The Space Pirates - A Deconstruction of Villainy

[@marche800]

It just always gets me, how terrible this operation was for the space pirates. Not only are they losing ton of soldiers to wildlife, phason corruption, Rouge experiments, Metroids, Metroid Prime, but when they send out a distress signal the person who answers is freaking Samus. They have the worst luck imaginable. Maybe it's just bad Karma

[@Raspse7en]

TBF, after all the horrible things they've done, especially what they put Samus through, every bad thing that happens to them is well deserved.

[@maxwellchute6114]

The Space Pirates always try so hard just to get completely wrecked and screwed over, every time lmao

[@revinkayner9943]

Could be worse. Just ask the Aether pirates :D

[@anexplosion5436]

@@revinkayner9943 "Surely, we are cursed."

[@UltimaDoombotMK1]

And then in Federation Force (if it's even canon) they find a way to make everyone as big as Omega Pirates, and then get their asses kicked by a bunch of Federation mooks in mech suits

[@Johnathan1988]

I never thought I'd hear the statement "If you give a Space Pirate a jar of peanut butter they would immediately go rub it on a Metroid to see what happens" and I love it....that imagery is just hilarious yet the point is well made for it!

[@PancakeBoi]

The image of several space pirate scientists sitting behind some glass as a grunt walks in with a jar of JIF and a butter knife, then some scientist goes “alright spread the mixture onto the subject”

[@thealmightypuht.a.p.]

@@PancakeBoi I laughed so hard at the original comment and then laughed again harder at yours. Good lord. 😂

[@burra007]

Yeah, they were the generic “evil alien conquerors”. The Prime series would be the same, if not were for the pirate logs and records. It show they are still amoral and evil, but they are otherwise individuals with personality, and everything that implies. Hell, all those notices of “not keeping metroids as pets” is funny because they are not above of fooling around

[@jakedill1304]

Right you think they would be rubbing it on Samus at this point..? Maybe Iggy Pop just only had so much to go around you know..

[@tylerflory9373]

Space Pirate Log: Studies have been ongoing with this human food item they refer to as 'Peanut Butter'. So far, it seems nothing of note. Even after a few tests Involving Metroid subjects, it seems non-mutagenic nor hazardous. A frivolous item used by the humans, which will be tossed aside. foodstuffs holds no merit in the pursuit of conquest.

[@michaelnelson3047]

This really shows how perfectly antithetical the Space Pirates and Samus are. In the face of Space Pirate culture that attributes no value to a single life Samus consistently demonstrates the potential of a single person.

[@segenshin1894]

Never really thought of it like that, but i really like how that gives more meaning behind the one-man army trope!

[@solomon9655]

I actually like the Ridley lore quite a bit. It helps explain his presence in the series, the fact that he might also be one of the many Space Pirate Frankenstein projects. I don’t think being ‘geoform 187’ necessarily implies at least 186 creatures of similar strength. If anything, considering what we know of the Pirates, it implies 186 failures that preceded the invention of Ridley, a creature that was born to lead them. Ridley could be considered the current Magnum Opus of Space Pirate science, hence why they refuse to let him die. They effectively invented their own king and I think that’s incredibly unique. It also explains almost everything about Ridley in one line.

[@MisterXenomorph]

I vaguely recall a panel in the Manga that sorta explored some of ridleys pre-pirate life. Basically he wants born into the group. He was born into a species of space dragons. For whatever reason the galactic federation initiated a genocide of his species. Ridley most likely is the last remaining member of his kind. Assuming this too is Canon, then presumably this means that ridley lost his morality and become as cold hearted as the pirates are. He simply wants revenge agaisnt the federation and doesn't care how far depraved he has to he to get it

[@AICW]

@@MisterXenomorph Those are from old, old Metroid fanfics from late 1990s/early 2000s. That has never been canon.

[@AICW]

Funny that... "inventing their own king" and refusing to let him die is basically the backbone of the plot of Tales of Arise 😛

[@lukegraham1375]

I like how they choose to number him 187. Section 187 of the California Penal Code defines the crime of murder. Ridley murders Samus's family

[@jerryborjon]

They invented their own king… I don’t know why, but that sounds incredibly hardcore

[@ysgramornorris2452]

Also, that bit about the Pirates trying to reverse-engineer the Morph Ball is hilarious. Reminds me of that short scene in Iron Man 2 where HAMMER is trying to replicate the Iron Man suit, and the guy testing it gets his torso rotated 180 degrees while his legs are locked in place.

[@Isona_Isano]

That pilot made a full recovery by the way!

[@AngryAtlantean]

The ending bit where they mention the science team "wisely" moving on implies a tepid, tense decision made after multiple failure just adds on to the humour.

[@captaincraftit696]

@@AngryAtlantean And highlights just how awful and decidedly messy the results of the Morph Ball experiments must have been, since everything else seen/heard before is casually dismissed, from Phazon madness and extreme ultra-violence requiring euthanasia to the liquefaction of internal organs, rapid degeneration of brain-matter and more, all just offhandedly mentioned and moved past without a second thought... And yet for all that? It's the failed attempts at recreating the Morph Ball that manage to finally get an apparently visceral and emotional response. Not just "twisted" or "severely broken" but HORRIBLY twisted, prompting the science team to WISELY move on.

[@mephistophelesdearchon9870]

“Science team has vapor for brains.”

[@vaiyt]

My mind went to the failed prototypes in Robocop 2

[@nahte123456]

I really love the Space Pirates in the Prime games. Half evil half kind of nerdy and understandable. Pets but they kill them, fear of Samus but they still fight, cruel to each other but belief in their collective.

[@Psytinker]

It's like, what if Aperture Science was an entire species?

[@notnow1639]

Mother brain was using if not outright created the SP seeing the chozo as weak and dying unable to even maintain their imperative to protect the galaxy So she-it begain exploring Alternatives And her GLA.DOS like personality make the SP behavior make sense since she's trying to replace the Chozo

[@jacobsheehan5775]

​@@Psytinker I knew I felt some similarities

[@majordbag2]

@@Psytinker Funny I was getting some Cave Johnson vibes while watching this video.

[@Arcomagus]

@@Psytinker Wait, so that's what happened to the mantis-men?

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

You know, when seen through this lens of psychotic, unwavering optimism and tenacity, Ridley makes a lot more sense. He's essentially that very same cultural tenacity personified, by how he literally dies multiple times and keeps coming back somehow. And at the same time, Space Pirate tenacity has a price: their resources are plentiful but not infinite, and by the time Corruption rolls out, they've literally stretched their empire as thin as can be, and proved themselves vulnerable to infiltration by Dark Samus first, who essentially conquers them, and then to invasion by the Federation, that manages to find their homeworld and raze it. Just like how Ridley is less and less himself with every new appearance, going from a living creature to a resurrected cyborg to finally a zombie animated by Phazon with no will of his own, whose only purpose is to guard a Leviathan seed. Their constant desperate search for more and more power and inability to stop for a moment and think comes back to bite them, for every failure and dark bargain they make leaves them more and more hollowed out, easily hijacked by other powers to do their bidding.

[@Zephrese]

That wasn't actually their literal homeworld/planet of origin, just ONE planet under their control (this is pointed out and explained better within the Japanese version of Corruption). They have a bad habit of taking over planets, and then later claiming that they always belonged to them (like how the Space Pirates that took over Zebes came to call themselves "Zebesians"). Ridley also wasn't a zombie by that point either, he was just merely falling in line under Dark Samus like all of the other Space Pirates at that point in time. It's really no different to how he follows Mother Brain, despite having previously been the leader of the Space Pirates prior to her joining their ranks. He goes right back to following her post-Metroid Prime saga alongside the other Space Pirates as well.

[@colecanup9226]

Very, VERY eloquently put. The way you write that actually makes what Ridley and the Pirates go through almost tragic, though well deserved.

[@nillynush4899]

I like Prime 3's mention that the ""Pirate Homeworld"" you visit is likely just one of MANY colonized Pirate "Homeworlds". Essentially the Pirates are like space roaches, there always seems to be another Hive planet somewhere of Pirates doing their own thing but with the same overall goal for their species, advancement and conquest at any cost.

[@kidprime6863]

​@@nillynush4899 That's why I still think even with the fall of the "Pirate Homeworld" and the destruction of Zebes, the Pirates aren't truly defeated and still remain a threat to the galaxy, no, the universe. They have allies across the universe. Take the KiHunters for example. They're Space Pirates from another galaxy. The universe is infinite and there could be more Pirates out there laying, waiting and observing.

