=================================
====Metroid Prime Speed Guide====
=================================
by Tim
:tim@megaman-network.com
:http://metroid.retrofaction.com
======
Index:
======
1. Introduction
2. Version Notes
3. History and Plot
4. Controller Setup
5. Gaming Basics
6. Intro to the Speed Run
7. The Orpheon
8. Ancient Ruins
9. Fire 'n' Ice
10. Revisiting Chozo Ruins
11. Fire 'n' Ice, Part II
12. Exploring The Mines
13. Space Wreckage
14. Revisiting the Mines
15. The Scavenger Hunt
16. The Final Showdown
17. Power Suit Upgrades
18. Samus' Abilities
19. Item Checklist
20. Endings
21. Secrets and Tips
22. Contributions
23. Legal
================
1. Introduction:
================
Welcome to the official Metroid Online speed guide for Metroid Prime. Developed in
cooperation with Retro Studios and Nintendo, the classic 2D sidescrolling gameplay of
Metroid has now become an astounding blend of a first person shooter, action/adventure,
and platformer genres of gaming. The information contained in this speed run document
is primarily meant for one to play the game and complete all objectives within a rela-
tively low clock time. Of course, updates will always continue to be made, as long as
speed running is involved. Use the index above for a handy reference guide, and go to
http://metroid.retrofaction.com/guides for assorted guides to all the other Metroid
games. Happy gaming.
=================
2. Version Notes:
=================
1) We should make note that this guide is meant primarily for those using the NTSC-U/C
version of Metroid Prime; as such, almost all of the sequence breaking contained here-
in is meant for the US version ONLY. Please do not email the staff complaining of any
inaccuracies if you have a PAL or Japanese disc.
2) Yes, it is possible to speed run this game, but it takes a great deal of practice
and effort. Please read the descriptions of all the required speed tricks before
emailing for help. It is assumed that you are familiar with every room in the game,
that you have memorized the mapping system, and you have completed the game numerous
times.
Definitions:
------------
1) NTSC - "National Television Standards Committee"; Organization that regulates the
standards for region-defined consoles and television operations in North America and
Japan.
2) PAL - also known as "Phase Alternating Line", this is the format on which European
TVs and video games operate. Games encoded in this format cannot be played on a North
American or Japanese console system; special modified PAL tv equipment is required.
3) U/C - United States/Canada. Games encoded as this cannot be played on PAL or Japanese
systems, without system modification.
4) J - Japan. Games encoded as this cannot be played on PAL or North American systems,
without system modification.
Differences between NTSC-U/C and other versions:
------------------------------------------------
Now, we are aware that there are graphical and gameplay-style differences present in the
PAL and Japanese versions of Metroid Prime. As some of the sequence breaking is flipped
and in some places, blocked off, this section will try to list all the known differen-
ces, so as to avoid confusion when playing the game. Do remember that this guide is
built for the North American version, released November 18, 2002.
Known Sequence / Enemy Differences:
1) Plasma Processing Blocked - In the PAL version, a chunk of Bendezium sits in front of
the door to Plasma Processing, meaning that in order to get the Plasma Beam early, you
need to go to Phendrana's Edge and get that Power Bomb expansion first, then revisit
Plasma Processing. Note: This does mean you'll have to make a second trip to get the
Artifact of Spirit, though.
2) Storage Depot B Blocked - Again, there is Bendezium in front of the door to the
Grappling Beam. If you want it early, make sure you have a handy Power Bomb from
Phendrana.
3) Waste Disposal Locked - There is a way in the US version, albeit very tricky, to
skip the Wave Pirate initial encounter by taking a short cut from Main Quarry into
Waste Disposal. In the PAL version, this door is locked until you get the Grappling
Beam.
4) Track Jump Not Usable - In the PAL version, that bit of glitchy programming that led
to Rage's discovery of the Track Jump cannot be used. While it's sad to see it go,
you can still get up the Furnace with the use of a simple Triple Bomb Jump.
5) Missing Metroid - There is no Hunter Metroid in Frost Cave; you will encounter your
first Hunter Metroid in the Phazon Mines.
6) Misplaced Metroid - Here's a weird one. In the Phazon Mines, when you reach Metroid
Quarantine A, you'll encounter Fission Metroids instead of the normal Metroids. Have
fun with these. As you descend to the third level of the Mines, encounters with
Fission Metroids become far more frequent, even moreso than the Impact Crater.
Known Graphical Differences:
1) The water has some nice effects to it, namely the lakes ripple with waves and the
rain glistens as it runs down rock or other types of solid surfaces.
2) Ice is reported to be a bit shinier, and more slippery, but I have not confirmed
this one yet.
Misc. Differences:
1) Apparently there are more types of refills here. The ones I've heard of include:
- Large Missile refill - refills 10 Missiles.
====================
3. History And Plot:
====================
The Metroid series has taken place over five games. This one is, to be specific, the
fourth one to be released, but takes place second in the actual timeline. Metroid Prime
occurs, at best, a few years after the events described in the original Metroid. The
evidence for this placement can be found in the game manual:
"...But the Space Pirates were far from finished. They immediately split their survivors
into two camps. One remained on Zebes to begin rebuilding their ravaged facility..."
By the events described, it by definition can't take place after Super Metroid because
Zebes was completely destroyed in that game, and it must take place prior to Metroid II:
Return of Samus because Metroids still exist, and in rather large quantites. The games
after this make it well known that the Metroids are an extinct species.
Thus, the progression of the Metroid series looks like this:
- Metroid (1987 - Nintendo Entertainment System)
"Stop the Space Pirates and preserve galactic peace!"
- Metroid Prime (2002 - Nintendo Gamecube)
"Destroy the evil beneath the surface of Tallon IV!"
- Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991 - Nintendo Game Boy)
"Exterminate all remaining Metroids!"
- Super Metroid (1994 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
"Destroy the Space Pirates and save the last Metroid!"
- Metroid Fusion (2002 - Game Boy Advance)
"Exterminate the X parasites and save the universe!"
Here's the introduction to the game's story as told in the manual:
The Chozo
---------
The Chozo... Over millennia, this bird-like race of creatures made incredible techno-
logical and scientific leaps. Traveling at will through space, they built many marvels
across the universe-technological wonders of unfathomable complexity and cities un-
matched in beauty. They shared their knowledge freely with more primitive cultures and
learned to care for and respect life in all its forms.
Even as their society reached its technological peak, however, the Chozo felt their
spirituality wane. Their culture was steeped in prophecy and lore, and they foresaw the
decline of the Chozo coinciding with the rise of evil. Horrified by the increasing
violence in the universe, they began to withdraw into themselves, forgoing technology
in favor of simplicity. Tallon IV was one of several refuges they built-a colony bereft
of technology, built of natural materials and wedded to the land and its creatures.
The years passed, and in time a great meteor crashed into Tallon IV, sending a massive
spume of matter into the atmosphere and impregnating the land with a cancerous element
known as Phazon. This element immediately sank into the earth and water, poisoning life
wherever it bloomed. Most plants and animals died, while others mutated into hideous
forms.
The Chozo called upon all their knowledge and technology to control the power of the
Phazon, but their efforts were doomed to fail. All they could do was build a temple
over the crater at the impact site, separate the Phazon core, and seal it away. Believ-
ing that someday a savior would return to the planet, the Chozo left for an unknown
destination, leaving nothing but engraved accounts of their time on Tallon IV.
The Space Pirates
-----------------
The Space Pirates were interstellar nomads, technologically advanced in both space
travel and weaponry. When they plundered the Metroid population on SR388, they recog-
nized in them massive military and energy resource potential. They immediately invaded
the nearby planet of Zebes, wiping out all life (including most of the indigenous Chozo)
and building a massive network of research facilities below the planet's surface. Deep
below the surface of Zebes, the Space Pirates researched Metroids for many years, even
as a young girl orphaned by their raid on the neighboring planet of K-2L was growing up
among the Chozo. Trained as a warrior and infused with Chozo blood, Samus Aran donned a
Chozo-made Power Suit and cut a swath through the Space Pirates' operation, destroying
everything in her path, including the gargantuan mainstays of the Space Pirate army,
Ridley and Kraid. She eventually made it to the core of their base, destroyed all the
Metroids she saw, and seemingly blew up the Mother Brain.
But the Space Pirates were far from finished. They immediately split their survivors
into two camps. One remained on Zebes to begin rebuilding their ravaged facility and
resuscitating Mother Brain, Ridley, and Kraid. The second set out in search of a planet
with powerful energy resources. They didn't search long before they discovered Tallon
IV, which was still emanating huge pulses of energy from the Phazon contained beneath
the Chozo temple. Entranced by the massive potential of the strange mutagen, they
immediately moved in, retrofitting their laboratories, transporters, and life-support
systems into the Chozo Ruins. As the Space Pirates mined the Phazon and experimented
with it, they found that its capacity to mutate was unlike anything they'd ever seen,
and they promptly started combining it with indigenous lifeforms. They refined their
operation; powering their machinery with thermal-powered engines sunk deep in the molten
depths of Tallon IV, they drove deep mineshafts and mined more and more Phazon, ship-
ping it to their two main labs in the Phendrana Drifts, where sub-zero temperatures
made specimen containment safer. Research leaped forward: by harnessing Phazon's power,
they were able to create untold horrors that soon patrolled the dark caverns below
Tallon IV's crust.
The Space Pirates also transported many species to their orbiting ship for zero-G Phazon
experiments, unaware that Samus Aran had finally tracked their ship to its low orbit.
As they continued with their unnatural experiments, Samus sped toward Tallon IV,
preparing to wipe them out once and for all...
====================
4. Controller Setup:
====================
The Gamecube's controller certainly makes good use of all the buttons, but it won't
take long before you're rapidly switching between this and that on the fly. Here's the
layout of the buttons (it's a shame that you can't experiment and switch the buttons
around; but you can alternate the functions of the Control Pad and C-Stick by switching
which one controls the Visor and Beam functions...).
- L Button: Lock on to enemies, Scan objects (with Scan Visor equipped), and use the
Grappling Beam (only when the Grapple icon appears).
- R Button: Pan Camera, Aim (with the Control Stick), Activate Spider Ball tracks (in
Morph Ball mode).
- Z Button: Call up the Map Screen.
- Start/Pause: Pause game and bring up Samus' databanks.
- Control Stick: Move Samus, Look around, and Aim (with the R Button).
- Control Pad: Switch between available Visors.
- C Stick: Switch between available Beam weapons.
- Y Button: Fire Missiles, Beam Combos (when charged), lay Power Bombs (only in Morph
Ball mode).
- X Button: Switch in and out of Morph Ball mode.
- A Button: Fire Beam weapon, lay Bombs (only in Morph Ball mode).
- B Button: Jump, Activate Boost Ball (in Morph Ball mode), Dash side-to-side while
locked on (strafe move).
=================
5. Gaming Basics:
=================
Retro Studios did a masterful job preserving the classic exploration element of the
Metroid games in this installment. You play from the first person perspective, but
you'll still encounter plenty of the fierce action and platforming style that defines
Metroid. You'll find that over half the game is about learning your surroundings and
exploiting them: searching high and low, bombing obstacles out of the way, and looking
for more efficient routes is integral to the game. The 3D maps can get a tad confusing
at times, but with patience, you'll make it through. Now here's a brief list of some
things to consider that might make your journey through Tallon IV a bit less hair-
raising.
General Tips:
-------------
1. Like in almost every Metroid game, you'll often deal with not just one enemy, but an
entire horde of them. Make liberal use of the L Button during a swarm to constantly
target and pick off the nearest threat to you. In later cases such as with Auto
Defense Turrets, Flying Pirates, and Fission Metroids, you can sometimes use doors to
your advantage to provide cover. Flying Pirates and Fission Metroids, due to their
size, cannot fit through the doors, so it's really easy to stay on the opposite side
and pick your targets off from there.
2. Your Combat HUD is your life-saver. While it's difficult to focus on the huge influx
of information, it will definitely help you to check out the various readings from
time to time. Your Radar (upper left) will tell you of impending enemies, your Map
(upper right) will display a small cross-section of where you are, you have your
Missile Count on the right hand side, your Threat Assessment (left hand side), and
your Targeting Reticules that appear when enemies are in the vicinity.
3. Once you gain the Charge Beam, you can charge it up to draw refills to you, but the
tractor range is limited. In cases where you can defeat smaller enemies or obstacles
during boss battles, you can use the Charge Beam to nab those refills without going
all the way to them (this also works for refills higher up than you can jump).
4. Make sure you master or at least have passing familiarity with some of the stuff
listed under "Samus' Abilities" since there are a few ares where you must perform
some type of trick to proceed.
6. Every single room in the game has a name. So during the walkthrough, you'll often
find references to these names to make navigation a lot easier. To view what room
you're in, press Z to call up the map. You can then use the C Stick to scroll
along the different rooms from there.
7. Unlike previous titles, Metroids will only attack if you get close (this goes for
the normal variety only; Hunter Metroids will attack from farther away, and Fission
Metroids don't seem to give a darn where you are). This fact coupled with the rate
at which the Ice Beam fires can make approaching a group of Metroids somewhat risky.
If you have Missiles to spare, you can always lock on and blast one with a concussion
blast to lure it to you, where it'll be easier to defeat.
Areas of Tallon IV:
-------------------
You'll traverse six "worlds" on your journey through Tallon IV, all of which have their
own unique environmental conditions and hazards. Just as in Super Metroid, all of the
worlds here interconnect through the use of the Transports. However, unlike Super
Metroid, there are often multiple transports within a particular area, giving you more
than one route (heck, sometimes three) back to any other area. What follows is a short
sample list of the areas of Tallon IV.
- Tallon Overworld: Damp surface of the planet; somewhat of a jungle environment. Think
Crateria here.
- Chozo Ruins: Ancient ruined Chozo cities. You'll get a lot of stuff in this area, so
keep on the lookout. Most of the Ruins is sandy and desert-like, but deeper in you
reach watery areas.
- Magmoor Caverns: Think Norfair, except larger and much more hazardous. Magmoor is a
bit of a bore since its only real use in the game is to reach various Transports...
- Phendrana Drifts: The icy mountain region of Tallon IV, this frozen wasteland is home
to the Space Pirates' Research Labs.
- Phazon Mines: The primary stronghold for the Space Pirates, this area is full of their
Phazon experiments, plus lots of Phazon just lying about. You'll find many a twisted
enemy here.
- Impact Crater: A very small area consisting of but four rooms; this final area is
very difficult to traverse. The source of all Phazon resides deep in this area (cue
the spooky music).
Transportation:
---------------
There are various means of transportation around Tallon IV. Traveling from world to
world is accomplished through the use of Transports or elevators. Moving from area to
area is accomplished through passages or doors. Transports must be scanned before they
can be used, and then remain active for the remainder of the game. There are four main
types of doors, but certain conditions can affect the use of them. Other than transports
and doors, there are tunnels you can access with the Morph Ball and Magnetic Rails that
you can travel along with the Spider Ball. Refer below to see a good list of the means
you'll be using to move from place to place.
- Blue - requires a Bomb or normal Beam to open up.
- Purple - Only the Wave Beam will open these hatches.
- White - Only the Ice Beam will open thes hatches.
- Red - Only the Plasma Beam will open these hatches up.
- Blast Shield - A red shield blocks these doors. Shatter the shieldin with a Missile.
- Locked - You must complete some objective or scan some type of console to unlock
these doors. You'll receive a message when the objective has been achieved.
- Transport: You'll use the Scan Visor to activate these giant platform lifts that take
you from place to place around Tallon IV. Once a particular Transport is activated,
it remains online for the duration of the game.
- Morph Ball Tunnel: Once the Morph Ball has been acquired, you can and will use these
small passages to travel new places. Some tunnels are blocked, and the obstructions
must be removed.
- Magnetic Rail: You'll still use these to navigate certain areas once you have the
Spider Ball. Hold R when near a Rail to attach and use them.
- Power Conduit: Found only after acquiring the Thermal Visor, these are used to power
inactive doors (which you'll start finding a lot of). Power them up with the Wave
Beam; once all Power Conduits in a given room have been activated, power will be
restored to the door.
Power-Up Stations:
------------------
- Map Station: Scan or step into the hologram and Samus will download the Map for the
area she's in. Explored regions show as orange, while unexplored areas remain blue.
- Save Station: Step into the pad to replenish all your Energy and save your game's
progress.
- Missile Station: Step into the pad to reload your Missile complement.
Obstructions:
-------------
As you upgrade your items and progress, you'll find more and more things that block
your path. Here's a list of the rocks you'll find and how to get around them.
- Sandstone: Use Morph Ball Bombs to destroy this type of rock.
- Talloric Alloy: Morph Ball Bombs will get rid of this.
- Radion Stone: Concussive Missile blast.
- Brinstone: Concussive Missile blast.
- Cordite: Weak to Super Missile blasts.
- Bendezium: Only Power Bombs will destroy this type of rock.
Visual Aids:
------------
As should be obvious, you will spend the vast majority of the game in the Combat Visor.
Your three other available Visors include the Scan Visor, Thermal Visor, and X-Ray
Visor. Each is important to particular segments of the game. Check below for the major
information you should know about the extra Visors.
- Scan Visor: Press Left on the Control Pad to select this. When active, a small mag-
nifer appears in the center of the Visor. Anything that can be scanned will appear as
a recognizable symbol. Orange symbols account for miscellaneous data and a majority
of Creature Data. Red symbols, on the other hand, are mission-critical: they either
are boss data, Pirate Data, Chozo Lore, or in some other fashion necessary to the
completion of your current objective. Once your reticule has locked on, hold the L
Button to download information about it.
- Thermal Visor: The Thermal Visor allows you to see in the infrared spectrum and track
heat signatures. Anything that the Visor identifies as abnormal shows up as a bright
spot, similar to heat signatures. You can see in the dark this way, track invisible
enemies to a degree, and acquire alternate targets on some foes. You'll need this
Visor to activate Power Conduits later in the game.
- X-Ray Visor: Think the X-Ray Scope from Super Metroid, from the first-person pers-
pective. You can see through walls, locate hidden passages, and track certain
invisible enemies (the Shadow Pirates, for some reason, can only be seen with thermal
imaging). The X-Ray Visor can also aid in alternate target acquisition.
Combat System:
--------------
The Combat system in Metroid Prime is fairly straightforward. When you're fighting,
you'll normally use the Combat Visor. Later on, you'll be asked to call on the Thermal
and X-Ray Visors to track heat and cloaked signatures, but the basic idea remains the
same. Hold L to lock on to your target so you can always be facing it. If you tap B
while locked on, you'll "strafe" around the enemy, allowing you to circle and dodge
most attacks. This is made a bit easier once you have the Space Jump Boots, so you can
double jump out of the way. Occasionally you'll face enemies that you can't lock on to
(Eyons, cloaked enemies), so you'll have to use the R Button to manually aim at your
target. It's *extremely* important to know your enemy's weaknesses. There are a lot of
opponents that are weak to Ice, Fire, or Electricity. Know these weaknesses and then
exploit them with your different Beam weapons. Knowing how to defeat an enemy quickly
may often make the difference between life or death. As I mentioned earlier, you may
sometimes have to track heat signatures (Shadow Pirates, Thardus, Prime) or spectral
anomalies (Chozo Ghosts, Prime) to acquire target lock, so know what Visor you have to
use in the right situations.
Environmental Hazards:
----------------------
Tallon IV has hazardous evironmental sections aplenty. For starters, know where enemies
are and how to eliminate them quickly so you can conserve energy and munitions. Lava
and Phazon are two biggies in the game; try not to swim too much in the lava, and avoid
all blue Phazon like the Plague until you get the Phazon Suit.
There are certain enemies and hazards that will also adversely affect your progress in
other ways besides simply harming you. Scatter Bombus will interfere with your Visor,
turning it to static. In Magmoor, the steam vents will fog your Visor up, as will
traveling through a waterfall. Until you have the Gravity Suit, movement through liquid
is also hindered a great deal, as is your vision capability.. The last bit of advice
for this section is to constantly be aware of your surroundings; often knowing what's
around the bend will make a crucial difference in your ability to survive.
==========================
6. Intro to the Speed Run:
==========================
Overview
--------
This speed guide is broken down into various subsections encompassing major areas of
the game, which in turn contain sections of the worlds you'll be visiting. The areas
you'll be in are listed as you move from world to world.
From time to time, I'll also make references about data that you'll be alerted to
throughout the game. Oftentimes it will appear just as I describe, but if the Hint
system is turned on, a few of these will only appear if the computer decides you're
spending too much time in an area. It is actually possible to get through the game
without ever having your computer alert you of things like the odd gravity patterns, or
the location of the Research Core, and whatnot.
Finally, as this is a speed guide, intended to assist you in clocking in times as low
as possible, a lot of side trips will not be taken. One of the bigger ones is the Log
Book - for the purposes of this guide, only the absolutely necessary scans will be
included. Check our Normal Run Guide for all the creature and data scans inside the
actual walkthrough.
Item Numbering
--------------
You'll notice that I numbered just about every item in the game during the course of
the walkthrough. While this was originally designed for my record-keeping purposes, I
found it quite handy to keep in there so it would be easier to keep track of one's item
progress through the game. The numbering follows the format of just listing the number
you should have after the pickup, i.e. MISSILE EXPANSION (250) or ENERGY TANK (14),
and so forth.
