Quote
For starters, why call her a "newcomer" if the character isn't going to be a new character? If it was just a modification to Samus, why give the distinction "newcomer". But I hear you say "on the old dojo site it said 'under certain conditions'". Yeah? So what? To me, it seems like that is more of a back story than gameplay detail.
Keep in mind that on the Japanese SSBM site Zelda and Shiek were treated as different characters, maybe ZSS is being treated the same way, because being treated as a separate character would make her a newcomer. Regarding the old Dojo site having that "under certain conditions" remark, if I remember correctly (does anybody have the original text somewhere?) it was a pretty clear hint at ZSS being a transformation of Samus, not just some piece of back story. Combining that remark with the fact that the first trailer clearly shows her going from Armored Samus to ZSS, gives me the strong impression that Samus now has a transformation (because if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...).
Quote
Secondly, consider this (my biggest piece of evidence saying they are indeed two characters), ZSS has a pistol/whip. AKA, multiple playstyles already built in. Why would ZSS get not only two different fighting methods, but armored Samus's fight style as well? Sheesh. We need separation here folks.
Just because she is equipped with a multi-function weapons does not mean that she has two move sets, that would be like saying Link will have four move sets (Sword, Boomerang, Bomb, and Bow) or, more aptly, that Pit has up to three with his variable use bow (Bow, duel blades, and as one picture shows: the blades combined as the bow but with the blades facing different directions). In fact we have only seen the whip once and that is all, for all we know it could just be like Shiek's chain or part of a combo special attack like Marth's forward B. Even if it were to be used in her A button attacks it is not like the gun could not change forms speedily. The only thing that even remotely gives the impression that two move sets exist is the part in the second trailer where Samus is fiddling with the gun; changing it between modes, but for all we know that could just be an idling animation or appeal/taunt.
Quote
For me personally, I thought it was cool that Zelda and Sheik could go back and forth, but I never used it. I always held 'A' before the match, and played as Sheik. I didn't like playing as either character though because I lost the opportunity to have a down A with both of them. I felt like I was missing a move, rather than being excited I had a different character/playstyle available. If they do this to Samus (a crowd favorite) I'm going to be seriously annoyed.
One could say that even though Zelda and Shiek did each loose a down+B, as a combined character they actually got six distinct moves (seven if you count the transformation as a move) which is two more than any other character, not to mention the entirely new set of A moves. Just because you don't like to transform does not mean that others did not take full advantage of, and enjoy using, the larger move set. This is only problematic if Samus does in fact lose one of her moves to have a transformation (if she does indeed transform), but like it has been discussed before though the transformation could come from the use of the SSA (this method though could become problematic if the current theory of the SSA item only coming around once a match is true). The transformation could be done by pressing both A and B together, or B and guard together, or some other method that we have not even thought of all of which would allow her to keep all her current moves. As a Samus player, I would love to have a transformation as part of her arsenal, but that is just me.
In closing I would just like to say that we (unless someone here is privy to information that no one else is)really do not know for sure either way if she is a transformation character or not, and we probably wont know until a ZSS update occurs, and even then it might not tell us what we want to know (if a ZSS update does occur and it says nothing about transformation though I would concede that they are probably separate, but even then there would still be a chance they could be holding that info till later). Which ever happens though, I actualy think that it would be better to assume that they are separate, and being surprised when they are, then to assume ZSS is a transformation and be bummed out (at least I would be) when it turns out she is not.