Weekly Character Showcase: Samus feat. Jonny Westside

Welcome back to another installment of the Character Showcase! After a long break, we are back in action, this time analyzing a long-time veteran of the Smash franchise and a fan-favorite, Power Suit Samus.

For this edition, we received help from Jonny Westside, considered to be the best Samus main in the world, as well as Tonetta, a Samus player from the Michigan area. Also, special thanks to TheFalconer, who helped in contacting these players.

After the break, we made some changes to the series. Rather than splitting general and character-specific techniques, we'll analyze all of the character's options and how to use them effectively. So, with that said, let's dive in!

Neutral Attacks

Samus's jab 1 comes out at frame 3, which makes it an excellent spacing tool. "Samus is a character whose neutral is based around zoning out your opponent." says Tonetta. Jab 1 accomplishes that by being a fast option, comboing into most moves and keeping the opponent away. Forward tilt on the other hand, takes longer to perform but it has more range. "Samus’s best spacing tool aside from Zair, it’s safe on hit and deals more damage and knockback if you angle the attack." Jonny says.

Moving on to Samus's neutral game, she has a bunch of options in her arsenal. While most characters' dash attacks are counterproductive, Samus's dash attack is an incredible combo starter. "Combos into basic bread and butter strings. Very essential to any Samus player." Jonny says. "Effectively dash trotting in and out of your opponent’s range and using this move to punish a reaction is also excellent for easy damage and instant stage control."

Now, Tonetta talks about Up-air, which is also really good in neutral. "Falling upair is your next best combo starter. While again not safe on shield against the entire cast, it's a powerful mixup and the risk is extremely low even on punish." Up-air -> up-air is one of Samus's bread and butter combos. It can even lead into Up-B kills if the stage has platforms to help. Overall, a great combo move and combo starter.

Special Moves

While not a special move, Samus's grab is unique in that it's a tether. It can be used to recover when far away, or even as an attack. While using it in the air, it can be used to start a combo or to just keep the opponent away.

One of Samus's most famous moves is the Charge Shot. Powerful, but very hard to use, so Jonny has some tips to use it correctly. "The absolute best way to get your opponent to approach you." Charge Shot applies pressure without committing at all. "With correct conditioning it can be used to take early stocks or just clean easy damage."

Samus' Down B however, is used to create dangerous terrain for the opponent to traverse. It also has some other tricks. "Better used to 2 frame opponents easier than Dtilt but requires stricter timing. A Dair is the best possible follow up after the 2 frames." One of the morph bomb's many uses is that it can combo into a fully charged Charge Shot to break a full shield. It requires strict conditioning and sometimes luck, but it can lead to taking some very early stocks.

And with that, we conclude this edition of Tech Showcase! Thanks a lot to our two guests and to TheFalconer for providing the info. If you want to follow Jonny Westside, you can do it here.

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Did you enjoy this new structure of the series? Which character would you like us to analyze next? Let us know in the comments!

 

Don't count out Screw Attack, it's an excellent oos option. Frame 3 invulnerability and frame 5 hitbox with decent killing power..especially on platforms! up bee

 

Like the mentions of her Dash Attack as her combo starter. Most people don't realize that Samus is also a combo heavy character, not just a zoning one.
Her triple aerial combo; Dash Attack > Uair > Uair > Screw Attack, is a true combo on most characters if you read their DI properly.

 

Don't count out Screw Attack, it's an excellent oos option. Frame 3 invulnerability and frame 5 hitbox with decent killing power..especially on platforms! up bee

Not really sure why it wasn't mentioned I did put some good emphasis on it LOL dammit editors

 

Also RedNova can you fix my name please? There's no H in it!

 

Also RedNova can you fix my name please? There's no H in it!

Done, I'm so sorry...

Also, while not in a separate section, I mentoned up-b's killing potential and combo finisher. I missed talking about it as an OoS option though.

 

I liked how the old Character Showcases focused on strengths and weaknesses. As somebody who isn't super active in the sm4sh scene, I found it very interesting to see what the characters experts felt was holding her back the most.

 

true combo

if you read their DI properly.

Then it's not true.

 

So apparently Samus only has 7 options...?

I don't get this at all. What techniques are even discussed here? There is no advanced tech noted at all, the closest is the bomb > charge shot shieldbreak setup. And I highly doubt Samus would only be using 7 moves to play neutral, regardless of MU.

My biggest issue, though, is the fact that's it's unclear what you're trying to do. Are you trying to showcase all of her options in a variety of situations? Then I'd have to point out you only brought up 7 moves. Is this supposed to showcase secret god tier Samus tech? All you had that was close was the shieldbreak setup (and that's actually fairly known iirc). Whatever it is you're trying to do, try doing it in more than 6 paragraphs. Yes, after taking the introductory and concluding fluff, all we're left with are 6 paragraphs of info describing moves; info that you'd more than likely find quickly and easily on the Samus boards, mind you.

