History NightmareFuel / Metroid

** Worse is, now that he ''is'' in ''Smash Bros.'', compare him to other Nintendo villains. While most of them are gleefully evil like Bowser and Ganondorf, they usually have some sort of redeeming quality in that they may have loved ones, standards, goofiness or just simple ''tact'' to their evil...meanwhile, Ridley stands as [[Monster/{{Metroid}} one of the franchise's widest-reaching Complete Monsters]]. A space pirate terrorist, who is NighInvulnerable, also bearing such a violently insane, sadistic and calculating personality...Ridley is truly a nightmare to behold.

** Worse is, now that he ''is'' in ''Smash Bros.'', compare him to other Nintendo villains. While most of them are gleefully evil like Bowser and Ganondorf, they usually have some sort of redeeming quality in that they may have loved ones, standards, goofiness or just simple ''tact'' to their evil. Ridley? To make a long story short, [[Monster/{{Metroid}} his manga incarnation is outright listed as a Complete Monster]], and it is heavily implied in ''Ultimate'' that it's how he also acts in the games. A space pirate terrorist, who is NighInvulnerable, also bearing such a violently insane, sadistic and calculating personality...Ridley is truly a nightmare to behold.

* From the ''Prime Trilogy'': Dark Samus, the Metroid Prime's reincarnation. Just about everything about her is terrifying, but just to elaborate: imagine Samus [[EvilCounterpart if she went absolutely batshit on, or was made out of Phazon with goals of corrupting the universe with it]]. She is immensely powerful, able to attack ''then'' seize full control of the Space Pirates - yes, this includes ''Ridley'' - and corrupt Samus' fellow bounty hunters and force them to fight against her. She had also managed to survive long enough to get into ''four different encounters'' with Samus (the last being her final defeat), and [[NearVillainVictory in fact damn near achieve her goal of corrupting the universe]] due to how toxic Phaaze's atmosphere was in the first place - and just like Ridley, it takes a planet-scale bomb just to kill her, alongside having her link herself to the core of the planet itself as well. She is also one of Nintendo's absolute vilest of villains only possibly second only to Ridley himself, and that ''alone'' speaks volumes.

* NightmareFuel/SuperMetroid
* NightmareFuel/MetroidFusion
* NightmareFuel/MetroidPrime
* NightmareFuel/MetroidPrime2Echoes
* NightmareFuel/MetroidPrime3Corruption
* NightmareFuel/MetroidZeroMission
* NightmareFuel/MetroidSamusReturns
* NightmareFuel/MetroidDread

!!''Metroid II'':

** Worse is, now that he ''is'' in ''Smash Bros.'', compare him to other Nintendo villains. While most of them are gleefully evil like Bowser and Ganondorf, they usually have some sort of redeeming quality in that they may have loved ones, standards, goofiness or just simple ''tact'' to their evil. Ridley? To make a long story short, [[Monster/AnimeAndManga his manga incarnation is outright listed as a Complete Monster]], and it is heavily implied in ''Ultimate'' that it's how he also acts in the games. A space pirate terrorist, who is NighInvulnerable, also bearing such a violently insane, sadistic and calculating personality...Ridley is truly a nightmare to behold.

