Thanks to Cart Boy for help with edits, and spoilers for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
When Nintendo teased Metroid Prime 4 back in 2017, I told myself it was time to get into the series. That statement kinda fell flat—it actually took Ridley joining Smash for me to break the ice with Samus Returns—but I’d still call the Prime 4 hype my reason for taking the plunge. Seven years and six fantastic games later, I’m happy to call Metroid one of my favorite series out there! But if we’re being real, the entry this all built toward wasn’t as great as it could’ve been. The sick motorcycle only does so much to salvage that all-encompassing desert, after all. With how much busier I’ve gotten, though, I got the good time I wanted out of it. There’s plenty to love, like its beautiful setting, soundtrack, and aspects of its larger cast. As expected of my articles, I wanna examine the latter. Namely, a character whose comeback took longer than Prime 4 itself. He has his own share of good and bad, which we’ll explore as I pitch a Smash moveset for Sylux, Metroid Prime’s long-lost archenemy!
Who Is Sylux?
(Courtesy of @EchoSaefir)
Metroid’s attempts to expand the galaxy surrounding Samus have been hit-or-miss, but the leaps taken by Prime Hunters were received fairly well. To take advantage of its multiplayer focus, NST’s DS spin-off pits six all-new bounty hunters against the heroine. They hail from diverse planets and favor different weapons, but each bring their own Morph Ball analogs and bright color schemes. The story does this “random encounter” thing with their boss fights, which is weird and leaves them with little to do story-wise, but the fact they’re usable against other players is where these outlaws get their fans! Of course, this is how we first meet Sylux, complete with his dubious grudge against Samus and the Galactic Federation. Hunters tells us even less about him than it does the other playable characters; you’d be forgiven for assuming he was as much a one-hit wonder as his fellows. And yet, Prime 3 and Federation Force each hinted toward his return, which kept fans hopeful across the eighteen years they were expected to wait…
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With that, we reach the first game to tout Sylux as a central character: Prime 4. Mind you, he’s one of its most criticized aspects, but there are layers to this much-awaited grudge match. For starters, he’s teamed up with the Space Pirates and cloned the Metroid he stole in his previous cameo, so he’s a veritable threat. His Federation raid and unplanned showdown with Samus are what maroon the game’s cast on Viewros; he improvises in ways we never see from Metroid villains. This leads to him planting roots in Chrono Tower and puppeteering the planet’s residents with his newly gained psychic powers. Sending Psy-bot replicas of himself to do all his dirty work feels cheap, but those boss fights are undeniably great! It all comes to a head in the final battle, wherein the genuine article puts up a huge struggle and subjects his nemesis to the ultimate trolley problem. The fact she escapes without her new comrades left a bad taste in players’ mouths, and makes us wonder what sort of future is planned for the culprit behind this abrupt ending.
Importance to Nintendo & Series
All right, here comes a necessary question: is Sylux popular? Smash is no stranger to penciling in characters too new to have fanbases, but old ones who haven’t quite caught on are another thing entirely. Granted, he became fairly well known in the years following Prime 4’s initial teaser, doubly so when we found out he was indeed present. For what it’s worth, the existence of Sylux’s amiibo proves Nintendo thinks he deserves merch (villains don’t get figures very often, after all). Speaking of which, the bonus cutscene unlocked by said amiibo sends mixed messages. Sylux’s backstory as a disgruntled Federation deserter hardly elevates his public image, but his starring role in Prime 4’s equivalent to a post-credit scene implies we haven’t seen the last of him. That could factor into a Smash invite, especially if the next entry focuses more on first-party newcomers.
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And despite his divisive showing in Prime 4, I think it’d be cool to see Sylux on Nintendo’s biggest stage! His origins are humbler than most hopefuls, given Hunters’ odd place in the Metroid canon. It’s a handheld spin-off of an offshoot (I won’t stop rooting for a spin-off rep until we get one), and if not for his teasers in Prime 3 and Federation Force, he probably would’ve stayed there. Even weirder, the guy got a trophy and sticker back in Brawl, then hibernated and got nothing in Smash 4 and Ultimate. I’m not saying he needs to become a full-on fighter to rectify that, but it’d be funny. Oh, and to address the Mawkin in the room, fellow Samus op Raven Beak could be incredible in the crossover—he got his own concept years ago—but I prefer Sylux’s toolkit. With any luck, you’ll see where I’m coming from in the next few minutes…
Colors & Design
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Of the Metroid series’s massive rogues’ gallery, I’d argue Sylux looks the most “archrival” of them all! He lacks Ridley’s history and Raven Beak’s way of pissing Samus off, but comes closest to matching her physically (he’s the Bullseye to her Daredevil, if you will). For instance, his stolen suit looks somewhat uncanny; its shoulder spikes and triangular design contrast the rounded Varia Suit we all know and love. In fact, Hunters gave him especially weird proportions, which made fans wonder if he was even human. Although it was interesting, let’s stick with the Prime 4 design. Meanwhile, Sylux’s cooler hues betray his manic energy, and electricity is an uncommon specialty among the Smash roster. It’s courtesy of his signature Shock Coil, which would be his primary weapon in the crossover. This concept lets the thing act as a gun, blade, and whip, so he’s not wanting for variety. Okay, he never canonically uses the latter, but it’s a fitting Samus parallel. To quickly address animations, we wanna make his depravity really clear. The man regularly screams to the heavens and brutalizes his former comrades, after all. As for his English performance, since Prime 4 did him the courtesy of letting him speak, we’ll have Laith Wallschleger reprise his role.
