-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//version 2.2// //updated 12-17-2012//
==================================
========== SUPER METROID =========
======== 100% SPEED GUIDE ========
======= written by NeoChozo ======
==================================
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Welcome to my 100% speed guide for SUPER METROID, the third game in the
METROID series. This text document covers all of the pertinent infor-
mation necessary for speed running this title. Version 2 is a total
revision of the original source material. Use the index below as a
reference guide, and visit GameFAQs (
http://www.gamefaqs.com/) to find
other FAQs I've written.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
== CONTENTS ==
==============
1. Setup and Controls
2. Version History
3. About This Game
4. The Story So Far
5. Samus' Abilities
6. Weapons and Items
7. The Planet Zebes
8. Speed Walkthrough
A. Space Colony
B. Return to Zebes
C. Brinstar
D. Norfair
E. Wrecked Ship
F. Scavenger Hunt
G. Maridia
H. Lower Norfair
I. Tourian
9. Item Locations
10. Secrets and Tips
11. Acknowledgments
12. Legal Info
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=========================
== 1. SETUP AND CONTROLS:
=========================
SUPER METROID was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment Sys-
tem, but has been ported to the Nintendo Wii on the Virtual Console. Refer to
the setup manual for more detailed information on your individual platform.
This game offers you the option to customize the button layout to fit whatever
control scheme works best for your play style. Below is a recommended layout
that facilitates quick access to the run button (since you'll be using it a lot
during this playthrough).
RECOMMENDED CONTROLS
--------------------
CONTROL PAD: Move Samus left or right.
START: Pause game and bring up map screen or inventory.
SELECT: Not Used.
L BUTTON: Run/Dash, engage Speed Booster.
R BUTTON: Aim Up.
Y BUTTON: Fire Beams or Missiles, set Power Bombs in Morph Ball mode.
X BUTTON: Item Select.
A BUTTON: Item Cancel.
B BUTTON: Jump, Space Jump, use Screw Attack.
Do note that some secondary functions of the buttons require you to be in Morph
Ball form, such as setting Bombs or using the Spring Ball. Also note that this
particular setup prevents you from utilizing the Crystal Flash technique, so
you will have to do some rearranging if you need to use that move to get one of
the Super Missile Expansions.
======================
== 2. VERSION HISTORY:
======================
This speed run guide has gone through numerous changes since the first draft.
Below is a list of the major and minor updates that have been made over time,
starting with the most recent.
VERSION 2.2 (12/17/2012)
Added damage ratios for various weapons and included boss HP amounts in the
individual boss strategies. All strategies were rewritten to include any
new attacks gained at certain HP amounts, and Mother Brain was separated into
three different entries. Also, the descriptions of the Zebetite Glitch, the
Kraid quick kill, and the Space/Time Beam were revised with more detail.
VERSION 2.1 (12/12/2012)
Reconfigured a small part of the speed run to save a bit of time. Originally,
the Mockball for early Super Missiles was included as an alternate route;
the guide now makes that part of the regular walkthrough. The Super Missile
Expansion guarded by Spore Spawn is gotten before the Charge Beam, a Mockball
is added after the Grappling Beam, and a mid-air morph is used to grab the
Energy Tank before Draygon instead of after. Final clock time after this re-
vision is 01:20 instead of 01:24.
VERSION 2.0 (12/09/2012)
This update actually started 11/02/2012. This completes a full revision of
the guide's content - every piece of the walkthrough starting from the Space
Colony to the escape from Zebes has been rewritten for more detail, weapons/
items and techniques have been moved from the end to the start of the guide,
Secrets and Tips has been revised to include Blue Suit and the Murder Beam,
and the guide's structure has been reformatted to match the guides for MET-
ROID PRIME and METROID PRIME 2: ECHOES.
VERSION 1.5 (03/22/2005)
This update finally finishes the item locations section. Even though all of
the game's items are detailed in the walkthrough, a separate checklist of all
upgrades and expansions was necessary for completion's sake. Access to the
Wrecked Ship early and the Mother Brain glitch have been added, along with a
small description of the Space/Time Beam. Refined Kraid quick-kill strategy.
VERSION 1.0 (2/18/2003)
Finished the actual speed run walkthrough, with a final time of 01:26. There
is obviously room for improvement, but this is designed to achieve a low time
with 100% without requiring some of the more advanced moves. Mockballs are
described, but not required for this particular route.
======================
== 3. ABOUT THIS GAME:
======================
SUPER METROID was the first (and only) 16-bit adventure for Samus Aran, and at
the time of the game's release, was the largest SNES game with a 24 megabit
cartridge size. The game itself is an expansive title, and provides countless
hours of replay value just to explore all of the nooks and crannies that the
planet Zebes provides.
This game expands Samus' inventory from the previous iterations, although the
Spider Ball from METROID II: RETURN OF SAMUS is absent. The beams stack atop
each other so you don't have to switch, you have upgraded Missiles and Bombs,
a suit that lets you navigate underwater, and finally a grappling attachment
and a visor that lets you look for hidden passages. The fact that this game is
still played by many over a decade after its initial release is itself a test-
ament to its incredible design.
The planetary environment is much larger than previous games, and like its
NES predecessor, incorporates Transports that connect to different areas. Nor-
fair and Brinstar return, as do Kraid and Ridley, but this time there are two
more areas - Wrecked Ship and Maridia - added to the mix, each with a new boss
that has never been seen before. These expansive areas will test your abilities
and equipment like no other METROID game before it (we're not counting the MET-
ROID PRIME titles here), although half the fun comes from trying to get places
without the "required" equipment.
Overall, SUPER METROID was a significant upgrade for Samus Aran. The world was
more expansive than before, and it laid a path for many things that followed
in later installments of this series.
=======================
== 4. THE STORY SO FAR:
=======================
SUPER METROID is the third game that was released, but chronologically speak-
ing is the sixth game in the series (the three METROID PRIME games take place
in a single arc between the first and second games - and no, I'm not counting
METROID PRIME PINBALL because, come on). The events follow those of METROID II:
RETURN OF SAMUS after Samus Aran delivers the Baby Metroid to the scientists
at the Ceres Space Colony. The introduction to the game is provided below.
NARRATOR: The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.
[SAMUS ARAN recounts the past events from her Log.*]
SAMUS: I first battled the Metroids on Planet Zebes. It was there that I foiled
the plans of the Space Pirate Leader Mother Brain to use the creatures to
attack galactic civilization...
[A flashback shows SAMUS fighting MOTHER BRAIN.]
SAMUS: I next fought the Metroids on their homeworld, SR388. I completely erad-
icated them except for a larva, which after hatching followed me like a confus-
ed child...
[A flashback shows SAMUS finding the BABY METROID.]
SAMUS: I personally delivered it to the Galactic Research Station at Ceres so
scientists could study its energy producing qualities...
[A flashback shows SAMUS handing off the BABY.]
SAMUS: The scientists' findings were astounding! They discovered that the pow-
ers of the Metroid might be harnessed for the good of civilization!
[A scene shows the SCIENTISTS studying the BABY METROID.]
SAMUS: Satisfied that all was well, I left the station to seek a new bounty to
hunt. But, I had hardly gone beyond the asteroid belt when I picked up a dis-
tress signal! Ceres station was under attack!!!
[SAMUS returns to the SPACE COLONY.]
* Obviously there is a continuity gap here because Samus Aran only recounts the
events from the first and second games. This is easily fixed, though, because
in 1994 at the time of this game's release, the METROID PRIME series had yet
to be developed.
=======================
== 5. SAMUS' ABILITIES:
=======================
You have a number of powerful moves at your disposal besides just jumping and
firing Beams or Missiles. Utilizing the full potential of your Power Suit will
allow you to perform many kinds of advanced moves. Below is a brief list of the
various feats you can perform in the game.
STANDARD MOVES
--------------
These are moves that are pre-programmed into the game already that you can
use to take advantage of terrain and obstacles.
1. BOMB JUMP
Once you have the Morph Ball Bomb, you can morph and set a Bomb. Stay in
place to let it pop you up. You can infinitely Bomb Jump by practicing
with the timing and placement of each jump.
2. BOMB SPREAD
Once you have the Morph Ball Bomb and the Charge Beam, you can morph while
charged to drop a spread of five Bombs. Each Bomb inflicts 60 dmg; all
five will combine for 300 dmg assuming one single enemy is hit by all 5.
3. MOCK SCREW ATTACK
Once you have the Charge Beam, you can spin jump while charged to simulate
a Screw Attack. This technique inflicts 200 dmg to any enemy you touch,
but only works against weaker enemies. Bosses are not affected by this.
4. WALL JUMP
This is used to reach higher areas. Spin jump towards a wall, then as you
brush against it, tap the opposite directional button and jump again to
bounce diagonally up. You can wall jump as many times as a vertical area
will allow.
5. SPEED JUMP
Once you have the Speed Booster, you can spin jump while Speed Boosting to
fly across an area at great speed and gain incredible distance. Enemies
that you strike while Speed Jumping will be destroyed. Anything you hit
while Speed Jumping sustains 500 dmg (which is usually a kill).
6. SPEED BALL
This is more or less a Mockball with the Speed Booster equipped. The keys
for execution are the same, too - press Down in the middle of a Speed
Jump, and press Down and Forward when you hit the ground to rocket forward
in Speed Booster mode. It's not particularly useful, really. Like Speed
Jumping, anything you hit while rolling takes 500 dmg.
6. SHINESPARK
Once you have the Speed Booster, you can tap Down on the directional pad
while Speed Boosting to hold a temporary charge. Press another directional
button and jump again to rocket off until you hit a wall. This move will
gain incredible distance or height, but drains energy rapidly. The damage
ratio for this is 150 dmg per "frame" (as you travel).
ADVANCED MOVES
--------------
These are moves that are used for speed running or sequence breaking in the
game. Some of these are present in the game itself, others have been develop-
ed and/or refined by expert players.
1. MOCKBALL
This is a move that mimics the Speed Booster in Morph Ball form before you
have the item. Take off runnning, then spin jump. Hit Down twice (you can
hit Down at any point during the jump, but the second time must be done
just as you touch the ground), then hold Forward to roll forward at the
same speed you were running at.
2. BOMB LADDER
This uses consecutive Bomb Jumps, but angles the trajectory. Set a Bomb,
and set a second one before the first detonates. As you go in the air,
press Left or Right to move and set a third Bomb. Fall into the second
Bomb, and keep pressing Left or Right to move diagonally across the area.
This is really more for kicks than anything else - because of the diff-
iculty of this, nothing in this speed guide uses this maneuver.
3. SINGLE WALL JUMP
This variation of the Wall Jump involves leaping up a single wall. As you
spin jump at a wall and brush against it, tap the opposite directional
button and jump again, but curve your jump back towards the starting wall.
Repeat as many times as necessary.
4. SPEED BOOSTER SHORT CHARGE
Ordinarily, charging up the Speed Booster requires a certain distance, but
you can trigger it faster by running forward without holding L. Start to
run like normal, then hold L after your second or so step to reduce the
distance you have to go to engage the Speed Booster.
5. BEAM BOMB SHIELDS
This is a feature that is programmed in the game, but you are never really
instructed on how to do it. Each Shield requires the corresponding Beam
plus the Charge Beam to activate. First arm your Power Bombs, then go to
your inventory and select only the Charge Beam and one other Beam. Return
to the game and charge up, then release to activate the shield. Each of
these Bomb Shields consumes a single Power Bomb, but they have the nice
effect of inflicting 1000 dmg per hit.
- SPAZER BOMB: Six large beams surround you for a short time and then
launch straight up into the air.
- ICE BOMB: Four large ice snowflakes rotate continuously around you
until they strike a target.
- WAVE BOMB: Four large balls of electrical energy will spark out from
you diagonally. While moving around, the beams will follow
your movements for a short distance.
- PLASMA BOMB: Four large green plasma orbs spin rapidly away from you in
a screen-wide circular attack.
6. ENERGY CRYSTAL CHARGE
This is a highly advanced move also already in the game that you can use
to recharge your entire energy complement if you meet certain conditions.
To trigger it, you must be at 49 units of energy or lower, your Reserve
Tanks must be empty, and you must possess at least 10 Missiles, 10 Super
Missiles, and 11 Power Bombs (the maneuver itself consumes those amounts
of ammo, and you need the 11th to start the move). To pull it off, first
select the Power Bomb icon and then morph. Hold Down and the buttons you
have mapped to Aim Up and Aim Down (L & R by default), then detonate your
Power Bomb and keep the Fire button held down. After a few seconds, you'll
be engulfed in energy from the Power Bomb and your energy will be fully
restored. As a graphical bonus, you will see Samus outside of her Power
Suit during the animation.
========================
== 6. WEAPONS AND ITEMS:
========================
The Power Suit is an advanced Chozo exoskeleton that the Chozo modified for
your personal use. It provides life support functions and is well shielded from
attack. The modular nature of the Power Suit allows for the addition of weap-
ons and other gear as needed, all of which are strewn about the planet Zebes.
BEAM WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS
------------------------
The Beam System in this game uses a stacking system - in other words, when
you acquire a new Beam, all the effects of previous beams are also included
in the new upgrade unless you disable one from the inventory screen. The
damage ratios provided list the normal amount of damage, how much it inflicts
uncharged for normal combinations assuming you're stacking the beams and then
leaving them stacked, and finally how much damage each charged version will
inflict. Plasma gives a differential variation for the Ice since it isn't
always equipped during a speed run.
1. POWER BEAM [Normal: 20 dmg | Charged: 100 dmg]
This is your default Beam Weapon that has a fairly slow rate of fire. You
can have up to three shots on the screen at once, and overall is fairly
weak.
2. CHARGE BEAM [+ 80 dmg]
This power-up allows you to store energy in your Arm Cannon for a larger
and more powerful burst.
3. SPAZER [Normal: 40 dmg | Charged: 120 dmg]
This upgrade widens the radius of your shot by transforming your standard
energy bullet into a tri-beam spread. Charging it up increases the size of
the beams. You cannot equip this at the same time as the Plasma Beam.
4. WAVE BEAM [Normal: 50 dmg | + Spazer: 70 dmg | Charged: 200 dmg]
This upgrade adds electrical disruption capability to your Beams and will
allow your shots to travel through walls. Without any other beam weapons
equipped, your shot travels in a wavy pattern. Charging it up increases
the size of your Beam.
5. ICE BEAM [Normal: 30 dmg | + Wave/Spazer: 100 dmg | Charged: 300 dmg]
This upgrade turns your Beam into a freezing shot. You can freeze enemies
in their tracks or use them as platforms. Charging it up increases the
size of your Beam.
6. PLASMA BEAM [Normal: 150 dmg | + Wave: 250 dmg | Charged: 750 dmg]
This upgrade turns your Beam into a powerful laser that will cut through
almost any kind of armored enemy. Charging it up increases the size of
your Beam. You cannot equip this at the same time as the Spazer. Adding
Ice to this combination inflicts 300 dmg regularly; 900 dmg charged.
7. HYPER BEAM [Normal: 1000 dmg | Charged: N/A]
This upgrade is gained when the Baby Metroid steals the Mother Brain's
power and gives it to you. This replaces all of your Beams and will cut
a swath through anything you fire it at. Using a Game Genie code, you can
start the game with this and have some fun, since even bosses go down in
a few hits (although in doing so you need to be creative with your save
points since some areas will require you to have normal Beam weapons
available).
MISSILE SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS
---------------------------
Your Arm Cannon can be adapted into a concussive blast system that enables
you to fire energy-based Missiles. There are two different types of Missiles
that you can find in the game.
