__.-'_'-.__          SSS  U   U  PPPP  EEEE  RRRR      __.-'_'-.__
/  _/___\_  \        S     U   U  P  P  E     R  R     /  _/___\_  \
( / \___ / \  )        S    U   U  PPPP  EEE   R R     ( / \___ / \  )
\\_/    \_/ /          S   U   U  P     E     RR       \\_/    \_/ /
,'_-------_',          S   U   U  P     EEEE  R R      ,'_-------_',
( / \_/_\_/ \ )      SSS     UUU   P           R  R    ( / \_/_\_/ \ )
\|         |/                                          \|         |/

              M   M  EEEE  TTTTT  RRRR  OOOOO  IIIII  DD
              MM MM  E       T    R  R  O   O    I    D D
              M M M  EEE     T    R R   O   O    I    D  D
              M   M  E       T    RR    O   O    I    D  D
              M   M  EEEE    T    R R   O   O    I    D D
              M   M          T    R  R  OOOOO  IIIII  DD

No Boss Mini Boss (NBMB) Run Guide

By Cloud Strife J (John Reeske)

Dedicated to Ashleigh Roach, may you Rest in Peace. Amen.

Email: [email protected]

Version 1.081 07-11-2005

Table of Contents:

1. Revision History
2. Overview/Rules of the No Boss Mini Boss Run (NBMB for short)
3. Moves/Tricks you should know to complete the NBMB run
4. A brief History of the NBMB Run
5. The NBMB Guide
       0.     The Space Colony (0%)
       I.     The Landing at Planet Zebes (0%)
      II.     First Brinstar Run (4%)
     III.     The Depths of Brinstar (12%)
      IV.     A Quick Visit in Norfair (13%)
       V.     Back to the Brinstar Depths (16%)
      VI.     Back to Crateria (19%)
     VII.     Brinstar Jungles and Old Brinstar Revisited (23%)
    VIII.     The First Upper Norfair Run (33%)
      IX.     Brinstar/Crateria Cleanup (38%)
       X.     Upper Norfair Cleanup (49%)
      XI.     Maridia (56%)
     XII.     Lower Norfair (66%)
    XIII.     Crocomire (73%)
     XIV.     Kraid's Energy Tank (77%)
      XV.     Wrecked Ship Revisited (78%)
     XVI.     The Plasma Beam? (80%)
    XVII.     Future Use (81%)

6. Alternate Paths (and challenges)
7. Rumors for the NBMB Run
8. Legal Info
9. References/Special Thanks


1. Revision History

Version 1.081 (7-11-2005)
There has been a lot done in Super Metroid since I have been gone for a while.
I've been playing Diablo 2 and had gotten rank #1 on the USWest Ladder as
Tifas-Revenge. For those interested in viewing my accomplishment, go to
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/ and scroll down the news a little bit.
Kejardon and Illy have discovered multiple other glitchs to get items past
bosses without killing them, such as Crocomire and Kraid. The new Maximum
percentage is now set at 81%. 4 Items are past Crocomire, 2 Items in the
Wrecked Ship, Kraid's Energy Tank makes 80%, and the Plasma beam makes
81% total (8 new items). Updated all broken links to working links,
credits all noted.

Version 1.073 r4 (1-26-2004)
The bomb jump is now completely optional, since Shining Toaster has found a
way to escape the Lower Norfair Screw Attack shaft using the wall jump. It
is much easier, in my Opinion, to do it though with bombs, although if you
can screw attack through the top wall and get out, you'll be able to save
some more time and powerbombs.

Version 1.073 r3 (12-30-2003)
Happy New Year Folks. I went away for quite some time only doing very minor
updates to the FAQ here and there, and now I come back to find out that the
NBMB has been done on the console, up to 72%. Special Thanks to AgriasOaks
for mailing in his video to be converted to MP4 Format, so now everyone can
see that the NBMB is doable on the console, and you don't need emulation to
do it. As for Powerbomb #66, that only remains to be recorded on the console
now, but AgriasOaks came so close to getting it. Shining Toaster has done 73%
on the console, and has gotten PB #66 on ZMV, so I trust his word that he also
got it done on the console as well. New Websites added mainly, and older ones
updated, and credits noted. 01/04/2004 Update: Shining Toaster's NBMB is
now avalible on ZMV.

Version 1.073 r2 (11-23-2003)
Okay, well Thanksgiving is coming soon, and I'm pretty wiped out, but I still
have 3 more weeks to go till finals. Thanks to AgriasOaks, an alternate method
of climbing Mount Death has been discovered using 2 crabs, noted aside in the
Maridia Section under "Climbing Mount Death." Also, check back here sometime
soon, as he also recorded gameplay of the NBMB being done on the Console with
a video tape recorder, and will have some movies up soon to view hopefully.
Also added a final list of items at the end of the guide for 73%, and added the
Craterian Gauntlet to the Alternate Paths and challenges section.

Version 1.073 r1 (11-14-2003)
Fixed some errors and added in a few suggestions by Boct1584 as aside notes,
for skipping ahead to Lower Norfair at 62%. See also Section 6: Alternate
Paths and Challenges for details.

Version 1.073 (11-12-2003)
Now, thanks to Ultima4701, the Lower Norfair run of the NBMB up to 73%
has been done and confirmed with my own eyes. Since I am more of a visual
learner and much more of an Amateur at Super Metroid than a total 1337
like Ultima, this FAQ might not have been completed for a very long time
had he not updated his NBMB to 73%, unless I was to try it myself without
savestates and have a lot more time and patience and not be going to
college and playing tons of video games instead, but that's beside the
point. Many thanks go out to Ultima for his superb efforts at recording
the first completed 73% NBMB run.

Just a personal note: I had a friend die in the wildfires that were raging
along Southern California two weeks ago, so that is why the big delay for
those of you who haven't seen my post on the message board. Ashleigh Roach,
I dedicate this revision of my FAQ to you, and to whomever else is reading
this who has lost friends or loved ones in the fires in Southern California.

Version 0.9991 (10-21-2003) 6:40pm
Argh! You people are really putting the pressure on me. I dedicated my
whole day pretty much to fixing up this FAQ and noting credits properly
and editing minute details. Major changes done everywhere. There goes my
midterm scores and homework... ::sigh:: As much as I would like to call
this version 1.0, I haven't finished Lower Norfair yet, so version 1.0
won't be done at least until either: A. ZMVs are posted on Ultima's
awesome website containing the NBMB to 73%, or B. I have enough patience
and time to go through with it myself this Winter after college. If you
don't like my FAQ and think you can do better, make one of your own.
Otherwise, insulting me or my work will get you nowhere and me just
completely angry, and I don't need any of it, thank you. I'd be more
than happy to take suggestions from anyone via email, but hate email and
insults/trolling on the Super Metroid Board is not going to get me to
make this FAQ any better.

Version 0.999 (10-21-2003) 1:00am
Revised the Lower Norfair Sections a little and Added the History
of the NBMB thanks to Account of Posting for filling me in the blanks.
Lower Norfair Section is now arbitrarily complete to 69% items.

Version 0.991 (10-12-2003)
Minor updates to the legal section and names of Credits corrected.
Also added percentages to the Table of Contents and to each section
title in the run. Also added a tip on Power Bomb #66 thanks to Pai,
and added a 13th section past Lower Norfair for future use. Also added
in Account of Posting's challenge for Lower Norfair items at 65%.

Version 0.99 (10-5-2003)
MAJOR Revisions done to the Lower Norfair Section, special thanks
to MathonNapkins for the trick with the green one-way doors! Also
added in a rumors section, for future use on GameFAQs. Thanks to
Ultima4701 and Account of Posting, I did some minor revisions to the
overview section of this FAQ, and other places as well. NOTE: This will
be the last revision for a while since I am now at college at UCSC
studying Math, so don't expect any frequent updates unless someone
discovers anything new none of us had thought about.

Version 0.985 (9-11-2003)
Added a cool-looking Metroid (Special Thanks to Wheres my account)
and did some art for the title page. No updates to the actual FAQ yet.

Version 0.98 (9-7-2003)
Started on the Lower Norfair section, done up to 68%. Other minor
errors and touch-ups in Maridia also fixed as well as some grammatical
and spelling errors.

Version 0.971 (8-27-2003)
Fixed some sections in Maridia that were slightly misleading, and
a few other minor touches here and there in the FAQ.

Version 0.97 (8-25-2003)
Added the Alternate Paths Section.

Version 0.9667 (8-23-2003)
Fixed some minor bugs and glitches in the margins due to Word 2000
formatting. Also added Revision dates and the current date in the
title.

Version 0.9666 (8-20-2003)
First Version, 6 sections to this guide added to start off with.
This NBMB Run Guide currently covers up to Maridia and 66%.

2. Overview/Rules

The whole idea of this challenge is to see how many items in Super
Metroid you can obtain WITHOUT fighting any bosses or mini-bosses
(except for the bomb torizo and Ridley in the Space Colony of Ceres).
This idea was originally Founded by Brickroad, so give him the credit
for making this run possible, I'm just writing about it. For those of you
that have not played this game at all, I suggest completing at least a
100% run or 100% speed run of the game first before you attempt this run
for a new challenge, check the other FAQs for more information. There are
many different paths you can take in a NBMB run, and some are easy, while
others are more challenging. This FAQ is going to concentrate on the
easiest path to as far as I have gotten in the NBMB run (62% as of now),
as well as a few others that I have seen. NOTE: This run is NOT (I repeat
NOT) intended for you to complete the game at all, it is just a challenge
to see how many items you can get without fighting any bosses or mini-bosses
(except the Torizo and Ridley in Ceres), therefore I highly recommend you
play through the game first and do a 100% speed run to do some of the tricks
and know where the rooms and items are. The current highest percentage
reported (originally by Account of Posting, Ultima and MathonNapkins)
in a NBMB run known is 73% of all items possible collected as of this FAQ's
date. Also, please note that this challenge is for users of the NTSC (USA or
Japan) Version of Super Metroid, since in the PAL (Europe) Version it is
much easier to do, and the physics engine is slightly different.

