Missiles (ミサイル Misairu), also known as rockets[1], have appeared in every single game to date in the Metroid series. They are a more powerful weapon than the normal uncharged Beam, dealing 4-5 times as much damage depending on the game, and are useful in destroying Brinstone walls, Zebetites, and Missile Blocks.
Missiles are usually first acquired upon finding a Missile Tank or Missile Launcher; however, in Metroid II: Return of Samus, Metroid: Samus Returns, Metroid: Other M, and Metroid Dread, Samus starts off her missions with 30, 24, 10, and 15 of them, respectively. In Metroid Fusion, they are instead "downloaded" through a Data Room. In most of the Prime games, she loses her Missiles near the beginning but reacquires them later on. Finding a Missile Tank will increase Samus's missile supply.
Missile technology is created by many sentient species in different planets across the galaxy. Despite the weapon's various origins, they are all easily compatible with Samus Aran's highly modular Power Suit.
2D Metroid series[]
The 2D side-scrolling Metroid titles feature rapid-firing missiles. In their usual form, the Missiles have a rocket shape with gray colouring and pink stripes. The total number of missiles Samus can acquire varies from game to game.
Super Missiles are a more potent form of missile capable of opening Green Doors and clearing away Cordite. In most 2D Metroid games, Super Missiles have their own separate ammo reserve. In Metroid Fusion the Super Missile only makes normal Missiles three times stronger with a more effective propulsion system, and can damage more hardy beings that the standard Missile could not, and simply creates a larger explosion upon impact followed by an aftershock.
In Fusion, it is heavily implied that Missiles are not closely integrated to Samus's body in comparison to her Beam weapons; this is apparent when the cold attributes of the Ice Beam are initially incompatible with Samus's new genetic make-up, while her Ice Missiles, outfitted with subzero properties, seem to have no repercussions against her. Missiles are 5 times more powerful than standard Power Beam shots.
In Dread, normal, Super and Storm Missiles each have their own form factor. This is best seen when shooting them against a spinning fan.[2] The head of each type of Missile is also visible when the Missile Launcher is activated, and the Arm Cannon's Missile-firing configuration changes when Samus has the Omega Cannon.[3]
The amount of Missiles that can be on-screen at a time varies between titles. In both Metroid and Metroid II, only one missile can be present at a time, most likely due to hardware limitations. In Fusion, only two Missiles can be active on-screen at a time. In Zero Mission, this is increased to up to four Missiles at a time at once. The maximum in Super Metroid is currently unknown as the most that can be shot on-screen at one time by Samus is four before one missile leaves the screen, due to a Missile's acceleration speed.
Metroid Prime series[]
In the Metroid Prime series, Samus must first obtain the Missile Launcher, which automatically provides a capacity of up to five missiles. Metroid Prime Hunters is an exception to this: there, she has the Missile Launcher from the start, but must gain Missile Ammo from a Petrasyl in the Meditation Room before she can use it. Missile Expansions increase the maximum missile capacity by five, or ten in Hunters. Expansions in Hunters will also fully restore her supply.
There are several uses for missiles in the Prime series, and they can be combined with other weapons for special attacks known as Charge Combos, though this feature was removed in Hunters and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Missiles in the first two Prime games were blue, and appeared to be energy-based. Corruption differed from the other depictions and seemingly returned to the roots of the franchise by making missiles more similar to the original designs. This difference could be explained with different origins of missiles; energetic missiles may be Chozo technology while material missiles are Federation technology.
Missiles in the Prime series have a slower rate of fire than the 2-D games, but offset this by having a small area-of-effect and a homing ability, although they can still miss agile targets. Some enemies can also have a jamming effect on homing missiles, causing them to become erratic and miss their target. A few Space Pirates in Corruption are equipped with specially sloped battle armor that simply deflect missile attacks, making missiles useless against them. However, once their armor is broken, they are vulnerable to missiles.
In Metroid Prime, up to three missiles can be on-screen at a time. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (including Multiplayer), up to six missiles can be on-screen at a time. Missiles here inflict 15-20 damage, depending on the enemy.
In Metroid Prime Hunters, missiles are used as weapons by the six bounty hunters (at least in Multiplayer Mode) and certain Guardians in addition to Samus. Missiles can be charged to deal more damage, but the blast radius can also hurt the user. The Missile Launcher is Samus's Affinity Weapon; other hunters' missiles lack a homing effect. The missile does around 36 damage if uncharged.
