Maytroid!… Sort Of?

Pride month is ending and I never got to kiss my girlfriend once :(

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.

So… scope creep, huh?

For those of you who may not know, I do have a rewrite of the Metroid Zero Mission manga, as well as most of the games in the series, in the works. However, the manga rewrite in particular deals with some very heavy and intense topics, topics that need time and care to get right. So uh… yeah, I don’t think that’s coming out before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, save for some massive delay.

However, there is a story in the works that will meet your eyes, and ears, far sooner. This story is based on a premise and the music works of the YouTuber Seregauss. This is the story of his latest album, Metroid Prime: The Great Hunt.

YouTube

Metroid Prime: The Great Hunt

an album for a concept metroid prime hunters sequel

Taking place after the events of Metroid Dread, this story follows up on some of the loose plot threads left by Dread, Fusion, and Other M, and operates as a sequel to Metroid Prime Hunters.

Far from the homeworlds of the lost Alimbic Civilization, the secret technologies of the Alimbics, left buried for millennia, have been reactivated, spurring on a new hunt for long lost power. Samus Aran, now wrestling with her Metroid powers and distrust in the Galactic Federation and Chozo, must put an end to the anomalous rifts running rampant throughout the Collidus Star System. In her journey, Samus will face deadly wildlife, familiar faces, and sinister new foes, all while uncovering secrets new and old.

This is a story I am very hyped to be working on. Seregauss has a lot of my favorite Metroid covers, and The Great Hunt might be some of his best work yet. In addition, I am privy to some inside information as to artwork and designs which will be implemented into this story. I will be posting some of my own artwork soon, including some artwork of a redesign of the Space Pirate Bounty Hunter, Weavel. Stay tuned, and happy hunting!

Space Pirate Design Ranking Part 2

2nd place: 2D Sprite/classic Zebesian

I’m grouping all of the original game sprites from the OG all the way up to Zero Mission together as they have very little differences, and with how pixelated they are, those differences really don’t amount to anything more than a slight change in position or fidelity. The Zebesian Space Pirate design is a classic. I had seen the 2D cosplay of a Zebesian before I was even a Metroid fan and always thought it looked cool. There’s an intimidating factor to it with its hunched posture and agility. The “big snappy lobster claws”, as FatBrett so eloquently put it, make them instantly recognizable. The heads also feel very serious and intimidating, with the downward curve and alert gaze. You get the sense that these guys take their role seriously. They are good at what they do, no nonsense professionals.

And for the winner!

1st place: Metroid Prime

These guys are just fantastic. Sure, it can be argued that they’re a bit generic, but I think the sense of identity and visual storytelling that these guys bring to the table just takes the cake for me. Firstly, the addition of the arm mounted energy blades is really cool, and giving a standardized “tool of the trade”, so to speak, does a good bit to make them more unified. In previous entries, unless you looked at a manual, you couldn’t really tell where the fauna stopped and the Space Pirate menace you were sent to eradicate began. Metroid Prime, however, makes that distinction exceedingly clear. In addition, the inclusion of the metal crudely grafted into their bodies really does a good bit to sell the portrayal of the Space Pirates’s modus operandi of going as far as possible with scientific advancement with zero ethical limitations, all in the name of gaining a combat advantage over all that would seek to stop their conquests. The storytelling here is really a thing of wonder. For more on that, I recommend FatBrett’s video on the Space Pirates in Metroid Prime. It goes into more detail here than I will here.

Regardless, all of these designs are, at the very least, good. They all have things going for them that I truly dig. From the immense storytelling of Metroid Prime’s Space Pirates, to the intimidating skeletal appearance of the Echoes Pirates, to the back pointing spines of Other M’s Zebesians, there is always something to like about the designs of the core infantry of the Space Pirates.

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.

I think I need to start appealing to my core audience more.

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.

I’m so glad Seregoss got brought up here. Reminder that he made a cover of Sylux’s theme right away when the Prime 4 trailer came out. Metroid’s fan soundtracks are absolutely amazing. I’ve gotten so many writing ideas from his music.