To view a site with movies of examples of NBMB runs as well
as many other movies and good stuff about Super Metroid, visit:

http://www.elazulspad.net/ultima/index.php
(Special thanks to Ultima for hosting his site full of ZMVs)

http://www.samus.co.uk/super_metroid/speed_runs.shtml
(Special Thanks to Andrew Mills, for hosting Speed Runs Availible in
DivX Format.)

http://www.geocities.com/smokeysmr/
(Special thanks to Smokey for these ZMVs, this is just his FTP site)

http://www.metroid2002.com/3/
(Special Thanks to Nate, and everyone who developed and
converted AgriasOaks' videos into MP4 Format, no emulators or
ROMs needed now to view 72% of the 73% possible, but you need
quicktime and a fast broadband connection; they are 400MB in
size. Click on Speed Runs)

http://illyilly.com/metroid3.zmv
http://illyilly.com/metroid3.zm1
http://illyilly.com/metroid3.zm8
http://illyilly.com/metroid3.zm9
(Special Thanks to Illy for hosting some ZMVs of the new glitch
discovered on how to get into the Secret Worlds to get beyond the
boundaries of the memory of the game. He gets both Kraid's Energy
Tank past the metal door and Crocomire's Items past the spikes.)

http://www.metroid2002.com/kejardon/OORTravel/FAQ.html
(Special Thanks to Kejardon for providing a very technical detailed
guide on how the Out of Room Travelling works with the new X-Ray
Jump Glitch)

3. Moves/Tricks you should know for the NBMB run
(Please refer to mrFergo's Move List FAQ and/or Brickroad's Glitch FAQ
for more details on how they are performed)

I. The Wall Jump- You definitely need to master this move if you want to
do pretty much anything in a NBMB run, such as climbing up the Shaft in
the Brinstar Depths. Some parts of the NBMB run can be very tricky and
require you to use the wall jump in creative ways, especially once you
get into Maridia much later in the run without the gravity suit.

II. The Mock Ball- Without this move, a NBMB would be pretty
boring/impossible since you need to use it to get the super missiles
without fighting the spore spawn in Brinstar. It's tricky to perform,
but after a few tries, you can get past the first gates in Brinstar and
roll across the crumbling bridge to get a few items on the other side.

III. The Multiple/Double Bomb jump- this move is optional if you want to
take some harder or more challenging paths to the NBMB run, but it does
help you get into the Craterian Gauntlet early, so I highly recommend
it. Personally, I haven't mastered it yet going into areas past the
Craterian Gauntlet, but other people have. You can climb any height with
this move, which propels Samus into the air higher and higher.

IV. The Shine spark/Super Jump/Speed Warp (in all directions)- Once you
get the speed booster, you can get to some other areas where there are
Speed Blocks that you need to break in order to get some items. One area
is just below the charge beam in Brinstar. Of course, you don't need
this move per say, if you are a master bomb jumper and can pull off the
horizontal bomb jump or diagonal bomb jump, but those are way beyond me
for purposes of this FAQ.

V. The Crystal Flash- You need this move to survive a lot of heated
rooms in Norfair, as well as to get a super missile pack in Brinstar
which you would normally get after fighting the Spore Spawn. You can get
the "first" super missiles if you use the crystal flash while inside the
opening where you come out after fighting Spore Spawn. Also, in Lower
Norfair, you'll definately need to learn to use it, because you'll be
in a very hot place.

VI. Quick-Charge Speed Boost- This is useful if you want to get into the
wrecked ship easier in a NBMB run, since there is limited room to do a
shine spark in the previous rooms, unless you have mastered the
horizontal/diagonal bomb jumps to go over the "moat."

VII. The Midair/Mid-water Morph- You'll need to know how to do this in
order to get up into some areas to collect some harder items. As you
jump up in the air, hit down twice to morph; it's simple, but can be
tricky in the harder areas, especially when you have to do it while
wall jumping and getting power bomb #66 in Maridia.

VIII. Save States (If you are playing Super Metroid using an emulator)
These are often very good if you get impatient or end up dying and
trying to do things over again. I don't think anyone has gotten past 65%
without these yet, but I am sure it can be done, since getting the last
evil power bomb #66 in Maridia just takes time. Note that using savestates
is cheating cause if you want to get everything legitmately, at least up to
66%, I would suggest you not use savestates at all to fully enjoy this
challenge, or play on the console like AgriasOaks did up to 72%.

IX. The green one-way door trick
This Trick allows you to get the Screw Attack in Lower Norfair, and it
was just recently discovered by MathOnNapkins (Thanks!) You must have the
speed booster and then shoot a super missile from the wrong side of the
one-way green gate while speeding. I don't know why this works specifically,
but it can only be done from the right side of such gates, like the one
underwater in Maridia, or the one in Lower Norfair which you pass through
after obtaining the screw attack after fighting the golden torizo in a
normal game.

X. The "X-ray Metroid 1 Wall Jump"
This new trick discovered by Illy allows more items to be gotten past
certain boundaries, such as metal doors. I don't know exactly how it is
done, but Kejardon gives a good description of this move on the GameFAQs
board as quoted here on (5/26/05):

"In fact, there is almost a way to make it *exactly* like Metroid I's wall
jump. If you try to wall jump off an open door, you will trigger the room
transition, and if you position it right, get stuck inside the door when
it closes. Turn around so you're facing away from the door, then morph
into a ball and do a crystal flash. Switch to x-ray scope and hold forward
and run, and when the crystal flash ends Samus will x-ray, *not* force-crouch
as would be expected (and which disables use of x-ray scope). And then from
here, you can crouch and x-ray scope up as high as the wall goes. Get off at
any point, or go straight through the top of the room, your choice.
For some reason, that only works when you wall jump off a door facing left,
and land in a door facing right. If you try and wall jump off a door facing
right and land in a door facing left, you'll be able to crystal flash still,
but the door will open when the crystal flash starts. >_>

There are also other ways of getting slightly inside walls, such as freezing
nest enemies a few pixels inside walls then running into the wall at
a high speed."

Visit this Link to know more:
http://www.metroid2002.com/kejardon/OORTravel/FAQ.html

XI. A lot of Patience and time! - Yes! In order to do a NBMB run,
especially if you are performing this run on the console, you need a lot
of patience and time in order to get all of the items, as this can be
one of the toughest Super Metroid challenges out there, and to this
date, only a few people have gotten all items and lived to talk about
it. (81 Items Total are collected out of the possible 100 in the game
in a NBMB run)


4. A Brief History of the NBMB Run

Brickroad19 First had the idea about skipping Spore Spawn back in Nov/Dec 2001.
He posted in the Super Metroid Thread in GameFAQs about how someone had used
the mockball trick to make the whole run possible, by Skipping Spore Spawn
for the Super Missile. Thus, he founded the NBMB Run and made writing this FAQ
possible, so give him credit. Account of Posting then started to climb the
mountain of Death about a week or so later to get 62% of all items (in
Maridia), and he made the challenge to "collect as many items as you can
without killing any bosses or minibosses other than the Torizo" Since back
then the run wasn't thought of possible to go past Maridia. Later in early
2002, Account of Posting then came up with the idea to steal the super missiles
in Bristar using the Crystal Flash trick behind spore spawn, which upped it to
63% of the known 66% back then. In the summer of that year, Mount Death was
named it's true name, when Account of Posting then got the items in the left
cove, making a new record of 65% obtainable out of 66%, and s1ometime later
that year, evil power bomb #66 was also confirmed obtainable as well within the
game's engine limits. Around the time that I was joined as a registered user as
Cloud Strife J on GameFAQs, Ultima4701 started officially naming the run:
NBMB, for No-Boss, Mini Boss run, which was in the spring of this year,
2003. This past summer, Kejardon found a way to get the evil power bomb with
savestates and a keyboard, without slowdowns. When the way into Lower Norfair
was discovered with walljumping at the end of this summer by the whole team,
the NBMB had reached a new limit: 72%. This trick also allows people to
complete the game without the gravity suit. I started this FAQ around that
time completing up to 66% of the 72% known items. Just recently, MathonNapkins
has pushed the NBMB percent to a new high, 73%, with the screw attack included
this past September, but with my Internet connection not working right,
I didn't publish his findings in my FAQs until the start of October. As of
right now, the NBMB known percentage stands at 73%, and Ultima released a
video of his footage collecting all 73 items without using savestates.
AgriasOaks just sent in his video to be developed into MP4 format showing that
the NBMB can be done up to 72% on the console, with the only item missing that
evil powerbomb #66, it just goes to show you how things can be done that may
seem impossible to do. Shining Toaster now has ZMVs full of the NBMB and some
other things, hosted on Andrew Mill's Site, and now has shown that the NBMB
can be done without the use of bomb jumping. Just recently (June 2005), Illy
has discovered a new glitch which opens up 8 more items by use of the X-ray
scope and a trick to wall-jumping similiarly done in Metroid 1 to find secret
areas. However, the usefulness of this glitch makes transitioning to a room
beyond Metal barriers, thus the NBMB % now stands at 80% (81% if you include
the Plasma Beam which hasn't bene done yet). Credit goes to Kejardon as well
for getting these items and writing an FAQ about the Secret Worlds of Super
Metroid.

5. The NBMB Guide

0. Space Colony (Ceres Station) (0%)- Just play the game normally here,
nothing special is done here, since you are allowed to fight Ridley at
the Space Colony to get to Zebes. You can take less time if you have him
hit you with his tail and not fight him at all, thus you wouldn't technically
be fighting him, but for the purposes of a NBMB run and this FAQ; you can do
whatever you like here. Just be sure to escape the colony before it blows up
once Ridley escapes.

I. The Landing at Planet Zebes (0%)
(Power Beam only, no items collected yet)

A. Crateria (0%)- As you get out of your spaceship, just continue on in
the game normally and go to old Brinstar down a few shafts past old tourian
and take the elevator to Brinstar. (No Items yet)

B. Old Brinstar (0%)- Get the morph ball to the left and continue on to
get the first set of missiles where Kraid's old Lair used to be in Metroid 1.
If you like, you can get the 2nd set of missiles in the room to the right with
the red door since we are not playing for time, although most people skip this
set until later in most runs, and sometimes I have to remind myself that I am
not doing a speed run. You can also try to collect the energy tank up top that
is hidden, but it's pretty difficult to do early at this point in the run. (2
Items down, Morph Ball and 1 Missile)

C. Crateria (2%)- Continue back up the elevator to Crateria and go all the
way up until you come to the area with the Gnats and behind them is the bomb
torizo. Get the bombs and fight the torizo as you would normally. Once he's
toast, go back outside and head right then left past the bombable blocks.
NOTE: Now that you have the bombs, you can also choose to go back out to your
ship and attempt "F. Craterian Gauntlet" if you want, but I usually save that
till later. (You can also go into the map room and download the map behind
the red door down below if you want, since we are not playing for time.) Take
the upper left door and go down the diagonal shaft and collect your first
energy tank just before you get into the next room with the pirates and then
keep going and take the elevator to Brinstar.
(2 Items down, 1 Energy Tank, Bombs)

II. First Brinstar Run (4%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, an energy tank, and 1 missile collected)

