Plasma Whip
| Plasma Whip | |
|---|---|
 Zero Suit Samus using Plasma Whip. | |
| User | Zero Suit Samus |
| Universe | Metroid |
| Article on Metroid Wiki | Paralyzer |
- Not to be confused withPlasma Wisp orPlasma Wire.
Plasma Whip (プラズマウィップ,Plasma Whip) isZero Suit Samus'sside special move.
Overview[edit]
Zero Suit Samus shoots the Plasma Whip forward a long distance, with smallknockback anddamage throughout its length except for a very largesweetspot at the tip. There is a sizable blind spot in the middle of the Plasma Whip where the opponent is not hit, although this was fixed in later games. The body of the whip can knock the enemy into the tip, which has large knockback (at least as large as Samus'forward smash, but with longer range) and is considered her bestKO move outside of herforward andback aerials. It does 19% damage (if the opponent is close to Zero Suit Samus because it's pushed to the tip, doing two hits), but just 16% if only the tip hits.
InSuper Smash Bros. 4, Plasma Whip has been nerfed. Plasma Whip has higher ending lag, a significantly smaller sweetspot, and is much weaker, dealing less damage and knockback, and it no longer KOs at high percentages outside of edgeguarding andstage spikes. It is, however, a more useful horizontal recovery tool due to snapping the ledge much sooner. However, the move's power was restored inUltimate, making it a reliable ranged KO tool once again. It has also gained a new effect where it launches opponents directly above Zero Suit Samus if the player holds the special button down, putting the opponent in a position for potential follow ups.
The move is a littlelaggy after extending, but comes out at about the speed of a smash attack. In the air, it can be used as atether recovery; it differs from her other recovery move, (Plasma Wire
/Boost Kick
), in that it has longer horizontalrange, but much less vertical range, giving Zero Suit Samus several options for recovering, depending on whether she is level with or below the ledge.
Instructional quotes[edit]
 instruction booklet |  | Attack with a lash formed of plasma. This move can also be used to grab onto the stage edges. |
 case foldout |  | Attack foes with an energy whip. Can grab on to edges. |
 Move List |  | Attacks foes with an energy whip. Can also be used to grab on to edges. |
Customization[edit]
Special Move customization was added inSuper Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Plasma Whip | 2. Plasma Dash | 3. Whip Lash |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 "Attack foes with an energy whip. Can also be used to grab on to edges."
| "A dashing strike with your gun. Doesn't use the whip, so it can't grab on to edges."
| "Knock foes toward you with the very end of the whip. The rest of the whip does nothing."
|
- Plasma Whip: Default.
- Plasma Dash: A small dash forward with Samus' gun, striking multiple times. Cannot tether recover.
- Whip Lash: Ensnares an opponent and draws them in. Does not connect if Samus is too close to the opponent.
Origin[edit]
Both the Plasma Whip and thePlasma Wire are unique toSmash, and have no presence in anyMetroid game but it could be a reference to theGrapple Beam which Samus uses in her Power Suit.
Gallery[edit]
The move inBrawl
Unused animation of Zero Suit Samus using Plasma Whip to grab an item.
Unused animation of Zero Suit Samus using Plasma Whip to throw an item.
Unused animation of Zero Suit Samus using Plasma Whip to throw an item upward.
Plasma Whip inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Plasma Whip as shown by theMove List inUltimate.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | プラズマウィップ,Plasma Whip |
 English | Plasma Whip |
 French | Fouet plasma |
 German | Plasma-Peitsche |
 Spanish | Látigo de plasma |
 Italian | Frusta plasma |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 等离子鞭 |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 等離子鞭 |
 Korean | 플라스마 윕,Plasma Whip |
 Dutch | Plasmazweep |
 Russian | Плазмохлыст |
Trivia[edit]
- Through hackingBrawl, unique itemgrabbing andthrowing animations have been found for Plasma Whip. This suggests that the move was, at one point, also designed to have the ability to grab items from afar and fling them towards opponents. Judging from the animations, it also suggested that Zero Suit Samus could steal opponents' held items by using Plasma Whip against them.
