People On Reddit Absolutely FLAMING Sylux For This One😭

The world needs a Metroid show where Pyonchi sounds like this

Ya know, one thing I like to think of with Metroid Prime is that Samus lands on this planet full of Chozo history that she’s never seen before and starts scanning everything in site like an excited little kid at a museum. She grew up with the Chozo, learned their ways, and lost them all to the pirates. Now, she has a world full of the remains of her home culture. You can just imagine her scanning every single statue of a Chozo to find out this was, why their statue is here, and what they were like. And she wants to know what the people of Tallon IV did. What was life like there? What did the average citizen do there?

Basically, Samus getting brain rot over her own culture’s history of which she’s been deprived of information about until now.

You know, I haven’t seen anyone talk about how damn LOUD Thardus is! He is so damn loud it is intense! Granted, I haven’t played Metroid Fusion so I can’t really compare it to Neo Ridley, but it’s still gotta be up there. He just drowns out everything, even the music.

Our interest in their hand sanitizer was purely for the betterment of mankind. Everything has clearly gotten out of hand now, yes, but it was worth the risk.

Him again…

The Three Pillars of Chozo Society

There are, arguably, three main pillars of Chozo society, the three aspects of their culture that shape how we view them above all else. The different Hasana and factions take them to different levels, but they remain prevalent throughout the various depictions of this ancient race.

Firstly, Warrior Prowess. The Chozo are skilled combatants. From the proud warriors of the Mawkin to the mystical warlocks of Tallon IV, combat has a spot in every iteration of Chozo identity. The word Metroid, their solution to the galaxy threatening problem of the X Parasites, actually translates to “Ultimate Warrior”. Even the peace loving Thoha created the armor Samus uses, trained her, passed on combat trials to her, and so much more.

Secondly, scientific research retains a critical role throughout our perception of the Chozo. The Thoha were masters of genetic engineering and created Mother Brain, but the Mawkin arguably had them beat in that front. Granted, comparing 2D sprites to a 3 dimensional world is a bit unfair, but ZDR looks a bit more industrialized than Zebes, with several biomechanical central units controlling various systems. Even the technology averse Talon IV Chozo were able to create amazing creations, particularly when the crisis of Phazon took precedence.

Lastly, philosophy/mysticism is something that, while mostly attributed to the Talon IV Chozo, is a pillar of the other depictions of the benevolent species. In Dread, it is stated that the advanced castle of Ferenia was once home to many ceremonies and rituals.

With all of this in mind, I think it’s safe to say that we can name the three groups of Chozo who tie most directly to these subjects. The Thoha were masters of science, and delved into it to expand their lifespans beyond what their bodies should realistically be capable of, and made some of the most powerful artificial organisms the galaxy has ever seen. The Mawkin were masters of warfare, an obsession that consumed their society and leaders. The Talon IV Chozo were the masters of mysticism, unlocking an ability to witness the future from afar, predicting the arrival of the Phazon meteor and of the woman who would ultimately save their doomed world.

Still, these three civilizations fell before various catastrophes, each endemic to a weakness of their particular society, a weakened pillar which an outside force could exploit. The Talon IV Chozo actively stepped away from their scientific advancements in order to pursue a closer relationship with nature. While a noble pursuit, it left them unprepared for the arrival of the Leviathan, which they only barely contained, and only for a time as Phazon would end up leaking through the seemingly impenetrable barrier they had made. The Thoha’s downfall came from their dedication to pacifism. While a noble pursuit, they had delegated all combat duties to others, be it the Mawkin or the Metroids, and ended up weak and feeble when the Space Pirates came to claim their world. The Mawkin ended up being felled by a threat seemingly from within. An X Parasite infected a Mawkin soldier, traveled to ZDR and spread until Raven Beak could only contain it be sealing all other Chozo in Elun with it. Simple security measures and identification equipment could have caught the X before it had a chance to reproduce (Having soldiers equipped with ranged weapons might also have helped but whatever)

How I would implement each type of Space Pirate

Given the variety of Space Pirate types (species?) at their disposal, I figured I would make an effort to maximize their usage and find specific niches for each of them. Of course, each variety of Space Pirate will be predominantly featured in the games they appeared (IE Zebesians will be the main enemy encountered in my rewrite of Zero Mission) but I’d like to sprinkle some other variants throughout each story. To that end, here’s the different roles I would have each Space Pirate variant fill.

Firstly, I don’t think I’m gonna use the Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Space Pirates. Their design just… doesn’t fit in with the others. That will likely disappoint many of you, but that’s just what I’m doing. Feel free to tell me how you would implement them in the comments or in a reblog.

