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Varia Suit

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Varia Suit
Samus's Varia Suit

Corruption's Varia Suit

Game(s)

All Metroid games

Users
Acquiring Method
Properties

Significantly decrease or remove damage taken, especially from environmental hazards

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The Varia Suit (Varia in Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus; Varia Feature in Metroid: Other M) is a recurring Power Suit upgrade. It is of Chozo origin. The Varia Suit is often the first upgrade to a suit that is obtained. However, in Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Samus never acquires this suit, as it is already active from the beginning. Throughout the Metroid series, the function of the Varia Suit, as with many upgrades, differs slightly.

Properties and Locations[edit | edit source]

The properties of the Varia Suit are usually simple, increasing Samus's defenses against attacks and, more importantly, the environment. Though its function changes slightly from time to time, the properties of the Varia Suit aren't defined in Hunters, Echoes, or Corruption because they are part of her initial arsenal.

Metroid[edit | edit source]

The Varia Suit can be obtained permanently in Brinstar. The Suit reduces damage taken by Samus by 50%.

Metroid: Zero Mission[edit | edit source]

In this remake of the original Metroid, the Varia Suit gains the temperature resistance from later games, as well as a 20% damage reduction. The Suit is normally obtained in Brinstar after obtaining the Hi-Jump Boots.

Here, the Varia Suit resists high-temperature rooms, swarms of Bomb Parasites, and the acid-like substance throughout Brinstar and Kraid. Samus still takes damage from the extremely hot lava found in Norfair, as well as the acid in Tourian; these require the Gravity Suit.

The Varia Suit upgrade carries over to the Legendary Power Suit, though it only appears for a brief moment before the Gravity Suit is applied.

Metroid Prime[edit | edit source]

Samus possesses the Varia Suit while she first ventures the Frigate Orpheon, but it is lost after her suit malfunctions from an explosion during her escape. It is later recovered after defeating Flaahgra, the source of the acid in the Chozo Ruins. It reduces damage taken by 10% and protects Samus from super-heated areas, most of which are in the Magmoor Caverns. Ironically, after Flaahgra is defeated, the toxic water in the Chozo Ruins disappears, rendering the Varia Suit nearly useless in that environment.

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

The Varia reduces damage by 50% and increases movement speed.

Super Metroid[edit | edit source]

Samus obtains the Varia Suit after defeating Kraid. It reduces damage by 50% and stops damage from super-heated areas, such as Norfair.

Metroid: Other M[edit | edit source]

The Varia Feature shares the same function as it did in its predecessor. Adam authorizes the Varia Feature during Samus's battle with a large lava creature, Goyagma. Samus had many opportunities to activate the Varia Feature prior to this battle, but refused to do so until Adam authorized it.

Metroid Fusion[edit | edit source]

Samus obtains the Varia Suit after the Mega Core-X steals the suit data from the Data Room Samus was sent to. Samus chases down the Core-X and absorbs it. The Varia Suit reduces damage to Samus's suit by 40% and protects her from intense heat and cold. This makes it possible for Samus to absorb the Blue X Parasites that would have otherwise damaged her and prevents Samus from being frozen by the Ice Beam of the SA-X.

The SA-X is also equipped with the Varia Suit, along with many of Samus's weapons. This makes SA-X completely untouchable until Samus obtains the Plasma Beam and Diffusion Missiles. Samus obtains this special suit after the Omega Metroid demolishes an SA-X, leaving behind the X to absorb.

Trophy Info[edit | edit source]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit | edit source]

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


Sprites[edit | edit source]

Game Samus in the Varia Suit
The Varia Suit upgrade
Metroid Samus Varia Suit
Metroid II: Return of Samus Samus Varia Suit
Super Metroid Samus Varia Suit
Metroid Fusion Samus Varia Suit
Metroid: Zero Mission Samus Varia Suit

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • The Varia Suit is the only suit to appear in every Metroid game, though Super Metroid is the first game where the Varia Suit gained its heat-resistant traits, and Metroid Fusion adds that it can also resist similarly-extreme cold. The trait of it being resistant to extremely cold temperatures might also be due to the fact that in Fusion, she's now part metroid due to the vaccine that saved her life, as metroid are unable to survive in cold temperatures.
  • In Other M, Samus is supposed to avoid activating suit features that could damage the environment. Though neither the Varia nor the Gravity Features are known to do so, she does not activate and Adam does not authorize them until after she has had her first encounter with dangerously hot environments and lava, and after the first battle against the gravity-manipulating Nightmare, respectively.
  • In the first Metroid, the Varia Suit was simply a then-pink version of the then-orange Power Suit. Metroid II was developed for a monochrome display, so the now-standard pauldrons were added, and artwork had already recolored the suit to be orange versus the Power Suit's new yellow. Zero Mission attempted to make peace with things by establishing two different Power Suits: the first is used throughout most of this first mission and retains the 'palette swap' nature (now orange) from the original game when the Varia Suit is applied to it, while the pauldrons and etc are part of a different suit Samus obtains after losing the previous one. Similarly, Fusion introduces the brand new Fusion Suit and makes the Varia (and the Gravity) Suit a palette swap of this base.
  • The term 'varia' is a corruption of the English word 'barrier'. Strangely, the North American and European manuals for Metroid II refer to the suit itself as the 'Barrier Suit', and the in-game 'Varia' item as an upgrade to create it[1]. The whole concept would simply be named the Varia Suit going forward.

References[edit source]

  1. "Barrier Suit
    Becomes enabled when Samus finds the Varia.
    " Metroid II: Return of Samus Instruction Booklet, Pg 14


Suits of Metroid
Power Suit · Legendary Power Suit · Varia Suit · Gravity Suit · Fusion Suit · Phazon Suit · Zero Suit · Dark Suit · Light Suit · Phazon Enhancement Device Suit · Hazard Shield