Hard Mode
---------
This guide primarily runs you through the Normal Mode, but all boss strategies have
a short blurb on the Hard Mode differences you shuld be aware of. The enemies in the
areas you explore will remain the same, except they'll be twice as strong (so if you
used one charged shot in Normal, you'll generally use two in Hard). Therefore, I didn't
alter any of the main walkthrough sections. Also, don't be surprised if you see random
commentary from me about how some foes will behave in Hard Mode, since there's quite a
few that get nastier in Hard.
===============
7. The Orpheon:
===============
This section will break down the first part of the game, which takes place on the Space
Pirate Frigate.
Space Pirate Frigate
====================
As soon as the intro cinema starts, you'll find yourself on Deck Alpha's docking bays.
From your starting point, you'll see a blue forcefield in front of you. Lock on to and
shoot each of the four orbs to deactivate it so you can advance. Next, activate the
Scan Visor as you're running to quickly activate the next forcefield; deactivate the
orbs as you did before. Now hang a left and run across the walkway to the blue door;
shoot it open and head through. Scan the consoles as you go; you'll need to repressurize
the airlocks before you can move on. The next room is the Emergency Evacuation Area.
Head down the ramp and leap over the critters in here. Take out the injured Space Pirate
on the floor and head through the next door. In the next hallway, you'll reach an
impasse; use the Charge Beam to blast through the rubble and head deeper into the
Frigate. The next hallway will show a short cinema of three Parasites escaping into a
small tunnel. Ignore them and continue on through the next door, using the Scan Visor
to activate the elevator which takes you down to Deck Beta.
On Deck Beta, you'll have to use the Morph Ball to navigate some damaged tunnels. Once
you reach Biotech Research Area 1, you'll find a couple of injured Space Pirates, but
none pose too much of a threat. Shoot them only if they get in your way, otherwise
just run on past them. Through the next door and around the bend lies a Defense Turret;
peek out from around the corner and take it out with a Missile. Once you reach the
Biohazard Containment (the room you reach that has a lot of computer terminals in
it), strafe around the central tank to take out the next Defense Turret, and use the
nearby elevator to go up one more level. Up here, contend with the three Space Pirates,
then head on through the door. Quickly eliminate the Defense Turrets here, and take
the elevator down to Deck Gamma. Kill another Pirate, and scan the consoles to activate
the prompt for the Morph Ball. Morph into a ball to activate the door. Two more Defense
Turrets are in the next room; destroy them and repeat the same Morph Ball sequence to
unlock the next door, which leads into the Reactor Core.
Parasite Queen Strategy
=======================
[NORMAL MODE]
Despite what you may think upon seeing this monster, the "Parasite Queen" is quite a
pushover. This battle will get you comfortable with the strafing technique. First
things first, aim up and scan the boss so you can identify her weak point, the mouth.
During this battle, the only attack you'll have to dodge is a searing energy beam.
Once you target the mouth, strafe around the room in a circle while constantly shooting
your Power Beam. Your shots are quick enough to penetrate the breaks in the forcefield.
Whenever you encounter the large gap in the forcefield, either send some Missiles or
charged shots into the mouth to deal serious damage. This fight will be over after a
few rounds.
[HARD MODE]
Not much is different in this battle, other than the fact that the beam ray does a bit
more damage. The Parasite Queen takes slightly less damage, but the pattern still
remains the same. Constantly strafe to avoid the more-frequent ray attack, and launch
Missiles at the open forcefield until you run out; then resort to charged Beams.
Once you've eliminated the Parasite Queen, the self-destruct will activate, and you'll
have seven minutes to get out before the plays blows. Follow these directions and run
as fast as humanly possible to clear this area in just over 3 minutes.
The upper door is sealed, but the camera will automatically point you in the direction
you need to go. Run through the cooridors and scan the console in front of you to
deactivate a Defense Turret up ahead. As you reenter Biotech Research Area 1, some
Space Pirates will be busy fighting off another large Parasite. Run past them and
up the ramp that the resulting explosion creates, then leap and hop your way to the
circular pipe in the distance, avoiding the hail of fire from the Pirates. Once in,
morph into a ball to accelerate down the tunnels (do this for all the downward subvent-
ilation shafts). Maneuver yourself to avoid the Parasite swarms, and continue on your
way through all the shafts until you reach the Cargo Bay Access. Follow the giant
crates and exit out the right-hand tunnel to work your way through to Biotech Research
Area 2. Wait for the cinema with Meta Ridley to end, then use the Grappling Beam to
swing across the pit in front of you. Make a run for the door and down the hallway to
the Deck Alpha Elevator. Scan it, watch as the electrical surge destroys your suit
upgrades, then ride the elevator up. At the top, wind your way through the twisting
passages and sprint down the hallway to the end where you have to let the airlock
repressurize. Wait the eternity for it to do so, then take off running some more to
reach the docking bays, where you'll safely make it to your Gunship. Now watch the next
cinema as Samus lands on Tallon IV.
=================
8. Ancient Ruins:
=================
This section details the second major area of the game, that which takes place in Tallon
Overworld and Chozo Ruins, culminating with the defeat of Flaahgra.
Tallon Overworld
================
A short cinema will ensue as Samus speeds through the atmosphere of Tallon IV and lands
on the surface of the world. This outer area is known as the Tallon Overworld, and
you'll be pleased to know that your sequence-breaking of the game starts right here in
the beginning. Save your game when you're prompted, and move yourself around a bit on
top of your ship, so that you're standing directly on the edge of the starboard side
turbine. Switch to your Scan Visor and make sure that the little portal for your ship
is as far left as it possibly can go. Now look out and lock onto part of the Tallon
fauna above the blue door way off in the distance. Prepare a Dash Jump manuever (this
is detailed in the section, "Samus' Abilities" if you need a good reference. Make sure
you lock on to the fauna, then leap out to the side, aiming particularly for the short
ledge to your right. Just as you start the dash move, let go of L and, if done correct-
ly, you should fly off and land atop a ledge. From here, just climb up and head over
to the Alchove and claim the SPACE JUMP upgrade. From here on out, you'll be able to
double jump, allowing you to reach a lot of places earlier.
Now hop down from the ledge and take a short moment to save again at your Ship, then
head through the blue door like normal. Run past the Beetles that pop out of the ground,
and exit out to Tallon Canyon. Maneuver your way around here, avoiding more Beetles,
until you reach the door at the end. Continue down this hallway to reach the Transport
leading down to the Chozo Ruins.
Chozo Ruins
===========
From the Chozo Ruins entryway, Space Jump over the Beetles and head through the door
to reach the Main Plaza. As you head down, more Beetle swarms will attack you, so take
them out and head to the half-pipe in the middle. Look for the slight hole on the
right-hand side, and look straight up. Start Space Jumping and you should be able to
wedge yourself into an enclave where you'll nab the first MISSILE EXPANSION (005),
before you even have the technical Launcher upgrade! Don't worry, your Missiles will
still work fine. Head back down and through the door with the Missile Lock on it to
reach the Ruined Shrine. Watch the cinema as the wall raises up, then leap up over the
obstruction to claim the MORPH BALL upgrade. From your current location, Space Jump
back across the gap to head back out to the Ruined Shrine, and start leaping up the
platforms at the rear of the room, making your way to the bridge overhead.
There's a lone War Wasp circling about; destroy it, then lock onto each of the two
Hives and destroy them before proceeding. Continue on through the blue door into the
Fountain Access. More Scarabs and blocked passages await you in this tunnel; make it
easy and use the Morph Ball the entire time. The Ruined Fountain is darkened, making it
tough to see where you're going. There are, however, a few Plazmites circling around.
As long as you don't bother them, they'll generally leave you alone. From your start-
ing point, Space Jump across the water to the blue door off to your left, and head
through it to reach the Arboretum. Turn immediately left and shoot the Reaper Vine to
make it retract into the wall, and start leaping your way to the ledges that wind
around the center tree structure. Cross the bridge near the top, and head down the
incline, rolling if you want to, to reach the door at the bottom. Head through and
into the Gathering Hall area. You should be getting a message regarding a Save Station
near you, but ignore it for now. Once in the Gathering Hall, cross along the lower
right path (where the cluster of Blastcaps are) into the Watery Hall Access. As you
round the corner, take aim and fire at the Shriekbats that divebomb you from the top
of the ceiling. At the lowest point in the room, shoot a Missile at the left wall to
break it and reveal a MISSILE EXPANSION (010). Once in the Watery Hall, you must locate
and scan four runic symbols to activate a gate high above you. Jump to the ledge near
the entry door and turn around. As you pan to the right, you should see the first rune.
Hop back down and cross the platforms on the water until you reach a Blastcap cluster.
Destroy them and find a second rune on the floor. Head to the back of the room where
the third symbol lies on the wall. Finally, return to the entry point and navigate the
ledges up and over to the large gate. Scan the wall near it to find the fourth rune,
then turn and scan the gate itself to unlock it. Now Space Jump to the CHARGE BEAM
upgrade sitting near the back, then utilize it to take out the Eyons that come to life
and block your path out. Backtrack to the Gathering Hall and start ascending the plat-
forms around the room until you reach a section with Blastcaps above you. Rotate your-
self around and Space Jump out to the little platform,then Space Jump again to reach the
top of a grate. Morph and roll off the edge and hang back to land in front of the
door, then head through it into the Energy Core. Head left when you get into the room
and go down the maze of hallways until you reach a Morph Ball tunnel. Roll on through
this and the next one to reach the door leading to the Burn Dome - the location your
computer indicates is the site of a very strong Hive presence.
Incinerator Drone Strategy
==========================
[NORMAL MODE]
This battle starts off with the mechanoid shooting two jets of flame. Strafe side to
side and stay in between the two jets. When it stops, a red orb will appear. Get in
front of it and fire until the mechanoid malfunctions and shoots its flame straight up.
The Barbed War Wasps in the hive above get pretty teed off that their home is being set
aflame, and naturally come after you. Scan one as it emerges, then start making a point
of taking them apart as they come out of the hive. Keep an eye on the Drone though;
the flame jets are now tilted at severe angles that can make it tougher to dodge. The
trick is to avoid the high jet, and jump the low jet. Keep your attention focused more
on the Wasps, but check the Drone every five seconds or so; as soon as that red orb
pops back into view, drop the Wasps like a bad habit and focus all firepower on the
Incinerator Drone. It'll malfunction again, and the process will start over. After 4
rounds, the Drone will really go on the fritz and vaporize the entire Hive. The Drone
will then in turn explode into tiny fragments, leaving the MORPH BALL BOMB upgrade in
its wake.
[HARD MODE]
Not much difference, really (boss battles won't get tough until Thardus...). You'll of
course, take more damage, the War Wasps are quicker and deadlier - but I didn't notice
any particular change in their numbers (I can't really recall if they swarmed out one
after another in Normal Mode). This battle is a piece of cake; just keep an eye on the
Wasps and shoot them down to win here.
Collect the Morph Ball Bomb and use one on the weak wall near the back, then roll to a
MISSILE EXPANSION (015). Exit the Burn Dome by Bomb Jumping to the high tunnels, then
head to the nearby Stone Toad off to the left. Morph, let it eat you, then set a Bomb
to destroy it, and head into the adjoining room. Bomb Jump into the Morph Ball Slot and
set a Bomb to activate it, then watch as the water drains from the room. Roll through
the small tunnel into the large room. Quickly roll to the next slot and repeat to raise
a set of platforms. Working against the clock, hop from platform to platform and head
inside the alcove to reach the third Slot. Bomb Jump into it and activate it to raise a
final series of ledges and unlock the door on the upper right side. Enter the door to
make your way into the Furnace. Roll through the Morph Ball Tunnel and follow it to a
second one, where you land in a room containing your first ENERGY TANK (01). Collect it
and head back to the Gathering Hall. As you exit, Space Jump out to the little red
orbs on the ledges, then Space Jump again to the top of that grating you were on top
of earlier. This time, Bomb through the grating to reach a MISSILE EXPANSION (020),
then drop all the way back down and use the nearby Save Station to save your progress
thus far. Now backtrack through the Arboretum and start scanning for four runic symbols
in this room to access a gate far above you. The first one is right on the tree near
the wooden bridge, there's a second one down near the entrance, guarded by a patch of
red Venom Weed. Scan it and start heading up through the passages in the walls using
Bombs to get through. Watch out for some War Wasps on your way up, and you'll find the
third rune on the wall during the ascent. Scale your way to the top; once on the wood-
en bridge, crane out and around to locate the fourth rune on the tree. With all four
scanned, the gate will roll out of the way, and you can bomb your way into the Sun-
chamber Lobby. Avoid the Venom Weed and Reaper Vines and get to the door at the end;
use the crates if you need a refill, then head on through the door into the massive
Sunchamber to do battle.
Flaahgra Strategy
=================
[NORMAL MODE]
The gargantuan mutant plant known as "Flaahgra" is the sole creature responsible for
the high levels of toxins present in the Chozo Ruins. Like all plants, Flaahgra derives
his power from photosynthesis, and his location in the Sunchamber provides him ample
amounts of sunlight. To defeat this boss, you must disable the solar panels to rob
Flaahgra of his power source, then use Morph Ball Bombs to destroy his weakened root
system. Flaahgra may have very thick skin that is resistant to every attack you have,
but his central nervous system in his roots is quite vulnerable. Any time Flaahgra's
solar energy is cut off, he retracts his roots from the Tunnels, allowing you to roll
inside to the Morph Ball Slot at the end and set Morph Ball Bombs. The resulting
explosion to his vulnerable base deals hefty damage to Flaahgra (1/4 off his meter) and
causes the beast to shrivel and collapse. However, it's not long before Flaahgra re-
vives with the help of more solar panels. Pay attention to the reanimation cinema; look
for which panels are activated, then look for the closest Morph Ball Tunnel in relation
to the panels. You want to time this so that you're able to reach said tunnel within 6
seconds of disabling the panels. As you destroy the root systems, you also in turn
destroy the tunnel, so you must pick and choose somewhat strategically.
The trick in the battle comes in the form of Flaahgra's increasing resistance to your
attempts to knock him out. He doesn't get very happy when you try to cut him off, and
will bombard you with some pretty nasty attacks. To disable each panel, lock on to the
red light and shoot it until it's knocked out of position. Flaahgra will always attempt
to knock the solar panels that you disable back into a position that will benefit him,
so you must dually concentrate on keeping Flaahgra woozy while circling around shooting
the panals. You may not be able to harm him with your weapons, but rapid-firing the
Power Beam and launching Missiles does a good job of keeping Flaahgra from counter-
attacking. The strategy to use is to stun Flaahgra, strafe around while taking potshots
until you reach a solar panel. Knock it out of commisssion and *immediately* lock back
onto Flaahgra. Strafe around some more while keeping him dizzy until you reach another
active panel. Knock it out, and repeat for as many panels have to be deactivated.
Flaahgra's other attacks involve a poison breath attack (which can be easily avoided by
strafing), a ramming move (he bends down and slams his head into you), and his thorn
vine - he lays this down in random places around the room hoping for an unwary adversary
to get caught. If you do happen to get stuck in it, repeatedly move the Control Stick
around to free yourself (and do it fast - you rapidly lose energy when stuck). Repeat
the battle for a total of four rounds. When you've delivered a fourth Morph Ball Bomb
blast to Flaahgra's roots, the mutant keels over and dies once and for all.
[HARD MODE]
Flaahgra may be the first real boss that you may have to approach a bit differently.
For starters, there are a few things different in the Hard version; including Flaahgra's
resistance has been upped (making him harder to stun - Missiles are about the only
thing that do the trick reliably), his downtime has decreased, and he is much more
prone to knocking panels back into position, sometimes without you even knowing. His
thorn vine attack is a bit more prevalant. Constantly switching lock-ons between
Flaahgra and the panels is crucial; you must always keep him off balance when attempting
any sort of attack on his power sources. Make sure he is reeling prior to and immed-
iately following disabling a panel, and launch a few Missiles to keep him that way while
you scramble to the next panel. Except for these little bits, the battle pretty much
proceeds the same way. The battle still goes for four rounds, but during the last round,
Flaahgra goes into a sort of "desperation" mode in which he commonly launches flurries
of attacks at you (multiple rammings, repeated breath attacks, or combination attacks
(as a particularly mean example, ramming you into his thorn vine). Bear these in mind,
but you shouldn't have any real problems with this battle.
Once Flaahgra has been put down, you'll be able to hop up and claim the VARIA SUIT
upgrade to give you added defensive powers as well as survive extreme temperatures.
Leave the Sunchamber and proceed through the Suntower Access until you reach a stack
of crates - shoot them for energy refills. As you round the corner, you'll run into a
new enemy called a Pulse Bombu; you can't damage it yet, so just Morph and roll on past.
As you enter the Suntower, you'll have to make the leap all the way to the bottom.
Ignore the enemies in this room for now and dash out into the Transport room, but don't
use it. Head to the left through the door and follow the path through here until you
reach the Vault. Circle around to the back and execute Bomb Jumps to reach the three
Morph Ball Slots. The last one requires a Double Bomb Jump; once you've activated
all three, a gate will rise, allowing you access to the hidden MISSILE EXPANSION (025).
Continue heading out of this tunnel area to get back out to the Main Plaza, where you
can score an ENERGY TANK (02) along the way. Drop down and race across the Plaza
area to return to Tallon Overworld.
Tallon Overworld
================
As you reenter the Overworld, head through Tallon Canyon, and Space Jump to the plat-
forms on the upper level. Follow the Zoomer and Geemer around to a door leading into
Transport Tunnel B. Run down here, dropping into the slight pit halfway down to grab
the MISSILE EXPANSION (030), then hop back up and continue on into the Root Cave.
Here, fall all the way down to the bottom, avoid the Beetles that pop up, and head into
the door and down the hallway to reach the transport leading down to Magmoor Caverns.
================
9. Fire 'n' Ice:
================
This short segment covers the short journey from Magmoor into Phendrana to pick up a
few more Power Suit upgrades.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
As you emerge into Magmoor Caverns from Tallon Overworld, you'll be greeted by a not-
so-nice Magmoor. Take the time to eliminate it with a couple of charged shots to the
head, then roll yourself along the metallic track and take the door into Fiery Shores.
Head through the flame jets that spout down from the ceiling, then stop when you come
to the lava lake. Turn to your left and blast the crates there, then start heading up
the short platforms, using Bombs to lift yourself up. At the top, roll along the very
precarious catwalk perch network to reach the MISSILE EXPANSION (035) at the end, then
drop down and head into Monitor Station. Arm yourself near the door as the Defense
Turrets are itching to blow you away, and take them out systematically. When all three
have been destroyed, head up the bridge and jump to the rock formation on the other
side. Aim up until you locate a fourth Defense Turret, and blast it out of the sky.
Head up the rock ledges, then Space Jump across the expanse to reach the metal catwalk,
and head along the final catwalk into Transport Tunnel A. Here, use a Double Bomb Jump
near the entrance (over the first metallic block) to boost yourself up to another area,
the repeat a second Double Bomb Jump to grab the ENERGY TANK (03) hidden at the top.
Once you've gotten the Tank, drop down and continue right to reach the Transport lead-
ing to the frozen Phendrana Drifts.
Phendrana Drifts
================
As you enter the icy world of Phendrana Drifts, you'll have to use your Missiles to
blast through some ice structures. Beyond lies the Phendrana Shorelines. As you proceed
to where the save station is, you'll come across a metal gate on a building. Blast the
gate with a Missile and scan the panel at the very back to unlock a door above you. Go
and to the right, past the Save Station and look for a series of ledges leading up and
over. Hop up and across them to reach a door. Take the door and proceed through the
access tunnel into Ice Ruins East, avoiding the Scatter Bombus along the way. As you
enter Ice Ruins East, two nasty Baby Sheegoths will come out to play. These little
creatures are not to be taken lightly, but if you're quick, you can Space Jump over or
around them. Either kill them or dodge them, and head up the ledge to the right. Follow
it to the left and you'll enter a door leading to the Plaza Walkway. Inside this long
cave you'll find a bunch of Ice Burrowers, which are merely icy versions of the Magmoor
Burrowers. Roll past them back out to Phendrana Shorelines, then head left to the door
that leads to Ice Ruins West. Once there, run and Space Jump past two more Baby Shee-
goths to reach a passage leading down and to the right. Go through the door to reach
Phendrana Canyon. Out in this open area, drop down and Space Jump off the ledge to the
ice slope in the distance. Ascend it and scan the console to align a set of platforms
leading off into the distance. Hop over them quickly as they collapse under your weight,
and you can reach the BOOST BALL upgrade at the end. Drop back down into the sloped
canyon and use the new upgrade to boost yourself out of the half-pipe and back onto
solid ground. Take the high road back to the door and exit out of here, retracing your
steps back to Phendrana Shorelines. After the short sequence with Meta Ridley, drop
back down and start heading back up the ledges as if you were going to Ice Ruins East.
Stop about halfway up and look for the nearby floating platforms leading to the Chozo
Ice Temple. Use the Space Jump to reach the ledges so you can cross to the Ice Temple.
As you reach the others side and enter the door, morph and roll past all the Bombus in
this short hallway. In the next room, you'll face off against a Baby Sheegoth, and the
close quarters makes combat a bit tough. Strafe around the best you can to defeat it
and move on. There are a few ledges at the end, so start climbing and pick off the
enemies as you come across them. On your ascent, you'll start encountering some Ice
Parasites, frosty versions of normal Parasites that have adapted to frigid temperatures.
