The Space Pirates - A Deconstruction of Villainy

the portrayal of Metroid space pirates has changed pretty significantly from One release to the next back in Super Metroid the space pirates were these crustacean aliens with big Snappy lobster claws for hands crawling up and down the Walls it's actually a really cool Sprite design the space pirates of Metroid Prime are much more a lizard-like they have scaly green skin reptilian faces and three-fingered quad hands something that's become clearer with the excellently redone models in the remaster is the way these space pirates have cybernetically altered themselves look at this space Pirate's back the way the metal has been crudely merged with its flesh these space pirates are willing to undergo extreme and invasive surgeries to give themselves an edge in combat or perhaps their leaders are just willing to force their ground troops to do so and it wasn't just the visual design that changed between games back in Super Metroid the space pirates were pretty generically evil space aliens they crawled around they looked creepy they shot lasers at you and that's about it there wasn't a lot of story to them they didn't have much personality they didn't have any motivation besides some vague desire to conquer the Galaxy the space pirates of Metroid and Super Metroid had no voice they never spoke never wrote anything down the player could read never explain their motivations or their perspective there are a lot of silent protagonists in video games especially in the early days Samus is one of them she never speaks and there are just as many silent antagonists too these space pirates in Super Metroid were a silent antagonist it's an interesting challenge to think about how a story gets told when both its protagonist and antagonists are silent this changed in Metroid Prime Metroid Prime has a scan visor with which the player can scan space pirate computer terminals you can read their scientific notations their security logs orders issued from their High command their journals their aspirations their frustrations their fears Elon has been said about how extraordinary the jump from 2D to 3D was in Metroid Prime but I think this ability to scan space pirate text logs is just as extraordinary of a leap but of a different kind this is a narrative leap in this game the space pirates went from being a totally silent antagonist with very vague motivations no personality or culture to speak of into an antagonist with a voice with a lot to say with specific named motivations into a defined alien culture whose societal values we could understand it's a huge change in Metroid Prime you can read what the space pirates have to say about Samus about the metroids about the chozo about Faison about their goals in their own words from their own perspective from a narrative lens this is a really extraordinary transformation it's really fascinating the writers had to take what tiny little bit of information they could glean about space pirates from those lobster claws Sprites in Super Metroid and blow it up into an entire alien Intergalactic Empire so let's look at it let's examine how the space pirates are portrayed in Metroid Prime how the writers brought them to life detail by detail in Metroid Prime you can find and scan 25 logs which are labeled as pirate data these 25 logs tell the story of the space pirates in their own words in this video I will read all 25 of these logs analyze each of them examine what they tell us about the space pirates motivations their culture their society what makes them tick as well as examine each of these space pirate facilities we explore on the planet of Talon for and discuss a lot of other miscellaneous pirate related scans throughout the game there are actually slightly different versions of these logs in different releases of the game so just know that I am analyzing the log entries as they appear in Metroid Prime remastered as those tell the Canon version of the space Pirate's story in this video I'm going to be analyzing a lot of very small seemingly random details because the way the writers of Metroid Prime crafted the identity of the space pirates is by one small seemingly random detail at a time in scans from all over the game what I want to do is combine all of those small details together into a cohesive picture of who the space pirates are anyway the first pirate facility you will explore in Metroid Prime is the research frigate orpheon in orbit around the planet Talon 4. the orpheon is an entire vessel dedicated to nothing but research a science vessel this is immediately interesting because in Metroid and Super Metroid anything pirate related you could find was combat or battle related the orpheon is the first time in the series when you see the Pirates in a non-war footing see something domestic in their culture see them at home so to speak and its design already tells us a lot thought about that culture you can learn a ton about a society from how they shape their spaces the orpheon's interior has a dark and comfortless design there is very little color here no plants no artwork no decoration anywhere in the visual design absolutely everything you see is functional in some way it is factory-like every inch of this vessel is used for work there is nothing extraneous nothing recreational nothing comforting no life at all other than the space pirates themselves and the Twisted results of their experiments immediately you get this sense of a culture without much of what we would call culture no art no music no literature it's a very stark contrast to the chozo culture you explore later which is absolutely filled to the brim with art and ornamentation everywhere you look but I'll do a full video on the chozo later aboard the orpheon the space pirates conducted horrific experiments using a newly discovered mutagenic substance called a Faison with Faison they forcefully mutate creatures into frightening new shapes mutations that are painful violent and grotesque these slithering parasite creatures you see here get morphed into this this hulking destructive acid belching Leviathan the space pirates research is Extreme there is nothing careful or cautious about their research method their research modus operandi is to go as far as possible as fast as possible with very little regard to safety or Consequences these are the sorts of scientists who never ask whether they should only whether they can it's a dangerous way to do things and has some predictable results just like Dr Frankenstein's famous monsters these space pirates have lost control of their Creations their Creations have turned against them you can see one here that tore a gaping hole in the ship slaughtering all in its path before finally being killed by the time Samus arrives at the orpheon chaos Reigns the ship is in critical condition its horrific research subjects are on the loose tearing holes in the ship's systems all the space pirate crew are fled dead or dying fleeing from or slain by the results of their own experiments now let's look at some scans on the ship this set of scans discusses the mutations their experiment has undergone and I want to pay particular attention to this one combat mutation applications are complete this is the purpose of all their research combat Conquest War these space pirates want to turn living creatures into weapons as we read more of their scans it will become clearer that this is the purpose of all their research it's always about combat it's always about getting an edge in the next battle and we'll discuss that more in a bit next this set of scans detail the mutation process the injection of Faison this particular creature did not survive this scan says cell structure failing the mutations were so drastic that they tore this creature apart at the cellular level I think it's clear that this experimentation process is an extremely painful and often deadly one I know they're just weird ugly Alien Parasite creatures so we don't really care about them and furthermore it's a video game and none of these creatures are real so we care even less but I think it's worth noting that the space pirates are subjecting living creatures to immense pain and suffering here they are torturing these animals it's genuinely horrific these space pirates are depicted as a compassionless culture willing to do anything in the name of scientific progress this is science without ethical imitations this is experimentation without any consideration for the well-being of the test subject the orpheon also contains our first pirate data log the logs that tell the story of the space pirates in their own words so here it is zebus has fallen all ground Personnel are presumed dead either killed by the Hunter clad in metal or in the subsequent destruction of the underground facilities our research frigates orpheon Syracuse invol Paragon were in orbit at zero hour and manage to retreat frigate orpheon is now docked at Vortex Outpost orpheon's cargo appears to have a 100 survival rate metroids are healthy but on restricted feeding schedules due to uncertain Supply status we are ready to begin research on the metroids and other promising life forms security status remains at code blue no signs of pursuit from the hunter so Metroid Prime takes place directly after the original Metroid game it's very early in the Metroid timeline the planet zebis was the site of a massive underground space pirate base which Sam is completely destroyed from the space pirate perspective this would be a traumatic and shocking event a single person a single Bounty Hunter laid ways to an entire planet's worth of space