Samus Data Screen

The Samus Data Screen, in essence, is the file select screen in the Metroid series.

No Metroid game has ever allowed for more than three save files. The saves have an image of either Samus or her helmet (or Zero Suit Samus' head in Metroid: Zero Mission, if the game is at that point) that reacts (such as the helmet turning to face the screen). The amount of energy Samus had at the last save, game time elapsed, item percentage and current location have traditionally been featured on the Screen as well. Metroid II: Return of Samus did not feature this, only the title with "Start 1, 2 or 3" files. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes featured a "gyroscope" system for its menu interface in the game menus. In Super Metroid, after selecting a game file, the game's options were brought up as they cannot be edited once the game is in session. Metroid Prime was the first game in the series to feature unlockable bonuses accessible from the menu, namely the Concept Galleries and Metroid Fusion Connection Bonuses. Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime Trilogy and Metroid: Other M continue this trend, with Echoes and Hunters featuring multiplayer modes. The Hunters screen only displays time elapsed and percentage of Octoliths collected, and has a link to Movies mode. The Trilogy has three seperate files, with another option screen to play all three games in each file. In Other M, after MB's death her hairclip is present on the save file, and after it is recovered ingame Adam's helmet appears as well. The hairclip's presence is curious, it may indicate that someone took it after it was smashed by The Colonel, likely Dr. Madeline Bergman, who shared an emotional connection with MB, her "daughter".

Metroid featured a save system, and in turn a Data Screen in the Famicom Disk System version, but the localized version of the game utilized a password system, the only game in the series to do so.