Move past them and keep going up the ledges. Once you reach the top, you'll find a gate
blocking a door. Go back a little ways and start scanning the walls until you find the
bust of a Chozo Shaman. (If you're facing the giant iced statue, it's the first one on
your right.) Destroy the bust with a Missile so you can Bomb Jump into the Morph Ball
slot behind it. Activate the slot with a Bomb to open the gate. Go inside and morph to
get through the next section, which involves bombing stone columns out of your path.
Once you've successfully cleared the path, head on into the Chapel of the Elders, where
you'll have to fight another two-part mini-boss fight to claim the strange upgrade that
just got pulled into the floor. Four Baby Sheegoths will attack from the corners of the
room, but thankfully you'll only face two at a time. Lock on to one of them and start
strafing around while pounding its shell with the Power Beam. When you destroy one,
another one enters, so keep picking them off until you've killed the whole quartet, and
get ready for the larger, meaner version...
Sheegoth Strategy
=================
[NORMAL MODE]
A full grown Sheegoth bursts through the rear wall of the Chapel, and my bet is she's
not too happy that you just killed her babies. You should prepare a little bit: the
battle can be a bit tough at this stage of the game.
First thing you should know is that the Sheegoth is invulnerable to your current Beam
weapons. The ice crystals on her back will absorb energy, converting it into some other
kind of energy, which the Sheegoth spits right back at you. It's not pretty...
Start off by morphing into the Morph Ball and roll around to the Sheegoth's tail end.
You'll want to stay near the back and set off Morph Ball Bombs one after another so as
to damage the Sheegoth quickly. Make sure that you roll in a orderly fashion with the
Sheegoth so that the mini-boss never has any chances to use any of her more devastating
attacks (ramming, or the freezing attacks). Should you get frozen, Bomb yourself out of
the ice trap as fast as you can, otherwise the resulting ramming attack will do some
major damage. Somewhere between 10 and 20 (I lost count actually) Morph Ball Bomb det-
onations will bring the mother Sheegoth down.
[HARD MODE]
Double up the damage from the last fight, and expect the Sheegoth to be harder to avoid.
Combination attacks seem to work better in Hard Mode, so if you find yourself having
trouble setting Morph Ball Bombs, use a couple of Missiles and alternate between the
two attacks. It takes about 25 Bombs or 34 Missiles to defeat the Hard Mode version of
this mini-boss.
Now that the Sheegoth is dead, you can run and collect the powerful WAVE BEAM upgrade.
You'll now be able to open purple beam-coded doors now that you have this weapon. With
your handy new toy, backtrack out of the Chozo Ice Temple and start the trek back to
Magmoor Caverns.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
Reenter Magmoor Caverns and head back out into Monitor Station. Eliminate the few
enemies around you and then either drop straight down or head down the platforms;
either way you want to get to the other entrance to this room (which is on your left
as you enter this room). However you do it, head on through Monitor Tunnel into the
massive Triclops Pit. There's a Missile Expansion in here, but it's far on the other
side, and you must first cross the platforms filled with Puffers to get there. Take
out the Puffers and reach solid ground. Pan around and look for the crates off to the
left. This part gets really tricky, and only comes with practice, so bear with me.
From the crates, face directly ahead, and stand on the very edge of the rock. Space
Jump out and you should hit the first invisible platform. Keep leaping up so the
ledge doesn't sink, and turn to your left 45 degrees to see the rock pillar. There's a
short piece sticking out, Space Jump out and around this part to land on the second
ledge. The third one is another 45 degrees to your left, so rotate and Space Jump out,
then fire a Missile at the pillar in front of you, and Space Jump again to land and
grab the MISSILE EXPANSION (040). Fall down and head back around to the starting area,
looking for a hole in the wall that's glowing red. Head through this small area and use
the Morph Ball to enter the tiny tunnel leading into the area under the metal grated
floor. Here, roll your way around to the right until you reach another Morph Ball
tunnel. Take it and head into the Storage Cavern to find a MISSILE EXPANSION (045)
tucked near the back. Exit here and out of the Triclops area, and continue your trek
into the Pit Tunnel. Roll through here to the other side, avoiding the Triclops, and
exit out into the Lava Lake area. Space Jump around the platforms and Puffers to reach
the other side, then bomb your way through the wall to reach another side of Lava Lake.
This one is also stocked with Puffers and a couple of Magmoors. Travel along the plat-
forms to reach solid ground, then fire two Missiles at the pillar nearest your location,
and Space Jump to get the ARTIFACT OF NATURE from the broken pillar. Leave this room
and head through the next door to reach Lake Tunnel and Burning Trail. Keep heading
along the path to reach a vertical area. Ride the piston platforms up until you can
Space Jump to a rocky outcropping. Head through the door to reach a Transport that
leads back to the Sun Tower of Chozo Ruins.
===========================
10. Revisiting Chozo Ruins:
===========================
This section of the game is your basic revisit to the Ruins site to gather some needed
upgrades, namely the Ice Beam out of sequence to assist in facilitating later speed
breaking.
Chozo Ruins
===========
You'll reenter Chozo Ruins in the Sun Tower. Proceed directly ahead and through the
Morph Ball segments down into Transport Access North to claim another ENERGY TANK (04),
then go through the door in front of you to claim the MISSILE LAUNCHER and another
MISSILE EXPANSION (050) that you actually were supposed to get at the beginning of
the game. Now, without crossing the bridge, turn right and Space Jump to the blocks
leading to the door exiting Hive Totem (you try to cross the bridge normally, and the
Hive Mecha fight will trigger - for the purposes of this speed run you're skipping the
fight). Head on out through Totem Access into the Ruined Gallery. Deal with the couple
War Wasps here, then drop down and fire a Missile at the cracked wall near the back
to reveal a MISSILE EXPANSION (055), then head to the other side of the room, and Bomb
Jump into a small passage that winds around to another MISSILE EXPANSION (060). Exit
this room and continue on to the Ruined Nursery. Again, deal with some War Wasps, then
use Bombs to work your way through the wall channel to claim another MISSILE EXPANSION
(065). Eventually you'll work your way back to the Main Plaza; start ascending the
platforms in the back heading through the Gathering Hall and to the Energy Core, near
where you battled the Incinerator Drone. Once you reach the Energy Core, hop along
the ledges to reach the door in the far right corner. You got your first Energy Tank
here, but this time, position yourself near the Magnetic Rail track. More sequence-
breaking awaits as you exploit a quirk in the design of this particular track rail.
Position yourself so you're facing the track, then move a little ways to the left until
you see a bit of the stone wall. Now press the Control Stick forward into the Track -
the track should look like it's vibrating rapidly. While still holding the Control
Stick forward, Space Jump up - at the peak, hold forward again, and you should land on
a completely nonexistent "platform" (occasionally, your "track jump" will even propel
you up the rail without Space Jumping). Hold R as you rotate to move yourself into a
good position, then Space Jump again. At the peak of your second jump, morph into a
ball to catch the lip of the tunnel, then execute a quick Boost to pop yourself in
(this may take a couple of attempts, but it's easier to do than the Triple Bomb Jump).
Now carefully Boost across the disappearing blocks and quickly Bomb Jump over the
obstruction back to solid ground, where you can then safely continue on into the
Furnace.
As you enter, Beetles will pop out of the ground; ignore them and head to the left
through the Morph Ball tunnel. From here, go into the Crossway and use the Boost Ball
to roll yourself out of the half-pipe and head through the door at the other end,
following the path into the Hall of the Elders. As you enter, the room will darken, and
the next breed of mini-boss will come to attack you (fortunately here, you only have
to fight one of them).
Chozo Ghosts Strategy
=====================
[NORMAL MODE]
The Chozo Ghosts can be tough, no doubt, but with the right weaponry and quick reflexes,
they're little more than annoying pushovers. The catch is they are only weak to the
Power Beam, and they aren't always visible. In fact, at this point in the game, it can
be rather tough seeing as you don't have the X-Ray Visor to efficiently track them.
To defeat them easily, listen to the sound effects. The Ghosts will make sounds (kind
of like a spooky whooshing sound) before they launch an attack. If you hear this,
quickly look around and dodge any pulse attack that flies at you. Whenever you have the
opportunity to lock onto a Ghost, shoot it repeatedly with charged Power Beam shots to
reduce the amount of damage you have to do.
Just be wary of their pulse attacks - if one hits you, you'll be rendered immobile for
about four seconds while your Power Suit resets, an eternity during which you're
vulnerable to further attack. The best method is just to tuck yourself into a corner
and fire away whenever the opportunity presents itself. Do note that once you acquire
the Super Missile, you'll be able to pound these into oblivion much faster. Also, once
you have the X-Ray Visor, these recurring mini-bosses become but a nuisance.
[HARD MODE]
The Ghosts are far more powerful and they are quite a bit faster on the draw - you'll
want to constantly scan around to see if one of them is loitering around you. If so,
pepper it with some Power Beam shots to distract it, and fire a charged blast only if
you have the time and room to charge one up. The Chozo Ghosts don't do a lot more
damage, but in Hard, they tend to attack in tandem, meaning all three will launch
attacks at you at the same time, and that can really put a drain on your resources.
Just keep listening for that characteristic sound effect and you shouldn't have too
many problems.
After the Ghost has been put down, Space Jump back up to the small walkway where you
came in from, and turn around facing the wall way from the Elder Statue. It's time for
a bit of fancy Space Jumping as you look towards the giant reflector on the wall in
front of you. Now look closer, and you'll see a small peg sticking out from part of it.
Use the R button to settle your reticule over that peg, then release R and make a leap
of faith. By Space Jumping with the correct timing, you will land on this little peg.
Now be careful; you have to Space Jump again to the ledge above you, but there's a low
ceiling that can impede progress. Pan around with your camera to see where the ceiling
is, then Space Jump up to the ledge, and activate the Morph Ball slot. After the three
colored ones turn on, go to the purple one and shoot it with the Wave Beam, then Bomb
it. Now drop to the Chozo statue and morph into its open palm, and let it bowl you into
a secret tunnel high above you. Scan the console to deactivate the forcefield, then
continue on into the Reflecting Pool. Bomb the underwater drain slot, then use the
Boost Ball in the half-pipe to launch yourself to the upper level (try to get eaten by
a Stone Toad up top; it guarantees you'll land on the upper ledges). Now enter the
western door to reach the Antechamber, where you'll acquire the potent ICE BEAM upgrade!
Leave the Antechamber and Space Jump across the room to the other side where you can
reach a Save Station. Go ahead and use it to save your progress up until now, then Bomb
Jump into the Morph Ball tunnel, which leads to a Transport to Tallon Overworld.
Tallon Overworld
================
As you head back into Tallon Overworld, you'll pass through the Overgrown Cavern, where
there's a MISSILE EXPANSION (070) dead in your path amongst the Venom Weed. As you exit
out, you'll see the wreckage of the Space Frigate you started this whole adventure on.
Almost as quickly, a new breed of Space Pirates attack you - these Flying Pirates use
aerial assaults to try and defeat you, but you can ground them first by freezing them
with the Ice Beam. Follow up with a Missile to shatter them.
Once the first two are taken care of, jump down into the water and make your way across
to the other side. Two more Flying Pirates are sitting near the water, eating lunch
or something...Ignore them and make a run for the door at the back. Follow the path
through the following tunnel to return to the Landing Site. Ignore your Ship and roll
into the passage behind it. Boost through the Tangle Weed to find yet another MISSILE
EXPANSION (075), then return to Tallon Canyon and utilize the entrance to the Root
Cave to return to Magmoor Caverns.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
From the transport, work your way back to Monitor Station, then climb the platforms to
reach the entrance to Transport Tunnel A - yes, you're going back to the Phendrana
Drifts.
==========================
11. Fire 'n' Ice, Part II:
==========================
This section details Samus' excursion into the Research Labs in Phendrana Drifts, her
battle with Thardus, and some ferrying back and forth between Magmoor and Phendrana
to gather more items.
Phendrana Drifts
================
As you reenter the icy Phendrana Drifts, you need to backtrack all the way to Ice Ruins
West (using the same exact path you took earlier). Use the path taken to the Boost Ball
if you have troubles. Once you reach Ice Ruins West, hop to the right and into the
small structure then use the Space Jump to reach the higher ledges. Once at the top,
shoot the Stalactite hanging from the ceiling down with a Missile, then use it as a
platform to reach another set of rooftop areas. Head across the rooftops, shooting down
the Ice Shriekbats as they fly towards you, then Space Jump across the gap and head to
the Wave Beam door leading into the Ruined Courtyard. In here, hop along the solid
ledges until you reach the first Spinner. Morph into it and activate it, then do the
same for the second one farther along the path. Now jump up the ice ledges to the
Morph Ball slot above you, activate it, and head back across the area to reach the
Morph Ball tunnel leading to the ENERGY TANK (05), then head back across. Reactivate
the slot, then start climbing up around the central tower. At the top, Space Jump
across the gap and head into the Pirate Research Labs.
A Shadow Pirate will immediately attack you; take it out with the Wave Beam and proceed
on into the Research Entrance.
Just inside, you'll be able to see a lone Defense Turret high in the ceiling. Take aim
and destroy it; this way you won't have the thing blasting at you during the upcoming
Space Pirate engagement. Move on a little ways more and a short cinema will take over
where a Sentry Drone alerts a group of Pirates to your intrusion.
Stay near the door and engage the Space Pirates from a safe distance to make it easier
for you to hit them (Pirates often just go all out and attack melee-style, so you
almost never have to worry about them lurking about behind any corners). Use charged
Wave Beam shots from afar, and Missiles if they start getting too close. After you
defeat all five, move on through the area, and head up the ramps leading to the upper
level.
Continue through the Hydra Lab Entryway (taking out the multiple Scatter Bombus along
the way) into Research Lab Hydra. Scan the console nearby to deactivate the forcefield,
then get ready for a brief Pirate attack. Eliminate them and head for the entrance to
Observatory Access near the rear of this area. The entrance is in the ceiling, so jump
up and right into a hail of fire from three Defense Turrets. Seek cover behind the
crates for the first one, then use the walls to avoid the second and third ones. As you
enter the Observatory, five more Space Pirates will attack you; take cover near the
entrance and pick them off one by one. After they're eliminated, head across to the
bank of consoles near the back and scan the central terminal to initialize the holo
sequencer. Two Morph Ball Slots will appear; one is right on the platform to your left,
and the other is to your right, a bit higher up on the next ledge. Activate each with a
Bomb, then drop down to the floor and use each of the four Spinners to lock the panels
into place. Once the last panel is online and active, the sequence will be complete,
and you will see a massive three-dimensional rotating display above you of the surr-
ounding solar system. Now work on leaping up the platforms lining the walls to reach
the center one where the SUPER MISSILE sits. Grab it and head through the next door
into the West Tower. Ride the elevator up out into the Control Tower, and eliminate the
Flying Pirates as they attack from above. Use Super Missiles on them to kill them
faster, then head down into the East Tower once they've been taken down. Ride the
elevator down into Research Lab Aether, and head straight in front of you to find the
first Metroid of the game. Move up close while charging up your Power Beam, and let it
eat a Super Missile when it breaks out of containment. A Space Pirate will bust through
the glass here; take point and kill him, then drop down into the main research lab.
Eliminate the Pirates as you go along, and get to the lower level where you can shoot a
stasis tube for another ENERGY TANK (06). Now head back up the ramp and Space Jump to
the ledge above you, and roll along the narrow catwalk to the MISSILE EXPANSION (070).
Leave Research Lab Aether through the door in the floor into Research Core Access.
You'll immediately be attacked by an Ice Beetle in here; simply run past them and head
into the Research Core. Quickly take aim at the Space Pirate hiding out on the other
side of the room, then use the Ice Beam + Missile combo on the following two Flying
Pirates. After they're gone, scan the consoles on this level to deactivate the first
circuit control for the stasis tank, then start heading down the ramps. Near the bottom
are two Defense Turrets; try and take them out from one of the upper levels. You'll
find two more circuit switches on the two lowest levels; scan them to completely shut
down the forcefield and claim the THERMAL VISOR upgrade. As soon as the cinema is done,
don't waste any time with the Shadow Pirates and exit through the Ice Beam door at the
bottom to reach the other side of the Phendrana Drifts. This first open area is called
Frozen Pike.
Go to the edge and Space Jump all the way out. You will most likely land at the bottom;
in this case, climb the gnarled roots and Space Jump through the hole in the wall to
reach a platform leading to a Wave Beam door. Go through the door to reach Frost Cave
Access, where you'll roll through a long tunnel. At the end, a few Ice Beetles and Ice
Scarabs will attack in some very close quarters, so deal with them as quickly as you
can. The door at the end leads into Frost Cave, where you'll encounter a lone Hunter
Metroid. Freeze it with the Ice Beam and shatter it with a Missile, then look at the
ceiling and shoot down the stalactites you can see. Space Jump out and trek up the
rock spires to reach a Wave Beam door on the left (there is a Save Station here if you
really want to save) to reach Phendrana's Edge. Once inside, ignore the two Flying
Pirates and drop to the bottom of the area. Underwater, you'll battle it out with some
Jelzaps; wait until they open up to blast them with a charged shot. Find the underwater
door leading into Hunter Cave, where you must target three more stalactites to use as
platforms. There are a few Flickerbats zooming around that can make life difficult, but
if you time your moves right, they won't bother you too much. Take the next door into
Lake Tunnel, and follow it directly into the Gravity Chamber. Head out a little ways,
drop down and wind your way around the staircase, then lock onto the orange symbol in
the distance. Thread your way through the Aqua Reapers and wind your way around the
path to reach the GRAVITY SUIT upgrade. From your perch, head to the right and up the
ramp that leads out of the underwater section. Climb up the ledges to the upper door,
then take on the Sentry Drone in the next hallway. As you reenter Hunter Cave, run
along the right-hand wall, ignoring the Flying Pirates, and head back into Frozen Pike.
Climb up the ledges leading around the room and navigate the short Morph Ball maze to
reach the Wave Beam door at the very top of the room. Proceed past the Pulse Bombu and
make note of the Energy Tank frozen in the ice, then roll out of the little hole into
the room with the Transport, and head down to Magmoor Caverns.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
You have two items to get during this quick excursion, so get rolling out to Magmoor
Workstation. For now, ignore the Flying Pirates and simply drop down and head to the
back-left area, through the Wave Beam door, and into South Core Tunnel. Quickly shoot
the Puddle Spore to flip it, then Space Jump across the lava and continue on through
the next room until you reach the spacious Geothermal Core. Here, leap across the
Spores and platforms in the middle of the room, then spy the rock to the right of
the blue door. Hop on top, and face to the left. Look for the metallic box and Space
Jump so you land on the little outcropping. Now rotate yourself so you're facing the
disc platforms, and lock your view all the way down. From here, make a short hop to the
rock spire directly in front of you, then Space Jump out and land on the first disc
platform. Activate the Spinner to raise the first platform, then Space Jump to the
second, and so forth until you reach and activate the third one. Now position yourself
in front of the Magnetic Rail, and Space Jump directly up. You'll see that the rail
curves slightly inward, so you can stand on part of it. Land in the middle and turn
around so your back is to the wall. Now, lock your view as far up as it can go, hold
back on the Control Stick, Space Jump up and crank forward on the Stick. It may take
a few tries to get the timing right, but it essentially wedges you in place, and as is
common with Metroid Prime's dynamics, getting wedged someplace often pushes you straight
up; thus you'll be shoved up above the disc, and by holding forward, you'll accomplish
the same task you would if you had the Spider Ball. Now Space Jump to the final disc
and set a Bomb in the slot to trigger the ceiling to raise up. A white door is revealed,
as well as a huge Spider Ball maze. Pay very careful attention here, as you'll once
again be doing a bit of tricky maneuvering.
First off, Space Jump so you land atop the pipe that sticks out of the wall. Move care-
fully along it so you don't fall off, then lock your view down and to the left. You'll
see a thin metallic lining around the circumference of the room; Space Jump and hold
right on the Control Stick to land on this metal strip, then inch your way along it
(continuing to hold L so you stay locked in place) until you can look up and see three
Magnetic Rail cubes above you. Back up a tad until you can lock your view to the upper-
right; you should see part of a bulb sticking out of the first Rail cube. Think back
to the Ice Beam trick, and then use your Space Jump to go first towards the wall, then
back off of it. Effectively simulating a type of "wall jump", Samus will actually move
farther up and, if timed just right, land atop this bulb. Lock your view as you rotate
around, then just Space Jump up the remaining two cubes and into the Ice Beam door to
claim the PLASMA BEAM upgrade! Now you can toast enemies and open red doors.
Head back into Geothermal Core and backtrack to Magmoor Workstation. Destroy the Flying
Pirates, then look along the bottom for three lava channels. Run up to them and use the
Wave Beam to activate the Power Conduits, and one-by-one, navigate the cooled channels
to finally reach the ENERGY TANK (07) behind the purple gate. Now ascend the ledges
at the back of the room to return to the Transport room. Take a moment to save your
game using the Save Station in this room, then use the Transport to return to the
Phendrana Drifts.
