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Chozo Ruins
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The Chozo Ruins are the remains of a great civilization that Samus visits in Metroid Prime and one of the main areas on Tallon IV along with Tallon Overworld, Magmoor Caverns, Phendrana Drifts, and the Phazon Mines.
History
Founding
At an unspecified point in history, Chozo settlers left their home planet of Zebes and colonized Tallon IV. These colonists made a conscious decision to abandon their technologically advanced lifestyle and live in harmony with nature, and their descendants left behind lore to honor their legacy.[1] Consequently, they constructed what later became the Chozo Ruins with simple materials, forming their city's architecture around the natural landscape: buildings were hewn from stone, bridges were woven with branches, halls followed watercourses and chambers surrounded ancient trees.[2] In the deeper portions of their city, they built sentient statues in their likeness, as well as other non-sentient sculptures for purposes decorative and otherwise. Several years after the initial settling began, the Chozo began developing new senses that allowed them to glimpse the future, an evolution that they believed to be a sign of their "harmonization with the infinite;" in these visions they foresaw the coming of a Worm that would destroy their world.[3][4]
Architecture
In addition to the trademark simplistic, unobtrusive, natural materials that make up the Ruins, other distinctive Chozo designs make them unique. Smooth, carved Half Pipes, testaments to the painstaking craftsmanship of Chozo builders, appear in several chambers. Mammoth, sometimes luminescent, etchings of ancient Chozo runes are situated decoratively on walls, platforms, and floors throughout the Ruins. Complex Runic Symbols and translucent, holographic runic messages capable of producing nonpolluting, self-sustaining illumination are also found here.[5][6][7][8]
While the Chozo on Tallon IV chose to live without advanced technology, metal hallways connecting two areas through large rock masses are sometimes used, and hallways lined with large pipes venting steam evidence some sort of steam powered system in the area, though its function is not specified.
Corruption
A meteor impact on Tallon IV led to the spread of a Great Poison over the planet's surface, corrupting the ecosystem and mutating the wildlife. One of the mutated creatures took root in their sacred fountain, poisoning the water supply of the city.[9][10] The Phazon corruption even led to hauntings by Chozo Ghosts, called by their fellow Chozo "The Turned" - entities that know no reason beyond the instinctive urge to protect Chozo lands.[11] The Chozo contained the spread of the Poison but could not destroy it, and so they left knowledge and technology for the Entrusted One they had glimpsed in their visions and abandoned their mortal forms.[12] Time and the Great Poison continued to erode the city until it became overgrown ruins.
Environment
The Chozo ruins as they exist when Samus arrives are filled with hazards from the lingering Great Poison. Most of the water in the ruins is poisonous and deals damage to Samus when she comes in contact with it as a result of contamination.[13] The water purifies after the defeat of Flaahgra, the mutated plant that is the source of the toxic water.[14] Local flora consists mostly of Tangle Weeds, Venom Weeds, and Blastcaps, plantforms that are well suited to the barren landscape.
Biosphere
The abandoned structures and courtyards are home to a wide variety of common creatures, including Beetles who burrow in the warm sands and the more ferocious Plated Beetle. The hives of War Wasps, Barbed War Wasps, and Ram War Wasps litter the crevices of the ruins. Immobile Eyons sit on the walls of tunnels, and Scarabs, which travel in large swarms, inhabit similar areas. Stone Toads, which are usually non-aggressive, can sometimes be found where there is water nearby. Shriekbats hang from ceilings in dark areas, and rock-dwelling Reaper Vines that embed themselves in cliff faces and walls. Light-emitting Plazmites stalk abandoned hallways looking for prey.
Obstacles and Acquisitions
Chozo Ghosts continue to haunt many religious sites after the purification and respawn after Samus leaves a room in which they abide. The Chozo Ruins contain the most upgrades in the game, as well as five Energy Tanks and nineteen Missile Expansions. The area also has most of the Chozo Lore. The bosses of the area are the Hive Mecha, a Plated Beetle, the Incinerator Drone, and Flaahgra. The Artifacts that are found in the Ruins are Lifegiver, Wild, and World, tying it with Phendrana for the most Artifacts.
Gallery
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Nature-based architecture is a staple of the Chozo Ruins.
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Flaahgra, corrupting the Sacred Fountain.
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Flaahgra, corrupting the Sacred Fountain.
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The purified Sacred Fountain.
