Metroid Fusion

METROID FUSION

Today, let's cover Metroid Fusion, the chronological second to last game in the series, as of 2023, set quite a bit after every other game in the series. The game opens with Samus and a crew returning to SR388 on a scouting mission, only for Samus to be infected by a dangerous parasite that had previously been kept in check by its natural predators, the Metroids, until Samus wiped them out, allowing them to spread without limit. Samus is saved by being injected with Metroid DNA, fusing her into a special new suit. A little while later, the lab she had been at sends out a distress call, with her arriving to find that pretty much everything in the base has been wiped out after one of the parasites they'd collected to study escaped.

Samus starts the game in the Fusion Suit, with a Power Beam at her disposal. She then gains missiles, the morph ball, the charge beam, bombs, the high jump, the speed booster, the super missile, the varia suit, ice missiles, the wide beam, the power bombs, the space jump, the plasma beam, the gravity suit, diffusion missiles, the wave beam, the screw attack, the ice beam, and the omega suit.

There are very little in terms of support characters, with the Dachora and Etecoons returning in their supporting roles, and Adam Malkovitch being introduced as Samus's former mentor who had been killed in action, whose brain was uploaded into a computer that was now acting as Samus's main operating system. As he's just a disembodied computer voice, there's not much there.

The X-Parasites form the primary threat of the game, being little blobby things that infect living hosts, basically replacing their entire genetic structures with their own and functionally becoming them. The several we face throughout the game show the ability to attach to things, float around as giant orbs, shapeshift into several shapes they have absorbed, spawn more parasites, create ice, and get really, really big. One notable X-Parasite comes in the form of SA-X, the parasite that copied Samus and has now taken her form, stalking her throughout the base. SA-X can shoot missiles, drop super bombs, fire the ice beam, perform a screw attack, and become a giant monster that stomps around.

Other bosses that appear, mostly taken over by X-Parasites, include the returning Arachnus, a big polyp thing called Zazabi, a speedy serpent called Serris, a boxy Security Robot, a giant spider called Yakuza, a plant called Nettori, a giant X-Parasite called Barrier Core-X, a gravity-manipulating cyborg called Nightmare, and a clone of Ridley inhabited by a parasite called Neo-Ridley.

Metroids and Space Pirates both return, Metroids bringing their Alpha, Gamma, Zeta, and Omega variants with them. The Space Pirates attack with their claws, climb on walls, shoot lasers, and swim. Also returning are the legacy enemies Kihunters, Hornoads, Bulls, Choots, Dessgeegas, Evirs, Funes, Gadoras, Geemers, Gerutas, Halzyns, Kagos, Namihes, Owtches, Powamps, Puyos, Reos, Rippers, Samus Eaters, Scisers, Sidehoppers, Skulteras, Wavers, Yards, Zeelas, Zeroes, and Zozoros (I believe the logic being they were collected to be studied during her previous adventures). Newcomers include Gerons, Menus, Motos, Novas, Genesises, Gerubus, and researchers who've been turned into zombies.

The entire game takes place on the Biologic Space Laboratories station, with each section divided up by numbers (as in Sector 1, Sector 2, and so on). Samus also has a new ship as the original was destroyed thanks to the X-Parasites.

That should just about cover it. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus Aran: power suit, power beam, morph ball, missile, long beam, bomb, ice beam, high jump boots, Varia Suit, Screw Attack, wave beam, spider ball, spring ball, space jump, spazer beam, plasma beam, Speed Booster, Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Gravity Suit, Hyper Beam, Fusion Suit, wide beam, power bombs, omega suit

Zero-Suit Samus: All listed above (except suits of course)

Adam Malkovitch

Mother Brain: laser, glass casing, Rinkas, energy barriers, T-Rex body, eye beam, explosive rocks, energy disks

Ridley: hop, fireballs, flying, swinging tail, screen attack, tail bounce, fire breath, grab and lift

Kraid: blades, spikes

X-Parasite: attach, orbs, shapeshift, more parasites, ice, get big

SA-X: missiles, super bombs, ice beam, screw attack, monster, stomp

Neo-Ridley

Phantoon: ghost, drop fire, ring of fire

Crocomire: charge, slash, skeleton

Metroid: float, drain energy, rise from shell, fly, claws, electricity, fire, fireballs

Metroid Queen: stretch neck, spike balls, swallow, spit up Samus

Baby Metroid

Space Pirate: claw, energy beam, cling to wall, hop from walls, kick, throw claws, lasers, swim

Torizo: walk, spit bombs, rubble, energy waves, jump, drop eggs

Kihunters: fly, spit acid

Hornoad

Autom

Bosses:

Arachnus

Phantoon

Draygon

Crocomire

Botwoon

Spore Spawn

Zazabi

Serris

Yakuza

Nettori

Nightmare

Neo-Ridley

Stages:

Planet Zebes

Brinstar

Norfair

Tourian

SR388

Ceres Space Colony

Crateria

Maridia

Wrecked Ship

Biologic Space Laboratories

Thanks for reading! Next up, you might feel a sense of Dread for what we cover tomorrow!