Tell me your ideas for 2D Metroid weapons/equipment

[Jotari]

Metroid Dread has just released a boss rush mode that has me thinking in Metroid again. This is a thread I intended to make back when the game was released but just procrastinated doing until I eventually forgot.

Metroid games try to add something new to each titles, but I still think they kind of keep coming off as quite samey in regards to what Samus can do. Probably because they have a reluctance to ever drop a power (except the Spider Ball). Making the items feel more distinct is one thing I think the Prime games actually do better. So let's come up with some weapons or suits or abilities Samus could have in 2D Metroid games. And when making them remember Metroid abilities tend to not only make Samus more powerful, but increase her ability to traverse the world (in other words, each ability is a metaphorical key to a lock). Though while this trend is usually true, optional abilities you don't have to obtain have existed in the series, so it's not strictly necessary if you have a good idea for something.

One thing I would like to see Metroid try is an Ocarina of Time style equipping of suits. Rather than just going Power->Varia->Gravity, have Samus be able to change suits for each situation with them not being strict upgrades but providing different advantages in different areas. The Varia and Gravity already have this to some extent with their resistance to heat and water, and you could add a purely defensive suit to default to when not using the other suits (I'd also like to see the Metroid Suit come back in some form, though I'm not sure what). To come up with an original idea how about an Agility Suit that increases Samus's movement speed and reduces the Speed Boosters threshold (or replaces the Speed Booster entirely to provide a mix up) and the cost of less defense. Speed runners would love to have a tool like that to play around with.

Another boring, but practical early game item that would be purely progression, the Night Visor. Let's Samus see in dark areas. Not a very exciting power up, but, once again, something that could be cool for speed running/squence breaking if Rock Tunnel style dark areas are a thing in the game that people would be challenged to make their way through blind. The 3D Metroid games use different visor power ups, so it would be nice to see some of those ideas in general in 2D Metroid. The only thing we've ever seen like that is the Scan Visor in Super Metroid.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Jotari

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I think Metroid is begging for a Melee weapon, and there's plenty of ways to do it without making it feel like a castlevania game. For starters, the melee counter would work just as well if she swung a weapon instead of her gun arm. Dread turned the melee counter a bit more into a genuine melee attack that kills small enemies outright, but let's cut the pretense and just have something she's slashing and parrying with. What weapon would I give her? How about a wrist-attached claw that extends to a meter in length when she waves her left arm to slash? I kind of envisioned the offhand scythe thing that space pirates had in the Prime games, but if it's a claw, what if she could fire it like a hookshot? That's our game's grapple beam. Maybe it also attaches to large enemies at critical moments and samus can pull herself to them for some kind of tackle move stunning them as if you nailed a melee counter. Let's say they flash white for a melee counter, red for the hookshot counter. Or maybe the claw yanks off parts of enemies like armor or their shield, making them vulnerable to shots. Or maybe you can fire it at a target in the ceiling when you're speed boosting to the right, allowing Samus to start running up the incoming wall, and even kicking off to a ledge on the left, maintaining the speed booster momentum. I love Dread's speed booster puzzles and invite any expansion on them. What if you're spider balling across the ceiling, and Samus unfurls just enough to jam the claw into the ceiling, allowing her to hang and aim her gun at enemies below. I liked fighting dudes from the ceiling in Fusion, we should bring that back. 

I'm also really captivated by the idea of being able to charge your beam and slash with a weapon independently, rhythmically alternating attacks between the two, Like Nero in Devil May Cry with his gun that charges up as you swing the sword around so long as you hold the button. Let's say firing a missile deals a lot of damage but overheats Samus' gun, leaving you with just melee during those cooldown seconds. Best of all, a melee weapon would grant her a greater variety of over the top critical hit animations. We've been watching Samus mount enemies and fire a charge shot into their face for over a decade, a melee weapon can give us some new flashy moves. Heck, it will even prompt the player to think critically and engage with these animations more than mindlessly spam missiles. "Oh, Samus isn't in range with her sword yet in this part of the animation, so flailing it won't do anything, I need to shoot. Okay, now I'm in range, so I slash him and charge up my beam in the meantime since I can't do both. Now she's kicked off of him, can I fire this shot? Nice. Back to normal gameplay." Though if we have these two modes of attack, then we need to rethink the controls a bit. I think it's very natural to press and hold the right trigger to shoot. repeated uncharged shots generally aren't optimal anyway in metroid, so I don't think we need to worry about tiring out the index finger. People like the charge shot. The melee attack can take the now vacant Y button. 

