Metroid: Samus Returns

METROID: SAMUS RETURNS

Next up, let's cover Metroid: Samus Returns! After a long drought of waiting and an announcement of Metroid Prime 4 that has still yet to be fully realized, a remake of Metroid II: The Return of Samus was revealed and released, soon to be followed by the long-awaited Metroid Dread. Samus Returns recreates the story and most of the basic level structure of Metroid II, just enhanced with fully 3D graphics and the like.

The biggest additions I can think of here are some slight enhancements on the Metroid Queen, who can shoot a laser beam and fire green orbs. Then we have the next level down of Metroids, the Omega Metroids, who received a massive upgrade, making them much more challenging mini-bosses. The Omegas can fire a laser beam, fire a laser beam across the ground, leap into the air, claw, and pound the ground with their tail. And then finally we have Ridley returning as a surprise final boss, titled Proteus Ridley as a mid-point between Meta Ridley and the restored Ridley who appears in Super, somehow regrowing his body. In this form, he can fly, spit fireballs, stomp and grab. Basic Ridley stuff.

And that's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Zero Suit Samus: emergency pistol, crawl, backflip

Ridley: missiles, claws, fly fireballs, stomp, grab

Metroid Queen: laser beam, green orbs

Omega Metroid: laser beam, laser beam at ground, leap, claw, tail pound

Chozo: orb, float, shock

Space Pirates

Stages:

Space Pirate Mothership

Chozo Ruins

SR388

Thanks for reading! Next up, a three-in-one package deal!

Metroid Prime Hunters

METROID PRIME HUNTERS

And now for a very popular game, largely for its cast of playable characters, including six rival hunters alongside Samus, each completing various missions and going up against each other in battles on their quest to achieve it. Each one is going after an ancient power recently discovered in the far reaches of space, each with their own motives for doing so.

Each is relatively similar in playstyle, each having their own version of the laser and morph ball and so on. Samus is her basic self with all the things you'd expect from her. Noxus is an icy alien similar to Rundas who seeks absolute law and justice and seeks the weapon to keep it from falling into evil hands. His laser weapon is the Judicator, while instead of a morph ball, he can change into a small insectoid form called the Vhoscythe. He can also project a shield of ice around himself and attack with his arm at close range.

Sylux is easily the most popular of these six, a mysterious hunter with an intense grudge against the Federation, strongly implied to be the villain of Metroid Prime 4 (if it ever actually comes out). Sylux mainly uses electrical weapons, including a shock coil as his main weapon, and his Morph ball form is called the Lockjaw, a ball of electricity in metallic casing. He can also use electric bombs, a tripwire, and he can call in his ship, the Delano 7, when needed.

Spire is the last of his kind, and is seeking the ultimate power in order to learn what happened to his people. He uses the Magmaul to fire lava, and becomes a rolling ball of rock called the Dialanche. He can also pummel with his arms and create shockwaves. Trace is . . . basically Invader Zim. He's a young member of an invader race on a rite of passage to find a planet to conquer. He wields the Imperialist which he uses as a sniping weapon, whereas his body transforms into a small form called the Triskelion that he can jump strike with. He can also turn himself invisible.

Kanden is a biological experiment that broke out and went rogue, and now seeks the ultimate power to become even stronger. He can turn into a little bug called a Stinglarva, and he wields the Volt Driver to shoot electromagnetic blasts. He can also use a shield, and detach his tail to leave behind as a bomb. Weavel is a former space pirate, wounded in battle with Samus, who now seeks revenge against her. He wields a weapon called the Battlehammer, which acts as a handheld mortar, and he can take on a tank form called the Half-Turret. He also has a scythe for an arm and can use a smaller pistol weapon.

In the end, this Ultimate Power was simply a ruse sent into the galaxy telepathically by an ancient evil called Gorea, that had nearly wiped out an ancient race called the Alimbics and had been sealed away in another dimension to contain it. The hunters' search for the power accidentally unleashed Gorea, and it acted as the final boss against them. It has long tentacles to attack with and drain energy from its victims. It can also shoot lasers, toss energy balls, hover upside down, copy and use the hunters' attacks, warp around, and take on a final form. Other bosses include the Cretaphid, Slench, the Fire Spawn, and the Arctic Spawn, most of which are pretty basic.

The game takes place across five different locations where battles can be fought. These include the Celestial Archives (a giant library), Alinos (a fire planet), an abandonded station called Vesper Defense Outpost, an ice planet called Arcterra, and the Oubliette, the ship Gorea was trapped inside.

And that's pretty much it. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus: laser beam, charge beam, morph ball, missile, bomb, boost ball, space jump boots, super missile, thermal visor, spider ball, wave buster, ice beam, gravity suit, power bomb, grapple beam, x-ray visor, plasma beam, ice spreader, flamethrower, phazon suit, phazon beam, dark beam, light beam, heat-seeking launcher, dark visor, echo visor, screw attack, wall jump, annihilator beam, light armor, sunburst, grapple lasso, hyper mode, ice missiles, grapple voltage, hazard shield, hyper grapple

Rundas: shoot ice, skate on ice, lines of ice, emerge from ice, ice blocks, shields of ice, spikes of ice

Ghor: hunter mech, blade, laser beams, shield, hyper beam, spin, leap, charge, throw a ship

Gandrayda: leap, disks, shapeshift

Noxus: Judicator, Vhoscythe, shield of ice, arm attack

Sylux: shock coil, Lockjaw, electric bombs, tripwire, Delano 7

Spire: Magmaul, Dialanche, pummel with arms, shockwaves

Trace: Imperialist, Triskelion, jump strike, invisible

Kanden: Stinglarva, Volt Driver, shield, tail bomb

Weavel: Battlehammer, mortar, Half-Turret, scythe, pistol weapon

Castor Dane/Space Marines: guns, turrets, supercharge

Aurora Unit: tentacles, laser, four lasers, float, spin, laser orbs

U-Mos/Luminoth: float, holograms, light armor, light beams, travel through light beams, all Light World

Dark Samus: lasers, dark energy beams, dark waves, surge, shields, disappear, explosion of phazon, morph ball, invisible, float, hyper beam, energy orb, blast of phazon, jetpack, tentacles, spray beam, warp, absorb, duplicate, pillars, shockwave

Meta Ridley: fly, beams, drop bombs, slam, swipe, dash, fireballs, wind shields, laser blast, claw, explosive blast, bite, breathe fire, tail spin, armor

