Samus Aran

"I'm resting up for Mother Brain."

- Samus Aran

Samus Aran is the main protagonist of the Metroid series and an intergalactic bounty hunter who occasionally makes crossover appearances with the Mario franchise. Initially orphaned as a young girl through the combined efforts of Ridley and the Space Pirates, Samus was soon adopted by the surviving members of the bird-like Chozo race. The Chozo subsequently infused her with a sample of their DNA in order to allow her to better survive environments too harsh for humans, after which they trained her in combat in order to prepare her to use the Power Suit. Upon leaving the Chozo following her training and acquisition of the Power Suit, Samus served a brief stint as a member of the Galactic Federation, after which she decided to become a bounty hunter and fight the Space Pirates on her own, including Ridley.

Tetris
The results screen for the NES version of Tetris features Samus Aran as part of a band composed of herself, Donkey Kong, Link, Pit, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser. She is playing the cello. Samus in particular appears when the player has completed height 2 of Game B's ninth level.

Nintendo Comics System
Although missing from the animated television series, Captain N: The Game Master, Samus did appear as a major character in the comic book adaptation of Captain N released under the Valiant Nintendo Comics System.

Mario vs. Wario: The Birthday Bash
In Mario vs. Wario: The Birthday Bash, Samus makes a cameo appearance in the form of the Samus Doll, a central element to the story. When both Mario and Wario are considering what to get Princess Toadstool for her birthday, they remember her thinking the doll was cute when passing by the toy store on the way to the park. However, both of them are told someone with "a big, black mustache" bought the last doll and try to sabotage each other, though in the end Luigi is the one who bought the doll for the princess.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Samus can be found sleeping in the guest room in the Mushroom Castle after obtaining the fifth Star Piece. If Mario talks to her, she says that she is "resting up for Mother Brain". In the Japanese version of the same dialogue, she instead half-consciously says "Metroid Omoroido", referencing the Japanese marketing tagline for Metroid II: Return of Samus.

A toy of Samus also appears in the toy box in the room at the top of Booster Tower.

Super Smash Bros. series
Samus appears in all six games in the Super Smash Bros. series. She is a heavy character but falls at a slow speed, giving her "floaty" jumps and aerial movement like in the sidescrolling Metroid games. Samus's moveset is designed around extensive use of her projectiles and other weapons, along with a number of hand-to-hand moves and short-range cannon blasts. Several of her moves make use of her arm cannon, while her special moves are all based on the equipment she obtains in the Metroid series.

Super Smash Bros.


Samus is one of the default characters in the original Super Smash Bros.. Her appearance is based upon the Varia Suit as it appears in Super Metroid. In the game's single player mode, she is fought on the Planet Zebes stage.

Samus's standard special move is the Charge Shot, which allows her to charge up a blast and fire it. Her up special move is the Screw Attack, in which she jumps up with an electric barrier around her to damage opponents. Her down special is the Bomb, in which she turns into the Morph Ball and drops a bomb. In addition, Samus uses the Grapple Beam as her grab move, which gives her a ranged grab.

One of Samus's alternate costumes is based upon the Gravity Suit; while the one officially noted as the Gravity Suit appears similar to the in-game sprite in Super Metroid, her purple costume resembles the suit in official artwork. In addition, while not based upon any aspect of the Metroid series, her green costume is referred to as "mass-produced Samus," a reference to the Gundam franchise.

Super Smash Bros. Melee


In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Samus is once again a default character. In Adventure Mode, Samus is faced during the first portion of stage 4, which is set in Brinstar.

Most of Samus's moves are carried over from the previous game, while she has been given a side special move, the Missile, in which she can fire either a homing missile or a Super Missile. The Grapple Beam can also now be used to cling to walls. Samus's down tilt is now a downwards blast with her arm cannon.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Samus's moveset is unchanged, though the Grapple Beam has once again been altered to act as a tether recovery rather than a wall grab. Her Final Smash, the Zero Laser, involves her firing a large beam of energy at opponents, though afterward the Power Suit falls apart, leaving Samus as Zero Suit Samus; the pieces, however, can be picked up and thrown. Zero Suit Samus can regain the Power Suit by using her Final Smash, Power Suit Samus. The player can also instantly remove the Power Suit at any time during battle by quickly alternating Samus's up and down taunts, or at the beginning of a battle by holding down the shield button on the controller when selecting Samus on the character select.