Phendrana Drifts
================
Head directly ahead and Morph Boost through the Quarantine Tunnels to reach the Wave
Beam door at the end. Head into the Quarantine Cave from the opposite side and quickly
circle around so you can engage Thardus.
Thardus Strategy
================
[NORMAL MODE]
Thardus can prove to be tough until you learn that he has a rather easy flaw you can
exploit to make this fight far easier, provided that you (a) have the Gravity Suit and
(b) have the Plasma Beam.
Thardus has quite a few attacks you'll want to know about or watch out for. The first
one is his Ice Wave; you know this is coming when he throws his arms behind him. You
can simply sidestep this one. His second one is to hurl rocks at you; let go of L to
target the rocks and blast them with the Plasma Beam, then resume your lock on Thardus.
His final and most lethal attack is to curl into a boulder and bullzoze you, but iron-
ically enough, you'll be using this attack to kill him faster. For battle mechanics,
Thardus has rock chunks covering his weak spots that encourage the use of the Thermal
Visor. Switch to it and lock on to one of the orange points, then let loose with the
charged Plasma Beam until it blows up. At this point, switch to the Combat Visor and
do the same to the exposed Phazon chunks.
If you see Thardus curl into a ball, morph yourself, and as he's almost upon you, set
all three of your Bombs, then roll out of the way. The detonation will succeed in
blasting another of his shields away, enabling you to damage him with Plasma all the
more faster. The fight spices up after three chunks are down; Thardus creates a snow-
storm that is pretty tough to see in - you can still track him using the Thermal Visor,
though. After six have been destroyed, the blizzard will cease and Thardus will begin
chunking rock after rock at you. As long as you don't let up on your Plasma attacks,
though, Thardus will fall in roughly 2 or so minutes.
[HARD MODE]
Double up the resistance and damage you must inflict, and be prepared for Thardus to
go hyperactive in using his attacks, and this is pretty much all you'll need to know.
Since Thardus is so incredibly weak to the Plasma Beam, it's a simple matter of dod-
ging his attacks and not letting up on yours. His boulder will do more damage if he
hits you, and you'll often see upwards of 10+ boulders hurled at you. Other than that,
you should still have no problems.
In Thardus' wake lies the SPIDER BALL upgrade. Quickly grab it and attach to the Mag-
netic Rail that goes around the circumference of the room. Take it to the door you
came in from, this time heading behind the Transport to the Magnetic Rail track. You
can use it this time, so head up it and return to Transport Access.
Head back up the Spider Ball track and grab the ENERGY TANK (08) by using the Plasma
Beam to melt the ice, then head into Frozen Pike and continue on until you reach Frost
Cave. Here, stand on the very edge of the area, and look out a bit to your left. You
should barely see a few pieces of rock sticking out. Carefully Space Jump while locking
your view down so you can land on them, then L-Lock Space Jump again to your left to
catch the ledges leading up to that crate. Now aim for the stalactite, shoot it down
into the water, and drop down to collect the MISSILE EXPANSION (075) underneath the
water, then continue back into Phendrana's Edge. Here, you're going to make some tricky
use of the Space Jump to get some more early items, so pay attention closely to the
directions.
Normally, this section would require the Grappling Beam, but we prefer to think of the
word "required" to mean "optional" in Metroid games. Anyway, get yourself to the root
bridge located near the Wave Beam door in the center of the room. Look at it closely
and stand on the part that sticks out the most from the actual bridge. Once on the
edge, look out ahead of you to see another root section that branches ever so slightly
(this one is to the right of the Wave Beam door below you, if you need a visual ref-
erence). Space Jump out to this tree, and land on it. If you hit the wall, that's fine,
since you'll slide down to the tree anyhow. If you landed on the tree just right, turn
around and lock yourself onto the tree until you appear to be looking at a black hole
in front of you. Lock your view and "walk" yourself up the tree you're on by moving
the Control Stick very gently until you get to the top. Now look upwards and spin
around until you see a ledge above you. Space Jump to this ledge, and start working
your way up the remaining ledges in the room (the ledge you just left is where you
will get the Artifact of Spirit, but you first need the Power Bomb to gain access to
it). At the top where you'd normally swing from the Glider, you should look to the
right-hand wall for two snowy ledges. Space Jump to one that Samus can aim at from
up high, then Space Jump to the second one, and just like that, you've eliminated
using the Grapple Beam for this part. Morph and roll into the Security Cave to claim
an early POWER BOMB EXPANSION (1), then work your way back down the way you came up
back to the previous ledge, use the Power Bomb on the wall, and open the door with
the Plasma Beam to reach the ARTIFACT OF SPIRIT. Now backtrack to the Transport Room
and take it back down to Magmoor Caverns. I recommend using the Save Station here
again before heading into the next leg of the run.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
Head back to Magmoor Workstation, dispatch the Flying Pirates, and head across the
massive room to the ledges in the distance. Take the door here into the access tunnel
and Power Bomb the Bendezium away, then use the Transport to go down to the Phazon
Mines...
========================
12. Exploring The Mines:
========================
This section details a short but sweet run through the deadly Phazon Mines, starting
from the middle of the area and working back out to Tallon Overworld. Needless to say,
this is an extreme out-of-sequence trip.
Phazon Mines
============
As you enter, you'll immediately be confronted with a Phazon-laced tunnel. As you would
normally be traversing this area with the Phazon Suit, you'll take damage here, and
lots of it, too. Quickly run through the tunnel and into the Phazon Processing Center.
Fortunately, the Troopers and Turrets are mysteriously gone, and you'll only take on
two normal Space Pirates at this point. Hop down the platforms and ledges to reach the
middle deck, and head through the door to reach Level 2 of the Mines. Head on through
the Maintenance Tunnel and use your Power Bomb to clear the Bendezium from your path,
and exit the tunnel out into Elite Control. There's an Elite Pirate in this room, but,
like the Thardus battle, you must move around to the other side (where you would
normally enter) in order to trigger the fight. Do so, and ready your Super Missiles.
Elite Pirate Strategy
=====================
[NORMAL MODE]
As a warning, you'll face two more of these later on, so just use the same strategy to
get past them. This huge hulking mutated Space Pirate is actually a lot easier than he
looks. The only things that make him a potential menace are the Plasma Artillery Cannons
and his ability to absorb Beam weapons and use them to fuel aforementioned Cannons.
When the fight starts, lock on, but don't fire. Constantly back up while you charge the
Power Beam so that your fire doesn't get absorbed. After the Elite gets upset that you
refuse to fuel his Artillery Cannons, he'll slam the ground and create a powerful Wave
Quake. Space Jump over it while letting a Super Missile hit him square in the head.
Repeat once more to bring the hulking giant down.
[HARD MODE]
In Hard Mode, the Elites are a bit tougher, but that is all. Just keep in mind that it
will take 4 or 5 Super Missiles to bring the Hard Mode incarnations down. The Elites
this time around will also spent a lot more time with their absorption weapon active,
so you'll have to spend more time circling the room and keep your fingers at the ready
to fire Super Missiles when they let their guard down.
Once the Elite has been put down, you can start heading up the ramps in the rear of
the room. Be careful, a trio of Ice Troopers guard the upstairs, so have your Ice Beam
ready to counter them. Freeze them with a charged shot, then fire a Missile to shatter
them, then head all the way up top and exit through the door in the ceiling to reach
the Ventilation Shaft. Quickly roll down the tunnel and use your Power Bomb (provided
you refilled it) to blow apart the grating near the back and shut off the poison gas
vents. Once the gas is cleared, head out and grab the ENERGY TANK (09), then head on
into Omega Research, where you'll have to deal with two pesky Wave Troopers on the top
level. Take them out with charged Wave pulses, then stand near the edge and try to
eliminate some of the Power Troopers standing guard (use Super Missiles to take them
out more effectively). Then just leap to the bottom and make a mad dash for the door
in the left-hand corner, and drop through it into the Dynamo Access. Move forward a
bit, and another Elite Pirate will drop down to fight. Eliminate this one as you did
the last one, then head on into the Central Dynamo. Arm the Wave Beam as you head down,
as you'll immediately fight another mini-boss.
Shadow Drone Strategy
=====================
[NORMAL MODE]
Taking a cue from their experimental Shadow Pirate breed, the Space Pirates have out-
fitted a few Sentry Drones with cloaking grid generators. This new addition makes them
far more formidible in combat.
The Shadow Drone is invisible, and as such, cannot be scanned nor tracked (you can,
with the X-Ray Visor, but this speed run route doesn't allow for that upgrade to be
gotten yet). Therefore, hang out near the back and fire off charged Wave pulses by
manually aiming whenever you see the Drone's cannons light up. The lights mean that
it's firing at you, so you need to constantly be on the move so as not to get caught
by it's hail of fire. Around 4-5 charged blasts should send it spiraling to the ground.
[HARD MODE]
Not much different, except the Drone takes more damage and attacks faster. Just keep
nailing it before it nails you is really the best advice.
Once the Drone has been eliminated, it'll set off a maze of electricity in the center
of the room. At the center of this maze lies the Power Bomb upgrade, but you'll have to
reach them first. Start off rolling through the open areas, and time your movements to
go through the flickering sections. As you reach a pool of green liquid, roll into it
and set a Bomb to create a splash that shorts out a few electric walls, effectively
opening up new paths for you. Continue doing so until you finally reach the primary
POWER BOMB (5) upgrade. The following animation will get you out of the maze, and the
doors will be unlocked. Exit out of the Central Dynamo and head back through Omega
Research, all the way back to Elite Control, where you first entered the Mines. Now,
head through the opposite door and head through the Elite Access tunnel back out into
Elevator A. Use the Spider Ball to ride up the Magnetic Rail track, not worrying too
much about the Bombus here. Get up top and head into Ore Processing. Here's where the
game may get a bit odd. Normally you'll encounter a few Troopers in this area, if you
come the normal route. On different occasions I've fought Power Troopers, normal
Pirates, and even found Metroids flying about in here. Deal with whatever you get
stuck with if they're going to present a problem, and start working on a way to get
up to the upper level of this room. Drop to the bottom, eliminate any more enemies,
and head to the device at the rear of the room. Bomb Jump into the Slot, and set off a
single Bomb. Head out and use the blue Magnetic Rail to reach a balcony and the next
control panel. Set off two Bombs in the second one to align the middle section, then
drop back down and set off three Bombs in the bottom one to complete the alignment
sequence. Roll up the red Magnetic Rail to reach the third floor, then Space Jump over
to the ledge on the other side. Use a Power Bomb to destroy the Bendezium, then morph
into the control panel and set two Bombs to continue realigning the rail tracks. Bomb
yourself out and now drop to the second floor, where you have to detonate three Bombs
in the slot, then finally drop to the bottom floor and set a single Bomb in the slot to
align the yellow Rail. Roll up it to reach Storage Depot B and grab the GRAPPLING BEAM.
Exit out and use your new toy to swing across the room and into the Waste Disposal
area. Enter the Morph Ball tunnel and use your Bombs to maneuver yourself around this
passage. Navigating this successfully deposits you out by the Main Quarry, so just leap
down, take out the few Space Pirates in here, and ascend the ledges and catwalks at the
back. Watch out for the Mega Turrets if you didn't eliminate them already, and once
you're on the upper level, use the Thermal Visor to find a Power Conduit, activate it
with the Wave Beam, then use the Morph Ball to reach the control booth. Upon activating
the crane, it'll swing and crash into a wall. Head out of the control booth and use the
Magnetic Rail to roll to the crane; carefully drop off the track and Bomb Jump up to
the MISSILE EXPANSION (080), then turn tail and run out through the actual main ent-
rance of the Phazon Mines and use the Transport to get back to Tallon Overworld.
Tallon Overworld
================
Once in here, return to the Great Tree Hall and start working your way up the ledges,
destroying all the Bloodflowers and Seedlings. Head up to the Spinner device and
activate it to clear the bars away, then head up and defeat some more native life, and
get to the Ice Beam door in the distance. Here, follow this tunnel until you reach
the Transport leading to Chozo Ruins.
Chozo Ruins
===========
Here, head straight ahead to reach the Reflecting Pool. Drop down and head through the
Access chamber into the Hall of the Elders. Engage three Chozo Ghosts here, then when
they have been defeated, make your way back up to the ledge with the colored Morph
Ball slots. Use the Ice Beam to activate the white one and then let the Chozo statue
roll you into a room containing an ENERGY TANK (10). Return to the Morph Ball slots and
use the Plasma Beam to activate the red one. The Chozo statue will then bowl you into
a room with the ARTIFACT OF WORLD. Once you've collected the Artifact, head out through
the normal entrance and into the Crossway. Here, use the slopes of the half-pipe to
boost yourself up to the Spider Ball tracks; use them and Bomb Jump into Morph Ball
slots, then once both are activated, drop down and ride the lift to the MISSILE EXP-
ANSION (085). Keep heading backwards into the Furnace region; eliminate the Chozo
Ghosts in here, then use a Power Bomb on the far wall near the Spider Ball tracks.
Your blast will reveal a half-pipe; boost up to the tracks, then maneuver yourself
along the narrow walkways to reach the MISSILE EXPANSION (090) at the top. Drop down
and return to the Hall of the Elders via the nearby Ice Beam door. If you're lucky,
the Chozo Ghosts won't have respawned. If they have, you'll probably have to stick it
out and fight them. Whatever happens, get back up top and into the Reflecting Pool.
Head to the Save Station, save your game, and use the nearby Morph Ball tunnels to
return to Tallon Overworld.
===================
13. Space Wreckage:
===================
This section will detail Samus' return to Tallon Overworld for a few items, then her
trip through the crashed Frigate on her way back to the Phazon Mines.
Tallon Overworld
================
Head out through Transport Tunnel C out to the Frigate Crash Site. Some Flying Pirates
will attack you here; eliminate them with the Plasma Beam, then drop down into the
water. Head to the central root structure and Space Jump to the small alcove to pick
up the MISSILE EXPANSION (095), then continue up the other side. Depending on some
different circumstances, you'll either face more Flying Pirates over here, or you'll
encounter a Beetle swarm. Ignore both and head for the door at the other end. Duck
inside of it and traverse this Waterfall Cavern to reach the Landing Site back out by
your ship. Bypass your ship and head for the tunnel behind it; using your Boost Ball
to accelerate through the Tangle Weed and score another MISSILE EXPANSION (100). Now,
head back through Waterfall Canyon to reach the Crashed Frigate. Take a dip in the
water to reach the other side, or use the Grapple Beam if you can reach the Grapple
Points and swing your way across the lake. Get to the other side, blow the crates from
the door and head into the wreckage.
Crashed Frigate
===============
As you enter the main site of the wreck, you'll have to roll into the Morph Ball to
access the subventilation shafts. As you make your way through the shafts (the same
ones you used to escape, no less) you'll encounter some Tallon Crabs; just move on past
them as they're pretty harmless. Soon, you'll find a room with two still-functioning
Defense Turrets. Disregard the fact that they physically shouldn't be operational and
concern yourself more with destroying them. The door at the bottom is powerless, so use
the Thermal Visor to locate the Power Conduit over the door, then activate it with the
Wave Beam (you'll be doing this a whole lot in this area). Beyond here lies the sub-
merged Reactor Core (back where you fought the Parasite Queen), as well as a couple of
Aqua Pirates. Target them and use charged Plasma Beams to get them out of your way. The
door at the bottom of the Reactor Core requires you to activate four Power Conduits in
the room. Switch your Thermal Visor on, and look just to the left of the door to find
the first one. The second one is a little ways off the main walkway, and the last two
are on the far wall, so approach the railing and look out and around to find them. Once
all four are activated, go back and enter the door, then look around with the Thermal
Visor to locate two Power Conduits to give the next door power. As you enter the Cargo
Freight Lift to Deck Gamma, blast the broken grate away near the entrance with a charged
shot to reach an ENERGY TANK (11), then use the Thermal Visor to locate the Power
Conduit just to the right of the shattered grate. You now have to work your way up the
lift shaft, as the elevator long since ceased to function.
Beware - the vertical ascent is laced with debris and Aqua Reapers. Look above you to
shoot them out of the way before hopping up the platforms. About midway up, switch to
the Thermal Visor again to locate the second Power Conduit, then continue the ascent
all the way to the top, where a dead Space Pirate will crash into the water. At the top,
look on the wall to find the third Power Conduit, then head on through the now-active
door into the upper levels of Biohazard Containment. As you enter the room, there are
two active Defense Turrets on the other side of the containment tube. Slowly strafe to
the left to get a good lock on while giving yourself cover, then take them out. Before
proceeding further, switch to Thermal and activate the two Power Conduits up here. One
is near where you came in, and the other is just by the broken elevator leading to the
lower level. Belowdecks, you'll find two Aqua Drones swimming around; these act very
much like Sentry Drones, so take them out with the Wave Beam. Before moving on, check
around you with the Scan Visor to locate the Cordite block on the lower deck and launch
a Super Missile at it to reveal the next MISSILE EXPANSION (105), then start looking
for the third Power Conduit - it's on the far wall across from your position. Continue
on through the Aqua Reaper-infested subtunnels into Biotech Research Area 1; destroy
the Aqua Pirates that attack, then locate three more Power Conduits in the walls to
advance (anyone else grow tired of this part?) The first one is right near the door, a
second is opposite the door, just down a little ways, and the third is on the deck
below you. Activate them, then head into the Elevator to Deck Beta.
This broken shaft leads to a new area of Deck Beta you hadn't explored during the
opening level. Descend the tunnel, avoiding the Aqua Sacs clinging to the walls. At the
bottom of the shaft is the entrance to Hydro Access Tunnel, where you have to Bomb Jump
over some obstacles. Don't get in a hurry though; the buoyancy has a nice effect on
your Bomb Jumps. As you reach the second tall obstruction, you'll get to perform a
underwater Double Bomb Jump. Your timing must be quite precise to succesfully pull this
off. Start off by setting a single Bomb. As it explodes and pops you far up, watch and
wait for your upwards momentum to slow, then immediately set the second Bomb. As you
stop and fall back down, the second Bomb will detonate, sending you much higher. Repeat
the sequence for setting the third Bomb, and as you start your descent again, the third
Bomb will blow you skywards again. Hold left as you ascend off the third Bomb to roll
onto the ledge holding the ENERGY TANK (12), then exit this tunnel and ascend the
spiraling ramps to escape the Frigate wreckage and wind up back in Tallon Overworld.
Tallon Overworld
================
Upon exiting the door into Great Tree Hall, a few Seedlings on the tree will waste no
time in firing their projectiles at you, so take them out, then start Space Jumping up
the platforms lining the tree. Near the top, you'll find that Spinner device from
earlier. Since you already unlocked the gate, just head on through and start making
your way up the platforms in the next area (last time you took the door to Chozo Ruins;
don't do that this time). Use the Spider Ball to ascend the twisting Magnetic Rail,
then use a Power Bomb to destroy the bendezium blocking access into the next chamber.
In this half-pipe of a room, you need to use the Boost Ball to gain enough acceleration
to land atop the oval structure in the center, then bomb yourself to the hidden MISSILE
EXPANSION (110), then continue to boost yourself out of this Access tunnel, into the
main Life Grove. Drop down and grab the X-RAY VISOR upgrade, then set a Power Bomb to
blow the walls in this area out of the way.
Jump into the pond near the back and Bomb the drain slot to activate a pillar. Stay
underwater and use the Spinner at the base to raise up a bridge that contains the
ARTIFACT OF CHOZO. Space Jump up to the Artifact, then start ascending the platforms
along the walls to the exit at the top. Midway up, some Chozo Ghosts get a bit teed off
that you're trying to steal their Artifact. Teach them the lesson they so badly need
with the X-Ray Visor and Super Missile, then continue on your way out of the Life Grove
back into the Great Tree Hall. Destroy the few Seedlings and work to the ledge of the
highest Bloodflower. Destroy it and hop on up, then look out with the X-Ray Visor to
spot an invisible ledge. Space Jump to it, then Space Jump again to the obscured ledge
that leads to a MISSILE EXPANSION (115) behind the door. Then backtrack to the Ice Beam
door and head on back to the Phazon Mines.
=========================
14. Revisiting The Mines:
=========================
You're back here now, and this time, you'll proceed like you would have normally, with
the minor exception of having the necessary upgrades to get all the cool stuff along the
way. Enter the Main Quarry and dispense with the Space Pirates (you may encounter a few
Shadows here), take out the Mega Turrets, and deactivate the forcefield at the far end.
Head into Security Access A, and peek around the corner to alert two Defense Turrets to
your location, then take them out with Missiles. After they're gone, use a Power Bomb on
the far wall and head into the newly opened passage to the MISSILE EXPANSION (120), then
head on out into Mine Security Access. As you get inside, switch to the Thermal Visor and
start shooting stuff to trigger the Shadow Pirates. Waste them with charged Plasma Beam
shots, and make your way through the complex until the cinema introduces the next enemy -
the Beam Troopers. As usual, you'll face the Wave breed first, though since you're on
your second trip, I believe you may face a couple Ice Troopers here as well (the game does
get all weird in terms of enemy placement due to a lot of sequence breaking done thus
far.) When you reach the top of the area, use a Power Bomb to blow away the grating in
front of a computer panel, then scan the console to unlock a gate on the lower level,
then backtrack down to grab the FLAMETHROWER upgrade, then return to the door in the
ceiling at the top, and head on through. Inside Elite Research, take out any enemies
if you run into them, and then set a Power Bomb off by the main tank in the center
to trigger another boss battle.
