Attempting to Explain All of Metroid Lore in a Single Video 

I’ve never played a Metroid game before so I’m excited to learn all the cool lore behind where Metroid got his iron man suit

Love how Nintendo makes such a big fuss in modern Mario games to not have a focus on story at all, while having lore heavy franchises like Metroid, Kirby or Zelda

I'd like to think its the same Kraid in dread, based solely on that opening cutscene. Samus has done this whole song and dance: "how many times do i have to teach you this lesson old man!?"

Something I really like about Metroid lore, is that the "extinction" of the chozo is treated like a recent event, usually whenever a super advanced civilization that disappeared is involved in a story it's always an event that happened in the distant past. Meanwhile in Metroid I don't think it's been longer than 15 years since the chozo's "extinction" (I use " because we might see more of living chozo's in a future Metroid game. We've seen 2 in dread. I don't think it's too far fetched to believe that we'll see them again)

9:30 another explanation for the Metroid Prime's presence is that it might not be a 'Metroid' at all. In the Chozo language 'Metroid' means 'Ultimate Warrior', since the Tallon Chozo didn't have Metroids, and it's possible that the Leviathan seed fell to Talon IV before the Metroids had even been created, they could have just named the creature riding in the Leviathan seed Metroid Prime. But that's just a theory.

My favorite log entry in Metroid is still the one about the Space Pirates trying to replicate Samuses Morph Ball. Absolutley hilarious.

In the Super Smash Bros for Wii U trophies, it explains in the Zebesian trophy that the Other M Space Pirates were artificial clones deliberately created to be unintelligent and easily controlled by MB, which is why they are so different from the other functional Zebesians we've seen throughout the franchise.

The implication that I always took away was that the Space Pirates weren't one singular race, but a coalition of multiple races that banded together to fight against the Federation and rule the galaxy. And it isn't that they're mindless, but that their extremely authoritarian society has caused them to be extremely weak willed which allows beings like Ridely, Mother Brain, and Dark Samus to easily control them. That and the Zebesian pirates in Other M are specifically cybernetically enhanced clones created by the Federation to be weapons so them being mindless animals makes sense.

TheRPGMonger: Man, Metroid lore sure is depressing. Me: *(still thinking about how that alien thing went to an alternate version of a planet)* Yeah.

One important plotthread (or theory) that I haven’t seen discussed are the Chozo ships in Metroid Dread. You can see them floating (clearly still functional) but later on, during the escape sequence, both ships are completely absent. Wasn’t one of the main concerns in Fusion were the X possibly gaining access to ships? It’s brought up that the X could take over Galactic Federation members, and spread throughout the galaxy that way. So isn’t it possible (or even likely) that some of the X-infected Chozo used their abilities to pilot the shuttles, and leave the planet? With this in mind, the possible future of the galaxy gets a lot... Darker.

I personally interpret Aeion energy to be the very life energy that Metroids are able to extract. It's always been a mystery how the Metroids are able to reduce their victims to mere husks without extracting any blood or even puncturing their victims. It's also clearly shown that the Chozo had the technology to extract Aeion as soon as they arrived on SR388 and that Aeion also exists on ZDR (and will likely appear again in the future) despite blnot being anywhere near SR388 and the X being contained at the time. They even developed unique tools that utilize Aeion like the flash shift. If Aeion exists within all living things rather than simple on SR388 then it would explain how this is possible and also explain why the Metroids are so dangerous and effective against the X. One could even argue that the Aeion extracting technology was the basis behind the Metroids in the first place.

There's one important thing to say about the Galactic Federation, due to some loss in translation for Fusion they made the entirety of the Federation look evil while in reality in the Japanese script there's multiple mentions of an old Federation Army faction that was reorganized. These guys were the ones who were trying to clone Metroids for military purposes. There's a good video made by a Dutch RU-vidr named Lexicon that goes over what was lost in translation in Other M's plot and that is also were many people learned about the Military faction in Fusion. Lastly regarding Kraid I think the one that shows up in Dread might be just another of it's species. Fun video :) as a Metroid fan I enjoyed it a lot.

