List of cameos and crossovers

For a list of cameos in the Metroid series itself, see List of cameos in the Metroid series.

''Samus's Suit redirects here. For the actual Power Suit worn by Samus Aran, see here.''

This page lists a number of cameos and crossovers that the Metroid series has made in other video games, in television or in films.

Kid Icarus series
Komayto enemies in all three games look unmistakably like Metroids, flying around in groups of four at Skyworld in Kid Icarus (seen in Uprising in a location above the clouds, presumably Skyworld) and in the Sky World Tower in Of Myths and Monsters. They attack by ramming Pit, and not latching onto the head and draining Energy as most Metroid variations do (except in Kid Icarus Uprising). The creatures are said to have come from another planet, which may in fact be the Metroid homeworld SR388. Their appearance was drastically altered in the latter game to only have a single tooth. The name Komayto comes from Kometo, short for Kometoroido, meaning Metroid Child in Japanese. The Komayto has been confirmed to be returning for Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS, now back to their original appearance. They also now suck Pit's energy, rather than ram him, like a normal Metroid. It is likely going to be included on the AR card set for the game.

The first two games also both ran on the Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus engines, respectively. Uprising does not use the engine for either of the two Metroid games for the Nintendo DS.

Famicom Wars


In this Japan only game, the Red Star commander on Donut Island is called Samasuun, and her face on the result screen is the helmet of Samus Aran. This is the earliest known cameo of Samus in any form of media.

Tetris


In the Nintendo version of this NES game, Samus appears playing the upright bass after the player wins a B-type game of level at least 9 and height at least 2. She appears along with multiple other Nintendo characters.

F-1 Race


Samus appears cheering for the player with four other women before Course 7. She waves at the player.

Galactic Pinball


"You are the pilot in the Space Federation investigating the mysteries of the Milky Way. Many dangers await you including Space Pirates.  Use your pinball skills to solve the mysteries."

This was a pinball game for the Virtual Boy, marking Samus' only appearance on that console. Samus' ship as well as several other Metroid enemies make cameo appearances in the minigame Cosmic. It is generally believed that Metroid Prime Pinball is a spiritual successor to Galactic Pinball.

In the minigame, Samus must destroy 50 Metroid enemies, including Skrees. To start the mini game, the plunger that is underneath the three bumpers at the top right of the screen must be hit. A message that says "Bumper Clash" will appear. During this time, after a bumper has been hit a certain number of times, it will explode. If all three bumpers are destroyed, a Screw Attack icon will appear. When the icon is hit with a puck, Cosmic will trigger.

The D-Pad must be used to control Samus's Gunship, with the A button used to shoot. Each killed enemy is worth 5,000 points. If the gunship is hit once, the mini-game ends. If it does make it to the end of the mission, a "Mission Complete" message will be shown.

If every single enemy is defeated, a Perfect will be achieved. The prize for a perfect is an extra puck. This was carried on to a similar mini-game in Pinball. During the minigame, a remix of Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior plays.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
There are two Metroid cameos in this game. The first can only be viewed after Mario and his party defeat Yaridovich and returns to Mushroom Castle before going to Land's End. Mario will find Samus sleeping in the guest room bed. When spoken to, she answers: "...... I'm resting up for Mother Brain." A Samus doll also appears in a toy box in Booster's tower.

Kirby series
In both Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby can randomly become a Samus statue when he uses his rock defense. Also, the Screw Attack icon (called the Screw Ball in the original game, but named correctly in the remake) is a treasure in the Great Cave Offensive.

In Kirby's Dream Land 3, level 5-2 contains six Metroids. If Kirby defeats them all using his ice power, Samus will appear at the end of the level without her helmet and grant Kirby a Heart Star. Strangely, the Metroids can't actually harm Kirby with their attack. This is probably a result of Kirby not having a health bar, but instead possesses health segments. Meaning that his energy can't be gradually drained.

Wario Land II
The reward for level 49 is a Metroid.

Super Smash Bros. series
Samus appears in all three games as a playable character. In Brawl, she is playable in her Zero Suit. A fourth installment, though unnamed, has been confirmed to be released for the Wii U and 3ds.

Animal Crossing series
"Mabel's Comment: They say the suit makes the bounty hunter. Try on this Samus suit and find out!"

