Screw Attack

The Screw Attack is possibly one of Samus Aran's most famous Power Suit upgrades. It is an advanced and powerful movement system that allows Samus to cause extreme damage to enemies while somersaulting, engulfing her in an aura of glowing plasma and electricity. The Screw Attack can destroy most creatures, and Screw Attack Blocks instantly on contact. It appears in Metroid, Metroid II: The Return of Samus, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime Pinball and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The Screw Attack lets Samus rotate incredibly quickly, while emitting some sort of energy from points on her armor, turning her into a rotating energy blade of death.

The Screw Attack is traditionally thought to have been invented by the Chozo, due to its appearance in Chozo Statues. However, there is (disputed) evidence that suggests it is actually an item of Luminoth origin, as scans from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes state that it is "unknown technology" and do not identify it as of Chozo origin. It can now be noted, based on statues in the ice climate of the planet Bryyo, that the Screw Attack may have been gifted to the Chozo as a sort of exchange for the knowledge the native people received from them. This is depicted in monument form by a Chozo statue, with hand outstretched, touching the forehead of a Statue of one of the Primal natives, who in turn has a hand presenting the Screw Attack (collectible by Samus) to said Chozo. However, it could be the other way around, since Samus didn't have it in the beginning of Echoes.

The version in Metroid Prime 2 and 3 were different from those found in every other game. It is actually a combination of the Screw Attack and Space Jump from the 2D games. It enables Samus to "jump" in midair, though only in one direction and only 5 times in a row. It also enables her to jump off special Wall Jump Surfaces, similar to her Wall Jump ability in post-Metroid II 2D games. While Samus is performing this form of the Screw Attack she is granted an immunity to damage or "invincibility". Possibly these versions found in the Prime Series are of a different technology from the Screw Attack found in the 2-D titles, yet they perform a similar function. This would explain why the technology wasn't recognized in Metroid Prime 2, even though she had the upgrade in her original Zebes mission only a short time before.

In Metroid Fusion, this upgrade was possessed by the infected Space Pirate, Ridley-X.

1986 manga
"Defeat enemies by spin jumping."

Metroid II Manual
"This allows Samus to destroy enemies she contacts while spinning through the air."

Super Metroid Manual
"This powerful item turns Samus’ suit into a weapon. When the Screw Attack is activated, Samus can somersault into enemies and blast them out of the air."

Metroid Fusion Manual
"Hit enemies with Spin Jumps to cause damage."

Metroid Zero Mission Manual
"Obtaining this power-up gives Samus the ability to damage enemies by jumping into them. (Activates automatically during a spin jump)."

In Other Games

 * The Screw Attack is used in the Metroid Prime Pinball minigame Wall Jump.
 * It is an attack of Samus's (B+Up) in every Super Smash Bros. game. It is also an item in Super Smash Bros. Melee (held) and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (acts like a badge). The symbol is always the logo for Samus.
 * The Screw Attack was in Kirby Super Star (under the name "Screw Ball"), as a collectable treasure in The Great Cave Offense, worth 80,000 Gold. It returns in the Nintendo DS remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra (now named correctly).
 * In Super Mario Bros. 3, the player's character will spin when jumping after they aquire a Starman powerup.
 * In New Super Mario Bros, this happens to Mario (or Luigi) again.

Melee
"One of Samus Aran's power-ups from the original Metroid, the Screw Attack turns a jump into a rotating attack move. When carrying this item, any character's ordinary jump move will turn into a Screw Attack. By the same token, if you throw this item at an enemy, your foe will spontaneously do a Screw Attack."

(Metroid 08/89)

Brawl
"A badge you can wear to turn your jumps into Samus's signature Screw Attacks. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, it was an item you carried, but this time around it's a badge you wear--which means you can use it and another item at the same time. There's a good chance you'll be able to string together Screw Attacks and midair strikes for powerful combos."

Metroid (1987) Super Metroid (1994)

Screw Attack in Pop Culture
A video game website ScrewAttack got its name and logo from this item. The website also ranked Samus's Screw attack as number 2 in the top 5 best and worst upgrades in video games.

Since Super Metroid, the Screw Attack symbol has become the Metroid series's official logo. Its symbol has also been the symbol for the suit upgrades in the Prime games. The "S" shape would seem to represent "Samus", "Suit", or "Screw".

Trivia

 * Only two Metroid games do not include the Screw Attack in any form, these being Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime: Hunters. However, it was planned as a power up in Metroid Prime.
 * In 2D Metroid games the Screw Attack only functions as an attack while jumping and does not increase Samus's jumping height or time she can spend in the air (which in 2D Metroid games is left up to the space jump) while in 3D metroid games the Screw Attack increses the amount of times Samus can jump from two to seven.
 * In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Gandrayda is highly vulnerable to the Screw Attack. However, it is very hard to hit her with it as she is jumping around for the majority of the battle.