One of Samus's new alternate costumes in this game is based upon the Fusion Suit from Metroid Fusion, while another is based upon the Dark Suit from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

The Subspace Emissary
Samus begins the Subspace Emissary in her Zero Suit, infiltrating a sinister laboratory. After making her way through it, she encounters Pikachu trapped within a strange device that harnesses its electrical energy to provide power to the complex. Seeing that the device causes Pikachu pain, Samus breaks the machine. In thanks, Pikachu helps Samus continue through the lab. Eventually, the pair come across Samus's Power Suit within a tank. However, two clones of Samus, wearing the purple Gravity Suit, approach them, prompting Samus and Pikachu to battle. When they are defeated, an alarm begins to wail, and the R.O.B. Squad approaches. Samus regains her Power Suit and blasts her way through them, along with Pikachu.

As they attempt to escape the complex, however, Ridley strikes without warning, snatching up Samus and attacking her. Pikachu uses Thunder to free her, and the two face off against Ridley.

After escaping from the facility, Samus and Pikachu discover another Subspace Army base producing Subspace Bombs. The two infiltrate it, and after fighting their way through, discover the Ancient Minister in a room filled with Subspace Bombs. The allies prepare to battle, but the Ancient Minister does not seem to want to fight them. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, and Captain Olimar then break into the room, and all of them, including Samus, witness the Ancient Minister defy Ganondorf's commands. As a result, the R.O.B. Squad fires upon him, burning off his robe and revealing that he is a R.O.B., as well. It turns out that all of the R.O.B.s had beem forced to work with the Subspace Army, with the main R.O.B., the Master Robot, as their leader. The rest of the R.O.B.s activate all the Subspace Bombs in the room, forcing all of them to escape. As they rush to the exit aboard Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer, Meta Ridley races after them. The group defeats the space dragon once more, and escapes just before R.O.B.s' island home is engulfed in Subspace.

They then meet up with Mario, Link, Kirby, Pit, Yoshi, the Ice Climbers, Marth, Ike, Lucas, the Pokémon Trainer, Meta Knight, Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, Lucario, Solid Snake, Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Mr. Game & Watch. All of them witness a Subspace Gunship emerge from Subspace. Samus's ship is among the ones that attack it.

Samus, along with all the other characters except for King Dedede, Luigi, and Ness, is turned into a trophy by Tabuu. Her trophy is obtained by Dedede's team, and she subsequently joins everyone else in The Great Maze, where they eventually defeat Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U


Samus is once again a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Her appearance in this game has been changed to be based on the design of the Varia Suit seen in Metroid: Other M, though with additional and changed details, such as the vents in her armor and an opaque visor. While her moveset has not been changed, Samus's Power Suit no longer falls apart to turn her into Zero Suit Samus after using her Final Smash, as the two have been made completely separate characters.

In addition to her existing alternate costumes, Samus has been given two new ones: one based on the Light Suit from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and one based on Dark Samus, who also appears as an Assist Trophy.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Samus returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, retaining her design from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. For the first time, Charge Shot can be charged in midair, thus increasing its effectiveness. Her movements are also slightly faster, and some of her attacks deal more damage or are stronger overall, including her throws: for her new up throw, she doesn't use the Grapple Beam anymore, as she now tosses the opponent above her and fires a shot from her Arm Cannon. Furthermore, Zero Suit Samus dons the Varia Suit during her new Final Smash. For her eighth alternate costume, instead of one resembling Dark Samus, Samus's suit is black with a yellow visor; this is due to Dark Samus being an Echo Fighter of Samus.

She also appeared in the reveal trailer for Ridley, alongside Mario and Mega Man as they explore an area reminiscent of Tourian. However, Ridley appears and defeats Mario and Mega Man, making Mario lose his hat in the process and taunts Samus by twirling it.

Classic Mode route
By completing Samus' Classic Mode route, it is possible to unlock Inkling, Wii Fit Trainer, Pit, Incineroar, Dark Samus, Cloud, Wario, or Dark Pit.

