Memes / Metroid

Given that Metroid is one of Nintendo's most iconic franchises and has a very dedicated fan following behind it, there are no shortage of memes related to the bounty hunter.

Please add entries in the following format:

• The meme.^ExplanationThe explanation behind the meme.
  • Further mutations and successor memes, if any.

For memes related to Metroid Dread, go to this page.

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Metroid

• There are several instances of valid^note The password system is basically just an alphanumeric encryption of the game's memory stack at the time of death, which is quite a bit more data than necessary, so "valid" is used a bit loosely here. passwords gaining fame.
  • Undoubtedly the most famous one is JUSTIN BAILEY, a random password that happened to A) be pronounceable, B) be a valid password, and most importantly C) have the suitless Samus flag (which normally activates if you replay the game after beating it in under 3 hours). Mass speculation as to the meaning of the phrase "Justin Bailey" ensued. (It's actually just a coincidence.) The password is famous enough that there's a tendendy to forget you can play suitless Samus without it.
  • ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER is also fairly well-known. It's not exactly a valid password, as it glitches the screen and makes Samus unable to leave the first screen. It also kills Ridley. It may also crash the game itself. But it's funny.
  • MOTHER BRAIN? FUCKIN TOASST which, amazingly, creates a game where Mother Brain is already dead.

Metroid II: Return of Samus / Metroid: Samus Returns

• Yet Another Metroid 2 Remake^ExplanationFollowing the DMCA of Another Metroid 2 Remake and the announcement of Metroid: Samus Returns, the game got this Fan Nickname.
• Metroid Omoroid^ExplanationThe slogan/tagline used in the Japanese Metroid II TV advertisement. "Omoroid" is a portmanteau of "omoroi" (the Kansai variant of "omoshiroi", meaning "fun" or "interesting") and "Metroid". This phrase reappeared in other games such as the Japanese releases of Super Mario RPG and WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!. It was also used to advertise Metroid: Other M.
• "It's so squishy!" ^ExplanationThe first thing people say about the Metroid Amiibo is how soft and squishy it is, leading to naming it Squishy.