I’m planning on narrating my Metroid fan stories, similar to @tsproart has done with his own original story, Journey’s Ahead. Because of the vast array of incredible existing tracks, both in game and from fans, I want to edit in some title cards featuring the song name, artist and source. I’ll do this in the video itself, as opposed to the description, as I’m not animating this or anything. All of those amazing people deserve to see their name in some of the scenes I’m proud of, so they can be proud in turn.

Alright, I need to throw some more shit on here because once again, Metroid has an iron god damn grip on my brain.

If there is something I truly wish nintendo would accept for once in their lives, its bringing in some fan talent to work on metroid - much like how sega has brought on fan talent for sonic.

Because jesus fucking christ, there are some music artists out there that make some genuinely good covers and original tracks.

Take for example, Seregoss - This absolute mad lad makes some high energy remixes of metroid alongside his own tracks for some original projects, and they slap SHIT!

Like this S.E.R.R.I.S remix he's made. holy FUCK IT FUCKS HARD.

Or one of my absolute favorites, SynaMax

He does more than just make original tracks, he has straight up gone into the rabbit hole of finding the source of EVERY SINGLE SYNTH INSTRUMENT EVER USED IN THE PRIME TRILOGY.

NOT ONLY THAT, he has made MANY tracks with this library, and even released the information on the sources to the wide web as well as most of the samples that can be used! Now the downside of course is that he hasn't published ALL of these found samples yet, and I really hope he does, cause god dammit

Metroid Prime has such a unique soundscape that no other franchise has ever managed to captured, even with later metroid games as well, and I NEED MORE PEOPLE TO MAKE MUSIC WITH THIS SHIT.

He nails the vibe, so much so that I wish Retro picked him up to make music for Prime 4 cause god damn, it fits REALLY well.

For those aspiring musical artists out there, sincerely take a gander at the sample library of the Prime Trilogy, this shit needs to spread further out on the internet cause it is CRIMINAL that a lot of these samples had nearly become lost media in their own right.

That also leads me into the second portion of this blog, god fucking dammit I just love the Trilogy's music. I could go on, and on, and ON about my favorite tracks in the entire series - from the Chozo Ruins and Overworld of Prime 1, to fucking EVERYTHING in Prime 2 (Yes, Prime 2 is my favorite despite the keyhunting bullshit, and the music is peak to me), and Prime 3's mix of orchestral instruments alongside those classic synths we've come to know and love.

The highest peak of the trilogy if you ask me is Sanctuary Fortress.

No matter what, I always remember the first time reaching that area and hearing that techno-like, harsh yet almost spiritual vibe of the Fortress, and GOD - seeing that skybox on the outline, it always made me wish you could go down there to explore the Luminoth city that was abandoned so long ago, yet remains lit and functional to this day.

Prime 2 if you ask me has the better soundtrack in the trilogy just due to the sheer amount of original tracks, but also torvus bog and the flooded temple area too, its just too god damn good.

God, I really hope Prime 4 keeps to the tradition of god tier music, and reincorporates some of the instrumentals that the trilogy is known for.

Batta, the Culture of the Zebesian Space Pirates

The Metroid Prime series has introduced the internal workings of the Space Pirates and expanded on it in subsequent entries. However, it is largely agreed upon by groups with the Metroid community (myself included) that the Space Pirates are a faction made up of many species. After all, the biology of the different enemy types in the Prime series alone is wildly different from game to game, aside from a bipedal, hunched posture. It can be assumed, therefore, that any discrepancies from game to game when describing the inner workings of the Space Pirates to simply be the culture of those individual species. For instance, the Urtraghians have far more brutal forms of punishment than the forces seen on Tallon IV. Now that then begs the question.

What about the culture of the Zebesians?

This exploration will, admittedly, be full of conjecture and fanons that I enjoy, but I hope you will enjoy either way.

The name Zebesian seems a bit strange to those who know the inner workings of Metroid lore, specifically about the Chozo, who were the residents of planet Zebes before the Space Pirates stormed the planet. The two big schools of thought as to the name from a Watsonian perspective are either that the Zebesians were driven off of Zebes in years past during the Chozo’s warlike past or that the name comes from their settlement upon Zebes that essentially became the way most of the Galaxy thought about the planet.

