Parasite Queen

The Parasite Queen is the first boss in Metroid Prime and, by extension, the first boss in the Metroid Prime trilogy. As such, it is also the first Metroid boss to be fought in 3D. It is encountered on the Space Pirate Frigate Orpheon, in the Reactor Core.
==History==
The Parasite Queen was a Parasite genetically enhanced by Phazon. The Parasites were some of the first species to be experimented on with Phazon by the Space Pirates. Common results were an enormous increase in mass and length, as well as an enhancement of the acidic glands located near the creatures' mouths; a side effect to the latter trait is the constant drooling of a green liquid substance.
There were originally three Parasite Queens prior to the events of Metroid Prime; two of them managed to break free from their stasis tanks on the Orpheon and wreaked havoc throughout the vessel, slaughtering much of its crew. The Space Pirates managed to kill one of them as it reached the Frigate's evacuation chamber, while the other reached the ship's Reactor, where it was later fought by Samus. After being sufficiently weakened, it fell into the Reactor Core, causing the ship to self-destruct. In the PAL and Wii versions of Prime, when the queen dies, its shield can be seen exploding before the cutscene triggers.
The third Queen that had remained in its tank awoke after the ship's reactor became unstable, though this one was immediately dispatched by Pirates as it broke through its glass. Additionally, the corpse of a heavily mutated Parasite (to the extent that a large part of its upper body and head had rotted away) was seen within another tank, though this one most probably never reached Queen state, as it was still receiving Phazon dosages at the time of its death. The two Parasite Queens that escaped are undoubtedly the source of the Parasite infestation in the Frigate, as they must have given birth to an unknown number of offspring, causing the Space Pirate personnel to evacuate; it would appear a queen gives birth to Parasites through the orifice on the end of its tail.
In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, heavily degraded and mutilated Parasite Queen corpses can be found behind the Elevator in Xenoresearch A Lift in Eastern SkyTown of planet Elysia, insinuating that the Space Pirates' Parasite research had been ongoing ever since the Tallon IV campaign.
==Battle==
The Parasite Queen is a very straightforward boss. All Samus has to do is lock on the creature and fire at it while dodging its green energy blasts shot from its mouth. It will use the reactor's shields to protect itself, though the shields have spaces in them which allow firepower to reach the Parasite Queen. Strangely, while the shields reflect Samus's weapons, they don't hinder the boss's beams at all, even when they're positioned between the Queen and her target. The shields may be a one-way energy shield, allowing one way, but not the other. The Power Beam, Charge Beam, and especially Missiles are very effective against the creature.
Whenever the Parasite Queen is about to fire its energy blasts at Samus, it can be seen absorbing the reactor core's energy located below with its tail. Electrical surges are seen running through its tail and into the boss's mouth; whether or not the beam blast is equably composed of the reactor's energy and of the acid present in the creature's oral glands is never specified in its scan.
The Parasite Queen will open its mouth sometimes to roar at Samus. If Samus scans the Parasite Queen with the Scan Visor, she will learn this is its weak spot. She can now target the mouth, causing great damage to the Parasite Queen when she fires at it. Sometimes the shields will spin rapidly around the creature. Samus can either fire her Power Beam repeatedly to do some damage or charge her Power Beam and then fire it once the shields stop spinning. When it is low on health, the Queen will fire its beams at Samus more frequently. Once the Parasite Queen is destroyed, it damages the frigate's reactor core. Due to this incident, Samus has seven minutes to evacuate the frigate.
The Parasite Queen can be defeated quite easily by rapidly firing missiles, but this is only if Samus has fifteen while fighting it. The Parasite Queen, however, cannot be defeated solely using missiles on Hard/Hypermode, so Samus will have to use her Power Beam as well in order to finish its health quickly. The fastest defeat of this boss is 3.8 seconds and can be seen here.
==Official data==
===Logbook entry===
===Scans===
===Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide===
;BOSS BATTLE: PARASITE QUEEN
:"When fighting any boss in Metroid Prime the first step is to scan the enemy. Scan every enemy you encounter, especially the bosses. The scan usually reveals useful information about the opponent and hints at its weaknesses.NOTE: If you do not scan the Parasite Queen, you will not be able to lock onto its weak spot: the mouth. Without a scan, your auto-target locks onto the body, and your attacks are less effective.The Parasite Queen is protected by a blue force field that your attacks cannot penetrate. You must dash around to the gap in the force field so that your attacks can reach the Parasite Queen.Use any missiles you have, and also hit it with your Charge Beam. The bar at the top of the screen indicates the Parasite Queen's energy.During the fight, hold down [L] to keep the Queen targeted. This also allows you to quickly dash out of the way of its attack by pressing [B].When the force field spins around the Parasite Queen, fire as many regular Power Beam attacks as possible. Your Power Beam is quick enough that a few shots can penetrate the shield.Continue attacking in this manner to quickly destroy the mutant Parasite Queen. Once defeated, it falls into the fiery pit, and you can be on your way."
