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Metroid Fusion

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Metroid Fusion
Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion North American Cover Art

Publisher Nintendo
Developer(s) Nintendo Research & Development 1
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Released

North American release November 18, 2002[1]
European release November 22, 2002[1]

Japanese release February 14, 2003[1]

Genre Action Adventure
Ratings ESRB: E[2]
USK: 6
OFLC: G 8+[2]
CERO: A (FREE)
ELSPA: 3+
Modes Single-player
Media Game Boy Advance cartridge
Input D-pad, face buttons
Theme Title theme
Samus om Stub Template.png

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Metroid Fusion, also known as Metroid 4 or Metroid IV, is the fourth game in the Metroid series. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and was released on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console on December 16th, 2011, exclusively to members of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program, which takes advantage of the console's price drop (August 2011).[3] In the Metroid timeline, Metroid Fusion is currently the last game in chronological order, following the events of Metroid: Other M.

Story

Preface

Sometime after her return from the Bottle Ship, Samus is sent to SR388 to protect a group of Biologic Space Laboratories Research Station employees who are studying the planet's life-forms now that the Metroid population has been exterminated. While exploring an underground cavern, Samus encounters a Hornoad and dispatches it with a Missile. However, upon its defeat, the Hornoad turns into an unknown, amorphous organism known as an X Parasite, which immediately infects Samus.[4][5] As Samus begins her return to the B.S.L. Research Station, her central nervous system is compromised, causing her to lose consciousness and control of her ship. She is ejected via an escape pod, and the ship crashes into a nearby asteroid belt.[6] B.S.L. employees discover the pod and send it to Galactic Federation headquarters. During the trip, the X multiply inside Samus's body, severely endangering her life. Infected portions of Samus's suit are surgically removed, and a vaccine is developed from the DNA of the Metroid Hatchling to rid Samus of the X inside her body. since it is too dangerous to directly remove the X from her nervous system.[7][8] The vaccine grants Samus the ability to absorb the X to regain health and weapons[9] while also imparting the Metroids' weakness to cold upon her (an unexpected side effect). Once she recovers, Samus, clad in the Fusion Suit, is given a new ship (with a built-in computer through which she receives orders) and is tasked with investigating the B.S.L. Research Station after it is marred by a large explosion.[10][11]

B.S.L. Research Station

Once Samus is on board the station, she is told to uplink to her ship's computer via a Navigation Room in order to receive her mission directives. She is sent to the Quarantine Bay, the station's holding area for the specimens brought from SR388, and discovers that the specimens are infected with X Parasites.[12] Samus is then ordered to find and exterminate the X on board the station so as to keep them out of its six simulated breeding environments (sectors): Sector 1 (SRX), a replica of SR388, Sector 2 (TRO), a tropical jungle, Sector 3 (PYR), half desert and half lava-filled, volcanic area, Sector 4 (AQA), an aquatic environment, Sector 5 (ARC), a frozen, icy area, and Sector 6 (NOC), a dark sector designed for the cultivation of nocturnal organisms.[13]

In Sector 1, after learning that the Main Elevator has been damaged by an unknown source, and X have been released into the sector, Samus rectifies an atmospheric irregularity after some X hijack the sector's five environmental stabilizers in order to suit their needs.[14] The computer on Samus's ship then detects a disturbance in Sector 2, the presence of X Parasites, and once there, Samus learns of the existence of the SA-X, an X Parasite that has adopted her form and has all of her weaponry at its disposal. It is also the source of the explosion in the Quarantine Bay. Because of her weakness to cold and the SA-X's possession of the Ice Beam, Samus is instructed to avoid it[15], and after receiving the Bomb upgrade, Samus travels to Sector 4 to investigate reports of damage, which Samus's ship computer attributes to Serris, a fast-moving, snake-like organism whose rampage has severed some power nodes and electrified pools of water throughout the sector.

