Fusion Suit Mechanics

thumb|right|250px|The technology of the Fusion Suit is exceedingly different from the technology of the Power Suit.
The Fusion Suit is the technology that Samus Aran utilizes in the events of Metroid Fusion. It is a rebuilt version of Samus' partially-dismantled Power Suit, which could not be removed from her body intact while she was unconscious. In order to save her life, Galactic Federation doctors cut away many of the outermost armour pieces and components in order to access Samus' body. The name "Fusion Suit" refers to the idea that Samus has become a fusion of Human, Chozo, and now Metroid DNA, since after the armour was partially removed from Samus' body, GF scientists created the Metroid vaccine, which cures Samus of her X Parasite infestation.
Although this stripped-down Chozo suit is still far more advanced than any typical Federation Marine, almost all of Samus' weapons and reserve tanks were removed in the process of cutting away her armour, leaving Samus in a weakened state. She must replace her lost abilities in order to return to full power.
It seems that Samus's old power suit had three layers. The top layer was the mechanical, metallic layer. This part was taken off to reveal the second layer, which took the form of the Fusion Suit after Samus was injected with Metroid DNA. This layer's mechanics are explained here. It is more organic than the top part, and allows Samus to move around more easily than her old power suit allowed. Underneath that was the Zero Suit, technically a seperate Suit  but which had to be activated for the Power Suit to be able to form, so it is considered the bottom layer.
==General==
The unmodified Fusion Suit provides Samus with the basic Power Beam through her Arm Cannon for offensive capabilities, life support to enable her to survive in situations with no breathable air, enhanced mobility to compliment her acrobatic skills, and protective shielding from her surroundings, just as the original did. Mainly, the new Fusion Suit is designed to mimic the abilities of the recently-lost Power Suit, but achieves this through different technological means, with different mechanisms used for basic suit functions.
The Fusion Suit does have its own advantages over the Power Suit. Since it is less bulky and is composed of lighter materials, Samus can pull herself up from ledges and climb up special ladder surfaces without the need of additional modifications (such as the Power Grip). However, the Fusion Suit has its own disadvantages. Samus gained a vulnerability to cold when scientists administered the Metroid vaccine and will take damage from sub-zero environments. Also, the defensive shielding of the Fusion Suit seems to be substantially weaker than that of its predecessor. Even at near full power with every GF-designed upgrade having been obtained, the Fusion Suit is dwarfed in defensive capabilities by the original Varia Suit, which is ironically worn by the SA-X.
Since the suit mimics the Power Suit, it is also highly modular in nature. But this modulation is highly restricted -- technologically, the Fusion Suit may only be upgraded with Galactic Federation-designed technology, digitally downloaded through Data Rooms. It is highly unlikely that foreign technology could be upgraded, such as from Luminoth or Space Pirate origin, but it is unclear at best if latent original Chozo upgrades could be reintegrated into the suit, since some of the original Chozo components still exist. It is also possible that, after the absorption of some of the original Power Suit's components and data that resulted in the "Omega Suit", the Fusion Suit is now capable of integrating foreign weapons again. In any case, Samus can also receive upgrades by absorbing X Parasites that have gained certain special abilities from their hosts. This suggests a link between Samus's genome and the suit itself.
Samus replenishes the shielding and armaments of the Fusion Suit by absorbing special X Parasites. The energy that she absorbs is somehow transferred to the reserves of the suit, which suggests that the Galactic Federation has perfected a technology that harnesses energy absorbed by Metroids, a long-time goal that took the Space Pirates years to develop. This technology doesn't seem to be on the visible surface of the suit.
==Data Rooms==
These special rooms contain terminals that are used for downloading modifications for Galactic Federation Powered Armor models, such as the Marine suit type. These rooms are present aboard the BSL Research Station. These are also most likely present on board other Space Stations, and possibly even large GF spacecraft used for military applications after the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
The Fusion Suit is compatible with these Data Rooms, and can utilize them to download new special abilities. The new abilities that are downloaded are digitally transferred to Samus's body armor, and the Fusion Suit uses the data transferred to upgrade itself much like the Power Suit uses a material Upgrade Item. Largely, the abilities downloaded in this way are weapons that are meant to emulate Chozo upgrades that Samus had previously.
