A large, familiar behemoth returns in Metroid Dread.

As revealed two days ago in a new trailer for Metroid Dread, Samus Aran will be facing a familiar foe returning from her past. And it's one that hasn't been given much fanfare in the past. It isn't Ridley, but he is Ridley's comrade. It's the Awakened Behemoth: Kraid!

Not much was shown of the Kraid fight, but you can see him trying to lunge at Samus when she enters his room, only just barely reaching her due to being chained up, presumably against his will. Another scene shows Samus jumping on his stomach towards his head, which is most likely a cutscene that plays after Samus successfully counters an attack he throws at her.

For those who don't know, Kraid is a one of the Space Pirate's Commanders, presumably ranked lower than Ridley, since he's the leader. (When it isn't Mother Brain, anyway.) He made his debut alongside the aforementioned Ridley and Mother Brain in the original Metroid, released for the NES back in 1986. Compared to future titles, he was pretty small, about Samus's height. Regardless, he was treated as an equal threat alongside his fellow villains.

Super Metroid would roll around, and would reintroduce Kraid as the giant behemoth we all know and love. He would then make a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee in the Brinstar Depths stage, where he would twirl the stage around by hitting it every now and then. Afterwards, he would show up for the remake of the first game titled Metroid Zero Mission, sporting his redesigned look he got in Super Metroid.

After that, Kraid would sort of fall off by the wayside. He was planned to make an appearance in Metroid Prime, getting concept art and even managing to get a 3D Model, with a small idea on how the boss fight would play out. However, the developers wouldn't have enough time to test things out to see if it would be fun/challenging, thus he was dropped, relegated only to a passing mention.

Kraid would make an appearance in the Metroid Manga, which released alongside Zero Mission. While the manga greatly expanded upon both Ridley's and Mother Brain's characters. as well as giving them closer ties to Samus, it did not do that for Kraid. In fact, it simply relegated him to a fight towards the end of Volume 2, Chapter 15: Tooth & Nail. There, the only interesting factoids it gave was that he's Ridley's comrade, and that he can't talk, only communicating through monstrous growls and roars.

That being said, Kraid, or at least an animatronic version of him, would make a surprising appearance in Nintendo Land as a boss fight in the Metroid Blast section. The last level of the game also had him team up with Ridley, having them serve as the mode's final challenge.

He would also return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, performing the same role he did in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Additionally, he was also a collectible Master Spirit, who would teach your other Spirits the Tank Style, which improved their defense, but lowered their mobility. Notably, the fact that he doesn't talk was carried over from the manga, where he speaks only in growls and roars, with the game humorously giving only assumptions on what he's saying.

Regardless, it should be noted that, in the Metroid timeline, Kraid's last appearance was in Super, where Samus would finally defeat him for good. His apparent survival in Dread hasn't been revealed, but will most likely be explained once the game is released.

Metroid Dread, coming to Nintendo Switch October 8th, 2021!

During their E3 Presentation, Nintendo has announced Metroid Dread. Developed in cooperation with Mercury Steam, who previously made the excellent Metroid: Samus Returns, Metroid Dread - also referred to as Metroid 5 - is the long-awaited sequel to 2002's Metroid Fusion. Some time afer the events of Fusion, Samus heads to planet ZDR to investigate a mysterious transmission sent to by Galactic Federation. The remote planet has become overrun by vicious alien lifeforms and chilling mechanical menaces. Samus is more agile and capable than ever, but can she overcome the inhuman threat stalking the depths of ZDR?

While exploring the place, Samus will be hunted by a robot named E.M.M.I., who is invulnerable to all of Samus's weapons. Samus will have to spend most of her time hiding from and sneaking by the robots. If they catch her, it's an instant game over.

Samus also have some new power-ups and moves that will help her on her adventure. She can now perform a slide to quickly get through small corridors, as well as slip underneath tall enemies. With the Phantom Cloak, she can hide from the E.M.M.I. Robots sight. And with the Omega Cannon, she can actually defeat an E.M.M.I. robot! However, it's a one-use weapon, so the player had better aim well lest they have to go and find another one.

One screenshot shows what appears to be a Chozo controlling some machine. Could it be a followup to the hidden 11th Chozo Memory from Metroid Samus Returns, which revealed there is a rogue Chozo faction that betrayed the Chozo cause? Or is this Chozo actually a friendly individual helping Samus?

Metroid Dread is planned to be released October 8th, 2021. amiibo figures of Samus in her new Power Suit, as well as E.M.M.I., will be released on the same day.

You can watch the announcement trailer here!

 

You can also watch Yoshio Sakamoto give a brief talk on Metroid Dread's development history here!

You can pre-order the game here!