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Super Metroid Glitch FAQ
by Brickroad
[email protected]
last udpated: 9/3/2002
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Copy the (met.xx) code and paste it into your browser's find function (Ctrl+F for most browsers)
to jump directly to any given part of this FAQ.
I. Introduction/Disclaimer (met.intro)
II. Updates History (met.updates)
III. Basic Terminology (met.terms)
IV. Graphical Glitches (met.graphic)
A. Immobile Echoes (met.graphic.echoes)
B. Swinging Echoes (met.graphic.swing)
C. Phantom Screw Attack (met.graphic.screw)
D. Grapple/Bomb Mix-up (met.graphic.grapbomb)
E. Universal Graphic Glitch (met.graphic.uni)
F. Beam Shield Swap (met.graphic.beam)
G. Peekaboo (met.graphic.peek)
H. Crocomire Sprite Overload (met.graphic.croc)
V. Useless Glitches (met.useless)
A. Plasma Beam Door (met.useless.plasma)
B. Crocomire's Ceiling (met.useless.croc)
C. Sprite Shaking (met.useless.shake)
D. Wacky Bomb Spread (met.useless.spread)
E. Really Wrecked Ship (met.useless.wrecked)
F. Giant Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant)
VI. Exploitable Glitches (met.exploit)
A. Speedball/Mockball (met.exploit.speedball)
B. Gravity Jump (met.exploit.grav)
C. Quick-charge Speed (met.exploit.quick)
D. Blue Suit Glitch (met.exploit.bluesuit)
E. Free Shot (met.exploit.free)
F. Reset the Game (met.exploit.reset)
VII. Deadly Glitches (met.deadly)
A. Yapping Maw Freeze (met.deadly.yap)
B. Spazer/Plasma Freeze (met.deadly.spazer)
C. Hyper Beam Freeze (met.deadly.hyper)
VIII. Bogus Glitches (met.bogus)
A. The Green Chozo (met.bogus.green)
B. The Ultimate Glitch (met.bogus.ultimate)
C. Escape With the Metroid (met.bogus.escape)
D. Warfair (met.bogus.warfair)
IX. Oddities (met.odd)
A. Harmless Geemer (met.odd.geemer)
B. Unpowered Spikes (met.odd.spikes)
C. Misplaced Water (met.odd.water)
D. Crocomire vs. Power Bomb (met.odd.crocbomb)
E. Picky Chozo (met.odd.chozo)
X. The Spazer/Plasma Glitch (met.spazplas)
XI. Credits/Feedback (met.creds)
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I. Introduction/Disclaimer (met.intro)
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Super Metroid has got to be one of the most rock solid games in history. This is a game which
offers layers of gameplay; Samus has moves in her arsenal that are never required to finish the
game, and can only augment the process of exploration. Thus, the designers were very, very
careful when designing the game world - they had to make absolutely sure there were places the
player could and could not get to at any leg in the game. This fact dawns on most players by
the time they play through the game their second or third time, after they learn to wall jump
and speed jump and start to get a feel for how the planet is laid out. With a character as agile
and functional as Samus, the designers really had to cover their tracks.
Glitches, however, are inevitable. In a game as freakishly large and non-linear as Super
Metroid, it simply must have been impossible to weld all the seams shut. And lo, years later,
obsessive players who simply MUST squeeze every drop of entertainment value out of the game
have stumbled upon some of its more unintentional areas.
This FAQ, while written and compiled by me (Brickroad), is truly the work of Super Metroid fans
everywhere, who have endlessly explored the planet Zebes and painstakingly catelogued its
curiosities. This includes, but is not limited to, the guys over at gamefaqs.com's Super Metroid
forum. Thus, I'll try my damndest to give credit where credit is due.
Quick note about emulation: it is a sad state of affairs these days that most people who enjoy
Super Metroid do so on an emulator, either by choice or necessity. And for whatever reason,
there are some cases in which the two mediums (that is, emulator and original console) act
differently to certain situations. Thus, all glitches contained herein have been tried and
verified on the actual cartridge, by yours truly.
And, as always, a quick disclaimer: I don't work for Nintendo. That should be painfully obvious.
And while I didn't discover these glitches, I'm still the one who archived them and took the
time to write the FAQ - please don't steal my work and say it's yours. Oh, and don't steal it
and put it on your website, either. And don't you eat that yellow snow.
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II. Updates History (met.updates)
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9/3/2002 - Super Metroid Glitch FAQ completed to my current satisfaction. All known glitches
have been entered and people should be able to navigate the FAQ fairly easily. A few of the
more boring-to-write sections are still wanting. I will update a more complete Glitch FAQ after
I get some input from the guys over at the GameFAQs Super Metroid forum on what direction this
document should take.
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III. Basic Terminology (met.terms)
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[...to be completed]
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IV. Graphical Glitches (met.graphic)
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Ah yes, no game is without graphical glitches. These glitches have no bearing whatsoever on
gameplay - they won't help you kill monsters or skip bosses or collect items early. All they
do is make Super Metroid's beautiful graphics do really funky things. Generally, these are just
cosmetic things that go away after you're done with them.
A. Immobile Echoes (met.graphic.echoes)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You need: Speed Booster, X-Ray Scope
Explanation:
Samus is standing still and looking around with her X-Ray Scope, but is surrounded by her
speed echoes.
Where to do it:
This glitch functions anywhere you can reach maximum velocity with the Speed Booster.
How to do it:
Press [item select] until the item to the left of your X-Ray Scope (either the Grappling Beam
or the Power Bombs, depending on how much of a daredevil you are) is highlighted. Speed
up to maximum velocity, so Samus is being followed by several echoes. At that speed, press
[item select] again to scroll over to the X-Ray Scope. Samus will suddenly stop and be in
"look around" mode - but the echoes will remain on-sreen. When you look around, so will the
echoes.
Why it works:
The X-Ray Scope is activated by your [dash] button, and automatically stops play (essentially
pausing the game) when pressed. The game literally doesn't have time to let Samus' echoes
catch up to her if you trigger the Scope while dashing. The echoes are basically just copies
of Samus' sprite, so it's logical that they'd mimic her every move.
B. Swinging Echoes (met.graphic.swing)
Source: David Wonn's Page (Susan Carriere)
You need: Speed Booster, Grappling Beam
Explanation:
Samus has several echoes following her as she swings along grappling blocks.
Where to do it:
This glitch is most evident in Crocomire's room.
