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** Among the humans we have Adam, James, Lyle, Ian, K.G. (Keiji), Anthony... and Samus.
* [[After Boss Recovery]]: Many bosses and mini bosses drop tons of health and ammo refills when you beat them.
** Justified in ''Metroid Fusion'' as all the bosses and enemies are made of X parasites that Samus absorbs to recover health, so it makes sense that the bigger bosses have more potent X for her to eat.
* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: Applies to all kinds of ducts/tunnels, with the Morph Ball. Subverted in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', when after {{spoiler|losing her armor}}, Samus must crawl through said tunnels, and she's far from the only creature who can use them.
* [[All There in the Manual]]: The games are easy to understand plotwise on their own, but there's quite a bit of canonical backstory for both ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' and ''Metroid Fusion'', as well as the entire franchise on the whole, to be found in the manuals and the [http://www.metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=19 two-volume] [http://www.metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=13 manga].
* [[Exclusively Evil|Always Lawful Evil]]: The Space Pirates. Justified, as it's claimed any space pirates who question The Way Things Are are executed, sometimes on the spot. Any space pirate who expressed non-evil thoughts wouldn't have a very long life expectancy.
** According to some scans in the ''Metroid Prime'' series and some out-of-game info, not all of them are very happy with evil being the law, and certain POWs were incredibly easy to interrogate. Other scans seem to paint them more as [[Lawful Stupid]], with common troops not being nearly as malicious or cunning as Science Team.
* [[Ambidextrous Sprite]]: Averted in all 2-D games after the first; Samus has different sprites for all directions. In fact, this may only be played straight by the NES version; in commercials for the Famicom game, she has unique sprites for facing left and right.
* [[Androcles' Lion]]: A major plot element in the series. In ''Metroid II'', Samus is tasked with exterminating the Metroid species, but stops at killing a newborn. In ''Super Metroid'', the baby is kidnapped, and Samus goes to get it back. {{spoiler|Samus is eventually reunited with the Metroid, who is now gigantic after being nursed by the Space Pirates. It starts to swallow her, but recognizes her as its surrogate mother, and lets her pass. At the final fight with Mother Brain, the baby sacrifices itself to heal Samus and give her the hyper beam}}. This episode is the major thematic introduction for ''Metroid: Other M''.
** In ''Super Metroid'', Samus saves some Etecoons and Dachora during the escape sequence. At the escape sequence in ''Metroid Fusion'', the same animals help control the gunship to escape the space station.
** It also occurs in ''Metroid: Fusion'', in a posthumous example. After Samus is infected by the X parasite, a cell sample of the same baby Metroid is used as part of the cure that destroys the parasites inside her and saves her life.
* [[An Ice Person]]: Samus, considering all the ice power-ups. She gets this affinity turned around on her in ''Metroid Fusion''; because she has Metroid DNA, cold becomes her greatest weakness. The organism in her old suit, the SA-X, uses her old ice beam to devastating effect whenever she bumps into Samus.
* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: The [[ROM Hack]] ''Super Metroid'' Eris.
* [[Arm Cannon]]: Might even qualify as a [[Hand Cannon]].
* [[Artificial Stupidity]]: Despite the fact that the SA-X is the most powerful enemy in all of ''Metroid Fusion'', and despite the X's ability to copy any organic body part, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M98esMR3Q-g it] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JL03zssV5o apparently] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QnBpf88pRI lacks] a brain.
* [[Asteroid Thicket]]: Used in ''Super Metroid'' and ''Metroid Fusion'', where something crashes into an asteroid in each. The asteroids look like they're only a few hundred feet across, and tightly packed.
* [[As You Wish]]: How Samus discovers the identity of her AI CO in ''Metroid Fusion''.
** Many fans realized what the mysterious trailer for ''Metroid: Other M'' was as soon as Adam said "Any objections, lady?" Prior to this, it was intentionally unclear what the game in question was.
* [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever]]: Kraid in ''Super Metroid'' and ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', Metroid Prime, the Adult Sheegoth, Flaaghra, Thardus, Chykka, Quadraxis, Mogenar...
