#Gorea

[tallon-underworld]

… Anyway, here I go seeking the monstrosity known as Gorea!

[sepublic]

Gorea is said to have been named as such because that’s the first thing it said. I think this is something that could turn out to be absurd if you consider it from the perspective of Gorea itself: It’s like if an eldritch god screamed “DIE MORTALS!!!!” and started destroying everything, and the locals called it Dymortulz.

Also, the only thing Gorea says is its name and it’s contained within a sphere that is opened to release it:

Gorea is a Legendary Pokemon.

[mhexart]

Ultimate Power

[metroidbosshowdown]

[lividria]

i was hoping metroid prime 4 would make the kriken empire the main antagonists and sylux is instead like how prime 2 handled dark samus but now that i'm thinking of alternatives right now, another member of gorea's species showing up, instantly exploding sylux and starting the final boss fight would be one of the funniest out of nowhere twists they could pull

[nofatclips]

A Bright Resemblance and Chapel Of The Snows by Light Conductor from the album Sequence One

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[coldgoldlazarus]

Echoes and Hunters are really interesting to me because of their place relative to the rest of the series, as basically the closest thing to being self-contained Filler Episodes in Samus's life. It can be argued the Prime games as a whole are a filler arc, what with how you really don't need to play the Trilogy to understand the 2D games' ongoing narrative. Even so, it is still a whole arc within itself; despite being decent standalone titles, the phazon connection spanning all three enriches them in conjunction with one-another, and Corruption in particular leans a lot on the setup the first two provide.

Yet at the same time, while definitely connected to the other two, Echoes is distinctly the odd one out in a lot of ways, and the overarching phazon storyline seems almost incidental at times despite Dark Samus and the background setup of the conflict. It's not confirmed either way, but the dark world could be read as a pocket universe created by the leviathan seed malfunctioning, or a whole parallel dimension that it simply broke through into and created the copy of Aether within. Even if it is the latter, the Ing were probably a byproduct of the interaction of Phazon and the dark dimension, but there is also the possibility the were a distinct entity existing beforehand. Regardless of all of that, the Luminoth and Aether as a location certainly stand out as unique, and are only loosely connected to the bigger picture through a shared history with the Chozo.

Hunters, meanwhile, may wind up tying into Prime 4 through Sylux, but that too is extremely incidental to the main story focus, which is even more outright disconnected from the usual Metroid factions and concepts than even Echoes is. As people have joked about before, it really says something that killing Gorea, a terrible eldritch abomination that singlehandedly wiped out an entire galactic-region-spanning civilization, is probably one of the least important things Samus has done in her career. Even that aside, apart from Sylux and Weavel, most of the other hunters are similarly unique and disconnected from the established story, with Trace and the Kriken Empire in particular standing out as an elephant in the room that are weirdly less relevant than the info on them would imply.

And I love the overarching storyline, both of the Prime games and the series as a whole, and how the different mainline titles are for the most part thematically enriched by their interconnectivity and parallels. (Even Proteus Ridley, for all the problems I have with him, I do appreciate as a clear bridge between Corruption and Super.) But there is also something really fascinating to these two more avant-garde titles, that really expand the universe and try new things, instead of remaining confined to the core concepts the series usually keeps a tight focus on.

There is a risk of going too far and possibly losing sight of the aesthetic/thematic shore, so to speak, but I feel like we're not quite there yet, and I appreciate the effort to branch out. On the flipside, there is again some weirdness to some of this stuff being so confined instead of having a bigger impact, (looking at you Trace) but the level of tightness of the mainline games does kinda work in our favor here. Sure it's weird, but it's not out of the realm of plausibility that the Kriken really are a big deal, but just... elsewhere, and mostly haven't directly relevant to Samus's life outside of this one-off run-in with Trace.

Idk, I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this, I just think it's neat.

[nerdy-the-artist]

Maytroid 2024 is here!

I am so excited to get to work on these new prompts. Last year, my entries for each day were fairly sloppy, and I was new to the series, so I was lacking a fair bit of information. Now, I’m armed with more knowledge and am eager to use it.

For those who haven’t seen what I did for Maytroid last year, what I’m going to be doing instead of art is something more writing focused. These little text entries are mostly styled after the scans from the Metroid Prime series. Matter of fact, this new set of prompts actually lends itself much better than last year’s, as I have a lot more leeway to play to my own strengths than last year (I still don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do with Gorea). These are all canon to my own Metroid AU currently, though as things change in development, these may become out of date. They will give the vibe my stories are going for, but these shouldn’t be held to as the absolute canon for them. I’ll be posting these week by week, around 7 at a time, starting today.

Day 1: Ridley

Transcript of Security Footage

Several individuals in this footage cannot be identified at this time. They shall be identified as Pirate 1, Pirate 2, and Pirate Major.

Ridley: What I want to know… is why he is not in custody.

Pirate Major: I gave them their orders, they knew he was to be brought in alive, and instead they killed him.

Pirate 1: You told us to take care of him! We thought you meant an execution, not milk and cookies!

Pirate Major: Insolent Wretch! You say such things about your orders in front of our Commander?! You know how we handle that sort of insubordination!

Pirate 2: Cool it, we’re already in hot water.

Pirate 1: We’re in hot water because of the life of some winy little nobody that begged for his life with money he didn’t even have.

Ridley: While your insolence is… aggravating… I am willing to forgive this misstep.

Pirate Major: What?

Ridley: He was an insignificant pawn. We can always find another. As I was saying, I am willing to forgive this on one condition. Did he die in pain?

Pirate 2: Yes. He did suffer before he died.

Ridley: What methods or torture did you employ?

Pirate 1: Waterboarding. Works wonders on humans. I always liked how they sound when they cough and gasp for air.

Ridley:Mmmmm… was blood shed before his end?

Pirate 2: Yeah. My partner here has… quite the way with knives.

Ridley: Do tell.

Pirate 1: Slashed his wrists. Those arteries gush lots of blood from humans. And we started pulling teeth when he lied.

Ridley: Delicious. You have escaped capital punishment, but you will still be serving as guards for the Metroid containment units. For further forgiveness, you will need to be more creative with your implements. I find Revine’s death, by your account, to be quite dull. Your are dismissed, unless you wish to enlighten me further.

Day 2: Fiery

Scan of Pipe System in Norfair

“These pipes appear be delivering superheated magma into the Norfair region. Given the proximity to Ridley’s personal quarters, likely explanations include terraforming the area for Ridley’s own comfortability, additional protective measures, or the intentional destruction of Chozo artifacts not deemed useful. The latter is most likely, as the immediate area was once a Chozo burial tomb. It is now completely submerged in magma, disintegrating much of the artifacts within.”

Day 3: Winged

Scan of SA-X Mutations

“This X-Parasite copy has suffered some form of destabilization of its copying abilities. Abnormalities include a malformed, beak like structure around the mouth, several atrophied fingers, several hypertrophied fingers, small patches of feathers, and an extraneous structure protruding from its back resembling a Chozo wing bereft of feathers. These unusual deformities could be the result of DNA infusions during childhood complicating the process of anatomical replication within X-Parasite offspring. This individual seems to suffer great stress from its predicament, but it is unsafe to assume that its combat functionality is greatly hampered. Adaptation is this species’s main trait.”