In Animal Crossing-e Series 2, there is an e-Reader card named Samus's Suit. If a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable is used, a pattern can be uploaded to Animal Crossing that gives the player a Power Suit pattern on their shirt and helmet on their hat. The pattern can also be put on umbrellas, floor tiles, and wallpaper.

In Animal Crossing: Wild World, a Metroid is available as a furniture item. It is based on Samus' Baby from Metroid II and Super Metroid, and features it in its signature capsule. When touched, it plays a few seconds of the Super Metroid theme. Like a number of rare items, copying data from Wild World to Animal Crossing: City Folk does not retain the Metroid in the catalogue, though the Metroid can once again be obtained. However, in City Folk it plays the entire theme of Super Metroid. In both games, it is acquired randomly by shooting down Gulliver. The Metroid in City Folk appears to be based upon its appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

City Folk also contains two additional items, a helmet named Samus Mask and a T-shirt named Varia Suit. Both are obtained through the Tom Nook Point Tracking System. Similar to the Metroid, both the Samus Mask hat and the Varia Suit shirt resemble their Brawl appearances. The mask can be purchased for 6000 points and the Varia Suit for 5000. The design of the main body of the shirt is partly based on Samus's Suit from Animal Crossing, though it has different sleeves and back as it is a shirt and not a pattern anymore. If both clothing items are worn in conjunction, Kicks the shoe-shine skunk will change the character's shoes to yellow if the option "Go by color" is chosen when Kicks asks how the player wants their shoes shined.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest


Includes a trailer for Metroid Prime, among other games. Notably, the trailer features the Cloaked Drone being visible with the X-Ray Visor, which indicates that at one point it could be collected before the fight without Sequence Breaking.

WarioWare series
For a complete list of cameos in the WarioWare series, see here.

1080º Avalanche
Default high scores for one stage are "MET" "ROI" "D P".

Custom Robo
A boy, when guessing what the "Z" in "Z Syndicate" stands for, suggests Zebes among other words which include various Nintendo references.

Geist


Samus' helmet and red clothing are seen in a locker within the women's locker room at Volks Corporation. A Nintendo GameCube can also be seen in a different locker.

Tetris DS
Catch Mode is based on the original Metroid.

The purpose of the game mode is to collect tetrominoes into contiguous blocks, by using a single solid block. The tetrominoes fall from top in various positions, and only the solid block can be rotated. Once a large block has been collected, it will detonate, destroying everything in its path. Several Metroids in containers similar to the Baby's also fall from the ceiling; destroying them in detonations will net a bonus. The player loses a small amount of health if the blocks hit the bottom of the screen. Colliding the collected blocks with the Metroid containers will cause a big health loss and destruction of some collected blocks. The game is over once player loses all health.

The play area is a shaft resembling Brinstar, but with a more realistic, bat cave-like background. Samus sprites can be seen in the background in different poses. These include aiming up at a Ripper, in Morph Ball, on a ledge in front of a Blue Door, jumping and aiming at a Geemer on the bottom of a ledge, Spin Jumping from one ledge to another, a Ripper and Geemer alone, and then it cycles over.

The theme is a remix of the classic Brinstar theme, which can be heard here:. When the detonation block activates and before it explodes, a faster remix of the Brinstar theme is heard.

Level 12 of Marathon Mode is also Metroid themed. The level contains the Brinstar theme, Mother Brain in the background and a rapidly rotating sprite of Samus that moves when points are accumulated. On the top screen, Samus can be seen jumping around in the starting point of Brinstar, but the Morph Ball is missing and the background is colored red, failing to match the blue rock scenery of Brinstar.

Finally, Samus can be seen running around on the title screen shooting tetrominoes.

Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
In this Japan only Wii game, the Zero Suit can be unlocked as an alternate costume by photographing 20 ghosts on the ghost list. Luigi's overalls can also be unlocked.

Phantasy Star Ø
Samus's Arm Cannon is one of several available Nintendo weapons.

Jam with the Band
Metroid - "Brinstar" is one of the downloadable songs available from the initial day of release in the European version. )

Donkey Kong Country Returns
Developed by Retro Studios, the company that created the Metroid Prime Trilogy, has several Metroid cameos.

Metroid Prime Trilogy A.I. as well as a heavily modified version of the game's camera was involved with the original creation of the game, and helped get the project moving in the early stages. In 7-1, "Foggy Fumes", a structure greatly resembling Crocomire's skull is visible in the background.

