Ever wonder how Metroids got their name? Personally, I’ve always assumed they’re called Metroids because when they’re sucking on your head, they look like a giant jellyfish helmets, and the “roid” was in there just to sound unnatural. Makes sense, right?
As it turns out, I was totally wrong. The word “Metroid” is a combination of the word “android” and “metro”, and in the Japanese metro subway system. “But Jonathan, what do giant flying alien jellyfish that suck the life out you from your skull have to do with androids and the Japanese subway system?” Dear reader, you must remember that this is Nintendo we’re talking about. These are the guys who called one of their games Sin and Punishment because the name Dark Wasteland was “too wild”.
Also, Samus Aran was named after Football/Soccer legend Pele (his full name is Edison Arantes do Nascimento) and the planet where the Metroids come from is named after a motorcycle engine. Feel free to help me make sense of all this in the comments.
Nintendo explains where Metroid, Samus and the SR388 names came from [GoNintendo, via Siliconera]
