Date 11.18.2022 [RGV]: Metroid Prime and Loneliness

I am not a very social person in reality. When given the option to go to community groups or talk with people in college, I choose instead to eschew them. It is a lonely existence in the real world; but I tend to be much better about social interactions online. I met my wonderful boyfriend of a full year and I've kept in contact with a lot of my online friend and real life friends via Discord. I've been a chat bunny for as long as there have been chat programs worth a damn. I used to be very much into internet forums; even ran a couple in my time.

I've mentioned, numerous times over the years, that my all-time favorite video game is Metroid Prime, and a large part of that comes down to the atmosphere. Metroid as a series is very isolating; even in titles like Fusion (which came out the same day, funny enough) that have dialogue roles for more than one character. Even in the often-regarded apex of the series, Super Metroid, there were strange creatures called Etecoons and Dachoras that were your friends and taught you valuable skills like the Shinespark and the Wall Jump. These are the animals speedrunners try to save every year at GDQ.

Metroid Prime doesn't have any allies like them. Instead, you're relying on your own wits and your arm cannon to deal with the threats and obstacles in your way. That being said, there's one thing that Metroid Prime does better than Super Metroid, and that is organic storytelling via the Scan Visor. The Scan Visor is a tool used in Prime to activate doors and switches, yes, but also to study the flora and fauna of the planet Tallon IV, to read Space Pirate logs and lore left behind by the Chozo, and to get 100% completion, scanning everything is a must. There are enemies that appear in multiple areas of the game, and there are enemies that only appear once and killing them without scanning them ruins your 100% run.

The Scan Visor is a tool to help you better immerse yourself in the world of Tallon IV, a lush planet once home to the Chozo Race, and struck by the Great Poison of Phazon. One of the other tools is the background music, often moody and ambient, at times somber and other times hopeful and alien at the same time, culminating in the best ice level and ice level theme in all of video games: Phendrana Drifts.

Metroid Prime (Nintendo GameCube/Nintendo Wii)
Phendrana Drifts - Kenji Yamamoto

It is when you reach Phendrana Drifts, the third region in Tallon IV after Chozo Ruins and Magmoor Caverns, that you truly start to feel like you're alone, but crucially not isolated. This is important to mention because during the game you've been scanning for clues and finding upgrades for your Power Suit (in fact, getting the Space Jump Boots helps out a lot in this region) but feeling like there's truly no one on this planet considering themselves friendly. In fact, it is in Phendrana that you encounter the Space Pirates on their terms. And it is in Phendrana that you catch a glimpse of your nemesis, Ridley, hovering overhead as you first enter the icy valley.

So why do I say that you feel lonely but not isolated in the game? The answer lies in finding the unknown. It's like you are an adventurer, who eschewed companionship for awe and wonder. Would that feeling be better with a buddy, someone to share in the beautiful sights with you? Most certainly it would, but Metroid has never been that kind of game; in Fusion and Dread, your closest ally is a computer with your old CO in it. In Metroid Prime, your closest ally is your own thoughts.

It's the answering of mysteries and the simple joys of finding something new that keeps me thinking about this game, long after its initial 2002 release date. Metroid Prime is an evergreen game, that has yet to be replicated even by its own sequels. 

The game speaks to me as a person, because of my own struggles with social interaction. I know that I am surrounded by people, and yet I typically keep to myself. Samus Aran, in that same vein, is a bounty hunter who even when interacting with others, tends to keep to herself and is only social when the situation requires it. She doesn't talk much; only when she needs to. She too leads a lonely existence for much of the Metroid series, but notably she isn't isolated. Really her best friends in the whole world are a computer and a baby metroid that sadly is no longer with her. Oh, and the Etecoons and Dachoras, can't forget about the animals.