Metroid: Before

Author's note

This story is a prequel to "Metroid Samus begins " and is therefor the first chronological story on my timeline . If you have not read my other Metroid stories than this is the perfect place to start!! This Hexalogy is made up of my ideas for a live action Metroid movie and it's sequels . I've had these ideas in my head for well over a year and I needed a way to express them, so wattpad became the perfect method . I know I'll never get to use these ideas in the theatrical way I envision so I'm content with having them here laid out in chronological order for you all to enjoy .

------SPOILERS BELOW FOR MY OTHER METROID STORIES. IF YOU ARE READING THIS STORY FIRST PLEASE READ THE REST OF THIS NOTE LATER ON.----------

When writing "Samus begins" I knew it's sequel would naturally have to closely follow the events of the second game just like how that story followed the events of the first . But when I reached "X" I knew I had to change things dramatically so that it wouldn't be too predictable.

Because having the first story retell the first game was a safe bet and it was what everyone would want in a film , having the second retell the second game was a natural followup . It would be predictable yes but it was in the interests of the narrative and it worked perfectly with how I set up things . I threw Meta Ridley and Weavel into the mix as villians so that things would be slightly fresh and would keep the audience on edge and unsure of how the presence of those characters would effect the outcome.

But with "X" it was finally time to take some creative liberties ! It was still mostly connected to the games , however by mixing elements of "super Metroid " and "Metroid fusion" it made things completely new . I knew I couldn't retell the events of "super Metroid " because that would feel identical to the first story and also wouldn't make sense narratively for how I dealt with Ridley up to this point. "X" was the bridge going from retelling the game plots to finally telling a new story , and while I feel that I could have worked a lot harder to make that story a whole lot better I think it succeeded at what it needed to do.

"Ascendance " gave me a bit of trouble to be completely honest . While I had the clear idea for the setting and for the plot , I did not have much of an idea of the intricacies of what happened while exploring. For example with the first two stories you'll notice I got more creative and more action packed with how I wrote Samus's exploration of those planets but by the third story I was having problems trying to extend the length of the story and trying to make the chapters feel justified . Both "X" and "Ascendance" failed in terms of quality I personally feel and I do acknowledge this . Perhaps I was too burnt out from doing all of them so close together without planning the intricate details . As for the actual plot though this is where the creativity and uniqueness finally took hold . Our setting was a research station just like the fourth game but we didn't follow the same plot at all since the plot elements of the fourth game where used in the third story . In "Ascendance " the plot was more about setting up the fifth story and so while it didn't have much to offer in terms of environments and world I made up for that by introducing the nightmare character from the games as the main villain . It was my way of making it fresh but it also worked perfectly and fit in with the idea of the federation wanting to recreate Samus's technology. However the one thing that might have felt off admist this was the inclusion of Weavel yet again. Truth be told I knew I wanted him to survive the final battle in "X" but I knew he would have no relevance to this plot and would be nothing more than a brief cameo . It probably would have worked better if he was killed in "X" instead of "Legacy" but I feel his death in "Legacy" worked from the standpoint of that story being about bringing all the elements of Samus past together.

Speaking of, that's exactly what "Legacy" was meant to be. It was the culmination of everything. Because there was never a sequel to "Metroid fusion" and we were only left with vague ideas it allowed me to be fully creative and fresh without any retelling of any games . That was always my plan. This last story was always meant to be the one that stands out the most because it needed the context of Samus past established in the games to work. After being disappointed with "X" and "Ascendance " I actually felt great pride when I finished "Legacy" while there was times where I struggled with how to make each chapter worthwhile I think on a whole I did really well in crafting a story that was quick paced and straight to the point . It was originally meant to be 4-5 chapters longer but because of the setting I chose for the grand finale it meant I was limited in what I could do. I'm glad I decided to work with what I had instead of trying to artificially lengthen the story with irrelevant details as I feel the ending was more impactful since it took place right after the established twist of Samus luring everyone into a trap. I debated with myself however about whether I should keep Sylux alive long enough so that he could show up and distract grey voice before getting killed , as a way of referencing the iconic villainous sacrifices in "super Metroid " and "Metroid fusion" but as nice as this would have been , it didn't work because I felt the audience wouldn't be able to appreciate his heroic act after seeing him for his true villainy just moments prior .  "Legacy" had 3 villians in total however I feel accomplished knowing all 3 got the focus they needed especially grey voice. Introducing the final antagonist of the saga right at the very end of the story was risky but it was legitimately the only part where his appearance could be justified . His ending appearance allowed him to serve as that final link that brought everything from the previous 4 stories together and connected them with a single thread. I spent a great deal of time pondering how he would present himself and what his demeanour would be as I knew it needed to be perfect in order for this final showdown to work. I chose to make an honourable warrior who's humble but also feels cheated of his destiny because this allowed me to present him as a proper antagonist but also a character that you could feel sorry for. His final moments were surprisingly impactful and emotional when I re read them and I took care in how I placed each sentence in relation to one another . In the end it gives you this brief emotional moment where the audience can see him and Samus are not that different and ultimately had the same motives yet it was her tragedy and suffering that made Samus the stronger willed person, and grey voice realises this too late . I genuinely felt really good with how his arc turned out. His scenes while brief and few between were memorable and somewhat tragic as his actions led to the annihilation of his species , and this is all I wanted when I set out to craft his character.

And so that leads us to where we are now . I've given you the first and second mission, a final battle with Samus arch nemesis Ridley and a story of betrayal and lies that leads into an intergalactic war sized ending . But there's one more detail that needs to be expanded upon , one more thing that's been hinted at since the beginning and one more thing that only began to see its seed sown in "Legacy".  And that's the details of why Samus left the military and became a bounty hunter. It's not as important as the other stories since the main bullet points were already mentioned in the other stories but it does help to explain the sudden appearance of a character like Spire and of the kriken empire when neither of these things seemed to have any previously known impact on the story . This is that final thread.  You've seen the ending and now you'll see the beginning of it all.

I'll do one more author's note when all is said and done but for the mean time I hope you'll all follow along and enjoy this short but straight to the point origin story !

Thank you for reading !

- Novuscourvous