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MZM Unknown Item 1

Samus receives an Unknown Item from a Statue.

An Unknown Item is a power-up that Samus Aran aquires but cannot initially identify, instead being revealed at a later time.

Description[]

Metroid: Zero Mission[]

Three Unknown Items are found in Metroid: Zero Mission. This is the most iconic example of Unknown Items in the series.

All unknown items were found in Chozo Statues different from the other ones Samus finds in the game, as their structures seem to have greatly aged with time. The statues also have large shoulders like the ones granted by the fully powered Varia Suit. Unlike the other upgrades in the game, Unknown Items have a dull grey colour and do not glow; like the statues, they appear to be very old.

Initially, they are unusable by Samus Aran as upgrades, but allow her to destroy Chozo Blocks bearing images of the associated Unknown Item. Thus, obtaining all three Unknown Items is mandatory for completion. Until the player defeats the Ruins Test late in the game, the Unknown Items appear as garbled, illegible text on the inventory screen; this text is actually derived from the vertically-flipped English text spelled backwards.[1] After defeating the Ruins Test, the Unknown Items' true identities are revealed to be the Gravity Suit, Plasma Beam, and Space Jump. A Japanese interview stated that they work because the Power Suit that Samus gains here is a "legendary one,"[2] and therefore compatible with older technologies.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes[]

In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, an unknown item is aquired upon defeating the Dark Alpha Splinter. Samus receives a System Alert notifying her to the new alien technology that has bonded to her armor, although a threat scan concludes that there is no negative impact. Shortly afterward, the unknown item is revealed by U-Mos to be the Energy Transfer Module.

Metroid Dread[]

In Metroid Dread any Power Bomb Expansions collected before gaining the Power Bomb after defeating the red Chozo Soldier in Hanubia are labeled as an unknown resource, marked as a question mark on the Samus Screen and Samus Data Screen. They are automatically added to the Power Bomb ammunition count once Samus obtains the Power Bombs.

Official data[]

Zero Mission Samus Screen data[]

"Analysis inconclusive. Item incompatible with current suit."

Echoes notification[]

"System Alert. Unknown item acquired.
Alien technology has bonded to armor systems.
Threat scan complete. No negative impact on suit performance."

Dread text[]

"An unknown resource has been acquired. You cannot use this item yet."

Trivia[]

  • The Unknown Items in Zero Mission are all items not available in the original Metroid game.
    • Incidentally, the Unknown Items functionally resemble the Sacred Treasures from Kid Icarus, which uses the original Metroid engine: the Mirror Shield (Gravity Suit), Light Arrows (Plasma Beam), and Wings of Pegasus (Space Jump). All three are required to go to the last level of the game, and are not usable before that point.
    • The Unknown Items are related in some way to the Maridia area present in Super Metroid, although Maridia does not appear in Zero Mission. The first and second items (revealed to be the Plasma Beam and Space Jump respectively) are obtained in Maridia, while the third one (revealed to be the Gravity Suit), although obtained while exploring the Wrecked Ship, is a crucial part to exploring Maridia and completing that area.
  • In Metroid: Other M, scanning the glowing orbs for the Diffusion Beam or Seeker Missile brings up the message "Details Unknown", similar to the Unknown Items. These are the only new upgrades that Samus obtains in Other M, due to having not previously acquired them during the events of Super Metroid. Details Unknown is also used as the description for Dr. Madeline Bergman and MB when they are recorded as "Identity Unknown".

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ^ Demonstration via sup3rgh0st on Reddit
  2. ^ Metroid FAQ. Metroid Database (2004-09-29). Retrieved on 2021-12-06.


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