David Wonn
Smash Ace
This falls in the gray area between the Samus and ZSS forums, but since the motions are done while starting out as armored Samus, it seems more appropriate here. I will just get straight to the point:
You have all probably seen at least one Samus player who transforms with taunts willingly. Perhaps it was in an online match or from watching some vids. I happen to be able to transform Samus at will 99% of the time on the first try with any of the four types of controllers in training mode at 1.5x speed. Yes, that includes the Wiimote alone. How? I'll break it down from easiest methods to the more difficult:
Method A:
Even if you have struggled with the taunt transformation and given up in the past, this is the easiest method by far. It is surprisingly not well-known, and people assume it's impossible with the Wiimote alone. Since everyone has a Wiimote, this will be a great staring point. With the default controls, the A button by itself does the "Up" taunt. Conveniently, just holding Down on the control cross (with the Wiimote already oriented sideways) while pressing A will do the "down" taunt. All you have to do is hold A and tap Down 4 times fast. That's all! It's insanely easy. If you aren't getting this to work in the first few tries, go to training mode and set it to 1/4 speed and practice there. As you get more confident, gradually increase the speed.
Now if you really want to practice in the most efficient way possible, have two other controllers designated as P1 and P2, and have the Wiimote designated as P3. With the P1 controller go to training mode, and select Samus as both the human and CPU. Start on any level, and set the CPUs to Human controlled, and change it to 2 CPUs. Your Wiimote should be controlling the 2nd CPU. Practice the taunt transformation with this character. When you succeed, go back to the P1 controller, change the CPUs to 1, unpause, pause, and set it back to 2 CPUs. This will reset your ZSS back to Samus so you can practice over and over. Alternatively, you could just activate a Smash Ball, but deactivating and reactivating a human-controlled CPU is just faster.
Method B:
If you are using the Wiimote with the Nunchuck or Classic Controller, simply unplug it, use Method A, and plug it back in. Easy. ;-)
Method C:
If you are using the Wiimote with the Nunchuck and do not feel like unplugging the Nunchuck, try this. Go to Options - Controls, and create a new control scheme. Name it "Samus" or something easy enough to remember. Modify the controls by either swapping control cross "Down" (assuming upright position) with button 2, or by swapping control cross "Up" with button 1. Just don't do both! Now go into training mode with these controls. Unfortunately you can't modify CPU controls, so just have the Wiichuck set as P1 this time. Simply alternate between the "up" taunt and "down" taunt 4 times each. Yes, UDUDUDUD is the minimum requirement. The key behind this swap is that you prevent yourself from accidentally side taunting in between taunts. Since this is harder than Method A (or B), you will likely want to start on slow speeds.
Method D:
Last but not least are the methods with the default controls on the GameCube or Classic controllers. Unfortunately most people start with this method, so it's no wonder many give up so easily! Seriously, try the other methods before diving into this one. All I can say is that it takes a lot of practice in training mode on slow speeds before you will ever get comfortable at normal (and 1.5 speed for the hardcore.) What I do is "cup" my hand around the GC controller with my right hand so that all 4 fingers are at the top of the controller with the cord in between my middle and ring fingers. My right thumb is usually between the C-stick and right handle or somewhere nearby. The controller is now rotated 90 degrees sideways to the left. In this configuration, I now use the left thumb rapidly across the control cross left and right (which corresponds to the real "up" and "down" buttons on the controller.) It may or may not work for you, so feel free to experiment until you find what works best. Good luck!
When should I use this?
Once you become proficient with a consistent technique, the hardest part is actually finding a good time to do this in a match. That is where I struggle most. If you have a competitive duel with a good player, that is definitely not the best time to practice. However, you might find a good opportunity when you have hit your opponent off-stage at mid to high damage with the charge beam, but not quite far enough to kill them. That is the most ideal time that I have found in a duel. It mixes things up and can catch your opponent off-guard if you find they are reading your Samus well enough, but might not know how to handle your Zero Suit Samus. You are much more likely to find a good use in teams, though, assuming you have a good partner to cover for you while you are vulnerable.
Other than that, I find it has many uses in casual and online play, especially when dealing with those annoying random item matches. If an enemy collects the Dragoon parts near the end of a match, you can stall long enough to make them think twice. I have saved such online matches and it was pretty epic. Also, it cancels the effects of poison mushrooms and timers, which could save your stock and surprise your opponents. Furthermore, if you are Samus paired with a ZSS in Team Battle online, your transformation will happen almost instantly since your character is already loaded. Likewise in Basic Brawl, try to match the color of your Samus with a ZSS. You can transform just as fast this way.
And when you get really, really good at it, try taunt transforming safely through a Chimera on New Pork City. It not only looks awesome as you can imagine, but you'll also likely make a great impression. It's one of my signature moves I try online whenever possible.