[@UnluckySuperstition]

It's like scientific inquiry untethered by moral ethics. There's no regard for their own people no matter how many horrific instances/experiments in the feld of their research they do; which quite litterally kill or irreparably damage the horde at large. All in the pursuit of conquest and greed with no regard for the state of their own existence outside that vague goal.

[@jordanbrooks4408]

“The space pirates aren’t some monolithic insurmountable force they’re getting beat by beetles and shriek bats” .😂😂😂 that delivery is masterful.

[@PrimordialNightmare]

beetles and shreekbats do be kinda dangerous though *que the galactic federation marines getting bodied by the splinters already before the ing join in* *que the ice planet rersearch station in Federation Force*

[@BigPanda096]

To be fair these beetles and shriek bats would devastate the current human military might.

[@yourneighbor6152]

Getting hit by a shriekbat on my first playthrough, getting pushed back and taking that damage, I had to wonder just how much it would hurt to be divebombed by one unarmored

[@marzipancutter8144]

I guess it's just that Samus is so much more advanced than anything else in the universe, it makes it hard to appreciate how powerful the space pirates approach actually is. Samus may take out Elite Pirates en masse, but they may not be all that unrealistic when they say that a couple of them will make their army undefeatable. They also might not be delusional when they call the destruction of facilities or death of the test subjects a success; whenever a creature breaks out and razes one of their stations to the ground, that's a creature they can drop on their enemies world and it will do the same to them, except whatever priority target they are attacking will not be as dispensable to them than anything lost is to the space pirates. The same goes for the containment procedures and mortality rate of the creatures. When used in the field, creatures only have to be held until they are where they are supposed to be doing the destroying, and it doesn't really matter to the space pirates how they fare after they finish the job.

[@calsalitra4689]

@@marzipancutter8144 Samus is incredibly powerful, but the Elite Pirates are also not fought at their full potential. We only ever fight single Elites at a time, stuck in enclosed spaces, separated from any support. 1 Elite Pirate is pretty manageable for Samus, but against 2 things might get dicey. 1 can siphon while the other launches mortars, 1 can siphon while the other stomps in to stomp, 1 can siphon while the other creates energy waves (assuming they don't hurt the other Elite Pirate). With 2 or more Elite Pirates in open environments, there isn't much Samus can do to hurt them. Mix in regular Pirates and this gets worse. This might actually be why the Pirates are so optimistic about their performance against Samus, they never intended for Elite Pirates to fight Samus 1v1, and therefore created their simulations under the assumption that the Elite Pirate did have support. The Omega Pirate for example becomes a massive nuisance when Troopers are on the field. The AI is stupid and creates energy waves that kill the support, but while those troopers are around the inability to shoot while being siphoned becomes a lot more dangerous, and the Omega Pirate itself has a much easier time closing in on Samus to claw at her.

[@rafadante14]

I love the logs that warns them to not feed the netroids, it implies that not all the space pirates are the same, prime 2 has a lot of funny logs in regards to the space pirates, and in the third game this is even clearer as you can feel the fear of the pirates in some logs in regards to the main villain.

[@AngryAtlantean]

"Metroids are not pets."

[@samiamtheman7379]

That combined with the fact that they keep pets implies that some Space Pirates are real animal lovers. The equivalent of the kinds of humans who would keep a bear or other exotic, dangerous animal.

[@AngryAtlantean]

@@samiamtheman7379 Even better: There is a non-essential Metroid scan in one of the later areas on a metroid that is actually floating really slowly, like it's lethargic and mum. The scan info determines that this particular metroid ate a pet treat given to it and was suffering from indigestion. I don't remember seeing it in the Remaster, but I know I saw it in the original, and it's the greatest brick joke.

[@DracheLehre]

The "Two Hunters" log in Prime 2 is always good for a laugh. And let us never forget "Surely, we are cursed."

[@Reddotzebra]

@@AngryAtlantean "Metroids are not used for target practice."

[@Reddotzebra]

I think it's even more fun to combine the previously mentioned lack of discipline and obvious morale damage from knowing The Hunter is planetside with their inability to detect Samus's gunship. That entire log entry has an air of "Oh no, we DEFINITELY can't find that Gunship that's right over there because going there would end with us splattered on the walls, please buy my story" about it.

[@noahjester8471]

Oh my God, yes 🤣

[@masterridley8593]

It could very well be deliberate that they couldn't find it as many space pirates know about her very well, and don't care to become the paint on the walls. Not all of them are id10ts and some would prefer to leave her alone and just keep their heads down and find better places to work and get 'paid'.

[@voodoodolll]

​@@masterridley8593 did you just censor the world "idiot", of all things, with numbers

[@masterridley8593]

@SensualCream it's a type of 'error' and was keep things as pg as possible.

[@daddysempaichan]

It would be hilarious if after that scan you can go back to the Gunship and like, find the burnt remains of some poor Space Pirates, and scanning it shows that it got vaporized by said Gunship's self defense systems or whatever. Like they found it, but those pirates would rather not die than to risk being sent to take the ship and get fame and riches. They aren't like the other Pirates.

[@Tanookicatoon]

37:58 "This is once of the only scans that mention Ridley" The room you find him in on Frigate Orpheon is actually his operation room. He's actually in the middle of the surgery, but because of the evacuation, he literally breaks free himself. You're more than like not going to stop in this room because you only encounter it during the escape sequence, but if you do, you will actually find about 4 or so scans detailing the progress on Ridley's operation, showing you that he's actually incomplete, and is the reason he has any weaknesses at all when you finally fight him.

[@wilburforce8046]

Huh that’s pretty cool. Samus might not have won if he was complete.

[@Sacren365]

I wonder if Ridley in Prime 3 is the "completed" version.

[@Scorpionspear77]

@@Sacren365if that’s the case, then he must have been having an off day, given that Samus beat him with significantly less equipment than she did on Tallon IV. He did get a second shot as Omega Ridley, though.

[@VubuMack]

Dont do it. It has the Power bomb.

[@ehhorve857]

@@Scorpionspear77 literally every pirate was having an off day, as metroid pri- excuse me, dark samus had injected some kind of mind altering plasmids into everybodies brains, effectively turning them into mindless devout zealots who would jump off a cliff if metr- dark samus ordered 'em to.

[@mikew1120]

One of the best bits of scanning the pirate stations is that there's a notice just outside the Metroid Containment area in the Phazon Mines that is just a notice for staff to not antagonize the Metroids or risk getting eaten but them. This was apparently such an issue they needed to issue an official warning banning the behavior. Had me rolling.

[@triforceofpowa]

And their punishment if they didn't follow the rule was they would reduce rations. So some Pirates were borderline starving. Not a good punishment to have when the Hunter is messing your shit up.

[@williamgeorge3111]

Even better; one guy didn't listen and tried using one for target practice. He's comatose now.

[@user-zy6mj2hd6m]

That one space pirate rubing penut butter on a metroid The space pirate sientict:*eyes glowing red*Wright that down.

[@RegalRoyalWasTaken]

The pet thing gets even sadder when you consider one of them probably hid their pet, only for it to get infected and maul them.

[@Raptorman0205]

It is relevant to note that the pirate's "Aran battle simulations" are likely so "successful" because they're being run on incomplete data. When on Tallon IV, Samus acquires quite a few ancient Chozo battle techs (the wave beam, plasma beam, etc) that they've never encountered her using before. That's half her shtick when dealing with them; she's always one step ahead.

[@ScottysSide]

Right! Let's see what Samus had in her arsenal here as compared to the OG Metroid: - Gravity Suit - Phazon Suit - Boost Ball - Spider Ball - Plasma Beam - Charge Beam - Grapple Beam - Flamethrower - Ice Buster - Wave Buster - Super Missiles - Power Bombs - Scan Visor - X-Ray Visor - Thermal Visor It's no wonder they were woefully unprepared for her. She upgraded A LOT since their last encounter.

[@crashmasterj0837]

To play devils advocate, how many times on hard mode did we die against the omega pirate or the Metroids they created

[@arminxvs3372]

But they adapt quickly -> wave pirste, ice pirate, plasma pirate where you can only beat him with the right beam.

[@TwilightWolf032]

You definitely should do the logs on Prime 2. The space pirates calling their superiors incompetent for neglecting their safety and dangers of both Metroids and Phazon paints a rather sympathetic picture of those we get to kill, they don't want to die!