In level 6-7, "Tippy Shippy", the beginning of the level has creatures similar to Parasites (or possibly Leviathan Infants) embedded into the walls. In 7-R, "Lift-Off Launch", there is a large gyroscope with three spinning rings around a core; this is a reference to the Main Dynamo present in the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes room Main Gyro Chamber, along with another similar device in the Minigyro Chamber. The core resembles a Portal. Both were located in the Sanctuary Fortress.

In the caves environment, world 4, numerous possible references to the Phazon Mines and Phazon itself are made. Firstly, large, deep-blue crystals and oversized purple mushrooms resembling Phazon crystals and Saturnines can been seen. Also, when visiting Cranky Kong's huts in the Caves world, he can be seen saying "I've been trying to figure out just what they mine in these mines, but I've got nothing." While riding the carts in the various mine cart stages later in the game, some carts have a glowing blue substance with black streaks that appears to emit something that looks similar to small lightning bolts; these characteristics are shared by Phazon.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions
In this game made by Team Ninja, the Geothermal Power Plant has been made into an arena, with Ridley himself serving as a stage hazard. The Vs. Ridley theme is the stage song. The Power Plant platform is slightly different than it is in Metroid: Other M, however, as parts of the stage is destroyed, and Ridley destroys another part of it with his fireballs before the match. He will join the fight at certain points to unleash more fireballs at the combatants. If one is thrown over the edge then it is an instant KO as Ridley will scrape them against the wall much like in Other M, before killing them with a fireball. At the end, Samus, in Morph Ball form, also makes an appearance, killing Ridley with a Power Bomb. Samus will not be a playable character, and Yosuke Hayashi claimed that the reason for this was because "she was too busy with her job". 

AR Games
A Samus AR Card is included with the Nintendo 3DS console and has several poses which can be viewed in Star Pics. When an AR Card is scanned, Samus will appear from the card based on the pose she takes in Metroid: Other M concept art (her after landing from a long jump) and Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare plays. Her poses are firing a shot, standing with her hand on her Arm Cannon, taking another pose from concept artwork (and ingame when she uses Concentration) where she crouches slightly and holds her cannon up, the first mentioned pose taken after landing in Other M, and finally her Morph Ball. All poses can be controlled as long as the AR card is in view. Additionally, a Samus template is available in Graffiti.

StreetPass Mii Plaza
Samus' helmet and a Metroid hat are among the many hats that can be unlocked in Find Mii. The latter is unlocked on the second playthrough. If worn, the Mii will always be seen wearing it anywhere in StreetPass Mii Plaza. A Samus Aran puzzle is available in Puzzle Swap. Once completed, it unlocks a 3D model viewer of her that was first shown at E3.

Nintendogs + Cats
AR Cards can be used in this game, including Samus Aran. This puts her helmet on the Nintendog or cat when taking photos.

Battle Mii


In a demo for the Wii U at E3 2011, a shooting minigame can be played in which players control Miis wearing suits of Samus, such as the Varia and Fusion Suits and possibly more, and another player utilizes her gunship, the target. Samus' gunship can fire beams and missiles.

Mario series
Starting in Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario would be able to spin jump when he collected a Starman, and the pattern resembled the Screw Attack. This also happens in subsequent remakes and games. The Snoozorb enemy in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time also resembles the Nightmare, with both of their names pertaining to sleeping.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords


The game contains an enemy called a Bulbul, which resembles a Metroid.

F-Zero series
Longtime playable character Jody Summer's appearance heavily resembles that of Samus at the end of the original Metroid, wearing a pink sport bra, thong and boots, with a lightning bolt on her left breast and two shoulderpads, as well as brown hair. Like Samus, she works for a "Galactic Space Federation" to eliminate the criminal element in the F-Zero tournaments, has a deceased father and a supposedly also deceased brother, her chapter in F-Zero GX involves escaping from a time bomb, and in the anime, she discovers that she was partially reconstructed as a cyborg. Jody Summer is in the vein of James McCloud and Mr. EAD, other F-Zero characters who reference other series.

Blaster Master
Metroid-like enemies appear underwater in this Metroid inspired game. They bear 4 retracting mandibles, but no nuclei.

