Samus Aran

Samus Aran is a fictional video game character created by Nintendo, and stars in the Metroid game series. She is notable for being one of the few non-sexualized female video game characters in merchandise, although several of the Metroid games do portray her in somewhat revealing attire if one completes the game under certain time restrictions (see Justin Bailey). In addition, original information on her character as stated in the manual was purposely vague and in some cases deliberately incorrect. Many simply assumed she was a male cyborg, leading to the surprised discovery of fans in a time when very few female video game characters were active heroines.

Stats

Species: human; was infused with Chozo blood as a child, later with Metroid DNA as an adult; was also referenced in the original Metroid's manual as a cyborg but due to other inaccuracies in that booklet, intentional and not, the existence of cybernetic implants remains conjectural

Occupation: Space-faring bounty hunter for the Galactic Federation

Sex: female

Height: 1.90m (6'3") according to the Metroid II instruction booklet and Super Metroid strategy guide

Weight: 90kg (198lbs, 6oz) according to the Metroid II instruction booklet and Super Metroid strategy guide

Age: unknown; appears to be in mid-20's to early-30's however due to several DNA alterations and possible possession of cybernetic implants, the normal human aging process may have been slowed

Homeworld: Presumably born on Earth colony K-2L, raised on Zebes

Hair color: blonde

Eye color: blue

Fictional biography

Samus Aran is the legendary bounty hunter who is well-known for defeating the Space Pirates and wiping out the dangerous Metroids. Though she was at first rumored to be a male cyborg, Samus revealed her true identity after she defeated the Space Pirates on Zebes. Her reputation grew as her reliability almost always guaranteed success in her hired jobs.

Samus was the daughter of two colonists on the Federation colony world K-2L. When she was quite young, the species known only as the Space Pirates destroyed the colony, leaving Samus as the sole survivor. A group of Chozo picked up the distress signal from the colony, and took Samus with them to their home on planet Zebes. They raised her as their own, infusing her with their blood for her to gain their natural powers. In Metroid: Zero Mission, Samus has flashbacks to her childhood with the Chozo when she sees a mural depicting a Chozo warrior, and also as a sequence of pictures in a connectivity bonus between Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission.

How and why Samus eventually left Zebes is a bit of a mystery. According to the Metroid Prime instruction manual, the Space Pirates attacked Zebes and wiped out most of the local Chozo after discovering the Metroids. However, it goes on to say Samus was growing up at the time; this clashes with the plot of Metroid: Zero Mission, which says that Samus grew up on the very same planet.

Samus is rarely seen without her Chozo-designed Power Suit. In addition to providing protection, the suit augments her physical abilities, allowing her to leap great distances or scale vertical cliffs. The suit is also modular, able to equip many different upgrades to increase versatility.

Chozo Lore entries

These Chozo Lore entries are from the North American Metroid Prime. Although they do give some insight on what the Chozo thought of their adopted human child, these entries were among those removed from the PAL version of the game.

Newborn

The power of our temple has been enough to halt the spread of the poison on Tallon IV, but that which remains thrives and grows more concentrated, gnawing on itself in the dark passages beneath the planet's surface. Whether it can ever be truly destroyed is not for our eyes to see. But there is something else. We Chozo are drifting, tumbling through space and time as the Great Poison eats away at our sanity. We wake in dreams. As the veil of lunacy descends, as past and future blend and shuffle, one image appears and flickers through the landscape, wraithlike. It is the Hatchling, the Newborn, walking the path of corruption, a lone figure shining in the toxic shadows. She comes dressed for war, and her wrath is terrible. Do our eyes look backward, seeing the Hatchling as she once was? Or does she approach even now, arriving in our race's last hour, a savior clothed in machines crafted long ago by Chozo hands? Poisonous clouds drift across our vision.

Hatchling

As we struggle with the Great Poison, something stirs at the edges of our vision. It is the Hatchling Samus. We feel her, across the void, as she hunts the corrupted. Will our fates again be one? As our pride shatters, will prophecy become real? When all strength wanes from the Chozo, will it be the Hatchling who fulfills our legacy? True sight eludes us, for the Poison gnaws at all vision, leaving seers blind and filled with despair. Truth's blessing may come too late.

Metroid games and cameo appearances

By order of US release:

1. Metroid (1986 - NES)
2. Nintendo's Tetris (1989 - NES) (Cameo)
3. Metroid II: Return of Samus ( 1991 - Game Boy)
4. Super Metroid (1994 - SNES)
5. Super Mario RPG (1996 - SNES) (Cameo)
6. Kirby Super Star (1996 - SNES) (Cameo)
7. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1997 - SNES) (Cameo)
8. Super Smash Bros. (1999 - N64)
9. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001 - GameCube)
10. Metroid Prime (2002 - GameCube)
11. Metroid Fusion (2002 - Game Boy Advance)
    (Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion were released on the same day)
12. Metroid: Zero Mission (2004 - Game Boy Advance)
13. Metroid (2004 - Game Boy Advance) (a port of the original, see Classic NES Series)
14. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004 - GameCube)
15. Metroid Prime: Hunters (2005 - Nintendo DS)

Super Smash Bros.

In the Super Smash Bros. franchise, Samus is a heavy aerial fighter, her weight being exceeded only by heavyweights like Donkey Kong or Bowser. Her flying kicks are among the most powerful in the game. In addition, she can use an array of projectiles inspired by her weapons from the Metroid series, including the Power Beam, Missles, and Morph Ball Bombs.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, she was made a little more user friendly. She is also very useful with all-range attacks. Her improved speed, agility, and stamina were also noticed by Melee fans. New attacks: Homing Missle. (she was also taken out of the heavyweights from Super Smash Bros., and was put into the mediumweights category for Super Smash Bros. Melee.)

Metroid movie

Paris Hilton auditioned for the voice of Samus Aran in the live-action film adaptation of Nintendo's best-selling video game franchise. Naomi Watts and Kristanna Loken are also reportedly to have been considered.