The Missile Troopers and Dark Missile Trooper in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes are also known to use this weapon.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force[]
in Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Missiles are equippable by Federation Force. They have seeking properties similar to Samus' Seeker Missile. The Force can equip MODs to enhance their Missiles, though only one copy of a MOD can be equipped at a time. The first MOD, Payload Density, comes in three levels and increases the amount of damage to enemies from Missiles by 20, 30 or 50%. With Split Warhead equipped, Missiles will split in two when fired, causing even more damage to enemy targets.
- "An explosive projectile that seeks to its target when fired."
- Payload Density
- "Increase damage of missiles by 30%."
- Split Warhead
- "Missiles split in two when fired."
Metroid: Other M[]
In Metroid: Other M, missiles play a more unique role. They are more often used to damage/eliminate things that other weapons cannot (mostly the Charge Beam). All missile types can only be fired in Search View, however.
Other M is the first Metroid game to introduce a missile supply that can be reloaded and replenished if Samus is low on missiles by holding the Wii Remote vertically, and pressing and holding the A button until her stock is replenished. This technique is known as Concentration, and can also be used to restore energy at dangerously low levels.
Methods of acquisition[]
- Metroid/Metroid: Zero Mission - Found in Corridor No. 5 in Brinstar. In Zero Mission, the Missiles must be collected before the Charge Beam Beast challenges Samus in the same room.
- Metroid Prime - Samus has Missiles at the beginning of the game, but they are lost when her suit is damaged by an explosion on the Frigate Orpheon. It is reacquired in Hive Totem after the Hive Mecha is defeated.
- Metroid Prime Hunters - Samus begins the game with the Missile Launcher. It is empty, however, and Missiles are first acquired from a defeated Petrasyl in the Meditation Room of the Celestial Archives. No other game in the series starts out in this manner.
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - Samus loses the Missile Launcher after being attacked in an alternate dimension whilst on a mission to recover lost Federation troops on planet Aether. She recovers them shortly after locating the Federation's ship, the G.F.S. Tyr, where a Missile Launcher is in storage in a Galactic Federation Ordnance Crate.
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Samus finds a Munitions Storage containing Missiles on the G.F.S. Olympus.
- Metroid II: Return of Samus/Metroid: Samus Returns - Samus begins the game with Missiles.
- Super Metroid - Samus finds the Missiles once again in Brinstar, but in a different room close to the original location of Kraid's Lair.
- Metroid: Other M - Samus has the Missiles, and uses one unauthorized to open a door. During the fight with the Brug Mass, Adam permanently gives her Authorization to use them once again.
- Metroid Fusion - Samus downloads support data for a Missile Launcher on the Operations Deck.
- Metroid Dread - Samus begins the game with Missiles.
Types of Missiles[]
- Normal Missile- The basic missile Samus gets at the beginning of the game or finds later in the game. Normally does more damage than a regular uncharged Beam shot. Has rapid fire capability in the 2D Metroid games.
- Super Missile- A stronger version of the missile, sometimes a power-up to regular Missiles or a separate power-up portrayed as a silver projectile with an enlarged green warhead. It appears in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes as the Beam Combo for the Power Beam. Metroid: Other M fires the Super Missiles in a similar way to the Beam Combo.
- Seeker Missile- Yet another missile-based upgrade that only appears in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid: Other M. This allows the ability to lock on to up to 5 different targets then simultaneously fire a missile at each (in the case with Other M, one of the five Missiles is actually a Super Missile). In Echoes and Corruption, a single enemy or more may be locked on to multiple times to expose a weakness or to just do more damage.
- Storm Missile- A Missile upgrade in Metroid Dread similar to the Seeker Missile upgrade in that it can lock on to a maximum of five targets at once; however, three micro-missiles are fired at high speed at each individual target instead of one standard Missile, allowing it to inflict far higher damage than its counterpart at the expense of using up three standard missiles for each target locked on. It is also able to damage enemies that are shielded by electric fields.
