| “ | Now, listen closely. The X in Sector 1 have invaded the atmospheric stabilizers. They must want to alter the environment to their needs. They are already reproducing. Clear all 5 atmospheric stabilizers to stop them. | „ |
—Adam | ||
An atmospheric stabilizer infected by Geron.
The atmospheric stabilizer is a ventilation system used in Sector 1 (SRX) on the Biologic Space Laboratories research station.
Shortly after Samus Aran lands on the station during the events of Metroid Fusion, her computer Adam tells her that the X Parasites have infected five of these in Sector 1, with a unique variant of Geron[1] that continuously spawns more X. She is tasked with clearing all of them of the X infection. To do so, she must fire three Missiles at the open portion to destroy the X. However, when she regains the Charge Beam, she can instead fire two direct fully charged shots to destroy the X. One of the stabilizers is located after the Charge Beam and one can be cleared either before or after obtaining the Charge Beam.
When Samus enters a room with a corrupted atmospheric stabilizer, there are flashing red sirens, fog, and a squeaky grinding sound from the stabilizer's clogged fans. Once the atmospheric stabilizer is online, the fog disperses as the alarms and grinding cease, and any Special Hatches in the room will open.
Onscreen messages[]
"Atmospheric stabilizer online. Four units still malfunctioning."
"Atmospheric stabilizer online. Three units malfunctioning."
"Atmospheric stabilizer online. Two units still malfunctioning."
"Atmospheric stabilizer online. One unit still malfunctioning."
"All stabilizers online. Atmospheric levels equalized."
Development notes[]
Unused sprites exist in the internal files of Fusion that place the stabilizers' openings in the bottom right or left corner of their outer shells.[2]
Trivia[]
- On the top left corner of the stabilizer, an object resembling a Nintendo GameCube is present. This is a possible reference to Metroid Prime, released for that system alongside Fusion.
- The unused diagonal opened sprites also have an object resembling an LCD monitor.
- If Samus is close enough to an atmospheric stabilizer and fires a Charge Shot at point blank range, her shots will phase through the protective barrier and damage the Geron inside. It takes four point blank shots to clear an atmospheric stabilizer this way.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Nintendo Official Guide Book for Metroid Fusion pg. 27 refers to these X enemies as Geron (Air System) (ゲロン(空調システム))
- ^ biospark. Metroid Fusion - Unused Sprite Animations. YouTube. June 21, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnwul2oWMc (starts at 4:09)