What I like most about what Dread has done for the series is how it changes the meaning of the series name. Metroid has always been in reference to the titular creatures, similar to how Aliens (the main inspiration for thr Metroid series) was always in reference to the Xenomorphs. However, Metroid also has another meaning. It has been confirmed in the manga that in the Chozo language, Metroid translates to "Ultimate Warrior." And since Samus is now the last Metroid left thanks to her awakening, not only is she the last "Ultimate Warrior," but now the title *actually* refers to her now going forward with the series. This completely blew my mind once I made that connection. This game has changed the series so much going forward and I am HERE for it!

Dread really needed a surprise mean bean machine boss battle to be peak in my eyes.

I was in a terrible place during the direct, my house had flooded, I was in a deadend job under a horrible boss, but then I saw those words, those incredible words: "Metroid 5" I screamed with joy, and beat pillows, jumped off the Couch that was my bed at the time, and shouted with glee. And then the Release Date showed. My Birthday. The Game released on my Birthday. I nearly fainted. And for that, Metroid Dread will always hold a wonderful place in my heart.

I've always gotten the impression from Dread that Kraid vs Samus is basically an encountered filled with all the one-sided, doomed hatred of of Ahab and the Whale. Only, in a reversal of what might be expect, it's _Kraid,_ not the protagonist, who plays Captain Ahab. Samus's body language gives the impression that to her this is just a job: a foe she's fought, overcome, and moved past long ago. She all but _relaxes,_ when she recognizes Kraid. Meanwhile, with Kraid, there's a sense that this is _Very_ personal. From the squint of recognition to the defiant (futile) final strike

Whoever first drew or modeled Samus’ Dread standing pose should get an award. That pose and the ways she moves into and out of it tell you literally all you need to know about her

The Jaffe Room shall never be forgotten. It has been immortalized. Also loved your sequence breaking story, I was so happy the devs added back sequence breaks.

When I heard Adam say "do as I say" I immediately said that's not Adam. My brain went into overload. From how much time Raven Beak was watching and controlling us? And now you said it clearly. We have been doing what Raven Beak wanted SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME. Raven Beak is the only Metroid villain that actually gave me chills.

When I first played Dread, I didn't assume the inciting incident - the footage of an X-parasite - was genuine, particularly as the Chozo warrior from the intro had blatantly used it to lure Samus to ZDR. It could have been a hoax. Arriving in Elun and realising that, yes, the X are really here, *was* a twist to me. Also, that shot of them escaping was loaded with meaning. Samus Aran is truly having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, having had her butt kicked by a Chozo mega-warrior, trapped deep underground and now there's *this* to deal with too? Everything about this is going to suck. The only known cure for X infection is to kill it with fire, with 'it' here meaning the whole planet (sorry ZDR, there's nothing else we can do for you at this point). What an item to add to today's to do list: 'destroy the planet'.

Ok, so I hope this comment gets some attention cause this is a little funny. The written Chozo language has been the same since it was introduced in Zero Mission and Prime 2, and at first I thought the Mawkin Script seen in Dread was a different script, and I thought it was pretty cool that maybe the different Chozo tribes had a different language characters, while still speaking the same language. But then I saw the two Chozo scripts side-by-side and realized something: it isn’t a different script, it’s the exact same script but the characters are cut into Triangles rather than rounded squares; meaning the Mawkin, at some point, decided that their language needed to be more intimidating and angry, and so wrote them as a more aggressive shape. The only difference between the two scripts, besides the shape, is that the original script translated to English, while the Mawkin script translates into English letters that spell Chozo words.

I love that the “To Be Continued” gag is just left in the full version

Dying on the final boss repeatedly, going to sleep and beating it the first try was my experience with Sonic Superstars.

Hi, TGC! Wikitroid editor here. Just wanted to quickly answer one of your questions here about Corpius/Scorpius. "Corpius" is the canonical name of the boss, since it's used in-game on the map screen and the boss rush mode. Internally, it's called "Scorpius" in the game files; most of the bosses and enemies also have differing names (Drogyga/Hydrogiga, Experiment No. Z-57/Cooldown-X, Raven Beak/Commander, etc.). Since there isn't any sound test or official soundtrack release, its boss battle music doesn't have an official title in published media, so the boss theme's wiki article is called "Boss Scorpius" after the music track's file names in the game's internal data (s_boss_scorpius_001 and s_boss_scorpius_002). Loving your review series, by the way! Even if I don't always agree, I can always appreciate hearing your point of view. You're doing a great job!

52:26 I feel like the chozo-bot fight right after Quiet Robe gets sent to the save room in the sky was a very good call, in the sense that it's the best kind of criticism of the infamous Ridley PTSD scene of Other M. Instead of violently cutting the connection between Samus and the player - by forcing complete helplessness on what most fans would consider to be business as usual for her, Dread lets YOU be flustered by the emotional whiplash and, most likely, styled on by the robot. And when the player eventually overcomes the difficulty spike that is that mini-boss, it is an incredible catharsis that stenghtens your link with Samus. I wouldn't dare to say with confidence that it was the intention there, but "the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better".

i always loved that Samus took like a slightly uncomfortable amount of time to answer after hearing the plan, always makes me think that she took a bit to remember the words she wanted to say.

I'm a game developer who experienced first hand a problematic work environment. The best thing you can do is call attention to bad working conditions and shame the people responsible. Boycotts don't do anything other than give bad faith actors something to hold over their employees' heads.