A. Brinstar (Jungle) (4%)- This is where the fun begins. After you get
off the elevator, destroy the first red door on the right, and go back a
little bit, and then hold dash run and jump right as you get through
the door and perform the mock ball (this is very tricky) to get past
the "Indiana Jones Bridge" as I would call it (since it reminds me of
the Temple of Doom). This trick can be done easily if you jump right before
you are going into the next room and keep holding right and then press down
twice right before you touch the ground. See Brickroad's Glitch FAQ on the
mockball for a more detailed description of this. Go into the next room and
collect the reserve tank and 2 missiles past the bombable blocks (one of
these missiles is hidden inside the wall past the first one). Go back outside
and shoot the breakable block up and wall jump to your first super missiles.
Also, don't forget the missile just underneath the bridge if you haven't
gotten it already, it's not easy to miss since it is the first missile tank
you will see in the room with the bridge, and most people collect it before
doing the mock ball if they mess up the mock ball trick. Go down and out of
the bridge room and then if you want, you can go and download the map in the
left room just behind the other red door. Either way, continue all the way
down the main shaft and save on the way, then take the furthest red door
at the bottom right.
(5 Items down, one Reserve tank, 3 missiles, 1 super missile)

B. Brinstar (Brown/Green Area) (9%)- This area is where you would
normally go to fight the spore spawn up above. However, since you
already have super missiles, you can easily continue on to the next
area. You can collect three items here easily the first time through.
Go to your right and bomb through the blocks and go into the next room.
Go all the way to the right and down. Turn and go left to pick up another
missile tank just above the charge beam area, and then bomb the blocks
and go down to get the charge beam. Go back up and then head right and
break the green door with the super missiles you picked up; this will
lead you into another green jungle in Brinstar. Drop down one platform,
and then before you drop down to the next platform, wall jump up the
wall just to your right and morph into a ball once you get to the top
and onto the ledge, and then roll to the right to get another missile
tank. Go back out to the left and drop down to the right all the way,
and keep going right and shoot the one-way door-gate to get to the next
area behind the blue door. In this room, jump up to the infamous "NooB
Bridge" as most people like to call it, and run across the bridge
underneath the spikes to eventually get into another area of Brinstar
behind a green door. Note: If you are having trouble with the "NooB
Bridge," you shouldn't probably be reading this FAQ since it is not
intended for SM NooB's at all, but still, anyone is welcome to read
this guide; NooB or 1337 :). If you are new to the NBMB Run, but you
haven't completed the game, read my above section on Rules/Overview.
(3 Items down, 2 missiles, charge beam)

III. The Depths of Brinstar (12%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, 6 missiles, 1 super missile, 1 reserve tank, 1
energy tank, charge beam collected)

A. Brinstar Depths (12%)- There are two different paths you can take
once you get here up or down, it is up to you. For now, this FAQ is focusing
on the easier of the two: down. Head down the shaft, and pass the yellow
door and rippers to the bottom (shooting breakable blocks on the way and
everything). You may shoot the green door to your left if you need to
replenish your energy, and believe me, now would be a good time to shoot
it since later in the run, you'll need it when you re-visit Norfair after
a while. For now, head into the next room on the right, and then make your
way right into another room. Shoot the block just above and wall-jump off
the walls and then morph into the narrow passage and bomb the blocks.
Shoot the green door and collect the Spazer beam in the room and head back.
Bomb a hidden block and fall down into the main area of the room and then
head right and pass a few rooms with the "Maridia Tube", and then take the
elevator down to Norfair. (1 Item down, Spazer Beam)

(Aside note: Ultima4701 just climbs up the shaft in his ZMV without getting
the high jump boots. You may attempt it if you wish, see my alternate paths
and challenges section.)

IV. A Quick Visit in Norfair (13%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, 6 missiles, 1 super missile, 1 reserve tank, 1
energy tank, charge and spazer beams collected)

A. The High Jump Boots (13%)- For now, we only need to collect a few
items. You may shoot the green door on the left now if you want, we will
be going through it later for the ice beam. For now, just head down to
the bottom past the yellow door and shoot the red door on the left and enter
the room. Grab the energy tank, and then fall down on one of the crumble
blocks to get into the narrow passage. Navigate this passage and go left
through a blue door and then shoot some more breakable blocks to collect
the high jump boots on the left side. Exit this room and jump up to the
platform and morph underneath the passage to get the missile on the right.
Roll through and then bomb your way back out to the beginning of the area,
and then exit to the right (make sure you kill the fire enemy in this
room so the door will be flashing/blue and not metal). Now we have all
the possible items we can get for now in Norfair with such limited energy,
so backtrack your way up to Brinstar and head left as far as you can,
and you can save in Norfair on the way if you need to.
(3 Items down: an energy tank, the high jump boots, and 1 missile)

V. Back to the Brinstar Depths (16%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, 7 missiles, 1 super missile, 1
reserve tank, 2 energy tanks, charge and spazer beams collected)

A. Scaling The Brinstar Shaft (16%)- Now, we must climb up the Brinstar
Shaft, which is a little easier with some time and patience, and good
wall or bomb-jumping skills. The first two wall jumps are fairly easy,
you just need to jump up to the ledge on the right using the wall jump
twice off the right wall (while avoiding the rippers of course on the
way). Now that you are on the ledge, jump as far as you can to the left
and just when you barely touch the left side of the ledge above, wall
jump to the right quickly off of it onto the right ledge. Jump your way
up normally and shoot the blocks to get up past where the yellow door
is. Jump up as high as you can normally until you meet the rippers just
above you while you stand on a left ledge. Switch to your Super Missiles
and shoot as many rippers as you can (although it is not necessary to
destroy them all, the more you get rid of, the better, and you can shoot
the first 2 or 3 of them without wall jumping with the high jump boots).
Use the wall jump to jump up this narrow shaft and kill the 4th ripper
if you haven't already. The next part is tricky, you need to wall jump
as high as you can, and then shoot the block in the middle so you can climb
the opened shaft, and then wall jump all the way back up quickly before the
breakable block re-appears and get up to the top of the shaft. This may
take a few tries, but if you are really good at wall jumping, it should be
fairly easy; the only trick to it is that you must get back up in time
before  the block re-appears, or else you have to shoot the block again.
This is why I got the high jump boots first before climbing the shaft, it's
easier. Once you have climbed the shaft, head right into the flower room.
Make your way through the room and be sure to kill a few enemies in this
room to refill your super missile ammo and energy if needed.
(No items collected yet here)

B. The Power Bombs (16%)- A yellow door will close behind you where the
flower room is, so now we must get some power bombs to open more paths.
Shoot the blocks downwards and go down and then shoot a green door at
the bottom and enter the new room. Since we don't have the ice beam yet,
we'll have to try to avoid the blob-like enemies in this room, and maybe
take a few hits, but in any case, make your way left and grab your power
bombs the chozo statue is holding. Immediately switch to power bombs and
lay one and then go through the new opening to the left you created with
a power bomb and collect a missile. Head back right and exit the room,
then go back up to the yellow door. Head up and then shoot the green
door on your left to go into a room with a lot of giant side-hoppers.
Morph and lay a power bomb a little further left into the room and drop
down to collect another set of power bombs, then exit this room and jump
up to the top and power bomb the yellow door out of Brinstar. Take the
elevator up to Crateria. (3 Items down: 2 power bombs and 1 missile)

VI. Back to Crateria (19%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, 8 missiles, 2 power bombs, 1 super
missile, 1 reserve tank, 2 energy tanks, charge and spazer beams
collected)

A. Back to the Ship (19%)- Go up and shoot the block and then head right
and power bomb the door. Kill off all the Ki-Hunters to make life easier
and then get a running start before you head into the next room, and then
as soon as you get into the next room, jump to get the missiles on the small
platform. From here, backtrack left and then go left again into the Corridor,
which leads to the surface of Crateria. Jump up the platforms and head left
back to your ship to refill your energy and weapons and save.
(1 Item down: a missile)

B. The Gauntlet (20%)- This part is easy to get to if you know how to
wall jump or bomb jump pretty well. In either case, head just to the
left of the ship before the cave entrance to Crateria and wall or bomb
jump (bomb jumping is the easier method) up to an outcropping of the
rocks. Jump up a little and lay a power bomb, which will open the way
into the Gauntlet. Jump up into the cave and then head left into the
Gauntlet room through the blue door. Make your way left through the
Gauntlet using power bombs to the next room. Collect the energy tank
from the chozo statue, and then drop a power bomb. A new way will open
up below to the second part of the gauntlet with spikes. Make your way
through the tiny passage, and be sure to avoid the lava as best you can;
you only have limited energy and the power suit. You can shoot the yapping
maws with Super Missiles if they are troublesome to you. Make your way
through this part of the gauntlet in a similar fashion; drop power bombs
and head left into the next room. In this room, get into the direct middle
of the crumble blocks so you can collect both missiles at the same time,
and shoot the blocks on the left and right to get them. From here, shoot
blocks and head downwards into the familiar area with the green space
pirates, and then make your way past them and head back to the Brinstar
Elevator to the Jungles. (3 Items down: 2 missiles and 1 energy tank)

VII. Brinstar Jungles and Old Brinstar Revisited (23%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, 11 missiles, 2 power bombs,
1 super missile, 1 reserve tank, 3 energy tanks, charge and spazer beams
collected)

A. Brinstar Jungle Revisited (23%)- First, drop all the way down to the
bottom, and lay a power bomb. Go all the way down to the bottom of the
shaft, and then head into the room behind the left blue door at the
bottom. Kill the fleas and enter the next room to the left. Run and jump
over some fake blocks that look just like real ones to get the energy
tank. Blast the green door and head into the next room to get some super
missiles. Now head back and then instead of jumping over the fake
blocks, fall down and then morph under the spikes. Make your way through
the spike room to the right and then enter a long, narrow shaft with the
3 little creatures (etecoons). They are showing you where to go, so
follow them: wall jump up the shaft and do a midair morph into the
narrow passage on the right just before you get to the top of the shaft
to collect another power bomb. Go back out and head left and enter the
room you came through, only to watch the metal door close on you, so you
cannot go back into the shaft that way. Go up and lay and power bomb and
then go through the first door on the right. (3 Items down: 1 Energy
tank, 1 Super Missile, 1 power bomb)

B. Brown Brinstar Area Revisited (26%)- Head all the way to the right
and then go down and head left as soon as you see the grapple beam
blocks (squares with a circle inside). Head a little left, but not too
far left; because there are blocks that crumble and you will fall down
if you go too far. Jump up and notice where the missile is, you'll need
to wall jump up to get it, which is fairly easy. Once you get the
missile, lay a power bomb and head just down and the left through a
secret passage into a hidden room. Head to your left and use a super
missile to break a hidden block that leads to a secret room below with a
power bomb. Collect this power bomb and then use some power bombs to
navigate through the small maze and head back outside the secret area.
Now, head all the way down and right and go through to the jungle area.
Jump up to the right ledge with the yellow door and blast it open with a
power bomb and enter old Brinstar. (2 items down: 1 missile, 1 power
bomb)