How to do it:
Select your Grappling Beam. Get a running start and, once at maximum velocity, spin jump
towards the grappling blocks. While you've got several spinning echoes behind you, aim up
and grab the blocks with your Grapple. Samus looks normal, but when you let go the echoes
will suddenly re-appear and catch up.
Why it works:
It works on the same principals as the glitch above (grabbing the blocks stops Samus'
momentum, but doesn't give the echoes time to catch up to her), though I'm not sure why the
game waits until Samus lets go to display the echoes.
C. Phantom Screw Attack (met.graphic.screw)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You need: Gravity Suit, Space Jump, Screw Attack
Explanation:
Samus can Screw Attack and Space Jump (kind of), but you couldn't tell by looking at her.
Where to do it:
Anywhere the water's shallow will work; try it out a few screens right of Samus' ship, or in
the shallow water a screen or so left of the Maridian pipe.
How to do it:
Strip Samus of her Gravity Suit (technically, you don't need the Gravity Suit to get this
glitch to work, but good luck getting the Space Jump or Screw Attack without it) and set her
in some shallow water. Spin jump so that Samus breaks the surface just as she peaks.
Just after she breaks the surface, you'll notice she flashes green like the Screw Attack,
though her sprite indicates she's just doing a normal spin jump. You can Space Jump as much
as you want, but only along the surface of the water. Changing direction causes this glitch
to break.
Why it works:
Certain items do not function underwater without the Gravity Suit: most notably the Speed
Booster, Space Jump, and Screw Attack. She can't bomb jump either. Anyway, these properties
are altered the moment she breaks the surface. The game thinks she's "dry", but the
information on the jump (that is, whether or not she can Space Jump or Screw Attack) is still
reading that she's "wet". Thus she has the properties of items that she's unable to use
underwater, but the graphics don't reflect it (except for the flashing green phenominon).
D. Grapple/Bomb Mix-up (met.graphic.grapbomb)
Source: David Wonn's Page (Sarcose)
You need: Morphing Ball, Bombs, Grappling Beam (Spring Ball helps)
Explanation:
Samus goes into some sort of spasm while hanging from a grappling block.
Where to do it:
You need a place where there's grappling blocks directly over harmless land. These locations
are rare enough (what's the point in grapple blocks if there's nothing underneath to grapple
over?), but to make things worse you're going to want somewhere where the blocks are
relatively close to the ground. I find the best place is in the passage leading to the
X-Ray Scope, where you can easily Spring Ball up to the rightmost grapple blocks.
How to do it:
Select your Grappling Beam and get directly underneath some grappling blocks. Either bomb
jump, mid-air morph, or Spring Ball your way up, making sure to lay a bomb about three blocks
away from the grappling block. Quickly un-morph and grab the block directly overhead. When
the bomb goes off (it should be at Samus' knee level), Samus' sprite will go wild in a way
that has to be seen to be believed. This graphical error lasts as long as you're hanging. If
you try to swing back and forth, Samus will drop instead.
Why it works:
Whenever a bomb goes off near Samus' legs, she gets propelled in some upwards direction,
depending on where she's standing in relation to the bomb (this is why bomb jumping works).
For this, the game uses the same sprite as if Samus were firing her gun in mid-air. My best
guess is that when the bomb goes off around Samus' legs while she's in the hanging position,
the game is trying to find the right sprite to display. Since the developers didn't intend
for a situation where Samus can be propelled while hanging, they didn't bother drawing a
sprite for it. Hence the gobbledegook you see. It also puts her into the "falling" position,
hence the inability to swing (putting Samus in movement will just cause her to fall).
E. Universal Graphic Glitch (met.graphic.uni)
Source: David Wonn's Page (dvdmth)
You need: Speed Booster (you might want the X-Ray Scope handy)
Explanation:
Causes the graphics to load strangely, making some of the maps look super weird.
Where to do it:
The caves one door to the left of Samus' starship is the only known place to trigger this
glitch (though you can see the physics behind it in a few other places).
How to do it:
They key here is to horizontal speed jump through the bombable blocks in the topleft area of
the room to the left of Samus' starship, then quickly get into the blue door there before
the screen has totally caught up with you. There are two ways to do this. The first is to
start on the screen with Samus' ship. Open the door leading into the caves to the left,
get a running start, dash in, and charge the super jump after entering the caves. Quickly
spin jump over to the left, stopping when you get to the left slope on the hill (which sits
overtop the area leading down to your Bombs). Just before your speed jump charge wears off,
quickly horizontal speed jump to the left. When you collide with the blue door, quickly
shoot it open and go through. Alternatively, you could start in the cave itself, pre-open the
blue door in question, and short-charge speed run (refer to met.exploit.quick) on the small
expanse of land between the end of the hill and the edge of the ledge (which leads down into
the first Craterian shaft); this will give you just barely enough room to charge a speed jump.
I prefer this method because it doesn't give the game any extra time to let the screen catch
up with you, since your door is pre-opened. In either case, you'll know you did it right if
the next room (the slope which contained the first Energy Tank) is full of garbage and
misplaced graphics. Congratulations! The graphics remain completely skewed until you reset
the mission. You can repeat the glitch as often as you like, though the graphics don't
really get worse with each trigger. If some of the rooms look too wild to navigate, you can
use the X-Ray Scope to view it normally (at least while the Scope is on).
Why it works:
The designers built a lot of "forced scroll points" into the game, mainly so the screen
wouldn't scroll far enough to display hidden areas utnil the player had actually opened them.
Case in point: the secret area to the left of the Morphing Ball will never scroll over until
you've actually broken the wall down and started walking across. Standing near the trigger,
it looks as though Samus is almost off-screen, but one step left and the screen quickly
catches up to her. While speed jumping, she's literally moving faster than the screen can.
Try horizontal speed jumping to the left in that watery area underneath the Charge Beam -
you'll see this principal at work (in fact, if you haven't already gotten the Energy Tank
there, you'll notice that the item fanfare will play even before you've scrolled the screen
far enough to see the tank completely). In any other location, the screen simply reaches
Samus eventually, because her speed jumps always eventually stop. In the Craterian
situation, however, we've introduced an x-factor: the door! Entering the door probably tells
the game that Samus is already correctly centered, even when she isn't. Okay, so this doesn't
explain why the graphics start rearranging themselves everywhere, but it sounded good, didn't
it?
F. Beam Shield Swap (met.graphic.beam)
Source: ???
You need: Charge Beam, two other beams, Power Bombs
Explanation:
Samus' Beam Shield changes colors and, in some instances, shape!
Where to do it:
This is one of those cuddly glitches that works anywhere, so go nuts.
