What makes you play Samus over ZSS?

[Quickhero]

This has been a question that I have been wondering for a while now, but what makes you so dedicated in playing Samus over ZSS? I know a lot of Samus mains get sad when they see that (currently) they haven't been getting a lot of representatives and hasn't been doing well so far, but Zero Suit Samus is doing incredibly well and it makes me wonder why you don't just play her, I mean, after-all, they ARE literally the same person.

Not saying ZSS is objectively a better character by any means, and I appreciate the dedication many Samus mains have. I'm just wondering what makes you so dedicated to Samus instead? Is it her play-style, is there any nostalgia that is only towards Samus when she has her suit as opposed to the character herself, or is it something else? I'm very curious and I would love to get some answers!

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

I play both so meh. I prefer her in the Power Suit because, well, it's the Power Suit... I like both of their playstyles.

 

[Fluidityt]

First, I can say that Samus has been my main since ssb64 came out. Yes, I like metroid games, and Samus has always been a badass.

So why put up with Regular Samus, when her unsuited self is much better? Well, I played ZSS in Brawl, and had gotten used to how OP she was, but I still played Samus too (for no explored reason at the time).

When Sm4sh came out, ZSS was *completely* redesigned, and seemed nerfed to me at the time. Samus, seemed stronger out of the box, so I settled on her again.

Now with ZSS obviously top-tier, and Samus arguably the worst character, I ask myself the question every day why I don't play ZSS more. I guess it's just more fun for me to play Samus, even though my ZSS is quickly approaching dwarfing my Samus, and definitely dwarfs her in some matchups.


So yes, I think suited up Samus is a cooler character than unsuited Samus. I mean, its just silly to think that she is a capable fighter without her power suit, in the context of the lore. So perhaps its stuck in our heads that the suit is better, and therefore cooler, and makes it more fun.

I mean really. Charge shot is sex, and we have freakin' missiles. Missiles. Yeah, followed by a blazing blue ball of death. There is nothing more satisfying in this game than watching that baby obliterate someone. Much more fun that any of ZSS kill moves IMO. Except in brawl, the whip of death that extends half of FD was pretty fun too.

So I pmuch just play Samus, will toss a few rounds of ZSS in to keep getting better with her. Samus is just more fun to me, and now that she is the underdog, it makes beating top tier characters all that much more satisfying (even if it doesnt necessarily mean anything).

So for me, its a bit of all the reasons you posted. Samus is still playable, especially on FG which is where I typically reside. I don't get bodied or rekt that much, so perhaps if I lost every game and never got any smashes, then I would stop playing Samus. And even still, if it got to the point where I was losing due to technical things like end lag or priority / attack speed, but I was able to tell that I was still playing around the same level of the other person, I'd still play. I like a challenge.

 

[Hapajin]

My shallow reasoning? Samus looks cooler in her armored suit, and is basically the most intense looking character in Smash (even if she's one of the weakest, lol)

But looks aside, I played as suited Samus so much in Brawl, that I'm quite terrible with most other characters (including ZSS). I like Samus' playstyle and how it's paced compared to fast or gimmicky upper tiered characters. Also most of my friends I play with aren't that good or competitive, so Samus works pretty well in casual matches.
Although, I like her PM playstyle a lot better, so I'm mostly sticking with her in SSB4 because of our history haha.

 

[Highgarden]

Samus is just more fun to play as, even with her being so flawed compared to everything else.

 

[RoachCake]

I main Samus because she's the character that I can win with and enjoy playing the most.
I don't care about what any of the early tier lists may say or what the general majority thinks about certain characters, because they're just people's opinions. And everyone has theirs.
It really seems to me like everyone is just jumping on the "Samus sucks" hype train right now. (Like they've done for many other characters)
Just because you don't know/haven't seen what a character is capable of does not mean the character is bad.
I'm planning on showing what Samus is capable of in the future in tournaments once I've honed in my skills much more with her.

Olimar was also at one point thought to be one of the worst characters for a bit if I'm remembering correctly, now look where he's at.



Also, I prefer not dying when doing offstage D-airs.

 

[Fluidityt]

I main Samus because she's the character that I can win with and enjoy playing the most.
I don't care about what any of the early tier lists may say or what the general majority thinks about certain characters, because they're just people's opinions. And everyone has theirs.
It really seems to me like everyone is just jumping on the "Samus sucks" hype train right now. (Like they've done for many other characters)
Just because you don't know/haven't seen what a character is capable of does not mean the character is bad.
I'm planning on showing what Samus is capable of in the future in tournaments once I've honed in my skills much more with her.

Olimar was also at one point thought to be one of the worst characters for a bit if I'm remembering correctly, now look where he's at.