* [[Back Tracking]]: Obtain previously inaccessible power-ups, curb-stomp previously lethal opponents with your new upgrades, and discover brand new shortcuts and secrets --... all by the magic of backtracking through every area of the game at least twice.
** It is so integral to this series that fans will frequently complain if the developers remove the ability to backtrack, such as in ''[[Metroid Fusion]]'' and ''[[Metroid: Other M]]''. Even those at least give full access to the game world once Samus is fully upgraded.
* [[Badass]]: Samus. So very, very much.
* [[Bag of Spilling]]: Samus never manages to keep her fully powered-up suit between games, though more recent entries at least let her hang onto the Varia upgrade. Usually.
** Played with in ''Metroid Fusion''. Samus kept all of the weapon upgrades to her power armor. Unfortunately, her power armor was infected with a parasite which is now using all of those weapon upgrades to try to kill her.
** And in ''Metroid Prime''. While trying to escape the ship at the beginning of the game before self destruction, the ship violently rocks to the side, and a small explosion hits her from behind, causing her to slam against the wall, which causes malfunctions with most of her equipment.
** And again in ''Metroid: Other M''. Samus has her full arsenal, but is working with the military in this one and needs authorization to use parts of it.
* [[Beauty Is Never Tarnished]]:
** In ''Metroid Fusion'', Samus has to have her suit surgically removed, and there is absolutely no scarring. There also appears to be no visible changes caused by the infusion of Metroid DNA (or Chozo DNA, for that matter).
** Averted in ''[[Metroid Prime|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption]]''. Samus's phazon corruption causes visible breakdowns on her face, and she vomits a couple times.
* [[Beauty Mark]]: Samus, natch. Previously hinted at by [[Author Appeal|Yoshio Sakamoto]] who claimed to be the only one who knew where it was. Its location is finally shown in ''Metroid: Other M"'': under the left side of her lip.
* [[Bee People]]: The Space Pirates in the manga comics will follow anyone with enough strength or charisma. In a bit of a subversion, their species can't produce "queens", so they look to other species to lead them. On their own, they're [[Too Dumb to Live]].
* [[Berserk Button]]: If Samus is pointing her arm cannon at you and you just happen to be a member of a race of intergalactic bloodthirsty aliens, ''don't beg for mercy.''.
** What's that? You just killed someone [[Mama Bear|Samus cares for?]] We'll miss you. She won't.
* [[Big Bad]]: Mother Brain in ''Metroid'' and ''Super Metroid''.
* [[Big Boo's Haunt]]: The Chozo Ruins (''Metroid Prime'') and the Wrecked Ship (''Super Metroid'').
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Two times, one in ''Super Metroid'' and another in ''Metroid Fusion''. In ''Super Metroid'', {{spoiler|Samus was losing in a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] with a [[One-Winged Angel]] Mother Brain, after taking a blow from her ultimate attack. Before Mother can finish the job, the huge Baby Metroid zooms in, drains her energy, and then gives it to Samus, restoring her to full health and granting her the [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|Hyper Beam.]] And then, it dies [[Heroic Sacrifice|while shielding Samus from Mother Brain's attacks.]] Cue Samus curbstomping the crap out of Mother Brain.}}.
** And then in ''Metroid Fusion'', {{spoiler|Samus had beaten SA-X, plotted the B.S.L. Station on a collision course with SR-388, and was on her way to her ship to escape. But when she gets to the docking bays, the place is a mess, her ship is missing, and there is a huge shedded skin on the floor. Suddenly, an Omega Metroid comes in and screeches at Samus. With one claw swipe, Samus is knocked down to one HP and immobilized. Before the Metroid could kill her, the SA-X appears and blasts its chest with the Ice Beam, but it is defeated by it. However, Samus absorbs its Core-X, which restored her Ice Beam ability, and proceeded to blast the Metroid to dust.}}.
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: Almost every game since ''Super Metroid'' has one. The exceptions are ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' and ''Metroid Prime Hunters''.
** ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' barely even had a story, and it was far from making any sense.
* [[Body Horror]]: The X Parasites in the main series; Phazon in ''Metroid Prime.''. Metroids themselves might count, given their habit of turning their victims into desiccated gray husks that turn to powder when touched. In ''Metroid Prime'' as well, a vague reference to Space Pirate attempts to replicate the Morph Ball that went horribly, horribly wrong.
** Special mention goes to ''Metroid Prime 3,: Hunters'' where you can actually see the effects of Phazon corruption on Samus. Those eyes could curdle milk.
* [[Book Ends]]: ''Super Metroid'' opens and closes with escapes from structures that are about to blow up.
** In a way, both ''Metroid'' and ''Super Metroid'' (and possibly even ''Metroid Fusion'') qualify. ''Metroid'' and ''Super Metroid'' both take place on Planet Zebes. Samus ventures into the planet once, defeats Ridley, Kraid, and Mother Brain, and escapes before the planet blows up. In ''Super Metroid'', the end to the original trilogy, Samus ventures into the planet again, kills Ridley, Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Mother Brain, and escapes before the planet blows up. ''Metroid Fusion'', however, provides two different kinds of book ends. The end to the original trilogy had {{spoiler|the baby metroid heal you and give you the weapon to defeat the final boss, basically saving your life and giving you the weapon to eradicate Mother Brain. In ''Metroid Fusion'', the baby Metroid's DNA cures Samus of the X-Parasite infection (saving her life), and makes her able to absorb the X to heal her and replenish her supplies (giving her the weapon to eradicate the X).}}. And there's also the ending, in which the SA-X, which you have been both chasing and running away from since the beginning of the game, {{spoiler|saves your life, heals you, and gives you the weapon to eradicate the Omega Metroid.}}.
* [[Boss Arena Recovery]]: Avoided in the first game, but ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' has the rinkas around Mother Brain occasionally drop health. Notoriously, the boost guardian can destroy all the health dropping pillars in one shot, denying you any recovery in a boss arena that drains your health.
* [[Boss Dissonance]]: ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' has Mario-type '''''bad''''' on Normal. The final boss gets significantly more challenging if {{spoiler|you've got 100% completion}}, but by that point, you're so armed to the teeth anyways, it barely matters.
** Going for a <= 15% run on hard, on the other hand, turns the above on its head and into a harsh Kirby-type.
* [[Brain In a Jar]]: Mother Brain, the Aurora Units, and the B.O.X. security robot.
* [[Brain Uploading]]: {{spoiler|Adam Malkovich}} in ''Metroid Fusion''.
* [[Breath Weapon]]: Ridley, as he's a Space Dragon. Also Kraid and {{spoiler|[[One-Winged Angel]]-Mother Brain in ''Super Metroid''}}. In the ''[[Metroid Prime|Prime]]'' series, Sheegoths, the Parasite Queen, and {{spoiler|the titular Metroid Prime}}.
* [[Broken Bridge]]: Sometimes intentional, to [http://www.metroid2002.com at least try to] prevent [[Sequence Breaking]].
* [[Building Swing]]: Grapple Beam.
* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Captain Nemo in the old ''Metroid'' Mangamanga/Strategystrategy Guideguide, and moveset wise, the Zero Laser from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'' and the "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opkOtApoqqI#38s Chozo Blood Rights]" ability from ''[[Marvel Ultimate Alliance]]'' (she was [[Dummied Out]] from the latter game, [[What Could Have Been|however]]).
* [[Canon Immigrant]]: Old Bird, one of Samus's Chozo mentors/adoptive parents, appears in the [[Regional Bonus|Japanese version only]] endings of ''Metroid Fusion'' (which you can [[Old Save Bonus|thankfully unlock]] in any version of ''Metroid: Zero Mission''), and makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' in one of Samus's flashbacks. Old Bird first appeared in the Nintendo Power ''Super Metroid'' comic and was later imported to the manga (along with Chairman Keaton and Chief Hardy). Some speculate that the second Chozo in the engraving at the end of the game may be the other Chozo mentor, Gray Voice.
** While the character was first named and given a backstory in ''Metroid Fusion'', Adam Malkovich's actual appearance wasn't revealed until the manga. This design is then used in ''[[Metroid: Other M|Other M]]''.
