How Metroid Dread Changed Ending Screens Forever

[@AkaiAzul]

What I want for Metroid endings to be is to see her be, well, human. I liked being able to see her chill out, relax, and live a somewhat normal life between missions.

[@javiervasquez625]

A little difficult when she's the literal Jesus figure of the Metroid universe, but i understand what you mean.

[@Cri_Jackal]

​@@javiervasquez625 she really isn't though, you just see it like that because all the games are centered around her, the Chozo chose her as their legacy, but that was just one group on one planet, and she can only accomplish so much as a single individual. Truth is there are trillions of aliens all across the galaxy dealing with their own conflicts unrelated to the Chozo, chances are most people don't even know Samus exists, she's only relevant to the Space Pirate's ongoing violence. She only actually publically saved the galaxy once back in Prime 3, and her two victories against the X are likely going to be kept on the down low, the X never got the chance to threaten the galaxy in the first place.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Cri_Jackal The japanese manga has Old Bird literally prophesying Samus "having a great destiny before her", leading to him ignoring Gray Voice's objections to raising and training her in the Chozo ways. It's clear that to Nintendo Samus is a Chosen One archetype on par with Link and Kirby as her backstory is clear proof she's divinely chosen to be the savior of the galaxy.

[@Cri_Jackal]

@@javiervasquez625 she's not divinely chosen, she was chosen by a regular biological species to carry on their legacy, she's not a jesus.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Cri_Jackal And yet both the manga and the entire franchise says otherwise.

[@game84cube]

My favorite thing is that Samus just looks at you and you can tell that she's smirking. She's like "And what were you expecting?"

[@VivioSaf]

While the first was definitely a pure sexy service, later end screens aren't as much. I mean, yeah, they show how beautiful she's without the armor, but, they go beyond to show that, she's more "relaxed". Not feeling the need to keep all that armor and equipment, some even showing her enjoying her leisure time. Fun Fact: By definition, the ending screens are still fanservice (something put in there to reward the fans). It just so happen that people focus only on the "sexy kind", when talking about the topic.

[@E_Fig05]

3:27 SA-X: Oh, you're approaching me?

[@devonm042690]

Actually, the SA-X is the one doing the approaching, while Samus is on her guard. If I had to guess that probably represents the fight with it as the penultimate boss.

[@tylerdohoney1544]

@@devonm042690honestly, SA-X ‘s strange omission from the true final ending screen is incredibly disappointing

[@Yokai_Yuri]

@@tylerdohoney1544 Why? The SA-X is just a regular X parasite that took on Samus's DNA. She has no story or anything because she is just a killing machine.

[@cortbelmont]

is that a Jojo's reference

[@eonamiella2124]

Unpopular opinion but I hated the change. The sexualization of Samus is mostly a fanart thing, aside from a few ending screens being on the fanservice end, most of them are not. You want to know a game that does a phenomenal job of keeping the unsuited endings without being fabservicey? Samus Returns. Each one references past Metroid games with either her outfit or pose, the perfect way to do it imo. Dread seems almost embarrassed of suitless Samus, taking every way out of letting you see that side of Samus which is very disappointing because Samus has always been about contrast for me. Shes cool and strong but she's also attractive and past endings expressed both of that without being ashamed. The only time you see unsuited Samus in Dread is a basic tribute art, nothing even specific to Dread. I genuinely hope this is not how things will be from now on, I wouldn't quit the series or anything but its very sad to see how many fans have become so jaded by fanart and fandom representation that they actually want the games to lose a key aspect of the character. You're welcome to disagree with me, im sure a lot of people will but ill never celebrate this as a good change. Go back to the Samus Returns way of doing things, please Metroid. I miss the endings showing Samus in a more leisurely say, like her walking through a city or chilling at a bar. Wouldn't eant to lose that, showing Samus' humanity as a reward for the player's skill and dedication has always been what its about for me, I did not like her characterization in Dread.

[@MaxRamos8]

Agree Samus can be a strong chatacter and still femenine like Sarah Conor or Laura Croft, not the modern stoic man shaming woman like Brie Larson or Ellie of the Last Of Us (part 2).

