Despite Metroid being one of the most iconic video game franchises, the series doesn't waste a release. It's one of the most consistently story-driven Nintendo series, with very few spin-offs from the mainline games. That's mostly due to Nintendo's focus on the franchise's main protagonist, bounty hunter Samus Aran.

Most video game fans know Samus through her appearances in the Super Smash Bros franchise. However, the Metroid games depict her as a flawed, yet determined hero as she faces alien threats. These plot points throughout the Metroid series, whether it be games or tie-in media, are Samus's biggest missteps so far.

10 Samus Tries To Befriend Ridley

A Metroid manga panel where a young Samus approaches Ridley

The Metroid franchise has tons of backstory that doesn't always make it into the mainline games. That's why fans should be interested in the first volume of Metroid's manga adaptation. Published in 2002, the first volume dives deep into Samus's backstory, especially her relationship with her arch-nemesis Ridley.

As a child, Samus was raised by two parents on a colonial planet called K-2L. However, the planet was ultimately doomed by the arrival of space pirates, led by the dragon Ridley. The young Samus tried to show compassion to Ridley, but Ridley's murderous ways continued, and the dragon killed Samus's parents in response.

9 Samus Rescues The Baby Metroid

Samus encountering Ridley and the kidnapped Baby in Super Metroid

Super Metroid is one of the best entries in the Metroid franchise, even almost 30 years after its release. In this title, Metroid fans were certainly emotionally attached to the relationship between Samus and an infant Metroid throughout the game. Sadly, this attachment only leads to more bloodshed thanks to Samus's mistakes.

RELATED: SNES Games Available For Switch Online That Still Hold Up

After leaving the baby Metroid at Ceres Space Colony, Samus departs for other adventures. Upon returning, however, the colony has been destroyed by another Ridley invasion, and the dragon kidnaps the baby Metroid. If only Samus hadn't abandoned the colony, she could have protected them from the space pirates.

8 Samus Carries An Alien Parasite

SA-X, the clone of Samus, appearing in Metroid Fusion

The GameBoy Advance's Metroid Fusion takes place after the events of Metroid: Other M, which released for Wii years later. In Fusion, Samus continues her work with the Galactic Federation, aiding in research. After a mission to another planet, Samus and the researchers are mistakenly injected with a parasite known as "X."

Thanks to Samus's infection from the X-parasite, her Power Suit has to be surgically removed and renovated. She miraculously survives, gaining a new Fusion Suit and an immunity to the X-parasite. However, the X-parasite in her body takes on a new form called SA-X, a cloned copy of Samus that tries to kill her.

7 Samus Destroys Frigate Orpheon

Frigate Orpheon as it appears in Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime is a fan-favorite of the franchise, seeing a switch from 2D sidescroller to 3D shooter. The game opens on Samus's journey to a space pirate frigate known as "Orpheon." There, Samus discovers a Parasite Queen that's taken up residence in the frigate's reactor core, causing a distress signal.

However, killing the Parasite Queen turns out to have adverse effects for the orange-suited hero. The dying parasite falls into the reactor, causing the entire vessel to self-destruct. During Samus's escape, she runs into Ridley yet again, who is now improved thanks to cybernetic enhancements, and chases him through space.

6 Samus Faces A Space Pirate Ambush

Zero Suit Samus encountering the space pirate mother ship in Zero Mission

Metroid: Zero Mission finds Samus arriving at the planet Zebes to destroy all Metroid organisms and kill Mother Brain. Unsurprisingly, Samus accomplishes her mission, and escapes in her Starship as the space pirate base explodes. However, after leaving Zebes' atmosphere, she encounters an ambush of space pirate vessels.

RELATED: Metroid: Things You Should Know About Samus' Zero Suit

Samus doesn't fare well in the ensuing battle, with her Starship crash-landing back on Zebes. The crash also destroys Samus's Power Suit, leaving her in her Zero Suit with only her stun pistol to defend herself. The rest of Samus's battle against the space pirates at this point are some of the most dangerous encounters of her life.

5 The Creation Of Dark Samus

Dark Samus firing its weapon in Metroid Prime 2

Samus has a climactic battle with the Metroid Prime at the end of Metroid Prime. There, the beast makes a last-ditch attempt to kill Samus by absorbing Phazons from her Power Suit. While Samus escapes, she fails to realize that the Metroid Prime wasn't dead, and would soon use those Phazons to be reborn as Dark Samus.

Samus finally encounters this clone of herself in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the game's sequel. They have several skirmishes over the course of the game, though Samus eventually defeats it. However, the existence of Dark Samus continues to plague Samus in nightmares during future games in the series.

4 Samus Works With The Galactic Federation

Sylux's ship following Samus's ship in an alternate ending for Metroid Prime 3

The Galactic Federation, as portrayed in the Metroid franchise, is the primary agency that hires Samus throughout the games. They often battle against space pirates, and appear as a force for good. However, the truth of the federation's moral compass is unknown, and has gotten Samus into some pretty dangerous situations.

RELATED: Metroid: Most Disturbing Things That Happen In The Games

One of the consequences of Samus's connection to the Galactic Federation is Sylux. In Metroid Prime Hunters, Sylux is one of six bounty hunters who Samus encounters throughout the game. Sylux harbors hatred for the federation, and Samus by association, and is anticipated to return with a vengeance in Metroid Prime 4.

3 Samus Loses A Friend

Samus watching Rundas be impaled by ice spikes in Metroid Prime 3

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption finds Samus teaming up with several other bounty hunters to investigate a space pirate-engineered virus. One of these bounty hunters in Rundas, who becomes a close ally of Samus. Their camaraderie is secured once Rundas rescues Samus from a close encounter with Meta Ridley.

Later, Samus encounters Rundas on the planet Bryyo, but the bounty hunter has changed. She soon discovers that Rundas has become possessed by the remaining Phazon of Dark Samus. Rundas is then killed, which allows the ghost of Dark Samus to materialize and once again engage Samus in a fight.

2 Samus Fails To Save Anthony

Ridley appearing in Sector 3 of Pyrosphere in Other M to fight Samus

Metroid: Other M is one of the earliest entries in the Metroid timeline, finding Samus much younger and inexperienced than other games. As a result, she's not the hardened bounty hunter players know her as, and she makes many mistakes. One of these mistakes costs the life of Anthony Higgs, an old friend of Samus.

RELATED: Top Metroid Boss Battles

While exploring Sector 3 of the Pyrosphere, Samus and Anthony are surprised to encounter Ridley. Overcome from posttraumatic stress disorder after her parents' murder, Samus is frozen by fear as Ridley kills Anthony in front of her. Though she manages to defeat Ridley, she definitely pays the price for her hesitation.

1 Samus Unknowingly Helps A Corrupt A.I.

Raven Beak appearing in a cinematic from Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread is the most recent entry in the franchise, released for Nintendo Switch in 2021. The game is also the most recent in the Metroid timeline, and finds Samus facing some of the biggest consequences yet for her actions. One of these actions is unknowingly assisting the game's main antagonist, a Chozo named Raven Beak.

After taking instructions from an A.I. of Adam Malkovich, her Galactic Federation commander, Samus discovers that Raven Beak had manufactured the A.I. With Samus's help, Raven seeks to create an army of Metroid from her DNA. Thankfully, Samus's metamorphosis is able to empower her to kill Raven Beak.

MORE: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Metroid Dread