Metroid Roster

METROID ROSTER

And that is our full roster for the entire Metroid game franchise, excluding anyone originating from a comic or other non-game media. If this were a real roster in a real game, who ya mainin'?

Samus Aran

 SAMUS ARAN

In 1986, three years into the NES’s lifespan, Nintendo produced a new platformer based heavily on the sci fi horror genre, most specifically the Alien franchise and the works of H.R. Geiger, with a lone bounty hunter traversing an alien planet alone while facing a number of horrifying alien monsters.

This lone bounty hunter is named Samus Aran. Although, she appears in full armor hiding her true appearance, if you complete the game with a high enough percentage, she will reveal herself as a young human woman at the end of the game. Further games would flesh out her backstory as an orphan raised by a race called the Chozo and augmented to be capable of incredible feats of strength and agility.

As a fighter, Samus Aran is quick and powerful, with solid defense owing to her power suit. Her moveset will pull from the various abilities she picks up throughout her games, such as missiles, bombs, and various types of laser beams.

Likelihood rating: Already in.

Metroid EX

METROID EX

Metroid EX is basically the second half of Samus & Joey, except that it goes by a different name. After Greed stole all of Samus's powerups, he founded the Greed Corps made up of enemies of Samus and the Federation, splitting the powerups between six of them. Samus, Joey, and Diesel set out in Samus's ship, determined to track Greed down and take the powers back.

All three main characters return, all with the same powers and abilities seen in the previous series. Joey also gains the ability to absorb energy with his Field Knuckles, and uses a special move called Exodus. We also get to meet Diesel's people, including his mentor Papa Lightning, who help the trio by entirely disassembling a spaceship by hand, and using a drill and a rocket. Zegan Doh and Bomad, enemies of the previous comic, also appear, reformed and fighting to help Samus and her team.

Greed returns as the main villain. His ultimate plan involves unlocking an ancient power hidden in some ancient ruins, which causes black holes to start opening all over the galaxy. He spread Samus's powerups to six of his followers. Zameel gets the missiles, Golon gets the morph ball, Chrysta gets the freeze beam, Blast gets her bombs, Rockets gets the shinespark, and Defen wears the Varia Suit. Their respective battles are entirely built on using those.

Later on, we meet Greed's right hand men, Bishop and Knight. Bishop is a very Starscream-esque individual, using plasma beams, an impenetrable shield, a trap made up of blocks, and a move called void obliteration. Knight is more of an honorable knight forced to serve Greed and ultimately turns on him. He uses a sword to slice, slash, and defend, and uses moves called force blow, guillotine blast, meteor return, and explosive divide.

The comic travels to various planets being oppressed by Greed's forces, generally built around the best use of the stolen powerups, and the final battle takes place in the Hall of the Gods, where the ancient power is located.

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

Characters:

Samus

Joey: Field Knuckles, punches, energy barriers, wheels, stick, sparklers, Space Pirate gun, Space Pirate's skin, absorb energy, Exodus

Diesel: flotation device, weld, fix things, detonate bombs, viruses, Junk Hawk

Papa Lightning: disassemble, drill, rocket

Kreatz: energy strings

Mauk: slam, lift, bazooka, shoulder guns

Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis

Pyonchi

Damara

Commander Nemo

Chairman Keaton

Captain Hardy

Adam Malkovitch

Rodney and Virginia Aran

Old Bird/Gray Voice/Platinum Chest: float, healing bubble, armor, staff, staff blast

U-Ton: extendable arms, laser blasts, claws, Delta Mirage

Mother Brain

Ridley

Greed: Mind control, electrocution, drain, black hole

Bishop: plasma beam, impenetrable shield, block trap, void obliteration

Knight: sword, slice, slash, defend, force blow, guillotine blast, meteor return, explosive divide

Zameel/Golon/Chrysta/Blast/Rockets/Defen

Dragud

Doruba: mech, lasers

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Jealousy

Bomad: kick, punch, gravity bomb

Zegan Doh: blade hand, shield

Dangelo: Samus's suit, invisible

Megaroid: drain energy, break apart, living shards

Amokmaw: slide, eat, jet, shoot lasers, sound waves, giant

Integra: grab, underarm blasters, power bombs

Stages:

Federation headquarters

K-2L

Junk Quixote

Liberty

Degrade

Hall of the Gods

Next up, a comic adaptation of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes!

