The Mystery of Melee's Unidentifiable Creature

[@Bizabizow]

ONE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION IN THE VIDEO!! When I was recording footage, I noticed that Lower Brinstar- also in Melee- re-uses the brain creature model. It's in the center of the stage, and all it does is just pulsate and wiggle a li'l bit. I don't think this means anything, its probably just the re-using of a visual asset to save on development time/costs, but it's worth noting nonetheless.

[@khgamerof3899]

do you stil need a foto of the wii u/3ds book

[@khgamerof3899]

it does not say anything about the brain thow

[@Bofrab]

So Mother Brain, Master Hand, Crazy Hand, Master Core, and now Daddy Scroat. What if smash bros is just making its own person?

[@teaz3139]

Long shot, but could this be a redesign of the mutant metroid featured in Metroid: Zebes Invasion Order, with sores instead of eyes?

[@mlgbrogaming7719]

Having never played metroid I know very little about the series but i do have one thought. Visually speaking it looks incomplete perhaps it's a back-up of sorts should something happen to the current Mother every thing could be downloaded into the creature.

[@theooftroop]

omg I love mother brains brother in law

[@saifuusuri]

Brother Brain

[@The_Real_I_Exist]

Ayo the ooftroop here let's go

[@ploplopgallant2873]

Yo I agree oof

[@SkeleGem]

Brother Migraine

[@Slenderquil]

Mother brain in law

[@Nintendoppolis]

That creature defiantly strikes me as a Sakurai / Smash team interpretation of classic Mother Brain kinda like how Giga Bowser is the interpretation of how they saw the NES sprite of Bowser back in the day, where its less about faithfulness to the sprite but to invoke the original feeling.

[@anankos795]

Much like a fatal car crash, even after so many years Sakurai just couldn't get over Bowser becoming more anthropomorphized with time and kept him making monster noises instead of using the voice actor that has voiced the character for more than a decade.

[@maximyllion]

"defiantly" lmao

[@stellarknight04]

@@anankos795 I like it to stay that way

[@Emberson-9000]

Same way they made Mega Man less the actual character and more the sprite.

[@tekwizwa]

One thing I never got about this stage is why there’s so much flesh elements involved, it feels more like we’re vored inside a stomach of a giant creature then we are fighting in brinstar

[@syweb2]

You're inside Kraid's stomach, and that's his heart. Tell me I'm wrong.

[@kyurei4478]

I always thought it was Kraid's uvula personally.

[@TurbopropPuppy]

daddy gallbladder

[@blox9000]

_>vored_

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

Ew that's a good observation

[@enderspy9529]

Here's my theory: According to the Super Metroid instruction booklet, the space pirates have some form of cloning tech, which they used on the baby metroid to create the other metroids found in Tourian, with their early failures being the mochtroids found in Maridia. It makes sense to me that they would also use this tech to create clones of the high ranking pirates. Not only does this explain how Ridley, Kraid, and Mother Brain return in later games after being killed, it also explains what this creature is: a failed Mother Brain clone!

[@Wanten-the-stormtrooper]

That's a pretty good theory, and as good an explanation as most of the others I've seen! However, in regards to Ridley, it's been confirmed that you're fighting the exact same individual from Zero Mission until Super, including the Prime games. Cloning also comes into it, but only in [redacted] and Fusion.

[@LostSoulSilver]

Theory 2: This is a failed prototype of Mother Brain made by the Chozo, and they hid it here to subsist on the delicious piss acid

[@IONATVS]

Theory 3: made longer standalone comment, but repeating here: another organic supercomputer *like* Mother Brain that was under construction to run some other part of the Zebes facilities, but had to be abandoned when the Chozo on Zebes left. So mostly the raw bioengineered organism that would usually be surgically augmented to interface with the rest of their network, but with none of the cybernetic components that let it actually do stuff.

[@LostSoulSilver]

@@IONATVS Hey, that one's pretty good!

[@RotaAbyssian]

Theory 4: This one is less substantiated, but hear me out. Most every appearance of M.B. we've seen has her with her Mono Eye and SOME cybernetic enhancements. What if this is was what M.B. was like before Metroid 1/ Zero Mission? We know that she rules over the Space Pirates to an extent, but what if it isn't by choice? The Pirates came to Zebes and found this brain creature, and it, using telepathy/ mind control encouraged the ones who found it to bring it back and begin preserving it from its harsh environment. The more they preserve the Brain, the more it continues to dominate them, begin to be called Mother Brain, and begins to be further enhanced so her power and influence may spread throughout the system. Complete conjecture, might be heretical to the lore, but was something that struck me. With how much genetic and cybernetic testing runs rampant in the Metroid series, it wouldn't surprise me that M.B.'s power and influence could be an act of hubris.

[@soulsparx]

i feel like the unknown nature of the being's identity is kind of the point, a way to subtly recreate the feeling of mystery and confusion that the metroid games convey

[@TheEepyMagi]

Oh... yeah, that makes sense...

[@jekblom123]

Dude. It's just Mother Brain.

[@TheEepyMagi]

@@jekblom123 did... did you watch the video???

[@killmii8473]

@@jekblom123 watch the video before commenting

[@jekblom123]

@@killmii8473 I did.

[@Nepu_Nep]

I just always thought it was Brinstar's brain. As in Brinstar is actually a living creature or leviathan that you're exploring like it was an environment

[@mcknightmorgan2021]

To me. It looks like a ballsack

[@TJ-Henry-Yoshi]

This is not only a really interesting topic, but your presentation on it was genuinely enough to make me laugh out loud at multiple points. Consider me subbed!

[@sussy6905]

hi TJ / Henry Yoshi

[@themagicalaxolotl2258]

I think the weirdest thing about the Mother Brain comparison that some people have made is that Smash has never really done anything like that. Taking an already known character and just.. changing their design for the hell of it. They've always been pretty consistent to the main source material when it comes to background elements in stages. If Daddy Scrotum was supposed to be mother brain, youd be able to immediately tell. Then again I don't think they've made a completely new design just for the background of a stage either. Im not sure we'll ever truly know what it is, but I'm glad it's being discussed, it's such a weird thing they included for seemingly no reason Edit: I've seen some confusion in the replies. I'm not talking about redesigns in general, Smash has a good few redesigns, I mean *specifically* redesigns for characters in the background. Think the Sonic characters in Green Hill, Kraid, and the Phantom Thieves.