Metroid Prime: barrel, hang, energy beams, lunge, burrow, bombs, balls of fire, green fire, invisible, final form

Emperor Ing: tentacles, light lasers, blasts, orbs, wave of darkness, jump really high

Gorea: tentacles, drain, lasers, energy balls, hover upside down, hunters' attacks, warp, final form

Elite Pirate/Omega Pirate/Phazon Elite: energy blasts, punch, shockwave, teleport

Space Pirates: swim, jetpack, lasers, blade, cannon, airship, jetpack, grenade, aerotrooper, shields, ATCs

Ing: dark matter, melt into pool, lasers, claw, lunge, leap

Metroids

Liquid Phazon: infect, spawn grubs, blasts of Phazon, properties of Phazon

Chozo Ghost: invisibility, float, dash, energy balls

Dark Splinter: claw, lunge, leap

"Mechanoids": Crawltanks, Crawlmines, Aeromines, Jumpmines, Jolly Roger Drones, Tinbots, Steamlords, Steambots (look into)

Berserker Lord: energy balls, claw, laser beams, spit blobs, breathe energy

Sheegoth

War Wasp

Geemer

Quadraxis/Quad: spin, body, head, lasers, shields, stomp to create shockwaves, missiles

Labor Golem: shoulder bash, jump, battering ram, fire breath, energy beam, freeze, pick up block, stomp, rage, shoot orbs

Bosses:

Parasite Queen

Flaahgra

Thardus

Amorbis

Alpha Blogg

Chykka

Korakk

Mogenar

Defense Drone

Phazon Harvester Drone

Helios

Metroid Hatcher

Pirate Commander

Cretaphid

Slench

Fire Spawn

Arctic Spawn

Stages:

Frigate Orpheon

Tallon IV

Chozo Ruins

Magmoor Caverns

Phendrana Drifts

Phazon Mines

Artifact Temple

Impact Crater

Planet Aether

Temple Grounds

Agon Wastes

Torvus Bog

Sanctuary Fortress

Sky Temple

Dark World

Norion

Bryyo

Elysia

Pirate Homeworld

Phaaze

GFS Olympus

GFS Valhalla

Pinball Game

Celestial Archives

Alinos

Vesper Defense Outpost

Arcterra

Oubliette

Thanks for reading! Next up, a game that was much less popular.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION

And now, it is time for the third and final (for now) entry in the Metroid Prime series, and one that pretty drastically veers away from a lot of the standard formula, such as the Federation and other bounty hunters being a massive part of the story, and Samus's adventure covering multiple different planets. The story follows Samus as she participates in a massive assault on the Space Pirates that results in her three bounty hunter companions being infected by Phazon and drawn under the control of Dark Samus.

Samus is our main protagonist, bringing with her this time lasers, the morph ball, bombs, missiles, a grapple lasso, a hyper mode, ice missiles, the boost ball, the plasma beam, the screw attack, hyper missiles, an x-ray visor, grapple voltage, the spider ball, a hazard shield, and a hyper grapple.

Her three companions are the ice alien Rundas, the robot Ghor, and the shapeshifter Gandrayda. Rundas can shoot ice, skate on ice, create lines of ice, emerge from and disappear into ice, create ice blocks, shield himself with ice, and create ice spikes. Ghor primarily pilots a hunter mech with a blade, a laser beam, a shield, a plasma beam, and the ability to leap, spin, charge, and throw an entire ship. Gandrayda normally only leaps and throws disks herself, but being the shapeshifter can fill the same niche as Doopliss or Ditto.

Other supporting characters appear in the form of the Federation, including Admiral Castor Dane and the Space Marines, who use guns, turrets, and can supercharge things. Most of their operations are also directed by the Aurora Units, giant brainlike AI that dole out instructions. One of them is corrupted by the Pirates and serves as an endgame boss, with tentacles, a big laser, four lasers shooting out, the ability to float and spin, and laser orbs.

Dark Samus serves as our main villain, trying to spread her Phazon across the galaxy and control it all. She fires a laser blast, a blast of phazon, uses a jetpack, grows tentacles of phazon, uses a spray beam, warps around, absorbs attacks, duplicates herself, creates pillars, and causes a shockwave. Meta Ridley also appears as the main boss of the Space Pirate assault in the opening of the game. He fires a laser blast, flies, claws, fires an explosive blast, bites, breaths fire, and spins his tail. He also has heavy armor.

Our bosses include the Korakk, a beast that Space Pirates ride and can shoot lasers; Mogenar, a large war golem that stomps, rages, and shoots orbs; a Defense Drone with cannons and turrets and can jump; a Phazon Harvester Drone; Helios, a mechanoid that shoots lasers and has a sturdy shell; a Metroid Hatcher, and a Pirate Commander that can teleport and shoot energy balls. Also worth noting at the Berserker Lords, enhanced Pirates who shoot energy balls, claw, fire laser beams, spit blobs, and breathe out damaging energy. Another major aspect are the Labor Golems that Samus can use or fight, which can shoulder bash, jump, use a battering ram, breathe fire, fire an energy beam, and freeze things.

Space Pirates, of course, are our main enemy types, with lasers, grenades, aerotrooper jetpacks, shields, and armored tactical carriers. Other important enemies include the Metroids and Liquid Phazon, which can move around on its own, infect Samus, spawn more Phazon grubs, shoot blasts of Phazon, and there's lots of other basic properties of Phazon to think about. Other enemies include Gragnols, Nightbarbs, Gel Puffers, Reptilicuses, Alpha Hoppers, Warp Hounds, Pill Bugs, Gel Rays, Scorch Bugs, Shriekbats, Jelsacs, and Scritters. There are also several "Mechanoids" running around in this game, including Crawltanks, Crawlmines, Aeromines, Jumpmines, Jolly Roger Drones, Tinbots, Steamlords, and Steambots, which I may have to include separately from the Aut-stuff of Metroid II and Dread. I will look into it.

The game takes place on multiple different planets, with those acting as the areas instead of different biomes on one planet. These include Norion in the opening chapter, Bryyo, Elysia, the Pirate Homeworld, and Phaaze, with the GFS Olympus as the main command ship of the Federation, and the GFS Valhalla as a ship attacked by Space Pirates.