!!''Metroid Prime 3 Corruption'':
* The Game Over screen for this game consists of a slowly expanding pool of Samus' blood on a white background. If that's not enough, if you get [[NonStandardGameOver Terminal Corruption]], the blood is ''[[AlienBlood blue]]''.
** [[SentientPhlebotinum Except that isn't just blue blood...]]
* ''Corruption'' adds the [[GhostShip GFS Valhalla]], complete with [[ApocalypticLog logs of the Aurora unit slowly being corrupted with Phazon]].
** What makes the Valhalla even creepier is that you don't encounter much life on the ship: Aside from mutated Metroids and the occasional Phazon-mutated creature, all you have to keep you company are the mangled corpses lying in various states of agony, creepily quiet music, and the occasional shuddering of the structurally unsound ship.
* You can use the scan visor on corpses to determine how they died. While you can do that in multiple places, the death messages are creepiest in the Valhalla. One of them saying that the trooper was trying to crawl towards the exit before being attacked from behind, but there are probably far worse [[CruelAndUnusualDeath "gems"]].
** Some deaths include getting impaled with a scythe before being tossed into exploding canisters, a PED malfunction eating a Trooper alive, phazon grenades, explosive decompression due to broken visor, self-inflicted and friendly fire while trying to remove Metroids, and getting attacked through walls by phase-shifting Metroids.
** Two of the last trooper corpses you find in the Valhalla belong to two PED Troopers whose PED devices explosively ruptured; when you find them, their corpses are impaled and suspended from the Phazon tendrils, looking almost as if they were crucified. Worse still, scans reveal that the Phazon is consuming their flesh, and shooting the two troopers reveals that there's nothing left inside their armor.
* Oh, did we forget to mention that these Metroids can now phase through walls? Because ''they can now phase through walls.''
* Whatever you do, don't look out the windows of the Valhalla; that entire nebula out there? Metroids as far as the eye can see, some of them MASSIVE.
** Particularly freaky is when you see one of these Metroids floating lazily down a hall...and then you notice that it's dragging a corpse behind it.
* Then there's the part where you open a door, everything's fine, everything's good. '''Then the second you open the door a dead Pirate's corpse greets you and instantly decomposes'''!
** The fun doesn't stop there: If you've played to the end of ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' before, as you'll probably recognize exactly ''what'' caused the Space Pirate to decompose: having its life sucked out by at least one Metroid.
** Then when you investigate further, you find ''dozens'' of these drained Pirate corpses littering every passageway, and you can learn the gruesome details of how each one died. Heck, you can even see the ''claw marks'' that one of the Pirates left in the wall in his dying moments.
* Venturing deeper, you pass by several trapped Metroids, but they do nothing, as they are properly contained. Then you acquire the Seeker Missile, the lights go out, and you KNOW what's waiting for you on the way back. And if it's your first run, PRAY!
** This one's even worse because it's self-inflicted; as noted you bypass all these properly contained Metroids (who do nonetheless try to eat you, it's unnerving to see one try), but when you get to the room with the Seeker Missiles, there's an energy cell powering the entire place. By now you've probably encountered at least one so you know taking it will disable things. Thus, the feeling of dread when you know that taking it (which you HAVE to do) will release the Metroids. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoAkTKW3fpU Once the power's out, the game uses the music to put you even more on edge, to boot!]]
* Then you learn that this mutated breed of Metroids can not only phase through walls, but ''missiles'' as well.
* The BodyHorror Samus experiences thanks to the Phazon in her body. First, there's the FacialHorror; as her corruption progresses, she gets TaintedVeins on her face, along with a combination of GlowingEyesOfDoom and BlackEyesOfCrazy. Also, after defeating the first Leviathan guardian, Samus keels over and pukes up a mess of radioactive sludge, ''[[VomitIndiscretionShot on-screen]]''. Finally, if you use Hypermode for too long, you get a NonStandardGameOver in which Samus becomes an exact copy of Dark Samus.
* After Gandrayda is defeated, she goes through a ShapeShifterSwanSong, finally settling on Samus' form. As Dark Samus appears to absorb her the way she did the last two bounty hunters, Samus knows there's nothing she can do to help Gandrayda, and essentially goes through the epic mindfuck of watching ''herself'' die horribly. Even worse is that Samus herself is pretty corrupted by this point, and the dying Gandrayda shows her just how corrupted she's become.
* Omega Ridley is pretty horrifying in ''concept''; he's a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot sadistic cyborg space pirate dragon-like alien pirate/terrorist]], and you can clearly tell that Ridley himself is pretty much just a ''living corpse'' under the cybernetic enhancements. Even as a cybernetically-enhanced corpse, he still takes a large amount of effort to put down, and even ''after'' Samus defeats him again, the zombie cyborg Ridley manages to escape the destruction of Phaaze.
* Phaaze is pretty much a planet made out of NightmareFuel. Before going there, you are only 75% corrupted, and your ship can still sense that it's Samus that tries to use its facilities. Once you land on Phaaze, there is a quick cut-scene in which Samus becomes fully corrupted. As a result, her own ship can't even sense that it's her anymore, and to make matters worse, you're stuck in infinite Hyper Mode. On the bright side, you can't die due to lack of Energy. On the not-so-bright side, your 100% Phazon-Corruption-rate means you're only one step away from dying every second, meaning the atmosphere and any hostile attacks can actually kill you if you're not careful. And since your ship doesn't recognize you, you're stuck on that planet until you slay Metroid Prime/Dark Samus for good. Playing this part of the game right before sleeping is not a good idea if you actually want to sleep.
** For extra flavor, Phaaze isn't just some sort of EldritchLocation of Phazon; it's an entire planet effectively composed of the stuff, to the point of the Valhalla outright proclaiming in its ApocalypticLog that it's sentient. Not just alive, not primal - ''[[ItCanThink sentient.]]'' It's not helped by the fact that Dark Samus essentially has an entire planet at its finger tips that can corrupt whole worlds into more copies of Phaaze to spread it across the galaxy.
* The Aazelion, a creature found on Phaaze, is the page picture for good reason. In one of the last rooms on the planet before the final boss, Samus falls down a shaft... and is suddenly ensnared by the Aazelion, which slowly drags Samus towards its mouth in an attempt to eat her. It's even worse on Hypermode difficulty, as the creature's increased health makes it all but impossible to prevent it from taking a bite out of Samus. To add fuel to the nightmare, the Aazelion is one of the few creatures in the trilogy that has no records in Samus' Scan Visor, and [[https://bensprout.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/aazelion/ was only expanded upon post-release by the creature's designer]]; it's essentially a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere.
* After killing the Infant Leviathan in the Genesis Chamber and before jumping down the final shaft, take a look around with the Scan Visor. You'll see some weird looking growths along the wall and, naturally, will want to scan it. Those "growths" are actually husks of ''several Metroid Primes''.
* One of the cooler features of the game is the ability to sometimes see Samus's eyes inside her visor while playing. As you become corrupted, her eyes go from Green( non-PED Suit), to blue, to blue with some strained blood vessels, blue with glowing eyes, and finally [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/015bd89a81cf7471652819db009560c3/tumblr_mzxgexAiZP1tp2bino1_500.jpg deep blue glowing eyes, with tendrils made of pure phazon crawling up her face]].
* TheStinger ends the game, and by extension the trilogy, on an ominous note. After reminiscing about her fallen comrades, Samus leaves Elysia, heading off for more adventures. [[TheEndOrIsIt Mere seconds later, a sleek, blue and green ship slowly and quietly hovers into view, engaging its engines before jumping after Samus.]] After years of speculation, [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e3-2015-what-metroid-primes-producer-wants-in-the-next-sequel?utm_source=IGN+hub+page&utm_medium=IGN+%28front+page%29&utm_content=5&utm_campaign=Blogroll it's since been confirmed]] that it was none other than Sylux. You know, the one who wants to burn the entire Galactic Federation to the ground out of sheer hatred? [[ParanoiaFuel He has been known to successfully shadow Samus, after all]]...

