Super Metroid 1994 Ready to Hit Zebes Week 2

Hello again! In my last blog, I talked about the origins of the Metroid series. I showed you a timeline outlining the release years of all the games in the series from 1986 to 2017. I also showed you an evolution of Samus Aran in all of the games in the series from the beginning to the present. I even added a 5 minute clip of game-play of the NES version. In this blog. I said that I was going to talk a bit about the eponymous organisms that inhabit Zebes. As you can see, these organisms are called Metroids and vary in all shapes and sizes.

Below is a diagram of a typical Metroid.

A diagram showing a typical Metroid.

As you can see from the diagram below, Metroids are quite small. They look cute, but they are not the type of pet that you want to have. The Metroids are also becoming more dangerous, because a large group of criminals called the Space Pirates stole a batch of them from the Galactic Federation's research vessel and used them for illegal purposes.

 They originated from a planet known as SR388. Samus was sent there on her second mission to eradicate the Metroids on this world. Well, not all of them were eradicated, because after she defeated the strongest and most powerful Metroid, she found an egg in the monster's chamber. The egg hatched, and a cute tiny Metroid came out and followed Samus back to her gunship. I will talk about that incident soon. As a result, only one Metroid survived.

As I was saying earlier, they originated from SR388. It was thought that an advanced race of civilization called the Chozo was the link to their origins. The Chozo are a group of beings that resemble bird-like features and they were the ones that genetically engineered the Metroids on this planet, in order to stop a disease called the X Parasite from spreading. In the Chozo language, Metroid translates to "Ultimate Warrior." Like the Egyptians, the Chozo were religious and had their own cultures and civilizations. They used drawings to illustrate their traditions. They mainly lived in the Zebesian ruins on Zebes in a place called Chozodia just outside an area called Crateria (I will explain all of this soon). Like Tourian, many Space Pirates dominate this area.

 

 It is also one of the headquarters for the Space Pirates on Zebes. Religious ceremonies were conducted there.

The Metroids possess a wide range of multiple body structures, due to their complex life cycle that changes over time as they develop. They begin their cycle as a larva which resembles jelly-fish like creatures before growing into an adult and forms an extra layer of coating called a husk and develop sharp fangs.

The Metroids are at the top of the food chain of SR388 and have no natural predators. However, they behave aggressively and usually feed a form of energy known as life energy by latching onto their prey for a period of time and begin sucking their energy out of them. Following the attack, however, the prey's blood and organs remain intact and lacks the energy to sustain life. They can even feed on energy by using both artificially-created beings and technology like Samus Aran's Power Suit. 

The Metroids however, have a major weakness living in cold temperatures. Weapons like the Ice Beam can be used to freeze the younger Metroids for a period of time. But as they begin to leave their larva cycle, the organisms start developing tissue and exoskeletons that prevent themselves from being exposed to the cold and become more dangerous to galactic society. They can be wounded though, with the Ice Beam. 

The climate on SR388 appears to have no sub-zero climate, while the Chozo labs in Area 7 feature some ice-filled rooms on the planet. 

Now I will talk about the life-cycle of a Metroid. Even though it was Samus's mission to wipe out the species on their homeworld, SR388, their full life cycle was finally discovered. There are seven stages of a typical life cycle of a Metroid:

 1. The cycle starts when it becomes an egg. It is laid by the most powerful Metroid, the Queen Metroid and eventually, it becomes an Infant Metroid after it hatches, which can fly.

2. The infant then grows into a larva, which is the initial form given to their species by the Chozo creators. They can sense beta rays and can attack without warning. As well, as the infant it is considered to be the larval phase of the formation.

3. Next, the larva becomes an Alpha Metroid, which grows a set of legs, though they are not fully developed yet. The vulnerability to ice has ended in this stage of the cycle, but they can still be stunned by Samus with the Ice Beam. They no longer can be frozen entirely into ice. 

4. The creature then moves onto the Gamma Metroid, which its legs have fully developed and has grown. The next few steps explain when the Metroid begins to stand on its legs. Along with the Alpha, it is considered to be the pupal phase.

5. After that, the Gamma Metroid moves onto a Zeta Metroid and transforms into a dinosaur like creature. It can produce fire or plasma projectiles. It can no longer fly, but is considered to have the highest level of agility of all the Metroids.

6. Then it moves onto the Omega Metroid, which is the final and most powerful stage of a standard Metroid. It stands in a bipedal posture and the Metroid is taller and more muscular than its predecessor. It can unleash a plasma beam from its mouth, and the Omega and the Zeta variants are said to be the adult phase of the species. Metroids can evolve depending on the type of genes they have. All the variants are different by their orange pigmentation, an additional pair of eyes and the green coating on their backs, which resemble moss or fur with green veins. Their attacks are altered slightly and inflict more damage as well, making evolved Metroids the most powerful Metroids than their standard type.

7. Finally, the Omega becomes a Queen Metroid. There are some limits of becoming a Queen Metroid. Only Metroids with specific types of genes can become Queens. It is quadrupedal and is the largest Metroid on SR388 by size and length. Unlike the rest of the Metroids, the creature can lay Metroid Eggs.

