TorvusBolt

For this month’s Community Spotlight, we are featuring TorvusBolt, an avid Metroid Dread speedrunner and Fusion Varia Suit enjoyer. He also worked on deciphering Dread’s Chozo alphabet, and often makes trivia posts about the Metroid series on his Twitter account. (The talented chap even made the header for his own Community Spotlight!) We hope you’ll consider checking out his content!

TorvusBolt

Ana man Torvus Bolt, bi rahama hem salaku man balu dosh talar les ili Tarin nalima nut bunta balis.
(I am Torvus Bolt, a warrior and scientist who wants to run in ZDR with great prowess)

I am a speedrunner of the 2D Metroid games, with a focus on Metroid Dread (I still cannot believe we actually got it!!)

Metroid has always been a part of my life, and it has consistently been my very favourite series! My first Metroid game was Fusion, which I got in easter 2005. I wasn’t particularly interested in sweets as a kid, so my mother bought me that game instead. I imagine she went “woah! Cool robot!” when she saw the game, which was something I probably thought myself until I died in that game. I was not a huge gamer then; Metroid Fusion was actually one of my first games ever. I remember my immediate reaction being quite favourable. I found the game empowering for letting me shoot from the get-go and take damage more often from enemies, with Super Mario World being my only point of reference back then. Being quite young, Fusion took perhaps a year or so for me to beat. Far from a speedrun if you ask me, but what matters the most is the fun you have!

I have always been interested in speedrunning. A Tool-Assisted Speedrun of Metroid: Zero Mission made me see that light. To move so efficiently seemed so fun, and now that I have gotten somewhat skilled, I can safely say that it is!

Funnily enough, I actually started not long ago! At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I was itching for some Metroid Fusion. Being quite familiar with the game, even knowing some of the tech, I figured it was time to start speedrunning. I chose to run 0%, a category thought to be impossible a few years back. It’s very reminiscent of the Dread mode in Metroid Dread, since touching a single enemy often means death. It might seem unwise to start speedrunning a highly difficult category, because it is, but I am stubborn, and I like to challenge myself!

Aside from speedrunning, I publish Metroid trivia weekly every Thursday [on my Twitter account]. It started as a joke as the alliteration “Torvus Trivia Thursday” entertained me, however I found out that I was very eager to share trivia, so I kept doing it! The trivia gave me an opportunity learn interesting things, and to teach those things to other fans.

I am also quite interested in the Chozo language. In August 2021 I saw that the symbols in ZDR corresponded with the square symbols found in Zebes and SR388, and since then I have been eager to make a full cipher of those symbols. I later organized a team called “Chozo Cipher Club” for that purpose. However, after Dread’s release, some members of the team noticed that Quiet Robe’s speech was an actual language! Since then, a lot of the members shifted focus into the Chozo language itself. I personally did not make many discoveries regarding the language, I helped with finding symbols for the most part.

I wish to give my thanks to everyone that studied the Chozo language, it has been such a joy learning it! I also wish to extend my thanks to the speedrun community, and everyone else that has been a part of my journey in the Metroid fanbase. That ranges from those that saw my very first speedrun, to those that I have just met. May I see you next mission!