Rated T for Toasty
ADAM: You are faced with overwhelming memes. Your highest priority should be, simply, to shitpost.
Because of the game's previous legendary status as Vaporware and being revealed right in the middle of a hotly anticipated E3 Nintendo Direct, it didn't take long for fans and newbies alike to make memes about this game.
Please add entries in the following format:
- The meme. ExplanationThe explanation behind the meme.
- Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
- Nintendo of America has referenced a few memes when marketing the game.
- Metroid [something that rhymes with "Dread"] ExplanationA common joke used to set up a Pun is to simply replace "Dread" in the title with something that rhymes with it.
- The Aperture Science-esque look of the E.M.M.I. robots quickly made Portal jokes surface in the fandom
. - GIVE ME THE PLANT, SAMUS. ExplanationOn top of the previously mentioned "Aperture Science" look of the robots, the design of the E.M.M.I. in the first trailer in particular, with its single glowing red eye and segmented white face plate, had fans joking that they're secretly AUTO in disguise. Too bad Samus doesn't have the plant.
- "The next Metroid is in development. The galaxy is at peace." ExplanationA parody of the opening lines to Super Metroid, often used to indicate how happy and unified the fanbase is that the game finally exists, after more than a decade of malcontentment and infighting between fans.
- "You are an Incel if you defend the $60 retail price of Metroid Dread" ExplanationA Twitter user (the same one behind the "Crunch / No Crunch" meme) made a tweet that disparaged the game being $60 over it being 2D and apparently not on par with other 3D games. Said user quickly became ridiculed over said comparison being unfair and ignorant of how game development works.
- Metroid Dread is an indie game. ExplanationMany people disparaged the game being a full price 2D game by comparing it to an Indie game. Said people quickly became subject to massive ridicule since not only did Metroid create the Metroidvania genre in the first place, but the game has significantly higher production values than indie games in the same genre.
- METROID CAN FINALLY CRAWL ExplanationA variation on the "y cant metroid crawl?" meme. Many fans took note of how Samus can now slide to get into small passages without using the Morph Ball, and made this meme as a joke response. Made even better by the fact that Samus was injected with Metroid DNA in Fusion, meaning that she is now literally Metroid, AND can crawl.
- Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion. ExplanationThe original supposed hint (actually just a coincidence)◊ towards Dread's existence found in Metroid Prime 3 back in August 2007 saw a massive surge of people quoting it again once Dread actually was close to completion.
- What happened to 4? ExplanationThose who don't know the difference between the main series and the Prime spinoffs asked this as a serious question, bewildered that Dread is being labeled as Metroid 5 and is coming out before we've seen even a single screenshot of Prime 4. Meanwhile, fans who did understand still couldn't help but make a bevy of "4 took too long, so they're skipping to 5" jokes, made funnier by Dread's own 15+ year development history.
- Nintendo's Half-Life 3 ExplanationTo explain to the unknowing why the Metroid fan community wasn't just excited for a new game, but specifically lost their minds over the name, video comments and forum posts were filled with quips comparing the game to finding a cryptid like Bigfoot, or other infamous Vaporware like Valve's Half-Life 3 to help explain why it was such a surprise.
- Wii U has the most eShop activity in years. ExplanationAt the time of Dread's announcement, Metroid and Super Metroid were the only Metroid games available on the Nintendo Switch. The Wii U quickly became the platform of choice for those looking to get into the franchise, as Nintendo selling Game Boy Advance and Wii games on the Wii U eShop meant that almost the entire franchise was available on the console (only missing Metroid II: Return of Samus, Metroid Prime Pinball, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, and Metroid: Samus Returns, which were on the Nintendo 3DS instead). Though Return of Samus and Fusion would eventually get added onto the Nintendo Switch Online service, alonside numerous other Game Boy games.
- E.M.M.I. OLED modelExplanationWhen the OLED model of the Nintendo Switch was revealed, it was noted that Dread is the marquee game for the new hardware, with the OLED model's white aesthetic even matching that of both Samus' new armor and the white E.M.M.I. This led to jokes that the system was an E.M.M.I. in disguise that would silence anyone disgruntled by the system not having the huge performance boost leaks and rumors implied it would.
- The SA-X's hair. ExplanationA Freeze-Frame Bonus in "A Glimpse of Dread" shows the SA-X, the infamous Humanoid Abomination Big Bad of Fusion, in 3D for the first time. Not only is its humanoid face (copying Samus herself) more clearly visible than in Fusion, but it even copied her hair, an added detail for its 3D depiction. Some fans find that it makes it even creepier, while others entertain the idea of a Zero Suit SA-X actually existing because of this apparent confirmation that it copied Samus' human traits, having done a similar thing with Dark Samus.
- The shot of Samus unconscious on the ground is often memed up as either an Undertale reference or Dragon Ball joke.
