pooch182
Smash Journeyman
Introduction
First and foremost, welcome to the Project M 3.5 guide for Samus! This guide is here to encompass all general aspects of Samus’ meta game, as well as delve into deeper, more advanced technical executions that are character specific to Samus. At the end of this guide, there will be a proper index providing links to external sources mentioned and used in the creation of this guide. As Project M is updated, so shall this guide, so it is subject to change. As of this edit, this guide is in version 1.0, and is in dire need of helpful .gifs and other information.
A few handy resources to have on hand while consulting this guide would be AuraMaudeGone's, "Samus Frame Data [3.5]" (1), which has very helpful information regarding the statistics of all of Samus’ moves in Melee. Of course, there is missing frame data because Project M has given Samus access to a different move set through Ice Beam. Another, more subjective resource to study is Pooch182’s “Match Ups| Samus General MU Discussion” (2). This is an ongoing thread that involves discussion about Samus match ups in Project M, and has the overall goal of exploring and expanding the meta game for Samus. All players are encouraged to ask questions and participate in this thread, as it is a great place to congregate as theory-crafters and spur on progress.
Character Design
Grounded Move-Set
Aerials
Special Attacks
Tether and Grabs
Crawl Mechanics
Shield
Index
First and foremost, welcome to the Project M 3.5 guide for Samus! This guide is here to encompass all general aspects of Samus’ meta game, as well as delve into deeper, more advanced technical executions that are character specific to Samus. At the end of this guide, there will be a proper index providing links to external sources mentioned and used in the creation of this guide. As Project M is updated, so shall this guide, so it is subject to change. As of this edit, this guide is in version 1.0, and is in dire need of helpful .gifs and other information.
A few handy resources to have on hand while consulting this guide would be AuraMaudeGone's, "Samus Frame Data [3.5]" (1), which has very helpful information regarding the statistics of all of Samus’ moves in Melee. Of course, there is missing frame data because Project M has given Samus access to a different move set through Ice Beam. Another, more subjective resource to study is Pooch182’s “Match Ups| Samus General MU Discussion” (2). This is an ongoing thread that involves discussion about Samus match ups in Project M, and has the overall goal of exploring and expanding the meta game for Samus. All players are encouraged to ask questions and participate in this thread, as it is a great place to congregate as theory-crafters and spur on progress.
Character Design
Samus is a very interesting character in how she has been designed. A good way to describe how she is played is to say that she’s a ground-based zoner with high weight and low gravity. Breaking down this statement reveals that Samus’ move set favors her grounded moves over her aerials, and that she is very spacing oriented, using her projectiles and long ranged ground attacks to harass the opponent safely.
Her high weight refers to how far she travels horizontally when launched, and to a lesser extent, vertically. The heavier a character, the shorter the distance they will move when hit by a strong attack. Being that Samus is tied for fifth heaviest in Project M, she tends to live incredibly long when being launched horizontally.
In addition to being very heavy, Samus has a very low gravity, which is sometimes known as being a “floaty” character. Samus’ fall-speed is the second to last highest on the roster, meaning she will be launched much further vertically than most characters. One of the biggest reasons she is considered a ground based character is the height of her short hop. Samus achieves the highest vertical off of her short hop, which isn’t ideal for competitive play, but it does allow for some special advanced techniques that are specific to Samus.
This unique combination of heavy and floaty means that Samus tends to favor stages with high ceilings and large blast zones, such as Dreamland. Of course, personal preference always comes into play, as does platform heights for the aforementioned specific advanced techniques that Samus can perform on select stages.
Samus also has an incredible crouch canceling game, which allows for her to significantly reduce the knockback of any non-grab attack she is hit with. Also, due to dual stick DI being a feature in Project M, anytime a character is hit while crouch canceling, said character will also ASDI downwards, further increasing the effectiveness of crouch canceling.
Her high weight refers to how far she travels horizontally when launched, and to a lesser extent, vertically. The heavier a character, the shorter the distance they will move when hit by a strong attack. Being that Samus is tied for fifth heaviest in Project M, she tends to live incredibly long when being launched horizontally.
In addition to being very heavy, Samus has a very low gravity, which is sometimes known as being a “floaty” character. Samus’ fall-speed is the second to last highest on the roster, meaning she will be launched much further vertically than most characters. One of the biggest reasons she is considered a ground based character is the height of her short hop. Samus achieves the highest vertical off of her short hop, which isn’t ideal for competitive play, but it does allow for some special advanced techniques that are specific to Samus.
This unique combination of heavy and floaty means that Samus tends to favor stages with high ceilings and large blast zones, such as Dreamland. Of course, personal preference always comes into play, as does platform heights for the aforementioned specific advanced techniques that Samus can perform on select stages.
Samus also has an incredible crouch canceling game, which allows for her to significantly reduce the knockback of any non-grab attack she is hit with. Also, due to dual stick DI being a feature in Project M, anytime a character is hit while crouch canceling, said character will also ASDI downwards, further increasing the effectiveness of crouch canceling.
Grounded Move-Set
Jab:
Samus has a relatively fast jab that is very good for harassing the opponent and then quickly moving out of their space to avoid counter-attacking. This jab is benefitted heavily by a technique known as jab canceling (3), which allows for jab1 to be thrown consistently, a great means of pressuring shield for short periods of time.
Jab2:
If you input another jab during Samus’ animation of jab1 without jab canceling, Samus will follow up her initial jab with an overhead swing of her cannon. While this may come out relatively quickly to follow up the initial jab, there are far better options to punish a dropped shield. That being said, it can catch the opponent off guard if used sparingly. The idea is to jab cancel on shield and then punish a dropped shield with a down-tilt or down-smash, but jab2 can be useful in tacking on quick damage and knocking the opponent away at higher percents.
