History Ymmv / METROID

** The Space Pirates as a whole tend to be seen as this for being, well… SpacePirates, as well as their schemes causing the events of some of the series’ most popular games such as ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''. Their genuinely funny log entries in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' helped endear them to fans further by giving them more personality and even making them endearing to an extent while still keeping them fully villainous. They also tend to get a new unique design every game they appear in, making fans look forward to each new appearance from them. Finally, their [[https://youtu.be/IGUgcQhHcNo catchy]] [[https://youtu.be/vrjqBJNMgL0 theme]] [[https://youtu.be/syXaTdp1pNE songs]] throughout the Metroid Prime trilogy tend to be ranked among the series’ most popular music tracks.

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: An interesting example. Some fans of [[MsFanservice Zero Suit Samus]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' become interested in ''Metroid'' expecting to see more such fanservice, and are often disappointed when it turns out that Samus not only spends most of her games in her Power Suit, but even seeing her ''face'' (much less her in the Zero Suit) can only be achieved by successful {{Speedrun}}ning (while aiming for OneHundredPercentCompletion, to boot). This is something that is frequently ''praised'' by series fans, and ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' milking the sex appeal of the Zero Suit for all its worth was a point of criticism.

* ArcFatigue: A major criticism of the series post-''Fusion'' was that Nintendo had [[CliffhangerWall seemingly refused to continue the story past said game]], despite ending on the revelation that [[spoiler:there is a conspiracy within the Federation to weaponize Metroids, and that Samus may find herself at odds with the Federation as a result]]. Every ''Metroid'' title released for the next nineteen years would be either a remake or an interquel, and despite most of these games being well-received, many fans were tearing their hair out waiting for an actual continuation past ''Fusion'', which would finally come with ''Dread''. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, ''Dread'' did nothing to address this plot point, basically pretending that it never happened, leaving fans even more frustrated.]]

** It was infamously revealed that ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' was going to have a series of sidequests involving bringing in bounties until Nintendo of Japan vetoed the idea. Former Retro Studios senior producer Bryan Walker [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKs_Oyfuyuc&t=22m22s revealed in a 2022 interview]] that apparently [=NoJ=] didn't even know what a bounty hunter actually was. This claim has since been garbled by a game of telephone that Samus's job title was mistranslated into English. Truth is, that's not the case at all: Samus's occupation has always been 賞金稼ぎ (''shoukin kasegi'') since the very first game's manual, which literally translates to "bounty hunter." While there may have been a ''misunderstanding'' on [=NoJ=]'s part of what the term meant, it is absolutely not a mistranslation to call her a bounty hunter.

The subjectives from ''{{VideoGame/Metroid}}''. For the specific YMMV pages see:

*** Dane's [[NiceHat hat]] is a MemeticBadass in its own right, as well.

** For some reason, 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, such as [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/33585-MFForGBA MFForGBA]], [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/48621-MetroidPrimeForTheNintendoGameCube MetroidPrimeForTheNintendoGameCube]], [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/48623-MetroidPrime2EchoesForTheNintendoGameCube MetroidPrime2EchoesForTheNintendoGameCube]], [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/48626-MetroidPrimeHuntersForTheNintendoDS MetroidPrimeHuntersForTheNintendoDS]], [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/72178-MetroidOtherMForTheNintendoWii MetroidOtherMForTheNintendoWii]], and [[https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/137945-MZMForGBA MZMForGBA]].

** 桃屋のキムチは良いキムチ～♪[[labelnote:Explanation]]Translation: "Momoya (brand) kimchi is good kimchi～♪". The oft-quoted, unofficial "lyrics" to the item acquisition fanfare in the Japanese fandom. The lyrics are also associated with the {{VideoGame/Ys}} item get jingle due to their similar melodies.[[/labelnote]]

* TheWoobie: A young girl is the SoleSurvivor of not one, but ''two'' holocausts, the first of which happens when she's ''three''?
** StoicWoobie: Despite that, she's very powerful and is capable of taking tons of abuse in her armour.

