Varia Suit

The Varia Suit (referred to simply as Varia in Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus and Varia Feature in Metroid: Other M) is a Power Suit upgrade. Its name is derived from a mistranslation of the word "barrier" (though the manual in Metroid II labels the suit itself as "Barrier Suit"), pertaining to its usefulness; the Varia Suit reduces damage taken, and protects Samus Aran from extreme heat in most Lava areas in the series. 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 series
When added to the standard Power Suit, the Varia provides extra (orange) armor. In the original Metroid the Varia Suit would turn Samus' armor pink, but a design change was made in Metroid II, as the Game Boy used a monochrome system. During Metroid: Zero Mission it just turns the flat-shouldered Power Suit orange; the Varia Suit with the iconic bulky shoulder pads is obtained after Samus' Power Suit is destroyed in her gunship's crash-landing. It is referred to as the Fully Powered Suit. It allows Samus to walk in Acid unharmed, and stops damage from Blootiks, but not Lava. She retains this suit for future use, which explains the jump from the orange Power in Zero Mission to the large-shouldered Varia in Metroid II.

Gandrayda is able to morph into Samus and wears the Varia Suit in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

In Metroid Fusion, the Varia upgrade (like much of Samus’s other equipment) is sent via Data Room. Unlike other upgrades, it 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: Other M, the Varia Feature is noticeably different, and is not a starting item. The ridges on the shoulders appear to have been removed, along with the shoulders being slightly smaller, the top of the visor is more flat, and the lights on the chest plate have been altered, so that they curve from the side of the plate to the bottom. The lights on the legs also seem to be no longer present, and the line pattern is also different. In-game, Adam (conveniently) authorizes Samus to use it shortly before the fight with the Goyagma. It features damage reduction again, like in the 2-D titles and Metroid Prime. It also stops damage from superheated areas, but does not protect Samus from Lava. When activated, while not changing the shape, will turn the usual areas into a light orange.

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

Official Nintendo Player's Guide
"This is a wonderful item which cuts in half any damage done to Samus by his enemies. It will be very useful when you fall into the Sea of Lava or battle with Mini Bosses, so be sure to get it."

Metroid II: Return of Samus manual
"This item effectively doubles the energy absorption of Samus’ cybernetic suit, enabling her to withstand enemy attacks much more effectively."

Super Metroid manual
"This suit cuts the damage from enemy attacks in half and allows you to explore in high-temperature zones."

Metroid Fusion manual
"Reduces the damage suffered from enemy attacks. Nullifies damage from high and low temperatures."

Official Metroid Prime website
"The Varia Suit adds increased heat resistance to Samus Aran's Power Suit. While the Varia Suit can handle higher temperatures than normal, extreme heat sources and heat-based attacks are still capable of damaging the Varia Suit's shield strength."

Metroid Prime manual
"Once Samus finds the Varia Suit, she will be able to survive extremely high temperatures like those found in the fiery depths of Magmoor Caverns."

Metroid: Zero Mission manual
"This enhanced suit reduces the amount of damage taken from enemies. It also negates the effects of intense heat and acid."

Zero Mission Samus Screen data
"Decreases damage taken from enemies. Prevents damage from acid and heat."

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes manual
"Samus's standard Power Suit, built for her by the Chozo people, is made even stronger by the Varia Suit upgrade. It provides shielding in battle and augmented physical strength, and its life-support systems allow her to survive in water and even space without addition equipment."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Varia Suit appears as a trophy. The trophy description is as follows:

"A suit with a higher level of protection than the Power Suit. It eliminates damage caused by very hot or cold areas. It is also more resilient to enemy attacks than the Power Suit and greatly differs in shoulder design. Recent visual depictions of Samus often show her wearing the Varia Suit."

