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Varia Suit Samus in her Varia Suit in Metroid: Samus Returns. Featured in All Games Properties

Protection from

Protection from

Allows

Speed increase (Metroid II: Return of Samus). Damage reduction.Protection from extreme heat and cold Protection from Parasites and Acids Allows Blue X to be absorbed safely.Speed increase (). The Varia Suit (バリアスーツ, Baria Sūtsu?), alternatively referred to as Barrier Suit[1] and Varia Feature[2], is a Power Suit upgrade.

Samus is most commonly depicted wearing this suit, but like many of her other upgrades, it is lost at or prior to the beginning of most games, requiring her to track the upgrade down at a later point in time. It is acquired by picking up an item, which is called the Varia in Metroid and Return of Samus.

In general, the Varia Suit reduces damage taken and protects Samus Aran from extreme heat. The maximum temperature that the Varia Suit can protect against is unknown, but the Gravity Suit is generally required for some of the higher temperature liquids. The name "Varia" is a mistranslation of the word "barrier" (although the Return of Samus manual uses the correct translation), which describes its shielding properties; coincidentally, it also resembles the English words "variety" or "variable", referring to how the suit can handle a variety of temperatures, a trait demonstrated in Metroid Fusion.

Traditionally, the Varia upgrade adds stronger, orange-colored armor plates onto the arms and legs of the basic Power Suit. The Varia Suit’s ridged shoulders are round and bulky, while the red chestplate becomes thicker with dual lights.

In the original Metroid, the Varia Suit would turn Samus' armor pink, but a design change was made in Metroid II, as the Game Boy used a monochrome system. During Metroid: Zero Mission it just turns the flat-shouldered Power Suit orange; the Varia Suit with the iconic bulky shoulder pads is obtained after Samus' Power Suit is destroyed in her Gunship's crash-landing. It is referred to as the Fully Powered Suit. She retains this suit for future use, which explains the jump from the sleek orange Power Suit in Zero Mission to the large-shouldered Varia in Metroid Prime.

Gandrayda is able to morph into a copy of Samus, named "Samus-G", and wears the Varia Suit in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

In Fusion, the Varia upgrade (like much of Samus’s other equipment) is sent via Data Room. Unlike other upgrades, it is intercepted by a Core-X before Samus can reach it, necessitating the defeat of the Barrier Core-X and absorption of the X Parasite. Restoration of Varia functionality to the Fusion Suit changes its color scheme from blue over bright yellow to a yellow-green over a rich magenta, but does not alter its dimensions. For its appearance in Fusion Mode in Metroid: Samus Returns, the magenta and yellow green colors are changed to a darker green and pink, now resembling the color scheme of a Metroid.

In Metroid Prime, she starts out with the Varia Suit, although after she was caught in a massive energy surge while activating an elevator to escape the doomed Frigate Orpheon, she lost most of her upgrades, including the Varia Suit, thus forcing her to adopt the comparably weaker Power Suit instead. She eventually regained the suit after defeating Flaahgra. In the later Prime entries, she retains her Varia Suit until getting further upgrades.

In Metroid: Other M, the Varia Feature is noticeably different, and is not a starting item. The ridges on the shoulders appear to have been removed, along with the shoulders being slightly smaller, the top of the visor is more flat, and the lights on the chest plate have been altered, so that they curve from the side of the plate to the bottom. The lights on the legs have moved to the back of the legs and are less visible and the line pattern is also different. In-game, Adam authorizes Samus to use it shortly before the fight with the Goyagma. It features damage reduction again, like in the 2-D titles and Metroid Prime. When activated, while not changing the shape, it will turn the usual areas into a light orange.

Benefits chart [ edit | edit source ]

The following chart details the benefits bestowed by the Varia in each game:

Official data [ edit | edit source ]

"This is a wonderful item which cuts in half any damage done to Samus by his enemies. It will be very useful when you fall into the Sea of Lava or battle with Mini Bosses, so be sure to get it."

Metroid II: Return of Samus manual [ edit | edit source ]

BARRIER SUIT (pg. 14) "Becomes enabled when Samus finds the Varia."

Varia (pg. 19) "This item effectively doubles the energy absorption of Samus' cybernetic suit, enabling her to withstand enemy attacks much more effectively."

Super Metroid manual [ edit | edit source ]

"This suit cuts the damage from enemy attacks in half and allows you to explore in high-temperature zones."

"The Varia Suit halves the damage inflicted by nasties and allows Samus to withstand the excessive heat encountered in certain sections of the game. Location: Brinstar."

Metroid Fusion manual [ edit | edit source ]

"Reduces the damage suffered from enemy attacks. Nullifies damage from high and low temperatures."

Fusion website [ edit | edit source ]

"The Varia Suit can withstand some of the station's extreme temperature variations. It is also more effective at shielding Samus from enemy attacks."

Official Metroid Prime website [ edit | edit source ]

"The Varia Suit adds increased heat resistance to Samus Aran's Power Suit. While the Varia Suit can handle higher temperatures than normal, extreme heat sources and heat-based attacks are still capable of damaging the Varia Suit's shield strength."

"The Varia Suit shields you from extremely high temperatures like those found in the fiery caves of Magmoor, deep under the surface of Tallon IV. It also increases your shield power slightly."

