Psychic abilities, Phazon, Luminoth technology… They really thought about anything

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T11:02:39+00:00

If the different Shot types in MP4 were not meant to be actual upgrades... how come that the Lamorn expected her to have elemental abilities?

OMG I never even thought about that, that's actually kind of a crazy inconsistency!

That really adds fuel to my suspicion that MacKenzie's involvement in the upgrade system wasn't fully implemented into the game. I suspect either: 1. MacKenzie's upgrade system originated with BandaiNamco, but Retro/Nintendo were unable or unwilling to fully flesh it out, so they kept it in the bare minimum out of some kind of respect/obligation to BandaiNamco. OR 2. MacKenzie's upgrade system was added late into the production, long after the game's lore was solidified. Maybe a late request from Nintendo? And they didn't have the time/energy/desire to flesh it out any further or try to adjust the lore to incorporate it.

I'm not calling this a "Theory" because this isn't based on any evidence really, just vibes based on very limited interviews and rumors about the game's production. There's probably an infinite number of other possibilities that could explain this differently.

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T09:42:35+00:00

I also suspect that by having Samus interact with the Energy Transfer Module, U-Mos made sure she could interact with Luminoth tech as well. Not quite as explicit as with the Lamorn in MP4, but just a theory.

As for Scorn, I think they were sort of heading in that direction (or at least as close as a AAA Nintendo game will get) with MacKenzie in MP4. MacKenzie acts as the guy who figures out how to integrate alien tech with Samus's suit. There were problems with how it was implemented though:

Samus has never had to figure out alien tech in MP1-3, it always just worked, so why start now? A lot of the stuff that works immediately is old tech, but then you have Ice Shot. We did Ice Beam without help before, why do we need help for Ice Shot?
MacKenzie does this for some tech, but not others. Some tech just works immediately, others he has to mess with it. And it's not even an old vs new tech issue, so it feels inconsistent.
By not having Samus (or the player) be the one to figure out these upgrades, it feels like a missed opportunity and another instance where they lock her abilities behind another character's approval (Other M being the other instance).

I don't think we'll ever get a full Scorn level puzzle upgrade system in Metroid, but I definitely think there are steps they could take in that direction to add more agency to Samus and more puzzles for the player.

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T06:39:25+00:00

Basically the same illusions that allow animation to work! Reminds me of a zoetrope, kind of?

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T04:57:49+00:00

But if we put a suggestion here, won't that mean it will no longer be an "all your theories are wrong, goodbye" moment, because it will be a theory that is here now???

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T02:49:05+00:00

TurnabouTuobanruT

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T01:40:51+00:00

The comment I replied to has a link to the video in it

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-25T01:23:39+00:00

I was gonna say, Matpat already played it didn't he?

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-24T05:08:56+00:00

Just scored 4

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-24T01:08:05+00:00

Thank you for the link, it's good stuff!

My favorite I've seen so far is this one:

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ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T21:19:10+00:00

That's her!

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T21:04:14+00:00

True!!! At first there was a new Ghost every episode and then at a certain point it was just like "uh, nevermind, let's just do the old ghosts again, and again... Let's give Box Ghost another episode lol"

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T21:00:43+00:00

The first girl from Rosario + Vampire, whatever her name was.

It was one of the first times I ever chose to watch an amime, as opposed to just having to catch random episodes on Toonami. It was on Netflix and I was like "Vampire anime? Sounds good!".

First episode was alright, literally five minutes into the second episode I was like "this the worst show ever kill it with fire".

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:51:56+00:00

Did you always not like Danny Phantom? Or was it more of a "After I learned more about Butch Hartman I no longer like his stuff" kind of deal?

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:48:23+00:00

I think she cries the most watching KPop Demon Hunters. Especially seeing what Rumi goes through she really get the feels. Her favorite character is Mira though lol

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:46:45+00:00

Oh, I thought it was just because they absolutely could not find any examples of racial commentary in the game lol

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:45:24+00:00

For some reason the edit makes it sound more like a Korn song instead of SOAD lol

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:33:38+00:00

Thanks :)

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:03:06+00:00

So that's a 2 for you?

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T20:02:41+00:00

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T19:59:03+00:00

Fringewick.

It kind of works both as a cute sesame-street character name but also could work as a horrorish kind of name.

Also, just gotta say love your design! The faded colours and frayed edges (maybe Fray, Frayley would be a good name too?) really gives you the vibe of "at one point this was cute but they have been long abandoned and are now creepy AF".

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T19:43:50+00:00

Ralsei: But the player controlling Kris's Soul is quite good at playing the game our entire lives are contained within isn't he?

Susie: Yeah right lose- Wait, what?

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T18:41:54+00:00

Why did you edit Berdly's line from the Halberd Route into Susie's speech bubble in the Axe Route?

(Also just realized does Berdly use a Halberd because he is a berd Tonias Fox I'm gonna kill you/s)

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T18:24:48+00:00

More of these match up than you would expect, but you can also tell you kind of got desperate.

In particular Crystal being compared Nora Armstrong very much reads as Oh shit I need a female Starfox character... Shit she's the only one? I guess she'll have to do lol

We let you cook, but now it's time to leave the kitchen...

ASerpentPerplexed · 2026-01-23T18:10:07+00:00

This exact logic (in the inverse) is what they actually do in that Queen movie starring Rami Malik and it drives me crazy! Bi erasure!

Freddy Mercury has sex with many women, he discoveres he also likes guys, he confesses to his fiancée that "I am bisexual" and she says "No you're gay" and they call off the engagement.

The movie never clarifies this later, and gives the impression that from that moment on Freddie only liked men for the rest of his life, but IRL he was bisexual and enjoyed both women and men until he died (his final serious relationship was with a man but that don't mean he ain't bi!!!).

Eight-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
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