Zebesians-Security/Sentries

These guys are known for their ability to crawl along walls and leap great distances. They also lack any obvious prehensile appendages, making the operation of extraneous equipment difficult. In the games they appear in, they are usually seen patrolling corridors and shafts for Samus. To that end, I feel like treating them as guards for the many Space Pirate facilities therein would be a good use of them.

Metroid Prime Space Pirates-Technology operators/pilots

These guys are synonymous with Metroid Prime’s story of insatiable technological aspiration. To that end, these guys could be tasking with piloting fighter crafts, setting up weapons emplacements, testing out prototypes (such as the beam troopers), or simply conducting dangerous research. There isn’t really any noticeable affinity for any specific line of work for these Space Pirates, so they can be a sort of Jack of all trades type that can be slotted into any role needed by High Command.

Urtraghians-Hunter Killers/Trackers/Raiders

As I have stated before, the Urtraghians’ eel like visage evokes that of a predator, a bogeyman for the Galaxy. To that end, these guys could make for good trackers, using their enhanced sensory capabilities to track their quarry with precision. They could also be used to intimidate underlings and captives into submission, given their sharp teeth and reputation for consuming disloyal members of their own species. I could almost imagine them like the Zorgons from Zathura, insatiable, predatory spacers terrorizing the innocent.

Federation Force Pirates-Heavy Infantry

Canonically, these guys are massive, and I would imagine they have the durability to match. I think the obvious choice for them is to be a heavy enemy type akin to the Hunters in Halo or closer to the Barons of Hell in Doom. They are deadly behemoths that you don’t wanna get close to, especially with that energy blade able to cleave you in two with ease. Hell, you could say that these things have a habit slurping up the insides of their victims with their proboscis. Creepy stuff.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Space Pirates-Elite Soldiers/Shock Troops

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond hasn’t released yet, so this designation is tentative. We may, and likely will, get some further details to flesh out this new variety of Space Pirates in full, with habits, specialties, and story telling beats making this new variety more unique. Until then, my temporary role for them is to be shock troops and warriors for the Space Pirate empire. Their ornamental and intimidating armor, combined with their tall stance and seeming pride, makes them an ideal candidate for the soldiers of the Space Pirates, capable of getting any mission done… except when it involves killing The Hunter. But when she’s not there, they’ve got it handled!



Space Pirate Design Ranking

The Metroid series has a boatload of different designs, completely changing between every game except the 2D iterations. Some think it’s simple design inconsistency, others think that they’re different genetic manipulations of the same species, while others (including myself) are of the opinion that the Space Pirates are a collective made up of various species. Today, I’ll be ranking these designs based on what they convey and, simply, what I think is cool and aesthetically pleasing. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only be ranking the standard Space Pirate variant of each game, the “core enemy type” if you will. And yes, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is here, though its place in the ranking is subject to change as we get more closer looks.

7. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes

Some people may consider this a sin to put so low on the list but, to me, this really just doesn’t fit the whole vibe of the Space Pirates, especially in the Prime series. In the Metroid Prime saga, the Space Pirates are an authoritarian empire who recklessly abuse technological advancement for the sake of domination. This just… doesn’t say that. It’s a good design, don’t get me wrong, but this really looks like some weird skeleton knight. I could see this crawling out of some crypt to seek vengeance, not descending from a space ship to plunder. For that reason, I gotta put this guy in last place.

6th place: Metroid Prime Federation Force

For many of the problems Metroid Prime 2’s design has, I think Federation Force remedies… and then makes the opposite mistakes. Federation Force’s Space Pirate design is, canonically, around the same height as Metroid Prime’s Omega Pirate. Why make mechs for your game if you’re just gonna scale the enemies up anyway is anyone’s guess. With that in mind, I kinda like this as a heavy unit for the Space Pirates, but the center of this design just is a bit hard to look at. I love the limbs and the inclusion of the iconic Prime Pirate energy blade. There’s a mix of fleshy joints and tough, metal plating that I enjoy, I actually like the bright red eyes as well, especially for a heavy unit. But the carapace around it just feels… it’s kinda hard to look at. That mouth, as well, is just a bit too buggy and lacks expressiveness. Really, that’s my edict on this thing. Good extremities, but lacks expression and is generally tough to look at. Still, I imagine someone could retool/retexture this thing to be a real banger of a design.

