Gandrayda

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Gandrayda
Gandrayda, as she appears in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Species	Unknown biomorph. Likely Jovian.
Homeworld	Unknown. Possibly Jovia XII.
Born	Presumed relatively recent.
Death	Defeated by Samus Aran at the Pirate Homeworld, due to Phazon corruption.
Gender	Female
Gunship	None depicted.
Main weapon	Various electricity-based weapons, able to morph into a wide variety of forms.
Eye color	Purple (Blue after corruption)
Affiliation	Freelance Bounty Hunter (Often employed by the Galactic Federation)
Voice actor	Claire Hamilton

“	You know, you should never trust strangers, Sammy. This is going to be fun.	„
—Gandrayda

Gandrayda is a Bounty Hunter who appeared in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Biography

Gandrayda was a Bounty Hunter of unknown origin. However, she possessed metamorphic abilities similar to the inhabitants of Jovia XII. She could assume the form and abilities of most living things, including creatures and even machines differing significantly in size. Her base form is humanoid in shape with translucent, purple skin. Her age was unknown, though a psychological evaluation, her predilection for pranks, and her informal speech patterns in even military settings all indicate that she was relatively young. She viewed Bounty Hunting as a very enjoyable sport and considered the veteran hunter Samus Aran her chief rival. She intended to surpass Samus as a veteran Bounty Hunter as soon as possible. Gandrayda was a very capable combatant, but was often hired for stealth and reconnaissance missions due to her ability to mimic creatures. Lore on the Pirate Homeworld referring to her as "Mistress Gandrayda" suggests that she became a Space Pirate—it is likely that she fell under the influence of Dark Samus after being corrupted by Phazon.

Aiding the Galactic Federation

“	If we don't make it to the top in time, we can kiss this planet good-bye.	„
—Gandrayda's last words before she is corrupted.

Along with Ghor, Rundas, and Samus Aran, Gandrayda was asked by Fleet Admiral Dane of the Galactic Federation to help stop the Phazon corruption of the Aurora Units. Once the Space Pirates attacked the G.F.S. Olympus, the GF ship they were currently aboard, Gandrayda helped defend the ship by confronting the infiltrating Space Pirates. She then went to Norion to help the Federation ground troopers and protect the base from the invasion.

From left to right: Gandrayda, Rundas, Samus, and Ghor, the four bounty hunters featured in Metroid Prime 3.

When Samus arrived at Norion's Generator C, she found a group of Space Pirates waiting for her. Just as she was about to fight them, one of them turned on its comrades and massacred them before revealing itself to be a disguised Gandrayda, who left "Sammy" behind to do the work of activating the generator, claiming that machines were not her field of expertise.

Once the four Bounty Hunters reached the Control Tower to activate the cannon that would destroy the approaching Leviathan, Dark Samus intervened and attacked them. Gandrayda and the two male bounty hunters were initially knocked down, but then rallied behind Samus. However, Dark Samus then unleashed a burst of Phazon that struck all of them at once, rendering them unconscious.

Corruption

Two weeks later, Gandrayda awakened to discover that Dark Samus's Phazon blast had caused her body to begin producing Phazon. With no visible negative effects, the Federation outfitted her with a Phazon Enhancement Device in order to harness this new source of Phazon. Gandrayda was sent to find the Space Pirate's stronghold, but the Federation eventually lost contact with her. Unknown to the organization, Gandrayda had been corrupted by her internal Phazon a week after she left.

After another week, Samus Aran awoke, and some time later the Federation found the location of the Pirate Homeworld thanks to an emergency GF communication capsule from Gandrayda, but didn't know her current status; it is safe to assume this transmission pod was used by Gandrayda prior to her corruption. Samus infiltrated the planet and eventually received a transmission from a nearby Federation Marine designated NZG41. She managed to reach the Marine and helped him activate an elevator. She and the Marine went up the elevator, though once they reached the Proving Grounds the Marine suddenly began firing at Samus, who dodged the shots in her Morph Ball form. The trooper transformed into Gandrayda, who was now clearly heavily corrupted and eager to battle Samus.