[@samiamtheman7379]

Makes sense since in Prime 1, they're doing research on the planet, but had a ship in orbit and they could take as much time as needed to research. In Prime 2, everyone who landed on Aether ended up being stuck there and cut off from everywhere else, so order likely started getting shaky among the ranks.

[@scipion3679]

Prime 3 is nice too, with how the Space Pirates first tried to resist Dark Samus, only for her to take over them.

[@psycholuigiman]

Basically every log entry is pretty good in these games. I like that these games do such a good job of painting a pretty vivid picture of each race, their relationships, their motivations, their feelings and thoughts towards the current situation, and what life on these planets is like. All just with some short and missable log entries. Meanwhile, most new games from SquEnix and most Pokemon games fail to convey information like that despite being full of NPCs who can literally show and tell you all of this stuff.

[@masterridley8593]

In Prime 3 they even have conscripts, if i remember correctly, which they deploy on boarding pods that usually fail and get called coffins instead.

[@psycholuigiman]

@@masterridley8593 Holy cow. I remember that now! Wonder if that was before or after Dark Samus took over everything.

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

The funny thing is that the Space Pirates have a lot in common with civilizations from Warhammer. The Skaven in Warhammer Fantasy and the Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40k. The part that's ironic is that the Space Pirates exhibit a more realistic portrayal of the consequences when your government has a "the ends justify the means" mentality.

[@PrimordialNightmare]

I really want to see Metroid Stuff in a minature wargame, and I think the Elite Pirates could really shine there.

[@yourneighbor6152]

I was trawling the comments waiting for the wh40k crossover. The Space Pirate faction really does strike me as a species that would be encountered by the Imperium as just another xenos race. I want fanfictions with a crossover between the two universes.

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

@@yourneighbor6152 I’d rather cross over Warhammer 40k with the Archie Sonic Comics.

[@grimnir8872]

Funnily enough I the Rak'Gol exist as pretty much the Warhammer Parallel to Space Pirates: they're bloodthristy marauders who enjoy fighting and piracy, are roughly insect/lizard like in design and are fond of crude and unsafe meshing of technology and cybernetics.

[@arthurpprado]

I can't help but notice a layer of ironic hilarity in the fact that they are so scarily competent in their research and development of weaponry and soldiers but are also so short-sighted in their greed that they are ready to repeat mistakes like trying to tame gigantic feral creatures or handling Metroids without taking their own safety into account. It makes them seem so smart but also so naive and goofy. Not to mention the collective pants-shitting in everything involving Samus and their unpreparedness to challenge her

[@PrimordialNightmare]

*looks at the amount of deaths in my very first playthrough as a kid* maybe they can offer somewhat of a challenge .-.

[@diamondmetal3062]

They kind of remind me of the Skaven from Warhammer in that regard. Like, the Skaven are both scarily advanced and the most widespread of all factions in the setting. It’s all but stated that they could take over the world tomorrow, but they can’t because they view backstabbing as a core virtue.

[@TheBMB7]

I think it's also worth noting how the space pirates have an active contempt for the chozo and everything they represent. The chozo are by and large a spiritual people, despite their extremely advanced technology. Their technology is largely motivated by compassion and a search for a greater motivation for existence. The space pirates are cold and unfeeling, they can't imagine anything beyond the arbitrary purpose they've given themselves; they're like a hive mind. This distinction is what makes chozo tech, particularly Samus' suit and the force field around the impact crater so impenetrable. The motivations behind chozo tech are so far outside the field of view for the space pirates that they're completely incapable of understanding it. It may as well be magic to them.

[@reeseolsen4052]

The former Bryyonians turned Reptilicus did have at least the Mogenar War Golem Boss that we encounter in Corruption, supposedly one of at least a few made by the last Lord of Science as a blend of their new ways of science mixed with the old ways of magic as their race had been warned by the Chozo (& possibly the Luminoth as well) to do least what came to befall them. I think it's safe to assume that given their more spiritual nature than the pirates its fully possible that some of the Chozo's tech may actually use magic based on the warning to the Bryyonians. This creating an issue that the Space Pirates could arguably never overcome because of their culture or as said in the video a certain lack of it. The Space Pirates can't figure out certain parts of Chozo tech because it may at least partially or mostly use magic which doesn't fit into their very scientifically minded outlook also explaining some fear toward the Chozo Ghosts and inability to figure out what it is that the Metroids are actually removing from their victims.

[@rolotomassi3696]

Dislikes from Thoha tribe members.

[@kargaroc386]

sounds like a shitty version of the borg

[@Archon3960]

I think they're just jealous. x)

[@Reddotzebra]

My personal favorite miscellaneous log, although I'm not entirely certain which game it's from is still the one that contains something like "Metroids are not pets, Metroids are not used for target practice".

[@ZarHakkar]

Prime 2 I'm pretty sure

[@lvndr9838]

you can find a metroid in a research facility that's hovering around slowly, and scanning it tells you it's got indigestion from being fed pet treats. pretty cute detail for such a horrifying faction.

[@vincentleonard3797]

There's a story behind that log, and I'm finding it both hilarious and unfortunate.

[@vrishnak92]

This is definitely Prime 1

[@luisrosado7050]

either prime 2 echoes or prime 3 corruption

[@evanfont913]

I remember some publications criticizing this game for a “lack of story”. It’s interesting to see how people are reacting now in a post-Dark Souls world. This style of story-telling is becoming more common and I’m thrilled to see that a new generation of gamers get to experience this game who can appreciate what it did and how effective it is to this day. Great content my guy 👍

[@lakobause]

What's really terrifying about the Metroids isn't that they're tough, but that they can suck out the energy from living beings. Nobody understands how that works, what the "life energy" is, or how Metroids grow bigger as they drain it. Studying these toothy jellyfish-things could unlock discoveries with heavy implications, like how energy converts to matter, or what makes a living thing alive. That's why everyone - the Chozo, the Space Pirates, and the Galactic Federation - want to study them.

[@NoManOdysseus]

Point of order: the Chozo created the Metroid species, explicitly to be a predatory check on the X parasite species from Metroid Fusion. Note: Metroids are bad in a "snakes on a plane" way. X parasites are bad in a "The Thing" way.

[@BDPlaythroughs]

The pet scan is my favorite in the games. Says to me that maybe the Space Pirates wouldn't be half as bad as they're reputed to be if they just had the right kind of leadership. After a long shift of narrowly avoiding Phazon madness in the mines and being denied vacation time because Samus is wandering about, at least there's good ol' Waffle the olbaps to be there and welcome you home. Oh, wait. Waffle was put down last week. Well, shit.

[@jimboanimations4041]

I have never played a Metroid game in my life, yet I am more than ready to watch this entire video.

[@jjtheenton]

You should fix that by playing Prime Remastered.

[@captaintitusultramarine]

They're awesome games, some of my favorites of all time.

[@johndodo2062]

Get prime any way you can. Hopefully with money so Nintendo doesn't make us wait another decade

[@CoffeeDrinkerKim]

Metroid Prime Remastered or Super Metroid are fantastic entry points, both of which are on the Switch

[@XxTaiMTxX]

Metroid is truly a very interesting experience. That experience changes from game to game. Though, the games are always "similar" to each other, they are different enough to give you a different feel of the franchise itself. Metroid 1 makes you feel like you're exploring a vast maze. Metroid 2 makes you feel like you're in a horror game. Super Metroid feels like an adventure. Metroid Prime feels like you're solving a mystery. On and on. I always recommend players start with Super Metroid because that is usually one of the best ones. You can then do any of the rest of them in any order you want. The stories are "stand alone" enough that you can do that. But, if you want the full story of the series, you just play them all. Metroid 1 is different than Metroid Zero Mission (despite one being a remake of it). There's value in playing Metroid 1 as well as Zero Mission as the story actually "changes" some between them. Or, it gets more clear.

[@ggamer77]

I love the detail that the attempts of trying to copy the Morph Ball was even too crazy for them and was maybe one of the few things they did give up on. These logs where fun to read through as a kid. Great video!

[@oultimometroid2764]

the metroid franchise is not only technological, it is far from that, there are chozo ghosts in the game, the chozo are in addition to being super intelligent and technologically advanced, they are spiritually advanced, this explains a lot of the features of the power suit, morph ball....de how the suit modifies itself to create other weapons in the blink of an eye....