I gotta say, that last moment with Quiet Robe-X is oddly emotional for a short scene with no dialogue

I like the interpretation that phantoon is an interdimensional being that feeds on ships but I like to think it's specifically the residual energy left of the passengers and crews on ships where there were little to no survivors after some sort of tragedy

Here's my Kraid theory: I don't think it's a clone or another of Kraid's species, but the same Kraid we already know. Clearly in his fight he has a very specific animosity towards Samus that goes beyond instinct, he recognizes her immediately and tries to punch her to death rather than like simply eat her. As mentioned earlier, Ridley was moved to the the Tallon IV orbiting frigate for reconstruction after being nearly killed in the first Metroid, and it's not out of the question that Kraid was too, just to a different site that Samus didn't visit. In fact, it makes sense for the space pirates to attempt evacuating the higher ranking members again during the events of Super Metroid. Once again proven by Ridley, and also Phantoon given he appears in Other M, defeat after a boss fight doesn't necessarily mean death. Kraid was defeated but it doesn't confirm he was killed. Maybe some time after getting his injuries he was taken off planet. Considering how his boss fight revolved around shooting missiles down his throat, maybe that's even the reason he has that giant neck brace in Dread, not just as a restraint but maybe it's a support because that part of his body was so heavily damaged. For why Kraid is on ZDR is really up in the air, all we really know is that the Mawkin had him restrained and he was there clearly against his will. If we are to assume Kraid is like Ridley and is more intelligent than he lets on, maybe he was captured by the Mawkin during his evacuation of Zebes because he knew something they wanted. Maybe they needed someone with experience in reverse engineering Thoha Chozo technology, namely the space pirates' attempts to reconstruct Metroids in the past, and/or their previous successful reconstruction of Mother Brain. Maybe Kraid is the reason Raven Beak can employ Mother Brain-like central units to control the EMMI zones in the first place. That's just my working theory, Kraid in Dread is the same Kraid we've seen in previous Metroid games and he's a captive of Raven Beak's the same way Quiet Robe is. Most likely though he's just there cause it's cool

I completely missed the elevator room drawings, Raven Beak being at Samus's procedure makes a lot more sense if he was there to kill space pirates, making a weapon like samus stronger seems like something he'd be interested in contributing to. For Kraid I think Dread Kraid being another one of his species makes the most sense. I think Prime 4 could help clear it up if he makes an appearance there, would make the clone theory stronger.

I honestly do think it’s the same Kraid we all know and love Why else would he look at Samus in such a resentful, hating way?

40:45 If you look carefully at the shadows on the right, it seems to me that the series hasn't forgotten about Grey Voice and Old Bird.

So I don’t have any sources to provide for this, but according to JohnnyAwesome’s Dread Review, the corruption in Metroid’s Galactic Federation is more of a small insurrectionist group rather than blatant corruption in the system. They’ll probably be focused on in later games, but it’s important to make this distinction because otherwise Samus crashing the ship in Fusion should have made her a wanted criminal.

One interesting thing i thought is cool is that Samus has been saved by both X parasites and Metroids twice each

I KNEW THAT THE EMMI SOUND WAS SO FAMILIAR. I HAD NO IDEA WHERE IT WAS FROM SO I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS PART OF THE SAMUS RETURNS CAVERNS THEME

You know what makes everything confusing and amazing at the same time? Kirby’s dreamland 3 has Samus, meaning they share a universe

5:18 "The Real Final Boss of Zero Mission" right on, those bastard black Space Pirates were the only thing that prevented me from completing my hard mode playthrough of Zero Mission back in the day lol

I still find it hard to believe all the wacky Prime trilogy shit was practically just a minor plot point in the grand scheme of the Metroid timeline

Finally someone upload the lore about this Metroid guy. He seems pretty cool but i never had the chance to play the game before.

Im so happy you included the prime trilogy, some people constantly say the prime trilogy is non-canon for very arbitrary reasoning.