[@tkayube]

They did that with Pit.

[@themagicalaxolotl2258]

@@tkayube I mostly meant background elements. There are a few stages in smash that aren't really based on anything specific. Plus Kid Icarus barely has anything to pull from, aside from Uprising. And the only stage that was made after Uprising, Palutenas Temple, has a pretty good amount of background details from that game

[@jasonwalton9553]

@@themagicalaxolotl2258 I mean, there's also Reset Bomb Forest, but that's pretty detailed too.

[@themagicalaxolotl2258]

@@jasonwalton9553 Right, right, forgot about that one lol. I tend to lump that one and the Fire Emblem stage together in my head

[@exa_eille]

The only other one that comes to mind is Giga Bowser, which people often forget is Smash OC Mega Evolution Do Not Steal. But that one they made a real big deal out of since it played a pivotal part. Perhaps similar edits were planned for other franchises?

[@LuigiHann]

Fascinating stuff. In my gut I always thought of this thing as some kind of proto-mother-brain, the genetic origin of the biological parts that MB could have been cloned from. Haven't played much Metroid so no clue if that's directly contradicted anywhere. Melee's stages are generally a pretty quirky blend between hyper-authentic ones like Great Bay and thematic/abstract ones like the Zelda-2-ish Temple stage, so I never thought too hard about how weird this one is in particular. But it is pretty unique.

[@tbtb66]

The most logical answer: It's just a Melee thing like you alluded to in the end The texture files in Brawl just call it "Brain" with the growths called "BioEye" So just like other Melee stuff it's just a thing to represent the idea and look of Metroid without directly pulling from a source 1 to 1 (e.g. Pokemon Stadium or Onett)

[@TheRealSuperKirby]

Why would they call it BioEye when it doesn't even have any eyes?

[@badlydrawnturtle8484]

@@TheRealSuperKirby An unfinished asset, where they were planning on making them look more like eyes but decided a background detail wasn't their most important time investment?

[@Cobalon]

@@TheRealSuperKirby could be like potato eyes

[@PositiveThinkTankSama]

Possibly a weird suggestion: Do we have access to the files the map is compromised of? Usually elements within a map have their own model; What's the file name of the model? Even if it's in Japanese it should be easy to translate, if it holds any clues at all.

[@Something_Maybe]

When I was a kid, I mistakenly called Brinstar “Brainstar” because it was one letter off and the brain in the background.

[@purplesamurai5205]

I think I'm going to start calling it that considering it looks nothing like Brinstar

[@Tenwaystospoildinner]

I used to call Crateria "Cafeteria", so I know how you feel lol

[@dylankirby554]

Same here lmao.

[@dracosodozir7607]

OMG, I did the same thing!

[@christroyer69]

Used to call it “Burnstar” lmao

[@StormBurnX]

If the file names are dug through after ripping the game's assets, we find a common trend in Metroid games (at the very least - I haven't ever ripped files from other games before). Objects, entities, areas, music, etc that don't have "a name" are still labeled more than just "object_12"; this is especially noticeable when things are in groups based on location or theme. For example, after completing the 'tutorial' level in Metroid Prime 1, you escape an exploding space station and land on a planet for the first time. The music for this map location is called 'daichi' which roughly translates to 'Earth' or 'Ground' - i.e., you've finally landed and you're safe in the little haven full of plant life and even a small stream, so while that 'zone' doesn't necessarily have a specific name in guidebooks and instruction manuals, that specific "safe haven" area is referred to as 'daichi' in the game files and code. Taking the same approach, we can take a look at the game's files for Super Smash Brawl (I don't have the knowledge or experience for ripping assets nor code from other platforms/games at the moment) and we find the 'name' for this entity to be 'enkei'. I cannot tell if this is mean to be read as "round shape" or "round-shaped" but either way, it's an interesting insight into the creature. (Was slightly surprised to see this not mentioned in the video, so I thought I'd point it out)

[@TasselledWobbegong]

An interesting detail is that "Daddy Scrotum" is utterly helpless and actively harmed by the two Brinstar stages it dwells in, whereas Mother Brain is suggested to have complete control of all of Zebes. I kinda imagine it was intended to be a Mother Brain redesign (even if that doesn't explain the one in Kraid's stage...), though since Melee the Metroid series REALLY doubled down on the whole "bio-mechanic" aesthetic, so a pure organic brain now actually stands out quite a bit. Hmm, a living being harmed by it's own dwelling would point to the Brinstar Brain being... Crocomire.

[@WeshCanapesh]

Crocomire is dead in Norfair if I remember well, and norfair is lower than brinstar. Like in the depth of zebes, the reason why there is the lava who actually burn crocomire alive.

[@LostSoulSilver]

Ahhh, Crocomire. Truly the representation of Satan himself in the Metroid universe

[@billbarman]

just in general, as a huge Metroid fan whos played all the games 20 times.... when the hell did Brinstar ever look anything like the stage to begin with? That always baffled me

[@lianaverwood9810]

The facts that it's specifically in the Brinstar Stage and gets those bulges as it becomes agitated makes me feel like this is a reimagining of the Spore Spawn - designed with a more brain-like appearance, but most of its abilities seem to still be possible. It may also be a reference to the cancelled 3D Metroid game that was ditched for Metroid Prime: It was meant to take place on Zebes, and had Boss Fights to suit. Perhaps this was their take on Spore Spawn, or Mother Brain's First Form - with the height of the room requiring you to platform up to a close-enough distance to shoot her, with the Acid rising and falling to punish you if you fell or were knocked off. I do remember a picture of Super Metroid's Monster Mother Brain form in 3D, so this may have been the First Phase - but we'll probably never know...