How to do it:
Know how to do the Beam Shield? I don't blame you; it's a fairly useless move. Basically,
you have to unequip all your beams except the Charge Beam and one other miscellaineous beam,
select your Power Bombs, and charge up your shot. At max charge, Samus will consume one
Power Bomb and use her equipped beam to build herself a Beam Shield, which hurts enemies it
comes in contact with. While any given Beam Shield is on the screen (some of them only last
a few seconds, so be quick), open the subscreen and swap beams. When you unpause, the
Beam Shield will still be in place, but it will have the colors and, in some cases, the sprite
of the new beam. This effect is most visible when you use the Ice, Wave, or Spazer Beam
Shields and swap over to Plasma (which turns it a bright green and gives it a boxy look).
Why it works:
The graphics of the Beam Shield are probably derived directly from that particular beam's
firing pattern, which the game grabs by referencing Samus' current equipment. Change the
equipment, and you change the graphic pattern.
G. Peekaboo (met.graphic.peek)
Source: ???
You need: X-Ray Scope
Explanation:
See where Ridley's hiding before he appears.
Where to do it:
Strangely enough, Ridley's room. Oh, and it has to be before you kill him (or he kills you,
depending on how reckless you are). It also works in the Space Colony, if you use the glitch
referenced in met.exploit.reset.
How to do it:
Select your X-Ray Scope before entering Ridley's room, and press [dash] as soon as you land on
the platform. You'll be able to see a black outline of the draconian boss before he's even
materialized.
Why it works:
In Ridley's room, the designers create the illusion of Ridley being invisible by making his
sprite the same color as the background (that is, pitch black). However, using the X-Ray
Scope "greys out" the background in any room, meaning you'll be able to see Ridley's black
sprite against the grey background (or, in the Space Colony, against the ugly orangeish
background).
H. Crocomire Sprite Overload (met.graphic.croc)
Source: ???
You need: Plasma Beam
Explanation:
You can overload the screen with sprites and make bits and pieces of Crocomire disappear
temporarily.
Where to do it:
Obviously, only Crocomire's chamber will work. Additionally, you need to do it during the
boss fight. And to make matters worse, you'll need the Plasma Beam, so you've got to make do
without the Grappler for much of the game. (I'd tell you how to do that, but that's a
different FAQ entirely.)
How to do it:
Simply equip the Plasma Beam and let 'er rip against Crocomire (anywhere but his opened
mouth!). The beam will travel through the armored foe, filling the screen with little round
sprites. Get enough onscreen at once and pieces of Crocomire will vanish for a moment! When
you're done, simply charge up your shot and fire it into Crocomire's open maw, finishing the
fight with one hit.
Why it works:
First off, what causes all those little round explosion sprites? Well, you'll notice those
are the same sprite you get when you fire a non-Plasma shot at an invincible foe (try a
Ripper somewhere). Firing any beam at Crocomire (or most invincible foes) negates the beam.
Furthermore, most invincible enemies (again, try a Ripper, but make sure your Ice Beam is
turned off first) has a flag that even negates Plasma. Since the developers obviously didn't
intend for you to have Plasma in this fight, Crocomire has no such flag - the beam just gets
negated, over and over, filling the screen up with harmless sprites. As for the second part
(why he vanishes), that's just a simple matter of the game trying to display more sprites than
the SNES can handle. Since Crocomire is made up of several sprites instead of just one (refer
to met.useless.shake for more about that), you only see parts of him disappear (his arms, his
eyes, what have you).
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V. Useless Glitches (met.useless)
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These are miscellaineous glitches which have absolutely no function whatsoever. Hence the term
'useless'. Anyone finding a decent use for any of these please let me know. Why archive
useless glitches? Well, because this is a glitch FAQ, silly! Besides, some of them are still
fairly interesting, despite their apparent lack of functionality.
A. Plasma Beam Door (met.useless.plasma)
Source: ???
You need: Nothing special
Explanation:
The door sounds like it opens, but it's still metal alright...
Where to do it:
The metal door leading to the Plasma Beam, in Maridia, before fighting Draygon.
How to do it:
Make your way to the metal door leading to the Plasma Beam in Maridia (after getting the
Gravity Suit, use the entrance on the other side of the Wrecked Ship; some wall jumping
required). Shoot the door and listen closely... hear that? Sounds like a door opened, but
take my word for it - it's still metal like always.
Why it works:
For some reason, there's a second door behind the metal one. You can test this by standing
above the door in the lowest part of the V-shaped pit, aiming down, and firing the Wave Beam.
You can do this even after the Plasma Beam door is blue. But for some reason, if you open
the "real" door with a non-Wave beam, the "fake" one opens too. Weird...
B. Crocomire's Ceiling (met.useless.croc)
Source: ???
You need: Wave Beam
Explanation:
Something's breaking offscreen in Crocomire's room... too bad we can't see it.
Where to do it:
Crocomire's room. It's easier to notice after he's dead, though.
How to do it:
Make sure you have the Wave Beam equipped (so you can shoot through solid objects) and aim
at the ceiling to the right of the door leading upwards. You can hear blocks crumbling up
there, but even with the X-Ray Scope you can't reveal anything.
Why it works:
Beats me. It's possible there are some blocks up there you can't interact with
(except by destroying), and it's a solid fact that the X-Ray Scope doesn't function in some
rooms. Why they're there, though, is anyone's guess.
C. Sprite Shaking (met.useless.shake)
Source: ???
You need: Nothing special (though wall jumping is required)
Explanation:
Even background scenery likes to dance.
Where to do it:
Pretty much anywhere there's animated or sprite-based background scenery. If it's solid, but
moving, it's probably a candidate for this glitch.
How to do it:
Wall jumping off certain objects in the scenery makes them shake back and forth for a few
minutes. Try it on the little spinning heads in Brinstar, certain frozen enemies, Spore
Spawn (once he's dead), and even Crocomire! Actually, only parts of Crocomire will shake,
because he's made up of several sprites. Truly a bizarre occurence.
Why it works:
Hey, like I said, even background scenery likes to dance.
D. Wacky Bomb Spread (met.useless.spread)
Source: ???
You need: Morphing Ball, Bombs, Charge Beam
Explanation:
The Bomb Spread does stupid things if you use it in the wrong places...
Where to do it:
The easiest place to get this glitch is on top of an energy or missile refill station.
How to do it:
To do a Bomb Spread, you only have to charge up your beam, morph, and release the [fire]
button. This usually launches five bombs in various directions. But if you do the trick on
top of a recharge station, it only creates two bombs; one of which stays still and one
which bounces up and down.
