January
The Metroid logo, as seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
The Metroid (メトロイド Metoroido) games are a series of video games produced by Nintendo. One of the company's most successful franchises, the series spans through several Nintendo systems, with the first game, Metroid, released in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The Metroid games chronicle the missions of bounty hunter Samus Aran in a science fiction setting which has some similarites to the Alien movies. Central plot elements are the Metroid organisms and the Space Pirates which try to exploit the Metroids' powers. The gameplay combines adventure based on exploration and item-gathering with platformer and shooter dynamics. The Metroid games are famous for their nonlinear gameplay, where you can complete a game with a fraction of the items available in the game.
As of July 2007, 10 games in the series have been released. This includes four main games (Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion), a Classic NES Series port and remake of Metroid (Metroid: Zero Mission), a spin-off Nintendo DS game (Metroid Prime Pinball), a first-person adventure game, with wireless and online multiplayer (Metroid Prime: Hunters), and the Prime trilogy (Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.)
February
Kraid is a green reptilian-like monster from the Metroid series.Kraid is one of the largest enemies Samus ever encounters as he takes up multiple screens at a time. Kraid first made its appearance in the original NES/Famicom Disk System Metroid as a part of the game's miniboss duo, the other being Ridley. Kraid, though not with an official rank, is a high ranking Pirate as he is a common boss in the series. Kraid shoots projectiles such as dagger-like spiked projectiles from his belly and navel as well as spinning boomerang-like nails from its fingertips as its main weapons. Kraid weighs over 110 tons (100 metric tons, or 220,460 pounds) and is more than 65 feet (20 meters) tall.
March
Gorea is a powerful being that invaded the Alimbic Cluster millennia ago, as a shapeless gas. It assumed the form of a gigantic, three-legged Alimbic and began destroying the Alimbic race. Gorea not only resisted the weapons used against it, but it seized and copied them, using the Alimbics' own technology against them. In a last, desperate attempt to contain it, the Alimbic Order used a device called the Seal Sphere to trap Gorea. As an extra precaution, they put the Seal Sphere in the Oubliette and used the Alimbic Cannon to send the ship into the Infinity Void. Since the Seal Sphere used the Alimbics' psionic energy, this caused the race to go extinct in the physical world.
Although not officially stated, many fans believe that Gorea sent out the telepathic message that was used to lure bounty hunters from across the universe in promise of ultimate power within the Alimbic Cluster. This plot would almost free Gorea in the end; however, the ancient being was unaware of the Omega Cannon stationed within the Oubliette facility which is later used to defeat Gorea's final phase.
April
Emperor Ing's first form
The Emperor Ing is the eldest and strongest Ing in the Horde, their Alpha and Omega. He resides in the Sky Temple, with the main Ing energy controller. Samus Aran's battle with this evil monstrosity is depicted in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It is believed that the Emperor Ing, the first of the Ing race, was a Phaz-Ing chosen by the Leviathan which impacted Aether to serve as a guardian. This is supported by the fact that its first form resembles an Inglet, a Phaz-Ing altered by dark energy. The Phazon infusion caused it to grow to a tremendous size, and it was further altered on a subatomic level by its presence in Dark Aether, making it a creature more attuned to the darkness of Dark Aether rather than to Phazon.
May
No article was featured during this month.
June
Nettori(also known as Plasma Plant or Plant Core X) is the seventh boss Samus faces aboard the Biologic Space Laboratories research station in Metroid Fusion.
Nettori is a large plant-like boss and is the result of the plants from SR388 being infected by the X Parasites. It closely resembles a Torizo. The Nettori's huge amount of vines extending throughout a large portion of Sector 2, and into a small area of the Main Deck caused the main power to go offline, because of the vines choking the activity of the Main Reactor. Once Samus restored the auxiliary power, she still had to find out what was causing the main generator to not function. As she was moving through a vine-choked Sector 2, and after she even encountered the SA-X , she came upon Nettori deep within the sector.
July
A Warrior Ing.
The Ing are a warring, ferocious race of beings native to Dark Aether, and are the arch-nemeses of the Luminoth. After having fought the Luminoth for decades of war, they were on the verge of defeating them, having stolen all but one of their planetary energies, and with all but one of the Luminoth in stasis tubes in the Great Temple. However, after Samus Aran came to Aether, she eliminated their kind by destroying Dark Aether. Since their dark-aligned bodies could not stand Aether's different atmosphere, they were left without a dimension to reside in and collapsed with their dimension.
August
the SA-X
SA-X (also known as Samus Aran X or Samex) is the tenth boss Samus faces aboard the Biologic Space Laboratories research station in Metroid Fusion. The SA-X is an X Parasite mimicking Samus. After Samus's first encounter with the X on SR388, her Power Suit was infected by the parasites. The Galactic Federation removed the suit surgically and sent the pieces to the Biologic Space Laboratories research station's Quarantine Bay. Once there, the infected suit parts transformed into an X resembling Samus. The SA-X was able to use a Power Bomb to escape the Quarantine Bay, which caused the capsules containing all the X to break open, starting the infestation.
September
The Annihilator Beam is one of Samus Aran's beam upgrades, found only in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It is a secret Luminoth weapon that was installed on Quadraxis when it was built: therefore, upon defeating Quadraxis on Dark Aether, Samus acquired the beam.
The Annihilator Beam is not as powerful as its name might indicate, although it has a super-fast rate of fire, on par with that of the Power Beam. Normal shots have a homing effect, allowing the aiming in the general direction of an enemy to shoot it, the attack automatically homing in and damaging/destroying the target; this makes this beam extremely useful for taking down large hordes of small enemies, or firing barrages at more powerful foes while being able to dodge their attacks more easily. It is similar in function to the Wave Beam in Metroid Prime in many ways, and the arm cannon takes on the same shape as the Plasma Beam from Metroid Prime.
October
No article was featured during this month.
November
Rundas in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Rundas is a Bounty Hunter who debuted in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, voiced by Christopher Sabat. Rundas was born on Phrygis, a moon of planet Bes III known mainly for ice mining. Phrygisians are commonly able to manipulate and generate ice, however, Rundas is one of very few to use this ability as a Hunter. (more)
December
No article was featured during this month.