Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Metroid has long been a beloved series to hardcore Nintendo fans, but with the release
00:14of 2021's Dread, which became the highest selling installment, the franchise earned
00:19legions of new players. Now, it's making a greater push towards the limelight.
00:24Nintendo remastered the first Prime and released many older entries through the Switch Online
00:29service. While it isn't the most complicated chronology of Nintendo's catalog, several games
00:35have still been released out of order, and some players may wonder how Samus' adventures all fit
00:41together. Well, wonder no more. Welcome to Mojo Plays, and this is the Metroid Timeline Explained.
00:48But, before we dive in, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
01:04the bell to get notified about our latest videos. First, a little on the setting. The universe of
01:11Metroid features planets full of deadly creatures, but also those of peace, like the earth mining
01:17colony K-2L. This is where protagonist Samus Aran was born, though she sadly did not get to
01:24enjoy it for very long. When she was only three, a group of space pirates, led by the draconic Ridley,
01:31attacked the colony, killing Samus' parents and leaving her as the sole survivor.
01:37She was taken in by the Chozo, a wise, bird-like race, who lived on the planet Zebes. It's here
01:43she grew up, infused with their DNA to withstand their home, and trained to become a warrior.
01:50With the goal of joining the Galactic Federation, Metroid's sovereign government,
01:54Samus earned the Chozo's advanced power suit and set out to bring justice to the galaxy.
02:01As you might expect, given how much of a badass she is, Samus impressed everyone during her time
02:07training and working for the Galactic Federation. But, while she was away, her second home was
02:12invaded by the space pirates, with the help of Mother Brain, an AI created by the Chozo who
02:17turned on them, causing most of the Chozo to flee. Samus stuck with the Federation for a while,
02:23becoming close with several officers, including her commanding one, Adam Malkovich. But after he
02:29sacrificed another friend to save innocent lives, Samus left, spending the years becoming
02:35a renowned bounty hunter and bringing us to the first game in the series.
02:42The Space Pirates
02:48The Space Pirates attacked a galactic research ship and stole a group of the mysterious and
02:53dangerous Metroids, organisms that can drain the life force of any creature and mutate to become
02:59more powerful. With their forces rebuffed and with the knowledge that the Pirates would breed
03:04the Metroids into an unstoppable galaxy-conquering force, the Federation turned to Samus to infiltrate
03:10Zebes. She was to kill any Metroid she found and put an end to Mother Brain. And after taking out
03:16the villain's generals, the Behemoth Kraid, and the killer of her parents, Ridley, Samus did just
03:22that. The NES original ends with Samus escaping Zebes, but the remake, 2004's Zero Mission,
03:29added an epilogue and one final challenge for the player. Samus' ship was attacked by remaining
03:35Pirates crashing back onto the planet, deep within Chozo Ruins. Her suit was lost in the
03:41process, forcing her to navigate the ruins with caution as swarms of Pirates were lurking about.
03:47Making it to the center of these ruins, Samus unlocked a test that earned her a new power suit.
03:52She then destroyed a robotic recreation of Ridley and escaped before the rest of the facility was
03:58destroyed. Of course, the destruction of the base on Zebes didn't mean the end of the Space Pirates.
04:15The next game chronologically, Metroid Prime, begins with Samus intercepting a distress call
04:20from the Pirates themselves. When she reaches their space station, she discovers many of them
04:25dead at the hands of a Parasite Queen, which they had been performing experiments on. After a run-in
04:31with Ridley, who survived and gave himself some cybernetic upgrades, Samus escaped the station,
04:37pursuing her nemesis to the nearby planet, Talon IV. While tracking Ridley and contending with the
04:43local wildlife, Samus learned a lot about the history of Talon IV. Around 50 years prior,
04:50a group of Chozo had come to the planet and stayed there until the crash of a strange meteor.
04:55This meteor brought a creature the Chozo referred to as the Worm and a poison that
05:00infected the planet, bringing death or corruption to everything in its path, including the Chozo.
05:06Although the meteor was sealed away, the arrival of the Space Pirates following the events on Zebes
05:11made things even worse. They learned to mine and harness the meteor's poison, which they called
05:17Phazon, for its ability to increase the strength of any creature, including the Metroids they were
05:22still trying to amass an army of. Naturally, Samus did what she does best and put a stop to that.
05:28She defeated the now meta Ridley, reached the meteor, and faced off against the Worm,
05:33which was actually a Metroid heavily infused with Phazon to become a nightmarish evolution.
