Nintendo just announced the return of Samus Aran in their new title, Metroid Ravenous, to widespread fanfare. The famed intergalactic bounty hunter is the focus of a slew of titles, now including Metroid Ravenous, that all see Aran landing on a foreign alien planet. The new release has got me thinking a lot about how the franchise began, and where it has ended up.
While they differ in scale and even dimension, these games generally follow the same formula despite the ever-changing gaming landscape. One mechanic in particular pertains to pretty much every game in the franchise, save for a few, and has defined Aran's struggle for survival. The common theme? Physical amnesia, a very important tool utilized for progression that aims to remind players that all-powerful beings, like Aran, have their limits, at least at first.
The concept of physical amnesia is most popular in the Metroid series, but can be found in other titles such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and God of War 2 and 3. In short, the idea is that an all-powerful character is faced with a scenario early on in gameplay that strips him or her of their powers, rendering them weak and without support.
As in many of Aran's stories, she lands on an alien planet sans most of her powerful suit upgrades, like the grapple beam or morph ball. Equipped only with a basic blaster, the bounty hunter must explore this new world, briefed on a mission about a distress signal or threat of Space Pirates. This not only offers a perfect opportunity for power scaling, but also gets players invested in Aran's well-being and success.
The concept of physical amnesia is most popular in the Metroid series, but can be found in other titles such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and God of War 2 and 3.
Metroid from 1986, Super Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission, and Metroid Dread are just a few titles in the series that begin this way. It's a scary concept. To be stripped of all that makes you powerful, leaving you vulnerable in a world unexplored and inhabited by dangerous creatures. It sets the scene for the struggles Aran will face down the line, blocking players' paths, making it impossible to tackle certain areas or enemies without upgrades.
Metroid Fusion does a fantastic job of utilizing physical amnesia. It quickly becomes the center of her story in this game when, on planet SR388, Samus is infected by a dangerous organism called an X Parasite. The pesky parasite physically bonds with the organic parts of Aran's Power Suit, and surgeons must surgically remove large portions of the suit to save her life. Stripped down to the basics and without much hope, Aran must traverse the Biologic Space Laboratory research station orbiting planet SR388.
Aran is equipped with her wits, a small blaster, and a blue and yellow Fusion Suit that doesn't grant her any powers beyond absorbing parasites. For the next few hours of gameplay, players' lives are boiled down to creeping through vents, hoping and praying they won't be found by a horde of Space Pirates, or worse, Aran's parasitic clone SA-X. Players must be strategic to find their way out of this mess by locating suit upgrades for protection.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/metroid-ravenous-samus-losing-powers-progression/
