#metroid prime

BirdfromMetroid Prime

Happy 20th Anniversary to GameCube!

Happy 15th Anniversary to Wii!

Well, okay, it’s a machine. It’s made of metal and it runs on a computer system. But it’s a highly sophisticated piece of technology that can change and adapt like a living thing. Sometimes it seems to have a mind of its own.

Recently, Nintendo published an article on the Metroid Dread website, explaining how the current appearance of Samus’ suit came to be:

In the Metroid Dread game, Samus’s suit appears to have changed quite a bit from her previous missions. In the Metroid Fusion game, Samus’ suit was greatly transformed after the emergency removal of pieces eroded by the X parasite and a life-saving injection of the Metroid vaccine—resulting in an organic appearance for her suit. Now, her suit is gradually returning to its original, mechanical Power Suit form.

My first thought upon seeing the Dread suit was that perhaps Samus was manually augmenting her suit, seeking out Chozo technology and trying to piece it back together. The wording is vague and that could still be the case, but the official source implies that the power suit is changing all on its own.

This makes a lot of sense when you think of all the other ways the power suit has adapted on its own, assimilating foreign agents and changing in ways it was never designed to. The creation of the Fusion suit itself is perhaps the most drastic example of this– when Samus’ power suit had to be surgically removed, it seems to have organically produced an entire new suit to protect her, making use of the Metroid DNA she was injected with.

Another example would be the creation of the Phazon Suit in Metroid Prime. When the dying Omega Pirate crushed her and pumped her full of deadly phazon, the power suit spontaneously made use of this lethal situation and developed a defense against phazon. It sure seems like the power suit can adapt very quickly to protect its user from danger.

This doesn’t even begin to cover all the foreign upgrades the power suit has made use of with ease. The Luminoth dark and light suits, the Federation PED device, the Space Pirate hazard shield, and a significant portion of Samus’ weapons arsenal have been taken from non-Chozo sources that weren’t made for her at all. The suit can integrate them like it’s nothing.

Finally, here’s a little crack theory of mine…

Have you noticed subtle changes to Samus’ suit design between games? Even between directly adjacent games like Prime 1 and Prime 2, a few details of the suit are different. Is this just artistic license? Well, probably. But I like to think that in-universe, Samus’ power suit changes over time. Perhaps it updates itself for optimal performance during changing conditions. Who knows! If the Dread suit can grow metal plating and change appearance all by itself, surely the standard power suit can do the same.

It’s been so cold and snowy here lately.

Here’s Sammy over looking snowy phendrana drifts. ❄️

Concept art from Metroid Prime, showing the process of creating Samus’ render. ✨