FICTIONAL CHRONOLOGY · RESEARCH EDITION

Metroid

Samus’s missions in story order: Zebes, the Phazon campaign, SR388 and the X crisis. Remakes and licensed retellings share their adventures; Ravenous has a clearly estimated placement.

38 works indexed46 sources

One connected game history. Prime 4 begins after Super Metroid and before Fusion according to Nintendo’s Japanese developer interview; its order against Other M is unspecified. Unplaced licensed stories remain included below, without being declared separate universes.

Media type

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Reading the timelineConfirmed, assumed and disputed stories appear together. “est.” marks inference. “After” means relative order. Separate continuities retain their own history.

SELECTED CONTINUITY

Samus’s history — 2D, Prime & licensed stories

Before 20X5

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

MangaConfirmed canonReleased 2003-11-21

Metroid — Magazine Z, volume 1

Samus’s origins and Chozo upbringing.

Placement Broad prequel placement is verified bibliographically; no precise chapter ages asserted without interiors. Volume 2 continues toward the first mission. Coyne recalls being told the origin manga was canon when Nintendo briefed the commercial team; specific uninspected scenes remain qualified.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View publisher record ↗View publisher record
Motion comicConfirmed canonReleased 2002–2003

Metroid e-comic — chapters 1–2

Animated and voiced web presentation of the opening origin chapters.

Placement A format adaptation beside the origin manga; historic Flash is unavailable here. Exact release day and spoken dates not verified. Coyne recalls being told the origin manga was canon when Nintendo briefed the commercial team; specific uninspected scenes remain qualified.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View historic official page ↗View historic official page
20X5

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 1986

Metroid — original game

Samus infiltrates Zebes to stop Mother Brain.

Placement The symbolic year is explicitly stated. Zero Mission retells and expands this mission.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2004

Metroid: Zero Mission

The Zebes operation and its expanded escape.

Placement Placed beside the original, not after Fusion because it released later. Includes the suitless pirate-ship sequence.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
MangaConfirmed canonReleased 2004-05-21

Metroid — Magazine Z, volume 2

The origin serial continues toward Samus’s first major mission.

Placement Indexed with the mission it leads into. Earlier scenes extend before this position; full interior/chapter chronology is still open. Missing inspection is not a canon dispute. Coyne recalls being told the origin manga was canon when Nintendo briefed the commercial team; specific uninspected scenes remain qualified.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View publisher record ↗View publisher record
MangaLicensed retellingReleased 1986

Metroid — Wanpakku Comics guide-manga

A manga and strategy-guide interpretation of the original mission.

Placement Grouped with its source adventure. Comedic additions are not assumed new game-canon missions; full panels and dates unavailable in this audit.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
GamebookLicensed retellingReleased 1986

Metroid: Zebes Invasion Order

An interactive prose/gamebook version of the Zebes mission.

Placement Branching choices belong to this licensed retelling, not a new timeline per ending. Library record checked; interior differences remain uninspected.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
Tallon IV

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 2002 / 2009 / 2023

Metroid Prime / Remastered / Wii editions

Samus investigates Tallon IV and Phazon.

Placement Remaster, Wii version and Trilogy inclusion share this adventure. The 20X5 backstory does not fix a separate exact Tallon IV year.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact Switch remaster of this adventure; not the original GameCube or three-game Trilogy edition.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Prime Remastered — Nintendo Switch
GameLicensed retellingReleased 2005

Metroid Prime Pinball

Samus collects artifacts and confronts Metroid Prime through pinball missions.

Placement At Prime’s story position; board mechanics are not a literal new journey. Official progression description checked.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
ComicLicensed retellingReleased 2003

Metroid Prime — Dreamwave / Nintendo Power #164–166

A short illustrated rendition of Prime.

Placement Issue headings cross-checked against the archival index. A reported two-years-after-Zebes line needs legal interior verification and is not imposed on the games.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
Alimbic era
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2006

Metroid Prime Hunters

Samus and rival hunters seek a mysterious power in the Alimbic Cluster.

Placement Direct developer interview supports this insertion. The title does not mean it predates the first Prime mission.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Full DS game, not First Hunt. Listing checked as pre-played/game only; check current condition, language and seller.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Prime Hunters — Nintendo DS, game-only listing
Aether

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 2004 / 2009

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes / Dark Echoes / Wii edition

Samus reaches the divided world of Aether.

Placement Trilogy and Wii versions are presentations of the same mission. No exact year assigned.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official Wii compilation includes this adventure (and Prime 1–3), not a Switch remaster. Check used condition, completeness and regional compatibility.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Prime Trilogy — Wii collector edition
MangaLicensed retellingReleased 2005–2006

Metroid Prime: Episode of Aether — chapters 1–7

A licensed manga interpretation of the Echoes conflict.

Placement One compact serial beside Echoes. Character and ending differences are adaptation qualifications, not an additional mission after the game. Full interiors not inspected.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
Before briefing
Game · Embedded segmentConfirmed canonReleased 2007

Prime 3 — Valhalla attack, remembered event

Space Pirates seize the Valhalla’s Aurora Unit.