[@novustalks7525]

There was no cancelled 3D game before prime. Prime was supposed to have mother brain as the final boss if that's what your referencing

[@Thunder-Sky]

I mean, with how many differences there are between the first alpha builds for Prime and what actually released, I can understand why someone thought they were two different games

[@MrHydra12]

@@novustalks7525 there actually was, it didn’t make it in a public form nor was very fleshed. Got half way through development and they scrapped what they had due to development issues and gave retro rights to develope instead in 2000.

[@novustalks7525]

@@MrHydra12 no. Metroid prime was that game

[@dittomaster2141]

@@novustalks7525 they wanted to make an n64 game

[@SomeFreakingCactus]

I believe that the map Brinstar was designed top-down from SSB64’s stage “Planet Zebes”, a stage where Mother Brain’s red, spikey, monoculous design simply didn’t fit. As such, they changed its design into one that fit perfectly with the mysterious theming they intended to convey, despite not resembling Mother Brain at all.

[@thecianinator]

That's got to be it. And normally Nintendo does multiple design passes on all their elements, but since this game was hella rushed maybe they never had the chance to bring the aesthetic more in line with the Metroid series.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@thecianinator Your right as the later Smash games have a bit more focus on stage design. Theres a reason why Poke Floats and Ice mountain didn't return.

[@sackboy1665]

@@orangeslash1667 Poke Floats was a masterpiece

[@orangeslash1667]

@@sackboy1665 Poke Floats makes sense for Pikachu and Jiggly Puff, but it's not fun for Incineroar. So Poke Floats had to be cut.

[@sackboy1665]

@@orangeslash1667 ok, but Bowser didn't stop them then, why does Incineroar (who is MUCH more mobile than melee Bowser) stop them now?

[@SheerSonic]

When I was a kid, I went to my cousin's house, where I played a GameCube and Melee for my first time. Neither my cousins nor I had any idea what half of the represented franchises were, and when we played on Brinstar, they explained to me with confidence that the stage took place inside Bowser's stomach. No clue how they convinced themselves of that, but it's something I find really funny looking back on lol.

[@thomasp506]

Kids just talk so much crap. When they don't know what something is, they'll make some shit up and go around confidently telling everyone that it's true. The only issue is when they continue doing this into adulthood...

[@doofyboof8170]

@@thomasp506 u good?

[@thomasp506]

@@doofyboof8170 Fine. Are you suggesting what I'm saying is untrue? What OP is saying happened to me a lot when I was a kid. My friends would just fill in the blanks when they didn't know something. Having an imagination is fine, the trouble is that they then confidently insist to all their friends that what they made up is now true.

[@capybara4432]

Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches

[@ryanwinter8813]

I was also pretty fixated on this and was dying to know if it's Mother Brain or not. When I first played Smash and had very little knowledge of Metroid, I thought that "hmmm, I guess in one of the Metroid Games, after Samus defeats Mother Brain, she gets tangled up in the geometry and is doomed to be perpetually dunked in acid. That's pretty morbid"

[@hanzumautist4945]

Actually, this brain thing isn’t the only Smash original element to be featured in a multiplayer stage. Melee’s Big Blue features the Falcon Flyer, a completely original vehicle created to serve as a larger platform for the stage. In addition, the ship you fight on in Lylat Cruise is also a Smash original, with its Brawl trophy even describing it as such.

[@ikeblueflames3902]

Actually, the Falcon Flyer was in the original F-Zero manual for SNES. Melee just has the first in-game appearance of it.

[@hanzumautist4945]

@@ikeblueflames3902 huh. neat

[@sadagusfate]

I mean at that point it's just mostly why, when mother brain is right there to use

[@pieofchart]

It doesn't surprise me that Smash would create some random, completely original character or element not found in the original franchise the stage is from. Just look at the Falcon Flyer, Captain Falcon's vehicle thing.

[@orbic521]

This thing always scared me as a kid in Melee because it always looked like it was in pain when the acid rose, which let my kid brain imagine how it must live a life of constant agony and it just creeped me out 😭

[@guhmmyv]

Now you just made me feel bad for it

[@sayuriartsy5108]

Based on how badly Samus' moveset is played out in the Smash games, for all of these years, despite there being 3 versions of her as playable, I have long just imagined that Sakurai has never actually beaten a Metroid game, he just played though about 1/3rd of Super, and was like: "Oh okay, yeah I think I can adapt this character into Smash 64".

[@KraggFair]

For real, Ultimate was the perfect opportunity to rework Samus's kit a la Link (or at the absolute least, give her the melee counter from Samus Returns) and I wish we knew why they didn't Hell, they even added Dark Samus, who could have (theoretically) carried out the old functionality for people who didn't like the (theoretical) rework

[@sayuriartsy5108]

@@KraggFair Here is my Sams pitch Ⓐ: Melee Counter - A similar kind of jab to Ganandorfs (1 hard hit), also has Invincible which can block attacks similar to Palutena's dash-attack Dash Ⓐ: Dashing Melee Counter ▶Ⓐ: Same animation as Mii Gunner, uses visual effect that looks more like a metroid beam. ▲Ⓐ: Unchanged ▼Ⓐ: Wave Beam - Same animation as SSBU, but she shoots a wave beam at that 45 degree angle which can go through the stage Smash ▶Ⓐ: Plasma Beam. Prime Beam Visual, works similar to Gunner's F-Smash. Smash ▲Ⓐ: Storm Missile - the longer you charge it the more fire pumps get replaced with storm missiles. Smash ▼Ⓐ: BackFlip Melee Counter (Happens in dread when you counter while in Morph-ball) ✈Ⓐ: Melee Counter (again, second verse same as the first) ✈▶Ⓐ: Mostly Unchanged, but the last Pump shoots a wave beam ✈▲Ⓐ: Mii Gunner's up air, uses power-beam visual ✈▼Ⓐ: Unchanged ✈◀Ⓐ: Properties unchanged, more resembles the kick she does against EMMI Ⓡ: Grapple Lasso ✈Ⓡ: Grapple Beam Ⓑ: Wide Beam (Power Beam). Works Like in Dread. Can be rapid fire for a similar effect to Fox Laser, can be aimed like Rob Laser, only un-charged or fully charged binary. Charge shot hits like Byleth's uncharged arrow. ▶Ⓑ: Missile - Hits like her SSBU super missile, she only has 10 per stock Smash ▶Ⓑ: Ice Missile - Same trajectory as her SSBU Sups, Hits like Lucas's PK freeze, hitting/freezing harder at farther distances, she only has 5 per stock ▲Ⓑ: Screw attack, she moves at the arc she does in Dread, keeps screwing all the way down, can preform 2 to rep space-jump, does not put her in prone fall animation ▼Ⓑ: Morph-Ball bomb, can be charged into either a Cross-Bomb ▼▶ : Morph-ball crawl ✜ ▶: Similar to Link's taunt (with the fairy) except its a Metroid Hatchling ✜ ▲: Samus takes her helmet off using bird magic. It stays off until you do the taunt again, causing her to put it back on. ✜ ▼: The same taunt she had in Melee, with the little beep (just because I thought it was fun and sassy) Final Smash: Power Bomb