* [[Catastrophic Countdown]]:
** ''Super Metroid'' plays it straight, twice. When Ridley escapes the space colony in the beginning, an announcement claims that the colony's self-destruct has been activated, urging immediate evacuation. Naturally, the whole place starts shaking, steaming, blowing up, and even rocking back and forth quite impressively. Later at the end of the game, the entire planet starts exploding and flooding with acid, because a "Time Bomb has been activated"."
** ''[[Metroid: Other M|Other M]]''. An AI voice announces over an intercom that a self-destruct sequence will detonate in about five or so minutes. For some reason, your escape becomes riddled with burning debris and wreckage.
** The first game is a bit of an interesting case. While the NES original averts it entirely ("TIME BOMB SET GET OUT FAST!", plus a countdown, that's it), ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' retcons in a straight example (the "time bomb" causes explosions and flames well before going off) and an aversion (the Pirate Mothership).
* [[Chain-Reaction Destruction]]: Many bosses and planetary bodies exhibit that behavior.
* [[Charged Attack]]: Charge Beam, Shinespark.
* [[Charge Meter]]: In the ''Metroid Prime'' games, discounting ''Metroid Prime 3: Hunters'', the arm cannon has a meter to build up when holding down fire. It even has practical purpose when using seeker missiles.
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: {{spoiler|The Etecoons and Dachoras in ''Metroid Fusion''.}}.
* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: Every power-up becomes useful to go to unreachable areas/items.
* [[Classic Cheat Code]] By ''Accident'': Thethe famous {{smallcaps|JUSTIN BAILEY}} code is just a side-effect of the password calculation system and is but one of many codes that bestow Samus with a leotard. The far less famous {{smallcaps|NARPAS SWORD}} ([[Fun with Acronyms|'''N'''ot '''A''' '''R'''eal]] or North American Release Password) actually ''is'' a special, unique password, however.
** {{smallcaps|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3UyVylP7AI ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER]}}
*** Sadly, the above code has now become a system-killer in the 3DS port.
* [[Clipped-Wing Angel]]: SA-X.
* [[Colony Drop]]: BSL, at the end of ''Metroid Fusion.''.
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Doors except Return because of monochrome, in which case they're Missile doors.
* [[Colossus Climb]]: Kraid, although you jump on improvised platforms instead of climbing.
* [[Comic Book Adaptation]]: There are ''tons of them''. Two of which are tongue-in-cheek semi-guide books, one is a Nintendo Power comic, one is loosely based upon the first ''Metroid Prime'', a prequel manga and a manga based on pre-MP2''Metroid Prime 2''. Let's not even get started with Samus and Joey series...
* [[Continuity Nod]]: The remixed music in the latest installments, plus pieces of the original Brinstar and Tourian in ''Super Metroid''. Possibly also parts of Kraid and Ridley's lairs, although Kraid's "Lair" (especially the piece in question) is very far from where it ought to be.
** Something of a [[Call Forward]]: Thethe temple that you must sneak through at the end of ''Metroid Zero Mission''? It's part of Maridia from Super Metroid, before presumably sinking into the lake. The Pirate Mothership, however, while in the same spot as ''Super Metroid'''s Wrecked Ship, is a [[Word of God|completely different craft.]]
* [[Convection, Schmonvection]]: Averted, in a rare video game example. Without her Varia Suit, Samus can't even get near lava without being burned, and walking into superheated rooms will cause her to take continuous, non-trivial damage. Most ''Metroid'' games make the lava dangerous to touch even when the Varia Suit provides resistance to convection; only more powerful armors like the Gravity Suit allow her to walk in lava without getting hurt. In ''Metroid Fusion,'', she gains a vulnerability to extreme ''cold'' as well, as a side-effect of the Metroids DNA she was injected with.
** And in ''Metroid: Other M'', her commander sends Samus into a lava area without letting her use the Varia upgrade. Fans did not take that well.
** It should be noted that the only two games to play [[Convection, Schmonvection]] straight are the original Metroid (hey, it was 1986...) and ''Metroid II: Return of Samus'', in which most players couldn't even tell it *was* lava until they explored a section of ''Metroid Fusion'' built to simulate the game... ...or [[All There in the Manual|saw a picture in ''Metroid II'''s manual]].