1. MISSILE LAUNCHER [100 dmg]
The first Missile Expansion gives you the ability to fire Missiles to take
out strong enemies and open red doors. You can collect additional Expan-
sions to increase your Missile supply.
2. SUPER MISSILE [300 dmg]
The Super Missile is a larger, much stronger Missile that is equivalent to
five regular Missiles. These can take out certain structures and open
green doors. You can collect additional Expansions to increase your Super
Missile supply.
MORPH BALL ENHANCEMENTS
-----------------------
The Morph Ball function allows you to compact your size in order to fit into
small passageways. There are multiple upgrades to this form that increase
your effectiveness while morphed.
1. MORPH BALL
This upgrade changes your Suit into a compact, mobile sphere. Like the
Varia, it is modular and able to accept numerous modifications to its
structure. Press Down twice to activate this feature.
2. MORPH BALL BOMB
This is your default weapon for the Morph Ball. When morphed, press Y to
set Bombs. You can have up to three at a time unless you use the Charge
Beam to activate a Bomb Spread. These can be used to destroy certain kinds
of rock or metallic structures, and you can use them to propel yourself to
new heights as well.
3. SPRING BALL
This upgrade adds jumping capability to the Morph Ball. Press B to jump,
and hold the button down to bounce up and down.
4. POWER BOMB [200 dmg; can hit twice for enemies. No bosses except Ridley]
This is the strongest Morph Ball weapon, and can destroy many different
kinds of structures, harm enemies in the blast radius, and open yellow
doors. You can collect additional Expansions to increase your Power Bomb
supply.
ARMOR AND ENERGY ENHANCEMENTS
-----------------------------
You can find specialized Armor Enhancements that increase your defensive cap-
abilities, mobility, and reduce the damage that you take from enemies and the
environment.
1. POWER SUIT
The is an advanced Chozo exoskeleton/battlesuit specially built for you
by the Chozo. It is well-shielded against attack, and its modular nature
allows for the equipping of battle gear as needed. You begin the game with
this upgrade.
2. VARIA SUIT
This is an extra layer of armor that increases your defensive capability
by reducing damage by 50%. Its dense structure also allows you to survive
in the heat of Norfair without damage.
3. GRAVITY SUIT
This is an extra-dense layer of armor that increases your defensive power,
further reduces damage by an extra 25%, and allows unhindered movement in
water and regular lava.
4. ENERGY TANK
There are 14 Energy Tanks scattered throughout the environment. These will
increase the power level available to your Suit's defensive screens. Each
Energy Tank increases your Suit's energy by 100 units. The more energy
your Suit has, the longer you can stay alive. You can fully recharge your
Energy Tanks at Save Stations as well as your Gunship.
5. RESERVE TANK
There are four special emergency energy supplies hidden throughout the
environment. You can set these to be used automatically or program them to
manual control from your inventory screen.
VISOR ENHANCEMENTS
------------------
Your Visor is your primary means of navigation through the environment. Mod-
ifications to it will allow you to increase the number of things you can see
and track via radar optics.
1. X-RAY SCOPE
This upgrade changes what you can see in the visible spectrum by revealing
hidden passageways, block types and other structural anomalies.
MOVEMENT SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------
Part of your power is your agility and jumping prowess. With these special
Chozo upgrades, your mobility is greatly enhanced.
1. HIGH JUMP BOOTS
This upgrade adds a special thruster to your Boots that will dramatically
increase your jumping height, allowing you to reach new areas.
2. SPEED BOOSTER [500 dmg when boosting]
This upgrade adds special powers to your Boots that allow you to run at
high speed. After charging it, you will blaze through enemies and obstac-
les and only stop once you reach something you can't break through. You
can hold a charge in this form and use the stored energy to rocket through
the air at incredible speed as well.
3. SPACE JUMP
This upgrade adds specialized thrusters to your Power Suit that allow you
to continuously spin jump in the air. Using this, you can remain airborne
and reach new heights.
4. SCREW ATTACK [2000 dmg per hit]
This upgrade transforms your normal jump into a buzzsaw of destructive en-
ergy. You can use this in tandem with the Space Jump to create a spinning
and unstoppable energy force. Only the strongest enemies can resist the
effects of this weapon.
5. GRAPPLING BEAM [50 dmg per hit]
This upgrade allows you to swing back and forth from special [+]-shaped
icons or certain enemies in the environment. Select the Grappling Beam and
then press Y to fire at an icon and stay connected. Some Grapple Points
are damaged and crumble after a few seconds.
=======================
== 7. THE PLANET ZEBES:
=======================
Metroid games have always been focused on exploration, and this one is certain-
ly no exception. Within this game lie twisting tunnels and mazes that challenge
your sense of direction in many ways. Much of this game is spent looking high
and low for different passages (although this in of itself might be more of a
sequence-breaking mentality), bombing obstacles out of the way, and looking for
the most efficient way out of an area. What you'll find below is a brief list
of some things to consider that will make your journey through Zebes easier.
GENERAL TIPS
------------
1. SUPER METROID kind of lets you off a little easy by not flooding you with
vast hordes of enemies like in some of the Metroid titles. Many enemies
require different tactics to defeat, but for the purposes of a speed run,
you'll most likely be ignoring the vast majority of them. However, always
be wary of what's off-screen - you never know when some giant enemy is
going to swoop in on you to attack, such as the mutant Sidehoppers (well,
actually, you will, since an unwritten rule of speed running is a detailed
knowledge of the entire map).
2. Your inventory is pretty expansive, and once you get an idea for the lay
of the land, some items like the X-Ray Scope won't even be used. Also,
keep your Ice Beam deactivated for most of the game unless you need to use
it to freeze something. The Ice Beam doesn't, as some people assume, add
an "extra" hit, but since you freeze objects right before destroying them,
it can still slow you down.
3. This speed run doesn't require absolute mastery of all of the tricks, but
being familiar with them is a good idea. For ones like the Mockball, which
can be difficult to pull off, alternate routes are listed to ensure that
you still get all of the game's items.
AREAS OF ZEBES
---------------
You'll travel through six different areas on Zebes during the course of the
game. All of the areas interconnect through the use of elevator transports.
Some areas, though, cannot be explored until you have acquired certain items
or upgrades.
1. CRATERIA
This is the surface area of the planet that contains pathways to the old
Space Pirate Base as well as the Wrecked Ship. Your Gunship will always
be located on the surface area, which you can use at any time to reload
ammunition, replenish energy, and save.
2. BRINSTAR
This subterranean area has three distinct regions - the upper jungle area,
the eastern cave area, and the lower crustal area that leads to Maridia.
Kraid, one of the Space Pirate generals, has established a base in the
southeastern area.
3. NORFAIR
This fiery area has two distinct regions - the upper rocky area and the
lower region which has some of the strongest creatures on the planet. The
other Space Pirate general, Ridley, has established his stronghold near
the planet's core.
4. WRECKED SHIP
Millennia ago, an alien crew crash-landed on the planet and succumbed to
some unknown fate. What remains of their ship lies partially submerged in
the eastern area of Crateria. This technologically advanced area has been
taken over by a large spectral entity named Phantoon, and also contains
a pathway to the eastern-most area of Maridia.
5. MARIDIA
This aquatic area has both dry and wet terrain features. Some of the hard-
ier creatures reside here, and the strongest areas are guarded by the
large creature known as Draygon.
6. TOURIAN
The Space Pirates have reestablished their base of operations on the plan-
et in a new location. They have also revived Mother Brain, and are working
to continue harvesting Metroids for their ultimate military weapon.
GETTING AROUND
--------------
Running around a planet takes a long time. Fortunately, there are plenty of
region-connecting transport elevators that link them. Moving around within
individual areas is accomplished via doors, gates, or tunnels. Moving between
areas of the planet, though, is accomplished via larger elevator systems.
Refer below to see a short list of the means you will be using to move from
place to place.
DOORS/GATES
-----------
1. BLUE DOOR
These are standard doors, and can be opened with any Beam or Bomb.
2. BLUE GATE
These are like blue doors. Fire at the blue gem to open them.
3. RED DOOR
These doors can only be opened by using 5 Missiles or 1 Super Missile.
4. GREEN DOOR
These doors can only be opened with the use of a Super Missile.
5. GREEN GATE
These are like green doors. Fire at the green gem to open them.
6. YELLOW DOOR
These doors are resistant to all weaponry except Power Bombs.
7. LOCKED DOOR
These cannot be opened until a certain objective has been completed.
OTHER TRANSPORTATION
--------------------
1. TRANSPORT ELEVATOR
The elevators will take you between areas on the planet Zebes. Some will
take you to different sections within a planetary region as well.
2. MORPH BALL TUNNEL
Once the Morph Ball has been acquired, you can and will use these small
passages to travel new places. Some tunnels are blocked, though, and the
obstructions must be removed.
POWER-UP STATIONS
-----------------
There are various consoles you will find that can aid your progress in some
form or another.
1. MAP STATION
These will allow you to download an entire copy of an area map. Plug into
the console to download the data, and open your subscreen to view the map.
Areas that you have explored will be colored pink, while unexplored areas
remain blue.
2. SAVE STATION
These will allow you to save your game progress. Step into the capsule
and your game will be saved up to that point, with all energy and weapons
intact. These are marked on the Map Screen with an [S] icon.
3. MISSILE STATION
These will refill your complement of Missiles (not Super Missiles). Plug
into the console to activate it.
4. ENERGY STATION
These will refill all Energy Tanks you have on hand (not Reserve Tanks).
Plug into the console to activate it.
OBSTRUCTIONS AND HAZARDS
------------------------
There are many things in Zebes' environment that will hinder your progress.
Some are natural, while others are man-made.
1. WEAKENED BLOCK
These are blocks that can be destroyed by any kind of weapon.
2. COLLAPSING BLOCK
These collapse under your weight.
3. BOMB BLOCK
These can only be destroyed by Morph Ball Bombs.
4. SUPER MISSILE BLOCK
These can only be destroyed with Super Missiles, and are marked with a
Super Missile icon.
5. POWER BEAM BLOCK
These can only be destroyed with Power Bombs, and are marked with a Power
Bomb icon.
6. BOOST BLOCK
These can only be destroyed with the Speed Booster, and are marked with a
Speed Booster icon.
7. WATER
Falling into water slows you down unless you have the Gravity Suit.
8. HOT ROOM
The air in some rooms of Norfair is dangerous unless you have the Varia.
9. LAVA
There are three kinds of lava - orange, yellow, and red. Orange is found
mostly in upper Norfair and harms you if you don't have the Gravity Suit.
Yellow is found in middle Norfair and some areas of Crateria, is far hott-
er than regular lava and harms you regardless of your Suit. Finally, red
lava is found in Tourian and harms you just like yellow lava.
========================
== 8. SPEED WALKTHROUGH:
========================
This speed run walkthrough is broken into segments that comprise the major reg-
ions of the game as you head through them: Crateria, Brinstar, Norfair, The
Wrecked Ship, Maridia, Lower Norfair, and finally, Tourian. While this game
isn't as expansive as the METROID PRIME games, the same subdivisions are used
in this guide to maintain a standardized format. Every time you enter a new
area or take a path from one area to another, a "Mission Outlook" will be pro-
vided that goes over immediate objectives and what items or expansions you'll
acquire on that trip.
ITEM NUMBERING
--------------
Every item is numbered within the walkthrough segments. While this was orig-
inally designed so that I could keep track of what items had been acquired
during the writing process, I found that it also makes for a handy reference
tool for the player utilizing this guide to make sure they're "on track", so
to speak. This numbering format lists the item or expansion with the amount
you currently have divided by the end total to be found, i.e. "[ENERGY TANK
(01/14)]" or "[MISSILE EXPANSION (005/230)]", etc. Your end-game expansion
totals should be 230 Missiles, 50 Super Missiles, 50 Power Bombs, 14 Energy
Tanks, and 4 Reserve Tanks, plus all of the Power Suit upgrades.
GAME TIMER
----------
The game timer begins when you land on the Space Colony and ticks until you
stop playing or escape from Zebes. However, there are certain parts where the
timer stops - collecting an Expansion, for example. Pausing the game, viewing
the Map or your inventory also stops the timer. Using Transports, though,
does not stop the timer, nor does using Energy and Ammo refill stations (see
a speed trick in Section 9: Secrets and Tips, though, to gain a few seconds
during usage of the refill stations. The biggest one of all, however, is
using save stations. Even though you are only "using" the save unit for maybe
15 seconds, this ultimately adds up to a minute onto your overall time.
Therefore, if you can skip save stations, even the ones recommended in this
guide, you will be able to improve your times. Good save points to use are
the first one in Maridia - I prefer this one since Maridia is sometimes hit
or miss on certain tricks - and the one right at the beginning of Tourian.
Additionally, each Mission Outlook will also give you an "Optimal Time" entry
that gives you an idea of what your game timestamp should be upon finishing a
particular section. These aren't tailored to any particular individual skill
level; these are the times I recorded while playing the game and writing this
speed run walkthrough. To get each time entry, I started with three blank save
files and at every save, I copied the data three times, then played three ver-
sions of the segment and took the best time of the three. Times provided in
between save segments are more or less approximated. That said, you may need a
fair amount of practice before being able to complete a 1:20 timestamp. You may
even get lower than 1:20; it's all in how flawlessly you are able to execute
certain segments. In all fairness, 1:20 is actually more on the liberal side
of the spectrum - the record for 100% completion is 00:54. Below, you'll find
the speed walkthrough subdivided into segments of the game. Each segment is
designed to have a save at or near the end, although keep in mind that you will
be even faster if you skip save points. The game timer begins when you land on
the Space Colony.
8A. SPACE COLONY
----------------
This section details the first part of this walkthrough as you explore the
derelict Ceres Space Colony to investigate what happened to the scientists
and the Baby Metroid.
: =SPACE COLONY= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Investigate the colony and determine what happened. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:01 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
As soon as you touch down on the elevator pad, drop down the right-hand side
and fall to the bottom. Hold the Dash button as you make it through the
corridors of the deserted colony. After making your way through about five of
them, you'll reach a room and you'll see the Baby Metroid. Head over to it,
but before you can get over there, Ridley swoops down for a confrontation.
BOSS BATTLE: RIDLEY
===================
HIT POINTS: 2000
ATTACKS: Collision (5 dmg), Fireball (3 dmg), Tail Whip (15 dmg)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
There are two ways to get away from this battle. The first one is to take
time to tediously hit him 100 times with your Power Beam (20 pts of damage
X 100 hits = 2000 HP). The second and more recommended method is to hang
out at the lower-right and try to get hit by his tail as fast as you can -
once you're below 30 units of energy, Ridley leaves anyway. Get this one
over fast to avoid tacking on more clock time.
Ridley grabs the hatchling and hightails out of the colony. You'll have one
minute to escape the exploding colony, so start backtracking the same way
you came, being mindful of the tilting of the station as it spins out of or-
bit. In one room, ceiling tiles will fall and will slow you down if you get
hit by them, but keep in mind that you can also make long spin jumps through
the open-ended rooms. Once you reach the final vertical corridor, you'll
have to contend with some steam pockets and the tilting screen at the same
time. Get to the top and hit the elevator pad to escape. If you escape with-
in 30 seconds, you'll only have 1 minute on the clock when you land on the
planet. After escaping, you'll automatically fly to Zebes and land on the
surface.