The interesting wrinkle with Raven Beak is that he builds off previously established lore (albiet only mentioned in the manga I believe?) that the Chozo were saiyan/viltrumite style world conquerors, actively spreading their empire across the galaxy using their superior technology as their greatest weapon, before they became enlightened and regretted their past actions, turning to protecting life and promoting peace instead, being one of the key species to help found the Federation, which was a species diverse government from the outset. This turn also coincided with some kind of "genetic degradation" that led to them losing the ability to fly, during their peak all Chozo had the natural ability to soar through the skies, this indirectly adds context to why the Space Jump even exists, it may be a technological substitute for a lost physical ability. And then there's Raven Beak, head of a tribe that is very clearly "clinging to the old ways" within wider lore context, a real "make the Chozo great again" type, and he, with that obsession with the glory days of the Chozo, ends up being the only one to find some way to _regrow_ those lost wings, likely a genetic experiment he had placed quite a lot of time and emphasis into getting done, egotistically saving it only for himself. This also ties into the impetus for the Power Suit, the armor Samus wears, the same kind the Mawkin all wear, it was what the Chozo donned during their original era as a warrior race empire, someone wearing it is fully capable of taking down entire planets worth of life precisely because: _That is Exactly What it Was Designed to Do._

Fun Theory: The Mawkin were the ones to leave behind the Aeion abilities from Samus Returns, and Raven Beak uses the same ones from that game in his fight against Samus. This is also why Aeion abilities don't appear in Metroid 1, Super, or Fusion (aside from retcons), as Samus doesn't interact with any elements of Mawkin Chozo society. Fantastic video! Absolutely loved the series. Actually got me to take my own NES out of storage and give it the old boil trick to get it working again!

Soo real quick as I’m only 3 minutes into the video. As a Metroid fan who had to wait many many years for a new game, there’s no “deserving” for any new title in this series. You deserved this game as much as the rest of us did, no matter the wait time. We’re just glad you’re here in this journey with us

Samus' thoughts: 'Okay, there's a large threat here, lets bring everything and...oh, it's just Kraid. Well, time for chores, I guess.'

For the Metroid Dread reveal, I guess for fans the reactions went from "Oh YES a sequel to Fusion!" to, well... Arlo's live reaction that was so epic a fan animated it.

1:29:17 Oh my God you used the AM2R remix version of that track , from that moment the baby Metroid hatched...I hope Guasti was watching because damn! It fits perfectly with that montage of all those iconic scenes from all the classic games, tying the greater story together. Nicely done!

They finally incorporated Samus’ left hand. My life is complete.

I was in tears at the last 10 minutes when everything gets recontextualize. As a long time fan of 30 years old this game was everything and I was soo excited to hear Geek Critiques thoughts on it. Thank you so much and happy holidays to you all ❤️

1:15:40 This is a real phenomena. Some sleep scientist I watched a while back said that it's believed that if something was challenging you in the day, your brain just runs simulations of it while you sleep. And it's way more efficient than waking practice. So after sleeping on it, you come back objectively more skilled.

I honestly believe Dread is my favorite 2D Metroid. The boss fights alone are so much fun, and I love how the game has a plot with a bit more to chew on than other 2D metroids. It’s not perfect, no game is and depending on what you like about 2D Metroid then Dread might not resonate with you like it did with me. Also, Samus is just such a badass in this game. She gives off DoomGuy levels of no fucks given.

I am so impressed that you managed to get the scan pulse the way you did...

Ive got to say, That primal scream at the end by Samu's was amazing props to her VA for that one. Also I didn't know about the drama sounding the production cycle thanks for pointing that out.

The fact that Samus becomes her game's title, something a lot of us called her back in the day is such a genius concept. Having her battle with her bird father was just icing on the cake. What a badass way to end a near 40 year long story arc.

What a VIDEO. This is the ultimate Geek Critique for me, just as Dread is in my opinion the ultimate Metroid game. Maybe not the best, but without comparison in scale, tension, consistency (POWER GRIPPERS NEVER DIE) and emotion. I sincerely hope Metroid gets another game (hmmm, i wonder how the idiots at the Federation will take to someone with invincible Metroid powers running around completely unchecked, kinda seemed like they sent Samus in to die with that unusual bounty...), and if Mercury Steam does take it on, I *sincerely* hope they get a top-to-bottom reevaluation of how they run things. Dread was the first Metroid game I got to play when it released, and I know I wouldn't have been as compelled as I was by it without you, without your videos. I was up in the wee hours of the night clutching my controller as I thrashed again and again at the seemingly unclimbable boss walls. I got actual finger cramps from holding that missile button and for the first time in my several years of Switch ownership induced joycon drift just from throwing myself at Z-57 for two hours before sleeping on it and then kicking his teeth in. I was screaming at my TV like a five year old "THAT'S GRAY VOICE" and kicking myself for not noticing the Adam twist and my jaw hit the floor when I saw the Metroid Suit. What an incredible, spectacular game. This feels full-circle, and it being the first Metroid TGC with my name in it feels so utterly fitting. Thank you, Geek Critique, for introducing me to this wonderful series that I can say with pride I have beaten every 2D entry in. Now, onto Prime for me! Looking forward to the re-critiques! EDIT now that the video is fully out: Merry Christmas everyone!

Video games, don't need narrative to be great. Oftentimes, I prefer not to deal with cutscenes or those worse scenes where the game makes you follow a character while they talk--But Metroid, wouldn't be quite the same without its narrative, often told mostly through the environment and gameplay, Dread proves how important narrative _can_ be to a game and series. A 35 year long story told mostly without text or voices, all through the exclusive strengths of a video game and its compatibility with the idea of narrative itself, ended with one of the most exciting stories of any video game -- Dread, wouldn't have been as good without the story. It would have been fun, but it wouldn't have been as exciting, as engaging. _This is the storytelling I want future Metroid games to strive for._ And I just realized all this thanks to this video, I realized why I was so desperate to finish this game my first time, why I was so ready to continuously play this one between shifts at work -- I loved the game itself, _but I was motivated to see the ending of it as soon as I possibly could. I had been waiting most of my life for the conclusion to this story afterall._ This also helped me realize the inherit weakness of Metroid Prime 3/Other M. Both games have _great_ stories, but neither of them tell stories like a Metroid game. Other M is structured like a horror movie, while Prime 3 takes inspiration from the more generic side of video game storytelling, they are worse games than they could be, due mostly to their lack of understanding as to what makes a good Metroid story -- Metroid Dread makes no such mistake. It doesn't let you get into Samus's mind, doing so would insult her character. It let's you understand her thoughts through body language and her actions, _it shows, not tells._ The exposition in this game is infrequent, and told appropriately based on the plot and characters. Super Metroid may still be my favorite Metroid game, but Dread did not disappoint me when I played it in any real way. _I love this game._ And this video helped me pinpoint exactly why.

