Metroid Dread - Spoilers Thread

To keep things nice and spoiler-free on the main Metroid thread, here's the thread for discussion specifically about Metroid Dread.

The game comes out in less than 36 hours. Are you ready to experience DREAD?

lol at the thumbnail

Well then, not sure where to start talking. Maybe the leaks online and stuff. Since this is a spoiler thread, I guess I'll start with this:

Based on I've heard and read, apparently Ridley is nowhere to be found in the game. In fact, I heard that Kraid is the only returning Metroid boss. That speaks the level of confidence from MercurySteam. Also, I heard that Dread resolves the I Am Not Shazam issue by literally making Samus into a Metroid (no, not that literally).

Edited by Shadao on Oct 6th 2021 at 2:43:34 AM

Didn’t that happen back in Fusion though? When she had her life saved by baby Metroid DNA, which also gave her the ability to slurp up the X?

When I say "Literally turn into a Metroid", I mean that her final suit takes on the appearance of a humanoid Metroid. Red visor, armor colored like Metroid, and a cannon that bears resemblance to a Metroid's mouth. She's powerful enough to not only eat the X-parasites but also suck energy around her, which is why Adam tells her to turn the suit off or otherwise she'll end sucking all the energy in ship dry.

All right, it's been a while since I've posted spoilers, so Imma give you guys a warning just in case I screw it up before hastily editing

SPOILERS REGARDING RIDLEY

From the looks of it, he doesn't return. He's not the final boss. Again, I haven't seen confirmation, but it seems that way.

As for the Endgame specials...

SPOILERS REGARDING THE CLIMAX, INCLUDING THE FINAL BOSS

Yep, apparently it's the Chozo. He's an extremely hard to beat boss, composed of three phases. It turns out he wants Samus to turn into a metroid so he can use her. After you beat him, you escape the planet with your metroid look, blasting everything to pieces.

Just as you're about to escape though, an X copies the remains of the Chozo and turns into this gigantic thing that you blast to pieces with your metroid powers. Take this with a grain of salt. I haven't watched any videos, and the most trustworthy source I found just said it was "something else rather than ridley or mother brain". So there's that.

As for my thoughts on the matter I think I can live with that, as long as it makes sense within the story and it's suitably climatic. A part of me really wanted the federation to be the villains, or a Ridley clone. But narratively, I think the federation was never meant to be a villain, just a Grey organization. And Ridley's just dead by now.

Oh. Okay, that’s more Metroidy. And awesome, I can’t wait to see that on Friday. Thanks.

Edited by ILikeKirbys on Oct 6th 2021 at 7:34:50 AM

I’m surprised that they have the balls to keep Ridley dead. I’m half hoping it sticks, half hoping it doesn’t.

I just wanted a Ridley-like federation robot when I was little. Maybe there's an EMMI or some other boss that fights similar to Ridley, without being Ridley

Ridley will back in some form, but I feel that the Chozo Warrior and Kraid is more than enough to make up for his absence. As I've stated before on the main Metroid thread, Ridley should not just be a random boss you fight in a Metroid game. His very presence should be impactful and with meaning, especially when not a lot of people realize why Samus has a particular grudge against the dragon. The problem is that it would overshadow our Chozo antagonist, who honestly provides enough grudge for Samus to contend to in the games.

Before I saw the Chozo Warrior overlooking Samus like he was Mother Brain, I assumed the EMMI going missing was a False Flag Operation set up by the rogue Galactic Federation group to steal Samus' Metroid DNA, with an EMMI based on Ridley being the final boss. But that Chozo Warrior really left an impression based on his looks and actions that Ridley would honestly be a story distraction rather than something that naturally fits with the narrative. If Ridley should return in a post-Fusion story, it should be for an evil Federation story rather than a Chozo story since the Federation have Ridley's DNA now.

It's honestly telling and obvious that Ridley is not in the game since the last game he appeared in, Metroid: Samus Returns, is one of the worst kept secrets that even this Nintendo Direct pretty much all but spells out that Ridley is going to be in the game. The fact that nobody is talking about Ridley in Dread other than questions asking if he's in the game is proof enough.

Edited by Shadao on Oct 6th 2021 at 5:16:35 AM

Do we have confirmation of if the game is compatible with the Smash amiibos? Because there are a bunch of Metroid ones from that series...

We got confirmation about that pretty early on. From Nintendo's website:

• Scan the new Samus amiibo figure for an extra energy tank to increase your health by 100, once per save file.
• The E.M.M.I. amiibo figure grants a Missile+ tank to increase Samus’ missile capacity by 10, once per save file.
• Tap any Samus or the Zero Suit Samus amiibo figure to replenish some health once per day for each.
• Tap the E.M.M.I., Ridley, Dark Samus, or Metroid amiibo figure to replenish some missiles once per day for each.

I wonder if this game will have any sequel hooks.

