Metroid/YMMV

The subjective tropes from Metroid.


 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Is Adam a truly good, noble man who cares about Samus or an abusive Jerkass who actively tries to demean her?
 * Did the SA-X ? Or did it ?
 * Some believe that
 * Awesome Music: Has its own page.
 * Base Breaker: Other M, particularly Samus' portrayal.
 * Zero Suit Samus from Super Smash Bros. Brawl also has this effect on a certain portion of the fandom.
 * Adam Malkovich, in large part due to being the face of the controversial authorization mechanic, Samus' questionable role model, and for.
 * Complete Monster: Ridley in the manga, which isn't all that far off, all things considered. His whole motivation for what he does is implied to be nothing but simply For the Evulz.
 * Crowning Moment of Funny: The suicidal Zebesian that attempts to jump onto Samus' ship as it escapes at the end of Zero Mission.
 * Also, several pirate logs throughout the Prime series, including the Body Horror entry on the main page.
 * The two hour movie for Other M has a pretty funny moment during the Nightmare fight. It goes from Nightmare being knocked on the ground (demasked, BTW) and Samus about to fire at it, to it actually CHASING HER HALFWAY ACROSS THE ROOM BY SLIDING, and Samus running like hell to get away. Really doesn't hurt that the transition is so freaking sudden. This troper couldn't help but bust out laughing.
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: At the end of Zero Mission,
 * And most scenes involving the Baby Metroid.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Ridley has gathered a big fanbase around him (and in the manga, he was essentially the one who steals the show). Also, Rundas from Metroid Prime 3, Sylux from Metroid Prime Hunters (the may have been a nod to Sylux's popularity), and Anthony Higgs from Metroid: Other M.
 * Epileptic Trees: In Fusion, the extent to which Samus absorbs the X is only vaguely hinted at. Thus, it's unclear as to whether she's absorbing their DNA, or just their energy.
 * It's believed that the Ing are a form of semi-solidified Phazon. This is supported by the appearance of the Phaze-Ing in Prime 3, which is basically a blue Inglet. This could very well be untrue, though, as it raises a lot of other questions...
 * What. Metroids absorb energy. Samus is imbued with Metroid DNA. Therefore, Samus is absorbing energy.
 * Almost nothing is known for certain about Sylux, except that it hates both Samus and the Federation. Fertile ground for the trees right there, including that it is female.
 * Nobody really knows what Kraid is or what his actual connection with the Space Pirates is, beyond being a high-ranking member, but everyone sure loves to speculate. Pre-Zero Mission, a lot of them focused on whether he grew or was enhanced between the original game and Super Metroid, because he went from being tiny to being huge.
 * The identity of the dead soldier lying outside Kraid's room in Super Metroid. The body's purpose is to this day unknown, and has prompted much discussion and speculation over who it was, what faction it was with, and why it was there. Theories abound among fans, with claims that it could be anyone from Expanded Universe bounty hunter Houston Armstrong to Weavel (from Prime Hunters). It doesn't help matters that the soldier is the only human-looking sprite left on Zebes.
 * Even Better Sequel: Metroid basically created the modern Metroidvania genre, and Metroid 2 wasn't exactly bad, either, but it wasn't until Super Metroid that things really got swinging.
 * Fanon Discontinuity: There is a Metroid Manga that is supposedly canon, but is ignored even by most who bothered to look it up in the first place.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Much of the Japanese series' fanbase is based in America, which might be why the 3D revival of the series was given to an American development studio.
 * In fact, Other M was designed mostly to get the Japanese to buy it; it worked, but at the cost of losing a good part of the (much larger) American fanbase.
 * Goddamned Bats: Mellows and Weavers in Brinstar, and pretty much any lava enemy in Norfair. The titular enemies, however, skip right over this into Demonic Spider territory.
 * In Fusion, the winner goes to the species of X-infected Ki-Hunters. They're quite quick, contact damage with them takes about 50 energy, and their stinging attack takes a way a full energy tank. They're also found right before and after you have to flee from a super powerful SA-X, causing frustration for anyone who gets unlucky and isn't able to reach a save spot in time.
 * Hell Is That Noise: "Skreee!"
 * Ridley's screech in Fusion and Zero Mission is like listening to someone use a chainsaw on a chalkboard.
 * The 'tap tap tap' sound from Fusion will be in your nightmares.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: This interview is funny as hell now that Other M has been released, and ends up making most of the complaints much much Older Than They Think.
 * Internet Backdraft: The Zero Suit alone has sparked discussions and flamewars about whether or not Nintendo turned Samus into a slut. Whether your definition of Stripperific extends to Latex Space Suit or goes to Absolute Cleavage and Thong of Shielding will determine your standing.
 * It Was His Sled: When the original game first came out, many players were shocked to discover that Samus Is a Girl. Not so much anymore, in large part because one of the original reasons why it was originally so shocking (a girl protagonist in a video game?!) is pretty pat nowadays.
 * Memetic Badass: Samus, as evidenced by her nickname on this very site: The Intergalactic Queen of Badass.
 * Also, Admiral Castor Dane, in part due to a scene where it seems he's standing in the Urtagian acid rain, which is strong enough to kill well-armored Samus in a few seconds, with no protection.
 * Dane's hat is a Memetic Badass in its own right, as well.
