Is there a LEGITIMATE way to unlock Zero Suit Samus in Metroid on NES?
Obviously everyone here knows of JUSTIN BAILEY and the myriad of other codes that unlock the suit, but is there a legitimate way in the game to unlock it? Not necessarily just in the US version but maybe in the FDS version and we just got it as a latent unlock via codes because it was part of the game code in the FDS.
I've never seen anyone ask this question. I've seen a lot of discussion on the net about various codes and combinations to get the leotard unlocked but no actual way to legitimately earn it.
EDIT:
Looking it up now after digging through playthroughs online, I finally found one video that I think confirms it's unlocked after beating the game in under an hour then starting a new game:
So yeah, that appears to be the legit way of getting it... which begs the question: What happens when you beat it the 2nd time through in less than 1hr? Probably nothing, but I'm curious.
I've never seen anyone ask this question. I've seen a lot of discussion on the net about various codes and combinations to get the leotard unlocked but no actual way to legitimately earn it.
EDIT:
Looking it up now after digging through playthroughs online, I finally found one video that I think confirms it's unlocked after beating the game in under an hour then starting a new game:
So yeah, that appears to be the legit way of getting it... which begs the question: What happens when you beat it the 2nd time through in less than 1hr? Probably nothing, but I'm curious.
Comments
I've read over the years that the code is not the name Justin Bailey, but just in bailey. With bailey being some term for swimsuit. So you put in a code to see her just in a swimsuit.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
Obviously everyone here knows of JUSTIN BAILEY and the myriad of other codes that unlock the suit, but is there a legitimate way in the game to unlock it? Not necessarily just in the US version but maybe in the FDS version and we just got it as a latent unlock via codes because it was part of the game code in the FDS.
I've never seen anyone ask this question. I've seen a lot of discussion on the net about various codes and combinations to get the leotard unlocked but no actual way to legitimately earn it.
http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Justin_Bailey
I'm sure this isn't any new info for you, but it sounds like the only ways to access it were password-based. (though the revelation of a "zero progress" suit-less Samus in NES Metroid is new to me -- code listed in the link)
Makes me wonder if they originally intended to have a suit-less password made available to players that finished in a sufficiently short amount of time, and it never made it into the game.
No.
I've read over the years that the code is not the name Justin Bailey, but just in bailey. With bailey being some term for swimsuit. So you put in a code to see her just in a swimsuit.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
The link in my post seems to debunk that notion (about "bailey" referring to the leotard)
In fact, it makes it sound like the fact that "Justin Bailey" even works as a code is just a random fallout of how the password system in the game works.
(that is, it is neither a name, or a description of any intentional sort -- it's just that the specific characters in that order HAPPEN to work as "the ultimate password" for Metroid)
I always thought that you restarted as zero suit Samus if you beat the game in under 2 hours. I grew up thinking this even before the name "zero suit" was a thing. I didn't beat the game until playing it on GBA/GC (Fusion/Prime unlock).
Huh... never once have I thought of starting up a new game right away.
So yeah, that appears to be the legit way of getting it.
I know the passcodes include your playtime like the ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER code that has your playtime at like 300 years. So does anyone know if anyone has either beat it legitimately without the suit or even using a code to get tot he end in under an hour to beat it?
I know the answer is probably "nothing happens" but I can't recall anyone ever doing it.
No.
I've read over the years that the code is not the name Justin Bailey, but just in bailey. With bailey being some term for swimsuit. So you put in a code to see her just in a swimsuit.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
That's what Nintendo Power told us
I can't watch because I'm at work. Is the coloration of the suit the same as end-game or as the password?
Well, all of the passcodes are just essentially hex values that change something in the game: total playtime, suit (I suppose a code for new game+), weapons, tanks, and how many of each you have. So codes like JUSTIN BAILEY and others are all related to the hex translation of what item you're referring to. This isn't present in the FDS version since it had saves...which probably explains why everyone used codes for the suit because unlike the FDS version where you could just start a new game anytime after having the original playthrough and use the suit, they had to match it up to some code and that leaves the codes open to interpretation as long as the hex values match.
Looking it up now after digging through playthroughs online, I finally found one video that I think confirms it's unlocked after beating the game in under an hour then starting a new game:
So yeah, that appears to be the legit way of getting it.
Yeah... I FELT like maybe I pulled that off as a kid, but I wasn't sure enough in the memory to state it as fact.
(and of course, we all had the ridiculous rumor if you managed to beat it super-fast with leotard Samus the next playthrough she'd be naked )
Did OP recently watch this video?
I was about to post this
No.
I've read over the years that the code is not the name Justin Bailey, but just in bailey. With bailey being some term for swimsuit. So you put in a code to see her just in a swimsuit.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
That's what Nintendo Power told us
It was just some guy writing a letter to Nintendo Power Player's Pulse where he explained his theory after learning the word "Bailey." There was no official confirmation.