[@ulises2986]

I’m not too familiar with Metroid lore but I distinctly remember Mother Brain being described somewhere as a creation by the Chozo. Perhaps this mysterious background brain is Mother Brain’s genetic donor (Mother Brain’s Mother Brain) from which they grew their new fangled supercomputer

[@ulises2986]

As far as I can tell this lore comes from the Metroid Manga (1986), don’t quote me on that cause it’s late & I’m tired. But if true that means it’s possible someone on Melee’s dev team could’ve known about it too & conjured up this background brain

[@meta9492]

@@ulises2986 i dont think there was a 1986 metroid manga but the chozo did create mother brain, but not from any genetic donors as the chozo are built different

[@generikusername]

@@meta9492 the metroid manga came out in 2004 they probably confused the date with metroid 1s release

[@Nahmona_Hooves]

I have my head canon to this be some sort of Unused idea for Metroid. Since Melee was being develope around the same time Metroid Prime was, it would make sense some of the Melee team would wanted to give some "Teaser"; similar to what happend to Roy (who actually is a teaser for his own game). If you see some of Prime Beta trailers the orignal astetics fits some of the Brinstar Deeps Stage, meaning that probably the devs decide to use some of the things they knew for the upcoming Metroid game and used as a way to reference it (Like a meta easter egg). This can explain why everything looks unique, and doesn't actully fit very well in the Metroid 1 or Super aestetics, being maybe ideas that never actually came to be, or just information that the Melee devs translated to their own way. The Mother Brain might not be a Mother brain, maybe an unused enemy, al thought we know that Mother Brain was going to appear in Prime as a Boss: There exist a concept that depicts her as a giant scary piece of a Kaiju movie, but it was cut really soon. My belive is that this creature is actually a concept for an enemy for Metroid Prime, probably something that Melee devs heard and wanted to make referendce to.

[@monroerobbins7551]

Eh, honestly, I like it when people do these sorts of videos, putting all their thoughts into processing what their hyper fixation is at the time. I like how thorough your thought process is.

[@iBenjamin1000]

these videos are great because no matter how insignificant you think the subject is, there's probably people who've wondered the same thing, and more who've never given it thought but will find it interesting if you can present it effectively

[@kylehyde89]

In my opinion a lot of the talking in this video is fluff and i find it annoying. Get to the point

[@BeatAces]

@@kylehyde89 damn you are so short and to the point that you even shortened your last name. That's commitment to a bit

[@TheTheninjagummybear]

@@kylehyde89 You clearly miss Vine way too much.

[@hunterjulian98]

I've been wondering this for years! And I love the sound of your voice!

[@masonjones7777]

If you thought that was weird, you should see the random creature in the subspace emissary, on the halberd interior there are a bunch of common enemies put in holding cells along with something that you never see again. it even has it's own trophy talking about how odd it is. not really a mystery, just something I thought was neat.

[@noxtide7043]

Oh right, the Mizzo? Its odd how it is a cut enemy with unique animations, but the team decided to not use, and then put it in one hallway in the entire game. Even the Trophy makes note of that. I remember being a kid and spending so long trying to figure out where that enemy spawned at lol

[@xxsupersayen34xxnoe33]

I think this one enemy appears in smash 3ds's exclusive mode but I'm not sure

[@mds_main]

@@xxsupersayen34xxnoe33 Nope, Mizzo is not in Smash Run, despite a couple of members of the Subspace Army being there.

[@xxsupersayen34xxnoe33]

@@mds_main oh okay guess I confused it witth another ennemy

[@TheRealSuperKirby]

I love that thing just for the fact that it's description is basically the devs saying "we just put this thing into the game to fuck with you" and yeah it worked. It took me forever to get the mizzo trophy so the whole time I thought there was some secret level or something. It looks pretty creepy at first but getting closer it looks like a coconut with human limbs. And its face. It's face is just 👌

[@JackOfNone97]

I always got so distracted by that thing in the background playing on Brinstar! Thank you for proving I’m not the only one

[@EJSmith145]

This whole situation reminds me of how there's a ton of weird/unsettling shit in Kirby Air Ride - in Machine Passage, you can see these weird creatures contained in a lab. It always creeped me out a bit. They're hard to find online but you can quickly spot them on the left at the 0:46 mark in this video. It's a stretched, but they kinda look like Mother Brain!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooeniHWlqp2LjJI

[@WilfredCthulu]

Reminds me of the creatures in Shiver Star. Those test tubes always bothered me too.

[@Videosyncratic]

I have seen some argue that those creatures contained in Machine Passage are somehow related to the long time _Kirby_ recurring boss Kracko - but it is _far_ from a perfect match....

[@DruidPC]

HAL is no stranger to strange and obscure background details. ESPECIALLY Kirby.

[@alfiehicks1]

You can make a KZbin link take you directly to a specific timestamp in a video by adding *?t=XhYmZs* to the end of the link, where X, Y, Z are the number of hours, minutes and seconds, respectively. It'll work even if you just put in the seconds, you don't have to include minutes or hours.