pirates all their technology all their soldiers for them it must be nearly unbelievable one thing I think is really interesting is seeing how the space pirates perceive Samus like what is their view of her what do they think of her and the writers did a particularly good job answering that question the space pirates refer to Samus as the Hunter and I love this title the hunter comes with it an implicit sense of respect and fear if she is the hunter then they are her prey the space parents aren't the kind of villains who shake their fists and say we'll get you next time loser you just wait and see instead they're like that lady is freaking crazy she is the hunter we don't want anything to do with her I really like this as the player controlling Samus reading this makes you feel powerful like you guys should be scared of me I'm kicking your butts I also want to talk about that mention of the three research frigates the orpheon Syracuse and vole Paragon there's no discussion anywhere in this log of combat vessels of battle frigates instead it only discusses their research frigates the writers have changed the focus of the space pirates back in Super Metroid the primary thing the space pirates did was crawl on the walls and shoot lasers in Metroid Prime the primary thing the space prior to do is research theirs is an intensely science-focused culture their Fleet of ships is made up of research frigates rather than battle frigates all of these space pirate facilities we explore in the game are research facilities not combat focused facilities not military Barracks not military factories they are full of research stations most of the scans you read in the game discuss these space pirates experiments I think this is really smart writing give your antagonists something to do besides fighting and an interesting part of this is that usually in fiction the pursuit of knowledge curiosity scientific rigor and scientific progress are depicted as Noble traits very often we like and admire scientist characters and stories however within the space pirate culture these usually Noble traits have been Twisted in space pirates Science and Industry which can be so very beneficial and good have been taken to their most violent most destructive most corrupting extreme the space pirates use science to inflict pain and suffering to torture to destroy as I mentioned earlier the sole purpose of their research of their curiosity is to develop Weaponry to win battles to become the Supreme force in the galaxy Power for power's sake space pirate culture is twisted and frightening all the more so because they're good at it these aren't a bunch of bumbling idiots the space pirates are good scientists their experiments have real practical results they are not afraid to take extreme risks they are not afraid of catastrophic failure every time they fail like on the orpheon they just pick up the pieces and start again right where they left off the this first log also contains the first mention of metroids in the game the orpheon used to have a full complement of metroids for study though by the time Samus shows up they've been transferred onto the planet the space pirates are obsessed with metroids this holds true through pretty much all of the games in the series while in the games metroids tend to be fairly weak enemies like you just have to hit them with an ice beam and then they're pretty much done in the Allure of the Metroid series metroids are supposed to be really really scary metroids are essentially Indestructible with only one weakness you can freeze them but most people don't have an ice beam like Samus does if anyone else encounters a Metroid you're basically already dead you just can't kill them the space pirates recognize the tremendous potential of the metroids if they could be harnessed they could be a devastating weapon of course throughout the series no space pirate scientist ever succeeds in taming a Metroid but that doesn't stop them from trying again and again the space pirates possess as an intrinsic tenacity no matter how many times they fail they just don't give up now we're gonna move on from the research freaking orpheon Samus tracks down the last of the space pirates escaped experiments the parasite Queen and after defeating it in battle it falls into the ship's energy core things start exploding and Samus escapes next I want to talk a little bit about the chozo I'm gonna do a full essay on the chozo's story in Metroid Primal later but for now there's a couple things you need to know about them to better understand the space pirates so the chozo are an ancient Intergalactic species incredibly technologically advanced but unlike the space pirates the trozo were deeply spiritually minded they cared about art they cared about nature they cared about philosophy they cared about Harmony in the story of Metroid Prime the space pirates and the chozo are foils to each other they are the Opposites of each other in almost every way on Talon 4 they chozo lived in spiritual and technological harmony with nature until the planet was impacted by an apocalyptic extra Galactic asteroid the asteroid carried with it Faison the mutagenic substance the space pirates were experimenting with on the orpheon the Faison spread throughout the planet killing almost all life in what little life it didn't kill it transformed mutated into hideous new forms in their writings the chozo referred to Faison as a poison it is poisoning the planet killing it the chozo tried to contain this poison this difference in perspective between the trozo and the space pirates is interesting to me the space pirates recognize the poisonous qualities of Faison they know that it kills that it mutates but they aren't afraid of it instead those exact qualities excite them where the chozo sea poisoned the space pirates see potential it's just like the metroids a terrifying and deadly species that are impossible to control but because the space pirates are mad scientists willing to try anything thing to experiment on anything if there is even the slightest combat potential they will open Pandora's Box they will trip over themselves in their rush to pry open Pandora's Box they are so excited to unleash its devastating power without any regard to whether they might be caught in its blast the second space pirate facility you explore in the game is a very small one located in the magma field Magmar Caverns here the space pirates have constructed a geothermal power station all over the caverns you can see their technology siphoning liquid hot magma from the pools presumably shipping it off to their power generators this facility is unique in that it is the only non-research focused space pirate location in the entire game and because it's not research focused it seems like the space pirates don't really care about it it's small and there aren't many actual space pirates around there are a couple worthwhile scans here though first this scan says that the local Crystal formations don't contain much phase on but they do have a high value to the monks of grand time so this particular pirate recommends processing the crystal for that market once Faison operations cease this is the only mention in the entire series of the monks of gronheim so I can't even guess who they might be I'm pretty sure this is one of the only mentions of Commerce in the entire series The Metroid Universe does not contain much mercantilism the space pirates themselves are an oddly named antagonist even back in the original Metroid they never do any real pirating they don't act like Pirates their goal is galactic domination which isn't something historical Pirates really cared about historical Pirates wanted wealth and plunder the space pirates never really seem to care that much about money except in this scan apparently the space pirates sell things to the monks of grandeheim sometimes I also think that line once phase on operations have ceased is pretty funny Faison is the most extraordinary Discovery the space pirates have ever made Faison operations are going to be the only kind of operations they will run for the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy but not all space pirates are on the same page down here in the geothermal power plant there's some doofus space pirate who's like oh as who does we're done with his face on stuff we can sell some crystals to the monks of groundhog there's a second scan here that says report any signs at magma Predator activity to Security Central at once the magma Predator they're referring to is the Magmar a sort of giant snake that lives in the magma and sprays fire the reason Magmar activity is so dangerous is because it could damage those Pistons that siphon magma from the pools knocking the whole system offline what interests me is that these space pirates are apparently having as much trouble with the local fauna as Samus is throughout the game you can find a lot of scans like this talking about infestations and security breaches by local Predators it just makes the world feel a little more real realistically the space pirates should be having difficulty with Predators the Fauna of Talon 4 because of Faison mutation is extremely dangerous it also humanizes the space pirates a little bit they're dealing with the same sorts of problems that we would deal with if we were trying to colonize a new planet moving on the third space prior facility you explore in the game is located in the fendrana drifts The Frigid polar region of talon4 before you actually reach that facility you can find a couple skins in the save room and one of them is worth looking at it says new