And that's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus: laser beam, charge beam, morph ball, missile, bomb, boost ball, space jump boots, super missile, thermal visor, spider ball, wave buster, ice beam, gravity suit, power bomb, grapple beam, x-ray visor, plasma beam, ice spreader, flamethrower, phazon suit, phazon beam, dark beam, light beam, heat-seeking launcher, dark visor, echo visor, screw attack, wall jump, annihilator beam, light armor, sunburst, grapple lasso, hyper mode, ice missiles, grapple voltage, hazard shield, hyper grapple

Rundas: shoot ice, skate on ice, lines of ice, emerge from ice, ice blocks, shields of ice, spikes of ice

Ghor: hunter mech, blade, laser beams, shield, hyper beam, spin, leap, charge, throw a ship

Gandrayda: leap, disks, shapeshift

Castor Dane/Space Marines: guns, turrets, supercharge

Aurora Unit: tentacles, laser, four lasers, float, spin, laser orbs

U-Mos/Luminoth: float, holograms, light armor, light beams, travel through light beams, all Light World

Dark Samus: lasers, dark energy beams, dark waves, surge, shields, disappear, explosion of phazon, morph ball, invisible, float, hyper beam, energy orb, blast of phazon, jetpack, tentacles, spray beam, warp, absorb, duplicate, pillars, shockwave

Meta Ridley: fly, beams, drop bombs, slam, swipe, dash, fireballs, wind shields, laser blast, claw, explosive blast, bite, breathe fire, tail spin, armor

Metroid Prime: barrel, hang, energy beams, lunge, burrow, bombs, balls of fire, green fire, invisible, final form

Emperor Ing: tentacles, light lasers, blasts, orbs, wave of darkness, jump really high

Elite Pirate/Omega Pirate/Phazon Elite: energy blasts, punch, shockwave, teleport

Space Pirates: swim, jetpack, lasers, blade, cannon, airship, jetpack, grenade, aerotrooper, shields, ATCs

Ing: dark matter, melt into pool, lasers, claw, lunge, leap

Metroids

Liquid Phazon: infect, spawn grubs, blasts of Phazon, properties of Phazon

Chozo Ghost: invisibility, float, dash, energy balls

Dark Splinter: claw, lunge, leap

"Mechanoids": Crawltanks, Crawlmines, Aeromines, Jumpmines, Jolly Roger Drones, Tinbots, Steamlords, Steambots (look into)

Berserker Lord: energy balls, claw, laser beams, spit blobs, breathe energy

Sheegoth

War Wasp

Geemer

Quadraxis/Quad: spin, body, head, lasers, shields, stomp to create shockwaves, missiles

Labor Golem: shoulder bash, jump, battering ram, fire breath, energy beam, freeze, pick up block, stomp, rage, shoot orbs

Bosses:

Parasite Queen

Flaahgra

Thardus

Amorbis

Alpha Blogg

Chykka

Korakk

Mogenar

Defense Drone

Phazon Harvester Drone

Helios

Metroid Hatcher

Pirate Commander

Stages:

Frigate Orpheon

Tallon IV

Chozo Ruins

Magmoor Caverns

Phendrana Drifts

Phazon Mines

Artifact Temple

Impact Crater

Planet Aether

Temple Grounds

Agon Wastes

Torvus Bog

Sanctuary Fortress

Sky Temple

Dark World

Norion

Bryyo

Elysia

Pirate Homeworld

Phaaze

GFS Olympus

GFS Valhalla

Thanks for reading! Next, we have three more games under the banner of Metroid Prime.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

METROID PRIME 2: ECHOES

Next up, let's cover the second of the Metroid Prime trilogy, and the first official appearance of Dark Samus (as Dark Samus). The story follows Samus approaching a planet called Aether, where a Federation squad had crash-landed and were swiftly wiped out by something on the planet. As she explores, she discovers the planet exists on two planes, a light dimension and a dark dimension, with creatures from the dark dimension leaking into the light world.

Samus Aran returns as our main protagonist, complete with her lasers, morph ball, bombs, space jump boots, missiles, a dark beam and a light beam to use in the different worlds, super missiles, the boost ball, a heat seeking launcher, the grapple beam, a dark visor, the spider ball, an echo visor, her screw attack and wall jump, an annihilator beam, light armor, power bombs, and a sunburst ability.

We have a set of beings called Luminoths who act as Samus's allies, the former inhabitants of the light world before being mostly massacred. U-Mos is the only main survivor while the rest appear as spirits. They can float, project holograms, supplied Samus with her light armor and light beams, and give Samus the ability to travel through light beams. I'd also go ahead and say that everything directly connect to the Light World can be attributed to them.

Dark Samus is our main villain, who Samus initially believes to be a dark version of her created by the Dark World. She does, in fact, turn out to be the remains of the Metroid Prime, who had absorbed Samus's visage and abilities and turned into a clone of her. She can fire lasers and dark energy beams, unleash dark waves, surge forward, create shields, disappear, set off an explosion of phazon, take on a morph ball shape, turn invisible, float, fire a hyper beam, and throw energy orbs. The Ings, main denizens of the Dark World are also our villains, with their Emperor Ing as the final boss. He can attack with tentacles, fire light lasers, blasts, and orbs, unleash a wave of darkness, and jump really high.

We have a few other bosses. Most notably, we have the weapon guardians, Ings altered to use Samus's stolen equipment, that then fight her with them before she can take them back. These include Bomb, Jump, Boost, Grapple, Spider, and Power Bomb Guardians. Other bosses include Amorbis, a worm thing that burrows, sucks in, and shoots lasers; the Alpha Blogg, that swims around and spits at you; Chykka, a giant bug that attacks with poison and its tongue; and Quadraxis, a giant version of the Quad enemy which are spinning robots that come in two parts, that shoot lasers, create shields, stomp to create shockwaves, and shoot missiles.

As for our enemies, our most important are the Space Pirates, the Ing, Metroids, and Dark Splinters. Space Pirates have lasers, blades, cannons, airships, jetpacks, and grenades. Ing shoot dark matter, melt into pools of darkness, shoot lasers from their eyes, claw, lunge, and leap. Dark Splinters are little, um, Goomba versions of the Ing, I guess, who likewise claw, lunge, and leap. After that, we have our standard roster of niche-filling enemies, including the Hydling, Blogg, Bloggling, Sandbat, Lightflyer, Lumite, War Wasp, Shrieker, Shriekbat, Pill Bug, Kralee, Brizgee, Seedburster, Krocuss, Lightbringer, Sandigger, Grenchler, Sporb, Drone, Mechlops, Rezbit, Octopede, Turrets, Ingsmasher (which can launch missiles and ground pound), Watchdrone, Mekenobite, Ingstorm, Inglet, Ing Larva, Darkling Tentacle, and Preed.

