Wave Beam

A beam upgrade that enables firing in eight directions, as introduced in Super Metroid.

The Wave Beam is a beam weapon upgrade for Samus Aran's Arm Cannon. It allows her to fire in eight directions, a feature introduced in Super Metroid.

Quick Facts

Type: Beam Upgrade
Primary user: Samus Aran

Lore & Background

It only states that Super Metroid introduced the ability to fire in eight directions, which is a capability of Samus's weaponry. The game's development staff, including Yoshio Sakamoto, Makoto Kano, and Gunpei Yokoi, returned to develop Super Metroid over two years, focusing on making a true action game.

Reader's Guide

In Super Metroid, the player can acquire power-ups that enhance Samus's armor and weaponry. The game introduced the ability to fire in eight directions, which applies to beam weapons. The inventory screen allows the player to enable and disable weapons and abilities. While beam weapons can be combined, the Spazer and Plasma beams cannot be used simultaneously. It only confirms that Samus can fire a weapon in eight directions and that beam weapons can be combined, with the exception of Spazer and Plasma.

Did You Know?

Super Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1 with a staff of 15 managed by Gunpei Yokoi, and took two years to develop.
The game was released in Japan on March 19, 1994, in North America on April 18, and in Europe on July 28.