Metroid: Difference between revisions

== G-L ==

* [[Game Mod]]: ''Super Metroid'' has several. Of the complete overhauls of the game, amongst the best are probably Super Metroid Redesign, Golden Dawn, Super Metroid Dependence, Super Metroid Limit, and Metroid Legacy. Other good ones include One Room, T-Metroid, Magma, and Reverse. Of these hacks, Metroid Legacy is by far the easiest, being only negligibly more difficult than the original game (there are a couple of segments that require the use of "glitches" like the mockball and the wall jump, but by and large there is very little trickery required to complete it). Golden Dawn is somewhat more difficult, but still not that difficult. Most of the others are at the very least [[Nintendo Hard]] and often descend gleefully into [[Platform Hell]] territory. Redesign, for example, has a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iIYJAtVrv8 segment] where you are required to go into the toxic regions of Norfair ''without'' the Varia Suit, and must progress rapidly and kill enemies in order to survive. (Therethere is a way to get the Varia Suit before this with [[Sequence Breaking]], but the sequence break is probably even more difficult). Worth special mention is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Super Metroid Impossible]], a "slight" overhaul of the original game that, thanks to the withholding of crucial items and strategic placement of obstacles, brings it up to [[Kaizo Mario World]] levels of difficulty. It is also worth noting that, while most of these hacks are roughly equal in size to the original game, Redesign is absolutely gigantic, being maybe three times the size of the original game. Redesign is also unique among ''Super Metroid'' hacks for significantly altering the original game's physics, which makes playing it a significantly different experience from playing any other ''Metroid'' game.

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Samus herself;: in addition to being twenty different flavors of [[Badass]], she is also apparently quite learned in biology and electronics, and she designed her own gunship. She also shows a fairly philosophical leaning in the few internal monologues and journal entries we hear.

* [[Ghost Ship]]: Literally, with the Wrecked Ship from ''Super Metroid'', with the ghost-boss Phantoon, the GFS Valhalla from ''Metroid Prime 3'', and the Bottle Ship from ''[[Metroid: Other M|Other M]]'' to a lesser extent.

** ''Metroid Prime 3'' is the only game in the series to really cut you a break on this. At a certain point in the game, you can launch exploration probes to the various planets you visit. These probes will report back every collectible you have yet to pick up. There are still a handful of items that reside on a derelict ship that you absolutely need to find yourself but otherwise, it is within reason for everyone who plays the game to get 100% without consulting a third party source.

* [[Hailfire Peaks]]: Practically every zone in ''Metroid Fusion'' is "X meets [[Eternal Engine]]". The original and ''Super Metroid'' had a lot of "[[Underground Level]] meets X".

** Fans who'd grown to associate Samus with this trope were understandably peeved when in ''Metroid: Other M'' Samus refers to Adam as "the only father figure she'd ever known"."

* [[Heartbeat Soundtrack]]: In ''Metroid Fusion'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D40RHPimrKk heard when the SA-X is near], but when not in "Chasing you down and trying to kill you violently"-mode. This is basically its [[Leitmotif]].

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Happens in the manga. {{spoiler|In Samus' first encounter with Ridley after the Space Pirates destroyed her home, Ridley forces Samus to remember as she watched Ridley, whose flesh had been charred by a space ship explosion, feast upon the carcass of Samus' mother. For the entirety of the next chapter, Samus shuts down emotionally and mentally. In the first half of the following chapter, Samus begs her comrades to kill her when she remembers the sheer horror of being forced to watch Ridley murder her parents at the age of three.}}.

** Happens as well in ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'', and it's a huge source of controversy among Metroid fans. {{spoiler|Samus and Anthony encounter Ridley, causing Samus to freeze up and mutter in disbelief and horror that the enemy she thought was truly dead (his body was on Zebes when it exploded) was now alive yet again (Ridley was reborn by cloning via DNA from the Federation, due to the remains that were on Samus' suit after the events of Super Metroid). Ridley then grabs Samus and ''grinds her against a wall'', causing her suit to shut off, and he lets go when Anthony attacks him. Samus doesn't snap back to reality until Ridley knocks Anthony into the lava below.}}.

