Despite spanning decades since the release of the first title in 1986, the Nintendo's Metroid series of action-platforming and first-person shooting video games is one of the few in the company's lineup to actually follow a consistent narrative.
The struggles of space-faring bounty hunter Samus Aran against the titular Metroid species and those who seek to weaponize them have been repeatedly emphasized to be interconnected, both in the games themselves and by its creators.
Given that the upcoming release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is looking to follow this trend, prominently featuring a recurring villain, now is the perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with the complete Metroid timeline, which we at EarlyGame are glad to provide. The games will be presented in chronological instead of release order, following the official timelines released by Nintendo.
Among the various Metroid manga adaptations, this is the only one confirmed as canon. It follows Samus Aran's origins, growing up on the Galactic Federation colony K-2L before a Space Pirate attack led by space dragon Ridley leaves her the sole survivor. Rescued by the Chozo, an ancient bird-like race, she is taken to Planet Zebes, infused with their DNA to survive and gets superhuman abilities (like summoning her signature Power Suit) in the process. After Mother Brain, the supercomputer in charge of controlling Zebes, betrays the Chozo and forces them to flee, Samus joins the Galactic Federation before growing frustrated with military command, especially commanding officer Adam Malkovich and becoming a bounty hunter. Mother Brain leads the Space Pirates to steal larvae of the Chozo's artificially-created Metroid species, wanting to turn them into bioweapons on Zebes. | © Nintendo
In the Metroid timeline, remakes supercede the original entries, which is why the first game chronologically is Metroid: Zero Mission (2004), a remake of Metroid (1986). Intending to stop the Zebesian Metroid breeding program, the Galactic Federation launches a full-on assault, which eventually fails. In a last-ditch effort, they send bounty hunter Samus Aran to infiltrate the Space Pirate fortress Tourian and defeat Mother Brain, who sits under a cave system called Brinstar. Samus eventually defeats the supercomputer along with generals Kraid and Ridley, but after escaping, her ship is shot down, forcing her to explore the ruins of Chozodia in only her Zero Suit, before regaining her Power Suit and defeating the robot Mecha Ridley. She destroys a Space Pirate Mother Ship, erasing their Metroid research. | © Nintendo
Three years later, Samus investigates a distress signal from the Frigate Orpheon orbiting Tallon IV, where she discovers both the aftermath of failed genetic experiments and Meta Ridley, a version of her nemesis who has been revived with cybernetic implants. Pursuing him to the planet, Samus uncovers that, after having formerly been inhabited by the Chozo, the planet has been corrupted by Phazon, a toxic radioactive substance carried by a meteor (called a Leviathan). She discovers that the Space Pirates are using Phazon to develop supersoldiers. After defeating Meta Ridley and a Phazon-infused Metroid called Metroid Prime within the Impact Crater, Samus escapes as Tallon IV's Phazon core collapses, seemingly purging the corruption, but having to leave one of her suits behind. | © Nintendo
Beyond the Galactic Federation's reach lies the Tetra Galaxy, once ruled by the now-vanished Alimbics. A mysterious message promising "ultimate power" lures several rival bounty hunters, including Samus Aran and an opponent of the Galactic Federation called Sylux – to the Alimbic Cluster. Sent by the Federation to uncover the truth and prevent this power from falling into the wrong hands, Samus battles through ancient Alimbic worlds, collecting various objects to discover the history of the extinct civilization. It turns out that the call had been issued by a millenia-old being named Gorea, attempting to trick the bounty hunters into freeing it after it had been sealed away following its genocide of the Alimbics. Samus manages to destroy Gorea and the dimension it was trapped in. | © Nintendo
Samus Aran is sent to the planet Aether to locate the missing Galactic Federation Squad Bravo, only to discover the world split between light and dark dimensions after a Leviathan impact. Aiding the few remaining native Luminoth against the shadowy Ing who seek to drain Aether's planetary energy, Samus fights to recover Energy Transfer Modules to restore the energy of Light Aether. She not only discovers that the squad had been murdered by the Ing, but that apparently, the remains of Metroid Prime on Tallon IV had posessed the suit she left behind, forming Dark Samus, whom she repeatedly clashes with. In the end, she defeats the Emperor Ing and narrowly escapes the collapsing Dark Aether, wrongfully assuming Dark Samus had been defeated in their final confrontation on the planet. | © Nintendo
Six months later, Samus Aran alongside three other bounty hunters – Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda – are hired by the Galactic Federation to purge their Aurora Unit supercomputers of a virus believed to be of Space Pirate origin, only to find out that Phazon is to blame. All four are infected with Phazon corruption by Dark Samus. Sent to destroy the Phazon-infested Leviathans on several planets, Samus is forced to kill her now-corrupted allies as well as the Phazon-infused Omega Ridley while also battling her own corruption as Dark Samus grows stronger. Eventually, she reaches planet Phaaze, the source of all Phazon and defeats Dark Samus and the corrupted Aurora Unit 313, purging all Phazon from the universe. It is revealed that Sylux is now secretly pursuing her. | © Nintendo
