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AUTHOR: 3791
EMAIL:
[email protected]
VERSION: 1.01
LATEST UPDATE: 03/17/2007
Corrected errors pointed out by Preston and Noah, and changed
the copyright info: the guide is now released under a Creative
Commons license.
===============================================================================
Mini Creative Commons Notice
===============================================================================
This guide is released under a Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons
deed can be viewed here:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
In a nutshell,
YOU CAN: copy, distribute, print, upload to your website, or do whatever else
you want with this guide
SO LONG AS: you credit me as the author, you don't sell the guide or use it to
make money, and you don't change anything in the guide.
You can find a few more details in the Creative Commons Info section at the
end of the guide.
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C O N T E N T S
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To quickly jump to a specific section and not have to scroll through the entire
file, copy the tag in brackets that appears to the right of the section you
want to go to (including the brackets) and use the Find feature of your browser
to jump directly to the section you're interested in.
I. INTRODUCTION [I]
II. GAME BASICS [II]
A. Controls [II.A]
B. Main Menu [II.B]
C. Pickups [II.C]
D. Stations [II.D]
E. Doors [II.E]
F. Map [II.F]
III. WALKTHROUGH [III]
A. Temple Grounds [III.A]
1. Story [III.A.1]
2. Splinter Hive [III.A.2]
3. Missile Launcher [III.A.3]
4. Great Temple [III.A.4]
B. Agon Wastes [III.B]
1. Morph Ball Bombs [III.B.1]
2. Space Jump Boots [III.B.2]
3. Dark Beam [III.B.3]
4. Light Beam [III.B.4]
5. Expansions [III.B.5]
6. Amorbis [III.B.6]
C. Torvus Bog [III.C]
1. Temple Grounds [III.C.1]
2. Super Missile [III.C.2]
3. Boost Ball [III.C.3]
4. Seeker Missile Launcher [III.C.4]
5. Gravity Boost [III.C.5]
6. Grapple Beam [III.C.6]
7. Chykka [III.C.7]
D. Sanctuary Fortress [III.D]
1. Temple Grounds [III.D.1]
2. Spider Ball [III.D.2]
3. Power Bomb [III.D.3]
4. Echo Visor [III.D.4]
5. Screw Attack [III.D.5]
6. Quadraxis [III.D.6]
E. The Keybearers [III.E]
1. Light Suit [III.E.1]
2. Agon Keys [III.E.2]
3. Torvus Keys [III.E.3]
4. Sanctuary Keys [III.E.4]
5. Temple Grounds Keys [III.E.5]
F. Sky Temple [III.F]
1. Emperor Ing [III.F.1]
2. Dark Samus [III.F.2]
IV. EXPANSIONS [IV]
A. Energy Tanks [IV.A]
B. Beam Ammo Expansions [IV.B]
C. Missile Expansions [IV.C]
D. Power Bomb Expansions [IV.D]
V. DATA NETWORK [V]
A. Inventory [V.A]
1. Armor [V.A.1]
2. Visors [V.A.2]
3. Weapon Systems [V.A.3]
4. Movement Systems [V.A.4]
5. Morph Ball Systems [V.A.5]
6. Miscellaneous [V.A.6]
a. Suit Expansions [V.A.6.a]
b. Dark Temple Keys [V.A.6.b]
i. Dark Agon Keys [V.A.6.b.i]
ii. Dark Torvus Keys [V.A.6.b.ii]
iii. Ing Hive Keys [V.A.6.b.iii]
iv. Sky Temple Keys [V.A.6.b.iv]
B. Logbook [V.B]
1. Lore [V.B.1]
a. Trooper Logs [V.B.1.a]
b. Space Pirate Logs [V.B.1.b]
c. Luminoth Lore [V.B.1.c]
i. History [V.B.1.c.i]
ii. Conflict [V.B.1.c.ii]
iii. A-Kul's Clues [V.B.1.c.iii]
iv. Keybearer Lore [V.B.1.c.iv]
2. Creatures [V.B.2]
a. Aether [V.B.2.a]
i. Ground [V.B.2.a.i]
ii. Flying [V.B.2.a.ii]
iii. Aquatic [V.B.2.a.iii]
iv. Mechanoids [V.B.2.a.iv]
b. Dark Aether [V.B.2.b]
i. Darklings [V.B.2.b.i]
ii. Ing [V.B.2.b.ii]
iii. Guardians [V.B.2.b.iii]
iv. Emperor Ing [V.B.2.b.iv]
c. Offworld [V.B.2.c]
i. Pirates [V.B.2.c.i]
ii. Metroids [V.B.2.c.ii]
iii. Dark Samus [V.B.2.c.iii]
3. Research [V.B.3]
C. Options [V.C]
VI. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS [VI]
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I. I N T R O D U C T I O N [I]
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Thank you for reaching 3791's Metroid Prime 2: Echoes strategy guide! Your call
is important to us; an operator will be with you shortly. (play oldies music)
10 minutes later...
Thanks for holding, my name is 3791. How may I help you? So, I wrote a strategy
guide for Metroid Prime last spring and have finally gotten around to starting
on a guide for the sequel. Actually, as I'm writing this introduction a lot of
the basic information has already been written (or copied and pasted from my
Metroid Prime 1 guide). I'm really, really slow with my FAQs, so who knows how
long it will be before I actually finish this thing? Answer: a really long
time. But anyway, here I am, so I'll go ahead and give you a little information
about the game, along with my mini-review.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, released in the US in November of 2004, is the sequel
to the outstanding and popular game Metroid Prime. (Actually, if you couldn't
figure that out on your own, just stop reading now.) Both games were developed
by Retro Studios and released on the Nintendo Gamecube. This game is a true
sequel: there are no major changes in the controls, gameplay, or interface from
MP1 to MP2. I think that's a good thing; as the old saying goes, "If it ain't
broke, don't fix it." Like MP1, the game is played in first-person, although in
my opinion it is not a first-person shooter, as it does not really fit the mold
of most traditional FPSs. I like to think of the Metroid Prime games as
adventure games that just happens to be played in first-person.
In terms of gameplay, MP2 follows closely the pattern of MP1, which itself is
similar to the structure of the 2D Metroid games: exploring a vast world,
defeating enemies, recovering items, then using those items to explore new
areas. As always, you control bounty hunter Samus Aran inside her Power Suit as
she explores a large world containing a variety of environments; in this case,
the planet Aether. Samus has only one life; if her energy meter reaches zero,
you will continue from the last save. Saves can only be made at Save Stations
that are scattered across Aether, usually in strategic locations. MP2 continues
the practice of MP1 of telling the story through recorded messages and log
entries that can be scanned and read during gameplay. This makes learning the
story mostly optional, but I really enjoy it and I think it adds a great
dimension to the gameplay.
While MP2 is in most respects very similar to the original Metroid Prime, there
are a few changes. One of the most controversial is the change to an ammo-based
system: almost all the beams in Metroid Prime 2 require ammo, whereas beams
have had unlimited ammo in every other Metroid game. Another new element of MP2
is the existence of a light world and a dark world, very similar to The Legend
of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Aether has been split into light and dark worlds,
with portals used to travel between them.
I wouldn't be writing a guide for this game if I didn't really like it. My
opinion is that Metroid Prime 2 is almost, but not quite, as good as the
original Metroid Prime. I am glad that they did not attempt to change many of
the things that worked so well for the original: the level of depth in the
story, the simple control scheme, and the feel of exploration and discovery.
MP2 also improves on some areas, especially by making some creative and fun
uses of the Morph Ball. However, a few areas were not done as well as they were
in MP1. For example, the music was extremely well done in MP1 and really helped
to set the mood for the various areas of the game. In MP2, some of the music,
especially the boss music, is up to that standard, but the rest is not. Also, I
felt that some aspects of the story were not developed or explained as well as
in MP1. Regarding the additions of the beam ammo and the light/dark worlds, I
thought at first that I wouldn't like them, but in the end I didn't really have
a problem with them.
Having said all that, keep in mind that any game that is almost as good as
Metroid Prime is still a very good game. If you liked Metroid Prime, you should
definitely get Metroid Prime 2. It is not necessary to have played MP1 in order
to understand MP2, but it will help to soften the learning curve and also make
some elements of the story clearer. Even if you don't play MP1 before playing
MP2, you should definitely do so afterwards, since Metroid Prime is one of the
best games ever in my opinion.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes also includes a multiplayer mode, which is decent. As
of now, this guide does not contain information or strategies for the
multiplayer mode, although that may change in the future.
I'm almost done here, I just have a few details about this guide itself to make
you aware of. First, this guide is written for Normal difficulty. If you're
playing in Hard mode, you can still use this guide, just keep in mind that
enemies will be about twice as difficult and deal about twice as much damage as
indicated in the guide. Second, this is a 100% guide, meaning that if you
follow this walkthrough, you will finish the game with a 100% complete file. I
think that's it, so without any further ado, let's get on to the actual game
information!
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II. G A M E B A S I C S [II]
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This section will provide you with all the information you need regarding the
mechanics and structure of the game. This section includes subsections for the
controls, main menu, pickups, stations, doors, and the map.
/==============================================================================
A. Controls [II.A]
\==============================================================================
If you played Metroid Prime, then this will be nothing new. The controls are
exactly the same as before. While somewhat unconventional, I find the controls
convenient and easy to learn.
o CONTROL STICK:
Move. Tilt forward on the stick to walk or roll forward. Tilt left or right
to turn, and tilt backwards to move backwards. The farther you tilt, the
faster you will move.
o CONTROL PAD:
Select a visor. Each visor is assigned a different direction on the Control
Pad, and you can press that direction to select that visor. These are the
directions for each visor:
up: Combat Visor left: Scan Visor
down: Echo Visor right: Dark Visor
o A BUTTON:
- normal mode: Fire beam weapon. Hold down to use Charge Beam.
- Morph Ball mode: Lay a Bomb.
o B BUTTON:
- normal mode: Jump. With the Space Jump Boots, you can perform a double jump
by pressing B again while still in the air. Also, if you push B while
holding L and tilting left or right on the Control Stick, you will perform
a quick leap to the side, which you can use to dodge enemy attacks. With
the Gravity Boost, perform a double jump, then hold down B while underwater
to propel yourself up. Finally, after performing a double jump, continue
pressing B to use the Screw Attack, once you find it.
- Morph Ball mode: With the Boost Ball, hold to charge a boost, then release
to boost.
o C STICK:
Select a beam weapon. Each beam weapon is assigned a different direction on
the C Stick, and tilting the C Stick in that direction will set your Arm
Cannon to that beam weapon. These are the directions for each beam:
up: Power Beam left: Light Beam
down: Annihilator Beam right: Dark Beam
o X BUTTON:
Enter or exit Morph Ball mode.
o Y BUTTON:
- normal mode: Fire a Missile. With the Seeker Launcher, hold down Y to
charge the Seeker Launcher.
- Morph Ball mode: Lay a Power Bomb.
o Z BUTTON:
Pauses the game and displays the map.
o L BUTTON:
- normal mode: Lock-on. If there is an enemy in Samus's field of view, press
and hold L to lock-on to it. Any shots you fire will automatically be aimed
at that enemy, and moving left or right will allow you to strafe, moving
you in a circle around the enemy. If there are no enemies in sight, you can
press L and left or right on the Control Stick to move side to side. Also,
once you have the Grapple Beam, hold down the L Button to latch onto a
Grapple Point.
- Morph Ball mode: Fix the camera behind Samus.
o R BUTTON:
- normal mode: Aim and look around. Holding R allows you to manually aim and
look around using the Control Stick. This is handy if you want to get a
better view of your surroundings or you want to fire at something you can't
lock-on to (such as a crate).
- Morph Ball mode: Latch onto magnetic rail tracks (with the Spider Ball).
o START/PAUSE BUTTON:
Pauses the game and displays the Pause Menu.
/==============================================================================
B. Main Menu [II.B]
\==============================================================================
The Main Menu appears after the title screen, and from it you can open a game
file, set options, and view unlocked image galleries. The interface for the
Main Menu (and the Data Network) is rather unique, and takes a few seconds to
get used to. Items in the menu appear as circles branching off from a point in
the center of the screen, and the Control Stick rotates these circles in three
dimensions. The item that is "closest" to you will be highlighted, and pressing
A will select that item. You can go back one level by pressing B. This section
describes all the actions you can take from the Main Menu.
o SINGLE PLAYER:
Selecting this option will display the three save files, labelled New for
empty files, Samus for normal mode files, and Hard for hard mode files,
followed by the number 1, 2, or 3. They will also display the region in which
the last save was made, the completion percentage, and the elapsed time for
the file. Select a file to open it and begin playing. (If you are starting a
new game and hard mode has been unlocked, you will be promted to select
normal or hard difficulty.) Also, to copy a file to an empty file, press X,
select the file you want to copy, select the file you want to copy it to,
then confirm. To erase a file, press Z, select the file you want to delete,
and confirm. Make sure you really want to delete the file before you do so,
because the data cannot be recovered afterwards.
o MULTIPLAYER:
This option will only appear if there are at least two controllers plugged
into the GameCube. Select it to begin setting options for a multiplayer game.
This guide does not currently cover the multiplayer mode. If you want help or
strategies regarding multiplayer mode, try Neonjohn779's Multiplayer Guide at
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/metroid_prime_2_mp.txt
o OPTIONS:
This lets you change the options for each game file and for multiplayer mode.
The option categories are Display, Sound, Visors, and Controls for the game
files; Display and Sound only for multiplayer. These options are exactly the
same as the ones you can change in-game from the Data Network (pause screen).
You can find out a little more about those options in section V.C.
o IMAGE GALLERY:
You can unlock image galleries by beating the game, filling your Logbook and
getting high percentages. You will be notified whenever you unlock an image
gallery, and from then on you can view the unlocked images by selecting this
option. The images are of design sketches, production art, and advertising
designs. Most of it is pretty neat, because it lets you see how the design of
the creatures and levels evolved, and it also lets you see how much detail
Retro put into designing Metroid Prime 2. In the image gallery, all the
galleries you've unlocked will appear one after another continuously. You can
see which gallery you're currently viewing in the top left, and which
particular image you're viewing is displayed in the top right. Use the
Control Stick to move to the next or previous image, use L and R to zoom out
and in, respectively, use the C Stick to pan (move around on the image when
you're zoomed in), use Y to turn the key on or off, and press B to quit.
/==============================================================================
C. Pickups [II.C]
\==============================================================================
Pickups are small items that are left behind by defeated enemies or are found
by destroying crates. Pickups replenish your energy and ammo supplies, and can
be drawn towards you with the Charge Beam. This section describes each type of
pickup.
o ENERGY:
These pickups are small colored spheres with a dot in the center. They will
replenish your energy meter, and their color indicates the amount of energy
they provide. The amounts and names for each color are:
- purple: 10 (Small Energy)
- red: 30 (Medium Energy)
- blue: 50 (Large Energy)
- yellow: 100 (Ultra Energy)
o MISSILE AMMO:
Missile ammo looks like several orange spikes in a pyramidal shape, with a
gray point at the top. If the pickup has only one set of spikes, it will
refill 5 missiles. If it has two sets of spikes on top of each other, it will
refill 10 missiles.
o DARK AMMO:
Dark ammo looks like a dark purple crystal, and it refills the ammo for your
Dark Beam. You can only get dark ammo by destroying creatures or crates with
the Light Beam. Dark ammo comes in several varieties which provide different
amounts of ammo. If the crystal is small and resembles a simple bar, it will
refill 5 dark ammo. If the crystal resembles two bars stuck together, it will
refill 10 dark ammo. Finally, it the crystal resembles a number of bars stuck
together, it will refill 30 dark ammo.
o LIGHT AMMO:
Light ammo looks like a bright white crystal, and it refills the ammo for
your Light Beam. You can only get light ammo by destroying creatures or
crates with the Dark Beam. Light ammo comes in several varieties which
provide different amounts of ammo. If the crystal is small and resembles a
simple bar, it will refill 5 light ammo. If the crystal resembles two bars
stuck together, it will refill 10 light ammo. Finally, it the crystal
resembles a number of bars stuck together, it will refill 30 light ammo.
o POWER BOMB AMMO:
This pickup is a flat, gray and orange disk that radiates white light. It
will refill 1 Power Bomb.
/==============================================================================
D. Stations [II.D]
\==============================================================================
Stations are special devices that perform important functions such as saving
your game, providing a map of the region, or refilling your Ammo. This
subsection describes each type of station and what it does.
o SAVE STATION:
By far the most common station in the game, Save Stations completely refill
your energy and allow you to save your game. Save Stations consist of a
circular platform on the ground, with another circular apparatus overhead.
Step into the station, and you will be asked if you want to save your game.
After saving (if you select yes), your energy will be refilled. Save Stations
are marked with an S on the map and can be found in both Light and Dark
Aether.
o MAP STATION:
Each region has at least one Map Station, which will provide you with a
complete map of all or part of a region. You can view this map at any time by
pressing Z; see subsection F for more information on the map. Map Stations
look like a floating hologram of a map. Note that Map Stations only provide
maps of Light Aether; there are no Map Stations in Dark Aether.
o AMMO STATION:
Extremely helpful stations, Ammo Stations will completely refill your Dark
Ammo, Light Ammo, Missiles, and Power Bombs. These stations look like a
floating hologram of a crystal, and once you approach it, your ammo will be
refilled. Look for these stations mainly in Dark Aether, especially near
bosses. They are marked by an A on the map.
/==============================================================================
E. Doors [II.E]
\==============================================================================
As in all other Metroid games, you will encounter a wide variety of doors
connecting one room to another on Aether. All doors have a hexagonal shape, but
their color indicates the weapon that must be used to open them. Be aware that
the game loads the next room while the door is opening, so if it takes a few
seconds for a door to open, it just means that it leads to a large room. This
subsection lists every variety of door you will encounter and the weapon that
must be used to open it.
o BLUE DOOR:
By far the most common type of door, any weapon (including a Bomb) can be
used to open a blue door.
o BLACK DOOR:
A black door will only open after being hit with a shot from the Dark Beam.
o WHITE DOOR:
A white door requires a shot from the Light Beam.
o GRAY DOOR:
Gray doors will only open after being hit with the Annihilator Beam.
o RED DOOR:
Use a missile to destroy a red blast shield.
o GREEN DOOR:
Green blash shields can only be broken with a Super Missile.
o PURPLE DOOR:
To break a purple blast shield, you must use the Seeker Launcher to destroy
all five of the small purple pods surrounding the door simultaneously.
o YELLOW DOOR:
Yellow blast shields can only be destroyed with a Power Bomb.
/==============================================================================
F. Map [II.F]
\==============================================================================
The map is a very handy resource, and ocassionally a necessity to keep from
getting lost in Aether's sprawling regions. To access the Map, simply press Z.
This pauses the game and displays a 3-D map of the current region, with your
current room centered and flashing. If you have not downloaded a map of the
region from a Map Station, only the rooms you have entered will be displayed.
If you have downloaded a map, then rooms you have not yet explored will be
displayed dimmer than explored rooms. Also, Light Aether rooms are colored
orange, while Dark Aether is purple. At the top of the screen the name of the
selected room will be displayed; these are the names used in this guide to
identify rooms. Finally, the number of Dark Temple Keys you have collected in
each region is indicated in the lower-right corner.
Other information displayed on the map includes your current location,
indicated by a green triangle, pointing in the direction you are facing. Doors
into and out of the selected room are displayed on the map as colored squares,
with the color indicating the type of door. Other locations displayed on the
map include an E for elevators, T for translator doors, P for portals, S for
Save Stations, and A for Ammo Stations. If the hint feature is enabled, a ?
will appear at the location you should head for next.
There are also a number of controls for the map, so that you can see exactly
what you want. If you do not need the legend or list of controls and don't want
them in the way, press Y to make them disappear. Use the Control Stick to
rotate the map (which can rotate in three dimensions), use L and R to zoom in
and out, and use the C Stick to select different rooms to view. Press X to
switch between the Light and Dark Aether views of the region. Finally, press
the A Button to zoom out and view the map for the entire world, where you can
select the map for a different region. Once you're done, press Z or B to return
to the game.
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III. W A L K T H R O U G H [III]
______ ______
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As stated in the introduction, this is a 100% walkthrough based on Normal
difficulty. If you follow this walkthrough, you will complete the game with a
100% complete file. Also, below each section title will be a box containing a
list of all the items and expansions you will find in that section. The numbers
listed for Missile Expansions, Energy Tanks, etc. correspond to the numbers in
the Expansions section (section IV). Whenever an item is collected or a Logbook
entry is mentioned for the first time, it will be written in all caps.
Hopefully this will make it easier for you to find things, either by scrolling
through the walkthrough or by searching for the term in all caps with the
"Match case" setting checked.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## A. TEMPLE GROUNDS [III.A]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Mission File 02546 [III.A.1]
\==============================================================================
|[Story] |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You are Samus Aran, the renowned bounty hunter who offers her services to the
Galactic Federation in their fight against the Space Pirates, a race of cruel
yet intelligent creatures bent on conquest and destruction. To aid and protect
her in her journeys, Samus wears a Power Suit made by the Chozo, the
highly-evolved race that raised Samus. In her last mission, Samus disrupted the
Space Pirates' operations on the planet Tallon IV, where they had been
experimenting with a dangerous substance known as Phazon that seriously harmed
the planet when it landed in a meteorite. At the end of her mission, Samus
entered the Impact Crater and defeated Metroid Prime, a highly evolved Metroid
that was the source of the Phazon.
Now Samus has been hired on a new mission. A squad of Federation troopers that
was investigating Space Pirate activity in a remote sector of the galaxy has
gone missing. Their last known whereabouts are a planet called Aether. Your job
is to discover what has happened to the troopers and give them any assistance
necessary.
As Samus approaches Aether in her gunship, you can see that the planet seems to
be unstable. Swirling purple bands or fields surround the planet, and there are
strong storms in the atmosphere. As Samus descends, she passes through one of
these storms, and is struck by a strong bolt of lightning. This causes damage
to her ship, and Samus is barely able to land it safely, crashing through the
ground to land in a rocky cavern. Having thus landed, um, gracefully, Samus
will emerge from her damaged ship and you will take control.
/==============================================================================
2. Go Out Fighting [III.A.2]
\==============================================================================
|[Temple Grounds South] |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The cavern you've landed in has several ruined pillars made of blocks scattered
around, as well as what look like tracks in the floor. There's a door across
from your ship, and also a ledge to the left. Unlike other Metroid games, you
actually begin the game fairly well equipped: you start off with the Space Jump
Boots, Charge Beam, 5 Missiles, Morph Ball, Bombs, and Boost Ball. After you've
gotten familiar with your equipment, switch to the Scan Visor (left on the
Control Pad). The Scan Visor has been upgraded since the last Metroid Prime,
and now scannable objects are shaded blue (normal), red (important or Logbook
entry), or green (already scanned). Scan the pillars to learn that they are
not functional but were apparently part of some sort of projection system;
obviously there is civilization on this planet. One pillar to the left appears
to be functional and has a purple crystal on front of it, but you can't get it
to operate with your current weaponry.
Before leaving, make sure to scan your ship, SAMUS'S GUNSHIP, which will allow
you to see that your ship is repairing itself, but it's going to be a while
before you'll be able to leave. This will be the first entry downloaded to your
Logbook, and you can see how the Scan Visor shows you which categories the
entry is being placed in, along with the percentage showing how close those
categories are to being full. After reading the information displayed in the
HUD, you can press Start to pause the game and read the entry in the Logbook;
this will usually, but not always, provide additional details. It's important
you scan your ship now if you want to completely fill your Logbook, because
later on the message will change and it will no longer count as a Logbook
entry. Once you've seen how to use the Scan Visor and downloaded your first
Logbook entry, switch back to the Combat Visor and approach the spiderweb-like
substance at the other end of the room. Shoot the object in the center to
destroy the spiderweb; after shooting several of them you'll reach a blue door.
Shoot the door to open it.
The door leads into a tunnel filled with strange plants with tentacles that
move around, and it will soon fork into two branches. To the left is a large
metal wall or gate with a purple grid-like symbol projected in front of it;
scan the gate to learn that you cannot get past it right now. That leaves you
only one way to go. The other branch of the path is dark and hazy, and leads to
a dark pit. There's nowhere else for you to go, so jump down the pit. You'll
land in a chamber with several small fires burning and cubical containers of
various sizes scattered about. By scanning you'll discover that the boxes are
Federation-issue crates; that means you're on the right track to find out what
happened to the missing troopers! If you want, you can break open the small
crates with a few shots from the Power Beam, but it will take a charged shot
(hold down A) or a Missile (Y) to destroy the large ones. If you needed any,
the crates would sometimes provide you with energy or ammo, but you should be
full right now.
There is also some larger equipment in the chamber: scans reveal that it is
part of a ventilation system converted into a pesticide dispenser; the corpse
of a large insect-like creature called a Splinter nearby was apparently killed
by the pesticide. At the back of the chamber is a metal gate blocking access to
a tunnel. Scan the GF GATE MK VI for another Logbook entry, then scan the
control panel to the left of the gate to remove the armor in front of the two
locks above the gate. Lock-on to the locks and fire at them to open the gate.
In the tunnel are more dead Splinters, and the exit is blocked by a different
type of gate. Look into an alcove to the right to find another control panel;
scan it to open the gate. As you can see, scanning is important for progressing
through the game, for understanding the story, and for learning details about
the various creatures and devices you will encounter.
Through the gate you'll reach another chamber filled with several computer
terminals. The information on the computers was written by the troopers, and
they state that they are under attack from "hostiles," presumably the dead
Splinters you've seen. The platform with a hologram of a map on it is a Map
Station, and you can step onto it to download a map of the area. The door out
of the room is blocked by another web, but as soon as you go through it you'll
get a shock: the bodies of several troopers are hanging from the ceiling, and
small insect-like creatures are crawling all over them! Make sure to scan one
of the creatures, or WORKER SPLINTERS, for a Logbook entry before you shoot
them all; you can also scan the troopers to learn how they died. It looks like
something very bad has happened to the troopers.
In the next room, the Command Chamber, you'll find more computer displays, but
this room is also littered with dead troopers and Splinters. In fact, there's
one trooper, GSGT C. BENET, near the entrance who died trying to reach for a
control panel. Switch to the Scan Visor and you'll see that this trooper is
colored red; that means you can scan him to download an entry from his journal
to your Logbook. The control panel he was reaching for, however, is unpowered.
Switch to the Morph Ball to roll underneath the metal bars blocking your path
to the other side of the room, where you'll find another trooper with a Logbook
entry. SPC B. REEVS will say what you may have already been realizing: that
these tunnels are not manmade, they are part of a hive. The troopers apparently
found themselves in the middle of a hive of Splinters, and have been fighting
for their lives. You'll see a few Worker Splinters scurry through a hole in the
wall; it's just large enough for the Morph Ball.
At the end of the tunnel you'll reach a small circular chamber with a
Federation device in the center, along with more dead troopers and Splinters.
Around the back you'll find a brown circular object. Scan it for a Logbook
entry and to learn that it is a BOMB SLOT, commonly used to power and activate
devices. To use the Bomb Slot, switch to Morph Ball form and lay a bomb in
front of the slot. Let the bomb detonate underneath you so that it bounces you
up into the slot. Once you're inside, lay another bomb. Once it goes off, the
power device will activate and will turn on the panel near the entrance.
But that's not all. All of a sudden, blobs of inky black material will appear
and will cover the corpses of some of the troopers! Once the substance is
inside the bodies, they will stand up and start walking towards you! The black
substance has somehow turned the dead troopers into zombies, and what's worse,
they'll start shooting at you! Quickly try to scan one so that the DARK
TROOPERS will be recorded in your Logbook, then lock-on to one and start
returning fire. You can jump and strafe to make it harder for them to hit you,
and one charged shot is all that's needed to stop them. Once you've killed them
all... again, I guess... roll back through the tunnel into the main part of the
room, where more of the black stuff will promptly appear, bringing more of the
troopers back to life. Take them out as fast as you can, grab any energy they
leave behind, then head back to where you entered the room and scan the
now-activated control panel. It will cause a gate to open, and what else would
be behind it then a few more Dark Troopers! Since they're in a tunnel, you can
let these come at you one at a time, and once you've gotten rid of them you're
done fighting zombified troopers for now. The next room contains nothing but a
bunch of crates where you can recover your health, and once you're refilled
continue on to the next room.
Whatever you were expecting when you entered Hive Chamber B, it probably wasn't
what you'll actually see. Inside, you'll see... you! Someone (or something) is
wearing a Power Suit that looks very similar to yours except that it is almost
completely black. After looking at you for a moment, the "Dark Samus" will
create a large spherical cloud of pulsating blackness and disappear into it!
First you see what looks like an evil copy of yourself, then it creates what
your Scan Visor describes as some sort of "dimensional rift" and disappears
into it! Well, there's nothing for it: you've got to find out who or what your
clone is, so follow it into the black cloud.
You'll emerge on the floor of a bare, rocky area surrounded by high, dark
cliffs, with a terrible-looking purple sky above. The spot you landed in is
next to a bright crystal on top of a pole, which casts a circle of white light
around it. Looking through the sphere of light, you can see the Dark Samus
standing in front of the cliffs. The cliff wall is covered in a bright blue
material that looks strangely familiar, and Dark Samus is somehow absorbing it
into her/his/itself. After a few moments, Dark Samus will notice you and fire
a shot at you. The shot will miss you, but it will shatter the light-giving
crystal. Dark Samus will then run away, but you'll be too busy realizing that
without the light of the crystal protecting you, the atmosphere itself is
damaging your Power Suit. At the same time, a number of hideous black creatures
with long, insect-like legs and faces consisting of a blotch of yellow and red
dots will appear along the edge of the cliff, looking down at you. Then, they
will leap down on you, and you will be unable to resist as they attack you.
Once the creatures are done with you, you will be thrown back out of the black
cloud, which will then disappear. Bruised and battered, your Power Suit will
notify you that several important components have been stolen by the creatures.
Your missiles, Space Jump Boots, bombs, along with other components you haven't
even had a chance to use yet on Aether are all gone. It seems that, in classic
Metroid style, you're going to have to set out to recover your stolen items
from the disgusting black creatures. What's more, you need to find out more
about Dark Samus. It was clear, though, that the material it was absorbing in
the parallel universe or wherever you were was Phazon, the radioactive
substance that caused the downfall of Tallon IV. On top of all that, Dark
Samus's black Power Suit closely resembles the Phazon Suit you wore at the end
of your mission on Tallon IV, and which Metroid Prime pulled off of you in its
death throes. At least, you thought they were its death throes... the Phazon,
the suit, it all seems to indicate that your evil twin is none other than
Metroid Prime! What started out as a simple search-and-rescue mission is
quickly becoming more and more complicated, and you haven't even reached the
first Save Station yet!
You almost have, though. Behind where the cloud was is a tunnel, but it is
blocked by another gate. There is a Morph Ball-sized pipe nearby, but it is
covered with a piece of Talloric Alloy that, since you no longer have bombs,
you cannot break. If you shoot the pods next to the pipe, though, you'll
uncover another pipe, this one uncovered. Roll through it to emerge on the
other side of the gate, although also in the middle of more Dark Troopers. Once
you kill them all, take a look around. The map says there are two doors out of
this room, but only one is visible. Head to where the map says the other one
should be and you'll find a stack of crates against the wall. Shoot them all
(you'll need the Charge Beam to destroy the large ones) to uncover a door
behind them. Through it is a Save Station; step into it to save your game and
refill your energy.
/==============================================================================
3. Make Our Stand [III.A.3]
\==============================================================================
|[Temple Grounds East] |
|o Missile Launcher |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
After you save, exit out of the other door to reach an elevator platform. Scan
the panel, then step into the hologram to activate it. At the top, you'll see
that you're on the other side of the large door with the purple hologram you
saw before you fell into the hive. At the other end of the tunnel is a door,
and it leads out of the Splinter hive.
As soon as you enter the Industrial Site, you'll have to scan and shoot the
locks on another gate, but once it opens you can step out into the open air.
You'll notice while you're outside that the sky will alternate between clear,
sunny skies and threatening purple clouds, similar to the ones you saw while
in the place where your gear was stolen. It seems that something about Aether
is out of the ordinary.
The area is littered with Federation crates, and there is also a large crate
attached to a crane sitting on the ground. In fact, the crate blocks access to
the other side of the room, but scan the control panel to the left and the
crane will lift the crate, transporting it out of the room. Once you walk past
it, three creatures will pop out of the ground and start trying to attack you!
These are SPLINTERS, although they seem smaller than the dead ones you saw in
the hive. Make sure to scan one, then fire a few shots at each of them to kill
them. There's another door with the same purple hologram in this room, but you
can jump onto a ledge to the right that wraps around the edge of the room;
there's a harmless GREEN KRALEE on the path that you can scan and kill if you
want. (By this point you should be getting in the habit of scanning any time
you see a new creature, and I'm going to stop reminding you.) The path ends
across from a GF BRIDGE. Scan it for a Logbook entry, then, like with the
gates, scan the panel and shoot the locks on top to lower the bridge. There's a
door out of the room across the bridge.
The door leads into a tunnel where you'll find the body of a trooper crushed in
rubble. Scan PFC M. VERONI for his log entry (he thinks one of the other
troopers is going crazy), then roll through the Morph Ball tunnel to reach the
other side. When you enter the next room, Temple Assembly Site, you'll see the
crate you lifted in the Industrial Site will arrive and will attach to another
crane. There are more crates and equipment in this room, as well as a platform
in front of another hologram door. More Splinters will appear when you approach
the platform, and once they're gone you can scan the control panel behind one
of the short columns surrounding the platform. The panel will cause the crane
to start to lower the crate, but the winch will malfunction, leaving the crate
hanging in the air. You'll also see a weak spot in the cable; lock-on and fire
at it to snap the cable and drop the crate. Now you can use the crate as a
bridge to reach another ledge with a door.
Inside the tunnel, you'll have to scan a computer terminal to open another
gate, but this is a GF GATE MK VII, so make sure to scan it. Also, when the
gate in front of you opens another one behind you will close, and this can't be
undone, so backtracking is not an option for you right now. Behind the gate is
the Communication Area, where you can see a Federation communications dish
built high above, along with a white tower that must have been built by
whatever race inhabits this planet, although you haven't seen any of them yet.
Follow the path around the high ledges to the left, then around the fence,
where you'll find PFC L. BROUDA on the ground in front of a control panel. Scan
the panel to activate the dish, but it will be useless since the atmosphere is
blocking the distress signal. Continue around the other side of the fence, and
in a small chamber in front of the door you'll meet three more Dark Troopers.
It's harder to avoid damage here since it's so cramped, but try to take them
out as fast as you can.
Inside is the Trooper Security Station, which contains not only some Splinters
but also a ceiling-mounted automated gun, called a GROWLER CLASS TURRET. Strafe
and move around to avoid its shots, and respond with charged shots to destroy
it. The way out is blocked by a gate, but the control panel for it behind a
fence. Roll through a Morph Ball tunnel to the right of the fence to reach the
panel as well as SPC M. ANGSETH. Reading the trooper's log, you'll realize that
you are something of a hero for her! While still reveling in your celebrity,
roll back to the gate. The gate is malfunctioning, causing it to keep going up
and down, so roll through in the Morph Ball to avoid being crushed.
As soon as you enter the next room, you'll see a large spaceship ahead, and
when you approach and see the dead troopers strewn about, you'll realize that
this was the Federation ship. There's a terminal in front of the ship; when you
interface with it you'll see the captain's final log entry describing what
happened. He'll describe how they chased a Space Pirate frigate that was
heading for Aether, but the ship was damaged (like yours) while landing, and so
they started to repair the ship and set up a base. Then, creatures that look
like Splinters except that they are black started appearing in swarms, and they
completely overwhelmed the troopers. It's a sad story, but now you're realizing
that the situation on this planet is getting pretty complex: apparently there
are Space Pirates on Aether, not to mention Dark Samus, as well as the dark
creatures that seem to be attacking from some sort of alternate universe. After
you finish watching the log, turn around and you'll see a large yellow crate
behind the terminal. Destroy it with the Charge Beam and you'll find the
MISSILE LAUNCHER inside! That's one item recovered, but you only have five
missiles right now, so you need to conserve them. As soon as you get the
Missile Launcher, four creatures will emerge from purple circles that appear
out of nowhere and start attacking! These are DARK SPLINTERS, Splinters that
have been possessed by another lifeform similar to the Dark Troopers, and
these are the same creatures that killed the troopers. They are basically the
same as regular Splinters except that they are stronger: it will take about two
charged shots to bring one down.
Once all the Dark Splinters are gone and you have grabbed any energy or missile
ammo left behind, you can begin scanning all the troopers around the ship. You
can get all but one entry of the Force 1 category of the Trooper Logs on the
ground around the ship, a total of five scans. The troopers are: CAPT A.
EXETER, SPC F. TRIPLETTE, PFC G. HALEY, PFC J. BRODE, and PFC S. MILLIGAN. You
can also scan the ship, the GFS TYR, for another Logbook entry. Enter the ship,
and you can see the empty seats that each represent a lost life. Behind the
door in the ship is another Map Station that will provide you with a map of the
rest of the Temple Grounds. To leave the room, jump from an opening on the left
side of the ship, near a small fire, to a higher ledge. At the end of the ledge
you can see the final Force 1 entry above you: you can't reach it, but you can
scan it; apparently PFC I. CRANY is more sceptical of your existence. Next,
scan the metal circle on the ground for a Logbook entry; you only have a
limited number of chances for this one, so go ahead and get it now. Now scan
the panel to activate the KINETIC ORB CANNON and roll into it in Morph Ball
form to get shot to a ledge across the room. From here you can jump down to
another ledge below you with a door on it. The door is protected by a red Blast
Shield, which means it can only be opened with a missile. There's also a Morph
Ball tunnel next to the door, but it just leads to a yellow door (which you
can't open).
In the next room you'll find PFC E. DENYS, who should be the last Trooper Log
entry. Roll through the tunnel to the right to drop down to a lower level
containing WAR WASPS. These can be really annoying, so lock-on to them and try
to kill them as fast as possible. To get out of this room, look up and find a
control panel on a ledge above you. Scan it to activate a cannon that will
shoot you up to the door.
As soon as you enter the next room, Sacred Path, you'll be attacked by more War
Wasps; once you take them out destroy their WAR WASP HIVE with a missile, but
not before you scan it for a Logbook entry. There are several more hives in
this room, and if you don't destroy them they'll continually send War Wasps
after you. To the left of the door you entered by is a large tower with a weak
section of wall. Fire a missile at it to partially damage it, then use the
cannon across the room (the control panel is against the wall next to it; it
can be easy to miss) to blast through the remains. Roll through a gap in the
tower wall to roll along a track that will lead you onto the high ledge at the
other side of the room. Next to the door into a giant tube-like structure is a
dead alien. You don't recognize this species, but it appears intelligent.
Inside the door is a tiny room containing nothing but a control panel and a
circular platform. Scan the panel to activate the elevator, step into the
hologram in the center to travel high up above the Temple Grounds.
/==============================================================================
4. Light of Aether [III.A.4]
\==============================================================================
|[Great Temple, Temple Grounds East] |
|o Energy Transfer Module |
|o Energy Tank 01 |
|o Missile Expansion 03 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
At the top of the elevator, you'll see more dead aliens on the partially ruined
steps, and it appears they died in battle. In the following passage, you'll see
cables leading through a crack in the wall to the left; roll through the hole
to find a Save Station. Once you've saved and refilled your energy, go through
the door at the end of the hallway.
The door leads to a large, beautiful room made mostly of glass, and with a
circle of pillars surrounding the center of the room. Once you step inside the
pillars, a force field will appear behind them and Splinters will start to drop
down from a hive in the ceiling above you. Before they begin to attack, though,
another cloud of black matter will emerge from the hive and infect the
Splinters, turning them all into Dark Splinters. The best way to fight the Dark
Splinters is to lock-on to one and continually fire at it while at the same
time constantly moving. If you just keep firing at one Dark Splinter while
walking around the room, you shouldn't get hit very often. You can also use
your radar to help you see if there any Splinters behind you that you need to
avoid. Be careful while fighting the Dark Splinters, though; you want to
conserve as much damage as possible.
Once all the Dark Splinters are gone, a much larger Splinter will drop from the
hive: this is an ALPHA SPLINTER, the leader of the hive. It also attacks by
jumping at you, but its jumps are much faster and more powerful. When you see
it rear back, it's just about to jump. Dash to the side (press B while pushing
the Control Stick left or right) to avoid the attack. After jumping at you, the
Alpha Splinter will jump back to the other side of the arena. It may take a few
tries to get the timing down to avoid the jump attack, but if you can't dodge
it, it will be difficult to survive the fight. Throughout the fight, keep
firing charged blasts at the Alpha Splinter.
After about a minute of this, though, another black cloud will appear and start
moving towards the Alpha Splinter. Fire as many shots as you can at the Alpha
Splinter before the cloud gets there, because once it does the Alpha Splinter
will become the DARK ALPHA SPLINTER. The Dark Alpha Splinter will keep doing
the jump attack, but it will also fire bursts of purple energy at you. The shot
is fairly easy to avoid by moving around and jumping, and keep dashing the jump
attack. Keep a steady stream of charged shots aimed at the Dark Alpha Splinter
and you can watch its energy meter gradually drain. If your energy starts to
get low, don't forget that you can use your missiles, too. They do about as
much damage as a charged shot, but they're faster, so they are good to use if
both you and the Dark Splinter are close to death.
Once you succeed in killing the Dark Splinter, a glowing blue ball will emerge
from its dead body. When you approach it, it will fly around the room before
flying right into your chest! Electricity will spark all over your Power Suit,
but the unidentified item will not hurt you. Hopefully you can find out what it
is soon. After the force field lowers you'll see that there are doors in each
side of the room, but three of them (including the one you came in by) are
the large metal hologram doors. Scan the walls to learn that behind them are a
number of hibernetic stasis chambers - that's interesting. Go through the only
door available to you to reach an elevator platform.
At the top is a room open to the sky and with a large piece of metal equipment
in the center of the room. Above it is a huge container full of bright, yellow
light. As you take all this in, you'll see one of the aliens standing to the
side, but this one's not dead. It will greet you and tell you its name: U-MOS,
Sentinel of the Luminoth. He will tell you some of the story of what has
happened on Aether. It began when a meteor crashed on the planet, with an
impact so powerful it caused a rift that created two separate versions of
Aether, each existing in its own dimension. The first, inhabited by the
Luminoth, was full of light and peace. But the new Aether was dark and hostile,
inhabited by evil creatures that cared only for destruction. The Luminoth
called these new creatures the Ing, and so began a war that lasted for decades.
(You will recognize the Ing as the creatures that stole your equipment.)
Now the Luminoth have been almost defeated. When Dark Aether was created, the
planetary energy of Aether was divided between the light and dark worlds. If
one world loses its energy, it will be destroyed. The Ing stole a device
designed by the Luminoth to transfer energy, and with it have almost destroyed
Light Aether. But you have just recovered that device, the Energy Transfer
Module, the blue ball that appeared after you killed the Dark Alpha Splinter.
Now only you can save the Luminoth, by transferring the planetary energy from
temples on Dark Aether back to Light Aether. If you do not, then after the Ing
conquer Light Aether they will move on to other worlds, putting numerous
planets, perhaps even your own, at risk. U-Mos will then update your Translator
Module so that you can access devices and doors with Violet holograms. He will
warn you that since the Ing know you have the Energy Transfer Module, they will
do all they can to stop you. Finally, he will conclude his monologue with a
blessing, "May the Light of Aether shine upon you!"
All you originally came here for was to find the troopers, but your mission has
now grown much larger. Now, in order to both avenge the troopers and save the
Luminoth, it looks like you must go after the Ing. And don't forget about Dark
Samus or the Space Pirates, either. When you finish listening to U-Mos, he will
refill your energy, restoring the energy lost from the battle with the
Splinters. Scan both U-Mos and the Energy Controller behind him for Logbook
entries, then turn to leave. There is a violet hologram next to the door, and
since U-Mos upgraded your translator module you can now scan it for a Logbook
entry. This is a piece of Luminoth Lore, entitled ORIGINS, describing how the
Luminoth originally wandered among the stars, meeting many races (including the
Chozo) but having no homeworld. They finally decided that, like other races,
they should find a planet to call their own.
Return to the Temple Sanctuary, and find the translator door with the violet
hologram. Scan it to open it and learn that it is the "Pathway to Agon." In the
hallway behind the door are several LIGHTFLYERS, blobs of yellow light that
fire streams of light energy at you. Just don't get close and fire a couple
charged shots at them to destroy them. At the end of the hall is another
elevator chamber leading back down to the Temple Grounds. You'll have to open
another translator door when you reach the bottom, and it leads into the Temple
Assembly Site, a room you already passed through. You'll have to fight a group
of Splinters here, although a cloud will appear that will soon turn them into
Dark Splinters. Try to kill as many as possible before they transform. Once
they're all dead, look for a door with a red blast shield. You can destroy it
with a Missile, and behind it you'll find an ENERGY TANK! This will give you an
additional 100 units of energy, meaning you now have 199 units of energy.
Head back through Collapsed Tunnel to the Industrial Site, where you'll find
another translator door that you can now open. Just behind the door you'll see
a dead Luminoth, and make sure to scan it. Its final journal entry will be
downloaded to your Logbook as J-FME'S TESTAMENT in a section called "Keybearer
Lore". The door leads to a glass walkway over a cliff, and at the end you'll
find the elevator to Agon Wastes. Don't step onto the elevator just yet,
though. The elevator is located next to a cliff; if you walk to the edge of the
cliff and look to the right, you'll see another Luminoth Lore entry, OUR
HERITAGE (this one describes how the Luminoth finally find Aether and make it
their homeworld). Also, across from the elevator is one of the spiderwebs
created by the Splinters. Shoot the sac in the center of it, and behind it
you'll find a MISSILE EXPANSION. This will allow you to carry 5 more Missiles,
and is the first of 49 hidden all over Aether. Now, scan the control panel and
ride the elevator to Agon Wastes.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## B. AGON WASTES [III.B]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Fertile Plains [III.B.1]
\==============================================================================
|[Agon Wastes West] |
|o Morph Ball Bombs |
|o Missile Expansion 11 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It won't take you long after you step off the elevator to realize that this is
a desert environment. In the first couple of rooms, make sure to get the scans
for the AGON BEARERPOD, LUMITE, and SANDGRASS. When you reach the end of the
straight passage, you'll enter the Mining Plaza, a large room with a large
central pillar or tower in the center, ledges and doors around the sides. At
the top of the central rock is a sculpture, and there is some industrial
equipment in the room. As soon as you step on the lower ground in front of the
door, a SANDIGGER, a large worm-like creature, will spring up out of the sand
and start slithering rather quickly towards you. Jump out of the way, and fire
at whichever end has a bright light showing while you avoid the bursts of acid
it will fire at you. Once you destroy both of its heads, it will die in a
rather messy explosion.
Head around the room to the right and you'll see a ledge with a missile door.
Open the door to find a Save Station inside, so make sure to use it. Continuing
to the right around Mining Plaza, you'll run into a second Sandigger, and past
it a translator door, except the hologram on this one is yellow, so you can't
open it. Where the second Sandigger was, there's a ledge that leads up to a
ramp up to a cracked Brinstone pillar. Shoot the pillar with a missile and it
will fall over, creating a bridge to a ledge partway up the central pillar.
You'll see a yellow Lore hologram on the ledge, but since it's yellow it's
inaccessible to you. At the end of the ledge is another Brinstone pillar, and
once you knock it down a swarm of SANDBATS will start flying in a circle around
the pillar. Get rid of them by manually aiming somewhere in their path and
firing as fast as you can; you need to kill most of them because they'll knock
you off the pillar. The second Brinstone bridge leads up to another ramp where
you can reach the top of the central rock. There's a bridge (with more Sandbats
around it) that leads to a door.