* [[Cool Starship]]: Samus' gunship, natch. The loaner ship she gets from the Federation after totaling her own in ''Metroid Fusion's''s opening may count as well.
* [[Copy and Paste Environments]]: One of the reasons that the original is [[Nintendo Hard|hard as hell]], [[Surprise Difficulty|especially for people who played the sequels]]; this was, however, crucial in making a fairly large world without running out of cart space.
** The upshot is that many of the secret area entrances are copy-and-pasted as well, so finding one can make it easier to find others in the same area.
* [[Cowboy Cop]]: In the manga, Samus herself, as well as her partners Mauk and Kreatz.
* [[Critical Annoyance]]: ''[[Most Annoying Sound|Dua-dua-dua-dua-dua-dua]]'' --... few things are better motivation to search for energy.
* [[Crosshair Aware]]: Space Pirates have an annoying tendency to twitch themselves just out of your firing path during the [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]] stealth sequence in ''Metroid: Zero Mission.''.
* [[Cute Bruiser]]: Samus' pet, Pyonchi, is a rabbit-squirrel from her home planet, who has been known to beat the crap out of schoolyard bullies, complete with a sign saying "Play nice.".
* [[Cuteness Proximity|Roundness Proximity]]: Samus had this often in one of the gag mangas.
* [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul]]: For the most part averted, as most characters get along just fine with their cybernetically-enhanced [[Powered Armor]].
** Ghor is a special case. Though he's only 6% organic, he's a very nice guy. When he interfaces with computers or his battle armor, though, he becomes aggressive and bloodthirsty.
* [[Damn You, Muscle Memory!]]: Most gamers familiar with platformers go from left to right out of habit, but the original ''Metroid'' forces you to go ''left'' in the first area to get the Morph Ball and continue... which is [[Fridge Brilliance]], as ''Metroid'' was one of the first games featuring a sprawling open ended world. Making players go left was a way to make players realize that this wasn't just some sort of sci-fi ''Mario''/''Pitfall''/Whateverwhatever game.
** Perhaps in homage to this, the path to the right is blocked off entirely at the start of ''Super Metroid'' (until you get the speed booster and/or power bombs) and for the entirety of ''Metroid Fusion'', as the only path out of the docking bay is to the left.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: While ''[[Metroid]]'' itself is already kind of the [[Darker and Edgier]] alternative to Nintendo's other franchises, the earliest version of ''Metroid Fusion'' (then just called "''Metroid IV"'') was... [http://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/08/metroid-iv-fusion-gba-proto-beta/ very unusual.] It sported a "bladed" logo, a number that looked like it was torn from a claw, a darker color scheme, and a new suit that made Samus look hyper-muscled.
* [[Death Is Cheap]]: Ridley has died six times in the course of eight games, and twice more outside of canon. He's probably going to die again in ''Metroid: Other M.''. And yet, he keeps coming back EVERY. FREAKING. TIME.
** In ''Metroid: Other M'', she almost lampshades this when she's extremely distressed that no matter how many times she puts him down, he just keeps coming back. Considering he killed her parents, she is entitled to be a little upset.
** More specifically, Ridley was destroyed in the first ''Metroid'', then rebuilt as Meta-Ridley to be blasted in ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', then rebuilt again in ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'', {{spoiler|then infected with Phazon}}, and then finally destroyed for good in ''Super Metroid''. Then {{spoiler|a clone of his appeared to torment Samus in ''Metroid: Other M'', and said clone}} was frozen, then {{spoiler|copied by X-Parasites to finally appear in ''Metroid Fusion''}}. Ridley very well may be gone for good, but he's the most recurring boss in the entire series, the most recurring character outside of Samus herself, and the most emotionally jarring. He even appears as a boss in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' {{spoiler|FOUR TIMES. Once as Ridley, once as Meta-Ridley, and then again for each form in the Great Maze}}.
* [[Defeat Equals Explosion]]: Most bosses in the series will explode. This is somewhat problematic for recurring bosses such as Ridley, who has managed to come back from complete annihilation several times throughout the series.