personnel must report to the South research facility failure to report will be penalized by a 30 ration cut and extra duty this is the first mention in space pirate scans of punishment and there will be many more and it actually tells us a lot about space pirate Society space pirates can seem like a sort of monolith like all the space pirates share the same goal the same drive the same everything but that isn't true there is a hierarchy in space pirate Society there are those who give orders and those who follow orders and sometimes they don't follow those orders the fact that a punishment exists at all suggests that sometimes Pirates do things that require punishment this may seem like a small and obvious detail but it goes so far towards making the space pirates feel more real and alive back in Super Metroid there's no suggestion that space pirates ever don't follow orders in that game space pirates might as well be mindless automatons but in Metroid Prime space pirates are sentient creatures in sometimes sentient creatures are truant or disobedient or lazy all of those foibles exist within space pirate culture too it's also worth noting the form this punishment takes punishment means less food and more work just like us these space pirates or at least some of them don't like doing work they want to kick back and relax when their shift is over they don't want to work extra shifts this is another humanizing detail for what would otherwise be a totally faceless and Mindless alien species scans mentioning punishment make me wonder about how labor is organized in space pirate Society is service in the military optional or forced are the grunts Samus faces in battle volunteers conscripts or are they straight up slaves we never see any form of domestic or Mercantile space pirate culture anywhere in any of the games which suggests their society is very focused on the military most if not all industry science and labor works for the benefit of the military anyway moving on to that third space pirate facility that's found in the fendron adrifts the space parent facility here is another research base and it's actually located within an old ruined chozo facility they've destroyed most of the architecture replacing it with their own technology burrowing and expanding however you can still see signs of the old chozo structure here and there like these towers at the top of the base which are clearly chozo in style this is another interesting aspect of space pirate culture they are are willing to use anything that might benefit them appropriate anything if it's easier to occupy an old chozo base than to build their own then that's what they'll do but they have no respect for what they're taking over if another culture builds something that the space Pirates fight useful they don't care at all about the culture that built it only the product they will think nothing of wiping out all the old gorgeous chozo ruins on the planet all of that culture in history and keeping only what they can use the fendrana drifts facility is the Pirates research headquarters on Talon 4. and most of that research seems to be focused on metroids it is located in the polar region because metroids are weak to cold and easier to control in cold environments just like on the orpheon the architecture here is very practical and undecorated there is no decoration or Recreation here nothing designed for Comfort one thing that's interesting is how much ice and snow you can find inside the base the space pirates care so little about comfort that they don't even properly seal the interior here they are working in extremely cold temperatures of course we don't know what temperatures these space pirates do find comfortable but I still think it's notable how Spartan the design is here next let's look at some scans here are two scans related to their research the first says optimal absorption mutation has led to unexpected degeneration of internal organs the second says specimen euthanized after psychotic episode These two scans speak further to how horrific the space pirate research methods are their experiments cause one animal's internal organs to dissolve which must be horribly painful and cause another animal to go violently insane to undergo a psychotic breakdown like what are they doing to these poor animals there's also this hollow Observatory which is really cool and shows a holographic 3D model of the local system one thing interesting to note is that apparently Zeb is Intel and four orbit the same style are which is kind of confusing because where the heck are Talons one through three anyway according to this scan of the Hologram Talon 4's biosphere is collapsing in approximately 25 years it will be a Barren Wasteland Faison is killing the entire planet the game mostly focuses on the wave phase on mutates creatures but you should always remember that Faison kills too Faison can and will destroy all life on the entire planet this is scary stuff and the space pirates don't care the danger simply doesn't matter to them the death of all life on a planet is inconsequential in their culture the space pirates do not value life the only value knowledge and domination this one is a fun scam all guards must use ice containment gear when transporting metroids this includes sedated specimens and those pronounced dead there's a story here at some point a space pirate was transporting a Metroid they thought was dead and then the Metroid jumped up and sucked their soul out of their face pretty terrifying it also speaks to how loose these space pirate safety standards are alright one final scan here before we get to the pirate data logs project Titan is suspended indefinitely security breaches resulting in massive casualties have occurred access is strictly prohibited project Titan was the space pirates attempt to pacify thardis this giant pile of rocks that have been brought to life by Faison somehow there are a few different scans that discuss the operation this is such a stupid thing to have tried to do they were never going to pacify thardis he's not like a feral dog that you can domesticate again he's literally just a bunch of floating rocks powered by Faison energy the space pirates just can't help themselves they have to experiment on and subjugate everything and again and again it blows up in their face massive casualties I guess at least in this case the space pirates were smart enough to know when to get give up but I guarantee if Samus had never shown up and blasted The Artist To Pieces the space pirates would have given pacification another shot and it would have gone just as poorly okay so now we need to look at some space pirate data remember pirate data are the narrative logs that tell the story of the space pirates in their own words there are 25 pirate data entries in the game and so far I have only looked at one of them there are 12 here in the effendrona research facility so let's read each one and see what they tell us about space pirate culture scans of these spiral sector detected a massive energy Spike emanating from a wanderer-class planet identified as Talon 4. Scout reconnaissance was immediately dispatched to the center of the spike a land mass at heading Mark 40.08.02 returning with planetary samples and Atmospheric Imaging analysis shows the energy source to be an unstable radioactive material of enormous potential we are unable to form an accurate risk assessment at this time but we are unlikely to find an energy source this powerful again analysis will continue but currently Talon 4 appears to be a viable secondary headquarters following the destruction of their forces on zebas the space pirate scanners detected a massive energy Spike this was their first contact with Faison like so many scientific discoveries it was purely accidental a random scan right place at the right time it's also interesting to me that very soon after their defeat on zebus the space pirates are already launching straight into another expansion colonizing a new planet it seems as if any single defeat even won as crushing as what happened on zebus barely slows them down at all the space pirates have a deep reserve of forces with which to replenish themselves following a defeat we have codified the Newfound energy source as Faison a v index mutagen of which we have very little reliable data indications point to a meteor of Unknown Origin expelling phase on to the environment this material appears to possess the power to mutate organic life forms sufficiently to withstand its poison these mutations appear promising with abrupt evolutionary leaps appearing in single generation reproduction plans to establish a full science team on Talon 4 are being finalized here we see the naming of Faison though no explanation is given as to what the word means or why it was chosen I want to focus on that phrase these mutations appear promising the mutations phase on causes are horrific and violent they almost always kill the creature being mutated Faison causes creatures to go violently insane the space Pirate's minds are so warped they look at something this dangerous and say oh this seems promising like these people are crazy Faison mining is underway several garrisons have been established and terraforming of the chozo ruins is underway security systems are operational in science steam continues to make progress in their biotech research the fendrana drifts have proven to be an optimal location for research headquarters and soon it will be joined by a fully operational combat base and starport if commands or predictions are half true we shall rise to dominance in this sector within a Deca cycle