Day 4: Pirate

Scan of Space Pirate Elite

“Subject is a member of an unknown species known only from individuals working within Ridley’s special operations group, The Revenants. This group acts as Ridley’s personal enforcers and assassins, fanatically worshipping their commander as a literal God of Death. They wield melee weapons personalized to their unique fighting styles. Each weapon is charged with electricity, giving them an additional ranged attack capability. They have operated since before the Galactic Federation, making a name for themselves in fighting Chozo warriors. Their endurance, agility, and strength cannot be overstated, in spite of their gaunt appearance.”

Day 5: Mecha

Scan of automaton codenamed Mecha Ridley

“Subject is a battle ready drone, seemingly created by Ridley’s fanatical special forces, the Revenants. Mecha Ridley is heavily weaponized, as there could be no altar to the God of Death without the ability to take a life. Weapons include flamethrowers, guided munition launchers, and superheated claws. Mecha Ridley’s armor is highly durable, but greatly hampers mobility compared to its inspiration. Additionally, as a cult idol of worship, advanced artificial intelligence was not prioritized during production. Mecha Ridley displays average combat intellect for a war drone. Recommend staying moving and outsmarting the automaton.”

Day 6: Fang

Scan of Rundas’s Necklace

“Rundas appears to have begun collecting Metroid Fangs as trophies since last he was approached. Assuming one fang was taken from each Metroid he has eliminated, he has defeated 15 Metroids in the two months since he was last seen. Unfortunately, his ego has grown with his kill count.”

Day 7: Cunning

Scan of Abandoned Home

“Old Bird and Grey Voice’s abandoned home has been left mostly in tact, minus the usual signs of neglect. However, there appear to be a plethora of traps lain around the home. Various grapple snares have been detected, alongside explosive charges, beam emitters, and microphones. Much of these systems appear to be inert, and once reported directly to Mother Brain. It is clear she anticipated you might return here before confronting her. Given her destruction, several trap systems remain completely dormant. Still, any approach must be made with great caution.”

[beelzeballing]

my opinions on the metroid games' soundtracks because im soooo bored rn:

metroid: surprisingly has some fucking RIDICULOUS bangers considering its an nes game (kraid's hideout helloooo) but also has mother brain battle. which. yeah.

return of samus: i mean whats THERE is as good as ever, sr388's surface theme goes hard but. uh. i hope you like random atmospheric gameboy bloops. it works for what the game is but yeah youre not gonna be putting any of these on your spotify playlists

super: are you KIDDING me? its super metroid. obviously there is nothing but fucking bangers on that ost. super metroid has never missed in any way shape or form lol. honorable mention to, of course, brinstar depths and also my extremely beloved maridia (swampy caverns).

fusion: are you KIDDING me part 2, electric boogaloo. slightly hampered by the fact that the GBA's sound system was so fucking ass but by god did it work around that. this game's ost is so tense it can veer into horrifying. shoutout to tension before a core-x and environmental investigation for being utterly terrifying

zero mission: ok the gba sound system did not do this one any fucking favors. fusion could get away with it but zero mission... like theres definitely great tracks here but its all SO fuzzy.

prime: kenji yamamoto is the fucking BOSS good LORD this soundtrack goes hard. might be my favorite ost in the whole series. i am disgustingly biased but also like. listen to the fucking title theme and then tell me you dont get it. you cant! you literally cant! i think my fav track would have to be... uh. the staff credits. yes, really.

echoes: kenji yamamoto returned with a vengeance. i honestly dont even know what to say tbh, this is up there with prime 1 for me. chykka? the emperor ing? dark samus? hell yes.

corruption: TRIPLE WHAMMY, KENJI YAMAMOTO YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!!! i like this one the least out of the three prime games BUT i do have to shout out phaaze and phazon pool here cuz i absolutely love the phazon sound effect. and it has some VERY fusion coded tracks (positive)

hunters: were back at 'extremely low quality sound hardware', yall want anything? and its for such a good soundtrack too. it can get away from the usual "metroid sound" on some tracks but like. theres banger after banger here, surprisingly enough. sylux' theme... the menu select.... GOREA FINAL BOSS THEME??

other m: yeah.

samus returns: wow we are so fucking back!!!! banger remix after banger remix! im listening to the playlist rn tho and im kinda confused cuz i havent played this game in ages. why are there lower brinstar and crateria tracks. this is metroid 2. we arent on zebes. what the fuck. anyway catch me bumping the gamma metroid theme

dread: i hate to say this but the ost is. a little underwhelming. burenia goes hard but the rest is just... very middling. mercury steam brought the heat with dread but particularly outstanding composers they have not.

[mariacallous]

Denis Gorea of the Bank for International Settlements, Oleksiy Kryvtsov of the Bank of Canada, and Marianna Kudlyak of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco use daily house price listing data from 2001 to 2019 to show that changes in the expected path of monetary policy quickly translate to house prices. The authors estimate that a contractionary monetary policy surprise that raises the average 30-year mortgage rate by 0.25 percentage point reduces list prices by 1%. This effect occurs within a couple weeks and persists for at least one year. The effect on sales prices is almost identical. The result is driven by surprises to the long-term path of monetary policy, like unexpected forward guidance or quantitative easing or tightening, not the policy rate itself. The authors also find some evidence that monetary expansions have larger effects than contractions, likely because of mortgage refinancing.

[munch-k]

Maytroid 2023 Day 7 - GOREA

[sepublic]

Excerpt from the final pages of Sylux's manifesto:

            …For example: The dilemma of accommodating water-breathing and air-breathing societies to one another. The Federation assumption is that air-breathing is the norm; In reality, science and the nature of evolution point to water as the cradle of all life, with air-breathing being the mutated offshoot of water-breathing. Others will argue this makes them more evolved, more ‘advanced’.

            Regardless, in structuring a society the Federation will favor one body type, one way of living, over another: It is obvious in its infrastructure and design, its lack of accommodations. Water-breathers are often expected to adapt to the world of air-breathers, rather than the other way around.

            At which point, the naïve Federation liberal might say: Then technology will be used so that both sides can meet one another! Technology can be used to create an amphibious society! Perhaps…

            But where is the middle ground? When it comes to the diversity of species, it is not as simple as two opposite ends to find a perfect median between. What of varying pressures; What of pH levels? The Federation promises to supply everything one might need, but it is a government that has consistently proven otherwise; The onus inevitably is on individuals to conform to a standard that other species naturally fit. But it is not a natural fit, it is one engineered by them, and others like them, for them. Because of this, they wield an innate advantage and privilege that boosts them in socioeconomic status above those who struggle just to be on the same starting level.

            Federation ideology then, boils down to this political spectrum: At best, you have those who naively believe in a society where all species can be accommodated, where infrastructure can be built around an equal playing field. But what these believers fail to realize is that this ‘ideal society’ is nevertheless structured around a base assumption of a particular form as the standard for which all will be made to strive towards and emulate, regardless of whether they receive assistance in doing so or not. And they will not question; Why this form? Why is this the standard, for which all others must measure up to? For what reasons, for what inevitable consequences, will there be from pursuing this as the base, the default?