Forward Tilt:
F-tilt comes out very quickly, and has an incredible reach. This is the best tool for spacing in the neutral when dealing with the opponent from a range where projectiles are less than ideal. Similar to jab in its utility as a harassing move, F-tilt just has better range and is better when dealing with characters who can punish poor spacing on shield. Furthermore, the ability to angle forward tilt upwards and downwards increases its potency for shield poking tall characters and edge-guarding, respectively.
Down Tilt:
It is very important to note that this is a beam move (4) for Samus. What this means, is that Samus will have different behaviors for her down-tilt depending on which beam mode she is in. Plasma beam is widely considered the more useful/applicable beam for down-tilt. In plasma mode, Samus will create a small explosion in front of her, which will pop the opponent up, should they be caught in the relatively small blast radius created. This is a great move for setting up a juggle, and it can shield poke if the opponent has exposed feet/legs due to poor shield angling.
Ice beam results in a totally different move. When Samus down-tilts with ice mode, she’ll create a similar explosion as the plasma beam, but all effects are ice-based, as opposed to fire. The angle the opponent is launched is much more horizontal, which doesn’t lead to anywhere near as many follow ups, and is considered more of a tool for edge-guarding. That being said, it is interesting to note that ice down-tilt will do residual damage, which has no BKB stats and is an after effect of down-tilt.
Up Tilt:
This is one of Samus’ best tools for edge-guarding low recoveries and recoveries that go directly in toward the stage. While it is relatively slow on start-up, it’s a devastating move that launches the opponent at a horizontal angle. If landed on a grounded opponent, the move behaves differently, acting more as a meteor and ground-bouncing the opponent as opposed to sending them outwards. An important thing to note about using this move against characters with very linear recoveries (Falcon, Ganon, etc.), using up-tilt against their recovery at lower percentages will let them DI upwards enough to mix up their recovery. Use down-angled F-tilt and jab at early percents, as it is harder to SDI and DI them enough to have other options of recovery.
Forward Smash:
Another beam move with incredibly different properties. Both animations are similar, with Samus thrusting her cannon forward as a very hard punch. With plasma beam, she’ll create a small explosion in combination with this punch, extending its range beyond the arm cannon itself, and sending the opponent very far outwards with high BKB and KBG. In ice mode, the move stays out longer, and instead of an explosion, she’ll create a block of ice all over her arm, which counts as the initial hit, and then said ice will shatter, creating a second hitbox. Previously, the second hitbox would pop the opponent up marginally, but it has since been altered to freeze the opponent, similar to how Ice Climbers’ Blizzard move functions. The BKB on this move is much less impressive than the plasma version, and the angle it sends the opponent is less than optimal, but it has potential use on shield due to its staggered hitboxes, and can be an excellent punish against a read spot dodge.
Down Smash:
This is a classic move that has been a part of the Samus meta for many years. When input, Samus will crouch low and do a long reaching, sweeping motion with her leg. This move has two separate hitboxes, with the initial starting in front of her and being the stronger of the hitboxes. This hitbox launches the opponent behind Samus and turns them around. The second hitbox reaches behind her, and while being weaker, can be used to set up for a combo due to the direction it launches the opponent. When hit with the second hitbox, the opponent will not go as far, and will be launched much more vertically than the initial hitbox. Sometimes, if an opponent spaces against this move poorly, both the initial and secondary hitbox can connect, especially if the opponent is crouch canceling. This can be likened to the multi-hit down smashes like Peach and ROB have, and not only does it rack up significant damage, but it also sets up for immediate follow ups.
Up Smash:
Once again, this is a beam move. Not only are the behaviors of the move drastically different, but so are the animations themselves. In plasma mode, Samus will reach over her head in an arcing fashion, starting in front of her body and ending behind her. This is a multi-hit move that carries the opponent through each hitbox, inevitably leading to the final hitbox, which is the most potent in terms of knockback. One application behind this move is for sheild pokes with jump cancel, or possible DACUS when you are perfectly back to back against an opponent in shield when the up smash begins. Each multihit will keep them in shield long enough for the next to make contact, and any OoS option will either clank or lose to the other hits, then keeping them in hitstun until the last hit connects, or back to neutral. The final hit comes out with them locked in shield for the duration, and it can shield poke taller characters.
Ice up-smash is a very high reaching attack that does a lot of knockback. Samus will reach down low and do a crouching uppercut that reaches well above the bottom platforms on Dreamland. This means that Samus can cover recoveries to platform and deal with circle-camping opponents. Both up-smashes have a very long cool-down time, so these are to be used sparingly, as they can be punished very hard if baited out.
Samus has a relatively fast jab that is very good for harassing the opponent and then quickly moving out of their space to avoid counter-attacking. This jab is benefitted heavily by a technique known as jab canceling (3), which allows for jab1 to be thrown consistently, a great means of pressuring shield for short periods of time.
Jab2:
If you input another jab during Samus’ animation of jab1 without jab canceling, Samus will follow up her initial jab with an overhead swing of her cannon. While this may come out relatively quickly to follow up the initial jab, there are far better options to punish a dropped shield. That being said, it can catch the opponent off guard if used sparingly. The idea is to jab cancel on shield and then punish a dropped shield with a down-tilt or down-smash, but jab2 can be useful in tacking on quick damage and knocking the opponent away at higher percents.
Forward Tilt:
F-tilt comes out very quickly, and has an incredible reach. This is the best tool for spacing in the neutral when dealing with the opponent from a range where projectiles are less than ideal. Similar to jab in its utility as a harassing move, F-tilt just has better range and is better when dealing with characters who can punish poor spacing on shield. Furthermore, the ability to angle forward tilt upwards and downwards increases its potency for shield poking tall characters and edge-guarding, respectively.