Battle

Gandrayda reveals herself

During the fight, Gandrayda will jump, flip, and run about the room, making it difficult to shoot her. She can create throwing blades that will lock onto and "seek" Samus, though they can be shot down for power-ups. Gandrayda will also use a ground-based impact wave that streaks directly towards Samus. If successfully shot with a fully Charged Beam, she will trip onto the ground, leaving her vulnerable for approximately 2 seconds.

After taking some damage, Gandrayda will begin to use her shape-shifting abilities to transform into different enemies. She'll revert to normal after taking enough damage in these forms or after a certain amount of time. She also shares the weak points of these forms, so Samus can damage her in the same way as she did those enemies. The following is a list of the forms Gandrayda will take at this time:

• Berserker-G: She will employ energy waves, Phazon Orbs and a liquid Phazon gun.

• Aerotrooper-G: She will use missile and energy-based attacks.

• Swarmbot-G: She will attack in a manner similar to a tornado. If Samus wanders too close, her energy will be drained. Shooting down the individual Swarmbots can reveal power-ups. However, using the Screw Attack is even more efficient.

Samus battles Gandrayda in the Proving Grounds.

At 75% health, Gandrayda opens part of the roof, covering the outer portion of the battlefield in deadly Acid Rain, as well as lower the six structures around the room. She'll then continue her attack, and will also begin using new transformations.

• Rundas-G: She will employ his freeze wave, an ice sword, flight ability, and Ice Missiles.

• Ghor-G (2nd Phase): She will employ missiles, the Plasma Beam, Plasma shots, and she will also attempt to grab the Morph Ball. Ghor-G will also grab Samus if she uses the Screw Attack.

When Gandrayda's health drops to 50%, she will re-raise the six aforementioned structures before mimicking Samus in her iconic Varia Suit. While in this form, she will use a variant of the Boost Ball to bounce around the area and then unmorph to fire a powerful Beam.

Gandrayda can enable a cloaking field, rendering her invisible to the naked eye. She cannot employ it in conjunction with Hypermode, however. Gandrayda must be tracked with the X-Ray visor at this point.

At 25% health, Gandrayda stops transforming and begins to use Hypermode, where she moves even faster and all weapons used against her outside of Samus' own Hypermode attacks cause insignificant damage. When her Hypermode wears off, Gandrayda turns invisible. Samus must use the X-Ray Visor to keep track of Gandrayda and attack her until she uses Hypermode again.

"Shake Off Gandrayda"

Gandrayda latched onto Samus.

At any point during the battle, Gandrayda may leap towards Samus in an attempt to attack her physically. If Gandrayda is succesful in attacking Samus, the prompt "Shake Off Gandrayda" will appear on the Heads-Up Display, and Gandrayda must be shaken off with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Gandrayda has four different attacks which vary depending on the direction Gandrayda grabs Samus from. Gandrayda's core ability, the Grapple Voltage, continually drains Samus of energy, with her physical attacks (such as punches and slaps) doing additional damage with every succesful strike or blow. Gandrayda's attacks deal 63 Energy Points of damage, regardless of how Samus is grabbed. A description of these four attacks can be found below. A demonstration of all four attacks can be viewed here. 

• The most common attack, due to the nature of Samus' direction to normally face Gandrayda head on, features Gandrayda attempting to fufill her vow to present Dark Samus with Samus Aran's bloody helmet. When grabbed from directly ahead, Gandrayda forcefully snaps Samus' helmet and neck left and right in an attempt to loosen her helmet, and she continaully taunts Samus throughout. After her attempts to pry the helmet loose, Gandrayda eventually centers with the helmet and attempts to pull it off while laughing and expressing pleasure in her succesful attack before she leaps off of Samus. 
• Gandrayda may also grab onto Samus from an off-centre right direction, and will proceed to slap and backhand Samus before tapping on her visor and giggling at her before jumping off.
• Gandrayda may grab Samus from the off-centre left direction, and will also slap her, ending with her screaming and scratching her claws into Samus' visor as she pulls across it from right to left before leaping off.
• Finally, Gandrayda can also grab Samus from behind, and will proceed to giggle before punching her. She also forcibly drives a punch into her, before shouting in Samus' face and jumping off shortly after.