Metroid Dread really went all out adding these classic abilities and upgrades, but I think that dilutes the importance of each one individually when it's just used a few times. When there's dozens of abilities, I think it's unlikely for there to be enough game to flesh them all out. So I think Metroid can do better by having maybe half a dozen abilities/upgrades throughout the game, but each has several applications ranging from combat and traversal to the standard "key that opens a specific lock". That might work for consolidating existing powers too. What if there was a mid game suit that came equipped with three of these features: a magnetic spider ball mode, protection from exposed wire hazards on the ground and walls, magnetism based traversal puzzles where you change Samus' polarity from positive to negative, An electric element beam, And also the speed booster, because the suit is charging up the kinetic energy of Samus' running to let her speed boost. Imagine trudging your way to the bottom of a hostile area, getting a suit that has some of this awesome stuff, and now you can spend the next hour practicing your new abilities on all the rooms you needed to pass up earlier. Then an extended "obstacle course" at the top of the area testing all your new skills before it spits you out into a boss fight.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I feel like most "equip suits for different situations" mechanics amount to a lot of time in menus so you can change from what was good a second ago to what's good now. I'm terribly opposed to any such notion. Ocarina of Time would've been a better game if the tunics were replaced by permanent upgrades, or where cumulative upgrades like the Varia and Gravity suits in Metroid.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

I think Metroid is begging for a Melee weapon, and there's plenty of ways to do it without making it feel like a castlevania game. For starters, the melee counter would work just as well if she swung a weapon instead of her gun arm. Dread turned the melee counter a bit more into a genuine melee attack that kills small enemies outright, but let's cut the pretense and just have something she's slashing and parrying with. What weapon would I give her? How about a wrist-attached claw that extends to a meter in length when she waves her left arm to slash? I kind of envisioned the offhand scythe thing that space pirates had in the Prime games, but if it's a claw, what if she could fire it like a hookshot? That's our game's grapple beam. Maybe it also attaches to large enemies at critical moments and samus can pull herself to them for some kind of tackle move stunning them as if you nailed a melee counter. Let's say they flash white for a melee counter, red for the hookshot counter. Or maybe the claw yanks off parts of enemies like armor or their shield, making them vulnerable to shots. Or maybe you can fire it at a target in the ceiling when you're speed boosting to the right, allowing Samus to start running up the incoming wall, and even kicking off to a ledge on the left, maintaining the speed booster momentum. I love Dread's speed booster puzzles and invite any expansion on them. What if you're spider balling across the ceiling, and Samus unfurls just enough to jam the claw into the ceiling, allowing her to hang and aim her gun at enemies below. I liked fighting dudes from the ceiling in Fusion, we should bring that back. 

I'm also really captivated by the idea of being able to charge your beam and slash with a weapon independently, rhythmically alternating attacks between the two, Like Nero in Devil May Cry with his gun that charges up as you swing the sword around so long as you hold the button. Let's say firing a missile deals a lot of damage but overheats Samus' gun, leaving you with just melee during those cooldown seconds. Best of all, a melee weapon would grant her a greater variety of over the top critical hit animations. We've been watching Samus mount enemies and fire a charge shot into their face for over a decade, a melee weapon can give us some new flashy moves. Heck, it will even prompt the player to think critically and engage with these animations more than mindlessly spam missiles. "Oh, Samus isn't in range with her sword yet in this part of the animation, so flailing it won't do anything, I need to shoot. Okay, now I'm in range, so I slash him and charge up my beam in the meantime since I can't do both. Now she's kicked off of him, can I fire this shot? Nice. Back to normal gameplay." Though if we have these two modes of attack, then we need to rethink the controls a bit. I think it's very natural to press and hold the right trigger to shoot. repeated uncharged shots generally aren't optimal anyway in metroid, so I don't think we need to worry about tiring out the index finger. People like the charge shot. The melee attack can take the now vacant Y button. 