Phazon Elite Strategy
=====================
[NORMAL MODE]
This Elite is a bit stronger than the last ones; and as such has been classified as a
different breed. His strength lies in his Wave Quake attack as he possesses no Plasma
Artillery like the standard Elites. Try not to get hung up in the machinery around the
room, and strafe around while launching Super Missiles at his head. Don't fire anything
while Phazon Elite is holding out his palm, since anything Beam-based will be absorbed.
This battle is what the normal Elite Pirates will be like on Hard, so if you want to
take the time to familiarize yourself with advanced tactics, go ahead. Approximately 4
Super Missiles will put him out of his misery.
[HARD MODE]
This time around, the Phazon Elite is a bit less sluggish and makes up for his pathetic-
ness the last time with intensified attacks. About 8 or 9 Super Missiles will bring
this version down, but you'll spend a lot of time dodging the Wave Quakes and waiting
out the beam-absorption phases before getting your chance to attack. Just keep hitting
him when he's vulnerable and he'll fall.
After you take care of him, grab the newly-revealed ARTIFACT OF WARRIOR, and start
making your way up the platforms in the room. On the second level, you'll face off with
two Wave Troopers - defeat them, climb up the second level to face a Power Trooper (and,
I think, a Defense Turret). Once he's gone, use the Spinner to rotate the pulse cannon
in the ceiling so it's facing the left-hand wall, then bomb yourself out and scan the
firing controls to blast the wall away and reveal the MISSILE EXPANSION (125), then get
back in the spinner, point the cannon at the wall in front of you, and scan the firing
controls once more to blast the wall away, revealing the exit. Just inside lies Ore
Processing, which usually has some Power Troopers, but due to how you've broken
sequence, you may again encounter Metroids in here. Dispatch whatever enemies you find,
and roll up the yellow Magnetic Rail all the way to the top, then simply drop down one
level to return to Elevator A Access. Drop down the long shaft and return to Level 2 of
the Mines.
Exit the transport and into Elite Control Access. At the top is a grate spewing toxic
gas. Manually aim at the explosive crate on the ledge and launch a Missile at it to
blow it up, kill two Power Troopers that would've otherwise ambushed you, as well as
reveal the hidden MISSILE EXPANSION (130), then head on into Elite Control. Activate
the Thermal Visor as you'll be attacked by a lot of Shadow Pirates as you make your
way through, and toast them with the Plasma Beam. As you make your way up, head back
into the Ventilation Shaft, and back into Omega Research. More Shadow Pirates await,
though you can skip them and drop back into the Dynamo Access. Head back into the
Central Dynamo to run into some friendly Ice Troopers (there's a Save Station you may
want to take advantage of here). Run past the Ice Troopers and use a Power Bomb to blow
the Bendezium away from the other door, then head into Quarantine Access A. As you
enter the door, and immediately Morph and roll to the right because there are four Mega
Turrets just waiting to blow you to oblivion. As you head to the right, you can drop
into a small tunnel that allows you to pass under the Turrets and pop up on the other
side. As you exit, scan the console in front of you to silence the offending Turrets,
and proceed into Metroid Quarantine A. In here, you'll find a rather nasty combination
of captive Metroids and Space Pirates. Scan the console to deactivate the forcefield,
and sit back and watch as the Pirates wig out as the wicked Metroids attack them en-
masse. Just hang out at the top while the Metroids snack on the Space Pirates because a
few of them will eventually head up to your location. Let them have it with charged
Plasma Beams as they fly towards you, then continue on down into the Quarantine Area.
Climb atop the Saturnines where you can use the X-Ray Visor to spy some invisible moving
platforms, then nimbly hop to each one and have the Plasma Beam ready to eliminate the
nearby Metroids. Now hop up the Saturnines and ledges, then use the X-Ray Visor to spot
another invisible platform that you can use to reach a ledge with some Magnetic Rails.
Space Jump to the ledge, then use Power Bombs on the rear wall to reveal a passage to
another side of the room. Roll along the Magnetic Rail to yet another rocky ledge where
you can use the X-Ray Visor once more to find a vertically moving invisible platform
that leads straight up to another MISSILE EXPANSION (135). From your position, Space
Jump to the thin metal walkway in front of you, then lock your view down so you ensure
your safe landing on the ledge with the first set of Magnetic Rails. Ride them to the
Ice Beam door and scan the console to activate the transport leading down to the third
level of the Phazon Mines.
Level 3 gets tougher, but if you're seriously speed running, you'll be getting through
here with no troubles. The next room you come into is the Fungal Hall Access. There's a
normal Space Pirate a little ways down; take it out and drop down to the bottom of the
area, morphing along the way. You'll land and roll down a slight incline into a patch
of searing Phazon, so quickly roll and grab the MISSILE EXPANSION (140) from under the
Saturnine, then get out of the damaging radiation and head back up to reach Fungal Hall
A. You'll deal with a whole family of Hunter Metroids here, so keep your distance (so
as to avoid that siphon tentacle) while using the Ice Beam + Missile attack, then use
the flying Glider to Grapple across to the far ledge. Set off a Power Bomb to reveal
the entry to the Phazon Mining Tunnel, then roll down the narrow passages to the bottom.
Once at the lowest point, quickly use the Boost Ball to rocket across the collapsing
floor, or else risk a painful encounter with the Phazon lake below.
Exit through the left (you can't reach the area to the right just yet) end of the Tunnel
to reach Fungal Hall B, which is quite a change in pace. The environment here is totally
dark, and you can barely see the Metroids floating around - switch to your Thermal
Visor to make seeing a lot easier. Eliminate the Metroids, then head across the bottom
section while using the X-Ray Visor to spot a hidden section in the floor. Use a Power
Bomb to reveal the MISSILE EXPANSION (145), then return to the top Saturnines and
grapple off to the left (using the Glider) to reach a Missile Station. Restock and exit
out to the large Saturnine once more, then grapple straight ahead to reach another
Saturnine. A helpful trick to land on this Saturnine is to swing until you're literally
flying over it, then swinging back a little ways and letting go. Once on there, Space
Jump to the next one and head on into a short area containing some invisible Pulse
Bombus. Use the X-Ray Visor to track them as you jump from Saturnine to Saturnine, and
once on the other side, head on into Metroid Quarantine B.
Once you make it into the next Quarantine, you'll finally come face-to-face with the
a room full of Plasma Troopers. These are honestly weaker than the Ice Troopers if you
really lay into them - blast them with a charged Plasma Beam and they'll catch on fire,
which is really funny to watch (especially if you knock them off a perch and into the
Phazon...). Deal with them from afar, using your own Plasma Beam to toast them while
dodging their powerful shots. Once they've been eliminated, use the spiraling Magnetic
Rail to reach a small platform, then Space Jump to another ledge off to your left (if
you're facing the back of the room where you can see the forcefield). Aim up and locate
the Grapple Point, then jump at it until it glows blue. Latch onto it and swing over
the Phazon pit to solid ground. Scan the console to deactivate the Quarantine force-
field, and engage the Plasma Trooper that rushes out at you. Head inside and kill the
Wave Troopers that try to snipe you, then destroy the Cordite tank to get another
MISSILE EXPANSION (150), then head up the ramps to reach Elite Quarters Access. Deal
with another Plasma Trooper in here, then use the Plasma Beam to melt the ice covering
the lock device on the door. Head on in to the next room for the next boss encounter.
Omega Pirate Strategy
=====================
[NORMAL MODE]
Offensively, the Omega Pirate has quite a few nasty attacks. The first is the Elite
trademark Wave Quake. Space Jump over it to avoid it and make sure you stay far away
enough so that he can't reach you, but close enough so that you're still looking up at
him. The reason for this is that your position in relation to the Pirate triggers
attacks 2 or 3. The second one is to punch the living hell out of you if you're fool
enough to wander in his reach, and the third is to launch homing bombs from his Artill-
ery Cannons if you get too far. These two attacks are positively devastating in Hard
Mode, so it's imperative that you don't allow him to get either one off. The fourth
attack is using Beam Troopers as combat aides, something you'll have the pleasure of
dealing with soon enough.
Start the battle by locking on to one of the four Phazon deposits on his armor and
destroy each with a Super Missile. After all four have been eliminated, the Omega
Pirate will go into his absorption phase. The first time around, only two Troopers (of
the same variety) will attack; eliminate them and switch to the X-Ray Visor to search
for the wounded Omega Pirate (it takes roughly five to seven seconds for him to mat-
erialize over a Phazon patch). Once you locate him, quickly Boost over to his location,
stop dead in front of the Phazon patch, single Bomb Jump and then set a Power Bomb.
Time is imperative here; as quickly as you can, unmorph and press Left on the Control
Pad to switch to the X-Ray Visor. If you did this correctly, the Omega Pirate will lose
up to half of his health (!). Wait for the Omega Pirate to disappear and reappear over
another Phazon patch and let him have it again with another Bomb Jump + Power Bomb
combo to finish off the battle. If you unsuccessfully drain 50% of his life with each
Power Bomb, you'll have to extend the battle by a round in order to kill the Omega
Pirate with a final Super Missile, but otherwise this battle should be a cakewalk. If
you do have to go into the second round, you'll most likely face off against a trio of
varied Beam Troopers. Eliminate them like before and finish off the battle.
[HARD MODE]
The Omega Pirate takes a real beating in this go-round; eight Super Missiles (or 4
well-timed Power Bomb blasts) to the weakened form will be needed to bring the beast
down, but it's easier said than done.
First, have all 11 of the Energy Tanks just to be safe from the Troopers and all 155
Missiles so far - you'll be using a lot of Super Missiles here if you can't successfully
pull of the Power Bomb tricks. Each of the Phazon deposits takes two Super Missiles to
destroy, so eliminate them and get ready to take on the Troopers. Just like you did in
the last fight, eliminate them as quickly as possible, then use the X-Ray Visor to
locate the Omega Pirate and Power Bomb a quarter of his health away. Repeat for the
second round, then you'll deal with more Beam Troopers AND a fully recharged Omega
Pirate. Unless the Troopers are flaying you alive, it's often best to ignore them and
let the sniveling cretins get wasted by the Omega Pirate's Quake Wave attack. Concen-
trate on the Omega Pirate while constantly Space Jumping to avoid a good part of the
Troopers' fire, then resort to two more Power Bombs and charged Plasma Beams/Super
Missiles to clear up any remaining mess. This particular fight is tough, but with
patience, you'll persevere.
The last Super Missile proves too much for the Omega Pirate, and he stumbles forward a
little bit before collapsing right on top of you. As you're struck by the massive
Pirate, he dissolves into pure Phazon, which is somehow absorbed directly into your
Suit, corrupting and changing its appearance. The end result of this high-level exposure
is the PHAZON SUIT, a black and silver suit of coolness that further reduces the damage
you receive, makes you immune to blue Phazon, and gives you a special weapon, the PHAZON
BEAM, available only under certain environmental conditions (i.e. the final battle).
You'll immediately put this Suit to use by heading back down through Metroid Quarantine
B and Fungal Hall B back into the Phazon Mining Tunnel. As you enter, you'll see
something glowing at the back, so drop into the Phazon-laced tunnel and start bombing
the sandstone blocks out of your way to reach the bottom, where you can grab the
ARTIFACT OF NEWBORN.
Now return to Metroid Quarantine B, head through it and back into Elite Quarters. Head
to the right-hand side of the cave and scan the panel to activate the lift; ride it up
to the top level, then go on through the door at the back into Processing Center Access,
where you'll find an ENERGY TANK (13) as a reward for defeating the Omega Pirate, then
continue back into the Phazon Processing Center. As far as I know, you'll face the
standard set of enemies this time around (the two Power Troopers, the Wave Trooper, the
two Plasma Troopers, and the two Mega Turrets), so eliminate them and head up the plat-
forms until you have to use the X-Ray Visor to get to the second level. Before leaping
up, head to the far wall and Space Jump to the ledge, then set a Power Bomb to blow
away the wall hiding the MISSILE EXPANSION (155), then continue your ascent. Roll along
the left-hand spiraling Magnetic Rail, then take out the Power Trooper hiding up top.
Head across the ledges here, activating the X-Ray Visor to keep track of them. At the
top, ride the moving platform to solid ground and you can return to Magmoor Caverns.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
As you Power Bomb your way back out into Magmoor Workstation, quickly dash past all
the Flying Pirates and head up the ledges at the back to return to the Transport room.
Head to the rear and save your game, then head up to Phendrana Drifts.
=======================
15. The Scavenger Hunt:
=======================
This section basically details Samus' last run through all the worlds, picking up all
the items she bypassed the first time through. This is designed to be a quick run with
no saving involved, so practice is recommended.
Phendrana Drifts
================
From the transport room, head back into Quarantine Cave, ignoring the Sheegoth that
now resides there. Look to your right and swing across the grapple points to reach
a tunnel leading to the Quarantine Monitor where a handy MISSILE EXPANSION (160) is
ready to be picked up. Leave here, and race back to the other side of the Drifts -
Frozen Pike, to be specific.
Head back into Frozen Pike and navigate your way as if you were heading back towards
the Gravity Suit, stopping as you reach Frost Cave. Just inside, deal with the Hunter
Metroid again, then grapple off the Glider to the ledges at the left. From here, shoot
down the last stalactite, then leap down and head underwater to collect the MISSILE
EXPANSION (165), then continue your trek back into the Gravity Chamber. Make your way
to above the water and eliminate the Flying Pirates, then look above you and melt the
ice formation with the Plasma Beam. As you do, use the revealed grapple point to swing
to another MISSILE EXPANSION (170), then take the door to exit and head all the way
back to Frozen Pike. As you make your ascent, head back into the Phendrana Labs to
grab the last two items you need here. As you head through, you'll encounter Shadow
Pirates as well as Metroids. Eliminate them and head back to the Control Tower. Take
out the Flying Pirates again if you find them, then hop up to the entrance above the
East Tower. Destroy the crates, then use Plasma to melt the ice on the window. Look
out and fire a Missile at the tower in the distance to collapse it; as it falls, you
need to get inside and roll to grab the ARTIFACT OF ELDER, then use the Morph Ball
again to navigate some tight passages to exit. Now backtrack to Research Lab Hydra
and use a Super Missile on the Cordite tank to reveal another MISSILE EXPANSION (175),
then finally head through the Research Entrance, not stopping for anything as you
leave and head back out into the Ruined Courtyard.
If you absolutely must, kill the Flying Pirates; otherwise run screaming towards the
door to get back to Ice Ruins West, and hop across the ledges near the door to reach
the end, then use the Plasma Beam to melt through some ice and collect a POWER BOMB
EXPANSION (6). Leave the West Ruins and you'll find yourself back in the Phendrana
Shorelines. Leap to the bottom and start making your way back to the Chozo Ice Temple,
stopping near the door. Head to the left and use a Super Missile on the Cordite wall
decoration, then scan the revealed symbol to access a panel. Bomb Jump into the revealed
tunnel and use the Spider Ball to reach the MISSILE EXPANSION (180), then drop out and
head into the Ice Temple. Head up all the platforms to reach the door leading to the
Chapel of the Elders, but use the Plasma Beam to melt the ice river on the large Chozo
statue. As it melts, jump into its palm and morph to activate the unlocking sequence,
then roll into the tunnel at the bottom to collect the ARTIFACT OF SUN. Leave the
Temple, and return to Ice Ruins East via the door a little ways down. Again, ignore the
Sheegoth here as you ascend the ledges lining the room. As you reach the halfway point,
you can look to your left and see two Crystallites on a ledge. Head instead to your
right and use the Magnetic Rail to grab the MISSILE EXPANSION (185), then roll out and
head to the door at the end. Drop directly beneath it and use the Plasma Beam on the
iced wall near here to claim another MISSILE EXPANSION (190), then run as fast as you
can back to the door leading back out to Phendrana Shorelines. Return to the area near
the Save Station and locate the pillar with another ice wall. Melt this for another
MISSILE EXPANSION (195), then return to Magmoor Caverns.
Magmoor Caverns
===============
Head through Transport Tunnel A, and once back in Monitor Station, dispatch any off-
ending Flying Pirates, then Space Jump to the ledge above you. Follow this catwalk to
a Spinner that you'll use to raise a bridge, then Space Jump over to the rock face
and take the door into Warrior Shrine to pick up the ARTIFACT OF STRENGTH, then immed-
iately Power Bomb the small covering by the Chozo's feet to drop into a room containing
another POWER BOMB EXPANSION (7). Head out of here and simply drop off the rock face,
then turn around and head into Shore Tunnel. Power Bomb here to break the tunnel, then
drop down and grab the ICE SPREADER upgrade. Now continue on through here into the
large area with the Magmoor and sprint through the lava to save time, then continue
on back into Tallon Overworld.
Tallon Overworld
================
As you reenter the Root Cave, start ascending up the platforms on the sides. Once at
the top (or at least as high as you can go), you'll have to grapple to the opposite
side of the cave. Then use the X-Ray Visor to locate invisible platforms leading higher
up. Stop at the fourth one up, and scan around to find another MISSILE EXPANSION (200)
hidden in an alcove behind some vegetation. Space Jump up and grab it, then hop back
to the invisible platforms. Ascend the platforms to the top to reach a door leading to
Arbor Chamber, leading to yet another MISSILE EXPANSION (205). Return to the Landing
Site, then head back to the Chozo Ruins using the nearby entrance through Tallon Canyon
for the last of your upgrades.
Chozo Ruins
===========
As you arrive back in Chozo Ruins, head into the Main Plaza. Vaporize the Beetles (or
Plated Beetle; it seems to be random) with the Plasma Beam, then head into the Ruined
Shrine. By this point, Chozo Ghosts should be occupying this area, so quickly move
to the half-pipe and Boost up the right-hand side of the structure and into the small
Morph Ball tunnel to claim a MISSILE EXPANSION (210), then wait about five seconds
(every time I've done this, two Ghosts have been waiting immediately outside the tunnel
to pound me) before rolling out. Use your momentum to Boost up the opposite side of the
tunnel, and waste no time riding the Magnetic Rail to the Wave Beam door in the dis-
tance. Provided you don't get shot down, you can easily cut off about two minutes by
skipping this battle.
This tunnel leads into the Tower of Light. As you enter, you'll have to start climbing
the ledges lining the walls. When you get to the top, you'll then have to start firing
Missiles at the weakened portions of the walls. Take aim at each of the cracked areas
and fire three Missiles apiece to destroy each part (3 Missiles + the 4 Sections + 3
Levels = 36 Missiles needed). Once each of the four sections have been broken, the
Tower will rumble and collapse one level. Space Jump up to the next set of platforms,
doing the same as before while avoiding the Plated Puffers that float out to attack. If
one hits you, you'll almost always fall to the bottom, and it's tough making it back up.
Try to collapse the Tower as quickly as possible so as to expedite your trip up.
Collapse the three levels to reach the central structure, where you can Space Jump up
to the WAVEBUSTER upgrade. From the top, take a long swan dive into the water below and
head into the Meditation Chamber to pick up the ARTIFACT OF LIFEGIVER, then return to
the Ruined Shrine, and quickly bomb the weak block on the left-hand side of the room
to roll to the MISSILE EXPANSION (215), then get out as quickly as you can to avoid
the Ghosts.
Head back to the Main Plaza, ignoring the Plated Beetle/Beetle swarm, and head back
Ignore the Plated Beetle this time and head back to the Hive Totem room, making sure
to Space Jump your way to the door so you don't trigger the battle, and take the pass-
age leading back to the Sun Tower Access. From this point, head into the Sun Tower,
take out the War Wasps, and scan for the four runes to activate a Magnetic Rail track.
Two are hidden behind Cordite structures on the wall; shatter them with Super Missiles.
The last two are high on pillars in the room. Stand with your back to the Chozo Lore
and scan up to get one, then head diagonally across the room and scan the pillar there
for the fourth. With the obstruction removed, you can roll up the Magnetic Rail. Midway
up, the track breaks and you'll have to Bomb Jump in between sections while avoiding
Oculuses, but be careful of your Bombs - they can and will blow up portions of the rail
track, and you'll have to wait for them to reform if this happens.
Once up top, you'll just barely catch sight of a Chozo Ghost fly off, so follow it and
you'll reenter the Sunchamber, where you battled Flaahgra earlier. Three Chozo Ghosts
will attack as you enter; stay near the entrance and pick them off with Super Missiles.
Once they're defeated, you can climb up the flower petals to reach the ARTIFACT OF WILD,
after which point the vines covering the lowest door vanish. Now return via the Sun
Tower to the Main Plaza (through the Vault) and head across the ledges along the top.
