Ending Outfit

The "Ending Outfit" is a casual outfit worn by Samus Aran in the best endings for several Metroid games. This article focuses on the consistent outfit featured in Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission, although Samus had also worn the Justin Bailey in Metroid and a tank top and underwear in Metroid II: Return of Samus.

Description
Samus' most recognizable ending outfit consists of a sports bra and short shorts (a thong in Super Metroid) worn with bracelets and boots. The color varies from game to game: black in Super, blue in Fusion, orange in Zero Mission. Each appears in the best endings of each game, and the former two also appear in the Game Overs for their respective games. The Zero Mission top features a triangle cut out above the chest and some lining not shown in previous incarnations, and does not have bracelets.

Samus wears the Ending Outfit 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. However, for several games after, the Ending Outfit continued to appear as traditional fastest-completion ending sequence attire, even though it was well-established that Samus is female. The persistent showings of Samus in a revealing outfit are likely intended as 'rewards' for beating the games quickly since Samus is considered to be beautiful.

The Ending Outfit was later replaced by the less revealing but still sexualized Zero Suit. The Ending Outfit made one final appearance in Zero Mission, where it is worn in endings earned by collecting 100% of the items or less than 15% of the items. No revealing outfits are shown in Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime Hunters or Metroid: Other M.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
The outfits from Fusion and Zero Mission were revealed in a Miiverse post on August 19, 2014 to be included in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as alternate costumes for Zero Suit Samus. They return with some changes, namely Samus' now signature ponytail hairstyle, her Jet Boots, Paralyzer and bracelets. Apparently, these were last minute additions. The outfits have attracted minor criticism from fans conscious about her sexualization, though Masahiro Sakurai was quick to explain that Zero Suit Samus' designer was a woman. Additionally, Shulk also has a revealing outfit based on his swimsuit attire from Xenoblade Chronicles.