8B. RETURN TO ZEBES
-------------------
This section details the second part of this walkthrough as you explore the
surface area of Crateria and make your way further into the planet.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore the surface of Zebes and search for the Baby Metroid. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Morph Ball, Morph Ball Bomb |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:05 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
As you land on Zebes, you'll exit your ship and emerge on the upper surface
of the planet. Immediately turn left and head through the blue door. Head to
the pitfall and drop down through it to the blue door located at the bottom
of the tunnel. Drop down into the large shaft that you used to escape from
Tourian in the first game. Hug the right-hand wall to make a fast trip to
the bottom, but count the ledges that you pass. After the fifth one, move
slightly to the left to pass a small one sticking out of the wall, then at
the bottom, go through the door to reach the old Mother Brain chamber. This
area is also deserted, so spin jump across the ledges to reach the door at
the end, which leads to a transport. Take this down to reach the area of
Brinstar where you began the first game. Just like in that one, head direct-
ly to the left over the obstruction to find the [MORPH BALL] sitting on a
pedestal. As soon as the animation is complete, run to the right and spin
jump up, then use the narrow passage to wall jump up through to the other
side. Continue all the way to the left and go through the blue door. There is
a path in the floor along with another door. Ignore the door and shoot
through the floor to reach a Morph Ball path leading to another door. Head
inside and shoot the orb in the Chozo Statuary's hands to find your first
[MISSILE EXPANSION (005/230)]. Exit out of here and go back the way you came
to the Transport and take it back up to Crateria.
Now that you've awakened the natives with your arrival and exploration, some
Zebesian Space Pirates will occupy Old Tourian. Take them out with your Power
Beam and head back to the escape shaft. Use single wall jumps to get up the
right hand side of the shaft, defeating the Gray Zebesians along the way.
Once you reach the top, go back up to the upper level while avoiding the Gee-
mers and the Ripper, then roll past the Skrees into a Morph Ball Tunnel. Fall
down this passage, avoiding another Ripper, and enter the door at the bottom.
Go past the Flickerbats and use your Missiles on the red door and go through
it to find another Chozo statuary here with an orb; shoot it to reveal the
[MORPH BALL BOMB] upgrade. After you get it, though, the doors will lock and
you'll fight a mini-boss.
MINI-BOSS BATTLE: SILVER TORIZO
===============================
HIT POINTS: 800
ATTACKS: Collision (8 dmg), Claw (10 dmg), Wave Attack (10 dmg), Bomb
Spread (8 dmg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
The Chozo statuary shatters and reveals one of the Chozo's most powerful
sentry guardians, a Torizo, behind it. The Torizo awakens since you've
"stolen" what it was guarding, so get ready for a brief battle. Once it has
risen, spin jump over it and fire your Power Beam diagonally. It does very
little damage right now, but when it uses its bomb attack, fire at them for
Missile refills, then switch to those for much faster damage. When you've
taken off 400 of its HP, you'll destroy the chestplate. Another 150 HP and
you'll blast off its face and it will increase in speed. Finish it off with
more Power Beam blasts or Missiles to end the fight quicker.
After destroying the Torizo, you'll get numerous refills and the doors will
unlock. Return the way you came to the uppermost level of Crateria and head
to the far left. Use your Bombs to break through the wall and you'll reach
another blue door that leads to a long diagonal tunnel. Run down this tunnel
and spin jump over the Wavers to reach the door at the bottom. This leads to
a zig-zagging room full of Green Zebesians. These take too long for you to
destroy right now, so just run through them to reach the bottom of the shaft.
At the bottom are two doors. Ignore the red one and take the blue one on the
left to reach another diagonal tunnel. Make your way through this one and
you'll reach an [ENERGY TANK (01/14)] at the end. Head through the next door
to reach a Transport that leads down to another area of Brinstar.
8C. BRINSTAR
------------
This section details the third part of this walkthrough as you explore the
jungle area of Brinstar and make your way to Kraid's lair.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore the subterranean regions of Brinstar. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Charge Beam, Spazer |
| 3. Supplies: Reserve Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x5), Super Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:09 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
This takes you to the green jungle area of Brinstar. Make your way down this
shaft and stop at the first red door on the left to go for a pretty powerful
sequence break that can cut off a few minutes. Open the door, then back up
against the ledge and get a running start. Jump just as you cross the part
where the door transition animation starts and you should continue to spin
jump as you go through the next room. Execute a Mockball by pressing Down
twice (hit Down the second time just as you touch the ground, or this won't
work right) and hold Forward to roll forward at the speed you were running
at so you manage to get under the security gates. After you get past the
second gate, shoot up through the ceiling and wall jump up to the upper area.
Defeat the Wavers and the Sidehoppers up here for Missile refills, then go to
the end and claim the first [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (05/50)]. Now go back
and drop down to the red door, then open it to find a Chozo statuary in the
next room that holds the first [RESERVE TANK (1/4)] - you can keep these on
standby in Auto Mode in case you run out of energy, or use them manually at
any time. Drop down to the bottom corner of the ledge that the Chozo is on
and roll through the tunnel into another room with a [MISSILE EXPANSION (010/
230)], then set Bombs directly behind it to break through the wall where you
will find a second [MISSILE EXPANSION (015/230)]. Exit back to the room with
the security gates, and shoot through the ceiling again. Take the path to
where you got the Super Missile Expansion, and drop through the floor to get
back to the first part of the room. Go past the first pipe with the Zebs and
Bomb through the wall to get a third [MISSILE EXPANSION (020/230)] that is
just sitting out in the open. Now exit the room completely and proceed down-
ward to reach the rest of Brinstar.
NOTE: If the Mockball proves too difficult for you, you can skip this seg-
ment, collect the Super Missiles like normal from the Spore Spawn, then
return to this room after you have the Speed Booster to get the Expansions
from here.
Continue to make your way down to the bottom of this vertical green tunnel,
then take the red door to the right to reach a pink corridor. Run through
here and spin jump over the Waver, then bomb through the wall to reach an
area with some Metarees. Run past them as they dive to reach the blue door
that takes you to a very large pink room. Here, you have a choice of what you
want to do. To save a few minutes, you can now skip the Spore Spawn mini-boss
and go via the back route to get the Super Missile Expansion that it guards,
or you can fight it - it's rather amusing to use Super Missiles to finish it
off (or even leave the room during the fight), and collect the Expansion as
you would normally. For this speed run, you will be skipping the mini-boss
and getting the Super Missiles from the back.
Drop down through the large pink room until you get to the last ledge above
the bottom. Defeat the flying enemy here, then go to the right-hand wall.
Jump up, morph, and set Bombs on your way down to expose a Morph Ball passage
in the wall. Morph into it and set another Bomb to fully clear the tunnel,
then go out and back and run to the left of the ledge. Go back to the right
now and stop just in front of the second small plant sticking out from the
ground. Jump and fire a Super Missile into the tunnel; your "reset" of the
screen should allow your projectile to destroy the block just off-screen. If
you don't hear a detonation, you didn't do it right. If the screen shakes and
you do hear the Super Missile impact, then mid-air morph into the tunnel and
roll to the blue door, then head inside.
NOTE: If you can't get this to work right on the first couple of tries, you
can always reset or just come back to try this again later, although resett-
ing the screen and standing by that particular plant always seems to work. A
secondary method is the Crystal Flash. Bomb your way into the tunnel and
execute the technique (it should go without saying that you first need to
meet all other criteria - less than 49 units of energy, all Reserve Tanks
empty, and over 10 Missiles and Super Missiles. This will force you into a
kneeling position afterward, and you can then fire another Super Missile to
break into the tunnel. Keep in mind, though, that this particular speed run
doesn't give you an "Aim Down" button, so you'll have to rearrange the butt-
on layout so you have both "Aim Down" and "Aim Up" available for this trick.
Go past the Zebs to reach the next room, where you can claim the [SUPER MISS-
ILE EXPANSION (10/50)] from the Chozo statuary. Now exit the way you came in
and go back to the large pink room. Go down to find another [MISSILE EXPAN-
SION (025/230)] sitting on a pedestal in the corner. Grab it and use some
Bombs to break through the lower-right corner of the next obstruction to find
a room with another Chozo statuary that holds the [CHARGE BEAM]. Now go back
up and over the obstruction to reach a door leading to a staggered section of
the Brinstar jungle.
Head through here and use single wall jumps after the second Zeb pipe to find
a vacant pipe at the top of the room. You will be able to fit inside without
a mid-air morph, but you need to roll into the Morph Ball to get through the
tunnel, where another [MISSILE EXPANSION (030/230)] waits at the end. Grab it
and go back out and travel through the remainder of the room, defeating the
Zebs and Sidehoppers as you see them. Towards the end is a blue gate; shoot
the crystal to make it open and head forward to reach a green door. Open it
with a Super Missile to reach a room filled with Cacatacs that you can de-
stroy for Super Missile refills. Jump to the ledge above you and run across
the collapsing bridge to find another Cacatac, and take the next door into a
large pink vertical shaft. This large room has some Zebs and what seems like
a dead end. Shoot down through the floor to reach more of the long tunnel,
and fall down the right-hand wall while firing downward to pre-open the door
below you. The next room has water that can slow you down along with two
Skrees at the end. Shoot the Skrees down and jump across the next water pit
to reach the next door. In the next room is a Cacatac and two Yapping Maws;
the Yapping Maws can latch onto you and pull you down onto the spikes, so
don't get caught by them. Stand against the door and fire upwards into the
ceiling, then single wall jump up into the new passageway. Use your Beams and
Bombs to clear a path through the Morph Ball Tunnel at the top, then roll
through to reach a new area with a green door. Open it and fire at the orb in
the Chozo statuary's hands to find the [SPAZER] upgrade, then go back down
through the narrow passage and clear the remainder of this room. Keep going
on through the next few rooms, past the large glass pipe that leads towards
Maridia, and you'll reach a Transport that will take you to Norfair. Ignore
it for now and fire a Super Missile at the lowest block in the right hand
wall to expose a path to Kraid's Lair. Go into this blue area and drop to
the first stair platform. Make a quick running spin jump and hold it in the
air, then wall jump as you brush against the bridge to go up and over the
high path leading into the next room.
: =KRAID'S LAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Infiltrate Kraid's Lair and destroy the resurrected beast. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Varia Suit |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:12 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Kraid's Lair is very short and very straightforward. Start off by shooting
through the floors to reach a new room with a locked door. Bomb through the
right-hand wall to expose a tunnel that leads to a door in the ceiling, then
wall jump up into the door. Defeat the Kihunters in this area and shoot a
path through the cracks in the floor to expose a path leading to a long
tunnel. Use your Missiles to quickly eliminate the Green Zebesians and just
run through the spikes flying from off-screen. Towards the door, you'll run
into Fake Kraid, a small version of the main guardian himself. Wipe him out
with one or two Super Missiles and collect all of the refills he leaves be-
hind, then enter the next door. This room has a few spikes and and Zebs, as
well as the body of a dead Federation Scout Trooper. Jump past it to the
door to find a Gadora guarding it. Wait for the eye to open, then fire at it
with a Super Missile to destroy the shield and turn it back into a regular
door. Once you've done so, open the door and head inside for the first major
boss battle.
BOSS BATTLE: KRAID
==================
HIT POINTS: 1000
ATTACKS: Collision (20 dmg), Boomerang Claw (10 dmg), Spine (10 dmg),
Abdominal Spike (16 dmg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Kraid surfaces for this fight from out of the ground, and he is a great
deal larger than the first time you fought (depending on which version
you take to be first - METROID or ZERO MISSION). However, you can defeat
him easily using one of two methods. The first one glitches the game a
bit because Kraid doesn't rise fully out of the ground. Needless to say,
for a speed run, this is the preferred method of eliminating him, but it
takes a bit of practice. As soon as Kraid emerges, fire a charged beam at
his eyes and switch to the Super Missiles. *AS SOON* as his mouth opens,
but before he roars, fire one into his mouth to freeze him in place. Before
he recovers, launch three more into his mouth and he'll die right then and
there. This, however, requires you to get the Varia Suit blind because the
screen doesn't scroll over - easy enough to do. Run right and spin jump
while shooting to open the door, and then the screen will scroll normally
as if you had beaten Kraid the normal way.
The normal way takes just a bit longer, but if you can even get two Super
Missiles into his mouth using the method above, you'll have significantly
shortened this fight. With the normal method, the impact angers Kraid and
he rises fully from the ground, becoming more mobile. Since you don't have
the Hi-Jump Boots, you need to wall jump off the left-hand wall to the two
platforms above. Fire the Spazer again, and fire as many Super Missiles are
needed to finish him off.
Destroying Kraid gives you multiple refills. Collect them and head to the
right to reach a room with the [VARIA SUIT] sitting on a pedestal. Grab the
upgrade to increase your armor capabilities, and backtrack all the way out
of Kraid's lair. The locked door is now flashing, so enter it and use Bombs
to eliminate the Beetoms. Fire at the cracked section of the ceiling to
reveal an [ENERGY TANK (02/14)], then continue backtracking out of here to
the Transport room.
8D. NORFAIR
-----------
This section details the fourth part of this walkthrough as you conduct your
initial exploration of the fiery regions of Norfair. This is a very quick run
through the upper region of Norfair with a large amount of sequence breaking
involved.
: =NORFAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore the fiery lava caves of Norfair. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: High Jump Boots, Wave Beam, Speed Booster, Grappling |
| Beam, Ice Beam |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x2) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x8), Super Missile Expansion (x1), |
| Power Bomb Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:21 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
The transport drops you off in a rocky vertical tunnel with many doors. Ig-
nore all of them and drop straight to the bottom and go through the blue
door on the left. There is a crawler enemy in here, and the door locks until
you defeat it. Spin jump over the Energy Tank and focus only on defeating
the creature before it gets too far down the tunnel. If you do it just right
you'll kill it and be able to unlock the door before heading down. Drop
down the tunnel and navigate to reach another door. Go in and fire at the
walls to break them, then jump over the lower part of the wall to reach a
Chozo statuary that holds the [HIGH JUMP BOOTS] upgrade. With your jumping
capability increased, exit this room and use your jumps to reach the upper
area of the room. Bomb through the tunnels to get a [MISSILE EXPANSION (035/
230)], then fall down into the first part to grab the [ENERGY TANK (03/14)]
that you bypassed initially. Exit this room and climb up the ledges, then
take the first door on the right-hand side. Shoot out part of the floor and
bypass the small Dessgeegas as you cross the room. Jump up at the end to
reach another door that leads to a room with spires and lava valleys. Go
past the second one and go down into the lava and shoot the lowest part of
the rock to reveal the [MISSILE EXPANSION (040/230)], then continue on to
the end to reach a green door. The next area is a staggered layout of rock
columns and lava-dwelling creatures - navigate past them and you'll end up
in the large green bubble room. Take the path directly ahead over the bubble
areas and shoot down through the metallic flooring to reach a room with a
Ripper and a [MISSILE EXPANSION (045/230)]. Grab it, then navigate your way
back up and take the blue door above the entrance to reach a Save Station.
Save your game here - you should be averaging about 14 minutes, then open
the door going back out to the bubble room. Get a running start and enter
the bubble room, spin-jumping off the edge. If you're fast enough, you'll
clear the Waver, but destroy it first if you have to. Hold your jump as far
out as you can to brush against the high part of the next wall, then use a
single wall jump to move up and over the Cacatac to reach the next section.
There are two doors here - take the top green one to reach a room with some
Skrees. Destroy them and shoot your way into the ceiling to reach a new
path. Take the next door and dash the entire way down the ramps over the
collapsing blocks. Eventually you'll reach a red door, but first shoot the
ceiling to reveal another [MISSILE EXPANSION (050/230)], then enter the door
to find a Chozo statuary that holds the [SPEED BOOSTER] upgrade in its palm.