Why it works:
That's a good question, actually.
E. Really Wrecked Ship (met.useless.wrecked)
Source: ???
You need: Ice Beam, Grappling Beam, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, Hi-Jump Boots,
Lots and lots of patience
Explanation:
It's possible to get into the Wrecked Ship from the wrong side, but there's not much there.
And it's CERTAINLY not worth the trouble to get there.
Where to do it:
This glitch only works BEFORE you kill Phantoon. Your starting place is the Maridian tube.
How to do it:
The trick is to get from the Maridian tube to the elevator leading to Crateria without the
Gravity Suit. I hear you groaning already, but it's possible. Bust open the Maridian tube,
and very carefully jump to the top. To get through the next room (your goal is the topmost
door) you'll have to use Super Missiles in conjunction with the Ice Beam in order to freeze
Geemers after knocking them off walls. This is necessary three times - to reach the very
first platform from the ground, to reach the platform level with the Missile Pack (you know,
that one encased in solid rock), and to reach the platform just above said Missile Pack.
You'll have to use the same Geemer for the first two, but there's a Geemer placed right where
you need him for the last one. Carefully make your way to the top, and head through the door.
In the next room, you should be able to grapple your way across to the other side without
too much trouble. Head down through the floor in the next room, then right through the
green door. Power Bomb down to the bottom of the huge icy room, and head all the way to the
right wall. Drop down through the right sand pit and into the room with the Missile Pack and
Power Bombs. Fight your way left (if you spin jump from the falling sand to a clear area,
you'll gain more height, for some reason) and through the door. It helps to blow the
mini-Draygons away using Super Missiles. Use a Power Bomb in the next room and go up to the
second level. No, you STILL aren't done. To get up through that narrow crevice, you have
to wall jump back and forth between the sides very rapidly. This is probably the worst part
of the whole Maridian ordeal. Once you're finally up, Super Missile the green door and head
up through the long pipe. You're out of the water now! While you're in this room, you might
want to check out the Plasma Door glitch (met.useless.plasma). At any rate, continue through
this room (on dry land), and follow the passage to the Craterian elevator. Be extra careful
not to get grabbed by the Yapping Maws in the sand pit! Once in Crateria, it's pretty easy
sailing to the Wrecked Ship - there are some more water rooms, but nothing as painful as
what you've been through. In the Ship, you can explore the entire right-hand area. However,
there's nothing here! No water, no electricity, no spikes, no platforms, and most importantly
no Energy Tank! Once you pass through the door that's supposed to be metal (it's blue on the
"wrong" end) it turns metal again, and you're on Phantoon's side like normal. Actually, a
much easier way to see this glitch is to first Reset the Game (met.exploit.reset). But
where's the fun in that?
Why it works:
This one's easy: the rooms in the Wrecked Ship are all set to triggers. If you haven't
killed Phantoon, the Save Point doesn't work, the Map Data Access doesn't work, the doors are
all metal... heck, even the spikes don't damage you (see met.odd.spikes). Also, there are
no baddies (except those slimy gunky skull things). Since the developers never intended you
to be on the "wrong" side without killing Phantoon, they probably didn't bother setting any
"before" triggers to those rooms. Hence, they're all empty.
F. Giant Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You need: Varia, Space Jump, at least seven Energy Tanks (Reserve Tanks make things a bit
easier)
Explanation: Shake off the pain and play around in Motherbrain's room far longer than you
were intended!
Where to do it: At the very end of the game, when facing Motherbrain, when she's about ready
to nail you with her nasty multi-colored brain laser.
How to do it: First off, this glitch is a lot easier to pull off if you've got lots of energy
to play with. The more tanks you have over seven, the easier it's going to be to "control"
your energy level to where you need it. The goal is to have seven full tanks (that's the
entire bottom row, now) when Motherbrain is ready to blast you with her colorful brain laser.
The absolute easiest way to do this is to fight her normally (Missiles, Super Missiles,
charged-up Plasma, what have you) until you piss her off and she starts shooting huge
explosions out of her hands. At that point, it's only going to take a few charged Plasma
shots to trigger her brain laser. Running into her legs is an easy and quick way to lose
lots of energy, as is standing still and letting her terrorize you with her exploding hand
ray. Whatever the case, it's okay to turn up a bit short if you have Reserve Tanks. When
you see her start charging up for the brain laser, pause the game. Fill yourself up to
seven tanks with your reserves if you need to, then unequip the Varia. Unpause, and get
blasted. Then wait. Motherbrain will take a step forward (she might hit you with some blue
circles or a bomb first) eventually. This is the indicator that she's about to fire her
second laser to finish you off. Pause the game and quickly re-equip the Varia. When you
unpause, work the control pad like a madman until you shake off the stun, then Space Jump.
You're now unstuck! Wait until the Giant Metroid lets go of Motherbrain and comes after you.
At that point, it's safe to land. You now have total control over Samus even with the Metroid
attached! You can still damage Motherbrain at this point (either by Screw Attacking her or
firing a charged beam at point-blank range), but you can't kill her until you let your life
fill up and she kills the Metroid. Also, you're invincible at this point - no amount of
running into Motherbrain's legs will drain your life. This also puts you in prime position
to trigger the Hyper Beam Freeze (met.deadly.hyper), so check it out.
Why it works: As you probably know, the Varia lessens the damage baddies to do Samus, but
becomes obsolete once you get the Gravity Suit. In other words, the Gravity Suit "cancels
out" the Varia, because it can do everything the Varia can do and more. This holds true
for every monster in the game except Motherbrain. The way the brain laser functions is that
it MUST hit you once. It can hit you more than once, of course, but the "scripted" section
of the battle will not trigger unless the brain beam plasters you against the wall once.
This beam, however, only checks for the Varia - not the Gravity Suit. So when you unequip
the Varia, it deals a lot more damage. After Motherbrain is done with you, the game checks
to see if you can survive another beam. If so, it gives you the opportunity to stand up,
then Motherbrain wastes you again. If not, the game moves on to the "scripted" section.
When you unequip the Varia and you have seven tanks, the game knows you can't survive another
attack. Thus, Motherbrain moves to finish the combat (you can tell because she steps forward
before her brain laser; she doesn't do this otherwise). So at that moment, equipping the
Varia again makes the game think you can withstand another blast. Thus, you're given the
opportunity to break free!
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VI. Exploitable Glitches (met.exploit)
----------------------------------------
Aha! The meat'n'taters of the Glitch FAQ. This here's the stuff you can (ab)use to make the
game easier, get items earlier, skip unskippable bosses, and shave precious seconds off of your
speed runs. Learn 'em, use 'em, love 'em. This is the reason you guys spent time downloading
this FAQ, so bust out the good ol' SNES and get cracking!