As for our stages, the game takes place on the Planet Aether, with Temple Grounds, Agon Wastes, Torvus Bogg, Sanctuary Fortress, and the Sky Temple as our main locations, and dark versions of each to make our way through and double the length of the game.

And that should be about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus: laser beam, charge beam, morph ball, missile, bomb, boost ball, space jump boots, super missile, thermal visor, spider ball, wave buster, ice beam, gravity suit, power bomb, grapple beam, x-ray visor, plasma beam, ice spreader, flamethrower, phazon suit, phazon beam, dark beam, light beam, heat-seeking launcher, dark visor, echo visor, screw attack, wall jump, annihilator beam, light armor, sunburst

U-Mos/Luminoth: float, holograms, light armor, light beams, travel through light beams, all Light World

Dark Samus: lasers, dark energy beams, dark waves, surge, shields, disappear, explosion of phazon, morph ball, invisible, float, hyper beam, energy orbs

Meta Ridley: fly, beams, drop bombs, slam, swipe, dash, fireballs, wind shields

Metroid Prime: barrel, hang, energy beams, lunge, burrow, bombs, balls of fire, green fire, invisible, final form

Emperor Ing: tentacles, light lasers, blasts, orbs, wave of darkness, jump really high

Elite Pirate/Omega Pirate/Phazon Elite: energy blasts, punch, shockwave, teleport

Space Pirates: swim, jetpack, lasers, blade, cannon, airship, jetpack, grenade

Ing: dark matter, melt into pool, lasers, claw, lunge, leap

Metroids

Chozo Ghost: invisibility, float, dash, energy balls

Dark Splinter: claw, lunge, leap

Sheegoth

War Wasp

Geemer

Quadraxis/Quad: spin, body, head, lasers, shields, stomp to create shockwaves, missiles.

Bosses:

Parasite Queen

Flaahgra

Thardus

Amorbis

Alpha Blogg

Chykka

Stages:

Frigate Orpheon

Tallon IV

Chozo Ruins

Magmoor Caverns

Phendrana Drifts

Phazon Mines

Artifact Temple

Impact Crater

Planet Aether

Temple Grounds

Agon Wastes

Torvus Bog

Sanctuary Fortress

Sky Temple

Dark World

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's finish the trilogy with Corruption!

Metroid Prime

METROID PRIME

And now it's time for the first game in the widely acclaimed 3D trilogy for the Metroid series, Metroid Prime. Released for the Nintendo Gamecube, the game focuses on Samus responding to a distress call on the planet Tallon IV, a former Chozo stronghold and new center of Space Pirate activity conducting experiments on a substance called Phazon.

The game goes from a sidescroller to a first-person shooter, showing you the world from the inside of Samus's helmet. She comes with her standard laser beam, and picks up the charge beam, the morph ball, missiles, bombs, the boost ball ability (allowing her to jump while in ball form), the space jump boots, the super missile, a thermal visors, the spider ball (letting her crawl along walls as a ball), the wave buster, the ice beam, the gravity suit, the power bomb, the grapple beam, the x-ray visor, the plasma beam, the ice spreader, the flamethrower, and a phazon suit and phazon beams for traversing the final level.

Meta Ridley is our main villain, of sorts, leading the Space Pirates in their experiments with Phazon. He is basically Ridley, just needing cyborg enhancements after the injuries he sustained in his fight with Samus on Zebes. In this form, he can fly, shoot beams from his mouth, drop bombs, slam into the ground, swipe at Samus, dash forward, shoot fireballs, and create shields out of wind. The final boss of the game, however, comes in the form of the Metroid Prime, a Metroid that has been mutated into a crablike monster by Phazon. The Prime will barrel forward, hang from the ceiling, shoot energy beams, lunge, burrow underground, drop bombs, shoot balls of fire, release a wave of green fire, turn invisible, and take on a final form.

Our other bosses include the Parasite Queen from the beginning, who just shoots an energy beam; a giant plant called Flaahgra, that can slash and has poisonous breath; Thardus, an ice golem that rolls, creates a shockwave of ice, and punches; and three elite forms of Space Pirate: the Elite Pirate that fires energy blasts, punches hard, and creates a shockwave; the Omega Pirate that punches, fires energy blasts, teleports, and creates shockwaves; and the Phazon Elite, that unleashes a devastating shockwave.

From here, we have a bunch of enemies. The most important include the Space Pirates, who can swim and have jetpacks now; the Metroids; and the Chozo Ghosts, vengeful spirits of fallen Chozo who move around invisibly, float, dash, and shoot energy balls. From there we have the rampaging Sheegoths, Aqua Drones, Reapers, and Sacs, War Wasps, Beetles, Blastcaps, Bloodflowers, Burrowers, Eyons, Geemers, Grizbies, Jelzaps, Magmoors, Oculuses, Parasites, Plazmites, Puffers, Pulse Bombus, Reaper Vines, Shriekbats, Stone Toads, Tallon Crabs, Tangleweeds, Triclopses, Zoomers, and Auto Defense Turrets. Most of these fill a single niche and that's about it.

The game starts out on the Frigate Orpheon, an abandoned ship that acts as a tutorial phase. From there, we move down to the planet Tallon IV, where Samus's ship rests in the Tallon Overworld. The main areas include Chozo Ruins, a jungle-y area; Magmoor Caverns, a lava area; Phendrana Drifts, an ice area; the Phazon Mines; the Artifact Temple where Samus faces Ridley and unlocks the final level; and the Impact Crater, which acts as the final area.

And that's just about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus: laser beam, charge beam, morph ball, missile, bomb, boost ball, space jump boots, super missile, thermal visor, spider ball, wave buster, ice beam, gravity suit, power bomb, grapple beam, x-ray visor, plasma beam, ice spreader, flamethrower, phazon suit, phazon beam

Meta Ridley: fly, beams, drop bombs, slam, swipe, dash, fireballs, wind shields

Metroid Prime: barrel, hang, energy beams, lunge, burrow, bombs, balls of fire, green fire, invisible, final form

Elite Pirate/Omega Pirate/Phazon Elite: energy blasts, punch, shockwave, teleport

Space Pirates: swim, jetpack

Metroids

Chozo Ghost: invisibility, float, dash, energy balls

Sheegoth

War Wasp

Geemer

Bosses:

Parasite Queen

Flaahgra

Thardus

Stages:

Frigate Orpheon

Tallon IV

Chozo Ruins

Magmoor Caverns

Phendrana Drifts

Phazon Mines

Artifact Temple

Impact Crater

Thanks for reading! Next up, the game's sequel, Echoes!