Down Tilt:
It is very important to note that this is a beam move (4) for Samus. What this means, is that Samus will have different behaviors for her down-tilt depending on which beam mode she is in. Plasma beam is widely considered the more useful/applicable beam for down-tilt. In plasma mode, Samus will create a small explosion in front of her, which will pop the opponent up, should they be caught in the relatively small blast radius created. This is a great move for setting up a juggle, and it can shield poke if the opponent has exposed feet/legs due to poor shield angling.
Ice beam results in a totally different move. When Samus down-tilts with ice mode, she’ll create a similar explosion as the plasma beam, but all effects are ice-based, as opposed to fire. The angle the opponent is launched is much more horizontal, which doesn’t lead to anywhere near as many follow ups, and is considered more of a tool for edge-guarding. That being said, it is interesting to note that ice down-tilt will do residual damage, which has no BKB stats and is an after effect of down-tilt.
Up Tilt:
This is one of Samus’ best tools for edge-guarding low recoveries and recoveries that go directly in toward the stage. While it is relatively slow on start-up, it’s a devastating move that launches the opponent at a horizontal angle. If landed on a grounded opponent, the move behaves differently, acting more as a meteor and ground-bouncing the opponent as opposed to sending them outwards. An important thing to note about using this move against characters with very linear recoveries (Falcon, Ganon, etc.), using up-tilt against their recovery at lower percentages will let them DI upwards enough to mix up their recovery. Use down-angled F-tilt and jab at early percents, as it is harder to SDI and DI them enough to have other options of recovery.
Forward Smash:
Another beam move with incredibly different properties. Both animations are similar, with Samus thrusting her cannon forward as a very hard punch. With plasma beam, she’ll create a small explosion in combination with this punch, extending its range beyond the arm cannon itself, and sending the opponent very far outwards with high BKB and KBG. In ice mode, the move stays out longer, and instead of an explosion, she’ll create a block of ice all over her arm, which counts as the initial hit, and then said ice will shatter, creating a second hitbox. Previously, the second hitbox would pop the opponent up marginally, but it has since been altered to freeze the opponent, similar to how Ice Climbers’ Blizzard move functions. The BKB on this move is much less impressive than the plasma version, and the angle it sends the opponent is less than optimal, but it has potential use on shield due to its staggered hitboxes, and can be an excellent punish against a read spot dodge.
Down Smash:
This is a classic move that has been a part of the Samus meta for many years. When input, Samus will crouch low and do a long reaching, sweeping motion with her leg. This move has two separate hitboxes, with the initial starting in front of her and being the stronger of the hitboxes. This hitbox launches the opponent behind Samus and turns them around. The second hitbox reaches behind her, and while being weaker, can be used to set up for a combo due to the direction it launches the opponent. When hit with the second hitbox, the opponent will not go as far, and will be launched much more vertically than the initial hitbox. Sometimes, if an opponent spaces against this move poorly, both the initial and secondary hitbox can connect, especially if the opponent is crouch canceling. This can be likened to the multi-hit down smashes like Peach and ROB have, and not only does it rack up significant damage, but it also sets up for immediate follow ups.
Up Smash:
Once again, this is a beam move. Not only are the behaviors of the move drastically different, but so are the animations themselves. In plasma mode, Samus will reach over her head in an arcing fashion, starting in front of her body and ending behind her. This is a multi-hit move that carries the opponent through each hitbox, inevitably leading to the final hitbox, which is the most potent in terms of knockback. One application behind this move is for sheild pokes with jump cancel, or possible DACUS when you are perfectly back to back against an opponent in shield when the up smash begins. Each multihit will keep them in shield long enough for the next to make contact, and any OoS option will either clank or lose to the other hits, then keeping them in hitstun until the last hit connects, or back to neutral. The final hit comes out with them locked in shield for the duration, and it can shield poke taller characters.
Ice up-smash is a very high reaching attack that does a lot of knockback. Samus will reach down low and do a crouching uppercut that reaches well above the bottom platforms on Dreamland. This means that Samus can cover recoveries to platform and deal with circle-camping opponents. Both up-smashes have a very long cool-down time, so these are to be used sparingly, as they can be punished very hard if baited out.
Aerials
Neutral Air:
This move is a classic example of a sex kick. Samus extends her leg straight out in front of her, leaving a hitbox out for a relatively long period of time. The move will weaken as it stays out longer, so it’s important to factor this in when following up on an opponent. While it isn’t the strongest of moves, it comes out very fast and reaches very far, so it’s a great tool for following up quickly on an opponent after hitting them, or just as an emergency move that comes out to stuff any follow ups your opponent over-extends for. It is important to note that coming down on an opponent with this move is often ineffective, due to the positioning of the hitboxes poorly covering below Samus.
Forward Air:
Another beam move with varying applications and behaviors. Plasma F-air will make Samus do a similar arcing motion as plasma up-smash, except the arc is in front of her as opposed to over her head. 5 different hitboxes come out in the form of fire bursts. If every hitbox connects, the opponent will receive 25 percent of damage, which isn’t a negligible amount by any means. This move is great for tech chasing an opponent on a platform. Due to its duration and only frontal coverage, this can be considered the more punishable f-air if baited or avoided. Since 3.0, the knockback of this move has been lessened, which allows it to be better utilized as a continuation for a combo, keeping the opponent closer so that Samus may string another move immediately after.