 * Memetic Sex Goddess: Believe it or not, Samus was a sex symbol long before the games made the jump to 3D. Doing so simply took her status as such Up to Eleven.
 * Memetic Mutation: "REMEBEH ME??!?!?" After the trailer was released, it took about .372 seconds for "Mysterious Black Guy" to become a meme.
 * TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBES!
 * And don't forget that Science Team has vapor for brains.
 * "That seems inefficient"
 * Mis Blamed: At one point, Yoshio Sakamoto gave an interview with Kotaku where he said that he initially wanted Other M to be "on-rails." What he meant by on-rails was "on a 2D sidescrolling plane." What the article gave the impression of with what he said, however, was "Rail Shooter." Unfortunately, the misinformation spread like wildfire, and fans were up in arms over how Sakamoto was trying to derail the series with an unneeded Genre Shift. The uproar dissipated once Sakamoto was able to clarify what exactly he meant.
 * My Real Daddy: After the base-breaking insanity of Metroid: Other M, many would say that Retro Studios should handle the series from here on out, due to the critical and commercial acclaim of the Metroid Prime trilogy.
 * Never Live It Down: Fans like to say that any planet Samus lands on will explode at some point. They must not think Tallon IV, Aether, Norion, Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld exist, then.
 * And even then, Zebes' destruction wasn't her fault. And, even though she was directly responsible for blowing, it's pretty much safe to say that it's a very good thing they were destroyed.
 * Nightmare Fuel: This series has its own page.
 * Paranoia Fuel: in Metroid Fusion, when the X Parasite takes over your former suit, you get to see a cutscene announcing there's another "Samus" lurking in the game. It has all of Samus's powerups, aside from the Gravity Suit and (oh thank god) the X-ray scope. Good luck trying to play it without being nervous.
 * Scrappy Level: The second play through of Sector 2 TRO, in Fusion, is arguably the hardest part of the game due to the plant overgrowth, lack of weak enemies, and the fact that every enemy you do encounter deals at minimum 1 bar of energy in damage (nevermind the SA-X, who takes 3 of them every time you touch her).
 * You get a hint of what's to come after beating the boss in your first visit. All those creepy little worms suddenly pupate...and when you get back to one of the tall rooms you use the pupae to climb, you can see their adult shapes forming inside.
 * Scrappy Mechanic: Wall-jumping in Super Metroid, due to the unforgiving timing required to pull it off correctly. Fortunately, there is only one optional occasion where you have to use it before you acquire the Space Jump, which is a much easier way of doing the same thing. Fusion, Zero Mission, and Other M subsequently made wall jumping a lot easier.
 * And then some difficult romhacks of Super make the timing even more unforgiving...
 * Any long-time Metroid player's blood pressure goes up when they see water in a Metroid game.
 * Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The original Metroid got this in recent years, due to the confusing layout comprised of Cut and Paste Environments(which was more of a result of the NES's limitations) and clunky controls. At the time, it was rather innovative, creating the Metroidvania genre and its famous twist at the end of the game, which is pretty much common knowledge by now.
 * Squick: A blink-and-you'll-miss-it example. As you are entering the Olympus, you see Ghor in containment room being scanned. During this time, you see him scratching his head. The problem? This also means that he is scratching his brain.
 * Tainted by the Preview: Not exactly preview, it's more like tainted from the start. According to a interview with the game director Yoshio Sakamoto, during the development of Super Metroid, it was actually close to being put down not one, not two, but three times. And one of the biggest critics of the game was actually Gunpei Yokoi -- yeah, that's right, the creator of the series. Reportedly, he often angrily asked the team "Are you trying to make a goddamn masterpiece?". Well, the game came, and it was pretty much a masterpiece, and Gunpei apparently liked it so much that he for a long time used it as a reference of how a good game should be. Sadly, he and Sakamoto never had the time to make up before his unfortunate death.
 * Tear Jerker: Also has its own page. Rundas' theme, the deaths of the Baby Metroid and Adam...
 * That One Boss: Yakuza, Nightmare... And Ridley is hardly a fair fight, in any game.
 * Vindicated by History: Super Metroid was overshadowed at the time of its release by the hype for Donkey Kong Country, people didn't start acknowledging it as one of the greatest games of all time until 1996 or so.
 * Metroid Fusion was originally the black sheep of the franchise, with its focus on storytelling and linearity dividing fans. Now, it's remembered more for its boss fights and interesting deviations, while Metroid: Other M gets the insults.
 * They Changed It, Now It Sucks: Metroid Fusion's linear progression caused waves of Internet Backdraft.
 * Metroid Other M is now included mostly because of its interpretation of Samus's personality.
 * And the Retcon for Adam to be Samus' father figure as opposed to the Chozo Old Bird and Gray Voice
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The hunters' backstories are this.
 * Not only do we never find out what happened to the rest of the Diamont, we never even find out how Spire got separated from them in the first place.
 * Sylux's backstory states that it has a deep-seated hatred of the Galactic Federation, especially Samus. That's pretty much all we ever find out.
 * Tough Act to Follow: According to an interview, this is the reason there was no N64 sequel after Super Metroid. It took two generations for a worthy successor to come around.
 * Ugly Cute: The Metroids are either this or absolutely terrifying.
 * The Woobie: A young girl is the Sole Survivor of not one, but two holocausts, the first of which happens when she's three?
 * Iron Woobie
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: See the various destruction tropes above.