Would never happen, but if Samus were to get a melee attack I'd love for it to be a beam sword from her cannon called the Narpas Sword after the cheat in the NES version.

Quote

Metroid Dread really went all out adding these classic abilities and upgrades, but I think that dilutes the importance of each one individually when it's just used a few times. When there's dozens of abilities, I think it's unlikely for there to be enough game to flesh them all out. So I think Metroid can do better by having maybe half a dozen abilities/upgrades throughout the game, but each has several applications ranging from combat and traversal to the standard "key that opens a specific lock". That might work for consolidating existing powers too. What if there was a mid game suit that came equipped with three of these features: a magnetic spider ball mode, protection from exposed wire hazards on the ground and walls, magnetism based traversal puzzles where you change Samus' polarity from positive to negative, An electric element beam, And also the speed booster, because the suit is charging up the kinetic energy of Samus' running to let her speed boost. Imagine trudging your way to the bottom of a hostile area, getting a suit that has some of this awesome stuff, and now you can spend the next hour practicing your new abilities on all the rooms you needed to pass up earlier. Then an extended "obstacle course" at the top of the area testing all your new skills before it spits you out into a boss fight.

I thought the double jump boots was a fantastic addition. When to time that second jump makes a huge difference especially when fighting difficult enemies. It's a cliche things for games in general bit a double jump just really works well with Metroids jump mechanics. But then before you know it you've gotten the actual space jump and all that careful positioning becomes useless. And I do love the space jump, but I could have done without it for at least this one game. Either that or make it a new game+ feature.

Speaking of things Dread does right, that dodge ability feels really nice. But I think it could be teased out a bit more. Instead of being able to use it consecutively three times right from the get go, make that second and third use of it hidden power ups. That would make getting them feel like a real increase in power and teach players how useful it is.

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I feel like most "equip suits for different situations" mechanics amount to a lot of time in menus so you can change from what was good a second ago to what's good now. I'm terribly opposed to any such notion. Ocarina of Time would've been a better game if the tunics were replaced by permanent upgrades, or where cumulative upgrades like the Varia and Gravity suits in Metroid.

An understandable sentiment, though I disagree as I like having a variety of tools to pick for a certain job which is what it essentially would be (Ocarina if Time was something of a bad comparison in that regard). I won't lie though, the style aspect of it is also something that appeals to me. Its almost surprising they've never included some way if changing Samus's appearance for the aesthetic if nothing else. Only time they've done it is using the Fusion Suit in Prime 1. I suppose it goes back to issue of each game including all the classic elements, as Power, Varia, Gravity and Fusion are the only designs Samus gets in 2D Metroid. Prime is responsible for all the other designs and Prime is a world apart that regular Metroid isn't interested in going near (which for my own lore based reasons I'm happy about, but for pure fanservice I think they could dabble with a light suit or phazon suit here or there).

Edited April 12, 2022 by Jotari

[Lord_Brand]

Switching suits on the fly in a manner akin to Biometals in Mega Man ZX could work. Just press a button, select a suit with a direction, and boom.

I do agree that more sophisticated melee options would work well. I actually think there could be several good melee options.

• A simple blade that extends from Samus' arm cannon. She can use it to cut through, say, cables or wires in addition to hostile aliens. Of the three I'm suggesting, the blade hits the fastest and allows for the mot acrobatic combat.
• A powerfist that allows Samus to throw mighty punches and maybe use a dash punch or dropdown attack. Really, this would be the most intuitive melee addition to her arsenal; just make the hands she already has more powerful. The powerfist is of course the hardest-hitting but the slowest.
• A beam whip or perhaps extending claw that she can use to grab objects from a distance, basically an evolution of the Grapple Beam. The whipclaw has the best reach but the lowest attack strength, though it can be useful for pulling foes' weapons or shields out of their hands.

