Gadora

"Space Pirate encrypted data decoded."

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The subject of this article is not named in-game.
The current title is from the game's internal data.

Gadora
A Gadora in Metroid: Zero Mission
Featured in	Metroid: Zero Mission Super Metroid Metroid Fusion
Size	Door sized
Knownlocales	Various, found blocking entrances to boss rooms
Known worlds	Zebes, BSL research station
Color(s)	Tan, yellow, pink (X mimic), black
Attacks	Spheres of plasma, plasma wave
Weakness	Missiles, Super Missiles, Charge Beam (Fusion & Zero Mission)

A Gadora (ガドラー, Gadorā), also known as giant eye, eyeball hatch guardian, eyeball hatch, eyeball guard, and eyeball doorkeeper, is a hatch-blocking enemy living on Zebes. X Parasite mimics are also present on the BSL.

Description

Gadoras are easily recognizable by their single large eye that composes most of their bodies and are always found blocking entrances to nearby boss rooms. Their skin is seemingly covered with hardened scales and spikes. The Gadora seems capable of living indefinitely in water, as evidenced by the submerged Gadoras guarding Draygon in Maridia and Serris in Sector 4 (AQA).

Samus facing a Gadora aboard the Biologic Space Laboratories research station.

Scientists had seemingly kept at least one Gadora specimen inside the Biologic Space Laboratories research station, where it eventually died from infection as a result of the X Parasite outbreak. The X Parasite(s) carrying its DNA transformed into several Gadora imitations throughout the station, adequately placed prior to boss rooms. These X-mimicked Gadora were heavily mutated from their original counterparts: red, pulsing lumps of flesh covered the surface of their bodies around their eyeball, with small tendrils located on their sides.

Samus can destroy one by firing three Missiles or one Super Missile at the creatures' soft, ocular organ when their eyelids open. The Gadora guarding Kraid in Zero Mission is the weakest variant in the entire Metroid series, requiring only a single Missile to kill. In Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion, these creatures can be destroyed with the Charge Beam as well; this is not possible with Super Metroid's variant, however.

Gadoras will sometimes defend themselves by covering their eye with a strong shield which they immediately launch as a wave of plasma; in some appearances, they shoot three consecutive spheres of plasma which home in on their target. In Fusion, Gadoras will fire anywhere from 0-4 plasma waves consecutively. Despite their menacing appearance, the waves are relatively weak and rendered even less intimidating by the inevitable Red X Gadoras produce upon defeat, replenishing a large amount of Samus's ammunition and energy. Additionally, on Easy Mode in the Japanese version of Fusion, Gadoras never fire any plasma waves.

The Gigadora of SR388 and Gobbler of ZDR may be related species, as evidenced by similar names and appearances.

Official data

Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide

"Three Missiles (or one Super Missile) shot into the eye on the door will allow you to access Phantoon's chamber. This is the same technique you should use for entering the lair of each boss in the game."

Metroid Fusion manual

HATCH-BLOCKING ENEMIES

"Destroy hatch-blocking enemies with Missiles."

Development notes

Metroid: Zero Mission Event Viewer

Datamining of Fusion has uncovered an animation of the Gadora in which its eye is invulnerable, but it does not flash as it would in the finished game. It also has a blinking animation.

In the Event Viewer for Metroid: Zero Mission's prototype build, the event flags GADORAKRAID and GADORARIDLEY determine whether the Gadora in front of their respective bosses' rooms will respawn. This text is presented in both Japanese and English; this is the only known instance of the Gadora's name being officially romanized in English.

Trivia

The Gadora guarding Mother Brain in Super Metroid.

• The Gadora is the first instance within the Metroid series of the common video game trope where an otherwise-invulnerable enemy can only be damaged by shooting their eye. Other later Metroid examples include the Charge Beam Beast and Slench.
  • The EyeballBlocker is a creature in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption sharing many similarities with Gadora; it is possible that the former was modeled as an homage to the latter, which has never appeared outside the 2D games.
  • The floating-eye sensors share similarities with the Gadora, as they are both an eyeball on a wall that shoot projectiles.
• The fact that the Gadoras encountered on Zebes were always found guarding the Space Pirate leaders' chambers suggests that they are intentionally placed there by Pirates as a line of defense; this would also suggest that they are artificially cultivated life-forms and cannot be found naturally in the wild.
  • Therefore, it is interesting to note that the Gadoras in Fusion are X Parasites who have taken the role of guarding the rooms in which their superiors, the Core-Xs, reside in.
• In Super Metroid, the Gadora's tileset appears on walls, floors, and ceilings near the creature itself, suggesting that it makes a "home" out of its surroundings or that the creature itself can spread and grow like a plant or fungus. The tileset will not disappear after Samus destroys the Gadora.
• The Gadora in Super Metroid's Tourian does not directly block Mother Brain's chamber, but instead blocks a shaft that leads to the boss's room.
• It is likely that the Gadora blocking Kraid in Super Metroid was responsible for the death of the Deceased Soldier.
• Its name appears to be a rough portmanteau of the words "guard" and "door", the function which it serves.
• In Super Metroid shooting a Gadora with a standard beam will result in it firing back projectiles of the same beam type. This causes some very wonky results if you manage to shoot it with the Spacetime Beam, which can be done by fully pressing yourself against the Gadora and firing. Rather than corrupting spacetime as per usual, the beam collides with the Gadora, hitting it, causing the Gadora to spit out projectiles colored seemingly randomly which deal 1 energy worth of damage upon hitting Samus.