Chozo

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The Chozo are a fictional species of bird-like extra-terrestrials existing within the Metroid video game universe. The Chozo raised Samus Aran and outfitted her with armaments. They are portrayed as mysterious and godlike throughout the Metroid series.

1 History
2 Chozo Statues
3 Terminology
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The origins and age of the Chozo race and civilization is unknown, but they were once a great race spread across several planets in the Metroid universe, though none have been seen alive in the current time of the games. The Chozo were wise, knowledgeable, and extremely technologically advanced. According to Metroid Prime, the Chozo decided that there was nothing more left to know, and decided to sit back and watch other civilizations grow instead. While the Chozo mostly appeared as a peaceful race, statues depicting "Chozo Warriors" can be seen in Metroid Prime. Chozo have thrived on most major Metroid planets so far, namely Zebes, Tallon IV and SR388.

[edit] Zebes (Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission)

The Chozo on Zebes lived on the surface of the planet, in a rocky area known as Chozodia, though some of their statues can be found underground. The Chozo brought Samus Aran to Chozodia and let her grow up with them after her family was killed. After Aran grew up, the Chozo created her trademark Power Suit and she left the planet.

[edit] Metroid e-manga

In the official Metroid manga, which chronicles Samus's early life before Metroid/Zero Mission, the Chozo are quite different from the image players get from reading the Metroid Prime Logbook data. Rather than being mysterious, godlike beings, they show more emotion (e.g. They break into a huge argument when Old Bird brings Samus to Zebes, and quite literally go ballistic in an attack and destroy an entire canyon). At the moment, the only major Chozo characters are Grandpa Bird (Tori-jisan, "Old Bird" literally, but referred to by Samus as "Grandpa") and his assistant/accomplice, Grey Voice.

The reason for the decline and eventual fall of the Chozo civilization on Zebes has not yet been revealed, however, it is implied that the Space Pirates (and possibly Mother Brain) may have had a hand in their disappearance. In the official Metroid e-manga, the Chozo who raised Samus are alarmed to discover the presence of poisonous flowers on Zebes, flowers which are implied to have been planted by the Space Pirates. Mother Brain at that point was still being used as a kind of planetary control computer by the Chozo, although whether it had any part in their fall has not been revealed. Based on the events in the e-manga, it's safe to assume that the final disappearance of the Chozo is a recent event as they were still quite known within the Federation during that time. Whether or not their civilization was already in decline at that point, or whether their fall was abruptly caused by external factors is unknown.

[edit] Tallon IV (Metroid Prime)

The Chozo that colonized Tallon IV decided that they did not need advanced technology, and started living in complete harmony with nature, building their stone temples delicately around giant trees in search of enlightenment. Sometime in their history, a giant meteorite impacted the planet, filled with the radioactive substance Phazon (known to the Chozo as "The Great Poison") which started corrupting and mutating the nature. In order to stop, or at best, hinder this, the Chozo poured their will into a giant barrier around the crater, powered by twelve Chozo Artifacts hidden around the planet.

What happened to the Chozo later on changes between versions. The NTSC version of the game claims that the Chozo transcended into enlightement, becoming spiritual creatures watching the universe. In the PAL version, it is simply not outright stated what happened to them.

Both Space Pirates and Samus later find the planet, and discover the Chozo Ruins and barrier. They discover that the barrier was actually keeping in a powerful creature that lived inside the meteorite, known as Metroid Prime (known to the Chozo as "The Worm"). Note that Metroid Prime actually did escape from the barrier in the NTSC version, but went back to the crater again. The Artifacts are guarded by Chozo Ghosts, explained in the game as Chozo souls corrupted by the Phazon, and called "The Turned" by the other Chozo. Samus eventually manages to find all the artifacts, unlock the barrier, and kill Metroid Prime.

[edit] SR388 (Metroid II: The Return of Samus)

The Chozo that lived on SR388 discovered the X Parasites that were destroying the natural order, as stated in the Metroid Fusion manual. To stop these parasites, the Chozo artificially created the Metroids as a kind of "natural enemy" to the X. The Fusion manual also mentions that "Metroid" means "ultimate warrior" in the Chozo language. The Chozo later disappeared from this planet as well, only leaving some underground ruins behind.

[edit] Others

Retro Studios has confirmed the Chozo's presence in the upcoming Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but it is unknown what role they will play in the story.

[edit] Chozo Statues

Chozo Statues are a common feature in Metroid games. They generally depict a sitting Chozo with its hands out in front of it, holding an item for Samus to obtain. Some Chozo statues have other functions, such as opening up hidden passages or regenerating energy in Metroid: Zero Mission.

In Super Metroid, Samus encounters several Torizos. They are living Chozo statues that attack Samus once she takes the items from them. Their origin and purpose is unknown.

The Tallon IV ruins of Metroid Prime hold the most complete record of Chozo activity found to date. The Chozo worked hard to perfect their statuary and only the most skilled artisans were allowed to construct them. Some statues have special powers, often helping Samus in the game. One Lore entry says that "Those who respect our statues will know the friendship of the Chozo. Those who deface or destroy them will know our wrath, unfettered and raw." This is proven in the battle with Meta Ridley. During the battle, he smashes the statues that gave Samus information on the Chozo Artifacts. When Samus wins the battle, the nearby Chozo statues turn red and shoot beams from their eyes, hitting Meta Ridley in the chest and knocking him off of a cliff.

In Metroid Fusion a single chozo staute is found in the research station, however it turns out to be a mutated X-parasite mimicking one. Since the X-parasites can only mimic organisms or objects with a large number of organic parts, it can be assumed that the statues may infact be "alive." This is further backed by the fact that in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee (a fighting game featuring prominent nintendo characters) a Chozo statue can be seen standing up and walking around in one of the stages.

[edit] Terminology

The use of the word Chozo in reference to the bird-like race is actually the result of a miscommunication between Nintendo Co. Ltd and Nintendo of America. The word chozo (鳥像) is actually Japanese for bird sculpture, and was used in reference to the sculptures of the bird-like race that hold power ups in the various games. Hence, the localization team incorrectly thought that this word was referring to the race the sculptures were depicting, rather than the actual sculptures themselves. In the Japanese versions of the games, the bird-like race is only ever identified by the generic term chōjin-zoku (鳥人族, lit. race of bird people)