SNES Super Metroid GCN Metroid Prime

Sticker

 * Samus - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes [Explosive] Attack +18  (All)

Pyroclasm in the Pyrosphere
"The Pyrosphere, a simulated volcanic area encompassing Sector 3, was predictably awash in magma flows, lava pools, and a host of beasts adapted to extreme heat. Nonetheless, finding an erupting volcano caught me off-guard, especially when it began raining chunks of flaming rock on me. The Varia feature of my suit quickly became necessary."

Metroid: Other M Onscreen Tutorial
"Varia Feature: This will reduce damage from enemies and cut heat damage in lava zones."''

Metroid: Other M manual
"Cuts damage from high temperatures and reduces damage from enemy attacks."

Metroid: Other M Status screen data
"Effects: Cuts damage from heat and reduces enemy attack damage."

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. The Gravity Suit is an alternate color scheme. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Samus has a color change which resembles the Varia Suit in Missile mode in the original Metroid, but with the bulky shoulder pads. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Fusion Suit and the Dark Suit are other color schemes.
 * The Varia Suit has been made into a model by First 4 Figures, and depicts Samus in her pose seen in promotional artwork from Metroid Prime:

Animal Crossing: City Folk


Another Nintendo title, Animal Crossing: City Folk, features a T-shirt based on the Varia Suit. It is obtainable through the Tom Nook Point Tracking System, for 5000 points.

Trivia

 * The Varia Suit is the only suit to appear in every Metroid game in one way or another, even over the basic Power Suit.
 * The only time Samus ever demonstrated the use of the Varia Suit outside her Power Suit was in the original Metroid.
 * 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. This can be seen when Samus' upgrades are stolen by the Ing and when rebooting after being attacked by a Rezbit.
 * Although the Varia Suit is generally the same in every depiction, there are some slight exceptions. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, The Varia Suit has several small changes in appearance from the traditional Varia Suit in other games such as Metroid Prime.
 * Firstly, the shape of the visor has been altered. Instead of a simple V shape, it now has a small raised rectangle in the top center of the visor. Strangely, during these two games, this is not reflected while in first-person mode. However, this is most likely due to the games running on the same (albeit highly modified) game engine as the original Prime. 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 groove running along the top of the helmet, there are now three grooves.
 * Thirdly, the color design of the Varia suit is very dull in Metroid Prime, but is given a much brighter color scheme in the other three Primes.
 * Finally, the Varia Suit has many other changes. The green lights on Samus' legs are 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 the large shoulders are smaller and further down. The tubes along the sides of the helmet, previously sleek, became segmented in the first Prime, which has stuck for all subsequent games.


 * Some relatively early depictions of the Varia Suit seem to depict a watch or compass within the green circle on the back of Samus's left hand, such as Nintendo Power's Super Metroid poster and some artwork for Metroid II: Return of Samus.
 * In Metroid: Zero Mission, if Samus completely skips the Varia Suit but finishes the Ruins Test, she will automatically acquire it along with the Gravity Suit.
 * In Metroid: Zero Mission, some Chozo Statues, if looked at closely, appear to have the Varia Suit's characteristic large shoulders. The same is true of the Chozo Statue that holds the Spider Ball in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This could mean the Chozo wore suits similar to Samus' or that large shoulders were part of their physiology that they wanted to reflect in Samus's suit design.
 * In Metroid: Other M, the Varia Feature loosely resembles the hieroglyph of a Power Suit on the Ruins Test, which has similar lights on the shoulders and a similar light pattern on the chest plate.
 * In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, there is Acid Rain on the Space Pirate Homeworld that can damage even the Varia Suit. This may be due to the modifications made when attaching the PED Suit, or the acid may simply be too potent for the suit to withstand.
 * In Metroid Prime, the Varia Suit was modeled and skinned by Gene Kohler, but the original model was designed by Rodney Brunet.
 * It is possible to skip the Varia Suit and enter the Phendrana Drifts by Sequence Breaking.
 * Metroid: Other M is the only game that forces Samus to run through ultra-heated areas before obtaining protection from the Varia Feature (or suit). Due to this, superheated areas damage Samus by one Energy unit instead of five.