The door leads to a Morph Ball tunnel, and the tunnel goes through an
oval-shaped structure. You can see a cannon underneath a block below you and
you can hear the characteristic hum of an item, but there's no way for you to
destroy that block now, so you'll have to go on. At the other end of the
tunnel you'll enter Mining Station A. After rounding a corner surrounded by
large machinery, you'll see a room containing several artificial columns and
more ledges along the walls. You'll also see Space Pirates! Three PIRATE
TROOPERS will appear and will (of course) begin to attack you. Make sure to
scan one, but keep moving to avoid their fire, and use the columns for cover if
you can. Two charged shots will kill a Pirate Trooper. Don't forget to look up
at the ledges and the tops of the pillars if you're being fired on from above.
The Federation troopers came here in pursuit of Space Pirates, and now you have
found them. Once the Pirate Troopers are dead, head over to the ledge on the
right side of the room (with your back to the door you came in by). There's a
door there, but don't go through it yet. At the end of the ledge is a BRIZGEE,
a mostly harmless creature that just wanders around on ledges. You can kill it
with a missile and a few Power Beam shots. From the ledge, jump to the nearest
column, then use the columns to reach the door on the other side of the room.
This door leads to a decorated, purple-colored hallway. As you walk down the
hallway, several flying creatures will let out a high-pitched shriek and start
flying towards you. These are SHRIEKBATS, and rapidly lock-on and fire a shot
at each of them in turn to kill them all before they slam into you. At the end
of the hallway you'll reach the Agon Temple, a giant circular arena. There are
paths that curve around to the left and right from the door, but go straight
ahead into the center of the arena.
When you do, a door will rise out of the ground behind you, locking you in.
Then a giant Sandigger will appear! This is the ALPHA SANDIGGER, and make sure
to scan it immediately, because this is your only chance and it won't be around
long. Even before it really has much chance to attack, an Ing cloud will
appear and possess the Sandigger, transforming it into the BOMB GUARDIAN. It
still looks like a Sandigger, but it now has the ability to create and throw
bombs. This must be one of the Ing that stole your equipment soon after you
arrived! This Ing stole your Morph Ball Bombs, and now you'll have to defeat it
in order to get them back! As the Bomb Guardian moves around the arena, it
will leave a trail of bombs. It will also pause occasionally and fire a few
bombs straight at you. Most of the bombs can be avoided by constantly moving
and jumping. Lock-on to the guardian's glowing tail and keep a steady stream of
fire at it to do a little bit of damage. This isn't the main way to defeat the
Bomb Guardian, though, since it will only glow yellow, not red, when it gets
hit. What you're waiting for is the Bomb Guardian to stop and for its head to
start glowing blue. When it does, fire a charged shot or missile at its head.
This will do major damage to the Bomb Guardian, taking about 1/4 of its energy
meter. If you don't hit it, though, it will spew a ton of bombs into the air
and they will land all over the arena. It's very hard to avoid taking any
damage when this happens, so make sure to hit the Bomb Guardian before it
unloads the attack. After four of these hits, the Bomb Guardian will die, and
the MORPH BALL BOMBS will be yours!
Use your newly-regained Bombs to destroy the doors trapping you in the arena
(Bombs can destroy material made of Talloric Alloy) and go through the door on
the far side of the Agon Temple. Activate the Bomb Slot in the statue in the
next room and the walls will rotate, allowing to enter a door on the other
side. This door leads to the Agon Energy Controller, and it looks similar to
the Energy Controller in the Great Temple, except that this one does not have
any light shining out of the giant container; it is empty. Behind the ENERGY
CONTROLLER is the body of a dead Luminoth and a yellow projector. Scan the
projector to activate a recorded message from the Agon Sentinel, whose body is
lying next to you. The Sentinel will tell you that there is a portal to Dark
Aether nearby, and that you need to find the temple in Dark Aether, where its
Energy Controller is. He'll also explain that the entrance to the temple is
locked, and that you will need to find three keys in Dark Aether in order to
enter. Next, the Sentinel will warn you that the air of Dark Aether is
dangerous, and that you should use Light Crystals placed by the Luminoth for
protection. Finally, he will upgrade your translator module so that you can
read Amber holograms and refill your energy. Once the message has ended, look
for a passage along the side with a Lore hologram in it. Since you can now
translate yellow holograms, you can scan this entry, SAVING AETHER, describing
how the Luminoth built the Energy Controllers to regulate their supply of
planetary energy.
Now you can return to the Agon Temple, where you'll find that the central arena
is now home to several War Wasp hives. Oh goodie. If you explore the paths
around the circumference of the temple, you'll find that there are two doors on
either side, one white and other black, and that you can't open either of them.
Return to Mining Station A (which has no more Pirates), then go through the
door you passed earlier, on the ledge with the Brizgee. Let the cannon shoot
you up and over the wall, then drop down to the other side. Before heading on,
though, stop and roll behind the metal grating, avoiding the cannon, to get a
MISSILE EXPANSION behind the body of a Luminoth. Now go through the door to
enter a long room called Portal Terminal. Two Pirate Troopers will be there,
and once you kill them two more will appear. These Pirates, however, will be
possessed by Ing, and will become DARK PIRATE TROOPERS. Dark Pirate Troopers
attack like regular Pirate Troopers, but they take twice as much damage to
kill, making them dangerous enemies.
Once all the Pirates are gone, a Bomb Slot at the top of the ramp, next to the
circular structure, will turn on. Collect any energy the Pirates left, then
head down the passage to the left of the ramp to find a Lore entry, LIGHT OF
AETHER. Now go up the ramp and investigate. By scanning one of the red circles
on the circular device, you'll learn that it can generate a portal to
Dark Aether, but it's not powered. This must be the portal that the Sentinel
told you about. To get into the Bomb Slot, lay a Bomb underneath you. When it
goes off, it will pop you up into the air, and you will get into the Bomb Slot;
this is called a bomb jump. When you activate the Bomb Slot, power will start
flowing through cables in the floor, and a conveyor belt in the wall to the
right will start moving. Roll into the opening and the conveyor belt will carry
you up into a Morph Ball tunnel in the wall. Roll along the tunnel, using bomb
jumps as necessary, to reach a block at the end. When you bomb it, it will
cause a platform to move into place in the air. This will also disturb a War
Wasp hive, so roll out of the tunnel, kill the wasps, then use the platform to
jump to the other side, where you'll find another Morph Ball tunnel. Follow
this tunnel to move a second platform into place, leading to a third tunnel.
Before you enter this tunnel, though, scan the black creature you can see
rolling around inside it. This is a PILLBUG, a creature found only in Morph
Ball tunnels, so this is one of the few places where you can scan it. Inside
the tunnel, you can stun the Pillbug with a bomb, and kill it with a couple
more.
Once you move the third platform into place, sunlight will stream through the
lenses in the platforms and focus on the portal, powering it fully. Now return
to the portal and scan the red circle next to it. The portal will activate,
creating a cloud of pulsating dark purple matter. When you step into the
portal, you'll make the interdimensional journey from Light to Dark Aether.
/==============================================================================
2. Dimensional Rifts [III.B.2]
\==============================================================================
|[Dark Agon Wastes West] |
|o Space Jump Boots |
|o Dark Agon Temple Key 1 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When you complete the journey to Dark Aether, you will find yourself standing
in a room that looks very similar to Portal Terminal, and yet different. The
basic layout of the room is practically identical to what it was on Light
Aether, but the room is much darker now and is dotted with several spheres of
bright light, one of which you are standing in. If you step out of the sphere
of light you will begin taking damage at a very fast rate. As you had been
warned, the very air of Dark Aether is damaging to you, and the only areas of
protection are the glowing Safe Zones, which will not only protect you from the
atmosphere, they will slowly refill your energy as long as you stand in them.
Outside the portal generator you'll see several black, blade-shaped lifeforms.
These are BLADEPODS, and they function just like crates in Dark Aether. Step
out of the Safe Zone and quickly run to the next one at the bottom of the ramp,
which is generated by a LIGHT CRYSTAL. There are no other Safe Zones nearby,
but there is a small sparkling ball in the air. This is a LIGHT BEACON, and
when you shoot it it will create a temporary Safe Zone. You'll know the Safe
Zone is about to disappear when it begins to flash. From there you can reach
another Light Crystal (don't forget to scan them for Logbook entries), and then
another next to a Bomb Slot on the left side of the room. You may have noticed
a half-visible Bomb Slot in this location on Light Aether, but it didn't work
because half of it is in both worlds. However, when it is activated here it
will also be activated in Light Aether. Do so, and a gate next to it will
lower. Keep in mind that the same has probably happened in Light Aether, so be
sure to investigate it when you return.
Run through the gate, and you'll find a Light Beacon waiting for you just
inside the door. Continue to a Light Crystal in the center of the room, where
several black puddles are moving around on the floors and walls, occasionally
solidifying into stubby creatures that will fire a shot of black matter at you.
These are INGLETS, and this is the first time you have encountered Ing in their
natural form, not like in Light Aether where they possess other creatures.
There's not a whole lot you can do to avoid their shots other than jump around
a lot and try to kill them as fast as possible. Note that you can damage them
while they are in "puddle" form, although you can't lock-on to them then. Once
they're all dead, you can just stand in the Safe Zone for a little bit if you
want to recover some energy. In the next room you'll find more Inglets, but
past them a Save Station as well as a swarm of NIGHTBARBS, which are very
similar to Sandbats.
Past the Save Station is a door leading to Duelling Range, the Dark Aether
equivalent of Mining Plaza. When you enter the Safe Zone there, a large Ing
with long, angular legs, an insect-like body, and a face made up of a blotch of
orange and yellow dots will appear and attack. This is a WARRIOR ING, the same
type of Ing that stole your equipment in your first, brief visit to Dark
Aether. Warrior Ing are very common across all of Dark Aether, so you'd better
get good at fighting them, because they are strong opponents. First off, make
sure to stay in your Safe Zone; otherwise the atmosphere will kill you faster
than the Ing. At close range, the Warrior Ing will attempt to slash you with
its legs. When it tries to do this, jump back. Its other attack is to fire
several beams of white energy at you. This attack is easier to avoid by jumping
and strafing if you see it coming, but if you're not prepared for it you will
probably get hurt. And like all Ing, the Warrior Ing can dissolve into a puddle
and move over floors and walls. To fight back, just keep pounding at it with
charged Power Beam shots or missiles. There are more effective weapons to use
against the Ing, but right now these are all you've got. Just attack as hard
and as fast as you can while dodging its attacks, and you'll eventually kill
it.
Once the Warrior Ing is dead, you need to get out of the room. You can easily
reach a Safe Zone to the left of the one you fought the Ing from, but once you
reach it there appear to be no more nearby, making it deadly to continue
without the protection of a Safe Zone. There is, however, a small creature
walking back and forth along the path ahead. This creature has several crystals
on its back that give out a light similar to that created by Light Crystals.
This is a LIGHTBRINGER, and you should scan it now, since it only appears a few
times. A Lightbringer is basically a moving Safe Zone. Simply wait for it to
approach you, then follow it as it walks up the path until you can reach the
next Safe Zone. At the top of the path, you'll see a circle of light greenish
light behind bars. You'll need to use another Lightbringer to cross the bridge
just before you reach the door out of the room. After rolling through the Morph
Ball tunnel in the next room, in which you'll have to pass another Missile
Expansion, you'll enter Judgment Pit.
When you enter Judgment Pit, you'll meet another Warrior Ing, but this one is
special. This is the Ing who stole your Space Jump Boots, making him the JUMP
GUARDIAN. Basically, the Jump Guardian has all the abilities of a normal
Warrior Ing, but he can also jump extremely high and far, and when he lands he
will create damaging shock waves. The strategies for fighting the Jump Guardian
are mostly similar to the Warrior Ing, with a few additions due to his jumping
ability. First, make sure to jump over the shock waves, since they can
definitely hurt you. Next, the Jump Guardian cannot be damaged just before he
jumps, while he is in the air, and just after he lands. Other than those times,
though, keep firing charged shots or missiles at the Jump Guardian to steadily
whittle down his energy meter. When he is near death, the Jump Guardian will
start jumping a whole lot more, making him harder to hit. Once this happens,
just fire single shots as fast as you can to hit him whenever you get a chance
and drain off the rest of his energy. Once you succeed, the SPACE JUMP BOOTS
will be yours! Now you can perform a double jump by pressing B again while in
the air.
You'll need your new Space Jump Boots to jump up the ledges around Judgment
Pit. You should head for the red door, which leads to the Dark Agon Temple. You
can see that it mostly resembles the temple on Light Agon with its large
circular arena, but access to the central arena is blocked by a gate with three
oval indentations in it. This is the gate that the three keys will unlock, and
you will need to find those three keys before returning here. Before leaving,
though, follow the path around to the left, where there are Safe Zones. You'll
reach a door, and inside is a tiny chamber containing a red oval inside several
black rings. This is a DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY, one of the three keys needed to
unlock the gate into the center of Dark Agon Temple, and it will be displayed
in the lower-right corner of the map screen to show that you have collected it.
Your first sojourn in Dark Aether is almost over now, and all that remains is
to return to Portal Site. Start by returning to Dark Judgment, and this time
go through the door on the lower level. This leads to Portal Access, and you
may be scared when you see that there are no Light Crystals or Light Beacons in
this room. There is, however, a Lightflyer. Kill it as fast as you can, and
when it dies it will create a temporary Safe Zone. Double jump up to the top of
the ledge, stand in the Safe Zone to recover some energy, then head on through
the door on the other side to reach Portal Site. Quickly head for the large
Safe Zone to regain some energy, then head back to the portal generator and use
it to generate a LIGHT PORTAL. You can scan it for a Research entry, then step
into it to return to Light Aether.
/==============================================================================
3. Stealth Protocols [III.B.3]
\==============================================================================
|[Agon Wastes East] |
|o Dark Beam |
|o Energy Tanks 5,7 |
|o Missile Expansions 10,13,15,16 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as you return to Light Aether, three Space Pirates will appear in
Portal Terminal, so be ready to fight them. After they're dead and you've
collected the energy they leave behind, head to the far left side of the room,
where the transparent Bomb Slot is. Since you activated the Bomb Slot in Dark
Aether, the gate has been lowered, so go through the door behind it. This leads
to Transport Center, a room with smooth, curved walls on either side. To get
past the room, activate the Bomb Slot in the room to lower the gate; this will
also allow you to pick up a MISSILE EXPANSION. (This has got to be the easiest
expansion in the game.) Past Transport Center, scan the BLUEROOT TREE for a
Research entry, then roll through the fast-moving sand tunnel to reach the Save
Station off of Mining Plaza. Once you save and return to Mining Plaza, you can
open the translator door in the room now. After the door has been opened, lay a
bomb next to the weak spot in the wall to reveal a tunnel that leads to a Map
Station, allowing you to download a complete map of Agon Wastes. You can also
scan the lore hologram on the central pillar entitled PARADISE, which describes
the ideal conditions on Aether prior to the meteor and the Ing.
Cross the bridge and enter the Morph Ball tunnel you passed through earlier.
Lay a Bomb on the block in the center of the oval to destroy it, causing you to
fall into the cannon underneath it. The cannon will shoot you up into a small
chamber containing an ENERGY TANK! In the next room, Mining Station A, you can
open another translator door on one of the upper ledges to reveal a door to
Sand Cache, where you'll find another MISSILE EXPANSION. In order to proceed
further in Agon Wastes, you need to reach the areas beyond Mining Station A. To
do that, jump onto the orange statue in the middle of the sand stream in front
of the gate, then jump onto the ledge on the other side. This ledge will lead
you up to an elevated walkway in front of the gate. Here you'll find another
Lore entry and a control panel that will open the gate.
Beyond the gate is a tunnel, and ahead you'll see several Pirate Troopers
standing next to some cylindrical containers full of a bright blue material
that looks suspiciously like Phazon. To test your suspicions and take out the
Pirates at once, fire a charged shot at one of the canisters (from a distance).
They will explode violently, killing the Pirates. At the end of the tunnel,
you'll enter another open area with several structures and ledges built on it;
this is Central Mining Station. The area has obviously already sustained
damage; a large hole has been blown through a wall across the room, with
flaming debris still scattered around. This is obviously a major part of the
Space Pirates' operations here, and three Pirate Troopers will arrive on a
skiff as soon as you arrive (don't forget to scan the PIRATE SKIFF). Use the
walls, crates, and windmills for cover as you battle the Pirates, but don't let
your guard down. As soon as you kill the first three Pirates, two more will
appear to continue the fight. And once those are gone, two Pirates will appear
on an upper ledge in order to man two large cannons that will fire powerful
green blasts at you. Make sure to scan these VIGILANCE CLASS TURRETS. These
turrets fire very strong blasts, so it's important to keep moving and stay
under as much cover as you can. It will take three missiles or charged shots to
destroy each turret. Once both turrets are destroyed, the battle will finally
be over and the lasers blocking a door on the ground level will turn off.
Through the door is an empty hallway. Although you can't open the door at the
end of the hallway, there are several weak spots in the floor. Bomb one of the
weak spots, then drop down in Morph Ball form to roll through a tunnel that
appears to be made of organic matter. Roll underneath the door to reach a large
room with numerous computer terminals and displays, along with a Dark Portal
generator! While you roll through the twisting tunnels underneath the floor,
avoiding the electricity that arcs across your path in some spots, the portal
will be opened and a group of Space Pirates will go through into Dark Aether!
Pay attention when you're in the center of the room near where the Pirates were
standing, because there's another tunnel off to the right. Follow this tunnel
to reach a MISSILE EXPANSION. Return to the main tunnel, and at the end you'll
reach a small alcove in a corner of the room. Once you exit Morph Ball form,
you'll see that there are a few Space Pirates left in the room, and one will
jump behind a large solid gate that will close in front of him.
Kill the two Pirate Troopers in the room, then take a look around. Across from
the inactive portal is the door you couldn't open and had to roll underneath,
and in front of this door are four computer terminals. Scan these terminals to
download Space Pirate Logs to your Logbook, similar to the Trooper Logs you
found when you first arrived. There are similar clusters of computers on the
left and right sides of the rooms underneath the holographic displays of AETHER
and DARK AETHER. All in all, you can download LOG 44681, LOG 48853, LOG 50086,
LOG 54421, and LOG 62217 to your Logbook. After reading all this information,
you will have a pretty good picture of the Space Pirates' activities on Aether.
Apparently they arrived on Aether after detecting Phazon on the planet. They
established a base, but came under attack by the Ing. After discovering a
portal in their base and opening it using a "Dark Beam" weapon they found, they
saw that the Phazon they were looking for was on Dark Aether. They have been
attempting to mine the Phazon from Dark Aether, but the atmosphere, the Ing,
and the "Dark Hunter" (Dark Samus) have all been hampering their efforts. Some
of the displays also make it clear that the Space Pirates have Metroids with
them.
After you finish absorbing all this, use the elevator to the right of the
portal to reach an upper-level walkway. Another trooper will appear on the
walkway, and just before you reach the door yet another trooper will fire at
you through the broken windows of a detached upper-level chamber. After killing
both troopers, go through the door. Inside the tunnel that follows, you'll see
Dark Samus appear! She will materialize inside a circular chamber, and a gate
will spring up as soon as she appears. After you stare each other in the eyes
for a moment, Dark Samus will rapidly float back down the tunnel, leaving you
stunned... and nervous. There's no way for you to open the gate, but there is
another tunnel to the right. This tunnel leads to the upper-level chamber above
Command Center, where one of the computer terminals will open the large gate in
this room. You'll have to go back through the tunnel to get back to the main
part of Command Center, then go through the door behind the gate. In the
hallway you'll encounter two ceiling-mounted turrets, HUMILITY CLASS TURRETS to
be specific, that are very similar to the turrets you encountered in the
Splinter Hive. Destroy them with a charged shot or missile, then use the Morph
Ball to roll past the moving lasers (roll through when they are moving away
from you).
In the next room, you'll see two Pirates in the room, but they will escape on a
skiff as soon as you enter. Look around, and you'll see that there are several
Metroids being held in tanks! Ride the elevator to an upper level walkway where
you'll encounter a few more Pirates, and at the end of the walkway is a large
tank containing several Metroids and a barely-alive Space Pirate who probably
wishes he were dead. You'll have to walk around the tank, right past several
smaller tanks containing Metroids that will probably ram the walls of their
tanks as you go past. It's creepy, but don't worry; they won't break out. On
the other side of the large tank is LOG 63622. This one says that "The Hunter",
their name for Samus, has arrived, but that she has only been interested in
Phazon, and the Pirates have started calling her the "Dark Hunter." Obviously,
the Space Pirates are not talking about you, but about Dark Samus.
As soon as you go through the next door, a turret will be pointed at your face,
so be ready to take it out as soon as you enter. Use the Bomb Slot to rotate
the metal bars and allow access to the next room; it's obvious the Space
Pirates are taking security very seriously. In the next room, Bioenergy
Production, you'll encounter a new threat: PIRATE AEROTROOPERS. These are Space
Pirates equipped with jetpacks, and they are dangerous. They can fire regular
laser blasts and powerful missiles, and they are faster and more agile than
regular Pirates. They're also tougher: it takes three charged shots or missiles
to bring one down, and when they do that they will make a suicide dive towards
you. Jump around as much as possible to avoid their lasers and missiles, and
respond in kind. Don't forget to get out of the way once you kill one. Once
both Pirate Aerotroopers are dead, a control panel on a bank of terminals will
turn on. Scan this, and three stacks of platforms will raise from the floor.
On the other side of the room are three more sets of computer terminals, and
there are controls on each terminal for moving the platforms in each stack up
or down. You need to manipulate the platforms so that you can climp up them to
the upper level, where the door is. At each terminal you will find a vertical
display showing the positions of the platforms in that stack. The platforms are
marked with a drawing of a Metroid; from what you've learned, the Space Pirates
are using the Metroids to generate power somehow. The platforms are empty now,
but apparently they are supposed to contain Metroids. At each set of terminals,
there are also two small panels sticking out from the sides of the left and
right displays. By scanning these panels, you can move the platforms in that
stack up or down. The left panel moves whichever platform can move down down,
and the right panel moves whichever platfrom can move up up. After a little
practice, you should be able to move the platforms into any arrangement you
want. There are actually two goals to accomplish with these platforms: at one
end of the upper level of the room is a door, and on the other end is an ENERGY
TANK. The following diagrams will show the positions needed to reach both. In
the diagrams, a # means that a platform should be in that position, while a _
means that spot should be empty. Each stack is labelled A, G, or D, which stand
for alpha, gamma, and delta. These are the names of each stack, and you can
learn which is which by scanning the controls for each stack. Here are the
diagrams:
Energy Tank Door
# # _ _ # #
# _ # # _ #
_ # # # # _
# # # # # #
G D A G D A
Obviously, once you have the platforms in the correct alignment, you need to
jump up the platforms. The jumps are long, but they are possible. Make sure to
wait until you are at the very edge before jumping, and wait until you are as
high and far as possible with your first jump before starting your second jump.
Once you have the platforms in the correct position to reach the door, you'll
hear the sound that plays when you complete a puzzle.
Through the door you'll have to enter a Morph Ball maze guarded by a number of
lasers. Make your way through slowly and carefully; the way to take damage in
these areas is to rush. Pay attention to the patterns and stay in safe spots
until you're sure where to go next. When you reach the end, you will have
destroyed the lasers blocking the straight-forward lower path, which will make
any future journeys through this room quick and easy. At the end of the Morph
Ball tunnel is a Save Station, which you will most likely be very ready for.
Don't forget to scan LOG 67135 in front of the Save Station before going on to
the next room. Sand Processing consists of a semicircular pit full of sand,
with ledges and rooms visible, but inaccessible, above. There are two turrets
guarding this room, so destroy both of them, then fire a missile at the
far-left section of the sloping wall to expose a narrow pathway. This leads to
the Reactor Core, and when you enter you'll start to hear some very ominous
music. Look down through the window you can see that there are several tanks of
Phazon on the floor below. Follow the hallway to the left, then drop down to
the floor.
You'll see that Dark Samus is standing next to the central Phazon tank and is
drawing Phazon out of it. When you land, Dark Samus will see you and stop
draining Phazon from the tank. After a few tense moments in which you stare at
each other, attempting to see what is behind that dark visor. Finally, Dark
Samus will suddenly spring into action and begin her attack; the battle has
begun. By scanning DARK SAMUS 1, you'll see that she/it possesses many weapons
similar or superior to yours, including a missile launcher, a scattershot Power
Beam, and a Phazon shield. Dark Samus moves not by running but by gliding with
her feet just off the ground, but she can also jump and dash sideways very
fast; this will break a lock-on. When Dark Samus raises her arm cannon up in
the air, she is about to fire a wide swath of small blasts; if she points it
straight ahead, she is about to fire a powerful missile. Dash to the side just
before she fires either attack to avoid them. An important thing to remember is
that Dark Samus's attacks can destroy the Phazon tanks in the room: when this
they will leave flames burning at that spot for the remainder of the battle.
Until they are destroyed they can be used for cover, but they probably won't
last. Only the large central tank cannot be destroyed. At first, attack Dark
Samus with charged Power Beam shots and missiles. Remember that when she dashes,
it will break your lock-on, so find her and lock-on again. Also, it's important
to keep moving and to stay a safe distance away from her, since she is very
fast.
Once you have knocked off somewhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of Dark Samus's energy,
you'll see a brief cutscene and Dark Samus will start using more powerful
attacks. She'll begin firing a large red beam that will likely destroy several
of the Phazon tanks. For her other new attack, Dark Samus will leap into the
air, a sphere of Phazon will condense around her, and she will fly straight at
you into the ground at amazing speed. This is a powerful attack, and to avoid
it you need to dash just before she charges at you. During this part of the
battle, Dark Samus will block your missiles, and possibly charged shots, with
her Phazon shield (which appears as a sphere of Phazon around her), so a
constant stream of single Power Beam shots is your best attack for this part of
the battle. When Dark Samus has about 1/4 energy remaining, she will start
using both her old and new attacks. It can be difficult to keep up with Dark
Samus during this final stretch, but charged shots and missiles should be
effective again, so fire at her with whatever you've got.
If you survive the battle, Dark Samus will let out a terrible scream while a
rush of Phazon energy passes out of her, shattering all the Phazon tanks around
the walls of the room. She will then collapse and dematerialize into a
collection of blue dots that will be dispersed throughout the room. Finally, an
elevator in one corner of the room will lower. You may have won this round, but
it doesn't look like this is the last time you'll see Dark Samus. Scan the
PHAZON in the shattered tanks for a Research entry, then take the elevator up
to reach the upper hallway. Here you'll find a door leading to a small storage
room, and inside is the DARK BEAM. This is the Luminoth-designed weapon the
Space Pirates found, and it fires blasts of dark energy. The Dark Beam is more
powerful than the Power Beam (especially in Light Aether), but it has a much
slower rate of fire. Also, each time you fire a shot of the Dark Beam, one of
your 50 shots of ammo will be depleted (a charged shot costs 5 ammo). There's
also a Space Pirate Log entry next to the Dark Beam, LOG 69898, which relates
an escalation in intensity in the war between the Ing and the Luminoth, in
which the Space Pirates have found themselves caught in the middle.
Use the Dark Beam to open the door back to Reactor Core, then follow the
hallway to reach a gate with a white crystal, similar to the one you saw in the
security station off of Command Center. A Dark Beam shot will cause the crystal
to turn purple and the gate will open. Go through the black door just past the
gate to enter Security Station B from the other side. There are two more gates
to open, and one of the computer terminals contains LOG 70136, which describes
the arrival of the Federation troopers, much to the Pirates' dismay. Once
you've opened both gates you can return to Command Center, where a new breed of
Pirates will be waiting for you. There are now two PIRATE GRENADIERS in the
room, and they can fire powerful grenades from their arm-mounted cannons. One
will hide on the upper level near the elevator, and the other one is on the
lower level near where you exited the Morph Ball tunnels. Their grenades are
powerful, but they can't fire them if you're too close, so walk right up to the
Pirates and blow them away (use the Power Beam; you need to save your Dark Beam
ammo).
Now you can return to Biostorage Station, although now the TALLON METROIDS will
break out of their tanks. To destroy them, fire a charged Dark Beam shot to
freeze them in a chunk of purple matter so you can destroy them with a missile.
Dash to the side when one charges at you; if it latches on, switch to Morph
Ball mode and lay a bomb to knock it loose. Once both Metroids are dead, go
through the black door on the upper level to find a MISSILE EXPANSION. Now
return to Command Center, where the inactive DARK PORTAL still is, waiting to
be opened. To do so, fire a Dark Beam shot into it. This will cause the portal
to open; walk into it to return to Dark Agon Wastes.
/==============================================================================
4. Wounded Planet [III.B.4]
\==============================================================================
|[Dark Agon Wastes East] |
|o Light Beam |
|o Dark Agon Temple Keys 2,3 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The dark version of Command Center is called Doomed Entry, and it contains
several doors, stone platforms, Dark Splinters, and floating gas-spewing
spheres called DARK PREEDS. There are also several Space Pirate bodies lying
dead around the room near pools of Phazon. Go to the Light Beacon across the
room and look over at the crystal to the right. It looks like a Light Crystal,
but the crystal is covered in dark material and it is not emitting a Safe Zone.
This is a NULLIFIED CRYSTAL, and you can restore it to normal by firing a few
Power Beam shots at it. Now head over to the crystal and look at the Luminoth
statue on the base of the ledge nearby. Destroy the statue with a missile to
reveal a white crystal. This is a LIGHT LIFT CRYSTAL (Research entry), and when
you fire a Dark Beam shot at it the crystal will turn purple and the entire
ledge will lower (it's now a DARK LIFT CRYSTAL). Now you can jump on top of the
ledge and use it to reach a higher ledge in the center of the room. From here,
you can jump to the DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY, the second of three. There's a black
door behind the key, but it leads to a dead end so follow the ledges to another
black door.
The next room is a short passage containing another dead Pirate and a Warrior
Ing. Kill the Ing as quickly as possible with missiles and charged Power Beam
shots, then continue to another tunnel called Dark Oasis. To the left, the
tunnel leads to a white door which you can't open, but to the right is a normal
door next to a closed Light Portal. You can't open the portal, so go through
the door. In the next room, Dark Aether's equivalent of Sand Processing, the
door is on a high ledge. On the back of the central pillar is another lift
crystal; lower it with a Dark Beam shot and use the pillar to reach the door.
There's a Save Station in the next room along with more dead Pirates; it looks
like the Pirates' Phazon mining operation in Dark Aether had a heavy cost. The
next room is a Morph Ball tunnel with a pool of Phazon in the middle. Take the
upper path, and do a bomb jump to leap over the gap and avoid falling in the
Phazon.
The tunnel leads to Phazon Site, where Phazon covers a large expanse of the
floor and moving platforms float overhead. Drop down onto the side of the
ground without Phazon and look around. There's a door out of the room on the
ground level, but it is locked and you must scan three control panels in the
room to unlock it. For the first, head onto the raised ledge along the side
wall of the room. For the second, jump from the side ledge onto the moving
platforms. Use the moving platforms to reach an alcove set high in the wall,
where you'll find the second panel. To reach the third and final panel, drop
down from the ledge onto a "dry" area where several crates are piled against
the wall. Destroy the crates and you'll find the final panel behind them,
which will unlock the door.
In Watering Hole, the next room, you'll find a pool of toxic water with several
platforms in them. There are also large creatures on the walls called INGCLAWS;
they can't be killed, but they release toxic gas into the air, so you'll take
damage if you stand near to it. There are also a large number of Lumites in the
room which will be a major pain in the butt. They will stand on the edge of the
Safe Zone and fire their blasts at you from all directions. All you can do is
find them and kill them as fast as you can. Use the platforms to reach the
other side, where a door leads to Feeding Pit, another room with several
pillars. This time there are only Nightbarbs in the room, which aren't as
annoying as Lumites. You need to find lift crystals on the sides of the
pillars. They're located near the top of the pillars, so fire at both of them
to lower the platforms. Now you can jump on top of the pillars to reach a door
high up in the wall. The door leads to a tiny room containing the LIGHT BEAM,
with a dead Luminoth by it. The counterpart to the Dark Beam, the Light Beam
also requires ammo, but it fires a stream of pure light energy that is very
potent on dark creatures. Also, now that you have the Dark and Light Beams you
can recover ammo for both of them: when you destroy crates or enemies with the
Dark Beam they will give you Light Ammo, and when you use the Light Beam you
will get Dark Ammo.
When you return to Feeding Pit, you'll see that it is now filled with Lumites.
But don't fear! With the Light Beam, you can soon make short work of them.
Here's how: activate a Safe Zone with the Power Beam, then once some Lumites
are on it fire a Light Beam shot at the crystal or beacon. The Safe Zone will
become extra-bright, and any Lumites on it will be instantly killed. When you
fire a Light Beam shot at a Light Crystal/Beacon, it becomes an ENERGIZED
CRYSTAL/BEACON, and any creatures that touch it will be killed as soon as it
touches the Safe Zone. Make sure to scan these for Research entries, as well as
the NULLIFIED CRYSTALS/BEACONS that you can create by firing a Dark Beam shot
at them.
In the next room the passage will be blocked by several black spiderweb-like
creatures with a large eye in the center. You can destroy these WEBLINGS easily
by shooting the eye with the Light Beam, but make sure to scan one first, since
this is the only time they appear. The passage will return you to Doomed Entry,
and now you should go through the door behind where the Dark Temple Key was.
This leads to a straight passage containing several Dark Splinters, but at the
end it leads to a ledge over a large room called Battleground. The final Dark
Temple Key is in the center of the room, but when you drop down to claim it
five Warrior Ing will appear and will swallow up the key. You must now defeat
all five Warrior Ing in order to earn the key. At some point during the fight,
make sure to scan the ING WEBTRAP blocking the door; this is another one-time
scan. Five Warrior Ing may seem intimidating, but the fight can be much easier
if you use the Light Beam. A single charged Light Beam shot will kill a Warrior
Ing, so this fight can actually go rather quickly. If you get low on Light
Ammo, switch to the Dark Beam and shoot the Bladepods in the room to get more.
Once all the Ing are dead, the DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY will reappear and you can
collect it.
Exit through the lower door, which leads to a passage full of DARKLING
TENTACLES, sharp tentacles that swipe back and forth across the passage. Shoot
them with the Power Beam to cause them to temporarily retract into the wall
long enough for you to get past. Now you're back in Doomed Entry, and you're
ready to leave Dark Aether, but there's no Light Portal where you entered.
You'll need to find a different portal in order to leave. To do so, go through
the black door at the top of the platforms to reach Dark Oasis. Now, go through
the white door to the left to find an Ammo Station, where you can refill your
missiles, dark ammo, and light ammo. Once you're refilled, head to the other
end of the room. There you'll find an unopened Light Portal, but you can open
it with a shot from the Light Beam. Go through the portal to return to Light
Aether, in the Reactor Core. Once you're back, head through the nearby door to
reach the Save Station.
/==============================================================================
5. Thrice-Cursed Ing [III.B.5]
\==============================================================================
|[Agon Wastes West, Dark Agon Wastes West] |
|o Energy Tank 06 |
|o Beam Ammo Expansion 2 |
|o Missile Expansions 20,21 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You have now recovered all three Dark Temple Keys and have explored almost all
of the Agon Wastes, so all you need to do is pick up a few items hidden here
and there and then enter the Dark Agon Temple.
Return to the Command Center and leave via the white door on the upper level,
not the black door you rolled under the first time you entered the room. The
white door, like the lower door, leads to Central Mining Station, but this time
you'll enter it on the balcony containing the turrets. The first time you came
through here, Space Pirates manned the turrets and used them to fire powerful
laser blasts at you. But now you can use the turrets, so go ahead and step into
one of the holograms to activate the turret. Now, the only question is what
should you fire at? If you use the Scan Visor before you enter the turrets,
you'll see that there are a couple of large crates in the room. These are Space
Pirate generators, and they can only be destroyed by heavy weapons fire. In the
left turret, fire at the crate on the ground next to the wall to blow it up,
causing one of the Pirate Skiffs stored on the wall to be knocked loose. Also,
there's a generator just to the left of the rectangular shield across the room.
Go ahead and fire at it to save yourself a little time later. Now go to the
right turret and fire at the generator sitting on a ledge in front of you. This
will destroy the rock wall behind it, revealing a small Space Pirate station.
There are actually two Pirates inside, and they will attack you. Hit them with
fire from the turret before their shots do enough damage to destroy the turret.
Now that you've used the turrets to destroy all the generators, it's time to
see what your reward is for all your destruction. Jump down and climb on top of
the skiff you knocked off the wall. By making a long double jump from the edge
of it, you can reach the top of the small pillar nearby. From there, you can
easily reach the ledge where the Pirates were and enter the small room, which
contains two computer terminals. One of them contains the final Space Pirate
Log, LOG 71599, which describes your arrival on Aether. From it, you can sense
the Pirates' dread that they now have two Samuses to deal with, plus the Ing,
but they also hope to be able to use your antagonism to their own advantage.
Out of the room is another tunnel, which leads to a walkway in front of the
large rectangular shield; behind it you can see an item. The shield itself is
indestructible, but if you already destroyed the generator next to it there
will be a Morph Ball tunnel in the wall that leads to the area behind the
shield. (If you didn't destroy this generator, you need to return to the
balcony to do so. The only way to reach the balcony is by going back to the
Command Center and exiting through the white door.) Roll through the tunnel to
claim the item, which is a BEAM AMMO EXPANSION. These rare items increase the
maximum capacity of both your dark and light ammo by 50, so you can now hold up
to 100 dark and light ammo. Also in the area with the expansion is a dead
Luminoth; scan him for J-STL'S TESTAMENT, another Logbook entry that goes in
the Keybearer Lore section.
Once you've gotten the Beam Ammo Expansion, backtrack to Mining Station A. Two
Pirate Aerotroopers will be waiting for you when you enter, but after disposing
of them take the door that leads to the Agon Temple. (This has nothing to do
with the three keys you've collected; you need to return them to the Dark Agon
Temple). Head to the left and go through the black door. This leads to Mine
Shaft, a Morph Ball tunnel filled with Pillbugs that spirals down the edge of a
cylindrical tube. This room is actually a dead end; you can't open the door at
the bottom, but there is an Energy Tank here that you can get. You'll see it
above and to the right of you when you first enter the shaft.
To get it, roll down the tunnel, making sure to roll past the block that will
disappear as soon as you touch it. Past it is an area with a Pillbug rolling
around a central block. There's an opening in the "ceiling" above the Pillbug's
ledge, and to reach it you need to do a double bomb jump. For instructions on
how to do this, see section V.A.5.b.i., the Morph Ball Bomb entry in the
Inventory section. When you do a successful double bomb jump and reach the
upper level, you'll need to let yourself fall through a series of breakable
blocks, but make sure to stay as high as possible. When you reach a second set
of breakable blocks you have to fall through, hold the Control Stick to the
left as you fall, because you need to enter a passage behind the wall that's
next to the next-to-last block. Once in the hidden passage, you can tell your
position by the blue glow of the Morph Ball through the slits in the rock.
These slits also show the path that the tunnel follows, so bomb jump up to
follow the secret passage and reach the ENERGY TANK.
Now you can exit the Mine Shaft and return to the Agon Temple, and travel to
the opposite side of the room, where you'll find a white door. Through this
door is a vast chasm, but you can use the cannon and let it fire you across.
On the other side is another Morph Ball tunnel, and here you can find another
Missile Expansion. Roll to the platform with the second Pillbug, just past the
tunnel leading away from you. Kill the Pillbug, then do a double bomb jump to
reach the top of the platform. Now do another double bomb jump up the tunnel,
and at the top you'll find the MISSILE EXPANSION. Both exits out of this area
lead to dead ends (although if you go straight, to the Main Reactor, you can
find B-STL'S TESTAMENT, another Keybearer Lore scan), so head back the way you
came and return to the Agon Temple.
Now you've explored Agon Wastes as thoroughly as you can, so return to the
Portal and travel to Dark Agon. Although you could head straight for the
temple, you can get one more Missile Expansion by going to Duelling Range, the
Dark Agon equivalent of Mining Station A. From there, look for a black door and
go through it. It leads to a dead-end passage, but underneath the ledge you
enter on is a MISSILE EXPANSION. Jump down into the Safe Zone and turn around
to see it.
You have now collected all three Dark Agon Temple Keys, as well as all possible
items and expansions so far, so it's time to enter the Dark Agon Temple. Make
sure to stop by the Save Station located off of Judgment Pit, then go to the
temple.
/==============================================================================
6. Potent Energy [III.B.6]
\==============================================================================
|[BOSS: Amorbis] |
|o Dark Suit |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There will be a swirling red light in front of the gate into the interior of
Dark Agon Temple, and when you step into it the three Dark Temple Keys will fit
into depressions on the front of the gate, and it will open. Jump down into the
circular arena and you'll see a large solid black sphere in the center, with
three monstrous worm-like creatures attached to it. The giant black worms will
then leap off of the sphere into the air and dive into the ground (one of them
right in front of you). With that, the battle against Amorbis will begin.
While you wait for Amorbis to reappear, scan the sphere. You'll learn that it
contains dark energy, and while Amorbis is attached to it, it can draw dark
energy from it. Shortly, one of the three worms that make up Amorbis will burst
out of the ground and dive through the air again before crashing underground
again. Scan Amorbis while it's in the air for the first half of its Logbook
entry (AMORBIS 1). Amorbis can't attack at this point, beyond crashing into
you, but you can use your weapons to destroy its armor.
To see where Amorbis is about to reappear, look for a rumbling and shaking on
the ground. Also, you will be able to lock-on to Amobris a second or two before
it emerges. When it's locked-onto and in range, fire with the Light Beam to
damage its black armor plating. If Amorbis is about to emerge or land in your
Safe Zone, move out of it for a few seconds until it's gone. And of course,
make sure to stay in the Safe Zone the rest of the time so that you don't
continually take damage from Dark Aether's atmosphere.
As you hit Amorbis, you'll knock off pieces of its black armor, revealing a
white body underneath. When all the armor is gone, Amorbis will reattach itself
to the dark sphere, which will cause all its armor to regenerate and allow it
to launch new attacks at you. Scan Amorbis while it's attached to the sphere to
complete the Logbook entries for this boss (AMOBRIS 2). Amorbis will be able to
fire dark energy at you, which can hurt you in two ways: the attack can simply
hit you, or it can hit the Light Crystal, which will nullify it. You can't
un-nullify the crystal with your Light or Power Beams, so use the Morph Ball to
quickly roll to another Safe Zone. Watch out while doing this, however, since
Amorbis can snap at you while you're rolling. To attack Amorbis, lock-on to its
head and fire missiles or the Light Beam at it. After being hit by five
missiles, the head will be blown off, leaving a circular opening in its body
from which Amorbis will start sucking like a vacuum. This may seem
counterintuitive, but now is your chance to damage Amorbis. Switch to the Morph
Ball and allow yourself to be sucked up by Amorbis. While inside, lay a bomb.
When the bomb detonates, a series of explosions will course through Amorbis,
and Amorbis will writhe uncontrollably, causing it to lift the sphere and slam
it into the ground. This will cause the sphere to begin to crack, and will take
off 1/6 of Arorbis's energy.
Now the worm will detach itself from the sphere again, but this time two worms
will begin diving through the air. Pick up any needed energy and ammo left by
the first worm, then start attacking the two worms with the Light Beam just
like the last one. The only difference from before is that now you have to
watch out for two worms that could crash into you instead of just one. Once the
armor has been destroyed on one worm, it will stay underground until all the
armor is destroyed on the second as well. After you destroy the armor from both
worms, they will both attach to the sphere and the second phase of the battle
will repeat. Both worms can fire dark energy at you, and they can also combine
to fire two laser beams that will rotate in a circle around the arena. When one
of the beams approaches you, jump back to avoid it. It's best to attack each
head separately here in order to lower the number of attacks being fired at
you. Focus on destroying whichever head is closer to you, then don't forget to
enter the hole and lay a bomb, since that's what's actually does damage.
Once both worms have been destroyed, you guessed it, three worms will start
diving around the arena. This final phase of the fight will proceed just like
the other two, except that there will be three worms to avoid, not just one or
two. Once they're attached to the sphere, you may have to move between Safe
Zones fairly often, at least until you destroy a worm. The final worm will be
especially vicious, and will try to hit you while you move between Safe Zones.
As soon as you lay the bomb in the belly of the final worm, you will be
rewarded with the sight of Amorbis writhing on the ground one last time,
slamming the sphere for the third time. Amorbis will then crumble into dust,
and the sphere will explode, leaving behind an icon shaped like the Metroid
logo. Step into the logo, and your traditional yellow Varia Suit will be
replaced with the brown and antique-looking DARK SUIT. This suit was designed
by the Luminoth, and it significantly reduces the effects of Dark Aether's
atmosphere. You will still take damage in Dark Aether, but only at the rate of
about one unit per second, the same rate that you regain energy while in a Safe
Zone. This means that you do not need to worry nearly as much about venturing
outside of Safe Zones.
Now that you have defeated the guardian of Dark Agon Wastes and received the
Dark Suit, enter the door at the opposite end of the temple to reach the Dark
Agon Energy Controller. Its collector is currently full of a bright red light,
but step up to the interface design in front, and you will insert your Arm
Cannon into it, using the Energy Transfer Module to transfer all the energy
into yourself. Now you need to return the energy to its rightful home, Light
Aether. Unfortuneately, the Ing won't make it easy for you. When you return to
the temple, you'll find three Warrior Ing waiting for you. Use the Light Beam
to fight them if you can, otherwise just run past them. Also, when you make it
back to the portal room, it will contain three Dark Pirate Troopers. However
you can, activate the portal and travel to Light Aether. Once there, head for
the Agon Temple and return to the Energy Controller. Approach its interface,
and this time the energy will flow out of you and into the Agon Energy
Controller, causing it to fill with a pure yellow light. When the energy
transfer is complete, a beam of energy will be directed to the Great Temple,
where U-Mos will see it arrive. Also, the hologram of the Agon guardian will
appear once more to thank you for restoring the energy to Agon. Now that you've
returned the energy to Agon Wastes, it's time to return to U-Mos in the Great
Temple.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## C. TORVUS BOG [III.C]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Path to Torvus [III.C.1]
\==============================================================================
|[Temple Grounds West, Sky Temple Grounds West] |
|o Missile Expansions 1,2,4,49 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Take the elevator back up to the Temple Grounds, and follow the path back to
Industrial Site. Before you head towards the elevator to the Great Temple in
Temple Assembly Site, though, you can find several Missile Expansions by making
a quick detour.
Take the door that leads back towards the Landing Site instead. Pass the
elevator that leads up from the end of the Splinter Hive, and by opening
several translator doors you will reach the tentacle plant-filled tunnel just
off of the Landing Site. At one end of this tunnel is a pit that leads down to
the Splinter Hive. Jump down it again, and you'll find a dead trooper on the
floor. When you approach it, though, it will be possessed by an Ing, becoming
the DARK MISSILE TROOPER. This is the only time it appears, so make sure to
scan it. It moves slowly and jerkily, just like the regular troopers, but this
one can fire missiles instead of the usual energy shots. The missiles are not
hard to dodge, however, so you should be able to avoid them easily while firing
back with your own missiles or whatever weapon you choose. When the Dark
Missile Trooper is dead, it will leave behind a MISSILE EXPANSION.
The only way to get out of the hive is to continue all the way through it again
until you reach the elevator. This shouldn't be much of a problem, though,
since most of the rooms will be empty. A few will still have one or two Dark
Troopers inside, though, so watch out. In Hive Chamber B, the room where you
first encountered Dark Samus and the Dark Portal, the room appears to dead-end
at an immovable gate. Next to the gate, however, are two Morph Ball tunnels.
One is open and leads around the gate, but the other one is covered with a seal
of Talloric Alloy. Use a bomb to destroy the seal and roll through the tunnel
to find another MISSILE EXPANSION.