* [[Depth Perplexion]]: Justified. Samus can shoot through walls, but only if she has the Wave Beam, which explicitly has the ability to penetrate solid matter.
* [[Destructible Projectiles]]: In various games of the series (''[[Super Metroid]]'' in particular), certain projectiles can be destroyed for health or Missile refills [[Boss Arena Recovery|during boss battles]].
* [[Destructive Savior]]: It seems Samus cannot escape the cold hand of destruction, whether it be a large base or the entire planet. So far, her "kill count" includes Dark Aether, Phaaze, Zebes, and SR388, the third of which wasn't even her fault. Granted, the others were of her own doing, Phaaze because it kept popping out Phazon Leviathans to infect other planets, Dark Aether because it was just ''evil'', and SR388 so she could wipe out the X Parasites, but still. Not even space stations are safe, since the Biologic Space Labs orbital station dies with SR388. And Samus' first order of business on Tallon IV? Blow up the Space Frigate.
** Heartwarmingly averted with Tallon IV and Aether. You can scan the planets via satellite in ''Metroid Prime 3'', and learn that both are recovering from the events of the first two games. The Luminoth are rebuilding their civilization and Tallon IV's native life is thriving again.
** [[Doom Magnet]]: In addition, very few characters with personal connections to Samus ever survive. [[Staying Alive|Ridley]] [[Joker Immunity|doesn't]] [[We Can Rebuild Him|count]].
** Guess what happens to the Bottle Ship at the end of the [[Playable Epilogue]] of ''[[Metroid: Other M]]''? The music is even the same as during the escape sequence in ''Super Metroid''.
** And no mention goes to the Ceres Space Colony? It wasn't her fault, but it still did collide with an asteroid and blow up right when she left it. And then there's Samus' own ship in the ''Metroid Fusion'' prologue, but again, not her fault. She lost consciousness and the ship also collided with an asteroid.
* [[Determinator]]: Nothing will stop Samus Aran.
** And nothing will stop Ridley from trying to take her down. Not even his own "[[Joker Immunity|deaths]].".
** {{spoiler|Same with Crocomire, who comes after Samus even after ALL HIS SKIN HAS BURNED OFF. That's right. He tries to attack you as a SKELETON. [[Hilarity Ensues|And fails miserably.]]}}.
** The Space Pirates, although they get their space-faring asses handed to them all too often, never give up their goal of galactic domination. Their penchant for finding Phlebotinum and [[Sealed Evil in a Can]] lying around might support this.
* [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]: The extended story of ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' is kicked off by {{spoiler|Samus being shot down by Space Pirates while leaving the planet, destroying her ship and suit.}}.
* [[Die Hard on an X|Die Hard On An Entire Planet:]]: Except when it is on a space station, complete with [[Air Vent Passageway|air vent escapes]] and everything!
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Anthony Higgs acomplished this}} in ''Metroid: Other M'' with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3arI6eIPXhM&feature=player_detailpage#t=284s some clever enemy manipulation.]
* [[Doomed by Canon]]: See [[Foregone Conclusion]] below.
* [[Doomed Hometown]]: Samus lives through ''two'' of these, first on K-2L and then on Zebes.
* [[Doppelganger Spin]]
* [[Do Well, But Not Perfect]]: {{spoiler|[[Final Boss|Mecha Ridley in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'']] is coded to be much harder to defeat if [[100% Completion|all the upgrades have been collected]]; if you can go without a few missiles or that last energy tank for the first playthrough, the battle will be [[Anticlimax Boss|remarkably brief]]}}.
* [[Down the Drain]]: Maridia, the crashed frigate, Torvus, Sector 4 - AQA.
* [[The Dragon]]: Ridley is a high-ranking member of the Space Pirates under Mother Brain, and is typically the second-to-last boss fought in every game. He also takes the trope to its literal extreme.
* [[Dumb Muscle]]: The original Japanese strategy guide was also a manga; Samus was depicted as a trigger-happy [[The Ditz|ditz]] with far more strength than smarts.