I watched the whole video. This game literally got me through the hardest anxiety attack in my life. It was so engaging that it helped me forget the pain for a while and focus on getting better and finally beating Raven Beak.

The Covarr inserts are honestly such a brilliant way to capitalize on and rectify the original Fusion controversy. Not to mention, the beautiful continuity. Love it! Side note, I remember seeing your comment on Game Maker's Toolkit's video and I'm pretty sure I even left a like. Seems like eons ago.

My favorite thing about Dread is how many bosses you can completely cheese with the Speed Booster if you're skilled enough. "Gotta go fast" indeed.

Dude I portioned this out over the past few days (because it's the last new TGC Metroid for what will be years) but it is your best yet. The attention to storytelling, the diverse volume of music (basically every minute a new track for 90+ mins!) which also matches the mood is just so enjoyable -- my favs were at 1:29:00 & ofc Kenny Omega's theme at 20:18. And ya popped me huge at 26:44, can't believe I kinda got to be part of a TGC!! A winner is youuuu 💚

Yo, those 5 first minutes were so valuable and important. Thanks for taking the time to expose this reality to us. I don't follow game news closely so this could easily could've been lost.

I (and most other people here) have been waiting for this review the second we finished the game ourselves. Genuine catharsis. (Just wondering, will you cover, what little there is to cover, of Prime Hunters?) Small nitpick, in the final cutscene, it's not Quiet Robe that stops Samus from absorbing the ship energy, it's actually Adam.

Metroid Dread is good but it would be better if it featured a cartoon blue hedgehog as the protagonist, multiplayer co-op gameplay, 12 zones of classic side-scrolling gameplay, "Sonic" instead of "Metroid" and "Superstars" instead of "Dread"

Loved that intro. This industry needs real reform

52:26 wow, as a BIG story over gameplay guy, I'm very happy they did make the fight with quiet robe's killer an actual playable boss fight, heck to me this is one of the biggest advantages of video games, a tv show would just have you watch the main character beat the killer but because it's a video game you actually get to play it, YOU get to avenge their death, and to me that creates such a strong resonance between gameplay and story, I wouldn't have it any other way, in stark contrast to the fight with Corpius where I fealt like the game had given me no reason to care and so I found the fight to be a slog more than anything, but with Robe's killer I had every reason to care, and so I ended up loving the fight, despite how many times I died during it (and that was a lot of times, I struggled with this thing quite a bit on my first encounter, but I was having fun the whole way), I probably would have fealt robbed if the game had "played itself", so to speak, in that moment.

Something that I wanna add about the music section of the video is that the Prime series followed Hip's idea of sound effects and music being hard to distinguish really well. Themes like Chozo ruins or Sanctuary fortress make it hard to tell what is a sound effect or what's part of the song unless you listen to the song on its own. But despite that, it didn't prevent its composers to make a bunch of bangers, same as Nestroid.

I don’t know how often it’s stated but man the way you sync up music to points you make adds so much to the review. The music swelling with the mention of the speed booster was so satisfying to hear and accurately captures the wonder of the upgrade. Incredible work here!

Masterpiece of a critique here. As a longtime fan it feels like you grew with this series in so many ways. Happy to support you man, hope this video hits 1 million+ as it rightfully deserves !

This is my favorite video by you, TGC. I've been watching your videos for a few years now, and never have I watched any video so many times in such a short time. Every time I finish it, just like when you beat your favorite games, all I can think is how much I wanna watch it again. Every part enriches the rest, and every moment is so well crafted and presented, it just never gets old.

I have to say, the one thing I noted about Raven Beak's intro at the beginning of the game: it's a cinematic depiction of how his first phase works

1:29:17 Bruh you didn’t have to have me in tears like that. Awesome work as always! I’m glad I contributed as a supporter for this one. You deserve it.

Something worth mentioning on the ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENCE of the federation. They have a reason. They are failures at every single step...HOWEVER the reason they always do things their ways (and mess up) is because of what Samus is. Samus is a bounty hunter. A FORMER soldier. By federation standards, they don't want to deal with her. "Why pay a bounty hunter, when we, the federation, have all the resources we need. Just make something better than some bounty hunter" Thats why we always see that the federation tried something before calling Samus. In super metroid we have remnants of the federation trying to take care of it. Samus is never the first choice, and half the time, Samus just kind of "gets involved" and is never officially hired.

This is one of the best Christmas presents I could have asked for this video was absolutely worth the wait. I’m very glad you took the time to talk about the games terrible development and working conditions because everyone who worked on this masterpiece of a game deserves to be credited for it. I also love how you took time in the review to talk about the Jaffe room that made me chuckle alot.

Sorry if it's been mentioned already, but you can slide under the cross bomb boss when it rears up. Just incase anyone needs some help on it.