Bloodline: Champions
One of the newest characters in this online game is called the Metal Warden, who possesses armor very similar to the Power Suit. The Metal Warden can charge her shots, perform a high jumping attack in the air, morph into a ball and fire a black hole with effects similar to a Power Bomb.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
In the "Cave of Skeletons" area, there are skulls that bear a strong resemblance to Crocomire's and are used as ramps to get up to a higher ledge. In the second Castlevania title for the Game Boy Advance, Harmony of Dissonance, the player will eventually come to an area called the "Cave of Skeletons." In it, there are giant skulls which can be used as ramps to get to the next part of the area. It is likely that this homage was intentional because starting from Symphony of the Night, Castlevania games have borrowed a Metroid-like play. 

Catherine
One of the characters that can be spoken to in the "Stray Sheep" bar is named Justin Bailey.

Cave Story
The floating enemy called "Jellies" resemble Metroids and also have a queen in this Super Metroid inspired game.

Escape from Puppy Death Factory
In this Adult Swim game, references to the Metroid series are rampant. The canine protagonist Laika wears a Power Suit with an Arm Cannon and possesses a gunship (named MUTTNIK) that resembles her face, while exploring an abandoned planet to rescue her puppy brethren, similar to the baby (there is a message in the game that references Super Metroid as well: "The last puppies are in captivity...SET THEM FREE."). Collecting all 31 puppies also leads to the best ending in the game.

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
A theme from the game very closely resembles Vs. Ridley.

Shadow Complex
The gameplay and numerous elements are reminiscent of Super Metroid. For example, similar to the Eye, there is a security camera which shines on the protagonist when the complex is first entered, and the protagonist can collect a Speed Booster-like upgrade as well as a "Foam Gun", which resembles the Ice Beam. One of the achievements is also called Jason Bailey.

Singularity
There are numerous references to Metroid in Singularity. Firstly, there is a message on the wall of a facility saying "Mother my brain hurts!". Entering a derelict ship similar to the Frigate Orpheon, an upgrade called the "Dethex Launcher" can be obtained, which fires small ball-shaped bombs similar to the Morph Ball that are used in one situation to navigate a maze in order to open up a locked door. Finally, there is a note in the hands of a dead body talking about a strange new specimen, signed by the initials "S.A.". To the left of the body a Metroid-like creature can be seen inside a tube.

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty
A Metroid is seen in a stasis tube much like the baby's. It is found in the 2v2 multiplayer map "High Orbit". 

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
The game was intended to include Samus and Link as playable characters, but Nintendo ultimately refused to license them for Activision. A video shows Samus using many of her abilities from the Metroid series, and she appears to have been based off of her Metroid Prime depiction. She is also seen using a new ability called Chozo Blood Rights. The appearance of this ability is short, and there does not appear to be any visible changes after activation, apart from a green glow around Samus. It would seem to increase benefits inherited from the Chozo blood Samus has. It is possible this ability grants Samus more power or better defense, as it does not appear to be an attacking move.

Presumably, the characters' removal was forced when Activision placed them on the non-Nintendo console versions of the game.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga


Samus was intended to appear at Starbeans Cafe among other Nintendo characters, during a scripted event. Dialog remains in the game's code - "Cashier: Whoa! A power outage? Yikes! Samus Aran! I see you're rocking and rolling as usual! ...Looks like your energy tanks are empty! Sorry, but can't you give your Hoolumbian to Samus? Oh! Feeling better?" She would then give the player an Energy Tank in exchange for the drink. Ultimately, most of the items were replaced with similar ones in the final game, though the Energy Tank became a Power Grip accessory.)

Captain N: The Game Master
For a complete list of cameos in the Captain N: The Game Master series, see here.

Nintendo Comics System
For a complete list of cameos in the Nintendo Comics System series, see here.

Mario vs. Wario
A super deformed doll in Samus's likeness that Princess Peach desired drove the humorous plot for a Mario vs. Wario comic that was published in Nintendo Power prior to the Super Metroid comic. The doll in this comic was different from the doll depicted in Super Mario RPG. The titular characters Mario and Wario fight over who gets to buy the doll, using trickery to get ahead of one another. Ultimately, it is revealed that Luigi had bought the doll. A YouTube video of the comic can be found here.

Duh Stoopid Bomb!
In the Mario series comic Duh Stoopid Bomb! published by the Nintendo Comics System, Mother Brain's name appears on a list of people who think King Toadstool is dumb.