* After [[spoiler:Gandrayda]] is defeated, she goes through a ShapeShifterSwanSong, finally settling on Samus' form. As Dark Samus appears to absorb her the way she did [[spoiler:the last two bounty hunters]], Samus knows there's nothing she can do to help [[spoiler:Gandrayda]], and essentially goes through the epic mindfuck of watching ''herself'' die horribly. Even worse is that Samus herself is pretty corrupted by this point, and the dying [[spoiler:Gandrayda]] shows her just how corrupted she's become.

* Phaaze is pretty much a planet made out of NightmareFuel. Before going there, you are only 75% corrupted, and your ship can still sense that it's Samus that tries to use its facilities. Once you land on Phaaze, there is a quick cut-scene in which [[spoiler:Samus becomes fully corrupted. As a result, her own ship can't even sense that it's her anymore, and to make matters worse, you're stuck in infinite Hyper Mode]]. On the bright side, you can't die due to lack of Energy. On the not-so-bright side, [[spoiler:your 100% Phazon-Corruption-rate means you're only one step away from dying every second, meaning the atmosphere and any hostile attacks can actually kill you if you're not careful. And since your ship doesn't recognize you, you're stuck on that planet until you slay Metroid Prime/Dark Samus for good. Playing this part of the game right before sleeping is not a good idea if you actually want to sleep]].

