History YMMV / MetroidDread

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:Raven Beak is the [[Characters/MetroidTheChozo Chozo]] leader of the Mawkin tribe, and the [[GreaterScopeVillain architect behind the entire franchise]]. Once a mighty warrior who fought alongside his Chozo brethren, Raven Beak began to desire the Metroids for their power, hoping to use them to conquer the entire galaxy. But when the Thoha tribe sealed them away with hopes to exterminate them all, Raven Beak had the entire Thoha tribe slaughtered, only sparing Quiet Robe to act as his pet scientist, which allowed [[VideoGame/Metroid1 the Space Pirates to gather information on them]], and [[VideoGame/MetroidFusion the X Parasites to roam free]]. As ruler of the planet ZDR, Raven Beak has Kraid imprisoned as an abused slave, and keeps his men in line by killing those who disobey him. Upon discovering his metaphorical daughter [[Characters/MetroidSamusAran Samus Aran]] is near, Raven Beak lures her to ZDR with hopes of obtaining her Metroid DNA to create an army of Metroids. Having Quiet Robe killed for giving away information to Samus, Raven Beak later decides to instead create an army of Samus clones after seeing no use in her anymore.]]

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[Characters/MetroidRavenBeak Raven Beak]] is the [[Characters/MetroidTheChozo Chozo]] leader of the Mawkin tribe, and the [[GreaterScopeVillain architect behind the entire franchise]]. Once a mighty warrior who fought alongside his Chozo brethren, Raven Beak began to desire the Metroids for their power, hoping to use them to conquer the entire galaxy. But when the Thoha tribe sealed them away with hopes to exterminate them all, Raven Beak had the entire Thoha tribe slaughtered, only sparing Quiet Robe to act as his pet scientist, which allowed [[VideoGame/Metroid1 the Space Pirates to gather information on them]], and [[VideoGame/MetroidFusion the X Parasites to roam free]]. As ruler of the planet ZDR, Raven Beak has Kraid imprisoned as an abused slave, and keeps his men in line by killing those who disobey him. Upon discovering his metaphorical daughter [[Characters/MetroidSamusAran Samus Aran]] is near, Raven Beak lures her to ZDR with hopes of obtaining her Metroid DNA to create an army of Metroids. Having Quiet Robe killed for giving away information to Samus, Raven Beak later decides to instead create an army of Samus clones after seeing no use in her anymore.]]

* EvilIsCool: [[spoiler:Raven Beak may be an [[CompleteMonster absolutely vile and despicable being]], but his intimidating design, his playing the perfect physical {{Foil}} to Samus, the fact that he is [[GreaterScopeVillain responsible for causing the events of the series]] to unfold, and his [[SugarWiki/AwesomeBosses three-stage boss fight]] in the game's final act has quickly made him one of the most popular villains in the series next to [[Characters/MetroidRidley Ridley]], [[Characters/MetroidMetroidPrimeAndDarkSamus Dark Samus]] and the [[VideoGame/MetroidFusion SA-X]].]]

* SignatureScene: Quiet Robe's ExpositionDump halfway through the game to Samus about Raven Beak's plan and Samus' short, but powerful BadassBoast boast that she will stop him which she says ''in Chozo'' while her Leitmotif plays. For longtime fans of the series it's the defining moment of the game that represents Samus' CharacterRerailment after ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' and is just a powerful and memorable scene in general.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-UJRvc0_tU Z-Axis]] bug allows Samus to end up facing the screen if she's cornered between an enemy and a wall while using the Melee Counter, allowing her to shoot towards the screen or "run towards the screen" to charge up a Shinespark, among other things. It can be used along the Invincibility bug against the Purple E.M.M.I. and a destructible wall to reach its Central Unit without the Gravity Suit.

