The Gunship,[1][2][3][4] also referred to as a Hunter-Class Gunship,[5] Hunter Gunship,[6] Starship[7] (スターシップ Sutā Shippu),[6] or Samus's Ship,[8] is the hunter-class gunship flown by Samus Aran during the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime Hunters.
Description[]
According to the Metroid Prime website, Samus's Gunship in Metroid Prime both "survived Samus Aran's mission on Planet Zebes and is the only space-faring vessel ever registered under the bounty hunter's name". If this is true, then this ship is a reconstructed version of the Starship from Metroid: Zero Mission. However, since the Metroid Prime website predates the release of Zero Mission, this information may have since been retconned and therefore not considered canonical.
The ship resembles the Zero Mission incarnation, though without the wings and orange in colour rather than red. It also has a new set of four thruster-like multi-directional rockets underneath used for both landing and atmospheric flight. The ship still has the same topside entrance hatch. It is implied by a Space Pirate scan in Omega Research that the ship also has some form of cloaking device, which hindered their efforts to locate the gunship. The ship has been shown to be remotely controlled with Samus's Arm Cannon, similar to the way the Command Visor is used in Corruption. It also has some kind of hyperdrive that Samus uses when leaving the planet, and is therefore capable of intergalactic travel, as confirmed by the opening of Metroid Prime Hunters where she travels to the Tetra Galaxy in a short amount of time and is later notified that Kanden traced her warp signature.
While not demonstrated in-game, the Metroid Prime website states that this Gunship is armed with twin Power Beam turrets and a retractable rear-mounted Plasma Beam cannon, allowing it to battle other ships even when outnumbered. This may have been added to Samus's new ship after her previous Starship was left defenseless against Space Pirate vessels. Otherwise, its principal purpose is rapid transport, reserving its weaponry for when battle is inevitable.
This Gunship serves Samus on both her mission to Tallon IV and her mission to the Alimbic Cluster. Upon arriving at each destination, the ship acts as her base camp for ground-based operations.
In Metroid Prime, the Gunship arrives at the Exterior Docking Hangar of the Frigate Orpheon, although Samus cannot return to the ship through normal gameplay until she escapes the frigate's countdown. Afterward, the Gunship touches down in the Tallon Overworld Landing Site, where it remains for the rest of the game for Samus to use as a save and recharge point. Upon defeating the Metroid Prime, Samus summons the Gunship via her Arm Cannon to pick her up at the Artifact Temple before departing the planet.
In Hunters, the Hunter Gunship's cockpit serves a greater role in gameplay. The Tetra Galaxy Scan Screen provides a map of the Alimbic Cluster, allowing Samus to adjust the ordinate and abscissa axes to select a planet or space station. Once the ship is landed at a Gateway, the Hunter Gunship's interface displays Samus's current Energy, Sub-Weapons, and location, and various buttons can be used to save the game, access the Logbook, select a Sub-Weapon, adjust Options, exit the ship, or launch the ship back into space. The ship can collect information about its surrounding area and communicate with Samus remotely, as demonstrated when it detects Kanden's Ship in the Celestial Archives and later when it notifies her about events relating to the Alimbic Prophecy in the Oubliette.
Chronologically, the Hunter Gunship is not seen again after Hunters. It is unknown if the more iconic Gunship from Echoes and the 2D games is related to this ship; it is possible since the ship's size, basic structure, and entrance point are the same, though the thrusters have been replaced with three antigravity landing pods.
In other media[]
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.
Metroid Prime Pinball[]
In Pinball, Samus's Gunship takes its appearance from Prime and Hunters, since the game is based on the former. It can be seen in the background of the Pirate Frigate stage, and it can trigger Gunship Multiball on Tallon Overworld. During Gunship Multiball, the front of the ship opens and releases three balls. The ship is never seen opening like this in Prime or Hunters.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
The Starship is available as a Sticker, using its render from Hunters. It can be applied to any fighter to increase Launch Power in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Official data[]
Official Metroid Prime website[]
Metroid Prime website
| Vessel Classification | Hunter-class gunship |
| Weight | 136 tons |
| Crew | 1 |
| Dimensions | 9.144 meters by 6.096 meters by 2.4384 meters |
| Drive type | Relativistic: 44 MHz |
| Power source | Field-exclusion Gluino |
| Maximum velocity | Relativistic: 7.2 x 10 C |
"Registered to Samus Aran, the Gunship is equipped with twin Power Beam turrets and a retractable rear-mounted Plasma Beam cannon. The versatile cockpit is used for navigation, regeneration and record retention. This ship survived Samus Aran's mission on Planet Zebes and is the only space-faring vessel ever registered under the bounty hunter's name.
The principle use of this Hunter-Class Gunship is rapid transport. Dual engines serve this purpose with great efficiency. If battle becomes unavoidable, the ship is outfitted with enough firepower to survive firefights against bigger and more numerous foes. Once the destination is reached, the ship serves as an excellent base camp for ground-based ops."
Logbook entries[]
Gunship
Hunter-class gunship registered to Samus Aran.
You can return to your ship to recharge energy, reload weapons and save progress in the game.
Hunter Gunship
HUNTER-CLASS GUNSHIP registered to SAMUS ARAN. Return to this ship to save your progress and to recover your energy.
Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- [A BRAVE NEW WORLD] (pg. 30)
- "Save the game by entering Samus's spaceship, then set out for the door directly in front of you. Samus's ship is the only save point that restores energy, Missiles and bombs - once you've acquired them."
Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide[]
- NOTE (pg. 18)
- "Your ship stays here as you go off on your adventure. Along your adventures, you can return to your ship to save your game and replenish your Energy and weapons."