truly these are glorious times alright the space pirates are feeling pretty good it's not clear how much time has passed since their total defeat on the planet zebus but it can't have been that long ago and already this space pirate is like these are glorious times we built a couple bases on an Uncharted abandoned Planet Yeehaw the science fiction nerd in me has always particularly loved this log just the idea of landing on an alien world terraforming the surface establishing outposts conducting research building a combat base in a star Port it sounds so cool I would love to see a space pirate star Port it sounds awesome if the space pirates weren't so freaking evil they would actually be really cool like going to alien world exploring doing research this is all what made Star Trek such a fun show initial transfer of metroids do tell in four research facilities has been completed three were terminated in an accident at the Landing site but the others were pacified and transported safely initial phase-on infusion testing is underway we are eager to observe the effects of Faison on metroids especially their ability to absorb and process the energy given off by Faison sources Earl early research suggests a considerable growth in power and size whether the creatures stay stable thereafter remains to be seen here we see some more of the space pirate obsession with metroids everything they do they're like well what about metroids sure we've got this cool new toy Faison but what if we mixed it with metroids whoa like guys take a break go outside go do something else the very first creature they test Faison on is metroids it's the first thing they do if you gave a space pirate a jar of peanut butter they would immediately go rub it on a Metroid to see what happens it does speak to this insatiable curiosity that space pirates have they want to understand things they want to see how this thing reacts to that thing they always want to learn more it would be a noble trait if it weren't in service of such terrible ends our initial tests exposing Talon 4's indigenous parasites to Faison appear to be successful increases is in strength size and aggressiveness are common in all test subjects as well as unforeseen Evolutions like additional poison sacs within the abdomen in the appearance of a second ring of mandibles in several subjects these creatures were chosen because of their resilience and it appears possible that given enough exposure to Faison they may one day be able to survive on any planet we transport them to our methods will have to be refined we currently have a 100 Extinction rate after the fourth infusion period and most survivors of the third infusion stage are so violent and uncontrollable that they have to be euthanized even still we remain hopeful that further experimentation will result in success okay so in that first sentence the space parrot says our tests have been successful then later it says we currently have a 100 Extinction rate after the fourth infusion period in most survivors of the third are violently insane that is not success if all of your research research subjects are dead then that is not a success the Pirates here are discussing the parasite Queens they created up on the research frigid orpheon and of course we know that those experiments ultimately resulted in catastrophic failure the complete destruction of the ship along with almost all its crew and here you can see exactly why that happened the space pirates run a test get hideous terrible results and are like wow we're doing a great job let's keep doing it the space pirate research method is so insane they take such absurd risks and so often it results in catastrophic failure mining operations have begun near the crater where Faison appears to be most concentrated daily phase-on yields have increased 44 percent and our mining system becomes more streamlined as personnel and Equipment flows increase several incidents of faison-induced Madness have been reported prompting augmented life support regulations in the deeper Chambers symptoms include the loss of equilibrium erratic respiration muscle spasms and in the most extreme cases hallucinations a timeline reassessment for the refinery operations is recommended as the material proves more unstable than initial analysis indicated this is the first mention in the series of Faison Madness which by Metroid Prime Theory will become Central to the plot Faison can affect your mind cause you to see things that aren't there can make you go violently insane and there is no cure once you are affected by Faison Madness there is no going back your mind will be forever altered you'd think that if the wave phase on poison and kills all life it touches or the Hideous mutations it causes worn enough to scare the space pirates away then this would do it like how many more red flags do you need how many more signs do you need that this stuff is really dangerous and should not be played with of course the space pirates barely care this log contains no concern for the well-being of their workers the only thing they care about is how this mental illness will affect their Refinery operation timelines space parent Society is ruled by a horrifying bureaucracy that truly does not care about its workers the only thing it cares about is timelines and results later on we will see just how cruelly these poor workers who are infected by Faison Madness get treated research outposts Glacier one in the fendron adrifts region of Talon 4's mountains is operating at 85 percent capacity Sub-Zero temperatures have made the Metroid sluggish and easy to control even those well into Faison infusion Cycles cold containment stasis tanks are sufficient for the juveniles but some of the larger metroids have been moved to quarantine caves for safety purposes security doors remain an issue as malfunctions due to ice occur every day large predators in the waste are also a concern as they continue to kill personnel and breach secure areas unfortunately it has become clear then our containment teams cannot neutralize all of them without a vast increase in Munitions and soldiers Glacier 1 is the name of this research facility we've been exploring as previously mentioned the focus here is on Metroid research which is aided by cold temperatures there's also more talk of these space pirates problems with the local Wildlife that last line we cannot neutralize all of them without a vast increase in Munitions and soldiers is interesting to me because it's kind of an admission of failure the space pirates cannot overcome the local Wildlife the space pirates are not some monolithic insurmountable Force they are getting beat by beetles and shriek bats also that mention of personnel getting killed even before Samus shows up the casualty rate of this mission was already really high just how many people have these space Powers lost on Talon 4. before Sam has ever stepped foot on the planet most air farming and retrofitting of security checkpoints on Talon 4 is complete but we continue to research the alarming epidemic of breaches by local creatures door records show no unauthorized entries so we must presume the creatures are either slipping in undetected during daily Personnel moves or else finding their way in through Subterranean tunnels we have found many small breaches of this latter sort and plug them whenever we can but it is unlikely that we will ever achieve full extermination within our current timetable this is more discussion of these space pirates failure to overcome the local Wildlife they're having some serious problems I haven't pointed out all the extraneous scams but they talk about this over and over again they just cannot beat these big beetles I mentioned it before but it's worth repeating it's details like these that make the world of Metroid Prime feel more alive and more real the space parents are dealing with a realistic problems these are the kinds of difficulties they should be facing on a planet like Talon 4. I really admire the writing and World building in this game the Reconstruction of geoform187 codenamed Ridley was recently completed after his defeat on zebus command ordered a number of metagenic improvements for him though aggressive we were able to implement these changes in a cycle the metamorphosis was painful but quite successful in the end early tests indicate a drastic increase in strength mobility and offensive capability cybernetic modules and armor plating have been added as well we believe our creation Now called Meadow Ridley will become the Mainstay of our security force a job he will certainly relish this is one of the only scans that mention Ridley samus's longtime Nemesis in the game in Super Metroid and Metroid zero Mission Ridley is portrayed as a leader of the space pirates even as sort of General commanding troops in Metroid Prime he has been reduced to geoform 187 just one of apparently nearly 200 other equally interesting geofarms it's a bit of an unfortunate Fall From Grace for the space dragon and War wise doesn't really fit in with their rest of the series Samus first encounters readily onboard the orpheon where he was recovering after his cybernetic surgery she chases Ridley down onto the planet nominally this is samus's Mission in the game it's not given much attention but Samus is technically searching for Ridley for the entire game like that's why she's exploring the planet she's looking for him he disappears for basically the entire game until he randomly shows up for an awesome boss battle at the very end confidence is high regarding phase-on applications we know enough about Faison now