Did I learn how to punish her or what she generally struggles against now? Will I, after reading this article, now know how to neutral as Samus? Is there counterplay to her neutral and punishes? Most of these are probably already found in the OP of this thread. When you make an article, you want to make sure you provide something new and/or un(der)explored or provide fresh insights on topics already known. I guess this is nice for people that wanted to somewhat increase their knowledge on a rarely played character and are too lazy to actually go the character board of that character (which is usually a treasure trove of knowledge, at least in the case of a game with a community as large as sm4sh's).

In short, the info and insights provided by this article could easily be gained (with some extra knowledge in all likelihood) by going through other, more expansive resources from the links in the link. You could argue that some of that is outdated but Izaw's Samus guide provides similar info and then some. Take this criticism however you want, in any case. Just my 2 cents.

 

Then it's not true.

It actually is. The opponent can reposition themselves a bit with DI while getting hit but otherwise it is unavoidable when executed correctly. On most characters at least.

 

Buffs and Nerfs -_-

 

Gud to see the weekly character showcase back ^_^ butt after tis recent break idk I expected a bite more..still cool 2 read! I jus feel lik the older versions where a slight better to look forward too...p.s. megaman!

 

power suit samus, dont you mean varia suit.

 

Like the mentions of her Dash Attack as her combo starter. Most people don't realize that Samus is also a combo heavy character, not just a zoning one.
Her triple aerial combo; Dash Attack > Uair > Uair > Screw Attack, is a true combo on most characters if you read their DI properly.

Having one 40 percent combo dosent make the character combo heavy.

 

Having one 40 percent combo dosent make the character combo heavy.

I don't think they had time to describe what is a very complex, technical character in this short segment, they DO know exactly what they're talking about.
Here is 2 hours of Samus combos, all tested with DI, SDI, airdodge, in and outside of training mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUrANmnrXwA

 

So apparently Samus only has 7 options...?

I don't get this at all. What techniques are even discussed here? There is no advanced tech noted at all, the closest is the bomb > charge shot shieldbreak setup. And I highly doubt Samus would only be using 7 moves to play neutral, regardless of MU.

My biggest issue, though, is the fact that's it's unclear what you're trying to do. Are you trying to showcase all of her options in a variety of situations? Then I'd have to point out you only brought up 7 moves. Is this supposed to showcase secret god tier Samus tech? All you had that was close was the shieldbreak setup (and that's actually fairly known iirc). Whatever it is you're trying to do, try doing it in more than 6 paragraphs. Yes, after taking the introductory and concluding fluff, all we're left with are 6 paragraphs of info describing moves; info that you'd more than likely find quickly and easily on the Samus boards, mind you.

Did I learn how to punish her or what she generally struggles against now? Will I, after reading this article, now know how to neutral as Samus? Is there counterplay to her neutral and punishes? Most of these are probably already found in the OP of this thread. When you make an article, you want to make sure you provide something new and/or un(der)explored or provide fresh insights on topics already known. I guess this is nice for people that wanted to somewhat increase their knowledge on a rarely played character and are too lazy to actually go the character board of that character (which is usually a treasure trove of knowledge, at least in the case of a game with a community as large as sm4sh's).

In short, the info and insights provided by this article could easily be gained (with some extra knowledge in all likelihood) by going through other, more expansive resources from the links in the link. You could argue that some of that is outdated but Izaw's Samus guide provides similar info and then some. Take this criticism however you want, in any case. Just my 2 cents.

I submitted a lengthy Google doc showcasing everything she had to offer for every move and situation. Sorry some stuff got cut and I appreciate your feedback

 

Having one 40 percent combo dosent make the character combo heavy.

There's much more, I merely listed one of her many possible combos and strings; Samus is very reliant on combos. DungeonMaster already addressed this for me anyways.

 

Here is 2 hours of Samus combos

made me laugh
yes it's just a two hour video of the same 40% combo (the only one Samus has) lmao /s

 

So apparently Samus only has 7 options...?

I don't get this at all. What techniques are even discussed here? There is no advanced tech noted at all, the closest is the bomb > charge shot shieldbreak setup. And I highly doubt Samus would only be using 7 moves to play neutral, regardless of MU.

My biggest issue, though, is the fact that's it's unclear what you're trying to do. Are you trying to showcase all of her options in a variety of situations? Then I'd have to point out you only brought up 7 moves. Is this supposed to showcase secret god tier Samus tech? All you had that was close was the shieldbreak setup (and that's actually fairly known iirc). Whatever it is you're trying to do, try doing it in more than 6 paragraphs. Yes, after taking the introductory and concluding fluff, all we're left with are 6 paragraphs of info describing moves; info that you'd more than likely find quickly and easily on the Samus boards, mind you.

Did I learn how to punish her or what she generally struggles against now? Will I, after reading this article, now know how to neutral as Samus? Is there counterplay to her neutral and punishes? Most of these are probably already found in the OP of this thread. When you make an article, you want to make sure you provide something new and/or un(der)explored or provide fresh insights on topics already known. I guess this is nice for people that wanted to somewhat increase their knowledge on a rarely played character and are too lazy to actually go the character board of that character (which is usually a treasure trove of knowledge, at least in the case of a game with a community as large as sm4sh's).