[@sethtimmerman2959]

I went to go check this but I don't see what you're mentioning? Is the timestamp correct?

[@dailyinsanity8188]

I was originally going to ask how you have nearly 90k subs and only 11 videos but with videos this well put together with proper editing, formatting, music, EQ levels and narration I can understand how any well-meaning individual to stumble upon this well put together channel and subscribe, even if the topic is not something they would normally watch for entertainment, although that doesn't apply in this scenario, as most of my consumed content is gaming-related in some aspect. Keep up the good work.

[@shyguymike]

I personally believe that it was originally supposed to be mother brain with smashified design, however in Brawl, Sakurai decided that it looked too different and changed it into an original alien.

[@gallowpole9455]

I think they ran out of time and could not make Mother Brain.

[@chainswordcs]

that could make sense, of course the stage was made in between Super Metroid and Metroid Prime

[@sakura368]

we could just ask sakurai

[@shyguymike]

@@sakura368 He's too busy and tired.

[@jekblom123]

IT'S MOTHER BRAIN Jesus guys....

[@Moss_Dude]

I have never once thought of that thing as a "brain creature," it has exclusively resembled testicles every time I have looked at it. But realistically, it seems more like a plant to me than anything.

[@OhNoBohNo]

that would put it more in league with like, Spore Spawn than anything, I guess??

[@ZacKariahSheridan]

7:08 says “Home to Mother Brain” in the map description. You could argue that’s a vague “Brinstar is the home to mother brain” and not referring to the map itself, but that seems like a point in favour of it in fact being mother brain. Or in my personal headcanon, Brother Brain.

[@syweb2]

It says "Home to Mother Brain _and the Metroids,"_ so whoever wrote that probably assumed Tourian was part of Brinstar, mentally swapped the two, or otherwise knew fuckall about Metroid - which wouldn't surprise me, knowing Melee. That thing still looks _nothing_ like Mother Brain to me.

[@ZacKariahSheridan]

@@syweb2 I suppose that fits the situation, given it looks nothing like Mother Brain. A person that doesn’t know much about Metroid talking about Metroid and the weird discount mother brain therein that was perhaps designed by someone that wasn’t paying attention to Metroid lore or designs

[@hakasek4052]

​@@ZacKariahSheridan alternatively, whether they knew what mother brain was supposed to look like, I've seen other large games have similar errors due solely to time constraints causing people to scramble to make what they have presentable regardless of whether that's what it was originally trying to be. The narrator even mentioned how all it would take to make this thing mother brain would be to add a giant eye in the center, metallic spikes, and a giant glass enclosure, which could've all easily been something the 3d modeler for Melee was planning to do and couldn't finish on time, leaving what we know know to be a remake of an unfinished model.

[@sonictennyson2201]

Uncle Brain

[@TheRealSuperKirby]

If it was mother brain why would they make a separate model for the two instead of reusing one?

[@atomicJackpot]

How do you not know about the didyouknowgaming episode where it was told that the mass in the background was modeled after Sakurai's very own nuts.

[@greensonickid3304]

WHAT

[@lamondlense]

1:27 damn, Chris Pratt is really strong, he’s so cool.

[@reyla3132]

Wow your Voice is REALLY improving Way to go girl! You're an inspiration to us all ❤️

[@TheMenaceHimself2006]

?

[@someGuy-kl7cb]

i wonder if the bumps it originally had was actually mother's eye, but they decided to scrap having a giant brain monster staring you down through the entire game, turning it into more of a regular brain and altering the bumps to look less eyeball like, and duplicating it all over her body. it probably would've given people nightmares.

[@MegaPenguin-bl7hd]

I'm glad I found your channel, I hope you are able to post more regularly or be a KZbinr full time, your humor and editing style are similar to how I always thought I'd edit videos if I had the motivation lol

[@wumpus976]

Considering in the Alien extended universe there’s a King Alien, maybe that’s *Father Brain?*

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

Would make sense that Mother Brain wasn't the only AI-brain-thing the Chozo built.

[@Concon12316]

if there was a male brain than wouldn't that imply *brain sex?*

[@wumpus976]

@@Concon12316 We don’t know much about Mother Brain, so maybe they lay eggs? Which would be kinda disturbing to see. Imagine it just laying a bunch of eggs out of its brain stem.

[@Concon12316]

@@wumpus976 *brain caviar*

[@FlamesTheCyndaquil]

@@Concon12316 oh god

[@weaver7811]

I always assumed it was the space pirates trying to grow a new MB after the original was destroyed.

[@tacticaljunk1608]

Mother Brain is supposed to be an AI, but she's clearly also a flesh and blood creature. (She produces saliva in her second form in Super.) So I think this stage element is meant to imply that this is a creature that Mother Brain was originally before computer parts were grafted onto it and its body was reformed to host the Chozo's Mother Brain project.

[@fluxuous6907]

yeah I came to the same idea, this was some sort of pre-motherbrain, that the chozo cloned and/or bio-engineered into what we know as motherbrain, which would later spawn all the other biocomputer imitations.

[@Gnagniel]

This was the same thought I had.

[@tellmeninetails5819]

I think so too. the eye and the spikes where added afterwards. It's even said brinstar is the HOME of mother brain so maybe it's her natural enviroment.

[@YellowYoshi398]

I love this theory.

[@modernkiwi6447]

My headcanon is that it’s a being that the Chozo used as a reference to create Mother Brain, hence all of the similarities between the two

[@Sonicjan]

Well, brains seem to be used as some kind of control device or central computers by the Chozo, so it would make sense to assume that this brain would be the central Computer of Brinstar or something like that. The Yellow-ish liquid could also be used to nurture the Brain so it won't just outright die. The System probably also works similarly to Mother Brain, but was maybe less important and thus features less metalic parts and is less lively. Or maybe it was also completely abandoned. Either way, I could imagine that this Brain was at some point planned to be part of Brinstar (maybe as a Boss fight too), but was later on scrapped. But since Sakurai didn't know that it was scrapped or just liked it so much that he wanted it in, he just went on and created the stage anyway. Sakurai does get informations of some games early on in development, so that would be no surprise. He also known to change characters to how he sees fits, like Bowser or Donkey Kong. And even if he knew of the cutting of that element, if he liked it enough he wouldn't care either way.