;Parasite Queen
:Found In: Space Pirate Frigate
:Recommended Weapon: Any
:Weak Spot: Mouth
:"The Parasite Queen was genetically engineered by the Space Pirates to exhibit weaponlike qualities. The energy beam it shoots from its mouth is dangerous and should be avoided by a quick dash or jumping. You must scan the Parasite Queen to find the weak spot in its mouth. Without the scan, your targeting reticle only locks onto its body. Exhaust your missiles on it before resorting to the Charge Beam. The Parasite Queen is protected by a force field that can only be breached from the front. Occasionally, the field resets itself by spinning around the Queen. During this time, continue firing your Power Beam at it. The faster you shoot, the better your chances of breaching the moving gaps in the force field." 
===Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide===
;PARASITE QUEEN
:"The crazed experimentation that was taking place on the ship obviously spun out of control. And while most creatures perished, there is one that remains. Take out the massive Parasite Queen before she turns you into a tasty snack."
:LOCATE THE WEAKNESS
:"Scan the Parasite Queen to find a weak point (the mouth) then lock on and fire away when you see a gap in the force field. If you don't scan the queen, you'll fire at her belly--you can win that way, but it takes longer."
===Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide===
;PARASITE QUEEN
:MORPHOLOGY
:"Parasite female, genetically enhanced by unknown means."
===Metroid Prime Official Perfect Guide===
;BOSS: PARASITE QUEEN
:"You won't be able to effect indiscriminate damage to the Queen at just any time or from just any angle--you need to wait for the opening in the force-field to rotate into your line of sight and then aim up, lock, and fire: shoot one Missile, and follow it up with successive bursts from your Power Beam to do the most efficient damage. At some points, the force-field will seem to exhibit a kind of "interference pattern" where small openings become visible; when this happens, you should strafe along the opening while firing Missiles. Of course, all of this must be done while avoiding the sweeping green beam that the Queen belches forth from her gross maw. When you see her rear her head back, heed the onscreen prompt that appeared at the beginning of the battle: execute the "Dash" maneuver. While holding the L Button down--but not firing--press the Control Stick to the left, or right, and double-tap B: You'll leap to the left or right very quickly, a move which can be instrumental in avoiding the Queen's blasts. If this doesn't seem to be working for you, you may want to vary this approach with a small breather action of transforming into the Morph Ball and rolling to a new vantage point, passing beneath the angle of the green beam. Keeping up this strategy will have the Queen in her death-throes in no time. (And remember to scan her; you encounter each boss only once.)"
===Nintendo Power Volume 163===
;PARASITE QUEEN
:"The Parasite Queen is a science experiment gone wrong. When Space Pirates infused creatures with a radioactive substance called Phazon, they sometimes achieved bizarre results. As soon as you see the monster, activate your Scan Visor by pressing Left on the Control Pad, then scan it by holding down the L Button.The scan will reveal a weak spot in the Queen's mouth. Lock on to her by holding the L Button, then strafe around her by pressing Left or Right. When you see a gap in the force field, hit the Queen with a Charge Beam or a Missile barrage. It will take around seven shots to bring her down."
===Official website===
Homeworld: Not found in nature
Civilization type: Unknown
"The Parasite Queen exhibits the ability to fire weapon-grade blasts of energy from its mouth, a trait not present in the standard parasite genome. The creature will violently attack any creature it determines to be a threat. Genetically enhanced by unknown means, the Parasite Queen is a female specimen.
The creature has massive arms and a hulking upper body which dwarves its abdominal region. Powerful jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth account for most of the head."
===Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophy===
"Space Pirates performed many experiments using Phazon as a means to artificially enhance physical strength. The Parasite Queen is the result of these experiments on one small life-form. This Parasite Queen lived in a nuclear power reactor and fired destructive beams at Samus from her mouth. The barrier that spun around the queen reflected her and Samus's attacks."
Metroid Prime, 2002
===Metroid Prime Remastered website===
;Parasite Queen
:"A parasite that has undergone radical mutations due to Space Pirate bioengineering experiments. As a result, its body grew larger by orders of magnitude, and it can fire beam-shaped energy from its mouth."