Grab it and use your new boosting powers to backtrack to the large green
bubble room. Take the lower path this time to reach a staggered section with
multiple Dragoons. Enter the first red door and spin jump across the float-
ing platforms, avoiding the shots from the Funes as you go. Shoot the blue
gate on the next cliff and jump to the ledge to collect another [MISSILE EX-
PANSION (055/230)], then get a running start and make another long spin jump
off of the ledge. Brush against the far wall and single wall jump your way
up to the next red door. Head inside to find another Chozo statuary that
holds the [WAVE BEAM] upgrade. You've explored this side of Norfair now as
much as you can for now, so return to the bubble room and this time, take
the lower path on the left-hand side of the room through the maze of Morph
Ball passages. This path leads you to two doors - take the left-hand one to
reach another large room that is split in two between rock formations. Shoot
through the floor and take the bottom-left path, shooting the blue gate as
you go to eventually reach a small room with a green door in the floor. Open
it with a Super Missile and fall into the next room to fight a mini-boss.
MINI-BOSS BATTLE: CROCOMIRE
===========================
HIT POINTS: N/A
ATTACKS: Collision (20 dmg), Claw (20 dmg), Fireball (10 dmg)
----------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Crocomore is a rather large mini-boss, but is quite simple to defeat. He
has no set amount of HP, as the objective is merely to push him backwards
into the lava. What weapons you use, however, determine how far you can get
him to go per round. Missiles knock him back one step, charged beams knock
him back two steps, and Super Missiles knock him back three steps. While
Super Missiles inflict the most damage, they're harder to hit with, so you
should just stick with charged beam shots. Aim for the tip of his snout so
that even if he gets his fireball attack off, the top-most beam of your
Spazer will still hit him. Stay a few steps away from him so that he can't
get you with his claw attack, and just hit him until he reaches the bridge,
which collapses under his weight and drops him into the boiling drink be-
low.
* For a fun time, leave Norfair, get Power Bombs from Brinstar, and then
use one (or five) on Crocomire. He gets extremely angry, and tries to
Hulk Smash you.
As Crocomire is sinking into the lava, run backwards as far as you can and
try to Short Charge your Speed Booster. If you get it, hold the charge and
Shinespark horizontally to the right to reach a ledge; if this doesn't work,
then take a running spin jump off the ledge and single wall jump your way up
the ledge to claim the [ENERGY TANK (04/14)]. Just as quickly, spin jump
back to the left to reach the ledge Crocomire fell off of; if you did this
quickly enough, Crocomire's death animation will still be occurring. After
the music returns to normal, run to the left until you hit a spiked wall.
Below you, you'll watch Crocomire's skeleton travel through the lava and it
will try one more attack. When the boss music starts again, move back and
forth until the walls stop shaking to trigger the wall to break. Standing
still seems to prolong this sequence. The wall will explode and Crocomire's
remains will lunge at you - but don't worry, he'll fall apart before he gets
to you. Collect all the refills and go left to the edge of the lava pit and
fire your Beam to pre-open the door. Now run back to the right until you can
can charge your Speed Booster. Run to the left and hold the charge right be-
fore you reach the lava pit. Go right, then back left and spin jump over the
entire group of pillars, then Shinespark horizontally through the door. This
will shoot you across the next room into a red door - go inside to get your
first [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (05/50)] far, far earlier than intended.
Exit out of the room and drop to the floor. Use the Gamet nest here if you
need energy, then head through the door in the floor. Fall down the length
of this vertical shaft and head through the next door. This will drop you in
a room filled with rocky obstructions. Immediately use a Power Bomb to clear
the debris, then go to the right, and run left to charge the Speed Booster.
Blast through the rocks, then hold the charge just as you reach the edge.
Drop into the lava and stand slightly to the left of the runway, then Shine-
spark vertically. As you hit the ceiling, hold Right to land on a ledge with
a [MISSILE EXPANSION (060/230)], then drop back down and repeat the same
maneuver; only this time make a huge speed jump across the gap to land by
a blue door. Enter to find a Chozo statuary holding the [GRAPPLING BEAM] up-
grade, then turn and open the door you entered from. Ordinarily you would go
up and practice grappling, but instead, you can make another long spin jump
back to the ramp you started from. For a slight speed boost, Mockball just
as you hit the ground to speed under the low obstruction, then go back up
through the door in the ceiling. Here, ascend the ledges until you reach a
red door. Go inside to find a room with a rising lava tide and some narrow
passages. Wait for the lava to recede and Short Charge the Speed Booster.
Hold the charge, roll under the passage, then horizontally Shinespark to grab
the [MISSILE EXPANSION (065/230)] at the end, then go back the way you came.
Wait for the lava to recede again and charge the Speed Booster going back.
Hold the charge, go out the door, and vertically Shinespark to reach the top
(if this doesn't work, single wall jump up to the top). Go through the door,
backtrack through Crocomire's room and through the door in the ceiling. Keep
going up this time to reach another blue door at the top of the ceiling.
In here, take the upper path and eliminate the hovering creature to reach a
long row of Grapple Blocks. Grapple across them and you'll reach a ledge with
a [MISSILE EXPANSION (070/230)] as well as a green gate. Open it with a Super
Missile to reach the main vertical corridor of Norfair. Blast through the
ceiling and ascend the ledges until you reach another green door. Go through
it and use the Speed Booster to get past the security gates to reach a small
room with lava pits. Spin jump over them, and the next area has a staggered
layout with Funes mounted to the walls. Navigate the sections to reach the
blue door at the top, then shoot through the floor. Fall down and morph, then
roll into the tunnel that leads off-screen to reach a room with another blue
door. Inside here is a Chozo statuary that holds the [ICE BEAM] upgrade! Get
it, then go back out. Instead of threading the staggered sections again,
roll and unmorph, then use the narrow passages to wall jump your way to the
top and go through the blue door. Use your new Ice Beam to freeze the Popp-
ers as they emerge from the lava, then reach the next room and fall through
the collapsing sections of floor. Use a Bomb to access a Morph Ball Tunnel
that takes you past the security gates and out towards the main corridor.
Go up the rest of the way to reach Brinstar again.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Return to Crateria to explore the Wrecked Ship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: X-Ray Scope |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1), Power Bomb Expansion (x2) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:24 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Head back to the left through all of the rooms leading to the large vertical
corridor. Single wall jump up the right hand side until you reach a small
outcropping, then freeze the remaining Ripper and use it as a ledge to reach
the next area up. From here, deactivate your Ice Beam, then set a Power Bomb
to blow away part of the walls and open up a yellow door. Head through to a
darkened area filled with Wavers and FireFleas. Try to avoid taking out the
FireFleas since they are the only source of light, but destroy the Wavers.
You'll reach a long section of Grapple Blocks, so use the Grappling Beam to
cross quickly because some of the areas have multiple Yapping Maws that can
can pull you off of the Grapple Blocks. At the end, you'll reach a red door
that leads to a Morph Ball maze. Enter it and set a Bomb to raise a metal
pole, then navigate through the tunnels and set another Bomb to lower a pole
that gives you access to the Chozo statuary holding the [X-RAY SCOPE] up-
grade. Grab it and Bomb Jump off of the Chozo's head to set a third bomb at
the upper part of the wall to lower another pole, then thread your way back
through the Morph Ball maze to reach the end. Grapple back across the entire
room and reenter the main corridor, where you have to detonate another Power
Bomb to get out. Keep climbing up, reactivating your Ice Beam when you reach
more Rippers. Freeze them as you go up, then enter the door at the right to
find a long room full of Maneaters, Geemers, and Zebs. Don't fall into the
Maneaters because you'll be stuck for about six seconds, and head to the door
at the end. Here you can go up or down - shoot out the floor and destroy the
Zeros as they crawl from their cocoons while heading down to reach a green
door. This room has two sets of Boyons in it that you need to freeze in order
to create a path over to the other side, although you can also just jump over
them. Cross to the Chozo statuary on the other side to collect a [POWER BOMB
EXPANSION (10/50)], then detonate a Power Bomb to destroy the wall, revealing
a hidden [MISSILE EXPANSION (075/230)]. Freeze the Boyons to cross the room
again, then head back up the tunnel. There are some Cacatacs here and a Save
Station if you want to use it - you can save here and proceed directly to the
Wrecked Ship in a moment, or go back to your Gunship and tack on about an
extra minute doing so. Going to your ship only ensures that you have full
energy and ammo before tackling the Wrecked Ship area. Keep going up to reach
another green door. Enter here and fire away with charged Ice Beam shots to
take out the gigantic Sidehoppers. Once they've been eliminated, set a Power
Bomb on the platform over the dormant Maneater so you can fall through it to
reach a [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (15/50)]. Exit this small room and return to
the corridor, then keep going up to reach a Transport that returns you to
Crateria.
8E. WRECKED SHIP
----------------
This section details the fifth part of this walkthrough as you explore more
of the upper area of Crateria along with the crash site of an ancient civili-
zation's starship.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate pathway to the Wrecked Ship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:25 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Once you reach the top of the transport, open the yellow door with a Power
Bomb and head up through the next vertical passage. Shoot out part of the
ceiling and you'll find a room with a few Kihunters. Here, either go back to
the left and use the Speed Booster to reach your Gunship, or continue to the
right to reach another yellow door. Open it with a Power Bomb and you'll find
a small lake. You can't go underwater with much success yet, so use the
Grapple Blocks to cross the lake and pick up a [MISSILE EXPANSION (080/230)]
on a small pedestal. Quickly cross the Grapple Blocks to reach the opposite
side of the room, then open the blue door. Run through here and Short Charge
the Speed Booster and hold the charge as you reach the shoreline. Spin jump
to the next platform, then horizontally Shinespark across the large gap to
reach the green door (thus skipping a long grappling segment). This door
leads into the Wrecked Ship.
: =WRECKED SHIP= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore the ancient Wrecked Ship site. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1), Super Missile Expansion (x2) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:32 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
From the entrance, run down the long hallway to reach the next door that will
take you into the main corridor of the Wrecked Ship. At this point, the ship
is without power, so there are no enemies floating about. Head down the vert-
ical area to reach the bottom. On the ledge above the bottom, you can Bomb
through the wall to reach an area with spiked platforms and a conveyor belt.
Do this now since the power is off so you can easily run through the room
without worrying about the hazards, and claim the [MISSILE EXPANSION (085/
230)]. Go back out and use a Power Bomb to clear a path through the floor,
and navigate the tunnels down to the bottom section. There are two cannons on
the floor, but ignore them and go through the green door on the bottom to
reach the lowest floor. Go to the right and Bomb through the lower-right cor-
ner to expose another small tunnel that takes you directly to another Gadora.
Again, destroy the eye with a Super Missile, then go inside for the second
major boss battle.
BOSS BATTLE: PHANTOON
=====================
HIT POINTS: 2,500
ATTACKS: Collision (50 dmg), Fireball (20 dmg)
-------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Phantoon is a large spectral entity that is siphoning all of the energy
from the Wrecked Ship, which is why it is powerless. The only troublesome
part of this fight is that Phantoon may be visible, but can't be harmed
until he turns solid, so much of your time is spent dodging his battery of
attacks. The fight will start with Phantoon generating scores of small blue
fireballs that you can shoot for energy refills, but he won't yet be visi-
ble. There are a couple of ways you can go about ending this fight quickly.
Do NOT use Super Missiles when he turns solid because they will force him
into a lengthy phase where he's not only invulnerable, but he launches mul-
tiple spinning waves of blue fireballs that you have to use the mock Screw
Attack (spin jumping while charged) to avoid. Start off selecting the Power
Bombs, then charge your Beams. Fire at the blue flames to get rid of them,
then hit Phantoon with a charged shot when he turns solid. He'll screech
and fly a bit, but you should be able to hit him a second time before he
gets off-screen. Quickly go to your inventory and deactivate the Spazer.
Go back to the game and charge up. You should have enough time to fully
charge and trigger your Wave Bomb Shield just as Phantoon flies back onto
the screen - hitting him with this inflicts a metric ton of damage, after
which he'll go back to just floating around using fireballs. Repeat the
strategy a second time, using the Wave Bomb Shield from the start, then
finish the fight with a single Super Missile.
Phantoon's destruction restores power to the Wrecked Ship. While this means
all of the electronic devices will work, this also means that all of the
various enemies will appear. Exit out of this small area to find that the
Work Robots have reanimated and Atomics float about the room. Destroy the
Atomics since they follow you wherever you go, then go back through the door
in the ceiling to reach the main corridor again. Go up and enter the now-
unlocked foor to claim an easy [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (15/50)], then exit
the room and go directly across the hall where you can Bomb through the wall
to expose a new area. Head past the conveyors and the enemies here to reach a
wall. Shoot the Work Robot to make it move away from the wall, then set a
Power Bomb to expose a series of passages. Mid-air morph into the second one
from the bottom to reach another hidden [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (20/50)],
then go back to the main corridor and start making your way to the top. Even-
tually you'll reach another ceiling that you can Power Bomb through. Climb up
another level and there will be a door in the ceiling after some platforms.
Climb the first platform, then single wall jump your way to the top and go up
to the next area. This room is filled with Atomics, spark traps, and Kihunt-
ers. Eliminate every single enemy - the doors are locked until you do - and
first open the door on the right-hand side, then go all the way back to the
left to the other door. Go through here and shoot all of the Work Robots into
the pits to reach a Chozo statuary that holds another [MISSILE EXPANSION
(090/230)]. Go back out and cross the long room again to the door at the
right, and head back outside to reach an upper area of Crateria.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Find pathway to the secondary area of the Wrecked Ship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x2) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:34 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
This area is filled with rocky cliffs and more wreckage of the outer part of
the ship. Drop down and cross the area to reach solid ground. There is a
series of ledges above you; charge the Speed Booster and hold the charge
after you have passed the fifth ledge. Hold the charge and stop just to the
right of the sixth ledge, and vertically Shinespark to hit the rocks above
you. Fire your beams and hold Left as you fall to expose and grab another
[MISSILE EXPANSION (095/230)], then drop down. Go to the left-hand side and
there will be an odd-looking block. Jump over it and fire a Super Missile
downwards to reveal a hole leading to a network of Morph Ball tunnels. Enter
it and Bomb your way to the left to find the [MISSILE EXPANSION (100/230)],
then without rolling to the right (this triggers a collapsing block that
drops you to the first area before the Wrecked Ship), stand up and shoot the
block out of the way, then jump and mid-air morph back into the tunnel. Find
the spot where you can stand and fire another Super Missile to get back out.
Go to the right now and there will be another odd-shaped part of the rock.
Bomb through this one to reach another network of tunnels that you can take
to an area with a Geega nest. Use them to refill whatever energy and ammo
you need, then head through the next door to reach a watery cavern. Defeat
the enemies in here, then head through the next door to return to the Wrecked
Ship.
: =WRECKED SHIP= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Find pathway to the secondary area of the Wrecked Ship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Gravity Suit |
| 3. Supplies: Reserve Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:36 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
This takes you to a bridge with a strange Geemer above you. It only appears
if you're in this particular tunnel, and seems to do nothing else. Head into
the next door to reach a long spiked tunnel with Grapple Blocks. You can
grapple across if you like, but the faster method is just to run and spin
jump onto the spikes. You'll take damage, but you can build up speed during
your flashing invincibility to make longer running spin jumps. Keep doing
this until you reach the end where you'll find a standing Chozo statuary.
Morph into its palm and let it grab you - it will come to life and walk back
across the spike pit, this time taking you into a hidden area beneath you.
After the statuary drops you, detonate a Power Bomb to clear a path beneath
you. Roll to the right and detonate another one to clear more debris, then
take this path and shoot the Work Robots into the pits. After the second one,
you'll find a Chozo statuary with a [MISSILE EXPANSION (105/230)]. Detonate
a third Power Bomb to destroy the statuary and expose a new tunnel. Charge
your Speed Booster and hold it right before you reach the end, then Shine-
spark vertically to blast through to a new area. Go left and fall through in-
to a room with a shielded orb. Jump over the center of the room - it has some
collapsing blocks - and shoot the orb for your next [RESERVE TANK (2/4)].