As usual, recolors are next on the list. Metroid reps tend to bring great wardrobes to the fray, with Zero Suit and Ridley even getting genuine costumes. For Sylux’s part, his flashback shows him in Galactic Federation gear, but I don’t see it making the cut for two reasons: Sakurai tends to avoid alternates that aren’t absolute no-brainers, and grafting the Shock Coil to this skin would look off. On the bright side, that gives us more room to try plenty of repaints for the classic suit! After Sylux’s blue default with green lights, we have gray with cyan lights (based on the Federation), then red with pink lights (based on Hunters one-off Trace), then green with orange lights (based on fellow Space Pirate Weavel), then white with purple lights (based on the Vi-O-La bike’s Psychic Era theme), then dark gray with white lights (based on Prime 4’s Tokabi), then ancient stone-like with yellow lights (based on Vi-O-La’s Ancient theme, complete with matte finish), then black with red lights (based on Vi-O-La’s Space Pirate theme, but really it’s Sylux’s Sith Lord cosplay).
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(Courtesy of Slink)
How Would He Play?
Sylux’s stats and properties:
- Weight: ∼ Little Mac (87)
- Height: ∼ Samus
- Overall Speed: ∼ Falco
- Walk Speed: 1.344
- Initial Dash: 2.2
- Run Speed: 1.705
- Air Speed: 0.977
- Fall Speed: 1.95
- Jump Height: ∼ R.O.B. (38)
- Multi-jumping? No
- Crawling? No
- Wall jumping? Yes
(A closer look at the stats)
Between Samus, Fox, and Captain Falcon, I’ve come to really appreciate the old-school movesets Smash gave its sci-fi characters. Without a doubt, this is thanks to some recent sets I played in Melee, so I’m eager to give Sylux some of that sauce! Basically, I want him to feel like a true foil to Samus. Where she uses her Power Suit and weaponry to play a defensive game, her nemesis behaves more like a slasher villain. She has that floaty jump of hers, so he’s a fast faller. She uses her legs a lot, so he uses his arms. She gets Morph Ball for her down special, so he gets Lockjaw. If it’s not obvious, my goal with Sylux is to make a cool moveset that doesn’t need a wild gimmick to stand out. I’ve got some unique specials in mind, but since he’s a fairly simple bad guy with roots on the DS, it’d be neat if he matched the feel of similarly old characters.
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Vibes and parallels are fine, but what’s the playstyle like? Making Sylux a zoner would do a poor job repping his arsenal, so I’m barring access to any standard projectiles. Rather, I’m envisioning him fighting sorta like a trapper. With his Shock Coil and Lockjaw mines, he scares foes into making bad moves, then punishes them with brutal kills off the top! After all, without the horizontal shots Samus enjoys, it’s only natural we’d lean Sylux more toward the y-axis. That being said, much of his menace hinges on staying out of foes’ reach, as he’s still a light fast faller whose recovery and out-of-shield options kinda suck. Besides, his scariest move demands he dodges like a champ; you’ll only wanna play this guy if you’re confident. At his core, my take on Sylux is a do-or-die hunter with a preference for the midrange. He sparks fear in his enemies and makes them regret approaching from above, but can’t afford to take stray hits or lose neutral very often. Hopefully, he’s as fun to play and watch as intended, and popular enough to make us want him back in the next Prime!