As for different suits, I have some ideas:

• Assault Suit - Gives Samus bulkier armor and a Gatling Cannon that can fire beams or missiles at a high rate. She can also acquire a ballistic barrage module that allows her to fire a volley of missiles that will annihilate most foes in her path, at the cost of 10 missiles per shot. The Assault Suit is best for attacking large enemies or groups of enemies head-on, though her mobility is reduced thanks to the heavy armor.
• Shadow Suit - Allows Samus to cling to and climb along walls as well as cloak herself to evade detection. Samus' arm cannon is modified with a Beam Katar useful for close-range strikes.
• Wing Suit - This suit grants Samus the useful ability to glide, hover, and eventually fly through the air freely. To aid with aerial combat, the suit has a lock-on feature that allows Samus to aim her cannon directly at foes and to make her missiles seek out targets automatically.
• Marine Suit - A suit designed for traversing deep water. Like the Assault Suit, the Marine Suit features superior defense at the cost of reduced land mobility, though its offense capabilities are less emphasized in favor of superior underwater mobility, comparable to the Wing Suit's aerial mobility. The Marine Suit has an auto-lock system for beams and missiles, also similar to the Wing Suit.
• Blitz Suit - Samus' arm cannon is reconfigured into a Beam Blade used for quick melee strikes, though ranged attacks are still possible by charging. The Blitz Suit allows Samus to run, dash, and roll quickly, and to cloak herself with beam energy in order to tackle straight through foes.
• Shield Suit - Samus' arm cannon is reconfigured into a Beam Shield that can be thrown as a projectile which will return to Samus after being thrown. Modifications allow the Beam Shield to reflect projectiles or to convert them into life support energy. The Beam Shield can also combine with Samus' other Beam weapons such as the Ice Beam, Wave Beam, Plasma Beam, and Spazer or Wide Beam to alter its combat capabilities and utility. In Morph Ball mode, Samus is protected by a spherical forcefield know as the Ball Barrier.
• Claw Suit - Enhances Samus' physical strength, allowing her to push or lift heavy objects. Samus' arm cannon is reconfigured into a Wire Claw that allows her to grab objects from a distance and pull them toward her or her towards them. She can also deliver a mighty punch to smash breakable objects or hostile lifeforms.
• Tunnel Suit - Allows Samus to burrow through certain kinds of terrain using a Drill Arm. Like the Assault, Marine, and Claw Suits, the Drill Suit sports heavy armor that enhances defense at the cost of speed.

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Lord_Brand

[SoulWeaver]

I'm gonna drop this here for your perusal. Start at Traversal Items. This should be a good helping of ideas they could theoretically pull into Metroid proper. Something I find I like about Fight is that multiple items cover certain types of item-requiring blockages - ah, this run has doors that need to be burned, as well as dark rooms. Will I get the Bright Shell(yes please) or the Bright Orb(ew)? Will I get the Flamethrower or the Flame Bolts? I don't recall any time Metroid has ever done this, since I believe the Ice Missiles were specifically added for the sake of replacing the Ice Beam(though I haven't played Dread so who knows), and I think the game could benefit from different options or ways to get around things besides sequence breaking.

Edited April 12, 2022 by SoulWeaver

[Jotari]

So I've actually had this idea a few years ago (complete with a Melee attack) and I've kind of procrastinating really developing it until now. In regular Metroid when you get a new beam, it automatically stacks with the old beam. The only exceptions being the first two games in the series and Metroid Prime 1 and 2. This gives you the advantage of feeling very poweful by end game, but it kind of serves for each beam to somewhat lose an identity. The Wave Beam isn't a thing of it's own, it's an upgrade to the main beam you have. But, what if stacking beams was an intentional part of the gameplay? What if it were more limited and you had to choose which beams to stack?