[@taemien9219]

This is actually a good point. When we first get to see Samus as a woman in Metroid, it emphasized that she was a woman. Was it fan service? Yes. But for everyone. Guys like that she is an attractive and sexy woman. Girls like the fact that a cute girl could be a badass hero. Without that contrast, its just a person in a suit, someone who isn't relatable. Or worse if they defeminize her, then she is unrelatable by everyone. As many others have said, she is a strong female hero like Ellen Ripley, Sarah Conor, and many others. That means being badass as well as being a woman. That is what makes her a person, a human, and a relatable character.

[@heroesismid8694]

Its also Japanese media. Fan Service is a sin to Westerners

[@Leonkennedy19992]

i couldnt agree more. I wish we had actual zero suit gameplay ( maybe horror like) more often. Kind of like zero mission or how you felt vulnerable when SA-X was chasing you

[@theterribleclaw4285]

Well at least she's not Ugly like most modern western Game Girls I'll give them that.

[@Vulpas]

Attraction to the female form is creepy, amazing. I love modernity!

[@theterribleclaw4285]

There's nothing wrong with being attracted to a Girl fictional or not you're just being human I hate it when people say it's creepy to love someone it makes it sound like they don't want you to have a Girlfriend or a Wife.

[@plentyofpaper]

"The original Metroid Prime toned down endings heavily." Metroid Prime released literally the day after Fusion. They were too close together to say the endings were toned down. They were really just developed in parallel. Fusion decided to make an upgrade, while Prime did not.

[@ourfamilyaccount]

I appreciated the various ending images because it helped expand the Metroid world. One of my favorite endings featured Samus with a Chozo with what I thought looked like poker chips. I want someday to explore that area... Is it a bar and casino? It was delightful. I don't know about other Metroid fans but I'd like to explore a traditional city someday in the Metroid setting. We'll see.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Playable Justin Bailey model as a reward, should have returned by now. Zero Mission would have been a perfect opportunity due to it being a Metroid 1 Remake.

[@santitabnavascues8673]

Honestly I've started to really loathe the expression "modern gaming". And the truth is such a thing is just a gimmick to push an ideology

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Simping is becoming a religion now 💀👎

[@Vulpas]

It's true, and I've been tired of it a long time. There was nothing wrong with the classics. I can't imagine the brainrot necessary to consider a blob of pixels vaguely arranged in a pattern to depict a stylized depiction of a woman more clothed than people you'd see at the beach to be creepy.

[@Vulpas]

@@Leaky_Spigot 1. If it shouldn't bother me, why did it bother them enough to change it in the first place? They're triggered, not me. 2. Censorship is wrong in principle, with few exceptions, this not being one of them.

[@Leaky_Spigot]

@@Vulpas “They“, who? Social norms change. There’s no specific person/group driving it. People supporting the change know it’s pixels, but haven’t failed to understand images are representations. They didn’t claim, “it’s just pixels” before ranting over how the pixels are dressed. Who’s really “triggered” here? No one is censoring anything. It’s a choice. Not a requirement. Create what you want, watch what you want, play what you want. It’s not censorship just because you’re not getting what you want.

[@Vulpas]

@@Leaky_Spigot They refers to "progressives", obviously. It's true pixels are representations, but they're still just pixels, but of course they didn't rant, they did worse, they took action to change things, which is far more proof of being triggered than merely noticing and disapproving of what they decided to do. Nice try. No, it's definitely censorship. It's like if they redesigned Samus' Zero Suit to show less curves, yeah it's a "choice" to "create what you want", but is in effect censorship. Changing characters, locations, features, etc which are norms in a franchise to appeal to "progressive" sensibilities is still a form of censorship of the franchise. Now, just because this game didn't feature it like every other 2D entry does mean it won't return, to be fair we don't know the intent behind this change. The loser who made this video assumes (though is likely correct) that it's done for the MoDeRn GaMiNg AuDiEnCe, but it could be laziness, it's faster, easier, and cheaper to slap some basic static art there rather rather than modify the model and include new animations for an in-game ending screen. So, maybe if we're lucky, the tradition will return, but it's unlikely.

[@Leonkennedy19992]

I always felt like the zero suit should be a gameplay mechanic instead of fan service. She may need to take it off in some sections making the player and samus feel vulnerable while a Sa-x villain like enemy chases her down the whole game. The rewards for beating the game should be artwork, soundtracks, or developement videos

[@Nintendude.]

True / Same I wish we could have play as Zero Suit in the full game of Zero Mission after beating it, having it as a Super Difficulty Mode but no, they never give us that and I still want something like that for the other games. But we do have Dread Mode so theres that.

