The 'Shroom:Issue XLVII/Brawl Tactics

Brawl Tactics by

Greetings, Brawlers, welcome to the February edition of Brawl Tactics!

For this month, I will be doing Samus!

Samus is a heavy-weight with decent speed for her class. She has a fair jump, and her attacks are of about average strength.

Samus's Standard Special is Charge Shot. Like most standard specials that shoot something, you can charge this up, but unlike some of them, you can walk around with it fully charged up. Be careful when charging, however, if an opponent hits Samus, you will have to charge all over again. This move doesn't have a whole lot of power, but it's got a lot of launch power when it's fully charged up, so use that to your advantage.

Side Special: Missile! By tilting the control stick to the side and pressing B, Samus can launch a missile that has semi-homing abilities, but she cannot control it to the degree of Snake. However, if she performs as Taps the control stick to the side and presses B, much like you would perform a side smash, Samus launches a Super Missile that does not home and is not controllable, but inflicts a lot more damage than her normal missile.

Down Special: Bomb. Samus's bombs aren't like Link's or Toon Link's, that is, she can't carry them around. She sets them out in a certain spot and that's where they fall. Not a super- useful move, because they don't do a lot of damage, but it's helpful if you need a little something to do some damage to an opponent.

Up Special: Screw Attack! Interesting item, and it's an even more interesting move. If you need a little more length on your jump, this is the way to do it. It's not the highest third jump in the game, but it can get you where you need to go. It also does a little bit of damage if you use it close to your opponents, so try it out when you're on the stage surrounded by enemies.

Another interesting thing she can do is use her Grapple Beam by pressing R, or the L plus the A button, to not only grab a character and reel them in so she can beat on them before throwing them, she can also use it to latch onto a ledge and save herself from falling, similar to Link's Clawshot.

Samus's Final Smash is Zero Laser. In my opinion, this is one of the most powerful Final Smashes in the entire game. Samus fires a huge laser that drains her of her power and turns her into Zero Suit Samus- still a good fighter even without her Power Suit. The best way to use this Final Smash is on the side of a stage. Like Mario's Final Smash, this one will sweep the stage, taking opponents with it. It's pretty much impossible to get away from. However, if you're careful, you can jump behind Samus before she activates the attack. If you're using this attack, make sure Samus is on something solid to land on after she loses her Power Suit, otherwise she will fall off the stage and not be able to get back up. If you're close to the stage, you may be able to grab the side, but just be careful when using this move.

Hope this helps you while using Samus! That's all for this month, Brawlers, see you next month!