Plasma Beam
The Plasma Beam upgrade, as seen in Super Metroid.
Featured in	Metroid: Zero Mission Metroid II: Return of Samus Super Metroid Metroid Other M Metroid Fusion
Damage	Very High
Effect(s)	Pierces through enemies.
Obtained	Metroid Zero Mission: Statue in Crateria Metroid II: Return of Samus: Statue at third Chozo city Super Metroid: Statue at Maridia Metroid Fusion: Nettori Core-X Metroid Other M: Authorized by Adam at the start of the Ridley fight.

Plasma Beam (Prime Series)
The Plasma Beam in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Featured in	Metroid Prime Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Damage	Metroid Prime: Very High Metroid Prime 3: High
Effect(s)	Low range (particularly in Metroid Prime), sets enemies on fire, pierces targets.
Special uses	To melt ice in both Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Also in Corruption, it can be used to repair damaged Circuit Boards via its welding attachment.
Obtained	Metroid Prime: Mandatory item, found in Plasma Processing. Metroid Prime 3: Mandatory item, won after beating Ghor.

The Plasma Beam (プラズマビーム, Purazuma Bīmu^?) is a beam which has appeared in all of the Metroid games except for the original Metroid, Metroid Prime Hunters, and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (though Samus gains the Magmaul in Hunters and the Light Beam in Echoes, which have similar properties). In 2D incarnations, it is a thin ray capable of piercing multiple enemies; in the Prime Series, it appears as a short-range beam of intense heat that can be used to melt ice and weld metals. The Plasma Beam also appears in Metroid: Other M and is authorized for use before the Ridley battle, and Anthony Higgs is equipped with a large Plasma Gun. Samus's Gunship is also stated to be equipped with a "retractable rear-mounted plasma cannon".

In the Metroid Prime seriesEdit

The Plasma Beam was the second-to-last beam acquired in Metroid Prime, and as such, apart from the Phazon Beam it is perhaps the most powerful beam weapon in the game. When charged, it could instantly incinerate some normally-resilient enemies such as Baby Sheegoths and Plated Beetles, and it could set fire to others, causing damage for a few moments after the shot hit them. It was also capable of melting Frigidite casings. The Plasma Beam's color scheme in Prime was red, and it represented the "element" of fire. It can open Red Doors as well. The Flamethrower, the Charge Combo for the Plasma Beam, was a continuous Charge Combo that shot out a stream of flame with an exceedingly short range. It was primarily useful for killing Plasma Troopers and cold-based enemies such as Sheegoth. The Magmaul in Metroid Prime Hunters takes over some of the Plasma Beam's functions. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the Light Beam was very similar to the Plasma Beam with its heat-based and burning effect as well as with its animation. However, it was the Annihilator Beam that used the Plasma Beam's Arm Cannon shape from Metroid Prime.

In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the Plasma Beam is acquired after defeating the bounty hunter Ghor. The beam wasn't as short-ranged, and the rate of fire remained the same as the Power Beam as all beam weapons were stacked upgrades in Corruption. To compensate for this heightened firing rate, however, the Plasma Beam suffered a downgrade in firepower when compared to Metroid Prime. Its Arm Cannon shape was altered as well. No longer is the gun extended forward -- instead, it takes after the Ice Beam from Metroid Prime and the Dark Beam from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes by being slightly elevated upwards. It retains its ability to ignite enemies and melt objects seen in previous games, and can open Orange Doors. In addition, the newer Plasma Beam in Corruption is capable of repairing damaged Circuit boards with a beam-focusing attachment; this ability is kept even when stacked to the Nova Beam, though the mentioned attachment gains a green glow.

In the 2-D gamesEdit

In Metroid: Zero Mission, the Plasma Beam was gained as an unknown item and could not be used until the Power Suit was regained in Chozodia. The Plasma has the unique capability to pierce through multiple foes, ultimately obliterating them. When combined with the Wave Beam, it becomes virtually unstoppable and extremely destructive as each shot will pass through both hostile enemies and solid material.

In Super Metroid, the Plasma Beam was incompatible with the Spazer Beam. If both were simultaneously selected in combination with a variety of other factors, the game would glitch, creating results such as the Murder Beam, Spacetime Beam, and the Chainsaw Beam.

In Metroid Fusion, the Nettori possessed this function, and Samus was able to recover it when she absorbed the X Parasite it left behind. According to Adam, the Plasma Beam was the only thing that could pierce the SA-X's armor and damage it. This implies that the Varia Suit is highly vulnerable to the Plasma Beam's piercing effect.
In the same game, Adam mentions that the Federation had successfully developed the Plasma Beam, but withheld it to prevent her from harming the SA-X, yet she had recovered it on her own.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Zero Suit Samus has two attacks called the Plasma Whip and "Plasma Wire" that fire from her Paralyzer. Both also act as a tether, similar to the Grapple Beam she can use with her armored Power Suit.

In Metroid: Other MEdit

The Plasma Beam returns yet again in Metroid: Other M, retaining its piercing abilities from the 2-D series, and of course, the last beam to be obtained being the strongest beam of all. It is a green beam with a slight electric effect, like its Super Metroid incarnation. Adam mentions to use the Beam against the Mystery Creature and rid it for good. When it evolved into Ridley and confronted Samus in the Geothermal Power Plant of the Pyrosphere, Adam authorized the Plasma Beam so Samus could ultimately destroy Ridley.

