Dark Samus/Development notes

This article is written from the Real Life point of view

Concept artwork of Dark Samus from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Development notes pertaining to Dark Samus in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Some files refer to Dark Samus simply by her initials DS (as seen in Prime World Editor).

Dark Samus's name is translated literally in other languages, such as Samus Oscura (Spanish and Italian), Dunkle Samus (German), and Samus Sombre (French).

Speech of Dark Samus.

According to Clark Wen, Dark Samus's sound clips were taken from unused recordings of Samus's grunts and screams of pain, and heavily processed. He did not specify whether Jennifer Hale, Vanessa Marshall, or another actress had originally recorded these clips.

According to storyboards unlockable in the Concept Gallery, the scene where Dark Samus points her Arm Cannon and fires Phazon at Samus in their first encounter is based on the climax of Aliens: "D.S. points a gun at Samus. When camera is fixed, Samus slightly twists her neck. *Refer to the scene in "Alien 2" climax when Ripley points flame gun at Mother Alien."

Dark Samus was partly inspired by the Ruins Test in Metroid: Zero Mission, during which Samus fights a mirror version of herself.

Prior to the release of Echoes, Nintendo kept Dark Samus's origins a secret to gaming press. Official Nintendo Magazine speculated in their 142nd issue that she was the result of Space Pirate efforts to copy Samus's Power Suit, as seen in Prime with the Trooper Pirates. Additionally, there was much speculation over whether Dark Samus would be playable in the game. Mark Pacini confirmed she was not in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, albeit one that was published after the game's release.

Vince Joly animated the cutscene of Dark Samus's second defeat in the Aerie.

Andrew Jones did a 1,000 self-portrait series of himself and later claimed that "my portraits are quite a departure from my metroid concept work, but I think you would be surprised that there are a few of the portraits that were the inspiration behind the final bosses in prime 1 and two."

Kensuke Tanabe had not considered making a sequel to Metroid Prime until having seen the game's final scene.

Some of the files for Dark Samus's voice clips and sound effects possess interesting file names such as "BlueBits", "ChanceMeeting", and "Phaze". The first and third names are files containing Dark Samus's accompanying Phazon sound effects, with the third name appearing very similar to Phaaze.

Animation clips from Alejandro Roura:

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

The final battle with Dark Samus in Corruption underwent two iterations before settling on the final version. Mike Wikan designed the first version, on which Paul Tozour worked for five weeks. However, Mark Pacini disliked the concept and it was completely rewritten. The second version of the battle took four weeks to finish, but Tanabe rejected it as well. The third version took six more weeks to finalize, and represents the battle in the released game. Tanabe wanted a battle against Dark Samus and dozens of Dark Echoes all at once, but as this would have been too hard on the game's performance, the maximum number of copies on-screen was reduced to three. The first battle with her in Echoes was Retro Studios's attempt to create a boss with Western-style shooter influences.

Paul Tozour design notes

Paul Tozour programmed Dark Samus's artificial intelligence in both Echoes and Corruption. His notes are below.:

“	The work I did on Dark Samus on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was my attempt to introduce a faster and more nimble type of AI opponent to the Metroid Prime series. We weren't trying to replicate a "deathmatch" against an AI, but we wanted to bring something really new to the table -- an enemy that wasn't necessarily a massive boss creature, but which could challenge the player with its speed, its agility, and its tactics. This type of AI proved successful and served as a general model for many creatures in the sequel, including Rundas, Gandrayda, and the new Dark Samus. Although there are 3 separate Dark Samus battles in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, I've included the second Dark Samus battle here since it really builds on the features that worked in the first encounter very nicely.	„
—Paul Tozour

“	This is the final battle in the final Metroid Prime title, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Dark Samus clones itself repeatedly in this battle and works together with its clones (or "echoes") in many interesting ways. In a lot of ways, this encounter represents a culmination of many things I had been working toward since the original Dark Samus battle in Metroid Prime 2. Spoiler warning: the Dark Samus part of the encounter ends at about 4:40. From that point on, it's a different boss encounter that I didn't work on. Don't watch the second half of the video if you don't want to spoil the ending.	„
—Paul Tozour

Unused Bonus Disc Logbook entries

Three unused Logbook entries for Dark Samus have been discovered through hacking of the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc. All three entries use a T-Posed Dark Samus half stemming from a slightly older design (the Phazon spots on the round shoulder pads are more larger and slightly more turquoise). Curiously, Dark Samus is placed in the Data Network as a Guardian, most likely referring to her Boss status. It is possible that Dark Samus 4 was added much later into development.

Certain differences in the final versions of these entries are noted below, a majority of which appear to be grammar errors:

• The first scan of Dark Samus 1 has all but the first use of the word "Phazon" spelled with a lowercase p. An additional sentence at the end was removed from the final version, likely because Samus normally lacks most of her upgrades during the first encounter. "Variant" was changed to "Version" in the final, and "an" was properly fixed as "a" in the final entry as well.
• Dark Samus 2's entry mentions having Wave, Ice, and Plasma settings on her Arm Cannon. In the final game, Dark Samus does not use any of these beams, and they do not appear in Echoes (although some of their properties carry over to other weapons used by Samus).
• The sentence that mentions Dark Samus 3 becoming invisible to the Dark Visor was included in the final, and an "s" was removed from "places".

Dark Samus 1

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc

Logbook entry

Scans indicate the presence of Phazon and your genetic material within this entity. She wears an version of the Varia Suit, altered and augmented by the phazon within her. Primary weapons include the Missile Launcher and a scattershot variant of the Power Beam. Boost and Jump abilities are superior to yours. The ability to generate phazon energy shields is also present. Recommend maximum firepower.

Dark Samus 2

Logbook entry

Tactical scans have identified several new battle systems in the armor of Dark Samus. She now wields a potent variant of your Charge Beam with Wave, Ice, and Plasma settings. Her Boost attack has been augmented, and the ability to render herself invisible is present as well. Bioscans suggest that Dark Samus can reform her body short of total atomic disruption. Extreme caution recommended.

Dark Samus 3

Logbook entry

Scans indicate that Dark Samus has absorbed tremendous levels of Phazon into her body; too much, perhaps. She can vent Phazon energy in the form of destructive blasts and protective shields; doing so will help her maintain stability. These new abilities, combined with her already formidable arsenal, places Dark Samus at the highest threat level.

In a similar fashion, an altered entry from the Space Pirate Logs mentions an encounter with Dark Samus, in which she attacks Samus's Gunship. It is unknown if this would have been related to the atmospheric lightning strike seen during Samus's landing on Aether. It is possible that a different first encounter with both Samus and Dark Samus may have been originally planned.

Log 07.159.9

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc

Logbook entry

Another Hunter, wearing the traditional colors of Samus Aran, made planetfall today. Horrific as it may sound, there are two of them now. We are bracing for a combined assault.
This dire turn of events may bear some good will. The Dark Hunter attacked the other Hunter's gunship shortly after it arrived. Perhaps they are not allies...but foes. Perhaps we can forge an alliance with the Dark Hunter - an exchange, Phazon for the head of our common enemy.