Justin Bailey

Justin Bailey refers to a well-known password in Metroid, as well as the magenta leotard that it causes Samus Aran to wear upon using it. It may have first been referenced in Nintendo Power.

The Justin Bailey password is notable for starting Samus out without her Power Suit. Instead, she wears a leotard and boots, though she retains the Arm Cannon. Although the colors of Samus' hair, leotard, and skin are all dependent on which suits she has acquired, the term Justin Bailey typically refers to the green-haired palette associated with the Varia Suit. Playing as Samus without her Power Suit is exclusive to the North American release of Metroid, due to it having a password system.

Password
The name "Justin Bailey" comes from the password which allows players to immediately play Samus without her suit on, but still grants her the same abilities and damage reduction as if she were wearing her suit.

Along with the graphical change, the password starts Samus in Norfair with five Energy Tanks, 255 Missiles, the Varia Suit, the Hi-Jump Boots, Screw Attack, and the Wave Beam. Kraid and Ridley are defeated and the path to Tourian is opened. However, she must still find the Ice Beam, as the password does not give it and the beam is required to defeat the Metroids in Tourian.

There are many false theories regarding the password. For example, Justin Bailey was originally thought to be one of the creators of the game, but no such name appears in the game credits. It was also often said that the Justin Bailey code was a reference to an English or Australian term for a bathing suit. Bathing suits were, according to this rumor, referred to as "bailies," so "Justin Bailey" would more accurately be rendered as "Just In (a) Bailey", which is what Samus appears to wear when the code is used. However, Samus' outfit with this code is a leotard, not a bathing suit, and "bailey" is not actually slang for "bathing suit" anywhere in the world.

It was also rumored that the password violated Metroid ' s normal checksum verification, which would suggest that JUSTIN BAILEY was deliberately coded into the game. The Metroid Database has attempted to debunk this myth using password generators:

Using the Justin Bailey code is not the only way to play as suitless Samus. The game's password system contains a flag which determines whether the player will be using a suited Samus or not. For example, the code "000000 000020 000000 000020" allows the player to start at the beginning of Metroid as suitless Samus without any progress.

Legacy
Due to the removal of passwords in later games, suitless Samus was no longer a bonus feature, though she did continue to appear suitless in the best endings of subsequent games, and in the Game Overs for most non-Prime Series games following Super Metroid in which her suit cracked and exploded, revealing Samus wearing a revealing outfit.

Zero Suit Samus' pink/red alternate costume in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4 may be a reference to the Justin Bailey code.

The Justin Bailey also appears in WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare: Touched!, in the respective microgames based on the original Metroid. On rare occasions, Samus will appear in her Justin Bailey suit.

Trivia

 * The Metroid e-Manga depicts Samus in a light pink jumpsuit, as well as with a brown-like shade of blond hair. This could quite possibly be a reference to the outfit in Metroid.
 * In Metroid, the value in memory address 69B3 toggles the suit mode. A value of 1 makes Samus appear in bikini.
 * In the independent video game parody film Press Start, when Sam (based on Samus) is captured, her spacesuit is removed by a henchman (played by director Ed Glaser) who is wearing a "Justin" nametag and addressed as "Mr. Bailey".
 * The multi-platform game Catherine features a man at the Stray Sheep bar named Justin Bailey.
 * Jody Summer's outfit in the F-Zero series resembles the original Justin Bailey suit.
 * A variant of the password: (JUSTIN BAILEY -- 000000) starts the player in Kraid's Lair with 55 missiles, 4 out of 6 energy tanks, and all power ups (including the ice beam using the wave beam's particle, but not the wave pattern), and Ridley and Kraid have not been defeated.
 * Fans have hacked the ROMs of Metroid II and Super Metroid and created their own "Justin Bailey" versions of each.

Appearances

 * Metroid
 * Metroid: Zero Mission
 * WarioWare: Twisted!
 * WarioWare: Touched!
 * NES Remix 2
 * Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Masterpiece)