to begin combining it with space pirate DNA the code name for this Venture will be project Helix preliminary studies indicate that Faison infusion could produce radical new pirate genomes benevolent mutation levels are high in current test subjects Faison Madness is a concern for refinements in the infusion process should reduce or neutralize the odds of mental degeneration these face Fighters are not only conducting horrific torturous experiments on animals but they have begun conducting horrific and torturous experiments on themselves this is legitimately crazy we have seen the results of the space pirate experiments with Faison the destructive violent uncontrollable parasite queens that destroyed the orpheon scans have mentioned a 100 fatality rate meaning every single research specimen was killed by the experiments scans have mentioned violence so terrible that specimens had to be euthanized scans have mentioned Faison Madness there was Project Titan the attempted to subdue thardis and the massive casualties that resulted there every single one of these space pirates experiments with Faison has resulted in complete failure all they've really accomplished is inflicting pain and suffering on these creatures and now they're gonna do it to themselves there's even a stasis tank in the glacier one facility where you can see the results of these experiments it's just a bunch of pieces of meat this space pirate was completely destroyed space pirate culture is willing to risk anything for scientific results they are willing to sacrifice anything even their fellow space pirates we'll get some more information later detailing exactly how this research is being conducted and that will provide us with a lot more information concerning how space pirate Society is organized Metroid dissection continues to provide more questions than answers our research teams have isolated the energy conduits that run from the invasive twin mandibles to the energy core in the creature's quadripartate nucleus but the manner in which a Metroid actually extracts the life force from its prey remains an utter mystery the victim does not lose blood or any other vital fluids and yet the Metroid extracts energy identifying this energy is our Central problem it takes no physical form and yet without it the victim dies we will continue to research this matter as the isolation of this life-giving Essence could be the key to our ascendance more match Droid Obsession I believe the suggestion here is that metroids are literally sucking out their victims Souls I don't know what else this mysterious life-giving energy could be so yeah if a Metroid latches onto you they will eat your actual spiritual Soul pretty scary studies of Metroid biology continue though with limited progress it seems likely that we will be much more successful using the metroids for our means rather than trying to reproduce their powers if they could be adequately tamed we would have no need of a proper understanding of their metabolism a small force of discipline metroids could wipe out entire armies and once we find a way to Shield them from cold containment weapons they will be Invincible furthermore if we could then harvest the energy they'd consumed we would have a near Limitless source of power at our disposal the hubris of the space pirates is incredible at times they couldn't tame the space pirates they couldn't tame the parasite Queens they couldn't tame thardis they can't control Faison but now they're like oh yeah we can definitely control the metroids that won't blow up in our faces like literally every single one of our other experiments oh yeah let's make cold resistant metroids that literally can't be killed that would be awesome I cannot foresee any terrible consequences there I guess if there's one thing you can say about the space pirates it's that they are dreamers they dream big they look at an impossible situation and they see possibility there is an almost unbelievable optimism to these logs they have no reason to be optimistic about any of this they have failed again and again and yet they really seem to believe that they can still accomplish these things in spite of how horrific their actions are there is something admirable in these face Pirates psyche a tenacity and idealism they just don't give up they never doubt themselves their confidence is never shaken anyway that was the last pirate data log in defend drawn a drifts so now we need to move on before we discuss the final space pirate facility in the game I want to take a quick detour over to the chozo artifact Temple this is an ancient chozo structure floating over the Faison asteroid impact crater the temple itself generates an energy Shield that is containing most of the Faison in the crater though enough Faison is still leaking out to poison the planet as we'll see this energy Shield becomes a source of major frustration for the space pirates it is preventing them from accessing the crater and that makes them very upset anyway the main reason for this detour is that there is one pirate data log located here so let's look at it field team reports are in on an age structure of alien design built on the surface of Talon 4. studies show this structure projects a containment field this field bars access to a prime source of energy within a deep crater science team believes the field is powered by a number of strange chozo artifacts we have found some of these real relics and studies on them have begun as this field could hinder future energy production operations on Talon 4 we must dismantle it as soon as possible if this means the destruction of the chozo artifacts it will be done for now I really just want to point out the willingness of the space pirates to destroy these ancient alien artifacts these are objects of immense cultural and technological value and these space pirates are like yeah let's just blow them up I've talked a lot about how practical and comfortless the space pirate architectural designs are you might think well these are military facilities of course they're going to be practical instead of pretty maybe these space Parts have more elaborate architecture back home I think this willingness to destroy these artifacts suggest otherwise space pirate society places no value on culture or history for them something's value is measured by its usefulness art and music have no place in a society like this one anyway now we need to move on to the final pirate facility we explore in the game the Faison mines the Faison mines are the main base of the space pirates on Talon 4. it is a sprawling layered complex dug deep into the planet's crust here the space pirates have had a lot of time to build up their industry their technology to set up their weapon and defense systems they are dug in this isn't like the glacier one facility in the fedron adrifts where they occupy they chose a ruin the Faison mines are almost purely a space pirate facility the visual design matches what we've seen elsewhere practical comfortless Spartan undecorated I've always felt like the color palette here is a bit sickly looking like look at how green and full of life the Talon Overworld is and then look at how lifeless and brown the Faison mines are as the name implies there's a lot of phase on here it's all over the place on the walls on the ground the space pirates appear to have done very little to Shield their facility from this dangerous substance Faison is really really dangerous it can poison you kill you mutate your DNA cause you to go insane and here it is just all over the place in these space pirates Main Headquarters this does have consequences you can find scans discussing space pirate workers going insane getting sick dying it actively harms their operations but they care so little about safety not only do these space pirates not value culture or art they absolutely do not value the lives of their workers space pirate culture is industry science and unfeeling bureaucracy taking to a terrifying extreme also since this is their headquarters that means there are going to be a lot of scans for us to look at so let's get started this is a fun one report all phase-on mutations to science team immediately all units with useful mutations will receive an increase in pay and rations not only are the space pirates doing nothing to Shield themselves Faison's effects but they are actively trying to get themselves accidentally mutated and if you have a so-called useful mutation you'll actually get more food and money imagine how sad you would be to get a not useful mutation like not only do I have a giant grotesque tumor growing out of my face because of the unsafe working conditions in the irradiated phase on mines but I don't even get any extra french fries at lunch for it also I would really like to know some examples of useful mutations like if I grew a second arm would I get paid more security alert all stations biofarm Samus Aaron has made plentiful and Talon 4. the hunter is among us all units are hereby ordered to attack Aaron on-site terminal force is authorized I really like this scan because it shows us the space pirates first reaction to the arrival of Samus there's a bit of an oh tone to this scan like oh my gosh she's here after the destruction of zebus imagine how scary this would be Samus is coming to destroy you the space pirates take her very seriously there's an implicit respect there is no arrogance in this Scan they know she's a threat they know she can destroy them attention all units report to your Battle Stations failure to comply with his order is an act of treason treason is punishable by termination