            Conversely, you have the worst end of the spectrum, which all know: The ‘Old Federation Army’, which critics refer to. But even this name is flattering, as it attempts to create some distinction between either end of the spectrum as inherently different, and imply it is merely a matter of societal, chronological progress to undo these mistakes. This ‘Old Federation Army’ believes, more bluntly and perhaps truthfully, that the Federation is a hierarchy; It is a caste system, based on nature. Every species will play their role, with some sharing the same niche, or multiple; It does not matter.

            And as specified before, there will always be a prioritization of certain roles as more ‘important’ than others. And this by those who have the most to benefit from valuing it this way, because again: Who decides the standard? Who decides the default? And what are their motives for doing so, what are the consequences of this regardless of intention?

            As an aside: Therein lies a similar dilemma with the Space Pirates. The Space Pirates, at face value, may seem sympathetic, even allies, to those who see the Federation’s corruption. But in truth, they are just the natural evolution of Federation ideology, and not its counter. For the various species of the Space Pirate coalition, largely, operate on the experience and/or practice that races best suited for combat and conquest are the superior ones, who deserve leadership over those species who promise better tactics, but cannot practice them to save their own lives.

            The motives of many of these Space Pirate species can be sympathetic; Indeed, many of them are rising up against their Federation masters, after being made to serve in a system where they were expected to fight and die for others, because they were more suited to it. This is understandable.

            And yet curiously, the Space Pirates’ takeaway from experiencing the worst of the system is not to eradicate it: It is instead to support it more fervently than ever, with the only distinction being on what form should be prioritized, and why. Their belief in innate physical superiority, Might makes Right, makes them eugenicists. It also makes them no different to the Old Federation Army. Both of these agents believe in a caste system, and it is simply natural that different body types will compete for the privilege of which form becomes the standard.

            This can be exemplified in their notions of racial superiority, and dismissal of other races as lesser, while still performing a necessary, yet subservient, role to them. For the average species that performs a ‘lesser’ function to society not deemed as glamorous or fearsome as combat or leadership, it sees no distinction between the Federation and the Space Pirates; But between the two, one’s authority already exists, whereas another’s will require further violence to establish, and then the same violence as the Federation to maintain. This authority will more openly deny and belittle these working-class species as lesser. So naturally, these races caught in-between favor the Federation, which is already the status quo and requires less sacrifice to maintain; But the lesser evil is still evil. The lesser evil is not good.

            These are all good critiques, one might concede. But it is easy to point out the problems in everything and to be a cynic: At some point, one must come up with an alternative, an actual solution. The lesser evil is still evil, yes: But it is also lesser. And as said, this is why the working-class species cannot be faulted for choosing the Federation for protection over the Space Pirate coalition.

            This arrives me to my thesis: The solution comes in individual species staying true to their own forms. The solution comes not from forcing other races into meeting them on their own terms, or demeaning themselves to be on those terms, or even having both parties demeaned to reach an imperfect ‘middle ground’; The solution comes from different body types staying true to their own societies centered around themselves, without attempting to drag other body types into it.

            Now, the critic to this solution may argue this is just segregation. Not quite: The Federation’s flaw comes in that it attempts to force interaction, it is forcing a triangle and square and other pegs into a round hole. Some of them make it through, others do not.

            It assumes that the end goal of all sapient species is a common society, but this is not the same as a co-existing galaxy. A ‘common’ society still implies and establishes a norm. A co-existing society is one in which different races adhere to their own socioeconomic systems, built around their own body types. And indeed, races with similar body types can more easily overlap, and come together.

            But in these dedicated societies, an individual economy will not have workers, who already suffer from classism, worrying about competing against those with ‘better’ body types; This will minimize hierarchy, although the fight against it will always remain. These contained systems will not have to worry about accommodating either themselves or a foreign one. There will be an established body type, which the average citizen already conforms to.

            Again, this does not account for the disabled within an individual body type: They are owed apology for this. But their admittedly minority status does better lend to a more reasonable allocation of funding from otherwise unreliable governments.

            Of course, people crave what is different: They crave exploration. They will want to see and interact with other races and body types, the environments they were built around, and the societies they’ve built around themselves. This is why, legally, visitation is not specifically outlawed; There will be accommodations required and/or offered by native worlds to those who wish to visit.

            But this establishes these tourists as entering at the mercy of their hosts, who they should learn to respect and adapt to. And this is a failsafe against colonialism. The inevitable draw of one species to another, even bearing humility to do so, is also why different races will still care about one another to help, contrary to the claims that this alleged ‘segregation’ will generate apathy and even disdain. Compassion is inevitable and contagious, the people shall care for others like them.

            Should individual societies require outside help, they can implore others for it; The very nature of asking for help is already placing one within a subservient position anyway. A restructured, egalitarian take on the Federation might exist to step in, should some species attempt to colonize others; Again, the examples of the Space Pirates and Old Federation Army. But per their agreements, they will step back to return to their homes, once all have disciplined the minority that breaches this agreement.

            And if the majority were to band against a minority? Unfortunately, there is no surefire plan against this; Any more than there is in the Federation, however. This hearkens back to my point that there is no perfect system, this is inherently impossible because a ‘perfect’ system’, not unlike the Federation, requires an established ideal for such a chaotic and diverse world to adhere to.

            But there are criticisms of the current systems, and there should always be. There should always be a continuous battle against these injustices, and constant improvement. The consignment to despair that if no system is perfect, then there is no point in trying, is of course foolish. Indeed, what I have suggested is a system in and of itself. Systems are inherent to reality of course; The laws of physics comprise one.

            The point is practical optimism; Not the idyllic brand offered by the Federation, in which civilians are expected to simply hope and wait. But the optimism to put in effort and initiative, to practice agency; As a civilization, as people, we should not consign ourselves to Federation mediocrity. We have forgotten our power, and in the case of the Space Pirate coalition, our solidarity as well. The concept of a system is natural, but not all systems are natural. It is people who have created systems we struggle with today; It is people who will dismantle these systems, and create new ones.

            I am Sylux; I fight our war against the treason of the Galactic Federation towards its peoples. I hope to find solidarity with you all, and that the war is assigned to minimal soldiers. May we all find freedom and justice not contingent upon the domination of others, nor dependent on others; The latter is inherently paradoxical to the definition of freedom and independence, which go hand in hand. May we all create an intergalactic society that is truly egalitarian, and not erasing our differences and individuality in an attempt to make a bland, false ‘equality’; This would itself be a form of cultural, and as we have seen even physical, genocide.

            May the Federation fall, and the People rise.