- "Treat our lost assets with care, Lady." ExplanationAdam tells Samus this in "Another Glimpse of Dread", presumably during the mission briefing. Given how Samus has a slightly exaggerated reputation for being a Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds and an entirely accurate one for blowing up highly secure locations, people started immediately joking about Samus intentionally blowing him off, how the planet would explode in spite of her efforts, or Adam saying this fully aware that collateral damage was inevitable now that she's involved. Made Hilarious in Hindsight when Samus indeed accidentally destroys ZDR — he doesn't even bother to point it out during the escape sequence, only piping up to warn her that she'll kill them both if she tries to fly the ship while wearing the Metroid Suit (a problem that is quickly neutralized by an X Parasite who couldn't bypass a deceased Quiet Robe's benevolence).
- Is Ridley going to be in this game? ExplanationAfter the last Metroid game made by Mercury Steam, Samus Returns, put in a Ridley boss fight where there wasn't one before, it's become something of a meme to wonder if there will be a Ridley boss fight put into here. Despite that he canonically died for real in Super Metroid, his clone was killed in Other M, the X Parasite clone of that clone killed in Fusion, and all known genetic remnants destroyed. Then the game is released and as it turns out, Ridley doesn't appear at all, not even in a flashback. In fact, the only returning veteran boss is none other than Kraid, Ridley's comrade who was always stuck in his shadow.
- "The Chozo have returned." ExplanationThe second trailer prominently features Raven Beak, a member of a highly advanced species once considered extinct, holding Samus aloft with one hand. Comparisons were promptly made between Raven Beak and the Didact from Halo 4, particularly with their status as the last of their kind and their ability to overwhelm the protagonist with relative ease.
- "Who knew Dread could bring such joy?" ExplanationQuips such as this were made about the happiness triggered by the title of the game despite it sounding so ominous.
- RGT 85's sales bet. ExplanationGaming Youtuber RGT 85 made a bet that if Dread didn't sell 3 million in its first year, he'd be given a free copy of Metroid Prime 4 when that came out — but if it did sell 3 million in its first year, he'd have to stream Balan Wonderworld. Videos and forums discussing Dread's consistently high place on pre-order charts (ahead of even various Super Mario Bros. and Pokémon games releasing around the same time) have jokes about RGT having to stream Balan. RGT himself (who is in fact a Metroid fan who simply didn't think Dread would sell much better than previous games in the series) even started to express worry about losing the bet.
- "Please buy Metroid Dread". ExplanationBecause the Metroid series has typically had middling sales that resulted in Sequel Gaps, fans have begged people to buy Dread so that the series won't go on hiatus again. Some have found this annoying, not just people rooting for the game to fail, but also Metroid fans who are either personally annoyed by the pleading or worried that the constant pleading might actually put people off of buying the game.
- When Nintendo released the Overview Trailer, the English video's thumbnail was a close up shot of Samus staring very angrily into the camera. It did not take long for fans to make memes of this or use it as a reaction image.
- In the second trailer, the scene where the Chozo warrior does a Neck Lift on Samus ends with her slowly closing her eyes before suddenly opening them wide in apparent shock or pain. Two-part images of the scene are used to illustrate before/after reactions or humorous comparisons along the same lines as the "I Sleep/Real Shit" meme, while videos of the scene insert goofy sound effects at the moment Samus opens her eyes. The actual still of Raven Beak lifting Samus off the ground like that is also compared with the height jokes Samus made at Little Mac's expense in Smash.
- MORPH into a BALL with the MORPH BALL. ExplanationThe narrator for the English language version of the Overview Trailer delivered a line describing the Morph Ball ability that fans found silly because of how redundantly worded it was.
- Other M ErasureExplanationA lot of people noticed that much of Nintendo's marketing for the game left out Other M. Presumably, this is because the marketing only focused on the 2D Metroid titles, but since Other M is such a maligned game in the fanbase, many of them took it as a sign that Nintendo was trying their best not to bring it up again. That said, Other M is still part of Dread's art gallery as the image for beating the game on Hard Mode, and the game is referenced on the Japanese Metroid site. Moreover the Super Metroid unlockable art references the Baby Metroid's death in the Super Metroid recreation of Other M. Sometimes followed by: Other M is still canon
- Where's the Morph Ball?ExplanationUnusually, the game makes you get several upgrades before finally obtaining the Morph Ball from the green E.M.M.I. (officially designated as E.M.M.I.-03MB). Longtime players of the series often ask where the Morph Ball is, as it is usually the very first item obtained if Samus doesn't already have it by default, resulting in many jokes and memes about Samus being hopelessly confused about this turn of events herself and trying to cope with it, as well as people celebrating after finally obtaining it. Even funnier when you remember that some of the Metroid manga adaptations (especially the Super Metroid gag manga) paint the Morph Ball as being Samus's absolute favourite upgrade.
- Flappy Birdnote During the battle with Experiment Z-57, he will expose high-speed fans and launch blasts at you, making you have to Space Jump over them not unlike the aforementioned game. It even became a full-on Fan Nickname for the Experiment boss.