there are so many mentions of punishment in space pirate scans they must have a pretty serious obedience problem there wouldn't be this many mentions of punishment if grunts were always just blindly following orders it's evidence of some serious unrest and dissatisfaction within their ranks also that mention of treason in termination is pretty brutal go get killed by Samus or we will kill you ourselves the lowest ranking space pirates are in a tough spot no matter what they get killed makes me feel kind of bad for them a shipment of military-grade plasma artillery cannons is on route to talon4 the edgeinoid star Marines we have acquired them from were letting it sit in a warehouse our Elite Pirates will soon put them to good use this scan is interesting to me because it informs us that not all of these space pirate weapons are their own these cannons the elite Pirates wield and battle were stolen from something called the edinoid star Marines the space pirates are often presented as hyper technologically advanced scientists and weapons manufacturers who produce some really terrifying weapons but also it turns out they're just thieves they let someone else develop cool technology and then they steal it it makes me wonder how much of these space proud equipment we see them fight with in game was actually stolen from someplace else maybe this is where the pirate in their name comes from they don't steal plunder in booty these are still technology I think this is a fun idea like it for all their curiosity and scientific research the space pirate scientists don't actually produce many Real Results instead their soldiers fight in battle with a jumbled makeshift mix of stolen gear and weapons security level Tau will be in effect until further notice all leaves canceled pending downgrade of alert status this one is interesting to me because it mentions military leave the space pirate military grunts aren't mindless drones who serve 24 7 without rest just like human soldiers space pirate soldiers need some r r every now and then too and they get it I always wonder about where these space pirates go when they're on leave do they get to leave the planet go home and visit their families or is there some kind of r r facility on Talon 4 that we never see what do space pirates do when they're on break do they have Games books movies I'd be curious to see Faison infested fungal harvesting continues replacement of deca tritical with Faison infused fungal matter and Elite ration mix has been authorized this is one of those little World building details that I really like one of the most basic questions in World building what do they eat anytime you're writing a fantasy or science fiction setting you should ask yourself that question what do your characters eat it's a detail that gets missed a lot and it's not some small detail food what we eat is really Central to our lives how much time do most of us spend eating or thinking about eating a fantasy or science fiction setting with no food is a hollow setting so what do space pirates eat well the elites were eating tritical which is a type of wheat but now they're gonna be eating Faison mushrooms you can actually see the giant blue glowing phase on mushrooms that these space pirates are growing in these quarantine Caverns planetary stealth Technologies back online we have evaded detection by the battle cruiser emins the brief lapse in planetary security caused by the crash is over apparently these space Parts have some kind of stealth feel that covers the entire planet masking their presence this suggests to me that the space Pirates aren't actually very strong they have to hide if the Federation finds their still developing operation on Talon 4 they might not be able to defend themselves they are afraid of a single battle cruiser passing through the system this might explain why Samus a lone Bounty Hunter is able to defeat them there really aren't that many space pirates it's also interesting that the crash of the orpheon disrupted the stealth field I wonder if the orpheon itself was contributing to the stealth field in some way okay so this next scan is completely hilarious Recon teams are searching for the Hunter's gunship science team believes it employs a sophisticated cloaking device beyond our capabilities aside from dumb luck we may never discover its location this is ridiculous this is samus's gunship the orphean's crash site is right over there like it's a 30 second walk away the space pirates have flying troops at the crash site all they need to do is fly 20 feet away and they would immediately find her gunship I guess the suggestion is that this supposed cloaking device makes it invisible to the space pirates while remaining visible to Samus but I think it's more fun to imagine that it's just sitting here out in the open and these space pirates are too stupid to find a test results from Battle simulation Samus Aaron are promising elite units report a 74 success rate against Aaron in testing this is also hilarious because I have a 100 success rate in kicking those Elite Pirates big mutated butts their same as Aaron battle simulation must totally suck if it's getting beat by these guys the elite Pirates are pathetic the normal Troopers do more damage than these guys this scan also speaks to how scared the space pirates are of Samus every time they develop a new weapon they probably tested against their Samus Aaron battle simulation protecting themselves from her must be one of their highest priorities increase bamboo Patrols in authorized areas this is a tiny detail but I find it to be really interesting the bamboos are these energy beans you encounter various times throughout the game I thought these were just random indigenous creatures on Talon 4 but apparently not these energy creatures are actually deployed by the space pirates to protect their bases again I recognize that this is a tiny detail but I like that it explains why there are bamboos in the space pirate facilities these next two scans show just how brutally space pirate mindset is the first says an entire shift of Dynamo workers have been transferred following bouts of Faison Madness units have reported to science team for use in a laboratory studies in the new Elite pirate program their dementia will make them adequate training adversaries for the elite team okay so the Dynamo is the Central Energy Dynamo that powers the entire space pirate operation on town 4. because of the unsafe working conditions here all that expose Faison on the walls and the ground an entire shift of workers have gone insane and after going insane as a result of poor working conditions their superiors send them to go die in combat training against the elite Pirates like where the heck is space pirate OSHA this is not acceptable this is so brutal first through our negligence we're gonna let you get sick then once you're sick we will kill you to train our spiffy new Mutant soldiers and this is so short-sighted space pirate command is only hurting itself when you reach the Dynamo your scans tell you that it is in desperate need of Maintenance and should be taken offline immediately the reason it is in desperate need of maintenance is that all of its workers are dead or sick with Faison Madness by not taking care of their workers the space pirates shoot themselves in the foot the second scan here says the keeping of pets has been suspended until further notice domestic beasts have been deemed highly susceptible to Faison Madness and are thereby a hazard to Personnel all Grand cats and old baps must be disposed of immediately failure to comply will result in the loss of pay for a cycle and reduced rations firstly that space pirates keep pets is huge information it completely changes how I view them this one little detail goes so far to humanizing them in making them feel more real the space pirates have freaking Pets the space pirates aren't as cold unfeeling aliens who spend all their time scheming to conquer the Galaxy they seek companionship they have grown cats in Old baps I asked earlier what do space pirates do in their free time well here's one answer they take care of their pets this scan is also deeply sad imagine if your boss came to you and said hey you have to dispose of your dog or cat or we won't pay you anymore like go screw yourself dude we've seen the space parents do a lot of horrible things but this feels like one of the worst ones to me forcing someone to dispose of their beloved pet is genuinely terrible and heartless these space pirates suck man they're Bad Dudes alright but those are just a few of the miscellaneous scans you can find in the Faison mines we still need to look at the pirate data logs here there are 12 more pirate data logs in the Faison mines so let's look at each one and see what they tell us about space pirate culture and Society security command issued in all points alert after the fall of zebas the alert concerns bioform Sims Aaron also known as the hunter subject is a female hominid and is heavily armed and extremely dangerous subject uses a powered armor suit of unknown design in battle along with a number of potent beam and concussive weapons all combat units are instructed to terminate Aaron on site preferably in a fashion that will allow Salvage of her powered armor suit and weapons a considerable bounty will go to the unit who delivers Aaron to command Dead or Alive it matters not what's interesting to me here is how little this space pirates actually know about Samus I'm not sure if they even know that she's human they use the term hominid which is a generic term that can apply to any bipedal primate