Samus

Samus (サムス, Samus) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. All Stars. Her return to the series was confirmed in the E8 2018 trailers on August 23rd, 2018, while she was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4. However, unlike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Samus is no longer capable of transitioning into Zero Suit Samus, with the latter now becoming a standalone character.

Samus is currently ranked 41st out of 58 on the tier list, placing her at the top of the E tier and making her the highest ranked low-tier character. This is a noticeable improvement over her bottom-tier placement in Brawl, where she was ranked 32nd out of 38. Samus possesses numerous projectiles in the form of her Charge Shot, Missile and Bomb, all of which grant her strong zoning potential alongside her Grapple Beam. Charge Shot also functions as a fearsome KOing option and a strong punishing option in many situations due to its high damage output and excellent knockback, while her Bomb and Grapple Beam can aid her recovery. Samus also possesses a good air game that allows for powerful and highly damaging combos when she finds or sets up an opening, which is further supplemented by set-ups in the form of her dash attack, up tilt, down aerial, down throw and Grapple Beam.

However, Samus' moveset forces her to be reliant on defensive spacing to keep opponents at bay. Except for her down tilt, all of her moves are generally less effective at point-blank range, while they also render her prone to trading hits with opponents even at mid-range. When combined with her floatiness and average mobility, these traits can make it difficult for Samus to escape from juggling and other problematic situations.

While Samus has noticeably improved since Brawl, largely due to game updates, most of her fellow veterans have also improved at varying degrees. This has resulted in her overall representation being poor, although she has attained a dedicated playerbase nevertheless; thanks to the likes of professionals like ESAM, IcyMist, KayJay, Afro Smash and Jonny Westside, Samus has managed to achieve some degree of tournament success.