========================================
======= METROID FUSION =======
======= Boss Guide =======
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=== By: Incoherent ===
=== Email:
[email protected] ===
=== Version 1.23 ===
=== Last Update: 1/20/02 ===
========================================
This guide should only appear at gamefaqs.com. If you want it on your site,
tough cookies. Link to the page directly before this instead.
Before you email, do the following:
1) Read the section of the guide in question. Don't send me a strategy or
question before you read it, as I'm liable to be in a nasty mood when I email
you back.
2) If you STILL don't understand it, check the other FAQs. There are seven
other full guides/boss guides now, and they all cover the bosses. Check how
they say to do it.
3) After that, look on the boards, and see if there's a thread answering your
question.
4) If not (and this is doubtful), you can either post a new thread on the
board asking for help (it'll be at most a couple of hours), or email me (this
could take a day or two).
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Table of Contents
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Use Ctrl-F and type in the Table of Contents number to find the boss you want
to beat. (Subsections are listed below... trying to make this cleaner.)
1. Version History
2. FAQ
3. General Tips
4. The Bosses
5. Thanks and Copyright Notice
-=--=--=--=--=--=-
1. Version History
-=--=--=--=--=--=-
v1.23 (1/20/03) - Isn't that a cool version number? I thought so. Even more
insight, most of it gleaned from my attempt at the 1% challenge. Also cleaned
up/rearranged the Table of Contents.
v1.21 (1/16/03) - wanted to clarify a couple of things... about ten people
have pointed out to me that the SA-X actually DOES take damage from Screw
Attacking, and so on and so forth. Sorry, just didn't believe you because the
first person to tell me that admitted he was using an emulator/invincibilty
cheat.
v1.2 (1/10/03) - my inbox is getting a bit more crowded... two very nice new
additions this time, from The Mystical One and Lostfactor.
v1.1 (1/5/03) - A nice new strategy from Lil' Hyren 56... one correction...
v1.05 (1/3/03) - Fixed a few small mistakes, added a few tidbits here and
there.
v1.0 (12/30/02) - Iron Chef is the best television show ever. Oh, and first
submission. Enjoy.
-=--=-
2. FAQ
-=--=-
Q. How do I beat <boss>?
A. If you're asking this in my email, you're asking for a beating. If
you're reading this guide so that you can find the answer, you've come to the
right place, or at least one of the right places.
Q. What do I do after I get <item>/fight <boss>/am told to <do something>?
A. This is a BOSS guide. I assume that you can look at the other, more
complete FAQs for the non-boss portions of the game.
Q. Why do you refer to every boss as "he"?
A. Convenience, laziness, misogynism, something like that. Deal with it.
Q. I still can't beat <boss>. Where else can I go for help?
A. You can either post on the boards, or as a last resort email me. But
read the guide(s) first, since you'll make the board posters' lives a lot
easier.
Q. I want to help with the guide. Can I do that?
A. Sure, why not. If you have any of the following, feel free to email them
to me:
* Alternate strategies for bosses, especially stuff like strategies for you
crazies doing 1% runs. Make these readable when you email them to me; I may
just copy it verbatim into the guide. ALTERNATE means not the one(s) I
already have in the guide; it does NOT mean a rewording of what's already
there. (Unless you think there's something unclear in my wording; in that
case, tell me what exactly to correct and why.)
* Confirmed/updated hit counts. Some of mine are a bit approximated,
especially ones that take a lot of missiles (read: Ridley). Also realize that
if you're using the Wide Beam or later, how much damage the boss takes depends
partially on how much of the beam hits.
-=--=--=--=--=-
3. General Tips
-=--=--=--=--=-
These are general strategies and things to keep in mind as you go through the
game which will help you on bosses.
* Upgrades are your friends. Every time you see a "o" on your map, try to
find the upgrade in the room. Ridley, in particular, gets much easier if you
have plenty of energy tanks and LOTS of missiles to fire.
* If you run out of missiles while fighting a boss, revert to charged-up
shots. Actually, after awhile the charged shots will become more powerful
than missiles, but they take longer because you have to let them charge.
* Almost every time you fight a boss, you'll get some kind of recharge. The
most common type is a red blotchy thing covering a door; hit it when its eye
is not flashing 3 times with missiles or just once after you get the Super
Missile. It drops a red X, which refills 500 health and all of your missiles
and power bombs. If you see a Recharge Room in an out-of-the-way place,
that's a big hint as well. (If you have more than 500 health to refill,
someone on the boards thought of getting the recharge, then going back to the
save point, restarting the game, and getting it again. Not sure if it works,
but it's an intriguing idea.)