Ice F-air is a similar arcing motion, but is a single hitbox as opposed to multiple. There is far more BKB on this move, and it sends at an angle similar to Sheik’s forward air. This is a great finishing move for a combo, and is extremely effective against floatier opponents. In fact, it’s one of the safest follow ups on floaties after down throw, other than reading their DI and covering with charge shot.
Back Air:
Similar in range to neutral air, this move instead reaches behind Samus and has different properties for its hitboxes. The sweet spot of this move can be found in Samus’ foot, and it’s much more powerful in terms of BKB and KBG than the sour spot found in the rest of her leg. This move is much more dependent on spacing than it is timing, so it’s important to practice follow ups into sweet spot B-air. That being said, the hitbox is not active for very long, so spacing needs to be done before throwing the move out.
Down Air:
This is a relatively clunky, yet powerful downwards swipe of Samus’ arm cannon. With relatively slow start up, this move isn’t necessarily meant to be used in the neutral game. It is, however, a very powerful meteor, and an excellent means of punishing your opponent if you’re above them. Combined with a well-timed fast fall, it’s possible to mix up where Samus will be placing the hitbox on the opponent (on top of their shield, or an early FF to try and punish a counter attack).
Up Air:
Samus does an upwards drill kick with multiple light hits and a stronger end hitbox. This move comes out very fast, and can be used to combat an opponent coming down above you, barring opponents with disjoints like swordsmen. Due to the positioning of Samus’ bones, doing this move from the ledge can result in an aerial interrupt (5).
The speed at which this move comes out also allows it to be an excellent move to continue combos. SHFFLing an up-air can lead to follow ups such as down-smash, f-air, missile, or even charge shot. If already in an aerial combo, this move chains nicely into forward air, which, if plasma beam is active, can chain back into up air. With poor DI from the opponent, this combination can rack up damage very quickly. Note that the last hit on this move has considerably more knockback and priority than the rest of the hits prior.
This move is a classic example of a sex kick. Samus extends her leg straight out in front of her, leaving a hitbox out for a relatively long period of time. The move will weaken as it stays out longer, so it’s important to factor this in when following up on an opponent. While it isn’t the strongest of moves, it comes out very fast and reaches very far, so it’s a great tool for following up quickly on an opponent after hitting them, or just as an emergency move that comes out to stuff any follow ups your opponent over-extends for. It is important to note that coming down on an opponent with this move is often ineffective, due to the positioning of the hitboxes poorly covering below Samus.
Forward Air:
Another beam move with varying applications and behaviors. Plasma F-air will make Samus do a similar arcing motion as plasma up-smash, except the arc is in front of her as opposed to over her head. 5 different hitboxes come out in the form of fire bursts. If every hitbox connects, the opponent will receive 25 percent of damage, which isn’t a negligible amount by any means. This move is great for tech chasing an opponent on a platform. Due to its duration and only frontal coverage, this can be considered the more punishable f-air if baited or avoided. Since 3.0, the knockback of this move has been lessened, which allows it to be better utilized as a continuation for a combo, keeping the opponent closer so that Samus may string another move immediately after.
Ice F-air is a similar arcing motion, but is a single hitbox as opposed to multiple. There is far more BKB on this move, and it sends at an angle similar to Sheik’s forward air. This is a great finishing move for a combo, and is extremely effective against floatier opponents. In fact, it’s one of the safest follow ups on floaties after down throw, other than reading their DI and covering with charge shot.
Back Air:
Similar in range to neutral air, this move instead reaches behind Samus and has different properties for its hitboxes. The sweet spot of this move can be found in Samus’ foot, and it’s much more powerful in terms of BKB and KBG than the sour spot found in the rest of her leg. This move is much more dependent on spacing than it is timing, so it’s important to practice follow ups into sweet spot B-air. That being said, the hitbox is not active for very long, so spacing needs to be done before throwing the move out.
Down Air:
This is a relatively clunky, yet powerful downwards swipe of Samus’ arm cannon. With relatively slow start up, this move isn’t necessarily meant to be used in the neutral game. It is, however, a very powerful meteor, and an excellent means of punishing your opponent if you’re above them. Combined with a well-timed fast fall, it’s possible to mix up where Samus will be placing the hitbox on the opponent (on top of their shield, or an early FF to try and punish a counter attack).
Up Air:
Samus does an upwards drill kick with multiple light hits and a stronger end hitbox. This move comes out very fast, and can be used to combat an opponent coming down above you, barring opponents with disjoints like swordsmen. Due to the positioning of Samus’ bones, doing this move from the ledge can result in an aerial interrupt (5).
The speed at which this move comes out also allows it to be an excellent move to continue combos. SHFFLing an up-air can lead to follow ups such as down-smash, f-air, missile, or even charge shot. If already in an aerial combo, this move chains nicely into forward air, which, if plasma beam is active, can chain back into up air. With poor DI from the opponent, this combination can rack up damage very quickly. Note that the last hit on this move has considerably more knockback and priority than the rest of the hits prior.
Special Attacks
Neutral B:
Samus will begin to charge her main beam. At any point before reaching full charge, it is possible to input B once more to shoot the projectile in a weaker, smaller state. The charging animation can be ceased at any time through inputting an action to either roll or shield. Rolling will result in an instant cancellation and storage of beam in it’s current charge state, while shielding takes a few more frames to come out. An important thing to note with Samus in Project M, is that she is capable of charging her beam whilst airborne, something not possible in previous iterations of Smash. Combining this technique with B-reversals (6) and B-turnarounds (7) allow for great mix ups, some of which are specific just to Samus. It is again possible to cancel the charge even while airborne, through pressing one of the shoulder buttons.