Now run through the rest of the Splinter Hive, return to the surface, and make
your way to Temple Assembly Site. Here, you can find another Missile Expansion
before taking the elevator up to the Great Temple. Near the elevator door (to
the left as you face the door) is a large block near the wall. You can double
jump on top of this block, then use it to reach a nearby ledge with two crates
on it. This ledge leads along the edge of the room, and by following it you can
reach a Morph Ball tunnel. Roll through this tunnel for yet another MISSILE
EXPANSION.
Now that you have added 15 missiles to your collection, take the elevator up to
the Great Temple. However, there are still more upgrades to be found! First of
all, you can kill the Lightflyers in the hallway with a single shot from the
Dark Beam. Now, look at the left wall in the hallway (Transport B Access), as
you face the Temple Sanctuary. You'll see Morph Ball-sized ledges in the side
of the wall. Bomb jump up the ledges to reach a tunnel that leads to, you
guessed it, another MISSILE EXPANSION.
OK, there will be no more Missile Expansions in this section. Enter the
sanctuary and take the elevator up to U-Mos in the Main Energy Controller room.
He'll thank you for returning the energy to Agon, then warn you that the Ing
will be seeking revenge and guarding their remaining energy more closely. He'll
tell you that there is increased Ing activity in the Torvus sector, meaning
that it should be your next destination. Now that you know where to go, return
to the Temple Sanctuary. Of the four doors leading out of the sanctuary, one
leads back towards Agon Wastes, and one you just came out of. Of the remaining
two, one is sealed with a green translator door, which you can't open, while
the other one is yellow. You can open that door, and when you do it will tell
you that it leads to Torvus. In the hallway behind the door you'll encounter a
new, yet familiar, creature: HARMONY CLASS DRONES. If you played the first
Metroid Prime, you remember these as Pulse Bombus, but on Aether they have a
different name. They act exactly the same, however, so fire a charged Power
Beam shot at them to destroy them.
When you take the elevator back down, you will find yourself in a part of the
Temple Grounds you've never been before. In front of you is a large half-pipe
with a path behind it, as well as a ton of War Wasps. There's another door
through a narrow tunnel off to the left, but it is blocked by a green blast
shield, which you can't open right now. Fend off the War Wasps, then follow the
path past the half-pipe to reach Hall of Eyes. Here you'll discover that the
only door out is blocked by another green blast shield, but there is a Dark
Portal in the room. Since that appears to be your only option, activate the
portal and enter it.
Now that you are in Sky Temple Grounds, the Dark Aether version of Temple
Grounds, the rooms have the same basic shape but different doors and enemies.
Get rid of the Inglets in the room, then go through the normal blue door in
front of you (which in Light Aether was the locked green door). The next room,
Abandoned Base, has the shape of a large U, with several circular nodes at
points along the way. There are no Safe Zones along the way, but with your new
Dark Suit you should have plenty of time to make it to the end before you start
to be in serious trouble. You will not encounter many enemies along the way,
except that at one node, your path will be blocked by several laser beams
sweeping back and forth. These lasers are created by CORRUPTED SENTREYES on the
wall, and by shooting them you can turn them off for a few seconds, allowing
you to pass.
When you reach the end of the room, you'll find a platform hanging in the
center of a final circular node and locked in place by four metal arms grasping
it from the edges of the node. There is a Safe Zone on the platform, so you can
stand there and recover as much energy as you need. Past this node is a dead
end, but by scanning the platform you'll learn that you can activate it by
activating four Bomb Slots, which will disengage the locks. To reach the Bomb
Slots, use the pistons on either side of the ledge at the end of the node. They
lead up to a circular track on which the Bomb Slots are evenly spaced. The only
problem is that once you activate a Bomb Slot, a wall will slide into place on
one side of the slot, which can make it impossible to reach all the other
unactivated Bomb Slots. There are multiple ways to solve this puzzle, but here
is one simple solution: Go up the right piston (with your back to the platform)
and go past the first Bomb Slot. Activate the second one, then continue around
the track activating each slot as you come to it. Now take the piston down,
then cross to the other piston, ride it back up, and finally activate the last
remaining Bomb Slot, the one you passed originally.
Once all the locks have been disengaged, jump onto the platform and it will
start moving back through the room. Don't get distracted during the trip,
though, because several swarms of Nightbarbs will fly at you, so be ready with
the Power Beam to fend off as many as you can. When the platform comes to a
stop, jump from it to a ledge containing a Light Portal, and go through the
portal.
You are now in the Light Aether room corresponding to Abandoned Base, and it is
much simpler, though not without its challenges. You will soon encounter two
Dark Pirate Troopers, and after them you'll fight a Pirate Grenadier. This room
also has the U shape and the circular "nodes" and you'll need to fire a Light
Beam shot at the dark crystals on the blocks in the nodes to move them into
position so you can progress. When you reach the last node, which has a shallow
pool of water in it, you'll need to jump onto the platform in the middle of the
pool from dry land in order to reach it. The door leads to a path along the
side of a cliff with several War Wasp Hives nearby. Take out the wasps and
continue to the door at the end, which contains an elevator.
/==============================================================================
2. Harsh and Poisonous [III.C.2]
\==============================================================================
|[Upper Torvus Bog, Upper Dark Torvus Bog] |
|o Super Missile |
|o Energy Tank 8 |
|o Missile Expansions 29,32 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
At the bottom you'll land in a room that seems to be the exact opposite of Agon
Wastes: instead of dry sand, here you have wet, green plants everywhere. Behind
the elevator when you reach the bottom is a large air purification system; why
would the Luminoth have needed that? In the passage beyond the door you'll see
several orange sacs hanging from tree branches; these are TORVUS HANGING PODS,
and they can contain items. At the end of the passage you'll reach the shore of
a small lake, with a variety of plants and creatures on the ground, in the air,
and under the water. Not all the creatures are alive, though: there's another
dead Luminoth lying to your left, and you can scan him for S-DLY'S TESTAMENT.
This room, Torvus Lagoon, is not completely natural, however. There is a metal
walkway above the water on the far side of the lake connecting two tunnels,
both gated. Before moving on, you're probably ready to use the Save Station
through the door on a ledge to the left.
When you return to Torvus Lagoon, start examining the several creatures to be
found here. The green and red plants are TORVUS BEARERPODS: they contain items,
but they release a poisonous cloud when they're destroyed. Several large
insect-like creatures with helicopter wings will leap out of the water and
start flying towards you; these are SHREDDERS, and you can shoot them to knock
them back and prevent them from crashing into you. Since you can't reach the
metal platform, the only way to go seems to be into the lake. While underwater,
your movement is slowed, jump height is reduced, and visibility is impaired.
However, you will be able to maneuver around the branches and reach the black
door underwater. You'll encounter a group of shrimp-like creatures called
HYDLINGS in the water; they can be easily dispatched with rapid-fire Power Beam
shots and shouldn't pose any danger to you.
In the next room, walk through the circular structure in the middle of the
path, then jump out of the water to reach the door. If you turn around you'll
see a green Luminoth lore projector on the wall, but you don't have the ability
to translate it yet. Through the door is Great Bridge, and you can see the
bridge leading into a large building; there's another door into the building
on ground level. There is also a new creature in this room: SHRIEKERS. These
are related to Shredders in that they wait just beneath the surface of the
water until you approach, but they are much more difficult because they will
fire a sonic blast at you (a whirling gust of air that's difficult to see),
then disappear only to reappear somewhere else a few seconds later. Shriekers
are also remarkably tough, and it will take many hits to kill them all. You
have to kill them all, too, because the doors will be locked until you do. Once
they're gone, you can scan the red eyes, called SENTINEL CRYSTALS, on the
walls, then go through the lower door into the building. It leads to a Morph
Ball tunnel, and you can see an Energy Tank in an alcove above you, but you
can't reach it. You'll be frustrated again when you reach the end, because the
door is locked with a green blast shield, which you can't open. Return to Great
Bridge, and there is another way you can go: there's a red door to your left
(with your back to the building), so go through it.
This leads to another Morph Ball tunnel that goes right past a Dark Portal and
a Missile Expansion, but both are on the other side of a wall. At the end of it
you'll reach Torvus Lagoon, but you'll be behind the gate. Scan the panel to
lower the gates and extend the walkway to connect both doorways. You may want
to save again, then go through the door at the other end of the walkway.
This door goes to Forgotten Bridge, and as soon as you enter you'll encounter
two very dangerous animals that look like crosses between a lizard, a wolf, and
a frog: GRENCHLERS. Grenchlers are fast and agile, and they can attack from up
close with their teeth or from a distance by firing a bolt of electricity. The
only way to defeat one is to destroy the armored shell on its back, then fire
at the exposed flesh beneath it. The best strategy is to lock-on to one of the
Grenchlers, then jump and strafe to both avoid its attacks and try to get
behind it. Once you get a shot, fire as many missiles as you can. It will take
five missiles to destroy the shell, but you haven't killed it yet. You still
need to get behind it again to fire a few more shots at the exposed flesh to
kill it. One thing to avoid while fighting the Grenchlers is getting pushed
against the wall. You'll have more success if you can stay in the open, so
you're free to run and jump in any direction. Once you survive the fight and
kill both Grenchlers, use the ledges against the wall to jump onto the large
bridge that spans the room. You can see a Missile Expansion in front of a door
on a ledge, but there's no way to reach it now. Follow the bridge to reach a
Dark Portal, although there's a transparent Bomb Slot nearby; that means you
need to find the corresponding slot in the dark world.
Go through the portal to make your first (brief) visit to Dark Torvus Bog. You
can find two Research scans here: DARK SENTINEL CRYSTAL (the blue eyes) and
INGSPHERE CACHE (the dark blue blobs that contain items), but the main thing
to do here is to activate the Bomb Slot. This will cause the bridge to rotate
so that it connects to a different doorway, and you know that the bridge has
also rotated in Light Aether. You can't go through any of the doors out of this
room, so follow the bridge until you can jump off and reach the Light Portal
(Make sure not to fall into the water: it's toxic.) As soon as you're back in
Torvus Bog, though, several Space Pirates will materialize in the room out of
nowhere! It won't take long for you to realize that these are no ordinary Space
Pirates, either. These are DARK PIRATE COMMANDOS, the deadliest version of
Pirates that you will face. Dark Pirate Commandos have the ability to turn
invisible, meaning that they will appear, fire a shot at you, then disappear
and move somewhere else. They can fire two different weapons at you: standard
shots of dark energy, and new EMP grenades that will not only do damage if they
hit you, but will short out your visor for several seconds if they land
anywhere near you. All you can do against these enemies is to find one when it
appears, lock-on and fire as fast as you can at it until it disappears, all the
while watching out for incoming attacks from the others. While you may want to
use Missiles and light ammo on the commandos, it's best to just stick to the
Power Beam. That's because the Pirates will automatically disappear after a few
minutes, so all you have to do is survive against them for that long.
Once they're gone, climb back onto the bridge, which has been rotated, and
follow it to the door you saw earlier and collect the MISSILE EXPANSION which
is just waiting for you. The door leads to Abandoned Worksite, which you need
to navigate with the Morph Ball. Before rolling through the tunnel in the wall,
though, you need to kill the plant that lives on the opposite wall. This is a
SPORB, and it will fire a grappling hook at the Morph Ball if you go near it.
Otherwise, it will "spit" toxic acid at you. The Light Beam is especially
effective against the Sporb. Now roll through the tunnel (be careful not to
fall out). When you reach the other side of the room, jump down and go through
the door at the end. This will take you to an upper ledge of Great Bridge. Scan
the panel there to open a Kinetic Orb Cannon on a ledge across the room from
you, in front of a green translator gate. Jump down, then jump up to the cannon
and let it fire you onto the bridge. Cross the bridge (watch out for
Shriekbats) and go through the door to reach the upper level of the Morph Ball
tunnel you rolled through earlier. There are three circles on the narrow path,
and the first one is cracked. Bomb it, and you'll fall through it to grab the
ENERGY TANK you saw earlier.
Return to the top level and cross it to the door to enter Torvus Temple. You're
at the bottom of a bowl-shaped room with high, sloping walls, but what will
draw your attention is that a skiff will appear, dropping off a number of
Pirate Troopers, along with two Pirate Aerotroopers. You should be able to
handle these fairly easily with missiles, Dark Beam, and Light Beam. Just focus
on one Pirate at a time, and take out the Aerotroopers as soon as you can. Use
the crates around the room for ammo and energy as necessary. Once all the
Pirates are dead, the lasers blocking an object that looks like a Missile
Expansion on a platform against the wall will disappear. When you get the item,
you'll discover that it is actually the SUPER MISSILE, the Charge Combo for the
Power Beam and the weapon that can destroy green blast shields. The platform it
was on is also an elevator, and it will carry you up to a door which,
coincidentally, is green. Use your new weapon to destroy the blast shield and
go through to reach the Torvus Energy Controller, which is very similar to its
counterpart in Agon Wastes.
Step up to the green holographic device to activate a message from the guardian
of Torvus Temple. He will tell you that most of the temple is flooded, and you
will need to explore the flooded regions to find all the Dark Temple Keys. He
will also warn you that the water in Dark Torvus Bog is toxic. Finally, he will
give you the ability to translate Emerald (green) holograms, and refill your
energy. There is a Lore to be found in the Energy Controller room, titled DARK
AETHER; it tells how the Luminoth designed machines to generate Dark Portals
and began to prepare for war with the Ing to reclaim their energy. Return to
the temple and you'll find that it is now swarming with Shriekers. You can kill
them if you want, or you can scan the green hologram on the circular platform
in the center of the room. This will cause the platform to lower a few feet,
revealing a chamber with several doorways leading in different directions.
/==============================================================================
3. Engines of War [III.C.3]
\==============================================================================
|[Upper Torvus Bog, Upper Dark Torvus Bog] |
|o Boost Ball |
|o Dark Torvus Temple Key 1 |
|o Missile Expansion 30 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There are four doors out of the lower chamber of Torvus Temple: a purple door
that you can't open yet, a green door that leads back to Great Bridge, a
translator door that leads to an unexplored area, and a regular blue door at
the end of a Morph Ball tunnel that also leads to new areas. If you recall,
there was a translator door behind the cannon in Great Bridge, so go through
the green door and return there briefly to see what's behind it. There is now
a Grenchler patrolling Great Bridge, but you don't have to fight it if you
don't want to. Simply jump to the ledge with the cannon, scan the translator
door, and go through it to find the Torvus Map Station. With the map, you can
see that you have explored most of the surface of Torvus Bog, but that there is
a whole lower level that you have yet to enter. Return to the Torvus Temple,
and you'll see that the translator door leads to a room that appears to
connect with Forgotten Bridge, while the door beyond the tunnel leads to the
lower levels. You might as well explore all of the surface before entering the
lower section, so open the translator door and go through.
The next room is a watery tunnel, and a Grenchler will charge down the tunnel
at you. This can be a difficult fight since there's not much room to
maneuver, but you'll do a little better if you can fight the Grenchler in the
entrance area next to the door rather than in the middle of the tunnel, but it
will be difficult in any case. Just try to kill it as fast as possible (try the
Dark Beam). When it's dead, you can collect an easy Missile Expansion by
rolling underneath the ledge that the door is on. There's a gap that you can
roll in next to the wall, and it leads to a MISSILE EXPANSION hidden underneath
the metal grating. Now go down the tunnel, and at the other end you'll find two
Sporbs. Once they're dead, you can jump onto the ledge with the door. However,
turn around before you go through and you'll see a Lore projector: this one,
OUR WAR BEGINS, describes the Luminoth's development of Light Crystals.
The tunnel leads to Torvus Grove, which contains several mutated trees in the
center, with Phazon containers on the ground underneath them. As if that wasn't
a tip-off, when you reach the middle of the room two Space Pirates of a new
variety will appear by sliding down steep tracks in the room and begin to
attack. These are PIRATE COMMANDOS (the non-Ing versions of the ones you fought
in Forgotten Bridge), and they have attacks similar to their Ing-possessed
companions. The main difference is that they cannot disappear, but they are
able to move very swiftly. This can actually be a very simple fight: a charged
Dark Beam shot will freeze a Pirate Commando, and then a single missile will
kill it. Once both are dead, the lasers blocking the door will turn off. Go
through the door to reach a Dark Portal generator. Since there's nowhere else
to go in Torvus Grove, go though the portal.
The dark version of Torvus Grove is called Polluted Mire, and when you enter it
you'll encounter a new enemy: HUNTER ING. These dangerous Ing are made up of a
central orange and black ball with several long black tentacles extending from
it. Hunter Ing are difficult to defeat because they can attack from a distance
with their tentacles, because they rarely stay in the same place long, and
because they can desolidify, causing any weaponfire to just go through them.
Do your best to avoid the Ing's tentacles, and be ready to attack with a
charged Light Beam shot when it is solid. It will take several charged shots to
kill it, which is why Hunter Ing are so annoying. Once the Hunter Ing is dead
you can climb up the platforms on the trees and the surrounding walls. At the
top is a door, and in the next room is a Save Station.
The door out of the Save Station room leads to Dark Forgotten Bridge, but
you'll be in a metal walkway that is separate from the main part of the room.
There are two Lightflyers in the tunnel (use the Dark Beam), as well as a
transparent version of a device you haven't seen before, but which the Scan
Visor will identify as a "Spinner". At the end of the walkway is a door that
leads to a Morph Ball tunnel, and at the end of the tunnel is a large, open
room called Dark Torvus Arena. When you first enter the room, you'll see an Ing
that resembles a large Warrior Ing below you at the other end of the room. It
will immediately transform into a black Morph Ball and shoot through a round
tunnel in the wall at high speed! The main part of the room is a giant
halfpipe, and you can see a Dark Temple Key high up the side of one, out of
reach. It should be obvious that you're going to have to fight the Ing on the
other side of the tunnel, so stand in the Safe Zone until your energy is full.
When you're ready, roll up the slope and through the tunnel to enter the
circular arena where you will battle the BOOST GUARDIAN. The Boost Guardian is
quite simply the hardest mini-boss in the game, and ranks near the top of the
list when compared with the full-fledged bosses. The Boost Guardian is loathed
by almost everyone who plays this game, and this author is no exception. But
you've got to fight him, so just grit your teeth and get on with it.
The first thing to notice is that there are no Safe Zones of any kind in the
arena. This means that you will continually take damage due to the atmosphere,
not to mention damage inflicted by the Boost Guardian himself. The only way to
regain energy during the fight is by picking up energy that appears either
after defeating Inglets that will appear during the battle or if the Boost
Guardian destroys any of the four pillars in the arena.
At the start of the battle, the Boost Guardian will attack in a manner similar
to a Warrior Ing. After scanning him for your Logbook, fire a charged Light
Beam shot at him. This will do damage to him, after which he should switch to
Morph Ball form. (He is invulnerable while he is transforming). When the Boost
Guardian switches forms, so should you. The Boost Guardian will charge up his
Boost Ball ability, which will cause him to ricochet around the room at high
speed. Unless you have lightning-fast reflexes, you won't be able to avoid him
if he is heading towards you, so the best strategy is just to stay in place or
to move around randomly while he's doing this. Once he slows to a stop, though,
you should approach him and lay bombs near him. Actually, lay bombs as much as
possible while the Boost Guardian is in Morph Ball form. If a bomb detonates on
or right next to the Morph Ball-Boost Guardian, it will lose its Morph Ball
form and simply turn into a black puddle that will move around the room. While
in this form, lay as many bombs as you can in his path. These bombs will not
actually do damage to the Boost Guardian (i.e. lower his energy bar), but they
will cause him to return to his normal, Warrior Ing form once he gets hit
enough. This is what you want, because it is only when he is in his solid form
that you can damage him. Once he's solid again, go at him with the Light Beam.
There are a few other things to keep in mind about the battle: First, when the
Boost Guardian changes from "puddle" form back to normal, there will be a short
cutscene. Do NOT press X as soon as the cutscene is over; you will
automatically exit Morph Ball form. Second, Inglets will appear throughout the
battle. Attack these with bombs whenever you have the chance while in the Morph
Ball phase of the battle, since they will leave energy behind. However, ignore
them while the Boost Guardian is solid unless you are on the brink of death,
i.e. on your last Energy Tank. Third, if you run out of Light Ammo, you can get
more from the Inglets or, better yet, just switch to Super Missiles. In
essence, use whatever you have to attack the Boost Guardian as hard and fast as
you can. Fourth, note that if the Boost Guardian collides into one of the
pillars while bouncing around the room, the pillar will be destroyed and it
will leave an Ultra Energy, which restores a full Energy Tank, or 100 units.
You will undoubtedly discover that this is a very difficult battle, and it will
most likely take you multiple attempts to defeat the Boost Guardian. It may get
frustrating, but with each attempt you will get a little better against him.
The most important thing to remember when you have to fight a boss over and
over is to not rush. It is easy to get frustrated and just try to do things as
frantically and quickly as possible. This will get you killed, merely adding to
your frustration. Before you begin the fight, calm yourself, plan out what
you're going to do, then go in and do it. If things get crazy and you don't
know what to do, remember that you can pause at any time to think things
through. Finally, one of the most frustrating things about this battle is that
its success is partially dependent on luck. Sometimes the Boost Guardian will
hit you every time as he bounces around, sometimes hardly at all. Also, when
and if the pillars get destroyed can crucially affect the battle. If several
get destroyed early in the battle, they will mostly have been wasted, while if
one doesn't get destroyed at the time you really need it, you'll die from the
atmosphere. So if things are going your way, it's important to try and make the
most of the opportunity.
It will take approximately five charged Light Beam shots to kill the Boost
Guardian. When you finally succeed, the BOOST BALL will be yours, along with a
multitude of energy and ammo pick-ups. The Boost Ball allows you to "charge up"
the Morph Ball by holding B, then zoom off at high speed when you release B,
just like the Boost Guardian did. Roll out through the tunnel and you can use
the Boost Ball to reach the DARK TORVUS TEMPLE KEY high up the side of the
halfpipe. Position yourself underneath the key and boost up one side. As you
reach the top of your boost, charge up another boost and release it when you
reach the bottom of the halfpipe. The additional boost will send you higher up
the side, and you can repeat this until you reach the key. Now, you can
backtrack to the portal generator (don't forget to save on the way!) and go
through the Light Portal.
When you return to Torvus Grove, notice that there's another halfpipe just in
front of the door to Underground Tunnel. Boost up to the top of it and you'll
discover a ledge that runs along the walls of the room. Follow the ledge around
the room and you'll find a door. In the next room are several small, mostly
harmless creatures known as KROCUSSES, and past them you'll reach Forgotten
Bridge but, like before, you'll be inside the metal tunnel. However, nearby is
the solid version of the transparent device you saw here in Dark Aether. This
is a SPINNER, and by rolling into it and boosting several times you can open
up a gate in the wall, allowing you to travel between the metal walkway and the
main part of Forgotten Bridge. In the Morph Ball maze through the door at the
end of the walkway, you can find a MISSILE EXPANSION. It's fairly
straightforward how you need to progress, but once you activate the second Bomb
Slot you can reach the tunnel that leads straight back. At the end of it you'll
find a halfpipe, and at the top is the expansion. On the other side of the
maze, though, you'll reach Torvus Plaza, the light version of where you just
fought the Boost Guardian. This room is full of trees and luscious plants,
though, not terrifying Ing. There is a halfpipe here just like in Dark Aether,
but unfortunately there's nothing at the top that you can reach right now;
you'll have to return here later.
You've now explored almost all of the surface of Torvus Bog, but there is still
much of Dark Torvus that you have not seen. Since you just used the Spinner to
open the gate in Forgotten Bridge, return there and drop onto the ledge
underneath the gate. To your right is the Dark Portal you used earlier; go
through it again.
/==============================================================================
4. Disturbing Anomalies [III.C.4]
\==============================================================================
|[Upper Dark Torvus Bog, Upper Torvus Bog, Temple Grounds West, Agon|
|Wastes, Dark Agon Wastes] |
|o Seeker Missile Launcher |
|o Darkburst |
|o Energy Tank 12 |
|o Missile Expansions 18,22,24,27 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you are in Dark Forgotten Bridge, jump back up onto the bridge and follow
it to the green door; open it with a Super Missile (which you couldn't do
before). In the next room you'll need to shoot the LIFTVINE CRYSTAL with the
Light Beam to make the platform rise, then jump up to the upper ledge. Drop
down on the other side to reach Venemous Pond, Dark Torvus's Great Bridge. You
can clearly see a Dark Temple Key on a ledge above a white door, but there's no
way to reach it, not even by jumping from the ledge at the other end of the
Morph Ball tunnel. When you drop down to the floor of this room, a Hunter Ing
will appear. One way to defeat it is to wait until it is over the liftvine
plant in the water, then activate the Liftvine Crystal to create a Safe Zone.
There's a Save Station behind the red door, and the white door leads into the
lower level of the Dark Torvus Temple. While you can't raise the platform into
the main section of the temple because you don't have all three keys yet, there
are two other doors here. The blue door leads to an Ammo Station, and at the
end of the Morph Ball tunnel is a green door with an ENERGY TANK behind it!
Return to Venemous Pond and go through the only other door in this room: the
black door on ground level. It leads to Portal Chamber, which is almost
identical to the version of the room in Light Aether. Almost: after you roll
through the tunnel and reach the other end of the room, look for some platforms
in the area containing the door that you can jump up. These platforms lead to
another tunnel which will take you to the area with the Light Portal. Go
through the portal and you'll find a MISSILE EXPANSION waiting right in front
of you. Once back in Dark Torvus, you can continue on to the next room,
Poisoned Bog, which for now is a dead end. That's all you can do in Dark
Torvus right now, so backtrack to Dark Forgotten Bridge and go through the
Light Portal.
If you attempt to explore the lower levels of Torvus Bog now, you will discover
that you need a new item. In order to save some backtracking later on, you
should go ahead and get this item now. This will also give you a chance to
re-explore old areas with your new abilities and find several useful items.
With that in mind, return to the elevator out of Torvus Bog, but be careful,
because many of the rooms will now be guarded by Grenchlers.
When you reach Temple Grounds, you should head back towards Meeting Grounds.
However, you can use a shortcut through Path of Eyes: there's a Morph Ball
tunnel located very close to the door you'll enter by. It can be difficult to
spot, but once you find it it will take you directly to the other end of the
room. At the end of the tunnel you'll find a Luminoth Lore (THE WORLD WARPED)
and a platform that you'll need to shoot with the Dark Beam to move out of the
way. Now you can open the green doors to easily return to Meeting Grounds.
You'll probably want to get rid of the War Wasp Hives in the room, but then
notice the large halfpipe in the room. Boost up it and you'll find another
Luminoth Lore, AGE OF ANXIETY, with a Morph Ball tunnel nearby. Roll through
the tunnel, and when you reach a place where you must roll across a series of
collapsable blocks, boost across them to keep from falling. If you do fall,
you'll have to backtrack to Meeting Grounds and try again. Once you make it
across, you can just follow the track as it leads you through several rooms
before finally sending you over a purple door and dropping you out on the other
side.
The room you'll end up in is the Hall of Honored Dead, and you'll notice from
the map that it is directly underneath the Great Temple. Large statues of
Luminoth heroes surround the room, but what most attracts your attention is the
item that is locked inside a strong cylindrical cage in the center of the room.
In order to unlock the cage, you must use the four Spinners around the room to
rotate sections of the floor. The floor surrounding the cage is divided into
five rings, and each Spinner simultaneously rotates two adjacent rings. When a
ring is in the correct position, it will glow yellow. Once all five rings are
correctly aligned, the cage will open. This puzzle can be time-consuming if you
approach it by rotating rings randomly, but with a little strategy it can be
solved quickly. Each Spinner controls two concentric rings, so the key is to
figure out which rings each Spinner controls, then work from the inside out.
Numbering the rings from the inside out, here are the rings controlled by each
Spinner:
red: 1 & 2
yellow: 2 & 3
blue: 3 & 4
purple: 4 & 5
To align the rings, use the red Spinner until ring 1 is aligned, then go to the
yellow Spinner and use it until ring 2 is aligned. Do the same for ring 3 with
the blue Spinner, then finally use the purple Spinner until the last two rings
are aligned. Once all five rings are aligned, the outer ring will raise from
the floor and the giant statues around the room will focus lasers on the cage,
shattering it. Now you can collect the item inside, which is the SEEKER MISSILE
LAUNCHER. Now, by holding down the Y button, an orange targeting reticule will
appear which you can use to select up to five different targets. When you
release Y, Missiles will be fired at every target. Also, if you hold down Y
while locked-on, up to five dots will gradually appear inside the orange
reticule, indicating how many Missiles will be fired when you release Y. Use
the Seeker Launcher to get out of the Hall of Honored Dead by selecting each of
the purple balls around the purple door.
Now you can head back the way you came, but on the ground and not in the Morph
Ball tunnel. In the second room you'll go through, Service Access, you'll see a
Morph Ball-sized pipe which leads back to Meeting Grounds, but first go through
the door, which leads to Landing Site. You'll be on a ledge you couldn't reach
before, and you'll discover another Luminoth with a Keymaker Lore entry,
M-DHE'S TESTAMENT, behind some rocks. Jump down to save and refill your ammo,
then get back onto the ledge by using a movable platform underneath the ledge.
Also, if you haven't scanned your ship for a Logbook entry yet, do it now,
because soon you will no longer be able to do so. Now, return to Meeting
Grounds and follow the path back to Torvus Bog. Once in Torvus, make your way
to the lower level of Torvus Temple. You may be ready to explore the lower
levels, but there are still more items to be collected. One of the doors out of
this chamber is a purple door, so use the Seeker Launcher to open it. Behind it
is an elevator that goes back to Agon Wastes.
When you leave the elevator room on Agon, you'll find yourself on a ledge above
Transport Center. Below you is a halfpipe, and on the other side of the
halfpipe, but higher up, is another ledge with a Dark Portal. You should know
what to do: drop down onto the halfpipe and boost up to the portal. When you go
through to Dark Aether, you'll find a MISSILE EXPANSION waiting for you right
in front of the portal. Once you get it, though, drop down and go through the
door to the left to reach Portal Site. There are two Dark Pirate Troopers here:
you can fight them if you want, but all you need to do is go through the other
door out of Portal Site to reach Judgment Pit. After getting rid of the two
Warrior Ing here, jump up the platforms until you reach the green door above an
orange statue. Open the door with a Super Missile and in the next tunnel,
Warrior's Walk, you can bomb part of the floor. Underneath the floor is a pool
of Phazon, but at the end of the Phazon is a MISSILE EXPANSION, so drop in and
roll as fast as you can to the expansion, then hurry back and jump out.
Warrior's Walk connects Judgment Pit and Battlefield, so continue on to
Battlefield, then cross it to reach Doomed Entry. Here, jump up the platforms
and go through the black door. When you reach Dark Oasis, make your way through
the Inglets to the Light Portal, then return to Light Aether.
You'll now be in Main Reactor of Agon Wastes. Go through the door immediately
to the right to reach Sand Processing. After taking out the turrets, boost up
the halfpipe on the half nearest to where you came in and you'll reach a
tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, scan the computer and activate the Bomb Slot
to drain the sand out of the other end of the room. With the sand gone, a
MISSILE EXPANSION is revealed. Once you've got the expansion, boost up the
halfpipe to reach the door. Once you've saved, you'll discover that there are
several Metroids flying around in Bioenergy Production. Kill or run past them
to Biostorage Station, where the real fun awaits. There are several dark blue
sacs hanging from the ceiling in the room now, and tiny Metroids are issuing
from the sacs. Scan the METROID COCOONS and INFANT TALLON METROIDS for your
Logbook, then get busy. The Infant Metroids cannot suck your energy, but they
can still ram you for minor damage. A charged Power Beam shot or a single
light/dark shot will kill them. The only thing to worry about is that if an
Infant Metroid reaches one of the Phazon pools, it will transform into a
full-grown Metroid. Also, Infant Metroids will keep coming out of the cocoons
forever until they are destroyed. You don't have to stay in this room, but if
you want to kill the Metroids, destroy all the cocoons, then eliminate all the
Infant Metroids. Once you've had your fun, continue on to the Command Center,
then head back to the Agon Temple.
Go through the black door in Agon Temple to reach Mine Shaft. You already got
an Energy Tank here, but this time roll all the way down to the bottom, where
there's a purple door you can now open. This leads to Mining Station B, where
a large industrial blade is hanging in the center of the room. There are also
several KRALEES in the room. They're harmless, but interesting because they
will pop in and out of existence every few seconds. There's also a Bomb Slot in
this room. When you activate it, the blade will start spinning and a timer will
begin ticking. Now go through the passage nearby to reach an area with a large
halfpipe. Scan the panel in front of the halfpipe to activate a Kinetic Orb
Cannon, which will shoot you up to another ledge. Now, before the timer runs
out, activate the Bomb Slot at the end of this ledge to raise the blade. It
will hit a rock outcropping and destroy it, revealing a Dark Portal.
To reach the Dark Portal, scan the Luminoth Lore (THE STELLAR OBJECT) on the
ledge near the second Bomb Slot, then drop down and boost up the halfpipe. The
path at the top will drop you down the axle of the blade and leave you standing
on top of it. Now you can go through the portal to reach Trial Grounds. Go
through a crack in the wall of the main section, then jump from ledge to ledge
to reach a Morph Ball tunnel. Roll through the tunnel (avoid the Nightbarbs)
and at the end you'll reach a Light Portal that's behind a fence you've seen
before in Duelling Range. Once back in Light Aether, roll back through the
tunnel, and you'll discover a new item on the ledge. This is the DARKBURST, the
Charge Combo for the Dark Beam. It uses 5 missiles and 30 Dark Ammo to create a
large cloud that does heavy damage to anything inside it when it detonates. As
soon as you claim the Darkburst, two Pirate Aerotroopers will appear. Take them
out however you want, then leave Mining Station B and make your way back to
Transport Center. Boost up the halfpipe to reach the elevator, and use it to
return to Torvus Bog. At long last, it's finally time to explore the lower
level.
/==============================================================================
5. Craven Savages [III.C.5]
\==============================================================================
|[Lower Torvus Bog, Lower Dark Torvus Bog] |
|o Gravity Boost |
|o Dark Torvus Key 2 |
|o Missile Expansion 33 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Roll through the Morph Ball-sized tunnel in the lower section of Torvus Temple
to reach an elevator, with a Luminoth corpse lying against the wall. At the
bottom of the elevator, you'll step into Hydrodynamo Station. This large,
cylindrical room is mostly underwater, but you'll enter on a ledge that rings
the room and is above the surface. There is a central shaft that runs the
entire height of the room, and underwater are several levels of ledges and
platforms. Before jumping in the water, though, jump up the rotating platforms
that are spinning around the central shaft. (Watch out for PREEDS, though.) At
the top you can reach a red door which contains a Save Station.
Now jump into the water, but jump towards the central pillar. You'll land on a
circular platform attached to the pillar, and you can see three doors on ledges
spaced around the room across from your platform. One of them has a Missile
Expansion on it, but none of them are reachable. Your only choice is do drop
down to the bottom of the room, and it's here that you'll likely encounter
BLOGGS for the first time. Bloggs are fast, strong, and dangerous, and quick
reflexes are the key to defeating them. The best way to kill one is to lock-on
to it and wait until it is charging straight at you with its mouth open, then
fire a missile at it before it reaches you. This will kill it immediately. At
the bottom of Hydrodynamo Station you'll find a scannable control panel, which
will extend the platform in front of the purple door above and release one of
the locks securing access to a door at the very bottom of the room. To get back
up, roll into the central tube, where a cannon will fire you to the top of the
room. Now you can use the extended platform to reach the ledge, get the MISSILE
EXPANSION, and use the Seeker Launcher to open the purple door.
Through the door is an upward-sloping tunnel, and when you emerge from the
water you'll see the air is full of sparkling blue particles, just like when
you defeated Dark Samus in the Agon Wastes. When you exit the tunnel and enter
the next room, Training Chamber, the blue particles will merge and condense to
form Dark Samus! The evil twin of yourself will laugh at you, then explode into
blue particles again. Apparently Dark Samus isn't ready to fight you again yet,
but he/she/it wants to let you know that he/she/it is still alive and strong.
Now for the Training Chamber. You'll be standing on a ledge, but most of the
room is filled with water. Across the room is a large Luminoth statue, but it
doesn't look like you can do much with it now. Drop into the water, where
you'll have to fight two Bloggs. Focus on one at a time, and after you've fired
a missile into each one's open mouth, a Spinner in front of the statue will
power up. Using the Spinner will rotate a section of the floor containing a
Morph Ball track, allowing it to connect to two different tracks. When a track
is connected, lights on the sides of the track will glow a specific color. The
first track you can connect is the red track, and by following it it will lead
underneath a wall and to a dry ledge containing a black door as well as a
Luminoth Lore: this one is titled RECOVERING ENERGY, in which the Luminoth
discuss their plans to build a device to transfer planetary energy from Dark to
Light Aether. This is the Energy Transfer Module, the glowing blue ball which
you found early in your journey.
Through the black door is Transit Tunnel East. A cannon will fire you (in
Morph Ball form) into a series of underwater pipes. Simply roll through it, and
at the end is another door leading to the Catacombs. The Catacombs is another
room that is flooded, but with a few ledges and structures above the waterline.
You can see several damaged and collapsed pillars in the room, evidence that
the room was in much better condition prior to being flooded. There's a Dark
Portal in this room, but it is behind a cage on a platform. Underwater you'll
have to fight two more Bloggs, and there's also a Bomb Slot on an underwater
ledge, but it is too high to reach with your limited jumping abilities
underwater. You can cross the room to reach the ledge on the other side,
though. Here you'll find a gray door (you haven't seen very many of these yet,
but you can't open it), as well as a black door. Before you go through the
black door, though, scan the Luminoth body for G-SCH'S TESTAMENT, and if you
look above the Dark Portal you can scan another Lore: THE NEW TERROR,
describing the horror the Luminoth felt when the Ing first began to possess the
Luminoth.
Now go through the black door, and at the end of a downward-sloping tunnel
you'll reenter Hydrodynamo Chamber, this time on a different ledge. There's
another control panel in front of you, and by scanning it you'll extend the
platform for the ledge you're on and release another lock. Also, the Bloggs in
the water are now BLOGGLINGS, small versions that are not nearly as strong. You
still can't reach the final ledge (the one with the white door), but you can
return to the Training Chamber and use the Spinner to connect the second set of
Morph Ball tracks, which are blue and lead to a white door. Through this door
is Transit Tunnel West, another set of pipes. Here, fans will create strong
currents preventing you from making progress. By using the Bomb Slots, you can
turn the currents on or off, allowing you to make it through to the other side.
The third and final large room surrounding the central Hydrodynamo Station is
Gathering Hall, and like the rest, it too is flooded. Like the others, this
room also contains a large Luminoth statue, but the platform on this statue
contains a large laser beam which is currently focused on a rock wall.
Underwater you'll have to defeat one more Blogg, and you'll also discover a
large section of the floor is made of cracked Benzium, which you cannot
destroy. In the center of the room underwater is a Dark Portal, but it is
behind bars. There's also another Lore entry underwater on the other side; it's
titled NEW WEAPONS, and it relates the invention of the Dark and Light Beams.
There are also several large spiky objects floating on the surface of the
water. By firing the Dark Beam at the crystals on the undersides of these
objects, they will flip over and you can use them to reach the ledge on the
other side of the room. Along the way you'll jump onto the platform with the
laser, and you can see that the laser is controlled by a transparent Spinner.
On the other side of the room is another gray door, along with a Bomb Slot.
When you activate the Bomb Slot, the bars in front of the Dark Portal will
lower, so drop underwater and enter the portal.
When you reach the Dark Aether version of this room, called Crypt, you'll see
that you are no longer underwater: this room is dry except for a small pool of
toxic water in the center of the room. You'll also discover, likely to your
dismay, that there are several Dark Pirate Commandos in this room. Like before,
these enemies are very strong and resilient. Reach a Safe Zone and try to avoid
their attacks as best you can. You may want to occasionally move to a different
Safe Zone in order to avoid the EMP grenades. If you want to try to kill the
pirates before they disappear, you can, but be aware that it will drain your
missile and ammo supplies. Otherwise, you can try to just avoid their attacks
until they disappear (which will take several minutes), or you can just try to
reach the platform containing the laser and use the Spinner device to move the
laser without getting hit. However you do it, all you need to do here is move
the laser, which will cause part of the wall to crumble in Light Aether. When
you return to Gathering Hall, you'll see that a Missile Expansion is now
exposed near the laser, although it is behind a shield. Also, from the ledge
with the gray door, you can jump to a cannon underneath the Missile Expansion,
which will fire you on to a ledge containing a white door.
Through the white door is another watery tunnel, and at the end is the ledge
containing the final control panel in Hydrodynamo Station. Once the final
platform is extended and the final lock released, the central section of the
floor of Hydrodynamo Station will rise, revealing a door underneath. Go through
the door in the bottom of Hydrodynamo Station to reach Hydrodynamo Shaft, which
s just an underwater spiral staircase that winds around a large cylindrical
chamber in which you can see a very large creature swimming. Towards the bottom
of the shaft you'll encounter a swarm of Hydlings, which you can use to refill
any energy or ammo you need.
The door at the bottom of the shaft leads to the Main Hydrochamber, which is
directly underneath the cylindrical chamber you spiraled around. Drop down to
the bottom of the room, which contains a door on one side and an alcove on the
other. The alcove leads to a ledge too high to reach, so go through the door.
Here, in a small storage room, you'll find the GRAVITY BOOST. This useful piece
of equipment will undo all the handicaps you had to deal with in water. Now
your visibility is crystal clear, your movement and jumping abilities are at
full strength, and you can even drift upwards for a considerable distance
underwater.
As soon as you return to Main Hydrochamber, though, the walls will rotate to
lock you into the room and a hatch in the ceiling will open, releasing the
creature you saw through the bars in Hydrochamber Shaft. This is the ALPHA
BLOGG, and it is in essence a very large, very fast, and very strong Blogg. The
Alpha Blogg has an additional attack as well: it can fire sonic blasts, which
will appear as swirls in the water. These can be easily dodged, but if one hits
you it will blur your vision and prevent you from firing for several seconds.
The Alpha Blogg's most potent attack, though, is its charge. Just like regular
Bloggs, the Alpha Blogg will charge straight at you from across the room,
leaving you only a second or two to respond. Unfortunately, this is also the
time when the Alpha Blogg is most vulnerable to damage. The best strategy is to
keep a powerful attack charged up and ready to fire as soon as the Alpha Blogg
begins to charge, then immediately jump or dash out of the way. Super Missiles,
Seeker Missiles, and charged Dark Beam shots are all effective against the
Alpha Blogg. A hit by any of these attacks will take a significant chunk out of
its energy bar, so use whichever you prefer or have ammo for. The most
difficult part of the battle is avoiding the charge, but if you can survive
long enough to get several strong hits in you will destroy the Alpha Blogg.
Once the creature is dead, the walls will unlock and a fan set in the wall will
stop turning. In order to leave the room, use your new Gravity Boost to reach
the ledge in front of the fan, and from there you can use the Gravity Boost
again to drift up and across the room to another ledge. By similarly boosting
to several more ledges, you can return to the door leading back to the bottom
of Hydrochamber Shaft.
In Hydrochamber Shaft, use the school of Hydlings to refill your energy,
missiles, and ammo, but wait a moment before you go back up. Just before the
short drop where the door to Main Hydrochamber is located, there is a
cylindrical platform with a ledge on top. Gravity Boost up to the top of it,
and you'll find a Dark Portal! When you go through the portal, you'll discover
the second DARK TORVUS TEMPLE KEY is waiting for you on the ledge! Don't try to
explore any more of this part of Dark Torvus now; immediately go back through
the portal and return to Hydrodynamo Station. You can no longer use the cannon
to reach the top of the room, but you can Gravity Boost up. Now would be a good
time to return to the top of the room and use the Save Station there.
/==============================================================================
6. Dark Swarms [III.C.6]
\==============================================================================
|[Torvus Bog, Dark Torvus Bog] |
|o Grapple Beam |
|o Dark Torvus Key 3 |
|o Energy Tank 11 |
|o Beam Ammo Expansion 3 |
|o Missile Expansions 25,26,28,37 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that you have the Gravity Boost, you need to see if there are any other
areas in Lower Torvus you can access. From Hydrodynamo Station, take the blue
door to Training Chamber. When you enter the water, the two Blogglings in the
water will be possessed and transform into DARK BLOGGS. These are tough
creatures, because it will take about three missiles in the mouth to kill one.
Try to keep both Dark Bloggs in your field of vision, and do your best to dodge
out of the way after you fire. When they're both gone, use the Spinner to
rotate the floor so that the red track is connected. Use the Morph Ball tunnel
to reach Transit Tunnel East. Now that you can bomb jump normally underwater,
you can reach and activate the Bomb Slot at the top of a short vertical tube.
When you do, currents will begin moving up or down the other vertical pipes in
the tunnel. Go to the third tube past the Bomb Slot, where there is an upward
current. You need to reach the top of the tube, but it will take some
ingenuity. The current increases the height of your bomb jump and lowers the
speed at which you fall. You need to do a bomb jump into the tube, then lay
another bomb when you are almost at the apex of your jump so that you fall onto
the bomb just as it detonates. Try it a few times and you'll soon see what you
need to do. You'll have to do this twice to reach the top of the tube, where
you'll find a second Bomb Slot. This will reverse the direction of the
currents temporarily, creating an upward current in the tube containing the
Energy Tank, which you can see is to the left of the second Bomb Slot. If you
can reach the top of its tube before time expires, you'll get the ENERGY TANK.
Continue on to the Catacombs, which now is home to two Grenchlers. Don't forget
that now you can fight them underwater just as well as on land. Once they're
dead, return to the Bomb Slot on a high underwater ledge underneath the Dark
Portal. You couldn't reach it before, but with the Gravity Boost you can easily
activate the Bomb Slot, lowering the bars around the Dark Portal. Jump onto the
ledge and go through the portal.
The Dark Aether room you'll appear in is called Dungeon, and there are two DARK
GRENCHLERS in it. Fight them just like you would fight a regular Grenchler,
only use the Light Beam instead of the Dark Beam. Go through the only door out
of the room to reach Undertransit Two, where you need to avoid being crushed by
the cylinders that move up and down in the tunnel. At the end is Sacrificial
Chamber. This room contains two large, bright objects that generate Safe Zones
and look like some sort of power generator. There is a Hunter Ing in this room,
but it's obvious that it's not the only creature here. There is obviously a
large creature walking around just above you. You can see what it is by
climbing up the pile of debris on one side of the room, which will let you
reach a ledge where you can see, through a metal grate, a large creature with a
single rhinoceros horn. However, you can't scan it from here, so you won't be
able to find out exactly what it is.
Go through the white door at the other end of the room to reach Undertransit
One, which is laid out like some pipes you encountered in the NES Metroid game!
There are three pipes stacked on top of each other, with invisible gaps in them
that will drop you down to the pipe below. Use the windows in the pipe to keep
track of your location, and when you can't go forward anymore, do a bomb jump
to go through a gap up to the pipe above. There's actually an expansion hidden
in these pipes, which you may discover by accident or not even suspect its
existence. The expansion is in the top pipe, just left of the central wall. On
the left side, head for the right half of the middle pipe and find a gap in the
ceiling. If you bomb up and veer left, you'll land on a ledge in the top level
from which you can reach the central ring. If you veer right, though, you'll
run right into the MISSILE EXPANSION. Once you've got the expansion, continue
through the pipes to the other end.
At the end of this tunnel, you'll enter Crypt, a room you explored before.
However, this time you'll enter on a ledge surrounded by an energy shield.
Fire a Dark Beam shot at the crystal to lower the shield and cause several
platforms in the walls to begin moving in and out from the wall. Also, two Dark
Pirate Troopers (not Commandos!) will teleport in the room, but you can get rid
of them easily with the Light Beam. Use the moving platforms to reach the ledge
above the laser, which contains a white door. The door leads to a tunnel filled
with Darkling Tentacles; the Power Beam gives you the best chance of hitting
these fast-moving tentacles.