Had a huge smile through this entire episode, been waiting for it since Dread released and honestly didn't want the episode to end lol. Its been 2 years and I'm honestly still not sure how to feel about Dread, I got lost a lot on my first playthrough the same way you described, but when revisiting it a few months ago I rarely if ever got lost. Regardless, I had a blast on that first playthrough, I loved the new upgrades, especially the Flash Shift and how they reworked the speed booster, every boss was super memorable, the ending sequence just blew me away and I SO hope draining enemy health with Samus' new power is something we can do in the next 2D game. Its easy to say I loved the game but I never could pinpoint whether it was one of my favorite games or just a game I enjoyed. I think that this video really helped me pinpoint what I liked about Dread and why, and while I'm still not completely sure to what extent, helped me realize that I truly do love this game, and that it is one I'll fondly remember and keep going back to for years to come. Thank you so much for the critique! Looking forward to seeing your re-critiques of the other 2D games as well. Sidenote, the person who said "play Ninja Gaiden Black" on the discord server is based af

Idt absorbing the X at the end suppresses the Metroid powers, but passes on the knowledge to Samus on how to control it, remember back in fusion when the X are being explained it's said that they are also capable of absorbing knowledge and the throha tribe has the knowledge on how to control Metroids, so I think when Samus absorbs quiet robe she gains that knowledge which means the metroid absorbing power can still be utilized in the future.

1:01:15 thank you for noticing that the doors closed behind Samus. I’ve seen so many people blame Samus for letting the X out

I think you may have mistook correlation for causation in your point about boss rooms taking a little longer to load. It's unlikely that the devs handpicked which door transitions take longer to increase suspense for bosses (or whatever other reason they might have; I can't think of anything other than that, which is another point against that theory); the longer black screen is very likely actually a longer load screen. What's more likely the case is that the longer load screen comes mostly from a more intricate room design. Boss rooms tend to have intricate designs, but you can still have non-boss intricate rooms (the boss's model and AI script also likely contribute some, but so would the elaborate sea-lab background and its custom destruction script) I don't think we can conclude that there would have been a boss before the gravity suit just from the longer load screen

I'm just starting this vid. As a lifelong fan of gaming, the industry and Metroid since the early 80's, I appreciate the opening to this video. I wanted to be a programmer to work on games, but ultimately switched industries cause there were some things about programming and such I didn't care for. So I appreciate all those who work tirelessly and share their talents to beings us games we love. They deserve to be noticed and treated better. Now, back to the video for me. (Also, I believe Metroid was the reason I discovered your channel and have been a follower since and at times even a patreon subscriber)

I am so fucking ready for this video. Posting now and editing as we go. Edit 1: The wait, relinquishing of the name to the ether, and subsequent "WHAT THE FUCK" of Dread's actual reveal is something that to this day I still have to legit tell myself wasn't just some fever dream or the weirdest fantasy ever. I sat in a Discord call that reacted to the game's casual reveal and the double or nothing impact of the slick typeface "METROID 5" and that initial E.M.M.I chase down to the "Dread" subtitle reveal might have actually taken some years off my life because of how thoroughly "aint NOOOO way" it was for me. I was already a canonized Metroid fan from the days of getting Prime 2, Zero Mission and Fusion around the same time in 2004ish and had gotten to live through everything since in real time so those real days where Metroid was little more than a fun thing to pepper into nerd talks with friends like "man, when's the next one" especially post Other M were always chock full of wonder when it came to this mythical title. I was convinced at some point that even if Metroid 5 happened, the "Dread" name was just going to be something for the dustbin of time to look on fondly. To loudly get a declaration that not only was 2D Metroid back on the menu but it was legit THE Dread and also acting as a paradigm shift and tour-de-force for what 2.5D side scrolling action gaming could be was mindboggling. Edit 2: Oh my god this bit about the devs; its so rough seeing enthusiasm be used so rampantly for projects of passion and then not getting people their deserved dues. I was one of those kids hopped up on hopium in his youngest years wanting to "work at Nintendo" because "the little man running in the screen" in Super Mario Bros. My decisions to stay away from this industry come from all of the stories of people just contributing to the infinite growth/wealth of the corporations that make this hobby tick to be rewarded with lasting damage to their health, no credit and no justice. Edit 3: This Jaffe bit as the lead into the difficulty curving is great. That said, I'm definitely a creature of Megaman Zero-s, Devil May Cry (3 specifically), and various other "schmove and slice/shoot" games so the way Dread manages to both capture the essence of dynamic fights from games of my yesteryear while simultaneously acting as a peek into some magic looking glass where Megaman games got to go full hog with modern technology/game design sense or Treasure titles a la Gunstar Heroes got budgets and all the TLC possible made for a very strange Fall 2021 where every following run of Dread I had just made some part of my brain go "this is where so many of my favs could have gotten and it's not fair they don't or didn't get that chance" Edit 4: The personality that was given to Samus in this game (mostly) wordlessly is master class. I have always had a specific reservation with how often the fandom wants to see Samus as a character that is just "femme Doom Slayer" but at the same time didn't argue that much with the suggestion as its still very rare to have a woman lead in a fiction just be Built Like That™. Dread manages to toe along an impressive line between "I am 30 or 40 something at this point and do not fucking CAAAARE" and "ooh, shiny rock/cool animal" alongside the reverence shown with the scenes with Quiet Robe. You just know that she was in a state mentally of "I'm nice like that" in a few bits too along with the legendary "FUCK YOU DAD" that comes about by endgame. The Kraid moment is absolutely standout too where you could almost make the case that internally, hidden behind the emerald glow of her visor she was legit just making a face of sheer disappointment like someone checking the fridge late night for something they knew wasn't in there just based off the body language. "Oh it's just you again." Edit 5: Burenia is a *very* cool biome. Something brought to my attention as recently as a month ago was that the entire journey during Dread's run until Hanubia is underground so there's an added "whoa" factor to the whole region as having an eternal hurricane like situation take place in a cave deep under the crust of ZDR. Did the Mawkin Chozo terraform this space specifically to be like that or is it just an anomaly of the planet? The universe will never know. EDIT 6: YOU ACTUALLY DID EARLY PULSE RADAR ON YOUR FIRST PLAYTHROUGH? I didn't realize how perfect it would be to have at that specific timeframe of a playthrough until I started innovating my own favorite route through the game incorporating sequence breaking, realized that was a thing and then thought "damn, that'd have been fucking rad at that point in the first go around". At the same time, that is *really* a testament to how well choreographed the game is that it could provide any kind of player something like that to keep them feeling their way forward however gracefully. Edit 7: I really wish if more of Dread's music was like Burenia/Burenia Depths too honestly. Also, Gravity Suit has to be MercurySteam's favorite suit with how awesome they keep making it look. I just wish if the lit up parts adopted Prime's ice blue/electric blue coloring, that'd have gone crazy on this design. Edit 8: I do want to point out with the claw grip thing that its kind of beautiful that when Samus finally recognizes and embraces what her new "power" was about, she immediately goes for the head with it. I'm sure the baby Metroid is looking on from somewhere proud of its mom. Thirty five years later and they finally cashed in on the folks wondering where "Metroid" is or joking about "What's a Samus?" How many times had it been brought up that the word "Metroid" was of Chozo origin and literally meant "ultimate warrior?" Exceptionally amazing writing. Now that we're talking about Raven Beak, that was easily the best boss battle and overall encounter I'd had for that year and possibly the couple of years beforehand. That is a whole villain that deserves to be up there in Nintendo's stable of greats. What an amazing sequence. Edit 9: God it's amazing to also hear you mirror the sentiments I had upon the finish of Dread. I have always held Prime 2 and Zero Mission at the highest level of enthusiasm for "thoroughly ideal Metroid" games. I also have a bit of striking out against the grain where I think that for all of Other M's warts and lasting damage, I always felt like its biggest lingering "sin" was how back in the day, it really burned fans of this series so badly that no one would dare even suggest injecting any form of further action perspective into the series; folks wanted Super Metroid or Prime and that was **it**. Instantly upon Dread's completion, it felt like someone had tossed a bomb through a sheet glass window into my innermost thoughts on the series as a whole, raided the place, went to MercurySteam and developed something that had just confidently took a new spot of just being the ideal situation. It delivered on the concept of a "higher action"/action showcase Metroid that Other M wanted so badly to be. It recognized that you could and should be challenged not just to navigate and infer your way around a world of ZDR's breadth and depth, but to compete against various forms of hostiles that are gunning for your existence in narrative all while providing the best upward curve of firepower and options in the series since Echoes (for me personally). Dread even manages to do the impossible and inspire more and more runs because of its slick movement systems, presentation and a number of streamlines (skipping most cutscenes in later playthroughs) while making the average playthrough to completion hover in a manageable range much like Zero Mission so you just feel like you could do another run every time you finish it. Hell, this video really has me thinking of popping the game back in for the God knows how many-eth time here. This video really did not disappoint. You've grown so much with your critique and delivery of said criticism. Thank you for the wonderful Christmas gift!

