Samus Aran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style and may need cleanup. Please help rewrite this article according to the guidelines on writing about fiction, or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
| Samus Aran | |
|---|---|
 Samus's classic red-and-gold power suit in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. |
|
| Game series | Metroid series |
| First game | Metroid (1986) |
| Creator(s) | Makoto Kanoh[1] |
| Designed by | Hiroji Kiyotake[2] |
| Voice actor(s) | Jennifer Hale (Metroid Prime and later games)[3] |
Samus Aran (サムス・アラン Samusu Aran?), is the fictional protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a bounty hunter armed with a cybernetic power suit with a number of advanced technologies built into it. She hunts the alien "Space Pirates" and energy-draining alien parasites called "Metroids," while attempting to complete missions given by the Galactic Federation. Samus is voiced in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes by Jennifer Hale, but only for incidental sounds (such as cries of pain and death screams).
Her gender is unusual for a game protagonist of her time; Metroid intentionally led players to believe Samus was a male cyborg (including references to the character as male in the English instruction booklet) until the very end of the game, where it was revealed that Samus is in fact an attractive young woman.[4] Although Samus wears the Power Suit throughout most of the Metroid series, it has become a tradition to depict her in much more revealing attire at the end of each game, often as a reward for satisfying certain conditions (such as completing the game quickly or with a high percentage of the game’s items collected).
Samus' creation is usually credited to Metroid producer Gunpei Yokoi, but the original game concepts were done by game director Makoto Kanoh and Samus was designed by Hiroji Kiyotake[5][1].
Contents |
[edit] Equipment
Samus's main distinguishing feature is her Power Suit, a suit of powered armor created for her by the Chozo. The basic suit provides shielding against enemy fire and various environments, a Power Beam capable of infinite rapid fire, and two visors that increase Samus's targeting ability and her awareness of her surroundings. The Power Suit is capable of augmenting itself through numerous upgrades, and the search for these upgrades is a central gameplay element in all Metroid games. These upgrades include armor enhancements such as the Varia Suit, weapon and ammunition expansions, energy tanks, new visors, and movement systems such as the Morph Ball and Screw Attack.
For transportation, Samus uses her distinctive gunship. She has had several gunships throughout the series, one of which has been described as a custom Hunter-class starship made especially for her by the Galactic Federation. The first appearance of Samus's gunship was in Metroid II: Return of Samus, and the differences in the gunship's design, with very few exceptions, have been cosmetic in nature. The ship's most common incarnation is seen in Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, as well as making various cameos in non-Metroid games.
The gunship serves primarily as a save point and a place to recharge her suit's energy and ammunition stores, and is crucial for escaping when she completes her missions. In some games in the series, it plays a larger role: In Metroid Zero Mission, the gunship is shot down and destroyed by the Space Pirates, forcing Samus to steal a Pirate fighter in order to escape the planet. A second version appears in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime Hunters. The common version of the ship is destroyed in the opening scenes of Metroid Fusion, and is replaced by another ship containing an A.I. acting as Samus's commanding officer. In the upcoming Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, it appears that Samus will be able to call upon the gunship for automated air support during ground missions.
[edit] Role in the Metroid series
Samus Aran, the legendary bounty hunter, is best known for defeating the Space Pirates and the dangerous, life-draining Metroids. At the start of Metroid, Samus's gender is not specified, but she reveals herself as a woman in the game's ending.
Little is known of Samus's past. Her biography in Super Smash Bros. Melee states that she was orphaned during a Space Pirate raid on her homeworld of K-2L. It also states that she was subsequently rescued by the bird-like Chozo race and infused with "Chozo blood".[6] Information in Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Prime also strongly suggests that she was raised by the bird-like Chozo race on the planet Zebes, and became their most prized warrior, referred to as the "Hatchling."
In Metroid, Samus is sent by the Galactic Federation to stop the Space Pirates' production of Metroids after the Federation's own attempts had failed. The original game ends with the defeat of the Space Pirates, but Metroid: Zero Mission continues the plot when Samus's gunship is shot down, forcing her to infiltrate the Pirates' mothership in order to escape.