If Samus is able to succesfully shake Gandrayda off, she will leap off and stagger wherever she lands. This leaves her open to a Charge Beam shot which can knock her down, or a Screw Attack. If Samus fails to shake off Gandrayda, she will leap back without staggering and resume her normal actions providing no window.

Gandrayda laughing.

Gandrayda screaming and scratching Samus.

Gandrayda tapping Samus's visor.

Gandrayda breathing on Samus.

Death

Once defeated, Gandrayda screamed in agony as she began rapidly cycling through different forms (a Pirate Trooper, Rundas, Ghor, a Berserker Knight, and finally Samus in her current PED Suit) as she reached out to Samus, who saw the wraith-like figure of Dark Samus approaching. After witnessing the fates of Rundas and Ghor, Samus knew there was nothing she could do to save Gandrayda, and instead looked away and clenched her fist as Dark Samus absorbed Gandrayda.

Gandrayda made one final appearance in the Special Ending of the game, in which Samus takes a moment to mourn her fallen comrades on planet Elysia.

This is the music heard when battling Gandrayda: [1].

Powers and abilities

Gandrayda possessed powerful shape-shifting abilities that allowed her to assume the forms of various creatures as well as copy their abilities and powers. There seemed to be no limit to her shape-shifting powers, as she was able to assume the form of creatures significantly larger than herself such as Beserker Knights and Ghor, as well as transform herself into machines (and multiple entities) such as Swarmbots. She was also shown to be exceptionally agile, able to make high and graceful jumps, flips, and cartwheels in the air. Gandrayda also appeared to have some power over electricity: When not using her shape-shifting powers, she could attack from a distance by creating and throwing electric orbs or electric blades that home in on opponents. In addition, her power seemed to affect machines, as she was able to control the mechanism of the roof and structures during Samus's fight with her. She could also turn invisible to elude opponents.

Weaknesses

Though her shape-shifting powers allow her to infiltrate places with ease and help her in battle, her shape-shifting came with the downside of also gaining the creature's particular weakness.

Logbook entries

Hunter Gandrayda (Galactic Federation Data)

Temporary scan

Galactic Federation Datafile GD-202.
(Hunter Gandrayda)
Data moved to Logbook for review.

Logbook entry

Subject homeworld unknown. Possesses metamorphic ability similar to the biomorphs of Jovia XII. Can assume the form and abilities of most living things, including bioforms considerably larger than the subject. Scans are unable to determine subject’s age, but psych eval suggests a high degree of youthfulness. Intel suggests that bounty hunting is akin to a sport for her, one she enjoys considerably. Subject perceives the veteran Hunter Samus Aran as her chief rival, a rival she intends to surpass as soon as possible.

Hunter Gandrayda

Temporary scan

Hunter Gandrayda
Metamorphic bioform able to mimic numerous enemy units in battle.

Logbook entry

Gandrayda possesses the metamorphic ability to assume the form and abilities of other creatures. This talent has led many to seek her out for stealth and reconnaissance missions, despite her powerful combat abilities. Details on the subject's origins and age are unknown, but her unique traits have made her a sought-after Hunter for missions.

Mistress Gandrayda (Space Pirate Data)

Temporary scan

Space Pirate data decoded.
Entry: (Mistress Gandrayda)
Data moved to Logbook for review.