C. Old Brinstar Revisited (28%)- Destroy the side-hoppers and then shoot
the metal flashing door so you can go out that way later. Lay a power
bomb to the right and then morph through and get another set of power
bombs on the platform. Head right and lay another power bomb to get back
to the morph ball area. Keep heading right past the elevator and go into
the next room and shoot the red door to the right, and enter. Morph
underneath the passage and lay a power bomb, and then collect the
missile at the far right. The power bomb will give you access to a new
area above. The shaft is very narrow, but you can wall jump up the
entire shaft to the top; however, just before you reach the top, you'll
need to lay a power bomb to break the block that blocks the way to the
next room. Once you get up there, shoot the door on the left and get a
running start, and hit jump just a split second before you enter the
room. This can be just as tricky as the mock ball trick in terms of
timing the jump, but if you pull it off, you'll be on the top invisible
platform. Once you get up there, go to the left and enter the door to
get a missile pack and shoot a block near that pack just below and left
to get a second missile pack. Exit this room and go back to the right
and go back down the narrow shaft (you can break the block with a bomb
now instead since we are going down the shaft), and lay a power bomb
once you get to the bottom. Notice what happened when you laid that
power bomb? There's an energy tank to the upper left, so jump up and
collect it. Now, head back to the left and make your way using
bombs/power bombs back to the Brinstar jungle; we are now ready to do
the Upper Norfair Run, so make your way down and right towards the
Brinstar depths, and go down the Brinstar shaft (visit the energy
station on the way, you're going to need all the energy you got!) and
head to the right past the Maridia Tube, and then go down the elevator
to Norfair. (5 Items down: 1 Power bomb, 3 missiles, and 1 energy tank)

VIII. The First Upper Norfair Run (33%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots,15 missiles, 5 power bombs, 2 super
missiles, 1 reserve tank, 5 energy tanks, charge and spazer beams
collected)

A. Getting into the bubble room (33%)- A word to the wise: Save your
game here, this place is VERY HOT without the Varia Suit. Your first
objective is to get the speed booster, since you will need it to get
some more items in other areas. Once you have saved, prepare to enter
the hot room, which is the first door on the right as soon as you get
off the elevator. You'll need to be very quick and dodge all the enemies
in this area to get through safely, and there are 3 rooms you have to go
through to get into the cool bubble room. You'll have to skip the
missile that is in the lava for now, since it's a little too hot to
handle just yet with our limited energy tanks and only one reserve tank.
What can I say though? Getting through these rooms takes a lot of time,
practice, and experience, which may take you several tries the first
time you attempt it. You'll need to avoid the lava and enemies as much
as you can, but be very quick since your time in these rooms is limited.
Make sure you have super missiles equipped though to get through the red
and green doors quickly, and in the third room (the earthquake room),
roll into a ball and go underneath instead of jumping across to save
time. At any rate, once you get into the bubble room, SAVE!!! (Too hot
to collect any items here yet)

B. The Speed Booster (33%)- Slowly refill your energy and ammo by
entering and exiting the save room and by killing enemies to about two
energy tanks or so. (Note: You can use a crystal flash here if you feel
like you really need to if and when you get a super missile from the
enemies, but you will refill ammo and energy in another room with
enemies close by) At any rate, we will be going to that room, since it
is on the way to the Speed Booster. You need to stand on the ledge as
far left as you can without going into the save room (or get a running
start from the save room to jump) and then run and jump up to the right
and wall jump off the bubbles, kill the enemy, and get up to the green
door and blast it to go into another hot room. Don't worry though, it's
not as bad as the previous rooms you visited. Zap the enemies on top and
dodge their fragments, and then shoot a block above to get up to the red
beetle hive. These beetles will help you gain more energy, so stand on
the bubbles just above the hive and fire at them by aiming diagonally
down, so you will automatically collect energy and ammo. Keep killing
these beetles until you get at least 4-5 full energy tanks to survive
(reserve is optional), and then go into the next room on the right.
Equip your super missiles, and run through this room so you won't fall
into the lava or get hurt by the enemies. Just before you get to the red
door, fire a super missile towards the door and then quickly un-equip
the super missiles and fire your beam up above to collect a hidden
missile in the bubbles, then go through into the next room and get the
speed booster. The earth will start shaking, so that's your cue to run
into the next room and then speed run your way out there fast before the
lava hits you. Fire your beam before you get to the door so it will open
so you can run through it and ram into the beetle hive and collect
energy as you come out. Repeat the same process by killing the beetles,
only this time, fill completely up on energy and ammo, and then go back
to the cool bubble room. (2 Items Down: Speed Booster, 1 missile)

C. The Wave Beam (35%)- Now you will want to go back and save if you
like, but it's not necessary if you feel confident enough that you can
take on the next part, but I highly recommend saving your game (even
though you'll have to wall jump back up, you'll have lost the speed
booster and have to re-do that part if you mess up and don't save) At
any rate, make sure your energy is full, including your reserve tank,
and ammo as well, then head to the door just below where you went to get
the speed booster and kill the beetles. There are two ways to get the
wave beam, and one of them involves using the crystal flash, and the
other does not. If you feel like you will need to crystal flash, equip
your missiles when you enter the room after next room, otherwise, equip
your super missiles. Blaze past the enemies when you exit the bubble
room and then enter this room with the moving platforms, which is the
first door just below on the right, either with a super missile or 5
missiles if you want the crystal flash. Jump across the moving platforms
to the right somewhat quickly, but accurately, because you don't want to
fall down. Shoot one-way gate and then collect a missile just behind it.
Get a running start and run to the right, but before you hit the spikes,
you will hit the wall on the right, so wall jump up to the door. Blast
the door, get the Wave Beam, and take a deep breath. this room is cool.
You can rest a little here if you want, or use your crystal flash here
if you need it, but you'll need to backtrack back to the bubble room. At
any rate, go back into the hot room, fall down onto the fake spikes
which are actually crumble blocks, morph through the tight passage, and
then go left and climb back up towards the bubble room, avoiding or
engaging the enemies on the way. SAVE once you get to the bubble room,
because you'll need to refill your energy again, so make sure you have
at least 1-2 energy tanks (including reserve) and go back up into the
beetle room and fill up again, and go back to the bubble room and SAVE
AGAIN. (2 Items down: Wave Beam, 1 missile)

D. The Ice Beam (37%) - Now that you have the speed booster, you can
easily go and get the Ice Beam without too much trouble, and you can get
back into the bubble room easily now through the speed block room, which
is where we are going now. From just outside the save room, head down
and lay a power bomb to go down even more and enter the bottom left
door. Run and jump across to the left and into the speed blocks room.
Just speed warp through the room and you'll be back in the main elevator
shaft in Norfair. Trek up all the way to the first door on the left just
before you hit the elevator, and enter the room. Speed run under the two
gates before they close, but press down immediately after you run under
the second gate, since you'll want to do a horizontal shine spark left
into the next room (make sure the door is open first before you use the
shine spark). Now, blast the next door into the next room, and do a
midair morph ball onto the platform above, and then do another midair
morph ball into the passageway on the right which leads to the ice beam,
taking a few hits from the enemies. Enter the room, get the ice beam,
and exit. You'll want to backtrack since you have power bombs to use, so
go back through the bottom right door, jump across the platform rippers
quickly, and you'll be back into the room with the gates. Lay a power
bomb and jump and morph through the upper passageway to get back out to
the elevator (making sure you SAVE), and then leave Norfair for now. (1
Item down, The Ice Beam)

IX. Brinstar/Crateria Cleanup (38%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, speed booster, 17 missiles,
5 power bombs, 2 super missiles, 1 reserve tank, 5 energy tanks, charge,
ice, wave and spazer beams collected)

A. Brinstar Depths Cleanup (38%)- There are only two items here that we
need to get, one is easy, the other is hard. Once you get up the
elevator, shoot a block on the right with a super missile and jump up to
the right to enter Kraid's Area in the Brinstar Depths. Since you cannot
fight Kraid, there is only one item to get here. Shoot downwards or bomb
to get below, then go all the way down and to the right, and bomb the
hidden block and morph through the passage. Shoot the door up and jump
up to enter the room with the flying enemies. Go all the way to the
right and lay a power bomb. Bomb jump up or jump and morph in midair to
get the missile and then backtrack all the way out of Kraid's Area back
to the elevator to Norfair (using a super missile of course to break the
blocks again). Go past the elevator, through the Maridia Tube, and all
the way to the energy recharge room to get some more energy. Now, climb
back up the Brinstar shaft (it's easier now that you have the ice beam,
no wall jumping needed) to the yellow door on the left, and drop a power
bomb to open and get to it. Note: This is where I got the X-ray scope in
my NBMB run, but it's up to you whether you want to get it now or not,
for purposes of this FAQ, I'm just going to count the item as if you got
it already, since this is how I did. Once you enter this room, you'll
notice it is a lighted room with plazmites (the fireflies), so just freeze
the plazmites, but don't destroy them. Get past them, and then jump down,
making sure you don't get hit by the spikes, because you'll need to run
across them since we don't have the grapple beam when you jump up to
them, and they take away 60 energy per hit, ouch. However, if you have
full super missile ammo, you can crystal flash once if needed here at
any time. At any rate, run across the spikes while jumping to avoid too
much damage, while avoiding the yapping maws on the way. You can also
freeze the yapping maws if you want to use them as stepping stones. Jump
down onto the small ledge that doesn't have spikes on it below just before
the other spikes to the left. Freeze the enemies above to use them as
stepping-stones, and then jump up to the platform and blast the red door
to the X-ray scope room with missiles. Get the X-ray scope, and then back
track out to the right, using a crystal flash if/when you need it, and go
back into the Brinstar shaft. Go down and refill your energy if needed at
the bottom of the shaft. From here, go up the shaft and back to the jungles
of Brinstar, and then head to old Brinstar. From old Brinstar, take the
elevator back up to Old Tourian in Crateria (2 Items Down: The X-ray scope
and 1 missile)

B. Crateria Cleanup (40%)- Go left through to old Tourian and before you
get to the old Tourian escape shaft in the next room, lay a power bomb
in Mother Brain's old encasing to collect a missile below, then proceed
to the escape shaft. Go up the shaft just a little on the right side and
look for a very small blue ledge there. Morph on the ledge and bomb
through the blocks into a secret room. Freeze the blob-like enemies by
aiming diagonally down and then get some running distance to do a shine
spark, because you'll need to freeze the enemies to get enough distance.
Use a vertical shine spark at the far right to get up the shaft and
collect the super missile on the right. Now, run and jump across the
spikes left and then exit left back to the top of the old Tourian shaft.
Go up through the door to the main Crateria shaft, and then jump up to
the blue door on the left and enter. Drop a power bomb and go left and
get a missile, then backtrack out to the main shaft. Now, go up the
shaft and head right and back outside towards your ship. Get a running
start, and then do a diagonal shine spark to the upper-right just a few
feet away from your ship. As you drop down, head right and power bomb
the yellow door to get inside and collect the power bomb in the lava
cave. Go back out and down to your ship, and save. (4 Items down: 2
missiles, 1 super missile, and 1 power bomb)

