This article refers to the device. For other uses, see Save Station (Disambiguation).
A Save Station in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Save Stations (called Save Points in Metroid II: Return of Samus or occasionally Save Rooms) are a recurring feature in the Metroid series. Save Stations allow Samus to save her progress (sometimes referred to in-game as a "data backup") during missions. Save Stations first debuted in Metroid II: Return of Samus and have appeared in every Metroid game since then, making the original Metroid and Hunters the only games without Save Stations (instead, Metroid uses Passwords and Hunters uses the Gunship). In the games in which it is present, Samus Aran's gunship also functions as a Save Station that also refills health and ammunition, with the exception of Metroid II, where it only serves to restore health and ammo. In the Prime Series, Save Stations also act as Recharge Stations, allowing Samus to recover all her health even if she chooses not to save her progress. Federation Troopers also refer to Save Stations as Recharge Stations.
In Metroid: Other M, Save Stations are replaced by Navigation Booths which act as Save Stations and also allow Samus to download map data. It is implied that the other soldiers in the 07th Platoon use them to communicate when not together.
Design
Save Stations vary in design throughout the series. The original save station from Metroid II: Return of Samus is nothing more than an ornate pole with a glowing top. Super Metroid features a capsule-like design, but in Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission save points are weight-sensitive platforms. Metroid Prime's (designed by Don Hogan [1]) and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes's have several "working fingers" that project beams of light which seem to restore Samus' suit energy. In Prime these are constantly extended, but in Echoes they descend for saving and ascend when the process is completed. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption they appear revamped, with a more simplistic and sleek design which functions almost exactly the same as in Fusion. Metroid: Other M's 'Navigation Booths' are also simplistic touch-sensitive platforms, which restore energy in a similar way to the ones seen in Corruption. The varying designs can probably be attributed to the different planets they appear on, and the cultures of the races that made them.
Official data
Logbook entries
Save Station
Save Station
Step into these holograms to save your game and fully restore your energy.
Save Station
Save Station
Enter here to save your game and fully replenish your energy.
Enter these stations to save your game and fully restore your energy.
Inventory data (Ship Save Station)
Ship Save Station
Your gunship is equipped with a Save Station.
Enter your gunship to save your game.
Like normal Save Stations, saving at your gunship will fully replenish your energy.
Trivia
Metroid Prime concept art.
- During Echoes, Samus' shoulder pads "relax" when Saving, adopting a lower position closer to the shoulders. They do the opposite when Saving is completed, returning to their original higher position.
- In Zero Mission, all the Save Stations aboard the Space Pirate ship and in the Chozo Ruins in Chozodia restore health and weapons, while no others (save Samus's gunship) do anything more than save the game. This may be because Space Pirates do not drop Energy Capsules when killed.
- In Metroid Prime, if Samus loads the game at a Save Station previously visited, Samus can skip the scene. There is a glitch that makes the Save Station room "music" play throughout the area after she's done this, and exits the room quickly (excluding boss battles).
- In Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Samus makes her appearance by emerging out of a Super Metroid-style Save Station.
- In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, green light is seen flashing through her ship's windshield while she recharges.
- In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare does not play when starting a game or respawning unlike in Prime or Echoes. It does, however, play when Samus lands on a planet or other location.
- Metroid Prime Hunters features no Save Stations other than Samus's Gunship. However, this was discovered in unused text in the game's code: "SAVE STATIONwould you like to save your progress?" suggesting Save Stations were scrapped for unknown reasons.
- Some of the more recent Metroid games have featured checkpoints in addition to Save Stations, although the checkpoint is lost if the game is turned off.
Gallery
| Features of Samus's Gunship | |
|---|---|
| Personal | Adam's helmet • Chozo biotech computer • Chozo language • Data records • Logbook • Mii Bobblehead • Samus Screen • Ship Bumper Stickers • In the Cockpit • Music player |
| Armaments | Plasma Beam • Power Beam • Ship Grapple Beam • Ship Missile Launcher • Gunship Multiball • Bunker-Busting Annihilator • Gunship |
| Mission features | Auto-repair function • Biohazard scanner • Blast Shield • Bombing Run • Command Visor • Commander Adam Malkovich • Cryostasis • Escape Pod Heads-Up Display • Helm controls • Landing Gear Legs • Microfactories Missile Station • Recharge Station • Save Station • Tetra Galaxy Scan Screen • Transmission console • B-Unit |
| Cargo | Theronian Bomb (1st piece • 2nd piece • 3rd piece) • Colossal War Golem |
| Passengers | Baby • Anthony Higgs • Dr. Madeline Bergman • Commander Adam Malkovich (computerized) • Dachoras • Etecoons |