- Ice Missile- A Metroid Prime 3: Corruption feature is the Ice Missile upgrade (obtained by defeating Rundas) which turns all normal Missiles into Ice Missiles. Ice Missiles have no negative characteristics or disadvantages over normal missiles and have the added abilities to slow down or freeze enemies, freeze liquids in the environment, and open doors protected by shields vulnerable to cold-based weaponry. Ice Missiles also appear in Metroid Fusion, as the Ice Beam was assumed incompatible with Samus' Metroid-infused cellular makeup at the time and therefore could not be downloaded from the Galactic Federation. Ice Missiles appear in Metroid Dread as well, as Samus retains the Metroids' weakness to cold during her mission to ZDR.
- Homing Missile- Not a true upgrade, but a feature of the Missiles in 3-D games. These seek enemies.
- Diffusion Missile- Only appearance thus far is during the events of Metroid Fusion. This upgrade adds a charging effect to the Ice Missiles; when fully charged, a successful hit will diffuse its freezing effect across a large area, chilling anything in the blast radius.
- Hyper Missile- This is a powerful attack that appears in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption; it uses one standard missile, but can only be used in Hypermode. It puts a large drain on Phazon reserves (equally draining the Hypermode time limit), but creates a very large explosion that can defeat many enemies (and those nearby) in only one hit.
- Charge Combos- In Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, charging a beam and activating a missile will activate a Charge Combo, if that particular beam's Charge Combo has been added to the suit. There have been 7 different types of these (over the course of two games).
Super Smash Bros. series[]
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.
The Missile is Samus Aran's Side Special Attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. It is similar to the 2D appearance and function, but homes in on enemies like in the later Prime games. However, unlike all of its appearances in Metroid games, it moves very slowly and will decelerate until it stops and explodes after traveling for a set amount of time.
By flicking the joystick before pressing B, Samus will fire a Super Missile rather than a normal one; Super Missiles inflict slightly more damage than normal Missiles but lack a homing ability. When fired, it will initially move even slower than a normal Missile, but rapidly accelerates until it is much faster than a normal Missile. Instead of slowing down at the end of its flight, it travels at full speed until it reaches its maximum range, at which point it will immediately explode.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the Missile can be customized. Its two variants are Relentless and Turbo Missile.
Dark Samus, as Samus's Echo Fighter, uses Missiles in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as well. Her Missiles are fired at a lower height, which means she can hit smaller targets (such as Pichu when it crouches) that Samus's Missiles could not.
An Ultimate update on January 29, 2019 extended the range of Samus's Missiles and reduced her vulnerability when she fires one in midair.
Game list[]
Game | Maximum Missiles |
---|---|
Metroid | 255 |
Metroid: Zero Mission | 250 (100 on Hard Mode) |
Metroid Prime | 250 |
Metroid Prime Hunters | 95 |
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | 255 |
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | 255 |
Metroid II: Return of Samus | 250 |
Metroid: Samus Returns | 264 (314 including Missile Reserve Tank) |
Super Metroid | 230 |
Metroid: Other M | 80 |
Metroid Fusion | 250 (106 on Hard Mode) |
Metroid Dread | 275 (285 including amiibo, 290 on Rookie Mode, 300 on Rookie Mode including amiibo) |
Official data[]
Victory Techniques for Metroid
"When you collect one, you will receive five Missiles. You can defeat any enemies that show up with one Missile."
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- MISSILE
- "When you take one, the number increases by five. You can have up to 255 Missiles."
Nintendo Power Volume 29
- MISSILES
- "Missiles are used to blast red doors and certain enemies, including the Metroids themselves. Each Missile canister adds five missiles out of 255 possible."
Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide
- MISSILE
- "Samus can carry a maximum of 230 Missiles. They have limited power but work extremely well in certain situations."
Super Metroid Players' Guide (Terminals, page 8)
"These are necessary for opening certain doors and give you a better chance against the powerful guardians. You'll be able to carry five missiles for each missile icon you collect. To use missiles, highlight the icon screen top with SELECT and press [X] to fire. Location: Crateria, Brinstar, Norfair, Wrecked ship, Maridia."
Super Metroid GamePro Strategy Guide
- Missile
- "An excellent and plentiful projectile weapon."
Metroid Fusion manual
- NORMAL
- "These are the standard Missiles Samus downloads early in the game."
Metroid Fusion website
"The ability to fire Missiles is crucial throughout the exploration of the space station. However, with a limited supply, Missiles must be used carefully."