* [[Dummied Out]]: Two very interesting things were removed at some point from ''Metroid: Zero Mission''. One was the ability to turn suit upgrades on and off from the pause menu, as in ''Super Metroid''; fans are still wondering why this much-missed feature was taken out. (Cheatcheat codes can turn it back on.). The second was... [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKvTYQSc_VA&feature=related Crocomire]! This ''Super Metroid'' boss was found in the ROM, with a full set of sprites and some movement code, but nothing else. It's possible to hack him into various rooms.
** In turn, ''Super Metroid's''s ROM includes some interesting objects that were never used, most notably a "reflector" which would bounce any beam or missile off at a 90-degree angle. A form of this was used by two pirates in Ridley's Lair who act as a miniboss.
* [[Dungeon Bypass]]: The Shinespark.
* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: By the truckload. The 1986 design for Samus Aran gave "his" suit a large red barrel chest, tubes under both arms, a more "ray gun" barrel on the cannon, a red glove, and red boots. In addition, the artwork for enemies in the NES version of the game differed considerably from the Famicom version. In both, Kraid was a stout, yellow lizard with long green hair. Ridley, however, resembled a cute baby dragon in the Famicom art, and a bizarre horse-mouthed creature with five eyes (three down the forehead) in the NES art.)
** And that's just for artwork. The gameplay lacks many of the refinements found in the latter ones (maps, shooting kneeled/[[Denial of Diagonal Attack|diagonally]]), and put it straight into [[Nintendo Hard]] territory.
** As for Samus' trademark Varia Suit upgrade, in the original ''Metroid'' it's simply a [[Palette Swap|color swap]] of her original suit. The Varia Suit didn't gain its trademark shoulder pads until ''Metroid II'', where the change in costume had to be conveyed with a proper sprite change because of the Game Boy's graphical limitations.
* [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]: Lots. See also: Zebes at the end of ''Super Metroid'', Dark Aether at the end of ''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes,'', Phaaze at the end of ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption,'', and SR388 at the end of ''Metroid Fusion''.
* [[Elaborate Underground Base]]: Arguably, every game features at least one ([[Die Hard on an X|or ARE one]]), though Tourian (both versions) is probably the most classic example.
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Phaaze is a [[Genius Loci|living, sentinet planet]] intent on infecting as much of the galaxy as possible with Phazon, Gorea is a starborn monster capable of assimilating anything and everything thrown at it, and Phantoon is a bizarre [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|alien parasite ghost]] that can fuck with local space-time and looks a fair bit like something out of the Lovecraft playbook.
* [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower]]: Beginning with ''Super Metroid'', most [[Final Boss|Final Bosses]] have a weapon used only against them.
* [[Emergency Weapon]]: The stun pistol in ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.
* [[Episode Zero: The Beginning]]: ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.
* [[Eternal Engine]]: Tourian, and most of ''Metroid Fusion''.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Subverted in the manga. Ridley at first seems to avoid trying to kill Samus, but was instead lowering her guard. [[Complete Monster|She's 3 years old]] [[Up to Eleven|at the time.]]
* [[Everything's Better with Spinning]]: Screw Attack.
* [[Evil Is Visceral]]: Mother Brain and the Aurora Units are [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|big brains in jars]] that do not look very pretty. Starting from the first game, the Metroids themselves have visible blood vessels of some sort. In the second game, they were given an insectoid life cycle. In the third game, one of them grows really big, letting you see even more organic bits inside of the body.
** Same goes for Dark Samus in the ''Metroid Prime'' series: the more beat-up she gets, the more glowy Phazon innards start showing. And then the same thing starts happening to Samus herself in ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.''. Let's just say it isn't pretty.
* [[Evil Twin]]: SA-X.
** And Dark Samus in ''Metroid Prime 2'' and ''Metroid Prime 3''.
* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: "Choujin-zoku" roughly translates to "bird race". The Chozo are, y'know...
** There's actually more. "Choujin" is "bird people," which is roughly what the Chozo are. However, "choujin" for "bird people" is phonetically the same as "choujin" for "superhuman.".
** The Metroids as well. "Metroid" is revealed to be Chozodian for "ultimate warrior". In the early games, Metroids were near-invincible, and by far the most dangerous non-boss enemies around.
