Metroid Cheat Codes & Secrets
Complete collection of cheat codes, passwords, unlockables, and hidden secrets for Metroid (1986).
Password System Overview
Metroid (NES) uses a 24-character password system instead of battery-backed save RAM. Access it from the title screen by selecting Password, or view your current code during gameplay by pressing Start to pause, then selecting the password option.
Passwords are entered on a 6×4 grid. Use the D-Pad to move the cursor, A to confirm a character, B to delete the last character, and Start to submit the complete 24-character string. Passwords are displayed in four groups of six characters separated by spaces — those spaces are part of the code and must be entered as blank characters.
The password encodes: current map location, all items collected, health, missile count, and which bosses have been defeated. Changing even one character produces an entirely different game state or an invalid code.
Cheat Passwords
These are the most widely documented power-state passwords. Enter them exactly as shown; hyphens below represent space characters that must be selected on the entry grid.
| Password | Effect |
|---|---|
JUSTIN BAILEY ------ ------ | Samus appears without her Power Suit (pink leotard), starts in Norfair with most major upgrades and 255 missiles |
NARPAS SWORD0 000000 000000 | All items, functionally infinite health and missiles — closest thing to a built-in god mode |
000000 000000 000000 000000 | Starts at the beginning of Brinstar with no items and minimal health; useful for fresh-run testing |
ENGAGE RIDLEY MOTHER B----- | Late-game state with Ridley and Kraid defeated, positioned for the final push to Mother Brain |
JUSTIN BAILEY is the most famous password in NES history. “Justin Bailey” was reportedly a name tested by a Nintendo employee that happened to produce a valid, dramatically different game state. It strips Samus’s armor, starts her in Norfair rather than Brinstar, and grants her the Ice Beam, Wave Beam, Varia, High Jump Boots, Screw Attack, and a full missile stock.
NARPAS SWORD (an anagram of “SARP” and “WORDS” — the name of an early developer tool, according to fan research) effectively disables the game’s normal challenge. Health reads as near-maximum and does not deplete normally under most damage conditions.
Area-Start Passwords
These documented passwords place Samus at the entrance of specific major zones, useful for practicing boss fights or routing runs.
| Password | Starting Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
YOUVE GOT THE BOMB NOW ROCK | Brinstar, bombs collected | Verified valid; good for practicing bomb-jump routing |
ZELDA SAVES HYRULE ------ | Reported Norfair entrance | Community-sourced; verify on emulator before hardware entry |
For precise area-start codes tied to specific item loadouts, use a Metroid password generator tool — the encoding is well-documented and calculators exist that let you specify exact item states and output a valid 24-character string.
Infinite Bomb Jump (IBJ)
The most important technique in the game and the foundation of nearly all sequence breaks. In Morph Ball form, bombs can be chained to give Samus unlimited vertical height.
Execution:
- Roll into Morph Ball mode (Down on D-Pad while standing)
- Press A to lay a bomb
- As the explosion launches you upward, immediately press A again to lay a second bomb beneath you
- Time each successive bomb so it detonates at the apex of the previous explosion
- Repeat indefinitely
With correct timing, Samus gains roughly one full screen of height per bomb cycle. This technique allows access to rooms and upgrades that normally require the High Jump Boots, completely reordering the intended item acquisition sequence.
Practical applications:
- Collect the Varia Suit before Kraid, halving all incoming damage for the fight
- Access Screw Attack without clearing the intended path
- Skip large sections of vertical Brinstar shafts
Sequence Breaks and Major Skips
| Skip | Method | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Early Varia Suit | IBJ up the long vertical shaft in Brinstar before fighting Kraid | All damage halved for both Kraid and Ridley fights |
| Skip High Jump Boots | IBJ through any vertical passage requiring jump height | Boots become optional for full completion |
| Ridley Early | Navigate Norfair without Varia using careful damage management | Possible but punishing without damage reduction |
| Early Ice Beam | Specific Norfair routing via IBJ bypasses intended door sequence | Allows freezing enemies much earlier than intended |
Hidden Secrets and Developer Easter Eggs
The Justin Bailey Mystery: The name “Justin Bailey” produces a valid password not because it was deliberately programmed, but because the password algorithm hashes the ASCII values of any 24-character string. Some strings happen to collide with valid in-game states. “Justin Bailey” with spaces is one of those collisions. The specific combination — no suit, female sprite, Norfair start — is entirely determined by the mathematics of the hash, not by any intentional design.
Name Entry Behavior: On the Famicom Disk System version (the original Japanese release), the password screen behaves slightly differently and some codes that work on the NES cartridge version produce different results. The NES cartridge version released internationally is the standard reference for the passwords documented here.
Samus’s Identity: In the North American NES manual, Samus is described with male pronouns throughout. The “suit-off” ending revealing Samus as a woman was a late addition kept secret during original marketing. The JUSTIN BAILEY password effectively spoils this reveal before the player reaches the ending.
Beneficial Glitches
| Glitch | How to Trigger | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Infinite Bomb Jump | Chain bomb detonations in Morph Ball (see above) | Unlimited vertical movement |
| Through-Wall Morph | Roll into certain wall corners and bomb at precise angles | Pass through thin wall segments in specific rooms |
| Missile Refill Abuse | Farm missile drops from specific respawning enemies near save-state reload points | Rebuild ammunition without advancing |
| Boss Re-Entry | In some room transitions near boss chambers, re-entering resets the boss but retains your items | Farm boss rooms on emulator for item-state testing |
Completion Endings
The game’s ending sequence changes based on how fast you complete it — a mechanic that incentivizes speed before “speedrunning” was a formal category.
| Time | Ending |
|---|---|
| Under 1 hour | Samus removes helmet and suit entirely, waves at the camera |
| 1–3 hours | Samus removes helmet only |
| Over 3 hours | Standard ending with suit on |
| Any time with JUSTIN BAILEY | Suitless appearance throughout the whole game |
The sub-1-hour ending was the first mainstream instance of a video game rewarding fast completion with exclusive content, directly inspiring the tradition of alternate/secret endings in the Metroid series and the broader speedrunning culture that developed around it.