B.O.X. was both the fourth and the ninth boss Samus faced during the events aboard the BSL Research Station.
Biography
B.O.X. was a six-legged, spider-like security robot designed to protect the BSL Research Station from the captured alien bioforms found within the station's sectors. Though it was a machine, the organic components in B.O.X.'s neural network were still vulnerable to an X Parasite infection, eventually rendering it yet another tool at the disposal of the X. This infection took place after Samus' first encounter with it, which exposed its organic components.
Encounters
Sector 3 (PYR)
Samus first encountered B.O.X. in Sector 3. After downloading the Super Missile data, Samus discovered that her way back was blocked by a destroyed hatch; the floor near the hatch had also been ruptured recently. Following the rumbling noises coming from overhead lead her back towards the Data Room, which B.O.X. was busily destroying. In battle, B.O.X. attempted to ram into Samus and also periodically fired grenades that would launch two pillars of fire when they exploded. These pillars alternated between short and tall and moved sideways at a steady rate. However, they could easily be avoided if Samus positions herself above the grenade just before it explodes, as the pillars cannot reach that high above the detonation point. In order to dodge the brunt of its attacks, Samus was forced to hang from the Ladders above B.O.X.; this lofty position enabled her to easily fire her newly acquired Super Missiles into the robot's core, slowly breaking through to B.O.X.'s neural network. Once its neural net was revealed, B.O.X. broke off its attack and escaped through the roof, giving Samus a way back to the Navigation Room. It can be safely said that this breach in B.O.X.'s armor permitted the X to infect it.
Sector 6 (NOC)
Later on, B.O.X. was positively identified as an X host. Samus' computer told her that the "organic components that form its neural network" had been infected by the X; Adam ordered her to track it down from where it had last been seen, Sector 6, and terminate it. Attempting to enter a restricted area, Samus set off an alarm, alerting B.O.X. to her presence. As she tried to retrace her steps, Samus encountered B.O.X. in a room she had previously passed through. It was similar in layout to the room where they fought in Sector 3 -- Samus could bomb the ceiling to reveal monkey bars from which to hang. In this room, however, the floor was covered by a shallow pool of water which had been electrified by the exposed parts of B.O.X.'s machinery, electrocuting Samus whenever she fell in. The B.O.X.'s strategy had not changed much, but it had replaced its pyrotechnic bombs with seeker missiles, which it periodically fired in groups of four. Due to the cramped conditions, B.O.X. could also jump high enough to hit Samus while she was on the ceiling, forcing her to exercise caution when aiming for its core. However, if she hung on the very edge of the monkey bars, the B.O.X could not jump far enough to hit her.
When Samus destroyed the core, the robot's infected neural network flew out and transformed into a Hard Core-X. Absorbing this restored her Wave Beam.
Trivia
- Worthy of note is the fact that the brain resembles a miniature Aurora Unit, suggesting that they can be installed into portable weapons platforms. However, the brain actually bears more resemblance to the MB's first form featured in Metroid: Other M.
- B.O.X. is one of the few bosses that does not have a Gadora-X guarding it, even after it becomes an X-based boss.
- It is unknown if there was more than one B.O.X. unit onboard the BSL Station. However, the number '5' is printed on the boss's front legs, suggesting that the unit Samus encounters is one of a series.
- However, assuming that the B.O.X. security robot is in fact part of a series, it is entirely possible that the B.O.X. robot was not designed specifically for the BSL Station, and that B.O.X. units 1-4 (and possobly 6 and up) are located on different Galactic Federation installations, respectively.
- The RB176 Ferrocrusher in Fusion 's prequel, Metroid: Other M, pays a similar role to B.O.X.
- When hit with a diffusion missile in sector 6 it seems to slow down allowing Samus to land a few more hits
Gallery