Metroid Fusion in-game acquisition message
"Missile data downloaded.
Hold [R] and press [B]."
Metroid Fusion: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- MISSILE
- "The first of Samus's abilities that you will recover while exploring the research station is the power to fire Missiles. Press and hold the R Button to ready the Missile launcher, then press A to fire. Your Missile-holding capacity will increase by five every time you collect a Missile Tank. Collect green X organisms to replenish your supply.
Unlike Beam power, your Missile supply is limited. Collect and conserve Missiles if you're running low.
Most bosses have large X parasites at their core. The only way to damage the creatures is with loads of Missiles.
Location - Main Deck"
Official Metroid Prime website
Weapon effect: Devastating potential
- Weapon range: 3–10 m
- Weapon potential: Lethal
- "Chozo technology. The Missile Launcher adds ballistic weapon capabilities to Samus Aran's standard Arm Cannon. Its ammunition is limited. Charge Combo enhancements scattered throughout Tallon IV allow the Missile Launcher to be used in tandem with the Charge Beam, creating devastating effects."
Metroid Prime scans
- Hive Totem
- "It appears this item can only be reached by using the elevated bridge."
- Gravity Chamber
- "This item rests on a ledge that appears to be too high to access by jumping."
- Metroid Prime series Inventory data
Missile
Metroid Prime
The Missile Launcher adds ballistic weapon capability to the Arm Cannon.
Press / to fire the Missile Launcher. Press / to return to Beam mode. Target and lock on with / to fire a Homing Missile*.
Missiles fired with a lock-on will seek their targets.
Missiles can destroy objects made from Radion or Brinstone.
There are Charge Combo enhancements scattered throughout the environment. They use the Missile Launcher and the Charge Beam in tandem to fire more effective blasts.
Each Missile Expansion you find will increase the number of Missiles you can carry by 5.
* The Homing Missile sentence is used in Corruption.
Metroid Prime manual
- MISSILES & MISSILE COMBOS
- "Once Samus arms herself with Missiles, fire them by pressing the Y Button. Keep an eye out for Missile Expansions: for every one of these Samus finds, her Missile arsenal will grow by five. Missiles will home in on whatever Samus locks on, and they can also be used to blow up hatch locks and destroy specific types of impediments. To replenish Samus’s Missiles, collect Missile capsules from fallen enemies and crates."
Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
Metroid Prime
- Missiles
- "The Missile Launcher is the first weapon upgrade you find. You can fire missiles by pressing [Y]. Their concussive blasts are very powerful against most enemies, and they can home in on targeted enemies. Your Missile Launcher has limited ammunition, but you can refill your supply by collecting power-ups dropped by defeated enemies. At first you are able to hold only five missiles at a time, but over time you'll be able to increase your maximum capacity by collecting the Missile Expansions hidden around the world. Each Missile Expansion increases your maximum capacity by five. Missiles can be used to destroy Radion and Brinstone structures."
Metroid Fusion
- Missile
- Location - Main Deck
- Acquired By - Data download
- Controls - Hold [R] and tap [B]
- "Stronger than a normal beam (Samus's default weapon), a missile shot is recommended for targeting the larger enemies early in the game. Unlike the beam, which has an endless supply of energy, Samus packs a limited number of missiles. You can increase this capacity by finding Missile Tank power-ups. Missiles of any kind can destroy all Missile Blocks."
Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- MISSILE LAUNCHER
- "Your very first upgrade is the Missile Launcher, which--as the name suggests--allows you to fire Missiles. Lock on to an enemy with the L Button then fire a Missile with the Y Button. The only way to dispatch certain foes and open certain doors is by using Missiles."
Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide
- MISSILE LAUNCHER
- "The Missile Launcher adds ballistic concussive weapons capabilities to the Arm Cannon. Missiles fired with a lock-on seek their target very effectively. These babies can destroy objects made from Radion or Brinstone. There are Charge Combo enhancements scattered throughout the environment. They use the Missile Launcher and the Charge Beam Upgrade to work in tandem to fire more effective blasts. Each Missile Expansion found increases the number of Missiles you can carry by five."
