Metroid Ascend

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Metroid Ascend (known as Metroid Reborn in Japan and China) a game for the Nintendo Switch. It was developed by Chronogames, Nintendo and MercurySteam and is a new installment in the Metroid franchise. It is the 5th (7th if counting the remakes/reimaginings Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid: Samus Returns) side-scroller game in the series, and was released worldwide in August 6, 2021, on the franchise's 35th anniversary (the same date as the original Metroid's release date in Japan). Being an original game, it is the sequel to 2002's Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance. According to HyperFlowey, this entry combines the best elements of all previous 2D games for "the ultimate traditional Metroid experience".
==Plot==
The plot of Metroid Ascend is based on an IGN blog by Mikesterx concerning his "Metroid 5" concept (see the link to his ideas here: My ideas for Metroid V (setup, plot, presentation, items, villains, extras, etc.). A paraphrased narrative goes as follows:
~Prologue~
Following the destruction of both SR388 and the BSL Research Station in Metroid Fusion, Bounty Hunter Samus Aran's ship approaches a Galactic Federation (GF) outpost, broadcasting a distress call from the ship's computer "Adam": Samus is in need of medical attention. Uncertain if the SA-X is coming for an ambush, soldiers are sent in case of direct assault only for their suspicions to be voided when they the real Samus collapsed at the ship's controls. A medical group is called in to take her into the emergency room. Upon regaining consciousness, Samus learns that the infusion of Chozo DNA in addition to the absorption of the memories of the X Parasites and her X doppëlganger is causing her body to strain and fall apart. Based on this analysis, it is concluded that death is the only possible outcome and her intergalactic missions will end.
While in quarantine, Samus is plagued with flashbacks of her life up until this point, with brief memories of her life with the Chozos and her genetic infusion being the most frequent. She remembers travelling with her adoptive family from planet to planet (for purposes of safekeeping, education, and understanding their widespread influence across the galaxy), and reflects on the moments she was infused with Chozo DNA to become the "ultimate warrior" on a world distant from Zebes. From these implications, she realizes that the same technology which enhanced her skills may stabilize her genetics and save her from the brink of death, and is able to locate a planet not recorded on any galaxy maps from her dreams of the stars and existing charts). She is successful in getting her old friend Anthony Higgs, a GF soldier, to break her out of quarantine and send her to this planet, dubbed Kakoshi.
The two arrive at the Chozo Temple of Kakoshi through Anthony's ship, although Samus decides to go alone for the sake of Anthony's safety and her responsibility. When making it through the old passages, Samus' mental state detoriates as she occasionally stumbles or falls, and sees either visions of her traumatic memories (such as her parents' deaths at the hands of Ridley or her battle with the reborn Mother Brain in Super Metroid) or a memory of herself as a child. Eventually she reaches the infusion chamber, where a special Chozo Statue comes to life and beckons her into a glass orb, which she enters to begin the biological reconfiguration process. The genetic memories of the X Parasites, including SA-X are disconnected and escape from the chamber.
After some time, a mysterious prescence startles Anthony, who readies his gun in retaliation only to see a hologram of the figure of Samus Aran, who confirms the success of the biological reconfiguration, with a strained voice. After performing her access onto the ship, he is horrified to see a distorted visage of his friend, the SA-X, which lunges at Anthony who screams as the screen fades to black.
When this is going on, the real Samus steps out of the reconfiguration orb, with the process successful - she is back to full health and feels better than ever. However, she notices the Chozo statue in an odd slumped position, and begins to glow. Samus tries to leave, but is trapped inside the chamber with the statue, which lurches forward and collapses, revealing a floating X Parasite in its place. She activates her Power Suit, which has returned to normal despite losing all technical memory of its abilities (its organic memory is still retained, however), and battles the Chozo-X. She is able to disable it and it dissipates, leaving behind the physical Morph Ball item, which she promptly collects.
Samus leaves the slightly collapsed Chozo Temple and sees Anthony's ship preparing to take off. It is sealed off from access, but using the Morph Ball she is able to stow away on the landing gear which promptly rises into the ship when it takes off from the surface of Kakoshi.
