After she discovered their Metroid cloning during the events of Metroid Fusion and blew it up, the Federation likely won't take kindly to that. The news site itself even mentions the E.M.M.I. being a product of the Federation
.
- Even before Samus 'went rogue' and caused the Biologic Space Laboratories research station to crash into SR388, destroying both in the process; it was clear by the endgame that she was driving a rift between the Federation and herself. Her objection to the Federation's plan to capture the SA-X, her discovery of the Metroid clones, and Adam's defection would inevitably drive them to silence Samus; everything that happened afterwards would only expedite things. She even remarks that her heroics here will be heavily scrutinized and demonized in spite of her good intentions.
- Seems to be Jossed, because it was more a ploy by a certain Chozo to get Samus to ZDR.
- Seems deconfirmed. We got one of the opening cinematics, and it has Samus explicitly going over Federation videos with the Adam A.I., and said A.I. speaking as though this is indeed another commissioned operation from the Federation.
- Jossed.
- Jossed. All of the E.M.M.I. retain the same look, just with different colourations.
Given that a Chozo is directly involved in the game's plot and Samus' Varia suit is incredibly iconic, it'll likely be the ultimate suit upgrade of the game.
- An unreleased Japanese trailer shows Samus in her current suit, but in the traditional Varia colors; but it isn't clear if this is an upgrade or flashback yet.
- The orange version is the suit she starts the game in, with it basically being the Fusion Suit from the end of the last game. Nintendo has also said that her suit is in the process of re-growing itself, since it's techno-organic. I kinda doubt it will finish re-growing by the end of the game, though: Trailer 2 has clips of Samus running around in the Gravity Suit variant, and it's still "unfinished".
- Jossed, because she instead gets a Metroid Suit at the end of the game, if only for a short while.
- The orange version is the suit she starts the game in, with it basically being the Fusion Suit from the end of the last game. Nintendo has also said that her suit is in the process of re-growing itself, since it's techno-organic. I kinda doubt it will finish re-growing by the end of the game, though: Trailer 2 has clips of Samus running around in the Gravity Suit variant, and it's still "unfinished".
She is Samus’ most personal foe next to Ridley, and like him has demonstrated an means of coming back from the dead. Given this game’s status as the Grand Finale to the series current story arc, it makes sense for the Greater-Scope Villain of the franchise to be involved somehow.
- A brain-like drone with a single eye called a Central Unit was shown off, though it didn't seem like an enemy (yet anyways).
- Mother Brain might well be resurrected by the Pirates or a careless Federation scientist uploading a copy of her software into an Aurora Unit.
- Jossed, Mother Brain makes no appearance. Only the Central Units do.
With the destruction of SR388 and BSL’s Metroid cloning lab, Samus is now the only being left in the universe with the species’ DNA thanks to the cure for her X Parasite infection derived from the Hatchling’s cells. Given that the E.M.M.I. are designed to extract DNA, whoever is controlling them is trying to harvest Samus’ DNA in order to once again clone the creatures.
- Confirmed. Raven Beak reprogrammed them to extract the DNA.
The first E.M.M.I. encountered is found severely damaged despite their general durability, suggesting that someone or something managed to destroy part of its body. Possibly the Chozo.
- Confirmed. One of the Chozo Memories unlocked shows that it was Raven Beak who damaged the first E.M.M.I., and Samus defeats the final one by sucking all of the energy out of it.
Officially, the E.M.M.I. were intended as research robots for the Galactic Federation to collect samples on harsh planets. It's entirely possible that the pro-bioweapon conspirators of the Federation have much bigger plans for the E.M.M.I. than piddling around the galaxy - why else would they be virtually indestructible monsters with insane mobility, capable of killing a powerful warriors such as Samus in one hit? Maybe they were specifically created to counter Samus' abilities, or to hunt down the remaining Chozo.
In order to rival the destructive power of the Metroids and the X, the GF have made their own indestructible, parasitic weapons. While the Metroids leech energy and the X possess hosts, the E.M.M.I. are made to collect biological samples from their targets for the Federation in a similar fashion.
C'mon, someone has to be the contrarian who thinks the Federation isn't corrupt and there are still good Chozo left alive!
- Of the two Chozo we saw in prerelease materials, one of them is indeed on Samus' side. The other, despite considering himself Samus' dad... Not so much.
They're around during Metroid Fusion's ending, so it'd make sense for them to once again give info to Samus about her current objectives.
- Confirmed in the Treehouse footage. Samus will interact with her Adam AI at various points, who will presumably lay out objectives, but it was explicitly stated that unlike Fusion, he won't give her precise directions on where to go and how to accomplish them.
- Jossed for no other reason than the "ADAM" you interact with for the most of the game isn't even ADAM.
They are shown in the trailer interacting with some sort of computer interface that could potentially be what they are using to control the E.M.M.I. drones.
- From what little we could see of them, the Chozo's attire does seem to match up with the commander's outfit.
- And in the second trailer, they seem to outright attack Samus.
- Confirmed. Specificially, he's after the Metroid DNA in Samus' body.
- This could easily be disproved as Samus is still one of Nintendo's premier heroes, and it would take a lot of balls to kill her. If anything, she could be Brought Down to Badass through all Metroid DNA being expunged from her body, and will continue on to fight the next cosmic threat. Think the ending of Doom Eternal's DLC, but for a Myth Arc.
- Or alternatively, Samus will decide to retire once the game ends, but a post credits scene will show her Passing the Torch to a possible apprentice who will serve as the new main playable character for the next game.
- Jossed, she lives to the end once more.
- Considering that EMMI can basically One-Hit Kill her if it catches her, then it's likely.
- Confirmed already! The second Nintendo Treehouse demo showcased that there are some areas on the map that function like this.
As Fusion showed, a rogue faction of the Galactic Federation considered Samus an enemy after the BSF went kaput. But why exactly did they become so vile in the first place, going beyond mere corrupt practices?
