The first Metroid game to combine elements of 3D adventure gaming with a first-person shooter and a moderate degree of side-scrolling platform action.
The opening cut-scene shows a dramatization of Samus' fight with Mother Brain that was the climax of Super Metroid (1994).
Samus Aran can be seen with a beauty mark on her chin. Although some fans took this as an unnecessary new addition to her design, when co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto was asked years before to reveal a secret about Samus that no one else knew, he said "I know where Samus' beauty mark is."