The tunnel leads to the Dark Aether version of Hydrodynamo Station, called
Undertemple Shaft. This room is dry, but it still has all the same ledges as
the Light Aether room, with the addition of a metal cage in the center of the
room on the level of the three doors. The only way for you to go is down, so
jump to the bottom of the shaft. You'll find two Hunter Ing down here, which
you probably don't want to fight, so use the ledges around the edge to jump to
a Kinetic Orb Cannon, which will fire you up to the top of the room. Here you
can go through the red door to find a Save Station, then drop down onto a
metal floor that covers most of the shaft. There is one opening in it, which
will let you drop onto a ledge with a metal path in front of it. This leads
into the central cage, where you'll find a Bomb Slot next to the body of a
Luminoth. The slot will rotate the cage and the walkway so that it connects to
the door to Sacrificial Chamber. In the tunnel you'll find several Ingsphere
Caches, so use them to refill as much energy, missiles, and light ammo as you
can. Past them is some Venom Weed. Shoot it to make it temporarily withdraw,
then cross it quickly.
The tunnel leads to the upper half of Sacrificial Chamber, and as soon as you
enter you'll meet the large creature you saw and heard earlier, the GRAPPLE
GUARDIAN. This sub-guardian resembles a large Grenchler and still has its
weakness in its back shell. The Grapple Guardian can still ram and bite like a
regular Grenchler, and it is powerful, so you generally want to stay as far
away as you can. Its other attack is, of course, its grapple beam, which it
fires from its horn. If it hits you it will slowly drag you toward it while
draining energy away. Fire at its eye in order to break free. You can also fire
at its eye any other time, but you'll notice that doing so will cause it to
flash yellow, not red, meaning you're not actually doing damage. If you shoot
its eye enough, you will stun the Grapple Guardian momentarily, possibly just
long enough for you to get behind it and fire off a missile to do damage. A
better strategy is to wait until it uses the grapple beam, then try to get it
to grapple one of the power generators. This will cause it to get stuck to the
generator, allowing you to get behind it and fire away with the Light Beam.
Even if it doesn't get stuck to the generator, your best bet of doing damage is
while it's using the grapple beam attack.
It will take around four or five solid attacks to drop the Grapple Guardian's
energy bar to 1/4, at which point its shell will break. However, now things
will work a little differently. The Grapple Guardian will surround its
vulnerable back with energy from its grapple beam, meaning you can't attack it
directly like normal. Instead, you'll have to fire at its eye (use the Power
Beam for this) in order to stun the Grapple Guardian, at which point it will
be vulnerable to damage for a few seconds. Fire missiles or whatever you have
as fast as you can here, because it won't last long. (Note that you do not have
to fire at its back to do damage here.) You'll have to do this about three
times to finally kill the Grapple Guardian and claim the GRAPPLE BEAM as your
own.
Once you get the Grapple Beam, the floor will descend down to the lower level,
preventing you from reaching the door back to Undertemple Shaft. Or has it?
Climb up the debris pile, and from the ledge there you can lock-on to the
GRAPPLE POINT on the ceiling (hold down L) to fire the Grapple Beam. This will
cause you to swing out across the room, and when you're over the ledge with the
door you can release the Grapple Beam (let go of L) to drop onto the ledge and
return to Undertemple Shaft. You've now completed your exploration of lower
Torvus Bog (at least for now), but there's no way to go directly from lower to
upper Dark Torvus Bog, so you need to find a Light Portal. Use the Grapple
Points to reach the white door which leads to Crypt and its Light Portal. Once
you're back in Light Aether, you can leave lower Torvus and head to Great
Bridge.
In Great Bridge, you'll have to fend off two Dark Pirate Commandos for a couple
minutes, then you can go through the door to Path of Roots. Here you'll see a
Luminoth Lore that you passed up the first time you saw it because you hadn't
yet reached the Torvus Energy Controller. Now you can scan it and read THE ING
ATTACK and learn about the Luminoth's discovery of the Ing's ability to take
control of creatures in Light Aether. What's more, there's a Grapple Point in
this room that you can use to reach a MISSILE EXPANSION. Continuing on to
Torvus Lagoon, there's an area to the right of the ramp that slopes up to the
dry land. This area is home to a patch of Venom Weed, and in an alcove high
above the weed is another MISSILE EXPANSION, which you can reach with the
Gravity Boost. You can find one more expansion by returning to Great Bridge,
then going through the white door on the ledge across from the bridge to reach
Abandoned Worksite. Use the Grapple Point here to swing to yet another MISSILE
EXPANSION.
Now you have only a few tasks remaining before entering the Dark Torvus Temple.
Head to Forgotten Bridge and use the portal there, then go through the blue
door on the bridge to reach Venemous Pond. Before you get the final key,
though, there is one important expansion you should get. Go through the black
door and roll through Portal Chamber to reach Poisoned Bog, the dark version of
Torvus Lagoon. It is mostly filled with toxic water and is home to a Hunter
Ing, but you can reach a ledge with a purple door. Use the Seeker Launcher to
open it, and inside you'll find a rare BEAM AMMO EXPANSION, which will increase
your light and dark ammo capacity by 50.
Now, return to Venemous Pond and reach the ledge with the Light Crystal on it.
Roll through the Morph Ball tunnel to the left to reach a ledge across from the
key. Now you can use the Grapple Beam to swing across and claim the final DARK
TORVUS TEMPLE KEY. Head over to the nearby Save Station, then enter Dark Torvus
Temple. Before you step into the swirling light in the center of the room,
though, roll through the branches to the left to reach an Ammo Station. Now
that your energy, missiles, and ammo are all full, step into the red light.
/==============================================================================
7. True Deathblows [III.C.7]
\==============================================================================
|[BOSS: Chykka] |
|o Dark Visor |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The three Dark Temple Keys will move into place on the three small pillars in
front of the platform. Then, toxic water will begin pouring into the room,
causing the platform you're standing on to begin rising with the water. You'll
emerge in the center of the main Dark Torvus Temple, a large circular room
surrounded by high cliff walls. The room is full of toxic water except for your
platform in the center. On the wall in front of you is a giant cocoon, held up
by four supporting structures. Use the Seeker Launcher to target all four
supports at once, and the cocoon will break and fall into the water, releasing
the creature inside...
That creature is Chykka, a gigantic black and blue monster. Scan it to learn
that this is a CHYKKA LARVA, and that its belly is its weak spot. At first,
Chykka will just swim in a circle around your platform. As it swims, DARK
SHREDDERS will jump out of the water and begin drifting towards you. (Make sure
to scan one; this is your only chance!) Shoot the Dark Shredders before they
crash into you, then focus your attention on Chykka. It will dive underneath
the water, but watch for it to reappear on your HUD radar. When you see the
orange dot reappear, turn to face it with a charged Light Beam blast. Chykka
will leap out of the water and fire a blast of acid at you. Simultaneously
jump and fire to both avoid the acid and do damage to Chykka, then make sure to
jump over the splash that will wash over the platform when Chykka lands. Chykka
is only in the air for a second, so the Power or Light Beams are the only
weapons that have time to hit it; anything else is just too slow. Chykka will
leap twice before circling again.
Sometimes, instead of leaping, Chykka will simply rise up and "stand" out of
the water in front of your platform. When this happens, it is about to try to
grab you with its tongue and drag you towards it. You can prevent this by
firing at it or jumping out of the way. Whenever Chykka tries this attack,
simply pummel it with the Light Beam as much as you can until it resumes
circling. When your light ammo gets low, fire the Dark Beam at the Dark
Shredders to get more. This battle is actually fairly easy and you shouldn't
have too many problems. Once you kill the Chykka Larva, though, is when the
fun really starts.
The dead larva will sink into the water and the platform you're on will divide
into three pieces. Then, out of another cocoon will burst a second, adult
Chykka! This CHYKKA (a different scan!) has a long, slender body and two sets
of insect-like wings which it uses to hover in the center of the room. Scanning
will tell you that the adult Chykka is a light creature, so it is vulnerable to
the Dark Beam. The adult Chykka's main attack is to fire a swath of several
acid blasts that are very difficult to completely avoid. The best way is to try
to jump ahead of the blast until it ends, but this is by no means foolproof.
The hardest part of this battle is simply trying to stay on the platforms,
since a hit from the acid will usually knock you off, and it can be difficult
to make your way back on while you are focusing on Chykka. If you are having
trouble, break your lock-on and focus on getting back on the plaform and in the
Safe Zone, then return to deal with Chykka. If you see Chykka stay in one place
for several seconds, it is about to charge you, so immediately use the Grapple
Beam to swing to one of the other platforms.
To damage Chykka, the first step is to fire the Power or Dark Beams at it. Make
sure that you remain locked-on to it; sometimes it will zip from side to side,
which will break your lock-on. These blasts will only cause Chykka to flash
yellow, though, meaning they're not actually doing damage. However, once Chykka
is hit enough it will be stunned for several seconds. When this happens, it
will start slowly rotating and red circles will appear at the bases of each of
its wings. Now is your chance to damage Chykka, but you have to be fast.
Quickly use the Grapple Beam to swing to the platform so that you are in front
of the wings. As soon as you land, charge up the Seeker Launcher and lock-on to
all four of the targets on the wings. When you hit all four targets
simultaneously, you will take off 1/8 of Chykka's energy meter.
Once you've done this twice, Chykka will fall into the toxic water in the
center of the temple. When it arises several seconds later, it will be taken
over by the Ing and become DARK CHYKKA (new scan). Dark Chykka has a large,
swolen eggsac, and this is its weak spot. Lock-on to it and fire at it with the
Light Beam as much as you can. Dark Chykka's main attack is also several blasts
of acid, although Dark Chykka fires them all in the same place instead of in a
wide swath, making it a little easier to dodge. Also, Dark Chykka will
periodically release a swarm of small flying cretures called CHYKLINGS from its
tail which will head towards you. These can be useful for refilling light and
dark ammo, so take advantage of them as necessary. Dark Chykka is much easier
than regular Chykka, since you basically just have to fire at it as fast as you
can.
When you have Dark Chykka down to half energy, it will change back to normal
Chykka, and you'll have to do the stun, grapple, missile routine again. If you
can do it successfully two more times, though, you're almost there. It will
turn into Dark Chykka once more, and now simply pummel it with the Light Beam,
missiles, Power Beam, or whatever you have left until it is dead.
Once Chykka dies, the three platforms will rejoin into one, the toxic water
will drain out of the temple, and a new item will appear in the center of the
room. This is the DARK VISOR, which allows you to see objects that are not
visible otherwise. You'll need to put it to good use, too. You'll see a series
of platforms rise up, but as they do they will turn invisible. Switch to the
Dark Visor, though, and they will show up in bright red. Using the visor, jump
up the platforms until you reach a door at the top. This leads to the Dark
Torvus Energy Controller where, just like in Agon Wastes, you will interface
with the Energy Controller and absorb the planetary energy stored there. Once
you have transferred the energy, Dark Torvus's sky will change from purple to
an eerie red.
Now to transfer the energy to the Light Torvus temple. Head for Dark Forgotten
Bridge (you may want to stop by the Save Station off of Venemous Pond) and go
through the portal there. Now you can easily return to Torvus Temple and
refill the Energy Controller there with the energy. Congratulations, you have
now restored the planetary energy to two of Aether's regions; only one more to
go! All that's left now is to visit U-Mos in the Great Temple again to find out
where to go for the final Energy Controller. However, when you reach Great
Bridge, you'll be visited by some more Dark Pirate Commandos. This time,
though, things will go differently. Before, the hardest part about this fight
was that they are constantly turning invisible, making it hard for you to know
where to look for them. Now, with the Dark Visor, you can see the pirates lit
up bright red all the time, making the fight much easier. You still have to
watch out for their attacks, but you're much less likely to be surprised by an
attack. Once the Dark Pirate Commandos have gone, return to Torvus Lagoon and
take the elevator back up to Temple Grounds.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## D. SANCTUARY FORTRESS [III.D]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Metallic Warriors [III.D.1]
\==============================================================================
|[Temple Grounds, Sanctuary Fortress Level 1, Ing Hive Level 1] |
|o Missile Expansion 48 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Make your way back towards Meeting Grounds, and when you get there you'll be
met by three Dark Pirate Commandos. This time, however, you'll have to kill
them. Use the Dark Visor to keep track of them and attack with the Light Beam
or Super Missiles, and keep in mind that each pirate will have to take a large
amount of damage before it dies. Also, the pirates cannot be hurt just before,
during, or after they move from one point to another.
Once the Dark Pirate Commandos have been dispatched, take the elevator up to
the Great Temple and talk to U-Mos in the Main Energy Controller. He'll inform
you that there is only one temple remaining to be restored. It is in a fortress
built by the Luminoth; this fortress was once guarded by numerous machines they
designed, but now the machines have been corrupted by the Ing and will view you
as an enemy. After receiving the instructions, return to Temple Sanctuary and
open the final translator door in the room, which leads to Transport A Access.
There's a Save Station through a hole in the wall here, but before you use it
look for a pile of rocks against the wall. Bomb the rocks to discover a path
leading underneath the Save Station to a hidden MISSILE EXPANSION.
After you take the elevator back down to Temple Grounds you'll be in Sacred
Path; this is the part of Temple Grounds you explored at the start of your
adventure. Make your way past the swarms of War Wasps in this room to reach
Sacred Bridge, which seems at first glance to be a dead end. Scan the raised
drawbridge and you will learn that the controls for the bridge are not in the
"visible spectrum or current timespace". What item do you have that helps you
see objects that aren't normally visible? That's right, the Dark Visor. With
the Dark Visor you can see five targets around the bridge; use the Seeker
Launcher to hit them and lower the bridge. The next room is GFMC Compound,
where the Federation ship landed. There are three Pirate Troopers inspecting
things here; if you forgot to scan one earlier, do so now. After you kill the
pirates you can open the green translator door to reach Fortress Transport
Access. At the beginning of this suspended walkway you'll meet a LUMINOTH
TURRET, which is similar to other turrets you've encountered but which takes
three missiles to kill. At the end of the walkway is another turret along with
a column of bright yellow light and a Lore entry: THE SKY TEMPLE. Here you'll
learn that the Ing ruler lives in a place called the Sky Temple, which is
locked with ten keys hidden across Dark Aether. Through the door is the
elevator to Sanctuary Fortress.
The elevator will come to a stop in a room with metal walls, a glass floor, and
many indications of a high level of technological sophistication. There are
also three dead Luminoth lying on the floor, and it appears they were killed by
their own machinery. In the long hallway that follows you'll enounter two more
Luminoth Turrets, then have to scan a control panel to rotate a large "security
ring" in order to progress. The second half of the hallway contains a group of
Serenity Class Drones moving along the side wall, and you'll need to use a
Spinner to rotate a second security ring. Through the windows on the left you
can catch glimpses of huge machinery.
When you go through the door at the end of the hallway, you'll step outside
onto a ledge in front of a long bridge leading across a chasm to a huge tower
of metal and rock: Sanctuary Fortress. The greenish sky and gray-blue rock
gives even the outside a harsh, mechanical feel. As you cross the bridge, you
may notice that it is littered with Space Pirate crates and even a few Phazon
containers. So you won't be too surprised when about seven Pirate Commandos
appear when you're halfway across the bridge. Make sure to scan one if you
didn't the first time you fought them, then attack the pirates closest to you.
The Dark Beam is especially effective, but any weapon will do; and don't forget
about the Phazon canisters! Also, don't forget about any pirates that are
behind you, and don't try to attack a pirate that has its shield out. Pirate
Commandos are dangerous, and with so many of them this battle can be difficult.
By staying on the bridge you can take them one at a time, and use the crates
for cover and to get energy or ammo. Once all the pirates are dead the doors
will unlock and you can enter the main building of the fortress.
In the tunnel the door leads to you'll encounter OCTOPEDES; shoot them a few
times to cause their sections to separate, then back away unti they all
self-destruct. In the next room you'll see two large and strong-looking
humanoid mechanisms. You don't know what they are, but they're turned off right
now. There's another drawbridge high up in the wall, and with the Dark Visor
you can see the Seeker Launcher targets to open it. Opening the bridge will
release a REZBIT, the first of many you'll encounter in Sanctuary Fortress. The
Rezbit has a variety of attacks: a sweeping laser blast, a series of rapid-fire
blasts, as well as a shield to temporarily deflect attacks. But its most
dangerous attack is a virus that it releases into the air. You'll know this
attack is coming when you cannot lock-on to the Rezbit and blue swirls appear
in front of it. The only way to prevent the attack is to shoot the Rezbit with
a charged shot before it launches the attack, which you'll have to do manually.
The virus, once released, will infect your Power Suit, preventing you from
firing and causing your visor to malfunction. You'll have to press L+R+B to
reboot your Power Suit, and you won't be able to fire again until it's
completely finished. The Dark Beam is the weapon of choice against the Rezbit,
since a charged shot will stun it for a second and two charged shots will kill
it.
Once the Rezbit is gone, use a platform on the wall to jump to the bridge and
enter the Reactor Core. As you enter the room you'll soon see a four-legged
robot patrolling the area with a red beam sweeping around. When the beam
focuses on you, it has spotted you and will begin attacking. This robot is
actually composed to two separate mechanisms, the QUAD CM (the head) and the
QUAD MB (the body). The head will fire laser blasts at you while the body will
swipe at you when you get close and turn itself into a top that will spin
around the room. Whichever part you kill first, the other will continue to
fight separately. The easiest way to fight these enemies is to destroy the
head first using any weapon. Once the head is destroyed, only the body will be
left. Switch to Morph Ball form, and once the Quad MB uses the spinning attack,
boost into it. This will stun the Quad, which is your chance to roll underneath
it and lay a bomb, which will destroy it.
Upon killing the Quad, the door into the central part of the room will open.
In front of it, a curved hallway leads to two doors on either side. The left
door is a blue translator that you can't open, and the right door leads to a
Save Station. The central section contains a tall shaft with a gold sphere and
other objects on it; this is the reactor for the fortress. There's a useless
(for now) cannon on the ground, as well as a series of ledges leading up to the
top of the shaft. You'll encounter three Rezbits on your way up, and at the top
is a yellow door (can't open) and a blue door (go through it). This door leads
to a small room with a large window in front looking out on several concentric
spinning rings. Scan the panel in front of the window to learn the code to turn
off the structure: AMBER COBALT CRIMSON EMERALD. To the left is a Morph Ball
tunnel that leads to a circular path around the rings. Along the path are four
Bomb Slots, each with a different color. All you need to do is to activate the
Bomb Slots in the order indicated by the code. In case your vocabulary is
especially small, here's what the code means:
amber = yellow
cobalt = blue
crimson = red
emerald = green
When you activate all the Bomb Slots in the appropriate order, the rings will
stop spinning and you can roll across them to the door. This leads to the Hall
of Combat Mastery, a large room that is guarded by two Quads. You'll also see
that there are Morph Ball mazes inside many of the walls, including a Missile
Expansion in one of them, but there's no way for you to enter them. You'll also
pass a door that is behind a force field. At the end of the room, you'll go
through a short tunnel (with a door visible outside it) then reach a portal
generator. Since there's nowhere else for you to go, activate the generator and
enter the portal.
Once the transport is complete, you'll no longer be in Sanctuary Fortress, but
instead in Ing Hive. In this room, Culling Chamber, you'll discover a new form
of item storage, the INGWORM CACHE, a black sphere composed of tiny Ing. In the
area where the tunnel was, it is now gone and you can go through the door to
reach Hazing Cliff. Here, you'll encounter a DARK TALLON METROID, which acts
similarly to a regular Metroid, although the Ing possession makes it stronger.
Use the Light Beam to kill it, then walk to the far side of the room where
you'll find a short tunnel guarded by two DARK DILIGENCE DRONES. Kill them with
charged Light Beam shots, and behind them you'll find a MISSILE EXPANSION.
Now, return to Culling Chamber and enter the main part of the room. In the wall
to the left, in one of the Morph Ball mazes and over a bed of Phazon, you'll
see one of the keys needed to enter the temple, but you can't get it yet.
You'll also meet several Warrior Ing in this room; use the Light Beam on them
as well, or Super Missiles if you get low on light ammo. The door that was
behind a wall is now accessible in Dark Aether: it leads to an elevator. While
this is where you want to go, you can explore the rest of this floor if you
want. At the end of Culling Chamber is Unseen Way, which appears to be an
uncrossable chasm. As its name suggests, though, the Dark Visor will show you
a moving platform you can use to cross. This leads to Hive Reactor, which
contains more Warrior Ing. This room also has doors on either side of the
central shaft: the one on the left leads to an Ammo Station, the one on the
right to a Save Station. The door leading out of the hive is yellow and cannot
be opened.
Having reached a dead end here, your only option is to take the elevator off of
Culling Chamber up to the second floor.
/==============================================================================
2. Slithering Like Beasts [III.D.2]
\==============================================================================
|[Ing Hive Level 2, Sanctuary Fortess Level 2] |
|o Spider Ball |
|o Missile Expansion 42 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
At the top of the elevator is Hive Dynamo Works, a room with two ledges
separated by a wide pit. Furthermore, through the metal grating on the left you
can see that there is another section of this room which you cannot reach now.
A swarm of Nightbarbs surrounds a grapple point in the middle of the point, and
once you've cleared out most of them you can grapple to the ledge across the
pit. There you'll see a Light Portal behind a force field, as well as a white
door. The door leads to a dead end, so you need to find a way to lower the
force field. A scan indicates that the controls are not in the visible spectrum
or current timespace; again, this is your cue to switch to the Dark Visor. Look
across the pit and you'll see five targets on the wall. You may need to clear
out some more Nightbarbs so that they don't interfere with your targeting. Once
you hit all five targets and lower the force field, open the Light Portal and
travel through.
Now in simply Dynamo Works, you'll see that the light version of the room does
not contain a pit, just a tunnel with a broken Quad MB in the middle. Go
through the nearby black door to reach Dynamo Access. Get rid of the DILIGENCE
CLASS DRONES in the tunnel with the Dark Beam, then scan the MECHLOPS under the
floor. Now use the gap to the right of the door to roll underneath the floor
and lay a bomb in the Mechlop's path so that it grabs it and is destroyed, then
roll around the wall and exit the floor on the other side. After getting past
more Diligence Class Drones, you'll reach a door that leads into the large room
known as Main Gyro Chamber.
The part of the room you'll enter has a locked semi-circular security door in
front of you, and to the right is a large window. Through the window you can
see two giant metal rings spinning around a purple electrified sphere. It's a
rather impressive sight. There's also a control panel that activates an
elevator down to the bottom of the room here, but there's nothing you can do
down there now. There's also access to a Morph Ball tunnel in the wall next to
the window, so roll through the tunnel to reach a ledge on the side of the
room. There's another Morph Ball tunnel on the other side of this ledge, and
this tunnel leads to another enclosed area with a large window looking out on
the gyro. The red door in this area leads to a Save Station.
When you activate the Bomb Slot, a 3 x 3 grid of red, green, and blue circles
will appear in front of the window. To the left of each row is a beam of light:
from top to bottom the light is red, green, blue. Finally, there are four small
gray circles in between the colored circles in the grid. When you fire at one
of the gray circles, the four colored circles around it will rotate clockwise.
The goal of the puzzle is to get all three red circles in the top row (as
indicated by the red beam of light), all the green circles in the middle row,
and all the blue circles in the bottom row. It's not really that difficult; the
toughest part is realizing that that's how to solve the puzzle. The best way to
solve the puzzle is to focus on completing the top row, then solve the bottom
two rows. Once you have it, a second Bomb Slot will raise from the floor. This
Bomb Slot will cause the outer ring of the gyro to stop spinning, forming a
walkway around the room. Go through the Morph Ball tunnel to the side platform,
then jump onto the ring and use it to reach a similar ledge on the other side.
There, roll through the Morph Ball tunnel to reach the other side of the area
where you entered the room. Use the Spinner to open the door connecting the two
sides, then activate the elevator on this side and ride it up to a door.
This door leads to Temple Access, and when you drop down into the center of the
room you'll have to fight a Quad. However, unlike most Quads, if you kill the
head first, another one will appear. For this one, you must destroy the body
first. Roll underneath it while it is firing the laser beam and lay a bomb to
destroy the body, then attack the head using the beam opposite to the color of
its shielding (for white shields use the Dark Beam, for purple shields use the
Light Beam). Only after the head is destroyed will the door unlock.
Sanctuary Temple, like the others, is a large circular arena with high walls.
However, this temple is different in that it contains several platforms and
large pieces of what must have been a gigantic mechanoid. As soon as you drop
down onto the floor of the temple, two Quads in the temple will be possessed,
each one becoming a DARK QUAD CM (head) and a DARK QUAD MB (body). They're
basically the same as normal; you don't need to change your strategy. Just try
to keep in mind where the other one is while you're fighting one. The best way
to fight multiple Quads is to destroy all the heads, then take out all the
bodies. Once they're both dead, head to the far side of the temple where you'll
find a platform that slopes upward. Jump onto this platform and by both jumping
and grappling you can reach the topmost platform in the center of the temple.
To the left is a blue translator door, to the right is a gray door, and
straight ahead are two grapple points. To reach the door on the far side, you
have to latch onto the first grapple point, swing across, then let go and
immediately press L again to latch onto the second point, from which you can
reach the door.
This door, of course, leads to the Sanctuary Energy Controller, where just as
before you'll find a holographic message left by the last guardian of the
fortress. He will tell you that this fortress was a place of refuge for the
Luminoth, but the portals here lead to the Ing Hive, the center of their
operations. This guardian devised the various mechanisms used to fight the Ing,
but eventually they were all corrupted. Finally, the guardian will give you the
ability to translate Cobalt holograms and refill your energy. There is a blue
Lore entry on the wall next to the Energy Controller; this entry is titled
AGON FALLS, and it describes the loss of the first region to the Ing along with
the horror the Luminoth felt when they realized the Ing were using the Energy
Transfer Module to steal the energy from Luminoth.
When you return to Sanctuary Temple, there will be MEKENOBITES hanging from the
bottom of the platforms. These mechanoids are very annoying and can only be
destroyed by using the Seeker Launcher to fire missiles at each of their legs,
but the best strategy is usually just to run past them. Grapple back to the
central platform, and now you can grapple to the ledge with the translator door
and open it. This leads to an outdoor room called Workers Path. Jump to the
third platform, then turn around and scan the panel on the bottom of the
second platform to activate a cannon there, and use it to fire you to another
set of platforms, which lead to the door.
Through the door is the other side of Dynamo Works. You'll be facing a solid
wall with a Morph Ball tunnel leading through it. You'll also see a large
Pillbug rolling around inside the wall. Scan the Pillbug and you'll realize
that it is the SPIDER GUARDIAN! Note that this is the only time you can scan
the Spider Guardian; you will not have a chance once the battle starts. Roll
into the tunnel and you'll enter a Morph Ball maze that is shared by the Spider
Guardian. That's right: this battle will be fought entirely in Morph Ball form.
The Spider Guardian will roll along the blue tracks in the middle of the maze,
and a circle of blue energy emanates from it. You will take damage if you
touch this circle, meaning you cannot be right next to the Spider Guardian. The
circle also extends through walls, so even if you and the Spider Guardian are
on opposite sides of a wall, you may still take damage. Basically, if there is
just a "thin" wall or floor between you, you will be hurt, but not if there is
a "thick" wall separating you (this will make sense when you fight him). To
damage the Spider Guardian, you must damage it with bombs; this is made
difficult because you can't get close to it. After you hit it once, the energy
circle around it will turn red and it will start rolling faster. Hit it twice
more and several things will happen. The energy circle will turn green, the
Spider Guardian will start moving slower than normal, and most importantly a
Bomb Slot on the right side of the maze will turn on. To damage the Spider
Guardian, you must reach the Bomb Slot before the guardian's circle turns blue
again and the Bomb Slot turns off. When you activate the slot, a gate nearby
will switch positions, directing the Spider Guardian into a blue electrical
cylinder. This will take off 1/6 of the guardian's energy bar, and it will
continue on to another section of the room.
Follow the Spider Guardian into the next section, which contains a half-pipe.
This section is tricky because the guardian's path takes it along the narrow
areas on both sides of the half-pipe, so try to avoid boosting when it is in
those areas. To bomb the Spider Guardian in this section, the best way is to
boost onto the left platform, then drop down laying bombs as you fall. When the
energy circle turns green, a platform will extend along with the Bomb Slot
powering up. Boost up to the left platform, then roll across the platform to
reach the slot. The next section also features a half-pipe, but only leads up
to platforms on one side and has a more complicated set of platforms in the
center. The best way to bomb the guardian here is either by dropping through
the hole in the top platforms and laying them as you fall or by boosting up the
right side and laying them at the top there. Several platforms will extend when
the energy circle turns green here: boost up the left side, then follow the
platforms down to the Bomb Slot.
Once you clear this area, you'll reach a passage blocked by several crates.
Bomb the crates to regain some energy before dropping into the final section of
the maze. This final section is the most difficult, consisting of three levels
of platforms with very little space between them. The fact that this section is
so cramped is what makes it difficult, since is is hard to avoid being hit by
the Spider Guardian's energy circle. However, note that there are several
humps in some of the platforms and dips in the floor below, forming a few
places where the space between levels is thicker than usual. You are safe from
the Spider Guardian if you are on one side of the thick floor and it is on the
other. It is also important to watch your health in this area because it is
easy to get killed here due to the difficulty in avoiding the guardian.
You'll note that this section also has three Bomb Slots and three electrical
cylinders that will damage the Spider Guardian. The first time the guardian
turns green here, only the slot in the bottom-left will turn on. Activate this
slot and the Spider Guardian will run into one of the cylinders and take
damage. The next time the guardian turns green, both the first Bomb Slot and
the one in the upper-right will turn on. To damage the Spider Guardian this
time, you must activate BOTH Bomb Slots while it is green. The best way to do
this is to activate the first slot, then bomb the Spider Guardian again, which
effectively restarts its clock. Now head for the second Bomb Slot, and
hopefully the Spider Guardian will run into the second electric cylinder. Note
the word "hopefully": if the guardian runs into a gate from the wrong side, it
will push the gate open and undo everything. For the final cylinder, you'll
have to activate ALL THREE Bomb Slots: lower-left, upper-right, and upper-left.
Just like before, bomb the guardian again in between each Bomb Slot to buy
yourself more time. This can be repeated indefinitely, so if you're having
trouble making a jump, roll over and bomb it again before you have to restart.
Also, the Spider Guardian's position when you activate the final Bomb Slot will
determine whether or not it will reach the final cylinder without going through
any gates. It's difficult to tell for sure, but in general if the guardian is
in the lower-right, center, or upper-right, you should be OK.
When the Spider Guardian runs into the final electric cylinder, it will die and
a tunnel will be revealed where the cylinder once was. Roll through the tunnel
to reach a small chamber containing the SPIDER BALL. Now return to the maze and
use the Spider Ball to get out. When you have to go up and need to reach a
higher level of track, use a bomb jump while still holding down R. When you go
over a large section of wall as you turn the corner, look for a ledge at the
top of the track. Bomb jump off of the track here and the ledge will take you
to a MISSILE EXPANSION just in front of a tunnel. The tunnel will drop you off
on the other side of Dynamo Works; a handy shortcut. Roll up the Spider Ball
track on the side of the ledge to reach the door to the elevator down to the
first level, but not before scanning the dead Luminoth on the ledge for C-ACH'S
TESTAMENT.
/==============================================================================
3. Deliverance from Terror [III.D.3]
\==============================================================================
|[Sanctuary Fortress Level 1, Lower Torvus Bog, Lower Dark Torvus |
|Bog] |
|o Power Bomb |
|o Hive Temple Key 1 |
|o Energy Tanks 3,13 |
|o Missile Expansions 34,35,40 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
At the bottom of the elevator you'll enter the walled-off section of Hall of
Combat Mastery, which contains a Lore projector. THE FINAL CRUSADE tells of the
Luminoth's final desparate mission to invade the Sky Temple and retrieve the
Energy Transfer Module. Use the SPIDER BALL TRACK (you can scan it for a
Logbook entry) to get out of the closed-off section, then roll up the nearby
track on the side of the wall to enter the Morph Ball maze inside the walls.
To make it through the maze, you'll have to dodge flames, lasers, and Phazon
by careful timing, accurate bomb jumping, and riding moving platforms. When you
make it to the end you can grab a MISSILE EXPANSION before exiting the maze.
Now use the portal generator to travel to Dark Aether. Straight ahead at the
end of the first hallway is a Spider Ball track, and riding it will take you
inside the wall where you can grab HIVE TEMPLE KEY 1. Once you've got the key,
use the portal again to return to Light Aether.
Now backtrack to the Reactor Core and make sure to destroy all the Rezbits as
you climb down to the bottom. It's time to get some practice with your new
Spider Ball technology. Launch yourself from the cannon, but hold down R while
doing so; this way, you will latch onto the magnetic surface of the gold sphere
you were fired at. Keep holding down R as you roll around the sphere, and when
the electricity at the top of the sphere turns off, roll up the blue track
there to reach a second sphere. On this sphere, position yourself over the red
circle on the sphere, then hold B (while still holding R) to charge up a boost.
When you release the boost, you will launch off of the surface of the track and
(if you were on the red circle) onto another, smaller sphere. This sphere has
another red circle on it, so repeat this procedure, boosting from sphere to
sphere, until you finally boost onto another blue Spider Ball track. Now you
can follow this track until it leads you to an ENERGY TANK! Once you've got the
tank, let go of R to fall to the bottom of the room.
Now you can open the translator door at one end of the semicircular hallway,
and behind it is a room containing a Map Station. Stop by the nearby Save
Station if you need to, then take a look at your map. There's nowhere else in
Sanctuary Fortress that you can access right now, and the reason is that you
need a new item. However, getting that item is going to require a trip back to
Torvus Bog. Head out of Reactor Core back towards the fortress entrance, and in
the hallway just before you reach the bridge you'll once again see the glowing
blue dots that signal that Dark Samus is nearby. When you step outside into
Sanctuary Entrance, Dark Samus will materialize in the middle of the bridge,
then let out a blast of energy that will completely destroy the bridge before
disappearing once again! You still need to get across to the elevator, but it
will be more of a challenge with no bridge to walk across. Turn to your left
(as you face the cliff) and you'll see a Spider Ball track against the wall.
This track will lead you out across the cliff until it ends halfway across.
Here you'll need to boost off the track and onto the track on the other side,
then follow the second track to complete the trip.
Once you've made it, return to the elevator and take it back to Temple Grounds.
To reach the elevator to Torvus Bog, you'll need to go via the Great Temple, so
head for the nearest Great Temple elevator. From Great Temple, take Temple
Transport C to reach Meeting Grounds and the path to Torvus Bog. Along the way,
in Path of Eyes, you'll pass a green door. Open it with a Super Missile, then
let the cannon launch you across the gap to the other side, where you can use
your Grapple Beam to reach an ENERGY TANK! Unfortunately, you can't open the
yellow door here, so return to Path of Eyes and continue on to the Torvus
elevator. When you make it back to Torvus Bog, head straight for Torvus Temple
and take the elevator down to the lower levels. Drop straight to the bottom of
Hydrodynamo Station and go through the door to reach Main Hydrochamber, where
you previously fought the Alpha Blogg. There's an alcove in this room that
contains a Spider Ball track, and by rolling up it you'll reach a dark portal
on a ledge. Go through the portal to enter the Dark Torvus version of this
room, Undertemple, and when you step out into the center of the room you'll
encounter the final Sub-Guardian.
The POWER BOMB GUARDIAN is a gigantic Sporb perched on top of a pillar in the
center of the room. This Sporb is even more annoying than most, however, due to
its ability to spit not just toxic darts, but Power Bombs. The only way to
damage the Power Bomb Guardian is to activate four Bomb Slots located high on
the walls around it which are accessible via a maze of Spider Ball tracks on
the walls. This is easier said than done, however, because the Power Bomb
Guardian will fire bombs at you trying to knock you off. Additionally, Inglets
will patrol the walls; they can also knock you off, although you can bomb them
to regain energy. The key to staying on the tracks is to keep moving and to
head towards the nearest Bomb Slot as fast as possible. Don't be afraid to
take shortcuts such as releasing R so that you start falling, then holding R
again so that you latch onto a lower track. If a Power Bomb lands close to you,
get far away as fast you can, since these bombs have a wide range and will
knock you off the wall.
When you do activate a Bomb Slot, a surge of electricity will arc into the
Power Bomb Guardian, taking away 1/4 of its energy. Once you have used a Bomb
Slot, the Safe Zone around it will disappear so you can quickly tell whether or
not you have used it. You will automatically fall to the ground after
activating a slot, so return to the Spider Ball tracks and head for the next
Bomb Slot. Repeat this for all four slots to defeat the Power Bomb Guardian.
Near the end it becomes especially difficult to reach the Bomb Slot because it
will fire several bombs in succession. The best strategy is to roll around away
from the slot until the bombs are launched, then make a break for the Bomb Slot
before any more can be fired. Once the final slot is activated, a beam from the
ceiling will fall and crush the Power Bomb Guardian. Use the Spider Ball tracks
one last time to reach the top of the beam, and in the center of it you'll find
the POWER BOMB. Now you can lay Power Bombs while in Morph Ball mode, which are
capable of dealing heavy damage to almost any enemy, destroying Denzium
materials, and opening yellow doors, which will come in handy in leaving the
room. Note that you only have two Power Bombs, so use them only when necessary
for now. You will now receive Power Bomb Ammo from crates and enemies, and you
can also find Power Bomb Expansions which will increase your capacity by one.
The yellow door leads to Undertemple Access. Quickly (since there are no Safe
Zones) shoot the Darkling Tentacles to reach the top of the stairs and lay
another Power Bomb to open the door. Your new Power Bombs will allow you to
collect several expansions, so use the Kinetic Orb Cannon to reach the top of
the room, save, then drop down and grapple to the white door to reach Crypt.
Go through the light portal here to reach Gathering Hall, where the center of
the floor is made of cracked Denzium. Lay a Power Bomb to destroy the floor and
reveal a curved area underneath with a yellow plug in the center. Another Power
Bomb will destroy this plug, causing the water to drain out of the room. Now
you can boost up the curved walls and latch onto Spider Ball tracks in the air
on either side. Follow these tracks (you'll have to do some boosting) and
you'll reach two Bomb Slots, one on each side. When you activate both slots,
the force field surrounding the Missile Expansion in this room will disappear.
To reach the expansion, grapple onto the ledge with the laser, then turn around
and jump onto the newly-extended platform, from which you can jump to the
MISSILE EXPANSION.
Now exit through the white door, go through the connecting tunnel, and reach
Training Chamber. Jump over the fence into the center of the room, destroy the
Dark Bloggs, then roll up the Spider Ball track to the left of the statue. This
track will end over a small ledge with a Bomb Slot, and when you activate the
slot the statue will slide forward. Look behind the statue and you'll find not
only a MISSILE EXPANSION but also a Spider Ball track up to a yellow door. Open
the door with a Power Bomb and you'll find a hallway leading to an elevator.
This elevator goes to, of all places, Sanctuary Fortress.
/==============================================================================
4. Extreme Caution Recommended [III.D.4]
\==============================================================================
|[Sanctuary Fortress Levels 1,2] |
|o Echo Visor |
|o Power Bomb Expansions 6,7 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
After stepping off the elevator and passing through a hallway guarded by
Octopedes, you'll enter a large room called Main Research that is guarded by
two Quads. Once the Quads are gone, scan the lore entry, TORVUS FALLS, by the
door to add it to your Logbook. This entry, along with many you've recently
discovered, appear to be fairly recent, describing the Luminoth's defeat as the
Ing take over more and more of Aether. It's obvious there's much more in this
room, but for now all you can do is follow the Spider Ball track across the
room up to a door. This door leads to Transit Station, and be ready to take out
a Luminoth Turret that will be waiting for you as soon as you enter.
There's another turret guarding the door out, but if you want to go on a little
adventure for an expansion, destroy the Denzium panel in the middle of the room
with a Power Bomb and go through the dark portal behind it. In the dark version
of the room, called Hive Portal Chamber, a DARK INGSHASHER will break out of a
wall and attack! You've seen these giant robots in several places throughout
the fortress, but until now they've all been deactivated. What's more, this one
is Ing-possessed, making it even more dangerous. Ironically, these were
designed by the Luminoth to fight the Ing, but now this one has been taken over
by an Ing. Ingsmashers are very tough and powerful: they can fire missiles from
the launcher mounted on their shoulders, they can create shock waves on the
floor by smashing it, and they can simply punch with their massive fists. They
will also periodically create a sphere of purple or white energy which it will
use to deflect all attacks. You can get past this barrier by firing a charged
shot of the opposite beam (Light Beam for purple shield and vice versa). Any
other time you should attack the Dark Ingsmasher with missiles as fast as you
can while avoiding its attacks.
Once its dead, walk into the alcove it broke out of and you'll find a light
portal. When you go through the portal you'll appear to be trapped in an alcove
of Transit Station, but there's actually a Morph Ball tunnel near the grate
that leads to another dark portal. Now, back in Hive Portal Chamber, a Spider
Ball track leads to another light portal. Transport between worlds one more
time, and in Transit Station you'll find another Spider Ball track which leads
across the room (don't fall off!) and finally ends at a POWER BOMB EXPANSION,
which will allow you to carry one more Power Bomb.
When you finally leave Transit Station you'll be back at the top of Main
Reactor. Drop down and save, then head for the entrance one more time to make
more use of your Power Bombs. You won't get very far, however, before the doors
will lock and you'll be forced to fight two INGSMASHERS, one at a time. Use the
same strategies against them that you did for the Dark Ingsmashers. Once you've
destroyed both of them you can proceed to the entrance. Facing the cliff, turn
to the right and you'll find a sheet of Denzium blocking an elevator. Destroy
the Denzium and ride the elevator to a control panel, which will activate a
cannon in front of the bottom of the elevator. The cannon will fire you onto a
platform in the middle of the cliff with a Vigilance Class Turret on it, the
kind you can control. Before you enter the turret, though, use the Scan Visor
to locate two sections of wall, one on each side, that can be destroyed. Use
the turret to destroy both sections of wall, then follow the Spider Ball track
to another cannon which will shoot you back.
Now head to the other side of the door where there are some ledges you can jump
up. They lead to a lore entry, TWILIGHT, which describes the Luminoth's final
retreat, and a Spider Ball track. Follow the track up to one of the ledges you
exposed by destroying the walls. On this ledge is a dead Luminoth which you can
scan for S-JRS'S TESTAMENT and a cannon. This cannon will fire you all the way
across the cliff to the other newly-exposed ledge, where you can collect
another POWER BOMB EXPANSION. Drop down from the ledge, ride the Spider Ball
track back across the abyss, and return to Main Reactor.
By studying your map, you'll notice that a yellow door in Main Gyro Chamber
leads to a tall, unexplored shaft. Head for that room, and as you pass through
Hall of Combat Mastery, some of the Ingsmashers will come to life and attack.
You can just run past them if you don't want to fight them, but once you kill
them they'll be gone for good, so it's not a bad idea to go ahead and get rid
of them (just make sure you've scanned one). If you want, you can use a Power
Bomb in the Denzium tunnel just before the portal generator to reach a passage
leading to an elevator to Agon Wastes, but there's not much reason to return
there now. Reach the elevator to the second level by using the Spider Ball
at the end of the walls of the enclosed area.
When you reach Main Gyro Chamber, take the elevator down to the bottom just so
you can scan the lore entry there, called SHATTERED HOPE. Now take the elevator
up to the area with the white door, which leads to the temple. A Power Bomb
can destroy the cylinders on the floor there, which will allow a Bomb Slot to
rise up from the floor. When you activate it, another colored-circle puzzle
will appear in the air. Just like the first one, you must shoot the targets in
the center of each cluster of circles to rotate them so that all the circles of
each color are in the correct row. When you solve the puzzle, a second Bomb
Slot will rise; this slot will cause the inner ring of the gyro to stop
rotating, although it will stop at an angle, not horizontally. When you
approach the ring, you'll see that a Spider Ball track runs along its edge.
Ride the track as far as you can: it ends across from a panel of glass blocking
the yellow door. However, part of the glass is cracked and it seems that it
wouldn't be hard to break it. Go as far on the Spider Ball track as you can,
then boost off of the track and you will shatter the glass, landing on the
platform. Now you can Power Bomb the door and go through.
As soon as you enter Checkpoint Station, you'll see (through a window) several
Space Pirates firing at Dark Samus! Dark Samus will easily defeat them, then
start drawing Phazon from several containers in the room. Head to the right to
enter a passage full of crates; use these to refill your energy, missiles, and
ammo, especially light ammo. When you're ready, go through the gate to enter
the other side of the room, but Dark Samus won't be there! As soon as you go
through the door out of the room and into Aerie Transport Station, though,
you'll find your nemesis drawing more energy from a wall of Phazon on the far
side of a large circular platform. When Dark Samus turns and sees you, she will
press a button on a control panel nearby, then begin her attack. As the battle
begins, the platform will begin to climb up through a tall vertical shaft.
That's right, your second battle with Dark Samus will take place on a moving
elevator. Let's get going!
Make sure to scan DARK SAMUS 2 for a new Logbook entry, then get ready for a
long, intense fight. Just like before, Dark Samus is fast-moving, frequently
breaking your lock-on with quick dashes and jumps. She is vulnerable to your
attacks anytime she isn't surrounded by a blue sphere of Phazon (except for
Power Bombs), and the Light Beam is your best weapon. Fire charged shots of it
at her as often as possible, but be aware that she may dodge your shot or
quickly create a shield of Phazon to block it. The best way to prevent this is
to fire two shots in quick succession or to fire just after she has finished an
attack. You can also use missiles, especially once your light ammo gets low.
Dark Samus retains many of her attacks from your first encounter, such as the
scatter shot and missiles. She has also acquired a few new attacks: a charged
shot that will temporarily encase you in Phazon and a sweeping beam shot.
When the elevator reaches its destination, Aerie, the fight will continue in a
slightly larger arena, and Dark Samus will unleash a few additional attacks.
She now has the ability to transform into a Boost Ball that bounces crazily
around the room at high speed, very similar to the Boost Guardian; she is
invulnerable in this form. Additionally, Dark Samus can still use the collision
attack in which she fires herself straight at you from the air; she is also
invulnerable during this attack and while a sphere of Phazon surrounds her
after she lands. This attack is fairly easily to avoid by dodging just before
she launches herself; for the Boost Ball attack, just pay close attention and
try your best to dodge it. Dark Samus's final trick is the ability to become
invisible. When you see her disappear, switch to the Dark Visor and she'll
show up as bright red. Dark Samus will continue to fight as normal while
invisible, but eventually one hit from you will cause your Dark Visor to
overload, completely blacking it out. Once this happens, switch back to the
Combat Visor.
Know that there is no quick way to defeat Dark Samus, it is simply a matter of
gradually whittling down her energy and staying alive longer than her. Note
that Dark Samus's attacks will destroy some of the columns and crates in the
Aerie, which will provide a little bit of extra ammo and energy, but not much.
When you finally deliver the last shot to Dark Samus, she will break one of the
walls at the edge of the room, then fall off to the ground an unimaginable
distance below. You know enough by now not to believe that Dark Samus is gone
for good, but at least you won't be bothered by her again for a while.
Now that Dark Samus is gone, you'll realize that the only place for you to go
appears to be to jump onto a ledge outside the broken section of wall. Here
you'll find a narrow walkway that leads around the edge of Aerie to an alcove
containing a Dark Portal. Once in Dark Aether, stay in the Safe Zone around the
portal for a while if necessary, so that you have at least one or two full
Energy Tanks. Then follow the narrow walkway back, where you'll find some
crates full of health and a Spider Ball track that leads over the wall. You'll
see that a circular ring of Spider Ball track occupies the center of the room,
with a Spinner device in front of it. Use the Spinner to rotate the ring until
it locks in position, then ride the Spider Ball track up and around the ring
until it ends at a beam angled back and directly in front of a ledge with a
light portal. Boost off the track onto the ledge, then go through the portal.