** The refusal to continue the franchise's lore/story past ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' until ''VideoGame/MetroidDread''. Any and all games released during the nineteen-year gap in between ''Fusion'' and ''Dread'' took place in between the ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' to ''Fusion'' time frame. While some felt this was a good decision due to the contentiousness nature of ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'''s and disliking the idea of dumping Samus's power suit, others really wanted to see what happens after ''Fusion'', since the ending heavily implies that [[spoiler:Samus may become an outlaw wanted by the Galactic Federation]]. However, with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' finally picking up where ''Fusion'' left off, this has basically been mooted.

* PlayAlongMeme: To hide the [[SamusIsAGirl true identity]] of its protagonist, the original ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' manual described Samus Aran as a cyborg man. Therefore, the ''Metroid'' fandom continues to ascribe to her in-universe ShroudedInMyth status by jokingly referring to Samus as a robot dude in various memes.

** Regarding ''VideoGame/Metroid1'', it is sometimes claimed that Samus Aran originally had [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair]] before it was later retconned to blonde. This is likely due to the popular Justin Bailey code, which lets players start a game as Samus outside her Power Suit and depicts her with green hair. However, green has never been her "natural" color, even in this game. The Justin Bailey password starts Samus with a number of upgrades... including the Varia Suit, which was a palette swap at the time. For suitless Samus, the Varia upgrade turns her hair green; her normal color scheme (i.e. the equivalent of a Power Suit without the Varia upgrade) gives her brown hair, which is also seen in the helmetless and suitless ending screens. In addition, her earliest unarmored appearance outside the games (the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' comics from the early 90s, which, [[YouDontLookLikeYou unlike the TV show]], are very faithful in depicting ''Metroid'' characters according to their original designs) depicted Samus with blonde hair, suggesting that the in-game brown hair color may have been picked in order to better stand out against Samus's skin tone within the [=NES=]'s very limited color options.

* RecurringFanonCharacter: Solomon Aran is the non-canon brother of Samus who was only mentioned in a Nintendo Power article. Some fans have portrayed him as Sylux’s [[LukeIAmYourFather true identity]].

** For a lot of fans Samus went through a stage of this in ''Other M'', as she spends a lot of the storyline mourning the baby Metroid, getting tricked by several antagonists,suffering a PTSD attack from Ridley and feeling powerless in various situations. Samus does regain her confidence by the end of game, but the story of ''Other M'' remains a low point for Samus' character still in the minds of a lot of fans. Chronologically, [[HesBack she's back to her old self]] in ''Fusion'', even developing a distrust for Federation authority. Release-wise, Samus is at peak form in the ''Metroid II'' remake ''Samus Returns''.

** In ''Fusion'', the extent to which Samus absorbs the X is only vaguely hinted at. Thus, it's unclear as to whether she's absorbing their DNA, or just their energy. The most "rational" interpretation is that Metroids absorb energy and leave behind lifeless dust, Samus is imbued with Metroid DNA, therefore, Samus is absorbing energy. Problem being some WordOfGod attempting to explain how Samus got the ice beam back when Metroid DNA should reject it, confusing the issue.

** If you say that you liked ''Other M'', even if you're just talking about its gameplay, expect a few eyebrows to raise. If you say that it's your favourite entry in the series, expect to be called delusional at best and for a fight to break out at worst. During the height of the game's {{hatedom}}, even if you agreed the game was awful, but dared say that it might have had a few good ideas, you'd still get detractors shouting that it had ''zero'' elements of worth; a stance that still somewhatremains to some degree, despite later, far better received 2D games continuing to build on the melee combat mechanics that ''Other M'' introduced, in addition to beam types and other small gameplay elements returning as well.

** ''Other M'' is often treated this way (, mainly due to Samus supposedly suffering from BadassDecay according to detractors, but also for its story being incredibly controversial and the gameplay generally being seen as passable at best and mindlessly awful at worst. It helps that it was an {{interquel}} GaidenGame that is not necessary the series' overarching plot.