[@benjaminfarias9169]

What was it like for the 4th space pirate that had to test it out after watching the first 3 get twisted and mangled.

[@a_creatorsstuff17]

This reminds me how Weavel, after a terrible injury that barely left his brain and spine intact, was about to be euthanised, yet he had so much hatred for Samus, that they made a full cibernetic body for him to take use of that hatred For them, if its usefull, they must use it, if not, discard it

[@shbduukuynostradomus5509]

I'm gonna say this right now, this video is a worldbuilders dream, the fact that your able to ask such interesting questions with the answers provided as well poking light fun at just how the space pirates act is really awesome. Its clear ya digest and appreciate metroid lore even if i never got into it myself.

[@DracheLehre]

The Space Pirates have good reason to fear Samus. They were on the cusp of being the dominant force in the galaxy. Then out of nowhere, a heavily modified human comes and dismantles the greatest leadership structure they ever had singlehandedly. They never were able to fully recover since.

[@crowsenpai5625]

And anytime they found anything new, very soon after here comes The Hunter again. She always shows up to kick them back down a few pegs.

[@DracheLehre]

@@crowsenpai5625 A few pegs? **Spoilers** As of the end of Fusion they are basically a bad memory. Sure, there might be some survivors here or there. But, the reports of of some insane human who walked away from five exploding planets (Zebes, Dark Aether - yes, I'm counting it - Phaaze, SR-388, and ZDR) might give them second thoughts.

[@crowsenpai5625]

@@DracheLehre always include Dark Aether. It’s extremely rare for someone to say they have entire Planets under their belt for “things I’ve destroyed.” Especially as many as Samus, but I don’t think anyone but her can say “I’ve destroyed an entire parallel pocket dimension.”

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

Let's do a full run-down as of the end of Dread. Samus has destroyed: 4 planets (Zebes, Phaaze, SR-388 and ZDR) 1 alternate dimension (Dark Aether) 3 space stations (Ceres, the Bottle Ship and Biological Space Laboratories) 1 space pirate frigate (Orpheon) I think I'd be very careful about crossing her path, with a record like that...

[@DracheLehre]

@@Insert_Bland_Name_Here To be fair Ridley was the one who destroyed Ceres. Although a case could be made that Samus had a hand in it by bringing the baby metroid there like a half-hour earlier.

[@sgball7]

If you think about it, Brett's interpretation of the Space Pirates reads like an unlucky Stellaris player experience: - Constantly attacking/claiming anything they can get their hands on? Check. - Lack of comfort/cultural basics beyond just whatever the average Space Pirate owns? Check. - Command sending their soldiers and workers to suicide missions regardless of the risk? Check. - The only truly redeemable trait being a can-do attitude for one day conquering the observable universe? Check. - Overall jingoist vibe? Check. - Somehow dooming themselves at the end of the day by their own poor luck, in the Space Pirates' case basically never escaping Samus or the Federation for good? Check-check.

[@see.eye.2361]

I don’t think the Space Pirates on Talon IV were afraid of getting discovered because they were weak and couldn’t defend themselves, but because it would force them to abandon their research on the planet.

[@thevgmlover]

Somehow, I think they knew they could just come back later. But of course, having to abandon such a promising endeavor for a while would be very, VERY annoying and disappointing for them.

[@thephasercollection891]

I think that the tallon IV group of pirates are just a small contingent because they are what escapes the destruction of zebes. They arent a full battalion, so entanglement with the federation would be really unwise. Side note: from the pirates perspective samus is hunting them down because they escaped. Shortly after escaping the destruction of your whole planetwide operation, the one who caused the destruction "just happens" to be on the same planet you are?

[@daddysempaichan]

Also if they get discovered and forced to abandon the planet it could force someone else studying and advancing Phazon technology themselves. The Space Pirates can't have that, they're the only one who can play with Phazon!

[@Fluffkitscripts]

Imagine being samus and learning the creatures that eradicated your home planet and caused you to swear lifelong vengeance are just scientists who can barely build a baking soda volcano without creating some misshapen horror that eats their face. I bet the Metroid universe has a joke about the most dangerous thing about the space pirates being the blast radius when they blow up their own ship.

[@ravenlover7924]

Samus: ... Seriously? They caused me and others so much trauma and yet are this incompetent? Luck must be strong for them of they lived this long! Oh well... it's time for them to euthanized.

[@weap8ntheater135]

You have a unique channel with a format that I think is genuinely interesting. Looking forward to your Zelda content. Keep going - 1 million strong.

[@gabe7631]

FR this mans skill in the written word and analysis is remarkable

[@Stella-onehalf]

The implied individualism of the pirates when compared to other types of "grunts" is so cool. It reminds me of the very ending of zero mission where you see one singular space pirate try to jump in front of samus's ship to prevent her from escaping, only to be vaporized by it.

[@Diaboragon]

I doubt it was Retro Studio's intention, but 12 year old me wound up really respecting the Space Pirates and their never-give-up attitude and desire to seize every opportunity they could find in life. Sometimes I would even feel bad about killing them just because I got to see how much they had accomplished and what they continued to aspire to achieve.

[@TrinityCore60]

I can get that. On the other hand, it’s also one of the most cruel hierarchies in fiction that I know-one that encourages unnecessary death and destruction. If things were different, maybe the Pirates would be tolerable, but as they are now (and likely will remain), I’d rather Samus fight them than leave them be.

[@jjtheenton]

Every time I revisit Prime, I discover something new about the Pirates, even though I've read their logs multiple times. It's truly insane how much lore behind them there is to unpack in a single game.

[@BIGhappyG33]

Their competency and tenacity really does have to be admired Edit:And a strange level of professionalism

[@Cri_Jackal]

Another extrapolated detail I'd like to point out, which regards Ridley, is how they treat leadership, as in what they conceptualize and accept as a leader. It doesn't matter if they aren't a Space Pirate themselves, as long as a sapient creature can provide them with beneficial leadership that furthers their goals, they can become a commander or general. Ridley and Kraid became generals through their ability to provide pure might on a battlefield, and in Ridley's case we're shown, at least in the manga, that he is intelligent and cunning, able to organize and lead entire invasions. Ridley's defeat on Zebes would likely be the whole reason for his demotion, he failed to lead the pirates, and that failure led to the destruction of: a pirate base, a pirate base built on top of a Chozo city that doubtlessly contained advanced technology, AND the death of Mother Brain. Mother Brain was a hyper intelligence biotech supercomputer _created by the Chozo,_ who could also control metroids, what she offers is self explanatory, and it's also clear why she immediately outranked Ridley, despite him being a pirate general for far longer. The pirates are utilitarian. It's also important to note that Mother Brain is the entire reason the pirates even know about the metroids in the first place, as she knew about the project on SR388 during its development. The curious part there with Mother Brain is that _she_ would know everything to do with Samus, she was even the one who designed Samus's Power Suit according to the manga, if you hold the manga as canon then that implies that Mother Brain may have purposefully withheld information on Samus from the pirates.

[@romankvapil9184]

Which would lead to the question of WHY would she withhold such crucial and vital information about it if she did. Especially once there would be no doubt reports of Samus having infiltrated her facility.

[@mistermann4163]

@@romankvapil9184 I might be trying to pull straws here from my memory. But Mother Brain saw the pirates as nothing more than tools to her goals of ruling the galaxy and wanted Samus to be on her side considering her as her daughter since she was there when Samus was being genetically spliced with the Chozo DNA along with her growing up. But like I said I'm pulling straws from what I remember about the history of Metroid as a series.

[@romankvapil9184]

@@mistermann4163 As interesting as that conjecture may be, we as players would have at least been given hints and some help from her if that were true with any kind of evidence by the devs. If you ask me, I'd think the more likely thing is that given she is an organic that comes with traits similar to ours, she was just arrogant and was full of herself in her own abilities till it all came to bite her in the ass over the course of the game.

[@AICW]

Or it means the manga isn't canon.

[@mistermann4163]

@@AICW From what I can follow the original instruction manuals and Manga conflict with each other(this is a 37 year old franchise after all). And even if it wasn't cannon later events(mostly with Other M) would make the manga seem more reasonable to be cannon for how it portrays Samus as well as other characters who return in the games.

[@gatol2081]

The scan visor really is the best addition to the metroid series

[@nillynush4899]

And not just for the advanced Lore - the act of Scanning and Exploring becomes a new avenue for gameplay in and of itself. More gameplay is good.

