Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U are two upcoming games, both the fourth in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Samus Aran, along with veteran fighters Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Link, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Pit, Olimar, Luigi, Peach, Toon Link and Sonic have been confirmed to be returning as playable characters, and new playable characters currently include Villager from Animal Crossing, Mega Man from the series of the same name, Rosalina from Mario and the Wii Fit Trainer from Wii Fit. Zero Suit Samus is returning, this time as a separate character. The Geothermal Power Plant, known as Pyrosphere will appear in this game as a stage. This will be the second instance it has appeared as a stage in a fighting game, after Dead or Alive: Dimensions. It is also implied an enemy of Samus', such as Ridley will be present as either stage hazard or playable character. The April 2014 Nintendo Direct featured his shadow on the Pyrosphere, giving more credit to the theory. Mother Brain and Dark Samus will debut in the Smash Bros. series in this game as Assist Trophies. The Metroid, which appeared as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will return as such. Power Bombs were briefly shown during a segment showcasing the brand new 'Smash Run' game mode of the 3DS version, the new item functions much like the  Star Fox'  Smart Bomb, with a smaller blast radius and doesn't damage the player that threw it. The Screw Attack item also returns and still works as a wearable badge like it did in Brawl.

Samus and Zero Suit Samus' appearance are now based off of Metroid: Other M, unlike the earlier games which took their looks from Super Metroid and Zero Mission.

The game will be the first to be compatible with the new amiibo technology, which is similar to Skylanders and Disney Infinity. These figures, which include Samus, are placed on the Wii U GamePad for the player using it.

Samus Aran
Samus and Zero Suit Samus have become separate characters, with their Final Smashes no longer forcing a switch between the two. This change also applies to Zelda/Sheik who can no longer transform mid-match, the Pokemon Trainer being removed altogether in favor of Charizard, as well as removing the taunt trick to switch from Samus to her Zero Suit form without using a Final Smash. The change was because "we want people to focus on single characters more deeply", though hardware limitations of the 3DS may also have played a part.

Zero Suit Samus' moveset and strength have been reworked around her new jet boots. A notable change is the removal of her Plasma Wire move, replaced with an upward kick. Her kicking attacks now have more power and fire properties. She will still use the Paralyzer as a pistol and Plasma Whip for her returning moves from Brawl. Replacing Power Suit Samus is a new Final Smash in which Samus jumps into her Gunship, flies away and then can shoot at opponents for a limited period of time.

"Regular" Samus has received some modifications to her moveset as well, with a new Neutral Air double kick that hits on both sides, an explosion effect added to her Forward Smash, and her missiles can now be cut in half by sword wielding characters. Sakurai also commented in one of his "Pic of the day" posts on Miiverse that "the speed and power of Samus's Charge Shot has been drastically improved".

Director, Masahiro Sakurai had this to say about developing Samus in previous games:

"For example, look at Samus. She's sort of floaty [in Super Smash Bros.]. The reason we've represented her that way is we've taken some of the inspiration from the original Metroid. I think the reason Samus felt floaty in the game is because you have to jump so much, you have to have a certain level of accuracy while you're jumping and shooting. By enabling her to be floaty, you're slowing down that motion allowing for better accuracy in her shooting. At least, that's how I interpret why she was floaty in the original game.

"What's important about that is realizing why Samus moves the way she does," Sakurai explained, "not just saying, 'This is how she moved in a previous game, so we're going to represent that because that's the way she's always been.' I have to really go and think about it all again before I give her that representation. It's making sure we understand that and using the same logic in creating her in this world."

Confirmed Playable characters
Confirmed characters so far. Note: Bold are newcomers.
 * Mario (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Bowser (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Rosalina & Luma (Super Mario Galaxy)
 * Link (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Sheik (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Toon Link (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Samus Aran (Metroid)
 * Zero Suit Samus (Metroid)
 * Kirby (Kirby)
 * King Dedede (Kirby)
 * Fox McCloud (Star Fox)
 * Pit (Kid Icarus)
 * Palutena (Kid Icarus)
 * Donkey Kong  (Donkey Kong)
 * Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong)
 * Marth (Fire Emblem)
 * Ike (Fire Emblem)
 * Pikachu (Pokémon)
 * Lucario (Pokémon)
 * Charizard (Pokémon)
 * Greninja (Pokémon)
 * Captain Olimar (Pikmin)
 * Little Mac (Punch-Out!!)
 * Villager (Animal Crossing)
 * Mega Man (Mega Man)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Mii Fighters (Wii)
 * Wii Fit Trainer (Wii Fit)
 * Yoshi (Yoshi)
 * PacMan (PacMan)