** And the [[Space Pirates]] are... Well, pirates. [[In Space]].
* [[Excessive Steam Syndrome]]: In the intro level for ''Super Metroid'', Samus needs to escape a space station, while avoiding gushes of steam coming out from practically everywhere. Getting hit by the steam doesn't cost you energy, but you lose precious time to escape.
* [[Expanded Universe]]: Many characters and stories such as Chairman Keaton, Chief Hardy, Old Bird, Adam Malkovich, and Armstrong Houston made their first appearances and/or are fleshed out in the Japanese manga and the Nintendo Power ''Super Metroid'' comic.
* [[Exposition Fairy]]: Adam in ''Metroid Fusion''.
* [[Face Ship]]: Samus Aran's Gunship has the design of her helmet built on it.
* [[Fake Skill]]: And not just in [[Sequence Breaking]] form either. Glitching Kraid in ''[[Super Metroid]]'' for instance, is not a sequence break, but certainly counts.
* [[Fan Service]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O69x87ahasA Your reward for finishing the game with 100% completion in most games.]
** Also, Samus' death scenes in ''Super Metroid'', ''Metroid Fusion,'' and ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' in particular show her armor blowing off, leaving her in a skimpy outfit before the screen fades to white.
* [[The Federation]]: The Galactic Federation.
* [[Fly At the Camera Ending]]: In ''Super Metroid'' and ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.
* [[Force Field Door]]: A staple of the games. Doors that open simply by being shot are handwaved as being set up to keep out unwanted wildlife. Certain fluff scans suggest they don't always succeed.
* [[Foreboding Architecture]]: From the very first game, we have "air tubes" which spawn a variety of increasing dangerous flying nuisances. Sometimes the enemies would not spawn, or would spawn later than normal to give you a false sense of security. Each entry in the ''Metroid Prime'' trilogy has Metroid storage tanks which inevitably are broken out of except for a rare few who stay put.
* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: Judging from the dialogue in ''Metroid Fusion'', Adam Malkovich will {{spoiler|sacrifice himself}} in ''Metroid: Other M''. {{spoiler|Also, Ridley reappears in that game --... and, of course, dies, allowing its remains to get frozen.}}.
** ''Metroid: Other M'' also explains why {{spoiler|Ridley fell apart so easily when you encounter the body in the freezer in ''Metroid Fusion'' and the X parasite escapes its body. The last we see Ridley in ''Metroid: Other M'', it is a dried, gray husk after having its life sucked out of it by the Queen Metroid.}}.
* [[For Massive Damage]]: The traditional way to kill Metroids has been to [[Literally Shattered Lives|freeze them with the Ice Beam and then shatter them with a rocket]].
* [[Freeze-Frame Bonus]]: Two in ''Super Metroid''.
** The more well-known one involves a small blip flying away from Zebes's ruins at the end of the game, indicating that some creatures you rescued have safely made it off the planet.
** The other is far less significant but still awesome nonetheless: During your escape from Ceres at the beginning of the game, one of the doors will actually explode behind you, leaving behind an impassible hunk of glowing hot metal. This one is a lot more likely to go unnoticed, due to all the other explosions and random chaos on screen (not to mention that your escape is timed.). It's also the only instance of a door exploding '''in the entire game.'''.
* [[Freeze Ray]]: A vital tool of the series, both for its creative uses, and for stopping the titular threat.
* [[From a Single Cell]]: X-Parasites, if not absorbed, will simply reform into another body.
** Also from ''Metroid Fusion'', the Federation had preserved a Metroid cell culture from the Metroid Hatchling. A vaccine made from these Metroid cells was used to cure Samus when she was infected by an X in the game's intro.
* [[Fungus Humongous]]: foundFound in a few corridors of Crateria in ''Super Metroid'', yet noticeably absent in Brinstar. Also, the Phazon-irradiated mushrooms in [[Metroid Prime|the Phazon Mines]].
** Mushrooms also appear near the entrance to Tourian in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', which is in a section of Brinstar close to ''Super Metroid'''s "green" zone, but otherwise still rocky.
 
 
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