[@kidprime6863]

I hope the franchise does this again in the future

[@DekkarJr]

I love a good codex of lore. Horizon Zero Dawn was another great exmaple of a game that did that really well.

[@TheJabbate1]

I get the impression that Ridley was created by the Space Pirates to rule them. Like how we create faster and smarter computers to make our lives easier, the pirates are creating stronger and smarter bio-weapons to make their domination of the galaxy easier.

[@dragonslair951167]

It's actually kind of ridiculous, the discrepancy in power levels between Samus and the Space Pirates. Space Pirates are trained soldiers fighting for their lives, disciplined and well-equipped, yet Samus can take everything they can throw at her, shrug it off, and hit back five times harder. It's no wonder the Space Pirates hate and fear her so much.

[@Gabriel-oq8gs]

What makes it even crazier is that we see in Metroid Prime 3 that the Space Pirates are no pushovers, they're actually pretty strong. About on-par with Galactic Federation Troopers. Which means that despite being able to go toe-to-toe with the ruling military force in the galaxy, they still can barely do anything to Samus.

[@iamlordapollo]

The idea that all space pirates are expendable reminds me of Zero Mission. When Samus unlocks the full power suit, there is a pirate that hides in a place Samus hid earlier. Therefore the space pirates obviously fear death like any other life form. That says something interesting about their psychology that they treat eachother as expendable while still sharing a fear for death.

[@m.s.e.advanced2842]

I always loved how the Prime series gave us a deeper look into the pirates especially Echoes. Despite beating the game more times than I can count you pointed out stuff I still hadn't noticed, even now this game continues to impress and draw me in even now (especially the remaster). A tidbit from 2 about the pirates I like is the Ing love possessing them because it's really easy due to space pirates being so used to following orders, numerous, and well equipped for combat.

[@Lightna]

22:50 I'd argue that since it's the facility dedicated to the metroids, they are forgoing sealing the facility to the elements because it helps control the metroids. While I do not think it's done in mind for the safety of the personnel, I do think they are pragmatic enough to realize that requesting more personnel may be hard due to logistics. So minimizing deaths to metroids to continue research by letting the cold into the facility housing them feels like a very pragmatic choice.

[@dorkandproudofit]

1:10:29 There is a line in this log that I think is interesting but that you seemed to gloss over a bit: "We believe that Tallon IV was once a stronghold in a great Chozo empire." This line is, IMHO, a great way of showing the difference between the Space Pirate mindset and that of the Chozo. Everything we see of the Chozo throughout all the games, all their logs, implies a primarily peaceful civilization; when they DO talk about weapons (such as with regards to Samus), it is only in terms of protecting and defending life. The Space Pirates, on the other hand, are so obsessed with dominance that, upon first finding the Chozo ruins, they immediately think of an interstellar empire. Taken in context with other logs that the Pirates have concerning the Chozo, it becomes even more telling. The word "empire" implies military dominance; in the mind of the Space Pirates, the Chozo were just like them, except they failed due to lack of ambition and/or silly concepts like "ethics" and "morals". The Pirates can't conceive of a mindset that DOESN'T prioritize dominance, and as such any signs of morality and ethics in a culture strikes them as insanity or stupidity getting in the way. They're not thinking "These were good guys, but good is dumb". They're thinking "These guys had the galaxy on a silver platter, but they lacked our ambition and as a result, lost everything. What a bunch of idiots."

[@R0-83-RT]

To be fair In Metroid Dread we see the Mawkin exist who are a sect of Chozo that desire conquest, and the Metroid Manga even explains a lot of Chozo use to be more war like and imperial in the past. Regardless yes Tallon IV was meant to be a safe haven for the Chozo who seem to have originally go there because they wanted to reduce their reliance on tech, and become more spiritual.

[@bradleyadams5252]

Then several millenia in the future following Samus or some other disaster wiping them out completely, the newest empire on the block will find whatever is left of them and say "what a bunch of idiots."

[@koopanique]

I remember being fascinated with the Pirates logs as a kid, I would study them, I would even write new ones for fun. I'm glad someone made a video digging deep into them!

[@Mrmcfat3]

I want to read the logs you wrote

[@koopanique]

@@Mrmcfat3 There were written on paper so I guess they must be lost by now, and even then they written in my native language so I'd have to translate them into English lol

[@Mrmcfat3]

​@@koopaniquehaha oh well, I bet they were great tho!

[@caraprism9074]

Maybe you should join the space pirate, then you could really make space pirate logs!

[@dkdevil3490]

I love how Retro took the prior established lore to heart. Why are the space pirates constrained to such a ruthless social hierarchy built around militaristic goals? Why do they rely heavily on a system of rewards and punishments? Their leader is an unhinged, power obsessed supercomputer! Why are they so disposable? They reproduce at alarming rates! Loved the video, can’t wait for your next one~

[@chrisbg99]

I'd say it is not too off to say the Space Pirates are basically a dark shadow of the Chozo. At least the Chozo we were mostly familiar with before Samus Returns and Dread introduced the concept of a more militaristic Chozo sect.

[@evanbao93]

Well keep in mind that Mother Brain took over the entire Space Pirate organization and became their new leader. And she was originally a Chozo Creation designed to store all Chozo knowledge in her memory banks as well bringing peace and order.

[@basilfilatov7013]

Hints of the Chozo's more militaristic past have been around since Zero Mission. But yes, samus retruns and dread are the first games where this was clearly shown

[@ultraspinalki11]

Personnally wasn't a fan of how the Chozo villain in Dread had more or less the same goals as the Space Pirates and Other M's corrupt Galactic Federation, which is to use Metroids to control the universe...

[@evanbao93]

@@ultraspinalki11 Actually, it makes perfect sense. Raven Beak was the first who desired Metroids as an ultimate weapon. He was the reason why the Metroids weren't destroyed much earlier. We also know that Mother Brain was supposed to represent all of Chozo culture, but went rogue and took over the Space Pirates. Yet one has to wonder... was it really an error in her programming? Or did she conclude the Mawkin philosophy is the best way to bring "peace and order"? And then it gets you thinking. Raven Beak was there when Samus was getting Chozo DNA to survive on Zebes. Alongside Mother Brain. One has to wonder if Raven Beak planted certain ideas into Mother Brain's mindset.

[@ultraspinalki11]

@@evanbao93 I find that Raven Beak didn't reach the expectations set by the Prime series when it comes to the Chozo. Retro Studios had given us amazing expanded lore about the harmonious and incredibly wise race, hyping them up throughout their Trilogy. When Raven Beak was confirmed to be the antagonist, I was hoping for a decent explanation as to why a Chozo would be malevolent. His goal not only turned out to be simplistic and typical villainy, but also the manner in which he tries is... flawed. He wants power by using the uncontrollable Metroids as bioweapons and to accomplish this, it's stated that after killing the Thoha on SR388, he brought Quiet Robe back to ZDR somehow expecting he'll succeed at the very thing he and his dead colleagues already proved to be incapable of doing back at the Metroid homeworld... Heck, everyone has failed to control the creatures by this point in the series, and Raven Beak is trying and fumbling just like past antagonists. I wished the writer(s) gave him a unique goal/explanation to make him truly stand out from prior Metroid villains. He also had very little screen time overall, appearing only twice in the entire game I think? More appearances might have allowed for opportunities to give more depth to such a potential character.

[@irishempire9811]

Metroid lore is pretty underrated going by this video, didnt know Metroid had this amount of story in it

[@iratepirate3896]

Metroid lore is pretty great, especially Echoes.

[@tashibalampkin8555]

30:58 That made me laugh. Imagine them rubbing peanut butter on it and being full blown serious actually writing down the results. 🤣

[@ajanis95]

Space Pirate Log 26: Metroids are apparently allergic to peanut butter. We will keep this as a backup should we need to pacify them.

[@oriongurtner7293]

Space Pirates could discover black hole technology and they’ll still try putting it ‘in a Metroid’ to see if it works out

[@noahjester8471]

​@@ajanis95 Samus acquires Peanut missiles 🤣

[@completelyferrouschemist6776]

@@oriongurtner7293 "We have discovered, through attempting to make a macroscopic black-hole a part of the Metroid's anatomy, Metroid anatomy already has a macroscopic black-hole. This redundancy does not appear to positively or negatively effect the Metroid in any respects. More testing required."