Side B:
Samus will shoot one of two different missiles from her arm cannon. If the input is read as a smash input, the missile will be considered a “Power Missile” and will shoot straight forward at a relatively fast pace. If the input is read as a tilt input, the missile will be considered a “Homing Missile” and will follow the nearest opponent (or teammate if friendly fire is on) at a slow pace. Power Missiles will do more percentage and knockback.
Missiles are another beam specific move, and the changes between plasma and ice missiles are rather drastic. Plasma Power Missiles will come out slower than ice Power Missiles, but will accelerate to an overall higher speed, whereas ice Power Missiles maintain a steady rate of speed. Ice Homing Missiles will never self-destruct, so long as they don’t touch an opponent or the stage, where plasma Homing Missiles will self-destruct with no hitbox after a certain amount of time. Furthermore, only three missiles, per Samus in play, can be on screen at any given time.
Missiles are a huge part of Samus’ meta game, and it’s important to master the techniques of missile canceling (8), full hop double missiling, and Hylian Low Riders (9), and just get a general feel for how missiles function in the neutral game and as edge-guarding tools.
Down B:
Samus will drop a bomb while in her morph-ball state. Bombs are a very interesting piece of Samus’ kit. While not always being the best option, bombs can be amazing when needing to cover linear space, and can be an excellent mix up on shield. Upon bombing the opponents shield, often times this will cause Samus to immediately bomb-jump, making her airborne. At this point, it is possible to bomb shield, forcing the opponent to drop shield, and then neutral air them while vulnerable.
If there is a scenario where, after bombing the opponents shield, it is seen as unfavorable to make an offensive play from the air, there is a technique known as wavebombing. Essentially, wavebombing is performing a waveland after bomb-jumping. This allows for quick repositioning to avoid a counter attack of any sort, and allows for a possible follow up from the ground, as opposed to throwing an aerial.
Bombs are also a huge part of Samus’ recovery. If timed well, it is possible to lay a bomb while airborne, and then lay another bomb, which will stall your descent and drop you into the blast of the initial bomb, launching you upwards and forwards (angle and forward range all depends on Samus’ positioning prior to the explosion). This technique is known as a bomb jump (10).
Up B:
Samus will perform a Screw Attack, a classic move from the Metroid series, where she launches upwards in a ball of electricity. Her Screw Attack is an incredible out of shield option, as it has an invincible startup, and bounces the opponent into the rest of the attack with its multiple hitboxes. In addition to being amazing when used out of shield, it’s also quite potent when used against an opponent’s shield. The multiple, sporadic hitboxes of Screw Attack can often times lead to a shield poke, and drag the opponent up into the rest of the attack. An important thing to note is that if activated aerially, the number of invincible frames is less than when activated while grounded. With good SDI, it is possible to escape a Screw Attack, so it’s a good idea to have a platform nearby to mix up the recovery after being sent into special fall at the move’s end. The move also functions as an excellent anti-air move, so long as it is properly timed.
Due to the changes regarding the function of tether in Samus’ recovery, knowing how to sweetspot the ledge with Screw Attack is more important than ever.
Samus will begin to charge her main beam. At any point before reaching full charge, it is possible to input B once more to shoot the projectile in a weaker, smaller state. The charging animation can be ceased at any time through inputting an action to either roll or shield. Rolling will result in an instant cancellation and storage of beam in it’s current charge state, while shielding takes a few more frames to come out. An important thing to note with Samus in Project M, is that she is capable of charging her beam whilst airborne, something not possible in previous iterations of Smash. Combining this technique with B-reversals (6) and B-turnarounds (7) allow for great mix ups, some of which are specific just to Samus. It is again possible to cancel the charge even while airborne, through pressing one of the shoulder buttons.
Side B:
Samus will shoot one of two different missiles from her arm cannon. If the input is read as a smash input, the missile will be considered a “Power Missile” and will shoot straight forward at a relatively fast pace. If the input is read as a tilt input, the missile will be considered a “Homing Missile” and will follow the nearest opponent (or teammate if friendly fire is on) at a slow pace. Power Missiles will do more percentage and knockback.
Missiles are another beam specific move, and the changes between plasma and ice missiles are rather drastic. Plasma Power Missiles will come out slower than ice Power Missiles, but will accelerate to an overall higher speed, whereas ice Power Missiles maintain a steady rate of speed. Ice Homing Missiles will never self-destruct, so long as they don’t touch an opponent or the stage, where plasma Homing Missiles will self-destruct with no hitbox after a certain amount of time. Furthermore, only three missiles, per Samus in play, can be on screen at any given time.
Missiles are a huge part of Samus’ meta game, and it’s important to master the techniques of missile canceling (8), full hop double missiling, and Hylian Low Riders (9), and just get a general feel for how missiles function in the neutral game and as edge-guarding tools.
Down B:
Samus will drop a bomb while in her morph-ball state. Bombs are a very interesting piece of Samus’ kit. While not always being the best option, bombs can be amazing when needing to cover linear space, and can be an excellent mix up on shield. Upon bombing the opponents shield, often times this will cause Samus to immediately bomb-jump, making her airborne. At this point, it is possible to bomb shield, forcing the opponent to drop shield, and then neutral air them while vulnerable.
If there is a scenario where, after bombing the opponents shield, it is seen as unfavorable to make an offensive play from the air, there is a technique known as wavebombing. Essentially, wavebombing is performing a waveland after bomb-jumping. This allows for quick repositioning to avoid a counter attack of any sort, and allows for a possible follow up from the ground, as opposed to throwing an aerial.
Bombs are also a huge part of Samus’ recovery. If timed well, it is possible to lay a bomb while airborne, and then lay another bomb, which will stall your descent and drop you into the blast of the initial bomb, launching you upwards and forwards (angle and forward range all depends on Samus’ positioning prior to the explosion). This technique is known as a bomb jump (10).
