Chozo Ruins

:This article is about the location on Tallon IV. For other uses, see Chozo Ruins (Disambiguation).
The Chozo Ruins on Tallon IV, on the northern edge of the map, are the ruins of an ancient Chozo city. These ruins are relatively simple in structure, consisting primarily of stone buildings, since its builders sought to become closer to nature after their technology-dependent lives on SkyTown, Elysia. The majority of its buildings are hewn from simple, brown stone, with bridges and platforms built around Tallon IV’s native trees.
==History==
For centuries, the Chozo lived peacefully in what would become the Chozo Ruins, coexisting with nature and learning to develop spiritual abilities. This came to a swift end when a Leviathan struck the planet, spreading a deadly substance known as Phazon, which killed or mutated everything it touched. Despite the Chozo’s best efforts to protect their home, they too began to succumb. For some, not even death brought peace, and they were trapped in the physical realm as corrupted Chozo Ghosts, driven only by the feral desire to protect what would become the Chozo Ruins, with no distinction between friend or foe.
However, the remaining survivors foresaw the arrival of an "Entrusted One", who would destroy the source of Tallon IV’s corruption and the monstrous "Worm" residing within. For this individual, they left behind their history in inscriptions on the Ruins' walls and upgrades to help her achieve what they could not. Eventually, the last of the Chozo perished, leaving their city a dusty, abandoned ruin.
Approximately fifty years later, a frigate of Space Pirates discovered Tallon IV and the Chozo Ruins on its surface. They searched the dusty ruins, but found few items of value, and were discouraged from delving deeper by the ferocity of the Chozo Ghosts still haunting their former home. Because of this, the Pirates decided to make the area off-limits for the time being. As a result, when bounty hunter Samus Aran arrived on Tallon IV, she encountered no Space Pirates occupying the Chozo Ruins.
This area is unrelated to the Chozo Ruins across the surface regions Chozodia and Crateria on Zebes.
==Areas and main rooms==
When the Chozo came to Tallon IV, they wanted to better understand the life around them, so they used almost none of their very advanced technology. Instead, the Chozo built their city entirely out of stone and other natural substances. The landscape is also home to a very large number of Beetles. It can be divided into three main areas:
===Main area (west area)===
The first area explored by Samus and also the biggest, it contains many of the items found in the Ruins.
====Main rooms====
*Main Plaza
*Sunchamber
*Arboretum
*Hive Totem
===Central area===
A lot smaller than the first, it only has some of the "classic" items Samus found on the ruins. It can only be explored after regaining the Missile Launcher.
====Main rooms====
*Gathering Hall
*Watery Hall
*Energy Core
===East area===
This area has Chozo Ghosts in some rooms and can only be explored after obtaining the Spider Ball. Samus finds the Ice Beam here.
====Main rooms====
*Furnace
*Hall of the Elders
*Reflecting Pool
==Power ups==
*4 Energy Tanks
*19 Missile Expansions
*1 Power Bomb Expansion
*Artifact of Lifegiver
*Artifact of Wild
*Artifact of World
*Bomb
*Charge Beam
*Missile Launcher
*Morph Ball
*Ice Beam
*Varia Suit
*Wavebuster
==Species==
*Barbed War Wasp
*Beetle
*Blastcap
*Chozo Ghost
*Cyrlic tree (harmless)
*Eyon
*Fish
*Flaahgra
*Hive Mecha
*Incinerator Drone
*Oculus
*Parasite
*Plated Beetle
*Plated Parasite
*Plated Puffer
*Plazmite
*Puffer
*Pulse Bombu
*Ram War Wasp
*Reaper Vine
*Scarab
*Shriekbat
*Stone Toad
*Tangle Weed
*Thardus (Metroid Prime comic only)
*Venom Weed
*War Wasp
*War Wasp Hive
*Birds (harmless)
*Butterflies (harmless)
==Music==
Upon entering the Chozo Ruins for the first time, an abridged version of Ancient Chozo Ruins plays in the Ruins Entrance. Once Samus defeats the Plated Beetle and regains her Morph Ball, a drum beat and additional instruments are added as the main Chozo Ruins theme starts playing through most of the area. The full version of Ancient Chozo Ruins continues to play in the east area near the Hall of the Elders, while Chozo Chapel of the Elders plays in the hall itself.
==Development notes==
The Chozo Ruins was the first area to be built in Prime, specifically the Main Plaza to the Hive Totem, which were proof of concept rooms. (starts at 24:46)
According to Clark Wen, one of the first ambiences heard in the Chozo Ruins is the sound of a lion roaring, slowed down by 400% and further processed with plug-ins such as Pluggo to "sound distant and otherworldly".
This is the only area in Metroid Prime that does not have a table based on it in Metroid Prime Pinball. Matthew Nightingale suggested this was because it did not lend itself to becoming a table compared to other areas.Shinesparkers. Interview: Matthew Nightingale. May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
Lauren Quinn did a lot of environment work on the Chozo Ruins for Metroid Prime Remastered.Lauren Quinn. "For any Nintendo fans I’m friends with, I worked on the new Metroid Prime remaster! After so many years, we finally got the trailer and game all in one day! I did a lot of environment work on the Chozo Ruins section. I hope you all enjoy playing and reliving this classic!" LinkedIn. February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lookdev-lauren_metroid-prime-remastered-launch-trailer-activity-7032831914201780224-usH8/
==Trivia==
*The Chozo Ruins are the largest area in Prime, with 63 rooms in total.
*This is the area in Metroid Prime with the most power-ups (seven). These include some of Samus's more iconic items, like the Charge Beam and Morph Ball.
*Although Chozo Lore claims that the Ruins were built without any advanced technology, many sophisticated mechanical devices can be found in the area. While it is possible that the Space Pirates installed some of them before abandoning the region, many others display Chozo text or architectural motifs and must therefore have been installed by the original inhabitants.
==See also==
*List of rooms in Metroid Prime/Chozo Ruins
==Gallery==
Chozo_Ruins_3.png|Samus enters the Chozo Ruins in her basic Power Suit.
Chozo_Ruins_Main_Plaza_2_Dolphin_HD.jpg|The Main Plaza
NPC!_MP_Screen_24.png|Samus at the entrance to the Ruins.
NPC!_MP_Screen_25.png|Eyons in tunnels in the Ruins.
NPC!_MP_Screen_26.png|Polluted water in the Chozo Ruins.
NPC!_MP_Screen_29.png|Samus battles several Beetles in the Main Plaza
Ruined_Nursery_Dolphin_HD.jpg|Ruined Nursery
Save_Station_1_Chozo_Ruins_Samus_Power_Suit_Dolphin_HD.jpg|Save Station 1
Antechamber_Ice_Beam.jpg|Samus getting the Ice Beam in the Antechamber.
Chozo Ruins Sky.png|The desert surrounding the Ruins, with a mountain range in the distance that possibly surrounds the Phazon Mines.
Chozo carving.png|Chozo marking present throughout the Ruins.
Chozo Ruins Intro.gif|The introductory cutscene into the Chozo Ruins.
World - Remastered 11.png|World - Remastered concept art. In this image, a Samus model is used for size comparison.
==References==
de:Ruinen der Chozo
ru:Руины Чозо
Category:Chozo
 
Category:Desert/Ruins areas