there are probably a lot of hominid alien species in the Metroid Universe they don't know anything about her armor suit don't realize that it is a chozo design they don't know anything about her weapons Samus herself knows the space pirates very well they killed her family she hunts them down in Revenge I think from the space pirates perspective Samus might just be some person who randomly showed up out of nowhere and started blowing up all their stuff and they have no idea why they don't realize that they have a past history with her they have no clue what's happening we also see in that log the space pirates continued obsession with knowledge in learning they want Sam's his armor suit they don't just want to destroy her they want to dissect her technology learn from it initial project Helix experiments with space pirate embryos were disastrous the Faison infusion process degenerated brain tissue even as it augmented muscle mass none of what we have termed Elite pirates live to maturity the few that survived their infant Hood suffered severe psychotic breakdowns as juveniles killing anything within their zone of perception research team sclera made a recent breakthrough in which parasite studies with a Faison strain codenamed vertigo were highly successful since then we have successfully fused vertigo Faison with space pirate DNA with great success the latest batch of elite Pirates have reached maturity successfully and are ready for field testing and training this is a continuation of an earlier log these space pirates are experimenting with Faison and Metroid DNA I didn't pay close attention to this log the first time I played so I always assumed they took an adult space pirate poked him with Faison needles and that's how they made Elite Pirates but that's not correct they're actually experimenting with embryos they are growing new species of space pirates you don't mutate into a phase-on infused Elite pirate you are born a faison-infused elite pirate this brings up a whole slew of other questions for me how often do space pirates experiment with their embryos how many Pirates have purely natural births we know that space pirates are willing to drastically augment their bodies with invasive cybernetics what if that process starts before they're even born is it possible that space pirates twist and craft and shape their young starting at the embryonic stage we also know that space pirates are a hierarchical society how might that combine with embryonic genetic modification do they craft leaders for themselves do they genetically modify a certain cast of space pirates to be smarter more organized more ruthless less than their fellows why not every role in their society then I know I'm making a lot from a small detail here but I don't see any reason why the space pirates wouldn't genetically craft scientists for society soldiers generals Engineers slaves if they have the technology in a science and Order obsessed hierarchical Society like these space pirates I think it makes perfect sense that your role would be genetically decided for yourself before you are even born investigations into a possible Ingress point for the impact crater continue to meet with failure The Shield of strange energy that protects it is impermeable in all attempts to Tunnel past it have proven fruitless our continued futility in this matter is made all the more significant in light of the recent Ole form readings we've discovered emanating from deep within the crater analysis of the readings indicate that a massive creature is gestating there absorbing enormous amounts of Faison from the Faison core at the heart of the impact crater this is Discovery makes accessing the crater doubly important not only will it open the door to vast deposits of Faison within but it will also lead us to this creature whatever it may be the space pirates have detected Metroid Prime the final boss of the game and their immediate response is we gotta get it this is so crazy to me the space pirates failed with the parasite Queen failed with thardis both of those experiments with giant mutated monsters ended in catastrophic failure now they've detected another giant mutated monster and they say let's go get it boys the space pirates are so consumed by their need to know to understand to control absolutely everything that they cannot stop themselves from making the same mistake over and over if they ever actually did encounter Metroid Prime it would end in disaster actually in the original version of the game the space pirates did capture Metroid Prime those logs have since been changed in more recent versions it was changed because it didn't make sense so story wise how Metroid Prime could both be in the core of the impact crater which was sealed by the chozo artifact Temple and also in the space pirates possession at the same time so they changed it predictably in that older version Metroid Prime escaped killing a bunch of space pirates on her way out science team is attempting to reverse engineer Samus Aaron's Arsenal based off of data acquired from her assaults on her forces progress is slow but steady command would dearly enjoy turning Aaron's weapons against her we believe we can Implement beam weapon prototypes in three Cycles Aaron's power suit technology remains a mystery especially the Curious morph ball function all attempts at duplicating it have ended in disaster four test subjects were horribly broken and twisted when they engaged our morph ball prototypes science team wisely decided to move on afterwards I feel so sorry for those four test subjects like those poor guys who are selected to test out what ever horrific Contraption these space pirate scientists created that mimicked the morph ball got some of the rawest deals of anyone in the series imagine your body being twisted and crushed into a little ball shape imagine how painful that would be the space pirates do not care about the health or well-being of their test subjects there is no consideration for their safety like just test it on something else first don't jump straight to testing your mad scientist ball execution device on living people I do like that they're pointing out how crazy the morph ball is there's no reason why this thing should work scientifically it makes no sense a human being cannot turn into a ball it's freaking crazy Elite pirate epsilon's propensity for Faison has enabled our research team to infuse it far beyond our safety restrictions and the results have been extremely encouraging its constant phase-on diet has increased its mass exponentially but it has retained and all mental faculties and shows dexterity with all Weaponry including plasma and Center area launchers in the chameleon Manta issued for cloaking purposes Elite pirate upsalon exhibits miraculous healing abilities when injured it seeks out Faison deposits and coats itself in the substance which instantly mends the creature's wounds the subject which we are code naming Omega pirate based on these developments shows potential to be a new standard for our armies our only concern at this point is its potential over dependence on Faison this is the first mention of the Omega pirate which is by far the most difficult boss fight in the game this particular scan is largely for gameplay purposes it details some of the future boss's weaponry and abilities so the player can be better prepared when they face it in battle story-wise there's not much here other than further evidence of their scientists willingness to go to extremes as we continue to observe the development of project helix's only Pirates it becomes increasingly obvious that these Warriors will Usher in a new era of space pirate dominance they are incredibly irresistant to damage and their ability to transport and wield so many weapons at once makes them the ideal Mainstays of our Ground Forces though they are not as quick as typical Pirates it makes a little difference with a platoon of elite pirates in the Vanguard of an army of normal and flying Pirates we will have a near indestructible backbone that should turn the tide of any engagement this log speaks more to that almost unbelievable space pirate optimism I've talked about before there's something admirable about it these space pirates no matter how many times they've failed no matter how many times Samus has walked in and effortlessly wrecked all their they are still so certain they will ultimately attain total success as someone who has failed a lot in his life it's kind of inspiring I I think this optimism is Central to space pirate identity they truly believe in themselves and their mission this is why they are so relentless this optimism explains why in the face of crushing defeats the space pirates do not give up analysis continues on these cursed ruins in the chozo temple that hovers near them we are now completely certain that the containment field denied us access to the impact crater is linked to strange artifacts that belonged in the temple but we are no closer to finding them or deciphering the riddles that seem to cover every wall of this ruined Place command grows increasingly anxious for a resolution to this matter so we must redouble our efforts x-ray squadrons will begin terrain Suites within days until they begin patrols are instructed to report any and all architectural anomalies to their commanders I'm gonna skip right past this one because it's very closely linked with the next log and it makes more sense to describe cast them both together we have come to another dead end it is clear now that we will never discover the locations of the chozo's artifacts until we can discover the