[@wingless.angel09]

I legit thought Bizabizow was gonna straight up just call them balls

[@purple_shy]

I would just call it "Juvenile Brain" and make up some lore about it.

[@thecianinator]

Uncle Brain

[@sagacious03]

Great analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

[@rotgod]

oh that’s just harold he’s mother brain’s distant cousin

[@anankos795]

Oh, that Harold, always taking those acid baths again. What a silly fellow!

[@President_Starscream]

Uncle brain

[@tylerherr4288]

3:54 DAMNIT LANCER QUIT PLAYING YOUR MP3 ON MY SPEAKERS

[@daseal1479]

I'm glad that after all these years, someone has done a video on this, anomaly. Sakurai and all his various projects over the years have had many very strange and creepy enemies or visuals in his games, whether it be a full stage, the mood and theming of a mode or game, or some Easter egg or unknowable thing. You can see this in Kirby, from the very first game onward and it's various spin-offs, and even carrying over into the games beyond Sakurai's involvement to this day. As well as Kid Icarus and Smash Bros, many strange things in Melee, and the entirely darker tone of Brawl and the Subspace Emissary. I remember overthinking and trying to rationalize all the abstract aspects of the enemies and areas in Brawl as a kid, and being frightened of what would pop up next, but still intrigued and fascinated by it all, the story and it's many cutscenes included. Smash 4 had snippets of this, but I'm glad Smash Ultimate brought these elements back to the forefront in World of Light, I just wish we got more of it. You should do more videos on these strange subjects, and Brawl as a whole. Anyways, great video! P.S. Funnily enough my brothers and I called this thing the scrote as well, lmao.

[@TheCrowButler]

This stage was probably designed to capture the essence of Metroid in the broad strokes, not including specific characters or elements that come from the games themselves (aside from the Torizo), but creating an environment that would cause a similar emotional reaction as the actual games. This stage was so effective at capturing this "Metroid feel" that it made me want to discover this franchise on my own

[@Glory2Snowstar]

I used to have this massive fear of anything related to biology or going inside living creatures, so you can imagine that I didn’t like playing on this map very much. Am I hurting the poor creature by destroying the platforms? What is that robot bird in the background? Why is that weird brain thing dangling so much? Funny enough, years later and now pretty much EVERYTHING I make relates to biology. Living planets, oceans of stomach acid, nematode angels, you name it. Maybe I’ve got this stage to thank?

[@robodude145]

Well, since they regrow I think the creature is just mildly annoyed

[@blazethesteamdragon6202]

If enough of us keep calling it "father scrote" maybe Nintendo will come out and clarify like they did to put down Bowsette.

[@vano9503]

Hell yeah! I love seeing your videos in my subscription feed! They’re always so well scripted and such a joy to watch. I hope everything is going well for you, you deserve the best!

[@hdanimatesorsomething]

Yea :P

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

It almost seems like some kind of "heart" or "core" for the area that may have some control over the rising and falling of the acidic fluids and the associated tremors. Probably based on concept art that never saw realization in the game it was originally drafted for. Personally, it has more of a "Prime" series look than a "Classic" series look to me, save for the growths that resemble certain bits of the planet's inner terrain.

[@jekblom123]

It's Mother Brain.

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

@@jekblom123 Prove it. >;0

[@jekblom123]

@@Pensive_Scarlet I don't really need to, it's blatantly obvious.

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

@@jekblom123 Ah, so you can't prove it. Understood. You are welcome to your (wrong) opinion.

[@jekblom123]

@@Pensive_Scarlet It's a giant brain in a Metroid stage, think about this. Who else would it be?

[@jellicledry1380]

When i was a kid, I always called it a Kraid Egg. Because you had Brinstar stage first in melee and then later unlocked the Brinstar Depths stage that had Kraid. So child brain went "Oh, well Kraid hatched from the egg in Brinstar and is now in the depths all grown up."

[@some2b1tguy]

Your other videos aren’t my cup of tea, but this video definitely was. I’m gonna sub and stick around on the off chance you make weird cool stuff like this. Definitely enjoyed this!

[@funtimezane2964]

Idk, while thinking about it maybe it’s a long shot but…….what if it was a prototype mother brain? Because it would explain why it looks so similar and in an area that looks so barren and away from anything living besides that one chozo statue

[@LowPolyPigeon]

Just what I was thinking! Either a prototype, or maybe an un-modified wild one. I'm not too caught up on Metroid lore, but the brains that the Chozo use are genetically and cybernetically modified right? Well, maybe this is what the the original creature looks like in the wild! It feels like a solid guess at least, even if it's probably a critter that's non-canon to the Metroid lore since Smash is made by a different dev team.

[@funtimezane2964]

@@LowPolyPigeon I MIGHT be wrong but I’m pretty sure mother brain is just a super computer that just happens to be in the shape of a brain instead of it being an organic.

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

@@funtimezane2964 Yeah, Mother Brain is not a naturally occuring creature and definitely not a species, they're like super-mega-robobrains.

[@funtimezane2964]

@@sluttyMapleSyrup ok I had a feeling lol, Although I have never played any of the games besides dread I have watched a couple lore videos to try and understand it but I do think the theory I came up with this being a prototype mother brain does makes somewhat sense in the nonsensical world of smash

[@transfern7]

I’m so glad there’s finally a video on this. It always… freaked me out 😬

[@MetaKnuxXbeats]

THANK YOU for making a video about this brain creature in the Brinstar background. For years, this thing had always made me wonder "What is that thing?" since I never really believed it to be Mother Brain honestly. Especally after Smash 4 and Ultimate, not just because of the "Assist Trophies that can't and can not appear in a specific stage" example you showed but also because of there character models being completely different from one another. I feel like if it was actually Mother Brain, they probably would of updated the design since they did made a whole new model in Smash 4 kind of like the Arwings and the Wolfins in the Corneria stage where they used the Final Smash models of those aircrafts in Ultimate but at the same time, Brinstar was a stage from Melee, which was still pretty early on the Smash series so maybe it was some different interpretation of Mother Brain herself considering that Sakurai made Giga bowser as his own interpretation of Bowser but still, I am not entirely convinced since it is very radically different aside from it being a brain like creature. Who knows, maybe in the future, we might get an interview that might clear or answer this but again, who knows.