Upgrades that are downloaded with Data Rooms include (in chronological order):
*Missiles
*Bombs
*Super Missiles
*Varia Suit (though a Core-X takes the download first)
*Ice Missiles
*Power Bombs
*Diffusion Missiles
==Upgrading by other means==
Samus can gain new abilities by absorbing special X Parasites on board the BSL Research Station. All of these abilities are gained by absorbing Core-X.
These abilities are biological in nature, but can somehow be integrated into the Fusion Suit by unexplainable means. More strangely still, some of the X aboard the BSL Station had somehow biologically downloaded upgrades from Data Rooms. The only eye-witnessed case involved the Mega Core-X which downloaded the data for the Varia Suit upgrade. Fortunately, Samus was still able to recover this upgrade by simply absorbing the creature. Similar cases could also have occurred within the station as some upgrades were sent without Samus's knowing, such as the Diffusion Missiles. Behind the scenes, other X could have downloaded abilities which were subsequently absorbed by Samus. This would mean that most of the Fusion Suit's absorbed abilities would have derived from hardware sent by the Galactic Federation. But of course, this is only an assumption. The Ice Beam and Omega Fusion Suit are definitely not of Galactic Federation origin, as they are the parts of Samus's original Power Suit in the possession of the SA-X.
Abilities absorbed by X Parasites include:
*Morph ball
*Charge Beam
*High Jump
*Spring Ball
*Speed Booster
*Varia Suit
*Wide Beam
*Space Jump
*Plasma Beam
*Gravity Suit
*Wave Beam
*Screw Attack
*Ice Beam
==The Arm Cannon==
right|thumb|250px|The Fusion Suit's Arm Cannon is very much different from the Power Suit's version, but it provides a very similar function.
The Arm Cannon is Samus's main offensive tool. It provides her with offensive capabilities for hostile situations, and like the Fusion Suit, is highly modular. Mainly, it utilizes various Beam Weapon and Missile Launcher technologies. These weapons are all contained within the device.
The Fusion Suit's Arm Cannon is much more streamlined and organic than its predecessor, just like the Fusion Suit itself. Many of the lines and designs along this version do have an actual function, so nothing seems to go purely to aesthetics. Beam Weapons are stacked only, and don't affect how the Arm Cannon appears. The Missile Launcher, however, significantly changes the appearance of the Arm Cannon, but only while in use.
thumb|right|250px|The Charge Beam slightly differs with the Fusion Suit.
===Beam Weapons===
Beam Weapons barely differ between the Power Suit and the Fusion Suit Arm Cannons. Many of Samus's traditional beam weapons have been successfully emulated by Galactic Federation weapons designers specifically for the Fusion Suit. Just as foreign technology cannot be integrated into the suit, some of Samus's more exotic weapons obtained from other cultures will most likely not be eligible for use. At this point, only emulations of traditional Chozo beam weapons have been observed in active use with this Arm Cannon.
The Charge Beam, however, differs in design. It seems that all of the energy charged for a Charge Beam blast cannot be focused into a shot itself. Observed in the illustration above, a large discharge of stray energy is expelled simultaneously with the focused energy shot. Arming the Missile Launcher or activating Morph Ball mode with a fully charged beam will automatically expel the charged energy from the barrel.
===Missile Launcher===
Arming a Missile is not as simple as with the original Power Suit's Arm Cannon. Two large sections shift forward from the Arm Cannon, elevate, and retract backward. Then the central barrel between the two sections separates, allowing room for Missiles to be launched. This Arm Cannon allows for Missile upgrades to be "stacked", allowing for several various secondary effects to function as one. Effects are outlined below.