Placement Optional embedded event, not another game. Four months comes from the actual manual; two months after Echoes is an arithmetic approximation within the stated six-month gap.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official Wii compilation includes this adventure (and Prime 1–3), not a Switch remaster. Check used condition, completeness and regional compatibility.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Prime Trilogy — Wii collector edition
6 months later
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2007 / 2009

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption / Trilogy edition

Samus and other hunters confront the spreading Phazon crisis.

Placement Manual printed p.33 explicitly supplies six months. The later one-month recovery is reported in game summaries; no exact calendar conversion is made.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official Wii compilation includes this adventure (and Prime 1–3), not a Switch remaster. Check used condition, completeness and regional compatibility.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Prime Trilogy — Wii collector edition
20X6

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 2016

Metroid Prime: Federation Force

Federation marines pilot Mechs against a renewed pirate threat.

Placement Japanese official caption states 20X6. UK synopsis additionally says several years after Phaaze; retained as attributed wording, without replacing the Japanese symbolic date. Before II in the established early Prime sequence.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2016

Metroid Prime: Blast Ball — training mode / standalone demo

Marines practice Mech handling in a three-on-three sport.

Placement The Japanese site explicitly frames this as troop training. Bundled mode and former free demo are one activity, not two campaigns; historic demo download is no longer promised.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
SR388

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 1991

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Samus descends into SR388 on the extermination mission.

Placement Original and Samus Returns share the mission and encounter with the infant. No precise gap from Federation Force verified.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

Read official story recap ↗Read official story recap
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2017

Metroid: Samus Returns

The SR388 expedition retold with added encounters and Chozo memories.

Placement Added material expands this story position. Do not put the remake after Dread because it uses similar mechanics.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
Return to Zebes

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 1994

Super Metroid

Samus pursues the stolen infant back to Zebes.

Placement Follows the infant’s delivery to the research station. Neither release years nor fan calendar reconstructions establish an exact interval.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
ComicLicensed retellingReleased 1994

Super Metroid — Nintendo Power #57–61

Benimaru Itoh’s five-part rendition of Super Metroid.

Placement Serial grouped at the source-game position. Added backstory and characters do not automatically rewrite game history; backup/flashback interiors still need legal review.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
MangaLicensed retellingReleased 1994

Super Metroid — Shounen Oh Game Comic strips

A short gag-manga take on the Super Metroid setting.

Placement Adaptation placement only; no assertion that gag scenes occurred literally. Interior dates and individual strip ordering unverified.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
Short filmPromotional onlyReleased 1994

Super Metroid — Japanese live-action commercial

Live-action research-facility imagery evokes Super’s opening.

Placement Director explains the facility’s connection to the game prologue. Kept beside Super; commercial staging does not establish an extra game-canon incident.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View director interview & video ↗View director interview & video
Super → Fusion

SHARED INTERVAL · MUTUAL ORDER UNRESOLVED

GameConfirmed canonReleased 2010

Metroid: Other M

A distress signal reunites Samus with Adam’s unit aboard the Bottle Ship.

Placement Same broad interval as Prime 4; their mutual order is not fixed by the Japanese interview. Group heading means shared interval, not the same story. Includes its playable epilogue.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact Wii adventure. Listing checked as pre-played/CIB; check current condition, seller and regional compatibility.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid: Other M — Wii, pre-played listing
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2025-12-04

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond / Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Samus is transported to Viewros and faces Sylux’s threat.

Placement Japanese developer answer overrides older blanket rules placing every Prime before II. Both platform editions are one story. Order against Other M remains unknown; Viewros’s temporal setting does not invalidate the departure’s placement.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game
X crisis

SAME STORY POSITION · FORMATS & ADAPTATIONS

GameConfirmed canonReleased 2002

Metroid Fusion

The X infection sends Samus to the B.S.L. station.

Placement Vaccination and the station crisis occupy one adventure. No unsupported exact year or age assigned.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

Read official story recap ↗Read official story recap
MangaLicensed retellingReleased 2003 collection

Metroid Fusion Special Edition: Rebirth of Samus

A short Fusion adaptation collected with Samus & Joey volume 1.

Placement Actual publisher preview contents identifies the bonus at printed p.175. Backup interior has not been inspected; placement follows its verified adaptation premise, not the date of the main Joey story.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Actual legal contents page viewed; backup story interior not inspected

Edition / access: Exact official collected volume containing the listed Fusion special. Japanese text; not a standalone English edition.

View on Amazon Japan ↗Samus & Joey volume 1 — Japanese Kindle edition
ZDR
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2021-10-08

Metroid Dread

Samus investigates the missing E.M.M.I. unit on ZDR.

Placement The direct continuation of Fusion’s X/Metroid arc. Difficulty and boss-rush updates are not additional dated stories.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Corresponding official edition. Confirm platform, language and edition at the retailer; stock is not asserted.