A. Speedball/Mockball (met.exploit.speedball)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You Need: Speed Booster (for Speedball); Nothing special (for Mockball)
Explanation: Samus retains her super speed, even in ball form.
Where to do it: You can trigger the glitch anywhere you've got enough room to run, but you'll
need considerable more distance than that to see the effects. The best places to practice
are by the starship and in Crocomire's room (after he's dead, of course).
How to do it: This is really two moves in one, but they're both triggered the same way. The
only difference is to do the Speedball you need the Speed Booster, but to Mockball you have
to have the Speed Booster unequipped (or not at all). The moves are essentially the same
either way, but they do require some practice. First, speed up to maximum velocity. DO NOT
LET GO OF THE [dash] BUTTON UNTIL YOU'RE DONE SPEEDBALLING. This is critical. Next,
tap jump. This will put Samus into the air, but not very high (staying low to the ground
is fairly critical if you want to utilize this glitch's full potential). In the air, quickly
tap down (so Samus will be in "aim down" position, but still with her echoes). Last, right
as you come in contact to the ground, roll your thumb from down to the side (whichever
way you're facing). The idea is to tap down again (so you'll morph), but quickly get your
thumb back to the direction you were running, so you don't lose any speed. If you performed
it correctly, Samus will be rolling with her Speed Booster echoes behind her (or, if you
don't have the Speed Booster, rolling at Samus' normal run speed). Congrats! You've
performed the Speedball (or the Mockball)!
Why it's useful: The Speedball is mainly a novelty, really, but it's cool to see. The real
beauty of this glitch is the Mockball. There are two key areas in the game you usually
need the Speed Booster to reach: the passage to the Brinstar Reserve Tank, and the passage
leading to the Ice Beam. Both of these passages have shutters that close before you can
get past them. However, with the Mockball, you can slide right underneath them without
a problem. This is cool because, first of all, you can get Super Missiles early! Mockball
your way into the Brinstar Reserve Tank room (first door on your right in the very first
Brinstar shaft), collect your 100 free energy and the 10 Missiles behind it, and on your
way out there's a pack of Super Missiles sitting in your way. You've just essentially skipped
Spore Spawn! Even if you don't get the Mockball on your first try (just leave the room
and come back to try again), you save time. In fact, you've saved time if you screw up
your second, third, or tenth try. Spore Spawn takes a long time to kill with Missiles, after
all. This also lets you get the Ice Beam early, although you still can't use the passage
to Crocomire's room (since that requires the Speed Booster anyway).
Why it works: My best bet is, because you don't let go of [dash] or forward the entire time
you're working the glitch, the game has no reason to break Samus's speed, no matter what
crazy thing you tell the game to do.
B. Gravity Jump (met.exploit.grav)
Source: ???
You Need: Gravity Suit
Explanation: Samus jumps super high! Well, underwater at least.
Where to do it: It works anywhere Samus is completely submerged, but truly shines in the
giant lava pit leading to Lower Norfair.
How to do it: This is a very simple glitch to perform. Simply stand in the water and pause
the game. Just before the screen fades entirely to black, press and hold [jump]. While
still holding [jump], unequip your Gravity Suit and unpause. You'll notice Samus rockets
sky-high, even if you break the surface of the water. Wow!
Why it's useful: This glitch allows you to skip the Space Jump entirely! Since the only place
in Super Metroid where the Space Jump is absolutely required is the lava pit leading to Lower
Norfair (well, and the Chozo Statue leading to the Screw Attack), any method of bypassing
that area lets you shave an extra 1% off of your score. However, you have to be quick.
Start off by standing on the bottom fire-breathing skull on the left side of the lava pit.
Start the Gravity Jump glitch as a spin jump, up to the right. Quickly unequip your suit.
Unpause and watch yourself flip up towards the top (yes, you'll take a bit of damage, but
it's negligable). Just as you're about to come in contact with the wall, quickly re-equip
your Gravity Suit and wall jump to the platform. This is difficult, but with practice it
does get easier. For a real challenge, try it without the Hi-Jump Boots. (Oh, and by the
way, I'm perfectly aware that it's possible to bomb jump up to the top of the lava pit, by
timing your movements so you don't get blasted by the skull's fire. Heck, I've even done it
once. But the Gravity Jump is so much easier, and if you're the kind of loon who feels like
going to Lower Norfair without the Space Jump anyway, you need all the help you can get.)
Why it works: You notice that Samus acts under a completely different set of physics
underwater than above water. I'm sure that has something to do with this glitch, but even so
I still don't have the slightest idea why it works the way it does. But the point is, it
DOES work.
C. Quick-charge Speed (met.exploit.quick)
Source: ???
You Need: Speed Booster
Explanation: This glitch reduces the amount of room you need to charge up to full speed.
Where to do it: You can put this glitch to work for you anywhere you can run full speed.
How to do it: Instead of holding [dash] when you start walking, take a step or two first and
THEN hold [dash]. Samus will charge up quicker than normal.
Why it's useful: Certainly, anywhere you can gain invincible speed mode a second or so early
everywhere on Zebes is beneficial. But there are a few places where this move is critical.
For one, it's a real easy way to trigger the Universal Graphic Glitch (met.graphic.uni).
For another, you can use it to build up speed jumps in places they'd otherwise be impossible.
The series of pillars just outside the Wrecked Ship, for example, usually takes about a
minute of low-angled jumps or grapping to get across. Use this glitch, and you can pass it
in seconds.
Why it works: I'm not exactly sure. My best guess is that if Samus is already in motion
when she starts dashing, the game is tricked into thinking she's already started running.
Of course, since it's the same distance, this wouldn't explain it. The simple fact is that
it DOES work, regardless of how, so feel free to abuse it.
D. Blue Suit Glitch (met.exploit.bluesuit)
Source: GameFAQs Super Metroid Forum (michaelangelo)
You Need: Speed Booster
Explanation: Samus gains the all the benefits of running at full speed, even if she's standing
still.
Where to do it: The only place to trigger this glitch is while fighting Draygon.