Metroid Prime Official Perfect Guide
- Beams and Missiles
- "In addition to firing Beams, your Arm Cannon can also fire Missiles. Missiles are more powerful than the Power Beam, but their true efficacy can only be assessed on a case-by-case basis; for instance, against certain enemies a charged Power Beam might exact more damage. (Whenever this is the case in the game, we'll call your attention to the fact in the corresponding area of our Walkthrough.) Press Y to fire a Missile--but note how with each Missile blast the Missile reserve displayed on the right side of the Visor becomes diminished by 1. It takes discovering the Missile Launcher (whose location is revealed in Chapter 2) to acquire the ability to blast Missiles in the first place (excepting the opening portion of the game, in which you navigate the Space Pirate Vessel with a reasonably equipped inventory), and it takes discovering Missile Expansions throughout the course of the game to increase your total Missile supply by 5 (for every Expansion found). The maximum number of Missiles that you can hold is 250. Replenish Missiles by finding the Missile Ammunition left over by defeated enemies or inside of crates. You'll want to make use of your Missile supply to destroy obstinate enemies more quickly, and to open up the red-and-gray Missile Doors that no other Beam will affect. Blasting open a Missile Door will permanently "regress" a door to the standard "blue" form, allowing it to be opened up by the regular Power Beam forever after."
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- Missile Systems
- "Missile are long-range weapons that pack a medium amount of force. By the end of the game you'll own a ton of them, so you'll want to master them."
- Missile Launcher
- "Missiles are almost useless unless you lock on to the target and home in. Once you achieve lock, press the Y Button to let a missile fly. You can fire multiple missiles in a short span of time, but your accuracy will usually suffer--especially if you're jumping around. You can also use missiles to open red doors and blast through some materials."
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Premiere Edition
- Missile Launcher
- "This Missile Launcher adds ballistic weapon capability to the Arm Cannon. Press [Control Pad (Down)] to fire the Missile Launcher. Target and lock on with [Z] to fire a homing missile. Missiles can destroy objects made of Brinstone. Each Missile Expansion you find will increase the number of missiles you can carry by five."
Metroid Prime Trilogy: Prima Official Game Guide
- Missile Launcher
- "With the Missile Launcher upgrade, Samus can fire missiles from her Arm Cannon to devastate hardened targets. Instead of using [+] to select the Missile Launcher, simply press [Control Pad (Down)] to launch a missile straight away. Missiles have many uses: Fire them to batter tough foes, open special doors, and blast apart objects to reveal hidden passages and items.
NOTE: Samus carries a limited number of missiles, so don't waste them. Defeat enemies and destroy objects such as crates to acquire missile pick-ups that replenish her reserves. Also seek out Missile Expansions that increase her overall carrying capacity."
Metroid EX: Samus & Joey Chapter 1
"Has the ability to create a Missile by gathering chemicals and elements from the area surrounding the user."
Metroid: Zero Mission manual
- Normal
- "This is the most basic form of a Missile."
Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- Missile Tank
- "More powerful than your beam and able to unlock red hatches, standard missiles are a great addition to your arsenal. In Easy- and Normal-difficulty games, a Missile Tank increases your carrying capacity by five missiles. In Hard difficulty, it adds two missiles."
Metroid: Zero Mission Samus Screen data
"Press R+B to fire. Opens red hatches."
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes manual
- MISSILES
- "Press the Y Button to fire Samus's Missiles, which home in on targets and can blast open red hatches and Brinstone impediments. Missile Expansions are scattered all over, and each one will up Samus's capacity by five. Every beam weapon has a charge combo that can be used with Missiles to fire powerful blasts that do various things and open certain hatches. Samus must first find these combos before she can use them. Once she has, select the appropriate beam, charge fully by holding down the A Button, then press the Y Button to fire the blast."
Metroid Prime Trilogy manual
Metroid Prime
- Missile Launcher
- "If you press down on the +Control Pad, you can fire missiles. If you lock onto the enemy and shoot a missile, it will home in on the enemy. When you fire, your stock of missiles goes down."
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes/Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- Missile Launcher
- "Press down on the +Control Pad to fire missiles. If you lock onto the enemy and shoot a missile, it will home in on the enemy. When you fire, your stock of missiles goes down."
Metroid Prime Hunters Logbook entry
Missile
Launches explosive-tipped MISSILES that detonate in a percussive blast. This standard-issue weapon is extremely effective in dealing with biological threats. Hold the FIRE button to charge the weapon and cause the MISSILE to seek heat signatures. Charging will attract energy and ammo.