Also, I prefer not dying when doing offstage D-airs.

I think Samus is better than where people think she is, but there are just so many situations and matchups where she struggles to get in dmg due to how slow she is, but doesn't have the physical range and durability that the heavys have. She lacks utility in some key areas where other chars can just beat her up. =[


I notice it all the time when playing ZSS, when I put in a command and think "that won't hit" then it does, due to improved frames on certain attacks, or priority/range. It's really bad when the opponent forces their way in and Samus can't really escape without rolling, can't use an up special oos, and has to sit there trying to throw jab or ftilt or spot dodge dance and you get beaten out every time because the other chars simply have the better attacks.

Thats why spacing is really key for Samus, but if you falter then your toolset is really limited, even if you put in the commands faster or get a read, you can still lose (aka get hit) in those areas. Very frustrating.

 

[Highgarden]

you get beaten out every time because the other chars simply have the better attacks.

Thats why spacing is really key for Samus, but if you falter then your toolset is really limited, even if you put in the commands faster or get a read, you can still lose (aka get hit) in those areas. Very frustrating.

I noticed this a lot with Samus. Either you trade, or your attacks get dwarfed by others. Lot of other characters can be really liberal with their attacks, as well as return to defensive position right after. Better yet, always get out of your range, especially if you want to attempt a throw, but due to it's slow start up they roll out before they could get grabbed.

Samus is stupid frustrating because you can't really be as defensive as you think you would with any other character. Sure you can shield, but anything out of shield is too slow. Spot dodge, and others can get out of any offensive ability due to it being slow, you'll be lucky with an Ftilt, unless they shield right after. Majority of the time attempting to space with zair doesn't garner any respect as they just either block, it or get close enough to avoid the hurtbox of the tip. Our projectile game can get stuffed easily by other projectile users, all but maybe the CS. Although, once your arm cannon is flashing it's never ending reminder for them.

Against people who don't know better, Samus is great, but to people who know how to defend, as well as provide pressure take advantage of the helplessness of Samus.

To add on:

This may be the sole reason why I may pocket ZSS or even Shulk for that matter because sometimes the design decisions behind Samus got me scratching my head.

 

[Xygonn]

I like the satisfaction of her various kill moves even if she doesn't have as many as other characters. Bair, dair, fsmash, charge shot. I like her combo ability (even if other people like ZSS's better I'm not so sure it's much better). I like that she creates a projectile wall with very specific holes. I feel it is easier to force the approach I want than it is with DHD, Megaman, Villager, etc. I like that she is virtually immune from hoo haa. That alone might be enough.

I think she is hugely underrated. She is the 8th heaviest character in the game, giving her good survivability, but a low fall speed, giving her good combo breaking options. Her Uair lands on fram 5 and does 11 damage (all hits). Sure it's not as good as Cpt. Falcon's, but that is pretty much it. I could sing the praises of Uair for days. She has a non-linear recovery options, which are a must in this game. She arguably has the best dtilt in the game (even if it doesn't kill anymore) with frame 6 and 12 damage. People forget that utilt is a killing move that does 13% damage (among the best in the game), better than her Usmash (which is really only good for hitting someone on a platform above you for damage). She has a meaty dair that is great on and off stage even if it is laggy (but not bad landing lag!). Her fsmash is tied with marth's for fastest and is the second strongest (up tilted, sweet spot), and she has the god of all projectiles. Unlike other characters with big charge up projectiles, she also has a harassment projectile that combos into the charge shot, or that can be used to bait more reflects. Her pivot ftilt is a damn solid backoff move.

Notably, I would play as ZSS in brawl but almost never as Samus. For some reason (not sure) I don't really like ZSS in this game.

That said, there is always the possibility that Samus gets downgraded to a secondary and I pick a new main.

 

[Tumultus]

I really like regular Samus as I've played as her since Melee. I can't explain why, because I understand that she's far from being the best character. Some of her attributes are straight disadvantages compared to other characters, but there's a great satisfaction that comes with being able to overcome certain match ups. I like an underdog story, I guess!

That being said, I do pocket ZSS. I've actually found her to be fundamentally very similar to Samus. I find myself playing in a very similar way as ZSS successfully. She can space in a similar way, her z-air works nearly identically, she has her up-b OoS as a great countering option, d-tilt and u-tilt are good options for close combat, her grab works exactly the same (same frame data, both standing and dash,) up air is a great mid-air combo starter. It just...works. You can play nearly the same way and find some success.

 

[-_ellipsis_-]

Long story short, I like that in order to beat my opponent, I'm required to outsmart them. I feel like every win that I get with Samus is rightfully earned. I don't feel that way with ZSS.