- "You are faced with overwhelming power. Accept your helplessness."ExplanationUsed by Adam to describe overwhelming odds at one point in the game concerning the E.M.M.I.. It is gaining traction for being used to describe impossible or frustrating situations where one is unable to change the outcome.
- BeakpostingExplanation (spoilers)Raven Beak pretending to be ADAM proceeds to over-flatter himself. Leads to various dialog where "ADAM" overexaggerates Raven Beak's achievements, looks, etc. Usually used with the picture of Samus looking in front of the digital sphere that represents Adam.
- "Samus, you can't possibly hope to defeat Raven Beak. He is much too strong." Explanation (spoilers)Due to ADAM often commenting on how Raven Beak is beyond anything Samus faced, to the point of demeaning her chances of defeating him at full potential, fans coined this line to summarize how ADAM is rooting for Raven Beak and the fact it's Raven Beak posing as ADAM.
- "A buddy of mine saw Raven Beak take his shirt off in the shower, and he said Raven Beak had an 8-pack. That Raven Beak was shredded." Explanation (spoilers)A common line to describe how Raven Beak is also good-looking in addition of being super skilled and strong. The line originated from the SNL skit where Kylo Ren pretends to be Matt the Technician.
- Zero Suit Raven Beak. Explanation (spoilers)A further extension to the Mr. Fanservice Raven Beak memes, with Urban Legend of Zelda jokes cracked about means to unlock a secret ending that shows him posing gloriously in his Zero Suit. This also lent itself to even more jokes about how Zero Suit Raven Beak was actually removed from the game because his glorious form would have been spicy enough for the game's CERO and ESRB ratings to get upgraded into Z/AO.
- "This is no doubt the work of Raven Beak." Explanation (spoilers)Numerous times, ADAM attributes everything that goes wrong in the ZDR mission to Raven Beak, such as Quiet Robe's assassination, the release of the X-Parasites, and more. Fans have taken this as Raven Beak patting himself on the back◊ for his "brilliant" master plan. Even moreso, if he is lying about having planned it◊. Sometimes, it's even him deliberately messing with Samus.
- Watermelon Explanation (spoilers)The green and red color scheme of Samus' Metroid Suit has garnered many comparisons to said fruit, especially in its Morph Ball form.
- Nintendo's $60 game vs XExplanationA Twitter user posted a video of footage of a boss fight from Metroid Dread contrasted with footage of a boss fight from God of War (2018) captioned with "Nintendo's $60 game vs Sony's $60 game." in an attempt to disparage Metroid Dread. It quickly garnered ridicule as people began to post pictures of Metroid Dread compared to anything and everything including, but not limited to: other games, food, bags of soil, and drawings of fictional characters.
- Metroid Dread spoilers without contextExplanation (spoilers)Much like for other works shortly after the release of their newest entry, some fans posted "spoiler images" describing the events of Metroid Dread with images that reflect its various plot elements (such as the above-mentioned Flappy Bird, Sephiroth, Darth Vader, Goku performing Kamehameha, among other things).
- The elevators/trains Explanation When Samus travels between areas, she either takes an elevator or a tram, which just shows her standing in it silently before she arrives. This includes the pod she takes to Raven Beak's ship at the end of the game. It's become ripe for exploitation, from playing typical elevator music to silly sounds to more badass tracks for major Mundane Made Awesome, as Samus does nothing except stand there in silence, leaving it up to interpretation as to what she's thinking. The earliest video has her listen to "At Doom's Gate" while in the pod heading to Raven Beak.
- David Jaffe vs. "The Room" ExplanationGod of War creator David Jaffe was very critical of Metroid Dread because of what he felt was confusing level design. One particular spot where he got frustrated was a room in the upper-right part of Artaria where the player must shoot hidden blocks in the ceiling. Jaffe felt this was a Guide Dang It! moment, but fans of the game felt the room was actually a subtly brilliant example of Instructive Level Design and criticized him for not realizing that. It's also called sometimes the Jaffe room.
- Jaffe Mode/Journalist Mode ExplanationOne of the two difficulty settings introduced in the game's February 9, 2022 update is Rookie Mode, which serves as the game's easy mode. Fans nicknamed the mode "Jaffe Mode" due to David Jaffe's infamously low skill at the game. Likewise, the mode was also nicknamed "Journalist Mode" due to the stereotype that game journalists are horrible at the games they play, and proceed to blame the game for it.
- Samus Absorbing Everything Explanation (spoilers)At the conclusion of the game, Samus fully unlocks her Metroid DNA and gains the ability to absorb energy and abilities from literally anything. Fans took this to its natural conclusion, photoshopping the first instance Samus uses this power on a Central Unit and placing her into other scenes with other characters to "accidentally" absorb, such as the Etecoons and Dachora◊, the Triceratop◊ from Jurassic Park and God himself◊.
- The Dread Mode will truly make Metroid: Dread live up to its title.ExplanationNintendo announced Dread Mode, which makes Samus a One-Hit-Point Wonder, in the February 2022 Nintendo Direct. Jokes abounded about how the game was already hard as is for most players, but Nintendo decided to make it harder anyway.
