Spore Spawn

Spore Spawn (スポア・スポーン supoa supōn) is a miniboss in Super Metroid. Reached from the top of the large pink room in upper Brinstar, it guards the game's first set of Super Missiles.
==Description==
Spore Spawn is a gigantic plant that was genetically engineered by the Space Pirates.Super Metroid instruction manual, pg. 29 When Samus enters the room, spores released by indestructible, flower-like bioforms located on the ceiling begin to fill the air and the creature's main body descends from the ceiling to swing back and forth in perpetual figure eights. Its shell is impenetrable to all of Samus' weapons: Spore Spawn can only be damaged when it stops to open its mouth to reveal its glowing core. This opportunity initially appears once every three cycles. When dealt some damage, Spore Spawn turns darker, moves twice as fast, and reveals its core once every six cycles.
It takes five Charge Beam shots to reach Spore Spawn's second stage, and an additional three to kill it. With Missiles, the respective numbers are six and four. Neither the Charge Beam nor a large supply of Missiles is needed, as Missiles can be refilled by shooting the falling spores. The spores themselves do little damage individually, and compared to later enemies, even contact with the Spore Spawn itself doesn't do much damage. However, at this point, Samus will usually have very few energy tanks, so even that small amount of damage can be trouble. Damage to Samus from direct contact can be avoided by staying in a corner in Morph Ball mode, though the floating spores can still be troublesome. However, when Samus stays in Morph Ball mode on top of the the left ledge and stays in the corner, Spore Spawn won't hit her, and the falling spores won't come in contact with her, because that part of the room is not in their flight pattern. This strategy, however, can backfire. Should Spore Spawn reveals his core around the corner Samus is in it will inflict massive damage and possibly prevent Samus from attacking it this cycle.
When the Spore Spawn is defeated, the ceiling will collapse, simultaneously killing the four flower-like bioforms on it. The entire room (along with the background) and the Spore Spawn will dry up, leaving behind a dried husk. The dead Spore Spawn head is one of the few objects in the game that will shake when Wall Jumped onto.
==Official data==
===Super Metroid manual===
;SPORE SPAWN
:"(The Mini-Boss of Brinstar)This creature was genetically engineered by the Space Pirates. Its weak point is its core, which is protected by the plant's hard shell."
===Nintendo Power Volume 60===
;SPORE SPAWN
:"The Spore Spawn of Brinstar holds the key to blasting through Green Doors and certain strong blocks. Its only weakness is at its core. Lay low as the plant floats around the room, then blast it with Missiles when it stops and opens up."
==Development notes==
Spore Spawn is voiced by Kenji Yamamoto, one of the sound designers.
Spore Spawn's original codename was Eriko Flower, according to Yasuhiko Fujii. The developers felt that Spore Spawn looked like a kusudama, a traditional Japanese paper craft, while "Eriko" came from the TV personality Eriko Kusuta. This name was created by Yoshio Sakamoto."The “Eriko Flower” name is a little weird... there was this talent named Eriko Kusuta, and we thought the Spore Spawn design looked like kusudama, so kusudama became kusuda, then kusuda eriko, then Eriko Flower… the person who made all these names up was the scenario writer for Kaeru. He was a very “unique” individual. (laughs)" http://shmuplations.com/yasuhikofujii/
Early footage of Super Metroid features a green Ripper during the battle against Spore Spawn. This would have added an extra layer of difficulty, as the small animal would have been yet another threat needing to be dodged within the room. Additionally, Spore Spawn's stigma was shown to have disappeared when it was defeated, instead of it remaining as it does in the final game.Kottpower. "Super Metroid Beta Footage (1993-1994)". YouTube. August 25, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2022. (starts at 1:44)
==Trivia==
*Spore Spawn and Botwoon share the same battle theme.
*Although Spore Spawn does not appear in Metroid Fusion or Metroid Zero Mission, the Nettori and ensnared Kiru Giru boss battles play out in a similar fashion. As a reference to this, their respective boss themes also share similarities to the Spore Spawn's theme.
:*The ensnared Kiru Giru continuously releases small spores during its battle. Interestingly, it also features a Winged Ripper; if the previously mentioned green Ripper from Super Metroid's beta had been kept in the final version, then the Spore Spawn's battle would have shared an additional trait with the ensnared Kiru Giru. 
:*Nettori has seemingly corrupted most of the plantlife located in Sector 2. During its battle, there are two Samus Eater Buds on the ceiling that spit out spores much like the ones seen in Spore Spawn's chamber; the former may be infected variants of the latter. Additionally, the Nettori's room will dry up after its defeat, akin to Spore Spawn's. However, Samus will have to exit and re-enter its room to trigger the change.
*The Puddle Spore of Metroid Prime and Dark Phlogus of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes greatly resemble Spore Spawn in appearance, despite being completely different in species. The Puddle Spore is an animal, whereas the Dark Phlogus and Spore Spawn are plants. If the Spore Spawn is closely related to one of them, the fact that this creature had been bioengineered could explain the similar qualities of it.
*Additionally, the battle with the first form of the Emperor Ing in Echoes is a reminiscent of Spore Spawn, when the eye opens and Samus must attack the inside.
:*There is an unused life form that resembles the Puddle Spore and appears to be a cybernetically enhanced version of it.
*Spore Spawn and Crocomire are the only bosses in Super Metroid that leave behind remains.
*Spore Spawn appears in the Super Metroid manga in the strip What's Inside the Miniboss? In this strip, Samus is seen admiring the Spore Spawn's roundness, until it opens up, and she repeatedly attacks it to make it close again.
*It is possible to skip Spore Spawn using the Early Super Missiles trick. A consequence is that Spore Spawn can be fought later on, with more powerful weapons such as the Plasma Beam (which kills it instantly when combined with the Ice beam). If skipped by Sequence Breaking to get Early Super Missiles, Spore Spawn will take one charged shot from the combined Wave and Plasma beams before being defeated. If Super Missiles are collected in advance, it is also possible to escape the room and start over again (the only such boss battle in the game).
==Gallery==
Image:Spore Spawn.png|Samus battles the Spore Spawn
Image:Foto sporespawn.JPG|Spore Spawn's open core
Spore-spawn.jpg|The Spore Spawn defeated
Spore Spawn bud.png|A Spore Spawn bud
==References==
ru:Извергатель Спор
Category:Species
Category:Bosses
Category:Zebes
Category:Brinstar
Category:Genetically Engineered
Category:Plantlife