- This article is about the standard Space Pirates in Metroid Prime and Federation Force. For other uses, see Space Pirate (Disambiguation).
Space Pirates, also known as simply Pirates, are a standard variety of Space Pirate in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
They essentially fill the same role as the later Pirate Troopers in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Description
Metroid Prime
The simple Space Pirates in Metroid Prime have green armor, purple skin, fiery eyes, and have a very reptilian appearance when compared to other Pirates. They are trained very well in weapon and melee combat. They are equipped with Galvanic Accelerator Cannons and forearm-mounted Scythes for close-range combat. They are very intelligent and spend most of their time in battle, hindering Galactic Federation forces. While they are found throughout Tallon IV, most of them abide in Glacier One of Phendrana Drifts and the Phazon Mines.
On the Frigate Orpheon, it is possible to scan dead and wounded Space Pirates. Flavor text is provided explaining their injuries in gruesome details. Wounded Space Pirates will still try to attack Samus Aran, but are much weaker than their brethren.
Different variants of Prime's Pirates exist, such as Shadow Pirates and Flying Pirates. A special group of Pirates known as Trooper Pirates appear and are only vulnerable to the same Beam technology from which their armorsuits are derived. They are only found in the Phazon Mines. Pirates are sometimes used as bait for Tallon Metroids in their Quarantines.
This type of Space Pirate also appears in Metroid Prime Pinball, which is a pinball adaptation of the first Metroid Prime game. However, these Space Pirates are armed with missiles rather than their standard Galvanic Accelerator Cannons. Space Pirate Panic is a minigame where Samus must defeat all the Space Pirates.
The same design of Space Pirate is used as the basis of the Space Pirate Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which also references the Space Pirates' role in Echoes in its description.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Artwork of a Pirate from Federation Force.
Through the use of the amplification beam, the Space Pirates have artificially increased themselves to abnormal sizes, and standard Pirates are no exception in the Bermuda System. They are a common enemy in Federation Force and have a design that is similar to the Aether Pirate Troopers seen in Echoes, but with exaggerated proportions due to the game's super-deformed art style. Like the Space Pirates in Metroid Prime, each Pirate is armed with a cannon on their right hand and a retractable scythe on their left arm.
A stronger variant of the basic Pirate, known as the Elite Pirate, appears in later missions. They are present on Talvania during M10: Black Hole and M17: Infestation; Excelcion during M15: Mother Lode; Bion during M20: Insurrection (with a Collosun); and the Doomseye during M22: Convergence.
Unlike Metroid Prime, where each Space Pirate class was designed to appear unique and distinct, most Space Pirates in Federation Force are clearly members of the same species as normal Pirates and are very similar in appearance, including Flying Pirates and Troopers.
Official data
Metroid Prime Logbook
Space Pirate
Morphology: Space Pirate
Sentient aggressor species well trained in weapon and melee combat.
Space Pirates wield Galvanic Accelerator Cannons and forearm-mounted Scythes in combat. This species seeks to become the dominant force in the galaxy, and their technology may help them realize this goal. Ruthless and amoral, the Pirates care little for the cost of their ambition. Only the results matter, and they take these very seriously.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophy
"An enemy of Samus. They land on Tallon IV and use the energy they find there--called Phazon--for brutal experiments on the planet's life-forms. Samus makes for Tallon IV to destroy the experiment facilities. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the pirates go to Aether to find Phazon. A war is being waged there, and a race of dark beasts, the Ing, make research difficult."
GCN Metroid Prime
GCN Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Trivia
- An early model for the Space Pirates in Metroid Prime can still be seen in the final game, floating in space around the self-destructing Frigate Orpheon as Samus and Meta Ridley make their escape.
- In the Federation Force E3 Trailer and Treehouse pre-release footage, Pirates were called Base Troopers, and Elite Pirates were called Elite Base Troopers.[1] This suggests that the game was originally going to continue the Echoes and Corruption trend of basic Space Pirates being designated as "Troopers".
- The Galactic Federation Combat Sim used to train the Federation Force features simulated Bermuda System Pirates that are normal-sized, therefore appearing small from the perspective of a Mech pilot. This is presumably because the simulation was designed prior to the Galactic Federation's discovery of the enlarged Pirates on Talvania.
- The Bermuda System Elite Pirates are apparently unrelated to the Phazon-enhanced Elite Pirates encountered on Tallon IV. However, both types of Elite Pirates had their sizes increased through artificial means: Phazon for the Tallon IV Elite Pirates, and the amplification beam for the Bermuda System Elite Pirates.
Gallery
Metroid Prime
.png "Phendrana Drifts Screenshot (93).png (415 KB)")
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.png "Tallon Overworld Screenshot (61).png (1.16 MB)")
Pirate scan images
Federation Force
References
- ^ Nintendo (16 June 2015). Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Metroid Prime: Federation Force. YouTube. Retrieved on 03 October 2018.