05:39While Samus saved the planet and seemingly destroyed the Metroid Prime, its final plan
05:44of absorbing part of Samus' suit worked, turning it into a dark version of the hero.
05:55Not long after these events, a telepathic message reached the minds of many forces across the
06:00universe. The secret to ultimate power resides in the Alembic Cluster, so kicks off 2006's Metroid
06:08Prime Hunters for the DS. The Federation asks for Samus' help once again to venture to this
06:13part of the galaxy, once home to a mighty race, to investigate the message. Unfortunately,
06:19many other bounty hunters came looking for this ultimate prize, including Psylux,
06:24a mysterious figure who hates the Galactic Federation, and Samus by proxy. As it would
06:29turn out, the message was a trap set by Gorilla, a creature that was both sealed away and led to
06:35the downfall of the Alembic race long ago. It manipulated the skill and abilities of the bounty
06:41hunters to escape, but it too was eventually defeated by Samus. And as we'd come to see later,
06:47though, Psylux could hold quite the grudge.
07:02Which brings us to Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. Turns out the Phazon meteor of the first game
07:08wasn't an anomaly. Around the same time one struck Talon 4, another hit the planet Aether.
07:14But with this planet's unique energy, the effect was quite different. The meteor created an
07:19alternate dimension with a toxic environment and a race of creatures called the Ing, who sought to
07:25destroy the world of their counterparts, the Luminoth. Of course, the space pirates were
07:30drawn to the Phazon, setting up yet another base on Aether. After losing contact with a platoon of
07:36marines, the Galactic Federation naturally turned to Samus for answers. Unfortunately, after getting
07:42near the planet, Samus' ship was damaged by a lightning storm, with no choice but to explore
07:47Aether's dangerous surface.
07:53Samus would soon find that the marines were dead, and that the Ing have the terrifying ability to
07:59possess dead bodies. After being teased at the end of Metroid Prime, Dark Samus also showed herself,
08:06seeking vengeance against the bounty hunter. Samus would later learn of the plight of the Luminoth.
08:11On the verge of defeat, they would soon lose their home to the Ing, who had stolen nearly all of the
08:17light of Aether, the planet's energy. Samus was able to prevail once again, as she always does,
08:23defeating legions of space pirates, the Ing, and the Dark Twisted Copy of herself. Thanks to Samus,
08:30Aether knew peace once again. However, a secret ending revealed that Dark Samus wouldn't go down so easily.
08:43Fast forward six months, where Samus and three other bounty hunters, notably none of those seen
08:49in the previous Hunters, are called in by the Galactic Federation. Within the fleet hovering
08:55above the planet Norion, they're given instructions to travel to several supercomputers known as
09:00Aurora Units and destroy a virus uploaded by, who else, the space pirates. However, in this game,
09:08they're a bit more vicious in more ways than one. They launch a surprise attack on the planet's
09:13Federation base, prompting Samus and the others to descend into warfare. While defending, Samus
09:19learns of another Phazon meteor, now called a Leviathan Seed, heading towards Norion. Sadly,
09:26that's when Dark Samus reveals her demise was greatly exaggerated, and that she's the new
09:31leader of the pirates. Samus is badly wounded in the conflict, but is able to activate the base's
09:37defense systems, destroying the Leviathan Seed before falling into a month-long coma.
09:48When she comes to, she learns she's been corrupted by Dark Samus's Phazon, and that her fellow
09:54Hunters have gone missing while looking into two other planets that were hit by Phazon meteorites.
10:00Someone should really look into those. Samus ends up traveling to each of the planets,
10:04corrupted by the Leviathan Seeds, and there, she defeats the more powerful pirates as well
10:09as her corrupted former allies. She saved both planets from corruption, but there was still work
10:14to be done.
10:27Samus would then travel to the pirate homeworld for the first time, and after taking down its
10:32shield, she led an attack with the Federation. She would encounter Ridley once again, now infused
10:38with Phazon, making him an even bigger pain. But he too would fall to the famous bounty hunter.
10:44Except even this wasn't the end. While the Federation continued its battle against the
10:49pirates, Samus uncovered and ventured to the planet Phaze, the source of Phazon.
10:54Here, she had her final confrontation with Dark Samus. And although her evil clone put up a mighty
11:01fight, Samus is nigh unstoppable. She put an end to Dark Samus, and with the destruction of the
11:07planet, all Phazon in existence. While the game had a happy ending, Psylux, having only hatred
11:13for Samus and the Federation, was seen tailing Samus in a cliffhanger ending.