C. A Short Visit to the Wrecked ship (44%)- Run to the right of your
ship and shoot the green door to get into the tube, and then into the
flying enemy cave. Kill the flying enemies, open the door on the right,
and go as far as you can to the left, but do not leave the room. Run and
charge the speed booster as soon as you possibly can (hold down before
hitting one of the small slopes that stop you), and then jump up the 3
slopes, and then do a horizontal shine spark to the right to get past
where the missile we collected earlier used to be, and to the door to
the room just outside the wrecked ship (if you walk first, you can
charge the speed booster quicker to make it easier). To get to the
Wrecked ship, use the exact same trick with the horizontal shine spark.
This time, you have to get a better start, so as you walk into the room,
hold dash just a split second before you enter the room, then charge the
speed booster and do a shine spark to the right. If you are not good
with this, you can always wall jump across each platform by de-equipping
the high jump boots, but I find that more difficult and time consuming.
At any rate, shoot the green door to enter the wrecked ship. Go down
below past the metal door on the right, and then lay a power bomb or
bomb once you drop down the stairs to reveal a path to the left to a
missile. Get the missile and backtrack out of the wrecked ship. Dive
into the water and head all the way as far left as you can. Shoot the
block and then do a mid-water (just like mid-air) morph into the passage
to get another missile. Backtrack out and head back all the way to your
ship and save. (2 Items down: 2 missiles)

D. The Brinstar Cleanup (46%)- From your ship, head to old Brinstar down
through old Tourian, and head left back to the jungle and left again to
the brown area. There are some items in the brown area you need to get,
and you need to use the crystal flash to get the super missiles after
you supposedly fight spore spawn. First, go down to the charge beam
area, and lay a power bomb. Morph through the pipe, and then go down
into the next room on the lower left. Walk through the water and then do
a wall jump once you hit the wall to get up to the platform above. From
here, go all the way to the left, and then speed run to the right, but
before you hit the water, charge the speed booster, then go into the
water, and do a horizontal shine spark left past the speed blocks to get
the energy tank behind them. Exit this room and climb out of the charge
beam room using another power bomb to escape, and then head left. Climb
up and then go to the right, and find the yellow door on the right.
Power-bomb this door to get inside the room with side-hoppers and a one-
way gate. Wall jump up to get to the one way gate, and shoot it to open
it, and wall jump back up to go through to the other side. Go into the
right room and collect an energy tank, then take a lot of damage with
the side hoppers and reduce your energy pretty low (to about 70 or so
without the reserve tank). Exit back out to the main Brown Area, and go
a little downward, and lay a power bomb to open the area to the "first"
super missiles. Get hurt so you can use the crystal flash, but don't
die, instead, morph into the passageway and then drop a power bomb and
use the crystal flash. Now fire a super missile to break the block and
go through the way to get the "first" super missiles in the right room.
Go back out, and blast you way back with the super missiles, and we're
ready to head back to Norfair, so head back there any way you see fit.
(3 Items down: 2 Energy Tanks, 1 Super Missile)

X. Upper Norfair Cleanup (49%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, speed
booster, X-ray Scope, 22 missiles, 6 power bombs, 4 super missiles, 1
reserve tank, 7 energy tanks, charge, ice, wave and spazer beams
collected)

A. Heated Rooms Revisited (49%)- Go down into the first left room, and
lay a power bomb just before you enter the heated area towards where you
got the ice beam earlier. Drop down into the new area, and then charge
the speed booster, and then do a horizontal shine spark into the next
room in the left. Once you hit the wall, shoot it immediately when you
can and collect the missile hidden inside the left wall. Get out of this
room quickly using wall jumps, but mind the crumble blocks though (all
the platforms here are crumble blocks), they can be very difficult to
jump around and get back. From here, head back to the main Norfair
shaft, and then make your way back up to Brinstar Depths to heal at the
energy recharge station if needed (or just kill a few enemies). At any
rate, we'll need to head back to the bubble room and collect the missile
in the second heated room on the way. Surviving these heated rooms is
easier now that we have 7 energy tanks. When you get into the second
heated room, quickly jump over the first two tall pillars, and then lay
a power bomb as you are heading down into the lava. When the power bomb
goes off, roll into a ball quickly and roll right and collect the
missile that appears. Get out of there fast now, you only have limited
energy, and head to the bubble room. SAVE again in the bubble room. (2
Items down: 2 missiles)

B. The Reserve Tank Room and more (51%)- Get the missile that is below
on the right side in a small cave with spikes on the bottom inside the
bubble room, no real strategy is needed here, since it's pretty easy to
get. Then, head back up and go to the save room (save if you want) and
wall jump up to the platform on the right again, since we need to
recharge our energy, and go into the beetle room on the right (you
should know the drill by now, refill your energy with the beetles), and
then you'll need to jump across to the left to get up to the green door,
and you can use the enemies as stepping stones if you like with the ice
beam to get up there. Blast the green door and collect the missile on the
platform, but before you do, lay a power bomb to kill the enemies. Since
this bubble room is heated, you'll need to move fast, so do a midair
morph to get up to the passageway, or ride the rising gate if you aren't
fast enough, but mind the time. Go through to the next room, and make
good use of your power bombs to kill the enemies and reveal the hidden
missile and reserve tank all the way to the right (use your ice beam and
some super missiles to knock the dragons out of the way, but be very
quick about it though.... you have limited time) If you want, now would
be a good time to crystal flash, so you can escape easily (you have 30
power bombs, don't be afraid to use them!). Exit back to the bubble room
left, and SAVE AGAIN. (4 Items down: 3 missiles, 1 reserve tank)

C. The last missile in Upper Norfair (55%)- This missile is the one you
see behind the super missile one-way gate if you go through the wrong
way into the room from the right at the bottom of the main Norfair
shaft. We need to get this missile, but on the way there is a lot of
heated rooms, which require a lot of creative skill to get by. However,
there is also a recharge station, which helps you out tremendously, as
well as another beetle room. Power bomb your way down from the bubble
room and shoot the door down. Quickly go into the first door on the
right, and you'll be in the second beetle room, you know what to do here
(shoot them and refill all ammo and energy). Go back right and backtrack
the way you came (now wasn't that an easier way to get energy and ammo
instead of climbing back up and wall-jumping towards the speed booster
room?). Anyway, once you get back up to the bubble room, go in the first
left door you reach, and then drop down in the next room and shoot the
blocks. There are also some more beetles here, so fill up a little on
energy here and shoot the blue one-way gate and go left through it into
a cooler room in Norfair with metal geemers and red space pirates (one
power bomb takes care of them nicely), then drop down into the next
room. Head right immediately, and then you can recharge your energy at
the station. Head back left, and quickly run past the dragons before
they hurt you in this room to the left and enter the next room. This is
where the fun part begins, but don't shoot the green door on the bottom,
since that is where Crocomire resides. Instead, go up a little and save
your game here at the save station. Now, head up and to the left, and
enter the "fun room" as I would call it (you should have saved at least
one crystal flash because you may need to use it here since this part is
the most difficult). Jump up and kill the enemy, then jump to the left
and be sure you do not land in the lava, but do NOT lay a power bomb to
kill the dragons in the lava! Instead, get to the platform just right of
where the leftmost dragon is, and stand on the right edge of it (kill
the dragons with super missiles). Hold dash, and then do a super-high
jump up to the left ledge where the super missile gate is, and quickly
wall jump off that ledge to get up (this is very tricky, but an
alternate, more difficult method would be to bomb jump your way up there
with a midair morph, but it takes more time and you most likely will
need a crystal flash). Once you get the missile, shoot the one-way door
and scram out of there. Now, relax, because we are finally done with
Upper Norfair (at least for now). (1 Item down: missile)

XI. Maridia (56%)
(Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, speed booster, X-ray Scope, 28
missiles, 6 power bombs, 4 super missiles, 2 reserve tanks, 7 energy tanks,
charge, ice, wave and spazer beams collected)

A. Through the tube and up the water (56%)- From Norfair, head back up
the elevator and go to the left. Power-bomb the glass tube to get into
Maridia, and go down and save in the right room, since we haven't saved
after escaping the heated room with the missile (although you can save in
Norfair if you want to, it is not needed unless you are very low on energy
or ammo and don't think you can make it into Maridia without re-energizing
to the left of the Maridian Glass Tube). Now, jump your way back up past
the tube and above and enter the room on top to find a fish and a crab
moving around to the left. These guys will be your stepping-stones, so be
sure you do not kill them accidentally. Wait until the crab climbs up the
wall on the right (but hit it a few times to weaken it), and switch to
super missiles, making sure you have your ice beam equipped. Fire a super
missile to release the crab and quickly freeze the crab with your ice beam
in mid-water (I find that if you use the item cancel button to switch back
to your beam, or use the item select button to equip power bombs, this
helps). Freeze the fish when it gets low enough, and then use the crab and
fish as stepping-stones so you can climb up the water (this may take a few
tries to get right down, but you'll get it eventually). Carefully jump up
the platforms, and don't be afraid to take your time here, since this area
is much cooler than Norfair. Besides, you'll need a lot of patience
eventually once you get up to Mount Death. Shoot the third crab you'll see
crawling on a platform to freeze it to jump up, and then do the same for
the fish just above the crab swimming back and forth. You'll need to
freeze the crab again for more jumping weight so you can get onto the
frozen fish when the fish is at its lowest point swimming. You'll notice a
missile as you get up onto the left ledge, but you cannot get it since you
don't have the gravity suit, so continue upwards. Another crab will crawl
down the right wall, so freeze it with your charged ice beam, and use it
to get up to the right ledge. Now, we'll have to wait for another crab to
get back up for a while, but when you see it, quickly freeze it with your
charged ice beam and jump up to the right on it. Freeze the fish just
above to get up to the left, then freeze another crab on the ground to
jump up to the right and enter the door to the next room.
(No Items collected yet)