This is where Ridley comes in. The rogue division of the Federation could have very well been evil simply because of his presence; his frozen corpse influencing them to become nothing better than Space Pirates. Following the theory of "Other M and Fusion Ridleys carry Main Ridley's soul", he must be deprived of any option but to scavenge for material for a new body a la Calamity Ganon. As a wraith comprised of 'soul cells', he manipulates the rogue Chozo to his side the same way he did with the Federation, and has them assist him in regaining a physical form on ZDR. His cells manifest physically, looking like X Parasites (R Parasites?), which leads to the Federation sending the EMMIs. Ridley's influence reprograms the EMMIs to have them further aid him in enacting his plan to remake his body, with the Chozo overseeing their reprogramming, and/or directly aiding in his reincarnation by making a temple which would restore him with enough R Parasites. The Chozo do this because they see him as a "cunning god of death" after discovering his encounters with Samus and overall wanton violence that matches their own... thus, the villainous Chozo, the EMMIs, and more indirectly the Federation's rogue division - provided the rest of the Fed didn't scrub it out - all become Ridley's new Space Pirates.
All of this is done so Ridley can lure Samus to ZDR, and therefore have her stuck in his deathtrap - which would very well prove to be his last undoing. In short, Dread's ring of antagonists all leads back to the most dangerous and personal one of them all, a perfect end to the Myth Arc!
Flashbacks could incur to Ridley slaughtering Samus' colony and the Ceres station if he has this big of a role, further showing his implied cunning and sadism; and the Final Boss would include him in his reconstructed body - at his Zero Mission-Super apex, or perhaps something that looks like his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate depiction.
- Jossed. Ridley doesn't appear at all in the game.
They have a similar skeletal structure, they move in similar ways, they're both killer robots that are a major threat to the protagonist, they even have similar names! It'd be far from the first time Metroid paid homage to another Sci-Fi work.
At least one is seen in construction in the background of Cataris during the E3 Treehouse presentation. Bringing to mind Quadraxis' foreshadowing in Echoes.
- Doesn't happen, it's just background decoration.
Following the Chozo naming conventions established by Old Bird and Gray Voice, it's possible that the Chozo's name will include Dread, which could make the game's subtitle partially an Antagonist Title.
- Jossed. It's Raven Beak.
- I'm going to piggyback on the idea that elements from Hunters will be in the game, but mostly as references. If Samus Returns and the Treehouse footage of Dread is any indication, the 2D games will continue to acknowledge aspects of the Prime series going forward. But I'm skeptical that we'll see anything as major as Sylux having anything to do with the plot. The Prime series is as isolated in the near-start of the timeline as it is so Sakamoto and Tanabe don't have to worry about the other messing up each other's storylines too much. It just wouldn't make sense for Dread to continue a major plotline in the Prime series unless Prime 4 is a significant Time Skip from pre-Samus Returns to at least pre-Dread. Plus, this is the first time I'm hearing about Retro being involved in the original DS production; only ever heard about NST being one of the potential studios (being briefly considered due to their work on Hunters).
- Maybe ZDR stands for "Zebes Done Right" :). more like: "Zebes' Dreadful Replica"
- What if it's made of many different worlds that the Chozo/Samus have been too?
- Not literally, but there is clearly an operation to create a new Homeworld and jumpstart the Chozo again.
- The new teaser shows said Chozo gesturing presumably to Samus on ZDR; yet soon after we see a flashback to SR-388 with the same Chozo seemingly being killed by the General. Make of that what you will.
- Jossed... but an X Parasite does take control of him after his death.
- Partially confirmed. Although the X's arrival was not intentional, Raven seems to have made lemonade with several X-Chozo warriors who are clearly able to follow authority in an organized manner as shown in the Chozo memories.
- Notice how in between normal areas and EMMI territory there are these digital looking doors? Maybe when samus enters them she is either leaving or entering the simulation. Also, notice how the lighting gets very odd and unnatural whenever she is in EMMI areas; maybe that is the real world and the EMMI's are tring to get her back into the program.
- Maybe the late game will involve the simulation going haywire and act as the Metroid equal to the upside down castle from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
- So Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty meets Metroid? That's actually such a cool idea. It would be amazing to hear Adam go all Patriots on Samus.
- Partially confirmed; It is revealed Raven Beak was monitoring Samus the whole time as her Metroid DNA evolves through her adventure so he can harvest it personally. He is also trying to create a new homeworld and the Chozo memories show Mawkin trainees fighting beasts naked as a rite of passage. The bullet points are all jossed however.
- If you listen very closely to the distorted voice of the Chozo general in Trailer 2 it sounds slightly feminine compared to Adams mechanized voice. Also this Chozo seems way bigger than any other we have seen (even bigger than a combat Torizo). This could easily be a mutation/augmentation or whatnot; but since we have never seen a Chozo female, maybe this is a case of the female of the species being the big, aggressive Amazonian warrior/hunters and the males being the diplomatic/scholarly/caretaker types. This would strengthen Samus' connection to the culture and the general even more.
- The General is a male, so Jossed.
- Partially confirmed; The X Parasites are quarantined off for about half the game, until Raven Beak lets them loose onto ZDR where they overtake the entire world almost instantly. This does force Samus to have to destroy the planet, rather than simply escape. However the X Parasites themselves are mostly a backdrop to the actual main story arc, which is resolving the fate of the Chozo and Samus fully awakening her Metroid DNA.
- I meant in the next game, not this one.
- Partially confirmed; The X Parasites are quarantined off for about half the game, until Raven Beak lets them loose onto ZDR where they overtake the entire world almost instantly. This does force Samus to have to destroy the planet, rather than simply escape. However the X Parasites themselves are mostly a backdrop to the actual main story arc, which is resolving the fate of the Chozo and Samus fully awakening her Metroid DNA.
- I just don't see this happening. There's no point in rebranding the series.
- The word Metroid means "ultimate warrior" in the language of the Chozo. It could always be reused as a title for Samus, since it's easy to argue that she's the ultimate warrior. Not to mention she literally becomes a Metroid herself in this game, so technically the title still makes sense.
- In the Another Glimpse of Dread trailer, which looks like it's from the opening, Adam does tell Samus to "Treat our lost assets with care," so it sounds like maybe they have asked her to go there, so it seems that at least the Federation did ask for Samus to try and recover the E.M.M.I.
- Jossed. The implications that the Federation as a whole were trying to clone Metroids and exploit X-Parasites are mostly due to a mistranslation in the localizations; the original Japanese text explains that it's a specific faction in the Federation military that was responsible. Additionally, Dread's opening has Adam commenting that the bounty pay she's receiving isn't worth the risks involved in going to ZDR to investigate the X and the E.M.M.I.s.
- There is literally no mention of the Federation outside of the game's intro, and Raven Beak is running his own scheme without any outside help.
- The second half of this is surprisingly jossed before the game even came out. Nintendo has confirmed in Trailer 2's the corresponding "Dread Report" that the fight against the Chozo General is what leads to this game's "ability amnesia".