It works like this. There are three main abilities: Power Beam, Missiles and Melee Counter, and five sub abilities, Charge, Ice Beam, Plasma Beam, Wave Beam and Spazer. You get all of the sub abilities relatively early on. When you get your first beam (Charge Beam, no doubt), you also get an Expansion Drive that equips the Charge Beam to your power beam. A little later you get a second Expansion Drive. With this you can combine any two of the five sub abilities (that you have, you won't have all of them by the time you get your second Expansion Drive) and equip them to your Power Beam, Missiles or Melee Counter. This is still like regular Metorid, you get the Charge and Ice Beam, then you can make a charging ice beam. But you also have the option to use the Expansion Drive on your missiles, so you can combine Ice Beam with Missiles to make Ice Missiles or an Icy Counter. What this means is you have to choose. What do you value more, being able to shoot through walls or multiple enemies? Maybe you're willing to forgoe the charge shot in favour of the spazer. As you go through the game you will gradually get more Expansion Drives (some of them hidden) until by end game you reach that power treshold you normally have in Metroid. You can also get some more interesting attacks using esoteric combinations, like Metroid Prime's flame thrower (though probably similarily useless as it is there). There's either 11 Expansion Drives total in the game and you can choose to equip them to either the Power Beam, Missiles or Melee Counter at your will (though you can't go over the limir of 3/4), or there are specficially 4 Power Beam Expansion Drives and 3 Melee Counter Expansion Drives etc.

Another element that can be at play here is multiple copies of the same beam. For example, if you've equipped the ice beam to the Power Beam, it means you can't also have Ice Missiles at the same time. You have to choose which of the main abilities you want to equip the Ice Beam to. That is, until, you find a second Ice Beam. Now you can equip it to both your Power Beam and Missiles simultaneously. There would be three of each ability hidden throughout the game (for a total of fifteen, though you only nee 11 to fill each of your main abilities).

All in all, assuming you can stalk 4 different beams, 4 different missiles and 3 different melee counters (melee counters don't really need as much stalking) you end up with  85 different combinations of attacks accessible to Samus. And because I'm a mad man, I've went and named and described the effects of every one of them.