B. The Turtle Room and more (56%)- Go right just a little, and drop down
to the rock on the right side, but don't fall down between the walls, or
else you will have to climb back up the water, which is difficult enough.
Notice where a crab is going (You can use your X-ray scope if it helps)?
You'll need to get in there, so do a midwater morph down into that hidden
passageway on the left wall. If it helps, you can also freeze the crab
just in case you are worried about falling down once it climbs down the
left wall out of the passageway. Now, you'll need to do a tricky midwater
morph once you get as far left as you can, which just is pure timing with
the jump and down buttons. The Crab to the left where the super missile
is can also help push you in there,  since it makes you jump everytime
when you lose energy, but I find that it's just easier to do a midwater
morph, you'll need to master this move anyway. Grab the super missile and
head back out to the right. Drop down and head right. Freeze a crab on
the left and jump on it and jump up to the right. Head right and then drop
down and through the door. Now, head just to the left of the Purple
Pirate, and then drop down to face another purple pirate on the left.
There is a hidden passageway to the turtle room (use X-ray if needed),
so head right into the turtle room. Jump on the smaller turtles to send
them spinning around left and right, and it will wake up the large
turtle. Get on the big turtle's back and let him jump to carry you out
of the water. Once he is as high as he can go, jump to the left. Now,
hold dash and jump to the right and use a quick wall jump off the
grapple block to get the energy tank. From that small platform, jump right
again, and then wall jump up off the right wall. Shoot downwards from
the top and then collect the missile that appears inside the wall. Drop
down and backtrack all the way to the save room where you broke the tube
and SAVE. (3 Items down, 1 super missile, 1 missile, 1 energy tank)

C. Climbing Mount Death (59%)- This is where the really fun part begins
in Maridia. Not only must you repeat everything you did in Part A (going
up past the tube) again to get up the water, but now you get to use one
of the crabs in a very creative way: You freeze it and climb an underwater
outcropping up to a new area. At any rate, climb up the water and go into
the door. You'll need to get all the way up to the right eventually, and if
you fall into the pits, you can freeze the crabs to get out of them. At any
rate, Once you get all the way to the right, you'll notice the Mountain
of Death- nasty outcroppings. You'll also notice a crab climbing up the
outcropping, you'll need to freeze him several times when you are
already standing on him and jump on him at the exact right times. Once
you get high enough up the outcropping on the crab, you'll be able to
jump up to the ledge. However, do not jump to the upper ledge if the crab
is too low or high, or still frozen, because the crab will not climb up
to the next part (you'll have to jump before the crab completely unfreezes
but not after, or else you will fall and take damage) or you will bump
your head and have to start all over again. This takes a lot of practice,
time, and just downright experience and luck. If you fall and cannot jump
up to the crab, you'll have to fire a super missile to dislodge the crab
from the wall so he will fall down so you can freeze him again. This will
take several tries and a lot of experience before you can get it right,
but you'll eventually get up to the second part, which is just like the
first, but not as hard cause you don't have to wait for the crab to
unfreeze it to jump to the final ledge, but you'll still have to keep the
frozen crab alive just to climb it up, which is difficult enough in
itself (No crab legs for dinner tonight!!). It will take you many
hours/days if you haven't practiced before, and I won't mention the
real name of this Mountain, but you'll start saying it's real name cause
you'll get frustrated easily. At any rate, once you have scaled the
mountain, you can get some valuable items in Maridia.
(Dead mountain tell no tales or have noitems!! yet...)

Update 11/23: A new Method of climbing Mount Death has been found.
This method requires using at least two crabs to get up the mountain.

As Quoted from AgriasOaks on the Message Board on GameFAQs 11/20/03:

"Instead of having 1 of those crab things going up,
I tried to have 2 onscreen."

"After the 2nd puffy thing, fall down the chamber on the right, and
bring that crab thing over to the far right wall with you, as well
as the one already there walking up the ceiling."

"More or less, what I did was freeze them both alternatively,
up until the point where I think the 'easy' difference might
come in. If you were to face left, and then shoot a Super Missile
up as the first/lead crab thing was crawling up the left side of
the top of Mt. Death, it would fall for you to freeze and then
jump onto then onto the top of Mt. Death."

"Well, after resetting, not only did I have to wait for that crab
at the start (above the glass tube) only once on my way up that
part (charge the Ice Beam to hit that fast one going down and then
I jumped myself for the rest of the climb), I also did get up to the
top of Mt. Death on my 2nd try after resetting."

"I simply kept the crabs frozen at different times, so I could
refreeze one or the other, and was between them as they went up,
then I Super Missiled the wall as the first one was on the left
edge of the top of Mt. Death, and then froze it, then jumped from
the bottom crab onto the midair frozen one, and up to the top!!! Yay!"

D. The Items up the Mountain of Death (59%)- Once you get past the
dreaded mountain of outcroppings, Scaling this next room isn't so
bad, since all you need is another frozen crab in the room, and all
you have  to do is wait for it to climb up the walls and freeze it at
the right time. It will be your stepping stone, so just repeat pretty
much the same strategy in Part A (getting up the water past the tube)
of Maridia (you might have to wait for the crab to thaw out to climb
higher), except it's a little easier since the shaft is vertical.
Once you get to the top, just go to the right through a fake wall to
collect a missile. Go back left through the wall and freeze the fish
to get up and jump out of the water to the left and head through the
door. Head to the left through another fake wall, using a bomb jump
to get through the small passage, and then wall jump your way up to
the upper-left ledge and enter the door. In this room, you can refill
your energy/ammo if you need to with the flying scorpion-like
creatures. When you are done with them, head left and drop all the
way down into the water pit with another fake wall to get a super
missile and missile. Getting out of this area is the fun part. You
must do some underwater wall jumps to get up the small gap in the
fake part of the above wall. Stand on one of the missile platforms,
and jump up to the left or right to get a wall jump onto the fake
blocks, and you'll need to do a few wall jumps quickly while you are
in the fake block to climb back up and out of the water. Once you get
up that, the rest of the escape is easy, since you'll be a fish out
of water. Now, just backtrack your way to the right through this room
and the next one by using wall/bomb jumps. Once you get out, dive
back down into the water and backtrack down the shaft just after Mount
Death and then head to the right through a green door.
(3 Items collected, 2 missiles, 1 super missile)

(Aside Note: See my Alternate Paths and Challenges for Lower Norfair
at 62%, you can skip ahead to Lower Norfair here if you want to.)

E. Cleanup of Maridia, the Coves (62%)- You'll now be in the Depths of
Maridia, so the music will change. These last 4 items are among the most
difficult to get in Maridia (or in the whole NBMB so far for that
matter as far as I am concerned), so lay a power bomb and drop down. Head
to the left through the red door and into the save room; making sure that
you SAVE HERE. There are 2 coves with collectable items you can get, but
before you go and get them, I have some bad news for you: In order to get
both of them, YOU MUST CLIMB MOUNT DEATH AGAIN! Yes, you heard right, you
must climb that dreaded mountain of outcroppings again to get back up to
whichever cove you choose to get the second time around. This is as far
as I have gotten legitmately in the NBMB run, and I'm always trying to
get the dreaded power bomb first before climbing Mount Death again, but
in any case, lets go get the items in the coves, so head all the way to
the right and shoot some blocks before you dead-end at the wall to go
down and head left towards the quicksand. You can head down either
quicksand area you choose, but I would go down the second one (furthest
left one) cause you'll have less trouble getting the items there than in
the first one. Drop down the second one, and you'll have to use the
falling sand to jump higher underwater once you get into the room if you
get stuck in the quicksand. You'll need to jump up to the ledge on the
left, because you cannot go all the way left and get the items from there.
This will also take a while and a lot of experience to try out, but keep
at it. After that, shoot the block upwards if you didn't already, and you
need to wall-jump underwater to get out of the water and upward. The next
part is not as difficult as wall jumping up there or jumping to the ledge,
but it will be frustrating since there is a crumble block below if you
fall down. You'll need to wall jump off the left wall, and then do a
midair morph as you are going back and up to the right, easier said
than done. Be careful though, because below that area is some crumble
blocks which are very nasty, because if you fall down the crumble blocks,
you have to start all over again to jump to the ledge. Once you get up
there, just bomb jump your way and get the reserve tank and missile,
and then head back down the quicksand.
(2 Items down, 1 Reserve Tank, 1 Missile)

F. Mount Death Revisited (64%)- Once you fall down, you'll be in another
quicksand room just right of Brinstar, so just go back and save in the
tube room, and repeat Parts A and C (Climb up the water and up the
Mountain of Death), and then into the Maridia Depths again. Use another
power bomb to go down and save in the left room. Now, we're heading to
the first quicksand room, so go all the way to the right, shoot a block,
and dive into the first quicksand pit (the one you haven't been to yet).
Once you get into the first quicksand room, you'll need to go all the
way to the left, and then do some fancy underwater wall jumping to get
up to the missile. It's probably the easiest missile to get, but you
can also do a midwater morph from a crouching position to get up there
easier. Thanks to Ultima for this. You just need to keep wall jumping
back and forth to get up higher one tiny bit at a time in the water.
Now, once you have gotten this one, it is time to get the dreaded evil
power bomb #66. You basically need two major things here: LUCK, SKILL,
and much PATIENCE. This is the most difficult item to get (as if you
thought getting up Maridia was hard enough!) as you will have to
wall-jump up the two walls and then do a midair morph to get into the
passageway. To date, I have not been able to get this item yet, but
some other people have claimed to with save states. I cannot help you
beyond what I know from other people, but I do know that getting this
power bomb will help you to get into Lower Norfair since it helps you
get another crystal flash for 35 power bombs total, even though it is
not needed. My best advice to you right now is to just skip it and
try your luck at Lower Norfair if you get mad or upset that you cannot
get it. According to Pai on the SM GameFAQs message board, you have to
morph immediately after wall jumping off the left wall high enough and
do not let go of the right button. Once you have gotten it
(hypothetically) after hours and days of trying hard, take a break and
go back and save. You can also back-enter the wrecked ship now if you
want to, it's easy enough to do, but you don't need to do that in a
NBMB Run since the ship doesn't have the Energy Tank unless you kill
Phantoon. See Brickroad's FAQ for more details about back-entering
the wrecked ship. However, you can try and get the two missiles using
the X-ray Glitch here if you want, but I noted their collection since
they were gotten much later after this revision.
(2 Items down, 1 power bomb, 1 missile)

XII. Lower Norfair (Morph Ball, bombs, high jump boots, speed booster,
X-ray Scope, 33 missiles, 7 power bombs, 6 super missiles, 3 reserve
tanks, 8 energy tanks, charge, ice, wave and spazer beams collected)