- The first half is Confirmed though. Raven Beak did indeed reprogram the E.M.M.I. to gather Samus's DNA, but instead of the Chozo, it was for the Metroid DNA inside her.
The Federation using the E.M.M.I. drones to harvest Samus’ Metroid DNA, whatever the Chozo shown in the trailer is planning, the remnants of the Space Pirates seeking to use the Central Units mentioned above in order to resurrect Mother Brain, and the X Parasites, assuming their rumored presence on ZDR is true.
- Confirmed. There's Samus, the local fauna, the E.M.M.I.s reprogrammed by Raven Beak, and the X Parasites. The only Space Pirate, however, is Kraid, who isn't there willingly.
Judging by their absence in the promotional materials shown thus far.
- Jossed. The X really are on ZDR and the Federation has nothing to do with it
- Yet the last part is confirmed - the message was sent with the intent to lure Samus there in the first place.
- Jossed. What looks like Kraid of all boss characters appears in the second trailer.
And the secret one will be The Stinger for a future game, perhaps either for Mercury Steam's next project or even a tease on the infamous Metroid Prime 4.
- Maybe even semi-cutscene's if the the prologue clips from the Treehouse presentation are anything to go by. As there is movement shown in the drawn images now; similar to the terminal cutscenes from Halo 4.
- Confirmed, the rewards for finishing the game under certain conditions are art gallery pictures that expand a bit on the backstory.
If they're truly the rogue Chozo depicted in the final Chozo memories, then there's already precedence for them being a warrior. The Arm Cannon and likely access to the same abilities and powers that Samus can use thanks to her power suit could also make them a Mirror Boss.
- Confirmed, he is both the main villain and final boss.
Gorea was a being that could only be defeated with the Omega Cannon. The E.M.M.I. are machines that can only be defeated with a similarly named weapon. It'd be one hell of a coincidence if there was no connection whatsoever.
- Jossed, nothing about Prime plays a central role.
More than likely, it'll be near the end of the game.
- Jossed. The E.M.M.I. all stick in their zones.
It could be a good mid-game difficulty spike.
- All E.M.M.I. are encountered one at a time.
It will then turn out to have been either the mysterious Chozo, a new enemy, or an old enemy.
- Jossed. Samus ends us using her Metroid powers to destroy the last E.M.M.I. instead of using the Omega Cannon.
ZDR seems to be a secret, remotely operated Federation site built on top of Chozo architecture, unlike the B.S.L Station, which Adam was designed to have more or less open access to. After Adam's defection and given the secure nature of the operation, it's likely that the ZDR site has stronger encryption against AI infiltration. The labyrinthine architecture that's characteristic of Chozo colonies also probably keeps Adam on the back foot, as it's not as grid-like or pre-planned as the B.S.L's layout. This creates the need for Adam to gain intel from Samus before giving hints, rather than having access to all the important information at once.
- Confirmed. The planet has nothing to do with the Federation, but Adam is cut off from Samus for the entire game the moment Samus descends into ZDR.
The general difficulty increase seems to be the more tough models of E.M.M.I having more mobility options, so naturally the final one, a Climax Boss, will be able to fly and pursue Samus easily, being a robotic space dragon. Of course, Ridley is at the driver's seat, so he'll be far more destructive when searching for Samus and his kill animation will be far more sadistic. Thematically, it only makes sense for the last pursuer of Samus to be someone who she personally hates and fears, leading to much cheering when his core is taken out just before the Final Boss.
- Jossed. There is no mention of Ridley at all.
The single eye on the E.M.M.I. reminds me of the Adam AI's eye from Fusion. Maybe he'll get inside of an E.M.M.I. or other drone to help Samus during a particularly difficult boss encounter, turning the red eye purple.
- Jossed. This does not happen.
There's no real basis in facts here. I just find Adam's big digital communicator in the comms rooms intimidating, and I think it would be a good bookend to the series since Mother Brain was the first AI that needed putting down. Maybe he'll go rogue like she did, maybe even thanks to that Chozo? It would be pretty sad though.
- Jossed, although the Final Boss was impersonating Adam for most of the game.
This could add a neat layer to their motivation throughout the game. If they are a villain they could use Samus' upbringing to convince her to join them.
- Confirmed: Raven Beak is one of the Chozo who donated their DNA to be transfused into Samus. He does also try to use this as leverage to get her to work with him, but she's not having any of it.
Her new suit is noticeably different from her Fusion suit, having armored plating and joints, but there's gaps in the shoulder pauldrons with what looks like muscles. There hasn't been much info yet, so everything here has no backup whatsoever- Samus still has her skintight Fusion suit, but has taken to enhancing it with whatever she can scavenge or buy. This isn't Chozo tech, but it does give her a boost in armor and can be altered. It may even end up being a part of gameplay- the player will have some permanent upgrades provided by the Fusion suit, and the rest will be temporary or removable. The player can choose heavier armor for defense, or lighter armor for speed and running from EMMI. They could buy or craft temporary boosts to the beam cannon or missiles until permanent upgrades are found, or attach elemental parts for navigating the environment.
- Jossed. There are still suit upgrades as per the norm, and no scavenging upgrades exist.
- Jossed by the "Glimpse of Dread" trailer, which shows that she already has the new suit when making planetfall, except it starts off orange instead of blue.
- Her human parents telling her she they never wanted her to have a life like this.
- Her Chozo elders telling her that she has not fulfilled the legacy they trusted her with.
- Adam Malkovich scolding her and saying she hasn't grown at all since she showed up at his boot camp.
- The baby Metroid simply making sad noises, then transitioning to a cascade of all the Metroids that Samus has killed.
- Ridley.
- ...as child Samus.
- Jossed. No such event happens in the game.
What if later in the game an actual combat unit will be deployed (the E.M.M.I.s are for research). Maybe Federation; maybe Chozo. Maybe they can game-end you without coming into direct contact with Samus.
- How about the mechs from Federation Force? Would be a heck of a revenge fantasy.
- X Chozo??? CH-X???
- X clones of Chozo do appear, but they're more minibosses than pursuers.
The hallucination would technically be the first time that Ridley ever had a speaking role in a Metroid game, albeit not the real one.
- Jossed. Ridley doesn't appear.