Need to issue a correction here: the Teleportals do NOT, in fact, become connected if you find all of them. Instead, they become connected after you beat the final, golden Chozo Warrior right before Itorash. I know this first hand because I actually tested it. I went out of my way to find all the Teleportals before that fight, and they still didn't link together, and then I tried several other things to basically narrow it down to that one single variable. So, yeah, you don't have to find all the Teleportals in order to connect them, you just have to beat the Chozo Warrior in Hanubia.

Let me tell you a story I have kept to myself until now. A story of which, I can be considered the main character: It’s October 2021. Locked within this house, loosing track of days, and depression and anxiety pestering like it’s nobodies’ business. Home School? Well that’s not going well. After failing to properly revise for a test it must be re taken to not be plastered with a D grade, and the necessary revision notes are nothing short of a mess. But that pales in comparison to this truly atrocious physical state. Servere Eczema hit like a freight train this year, and doctors won’t consult you due ti the ongoing global pandemic, rendering this individual “not as important”. In spite of that, skin is flaking, Body is tearing, Immune system is over acting and it’s not being medically consulted correctly. It’s been like this for well over 1 to 2 years now; and While far from the case, it feels like the verge of death... And then, an online order arrived. A meager Nintendo Switch game that has been anticipated by many. One excited response later, perhaps this will be a source of relief? Anything is worth a shot at this point. This life is one in shambles, so something may as well be thrown at the wall to see what sticks... And then... Metroid Dread blew all of my expectations away. Everything in this game came together for me. Every note hit with Perfection. I didn’t think there would be a Metroid game to surpass Super, but Colour me a Filthy Liar. i couldn’t help but bray it over and over and over again. It was all so cathartic so clever so lovingly crafted so Lore re-Thinking and the sort of game that doesn’t get made in the 2020s yet deserves to be. For a while, it was my ultimate source of happiness. And to some extent, it still is. Despite my prior exaggeration, I don’t believe this is a perfect game (ghavoran looking at you). It’s not the game I have the single most nostalgia for. And there are games which I would consider all time greats over it. And yet, Dread means more to me than any other game I’ve ever played. My life has gotten better since then, but it was with me at my lowest point. It was why I was alive for a while. And It’s one of few games I have 99% happiness while playing. Metroid Dread is special. Metroid Dread rules. Metroid Dread deserves the Masterpiece label over so many other games in my eyes. And, one final comment to cement my emotion and connection to this incredible franchise... My favourite video game of all time, is Metroid Dread.

I just wanted to say that I grinned like a maniac when I heard the "Legend Of The Hidden Temple" music while you described the options for proceeding through Olmec's tem-er, the planet.

This is easily the best video on Metroid Dread I've ever seen. So thorough, so thoughtful, and so well paced. You never disappoint, and I'm excited to see whatever comes next!

1:22:24 i love the blank, unfocused stare Samus has as she just breathes here. It's incredible how well they managed to convey her freaked out with thoughts running faster than her shinesparks, all without words or facial expressions.