** Samus receiving a Chozo DNA blood transfusion at a young age is an absolutely crucial part of the plot, but playing the prior entries won't help with understanding this, as this aspect of her InterspeciesAdoption isn't covered in any of them. While this title does mention it, it only does so once [[spoiler:- right before the final boss -]] and depicts it in a way that's very open to misinterpretation. Beyond this, it's only been shown [[AllThereInTheManual in supplementary materials]]; namely the 1994 American ''ComicBook/SuperMetroid'' comic[[note]]an otherwise non-canon comic in which Samus's backstory was first revealed[[/note]], the ''Manga/MetroidManga''[[note]]Samus's BroadStrokes canonical backstory, which was never released outside of Japan and only available in English through a fan scanlation[[/note]], the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' instruction manual[[note]]Samus's backstory is [[http://metroid.retropixel.net/gallery.php?gallery_id=mp_manual&image_id=5 quickly relayed]] in the section on the Space Pirates[[/note]], [[https://metroid.nintendo.com/news/metroid-dread-report-vol-5/ Volume 5 of the "Dread Reports"]] released in the build-up to this game's launch[[note]]a series that some players avoided due to wanting to go into ''Dread'' blind[[/note]], and her Classic Mode trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee''[[note]]a game released nearly two decades ago by the time ''Dread'' came out, which isn't playable on the Switch or Wii U[[/note]]. It's not unusual to see players introduced to the ''Metroid'' franchise with this game, and even longtime series veterans who [[PlayTheGameSkipTheStory enjoy the games but aren't knee-deep in the franchise lore]], [[spoiler:take Raven Beak's words to Samus at face value and believe he's her actual father, when it's meant in a metaphorical sense due to being one of her two Chozo blood donors (her actual adoptive fathers, Old Bird and Grey Voice -- the latter being the other blood donor -- are hidden in the shadows during the scene).]]

** Escue is a rather hard boss when fought the "normal" way due to it's rapid movements, erratic patterns of its MacrossMissileMassacre attack and very limited windows of vulnerability. [[spoiler:However, charging up the Speed Booster and Shinesparking into the boss takes off the majority of its health, and the Screw Attack makes the fight a joke if the player has gotten it via SequenceBreaking as not only does it allow the player to inflict damage through merely making physical contact, it also renders you [[NoSell immune]] to ''all'' of Escue's projectile attacks]]. It's even nastier on Dread Rush Mode. Not only do you [[OneHitPointWonder die if you take so much as a single hit]], [[spoiler: all of the above shortcuts are no longer available, meaning you ''have'' to beat Escue the "normal" way]].

* FandomSpecificPlot: Following the [[WhamLine shocking reveal]] that [[spoiler:Raven Beak was [[LukeIAmYourFather one of her genetic donors]], making him biologically [[HasTwoMommies one more father in her genepool]]]], a lot of fanfic writers and fanartists have taken a shine to various AlternateTimeline scenarios involving [[spoiler:Raven Beak and Samus genuinely acting like family, everything from including him in her life as a child adopted by Old Bird and Gray Voice, acting as the corruptive but affectionate influence to contrast those two's gentle and positive teachings, to him going through with his cloning plan and getting a bunch of {{Bratty Teenage Daughter}}s out of the ordeal]].

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[Characters/MetroidRavenBeak Raven Beak]] is the [[Characters/MetroidTheChozo Chozo]] leader of the Mawkin tribe, and the [[GreaterScopeVillain architect behind the entire franchise]]. Once a mighty warrior who fought alongside his Chozo brethren, Raven Beak began to desire the Metroids for their power, hoping to use them to conquer the entire galaxy. But when the Thoha tribe sealed them away with hopes to exterminate them all, Raven Beak had the entire Thoha tribe slaughtered, only sparing Quiet Robe to act as his pet scientist, which allowed [[VideoGame/Metroid1 the Space Pirates to gather information on them]], and [[VideoGame/MetroidFusion the X Parasites to roam free]]. As ruler of the planet ZDR, Raven Beak has Kraid imprisoned as an abused slave, and keeps his men in line by killing those who disobey him. Upon discovering his metaphorical daughter Samus Aran is near, Raven Beak lures her to ZDR with hopes of obtaining her Metroid DNA to create an army of Metroids. Having Quiet Robe killed for giving away information to Samus, Raven Beak later decides to instead create an army of Samus clones after seeing no use in her anymore.]]

** While Metroid Dread has a habit of [[PlotTunnel blocking the path that you come out of]] to prevent the explorable area from becoming too overwhelming, Ghavoran takes this idea a few steps too far and becomes extremely frustrating to navigate. On top of having an even more confusing and maze-like layout than previous areas, there are 2 sections (the door to the Pulse Radar and the Grapple Beam Block & Screw Attack Blocks next to the train to Ferenia) of the region where, once you pass them, [[PointOfNoReturn it's impossible to go back]] without either looping around through Ferenia and Dairon, or getting the Power Bombs. The area itself thankfully doesn't have too many enemies that should give you trouble by the time you reach it, but navigation is way more confusing and tedious here than it really needed to be.