* Every boss that gives you an item will eventually turn into some kind of
Core-X. If it's a beam weapon, the Core-X will be a special "eye" type.
Strategies for defeating both are listed below.
3.1 Core-X
3.2 Eye Core-X
-=--=--=--=-
3.1 Core-X
-=--=--=--=-
The Core-X will spawn 6 or 7 powerups of both colors, as well as single ones
every so often. If you're out of missiles, grab the green ones, since the
Core-X is _only_ vulnerable to missiles. When it stops flashing, shoot it and
then avoid it as it tries to ram into you. Simple.
-=--=--=--=--=-
3.2 Eye Core-X
-=--=--=--=--=-
This is mostly the same as a regular Core-X. Avoid it trying to ram into you
until its eye opens. When that happens, fire a missile at it and then JUMP.
In the time it takes for you to line up a shot, it will fire at you with
whatever beam weapon it's about to give you.
-=--=--=--=-
4. The Bosses
-=--=--=--=-
All right, here we go. The bosses are listed <name>/<item given>. Most of
the bosses don't really have names, I just made them up. If they have real
names, and you know them, let me know.
4.1 Arachnus-X/Morph Ball
4.2 Fake Chozo Statue/Charge Beam
4.3 Pogo-X/High Jump & Jumpball
4.4 Serris/Speed Booster
4.5 Security Robot Part 1
4.6 Fat Core-X/Varia Suit
4.7 Mad Scientist/Wide Beam
4.8 Spider/Space Jump
4.9 SA-X Part 1
4.10 Mother Plant/Plasma Beam
4.11 Nightmare/Gravity Suit
4.12 Security Robot Part 2/Wave Beam
4.13 Ridley/Screw Attack
4.14 SA-X Part 2
4.15 Omega Metroid
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.1 Arachnus-X/Morph Ball
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Main Deck
Hit Count: 15 missiles (boss)
3 missiles (regular Core-X)
(Oh fine, I'll use his "real" name.)
As you go through the boss room, be sure to practice the ledge grab/jump
maneuver. Also, conserve missiles; if you run out, you'll have to go back to
regular shots, which takes quite a while.
Okay, enough rambling. When the boss starts walking toward you, fire a
missile at him. That will cause him to do one of three things:
* Roll into a ball and charge the wall. Jump over him as he passes, using the
ledge if necessary.
* Breathe fire at you. Grab the ledge, and jump over him after he gets close
enough.
* Sonic slash move. The clue for this is that he'll do two little hand swipes
right beforehand. Fire a missile for a free hit, then jump the attack when it
gets close.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.2 Fake Chozo Statue/Charge Beam
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 1
Hit Count: 4 missiles (eye Core-X)
This may look like you jump onto it to get the item, but fire at it instead to
turn it into an eye Core-X...
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.3 Pogo-X/High Jump & Jumpball
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 2
Hit Count: 10 missiles (boss)
4 missiles (regular Core-X)
Avoid him as he jumps around, until he opens up and tries to suck you in.
When that happens, stand under him, fire a missile or two directly up the
stalk, then run to avoid being sucked in. Every 2 hits or so, he'll get
shorter and faster, so be ready.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.4 Serris/Speed Booster
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 4
Hit Count: 5 missiles (boss)
5 missiles (regular Core-X)
Ask ten people where to stand while fighting him, and you'll get ten different
answers. Honestly, there isn't anywhere you can stand that makes you
completely invulnerable. The trick is to stay relatively still, be patient,
and fire at him the moment you see him.
With that said, my favorite place is on the rungs on top of the room. If you
see Serris coming at you, fire at him and then simply drop down. (Well, in
theory anyways... if you have more than 2 or 3 energy tanks you should be fine
if you're careful.) When he turns white, his thrashing about the room will
get faster, and he'll be invincible.
Watch his patterns: I've found that when he turns white, he'll do a zig-zag
through the platforms, and then make a big loop and hit you if you're up on the
top ladder rungs. If you're doing it on 1%, realize you die on the 4th time he
hits you...