While I prefer the latter explanation, the former explanation does have some basis to it. Some of Dread’s many murals depict Mawkin soldiers coming into conflict with the Zebesian Space Pirates and defeating them. It is certainly possible that this is how the Chozo first settled the world. There was once a time when the Thoha Chozo were on good terms with the Mawkin.

Still, from both a Watsonian and Doylist perspective, I prefer that the Zebesian name comes from their takeover of Zebes, likely the latest conquest of many. From throughout the series, the Chozo are not seen to have been particularly active in galactic politics during the age of the Galactic Federation, mostly being relegated to advising more public figures. They are rarely mentioned after their demise, outside of their ruins. Therefor, with the Chozo mostly being dead and buried, their world conquered by the feared Space Pirates, the limelight would then be cast onto that world as the source of the Metroid threat, thus leading people to call them the rulers of that world. It’s not exactly how I will be situating things in my own rewrite of the manga, but it does fit better from a purely canonical perspective. Furthermore, from a Doylist perspective, there is evidence to posit this same position. (Special thanks to @sepublic for pointing this out) The internal data for the Zebesian sprite refers to them as Batta, the Japanese word for grasshopper/locust. While this can be attributed to their hopping behavior, it also fits to see them surrounding a planet, consuming its resources, and leaving barren rock behind, with Zebes being their latest, and most successful, operation. The manga displays them descending onto worlds, massacring populations, and enslaving the survivors. The origin of Samus Aran’s adoption into the Chozo comes from them massacring the population of a colony in order to steal its main export wholesale.

The individuals we see in the manga are spiteful, remorseless, and cruel, happy to kill a child for fun. They also show fear and cowardice in the face of armed resistance from Federation officials, and Mother Brain describes them as inclined to capitulate to the highest power present. This cruel, despotic leadership style appears to be an inherent trait to Zebesian culture. Furthermore, the Space Pirates are displayed as having genetically altered themselves to withstand Zebes’s environment very soon after securing the world, suggesting an avid fascination with genetic manipulation, a trait that gets taken to the N’th degree in the Prime series, along with a fascination of mechanical augmentation. From Meta and Proteus Ridley, to the grafted metal implants of the Tallon IV pirates, to the exoskeleton apparatus used by the Urtraghians, the Space Pirates as a whole seem to love cybernetically augmenting themselves and their underlings.

One of my favorite fan interpretations of the Zebesians comes from @dappercritter and the fanfiction piece “No Other”. Quite frankly, I have to include the paragraph wherein the description of the Zebesian race lies.

“The chimeric splice-junkies who had the nerve to call themselves ‘Zebesians’ she wasn’t surprised by. Those ‘settler colonists’-a term which they use to feign altruism and keep the GDF from assaulting their new base, had always been a thorn in Samus’s side since they tried to take her and the Chozo’s old home by force. Of course, they’d come back for more at some point, even if they deserved every other beatdown.”

The Zebesians are described as “chimeric splice-junkies”, a term which I absolutely love for its descriptiveness and color. These guys love to juice themselves up on whatever science team has cooked up. They love genetic modifications, cybernetic implants, and anything to make themselves stronger and give them an edge in combat. The main villain of this story, Ganzer, is the apotheosis of a Zebesian. He has replaced his lobster claws with metal claws, he has wings on his back, chainsaw blades grafted to his arms, a shoulder mounted cannon, a visor in place of his eyes, extra armor over his exoskeleton, and even a reptilian tail. Additionally, there is an explanation here for the name of these Zebesians. These galactic jerks are not just genocidal maniacs, they are something far worse: lawyers. They have lawyered their way into exploiting the Federation’s rules of engagement. After all, orbital bombardment on a colony is illegal. So, as any good lawyer would do, they have designated their most valuable planet as their residential colony world. Doesn’t matter that they breed Metroids, produce weapons, and store their fleets there, cuz that’s where the children grow up, at least on paper.