** The Nailong is a [[WickedWasps wasp-like]] enemy that loves to ruin your day. Its method of attack is taken from the Cacatac from ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' as it shoots spikes out in 45 degree angles... except while the Cacatac was grounded, the Nailong is [[AirborneMook flying]], so it can also fire in all eight directions at once. Free Aim won't help you much, since the Nailong will quickly align itself in midair so you're in the path of one of its spikes. The Nailong has a surprisingly large healthpool, guaranteeing it will fire off at least one round of spikes before you can finish it off. To make matters worse, multiple Nailongs can appear together in the same room. And if that wasn't bad enough, get ready to meet Nailuggers: MixAndMatchCritters which replace the Nailong's spikes with the Slaaga's AcidAttack.

** The Elite Chozo Soldiers, especially when compared to the Chozo Robots. They move slowly, have highly telegraphed and easily avoidable attacks, and can even be damaged with regular beam fire in case you should come into the fight low on missiles. They do gain ThatOneAttack later on, a fearsome blast of black bile that can shave off multiple energy tanks with a glancing blow... but even that is mitigated by the fact that once you beat them, you're rewarded with a full heal.

* HePannedItNowHeSucks: Fans were quick to make [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7noxyKs4mc8 video]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SzAKHYvGrg responses]] against former developer-turned-Youtuber David Jaffe after he bashed the game's level design and called fans "fucking morons". Some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OZqmWB0wXo rebutted]] the notion that it was too easy to get lost in.

*** The Purple E.M.M.I. zone is the absolute worst. The E.M.M.I. can hear you from '''anywhere''', meaning that it will always start homing in on your location if you move without using the Phantom Cloak. Not only that, but it has a very long scanning range that can see through walls, shoots a projectile that freezes you in place and can ''also'' go through walls, and you're forced underwater where escape is extremely difficult while using the Phantom Cloak, and nearly impossible if the E.M.M.I. has seen you since you can't outrun it. Even if you manage to hide, the E.M.M.I. has a habit of camping around the area where you last were, which makes getting past it even more difficult since the Aeion gauge doesn't start recharging until you've moved, which attracts the it again. The only thing that makes this easier is that it's possible to get the Gravity Suit early by SequenceBreaking which almost completely trivializes this segment.

** After David Jaffe complained about a particular room in Artaria (the one with breakable Beam Blocks in the ceiling, accessed through the Charge Beam Door of the Network Station that has four doors in it), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OZqmWB0wXo a video]] about it dubbed the room... "The Room" (capitals optional), which is used by some when discussing the area. Some fans, and even [[https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Jaffe_Room Wikitroid]], call it "the Jaffe Room" to be more specific. Others have referred to it as the [[NoobBridge "Noob Ceiling"]] in reference to the infamous new player trap in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid.

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: In designing and animating the E.M.M.I., the developers have somehow managed to apply this trope to ''non-humanoid robots''. An E.M.M.I. essentially has a head, a "torso", and four long limbs, so you'd expect it to move more-or-less like an animal, right? ''Wrong''. That thing bends its limbs and "spine" in ''all the wrong directions'', performing unpredictable and anatomically impossible feats that even on a robot look just plain wrong. It looks less like what you'd expect of a robot and more like an unearthly MechanicalAbomination, making a foe that's already frightening enough in gameplay alone even scarier. Unlike most examples of Uncanny Valley, however, this one works in the E.M.M.I.s' favor, emphasizing how unnatural and dangerous they are.

* SignatureScene:
** [[spoiler:Samus staring down Kraid fearlessly, with her only move being to charge up her arm cannon.]]
** [[spoiler:Samus replying to Quiet Robe in Chozo language. Her ''only'' line in the game.]]
** [[spoiler:Samus transforming into a humanoid Metroid at the climax of her final battle with Raven Beak.]]

** Meeting Quiet Robe, the first friendly living Chozo ever seen in the main series, and hearing Samus [[spoiler:promise to end things, in Chozo]] is a very beautiful, sweet moment. [[spoiler:Which unfortunately ends with Quiet Robe being killed and, after defeating his killer, Samus merely giving one final look at his body before continuing with her mission.]]