Stop when you get to the giant tree with the knot, and fire a Super Missile to crack
it, then Space Jump to the MISSILE EXPANSION (220). Run across the bridge and towards
the Ruined Fountain, so you can use the fountain to attach to the Magnetic Rail along
the top of the ceiling and roll to the next MISSILE EXPANSION (225), then continue on
into the Gathering Hall, where you should proceed to the Watery Hall (where you got
the Charge Beam), and head into the water at the back to reach another MISSILE EXPAN-
SION (230). Now head back up to where you actually grabbed the Charge Beam earlier and
ignore the Eyons, bombing the sandstone out of the way to reach the Dynamo area. Inside,
fire a Missile at the metal grate to reveal the first MISSILE EXPANSION (235), then use
the Magnetic Rail to reach a second MISSILE EXPANSION (240). Now backtrack to the
Ruined Fountain and take that door near the back that you never went through to reach
the Magma Pool. Use the Grappling Beam to swing across the lava pit, then use a Power
Bomb on the wall to reveal a hidden room containing the last POWER BOMB EXPANSION (8),
then exit out and take the nearby passageway into Training Chamber Access, where you
can roll to a hidden MISSILE EXPANSION (245) through a tunnel near the back. Enter the
Training Chamber, defeat a few Chozo Ghosts, then use the Morph Ball slots that appear
to reach the final ENERGY TANK (14) of the game. Continue out of Piston Tunnel to
return to the Main Plaza, where you can grapple across to the game's final MISSILE
EXPANSION (250). Now return to Tallon Overworld.
=======================
16. The Final Showdown:
=======================
This final section outlines Samus' path to the Chozo Artifact Temple to collect the
last one as well as unlock the path to the Impact Crater. She will fight Meta Ridley
here, and the section (and game) will end with the defeat of Metroid Prime.
Tallon Overworld
================
Return to your Gunship and save your game. As you exit, you can see a door high on the
other side of the canyon. Near the Ship is a waterfall, and if you keep looking around,
you'll see some ledges on the left side leading up to where the door is. Head that way, using the Space Jump to
get up to where you're going, and follow the path around to that blue door, which leads
into the Temple Hallway. Quickly lock on to and destroy the three Seedlings on the
ceiling, then proceed past the Tangle Weed to reach the Temple Security Station and
follow this path into the Artifact Temple. As you make your way through the tunnels,
you'll eventually get back outside, where you can collect the final item of the game,
the ARTIFACT OF TRUTH. As you do, the unlocking sequence begins and you soon see Meta
Ridley swoop down for a small chat.
Meta Ridley Strategy
====================
{NORMAL MODE]
Meta Ridley is a heavily armored melee combatant. He has only one weak spot - his chest
- and he generally prefers not to let you at it. The first part of this battle is
ridiculously easy, so much so that you may get him down to 1/4 of his lifebar left and
still have all 14 of your Tanks.
The main idea of the fight is to get Meta Ridley to expose his weak spot, then lay
waste to him while it's open. You'll be using charged Plasma Beams for the first phase
of the fight, during which Meta Ridley hovers directly in front of you with his chest
wide open.
Phase 1: Meta Ridley will hover directly in front of you, occasionally using his flame-
strike projector. Charge the Plasma Beam and Space Jump the beam attack if it comes
toward you, then pelt away at his exposed chest with the charged shots. You'll probably
get in three per round, totalling up to around 1/4 off his life meter.
Phase 2: This phase begins when Meta Ridley flies off into the distance. You can't harm
him when he's far away, so don't bother trying. The basic method of attack involves
Meta Ridley literally dive-bombing you; he flies by at high speeds, using his beam
attack and launching three to four Meson Bombs at you. Morph and roll around to avoid
the bombs, then switch to the Power Beam and fire off Super Missiles whenever Meta
Ridley starts hovering again; this will quickly move him into Phase 3, where he'll
alternate between attacks used in phases 2 and 3.
Phase 3: Meta Ridley's primary attack in this phase is to land in the center of the
temple and viciously claw you. Keep an eye on Meta Ridley's shadow and use the Boost
Ball to rocket out of the way if you see it settle above you or the center. The Meson
Bombs will have destroyed most of the Chozo statues by now, so you'll have plenty of
maneuvering space. Switch to the Plasma Beam for this phase; whenever Meta Ridley
actually lands, lock on to his chest and literally hammer down with rapid-fire shots to
reduce his health down. This phase ends when you've successfully taken 3/4 off his life
meter.
Phase 4: Meta Ridley's wings burn off here, and he gets extremely pissed. Switch back
to the Power Beam and ALWAYS keep Meta Ridley in your sights. The worst thing you can
do is run around to try and avoid him, or get cocky if you still have almost all of
your health left. Meta Ridley's primary attack is so furious and swift that you can
lose up to one or two Energy Tanks in a matter of seconds if you don't get out of the
way. Aforementioned attack consists of a stunningly quick ramming move that can strike
you up to three times; you can be hit from the initial charge, get struck by his claws,
and then again by his thrashing tail. You can try to sidestep it by giving yourself
room, then locking onto the head and performing a sideways double dash. Keep in mind
that this sequence of attacks is always preceded by Meta Ridley rearing his head back;
if you see him do this, get out of the way as fast as you can (without morphing of
course; that takes far too long). You'll also notice that Meta Ridley is far more
effective at protecting his weak spot; in fact, you can only get him to expose it by
landing a direct concussive blast to his open jaws. The best times to do this are when
Meta Ridley cranes his neck around or opens his mouth to do anything besides rear back.
Quickly fire off a Missile; if it connects properly, Meta Ridley will be stunned and
fall back on his haunches, revealing his weak spot. Move in close and let a Super
Missile fly right at it (you have to hit it almost dead-on to do damage). The blast
will severely damage Meta Ridley, and get him pretty angry, so get ready to dodge a
quick flurry of ramming attacks.
You may get extremely lucky and Meta Ridley will get stuck in a pattern of opening his
mouth repeatedly; this happened on my third attempt and I was able to repeatedly fire
at him, concluding this last phase of the battle in roughly a minute. Continue to avoid
his pattern attacks while landing direct hits and you'll beat him. Once in the final
phase, it takes about three direct Super Missile hits to defeat Meta Ridley.
[HARD MODE]
Super Missiles are about the only way to go in this beefed-up version. Prepare for Meta
Ridley to be a whole lot meaner than he was before, and his melee combat to be much
more refined and deadly.
The first three phases proceed like normal, except that Meta Ridley will use his
weapons much more often than just Phase 2. In fact, you'll undoubtedly be dodging Meson
Bombs and the laser attack a lot in the first phase. Keep the Power Beam charged for
practically the duration of the battle, except when you're firing to stun or you're
dodging. Launch Super Missiles anytime Meta Ridley exposes that weak point, except
during Phase 3; resort to rapid-firing the Plasma Beam the same as in Normal Mode.
After you destroy his wings, it will really heat up. First off, Meta Ridley doesn't
telegraph his attacks nearly as much as before; you can literally get trampled before
you even see the charge coming your way. ALWAYS be facing Meta Ridley, unless you
happen to be dashing away from a ramming. Anytime Meta Ridley opens that mouth and
isn't rearing back, let a Missile fly, and start charging up for the Super Missile
attack in case you stun him. Launch away with those ballistics and repeat until you
beat him. Meta Ridley will charge a lot more in this version of the fight, so be
prepared to lose a lot more of your health.
After you strike the final blow, Meta Ridley will screech and howl just in time for all
of the Chozo statues to come to life and concentrate a single laser attack on Meta
Ridley that pushes him backwards and off the edge, presumably plummeting him to his
death. Afterwards, twelve Chozo Ghosts appear (you don't have to fight these, don't
worry) and resume the unlocking sequence. Head inside to travel down to the core of the
Impact Crater, where you'll meet the source of all that is evil
on Tallon IV...
Impact Crater
=============
As you leave the transport, head immediately to the Save Station at the bottom, then
head through the adjacent Plasma Beam door. Inside Crater Tunnel A, shoot the Lumigeks
that cover the floors and walls, and Space Jump over the orange Phazon - your Phazon
Suit isn't powerful enough to protect you from this stuff, and you will lose energy
very rapidly if you make contact with it. Proceed into the Phazon Core and slowly walk
forward. As you near the edge of the rock, a lone Fission Metroid will emerge from the
Phazon beyond. The Fission Metroids require a bit of strategy in that you must damage
them enough so that they split, then attack them with their corresponding Beam weapon
(yellow=Power / purple=Wave; white=Ice / red=Plasma) to completely defeat it. As soon
as you kill the Fission Metroid, run across the center spire and jump to the white
looking platforms in the back. Ascend them, ignoring the screech behind you; DO NOT
STOP or else the Fission Metroid hot on your tail will attack. Space Jump from platform
to platform in the clockwise path to the bridge near the middle. Escape into the
Missile Station to get away from the Fission Metroid giving chase, as well as reload
your Missiles and catch your breath. Reopen the door and destroy any Fission Metroids
hanging around outside, then head out and start running to the left, where you'll see
another one of the genetic freaks bobbing in the distance. Fire upon this one to make
it split, then let one of the twins grab you. Try your best to get the second one to
hang around while you set a Power Bomb; with some luck you'll destroy both of the
Metroids. You may even get real lucky and catch the Fission Metroid floating around the
platform above you in the blast. At the end of this short road, jump out to the plat-
form near where that last Fission Metroid was busy hovering, then spin to the right and
start dashing up the next few platforms until you reach the second bridge leading into
Crater Tunnel B. Take another breather, then stop at the edge of the rock and Space
Jump across the Phazon pit to reach the other side. Head on inside to the Phazon
Infusion Chamber to start the final battle...
Metroid Prime Strategy
======================
[NORMAL MODE]
As you enter the Phazon Infusion Chamber, you'll confront a rather cool-looking black
head hanging from the ceiling. Watch as the black head unfolds into a giant spider-like
creature. The resulting horror is the much-talked about Metroid Prime that the Space
Pirates have been so utterly fascinated with. As Metroid Prime sees you, she screeches
and burrows through the back wall into Subchamber One. Samus will follow her down the
tunnel to actually begin the fight.
Metroid Prime's only weak point is her eyes. Any attack that hits elsewhere will simply
reflect off (beware of your own shots coming back and harming you). She has also ab-
sorbed the abilities of everything that has engaged her thus far - including durable
armor plating - basically making this battle sort of a giant 'Super Trooper', if you
will. Fortunately for you, Metroid Prime hasn't managed to correct the flaw inherent in
the defense screens she assimilated yet, meaning that, for a time, you'll still be able
to injure Metroid Prime with Beam weapons. Just like the Beam Troopers and Fission
Metroids, you'll be able to tell what weapon you should use based on his color, but the
catch to the fight is that Metroid Prime can switch her weakness on the fly (and will
do so a lot during the last phase).
Attack-wise, Metroid Prime has around four major ones, though they vary in strength and
power depending on the armor she's using. The first one is a tractor beam of sorts
(Prime will pull you in; stop the attack with a hard shot to the eyes, or try to resist
using the Boost Ball), the second is a claw slash (used only if you venture too close),
and the third and fourth attacks are using powerful multi-missile attacks and shooting
seeking bombs at you, respectively. The Missile and Bomb attacks are quite deadly;
avoid the Missiles by staying as close as you can to Metroid Prime without getting too
close (just like with the Omega Pirate), and shoot the Plasma Beam at any bombs fired
your way (these bombs are the most deadly of all attacks Prime uses on you).
Now like I said, Metroid Prime's attacks vary depending on the armor she's using: Check
the following lists to see the attack variants.
- Power Armor: Yellow means use Super Missiles, however you'll want to wait until just
after Metroid Prime launches an attack and pauses. This guarantees you the best
chance of hitting it in the eyes. The Bomb attack for this armor is similar to what
the Chozo Ghosts use on you: it disrupts all functions of your Power Suit for about 5 or so
seconds.
- Wave Armor: The Wave armor is pretty tough to beat. Metroid Prime's attacks will
often interfere with your ability to engage in the most basic of combat. The beam
attack will confuse your targeting system by making you lose your lock-on ability,
and being hit by the Bomb attack here scrambles your Visor really bad. During this
phase, you'll definitely want to go off with the Wavebuster so as to force Prime out
of this armor as quickly as possible.
- Ice Armor: The Ice Spreader will save your hide when Metroid Prime equips this armor.
Metroid Prime has a ice wave attack similar to Thardus', and every attack she launches
encases you in ice. Whenever you see Prime turn white, charge up and let the Ice
Spreader freeze Prime's face; then launch a Missile to disrupt the attack phase and
move Metroid Prime into the next color phase (it'll take 2 Missiles in Hard Mode).
- Plasma Armor: The deadliest armor Metroid Prime possesses; this one is somewhat
difficult to defend against. The homing bombs, if struck by them, will set you on
fire and rapidly deplete your energy. (Say goodbye to about 5 or 6 Energy Tanks if
playing on Hard). Her beam attack does pretty much the same thing of burning you up.
Move in relatively close and blast away with the normal Plasma Beam to inflict damage
quickly, and use a charged shot any time Metroid Prime pauses.
Basic combat against Metroid Prime involves you targeting the eyes, then blasting away
with whatever Beam weapon corresponds to his beam armor. Use your Charge Combos to rip
into Metroid Prime; you'll rapidly eat through your Missiles, but you won't need them
past this battle, so feel free to go wild.
Finally, the fight against Metroid Prime takes place in several phases. In fact, it's
almost as "scripted" as Super Metroid's final battle was, though it's far easier to
die here. Once the battle begins, you must move Metroid Prime through a series of color
changes and ram attacks before she'll dig through a wall into another chamber where the
fight continues. The battle will move through a total of five rooms before the first
battle is over. Pay attention to the requirements for each Subchamber, and try not to
lose a lot of energy here (though as long as you make it out with two or three Energy
Tanks left, you'll be able to hold your own in the final battle).
- Subchamber One: Metroid Prime will change color once in this battle. Start off using
the Power Beam (and Super Missiles) to damage her; once you've scored a bad enough
hit on her, she'll scream and turn purple. Switch to the Wave Beam and use the Wave-
buster in short bursts to whittle her down some more. After you wound Metroid Prime
again, the giant Metroid digs through the floor into Subchamber Two.
- Subchamber Two: There will be two color changes here, along with a new ramming attack.
Metroid Prime uses this attack after being seriously injured, so use one of the three
small grooves in the floor to morph and dodge the ram attack. This battle starts off
again with the Power Beam, moves on to the Ice Beam, then the Wave Beam again. The
second major difference in this round is the use of homing bombs. If you see them
coming your way, disengage your lock on Metroid Prime, then target the small bombs
and try to destroy them. At the ice phase, you can use the Ice Spreader and a Missile
to trigger the next color change. After you've dealt with these three phases, the
beast will dig through the floor again.
- Subchamber Three: This round involves three color changes and three ramming attacks.
Drop in here, and start with the Power Beam, then go to the Wave Beam, the Plasma
Beam, and lastly, the Ice Beam. Prime's ramming and Bomb attacks still survive to
this round, but Metroid Prime gains another one (surprise!) in the form of a tractor
beam. If you get ensnared, launch a powerful attack at her face to make her let go
(alternately, you can (a) use the Boost Ball to escape, or (b) set a Power Bomb
directly underneath Prime's mouth; this will almost always rock you loose. Otherwise
for the rare times when Metroid Prime gets incredibly stubborn (read: Hard Mode),
you'll just have to wait it out until she gets bored of you just hanging out in front
of her. This round concludes with Metroid Prime burrowing into the floor yet again.
- Subchamber Four: There are a whopping 11 color phases here, along with between 5 and
7 ramming attacks. Metroid Prime uses all the attacks she used in the previous round,
but is far less predictable. Metroid Prime will no longer charge across the room only
after being damaged; her ramming attacks come at random times. The color phases will
also occur quite randomly. The most annoying part comes when you're busy charging up
a combo and Prime switches armors on you. Just pay close attention and adjust your
weapon to match. After you damage Metroid Prime for the final time, the screeching
creature will be blown backwards (as opposed to fleeing on her own) through the back
wall into Subchamber Five, where she escapes down a hole.
[HARD MODE]
It's really not a whole lot different than the first fight; Metroid Prime merely
attacks faster, will charge you more, and takes much more of a beating. Her attacks
also rape you if you're not careful. Study the strategy above and try to lose as little
energy as possible in this one. Left-to-right strafing will be an essential part to a
successful offensive here. All Metroid Prime's attacks and patterns remain the same,
with the exception of some slight variations on her color patterns. For instance, I
note how the third phase starts with the Power Beam - my first attempt it started with
the Wave, and my second attempt started with the Ice - so you'll be relying much more
on looking at her color than what a guide tells you.
Aside from that, Metroid Prime's attacks are far more difficult to avoid, particularly
her tractor beam one. The homing bombs (particularly the Plasma versions) MUST be shot
down - two or three impacts will kill you, and her multi-missiles are a bit deadlier.
They, however, can still be avoided by moving in close to Metroid Prime.
In terms of the amount of Missiles you'll go through, it was just around the 240 mark
for me, so getting all of the items in the game is a darn good idea. Grit your teeth
and press on through to the final form.
Now chase the monstrosity down the tunnel, watch Metroid Prime shed her carapace, and
get ready for the *real* battle...and you'll find that Metroid Prime is really nothing
but a gigantic six-tentacled Metroid variant! It can get extremely tough or extremely
easy at this point, depending on nothing more than Prime's mood, it seems.
Prime Strategy
==============
[NORMAL MODE]
This final battle can be easy or tough, depending on your skills at strafing/dodging,
and the amount of energy you have left from the last bout with Metroid Prime.
Wait for Prime to launch a few Phazon Waves; these will destroy the pillars in the room
(and they leave behind Ultra Energy units). Metroids that you destroy will often leave
behind refills as well. Use the Charge Beam to tractor them in.
All combat tips and strategy aside, this fight is very much the opposite of the first.
In the last round, it was all about tactical advantage and strategic positioning; here
it's just an no-holds-barred brutal assault from which only one of you will walk away
victorious. Prime isn't in the best of spirits now that her shelled carapace is gone.
The good news? This battle is really predictable. The bad news? You only possess one
weapon that will work against Prime, and you can't always use it (how strategic...and
ironic).
Prime possesses only three simple attacks (as opposed to her last form). The most
common of these is his Phazon Wave, which you can see coming a mile away. Space Jump as
the Wave moves towards you, and try to keep Prime in your sights (even when invisible)
to make sure she doesn't try to ram you into the wall. Eventually Prime will pause and
create a small Phazon pool on the ground. The creation of this pool is the cue to begin
your counter-offensive.
Your Phazon Beam can only be triggered by standing in these pools, so watch for Prime
to create one, then switch to the Power Beam and head for the pool. Watch for the words
"Hyper Mode" to flash on your display, and watch as Prime disappears. She'll cycle
through the various spectra, following a pattern of Combat, X-Ray, Thermal, then back
to Combat. If you can't see Prime, keep cycling until you can locate her. Once she's
visible to you, lock on and hold down the A button to fire a devastating stream of
Phazon energy that puts a heavy drain on Prime.
Once Prime's had enough of the onslaught, she'll break away and you'll have to repeat
the battle all over again until Prime creates a second pool. As you drain Prime of half
her energy, she'll begin spawning some Metroids to help out much like the Beam Troopers
in the Omega Pirate fight. The first time, you'll face a pair of normal Metroids, the
second time you'll face two Hunter Metroids, and the third time you'll face two Fission
Metroids. After that, it's randomly determined which Metroids Prime spawns. Use the Ice
Beam and a Missile to eliminate the pair if you get Normal or Hunter; Fissions need to
be destroyed quickly with the Phazon Beam, then resume looking for Prime. This time
around, Prime will hover near the pool for a bit longer, so wait for her to move before
attempting your attack again, otherwise Prime will lash out at you and knock you across
the room. If this happens, Morph and use the Boost Ball to quickly get back to the pool,
then reattempt your Phazon attack.
As you continue to drain more of his energy, Prime intensifies her attacks; ironically
enough, this serves to help you instead of hinder you. As Prime launches attack after
attack, she'll start creating multiple pools of Phazon, giving you plenty of chances to
acquire a good lock and take her out. As you drain one pool, simply Morph and roll to
the next closest one, then locate Prime and redouble your attack. On the whole, this
battle typically lasts three or four rounds (depending on how fast you got locked on
and let loose with the Phazon Beam). The battle is finally over when you've completely
wasted Prime and she collapses to the floor in a quivering puddle of Phazon. If you got
100% (like this guide suggests), you'll get to see a rather interesting ending cinema...
[HARD MODE]
Prime is a lot meaner this time around. It's near impossible to get to a Phazon pool
without some form of distraction, and if you do, you can almost count on Prime being
nearby to smack you.
Prime will also create Metroids sooner, and you'll invariably get combos of the three
variants. If you get stuck with Normal or Hunter Metroids, use the Ice Beam along with
a Missile to take them out, then spend time searching for Prime before attempting to
reach the Phazon pool. If Prime spawns Fission Metroids, you'll just have to throw
caution to the wind and use the Phazon Beam to eliminate them quickly (use Power Bombs
if they attach to you first).
While the same basic strategy applies the same here, Prime is much more difficult to
track and lock on to this time around. She spends less time in each spectral phase, and
launches constant attacks while in her invisible mode. You'll have to learn to multi-
task by watching for Prime, locating available Phazon pools, and dodging the ramming
and Phazon Wave attacks.
Once you've locked onto Prime, waste away with the Phazon Beam, and continue to dodge
attacks in a careful manner until you claim victory over Hard Mode (it won't take much
longer than Normal Mode...at most eight rounds).
Congratulations! Your total time after completing the objectives outlined in the speed
run should be somewhere below 2 hours and 30 minutes! Pretty amazing for a game of
Metroid Prime's scope and depth, but it can be done.