Metroid Prime Hunters manual
- Missile Icon
- "Tap here to switch your weapon to the Missile. The top number indicates remaining ammo, and the bottom number indicates maximum ammo."
- Missile
- "The Missile is more powerful than the Power Beam, and is capable of Charge Attacks. Samus's Missiles have homing capability; its Charge Attack enhances the homing feature."
- Samus Aran
- Weapon - Missile
- "The Missile can track enemy movements. The charge attack increases the Missile's effectiveness."
Metroid: Other M onscreen tutorial
"NORMAL MISSILE
Press [A] and release immediately while locked on."
Metroid: Other M manual
- Normal Missile/Super Missile
- "Press and release the A Button while locked on to fire a missile. If you release the A Button when the charge gauge is fully charged, five missiles will be used and you'll shoot a powerful Super Missile."
Metroid: Other M Samus Screen data
"Controls: Press [A] while locked on."
Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition
- Normal Missile
- "Of your many weapons, the Normal Missile is the most useful. Capable of destroying many enemies with one shot, even tough enemies that may require multiple Charge Beam blasts, the Normal Missile is also handy when it comes to opening new areas, smashing item crates, and inflicting massive damage on boss enemies. The only drawback to firing a missile (of any kind) is that you must do it in Search View mode, which leaves you vulnerable to enemy attack while you stand still."
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Tips
"Holding a direction will fire a Homing Missile, while quickly inputting a direction will fire a Super Missile!"
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Official Game Guide
"You can fire multiple homing missiles simply by holding a side direction and repeatedly hitting the Special button."
- Damage 5~10%
- "Fires a homing missile at the closest opponent. If you input the attack as a Smash attack, it fires a Super Missile. The Super Missile launches higher, travels farther, and deals more damage, but only travels horizontally. Note, you can only have one Super Missile at a time or Samus will misfire."
Metroid: Samus Returns on-screen tutorial
"While holding [R], press [Y] to fire missiles."
Metroid: Samus Returns Samus Screen data
"A standard Missile sub-weapon that fires a powerful projectile. Hold [R] and then press [Y] to fire."
Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide
- HOW TO PLAY - BASICS - COMBAT (p. 5)
- USING MISSILES
- "To fire a missile, hold R, then press the Attack button. You can also fire missiles while Free Aiming. Hold down the L and R buttons, then aim and fire!"
- THE ARMORY - EXPLOSIVE DEVICES (p. 11)
- MISSILES
- "Samus starts her mission on SR388 with a Missile Launcher and a decent-sized missile count. Missiles—along with the Ice Beam—are your primary means of damaging Metroids, but they’re also excellent for dealing with most of the planet’s other hostile types. You find a metric ton of Missile Tank Upgrades on this planet, so don’t be afraid to utilize these projectiles with reckless abandon."
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tips
- Samus
- Missile (Side Special) – "Holding a direction will fire a homing missile, while quickly inputting a direction will fire a Super Missile."
- Dark Samus
- Missile (Side Special) – "Holding a direction when you press the special-move button will fire a homing missile, and quickly inputting a direction as you press the special-move button will fire a Super Missile!"
Nintendo of America tweet
"The missile is a powerful weapon with a limited number of rounds. Like the beam attack, it can be upgraded with power-up items. The maximum number of rounds you can carry is increased by acquiring Missile Tanks scattered throughout the world."[4]
Metroid.nintendo.com
"By default, they can destroy Missile Blocks, Missile Covers, and expose hidden blocks. Upgrade to the Super Missile for more power. The Ice Missile upgrade adds a freezing effect, and the Storm Missile upgrade allows Samus to unleash a devastating multi-missile attack."
Metroid Dread Samus Screen data
Metroid Dread loading screen tip
- MISSILE
- Though ammunition is limited, Missiles are a powerful weapon. Don't hesitate to use them.
Development notes[]
There is an unused object in Metroid Prime Hunters that is labelled as "pick_wpn_missile", suggesting a Missile power up was to be obtained in a manner similar to other Metroid titles, instead of Samus starting out with the Missile weapon. Curiously, the pickup object appears to be in the shape of what looks like the Morph Ball.[5]
Various types of Missiles, including regular ones, were intended for inclusion as one of Samus's unique abilities in Metroid Tactics, a spinoff pitched by Paul Tozour.