Following the destruction of Phazon, the Galactic Federation launches Operation Golem, creating mechanized Power Suit–inspired armor for elite soldiers known as the Federation Force to combat any future Space Pirate threat. Their first mission in the Bermuda System leads them across the three planets Excelcion, Talvania and Bion where they uncover renewed Pirate activity and a plot to build a massive cloaked warship, the Doomseye, to attack Federation Headquarters. They also retrieve a Metroid egg stolen by the Space Pirates. After rescuing a captured Samus Aran and destroying the Doomseye's control core, the Federation Force are hailed as heroes, but a secret ending reveals Sylux stealing and hatching a Metroid egg, hinting at new dangers to come. | © Nintendo
While we don't know the full details of Metroid Prime 4's plot yet, it seems to finally resolve the mystery of Sylux, with him apparently leading the Space Pirates to attack the Galactic Federation with a new breed of mind-controlling Metroids. | © Nintendo
Yes, this remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991) takes place after the entire Metroid Prime subseries. With them being deemed too dangerous to exist, Samus Aran is sent to planet SR388 to exterminate the Metroid species. Exploring the planet's vast caverns, she battles Metroids through their full life cycle and discovers Chozo Memories showing their creation by the Thoha and Mawkin tribes. The final two Memories depict Mawkin leader Raven Beak's massacre of the Thoha. Samus defeats the Queen Metroid but spares a newborn hatchling that imprints on her as its mother. She fends off the tissue-transplanted Proteus Ridley and escapes with the Baby Metroid. A post-credits scene reveals shape-shifting parasites now spreading across the planet. | © Nintendo
Afterwards, Samus Aran brings the Baby Metroid from SR388 to the Ceres Space Colony, where scientists study its potential to benefit humanity, until Ridley attacks, kills the researchers, and escapes with the hatchling to Planet Zebes, where the Space Pirate strongholds have been rebuilt. Pursuing him, Samus defeats the four generals Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon and finally kills Ridley to reach a reborn Mother Brain in Tourian. After nearly losing the battle, the mutated Baby Metroid sacrifices itself to save Samus, empowering her with the Hyper Beam that fully destroys Mother Brain. This activates a self-destruct system, with Samus only narrowly escaping Zebes as it explodes, seemingly marking the end of the Space Pirates as an organization and the Metroid species. | © Nintendo
Samus Aran investigates the derelict BOTTLE SHIP after receiving a distress signal, where she reunites with her former commander Adam Malkovich and his Galactic Federation Platoon. Together, they uncover an illegal bioweapon program created by a secret ringleaders within the Galactic Federation, using DNA from leftover cells secretly collected from Samus' Power Suit to create cybernetic Space Pirates, cloning Metroids and Ridley, and building a Mother Brain-based AI android named MB to control them. In an effort to "protect" the bioweapons, MB goes rogue, forcing Adam to sacrifice himself to destroy parts of the ship, while Samus defeats the Ridley clone, kills a Queen Metroid, while MB is killed by the Platoon. Days later, the Federation destroys the entire ship. | © Nintendo
While escorting researchers on SR388, Samus Aran is infected by the X Parasite and saved by a vaccine derived from the Baby Metroid's DNA, forcing the removal of parts of her Power Suit. She learns that the Chozo had created the Metroids as biological control for the X, which can shape-shift and assimilate their victims' memories. The vaccine allows Samus to absorb them. Investigating the Biologic Space Laboratories Station, she confronts an X clone of her suit called SA-X and uncovers a secret ringleader program to clone Metroids. Realizing the X could destroy all life, Samus triggers the station's self-destruct, aided by the uploaded consciousness of her late commander Adam Malkovich, causing the station to crash into SR388, seemingly eradicating both the X and the planet. | © Nintendo
After the Galactic Federation receives proof of X Parasites on Planet ZDR, Samus Aran investigates, but is ambushed by Chozo warlord Raven Beak and DNA-harvesting E.M.M.I. robots. Aided by the surviving Chozo scientist Quiet Robe, Samus learns Raven Beak's Mawkin tribe betrayed and wiped out the Thoha to take control over the Metroids. But with the species now extinct, Raven Beak had to lure Samus to harvest her Metroid DNA from the Fusion vaccine. Both he and Quiet Robe had donated their DNA to Samus back in the manga, leading Raven Beak to see himself as her father. In his final bid for power, Raven Beak infects himself and the Mawkin with X, but Samus defeats him and destroys ZDR. With her Metroid DNA neutralized thanks to a final act of Quiet Robe, this ends the Metroids. | © Nintendo
Given that the upcoming release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is looking to follow the trend of Metroid games being interconnected by prominently featuring a recurring villain, now is the perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with the complete Metroid timeline, which we at EarlyGame are glad to provide.