** With the ''Franchise/{{DOOM}}'' fandom, which is not surprising considering the similarities between Samus and Doomguy/Doom Slayer, like [[HeroicMime their lack of dialogue]], [[OneManArmies prowess in combat]], and relationship with a friendly animal that would later be killed (the Baby Metroid for Samus and Daisy the rabbit for Doomguy). The official DOOM Twitter account even congratulated ''Dread's'' release by depicting the Doom Slayer in [[https://twitter.com/doom/status/1446475487023439876 an image]] similar to ''Dread’s'' cover art. It helps that both series are highly influential {{Trope Codifier}}s for two different genres (FirstPersonShooter for ''Doom'' and {{Metroidvania}} for ''Metroid'') which eventually suffered from decade-long {{sequel gap}}s following the release of a polarizing game (''VideoGame/Doom3'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' respectively).

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The melee counter from ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' was the safest option to take out various common enemies, but speedrunners of other ''Metroid'' games weren't fond of the "stop-and-go" nature of the mechanic (in most instances, Samus needs to remain stationary to perform it) taking away from the series' traditional fast-paced gunplay. ''Dread'' introduces the dash melee, which allows the melee counter to be used while moving and can even kill some weaker enemies without the need for a follow-up attack, resulting in a better implementation of the mechanic that does not disrupt the pacing. To answer the criticism of the melee counter being the safest option for dealing with enemies, some enemies now have much trickier timing on their counters and some can even fake you out to throw you off.
** A common complaint against ''Samus Returns'' was that enemy variety was pretty small, with only a dozen or so different enemy types. ''Dread'' has a more diverse menagerie of hostile fauna to test yourself against.
** As one of the original Space Pirates, Kraid has always had his reasonable share of fans, who lamented that the big lizard hasn't seen many repeat appearances, unlike his fellow commander, Ridley, who would not only become a staple boss but also receive the honor of becoming Samus's ArchEnemy. Here, Kraid finally makes his long-awaited 3D debut, and Ridley is nowhere to be seen, with no clone or robot to speak of.
** After ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' disappointingly offered no insight into Samus's past with the Chozo, even ignoring it completely, fans found its refreshing that ''Dread'' once again has Samus exploring a Chozo planet rather than a Federation space station, and that the story gives us more information about the mysterious race of bird-people that adopted Samus. We even get to hear them speak the language [[spoiler:with Samus responding in kind, something she doesn't even do with the Adam AI (effectively demonstrating how important Samus' Chozo upbringing is to her).]]
** Fans got a chuckle over the Adam AI explicitly advising Samus to avoid high-temperature areas in the Cataris section of ZDR until the Varia Suit is accounted for. One of the most infamous segments of ''Other M'' had Samus refrain from using the Suit, despite needing to traverse through multiple high-temperature areas, until Adam dramatically authorizes it. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Raven Beak was pretending to be the Adam AI, possibly from the moment Samus first connected to ZDR's communications network. While it was for the ultimately selfish reason of not wanting his "daughter" to die before he can make use of her, the BigBad of all people giving Samus a heads-up about the heat difference compared to the human Adam's belated authorization makes it even more amusing to the fandom.]]
** People who enjoyed the ''Metroid'' series for its SequenceBreaking and non-linear design were dissatisfied that the series' increased linearity resulted in it largely avoiding including any notable sequence breaks since ''Zero Mission''. ''Dread'' is the first game since ''Zero Mission'' where the developers give the player a litany of ways to progress through the game, with the developers even awarding you for going off the beaten path to grab upgrades and power-ups you normally wouldn't have: the best example of this being Kraid, who can be quick killed in his second phase by using [[spoiler:a hidden morph ball launcher]], which has ''its own dedicated cinematic''. In fact, several bosses boast secret methods to instantly kill them in the second phase, or just end the fight quickly overall, much to the joy of speedrunners.
** The Zero Suit's role has been decreased even further, becoming the complement to Samus' character that it was supposed to be rather than the source of {{Fanservice}} and {{flanderization}} that it was criticized as. As usual, it only appears in gameplay during Samus' death sequence, but the only way to get a good full view of Zero Suit Samus is to complete the HarderThanHard objective of beating Normal Mode ''and'' Hard Mode in less than 4 hours each, unlocking an ending image featuring the Zero Suit where Samus is shown to have the same [[HeroicBuild athletic physique]] she had in ''Samus Returns'' posing confidently. Ripped models from the game show that Samus in fact [[https://twitter.com/phazeons/status/1456817301408215041 reuses her Zero Suit design]] from ''Other M'', only with a more pronounced muscular build and more reasonable looking CombatStilettos. This was after complaints that ''Other M'' looked for excuses to focus on Samus' backside in her Zero Suit during the main story even in emotional and/or inappropriate moments.
** One of the contentions in the series starting with ''Fusion'' is when the story seems to break the flow of the gameplay, and outright unskippable cutscenes in ''Other M'' (only being skippable after beating the game once). This game allows players to skip cutscenes after viewing them once like in ''Samus Returns''.