11:27The Metroid Prime trilogy closed out strongly, and there's still more story within this era to
11:33be told. Although many fans would like to forget it, the 3DS's Metroid Prime Federation Force comes
11:39next in the timeline. The multiplayer spinoff follows a group of mech-operating marines who
11:44are tasked with going after the ever-surviving space pirates, who are building an impressive,
11:50highly destructive battleship called the Dooms Eye, as well as sticking with their old standby
11:55plan of breeding Metroids. Samus doesn't play a huge role in the game. She gathers intel for
12:01the marines and saves them in a few instances. But she's also captured and brainwashed by the pirates,
12:07who use new tech to increase her size and force her to fight the Force. They're able to defeat and
12:14free her, as well as destroy the Dooms Eye and steal a Metroid egg for the Galactic Federation
12:19to study. However, Psylux makes another brief appearance, breaking into a facility and forcing
12:25the egg to hatch. So far, that's where Psylux's story ends. But with Metroid Prime 4 Beyond,
12:39that will soon change. Not much is known about the plot, but the rival bounty hunter appears to play
12:45a big role. The announcement trailer ends with him attacking a Galactic Federation facility
12:50and confronting Samus, bringing the space pirates and a couple of Metroids with him.
12:55It seems the upcoming game will finally give him the spotlight he so clearly craves.
13:06While there's no way to know exactly how Metroid Prime 4's story will go,
13:10we do know what happens after it. The timeline goes back to its 2D roots at this point,
13:16with the Game Boy's Metroid II Return of Samus, and its 3DS remake. The latter version also gives
13:22us a bit more information on the Chozo. Ruins of the race can be seen around SR388, the Metroid
13:29homeworld, and the game's setting. And depending on your completion rating, you can unlock some
13:34images that tell their story on the planet. Two Chozo tribes arrived at some point, the peaceful
13:39and scientific Thoha and the warlike Malkin. They encountered the X, a parasite that can
13:45assimilate and replicate the form of any creature it comes into contact with. To defeat them, these
13:52Chozo created the Metroids. And while that certainly worked, their creations soon became a
13:57bigger problem. In fear of destruction, the Thoha wanted to seal away the Metroids and blow up the
14:03planet. However, Ravenbeak, leader of the Malkin and a very important character later, felt they
14:10could still be used. In complete disagreement, he and his warriors demolished the Thoha,
14:15leaving only one member alive, Quiet Robe, in order to use his skills later. The Malkin then
14:22abandoned the planet, with plans to regroup and form a plan to take control of the Metroids.
14:283. Samus Aran
14:33Enter Samus Aran. The game's plot sees her sent to SR388 by the Federation,
14:39tasked with destroying the Metroid species once and for all. She does so, even defeating their
14:44queen in the end, but comes across a single remaining egg. When it hatches and the Metroid
14:50imprints on her, Samus can't bring herself to kill it, and thus saves it. Ridley, somehow still
14:57alive, pops up in the climax in an attempt to steal the baby Metroid. The duo defeat the villain
15:02together, though as we've seen many times before, this was not the end of Ridley.
15:15In the next entry, the seminal Super Metroid, Samus leaves the baby with a group of Federation
15:20scientists on the nearby planet Ceres. Sadly, the resilient Ridley and a platoon of space pirates
15:26attack the colony, killing the scientists and kidnapping the infant. Although Samus attempted
15:31to stop them, the planet was destroyed and the Metroid was stolen. Samus' chase led her back to
15:37Zebes. The pirate forces had rebuilt their base there, with Mother Brain surviving and leading
15:42them once again. Navigating the twisted remains of her once-childhood home, Samus defeats Mother
15:48Brain's forces, including Ridley, who she is finally able to stop for good. She also re-encounters
15:55the infant, grown abnormally large through experimentation. Through its love for Samus,
16:00it comes to her aid during the final confrontation with Mother Brain, and gives its life to save her.
16:06Not only is the one good Metroid in existence lost, but the defeat of Mother Brain triggers
16:11a self-destruct of Zebes, with Samus being forced to escape the best home she ever had
16:17before it's gone forever.
