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Samus executing the Lethal Strike on a Ghalmanian.

Lethal Strike is a melee attack used by Samus Aran in Metroid: Other M. The Lethal Strike varies depending on the enemy; however, almost all of them involve Samus firing a charged shot at point-blank range at a downed enemy's head. Sometimes, Samus will grab the foe (usually by their tail) and violently swing them around before tossing them.

To perform a Lethal Strike, Samus needs to down an enemy. Once the enemy is downed, Samus can run over to it and execute the Lethal Strike. However, the enemy does not need to be considerably weakened; Samus can simply knock it down and use the technique.

Lethal Strike should not be confused with Overblast, where Samus jumps onto the enemy and fires a blast into its head.

The technique is one of the most efficient ways to kill some high threat-level enemies. It can also be used on certain bosses, such as Ridley, to inflict a large amount of damage or potentially kill them, depending on the situation.

Official data[]

Metroid: Other M tutorial[]

LETHAL STRIKE
Get close to a fallen enemy then press 1 and + (Control Pad) at the same time in the enemy's direction.[1]

This description was changed in the final release of the game:

"LETHAL STRIKE
Press [Control Pad] toward a downed enemy while pressing [1]. Once fully charged, you'll launch a strong attack."

Metroid: Other M Art Folio[]

Other M Combat

Samus performing the move on a Griptian.

Lethal Strike[]

"The creatures that have overrun the Bottle Ship don't go down easily, and many of them will never succumb to shots from my Arm Cannon or even Missiles. For many of these, the only solution is to weaken them to the point that I can grapple them into submission for a finishing shot. From there, it's all academic."

Metroid.com[]

Lethal Strike

"Once an enemy is downed, a well placed strike at their vulnerable spot should spell their doom. Samus can take advantage of this precise moment to obliterate her foes with ease."

Metroid: Other M manual[]

Lethal Strike
"Press the +Control Pad in the direction of a downed enemy while simultaneously pressing the 1 Button to build up a charge. When fully charged, you'll launch a powerful attack."

* + sign represents a Wii Remote D-Pad.

Official Nintendo Magazine issue 59[]

"Show enemies no mercy and finish them with a stylish strike when they're on their last legs."

List of enemies vulnerable to Lethal Strike[]

Trivia[]

  • Unlike Overblast, when Samus performs a Lethal Strike, she will usually automatically charge her cannon and fire.
  • Although it might seem like Samus performs an Overblast on Phantoon rather than a Lethal Strike, this is not the case. She must fire manually, otherwise Phantoon may eventually push her off, but the move is activated by running towards the eye and holding 1 - this is the way to activate a Lethal Strike. To perform an Overblast, Samus must actually jump on to the enemy, which she does not do in this case.
    • Phantoon is also the only instance where Lethal Strike must be fired manually.
  • The attack is misspelled as "Leathal Strike" on page 97 of Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition.
  • In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Samus uses a similar move to defeat Meta Ridley; grabbing his head and shooting directly into his mouth, although Samus fired three Power Beam shots instead.
  • In Metroid: Samus Returns and Metroid Dread, some Grab Sequence animations strongly resemble Lethal Strikes:
    • Zeta Metroids will have Samus grabbing one by the tail and slamming it onto the ground.
    • On Proteus Ridley, Samus will climb up to his head and shoot directly into his mouth.
    • On Corpius, Samus will grabs its head and then its tail to shoot directly in its face.
    • On Kraid, Samus will leap to his head to shoot directly into his mouth.
    • On Chozo Soldiers, Samus will grabs its head, slam it into the ground, and shoot a charged shot directly in its mouth.

Gallery[]

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