========================
17. Power Suit Upgrades:
========================
Samus' most powerful weapon is her Power Suit. You lost over half of it in the Elevator
accident back in the Frigate, and naturally, you'll spend the remainder of the game
earning the stuff back.
Beam Upgrades
=============
- Power Beam (Default):
The Power Beam is the default Arm Cannon. It has the best rate of fire. The Power
Beam can be used to open Blue Doors. If you see your shots ricochet, cease fire. The
Power Beam is not working against that target. You can use the Power Beam to quickly
clear an area of weak foes.
- Ice Beam (Chozo Ruins):
The Ice Beam can freeze enemies solid. Hits from the Ice Beam may also slow foes down.
Use the Ice Beam to open White Doors. The Ice Beam is quite effective agains fire-
based creatures. Charge the Ice Beam to increase the time an enemy will stay frozen
when hit. Some frozen enemies can be shattered by Missile hits.
- Wave Beam (Phendrana Drifts):
The Wave Beam fires powerful electric bolts. This weapon has a limited homing capacity
as well. Fire the Wave Beam to open Purple Doors. The Wave Beam won't home in on
targets without a lock-on. Charge the Wave Beam to fire a fierce electric blast.
Enemies struck by this blast will be enveloped in electrical energy for a few moments.
- Plasma Beam (Magmoor Caverns):
The Plasma Beam fires streams of molten energy. This Beam can ignite flammable objects
and enemies. Fire the Plasma Beam to open Red Doors. The Plasma Beam is very effective
against cold-based creatures. Charge the Plasma Beam to fire a sphere of plasma.
Enemies struck by this blast will be engulfed in flames for a few moments.
- Phazon Beam (Phazon Mines):
The viral corruption of the Power Suit has altered the Arm Cannon as well. It is now
capable of firing the powerful Phazon Beam. The Phazon Beam appears to trigger in the
presence of high concentrations of Phazon. Regular Arm Cannon functions return when
Phazon is not present. The Charge Beam does not function when the Phazon Beam is
active.
Morph Ball Upgrades
===================
- Morph Ball (Chozo Ruins):
The Morph Ball changes your Suit into a compact, mobile sphere. Like the Power Suit,
the Morph Ball is modular. There are several upgrades that can be added to improve
performance.
- Morph Ball Bomb (Chozo Ruins):
The Morph Ball Bomb is the default weapon for the Morph Ball. The Morph Ball Bomb can
be used to break cracked walls and activate certain devices. If the Morph Ball is
near a Bomb when it explodes, it will be popped a short distance into the air. This
is called a Bomb Jump. The Morph Ball Bomb can easily break items made of Sandstone
or Talloric Alloy.
- Boost Ball (Phendrana Drifts):
The Boost Ball can be used to increase the Morph Ball's speed for short periods.
Press and hold B to charge, then release B to trigger a quick Speed Boost. When
charging, the longer you hold B, the longer (and faster) the Boost Charge will be.
Throughout the environment, you will encounter U-shaped channels known as half-pipes.
Using the Boost Ball in these areas will let you reach higher places. Build a charge
as you descend in the half-pipe, then trigger the Boost as you ascend the other side.
This will give you the speed and momentum you need to reach new heights.
- Spider Ball (Phendrana Drifts):
The Spider Ball allows you to move the Morph Ball along magnetic rails. Press and
hold R to activate the Spider Ball ability. Follow the magnetic rails to explore new
areas. The Morph Ball Bomb can be used to trigger a Bomb Jump while attached to a
rail.
- Power Bomb (Phazon Mines):
The Power Bomb is the strongest Morph Ball weapon. Power Bombs do not have unlimited
ammo. Use them wisely. The Power Bomb can destroy many materials, including Bendezium.
Each Power Bomb Expansion you find will increase the number of Power Bombs you can
carry by 1.
Suit Upgrades
=============
- Power Suit (Default):
The Power Suit is an advanced Chozo exoskeleton modified for use by Samus Aran. The
Power Suit provides life support functions and is well shielded from attack. The
modular nature of the Power Suit allows for the addition of weapons, Visors, and other
gear as needed. The Power Suit's shielding loses energy with each hit. Collect energy
when possible to keep the shielding charged.
- Varia Suit (Chozo Ruins):
The Varia Suit adds increased heat resistance to the Power Suit. This modification
increases your defensive shielding. While the Varia Suit can handle higher temper-
atures than normal, extreme heat sources and heat-based attacks still cause damage.
- Gravity Suit (Phendrana Drifts):
The Gravity Suit eliminates the effects of liquid on movement. This modification
improves your defensive shielding. The Gravity Suit allows for improved movement in
liquid environments, but does not reduce damage delivered when exposed to hazardous
fluids. Visor modifications in the Gravity Suit make it easier to see underwater.
- Phazon Suit (Phazon Mines):
The Power Suit has been corrupted by viral exposure, turning it into the Phazon Suit.
The viral corruption of the Power Suit has some beneficial side effects. The suit is
now resistant to the effects of Blue Phazon. It is not invulnerable to the effects of
all Phazon, however. In addition to Phazon resistance, the corruption has dramatically
increased defensive shielding levels.
- Energy Tank (Scattered):
The Energy Tanks increase the Power level available to your Suit's defensive screens.
Each Energy Tank increases your Suit's energy by 100 units. The more energy your Suit
has, the longer you can stay alive. You can fully recharge your Energy Tanks at Save
Stations. Your gunship has this capability as well.
Visor Upgrades
==============
- Combat Visor (Default):
The Combat Visor is your default Visor. It provides you with a Heads-Up Display (HUD)
containing radar, mini map, lock-on reticules, threat assessment, energy gauge, and
Missile count. Icons for the Arm Cannons you possess are shown in the lower-right
corner of the Combat Visor. Icons for the Visors you possess are shown in the lower-
left corner of the Combat Visor.
- Scan Visor (Default):
The Scan Visor is used to collect data. Some devices will activate when scanned. Move
the Visor magnifier over targets with the orange symbol, then press and hold L to
scan. Press A to turn the Visor off. Mission-critical scan targets will be red in
color. Scanning enemies with this Visor can reveal their vulnerabilities. You will be
unable to fire any weapons while the Scan Visor is active. Scanned data vital to the
success of the mission is downloaded and stored in the Log Book section of the Pause
Screen. Press R on this screen to access the Log Book.
- X-Ray Visor (Tallon Overworld):
The X-Ray Visor can see through certain types of materials. The X-Ray Visor can
reveal invisible items, areas, and enemies. Robotic enemies jam the X-Ray Visor's
frequency. Eliminate them to restore function to the Visor.
- Thermal Visor (Phendrana Drifts):
The Thermal Visor allows you to see in the infrared spectrum. Hot objects are bright
to the Visor, and cooler objects are dim. The Thermal Visor will show the weak points
of certain foes. Use the Thermal Visor in total darkness and poor weather conditions.
Brightly lit areas, explosions, and intense heat can impair the Thermal Visor. Enemies
with temperatures close to their surroundings will be tough to spot with this Visor.
Secondary Upgrades
==================
- Space Jump Boots (Tallon Overworld):
The Space Jump Boots increase the leaping capability of the Power Suit through the
use of boot-mounted thrusters. Press B to jump, then press B again during the jump to
use the Space Jump Boots.
- Grappling Beam (Phazon Mines):
The Grappling Beam allows you to swing back and forth from special points in the
environment. Grappling Points appear in your Visor as the little Grapple Hook icon.
Press and hold L to fire the Grappling Beam. Hold L to stay connected; let go to
release. The Grappling Beam can be used to cross wide gaps. You can alter your path
while swinging from the Grappling Point as well.
- Missile Launcher (Chozo Ruins):
The Missile Launcher adds ballistic weapon capability to the Arm Cannon. Missiles
fired with a lock-on will seek their targets. Missiles can destroy objects made from
Radion or Brinstone. There are Charge Combo enhancements scattered throughout the
environment. They use the Missile Launcher and the Charge Beam in tandem to fire more
effective blasts. Each Missile Expansion you find will increase the number of Missiles
you can carry by 5.
- Charge Beam (Chozo Ruins):
The Charge Beam allows you to increase the damage and effectiveness of the Arm Cannon.
The Charge Beam has a limited 'tractor beam' capacity. Use it to pull small objects
to you. There are Charge Combo enhancements scattered throughout the environment.
They use the Missile Launcher and the Charge Beam in tandem to fire more effective
blasts. The Charge Beam increases the performance of each Arm Cannon mode.
- Beam Combo (Scattered):
The Charge Combos allow you to fire the Missile Launcher and Arm Cannon together. The
combined attacks are stronger than normal blasts. The Arm Cannon must be charged to
use a Charge Combo. When your Arm Cannon is charged, press Y to fire the Charge Combo.
The Single Shot Charge Combos fire one blast at a time. Each shot uses a number of
Missiles. Sustained Fire Charge Combos will fire as long as you have Missiles. Press
A down after you fire. It takes 10 Missiles to trigger these Charge Combos, then five
Missiles per second afterwards.
- The Super Missile is the Power Charge Combo. Super Missile is a Single Shot Charge
Combo. Each shot uses 5 Missiles. Super Missiles can destroy objects made of Cor-
dite.
- The Ice Spreader is the Ice Charge Combo. It can freeze targets in a wide area. Ice
Spreader is a Single Shot Charge Combo. Each shot costs 10 Missiles. Ice Spreader
is limited against aerial targets.
- The Wavebuster is the Wave Charge Combo. This potent blast auto-seeks targets in
the area. The Wavebuster is a Sustained Fire Charge Combo. It costs 10 Missiles to
activate, then 5 Missiles per second afterward. The Wavebuster will seek enemies
without a lock-on.
- The Flamethrower is the Plasma Charge Combo. You can sweep its stream of flame
across multiple targets. The Flamethrower is a Sustained Fire Charge Combo. It
costs 10 Missiles to activate, then 5 Missiles per second afterward. The Flame-
thrower is most effective against multiple targets in an area.
=====================
18. Samus' Abilities:
=====================
All of the miscellaneous moves that Samus can utilize are covered here, from standard
Bomb Jumping to mid-air Morphing - it's all here. If you have problems with any par-
ticular trick, you can use this as a handy reference.
Double Bomb Jump
----------------
Unlike previous titles, this is a required move in this game if you want to get all the
items. To pull it off, set a Bomb and carefully watch the animation. Every time you set
off a Morph Ball Bomb, the Bomb shimmers for a little bit prior to exploding. In the
split second that the shimmering stops, set the second Bomb, and let the first pop you
up. At the peak of your Bomb Jump, set a third Bomb. As you come back down, the second
one will detonate, popping you up into the third Bomb's explosion, which will send you
higher.
Triple Bomb Jump
----------------
This particular move requires absolute precise timing on the controls, so pay attention.
You'll be setting a total of 6 Morph Ball Bombs for this. Set the first Bomb and let it
pop you up. As soon as you land (I mean immediately) set the second Bomb. As the
shimmering stops, set the third (just like a Double Bomb Jump). Please note that you
must execute these first three Bombs before your Bomb Counter refills; you must be able
to set 6 consecutive Bombs, and if your Counter refills before you set the third Bomb,
you won't be able to pull this off. Anyway, as the second Bomb pops you up, set the
fourth at the peak of your jump, then fall down and let the third Bomb send you up. Set
the fifth Bomb right before you reach the fourth's location, and let the fourth Bomb
pop you up; at the peak of this jump, set the sixth and final Bomb, then fall into the
fifth Bomb's explosion just in time to get popped up into the sixth explosion, which
sends you even higher. This is one of those moves that requires extensive practice;
however, should you master it, you'll start finding numerous places where you can use
it in place of the Spider Ball to reach places early.
Wall Triple Bomb Jump
---------------------
This technique is executed roughly the same as the Triple Bomb Jump, only it's done off
of a wall, giving you slightly more height and/or distance. To do it, push against a
wall. Since Samus descends slower when on a wall, you can alter the placement of Bombs
5 and 6 through a bit of self-experimentation. Follow the prescribed method above for
setting up the TBJ. This trick is most useful if attempting the Ice Beam early (PAL
version), or trying to reach the Chozo Ice Temple without the benefit of the Space
Jump Boots.
Bomb Ladder
-----------
This one is a cute, but tough one to execute. It outclasses the DBJ in just about every
respect, too. While your timing is roughly the same for a Bomb Ladder versus a Double
Bomb Jump, you must place the third bomb a tad differently. After you place Bomb # 2,
move yourself off from the surface where Bomb # 1 detonates, and place # 3 as close as
humanly possible to your destination, then fall back to the ground. As you hit the
ground, roll into Bomb # 2, and blast yourself into Bomb # 3 without taking time to
stop, and watch as Samus rockets higher than she would've normally.
Track Jump
----------
This particular move, to my knowledge, can only be used effectively on the Furnace
Magnetic Rail track - there are others, but they don't lead to anything of value. This
trick basically exploits an apparent glitch in the way the Magnetic Rail is built, i.e.
using nonexistent platforms to "walk" up the track. Check out how it's done.
Walk up to the track and press forward into it, then turn so you can barely see a part
of the wall. While still holding forward, you should start seeing the track vibrate
wildly. You can now Space Jump up while holding forward on the Control Stick and you'll
"land" on a platform that, for all intents and purposes, doesn't really exist.
Lock-Jumping
------------
This one is really easy, and actually gains you a bit of height. The best places to use
it are the times when you need to make extremely precise jumps (if you're going for
low percentage and skipping the Grappling Beam, for example).
To lock your view, simply hold the L Button and pan downwards until you are literally
staring at your feet. As you get your desired angle, let go of the Control Stick and
the R Button and you'll be able to make precision jumps while not losing sight of what
you're trying to reach. This trick helps immensely when trying to get the Plasma Beam
without the Spider Ball.
Double (or Triple) Bomb Jump-Morph
----------------------------------
This tricky move is a variation on the 2D games' Morph Jumping maneuver. Used properly,
it can get you a bit of extra distance and/or height when Bomb Jumping. To execute it,
start from a place you can safely pull off a DBJ or TBJ from, then hit X to unmorph at
the peak of your jump. Pushing forward on the Control Stick while the game adjusts to
your suddenly increased height will theoretically launch you forward and boost you a
bit higher. Note that the Morph can also be executed off of a Wall DBJ or TBJ.
Dash Jumping
------------
This one is really fun, in my opinion. It's a derivative of the Strafe, (Dash) maneuver
you use to stay locked onto a target, but it's tweaked to make Samus get some real
hangtime. The primary fault of this trick is that you don't get any real height, so if
you're dashing towards something, generally the target has to be on your level or below
you; you can't dash upwards. To do it, lock onto an enemy and start the dash move. *AS
SOON AS* you start the dash, let go of L, and Samus will fly off in that direction. If
you have the Space Jump, you can use your second jump to continue the high speed dash
jump move. Note: in order to correctly execute this, remember that you must release the
lock-on at the same exact time as you start the dash, or else it will not work.
Lock-On Dashing
---------------
Hold L to lock on to a target, then tap B while locked on to move from side to side
around them in a circle. This comes in handy during...the entire game... and is up-
graded once you find the Space Jump Boots.
Tractor Beam
------------
Once you find the Charge Beam, you can tractor refills to your location by aiming at
them and charging up. If they're within range, they'll be pulled to you, eliminating
the need for you to go to them.
===================
19. Item Checklist:
===================
Here is a quick list of all of the Energy Tanks, Missile Expansions, and Power Bomb
Expansions in the game, and their room locations and hints on how to add them to your
collection.
Percentage Glitch
=================
There are exactly 100 items in the game; each one counts as 1%. However, if you actually
play the game, you'll discover that there are only 99 items that get counted in your
totals. "What?" you ask? A Metroid game with only 99 items? Read below to find out the
operation of this quirky glitch and how it's rectified.
The breakdown of the items is as follows:
- 50 Missile Expansions
- 14 Energy Tanks
- 12 Chozo Artifacts
- 5 Morph Ball Enhancements
- 8 Beam Enhancments (counting Charge Combos)
- 4 Power Bomb Expansions
- 3 Suit Upgrades
- 2 Visor Upgrades
- 2 Misc. (Grappling Beam & Space Jump Boots)
---------
100 Items.
Now, anyone who's played the game and stopped before gathering the last couple items
knows that for some reason, the game tallies you at 98% right before the last upgrade
(whether it be a Missile Expansion or Artifact, or anything else). Then to your sur-
prise, you collect the last item and receive the "100% of Item Pick-Ups" notification.
Why? For some odd reason for which I'm at a loss to explain, the Phazon Suit does not
get added to your totals until the very last item has been picked up. This was discov-
ered during an item-by-item analysis and it was determined that your percentage does
not increase when the Phazon Suit is acquired.
The most logical explanation I can come up with for it is that in all technicality, the
Phazon Suit is not an item pick-up, rather it is an accidental corruption of your Power
Suit. So technically speaking, there are only 99 items in the game, since you lose the
Phazon Suit upon beating Metroid Prime...
Energy Tank Locations
=====================
You have a maximum total of 14 Energy Tanks. Each Tank you acquire adds 100 units of
energy to your meter (and of course, another percentage point to your item totals).
Tallon Overworld
----------------
01) Cargo Freight Lift to Deck Gamma: You need the Gravity Suit and the Charge Beam to
get this during your trek through the Wrecked Frigate. Blast the door of the broken
lift inside this area to claim this Tank.
02) Hydro Access Tunnel: While heading through here, execute an underwater Double Bomb
Jump to reach the Tank far in the ceiling.
Chozo Ruins
-----------
03) Transport Access North: Coming from the back, you need nothing, so grab this Tank
as you're coming down from near the Sun Tower.
04) Plaza Access: Use the Morph Ball and access this Tank via the Plaza Access Tunnel
(from the Vault).
05) Training Chamber: You need the Boost Ball, Spider Ball, and the Bombs. Use the half
pipe to reach the Morph Ball slot on the right, then use the lift at the bottom
near the door to reach the Tank.
06) Furnace: Use the MoBombs to solve the puzzle in the Energy Core.
07) Hall of the Elders: You need the Ice Beam. Activate the White Slot and have the
Chozo Elder bowl you into the room containing the Tank.
Magmoor Caverns
---------------
08) Transport Tunnel A: You need the Morph Ball and Bombs to do three separate Double
Bomb Jumps to reach the Tank.
09) Magmoor Workstation: Use the Wave Beam to activate three power conduits, then use
the Morph Ball and Scan Visor to solve the puzzle leading to the Tank.
Phendrana Drifts
----------------
10) Ruined Courtyard: Use Bombs to activate a Morph Ball slot that raises a series of
platforms, giving you access to a Morph Ball tunnel that leads to the Tank.
11) Research Lab Aether: You need Missiles to blast this free from a container.
12) Transport Access: You need the Plasma Beam; it'll be frozen in some ice as you make
your way through.
Phazon Mines
------------
13) Ventilation Shaft: Use Power Bombs to reach the fan controls, then roll through
exposed grate to the Tank.
14) Processing Center Access: Once you've beaten the Omega Pirate, you can use the
elevator off to the side to reach the upper catwalks. Head into the red door at the
end to find the Energy Tank right in your path.
Missile Expansions
==================
Upon acquiring your first Expansion, you're given a starting count of 5 Missiles. Each
of the subsequent 49 Expansions adds another 5 Missiles to the total stock, allowing
for a maximum count of 250. The list is organized by the area they're found in. The
walkthrough section details getting all of the Expansions in a timely manner, so if
you're confused as to when you can get a particular Expansion, check the Speed Run for
the much more detailed version.
Tallon Overworld
----------------
01) Landing Site: Behind your ship is a small Morph Ball tunnel; roll into it and
through the Tangle Weed to find the Expansion.
02) Transport Tunnel B: As you cross the narrow bridge leading back to Tallon Canyon,
it's under the bridge. Drop down and pick it up.
03) Overgrown Cavern: It's stuck amongst some Venom Weed. Charge up the Boost Ball and
rocket through the poisonous plants to pick up the Expansion along the way.
04) Frigate Crash Site: Head underwater and trek to the center of the lake (where the
roots are). Stand on the roots and Space Jump to the small alcove containing the
Expansion.
05) Biohazard Containment: Use a Super Missile to break through one of the containment
capsules to find the hidden Expansion.
06) Life Grove Tunnel: You need the Boost Ball to boost to the top of an oval rock
structure, then break the rock in the middle with a Bomb.
07) Great Tree Chamber: Use the X-Ray Visor to spot hidden ledges inside the Great Tree
Hall to find this Expansion.
08) Root Cave: Use the X-Ray Visor to see the hidden ledges leading up this vertical
area. Scan around for the Expansion behind some plants.
09) Arbor Chamber: Ascend to the very top of the Root Cave, then enter the Plasma Beam
door at the top to get this Expansion.
Chozo Ruins
-----------
10) Main Plaza: Use the Boost Ball to roll up the half-pipe structure.
11) Main Plaza: Climb up to the bridge, then drop onto an ledge to the right. Use a
Super Missile to destroy the knot on the tree, then Space Jump to the Expansion.
12) Main Plaza: Use the pathway through the Magma Pool, exit out through
Piston Tunnel and use the Grappling Beam to swing across the Plaza
to this Expansion.
13) Ruined Shrine: Break the sandstone near the bottom with a Bomb and roll to the
Expansion. Be wary of Beetles following you into the tunnel.
