The subject of this article is not named in-game.
The current title is from a guide or other published source.
The Zebesian Command Center[1] is the location in Tourian where Mother Brain is situated. Once used by the Chozo to hold gatherings and converse with their A.I., the room later became the central base of Space Pirate operations during their occupation of Zebes. In the games, the chamber is a long horizontal corridor containing various hazards in the form of security systems and lava.
The Command Center has since been rebuilt and copied over the course of the series. It appears as a room in Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission, and in Super Metroid.
Description[]
Manga[]
During the Chozo's reign on Zebes, the Command Center was a serene, seemingly pristine chamber that held immense importance to the race due to Mother Brain's presence. Housed within her Control Capsule, she was wired to most, if not all technological systems of the planet. In addition, the A.I and the chamber itself could access vast amounts of offworld information, allowing the Chozo to remain up to date on current events and oversee distant operations, an example being the Metroid propagation on SR388. The Command Center's lower section was filled with an unknown liquid which led the Chozo to use floating platforms to approach and discuss matters with Mother Brain.
When the Space Pirates invaded the planet, the Command Center was heavily damaged. All of the liquid in the room leaked out, revealing the room to be larger than initially seen. The once immaculate surfaces of the room were now crumbled ruins and large boulders were present throughout. Only Mother Brain and her capsule remained untouched, likely due to the Pirates' newfound loyalty to her.
The Command Center used by the Chozo
It is at this particular time that the organic super-computer unveiled hidden security defenses within the room, consisting of a hidden opening in the ceiling from which the A.I could drop a wall of Zebetite along with a pyramid-shaped trapping mechanism that emerges from the ground to capture hostile individuals.
Within a few years, the Space Pirates gave the chamber an entirely different look and layout: metal panels, alloy pipeworks and additional wiring covered the surrounding surfaces while pools of lava filled some of the lower sections of the room. The Commander Center was also outfitted with numerous Zebetites, Cannons and Rinka generators to provide defense for Mother Brain. Overall, these changes gave the room a sinister atmosphere.
The Zebesian Command Center was thus converted into the heart of the Pirates' operations on Zebes where Mother Brain would provide the marauding race with wealth of information and knowledge, oversee and command their forces across the cosmos. This vastly increased their threat levels against the Galactic Federation.
Metroid[]
.png){kind=link}
In the original game, the first battle with Mother Brain took place within the Zebesian Command Center and the room itself was relatively simple in appearance with no background. The entrance was on the far right side of the room and Mother Brain was located on the opposite side, but between these two ends were five Zebetites, 15 Cannons and 14 Rinka generators. Five floating platforms were present for Samus to use as she moved towards her target, with the last few being particularly useful to avoid the pools of lava that fill the last segments of the corridor. After destroying Mother Brain, the metal wall behind the Control Capsule transformed into a Blue Door and the self-destruct sequence is triggered, leading to the destruction of the Command Center and leaving it in ruins.
Zero Mission[]
In the remake of the first Metroid game, the Zebesian Command Center was visually updated and its layout was slightly altered. Some of the changes consist of the floors being closer to the ceiling, and a reduction in the number of security defenses. The location where the final Zebetite was placed in the original game has been replaced by a metal structure with an opening at the top big enough for Samus to roll through with her Morph Ball. Traversing through it will trigger the opening to close behind her and trap her in the final section of the Command Center where Mother Brain is.
The most striking change to the room itself is the background which now features a slightly obscured, large mass of tangled red and blue tubes or wires that are likely connected to Mother Brain. This gives the chamber a disturbing and organic appearance.
Later in the game after Mother Brain's defeat, Samus can return to the destroyed Command Center and discover it has since been flooded by Beta Acid which is corrosive enough to harm Samus even with her new Gravity Suit active. A Power Bomb Expansion can be found in a small chamber beneath the ruined Control Capsule.
Metroid: Samus Returns[]
A mere portion of the Zebesian Command Center is seen in an image during the intro of Metroid: Samus Returns. The image itself is a dramatized depiction of Samus's first fight with the Mother Brain and her defense systems. Metroids are also present in the Command Center despite this never being the case in Zero Mission.
Super Metroid[]
.png){kind=link}
The years that passed during the Metroid Prime series allowed the Space Pirates and their new allies, the Kihunters, to build another Tourian deeper within the planet. Consequently, another Zebesian Command Center was also constructed to house the resurrected Mother Brain. The remains of the original center could still be visited in Crateria, where it is initially covered in fog before Zebesian Pirates ambush Samus; its layout is closer to the version seen in the first "Metroid" game on the NES/Famicom than the remake's. This same room was also seen in a functional state during a flashback at the game's introduction where the background of the original Command Center is revealed to be covered in metal panels with glowing lights, a vastly different interpretation from Zero Mission 's. Once more, an item can be uncovered under the ruins of the Control Capsule, though it is a Missile expansion this time.
The new Zebesian Command Center, also known as the Tourian Command Center[1] consists of metal materials. The scalding-hot lava here is the same as the one seen mostly in Lower Norfair which is capable of bypassing the protection of the Gravity Suit, though it is not present at first and is gradually flooded into the room during a brief tremor. There are 12 Cannons and 11 Rinka generators along with four Zebetites that impede Samus from reaching Mother Brain. When Samus destroys the Control Capsule, the spaces that were moments earlier occupied by the final Zebetite close shut, sealing her inside the last segment of the corridor where she battles Mother Brain's second form but not before the lava is drained from the chamber.