Metroid Prime Hunters: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- SAMUS'S HOME AWAY FROM HOME (pg. 16)
- "Return to your hunter gunship as often as possible. From it you can save your progress, change control options, set course to a distant planet, and review everything you've learned with your Scan Visor. Best of all, your Energy Tanks, missile stocks, and UA reserves will be completely refilled every time you stop in."
- Set a New Course
- "Whenever you launch your ship, the touch screen will show a planetary chart of the cluster. Use your stylus to drag the green boxes inside the chart so that they intersect with your chosen destination."
- View Logbook
- "In the logbook, all your Scan Visor data is compiled alphabetically by category. Collect 100% in each category to unlock a special icon on your hunter's license. The full list is on page 128."
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Sticker[]
Starship (Metroid Prime Hunters)
Launch Power + 22 | Usable by: All
Metroid Prime Trilogy manual[]
- Gunship
- "The Gunship is Samus's vehicle. In addition to being able to save your progress, you can also restore energy, missiles and Power Bombs here."
Metroid Prime Hunters manual[]
- Inside the Gunship
- "When you visit a space station or planet you have already been to, or when Samus goes back inside her ship, this screen will appear. Inside the Gunship, your energy and ammo will automatically be replenished."
- Current Status
- "This screen displays your current number of Energy Tanks, Sub-weapon selection, and current location."
- Gunship Screen Menu
- "WEAPON SELECT - View all currently available Sub-weapons.
OPTIONS - Change the game's control scheme.
SAVE GAME - Save your game progress.
LOGBOOK - View previous Logbook entries.
EXIT SHIP - Exit the Gunship and resume exploration.
LAUNCH SHIP - Stop exploring and return to the Tetra Galaxy Scan screen." - Saving Data
- "Select SAVE GAME on the Gunship screen to save your Adventure Mode game progress. Your Options settings will be saved at the same time."
Development notes[]
Animations from Dargie demonstrating the guns he created.
In Metroid Prime, the Gunship was designed, modeled and textured by James H. Dargie[9] and later re-skinned by Gene Kohler. Nintendo gave him carte blanche to design it, and he took inspiration from Samus's classic Gunship (as seen in Return of Samus and Super Metroid) and the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. He added guns to the underside of the ship as an homage to the Falcon, although they cannot be seen in-game.[10] Dargie personally refers to the Gunship by the name Thrush Eterna and compares it to a "little immortal bird".[11] According to Dargie, this name was used in the top internal directory of Prime as a filename for the ship, although no trace of the name appears in the files of the released game.[10]
Pre-release versions of Metroid Prime referred to Samus's craft as the Stealth Strike Corvette.
In an interview with Nintendo Power (in issue #202), Richard Vorodi said that segments where Samus would fly her Gunship were considered for Hunters, but cut due to pacing issues.[12] Space combat with the ship was not planned for inclusion, however.[13]
Trivia[]
- The ability to use Samus's Gunship to fly from planet to planet was first used in Metroid Prime Hunters. A similar system was later used in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, in which the Gunship could be used to fly and land in different areas of the same planet.
- In Metroid Prime Hunters, the Hunter Gunship has its own leitmotif, with four different variations that play depending on its current landing site. The variation that plays in the Oubliette is the same as the one for Arcterra. These tracks are not included in the Music Test.
Gallery[]
_Top-View.png "Prime Gunship Thermal (Tallon Overworld) Top-View.png (1.36 MB)")
_Bottom-View.png "Prime Gunship Thermal (Tallon Overworld) Bottom-View.png (1.28 MB)")
.png "Samus Gunship Ending Prime Remastered (Cropped).png (1.33 MB)")
References[]
- ^ Metroid Prime Logbook
- ^ Metroid Prime Pinball manual
- ^ Metroid Prime Hunters manual
- ^ Metroid Prime Trilogy manual
- ^ Metroid Prime website
- ^ a b Metroid Prime Hunters Logbook
- ^ Super Smash Bros. Brawl Sticker
- ^ Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- ^ http://www.n-sider.com/personnelview.php?personnelid=1433 (dead link)
- ^ a b DidYouKnowGaming? "Metroid Prime Devs Share Secrets (EXCLUSIVE)". YouTube. April 17, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Thrush Eterna | METROID
- ^ File:Nintendo Power Issue 202 (April 2006) 0052.jpg
- ^ Kiwi Talkz. #122 - Richard Vorodi Interview (Metroid Prime Hunters, Game Design, Lore, Darksiders III etc.). YouTube. January 29, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. (starts at 23:57)
_0052.jpg){kind=link}
| Features of Samus's Gunship | |
|---|---|
| Personal | Adam's helmet • Chozo biotech computer • Chozo language • Data records • Logbook • Mii Bobblehead • Samus Screen • Ship Bumper Stickers • In the Cockpit • Music player |
| Armaments | Plasma Beam • Power Beam • Ship Grapple Beam • Ship Missile Launcher • Gunship Multiball • Bunker-Busting Annihilator • Gunship |
| Mission features | Auto-repair function • Biohazard scanner • Blast Shield • Bombing Run • Command Visor • Commander Adam Malkovich • Cryostasis • Escape Pod Heads-Up Display • Helm controls • Landing Gear Legs • Microfactories Missile Station • Recharge Station • Save Station • Tetra Galaxy Scan Screen • Transmission console • B-Unit |
| Cargo | Theronian Bomb (1st piece • 2nd piece • 3rd piece) • Colossal War Golem |
| Passengers | Baby • Anthony Higgs • Dr. Madeline Bergman • Commander Adam Malkovich (computerized) • Dachoras • Etecoons |