==Development notes==
According to Jack Mathews, the tech lead for Prime, the Parasite Queen was the first boss designed for the game. She was originally intended to lay eggs from her tail that would bear "creatures", likely Parasites. However, when this concept was implemented, Retro Studios agreed that it was overly complicated and not fun to play, and removed the mechanic as a result. Some evidence of this idea can be found in the Emergency Evacuation Area, where a dead Parasite Queen's tail can be scanned; there, the orifice is said to "likely [be] used for birthing offspring." Additionally, a hologram in Biotech Research Area 1 makes reference to Parasite eggs produced by Queens.
The E3 2001 trailer includes an FMV animation showcasing the Parasite Queen in a much less restricted room, with the boss having much more freedom for movement such as running across the room and climbing on walls. This is alluded to in the below interview with Mike Sneath, who says that a previous iteration of the Parasite Queen's boss room had to be scrapped because the gameplay was not working as intended. LeRoy Strauss remade the boss room into the final iteration of the Reactor Core.
Unused, presumably placeholder scan images from the Prime demo use Draygon's sprite from Super Metroid. This suggests that Draygon was an inspiration for the Parasite Queen. Within the demo's scan, the first sentence is shorter than the final version, and the exclamation mark was moved.
Initially, the Parasite Queen's lock-on target is her belly, but this changes to her mouth after she is scanned. According to Zoid Kirsch, this was a design idea to encourage frequent scanning. Kirsch came up with the shield around the Queen as a means of teaching the player how to Strafe and Dash.Kiwi Talkz. "#121 - Zoid Interview (Metroid Prime, Cameras, Scripting, Sequence Breaking , Programming etc.)" YouTube. January 22, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022. (starts at 24:28)
===Derek Bonikowski animation===
290px|left
===Mike Sneath design notes===
Originating from the mind of lead designer Mark Pacini, the monstrous Parasite Queen is the creation of concept artist Andrew Jones and modeler Mike Sneath.
"The Parasite Queen took me about 20 days to model and texture. It was actually my very first boss I got to do for Metroid," explained Mike. "Quite a few people have asked about the bump maps or multi pass rendering we did on some of the characters and I always reply, 'What bump maps?' [Smiles] The Parasite Queen, for example, is purely color maps. There are no fancy render passes or bump maps. I just spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort on the texture maps to make it look right. The only inspiration I had for modeling the Parasite Queen was the concept." In addition to the in-game model, Mark is also responsible for the Parasite Queen model shown in the FMV (Full Motion Video) video during E3 2001.
What may be of even more interest is the fact that Samus could have been fighting "The Queen" in another setting that did not make the final cut. "I made the Parasite Queen almost at the beginning of when we started Metroid, Mike told N-Sider. "LeRoy [Strauss] made the chamber you see in the game maybe a year or so later. There was a previous chamber, which was scrapped because the game play wasn't working properly so the designer remade the chamber."
Lead Art Director, Todd Keller, was once again credited for the wonderful harmony in the style and design of the Parasite Queen and Reactor Chamber, which was vital to insure that it didn't appear as if two different artists had worked on the scene.
===Mike Sneath interview===
==Other appearances==
===Metroid Prime comic===
In the Metroid Prime comic in Nintendo Power, Samus kills the Parasite Queen simply by firing Missiles at an ionized nitrogenic coolant tank close to the creature. In addition, the Parasite Queen was given a slightly different appearance in the comic, specifically, a ribbed stomach, spines on both her sides, as well as a draconian face, and especially eyes.
===Super Smash Bros.===
====Super Smash Bros. Brawl====
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Parasite Queen appears in the background of the Frigate Orpheon stage. Unlike in her boss fight in Metroid Prime, all she does is frequently roar at the fighters, not shooting her energy at them or being any threat at all. Even though the Parasite Queen cannot be fought this time, the shields in the tank are still present. Its theme music is one of the songs that plays on the stage. Interestingly, its model and roar in the game is different from its appearance in Metroid Prime. The Parasite Queen is also an unlockable Trophy.
====Super Smash Bros. Ultimate====
After being absent in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the stage and the Parasite Queen return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with the Queen having a higher resolution model than before.
The Parasite Queen also appears as a Support Spirit, which can be equipped alongside a Primary Spirit with two available support slots. The Parasite Queen's class is Advanced. It provides the Screen-Flip Immunity attribute, which stops the screen from flipping upside down. Interestingly, the Parasite Queen's Spirit artwork is unique to Ultimate, rather than a reused asset from Metroid Prime.
The Parasite Queen Spirit can appear on the Spirit Board or in World of Light; in the latter mode, the Parasite Queen appears in the Base when the Fighters use an incorrect console while trying to disable the second forcefield. In Spirit Battles, the Parasite Queen uses a giant blue Ridley as its Puppet Fighter. The battle takes place on the Frigate Orpheon stage, with the actual Parasite Queen observing the fight in the background as usual. Ridley has increased attack power and shields frequently, the latter presumably referencing the Parasite Queen's use of reactor shields. Although Support Spirits do not normally have types, the Parasite Queen is considered an Attack type during this battle, meaning it is strong against the Grab type and weak against the Shield type. 