How to do it: The key is to kill Draygon with a speed jump. If you let some of his grey
gunk grab you on one end of the screen, and run to the other side, you'll have just barely
enough room to charge a speed jump. Speed jumping into Draygon does damage him - killing
him with it triggers the glitch. Thus, the easiest way is to fight him normally until he's
low on HP (you can tell because his belly will be red), then slam him and end the fight. If
you're good, you can kill him with the Grappling Beam and let go just before he dies, but
I usually overshoot it. Once you're in Blue Suit mode, there are only a few ways you can lose
it: pressing [dash] (that's right, you have to walk everywhere), getting caught in quicksand,
(although you can walk over it harmlessly, don't stop in the stuff!), speed jumping, or
shutting off the game. Other than that... the earlier you get to Draygon, the earlier you
can enjoy the imperfect invinicibility!
Why it's useful: Killing enemies by walking through them, getting the effects of the Screw
Attack without actually having it, break most blocks just by touching them, being totally
immune to pretty much anything Ridley or Motherbrain can throw at you (except Ridley's tail
and the Brain's mind laser, naturally), and, perhaps best of all, being able to speed jump
virtually anywhere. That's right - duck while in Blue Suit mode and Samus will be charged for
a speed jump. This isn't very useful except to trigger other glitches, but to Metroid
junkies like me it's VERY cool.
Why it works: The split second Draygon dies, Samus is re-set to "standing" mode. This is
because Draygon's got a secondary (and fairly cool) method of dying - that is, being
electrocuted via the Grappling Beam. Killing Draygon with this method, you'll notice Samus
lets go of the canon node in the wall and falls to the ground just as the crayfish is dying.
This game tells Samus to stand still, but it does NOT act to negate her speeding abilities.
Thus, from that point on, the game thinks she's running at full speed, no matter what she's
doing.
E. Free Shot (met.exploit.free)
Source: ???
You Need: Power Bombs
Explanation: Take a free shot at Ridley before he's ready to fight.
Where to do it: While fighting Ridley, naturally.
How to do it: As soon as you land on the platform Ridley's perched on (even though you can't
see him) you can lay a Power Bomb to get some free damage.
Why it's useful: Anything you can do to shorten the fight with Ridley is beneficial...
especially if you're trying to finish the game at low percent.
Why it works: This is my best speculation. Initially, Ridley's sprite is totally black
(in other words, invisible; refer to met.graphic.peek) and insubstantial. This means anything
require collision detection (shooting him, running into him, and somesuch) is ineffective.
The Power Bomb, however, damages everything in the blast radius. So even sprites that
you can't hit normally are damaged (including certain breakable blocks). Thus, Ridley can't
hurt you until he comes into view, but you can take a pot shot at him anyway! Neener neener!
F. Reset the Game (met.exploit.reset)
Source: GameFAQs Super Metroid Forum (michaelangelo)
You Need: Spazer, Plasma Beam, Ice Beam, Speed Booster
Explanation: Wish you could get all the items again and beat down the bosses with all your
new toys? Well... you can. Get ready for the coolest glitch in the game...
Where to do it: The best place to do this just on the other side of the orange door at the
bottom of the shaft in Crateria - you know the one, the Old Tourian escape shaft. It can be
done in other places, but this one's the best because it almost always works, and you'll know
immediately whether or not you did it right.
How to do it: The first thing you have to do is equip the Plasma Beam and the Spazer at the
same time. Equip the Spazer (thus unequipping the Plasma Beam), then highlight the Speed
Booster. Pressing [confirm] just as you move left will do one of three things: if you pressed
[confirm] too early, you'll unequip the Speed Booster. Try again. If you pressed [confirm]
too late, you'll equip the Plasma Beam (thus unequipping the Spazer). Re-equip the Spazer
and try again. If you pressed them both simultaineously, you'll equip the Plasma Beam
WITHOUT unequipping the Spazer. (The letters "Var" will appear next to the Plasma, if you
did it right; see "Why it works" for why.) Now unequip the Wave Beam, if you have it.
Go back to the game, in the shaft I described above. From point blank range, shoot the
door. You'll see this weird black explosion thing where the beam collides with the door, but
it will open. Now turn around and fire again. This will create a lot of weird graphical
glitches, and cause the game to start running in super slow motion, but you should be able to
walk back through the opened door back into the escape shaft. If you walk into a mist filled
room and the door closes orange behind you, you're done! Set your beams back to normal (refer
to met.deadly.spazer for why), and go off collecting all the items again! Blow away Kraid and
Spore Spawn and even the Torizo with your Plasma Beam!
Why it's useful: Except for curiosity's sake, it's not, really. However, it does let you
get as many Energy Tanks and Super Missiles and Power Bombs as you want, and that certainly
makes your life easier!
Why it works: Refer to met.spazplas for a more detailed analysis of this glitch.
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VI. Deadly Glitches (met.deadly)
----------------------------------
Some glitches are just downright deadly, insomuch as they freeze the game or glitch it beyond
repair. Thankfully, there are very few of these glitches in Super Metroid, and the ones that
exist are almost impossible to trigger accidentially. Like I said, Super Metroid is a fairly
rock solid game. Fortunately, these glitches won't do anything to damage your saved data,
so feel free to freeze the game to your heart's content!
A. Yapping Maw Freeze (met.deadly.yap)
Source: GameFAQs Super Metroid Forum (Kejardon)
You Need: Speed Booster, Power Bombs
Explanation: Yapping Maws and speed jumping simply don't mix.
Where to do it: The easiest place to trigger this glitch is in the room with the nasty spikes,
Yapping Maws, and hopping baddies in the room that hides the Power Bombs, just underneath
the rightmost Brinstar<=>Crateria elevator.
How to do it: The idea here is to do a diagnol speed jump, and let a Yapping Maw grab you in
the process. This is actually easier than it sounds. First, clear out the big hopping
bad guys, to make your life easier. Now roll to the right side of the room (by the door) and
lay a Power Bomb. Before the bomb explodes, do a short-charge speed run (met.exploit.quick)
to the left, and charge a speed jump. Now spin-jump right onto the spikes, in between the
Yapping Maws. With any luck, the one on the left will start to grab at you; if so, do a
diagnol speed jump (hold [aim up] when you press [jump]) to the left. The Yapper will hold
onto you for a while in the middle of Samus' speed jump, and when it finally lets go the game
will freeze up once she comes in contact with the roof.
Why it works: I don't even have a speculation on why this particular glitch functions.
B. Spazer/Plasma Freeze (met.deadly.spazer)
Source: GameFAQs Super Metroid Forum (michaelangelo)
You Need: Spazer, Plasma Beam, Wave Beam, Speed Booster
Explanation: Apparently, Samus weilds a power so great that it cannot exist in a functioning
game.
Where to do it: Anywhere, as long as you posess those three beams.