[cobaltaris]

Aris Media 2023 #35: Metroid Prime Hunters

the final Metroid game i had yet to complete! ever! and...fuck, again, i'm sure the multiplayer was the real selling point, and i didn't hate the controls, but the Adventure Mode just felt like it got worse and worse the further i went in it, despite some neat moments and bits of cool level design - but then some of the level design by the end just got baffling and not fun so I kinda just. idk

at least the Hunters are cool, I like all six of them a good bunch for their cool designs and weapons, since they don't have that much lore to dig into - Noxus was the weak link, along with Spire, but Tracer, Sylux, Weavel? yeah, they're cool! again, wish I could try out multiplayer to see the real hype behind them! certainly more interesting than fighting the same two bosses four times over lol, but I did like Gorea's first phase, maybe even more than Metroid Prime's first phase from Prime 1, going for the same idea n all

but you can pass on this one, i feel like. there's not much to dig into in current year, the Alimbic Cluster doesn't have too much depth to it and really is just neat to explore because New Metroid Prime Level Design (says as it came out in 2006 oops), but i can't say i really loved this one much. i know in a few years i'll be covering it way more depth for the channel along w/ Pinball, so, look forward to that!

Grade: C

[shop-korea]

PILIPINAS - 'FORCING - HEAT' - OUR - VOLCANIC -

MOISTURE - WEATHER - LIKE - 175 - DEGREES FL -

HEAT - SHORT - BURSTS - OF - STRESS EXAMPLE -

INTERMITTENT - FASTING

ONCE - PER - DAY - 12P - UNTIL - 6P

WHEN - U - EAT - NOT - WHAT - YOU - EAT

START - 12P - AS - MUCH - AS - U - CAN - 2

18 HRS - OF - FASTING - REMOVAL - OF -

POISON - FR - OUR - BODIES - TOXINS -

REMOVED - ANOTHER - STRESS - THE -

HEAT - SPENDING - TIME - IN - SAUNA -

I'M - MADE - A - DECISION - GOING - 2B -

ALSO - AN - ARCHITECT - AS - WE - ARE -

GBC - FILM - TV - STUDIOS

TAKESHI - FILM - TV - STUDIOS

PLACES - THAT - NEED - BUILT MY PART

ALSO - AS - LICENSE - ARCHITECT - BUT

PARIS - FRANCE - CITY OVER - 2,000 -

YEARS OLD - MAKATI - EST - 67,000 -

YEARS - WE'RE - GOING - BACK - IN -

TIME - JOSEON - OVER - 125 YRS - AGO -

GOREA - OVER - 1,000 YRS - OLD - YES -

THE - ARCHITECT - OF - THEIR HOUSES -

PALACES - BUT - HISTORICALLY - MORE -

ACCURATE - PARIS - FRANCE - SEWERS -

MOST - AUTHENTIC CLOTHES - LIKE -

THE - POOR - 500 YEARS - INFERIOR -

COTTON - TAKING - HISTORICAL - FASHION -

UNIVERSITY - OF - PARIS - AS - WE - CREATE -

JOSEON - AND - GOREO - HISTORICAL - AND -

CORRECT - OUTFITS - SO - WILL - BECOME -

ARCHITECT - AFTER - ALL - THANKS - 2 YES -

BEIJING - CHINA - OLD - MALE - DOCTORS -

ACUPUNCTURE - 2 - MAKE - ME - LINGUAL -

200 LANGUAGES - OF - INDIA

MANY - OTHER - LANGUAGES

RETENTION - CAN - HANDLE - SNOW - SO -

ZUMA CUM LAUDE

WITH - SPEECH

ARCHITECTURE

FREE - FR - MIAMI - HOOKERS - LESBIANS -

VIOLENT SHOOTERS - FR PUBLIC SCHOOLS -

NC - TAXES - QUARTERLY

$0 - $0 - $0 - $0

ST JUDE's - CHILDREN's - RESEARCH

HOSPITALS - MY GOAL - $100 BILLION

MY - PERSONAL - REFERENCES

BRICKEL - CITY - CENTRE

PSYCHO - BUNNY DAY B 4

EASTER - SUNDAY

HARD - LIQUOUR - SABBATH

HISPANIC - WOMEN DRUNKS

MIAMI - FLORIDA - FL

WHAT - IS - COV-ID 19 - CORONAVIRUS -

RESPIRATORY - COLDS - COUGH - HIGH -

FEVER - SOLUTION - OF - SORE - THROUGHT

AND - COUGH - HOT - SHOWERS - AMERICAN

ADAGE - FEED - A - COLD - STARVE A - FEVER

SOLUTION - 2 - CORONAVIRUS

PHILIPPINE - WEATHER - HEAT

INTENSE - VOLCANIC - WITH - MOISTURE

WHEN - WINDS - BLOW - HEATED - ALSO

BEACH - NATIN - LIKE - JACUZZI

SHOCK - BODY - GIVE - STRESS - HOW -

INTERMITTENT - FASTING

ONCE - A DAY - STARTS - AT - 12P

EATING - FR - 12P - TO - 6P DAILY

THEN - 18 HRS - BODY - CAN - RELEASE

POISON - TOXINS - BODY - GETTING OUT

DANGEROUS - SUBSTANCE - FR WRONG

FOODS - ESPECIALLY - U - WILL - POOP

IT - WILL - HAPPEN

ANOTHER - WAY - 2 - STRESS - BODY

SAUNA - INTENSE - HEAT - WE - ARE

AS - ARCHITECTS - DESIGNING - ALL

OUR - PLACES - 2 - HAVE - SAUNA

STOPS - AGING - JUST - LIKE - YES

SNOW - AREAS - STRESSORS - UNDER

COLD - PLUNGING

ASHEVILLE - NORTH CAROLINA - LIKE

MIAMI - LOWS - OF - 27 DEGREES BOTH

SAME - BUT - ASHEVILLE - SNOW AND

LEGENDARY - BEAUTIFUL - MOUNTAINS

SAUNA - STOPS - HEART - PROBLEMS

IMPORTANT - THAT - SWEAT

PILIPINAS - NATURAL - SWEAT

CHARLIE SHEEN - WAS - IN - THE - SHADE

LESS - THAN - 1 HOUR - LOST - 25 LBS - FR

JUST - STANDING - IN A - SHADE - MANILA

AFTER - SAUNA - WHAT - WE - ALSO - HAVE

COCONUT - JUICE

WITH - OR - WITHOUT - PULP

SOPHISTICATED - COCONUT - WATER

THAILAND - WITH - BABY - PULP - BUT

WHILE - EXERCISING - WITHOUT PULP

AFTER - EXERCISE - WITH - PULP

B 4 - EXERCISE - WHAT - PILIPINAS

HAS - COCONUT - JUICE - OR - WATER

WITHOUT - PULP - SO - CORONAVIRUS

WE - HAVE - THE - SOLUTION

VOLCANIC - MOISTURE - WEATHER OF

PILIPINAS - LOTS - OF - SWEAT - BUT

DURING - AND - AFTER - OR - BEFORE

COCONUT - JUICE - WITHOUT - PULP

AFTER - WITH - PULP

COV-ID 19 - OUR - WEATHER - AND -

COCONUTS - THE - SOLUTION BUT -

WHAT - DID - OTHERS - ADD - 2 - US -

WE - HAVE - DEATHS - ALSO -

6 FT - SOCIAL - DISTANCING -

THAT - WAS - WHAT - WE - JUST -

LEARNED - THAT's - IT

SO - BAHAY - KUBO - MUST - HAVE -

ALSO - SAUNA - SO - WE - STAY YES -

INDOORS - 4 - THE - POOR - GO OUT -