Spoiler

Beam Combos
Default	Slot 1				Name/Explanation
Power Beam	Charge				Charge Beam: Charge the power beam for extra damage.
Power Beam	Ice Beam				Ice Beam: Freezes enemies.
Power Beam	Plasma Beam				Plasma Beam: Can penetrate or pierce through an enemy, hitting enemies behind it.
Power Beam	Wave Beam				Wave Beam: Retains the sinewave movement from the original game.
Power Beam	Spazer				Spazer Beam: Fires three beams at once.
Default	Slot 1		Slot 2		Name/Explanation
Power Beam	Charge		Ice Beam		Charge Ice Beam: Charge a beam that can also freeze enemies.
Power Beam	Charge		Plasma Beam		Diffusion Beam: Charged beam explodes on impact, can be used to damage things behind walls
Power Beam	Charge		Wave Beam		Charge Shot: A large ball attack, like in Smash Bros. Penetrates walls.
Power Beam	Charge		Spazer		Charged Spazer: Charge an attack that fires three beams at once.
Power Beam	Ice Beam		Plasma Beam		Dark Beam: A beam that can both freeze and penetrate enemies.
Power Beam	Ice Beam		Wave Beam		Light Beam: A beam that passes through solid surfaces and freezes enemies.
Power Beam	Ice Beam		Spazer		Triple Ice Beam: Fire three ice beams at once.
Power Beam	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam		Penetrator: Fire a beam that can pass through both enemies and solid surfaces.
Power Beam	Plasma Beam		Spazer		Double Plasma Beam: Shoots two enemy penetrating shots like Super Metroid's Plasma Beam
Power Beam	Wave Beam		Spazer		Triple Wave Beam: Fires three beams that can pass through solid surfaces.
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2		Slot 3	Name/Explanation
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam		Plasma Beam	Magmaul: Charged shot lobs a very big beam that is affected by gravity and bounces. Does not penetrate or freeze
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam		Wave Beam	Battle Hammer: Charged shot lobs a big beam that is affected by gravity. Penetrates walls and freezes
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam		Spazer	Ice Spreader: A homing attack like in Metroid Prime
Power Beam	Charge	Plasma Beam		Spazer	Flame Thrower: Samus shoots a stream of fire from her arm cannon. Best used while standing in place.
Power Beam	Charge	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam	Volt Driver: Pierces both enemies and walls
Power Beam	Charge	Wave Beam		Spazer	Wave Buster: A contnious stream of energy that travels far and goes through walls
Power Beam	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam	Trinity Beam: Penetrates enemies/walls and freezes.
Power Beam	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam		Spazer	Imperialist: Fires a laser that hits instantly. Slow rate of fire and only fires one beam. Pierces enemies and freezes.
Power Beam	Ice Beam	Wave Beam		Spazer	Wide Beam: Fires three beams that can freeze enemies and pass through solid surfaces.
Power Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam		Spazer	Shock Coil: Fires three beams with a slight homing affect.
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 4	Name/Explanation
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Omega Beam: Freezes and penetrates both enemies and walls.
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Spazer	Anihilator: Fires two beams (like in Super Metroid) that both freeze and penetrate enemies.
Power Beam	Charge	Ice Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Zero Laser: Fires three beams that freeze enemies and passes through walls.
Power Beam	Charge	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Nova Beam: Fires three beams that penetrates both enemies and walls.
Power Beam	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Hyper Beam: Fires three freezeing/penetrating beams. There is no charge, but hold the button to moon walk.
Missile Combos
Default	Slot 1				Name/Explanation
Missiles	Charge				Super Missile: Normal missiles fire like normal, but you can charge for a more powerful Super Missile
Missiles	Ice Beam				Ice Missile: A missile that can freeze enemies.
Missiles	Plasma Beam				Diffusion Missile: Missile has a large fiery blast on contact, extending the range of its damage
Missiles	Wave Beam				Ghost Missile: Missile can travel through surfaces
Missiles	Spazer				Turbo Missile: Missile travels at noticeably accelerated speed (though Samu's rate of fire is the same)
Default	Slot 1		Slot 2		Name/Explanation
Missiles	Charge		Ice Beam		Super Ice Missile: Charge for a more powerful freezing missile
Missiles	Charge		Plasma Beam		Super Diffusion Missile: Charge for a more powerful missile that explodes on contact
Missiles	Charge		Wave Beam		Super Ghost Missile: Charge for a more powerful missile that can travel through surfaces
Missiles	Charge		Spazer		Storm Missiles: Charge to lock on and fire a barrage of missiles at an enemy
Missiles	Ice Beam		Plasma Beam		Ice Bomb Missile: Ice explosion instead of a fire explosion
Missiles	Ice Beam		Wave Beam		Icy Ghost Missile: Fire a missile that can pass through solid surfaces and freeze enemies
Missiles	Ice Beam		Spazer		Turbo Ice Missile: Fire a fast moving missile that can freeze enemies
Missiles	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam		Ghost Bomb Missile: Fire a missile that can pass through solid surfaces and explode on contact
Missiles	Plasma Beam		Spazer		Turbo Diffusion Missile: Fire a fast moving missile that explodes on contact
Missiles	Wave Beam		Spazer		Turbo Ghost Missile: Fire a fast moving missile that can pass through solid surfaces
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2		Slot 3	Name/Explanation
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam		Plasma Beam	Super Ice Bomb Missile: Charge a missile that causes an icy explosion on impact
