Day 8:The Stories a Bounty Hunter Could Tell You: Metroid Fusion

Samus has seen some shit.

No really, she has.

Taking a second look into the Metroid franchise, you would think that after what Samus saw on Zebes, she wouldn’t have to see anymore jacked up mess. Well, now that I think on it, given alien biology, that’s probably not going to happen. Consider the X, an amorphous, gelatinous parasite that’s sole purpose is to reproduce and multiply, while at the same time, copying whatever it is they come into contact with. You’ve heard of “The Thing?” Same principal except on a grander scale. These things evolved on SR388, with their natural predators being Metroids (go figure, right?). So what happens when Samus encounters it on SR388? Well, we get:

Metroid Fusion: The Infection

Samus had never encountered the X Parasites before, so when one infected her, she was concerned. After the mission on SR388, she returned to the ship and was returning to the BSL (Biological Space Labs) station, which is when the X struck again, but deadlier. It worked quickly up to her central nervous system, which caused her to lose consciousness and nearly crash into asteroids. Her ship ejected her, and she was saved by the Galactic Federation, but she was fading, and had to go into surgery. It’s there, that we’re treated to this image:

The X had infected multiple parts of her suit, which is partially organic. It was multiplying at a frightening rate, and, without surgery or a cure, Samus would die on the operating table. A cure DID come in the form of Metroid DNA, and given that Metroids are X’s natural predators, it made short work of the X in her body and mind. Samus was saved, and her suit was restored, though different. The kicker? The Metroid DNA was from the infant Metroid she saved some time ago.

As she was coming to, she learned two things: A) specimens from SR388 and her infected Power Suit pieces were transferred over to the BSL station ahead of her, and B) There was an explosion that rocked the station soon after. Fear setting in, she set a course for the station on her new ship. Once you get there, her fears and yours are confirmed, as the station is quiet, up until you reach the Quarantine Bay, where the X were supposed to be stored. You find it a wreck, and the specimens loose...which means the X now have free reign of the station.

And you find all of this at the beginning of the game!

As this was the first Metroid I ever played, I wasn’t quite sure what I got into, but I remember that surgery scene and the scene before it, where X are starting to fill up Samus’ helmet, were incredibly jarring for me. I knew I was in for a ride, but I wasn’t sure what ride I was on!

The X, The Monsters, and The Bosses.

How dangerous is one X parasite?

Enough that when one gets loose, it’s quarantine or kill on sight.

The problem comes in when you realize that the X can mimic anything that it kills, and in the process, multiplies and spreads through asexual reproduction. It’s spread is massive, if not catastrophic, as you realize as you go through the station. Not one enemy that you kill on the BSL station is uninfected by the X parasite, save for the very last boss. From the moment they break out, the entire station is doomed. Remember how you felt alone during Super Metroid? This ramps it up 10 fold.

The enemies that you encounter are a mixture of SR388 monsters and whatever else the Galactic Federation decided to store up in the Quarantine Bay. SOME may look familiar, some may not; all of them, however, look different than how they originally looked. Why? When an X mimics and takes over an organism, there’s some subtle changes to their physical structure. From then on, it will kill and reproduce, kill and reproduce. It is surprisingly adept at picking particular creatures that are a threat to their predators; namely, in this case, Samus.

When a group of X parasites amass together, they tend to form one large creature, usually a boss for Samus to take down. However, they’re also smart enough to infect long-dead organisms, bringing them back to life to terrorize Samus. And, as mentioned earlier, they can infect living organisms and kill their host, and this can range from any living thing; including genetically engineered creatures, which I would like to highlight.

One sector of the space station, Sector 5, has a large, glass enclosure with creatures both inside and out. However, as you pass through Sector 5, you see, this large, shadowy figure blaze by in the background, then disappear...then blaze by again...then disappear. Each time it makes a horrific noise, but you don’t have a chance to get a good bead on it. Later on, as you progress, there’s an explosion in Sector 5, so you return to it. When you do? It’s not there. So you go around searching for it until you get into a large junk room, and then...it appears:

Meet Nightmare, the horrid Galactic Fedaration bioweapon (yes, you read that right) kept inside of Sector 5. At this time, you don’t know exactly why the Federation has this thing here; all you know is that, at this point, it is hostile to you. The laser beam thing on its underside is its weakness, so you focus on that. As you do, its eyes begin to drip green blood, and it’s face mask gets more green as you fight it. Eventually, you do enough damage to it’s bottom laser that you destroy it...and it’s face mask comes off.

Galactic Federation, why the HELL does this thing exist?!

There’s something ELSE that shouldn’t exist either, but does thanks to the X...

…

...Oh...you thought I was going to talk about…

Them…

...in the Boss section?

Oh no, they get their own section.

The SA-X

So this thing.

THIS THING.

When you’re sent down to Sector 1 to try and slow the spread of X throughout the station, there’s a massive explosion that hits. And then you hear heavy footsteps and the one responsible steps forward...makes its way to the elevator, and then turns. Directly. To You. The Player.

Hey that kind of looks li-NO WAIT IT IS YOU!

Remember those suit pieces that got infected?

Well the X thought it was a good idea to go ahead and mimic Samus Fucking Aran in her original powersuit. What’s more, SA-X, compared to Samus at the time, is at FULL FUCKING STRENGTH! And it’s wandering the station, looking for Samus so that it can kill her.

Coming off of games like Resident Evil 2 and 3, with Mr. X and Nemesis hounding Leon, Claire and Jill respectively, seeing SA-X pop up added another layer of dread for me back in the day. The moments that you do encounter SA-X, you have to hide. If you try and fight it, it’s a sure death sentence. There is one moment where running from SA-X is mandatory. And the frantic music that plays along with it is enough to throw you into a panic.

As you go through the game, you eventually DO get strong enough to fight it one-on-one. And when you weaken it enough,

You get this abomination.

At one point, your CO tells you that due to the reproductive nature of the X, there are at least 10 on the station. On the one hand, you don’t encounter them. On the other, imagine hearing the droning echo of it’s footsteps through the vents and through speakers as it searches for and hunts Samus Aran.

Have fun sleeping at that point.

For this being my first Metroid game, it was equal parts fun and TENSE (Especially as a GBA game!), and gods I would love to go through it again!

Sources: metroid.fandom.com, goombastomp.com, techgamebox.com, imgur.com, near-pure-evil.com, Youtube

--Choco 10/26/21)