I know mainline metroid doesn't do that a lot, it being more of a Prime gimmick.

However, Samus Returns did include a few snippets here and there. Plus, wouldn't it be rad if Dread included a Prime 4 cliffhanger? It'd be a nice twist, given that we all expect Prime 4 to be taking place after Prime 3.

Why are there spoiler tags in a spoiler thread?

Ridley is not in this game. Which is hilarious when you think about it.

Basically what happens is that Raven Beak wants Samus to join him so he pretends to be ADAM and activates her Metroid DNA. Samus also meets Silent Robe, the good Chozo but then gets killed. Samus didn't fall for Raven Beak's ruse and fights him, culminating in her DNA coming out and draining Raven Beak. All the while there's this X parasite who has absorbed previous bosses and absorbs Beak's dead body resulting in some weird abomination. Silent Robe (now as an X parasite) then appears and allows to be absorbed by Samus to control her mutation and finishes off the X parasite.

What I took from this is that chozos can "outwill" X parasites and they practically take over the parasite's thoughts.

Edited by Ookamikun on Oct 6th 2021 at 10:27:27 PM

Personally, I'm more wondering why they took out the tradition of seeing Samus out of her armor if you completed the game quickly or with a high item percentage.

They changed it with gallery.

Still, none of them show Samus unarmored.

I'd say we're using the spoiler tags in order to give a fair warning to someone who doesn't want a specific spoiler yet.

(This is why I think it's kinds silly to have this thread, because we're doing exactly what we said we were going to do)

So from my understanding, Raven Beak is the only villain here, along with the X. I wonder, is he a good villain? I know metroid doesn't delve much into characters, but I'd like to know his motivations and if he lives up to the Dread hype

Which reminds me given that this was a grand "finale", does this game offer any kind of closure on previous story threads? For example, is Samus' status with the Federation clear now? Do the X finally die? So many questions

Watching the cutscenes I love how they've decided to characterize Samus without having her speak. She gives a lot more personality through her gestures than Other M ever did.

The Kraid boss intro being my highlight, as Kraid is roaring at her and she casually shoots him in the mouth in a "Ugh, shut up!" sort of way. That's what I want from Samus!

What about the baby?

It ain't midnight here at the Pacific Coast, so I'll be technically using spoiler tags... for now.

@Polarity
Raven Beak comes across as a Chozo Mother Brain. In that his motivates are the same as Mother Brain. He saw the Metroids as a symbol of power and the key for galactic domination. He murdered Silent Robe's tribe because they wanted to destroy SR 388 to stop the potential Metroid threat, only sparing Silent Robe because he had the ability to control the Metroids. He considers himself to be Samus' father because he was one of the genetics donors in that Chozo concoction they used to infuse Samus on ZDR.

Surprisingly, despite having the same motives as Mother Brain, it comes across as less of a recycled motive to me and more of an inherent tragedy for the Chozo race as a whole. Like all of a sudden, Mother Brain going rogue against the Chozo seems less like something done out of the blue and more of an inevitability. Of course she would betray the Chozo. She embodies all of their culture... including the Mawkin tribe. What she preached is what Raven Beak would preach to his followers. In a way, there was nothing wrong with Mother Brain at all. It's just the sins of the Chozo warrior past coming back to haunt the Chozo once again.

As for the Federation, Metroid Dread solely focuses Samus and the Chozo, with the Galactic Federation's involvement being that they sent the E.M.M.I. robots to ZDR. That's it. No hints of a rogue group with the Federation trying to hunt Samus down for the events of Fusion. In fact, it seems to be deliberate Red Herring to make people think that the Federation would be the main antagonists of Dread... when in fact, it's the evil Chozo that is behind it all.

Edited by Shadao on Oct 7th 2021 at 9:39:28 AM

Well, considering the in Japan, the federation are seen as mostly good... I guess it makes sense. But let's be honest, at least a small hand wave regarding the tribunal proceedings might have been nice. Just a "Oh yeah, I had to go to court, explain my actions to the council, but Adam's recordings of the whole mission exonerated me. The Guilty party was caught, etc."

I'm going to experience the game now for myself, as I wanted to get spoiled just to end this 15 year old itch once and for all. I'll avoid any Endgame videos. But regarding the Main Villain I really dig it. Just like the series wouldn't have happened without the X, none of this wouldn't have happened if not for the extremist views of a certain tribe of the Chozo. His motives being similar to Mother Brain's because of that is ten times better than reusing her. Plus, getting drained by Samus and getting X infected is just sweet punishment.

Do keep in mind that Metroid will continue with future games and we don't want to use all the unresolved plot threads. The next game could be very well Galactic Federation-focused. But I appreciate that they simple stick to one theme and storyline rather than overstuff it several competing stories.

Seems that I was right that those Chozo soldiers were all X Parasites.

Okay, I know for a fact I'm really bad at stealth gameplay, Emmis kick my ass.