It almost feels strange to haveMetroid’s plot moving forward again after so many years.MetroidDreadwas announced as an installment in the classic 2D timeline, and soonMetroid Prime 4should be re-revealed for its own release.Dreadis no small event in comparison; during the lead-up to the game, series producer Yoshio Sakamoto stated that the game was intended to be the finale for 2DMetroid’s story up until that point. It certainly wasn’t going to be the last game, especially if Nintendo’s marketing efforts succeed inmakingDreadthe most popularMetroidtitleyet.
However, this game marks a significant shift in whatMetroidmight be in the future. Not only that, but it also fills in some blanks regardingMetroid’s lore. While this is gradually doled out over the course of the game, a lot of it can be found in the ending, which means thatthis article contains major spoilers forMetroid Dread.
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Setting Up Metroid Dread
Metroid Dreadfocuses on Samus Aran’s exploration of Planet ZDR. After the events ofMetroid Fusion, in which Samus supposedly wipes out the dangerous X Parasites, the Galactic Federation receives a video transmission from an unknown source indicating that the X are still alive. They dispatched a special unit of seven EMMI robots (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier) to ZDR, the source of the transmission. The unit vanishes, and Samus travels there alongside Adam to investigate. By this point, Samus had reclaimed part of her original Varia Suitfrom the SA-X doppelgangerbut was still carrying Metroid DNA from her anti-X vaccine and Fusion Suit.
Unfortunately, this position of power doesn’t last. Shortly after Samus arrived on ZDR, she encounteredthe Chozo warlord Raven Beak. This surprising face proved to be far too much for Samus to handle, levying greater battle experience and the most advanced Power Suit Chozo technology could produce. Samus loses most of her armor’s functionality and is separated from her ship, but ends up being spared when Raven Beak notices her beginning to manifest a strange power. Samus is left to fend for herself against the rogue EMMI, Chozo warriors, wildlife, and whatever machinations this sinister Chozo has in store.
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The Hidden History of the Chozo
Fend she does, and eventually, Samus encounters a second living Chozo named Quiet Robe.Robe expands on the Chozo lorepartially revealed inSamus Returns, having been a part of it. His scientific Thoha tribe had created the Metroids to destroy the X Parasites on SR388, but after they escaped containment, the warrior Mawkin tribe led by Raven Beak sealed the Metroids underneath SR388’s surface. However, when the Thoha proposed destroying the planet to prevent the Metroids from escaping or being exploited by forces such as the Space Pirates, Raven Beak and the Mawkin massacred the Thoha so that they could use the Metroids to conquer the galaxy, coercing Quiet Robe into aiding their plans.
The Mawkin forces, and Planet ZDR at large, were promptly devastated by X Parasites that had infiltrated the Mawkins. Raven Beak managed to seal them away, but asDread’s events demonstrate, that seal didn’t last.These Chozo abandoning the Metroids on SR388for the Federation and Space Pirates to find ironically set the wholeMetroidfranchise in motion. On top of that,Dreadreveals that one of Samus' Chozo DNA donors was Raven Beak himself, giving the two a, however impersonal, biological relationship. Raven Beak ends up offing Quiet Robe, continuing his efforts to test Samus with ZDR’s many dangers. Samus and Raven Beak’s final encounter is preceded by Samus realizing that Adam, her ship AI, has gradually become more insulting and demanding towards her. Destroying a communication terminal, it is revealed that Raven Beak had been the one speaking to her since she landed on ZDR.
The Bird Behind It All
The final boss fight shows two of the Chozo’s last and greatest warriors squaring off for the fate of the galaxy. Raven Beak reveals that he has still not given up on his plans of mustering a Metroid army, and has set his sights on cloning the strongest Metroid to ever live: Samus Aran. The reason he spared Samus at the beginning of the game was that he saw she was gradually becoming a true human/Metroid hybrid, and wanted to clone her at max strength. The two fight, with Raven Beak proving to still be a match for Samus despite her new equipment. He even exhibits a flying phase, a power not normally attributed to Chozo thatrecalls the absent Ridley. Despite being injured, Raven Beak gains the upper hand and is only disabled when Samus awakens her full Metroid abilities.
Samus manifests a spiky green and red suit, evoking the image of a classic Metroid. With it, Samus regainsthe Hyper Beam the Metroid hatchling had conferredto her at the end ofSuper Metroid, as well as incredibly strong energy-draining abilities, affecting both Raven Beak and his airborne ship. A weakened Raven Beak is jumped by an X Parasite on the planet’s surface, which transforms into an amalgamation of all the game’s bosses in an effort to overwhelm Samus. She easily guns it down and prepares to escape Planet ZDR before it explodes, taking the X with it. What follows is a functional recreation ofSuper Metroid’s escape sequence, with the Metroid Suit easily blowing away anything in its path.
Farewell To Planet ZDR
However, upon arriving at her ship, Samus is faced with one final obstacle: interfacing with it while wearing the Metroid Suit would drain its power. Fortunately, the day is saved when Quiet Robe appears, having cheated death byhijacking the X Parasite that absorbed his corpse. This could be in reference toMetroid Prime’s Chozo Ghosts but likely originates from the same line of thinking regarding the Chozo being a spiritual race. Quiet Robe allows himself to be absorbed and reverts Samus' suit to an earlier form. This may have something to do with his tribe apparently having the ability to control Metroids and him passing that trait over to Samus.
Regardless, Samus takes this one last gift from the Chozo and departs from the exploding planet, her latest mission complete. It’s a little unclearwhere theMetroidstoryline is goingfrom here. Now that every relevant antagonist seems to be dead, it appears the only way forward is to have other factions compete for Samus’ DNA in future 2D games. Regardless, there’s no doubt that Samus Aran will find new threats to face in the name of galactic peace.
Metroid Dreadis out now on Nintendo Switch.
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