Up B:
Samus will perform a Screw Attack, a classic move from the Metroid series, where she launches upwards in a ball of electricity. Her Screw Attack is an incredible out of shield option, as it has an invincible startup, and bounces the opponent into the rest of the attack with its multiple hitboxes. In addition to being amazing when used out of shield, it’s also quite potent when used against an opponent’s shield. The multiple, sporadic hitboxes of Screw Attack can often times lead to a shield poke, and drag the opponent up into the rest of the attack. An important thing to note is that if activated aerially, the number of invincible frames is less than when activated while grounded. With good SDI, it is possible to escape a Screw Attack, so it’s a good idea to have a platform nearby to mix up the recovery after being sent into special fall at the move’s end. The move also functions as an excellent anti-air move, so long as it is properly timed.
Due to the changes regarding the function of tether in Samus’ recovery, knowing how to sweetspot the ledge with Screw Attack is more important than ever.
Tether and Grabs
Samus is a special character in that she has use of her grapple beam, a tethering move that is only offered to a select few characters on the Smash roster. In Project M, this tether has a plethora of applications, which will be covered in this section.
First and foremost, grapple beam is Samus’ method of grabbing. Because of its outstanding range, her grab has relatively slow startup and stays out for a long while, while not necessarily having an active grab box during the later parts of the animation. Samus is an interesting character in that, unlike most characters, it’s a better choice to dash grab instead of jump cancel grab or perform a standing grab in general. This is because, when comparing frame data between her standing grab and her dash grab, its actually her dash grab that has a farther reach AND a shorter cool down, making it, overall, a safer choice.
Once Samus has grabbed the opponent, she has five options to choose from. By inputting a normal attack, Samus will initiate a pummel, doing 1-2% of damage with each hit. Outside of the pummel, there are four different types of throws available for use, up, down, forward, and back throw.
Up throw is useful primarily against fast falling characters, and can lead to many combos at mid percents. Having charge shot can be devastating after an up-throw against a fast faller, as it covers basically every single option, and it does massive damage for free. Even without charge shot, Samus has enough tools to cover basically every DI option that a fast faller has out of up throw.
Down throw is often times considered the go-to throw when unfamiliar with a situation. In ice mode, down throw can lead to up smash or forward air against floaty characters, which is a huge boon. Normally, there is no follow up on floaties, because they go too high to effectively combo out of a throw, unless Samus has a full charge shot to cover the DI options.
Forward throw is a simple throw. Samus whips her grapple forward, launching the opponent horizontally in front of her. More often than not, this throw is used as a very quick option to get the opponent off stage to be finished off by edge guarding.
Back throw is essentially the same throw as forward throw, but behind Samus instead of in front. Again, the most useful application is its ability to quickly get the opponent off stage.
Technically, there is a sixth option, which would be to just grab release. Considering the lack of options to follow up from this option, it can be considered an insignificant option, and should not be chosen as a means of starting up a combo.
In addition to being able to grab opponents, Samus can also latch onto the ledge of the stage, provided that she isn’t too close or too far from the ledge for her grapple beam to reach. In previous iterations of Project M, all tether characters with a tether were able to latch onto the ledge up to three times without touching the stage to refresh the tether. Currently, Z based tethers are given only one chance to tether, so it’s important to be careful and clever when opting to tether the ledge. Not only has the number of tethers been decreased, but the duration of the animation of reeling in the grapple after latching has been lengthened, thus increasing the time of vulnerability reeling in to the ledge. What was once the undeniably best option for recovery, tethering now leaves Samus incredibly vulnerable once committed, as she is easily punished if the opponent is in a position to hold ledge before Samus can reel to it. Performing techniques like rising grapples (11) can provide a decent mix up to make recovering a bit easier.
There is one more commonly used application of the grapple beam, and it’s using it as an attack. Whilst airborne and not facing a ledge, if a tether input is read, Samus will launch out her grapple beam straight in front of her. Combining this with an air-dodge allows for a solid zoning tool that outranges most attacks, is intangible, and has the same priority as a Falco laser. The difference between this move, which is known as a Z-air, and a Falco laser, is that Z-air actually goes through most projectiles. While Z-air works wonderfully at maintaining solid spacing from mid-range, it does no shield stun, meaning that if it is shielded, your opponent can act immediately out of shield to approach/punish. An important thing to note about Z-air in it’s current, 3.5, form, is that it has had it’s hitstun drastically reduced, meaning that it is far less effective of a tool for zoning than it once was, but it now serves as a jab reset, if ever needed.
First and foremost, grapple beam is Samus’ method of grabbing. Because of its outstanding range, her grab has relatively slow startup and stays out for a long while, while not necessarily having an active grab box during the later parts of the animation. Samus is an interesting character in that, unlike most characters, it’s a better choice to dash grab instead of jump cancel grab or perform a standing grab in general. This is because, when comparing frame data between her standing grab and her dash grab, its actually her dash grab that has a farther reach AND a shorter cool down, making it, overall, a safer choice.
Once Samus has grabbed the opponent, she has five options to choose from. By inputting a normal attack, Samus will initiate a pummel, doing 1-2% of damage with each hit. Outside of the pummel, there are four different types of throws available for use, up, down, forward, and back throw.
Up throw is useful primarily against fast falling characters, and can lead to many combos at mid percents. Having charge shot can be devastating after an up-throw against a fast faller, as it covers basically every single option, and it does massive damage for free. Even without charge shot, Samus has enough tools to cover basically every DI option that a fast faller has out of up throw.