Boxing Ring Title: “The Prime Hunter”
| Move Type |
Description |
| On-Screen Appearance
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A green ripple appears in midair, from which Sylux’s outstretched arm pokes through. Afterwards, the man himself stumbles out of the rift, grunts angrily, then gets ready to fight. For added oomph, upon entering a one-on-one with either Samus or Zero Suit, he instead says, “I’ve been waiting for this!” |
| Stance
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Sylux stands with his legs apart and arms to his sides. Unlike Samus, he doesn’t carry his weapon professionally, and adds to his unhinged vibe with enraged breaths. |
| Idle #1
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Sylux straightens his neck and glares forward, then ominously tilts his head. |
| Idle #2
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Sylux shows his techier side by opening and tinkering with the Shock Coil. His weapon maintenance comes off as sloppier than Zero Suit’s, though. |
| Walk
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(Source)
Sylux puts his arm on his raised weapon and jogs forward. Keeping up with targets is crucial to his game plan, so we’re giving him decent walk speed. |
| Dash & Run
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(Source)
Sylux keeps a low profile and sprints like a madman, making great strides with his initial dash. His full-on run, however, only narrowly outspeeds Samus’s. |
| Crouch
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Sylux rests a knee and his free hand on the ground. I know I just used this shot for his entrance, but it fits too well here! |
| Jump
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Thanks to the thrusters on his suit, Sylux’s first hop sends him pretty high. His second leaves a bit to be desired, though, which pairs badly with his high gravity. |
| Damage
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As Sylux is knocked away, his suit gives off a few sparks. If you think I made him lighter than he ought to be, we can blame his armor’s instability. |
| Shield
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Using both arms, Sylux hunkers down and tanks incoming damage; he’s already survived some crazy things in the past. |
| Dodge
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Sylux’s spot and air dodges are your standard fare, but here’s a question: should he ape Samus’s famously bad Morph Ball dodge? Well, Dark Samus forgoes the Morph Ball and still sidesteps terribly, so I think we’re good to give Sylux a Lockjaw-based dodge with actually decent frame data! |
| Floor & Edge Attacks
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Sylux recovers from his stumbles with a one-legged horse kick to the back and Shock Coil whack to the front. As for ledge getups, he instead slams said Coil into the floor. |
| Neutral Attack:
Hunter Scratch
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After punching forward with his free hand, Sylux brings both arms together and swings them downward. The second of this two-part jab comes out alarmingly fast and helps with his primary game plan: knock a staggering foe straight upward. |
| Forward Tilt:
Galactic Saber
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To contrast Samus’s roundhouse kick, Sylux violently slashes his Shock Coil from left to right. It’s your typical footsies tool, but you’re free to angle it up or down for more coverage, and the lingering sparks sell the impact. |
| Up Tilt:
Two-Handed Launch
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Sylux clasps his palms together (since his Coil-gripping hand is visible at all times, this should be doable), then swings them in an upward arc. This anti-air reaches from his front to slightly behind himself, so it’s good for fly swatting and eventual kills. |
| Down Tilt:
Tripwire
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Sylux scatters his lasso along the floor, then forcefully reels it back to smack foes skyward. As much as he wants his prey in the air, this move’s end lag makes true combos difficult. |
| Dash Attack:
Overclock Beam
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With his thrusters propelling him forward, Sylux aims his cannon ahead as it radiates an engulfing beam. The energy makes what looks like a shield around its user, which doesn’t really act like one, but the large hitbox helps disrupt enemy landings. |
| Forward Smash:
Volt Lash
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Sylux points the Shock Coil behind himself and deploys its whip, causing it to dangle from his arm. Upon releasing the input, he slams it to his front with an overhead swing, reaching pretty high and far by forward smash standards. For cruelty’s sake, you’ll wanna land with the sweet spot at its tip, since it launches at a steep angle. |
| Up Smash:
Lightning Rod
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Sylux aims his bayonet directly upward and supercharges it, smiting anyone in its way. Like with Roy’s up smash, this strong finisher sports multi-hits and a launcher at the end. Sure, you’ve seen this move before, but it’s here to synergize with a terrifying aerial combo… |
| Down Smash:
Electric Terrain
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Rounding out Sylux’s personal weapon triangle is his Shock Coil’s blaster, which he angles toward the ground upon taking a knee. With the input’s release, he sprays the floor to his front and back with a short-lived electric field. It’s not the strongest in the galaxy, but it makes space and helps with tech chases. |
| Neutral Aerial:
Psy-bot Spin