Various Missile upgrades obtained aboard the BSL Research Station do not change the basic appearance of the projectile casing, but the upgrades do drastically alter the appearances of propulsion exhaust and explosive impact, visually demonstrating that the inner propellant and explosive payload both change between upgrades.
*The Super Missile upgrade is a simple firepower upgrade to the basic Missile. Missiles are augmented with more powerful ballistic warheads and more efficient propulsion; these take on the appearance of the original Power Suit's Missiles. Samus is told by Adam that the Super Missile upgrade multiplies the basic explosive power of a Missile by a factor of three.
*The Ice Missile upgrade incorporates a freezing agent into both the ballistic material and propellant of a Missile; the appearance of each Missile changes to be larger, rounder, and orange in nature. The added freezing effect can be creatively utilized for assistance in navigating complex terrains. Visually, the exhaust of an Ice Missile has an added ice effect as well, but the exhaust holds no special freezing ability on its own. Samus has these given to her by the GF as a way to take advantage of the power of the Ice Beam without harming Samus's part-Metroid biology.
*The Diffusion Missile is the final and single upgrade currently known for the Fusion Suit to change the appearance of the casing for the basic Missile. The casing is changed to a shape similar to the Super Missile, logically to allow for a larger volume of space used for explosive material. This Missile upgrade has the uncommon ability to charge before launching in order to create a significantly larger blast radius at no additional ammunition cost. However, the Missile Launcher must fully charge a Diffusion Missile to utilize this added effect.
==The Morph Ball==
thumb|right|250px|The Morph Ball provides the same basic functions.
The Morph Ball is one of the most useful upgrades for the Fusion Suit. It allows Samus to transform her surrounding body armor into the shape of a metal sphere, allowing for movement into much smaller spaces; exactly as the Power Suit variant performs. According to a scan in Metroid Prime, the Morph Ball is nearly 1 meter in diameter. There is no evidence to suggest that there is any difference in size between the Fusion Suit and Power Suit variants.
As the original did, this metal sphere has several offensive upgrades, such as Bombs and Power Bombs. These are used primarily for clearing environmental obstacles, but are occasionally used for combative applications. GF Weapons Designers created emulations for both of these upgrades. The Bomb emulation's detonations are more delayed than the original upgrade, seeming to disable Bomb Jumping. The Power Bomb emulation has an added effect: once the Power Bomb reaches the full detonation radius, a suction effect can pull X Parasites to the origin of the explosion.
New Morph Ball movement systems aren't as diverse as the ones present in the original Power Suit variant. The only observed advanced movement system present for the Fusion Suit Morph ball is the Spring Ball, an ability obtained by absorbing a certain X Parasite. The Morph Ball itself was obtained by absorbing a different X, which is strange because of its exact design nature - it doesn't resemble the curled ball form of its X donor Arachnus at all. Perhaps the absorbed ability merely activated a latent ability already present within the suit itself. Whether it can support Spider Ball or Boost Ball technology is unknown.
==Movement==
Since the Fusion Suit barely resembles the Power Suit in any way, it is obvious that this new suit does not use the same methods to maneuver, such as jumping and running. The suit still has aided motor functions, since without them, the suit would be a very heavy burden to carry around.
*Basic Movements- Full body motions are aided by a full range of motorized articulations throughout the entire suit. Since the interface for the suit is integrated into Samus' central nervous system, it must function like a 'second body' of sorts. This motorization system seems to work seamlessly enough for Samus to maintain her impressive acrobatic qualities that have been present throughout her entire career and are possibly better than ever before. The Fusion Suit is much less restrictive movement-wise than the original Power Suit, which gives Samus even more acrobatic possibilities. In fact, unlike previous games, Samus was able to catch and cling to edges naturally, without requiring the Power Grip or a Grab Ledge to do so.
*Jumping- Aided jumping seems to be provided by the soles of the Fusion Suit's boots, which seem to have a gravity-reducing effect, thus assisting Samus's jumps. Without the rear boosters present on the original Power Suit, this seems to be the only logical conclusion. The High Jump upgrade obtained early in the game seems to strengthen this gravity-reducing effect.