Down throw is often times considered the go-to throw when unfamiliar with a situation. In ice mode, down throw can lead to up smash or forward air against floaty characters, which is a huge boon. Normally, there is no follow up on floaties, because they go too high to effectively combo out of a throw, unless Samus has a full charge shot to cover the DI options.
Forward throw is a simple throw. Samus whips her grapple forward, launching the opponent horizontally in front of her. More often than not, this throw is used as a very quick option to get the opponent off stage to be finished off by edge guarding.
Back throw is essentially the same throw as forward throw, but behind Samus instead of in front. Again, the most useful application is its ability to quickly get the opponent off stage.
Technically, there is a sixth option, which would be to just grab release. Considering the lack of options to follow up from this option, it can be considered an insignificant option, and should not be chosen as a means of starting up a combo.
In addition to being able to grab opponents, Samus can also latch onto the ledge of the stage, provided that she isn’t too close or too far from the ledge for her grapple beam to reach. In previous iterations of Project M, all tether characters with a tether were able to latch onto the ledge up to three times without touching the stage to refresh the tether. Currently, Z based tethers are given only one chance to tether, so it’s important to be careful and clever when opting to tether the ledge. Not only has the number of tethers been decreased, but the duration of the animation of reeling in the grapple after latching has been lengthened, thus increasing the time of vulnerability reeling in to the ledge. What was once the undeniably best option for recovery, tethering now leaves Samus incredibly vulnerable once committed, as she is easily punished if the opponent is in a position to hold ledge before Samus can reel to it. Performing techniques like rising grapples (11) can provide a decent mix up to make recovering a bit easier.
There is one more commonly used application of the grapple beam, and it’s using it as an attack. Whilst airborne and not facing a ledge, if a tether input is read, Samus will launch out her grapple beam straight in front of her. Combining this with an air-dodge allows for a solid zoning tool that outranges most attacks, is intangible, and has the same priority as a Falco laser. The difference between this move, which is known as a Z-air, and a Falco laser, is that Z-air actually goes through most projectiles. While Z-air works wonderfully at maintaining solid spacing from mid-range, it does no shield stun, meaning that if it is shielded, your opponent can act immediately out of shield to approach/punish. An important thing to note about Z-air in it’s current, 3.5, form, is that it has had it’s hitstun drastically reduced, meaning that it is far less effective of a tool for zoning than it once was, but it now serves as a jab reset, if ever needed.
Crawl Mechanics
A recent addition to Samus’ kit is her ability to crawl. This crawl is actually her old roll animation repurposed to have free range of motion while remaining in morph ball indefinitely. This opens up a lot of new options against many characters for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason, or rather the smallest, is the drastic reduction in the size of Samus’ hurtbox while in morph ball. It is incredibly difficult for characters with projectiles to properly zone against such a low hurtbox, especially when most projectiles that travel at non-horizontal angles that can better cover morph ball, can be clanked with by a simple boost ball.
A boost ball is Samus’ crawling attack. While moving forward in morph ball, by pressing A, Samus will glow and dash forward a short distance. As previously mentioned, this move is capable of clanking with several projectiles, as well as many attacks. Not only this, but it remains active while passing through a shield. When spaced properly, boost balling through a shield gives phenomenal positional advantage, putting Samus behind her opponent and allowing her to act out of crawl almost instantly.
It is possible to boost ball while facing away from the stage and lock Samus in place right at the edge of the stage without falling off. Doing this while constantly boost balling puts a hitbox at the ledge, and can be used to punish characters recovering from underneath the stage. It is also possible to just crawl off the ledge and enter a free-fall. This can be a useful tool for quickly leaving the stage to cover an opponent’s recovery with a drop-zone Nair or similar edge guard.
While traveling backwards, if an attack is input, it will be read as a down-tilt. Using crawl to retreat can be very effective, and having down-tilt available out of backwards crawl means over-aggressive opponents can be punished for pursuing to closely. Also, when traveling backwards into the ledge, Samus will again lock in place, forever rolling in place. When the control stick is returned to neutral, Samus will return to standing position and drop to the ledge. While this isn’t the fastest method of grabbing the ledge, it’s a good way of threatening a recovering opponent’s options. Holding shield during this will make you do a backwards tumble, which will grab ledge faster, and flicking down during the tumble animation and returning the stick to neutral will make you grab the ledge even faster because you fast fell to the ledge.
It has been discovered that by entering crawl and then returning to a neutral standing position, Samus will actually move forward slightly. A technique called Mach Balling (12) can be used to travel extremely quickly, albeit the input is very awkward to perform without having a reverse-claw style of controller hold.
A boost ball is Samus’ crawling attack. While moving forward in morph ball, by pressing A, Samus will glow and dash forward a short distance. As previously mentioned, this move is capable of clanking with several projectiles, as well as many attacks. Not only this, but it remains active while passing through a shield. When spaced properly, boost balling through a shield gives phenomenal positional advantage, putting Samus behind her opponent and allowing her to act out of crawl almost instantly.
It is possible to boost ball while facing away from the stage and lock Samus in place right at the edge of the stage without falling off. Doing this while constantly boost balling puts a hitbox at the ledge, and can be used to punish characters recovering from underneath the stage. It is also possible to just crawl off the ledge and enter a free-fall. This can be a useful tool for quickly leaving the stage to cover an opponent’s recovery with a drop-zone Nair or similar edge guard.
While traveling backwards, if an attack is input, it will be read as a down-tilt. Using crawl to retreat can be very effective, and having down-tilt available out of backwards crawl means over-aggressive opponents can be punished for pursuing to closely. Also, when traveling backwards into the ledge, Samus will again lock in place, forever rolling in place. When the control stick is returned to neutral, Samus will return to standing position and drop to the ledge. While this isn’t the fastest method of grabbing the ledge, it’s a good way of threatening a recovering opponent’s options. Holding shield during this will make you do a backwards tumble, which will grab ledge faster, and flicking down during the tumble animation and returning the stick to neutral will make you grab the ledge even faster because you fast fell to the ledge.