How to do it: It's possible to equip the Spazer and Plasma simultaneously. On the subscreen,
unequip the Plasma Beam and equip the Spazer instead. Now highlight the Speed Booster and
press left and [confirm] at the same time. If you press [confirm] too early, you'll unequip
the Speed Booster... if you press [confirm] too late you'll equip the Plasma Beam. If you
do it just right, you'll equip both beams at the same time, and the letters "Var" will appear
next to the Plasma Beam. Keep your Wave Beam equip, then unpause the game and fire.
Congrats! You're frozen up.
Why it works: When combined, the Wave Beam, Plasma Beam, and Spazer are so powerful, they
cause the circuits inside the game to spark and fry. Or something. But if the Wave Beam
is unequipped, and you're in the right room, you'll trigger the Reset the Game glitch instead.
Refer to met.exploit.reset for information on that, or better yet, met.spazplas for a more
detailed analysis on the whole shebang.
C. Hyper Beam Freeze (met.deadly.hyper)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You Need: Nothing special
Explanation: Once again, Samus freezes the game by abusing her beams.
Where to do it: In the fight with Motherbrain; specifically after you've done the Giant
Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant).
How to do it: First, follow the directions in the Giant Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant)
to gain control of Samus with the giant Metroid stuck to her. Let Motherbrain kill the
Metroid, and start firing like mad as it's getting killed. The goal is to try and get your
equipped beam to be onscreen at the same time as the Hyper Beam. If you do, the game will
lock up.
Why it works: My best guess is that the Hyper Beam doesn't like competition.
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VIII. Bogus Glitches (met.bogus)
----------------------------------
Some reported glitches online simply aren't true. They've been attempted ad naseum on all
different versions of the game, by many different people, and just don't function the way they
were reported. Hopefully this section will put some of those to rest.
A. The Green Chozo (met.bogus.green)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You Need: Speed Booster, Spring Ball
Disproven By: ???
Explanation: Legend has it that a green Chozo statue lives offscreen of Crocomire's room.
Where to do it, supposedly: Crocomire's room, once you've dealt with its original occupant.
How to do it, supposedly: This glitch requires the Speedball (met.exploit.speedball), so
practice it (or don't, because this glitch is fake). Get a running start and pull off a
Speedball (you're supposed to start the jump at the third plant from the right), only
hold [jump] instead of just tapping it. You'll bounce in the lava and hit the top block in
the wall next to where the Energy Tank was (assuming you've got it already). You're then
supposed to break through that block and land near a green Chozo statue, after which the
game freezes.
Why it doesn't work: First off, the reason you're bouncing isn't because of the Speedball;
it's because you have the Spring Ball equipped. Holding [jump] always makes you bounce
while you're morphed with the Spring Ball on. Secondly, this simply doesn't work. It's been
tried hundreds of times by now, certainly, on all different versions of the game. If you
really want to convince yourself, trigger the Blue Suit Glitch first (met.exploit.bluesuit),
go to Crocomire's room, and Spring Ball your way through tbe block. The block simply doesn't
open. Even if you were able to somehow open that wall and get into another room, the room
just to the right of the Energy Tank space is a Save Point; not a Chozo statue.
B. The Ultimate Glitch (met.bogus.ultimate)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You Need: Speed Booster
Disproven By: ???
Explanation: A faulty Missile Pack supposedly will cause everything in the game to reset.
Where to do it, supposedly: The Missile Pack on that pillar over the lake, right next to
the entrance to the Wrecked Ship. The Missile Pack HAS to be there.
How to do it, supposedly: The idea is to do a mid-air speed jump through the Missile Pack
without collecting it (this can be done from the room to the left, and is the only reliable
way into the Wrecked Ship without the Grappling Beam). According to legend, if you clip
the Missile Pack en route by the top few pixels (where it's narrower) Samus will pass through
it without collecting it, resetting all the items, bosses, and everything else.
Why it doesn't work: Well, actually, it does - this just isn't the way to do it. Refer to
met.exploit.reset for the real way to reset all the goodies. But if you still need
convincing, consider this: no part of the Missile Pack is narrower than any other part. Oh,
it certainly looks that way, but trust me; it's perfectly square. It's filled up with
transparent pixels so you can see through parts of it (like the area around the rounded
edges). Touching any part of the Missile Pack, even the top corner areas you can't see,
will cause Samus to collect it... proving this glitch is totally bogus.
C. Escape With the Metroid (met.bogus.escape)
Source: Metroid Database (Mike Z.)
You Need: Varia, Space Jump, Screw Attack
Disproven By: Kejardon
Explanation: Use of the Giant Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant) allows you to escape
Zebes with the Giant Metroid in tow!
Where to do it, supposedly: The battle with Motherbrain.
How to do it, supposedly: First, trigger the Giant Metroid Glitch (met.useless.giant). Once
you've got control, you can Screw Attack Motherbrain to death. It takes a long time, but
eventually she'll die, allowing you to escape the planet with the Metroid still stuck on
Samus.
Why it doesn't work: Oh, you CAN damage Motherbrain with the Giant Metroid stuck to you -
in fact, you can damage her with two things. The Screw Attack works fine, as does a charged
up beam from point blank range. The problem is that neither of these methods will kill her.
See, you're still in the middle of a scripted battle. That is, Motherbrain's HP remains
fixed until the Metroid dies and you get the Hyper Beam. So while you can certainly damage
her (in fact, you can get her to bright bright red) in this state, there's no way you can
kill her. Nor can she kill you. At best, this battle is a stalemate until you throw in the
towl and let the Metroid complete its sacrifice.
D. Warfair (met.bogus.warfair)
Source: ???
You Need: Bombs
Disproven By: Common sense
Explanation: Nintendo put a really well hidden area into the game that will let you beat
the game in under thirty minutes!
Where to do it: The statue chamber in Crateria, just above the elevator leading to Tourian.
How to do it, supposedly: Okay, so if this were true it wouldn't count as a glitch. But it's
so false and laughably bogus I just had to include it. Supposedly, if you were to lay a bomb
exactly in the "crystal" eyes of the boss statues in the room above the Tourian elevator,
a secret door would open in the wall to the right. This would lead to an area called Warfair,
where there's a bunch of goodies to be had.
Why it doesn't work: This sort of thing would have to be an intentional inclusion by the
guys at Nintendo, and can be disproven in several ways. First off, there are exactly 100
items in the game. Anything in Warfair would go above that total, pushing the game to over
100%. I'm aware that there are some games that do that, but not Super Metroid. For another,
there's no room for Warfair to exist. I've spliced together all the maps of all the areas,
and there are exactly four screens worth of "empty" space to the right of the statue chamber.