Metroid: Other M

METROID: OTHER M

Psst . . . do you get it? The initials say MOM. Also putting M in front of Other makes Mother. Honestly, if I had a nickel . . . 

Anyway, Metroid: Other M is a bit of a black sheep of the Metroid franchise, with most seeming to hate it. I honestly think the badness was oversold to me a little, as I had been led to believe that Samus had been portrayed as this sniveling weak coward in the Ridley scene and that Adam had been a massive abusive jerk, and then I ended up watching it and was like . . . that's it? She's a little stunned for a second? And he's a bit on the more "hard mentor" side, but not even egregiously? Did everyone overreact? I think everyone overreacted. Anyhoo, the story follows Samus as she responds to a distress call on a scientific vessel, only to find the crew dead and encountering a Federation unit led by Adam Malkovitch.

Samus returns, as always. She brings with her her power suit and her charge beam, also gaining a morph ball, bombs, missiles, power bombs, the ice beam, her speed booster, the wave beam, the grapple beam, super missiles, the space jump, the screw attack, the gravity suit, and the power bombs. She also appears as Zero Suit Samus, though only briefly and she quickly suits up.

We get to see Adam Malkovitch alive, with the game showing the events leading up to his death. He leads a team of Federation soldiers made up of Samus's friend Anthony Higgs, Lyle Smithsonian, Maurice Favreau, James Pierce, and K.G. Misawa. All six are shown using lasers, bombs, freeze guns, regular guns, and plasma cannons throughout. One of them is also a traitor (though that ends up being unresolved in-game, it was revealed to be Pierce by the game's directors). Another important ally is Madeline Bergman, the last remaining scientist on the Bottle Ship.

Our villain turns out to be MB, a recreation of Mother Brain intended to control the Metroids but put into a cloned human body dubbed Melissa Bergman, that Madeline had gotten attached to. MB went rogue, using her mental powers to control the monsters held in the facility and kill all the scientists. MB is shown to have superhuman strength and uses a gun, but her real notable ability comes in her ability to control monsters, something we will come back to in a moment.

The base is full of a number of other returning bosses, all cloned from those Samus had fought in the past. These included the Metroid Queen, Ridley, Phantoon, and Nightmare. The Metroid Queen could bite and breathe fire, and was surrounded by her eggs. Ridley started out in a small fuzzy form that proved surprisingly violent, grew into a middle stage, and finally took on his true form once again. He could fly, bite, breath fire, crawl on the wall, slam Samus into the wall, swipe with his tail, and drop a fire bomb. Nightmare had tentacles and lasers, crawled around on its belly, and made its arm glow. Phantoon had tentacles and could throw energy orbs.

There's also a set of mini-bosses (I guess) that Samus would have to face regularly while on special lifts. These include the reptilian Ghalmanians, who can headbutt, spit acid, strike with a clawlike tongue, grab with their tail, and turn invisible; the digging Griptians, who can roll, slash with claws, punch, burrow into the ground, shoot spikes, and fly with wings; the electrical Kyratians, who could fire electric blasts from rods on their back, spin, kick, create a shield around themselves, and let off an overblast; the butterfly-like Desbrachians, who can fly, slash, slam, give off an energy wave, and shield themselves in a cocoon; and the big Rhedogians, who could fly, fire a big laser, fire remote lasers, slash with its tentacles, and slam hard on the ground. I bring these all up because they all have solid movesets, and could possibly fall under MB's control.

Other bosses include the Brug Mass, a big mass of the Brug enemies; the King Kihunter, who just kind of hangs out in its next; the plant-like Groganch; the big-armored Asborean; the draconic Goyagma; the fish-like Vorash; and the RB176 Ferrocrusher, piloted by the traitor, that throws crates and shoots missiles.

Returning enemies include Geemers, Wavers, Reos, Skrees, Dessgeegas, Sidehoppers, Namihes, Funes, Zeroes, Skulteras, Bulls, Mellas, Magdollites, with Kihunters, and Zebesians. The Kihunters could fly, drain energy, grab, and shoot energy orbs. The Zebesians could crawl on walls and shoot lasers and wave beams. New enemies include Cyclaws, Dragotixes, Gigafraugs, FG-II Grahams, Whipvines, Himellas, Volfons, Fumbleyes, Sandfangs, and Baristutes.

Most of the game takes place in the Bottle Ship, a scientific vessel where a bunch of cloning was going on, recreating most of the monsters Samus had destroyed. The ship had a main sector and sector zero, then had three biome spheres containing specific types of life, including the jungle-like Biosphere, the cold Cryosphere, and the superhot Pyrosphere. There is also a Federation vessel that Samus starts out on.

And that should be just about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam, Speed Booster, Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Hyper Beam, Fusion Suit, wide beam, power bombs, omega suit, Omega Cannon, spider magnet, phantom cloak, flash shift, pulse radar, cross bomb, storm missiles, drain, giant beam, glowing hand.

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Adam Malkovitch/Anthony Higgs/Lyle Smithsonian/Maurice Favreau/James Pierce/K.G. Misawa: lasers, bombs, freeze guns, guns, plasma cannons, traitor

Quiet Robe

EMMI: grab, wall climb, crawl, scan, rampage, energy spike

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers, T-Rex body, eye beam, explosive rocks, energy disks

MB: mental powers, superhuman strength, gun, control monsters

Ridley: hop, fireballs, flying, swinging tail, screen attack, tail bounce, fire breath, grab and lift, fuzzy form, middle stage, fly, bite, breath fire, crawl on wall, slam into wall, swipe with tail, fire bomb

Kraid: blades, spikes, bombs, claw, plasma breath, bite, neck harness

Raven Beak: laser blast, leap, absorb energy, dash, scan, orb of darkness, energy beam, wings, stomp, supernova