To wrap things up, seriously everyone, try the Wiimote method! I am determined to prove to everyone that it really doesn't have to be a hard task that only so few can do. Anyone can do this.
You have all probably seen at least one Samus player who transforms with taunts willingly. Perhaps it was in an online match or from watching some vids. I happen to be able to transform Samus at will 99% of the time on the first try with any of the four types of controllers in training mode at 1.5x speed. Yes, that includes the Wiimote alone. How? I'll break it down from easiest methods to the more difficult:
Method A:
Even if you have struggled with the taunt transformation and given up in the past, this is the easiest method by far. It is surprisingly not well-known, and people assume it's impossible with the Wiimote alone. Since everyone has a Wiimote, this will be a great staring point. With the default controls, the A button by itself does the "Up" taunt. Conveniently, just holding Down on the control cross (with the Wiimote already oriented sideways) while pressing A will do the "down" taunt. All you have to do is hold A and tap Down 4 times fast. That's all! It's insanely easy. If you aren't getting this to work in the first few tries, go to training mode and set it to 1/4 speed and practice there. As you get more confident, gradually increase the speed.
Now if you really want to practice in the most efficient way possible, have two other controllers designated as P1 and P2, and have the Wiimote designated as P3. With the P1 controller go to training mode, and select Samus as both the human and CPU. Start on any level, and set the CPUs to Human controlled, and change it to 2 CPUs. Your Wiimote should be controlling the 2nd CPU. Practice the taunt transformation with this character. When you succeed, go back to the P1 controller, change the CPUs to 1, unpause, pause, and set it back to 2 CPUs. This will reset your ZSS back to Samus so you can practice over and over. Alternatively, you could just activate a Smash Ball, but deactivating and reactivating a human-controlled CPU is just faster.
Method B:
If you are using the Wiimote with the Nunchuck or Classic Controller, simply unplug it, use Method A, and plug it back in. Easy. ;-)
Method C:
If you are using the Wiimote with the Nunchuck and do not feel like unplugging the Nunchuck, try this. Go to Options - Controls, and create a new control scheme. Name it "Samus" or something easy enough to remember. Modify the controls by either swapping control cross "Down" (assuming upright position) with button 2, or by swapping control cross "Up" with button 1. Just don't do both! Now go into training mode with these controls. Unfortunately you can't modify CPU controls, so just have the Wiichuck set as P1 this time. Simply alternate between the "up" taunt and "down" taunt 4 times each. Yes, UDUDUDUD is the minimum requirement. The key behind this swap is that you prevent yourself from accidentally side taunting in between taunts. Since this is harder than Method A (or B), you will likely want to start on slow speeds.
Method D:
Last but not least are the methods with the default controls on the GameCube or Classic controllers. Unfortunately most people start with this method, so it's no wonder many give up so easily! Seriously, try the other methods before diving into this one. All I can say is that it takes a lot of practice in training mode on slow speeds before you will ever get comfortable at normal (and 1.5 speed for the hardcore.) What I do is "cup" my hand around the GC controller with my right hand so that all 4 fingers are at the top of the controller with the cord in between my middle and ring fingers. My right thumb is usually between the C-stick and right handle or somewhere nearby. The controller is now rotated 90 degrees sideways to the left. In this configuration, I now use the left thumb rapidly across the control cross left and right (which corresponds to the real "up" and "down" buttons on the controller.) It may or may not work for you, so feel free to experiment until you find what works best. Good luck!
When should I use this?
Once you become proficient with a consistent technique, the hardest part is actually finding a good time to do this in a match. That is where I struggle most. If you have a competitive duel with a good player, that is definitely not the best time to practice. However, you might find a good opportunity when you have hit your opponent off-stage at mid to high damage with the charge beam, but not quite far enough to kill them. That is the most ideal time that I have found in a duel. It mixes things up and can catch your opponent off-guard if you find they are reading your Samus well enough, but might not know how to handle your Zero Suit Samus. You are much more likely to find a good use in teams, though, assuming you have a good partner to cover for you while you are vulnerable.
Other than that, I find it has many uses in casual and online play, especially when dealing with those annoying random item matches. If an enemy collects the Dragoon parts near the end of a match, you can stall long enough to make them think twice. I have saved such online matches and it was pretty epic. Also, it cancels the effects of poison mushrooms and timers, which could save your stock and surprise your opponents. Furthermore, if you are Samus paired with a ZSS in Team Battle online, your transformation will happen almost instantly since your character is already loaded. Likewise in Basic Brawl, try to match the color of your Samus with a ZSS. You can transform just as fast this way.
And when you get really, really good at it, try taunt transforming safely through a Chimera on New Pork City. It not only looks awesome as you can imagine, but you'll also likely make a great impression. It's one of my signature moves I try online whenever possible.
To wrap things up, seriously everyone, try the Wiimote method! I am determined to prove to everyone that it really doesn't have to be a hard task that only so few can do. Anyone can do this.
