Justin Bailey

Justin Bailey is a term used to refer to the bikini swimsuit that Samus Aran wore during the endings of Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

Password
The name "Justin Bailey" came from a famous password that, when used, would give the player nearly all the power-ups in the game (minus the Ice Beam and one Energy Tank) and allowed them to use Samus in a pink one-piece swimsuit rather than her Power Suit. However, it is purely a cosmetic recolor as Samus has the same abilities and takes the same amount of damage from enemies that she would if she were wearing her suit.

The password started Samus armorless in Norfair with five Energy Tanks, 255 Missiles, the Varia Suit, the Hi-Jump Boots, Screw Attack, and the Wave Beam. Kraid and Ridley would be defeated and the path to Tourian would be 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 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:

Many players previously thought this code was the only way to play as an armorless Samus, but every password actually contains a flag indicating whether the player will be using armorless Samus or not. For example, the code "000000 000020 000000 000020" makes the player play as armorless Samus without having collected a single item and starting in Brinstar.

One glitch with this code relates to the number of Missiles Samus has at the start. Although the player starts with 255 Missiles, the maximum number of Missiles is 205. Collecting Missile Ammo left behind by an enemy or collecting an upgrade will reduce the counter to 205 Missiles.

Description
Due to the removal of passwords in later games, armorless Samus was no longer a bonus feature, though she did continue to appear armorless in the best endings of subsequent games, and in the Game Overs for Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion in which her suit cracked and exploded, revealing Samus wearing her bikini.

Samus wears a bikini only if the game is completed in the very shortest amount of time. (These time limits have varied from under one hour to under two hours to under three hours, depending on the game.) In the original Metroid, each ending sequence but two (the "worst" of them) was notable for revealing that Samus, underneath her Power Suit, is actually a woman. (Not only was her gender hidden by the suit, but in both the American manual and press releases Samus was referred to as male. This was not an issue in Japan, where Samus was described with gender-neutral pronouns.) However, for several games after, the bikini continued to appear as traditional fastest-completion ending sequence attire, even though it is well-established that Samus is female. The persistent appearances of the skimpy bikini are likely intended as 'rewards' for beating the games quickly as Samus is considered to be attractive (something that is stated in the manga). The bikini was later replaced by the less revealing Zero Suit.

The appearance of the bikini has varied throughout its appearances. Metroid featured a pink leotard that was the playable suit as well as a two piece pink bikini that was not playable. Metroid II: Return of Samus featured a tank top and underwear, which would be colored red if a Super Game Boy, Game Boy Player or Game Boy Advance was used. Super Metroid featured a black sport bra and underwear, with matching boots. Metroid Fusion also featured the same type of bra as Super Metroid, but colored blue and featuring shorts. Despite the introduction of the Zero Suit, however, Metroid: Zero Mission also featured a bikini in the vein of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, though colored orange.

Zero Suit Samus' palette swaps in Super Smash Bros. Brawl may be references to her bikinis in Fusion, Metroid and Super Metroid.

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 bailey in Metroid.
 * The Justin Bailey from Metroid II appears in the Super Metroid manga.
 * In Metroid, value in NES memory address 69B3 toggles the suit mode. 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".
 * Jody Summer's outfit in the F-Zero series resembles the Justin Bailey suit.

Appearances

 * Metroid
 * Metroid II: Return of Samus
 * Super Metroid
 * Super Metroid (Manga)
 * Metroid Fusion
 * Metroid: Zero Mission
 * WarioWare: Twisted!
 * WarioWare: Touched!