Now go back to where the Chozo dropped you off and enter the door to find the
[GRAVITY SUIT] upgrade that lets you freely maneuver while submerged. Take
the next door back out to Crateria.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Collect final items and return to your Gunship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:36 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Drop down and hold Right to land on a ledge so you don't hit the Gripper be-
neath you, then return to the inside of the Wrecked Ship.
: =WRECKED SHIP= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Collect final items and return to your Gunship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:38 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Go down one level to reach a flashing, unlocked door, and go through the
water-filled section to reach another vertical tunnel. Navigate the ledges
leading upwards, then shoot through the ceiling to reach another door. This
leads to a water-filled chamber, where you can either grapple across or use
the floating platforms to reach another Chozo statuary that holds another
[ENERGY TANK (05/14)]. Backtrack all the way to the beginning of the Wrecked
Ship now and charge your Speed Booster in the long hallway leading back out
to Crateria. Hold your charge and open the door, then Shinespark horizont-
ally across the area.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Return to your Gunship. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:39 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Your Shinespark will carry you across the entire area back to the door you
entered from. Before going through, run down to the Shorelines and drop into
the water. Navigate down and to the left to reach a rock wall. Bomb through
it and you can roll through the tunnel to reach another [MISSILE EXPANSION
(110/230)]. Now backtrack through the lake access room, grappling across to
the other side, and return through the next few tunnels to reach the area
where you Gunship is parked. Enter it to restore all energy and ammo, and
save your game. The next section is filled with item-gathering in a very
rapid sequence, so saving here first is a good idea.
8F. THE SCAVENGER HUNT
----------------------
This section details the sixth part of this walkthrough, where you travel
through Crateria and Brinstar again on your way towards Maridia. This time,
though, you'll be collecting all the expansions you bypassed the first time
because of your upgraded inventory.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Return to Brinstar. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x2), Super Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:41 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
From your ship, head left back into the caverns. Go down the tunnel as if you
were going to Old Tourian, and stop at the second blue door on the left side
of the tunnel. Enter this room and enter the Morph Ball Tunnel, then set a
Power Bomb to clear the obstructions away. Enter the next door to reach a
Chozo statuary holding a [MISSILE EXPANSION (115/230)], then exit out and
return to the old Tourian shaft. Fall all the way down the right-hand side
and reenter Mother Brain's old chamber. Set a Power Bomb over the life supp-
ort system and fall down through Mother Brain's backup chamber to collect the
[MISSILE EXPANSION (120/230)]. Return to the main escape shaft and go up to
the small outcropping on the right. Here, bomb through the walls to reach the
yellow door. Open it and activate your Ice Beam, then head inside. Slowly
advance to freeze the Boyons before they jump up, then go back and charge
your Speed Booster across the new runway. Hold the charge and Shinespark
vertically at the end to blast upwards through a ceiling where you'll find a
[SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (25/50)]. Go to the left and run/spin jump across
the spikes (or grapple across), and through the next small tunnel to return
to the shaft. Go back up now and proceed along the same path you took init-
ially to reach the jungle area of Brinstar.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Collect expansions and make your way to Maridia. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x4) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x4), Super Missile Expansion (x1), |
| Power Bomb Expansion (x3) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:44 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Once you reach Brinstar, drop past all of the ledges to reach the very bottom
of the area. Use a Power Bomb to get rid of part of the floor, then fall down
another long tunnel and take the green door on the left. You'll enter a room
filled with Beetoms, but you can ignore them and head through the next door
into a metallic room. This has a false floor, so be careful. Run to the left
and spin jump just as the you see the [ENERGY TANK (06/14)] to clear the gap
and collect the Tank. Enter the next green door to find a small area with a
[SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (30/50)], then exit the room and fall through the
false floor. Roll through the narrow passage to reach a room filled with Zebs
and Beetoms. Get past all of them to reach a room where you'll meet a trio of
Etecoons - a trio of animals that would, in an ordinary game, teach you how
to Wall Jump. But since you're an expert at it already, school them by single
wall jumping up the entire shaft. At the top, mid-air morph into the narrow
passage on the right to reach a [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (20/50)]. To get out,
you can attempt to set a Bomb and hold Left so you can try and "pop" yourself
over to the ledge, but this doesn't even work reliably for me, so you may
have to fall a short distance and wall jump back up to reach the end. Head to
the left and you'll return to the large green shaft. Climb back to the top
and head into the large pink room near where you picked up the Charge Beam.
As you enter, go to the right, drop off the ledge and curve to the left. Go
down and single wall jump up and curve around to reach a ledge (or use the
Grapple Blocks to cross) with a [MISSILE EXPANSION (125/30)], then set a
Power Bomb to clear out part of the wall. Drop down and go through the hidden
wall and use your Super Missiles on the gigantic Sidehoppers. Once they're
all defeated, go to the end and fire a Super Missile downwards at the oddly-
shaped block to create a hole that leads to a [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (25/50)],
then use a series of beam shots and Bombs to trigger poles that will let you
out back to the large pink room. Fall down and go right, then jump up to
find a yellow door (pretty much across from your last Missile Expansion).
Open it, defeat some more Sidehoppers, then wall jump up the tall pillar that
has a blue gate. Open it, then wall jump back up if you need to, and enter
the now-unlocked door to reach an [ENERGY TANK (07/14)]. Exit this area and
return to the large pink room and Bomb your way down to where you found the
Charge Beam. Set a Power Bomb at the base of the Chozo statuary to reveal a
path leading down. Open the door and use the Speed Booster to crash through
the water and some barriers to reach another [ENERGY TANK (08/14)], then head
back out of here and towards the next jungle area. In here, take a running
jump off the first ledge and land on a platform high above you with a yellow
door. Open it up and you'll return to the cavernous area of Brinstar along
with another family of Sidehoppers. Eliminate them and set some Bombs along
the right-hand wall to reach another [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (30/50)]. Keep
going to the right and detonate a Power Bomb against the wall to return to
the area where you first got the Morph Ball. Head through here and take the
door at the end, then go through the red door on the other side of this room.
This area will also be familiar to veteran METROID players; take out the
Zoomers and Skrees in here, then shoot part of the ceiling near the right-
hand side to expose another [ENERGY TANK (09/14)]. Collect it, then detonate
a Power Bomb to clear out most of the rock face away, and go through to grab
the [MISSILE EXPANSION (130/230)] and run back to the left. Short Charge the
Speed Booster to make it easier, then hold it. Position yourself directly
underneat the hole leading up through the rock formation, and Shinespark ver-
tically to reach a new area higher up. Go through the door and make a large
jump up to reach an invisible bridge - use the X-Ray Scope if you need to
spot it, then run across to reach another room containing a [MISSILE EXPAN-
SION (135/230)]. After grabbbing it, shoot the lower-left corner of the plat-
form to expose a second [MISSILE EXPANSION (140/230)]. Exit here, drop back
down and use a Power Bomb to get out of the rock formation, and backtrack all
the way back to the staggered green jungle area. Take the normal path through
the next room with the collapsing bridge to reach the large vertical corridor
again. Drop down through here as if you were going to Kraid, then use a Power
Bomb to shatter the glass tube that leads into Maridia. Before exploring, go
ahead and use the Save Station that is one level below you.Drop down one level
and enter the red door to find a Save Station.
8G. MARIDIA
-----------
This section details the seventh part of this walkthrough as you explore the
vast underwater reaches of Maridia and further upgrade your expansive inven-
tory.
: =MARIDIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore Maridia and locate guardian. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Space Jump, Spring Ball, Plasma Beam |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x2), Reserve Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x8), Super Missile Expansion (x3), |
| Power Bomb Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:53 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Leave the save room and make your way upwards through the broken pipe to
reach a blue door at the top. This leads to a massive underwater cave with a
nearby red door. Go through it and defeat the Zebesian Crabs, then open the
green gate. Turn and pre-open the door, then give yourself enough room to
charge the Speed Booster. Speed Boost towards the door and quickly hold your
charge just before reaching the door. As you pass into the next area, run to
the left-hand side and stand in front of a waving plant in the floor. Before
your spark runs out, Shinespark vertically - if you hit something, you didn't
get on the exact spot. This should carry you all the way to the top right
into a protected [MISSILE EXPANSION (145/230)]. As you drop, hold Right to
land on or near a ledge. Drop down until you reach a ledge with a door; take
this into the next area and wall jump up to the next valley, then go down
past the Pink Zebesians. These can't be killed yet either, so ignore them and
go down into the valley, then go through the hidden right-hand wall to find
another door. Open it, then go back to the left and give yourself enough room
to engage the Speed Booster. Accelerate through into the next room with the
Tatoris, then hold the charge at the edge. Spin jump out into the middle,
then straighten out and Shinespark vertically to hit the ceiling. Hold Right
as you fall to land on a Grapple Block containing the [ENERGY TANK (10/14)],
then make a long spin jump out to the right. You'll brush against the wall,
so wall jump back up to a small niche in the rock. Either set off a Power
Bomb or jump and shoot downwards, then fall and hold Right to grab the [MISS-
ILE EXPANSION (150/230)] hidden in the wall.
Now return to the room with the valleys and the Pink Zebesians, and head to
the door in the upper right part of the ceiling. Go through it, then go up
and over to the left. Keep going left until you reach a high wall - climb up
it to the slope, then morph and fall while holding Left. You should bump into
a Geemer on the way down; this will slow your fall enough to let you roll
into a hidden tunnel that leads to another [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (35/50)].
Now return to the room you came from - the large area with the Powamps and
Grapple Blocks. Drop down and Short Charge the Speed Booster in this lower
area, then hold the charge and spin jump up to the last inclined rock. Shine-
spark diagonally-right to fly through this large area and land right next to
the door you need to exit the area. This next room has two paths - one lead-
ing up and the other leading down. Take the upper path first using the right-
hand side so as to avoid the enemies, then take the green door in the ceiling
to reach a sand-covered region. Head to the right and go through a hidden
wall to reach a [MISSILE EXPANSION (155/230)], then go out and take the upper
path. Go up and head to the left to reach another door, and take out the
enemies as you reach a seeming dead-end. This is yet another false wall, so
head through it, then go up at the end to reach the next door that leads into
a more open space. Head left, then fall at the end to reach a small dip that
has a hidden path at the very bottom; roll through it to find a room with a
a [MISSILE EXPANSION (160/230)] and a [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (40/50)] in
a double pack. Now backtrack through all of these rooms back to the path
split, and set a Power Bomb to expose the lower path through the floor. Go
down and right to reach another large open room.
Here, you need to set a Power Bomb to reach the lower floor. From here, use
the Speed Booster to accelerate to the right, then hold the charge when you
see a raised part of the ceiling. Shinespark vertically here to crash into a
room with a [MISSILE EXPANSION (165/230)], then head right some more and spin
jump over a collapsing floor to grab the [SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (45/50)].
Drop through the collapsing floor now and charge the Speed Booster as you
head to the left. Hold the charge, and Shinespark diagonally up to the left
to crash into a wall, which will force you up to the next ledge. Go to the
left and head through the door in the ceiling to reach a room with some
creatures that resemble Metroids. These "Mochtroids", the Space Pirates'
failed attempt at cloning Metroids, are harmless and can be easily destroyed
by any attack. Clear them out along with some of the architecture along the
bottom for a runway, then use the Speed Booster to blast through the rest of
it to reach a door. Just inside the next room is another mini-boss.
MINI-BOSS BATTLE: BOTWOON
=========================
HIT POINTS: 3000
ATTACKS: Collision (32 dmg), Poison Dart (24 dmg)
----------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Botwoon is a sea serpent that swims in out of holes in the background wall
of this room. Its only vulnerable spot is its head, and while Super Miss-
iles will harm it faster, they are more difficult to hit with. Equip the
Ice Beam instead and fire charged shots at its head whenever you have a
clear shot, and jump over or through the spreadshot of poison darts that it
spits every now and then. Botwoon increases in speed at 1200 HP, and then
again at 600 HP. Super Missiles are effective, too, although their slow
rate of fire makes actually hitting its head tough. Stick with your charged
beams - ten shots will take this mini-boss down.
With Botwoon out of the way, you can proceed into the next area, a long room
filled with quicksand and Puyos. Clear the Puyos from your path, then make a
running jump at the bricked structure above the first quicksand pit. Mid-air
morph at the peak of your jump to roll into a small tunnel that will take you
directly to the [ENERGY TANK (11/14)] (this is actually rather tough to pull
off; if you can't get it on your second attempt, just bypass this area and
grab it from the opposite side after beating Draygon - the tunnel on the
other side is easier to get into, and requires a series of Bomb Jumps over
some obstructions to reach it), then drop back down and go to the left enough
to charge the Speed Booster. Blast to the right past the quicksand pit and
through the blocks to reach a vertical area with some Grapple Blocks and
Mochtroids. The idea is to vertically grapple up, but you can easily clear
this by single wall jumping to get to the door at the top. This takes you to
a much larger room with many more vertical grappling sections, Mochtroids,
and quicksand. Simply single wall jump past the first two vertical towers,
then at the third one, spin jump low towards the wall, then hold your jump
out to the left. You should try to catch the lowest part of the overhang with
your spin jump so you can wall jump off of it and land on the overhang. This
is tricky and takes a bit of practice (especially with the quicksand below
tugging you down), but it is much faster than trying to use the Grappling
Beam and becomes easier with enough practice. Once you get past the third
tower, take out a few more Mochtroids to reach two doors. The top one is a
Save Station, while the lower one leads toward the boss. When you enter the
lower room, there is a false pit directly in front of you. Spin jump over it
and head over to the right-hand wall. Set a Power Bomb or shoot it to expose
the [MISSILE EXPANSION (170/230)], grab it, then return to the pit and fall
down to reach another Gadora guarding the boss area. Destroy it with a Super
Missile, then drop into the next room for the third major boss battle.
BOSS BATTLE: DRAYGON
====================
HIT POINTS: 6000
ATTACKS: Collision (40 dmg), Tail Whip (43 dmg), Turret (32 dmg), Power
Node (4 dmg/second), Gray Mucus (N/A; causes slowdown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Draygon, the large underwater guardian of Maridia, is a gigantic sea beast
that can be defeated in a variety of ways, some of which are extremely
speedy while others are quite daring. The normal method is just to pound
his weak belly with Super Missiles and charged Ice Beams when he swoops on
his passes, but with a little ingenuity, you can defeat him much faster if
you just wait him out. Start off by firing Super Missiles at the three re-
maining turrets in the room (at the four corners) to turn them into spark-
ing power nodes. Now go to the bottom and run around while the Evirs (small
miniature Draygon-like creatures) swim around. They're harmless, so don't
waste time firing on them. Eventually, Draygon will fly by in a swooping
pass, so pop off as many Super Missiles as you can to his belly for some
damage. At this point, wait for him to pass again. There are two methods
for killing him quickly. The first is to wait for Draygon to start spewing
gray mucus. Get caught in it so Draygon picks you up, then weather out the
few Tail Whips while you equip the Grappling Beam and try to latch onto
one of the power nodes in the room. Doing so causes electricity to surge
through your suit (you'll take negligible damage in the process) and flow
into Draygon for an extremely quick death. The second is to whittle his HP
down by whatever means necessary until his belly is bright red, then use
the ground at the bottom to Short Charge the Speed Booster and Shinespark
into his belly for the final hit. Doing this triggers the "Blue Suit Samus"
glitch, described in more detail in Section 9: Secrets and Tips. Use one of
these two quick-kill techniques to end this battle faster - just using
Super Missiles take far, far too long.