About the command that brought Ridley back, I feel like it was made by Ridley himself as a failsafe to keep him alive after death. We do know Ridley is a highly inteligent being and ruler of the Space Pirates, so he probably made a command that said something like "dear space pirates. If your boss is dead, rebuild him."

This video was a really good explanation, I really enjoyed it, as a huge metroid fan (who is really into the lore) I wouldve liked if you spent some more time fully discussing the lore on Hunters and Echoes, as well as the other minor races in other games. Though that might’ve made it too long.

Megaman Lore would be interesting, due to the 2 big timelines (and how does Rockboard fit in the lore) - Pokémon Lore would also be interesting (connecting all games to a greater narrative - yes also Conquest and the Trozei games)

My first Metroid was fusion, then dread. The entire time, until I watched this video, I was like “where the hell are the metroids I was told about”

Given the large number of green, three-eyed wormy things in Metroid Dread, I like to think that "Kraid" is a native species of the planet.

Since it wasn't the point of your video, here's some insight as to what changed between the original Prime release and the Trilogy: nothing, kind of. What was changed was lore from the US version of Prime, and this change was already implemented in the PAL release. Basically, some entries on Metroid Prime originally existed which showed that the Space Priates "found" Metroid Prime, and started outfitting it with numerous weapon systems. This was kinda stupid, since the Pirates shouldn't be able to get past the force field around the Impact Crater, so they had no logical means of reaching Prime. This was changed in the PAL release, where all of Prime's attacks are his own, and the Pirates desperately want EVERYTHING the Leviathan has. Subsequently, this became the accepted version in Prime Trilogy for all regions. One thing you kinda skipped over (and one of my favourite details in Corruption), is that the Pirates don't simply start following Dark Samus. In Prime 2, they're horrified to find out two hunters are decimating them, though they initially mistake Dark Samus for the real one. In Prime 3, the Pirate Homeworld is raided by Dark Samus, and through Phazon corruption, she brings them under her control. However, the first Pirate lore scans show that they originally had no intention to submit to her, and that the takeover was gradual, with the Pirates being split in two factions, and the indoctrinated Pirates under Dark Samus obviously winning. Also, my interpretation of the Pirate Command was that they were the original leaders before Mother Brain took over. After her initial fall on Zebes, Command assumed leadership again, but the Prime games show that their leaderships is kind of spotty. Then, near the beginning of Super Metroid, Mother Brain is rebuilt, and she takes over yet again, but seems to get rid of Pirate Command, since afterwards, the Space Pirates themselves stop being the antagonists of the franchise. That leads me to assume that the Space Pirates as an organization died with Mother Brain in Super Metroid.

The real final boss of zero mission. Boy did I feel that. Like, a few hundred times.

I need an explanation of KH in one video. That would be hilarious.

Wow what a coincidence, I just watched the Kirby lore again to get ready for Forbidden Land and shocked to find one for Metroid!

Eyy, Metroid Prime Pinball! My first Metroid game, and I still love it.

Dread introducing the Mawkin tribe made me ponder on something. If the Mawkin were such a powerful empire, how were they never brought up in previous games? Surely the Federation would have gone to war with them, or hired Samus to take them down. All the events in the games where Samus and the Federation are fighting Space Pirates, Phazon, and Metroids take place within a 7ish year span. What if, in a different part of the galaxy, the Mawkin tribe was at war with a warrior clan of humans? A group of humans who were enslaved by the Chozo, but then broke free from their prisons, killed their captors, and created their own independent faction with their goal to entirely destroy the Chozo? Samus would have personal stakes in it for sure, since she's a Chozo, and she could obtain upgrades by defeating members of this warrior clan.

These lore videos are easily among the best on the platform. Keep at it, king!

The kraid on ZDR is the kraid that was made by master hand for super smash brothers ultimate so that brinstar depths could be a stage again

My favorite Kraid theory is that he just came with the place as a real estate bonus

Thank you for including the entire Prime series in your lore video. It is very important to me :) There is a little debate to be had regarding when Prime Hunters takes place. One of it's lore entries refers to War Wasps on Aether, implying it takes place between 2 and 3, but it hardly matters

I had to pause Dread to come find out about some lore. This video definitely helped me appreciate and understand the game, and I’m very excited to go back and really get into it

If you want a very brief history of bad ass people in power armor, Samus and doom guy had a baby, and that baby was named John. There. Done.