Life cycle of a Metroid

Now, we move onto the game that I will be talking about in more detail. The game that I will be talking about is called Super Metroid, and I think that it is the best game of all time in the Metroid series. Even though I have played other games like Metroid Zero Mission and the NES version, Zebes has a unique geography and like Earth, there is life. There are many things on Zebes that are not on Earth but humans cannot live on. This is where the different regions of Zebes come into place.

Before we move onto Super Metroid itself, let's talk about the different regions in the game:

Planet Zebes is a fictional planet that was around the orbit of a star called FS-176 and the homeplace of the Space Pirates (Zebesians) and the primary villain of the game, Mother Brain. It is the primary location of the Metroid series, although the second game Metroid II: Return of Samus is set on SR388, the homeplace of the Metroids. In other games, like Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Other M, they are set on vessels and in Metroid Prime, it is set on a planet called Tallon IV. Samus Aran, a famous bounty hunter was raised there by the Chozo after her home on the Earth colony, K-2L was destroyed by the Space Pirates.

Introduction

Zebes had a vast network of caverns built underground and mazes lead deep in the planet. 

Crateria

1. Crateria is the surface area of the planet and also the landing place for Samus and her gunship. Its atmosphere is mountainous and the terrain is rough and rocky. It is mostly cloudy with constant drizzles of rain and thunder. It is also the first area that Samus visits. It contains the destroyed ruins of Tourian that appeared in the original game. There is a portion that is connected to the Wrecked Ship and leads to Maridia. There is a mini-boss that is in one of the rooms in Crateria called a Torizo that is the dangerous version of a Chozo. They are concealed in Chozo statues, where most of them sit on the ground in a confined room. It also contains a Golden Statues Room which leads you down to the rebuilt Tourian, where it is more secure.

2. Brinstar is a jungle-like environment and is below Crateria. Most of the living things that roam Zebes live in Brinstar. It is dense, due to many plants and trees growing there. Like Crateria, Brinstar has caverns and is home to an obese lizard called Kraid. There is a section in Brinstar called Kraid's Lair where it has a totally different environment compared to the main area. To summarize, there are two main areas of Brinstar:

- Upper Brinstar is mostly a jungle environment with vines and plants. Lots of creatures live there, and the area is teemed with life. The texture is green in most areas, although there are still some caverns that have rocks. A ginormous plant called Spore Spawn has its lair.

- Lower Brinstar is home to Kraid. Also known as Kraid's Lair.  Look out for his gargoyle. Here, it is mostly dark and there is an absence of tropical life, except Kraid's bodyguards and the glowing walls. The ground is red, due to the presence of iron.

3. Norfair is the deepest section of the planet and also one of the most dangerous regions to live on. There is a presence of lava and eruptions, and there are many enemies that are adapted to the extreme heat. There are two main areas of Norfair:

- Norfair is unpleasant to live in. The deep caves of Norfair contain stalactites and stalagmites and most of the rooms are super-heated, only the enemies that reside in this hellish kingdom survive. It is extremely hostile and is home to a large reptile called Crocomire. You don't want to see him when he's exposed to the super-heated lava. Norfair is also home to some power-ups and helpful items and has a unique lava filled room that leads to Ridley. There are some caves that have water in them instead of lava! Many eruptions and tremors occur. There is even a bubble room!

- Ridley is even more hostile than Norfair. Look out for his gargoyle in the room that can be accessed only by moving in lava. More enemies are found here and the lava is even more dangerous and is home to Space Pirate Leader, Ridley. There are a few additional enemies as well as a mini-boss that is a golden Torizo, that is even stronger than the earlier one. 

The layout of the map is look alike to the original game. Unlike its upper layer, there are some deposits of Chozo ruins, which indicate that it was once an underground temple.

4. Maridia is an aquatic section of Zebes. It was once part of Brinstar, but something happened that caused the left over bits of Brinstar to flood. Maridia too has different sections. One is sandy, while the other is rocky, with a pipeline that acts as a transport link for Samus. This area is hostile with aqueous enemies and home to Botwoon and Draygon. It was once a laboratory for the Space Pirates to clone Metroids, but these experiments failed and created a weaker version of these creatures known as Mochtroids.

5. Tourian contains the headquarters of the Space Pirates and home to the diabolical computer android Mother Brain. This area can only be accessed by defeating the four Guardians of Zebes (The Golden Statues). It is industrial and factory-like and there are some chambers that are desert-like. The only enemies there are Metroids. There are also Rinkas, which are circles that fly in and out and attack the player, small cannons that fire lasers and Zebetite barriers that block the player's way. They must be destroyed. Fortunately, they cannot re-spawn. Before you reach Tourian, equip yourself with the Ice Beam. You need it to kill the Metroids! Oh, one more thing, there is a surprise after you reach a certain point in Tourian. The galactic warrior collects something nice as well in order to defeat Mother Brain.

6. Wrecked Ship is a large marine base that connects Crateria. The power is off when you first visit it, but you're not alone! Miniature skull-like demons called Coverns reside there, but there are rumors that astronauts lived there, and could be the ghosts of them. Also home to Phantoon, a large monster that resembles a light bulb. He has one eye which is concealed in his mouth. Once you defeat him, the power is restored and other enemies replace Coverns as well as other ship hazards, such as sparks and spikes.

 Thanks for listening! Next week, I will be talking more about Super Metroid and this Saturday I will explain the game in more detail. Bye!