Metroid fans break out diagrams to solve how Samus’ suit works

Metroid subreddit simply asks, ‘where do the arms go?’

The Metroid series is one full of mystery and discovery, yet one in particular has overtaken a sect of the fan community: how does Samus fit into the suit?

Over on the Metroid subreddit, the discussion seems to have kicked off with this post, showing several diagrams of how Samus may or may not actually fit into her signature suit. The key point of discussion is her arms, which depending on how far away from the torso they are and relation to the large shoulders, could have troubling indications. Here’s one diagram, as shared by Chris Sutcliffe on Twitter:

r/Metroid – a subreddit dedicated to a series about a human bounty hunter raised by alien bird ghosts who becomes a jellyfish alien-hybrid and can turn into a ball the size of her head – is having a civil war about how her arms fit into her suit. Diagrams are being deployed pic.twitter.com/ucluQVReXa

— Chris Sutcliffe (@chrismsutcliffe) March 2, 2023

The answer, as users began to reply, is simply “bird magic.” Rather, that the Chozo technology and “space-magic” could make all this body-warping happen. That didn’t exactly stop the memes from rolling on out, though.

Armed and dangerous

Of course, we have a reference point for all this. As some have pointed out, the Super Metroid Player’s Guide contains a diagram of Samus inside the suit, with an X-ray look inside showing exactly which limbs go where. Though this design doesn’t apply wholesale across every Metroid game, it does give us a good idea of how the arms and shoulders incorporate into Samus’ iconic suit.

Heck, cosplayers have been figuring out where the arms go for years at this point. Though the design in some games definitely looks uncomfortable, it does feel like we generally know how the human body could fit inside Samus’ suit.

So case roughly closed, right? Well, this still opens up the question of how exactly the Morph Ball works. To be honest, I’ve always wondered that myself. Not only does it seem very fluid when Samus tucks and curls, there’s a bunch of machinery and mechanical pieces that would have to go in too. Seems like it might not be very comfortable. And how does she see where she’s going? It’s a question that’s plagued the world for years, it seems. Even the Space Pirates of Metroid have canonically tried and failed to figure out how the suit’s Morph Ball capabilities work, to seemingly horrific results.

If you want to do some research of your own, though, Metroid Prime Remastered seems to be a good way to do it. The remaster (borderline remake, I’d say) surprise-dropped on Switch last month, and it’s been received quite well. Maybe someone at Retro could shed some light on all these body-warping concerns, too.

Eric Van Allen

Senior News Reporter