Fun fact: When they released Metroid Prime Trilogy, the version of Prime 3 in it removed the log entry that mentioned the Dread project

Firs time I ever did the patreon for a video like this. Been looking forward to this, and it's really well made! I love how you brought the left-hand thing full circle that was hilarious. This game is definitely one of my favorite Metroid games, if not my absolute favorite of the 2D games. The way the combat, exploration, story, and just everything came together was awesome. Hooe things are well!

There's no need to sympathize with Jaffe for getting frustrated. Getting lost or not noticing a solution isn't the problem. The reason he got skewered is because of his arrogance, asserting his position as a developer as a position of absolute authority on what good game design is, and refusal to stop digging himself deeper in the hole. Which, dread isn't the only example of this either. He reaps what he sows.

There's a logbook entry in the original North American release of Metroid Prime that has forever stuck with me, of the Chozo referring to the Sanctuary they crafted to shield the Impact Core, ending with "Those who respect and honor these relics will know the friendship of the Chozo. Those who deface or destroy them will know our wrath, unfettered and raw." And while it was....expunged from canon via the Trilogy re-release, that last line stuck with me for a specific reason. Raven Beak is the pinnacle of everything that defiles the concept of the Chozo to Samus. The Chozo as Samus is shown are kind. They help the downtrodden, they saved her and elevated her to a form that has allowed her to protect the galaxy they loved and cherished, all at her own request. They have guided her on her journey, though her armor, though their various relics and upgrades, and, even though their failings, they still send hope for the future of the universe. And then Raven Beak, one who worships at the altar of Power, intends to use every bit of that legacy and defile it. To turn her DNA, the DNA of the Metroid Hatchling that saved her life, into a weapon to claim the galaxy, to make others suffer as she did. And so, for that one moment, when the Metroid DNA within Samus awakens, we get to see that Wrath, Unfettered and Raw. We see Samus, for the FIRST time, not struggling, like she had with Raven Beak prior. Not confident, like she was against monsters like Kraid, that had threatened countless lives before she took him down in the past, but full of absolute RAGE. And that scream, that unending, unyielding scream of defiance and rage and hate, is the single most CHILLING thing to happen in Dread. Seeing the depths that Raven Beak sunk to, and would sink to, was one thing...but FINALLY getting him to see the absolute consequences of his actions, delivered by the Avatar of Vengeance for the Thoha Tribe, has forever become one of my favorite moments in all of gaming. (Also, the unlockable Chozo Memories files, earned for beating the game, imply that the Mawkin had taken Kraid from Zebes before it blew up, at some point after Samus defeated him.)

Incredible episode. I truly embraced Metroid as a franchise because of your original videos, and by the time dread came out, I had a blast playing through. One of my favorite memories of this game was figuring out that a 0% run was completely possible, and then spending the next few days trying my hardest to beat it (surprisingly, Escue was the boss that gave me the most trouble, aside from the final boss). That experience of figuring out the 0% challenge made me feel grateful, not for being a "hardcore gamer" or whatever, but grateful for having the chance to play this series and game. Thank you Geek Critique and all the hard working devs at Mercury Steam!

I got into your channel through Sonic, and got into Metroid through your channel. The first thing I thought about after playing dread was “I just need to know what josh thinks”. Banger video. Seen it already on the patreon but felt the need to leave a comment here. Keep doing what you’re doing, Josh. I absolutely love the channels like yours that focus on why people love gaming to begin with.

ADAM: "I heard that Raven Beak has an 8-pack. That Raven Beak is shredded."

One little thing worth noting in my opinion is that the existence of the emmi zones is less of a break from the story and more of an enhancement of the mystery. We're meant to wonder why these things are confined to these zones, controlled by chozo brain computers. Much like the developers themselves, Raven Beak put the emmi in these zones in constructing his trial. If the emmi did kill Samus, he would get her dna but what he really wanted was to awaken that power, and the best way to do so was to control the circumstances under which she would face them. I also love how enemies start appearing in emmi zones once you destroy them since it implies that they can go through those doors but, just like samus, the native wildlife get hunted down just as ruthlessly. This was an amazing episode! Here's to more metroids to geek about for years to come.

Regarding the Ice Missile / Ice Beam thing, Samus still has the weakness to ice she inherited from Metroids. She is still unable to use the ice beam. Personally, I like that change. Before, switching between the regular beam and ice beam was always awkward. Giving the ice effect to missiles instead really streamlines the gameplay.

Btw the EMMI counters are actually always random when they occur so you litteraly cannot time them

I'll admit I had a "Jaffe Room" moment my first time. After getting the Spider-Magnet, I got stuck in the EMMI room. I did blow a hole through the wall but my thought process wasn't to keep shooting, it was that was the ONE correct spot to shoot and I need to find the Morph Ball. I did a few laps around the map before turning the game off after getting a frustration headache. Came back the next day and found the solution almost by accident. EDIT: Okay, I paused the vid to write this I wasn't expecting the same thing from you!

1:03:20 my personal head cannon is that Nintendo straight up realized that the ice beam logically should not work with the plasma beam, so the whole ice missile thing is a correction, also hinted at by using ice missles in Metroid prime 3

I don't think it would be a good idea to put players directly into a boss fight once they get control of Samus. Even if it's a "Supposed to lose" fight, that likely won't be clear to players new to the series. It would just feel frustrating.