**SPOILERS** At this point Samus should really not be surprised to see more metroids, but the moment when the X began flying out of Elun I was genuinely terrified. I knew the planet would have to be destroyed and I actually thought Samus would go with it.

My thought on Kraid is that he is the original one Samus fought before, just by how he reacts upon seeing her in Dread. My personal lore is that in Super Metroid he doesn't die but runs away from you and eventually leaves the Zebes, just to be captured by the Makin Chozo tribe. How exactly that went on or where idk but i guess a wounded Kraid blindly flew in space and landed in ZDR (he lost consciousness after taking off no time to place coordinates to the nearest home world). For the Makin tribe this was revenge and a good challenge for the new warriors to test their strength. As to why keep him alive, well Raven Beak loves strength and saw potential in trying to clone him or use his DNA in other ways. But again this is just my head canon.

Hahaha Kraid-versations. I really do hope it's the third option as if Raven Beak used a Nightmare like delivery system from Kirby Right Back at Ya. And that Kraid was the base floor model they handed out lol

I played Super Metroid before I was old enough to understand retcons and plot devices. Seeing the same bosses in different Metroid games drove me nuts. I was like, "Samus killed you already! You can't come back!" Eventually, I reconciled this by imagining that Kraid, Ridley, Mother Brain and all the space pirates are in fact entities that exist in a parallel dimension, and the ones Samus fights are organic constructs projected into her dimension so they can directly influence events. So, kill one Kraid, the original just makes another.

Yeah kraid is definitely a animal species. It's canon that there are many of them. They probably are modified biological weapons. Or maybe it's a training device for the warriors displayed in the picture shown detaining him as a rite of passage of some kind

I was surprised at how well studied you were! I almost shrugged the video off because so many people use the manga as canon to the games, or miss the Japanese translations entirely. To make a few things quick, remember, Other M is badly mistranslated, I suggest watching the Other M that Never Was video here on youtube for further analysis on that. Actually many manuals and in game information in the series has mistranslations or changes from original intent. Anyways there were two points I feel like ya almost had. When talking about Zebezian intelligence it’s not wrong. Zebezians are like a hive mind. Like worker bees Zebezians as their species, require something to lead them. But as far as we know, they are the only species capable of this. The Prime Pirates had pieces of one in a tank on Tallon IV as experimentation. Space Pirate society are made up of Zebezians, KiHunters, the Prime 1 pirate species, the Urtraghusians space pirates from(echoes/corruption/FF), Kraid, Ridley, Mother Brain, and more. Space Pirate society is very similar to the Mongul Empire. They take in other cultures, technology, ethnicities to build their own and strengthen it. As for Mother Brain, she was created with the purpose of controlling Metroids. We even see her behind Raven Beak with his infusion flashback. That significant red lit up ring? kinda looks like a control unit. MB also had red eyes opposed to the Blue ones on ZDR. Mother’s telepathy would fail, ofc, but Other M alludes to why. Not only did she not have a body for Metroids to physically bond with, but Metroids are smart. They create bonds with those they have a mutual relationship with but if they are being abused or mistreated, they can feel intent. And MB was literally dripping with malice(or in Japanese culture, just bad purple energy that physically/visually signifies evil). Melissa states that much like the original MB, the new one gained emotions as a result of her connection to Metroids. She compares her abusive experiences with the original MB. The only difference is, Melissa probably could have been convinced out of her anger for all of humanity, where Mother Brain wanted to destroy all life. The narratives overlap and compare very well and serves to show that Samus could have become just like them. Thankfully she had people in her life, many parent like guiders and many sacrifices made on her behalf, which showed her how much her life mattered to them.

Absolutely love this video! I knew pretty much all the Metroid lore already but I still enjoyed this whole thing! Editing was great and I was engaged the whole time 😁 great stuff 👏👏👏

It's hard for me to believe Kraid isn't the OG Kraid, seeing how angry and resentful he is at the initial sight of Samus.