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Like in his first Volt Forge fight, Sylux channels his inner Beyblade and spins horizontally. Courtesy of the green tornado he whips up, the hitbox extends slightly beyond his body, but still doesn’t go that far. Although this move works as a get-off-me tool, the fact it sends targets straight upward means it pairs really well with one of his specials… |
| Forward Aerial:
Axis Kick
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Sylux puts some heft into one of his legs, then does a roundhouse kick from side to side. It works like a clumsier version of Fox’s forward air, so it reaches sorta far and gets enemies off you, but lacks vertical range and only sports one hitbox. |
| Back Aerial:
Turncoat Shot
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Taking after the second Volt Forge fight, Sylux turns around, puts his free hand on the Shock Coil, then fires a disjointed beam. The shot goes impressively far, doesn’t fear reflectors, and pushes him a bit forward. Altogether, this move exaggerates the forward air’s traits and helps with mobility. |
| Up Aerial:
Storm’s Eye
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Ramping things up from the prior move, Sylux raises his weapon overhead, then lets loose a concussive blast. This one’s look and strength evoke Mii Gunner’s down air, but pointed the opposite way. As a result, it can net kills off the top and hasten Sylux’s descent, both of which are sure to help his air game. |
| Down Aerial:
Power Line
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Sylux draws his whip and lashes it straight downward. Although he reaches farther beneath himself than most other down airs, it’s sorta weak and narrow. Moreover, foes hit by it are launched at a higher angle; don’t expect to land any spikes. When looking for safe landings and general disruption, though, this move pulls its weight. |
| Grab:
Chokehold
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We could give Sylux a tether, but I don’t think it’d suit him. You’ll sooner find him manhandling foes with his own hand, after all, which speeds up his grappling. |
| Pummel:
Low Voltage
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With his hand still gripping his prisoner, Sylux zaps them with a jolt of electricity. Since he doesn’t waste time moving any limbs, this pummel comes out quickly. |
| Forward Throw:
Shoulder Stab
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Although Sylux’s shoulder checks aren’t dash attack material, we’ve gotta do something with those spikes. For a forward throw, it’s snappy, launches at a low angle, and connects with a satisfying clang! |
| Back Throw:
Gut Sting
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(Source)
Sylux gut checks his foe with the Shock Coil, fires a burst of energy while it’s still near their abdomen, then tosses them behind himself. This isn’t that great a kill throw, but the other moves benefit from its high launch angle. |
| Up Throw:
Shock Therapy
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Sylux holds his prisoner by the head and fries them with an electric current, which knocks them away after a moment of agony. Although this throw won’t help with combos or kills, it deals the most damage of the set. |
| Down Throw:
Soldier Stomp
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Sylux drives his knee into his victim’s skull, knocking them to the ground and leaving them open to an enraged stomp from the same leg. Unlike most down throws, this is one you’ll want to lean on for late-stage kills. |
| Neutral Special:
Shock Coil
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After taking a moment to activate the Shock Coil, Sylux tethers himself to the nearest foe via a stream of electricity. They can’t shield or dodge it, and the connection remains for as long as Sylux can stay less than a platform’s length away. Thankfully, it takes a bit to start hurting, it’s non-flinching, and the user dispels it if he tries another attack. On the other hand, every bit of damage taken is damage healed on Sylux’s front. It’s up to his target to interrupt the siphon by hitting him or getting outta there! Meanwhile, to assist with his debauchery, Sylux can still shield, jump, and dodge; he even takes after the fighting game reps and locks on to his prey. More than the rest of the kit, this move defines his affinity for the midrange and knack for getting under foes’ skin. If he tries it at a bad time and lets enemies punish him, though, you’ll remember how awful this guy is on the back foot. |
| Side Special:
Chrono Shift
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After a bit of startup, Sylux’s thrusters launch him forward as he attempts to seize anyone in his way (for this portion of the move, imagine a faster Flame Choke). Upon grabbing someone, he uses his Lamorn tech to warp them both through a portal, after which they reappear a platform’s length ahead. While they’re gone, Sylux’s player can hold the stick to decide how he’ll discard them once they’re back! No input makes him leisurely toss them aside, forward makes him shoulder bash them away, backward makes him whack them in that direction, upward makes him uppercut them into the air, and downward makes him plummet with them in tow (they can escape fairly easily, but I needed the “Syluxcide” to exist). Altogether, it’s a strong command grab and decent recovery tool. |
| Up Special:
Delano Crash