** The Gravity Suit is purple in almost every game it shows up in, yet the fans think it looks cool on Samus despite it typically being perceived as a [[PinkMeansFeminine girly color]] in Western culture. ''Metroid Prime'' made it look even cooler by making it a darker purple and changing the color of its visor and lights from green to blue. Suffice to say, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks fans weren't thrilled]] that it was changed to an aura around the Varia Suit in ''Other M'' and didn't agree with [[WordOfGod Yoshio Sakamoto's reasoning]] that the purple suit looked goofy in serious cutscenes. It appears Sakamoto got the memo, as the Gravity Suit became purple again in ''Samus Returns'', in addition to getting its own unique design (as opposed to being a PaletteSwap of the Varia Suit).

** Fans like to say that any planet Samus lands on will explode at some point. While she still boasts a larger planet destruction count than most, with [[VideoGame/SuperMetroid Zebes]], [[VideoGame/MetroidFusion SR-388]], [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Dark Aether]], and [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Phaaze]], that's still not even half of the total planets she's visited. Planets left safely intact include [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime Tallon IV]], [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Alinos, Arcterra]], [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Aether]], [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld]].
* NewerThanTheyThink: Fans often joke that Samus is a DestructiveSavior that blows up ''every'' planet, station or other setting she's on. However, that trend actually started with ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''; in ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Metroid II|ReturnOfSamus}}'', only the Pirates' base and the area around it were destroyed, and she left [=SR388=] without anything blowing up at all. It reached AscendedMeme status after the launches of ''Videogame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''-- both of which had Samus escaping an exploding space station, and finishing off [=SR388=] for good in the former. The franchise has rolled with it since then -- out of the 10 non-remake games which star Samus, ''eight'' feature some setting blowing up, and a few feature more than one.

** Any long-time Metroid player's blood pressure goes up when they see [[WalkDontSwim water]] in a Metroid game. Though this gets MUCH better once you get the gravity suit or equivalent.

** ''Metroid Fusion's'' linear progression caused waves of complaints upon its release, as the game tends to direct the player on where to go.

** ''Metroid Other M'' because of its interpretation of Samus's personality. It especially got ire for seemingly {{retcon}}ning for Adam into Samus' father figure as opposed to the Chozo Old Bird and Gray Voice.
** To a lesser extent, ''Metroid Other M'' for flipping the balance between missiles and beams while also not allowing the player to fire missiles freely.

** Even ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has gotten this slightly. As more has come out about how some of the problems in the game came to be (mainly the English Translation ending up having gotten hindered by Sakamoto's lack of understanding of the language and how it unintentionally introduced controversial elements into what could be somewhat passable otherwise) and how some ideas in gameplay have carried over to later games, a portion of the fanbase has calmed down a bit, and is more willing to acknowledge there may be good ideas, and possibly even a decent enough game buried underneath a faulty story, rather than previous reactions of frothing rage.

** Thanks to the poor script of the English version of ''Other M'' ([[DamnedByFaintPraise not that the original was much better]]), Western fans found themselves wondering if Adam Malkovich was truly a good and noble man who cared about Samus, or an abusive {{Jerkass}} who actively tried to demean her? If the latter, was he always or just after she left his team?

** For a lot of fans Samus went through a stage of this in ''Other M'', as she spends a lot of the storyline mourning the baby Metroid, getting tricked by .Samus does regain her confidence by the end of game, but the story of ''Other M'' remains a low point for Samus' character still in the minds of a lot of fans. Chronologically, [[HesBack she's back to her old self]] in ''Fusion'', even developing a distrust for Federation authority. Release-wise, Samus is at peak form in the ''Metroid II'' remake ''Samus Returns''.

** Samus' portrayal in ''Other M''. While widely reviled among the larger ''Metroid'' fandom, some fans appreciated the character development, including female fans who found her to be [[https://www.thegamer.com/metroid-other-m-birthday-anniversary-samus-character-essay-nintendo/ more]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Metroid/comments/pzq09e/how_i_feel_about_samus_as_a_female_fan/ relatable.]]

