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Wikitroid
This article is written from the Real Life point of view Globe


Chozoletters
"Chozo script translated."

This article's name is an unofficial translation from official Japanese media and may not represent the canonical English name, if one exists.
An alternate name from an official source may be required.

I'm always trying to include at least one musical piece from the previous title to satisfy old Metroid fans. It's like a present for them. For example, the music we used by following this theory is the jingle when Samus appears on the screen, and the music we prepared as the present for Metroid fans are the pieces for the lava caves in Metroid Prime and underwater music for Metroid Prime 2.

Kenji Yamamoto[1]

Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare (サムス アラン登場ファンファーレ?),[2] also known as Samus Appears,[3][4] is a short jingle that plays every time Samus Aran starts the game or respawns from her Gunship or a Save Station. It appears in nearly all Metroid games virtually unchanged. It was originally composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.

Description[]

Metroid[]

Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare is heard for the first time as Samus appears in Corridor No. 1 in the original Metroid. It is heard again whenever continuing from a password or death.

The Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game had a more complex version of the jingle than the Family Computer Disk System version. The FDS version is closer to the fanfare heard in subsequent games. The NES version can be heard here: [1] The FDS version can be heard here: [2]

The FDS version is included on the Super Metroid: Sound in Action CD as the beginning of Appearance Fanfare~Brinstar, and on the Game Sound Museum ~ Famicom Edition ~ 12 Metroid CD as Samus Appearance Jingle (サムス登場ジングル?). This version is also heard in Super Mario Maker whenever Mario transforms into Samus via Mystery Mushroom. This is also included as the last track on the Samus Archives Sound Selection CD.

Kid Icarus / Metroid Original Soundtrack Orchestra Version[]

This version, remixed by Hip Tanaka, is called Start Sound (スタート音?) and is part of a medley that includes the Brinstar and Escape themes. It can be heard here: [3]

Super Metroid[]

In Super Metroid, the fanfare has a darker vibe. It can be heard here: [4]

It is also heard in the Metroid Costume Trailer for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Melee[]

The fanfare is heard twice partway through Brinstar (Melee), brightly performed on synth strings. The second instance incorporates harmonic note patterns of the Brinstar theme. This remix returns in all subsequent games in the Super Smash Bros. series.

In Smashing... Live!, the fanfare is heard twice halfway through Depth of Brinstar, as part of the orchestration of Brinstar (Melee).

Metroid Fusion[]

This version is titled Appearance Jingle (登場ジングル?) in the Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks. In comparison to other versions of the fanfare, this Appearance Jingle uses very plain-sounding MIDI instrument samples, sounding deeper and more electronic to evoke the artificial space station environment of the game. It can be heard here: [5]

Metroid Prime[]

Metroid Prime introduces two variations of Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare.

The first version is titled Samus Appears Jingle (レコード・オブ・サムス?) in the Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks. It is a bright and triumphant, yet soft and soothing, rendition of the fanfare performed by strings and choir. In Metroid Prime, it plays after the Prologue theme when Samus first lands on the Frigate Orpheon. It can be heard here: [6]

The Samus Appears Jingle returns in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime Hunters, and Metroid: Samus Returns. In Echoes, it plays at the beginning of multiplayer matches as the stage is loading. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the theme only plays when Samus lands her Gunship at a Landing Site, and does not play when starting a game or respawning unlike in Prime or Echoes. In Samus Returns, it plays when Samus first lands on SR388, as part of the file internally named Movie Ship Landing. In AR Games, the Prime variation of the theme plays when Samus's AR Card is scanned.

The second version is not included in the Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks. It sounds more synthesized than the Samus Appears Jingle, with additional electronic effects sprinkled throughout. This version plays when the save file is resumed, as Samus is stepping out of the Save Station. It can be heard here: [7]

The fanfare heard in Metroid Prime Pinball sounds very similar to the second version of the Metroid Prime fanfare, although the addition of sound effects and narration makes it difficult to determine if there are any significant differences: [8]

Samus Returns has another variant of this remix, titled Matad Jintojo in the internal files; this filename is presumably derived from the words "Matadora", referencing the game's development codename Project Matadora; "jingle"; and "tōjō" (登場?), the Japanese word for "appearance". This version sounds similar to the second Metroid Prime version, but with slightly different electronic effects; it is likewise used for resuming a save file at a Save Station. Matad Jintojo is included in the Metroid: Samus Returns Nintendo 3DS Theme, heard when the Nintendo 3DS is started up or brought out of Sleep Mode. It can be heard here: [9]

After the release of Metroid Prime Remastered, Nintendo of Europe tweeted the Appearance Fanfare.[5]

Metroid: Zero Mission[]

In this remake of the original game, Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare sounds more similar to the FDS version, although the bright harmonies of the NES version can be heard quietly in the background. It can be heard here: [10]

This version is also heard in Super Mario Maker whenever Mario transforms into Zero Suit Samus via a Mystery Mushroom.

Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt[]

Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt features two versions of Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare for single-player and multiplayer modes, respectively.

The single-player version is more faithful to the original jingle, albeit using the tense-sounding soundfont of First Hunt. It can be heard here: [11]

The multiplayer version primarily features choir, placing greater emphasis on chords that make this fanfare sound more melodically unique. It can be heard here: [12] The composer, Lawrence Schwedler had used the jingle in the introduction of First Hunt, not knowing it had a specific purpose for Samus arriving on a planet, and was corrected.[6]

Metroid: Other M[]

Metroid: Other M features a somber version of the theme, recorded by a live orchestra. It plays at the end of the cutscene where Commander Adam Malkovich assigns orders to Samus and the 07th Platoon. It can be heard here: [13]

The Greatest Video Game Music 2[]

The theme is heard a few times in Super Metroid: A Symphonic Poem, an orchestral medley of Super Metroid themes. This version is quiet, beautiful, and serene, with a soft choir accompaniment by the Crouch End Festival Chorus.

Nintendo Land[]

The soundtrack of Nintendo Land features multiple versions of Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare, arranged by Ryo Nagamatsu.

When Mii players approach the gate of the Metroid Blast attraction, a proud orchestral version of the fanfare greets them. It can be heard here: [14]

At the start of each Assault Mission, Surface-Air Combat, or Ground Battle match, a woodwinds rendition of the fanfare plays over militaristic drumming. It can be heard here: [15]

In Assault Mission, missions "1. First Contact" and "29. On Familiar Ground" are scored by a brass rendition of the fanfare, followed by more militaristic drumming. When Miis are actively fighting enemies, more percussion instruments are added to the drumming. This theme is exclusive to Assault Mission, since it plays on the tutorial map that is not an available stage in the versus modes. The non-combat version can be heard here: [16] The combat version can be heard here: [17]

As the theme of the Space Port stage, the same brass fanfare from missions 1 and 29 can be heard before segueing into Brinstar (Metroid). This is comparable to Appearance Fanfare~Brinstar from Sound in Action. It can be heard here: [18]

During a Mission Failure in Assault Mission, Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare begins tense and ends on a darker, solemn chord. It can be heard here: [19]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[]

In addition to the returning remix from Brinstar (Melee), a determined-sounding version of the fanfare is heard at the beginning of the Title (Metroid) remix.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force[]

Along with Space Pirates, Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare is one of the few returning Metroid themes heard in Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Multiple versions of the fanfare are used, serving as the leitmotif of Samus in this game.

Variations on a particular arrangement are heard whenever the Federation Force is rescued by Samus Aran. The M12: Last Stand version can be heard here: [20] The version for the first rescue in M22: Convergence (while escaping the Doomseye) can be heard here: [21] The version for the second rescue in M22 (after the Doomseye is destroyed) can be heard here: [22] A particularly triumphant version of this arrangement is heard at the ending of the credits medley: [23]

M22 also features additional versions of Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare. The first variation is dark and sinister, heard just before the boss battle against the brainwashed Samus Aran. It can be heard here: [24]

The second M22 variation is mournful and depressing, heard after Samus is defeated. It can be heard here: [25]

Metroid Dread[]

In Metroid Dread, Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare is only heard when loading a save file. This rendition is titled Jingle Tojo[7] and is similar to the version from Metroid Fusion, albeit with higher fidelity synth instruments. It can be heard here: [26]

Trivia[]

  • The only full Metroid game that does not include Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare is Metroid II: Return of Samus, which instead uses part of that game's Title theme when starting or loading a save file. It also does not appear in Metroid Prime: Blast Ball, although this release is only a demo.

References[]

  1. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090228072301/http:/www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=174
  2. ^ Super Metroid: Sound in Action
  3. ^ Samus Archives Sound Selection
  4. ^ Metroid Prime Remastered Soundtrack Gallery
  5. ^ Nintendo of Europe (NintendoEurope). "Suiting up for a new week. #MetroidPrimeRemastered" 13 February 2023 4:14 am. Tweet. https://twitter.com/NintendoEurope/status/1625060774891737090
  6. ^ Kiwi Talkz. "#118 - Lawrence Schwedler Interview (Metroid Prime Hunters, Digipen, Sound Design, Music Design etc)". YouTube. January 1, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022. (starts at 24:47)
  7. ^ The song's filename in the internal data of Dread is "s_jingle_tojo".


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