14) Ruined Shrine: Use the half-pipe to roll up the right side and Bomb through to the
tunnel where the Expansion is hidden.
15) Ruined Gallery: Destroy the sandstone in the lower left wall with a Missile to
reveal the Expansion.
16) Ruined Gallery: Bomb Jump into a small Morph Ball tunnel on the lower floor, then
roll through the tunnel to the Expansion.
17) Watery Hall Access: Use a Missile to crack the wall on the left by the water.
18) Watery Hall: Use the Gravity Suit to go underwater, then Space Jump
up the short cliff to reach the Expansion.
19) Dynamo: Use a Missile on the metallic decoration to uncover the path
to this Expansion.
20) Dynamo: Use the nearby Magnetic Rail to roll up to the Expansion.
21) Burn Dome: Immediately after beating the Incinerator Drone, use a Bomb on the stone blocking entrance to a Morph Ball tunnel
that leads to the Expansion.
22) Ruined Nursery: You need to use Bombs in two separate places to clear sandstone
blocks from the wall maze, eventually allowing you access to the Expansion.
23) Vault: Bomb Jump into each of three Morph Ball slots to deactivate the gates block-
ing the Expansion.
24) Gathering Hall: Use the Space Jump to get to the ledge above the door leading to
the Energy Core, then use a Morph Ball Bomb to blow up the grating covering the
Expansion.
25) Crossway: Use the half-pipe to activate a Morph Ball slot, then use a piston to
reach a ledge with the Expansion.
26) Ruined Fountain: Hop into the center of the Fountain, in Morph Ball form, and hold
R to stick to a Magnetic Rail that leads to the Expansion.
27) Training Chamber Access: Near the exit is a small Morph Ball tunnel obscured by
foliage. Roll on through to collect the Expansion.
28) Furnace: Power Bomb the right hand floor, use the half-pipe to cling to a Magnetic
Rail, then navigate a precarious walkway to reach the Expansion at the end.
Magmoor Caverns
---------------
29) Storage Cavern: Roll under the Triclops Pit and into the Morph Ball slot to the
right to find a new room. Enter the door at the top; the Expansion is at the back.
30) Fiery Shores: Jump to the ledge with the Triclops, then Bomb Jump into the tunnel.
Take it, then bomb your way up the small maze to the right. Lastly, slowly roll
along a narrow track to reach the Expansion at the end.
31) Triclops Pit: Space Jump out to an invisible ledge, then use 45 degree angle leaps
of faith and a Missile to reveal the Expansion.
Phendrana Drifts
----------------
32) Phendrana Shorelines: It's hidden in some ice in a pillar near the first Save
Station.
33) Phendrana Shorelines: Climb to the Chozo Ice Temple, destroy the Cordite with a
Super Missile, scan the wall, then take the Magnetic Rail up to the Expansion.
34) Ice Ruins East: Use the Magnetic Rail in the building directly across from the
entrance to roll up to the Expansion.
35) Ice Ruins East: Beneath the door leading to Plaza Walkway, use the Plasma Beam to
melt the ice.
36) Research Lab Hydra: Use a Super Missile to break the Cordite wall on a stasis tank,
revealing the hidden Expansion.
37) Research Lab Aether: Space Jump up to a small ledge, then roll along a convuluted
narrow track to reach the Expansion at the end.
38) Quarantine Monitor: Use the Grappling Beam in Quarantine Cave to swing across to
the ledge leading to this room. The Expansion is just inside the Morph Ball tunnel.
39) Gravity Chamber: Climb to the top, then use the Plasma Beam to melt some icicles.
Use the newly revealed Grapple Point to swing over to the Expansion.
40) Frost Cave: Grapple to the far ledge, shoot a stalactite to break the ice below,
and head underwater to find the Expansion.
Phazon Mines
------------
41) Main Quarry: Activate the crane and let it crush a wall, then use the Magnetic Rail
on the crane to roll over to the Expansion.
42) Security Access A: Near the entryway, face the rear wall and set a Power Bomb to
destroy the grating, giving access to the Expansion.
43) Elite Research: On the top level, use the Spinner to rotate the Pulse Cannon so
that it faces the left wall. Fire the Cannon to reveal the Expansion.
44) Elite Control Access: Destroy the explosives on the ledge, then Space Jump up to
the ledge and roll inside to find the Expansion.
45) Metroid Quarantine A: Once you get to the ledge on the far side, use two Power
Bombs to destroy walls leading to a new set of Magnetic Rails. Follow the rails to
a platform on the others side, then use another invisible moving platform to find
the tricky Expansion.
46) Fungal Hall Access: Drop to the very bottom and roll under the giant Saturnine.
Make it quick to get out of the Phazon patch.
47) Fungal Hall B: At the very end, use the X-Ray Visor to spy the Expansion hidden
underneath the floor by the patch of Saturnines. Use a Power Bomb to clear the rock
out of the way, drop and collect.
48) Metroid Quarantine B: Get through the Quarantine section, and fire a Super Missile
at the Cordite pillar to reach this Expansion.
49) Phazon Processing Center: As you make your way up the first set of invisible plat-
forms, you can see the Expansion hidden behind a wall on a ledge. Space Jump to the
ledge from the second invisible platform and use a Power Bomb to open a path to it.
Power Bomb Expansions
=====================
There are a total of 8 Power Bombs; the main upgrade gives you 4 of them, and the
remaining 4 Expansions each add 1 Power Bomb.
Chozo Ruins
-----------
01) Magma Pool: You'll need the Grappling Beam and Power Bombs. Use the Grappling Beam
to swing over, then detonate a Power Bomb at the wall to reveal the Expansion.
Magmoor Caverns
---------------
02) Warrior Shrine: You need the Power Bombs. Detonate one underneath the Chozo statue
where you picked up the Artifact of Warrior to find the Expansion.
Phendrana Drifts
----------------
03) Security Cave: You may want the Grappling Beam. Climb to the top of Phendrana's
Edge, then use the Morph Ball tunnel.
04) Ice Ruins West: Heading out of the Ruined Courtyard, you'll have to hop across the
rooftops and use the Plasma Beam to melt the ice on the last roof.
Chozo Artifacts
===============
You must recover all 12 of these to finish the game. Once you collect all of them,
you'll receive new scan data directing you back to the Artifact Temple.
Tallon Overworld
----------------
01) Truth: Artifact Temple; head up to the temple and it'll be sitting in plain view
near the center.
02) Chozo: Life Grove; you need to Power Bomb the walls away, then go in the lake and
Bomb the drain to reveal a bridge containing the Artifact.
Chozo Ruins
-----------
03) Wild: Sunchamber; return to where you fought Flaahgra and battle three Chozo Ghosts
for the Artifact.
04) Lifegiver: Tower Chamber; while it's recommended that you have the Gravity Suit to
get this Artifact, you can use the Space Jump to get it. It's under the water in
the Tower of Light.
05) World: Elder Chamber; activate the red Morph Ball slot in the Hall of the Elders to
be thrown into a room containing this Artifact.
Magmoor Caverns
---------------
06) Strength: Warrior Shrine; Space Jump up to the uppermost section of Monitor Station
and jump atop the computers, then make a huge Space Jump across the gap to land on
a ledge leading to the room where this Artifact is kept.
07) Nature: Lava Lake (section 1); use 2 Missiles to break a rock column near the
beginning, then Space Jump to the Artifact.
Phendrana Drifts
----------------
08) Spirit: Storage Cave; return to Phendrana like you were going to the Gravity Suit.
Once you reach Phendrana's Edge, you'll have to use the Grappling Beam to climb up
a few ledges. Near the middle, use the X-Ray Visor to locate a hidden door off a
ledge, then set a Power Bomb to reach the door leading to the Artifact.
09) Elder: Control Tower; once you have the Plasma Beam, return here via Frozen Pike.
Look around to see a tower that's leaning to one side. Jump into the open area
above East Tower, destroy the crate, then melt the ice in front of the window. Look
to find a fuel cell near the tower, and fire a Missile at it to collapse the tower.
Climb inside to find the Artifact.
10) Sun: Chozo Ice Temple; use the Plasma Beam to melt the ice off the Chozo statue
near the Chapel of the Elders. A Morph Ball slot leading to the Artifact is at the
bottom.
Phazon Mines
------------
11) Warrior: Elite Research. On your second trip to the Mines, you'll have to Power
Bomb the tube containing the Phazon Elite. Defeat it like the other Elite Pirates
to earn the Artifact.
12) Newborn: Phazon Mining Tunnel; you have to backtrack here after you obtain the
Phazon Suit. Enter the tunnel and follow the alternate path, bombing your way
through a lot of Brinstone to reach the Artifact at the bottom.
============
20. Endings:
============
There are three endings for Metroid Prime, and unlike previous (smaller) titles, they
don't depend on your ending time, but rather on your item percentage (this only counts
for item pick-ups, not Log Book scans).
Ending 1: 0-74% (bad ending) - Samus destroys Prime, and fights off a tugging attack
from the remains of Prime. The beam literally rips the Phazon Suit off of Samus, leav-
ing her in the Gravity Suit. Samus takes off running, and signals for her Ship to
arrive as she leaves the Impact Crater. The Artifact Temple explodes behind her, and as
she hops on to her Ship, she turns to gaze at the destruction, then the scene cuts as
she starts to remove her helmet.
Ending 2: 75-99% (good ending) - Samus destroys Prime, and fights off a tugging attack
from the remains of Prime. The beam literally rips the Phazon Suit off of Samus, leaving
her in the Gravity Suit. Samus takes off running, and signals for her Ship to arrive as
she leaves the Impact Crater. The Artifact Temple explodes behind her, and as she hops
on to her Ship, she turns to gaze at the destruction1, then descends inside and flies
off. The credits roll, then a scene showing Samus without her helmet cues. The game's
congratulations screen loads with Samus in a victory pose.
Ending 3: 100% (best ending) - (by far the coolest one of all). Samus destroys Prime,
and fights off a tugging attack from the remains of Prime. The beam literally rips the
Phazon Suit off of Samus, leaving her in the Gravity Suit. Samus takes off running, and
signals for her Ship to arrive as she leaves the Impact Crater. The Artifact Temple explodes
behind her, and as she hops on to her Ship, she takes off her helmet to gaze at the
destruction before heading inside and flying off. Cue the same credits and congrat-
ulatory screen with the victory pose, then you see a scene with a pulsating blob of
Phazon. Suddenly, a black and red metal hand (eerily resembling that of the Phazon Suit)
bursts out while a small eye twitches in the palm (right about where the circular globe
is on Samus' hand). Spooky...
=====================
21. Secrets and Tips:
=====================
1. Use the Fusion Suit: To do this, you must have a Game Boy Advance, a Gamecube Link
Cable, and Metroid Fusion. Beat Metroid Prime and then hook up your GBA to the Game-
cube (with Fusion inside) and go to the menu titled "Metroid Fusion Connection
Bonuses". Select the Fusion Suit option and activate the uplink. Once complete, you
can use the Fusion suit in Prime, and it'll change colors upon getting the Varia/
Gravity/Phazon suits as well. Note that the Fusion Suit must be manually selected
each time you begin play, even if you are continuing a saved game.
2. Play NES Metroid: Play the classic game that started it all on your Gamecube. To do
it, repeat the same steps above, except you must finish Metroid Fusion first. Then
select the "NES Metroid" option and select it to play the old game. The controls are
a bit different here, so I'll go over them real quick. If you need help guide-wise,
check out our guides here at http://metroid.retrofaction.com/guides/metroid1.html.
NES Metroid Controls
--------------------
- L Button - Quit Game.
- Control Stick/Pad - Move Samus, Aim Up, Morph into Morph Ball.
- Start - Pause game.
- B Button (X also works) - Jump.
- A Button (Y also works) - Fire Weapon, Lay Bombs as Morph Ball.
- Z Button - Switch from Beam to Missiles, and vice-versa.
The old Password system has been preserved, so you can use all the old cheats if you
so desire, but you can also save your progress to the Gamecube Memory Card. When you
want to continue a game, press Z to highlight "CONTINUE" and then press Start. Your
game will automatically pick up from the last major starting point.
3. Hard Mode: Did you beat Metroid Prime thinking the game was just a bit too easy?
Here is your answer: Upon beating it the first time around, you'll unlock the Hard
Mode. Start a new game and you'll be given the option for Hard. In this new mode of
play, enemies are twice as tough, you are twice as vulnerable, and everything is all-
around more of a nightmare. Have fun....
Actually, here's a short list of some tips that should make the journey a bit less
harrowing.
- Get 100%. Really, it's darn near a gospel requirement (unless you possess the mad
skills it takes to complete a Hard Low Percent game). Given that all enemies take
twice as much effort to kill, and you take twice as much damage makes for an
incredibly tough time.
- Once you acquire the Charge Beam, start using it to take out the minor enemies. A
single charge shot is better than peppering with lots of little shots (particularly
in Beetle swarms).
- The Space Pirates are incredibly beefed up, particularly the Beam Troopers you
find in the Mines. Here's a quick guide to the major differences in the Pirate
forces.
- Normal Pirates: Expect much more melee combat from these fellas. However, the
charged Plasma Beam disintegrates them in one shot. Until you get the Plasma
Beam, use charged Ice Beam shots to take them out in a single hit.
- Shadow Pirates: Just like above, except you'll need to use the Thermal Visor to
track their infrared heat signatures. Deal with them the same as Normal Pirates
by using charged Ice Beam shots on them. Once you get the Plasma Beam, you can
vaporize them instead.
- Wave Troopers: Oy...My only word of advice for the first couple of rounds is to
try to get them to attack one at a time (this means slowly advancing through
the areas they occupy), then resort to pulsing the Wave Beam at them. If you
get a group of them during the Omega Pirate battle, just hop back and forth
until the Omega Pirate appears over a Phazon patch, then ignore them.
- Power Troopers: These Troopers will without a doubt beat the crap out of you.
They always take two Super Missiles to kill, and some of them survive past that
point as well! These are the most lethal of the Hard Mode bunch; handle them
with extreme care. A gang of them could easily (and quickly) cost you your life
if you don't watch it every step of the way. During the Omega Pirate fight, you
should Space Jump around and only fire off your Super Missiles if you have Power
Bombs to use on Omega and Missiles in reserve.
- Ice Troopers: Still the easiest of the bunch, Ice Troopers' firepower is more
refined: three hits is easily one and a half Energy Tanks. Use the same strategy
as before of freezing them, then using a Missile on them. During the Omega
Pirate fight, use the Ice Spreader (if reserves are available), but only if
there's more than two.
- Plasma Troopers: These Troopers are much more refined in their attacks, and not
nearly as sloppy as they were in Normal Mode. Their Plasma Beam does major
damage, and the quick mobility of the Plasma Troopers isn't exactly to your
benefit. You should still attempt to attack from afar while rapid-firing the
Power Beam (charging up takes an eternity, during which you're vulnerable to
attack). In the Omega Pirate fight, DO NOT use the Flamethrower; it barely works
as an attack, and consumes needed Missile stocks far too rapidly.
While I described brief methods for going about the Troopers in the Omega Pirate
battle, it is not enough to simply describe how to kill them. In Normal Mode, it
was perfectly acceptable to ignore the Troopers near the end since the Pirate only
took four hits from the Super Missile to kill. This time around, evading the
Troopers will almost surely mean your death since you face them in much larger
groups, and more tend to swarm in any time the Omega Pirate gets damaged. Sometimes
it is honestly better to deal a bit of damage to the Omega Pirate, then spend a
whole round picking off the Troopers while you allow the Pirate to repair himself.
Just keep at the forefront of your mind that the Space Pirates are your most deadly
enemy in the entire game during Hard Mode, and should be approached with extreme
caution at all times.
- Crates are your lifesaver: blast them for refills when you need them, though it's
such sweet irony that you can be reduced to a single Energy Tank and get nothing
but un-needed Missile refills...
- The Metroids are far more aggressive in Hard Mode - the normal ones respond to
threats much quicker, the Hunter Metroids will attack you viciously and without
abandon, and the Fission Metroids get nastier than ever. If you had problems going
up against the Fission Metroids in Normal mode, then you'll have quite a fun time
confronting them in Hard. Not only will they spawn faster, but they take almost
exclusively to latching on to you mid-jump, which in the wrong places sends you
plummeting towards the bottom of the room.
4. Bonus Features: By completing certain requirements within Metroid Prime, you'll
unlock four very cool image galleries that can be accessed via the Main Menu. Each
gallery contains concept art, CG and wire-frame models used in the construction,
drawing board sketches, and lots of other nifty stuff. To unlock each, you must
complete each of the following requirements:
- Image Gallery 1: Get 50% of the Log Book Scans.
- Image Gallery 2: Get 100% of the Log Book Scans.
- Image Gallery 3: Beat the game's Hard Mode.
- Image Gallery 4: Get 100% of the Item Pick-ups.
5. Unscannable "Easter Eggs": There are a few creatures you'll encounter throughout the
game that will be quite familiar to fans of the Metroid series. While a few, like
the Geemer, are only minor, there are a few rarer "easter eggs" of sorts. I'll
detail the ones I know about.
- Alpha Metroid: I'd heard rumors about these mutant Metroids being discovered in
the powerless Phendrana Research Labs. It is true that one of the dead Metroids
scans as an Alpha-class, but it is merely a morphological error as this Metroid is
clearly not an Alpha. However, near the top of the central stasis tube in Research
Lab Aether, there is a dead Alpha Metroid floating around; though you can't get
any sort of readings on this one.
- Sidehopper: You can find this in Biohazard Containment on the Space Pirate Frigate
(first time around). It's fairly easy to find; just look or listen for the thing
beating up one of the containment doors. Scan it and you'll get an image of what
is clearly a Zebesian Sidehopper (!).
6. Miscellaneous Bonus Material: There's a bit of stuff that won't really help you per
se, but it's fun to do sometimes when you're bored. This last section catalogues the
miscellaneous stuff you can do to "spice" up the game if your journey gets too
tedious (though I don't see why it should - if you're using this guide, you're
already blasting through the game...)
- Mega Metroids: This works best for Hunter Metroids, particularly the first one you
find in Frost Cave. Fire Power Beam shots at it until it sizzles, then the Metroid
will mutate into a huge version of its former self. Do note that as the Metroids
get larger (from absorbing energy I suppose) they do get more powerful.
- "Secret World": This one is really interesting. Anyone familiar with the "secret
worlds" in the original Metroid will know that there were spaces of left-over
programming that, under the right conditions could actually be accessed and
explored. The downside of these lost areas was that exploring one often meant you
got stuck in there for the remainder of your game.
Metroid Prime, too, has one of these "secret worlds". Here's how to access this
glitch place, and a few tips to keep in mind should you decide to mess around a
bit.
What you have to do is get to Transport Tunnel C (via the Chozo Ruins Reflecting
Pool area) - it's the one near the Save Station. Once you get inside the tunnel
(the one filled with Geemers and Zoomers), head to the tree in the center. Look
for some gnarled roots that give you just enough room to stand on, jump up on the
top root, and angle your view all the way up using the R Button. Lock your view
when it's as high as it'll pan, and look for a crack in the tree. Get under this
crack and start Space Jumping; one of your jumps should squeeze you into this crack
and set you down inside the glitched-up area.
Keep these two things in mind when exploring this new world.
- Do NOT use the Morph Ball under any circumstances: if you do, you'll get stuck
in an endless fall, and the game will lock up or freeze you if you try to get out
of Ball mode. So don't Morph at any time.
- Second, you have to lock your view and aim anytime you want to jump; the game
gets extremely weird if you don't do this.
- Misc. Animations: There are a couple of animations in the game that appear when
you do certain things, like if you rapid fire the Power Beam a lot, smoke will
eventually start coming out of it. It doesn't affect you in any way, but it's
pretty cool to see a "smoking gun". A second one occurs if you sit in one place
for a while. If you don't move, Samus will eventually get "bored" and start
fiddling with the controls on her Beam Cannon.
==================
22. Contributions:
==================
Here's the section where I thank the people that helped me through this guide (ongoing
as it still is). Much thanks go out to...
- Nintendo and Retro Studios for creating such an incredible game in the Metroid series
(and for announcing a follow-up GCN title).
- All the staff members of Metroid Online who gathered around to make this endeavor
work. You guys really mean more to me than you know. Keep it up, and we'll have one
of the biggest Metroid sites on the Net.
- My family and friends for putting up with me while I wrote this guide and began the
process of thinking big thoughts for the site. In no particular order: Reeve from
MMN for letting me devote time off from that site to do this; Jason R. - for showing
me that I can push my vocal chords to a new limit (you keep me screaming like LP and
I'll destroy said vocal chords. Then I'll sue you); Bonnie S. - you always managed to
keep me semi-inspired, even when I was down in the pits; my parents for the occasion-
al support and for telling me I couldn't pull this off - now I have something to show
off; and everyone else important to me that I might have forgotten - you have my
thanks.
- Everyone that has helped in otherwise showing me new tricks or methods to getting
stuff early (Devilbit, John Lapinksas, Dart Zaider, etc), or submitting content for me
to add to this guide. Thanks a bunch!
==========
23. Legal:
==========
This guide must always be shown in full form with credit given to the author, and a link
and credit must be given to Metroid Online (http://metroid.retrofaction.com/). All
associated characters and games are copyright to Nintendo.