Muzby

Muzby
Official artwork of a Muzby
Featured in	Metroid Dread
Size	Large
Weight	Heavy
Knownlocales	Artaria Ghavoran Hanubia
Known worlds	ZDR
Color(s)	Pink
Distinctions	Large body, pincer legs
Attacks	Slams hind legs down on Samus
Weakness	Missiles, Charge Beam, Melee Counter

The Muzby (ムズビ, Muzubi) is a species of large, pink, insect-like creatures encountered in Metroid Dread.

Description

Muzbies appear in several rooms in Artaria, where they evolved to adapt to the dark caverns. A Muzby can also be found in the jungles of Ghavoran, in a room populated by Planteaters. One additional Muzby is seen in Hanubia, during the Countdown.

Muzbies walk on four claw-like legs, reminiscent of those of a louse. The hind legs are large and heavy, and are also used to attack, while the forelegs are only used for locomotion. They also possess two atrophied pairs of legs hanging on their underside. They appear to have four small eyes and two short horns on their head.

A Muzby typically wanders passively through a room and will not attack unless provoked. If engaged, a Muzby will turn around and walk backwards into the attacker. It will then raise its hind legs and drop them on the ground at full force. After attacking, if a Muzby does not know where its foe is, it will briefly look around with its head and then resume normal behavior. To kill the Muzby, Samus Aran can use Missiles and Charge Beam shots to great effect, or perform the Melee Counter when it raises its hind legs. She can also Slide under it right before it attacks. Upon encountering the first Muzby, the game teaches the player how to perform a Melee Counter via a tutorial prompt, much like the first Gullugg in Metroid: Samus Returns.

After Raven Beak releases the X Parasites from Elun, all Muzbies become infected by the X. These X hosts are much more aggressive than their natural counterparts, and they will attack Samus without provocation. In addition to mimicking the Muzby's original form, the X create stronger, enhanced variants of the Muzby to serve as tougher foes.

Varieties

Grub

Two Grubs in Artaria, with possible Muzby eggs

Juvenile Muzbies, referred to as Grub or BigfistGrub, appear in the background of Artaria and Ghavoran. Samus cannot interact with them directly, although they react to her presence by trembling in fear. When left alone, they relax and gently bob their bodies.

Two Grubs are seen in the background of the Melee Counter tutorial, along with what appears to be similarly-colored eggs. This may explain why this particular Muzby attacks Samus seemingly without provocation, since it was likely protecting its nest from an intruder. Similar eggs are seen in Golzuna's arena in Ghavoran (see below).

Goliath

A Goliath in Ghavoran

Goliath (ゼギオウ, Zegiō) is a variant of the Muzby encountered after the X Parasites are released. While mostly found in Ghavoran, other Goliaths take up residence in Artaria on later visits, including "Corpius' room" and the E.M.M.I. Zone.

This version is much larger and partially armored with a hard rock-like shell on its backside and hind legs to further increase its endurance. It lacks horns and has three blue eyes, which are only visible while it sticks its head out when it does not sense a nearby enemy; when Samus is in its vicinity, it retracts its head into its shell, although this does not protect it from her weaponry.

Due to its size and strength, its hind legs are too powerful to be Melee Countered. The shell is sturdy enough to avoid damage from the Screw Attack. Furthermore, its legs are electrically charged while attacking, and it creates a shockwave on the ground when it slams down. Samus can only target its unarmored underbelly or head with her weapons, forcing her to Slide under when it raises its legs to attack. If Samus uses the Wave Beam to shoot the Goliath's belly from below, the creature reacts with distress and tries to quickly crawl away. It can also be killed instantly with a Power Bomb.

Bigkran-X

After the release of the X Parasites, Bigkran-X can be found in Artaria, Cataris, and Ghavoran. These hybrid creatures combine the form of a Muzby with the rock-like skin and magma-spitting abilities of a Vulkran.

Golzuna

The Golzuna boss initially appears as a Muzby for its first phase, then adopts the appearance of a Goliath, and then finally turns into its final form as a massive electrified variant of Muzby and Goliath.

Official data

Metroid Dread Report Volume 8

"This terrestrial creature with heavy arms is one of the larger lifeforms on Artaria. It drags its arms behind as it walks. Because it dwells and has evolved in darkness, a Muzby doesn’t have the equivalent to a face. It has tough, rugged skin and high endurance, so high-powered attacks like the Missile or Charge Beam are effective. Samus can also slide between its legs when it lifts its arms to attack."

Development notes

The Goliath has an unused death animation, in which it slumps to the ground before disintegrating. Since Goliaths are only encountered as X Parasites and revert back to their gelatinous form upon defeat, this animation cannot be normally seen in-game.

Trivia

• In Volume 8 of the Metroid Dread Report, Muzbies are misleadingly described as faceless, despite apparently having a clear face with eyes; this head is also where the "dazed" visual effect will appear when a Muzby is stunned by a Melee Counter. This seems to indicate the writers misinterpreted the Muzby's design as being backwards, i.e. the side with the heavy hind legs being interpreted as the front.
• The Muzby Melee Counter tutorial can be repeated with the use of glitches. By killing the Muzby before restarting the tutorial, the game will lock the camera in place (focused upon the Grubs in the background) and unload all actors outside the room, allowing Samus to navigate the extreme cold areas of Artaria without taking damage and thereby collecting the Screw Attack early.
• A Muzby is used in the Samus Screen tutorial for the Charge Beam.
• Since Grubs cannot be killed, it is unconfirmed whether they become infected by the X. The X have been known to ignore potential hosts, such as the Etecoons and Dachora, likely if they are perceived as too weak to use. However, ADAM instructs Samus to assume that all living organisms on ZDR have become infected.
• The Japanese names of Muzby and its variants may be derived from the ranks in sumo wrestling: Muzby (Muzubi) is komusubi (小結), the fourth-highest rank; Goliath (Zegiō) is ōzeki (大関), the second-highest rank; and Golzuna (Goddūna) is yokozuna (横綱), the highest rank.

Gallery

A Muzby sees Samus approach

The Muzby turns its back toward Samus

The Muzby engages Samus

The Muzby lifts its hind legs to attack

Melee Counter tutorial.

Two Grubs sit in the background while Samus fires at the Muzby

Samus shoots at a Muzby in front of the destroyed elevator to the surface

Samus sliding under a Muzby.

Charge Beam tutorial

A Goliath in Corpius' room.

Possible Muzby eggs in frozen Artaria.

Bigkran-X's model from Dread

Goliath's model from Dread