==Trivia==
*If the Parasite Queen is hit with the Boost Ball (via hacking), it will die instantly; oddly, the creature will not be shown in the following cutscene. The Phazon Beam (also via hacking) is also capable of killing the Parasite Queen in one shot; due to enemies' energy buff on Hard/Hypermode, the Parasite Queen will simply receive massive damage from the Phazon Beam, potentially killing it almost instantly within a matter of seconds.
*The Parasite Queen can be killed with all of Samus's weapons, including Bombshttps://youtu.be/a9VXjz4picg and a single Power Bombhttps://youtu.be/jSDR7Z2Vsc8, when they are acquired via hacking. She is the only boss in the Metroid Prime series to be this vulnerable.
*The Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Trophy states that the Queen's attacks are hindered by the shield. This is true in the sense that its movements and any physical attacks it might have used in combat were ultimately blocked by it. The Queen's beam, however, was not hindered at all by the shield.
*When the Queen falls into the Reactor Core, the resulting blast looks very similar to that of a Power Bomb.
*The Parasite Queen's scan is the only Logbook entry to include an exclamation mark in the Prime series.
*After the crash, if one exhibits a closer look at the Parasite Queen in Biohazard Containment, it is missing its upper two arms.
==Gallery==
===Pre-release===
thumb|left|250px|E3 2001 footage of Parasite Queen
24_Metriod_Prime_Concepts.jpg|Mike Sneath art
Parasite Queen.jpg|The Queen in an earlier version of Prime; note the different HUD.
Prime Demo Parasite Queen Scan.png|Samus scans the Parasite Queen in the Metroid Prime Demo.
Draygon Parasite Queen.png|Metroid Prime Demo scan images
===Metroid Prime===
Frigate Orpheon 3.png|Emergency Evacuation Area
Biohazard Containment.jpg|Biohazard Containment
Biotech Research Area 1.jpg|Biotech Research Area 1
Biotech Research Area 1 (2).jpg|Biotech Research Area 1
Samus encounters Parasite Queen Dolphin HD.jpg|Samus encounters the Parasite Queen.
Reactor_Core_Parasite_Queen_Scan_Images_Dolphin_HD.jpg|Parasite Queen's scan
Parasite_Queen_battle.jpg|Samus battles the Queen.
Parasite Queen Blast.png|The Queen firing her green energy blast at Samus, but misses.
Commercialqueen.png|Prime Evil
Zoo Parasite Queen model.png|Corpse model, Biohazard Containment.
===Metroid Prime Remastered===
MetroidPrimeRemastered ParasiteQueen screenshot.png|Metroid Prime Remastered screenshot from the Nintendo eShop.
Parasite Queen Logbook entry in MPR.jpg|Logbook scan.Nintendo UK (NintendoUK). "PSA: If you want to complete the Log Book in #MetroidPrimeRemastered, don't forget to scan the bosses before you take ‘em down!" 9 February 2023 9:30 a.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/NintendoUK/status/1623690685822955521
Character Gallery - Parasite Queen.png|Metroid Prime Remastered Character Gallery
Biology - Remastered Image 01.png|Concept art seen in Metroid Prime Remastered.
===Other games===
Paracorpse.png|The corpse in Corruption.
Ssbb orpheon.jpg|Super Smash Bros. Brawl
BrawlTrophy24.jpg|Brawl trophy description
SSBU Parasite Queen.png|Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Sakurai tweet on MP1's 18th anniversary.png|Image tweeted by Masahiro Sakurai on November 15, 2020, the 18th anniversary of Metroid Prime.Sakurai, Masahiro (Sora_Sakurai). "2002年のきょう『METROID PRIME』が北米で発売。日本より3ヶ月ほど早かった。" Translated: "2002 Today "METROID PRIME" is released in North America. It was about 3 months earlier than Japan." 14 November 2020 10:00 p.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1327808541533605889
==References==
es:Parásito Reina
it:Parassita Regina
ru:Королева Паразитов
Category:Bosses
Category:Genetically Engineered
Category:Frigate Orpheon
Category:Elysia
Category:Eastern SkyTown
Category:Mike Sneath
Category:Mark Pacini
Category:Derek Bonikowski
Category:Parasite Family
Category:Recurring Species
Category:Trophies
Category:Super Smash Bros.
Category:Todd Keller
Category:Greg Luzniak
Category:Reptilian
Category:Radioactive
Category:Rogue
Category:Deceased
Category:Predators
Category:Spirits