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Chrono Shift helps with Sylux’s horizontal recovery, but he flounders on the vertical front. Upon using the up special, his thrusters slowly hover him upward, dealing no damage along the way and leaving him wide open (at the very least, he can freely move left or right). He’s at the mercy of those above him, but those below need to watch out; an additional input rockets him straight downward! This second part is a strong ground pound that even carries foes with him, and since the first part eases him slightly upward, it’s easy to evade an incoming hit and retaliate. Adding to this move’s utility is the fact its first half isn’t an attack, so you’re free to Shock Coil your target, maintain the tether while floating out of reach, then slam into them when they chase after you! Admittedly, a move like this probably weakens Sylux’s recovery too much, but I think that’s necessary. |
| Down Special:
Lockjaw
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All right, let’s give Sylux that trap I promised. For his down special, he enters Lockjaw mode, turning about as small as Morph Ball Samus. Immediately, he drops a mine of crackling electricity, zooms a small distance forward, drops another mine, then reverts to normal (if Sylux goes for an aerial Lockjaw, he drops the second mine slightly lower than the first). Afterwards, the mines connect to each other with a lingering thunderbolt. The orbs and stream—all of which deal damage—stick around for a while, zap foes that run into them, but don’t cause any knockback. Moreover, Sylux can’t put down a new pair until his prior mines dissipate. Honestly, they’re little more than a deterrent, unless Sylux knocks you into them… If you collide with his trap while in hitstun, you’re in for a brutal spike! Imagine Sylux’s neutral air knocking his foe upward, wherein they’re smited by the Lockjaw mines, then sent back to meet the tip of his up smash! Whether or not this “tower combo” ends up remotely viable, it’s the sort of thing he’d spend all game fishing for. |
| Final Smash:
Dragon Head Deluge
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For his Final Smash, Sylux pulls out the last weapon he stole from Viewros. As the barrier seen in his final boss fight engulfs him, he turns its Nano Arms into four mechanical Dragon Heads. The voltaic limbs look skyward, then a storm of massive lightning strikes pelt the stage at random. The worst of them land directly atop Sylux, but the weaker bolts to his sides do all they can to knock foes toward the stronger ones. Finally, as the weapons turn from yellow to green, they summon a concluding bolt of the same color to end the barrage and launch victims to their deaths. There’s no way Sylux’s finisher doesn’t involve the Nano Arms, but I think this version also succeeds at sticking to his preferred element and contrasting Zero Laser. |
| Up Taunt:
Vengeful Roar
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Like with Wolf’s and Ridley’s up taunts, Sylux reels his arms back and puts his all into a hearty scream. To further his anti-Samus agenda, he even yells her name if either version is present. |
| Side Taunt:
Just You and Me…
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Sylux points ahead with his unarmed hand, then says, “Just you and me…” Afterwards, he threateningly runs his thumb across his neck. |
| Down Taunt:
I’ve Got You…
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Sylux straightens his back and aims his glowing weapon forward, basically putting his own spin on Samus’s down taunt. All the while, he utters, “I’ve got you right where I want you…” |
| Victory Pose #1
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Sylux appears with his back toward the camera, then turns around and reels it in with his whip. Once it’s close enough, he grabs it with his free hand and holds it overhead. |
| Victory Pose #2
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The screen pans horizontally as Sylux inspects the Shock Coil, then he aims it skyward upon spotting an unknown target. This pose is simpler than the others, but that’s because it’s also used for team games. |
| Victory Pose #3
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The screen zooms in on a Federation helmet, which then gets stomped to pieces under Sylux’s boot. Afterwards, the camera angles toward his head as he menacingly looks at it. |
| Victory Fanfare
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When I last covered a bad guy from this series, I simply gave him the existing Metroid villain fanfare. Although Sylux could easily follow suit, I’d rather pay tribute to his amazing Prime 4 boss theme! Since the game’s soundtrack goes so hard, we’d might as well rep it here. |
Closing Thoughts
Despite all the arguments I just made in favor of Sylux and the game he haunts, I have to admit he’s firmly in potential man territory. Sure, Metroid’s answer to Vergil sounds like a great idea, but the bounty hunter needs more work to deserve the comparison. It’s telling that Raven Beak—courtesy of his plot relevance and worthwhile role in Samus’s past—made a stronger impression than the guy with more games, buildup, and boss fights. If you ask me, Retro ought to give Sylux’s rivalry with the heroine genuine stakes, let him do more than sit in a box all game, and maybe make him playable again? There’s this undeniable feeling that retired Prime producer Kensuke Tanabe wanted Sylux to take off, so it’d be very disappointing if his story ended like this. Debatably, Smash shouldn’t be burdened with the task of propping the villain up, but I’d argue a crossover fighter is his perfect chance to show what makes him compelling! Samus’s other nemeses tend to do their own things or copy her toolkit directly; I enjoyed making a moveset for the one going out of his way to counter her. Granted, he’d need a fun playstyle that leans into this to avoid getting laughed off the stage, so hopefully my ideas convinced you it’s possible.