For reasons currently unknown to us, the Chozo seeks to extract Metroid and Chozo DNA from Samus Aran, and it discovered that the E.M.M.I.s happens to be impervious to Chozo-grade arsenal that Samus has access to, making them useful for its plan. The Chozo also developed the Omega Cannon in the game, possibly a replica of the Alimbic Omega Cannon, specifically as a countermeasure against the E.M.M.I.s in the event they'd go rogue and try to kill them.
- Jossed. The X Parasites are indeed there.
ZDR is where the pro-bioweapons Chozo went after their schism with the pacifistic Chozo. Its technology is different from any Chozo colony we've seen so far because of how differently their industry evolved apart from their brethren. Now they have all either departed or died, save for their leader who obsessively stays behind to propagate his master plan. Maybe there could even be Chozo Ghosts on the planet, the lingering souls of those who despise their leader for his selfish conquest?
- Confirmed, although it's not a colony but rather the homeworld of the Mawkin Tribe.
After all, Maldium was mentioned in Prime 3 as the only material that's even harder and more resilient than Bendezium.
- Sort of Jossed. They are described as being made of "the strongest stuff in the universe", but that could very well still be Maldium.
This will allow them to have a truly conclusive finale without limiting the potential for future games, as there will be about 50 years of possible interquel settings. It will also serve as a narrative echo from the first game where the big reveal in the end was that Samus was a woman.
- Jossed, she's still rocking the same suit and facial appearance after the credits roll.
There has to be a reason why the BSL station kept the remains of Ridley's clone preserved instead of throwing it directly in the star, especially when it's indicated that the Federation consider Ridley one of the most dangerous threats in the universe. The ringleaders saw the potential that an army of subservient Ridleys possess, with the idea that even if Ridley himself came back to life or the space pirates rallied back together in great forces, the Clone Ridleys would be overwhelming them, especially when backed up by Federation troopers. It'd also explain why they might be concerned with the rumors of the X-Parasite specifically on ZDR, as their clone project would backfire horribly if they were to assimilate the clones, since that'd mean they could fly straight to space and pose a threat to the entire galaxy.
- Jossed - Ridley doesn't appear at all.
Mercury Steam originally proposed remake of the former game. It would be neat if that actually came to fruition in the Dread engine; maybe with dynamic encounters with multiple SA-Xes like there are E.M.M.I.s. It's not a terribly long game and can use many pre-existing and slightly adjusted assets ala Majora's Mask or the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes. It would be good fanservice and a pleasant surprise with the lack of the original on Switch.
Like with Zero Mission and Super Metroid, you return to your ship at the end of act 1 of the game. The tree house showed morph ball passages that you can't access even with a slide. I think that the slide mechanism will replace the morph ball for the first act, and Samus will regain the morph ball around the time she returns to her ship.
- Jossed. You can't get back to the ship until the post-final boss Catastrophic Countdown.
Unlike Ridley, who was shown killed off in Super, and his corpse infected with the X-Parasite in Fusion, Kraid will have shown to survive his second battle with Samus, and escaped Zebes when Samus never noticed. He will be shown to have created E.M.M.I. solely to hunt down Samus, and is in sole charge of the remaining Space Pirate forces. He will be the final boss of the game.
- Jossed, as while Kraid does appear as a boss, he's chained up and he's clearly not in control of the situation.
- And yet, the final form of the final boss does include elements of Kraid...
Those noises have a strong similarity to the ambient cave tracks in Metroid II: Return of Samus and Metroid: Samus Returns. As those ambient cave tracks were commonly associated with Chozo ruins full of dangerous Chozo machines, the E.M.M.I. beeping might be an indication that the evil Chozo faction from the secret Samus Returns mural have taken control of the robots.
- Con-freaking-firmed.
The yellow bot is shown rapidly running after Samus while producing Speed Stripes. Plus, the Speed Booster upgrade item in Super, Fusion, and Zero Mission has a yellow icon. It's possible Samus will copy the ability from the E.M.M.I. after defeating it.
- Confirmed.
What if the reason the X parasites took over SR338 was because the Chozo were killing all of the native life to harvest Aeion energy (as shown in Samus Returns' Chozo Memories)? The X parasites were merely trying to preserve life by replicating it into a stronger, deadlier form that can defend itself from the Chozo. Perhaps the X saw the BSL/Federation as a similar threat; causing the events of Fusion. This would also provide reason for the Chozo in the trailer to preserve them on ZDR; perhaps for the earlier mentioned theory of Chozo Cloning.
- Shockingly confirmed for at least one example: The X copy of Quiet Robe saves Samus's life in the ending by reverting back to its parasite form and allowing her to absorb itself to neutralize her Metroid Power Incontinence, letting her escape the planet without draining the ship's power. Unlike the SA-X at the end of Fusion, which was subject to massive Alternate Character Interpretration, there's no ambiguity here.
Possibly exclusively in an E.M.M.I. zone, or even an entire section of a large area on the map. If it is used to introduce a new version of the E.M.M.I., there will be a scene where Samus is walking in the pitch black, with only the lights of her suit and visor indicating where she is, and the E.M.M.I.'s glowing red eye lights up behind her.
- I called it.◊
- Not at all. The scene was simply an area introduction for Elun and the red lights aren't E.M.M.I.'s, just scanning drones.
- There are some sections of Dairon that could be considered this... but they're not E.M.M.I. zones and you restore power to them very quickly.
For one thing, the new armor has white plating resembling the Light Suit from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and pauldrons resembling the Hazard Shield from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It's possible this isn't coincidence, but the result of the Federation and/or the Luminoth trying to help Samus regain the full power of her suit by grafting remnants of discarded upgrades she once used to the Fusion Suit.
Furthermore, the "Metroid Dread Report" says that the surviving Chozo in the galaxy "mostly try to avoid attention" in the present. The Chozo Memories of Metroid: Samus Returns depict at least one faction willing to slaughter Chozo colonists on worlds like SR-388, and the leader of said faction is shown to be alive and active in the E3 trailer. This may be revealed as one reason why Chozo colonies on worlds like Tallon IV or Elysia either stopped using most of their advanced technology or were suddenly abandoned; if they stayed on one world too long and/or did something ostentatious like create Metroids, they risked catching the attention and wrath of their more violent brethren.
- Jossed. References to Prime are practically non-existent in this game.