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Glowing runic symbols
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Glowing runic symbols
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Chozo architecture in the Arboretrum
References
- ↑ "The history of the Chozo stretches back into ancient times, so far into the fog of the past that we know not where our ancestors came from. One thing is clear, however: the Chozo who colonized Tallon IV made a conscious choice to eschew a civilization of advanced technology. They chose to live in harmony with nature, guided by the providence of the universe. As this city grows, we plan to honor them with written tributes, carvings etched in stone to remind us always of their legacy." —Chozo Lore "Beginnings" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Our home here on Tallon IV will be a place of simplicity: structures hewn from the stone, bridges woven with branches, hallways caressed by pure waters. We build around the ancient and noble trees, drawing from their strength and giving them our own in return." —Chozo Lore "Purification" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Many long years have passed since we Chozo first took root in this land. The passage of time has always been a source of fascination to us; it is the belief of many Chozo sages that the truths of the universe hide within the tumbling currents of time's flow. Even as we search for answers there, however, we find illumination in other, unexpected places. We know not how the ability has come to us, but recently many Chozo have begun to sense things beyond the realm of ordinary perception. Strange sights and inexplicable sensations flood our minds, filling us with visions of past and future. We take this growing ability to be a sign of our burgeoning harmonization with the infinite; perhaps, finally, the universe's secrets are becoming known to us." —Chozo Lore "Harmonization" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Many Chozo are gifted with the distant sight, and even more begin to learn it as our harmonization with the universe becomes more and more complete. We peer forwards, seeing prophecy in the ripples of the water, hearing rumors of coming days on the breath of the wind. Though we celebrate the distant sight, many of these visions are dark - the worst of the prophecies, and the most common, tells of the coming of the Worm. Born from parasites, nurtured in a poisoned womb, the Worm grows, devouring from within, until the world begins to rot." —Chozo Lore "Worm" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "That which fouls the waters seeks the Sun." —Hologram (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "The Great Poison comes from Tallon's core." —Hologram (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Only the holder of twelve shall face the Worm." —Hologram (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "The Great Poison corrupts all, even the Chozo." —Hologram (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Unforeseen by sages, a meteor came as if from nowhere, casting a dark shadow of debris over the land with the violence of its impact. Its destructive force spent, the fallen star burned itself out rapidly, and the incident should have faded into memory...but the meteor brought with it corruption. A Great Poison burst forth into the land, a strange energy that clawed at natural life with a ferocity that seemed almost sentient. Bound by our ignorance of this phenomenon, we Chozo could only watch in horror as this dark force slowly began to spread across the surface of Tallon IV." —Chozo Lore "Meteor Strike" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "The cries of this dying land echo in our ears as we Chozo watch the Great Poison seep ever further into the living pulse of the planet. The dark energy sinks into the trees and waters, devouring all life. Peaceful beasts die by the thousands - some creatures survive, but their forms grow as twisted and evil as the force that fell from the sky. Many of these mutated monstrosities remain small enough to do little harm, but others grow enormous and threaten our very existence. One such beast defiles our sacred fountain, disgorging poison from its foul form, replacing pure, flowing water with cascades of creeping death." —Chozo Lore "Spreading Evil" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "So many creatures suffer beneath the blight upon the land, and we Chozo are no exception. But for all of our pain, we can at least believe in the promise of the future; unlike the apparitions that have begun to appear, entities that feel neither hope nor solace. We call these doomed souls The Turned - taking ghostly Chozo forms, they know no reason beyond the instinctive urge to protect our lands. They will likely exist in limbo forever." —Chozo Lore "Entrusted One" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "Things bound to earthly shapes are temporal and frail; existing in a single dimension, they are fragile, vulnerable, and ultimately mortal. However, not all things obey this law - shapeless, they wait beyond the realm of perception, emerging only when one arrives who can feel their presence. Such is the will of the Chozo. Our will to defeat the evil seeping into this planet remains forever, desiring only to see the darkness meet its end. Mindless but strong, our will shall never sleep until the Entrusted One arrives to cleanse this land." —Chozo Lore "Shapeless" - PAL version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "At the highest point of our city lies the fountain, a wellspring of pure water that flows throughout our civilization. It is the jewel of the Chozo, the life-giver, and yet its waters speak of a clouded future. As we come to understand the paths of time and space more clearly, we have begun to glimpse rough tatters of past and future, glittering behind reality like soft lights behind a curtain. We have seen the fountain in these glimpses, pouring darkness instead of water, and we cannot guess what the visions mean." —Chozo Lore "Fountain" - NTSC version (Metroid Prime)
- ↑ "This mutant plant is the source of toxic water in the Ruins." —Logbook entry for Flaahgra (Metroid Prime)