Metroid Prime manual [ edit | edit source ]

"Once Samus finds the Varia Suit, she will be able to survive extremely high temperatures like those found in the fiery depths of Magmoor Caverns."

Inventory data

Varia Suit Metroid Prime Inventory entry The Varia Suit adds increased heat resistance to the Power Suit. Samus's Notes This modification increases your defensive shielding.

While the Varia Suit can handle higher temperatures than normal, extreme heat sources and heat-based attacks will still cause damage.

Varia Suit Metroid Prime 2: Echoes / Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Inventory entry The Varia Suit is an advanced Chozo exoskeleton modified for use by Samus Aran. Notes The Varia Suit provides life-support functions and is well shielded from attack.

The modular nature of the Varia Suit allows for the addition of weapons, visors, and other gear as needed.

The Varia Suit’s shielding loses energy with each hit; collect energy when possible to keep the shielding charged.





Metroid: Zero Mission manual [ edit | edit source ]

"This enhanced suit reduces the amount of damage taken from enemies. It also negates the effects of intense heat and acid."

"Decreases damage taken from enemies. Prevents damage from acid and heat."

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes manual [ edit | edit source ]

"Samus's standard Power Suit, built for her by the Chozo people, is made even stronger by the Varia Suit upgrade. It provides shielding in battle and augmented physical strength, and its life-support systems allow her to survive in water and even space without addition equipment."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophy [ edit | edit source ]

"A suit with a higher level of protection than the Power Suit. It eliminates damage caused by very hot or cold areas. It is also more resilient to enemy attacks than the Power Suit and greatly differs in shoulder design. Recent visual depictions of Samus often show her wearing the Varia Suit."

SNES Super Metroid

GCN Metroid Prime

Sticker Samus - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes [Explosive] Attack +18 (All)

Pyroclasm in the Pyrosphere: "The Pyrosphere, a simulated volcanic area encompassing Sector 3, was predictably awash in magma flows, lava pools, and a host of beasts adapted to extreme heat. Nonetheless, finding an erupting volcano caught me off-guard, especially when it began raining chunks of flaming rock on me. The Varia feature of my suit quickly became necessary."

Metroid: Other M on-screen tutorial [ edit | edit source ]

VARIA FEATURE This will reduce damage from enemies and cut heat damage in lava zones.

Metroid: Other M manual [ edit | edit source ]

"Cuts damage from high temperatures and reduces damage from enemy attacks."

Other M Status screen data [ edit | edit source ]

"Effects: Cuts damage from heat and reduces enemy attack damage."

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy [ edit | edit source ]

(NTSC) "When most people think of Samus, they think of her wearing the Varia Suit. It not only grants her power far beyond her own physical strength but also can unleash a deadly array of beams from the Arm Cannon. And, in a feature quite unique to the Metroid series, it lets her morph into a ball instead of having to crawl!"

(PAL) "The Varia Suit is the armour Samus is most commonly seen in. It not only grants her power for beyond her own physical strength - it can also unleash a deadly array of beams from the Arm Cannon. And, in a feature quite unique to the Metroid series, it lets her morph into a ball. Do you reckon it's comfy in there?"

"When I first modelled the Varia suit it was under a very tight deadline and as I finished each part of the suit another artist Rodney Brunet would paint the texture plus another artist Ludovic Texier created the gun arm of Samus. The deadline was so tight because model had to be complete so it could be rigged and animated. At the time the goal was to make sure we could create this cool movie for E3 when Nintendo would announce that we were creating Metroid. So at that time we simply had to take the old Samus Varia suit and just recreate it so we could get the E3 movie done.

"We had used that version of Samus for about a year and then I think after about a year into the project was when Nintendo had asked Retro to explore a new updated design for Samus. When the new Varia suit redesign ideas were being considered, Gene Kohler (the other character artist on Metroid) was already doing a great job on Samus' gun arm and Gene already had a reputation as not only a great character artist but he really kicked ass when it came to making metal armor look really cool with all the work he did on Retro's RPG title before it got canned."

"The Varia Suit reduces damage taken from enemy attacks. It also prevents damage from extreme heat."

The Armory (p. 12) "Most who've played a Metroid title will immediately recognize the Varia Suit. With bold orange and red hues, the prominent dome-shaped pauldrons, and the ability to resist extreme heat, this suit upgrade is a staple in Samus' arsenal." Walkthrough (p. 71) "You find a new Power Suit upgrade in the next room: a staple of the Metroid series known as the Varia Suit. It allows you to traverse the hot areas on SR388 without taking damage, but you still need to take care around lava; the Varia Suit doesn't do much if you fall in." Varia Suit Limitations (p. 71) "The Varia Suit may protect you from the extreme temperatures of the red zones, but lava and Wallfires are still going to hurt, so take care when approaching other fiery obstacles."

"Use this handy trick to get the powerful Varia Suit upgrade early (no High Jump Boots required). Just make sure to bring at least 5 missiles to break open the item room door! Try it out for yourself with a #NintendoSwitchOnline membership. #NES"[3]

In other media [ edit | edit source ]

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr—"

Non-canon warning : This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo

The Varia Suit in Animal Crossing: City Folk. Four images showing the Varia Suit trophy in Brawl. The Varia Suit trophy in 3DS.

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