* [[Heroic Mime]]: In ''Metroid Prime 3,'', the first voice-acted game in the series, she has no voice acting beyond her usual grunts, on the grounds that Samus talking would be "too creepy." In ''Metroid Fusion,'', she's a veritable chatterbox, but it's mostly internal monologue.

** Now she'll be talking in ''Metroid: Other M,'', which, combined with the fact that she had verbal taunts in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl,'', seems to suggest she's going the "talking hero" route.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: Samus almost attempts one in ''Metroid Fusion'' {{spoiler|1=by detonating the self-destruct charges on BS-L to destroy the X-Parasites aboard; herself included, if necessary. The AI Adam, however, informs her that doing that would be stupid, as it would not destroy the X on Planet SR388, and only serve to destroy the X's greatest obstacle: Samus. A different plan is then created, which destroys all the X in both locations and allows Samus time enough to escape the station.}}.

** In ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'', {{spoiler|Adam Malkovich}}.

* [[He Was Right There All Along]]: Acid Worm, Ridley in ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', Torizo...

** Ridley is an interesting case. He was not even near the planet when Kraid was defeated, only just landing on it when Samus reaches his hideout. In ''Super Metroid'', he plays this pretty much straight, for both encounters.

* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: {{spoiler|Samus nearly succumbs to this in the third chapter of the manga. On the planet of Jigrad, Samus saves a group of slaves from the Space Pirates. When confronted by Samus, the last remaining Space Pirate pleads with her to show mercy. Driven by her memories of her homeworld K-2L being mercilessly razed by the Space Pirates, Samus is about to murder the last Space Pirate in cold blood when the sound of a small girl crying snaps her out of her rage. Shortly thereafter, the small child thanks Samus for saving her, and Samus tells her that she saved her as well from becoming just as much of a merciless killer as the Space Pirates.}}.

** {{spoiler|Also applies to the ending of ''Metroid II''. In ''Metroid II'', Samus is charged with the task of eradicating the Metroids once and for all. After destroying the Metroid Queen, Samus finds a newly hatched Metroid. Despite knowing that Metroid is a Chozo word for "ultimate warrior", she still can't bring herself to kill a child.}}.

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Mother Brain attempts to finish off Samus with the Hyper Beam at the end of ''Super Metroid''. Before dying, the infant Metroid steals it from her and gives it to Samus...

** Also the Space Pirates in the remake portion of ''Metroid: Zero Mission''. Turns out the reason Tourian is empty is because the Metroids they were producing got loose and killed them all.

* [[Hopeless Boss Fight]]: First fight against Ridley in ''Super Metroid''; you can sort of win, as he fumbles the hatchling if you hit him enough times, but he still takes off with it after.

** Not to mention the ''Super Metroid'' [[Final Boss]], which can only be won {{spoiler|AFTER the Baby Metroid's Heroic Sacrifice}} --... and yes, it's possible to fumble it and LOSE during this fight. And SA-X before ''Metroid Fusion'''s finale. And the Giant Metroid in ''Super Metroid''.

* [[The Horde]] -: The Space Pirate Confederation

* [[Hub Level]]: The Main Deck in ''Metroid Fusion'' and the Temple grounds in ''[[Metroid Prime]] 2: Echoes''.

* [[Humiliation Conga]]: By the time the end credits for ''Super Metroid'' start scrolling, Ridley has been blown up, Mother Brain has been blasted to oblivion and crumbled to dust, all of the Metroids are gone, and the space pirate base ('''all of it''') has been vaporized in a planetary apocalypse.