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam		Wave Beam	Super Icy Ghost Missile: Charges a missile that can pass through solid surfaces and freeze enemies
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam		Spazer	Blizzard Missiles: Fires a barrage of homing missiles, with the final missile of each barrage freezing enemies
Missiles	Charge	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam	Super Ghost Bomb Missile: Charge a missile that explodes on impact and passes through walls
Missiles	Charge	Plasma Beam		Spazer	Triple Missile: Fires three missiles at once that explode on contact.
Missiles	Charge	Wave Beam		Spazer	Ghost Storm Missiles: Fires a barrage of missiles that can pass through surfaces (this one is very useful)
Missiles	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam		Wave Beam	Hyper Missile: Missile that can pass through solid surfaces, explodes and freezes on impact
Missiles	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam		Spazer	Turbo Ice Bomb Missile: A fast moving missile that causes an icy explosion
Missiles	Ice Beam	Wave Beam		Spazer	Turbo Icy Ghost Missile: A fast moving missile that can pass through solid surfaces
Missiles	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam		Spazer	Phantom Missile: A fast moving missile that can pass through surfaces and explodes on contact.
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 4	Name/Explanation
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Super Hyper Missile: Missiles that can pass through solid surfaces and cause an icy explosion
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Spazer	Fusion Missiles: Exactly like Fusion's Diffusion missiles including the freezing effect.
Missiles	Charge	Ice Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Ghost Blizzard Missiles: Fires a barrage of intangible missiles, with the final missile of each barrage freezing enemies
Missiles	Charge	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Super Phantom Missiles: Fires three missiles that explode on contact and can pass through walls
Missiles	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Turbo Hyper Missile: Fast moving missile that can pass thought solid surfaces and cause an icy explosion
Melee Counter Combos
Default	Slot 1
Melee Counter	Charge			Charge Counter: Charge a counter in advance to unleash a counter attack that deals more damage. You do not have to hold the button.
Melee Counter	Ice Beam			Icy Counter: Samus counter can freeze enemies
Melee Counter	Plasma Beam			Plasma Counter: Flames emerge from Samus's arm cannon as she counters, increasing the range.
Melee Counter	Wave Beam			Swift Counter: Samus glows green and the speed in which the counter is performed increases (including the end lag)
Melee Counter	Spazer			Multi Counter: Samus counter attacks three times consecutively
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2		Name/Explanation
Melee Counter	Charge	Ice Beam		Judicator: Samus swipes forward creating an ice shield that blocks attacks for a few seconds
Melee Counter	Charge	Plasma Beam		Plasma Arc: When charged, the flames from Samus's counter continue traveling some distance, damaging enemies the counter misses.
Melee Counter	Charge	Wave Beam		Swift Charge Counter: A fast counter that can also be charged
Melee Counter	Charge	Spazer		Super Counter: The charge varitaion launches a stream of beams around Samus like Super Metroid's secret techniques
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam		Icy Plasma Counter: A long range counter that can also freeze enemies
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Wave Beam		Swift Icy Counter: A fast counter that can also freeze enemies
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Spazer		Multi Ice Counter: Samus launches three counter attacks that can freeze enemies
Melee Counter	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam		360 Counter: The counter launches a stream of fire that hits behind Samus too
Melee Counter	Plasma Beam	Spazer		Multi Plasma Counter: Samus launches three long range counters
Melee Counter	Wave Beam	Spazer		Lightning Counter: This is the fastest and safest counter attack, though it only deals light damage
Default	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Name/Explanation
Melee Counter	Charge	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Charged Icy Plasma Counter: Charge a counter that has long range and freezes enemies
Melee Counter	Charge	Ice Beam	Wave Beam	Swift Judicator: The shield based Judicator only charged and launched more quickly.
Melee Counter	Charge	Ice Beam	Spazer	Ice Super Counter: Orbiting defense beams take on a different pattern
Melee Counter	Charge	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Nova Counter: When charged, Samus unleases a circular wave that travels out in all directions
Melee Counter	Charge	Plasma Beam	Spazer	Plasma Super Counter: Orbiting defense beams take on a different pattern
Melee Counter	Charge	Wave Beam	Spazer	Wave Super Counter: Orbiting defense beams take on a different pattern
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Icy 360 Counter: A counter that hits behind Samus and also freezes enemies
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Plasma Beam	Spazer	Multi Icy Plasma Counter: Samus launches three long range counters that can freeze enemies
Melee Counter	Ice Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	Icy Lightning Counter: The fastest and safest counter that also freezes enemies
Melee Counter	Plasma Beam	Wave Beam	Spazer	720 Counter: Samus launches two consecutive counters that hit all around her