cool video, but when are you going to review metroid dread? :P

Hey- good on you for talking about the problems the developers faced. And yeah, this is why I think criticisms that Dread is TOO handholdy are absurd. It's true that it guides the player quite a bit- personally, the one and only time I got lost, was when I RECOGNIZED where the game was trying to lead me, but I went "Wait, wait- this CAN'T be right, I can't need to leave this area THIS quickly, there has to be something else here" only to hit dead ends, and eventually realize that my initial hunch was correct. But the ability to recognize where a game is guiding you is a SKILL, and one that not everyone is great at! /I/ had no problems, but friends of mine did! Loads of people did! And making the game complicated enough to befuddle players who are that good at recgonizing the path forward, would've made it utterly LABYRINTHIAN to anyone else. And I still wound up losing the path! It wasn't til like, playthrough 5 or 6 that I realized I'd been overlooking a path the game wanted me to take, to get the cross bombs earlier than I did, where on previous playthroughs they were always my very last item acquired before the power bombs. Speaking of sequence breaks, there's quite a bit I could say about- Huh? What? Oh, we're being cut off by the Power Rangers end music? Alright, let's give it a moment, then. ... SO! Sequence breaks! Dread has 'em... but honestly? I'm not a fan. And the biggest problem with them for me, is that, for the most part? They require you to take a detour from the game's intended path. I'm sure speedrunners have math'd it out, but they don't FEEL like they save me much time. In Super Metroid and Zero Mission, I sequence break all the time. I turn the like, 3 trips from Brinstar and Norfair that you need to make in the game's normal path, between getting the high jump and the grapple beam, into just one. Zero Mission, I frequently nab the Varia Suit early with some bomb jumps- I even once nabbed it without even getting bombs yet. In these games, the sequence breaks are right along the path that you're following anyway. They save time. But in Dread, I did some sequence breaks for the sake of testing them out... and it kinda felt like that's all they were there for. I didn't feel like I was saving time, just... following a different path. One that wasn't laid out for me, in maps that are a lot more twisting, needing to follow a guide to remember where things are. I got the grapple beam and bombs early, but they weren't just right there, they weren't things I could just grab while I was here and save myself a trip back later, they were things i had to go out of my way for, and lead to MORE trips back. It FEELS like the sequence breaks are there, just to say that there are in fact Sequence Breaks. ...I did like nabbing the Gravity Suit early, though. That changed things up a bit more, and lead to some more difficult boss fights as I didn't have tools I was supposed to. I also nabbed it a bit early on my most recent playthrough, too- though I wouldn't really call it grabbing it early, so much as just, grabbing it quicker, as I got it when I was supposed to, progression-wise; - I just skipped having to go through the underwater sequence without it.

One thing I don't see discussed often, if ever, is that Dread teaches you how to sequence break it if you 100% a run. I forget the specifics since it's been 2 years, but I distinctly remember solving one of the trickier shinespark puzzles in my endgame item hunt and then coming back for my second run immediately after and going "oh hey, this is where that puzzle was. Lemme just solve it real quick again....hey, wait a sec, isn't the Gravity Suit around here?" That was the example that stuck in my head the most, but there are certainly others. On top of having accidentally sequence-broken in my very first playthrough, it made me VERY aware of just how much the illusion of being trapped in smaller sections of the map actually was. The fact that things like pseudowave beam and the water bomb jump not only haven't been patched out, but somehow STILL feel like natural parts of the progression, is a testament to how this game (and the best of the genre as a whole) present you the world and the tools and say "go for it, you have our blessing." One run, I remember I deliberately skipped the space jump. I *would* have been softlocked in one room, except that with an infinite bomb jump I could go up a shaft to the double chozo warrior fight. During things like that it's like you can feel the devs say "if you were good enough to get yourself into this situation, you're good enough to get yourself out of it."

What I think is really cool about the EMMI zones in particular is that, yes, you can stealth through them and probably will for a few playthroughs, there's actually a way to mad dash through every EMMI Zone if you know the route and what you're doing. Eventually, you can get to the point where you rarely, if ever, actually use the Phantom Cloak inside of EMMI Zones.

jaffe made it so much worse by actually proving himself wrong and then to top it all off the man killed himself in the game out of frustration i mean he literally made sure that any point he was making was debunked by himself

I ran into all the same navigation problems as you on my first playthrough and I'm pretty good at navigation usually. I think the issue is that the game is designed with a fairly different methodology than previous Metroid games and even most metroidvanias. I think when playing games the player builds an unspoken relationship with the designers in how they place secrets and hidden or optional paths. Players then subconsciously expect the designer to be consistent in the relationship and uphold the previously established standards. My problem in dread is it took me a really long time to understand that the designers always wanted me to take an area switch the first time I saw it. I do think this is a weakness in the game though. It took me understanding and analyzing the design of the game and realizing what the designers wanted me to do in order to stop getting lost. I had to make the subconscious relationship conscious which I think is a problem.

1:15:41 well, when we sleep our brain then sorts through and stores the information we took in during the day, so sleeping on the boss probably helped you memorize the attacks and other things. As well as getting good rest and having better focus perhaps.

i first got into the metroid series at 13, and your videos on it were one of my favorite things to watch back then. seeing this on my feed brought me back, and your videos have improved vastly, but it still has that good ol' style. glad to see your stuff again after half a decade

Dread would have been better if it was a DS game with chunky DS models.

Dread did an amazing job of replicating my memory of what it was like to play Super/Fusion when they were new. Normally nostalgia's view is so rose colored it's easy to be let down by remakes/revivals of beloved series but with this they really did hit the sweet spot of making me feel like a ten year old renting Super Metroid when it first released.

Omg the wave of nostalgia that came to me when you started talking about the speed booster, and DiC Sailor Moon music started playing in the background. I thought I was tripping for a minute lol

Metroid Dread really got to me because it took a lot of music from Super Metroid, my first videogame *ever*, I know people say that's a con, but to me it really strengthen how much I love this series.

Actually i love Dread's Varia Suit honestly, agree to disagree

Metroid Dread is such an insanely good game. While I was disappointed they didn't go the route fusion did with it's ending, I pretty much expected that since that ending was an error on the localization's part. It's not my favorite Metroid game, but it's still a damn good one. Mercury Steam has really showed with their two games that they doing their damndest to repair the damage Other M and Federation Force did and you can tell they really care and understand Samus.