Samus & Joey

SAMUS & JOEY

Today, we cover Samus & Joey, a Metroid comic series that looks like a weird direction to take Samus in at first, but it ends up being a really solid story in its own right. It tells the story of Joey Apronika, a little boy living on a planet in the Federation, who encounters Samus after Space Pirates invade his planet, and he convinces her to take him on as an apprentice. The story seems to take place generally after the events of the game series, at least after Fusion, and explores the world of the Federation with more wiggle room.

After Samus, Joey is our main character, who uses special Field Knuckles that he inherited from his father to deliver devastating punches and to create energy barriers as shields. He also has wheels on his shoes that he uses to get around fast, attacks with a stick and sparklers, steals a Space Pirate gun at one point, and steals a Space Pirate's skin to disguise himself and wave around as a flag.

Another major character is Diesel, an engineer working on Junk Quixote, a run-down refueling station where Samus stops for a tune-up and treats as a general home base. Diesel can fly around on a little flotation device, weld and fix things, detonate bombs remotely, upload viruses, and has a ship called the Junk Hawk. Joey's mother, Diana, also appears in the story, having been gone for several years on a relief mission.

The major space pirates appearing in the opening story arc are the general Dragud and the warrior Doruba. Doruba has a giant mech and can shoot lasers, but that's it for him. They turn out to be cloning what they call a Megaroid from the DNA of dead Metroids, which then turns against its captors and breaks loose, draining energy from the Space Pirate ship to get even bigger. The Megaroid can also break apart into a dozen little pieces, which then come alive as living shards to drain the people of the planet.

Samus and Joey later find Diesel held captive by a Space Pirate named Jealousy, using a bounty hunter named Bomad as protection. Bomad kicks, punches, and uses a special item called a gravity bomb to keep the two heroes at bay. Later, Samus and Joey go on a mission to rescue Joey's mother and her team after they become stranded on an icy planet, where their lives are hounded by carnivorous penguin things called Amokmaw, who can slide around, eat ravenously, jet forward at high speed, shoot lasers and disrupt things with strong sound waves, and a giant one appears at the end.

Another story features a dangerous robot called U-Ton that Joey befriends but ultimately has to be destroyed (a la Iron Giant). U-Ton can extend its arms out really far, shoots laser blasts, strikes with claws, and has a very powerful attack called the Delta Mirage. Yet another features Dangelo, an escaped convict from Samus's past, who steals a suit similar to hers but can also turn invisible.

Toward the end of the series, Samus starts to track down a group called Dominion, behind many of the events of the story. They first have to face Integra, a giant mech that attacks by grabbing, using underarm blasters, and dropping power bombs. Then a bounty hunter named Zegan Doh is hired to kill them using a blade hand and a shield. Finally, the true mastermind is revealed as a former pirate named Greed, of the same species as Ridley, come for revenge against her. He uses mind control on Joey, forcing him to electrocute himself unless Samus willingly gives up all of her suit's abilities to him. The series then ends on a cliffhanger, leading into a sequel series.

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

Characters:

Samus

Joey: Field Knuckles, punches, energy barriers, wheels, stick, sparklers, Space Pirate gun, Space Pirate's skin

Diesel: flotation device, weld, fix things, detonate bombs, viruses, Junk Hawk

Kreatz: energy strings

Mauk: slam, lift, bazooka, shoulder guns

Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis

Pyonchi

Damara

Commander Nemo

Chairman Keaton

Captain Hardy

Adam Malkovitch

Rodney and Virginia Aran

Old Bird/Gray Voice/Platinum Chest: float, healing bubble, armor, staff, staff blast

U-Ton: extendable arms, laser blasts, claws, Delta Mirage

Mother Brain

Ridley

Greed: Mind control, electrocution, drain

Dragud

Doruba: mech, lasers

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Jealousy

Bomad: kick, punch, gravity bomb

Zegan Doh: blade hand, shield

Dangelo: Samus's suit, invisible

Megaroid: drain energy, break apart, living shards

Amokmaw: slide, eat, jet, shoot lasers, sound waves, giant

Integra: grab, underarm blasters, power bombs

Stages:

Federation headquarters

K-2L

Junk Quixote

Liberty

Degrade

Next up, the sequel to Samus & Joey!

