Ranking all of Samus' Suits

Some of Samus' suits are remarkably well-designed and fun to look at, with colors and aesthetics that drip off the screen. Just absolutely sumptuous design on some of these, and it's probably a part of why the series has been successful over the years.

The ranking will be based mostly on the look and art design of each suit, with maybe 20% consideration given to their ingame abilities. It isn't about which is more powerful than which (something largely impossible to determine from game to game, given the mostly-shared ability pool). It's more about which ones are the most appealing to look at in action.

Now with Metroid Prime 4 added

14. Fusion Suit (Metroid Fusion) - This one is an abomination against nature, and for a long time it was synonymous with the main series being seemingly over with (for 19 years). Metroid Fusion couldn't have a sequel (unless they Deus Ex Machina'd the suit off of Samus and back into a separate thing, which they did). A literal fusion of Samus, her suit, and Metroid DNA, this suit is quite unattractive and unappealing from a form factor perspective. It's also much weaker than Samus' other suits, with a huge weakness to ice. The whole look and lore of this suit just feels like a big misstep. At least it was creative, since it turns Samus into essentially part-Metroid, hunched over and primal in a way she isn't in the rest of the series.

13. PED Suit (Metroid Prime 3) - A mass-produced Federation suit that gives Samus a significantly more powerful beam, this was Metroid Prime 3's big addition to the suit lineup. You can really see the Halo effect rubbing off here, as Nintendo decided to try and emulate that series since it was so big at the time. End result is a fairly generic suit that is powerful yes - probably the second-most powerful suit on this list - but just doesn't do anything for me. I barely even remembered it for this list. Just generic.

12. Dark Suit (Metroid Prime 2) - An interesting suit that adapts Samus to the oppressive climate of Dark Aether. Pairs well with the Dark Beam. I like how Metroid Prime 2 got so much mileage out of Light and Dark elements after the first game based its beams around Fire, Ice, and Electric elements. There's also an interesting Luminoth tech aesthetic with this suit and it's pretty recognizable. Why is it so low? Because of those damn shoulderpads. It looks like she's about to transform into a motorcycle or something. (Editor's Note: Just wait 20 years...) As interesting as this suit is, it isn't appealing to look at.

11. Light Suit (Metroid Prime 2) - This one is better, and opts for a sleek streamlined approach that rocks a much higher power level than the bulky, muscled Dark Suit. This is a theme that shows up quite a bit in Japanese culture: See also DBZ having Freeza's strongest form be the smaller, sleeker, streamlined form rather than the large, formidable-looking forms. This one can dominate Dark Aether, and pairs well with the Light Beam. So why is it ranked low? That bizarre chest. Once again, they got weird with it and it doesn't really work.

10. Viola Suit (Metroid Prime 4) - Has a very Tron esque look to it with heavy usage of reds. What makes this suit interesting is the ability to manipulate things with force and psychic telekinesis. Also, the whole bike thing. It's alright. I've seen worse, but it doesn't really look like Samus. It's too streamlined and soft, like something created in a boardroom to Sell Product. The psychic abilities also feel way more like magic spells and veer away from the series' normal science and physics.

9. Enhanced PED Suit w/ Hazard Shield (Metroid Prime 3) - The Phazon enhancement on this suit gives it some punch (both in power and look) but it still has the same issue of being a generic-looking suit. This could be from any game. It does look nice with the lights on, regardless, and has an interesting temporary offensive powerup that lets you blitz everything. This gives it a more direct gameplay purpose and usage that stands out.

8. Power Suit (Metroid 1+) - There is a BIG jump here from the previous entries to this one. This is the first suit on the list that I really love. The suit Samus uses in the first game (and wears for much of Metroid Prime, until she gets the Varia) has a nice simple design that always stood out from other game protagonists, especially in the 1980's. In-universe, it was created by the Chozo and adapted to upgrade with their various artifacts, making it some pretty damn interesting technology. Why isn't it higher? Because it has so much steep competition. This is just the "base form" for everything else, and as such it doesn't really stack up to some of the later models. Without this suit, we don't have a series...or at least, don't have the unique protagonist.