Super Metroid

• The very large (for the time) scale of the game and the incredibly high number of secret passages and hidden powerups, a lot of which were unnecessary for beating the game, prompted some Metroid fans to troll new players by spreading rumors of secret areas and upgrades, such as talking about the hidden region of "Warfair" and the super-hidden items known as the "Wood Beam" and "Pipe Boots". With the proliferation of sites like GameFAQs that make it rather more obvious that this is a hoax, this meme has mostly died about, but it still occasionally pops up on boards filled with Metroid veterans. This was also the subject of a Shout-Out in Enter the Gungeon, where there is a literal wooden beam.
• The Maridia Power Bomb Pipe (a glass tunnel that you shatter from the inside with a Power Bomb in order to access Maridia) has become an established element in gaming culture, being featured in numerous shoutouts and parodies used in various games.
• The Noob Bridge^ExplanationA lot of players get stuck at what is known as the "Noob Bridge", a section of Brinstar where the player has to cross a collapsing bridge while spikes in the ceiling prevent the player from simply jumping across it. The proper solution is to run—it is the first area in the game where running is mandatory to overcome an obstacle—but many players, especially those coming from newer Metroid games where there is no run button, may not notice this at first glance unless they looked at the control menu. Nonetheless, the Noob Bridge can be crossed without running but it is very difficult.
• "Y can't Metroid crawl?"^Explanationa Miiverse post found (alongside plenty similar ones) in the discussion forums for Super Metroid, which has become a by-word for ignorance of video game history. May have also inspired the tendency for viewers of Super Metroid streams to call Samus "Metroid". Nintendo itself actually referenced this on social media and in a Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy description.
• Save/Kill the animals!^ExplanationDuring the final escape sequence, the player has the ability to take a detour and rescue the Dachora and Etecoons from the impending explosion. Speedruns don't require it since it doesn't effect the completion percentage - a rather unfortunate situation given that Fusion made it canon that Samus saves them. The choice to save or kill is always the subject of a bid war in Games Done Quick marathons and a running gag during races and speedrun attempts.
• D e e R F o r C e (sometimes also seen as D E E R   F O R C E or other variants)^ExplanationThe name of the team that developed the game. It is virtually mandatory to spam their name in chat when they are credited at the end of the game, or even to say it out loud in certain settings. The earlier capitalisation apparently originates from Twitch user MSDS3170's chat, and for whatever reason, it caught on within the community.
• Kraid Stand-Up DLC/Taking Kraid to the prom^ExplanationThanks to various strategies allowing speedrunners to get Super Missiles early, then exploit hit-stun to keep Kraid's mouth open and vulnerable for long enough to stuff 3 or 4 Super Missiles in and kill him before he can stand up and break open the false ceiling in his room, many races and streams love to joke about how getting to see Kraid actually stand up and go to the second phase of his boss fight is actually a rare thing.
• DLC boss/I've never seen this boss before^ExplanationA similar reference for Spore Spawn, affectionally nicknamed "SpoSpo" for obvious reasons, who's outright skipped in basically every speedrun and most randomizer races. Since the player can mockball to get early Super Missiles, it's not necessary to fight Spore Spawn to get the first Super Missiles, and even in randomizers, it's possible to shoot the block at the exit of Spore Spawn's area with a Super Missile when Samus is standing on the correct pixel. As a result, seeing a Spore Spawn fight is quite rare, and many viewers like to pretend they've never seen a SpoSpo fight before (and a few very well may actually never have seen one). Keysanity in the SMZ3 randomizer can sometimes require a Spore Spawn fight under certain circumstances, but otherwise, randomizers will usually provide a way to skip Spore Spawn as well.
• Forgotten Highway DLC^ExplanationYet another part of the game rarely seen in streams, referring to the "Forgotten Highway" that links Maridia to the Wrecked Ship. It's rarely necessary to traverse this either in speedruns or randomizers (hence its name), although occasionally a randomizer may require it. Thus, viewers also like to pretend they've never seen the Forgotten Highway before, either.
• Referring to Ridley as "Rodney"^ExplanationMost likely caught on after an autocorrect gone wrong, but there's no concrete origin. But fittingly enough, Samus' father was actually named Rodney Aran, and he sacrificed his own life in an attack that severely wounded Ridley, so being called "Rodney" would probably really annoy Ridley, which could be another reason people do it.
• (Item that streamer is searching for) is at Shaktool/Spring Ball.^note A randomizer-specific meme. The vanilla Spring Ball location is a remote, extremely time-consuming check (since it's behind a very slow digging robot called Shaktool) that requires either several items (Gravity Suit, Grappling Beam, and High-Jump Boots) or some often difficult tech/glitches (among them Gravity Jump, Ice Clip, or X-Ray Climb) to access; some randomizer logic settings may require some of these glitches. As a result, Twitch chat is extremely fond of suggesting that a required item is at the Spring Ball location, and when that item actually is at Spring Ball... well, this happens. (For part one of this randomizer, see here.) The required progression is rarely actually at Spring Ball, but chatters will undoubtedly suggest it every seed, regardless of whether the streamer even possesses the equipment required to check it yet.
• A few categories basically only exist for the sake of memes, such as North Korea%^note Must defeat the major bosses in the order Draygon, Phantoon, Ridley, Kraid (the same letters as the initialism for the "official" name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea). For a category that basically exists only for the purpose of a meme, this is actually somewhat difficult, since it requires doing Maridia suitless, and also requires doing a "hell run" through part of Norfair (though not the much more difficult Lower Norfair hell run). That said, zoast, the current world record holder of both North Korea% and Reverse Boss Order (as of August 2021), regards North Korea% as a "de-stresser" run. and 69%^note Collect exactly 69 items, no more, no less. (Nice.). These are actual category extensions on Speedrun.com, mind you.