Anthony Higgs has a type of Plasma Gun which has approximately the same damage as a charged Plasma Beam, though he complained about it of how it takes "forever to charge". He used it twice against Ridley in his premature and adult forms. It also has an infra-red laser attached, shown when he aimed it at Samus, when he accidentaly targeted her. This variation of the Plasma Beam fires slightly different-colored shots.

When Samus fires the Plasma Beam at the Queen Metroid, it bounces off, indicating that the Plasma Beam cannot go through all enemies, or those with extremely tough skin.

Official dataEdit

"Unable to measure exact power levels with current scan equipment."

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Metroid II: Return of Samus manualEdit

"This extremely powerful weapon fires a beam that can even penetrate the solid walls. It is the strongest and most destructive of all of the beam type items."

Super Metroid manualEdit

"The most powerful of all the beams can destroy several targets at once."

Official Metroid Prime websiteEdit

Weapon effect: Expels bolts of pure molten energy.

Weapon range: 3 - 10 m

Weapon potential: Lethal

"Chozo Technology. The Plasma Beam is expelled from Samus Aran's Arm Cannon. Capable of firing bolts of pure molten energy, this weapon becomes even more effective when charged. Extremely effective against ice-based targets. It is perhaps the most potent weapon in Samus Aran's arsenal."

Metroid Prime manualEdit

"The most powerful beam weapon in Samus's arsenal, the short-range Plasma Beam launches streams of molten energy that can ignite some enemies and melt ice. Like all beam weapons, the Plasma Beam can combine with Missiles for a high-powered combo attack once Samus finds its combo power-up."

Inventory dataEdit

Metroid Fusion manualEdit

"This beam passes through enemies, hitting multiple targets."

Zero Mission Samus Screen dataEdit

"This powerful beam can blast through multiple enemies."

Metroid.comEdit

"Untold levels of destruction come from a shot of Plasma, which can even pass through enemies themselves. Precious few foes are immune to the power of this beam."

Metroid: Other M manualEdit

"Adds the ability to pass through enemies to Samus's beam. This most powerful beam can also be shot as a Charge Beam."

Metroid: Other M Samus Screen dataEdit

"Effect: Increases damage.
Secondary effect of passing through enemies."

Metroid: Other M on-screen tutorialEdit

PLASMA BEAM
This most powerful beam does more damage and can pass through enemies.

TriviaEdit

• Interestingly, the Plasma Beam in Metroid Prime is the only beam that increases in range when charged (albeit only slightly).
  • Also, it is the only beam in Metroid Prime to fire an actual energy beam rather than the spherical energy balls that the other beams release.
• Strangely, in the New Play Control! and Metroid Prime Trilogy versions of the game, embers no longer float off the Arm Cannon when charging. This may be due to the way this and other visual effects were programmed in the original versions of the game, making it too difficult to reproduce the effects on the Wii. It is also possible this had to be removed due to the free-aim features of the Wii controls.
• In Zero Mission, it is impossible to obtain the Plasma Beam without the Ice Beam. The Plasma Beam alone can only be obtained via hacking.
• In Corruption, when Samus tests the Plasma Beam out during the pickup cinematic, the sound it makes is the same as in Prime, although it makes a different sound throughout the rest of Corruption.
• Also in Corruption, if you rapid-fire the Plasma Beam for 30 seconds, her arm cannon will swelter from the heat.
• The Plasma Beam, along with Samus and several of her other abilities, were slated to appear in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but they were removed due to Nintendo withholding their consent. The Plasma Beam in Ultimate Alliance appears to be based off of Prime's iteration due to its orange color.
• In the first Metroid Prime, the symbol for the Plasma Beam is a handprint presumably combining the index finger with the middle finger, the ring finger with the pinky, and putting them together, with the thumb turned inward toward the hand. Using the X-Ray Visor reveals that Samus configures her hand this way to activate the beam.
• Near the end of Metroid Fusion, Adam stated that the Federation completed downloadable data for the Plasma Beam, but withheld it to stop her from destroying the SA-X, and thus preventing their studies. However, Samus restored the function on her own.
• The Plasma Beam in Metroid: Other M looks very similar to the Nova Beam in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
• The Plasma Beam's arm cannon appearance from Prime is the only one that does not return in Corruption, as it was not used for the Hyper Beam.
• If the Plasma beam is obtained early in Metroid Zero Mission via hacking, it will cause exceptionally high damage to some bosses such as Ridley, Mua, and the Bug Larvae. Kraid, although vulnerable to charged Ice Beam shots, will take no damage from the Plasma Beam.
• In chapter 4 of Samus and Joey, volume 1, Samus escapes captivity from thousands of Megaroid crystals by using her Plasma Beam and Ice Beam to destroy them, via thermal shock.
• Anthony Higgs's Plasma Gun may be a prototype of the reverse-engineered Plasma Beam, as a single Plasma Gun shot is equivalent to a charged Plasma Beam shot in terms of damage.

• The Plasma Gun weapon shows just how advanced Chozo technology is when compared to similar technology used by the Galactic Federation. While both weapons have the same approximate power output, the Galactic Federation version takes a frustratingly long time to charge a single blast and requires a large power source. Samus's Chozo version is tiny by comparison (being integrated into her Arm Cannon) and can charge a blast in just a few seconds.

AppearancesEdit

Super Metroid

Metroid Fusion (combined with the Charge and Wide Beams)

Zero Mission (only available with hacks)

Zero Mission (combined with Ice and Wave Beams)

Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Unused Fusion sprites of the beam weapons suggest they may have been obtained through Chozo Statues instead of fighting a special Core-X in beta versions.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

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