** In-universe, however, it's ironically fitting, considering that she has Metroid DNA in her as of ''Metroid Fusion''. Also, ''Metroid'' is apparently the Chozo word for "Ulitmate Warrior" (or something along those lines). Which is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|pretty much what Samus is]].

* [[In Case of Boss Fight Break Glass]]: ... well, how else are you going to [[Attack Its Weak Point|Attack Mother Brain's Brain]]?

* [[Insectoid Aliens]]: The "[http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Ki-Hunter Ki-Hunter]" pirates of ''Super Metroid'', ''Metroid Fusion'', and ''[[Metroid: Other M|Other M]]''.

** The main Space Pirate species as well, particularly in the ''Metroid Prime'' series, but still obvious in the main games. Metroids have some insectoid features as well, especially in their "natural" life cycle.

* [[Interquel]]: All of the games released after ''Metroid Fusion,'', though their exact placement in the timeline varies.

* [[It's Personal]]: Just read the manga, and you'll see that Samus has quite the bone to pick with the Space Pirates, Ridley, and Mother Brain.

* [[The Juggernaut]]: The SA-X in ''Metroid Fusion'' is absolutely unstoppable until the end of the game. Just run.

** Taken a step further in ''Metroid Fusion'', where disobeying orders is actually part of the plot.

* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: The ending of ''Super Metroid'' is spoiled in the opening cutscene of ''[[Metroid: Other M|Other M]]''. Then again, it's one of the most iconic games in the series, so odds are a new arrival looking up ''Metroid'' info has already stumbled across it on a message board or something anyway.

* [[Late to the Party]]: ''Metroid Fusion''.

* [[Lava Is Boiling Kool-Aid]]: In the original ''Metroid'', lava was a red palette swap of acid.

* [[Left Hanging]]: Some people are a bit annoyed at the lack of a sequel to ''Metroid Fusion'', in no small part because the ending to that game addressed but didn't resolve a little factoid: {{spoiler|Samus just ''blew the shit'' out of a Federation-owned scientific laboratory, taking a planet with it. Sure, Samus was getting rid of the repli-Metroids and the X all in one go, but certain elements of the Fed ''wanted'' to keep both of those around so ''they'' could use 'em as weapons... meaning that Samus is, in all likelihood, ''an outlaw now''.}}. And then they spend the next near-decade making ''prequels''. Is it a little too much to ask for a game ''about'' this, Nintendo?

* [[Lego Genetics]]: Samus is a human being genetically enhanced by Chozo blood. By ''Metroid Fusion'', she's also part-Metroid.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Ridley, ever since ''Super Metroid'', has his own boss music, a remix of his/Draygon's/Torizo's/the escape theme from ''Super Metroid''.

*** Samus herself, of course, has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvGrd8jnCdM&feature=related "Appearance"].

** The Brinstar Themetheme has become rather iconic in its own right, despite not necessarily being the main theme of the game.

* [[Le Parkour]]: Samus can do it in every game except ''Metroid Prime'', and that may count too because she still has awesome [[Cutscene Power to the Max|cutscene moves.]]

* [[Lethal Lava Land]]: Present in some form in every ''Metroid'' game.

** ...except ''Metroid II''. At least, during the course of the game...

* [[Lowered Monster Difficulty]]: The titular creatures are the scourge of the universe in ''Metroid'' and ''Super Metroid'', needing to be frozen and pelted with missiles to kill. Through the ''Metroid Prime'' series, they become progressively less of an actual threat. In ''Metroid Prime 2'', they can be beaten with enough firepower from any of your weapons, and in ''Metroid Prime 3'', you eventually get the ability to kill them in one shot. [[Paranoia Fuel|Until then, though...]]

** Possibly [[Justified Trope|justified;]] the Metroids in the ''Metroid Prime'' games are a different strain (Tallon Metroids) that have been horribly mutated by massive, repeated exposure to Phazon. The SR388 and Zebes strains, on the other hand, are only vulnerable to cold until late in their life cycle.