16:26The plot of 2010's Other M picks up directly after this and chronicles the hubris of certain
16:33Galactic Federation officials. The final fight against Mother Brain and Super Metroid had left
16:38Samus weakened, and her hospital stay at the beginning of Other M would have disastrous
16:43consequences. After recovering, Samus received a distress call, which led her to the Bottle Ship
16:49Space Station. Surprisingly, it was also received by Adam Malkovich, the commanding officer of her
16:55former platoon. Although there was definitely tension between the two, everyone worked together
17:00to solve the mystery of the distress signal. Unfortunately, an unsanctioned group within
17:05the Federation had been conducting experiments with the DNA pulled from Samus' suit following
17:10her time on Zebes. This led to a new group of Metroids being created, as well as a clone of
17:16Ridley. They had also created a replica of the Mother Brain AI to control the Metroids, which
17:22took on the form of Dr. Madeleine Bergman. Needless to say, it was a huge mess that Samus
17:28had to clean up, and it led to the death of many of her allies, including Adam.
17:40With Ridley and Mother Brain versions 2.0 both put down, Samus took a more low-key job for her
17:47next mission. With the Metroids now gone from the planet, 2002's Fusion begins with her escorting
17:53a group of scientists through SR388 in order to collect research. However, due to her eradication
18:00of the Metroids, the ex-parasite was able to return. One infected Samus, though the scientists
18:06were able to use Metroid DNA, the same from the baby she had once saved, in order to make her
18:12immune to the parasite. Afterwards, she was given a new ship with an AI she named Adam in honor of
18:18her fallen comrade. Although Samus was saved, the doctors who helped her were doomed. The
18:28ex-parasite formed with her suit, becoming the terrifying SA-X, and led the other parasites in
18:34an attack on the researchers, none of which survived. Haunted throughout the facility,
18:39she would later find that the Galactic Federation was cloning Metroids once again,
18:43but this time, not through a rogue group. She would also learn that the government hoped to
18:48secure the SA-X to use for military purposes. Naturally, Samus wasn't having any of that.
18:54In her attempts to destroy the facility, she had aid from the AI given to her by the Federation.
18:59After she referred to it as Adam, it adopted the personality of Adam Malkovich, whose consciousness
19:05had been uploaded. Together, they formulated a plan to defeat the X,
19:10destroying the facility and the planet of SR388 in one fell swoop.
19:26Which brings us to the last game so far in the Metroid chronology, 2021's Dread. After fleeing
19:33from SR388 with his Chozo tribe, the violent Raven Beak came to the planet ZDR. Unfortunately
19:41for him, one of his warriors had unknowingly been infected by an ex-parasite, causing not only the
19:46deaths of most of his people, but also the planet to be overrun. While dealing with that problem,
19:53Samus's destruction of the Metroids caused him to formulate a new plan. He set a trap
19:58sending footage of an ex-parasite to the Federation. Fearing the prospect of sending
20:03actual people to investigate, the government deployed seven EMI, machines meant for research
20:09and data collection, but built from incredibly durable material. After contact with them went
20:15silent, Samus, being the only person immune to the parasite, was sent to investigate,
20:20which is exactly what Raven Beak wanted.
20:29Samus encounters the villain early on and learns that the EMI have been corrupted by him to attack
20:34her. Although she's hunted by multiple formidable opponents, she works to uncover what has happened
20:39on ZDR. Answers come when she meets Quiet Robe, the last member of the Tho-Ha tribe and one of
20:46the only living Chozo on the planet. He explains to her the downfall led by Raven Beak, as well as
20:52his cause for reprogramming the EMI to hunt her. The last Metroid DNA flowing through her veins
20:58could be used to rebuild the army he desired. Sadly, the peaceful and regretful Chozo is killed
21:04shortly after.
21:14After having conquered the remaining EMI, Samus is eventually confronted by Raven Beak,
21:19who has been misleading her by pretending to be Adam for most of the game. We also learn
21:24the Chozo DNA within her is from the Mok'en tribe, specifically from Raven Beak himself.
21:30The ensuing fight is one of the toughest of her long career. Raven Beak wasn't the leader
21:35of the Chozo's most powerful warriors for nothing. Yet if players are up to the challenge,
21:40Samus defeats him along with his mutated X-form by evolving through her Metroid DNA.
21:46In her attempt to escape yet another planet set to self-destruct, Samus absorbs the X-infected
21:51Quiet Robe, makes it to safety, and puts another thrilling chapter as the universe's most badass
21:57bounty hunter behind her.
22:16And that is the Metroid Timeline Explained. Although Nintendo is set to go backwards next
22:22with Metroid Prime 4, we look forward to each and every adventure Samus Aran goes on,
22:28no matter when it happens. But what about you? Are you excited for the return of Prime?
22:44What's your favorite game in the series? Share your Metroid love in the comments,
22:48and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great gaming videos every day.