If Warfair existed, it'd be about the size of two of Ridley's rooms, and would be sandwiched
in between the elevator to Tourian and the old escape shaft. Finally, just to humor the rumor
itself, I painstakingly laid bombs over all four of the crystal eyes. Guess what? No secret
door.
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IX. Oddities (met.odd)
------------------------
What follows are intentional inclusions in the game on the part of the developers - but it's
anyone's guess as to why they were included. These are some of the various oddities about
Super Metroid... questions we'll be pondering until the end of time.
A. Harmless Geemer (met.odd.geemer)
On your way to the Gravity Suit, you pass through a small corridor made up of green metal
planks. You can see this corridor from both above and below, but the only way into it is from
the doors on either end. When you're inside, you'll notice a strange geemer crawling around
overhead. Unlike normal geemers, this one doesn't follow the contour of the land. Instead,
he crawls to Samus' location and stays there. He follows your every move, back and forth.
You can blast him if you have the Wave Beam (or a Power Bomb), but there's no way to pick up
any goodies he leaves behind, nor is there any way he can harm you. He's not there if you
visit the corridor from above, nor can you see him if you Space Jump up from below. He's
like a dangling carrot. What secrets does this geemer hold...?
B. Unpowered Spikes (met.odd.spikes)
In the Wrecked Ship, there's a corridor you can bomb into from the left of the first main
shaft that's coated in spikes. If you visit this room before killing Phantoon, and the power
is off, the spikes are totally harmless. The same phenominon occurs if you visit the
"wrong" side of the Wrecked Ship early (met.useless.wrecked). Now, the falling sparks and
the enemies and the Map Data room I can understand... by why are the spikes only harmful
when there's an electrical current? Spikes everywhere else on Zebes are harmful regardless.
On that note, shouldn't Samus' metal boots protect her from spikes anyway?
C. Misplaced Water (met.odd.water)
In the area where you find the Grappling Beam in Norfair, there are a couple relatively
harmless rooms in which you have to grapple over water. These rooms were obviously designed
to give the player a feel for the Grappler, but... water? Norfair is supposed to be the
planet's core, right? In fact, at the same elevation as the watery areas, a ways off to the
right, are the boiling acid lakes of Lower Norfair. It seems much more feasible for these
areas to be just regular lava - now THAT would be some REAL incentive for the player to get
good with the Grapple... and quick!
D. Crocomire vs. Power Bomb (met.odd.crocbomb)
Power Bombs are relatively worthless in boss fights... the only one they harm is Ridley,
and even then they're pretty tough to pull off. Most everyone else just kind of ignores
them, even that puny wuss Kraid. Try laying a Power Bomb while fighting Crocomire, however,
and he gets PISSED. In fact, he actually starts rushing TOWARDS you and, if you lay too
many, he'll pin you up against the spiked wall with minimal hope of escaping. Geez,
Crocomire... don't take it so personally!
E. Picky Chozo (met.odd.chozo)
I mentioned earlier that it's possible to get into Lower Norfair without the Space Jump
(met.exploit.grav). However, if you do so it'll be absolutely impossible to collect the
Screw Attack. See, to get there you have to make a room full of acid drain out. The switch
to the drain is a Chozo off to the left, much like the one who walks you across the spikes
to the Gravity Suit. However, the Chozo won't help you if you don't have the Space Jump -
not even if you ask politely. And it's not possible to just tough it out in the acid, either,
since there really is a block down there plugging up the drain.
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X. The Spazer/Plasma Glitch (met.spazplas)
--------------------------------------------
The downright coolest glitch in all of Super Metroid is one I've touched on before
(met.exploit.reset and met.deadly.spazer). However, there's a lot more to it than I've already
stated. In fact, there's so much to it that I simply had to give it its own section. So here
we go, ready to explore all the finer points of the infamous Spazer/Plasma Glitch.
A. Activating the Glitch (met.spazplas.activate)
To activate the glitch, you need the Plasma Beam, the Spazer, and the Ice Beam, at least.
The basic idea is to equip your Plasma and Spazer at the same time, and then fire the beam to
glitch the game. You must fire the beam at point-blank range (against a wall, a door, or
some other solid object), or else the game will freeze up and you're out of luck. For this
reason, you must have the Wave Beam unequipped (so your beam won't travel through anything
solid).
In order to reset everything, you'll have to fire the beam out in the open. This is not
possible in every room, because firing the glitched beam freezes the game in certain areas.
As a general rule, a room has to be 25 screens large to be big enough in which to exploit the
glitch. When considering room size, imagine each room being rectangular in size, including
both the visitable space and empty space within the rectangle. As an example, imagine a room
like this:
|¯¯¯¯¯¯| This room is three screens long by four screens tall. So while there are only six
¯¯¯¯| | screens you can visit in this room, it counts as 12 total screens for the sake of
| | this glitch. This remains true even if there are other rooms that would fill the
| | empty space.
¯
Now, using the method listed above, the top 24 screens of the room will fill with garbage,
cause your game to crash, and give you a list of side-effects a mile long. This basically
means you have to be standing in the 25th screen of a room for the glitch to work
correctly. Count from the top and left, including all empty space. Also, keep in mind that
if the 25th screen is along the very bottom of the room, the top of your screen will
likely be glitched as well, meaning any doors in the ceiling will be worthless. For some
reason, the outdoor areas in Crateria do NOT function correctly; the game will simply lock
up if you try to do it there.
So if you're just looking to go back in time, try the bottom of the shaft parallel to the old
Zebes escape shaft (in Crateria), the huge pink room in Brinstar, the bottom of the main shaft
of the Wrecked Ship, and above entrance to Crocomire's room in Norfair.
There is also a way to delay the activation of the glitch, if need be. Fire the glitchy beam
at point blank range with a wall or door, and then turn around BEFORE you hear the beam
sound effect. In other words, you're going to have to press the opposite direction that
Samus is facing immediately after pressing [fire]. Now to trigger the glitch entirely,
fire a Super Missile. This has a tendancy to freeze the game more often, but it also allows
you to trigger the glitch in more areas. Instead of needing to be in the 25th screen, as
stated above, this method of activating the glitch only consumes 17 screens in a room. Thus,
you can use the glitch in more areas and in smaller rooms.
[...to be completed]
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XI. Credits/Feedback (met.cred)
-------------------------------
Until I get this section totally completed, feel free to direct all comments, questions, and
contributions to me at
[email protected] or, better still, visit the GameFAQs Super
Metroid message board.
[...to be completed]