Magazine Z

MAGAZINE Z

Today, we cover Magazine Z, one of the best Metroid comics, and possibly one of the only Nintendo comics to be considered canon to the games, as several characters and plot points from the comic have been referenced in games since. The comic essentially tells the origin story of Samus, from her young childhood all the way down to the start of Metroid: Zero Mission, with the destruction of her home planet and the death of her parents, her adoption by the Chozo, and her brief stint as part of the Federation.

Major characters include Rodney and Virginia Aran, Samus's parents and miners from the planet K-2L. When Ridley and his pirates attack the planet for the precious resource Afloratite, Rodney sacrifices himself by detonating an entire cargo shipment of the stuff to prevent the pirates from taking it, and Virginia is killed defending Samus after the naive little girl comes across Ridley and tries to befriend him.

After them, we have the major Chozo characters. Old Bird, who we met already, is Samus's first Chozo friend and a wise pacifist who teaches her about life. Gray Voice is more serious and stern with her, but as we come to discover, came to care about her deeply and supplied the genetic material used to enhance her, making him her surrogate father. Gray Voice is especially notable for taking up an ancient suit of armor and taking on Mother Brain alone, wielding a staff that he can fire blasts from. Platinum Chest is also important, but not as ingrained in the story as Old Bird and Gray Voice.

Chairman Keaton and Captain Hardy return from the previous comic as well, as major players in the Federation. Samus also has a pair of partners working with her in the federation, Kreatz and Mauk. Kreatz comes from an alien race responsible for a previous war and Mauk's species was only recently recognized as sapient, and both face discrimination for it. Kreatz shoots energy strings from his fingers and uses them in several creative ways, while Mauk is big and huge, slamming and lifting with his immense strength, and later wields a bazooka and shoulder guns. Samus also has a pet named Pyonchi who follows her around, and a young girl named Damara was saved by Samus early on and she crops up again as a new recruit to the academy.

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

Characters:

Samus

Kreatz: energy strings

Mauk: slam, lift, bazooka, shoulder guns

Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis

Pyonchi

Damara

Commander Nemo

Chairman Keaton

Captain Hardy

Adam Malkovitch

Rodney and Virginia Aran

Old Bird/Gray Voice/Platinum Chest: float, healing bubble, armor, staff, staff blast

Mother Brain

Ridley

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Stages:

Federation headquarters

K-2L

Next up, a weird concept for a story, but ended up being a really good time all the same.

Super Metroid (Nintendo Power)

SUPER METROID (NINTENDO POWER)

Now, let's cover a five-issue comic series released by Nintendo Power comics that somewhat followed the plot of Super Metroid and seems to be set in the same universe as the Magazine Z comics that we will cover tomorrow. Samus heads to Zebes, but she is accompanied by a fellow bounty hunter named Armstrong Houston who really, really, really wants to become her partner. He doesn't do much to help fight, except to cut a spike once in her defense, and mostly exists to receive exposition about Samus's backstory. However, there are aspects that might give us something to work with, in that he wears a blue suit similar to Samus's power suit with the same colors as the Federation marines seen in Other M. Many have even theorized that those designs were directly inspired by him. We will see how it goes.

Other supporting characters include Chairman Keaton, the leader of the Federation, and Captain Hardy, Samus's somewhat incompetent dispatcher, who will reappear in Magazine Z. There is also Old Bird, the Chozo who rescued Samus as a child and will play a massively pivotal role in Magazine Z, who Armstrong takes Samus to to be healed after she is severely wounded in battle.

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

Characters:

Samus

Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis

Commander Nemo

Chairman Keaton

Captain Hardy

Old Bird: float, healing bubble

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Stages:

Federation headquarters

Next up, one of the best Nintendo comics out there, and possibly the most canon comic as well!

Victory Techniques for Metroid

VICTORY TECHNIQUES FOR METROID

We'll start with the most, well, infamous of the comics, specifically in that the author, Minazuki Yuu, clearly had no idea about the whole "Samus is a girl" twist, consistently portrayed "him" as a cocky space adventurer along the lines of James Bond, and featured a famous panel showing Samus with a scantily clad woman on each arm. Either that or the author was playing the long game and really pushing the narrative of Samus as a badass lesbian queen.