I love videos like this one. They help me inderstand any details I missed.

You always make amazing lore breakdowns! Keep up the good work!

Metroid pinball is the ultimate cannon 👌

Great video! I loved all the updated lore!

Great work on this! Loved it!

As for the whole Kraid thing, I have a headcanon that the Space Pirates have some sort of program similar to the one that made Adam an AI. They are able to upload the consciousnesses of their commanders into a computer. If the commander falls in battle, they use preserved dna samples to make a clone body, and then insert the digitized consciousness into that body. That way, they have essentially made their commanders immortal, and are able to bring them back no matter how many times they are killed.

I've never played/watched anything Metroid related, but I was glued to my screen and couldn't look away as you described this series to me. Very well done!

Awesome video! You do such a good job covering so much lore in a way where it doesn't feel like there's too much fat in the script

This was incredible-THANK you. Having never played the games myself, only seen others play them, the lore has always been fascinating to me, but also extremely confusing. This video has finally satisfied my curiosity and was much better than reading the various wiki entries. 😅 Anyway, thank you for all the work it must have taken! Much appreciated.

When I heard the EMMI beeping my heart rate started to increase despite knowing I'm done with dread... for now

I enjoy watching people make new videos about the Metroid lore so all the new people who’ve played dread and no other games. Also I think that Metroid prime is not a Metroid and is called that because the in the Chozo’s language Metroid means ultimate warrior

That Prime Pinball joke hit me like a freight train

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! I was waiting for this video for so long! And the end result was absolutely fantastic! You really deserve all the views xD - V.D.

Since there's no concrete canon explanation for what happened to them, it's entirely possible that there's a whole planet of Ridleys somewhere.

I've listened to a lot of videos of Metroid Lore. I love it each time.

I'm glad to hear you have more of these lore videos in the pipeline, since I first found you through the Kirby Lore video. I do have a suggestion for a possible future Lore video (or Review video/series), 7th Dragon. There're 4 games so it shouldn't be AS lengthy to make as the Kirby or Metroid ones were, though I will admit to some personal bias as I really just want to see the series get some more recognition here on RU-vid.

Perfect time for this vid to come out after getting dread for christmas and completing it. I'd be very interested in a lore vid on the risk of rain franchise as it shares a lot of the hidden logs and evironmental story telling metroid uses.

when you searching for video you want there is no results but some day you randomly chillin' and video you want is in front of you

To add to your really good Emmi head cannon, perhaps the cave was the only place quite enough for emmi beeps to be heard

Great video as always Mog!

High quality lore video. Loved the Kirby lore vid as well.

I loved Metroid since I was a kid but I never looked at the older games as it having a story other than a supposed spaceman killing monsters, I’m happy to see it grow

Another lore video by RPG Monger?! MUST WATCH!! Edit: Oddly enough I find Samus in Kirby's Dreamland 3, so does that mean that Samus exists in the same universe as Kirby?It gets you thinking.

As someone who has been playing Samus returns after having played dread, I legitimately got worried when I thought I heard the EMMI lol

Thanks man! I'm like halfway through Prime 1 right now, I've also done Fusion (realizing now it would have been better to do Zero Mission), I've scanned everything but wasn't reading as I went and was about to go and read all of it but I instead found this video XD

This is the best Metroid lore video, thank you!

When it's all laid out like this it's kind of shocking how well the lore all meshes, given that there wasn't any grand design laid out for these games and their various developers to follow.

This is a really comprehensive timeline, and I like your interpretation of what Phantoon's deal is! One small thing, though- I'm pretty sure that the Ridley clone from Other M is, while being a clone, technically also still the original Ridley. I'm not actually sure about the canonicity of this so I could be totally off the mark, but I've seen in a couple places that Ridley's cells all contain "genetic black boxes" of his memories and personality, therefore as long as any piece of him exists, he can be revived. One thing I saw, although this was just a theory, even goes as far as to propose that instead of the X corrupting him in Fusion like everything else on the station, *he* corrupted the X, creating a new strain of X-Parasite that contained his "genetic black box" just like his cells. As I said, this may not be canon, and the bit about him essentially fusing with the X almost definitely isn't, but the first part about him essentially being able to revive from a single cell (albeit with assistance necessary) does actually have some possible foundation even if it's not definitely canon.

