Okay... So, still crunching numbers for moves at the moment. I've got some good stuff so far. (Sorry it took so long... work sucks.)
Zero actually has one good setup for his kill moves! A short hopped Nair out of Side-B travels extremely close to the ground and auto-cancels if done correctly. Combined with the slide on the ground after landing, FSmash and DSmash follow up very well. The approach isn't punishable upon shield because of momentum transfer, but many characters have reliable methods of shutting down, or at least interrupting the Nair approach, so I would still not consider it over-powered. The ability to smash in any direction during the slide after Nair is great though.
Lucario - Double Team, Nair, Utilt (Perfectly Spaced)
Meta Knight - Tornado, Shuttle Loop, Nair (Above), Dair (Above), Glair
Marth - Parry, Dancing Blade, Dolphin Slash (Initial Invulnerability frames)
Samus - Zair, Nair
Bowser - Nair,
Falco - Shine Throw, Dair (Above), Laser
Luigi - Tornado, Bair (Perfectly Spaced)
Peach - Toad Shield
Yoshi - Bair, Dair
Ike - Bair, Parry
(I will increase this list as more testing takes place.)
Really, the incredible amount of Side-B shenanigans are what give Zero the edge to compete. I've been trying to catalogue them all as I find them. I know some of these techniques are known to the majority of Zero players, but i figured this would serve as good reference for those just picking him up.
AIR
- In the air, changing the length of the dash by holding back can be interrupted by immediately pressing forward again, giving back full dash momentum.
- Fast-fall out of dash is fairly self-explanatory, more useful to abort an attack and reset for
spacing than to attack with IMO. Also, Fast-falling the dash immediately after execution will send Zero up at a steep angle roughly a quarter the distance of Up-B. Great mind-game potential and gives even more range to his vertical recovery.
GROUND
- The Dash-Jump. Incredibly useful for a number of reasons. Short-hopping the Dash-Jump into Nair is Zero's best approach option by far. Also, because the Side-B was initiated on the ground, you save your aerial side-B in case something goes awry. Great for leaping out off of the stage for a gimp kill.
- The Crouch-Canceled Dash. Wavedash anyone? While not able to change direction at quite the same speed, the CC-Dash supplies an incredible level of possibility to the creative and technical player. CC-Dash into jab combo, any smash, any tilt, shield, spot dodge, grab, another Dash, etc... I've employed this technique in more recent match tests, and like the Wavedash, it has become a mainstay of my spacing game. The balancing factor for this tool is interesting - Zero doesn't have a dash-dance, making his ground spacing game dependent upon this technique. Sadly, this further takes away from the usefulness of the Boomerang Shield.
With these techniques in hand, I would really have to say my opinion regarding Zero's kill potential has changed. His Smash attacks are still not stellar in comparison to other characters in regards to BKB and KBG, but with the ability to chip away at the opponent the way he can, and these new setups for his kill moves, I feel that he can really contend with the higher tiers. Certain battles are definitely slanted in the opponents favor, but Zero is never really left in a situation where no options are viable, especially with tools like the Crouch-Canceled Dash.
The only moves I feel still need some degree of tweaking at this point are Dtilt and maybe some slight Boomerang Shield improvements. (Which are already being discussed, so I digress.)
I know this has already been discussed, but it really seems like the only way to seamlessly
integrate Ryuenjin and Raijingeki into Zero's game would be to have some kind of flag to switch between normal F/USmash and the Final Smash versions. The Boomerang Shield equip/unequip could function this way, but it does seem a tad illogical. It would however, give Zero two distinct attack modes. A mobile damage racking machine, and a defensive power-hitter.
EDIT: Next post will have some good hard numbers for Smash Attack kill percentages. I've finally got some help to test with and without DI, but if anyone has any numbers already, PM me.