Metroid Fusion

• "EMERGENCY IN SECTOR 3!"^ExplanationOn completing the first visit to Sector 5 (ARC), an X-Parasite sets off a meltdown in the Sector 3 Main Reactor, and the alarms start blaring, complete with voice in the background exclaiming "Emergency in Sector 3!" ad nauseum.
  • EMERGENCY IN FrankerZ^ExplanationIf someone streams the game on Twitch, expect to see this spammed in the chat, due to the popular dog emote rhyming with "Sector 3".
• Ridley's scream/SCREEEEAAAAH^ExplanationAny mention of Ridley in the context of his appearance in this game is generally followed by hyperbolic terror of the ear-damaging power of his screeching, which is loud even by the standards of later games.
• Fusion is Metroid 4^ExplanationFollowing the reveal of Metroid Dread, fans of the series responded to many variations of "They skipped Metroid 4?" with helpful/snarky/frustrated explanations that the Prime games are a sub-series while Fusion is the actual Metroid 4. Half the time only to discover the person making that statement was a fellow fan making a joke.

Metroid Prime Trilogy

• "Metroid feeding is strictly prohibited."^ExplanationA pirate scan wall detailing rules on the utilization of Metroids.
• TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBES!!!!^ExplanationComes from how a number of Pirate bases seem to have an abnormally convenient amount of tubes just perfect for Samus to Morph Ball inside of but the Pirates are unable to make use of. Spawned from a comic◊ in which a Pirate Architect questions his cohort on why they would need to keep placing tubes in their bases. His buddy replies with the meme in question, red eyes aglow. Eventually the architect also ends up brainwashed.
• Unless Admiral Dane approves of it.^ExplanationMetroid Prime 3: Corruption's CO is more of a Memetic Badass than Adam.
• Soon, everything will be written as a meme, including YOU!^ExplanationA Phazon-corrupted Ghor proclaims the same fate for everything else in Corruption.
• "IT'S A LIVIN'!"^ExplanationThe biggest success of Slowbeef's Let's Play of the Metroid Prime trilogy (and one frequently referenced in his YouTube channel Retsupurae) was the Alternative Character Interpretation of Ridley as a put-upon henchman with a screechy New Jersey accent. The above is his Catchphrase. He is also known for falling for long periods of time and fits of claw-waving freakoutery.
• Science Team has vapor for brains.^ExplanationFrom a Pirate log in Prime 2 in Bioenergy Production, a room in the Agon Wastes, griping about attempts to tame the Metroids. Remembered for its creative metaphor and humorous tone in the otherwise serious game.
• Hear the words of O-Lir, last Sentinel of the Fortress Temple. May they serve you well.^ExplanationThere's a bug that lets you get to 255% item collection. It involves getting one of the Luminoth Sentinels to repeat their opening line over and over, and O-Lir is the easiest one to use for it.
• "That seems... inefficient."^ExplanationGhor's line from Prime 3 when it's explained that the AU network has been shut down to prevent a virus from spreading.
• "Just in time."^ExplanationAnother Ghor line from Prime 3, said when Samus shows up and they can begin fighting to the death, complete with a Twinkle in the Eye.
• "Surely, we are cursed."^ExplanationThis is the reaction of the Space Pirates realizing that the newly-revived Dark Samus had stowed away in their Phazon storage, though it's commonly misattributed to the Space Pirates realizing that there are two versions of Samus on Aether.
• Metroids are not pets. Metroids are not for target practice.^ExplanationA scan log in Metroid Prime reveals this gem.
• POUNDS AND POUNDS OF BEEF, POUNDS AND POUNDS AND POUNDS OF BEEF^ExplanationA popular mondegreen of the chanting in the background of the main theme of Bryyo from Corruption.
• Zero Suit Dark Samus^ExplanationWhen Dark Samus was announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, she was finally exposed to a mainstream audience. Cue long-time Metroid fans constantly explaining that no, there is no sexy "Zero Suit Dark Samus"◊. Of course, that didn't stop some people.
• "Logo and (old) music" for the Metroid Prime 4 reveal trailer, which was exactly that.