[@novustalks7525]

I always thought it was a ballsack because it looks nothing like a brain

[@ruxxentuxxen1178]

you were the one who kept spamming wonder wing. I hold a grudge now

[@punnyperson4663]

I was not expecting this from you, but it's very welcome

[@travisrivas8253]

I just chalked it up to "it's a giant alien nut sack" And never gave it a second thought afterwards

[@jacobtietjen2099]

This thing genuinely terrified and grossed me out as a kid. This video reawakened that awful fear. Thanks a lot.

[@welkin7321]

whenever bizab posts, we don't know what we're getting. and i live for that

[@WilfredCthulu]

Finally someone talks about this!! It always bothered me and always distracted me with its painful vibrating in the acid! And I'm also glad others here share the experience of being unnerved by things in games back then that were abnormal to the series or things that are like out of the way in the main populated areas.

[@Cup_o_Caffeine]

OMG TY YOUR VOICE HAS GOTTEN REALLY GOOD IM PROUD OF YOU you did something I haven't been willing to try

[@Spubbily01]

"Good"

[@PBody54M]

There's actually one more obscure fact about the "Brinstar Brain". It doesn't just appear in Brinstar... it appears in Brinstar Depths, too. When the stage is in its "default" orientation, the brain can be seen in the center-left portion of the main platform. In Melee, it's somewhat obscured by thorny vines, but it's fully exposed in Ultimate. It's clearly meant to be the same organism as in Brinstar; whenever Kraid strikes the stage in Brinstar Depths, it reacts with the same throbbing and tumors seen when it's exposed to acid in Brinstar.

[@exctasyi]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who questioned what that fuck that thing is

[@dylankirby554]

Back in the Brawl days, I thought the stage was some kind of the inside of an giant alien cranium and that was the brain. And forgot about it eventually. But knowing that the Castle Siege stage wasn't supposed to represent any real castle from Fire Emblem, probably it's just an original creature.

[@scarecrow6549]

a couple things worth noting is that in melee, directly after this stage in adventure mode, you are thrown into a self-destruct escape sequence very clearly modeled after the ones from after you beat mother brain. Obviously the connection is extremely loose, but perhaps it's a look into the exact intent of the creature's design. Maybe they had adventure mode in mind when designing the assets for this stage. This was also during a time where you might find large artistic liberties taken in classic designs when bringing them from 2D to 3D.

[@skeletongwen]

God this video came at the RIGHT time i am currently in a very metroid brain space as well, and that fella perplexed me too Figured they could always retcon it into brinstar's acid regulation organic computer. Great work Ty!!

[@tantok7044]

AAAA ur videos are always a treat!

[@LpUsOyT]

during the development of melee: “Hey, the background of Brinstar looks kinda empty…‘ “Just put some alien sludge there, I dunno.“

[@jekblom123]

Or a reoccurring final boss...

[@LMxRagnorokx]

You brought up a good point in this video. I forgot about "mother brain". I first played melee as a kid at the time I had never actually gotten to mother brain in any of the metroid games and wouldnt have any idea what mother brain looked like until I played through zero mission many years later (i had super metroid as a kid but never beat it until my late teens) This is my theory. Many bits of smash lore are inaccurate, make things up and/or get small details wrong, for example one of ganondorf's attacks is the "gerudo dragon" which is "named after a legendary dragon from gerudo valley that link is implied to have fought at some point" or that "redead's are just monsters that resemble dead people, not actual zombies", onett's main theme was from a song that never appeared in earthbound (it appeared in mother 1, which never say a us release and the song is from another town not Onett). There was a book I read as a child called "the hot games" about nes games, lore for them and strategy. in that book it explained samus' mission was to destroy "the metroid's, mother brain and the zebestian coils that feed her (i assume those are those weird energy gates you gotta destroy then jump through in mother brains room" i think this lore about the "zebestian coils" is the cables and this creature is mother brain. I think the developers of smash cut corners with researching metroids lore (shame on them, metroid is awesome) and did the bare minimum amount of reasearch for metroid, zelda and other games, this was before the internet was as easily accessed as it is today and emulation was a pipe dream at best. I think the smash team only had the vaguest idea of what mother brain was and based its design around only the vaguest concept they had of what "metroids final boss was" they knew mother brain was a big brain and that was about it. But I like your idea of scrapped content, there was an aborted n64 metroid game that never happened, whose details are vague and intangible at best, AND the metroid prime instruction manual has a big blurb about mother brain in it which always made me think that there was plans at some point maybe metroid 64 or an early version of Metroid Prime 2, to have had a 3d battle against a radically redesigned versiojn of mother brain possibly resembling Melee Brain at some point.

[@tronsonic812]

From what I can gather, the giant creature in the background _may_ be Spore Spawn. Supporting evidence behind this claim would include: A. The stage takes place in the upper part of Brinstar, where the Spore Spawn fight takes place B. While the model *does* look like a brain, there's an easy-to-miss horizontal split, which could be seen as Spore Spawn's mouth. C. Within the stage, the "brain" looks more of a brownish green color. Spore Spawn in its fight gradually browns after taking enough damage. D. The little balls around the base of the creature could be in reference the spores the boss spit out (that's a stretch). E. While the in-game sprite for Spore Spawn has spikes in its design, the official artwork within the game manual of Super Metroid depicts the Spore Spawn having brain hernias at the top of its head. Personally, I think it's the Spore Spawn in the background, but there's too little evidence to support that theory. The thing holding Daddy Scrotum doesn't look like the stem holding S.S as seen in the official art, I dunno what the fuck that little tongue thing is, and I don't think the flesh walls on the stage support the theory either. Personally, I think it's Spore Spawn, but I guarantee that there's more evidence out there that debunks my theory.

