Nintendo All-Stars: Samus Aran

Profile

Samus Aran was born on a planet known as Earth colony K-2L. A Space Pirate invasion when Samus was very young left her orphaned and alone. She was found by a rescue team of Chozo from the planet Zebes, who took her in and raised her as one of their own. As she grew she learned the peaceful ways of the Chozo people, and her blood was infused with theirs. She grew in strength and agility, and when she was fully grown the Chozo provided her with a high-tech Power Suit.

Once she had left Zebes, Samus found work as a bounty hunter. Always choosy about the jobs she took, she aided the Galactic Federation in hunting the Space Pirates and other criminals. Through her work she joined the Space Hunters - a band of lone warriors who took on missions that the Galactic Police could not do alone.

Insurrection on Zebes

A small research vessel orbiting the planet SR388 had discovered a parasitic life form that could drain all life from a human in seconds. It was dubbed the "Metroid" by its captors, and rumours spread that it was responsible for the complete extinction of the SR388 Chozo colony.

Space Pirate attacks were mostly vicious, mindless acts, but when the SR388 research vessel was ransacked and destroyed, the Metroid was the only trophy taken. It was clear the Space Pirates were operating tactically. The Galactic Police had to retaliate at once - research had already shown that if the Metroid was exposed to Gamma radiation for 24 hours then it would divide.

The Galactic Federation tracked the Space Pirates to their stronghold: the planet of Zebes had fallen to the pirates, and all that remained of the Chozo were ruins and relics. The Galactic Police were unable to penetrate the fortress, but Samus - with her personal knowledge of the planet - took the challenge to infiltrate and destroy the Metroid and the Space Pirates. She teleported herself below the surface and started searching for the Chozo relics that would give her the strength to take out the Space Pirate leaders. Samus hunted and destroyed Kraid and Ridley, taking them out with her Chozo weaponry. With both of the gargantuan creatures dead, the tunnel to Tourian - the lair of the biomechanical Space Pirate Mother Brain - was opened.

Samus travelled deep into Tourian, where she was attacked by a Metroid. Armed with an Ice Beam, she froze the creature and shattered it with a missile. She had no doubt that the Mother Brain has managed to breed more, and soon she was set upon by dozens of the parasites. Using the same tactics as before, Samus wiped them out one by one, until all that remained was the Mother Brain. The monstrous brain sat in a heavily armed vat, bathing in acid. Firing rocket after rocket, Samus cracked the shield and hit the fleshy eye of the Mother Brain. With a final surge of power, the beast sent a self-destruct signal to the base computer. Racing to the surface of the planet, Samus leapt into her ship and pulled away just as the base blew apart.

Escape From Zebes

Pulling away from Zebes, Samus's ship was fired out of the sky by a Space Pirate mothership. It came to land on the surface and sent out a search party to find her. Samus had survived the attack, but her Power Suit had been damaged. Left only in her body suit with a standard blaster, Samus avoided capture until she reached the Chozo ruins where she had grown up. There she was confronted with a Chozo spirit that did battle with her. She proved her worth, and the spirit granted her an improved Power Suit with increased functionality. With guns blazing, Samus marched back into the mothership and wiped out all Space Pirates in her way. In the upper levels of the ship she faced a security droid which she wiped out with a volley of missiles. As she made her escape from the exploding ship, Samus took control of a one-manned Space Pirate vessel and launched herself into space, leaving two smoking ruins in her wake.

The Phazon Experiments

Successful in her mission to destroy the Mother Brain, Samus was able to replenish her supplies and replace her ship. During her escape Samus had seen other Space Pirate ships escaping from the system, and any one of them could have been carrying a Metroid. Samus took on a personal mission to hunt down all remaining Metroids and finally free the universe of the threat forever.

Following a distress signal to the planet Tallon IV, Samus landed on a Space Pirate research vessel that had been all but destroyed. The Space Pirates had been experimenting with a powerful mutagen known as Phazon, but the results had created unpredictable monsters that destroyed all in their path. The mutagen had wiped out the Chozo settlement on the planet's surface years ago, but not before they had contained the meteor that had carried the Phazon to the planet in the first place.

Samus lost her Power Suit abilities in a battle with a giant mutated bug, but managed to escape to the surface of Tallon IV. She travelled the landscape where she uncovered more Phazon experiments, some of them in active workstations. In the frozen Phendrana Drifts she found a housing facility for Metroids, but a more immediate threat were the mutated Space Pirates. The species proved adaptable, and had bred a series of super soldiers in an attempt to replicate Samus's Power Suit. During a battle with one of these creatures, Samus's suit became charged with Phazon, giving her resistance to the mutagen.

With her suit fully armed, Samus broke the Chozo seal on the meteor. Deep in a Phazon-laced mine she found a Metroid morphed beyond all recognition. The Metroid Prime was unstable, and its molecular structure shifted rapidly. By altering her own attacks, Samus exploited each weakness of the beast and watched as the creature destroyed itself. Leaving the Phazon Suit behind, she escaped from the planet, leaving it to heal itself in time.

The Dark Rift

When a Galactic Federation ship disappears on the planet Aether, where Space Pirate activity is suspected, Samus is sent down to investigate. It was too late for the Federation troopers, but it was also too late for many of the Space Pirates. The planet was the scene of an interdimensional war between the resident Luminoth and the shadowy Ing - invaders from a parallel dark dimension.