** Samus went through a stage of this in ''Other M''. Fans found it odd that a story delving into her insecurities would take place at this point in the timeline; by the events of ''Super'', she has faced countless threats and monsters that others would not dare face. The idea that Samus became emotionally vulnerable in the aftermath of ''Super'' (with said vulnerability strangely having ''nothing'' to do with having to [[AngstWhatAngst destroy the planet she was raised on]]), but that she'd ever become so unsure her own capabilities to the point she makes herself subservient to her old CO came across as blasphemous, turning who many saw as a mentally strong character into a childish and naïve figure. The controversial scene where she suffers a [[HeroicBSOD panic attack]] upon seeing the cloned Ridley also didn't play well with fans, since she should be used to her foe having JokerImmunity. It didn't help that [[Manga/{{Metroid}} the manga]] had already tackled these themes far better. Samus does regain her confidence by the end of game, but the poorly-told story of ''Other M'' remains a low point for Samus' character in all the wrong ways. Chronologically, [[HesBack she's back to her old self]] in ''Fusion'', even developing a distrust for Federation authority. Release-wise, Samus is at peak form in the ''Metroid II'' remake ''Samus Returns''.
** As far as the bosses go, Kraid. He went from being the hardest boss in ''Metroid 1'', to be one of Mother Brain's four commanding officers in ''Super'', to getting severely toned down in difficulty in ''Zero Mission'', to [[spoiler:being taken to ZDR and restrained and tortured by Raven Beak in ''Dread''.]]

** In ''Fusion'', the extent to which Samus absorbs the X is only vaguely hinted at. Thus, it's unclear as to whether she's absorbing their DNA, or just their energy. The most "rational" interpretation is that Metroids absorb energy and leave behind lifeless dust, Samus is imbued with Metroid DNA, therefore, Samus is absorbing energy. Probleming being some WordOfGod attempting to explain how Samus got the ice beam back when Metroid DNA should reject it, confusing the issue.
** It's believed that the Ing are a form of semi-solidified Phazon. This is supported by the appearance of the Phaze-Ing in ''Prime 3'', which is basically a blue Inglet. This could very well be untrue, though, as it raises a lot of other questions, (like why Phazon kills most Ing, why the Emperor feeding on it without a metroid host is considered unusual). It's worth noting that Phazon beings are by nature highly vulnerable to having Phazon weaponized against them, so the Ing's vulnerability to exploding Phazon containers may be justified.

** If you say that you liked ''Other M'', even if you're just talking about its gameplay, expect a few eyebrows to raise. If you say that it's your favourite entry in the series, expect to be called delusional at best and for a fight to break out at worst. During the height of the game's {{hatedom}}, even if you agreed the game was awful, but dared say that it might have had a few good ideas, you'd still get detractors shouting that it had ''zero'' elements of worth; a stance that remains to some degree, despite later, far better received 2D games continuing to build on the melee combat mechanics that ''Other M'' introduced, in addition to beam types and other small gameplay elements returning as well.

** ''Other M'' is often treated this way, mainly due to Samus supposedly suffering from BadassDecay according to detractors, but also for its story being terrible overall and the gameplay generally being seen as passable at best and mindlessly awful at worst. It helps that it was an {{interquel}} GaidenGame that can be completely skipped without losing any comprehension of the series' overarching plot, with Creator/YoshioSakamoto himself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afUI8nIrGgI not even giving it a nod]] when discussing the series timeline during the press cycle for ''Dread''.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: After ''Other M'', many detractors have claimed that Samus has been forever tarnished as a lead due to the {{Chickification}}, [[FanservicePack increased sexualization]], and infantilization of the character. In regards to sexualization, examining the series as a whole will have one find that Samus was sexualized as early as the first game (seeing her in skimpy clothing or the skin-tight Zero Suit ''is'' a reward, after all); ''Other M'' simply exacerbated these issues to a gross degree that can't be as easily ignored as an end game "Congratulations" screen. As for her characterization, the ''[[Manga/{{Metroid}} Metroid]]'' manga, also portrayed Samus in much the same insecure manner as ''Other M''. The difference was that it took place when she was an older teen that was just starting out in the Federation police, and by the end of the story, Samus had matured and learned how to manage her trauma. As such, the few fans who did read the manga at the time view ''Other M'' as an example of character regression.