Funnily enough, I actually left to go do something around when the “intermission” part of the video started, only to find my Metroid Dread Samus figma on my doorstep after months of waiting. Very much looking forward to finishing setting that up later. Anyhow, Dread was basically my first “new” Metroid game as well, since I got into the series with Samus Returns when it came out. I also was introduced to your channel via those original Metroid reviews, and I remember watching them constantly to see what I had missed with the series up to that point. This whole redux has been so nostalgic to me, since they remind me of a formative time of my teenage years when I was trying out a lot new series for the first time. I thank you for all of this amazing critiquing, and watching this alone made me want to pop in and experience Dread all over again

1:15:30 The sleep thing happens all the time. Your brain works on it while you're asleep. Additionally, you sometimes get worse and worse by playing the same thing over and over.

The Dread Mode took the LAST out of me. I remember sitting in front of my TV, it was midnight and I was just mashing buttons when I fought Raven Beak. After so many tries I did beat him and I was officially ready to hire a therapist

The thing with the workers, I feel the best way to handle it is to be extremely vocal about it and call it out when able, and make sure it is known, but also to buy the game if it is good. It's a difficult situation as a consumer for stuff like this, because not buying it punishes not only the people responsible for the bad behavior, but also those were the victim of it, and in many cases the parent company (like Nintendo in this case) can and probably would take the wrong message and just not make any more Metroid games for another dark age because "it didn't sell well, must mean no one wants it." Instead of "This company we worked with had bad business practices, let's go elsewhere." You do what you think is right if what you described happens, no judgements here, but getting the message out and making sure it's talked about and condemned by everyone is the first step I feel. I'm glad Mercury Steam got their second chance to make their vision of a Metroid game, and it's brilliant in my eyes. However I want to see a new team handle things now. Metroid 6 is going to be something entirely new, now freed from the story the past 5 games were telling. I want to see a new team handle everything, see where the series goes with completely fresh eyes behind the development. Thanks for making sure the story of the workers gets out there, it just sucks the situation with how the industry works isn't as simple as we wish it to get better conditions and not potentially lose what we want to get out of it too.

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned it, but great use of the Sailor Moon US-power theme when talking about the Speed Booster, it oddly fits very well and not sure if it was meant to be snuck in

A couple small details you might not realize are connected. You could return to Kraid's arena and see his corpse beneath the magma, and return after the X get loose to find it mysteriously missing. Now, flash forward to the boss halting the thermal flow and freezing Artaria. The core-X falls into the lava but that isn't anything dangerous to it. It follows those magma flows to escape you, perhaps finding the remnants of Kraid in the meantime? And shows up at the end to claim Raven Beak at the end, hence why the Raven Beak X monstrosity has Kraid's mutated body as part of its design

Appreciate you putting the people who made this game first. The Metal Gear Solid comparison is so good! Your interpretation of the story made me realize the metroid are Samus’s chosen family.

Been working on designing my own game for over a year now (all story/theory at this stage), and something in this video lead me onto a tangent, and gave me a big breakthrough on some key parts of the story. The jigsaw has been coming together quite well, but this tangent feels like i have just connected a few big chunks and made the image clearer. So, want to directly thank you for indirectly helping me 😁

My single favorite moment in the entirety of Dread is Kraid’s introduction. Samus being on guard until she sees the threat then very visibly _relaxing_ once the threat’s identified, then calmly just shooting the angry dragon in the mouth with all the arrogant air of someone saying “shut up, nerd” just _oozes_ confidence in her abilities and skills. She _knows_ Kraid isn’t a threat to her, not really, and it shows in every cinematic he’s involved in. Even his death showcases it, with that last projectile he fires off as he’s dying that Samus just sidesteps like she’s walking around someone on the street. The entire fight really is just 👌sublime, but the intro is definitely my favorite part

As a person who himself didn't grow up with the Metroid franchise, having only gotten into the series about 4 years back with Samus Returns and my first attempt at Prime 1 on the Wii, I'm on my true journey through the series as I am currently playing every game possible with so far only the original Metroid, Samus Returns, Prime 1 Remastered and Dread under my belt, I can proudly call myself a full on series fanboy, because I just absolutely LOVE this series. Granted I do have quite a ways to go playing every other game in the franchise, I am just loving this journey so far. And speaking of journeys, watching your retrospective on this franchise (at least on the games I've personally played and beaten, mind you) has taken my on quite the odyssey and the way you meticulously describe what makes the series so special to you speaks volumes to your dedication on the labor of love that has been this series retrospective itself. I'll be happy to watch the videos of the other games you've done retrospectives on which are the games I've yet to play and beat, but once its done, I'll be somewhat sad knowing this right here will be the last Metroid video you do until we get a new entry which could still be YEARS down the line. Regardless, I want to thank you for showing such love and compassion to a series that once felt dead and gone from the public eye. One that has had a great comeback with Dread and Prime Remastered. And it's channels like yours that show just how much people want more Metroid.

I'm sorry, but is that the Sailor Scouts battle theme playing as you're describing the speed booster and shinespark? I see you truly ARE a man of culture.

I had a jaffe moment as well. I thought the teleporters were just unlocked fast travel, and finding one required finding another. After morph ball, i ran around for like 2 hours until i found where the red teleporter was supposed to spit you out, and finally got varia.

I was thinking about this game again the other day so I was happy to see such a nice video about it. That scene where Samus finally speaks gives me chills every time. Not just because it's one of the few times we've ever heard her speak as the confident adult she's become, but because it's a conversation in a language she likely has not heard or had reason to speak in who knows how many years. In a series where she's been content with non-verbal gestures as answers to others, I can only imagine her choice to speak was one that was immensely personal and says so much about her feelings and identity while barely having to say anything at all. It was nothing short of incredible.

There's a loading black screen for the Gravity Suit room because when you ascend from the water to the top, you fight one (or two, can't remember) of those Chozo Warriors Robots