In Metroid II: Return of Samus, Samus is charged with returning to planet SR-388 and eradicating the Metroid species once and for all. After defeating the Metroid queen, she comes across a single Metroid egg that hatches just as she arrives. The newborn Metroid quickly imprints on Samus and follows her around "like a confused child". Unable to bring herself to destroy the hatchling, Samus instead takes it with her to the research space colony Ceres.
Super Metroid picks up where Metroid II leaves off. Shortly after leaving the space colony, Samus receives a distress call from the colony. She returns to find the scientists dead and the Metroid hatchling missing. She quickly encounters Ridley, who steals the hatchling and takes it back to planet Zebes. Samus fights her way through the planet, eventually defeating Ridley and continuing on to Tourian in search of Mother Brain. Along the way, she encounters the Metroid hatchling once again, but now it has grown to enormous proportions. She then goes on to attack a cybernetically enhanced Mother Brain, who nearly defeats her before being attacked by the Metroid hatchling. The Metroid drains Mother Brain of its energy and uses it to restore Samus's energy, but Mother Brain recovers and attacks the Metroid in retaliation, eventually destroying it. Samus then defeats Mother Brain and escapes as the planet self-destructs.
Metroid Prime chronicles Samus's mission to Tallon IV, where she once again encounters the Space Pirates and discovers a dangerous energy source called Phazon.
Metroid Fusion takes place after the events of Super Metroid. In this game, she returns to SR-388, where she is infected by the X Parasite and comes near death. She is infused with Metroid DNA and recovers, and is then sent on a new mission to determine the cause of an explosion aboard a research station orbiting SR-388. She receives orders from an artificial intelligence aboard her new gunship, which she nicknames "Adam" after her deceased commanding officer. Much of Samus's past is revealed in this game, mostly through narration by Samus herself. Throughout her mission, Samus is stalked by her doppelgänger, the SA-X.
In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Samus is sent to the unstable planet Aether for a search and rescue mission. She soon discovers a doppelgänger of herself, Dark Samus, formed of the remains of Metroid Prime and Samus's Phazon Suit. Samus works to restore the planet's energy, guided by the indigenous Luminoth and battling against the powerful Ing.
In Metroid Prime Hunters (which takes place chronologically between the events of Prime and Prime 2), Samus is charged with locating eight artifacts known as "Octoliths", which are touted as the key to "Ultimate Power". However, she must first battle against six other galactic bounty hunters, as well as various other enemies and the guardians of the relics.
[edit] Roles outside of the Metroid series
Being a well-known Nintendo character, Samus has made numerous appearances in other titles and media.
[edit] Super Smash Bros. series
Samus appears in the Nintendo multiplayer fighting game series, Super Smash Bros., where she can use her array of weapons in combat against other Nintendo-owned characters. The Metroid II version of her gunship also appears as a trophy in the second game of the series.
Samus has also been announced for the upcoming game Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Nintendo's Wii console. Screenshots reveal Samus to be playable with or without her Power Suit, the latter dubbed "Zero Suit Samus". This form is based on her suitless self in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid: Zero Mission, and Metroid Prime Hunters), in which Samus wears a blue, skin-tight suit and no headgear.[7]
[edit] Cameos in other Nintendo titles
- Famicom Wars (1988, Famicom) (Unreleased outside Japan; The Orange Star commander on Donut Island is called Samasuun, and her face on the result screen is Samus's mask.)[8]
- Nintendo’s Tetris (1989, NES) (Cameo, appears playing the upright bass after the player wins a B-type game of level at least 9 and height at least 2.)[8]
- F-1 Race (1990, Game Boy) (Cameo, appears cheering before Course 7)[8]
- Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy) (Cameo, her ship appears in a minigame)
Samus Aran cameos in the Mushroom Kingdom castle's Guest Room. If Mario attempts to talk to her, she says, "...... I'm resting up for Mother Brain."[9] - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996, SNES) (Cameo, after Mario's party defeats Yaridovich, he may find her sleeping, until Mario travels to Land's End, and a Samus figurine appears in the toy box of Booster's Room.)[9]
The Samus figurine appears with other toys.[9] - Kirby Super Star (1996, SNES) (Cameo, when Kirby uses his rock defense he can become a Samus statue. Also, the Screw Attack icon (called the Screwball) is a treasure in the Great Cave Offensive segment of the game.)[9]
- Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (1997, SNES) (Cameo, appears after level 5-2, which also contains six Metroids)[9]
- Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) (Playable character)
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GameCube) (Playable character)
- WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (2003, Game Boy Advance) (Contains a microgame based on NES Metroid)
- WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$ (2004, Nintendo GameCube) (Contains the same Metroid microgame from Mega Microgame$)
- WarioWare: Touched! (2005, Nintendo DS) (Contains a microgame based on NES Metroid)
- WarioWare: Twisted! (2005, Game Boy Advance) (Contains two microgames based on NES Metroid)
- Animal Crossing: Wild World (2006, Nintendo DS) (Gulliver, the seagull, references Samus saying “Tell me, have you ever heard of the bounty hunter that can turn into a ball?” Also you can get a 1x1 item that is a Metroid in a case, when you touch it it glows and plays a small clip of Metroid music.)
