing your strengths has been the easiest way to win ... which is already different enough but mixing that new idea with its inverse kinda causes problems ... also I'm using a wiimote and nunchuck (b/c it is easier to do the taunt transformation) so that doesn't help.

[James Sparrow]

In the past pikachu has always had trouble facing range and projectiles. I'm not sure how it translates to brawl, I haven't gotten a chance to play against a pikachu. Though stun shots are hard to hit, they may be an option, and despite it's lag I think the plasma whip could be good. Bair and Fair have very good range as well.

[The Great Leon]

I just wrote a huge post if you feel the need to read it. I think we should start working on a general playstyle before we worry about specific character matchups. To sum my findings up, you can spam Neutral B to keep the pressure on. Her grab game seems like it will be really important. Kiting around and tipping whips seems like a good strategy. Her aerials are really hot. Spiking may be a major part of her game, depending if you can meteor cancel them or not. And here's my favorite: her vertical game.

DTilt, UTilt, USmash, DThrow, and UThrow act as ground launches, UAir knocks up, and her Up B pulls you down. I'm hoping that we can work out a kind of reverse-pillaring where your opponent gets trapped between ground launches, Up Airs, and Up B's. So far I've been able to DTilt -> Up B -> DTilt -> Up B -> DTilt. But Up B has horrible horizontal range, and you can DI out of it pretty hard. Platforms might be vital to this. You can hit about 5 Up B's in a row if you spam them under a platform. I get to play on weekends and I am working on playing during the week. So far I've one candidate for weektime play.

[ph00tbag]

Something that should be noted is the almost nonexistent lag after Plasma Whip and Wire. These can generally be thrown into combos to finish them or keep them going, and if you miss you can recover quickly.

[The Great Leon]

Nonexistent is a bit strong. I've gotten punished for missing both several times, but Forward B is kind of quick compared to a smash attack and its a scary move.

[JoeTang]

Don't expect to kill with a Smash. In my opinion, Pikachu's strength is in his fast Aerial game. Being able to Short Hop, Neutral Air, Fast Fall quickly with its high priority is a strong approach, as well as Short Hopping Thunder Jolts. My own tactics would be to either take him head on with Forward Aerials, or dodge by Back Flipping and Flip Kick him afterwards. Zero Suit Samus has a larger hit box so this can be abused, but your projectiles suck. Stun Shot is very slow, and has poor range so if they know what they're doing, don't expect to hit that. If you're going in for a stun, rely more on a Down Smash, possibly set up by an Up B.
In terms of killing, try using Forward B. You should have a range advantage over any of Pikachu's attacks, except for Thunder Jolt. A proper set up would be required in most situations, though waiting for him to miss an attack is good. Edge Guarding would be key, but it is more difficult against something like Pikachu since his versatility with Quick Attack makes it less predictable. Nail him before he launches it by jumping off the edge. Try with a jump, flip kick, and then jump back and recover. If they're not sweet spotting the edge, which isn't too hard though, you could try intercepting their Quick Attack with a Flip Kick in hopes of spiking, since the general area of where they'll be after the first jump of Quick Attack would be closer to the edge.

Intercepting their Aerials with Up B would be a good idea too since it has a decent range for this type of situation, and the effect is good. Up Smash isn't too bad either, as is Up Tilting.