Furhermore, given their distinctly crustacean design, I can imagine that their “splice-junky” lifestyle comes into play during a specific recurring period of their life; molting. When a crustacean molts, the new shell is soft and malleable for a time, in which time they are extremely vulnerable. Defensive claws and stingers are effectively useless, leaving them defenseless until their body hardens. This time could be perfect for Zebesians to how in the infusion tank to get ‘roided up on whatever DNA infusions they choose/have chosen for them, or to have cybernetic implants grafted into them, where the shell will then solidify and seal the implant on. You can just imagine some excited Zebesian chittering about how they ordered the new model of targeting armature, lamenting that they have to wait until the next molt to get it installed. It honestly opens up some room for a bit of downtime in their culture which I think could be explored further some time.

Hope you all enjoyed this one! I may make a similar post for some of the other Space Pirate varieties. I do have some unique fanons for the Urtraghians that could be cool to share. Let me know if you have any suggestions or fanons of your own!

I don’t talk about it much here, but I am a huge Halo fan. I have been since I was fairly young, and it’s the first… uh… first first person shooter I ever tried. I absolutely love the gameplay, the lore, the designs, the music, so much about it. For those of you who are new to me, I’m also a huge fan of Metroid. That interest is much more recent, but is still as strong currently.

As many might expect, the Halo TV show is, what some might call, Halo’s Other M. For the Halo fans who don’t know, Other M was a game in the Metroid series that made a lot of serious errors in its storytelling, gameplay, acting, and art design. Its story is downright abysmal, and a travesty of the Samus Aran that many Metroid fans know and love. The Halo TV show has a fair few of the same problems with unlikable characters, baffling plot decisions, and and a general misunderstanding of the source material

However, one thing I can still give unironic praise to is the animators, specifically for the Elites. They are so immensely expressive and provide a fascinating spectacle. Honestly. The Covenant sections are probably the best parts of the show.

If I were looking for an animation team for a Metroid movie/show, I would love to get the people who animated this scene on board. Imagine the Chozo animated with this level of prowess and realism. Imagine the Space Pirates. Imagine Ridley! I would absolutely KILL to see that in action. Don’t involve the writers, of course. Please do not involve the writers of the Halo show. But these animators know what they’re doing, and they’re damn good at their job. As a Metroid fan, I would love to see this sort of CGI used for many of the aliens in Metroid.

It occurs to me now that I can simply reblog this with each week’s update, so I think this will be a good way to go forward. If anyone has any better way to link this back to the other updates, lemme know. Anyways, week 2, here we go!

Day 8: Menace

Confession of Captured Revenant Pirate

“There is no hope for this world. You have been chosen. Kill me, release me, or keep me, it does not matter. The God of Death will descend upon this world, and bring with him our beautiful ends on his violet wings of destruction. His gift to us is the beauty of annihilation, and our swan song will be the cries of pain and the begging for mercy. Blood shall soak the land, decay shall fill the air, and fire shall paint the sky. He has died before, and come back once again. He is the beyond and the end. His promise is simple: Death to Everything. And we shall bask in its glory.”

Day 9: Meta

Scan of Space Pirate log

“Transfer of Commander Ridley has been successful. Smuggling operations, codifying his pseudo-corpse as Geoform-187, successfully transferred him to Frigate Orpheon for resuscitation and enhancements. While the metamorphosis was painful, it was completed to great success, and with equally great haste. One behavioral oddity following his awakening has been an uncharacteristic obsession with his murderer, the Bounty Hunter known as Samus Aran. His obsession with her has bordered on all consuming. While combat simulations targeting her are understandable, the latest advent of troops undergoing mandatory training on human torture techniques has shaken our confidence in his current leadership capabilities. Still, we expect this boiling rage to be reduced to a simmer over time. How long this change shall take remains to be seen.”

Day 10: Armor

Metroid Durability testing log

“This series of tests is to discern the limits of the outer casing around a Metroid. For the sake of testing accuracy and preventing longterm damage reflecting in subsequent experiments, each test has been conducted on a separate specimen. A maximum of five projectiles will be used in each test unless effects of projectiles are detectable.