Playing Samus really does feel like playing Metroid games to me. She has the tools to win any match up, but finding them is often like trying to open up that damn colored door keeping you outside an unexplored territory. Every time we find new AT for her, it feels like finding that extra missile upgrade. You can't replace that with ZSS. She doesn't have the satisfaction of winning with a full CS because you made a hard read and earned it, or of going deep off stage for that f air gimp.

 

[Hapajin]

Her fsmash is tied with marth's for fastest and is the second strongest (up tilted, sweet spot),

Where did you get these stats? just out of curiosity. I had no idea

 

[Xygonn]

Where did you get these stats? just out of curiosity. I had no idea

It's over in the frame data posts in the smash academy in the competitive forum. If you charge for the extra frames she's right up there with the other heavy weights. Maybe not for sure the second strongest per frame but up tilted fsmash is 102% KO frame ten. I haven't fully tested her charged smash to the other heavies slower smashes.

 

[Varia31]

... it's just silly to think that she is a capable fighter without her power suit, in the context of the lore. So perhaps its stuck in our heads that the suit is better, and therefore cooler, and makes it more fun.

Well, she has proven herself to be fully capable of defending herself without her armor. She is quite superhuman, after all. But yeah, Zero Mission definitely showed how much more powerful Power Suit Samus is, and I wish that it was still the case in Smash, but oh well.

I prefer using regular Samus, mainly because I know how to use her much better and more in-depth since she's been my main since Smash 64, and because I love powered armor (thanks in part to her) and I'm a huge Metroid fan. I am definitely training with ZSS however, and she's shaping up to be an excellent secondary for me! Possibly even an equal or superior at this rate, but I still naturally go to Power Suit Samus.

 

[DungeonMaster]

Oh, I don't know... this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pauGLVAKg&feature=youtu.be

With all due respect to pro players voicing current preferences I don't think that's good enough reason for anyone to switch characters.
I think smash4 Samus will have her champions, in fact she already does and they're not doing too shabby if you read the competitive thread.
I am still learning things about this character on a weekly, even daily basis and I am definitely not in the doom and despair camp.

And truly, nothing says sexy like power armor. And that charge shot. That's probably my main reason.

 

[ZarroTsu]

I really like the 'weight' behind a lot of Samus's moves. ZSS feels really hollow in comparison. Like as Samus I can shove a flamethrower in your face and you have to eat it. ZSS is just sort of... well, it's possible I'm still scarred from Other M.

 

[Beard Hawk]

Before the first Sm4sh trailer was even shown, back in the brawl days, I decided that Samus would be the only character I would use in the next game. I was playing a lot of Metroid at the time. The way I see it, the better you know a character, the better you'll be with them.

I think a lot of people underestimate Samus anyway. She has a lot of good moves, everything is useful in some situation. Her biggest weakness is her running speed and the difficulty of her rubbish foxtrot. To me, Samus is all about the mental game: you have to be able to read your opponents mind because you aren't quick enough to react to everything. Also, having a fully charged shot can mess with your opponent if they are a cautious kind of player.

I don't really associate ZSS with the Metroid games very strongly. I like the fact that you can play as her when you complete Metroid1 though, that's cool. I played around with ZSS once to figure out her weaknesses, and I was very impressed, she's incredible, but I've got my character already. I'm a flying metal ball of death for sm4sh.

 

[Boney]

I just don't really like how she plays, regardless if they come from the same series/ are the same character.

Now if the question becomes, why aren't you using a top tier character in a competitive environment, well, it's hard to say. I get a bit flustered when fighting really good characters that can throw a ton of safe things and always be harassing you, and I even toyed around with Mario and was amazed at how good and easy it was to play with him, but at the end of the day, not only do I think Samus can be deadly, I just really like her whole play style and attributes. She can rack up damage easily and survive a good beating, I wish she had some more kill options, but I manage with what I have.

 

[Rikkhan]

honestly at first I didn't care about Samus she is to laggy and not really a strong character but when I started to test her combo potential I was amazed, since that I started to main her, I'm not really good with her but at least I'm having fun trying. ZSS dont fit my style, I dont like speedy characters, the only one I kind of like is sheik.

 

[Shog]

To quote my brother after he noticing I looked for Samus in a Power Suit rather than in her Zero Suit in a shop with fan articles:
"You know, normal people would get her in her bikesuit[he called it like that]. I guess true Metroid Fans prefer the Armor"

So I have no other choice hehe.
(They added the Fusion Ending Costume for Samus though :/)

 

[S.P.A.D.]

ZSS has a stun gun. Power Suit Samus has a daggum arm cannon and can turn into a ball. What more could you ask for?