* IAmNotShazam: A somewhat common outsider mistake is to call Samus "Metroid"; the Metroids are a race of aliens that she hunts.

** Also, Samus suffering sudden shell shock against Ridley in ''Other M'', with the scene generally being pointed to as one of the worst story moments in the entire franchise.

** Following the derisive fan reaction to ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', the fandom became split over whether Creator/YoshioSakamoto (the series producer/director of the 2D games) or Creator/RetroStudios (the developers behind the 3D ''Prime'' games) best deserve the title of series caretaker. Complicating the matter is that [[AuthorsSavingThrow Sakamoto took criticisms]] of ''Other M'' to heart, with his subsequent entries giving the ''Metroid'' franchise the greatest publicity it has seen in years, while ''Prime 4'' still remains in DevelopmentHell.

** The Gravity Suit is purple in almost every game it shows up in, yet the fans think it looks cool on Samus despite it typically being perceived as a [[PinkMeansFeminine girly color]] in Western culture. ''Metroid Prime'' made it look even cooler by making it a darker purple and changing the color of its visor and lights from green to blue. Suffice to say, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks fans weren't thrilled]] that it was changed to an aura around the Varia Suit in ''Other M'' and didn't agree with [[WordOfGod Yoshio Sakamoto's reasoning]] that the purple suit looked ridiculous in serious cutscenes. It appears Sakamoto got the memo, as the Gravity Suit became purple again in ''Samus Returns'', in addition to getting its own unique design (as opposed to being a PaletteSwap of the Varia Suit).

** Any long-time Metroid player's blood pressure goes up when they see [[WalkDontSwim water]] in a Metroid game. Though this gets MUCH better once you get a certain suit upgrade.

** ''Metroid Fusion's'' linear progression caused waves of complaints upon its release.

** Even ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has gotten this slightly. As more has come out about how some of the problems in the game came to be (mainly the English Translation ending up having gotten hindered by Sakamoto's lack of understanding of the language and how it introduced problematic elements into what could be somewhat passable otherwise) and how some ideas in gameplay have carried over to later games, a portion of the fanbase has calmed down a bit, and is more willing to acknowledge there may be good ideas, and possibly even a decent enough game buried underneath a faulty story, rather than previous reactions of frothing rage.

** "Press the the run button". [[labelnote:Explanation]] The answer to a common newcomer question when encountering the so called "Noob Bridge" in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', which is made of collapsable blocks that are only avoidable by doing the above; which is never explained in game but AllThereInTheManual. [[/labelnote]]

*** "Creator/CoryBalrog is better." [[labelnote:Explanation]] A sister meme to the above involving Creator/DavidJaffe, who created the original ''VideoGame/GodOfWar2005'' and blasted ''VideoGame/MetroidDread''; whereas Balrog created the arguably more acclaimed sequels like ''VideoGame/GodOfWar2'' and ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 4]]'' yet praised ''Dread'' on Twitter. [[/labelnote]]

** Some believe that [[spoiler:Phaaze was simply a massive parasitic lifeform, without the sentience to understand the detrimental effects of its reproductive cycle, and that Dark Samus, which was actually a [[TitleDrop Metroid Prime]] that assimilated Samus's Phazon suit, enslaved it.]] This is actually backed up by [[DummiedOut unused Pirate logs]] in the game which show that [[spoiler: Dark Samus and the Pirates intended to force Phaaze to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt launch over 100 Leviathan Seeds simultaneously at the Federation]], which would have [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killed the planet.]]]]