In short, the info and insights provided by this article could easily be gained (with some extra knowledge in all likelihood) by going through other, more expansive resources from the links in the link. You could argue that some of that is outdated but Izaw's Samus guide provides similar info and then some. Take this criticism however you want, in any case. Just my 2 cents.

I really apreciate feedback, so thanks. Indeed, I recieved a lot of data, and it was difficult to summarize that in an article. If you guys don't mind being it longer, then I'll go more in depth with this

 

Jonny westside up in dis

 

It actually is. The opponent can reposition themselves a bit with DI while getting hit but otherwise it is unavoidable when executed correctly. On most characters at least.

A combo is only true when it's guaranteed. If someone can DI, SDI, airdodge, shield, or take any option to avoid taking the entire combo's damage, it's not true.

 

A combo is only true when it's guaranteed. If someone can DI, SDI, airdodge, shield, or take any option to avoid taking the entire combo's damage, it's not true.

But if you can follow the foe's DI, then it is guaranteed.

 

But if you can follow the foe's DI, then it is guaranteed.

If you have to follow the DI, it's not guaranteed. Zero Suit's hoo-hah can be avoided at certain percents (I think all, at least by most characters) by DIing in a specific way. At those percents, it's not true because if the ZSS player misreads the DI, they will fail to land the uair.

 

I don't think they had time to describe what is a very complex, technical character in this short segment, they DO know exactly what they're talking about.
Here is 2 hours of Samus combos, all tested with DI, SDI, airdodge, in and outside of training mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUrANmnrXwA

yes, i understand that isn't her only combo and wasn't trying to imply that it was. Every character in every smash game has optimized damage through combos that are necessary to be played at high level. However, this does not make them all combo heavy. When you say combo heavy I assume you mean it is important to her game more so than it is to the average character. Sheik and ZSS for example simply cannot play the game without comboing the opponent, it is more important to them than it is to an average charcter. In short every character needs to use combos, but to be combo heavy it needs to be specifically important to your character. Samuses combos are just as practical, damaging, and important as most other characters in the game thus making her not combo heavy.
Sorry if my initial comment sounded as if it was trying to say samus cant or shouldnt try to combo, it wasn't and what I meant was that it isn't specifically important to samus in the way that projectile traps are specifically important to samus.

 

made me laugh
yes it's just a two hour video of the same 40% combo (the only one Samus has) lmao /s

So you obviously didn't watch the video, thereby having no clue about Samus's repertoire of combos and strings.

yes, i understand that isn't her only combo and wasn't trying to imply that it was. Every character in every smash game has optimized damage through combos that are necessary to be played at high level. However, this does not make them all combo heavy. When you say combo heavy I assume you mean it is important to her game more so than it is to the average character. Sheik and ZSS for example simply cannot play the game without comboing the opponent, it is more important to them than it is to an average charcter. In short every character needs to use combos, but to be combo heavy it needs to be specifically important to your character. Samuses combos are just as practical, damaging, and important as most other characters in the game thus making her not combo heavy.
Sorry if my initial comment sounded as if it was trying to say samus cant or shouldnt try to combo, it wasn't and what I meant was that it isn't specifically important to samus in the way that projectile traps are specifically important to samus

Semantics aside, I still have to disagree about that. Samus's combo game is very important since it's a huge part of her design as a fighter; it's just that her her prowess as a combo character is not as obvious as characters such as ZSS and Sheik, since most people see her as merely a Zoner type; and she is, but her combo game goes hand to hand with that aspect.

 

sorry for the double post.

 

So you obviously didn't watch the video, thereby having no clue about Samus's repertoire of combos and strings.

I was being sarcastic/mocking the guy DM replied to, hence the /s. And I've watched the video through multiple times because it's very advantageous for any Samus main to watch.

 

I was being sarcastic/mocking the guy DM replied to, hence the /s. And I've watched the video through multiple times because it's very advantageous for any Samus main to watch.

Ah, my apologies then.

 

Great information and gave me a few things to think about in regards to what Samus players like to go for.

Too bad Danish didn't get to place any input on this. I think he's got some knowledge bombs that new Samus players could use.

 

hey i am in fact the best samosa in the world. idk why no one asked to interview me...

 

hey i am in fact the best samosa in the world. idk why no one asked to interview me...

Any videos? I want to see what that looks like.

 

If I may bring up Samus' grab. Surprisingly, her grab - while the slowest from what I've heard - can be used in a way that appears as if it's one of the best. My brother gets annoyed by how well I use it. And no, it's not your simple projectile to grab, either. I've tested that Samus can grab her opponent right out of the air. I was able to do this consecutively against a CPU in Training Mode. While that, in and of itself, doesn't say much, it does help anyone who is interested in grabbing more because it'll teach them when to use it.