messages carved into these statues in this abominable Temple our language databases are woefully inadequate and our linguistic analysts can come up with a little more than vague theories the best hypothesis we can offer is that finding artifacts will require items spiritually linked to the chozo civilization however without these items we are lost in command grows more impatient by the day results must be produced soon the most interesting thing to me in these two logs and the most revealing detail about space pirate culture is that they are completely incapable of deciphering this alien language now why is that why can't they decipher the chozo language we've seen that these space pirates are obsessed with knowledge with a research in experimentation that they have an intrinsic cultural curiosity that they want to find out everything about a subject that they can their scientific abilities are impressive they've created some pretty cool stuff but the space pirates don't treat all knowledge as equal they don't want to know everything about everything they only want to know what will help them in battle what will further their quest for Galactic dominance they want to know about technology about engineering about weapons about energy they don't care about Linguistics for them studying languages is pointless being multilingual won't Aid them on the battlefield in space pirate Society Linguistics is a neglected field of study and this neglect hurts them because they can't translate the chozo language they cannot complete their mission on Talon 4. curiosity is Central to space pirate culture but that curiosity is hyper focused on a narrow band of topics results are in from field studies on the bioform group chozo Who We Believe are extinct we believe that Talon 4 was once a stronghold in a great chozoa Empire brought Low by the meteor strike planetary Devastation brought an end to the chozo yet remnants of their society remain we are studying these relics in an attempt to harness their power what is of no use to us we destroy in time we shall have all we need from this dead race and shall wipe this planet clean of their ugly ruins the den should serve the living not hinder them this always seemed like one of the most horrific logs in the game to me I am someone who is obsessed with history and culture I think there is so much that we can learn from history in ancient cultures especially extinct ones these sorts of historical ruins should be preserved as meticulously as possible so we can continue to learn from them to be able to continue to appreciate ideas that were formulated in another age from a culture totally alien to our own and then these space pirates are just casually destroying the chozo ruins for no reason just be because they're like what the heck leave the ruins alone you jerks I think we should also look at this from samus's perspective she has a relationship with the chozo as an orphan she was raised and trained by the chozo she wields chozo-designed weapons in battle how might she feel on reading this log how might she feel when she learns that the space pirates are destroying their remains no wonder Samus hates them although we are still no closer to finding the artifacts of the chozo we have at least produced a viable hypothesis for their function it appears that each of the artifacts corresponds to one of these statues on the platform and that each one acts as a small key to a huge lock judging by the number of statues we assume there must be 12 artifacts once we find the resting spots of all 12 we can bring them here unite them with their statues and open the gate system at long last once we do the impact crater and whatever creatures shelters will be hours for the taking this log is another gameplay consideration it's explaining a gameplay mechanic the player has to collect all 12 artifacts to access the impact crater this is very important information since without it you can't beat the game so the developers wanted to communicate it to the player in a few different places so you're less likely to miss it it's good game design but not very relevant to this analysis there have been numerous incidents involving spectral entities at chozo ruined sites several Personnel have been assaulted by these chozo ghosts few have survived survivors speak of Swift attacks from nowhere brief sightings of the enemy then nothing only to be followed by another attack science team believes these attacks are in response to our efforts to recover chozo relics and artifacts somehow these entities are able to interact with the physical world and it appears they wish to keep their artifacts for themselves we will make them pay for such arrogance even ghosts can be destroyed this is the 25th and final pirate data log in the game it discusses the chozo ghosts which are something I'm going to talk a lot about in a future video focused on the chozo's story but isn't hugely relevant to an analysis of these space pirates from a writing perspective I do really like that this law gives us a look at the chozo ghosts through space pirate eyes from their perspective the ghosts are really scary flitting in and out of sight Swift and deadly attacks from nowhere any log or a scan that gives us some insight into the space pirate experience of this world is I think worthwhile but that's it that's the last log in the last scan we're gonna look at in this video that's all the information about space pirate society and space pirate culture the game provides us with so I just spent a really long time looking very closely at a lot of small details now let's pull the camera back a bit and try try to see the bigger picture let's take all the information we've looked at and combine it into a complete picture of space pirate society and culture so here we go the space pirates individually are surprisingly human they are sentient intelligent and emotional beings they need rest they need military leave they raise pets as companions they are sometimes lazy and disobedient they do not always follow orders they augment their bodies with invasive cybernetics they live in a hierarchical society where every individual has an assigned role when they step out of line out of their assigned role they are harshly punished they live in a ruthless society that does not value individual life so any individual space pirates of life is considered Expendable when you are a space pirate you can be killed or disposed of or simply forgotten at any time space pirate Society is rigidly hierarchical and ruthlessly bureaucratic everyone has an assigned play and they are expected to stay there the rolling bureaucracy is unfeeling and uncaring the well-being of individuals is inconsequential all that matters is the mission all that matters are results space pirate Society is dominated by the military industry and science serve the military and the military directs the progress of society all major decisions are made by the military command culturally space pirates care very little about art music or literature they design their spaces to be functional and practical there is no decoration Recreation or Comfort to be found in their architecture space pirate culture is dominated by the military and by science their Heroes seem to be the soldiers who win their battles and the scientists who discover the technology that power the weapons their soldiers wield there is an intrinsic insatiable curiosity at the center of space pirate culture they want to know they want to understand who learn to control everything around them however this curiosity is very narrow they want to know about technology about weapons knowledge that will Aid their mission of Galactic Conquest knowledge are relevant to this goal like Linguistics or history is neglected research and experimentation are at the center of their domestic culture when they aren't fighting they are researching their research is often dangerous they take extreme risks they are willing to take almost any risk this often results in disaster however no matter how often they fail the space pirates always pick up the pieces and try again there is an optimism at the core of space pirate culture a belief in themselves and a belief that ultimately they will succeed this cultural optimism makes them a tenacious opponent no matter how many times you beat them they just don't give up because deep down they don't believe they can fail the space pirates hate fear and respect Samus who they call the hunter they don't really understand her or her motivations they don't know who she is except that she's powerful dangerous and their enemy their ultimate goal is domination it's not really clear why or what they would do with the Galaxy if they actually did gain control but there is no doubt that a space pirate dominated Galaxy would be a terrible Place their ruthlessness lack of compassion and total disregard for the value of life makes theirs a frightening and dangerous Intergalactic Empire the writers and developers of Metroid Prime took these wall crawling laser shooting Lobster Sprites from Super Metroid and transform them into a defined and layered alien culture it's really impressive work but this is just Metroid Prime the space pirate story continues in Metroid Prime 2 and so will my analysis eventually I will examine how the depiction of space by our culture and Society develops and changes over the course of the series [Music]

Channel: FatBrett

Views: 311,993

Keywords: Metroid, Metroid Prime, Space Pirates, Story, Explained, Lore, Anlaysis

Id: WWk2et8AtD8

Length: 78min 49sec (4729 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 28 2023