Test 1: 9mm bullet

Result: No effect detectable. A mild shimmer across the gelatinous surface of the Metroid as each projectile bounced harmlessly off the outer shell. Metroid is healthy and appears to merely be confused by the impact.

Test 2: High Velocity Sniper Round

Result: No effect detectable. The outer layer appears to have rippled from the impacts, but no damage was suffered. Metroid is irritated by the impacts, though not in any serious pain that we can discern.

Test 3: Low Power Plasma Bolt

Result: Mild damage sustained. The area where the bolts made contact appeared to glow for a time from the transferred heat, but damage was reversed within 8 hours. Metroid appeared in pain from impacts. Tests on a further 2 subjects resulted in death from approximately 24 more shots.

Test 4: High Power Plasma Bolt

Result: Serious damage sustained. The area where the bolts made contact glowed, with numerous fissures visible in the membrane. Metroid appeared to be in pain from impacts and subsequent burning effects. Damage was reversed over the course of 26 hours. Tests on a further 2 subjects resulted in death from approximately 9 more shots.

Test 5: Troop grade missile system

Result: Serious damage sustained. Immediate damage and discoloration was less serious than energy based weapons, but compounding attacks lead to rapidly increasing damage. Damage was reversed over the course of 8 hours. Tests on a further 2 subjects resulted in death from 1 and 2 additional missiles respectively.

Test 6: Emplacement grade missile system

Result: Immediate destruction. Metroid was blown apart by detonation. While the efficacy of such an attack against a Metroid is real, the viability of such munitions against a small and agile target is low.

Day 11: Talon

The Edict of Ashkar Behek

“Between your own to hands, you created life in a form this galaxy has never seen. You nurtured it and allowed it to prosper, named it the Ultimate Warrior. However, when this novel form of life sought not to be controlled, you betrayed the values of your Hasana, and of the Chozo. You denounced your creation, sealed it away, and intended to destroy this world and all life upon it, to rid the world of what you birthed. Though your intentions were pure, this is a crime the Chozo will not tolerate. The sentence for you, Golden Claw, is death.”

Day 12: Fierce

Scan of Bioform Kraid

“Given the passage of several years, it was guaranteed that Kraid’s size would increase drastically since the initial invasion of Zebes. His species, the Kridilians, are used by Glaxamore forces as sentinels for important locations during sieges. They are transported in their juvenile stage of life, where they take up much less space. Once on site, they eat any bio forms they come across to accumulate mass as quickly as possible. As an adult, their legs become vestigial structures, reducing movement greatly. Kraid, himself, has been outfitted with various weapons on a rig grafted to his back, in addition to the various biological defenses native to his species. Perhaps most notably, Kridilians gain sentience once they reach adulthood. Kraid is likely to have an exemplary tactical intellect.”

Day 13: Omega

Scan of Pirate Security Log

“Subject 42, codified as Omega Pirate, has been transferred to the Phazon Mine sector known as The Grid, where the bleed through of Phazon through the Chozo shield occurs. While Omega Pirate has been cooperative and forthcoming in all tests and procedures, there are some of us who have our own suspicions about how much of his intellect he is withholding. On numerous occasions, he has been seen looking into the shield as if staring through it. As he does, he has been witnessed gesturing and nodding as if holding a conversation with an entity on the other side of the barrier. While some have dismissed this as Phazon mental degradation and have even celebrated its minimal effects on Omega Pirate, I have silent suspicions that his long staring sessions with the barrier are only the tip of the iceberg.”

Day 14: Relentless

Orders from Commander Ridley

“Tallon IV is now to be put on lockdown. Any vessels entering or leaving Tallon IV’s orbit are to be immediately destroyed. Curfews are to be in place for all non-combat personnel. Any unauthorized access to facilities or systems is to be reported immediately. Ration and payment rewards shall be given to any individual providing information leading to The Hunter’s capture. Capture of The Hunter is preferable to destruction. Any individuals who unnecessarily terminate The Hunter will face summary execution.”

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.”