I would suggest Zelda lore next, but I don't want to wait 15 years for the next episode Mega Man lore would be hype tho

My goodnes. ALL of Splatoon lore in one video?. Id love it, but That’s insane. It’s way more than just the main mode and salmon run. You do realize that not only is every song in the game is by a fictional band, with details such as one member from one band that dissolved after splat 1 finding a different band in splat 2, but also that each apparel item and weapon is made by a brand that has their own style, and sometimes even their own adds?

I would absolutely love a Zelda lore video from you :)

Back when I was a kid, I remember reading comics that were in Nintendo power magazines. Not sure if/how those tie in, but I really liked the cast that the comics focused on. There was another bounty hunter that was close with Samus, can't remember his name tho. I do remember he had blue armor and ginger hair.

This is the type of videos I want to see!!!

something I think is very worth mentioning is that in dread during the planet escape sequence, there are mawkin ships that are missing. This most likely means that in Metroid 6 there will be a massive X outbreak threatening the galaxy

Choices on what next lore video to do next? *sees the blue bomber* If it wins... *Sets time and date to 4 years into the future* awwwwww yeah I've been waiting for it!

Pretty dope lore video, very enjoyable

So what I'm getting here is that, 1) Bird people like killing each other 2) Space pirates are less pirates and more a violent terrorist group 3) Alien jellyfeesh

As a diehard Metroid fan, this was a huge treat to watch! You really went all-out with this one, and I appreciate your mention of the unused Prime 3 log entries. Can’t believe Dark Samus might have been planning to sacrifice Phaaze to release hundreds of Leviathans… that’s ruthless even for her.

My theory for Kraid is two possibilities: A. He is the same Kraid who managed to escape the destruction of Zebes, only to be captured after landing of ZDR (memory contradicts this theory, unless those in the memory were the last few survivors who died restraining him, BUT the way he acts towards Samus in the cutscenes implies some familiarity). B. They are a member of Kraid's species that the Mawkin captured and their hostility towards Samus is due to years of mistreatment and her wearing armor similar to the species who imprisoned them (though if they were captured before all the Mawkin minus Raven Beak were consumed by the X, how did they avoid being absorbed).

You rock. As someone who listens to many many Metroid lore videos...this is one of my favorites. Great coverage and pacing. Your personality is pleasant.

Of the three series you teased at the end, I'd definitely be most interested in the Megaman Lore, particularly if you cover the post Zero era.

About Metroid Prime 3, I don't know if this is canon (I haven't played any of the Prime games) but I remember a video mentioning that the leviathans move through space using wormholes. As you may know, wormholes bend space AND time so it could be possible for them to time travel.

I could see kraid using a ship to escape since he is one of the bosses that does not explode instead he sink through the floor also in super medtroid he is the first general you defeat wich could give him (and maybe more pirates) too escape zebes long before samus although the dread kraid is probably a different one

Space pirate command always existed mother brain was just major facet that was added later it only makes sense. As for the research vessel I believe they were orbiting Zebes and they left after Seamus attacked. As in the space pirate in the drifts shows a universal map in regards to where Tallon IV was in relation to Zebes they were in the same system.

Great video Monger!!! Pretty sure Kraid is an entire species, the smaller ones from the first game an Super and the big ones from Zero, Super and Dread (this one I think it was cloned from the ones from Zebes). Also, Kraid was going to appear in Metroid Prime but the idea was scrapped

Incredible video, Metroid is my favorite franchise from videogame history ❤

I cant wait for your Bayonetta and Splatoon lore video, great video :)

Other M needs a remake that fixes the plot, improves the controls, fixes Adam and Samus's portrayal and hopefully has better voice acting. It should completely overwrite the original in canon.

great vid will watch 3-5 times