* After killing the Infant Leviathan in the Genesis Chamber and before jumping down the final shaft, take a look around with the Scan Visor. You'll see some weird looking growths along the wall and, naturally, will want to scan it. [[spoiler: Those "growths" are actually husks of ''several Metroid Primes'']].

* TheStinger ends the game, and by extension the trilogy, on an ominous note. After reminiscing about her fallen comrades, Samus leaves Elysia, heading off for more adventures. [[spoiler: [[TheEndOrIsIt Mere seconds later, a sleek, blue and green ship slowly and quietly hovers into view, engaging its engines before jumping after Samus.]]]] After years of speculation, [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/17/e3-2015-what-metroid-primes-producer-wants-in-the-next-sequel?utm_source=IGN+hub+page&utm_medium=IGN+%28front+page%29&utm_content=5&utm_campaign=Blogroll it's since been confirmed]] that it was none other than [[spoiler: Sylux. You know, the one who wants to burn the entire Galactic Federation to the ground out of sheer hatred? [[ParanoiaFuel He has been known to successfully shadow Samus, after all]]]]...

* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has some good scares, but the best one is retroactive. Throughout the game, you've been encountering distinctive Power Bomb doors; you've probably been looking forward to coming back and opening them all. Then the cinema before the final fight reveals that [[spoiler:those aren't doors -- they're dormant insectoid cyborgs strong enough to kick your ass]]. Next time you play, good luck passing one without shuddering...

* [[spoiler:Remember Nightmare in ''Fusion''? Turns out, it's back as a boss. And it even shows off extra aggressive mannerisms while actively ''screaming like a baby'' when its face is revealed.....and that thing used to just float around with no other indications in ''Fusion'', until its ''Other M'' appearance has it act all rabid.]]

* Remember the [[spoiler: Metroid egg]] that the Project Golem squad retrieved? TheStinger reveals that [[spoiler: someone broke into Federation HQ and has made off with the newly hatched infant Metroid, and that someone is most likely Sylux]].

* [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Sylux]] is one of the biggest mysteries in the series and what is known about him does not paint a pretty picture. His first onscreen appearance consists of slaughtering a Federation squad while giving a decidedly ''inhuman'' roar, his equipment consists of nothing but stolen experimental GF tech, and he holds such an unfathomable HATRED for the Federation to the point that this seething grudge even extends to Samus by ''mere association''. He has successfully been shadowing her for quite some time as well, [[spoiler: as shown by TheStinger to ''Corruption'']]. Nobody, in-universe or out, [[TheSpook knows just who or what he is or what his plans are]], [[spoiler: and if he truly was the culprit at the end of TheStinger for ''Federation Force'', he now has [[UltimateLifeform an infant Metroid]] in his possession]].
* From the ''Prime Trilogy'': Dark Samus, [[spoiler:the Metroid Prime's reincarnation]]. Just about everything about her is terrifying, but just to elaborate: imagine Samus [[EvilCounterpart if she went absolutely batshit on, or was made out of Phazon with goals of corrupting the universe with it]]. She is immensely powerful, able to attack ''then'' seize full control of the Space Pirates - yes, this includes ''Ridley'' - and corrupt Samus' fellow bounty hunters and force them to fight against her. She had also managed to survive long enough to get into ''four different encounters'' with Samus (the last being her final defeat), and [[spoiler: [[NearVillainVictory in fact damn near achieve her goal of corrupting the universe]] due to how toxic Phaaze's atmosphere was in the first place - and just like Ridley, it takes a planet-scale bomb just to kill her, alongside having her link herself to the core of the planet itself as well]]. She is also one of Nintendo's absolute vilest of villains only possibly second only to Ridley himself, and that ''alone'' speaks volumes.