Finally, if you're in the water when he turns into a Core-X, I suggest you get
out of the water immediately, as it makes you a bit more mobile.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.5 Security Robot Part 1
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 3
Hit Count: 10 missiles
What? No reward? Well, since this might not be an X host yet, don't expect
one. Get on the rungs, first of all. The robot will jump back and forth (he
can't hit you, by the way), and eventually stop and fire out some sort of bomb
which causes fire to spread in both directions. To avoid the fire attack,
stay above the bomb.
As for vulnerability, hit the boss in the center part any time except right
before he fires out a bomb. If he charges one side of the room, consider it a
free hit as he passes under you.
If you're trying to avoid all damage, try this: get sort of in the center of
the ladder to start. When he fires out the bomb, get directly above it. Then,
he'll jump twice toward you and end up overshooting a bit. Climb on top of
him, fire 2 missiles or 1 charged shot, then get on top of the bomb he shoots
out and repeat.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.6 Fat Core-X/Varia Suit
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 6
Hit Count: 6 Charge Beams (boss)
6 missiles (regular Core-X)
What a nasty surprise... a Core-X in the data room. All he can really do to
you is ram you, and there's not really much you can do about it except shoot
him. By the way, since missiles tend to bounce off his little shielding
creatures, use Charge Beams instead. You'll be firing blind most of the time,
but you should have a general idea of what direction he's in.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.7 Mad Scientist/Wide Beam
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 3
Hit Count: 4 missiles (eye Core-X)
Fire at the scientist to make the Core-X appear...
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.8 Spider/Space Jump
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Main Deck
Hit Count: 13 missiles (spider form)
13 missiles (bouncing form)
6 missiles (regular Core-X)
Here's where people tear out their hair and try to make their GBA
spontaneously combust. Actually, the first form is pretty simple. When you
get into the boss room, get into a ball and get as close to the corner as you
can without getting burned. When the fire subsides, just get into the corner
and stay there until the boss stops and charges up a fire shot. When that
happens, get up, fire a missile or two at its mouth, and run for the far
corner. Repeat.
Just to reassure you, you can't be picked up if you're in the corner unless
the boss starts at the opposite corner. To avoid this happening, when the
boss gets too far away just roll across the room to make it go the other way,
thus keeping it in the center.
Eventually, the spider become a spider torso which bounces around and drops
rocks (?) on you. Stand in the corner, angle upward with L, and fire missiles
like there's no tomorrow. If you don't have a lot of life left, you may have
to get more creative and actually try to AVOID his attacks. Fancy that.
Eventually you'll score enough hits to kill him and get to the Core-X...
Oh, and one more thing. Before you go waltzing into the next boss battle
(sooner than you think), drop to the bottom of the reactor core and SAVE.
-=--=--=--=--=-
4.9 SA-X Part 1
-=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 2
Some of you may be asking why this is here. "This isn't a boss battle... you
can't actually kill it." Big deal. It is, however, something I had a lot of
trouble on, and it does indeed involve fighting a boss.
The trick here is to be methodical about freezing the SA-X. Wait a bit before
dropping down, so the SA-X gets close to the center of the room. The moment
you drop down, freeze it with a missile. Then jump over it, freeze it again,
and run to the first little hump in the next room. Fire missiles until the
SA-X is frozen, then drop a Power Bomb (don't release R) and freeze it again.
Run for the next room; if you're quick enough the SA-X won't have time to line
up a shot.
Now for the hard part. You may want to unlock the first gate the moment you
get in with a shot angled upward (the L button). Regardless, freeze the SA-X,
then run for the exit, angling upward and firing the whole time. If you get
stuck, you're in very deep trouble, so don't let it happen.
Once you get to the large barrier in the last room, you're done. Climb over it
and wait for the SA-X to leave, then go back a room and proceed.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.10 Mother Plant/Plasma Beam
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 2
Hit Count: 26 missiles (first form)
24 missiles (second form)
5 missiles (eye Core-X)
Yes, you read that correctly. (That hit count was a real pain to get, by the
way.) Oddly, this isn't very hard. Get up onto the large pedestal on the
right, then fire a whole bunch of missiles at the root on the right.
Occasionally, clear out the spores coming at you from the top by firing a
regular shot or two at them, then continue firing missiles.
On to the second form. Now the root will shoot Plasma Beams at you. If it's
a lower shot, jump over it and keep firing. If it's a higher shot, crouch
(don't go into a Morph Ball) and keep firing. (See a pattern here?)