[@terrakaion]

@@completelyferrouschemist6776 “Further developments regarding the micro Metroid blackholes have been observed. A Metroid specimen designated 920 was subject to exposure to our peanut pacification cream, to see whether or not the subject could withstand the cream reinforced with its additional blackhole. Science team watched in complete aw as the Metroid not only absorbed the cream without issue, but also underwent a sudden transformation.” “Metroid 920, now re-designated as Geoform-189, codename “Kirby” now has a new form. Gone are the fangs, membrane and nucleus of its original form, now it is solid and entirely pink in hue, possesses feet and minuscule arms and can now use its combined micro blackholes to ‘inhale’ all in front of it. Anything swallowed it can ‘copy’ the powers of. Further research is to be conducted, but it’s safe to say this organism holds high potential for its combative capacities.”

[@AngryAragami]

Honestly, I love the Space Pirate attitude towards the monsters and horrors they've made. They set out to create vicious biological war machines of death, and they damn well succeeded. The inability to actually control or contain them is an issue, but we managed to make the monster, so presumably we're smart enough to think of something.

[@Ser_Matticus]

I always figured all the pirate Recreational spaces were ares not accessible to samus, given you regularly see doors that only open to pirate biometric data in their facilities. Plus the first save room in the phazon mines has purpose built fish tanks.

[@luckymankwok]

After learning the space pirates' culture, I felt like the reason they were so eager to respawn and attack samus was maybe because they just wanted a way out from the cruel enviornment and society they were trapped in...

[@carstan62]

The implication that Metroids eat souls and the fact that Chozo ghosts are in this game is no coincidence.

[@ScarletDuke]

The music of Phazon Mines sums this up very well. A low unsettling hum, dissonant notes and the occasional distant sound of industry.

[@GrayderFox]

Man, it's been a long time since I've seen these logs...it's amazing how the Space Pirates are simultaneously hilariously, ridiculously villainous and also stomach-churningly brutal and horrifying. It's such an extreme idea treated logically and thought-through, and I'm only now realizing how much this game probably influenced my own worldbuilding and creative tastes. Though I never did get around to playing Prime 2 and 3, so I'm very interested in seeing how all this plays out in future videos. :3

[@mangotango8115]

Another thing worth noting about the Pirates is how frequently Phazon Madness seems to occur, in stark contrast to to Federation in Prime 3, who reported no signs of Phazon Madness in their PED program.

[@Dzzy123]

I hope Prime 4 explores the after effects of Phazon. There's no way Samus and other Federation troops could be exposed to it for so long and not have negative experiences afterwards.

[@ZarHakkar]

Makes me wonder if Phazon madness is actually a thing, or perhaps it's more like cyberpsychosis from Cyberpunk. The average space pirate certainly lives in a very oppressive society.

[@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry]

their tecnology seem to be inferior compared to the GF stuff and since the pirates have soo many invasive bionics unlike the FG using safe phazon backpacks linked to the armour

[@daddysempaichan]

Probably because the GF actually cares for the safety of their people on some level, even if it's just from a PR perspective. Because having one of your Elite Phazon equipped soldier going crazy and go on a killing spree isn't a good look, and "That'll might affect my ability to run for office again." That kind of deal.

[@eltipobigotudo2162]

@@ZarHakkar I love you and I love Cyberpunk

[@jaredwillebeek-lemair5298]

22:35 I've been absolutely enamored with this little detail since I was a kid. It's the same as how the control room in Halo has manufactured winter weather, to slow down the flood in case there's a breach. Such an intuitive little thing, so clever

[@alexleven8266]

A bit I think is interesting about the pirate logs describing the Omega Pirate is their use of the pronoun "its" to describe it. This seems to me to have one of two implications: One, the Omega Pirate is viewed as an animal, or something on the below the bottom rung of the pirate hierarchy given the dehumanizing nature of the pronoun; or two: pirate culture has no concept of gender. The multiple notes casting mutations in a positive light make me more inclined to believe the latter, but the log about Ridley uses masculine pronouns for him (and in Prime 2 and 3, logs referring to Samus/Dark Samus use feminine pronouns). Maybe pirates themselves don't subscribe to any gender, but then use genders for other species? Alternatively, maybe because the Omega Pirate was born to be a weapon, that's why they use "it" to describe it? I also wanted to note that in Prime 3, Pirates are noted to keep slaves of their own kind and use them as shock troops, per the point you brought up in the video.

[@TurKlack]

Which point did FatBrett brought up in the Video that supports the Pirates use of Slaves?

[@vincentleonard3797]

​@@TurKlack Somewhere in the section with Phendrana Drifts footage, but before Glacier One, he muses on how the division of labor works in Space Pirate society.

[@waynecarrjr.1187]

the pirate logs in prime 1 refer to Ridley as a He and Samus as a She so they must have some idea of gender

[@wolftickets1969]

The Space Pirates are a textbook portrayal of Einstein's definition of insanity: repeating the same failed experiments over and over and expecting different results.

[@nathanbarajas9174]

"If you give a space pirate a jarof peanut butter, he would immediately rub it on a metroid to see what happens." Small little comments like this is why I love this channel.

[@QwixLF]

I have decided that the morph ball works by having Samus's mind astrally project while encoding the quantum state of her body, then turning it into pure energy and reforming the suit to match. This means the third person view as a morph ball is still from Samus's POV, and the brief sequence the follows when unmorphing is her mind returning to her body. Chozo tech is so far above the rest of the universe that it may as well be magic to other space faring species.

[@SenyiKimmo]

Why am I so ready to believe this? This just... works.

[@leon4000]

It makes sense to me. Considering the Chozo has also spiritual and maybe mystical abilities that requires one to master their mind and manipulate their bodies somehow. Samus turns into a ball by doing exactly what the Chozo had trained her to do. Even change her body into energy or some mystical form that allows her to change into Morph Ball form. I also recall a trick in Super Metroid that showed Samus surrounded by an mystical energy ball while in fetal position as she replenishes her energy for her suit. This explains why Chozo was leagues above other tech, they had abilities that would be seen as magical in any aspect. Which is when I think back to the Space Pirates and trying to make their own suit to rival Samus, their morph ball was so lacking, an unfortunate Pirate who signed up to test the Morph Ball was killed in a horrifying way. Crushed to death! The Pirates have a one track mind thinking only if domination and power, anything outside of that is a weak and foolish venture. The Chozo had wise men that was spiritually aware and used their abilities in ways that other races have yet to achieve.

[@BB_Promoter]

​@@leon4000 That trick you're talking about is the Crystal Flash & it burns through Missle ammunition to restore health, which the existence of that technique probably speaks profoundly to who the Chozo are

[@Jaymotions]

This video is SO GOOD. I rarely ever see someone as obsessed with the logs as i am. You've got a sub from me! I always loved how the prime trilogy treated the pirates. Corruption in particular makes them super fun as well

[@thisismyelement]

This has me dying laughing! Your dry delivery on just how insane the space pirates are was hilarious. Also “space pirates” is simply the best name ever lol.

[@ASquared544]

On the topic of what happened to Tallon 1-3, the Pirates Described Tallon IV as a Wanderer Class Planet. So it could be inferred that Tallon IV was a Rogue Planet at some point, bound by no star, until it reached the Star System of Zebes and entered its orbit. Perhaps it once belonged to a Tallon Star system which contained Tallon 1-3.

[@PrimordialNightmare]

Interesting point. The Wiki(s) seem to be a bit less sure on what the classification actually means, suggesting it might also describe a planet that space pirates will settle on for a short time to extract all resources before leaving again. Not sure which definition I like more. Personally, I think it's possible that the explanation is in a multitude of naming conventions being used, fallign out of favour and ultimately mixing into some weird potpurry, like how the Sol System doesn't have Sol 1-9, but Mercury Venus Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, with Pluto not being clasified as a planet anymore. and then introduce something similar to an entire galaxy and things might get chaotic. And ultimately different names will stick.

[@eiriseven]

In Metroid Prime 3, the lowest ranked space pirate grunts are traitors and criminals within their ranks, if you zoom in on their 3D model you can see that they had their limbs amputated and are just a torso and head attached to a body rig. Even worse, in the Pirate Homeworld the cargo drones appear to be a motorized head of a pirate. Jeez.

