While most fans likely assumed Metroid Prime 4 would finally be officially revealed at E3 2021, Nintendo surprised most fans by instead announcing Metroid Dread. The long in development Metroid title had its fair share of cancelation rumors throughout the years, is officially the fifth game in the original series, picking up the story from Metroid Fusion originally released on the GameBoy Advance.
Metroid Dread returns to the classic 2D side-scrolling gameplay, seeing Samus work through various rooms connected to larger areas filled to the brim with secrets. With rumors circulating that the deadly X Parasite survived the events of Metroid Fusion, Samus heads to the planet called ZDR to investigate. However, Samus is also up against one of her toughest foes, Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier robots dispatched by the Galactic Federation, who has seemingly gone rogue and are now pursuing the bounty hunter.
Heavily featured in the debut E3 2021 trailer for Metroid Dread, these robots, also known as EMMI for short, have been detailed quite a bit already by Nintendo. Here's everything we know about these nearly indestructible robots.
EMMI Origins
Picking up after the events of Metroid Fusion, Samus Aran has seemingly brought an end to the extremely dangerous organism known as the X parasite. These organisms were originally held in check by the alien Metroids, though with the race seemingly wiped out due to the events of Metroid 2: The Return of Samus, the X parasite became a major problem until it was dealt with. Prior to the events of Metroid Dread, the Galactic Federation received a video seemingly showing that the X parasite had survived, now located on a planet known as ZDR.
Created as a way to research and extract DNA, seven EMMI robots are dispatched to investigate, though the Federation soon loses contact with them after arriving on the planet. Before long, bounty hunter Samus Aran manages to intercept the transmission and decides to investigate the strange events currently unfolding on ZDR. Samus remains immune to the effects of the X parasites, though upon landing, she discovers that the Galactic Federation robots have seemingly gone rogue and now relentlessly pursue her.
EMMI Variants
During the initial E3 2021 trailer for Metroid Dread, eagle-eyed players may have noticed a couple of unconventional EMMI robots. In fact, this was intentional as Samus will be going up against different models and variations throughout the story.
The weakest of the bunch appears to be a grey version of the enemy, which has since been identified as a broken EMMI due to its missing left arm and broken protective plating. This appears to be part of the game's tutorial as the EMMI moves slowly and can easily be countered which not only stuns the enemy, but allows Samus to slide under it to escape.
The announcement trailer also showed off the white version, which is also the one to be heavily featured in the game's marketing materials including the EMMI amiibo. Unlike the broken version, this EMMI is capable of climbing walls and chasing Samus at higher speeds.
Finally, a green armored EMMI was also briefly shown chasing Samus before being tricked by the Phantom Cloak ability. Unlike the White EMMI, this green one is also capable of crawling through tight spaces, giving Samus even fewer opportunities to escape. Finally, a recent blog post detailing this unique Metroid Dread enemies also confirmed the existence of a Yellow variant, though no additional details on what this EMMI could do were given.
However, these appear to just be the tip of the iceberg as Nintendo has hinted that Metroid Dread will have more EMMI versions each with their own special abilities to players to discover. The key art for the game even depicts seven EMMI robots behind Samus, which could be a big hint as to what players can expect when the game launches later this year.
EMMI Tactics
Unlike the SA-X in Metroid Fusion, the EMMI appear to be contained in specific parts of the world. Players will know they're entering an EMMI zone thanks to a unique door that only Samus can pass through. In these zones, the EMMI can freely roam and give off a certain light based on their current action. A blue light indicates they are on patrol, yellow means they're alerted to something, and red indicates they're in pursuit of Samus. Getting captured typically means Game Over, as the EMMI are impervious to Samus' weaponry.
However, players still have a slim chance to escape once captured. Using a melee counter at the right time will open the robot up to attack, though Nintendo warns that the timing to pull this move off is very tight and for most players, they'll just want to avoid this situation entirely.
The EMMI are not impossible to take on, no matter how terrifying Nintendo attempts to make these enemies. The E3 2021 gameplay of Metroid Dread already showed off new abilities such as the Phantom Cloak, which allows Samus to essentially render herself invisible to the EMMI scans. While Samus can move in this state, it'll burn through her energy called Aeion much faster than it does while stationary.
In addition to new abilities like the Phantom Cloak, players will also get access to the only weapon that can actively harm the EMMI called Omega Cannon. This temporarily empowers Samus' arm cannon to unleash a devastating stream of energy capable of damaging the EMMI. The stream overheats and shatters the protective plating, leaving its weak point exposed and vulnerable to a shot from the Omega Blaster. Keep in mind that Samus can't move when using the Omega Cannon, which Nintendo purposely intended to help build tension as the EMMI continues to walk towards Samus while getting damaged before ultimately breaking.
Metroid Dread launches October 8, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.