Throughout the Metroid franchise, Samus Aran has had a knack for collecting all kinds of armor sets. Whether it’s for absorbing parasites, surviving poisonous atmospheres, or simply walking underwater, she has quite an arsenal at her disposal. But some suits are simply superior, so let’s showcase them all, from worst to best.

11. Zero Suit

As seen in — Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid: Other M

Clothed in a skin-tight blue suit, this is Samus behind the mask. We didn’t see much of it until the last decade or so. With it, Samus’ mobility is completely limitless. Her Chozo DNA offers her incredible acrobatic feats, and apparently a stun gun.  She’s somehow able to conjure her Power Suit from the Zero Suit, but most of the time we see her in the Zero Suit because of Power Suit malfunctions. Her bonus agility means that this suit isn’t totally unremarkable, but you’re not going to see Samus drop morph ball bombs or missile launchers out of it, so its usability is a bit limited. It’s Samus who is awesome, not so much the Zero Suit.

10. Power Suit

As seen in — All of them

This suit is known for being what you have after you have all your cool stuff taken away at the beginning of most Metroid games. It still has neat gadgets and features like your visor, your arm cannon, and nitpicky things like being able to breath in space, but it lacks abilities crucial to Samus’ character and environment. The morph ball, missiles, grapple beams, and a lot more are staple weapons in Samus’ arsenal. Add in the subpar shielding associated with the Power Suit, and you get the worst actual armor of the bunch.

9. Justin Bailey Suit

As seen in — Metroid

I feel like the Justin Bailey Suit is some sort of biological engineering marvel. Somehow, by wearing this scantily-clad outfit, Samus is able to utilize almost all of the weaponry found in her Varia Suit. Maybe it’s in the green hair.

8. Varia Suit

As seen in — All of them

This is the suit that everyone knows and loves. Somehow these giant shoulder pads give Samus immunity to the insanely high temperatures of whatever planet she lands on. Most of Samus’ other suits are variations (palette swaps, even) of this one, which means it’s technically worse than its upgrades.

7. Gravity Suit

As seen in — Metroid, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Metroid: Other M, Metroid Fusion

The Gravity Suit isn’t particularly special, and it doesn’t take a genius to guess what this suit does. Some games use it as a glorified pair of goggles, allowing Samus to traverse and see better underwater. Hell, sometimes it’s demoted to a power up, giving Samus’ Varia Suit a purple aura. Gravity manipulation is a pretty interesting feat to accomplish, but it’s not much better than her Varia Suit.

6. Dark Suit

As seen in — Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Looks-wise, this is a pretty big departure from Samus’ normal armors. Built by the Luminoth in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the suit is meant to protect Samus from the dangerous effects of Dark Aether–corrosive to the touch. Of course, it only negates 80% of the damage done, so instead of losing 5 pieces of health per second, it’s just one. Given that Samus doesn’t have all of her gadgets when she acquires this suit, many other suits outshine it.

5. Light Suit

As seen in — Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

This is basically the Dark Suit, except that it’s more powerful and looks cooler. It fully protects Samus from the effects of Dark Aether, it’s poisonous water, and it lets Samus ride beams of light in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes’ version of fast-travel. Dark Samus tries to take this suit, too. She almost died as a result, so it wasn’t much of a success story, but it did change her design in the sequel. The Light Suit’s heightened properties, coupled with Samus’ weaponry once she acquires the suit, makes this a sturdy and reliable pick.

4. PED Suit

As seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

A fusion of Chozo and Galactic Federation technology, the Phazon Enhancement Device suit is both a blessing and a curse. This suit grants Samus “hyper mode,” in which she dishes out way more damage than ever thought possible, incorporating the toxic substance known as phazon into her fighting style. However, use phazon too often, and you’ll become a corrupted slave to Dark Samus. Bonus points for being able to use the grapple beam to forcefully inject foes with phazon.

3. Fusion Suit

As seen in — Metroid Fusion

A personal favorite of mine, the Fusion Suit is the result of a Metroid DNA-infused vaccine given to Samus after being infected by the X-parasite. This effectively makes her part metroid. Her upgrades shrink her armor’s frame due to having pieces of it removed, making her more mobile. This means she’s less resistant to damage. However, she’ll never have to worry about X-parasites again–her Metroid DNA allows her to absorb them for nutrients. She also inherited the Metroid’s hatred of the cold, so she probably cancelled her trip to the Phendrana Drifts.

2. Phazon Suit

As seen in — Metroid Prime

After defeating the Omega Pirate, the phazon-infused beast collapses on top of Samus, drenching her in the toxic material. Don’t ask me why this ends up being a good thing for her, as the Phazon Suit is one of her best suits, period.  Samus gains incredible health-related boosts and the formerly toxic substance becomes a weapon and power source that Samus can depend on. This is also the suit the titular Metroid Prime steals off of Samus at the end of the game, taking its form and becoming Dark Samus.

1. “Omega” Suit

As seen in — Metroid Fusion

This is little more than the Fusion Suit taking back its previously lost upgrades. Samus is no longer scared of the cold, and she gets bonus damage resistance as well. Technically, this suit is unnamed, but being a “fusion” of her Fusion Suit and a fully-powered Varia Suit, “Omega Suit” fits the bill pretty well. At the end of the day, Samus is part human, part Metroid, part Chozo, as well as having all of her upgrades while donning this armor. Who knows where her adventures will lead her next.

Article by contributor Dylan Tierney.

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