Back in Aerie, you'll see an item waiting for you on a platform in the center
of the room. Jump to it to earn the ECHO VISOR, the coolest visor in the game.
This visor creates an image by sending out sonic pulses which bounce off
objects.
Drop back down to the floor and switch to your new visor to get a shock:
everything will be black, with only the edges of objects visible as gray
outlines that periodically brighten as the visor sends out sonic waves. You'll
also see several special icons in your visor: there are three closed padlocks
over each of the three columns in the elevator platform, as well as three
orange icons on the structures around the platform. These orange icons resemble
waves spreading out from a source, and you can actually see sound waves
travelling from the orange icons to the padlocks. It appears that the orange
icons indicate sonic transmitters of some sort, and they appear to be connected
to the locks. You can lock-on to the transmitters, and when you shoot one the
sound waves will stop traveling from it, and its corresponding padlock icon
will open. Shoot all three transmitters and the elevator will unlock, returning
you back down to Checkpoint Station. However, as soon as you enter this room
you'll realize that all the doors out have locked. Switch to the Echo Visor
again to see another transmitter and lock in the room. Turn off this
transmitter (it will take more than one shot) to unlock the doors.
/==============================================================================
5. Battered Fortress [III.D.5]
\==============================================================================
|[Sanctuary Fortress Levels 1,2, Ing Hive Levels 1,2] |
|o Screw Attack |
|o Hive Temple Keys 2,3 |
|o Energy Tank 14 |
|o Beam Ammo Expansion 4 |
|o Missile Expansions 41,43,44,47 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in Main Gyro Chamber, you're probably ready to drop by the nearby Save
Station. Once that's done, you can use the Echo Visor to grab an easy Missile
Expansion. Go to Temple Access, which is through the white door on the top
level. If you haven't already, use the Dark Visor to locate Seeker Missile
targets on the wall. When you hit them all, a Morph Ball cannon will open in
the center of the room. Use the cannon to return to the upper ledge, then
switch to the Echo Visor. You'll see a transmitter on the column in front of
you and when you turn it off, a timer will start. Quickly drop down and use the
cannon again, but this time you'll end up under the floor, where there's a
MISSILE EXPANSION. To get out, use the Spinner under the floor to open up an
exit.
Now return to Main Gyro Chamber and go through the black door to Dynamo Works.
Use the dark portal there and then go through the white door nearby, heading
back the way you came. In Hive Dynamo Access, your way will be blocked by a
rounded gate with several red circles in it. This gate is receiving sonic
signals from several nearby transmitters. Switch to the Echo Visor to see the
transmitters, and when you shoot them all the gate will open. Beyond the gate
is the door to Hive Gyro Chamber. Unlike in Light Aether, this room does not
have several rapidly rotating rings in the center, but instead a large
magnetic sphere surrounded by rotating platforms. There is also no glass in
front of any of the ledges, allowing you to jump straight onto the ledges. Do
so, and use the Spider Ball to roll onto the central sphere. (Use bombs to fend
off the Darkling Tentacles.) At the top of the sphere is another Spider Ball
track, from the top of it you can boost onto a circular ring of track, and by
boosting across this ring you can snag HIVE TEMPLE KEY 2 in the center. Before
leaving you can explore where all the doors out of Hive Gyro Chamber lead.
Above where you entered is the access to the Hive Temple, which is blocked
because you haven't yet found the third key. On the other side, the lower ledge
contains a red door that leads to a save station, and the ledge above it leads
towards where the Aerie elevator is in Light Aether. The room with the window
is home to two Warrior Ing, and in the place of the elevator is an Ammo
Station. Once you've investigated all these places, return to Hive Dynamo Works
and go back through the light portal.
Your next destination is to return to Main Research; you can see on the map
that a door there will connect you to some of the last unexplored areas in the
fortress. When you make it back to Main Research, kill both of the Quads there,
then take a look at the blue wall. It is covered with Spider Ball tracks, but
to successfully navigate the tracks you'll have to dodge a variety of
mechanical devices that will knock you off if you hit them. If the avoid them
all, your reward will be a MISSILE EXPANSION. Now look inside the central
walled-off cylinder in the room. A large machine has lowered and is now visible
inside; this is the CARETAKER CLASS DRONE, and you need to scan it now. There's
also a green gate in the room; scan it to learn that it's receiving sonic
transmissions. Switch to the Echo Visor and you'll see three transmitters
in the room beaming signals to the gate: the gate will open when you shoot all
of them, revealing a dark portal. Go through the portal and you'll have to deal
with two Hunter Ing in the dark version of the room. You can fight them or just
ignore them as you cross to the other side of the room, where there's another
sonic gate. Again use the Echo Visor to turn off four transmitters, and behind
this gate is a control panel. The panel will raise up a section of floor
surrounding the central shaft. Now you can go underneath the floor into the
bottom of the shaft, where there's a light portal.
After emerging from the portal you'll be inside the central cylinder in Main
Research. The only thing you can do in here is ride the Spider Ball track up to
a horizontal track that forms a ring around the wall. When you reach this
track, the floor will rise so that it is just underneath the track, and the
Caretaker drone will descend so that it is just above you. The Caretaker drone
attacks by extending its robot arms and rotating them along the track in an
attempt to knock you off. If they hit you, that in itself will do damage, but
then you will fall onto the floor, which will have electricity surge through it
periodically. If you get knocked off, bomb jump back onto the track as soon as
you can. To damage the drone, look for a narrow red pole to extend from its
underside. When you see this pole, boost off of the track into it, and it will
explode. Boosting across the ring is a very useful move in this battle, since
you can also use it to avoid the robot arms and collect energy. Once you hit
the red pole three times, then the next time a larger cylinder will extend from
the center of the drone, but only for a short time. Have a boost charged up,
and boost as soon as you see the cylinder to destroy it. This will cause the
drone to climb up to the next level of the cylinder.
Use the Spider Ball track that will be revealed to reach another ring and
repeat the whole process over again. The only catch is that this time, the
track does not form a complete circle around the shaft, but instead is divided
into three pieces. This just means that you'll have to boost more often, and
that you'll have to watch when you boost to make sure you'll land on a track.
Once you've done the same thing on the second level, you'll reach the third
level, where you'll have to do it once more, this time on a ring broken into
four pieces. After you destroy the cylinder on the third level, however, the
Caretaker drone will be destroyed and you can access a Morph Ball tunnel that
will drop you off on a high ledge with a door out of Main Research.
This door leads to the bottom of a tall shaft with a Kinetic Orb Cannon in
front of you. However, a security gate will immediately surround the cannon;
this gate is receiving sonic signals. Use the Echo Visor to locate a
transmitter that is keeping the gate closed. Once the gate is open, launch
yourself out of the cannon. It will fire you across the shaft to a second
cannon, which will fire you to a third, and so on until you are finally ejected
at the top of the shaft. Before you proceed, though, drop back down into the
shaft, where you'll land on a platform before you've fallen very far. In the
wall of the shaft you'll see several Morph Ball-size tunnels. Drop into the
left tunnel and you'll realize you've fallen into a maze in the side of the
shaft. After going down the left tunnel, go right each time you have a choice,
and you'll drop into a MISSILE EXPANSION before reaching the bottom of the
shaft again. After getting shot back up one more time, go through the door.
Now you'll find yourself in Watch Station, an open-air room that consists of
platforms built over a tremendous expanse of air. The room is guarded by two
Rezbits, and near the white door you'll find the final Luminoth lore hologram:
SANCTUARY FALLS. Go through the white door, and you'll find yourself on a ledge
next to a hallway with no floor, just a drop. To your left you can easily take
an ENERGY TANK, then scan the control panel to lower Grapple Points. You can
now cross the gap to the other side, which leads to Main Gyro Chamber. There
are two other doors out of Watch Station, but they both lead to dead ends right
now. There's also a dark portal behind a gate: that appears to be your best
bet. To unlock the gate, look for a Spider Ball track that starts next to the
white door. Ride this track halfway, then bomb jump up to a second track that
starts above it. This track will drop you into a Morph Ball cannon, which will
launch you onto yet another track high on the wall. When you follow this track,
you'll have to ride a track that's on the side of a rotating gear. This can be
tricky. Bomb jump onto the gear, then let the gear carry you; don't move on
your own. When you pass through two narrow red poles above and below you, lay a
bomb. The bomb will go off just before you hit the wall and propel you onto the
second gear. Do the same thing with the second gear to reach a large rectangle
of Spider Ball track. At the bottom-right of this rectangle, a track leads to a
Bomb Slot that will open the gate. Drop out of the slot and you'll be right in
front of the portal.
You can go ahead through the portal now, but if you're up for more Spider Ball
antics you can grab a very nice expansion. Repeat everything you just did up
until you reach the rectangle of tracks. Now go to the bottom-left of the
rectangle and you'll see another Spider Ball track below you. Drop onto it and
follow it until you reach two more gears. Once you successfully get past those,
you'll reach a Morph Ball tunnel that heads to the right. Follow it until you
see another tunnel heading straight back. Go down this tunnel to reach a
chamber with a BEAM AMMO EXPANSION, increasing your maximum capacity of dark
and light ammo by 50! Return to the main tunnel and keep going right to drop
into a pipe that will again deposit you right in front of the portal. Now, go
through the portal.
The dark version of this room is called Aerial Training Site and you can see a
temple key on an inaccessible platform. Fight the Dark Pirate Commandos if you
wish, then go through the door to the right of the portal (with your back to
the portal) to reach Judgment Drop, basically a huge cliff. Shoot all the Dark
Preeds from the ledge, wait for the poison to clear, then use the series of
Grapple Points to cross to the other side. There, jump down to a lower ledge to
find a light portal.
Back in Light Aether, jump back up and go through the door to reach Vault.
You'll see how it got its name when you cross the bridge and see the item
waiting for you behind indestructible bars. Actually the entire central
structure is a vault designed to protect the item. Obviously, you need to get
it open. On the back side of the vault you'll discover a Bomb Slot: when
activated, laser beams will fire out of four turrets around the vault, but
they'll fire into the air, doing nothing. Perhaps those lasers are necessary to
unlock the vault. Also on the lower level of the vault you'll find a control
panel. This will lower the bridge you just walked across so that stops right in
front of you and leads to a dark portal underneath the door. There's nowhere
else to go now, so cross the bridge and enter the portal. On the Dark Aether
side, there's nothing to do except grapple across the abyss to the far ledge.
Make sure to grapple quickly, though, so you don't get attacked by DARK WAR
WASPS (notice they're a new scan). On the far ledge is a portal generator,
which you can use to return to Vault.
You'll now be behind the vault, but there are platforms here that will allow
you to reach the platforms with the laser turrets on them. Each laser is
guarded by a Rezbit, however, and the jumps are long, so be careful. At each
laser platform is a spinner, which you can use to rotate the laser so that it
points towards the vault. Once all four lasers have been rotated, all that's
left is to get back to the Bomb Slot in the vault. To do that, you'll have to
go through the portal generator, grapple to the light portal on the other side,
then walk back across the bridge into the vault. When you activate the Bomb
Slot this time, the lasers will focus on receptors on top of the vault. The
entire top of the vault platform will then lift up, leaving the item exposed
and ready to be collected. Jump up to earn the uber-cool SCREW ATTACK!
The Screw Attack allows you to continually somersault after performing a
double jump. This move is not only damaging to enemies, it allows you to cross
gaps of immense distances. Once you start using the Screw Attack, you can
continue to press B up to 5 times to keep using it. And it's a good thing, too,
because you'll need it to get out of Vault. Since the bridge has lowered, use
the Screw Attack from the vault platform to reach the door out. In the next
room, Grand Abyss, use the Screw Attack again to quickly and easily cross the
huge gap and return to Watch Station, where you'll meet a few Pirate
Aerotroopers: enemies you haven't encountered in a while.
Now the only task remaining in Sanctuary is to collect the final temple key.
You've seen this key sitting inside an enclosed cage in Aerial Training Site,
but to reach it you'll have to come at it from a different direction. In fact,
you'll need to return to Main Research once more. Go through the dark portal
there, then jump onto the platform ringing the central shaft (you raised this
platform the last time you were here). Get rid of any Inglets in your way and
walk around the platform until you see another ledge on the wall that you can
jump to. From this ledge you will be able to jump to a door. The door leads to
a vertical shaft, but instead of Kinetic Orb Cannons, this shaft has two tall
rectangular surfaces covered in strange purple and gold patterns. You may have
seen surfaces like this in a few other places, but now you can scan this WALL
JUMP SURFACE for a Logbook entry and learn that these surfaces work with your
Screw Attack. To use it, face the lower surface and back up several steps. Now
jump towards the surface, timing your jumps so that you are performing the
Screw Attack when you hit the surface. You will stick to the surface
temporarily, so quickly press B again to Screw Attack up and across to the
opposite surface, where you can wall jump again, and so on all the way up to
the top of the shaft. When you finally reach the top, walk through the door to
find HIVE TEMPLE KEY 3 right in front of you.
Scan the control panel inside the cage to lower the walls, then Screw Attack
over the gap to the portal. You'll notice there's another wall jump surface in
front of the portal, so use it just like the last one to reach a MISSILE
EXPANSION. The only thing you have left to do is to reach the Hive Temple: the
quickest way is to go through the light portal, then cross Main Gyro Chamber
and use the dark portal in Dynamo Works. Now in Ing Hive, return to Hive Gyro
Chamber and use first the Ammo Station, then the Save Station located through
doors out of this room. Once you're fully armed and ready to go, go through the
door on the upper ledge with bright pillars of light on either side to reach
Hive Temple Access.
/==============================================================================
6. Tactical Control Unit [III.D.6]
\==============================================================================
|[BOSS: Quadraxis] |
|o Annihilator Beam |
|o Missile Expansion 45 |
|o Power Bomb Expansion 8 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Step into the swirling light, and the three temple keys, just like the two
times before, will set themselves in place on the gate in front of you, which
will then open. Past the gate is the door to Hive Temple, and as you ride the
elevator down to the floor it will be impossible for you to miss that the
temple is dominated by a robot that can only be described as massive. This
robot has four long jointed legs supporting a central head, very similar to a
humongous Quad. As you walk towards the mechanoid, however, all of a sudden a
large pool of Ing will appear and begin infiltrating the giant machine. After
a few seconds, the robot will be under the control of the Ing, and it will come
to life.
The name of this gargantuan Guardian is QUADRAXIS, and you can scan it now for
the first of five scans that are necessary to complete its Logbook section.
From the scan you'll learn that its only weak points are at its feet and knee
joints. You can bomb or boost into the glowing red circles in Quadraxis's feet
anytime to get a quick Ultra Energy, but you cannot damage Quadraxis by
attacking its feet. To hurt Quadraxis, you have to go after its knee joints,
but not all of them are vulnerable at any given time. If you look at
Quadraxis's knees, you'll see that one or two of them will be flashing blue.
These are the only joints that are vulnerable, so lock-on to one, get a clear
line of sight to it, and fire at it with the Light Beam. You'll know you've
destroyed a knee when you see Quadraxis stumble and temporarily lose its
footing.
Of course, while you're attacking Quadraxis's knees, it will be attacking you.
Quadraxis has a variety of attacks, including powerful blasts of a form of
white-and-black energy and rapid-fire laser shots. Quadraxis can also jump
(impressive for its size) sending out shock waves from its legs when it lands.
Occasionally during the fight, you'll see three red lasers start sweeping the
area, then finally converge on you. This means that Quadraxis is locking-on to
you in preparation for firing a homing missile, so you need to get away from
the lasers. The way to do this is to switch to Morph Ball mode, wait until the
three beams converge into one on you, then boost away before the missile is
fired. Quadraxis's final attack is to draw its legs close to its body and spin
just like a Quad. The only difference is that Quadraxis's spin will generate a
powerful wind pulling you towards it. Switch to the Morph Ball when this
happens and boost to stay away from Quadraxis.
Do your best to avoid Quadraxis's attacks as much as possible while attacking
its knees as fast as you can. Once you knock out the first couple knees, it can
be hard to get a clear shot at the remaining ones, as Quadraxis will try to
keep them far away from you and will use the homing missile and spin attacks
more often. Sometimes if the vulnerable knee is on the far side, boosting
across the room to it will give you a clear shot. Just work as fast as you can,
and remember that you can always bomb or boost the feet to replenish your
energy and ammo.
When all four knees are destroyed, Quadraxis's body will no longer be able to
support itself and it will collapse in the center of the floor. However, you're
not done yet. The head will separate itself from the rest of the body and begin
flying around the room, where it will continue launching all its projectile
attacks. In this second phase of the battle, scan both the body (DAMAGED
QUADRAXIS) and the head (SHIELDED HEAD MODULE). You'll learn that the head is
receiving signals from a transmitter on the body; knocking out this transmitter
will temporarily stun the head. Switch to the Echo Visor to see and lock-on to
this transmitter in the center of the body. You'll need 8 missiles to damage
it; one Super Missile followed by 3 missiles will also do the trick. However
you do it, once the transmitter is destroyed, the shielding around the head
will disappear and it will now be STUNNED HEAD MODULE (a separate scan!). Using
the Echo Visor again, you can see there are three sonic receptors on the head.
Each receptor will take 8 more missiles to destroy; as soon as you destroy one,
the head module will reestablish its link with the transmitter on the body, its
shielding will return, and a Dark Quad will appear. Take out the Dark Quad
first, then repeat the process until you've destroyed all three receptors on
the head module.
When that happens, the outer covering on the top of the head module will
shatter and the head will fall out of control, colliding into all four legs and
breaking a covering on the top of them as well. When the head regains control
and the battle resumes, scan it once more for the FINAL HEAD MODULE entry,
completing the Quadraxis section of your Logbook. In this final stage,
Quadraxis will continue to attack just like before, but now you can attack it
directly with the Light Beam, missiles, or whatever you have left. Once you hit
Quadraxis enough, it will be stunned and will start to slowly drift around the
room. Now, watch which direction the head is moving, switch to Morph Ball mode,
and head for the next Quadraxis leg that the head will pass. There are now
Spider Ball tracks on all four legs, so roll up to the top of the leg, and when
the head passes in front of you, boost onto the head (keep holding R to stay
latched onto the magnetic surface of the head). Roll into one of the two
depressions in the side of the head and lay a bomb to damage Quadraxis. Do this
just one more time to bomb the other side and Quadraxis will finally be
defeated, crashing to the ground and exploding dramatically.
Quadraxis's head will leave behind a powerful new item, the ANNIHILATOR BEAM.
This final beam weapon is formed from a mix of light and dark energy, and thus
firing the Annihilator Beam costs one dark ammo and one light ammo.
Additionally, the Annihilator Beam has certain sonic properties and has the
ability to interact with some sonic-based equipment. Since it is formed from a
blend of light and dark energy, the Annihilator Beam is effective against both
light and dark enemies; other advantages include that shots from the
Annihilator Beam will automatically home on the nearest enemy, whether or not
it is locked-on, and that it has a very good rate of fire, second only to the
Power Beam. Enemies and crates destroyed with the Annihilator Beam will leave
behind both dark and light ammo.
Once you take the Annihilator Beam, Quadraxis's body will disappear and a large
platform with a Spider Ball track up the side will rise in its place. From the
top of the platform you can Screw Attack to a gray door across from where you
entered the temple; open the door with the Annihilator Beam to reach the Hive
Energy Controller. Extract the energy there just like you have for the previous
two temples. Now, to return the energy to Sanctuary Fortress where it belongs.
The quickest way to go is to Screw Attack back to the central platform in the
temple, then turn to the left and Screw Attack to a second gray door there.
This leads to a curving hallway that contains two swarms of flying blue dots,
these are INGSTORM. They cannot be damaged by your weapons, but they will
damage you while you pass through them, so go fast! Once you approach the far
door, a gate will spring up behind you, so you won't be going back this way.
The door leads to Aerial Training Site. You can use the Annihilator Beam to
take out the Dark Pirate Commandos if you want, and also make sure to fire a
shot at the beacons and crystals in the room to turn them into SUPER CRYSTALS
and SUPER BEACONS. While they probably won't be much use against the pirates,
these are very, very handy: any creature that gets close to one is drawn
towards it, and is destroyed as soon as it touches the Safe Zone! Use the light
portal here to get back to Sanctuary Fortress.
Use the Spider Ball track next to the white door to reach the blue door leading
to Sentinel's Path, which connects to the temple. There are two Mekenobites in
here, which can only be destroyed with two Seeker Missiles. Also, in the center
of the curving hallway is another sonic gate, but this one is different than
the others you've encountered. Instead of being unlocked by destroying nearby
transmitters, this gate must be unlocked by generating a specific sequence of
sounds. Switch to the Echo Visor and you'll see an orange icon consisting of
three orange waves spreading away from a central dot in the center of the gate,
surrounded by four lock icons. Additionally, there are key icons on the three
panels on stands in front of the gate. Lock-on to the orange icon and fire a
shot from the Annihilator Beam at it. You will hear a sequence of four sounds
that will be either high, medium, or low in pitch. Shooting the different key
icons with the Annihilator Beam will generate one of those three sounds. To
open the gate, you must fire at the keys necessary to recreate the combination
without making a mistake. You can fire at the gate to rehear the combination as
many times as necessary, and if you mess up, just start over again at the
beginning. When you enter the combination correctly, the gate will lower and
behind it you will find a MISSILE EXPANSION.
Having gotten the expansion, continue to Sanctuary Temple and grapple or
"screw" (hee-hee) across the gap to the Energy Controller. Just like before,
approach the large device to transfer the energy back into its rightful
location. When you're done, you will have almost completed your mission here on
Aether: you have restored the energy to all three of Aether's regions! Now it's
time to return to U-Mos in the Great Temple, to find out what needs to be done
next.
When you reach Main Gyro Chamber, drop down to the bottom for one more
expansion. At the bottom of the room is another sonic gate that operates just
like the one in Sentinel's Path. As before, use the Echo Visor and Annihilator
Beam to find out the combination, then recreate it using the keys located in
the central area and in the hallway. When the gate opens, launch yourself from
the Morph Ball cannon it guarded and you will collide with the glowing purple
ball in the center of the room! The force of your impact will destroy the
object, revealing a POWER BOMB EXPANSION that you can easily collect! Now you
can make your way back to the elevator to Temple Grounds, saying farewell to
Sanctuary Fortress, at least for now.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## E. THE KEYBEARERS [III.E]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Beams of Light [III.E.1]
\==============================================================================
|[Temple Grounds, Great Temple, Sky Temple Grounds] |
|o Light Suit |
|o Sunburst |
|o Energy Tank 3 |
|
|o Missile Expansion 9 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously, you need to return to the Great Temple to speak with U-Mos, but if
you're willing to take a short detour you can find a new charge combo. When you
return to GFMC Compound, look for a yellow door and Power Bomb it. Inside is a
Morph Ball tunnel which leads to a large open-air room called Grand
Windchamber. The room consists of several platforms built over a very tall
cliff, with a large cylindrical structure in the center. Two Pirate
Aerotroopers will be in the room when you first enter. The only way to reach
the other platforms is with the Screw Attack, and on the other side you'll find
a dark portal as well as another door out of the room; this door eventually
connects to Path of Eyes. A lone platform on the back side of the central
structure has a cannon on it, but don't use it. The cannon will shoot you up
to the top of the structure, but there's a force field blocking it right now,
so you will fall into the abyss. Right now, go through the portal.
The dark version of the room is very similar to the original, except that four
platforms centered around the structure all have Spinners and cannons on them.
Scanning the central structure will reveal that it is locked by four rings that
surround it. Each Spinner will rotate one of the four rings, and at two
positions a ring will turn either yellow or blue. What you need to do is to
travel to each Spinner, rotating each ring until they are all aligned and all
the same color (either yellow or blue, it doesn't matter as long as they're all
the same). Once all the rings are aligned, head to the platform in front of the
targets on the rings and fire seeker missiles at all of them. When all four
targets are hit simultaneously, two narrow platforms will extend from two
corners of the structure. Now you need to rotate the rings so that they are all
the other color and do the same thing. This will cause two more platforms to
extend, and then the rings will fall off. From the trailing transparent images,
you can tell that the same thing has happened in Light Aether.
Now go back through the portal to see what you've done. The four platforms you
extended have grapple points on them, although the Screw Attack has rendered
them mostly obsolete. Head back to the platform with the cannon, though, and
you'll see that the force field has now been lowered, so let the cannon shoot
you to the top of the structure. There you'll find the LIGHTBURST, the charge
combo for the Light Beam. Like the Darkburst, this uses 5 missiles and 30 light
ammo. It creates a large blast of light that damages anything near it. As soon
as you get the item, four Dark Pirate Commandos will appear, so switch to the
Dark Visor and eliminate them (you can't just run; the doors will lock).
There's an Energy Tank to be found nearby: go through the yellow door across
the room from where you entered to reach Wind Chamber Gateway, another room
consisting mainly of a giant cliff. Near the door you'll find a grapple point
which you can use to swing to a lonely ledge bearing an ENERGY TANK.
Having added to your weapon and energy repertoire, now its time to return to
U-Mos. Backtrack to GFMC Compound, then take the familiar route to the Great
Temple. When you reach Main Energy Controller, U-Mos will congratulate you for
your work in restoring energy to Aether's three regions. He'll explain that
there is a single Energy Controller remaining in Dark Aether. However, it is
located in Dark Aether's version of this temple, called the Sky Temple, and it
is guarded by the strongest Ing of all. Before you can even access the Sky
Temple, you must find nine keys that are scattered across Dark Aether. In order
to help you fight this final foe, U-Mos will offer you a new suit of armor
energized by the very Light of Aether.
At this, the base of the Energy Controller will separate, revealing the
familiar Metroid icon, representing a new suit of armor. When you step into the
Energy Controller, pure yellow light from the collection chamber above will
spiral around and focus on you, culminating in a blinding flash. When the light
fades, you will be wearing the LIGHT SUIT. This suit of armor, with its white
color and smooth surfaces, is a dramatic change from the angular, brown Dark
Suit. The changes are much more than cosmetic, however: the Light Suit is
completely unaffected by Dark Aether's atmosphere, meaning you no longer need
to worry about staying inside Safe Zones. Additionally, with the Light Suit you
can safely enter the toxic water found in Dark Aether. Your HUD will also
mention the strange-sounding ability to ride on beams of light. As for what
this means, look at the Energy Controller again. There is now an icon of
spreading light rays in the center of it, and if you step into the icon you can
ride along the light rays to the Energy Controller of each region. This
transportation system will come in handy soon, but don't use it just yet.
It seems that your mission right now is to locate the nine Sky Temple Keys.
However, you currently have no idea where any of them are. Perhaps if you could
find the entrance to the Sky Temple where these keys will be used, you could
get some clues. As to where that entrance might be, remember that the Sky
Temple is the analogue to the Great Temple. The Great Temple is accessed by
three elevators around Temple Grounds, but there are no such elevators in Sky
Temple Grounds. However, the Hall of Honored Dead, where you found the Seeker
Missile Launcher, is directly underneath the Great Temple. It looks like the
dark version of that room may be your best shot.
To get there, leave the Main Energy Controller and take the door to the left,
which leads to Meeting Grounds. Once you've taken the elevator down to Temple
Grounds, proceed to Hall of Eyes and use the dark portal there. The first time
you used this portal, on your way to Torvus Bog, you went through a blue door
out of the room. This time, though, go through the green door on the other side
of the room. This leads back to the dark version of Meeting Grounds, called War
Ritual Grounds. There are two Hunter Ing here, but there's no need to be
worried about them anymore. Fire the Annihilator Beam at one of the Light
Beacons to turn it into a Super Beacon. Now just watch as the Hunter Ing are
drawn towards the Safe Zone and are killed the moment they touch it. You see
that the Annihilator Beam should be your primary weapon in Dark Aether now, and
defeating enemies simply becomes a matter of watching them kill themsevles by
running into Safe Zones.
Before moving on, you'll see that there's a gate in the front of a huge tower
of Ingworms located where the elevator to Great Temple should be. Using the
Dark Visor and the Seeker Launcher, fire missiles at the targets around the
gate to open it and reach the MISSILE EXPANSION inside. A door to the right
leads to Shrine Access, where you'll roll through a Morph Ball tunnel before
exiting into a room criss-crossed with lasers from Corrupted Sentryeyes. Take a
few out quickly so you can stand still without getting hit, then head towards
the purple door, avoiding the many pools of Phazon on the ground. Note that
there is also a green door in this room, but it will be saved for later. The
purple door leads to a hallway full of Darkling Tentacles and Phazon; it's
obvious that something important is at the end of this.
Indeed, when you do reach the door and enter Sky Temple Gateway you'll see a
large circular room with a massive amount of Phazon climbing up the high wall
on the far side. There is a circle of pillars in the middle of the room,
surrounding what appears to be a large inactive elevator. Slumped against the
base of one of the pillars is a dead Luminoth, scan it to read A-KUL'S
TESTAMENT. In it she says that her "key is in place", and there are yellow
lights on the pillar she lies against. She goes on to say that she knows where
the bodies of those bearing the other keys are and will leave this knowledge so
that they may be found by future warriors. Well, that warrior is you, and if
you scan each of the other pillars you'll find a clue as to the location of a
Luminoth warrior. All in all, you'll download the following entries to your
Logbook: M-DHE'S KEY, J-FME'S KEY, J-STL'S KEY, B-STL'S KEY, S-DLY'S KEY,
G-SCH'S KEY, S-JRS'S KEY, C-RCH'S KEY, and D-ISL'S KEY.
Looking at these names, they may sound familiar. They are the same names on the
entries for dead Luminoth you've found that were filed under the "Keybearer
Lore" section. Obviously these are the Luminoth that A-Kul was referring to. If
you look up those entries, you'll see that each one has a single word
highlighted, referring to where the Luminoth died. Although it doesn't
explicitly give the room name, the highlighted word is usually enough to figure
out where the Luminoth is. Since these Luminoth apparently held the Sky Temple
Keys, you need to return to the rooms housing their remains and search there
for the keys. This will also provide an excellent opportunity to stock up on
expansions before heading to the final battle.
Since you might as well go in some sort of order, why not start with the first
region you explored, Agon Wastes? To get there, you can make use of your Light
Suit's new transportation method. Leave the Sky Temple Gateway and head back
the way you came to the light portal. Now return to the Great Temple and step
into the light rays in the center of the Energy Controller. A map of Aether
will appear; select Agon Wastes as your destination and you will ride along
with the light rays to the Agon Wastes Energy Controller.
/==============================================================================
2. Final Rest [III.E.2]
\==============================================================================
|[Agon Wastes, Dark Agon Wastes] |
|o Sonic Boom |
|o Sky Temple Keys 1,2 |
|o Energy Tank 4 |
|o Missile Expansions 12,17,19,23 |
|o Power Bomb Expansions 2,3 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
After you complete your unusual transportation to Agon Wastes, head towards the
right side of Agon Temple and go through the black door there. When you reach
Mining Station B, where you found the Darkburst, look for a weak section of
Denzium wall. Power Bomb it, and behind you'll find a storage chamber holding a
MISSILE EXPANSION. Now return to Agon Temple and this time make for Mining
Plaza, the first large room you explored in Agon Wastes. You may have noticed
that there are three circular lenses at the top of the rocky mound in the
center of the room, and the Scan Visor will inform you that they are controlled
by sonic emitters. Switch to the Echo Visor and you'll see the three emitters
on the cliff walls around the room. Fire a Power Beam shot at each emitter to
disable it, and when you do one of the three lenses will move into position so
that it focuses the sun's rays towards a circular gate on the cliff wall. Once
all three emitters have been destroyed, all three lenses will focus the
sunlight, causing the gate to open. The only way to reach the gate is to Screw
Attack from the top of the central mound, and inside you'll find an ENERGY
TANK! Move on to Mining Station A where you'll find another Denzium wall. This
one hides a cannon which will shoot you up to Spider Ball tracks on the rim of
the cliff wall. Latch onto the tracks and follow them to snag another MISSILE
EXPANSION.
If you check the Keybearer Lore entries you've found, you'll see that J-Stl
died in a "mining station". However, he is not to be found in Mining Station A
or B, so he and his key must be in Central Mining Station. Similarly, B-Stl
appears to be in Main Reactor. These are the two Luminoth whose keys you are
searching for. Since Central Mining Station is straight ahead, make your way
there. When you reach it, the location of J-Stl may not be immediately obvious.
If you think back, though, you'll remember that you found J-Stl behind the
force field in the cliff wall, along with a Beam Ammo Expansion. To get back
there, roll up the Spider Ball tracks onto the ledges with the turrets, then
jump across to a cave on the right side. Go out the other end and roll through
a Morph Ball tunnel next to the force field to get behind it and find the dead
Luminoth. However, there do not seem to be any signs of a Sky Temple Key. This
Luminoth held a key, but how are you supposed to get it from him? Perhaps
you're not seeing everything here, though: switch to the Dark Visor and you'll
see an unusual shape outlined in the air. You don't recognize the shape, and
nothing happens when you touch it. The shape looks like it's not an actual
item, just some sort of marker. Now think: all the Dark Temple Keys you found
were in Dark Aether. Wouldn't it make sense that the Sky Temple Keys are also
in Dark Aether? But they're supposed to be near the Keybearers, so the keys
must be in the Dark Aether versions of the rooms where the Keybearers are!
You could head straight to Command Center and use the portal there to reach the
Dark Aether version of Central Mining Station, but if you hold off on that
temporarily you can gain a few more expansions. You do need to enter the Space
Pirate facility, though, so do so and head to Bioenergy Production. This is the
room with the towers of movable platforms. You'll find it home to several
Metroids, so take them all out. Now go the side of the room which contains
computer terminals to control each tower and look for a Spider Ball track in a
corner. This track will go down the length of the room along the ceiling, then
you'll have to boost between short curving sections of track. When you see
another track directly above you, get underneath it and boost off the track
you're on to latch on to the higher track. From here you'll boost to a track on
the top of one of the platform towers, and finally you must boost off the far
side of the tower track to land on a ledge with a green door. Open the door
with a Super Missile, and inside you'll find a storage room with a MISSILE
EXPANSION waiting for you amidst several small fires.
Now head to Main Reactor, where you first fought Dark Samus. Near the elevator
you'll find a Spider Ball track leading up to the body of B-Stl, and just
around the corner from that track is another track. From the top of this track
you can boost onto a track on a robot that works on the tanks of Phazon below.
There are a series of these robots, and you must boost across each of them
without falling into the Phazon below. This is complicated by the fact that the
robots move up and down and that you must boost through a small gap in the
fence, meaning you must wait until both robots are level with the gap. This is
not as difficult as it sounds, but you do need to pay attention. If you mess up
and fall, you can get out of the Phazon by rolling through a hole in the side
of the fence that is closest to you (the player). Of course, this means you'll
have to start over. When you make it across all the robots you'll reach a
platform with a circular piece of glass covering a shallow depression in the
floor. Bomb the glass to break it and get the MISSILE EXPANSION inside. Now go
through the white door near the Luminoth body, and at the end of a Morph Ball
tunnel you'll reach Sandcanyon. Normally you would use the cannon to reach the
other side, but there's a small platform in the middle of the pit. You need to
Screw Attack to it; this may take several tries. When you make it, lay a Power
Bomb to destroy the weak rock next to the platform. The destruction of this
rock will cause the giant metal structure it supported to fall away, revealing
a POWER BOMB EXPANSION. You have now found every expansion there is in Agon
Wastes, so it's time to find those Sky Temple Keys!
Return to Command Center and use the portal there. The first order of business
is to find the Sky Temple Key in Battleground, the Dark Aether version of
Central Mining Station. There are actually two paths leading from Judgment Pit
to Battleground; you want to take the upper path. You'll end up on a ledge
looking down at the floor of the room, where two Warrior Ing are. You need to
kill the Warrior Ing, but you CANNOT drop down to the floor. Instead, fire an
Annihilator Beam shot at the Light Beacon on the ledge. This will draw the Ing
towards it, and they will die as soon as they touch it. (Alternatively, one of
the Ing may reach the upper ledge and freeze without touching the Safe Zone. In
this case you can just shoot it until it dies.) Now that all enemies are out of
the way, it's time to have a look around. You still see no sign of the key, but
once again switch to the Dark Visor. Your screen will light up with several
bright red platforms slowly moving back and forth in the air. Hopefully these
platforms will lead you to the key.
Be very careful on the platforms. All of them can be reached with single jumps.
It's important to take care because if you fall, you'll have to go back to
Judgment Pit, then return to the upper ledge of Battleground and kill the
Warrior Ing again before you can try again. Not particularly difficult, but
really annoying. You can jump to the first platform from the left side of the
ledge (with your back to the door). The next two platforms are to your right.
Again, don't rush and make sure your jump is lined up before pushing the
button. From the third platform, you can jump to a ledge on the side of the
cliff; DON'T try to go straight for the final platform. From the ledge, there
is one more moving platform to jump to. This is the trickiest jump, and it may
require a double jump. Once you reach the last platform, one more jump will
land you on another ledge on the far side of the room.
Floating in the air above this ledge you'll find what appears to be a living
creature. Its top is wide and roundish, while below it tapers to a thin tail.
In fact, it has the same shape as the outline you saw in Central Mining
Station! This must be the key, or else the key must be inside it! This thing
definitely looks like it's alive, so fire a shot at it. When your shot hits the
creature, your Dark Visor will be washed-out, so switch to the Combat Visor.
The creature is now visible, and you can scan it to learn that it is a FLYING
ING CACHE, a creature whose sole job is to guard the Ing's most valuable
treasures. A charged Power Beam shot is all that's necessary to destroy it, and
when you do SKY TEMPLE KEY 1 will be revealed. That's one down, eight to go!
Before you set out for the second Sky Temple Key, head to Junction Site for a
quick expansion. Junction Site consists of a Morph Ball tunnel that goes
through what looks like a giant stone egg. In the middle of the "egg" is a
Spider Ball track that leads up to a Bomb Slot. Activate the Bomb Slot to cause
the egg to rotate, revealing a MISSILE EXPANSION at the bottom. Once you've
rotated the egg back you can head back the way you came.
You know that the second key is located in the Dark Aether version of Main
Reactor, which is called Dark Oasis. To get there, return to Judgment Pit and
go through the door to the right (with your back to Battleground). This isn't
the most direct route, but it will yield some rewards. When you reach Feeding
Pit (the room with lots of Lumites), drop into the water. You couldn't do this
before, but the Light Suit protects you from its toxic properties. However,
your vision in toxic water is similar to your vision in regular water before
you got the Gravity Boost. Underwater you'll find an opening in a rock wall
which leads into a small alcove containing a POWER BOMB EXPANSION. Now continue
to Phazon Site, the large room with a floor covered in Phazon and now home to
a number of Dark Tallon Metroids. There is a gray door on a ledge high up the
wall of this room, so use the moving platforms to get as close as you can, then
Screw Attack to reach the door. Inside you'll find the last remaining charge
combo, the SONIC BOOM! This charge combo for the Annihilator Beam is quite
powerful and looks really cool when you fire it, but it is the most expensive
weapon you have, requiring 5 missiles, 30 dark ammo, and 30 light ammo to use.
Now that you've found those expansions, make your way to Dark Oasis in search
of the second key. Dark Oasis appears to consist of just a hallway with a
portal at one end and an Ammo Station at the other, but the Scan Visor will
show that a large part of one wall is composed of Denzium. When you Power Bomb
it, the wall will crumble to reveal a lake of toxic water behind it. You won't
find any signs of the key above the water, so drop down into the lake. Switch
to the Dark Visor again, and this time you'll find another Flying Ing Cache in
a corner. Just like before, shoot it once to render it visible through the
Combat Visor, then destroy it to get SKY TEMPLE KEY 2. It appears that all of
the Sky Temple Keys will be found inside Flying Ing Caches.
With that, you have completely explored both Agon Wastes and Dark Agon Wastes,
finding every item, expansion, and Sky Temple Key. That means it's time to move
onto the next region. You can use the light portal in Dark Oasis to return to
Agon, then head straight for the Energy Controller (though you might want to
visit a Save Station along the way). Step into the center of the Energy
Controller like before, and this time select Torvus Bog as your destination.
/==============================================================================
3. Uncommon Valor [III.E.3]
\==============================================================================
|[Torvus Bog, Dark Torvus Bog] |
|o Sky Temple Keys 3,4 |
|o Energy Tanks 9,10 |
|o Missile Expansions 31,36,38 |
|o Power Bomb Expansions 4,5 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When you arrive in Torvus Bog, make your way out of the temple and into Great
Bridge. Two Dark Pirate Commandos will appear when you enter, and the doors
will lock so that you have to fight them. Expect this to happen frequently.
Once you've either killed them or they've left, head to the end of the bridge
across from the temple. You'll find a Denzium rock, and behind it is a Morph
Ball tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel is a POWER BOMB EXPANSION, and the
tunnel will deposit you in front of the door towards Forgotten Bridge, which
you should go through.
If you study your Keybearer Lore entries again, you'll see that the Keybearers
are to be found in Torvus Lagoon and Catacombs. Torvus Lagoon is in the upper
level, while Catacombs is in the lower level. Since the two sections are
separated in Dark Aether, it makes sense to explore each level separately. So
you could use the dark portal in Forgotten Bridge and head straight for the
first key, but like in Agon there are a few expansions to be found. Kill the
Grenchlers in Forgotten Bridge if you want, then reach the enclosed walkway
along one side of the room. You can reach it by jumping from the center of the
bridge to a platform to the right of the portal, then jump up into the walkway.
At the end of the walkway is a door that, after a Morph Ball tunnel, leads to
Torvus Plaza. This room corresponds to where you fought the Boost Guardian, but
thankfully you won't have to relive that experience. Instead, boost up the
halfpipe until you can latch onto Spider Ball tracks at the top of one side.
On the first section of track you'll be pestered by a Sporb on the opposite
wall; you can either ignore it or let it grab you, then bomb it. Soon past the
Sporb you'll reach a series of rotating rings with small squares of track on
them that you must navigate. It's fairly obvious what to do, but this can be
tricky, and a mistake means you have to start all over again. Making it to the
end of this Spider Ball track requires lots of carefully timed bomb jumps and
drops, but if you study what's going on and figure out what you need to do
before you do it, you'll make it through. At the end is a Kinetic Orb Cannon
which will shoot you across the room to an ENERGY TANK.
Now leave Torvus Plaza and go through the door at the other end of the metal
walkway. After crossing an intervening room you'll reach Torvus Grove, where
you'll have to fight more Dark Pirate Commandos. Once they're gone scan the
large tree in the center. You'll see that several of the roots have been
weakened by Phazon and Denzium, so Power Bomb them. This will cause the entire
tree to lean over and collide with a rock wall. The wall will crumble,
revealing a MISSILE EXPANSION. Now go through one of the doors out of Torvus
Grove to Meditation Vista. This room contains little more than a portal
generator at the edge of a cliff. Little more, but not nothing more. If you
look through the generator you'll see a floating platform moving back and forth
amidst the trees. The only way to reach the platform is with a Screw Attack,
which must be accurately timed. Start jumping when the platform is farthest
away from you, and you should reach it. Once you're on the platform, simply let
it carry you into another ENERGY TANK!
That's all the expansions you have to collect in upper Torvus, so it's time to
get the first Sky Temple Key. Screw Attack back to land and use the portal
generator to enter Dark Torvus Bog. Head for Dark Forgotten Bridge (more
commandos) and look for a yellow door. Through it you'll find a small room
containing a Dark Phlogus. It's easy to simply run through here, but use the
Scan Visor to locate a weak section of wall; behind it is a POWER BOMB
EXPANSION. Now continue on to Poisoned Bog. This room is the Dark Aether
equivalent of Torvus Lagoon, and thus home to the key. After eliminating the
Hunter Ing, take a look around with the Dark Visor; you won't see anything.
However, you've already found one key underwater, might this one be underwater
too? Jump into the water with the Dark Visor and you'll see the Flying Ing
Cache at the end of a passage to the right of the ramp up to dry ground. As
before, shoot the creature to make it visible, then destroy it to claim SKY
TEMPLE KEY 3.
The second key is in the lower level of Dark Torvus Bog, which can't be reached
directly from the upper level, so you need to return to Light Aether. Head back
to Dark Forgotten Bog and use the portal there, then make your way back to the
temple and take the elevator down to the lower level. Again, there are a few
more expansions you can round up, so start out by dropping all the way to the
bottom of Hydrodynamo Station and descending down to Main Hydrochamber, where
you fought the Alpha Blogg. Use the dark portal there, then hop off the ledge
with the portal. On the walls on either side of you are wall jump surfaces, so
Screw Attack up them to reach a ledge with a MISSILE EXPANSION. Now return to
Light Aether and climb back up to Hydrodynamo Station.
Go through the black door, which leads to Catacombs. Your Keybearer Lore tells
you this is where G-Sch is located, and sure enough you'll see him to the right
of the door as you enter. With the Dark Visor, you can see the outline of a
Flying Ing Cache underwater, so this is definitely the right spot. Before using
the portal, though, find a gray door out of the room. You couldn't open it
before, but now you have the Annihilator Beam. Through the door is another
underwater Morph Ball maze, completing the circle connecting Training Chamber,
Catacombs, and Gathering Hall. There's a Bomb Slot near where you enter the
tunnels; activate it and water will start flowing up in a nearby vertical
shaft. With the water helping to push you up, you can double bomb jump up to a
ledge at the top of the shaft. You can now reach a second Bomb Slot, which will
allow you to bomb jump up a second shaft, which leads to a third Bomb Slot.
When you activate the third slot, it too will cause water to flow up a nearby
shaft, but you won't be able to get back to the shaft. You'll have to drop down
to the bottom, return to the beginning and make your way back to the shaft.
When you return, bomb jump up the shaft to snag one more MISSILE EXPANSION.
You've now collected every expansion to be found in Torvus Bog; your only
remaining task is to find the second Sky Temple Key. Return to Catacombs and
go through the portal there to transport to Dungeon. This room has a metal
grate floor and is guarded by two Dark Grenchlers, but there is also a small
pool of dark water underneath the portal. Drop into this water and you'll
discover a network of underwater hallways beneath the floor. You'll soon be
stopped, however, by a small black object which is blocking a gap through one
of the walls. This object is a WATCHDRONE, an indestructible creature that can
only be made to move by shining "bright, pure light" on it. Luckily, there is
a Light Beacon directly overhead. Activate it, and the light of the Safe Zone
will cause the mechanism to move out of the way, allowing you to continue.
You'll encounter one more Watchdrone as you continue, and after that you should
switch to the Dark Visor to see the Flying Ing Cache which contains SKY TEMPLE
KEY 4.
That's it; you've gotten everything you came for in Torvus Bog. All that's left
to do is return to the light portal (you'll have to move the Watchdrones
again), save if you want, take the elevator up from the lower level to the
temple, enter the Energy Controller and travel to Sanctuary Fortress.
/==============================================================================
4. Time Draws Near [III.E.4]
\==============================================================================
|[Sanctuary Fortress, Ing Hive] |
|o Sky Temple Keys 5,6 |
|o Missile Expansion 39 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As before, this is an excellent chance to pick up any expansions that you
haven't yet collected. However, if you followed the Sanctuary Fortress section
of this walkthrough, you should have collected almost all of the items here.
In fact, there is only one left, and to find it you should head to Main
Reactor. On your way you'll pass right by one of the Keybearers in Dynamo
Works; you can switch to the Dark Visor, but you won't see the outline of a
Flying Ing Cache anywhere. You should remember, however, that Dynamo Works
has two separate halves; the key must be in the other half. Also, the other Sky
Temple Key is located in the Ing Hive version of Sanctuary Entrance, so you're
heading in the right direction to collect this expansion. When you reach Main
Reactor, follow the outer hallway to the left as you face the central shaft to
enter Sanctuary Map Station. Since you already downloaded the map here, there's
nothing in this room except for a column of pure yellow light, just like the
light that is emitted from the Energy Controllers. Your Light Suit gives you
the ability to "ride" light; would it work here? Step into the beam of light
and you will be transported to a small chamber above, where you'll find a
MISSILE EXPANSION.
