The Metroid threat is over. Now let's hear more about our heroine.

Throughout the Metroid series, gamers have experienced events through the eyes (or, should I say, visor) of Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter blessed with the mighty Power Suit. Orphaned as a girl after her mining colony home was raided by the Space Pirates, Samus was taken to Planet Zebes after being adopted by the wise, birdlike race called the Chozo. They infused Samus with their own blood to help her survive on Zebes, and taught her the ways of the warrior. At some point though, the Chozo began dying off, possibly after Samus reached adulthood and departed the planet. She joined the Galactic Federation military and was under the command of one Adam Malkovich until he sacrificed himself for his squad, including Samus. Beyond that, our knowledge of Ms. Aran is sketchy. She became a bounty hunter, and she kept a friendly relationship with the Galactic Federation, contracting with them for various dangerous missions. But so many questions remain.

The Metroid e-manga (available here in English and here in the original Japanese) is largely canonical, as most of the Zero Mission bonus gallery pictures are derived straight from that source. It answers many questions about Samus’ early life with the Chozo, but there’s a distinct 11-year gap between Samus being transfused with Chozo DNA and first obtaining the Power Suit. There is game material here, folks. Samus’ backstory is as painfully scant as her future is uncertain, and Nintendo would do well to take the series in a new direction now that Metroids have become extinct, and perhaps start answering a few questions about the main character.

Samus was orphaned after a Pirate attack led by Ridley

I see three distinct periods in Samus’ life, all of which could become very different gaming experiences. First, there is Samus’ early life with the Chozo. Acrobatics, exploration, and light combat would probably mark this period. Samus trained with a young Chozo male, who would fit in perfectly for training levels. Such a game would necessarily take place on Zebes, but it wouldn’t have to be the Zebes we’ve explored three times before. In those instances, Samus only ventured below the planet’s surface, aside from exploring the Chodozia ruins. But in her early life, she lived atop the catacombs of Zebes’ interior.

Life on Zebes with the Chozo

A perfect fit for DS, such games would continue the tradition of the 2D Metroids, featuring exploration and a largely open-ended world. Samus' Chozo instructors could teach her new acrobatic maneuvers, or she could also gain new technology (but not the Power Suit itself), in order to access hidden areas. One of the Zero Mission gallery pictures shows a teenage Samus equipped with a sort of proto arm cannon. As the game goes on, she could transition from melee attacks to a Paralyzer pistol/whip before acquiring such a weapon. Nintendo could even implement a Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin type gameplay style where players can switch between Samus and her Chozo companion.

The gameplay involved would be fundamentally similar to other 2D Metroid games, but the methods of moving through the world would be different, and a whole new storyline would emerge. During a series of games, players could see the gradual downfall of the Chozo, Samus’ emergence as a Chozo warrior complete with Power Suit, and how she decided to join the Galactic Federation military. Was revenge against Ridley and the Space Pirates her primary motivation? Also, the manga suggests that the Chozo “built” Mother Brain, who later became corrupted by the Pirates. Is Mother Brain the basis for the Federation’s Aurora Units? What, exactly, was Mother Brain’s relationship with the Chozo?