~Main Story~
The landing gear of Anthony's ship opens following an unspecified period of time, and Samus realizes she is in an unknown location, a hybrid of a planetoid and a space facility (similar to Starkiller Base from Star Wars: The Force Awakens). An X Parasite lands outside the ship, materializing into a copy of the deceased Anthony. Vengeful, Samus decides to figure out where she is, contact her ship's computer Adam about the situation and warn the Galactic Federation, avenge her fallen comrade, and put an end to the X threat once and for all.
More may be written depending on whether I have the time, but all I'll say of the rest is that similar to one of Darklight Studios/Shadow Inferno's Metroid projects, there will be a group of SA-X clones for Samus to encounter as she progresses through the research facility-planetoid, Ilpstra I.
==Characters==
Metroid Ascend contains the usual amount of characters in a Metroid game, with everone's motivation being clear-cut and easy to understand. However, there are optional data logs Samus can collect along her way similar to the Metroid Prime series that give more backstory on certain character details.
===Main===
Name 	Alignment 	Description
Samus Aran 	Good 	Samus Aran is a lone intergalactic bounty hunter who has been hired by the Galactic Federation to carry out missions for the benefit of galactic civilization. After the events of Metroid Fusion, her sheer genetic changes have taken a toll on her body, leading her to revisit Kakoshi, the planet on which she was infused with Chozo DNA, in order to stabilize herself. After discovering the separation of the X Parasites' genetic memory killed Anthony, she takes it upon herself to avenge him and warn the Federation of her new surroundings and mission.
Anthony Higgs/Anthony-X	Good (formerly); Evil (hosted by X)	Anthony Higgs is a former soldier in the Galactic Federation and one of Samus' long-time friends. He accompanies Samus to Kakoshi so her biology can be reconfigured, but following the successful procedure, he is ambushed and slaughtered by the SA-X, which assumes his identity. He - no, it - is now out on the prowl for Samus and plans to destroy every trace of information about the GF's secret projects from Ilpstra I, hoping to frame Samus for treason against the galaxy.
===Supporting===
Name 	Alignment	Description
"Adam" 	Good 	"Adam" is the computer of Samus' Ship, named after her former CO, Adam Malkovich, from Metroid: Other M. Upon making contact with Samus and hearing of her situation, he decides to supply her with information about Ilpstra I's environments from time to time (though the majority of communications with him are optional).
The S-Hunter Six 	Evil 	The S-Hunter (Samus-Hunter) Six is a group of divided SA-X sent by Anthony-X to challenge and exterminate the real Samus Aran. Each one represents a different part of Samus' personality and life. In the gameplay, they serve as a group of minibosses for Samus to fight, using a different Beam weapon which she gains after defeting each one of them.
Kraid-X 	Evil 	A revived clone of Kraid that becomes hosted by the new spread of X Parasites. He is awakened by Anthony-X to monitor Samus' progress through Ilpstra I, and is eventually encountered somewhere on the modified planetoid.
Galactic Federation	Neutral? 	
The Galactic Federation is the leading government in the Metroid franchise. Although a few divisions are directly seen in-game during the prologue, the main government is merely mentioned, with Samus learning about their hidden intentions as she progresses through Ilpstra I.
==Gameplay==
TBA.
===Classic Mode===
===Modern Mode===
===Zero Mode===
==Locations==
TBA.
==Items==
There are 36 items in Metroid Ascend (42 if counting the default abilities and suit, the final Beam weapon, the Unnamed Suit and the Zero Suit), the most amount of items in a 2D Metroid game. Items that were originally or were inspired by Mikesterx's ideas are marked in italics, showing credit to his ideas, and newly-introduced items are marked with an asterisk (*).
Here are the different categories of items and the collectables that belong to each.
===Suit===
* Unnamed Suit = The suit Samus Aran starts in during the prologue, and the last suit upgrade she received in Metroid Fusion.