While Sakamato seems to have (thankfully) let go of his attachment to Other M and its divisive characterization of Samus, the amount of heart and soul that he put into the game is a good reason for him to want to save something from the story he put so much work into. And since Anthony Higgs was easily the most beloved new character in that game, with even its detractors often citing him as a genuinely good character that they want to see more of, maybe Sakamoto will bring the character back to keep something from Other M’s story that fans would actually appreciate. Adding to this, in Fusion Adam says that there has to be someone in the Federation who will understand and side with them, and Anthony would fit that role perfectly. (Unless that Federation ally turns out to be Admiral Dane, which would be amazing but far less likely due to Sakamoto’s lack of involvement with that story.)
- There is no mention of anyone from the Federation in the story. As for Other M, one of the ending reward pictures represents the game, while gameplay elements like the Diffusion Beam and Energy Parts returning.
This can serve as a nice contrast from Mother Brain, Dark Samus, and especially Ridley. Whatever goal they have, they will take no joy out of committing whatever atrocities they have in store, only doing so because they see them as necessary. They may even show admiration for Samus' sheer willpower to stop them. Double points if they're a Tragic Villain.
- I'm piggybacking off this to say that their first encounter with Samus might be more of a test than anything. They just didn't know if Samus could be trusted, and saying "Hadar sen olmen" in that second trailer while having our heroine dead-to-rights was some sort of important Chozo saying or even Trigger Phrase to check if Samus really was the Hatchling instead of an imposter (an important thing to check for if X really are hanging around). Hence why they leave her alive after Samus subconsciously activates whatever this new pink energy power is in response.
- Confirmed that Raven Beak is the main antagonist but otherwise Jossed. Raven Beak could be considered a Knight Templar in some respects and can be subject to Alternative Character Interpretation, but overall he's a character that wishes to take over the cosmos with the power of the Metroids. In fact, his actions are the origin point of the entire franchise up to this point.
The new teaser on Nintendo's Twitter shows one chozo (who looks like the one in the reveal trailer) making a peaceful gesture to Samus as well as a flashback of their altercation with the General on SR-388. This echoes the aformentioned Chozo's dynamic in the manga; with Old Bird being the peaceful, spiritual one, and Gray Voice being the harsh pragmatist who is not above siding with Mother Brain and the Space Pirates to purge those who dissent if it means bringing his race to their former glory again. Now, there will need to be heavy Retcon magic to have Dread's plot pan out this way given the events of said manga; but this franchise is no stranger to that.
- Not quite, although the General is one of the Chozo who donated his DNA to Samus, so...
It's possible the X were intended by the Chozo as a method of achieving immortality (or at least of passing on their memories and experience in some form) but had Gone Horribly Wrong and become the assimilating parasites of the present. This may be why the SR-388 survivors were massacred; the Chozo faction that killed them may have been the creators of the X and wanted to either cover up anything that might tie this back to them or punish the survivors for creating the Metroids to destroy the X. This could also be why the X are on ZDR despite the destruction of SR-388; either the Chozo created a new batch, or ZDR was the home planet of the X in the first place and they were later introduced to SR-388.
- Jossed. The X's origins are still as much of a mystery as they were in Fusion.
It will contain the final result of Metroid project "Dread", which you'll have to fight as a climactic boss.
- Jossed.' Except for the presence of Kraid, there is zero Pirate presence in the game.
On top of explaining why Samus won't start off with all her previous upgrades, it will also explain why the robots are so powerful against her attacks. The Prime games established the precedent of Samus collaborating with various shipyards to build gunships incorporating Chozo technology, so it's possible she did something similar with Exelion Star Corporation without anticipating that the resulting products would be used against her.
The area names revealed so far, Artaria and Cataris, seem to have been derived from the Greek words "arteria" (artery) and "katarassein" (cataract). The other areas may turn out to also be named after bodily terms. It may also turn out to be Foreshadowing that ZDR is actually an evil planet-sized organism like Remina or the Iris from Gemini Home Entertainment
- Confirmed in that they have Alphabetical Theme Naming, but other than that, there's not much significance to the names.
Since multiplayer is rare for the Metroidvania genre, Dread might get such a mode to distinguish itself. It could be a traditional "death match" mode akin to Metroid Prime: Hunters where players grab upgrades and try to kill each other, or it could be an Asymmetric Multiplayer mode where one player controls Samus and the other controls an E.M.M.I.
Nintendo clearly has interest in expanding the Metroid universe beyond Samus; albiet with controversial results. This can be the moment to do so within the beloved formula. Campaign ideas include:
- A stealth-intensive one about a turncoat employee/whistleblower trying to escape the BSL station and expose the truth moments before the X outbreak. (This can be the person who proves Samus' innocence).
- A brutal, linear combat gauntlet about Adam destroying Sector-Zero, complete with Metroids that can't be frozen.
- A character-switching campaign (ala Aliens: Infestation) about the rescue team first sent to SR-388 to rescue the lost researchers.
- The Tyr crew's last stand on Aether.
...and for the BIG finale
- Ridley assaulting Ceres Station.
- Confirmed, in fact his presence in the game is totally non-existent.
And we are playing as a trained SA-X created by the Federation to combat the rebel Chozo faction; led by a much older outlaw Samus; and their own X forces. This would explain why the "glimpse" trailers imply she is working directly with the Feds, why she looks so young, why her suit looks very similar to the Federation PEDs, and why she has a sudden flash specifically to the events of Fusion; most notably the face of the original SA-X (her mother in a sense). Perhaps the pink glow associated with the Chozo leader are the memories being directly broadcasted to the clone by the original.
- And by extension, the "central units" are based on the original Adam A.I..
- Nope... It's her "dad" instead. As in (one of) the Chozo who gave Samus his DNA.
How could there nought?
- Well, there isn't.
It would be cool; plus Dread is conveniently close to The Game Awards, a prime place for this kind of announcement.
- Jossed, it's Sora.
It would explain how the Pirates were able to conquer Chozo worlds and exploit Chozo technology so easily. It would also explain things like the betrayal of Mother Brain, the sudden hostility of the Torizo statues on Zebes, the presence of Kraid on ZDR, and how the Pirates knew about the Metroid recovered by the Federation research team.
- Jossed. Only Kraid appears, and as a chained-up prisoner at that. The Chozo general isn't particularly interested in the Space Pirates (though there is art on a wall in Ferenia depicting Chozo fighting Zebesians, curiously).
- Jossed. He is just another boss battle that Samus barely gives a thought to.
- Jossed. Turns out ZDR has nothing to do with the Federation, but it's the homeworld of the warlike Chozo Mawkin tribe.
- CONFIRMED - Samus gains the Metroid Suit during the endgame.