[@javiervasquez625]

I feel it would be amazing if the next Metroid game started with Samus been rendered helpless after been deprived of her Power Suit, limiting her to her Zero Suit as she slowly regains all of her abilities.

[@Nintendude.]

@@javiervasquez625 Mind Blown * BOOOOM * Wow ah dude, that is tottally brutal. Just imagine the stuggle playing the game for the first time. Oh I'll Sub to you, your idea rocks.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Nintendude. Oh lol, i'm honored i guess. I've been hearing rumors of a sequel involving Samus getting chased by the Galactic Federation who want to extract her Metroid DNA to continue the Metroid Breeding Program from Fusion so maybe we'll be getting something of the sort in the coming future.

[@Matt-vx1mz]

I would even like a game entirely playable with Zero Suit Samus with different powerups compared to the Power Suit ones. And possibly with a more story-driven adventure and Samus talking.

[@cristiany140]

I prefer the classic endings. But if they want to make more insentives they can add some exclusive after-credits scenes like the after credit of metroid prime 3 in which you see Sylux ship when you finish the game at 100%

[@robertkenny1201]

I'd welcome a HD port of Metroid Samus Returns for the Switch witch Fusion mode and all the other Amiibo Blocked content unlockable without the need for Amiibos.

[@eteble1734]

amazing video!! I really like how the future of this fan service is going especially as a life long metroid fan. I feel it also shows and rein states Nintendo's love and care that they have only really shown to Zelda and Mario in the past

[@PrimepediaYT]

Thanks a lot!

[@MrFreakHeavy]

I really don't care for Samus taking off her suit at the end. I think it is weird to simply have Samus at the end in a very reveling outfit. The casual suit is my favorite non-zero suit armorless outfit, it just feels normal and looks cool. I think the ending should, in a way, show Samus being awesome and I don't think it's problem to celebrate her being a woman by having take off her suit and show off her body without sexualization. The zero suit makes sense, that's what she probably looks like inside, there is some logic in her taking off her battle armor and relax after a job is done. But I think Samus should look bad ass no matter how she is shown at the end, if you're going to reveal Samus just for the sake of it, you did something wrong. Samus is awesome and badass and should be shown accordingly... just look at how people responded to Other M, nobody liked seeing Samus weak, that's not how she is. Heck, we feel kindred to her, and feel slighted that she is shown as weak. I don't think it's about the outfit really, it's about her being badass and not a doll.

[@MetroidGX]

someone didnt read the manga

[@LisaWang-z7n]

Its not weird. You are applying *Western Standards to Asian Media.* Japanese games and anime should *NEVER* change to pander to Westerners

[@heroesismid8694]

​​@@LisaWang-z7nThankyou so much! People with that garbage mentality can stick to Western media and play American games

[@Leonkennedy19992]

@@MetroidGX the manga was peak

[@Matt-vx1mz]

@@MrFreakHeavy I loved the Samus of Other M. Before Other M she didn't even have a character to begin with. She was a silent character like the protagonists of Dragon Quest or like other characters from Nintendo franchises like the Pokémon trainers. If you like souless, robotic and emotionless characters in space suits killing aliens then go play Doom and Halo and leave this franchise alone, classic Metroid (NOT PRIME) remains a japanese game at its core.

[@davidwatkins6307]

Keep both styles of endings for the old school players and the new ones .

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Unlockable, unsuited skins should have been the norm for decades, now. Think about it..... Metroid 1 on NES had them!?! 😡👎

[@Vulpas]

The "modern gaming audience" doesn't like to allow other ideas to co-exist.

[@RMarr-uy9hf]

Those "central page" endings were always weird to since we left the heavy pixel of the NES

[@robertkenny1201]

Dread saved the franchise in opinion.

[@giornothepastaboss285]

Good video! I didn’t know, some of them . The art in dread and when you see her in less clothes in some of those

[@PrimepediaYT]

Thanks!