Logbook entry

Mistress Gandrayda is the last of our leader's field commanders. We hope that she will succeed where the others have not. We hope that she will slay the wretched Hunter!
Gandrayda tests our mettle often. She moves among us in our form, watching us, looking for signs of weakness. Several unfaithful disciples have been ended...violently. Those who survive will be stronger, ready for the Hunter that comes for them from the void. Gandrayda has vowed to present Aran's bloody helmet to Dark Samus as tribute. We hope she fulfills that vow!

Gandrayda

Temporary scan

Morphology: Gandrayda
Metamorphic bioform able to mimic numerous enemy units in battle.

Morphology: Gandrayda
Radical shift in biostructure. Reading new DNA patterns.

Logbook entry

Gandrayda's ability to shape-shift has been greatly enhanced by Phazon exposure, allowing her to assume a number of deadly forms at will. These new forms come with a cost, as she also inherits their weaknesses. A mistress of stealth, she will employ her personal cloaking field often, setting up her next deadly attack. An advanced visor system may be able to detect her location.

Trivia

• Gandrayda is extremely vulnerable to Samus's Screw Attack. It can be possible to defeat Gandrayda in under forty seconds if Samus properly utilizes the Screw Attack.[2] This vulnerability was reduced in Metroid Prime Trilogy.
  • A glitch can be exploited if, when fighting Gandrayda as Ghor, she grabs a Screw Attacking Samus with her whip and then slams her into the ground. Samus will be stuck in her unmorph animation and can be controlled with the game thinking that she is in Morph Ball form.[3] This glitch is no longer present in the Metroid Prime Trilogy version of the game.
• During the attack on the G.F.S. Olympus, Gandrayda can be seen leaping and kicking a Pirate Militia and then finishing it off with one of her throwing blades in the Repair Bay Shaft before the blast doors close. She is gone by the time they reopen.
• In keeping with the elemental themes of the Hunters in Corruption, Gandrayda seems to have power over electricity. Many of her attacks, including those resulting from her mimicry, create electrical sparks and interference in Samus's visor (an example is her Rundas mimic's ice giving off electricity), and she also opens the mechanical roof of the battlefield at one point just by clenching her fist. This is also reflected in the Grapple Voltage, the reward for her defeat.
• When fighting Ghor-G, it is possible to make “him” engage the third phase of Ghor’s battle, though Gandrayda will usually change back before combat.
• Gandrayda will copy the Hypermode visual effect when morphing into Samus, if Samus is still in Hypermode at the end of the battle.
  • It is only during this final scene that Gandrayda mimics Samus in her PED Suit. In battle, she appears in the Varia Suit.
• Samus and Gandrayda are the only two known female bounty hunters in the Metroid series (after the death of Gandrayda, Samus is the only known female bounty hunter).
• Examination of Corruption's files has revealed an unused temporary scan for a "Reptilicus-G" form, in which Gandrayda would have been able to become invisible to the naked eye. In the final game, she is able to do so without the need to shape-shift.
• Oddly, the "Mistress Gandrayda" Space Pirate Data entry in the Pirate Homeworld can only be scanned after she has been defeated. It says Gandrayda had vowed to present to Dark Samus the real Samus's "bloody helmet" as a trophy. By the time Samus scans this lore, Gandrayda has apparently failed to fulfill said vow.
• If the player fails to shake off Gandrayda, she will taunt and laugh at Samus throughout the animation before eventually getting off.
• Dark Samus's pink alternate costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate resembles Gandrayda.

Gallery

Concept art

Gandrayda's last words before the fight

Samus is attacked physically by Gandrayda

Gandrayda in her Aerotrooper form

Gandrayda in her Berserker Knight form

Berseker-G can reflect Samus' attacks

Rundas-G comes dangerously close

Ghor-G is stunned for a period of time

Ghor-G begins her spinning attack

Gandrayda launches around the arena in her mock Boost Ball

Gandrayda imitates the real Samus in her standard Varia Suit

Gandrayda's final form

Textures, containing concept art in the margins.