THERE - SO - WHEN - EVERYONE -

TOLD - U 2 - STAY - INDOORS - IN -

AIR CONDITIONING - AND - AC - ALSO -

PRODUCES - ASTHMA - HARD - 2 - YES -

BREATHE

STAYING - INDOORS - AS - PILIPINAS -

WAS - THE - WORST - ORDER - FOR A -

SAUNA - WAS - THE - SOLUTION AND -

AS - RICH - ALL - KIDS - HAVE - THEIR -

OWN - BATHROOM - 4 - THOSE - WITH -

COV-ID 19 - MUST - HAVE - THEIR OWN -

DAHIL - CONTAGEOUS

SO - DURING - WORLD - PANDEMIC -

6 FT - SOCIAL - DISTANCING - YES -

BUT - REMAINING - OUTDOORS - 2 -

SWEAT - FR - INTENSE - VOLCANIC -

HEAT - DRINKING - COCONUT JUICE -

WITHOUT PULP - THEN - AFTER -

WITH - PULP - WAS - SOLUTION -

CORONAVIRUS - UNDER BIBLE -

'LEADERS - INSTEAD - OF - FOLLOWERS -

OF - NATIONS' - LARGE - POPULATIONS -

USA - OVER - 333 MILLION - THEIR YES -

DEATHS - OVER - 1 MILLION

BRICKELL - CITY - CENTRE - SAID

'YOU'RE - NOT - ALLOWED - 2 TAKE -

SHOWER - IN - THEIR - RESTROOM' -

'PRIVATE - PROPERTY'

WHEN - AMERICANS - WHY - THEY -

DIED OF CORONAVIRUS - BECAUSE -

AS - INDEPENDENT - FR - FAMILIES -

THEY - NEVER - SHOWERED - IN THE -

APTS - THEY - LIVED - IN - ILLEGALLY -

THEY - WENT - 2 - WORK - WITHOUT -

SHOWERING - ONLY - EVENTUALLY -

DID - BECAUSE - ITCHINESS - THEN -

THEY - SHOWERED - THAT - IS - WHY -

DIED - OF - COV-ID 19 - THEIR LACK -

OF - SHOWER - SO - THEY - SAID - I -

TOOK - SHOWER - IN - THEIR - RESTROOM -

BLK - MALE - SECURITY - SAID - BECAUSE -

I - BROUGHT - LUGGAGE - AS - PILIPINAS -

THEY - HAVE - TUMI - LUGGAGE - FIRST -

FLOOR - BECAUSE - DIDN'T - BUY - THAT -

I - WAS BANGED - ON - RESTROOM -

DISABLED - BECAUSE - 'PRIVATE -

PROPERTY' - SAID - 9P - CLOSED -

GOOGLE - SEARCH

MALICE - SLANDER - PERJURY -

$750,000 - MAX - FINE - AND OR -

IMPRISONMENT

TACOLOGY

CUBAN - CUISINE

SUSHI

CLOSES - 1A EDT

CMX - FILM - THEATRE - 10:30P - FINAL - SHOW

CASA - TUA - CUCINA - ITALIAN

9:30A - 10:30P - DAILY - THEY'VE

GOT - OWN - RESTROOMS

SO - BRICKELL - CITY - CENTRE

PRAY - DEUT 28 - CURSES - FOR

UNWELCOMING - PHILIPPINES I

ALREADY - SHOOK - DUST FROM

MY - FEET - 2023 - LAST - YEAR

OF - 67,000 - MEDICAL HISTORY

NOW - TOPLESS - DANCERS

TOPLESS - SINGERS

TOPLESS - VEILED - BELLY DANCER

TOPLESS - COCKTAIL - WAITTRESS

WHY LESBIANS - LESBIANS - WARNING

MEN - MARRIED - 2 - MEN - WHY - WHY

GOD - CREATED - US - NAKED - WHEN

WE - WERE - BORN

ADAM - AND - EVE - NAKED - CLOUDS

COVERED - THEIR - BODIES

WATER - CONSERVATION - WHEN

NAKED - BECAUSE - FEMALES - R

MOST - BEAUTIFUL - AS - NAKED

CLOTHES - ALSO - COVERS OUR

BEAUTY - WHILE - WE'RE - YOUNG

AND - BREATHTAKING - ALSO OUR

BODIES - NEED - 2 - BREATHE - SO

BEING - SINGLE - HOLIEST - LIVING

TOPLESS - JOBS - IS - A - RELEASE

FROM - COVERED - BY - EVIL - YES

HUMANS - HARRASSING - AND OR

DEGRADING - FEMALE - RACE - AS

UNITED STATES

TYRANT - OPPRESSIVE

NOT - 'LIFE - LIBERTY - AND PURSUIT

OF - HAPPINESS'

UNITED STATES - AGE 245

'LIES - LIES - LIES'

'LAND - OF - THE - FREE'

'HOME - OF - THE - AMERICAN INDIAN

BRAVE' - TORTURE - ABUSE - LIFE - IN

THE - UNITED STATES - THEY - TRIED 2

SHOOT - ME - AFTER - MY - BIRTHDAY

TODAY - AT - BRICKELL - CITY CENTRE

MIAMI - FLORIDA - FL - EIGHT STREET

DR JOSE RIZAL

MANILA - 3 BOILED EGGS - LAST MEAL

EXECUTED BY SPAIN - RIFFLE - SHOTS

NOT - A - NATIONAL - HERO OF THE

REPUBLIC - OF - THE - PHILIPPINES

[lividria]

Everything You Need To Know For Metroid Prime 4

I finally have an excuse to use all of my Metroid knowledge for something. Metroid Prime 4 is a BIG deal, but we've waited for it for so long, so people might not know/have forgotten some important information they're gonna need beforehand, so here's a big post detailing basically everything you definitely need to know or may need to know, depending on what happens in the game. I'm of course assuming a familiarity with the series, though, so I don't have to explain what Metroids are or who Samus is, but even if you're still really into it, maybe you missed one or two things I'll hopefully be able to explain.

This is mostly off of memory, and I am very confident in my memory, but I checked a Metroid wiki for multiple points, so hopefully I'm accurate, but if I miss something, get something wrong, or you just have something you want me to add, let me know, since I want this to be comprehensive. Alright, let's do this.

This is LONG, so all the facts (& idle speculation) are under the cut.

One caveat I almost forgot about, I have a confession, I... Haven't played any of the Prime games besides the remaster of the original. I tried to emulate Hunters, but it didn't end well, and I was led astray into believing that ports of Metroid Prime 2 & 3 were going to be ported to the Switch "soon"... Last year, and now I don't have nearly as much time on my computer as I'd like to play them on an emulator. I can only hope they get ported to the next console, or get released with 4, or something. I'd like to think I know about as much as I need to, though.

A "Brief" Summary of the Metroid Prime Series

So far, the entire sub-series has taken place in-between Metroid 1/Zero Mission, and Metroid 2/Samus Returns. It's relatively self-contained, and only acknowledged in the main series once (to my knowledge), meaning you could be a big Metroid fan and still know nothing about Metroid Prime, so just to be sure, here's a summary of the Metroid Prime games we've had so far.