X-Parasite: attach, orbs, shapeshift, more parasites, ice, get big, cross bomb

SA-X: missiles, super bombs, ice beam, screw attack, monster, stomp

Neo-Ridley

Phantoon: ghost, drop fire, ring of fire, tentacles, energy orbs

Nightmare: tentacles, lasers, crawl on belly, arm glow

Crocomire: charge, slash, skeleton

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus, breathe fire, bite

Baby Metroid

Space Pirate: claw, energy beam, cling to wall, hop from walls, kick, throw claws, lasers, swim, wave beams

Torizo: walk, spit bombs, rubble, energy waves, jump, drop eggs

Chozo Soldier: spear, wall jump, stab down, dash, sludge wave, goop spray, shield

Robot Chozo Soldier: laser, arm scythe, dash, laser beam, jump spin

Kihunters: fly, spit acid, drain energy, grab, energy orbs, King Kihunter

Ghalmanians: headbutt, spit acid, clawlike tongue, grab with tail, invisible

Griptians: roll, slash, punch, burrow, spikes, fly

Kyratians: electric blasts, spin, kick, shield, overblast

Desbrachians: fly, slash, slam, energy wave, cocoon

Rhedogians: fly, big laser, remote lasers, tentacles, slam

Hornoad

Autom: look into

Bosses:

Arachnus

Phantoon

Draygon

Crocomire

Botwoon

Spore Spawn

Zazabi

Serris

Yakuza

Nettori

Nightmare

Neo-Ridley

Corpius

Drogyga

Golzuna

Escue

Experiment No. Z-57

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Ceres Space Colony

Crateria

Maridia

Wrecked Ship

Biologic Space Laboratories

ZDR

Artaria

Cataris

Dairon

Burenia

Ghavoran

Ferenia

Elun

Hanubia

Itorash

Bottle Ship

Biosphere

Cryosphere

Pyrosphere

Thanks for reading! And now, let's take a break and do a batch of character sheets, starting with our leading lady herself.

Metroid Dread

METROID DREAD

The history of Metroid Dread is long and complicated. First planned in 2005 but cancelled due to technical limitations, it was unveiled fifteen years later and released in 2022 to worldwide acclaim. It acts as a sequel to Fusion, with Samus being sent to the planet ZDR after evidence that some X-Parasites had survived SR388's destruction had resulted in seven E.M.M.I. robots disppearing there.

Samus is our returning hero, starting out with a basic suit (still stuck in one as she is still part Metroid now). She comes with her Omega Cannon and Charge Beam, but also picks up the spider magnet, phantom cloak, wide beam, morph ball, bombs, flash shift, grapple beam, pulse radar, super missiles, plasma beam, ice missiles, cross bomb, storm missiles, space jump, power bombs, a drain ability, a giant beam, and a glowing hand that destroys the E.M.M.I.s.

Adam Malkovitch returns again as Samus's AI computer, and an old Chozo named Quiet Robe functions as an ally for Samus as well. EMMIs were robots designed to be allies to Samus, but they were corrupted by the game's villain and now stalk the game, hunting down Samus and killing her instantly if they ever catch her. They can grab, wall climb, crawl, scan, rampage at full speed, and stab Samus through with an energy spike. There are seven of them, who all behave slightly differently, but each has those same basic abilities.

Raven Beak is our main villain, a Chozo from a warrior clan using X-Parasites for his own purposes. His presence around Samus also excites the Metroid DNA within her, causing it to rapidly accelerate and take over her body. He can fire a laser blast, leap, absorb energy, dash really fast, scan with a laser, create an orb or darkness, fire an energy beam, fly with wings, stomp, and create a supernova. The X-Parasites also maintain a strong presence, shapeshifting, spawning offspring, and using the cross bomb.

Other bosses include the returning Kraid, who can spit up bombs, claw, fire spikes, spew plasma, and bite, all while being restrained by a neck harness that pulls him back. After him we have Corpius, a scorpion-thing with a stinger that can turn invisible; Drogyga, an aquatic thing with tentacles that can shoot fireballs; Golzuna, a big spider-like thing; Escue, a big flying thing; and Experiment No. Z-57, a bio-experiment with tentacles that can shoot lasers. After them, we also have the Central Units that supply the power to kill EMMIs, and two types of Chozo Soldiers. The regular ones carry spears, can wall jump, stab down, dash, throw out waves of sludge and spray goop, and carry shields. The Robot Chozo Soldiers shoot lasers, are equipped with arm scythes, can dash, shoot laser beams, and jump spin.

After them, it's a whole lot of enemies doing the same things as before. Generally one specific ability, filling a certain niche, and generally, they all come with different names. These include Armadiggers, Batalloons, Blindflies, Caterzillas, Chozo Zombies, Daivos, Depthorns, Dizzeans, Dredheds, Dropters, Fings, Fulmites, Gobblers, Muzbies, Gooplots, Gooshockers, Ground Shockers, Hecathons, Icefleas, Infesters, Klaidas, Kreeps, Lightened Krills, Lum Ells, Nailongs, Nailuggers, Obsydomithons, Omnithons, Planteaters, Plies, Quetzoas, Redenkis, Rock Divers, Rods, Rodotuks, Sabotorus, Sakais, Sclawks, Scourges, Sea Slugs, Shakernauts, Sharpaws, Shelmits, Siluros, Slaagas, Slidles, Spitclawks, Spittails, Sunnaps, Takumakus, Vulkrans, Yampas, Yojimbees, and five machines starting with Aut-, including Autclast, Autector, Autool, Autsharp, and Autsniper. And now that I'm putting the blogs together, I'm noticing a few of these, so I'm going to go back over them all on my own time and see what's there.

As for stages, the whole thing takes place on the Planet ZDR, a Chozo outpost inhabited by the warlike Mawkin tribe. Each region has slight variations, but its all mostly "alien world" so . . . there's Artaria, Cataris, Dairon, Burenia, Ghavoran, Ferenia, Elun, Hanubia, and Itorash, Itorash having a sort of capitol/temple kind of vibe to it.

And that should be it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam, Speed Booster, Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Hyper Beam, Fusion Suit, wide beam, power bombs, omega suit, Omega Cannon, spider magnet, phantom cloak, flash shift, pulse radar, cross bomb, storm missiles, drain, giant beam, glowing hand.

