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 were the ones who raised Samus Aran and outfitted her with armaments. They are portrayed as mysterious and godlike throughout the Metroid series.

Information

The Chozo are responsible for creating the original Metroids in an attempt to stop the X Parasites from destroying the biosphere of the planet SR 388. Chozo ruins have been discovered on the planets Zebes, Tallon IV, and SR-388. The Chozo are currently either extinct, nearly so, or in hiding.

The Chozo civilization was one of the oldest and most technologically advanced in the Metroid universe. Much of its technology is not fully understood by the galaxy’s current inhabitants. The ruins on Tallon IV are a sort of regression; the Chozo, or perhaps only a few colonists, integrated themselves with the planet's biosphere. They did not entirely abandon their technology, but for the most part the Tallon IV colony was made of simpler material, and the indiginous organisms were allowed to roam freely through the civilization. They viewed the natives with reverence and respect, hoping to become enlightened in their tending of other life. According to the North American version of Metroid Prime, the Chozo of Tallon IV eventually achieved this enlightenment and left their bodies behind, inhabiting another dimensional plane and wandering the universe in contemplation. However, the European version is quite vague about what happened to the Tallon IV Chozo and where they left. The Tallon IV ruins 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.

The decline of the Chozo colony on Tallon IV can be directly attributed to Phazon (known to the Chozo as the “Great Poison”) and the being who produces it, Metroid Prime (known to the Chozo as "The Worm"). Once Phazon infected Tallon IV, the Chozo were ripped from the dimension they inhabited and forced back to "walk as ghosts" on Tallon IV. The mortal bodies of the Chozo had presumably withered away while the Chozo were living in another plane of existence. However, they could not return to the dimensional environment they had inhabited, and some of the Chozo spirits were slowly driven insane by the Phazon, becoming Chozo Ghosts (known to the Chozo as The Turned). Samus often encountered them near Chozo worship sites.

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)

The Chozo language was a lingua franca once but was wiped out by the Space Pirates. The Chozo runes in Metroid Prime are the keys to their language. Samus must activate a Chozo rune to understand the Chozo lore and unlock doors.

Chozo Lore (Metroid Prime)

On Tallon IV, Samus discovered Chozo Lore inscriptions, which revealed some history of the Phazon and Metroid Prime, and the fate of the Tallon IV Chozo. The Chozo Lore entries in the European (PAL) version of Metroid Prime have several differences from the North American (NTSC-US) version.

Metroid E-Manga

In the Metroid manga, which chronicles Samus's early life before , the Chozo are quite different from the image players get from reading the 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 ( "Old Bird" literally, but referred to by Samus as Grandpa) and his assistant/accomplice, Grey Voice.

See also

• Torizo

External links

• [Transcripts of the European Chozo Lore entries]
• [Mass Collection of Information on the Metroid Series]

 

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