Metroid Prime 1: Samus responds to a distress signal from a Space Pirate research ship, discovering they were performing genetic experiments with a mysterious mutagenic substance. The ship is destroyed by an escaped Parasite Queen, but Ridley, injured after Metroid 1 and enhanced with cybernetics (now dubbed Meta Ridley), escapes to the planet the ship was orbiting, Tallon IV. Samus gives chase, discovering that the planet is also being effected by that same mutagen, named Phazon, that the Space Pirates are experimentig further on the planet, and that the Chozo once thrived here before dying out due to the Phazon's destructive effects. Samus confronts Meta Ridley, who is shot into submission by Chozo technology and launched down a pit, and enters a passage in that temple into a Leviathan, a living asteroid filled with Phazon that spread it onto Tallon IV in the first place. Samus finds a Metroid mutated beyond recognition, the Metroid Prime, and confronts it, eventually destroying it, though it consumes her Phazon Suit upgrade that made her immune to Phazon, and Samus escapes the Leviathan as it explodes, leaving Tallon IV behind. However, it's shown that the Metroid Prime reanimates in the image of Samus. Dark Samus is born.

Metroid Prime Hunters: Though it was released after Prime 2, it chronologically takes the place of a 1.5, so yeah. A mysterious message is sent out from the Alimbic System, claiming that ultimate power can be found in said system. The Galactic Federation dispatches Samus to claim it, who finds that multiple other characters are hunting for it, who I will get into in great detail in a second. However, it was a trick by the malevolent entity Gorea, who was sealed away in the Alimbic System and freed by Samus & her rivals in their search. Gorea is blown up, and everyone leaves.

Metroid Prime 2: a group of Galactic Federation soldiers are lost on the planet Aether. Samus goes to investigate, finding that the arrival of a Leviathan has split it into two alternate dimensions: Aether and Dark Aether, and Dark Aether's inhabitants, the Ing, have almost driven Aether's, the Luminoth, to extinction, and could threaten the galaxy in the future. Dark Samus is here, and has allied itself with the Ing in order to feed on the Phazon on the planet. The Space Pirates are here, too, but are getting destroyed by Dark Samus & the Ing, and those GF soldiers are dead. Samus ends up destroying the entirety of Dark Aether after a climactic showdown with the Emperor Ing & Dark Samus, the Luminoth are saved and presumably repopulate, and Samus leaves. However, Dark Samus reforms in space, and finds it's way on a Space Pirate ship that escaped Aether with a bunch of Phazon.

Metroid Prime 3: Dark Samus has brainwashed the Space Pirates, Ridley included, and together they're throwing Leviathans all over the galaxy, so the Galactic Federation has enlisted Samus and 3 other bounty hunters to help stop them. However, Dark Samus infects all 4 of them with Phazon, resulting in all of them but Samus turning evil, and, as Samus travels across planets to destroy the Leviathans, she is forced to kill off her allies. Eventually, Samus confronts Dark Samus on the living planet Phaaze, the source of all Phazon that wants to infect the entire universe. Dark Samus is defeated, but they fuse with the stolen Aurora Unit 313 (Aurora Units are basically Mother Brains but used by the GF) that was being used by Phaaze for the entire Leviathan campaign. Samus blows it up, the entire planet explodes, Phazon as a whole just kinda... Disappears, and she escapes to go on other missions. However, in a post-credits scene, a ship owned by Sylux, one of the rivals from MP:H, is stalking Samus.

Metroid Prime Federation Force: The Federation has made it's own, clunky armor suits that are much worse than Samus' but better than whatever else they were doing at the time. Space Pirates are doing things, so you go stop them. They have a beam that makes things bigger, and they use it to take over Samus' suit, trap her in Morph Ball mode and make her bigger and make her fight the armor guys, who defeat her and blow up the Master Brain, which is just a lamer Mother Brain and the head of the operation. The Space Pirate bases are destroyed, the day is saved, but it's shown in an unlockable post-credits scene that Sylux stole a Metroid egg from the Federation and hatched it. Uh oh.

Who To Worry About

Characters, wahoo!

Samus: It is unknown if she will return in Metroid Prime 4... No, obviously she's the main character.

Dark Samus/Phazon: I sincerely doubt they're bringing Phazon back, it was shown to have been thoroughly eradicated in Prime 3 and they're clearly open to Prime games not involving Phazon judging from H and FF, so, unless they come up with a damn good explanation as to how Dark Samus is still around, I wouldn't hold my breath.

The Space Pirates: They're shown to be back in the trailers, duh, but note that throughout the entire Prime series, besides for Federation Force, they're shown to be a secondary threat. One of the rivals in Hunters was a Space Pirate, and they were of equal importance as everyone else, too, which is... Not really. They're shown to be with Sylux, who has been built up for years now, and are like... The main part of the trailer, so I'm not saying they aren't going to be important, I'm just saying that something else might crop up we haven't seen yet.

Ridley: Will our beloved purple dragon bastard come back? I'm gonna go with... No. For one, he wasn't in Prime 2, but was in 1 & 3, and bringing him back multiple games in a row would be kinda lame, and Nintendo already seems to be phasing him out if you look at later titles. I doubt they would've made him a 3 phase final boss in the Metroid 2 remake if they had big plans for him elsewhere (But then again, I have no idea if MercurySteam and Retro Studios are on the same page about lore), though he is shown to still have the Meta cybernetics there, so Prime is probably canon to the main series, at least, if it's not just a red herring reference that doesn't mean anything in particular. There's also another thing I'm going to bring up later that's another point against him showing up.

Kraid: I have no reason to believe they'd bring him back, but I just wanna note Meta Kraid was a scrapped Prime 1 boss and he was brought back in Dread for no clear reason, so... Mmmmaybe?

Galactic Federation: You're shown to be at a GF Research Facility in Prime 4, and obviously these guys are important again, especially after their bigger role in Prime 3 & Federation Force. I know they introduced a new captain character in Prime 3, I think his name was Dane? So he might show up. Sylux has a huge grudge against the entire organization, and stole his gear from them, so there's a possibility we'll see the same darker side of them we saw in Fusion and Other M to justify that. Worth noting that Fusion had a translation error where it was supposed to be specified that the bad actors were part of the "old Federation army", or something to that effect, so it isn't the entire Federation that's sketchy, but if they were active in Fusion, the current penultimate game in the timeline, they almost definitely could've been active for whenever Sylux's grudge began. Other M also has dubious canonicity at this point, but still, it shows Nintendo isn't opposed to showing a darker side of the GF.

Federation Force: It seems Prime 4 takes place after FF due to Sylux having Mochtroids, the GF are being directly attacked by Space Pirates in the trailer, the FF have previously taken on a Space Pirate attack on the GF and won, and have even collaborated with Samus in the past. Maybe they'll be the equivalent of Prime 3's bounty hunters, minus the turning bad part. Probably. But FF is also the lowest rated Metroid game in the franchise, so...