* ArcFatigue: A major criticism of the series post-''Fusion'' was that Nintendo had [[CliffhangerWall seemingly refused to continue the story past said game]], despite ending on the revelation that [[spoiler:there is a conspiracy within the Federation to weaponize Metroids, and that Samus may find herself at odds with the Federation as a result]]. Every ''Metroid'' title released for the next nineteen years would be either a remake or an interquel, and despite most of these games being well-received, many fans were tearing their hair out waiting for an actual continuation past ''Fusion'', which would finally come with ''Dread''. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, ''Dread'' did nothing to address this plot point, basically pretending that it never happened, leaving fans even more frustrated.]]

** As far as the bosses go, Kraid. He went from being the hardest boss in ''Metroid 1'', to be one of Mother Brain's four commanding officers in ''Super'', to getting severely toned down in difficulty in ''Zero Mission'', to [[spoiler: being taken to ZDR and restrained and tortured by Raven Beak in ''Dread''.]]

** Samus' Zero Suit, which ended up turning her into more of a MsFanservice through the years. Some people appreciate the fanservice and/or find that the Zero Suit makes Samus seem more "human" and relatable since we can see her outside the armor more often. Others claim that [[http://feitclub.tumblr.com/post/85601345234/there-is-a-world-of-difference-between-tee-hee it ruined her character and undermined her reputation as a non-objectified strong female protagonist]]. In particular, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' turned Zero Suit Samus into her own entity and emphasized her fanservice elements, causing even more heated debate on how it affected Samus' image. There are also fans who enjoyed the stealth sequence and boss fight with the Zero Suit in ''Zero Mission'' and are indifferent to its ending appearances in other games, but dislike the way it is handled in the ''Super Smash Bros'' games. This is because in ''Smash Bros.'' it contradicts the Metroid series’ gameplay and story consistency by making Zero Suit Samus a much higher-tier character than Power Suit Samus, despite the games themselves explicitly demonstrating the opposite and showing how much more powerful Samus is with her Power Suit. They also feel that the fighting style could have been better used by any number of other characters without contradicting Metroid canon.

** Ridley's constant appearances throughout the franchise. Some fans cannot get enough of him, loving his status as Samus's ArchNemesis, and are even upset that he was absent from some games, most notably ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', feeling he deserves to be in everything. The other side is getting real tired of these constant appearances, finding that his role as Samus's eternal enemy has long worn out its welcome, and that the convoluted reasoning of how he [[JokerImmunity constantly manages to cheat death]] get more and more far-fetched with each installment. These arguments came to a head when ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' released [[spoiler: with the Proteus Ridley final boss battle and whether or not it was unnecessary fanservice or not.]] The run up to ''VideoGame/MetroidDread's'' release was filled with fans arguing with each other over whether Ridley should or should not make some kind of appearance in the game. [[spoiler: He was not in the game in any way, shape, or form, save for a piece of congratulatory artwork.]]

** With sister series ''Videogame/KidIcarus'', with most people who wanted a third game in that series, who even knew there was a second game that series, being ''Metroid'' fans. (there were some ''Kid Icarus'' fans annoyed that ''Metroid'' got a lot more attention but since ''Kid Icarus'' is even more of a cult series than ''Metroid'' they were never loud enough or in large enough number to cause a real stir). This is inspite of the two games having little in common because ''Kid Icarus'' did have one thing the first two ''Metroid'' title lacked: a map. There was a little hostility from the ''Metroid'' side over ''Super Smash Bros'' when ''Kid Icarus'' got more represenatiton than ''Metroid'' in the fourth entry, but that ended once Ridley got in the fifth game.