* Zero Suit = The underarmor Samus wears under her Power Suit. Allows her to perform agile acrobatics, but makes her very vulnerable to attacks. Only available in select moments during the main adventure and is most prominent in Zero Mode, where taking too much damage in Power/Varia/Gravity Suit mode will revert Samus to this form. She can regain her armor at any Save or Energy Recharge Station.
* Power Suit (default) = Samus' basic armor in space missions. Handed down by the Chozo people. 
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* Varia Suit = This armor reduces damage by half and allows Samus to travel in areas with extreme temperatures.
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* Gravity Suit = This armor allows Samus to move freely while submerged in liquids and negate lava damage.
===Supply===
* Reserve Tank (4) = These tanks provide additional health energy reserves. Automatically heals Samus when her health is reduced to zero, or can be used manually.
===Aeion===
* Scan Pulse = This is the first of many Aeion Abilities that can be equipped for different effects. Allows Samus to detect hidden passages that can be accessed through breakable surfaces and uncover hidden Hatches initially unseen. In Classic Mode, this does not fill in the map grid like in Samus Returns, meaning Samus must track down a Map Station to gain an area's main map data.
* Flash Vision (*) = Allows Samus to light up areas with little to no visibility for a short amount of time, similarily to the Scan Pulse's former ability to fill in map space in Samus Returns.
* Lightning Guard = Imbues Samus in a field of electricity, protecting her from piercing damage and, in Modern Mode, greatly increases the range of her Melee Counter. Formerly known as the Lightning Armor in Samus Returns.
* Beam Burst = Amplifies Samus' attack power and allows to fire a machine gun-like barrage of small shots from her cannon to destroy enemies and/or objects with hard-to-penetrate defenses.
* Phase Armor (*)' = Allows Samus to become temporarily intangible from the physical environment, rendering her immune to physical attacks and also allowing her to pass through glass floors, walls, and ceilings. However, in this state, Samus is vulnerable to elemental attacks and takes double the damage from them.
* Shinespark Control (*) = Increases the control over Samus' Shinespark ability, as she can charge Shinespark energy from a standstill and stop herself at any point during the technique to dash in any desired direction.
===Beam===
* Power Beam (default) = Samus' primary weapon fires small energy shots from her arm cannon. Can open Blue Hatches.
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* Charge Beam = Replaces the Power Beam when it is obtained, and allows Samus to charge her Power Beam shots for a more powerful attack. 
* Kinetic Beam (*) = Allows Samus to exert strong force on any enemies and/or objects when damage is inflicted on them. This does more damage to enemies submerged in liquids and can also disrupt environmental hazards (stopping falling boulders, redirecting vertical lava or water spouts, etc.)
* Wave Beam = Allows Samus to fire energy waves that pass through solid walls.
* Spazer Beam = Widens the range of Samus' beam shots.
* Mirror Beam (*) = Allows Samus to fire small laser shots that reflect off of metallic surfaces/objects and deflect incoming projectiles when charged.
* Plasma Beam = Allows Samus' beam shots to pierce through multiple enemies.
===Missile===
* Missile = This ammo weapon inflicts more damage than Samus' standard beam shots and can open Red Hatches.
** Ice Missile = Enabled when the Ice Elemental Core is obtained. Adds a freezing effect to Samus' Missiles, allowing her to freeze any enemy in place and shatter them when firing a beam shot or regular Missile.
* Super Missile = A stronger variation of Missiles that inflict even more damage than Samus' beam shots and regular Missiles, and can open Green Hatches.
** Diffusion Missile = An "Ice" version of Super Missiles. Allows Samus to freeze liquid surfaces such as water and lava, and creates a wave of snowflakes which may freeze and/or shatter enemies caught in its radius.
* Anti-Matter Missile (*) = The strongest variation of Missiles yet. Allows Samus to fire off high-power Missiles which create a black hole, attracting enemies and destroying each trace of them, leaving behind no item pickups and using both regular and Super Missile ammo.
