Samus Aran's gunship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samus Aran's Gunship is the vehicle seen in the video games Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Fusion. It is piloted by bounty hunter Samus Aran.
Contents |
[edit] Gunship Facts and History
Several different versions of this ship exist, but its basic design remains consistent throughout the bulk of the series. It is speculated that these cosmetic changes to the ship are merely upgrades, whereas other speculation leads to Samus Aran actually buying a larger or more powerful ship each time. No one truly knows the reason behind it. The ship's capabilities, however remain clear throughout the series. Its most distinctive and constant feature is its cockpit windshield, which suggests the shape of Samus' Power Suit Visor, but the remainder of the features on its hull undergo drastic cosmetic changes in each game. Information gained from a Space Pirate log in Metroid Prime suggests the ship has a powerful cloaking device, though this has never been confirmed in any game and may be just speculation on the Space Pirate's part. The ship also has a large arsenal of weaponry which is seen in action in a Metroid manga released at the same time as Super Metroid. Finally, the ship seems to be equipped with a warp drive or hyperdrive of some kind which is seen during the endings of Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime: Hunters and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Also, contrary to the original belief, this ship is not actually of Chozo design. In the beginning of Metroid: Zero Mission, Samus appears in her original ship. Later that ship is destroyed and she escapes in a Zebesian Space Pirate ship, and apparently acquires her current ship. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, a scan of the ship mentions that it has been manufactured for Samus by the Federation Shipyards on the planet Aliehs III. It is quite possible that the gunship in Metroid Prime is a completely different ship, seeing as it has a slightly 'chunky' design, and four fire thrusters on the bottom instead of what appear to be repulsor lifts or anti-gravity lifts on her ship from Prime 2. However, as stated above, the different thrusters and hull may simply be repairs to the same ship.
It should be noted that Samus's gunship in Metroid Prime: Hunters is the same one as Metroid Prime, so whether Samus had her ship replaced or upgraded, it happened between Hunters and Echoes.
The gunships in Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Prime 2 all bear extremely close resemblance, so they are all also probably the same ship with minor upgrades each time.
The ship from Metroid Fusion is a completely different ship from any of the other games. When Samus becomes unconscious as an effect of being infected by an X Parasite, her ship (believed to be the same one from Metroid 2, Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 2, as it bears very close resemblance to each of them, and, considering the chronological order in which metroid fusion takes place, this would make sense) drifts into an asteroid field. The ship's emergency systems eject Samus in an escape pod a few seconds before the ship collides with an asteroid, causing it to explode. The Federation gives her the purple ship featured in Metroid Fusion after her surgery as a replacement. The new ship is also linked to Adam, Samus's computerized CO.
In both Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Samus's ship has the ability to restore samus's ammunition and health to full, acting as both a save station and an ammunition station.
[edit] Actual Ship Registry
[edit] Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime: Hunters Scan
Hunter-class gunship
Registered to Samus Aran
Return Here to Recharge your Health and Ammunition
[edit] Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Scan
Starship: Hunter-Class Gunship
Gunship Under Repairs
State of repair at 86% and Rising
(The actual repair percentage rises with progression throughout the game.)
The full article in Samus's Logbook is as follows:
- Your Hunter-class gunship is one of a kind, its distinct hull lines marking it to friend and foe alike. Custom built for you by the Federation Shipyards at Aleihs III, it contains a mobile energy recharge system and microfactories designed to produce ammunition. A sophisticated onboard computer stores mission data collected in the field for future reference.
[edit] Images of the Gunship
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of Metroid II |
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of Metroid Fusion |
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of a beta version of Metroid Prime |
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of Metroid Prime. The same gunship is used in Metroid Prime Hunters. |
 Samus's gunship from artwork of Metroid: Zero Mission (destroyed before the game ended) |
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |
 Samus's gunship from a screenshot of an early version of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption |
 Samus's gunship from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption |
[edit] Samus's gunship in Metroid: Fusion
The purple gunship (see picture above) that Samus pilots in Metroid: Fusion is actually a ship that she borrowed from the Galactic Federation due to her own ship colliding with the asteroid belt in that game. This ship is not seen in other games because Metroid: Fusion is the latest game (chronologically) in the Metroid series.
[edit] Samus' ship in Captain N
Samus's gunship is also described in the Captain N: The Game Master comics issue #5. As the comics was made in 1990, before Metroid II: Return of Samus was published, this ship looks completely different from Samus's ship in the canonical Metroid universe. Of note, however, is that its type is given as "Hunter IV", and thus it seems that at least the name has persisted to the canon, though the name could be just a coincidence considering how Samus is known as the Hunter to the Space Pirates.
[edit] Cameos
Samus's gunship also got its own Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, awarded for beating the Brinstar escape sequence in Adventure mode. This is the Metroid II version of the ship.