Draygon's defeat triggers an irritatingly-long death animation where the
Evirs return to dispose of the body, or something. Once it's over with, go
into the room to the left to find a Chozo statuary that holds the powerful
[SPACE JUMP] upgrade! This allows you to continuously stay airborne with re-
peated spin jumps, although the timing is something you'll need to master
first. Exit Draygon's area using Space Jumps, then backtrack across the long
Grappling room. Drop down the vertical passage at the end and head into the
long room with the quicksand pits and Speed Booster Blocks. Speed Boost
through to reach the quicksand at the far left, then sink through an invis-
ible hole in the floor to reach a new area. This takes you to a room with
multiple Zebbos spawning out of the quicksand; head to the left and through
the door to reach the large room that leads up to the first batch of Moch-
troids. Drop to the bottom and run to the right, shooting through part of the
floor to reach a lower part. There are two quicksand pits to your left; run
and sink into the first one. Morph through the long pit to avoid the enemies
and you'll drop into another room. Space Jump to the left to reach a path
leading upwards to a [MISSILE EXPANSION (175/230)], then go down and to the
right to find another path where you'll have to get over a section of coll-
apsing blocks to grab the [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (35/50)].
Once you have both expansions, drop to the right and sink through the floor
here to reach a long horizontal room with some Evirs. Space Jump to the right
to reach a door that leads into a short room with a single cracked Grapple
Block. Grapple on it to make it disappear, then Space Jump up through the
narrow hole and go up and over to the right, then go down. Shoot or Bomb
through the floors to reach another door that leads into a room with a lone
Shaktool. This machine carves pathways through the rock, and you need to use
it to cut you a path through this hall. Quickly set a Power Bomb to destroy
a metal barrier so the Shaktool can proceed, then follow it as it carves its
way through the sand barrier. Once its done, head into the next door to reach
a Morph Ball maze that you can simply drop down into and head to the right to
find a Chozo statuary that holds the [SPRING BALL] upgrade. Since you can use
this to bounce in Morph Ball form, use it to get out of this area and back-
track to the room with the Evirs. Space Jump through it, and detonate a Power
Bomb in the next room to reach a path leading up to the large Maridia Pipe -
a metallic shaft that connects the northern sector to the main area of this
region. You'll wind up in another sandy area. Go up and over all of the nat-
ural obstructions to reach an underhang beneath you. Try to jump off and
engage the Space Jump so you can (a) continue to Space Jump to the door, or
(b) keep spinning against the wall and then wall jump to reach the underhang.
If these methods don't work, fall to the bottom and just Space Jump your way
back here. Open the now-flashing door to find a vertical room with Puyos and
other enemies, and use the Space Jump or wall jumps to reach the top, where
a door leads through a short hallway into a large room with six Pink Zebes-
ians. Avoid them and drop to the bottom-right corner, where a Chozo statuary
holds the [PLASMA BEAM] upgrade. Use this now to eliminate all of the Pink
Zebesians and get out.
From here, backtrack to the first sandy area you found after exiting the pipe
and go along the lowest path to reach a blue door. This room has a number of
Zebbos spawning out of the quicksand - grab some refills if you need them,
then enter the flashing door on the other side to reach a stone room filled
with Cacatacs. Defeat them on your way up, then go through the next room
that has more Cacatacs, spikes, and small Morph Ball Tunnels. Get to the end
of this room to return to the vertical area with Mochtroids and Grapple
Blocks. Drop down and go through the door to reach the long room with the
Speed Booster Blocks, Puyos, and quicksand, and repeat all of the steps you
took the first time to get to the large room with the two quicksand pits on
the lower level. Shoot out the floor again and charge the Speed Booster this
time to get past the first pit, and sink into the second one. This takes you
to a second large room with some items, although these are slightly trickier.
Space Jump up through the path just off-center, then morph and inch forward
until you trigger the collapsing blocks. Without falling, Spring Ball up and
around to the right, then Spring Ball up again to reach the [MISSILE EXPAN-
SION (180/230)]. Roll to the right through the next passage to claim the [RE-
SERVE TANK (3/4)], then drop down and sink through the quicksand on the left-
hand side to reach a second hallway with Evirs in it. Space Jump to the door
at the left this time and you'll reach a room with a smashed pipe and Zebes-
ian Crabs. Drop through the bottom of the room to find a secret exit that
puts you back in the hallway before the glass pipe.
8H. LOWER NORFAIR
-----------------
This section details the eighth part of this walkthrough as you return to
Norfair to explore its lowest reaches for the last of your upgrades and your
showdown with Ridley.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate pathway to Lower Norfair. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:54 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Before heading to Norfair's depths, head to the right first and return to
Kraid's Lair via the elevator room. Use another Super Missile to destroy the
block and Space Jump over to the lizard head structure.
: =KRAID'S LAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate pathway to Lower Norfair. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:55 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Return through all of the rooms here to reach the area with the Kihunters.
Take them out and head to the right-hand wall and set off a Power Bomb to
expose both a path and a [MISSILE EXPANSION (185/230)]. Spring Ball up into
the Morph Ball Tunnel, grab the Expansion, then exit back out of the lair.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate pathway to Lower Norfair. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:55 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Take the elevator down to Norfair.
: =NORFAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate pathway to Lower Norfair. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: None |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 00:58 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Drop into the main corridor and take the first door on the left, as if you
were heading towards where you got the Ice Beam. Use the Speed Booster to get
past the security gates and you'll expose a path in the floor leading down.
Detonate a Power Bomb to get rid of some more blocks, then drop into a large
room filled with Violas and FireFleas. Head left to reach a blue door, and
hold back to the right as you go through it to avoid stepping on a collapsing
ledge. Shoot the wall across from you, then Space Jump over to grab the hidd-
en [MISSILE EXPANSION (190/230)], and drop all the way down to the bottom.
Head through the next door and engage the Speed Booster to blast through a
myriad of enemies and walls to reach the room that led down to Crocomire.
Go through the door to the right to reach a path that you've taken before,
but that you haven't fully explored. Run and Space Jump to make your trip
quicker, and enter the next room to find an Energy Station. Use it if you
need a recharge, then continue to the right and Space Jump across the lava
pit to reach another door. This leads into a dead end, but you can use the
Wave Beam to trigger the blue gate and open it. Roll into a hidden Morph Ball
passage that leads to a vertical room above Lower Norfair. Drop to the bottom
and use a Power Bomb to open the door, then drop into the lava pit. In here,
you'll find Namihes, cousins of the Funes, mounted to the walls. These are
a bit deadlier than the Funes and can't be destroyed, so just ignore them as
you Space Jump to the upper left area to reach a stone dragon head. Head into
the door to reach a Transport that leads to Ridley's Lair, but first make a
stop at the save Station to the left. At this point, your timestamp should be
about 1:01. If you're around this time, then you'll have no problem finishing
this game in 1:25 or less. Once you've saved, take the elevator down to the
Norfair depths.
: =RIDLEY'S LAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Find and defeat Ridley. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: Screw Attack |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x2) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x4), Super Missile Expansion (x1), |
| Power Bomb Expansion (x2) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:06 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Ridley's Lair is considerably more dangerous than the upper regions, and the
enemies here are some of the toughest you'll find on the planet. From the
start, make a running leap to the left and Space Jump across this long hor-
izontal area and enter the door at the end. You'll find a gigantic pit of
lava in the next room; Space Jump across the pit, mid-air morph, and detonate
a Power Bomb to clear part of the wall away. This exposes a Golden Chozo
statuary that you can trigger by morphing into its palm - doing so lowers the
lava level and allows you to proceed. Drop down into the hole in the floor,
setting more Power Bombs to clear rubble from your path. In the next area,
simply ignore the enemies and enter the next door. Across from you is another
[MISSILE EXPANSION (195/230)], but to get it, you have to carefully Space
Jump through a narrow path - the low ceiling can stop you and the floor is
made of collapsing blocks. Once you've grabbed it, fall down and head to the
right to trigger another Torizo statue to fall from the ceiling. This leads
to another mini-boss fight, but first, Space Jump up, mid-air morph and set
a Power Bomb to clear some rubble, then Space Jump up again and grab the last
[SUPER MISSILE EXPANSION (50/50)] from its hidden location. Now fall down,
equip the Ice Beam again, and fight the mini-boss.
MINI-BOSS BATTLE: GOLDEN TORIZO
===============================
HIT POINTS: 13500
ATTACKS: Collision (40 dmg), Wave Attack (30 dmg), Eye Laser (2 dmg),
Bomb Spread (20 dmg), Mini-Torizo (20 dmg), Super Missile
(50 dmg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
This Torizo is heavily armored and is quite a bit tougher than the last
version you fought in Crateria. While Super Missiles, if timed just right,
can inflict heavy damage, the Golden Torizo is capable of catching them and
hurling them right back at you, so forget using these and stick to your
charged beams instead. For the most part, the Golden Torizo's attack patt-
erns are the same as the Silver version, though this one adds a laser beam
attack and later on, a move where it spits multiple miniature Torizos that
fly at you for 20 HP of damage apiece. Just stay in front of it and fire
charged beams at it diagonally for massive damage - 15 shots should put it
down for the count.
Defeating the Golden Torizo opens up the next room, where you'll find a Chozo
statuary that holds your final upgrade, the [SCREW ATTACK]. This changes your
jumps into a charged version that destroys just about anything it touches,
and coupled with the Space Jump, it means you can become invincible in the
air. The next area is a long vertical section, so Screw Attack through the
ceiling and Space Jump to the door at the top. This takes you to a long room
with Ripper IIs zipping back and forth. These move extremely fast, but you
can eliminate them with the Screw Attack. Head to the end and open the green
gate, then continue along another vertical path with Gold Zebesians that can
only be destroyed with the Screw Attack and more Namihes. Once you reach the
top, shoot through the ceiling to expose a new path. Take the door, then drop
to the far left and set a Bomb to drop into a Morph Ball Tunnel. Stay to the
left because blocks to the right will drop you, and roll into a heart-shaped
room for another [MISSILE EXPANSION (200/230)]. Exit this room and Spring
Ball back to the ledge above you, then return to the room you came from and
go through the door after the last Gold Zebesian. This next room is spacious
and quickly fills up with lava, so drop while holding right and then Space
Jump back up the other side of the large rock formation to reach a series of
ledges. Take these up past the Gold Zebesians to escape this room and you'll
end up in a short hallway. Head into the next room to find a gigantic stone
version of Ridley. Directly in front of you is a Fune; fire a Super Missile
at it to destroy it and expose a hidden path in the wall that leads to a low-
er level. Go down and around past the FireFleas to reach a set of ledges,
then Space Jump to the [ENERGY TANK (12/14)]. Once you've gotten it, return
the way you came to the short hallway, and set a Power Bomb to blast a hole
in the floor to reach a new area. Navigate the staggered levels while Screw
Attacking the powerful Kihunters to reach a group of stone structures at the
bottom. Detonate a Power Bomb to blow them apart, then roll through a short
Morph Ball Tunnel to reach a yellow door. Open this with a Power Bomb to drop
into a small room. Set another Power Bomb to raise a metallic pole in the
lower-left corner, and take this short passage to get to a large room with
multiple giant Dessgeegas. Take them down with the Screw Attack to reach the
end, then set Bombs at the far left corner to expose a path leading to the
[POWER BOMB EXPANSION (40/50)]. Go back and set a Power Bomb to open up a
path leading down and take the lift all the way to the bottom, then open the
green door to find two special Black Zebesians.
These are the toughest of the Space Pirate forces - they have 900 HP apiece
and right now, are invulnerable to all of your weaponry. To get them to drop
their defenses quickly, Space Jump/Screw Attack over one of them so that it
does a spin jump as well. Scroll it back onto the screen and it will flash
gold. Hit it with a Super Missile right now, then fire two more as it tries
a flying kick. Three Super Missiles will destroy it, then repeat this for the
second one in the room. Eliminate both of them and continue on through to the
next room.
The next few rooms have multiple swooping enemies as well as some Zebbos. Re-
stock if you need supplies, but your main goal should be to Screw Attack your
way to the end of the hall, where another Gadora guards the next boss area.
Destroy it with a Super Missile, then arm your Power Bombs as you drop into
the next area for the fourth major boss battle.
BOSS BATTLE: RIDLEY
===================
HIT POINTS: 18000
ATTACKS: Collision (40 dmg), Fireballs (15 dmg apiece), Tail Whip (30
dmg), Lava (steady dmg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Ridley is more powerful than the version you faced at the Space Colony,
but when you first arrive, he is nowhere to be found. At this point, he is
merely cloaked, so drop Power Bombs as rapidly as you can to inflict damage
before he actually appears. Drop about two of them, then switch to your in-
ventory and equip the Ice Beam for extra damage during this fight. For the
most part, you can just stay on the center platform, jump up, and fire your
charged shots - Ridley rarely stays at the top for too long, but if he is
being stubborn, single wall jump up one side and then fire your charged
beam. Stay close enough to Ridley so that you can attack, but far enough
so that he can't grab you - if he does, you'll be subjected to a couple
whippings from his tail. Once you've reduced him to 14,500 HP, he'll start
swooping in a U-shape attack as opposed to simply hovering back and forth.
You can jump over him if you see this coming and turn mid-jump to fire on
him as he rises. At 9000 HP, he increases in speed by 50% and becomes a
bit more difficult to hit, though this isn't much of a distraction. Once
you've taken him down to 4,500 HP, he increases in speed yet again, but
tends to use more zooming attacks instead of swooping. Once you've reduced
him to 0 HP, though, he refuses to die and enters a berserker state where
he rapidly attacks you with claw and fireball moves. This ends if he grabs
you, something you can speed along by detonating a Power Bomb as soon as
he starts raging. 20 fully-powered charged beam shots will take him out of
the fight (or 50 Super Missiles... or 180 Missiles... if you suddenly de-
cide to stop going for speed).
The adjoining room holds no new armor upgrade for you, but you can go in to
see the remnants of the glass capsule that once held the Baby Metroid. Fire
at the lower-left corner of the room to expose the hidden [ENERGY TANK (13/
14)], then backtrack out of the lower regions until you reach the hallway
that leads to the stone Ridley statue. Go here and traverse the upper areas,
avoiding the Funes and the falling rocks. At the top, head to the left into a
hidden passageway. Follow this path around and up, then head right to find
another [MISSILE EXPANSION (205/230)] and use a Power Bomb on the wall next
to it. There are some Morph Ball Tunnels hidden in this wall, so Spring Ball
into the maze, then keep using the Spring Ball to stay along the top until
you reach the exit. Take this into the next room and go down into a room with
barricades in the middle. Destroy parts of them with a Power Bomb, then jump
on the collapsing blocks on the right-hand pillar to reach another [POWER
BOMB EXPANSION (45/50)] behind it. Jump on and collapse the other pillar,
then go through the door to end up back at the top of the stone Ridley room.
Go left through the hidden wall again and climb to the top, but head to the
left this time to reach a new area with rising and falling lava tides. Wait
until the tide has receded, then Bomb part of the raised platform to drop
into a hidden passage that leads to a room with another [MISSILE EXPANSION
(210/230)]. Exit back out and keep going up, using the Screw Attack to take
out the Kihunters. At the very top, go to the left to find a hidden passage
that returns you to the vertical room adjacent to the green bubble room.
