Samus broke ground early in the gaming world when she debuted in the 1986 game Metroid. Originally players were under the impression that Samus was a male, as the English translation of the instruction manual used male pronouns for her. However, completing Metroid in under five hours revealed Samus to be a young woman.

At times it feels like a boss rush mode, where every few rooms, you're up against something new. To make matters more frustrating, Dread has an annoying habit of frequently blocking your path right before one of these encounters, so you have no choice but to finish the battle before you can proceed.

Sakamoto explained that Samus's limited speaking role, compared to Other M and Fusion, had to do with the game's titular theme of dread. He felt that for this mission, Samus's feelings and thoughts were better left up to the player's imagination through non-verbal cues, like the expressions her eyes make.

With Metroid, they sought to create a game that stood out from the crowd and introduced unique gameplay mechanics. The non-linear exploration, backtracking, and emphasis on discovery in Metroid were groundbreaking at the time of its release, and it set the stage for the Metroidvania genre.