Sylux: One of the rivals in Hunters, and as mentioned, shows up in Prime 3 and Federation Force post-credits scenes. He's the blue & green guy in the Prime 4 trailer. All we really know is that he hates the Federation (and by extension Samus), and stole his armor & weapon, the Shock Coil, from them. His species is unknown (People assume he's human but it's unconfirmed), and his homeworld, Cylosis, is also not elaborated on anywhere, giving us no leads. We see some kind of snowy wasteland location in his Hunters intro, but we don't know if that's Cylosis. (Cylosis seems to derived be from the word Cyclosis, which is something like cytoplasm getting circulated throughout cells, so... No idea.) He inexplicably changed ships between Hunters and 3, and is shown with Metroids in FF, but in the Prime 4 trailer has Mochtroids. He is also seemingly allied with the Space Pirates, and is absolutely going to be a big problem. (By the way, I tried to keep these summaries relatively brief, but @ postal-ech has a great post going over each Hunters character in detail if you're interested... hey wait why is that underlined none of the other usernames I've added here got that, is that actually gonna notify the guy? oops, spacing it out just in case because I know they already saw this post lol)

Mochtroids: Yes, I'll elaborate. Weak, failed Metroid clones made by the Space Pirates in Super Metroid, distinguishable by only having one nucleus. Sylux has Mochtroids in the Prime 4 trailer, which is probably why they aren't lashing out at anyone yet. It's unclear how important they'll be, but they haven't shown up anywhere besides Super Metroid, and even then were only in Maridia, so... Neat. Unclear what this means for the Metroids, especially Sylux's in specific. Fun fact, Mochtroids were in Hunters' demo, but not the actual game.

Weavel: A Space Pirate previously encountered by Samus in Metroid 1/Zero Mission, almost killed, and brought back as a cyborg guy, which is how we see him in Hunters. He obviously has a strong hatred towards Samus because of this. If they're bringing Sylux back, another Samus hater from Hunters, and bringing the Space Pirates back, Weavel's faction, I'd wager it's a pretty safe hope to have that Weavel may show up again.

Trace & the Kriken Empire: Trace is another Hunters rival, a representative of the Kriken Empire, described as "space cockroaches" so problematic the FEDERATION AND SPACE PIRATES WOULD TEAM UP TO ERADICATE IF NECESSARY. At a certain age, a Kriken is sent out to claim a planet for the Empire, which is presumably then conquered, though Trace specifically set his sights on the ultimate power from the Alimbic System, which he failed to collect. It's unknown if he was then disgraced, orrr if he claimed a planet after the fact. Maybe one we saw in Hunters? I could see these guys serving a similar role as the Ing in Prime 2, but I have no actual evidence they'll have a major role beyond it just being a logical choice based on what we already have.

Noxus & the Vhozon: Noxus is another Hunters rival, of the Vhozon species, who wanted to secure the ultimate power so that it didn't fall into the hands of evil, as their species places a lot of emphasis on peace and balance. Their homeworld, Vho, is also called out as having subzero temperatures, for whatever that's worth. In case it isn't obvious, I'm just listing off every Hunters rival because at this point it's a coin toss on whether or not they'll bring back more besides Sylux and who it'll be.

Spire & the Diamonts: Spire is another Hunters rival, and the last of the Diamont species, some weird, golem-like things that went extinct at some point. Spire was a good guy, and wanted the ultimate power to figure out what happened to his people. This is like, the fifth extinct/near-extinct race, isn't it? I did the math, there's like 8 now, actually.

Kanden & the Enoema: Final Hunters rival, Kanden is a lab experiment from his species, the Enoema, in an attempt to make essentially an ultimate life form for combat, though Kanden escaped and got a big ego. He wanted the ultimate power just for power's sake. He's essentially the wild card of the crew. He has an electric field around him, whatever that means.

Gorea: The final boss of Hunters, some random creature that just showed up in the Alimbic System to kill the Alimbics before being sealed away. It's shown to be immensely powerful, and we have no idea if there's more. If there is more, though, there could be another Gorea in Metroid Prime 4. But I wouldn't count on it.

What we Knew About Prime 4 Before the Trailer

Side note, most of this is from this Metroid wiki's timeline segment on their Prime 4 page, but it's also mostly after a certain point just people being hired by Retro Studios who may or may not be working on Prime 4, so I'm leaving all that out because it's incredibly unimportant and boring.

Metroid Prime 4's first look video only gave us the logo, but the video depicted the screw attack symbol forming out of space dust in space, the letter 4 appearing in blue flame and then the blue & black original Metroid Prime 4 logo as the Metroid Prime 1 title theme played. I'm too lazy to find the video, but that sounds like Dark Samus reforming at the end of Prime 2, who was also blue & black. Phazon returns?

There's a chance that multiplayer, or unique Morph Ball gimmicks, may show up, as they were brought up in an interviewer with Kensuke Tanabe, the main director of the Prime games, when he was talking about future Prime installments. If they're bringing back at least one rival from Hunters, one of the games with multiplayer, and also gave each rival a Morph Ball equivalent, hm... Hunters released before that interview, by the way.

It was also said in a different interview (I think) that Prime 4 might focus on a single planet again, and a time travel gimmick might be involved. I assume it'd work similarly to the dimension hopping from Prime 2 but I dunno, it was left vague.

BUT, development reset at some point in 2019 after all of this was shown and said, so I have NO CLUE how much of this is still applicable or now a red herring. However, due to the logo change, I will say that logo in specific probably no longer means anything.

The guy behind Hunters in specific mentioned in a 2020 interview that they have a backstory for Sylux written up that has "a lot of threaded storytelling" and thus made using him in future games "a good fit". He specifically called out wanting to talk about what's under his suit, so make of that what you will.

There was a specific job posting for Retro Studios that mentioned writing emotional scenes that will resonate with people, and given that the main trilogy gradually ramped up that kind of thing... I dunno, I don't want to plant ideas in people's heads before I write my big post where I just make shit up based off all of this as a part 2.

There was also a Retro Studios Twitter banner of MP4 concept art showing Samus in some weird blue & black hallway... Hey, wait a minute. We don't know if this concept art predates the development reset, though, but since it's Retro Studios which came on after the development reset, so... May be a coincidence, but I'm calling it out anyways.

THE IMPORTANT PART: Trailer Analysis

Quick side note, huge shoutout to all the people who dissected the trailer on their own pointing out a bunch of individual observations I bring up here all together (Plus my own field work). I won't be able to track down all the posts to credit them all and it'd feel unfair to only link the one or two I can probably find, but still, thanks, guys.

COSMIC YEAR 20X9 Galactic Federation Research Facility

Pause right here, right now. This is IMPORTANT. The research facility is just the setting for the trailer, it doesn't matter too much, but THERE'S A DATE. One of the rarest things in the entire franchise, even rarer than Samus leaving a planet without blowing something up on it. Or just blowing it up in it's entirety. So, what does this tell us? Well, I had to fucking to find a list of every mentioned date, mostly coming from instruction books & the like, so have it all. Get ready for contradictions!

2000: The Galactic Federation forms. One specific thing says it was 2003, but 2000 is neater.

20X5: The Space Pirate attack on a GF research vessel that prompted Samus to go to Zebes in 1/Zero Mission, also in 20X5. Metroid 2/Samus Returns supposedly takes place less than a year afterwards, but it's unclear if this'd overlap into the next year, as we're only given years, not months.