Through exploration, Samus discovers that Serris is dead, and that the actual culprit is an X copy. Samus defeats it and is directed to Sector 3 to obtain the Super Missile upgrade because the SA-X has inhibited access to the closest Data Room (Sector 2). Once Samus has the upgrade, she is ambushed by Security Robot B.O.X., and Samus heavily damages it, but it escapes before Samus can destroy it. The X then infiltrate Sectors 5 and 6, and due to Samus's aforementioned vulnerability to cold, she is sent to Sector 6, only to discover that a blue variety of X runs rampant, and Samus's ship computer warns her that absorbing them will freeze her from within, so she must stun them or otherwise avoid them until she reacquires the Varia Suit, which she does after battling a Hard Core-X. Now protected against extreme temperatures, Samus travels to Sector 5 to obtain the Ice Missile upgrade.

Once the upgrade is obtained, Samus is alerted of an emergency in Sector 3. Specifically, the research station's Main Boiler is overheating, and Samus has six minutes to shut it down before the station explodes. Samus arrives in the Main Boiler Control Room, and while it initially seems like a B.S.L. employee is operating the controls, Samus is soon forced to engage and defeat a Core-X before shutting down the boiler, indicating that the X can not only assume an organism's form, but they can also absorb its memories and/or knowledge. Samus has little time to ponder this, as her ship's computer informs her of survivors on the Habitation Deck. Expecting humans, Samus is surprised to find Dachoras and Etecoons, both of which she previously met on Zebes. They leave the area, and Samus is ordered to return to Sector 5. Her ship's computer believes that the X are increasing in strength, so Samus needs the Power Bomb upgrade in the sector in order to combat them.

Once Samus has the Power Bomb, her ship's computer directs her to the ship, where she learns that the Reactor Core has been shut down, disabling all power-operated technology on the ship, including elevators and door hatches. Samus heads to the core, which is infested with a web of roots, to activate the station's auxiliary power, but before she can, she is attacked by a large, Space Jump-wielding spider. Activating auxiliary power doesn't rectify her situation, so Samus is sent to locate the source of the roots clogging the core: an X Parasite masquerading as a golden Chozo Statue. With an unexpected Plasma Beam in tow, Samus returns to Sector 5 to investigate reports of damage caused by an organism known as Nightmare, one of the specimens transported to the station from the Bottle Ship. Its defeat provides Samus with the Gravity Suit, enabling her to further explore Sector 4, her only means of escape from Sector 5.

Secrets and Escape

Once Samus is in Sector 4, her ship's computer informs her that the security robot she encountered earlier has infiltrated Sector 6, now as an X host. Once Samus defeats the significantly more deadly machine, she is told to evacuate the sector because she is being stalked by the SA-X. Her escape route leads her through the Restricted Laboratory, an unmapped portion of the station containing Metroids in their larval, Alpha, Gamma, and Zeta forms. Samus encounters the SA-X, but the latter becomes distracted when larval Metroids escape from their holding tank and engage the parasite. It fires upon them, initiating a lockdown and ejection sequence. Samus escapes from the lab, and it is sent out into space, where it explodes. Samus is then informed by her ship's computer that the Federation had been secretly breeding Metroids for peaceful applications, and Federation employees discovered techniques to induce rapid growth. More pressing, however, is the fact that because the SA-X reproduces asexually like all X Parasites, no fewer than ten are on board the station. With this increase in danger, Samus's objective is to leave the station.

Her escape is hampered when she encounters a copy of the frozen, dried corpse of Ridley (the actual corpse having been destroyed by a Hard Core-X earlier), the second specimen taken from the Bottle Ship. Its eyes glow when Samus approaches, and she is forced into battle with an X version of her nemesis. Continuing with her evacuation, Samus learns from her ship's computer that the Federation is approaching the station, having taken an interest in the X. She learns that the Federation had been withholding upgrades from her to prevent her from attacking the SA-X, and when Samus and her computer argue over Samus's decision to detonate the station, she learns that the computer is in fact her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich, who died on the Bottle Ship. Adam informs Samus that it is possible to redirect the station's orbit so that SR388 is destroyed with the station's detonation, and her final mission is to change the orbit and escape the station alive.

Before she reaches the Control Room, Samus is confronted by the SA-X, and they are now equal in strength. After it takes damage, it becomes a massive, misshapen monstrosity. Samus manages to reduce it to its base X form, though it flees before she can absorb it. Samus has three minutes to return to her ship and escape the station. She reaches the docking bay, only to find her ship missing. In its place is an Omega Metroid. It attacks her, leaving her at the brink of death. Before it can kill her, however, the SA-X appears, reassumes its Samus form, and attacks the Omega Metroid with its Ice Beam. The Omega Metroid damages it and permanently reduces it to its base form. Samus absorbs the SA-X, regains the Ice Beam, and brutally assaults the Omega Metroid with shots to its chest. It dies, Samus's ship returns, and she escapes the station just before it collides with SR388, obliterating both. Musing about how her actions will be interpreted by future generations, Samus flies off into the deep recesses of space, awaiting her next assignment.