** With ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', since all three are sci-fi series starring badass [[OneManArmy one-person armies]] in power armor, to the point that it's common to see fanart of Samus, Master Chief, and the Doom Slayer together. (Nicknamed by some as "The Power Armor Trio"). While ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' and the original ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' were DuelingGames, the tension between the two fanbases has died down in later years.
** While there exists a mild FandomRivalry with ''Franchise/MegaMan'' and ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', there also exists overlap between all of them due to their roots on the NES and SNES.
** One formed with ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' around the time of ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'''s release, owing to the two franchises both having comebacks with ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' and ''Dread'', as well as both fanbases having a controversial entry that put the series on ice early in UsefulNotes/TheNewTens (''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' and ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry''). [[spoiler: ''Dread'' even gave Samus a rival the form of Raven Beak, who quoted Vergil's "power is everything". Not to mention Samus' Metroid form being compared to Dante's own Devil Trigger.]]

** With ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', since all three are sci-fi series starring badass [[OneManArmy one-person armies]]. While ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' and the original ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' were DuelingGames, the tension between the two fanbases has died down in later years.

** [[IAmNotShazam Calling Samus "Metroid"]], unless done in jest, is a ''terrible'' mistake. "Metroid" is [[AntagonistTitle the enemy the series is named after]]. The "y can't metroid crawl" meme is a particularly common riff on this. [[spoiler:This is all changed when ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' had [[AscendedMeme Samus fully transform into a humanoid Metroid]], with [[BigBad Raven Beak]] calling her "the Ultimate Metroid." Fans now jokingly concede that Samus is indeed "Metroid" and, thanks to her new slide move, can technically crawl]].

** Samus' Zero Suit, which ended up turning her into more of a MsFanservice through the years. Some people appreciate the fanservice and/or find that the Zero Suit makes Samus seem more "human" and relatable since we can see her outside the armor more often. Others claim that [[http://feitclub.tumblr.com/post/85601345234/there-is-a-world-of-difference-between-tee-hee it ruined her character and undermined her reputation as a non-objectified strong female protagonist]]. In particular, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' turned Zero Suit Samus into her own entity and cranked her fanservice elements UpToEleven, causing even more heated debate on how it affected Samus' image. There are also fans who enjoyed the stealth sequence and boss fight with the Zero Suit in ''Zero Mission'' and are indifferent to its ending appearances in other games, but dislike the way it is handled in the ''Super Smash Bros'' games. This is because in ''Smash Bros.'' it contradicts the Metroid series’ gameplay and story consistency by making Zero Suit Samus a much higher-tier character than Power Suit Samus, despite the games themselves explicitly demonstrating the opposite and showing how much more powerful Samus is with her Power Suit. They also feel that the fighting style could have been better used by any number of other characters without contradicting Metroid canon.

** Even ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has gotten this slightly. As more has come out about how some of the problems in the game came to be (mainly the English Translation ending up having gotten hindered by Sakamoto's lack of understanding of the language and how it introduced problematic elements into what could be somewhat passable otherwise) and how some ideas in gameplay have carried over to later games, a portion of the fanbase has calmed down a bit, and is more willing to acknowledge there may be good ideas, and possibly even a decent enough game buried underneath a faulty story, rather than previous reactions of frothing rage and insistence that it counts as an example of ''DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible''.

** Which is the best game in the series? For almost ''two decades'', the main two contenders were ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', with a smaller group even throwing VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission into the conversation. After ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' was released, a third entry entered the conversation, with ''Dread'' having the advantage of a massive NewbieBoom and the fact that many of the older titles haven't aged well.

** Nintendo having all ''Metroid'' games handled by outside studios rather than its internal teams following the disbanding of R&D1 after releasing ''Zero Mission''.[[note]]Due to restructuring in 2005, Nintendo's R&D studios no longer made games and instead co-produce and supervise subsiduary work, commissioned projects and third-party collaborations.[[/note]] Some see this as a sign of Nintendo not caring about the franchise at all, going the cheapest route to keep the franchise alive. Others think this approach is better considering how Nintendo arguably handles its franchises outside of "Mario, Zelda and Pokémon" triangle, and that many of the series' best entries weren't made in the main Japanese studios anyway (i.e., the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'').

** Which is the best game in the series: ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' or ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''? A smaller group even throws VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission into the conversation. For that matter, which branch of the series is the best: the 2D sidescrollers or the 3D first-person shooters?