The thing is, even if something like that does just happen to conform to the standard password algorithm, it wouldn't prove it was unintentional. They could always use something like that as a starting point to structure the rest of the password system around and it would never be obvious in code.
No.
I've read over the years that the code is not the name Justin Bailey, but just in bailey. With bailey being some term for swimsuit. So you put in a code to see her just in a swimsuit.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
That's what Nintendo Power told us
It was just some guy writing a letter to Nintendo Power Player's Pulse where he explained his theory after learning the word "Bailey." There was no official confirmation.
The thing is, even if something like that does just happen to conform to the standard password algorithm, it wouldn't prove it was unintentional. They could always use something like that as a starting point to structure the rest of the password system around and it would never be obvious in code.
Could be, that was a long time ago. I'll have to dig the issue out (think it was #100)
So what happens if you beat the new game with the leotard [in under an hour]? Has anyone ever done that?
I know the passcodes include your playtime like the ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER code that has your playtime at like 300 years. So does anyone know if anyone has either beat it legitimately without the suit or even using a code to get tot he end in under an hour to beat it?
I know the answer is probably "nothing happens" but I can't recall anyone ever doing it.
Hold up...so that's a legitimate code up there? The only one I knew was Justin Bailey. I've never heard the one above.
Maybe it's an easy thing, but it seems like very few NES/SNES games do anything like that. I think it's impressive that anybody actually thought up the idea of certain rewards/stages being opened up that way, I don't know anything about programming NES games outside of the graphics editor Color Dreams used, and at this point I haven't used it in over a decade. All I know is the first time I ever realized Mario 3 was actually tracking how quickly certain things happened, or if you'd collected every coin in particular stages, that something would happen...I was pretty floored that an NES game was doing that. I can't think of a game on a previous platform that ever did something like that...
In some worlds of Super Mario Bros. 3 (including Grass Land, World 1), you can deliberately transform the marching Hammer Brother on the map screen to a coin treasure bonus ship.
Tag the goal and make sure you end up with coins at a multiple of 11 and the tens digit of your score should match that multiple. So, for example, the second digit from the right should be a 2 if you have 22 coins.
Breaking bricks gives you 10 points each, so bricks are useful to manipulate that digit of your score. If the tens digit already matches the coin multiple, you should make sure to tag the goal with an even number on the time because each second is worth 50 points and it could throw off your match.
You can tag the goal with an odd number on the time if the last digits + 50 will give you the correct digit in the tens position.
So what happens if you beat the new game with the leotard [in under an hour]? Has anyone ever done that?
I know the passcodes include your playtime like the ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER code that has your playtime at like 300 years. So does anyone know if anyone has either beat it legitimately without the suit or even using a code to get tot he end in under an hour to beat it?
I know the answer is probably "nothing happens" but I can't recall anyone ever doing it.
Hold up...so that's a legitimate code up there? The only one I knew was Justin Bailey. I've never heard the one above.
Well, it works but it's not like it was coded to be there. To my knowledge there are no actual codes that are like hardcoded into the game. Lots of random stuff happens to work, but yes...that is an actual functional code that breaks the game. It's still technically playable but it's garbled and if you do it on an older 3DS it used to brick it:
http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Metroid_endings
As for the FDS version, there is no way to play as Armorless Samus, the tile graphics simply just don't exist on the disk. You also get the best ending if you beat the game in two hours with the FDS version, whereas you can only take one hour in the NES version. You only get money bags next to your character when you beat the FDS version, with one bag meaning the worst ending and five bags meaning the best ending. You don't get any items when you start a new game in FDS Metroid, unlike NES Metroid where you keep all your items (but not Energy Tanks or Missile Containers) when you start a new game after seeing the ending.
And pegboy won't say because we're all idiots.
There actually is a way, but only one guy knows for sure.
And pegboy won't say because we're all idiots.
How dare you talk about my sexy pegman like that...you thavage you.
There actually is a way, but only one guy knows for sure.
And pegboy won't say because we're all idiots.
How dare you talk about my sexy pegman like that...you thavage you.
LOL
This is what I always heard BITD. (Like pre-SNES)
I'm not good enough player to verify, but the notion isn't new.
I've seen a lot of modern writing complaining about NES passwords, especially for Metroid, butI think they had a very special effect on the experience... again, especially concerning Metroid. Just because we're spoiled now with ability to save games any time or whatever, doesn't replace the fun of trading codes and passwords and supercodes that we used to have. IDDQD ETC.
I miss 'em and,I know not everybody would, but I would, trade a lot of modern convenience to get "some o' that old time magic" back.