: =NORFAIR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate the new Space Pirate facility. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: Reserve Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x2) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:07 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Enter the green bubble room and use the Space Jump to go past the Cacatac and
the top Waver to reach a green door near the ceiling. Open it and head inside
to find another [MISSILE EXPANSION (215/230)] on a pedestal, then set a Power
Bomb to raise a metallic pole. Ride the pole to a hidden passage that leads
to another room, and Space Jump to the end where you can find the final [RE-
SERVE TANK (4/4)] on the ledge. Before leaving, shoot the very last platform
above the lava to reveal another [MISSILE EXPANSION (220/230)], then exit
this room and take the same path you did the first time through here to reach
Norfair's main corridor again. Head up to the top and take the elevator to
return to Brinstar.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate the new Space Pirate facility. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:08 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Go left through the tunnel to return to Maridia.
: =MARIDIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate the new Space Pirate facility. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:09 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Head up into Maridia and use the Space Jump to reach the very top of this
first area and head into the large grapple room with the Powamps. Space Jump
along the ceiling to find a platform near a blue door. Take the blue door
to reach another area, and continue Space Jumping up to reach the top. Use
the Spring Ball to access a hidden passage in the left-hand wall and take
this until you reach a green gate. Open it with a Super Missile and you'll
find another tunnel that deposits you at the top of the second pink elevator
area in Brinstar, near the Transport to Crateria.
: =BRINSTAR= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate the new Space Pirate facility. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: None |
| 4. Ammunition: None |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:09 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Simply take the nearby Transport back to Crateria.
8I. TOURIAN
-----------
This section details the final part of this walkthrough as you collect the
final four items of the game and head to the new Space Pirate base to find
out what they've done with the Baby Metroid.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Locate the new Space Pirate facility. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: Energy Tank (x1) |
| 4. Ammunition: Missile Expansion (x2), Power Bomb Expansion (x1) |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:12 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Head up through the passage and return through the tunnel to the left to get
back to the Landing Site to reach your Gunship. Stop inside for a quick save,
then exit out. Run to the left, and charge the Speed Booster going to the
right. Hold the charge near your Gunship, and Shinespark diagonally up and to
the right to land on a high ledge. Open the yellow door, then go back and
Short Charge the Speed Booster to Shinespark horizontally through the Alcoons
to reach the final [POWER BOMB EXPANSION (50/50)]. Exit this room and Short
Charge again. Hold it and drop to the ledge below you, then Shinespark horiz-
ontally to the left to blast through some rock leading to a blue door. Open
it, and go back to your Gunship. Repeat the diagonal Shinespark and the Short
Charge again, only this time on your horizontal Shinespark, you'll fly on
through the door and speed through the horizontal room to reach the blue door
at the end. Enter it to find a Chozo statuary that holds the final [ENERGY
TANK (14/14)], then set a Power Bomb to blast a hole in the floor. Drop into
the tunnel after the lava recedes and travel to the other side of the room.
Clear this room by heading to the left, using the Screw Attack to get past
the barriers and you'll find another blue door that leads to a bricked room.
Use your Beams to clear out the top two layers of the rocks in front of you
(leaving the third one behind), then use the X-Ray Scope to find a large set
of collapsing blocks. These are divided into two columns; position yourself
over the exact center and set a Power Bomb. As you fall, you should be able
to trigger both columns simultaneously. Straighten out and turn left or right
to shoot out both sections of the walls (or set another Power Bomb), then
Screw Attack over to one alcove for a [MISSILE EXPANSION (225/230)], and do
the same thing directly across the hall for the last [MISSILE EXPANSION (230/
230)]. If you now have every upgrade, 230 Missiles, 50 Super Missiles, 50
Power Bombs, 14 Energy Tanks, and 4 Reserve Tanks, you will have successfully
completed a 100% Item Collection. Continue your fall and navigate down to
the bottom of this tunnel, where you can either roll to the left to fall out
or set a Power Bomb to open a path to the right. This drops you in the small
staggered area with Space Pirates near the first entrance to Brinstar. Take
them out and you'll reach the bottom, where there is still a red door to your
right. Open it and use the Speed Booster to accelerate through a cloudy room
to reach a giant statue of the four guardians of Zebes.
One by one, the crystals in their eyes will shatter, turning the statues a
gray color. Once all four are gone, the ground rumbles and the statue sinks
into the ground, revealing the Transport that leads down to Tourian.
: =TOURIAN= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Explore the Space Pirate facility. |
| 2. Find the Baby Metroid and defeat the resurrected Mother Brain. |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: <COMPLETED> |
| 4. Ammunition: <COMPLETED> |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:18 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
Tourian is a very short area that alternates between horizontal and vertical
areas, and the first few rooms are full of Metroids, so activate the Ice Beam
before proceeding. Drop to the bottom and use the door on the right for the
final Save Station of the game, then head through the door on the left to
reach the first Metroid Hall. The Metroids here are more powerful than ones
you faced during your first adventure on Zebes, although they retain their
genetic weakness to cold. If one of them seizes you, however, it's a bad day
for you, as you lose 5 HP per second, something that is compounded if another
Metroid sees the feeding and decides to snack as well. Bombs don't shake them
off this time, either - to get rid of an attached Metroid, you must set three
Power Bombs (the explosions attract more Metroids, so just try and freeze
them first). Once one is frozen, one Super Missile or 5 regular Missiles will
destroy it. As you proceed through the first four rooms, you'll find Rinka
Generators as well, but these can be easily ignored. The first room has four
Metroids, the second vertical room has two, the third horizontal room has
three, and the fourth vertical room also has three. Defeat each Metroid in
each room to unlock the doors, then proceed into the rest of Tourian after
all twelve Metroids have been destroyed.
Drop through the door at the bottom of the last room to reach a strange sand-
covered area with two gigantic Sidehoppers. These can only be killed by Super
Missiles, but don't waste ammo. Instead, go to your inventory and remove your
Varia and Gravity Suits. This next segment ends with your energy reserves de-
pleted to 01 units, so the faster that you can take damage, the better. Take
some damage from the Sidehoppers, then move into the next room to find a
strange-looking Torizo that looks like its had the life sucked from it. Hmm.
The next room has more of the same - dried-out Geemers, Skrees, Sidehoppers,
and Rippers. Go to the right to find one more giant Sidehopper, and get hit
by it until a nightmare of a Metroid appears. This "Super" Metroid decides to
snack on the Sidehopper, but don't worry too much, you're what's for dessert.
Don't fight the Super Metroid; it'll drain you to a single unit, then reveal
itself with that familiar cry - it's the Baby Metroid, horribly mutated by
the Space Pirates. At the last second, it recognized you as its "mother",
and let you go, but not knowing what to do now, it flees the room and leaves
you behind. Reactivate the Varia and Gravity Suits, then continue on to the
left through the dried-out vegetation, then go down to the left to reach a
door that leads to an Energy Station and a Missile Station. Use both of them,
then head through the opposite door to reach a long hallway that you can
Space Jump through. At the end, you'll find another Gadora that is guarding
the final areas; destroy it with a Super Missile and drop into another vert-
ical corridor. There is a Save Station in this room, but DO NOT use it unless
you plan on never exploring Zebes again with this save file. The path out of
Tourian locked after you defeated the Metroids, so if you save here, you're
permanently in Tourian. Instead, go to the bottom to find a red door that
leads into Mother Brain's main chamber.
There are two routes to take here - if you can perfect the speed trick, you
can reach Mother Brain without firing a single Missile, but I'll warn you,
it's rather tough. The regular and easier method is just to enter the room
and fire four Super Missiles apiece at the Zebetite barriers that protect
Mother Brain. There are four barriers total to be destroyed, all while you're
dodging lasers and Rinkas. To get past here a bit faster, turn off your
Missiles, activate the Ice Beam if for some reason you had it turned off, and
deactivate the Space Jump and the Screw Attack. Enter the room and run to the
bottom-left and aim your Arm Cannon up. As soon as the top Rinka appears,
freeze it. Go right, then spin jump back to the left and land as close to the
Zebetite as you can. Doing this correctly causes you to get "stuck" in the
wall where the Zebetite can damage you (although you just get the hit animat-
ion with no actual loss of energy). As this happens, repeat the sequence a
second time - run to the right and spin jump to the left - to get stuck again
in the Zebetite. At this point, holding Left while jumping will glitch your
sprite outside of the Zebetite, leaving you free to proceed. If you can get
this down with reliability, it gives you a bit of free time since the next
three Zebetites hilariously don't spawn unless the first one is destroyed.
Head on through to reach her and start the fight. Otherwise, destroy all four
barriers to reach the same boss battle.
BOSS BATTLE: MOTHER BRAIN (PHASE 1)
===================================
HIT POINTS: 3000
ATTACKS: Collision (15 dmg), Laser (20 dmg), Rinka (10 dmg)
--------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
This is similar to the first game. Mother Brain right now is housed in a
glass container, which you must first fracture in order to attack her.
While it would seem wise to use Super Missiles, the glass requires six hits
to destroy, regardless of whether you use Missiles or Super Missiles. Start
off on the lower platform, aiming diagonally up. Break the glass with six
regular Missiles, then for an easy victory over this form, Screw Attack
towards Mother Brain to get stuck inside the glass container. This forces
you into a kneeling position where you can't get knocked back, so from here
just pound Mother Brain with Super Missiles until the glass completely
breaks, at which point you probably only need to hit the old dura mater one
or two more times to finish this phase.
No, the game's not letting you off that easy. Mother Brain's support system
crumbles to the floor, but soon gives rise to her fully mobile biomechanical
battle form.
BOSS BATTLE: MOTHER BRAIN (PHASE 2)
===================================
HIT POINTS: 18000
ATTACKS: Collision (30 dmg), Bomb - Contact (40 dmg), Bomb - Explosion
(20 dmg), Blue Ring (20 dmg per ring), Eye Laser (30 dmg),
Flamestrike Beam (200 dmg), Hyper Brain Wave (300 dmg)
* All of Mother Brain's attacks do double damage if you remove the Varia
Suit. Gravity Suit has no bearing on damage variance here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Destroying her life support system enables Mother Brain to take advantage
of a screen-sized mobile battle suit with her head attached to the top.
During this phase, Mother Brain just moves back and forth, never approach-
ing your side of the room, and uses a number of attacks, ranging from a
spread of blue energy rings to a fire bomb attack that bounces and then
spreads a lateral blast of flame. If you jump straight up to avoid the blue
energy rings, she'll hit you with a laser beam, so try to spin jump over
the rings if you have to dodge. At this point, run and stand directly under
neath her and fire your remaining Super Missiles straight up. When you run
out, resort to charged beams - a charged shot does 900 HP of damage, while
Missiles only do 100. You can easily charge another shot before you get off
nine Missiles, so stick with this. She will only use her standard battery
of attacks until you reduce her to 4,500 HP, at which point she gains the
use of her Flamestrike Beam. Once she starts using this, get hit with it
or sustain collision damage while still firing charged shots until you have
just over seven Energy Tanks left. After she bobs her head and screeches,
this part is over and she'll begin to charge energy in her head. Go to your
inventory and remove the Varia Suit - whether or not you have the Gravity
Suit on has no bearing in this fight as far as the next attack is concern-
ed. She'll then plaster you to the wall with her death ray beam of utter
hopelessness which will drain six Energy Tanks from you (as well as your
ammunition reserves). As soon as she's done, you'll drop and the game will
auto-check to see if you can survive another round. At this point, it can
get a little tricky.
This part of the fight is more or less "scripted", because the end outcome is
the same. However, playing around with your energy reserves as you try to get
this over with quicker can sometimes work against you. Right after your first
taste of the Brain Wave, the game checks to see if you can withstand another
blast. If you have at least 350 units of energy and have the Varia equipped,
then you can still move around and she'll ready another blast. If you have
less than 200 with the Varia equipped, you'll be grounded while she readies
a second wave which you might survive if (a) she actually uses it and (b)
you have four full Reserve Tanks set to Auto and you put your Varia back on.
Careful management of your energy reserves and manipulation of exactly when
you re-equip the Varia allows you to trigger a glitch in the final fight
where you can freely move and attack Mother Brain even during the scene where
technically you're supposed to not be able to move (see "Mother Brain Glitch"
in Section 9: Secrets & Tips for a more in-depth explanation). The end result
you are trying for is that she readies a second Brain Wave, but never gets to
use it because the Super Metroid flies to your rescue, attacks her, and drains
all of her energy. The Super Metroid then starts to leave, but decides to
refill your energy at the same time. This, of course, pisses Mother Brain off
when she begins to recover, and she launches an all-out assault on the Baby
Metroid. After all of your energy is restored, the Baby will make one more
attack pass at Mother Brain, but she fires a final shot that instead kills
it. The Metroid disintegrates on top of you, and you gain the very weapon
Mother Brain was using against you. Ready for the final phase?
BOSS BATTLE: MOTHER BRAIN (PHASE 3)
===================================
HIT POINTS: 36000
ATTACKS: Collision (30 dmg), Bomb - Contact (40 dmg), Bomb - Explosion
(20 dmg), Blue Ring (20 dmg per ring), Eye Laser (30 dmg)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGY
Despite doubling her HP, Mother Brain is easier than ever now. She retains
all attacks from the last round, except she can't use her Flamestrike Beam
or Brain Wave anymore. On top of that, your beams have been replaced with
the Hyper Beam, which inflicts about 1000 HP of damage per hit and causes
Mother Brain immense discomfort. Just stand there, holding down the fire
button, pausing only to jump over attacks she manages to throw down if
you're for some reason concerned about taking damage. Towards the end, she
will try and stampede across the room, but since the Hyper Beam causes her
to recoil, she'll never reach you. 36 hits will destroy her for good.
After she's been defeated, she'll shrivel up and disintegrate, but this also
triggers the planetary time bomb! This time it won't just be Tourian that
blows up, so you need to hightail it out of Tourian fast. When the wall opens
and the countdown begins, run into the next area and use the Hyper Beam to
destroy the barriers in your path. Drop down and enter the door in the floor,
then fall down the right-hand side of the tunnel, firing downward to destroy
the Black Zebesians and open the door before you get there. Enter the next
room and drop to the bottom path. Run along the floor and charge the Speed
Booster and hold the charge at the end to Shinespark up through the barrier
to reach the next door. The next area is a gigantic maze, similar to the
large lava room in Ridley's lair. Screw Attack to the top, using the small
ledges, then fire the Hyper Beam to destroy as many Black Zebesians as you
can. Once at the bottom, the room starts to fill with lava, so Space Jump up
the platforms to reach the top. Charge the Speed Booster as you go through
the next door to exit back to Crateria.
: =CRATERIA= :
___________________________________________________________________________
| =MISSION OUTLOOK= |
| OBJECTIVES |
| ---------- |
| 1. Escape the planet Zebes! |
| |
| ITEMS |
| ----- |
| 1. Upgrades: <COMPLETED> |
| 3. Supplies: <COMPLETED> |
| 4. Ammunition: <COMPLETED> |
| |
| OPTIMAL TIME |
| ------------ |
| 01:20 |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
The exit from Tourian puts you back in the Old Tourian escape shaft. Keep
charging the Speed Booster, then hold it once you've crashed through the
walls and destroyed the Black Zebesians. This room will also fill with lava;
quickly position yourself against the left-hand wall and vertically Shine-
spark to reach the very top of the escape shaft. Exit through the door at the
top and keep making your way up through Crateria to the top level. Head to
the right, then morph into the tunnel and return to the chamber you got the
Morph Ball Bomb in. The Dachora and the Etecoons are trapped in this chamber;
fire at the right-hand wall to give them an escape path, then return to the
surface level. Exit out the door to return to the Landing Site and board your
Gunship to escape the exploding planet.