Either way, the comic isn't much more than a humorous player's guide, showing our cocky Bond-type coming up to the various challenges of the game and having to maneuver around them. He had a boss named Commander Nemo, but that's really all there is in terms of original characters, and Samus and all bosses and enemies that appear are basically the same as they appear in the game.

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

Characters:

Samus

Commander Nemo

Next up, Samus's adventures as they appeared in the Nintendo Comics System!

Metroid Prime: Federation Force

METROID PRIME: FEDERATION FORCE

Hey, remember that time when there was a massive drought of Metroid games, 3D or 2D, and everyone was yearning for a Metroid Prime 4 or some new 2D platformer, and then a brand new game was announced and it turned out to be a Rocket League knockoff starring generic Space Marines in mech suits with barely any Samus in it. It's . . . not hard to understand the general fan distaste toward the game on principle alone.

That said, the Rocket League portion is more of a multiplayer side mode with a demo focused on it that released prior, while the actual story mode is more mission-based, and it's . . . fine. You play as a chibi Space Marine piloting a mech to carry out various missions, the mech equipped with guns, missiles, a repair capsule, a booster, ziplines, an extractor, combat drones, freeze beams, tractor beams, a shock shot, proximity bombs, a slow beam, and a shield. The Blast Ball mode also features said mech using these features to knock around a large ball into their opponents' goals.

Alex Miles is your commanding officer laying out your missions, and Samus Aran appears toward the end, having been captured by Space Pirates who took control of her suit and forced her to act as your final boss, rolling around in her Morph Ball form and leaving bombs behind.

The Space Pirates are your main villain, with an AI called Master Brain controlling the shield that protects their ship. You must destroy this to beat the game. Other enemies and bosses include Ice Hoppers and Ice Titans, Collosun, Sawken, Rohkor, Cyranon, and Mainframe, all of which are pretty basic and just perform certain functions to challenge you in your mission.

As for your stages, you have the GFS Aegis, the training area and ship you serve on. It's also where the Blast Ball arena is located. Then you have the ice planet Excelcion, the desert planet Bion, and the gas planet Talvania. Finally, you have the Doomseye, the superweapon that the Space Pirates are building.

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

Federation Mech: guns, missiles, repair capsule, booster, zipline, extractor, combat drones, freeze beams, tractor beams, shock shot, proximity bombs, slow beam, shield, Blast Ball

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

Master Brain

Ice Titan

Collosun

Sawken

Rohkor

Cyranon

Mainframe

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

GFS Aegis

Blast Ball arena

Excelcion

Bion

Talvania

Doomseye

Thanks for reading! And now, we do some character work, starting with our Federation Mechs.

Metroid Prime Pinball

METROID PRIME PINBALL

Outside of the main trilogy, three games were released with the title of Metroid Prime as random spinoffs. The first of these was a basic pinball game, heavily based on the first Metroid Prime game, using Samus's morph ball as the marble. Samus, of course, appears, as do Dark Samus, Meta Ridley, the Metroid Prime, Space Pirates, Metroids, Parasites, and Phazon Elites. The boards are based on Frigate Orpheon, Phazon Mines, Phendrana Drifts, Tallon Overworld, Artifact Temple, and the Impact Crater. And that's really all I have to say on that.

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

Pinball Game

Thanks for reading! Next up, a game featuring several popular characters exclusive to it.

Character Sheet: Samus Aran

SAMUS ARAN

And now, let's take a quick break to go over our new characters from the six games that fall under the "Metroid" label (no Primes or remakes). As you can see, we have twenty (or twenty-five to be more accurate, but we'll get to those. They are:

1. Samus

2. Adam Malkovitch

3. Mother Brain

4. MB*

5. Ridley

6. Kraid

7. Raven Beak

8. SA-X

9. Space Pirate

10. Kihunter

11. Metroid

12. X-Parasite

13. Autoad

14. Chozo Soldier

15. Robot Chozo Soldier

16. EMMI

17. Torizo

18. Phantoon

19. Nightmare

20. Metroid Queen

Samus Aran is our protagonist, the first major female video game protagonist (after Ms. Pac-Man, of course), a bounty hunter raised by a race called the Chozo and trained from childhood to do superhuman feats of strength and agility, bolstered by a special power suit designed just for her. She is often called in to dangerous situation, to wipe out alien parasites created as a result of malevolent bio-engineering. She is awesome.