Once the Pirate leader succumbs to her injuries, the ensuing Countdown begins and the pipes on the left wall explode, revealing a small extension of the Zebesian Command Center with shutters that Samus must blast through with her new Hyper Beam until she reaches a door on the floor.
Metroid: Other M[]
The room is briefly shown in Metroid: Other M in its only 3D appearance during a flashback of the second battle against Mother Brain from Super Metroid. The Command Center is depicted as being much larger in size, and contains ceiling pipes that Mother Brain knocks away after recovering from the baby's attack.
Metroid Dread[]
The third Ending Reward in Metroid Dread is an image of the final battle within the Command Center from Super Metroid, specifically of Mother Brain having recently killed the last Metroid and looming over a grieving Samus. Like Other M, the room is implied to feature plenty of space for the Pirate leader to freely move around in her mobile form.
Similar rooms[]
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption[]
Although not present in the game itself, one of the preview trailers for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption reveals that the Galactic Federation have developed blueprints to build a chamber for one of their Aurora Units. This chamber is evidently influenced by the Zebesian Command Center and also features Cannons, with the brain-like Aurora Unit being placed exactly where Mother Brain is always found. It is unknown what became of this, but its layout curiously bears a striking resemblance to the second Command Center that would eventually be built on Zebes by the Space Pirates in Super Metroid, even featuring a near-identical background.
Metroid: Other M[]
The BOTTLE SHIP in Other M contains an unseen area called Sector Zero where the original body of MB, a copy of Mother Brain, is stored; Sector Zero is stated to be a place like Tourian and therefore MB is likely within a room designed similarly to the Zebesian Command Center.
Metroid Fusion[]
While Mother Brain nor her chamber made any appearances in Metroid Fusion, a Tourian-like replica was built in secret inside the underground halls of Sector 1 (SRX). Within it, Samus finds a room that features several similarities to the Zebesian Command Center, featuring five pillars and two opposing doorways of even elevation, above a small pool of concentrated Acid. The number of pillars and the manner they are set equally apart from each other is reminiscent of the Command Center from the first Metroid game, and present at the far left side is a large open space where Mother Brain would ideally fit. Ironically, Samus first enters this room from the left side rather than the right as she escapes the Tourian-like replica areas back towards the Main Deck.
This replica room contains a few elements that appear in the Command Center from Zero Mission, such as a ledge protruding from a pillar and the small passages that require the Morph Ball to pass through, though these are initially hidden from view.
Connecting rooms[]
Original Center[]
- "Rinka hall" (Metroid and Zero Mission; via Blue Door in the former, via Red Hatch in the latter)
- "Tourian escape shaft" (via Blue, later destroyed Door)
- "Mother Brain's reliquary" (Zero Mission, via drop)
New Center[]
- "Command Center Access" (via Blue Door)
- "Shutter hall" (via exploding wall)
Inhabitants[]
- Infinitely spawning Rinkas
- 14 generators in Metroid
- 12 generators in Zero Mission
- 11 generators in Super Metroid
- Cannons
- 15 in Metroid
- 12 in Zero Mission
- 12 in Super Metroid
- Zebetites
- 5 in Metroid
- 4 in Zero Mission
- 7 in Super Metroid (only four can be destroyed while three are seen under the Control Capsule)
- 5 Zebesians (Super Metroid, destroyed original Command Center)
Items[]
- Missile Tank
- Super Metroid. Bombing the floor under Mother Brain's former location reveals a chamber Samus can drop into, at the bottom of which is this Tank. This is a separate room in Zero Mission, containing a Power Bomb Tank.
Official data[]
Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- CRATERIA AREA C (pg. 32)
- "Those who played the original NES version will remember Area C as the last area of the game, where Mother Brain resided. You'll find that it has expanded."
- D. MOTHER BRAIN'S LAST ADDRESS (pg. 33)
- "You can see the place where you battled Mother Brain last time around, but where has she gone now? You can Bomb down through her old resting place to find some Missiles. She must have been trying to stockpile them there."
- "Bomb down through Mother Brain's old resting place."
- C. SHOOT OUT THE ZEBETITES (pg. 115)
- "The barriers that block your way to Mother Brain sustain her with alien, life-giving goo. Select and quickly shoot Missiles at the red sections until they disappear. You can't hesitate between shots because the Zebetities will rejuvenate themselves back to full strength. Don't worry about taking some hits. It's better to take a hit than to stop shooting."
Super Metroid Players' Guide[]
- ZAPPING THE ZEBETITES (pg. 70)
- "You'll need to task[sic] out these barriers while avoiding the Zebetites if you're to make it to Mother Brain."
Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- BOSS BATTLE (pg. 135)
- "The leader of the Metroids is the monstrous Mother Brain. On your way to the brain, you'll break through regenerating Zebetites. After you destroy the last Zebetite, stand where it was and target the brain with a steady stream of Missiles. Step to the right if the shots are about to hit you."
Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- 207 ZAP THE ZEBETITES (pg. 74)
- "The living barriers that block the way to the Mother Brain grow back unless you clear them away quickly with high a concentration of missiles. Look for safe spots where you can unload missiles without taking damage."
- 208 mother brain (pg. 75)
- "The monster that lords over Zebes uses the planet's core as an energy source. The Mother Brain can withstand a pounding and it fights back with punishing blasts. After you destroy the Zebetites and before you fight the brain, return to the area near the save room to replenish your energy and missiles in preparation for the ultimate battle."
- 278 power bomb tank (pg. 90)
- "Detonate a Power Bomb at the remains of the Mother Brain to expose a Super Missile Block. Hit the block with a big rocket, then drop into the resulting hole."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ a b Nintendo Power #60, page 10 (May 1994)