And that is the code word used to pacify Samus (be her real or a clone as per other theories) when she may rebel like in Fusion ala "Would You Kindly" in BioShock. How she got brainwashed and how the Chozo general would know this is anyone's guess.
- Nope, it translates to "Power is everything" instead.
The body of Corpius looks rather gruesomely misshapen and bloody, which might indicate that it's not a natural organism. The Treehouse footage shows that it has a metallic artifact in its tail that grants the Phantom Cloak ability, which may have been deliberately placed there by its creators. And in connection to the aforementioned theory that the Space Pirates were secretly created and led by the Chozo general, Corpius' reptilian design and multiple eyes may imply that it has similar genetic material to Kraid and Crocomire, who have also had reptilian designs and multiple eyes. It might even tie into the Early-Installment Weirdness of Ridley's artwork for the first Metroid, where he was a weird multi-eyed creature rather than the more straightforwardly dragonlike monster of later games.
- Possibly jossed. Corpius itself is never shown to be a Chozo experiment, and may just be a creature native to ZDR. However, the later boss Experiment No. Z-57 looks like a genetically modified version of Corpius, and appears earlier in the game in Dairon in the one of the labs you run through.
- While not much of a boss fight, Raven Beak X is fused with many of Kraid’s characteristics, making it a "fake Kraid" in spirit.
- Partially confirmed. Two free updates to the game are adding Rookie Mode, Dread Mode, and a Boss Rush.
Unfortunately after the Zebes nuke and with the few Pirates that were able to board the ship with him unsure what to do, all but Kraid himself perished on a remote planet, rendering him the last Space Pirate alive...then Raven Beak picked Kraid up. Cue his boss fight.
Following the loss of the Bottle Ship, BSL Research Station, and 7 nigh-indestructible E.M.M.I. Units and their accompanying Central Units, Samus will likely be seen as a liability by many federation factions. Her destructive potential as a Metroid may also cause more of the Federation to consider her a threat.
The presence of the Central Units on ZDR seems to imply this. They really resemble Mother Brain, and are similarly used to control smaller troops (E.M.M.I.s for the Central Units, Metroids for Mother Brain). The Mawkin's power-hungry culture may have rubbed off on her, planting the seeds for her eventual defection to the Space Pirates. That or Raven Beak used her to destroy the Zebes Chozo, since the guy seems totally fine with killing his own kind.
- There's a fresco in Ferenia showing the Mawkin fighting Zebesians, with Mother Brain present too. She is located behind the Mawkin, which implies she was on their side, but it's unclear. So there is definitely a connection between the two.
Of course this is assuming that Sylux and the hunters don't die through any other means in Prime 4 (again assuming it takes place before Dread), but for now this can do until that game eventually comes.
- Alternatively, future games will gives Samus a melee attack that drains the life of enemies she touches.
- Or maybe the X controlled the body, but Quiet Robe was aware the whole time. Such was his willpower. The X parasite, at the end, must have assumed a Know When to Fold 'Em mentality.
- But wasn't Phazon completely destroyed at the end of Metroid Prime 3 with the destruction of Phaase?
- A plausible alternative could be Aeion, which has interesting implications considering every planet with Aeion technologoy has a connection to the X...
Except when Chozo that are not Raven Beak say it, the emphasis is on the "everything" part - as in, everything could lead to better potential as a warrior, such as The Power of Love or controlled fear, so underestimate nothing and don't avoid softer emotions. Why Samus goes ballistic is hearing RB twisting a saying she embraces to justify his utter selfishness and ambition, and after everything else he's done, that set her off.
If there was a Chozo tribe on ZDR (Mawkin, specifically), then that means there must be other Chozo tribes on other planets that have managed to be mostly under the radar. They may have escaped the destruction of SR 388 and living all sorts of lives on other planets, away from prying eyes. Samus will find these tribes in future installments.
- The Prime games seem to have a few unknown tribes, such as the Chozo who abandoned science in favor of spiritualism on Tallon IV, or the hidden ruins in Bryyo Ice and the whole existence of Skytown.
I especially like to think this due to the irony involved. Morph Ball Bombs are the only known way to reliably detach a feeding Metroid and without this "weak" ability, Raven Beak had no way to free himself from Samus when her powers fully awakened, ultimately costing him his life.
- His boss fight is also the only one where you'll find yourself using the Morph Ball outside of some weird, self-imposed challenge, as the Power Bomb is the fastest way to get rid of the dark orbs Raven Beak throws, and is the only way to counteract Raven Beak's "sun" ability in the final phase.
Hell, considering how her Power Suit has always devoured energy and munitions from the dead and wounded... Samus could very well be their prototype for combatting the X. She was always the first Metroid which is why the Last Metroid's cells in the cultured vaccine only worked for her. Why wouldn't Raven Beak wish to possess such power himself once he's harvested marrow from Aran? Simple. No Chozo organism is as adaptable and malleable as Samus is; so he resorts to gloating about cloning her. When the X first latches onto Samus it takes hours for it to even take affect and it can't break her down to genetic slurry imminently either; further compounding that her genes are better at combatting the X than Raven Beak, who is consumed instantaneously.
- As an expansion on the above WMG, the Metroids were created by augmenting the creatures that the Space Pirates dubbed the Mochtroids, as their natural abilities were the basis of the deadly draining effect. However, the Chozo did not anticipate that the augments would cause the later stages of the Metroids to gain heightened territorial and competitive aggressive instincts.
- Interesting thought, but even the TV Tropes character page for the Metroid species claims they're the failed experiments of Mother Brain and her pirate lackies to clone the Super Metroid.
- Explanation: What the pirates dubbed the Mochtroids are in fact the original, unaugmented form of the creatures the Metroids were made from. Chozo Copy Protection ensured that the cruder Pirate cloning technology would only copy the base creature and not successfully transfer the augmentations over. Mochtroids were never seen on SR-388 by Samus because they were outcompeted and eaten by their more powerful and aggressive augmented cousins.
- Makes sense. They needed a framework to modify and picked something they thought would be docile. Perhaps exposure to the Aeion that they mined on SR-388, combined with Samus' adaptibility genetic marker was what caused their rampant mutation to the ultimate predatory lifeform. Fusion got shafted in Other M and now Samus Returns and Dread are saying there was another factor than just the planet's atmosphere causing the metamorphosis. No wonder Mercury Steam wanted to add their spin to Fusion first...