Now that you've got the expansion, you need to reach the dark version of
Sanctuary Entrance for a Sky Temple Key. The nearest dark portal is in Hall of
Combat Mastery, so use it and then return to Hive Reactor. When you drop down
to the floor, a Dark Ingsmasher there will power up and attack. Fight it if you
want, or just make for the yellow door leading to the Entrance. Power Bomb it
and go through to reach Hive Reactor Access. Here, the tunnel will end in front
of a circular pit with a small platform in the center and a swarm of Nightbarbs
circling around it. There's a Nullified Beacon on the platform; energize it and
most of the Nightbarbs will die as they collide with the Safe Zone. Use the
platform to cross the pit and continue down the tunnel. Here you'll run into an
ING LARVA SWARM, a large group of small, fast-moving Ing that will collide with
you as they move through the tunnel. Try to shoot as many as you can as they
come at you, but make sure to scan them if you want a complete Logbook!
At the end of the tunnel you'll reach Hive Entrance. Like its Light Aether
counterpart, the entrance consists of a huge cliff with ledges on either side.
Here, however, there is no bridge of any sort connecting the two sides, and the
gap is filled with Dark Preeds. You can see another column of light on the far
side, though, so you need to get across. The only way to do so is with a Screw
Attack, but it must be properly executed in order to get all the way across. A
little to the left of the door, the ledge extends out slightly. Stand on the
edge of this ledge and Screw Attack across, stretching out each "pulse" of the
attack as long as possible. You only get five "pulses" per jump, and you need
to stretch each one as far as you can to get across. When you do make it, enter
the light to travel to a higher ledge. Using the Dark Visor here, you can see
the Flying Ing Cache on a ledge at the same height as yours, on the other side.
This means you have to Screw Attack back across to this new ledge, although
this jump is not so bad, since the higher ledge extends farther out over the
cliff. When you reach the ledge, destroy the Ing to retrieve SKY TEMPLE KEY 5.
In order to get back to the original ledge, you can't just drop down because
you'll just fall into the pit. You need to Screw Attack back across, take the
light down, then Screw Attack across once more.
Once you've made it back, it's time to go after the second key, which you know
is located in Hive Dynamo Works. It's not located in the half which connects
with the elevator and the Main Gyro Chamber, though, so it must be in the other
half, the half containing the Spider Guardian's maze. There's no way to
directly access this half of Hive Dynamo Works from Ing Hive, so you'll have to
find another way. Return to Hall of Combat Mastery and use the portal to return
to Light Aether, then head to the Spider Guardian's maze in Dynamo Works. This
involves going to the temple, then taking one of the side doors out of the
temple to an open-air room which connects to Dynamo Works. Once there, make
your way through the tunnels (which are now occupied by Pillbugs) until you
reach the end. There, roll through the tunnel out of the maze into a small
chamber where you got the Spider Ball. In this chamber is a yellow door. Open
it, and behind it you'll find a dark portal.
Go through the portal, then roll through the Morph Ball tunnel leading out.
You'll emerge on a ledge over a pit, surrounded by walls on three sides. With
the Dark Visor, you can clearly see the Flying Ing Cache floating over a ledge
on the far side. To get across, follow a Spider Ball track on the wall until it
ends across from a moving magnetically charged sphere. Wait until the sphere is
level with you, then boost onto the sphere. Now position yourself over the red
dot on the sphere and boost onto a second sphere. From here, again get over the
red dot and boost onto another magnetic rail track on the wall. Follow this
track to reach the ledge, where you can get SKY TEMPLE KEY 6. Getting back
across is much easier, since this ledge is higher up than the one you started
on. Simply Screw Attack across and go back through the portal.
You have now collected the Sky Temple Keys from all three of Aether's outlying
regions; the only region remaining is the Temple Grounds itself. Make your way
back to the temple, enter the Energy Controller, and select the Great Temple as
your destination.
/==============================================================================
5. Champion of Aether [III.E.5]
\==============================================================================
|[Great Temple, Temple Grounds, Sky Temple Grounds] |
|o Sky Temple Keys 7,8,9 |
|o Energy Tank 2 |
|o Beam Ammo Expansion 1 |
|o Missile Expansions 5,6,7,8 |
|o Power Bomb Expansion 1 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When you arrive in Main Energy Controller, check your Keybearer Lore entries
one more time to see where to look for the final Sky Temple Keys. You'll see
that two of the keys are located in Landing Site and Industrial Site, but
you'll also discover that you are apparently missing one entry! Either you've
missed a Keybearer somewhere along the way, or the Keybearer is in a room you
haven't reached yet. Check your map of Temple Grounds and you'll see one room
off of Communications Area that you haven't entered. You should check that room
to look for the last Keybearer Lore entry, and you can also collect the final
few expansions in Temple Grounds.
The quickest way to get to the unexplored room is to take Temple Transport A
from the Great Temple, which will deposit you in Sacred Path. Make your way to
GFMC Compound, where an expansion is hiding. You can find it by standing on the
ledge with the door to Grand Windchamber on it and Screw Attack onto the ship.
You'll find a MISSILE EXPANSION on the rear of the ship. You can also find one
more easy expansion by making a quick stop in Fortress Transport Access, the
hallway leading to the elevator to Sanctuary Fortress. At the end of the tunnel
is another pillar of light. Like before, the Light Suit will transport you up
the pillar into a small chamber containing the final ENERGY TANK: once you
collect this tank, your maximum energy will be as high as it can be: 1499
units. Return to GFMC Compound and go through the door on ground level; the
door you came through when you first entered this room.
Through the door is Trooper Security Station, where you'll find your way
blocked by a Federation gate. This gate closed after you passed through it way
back at the beginning of your adventure, meaning the rooms behind it have been
inaccessible to you for a long time. Now that you have the Power Bombs, though,
you can destroy the gate and reach Communications Area. Again, you haven't been
here since you first landed on Aether, when you had very few abilities. Now you
can jump off of the path onto a wide ledge on the right. You'll find a round
piece of metal fixed to the ground on the ledge: Power Bomb it to expose a
MISSILE EXPANSION. To reach the door to the unexplored room, jump from the
ledge onto the top of a column, then from there to another ledge where a bridge
leads to the door.
Inside Storage Cavern A you'll find a path that slopes down to a mostly empty
floor. There is a small platform on the ground that indicates that an item once
rested there, but you'll see nothing. Nearby you'll also see a dead Luminoth,
and scanning him will reveal that you have found D-Isl, your missing Keybearer
and holder of D-ISL'S TESTAMENT. Now that you have found where one of the Sky
Temple Keys must be, you just need to travel to Dark Aether to get it. With
that goal in mind, return to Sacred Path and use the dark portal there.
Appropriately, the counterpart to Sacred Path is named Profane Path, and there
will be three Dark Pirate Commandos to fight here. After killing them and
before leaving the room, check out the massive tower of Ingworms that is in
place of the elevator to Great Temple. There's a sonic gate in the tower, so
switch to the Echo Visor and use the Annihilator Beam on the gate to get the
combination, then fire at the three emitters on the ledge to open the gate.
Inside is a valuable prize, the final BEAM AMMO EXPANSION which will bring your
dark and light ammo capacities up to their maximum of 250.
Now exit Profane Path and enter Phazon Pit. This tunnel contains a pool of
Phazon at the bottom of a pit (hence the name), as well as a Dark Tallon
Metroid. Kill the Metroid, then grapple over the pit to reach Phazon Grounds.
This dark version of GFMC Compound is a wide plain with pools of Phazon and
bodies of Space Pirates scattered throughout. Dark Tallon Metroids fly around
this area, one of them carrying a dead Pirate Commando (this is your last
chance to scan one!). There are also several DORMANT INGCLAWS on the walls:
they pose no threat but are necessary for a complete Logbook. You'll probably
want to take out most of the Dark Tallon Metroids, then look out over the edge
of the cliff. Beyond it you'll see a rocky tower with a small orange glow in
it. There are several Metroids between you and the tower, but you can just
Screw Attack right through them. When you reach the tower, land in an alcove to
find another MISSILE EXPANSION.
The door out of Phazon Grounds in on ground level at the end of a short tunnel.
In the next room, Reliquary Access, is a cloud of Ingstorm near the bodies of
two Luminoth that were killed by them. You can roll around the Ingstorm (or go
through them; they're not that thick) to reach Reliquary Grounds, the Sky
Temple Grounds version of Communications Area. You'll have to start off by
fighting several Warrior Ing, and you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way
because there are no Light Beacons in this room. This room is laid out just
like Communications Area, so jump up the same ledges to reach the door and
enter Ing Reliquary. Just switch to the Dark Visor, find the Flying Ing Cache
and kill it to claim SKY TEMPLE KEY 7. You have now found the first of the
three keys in Sky Temple Grounds, but unfortunately this room is a dead end,
meaning you'll have to backtrack all the way back to the light portal in
Profane Path.
Back in Light Aether, the next key on your list is located in the dark
equivalent of Landing Site. You'll obviously have to use a different portal to
reach that section of Sky Temple Grounds, specifically the portal in Hall of
Eyes. The quickest way to get there is to take the nearby elevator up to Great
Temple, then take Temple Transport C back down to Meeting Grounds. Ignore the
Dark Pirate Commandos and go through the door to reach Hall of Eyes and the
dark portal. Go the same way you came when you found Sky Temple Gateway, but
when you reach Shrine Access (with the Corrupted Sentreyes), look for a green
door. Go through this door to reach Defiled Shrine, which in Light Aether is
Landing Site. There are several Warrior Ing here, but you can create Super
Beacons to quickly dispose of them. You'll find the Flying Ing Cache near where
your ship would be; inside the creature is SKY TEMPLE KEY 8.
Again, you've reached a dead end so once more return to the light portal. For
the final Sky Temple Key, you need to find the dark version of Industrial Site.
This will require the use of yet another portal; you can see from the map that
the nearest one is in Temple Assembly Site. So once more return to Great Temple
and this time use Temple Transport B to quickly reach Temple Transport Site.
Before looking for the portal, though, go through the door on a ledge to reach
Dynamo Chamber. This hallway is divided into two levels: on top are several
SPLINTER COCOONS, and below both ends are blocked by GF Mark VII gates (last
chance to scan!). Make sure to scan the cocoons from as far away as you can,
because if you get close to them they will burst open, releasing the Splinters
inside. What you're interested in is the gates, though. Power Bomb them to open
them, and inside you'll find a weakened section of Denzium wall. Another Power
Bomb will destroy the wall, revealing the final POWER BOMB EXPANSION, allowing
you to carry up to 10 Power Bombs.
Now that that's out of the way, return to Temple Assembly Site and head for the
door at the far end from the elevator. Near the door is a movable stone with a
purple crystal on it. Shoot the crystal with the Light Beam and the stone will
move aside, revealing a dark portal. Go through the portal to enter Plain of
Dark Worship. If that's not a creepy name for a room, I don't know what is.
However, Plain of Dark Worship is basically just a big empty room. There's
hardly any enemies in it, and if you walk up to the Ingworm tower, you'll see
that there's a MISSILE EXPANSION just sitting behind an open gate. That's
right, all you have to do to collect the final expansion of all is just walk
into it. Now that you have 14 Energy Tanks, 250 dark and light ammo, 255
missiles, and 10 Power Bombs, go through the door into Lake Access. Shoot the
Venom Weed on the floor to lower it so you can reach the door to Accursed Lake,
which corresponds to Industrial Site.
There is a shallow lake filling much of this room, but there are several ledges
and platforms around the side. One ledge on the side contains a Light Beacon,
which you can use to help take out the Hunter Ing in the room. Using the Dark
Visor, you'll spot the final Flying Ing Cache hovering over a ledge on the far
side of the lake. If you haven't scanned one, do so before you kill it or you
won't be able to complete your Logbook. When you destroy the Ing, the key will
move over the center of the lake. Jump from the ledge with the Light Beacon to
claim SKY TEMPLE KEY 9.
That's it! You have now collected all nine Sky Temple Keys, along with every
item and expansion in the game! You'll receive a message notifying you that
you've collected 100% of the items, as well as all the Sky Temple Keys. If
you've scanned every Logbook entry so far, you should have 96% of all scans at
this point, as well. You can now gain access to the Sky Temple and attempt to
destroy Dark Aether once and for all. In order to do that, though, you'll have
to leave this section of Sky Temple Grounds, so return to the portal and travel
to Light Aether one last time. Since you're likely to face a long, grueling
fight, you need to make sure you're in top-notch shape. Luckily, you're near
Landing Site, so stop by your ship to both save your game and max out all
health, ammo, bombs, and missiles.
Once you are fully armed and ready, leave Landing Site via the door on the
ledge and head for Meeting Grounds. You want to keep your ammo maxed out, so
only use the Power Beam to fight. Don't worry if you take damage, though; there
will be another save station before the final fight. As usual, there will be
Dark Pirate Commandos in Meeting Grounds, but you'll probably want to run past
them to the door at the end of the tunnel and enter Hall of Eyes, where you
should use the dark portal to enter Dark Aether for the final time.
In Dark Aether, make your way to Sky Temple Gateway, where you'll find a
swirling red light in the center of the circular platform. When you step into
the light, the nine Sky Temple Keys you collected will move into place on the
columns around the platform. Now that all ten keys (your nine plus A-Kul's) are
in position, the circle of columns will lower and a beam of light will shoot up
from the center of the platform to the base of the Sky Temple directly above.
Step into the light to be carried up to the Sky Temple.
##/#
##/### >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
##/--/## F. SKY TEMPLE [III.F]
###/## >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#/##
/==============================================================================
1. Alpha and Omega [III.F.1]
\==============================================================================
|[BOSS: Emperor Ing] |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As you travel up the beam of light, the Energy Controller in the Sky Temple
will open, so that you can exit the light beam and rematerialize in the Sky
Temple. As soon as you complete the trip, you will see a giant sphere of energy
near the ceiling of the room. The energy will be grabbed by several large,
spiky tentacles extending from a mass of liquid Ing material on the ceiling,
and the tentacles will pull the energy through the ceiling. That must have been
the energy stored in this Energy Controller, which is now all that is holding
Dark Aether together. It must have been taken by the Ing in order to prevent
you from absorbing it with your Energy Transfer Module.
As you look around the room you arrived in, you'll notice that something seems
slightly odd. There are circular platforms on one side which you can jump up to
reach a Save Station and a walkway around the room which contain a few Ingworm
Caches, in case you need to refill any weapons. From this upper level,
especially near the door out across from the Save Station, you can see what is
wrong with this room: it is upside down. The surface you're walking on is
curved like the top of an archway, while the ceiling is flat like a floor. The
door out is not level with the ground, but is flush with the ceiling, so you
have to jump up to get through the door. This disconcerting fact makes the Sky
Temple seem just a little bit creepier, and reinforces the fact that it is a
twisted perversion of the Great Temple where U-Mos is awaiting your return. The
next room is simply a vertical shaft which you must Wall Jump up, and at the
top is the final door.
The door leads to Sanctum, a large room in which the walls are lined with
Phazon and the energy sphere is resting in the center. When you drop down from
the door onto the ground, however, a huge pool of Ing will appear around the
energy and more giant tentacles will spring out of the ground, blocking you
from approaching the energy. Then the Ing will engulf the energy sphere,
forming itself into a giant trunk planted on the ground, with a massive sphere
of a head on top and four spiked tentacles extending from the head.
This is the ruler and most powerful member of the Ing Horde, the Emperor Ing.
There are two separate scans available right now: EMPEROR ING BODY and EMPEROR
ING HEAD. They will reveal that the Emperor Ing has been heavily strengthened
by Phazon, and has now absorbed the final energy sphere and is drawing from its
power. You will also learn that the way to attack the Emperor is to go after
its tentacles. The tentacles can be locked-on to, and one Light Beam shot is
enough to eliminate one. The tentacles are almost always moving, however, and
are the source of all Emperor Ing's attacks, so you should generally avoid
whatever attack the tentacles are performing, then fire at them afterwards. The
tentacles' attacks are described below.
One of the most common attacks is for all the tentacles to lift upwards and
group together, forming a blob of dark energy accompanied by a specific noise.
After a few seconds, they will fire this energy at you, doing serious damage
and possibly knocking you into the Phazon walls. The way to avoid this is to
switch to the Morph Ball when you see the tentacles forming the attack and
boost towards the nearest circular design in the corners of the room. The idea
is to be moving when the attack is launched so that it misses; staying on the
circular designs seems to prevent you from running into the Phazon so much. The
tentacles can also simply sweep around the room leaving a short purple trail
behind them; just take a step or two back to avoid this. Sometimes the
tentacles will lower to just a few inches above the ground, then sweep around
the room. When this happens, just wait for the tentacles to get to you and
jump over them, jump rope style. The tentacles may also slam into the ground in
an attempt to hit you; jump or dodge to the side to avoid this.
Once all the tentacles are gone, the Emperor Ing's head will fold away,
exposing the EMPEROR ING EYE. This is a core of energy surrounded by a shield
with only one narrow slit in it. After a few seconds the eye will fire an
extremely powerful laser blast at you: not only is the blast itself damaging,
it will also push you into the Phazon and prevent you from firing for several
seconds. Make sure to dodge to avoid this blast; if you get hit by it every
time you have little chance of defeating the Emperor Ing. After the eye fires
three laser blasts, the head will return with new tentacles and the first part
of the fight will repeat.
However, the eye phase is your only chance to actually damage Emperor Ing. You
must fire shots through the gap in the shield in order to damage it.While any
weapon will do damage, I prefer to use the Super Missile. As soon as you
destroy the last tentacle, switch to the Power Beam and charge it up. Now
lock-on to the eye and as soon as the laser blast is over, get close to the
shield gap and wait for it to move in front of you. When the gap in the shield
is straight ahead, fire the Super Missile. This may take several tries to get
the timing down (meaning several rounds of tentacle-fighting), but when you do
get a hit it is worth it: one hit will knock off almost 25% of Emperor Ing's
energy meter. If you can get two hits in one round, this fight can go rather
quickly.
Once the eye fires three laser blasts, the head will return with fresh
tentacles. As the fight progresses and you do more damage to Emperor Ing, the
number of tentacles will gradually increase from four at the start up to ten.
Also, there will be a few changes in the Emperor's attacks later in the battle:
in the "jump rope" attack, the tentacles will sweep around twice, so be ready
to jump again if necessary. In addition, the tentacles will start using a new
attack once the Emperor Ing reaches about 50%. If colored light surrounds the
ends of the tentacles, then they are about to create some sort of wormhole so
that the ends of the tentacles will appear in random spots in the air right
around you, where they can lash you. The way to avoid this attack is to roll
into the Morph Ball when you see it and roll around the room in a zig-zag
pattern, so that as each tentacle appears on the ground in front of you, you
are rolling past it. Other than these changes, the battle plan stays the same:
avoid attacks, destroy tentacles, attack eye. Avoiding the attacks is the most
difficult part, and that simply comes with experience. Don't worry about saving
missiles here: you won't need them after this. Also, light ammo shouldn't be an
issue because the tentacles will leave ammo when they are destroyed. Just make
sure to use the Charge Beam periodically to draw in ammo and energy that is out
of reach.
Once you deplete Emperor Ing's energy meter, its head will rotate upside down
and surround the body. It will then harden into a solid shell, and toxic gas
will suddenly fill the room. Quickly scan the EMPEROR ING CHRYSALIS to learn
that the Emperor Ing is regenerating inside this shell, which is magnetically
charged and contains 11 weak spots, which are easily visible as bright yellow
spots on the black surface of the shell. Roll onto the chrysalis to get above
the toxic fumes, and you'll discover that there are other threats on the shell.
Small Ing move across the surface of the chrysalis, and whip-like tentacles
will emerge from the weak spots any time you get close to one. However, these
are not necessarily bad. Every time you destroy one of these Ing they will
leave a Large Energy, which refills 50 energy units. Therefore, don't be in too
big a hurry to destroy all the weak spots. Take as much time as you need to
just kill Ing and refill your Energy Tanks. When you are ready to destroy the
weak spots, you can do so by leaving a couple bombs on one, then rolling out of
the way to avoid the tentacle. If the bomb kills the tentacle, then the weak
spot will be destroyed (you'll know it's destroyed if you see purple flame
coming out of it). The only other thing to note is that every few minutes the
level of the gas will rise temporarily, forcing you up to the top of the shell.
Just watch out for the Ing while you're up here since you have less maneuvering
room. This phase of the battle is not very difficult, so you shouldn't have too
much trouble destroying all eleven weak spots.
When you do, the chrysalis will explode, revealing a very different Emperor
Ing. It now has a body with four jointed legs and a large opening that is sort
of like a face with a glowing red light inside. This is the MUTATED EMPEROR
ING, its final and most dangerous form. Scans will tell you to fire
opposite-polarity weapons at its "heart", but right now its heart is red, which
doesn't correspond to any weapon. That means that anything will work; missiles
are a good option. You'll notice that when you hit the Emperor now it will
flash yellow, not red, meaning you're not actually damaging him. Four or five
missiles will cause a noise like a small explosion to occur in the mouth/face
of the Mutated Emperor. It will close its mouth (that's what I'm going to call
it anyway) and when it reopens, the glowing light inside will be either purple
or white. It is during this time that you can damage the Emperor, and now is
when you should use opposite-polarity weapons. If it is purple, it is
vulnerable to light, so fire as many charged Light Beam shots at it as you can.
If its heart is white, that means it is vulnerable to darkness. However, the
Dark Beam is too slow to be very effective, so instead fire the Annihilator
Beam as fast as you can to do significant damage.
Of course, you can only attack the Emperor when you're not busy dodging its
attacks. The Mutated Emperor is very fast, powerful, and agile, and possesses
several attacks that are very hard to avoid. Perhaps the easiest attack to
avoid is when the Emperor generates several energy beams out of the air around
him, like a Warrior Ing. Just jump out of the way to avoid being hit by this
one, and this is also a good time to attack yourself. The Mutated Emperor's
physical attacks, however, can be hard to avoid. If you find yourself too close
to the Emperor, it will slash or stomp you with its legs; the Morph Ball is
usually the best way to get out from under its legs. If you find yourself on
the far side of the room from the Emperor, you can expect either a charge or a
jump. The jump is the easier attack to avoid. The Emperor will leap across the
room, generating a shock wave on the ground when it lands. If you see the
Emperor remain in place and open its mouth very wide, though, it's getting
ready to charge. Jump, boost, or do whatever works to get out of its way as
soon as possible. Damaging the Mutated Emperor Ing is not too difficult;
avoiding its attacks is, and that is what will determine whether or not you win
the battle.
Attacking the Emperor will use up quite a bit of ammo, and there are no crates
or other means to refill your ammo in the room. However, when you get low on
ammo the Emperor Ing will release a swarm of small glowing white particles
(they are not a Logbook entry), which you can destroy to recover a ton of ammo
in a hurry, and hopefully some energy as well. The Emperor also has a specific
attack it will only perform while it is dark or light. When the Emperor has a
purple heart, it may create a purple cloud which will fire a beam of energy at
you. If the beam hits you, you will be encased in dark matter and must press B
to free yourself. While the Emperor is white, it may create a white cloud whose
energy beam will not freeze you but does do more damage. That's about it to
fighting the Mutated Emperor Ing; there aren't many tricks. Basically, don't
let it get near you and attack as often as possible.
When you finally deliver the fatal blow to the Emperor Ing, it will collapse
and explode, leaving behind the final sphere of planetary energy it was
collecting. Now you can step up to the sphere and stick your arm cannon inside
it to absorb it into your Energy Transfer Module. As soon as the transfer is
complete, the ground will start shaking and debris will start falling from the
ceiling because Dark Aether has been destabilized. Platforms will rise up in
the center of the room, and a message on your HUD will inform you, "Planetary
condition critical: escape at once!" With that, a timer will start counting
down from 8:00:00. Quickly jump up the platforms and Screw Attack to the door,
then drop down the shaft and step into the light to transport out of the Sky
Temple.
NOTE: Don't try to use the Save Station before you leave the Sky Temple; it
won't work and you'll just waste time. If you die before completing the game,
you will be asked if you want to restart from the last saved point. If you say
yes, you will restart from Sanctum just as the clock begins ticking down. If
you say no, you will return to the title screen and the next time you open your
file, you will begin at the last Save Station you saved at. Thus you must
complete the entire end-game section without quitting your file, but once
you've beaten Emperor Ing, you don't have to fight him again until you quit
your file.
/==============================================================================
2. Disrupted Essence [III.F.2]
\==============================================================================
|[BOSS: Dark Samus] |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You will arrive in Sky Temple Gateway and will start walking towards the door,
but suddenly a large mass of Phazon will appear, completely blocking the door!
You will turn and see that Dark Samus is there, although having been defeated
twice already, her suit is translucent and her body has been reduced to a
skeleton. It's time to put an end to Dark Samus, and you have less than eight
minutes to do so.
Scan DARK SAMUS 3 for the next-to-last entry in your Logbook, then get ready
to fight. This final fight with Dark Samus will be different from the first two
in that Dark Samus will use only a small number of attacks, instead of the wide
variety she's previously employed. There is also the added pressure of the
clock counting down, but try not to look at it too much. Eight minutes sounds
short, but it is actually plenty of time to defeat Dark Samus. Dark Samus will
alternate between two activities. When she rises into the air, she is preparing
to fire a massive amount of Phazon at you. Pay attention and be ready to dodge
when she fires, and keep moving because the beam will follow you. Dark Samus is
invulnerable during this time, so all you can do is avoid the attack. After
firing several Phazon blasts, Dark Samus will drop to the ground and disappear,
even from your Dark Visor. The Echo Visor is the only visor that can see Dark
Samus now, and it is at this time that she is vulnerable to attack. Lock-on to
Dark Samus and fire away with whatever you have left: the Annihilator Beam is
best, followed by the Light Beam, missiles, and finally the Power Beam. Pay
attention as you fire, though; Dark Samus will often jump quickly to another
spot, and this will break your lock-on. If you don't pay attention to this, you
can waste ammo firing at nothing. Once your shots start bouncing off of Dark
Samus, she has become visible again. Switch back to the Combat Visor and get
ready to dodge more Phazon blasts.
After a couple minutes of this, in which you may be able to do around 25%
damage to Dark Samus, the pattern will change. When you see Dark Samus rise
into the air in the center of the room and a sphere of Phazon surround her, get
ready for the final portion of the fight. Also, Dark Samus is now DARK SAMUS 4,
which will complete your Logbook. The scan will indicate that Dark Samus is now
invulnerable to everything except Phazon itself, and it recommends using the
Charge Beam to collect Phazon expelled by Dark Samus. In order to do that,
however, you need to pay very close attention to Dark Samus while she is in the
air. Have a charged Power Beam shot ready, however, throughout this period of
the fight. Samus's attack now is a brief but fast-moving blast of Phazon.
Normally, you can tell this is coming because Dark Samus will contract her body
slightly before releasing the attack.
However, if the Phazon sphere around Samus expands briefly before she contracts
and fires, get ready. Dodge the attack like normal, but if you are locked-on to
Dark Samus, your targeting reticule will move up slightly to lock-on to several
small Phazon pellets that were also released. These contain the Phazon energy
you need to absorb. If they're not headed straight towards you, line yourself
up with the pellets and let them get sucked up by the Charge Beam. Your Charge
Beam will now be glowing blue with Phazon energy. Once you have absorbed the
pellets, your lock-on will automatically shift back to Dark Samus. As soon as
it has, release the Charge Beam to do heavy damage to Dark Samus.
After firing several Phazon blasts, usually including two which release Phazon
pellets, Dark Samus will drop to the ground and begin hovering around the room,
quickly jumping from place to place and generating temporary Phazon barriers
to hurt you and block your shots. Dark Samus is vulnerable during this period,
so stay locked-on and use up any missiles or ammo you have left. However, don't
expect to do very much damage during these segments, just try to avoid getting
hit or walking into the Phazon on the walls. When Dark Samus returns to the air
in the center of the room, switch to the Power Beam and charge it up.
Both avoiding the Phazon blasts and absorbing the Phazon pellets can be
difficult, and this simply takes practice and learning to recognize Dark
Samus's signals and timing. Another important fact to keep in mind is that if
you are locked-on to Dark Samus, the targeting reticule will AUTOMATICALLY move
to focus on the Phazon pellets, then back to Dark Samus. At no point do you
need to release the L button or use manual aiming. This can be an unnecessary
cause for missed pellets and missed shots at Dark Samus. Depending on how much
damage you did to Dark Samus in the beginning, it will take around five to
seven Phazon shots to kill Dark Samus, and you usually (but not always) get two
opportunities per round.
When you deliver the final blow to Dark Samus, she will fall to the ground, her
body burning with blue flames. Desperately, she will crawl towards Samus and
stretch out her hand towards Samus, but she will disintegrate into blue
particles before she touches you. Once Dark Samus is gone a number of Warrior
Ing will enter the room, surrounding Samus. However, as Dark Aether continues
to be destroyed, the tower of Phazon on one wall will explode, revealing a
portal generator behind it. Samus will run towards the generator, scanning it
to activate it as she runs, so that when she leaps up to the portal she will
travel through it into Light Aether, into the Hall of Honored Dead to be
specific. Once Samus emerges, you will see the Ing trying to get through the
portal as their world collapses, but soon the portal will explode and
disappear. Simultaneously, the purple clouds and distortions in Aether's
atmosphere will vanish, indicating that Dark Aether has now been destroyed and
the planet is whole once more.
In the Great Temple, several Luminoth will look up as the sky clears overhead,
then turn to the Main Energy Controller. The Energy Controller will close as
Samus emerges from it in her Varia Suit, having surrendered the Luminoth power
of the Light Suit. The Luminoth will bow to Samus as she walks past them to the
exit, giving a brief wave in farewell. As Samus blasts off from Aether, take
comfort in knowing that you have restored the planet's divided energy,
returning peace and health to Aether and destroying forever the toxic world of
Dark Aether. The Luminoth can live once again in peace.
This mission, like many others, turned out to be much bigger than Samus
originally thought. A simple recon operation to find the Federation Troopers
led to the discovery that this world was also home to the Luminoth, an advanced
peace-loving race whose home had been ravaged by the impact of an asteroid,
just like Tallon IV. The impact of the asteroid divided the planet into two
parallel worlds, one of which was home to the aggressive Ing as well as Phazon,
which again drew the Space Pirates. Additionally, Metroid Prime, in the form of
Dark Samus, seemed to be drawn to Aether because of the Phazon. But is there
more? Two worlds, both damaged by an asteroid, both containing the deadly
Phazon, and both home to Metroid Prime. Clearly there is more to the story. But
what are the answers? Only time (and a sequel) will tell.
____ _______________________________________________________ ____
\______/ \______/
IV. E X P A N S I O N S [IV]
______ ______
____/ \_______________________________________________________/ \____
This section lists every expansion in the game: Energy Tanks, Beam Ammo
Expansions, Missile Expansions, and Power Bomb Expansions. Each type of
expansion is numbered, however, this number is meant to serve as a reference
only, it does NOT indicate the order in which the items should be collected.
Basically, the expansions are listed first by region in the following order:
Temple Grounds, Sky Temple Grounds, Agon Wastes, Dark Agon Wastes, Torvus Bog,
Dark Torvus Bog, Sanctuary Fortress, Ing Hive, Great Temple, Sky Temple. Within
each region, the numbering is based on moving across the region in whatever
path seems logical to me, starting from the point where you first enter that
region. For each expansion, the name of the room where it is found is listed,
followed by a detailed description of how to get it. For the room names, the
following abbreviations will be used for the regions:
TG: Temple Grounds SG: Sky Temple Grounds
AW: Agon Wastes DA: Dark Agon Wastes
TB: Torvus Bog DT: Dark Torvus Bog
SF: Sanctuary Fortress IH: Ing Hive
GT: Great Temple ST: Sky Temple
/==============================================================================
A. Energy Tanks [IV.A]
\==============================================================================
01 TG:STORAGE CAVERN B
Return to the Temple Assembly Site once you have the Missile Launcher (the
first time you can do this is after talking to U-Mos in the Great Temple).
Shoot the red blast shield with a missile to access a small room containing
an Energy Tank.
02 TG:FORTRESS TRANSPORT ACCESS
There's a column of light at one end of this tunnel leading to the Sanctuary
Fortress elevator. With the Light Suit, step into the column to be
transported to a small chamber with the Energy Tank.
03 TG:WIND CHAMBER GATEWAY
This tank is found in an open-air area connecting Path of Eyes with Grand
Windchamber. From the ledge on the Grand Windchamber side, there's a grapple
point you can use to reach an Energy Tank on a solitary platform.
04 AW:MINING PLAZA
Using the Echo Visor, locate three sonic transmitters on the cliff walls.
After you turn each one off with a shot from the Power Beam, one of the
solar lenses in the center of the room will move into position, helping to
focus the sunlight. When all three transmitters have been turned off, the
focused light will cause a gate high on the cliff wall to open. From the
central ledge, Screw Attack across the room and through the gate to reach
the Energy Tank.
05 AW:MINING STATION ACCESS
This room is a Morph Ball tunnel that goes through a large oval-shaped
structure. Once you have the Morph Ball Bombs, bomb the block in the center
of the oval. You will drop down onto a Kinetic Orb Cannon that will shoot
you up to an Energy Tank.
06 AW:MINE SHAFT
The Mine Shaft is located through the black door off of Agon Temple. Avoid
falling through the first drop covered by a breakable block, then do a
double bomb jump to reach the top of the next platform with a Pillbug on it,
from which you can reach an upper level. When you reach the second set of
crumbling blocks that you have to fall through, hug the left wall to enter a
secret tunnel behind the wall. Use the slits in the wall to follow the path
up to the Energy Tank.
07 AW:BIOENERGY PRODUCTION
This is the room in the Space Pirate base where you have to move the
platforms up and down. By putting the platforms in one configuration, you
can reach the door to ????. But by moving the platforms into an alternate
configuration, you can climb them to reach a ledge containing an Energy
Tank. The following diagram shows the correct platform configuration. A #
means that a platforms should be located there, and a _ means it that spot
should be empty. The letters A, G, and D stand for gamma, delta, and alpha,
which are the names of each of the platform stacks.
# # _
# _ #
_ # #
# # #
G D A
08 TB:TEMPLE ACCESS
This is the two-level Morph Ball passage that connects Great Bridge and
Torvus Temple. Enter from the upper door of Great Bridge (the black door at
the end of the bridge) and bomb the first red circle on the floor. Fall
through the hole to grab the Energy Tank.
09 TB:TORVUS PLAZA
This is the room located near Forgotten Bridge which is the Light Aether
version of where you fought the Boost Guardian. Luckily there are no
super-hard mini-bosses here, just a large halfpipe with a Spider Ball track
at the top. This is a long and complicated track, and one mistake will send
you down to the bottom where you'll have to start all over again. There's a
Sporb that will pester you during the first part of the track: you can
either ignore it or let it grab you and then lay bombs to kill it. Past the
Sporb is a complicated series of tracks requiring carefully timed jumps and
drops, but at the end of it all is a Kinetic Orb Cannon. The cannon will
fire you across the room to a ledge containing a well-earned Energy Tank.
10 TB:MEDITATION VISTA
This is the room past Torvus Grove which is nothing more than a portal
generator on the edge of a cliff. However, if you look behind the generator
you can see a floating platform moving back and forth in the air. The only
way to reach the platform is with the Screw Attack, which will have to be
carefully timed. In order to reach the platform, start jumping towards it
when the platform is farthest away from you. The platform will move back as
you approach it, and if timed correctly you will land on the platform. Now
just stand on the platform as it carries you right into an Energy Tank.
11 TB:TRANSIT TUNNEL EAST
Once you have the Gravity Boost, enter this tunnel connecting Training
Chamber with Catacombs and bomb jump up to a Bomb Slot. When you activate
it, currents will appear moving either up or down underneath the vertical
tubes overhead. The third tube past the Bomb Slot contains another Bomb Slot
at the top, but to reach it you'll need to do some Morph Ball acrobatics.
The current will greatly increase your jump height and slow your descent
speed, so the trick is to lay a bomb when you are almost, but not quite, at
the top of your jump so that you will fall onto the bomb just as it
explodes. You'll need to do this twice to reach the Bomb Slot. When you
activate it, the direction of the currents will switch for a short time.
Now go to the first tube past the original Bomb Slot and do the same trick
before the timer expires to reach the Energy Tank.
12 DT:CACHE B
In the lower chamber of Dark Torvus Temple, roll through the tunnel behind
the three statues to reach a door. (This corresponds to the tunnel leading
to the elevator to the lower levels in Light Aether.) Through the door is a
chamber containing the Energy Tank.
13 SF:REACTOR CORE
Once you have the Spider Ball, allow yourself to be fired from the cannon on
the floor and use the Spider Ball to latch onto the gold sphere. Roll to the
top of the sphere, where a magnetic rail track leads up to another sphere,
but wait until the electricity surrounding the track subsides. From the
second sphere, position yourself over the red circle and boost to reach
another, smaller sphere with another red circle. Continue using the red
circles to boost from sphere to sphere until you finally reach another
magnetic rail track which leads to the Energy Tank.
14 SF:WATCH STATION ACCESS
This Energy Tank is easily accessible in the floor-less hallway that
connects Main Gyro Chamber and Watch Station. Just enter the room from
Watch Station and you'll find the Energy Tank on a ledge to the left.
/==============================================================================
B. Beam Ammo Expansions [IV.B]
\==============================================================================
01 SG:PROFANE PATH
Use the dark portal in Sacred Path to reach this room. There's a sonic gate
in the base of the tower of Ingworms. Using the Echo Visor and Annihilator
Beam, shoot the gate to hear the combination, then fire at the emitters on
the ledge to reproduce the combination. When you do, the gate will open and
you can take the Beam Ammo Expansion behind it.
02 AW:CENTRAL MINING STATION
Reach the balcony of the Central Mining Station by leaving Command Center
through the white door on the upper level. Now use the turrets to destroy
the three large cubical devices in the room; these are Space Pirate
generators. One is on the ground in front of the skiffs stored on the left
wall, one is on a ledge on the right side, and the third is to the left of
the shield at the far end of the room. Now jump down from the balcony and
use the Pirate Skiff that was knocked loose to reach the top of one of the
columns. Jump to the Space Pirate room, then follow the tunnel out of it to
a walkway in front of the shield. Roll through the Morph Ball tunnel to the
left to find the Beam Ammo Expansion behind the shield.
03 DT:CACHE A
This expansion is located in a small room off of Poisoned Bog, the Dark
Aether version of Torvus Lagoon. You can reach it by going through the black
door in Venemous Pond and passing through Portal Chamber. In Poisoned Bog,
you can jump onto a circular platform floating in the water and from there
to a ledge with a purple door. Use the Seeker Launcher to open the door, and
inside is the expansion.
04 SF:WATCH STATION
From the platform with the white door is a Spider Ball track. Halfway along
this track you'll see another Spider Ball track above you. Bomb jump up to
this track, which leads to a cannon. The cannon will fire you onto another
set of Spider Ball tracks. As you navigate this track, you'll have to ride
on a set of spinning gears. Lay a bomb when you pass through the red poles
to get off the gear before you hit the wall. After the two gears you'll
reach a rectangle of Spider Ball tracks. Go to the lower-left corner of the
rectangle and drop off to reach more tracks below. Follow this track, which
includes navigating two more gears, until you reach a tunnel. Roll right
through the tunnel until you see another tunnel leading straight back. Roll
through this tunnel to reach a tiny chamber containing the Beam Ammo
Expansion.
/==============================================================================
C. Missile Expansions [IV.C]
\==============================================================================
01 TG:HIVE CHAMBER A
Once you have the Missile Launcher, return to the pit that you dropped down
at the very beginning of your adventure; it's located in between the
Landing Site and the Industrial Site. At the bottom of the pit is a special
trooper known as the Dark Missile Trooper (it only appears here, so make
sure to scan it). This trooper has been possessed by the Ing just like the
others, but it can fire Missiles at you. Use the weapon of your choice to
defeat it while dodging its missiles, and when it dies it will leave behind
a Missile Expansion.
02 TG:HIVE CHAMBER B
When you explore the hive a second time, you'll find a Morph Ball tunnel
blocked by Talloric Alloy in front of the door out of Hive Chamber B. Use a
bomb to destroy the covering, and at the end of the tunnel you'll find the
expansion.
03 TG:TRANSPORT TO AGON WASTES
Across from the elevator to Agon Wastes is one of the spiderwebs like those
you encountered at the Landing Site. Shoot the sac in the center to destroy
it and reach a Missile Expansion behind it.
04 TG:TEMPLE ASSEMBLY SITE
Use the Space Jump Boots to double jump onto a large block to the left of
the door to the elevator. From there you can reach a ledge with two crates
on it. Follow this ledge to a Morph Ball tunnel, which leads to a Missile
Expansion.
05 TG:COMMUNICATION AREA
With the Space Jump Boots, jump onto a wide, flat ledge from the main path.
Look for a round metal structure on the ground and lay a Power Bomb to
destroy it. You'll find an expansion underneath.
06 TG:GFMC COMPOUND
Stand on the ledge with a dead trooper and the door leading to Sacred Path.
From here, Screw Attack onto the top of the ship. You'll find a Missile
Expansion near the rear.
07 SG:PLAIN OF DARK WORSHIP
This room corresponds to Temple Assembly Site. Simply walk into the chamber
in the base of the tower of Ingworms to find this expansion.
08 SG:PHAZON GROUNDS
This room corresponds to GFMC Compound. There's a cliff on one side of the
room, and beyond it you can see a tower with something glowing on it. Screw
Attack across the abyss to enter an alcove in the tower and find a Missile
Expansion.
09 SG:WAR RITUAL GROUNDS
This expansion is found in the room that corresponds to Light Aether's
Meeting Grounds. In the center of the massive pillar of Ingworms is a gate.
Using the Dark Visor, hit the five targets around it using the Seeker
Launcher and the gate will open, giving you access to the expansion.
10 AW:TRANSPORT CENTER
This expansion is ridiculously easy to get. After you return to Portal
Terminal from your first trip into Dark Aether, go through the newly-opened
left-hand door to reach Transport Center. Use the Bomb Slot to lower the
gate, allowing you to exit the room and giving you a Missile Expansion.
11 AW:PORTAL ACCESS A
This room connects Mining Station A with Portal Terminal, and contains a
high wall which a series of Kinetic Orb Cannons which shoot you up to the
top. On the Portal Terminal side, the Missile Expansion is hidden in plain
sight behind the wall (the dead Luminoth may partially block your view of
it). Roll around the wall (avoiding the cannon) to get it.
12 AW:MINING STATION A
Use a Power Bomb to destroy a section of Denzium wall. The cannon you reveal
will fire you onto a Spider Ball track at the top of the wall. Follow the
track to reach a Missile Expansion.
13 AW:SAND CACHE
Once you have the Amber translator update, return to Mining Station A. Open
the translator door there, and in the room behind it you'll find an
expansion.
14 AW:STORAGE A
In Mining Station B there's a weak section of Denzium wall. Destroy it with
a Power Bomb to reveal a door. In the storage room through the door is an
expansion.
15 AW:COMMAND CENTER
While rolling through the tunnels under the floor, look for a second tunnel
that branches off to the right near the center of the room. Follow this
tunnel to find a Missile Expansion underneath the floor.
16 AW:STORAGE B
After you get the Dark Beam, return to Biostorage Station. After destroying
the Metroids that will attack, go through the black door on the upper level.
Inside is a Missile Expansion.
17 AW:STORAGE C
This expansion is in a storage room off of Bioenergy Production, the room
with the three towers of platforms that can be moved. On the side of the
room where the controls for each set of platforms is located, there's a
Spider Ball track near the corner. Following this track will lead you across
the ceiling, then you'll have to boost across several small sections of
track. When you see another track above you, boost off the lower track to
reach it, then boost onto a track on the top of one of the platform towers.
Roll to the other side of the tower, then boost off the track to land on a
ledge with a green door. Open it with a Super Missile to enter a storage
room containing a Missile Expansion amidst several small fires.
18 AW:SAND PROCESSING
Once you have the Boost Ball, you can boost up the halfpipe to reach a pipe
that leads to a control area. Scan the computer terminal, then activate the
Bomb Slot to drain the sand out of the other end of the room, revealing a
Missile Expansion.
19 AW:MAIN REACTOR
Along one wall of the room are a series of cylindrical tanks containing
Phazon. On the wall next to the end of these tanks is a Spider Ball track.
(It's just around the corner from another track that leads to the door to
Sandcanyon). From this track you'll have to boost onto a series of robots,
each moving up and down and a grate with only one opening separating each.
If you miss and fall into Phazon, there's a hole in the wall closest to the
screen from which you can escape. If you make it across, bomb the glass to
grab a Missile Expansion.
20 AW:VENTILATION AREA A
This is the Morph Ball area connecting Sandcanyon with Main Reactor. There's
a tunnel leading up from above one of the platforms with a Pillbug on it.
Double jump on top of the platform, then do another double jump up the
tunnel. This will lead you to the expansion.
21 DA:ING CACHE 4
Once you have the Dark Beam, head to this room which corresponds to the
hallway leading to the Temple Grounds elevator. Underneath the ledge you
enter the room on is a Morph Ball tunnel with an expansion at the end.
22 DA:CROSSROADS
Use the Boost Ball to boost up the halfpipe in Transport Center in Agon
Wastes. On top of one side of the halfpipe is a door leading to an elevator
to Torvus Bog, while on the other side is a Dark Portal. Go through the
portal, and when you emerge in Dark Aether, the expansion will be right in
front of you.
23 DA:JUNCTION SITE
This is a Morph Ball tunnel that leads through an egg-shaped structure. In
the center of the "egg" is a vertical Spider Ball track. Ride the track up
to a Bomb Slot, which will rotate the structure to reveal a Missile
Expansion.
24 DA:WARRIOR'S WALK
You'll need the Super Missile to open the green doors to this room, which
connects Judgment Pit and Battleground. You can bomb a weak section of the
floor, but there's Phazon underneath. Drop into the Phazon and quickly
reach the other side of the Phazon, where you'll find a Missile Expansion.
25 TB:TORVUS LAGOON
To the right of the ramp that leads from the bottom of the water up to dry
ground is an area covered in Venom Weed. If you have the Gravity Boost, you
can reach a Missile Expansion on a ledge above the Venom Weed.
26 TB:PATH OF ROOTS
From the ledge with the door to Great Bridge, you can reach a Grapple Point
that will let you swing to a platform with the expansion.
27 TB:PORTAL CHAMBER
In the Dark Aether version of Portal Chamber, there are platforms that you
can jump up near the door to Poisoned Bog. At the top of these platforms is
another Morph Ball tunnel that will take you to the Light Portal. When the
portal deposits you in the Light Aether side, you can easily collect the
expansion.
28 TB:ABANDONED WORKSITE
On the Great Bridge side of Abandoned Worksite is a Grapple Point that will
let you swing to an expansion on a ledge.
29 TB:FORGOTTEN BRIDGE
The first time you reach Forgotten Bridge, cross the bridge to the Dark
Portal and enter it. In Dark Aether, activate the Bomb Slot to rotate the
bridge in both worlds. Return to Light Aether, and after fighting several
Dark Pirate Commandos for a few minutes, you can cross the rotated bridge to
reach a Missile Expansion in front of the door to Abandoned Worksite.
30 TB:PLAZA ACCESS
This is the Morph Ball passage that connects Forgotten Bridge with Torvus
Plaza, the Light Aether equivalent of the room where you fight the Boost
Guardian. Make your way through the Morph Ball maze, activating the Bomb
Slots to rotate the devices, and once you activate both slots you can enter
a tunnel that leads straight back. On the other side is a halfpipe, and by
boosting to the top of it you'll find a Missile Expansion.
31 TB:TORVUS GROVE
There is a massive tree in the center of Torvus Grove with several massive
roots growing out of the ground. Some of these roots have been weakened by
nearby Phazon and Denzium, so use a Power Bomb to destroy them. This will
cause the entire tree to lean, falling into a rock wall and reducing it to
rubble. Behind the wall is a Missile Expansion.