A. Into the Fiery Lava (66%)
Now that you have that evil Power bomb #66, and maybe a broken thumb or
two from trying to get it all day, Guess what?! Your fingers are going
to be hotter than ever now because we are going to, the infamous,
Lower Norfair! There is only one way to get into Lower Norfair without
either the Gravity or Varia Suits; you need to wall jump in some very
hot lava. Anyway, if you are crazy enough that you have actually gotten
the last power bomb in Maridia, you're probably crazy enough to attempt
the Lower Norfair run. Be warned if you are on the console though, no
one has ever attempted this at all and lived to talk about it,
(except for AgriasOaks) since the fire pits of Lower Norfair are very
hot with only your power suit. From the Bubble Room in Upper Norfair,
head to the bottom left and go through the door down. We're going
down... down... down... as fast as we can, until we get to Lower
Norfair Land! At any rate (hopefully insanely fast), you'll arrive
eventually at the door to the lava pit with a Power Bomb Shield on it.
I suggest once you get here, power-bomb the door and then backtrack
back the way you came to the bubble room and refill all your energy
and weapons in the beetle room on the way back and, save, save, and
save!! When backtracking, you may need to use a crystal flash or two.
Once you find the quickest path to that Yellow Door from the bubble
room, you'll know where to go, so you may have to practice a while
to get used to the path, since there are a lot of heated rooms along
this path. Once you have done that, be prepared to meet thy doom:
The fire pit. Enter the Fire Pit room, and take a swan dive into the
hot lava. You'll only get one shot at this, so I would highly suggest
using a save state just before you enter the Pit room so you can
attempt the climb into Lower Norfair several times. (Keep in mind
though that using save states is still cheating, BTW) If you are
using the console, you're either: a. Insane to do something like this,
b. Are very very bored and have nothing else better to do, or c.
You're AgriasOaks or Kejardon, and inhuman. Go all the way to the left
in the lava, and be sure to avoid the blue fireballs. Jump on top of
the bottom left enemy, wall jump off to the enemy just above to jump
up to the right and do a wall jump off the right wall at the bottom,
which you can use to wall jump up to the platform with the entrance.
Note that dodging the last fireball that the enemy spits at you is
very difficult, but provided that it hits you when you are in the air
on the way up to the ledge and are almost out of energy tanks but do
have reserve tanks, you'll be able to get up there in one piece.
However, once you start to descend into Lower Norfair, be careful,
because the damage from the heat while you are in Norfair will
accumulate up and hit you hard (you'll notice that you still hear
sounds like your energy is being drained.) in one blow at the bottom.
Go into the elevator room and then the save room and save your game.
(This is very difficult, and even more so with only the power suit
and the console, so be warned, you only get one shot at this, and
that's why I said save states are like gold here, (eh well, almost).
(No Items collected yet)

B. Welcome To Lower Norfair! (66%)
Now, thanks to MathonNapkins, there is one item which crucially makes
the lower norfair run a heck of a lot easier, and it requires you to
enter the one-way green gate into the screw attack room. Go down, and
head right, then drop a power bomb to get down to the area with two
doors, left leading to the screw attack, the right leading to the
earthquake lava room. Also note that this area is crucial since you
can kill the blue balls over and over again to refill your power bombs
for more Crystal Flashes. What you need to do perform the green metal
gate glitch here, so you'll need to equip super missiles and then run
into the room and aim up and jump and shoot the door before you hit the
gate and stop. Go past the fast rippers here and make your way down and
take the bottom right door which has the screw attack. There is also an
energy recharge room just by the screw attack so you can refill your
energy! This was impossible to do earlier in the 72% NBMB. On the way,
note that you can refill your energy/ammo with the Fast Rippers and the
blue balls, so getting the next few items in Lower Norfair is completely
arbitrary. I find it is best to get the missile that is out of the main
pathway to the earthquake lava room because is it difficult to reach if
you try to exit Lower Norfair the wrong way by going back through the
hot earthquake lava pits on the way to the fireflea room. The only real
constraint here in Lower Norfair is time, since it is very hot, as well
as ammo/health, because you need to have enough ammo for crystal flashes
and enough health to survive with just the Power Suit on. Now, after you
have filled up back on Ammo by attacking the fast rippers and jumped a
few times up the way back to the fast ripper room, get some super
missiles from rippers, and keep going back down and refilling your
energy at the charge station and then bomb jump back up and kill more
enemies until you have maximum super missiles. It is easy now to kill
the fast rippers because the screw attack is lethal to them in one hit.
We'll definitely need to head back up and take the door to the first
earthquake lava room. Note that you can screw attack through the blocks,
and then use another Crystal Flash as soon as you get into the next
room. Now we really need to get to a cooler room in Lower Norfair, so
we'll be heading up, with a few frozen Zebesians as our platforms
(well maybe) and then screw attack through the blocks to get up and
into the larger room in the upmost right part exit in this shaft.
Note that the way Ultima climbs this shaft doesn't involve freezing the
Zebesian Pirates, he just uses a few tricky wall jumps to get up the
shaft and uses his Crystal Flash at the top of the shaft before entering
the giant earthquake lava room. As you drop down and jump from Platform
to Platform to get up, just keep moving through this huge Lava Room.
Make use of the screw attack to kill the Pirates and get their ammo or
energy if you have time, cause it might help you. As soon as you get to
the top-right, you might want use a Crystal Flash if needed, but it is
not neccesary. Get into the Fireflea room which is one room just right
of the room you arrive in at the top of the earthquake lava room.
(1 Item down, Screw Attack)

(Aside Note: Ultima gets the screw attack in his ZMVs and then exits Lower
Norfair via the Lava Pit and uses his second Crystal Flash before going
back up to the beetles and the flea room with speed booster blocks to
refill his ammo and health and then he saves in Upper Norfair. If you want
to do this to refill ammo rather than doing so in Lower Norfair, you'll
have to wall jump up the lava pit several times and split up the Lower
Norfair run into parts. This may be easier, and then again, it may not,
depending on your gaming style and if you use savestates or not. You can
also skip ahead and get the "last missile" in Lower Norfair in the same
way, so technically, it is arbitrary which items you get first once you
get into Lower Norfair.)

C. Getting those hot items (67%)
Now, we know that there is an energy tank in this room, so if you have enough
energy to go and get it, do so. Otherwise, we need to refill our energy by
shredding up some pirates and swatting some flies/dragons. It's a painful
and slow  process, but eventually, you'll be able to refill your stuff pretty
good for some extra crystal flashes that you'll need. The dragons up top in
the left exit of the Fireflea room provide you with power bombs you'll need,
and the firefleas down below also provide ammo. You might also go back to the
earthquake lava room really quick and kill some Pirates with the screw attack,
but I find it wastes a lot of energy to do that.  At any rate, shoot the
fireball spitting guy on the mouth and go through the mouth to get an energy
tank down below. Once you are done, we're going to go and fetch some items.
If you are seriously using the console, you can save at the save point in the
room located on the map just below the fire-flea room (take the lower left
exit and power-bomb your way down and go through the first door on the right).
If you're using save states, which is technically cheating even at this point
in a NBMB run, just ignore the save station and keep going down as fast as you
can. Now that you have 9 energy tanks, you'll have a little more time, and more
energy to spare before Crystal-Flashing. Make sure you have your power bombs
equipped at all times when you move down past the save room, since you'll need
to blow up a lot of bombable blocks that are in your pathway. Once you get down
to the bottom of the shaft, morph through the passageway to the right and lay a
power bomb and immediately lay a power bomb to get down past the blocks into an
opened yellow door. As soon as you enter the next room, lay another power bomb
and morph up onto the rising gate-like platform where the fire is spewing out
to the left, being careful to avoid the flames as much as you can to get
through the passageway. Once you get into the left narrow passageway, use a
Crystal Flash when you get to the wall, since the next room is loaded with
Super Side Hoppers. Take these enemies out one by one as fast as you can with
the screw attack. Once you get through this room, head to the left and drop
another power bomb to get into another morph passageway and get the power bomb
tank in the room. If you got this power bomb, congrats, you have just obtained
one of the most difficult items in LN. Backtrack all the way back up to the
Fire-flea room any way you see fit from here, using Crystal flashes when
necessary, but not too often since you have limited time to get back in the
heat. (ASIDE NOTE: An easier pathway would be to collect the items on the way
out of Lower Norfair and then go back to Upper Norfair's Bubble Room from the
exit of Lower Norfair, but it is completely arbitrary which items you choose to
get in order.) I personally haven't done this in the purest sense of a NBMB run
yet, but according to Account of Posting, there really is no easy path once you
get into Lower Norfair. Hypothetically, we are going to count this item as if
you have obtained it here. You can skip getting this power bomb for now, but it
will be more difficult to obtain later since you will have to go back into
Lower Norfair via the Lava Pit a few times.
(2 Items collected, 1 Energy Tank, 1 Power Bomb)

D. Some More Items in the Heat (69%)
Now that you have gotten back to the fireflea room (and saved possibly on the
way) there are a few more items we can grab in Lower Norfair. Fill back up on
energy and ammo of course first, because these next few items are very
difficult to obtain. There are 3 items which you can get easily on the way
out of Lower Norfair, so this section focuses on getting those first like I
said in my aside note. Climb up into the Dragon Room, and then go and get the
missile before the "bomb maze" as I would call it, it's just to the left, go
up, and then head right when you get to the blue door. Navigate the "bomb
maze" using a single power bomb and some bomb jumping, and then get the power
bomb in the room below. Return to the fireflea room and stock up on ammo and
health, using a Crystal flash if needed. Since super missiles are pretty
scarce in Lower Norfair, you'll need to conserve them, but now that you have
some extra power bombs, don't be afraid to use them. Anyway, once you are
done refilling in the fireflea room and it's neighbors, it's time to exit
Lower Norfair. Go up and out of the room to the left and then enter the next
room towards the exit of Lower Norfair. You'll want to avoid the flames and
lava as much as you can, since energy is running out as you go through Lower
Norfair. Bomb a block down to a narrow passage to get a missile in a secret
compartment to the left. Once you have this,get moving out of Lower Norfair
as fast as you can, and screw attack through the Ki-Hunters, ignoring their
ammo, and then take the upper door exit of Lower Norfair. From this room,
fall down the crumble blocks and quickly head back to the bubble room before
your energy runs out. If you have a crystal flash on the way, use it, if
not, then good luck, you're gonna need it.
(3 Items collected, 2 Missiles, 1 Power Bomb)

E. The Last Missile in Lower Norfair (72%)
Now that you are out of Lower Norfair, you can take a deep breath and relax
for a while, and refill your ammo and health a lot quicker with the beetle
rooms. Save your game at the save point in the bubble room, or the one by
the speed booster blocks with the fleas where you can get more power bombs.
Now, you'll have to repeat Part A (Into the fiery lava), and enter Lower
Norfair again via the lava pit. Once you have done that, we are going to go
fetch the last missile in Lower Norfair, which is located before the big
Earthquake Lava Room with the space pirates. Make your way to the door just
before the big lava room in Lower Norfair, which in itself can be very
difficult since you'll have to jump up the pirate shaft again with a few
difficult wall jumps as before, if not some frozen pirates. At any rate,
shoot the blocks in the ceiling and go up and enter the blue door to your
left. In this room, shoot the blocks below and then bomb a fake block
downwards into the room with the last missile. Once you have gotten this
missile, congratulations! You have just gotten the last known item possible
in the 73% NBMB run. Head back to the save point and then save your game,
of course using crystal flashes on the way if you like. You can do anything
you want from here, it's your call, and in another FAQ I may be writing
in the future, I will explore the "No-Suits Run" which allows completion of
the game without either the gravity or Varia Suits. (1 Item, 1 missile)

You should have the following items at the end of the NBMB Run at 73%:

180 Missiles (36%)
30 Super Missiles (6%)
45 Power Bombs (9%)
9 Energy Tanks (9%)
3 Reserve Tanks (3%)
Morph Ball (1%)
Bombs (1%)
High Jump Boots (1%)
Speed Booster (1%)
Screw Attack (1%)
X-Ray Scope (1%)
Charge Beam (1%)
Ice Beam (1%)
Wave Beam (1%)
Spazer Beam (1%)


XIII. Crocomire (73%)

This way was originally discovered by Illy, and involves using a new
glitch.