- Explanation: What the pirates dubbed the Mochtroids are in fact the original, unaugmented form of the creatures the Metroids were made from. Chozo Copy Protection ensured that the cruder Pirate cloning technology would only copy the base creature and not successfully transfer the augmentations over. Mochtroids were never seen on SR-388 by Samus because they were outcompeted and eaten by their more powerful and aggressive augmented cousins.
Since the Thoha created the Metroids and could control them before they started evolving, perhaps Samus's Thoha genes worked on the Baby Metroid, allowing her to subconsciously control it. This didn't work on the other Metroids because they had been raised in the wild without any Thoha around to command them. The Baby Metroid being around Thoha genes since its birth allowed the genes to work on it, which was mistaken as Samus imprinting on the Baby Metroid. While the Baby Metroid did end up attacking her later, that was only after being separated from her and undergoing experimentation. And while it was draining energy from her, the Thoha genes worked on the Baby Metroid again, allowing Samus to command it to stop.
- This seems very supported by canon. Unfortunately it cheapens a bit of the emotional resonance of those scenes (sort of a Doing In the Wizard issue), but it totally makes sense.
- I'd like to argue something different, the Thoha genes didn't cause the baby's impinting, they just calmed it down enough to think more rationally than its brethen, we saw in Other M that MB was capable of being a Parental Substitute to the Metroids without Toha genes and Samus's hatred towards Raven Beak is more from her concious mind than her Metroid instincts. The Baby's connection with Samus was a choice born of love, not science, I'm sure of it. A Man Chooses, a Slave Obeys after all.
The Experiment is often seen nimbly climbing around the geothermal dynamo, its lasers leave harmful plasma stuck on the walls and floor, and one of its attacks involves using fans to blow air that could be negated by a Spider Ball. Too bad it got dumped in the lava.
- Maybe, he was behind Metroid project "Dread".
- This checks out, especially now that they've finally re-acknowledged Other Ms existence with that ending art of the infamous Samus and Ridley scene. A Broad Strokes scenario doesn't sound so bad; the game did have some redeemable qualities and ideas, after all.
- A remake of Other M in the same vein as Samus Returns and Zero Mission is the only way to retcon the original game. And given that Dread introduces the idea that ADAM could easily be impersonated by a third-party hijacking the communications, and the fact that Metroid villains no longer have to be just roaring monsters, a remake could make the Deleter subplot be more connected to Adam's more questionable authorization and truly make Ridley into the Complete Monster he was in the manga, actually taunting Samus of his Joker Immunity and making her lose confidence that she could do any good for the galaxy.
- Not necessarily. It could be adapted as a comic or light novel. Hell, Recursive Canon could come into play and Other M be either a movie or game based on Samus’s life, which she didn’t authorize.
- Likely confirmed. As part of the game's troubled production, its scope was cut in half in order to meet deadlines without crunching (i.e. overtime), a practice both Nintendo and MercurySteam are against. While only bosses and story cinematics are mentioned in the report, it stands to reason that at least another area was in the cards as well that would have contained a portion of these things.
- Adam specifically says that she's getting paid for this, so even if we subscribe to the idea that Samus is lying in her own narration about her status with the Federation, this is still a job she received (albeit one that lines up with her goals anyway) and one she learned about thanks to having access to Federation intelligence.
- It could also be possible the job wasn't outright from the Federation government. The next likely candidate was that she was hired by the E.M.M.I.'s direct manufacturer, the Exelion Star Corporation, and they're underestimating the danger of the X, hence Adam's remark about the disproportionately low pay. But Samus knows better and takes the job anyway to check it out.
- It's easier to believe that Exelion is merely in cahoots with the Federation conspiracy, rather than being them.
Suppose that Samus gets caught by an early E.M.M.I. Then Raven Beak is able to get a DNA sample and clone her - but after that, he could also drop the clones back into the depths of ZDR, implanted with Samus's memories, to "continue the mission", and they would be none the wiser. Every time they power up, their DNA gets stronger - remember, Lamarckian genetics - and then the next time an E.M.M.I. catches them, Raven Beak gets a new DNA sample from which to clone a new generation of Samuses, one of whom is then deposited back into the labyrinth, and so on.
- Samus' neck is much more exposed in this game's Power Suit design, and that neck area has always appeared like a rubber casing rather than metal armor, so it's still possible he was strangling her through it.
- He didn't die in Super Metroid. For the Space Pirates' third-in-command, it seems odd that he went down easier than either Phantoon or Draygon, doesn't it? That's because, unlike Ridley (who had a personal grudge against Samus), Draygon (who was protecting her babies), and Mother Brain (who can't move anyway), he didn't fight to the death (neither did Phantoon, going on his appearance in Other M; he just put on a light show so Samus and perhaps Mother Brain would think he'd died). Kraid's "death" animation was actually him retreating to safety by burrowing away. When Kraid encountered the Mawkin who came for the baby, he cut a deal with them: they'd save him from the exploding planet, and he could tell them where the Space Pirates had hidden some more metroids. The Mawkin chained him up as punishment when they found out he'd liked to them.
- Alternatively, Dread's Kraid isn't the real deal, but (a?) fake/mini-Kraid all grown up. In Super, mini-Kraid respawns like a regular enemy. This implies that there's actually a whole population of little Kraids running around, probably the original's asexually produced offspring. The Mawkin got to Zebes too late to retrieve the baby, but they scooped up a mini-Kraid on their way out so they could still claim a cool trophy that might be useful as a bio-weapon later to compensate for the mission's overall failure. They might not have expected it to get so big, though, so they chained it up in the basement until they could figure out what to do with it.
- Kraid is smarter than he seems. His lairs tend to be labyrinthine and very well-concealed, and he often uses decoys and stunt doubles to try and throw Samus off. Plus, y'know, he's a leader in the Space Pirate hierarchy. So why was he acting like a dumb beast in Dread? Because he's been chained up down there by himself, with no food and suffering from a nasty infection, since the X wiped out the Mawkins. Poor bastard was probably half-crazy and in constant agony until Samus put him out of his misery.
- At least one died on Zebes in combat with Kraid.
- Beak fed them to Drogyga as punishment for failing to bring the baby back from Zebes, or because they started to question his evil plan.