- Geist (2005) (Samus’ helmet is seen in a women’s locker room[8]
- Tetris DS (2006, Nintendo DS) (Metroid-based course, Catch; in the title screen, Samus shoots some tetrominoes; A difficulty level on Standard mode is Metroid Themed, with Samus to the right, and clips of the original Metroid playing on the top screen.)
- WarioWare: Smooth Moves (2007, Wii) (Contains a microgame based on Metroid Prime 2)
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2007, Wii) (Playable character, Zero Suit Samus is also a playable character.)
[edit] Other appearances
Samus was also a semi-regular character in the Captain N: The Game Master comic books from Valiant Comics, published as part of the Nintendo Comics System, where she filled in the void left by Simon Belmont and Mega Man, who did not appear in the comic due to the characters being owned by Konami and Capcom respectively. In these stories, Samus has romantic feelings for Kevin Keene, despite his own affections for Princess Lana. However, as she states in the story “Breakout”, she’d prefer to win Kevin’s affections fairly. Samus's gunship also makes an appearance, albeit in a very different form than in the games. Interestingly, the ship's class in the comic was "Hunter IV", suggesting that the ship's canonical designation ("Hunter Class") may have been derived from the comic. However, it is also possible that the name is simply coincidental, given that Samus's official occupation is that of a bounty hunter.
In the animated series of the same name, Samus did not appear, even though Mother Brain was the show’s primary villain. Jeffrey Scott claimed in an interview that he didn’t feature Samus in the cartoon because he "never heard of her"[10].
Samus also starred in her own comic story, apparently set in the same continuity, titled “Deceit du Jour”; it was the only ten-page story to have the Metroid umbrella title. In this story, Samus duels with another bounty hunter, “Big Time” Brannigan, whom Mother Brain has hired to capture her, and who claims to be just as efficient as Samus. In the end, Samus proves her superiority by sabotaging her own Arm cannon before handing it over to Big Time. When Big Time attempts to kill her with it later on, it explodes, covering Samus’ escape.
Samus also starred in two comic adaptations featured in Nintendo Power: a 60-page one for Super Metroid [11] and a 24-page one for Metroid Prime.[12].
A chibi doll in Samus's likeness drove the plot for a Mario VS Wario comic that was published prior to the Super Metroid comic.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ultimate Nintendo FAQ - May 2002. n-Sider. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
- ^ Credits for Metroid. MobyGames.
- ^ Jennifer Hale at TV.com
- ^ One Girl vs. The Galaxy. 1UP.com (2006-08-07).
- ^ El Origen de Metroid (Spanish). N-retro.
- ^ Super Smash Bros. Melee, "Samus Aran" trophy
- ^ Zero-Suit Samus profile, Smash Bros Dojo!
- ^ a b c d Metroid and Samus cameos. Samus.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d e Metroid cameos. Metroid Database.
- ^ Interview with Jeffrey Scott, The Unofficial Captain N Homepage
- ^ Super Metroid: Comics, Metroid Database
- ^ Downloads for Metroid Prime (including the comic series), Samus.co.uk
[edit] External links
- Translation of official e-manga detailing Samus's Origin
- Rag, Koran (2004). “Metroid Prime Chozo Lore FAQ”. Accessed July 4, 2005.
- IGN: Smash Profile - Samus