The Luminoth had tried to sap Dark Aether of its energy using giant energy transfer modules, but the Ing had gained control of them and turned them against Light Aether. Now the world was dying and unstable. The darkness was consuming Light Aether and its inhabitants, turning the creatures into deadly killing machines. Even Samus wasn't safe - a Phazon charged Dark Samus had appeared and started wiping out the Space Pirates mercilessly. The Metroid Prime had been reborn into Samus's discarded Phazon suit, and was now intent on destroying Samus.

The real Samus, however, ventured into Dark Aether and managed to restore the energy stolen from Light Aether. In a decisive battle with the Emperor of the Ing, Samus managed to reverse the energy transfer modules, causing Dark Aether to finally collapse. In a frantic escape, Samus did battle with Dark Samus and emerged through the dimensional rift victorious. Light Aether was now safe, and the Luminoth could finally come out of hiding and rebuild their society.

However, as Samus escaped from the planet, she was unaware that Dark Samus had reformed behind her, and was set on finally bringing an end to Samus.

Eradicate All Metroids

Having removed all Metroids from Space Pirate hands, Samus returned to the Galactic Federation where she was given a new mission. She would land on the planet SR388 and eradicate all Metroids at the source. SR388 was teeming with wildlife, but a special scanner built into her suit allowed Samus to track the Metroids in particular.

But the Metroids had been living and dividing on this planet for many years, and the natural growth of a Metroid means it goes through stages of pupation. As they grow, they develop armoured hides resistant to all weaponry, and they sprout claws, eyes and teeth. The deeper into the caverns Samus went, the more grotesque and vicious the Metroids became.

Deep within the planet, Samus came across a fresh batch of Metroid hatchlings that swooped on her. She wiped them out easily, but she came across the source of the hatchlings - the Queen Metroid. The vicious beast was completely covered in armour, and the only way to defeat it was to fire missiles down its throat. The beast exploded from within, triggering a cave-in. Unable to escape, Samus came across the last remaining Metroid egg. It hatched, but rather than attempt to feed on Samus, it swooped around her like a confused child. It helped her to escape the planet, and Samus sealed it in a capsule.

The Last Metroid

Samus turned the last Metroid over to a secure science vessel, where she rested, waiting to find out more about the Metroids. It turned out the energy-producing properties of the Metroid were astounding, and if they could be harnessed then the Metroids could actually prove beneficial to civilization. Samus left the vessel, but before she reached the edge of the solar system she received a distress signal. The vessel had been ambushed by the Space Pirates. Samus rushed back, only to face an incarnation of Ridley stealing the Metroid.

Samus tracked the pirate back to Zebes, where they had been rebuilding the base. Samus navigated the dank tunnels and the planet surface where she defeated the leaders of the pirates. As she travelled deep under the ground to face the rebuilt Mother Brain, Samus was attacked by a giant Metroid. Just as she was about to die, the Metroid suddenly stopped and backed away - it was the Metroid hatchling, mutated into a giant, hideous Metroid. It retreated and Samus pressed on. The Mother Brain itself was even more heavily armed than before, and as it looked like Samus was about to destroy it, the monster reared up on a biomechanical body and attacked Samus with everything it had. The situation looked bad - Samus was severely weakened and facing a terrible creature. But as Mother Brain was about to throw the finishing blow, the Metroid hatchling flew to its "mother's" rescue. Draining the life out of the Mother Brain, Samus was able to escape as the base exploded behind her. The hatchling had saved her life, and the Metroids were no more.

X

With the Space Pirates and the Metroids no longer a unified danger to the galaxy, Samus was sent on a research mission on SR388. The federation was interested in how the extinction of the Metroids had affected the ecosystem of the planet. The team found the planet brimming with life as before, but some of the creatures had turned vicious. They discovered why when Samus destroyed one - a globular viral life form escaped from the body and quickly attached itself to the nearest thing - Samus.

Trapped in a coma, Samus was rescued from near death by a vaccine made from cells of the Metroid hatchling. It transpired that the virus, dubbed "X" by the research team, had infested life there once before, and the Chozo had created a parasite that would absorb the virus - they had created the Metroids. Samus was now able to absorb the X in the same way, thanks to the Metroid cells in her body.

An alert went up in the research station - Samus's suit, which had been irreperably damaged and removed by the X, had infected people and animals throughout the base. The virus had also copied Samus's DNA and created a clone that was wandering the station in search of something. Samus had to evade the clone (SA-X) until her Fusion suit was powered up enough. But with the whole station suddenly in turmoil, Samus had no choice but to sneak through ventilation shafts and through tunnels, activated security gates so she could access her weapons.

As she escaped the SA-X, Samus found an uncharted part of the station, and it was filled with Metroids at various stages of life. The Metroid hatchling hadn't just provided cells for a vaccine - but for a cloning process as well. This is what the SA-X was searching for - only as Samus could the virus hope to eradicate its only predator. The task failed though, as Metroids escaped into the ship.

Facing off against the SA-X at full power, Samus destroyed the creature and her Power Suit with it. As she ran for her ship in the hangar she was faced with a terrifying sight: An Omega Metroid - the highest form of Metroid aside from the Queen itself. Samus had to act quickly in destroying it, as she had triggered the self destruct mechanism. As soon as the beast was dead, her ship landed and carried her away... but now she knew she could trust noone.

Samus's adventures are no doubt far from over. Who knows how many Metroids are in the hands of the Space Pirates... or the Galactic Federation?

Games

Metroid (NES)
Metroid II: Return of Samus (Game Boy)
Super Metroid (Super NES)
Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance)
Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Gamecube)