As Quoted by Kejardon on the GameFAQs Super Metroid Board:
"illy_ found a neat trick: If you're in a wall (such as in Crocamire's
room, getting rammed into the spike wall by Crocamire), you can
crouch, use the x-ray to force-stand, crouch, force-stand, not unlike
Metroid I's wall jump."

In other words, getting these items involves going into Croc's room
and then using this glitch to change rooms without killing Croc.
Getting the items is trivial compared to getting past Crocomire, since
it is pretty much a cakewalk once you're in the next room. I don't know
if there is a way to get Croc's Energy tank, since the room transition
occurs before you can get to the other side, and you're back up where
you started.

You'll need to use the Crystal flash to get unstuck once you're sure
that you've gone as far as you can. Escaping involves the same trick
once you get back into Croc's room after getting his items, and you
must use the Crystal flash almost immediately. It is hard to tell where
exactly you are since you're in the "Secret Worlds" in Super Metroid,
which is pretty much outside of the game's memory.

(4 Items Collected, 2 Missiles, 1 Power Bomb, Grappling Beam)

XIV. Kraid's Energy Tank (77%)

Using the same technique above, you can get the energy tank behind
Kraid's Metal Door in Brinstar. You may have to try at it a few times
and have your Crystal flash ready, since you may be going through the
Secret Worlds all the way down to the Norfair Save Point from the
Energy Tank itself.

(1 Item Collected, Energy Tank)

XV. Wrecked Ship Revisited (78%)

Credit goes to Kejardon for getting 2 Missiles in the Wrecked Ship.
You have to freeze one of the Ghosts and then use the technique above
to get into the Secret Worlds. I'm not sure exactly how this is done,
but it uses the same tricks above as used in Crocomire's Room except
for it uses Freezing Ghosts instead of the Spikes.

(2 Items Collected, 2 Missiles)

XVI. The Plasma Beam (80%)

The Plasma Beam is in Maridia obviously, and it is one of the most
difficult items to get behind the metal door. I have yet to see anyone,
including myself, get the Plasma Beam using the X-ray Jump technique.
However, theoretically, it can be gotten, so I'll just leave a place
holder in the FAQ here for it. Kejardon did get the Plasma Beam with
the Gravity Suit but not Killing Draygon, but no one yet has gotten it
without the Gravity Suit. To see a demo of his action go here:
http://www.metroid2002.com/kejardon/DraygonlessPlasma1.zip
(ZMVs are in ZSNES 1.36 Format)

If anyone gets the Plasma Beam, then they can do the Reset Glitch
and get an infinite amount of items from the NBMB run. However, using
the Reset Glitch to get items you've already collected doesn't count
for your overall Percentage Score on the NBMB run, since those items
have already been gotten; but if you use the Reset Glitch to get a new
item, then it does count. Also, you can "force-complete" the game using
the Space-Time Glitch and see your percentage and watch the ending.

(1 Item Collected, Plasma Beam)

You should have the following items at the end of the NBMB Run at 81%:

200 Missiles (40%)
30 Super Missiles (6%)
50 Power Bombs (10%)
10 Energy Tanks (10%)
3 Reserve Tanks (3%)
Morph Ball (1%)
Bombs (1%)
High Jump Boots (1%)
Speed Booster (1%)
Screw Attack (1%)
X-Ray Scope (1%)
Charge Beam (1%)
Ice Beam (1%)
Wave Beam (1%)
Spazer Beam (1%)
Plasma Beam (1%)
Grappling Beam (1%)


6. Alternate Paths (and challenges)

This Section will show you some alternate paths you may attempt to take
in a NBMB run. You can collect certain items earlier or later, and it
may help speed up your time a little if you want to play this for speed.
However, I don't advise this unless you are an expert at speed runs or
know how to bomb jump or wall jump exceptionally well.

A. Brinstar Depths w/o high jump boots- You may attempt to wall jump up
the Brinstar shaft before getting the high jump boots. You'll still need
to shoot the rippers with super missiles, but it is just more difficult
in my opinion. You can explore more areas behind yellow doors in Crateria
especially earlier if you don't want to visit Norfair at all to get the
high jump boots, but then again, it saves more time in my opinion to get
the boots first, since you'll have to bomb jump to get some items in some
places. It all depends on your style of gameplay.

B. Upper Norfair with 4 energy tanks- It is also possible to get through
the heated rooms of Norfair with only 4 Energy tanks and your one reserve
tank (also optional) you got in Brinstar. You can get the Wave Beam and
Speed Booster earlier in this way (and get up to the Gauntlet or power
bombs in Crateria if you haven't already by Shine-Sparking).

C. Wrecked Ship Early- You can get to the Wrecked Ship early if you know
how to HBJ across the missile platform to the ledge to the next room.
This also goes along with Part A, you can get here without the high jump
boots or speed booster, although it is more tricky and time consuming
(You'll need Power bombs of course from your trip up the Brinstar Shaft).
For a real challenge, try back-entering the wrecked ship to get the energy
tank you would have gotten in there had the power been on in there and
Phantoon defeated.

D. Maridia Early- Once you get the Ice Beam, you can go to Maridia and get
the items (you'll probably already have power bombs because you'll want them
to survive Norfair to get the Ice beam, as well as super missiles to get
anywhere at all, and I don't need to mention you must use power bombs to get
into Maridia through the tube now do I?). Not to mention, the high jump boots
are required as well to even get started, so don't forget them either.

E. Lower Norfair at 62%- It is possible to get the items in LN without the
3rd Crystal flash you need from evil #66, but very difficult. Special thanks
to Account of Posting for noting this on IRC. If you can get any of the power
bombs in Lower Norfair, you'll have that 3rd crystal flash, but be sure you
don't use more than 2 power bombs unless you are refilling your ammo or
Crystal Flashing. You'll also have to break up the run into a lot more times
entering and exiting Lower Norfair as Ultima does in his ZMVs if you only have
2 Crystal Flashes. My FAQ focuses on utilizing 3 Crystal Flashes and refilling
your ammo to survive in Lower Norfair so that you won't have to enter Lower
Norfair via the lava pit as many times. Also, note that you won't have the 3rd
reserve tank either, so it's a little more challenging, but you can get the
items from Lower Norfair if you have given up on Maridia and Evil PB #66.
Thanks to Boct1584 for noting this. AgriasOaks does this actually in his
Movies on the console at 65%, so check out his site.

F. 3% The Crateria Gauntlet- You can go and get the items out of the place
above to the left where your ship is if you want to, just bomb jump up and
bomb through the blocks to the entrance to the Gauntlet. Ultima's Website
also has a video of this.

G. No Bomb Jumping- You can attempt this entire run without bomb jumping once.
Yes, it can be done, but it's difficult. Only exceptions would be the Reserve
Tank in Maridia and evil Power Bomb #66.

7. Rumors (Circulating on the Super Metroid GameFAQs board, but unconfirmed
by me or anyone else)

None Yet.

8. Legal Info

This FAQ or any of its contents are protected by copyright laws and may
not be distributed or reproduced for anything other than private,
personal use without my express permission. Doing so is a violation of
these copyright laws and violators will be asked to remove the offensive
material immediately or be prosecuted in a court of law. (Translation:
You rip off my guide, you get sued and could go to jail or lose a lot of
money.) This FAQ is Copyright 2003 by Cloud Strife J (AKA John Reeske).
All respective other trademark and copyright holders own all trademarks
and copyrights contained in this document.

Note: People/Websites who can host this FAQ in their domain are as follows:

www.gamefaqs.com (CJayC)
faqs.ign.com
www.samus.co.uk

If this FAQ is spotted anywhere else or if any previous version of it is,
please notify me immediately at [email protected], and let me know who is
hosting the FAQ and the URL. Translations may be done of this FAQ in other
languages, and as they are done, they are ok.

9. References/Special Thanks

CJayC (For Hosting this FAQ while it was being developed on GameFAQs)

Wheres My Account (For His cool Metroid I used in my FAQ)

Kejardon (For accomplishing the impossible in Super Metroid) I am sure there
are other things he has done too to help out the NBMB Run in the past, so
bow down to his uber-1337 skills!

Pai (For his tip on the message board on Power Bomb #66)

Ultima4701 (For his 1337 ZMV's of the 73% NBMB Run to view, and for
suggestions on IRC) See Links Section for ZMVs.
Note: See my History section for other things he contributed as well,
as he was the one who inspired me to write this FAQ originally after
I started doing my own NBMB Run.

AgriasOaks AKA Red Scarlet
(For Discovering an alternate method of climbing up Mt. Death with
2+ crabs and for doing the first recorded 72% NBMB run on the console,
[as if I had any more doubts after seeing Ultima4701's ZMVs.)

Account of Posting AKA Deskjockey
(For the 6 possible Lower Norfair items that can be collected, although I
haven't confirmed or seen that this can be done yet, and for suggestions
on Power Bomb #66, and suggestions in general, as well as providing the
history of how the NBMB came about, and too many other things to mention
in this FAQ) Two Words: You Rule!

Shining Toaster and Lord Xela
(For getting PB #66 on ZMV and hosting it along with some other cool
metroid stuff.)

MathonNapkins (For the awesome trick with the one-way green doors to get
the 73rd item: the Screw Attack, making Lower Norfair a lot easier)

Boct1584 (For Noting some tips on Lower Norfair at 62%)

Illy (For Discovering the New glitch to get outside of the Game
and into the Secret Worlds using the X-Ray scope)

Brickroad {Founder of the NBMB RUN} and mrFergo (For their glitch/move
list FAQs which I used to help create this FAQ, and for making the run
possible)

SmokeYxMCPot (For his ZMV's of another NBMB run before Maridia, as well
as his speed run movies which were very entertaining) To view his ZMVs,
goto: http://www.geocities.com/smokeysmr/

The Super Metroid Board on GameFAQs (For keeping me updated to new
things daily)

Nintendo (For Making the best Metroid game ever in history! At least in
my opinion)

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