[@MutantDisposition]

Two things 1. I wonder if this was gonna be represented in the original version of Dread? Like before it got put on hold for so long. They could have been debuting it in Melee like Roy. 2. Another background element that always confused me as a kid was the little village in the background of Rainbow Cruise. It's not as... Unnerving as this... But I always wondered if it wasn't gonna be part of like a Fire Emblem stage or something. How it wound up in a Mario stage is beyond me though.

[@bobjeezorham7658]

It's weird how a Smash stage that has appeared through many games has such a strange but prominent element of the design that I never see people inquire about. I'm not a big Metroid fan, but the question of what exactly that thing is supposed to be has been something I asked as a kid and pretty much never thought of again. A bit of a shame to see that it likely has no real origin or explanation behind it. I'm just gonna call the _"unidentified fleshy creature"_ Father Brain or the Dollar Store Mother Brain for now, lol. Also can I just say that your voice just sounds nice? I hope that doesn't come off as weird, I just like the calm vibes behind it. I like your sense of humor, too. This is the first video I've seen from you, may consider subbing.

[@deconyus3412]

Imo i thought it was Mother Brain post destruction but during/before the planet explodes. Since in Melee after this stage is the stage where you escape the planet exploding with the timer. Its like an exposed mother brain missing her eye and spikes but staving off the acid rising with what little power she has left. ALSO could have been intended to be more Mother Brain like with the same concept but it mightve been JUST a little too gory for Nintendo’s gamecube launch title, so she was toned down and lost the association over time to the point she could spawn on the same stage.

[@kyurei4478]

Daddy scrotum always made me think of a uvula of some sort of alien creature. The rise of the acid always seems to be linked to this structure in some way because when it wriggles, the acid rises at the same time, like I imagine twiddling someone's uvula would probably force this person to vomit and the mouth to fill with drool as an uncontrollable reaction. That's basically where this analogy comes from in my mind. Now I know the stage doesn't seem to be set in the mouth of some creature who spits acid but I find it funny. I even imagined the stage could take place in Kraid's mouth at a moment, since Kraid's stage, Brinstar Dephts appeared in the same game and they're both called "Brinstar". Interesting video tho and it's useful to discuss about it because since Melee days I've always been obsessed with that thing every time I play on this stage. I think the answer would most likely come from Sakurai, this man's mind is unfathomable. But the theory of a scrapped enemy with a funny backstory seems believable to me.

[@xxlolkirby64xx22]

I love your voice, it's really calming. I mean this in the best way possible but you sound like a kind mother

[@blakecabral2661]

It’s obviously Dick and Balls from Metroid 2 for the Game Boy, known ally to samus and the Omega Metroids’ sole predator

[@AGrayPhantom]

Bizabizow: "Can we have Mommy Brain?" Nintendo: "We have MOTHER Brain in Smash." The Mother Brain in Smash:

[@alexredding6318]

Wow, you were certainly "bizy" doing research for this video (Forgive my terrible pun). I never gave any thought to "Daddy Scrotum" since I got Melee back in the day. I always assumed he (Going with masculine pronouns because "Daddy Scrotum" is the best fan name I have ever heard) was just some mass from a Metroid game I had yet to play, or that Brinstar itself was just a mass that convulsed like it did. I never stopped to ever look that up because I was far too occupied with playing the game as it was intended, which was probably what the devs thought most people would do since we are talking about a fighting game. This was a fantastic video! Thanks for bringing this mystery up to the world, Ty!

[@treedude4246]

I love some of your deliveries so much The delivery of "the bitch lives" killed me

[@memememe7081]

As someone who grew up and still has trybophobia, I always wondered wtf this was. I felt like it was from Metroid series, a series I have never played then. I just hate the stage, everytime those clumps pop up, I just want to destroy it.

[@BlueThunderO7]

Glad to know I'm not the only one out there who that rising yellow liquid was piss. I used to think that when I was younger playing Melee. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Memorydraws]

…I’ve got a theory it doesn’t make sense but it’s something,maybe it’s a rotting Brain of a species,the body of the creature could have died and in time attached it self to the ceiling. I don’t know this just a pretty bad theory….but this video was fun

[@themapcartographer5952]

That would be very interesting and great for story telling, thats not a bad theory.

[@Memorydraws]

@@themapcartographer5952 Um thank you

[@BL_K9]

your videos are so much fun, thank you for making your videos and providing us with giggles and goofs

[@shadowstudios5495]

The introduction was so formal for no reason. XD

[@GingyPreston]

Me looking at the thumbnail Is, is that what I think it is?!

[@kittenlover-yk5hx]

I really like the art you made for it. It feels like an Animal Crossing creature icon.

[@xxlolkirby64xx22]

6:40 I have so much nostalgia hearing super paper mario ost in the background omg

[@venomasmark14]

Gotta love any Metroid related content

[@666blaziken]

First things first, I want to say as this is the first video I've seen of yours, you have an amazing speaking voice. The second thing, that I theorize is that maybe they were trying to put mother brain in the game, but they couldn't implement the glass shape, and they found the eye to be distracting. So they went halfway there and decided that their creation was good enough, especially since they were being crunched for time

[@whatthewhatthe9117]

My head canon was always that because it resides on zebes and the chozo who are master of genetics, infusing their dna to samus and making the metroids, created mother brain would it really be a stretch that this creature’s biology was used as a framework for the creation of the greatest computer in Metroid?

[@skirdus367]

I'm going to go with the "giant snake tail in Gundrak" solution on this one and say they just added some random creature they came up with into the background because it looks cool

[@K9OK_]

Your content reminds me of the similarly styled info-dump videos of Misty Sparkles. You both have amazing content and I wish you a successful youtube career

[@TheDragonfang134]

It could be a reference to how smash is a game being imagined by a growing kid. They couldn't find a Mother Brain toy so it was substituted with a look-a-like.