Charge Shot


The Charge Shot is Samus's standard special move, based upon the Charge Beam upgrade of the Metroid series. When used, Samus starts to charge up a blast in her arm cannon that can be fired by pressing the button a second time, and grows larger and increases in power and range the longer it is charged. The player can shield or dodge by tilting the control stick to stop charging, and resume by pressing the button again. Except in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, if the move is used in the air, Samus instantly fires without charging, the recoil pushing her back.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Charge Shot's first custom variant is the Dense Charge Shot, which increases the move's power at the cost of speed and range, and it takes longer to charge. The second is the Melee Charge Shot, which allows Samus to fire a small burst of energy that can damage up-close opponents rather than ball of energy that travels; this move also increases in power and range if charged.
 * Names in other languages

Missile


The Missile is Samus's side special move introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Samus fires a missile from the Metroid series that can also home in on opponents by slightly angling themselves as they fly, eventually stopping in midair and exploding. By using the attack like one would a smash attack, Samus instead fires a Super Missile, a larger and more powerful missile that flies directly forward before automatically exploding.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Missile's first custom variant is the Relentless Missile, which has Samus fire a slower missile that better homes in on opponents; the Super Missiles are also made slower, and do not have as much range. The second variant is the Turbo Missile, in which Samus fires missiles that hang in the air for a moment before moving, but move faster and can adjust their angle to home in on enemies before taking off; the hanging property also applies to the Super Missiles.


 * Names in other languages

Screw Attack


The Screw Attack is Samus's up special move and an upgrade from the Metroid series. When executed, Samus quickly somersaults into the air, surrounded by an electrical field that continuously damages any opponents caught in it.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Screw Attack's first custom variant is the Screw Rush, which quickly sends Samus diagonally up rather than directly up and deals more damage. The second variant is the Apex Screw Attack, which only deals damage at the beginning and peak of the jump.

A Screw Attack item also appears in each installment, though it is somewhat different from this move.
 * Names in other languages

Bomb


The Bomb is Samus's down special move, based upon the Morph Ball Bomb upgrade of the Metroid series. When used, Samus curls up into her Morph Ball form and drops a bomb from above that detonates after a few seconds or when it hits an item or opponent. If Samus is caught in the explosion, she is sent back into the air, once again in Morph Ball form. In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the bomb deals two hits.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Bomb's first custom version is the Slip Bomb, which trips foes with the explosion and can meteor smash opponents in the air but deals less damage. The second custom move is the Mega Bomb, which drops a larger bomb that takes longer to explode but deals more damage; in addition, only one can be on-screen at a time.


 * Names in other languages

Zero Laser


The Zero Laser is Samus's Final Smash. When used, Samus charges up her arm cannon and fires a large beam of energy that travels across the stage, continuously damaging any opponents in its path and dealing high knockback. The blast has a vacuum effect while Samus is charging, drawing in nearby opponents to get caught in it, and the laser can be angled while firing. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the beam slowly travels across the screen, while in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, it instantly crosses the screen and expands out.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Samus's Power Suit falls apart after using the Zero Laser, leaving her as Zero Suit Samus. Afterwards, the pieces of the armor remain on the stage and can be thrown at opponents. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, with the removal of in-battle transformations, the Zero Laser does not shatter Samus's suit.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Zero Suit Samus equips the Power Suit and uses a move similar to the Zero Laser for her Final Smash, albeit from a different perspective, from the background while on her Gunship.
 * Names in other languages

WarioWare series
Samus also appears in the WarioWare games, where she appears in microgames modeled after levels from the Metroid games.

A list of the microgames Samus prominently appeared in include:
 * Metroid (WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!)
 * Metroid-Morph Ball (WarioWare: Twisted!)
 * Metroid-Samus (WarioWare: Twisted!)
 * Metroid (WarioWare: Touched!)
 * Metroid Prime 2 (WarioWare: Smooth Moves)
 * Metroid (WarioWare: D.I.Y. - 9-Volt's microgame)
 * Super Metroid (WarioWare: Get It Together!)

Samus Aran is the theme of the 14th Miiverse Sketch Masterpiece Collection video, a promotional series of videos for Game & Wario in which the WarioWare cast comments on drawings made in the game's Miiverse Sketch mode. Samus' video is commented by 9-Volt.

Nintendo Land
Samus is alluded to Nintendo Land in the attraction Metroid Blast, where Miis are dressed in her Power Suit to fight waves of robotic enemies either on foot or from the air (via her gunship). On foot, the Miis can fire her Arm Cannon, enter into her Morph Ball form, and use the Grapple Beam. Charging up her Arm Cannon allows the Mii to fire bombs. From the gunship, the Miis can fire missiles.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Samus Aran makes a cameo appearance in the Wii U title, Mario Kart 8 - specifically, after the version 3.0 update and returns to be available in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Her image appears alongside many other Nintendo and third-party characters' images on the Mii Racing Suits screen. As such, she is one of the characters whose amiibo can be scanned on the Wii U GamePad, in order for the Samus suit to become available; both the Samus and Zero Suit Samus amiibo can be used to unlock the costume. This suit customizes the player's Mii clothing.