20X6: Federation Force occurs, but somehow takes place several years after Prime 3. It's also mentioned somewhere Prime 1 also takes place years after Zero Mission, so, uh... I dunno. The X in the format when we had 2000 earlier already throws a wrench in just about everything we know about calendars. X in roman numerals means 10, so maybe it's representing a decade? That'd work.

20X7: Super Metroid. This came from a random Japanese ad, so, uh, I dunno. Especially since it's supposed to happen, like, immediately after Metroid 2?

20X9: Metroid Prime 4.

So, look, I don't know if this is accurate anymore, because that's... A lot of dubious sources, but it's all we have. If that is accurate, especially 20X7, that is FUCKING HUGE. This means, among other things, that the Metroids are wiped out, Ridley and Mother Brain are dead for real (unless...), Zebes is destroyed, the X are beginning to propagate again, and this is after Federation Force. Unclear if this is before or after Other M, though, if anybody cares about that game being in the timeline, but it's obvious from Samus' suit in the trailer (We'll get to that) that this is before Fusion & Dread, unless Metroid 6 has her regain her old suit somehow.

Samus flies into a rocky region with her ship from Prime 3 & Federation Force, with slight design alterations, such as Samus popping out the top instead. This... Doesn't make sense, since she had a separate ship for Super... Unless this is actually after Fusion where that ship got destro- Wait, no, she has the purple ship, after. So, that may mean the date inconsistency is actually a red herring. Up to you. For a split second, when Samus is jumping out, you can see these ships in the sky. Are these Space Pirate ships, or GF ships? I don't know, I haven't looked into fucking spaceship lore. Let me know, if you know.

(@codylabs has let me know that this is a type of Space Pirate warship shown in Prime 3, just without that game's version's indications of Phazon fuel, and also clarified that Samus probably owned the Prime 3 ship used here and the Super ship simultaneously, thanks, go read their reblog for more detail on all that and detail on all of Samus' ships in general if you care)

(I'd have used more screenshots, but I'm writing this on an iPad, so it's a lot more annoying when you can just go find what I'm talking about in the trailer. If you're here, you've probably watched it already. I might go back and add more if I edit this later.)

I saw someone say that Samus' suit is slightly different, too, but I... I don't care. I'm here for the notes about story & gameplay, not every little design differences (Same goes for pointing out the new intro jingle & the visor redesign). I know some of you are, so if somebody gives me, like... A comprehensive list of all those little things, I may add it if I'm not lazy, but that's not my point here. (@nathaniel-prime reblogged this pointing a ton of the design changes out, but they had... A lot to say, so just go read all that yourself.)

Whatever's happening here, it's happening big. A massive purple laser blows up a turret shooting into the sky at those ships (probably), there's fire, there's more gunfire in the distance, you get the idea, there's a big fight. There's even a Space Pirate shooting at other Space Pirates. Can enemies get angry at each other due to AI shenanigans, or is that plot relevant? Will that mean anything for Weavel?

In the bottom left, where there'd usually be the beam selection, there's the missile launcher, instead, meaning you're probably going to have different weapons down there instead of just different beams. Maybe the Affinity Weapons of the Hunters rivals? There's 4 slots, one taken up by missiles, so that'd leave... 3 rival weapons. Will that happen? Probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sylux's Shock Coil is added here. Or they do something like Prime 2's Beams that have ammo.

Space Pirate theme remix, new Space Pirate designs, destroyed buildings (Presumably the Research Facility), wounded Space Pirate scan like with Prime 1's Frigate Orpheon (Scan Visor's back), so it's a fight between the Federation and Pirates.

You can see an Energy Tank, those are back, you see the Morph Ball is obviously back, Federation scientists are wheeling something away when Space Pirates break in (may or may not be relevant depending on what they're researching), the Space Pirates launch themselves into the building with capsules... Is it just me, or does some of this building look like the concept art from earlier? (I later rewatched it and no longer see the resemblance.) Also, there's Federation soldiers in armor resembling the Fed armor seen in Other M, so there's that. I wonder how much else they'll take from Other M.

Now for the moment. Cutscene where Samus rolls onto the ground as a wall explodes in a big room perfect for a boss arena, revealing 4 Space Pirates, 2 Mochtroids, and our boy Sylux, who gives Samus a stare. Samus gives a stare back. You could see that the room was mostly empty besides for some random thingies in the corners, so I'd assume this is where the first Sylux boss fight would take place, as that's the perfect reveal cutscene for him.

Then we get the logo, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Looks sufficiently space-y, but it also resembles a black hole. Now, if this is after Super, when the Space Pirates are pretty much backed into a corner now that all of their leaders besides fucking Kraid (and maybe Phantoon) are dead (unless Zebes wasn't actually a big deal for them), I could see them doing something drastic, like, I dunno... Building a black hole generator? Or weaponizing one? Wouldn't be the first time black holes are a big plot point in a space-themed Nintendo game, though I don't remember if Bowser made the black hole in Mario Galaxy (Or was it Galaxy 2?), I never played it. If time travel is a gimmick, I could see you having to go back in time and preventing it from being used... Or the black hole is just for a space-y graphic, or it's used as this planet's native race's symbol or something. (Future me here, I'm stupid and didn't think about the whole time travel gimmick here even though I brought it up despite black holes and time travel being discussed together all the time, the black hole could be what's used for time travel to some extent. What if Beyond in the title means beyond the black hole? Or, like, the future?)

After the logo, you see a lush forest environment with bird-like things, green mist, Samus walking out of a PORTAL (The time travel gimmick?), giant trees (one has a big opening to walk into it at it's roots), giant cliffs revealing nothing but clouds, one REALLY BIG TREE. Probably a major landmark. No architecture in sight, too, so maybe it's the past? And the date 2025, for our release window. I saw something in the Metroid Prime 4 info timeline from earlier that was Reggie, former Nintendo of America president, saying (I'm paraphrasing) that Nintendo likes to do extended reveals of the games six to nine months before the game's release. Is this an extended reveal? I personally don't think so, but I may be stupid.

Conclusions

in no particular order, here's the main takeaways. Of course, I could be wrong about all of these, we don't have much to go off of.

Phazon is probably not around anymore.

Space Pirates & Sylux are (two of?) the big bads, and the Galactic Federation is probably important. Space Pirates may be in-fighting?

The game may take place after Super Metroid, which has all sorts of implications.

Time travel & black holes may be relevant.

Out of all of of the other rivals from Metroid Prime: Hunters besides Sylux, Weavel seems the most likely to return, but it's unknown if any others will return at all.

Mochtroids return, whatever that implies.

The beam swapping system seems to be replaced with different weaponry, but the core Prime gameplay seems in tact (Though the state of visors besides the Scan Visor are entirely up in the air).

It may be released in early 2025? Maybe? Probably not.

Hopefully this helps at least one person out there. Again, let me know if I should add or change anything or anything like that. I plan on making a part 2 where I just baselessly speculate about what could happen in the game with all of these crumbs, so if this post pops off, I'll probably do that. (Hey, I did that.)