Note: This post contains major spoilers for Metroid Fusion and Metroid Dread.
Very impromptu post but I just had to talk about the new Metroid game announced today, Metroid Ravenous. Metroid is tied with Pokémon for being my favorite video game series ever, so when this game got officially announced, I was freaking out like I did back in 2021 with Metroid Dread for the original Nintendo Switch.
It’s been a long time since I got into Metroid, but I think I got introduced to the series through Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo 64. Back then, the most I knew about Metroid was that the main character was called Samus Aran and that she–she?
Yes, she wore a magic space suit with lots of powers, like being able to turn into a ball. It wasn’t until a trip to the store one fateful day that my parents bought me Metroid Fusion for Game Boy Advance for $20. And the rest is history as they say.
For those who haven’t played Metroid, it’s a side-scrolling adventure game where players navigate an interconnected labyrinthine level by taking down enemies and obtaining new power-ups to progress. The gameplay loop of exploring and discovering new items and fighting enemies is I think what makes Metroid so fun for me, and why I replay the games so often.
Suffice to say that I’ve been with the series for a pretty long time, having played most titles. I’ll touch on my own experiences playing Metroid in-depth on another post, but for now, let’s get back to Metroid Ravenous.
The Title Ravenous
This game’s title actually got leaked a few months ago.
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security listed the title back in July 2026 before it was removed. The document had little other information besides a 2026 production year, yet it wasn’t announced in July’s Nintendo Direct.
Because the document came from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security, this leak was almost certainly legitimate.
There were so many question buzzing with the title alone. Ravenous?
That had to be alluding to Metroid Dread’s main antagonist, Raven Beak, returning. The powerful, bird alien warrior that had some of his DNA implanted into Samus when she was young was arguably one of her greatest enemies. But something didn’t add up. Raven Beak was defeated by Samus and was confirmed dead in Dread’s ending.
Now Metroid is no stranger to bringing back villains. Metroid fans are already familiar with Samus’ long-time space dragon nemesis, Ridley, coming back to fight her in multiple games over the series. But even he hasn’t come back since Metroid Fusion.
Well with today’s very first trailer for the game, we now have a better idea of what the subtitle Ravenous means. To get you up to speed, let’s quickly go over some of the major plot points in the series.
A Quick Recap
In Metroid Fusion’s opening cutscene, Samus is infected by an X-Parasite, a gelatinous space parasite that quickly kills and perfectly mimics any host it comes into contact with. If this sounds a lot like the film The Thing, that’s not too surprising.
The Metroid series was heavily influenced by the Ridley Scott’s Alien film, according to its series longtime producer, Yoshio Sakamoto. Later games like Fusion certainly didn’t limit themselves to Scott’s Alien films for inspiration.
Samus was near death following her infection until she was injected with a Metroid vaccine harvested from the last Metroid before they went extinct. Metroids were the titular enemy of the series; floating alien leeches that ravenously fed on living beings’ life force for nourishment until they were eradicated by Samus. It’s here that Fusion reveals that the Metroids were created to fight off the X-Parasites.
And not just by anyone, but by the Chozo, the same alien bird race that raised Samus and trained her into the space warrior she is today. Samus’ iconic Power Suit is also a product of their technological prowess, so them being able to create Metroids isn’t that farfetched.
Because the X rapidly reproduce and can wipe out all life on any planet, the Chozo saw the X as a threat to the entire universe if they weren’t stopped. As a result, Samus Aran becomes the sole source of Metroid DNA in the universe, which sets in motion the events of Metroid Dread.
Over the course of Metroid Dread, Samus gradually awakens the latent Metroid power inside of her–the ability to suck the life energy of any enemy. And she uses this power to defeat Raven Beak, but Dread implies it is very dangerous. Her Power Suit turns into the green Metroid Suit and it’s here where the game really hammers home the fact that Samus is Metroid.
Samus’ ship’s built-in computer, Adam, stops her from using the ship because simply touching the controls will drain all of its power. This is when the X-copy of Quiet Robe, a friendly Chozo that died during Dread’s events, lets Samus absorb it, restoring her back to her usual appearance.
Dread’s ending implied not just a new power unique to Samus, but also a lingering threat to the universe if she lost control of those powers.
What Ravenous Means
It’s here that now that with Metroid Ravenous, the subtitle refers to the urge Samus has to feed on her enemies with her Metroid powers. As she said herself, “It’s eat, or be eaten.”
It’s eerie to hear Samus speak so callously. The Metroid series built her up as the protector of the universe, doing what she thought was right to keep the peace. Now, it seems like she might be fighting her own demons alongside a new set of enemies.
Speaking of enemies, new to Ravenous are the titular Space Ninjas that are hunting her down to seemingly gain control of her powers. Finally after forty years of Space Pirates in Metroid games, we now have Space Ninjas!
Which side are you on? Team Space Pirates or Team Space Ninjas?
Joking aside, we don’t know the Space Ninjas’ goals or methods to take Samus’ powers, but it’s so exciting that we don’t know!
Up until now, Metroid Dread was the last 2D Metroid game. It ended a 35-year long story that started all the way back in 1986 on the NES and if you know the long development history behind Dread, it is a miracle it saw the light of day at all.
But Metroid Ravenous is something completely different. It’s the start of a new chapter for Metroid. Unlike Dread, there is no hidden history behind this game’s development. No one knows what’s in store in Metroid Ravenous, and it’s precisely because we’re going into uncharted territory with its story that makes it so exciting.
I hope we get to see more of Adam, Samus’ computer and host of the ghost of her late commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. Don’t think too hard about how he’s in a computer, this is fiction after all.
Anyway, after it was revealed that the Adam was being impersonated by Raven Beak in Dread, I was bummed. Samus’ dialogue in Metroid Fusion about how she saw Adam was really interesting to read, and I hoped we got to see more of their relationship in Dread. That didn’t happen, so fingers crossed that Nintendo fleshes out their relationship in Ravenous.
I also hope the music will be more memorable than in Dread as well. Metroid music has almost always been really great at setting the tone for the game, but Dread is probably the first time the music was criticized for not being as good as previous games. It is not terrible music, especially since longtime series’ composers like Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano supervised the score, but after playing a while, you kind of forget it’s there. Maybe that was the intention with Dread but I hope feedback from Dread’s compositions improves the music in Metroid Ravenous.
The Preorder Chaos and Closing Remarks
And just like Metroid Dread, there are amiibo and a special edition of the game available! At least they were when I put my order for the special edition in in this morning. Unfortunately, that’s the game with limited anything from Nintendo these days.
Yesterday’s Zelda Nintendo Direct also announced a limited edition console and Pro Controller as well and they were available all right. Those things sold out within two or three minutes easily and are already being sold for double on eBay. C’est la vie, malheuresement.
If you missed out on the drops for the amiibo or the special edition, I want to believe they’ll be available later. I still see see store shelves with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond amiibo even though it makes me sad.
Heck, a quick search on eBay sold listings has the Metroid Dread Special Edition about $20-$30 more than its $90 USD MSRP. Metroid has never sold as well as Pokémon or Zelda, but it would be nice if there were enough special editions to go around for fans and not scalpers.
It will be interesting to learn more how Samus’ Metroid powers works in-game but also what consequences it has on Samus and the story in Metroid Ravenous. Regardless, it’s a very exciting time to be a Metroid fan, and I can’t wait for January 28, 2027!