===Arm===
* Magnet Hook (*) = Allows Samus to climb magnetic walls and hang from metallic ceilings like in Metroid Fusion
* Grapple Tether = Allows Samus to tether onto and swing from certain blocks and enemies with an electric grapple hook, and in addition non-tetherable enemies and throw them into each other. This is an in-universe replacement for the Grapple Beam.
===Ball===
* Morph Ball = Allows Samus to roll into a ball and travel through narrow passages.
* Bomb = Allows Samus to lay bombs while in ball form that can destroy bendezium and allow access to hidden passages.
* Spider Ball = Allows Samus to travel along walls and ceilings in ball form.
* Power Bomb = This ammo weapon is a stronger version of the Bomb, allowing Samus to set off high-powered bombs when in ball form which destroys anything in its radius (except Samus). Can open Yellow Hatches.
** Shockwave Bomb (*) = Enabled when the Electric Elemental Core is obtained. Adds a shocking effect to Samus' Power Bombs, neutralizing everything in its path and preventing bigger enemies from moving. Uses up more Power Bomb ammo.
===Boots===
* Jump Booster = Increases Samus' jumping height greatly and allows her to jump when in ball form. Like in Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission, this is actually a combination of the Hi-Jump Boots and Spring Ball items.
* Hover Boots (*) = Allows Samus to hover and move in mid-air momentarily, in addition to shooting from a fixed position.
* Space Jump = Allows Samus to jump an infinite amount of times when in mid-air.
* Anti-Gravity Boots (*) = Allows Samus to run along solid walls and ceilings. Jumping will cause Samus to descend from the wall/ceiling. Based on an old concept from an alpha version of Metroid Fusion.
===Misc.===
* Power Grip (default) = This ability passed down by the Chozo people allows Samus to grab and hang from ledges.
* Blockizer (*) = Adds a 'cubifying' effect to Samus' Charge Beam shots, allowing her to neutralize aggressive X Parasites and turn some of them into blocks she can use to solve puzzles.
* Speed Booster = Allows Samus to move at lightning speed upon building enough momentum, obliterating anything in her path, and perform a blazing Shinespark dash in a given direction. Also allows her to do charged dashes along any surface when in ball form.
** Flame Sprinter (*) = Enabled when the Fire Elemental Core is obtained. Adds a flame trail to Samus' Speed Booster which can destroy enemies caught in its path when she runs at full speed and/or performs the Shinespark.
* Screw Attack = Allows Samus to damage enemies when performing somersault jumps and destroy certain blocks.
===Order of Collectables===
Here is the main order in which Samus will obtain the collectable items. With careful Sequence Breaking, some items may be collected in a different order than in a regular playthrough.
Morph Ball
Missiles/Missile Tank
Scan Pulse
Energy Tank
Bomb
Charge Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Alpha)
Aeion Tank
Magnet Hook
Blockizer
Flash Vision
Spider Ball
Kinetic Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Gamma)
Jump Booster
Super Missiles/Super Missile Tank
Lightning Guard
Wave Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Epsilon)
Varia Suit
Beam Burst
Ice Elemental Core + Ice/Diffusion Missiles
Speed Booster
Reserve Tank
Spazer Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Theta)
Grapple Tether
Hover Boots
Gravity Suit
Power Bombs/Power Bomb Tank
Fire Elemental Core + Flame Sprinter
Phase Armor
Mirror Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Phi)
Space Jump
Shinespark Control
Electric Elemental Core + Shockwave Bomb
Gravity Boots
Plasma Beam (Obtained after battling SA-X Sigma)
Anti-Matter Missiles
Screw Attack
Ascended Suit/Ultimate Beam (During final battle)
==Reception==
TBA.
==Trivia==
* The name of the planetoid-research facility, Ilpstra I, is actually a reference to JonLeung's maps of the unofficial Metroid Dread fangame project.
** In addition, the name of the planet Kakoshi (where Samus was infused with Chozo DNA) is a contraction of the Japanese term meaning "hidden star" (隠された星 / kakusareta hoshi).