%% Please do not add any Broken Base, Base Breaking Character, or Overshadowed By Controversy entries until at least six months after the release date, meaning April 8, 2022.

** The E.M.M.I. Zones. ''All of them''. They're filled with dead ends, puzzle doors and split paths, plus the invincible death robot that spawns randomly and quickly comes for your head. The Yellow E.M.M.I. zone in particular is a bad experience, since you have to spend a ''lot'' of time passing through its zone before you kill it. Coming back post-Diffusion Beam is the worst, because your way in will take you to a labyrinth with no less than ''five'' paths that all lead to dead ends, meaning unless you have the game memorized, you're doing a lot of trial-and-error with a murderous robot breathing down your neck.
** Burenia tends to be a very torturous experience without the Gravity Suit, as Samus moves like molasses underwater without it. Unfortunately, the player will need to explore a good chunk of the region and is likely to fight its resident boss before they even get close to where it's found. Burenia's saving grace is that it does not have an E.M.M.I. zone inside of it.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** A vocal set of fans express displeasure at the default sequencing in which players find upgrades. In particular, they are most contentious about the Morph Ball and Bombs being found close to the middle of the game rather than at the beginning (thus making searching for hidden nooks nearly impossible), the Spin Boost being found not very long before the Space Jump (thus rendering the former obsolete), and the [[spoiler:Power Bombs]] being the ''final'' upgrade of the game, (with ammo capacity and utility too limited to feel like a rewarding final abilty).
** ''Dread'', like ''Fusion'' and ''Zero Mission'' before it, mostly eschews "optional" upgrades along its intended progression path. Unlike the first three games, in which upgrades like the Wide/Spazer Beam, Wave Beam and Screw Attack were optional, the player ''needs'' every upgrade (save for the Pulse Radar) to pass various obstructions. Most notably, even if a player has reflexes quick enough to hit all five targets on a Storm Missile lock, the lock ''still'' won't open unless the Storm Missiles are specifically used. To some, this adds to the "lackluster" feeling of some upgrades, which often amount to "The Same as X, but Better" but are still ''required'' to proceed.

** After David Jaffe complained about a particular room in Artaria (the one with breakable Beam Blocks in the ceiling, accessed through the Charge Beam Door of the Network Station that has four doors in it), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OZqmWB0wXo a video]] about it dubbed the room... "The Room" (capitals optional), which is used by some when discussing the area. Some fans, and even [[https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Jaffe_Room Wikitroid]], call it "the Jaffe Room" to be more specific.

* PanderingToTheBase: The inclusion of Kraid, a popular Space Pirate who first debuted in the original ''Videogame/{{Metroid}}'' but has [[OutOfFocus minimal focus]] compared with [[BreakoutVillain Ridley]], seems more like an inclusion for the sake of servicing the fans who enjoy the reptile and felt he was [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter underutilized]]. Especially since there is no elaboration whether this is the original Kraid or a clone/offspring, or even how and why he's on ZDR in the first place, making his appearance feel [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment very random]]. [[spoiler:The reward image for 100% completion in his region at least explains his presence, by showing the Mawkin capturing and enslaving him.]]

** [[spoiler:The age old meme of calling Samus [[ProtagonistTitleFallacy "Metroid"]] ends up becoming true at the end of the game when Raven Beak reveals that Samus has been mutating into a humanoid Metroid over the course of the story.]]

** Escue is a rather hard boss when fought the "normal" way due to it's rapid movements, erratic patterns of its MacrossMissileMassacre attack and very limited windows of vulnerability. [[spoiler:However, charging up the Speed Booster and Shinesparking into the boss takes off the majority of its health, and the Screw Attack makes the fight a joke if the player has gotten it via SequenceBreaking as not only does it allow the player to inflict damage through merely making physical contact, it also renders you [[NoSell immune]] to ''all'' of Escue's projectile attacks]]. Taken UpToEleven on Dread Rush Mode. Not only do you [[OneHitPointWonder die if you take so much as a single hit]], [[spoiler: all of the above shortcuts are no longer available, meaning you ''have'' to beat Escue the "normal" way]].

** The Spin Boost is meant to act as an intermediary for the [[GameBreaker Space Jump]] of series tradition, but there are only two other upgrades on the intended progression path between the Spin Boost and the Space Jump itself, rendering the former obsolete in no time.