Surface

Artwork of SR388's Surface.

The Surface of SR388 is the starting area of Metroid II: Return of Samus and its remake, Metroid: Samus Returns.

In Nintendo Power guides for Metroid II, this area was originally known as Phase 1.

Description

This is the area where Samus Aran lands her gunship and prepares her Metroid extermination mission by defeating the first Alpha Metroid. She later returns this way after defeating all other Metroids save for a hatchling believing her to be its mother. Samus can Space Jump, Spider Ball or use a Power Bomb to get to the top of the landing site, but if she continues she will be stopped by the outer atmosphere. After returning to her Gunship, the entrance to the caverns and further areas are blocked off by debris.

In Metroid II, the area contained no items, only consisting of a Save Point, a single Larva Metroid that molts into Alpha Metroid before her eyes, and a Big Energy Ball and Missile Battery to restore Samus' ammunition after the battle with it.

In Samus Returns, the Surface has been reimagined and now houses some plants and mushrooms as well as various relics left behind by the Chozo. This is where the Morph Ball (which Samus began with in Metroid II) and Charge Beam (which did not exist in Return of Samus) are acquired, as well as the Scan Pulse Aeion ability. As Samus continues through the Surface, tutorials for using the Missiles, Free Aim and Melee Counter are displayed on-screen. The Surface replaces the Big Energy Ball and Missile Battery with an Ammo and Energy Recharge Station, and a Teleport Station is added. The Surface is also where the first Chozo Seal and Alpha Metroid are found. Prior to the Alpha battle, there is a cutscene of a Larva Metroid draining a Hornoad of its energy; when Samus encounters the larva, it molts into an Alpha before her eyes, like the encounter in the original. The Hornoad's corpse can still be found in the background after being drained.

After the Queen Metroid is defeated, Samus returns to the Surface with the baby, an Infant Metroid she decided to spare. In Metroid II, there are no enemies on the way to the Surface, and Samus leaves the planet with the baby unhindered, but in Samus Returns, there are a number of enemies in the route, and the Surface is in the middle of a major storm, with a tornado clearly visible in the background. As Samus and the baby are about to leave, they are confronted by Samus's arch-nemesis Proteus Ridley, who intends to steal the baby. Samus duels him in a grueling and difficult battle, and is nearly killed if not for the baby, which drains energy from Ridley to give to Samus during the battle. After Ridley is defeated, Samus and the baby leave SR388, leading to the events of Super Metroid.

Creatures

Return of Samus

• Hornoad
• Seerook
• Tsumuri
• Yumbo

Samus Returns

• Gigadora
• Gravitt
• Gryncore
• Gullugg
• Hornoad
• Moheek
• Rock Icicle
• Proteus Ridley (boss)

Metroids fought

Both games

• 1 Alpha Metroid (first seen as a Larva Metroid)

Items 

Samus Returns

• 8 Missile Tanks
• 1 Energy Tank
• 1 Aeion Tank
• 3 Super Missile Tanks
• 1 Power Bomb Expansion
• Morph Ball
• Charge Beam
• Scan Pulse

Connecting areas

• Area 1 (Phase 2)
• Area 8 (Phase 9)

Gallery

Samus standing next to her gunship in Phase 1

Metroid II Original.jpg

The tunnel entrance in Phase 1

A Hornoad in Phase 1

A Tsumuri in Phase 1

The Larva Metroid molting in Phase 1

The Save Station in Phase 1

A Seerook in a cavern flooded with purple liquid

Samus and the baby Metroid in Phase 1

Map of Phase 1 from Return of Samus

Ridley and Kraid exploring the Surface in The Coming of a Hero

Phase 1 on the boxart for the Super Game Boy

Phase 1 on the cover of the Super Game Boy Instruction Booklet

Phase 1 in Super Game Boy Player's Guide

Samus escorting BSL soldiers on the Surface

Phase 1 in Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M

Chozo Memories.png

The Chozo landing on the Surface

The Galactic Federation Special Squadron landing on the Surface

The Galactic Federation Special Squadron exploring the Surface

The deceased Galactic Federation Special Squadron

Samus standing atop her gunship on the Surface

Alien flora on the Surface

Crumbled Chozo architecture on the Surface

The tunnel entrance on the Surface

The Melee Counter tutorial prompt

Samus obtains the Morph Ball

MSR Gravitt.png

A Gravitt on the Surface

A Save Station on the Surface

The Chozo Seal on the Surface

Scan Pulse statue

Scan Pulse Aeion Ability Artifact

Samus using the Scan Pulse on the Surface

A Larva Metroid attacking a Hornoad

The Alpha Metroid on the Surface

Samus battles the Alpha Metroid

Samus obtains the Charge Beam

A Charge Door on the Surface

Crystals blocking the entrance to Area 8

The wall sealing access to the landing site in Samus Returns

The stormy Surface at the end of Samus Returns

Samus and Proteus Ridley battling in front of the gunship

Samus confronts Ridley

Samus grabbing Proteus Ridley's tail

Lightning flashes while Proteus Ridley shakes Samus off

Metroid Samus Returns Proteus Ridley Rescue Baby - Samus jumping of the Gunship (Transition Cutscene 1).png

Samus and Proteus Ridley continue to battle

Proteus Ridley roars at Samus

An X Parasite infecting a Hornoad on the Surface

Map of the Surface from Samus Returns

Metroid: Samus Returns Gallery

Metroid: Samus Returns Artbook.

Trivia

• The music heard during the ending of Samus Returns when Samus and the baby return to the stormy surface is a remix of Planet Zebes - Arrival on Crateria from Super Metroid, which incidentally also played during a storm on the surface of a planet, in this case, Crateria on Zebes.
• Upon her return to the Gunship in both Return of Samus and Samus Returns, Samus cannot re-enter the entrance tunnel to the rest of the caverns as there is a wall blocking it off.
• The lifeless bodies of the Galactic Federation Special Squadron briefly mentioned in the game's opening can be found throughout the Surface, presumably killed by the hostile creatures they encountered. One of them is covered in a cohesive substance mostly found in Metroid nests, implying that he was attacked by one of them.