Metroid fans old and young received a welcome surprise during Nintendo's E3 presentation this year: an in-depth look at a brand new 2D game titled Metroid Dread. While this sequel to Metroid Fusionunderwent development in the past, it never took off. In fact, the title was eventually scrapped altogether. Now, nineteen years after the release of Fusion, fans can finally experience this long-awaited game.
While developer MercurySteam proved their chops with their remake of Metroid II, certain questions for the series linger in the minds of fans. Many revolve around plot points hinted at in previous titles; moreover, Dread's reveal trailer gave us new mysteries to ponder. With any luck, these questions and more will get their answers this October.
6 What Happened To Samus's Suit?
From the moment Samus appears on-screen, viewers can notice the stunning new look to her suit. Rather than the typical red-and-orange motif, her new Power Suit sports a red chest plate and helmet, blue shoulders, and a white torso and limbs. Blue veins, similar to muscle fibers or tendons, also outline the suit. Some have compared this to the Fusion Suit, but plenty of differences between the two still exist. How did Samus come to obtain this suit, and what abilities does it hold?
5 Where Have The Chozo Been?
Another brief yet important snippet comes later in the trailer. For one fleeting moment, we see a live Chozo poring over a holographic monitor. The Chozo are the bird-like species that raised Samus into the notable warrior she is today. However, shortly after her bounty hunting career began, they seemingly vanished completely.
Samus explores many of their ruins across several planets in her games. Despite this, players never see a live Chozo. Their reappearance in Metroid Dread confirms that at least one still exists. Where has it been all this time, and what made it go into hiding? Are there more Chozo elsewhere in the galaxy?
4 Who Built The E.M.M.I, And Why?
One of the main antagonistic forces we see in the trailer is the E.M.M.I. This Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier, as it is called, chases Samus relentlessly throughout her mission on planet ZDR. During a discussion with producer Yoshio Sakamoto, he mentions that the Galactic Federation created these menacing figures. Though they are meant for research purposes, they are invulnerable to Samus's weapons and can even kill her in one blow. Their design mimics some other Chozo technology, so were they the ones behind their creation? Did some members of the Galactic Federation repurpose them for their own nefarious ends?
And speaking of which...
3 Where Does Samus Stand With The Galactic Federation?
During the events of Metroid Fusion, Samus learns that certain members of the Galactic Federation wanted to weaponize both Metroids and the X parasites. She quickly destroys the BSL research station and SR388 in order to kill off these potential weapons, as well as the Federation's ambitions.
This leaves Samus in a precarious situation. Now that she knows the dark underside of the Galactic Federation, who is she to trust? And if she continues to work alongside them in Dread, will she need to betray them once more?
2 Who Killed The Chozo On SR388?
In a similar vein of betrayal, players may also recall that MercurySteam's previous Metroid title contained "memories" of a dark blot in Chozo history. In Samus Returns, a secret image depicts a Chozo commander killing a group of researchers and ordering a small army into the depths of SR388. Speculation surrounding this image claims that they wanted to take control of the Metroids the researchers had created. Since this game and Dread share the same developer, will we get more information on this? Who is this Chozo commander, exactly? Did they succeed in obtaining some of the Metroids? And are they behind some of the events taking place on ZDR?
1 Will Dread Tie Into Metroid Prime 4?
Of course, all of this still begs the question of what will happen with Metroid Prime 4. The game's development still continues four years after its announcement, and fans don't know what the story is or when it takes place. The Prime series is mostly self-contained, with its story filling the timeline between the events of the first two Metroid games. With a new entry, however, Retro Studios has the potential to break this mold. Will Prime 4 take place around the same time as Dread, or even after? Or will the 3D games continue to be their own separate entities? With any luck, Dread can help shed some light on this situation.
Metroid Dread is set to release on October 8, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.