I didn't even know Kraid was a Space Pirate. I thought he was just some random gigantic dragon on that planet. Why haven't we seen him in a game since? Is he just harder to rebuild due to massive size?
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All hail Scythe, King of the Sigs.
He was also originally going to be in the first Metroid Prime in the Phazon Mines (there's concept art of 3D Kraid where he has like a helmet on his head and is surrounded by Phazon & giant mushrooms), but the idea was scrapped later in development due to time restraints, and ended up being replaced by Omega Pirate.