:Wall Jumping with these "anti-gravity" boots propels Samus away from the wall, as if she were jumping from the ground. The suit must not be able to distinguish between vertical and horizontal surfaces when using this technology, and in effect, single-wall jumping is disabled.
*Running- Motorized articulations throughout the Fusion Suit's legs provide the power necessary to run constantly. With the addition of the Speed Booster upgrade, these articulations receive much more energy than usual - they allow for much faster and wider strides. Friction caused through air rushing by the Fusion Suit might be the cause of the glowing effect that occurs during a Speed Boost, but the retained ability to perform a Shinespark is likely due, once more, to the anti gravity soles on her feet as the speed boost may provide more power to the entire legs system, thus also super charging the anti-gravity soles.
==In-depth armor examination==
===Helmet===
This helmet has an unusual configuration. The unusual shape of the visor seems to be ornamental in nature, and not of any functional use. The helmet is semi-attached to the armor plating on the upper torso, seeming to limit the helmet's movement. However, the backward half of the helmet seems to be made of a malleable or flexible material, allowing Samus to look up while the helmet compresses into its mounting. The life support system draws breathable atmosphere from storage in the "upper ring" region of the upper torso's armor. This section is attached to the helmet and detaches from the upper torso to allow Samus to remove the helmet. The helmet's removal is different from the original Varia Suit in that in removing it, part of the collar portion is removed as well. Since this was not necessary in the original suit, this must serve as an example of the Federation's reconfiguration of the suit.
There are two protruding structures running along the sides of the helmet. When already in a breathable atmosphere, filters mounted on the backs of these structures will provide instant breathable atmosphere for Samus, to preserve the oxygen reserves for a situation in which they would be needed, such as in the vacuum of space.
===External plating===
The tessellated pieces of armor that run along Samus' torso, core, thighs, and back regions seem to be of the same type as the original plating from the Power Suit. In contrast, the plain blue regions appear to be made of a complex layer system of extremely resilient polymers. These polymers are highly flexible and allow for freer movement than rigid armor plating could ever provide. Upgrades to the suit seem to somehow alter the resilience of the polymer and armour plating, until it is as resilient as the original Power Suit after receiving the last upgrade. Another possibility is that the blue areas are organic, or at least partially so. This would be a reason for Samus's ability to upgrade the suit through absorbing X.
The "gaps" in this layer of polymers along the suit (such as on the knees, thighs, and back region) don't seem to be of any functional purpose. They mainly appear to be for purely aesthetic value. Perhaps these patterns were put in place to maintain Samus's distinction among bounty hunters, as these patterns are highly recognizable, just as the original Power Suit was.
===Rear torso===
The Rear Torso has a mounted protruding section (like a small "back pack") that seems to store the downloaded technology from Data Rooms. This makes sense, since the trine of diodes used to download new upgrades is mounted onto the center of this section. Several supports hold this section to the Fusion Suit, the most prominent of which are the two located at the base of the Fusion Suit's neck.
===Arms===
Main article: Blades
Without rigid armor plating, the Fusion Suit's left hand is fully free to move, twist, and contort itself into any position, with the help of the flexible polymer covering. Besides this fact, the left hand is entirely unremarkable.
The left arm, however, is. There are three barb-like Blades running along the outside of the forearm.
===Boots===
The method that the Fusion Suit uses to achieve such high jumping capabilities is a mystery. The most likely answer is that the soles of the Fusion Suit's boots contain a weak form of anti-gravity that gives Samus the ability to leap to great heights. Generally, the appearance of the Fusion Suit's boots doesn't differ significantly from the Power Suit's appearance; only a few key elements are missing, such as the broad extensions upward, and the smaller structures pointed backward.
==See also==
*Fusion Suit
*Power Suit
*Power Suit Mechanics
*English translation of diagrams