32 TB:UNDERGROUND TUNNEL
This is the watery passage that connects Torvus Temple and Torvus Grove.
Simply roll underneath the platform with the door to Torvus Temple to find a
Missile Expansion.
33 TB:HYDRODYNAMO STATION
Drop down to the bottom of Hydrodynamo Station (the main room in the lower
level of Torvus) and scan the panel there. This will cause a platform to
extend in front of a purple door higher up. Return to the top of the room
and use the platform to reach the ledge, which has a Missile Expansion on it
as well.
34 TB:TRAINING CHAMBER
Roll up the Spider Ball track located to the left of the statue to reach a
Bomb Slot on the statue. When the slot is activated, the statue will slide
forward, revealing a Missile Expansion in its previous location.
35 TB:GATHERING HALL
Use a Power Bomb to destroy the Denzium floor in the middle of the room,
then destroy the yellow plug in the bottom of the exposed basin with another
Power Bomb. This will drain all the water out of the room, and you can use
the curved walls of the basin to boost up to Spider Ball tracks suspended
from the ceiling on either side. At the end of each track is a Bomb Slot,
and when both slots are activated the force field surrounding the Missile
Expansion will lower. Grapple to the ledge with the laser, then turn and
jump onto the newly-extended platform to reach the expansion.
36 TB:TRANSIT TUNNEL SOUTH
This Morph Ball tunnel connecting Catacombs and Gathering Hall can only be
accessed through gray doors, so return here once you have the Annihilator
Beam. On the Catacombs side you'll find a Bomb Slot, which will cause one of
the water jets to propel water in the opposite direction. Using the lift
from the water, you can double bomb jump up a shaft to another series of
tunnels, where you'll find another Bomb Slot. This slot will also reverse
the flow of water in one shaft, allowing you to bomb jump up it and reach a
third Bomb Slot. There's a Missile Expansion at the top of the shaft which
this final slot affects, but to reach it you'll have to drop down to the
bottom and go through the entire maze again. Once you've reached the bottom
of the shaft with the expansion, bomb jump to claim it.
37 DT:UNDERTRANSIT ONE
This Morph Ball tunnel connects Crypt and Sacrificial Chamber. It consists
of a stack of three pipes which are connected through a number of vertical
gaps. However, you can't see through the walls of the pipes, which makes it
easy to hide a Missile Expansion in them. The expansion is located in the
top pipe, just to the left of the central wall. To get it, head for the spot
in the middle pipe just to the left of this, underneath a gap. From here, if
you bomb up and to the left, you'll reach a ledge from which you can go
through the central ring. However, if you bomb up and to the right, you'll
find the Missile Expansion.
38 DT:UNDERTEMPLE
Return to the room where you fought the Power Bomb Guardian once you have
the Screw Attack. On the walls beside the light portal here are a pair of
wall jump surfaces. Use the Screw Attack to ascend the walls, where you'll
find a Missile Expansion at the top.
39 SF:SANCTUARY MAP STATION
This room is through a door at the left end of the hallway in Main Reactor,
as you face the center of the room. Once you have the Light Suit, step into
the beam of yellow light and it will transport you to an upper level of the
room, where you'll find a Missile Expansion.
40 SF:HALL OF COMBAT MASTERY
Use the Spider Ball to climb a magnetic rail track located on the side of a
wall near the door to the elevator. This track leads to a long series of
Morph Ball tunnels where you will have to dodge flames, lasers, and Phazon
through a combination of good timing and accurate bomb jumping. If you make
it to the end, you'll receive a Missile Expansion.
41 SF:MAIN RESEARCH
One wall of Main Research is colored blue and is covered with several
mechanical devices and Spider Ball tracks. As you follow the track, you'll
have to constantly avoid devices that will knock you off as well as jumping
over gaps in the track and dropping to lower tracks. If you can make it all
the way to the end without getting knocked off, you'll earn a Missile
Expansion.
42 SF:DYNAMO WORKS
After defeating the Spider Guardian, use your new Spider Ball to backtrack
through the area in which you fought him. After you pass the passage just
before the area where the final phase of the battle takes place, the track
will lead up and around a large block at a corner. At the top of this track
you can bomb jump off the track onto a ledge, which leads to a Missile
Expansion and a tunnel that will drop you off in the other side of Dynamo
Works.
43 SF:CENTRAL AREA TRANSPORT WEST
After you get shot up to the top of this shaft by the Kinetic Orb Cannons,
drop down onto a platform that takes up most of the shaft. Along the wall
are three vertical Morph Ball tunnels. Drop down the left tunnel, then go
right at the next two intersections. You will fall right into a Missile
Expansion before you reach the bottom of the shaft.
44 SF:TEMPLE ACCESS
Switch to the Echo Visor while standing on the high ledge with the door from
Main Gyro Chamber and you'll see a sonic transmitter on the pillar in front
of you. Shoot the transmitter, then quickly drop to the lower level and get
fired from the cannon before time runs out. You will fall beneath the floor
of the lower section, where a Missile Expansion rests. To get out, use the
Spinner also located under the floor.
45 SF:SENTINEL'S PATH
After you obtain the Annihilator Beam, you can enter this hallway that
connects the temple to Watch Station. In the middle of the hallway is a
sonic gate with three sonic key emitters in front of it. Open the gate by
entering the correct combination, using the Echo Visor and Annihilator Beam,
to access the Missile Expansion behind it.
46 IH:HAZING CLIFF
This room is accessed via a door in Culling Chamber near to the portal
generator. It contains a Dark Tallon Metroid, and at the far side is a short
tunnel guarded by two Dark Diligence Drones. Destroy the drones with the
Light Beam, and you can claim the expansion at the end of the tunnel behind
them.
47 IH:AERIAL TRAINING SITE
There is a Wall Jump Surface right in front of the light portal in this
room. Using the Screw Attack, wall jump up the short wall to grab a Missile
Expansion on a nearby ledge.
48 GT:TRANSPORT A ACCESS
This expansion is located in the hallway connecting the elevator from Sacred
Path with the Temple Sanctuary. There is a Save Station accessible through
a Morph Ball-sized hole in the wall here, and if you bomb part of the wall
of the Save Station chamber, you'll discover a ramp sloping down to a
Missile Expansion hidden underneath the Save Station.
49 GT:TRANSPORT B ACCESS
This expansion can be found in the hallway connecting the elevator from
Temple Assembly Site with the Temple Sanctuary. On the left wall (as you
face the sanctuary door), is a vertical Morph Ball passage. Bomb jump up the
ledges in the wall to reach a tunnel that zigzags above and around the
hallway before leading you to a Missile Expansion.
/==============================================================================
D. Power Bomb Expansions [IV.D]
\==============================================================================
01 TG:DYNAMO CHAMBER
This tunnel connects Temple Assembly Site and Communication Area. The lower
half of the tunnel is blocked off on both ends by Mark VII gates, which can
only be destroyed with a Power Bomb. Destroy the gates, then use another
Power Bomb on the section of weak Denzium wall to reveal a Power Bomb
Expansion.
02 AW:SANDCANYON
This is a large cliff, crossed using Kinetic Orb Cannons, that connects Agon
Temple and Main Reactor. There is a small ledge in the center of the canyon,
which you can reach using the Screw Attack. Once on the ledge, use a Power
Bomb on the Denzium rock there. This will cause the entire metal structure
it was supporting to fall into the cliff and will allow you to take a Power
Bomb Expansion.
03 DA:FEEDING PIT
This room in Dark Agon Wastes contains dark water, several ledges, and lots
of Lumites. Once you have the Light Suit, drop into the dark water. You'll
find an underwater alcove containing a Power Bomb Expansion.
04 TB:GREAT BRIDGE
At the other end of the bridge from the temple entrance is a Denzium rock.
Power Bomb it to reveal a Morph Ball tunnel, which has a Power Bomb
Expansion hidden inside.
05 DT:PUTRID ALCOVE
This small room connects Dark Forgotten Bridge with Poisoned Bog, and is
home to a Dark Phlogus. Power Bomb a section of Denzium wall on the side of
the room to find a Power Bomb Expansion.
06 SF:SANCTUARY ENTRANCE
Use a Power Bomb to destroy the sheet of cracked Denzium in front of the
elevator to the left of the door leading deeper into the fortress. At the
top of the elevator is a control panel which will activate a cannon located
nearby. The cannon will fire you onto a platform with a Vigilance Class
Turret. Use the turret to destroy two weakened sections of wall, one on each
side of the bridge. (By switching to the Scan Visor, you can see which
sections of wall to attack.) Once the walls are destroyed, use the cannon to
return to the fortress-side ledge, then jump up the ledges and ride the
Spider Ball track to the right of the door to reach one of the newly-exposed
ledges. The cannon here will fire you across to the other exposed ledge,
where a Power Bomb Expansion awaits.
07 SF:TRANSIT STATION
This expansion is found in the room connecting Main Research and Main
Reactor. Behind a Denzium plate in the center of the room is a dark portal.
Enter the portal, and in the dark version of the room you'll encounter a
Dark Ingsmasher. After it's been defeated, go through the light portal
behind where it came from. Back in the light world, roll through the Morph
Ball tunnel to reach another dark portal, where a Spider Ball track will
lead to yet another light portal. Follow the Spider Ball track here to
finally claim a Power Bomb Expansion.
08 SF:MAIN GYRO CHAMBER
At the bottom of Main Gyro Chamber is a sonic gate. Use the Echo Visor and
Annihilator Beam to learn the gate's combination, then enter it using the
sonic key emitters on the bottom level. When you enter the combination
correctly, the gate will open to reveal a Kinetic Orb Cannon. The cannon
will fire you into the purple ball of energy in the center of the room,
destroying it and revealing a Power Bomb Expansion.
____ _______________________________________________________ ____
\______/ \______/
V. D A T A N E T W O R K [V]
______ ______
____/ \_______________________________________________________/ \____
This section lists every Data Network (Pause Menu) entry, arranged just as in
the game. It is divided into three main subsections: Inventory, Logbook, and
Options. Entries are arranged in various categories and subcategories just as
they are in the game. Actual entries appear capitalized to distinguish them
from categories.
Due to the wide scope of information contained in the Data Network, this
section contains a large amount of game information. If what you're looking for
isn't anywhere else in this guide, chances are it's in here somewhere.
Finally, an important note: all item locations will be given in the following
manner: a two-letter abbreviation for the region name, followed by the room
name. For example, TG:Landing Site. Room names are displayed on the map, so if
you don't recognize a room name, look for it there. These are the region
abbreviations that will be used:
TG: Temple Grounds SG: Sky Temple Grounds
AW: Agon Wastes DA: Dark Agon Wastes
TB: Torvus Bog DT: Dark Torvus Bog
SF: Sanctuary Fortress IH: Ing Hive
GT: Great Temple ST: Sky Temple
/==============================================================================
A. Inventory [V.A]
\==============================================================================
This subsection lists the contents of the Inventory section of the Data
Network. For each entry, a description of the item is given, along with its
location and any other relevant information, such as ammo or vulnerable
materials. For the Dark Temple Keys category, a description of how to get the
key will be provided.
1. Armor [V.A.1]
===============================================================================
a. VARIA SUIT
This is Samus's classic orange suit that she wears at the beginning of
the game. Since it was not designed with Dark Aether in mind, it is most
vulnerable to the atmosphere of Dark Aether. Your energy will deplete
rapidly while not inside a Safe Zone, so spend as little time as possible
outside them while you have this suit.
LOCATION: default
b. DARK SUIT
This suit has a very different look from the Varia Suit; it looks
somewhat antique, and doesn't have the sleek curves of the Varia Suit.
However, this is the suit you will wear the majority of the game, and it
reduces the effects of Dark Aether's atmosphere. While in Dark Aether
with this suit, your energy will deplete at the same rate that it refills
while inside a Safe Zone; about 1 energy unit per second.
LOCATION: DA:Dark Agon Temple
c. LIGHT SUIT
This super-cool suit will be given to you by U-Mos after you return the
planetary energy to all three regions. With this suit, Dark Aether's
atmosphere will not damage you at all, and you will also gain the ability
to teleport using beams of yellow light. You can use this ability to
instantly travel between regions by using an Energy Controller, and you
will also encounter beams of light in some rooms, which you can use to
reach different parts of the room.
LOCATION: GT:Main Energy Controller
2. Visors [V.A.2]
===============================================================================
a. COMBAT VISOR
This is the standard visor that displays wavelengths in the visible
spectrum and that you will use the majority of the time. It also displays
the most information about your surroundings. Your energy meter appears
in the top center, with radar and a map of the room to the left and
right. Along the left side is the environmental threat meter, which
warns you of nearby hazardous substances, and along the right side are
gauges which display your current amounts of Missiles and Ammo. Finally,
your visors and beams are displayed in the lower left and right corners.
LOCATION: default
b. SCAN VISOR
With this visor, you can scan creatures and objects to learn about them.
When you use the visor, scannable objects will appear either blue, red,
or green. To scan an object, simply lock-on to it (i.e., hold down L). A
meter will appear, and once the object is scanned, the game will pause so
you can read the information. Remember to continue holding down L while
you read (unless you press Start to enter the Data Network). Creatures
and non-essential scans will appear blue, Logbook entries and essential
scans will appear red, and objects that have already been scanned will
appear green. By scanning, you can learn enemies' weaknesses, operate
machinery, and learn about the story. Finally, you cannot fire while
using the Scan Visor; if you press A or Y, you will automatically switch
to the Combat Visor.
LOCATION: default
c. DARK VISOR
The Dark Visor allows you to see objects that would otherwise be
invisible. While using the Dark Visor, the environment will be displayed
in shades of blue. Inside the irregular shape in the center of the visor,
creatures and hidden objects will appear red. If you can't see something
that you know must be there, or if you need to cross a gap with no
visible means to do so, take a look through the Dark Visor. Also, if a
scan mentions that something does not exist in the "visible spectrum or
current timespace", that's a clue to use the Dark Visor.
LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Temple
d. ECHO VISOR
Definitely the coolest visor in the game, the Echo Visor uses sonar,
allowing you to see sound. While using this visor, everything will appear
black, and you will only be able to see the outlines of objects. However,
you will also be able to interact with special sound-based devices, which
will be represented by icons in the Echo Visor.
LOCATION: SF:Aerie
3. Weapon Systems [V.A.3]
===============================================================================
a. Beam Weapons
---------------
i. POWER BEAM
This is Samus's standard weapon, and it is the only beam you have
at the beginning of the game. It fires small energy shots, and has
unlimited ammo. It is weakest beam, but also has the fastest rate
of fire.
LOCATION: default
ii. DARK BEAM
This beam fires shots of dark energy, and requires Dark Ammo to
fire. Shots from the Dark Beam travel slowly, and it also has the
second-slowest rate of fire. However, the Dark Beam is stronger
than the Power Beam, and a charged shot (called an Entangler) can
freeze most enemies for a limited time. Contrary to popular belief,
the Dark Beam is not more effective against light creatures than on
dark creatures, but it is less effective on dark creatures. If you
run out of Dark Ammo, you can continue to use the Dark Beam: charge
it up to fire a regular Dark Beam shot. To increase your maximum
Dark Ammo capacity, find Beam Ammo Expansions. If you played
Metroid Prime, the Dark Beam is analogous to the Ice Beam.
AMMO: 1 Dark Ammo/regular shot, 5 Dark Ammo/charged shot
LOCATION: AW:Storage D
iii. LIGHT BEAM
The counterpart to the Dark Beam, the Light Beam fires beams of
light energy. This weapon is about as strong as the Dark Beam, and
is especially effective against dark creatures. The beam can pierce
through multiple enemies, but it has a limited range and the
slowest rate of fire. The Light Beam requires Light Ammo, and by
charging it up, you can fire a super-powerful Lightblast, which can
also set some enemies on fire. If you run out of Light Ammo, you
can fire a regular Light Beam shot by charging the beam. To
your maximum Light Ammo capacity, find Beam Ammo Expansion.
Continuing the comparison to Metroid Prime, this beam is similar to
the Plasma Beam.
AMMO: 1 Light Ammo/regular shot, 5 Light Ammo/charged shot
LOCATION: DA:Ing Cache 1
iv. ANNIHILATOR BEAM
The Annihilator Beam mixes light and dark energy, with the result
being a sonic blast that is effective against both light and dark
enemies. This beam is almost as strong as the Dark or Light Beams,
has a rate of fire almost as fast as the Power Beam, and can be
used to activate certain sound-based devices. It can also home in
on targets, making it most like Metroid Prime's Wave Beam, though
overall the Annihilator Beam is very unique. The Annihilator Beam
requires both Light and Dark Ammo, and by charging it you can fire
a Disruptor blast. If you run out of either Light or Dark Ammo, you
can fire a regular Annihilator shot by charging the beam.
AMMO: 1 Dark Ammo + 1 Light Ammo/regular shot, 5 Dark Ammo + 5
Light Ammo/charged shot
LOCATION: IH:Hive Temple
v. CHARGE BEAM
The Charge Beam allows you to charge up all of your beam weapons by
holding down A. A charged shot will do approximately 5 times as
much damage as a regular shot, and will also require 5 Ammo instead
of 1. The Charge Beam also has a "tractor beam" ability that allows
you to draw pickups to you by holding a charged blast. In addition,
you can find items called Charge Combos that combine the power of
your beam weapons with Missiles.
LOCATION: default
b. Missile Systems
------------------
i. MISSILE LAUNCHER
The Missile Launcher allows you to fire... missiles (betcha didn't
see that coming). Missiles provide a powerful concussive force, and
are about as strong as a charged Power Beam blast. When locked-on,
Missiles will home in on their target. You must have missile ammo
to fire missiles, and they have a slow rate of fire. To increase
your maximum missile capacity, you can find Missile Expansions.
VULNERABLE MATERIAL: Brinstone
AMMO: 1 Missile
LOCATION: TG:GFMC Compound
ii. SEEKER MISSILE LAUNCHER
With the Seeker Missile Launcher, you can fire up to 5 Missiles at
once, either at separate targets or at the same target. To use the
Seeker Missile Launcher, hold down Y. Your Missile Launcher will
charge up, and an orange targeting reticule will appear. If you are
not locked-on, use R to move the reticule over targets. An orange
circle will appear around each target, and when you release Y,
missiles will fly to each target. If you are locked-on, as you hold
down Y dots will appear inside the targeting reticule, up to a
maximum of 5. The number of dots indicates the number of missiles
that will be fired when you release Y.
AMMO: 1-5 Missile(s)
LOCATION: TG:Hall of Honored Dead
c. Charge Combos
----------------
i. CHARGE COMBO
Charge combos are items that allow you to combine one of your beam
weapons with missiles, creating an extremely powerful attack. None
of the charge combos, except the Super Missile, are required to
complete the game, so they can be difficult to find. Also, most
have a very high cost and can be difficult to use effectively,
meaning they may not be very useful other than for increasing your
percentage. Regardless, to fire a Charge Combo, charge up the
appropriate beam, then press Y while still holding down A.
ii. SUPER MISSILE
This is the Power Beam's charge combo, and it is the one you will
use the most, along with being the only charge combo required to
complete the game. The Super Missile is nothing more than a
super-powerful missile, and it packs quite a punch. It is very
useful both for fighting bosses and for killing regular creatures
quickly.
AMMO: 5 missiles
LOCATION: TB:Torvus Temple
iii. DARKBURST
This is the Dark Beam's Charge Combo. It creates a huge black
sphere that will swallow up anything near it.
AMMO: 5 missiles + 30 dark ammo
LOCATION: AW:Mining Station B
iv. SUNBURST
This is the Light Beam's Charge Combo. It creates a large burst of
light that will do heavy damage (and set fire) to any enemies
nearby, especially dark creatures.
AMMO: 5 missiles + 30 light ammo
LOCATION: TG:Grand Windchamber
v. SONIC BOOM
This is the Annihilator Beam's Charge Combo. It generates a loud
noise which will do heavy damage to any enemies in the vicinity.
Although costly, this charge combo can be quite effective at
quickly clearing a room of enemies.
AMMO: 5 missiles + 30 dark ammo + 30 light ammo
LOCATION: DA:Ing Cache 2
4. Movement Systems [V.A.4]
===============================================================================
a. SPACE JUMP BOOTS
The Space Jump Boots allow you to perform a double jump, meaning you can
jump twice as high and far as you could previously. To do a double jump,
press B to jump, then press B again while still in the air.
LOCATION: DA:Judgment Pit
b. GRAVITY BOOST
With the Gravity Boost, you not only receive the ability to see and move
underwater just as well as on land, bu you will also be able to propel
yourself up through the water. To use the Gravity Boost, press B twice to
do a double jump, then press and hold down B again. You will gradually
rise through the water for as long as you hold down B, up to a maximum of
several seconds. The Gravity Boost also allows the Morph Ball to function
normally underwater.
LOCATION: TB:Hydrochamber Storage
c. GRAPPLE BEAM
Once you have the Grapple Beam, you can use special Grapple Points to
swing across large gaps. Grapple Points will appear in your visor as a
yellow circle with a grapple icon inside. Once the Grapple Point is in
range, the icon will turn bright blue. Once this happens, hold down L to
latch onto the Grapple Point and swing across the gap. While attached,
use the Control Stick to change direction and gain momentum, then release
L to let go. By quickly releasing and holding L, you can swing from one
Grapple Point to another. Also, you can fire weapons while grappling.
LOCATION: DT:Sacrificial Chamber
d. SCREW ATTACK
One of the coolest items in the game, the Screw Attack allows you to
curl up and fly through the air, killing any enemies that get in your
way. To use the Screw Attack, do a double jump while moving forward.
After pressing B twice, press it a third time to start a Screw Attack.
The camera will switch to third-person, and you can keep pressing B to
stay in the air. Note that you can only press B five times once the Screw
Attack starts, and if you don't press B, you will fall and the Screw
Attack will end. You can use the Screw Attack to cross very long gaps,
and you can also use it to climb special Wall Jump Surfaces. Screw Attack
into one of these walls, and you will attach to the side of it. Quickly
press B again to jump to the opposite wall, and continue pressing B until
you reach the top of the wall.
LOCATION: SF:Vault
5. Morph Ball Systems [V.A.5]
===============================================================================
a. Morph Balls
--------------
i. MORPH BALL
One of Samus's signature items, the Morph Ball allows you to turn
into a small ball that can be used to navigate tunnels and operate
certain devices. Rolling with the Morph Ball is faster than
walking, so you can use it if you need some extra speed. Also, any
time a scan mentions "Kinetic Orbs", that means the Morph Ball is
involved in some way.
LOCATION: default
ii. BOOST BALL
With the Boost Ball, you can "charge up" the Morph Ball by holding
B, then release it to get a temporary speed boost. The primary use
of this is to climb halfpipes. When you encounter a halfpipe, roll
up one side and charge up a boost as you do so. Release the boost
as you start rolling up the opposite side to shoot up higher.
Charge another boost as you descend, and release it once you start
climbing the other side. Repeat until you reach the top. Also, you
can boost into enemies to damage them.
LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Arena
iii. SPIDER BALL
The Spider Ball allows you to latch onto special magnetic tracks,
which you can use to climb walls and reach new areas. These
magnetic tracks look like blue or red arrows in Sanctuary Fortress,
and like gold rails everywhere else. To latch onto a track, roll up
to it and hold R. Use the Control Stick while continuing to hold R
to move along the track. If you do a bomb jump while on a Spider
Ball track, you will disengage from the track, which you can use to
jump to new tracks. You can also use the Boost Ball to disengage
from a track (you will boost directly away from the track), which
you can also use to jump from track to track.
LOCATION: SF:Dynamo Works
b. Bomb Systems
---------------
i. MORPH BALL BOMB
These are small explosive devices that have a variety of uses. You
have an unlimited supply of these, but you can only lay 3 at a
time. Bombs can be used to damage some enemies, and are also
necessary to activate Bomb Slots. Another important use of Bombs is
to perform bomb jumps. If a Bomb explodes next to the Morph Ball,
it will pop the Morph Ball into the air, which you can use to get
over small walls and obstacles. If you have good timing and
reflexes, it's also possible to perform a double bomb jump, which
sends you twice as high as normal. This is not required to complete
the game, but is necessary to reach some expansions. Here's how to
do a double bomb jump:
1. Lay one Bomb.
2. Lay a second Bomb a moment before the first one detonates.
3. When the first Bomb detonates and sends you into the air, lay a
third Bomb at the apex of your jump.
4. The second Bomb should detonate as soon as you reach the ground,
sending you up into the third Bomb, which will detonate to send
you even higher.
VULNERABLE MATERIAL: Talloric Alloy
LOCATION: AW:Agon Temple
ii. POWER BOMB
Power Bombs are very strong explosives that can be used to destroy
both obstacles and enemies. You only have a limited number of
these, but you can find Power Bomb Expansions that increase your
maximum capacity. Note that you cannot perform a bomb jump with a
Power Bomb.
VULNERABLE MATERIAL: Denzium
AMMO: 1 Power Bomb
LOCATION: DT:Undertemple
6. Miscellaneous [V.A.6]
===============================================================================
a. Suit Expansions [V.A.6.a]
------------------
i. ENERGY TANK
Each Energy Tank you find will increase your maximum energy by 100
units, which allows you to take more damage before dying. Energy
Tanks look like blue cylinders with gray caps on the end, and there
are 14 in all, for a maximum energy of 1499 units. Each Energy Tank
you have in reserve will be represented by a square above your
energy meter. When the meter (representing the current tank)
reaches zero, one square will empty and the meter will refill. You
will die only when all the squares are empty and the meter reaches
zero.
ii. BEAM AMMO EXPANSION
These expansions increase the maximum capacity of your Light and
Dark Ammo by 50. There are 4 of these in the game, for a maximum of
250 Light and Dark Ammo. They look like flat teardrop-shaped
crystals.
iii. MISSILE EXPANSION
Missile Expansions look like short, stubby, orange and black
Missiles, and each one you find will increase your Missile capacity
by 5. There are 49 of these in the game, some quite well hidden.
Combined with the 5 Missiles you gain automatically when you get
the Missile Launcher and the Seeker Launcher, that makes a maximum
capacity of 255 Missiles.
iv. POWER BOMB EXPANSION
These look like large gray and orange disks, and each one increases
your Power Bomb capacity by 1. There are 8 of these in the game,
and combined with the 2 you start with, makes a maximum total of 10
Power Bombs.
v. ENERGY TRANSFER MODULE
This object looks very simple: it's simply a glowing, blue sphere.
However, it was created by the Luminoth to transfer Dark Aether's
planetary energy back to Light Aether. You will find it when you
first visit the Great Temple, allowing you to absorb energy from
Dark Aether's Energy Controllers and deposit in in Light Aether.
LOCATION: GT:Temple Sanctuary
b. Dark Temple Keys [V.A.6.b]
-------------------
This category lists all the keys needed to open the temples for each
region, as well as the Sky Temple keys. For this category, the location
of each key is provided along with a description of how to obtain it.
i. Dark Agon Keys [V.A.6.b.i]
= = = = = = = = = =
a) DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY 1
Enter the Dark Agon Temple, then follow the path to the left,
using the Light Beacons for protection. The key can be found in
a tiny chamber through a door on the left.
LOCATION: DA:Trial Tunnel
b) DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY 2
The first time you reach Dark Agon from the Command Center,
you'll see the key resting on a high ledge across the room. To
reach it, fire a missile at the Luminoth sculpture on the back
of the stone platform next to the Nullified Crystal. Fire a Dark
Beam shot at the switch behind the statue to lower the platform.
Now you can jump on top of the platform and use it to reach the
key.
LOCATION: DA:Doomed Entry
c) DARK AGON TEMPLE KEY 3
Once you have the Light Beam, go through the door in Doomed
Entry behind where you found the second key to reach
Battleground. Here you must defeat a group of Warrior Ing in
order to retrieve the key.
LOCATION: DA:Battleground
ii. Dark Torvus Keys [V.A.6.b.ii]
= = = = = = = = = = =
a) DARK TORVUS TEMPLE KEY 1
After defeating the Boost Guardian, return to the main part of
the room and boost up the large halfpipe in the center of the
room. High up on one side of the wall is an alcove containing
the key.
LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Arena
b) DARK TORVUS TEMPLE KEY 2
After defeating the Alpha Blogg, use the Gravity Boost to reach
the door out of Main Hydrochamber. Just past the door, in front
of where the school of Hydlings is, there is a cylindrical
ledge. Use the Gravity Boost to reach the top of the ledge,
where you'll find a Dark Portal. Go through the portal and
collect the key waiting on the ledge.
LOCATION: DT:Undertemple Access
c) DARK TORVUS TEMPLE KEY 3
Once you have the Grapple Beam, head to Venemous Pond, the Dark
Aether version of Great Bridge. On the ledge with the door
towards Dark Forgotten Bridge is a Morph Ball tunnel. It leads
to a ledge from which you can grapple to the key, which is above
the door to Dark Torvus Temple.
LOCATION: DT:Venemous Pond
iii. Ing Hive Keys [V.A.6.b.iii]
= = = = = = = = = =
a) ING HIVE TEMPLE KEY 1
Once you have the Spider Ball, return to the Hall of Combat
Mastery and use the portal generator there. In Dark Aether, look
for a red Spider Ball track where the hallway bends. This will
take you inside the wall, where you can follow the tunnels and
Spider Ball tracks over the Phazon to the key.
LOCATION: IH:Culling Chamber
b) ING HIVE TEMPLE KEY 2
Use the dark portal in Dynamo Works, then use the nearby white
door. In the next room, use the Echo Visor to locate and destroy
the transmitters for the sonic gate. Once the gate is down, you
can proceed to Hive Gyro Chamber. The central sphere is
magnetic, so use the Spider Ball to roll up it to the track at
the top. At the end of the track, boost onto the circular ring,
then boost across the ring to intercept the second key.
LOCATION: IH:Hive Gyro Chamber
c) ING HIVE TEMPLE KEY 3
After finding the Screw Attack, return to Main Research and use
the dark portal there. Jump onto the platform you raised before
fighting the Caretaker drone, and from here you can reach a
second ledge from which you can jump to a door. In the tall
shaft, use the Screw Attack to wall jump all the way to the top.
The door at the top leads into the enclosed chamber in Aerial
Training Site with the key waiting for you.
LOCATION: IH:Aerial Training Site
iv. Sky Temple Keys [V.A.6.b.iv]
= = = = = = = = = = =
a) Keys Dark Agon
- - - - - - - - -
i) SKY TEMPLE KEY 1
Enter Battleground from the upper (black) door of Judgment
Pit. You'll be standing on an upper ledge with two Warrior
Ing below you. Kill the Warrior Ing, but do not jump or
fall off the ledge. Once they're dead, switch to the Dark
Visor and you'll see several invisible platforms in the
air. From the left side of the ledge you can easily jump
to the first platform, then carefully jump to the next
two. You can reach each platform with a single jump, and
don't jump unless you're sure you can make it, because if
you fall you'll have to go back to Judgment Pit to reach
the upper ledge again. Once you reach the third platform,
you can jump off onto a ledge in the wall. From there,
carefully jump to the last moving platform (this one may
require a double jump). From the last platform, jump to
the far ledge where the Flying Ing Cache rests. Destroy
the cache to reveal the Sky Temple Key.
LOCATION: DA:Battleground
ii) SKY TEMPLE KEY 2
In the center of Dark Oasis (corresponds to Main Reactor)
is a weak Denzium wall. Destroy it with a Power Bomb to
reveal a lake of dark water. Drop into the water to find
the Flying Ing Cache and the key.
LOCATION: DA:Dark Oasis
b) Keys Dark Torvus
- - - - - - - - - -
i) SKY TEMPLE KEY 3
This key is hidden in Poisoned Bog, which corresponds to
Torvus Lagoon in Light Aether. Drop into the toxic water
here and head down the passage to the right of the ramp
leading out of the water. At the end of the passage is a
Flying Ing Cache, which as always contains the key.
LOCATION: DT:Poisoned Bog
ii) SKY TEMPLE KEY 4
This key is found in the lower level of Dark Torvus Bog,
in Dungeon, to be precise (corresponds to Catacombs). This
room has a metal grate floor, but underneath the portal is
a small pool of toxic water. Drop into this water to
discover an underwater network of hallways underneath the
floor. Activate the Light Beacons to move the Watchdrones
blocking the path, and at the end you'll find a Flying Ing
Cache.
LOCATION: DT:Dungeon
c) Keys Hive
- - - - - -
i) SKY TEMPLE KEY 5
Head to Hive Entrance, the dark version of Sanctuary
Entrance. Screw Attack across the huge chasm, making sure
to spread your "jumps" as far apart as possible for
maximum distance. On the far side is a beam of light,
which will transport you up to a higher ledge. Now Screw
Attack back across from this height to reach a ledge where
you'll find the Flying Ing Cache.
LOCATION: IH:Hive Entrance
ii) SKY TEMPLE KEY 6
In Sanctuary Fortress (Light Aether), go to the side of
Dynamo Works where you fought the Spider Guardian. (This
is accessible via Sanctuary Temple.) Roll through the
tunnels until you reach the chamber at the end where you
got the Spider Ball. Power Bomb the door in this chamber
to find a dark portal. Now in Dark Aether, roll through
the tunnel to reach a pit. Roll up the Spider Ball track
on the wall, then boost onto a moving magnetic sphere.
Position yourself on the red circles on the spheres, then
time your boosts so that you jump from sphere to sphere
and finally onto another track. The track will end on a
ledge on the far side, which is home to a Flying Ing Cache
containing the Sky Temple Key.
LOCATION: IH:Hive Dynamo Works
d) Keys Temple Grounds
- - - - - - - - - - -
i) SKY TEMPLE KEY 7
This key is found in a storage room off of Reliquary
Grounds, which corresponds to Communication Area. Use the
dark portal in Sacred Path to enter Sky Temple Grounds,
then make your way to this room. There are no tricks here;
the Flying Ing Cache containing the key is simply waiting
for you at the bottom of the ramp.
LOCATION: SG:Ing Reliquary
ii) SKY TEMPLE KEY 8
This key is located in the Dark Aether room which
corresponds to Landing Site. Use the dark portal in Hall
of Eyes to reach this section of Sky Temple Grounds, then
make your way to this room. You'll find the Flying Ing
Cache near where your ship would be.
LOCATION: SG:Defiled Shrine
iii) SKY TEMPLE KEY 9
This key is found in the room corresponding to Industrial
Site. Use the dark portal in Temple Assembly Site to reach
the correct section of Sky Temple Grounds, then make your
way to this room. The Flying Ing Cache is located on the
far side of the lake from the door; kill it to expose the
Sky Temple Key.
LOCATION: SG:Accursed Lake
/==============================================================================
B. Logbook [V.B]
\==============================================================================
For entries that can only be scanned once or a limited number of times, a line
of * will appear from the left edge to the entry name, calling your attention
to it. If an entire category can only be scanned once, such as for the bosses,
then the series of * will appear next to the category name, and the same number
of * will appear next to each item in that category.
1. Lore [V.B.1]
===============================================================================
For this category, the location where each entry can be found will be listed
to the right of the entry name.
a. Trooper Logs [V.B.1.a]
---------------
i. Force 1
= = = = = = =
a) CAPT A. EXETER TG:GFMC Compound
b) LCPL J. BRODE TG:GFMC Compound
c) PFC G. HALEY TG:GFMC Compound
d) PFC I. CRANY TG:GFMC Compound
e) PFC S. MILLIGAN TG:GFMC Compound
f) SPC F. TRIPLETTE TG:GFMC Compound
ii. Force 2
= = = = = = =
a) GSGT C. BENET TG:Command Center
b) PFC E. DENYS TG:Sacred Bridge
c) PFC L. BROUDA TG:Communication Area
d) PFC M. VERONI TG:Collapsed Tunnel
e) SPC B. REEVS TG:Command Center
f) SPC M. ANGSETH TG:Trooper Security Station
b. Space Pirate Logs [V.B.1.b]
--------------------
i. Cycle 4
= = = = = = =
a) LOG 44681 AW:Command Center
b) LOG 48853 AW:Command Center
ii. Cycle 5
= = = = = = =
a) LOG 50086 AW:Command Center
b) LOG 54421 AW:Command Center
iii. Cycle 6
= = = = = = =
a) LOG 62217 AW:Command Center
b) LOG 63622 AW:Biostorage Station
c) LOG 67135 AW:Save Station C
d) LOG 69898 AW:Storage B
iv. Cycle 7
= = = = = = =
a) LOG 70136 AW:Security Station B
b) LOG 71599 AW:Central Mining Station
c. Luminoth Lore [V.B.1.c]
----------------
i. History [V.B.1.c.i]
= = = = = = =
a) Golden Age
- - - - - - -
i) ORIGINS GT:Main Energy Controller
ii) OUR HERITAGE TG:Transport to Agon Wastes
iii) PARADISE AW:Mining Plaza
iv) LIGHT OF AETHER AW:Portal Terminal
v) THE STELLAR OBJECT AW:Mining Station B
vi) SAVING AETHER AW:Agon Energy Controller
b) Dark Age
- - - - - -
i) CATACLYSM AW:Mining Station A
ii) AGE OF ANXIETY TG:Meeting Grounds
iii) THE WORLD WARPED TG:Path of Eyes
iv) THE ING ATTACK TB:Path of Roots
ii. Conflict [V.B.1.c.ii]
= = = = = = =
a) First Phase
- - - - - - -
i) DARK AETHER TB:Torvus Energy Controller
ii) OUR WAR BEGINS TB:Underground Tunnel
iii) THE NEW TERROR TB:Catacombs
iv) NEW WEAPONS TB:Gathering Hall
v) RECOVERING ENERGY TB:Training Chamber
b) Second Phase
- - - - - - - -
i) AGON FALLS SF:Sanctuary Energy Controller
ii) TORVUS FALLS SF:Main Research
iii) THE SKY TEMPLE TG:Fortress Transport Access
iv) THE FINAL CRUSADE SF:Hall of Combat Mastery
v) SHATTERED HOPE SF:Main Gyro Chamber
c) Final Phase
- - - - - - -
i) SANCTUARY FALLS SF:Watch Station
ii) TWILIGHT SF:Sanctuary Entrance
***** iii. A-Kul's Clues [V.B.1.c.iii]
***** = = = = = = = = = =
***** This category provides clues to the locations of the nine
***** Keybearers; each Keybearer is found in Light Aether, and their Sky
***** Temple Key is located in the corresponding Dark Aether room. Since
***** all these entries are located in the same room, their location will
***** only be listed once. However, the text of the clue will be given.
***** To see where a particular Keybearer is located, find their entry in
***** the Keybearer Lore section immediately below this one. Note that
***** you must scan these before returning with their Sky Temple Key in
***** order for the scan to count as a Logbook entry.
***** LOCATION: SG:Sky Temple Gateway
*****
***** a) Cadre 1 Clues
***** - - - - - - - -
***** i) B-STL'S KEY
***** Gallant B-Stl. She lies deep in the fortress of a high
***** land.
*****
***** ii) G-SCH'S KEY
***** Gentle G-Sch. With a Bearerpod he sleeps in a flooded
***** temple.
*****
***** iii) J-STL'S KEY
***** Noble J-Stl. Lost his soul before a fortress of dry land.
*****
***** iv) S-DLY'S KEY
***** Brave S-Dly. Beside the marsh of a raining land she laid
***** her body forever.
*****
***** b) Cadre 2 Clues
***** - - - - - - - -
***** i) C-RCH'S KEY
***** Judicious C-Rch. In a small corridor within the depths of
***** a high fortress, he lies silently.
*****
***** ii) D-ISL'S KEY
***** Steadfast D-Isl. Who shall disturb you among the trees of
***** holy ground?
*****
***** iii) J-FME'S KEY
***** Mighty J-Fme. In the last what did you see? Was it one of
***** our gates closing, sealing the scorched land from our holy
***** ground?
*****
***** iv) M-DHE'S KEY
***** Fearless M-Dhe. The one who shall move the pillar of holy
***** ground will see your soulless body.
*****
***** v) S-JRS'S KEY
***** Loyal S-Jrs. He no longer breathes, looking down at the
***** great bridge of a holy fortress.
iv. Keybearer Lore [V.B.1.c.iv]
= = = = = = = = = =
a) Cadre 1
- - - - -
i) A-KUL'S TESTAMENT SG:Sky Temple Gateway
ii) B-STL'S TESTAMENT AW:Main Reactor
iii) G-SCH'S TESTAMENT TB:Catacombs
iv) J-STL'S TESTAMENT AW:Central Mining Station
v) S-DLY'S TESTAMENT TB:Torvus Lagoon
b) Cadre 2
- - - - -
i) C-RCH'S TESTAMENT SF:Dynamo Works
ii) D-ISL'S TESTAMENT TG:Storage Cavern A
iii) J-FME'S TESTAMENT TG:Industrial Site
iv) M-DHE'S TESTAMENT TG:Landing Site
v) S-JRS'S TESTAMENT SF:Sanctuary Entrance
2. Creatures [V.B.2]
===============================================================================
For this category, a description of each creature along with strategies for
defeating it will be given, along with the general locations where the
creature can be found.
a. Aether [V.B.2.a]
---------
i. Ground [V.B.2.a.i]
= = = = = =
a) Surface Prowlers
- - - - - - - - - -
i) BRIZGEE
Brizgees are scorpion-like creatures that wander around
harmlessly on ledges. They have a tough shell that can be
destroyed with a missile, after which it will only take a
few shots to their vulnerable bodies to kill them.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
ii) GREEN KRALEE
This is a mostly harmless creature that simply walks
around walls and ledges. It can be identified by the green
crystal on its back, and a few shots will kill it.
LOCATION: Temple Grounds
iii) KRALEE
These insect-like creatures are not much of a threat, but
they are rather interesting. They will just wander around
on the ground and walls, but every few seconds they will
disappear as the crystal on their back sends them to a
different dimension. When they're in your world, a few
shots will kill them.
LOCATION: AW:Mining Station B
iv) KROCUSS
These small mollusk-like creatures are mostly harmless.
They simply walk around feeding, and their armored shell
protects them from damage. To kill one, you'll need to
wait until it opens its shell, then fire.
LOCATION: TB:Grove Access
************** v) LIGHTBRINGER
This is a helpful creature that will only appear in a few
rooms of Dark Agon. It simply walks the same path back and
forth, but the bright light it generates makes it a moving
Safe Zone. By walking along with a Lightbringer, you can
use it to cross sections of Dark Aether without Light
Crystals or Beacons.
LOCATION: DA:Duelling Range
vi) SEEDBURSTER
These are small swarming creatures that run in large
groups along the walls of passages and tunnels. It only
takes a single shot to kill one, but be careful because
they will fire their sharp seed when they die.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
b) Tunnel Prowlers
- - - - - - - - -
i) PILLBUG
Pillbugs are large, well, bugs that roll around inside
Morph Ball tunnels all over Aether. They can be dislodged
and killed with bombs. Since they are only found in Morph
Ball tunnels, they can only be scanned in a few locations.
The first such location is Portal Terminal in Agon Wastes.
LOCATION: Light Aether
ii) WORKER SPLINTER
This is a small harmless Splinter. It is the very first
enemy you encounter, and can be killed with a single shot.
LOCATION: Splinter Hive
c) Predators
- - - - - -
************** i) ALPHA SANDIGGER
This is an extra-large Sandigger that you will encounter
when you first enter the Agon Temple. You must scan it as
soon as it appears, because approximately 30 seconds after
it appears it will be possessed by the Ing and transform
into the Bomb Guardian.
LOCATION: AW:Agon Temple
************** ii) ALPHA SPLINTER
This Splinter is the leader of the hive, and as such is
bigger and stronger. Like other Splinters, the Alpha
Splinter will attack by jumping at you, but its jump is
much faster and stronger. Once you see it rear back, dash
to the side to avoid it. Keep sending a steady stream of
fire at it to do as much damage as possible.
LOCATION: GT:Temple Sanctuary
iii) GRENCHLER
After your first encounter with a Grenchler, you will
develop a deep and passionate loathing for all of them.
Grenchlers are strong, fast creatures that will attack you
up close with their teeth, and at a distance by firing
bolts of electricity at you. Their only weak spot is on
their back, so you have to get behind them in order to
damage them, which they will try to keep you from doing.
It will take five missiles to destroy the shell on their
back, and after it will still take several hits to their
exposed flesh to kill them.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
iv) SANDIGGER
The Sandigger is a long, wormlike creature with heads at
both ends of its body that lives underground but will
appear when you step on its territory. The Sandigger
attacks by firing a blast of acid at you, which you can
avoid if you just keep moving. To kill the Sandigger, fire
at whichever head is facing you; you must kill both heads
before it will die.
LOCATION: AW:Mining Plaza, AW:Mining Station B
v) SPLINTER
These are aggressive, predatory insect-like creatures.
They will often appear by popping out of the ground and
will attempt to attack by jumping at you. Though they are
fast and agile, they are weak and it only takes a few
shots to kill them.
LOCATION: Temple Grounds
vi) SPORB
This annoying creature can be found attached to walls. If
you enter its range while in Morph Ball form, it will fire
out a sort of grappling hook and try to grab you.
Otherwise, it will shoot acid at you. Sporbs can be quite
bothersome, so use the Light Beam to burn them up whenever
you meet them.
LOCATION: Upper Torvus Bog
ii. Flying [V.B.2.a.ii]
= = = = = =
a) Small Flyers
- - - - - - - -
i) LIGHTFLYER
A Lightflyer is a floating blob of bright yellow circles
that will fire bursts of light energy at anything that
comes near. It doesn't take too much firepower to destroy
it, though: a single Dark Beam shot will do it in.
LOCATION: Great Temple
ii) LUMITE
These are bug-like creatures that can be either very easy
to kill or quite annoying, depending on whether they are
in light or shadow. In shadow, all they can do is fire
low-power blasts at you and can be killed easily. In the
light, though, Lumites become invisible and can fire much
more powerful shots.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes, Dark Agon Wastes
iii) SANDBATS
These are small creatures that generally fly in
fast-moving swarms. They don't much danger unless you walk
right in the middle of one, but they can be difficult to
scan since they often fly out of scanning range.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
iv) WAR WASP
War Wasps are large wasps that emerge from a hive then
hover around you before ramming you with their stingers or
firing bursts of energy at you. They only take a few shots
to kill, but they can be a big nuisance.
LOCATION: Temple Grounds, Agon Wastes
b) Large Flyers
- - - - - - - -
************** i) SHREDDER
These creatures wait in the water until they sense your
approach, then launch into the air and fly toward you with
their helicopter wings. If they hit you, they will explode
violently, but you can destroy them before then by firing
at them, although this will cause them to fire thorns in
all directions.
LOCATION: TB:Torvus Lagoon
ii) SHRIEKBAT
These bats will hang silently from the ceiling until you
approach, when they will suddenly wake up and fly straight
at you with a loud shriek, hence their name. They only
take one shot to kill, though. As soon as you see them
coming towards you, rapidly lock-on and fire a shot at
each bat. Hopefully, you should be able to destroy them
all before they crash into you.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes, Torvus Bog
iii) SHRIEKER
Just like Shredders, Shriekers will wait half-hidden
underwater until they sense your approach, which will
cause them to jump into the air. However, Shriekers fire
sonic blasts that are fast and difficult to see. What's
more, after they fire they will make themselves invisible
for a few seconds, making it impossible to stay locked-on
to them. They take a lot of hits to kill, too, which means
these enemies can be frustrating to fight.
LOCATION: TB:Torvus Temple
iii. Aquatic [V.B.2.a.iii]
= = = = = = =
a) Small Aquatic
- - - - - - - -
i) BLOGGLING
This is a child Blogg. It does not have the size or the
teeth of an adult, but it can still ram you. A single
Missile or charged shot is enough to take one out.
