Finally, after all these years, we're getting Metroid Dread. The title should sound familiar to any Metroid fan, because it has been brought up by Yoshio Sakamoto in the past, where originally this was going to be a Nintendo DS game made by the same team that had developed Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission for the GameBoy Advance. But this wasn't meant to be...
Now, over 15 years, one Metroid: Other M and one remake of Metroid II - Return of Samus later, the next real chapter in the Metroid storyline will be happening, made by MercurySteam, the same team behind the excellent Samus Returns. And this shows, because this feels very, very similar to the Nintendo 3DS title, just now in HD. It almost makes you hope that they might port Metroid: Samus Returns over to the Nintendo Switch afterwards...
But there's a lot making it over from that game, not just the controls, the Melee Counter or the Aeion abilities, which will be used slightly differently this time. Mainly, the new planet ZDR feels very reminiscent of the Chozo areas from SR388, both visually and in tone. There are even small Diggernaut-like enemies to fight (which can be destroyed with a Melee Counter).
Well, it's probably best to watch some of the video materials from Nintendo first, before you keep reading:
As for a sequel to Metroid Fusion, it was always clear that Samus might have to face the Galactic Federation somehow. And Samus Returns then also teased an entirely different storyline with one of its hidden secrets. Now, Metroid Dread seemingly brings both of this together.
As for the Galactic Federation, Samus appears to wear a new suit made by them, where it looks quite similar to the P.E.D. from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption in design, but it also has some vibes from the Fusion Suit, which was made by the Galactic Federation as well. She doesn't have her signature Morph Ball ability in the early game, where instead she gets to perform the new sliding technique to quickly go through small gaps.
And there's also the "Spider Magnet" to latch on to special magnetic surface, which are rendered in blue and replace the Spider Ball in a manner that is a lot more convenient to use, but also more restrictive. In Samus Returns there were slimy surfaces to prevent you from using the Spider Ball everywhere and now it's the other way around, where there are these magnetic surfaces to allow you to use the ability only on them. Though, it's possible that the classic Spider Ball might return as an upgrade later on.
The other big thing are the "E.M.M.I.", deadly research robots owned by the Galactic Federation, which are hunting Samus for some reason. Similar to the SA-X in Metroid Fusion and the Space Pirates during the Zero Suit section of Metroid: Zero Mission, you will have to run and hide from these enemies, because you can't kill them yet, unless you obtain the temporary Omega Cannon upgrade. The "Omega Cannon" was also a super weapon in Metroid Prime Hunters, but here it's primarily used to destroy obstacles and the E.M.M.I., where after a successful hit it will be depleted.
How does a new suit seemingly made by the Galactic Federation fit together with these killing machines? We don't know yet... But they feel somewhat similar to the Diggernaut from Samus Returns in design, as well as the Torizos from Super Metroid, where they are like an agile mix of the two and the "Excelion Star Corporation" might have experimented with Chozo technology here. And this would also explain how the Galactic Federation ended up making Samus' new suit.
Design-wise Nintendo and MercurySteam were also taking inspirations from Portal, Alien and Red Planet. Visually, the E.M.M.I. are quite similar to the robots from Portal, while their killing move is very reminiscent of the Xenomorph's impaling jaw. Well, Metroid always took inspiration from Alien, where the latter might even be intended as an homage. What might not be intended is practically copying the robot from the 2000 movie Red Planet, where the robot even had a similar name, "AMEE", and ZDR even gets teased as a red planet, like Mars. Copyright infringement incoming?
Anyway, if you're not a fan of the "stealth" sections from the GameBoy Advance Metroid games, then you will probably dread this in Metroid Dread as well. But it seems like Sakamoto is a big fan of this idea, so much that it apparently hindered the development of this title for 15 years. He hasn't said why the development of Metrid Dread got abandoned twice before, except for mentioning technical limitations, where it might be that the sophisticated A.I. of the E.M.M.I. was something that simply could not be achieved on the Nintendo DS.
What's also new to the lore is the planet "ZDR", which similar to SR388 was once inhabited by the Chozo with at least one of them being still there, judging by the brief trailer footage that we saw. It's all very reminiscent of the environments from Samus Returns, but we might be dealing with the more militaristic and hostile faction of the Chozo that has been teased in that game. They might even be responsible for turning the E.M.M.I. against Samus...
The E.M.M.I. also make these chirping noises, which sound very much like the background music from Metroid II - Return of Samus, where this kind be another hint at a connection to the Chozo. It also adds an eerie vibe to Samus Returns with this, where that music might now cause you to feel uneasy.
But that's all speculation for now and we will have to wait and see how the story actually turns out. It's very exciting to finally learn what happens after Metroid Fusion, however. This is really going into the unknown.
Update: Nintendo has shared some more details about the story, where the Galactic Federation has received a message about the X-parasite still being alive on ZDR. They've sent a unit of seven E.M.M.I. to the planet, but then lost the signal, where Samus now has to investigate. The E.M.M.I. are also equipped with DNA extractors, where a reason why they are hunting Samus could be that they want to get her Metroid DNA.
The game will launch together with a Special Edition and a pair of cool-looking amiibo, where those don't unlock a new game mode this time, only cheats for replenishing health and missiles once per day, so Nintendo might have learned their lesson here. Update: you're also getting an extra Energy Tanks and a Missile capacity upgrade by scanning them for the first time, so they are not entirely optional, if you want everything in the game.
The release date is October 8th.
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