[@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry]

militia pirate are malnourished and emaciated and probably form the cannon fooder and main force of the space pirate i wish they got more lore and games... perhaps we can hope a halo styled metroid game in wich space pirates and the federation are the main characters

[@TrinityCore60]

@@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry that sounds interesting actually. The only problem is that, for as interesting as learning about these individuals are, Space Pirate society is extremely collectivist (with little regard towards individuals), militaristic, cruel, strict, and rigid, to the point where those deemed weak are killed and eaten by others, and where exactly none of them ever even chance trying to defect, not even the half-starved Militia. The Federation don’t give them any mercy (not that it’s unjustified, given the atrocities they themselves commit on the regular), either. How on earth do you make a good story with a Pirate protagonist who, like all others, will never take any prisoners and will choose to die before being interrogated?

[@BB_Promoter]

Honest to G, we need an X-com style Metroid game if we ever wanna have one with Space Pirates & the Federation as the focus it would go so hard I swear

[@bli2z4rd]

1 hour video? Ok I can't watch this at work. I need to sit confortably at my couch and grab a nice glass of wine.

[@Ryoni93]

And here I listened to it during work instead!

[@masonpark8740]

45:00 We actually visit the space pirate homeworld in Metroid Prime 3, I would love to see an analysis on the logs and world building there, space pirate life is insane

[@ysgramornorris2452]

I thought "Space Pirates" was a mistranslation of their Japanese name, hence the seemingly weird name. But it turns out they're called 宇宙海賊 (uchuu-kaizoku) in the original, which literally translates to "space pirates". Weird.

[@theplayfulparody2183]

It could be a thing like how they call Samus a "bounty hunter" despite the fact that in-game she never really does any real bounty hunting. From my understanding it was just a cool-sounding title and that's about as far as the depth goes.

[@ysgramornorris2452]

@@theplayfulparody2183 Maybe, but the intro to Metroid Dread shows Adam (her ship's computer) saying that the pay isn't worth the risk of their current mission. It makes it clear that she really is a bounty hunter, or maybe a mercenary, which is close enough.

[@raoullupin5412]

While Samus is indeed a Bounty Hunter, albeit one akin to how Ike is a mercenary from the FE Tellius games or Byleth and Jeralt and their group of mercenaries from the Fodlan games as one with morals and lines she refuses to cross on principle, IIRC the Space Pirates are called as such due to their preferred method of warfare and fighting, using the same tactics one would expect from said bands of outlaws, hence the name of their faction.

[@marche800]

The way the higher ups mistreat the space pirates workers paints a really different picture on Space Pirate society. They aren't just monstrous creatures with no empathy most space pirates grunts are victims of an overbearing and uncaring beaurocracy that abuses them into compliance. They're essentially caught between a rock and a hard place. Makes you wonder if their are any rouge space pirates who join kore noble causes or simply run off to live more fulfilling lives. I'd imagine there would have to be given the frequent talk of punishment.

[@ZarHakkar]

Combine that with the idea that "Space Pirates" aren't just a single species but a conglomerate of different species under the single banner of "Space Pirates" and you get this almost... well, Combine-like idea of their structure. They are a determined warlike bureaucracy that subjugates other life-forms into their ranks.

[@MisterCoswel]

My favorite pirate log was in prime 2 when they freak out about dark Samus saying something like “oh god now there’s two of them!!” Lol

[@pokefriend123]

I love the Space Pirate’s battle cries every time you re-enter the rooms in Metroid Prime. It never gets me tired knowing something is there that wants me in this life that has a lot of nothing.

[@kidprime6863]

So ironic, the Galactic Federation were against the very things the Pirates did: bioweapon experiments. But as we've seen in Metroids Other M and Fusion, the Federation decided to do just that. Despite the medical breakthrough potential the Metroids' power possess, like the Pirates, the Federation used them for war. Even tried to make them unfreezable, too. Hell, it's possible in Other M, those "Ringleaders" were planning on MB to go rogue so she could send the bioweapon cargo to the capital as some form of coup. They even went as far as to send an assassin to kill anyone who finds out. The Pirates did say in Corruption, that they have spies within the Federation. So, you never know if this conspiracy was in league with the Pirates.

[@aliesterus1.023]

You know, it kinda sounds like how Space Pirates came to be was the result of a long-running domino effect. Given the mention of genetic manipulation and their complete inability to perceive the idea of failure, it sounds like somewhere early down the line someone thought "You know, the concept of failure is kind of getting in our way, let's breed it out of ourselves!". Completely lacking the perception of failure would lead to _very_ obvious consequences, like the inability(or at least difficulty) to perceive the idea of consequences. This would then lead to thoughts like "You know, we're completely limited by our current resources, I bet if we controlled the galaxy we could do so much more!" and "We're still limited by our current resources, and we'll take over the galaxy eventually, so all of the stuff out there is already effectively ours, we should just take them to further our goals!"

[@Metruzanca]

10:30 - I love how later in the game in the phazon mines theres a log that says something along the lines of "The Hunter is able to read our data unencrypted". Which shows again how terrified they are of Samus.

[@RunePonyRamblings]

Commerce is mentioned other times in the series. The backstory of the Federation is that it was established to protect and facilitate trade between the various galactic civilizations, and I believe Prime 3 mentions Aurora Units being used in business. Regarding the Space Pirates not doing much actual pirating, it is possible that "Space Pirates" isn't their real name, but a name given to them by the Federation, seeing as their first contact was presumably through the Pirates raiding colonies and attacking shipments, the Federation may have believed them to be simple pirates until their true ambitions were revealed when they stole Metroids and set up cloning facilities.

[@judgedread9724]

With all that theorizing and analyzing. The Space Pirates and what they've got going on is truly fascinating.

[@Matkingos]

52:13 another interesting thing about this log is that after finishing the phazon mines you encounter a lot more pirates on the surface. This helps explain why there are so few in the early game. When the stealth field is down they have to take cover and lay low so they're not discovered by the GalFed. Which, unfortunately for the pirates, allows Samus to build up her arsenal

[@Sodium_OD]

When you look at the series as a whole, the Pirates become more and more warlike as the games progress.

[@johnnydjiurkopff]

To be fair, they were consistently getting smashed by one chick with some bird DNA and a power suit. If I was in their situation I'd prioritize military development too.

[@DekkarJr]

@@johnnydjiurkopff lmao bird dna XDDD

[@carnage0685]

I always wished we could read logs from Ridley himself, since all we ever see from him in the games is "RAWR TIME TO KILL YOU SAMUS". This goes for Kraid, too, if he would just appear more. Maybe in Metroid Prime 4 we will get Kraid?

[@Cyberguy64]

I've always pictured Ridley as having a personality kind of like the Joker. He builds superweapons shaped like himself and makes dramatic entrances by hiding in plain sight. He seems like the kind of guy who would be cracking poor-taste jokes to get under his enemies' skin while committing atrocities.

[@goldengamemaster6133]

@@Cyberguy64 I agree with that. And now for an improvised skit to demonstrate how I view Ridley pissing off Samus. (Warning! EXPLICIT language is used.) Ridley: HI HONEY! HOW WAS WORK? Samus: Oh for fuck sake. We're doing this shit again. Ridley: Oh come on baby, you know you can't stay away from me. You love a man who plays hard to get. And I'm defiantly feeling hard right now. Samus: Let's just get this over and done with. Ridley: Hmm, thought you hated quickies. I must be out of practice when it comes to kink-reading. Samus: Fuck you. Ridley: Fuck you. Samus: Fuck you! Ridley: Fuck you! Samus: FUCK YOU! Ridley: FUCK ME! Saums: FUCK- Wait don't you mean fuck *me*? Ridley: Well if that's what you wanted Sammy you just had to ask. Samus: OH YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!! Ridley: HAHAAA! GOTCHA BITCH! HONESTLY, YOU *ALWAYS* FALL FOR THAT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Samus: I'm gonna shove a super-missile or two *so far* up your ass. Ridley: Sorry sugartits, the weel didn't land on pegging today, in fact it hasn't for a long ass time. Samus: OH MY GOD!! STOOOOOOOOOP!!!!! Ridley: And give up the joy of watching you get your tits in a twist? Hard pass! Samus: Was that you trying to be sexist or racist. Ridley: Heh, whatever pisses you off more.

[@TrinityCore60]

If we do get Kraid logs, I’d like it if their much more direct and to the point than, say, someone like Ridley’s. Remember, Kraid is something like the brute of Space Pirate forces, so I like to think he’s got a somewhat simple mindset to match.