Samus comes equipped with several staples of her suit, including multiple forms of beams, bombs, and missiles, all of which can do various things and take out enemies in ways the others can't. She can also roll up into a ball (don't question what that would do to her spine), and perform several moves that allow her to get up high, like the screw attack, the hi-jump boots, and the space jump. Honestly, her moveset was well planned out by the Smash developers.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Charge Beam

Charge beam works well enough, though it would be reasonable to have a bunch of her beams, like the ice beam, the spazer beam, and the wide beam in there too.

Side B: Missile

Just like the charge beam, this is a perfectly reasonable option to stick here. I also like the Missile/Super Missile option they worked in with it.

Up B: Screw Attack

Any of them would work, but Screw Attack is very iconic, so let's keep it.

Down B: Bombs

Naturally, this has to be bombs. Bombs are so important in the Metroid series.

Final Smash: Multiple Options

The big wide beam that she uses is fine, although I can't think of a specific move it pulls from in the series itself. She could also call in her ship the way Zero-Suit does, and she could use things like the Omega Cannon and such from more modern games.

Entrance: She will step out of a lift

Taunts: Up, she will raise her arm and fix her cannon for a second. Side, she will hold out her arm and tap on it for a second to look over her mission. Down, she will crouch and look ready.

Kirby Hat: Her helmet

Kart: Based on her ship

Special Move: She can turn into a morph ball and cross non-track areas faster than she normally could.

Spirit Battle: Solo battle, on Planet Zebes, with specific Metroid series items dropping around the stage periodically.

Victory Screen: She will float in a beam of light as the power-up song plays.

Losing Screen: She will look stunned as her suit shatters off of her.

Color Swaps: Varia Suit, Power Suit, Gravity Suit, Fusion Suit, Omega Suit, Metroid Suit, Dark Samus-based suit, helmet-less suit.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Samus's mentor and other fellow Space Marines.

Metroid

METROID

Welcome back! I hope you all didn't miss me too much. Now, let us get started on the single best space-based Nintendo franchise (No hate to Starfox). The whole thing started off with Metroid for the NES, a 2D platforming game that had you backtracking multiple times through a big map, picking up items that let you get through to another section of the map that you couldn't access before, a style of gameplay soon dubbed Metroidvania, for the two franchises that helped define it.

The first game followed Samus Aran, a bounty hunter tasked with infiltrating a space pirate compound and eradicating the super-parasites they had engineered to overthrow the Galactic Federation. She starts out with her basic power suit and a power beam projectile. As she goes along, she picks up the ability to morph into a ball, missiles, a long beam, bombs, the ice beam, boots that let her jump higher, a stronger Varia Suit, a spinning energy move called the Screw Attack, and the wave beam that can go through walls. In the end of the game, if you've earned enough points, she'll remove her suit to reveal that she's (gasp!) a girl. You can then play the game over again in her unarmored form, but its pretty much the same.

There are basically no supporting good characters, so let's move on to the villains. Mother Brain is your final boss, a giant brain in a jar that fires lasers at you, is protected by a glass casing, and is protected by energy rings called Rinkas. Her two main bosses are Ridley and Kraid, both two prolific names that will crop up time and time again from here on out. Ridley hops around and spits fireballs, while Kraid fights with blades and shoots spikes from his chest.

Obviously, the most important enemies are the titular Metroids themselves, who appear in the final area, and mostly float around or latch on to Samus and drain her energy. Other such enemies include: Zoomers and Zeela, who crawl on the walls; Skrees, Rios, Wavers, Mellows, Gerutas, Holtzes, and Zebbos, who can fly; Rippers, Ripper IIs, Gamets, and Zebs, who float in the air; Novas, Dragons, and Polyps, that attack with fire; Squeepts, that leap; Violas and Multiviolas, who bounce; and Sidehoppers, Geegas, and Dessgeegas, who hop around. Most are pretty basic, filling specific niches to challenge Samus. Not too much to say on really any of them.

As for the stages, most of the game takes place on Planet Zebes, with three distinct zones including Brinstar, containing Kraid's lair, Norfair, containing Ridley's lair, and Tourian, where Mother Brain awaits. And really, 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

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

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

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