 

The idea could also work for bombs, at least Power Bombs and Cross Bombs could be figured in as some kind of Charge+Plasma and Spazer+Wave variation, but I'd be wary about making too much of the game around this mechanic. You still need to find items in the latter half that allow progression and maybe bomb variants are better left for that. IN the same vein the Grapple Beam hasn't been included anywhere and is better left as it's own thing.

I'm debating whether or not to allow all five beams to be equipped at once. On one hand it leads to ultimate escalation and power tripping, on the other hand it kind of means the system itself is removed for beams by the end game if you can just equip all of them at once (on the other other hand, 12 is just a nicer number for the total number of expansion drives).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UNDbhnjW6TKYOWzR6bHK1kPJ9X9G0z0rsHHeh7IU9Vc/edit?usp=sharing

Edited April 13, 2022 by Jotari

[AnonymousSpeed]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:31 PM, Jotari said:

I won't lie though, the style aspect of it is also something that appeals to me. Its almost surprising they've never included some way if changing Samus's appearance for the aesthetic if nothing else.

They're called skins.

But yeah, as far as mechanical aspects go? Still a bad idea. In Breath of the Wild, you get to a cold place, pause the game, put on a jacket, and then change back to your good armor when you get somewhere warmer. Or so I'm told. It just isn't a very interesting mechanic in practice most of the time, at least not when you can swap on the fly. If you had to plan ahead which armor to use, it would be tedious to go back and get different equipment if you found an area where you'd want a different one.

13 minutes ago, Jotari said:

You have to choose which of the main abilities you want to equip the Ice Beam to. That is, until, you find a second Ice Beam. Now you can equip it to both your Power Beam and Missiles simultaneously.

So it's less like an ice beam and more like an ice elemental enchantment?

[Jotari]

56 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

They're called skins.

But yeah, as far as mechanical aspects go? Still a bad idea. In Breath of the Wild, you get to a cold place, pause the game, put on a jacket, and then change back to your good armor when you get somewhere warmer. Or so I'm told. It just isn't a very interesting mechanic in practice most of the time, at least not when you can swap on the fly. If you had to plan ahead which armor to use, it would be tedious to go back and get different equipment if you found an area where you'd want a different one.

So it's less like an ice beam and more like an ice elemental enchantment?

Precisely. You can add ice enhancement, enemy piercing, wall piercing, triple attack or a charge to your abilities (though under certain circumstance abilities change, there are no enemy piercing missiles, for example, instead Plasma creates a larger explosion). This means that, while there's a multitude of options, they're fairly intuitive in what you can do by adding each "enchantment". Though specific combos can lead to more interesting results (mainly so I can reference beams from past Metroid games), such as using Charge+Spazer to recreate the secret shield abilities from Super Metroid. Metroid Prime's element system of making Wave=Electric and Plasma=Fire with super effective damage could also be utilized for some enemies (not to the extent they went in Prime 1 though, they pushed that mechanic a bit too far to be fun imo).

Edited April 13, 2022 by Jotari

[vanguard333]

One idea I've had for a while is a Metroid game where you don't play as Samus, but as a lone surviving Federation grunt in over their head and obviously nowhere near as strong as Samus; such a game could be used to explore abilities that normally would be dismissed as inferior to Samus' usual arsenal (as it would make a lot of sense for such a character to have inferior equipment). For instance, it would make sense for the character to have a melee weapon as all the ranged weapons of the Federation require ammunition.

 

Another idea I thought of, in this case for a more standard 2D Metroid, is a light beam where the main gameplay gimmick is that the beam can deflect off of reflective surfaces, enabling hitting enemies indirectly as well as puzzle-solving.

Edited April 13, 2022 by vanguard333