Trivia[]
- In Metroid Prime, rapidly pressing the buttons that fire Missiles and Beam shots in an alternating manner will fire Missiles at a much faster rate than normal. This technique is called the Rapid Fire Missiles. An example of this can be seen here.
- If there are currently three Missiles on-screen and a Charge Combo is used, the Charge Combo will fire, but no bullet will produce. (Doing this does not use up any Missiles, though Samus would still need the proper amount to initally fire.)
- Similarly in both Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission, if Samus has the maximum amount of missiles on-screen at once and she "fires" a Missile, she will continue to perform the firing animation but no missile will be released. Ammo is not consumed if no Missile was released.
- It is revealed in Corruption by use of the X-Ray Visor that the reloading mechanism for the missile launcher is actually operated manually by Samus turning her hand inside the arm cannon, performing the turning motion of the open barrel seen every time Samus fires a missile. However, this action is not performed in Metroid Prime.
- In Other M, Samus pumps her Arm Cannon after each Missile, similar to a shotgun.
- In Metroid Prime, firing missiles will not activate any Blue Doors, and instead will bounce off and Samus' visor will display a message saying that it is not a weapon that can open that door. Oddly, this never occurs for the other Blue Doors of the Prime series. This error has been fixed for most, if not all Blue Doors in the Wii versions of Prime.
- Although Missiles are said to be Samus's Affinity Weapon in Hunters, several enemies seem to have versions of the Missiles and the Missile Launchers in Echoes and Corruption seem to be of Galactic Federation origin.
- In Metroid: Other M, if Samus fires a Missile at a Desbrachian, there is a possibility that it will bounce off its armor and reflect back at her, dealing light damage.
- In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Missiles, like beams, cause organic bipedal enemies such as Reptilicus and Space Pirates to disintegrate upon death. This wouldn't be possible as it's shown many times that Missiles are actual projectiles and not energy munitions. A possibility for this reason is due to the Wii's limited hardware.
- The 3DS, however, has somewhat slightly more advanced hardware than the Wii, yet this issue carried over into Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
- In Metroid Dread, deployed Missiles have their own shadow.[6]
- Missiles would have appeared alongside Samus in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. In this scrapped appearance, Samus's Ultimate move is "Missile Blast", in which she fires a missile into the sky, causing explosions to rain down upon the area. Coincidentally in the final game, Iron Man (another iron clad protagonist) uses a near identical Ultimate attack named "Air Strike".[7][8]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Super Metroid Players' Guide
- ^ Looygi Bros. "13 Cool Details in Metroid Dread (Part 5)". YouTube. December 28, 2021.
- ^ Looygi Bros. "10 Cool Details in Metroid Dread (Part 8)". YouTube. January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Nintendo of America (NintendoAmerica). 20 August 2021 2:30 p.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1428786449034457094
- ^ https://tcrf.net/Metroid_Prime_Hunters#Unused_Object_Models
- ^ Looygi Bros. "14 Cool Details in Metroid Dread (Part 4)". YouTube. December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Iron Man MUA moves list descriptions.
- ^ Iron Man ultimate move demonstration.
Missiles |
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Missile Launcher | Missile | Super Missile | Ice Missile | Diffusion Missile Charge Combo | Seeker Missile | Hyper Missile Ship Missile | Homing Missile | Storm Missile Relentless Missile | Turbo Missile | Missile Key |
Metroid Prime and Dark Samus | |
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Abilities | Metroid Prime: Particle Wave Projector • Seeker Missile • Snare Beam • Ultrafrigid Beam Dark Samus: Bomb • Boost Ball • Charge Beam • Dark Echo • Missile Launcher • Missile • Phazon bullets Phazon Suit • Screw Attack • Shrapnel Beam • Stealth field generator • Phazon Laser |
Music | VS. Metroid Prime (Spider) • Metroid Prime Battle • Dark Samus Intro • Dark Samus Appears Part 2 Darkness • Escape |
Misc. | Dark Samus Biography • Dark Samus Development Notes • Dark Samus Gallery • Dark Samus Rooms Dark Samus in Super Smash Bros. • 04ε: Dark Samus |