Gandrayda

Gandrayda (ガンドレイダ,Gandoreida) is a Bounty Hunter who appears in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Biography

Gandrayda is a Bounty Hunter of unknown origin. However, she possesses metamorphic abilities similar to the biomorphs of Jovia XII. She can assume the form and abilities of most living things, including creatures and even machines differing significantly in size. Her base form is humanoid in shape with translucent, purple skin. Her age is unknown, though a psychological evaluation, her predilection for pranks, and her informal speech patterns in even military settings all indicate that she is relatively young. She views bounty hunting as a very enjoyable sport and considers the veteran hunter Samus Aran as her chief rival. She intends to surpass Samus as a veteran Bounty Hunter as soon as possible. Gandrayda is a very capable combatant, but is often employed for stealth and reconnaissance missions due to her ability to mimic creatures. Lore on the Pirate Homeworld referring to her as "Mistress Gandrayda" suggests that she becomes a Space Pirate—it is likely that she falls under the influence of Dark Samus after being corrupted by Phazon.^[1]

Aiding the Galactic Federation

Along with Ghor, Rundas, and Samus Aran, Gandrayda is requested by Fleet Admiral Castor Dane of the Galactic Federation to help stop the Phazon corruption of the Aurora Units. Once the Space Pirates attack the G.F.S. Olympus, the GF ship they are currently aboard, Gandrayda helps defend the ship by confronting the infiltrating Space Pirates. Gandrayda can be seen leaping and kicking a Pirate Militia and then finishing it off with one of her throwing blades in the Repair Bay Shaft before the cargo-bay doors close; she is gone by the time they reopen.

Gandrayda then goes to Norion to help the Federation ground troopers and protect the base from the invasion. When Samus arrives at Norion's Generator C, she finds a group of Space Pirates waiting for her. Just as she is about to fight them, one of them turns on its comrades and massacres them before revealing itself to be a disguised Gandrayda, who leaves "Sammy" behind to do the work of reactivating the generator, claiming that machines are not her field of expertise.

Once the four Bounty Hunters reach the Control Tower to activate the Defense Cannon that will destroy the approaching Leviathan, Dark Samus intervenes and attacks them. Gandrayda and the two male Bounty Hunters are initially knocked down, but then rally behind Samus. However, Dark Samus then unleashes a burst of Phazon that strikes all of them at once, rendering them unconscious.

Corruption

Two weeks later, Gandrayda awakens to discover that Dark Samus's Phazon blast has caused her body to begin self-generating Phazon. With no visible negative effects, the Federation outfits her with a Phazon Enhancement Device in order to harness this new source of Phazon. Gandrayda is sent to locate the Space Pirates' stronghold, but the Federation eventually loses contact with her. Unknown to the organization, Gandrayda has been corrupted by her internal Phazon a week after she left.

After another week, Samus Aran awakens, and sometime later, the Federation finds the location of the Pirate Homeworld thanks to an emergency GF communication capsule from Gandrayda, but does not know her current status; it is safe to assume this transmission pod was used by Gandrayda prior to her corruption. Samus infiltrates the planet and eventually receives a transmission from a nearby Federation Marine designated NZG41. She manages to reach the Marine and helps him activate an elevator. She and the Marine go up the elevator, though once they reach the Proving Grounds, the Marine suddenly begins firing at Samus, who dodges the shots in her Morph Ball form. The trooper transforms into Gandrayda, who is now clearly heavily corrupted and eager to battle Samus.

Battle

During the fight, Gandrayda will jump, flip, and run about the room, making it difficult to shoot her. She can create throwing blades that will lock onto and "seek" Samus, though they can be shot down for pickups. Gandrayda will also use a ground-based impact shockwave that streaks directly towards Samus. If successfully shot with a fully charged Beam, she will trip onto the ground, leaving her vulnerable for approximately two seconds.

After receiving some damage, Gandrayda will begin to use her shape-shifting abilities to transform into different enemies. She will revert to normal after receiving enough damage in these forms or after a certain amount of time. She also shares the weak points of these forms, so Samus can damage her in the same way as she does those enemies. The following is a list of the forms Gandrayda will assume at this time:

• Berserker-G: She will employ energy waves, Phazon orbs, and a liquid Phazon gun.
• Aerotrooper-G: She will use missile and energy-based attacks.
• Swarmbot-G: She will attack in a manner similar to a tornado. If Samus wanders too close, her energy will be drained. Shooting down the individual Swarmbots can reveal pickups. However, using the Screw Attack is even more efficient.

At 75% health, Gandrayda opens part of the ceiling, covering the outer portion of the battlefield in deadly Acid Rain, as well as lower the six structures around the room. She will then continue her attack, and will also begin using new transformations.

