Varia Suit

The Varia Suit (referred to simply as Varia in Metroid and Metroid II) 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 from rooms filled with extreme heat or cold. 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 white, 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 and the Varia Suit with the bulky shoulder pads is obtained after Samus' Power Suit is destroyed in her ship crash. It allows Samus to walk in acid unharmed, but not in magma. She retains this suit for future use which would explain 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 but, unlike normal, 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 the trailer for Metroid: Other M Samus appears to start in the Varia Suit, with its iconic rounded shoulders, but with a yellow and red color scheme closer to the design of the standard Power Suit. The ridges on the shoulders appear to have been removed, however. This design appeared in Super Metroid, after Samus loses all her upgrades, suggesting that the yellow-red suit is the Power Suit in its weakest form. The classic Varia Suit design appears, suggesting the Varia Suit will appear in-game again, but as an upgrade and not a starter item. The ridges on the shoulder pads are still missing on the suit, though, and the light pattern on each shoulder pad is different. In the second trailer Samus can be seen wearing the orange Varia Suit instead of the yellow-and-red suit in some scenes (such as when she is fighting ULF 34), which seems to confirm that Samus will obtain it at some stage in the game.

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

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. A purple-blue alternate color scheme resembles the Gravity Suit. In Melee, Samus has a color change which resembles the Varia Suit in the original Metroid but with the bulky shoulder pads. In Brawl, a blue-yellow alternate color resembles the Fusion Suit, and a brown-grey resembles the Dark Suit.


 * Another Nintendo title, Animal Crossing: City Folk, features a helmet called "Samus Mask" that is based on Samus's helmet from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is obtainable through the Tom Nook Point System along with a T-Shirt named "Varia Suit".


 * 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:

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)

Trivia

 * 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.

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.
 * Although the Varia suit is most commonly 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.

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.

Finally, the Varia Suit has many other changes. The green lights on Samus' legs have been altered to be 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 art of Metroid II: Return of Samus.


 * Samus's original Power Suit (the non-"legendary" one), did not have bulky shoulder pads when equipped with the Varia upgrade (as seen in Metroid Zero Mission and Metroid: Volume 2. When she aquires the new Power Suit after completing the Ruins Test in Metroid: Zero Mission, this one has a slightly different appearance: including the signature shoulder pads which appear in all future occurances of the Varia.


 * In Metroid: Zero Mission, some Chozo Statues, if looked at closely, appear to have the Varia Suit's characteristic large shoulders. This could mean the Chozo wore suits similar to Samus's, or that large shoulders were part of their physiology that they wanted to reflect in Samus's suit design. The same is true of the Chozo Statue that holds the Spider Ball in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

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