The Mystical One reports that Power Bombs also work well to not only do damage
to the boss, but also take out the little spores. Power Bomb, kneel, fire
lots of missiles, repeat until the second form appears.
Finally, jump into the next room to fight the Core-X...
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.11 Nightmare/Gravity Suit
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 5
Hit Count: 2-3 Charge Beams (first form)
3-5 Charge Beams (second form/gravity control)
30 missiles (third form)
6 missiles (regular Core-X)
This is where you see people threatening to murder each and every one of the
game designers. It's all about pattern recognition, though.
First two forms: not too bad. Jump over the shots from Nightmare's arms, then
get underneath him and fire a Charge Beam at the little thing on the bottom.
After a couple of times doing this, he'll engage his gravity control thingy
(the "second form"). Keep up the same pattern until the gravity control
flashes (this means it's dead). By the way, don't try missiles on the second
form in particular. They're affected by the higher gravity and don't actually
fly- they just sink. Use Charge Beams instead.
Third form: here's the hard part. Get on the very bottom rung on the left
side. This *should* line you up with his weak spot, the exposed "face". If
not, adjust as needed. Then fire 8 or 10 missiles at it. (I'm NOT kidding.)
As it gets closer to you, climb up the ladder and get ready to watch where it
goes.
The trick to this part, which is where most people have trouble, is making him
go in circles.
*** Watch which way he approaches you as he comes toward you. ***
If you run away, either by jumping over him or running under him, he'll follow
you in circles until he gets back to his starting point. Then just repeat all
of that until it becomes a Core-X.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.12 Security Robot Part 2/Wave Beam
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 6
Hit Count: 12 missiles (boss)
4 missiles (eye Core-X)
Woohoo, this thing again. Just to bring you up to speed, its jump is higher,
it now shoots homing missiles instead of those annoying firebombs, and the
water below you is electrocuted. Brilliant.
I discovered one strategy which, if done well, can get you through the boss
battle without any damage. As soon as you walk in, drop a Power Bomb to
expose the rungs above. Get on them, obviously. Get about one boss-length
away from its center. Wait for it to jump (you'll be too far away for it to
hit you), fire a missile at the center, then quickly move about a boss-length
away again. When the homing missiles come out, use regular beam shots to
clear them, then repeat until the boss finally croaks. Oh, and it does the
little "charge the wall" thing still, and you can still take a free shot when
he does it.
Lil' Hyren 56 (talk about your unwieldy nicknames) shares another strategy:
After you expose the ladder, get on the very left part. As the boss comes
close to you (and can't hit you), angle down with L and hit it with missiles
until it becomes a Core-X. A little more tricky on the aiming, but still easy
and damage-free if done right.
A third strategy, this one a really long and complicated one, from Lostfactor:
<<
The second time you fight the security bot, obviously, you're supposed to
power bomb out the top ladder, jump on that, and fight it the same way that
you did the first time. However, there's a secret - that's the hard way to do
it. The easy way to do it barely involves budging from your entry point, and
while it takes a heck of a long time, it's more or less -completely safe-.
You enter the room. The security bot starts charging in your direction.
Start charging your beam, then hold L and tap Down (so that your shots are
going down at an angle.) Wait for it for a few seconds. Once it comes on-
screen, you should be able to spin-jump to the right, fire your charged beam
down towards the core, and land back at your initial point of jumping. (This
is a bit tricky to do, actually, since your beams will hit the bot's armor
once or twice. You just need to get a sense for the positioning, which takes
a few missed shots - once you've got it, you'll be hitting him at least once
with most passes.)
He'll flash, jump away from you to the point where he's only about halfway on
the screen, and begin to launch missiles. These come towards you, and you
just fire away like it doesn't matter. Really, just nail the B button down as
fast as possible, and the shots evaporate into explosions. As soon as the
last one blows up, start charging again, press L, and tap down. The robot
will start charging at you...
That is, basically, it. He'll keep charging, you'll keep nailing him with
shots, and nothing he does will ever reach you. Occasionally he'll back off
away from you and shoot missiles in your direction, but you can hear the sound
effect - just gun them down like usual. He'll head back towards you soon
enough. Proof? I took three hits in the entire battle - one from when I got
lazy and didn't shoot down a missile in time, the other two just from
accidentally falling in the water. When the Core-X emerged, I was at almost
full health. Be warned, however, that it will take some time to beat him this
way.