• Rundas-G: She will employ his freeze wave, an ice sword, flight ability, and Ice Missiles.
• Ghor-G (second phase): She will employ missiles, the Plasma Cannon, plasma shots, and she will also attempt to grab the Morph Ball. Ghor-G will also grab Samus if she uses the Screw Attack.

When Gandrayda's health drops to 50%, she will re-raise the six aforementioned structures before mimicking Samus in her iconic Varia Suit. While in this form, she will use a variant of the Boost Ball to bounce around the area and then unmorph to fire a powerful Beam.

At 25% health, Gandrayda stops transforming and begins to utilize Hypermode, where she moves even faster and all weapons used against her outside of Samus's own Hypermode arsenal cause insignificant damage. When her Hypermode wears off, Gandrayda turns invisible. Samus must use the X-Ray Visor to keep track of Gandrayda and attack her until she uses Hypermode again.

"Shake Off Gandrayda"

At any point during the battle, Gandrayda may leap towards Samus in an attempt to grab her. If Gandrayda is successful in grabbing Samus, the prompt "Shake Off Gandrayda" will appear on the Heads-Up Display, and Gandrayda must be shaken off using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Gandrayda has four different attacks that vary depending on the direction Gandrayda grabs Samus from. Gandrayda's core ability, the Grapple Voltage, continually drains Samus of energy, with her physical attacks (such as punches and slaps) inflicting additional damage with every successful strike or blow. Gandrayda's attacks deal 63 energy units of damage, regardless of how Samus is grabbed. A description of these four attacks can be found below. A demonstration of all four attacks can be viewed here.

• The most common attack, due to the nature of Samus's direction to normally face Gandrayda head on, features Gandrayda attempting to fulfill her vow to present Dark Samus with Samus Aran's bloody helmet. When grabbed from directly ahead, Gandrayda forcefully snaps Samus's helmet and neck left and right in an attempt to loosen her helmet, and she continually taunts Samus throughout. After her attempts to pry the helmet loose, Gandrayda eventually centers with the helmet and attempts to pull it off while laughing and expressing pleasure in her successful attack before she leaps off of Samus.
• Gandrayda can also grab onto Samus from an off-center right direction, and will proceed to slap and backhand Samus before tapping on her visor and giggling at her before jumping off.
• Gandrayda may grab Samus from the off-center left direction, and will also slap her, ending with her screaming and digging her claws into Samus's visor as she pulls across it from right to left before leaping off.
• Finally, Gandrayda can grab Samus from behind, and will proceed to giggle and strike her repeatedly. She eventually winds up and drives a punch into her, before shouting in Samus's face and jumping off.

If Samus is able to successfully shake Gandrayda off, she will leap off and stagger wherever she lands. This leaves her susceptible to a Charge Beam shot, which can knock her down, or a Screw Attack. If Samus fails to shake off Gandrayda, she will leap back without staggering and resume her normal actions providing no window.

Gandrayda laughing.

Gandrayda tapping Samus's visor.

Gandrayda screaming and scratching Samus.

Gandrayda breathing on Samus.

Death

Once defeated, Gandrayda screams in agony as she begins rapidly cycling through different forms (a Pirate Trooper, Rundas, Ghor, a Berserker Knight, and finally Samus in her current PED Suit) as she reaches out to Samus, who sees the wraith-like figure of Dark Samus approaching. After witnessing the fates of Rundas and Ghor, Samus knows there is nothing she can do to save Gandrayda, and instead looks away and clenched her fist as Dark Samus absorbs Gandrayda.

Gandrayda makes one final appearance in the Special Ending of the game, in which Samus takes a moment to mourn her fallen comrades on planet Elysia.

Powers and abilities

Gandrayda possesses powerful shapeshifting abilities that enable her to assume the forms of various creatures, as well as copy their abilities and powers. There seems to be no limit to her shapeshifting powers, as she is able to assume the form of creatures significantly larger than herself, such as Berserker Knights and Ghor, as well as transform into mechanoids (and multiple entities) such as Swarmbots. She is also shown to be exceptionally agile, able to perform high and graceful jumps, flips, and cartwheels in the air. Gandrayda also appears to have some power over electricity: when not using her shapeshifting powers, she can attack from a distance by creating and throwing electric orbs or electric blades that home in on opponents. In addition, her power seems to affect machines, as she is able to control the mechanism of the ceiling and structures during Samus's fight with her. She can also turn invisible to elude opponents.

Weaknesses

Though her shapeshifting powers allow her to infiltrate places with ease and help her in battle, her shapeshifting comes with the downside of also gaining the creature's particular weakness.