Metroid: Other M

• Anthony Higgs asking "Remember me?" in the E3 2009 trailer. Thanks to the dopey expression on his face after lifting up his helmet and the fact that no one had ever seen him before, it took about 0.372 seconds for the Mysterious Black Dude (or MBD for short) to become a meme. Incidentally, he became a legitimate Ensemble Dark Horse after the game released, generally considered the best supporting character in the game thanks to his friendship with Samus.
• "Any objections, lady?"^ExplanationCatchphrase of Adam Malkovich... which later becomes a Something Only They Would Say moment.
• Adam hasn't authorized me to edit this page yet.^ExplanationOther M's attempt to explain Samus's lack of use of her powerups without resorting to Bag of Spilling. It was not well received.
• the baby the baby the baby the baby the baby the baby the baby the baby^ExplanationThere is motherhood symbolism in Other M, and Samus's internal monologue won't let us miss any of it. Several fans were displeased with Samus referring to the last Metroid only as "the baby". It is often joked that the plot of Other M, or at least Samus's involvement, can be summarized by her repeating this ad nauseum.
• Adam also has one useful word of advice: USE YOUR PLASMA BEAM!
• "The word he so obviously chose... outsider... pierced my heart."^ExplanationOne of the most frequently mocked Narm moments in the game. In the original scene, Samus gets rather upset by Adam referring to her as an "outsider", and proceeds to tell the player about how she feels in a rather melodramatic manner. It's especially hilarious when you learn that Samus wasn't anywhere near as dramatic in the Japanese version of this scene, only stating that being excluded from the group "stung a little."
• The infamous "thumbs-down scene". This led to one hell of an advertising failure in Japan.

Other/General

• Ridley's too big.^ExplanationHe's a lot bigger than Samus... and a lot of people want him to be playable in the Smash series. He only appeared as a boss until Super Smash Bros Ultimate, where he finally joined the roster. Hilariously enough, he did turn out to be too big in the end: while he was shrunk quite a bit to be made playable, his massive size relative to his weight is often quoted as his biggest weak point.
• Sad Samus^Explanationa meme about Nintendo's neglect of the Metroid franchise ever since the controversial Other M was released in 2010. Nintendo went all out to hold big 25th anniversary celebrations for franchises like the The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario, but did nothing for Metroid's 25th anniversary. However things have changed a bit now that at E3 2017, Nintendo announced not 1, but 2 new Metroid games.
• Samus Aran, Destroyer of Worlds.^ExplanationGiven how several games end with the planet Samus is on exploding or being destroyed in some way, it’s often joked that every planet Samus steps foot on is doomed to explode.
• Any jokes about Samus exhibiting bird-like behavior thanks to being raised by Bird People and/or being part-Chozo.
• People feigning stupidity and pretending to think that Varia Suit Samus is a man named Metroid, while Zero Suit Samus is his girlfriend Samus. Things get interesting as of the end of Metroid Dread, as Samus slowly becomes a Metroid over the course of the game.
• "Samus is trans."^ExplanationNot general Trans Audience Interpretations of Samus, but a specific one. In 2015, an article on The Mary Sue was written proclaiming that Samus was a trans woman all along, citing a 1994 interview with Hirofumi Matsuoka, one of the designers of the original game, in which he says that he's the only one who knows that Samus is secretly a "newhalf". However, various factors, including that over 21 years this was only brought up twice (with the second instance, a FAQ with series director Yoshio Sakamoto in 2004, saying that a Metroid game on a PlayStation is "as likely as Samus being a newhalf", i.e. expressing extreme unlikelihood akin to "when Hell freezes over" or "when pigs fly"), is not supported by any canonical material, and using a term viewed by many as derisive, led people to conclude that this was just meant as a joke, and much mockery was made at the expense of others who took it seriously.
• 桃屋のキムチは良いキムチ～♪^ExplanationTranslation: "Momoya (brand) kimchi is good kimchi～♪". The unofficial "lyrics" to the item acquisition fanfare in the Japanese fandom. The lyrics were taken from a jingle for Momoya kimchi base, which has a similar melody to the fanfare. The lyrics are also associated with the Ys item get jingle, which also has a similar melody to the fanfare.
• Within the Twitch community, there are several emotes for the games that simply consist of their boxart and the entire title or an acronym for the name. There's MFForGBA, MetroidPrimeForTheNintendoGameCube, MetroidPrime2EchoesForTheNintendoGameCube, MetroidPrimeHuntersForTheNintendoDS, MetroidOtherMForTheNintendoWii, MZMForGBA, SuperMetroidForTheSuperFamicom, and MetroidDreadForNintendoSwitch.