5th place: Metroid Other M

From here on, these designs are ones I truly like as Space Pirates. Metroid Other M’s Space Pirate design was a tough one to find a good image of. This was about the best one I could find in a cursory search. As far as official designs go, I think this is the best translation of the iconic Zebesian Space Pirate to 3D we’ve ever gotten. There was a small effort made in Prime 2 to bring the claws back, but here there are on full display and they look great. The whole design is, honestly, fantastic. You can see the smooth bands around the limbs and torso, downward pointed jaw, and the big, smooth, blank eyes of the old sprite. The spines on the back and head really add some personal flare to these guys as well, and the whole design has a delightfully cheesy color scheme that I simply adore. I think the series has designs that evoke certain feelings and themes better, but this is certainly a fun looking guy.

4th place: Metroid Prime 3 Corruption

Unlike every other type but the Zebesians, the Space Pirates of Corruption have a distinct name based on the Homeworld we explore, Urtraghians. There is a distinctly pseudo organic bend to these guys, with the textures on the armor plating feeling almost Xenomorphic. However, where I think this design stands out is, of course, the head. The long, pointed teeth clearly visible under the rows of eyes really makes this eel-like head intimidating. You can really imagine the Urtraghians descending from their ships in a city, gunning down innocents and plundering whatever they choose. These animalistic terrors will smell where you’re hiding and drag you out kicking and screaming. It really fits the Space Pirates’ role in the story. From day one, they really have just been a bogeyman for the Federation. We rarely actually see them doing… ya know… pirating. The rampant technological obsession was a concept introduced by the Prime trilogy. As a design for the Bogeyman of the Galaxy, I think the Urtraghians work great.

3. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond

Haha, 3 is for 4 and 4 is for 3. This will be subject to change and many people might not rank them until we get clearer images, but uh… I’m doin it. Beyond’s pirates have a very buggy design, but in a way that’s parallel, not identical, to the Zebesian designs from the 2d games. Their mouth is split into mandibles, they have a hard carapace, and their movements can be jittery and unsettling. The large size of them compared to the Federation personnel seen in the trailer really evokes power and control. Their armor has outward pointed edges and defined pectorals. These are conquerors, proud, undefeatable warriors. The sparseness of it also evokes a sense of confidence, as if they don’t need a full covering when their hardened shell is so superior to weak flesh. It’s almost ornamental in a way. (Though someone should remind them they lost in every previous fight against Samus). Their mandibular maws, hunched backs, double thumbed hands, and digitigrade stance (standing on their toes with their heels off the ground) also evokes a certain other core enemy type in a sci fi shooter.

I’m going to leave it here for now as I have some other stuff to get to at the moment and I Forgor the image limit on Tumblr posts. I’ll get the ranking for the final (first?) two designs by the end of today. Then, I might make a post about what roles I’d fit these different species into for my own storytelling purposes.

Oh, to voice a Chozo in one of these videos…

Learning to tuck yourself into a tight ball is not strictly necessary for the Morph Ball, but you will kinda transform into an oblong egg shape if you can’t tuck yourself in enough when the transformation happens.

Decided to make Sylux in Halo MCC. Overall, I think it turned out quite well. Unfortunately, I don’t have any big spiky shoulders to add to complete the look, but I do have the vertical slit visor and the blocky chest plate and neck guard.

Though, to this YouTube commenter who asked to remove his shoulder privileges, you got your wish.

Ya girl is sick and bedridden, so I’m doing some gameplay theorizing. Something I’m curious about for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is how Sylux’s boss battle will actually function. For how cool Sylux is from his design and mystery, Metroid Prime Hunters’s gameplay loop did few favors in making an intriguing combatant. Sylux had the Shock Coil, an electrical weapon which could drain Samus’s energy to replenish his own, and a secondary form that left trip mines in its wake. This is all well and good, but how does you defeat him? You uh… you shoot him. You just shoot him. In Metroid Prime Hunters, the gameplay loop revolves around precise aiming against moving targets, a mechanic that worked well enough for a DS game with a somewhat limited control scheme. However, Metroid Prime 4 is a very different game. Lock on alone makes this approach tedious, especially with the Shock Coil allowing Sylux to regenerate health. Given his intro cutscene, it appears he will have some allies backing him up, at least in the initial encounter. I wonder if it’s possible that the Shock Coil’s siphoning function could be tied to the Metroids-ahem, Mochtroids he has, tethering the electrical arcs to the Mochtroids in order to actually make the attack replenish his own health. There could also be certain environmental hazards to use to your advantage. I could also imagine some sort of evolving state, requiring different beam types to deal damage, similar to the Metroid Prime in the first game. Alternatively, there could be specific timing windows to exploit, utilizing specific opening to rain hell during. Imagine having a narrow window during his energy siphoning attack where you could stun lock him, prevent the attack, and deal significant damage, but getting the timing wrong could punish you with even greater damage and siphoned health.