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Adam Malkovitch

Quiet Robe

EMMI: grab, wall climb, crawl, scan, rampage, energy spike

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers, T-Rex body, eye beam, explosive rocks, energy disks

Ridley: hop, fireballs, flying, swinging tail, screen attack, tail bounce, fire breath, grab and lift

Kraid: blades, spikes, bombs, claw, plasma breath, bite, neck harness

Raven Beak: laser blast, leap, absorb energy, dash, scan, orb of darkness, energy beam, wings, stomp, supernova

X-Parasite: attach, orbs, shapeshift, more parasites, ice, get big, cross bomb

SA-X: missiles, super bombs, ice beam, screw attack, monster, stomp

Neo-Ridley

Phantoon: ghost, drop fire, ring of fire

Crocomire: charge, slash, skeleton

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus

Baby Metroid

Space Pirate: claw, energy beam, cling to wall, hop from walls, kick, throw claws, lasers, swim

Torizo: walk, spit bombs, rubble, energy waves, jump, drop eggs

Chozo Soldier: spear, wall jump, stab down, dash, sludge wave, goop spray, shield

Robot Chozo Soldier: laser, arm scythe, dash, laser beam, jump spin

Kihunters: fly, spit acid

Hornoad

Autom: look into

Bosses:

Arachnus

Phantoon

Draygon

Crocomire

Botwoon

Spore Spawn

Zazabi

Serris

Yakuza

Nettori

Nightmare

Neo-Ridley

Corpius

Drogyga

Golzuna

Escue

Experiment No. Z-57

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Ceres Space Colony

Crateria

Maridia

Wrecked Ship

Biologic Space Laboratories

ZDR

Artaria

Cataris

Dairon

Burenia

Ghavoran

Ferenia

Elun

Hanubia

Itorash

Thanks for reading! And now, the black sheep game that still falls under the title of Metroid as opposed to Metroid Prime.

Metroid Fusion

METROID FUSION

Today, let's cover Metroid Fusion, the chronological second to last game in the series, as of 2023, set quite a bit after every other game in the series. The game opens with Samus and a crew returning to SR388 on a scouting mission, only for Samus to be infected by a dangerous parasite that had previously been kept in check by its natural predators, the Metroids, until Samus wiped them out, allowing them to spread without limit. Samus is saved by being injected with Metroid DNA, fusing her into a special new suit. A little while later, the lab she had been at sends out a distress call, with her arriving to find that pretty much everything in the base has been wiped out after one of the parasites they'd collected to study escaped.

Samus starts the game in the Fusion Suit, with a Power Beam at her disposal. She then gains missiles, the morph ball, the charge beam, bombs, the high jump, the speed booster, the super missile, the varia suit, ice missiles, the wide beam, the power bombs, the space jump, the plasma beam, the gravity suit, diffusion missiles, the wave beam, the screw attack, the ice beam, and the omega suit.

There are very little in terms of support characters, with the Dachora and Etecoons returning in their supporting roles, and Adam Malkovitch being introduced as Samus's former mentor who had been killed in action, whose brain was uploaded into a computer that was now acting as Samus's main operating system. As he's just a disembodied computer voice, there's not much there.

The X-Parasites form the primary threat of the game, being little blobby things that infect living hosts, basically replacing their entire genetic structures with their own and functionally becoming them. The several we face throughout the game show the ability to attach to things, float around as giant orbs, shapeshift into several shapes they have absorbed, spawn more parasites, create ice, and get really, really big. One notable X-Parasite comes in the form of SA-X, the parasite that copied Samus and has now taken her form, stalking her throughout the base. SA-X can shoot missiles, drop super bombs, fire the ice beam, perform a screw attack, and become a giant monster that stomps around.

Other bosses that appear, mostly taken over by X-Parasites, include the returning Arachnus, a big polyp thing called Zazabi, a speedy serpent called Serris, a boxy Security Robot, a giant spider called Yakuza, a plant called Nettori, a giant X-Parasite called Barrier Core-X, a gravity-manipulating cyborg called Nightmare, and a clone of Ridley inhabited by a parasite called Neo-Ridley.

Metroids and Space Pirates both return, Metroids bringing their Alpha, Gamma, Zeta, and Omega variants with them. The Space Pirates attack with their claws, climb on walls, shoot lasers, and swim. Also returning are the legacy enemies Kihunters, Hornoads, Bulls, Choots, Dessgeegas, Evirs, Funes, Gadoras, Geemers, Gerutas, Halzyns, Kagos, Namihes, Owtches, Powamps, Puyos, Reos, Rippers, Samus Eaters, Scisers, Sidehoppers, Skulteras, Wavers, Yards, Zeelas, Zeroes, and Zozoros (I believe the logic being they were collected to be studied during her previous adventures). Newcomers include Gerons, Menus, Motos, Novas, Genesises, Gerubus, and researchers who've been turned into zombies.

The entire game takes place on the Biologic Space Laboratories station, with each section divided up by numbers (as in Sector 1, Sector 2, and so on). Samus also has a new ship as the original was destroyed thanks to the X-Parasites.

That should just about cover it. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam, Speed Booster, Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Hyper Beam, Fusion Suit, wide beam, power bombs, omega suit

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Adam Malkovitch

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers, T-Rex body, eye beam, explosive rocks, energy disks

Ridley: hop, fireballs, flying, swinging tail, screen attack, tail bounce, fire breath, grab and lift

Kraid: blades, spikes

X-Parasite: attach, orbs, shapeshift, more parasites, ice, get big

SA-X: missiles, super bombs, ice beam, screw attack, monster, stomp

Neo-Ridley

Phantoon: ghost, drop fire, ring of fire

Crocomire: charge, slash, skeleton

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus

Baby Metroid

Space Pirate: claw, energy beam, cling to wall, hop from walls, kick, throw claws, lasers, swim

Torizo: walk, spit bombs, rubble, energy waves, jump, drop eggs

Kihunters: fly, spit acid

Hornoad

Autom

Bosses:

Arachnus

Phantoon

Draygon

Crocomire

Botwoon

Spore Spawn

Zazabi

Serris

Yakuza

Nettori

Nightmare

Neo-Ridley

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Ceres Space Colony

Crateria

Maridia

Wrecked Ship

Biologic Space Laboratories

Thanks for reading! Next up, you might feel a sense of Dread for what we cover tomorrow!

Super Metroid

SUPER METROID

And now, we come to the third game in the series, widely considered to be one of the best, and generally the one thought of when people think of Metroid as a series. The story picks up where the last left off, with Samus having given the last surviving baby Metroid to a research facility, only to get a distress call from the same facility, learning that Ridley has broken in to steal the baby. Samus must first try to stop him, and then, failing that, following him to Zebes to take down the pirates once and for all.