[@carnage0685]

@@TrinityCore60 Oh yeah, definitely. Kraid isn't like, stupid by any means, but he definitely lacks the intelligence Ridley has. I imagine a Kraid log would be something more along the lines of "Damn, Samus defeated me back on Zebes, but after the upgrades I've been given, this time, I'll crush her!" Something short and straight to the point like that. He can listen to orders, and he can even follow plans, but he either can't or isn't good at making plans himself. He's not the guy who would be doing any research, or leading forces, but he'd be placed at the head of those forces, and he'd be the first to receive cybernetic upgrades, or any other kind of upgrades, after Ridley himself, of course. I think the fact that Kraid was originally going to be the boss of the Phazon Mines, and the Omega Pirate was instead just going to be a sort of miniboss, is pretty telling of his position. He's there to follow orders and be the most important guy to fight Samus, but Ridley is able to come up with stuff himself, such as ambushing her at the Impact Site and destroying the Chozo Relics. We got a little bit of Kraid's personality in Dread, which I'm immensely grateful for, but there's SO much more that could be explored if he shows up in Prime 4. It would be so cool to read logs from Mother Brain's two top guys themselves!

[@TrinityCore60]

@@carnage0685 that WOULD be cool! But although having recent logs from Kraid is possible, any logs from Ridley will have to be clearly written at some point in the past, when he could have actually written them himself. And unlike Kraid, have them be a bit more complex, perhaps including a line implying his psychopathic, sadistic personality.

[@theredroad1]

The space pirates are the type of guys to open Pandora’s box and be digging around in it for stuff

[@NoxideActive]

I don't know if you should be mocking the Space Pirates for attempting to pacify Thardus thinking it wouldn't be possible. Remember what they had working for/with them in Super Metroid? Who knows what it took to get Draygon and Phantoon into their ranks.

[@luiscanamarvega]

This way of storytelling may not be for everyone, but man am I enjoying it. It’s fascinating.

[@BenditaLocuraStudios]

Honestly my biggest takeaway from this video is that Metroid Prime’s space pirates are the answer to the question what would happen if you took the Skaven from Warhammer Fantasy and stuck them in 40K: an almost single-minded race of obsessive lunatics will try anything no matter how insane or dangerous just to get an edge in warfare, one that places no value in the lives of their lower ranks in pursuit of a mutating substance they discovered underground. Anyway, neat character study that makes me desperately want to revisit this trilogy if not for the fact I have nowhere to set up my Wii currently.

[@Cri_Jackal]

59:28 and the thing they don't realize is that her Power Suit is a construct, generated by her Zero Suit, that only activates when _she_ wills it. And on top of that, Samus's death animation in basically every game, this one included, shows her self destructing with the suit. The Pirates will NEVER get their hands on her suit, with aspects of it seemingly being intentionally designed to prevent it from being reverse engineered, the moment anyone actually kills Samus, the suit goes with her.

[@pablotomasllodra4423]

Then how about the X-Parasite infection? That suit is clearly biomechanical and she obtained a new one when her old one was destroyed/deactivated in Zero Mission.

[@the_bane_of_all_anti_furry]

​@@pablotomasllodra4423 since the suit is linked to aran's body then the parassite may had messed up the mecchanism and perhaps it work akin to a tumour with the FG removing the part infected by the X parassite allowing to remove them as the suit hold no power over infected parts

[@greatswordofvictory1271]

“If you gave a Space Pirate a jar of peanut butter, they would immediately go rub in on a Metroid to see what happens.” That’s it, you did it, that’s the Space Pirates. You could have ended the video there.

[@Raven_Frame]

We never get a good look at the culture of the Federation, however the Space Pirates have always come across as an extreme trajectory of what humanity could go in. Honestly I think that the Space Pirates are tragic, they could be capable of doing good things if they could nurture any aspect of themselves beyond just warfare and conquest.

[@AICW]

I will forever be so fucking pissed off and sickened that the *very first thing* people did when 3D printers became commercially available was when Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed used the technology to build homemade guns so they could "stick it to the government" by waving the name of the Second Amendment. It says a lot about people that weapons made to kill other humans in horrible ways were the first thing that amazing tech was used for.

[@kiwisbirb2687]

The “ report useful mutations” one gives me the image of the mining workers sneakly just shoving a chunk of Phazon into their mouth to try and get more money and food. Kinda a funny image

[@Dorda098]

I think one of the things with the battle simulations against Samus is that they're not just, popping out of nap time to suddenly find her there; they're outfitted and in squads, I presume. The energy absorption and shoulder cannons would be pretty damn devastating if used in tandem with other units.

[@TurKlack]

Because of the worldbuilding of Retro Metroid I like the entire Metroid franchise even more. These tiny mentions of monks and star marines is enough to give more importance to the galaxy of Metroid.

[@Schmiduku]

18:06 I think that mention of commerce is important because it kind of nods that an organization of that size still needs money to fund evil shenanigans. They're only interested in making money as a means to their evil ends.

[@shade5640]

I've never considered that Space Pirates might selectively craft their population genetically for specific jobs before. But the concept of Space Pirates being like 'Brave New World' is so fascinating and I love it.

[@BlasterBand]

The day the Space Pirates killed Samus's parents was the most important day of her life. For the Space Pirates, it was Tuesday.

[@ianfinrir8724]

Technically, Ridley only killed Samus' mother. Her father died when he blew up the Pirate's ship (which crashed on Ridley)

[@GreatMewtwo]

@@ianfinrir8724 Ridley: Remember me, Samus?! When I killed your mother?! She screamed JUST...LIKE...THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSS!

[@PKM9107]

Metroid Prime Remastered is my first Metroid game in years. I think I had Hunters back when I was a kid but that was it. Growing up I played a ton of Halo. The way the pirates refer to Samus as “The Hunter” really gives me vibes of how the Covenant refers to Chief as “The Demon”. Even the fact that Prime takes place right after Samus mollywhopped an entire army reminds me of Halo 2 taking place right after Chief curbstomps the covenant. As someone who never really played Metroid growing up I’m glad to finally enjoy this series. But the parallels between two iconic characters really cements them as some of gaming most important legends. I might be late to the party Metroid fans, but I’m glad to be here nonetheless!

[@luminousazure]

I just want to point out that the morph ball is 100% feasible for humans to fit into, thanks to game theory (back when it was great, RIP) but I can imagine that space pirates couldn't contort themselves to that level. So, while crazy to think of, the only truly outlandish thing about the ball is that you're turned into energy while in that form.

[@arjunwali9885]

This is one of my favorite videos on youtube. The narration, the lore, the level of detail all just make for great entertainment.

[@petersoar2886]

One of my favourite things to do in the Pirate labs in Phendrana Drifts is to spot a pirate dangling in the darkness, shoot it so it becomes active, then break a Metroid out of a pod. The pirate's attention turns to the Metroid which proceeds to fuck the pirate up beautifully. It's a nice detail.

[@Twisted_Logic]

I never though I'd see such a big, detailed video essay on Metroid Prime's lore and I'm HERE for it! Can't wait for the Chozo video

[@aidenmb7932]

Never expected a video essay on the space pirates of all things. Great video 10/10

[@Shinesprk]

In Metroid prime 3 there is a distinction between the Space Pirates' slave soldiers and drafted/enlisted soldiers. So yeah, they have all of them.

[@Genasidal]

I like to imagine Ridley's presence on The Orpheon had a direct impact on how the attack played out prior to and during Samus' arrival. I always believed that dead parasite queen in the entryway was specifically his doing, and that he'd been making his way throughout the ship to try contain the destruction, being the most powerful being onboard that ship before Samus got there. It'd also explain his aggressive roar at Samus the second he notices her. I like to imagine he realised the reason The Orpheon is completely screwed, is because of her involvement, somehow, and now he's angry, but also, has to abandon ship quickly, as it's going to explode. Apart from being a very Ridley thing to do, I think the implication of Ridley trying to contain the destruction by slaughtering the experiments gone rampant gives him an immediate rivalry to Samus in a new player's minds, as we effectively also destroyed a Parasite Queen before coming face to face with him. I just imagine him flying around through the various hallways laying waste to the experiments, leaving firey/plasma trails everywhere in his wake. (It's also just cool to imagine!)

[@supremefankai5480]

Your soothing voice talking about a beloved series deserves a subscription, may the algorithm smile upon you.