- Or, worst of all, they were killed by the E.M.M.I. Raven Beak's original plan was to lure Samus to BZR and ambush her with a bunch of Mawkin warriors, but he didn't expect the Federation to send seven indestructible robots instead. Before Beak managed to break the first one and crack open its central unit for Quiet Robe to hack, the other ones probably slaughtered any remaining Mawkin, who probably chose to die fighting them instead of running away like Samus. The Mawkin would've been utterly powerless before the E.M.M.I., since they didn't even have power suits. And even though Raven Beak did have one, he clearly still couldn't use the Omega beam, probably because Samus was only able to absorb the Central Unit's energy like that due to her awakening Metroid powers.
- The Central Units are Chozo technology, not Federation. This is most simply proven by the fact that each one's support structure in the background has the letters "C" and "U" written on it in Chozo script.
- While that may be true, I find it incredibly unlikely that they were constructed by Raven Beak, Quiet Robe, or the Mawkins. They're too hardwired into how the E.M.M.I. operates and the architecture of the zone for me to believe that. There's also the question of why the first central unit was so busted up, if it was a Mawkin construction from the beginning. A more likely explanation is that the central units are indeed Chozo tech, but Chozo tech that has been reverse-engineered and rebuilt by the Federation/Exelion corporation, in the same way that MB and possibly the Aurora Units were modeled after Mother Brain (not all that far-fetched, since the E.M.M.I. already include tech that might be derived from the power suit). The engineers who built them (or programmed the nanites) probably just put some Chozo letters on there as an ironic homage to or mockery of that tech's originators.
- The implication I got is that the Central Units were connected to the E.M.M.I. after Raven Beak and Quiet Robe hacked them, and the dead Central Unit was probably a casualty of Raven Beak's fight with it. It makes no sense for the Federation to have limited the E.M.M.I.s' search for X parasites to certain zones of the planet.
- They are likely hanging out at either Tallon IV, Elysium, or Aether.
- Alternatively, the Metroids weren't hostile to the Mawkin when they were created (we see them get along with Chozo soldiers just fine in Chozo Memories 6 and 7), but after they started going out of control, it was primarily the Mawkins that fought and contained them, causing aggression against Mawkins to become genetically imprinted in them.
- Jossed. There are no new bosses.
- No, not THAT particular boss. Rather, we get to fight the Hanubia Central Unit as a breather before the final leg of the boss rush.
- Very close, but jossed; the Ferenia Central Unit is the breather boss before the fight with Raven Beak at the end.
- His name's Raven Beak, and Odin was symbolized by ravens.
- Raven Beak is the leader of the warlike, birdlike Mawkin Chozo. Odin was the god of, among other things, war and the sky.
- His Chozo name is "Ashkar Behek." Ashkar. Asgard.
- He's confronted in a fortress in the sky. Asgard/Valhalla perhaps?
- Odin's weapon of choice was the spear Gungnir. RB's soldiers use spears.
- Raven Beak considers himself Samus's father and is responsible for all (or at least most; we'll have to see how future story arcs go) the Metroid series' events. Odin is called the Allfather.
- Samus first encountered RB at the base of an elevator that goes all the way from Artaria to Hanubia. Yggdrasil, maybe?
- RB's eye got damaged in his first encounter with Samus, and after that he was able to see everything she was doing and guide her into doing what he wanted her to do. Odin lost his eye and in return gained limitless wisdom.
- Odin was associated with the planet Mercury. This game (and thus Raven Beak) was created by MercurySteam.
- The final battle is basically Ragnarok: the near-uncontrollable monster Fenrir (Samus's Metroid powers) breaks free and eats (absorbs the energy of, then destroys the X form of) Odin (Raven Beak), and then the worlds end (ZDR explodes and this first story arc of the Metroid series comes to a close).
- In addition, ZDR has nine areas and, in Norse mythology, there are nine worlds.
- The Mawkin are seen Putting on the Reich in one picture in the gallery. Real-world Nazis and Neo-Nazis have sometimes co-opted Norse mythological imagery.
- He's from the more scientifically-minded (but also birdlike) Thoha (the name is basically Thoth already) tribe. Thoth was, of course, the Egyptian god of wisdom, and he was often portrayed as an ibis.
- In addition, Thoth was also sometimes portrayed as a baboon. A primate. Like humans. Like Samus. Who Quiet Robe aids.
- Like Odin, Thoth was associated with Mercury. Again, MercurySteam.
- Thoth was also the god of the moon. Quiet Robe, like the moon, was there to light some of Samus' darkest moments.
- QR's fate contrasts with RB's in a way that mirrors the differences between what the Norsemen and the Egyptians believed about their gods: Raven Beak dies completely after Samus Hyper Beams his X form (the Norsemen believed that their gods and the worlds were destined to die and there was nothing anyone could do about it), while Quiet Robe gets absorbed into Samus and thus lives on through her (the Egyptians may have believed in Apophis, a being that could end the world and all the gods, but they also believed that if people took the right actions and had faith, the gods could beat back Apophis and keep the world safe).
- Mawkin Chozo, either seeking revenge on Samus for ruining their plans, killing their leader, and destroying their home planet or having performed a Heel–Face Turn after their leader's death.
- X parasites mimicking other creatures and trying to propagate throughout the galaxy again.
- Both.
- If Samus still has outfit options from the Metroid Prime Trilogy (like the Phazon Suit, Light Suit, or PED Suit), then for those the Hyper Beam can be changed back to blue to match the Phazon Beam, but otherwise work the same.
- Why were there metroids on Tallon IV despite the X having no presence there (and why did the Chozo Lore not mention the presence of regular metroids despite Metroid Prime having originated as one)? Raven Beak or one of his operatives brought them there to study in secret.
- How did Metroid Prime get ahold of what appears to be Chozo-based weaponry to attach to its shell in its first form? Originally, it was the Space Pirates, but that created an infamous Plot Hole since Prime was supposed to be sealed in the Impact Crater by the time the pirates landed. Raven Beak's existence, however, offers a new opportunity for Prime to have gotten the technology from the Chozo themselves before it was sealed, again without the main Tallon tribe's knowledge.
- Before Dark Samus took over target selection in Corruption, why did Phaaze just so happen to target 1) a major Chozo colony and 2) the homeworld of one of the Chozo's biggest allies (whose post-impact technology Raven Beak appears to use in his boss fight)? Raven Beak might have learned about Phaaze independently and found a way to direct it to attack his biggest competitors for him while also creating phazon sources for him to study. Alternatively, he could have been involved in the decision to colonize Tallon IV and deliberately steered the Tallon tribe into the path of Phaaze's meteorite. Unfortunately for him, Samus destroying Phaaze also put a premature end to that line of development, which is why he doesn't use phazon technology in this game.