!!''Super Metroid'':
* The entire intro sequence, with Space Station Ceres having dark, isolated halls with all the murdered scientists sprawled over the place. With the build-up to the title screen, it is framed exactly like a horror film.
* Ridley's notorious GlowingEyesOfDoom intro is one of the most pants-pissing introductions for a character ''imaginable.'' Imagine roaming through a dark base, bodies piled up and everything laid to waste...you see the Baby Metroid, seemingly safe and sound inside of a container. Meters above, you see a pair of glowing yellow eyes, scowling sadistically at you. As Ridley comes into full view, he lets out his infamous screech, his {{Leitmotif}} starts blaring, and before you know it, you're shooting at him. Worse is that he does this ''again'' later on in Lower Norfair - and this time, you're locked into a full-fledged boss fight with him, [[ThatOneBoss where you will die many, MANY times.]]
* The room in Crateria that contains the sealed entrance to Tourian. For starters, it's filled with statues of the four major bosses that need to be defeated in order to access the area. These are creepy enough on their own, but seeing them all together (even if it's just as statues) takes it to a whole new level. Second, the music in this room is a very foreboding ambient track, which dials up the creep factor even more. Third and finally, it's possible to stumble across this room shortly after starting the game. While seeing all for bosses together might not frighten someone who's already defeated them, it certainly could have that effect on a first-time player, who is being shown right away the monstrosities they will have to face. It also might not even be clear to a new player what this room is for, and that it won't be of use to them until later in the game, adding EmptyRoomPsych and NothingIsScarier to the mix.
* The whole sequence with Crocomire in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''. Forcing the creature into a pit of lava and watching its flesh melt off. Creepy. Oh, and then its skeleton pops back out for a moment only to crumble before you. Harmless but still freaky.
* Draygon is arguably worse. Her battle starts off with a surprisingly effective JumpScare, and when you see that she looks like a [[Creator/HRGiger Gigeresque horror]], you'll see why. Her body pulsates in a disgusting manner, her eye looks mucus-coated and cancerous, her mouth looks like something out that wouldn't be out of place on a [[Franchise/{{Predator}} Yautja]], and if you look closely, there are at least three parts on her body that resemble '''human faces'''. After you've killed her, you are subject to seeing ''her own children starting to eat her corpse''. What the hell, Creator/{{Nintendo}}?
** Well, it was probably them burying her, but it could be both.
* The music for Spore Spawn, miniboss of the Brinstar area. The boss itself is kind of creepy, but it's this strange medley of piano music and tribal drumming that's really spine-tingling.
** Worse, it reappears for Botwoon, the miniboss of Maridia.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TPQQQa4mxY Item Room Ambience]]" is an ambiguously disturbing remix made entirely out of mysteriously telephone-ish beeps with an [[DroneOfDread extremely dark and ominous silence note]] in the background. Imagine waking up to that in a dark room in the middle of the night. Who needs sleep anyway?
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwt740KznHE Mother Brain's theme]] is effectively OhCrap in musical form. Mother Brain herself is quite intimidating as well, seeing as it fakes you out into thinking the battle will just be a copy of the original's final boss. Nope. Instead, we're treated to a grotesque, snarling, drooling monstrosity that towers over you, who then proceeds to kick your ass. The music conveys the feeling of hopelessness quite well.
** Her roars also sound horrific, with most of them being in ''the same tone of the rather purely evil sounding music''. It really does hammer home that you are face-to-face with a biomech abomination that you simply ''cannot fight.''
* Brinstar has numerous man-eating things in the floor and ceiling that trap you and deplete your health. While they do let go after a few seconds, they're still all kinds of "yuck" to look at. One area has a floor and ceiling comprising nothing but these creatures.
* There's something very ominous and eerie about the temple area of Lower Norfair, made worse by the chanting in the background music.
* The Crashed Ship. Until you defeat Phantoon (itself an exceedingly unnerving opponent) and the power comes back on, you are literally traversing a haunted wreck. There's no scientific explanation for it either, as far as you know you're simply being assaulted by ghosts. No other enemies either, just ghosts. And the ghosts? They're clusters of skulls fused together, waiting in invisibility and periodically attempting to ''appear into you'' then disappear, even coming after you in the presently-inert Save Room. Good night!
* The room with the boss statue. A way of informing the player of what horrible monsters they'll have to fight (three of which warrant their own descriptions on this page). And you will have to visit this room at least once, because the statue's destruction opens the path to the final area. But what really pulls it together is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiUITLFRar0 that horrible, haunting ambiance]] that ''reeks'' of paranoia and likely impending violent death.
* The sequence leading up to the Big Metroid is pretty unnerving, especially for a first time player. The music changes to let you know there's a boss nearby and there are several dried husks of enemies that turn to dust when you touch them, including a Torizo. Then along comes a giant sidehopper that you can't damage no matter what you do, only to see a HUGE metroid swoop in and suck the thing dry in seconds. You're next, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it... until it leaves you with one unit of health remaining.

