Since her very first on-screen adventure, Samus has made use of an assortment of beam-type weapons, and this adventure is no exception. Most, if not all, of these weapons will be immediately familiar to Metroid veterans, but they may be welcome surprises nonetheless.
Power Beam
Samus’ bread and butter, the Power Beam may be the peashooter of the Metroid universe, but it gets the job done.
Charge Beam
The Charge Beam isn’t so much a weapon as a weapon enhancer. After obtaining it, Samus is able to charge up and fire more powerful versions of all of her other beams (save for the Grapple Beam). Pretty handy!
Ice Beam
The perfect tool for dealing with Metroids, especially on their home turf. The Ice Beam is not only the one beam-type weapon that can harm a Metroid, but it’s also incredibly useful when dealing with all the other creatures that inhabit SR388. Note, however, that “creatures” does not include non-organic enemies, of which there are plenty that aren’t affected by the Ice Beam.
Wave Beam
The Wave Beam defies spatial physics to allow Samus to fire through solid objects. This is handy in its own right, but combine that with the fact that it’s also a damage upgrade over the standard Power Beam and you may find yourself forgetting the Power Beam ever existed.
Grapple Beam
This weapon isn’t much of a weapon at all, but it does make for a clever utility device. It can hook onto certain Blocks to move or destroy them, and Samus can also anchor onto specific ceiling Blocks to swing to previously unreachable places. Add to that its efficiency in pulling wall- and ceiling-dwelling enemies from their perches, and Samus has got herself a top-tier tool to find and defeat every Metroid on this planet.
Spazer Beam
What’s better than one beam that shoots through walls? How about three simultaneous beams? That’s right! The Spazer Beam increases the number of beams you fire from your standard Power Beam. Instead of one simple beam, you fire three like an energy-based fork! A welcome upgrade for any Metroid-hunting bounty hunter.
Plasma Beam
The Plasma Beam is the deadliest beam in the game, and the Spazer and Wave Beams make it even better. It doesn’t boast any new features, but it does hit like a truck. It makes the task of defeating most enemies much easier. The only catch is that even this powerhouse of a weapon can’t deal damage to a Metroid. That’s rough stuff, but there are plenty of alternatives for you to choose from when it comes to the business of Metroid-slaying.