Enemies

X Parasites

Main article: X Parasite

As it turned out, most of the specimens brought to B.S.L Station for research purposes have been infected by X parasites. They multiply quickly and kill the host creature, also absorbing its DNA and can even use it to mimic the host. These have the same abilities as the original creature. Destroying the mimicked creature will set the X parasite free. As the only predator of the X are the Metroids, the vaccine inserted into Samus has made her invulnerable to X effects. She also can now absorb the X that have no host. Absorbing X replenishes Samus's health and weapon power. It can also give her back some of her latent abilities that have not been functioning since her Power Suit has been taken off. When the parasite is not absorbed, it will begin to mimic a creature again.

Bosses

Locations

Gallery

External Links

Metroid Recon's Full Map of Biologic Space Laboratories Research Station

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Release Information for Metroid Fusion - Moby Games
  2. 2.0 2.1 Metroid Fusion - Game Boy Advance Cover Art - Moby Games
  3. http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=30048
  4. "It was there that I was attacked by a life-form I had never encountered before." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  5. "It was only later that I learned the identity of my attacker: the parasitic organism we now know as X." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  6. "Once the X had infested my central nervous system, I lost consciousness and my ship drifted into an asteroid belt." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  7. "It then came to light that the organic components of my Power Suit had become so integrated with my system that it could not be removed while I was unconscious. Large portions of my suit had to be surgically removed, dramatically altering my physical appearance. However, the X in my central nervous system were too embedded to be removed safely. I was given a minimal chance of survival." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  8. "They proposed using a Metroid cell to make an anti-X vaccine. It seems that the Federation had managed to preserve a cell culture from the last infant Metroid from SR388. The serum was prepared and injected without delay." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  9. "You will never be infected by X again... In fact, you can now absorb any free-floating X parasites without a host by merely touching them. This will allow you to replenish health and restore weapons." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  10. "After regaining consciousness, I learned that an unexplained explosion rocked the station. For some reason, this awoke a nameless fear in my heart, and now I am being sent there to investigate. My mission on the B.S.L station will be overseen by my new ship's computer." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  11. "Following the commands of this blunt, computerized CO is something I have to bear, as it was a condition of my taking the ship." —Samus Aran (Metroid Fusion)
  12. "There's been an explosion in the Quarantine Bay. The bay currently stores capsules containing recent samples from SR388 as well as parts of your suit infected by the X parasites. The cause of the explosion is as yet unclear. Investigate." —Adam Malkovich (Metroid Fusion)
  13. "This station is home to many species...some violent ones. We must keep the X out of the breeding environments at all costs. This is vital, Samus." —Adam Malkovich (Metroid Fusion)
  14. "The Main Elevator leading to the access shaft has been severely damaged. It will be totally unusable for some time, unfortunately. Some unknown agent is at work. Something very powerful... certainly not human. I'll report when I know more. Now, listen closely. The X in Sector 1 have invaded the atmospheric stabilizers. They must want to alter the environment to their needs. They are already reproducing. Clear all 5 atmospheric stabilizers to stop them." —Adam Malkovich (Metroid Fusion)
  15. "I have named it the SA-X. I believe the SA-X came from the capsule containing your infected suit parts. It used a Power Bomb to escape the Quarantine Bay. That explosion breached the capsules containing all the X that started this disaster. But the SA-X is definitely our biggest worry right now. The SA-X is mimicking you at full power. You can't face it. If you see the SA-X, just run. Don't think about fighting... You are still very vulnerable to cold, an unexpected side-effect of the Metroid vaccine. Like Metroids, you can be frozen by an Ice Beam. Of course, the SA-X is armed with the Ice Beam. Stay away. If you see it, just run." —Adam Malkovich (Metroid Fusion)


Ridley from Metroid: Zero Mission Metroid Games Samus from Super Metroid
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