It has been discovered that by entering crawl and then returning to a neutral standing position, Samus will actually move forward slightly. A technique called Mach Balling (12) can be used to travel extremely quickly, albeit the input is very awkward to perform without having a reverse-claw style of controller hold.
Shield
Samus is a relatively tall member of the smash cast. Because of this, she is often times left exposed while in shield. Learning to angle a shield is very important for all characters, as it helps to avoid shield poking, but, due to Samus’ incredible out of shield options, it is imperative to have a good shielding game so as to make the most use of her utility out of shield.
When shielding on a platform, it is important to angle shield downwards, as the first part of Samus to be exposed is typically her feet. If she is being hit and pushed off of the platform, with her back facing the edge, Samus will be forced to tech upon falling off of the platform. To avoid such a disadvantageous position, try to be facing the ledge that Samus will most likely be pushed towards by her opponent. Doing so will result in sliding off of the platform (if still holding shield), but Samus will not enter a fall that requires a tech upon landing on the ground.
Shield dropping (13) is a relatively advanced technique that is applicable to all characters. Samus can make great use of shield dropping, as it allows her to remain defensive in shield, while also repositioning for advantage, and covering her movement with a hitbox, such as an up-air or a neutral-air.
Another incredible technique that is extremely useful is wavedashing out of shield. There are match ups where this technique is necessary to maintain advantage, such as when dealing with Falco, or another projectile heavy character. Because of the distance she can cover with her wavedash, Samus can use this technique to remain defensive while still adjusting the spacing to gain positional advantage over the opponent.
Every single character on the roster is capable of power shielding (14). If a hitbox enters a character’s inner 78% of their current shield value, and they activate shield, it will result in a power shield. This technique can be used against both physical attacks as well as projectiles. Something to factor into this technique is a character’s model size as well as their shield size at full power. Because Samus has a fairly large shield, and because her character model is relatively thin, this gives her a solid frame window to power shield projectiles. It is important to note that if a multi-hit move, such as a down air from Fox, is power shielded, the shielding character will be stuck in shield for the remainder of the attack.
Because of her excellent shield stats, Samus should feel relatively comfortable when dealing with shield pressure from the opponent. In fact, a lot of times, this can be a very advantageous position to be in. With powerful out of shield options, such as plasma up smash, neutral air, and up B, it is very easy to punish an opponent for overextending their pressure. Positioning is a huge factor on how effective a certain option will be out of shield at a specific time. If Samus is underneath a platform, it allows her to mix up her recovery from free-fall after using Screw Attack out of shield. If the opponent is pressuring from behind Samus, then up smash out of shield loses its viability, as the initial hitbox appears in front of Samus. The same goes for neutral air.
Another general mechanic with shields is shield DI15. When hit with a move that produces shield stun, it is possible to angle shield and move in the direction that said shield is being angled. This is important because it allows for minute corrections to spacing while being pressured. Shield DIing forwards can mean closing the gap enough to be able to catch the pressuring opponent with Screw Attack out of shield, while DIing away can mean having enough space to safely WD out of shield to reestablish neutral. Experience will help with deciding which way to DI, or whether shield DI is even necessary in a given scenario.
Shield dropping (13) is a relatively advanced technique that is applicable to all characters. Samus can make great use of shield dropping, as it allows her to remain defensive in shield, while also repositioning for advantage, and covering her movement with a hitbox, such as an up-air or a neutral-air.
Another incredible technique that is extremely useful is wavedashing out of shield. There are match ups where this technique is necessary to maintain advantage, such as when dealing with Falco, or another projectile heavy character. Because of the distance she can cover with her wavedash, Samus can use this technique to remain defensive while still adjusting the spacing to gain positional advantage over the opponent.
Every single character on the roster is capable of power shielding (14). If a hitbox enters a character’s inner 78% of their current shield value, and they activate shield, it will result in a power shield. This technique can be used against both physical attacks as well as projectiles. Something to factor into this technique is a character’s model size as well as their shield size at full power. Because Samus has a fairly large shield, and because her character model is relatively thin, this gives her a solid frame window to power shield projectiles. It is important to note that if a multi-hit move, such as a down air from Fox, is power shielded, the shielding character will be stuck in shield for the remainder of the attack.
Because of her excellent shield stats, Samus should feel relatively comfortable when dealing with shield pressure from the opponent. In fact, a lot of times, this can be a very advantageous position to be in. With powerful out of shield options, such as plasma up smash, neutral air, and up B, it is very easy to punish an opponent for overextending their pressure. Positioning is a huge factor on how effective a certain option will be out of shield at a specific time. If Samus is underneath a platform, it allows her to mix up her recovery from free-fall after using Screw Attack out of shield. If the opponent is pressuring from behind Samus, then up smash out of shield loses its viability, as the initial hitbox appears in front of Samus. The same goes for neutral air.
Another general mechanic with shields is shield DI15. When hit with a move that produces shield stun, it is possible to angle shield and move in the direction that said shield is being angled. This is important because it allows for minute corrections to spacing while being pressured. Shield DIing forwards can mean closing the gap enough to be able to catch the pressuring opponent with Screw Attack out of shield, while DIing away can mean having enough space to safely WD out of shield to reestablish neutral. Experience will help with deciding which way to DI, or whether shield DI is even necessary in a given scenario.
Index
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My Young Link's got skill AND age tho