7. Metroid Suit (Metroid Dread) - Going from the weakest suit to the most powerful. While the aesthetic is pretty fugly, this is the strongest suit on this list in raw destructive ability. This is Samus gaining the full power of her Metroid DNA in a way that the Fusion Suit could only hint at. It's the Id Gear to the Fusion Suit's Weltall-2 "System Id". Firing highly-potent Kamehameha-like energy blasts that cleave through walls like they're nothing, this suit is a force of nature. I'd like to see a Metroid 6 just to get more of this suit in action. Don't give us something this insane and just leave it hanging!

6. Legacy Suit (Metroid Prime 4) - Big upgrade over the Tron suit. While it isn't sexy like the Dread suit, this one has some feminine aesthetic that makes it a pretty decent-looking outfit. Has a temporary defensive boost that can be activated, sort of the reverse of the PED Suit's offensive boosts. Given how sleek and shiny this bad boy is, this is definitely what Metroid Prime 2's Light Suit should have been. Also really like the reflective surfaces.

5. Gravity Suit (Super Metroid+) - One that I'd like to rank higher but can't really justify it. I like the purple color and the ability to move normally underwater, and this looked great in Super Metroid as the ultimate suit there. However, there isn't much to it. It's just the Varia Suit with purple added and higher defense stat. It's pretty awesome, in any case.

4. Zero Suit (Zero Mission) - Like it or not, this suit has been diminished a bit by the endless fetishization of it online and all the exploitative artwork of Samus' ass. Still, this suit is aesthetically pleasing for your eyeballs and there's nothing wrong with that. It's probably the weakest suit on this list in terms of powers, but in a way that actually enhances why it's cool: It's Samus demonstrating her resourcefulness and being able to defend herself for the last portion of Zero Mission even without her OP suits. Represents something cool in that regard, and it's simply a sexy outfit.

3. Fusion Suit Plus (Metroid Dread) - Speaking of sexy, the narrow-waist and round-hips design of this suit manages to be much sexier than any other armored suit in the series. This suit is nearly perfect in shapes and colors; the only part I don't really like is the weirdly-narrow head. Regardless, this was their way of following up the Fusion Suit (which seemed permanent) by separating the suit from Samus to become its own normal power suit. An interesting thing about this suit is how it starts out resembling musculature / muscle fibers etc, and gains more layers/bulk as Samus finds more upgrades to it.

2. Varia Suit (Metroid 2+) - The most iconic out of all of Samus' suits, and the one most people think of when they think of the Metroid series. There's a reason for that: It's incredibly appealing. The colors are perfect, the form is perfect. Simple is good, and this one hits all the right notes. It's also the reason the Power Suit isn't higher; it holds down the poor Power Suit in two out of the three games the PS appears in. The Power Suit is just the junior version of this one that you put up with until you get to the real suit. On a personal note, this suit is what sold me on Metroid II to begin with when I knew nothing about the series and needed to pick out a new game in a K-Mart. I might not be sitting here writing this if it weren't for this suit.

1. Phazon Suit (Metroid Prime) - The pinnacle of suits, above even the Gravity Suit in Metroid Prime. It doesn't appear in any other game, and you only have it for like the last 10% of the game, from the end of Phazon Mines onward. So this is a very prestigious suit for the short time you get to use it, making it even more memorable. And man, is it memorable. Various shades of black and dark grey, with both red and blue highlights, make this suit stand out above all others. THIS is what the Dark Suit in Metroid Prime 2 should have looked like.

It's easily my pick for #1 out of all of Samus' suits, and it's too bad we likely won't get it in any other games. The fact that this only appears in Metroid Prime is part of why I still consider that game the peak of the series. It's the only one where Samus felt like she reached "full power" relative to what came before, as it were, though the PED Suit tried to outdo this (lol) and now we have the Metroid Suit upstaging everything else. Regardless, even if it's only the third most powerful suit on this list, nothing beats the Phazon Suit in cool factor and appeal during gameplay.

Editor's Note: How great would Metroid Prime 2 be if it had the Phazon Suit and Legacy Suit as the Dark Suit / Light Suit?