Super Mario Maker
A costume representing Samus is available for the player's character in Super Mario Maker. The player can unlock the Samus costume either by scanning her amiibo onto the GamePad, or by completing the 100 Mario Challenge. Her sprite in this game is a new one based upon her modern appearance. All of her sound effects are taken from the Famicom Disk System version of the original Metroid, and when Samus runs at full speed she turns into the Morph Ball. Samus's pose when pressing is her aiming her cannon at the screen.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Samus's helmet (referred to as "Space Warrior Mask") appears as an origami headpiece in Shogun Studios. Mario wears it and holds his arms like Samus's Arm Cannon while the "Samus Appears" fanfare and the arm cannon sound effect from Metroid plays. Bob-omb comments that the style does not really fit "Big M", but would be perfect on "some other kind of M".

Super Smash Bros. bios
Instruction booklet: The greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, Samus Aran fights with the super-human power of her hi-tech power suit.

In-game profile: ''Samus Aran is the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy. Using a special suit powered by the technology of the bird people which allows her to execute daring acrobatic feats, Samus pursues the airborne life form, Metroid, throughout the universe.''


 * Works


 * Metroid (NES)
 * Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB)
 * Super Metroid (SNES)

Instruction booklet bio

 * A space warrior with an arsenal of long-range projectile weapons.

Trophies

 * NOTICE: The Samus Unmasked trophy was only available in a promotional event at in Japan, and cannot be obtained in any other version of the game despite the data still being present.

Bios

 * Instruction booklet: The galaxy's greatest bounty hunter, her variety of long-distance weapons make her lethal.
 * Website: Her name is Samus Aran. She joins us from the Metroid games. Look at her Power Suit shine!
 * Her arm cannon is equipped with a variety of weapons. Mastering all of them is the first step toward victory.

Snake's codec

 * Snake: Hey, Otacon. I got a woman here in a Power Suit...
 * Otacon: Huh? How'd you know she was a woman? Yeah, that'd be Samus Aran, the most renowned bounty hunter in the galaxy. Her Arm Cannon packs quite a wallop. If you get hit with a charged shot from that thing, you can kiss your butt good-bye.
 * Snake: Sounds like my kind of woman...
 * Otacon: Yeah, well, just don't get too close, Snake. Samus is deadly. After Space Pirates killed her parents, she was raised by the Chozo and trained in the fighting arts. She's been places and seen things that you and me can't even begin to imagine.
 * Snake: But underneath that cold, metal exterior beats the heart of a woman...

Trophies
Red indicates exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version. Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

 * Viridi: Oh, look. There's Metroid.
 * Pit: That's not a Metroid! That's Samus!
 * Palutena: Just like Link isn't named Zelda.
 * Viridi: And like Pit's name isn't Icarus!
 * Pit: OK, this joke has officially run its course.
 * Palutena: Moving on, then. Pit, you can reflect Samus's Charge Shot with your Guardian Orbitars. However, Samus can throw a storm of shots at you. If you use your Orbitars too often, she'll know what you're up to. So try to reflect strategically, as opposed to your...usual game plan.

amiibo

 * Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter, has fought her way across a variety of planets in the Metroid series. Orphaned at an early age, she was taken in and raised by the alien race known as the Chozo. The Power Suit she wears is a product of their technology. Her unique combat skills combined with her athleticism and Arm Cannon have seen her through countless missions.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Super Smash Blog bio
"With her Charge Shot, Missile and Bomb, Samus has three different projectiles to keep her opponents in check from a distance. When fully charged up, her Charge Shot is quite powerful. For her Final Smash, she launches a wide laser beam that can be moved up and down!"

Trivia

 * Samus was originally going to appear in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where she tries a sample of Bean Juice at Starbeans Cafe. She, along with other Nintendo characters, was replaced by Professor E. Gadd, whose role was expanded from his intended appearance in the game. She was also the only character besides Gadd to have the blend she was tasting explicitly stated in the cut dialogue (Hoolumbian, in Samus's case).
 * In 2019, Super Mario RPG artist Kazuyuki Kurashima posted concept art meant for Paper Mario (back when it was called Super Mario RPG 2) on Instagram that features Samus Aran alongside several Mario characters. The image was captioned "MR2 the blurry"
 * Samus also appears in Nintendo Monopoly. Here, she costs $200 and takes the role of New York Avenue.
 * Samus is the only female character to be playable in the original Super Smash Bros., not counting Pikachu and Jigglypuff, which could be either gender.