Once again, Samus starts with the Power Suit and Power Beam, before gaining the morph ball, missiles, bombs, Charge Beam, Hi-Jump Boots, Spazer Beam, Varia Suit, Speed Booster, Ice Beam, Grappling Beam, Wave Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Space Jump, Spring Ball, Plasma Beam, Screw Attack, and Hyper Beam.

As usual, there are very little support characters, although I will give a shout to the Baby Metroid (later the titular Super Metroid), who attacks and drains Mother Brain to protect Samus, and the Dachora and Etecoons, little alien ostriches and monkeys, who basically act as little background tutorial features demonstrating actions Samus should take at certain points.

As for our villains, Mother Brain returns as the leader, taking on a new T-Rex looking body to fight you with. She starts out the same, with the Rinkas, the laser beam, and the barrier at her disposal, but after her transformation, she can fire a beam from her eye, drop explosive rocks on you, throw energy disks, and fire a fiery beam at you. Her two lieutenants, Ridley and Kraid, also return, with Ridley flying, swinging around his tail, flying straight at the screen, bouncing on his tail like a pogo stick, breathing fire, and grabbing and lifting Samus. Kraid likewise shoots his belly spikes at you.

On top of these three regulars, we have a few other bosses floating around. We have Phantoon, a ghostly being difficult to hit, that drops fire and creates a ring of fire. Then we have Draygon, who mostly just swims around with heavy armor and cannons around him. Then we have Spore Spawn, a plant constantly raining spores down on you; Crocomire, a giant red reptilian thing that charges at you, slashes, and then jumps at you as a skeleton in a final last-ditch attack; and Botwoon, a burrowing serpentine creature that shoots lasers. Finally, we have the Torizos, Bomb and Golden, who look like ordinary Chozo Statues, until they get up and start walking around, spitting out bombs, dropping rubble from above, creating energy waves, jumping, and dropping eggs behind them.

After that we have the enemies. The Metroids are here, with their floating and draining as seen in the first game, and we get a first look at Space Pirates (and/or Zebesians), who attack with claws, shoot energy beams, cling to walls, hop from wall to wall, kick, and throw their own claws. After that, it's all a lot of the same story, with basic creatures filling one specific role, most lacking the same names as previous games. Some who returned inlcude Sidehoppers, Dessgeegas, Dragons, Geegas, Multiviolas, Rippers, Skrees, Gamets, Gerutas, Holtzes, Squeepts, Wavers, Zebs, Zebboes, Zeelas, and Violas. New ones include the Kihunters (who can fly and spit acid), Alcoons, Atomics, Beetoms, Boyons, Bulls, Cacatacs, Choots, Coverns, Evirs, Fire Fleas, Funes, Gadoras, Geemers, Kagos, Magdollites, Mellas, Mellows, Memus, Metarees, Mochtroids, Namihes, Oums, Owtches, Powamps, Puromis, Puyos, Reos, Samus Eaters, Sbugs, Scisers, Shaktools, Skulteras, Sovas, Trippers, Work Robots, Yapping Maws, Yards, and Zeroes.

As for our stages, we start with the Ceres Space Colony, where the opening chapter takes place, then we return to Planet Zebes. Samus's ship floats on the surface (called Crateria), giving you a save point, and we see Brinstar, Norfair, and Tourian all return, with the watery Maridia and a Wrecked Ship as new locations.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam, Speed Booster, Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Hyper Beam

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers, T-Rex body, eye beam, explosive rocks, energy disks

Ridley: hop, fireballs, flying, swinging tail, screen attack, tail bounce, fire breath, grab and lift

Kraid: blades, spikes

Phantoon: ghost, drop fire, ring of fire

Crocomire: charge, slash, skeleton

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus

Baby Metroid

Space Pirate: claw, energy beam, cling to wall, hop from walls, kick, throw claws

Torizo: walk, spit bombs, rubble, energy waves, jump, drop eggs

Kihunters: fly, spit acid

Hornoad

Autom

Bosses:

Arachnus

Phantoon

Draygon

Crocomire

Botwoon

Spore Spawn

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Ceres Space Colony

Crateria

Maridia

Wrecked Ship

Thanks for reading! And now, we come to Metroid Fusion!

Metroid II: The Return of Samus

METROID II: THE RETURN OF SAMUS

Today, let's cover the second Metroid game, released for the Game Boy. Please note, this is about the original game boy game, not the recent remake. Samus returns, this time sent to the planet SR388, the original planet where the Metroids were first bred, to wipe out and destroy what was left of them.

Samus returns once again, staring with the power suit, the power beam, a missile launcher, and her morph ball ability. As she goes on, she gains bombs, the ice beam, the spider ball (lets her climb on walls), the wave beam, the high jump boots, the spring ball, the varia suit, the space jump, the spazer beam (shoots three distinct beams), the plasma beam, and the screw attack.

The Metroids are the only villains around this time, with multiple different stages. The base Metroid larvae are the ones you normally think of. Alphas rise from their larval shell and can fly. Gammas can fly, attack with claws, and zap with electricity. Zetas shed even more of their old body and breathe fire, and Omegas throw fireballs. Finally, you have the Metroid Queen, who stretches out her neck, spits out spike balls, and can swallow and spit back up Samus. Another boss running around is Arachnus, who rolls and spits fire. This is also the notable first appearance of the Baby Metroid, who will come into play later.

There are several enemies floating around, most of whom just fill specific single-action niches, just like before, but frustratingly, there is very little crossover. They do basically the same thing, they just don't have the same name and look alike. These include Hornoads (the most basic), Yumbos, Tsumuris, Seerooks, Moheeks, Chute Leeches, Mumbos, Needlers, Gawrons, Gullugs, Wallfires, Septoggs, Autoads, Blob Throwers, Autracks, Senjoos, Halzyns, Yumees, Gravitts, Pincher Flies, Automs, Meboids, Proboscums, Shirks, TPOs, Octrolls, Skorps, Flitts, Motos, Drivels, Skreeks, Glow Flies, Gunzoos, and Ramulkens.

The bulk of the game takes place on the Planet SR388, with several "phases" of levels with no names to speak of.

And that's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers

Ridley: hop, fireballs

Kraid: blades, spikes

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus

Baby Metroid

Hornoad

Autom

Bosses:

Arachnus

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Thanks for reading! Next up, we reach the series-defining Super Metroid!