Official data

Logbook entries

Hunter Gandrayda

Temporary scan

Hunter Gandrayda
Metamorphic bioform able to mimic numerous enemy units in battle.

Logbook entry

Gandrayda possesses the metamorphic ability to assume the form and abilities of other creatures. This talent has led many to seek her out for stealth and reconnaissance missions, despite her powerful combat abilities. Details on the subject's origins and age are unknown, but her unique traits have made her a sought-after Hunter for missions.

Gandrayda

Temporary scan

Morphology: Gandrayda
Metamorphic bioform able to mimic numerous enemy units in battle.

Morphology: Gandrayda
Radical shift in biostructure. Reading new DNA patterns.

Logbook entry

Gandrayda's ability to shape-shift has been greatly enhanced by Phazon exposure, allowing her to assume a number of deadly forms at will. These new forms come with a cost, as she also inherits their weaknesses. A mistress of stealth, she will employ her personal cloaking field often, setting up her next deadly attack. An advanced visor system may be able to detect her location.

Other appearances

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr-"

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Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Gandrayda appears as a Novice class Support Spirit, who can be equipped alongside a Primary Spirit with at least one available support slot. She provides the Electric Attack ↑ trait, referencing her use of electric attacks in Corruption.

Gandrayda can be unlocked through the Spirit Board. She uses two Puppet Fighters who must both be defeated: Dark Samus (in her purple costume, which may be based on Gandrayda's color scheme) and Pikachu (in his blue party hat costume); both fighters use electric-type attacks, once again referencing Gandrayda's electric abilities. The Spirit Battle takes place on the Frigate Orpheon stage, referencing the Pirate Homeworld where she is fought in Corruption. As a Support Spirit, Gandrayda does not usually have an assigned type, but she is treated as an Attack type during this battle.

Development notes

Datamining of Corruption has revealed an unused temporary scan for a "Reptilicus-G" form, in which Gandrayda would have been able to become invisible to the naked eye. In the final game, she is able to do so without the need to shapeshift.

Gandrayda's artificial intelligence is very complex, and she was entirely animated by hand, without performance capture.^[2]

Trivia

• With a total of seven forms (as in Gandrayda and the six forms she used in the battle with Samus), each with its own selection of attacks, Gandrayda has the most selection of attacks out of any boss in the game if Dark Samus and Aurora Unit 313 are considered separate bosses.
• Gandrayda's theme music is a remix of the Chykka boss theme.
• In Corruption, Gandrayda is extremely vulnerable to Samus's Screw Attack. It can be possible to defeat Gandrayda in under forty seconds if Samus properly utilizes the Screw Attack.^[3] This vulnerability is reduced in Metroid Prime Trilogy.
  • A glitch can be exploited if Ghor-G grabs a Screw Attacking Samus with her whip and then slams her into the ground. Samus will be stuck in her unmorph animation and can be controlled with the game thinking that she is in Morph Ball mode.^[4] This glitch is no longer present in the Metroid Prime Trilogy version of the game.
• In keeping with the elemental themes of the hunters in Corruption, Gandrayda seems to have power over electricity. Many of her attacks, including those resulting from her imitations, create electrical sparks and interference in Samus's visor (an example is Rundas-G's ice emitting electricity), and she also opens the mechanical ceiling of the battlefield at one point just by clenching her fist. This is also reflected in the Grapple Voltage, the reward for her defeat.
• When fighting Ghor-G, it is possible to make "him" engage the third phase of Ghor’s battle, though Gandrayda will usually change back before combat.
• It is only during her final cutscene that Gandrayda mimics Samus in her PED Suit, since she appears in the Varia Suit during the battle itself. If Samus is still in Hypermode at the end of the battle, Gandrayda will copy the Hypermode visual effect.
• Samus and Gandrayda are the only two known female Bounty Hunters in the Metroid series.
• Ironically, the "Mistress Gandrayda" Space Pirate Data entry on the Pirate Homeworld can only be scanned after she has been defeated. It says Gandrayda has vowed to present to Dark Samus the real Samus's "bloody helmet" as a trophy. By the time Samus scans this Lore, Gandrayda has apparently failed to fulfill said vow.

Gallery

Concept art.

Cover art render.

Poster render.

Gandrayda on Norion.

Gandrayda before attacking Samus on the Pirate Homeworld.

Samus is attacked physically by Gandrayda.

Gandrayda in her Aerotrooper-G form.

Gandrayda in her Berserker-G form.

Rundas-G comes dangerously close.

Ghor-G is stunned for a period of time.

Gandrayda imitates the real Samus in her standard Varia Suit.

Gandrayda launches around the arena in her mock Boost Ball.

Gandrayda's final form.

Textures, containing concept art in the margins.

References