SSBM/Samus/Introduction

Introduction

Samus is Melee's quintessential projectile zoner. She possesses two projectiles, Missile and Charge Shot, that allow her to control the pace of the match from fullscreen. This is only complemented by her strong suite of grounded normals and her excellent wavedash, which give her an excellent poking game. Unlike most traditional zoners, however, Samus processes two strong defensive options out of shield in her frame 3 Nair and invulnerable up-special, screw attack, and a strong crouch cancel game to top it all off. Samus also has a strong suite of aerials, many of which are fast, safe on block, and conducive to combos. Finally, Samus' high weight, floatiness and excellent recovery give her arguably the highest endurance in the entire game, although this is somewhat circumvented by characters with strong vertical kill options, such as Fox.

Samus does, however, have several acute weaknesses. Her grab is the slowest in the entire game, making it nearly reactable and nets Samus a near max damage punish if it whiffs. Samus' aerial mobility is amongst the worst in the game, with an extremely high, floaty shorthop and a very low airspeed. These two attributes make opening up opponents difficult for Samus, despite her otherwise strong set of buttons, and hinders her combo potential after she does get a hit, especially on floaties. These weaknesses generally balance out her strengths, and she currently sits on the fringe of tournament viability, being ranked on 11th on the latest tier list.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Strong Projectile Game - Samus' missiles and charge shot make for a character with very strong projectiles. Her missiles can be used either on the offensive or defensive, missiles sever as an effective way to wall out opponents, while adding missiles to an approach can make Samus' much more dangerous as she approaches, while a charge shot can serve as an early kill option and can put the opponent on edge. Excellent Normals - Samus has one of the best jabs in the game, good hitboxes on her tilts, and one of the best CC punishes in the game in Down Smash, which launches the opponent behind her for a combo, an edgeguard, or a kill depending on percentage. Endurance - Samus' floatiness and weight makes her difficult for most characters to combo, while also allowing her survive hits most could not. When combined with one of the best recoveries in the game, Samus takes more damage to kill on average than any other character.

Grab - Samus has one of the worst grabs in the entire game, severely limiting her offense and out of shield options and making what is a staple tool for most characters a high risk, high reward option. Limited air mobility Samus' floatiness and low air accleration make being above an opponent a frustrating position, while also making it difficult for her to catch more maneuverable characters such as Fox and Captain Falcon.