View on Amazon US ↗Metroid Dread — Nintendo Switch
After Dread
GameConfirmed canonReleased 2027-01-28 · upcoming at audit date

Metroid Ravenous

An ambush strands Samus on an unfamiliar moon.

Placement Provisional insertion based on the official newly awakened Metroid-instinct premise and the preceding arc. Release is confirmed; this story placement is inference and may change before launch.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official preorder ↗View official preorder

Placement still unresolved

Listed here without a chronological claim. Missing interiors need inspection before dates can be determined.

DemoUNRESOLVED
Game demoPromotional onlyReleased 2004

Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt

A Nintendo DS pack-in demonstration of Hunters-style play.

Placement Not assumed a separate story before Hunters merely because the demo released first. Narrative significance requires original demo/manual review.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

Read developer interview ↗Read developer interview
After ZebesUNRESOLVED

CONNECTED RUN · SAMUS & JOEY → EX

MangaAssumed canonReleased 2003–2004 / digital 2022

Metroid: Samus & Joey — volumes 1–3

Samus meets Joey and journeys with the aspiring young fighter.

Placement Actual p.5 is a real relative clue, not an undated-by-default label. It does not uniquely identify first Zebes versus Super. Retained in the connected history with unresolved insertion; no invented alternate universe. Link is volume 1, not all three volumes. Separate volume 2 and 3 links are provided below.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Legal preview contents and printed pp.4–7 inspected; later chapters/volumes not read

Edition / access: Nearest official starting volume for the three-volume run; this purchase contains volume 1 only. Volumes 2 and 3 are sold separately.

View on Amazon Japan ↗Samus & Joey — volume 1, Japanese Kindle
Volume 2 — Japanese Kindle — View on Amazon Japan ↗
Volume 3 — Japanese Kindle — View on Amazon Japan ↗
MangaAssumed canonReleased 2004–2005

Metroid EX: Samus & Joey — sequel serial

Samus and Joey’s adventures continue in a separate sequel serial.

Placement Relative sequel ordering retained without guessing a game-era year. No official collected edition verified; link is bibliography, not unauthorized full scans.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
Earlier memoriesUNRESOLVED
Short filmPromotional onlyReleased 2010

Past is Prologue — Other M live-action commercial

A live-action promotional reflection on Samus’s history.

Placement Contains narrative images; retained as promotional material. Montage spans different earlier periods and is not a new mission between Super and Fusion. Creator interview supplies context and embedded presentation.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View creator interview & video ↗View creator interview & video
Before SR388UNRESOLVED
Game · Embedded segmentConfirmed canonReleased 2017

Samus Returns — Chozo Memories

Unlockable images reveal SR388’s earlier Chozo history.

Placement Optional embedded backstory from the remake; the game unlock order is not a calendar. Placement against Samus’s childhood is unspecified. Not sorted ahead of Samus’s childhood because their mutual order has not been established.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official game ↗View official game

SELECTED CONTINUITY

Licensed crossovers — no shared Samus calendar

Placement still unresolved

Listed here without a chronological claim. Missing interiors need inspection before dates can be determined.

VideolandUNRESOLVED
ComicOfficial crossoverReleased 1990

Captain N: The Game Master — Valiant #1–5

Samus joins Captain N’s Videoland adventures.

Placement One short licensed run for inventory. Backup-story ordering, guidebook pages and possible issue jumps require legal interiors; no calendar or shared game history asserted.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
ValiantUNRESOLVED
ComicOfficial crossoverReleased 1990

Deceit Du Jour

Samus stars in a short standalone Valiant adventure.

Placement Listed separately from the Captain N serial. Actual legal interiors were not located; no invented order from the anthology table of contents.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
ValiantUNRESOLVED
ComicOfficial crossoverReleased 1990

Metroid — one-page Valiant story

A one-page Metroid comic feature.

Placement Listed separately from the Captain N serial. Actual legal interiors were not located; no invented order from the anthology table of contents.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record
SmashUNRESOLVED
GameOfficial crossoverReleased 2008

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Subspace Emissary

Samus participates in the conflict with the Subspace Army.

Placement The explicit crossover campaign is not inserted between Galactic Federation missions. No chronological relationship to World of Light claimed.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

View official story introduction ↗View official story introduction
SmashUNRESOLVED
GameOfficial crossoverReleased 2018

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: World of Light

Samus and the other fighters face Galeem’s attack.

Placement Official narrative trailer retained. Release order does not establish a sequel relationship with Subspace.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Official work information / edition page. No exact Amazon match verified in this audit; historic storefront availability is not promised.

Watch official trailer ↗Watch official trailer
ValiantUNRESOLVED
ComicOfficial crossoverReleased 1990

The Coming of a Hero

A short Valiant introduction to Samus.

Placement Listed separately from the Captain N serial. Actual legal interiors were not located; no invented order from the anthology table of contents.

Research & access notes

Inspection: Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected

Edition / access: Exact bibliography or publisher record; this is information about the work, not free full-story access. No exact purchasable Amazon edition verified.

View edition record ↗View edition record

Keep the footnotes.

Open research ledger