[@cortbelmont]

After the X parasite infection and being treated with the Metroid vaccine during the intro of Metroid Fusion, Samus narrates how she changed, her DNA was different and her physical appearance isn't exactly human any more. Samus states clearly her body is what we see. That's not her suit, that's her flesh and skin fused with her suit which is kinda creepy and terrifying. Also that makes even more nostalgic the common life scenes depicted on the endings, those scenes are no longer possible for Samus. I don't know if they wanted to follow up this fact when developing Metroid Dread, as an official Metroid 5 they should follow carefully the events... the point is, there's no longer a Zero Suit Samus to show on the ending screen, and Samus has no longer a "human form", that's why there's no suitless Samus at the end of Dread, it just wouldn't make any sense after Fusion

[@nowlwane9623]

Fans are really getting tired of the girl boss who doesn’t need no man trope. Alienating half your audience made the fans to go back to earlier games because they made it fun.

[@MetroidGX]

i just finished replaying prime 3 on dolphin and, man, the contrast between dread samus and prime samus is huge. Since both focus on samus's facial expressions, prime 3 did it so well that u can tell between calm, concern, helplessness, and surprise, maybe due to playing with enhanced graphics which I'd say helped noticing these things that I wouldn't have if I played on a tv. Dread samus became a disappointment to me when I began noticing the overstoicized patterns in her movement and facial expressions. I know sakamoto stated that he doesn't regret making other m, but I mostly believe dread was done to please the fans that were still hung up on other m being bad, like sakamoto was saying to them "hey look its the version that u all think it is please buy my game."

[@juggi301]

The only thing that happened is that you don't see her in a bra😭 it's not that deep

[@KamenRiderGumo]

@@MetroidGX I would beg to differ; I actually like the serious, stoic, badass attitude Samus has in Dread. It literally is how I pictured her all along.

[@train4292]

@@MetroidGXI feel like you’re misunderstanding Dread Seamus a bit

[@Matt-vx1mz]

@@MetroidGX Strongly agree.

[@Yokai_Yuri]

To be honest I'm not too fond of the change; for instance, in Metroid Zero mission, we get rewarded with Samus in her Zero suit or that outfit with the shorts, and on top of that, we get to see amazing artwork from the game where we see Samus just enjoying life. The new changes are adjusted to this pathetic woke/politically correct era where everyone and everything feels offended by anything, and I am not saying the artwork from Metroid Dread was bad, it's just we are lacking the "extra reward" from completing the game in the lowest time possible while completing it 100%. If this is the standard moving forward, at least they should give us the option to play as ZSS after beating the game.

[@Donny-Jensen]

I think the reason why they chose the route of showing iconic scenes/ important characters from the Mainline Games has to do with when Metroid Dread released, which happened to the same year as the 35th Anniversary of the Metroid series as a whole.

[@Applemangh]

Strong disagree with the idea that the fan service endings were "creepy". If they were framed like the viewer was spying on her, then that would be creepy. But they just showed Samus chilling out, often in public places, like that's just how she chooses to dress during downtime. Of course, they could also show her in less sexy casual clothes to still give the same chill vibes. It's honestly fine either way.

[@Applemangh]

I don't think it's that big of a deal either way. Sure, some of the ending screens are sexy, but I never thought of them as "just sexy". I always just assumed there was a canon reason to wear very little under the suit (such as needing to maximize skin contact to interface with it, or something). And even in a bikini, super Metroid Samus just looks so tough, and some of the other games show a calmer side of her life. But Dread's ending pictures are also epic, and I love seeing them as well.

[@strikerslicer5010]

Would you rank samus ships next ?

[@Nintendude.]

Although the old NES and SNES can be called fanservice the more advance series of the games are not, and it is understandable that for Nintendo it was ok in 8-bit to 16-bit you just have simple pixels and or a more comic, cartoon look but anymore real would be a big, no, no for them. Yet as more advance hardware can make more detailed models and images and Nintendo being Nintendo I think they have chosen to use Art and/or make Zero Suit rather than the use of a bikini because again, Nintendo being Nintendo. The same can be said for Castlevania and Final Fantasy since their more revealing characters and enemies that where around in 8,16,32 sprite-form were either covered up or removed in future games that had more advance visuals - (In Konami & Squares case, I believe it had more to do to avoid that T or M rating in their games more than anything else) I think if the Metroid Series belong to Sony, Microsoft or more M Rated companies they would continue with the trend. - - - - - - I also think that Zero Suit being in Smash also took away the point of the Final Ending of Metroid games which made Nintendo needed to change the endings in future Metroid games. Since players can already see Zero Suit Samus for free in Smash (and on the internet) plus it was pretty clear that Samus being a women was no longer a secret for the whole world after Brawl at that point. I think Nintendo knew that showing her at the end of a (next) Metroid game would not only be predictable but also meaningless for the player. Which is why artwork is used for now..... but as more Metroid games are made and the Internet spoiling mostly everything I agree that Nintendo would have to come up with new things or ways to reward the player in future games. - - - - - - While I fully agree with you (yet I believe we have totally different reasons and views as to why) that it's hard to imagine Nintendo doing a Metroid endings similar to what they did in the NES and SNES I must say that we cannot considered it off the table..... We are talking about Nintendo after all, and they love doing surprises and I can't think of the most shocking and biggest surprise that Nintendo can ever do would be if NINTENDO WOULD HAD THE GUTS to make an official highly realistic super detailed 4k render image of Samus just standing with a bikini in the end of the game...... but I still think they wouldn't do it just because their Nintendo and it's ok.

