Varia Suit

The Varia Suit (the upgrade item sometimes referred to as Varia) is a Power Suit upgrade. Its name is derived from a mistranslation of the word "barrier" (though Metroid 2's manual labels the suit itself as "Barrier Suit"), pertaining to its usefulness; the Varia Suit reduces damage taken, and protects Samus from rooms filled with extreme heat or cold. Samus is most commonly seen wearing this suit, but like many of her other upgrades, it is lost at or prior to the beginning of most games, requiring her to track the upgrade down at a later point in time. In the original Metroid it would turn her armor pink, but a design change was made in Metroid II: Return of Samus, as the Game Boy was a monochrome system. During Metroid Zero Mission it just turns the flat-shouldered power suit orange and the Varia Suit with the bulky shoulder pads is obtained after Samus' power suit is destroyed in her ship crash. She retains this suit for future use which would explain the jump from the orange Power in Zero Mission to the large shouldered Varia in Metroid II. When added to the standard Power Suit, the Varia provides extra (orange) armor, including the iconic bulky shoulder pads. In Metroid Fusion, the Varia upgrade (like much of Samus’s other equipment) is sent via Data Room but, unlike normal, is intercepted by a Core-X before Samus can reach it, necessitating the defeat of Mega Core-X and absorption of the X-parasite. Restoration of Varia functionality to the Fusion Suit changes its color scheme from blue over bright yellow to a yellow-green over a rich magenta, but does not alter its dimensions. In Metroid: Zero Mission it allows Samus to walk in acid unharmed, but not in magma. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the Varia Suit is identified as a "Chozo Battle Suit" and is given the serial number SA1-4468-VM6-P.

The following chart details the benefits bestowed by the Varia in each game:

In other media
The Varia Suit is the armor in which Samus is most often depicted in spin-offs, comics, manga and other licensed (and unlicensed) works. It is Samus’s standard attire in the Super Smash Bros. series. A purple-blue alternate color scheme resembles the Gravity Suit. In Melee, Samus has a color change which resembles the Varia Suit in the original Metroid but with the bulky shoulder pads. In Brawl, a blue-yellow alternate color resembles the Fusion Suit, and a brown-grey resembles the Dark Suit.

Trivia



 * Although the Varia suit is most commonly the same in every depiction, there are some slight exceptions. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, The Varia suit has several small changes in appearance. Firstly, the shape of the visor has been altered. Instead of a simple V shape, it now has a small raised rectangle in the center of the top of the visor. Strangely during these two games, this is not reflected while in first-person mode. In addition to this the visor has become straighter with squared edges rather than being curved as in its previous appearances. Secondly, The helmet markings have changed, most significantly on the front. Where once there was an upside-down U with a single line running along the top of the helmet, there are now three lines and no upside-down U. Finally, The suit itself has many other changes. The green lights on Samus' legs have been altered to be larger and instead of lights shining down her legs, they now are actually lights of their own in grooves. The suit itself has been made more sleek, and less clunky.


 * Some relatively early depictions of the Varia seem to depict a watch within the green circle on the back of Samus's left hand, such as Nintendo Power's Super Metroid poster and possibly the covers of Metroid II: Return of Samus and Metroid (2nd yellow cover).