N-Gang
Samus makes a cameo appearance at the end of the final issue of the comics, Die Hexe lacht um Mitternacht (The Witch Laughs at Midnight).

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
In this video game themed manga, the titular character says, "I wish I could turn into a Morphing Ball and roll to the bathroom from here, instead of having to stand up." Another character then says, "I used to know a guy who could do that. He said it wasn't that great."

Toys Я Us commercial
In a Toys R Us commercial that advertised NES games, a store in Tourian, labeled Kraid's Toy Shop, is shown to be sold out. A man and his son are seen there wearing Samus Aran's Power Suit as they bomb the floor into Toys Я Us.

Kool-Aid commercial
Samus once appeared in a Kool-Aid Commercial that advertised a contest in which a copy of Metroid II: Return of Samus would be given away to the winner. An animated version of her is seen in the back of a school bus with two children.

Mystery Science Theater 3000
In episode #405 of the show, "Being From Another Planet," a troubled teen is alone in his room playing a little electronic game when two guys come in to bother him, at which point Crow says, "Could I go back to my game? I was up to the third level of Metroid."

House
In the first season's third episode, "Occam's Razor", House can be seen playing his Game Boy Advance SP, with "the fourth level" of Metroid: Zero Mission shown on screen, though the sound effects are not from the game and entering the Morph Ball in the hands of a Chozo Statue kills all of the players in the show. There is also mention of a species called "space bunnies", which may be referring to Reos.

In the fifteenth episode of the same show, "Mob Rules," House produces his Nintendo DS and holds it up to a comatose patient's ear. The footage on screen is Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, again with different sound effects.

Spaceballs: The Animated Series
In the second episode of the show, Samus (with an exaggerated appearance and large breasts) fires a Super Missile at a tank driving down the street.

Code Monkeys
In the episode "Valley of the Silicon Dolls", Larrity searches for bounty hunters to kill the robotic teddy bear that Dave, Jarry, and Black Steve reprogrammed. Towards the end of the episode, a warped version of Samus's ship rises up and Samus jumps out and kills the teddy bear. She then removes her helmet and reveals that she is actually Mary. She then morphs into a ball and rolls away. This version of Samus has the Arm Cannon on her left arm instead of her right, possibly due to copyright issues with Nintendo.



One Tree Hill
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is briefly depicted in season 8 episode 14, "Holding Out for a Hero".

Mad
Samus (in her Varia Suit and Zero Suit) and Ridley appear in season 1, episode 16, "Straight A Team / Gaming's Next Top Model" (a parody of America's Next Top Model), with on-screen mentions of Zebes and K-2L. In the short, Samus competes in a beauty contest against Peach and Zelda, while Mario, a Tyra Banks-like woman and Mega Man judge. Also appearing were Ganondorf, Bowser, a Lakitu and Zelda's Sheik form. The quickly dismissed characters include Misty, Birdo, Lara Croft and Amy Rose.

Humorously, the shoulders of Samus' armor are shaped like basketballs. In fact, in one picture from her photoshoot, she is holding a discarded shoulder like a basketball. Also, her eyes are brown.

The Wizard
Metroid can be seen briefly (in a full-screen shot) on a PlayChoice-10. 

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
One scene depicts the main characters talking about lava always appearing in video games. One says "In Metroid, it's actually magma."

Jarhead
When the marines are on their flight to their destination, Anthony (Jake Gylenhaal) questions another marine about rather being a worthless civilian, playing Metroid, "trying to get to that 9th level." Another marine mentions how at the end, nothing happens, it just starts over.

How to Draw Nintendo Greatest Heroes & Villains
This book featured Samus on pages 26 to 27, in her appearance from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (although Hunters artwork was present on the cover).

Nintendo Monopoly
This spin on the classic board game featured the Metroid series, including Samus Aran (using her Echoes appearance), Meta Ridley (known as "Ridley"), and a Metroid (using its Prime appearance) on the orange properties. Metroid and Super Metroid can be seen in the background. The 2010 collector's edition uses updated artwork from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, replaces the Metroid with the Morph Ball, the Blue Falcon's space with Samus' Gunship, and adds a player piece representing Samus' helmet.

Trivia

 * Samus' movements served as a reference for the players in Tennis for the Game Boy.