[@ethansully]

1:56 raven beak looks fat 💀

[@thelognerrator]

I personally am very happy with the change to the ending screens, it feels much more inline with what the series and Samus as a character are supposed to be, it doesn't help that I am very much against *that* kind of fanservice personally.

[@twincherries6698]

Sewer slide

[@MetroidGX]

its always the ones that they think they understand samus's character that want her to be what they envisioned. Its why they ate dread up like pigs

[@concept8192]

@@twincherries6698 ???????

[@train4292]

@@twincherries6698what the hell man

[@hyperx815]

While i do like dread ending rewards, i still think they should maintain the tradition of metroid, they can both pretty much coexist, nintendo, and other companies as well, shouldn't give space for woke culture, since it doesn't represent the majority of people, and even less of the gaming community.

[@Leonkennedy19992]

No need to worry. In the dread artwork samus didnt have a minecraft jaw line or masculine features. Nintedo wont ever allow it

[@MetroidGX]

but they allowed the overstoicized girlboss attitude over the calmer and more nuanced version of prime trilogy. we'll have to see what prime 4 does

[@Leonkennedy19992]

@MetroidGX nah. Girlboss is bragging and rubbing it in your face that she is better than you. Her mannerisms, storytelling, and emotions were done perfectly through poses.

[@Leonkennedy19992]

@@MetroidGX she showed experience. Not a girlboss attitude

[@juggi301]

What's woke culture?😭 The only thing that happened is that they didn't show her in a bikini. I always felt that was a bit weird......

[@ibechuu9695]

I think the whole point of the old endings was to simply shock the gamers that Samus was a woman the whole time, gotta keep in mind that this was back in the 80s and really 90s, it was not common at all to see a woman take a lead in fictional content, especially dealing in heavy violence. But now everyone knows Samus is a woman, so now Nintendo can simply focus on the big moments and secret past moments instead. I don't think it's nothing based on demeaning woman, more on, "yeah, she was a woman this whole time."

[@DarkBlade6690]

I'm all for fan service because it doesn't have to always be sexual in nature. It could just be something fans have been wanting all along. Fan service for me would be to see a rise in Metroid games in the near future because I absolutely love this franchise ever since Prime1. Now, Zero Suit Samus is a delicious treat after a long grueling mission and if I had to work for it and put in overtime to achieve the best ending I'd be all in. As a 34yr old man who has had his mind in the gutters since a young age (because it's time to grow up at some point), I in recent years had to stop sexualizing females characters (as hard as it may be, giggity), but Samus in particular because I respect her, and don't wish to think of her (or others for that matter) as sex objects and whores to fawn over and lust after like a dog. De-sexualizing the brain is a helluva task. Anyways there's not much wrong with a little TNA just keep it professional, and to the gentlemen out there be respectful... there's a Lady present 😎 good day folks 👋

[@orlof507]

This is pointless and I couldn't care less one way or the other.

[@lambasted6886]

Newer generations have games like Nikke where it's all thrown in their face all the time. Let those kinds of people gather like moth to a flame while games like Metroid focus on more impactful "rewards".

[@MetroidGX]

i play both nikke and metroid since 2005, and Id want to see zero suit at the end of each game if I 100% it

[@lambasted6886]

@MetroidGX I mean, that's fine. The difference is that you don't get off on Samus.

[@SirTrooper501]

@@MetroidGX Go watch porn if all you care about is Samus in Zero suit