!Metroid II:

!Super Metroid:

!Metroid Prime 3 Corruption:

!
!Metroid Other M:

!Metroid Prime Federation Force:

!Other:

* [[TimedMission TIME BOMB SET--GET OUT FAST!]]

* One of the cooler features of the game is the ability to sometimes see Samus's eyes inside her visor while playing. As you become corrupted, her eyes go from Green( non-PED Suit), to blue, to blue with some strained blood vessels, blue with glowing eyes, and finally [[[[http://36.media.tumblr.com/015bd89a81cf7471652819db009560c3/tumblr_mzxgexAiZP1tp2bino1_500.jpg deep blue glowing eyes, with tendrils made of pure phazon crawling up her face]].

** Making this [[FridgeHorror worse]] is the fact that [[spoiler:Crocomire doesn't attack you until you attack it first, which implies that Crocomire is really just a peaceful creature and wants to be left alone, and that the Space Pirates stuck it in there purely because they wanted it dead ForTheEvulz. It's also in one of the few rooms in Upper Norfair that has the lava from Lower Norfair, and Crocomire might have survived the RingOut if it had been the lava from Upper Norfair.]]

** To add to the effect, after a certain point bright flashes near you allow you to see [[spoiler: [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/015bd89a81cf7471652819db009560c3/tumblr_mzxgexAiZP1tp2bino1_500.jpg your own Phazon-corrupted face]]]]. Considering that at that point you've already seen what the stuff does to [[UnstoppableRage Space Pirates]] and your [[GrandTheftMe fellow bounty hunters]], you might be a bit more careful with the Hyper Mode. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Not that it matters, of course.]]

* ''Corruption'' also features a sort of Fridge Nightmare Fuel. In the first one, Phazon damaged you until you had the Phazon suit. Even then, the Red Phazon in the impact crater still damaged you. In ''Echoes'' there was no protection against it, it would always damage you. But after you get the PED suit, Phazon can ''heal'' you. It is some of the most toxic and corrosive stuff in the history of the series, and it's '''healing''' you. That's how corrupted you are. To drive the point home, the energy refills change after you get the PED suit. Before you get the suit, scan data shows that the energy pick ups refill X amount of energy. After you get the PED suit, they now change into phazon energy and scanning them says you'll get X amount of phazon back as if you're feeding off the corrupted stuff to stay alive.

* One of the cooler features of the game is the ability to sometimes see Samus's eyes inside her visor while playing. As you become corrupted, her eyes go from Green( non-PED Suit), to blue, to blue with some strained blood vessels, blue with [[spoiler: glowing eyes]], and finally [[spoiler: deep blue glowing eyes, with ''tendrils made of pure phazon crawling up her face!'']]

** For extra flavor, Phaaze isn't just some sort of EldritchLocation of Phazon; it's an entire planet effectively composed of the stuff, to the point of the Valhalla outright proclaiming in its ApocalypticLog that it's sentient. Not just alive, not primal - ''[[ItCanThink sentient.]]'' It's not helped by the fact that Dark Samus essentially has an entire planet at its finger tips that can corrupt whole worlds into more copies of Phaaze to spread it across the galaxy. And given that a ''Prime 4'' [[HereWeGoAgain is in the works]]...

** For extra flavor, Phaaze isn't just some sort of EldritchLocation of Phazon; it's an entire planet effectively composed of the stuff, to the point of the Valhalla outright proclaiming in its ApocalypticLog that it's sentient. Not just alive, not primal - ''[[ItCanThink sentient.]]'' It's not helped by the fact that Dark Samus essentially has an entire planet at its finger tips that can corrupt entire planets into more copies of Phaaze to spread it across the galaxy. And given that a ''Prime 4'' [[HereWeGoAgain is in the works]]...