LOCATION: Lower Torvus Bog
ii) HYDLINGS
These are tiny shrimplike creatures that swim in swarms in
several underwater areas. They are mostly harmless (the
only way they can hurt you is to run into you), so they
are usually a welcome sight, since by shooting them you
can get a large amount of energy and ammo.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
b) Large Aquatic
- - - - - - - -
************** i) ALPHA BLOGG
Basically, the Alpha Blogg is an extra-large Blogg. It
charges and rams just like a regular Blogg, except it is
bigger and stronger. It also has the ability to fire sonic
blasts that will blur your vision and disable your weapons
for a few seconds. Like a regular Blogg, you must attack
it in its mouth while it is charging at you. The more
powerful the weapon, the better: Super Missiles, fully
charged Seeker Missiles, or charged Dark Beam shots are
all effective.
LOCATION: TB:Main Hydrochamber
ii) BLOGG
Bloggs are dangerous underwater predators. They are
essentially fish with heads like battering rams and mouths
full of sharp teeth. They will swim around an area until
they discover you, at which point they will charge at you
at high speed with their mouths open. To kill one, wait
until it is charging at you, then fire a missile into its
mouth.
LOCATION: Lower Torvus Bog
iv. Mechanoids [V.B.2.a.iv]
= = = = = = = =
a) Small
- - - -
i) DILIGENCE CLASS DRONE
These floating pink and purple blobs are identical to
Scatter Bombus in the original Metroid Prime. They block
passages by extending three rotating tendrils of energy,
and if you get close to them they will interfere with
your visor, causing it to fill with static. They are easy
to destroy, however: a single Dark Beam shot will do the
trick.
LOCATION: SF:Dynamo Access
ii) HARMONY CLASS DRONE
These bright blue and yellow-green blobs are identical to
the Pulse Bombus in Metroid Prime 1. They float around an
area releasing energy bombs. A single charged Power Beam
shot can destroy them, but be careful: they will be
attracted to your Power Beam if you charge it up while you
are close to them.
LOCATION: Great Temple, Sanctuary Fortress
iii) MECHLOPS
This is a mechanical version of the Triclops from Tallon
IV, and it behaves exactly the same way. It patrols
spaces underneath floors and will grab anything, including
the Morph Ball, in its powerful jaws and return it to the
entrance of the area. The Mechlops can be destroyed by
letting it pick up a bomb.
LOCATION: SF:Dynamo Access
iv) OCTOPEDE
An Octopede consists of four circular drones connected
together that patrol tunnels and passageways. A few shots
will cause the pieces of the Octopede to separate and come
to rest, after which they will self-destruct in a small
explosion.
LOCATION: Sanctuary Fortress
v) REZBIT
These mechanoids consist of a floating black sphere
orbited by two smaller spheres surrounded by a random
arrangement of yellow rectangles. Rezbits are very
versatile, as they can fire a sweeping laser beam, a
series of rapid-fire energy blasts, generate a blue shield
that resists all attacks, and release a virus that will
infect your Power Suit. The virus is the most dangerous
attack since it leaves you vulnerable to attack, although
seeing its effects and having to reboot the Power Suit is
rather cool. To avoid the virus, you must get a large
distance away from the Rezbit or fire at it while it is
preparing the attack. (This is when the Rezbit cannot be
locked-on to; blue swirls will appear just before the
virus is fired.) All weapons work against the Rezbit, but
the Dark Beam is usually the most effective.
LOCATION: Sanctuary Fortress
vi) SERENITY CLASS DRONE
A Serenity Class Drone is a tiny, rectangular box that
simply moves along a pre-determined path and has no
attacks of any kind. They are usually found in large
groups and can be shot easily, although there isn't much
point since they drop items infrequently.
LOCATION: SF:Temple Transport Access
b) Large
- - - -
************** i) INGSMASHER
Ingsmashers are gigantic humanoid robots designed by the
Luminoth to combat the Ing that have gone awry and will
now attack you. They are very reminiscent of the Elite
Pirates encountered in the original Metroid Prime, and are
tough opponents. They can attack by firing
shoulder-mounted missiles, punching the ground to create
shock waves, and simply swiping their enormous fists.
Ingsmashers can also deflect attacks while holding up a
purple or white energy shield, however, it is vulnerable
to the beam of the opposite color while doing so. Attack
Ingsmashers with missiles and charged shots of whichever
beam it is vulnerable to to bring it down; it will take
around 15 to 20 of them.
LOCATION: Sanctuary Fortress
ii) MEKENOBITE
Mekenobites are difficult and annoying machines. They
hang from walls and ceilings and fire powerful blasts that
will knock you back a short distance. The only way to kill
one is to use the Seeker Laucher to fire a missile at each
of its legs, but the Mekenobite will probably hit you
before you're able to launch the missiles. The best way to
deal with these mechanisms is to just run past them.
LOCATION: SF:Sanctuary Temple, SF:Sentinel's Path
iii) QUAD CM
The "head" part of a Quad machine, the "CM" stands for
"Command Module". While attached to the body, the CM will
fire energy blasts and is vulnerable to any weapons. If
the MB (body) is destroyed, the CM will float through the
air while continuing to fire and protecting itself with
either a white or purple force field. If the force field
is white, it can only be penetrated by the Dark Beam; if
it is purple, use the Light Beam. Approximately five
charged Power Beam shots are necessary to kill a Quad CM.
LOCATION: Sanctuary Fortress
iv) QUAD MB
The "body" parth of a Quad machine, the "MB" stands for
"Main Body" and consists mainly of four long, spider-like
legs. It will use these legs to swipe at you, but it also
has the ability to draw its legs in and spin around like a
top. To destroy the MB, boost into it while it is doing
the spin attack, which will cause it to stop spinning and
stun it. While it is stunned, lay a bomb underneath it to
kill it.
LOCATION: Sanctuary Fortress
v) WATCHDRONE
This indestructible mechanoid looks like a black rock with
legs. All it does is sit in place, blocking tunnels and
entrances. The only way to get a Watchdrone to move is to
activate a nearby Light Beacon so that the Watchdrone is
inside the Safe Zone. This will cause the Watchdrone to
move away while the Safe Zone lasts.
LOCATION: DT:Dungeon
c) Stationary
- - - - - - -
************** i) CARETAKER CLASS DRONE
This large drone occupies the central cylinder in Main
Research and is fought entirely in Morph Ball mode. For
this reason, you must scan the Caretaker Class Drone
before you go through the dark portal in Main Research.
The Caretaker drone will attempt to knock you off with its
robot arms onto the electrified floor, which you can avoid
by boosting to another part of the Spider Ball track. To
damage the drone, boost into the small red pole that will
periodically stick out from the bottom.
LOCATION: SF:Main Research
ii) GROWLER CLASS TURRET
This Federation-made turret hangs from the ceiling and
automatically aims and fires whenever you enter the area
it protects. Strafe to avoid its rapid-fire bursts, and
return fire with a couple charged shots or missiles to
put it out of commission.
LOCATION: TG:Trooper Security Station
iii) HUMILITY CLASS TURRET
The Space Pirate version of the Growler Class Turret,
this turret also hangs from the ceiling and fires shots at
a very fast rate. It is easy to destroy, though; since
just one charged shot or missile will destroy it.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
iv) LUMINOTH TURRET
Very similar to both the Growler and Humility Class
Turrets, this Luminoth-designed turret hangs from the
ceiling and fires powerful blasts at anything that
approaches it. Unlike the other turrets, though, this one
is more durable; it will take three missiles or charged
Power Beam shots to destroy one.
LOCATION: TG:Fortress Transport Access, Sanctuary Fortress
************** v) VIGILANCE CLASS TURRET
This is an extremely powerful turret that can be operated
by Space Pirates or Samus. It fires powerful blasts (at a
fairly slow rate) that can damage or destroy some walls,
crates, and other objects, not to mention doing massive
damage to enemies. It takes three missiles or charged
shots to destroy this turret. To use a turret, step into
the turret-shaped hologram. It can only be scanned for a
Logbook entry while being manned by a Space Pirate,
however.
LOCATION: AW:Central Mining Station, SF:Sanctuary Entrance
b. Dark Aether [V.B.2.b]
--------------
i. Darklings [V.B.2.b.i]
= = = = = =
a) Darkling Ground
- - - - - - - - -
************** i) DARK ALPHA SPLINTER
After fighting the Alpha Splinter for a little bit, it
will become possessed by the Ing and become the Dark Alpha
Splinter. It continues doing the jump attack like the
regular Alpha Splinter, but it can also fire purple blasts
at you. Keep firing charged shots at it while dodging its
attacks to whittle away its energy until it dies.
LOCATION: GT:Temple Sanctuary
ii) DARK GRENCHLER
Dark Grenchlers are very similar to their non-possessed
brethren, just a little bit tougher. They're not
vulnerable to the Dark Beam, though, so you can't freeze
them like you can regular Grenchlers. The Light Beam and
missiles will take care of them, though. Remember that
their only weak spot is the shell on their back.
LOCATION: Dark Torvus Bog
iii) DARK SPLINTER
The first Ing-possessed creatures you will face, Dark
Splinters attack in a similar manner to regular ones. The
difference is that they are tougher to defeat: it will
take about two charged shots to bring one down.
LOCATION: Temple Grounds
b) Darkling Flyers
- - - - - - - - -
************** i) DARK SHREDDER
These creatures only appear during the fight with the
Chykka larva. They are almost identical to regular
Shredders except that they take more hits to kill. They
will appear while Chykka is circling around your platform,
and you can use them to refill your ammo.
LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Temple
ii) DARK WAR WASP
Dark War Wasps are just as annoying as the normal ones,
they just take more hits to kill.
LOCATION: IH:Vault Attack Portal, TG:Service Access
iii) NIGHTBARB
Similar to Sandbats, Nightbarbs are small, swarming,
flying creatures that only take a single shot to kill.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
c) Darkling Aquatic
- - - - - - - - - -
i) DARK BLOGG
Dark Bloggs are similar to regular Bloggs, but they do not
have the sonic blast attack and are tougher to kill. It
will take about three missiles in the mouth to kill one,
so make sure to get out of the way once you fire at a
charging Dark Blogg.
LOCATION: TB:Training Chamber
ii) DARK PHLOGUS
These large creatures resemble giant clams and simply
rest in the toxic waters of Dark Aether until you
approach. When you're nearby, they will periodically open
up their impervious shells to fire acid at you. Fire at
their interior when they do this, and the Dark Phlogus
will flip over stunned. You can now use it as a platform
for a few seconds, and it even creates a Safe Zone.
LOCATION: Dark Torvus Bog
d) Darkling Mechanoids
- - - - - - - - - - -
i) CORRUPTED SENTREYE
These are Luminoth Sentreyes that have been possessed by
the Ing. Now, instead of being harmless, they fire laser
beams that sweep from side to side. You can stun them for
a few seconds with the Power Beam, but it will take a
charged Light Beam shot to destroy them for good.
LOCATION: Sky Temple Grounds
ii) DARK DILIGENCE DRONE
Dark Diligence Drones are somewhat similar to their
uncorrupted counterparts in that they guard tunnels with
three rotating energy tendrils. However, their tendrils
spin so fast that it is impossible to get past them except
by destroying the drone; this can be done with a charged
Light Beam shot.
LOCATION: IH:Hazing Cliff
iii) DARK INGSMASHER
Dark Ingsmashers are very similar to regular Ingsmashers.
They have the same attacks and vulnerabilities, they are
just a little bit stronger and tougher.
LOCATION: IH:Hive Portal Chamber, IH: Hive Reactor
************** iv) DARK QUAD CM
This dark version of the Quad CM is very similar to it,
it's just a little bit stronger than usual. This mechanoid
only appears the first time you enter Sanctuary Temple and
while fighting Quadraxis.
LOCATION: SF:Sanctuary Temple, IH:Hive Temple
************** v) DARK QUAD MB
This dark version of the Quad MB is very similar to it,
it's just a little bit stronger than usual. This mechanoid
only appears the first time you enter Sanctuary Temple and
while fighting Quadraxis.
LOCATION: SF:Sanctuary Temple, IH:Hive Temple
e) Darkling Offworld
- - - - - - - - - -
************** i) DARK MISSILE TROOPER
This is a special Ing-possessed Federation trooper that is
only encountered once, when you return to the Splinter
Hive after getting the Missile Launcher. This trooper
moves and acts like any other Dark Trooper, except that
this one can fire missiles instead of the usual laser
blasts, and takes a little bit more firepower to stop.
You'll get a Missile Expansion from him once he's dead.
LOCATION: TG:Hive Chamber A
ii) DARK PIRATE COMMANDO
Dark Pirate Commandos are one of the toughest enemies you
will face. They have two varieties of attacks: shots of
dark energy, and EMP grenades that will fill your visor
with static for several seconds if you are near where they
detonate. What's more, they can disappear and transport to
another location, which means they never stay in the same
place for more than a few seconds. Dark Pirate Commandos
are also very resilient, and it will take many hits to
kill them, making heavy weapons like Super Missiles the
preferred equipment against them. Luckily, in many places
they will simply appear in a room, fight for a few
minutes, then leave.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
iii) DARK PIRATE TROOPER
These are Pirate Troopers under Ing possession. They can
attack and strafe just like regular Pirate Troopers, but
are twice as strong. It will take four missiles or charged
shots to bring down a Dark Pirate Trooper. Keep moving,
strafing, and jumping to avoid its shots.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
iv) DARK PREED
Dark Preeds are spiked spheres that float through the air
releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere. They can be
destroyed with just a few shots, but make sure to do so
from a distance; they'll explode violently.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
v) DARK TALLON METROID
Dark Tallon Metroids attack and behave just like regular
Metroids, except that the Dark Beam cannot be used to
freeze them. Instead, use the Light Beam to kill these
Ing-possessed parasites.
LOCATION: Sky Temple Grounds
vi) DARK TROOPER
These are the corpses of Federation troopers that have
been possessed by Ing. They can only move slowly and
stiffly, but can still fire bursts from their rapid-fire
guns. One charged shot will be enough to finish them off.
LOCATION: Splinter Hive
ii. Ing [V.B.2.b.ii]
= = = = =
a) DARKLING TENTACLE
This bladed tentacle will stick out of holes in the wall and
thrash about, trying to slash you as it goes past. If they hit
you, they can knock you off your path and are very annoying, so
make sure to get rid of them before going past. A few shots from
the Power Beam will make a tentacle retreat for a few seconds,
but it will take a shot from the Light Beam to truly destroy
one.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
b) HUNTER ING
The deadliest variety of Ing, Hunter Ing are difficult and
dangerous foes. They consist of a floating black ball with
several long, whip-like tentacles extending out from it, and
they are found in many areas of Dark Aether. They are dangerous
because they can attack both from up close and from a distance
with their tentacles and by ramming you. They can also be
difficult to damage because they will frequently become parially
transparent, during which time they cannot be hurt. It will take
several charged Light Beam blasts to bring down a Hunter Ing.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
c) ING LARVA SWARM
These tiny creatures are defenseless Ing that move as a group
through tunnels. The only danger they pose to you is of running
into you, and they can be easily destroyed with the Power Beam.
LOCATION: IH:Entrance Defense Tunnel
d) INGLET
Inglets are small Ing that, when not merely blobs of black
matter, appear as short, thick stalks attached to walls, floors,
or ceilings. While solid, they will fire damaging projectiles at
you. After firing a shot, they will "liquefy" and move to
another spot. Inglets are fairly weak and only take one charged
shot to kill, and you should always kill them because they can
be very annoying and distracting.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
e) INGSTORM
An Ingstorm is a tiny Ing that floats in the air as part of a
large swarm, which appears as a collection of floating purple
dots. Ingstorm are so small that they cannot be damaged by your
weapons, but they will do significant damage while you are in
the midst of them. If you have to go through a cloud of
Ingstorm, do so as quickly as possible.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
f) WARRIOR ING
A very common variety of Ing, Warrior Ing have large bodies with
long, insect-like legs and a splotch of yellow and orange dots
for a face. Don't let them get close to you, because they will
slash you with their legs. From longer range, they will fire
several white beams of energy at you, which you can avoid by
strafing and jumping. The preferred weapon to use against
Warrior Ing is the Light Beam, which only takes two charged
shots to kill them. It will take around five missiles or charged
Power Beam shots to do the job.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
***** iii. Guardians [V.B.2.b.iii]
***** = = = = = = = =
***** For this category, strategies for defeating the guardians will not
***** be given. Instead, descriptions of which part of the guardian the
***** scan relates to will be given, and the walkthrough section where
***** strategies for defeating the guardian can be found will be listed.
*****
***** a) Sub Guardians
***** - - - - - - - -
***** i) BOMB GUARDIAN
***** Almost as soon as you encounter the Alpha Sandigger, it
***** will be possessed and transform into the Bomb Guardian, a
***** large, tough Ing-possessed Sandigger that can lay and
***** throw Morph Ball Bombs. For detailed strategies on
***** fighting the Bomb Guardian, see walkthrough section
***** III.B.1.
***** LOCATION: AW:Agon Temple
*****
***** ii) JUMP GUARDIAN
***** The Jump Guardian is a Warrior Ing that has absorbed the
***** power of your Space Jump Boots. It has all the abilities
***** of a regular Warrior Ing, but is much tougher and can make
***** very high and powerful leaps, creating dangerous shock
***** waves when it lands. For detailed strategies on fighting
***** the Jump Guardian, see walkthrough section III.B.2.
***** LOCATION: DA:Judgment Pit
*****
***** iii) BOOST GUARDIAN
***** Without question, the most frustrating and one of the most
***** difficult guardians is the Boost Guardian. It is a large
***** Warrior Ing that will has the ability to transform into a
***** Morph Ball and bounce around the arena at high speeds. For
***** detailed strategies on fighting the Boost Guardian, see
***** walkthrough section III.C.3.
***** LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Arena
*****
***** iv) GRAPPLE GUARDIAN
***** The Grapple Guardian is an Ing-possessed Grenchler with a
***** large eye at the base of a rhinoceros-like horn. It will
***** ram and bite like a regular Grenchler, but it can also
***** fire a grapple beam that will pull you towards it and
***** drain your energy. For detailed strategies on fighting the
***** Grapple Guardian, see walkthrough section III.C.6.
***** LOCATION: DT:Sacrificial Chamber
*****
***** v) SPIDER GUARDIAN
***** The fight with the Spider Guardian is definitely one of
***** the most unique fights in the game, since it takes place
***** entirely in Morph Ball mode. The Spider Guardian is a
***** large darkling Pillbug with the ability to roll along
***** magnetic tracks, and you must fight it in a series of
***** Morph Ball mazes. Make sure to scan the Spider Guardian
***** before you enter the tunnel, because you cannot scan it
***** during the fight. For detailed strategies on fighting the
***** Spider Guardian, see walkthrough section III.D.2.
***** LOCATION: SF:Dynamo Works
*****
***** vi) POWER BOMB GUARDIAN
***** An Ing-possessed Sporb with the ability to fire Power
***** Bombs, the Power Bomb Guardian remains stationary on top
***** of a pillar in the center of the room and fires Power
***** Bombs at you. It can only be damaged by activating the
***** Bomb Slots located on the walls around it. For detailed
***** strategies on fighting the Power Bomb Guardian, see
***** walkthrough section III.D.3.
***** LOCATION: DT:Undertemple
*****
***** b) Amorbis
***** - - - - -
***** Amorbis is the Guardian of Dark Agon Wastes. For strategies on
***** fighting Amorbis, see walkthough section III.B.6.
***** LOCATION: DA:Dark Agon Temple
*****
***** i) AMORBIS 1
***** Amorbis consists of three huge worm-like creatures with
***** black armor. During the first part of each stage of the
***** battle, one, two, or three of the worms will leap into the
***** air, then dive into the ground and resurface elsewhere.
***** Scan Amorbis while it is diving to get this scan.
*****
***** ii) AMORBIS 2
***** Once the armor has been destroyed on all the worms, they
***** will attach themselves to the Dark Sphere, which will
***** cause their armor to regenerate and provide them with dark
***** energy attacks. Scan Amorbis while it is attached to the
***** sphere for this scan.
*****
***** c) Chykka
***** - - - - -
***** Chykka is the Guardian of Dark Torvus Bog. For strategies on
***** fighting Chykka, see walkthrough section III.C.7.
***** LOCATION: DT:Dark Torvus Temple
*****
***** i) CHYKKA LARVA
***** This is the first form of Chykka that you will fight. It
***** is a giant black and blue sea monster. It will swim
***** around your platform, periodicallly surfacing to attack.
*****
***** ii) CHYKKA
***** After you defeat the Chykka Larva, an adult Chykka will
***** appear. This mature form has a slender body with four
***** wings. It will hover in the air firing attacks, and will
***** also charge at you.
*****
***** iii) DARK CHYKKA
***** After Chykka has been damaged twice, it will fall into the
***** toxic water. When it emerges, it will transform into Dark
***** Chykka. Dark Chykka looks similar to regular Chykka,
***** except that the eggsac located near its tail has grown
***** much larger.
*****
***** iv) CHYKLINGS
***** These are small creatures that Dark Chykka will eject from
***** its tail. They resemble miniature Chykkas and can be
***** destroyed easily to recover energy and ammo.
*****
***** d) Quadraxis
***** - - - - - -
***** Quadraxis is the Guardian of Ing Hive. For strategies on
***** fighting Quadraxis, see walkthrough section III.D.6.
***** LOCATION: IH:Hive Temple
*****
***** i) QUADRAXIS
***** You can obtain this scan during the first phase of the
***** battle, while Quadraxis is still in one piece. Quadraxis
***** is impossible to miss: it's a mammoth robot with four
***** spider-like legs that tower over you and a head that fires
***** a variety of attacks.
*****
***** ii) DAMAGED QUADRAXIS
***** In the second phase of the battle, scan Quadraxis's ruined
***** body for this scan. In the center of the body is a sonic
***** transmitter which sends commands to the head module.
*****
***** iii) SHIELDED HEAD MODULE
***** In the second phase of the battle, scan the floating head
***** module before you have destroyed the sonic transmitter on
***** the body for this entry. Quadraxis's head will continue to
***** launch attacks while floating around the room, and its
***** energy shield makes it invulnerable to your weapons.
*****
***** iv) STUNNED HEAD MODULE
***** In the second phase of the battle, scan the head module
***** after you have destroyed the sonic transmitter on the body
***** for this entry. With the energy shield temporarily
***** offline, the sonic transmitters on the head module can be
***** attacked at this time.
*****
***** v) FINAL HEAD MODULE
***** Scan the head module once more during the final phase of
***** the battle for this entry. Quadraxis will continue to
***** launch attacks at you in this form, but its outer covering
***** has been destroyed and it is vulnerable.
***** iv. Emperor Ing [V.B.2.b.iv]
***** = = = = = = = = =
***** For this category, strategies for defeating Emperor Ing will not be
***** given. Instead, descriptions of which part of Emperor Ing the scan
***** relates to will be given. Strategies for defeating Emperor Ing can
***** be found in walkthrough section III.F.1.
***** LOCATION: ST:Sanctum
*****
***** a) EMPEROR ING BODY
***** This is the "trunk" of the Emperor Ing on which the head sits
***** during the first phase of the battle.
*****
***** b) EMPEROR ING HEAD
***** This large black sphere sits atop the Emperor Ing's body. It
***** is wrapped around the final planetary energy sphere and
***** generates tentacles to attack.
*****
***** c) EMPEROR ING EYE
***** Only visible once all the tentacles on the head have been
***** destroyed. The eye will then be revealed as a sphere of pure
***** energy protected by a rotating shield.
*****
***** d) EMPEROR ING CRYSALIS
***** This is the Emperor Ing's form in the second phase of the
***** battle. The crysalis consists of a hard black shell which can be
***** latched on to by the Spider Ball.
*****
***** e) MUTATED EMPORER ING
***** When Emperor Ing emerges from the chrsalis in the final phase of
***** the battle, this is its new form. It now has legs, a body, and a
***** head containing a heart of glowing light.
c. Offworld [V.B.2.c]
-----------
i. Pirates [V.B.2.c.i]
= = = = = = =
a) PIRATE AEROTROOPER
Pirates equipped with jetpacks, Pirate Aerotroopers can be a
real pain. They are fast-moving, agile, and can fire powerful
missiles along with rapid-fire shots. Keep jumping and moving to
avoid the fire. It will take five missiles to bring one down, or
you can freeze one with a charged Dark Beam shot then use a
single missile to kill it.
LOCATION: Light Aether
*********** b) PIRATE COMMANDO
These are Space Pirate shock troopers that are dedicated to
"hunting the Hunter". They can fire the standard Pirate laser
blasts, as well as EM grenades that will short out your visor if
they detonate near you. They are also able to move with great
speed and agility over all types of terrain. Fortunately, they
are no match for your weapons: use a charged Dark Beam shot to
freeze one, then finish it off with a missile.
LOCATION: TB:Torvus Grove, SF:Sanctuary Entrance
c) PIRATE GRENADIER
These Space Pirates have arm-mounted grenade launchers instead
of rifles, making them very dangerous at long range. When you're
close to them, all they can do is swipe at you with their arms,
and they're weaker than regular Pirates. Get close, then fire a
charged Power Beam shot to do these Pirates in.
LOCATION: AW:Command Center
*********** d) PIRATE TROOPER
These are regular Space Pirate soldiers, and can attack both at
close and at long range. Not only that, but they are fast and
agile. To avoid the shots from a Pirate Trooper's blaster, you
need to move at least as much as it does by jumping, strafing,
and running. Pirate Troopers are not particularly strong,
however, and two charged shots or missiles are all that is
necessary to bring one down.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
e) PREED
These floating spheres slowly patrol areas. They can be easily
destroyed, but they will leave behind a cloud of toxic gas.
LOCATION: TB:Hydrodynamo Chamber
ii. Metroids [V.B.2.b.ii]
= = = = = = =
a) TALLON METROID
Yes, the creatures from which the entire series takes its name
make a limited appearance in Metroid Prime 2. As always,
Metroids will float through the air looking for an organism (or
Phazon) to feed off of. When one notices you, it will give out a
screech, then fly straight at your face. If it hits you, it will
latch on and begin draining your life. Roll into the Morph Ball
and lay a bomb to get it off. To kill Metroids, fire a charged
Dark Beam shot to freeze them in midair, then use a missile to
destroy them.
LOCATION: AW:Biostorage Station, AW:Bioenergy Production
b) INFANT METROID
These immature Metroids are too small to be able to latch onto
you, but they can still ram you. They're not difficult to
defeat, but they can evade your fire and large numbers of them
can become overwhelming. If an Infant Metroid goes near Phazon,
it will transform into a full-grown Metroid. You can kill one
with a charged Power Beam shot or a single shot from any other
beam.
LOCATION: AW:Biostorage Station
***** iii. Dark Samus [V.B.2.b.iii]
***** = = = = = = = =
***** For this category, strategies for defeating Dark Samus will not
***** be given. Instead, a description of the form of Dark Samus will be
***** given, and the walkthrough section where strategies for defeating
***** each form of Dark Samus can be found will be listed.
*****
***** a) DARK SAMUS 1
***** Dark Samus is the black-suited version of you that has been
***** prowling Aether in search of Phazon, bringing terror and
***** confusion to the Space Pirates, who call her the Dark Hunter.
***** Actually Dark Samus is Metroid Prime, who absorbed your black
***** Phazon Suit at the end of the previous game. However, since she
***** draws her strength from Phazon, Dark Samus possesses many
***** abilities that are similar, but superior, to your own. For
***** strategies on fighting Dark Samus 1, see walkthrough section
***** III.B.3.
***** LOCATION: AW:Main Reactor
*****
***** b) DARK SAMUS 2
***** The second time you face Dark Samus, in Sanctuary Fortress,
***** she/it has added several new abilities to her/its arsenal, as
***** well as retaining many previous techniques. Your second
***** encounter will play out similarly to the first one, with the two
***** of you locked in fierce battle until one of you succumbs. For
***** strategies on fighting Dark Samus 2, see walkthrough section
***** III.D.4.
***** LOCATION: SF:Aerie Transport Station, SF:Aerie Access, SF:Aerie
*****
***** c) DARK SAMUS 3
***** This is the form of Dark Samus at the beginning of your final
***** encounter after defeating Emperor Ing. Dark Samus's suit is now
***** transparent and her body is nothing more than a skeleton. You
***** must scan Dark Samus before she begins releasing Phazon pellets
***** for this scan. For strategies on fighting Dark Samus 3, see
***** walkthrough section III.F.2.
***** LOCATION: SG:Sky Temple Gateway
*****
***** d) DARK SAMUS 4
***** Once Dark Samus rises into the air over the center of the room
***** and is surrounded by a spherical Phazon shield, she is a new
***** scan. In this final form, Dark Samus can only be damaged by
***** Phazon. For strategies on fighting Dark Samus 4, see walkthrough
***** section III.F.2.
***** LOCATION: SG:Sky Temple Gateway
3. Research [V.B.3]
===============================================================================
For this category, a description of each item will be given, along with
(where applicable) the location where it can be scanned.
a. Aether Studies
-----------------
i. Aether
= = = = = =
a) AETHER
The planet you're on, duh! This world is the home of the
Luminoth and was a virtual paradise until a meteor crashed on
it, creating Dark Aether.
LOCATION: AW:Command Center
b) DARK PORTAL
Dark Portals are dimensional rifts that can be found throughout
Light Aether; passing through them will transport you to Dark
Aether. Some of them can be created by scanning special devices,
while other portals can be opened by firing the Dark Beam at
partially-open gaps.
LOCATION: Light Aether
*********** c) ENERGY CONTROLLER
Energy Controllers are Luminoth devices that store planetary
energy. If an Energy Controller contains energy, the chamber
above it will be filled with light. With the Energy Transfer
Module, you can transfer planetary energy from Dark Aether to
Light Aether.
LOCATION: energy controller room in each region
d) U-MOS
The only conscious Luminoth remaining on Aether, U-Mos guards
the final Energy Controller in the Great Temple while the
remaining surviving Luminoth sleep in stasis. U-Mos tells you
about the war between the Ing and the Luminoth and gives you
guidance as you search for the temples.
LOCATION: GT:Main Energy Controller
ii. Dark Aether
= = = = = = = = =
a) DARK AETHER
The parallel, corrupted version of Aether. This world is
occupied by the Ing and has high concentrations of Phazon. Its
atmosphere is damaging to Samus and the Luminoth.
LOCATION: AW:Command Center
b) LIGHT PORTAL
Light Portals are found across Dark Aether and will return you
to Light Aether. Like Dark Portals, some portals can be opened
by scanning an appropriate mechanism, while others must be
opened by firing a Light Beam shot. Light Portals appear as
bright, green-white spheres.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
c) PHAZON
Still a very mysterious substance, Phazon is extremely
radioactive and has the ability to radically mutate lifeforms
that are exposed to it. Found primarily on Dark Aether, the
Space Pirates have been mining it to use as a power source and
in order to develop new and deadlier weapons. Phazon is
extremely dangerous, and you will take damage if you touch it.
LOCATION: AW:Main Reactor, Dark Aether
b. Biology
----------
i. Cocoons
= = = = = = =
a) METROID COCOON
These dark blue sacs are used by the Space Pirates to transport
Infant Metroids. Infant Metroids will continually emerge from
these cocoons until the cocoons are destroyed.
LOCATION: AW:Biostorage Station
b) SPLINTER COCOON
This small white cocoon can be found attached to a wall. Make
sure to scan it from a distance, since a Splinter will burst out
and destroy the cocoon when you get too close.
LOCATION: TG:Dynamo Chamber
c) WAR WASP HIVE
These look like a cluster of tan tubes with a light blue glow
inside and can be found attached to walls. War Wasps will
periodically emerge from them unless you destroy them with a
Missile.
LOCATION: Temple Grounds, Agon Wastes
ii. Darklings
= = = = = = = =
a) DORMANT INGCLAW
These look just like regular Ingclaw. The only difference is
that they're hibernating, so they do not release any toxic gas.
They pose no threat and cannot be destroyed.
LOCATION: Sky Temple Grounds
*********** b) ING WEBTRAP
These are nothing more than a mass of black tentacles that
appear to block the doors while you battle the Warrior Ing for
the third Dark Agon Temple key. This is the ONLY time they
appear, so don't miss your opportunity to scan them.
LOCATION: DA:Battleground
c) INGCLAW
Large black blobs that you'll find attached to walls, Inclaws
are impossible to kill and do nothing but release toxic gas into
the air. You might as well scan them, because that's about all
you can do to them.
LOCATION: Dark Aether
*********** d) WEBLING
These creatures resemble black spiderwebs with a large eye in
the center that will block one of the tunnels in Dark Agon. They
are very easy to kill and only appear once, so make sure to scan
them as soon as you see them!
LOCATION: DA:Feeding Pit Access
iii. Ing Storage
= = = = = = = = =
a) BLADEPOD
Bladepods are tall, narrow, black lifeforms that serve as Ing
storage units. You will find them across Dark Aether, and they
function just like crates: shoot them to recover energy and
ammo.
*********** b) FLYING ING CACHE
These are rather large creatures that float in the air. They
have a large body that tapers down to a thin tail. They are
found in Dark Aether and guard the Sky Temple keys. They are
initially only visible with the Dark Visor. After they are hit
once, they become visible in the Combat Visor and a charged
Power Beam will kill them. There is one of these guarding each
Sky Temple key, so make sure to scan one before you collect all
nine keys.
c) INGSPHERE CACHE
These are organic objects with a dark blue, translucent sphere
on top that are found throughout Dark Aether. They act just like
crates: shoot them to find energy and ammo.
d) INGWORM CACHE
These are small black balls formed out of tiny Ing worms. They
also serve as crates: shoot them for energy and ammo.
iv. Plantforms
= = = = = = = =
a) AGON BEARERPOD
This plant is a light blue sphere surrounded by spikes on top of
a short stalk. These plants were genetically engineered by the
Luminoth for storage; they are basically living crates, and can
be shot to find energy and ammo.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
b) BLOATSAC
This tough plant has a wide, round base and tapers to a thin
point at the top. Its hard outer shell makes it virtually
indestructible.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
c) BLUEROOT TREE
The Blueroot Tree is a small, short tree that glows bright blue
and looks as if it is a hologram.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
d) SANDGRASS
Sandgrass is a Luminoth-designed breed of grass that can survive
even in harsh desert environments.
LOCATION: Agon Wastes
e) TORVUS BEARERPOD
These are bulbous green plants that are found throughout Torvus
Bog. They were designed by the Luminoth to store items, and
function just like crates with one exception: they release a
cloud of toxic gas when they are destroyed, so make sure to fire
at them from a distance.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
f) TORVUS HANGING POD
These round objects can be found hanging from trees and
platforms in Torvus Bog. These are also item containers, but
they are trickier to use. To retrieve the item inside, you must
shoot the Hanging Pod to knock it loose.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
c. Luminoth Technology
----------------------
i. Lift Crystals
= = = = = = = = = =
a) DARK LIFT CRYSTAL
These are purple crystals that you'll find on the side of
platforms that can be raised or lowered. Fire a Light Beam shot
at it to move the platform and change it into a Light Lift
Crystal.
b) LIGHT LIFT CRYSTAL
These are white crystals that you'll find on the side of
platforms that can be raised or lowered. Fire a Dark Beam shot
at it to move the platform and change it into a Dark Lift
Crystal.
c) LIFTVINE CRYSTAL
Liftvine Crystals function similarly to Light and Dark Lift
Crystals, and are found on the tops of movable plant platforms.
Shoot the crystal with the Light Beam to raise the platform for
a few seconds and create a temporary Safe Zone.
ii. Light Beacons
= = = = = = = = = =
a) LIGHT BEACON
Light Beacons are translucent, brightly colored spheres that you
will find floating in the air throughout Dark Aether. They were
placed by the Luminoth, and by shooting one with the Power Beam,
it will create a Safe Zone for a limited period of time.
b) NULLIFIED BEACON
The Dark Beam and some dark creatures can surround a Light
Beacon with dark energy, snuffing out its light and rendering
the beacon useless. Fire the Power Beam or Light Beam at the
beacon to restore it to normal.
c) ENERGIZED BEACON
When you fire a Light Beam shot at a Light Beacon, the Safe
Zone around it will grow brighter and the beacon will become an
Energized Beacon. Now for as long as the beacon is active (which
is longer than normal), any creature that touches the Safe Zone
will be destroyed.
d) SUPER BEACON
If you fire the Annihilator Beam at a Light Beacon, it will turn
into a Super Beacon, the best of all. This beacon, due to the
mix of light and dark energy infused into it, not only destroys
any creature that touches the Safe Zone, it also draws all
nearby creatures toward the Safe Zone, effectively turning the
beacon into a death magnet.
iii. Light Crystals
= = = = = = = = = =
a) LIGHT CRYSTAL
Throughout Dark Aether you will find bright white crystals on
top of poles. These Light Crystals were placed by the Luminoth,
and the sphere of light they create is called a Safe Zone. While
inside a Safe Zone, your energy will slowly increase and you
will be safe from the effects of Dark Aether's atmosphere. Also,
Ing will not enter a Safe Zone, although they may still attack
you from outside.
b) NULLIFIED CRYSTAL
A Light Crystal can be nullified by a shot from your Dark Beam
as well as by some Ing attacks. When a crystal is nullified, it
will be surrounded by a cloud of dark energy and it will not
generate a Safe Zone. Use the Power Beam or Light Beam to return
a Nullified Crystal to normal.
c) ENERGIZED CRYSTAL
A Light Crystal that has been shot by the Light Beam, an
Energized Crystal creates a brighter, more powerful Safe Zone
that will destroy any creature that touches it.
d) SUPER CRYSTAL
When you fire a shot from the Annihilator Beam at a Light
Crystal, you will create the almighty Super Crystal. The Safe
Zone generated by a Super Crystal not only destroys any enemies
that touch it, it actually draws all nearby enemies toward it.
So you can easily clear a room of creatures by simply creating a
couple Super Crystals, then watching as all the creatures
quickly and obediently kill themselves.
iv. Utility Crystals
= = = = = = = = = = =
a) SENTINEL CRYSTAL
These are red eye-shaped objects that can be found attached to
walls in several rooms. They were installed by the Luminoth to
monitor important locations, and U-Mos in the Great Temple still
watches many of them.
LOCATION: Torvus Bog
b) DARK SENTINEL CRYSTAL
Counterparts to the regular variety, Dark Sentinel Crystals are
blue and are used by U-Mos to monitor events in Dark Aether.
LOCATION: Dark Torvus Bog
d. Mechanisms
-------------
i. GF Security
= = = = = = = = =
a) GF BRIDGE
This is a fairly simple metal drawbridge. Scan the control panel
to expose the locks on the top of the bridge, then shoot the
locks to lower the bridge.
LOCATION: TG:Industrial Site
b) GF GATE MK VI
This is a standard security gate. Scan the control panel to
expose the locks, then shoot the locks to open the gate.
LOCATION: Splinter Hive
c) GF GATE MK VII
This is a stronger gate than the Mark VI, and is controlled only
by a control panel. It is made of Benzium, and can be destroyed
by a Power Bomb.
LOCATION: TG:Dynamo Chamber
ii. Systems
= = = = = = =
a) BOMB SLOT
These slots are designed to hold the Morph Ball. Roll or jump
into one, then lay a Bomb in it to activate it. Bomb Slots will
usually perform functions like opening doors, activating
machinery, etc.
b) GRAPPLE POINT
These objects can be found attached to the ceiling in many
rooms. Once you have the Grapple Beam, a yellow grapple icon
will appear on any Grapple Points in the room. When the Grapple
Point turns light blue, you can latch on to it by firing the
Grapple Beam. This will not count as a Logbook scan until you
have the Grapple Beam.
c) KINETIC ORB CANNON
Once activated via scanning a control panel, you can roll into
a cannon's Morph Ball hologram and it will fire you across the
sky, allowing you to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. To
count as a Logbook entry, you must scan the cannon before you
activate it, causing the Morph Ball hologram to appear. What you
need to scan is a flat circle on the ground; if you activate all
the cannons before scanning one, you will not be able to get
this scan.
d) SPIDER BALL TRACK
These magnetic tracks, which appear as a series of neon blue
arrows in Sanctuary Fortress and as golden rails everywhere
else, can be latched onto with the Spider Ball. Once you have
latched onto a track, you can move along, use a bomb to jump up
from the track, or boost to fire yourself perpendicularly away
from the track. This will not count as a Logbook scan until you
have the Spider Ball.
e) SPINNER
These devices use the Boost Ball to power other mechanisms. Roll
into a Spinner and constantly charge and release boosts as fast
as you can. Once the device has been completely charged/powered/
moved, you will be automatically ejected from the Spinner. If
you want to leave before you finish powering something up, lay a
bomb. This will not count as a Logbook scan until you have the
Boost Ball.
f) WALL JUMP SURFACE
Wall jump surfaces appear as rectangular strips of wall covered
with strange purple and gold designs. If you collide with a wall
jump surface while in the Screw Attack, you will grab onto the
wall temporarily, and by jumping again you will continue to
Screw Attack up and away from the wall. These surfaces usually
come in pairs, allowing you to bounce from one to the another,
which you can use to climb up large vertical distances. This
not count as a Logbook scan until you have the Screw Attack.
iii. Vehicles
= = = = = = =
a) GFS TYR
This is the Federation starship that the troopers were on. It
was damaged while they were landing on Aether, which ultimately
led to their deaths.
LOCATION: TG:GFMC Compound
b) PIRATE SKIFF
This flat platform will appear briefly in a few rooms to deliver
more Space Pirates to a fight. You will usually have to scan it
as soon as you see it, because it will not stick around for
long.
LOCATION: AW:Central Mining Station, TB:Torvus Temple
*********** c) SAMUS'S GUNSHIP
Your ship functions as both a Save Station and an Ammo Station.
Make sure to scan it early in the game: the message given when
you scan it changes as you progress through the game, but only
the message at the beginning counts as a Logbook entry.
LOCATION: TG:Landing Site
/==============================================================================
C. Options [V.C]
\==============================================================================
This section lists the options you can change regarding the display, sound,
controls, and gameplay. For each option, the range of possible values will be
listed, along with the default value in parentheses. A brief description of
what each option affects will also be given.
1. Display
===============================================================================
a. BRIGHTNESS: 0-100 (50)
adjusts the brightness of the picture
b. SCREEN OFFSET X: 0-100 (50)
moves the picture to the left (values < 50) or right (values > 50)
c. SCREEN OFFSET Y: 0-100 (50)
moves the picture up (values < 50) or down ( values > 50)
d. SCREEN STRETCH: 0-100 (50)
compresses (values < 50) or stretches (values > 50) the picture
e. RESTORE DEFAULTS: Yes|No (No)
2. Sound
===============================================================================
a. SOUND: Mono|Stereo|Surround (Stereo)
selects the format in which the sound is output
b. SFX VOLUME: 0-100 (100)
adjusts the volume of sound effects
c. MUSIC VOLUME: 0-100 (75)
adjusts the volume of music
d. RESTORE DEFAULTS: Yes|No (No)
3. Visors
===============================================================================
a. VISOR OPACITY: 0-100 (100)
adjusts the opacity of all HUD elements except the energy meter
b. HELMET OPACITY: 0-100 (100)
adjusts the opacity of the physical helmet, visible at the edge of the
screen
c. HUD LAG: Yes|No (Yes)
determines whether HUD movement lags behind visor movement
d. HINT SYSTEM: Yes|No (Yes)
turns the hint system on or off
e. RESTORE DEFAULTS: Yes|No (No)
4. Controls
===============================================================================
a. RUMBLE: Yes|No (Yes)
turns the rumble feature on or off
b. INVERT Y-AXIS: Yes|No (No)
reverses the orientation of the y-axis on the Control Stick while holding
R (for manual targeting), so that pressing down on the Control Stick
causes you to look down and vice versa
c. RESTORE DEFAULTS: Yes|No (No)
5. QUIT GAME: Yes|No (No)
quits the game and returns to the title screen (does NOT save)
____ _______________________________________________________ ____
\______/ \______/
VI. N E C E S S A R Y O D D S A N D E N D S [VI]
______ ______
____/ \_______________________________________________________/ \____
I know nobody reads this stuff, but I have to put it in here. If you're
considering downloading, printing, selling, or posting this guide, though, I
*strongly* advise you to read the copyright notice below.
/==============================================================================
A. Creative Commons Info [VI.A]
\==============================================================================
(CC) Some rights reserved.
This guide is by Steven Reeves.
It is released under a Creative Commons license: the Creative Commons deed can
be viewed here:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
Here's what you can and can't do with my guide (this is taken from the deed
linked to above):
You are free:
* to Share — to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work.
Under the following conditions:
* Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the
author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse
you or your use of the work).
* Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
* No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this
work.
* For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license
terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web
page (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/).
* Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the
copyright holder.
* Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.
So basically, feel free to copy, download, print, email, or do whatever you
want with this guide, so long as you don't sell it (I didn't get paid anything
to write this, so I don't see why you should just for making copies of it),
change it, or take my name off of it.
If you have any questions about anything here, email me at
[email protected].
/==============================================================================
B. Credits [VI.B]
\==============================================================================
o Retro Studios, for making another awesome Metroid game.
o All rights, including the copyrights of game, scenario, music and program,
reserved by Nintendo.
o Dimcity's Beam FAQ, for information about the relative strengths and
abilities of each beam. This was especially useful in the Inventory section
of the Data Network.
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/metroid_prime_2_beam.txt
o Rize's 100% FAQ, which contains a handy checklist of one-time scans and all
expansions, which I used while playing my 100% game.
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/metroid_prime_2_100.txt
o CyricZ's Walkthrough, for information on the various pickup increments and
general reference purposes.
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/metroid_prime_2_c.txt
o Deathborn 668's Logbook/Inventory FAQ, for reference on Logbook entries.
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/metroid_prime_2_log.txt
o Preston, for informing me that Kinetic Orb Cannons are not limited-time scans
(the one in Sacred Path can be scanned anytime) and that you can't save right
before you fight the Alpha Blogg.
o Noah, for pointing out that I forgot to mention Energy Tank 3 (TG:Wind
Chamber Gateway) in the walkthrough.
/==============================================================================
C. Contact Info [VI.C]
\==============================================================================
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Call toll-free at
[email protected]!
Qualified representatives are standing by to take your call 24 hours a day, 365
days a year!
I am happy to answer all intelligent, legible questions and would be glad to
receive comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism. I will not reply to
questions or comments that are irrelevant, illegible, or rude. Also, check the
guide first before asking gameplay questions. I'm pretty sure I've covered
everything gameplay-related somewhere in this guide, so check before you email.
If, after checking, you find that I have overlooked something or have not made
something clear enough, please email me with your problem and I will be happy
to help you and update the appropriate section of the guide.
Also, I do not like spam. I have yet to meet one person who does. Do not send
any to me.
/==============================================================================
D. Version History [VI.D]
\==============================================================================
I don't know why anyone else would be interested in this, so I stuck it at the
very bottom where nobody will see it. If you've taken the time to read all the
way down to here, way to go. You get a gold star.
0.00 11/21/2005
Wrote the introduction, although most of the Game Basics section, along
with the framework for the Data Network section, had been done a few
months before this.
1.00 09/28/2006
Finally! After over a year of off-and-on work, version 1.00 is complete!
1.01 03/17/2007
Corrected errors pointed out by Preston and Noah, and changed the
copyright info: the guide is now released under a Creative Commons
license.
===============================================================================
===============================================================================
Congratulations, you've reached the end of the guide. I thought I'd put
something educational down here for you people who made it all the way to the
very end: it's the Binomial Theorem. Enjoy!
If x and y are real numbers and n and k are integers, n >= 0, then
__
(x + y)^n = \ n n!/((n - k)!*k!) * x^(n - k) * y^k
/__k=0
Explanations of notation:
__
\ b f(i) = f(a) + f(a+1) + f(a+2) + ... + f(b-1) + f(b)
/__i=a
where a and b are integers such that 0 <= a <= b and f(i) is a function defined
at a, a+1, ..., b. (read "the sum from i equals a to b of f(i)")
a! = a * (a - 1) * (a - 2) * ... * 3 * 2 * 1 for a positive integer a and
0! = 1. (read "a factorial")