>>
By the way, the water is not electrocuted when you fight the Core-X. Rejoice.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.13 Ridley/Screw Attack
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Sector 1
Hit Count: ~90 missiles (boss)
6 missiles (regular Core-X)
I think the biggest argument about this boss is what to kill him with... many
people say use Charge Beams because it takes quite a few less hits to kill
him, while I continue to say you should use missiles. Why? The reason charge
beams are so effective is because you really get three shots per beam. The
damage you do is, again, dependant on how many of those shots hit. And Ridley
can (and does) block them with his tail. Bottom line: if one of your Charge
Beams gets blocked, you just lost about 3 seconds of charging time. If one
missile gets blocked, you just lost about one-third of a second and a missile,
but you still have a lot of hits left. Pick your poison.
That said, if you're using missiles, I hope you got lots of Missile Upgrades;
you'll need them. (For the curious, that isn't an exact hit count. I counted
8 high-pitched "this really hurts" squeals, then about 11-12 hits in between
each one.) I also hope you have 8 or more energy tanks. The more pickups you
got, the easier this will be. Just stand in the corner and fire tons of
missiles at him.
In case you have to avoid some of them, Ridley has the following attacks:
* Three fireballs, which don't have much in the way of speed or aim.
* Ridley takes his tail (which is invincible, by the way) and tries to drill
you with it. Jump over or run under as he passes by, or simply stay down.
* Ridley picks you up. Keep firing until he drops you.
* Miscellaneous thrashing. Just don't get pinned down, and you'll be fine.
Several people told me that the easiest way to avoid his thrashing and
picking-up behavior is by going into the Morph Ball momentarily, rolling out
of the way, then getting back up and firing some more. The Breadstick Guy
mentions that Power Bombs will score hits and slow Ridley down momentarily.
After all that, you still have a Core-X to beat. But you're good at that by
now...
-=--=--=--=--=-
4.14 SA-X Part 2
-=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Operations Deck
Hit Count: 12-15 Charge Beams (Samus form)
3-4 Charge Beams (ugly creature form)
6 missiles (eye Core-X)
Another boss that's easier than it looks... some things to know.
* After you hit the SA-X with a charge shot, it will Screw Attack toward you.
* If you Screw Attack into each other, both of you take damage, but you take
more than it does. Not to mention that you hitting it will cause it to start
Screw Attacking again... just run away.
* The Ice Beam REALLY HURTS. Avoid it at all costs.
* To that end, you're invincible to Ice Beam shots while Screw Attacking.
As for strategy, get in one corner of the floor (NOT in the little
passageway). Fire a beam at the SA-X. If it gets too close to you, jump over
it and run for the other corner, then repeat. If you can get off two shots
(it happens pretty often), more power to you.
The second form is even easier. It tries to jump on you; run away, then blast
it with a Charge Beam. Then beat up the eye Core-X and... well, you don't get
the Ice Beam quite yet... set the propulsion sequence and run back to your
ship. It's time for the last battle...
-=--=--=--=--=--=-
4.15 Omega Metroid
-=--=--=--=--=--=-
Location: Docking Bay
Hit Count: ~50 beam shots
For the record, Charge Beams are not necessary in this fight. However, some
people like using them... if that's your cup of tea, go for it.
With any luck, you should have about 2 minutes left. That's more than enough
time if you don't stall too long. Walk up to it and get slashed down to 1
life, then watch the SA-X sacrifice itself. Pick up the Ice Beam. Now hold
down the L button, dash in toward it (get right under its nose), fire 4 or 5
shots at its chest, then run away from its claw before you get slashed. (This
is the FINAL BOSS, and it has only one attack, and it's really obvious when
it's about to use it. Go figure.) Repeat until it dies, and get ready for
the REALLY CHEESY ENDING.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
5. Thanks and Copyright
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
This guide may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited,
and a violation of copyright.
Thanks to:
- Nintendo, for a very well done game.
- CJayC, webmaster of GameFAQs... no, this isn't a plug to get my FAQ
posted...
- People who sent me strategies/other helpful tidbits to use:
Lil' Hyren 56 (Security Robot Part 2), Lostfactor (Security Robot Part 2), The
Mystical One (Mother Plant), The Breadstick Guy (Ridley)
This FAQ is copyright 2002-2003 to Incoherent/Adam Westall.
</FAQ>