After leaving, Zebes' core goes critical and the planet explodes in a blind-
ing flash of light. As Samus' ship approaches the screen, you'll see another
ship leave - the Etecoons and Dachora made it out safely as well! Your final
time is displayed - following this guide should net you approximately one
hour and 20 minutes. The staff credits will then roll, after which you'll see
one of three scenes, depending on your completion time.
1. ENDING 1 (3 HOURS OR LESS)
Samus appears in her Power Suit, which then dissolves and Samus Aran is
revealed in her black bodysuit, which essentially consists of just shorts
and a sports bra. She then loosens her hair braid and lets her hair fall
down. Afterwards, she dons her Power Suit again and fires a burst of ener-
gy at the screen.
2. ENDING 2 (BETWEEN 3 and 10 HOURS)
Samus appears in her Power Suit, but only removes her helmet this time.
She gives a thumbs up, then puts her helmet back on and jumps backwards.
As she lands, she fires a burst of energy at the screen.
3. ENDING 3 (OVER 10 HOURS)
Samus appears in her Power Suit and gives a thumbs up, then jumps back-
wards and fires a burst of energy at the screen. How you have the patience
to get this ending is beyond me.
After one of these three scenes plays, your final item percentage is display-
ed, followed by the text, "SEE YOU NEXT MISSION".
=====================
== 9. ITEM LOCATIONS:
=====================
The walkthrough itself covers the location of each individual item in the game,
but a section is provided here in case you are missing particular Expansions,
Energy Tanks, or other items. It is broken down by Item Category, then further
subdivided into the regions of Zebes. But first, here is a quick explanation
of how items are recorded in your completion total.
46x MISSILE EXPANSIONS
+ 14x ENERGY TANKS
+ 10x SUPER MISSILE EXPANSIONS
+ 10x POWER BOMB EXPANSIONS
+ 5x MOVEMENT SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS
+ 5x BEAM WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS
+ 4x RESERVE TANKS
+ 3x MORPH BALL ENHANCEMENTS
+ 2x ARMOR ENHANCEMENTS
+ 1x VISOR ENHANCEMENT
------------------------
100 ITEMS TOTAL
Item totals include 230 Missiles, 50 Super Missiles, 50 Power Bombs, and 18 En-
ergy Tanks (14 regular + 4 Reserve Tanks). The remaining Power Suit upgrades
are split across different categories and round out the total. Read below for a
comprehensive listing of each item in the game, broken down by type and then by
planetary region.
ENERGY TANKS (14)
=================
You have a maximum total of 14 Energy Tanks. Each Tank you acquire adds 100
units of energy to your meter (and of course, another percentage point to
your item totals).
CRATERIA (2)
------------
01. As you make your way towards Brinstar, you'll see this one in plain
sight directly in front of you in the first diagonal room.
02. This is in a large cave accessible from the Landing Site. Use horizont-
al Shinesparks to clear through the rock, then navigate the next long
room (another Shinespark will do well, as will the Screw Attack) to
find this one in the palm of a Chozo statuary.
BRINSTAR (5)
------------
03. After beating Kraid, you will see a flashing door as you exit his lair.
Enter it and use Bombs to destroy the Beetoms, then fire at part of
the ceiling to reveal this Tank.
04. This is near the first green jungle tunnel. Drop to the bottom here and
set a Power Bomb to break apart the floor, then drop down another tunn-
el to reach another room with Beetoms. Bypass it to reach a metallic
area. Run and spin jump as soon as you see this Tank to grab it and
clear a hole in the floor. Super Missile Expansion #03 is in the next
room, so grab it as well.
05. This is by the large pink room above the Charge Beam. Open the yellow
door with a Power Bomb and wall jump up to the blue gate. Shoot it,
then drop into the room on the other side to grab this Tank.
06. This is below where you got the Charge Beam. Use Power Bombs to reveal
a new passage, then use the Speed Booster to blast through a set of
Boost Blocks to reach this Tank.
07. This is in the same area as Missile Expansion #10. Destroy the Skrees
and shoot part of the ceiling to expose this Tank.
NORFAIR (4)
-----------
08. This is in the same area as the High Jump Boots, in plain sight when
you enter the room.
09. After you've defeated Crocomire, either use a horizontal Shinespark or
running spin jumps and a single wall jump to reach this Tank across the
lava pit.
10. This is in Lower Norfair, in the large Ridley-shaped room. Eliminate
the Fune from the wall and enter the hidden passage. Navigate the next
darkened area with the FireFleas to find this Tank on a ledge over the
spike traps.
11. This is in Lower Norfair, right after the fight with Ridley. Enter the
room after the fight and shoot the lower-right corner of the room to
reveal this Tank.
WRECKED SHIP (1)
--------------------
12. After getting the Gravity Suit, head back inside the main corridor of
the Wrecked Ship. Go through the flashing door and enter the next
room. Ascend the vertical section and blast through part of the ceiling
to find another door that leads to a large watery room. Grapple or use
the floating ledges to cross to a Chozo statuary that holds this Tank.
MARIDIA (2)
-----------
13. This is in the large vertical room with the Tatori. Pre-open the door
that leads in here, then Speed Boost in and hold the charge right be-
fore you reach the edge. Spin jump out, straighten out, and Shinespark
vertically. Hold right as you fall to land on the Grapple Block holding
this Tank.
14. This is in the room after you defeat Botwoon, but is only accessible
from the other side of the room. After taking down Draygon and return-
ing in here, make a running spin jump and mid-air morph to access a
network of Morph Ball Tunnels. Navigate them and Bomb Jump over some
obstacles to claim the Tank.
RESERVE TANKS (4)
=================
You have a maximum total of 4 Reserve Tanks. Each Tank you acquire will give
you an extra capacity of 100 units of energy, but they need to be filled up
first and set to Auto Mode to be used automatically. There is one per area,
and each one gives you another percentage point to your item totals).
BRINSTAR (1)
------------
01. In the first jungle area, take the first door on the right and use the
Speed Booster to get past the security gates. Head into the next room
and you'll find this Tank in the palm of a Chozo statuary.
NORFAIR (1)
-----------
02. Starting in the large green bubble room, take the green door at the
top. Grab Missile Expansion #30 and set off a Power Bomb to raise a
metal pole. Go through the Morph Ball tunnel to reach another bubble
room. Cross to the other side to find this Tank at the end on a ledge.
WRECKED SHIP (1)
--------------------
03. After the Chozo statuary comes to life and takes you towards the area
with the Gravity Suit, use Power Bombs to blast away the wall and reveal
a new area. Grab Missile Expansion #38 after shooting the robots into
the pits, then use another Power Bomb to blast part of the wall away.
Use your runway area to charge the Speed Booster, then hold it and
Shinespark vertically to reach the room with the Tank.
MARIDIA (1)
-----------
04. Starting in the large area that lies before the first area with the
Mochtroids, use Bombs to get through part of the floor at the right,
then use the Speed Booster to cross the first quicksand pit. Sink into
the second one to reach a room where you have to avoid falling rocks,
collapsing blocks, and use the Spring Ball to reach this Tank (along
with Missile Expansion #46).
MISSILE EXPANSIONS (46)
=======================
You have a maximum total of 46 Missile Expansions, resulting in a net total
of 230 Missiles. Each additional Expansion is another 5 Missiles (and of
course, another percentage point to your item totals).
CRATERIA (8)
------------
01. This one is located in plain sight over the water as you head to the
Wrecked Ship. Use the Grappling Beam across the blocks and land on the
pedestal.
02. This one is in the water and is easiest to get after you have the Grav-
ity Suit. Drop into the water at the left-hand edge of the cliff and
Bomb through part of the rock to roll through a tunnel to reach this
Expansion.
03. This one is outside of the Wrecked Ship as you head towards the Gravity
Suit. As you traverse the rocky cliffs, you'll reach an area with solid
ground and suspended rock ledges. Charge the Speed Booster and hold it
as you reach the one ledge just slightly above the ground. Shinespark
vertically just to the right of the ledge and shoot the wall as you
fall, then hold left to grab the Expansion.
04. This is in the same area as #03. There is a Super Missile block in the
floor; shoot it and roll into the hidden tunnel, then go left to find
the Expansion.
05. This one is in Mother Brain's old chamber. Stand on top of it and set a
Power Bomb to break through the floor. Go down into a new chamber to
find this Expansion.
06. This is in the vertical cavern area that leads down to Old Tourian.
Roll through a small passage and take the blue door on the left to get
to an area that you need to Bomb (or Power Bomb) through to reach a
room with this Expansion.
07. Above the zig-zagging section with Green Zebesians before the gateway
to Tourian, you'll have to ride a column of collapsing blocks down a
vertical section. This one and the next one are located on opposite
sides of the collapsing blocks.
08. Same exact location as #07, except across the hall. The best way to get
both of them is to position yourself directly over the middle of the
column of collapsing blocks, then ride down the middle. Unmorph and
shoot both walls, then Space Jump/Screw Attack so you can reach both
Expansions.
BRINSTAR (12)
-------------
09. After getting the Morph Ball, go to the next room over and shoot down
through the floor to find a Morph Ball Tunnel. Roll under it and into
the next room to find this Expansion.
10. From the location of #09, go back up and into the next room. Go past
the Skrees and roll under the passageway to find this Expansion.
11. From the location of #10, use a Power Bomb to blast away part of the
stone structure, then Shinespark vertically to reach a new area. Travel
across the invisible bridge to reach a room with this Expansion.
12. This is in the same room as #11; just shoot the left-hand side of the
platform the pedestal is on.
13. This is in the first jungle part of Brinstar. Take the first door on
the right and bomb through the wall after the Zebs to find this Expans-
ion in plain sight.
14. This is in the same area as #13; get past the security gates and into
the next room where the Reserve Tank is. Use a Power Bomb to open the
path through the pipe into the next room to find this Expansion.
15. This is in the same room as #14; set a Power Bomb to blow away part of
the wall to reveal this Expansion.
16. This is in the large pink area near the Charge Beam. You'll find this
Expansion in plain sight on a pedestal in the lower left corner.
17. This is in the same large room as #16. Midway through the room, use a
high wall jump to reach a ledge where this Expansion is, or grapple
across the blocks to reach it.
18. This is in the second jungle area that leads down to the large vertical
pink pipe. After the second Zeb pipe, wall jump up and roll into the
vacant pipe to find this Expansion.
19. This is in Kraid's Lair. In the room with the Kihunters, use a Power
Bomb to expose a hidden path in the far right-hand wall, then use the
Spring Ball to access the pipe to reach this Expansion.
20. After freezing the Rippers at the top of the large pink pipe, make your
way through the enemy-filled room and go through the next door. Shoot
through the floor and go through the door at the bottom. Grab Power
Bomb Expansion #2, then set one to reveal a path to this Expansion.
NORFAIR (15)
------------
21. This is in the same area as the High Jump Boots. After getting them,
jump up on the right-hand side and Bomb through the tunnels to reach
this Expansion.
22. From the starting area in Norfair, take the first door on the right
and clear the first room. In the next room, drop down into the lava
after the second spire and shoot the wall to reveal this Expansion.
23. This is in the large green bubble room. Go all the way to the right and
shoot through the floor to reach the room with this Expansion.
24. This is in the room right before the Speed Booster. Shoot through the
ceiling to reveal this Expansion.
25. This is in the large room before the Wave Beam. Use the floating plat-
forms to cross a gap, then open the blue gate and leap to the ledge
where this Expansion is in plain sight.
26. This is in the long vertical room that leads into the room before the
Grappling Beam. Enter the door on the right and navigate the lava tide
and then hop across the short ledges to reach this Expansion.
27. This is in the large room that leads to the Grappling Beam. After you
Speed Boost through the rock wall, hold the charge and drop into the
lava. Stand a little to the right of the first rock, and Shinespark
vertically to the top, then hold right as you fall to land on the ledge
with the Expansion.
28. This is in the room above the path to Crocomire. Climb up and Grapple
across the blocks to reach a ledge with a gate that needs to be opened
with the Wave Beam. The Expansion will be sitting on the ledge here.
29. This is in the large vertical shaft that leads from the Ice Beam area
to Crocomire's path. As you enter the door, hold back against it to
avoid touching the collapsing blocks. Shoot the wall across from you
and Screw Attack/Space Jump to the Expansion.
30. This is by the large green bubble room. Take the green door at the top
and you'll find this Expansion sitting on a pedestal.
31. This is in the next room over from #30, in the same room as Reserve
Tank #03. Shoot the very last piece of rock to reveal the Expansion.
32. This is in Lower Norfair in the room directly preceding the Golden
Torizo battle. Space Jump across the collapsing blocks to reach this
Expansion.
33. After getting the Screw Attack, climb to the top of the next room and
shoot through the ceiling. Go up and take the door at the top, then go
down and hug the left-hand wall. Bomb a hidden passage in the wall and
enter the heart-shaped room to find this Expansion.
34. This is in the large Ridley-shaped room with the Firefleas and Energy
Tank #10. Climb to the top of the area and head through the fake left-
hand wall. Take the next door and go up and right at the path split to
find this Expansion.
35. This is in the same area as #34. Go left at the path split and jump to
the first ledge above the rising lava tide. Bomb a hole in the floor
and roll to a hidden area with this Expansion.
WRECKED SHIP (3)
--------------------
36. Near the bottom of the first area, you can Bomb through the left-hand
wall to reach a passage leading to this Expansion. Do this before you
restore the power to keep the machinery from interfering.
37. At the top of the first vertical area, there is a room filled with
floating orbs and Kihunters. Defeat them all and take the right-hand
door across the spike pits to reach this Expansion.
38. After using the Chozo statuary to take you to the area near the Gravity
Suit, use Power Bombs to blast through the wall to reveal a new area.
Shoot the robots into the pits and you'll find this Expansion in the
palm of another Chozo.
MARIDIA (8)
-----------
39. In the first room above the glass tube leading to Maridia, take the
right-hand door and pre-open it. Open the green gate and give yourself
room to charge the Speed Booster. Hold the charge before going through
the door and position yourself over the last moving plant on the ledge
below you. Stand here and Shinespark vertically to thread the ledges
above you and crash into the Expansion.
40. This is in the large vertical room with the Tatari. After getting the
Energy Tank (#13), spin jump over to the right-hand wall and wall-jump
back up to a small crevice. Set a Power Bomb and then fall down while
hugging the wall to grab this Expansion.
41. After traveling through the Maridia Pipe, take the upper path to a
sandy area. Go to the right and through the false wall to find this
Expansion.
42. After traveling through the Maridia Pipe, go up and through the door
to the left and navigate until you reach the false wall. Go through it,
then up some more and across some ledges until you reach a drop. Fall
through the hole at the bottom to find this Expansion (and Super Miss-
ile Expansion #09).
43. This is in the large room that precedes the first batch of Mochtroids
(the one that has the lower path leading to the two quicksand pits).
Charge the Speed Booster along the ground and hold your charge when
you see a slight raise in the ceiling above you. Shinespark through the
gap to crash through to where this Expansion is.
44. This is in the room before you fight Draygon. Cross the pit and go to
the second area and shoot part of the wall to reveal this Expansion.
45. Starting in the same room that Missile Expansion #43 is in, use Bombs
to get through part of the floor at the far right. Sink into the first
quicksand pit and you'll reach the room where you can just jump up to
this Expansion. Power Bomb Expansion #10 is on the opposite side.
46. Starting in the same room that Missile Expansion #43 is in, use Bombs
to get through part of the floor at the far right. Sink into the second
quicksand pit to reach a room where you have to avoid falling rocks,
collapsing blocks, and use the Spring Ball to reach this Expansion (and
Reserve Tank #4).
SUPER MISSILE EXPANSIONS (10)
=============================
You have a maximum total of 10 Super Missile Expansions, resulting in a net
total of 50 Super Missiles. Each additional Expansion is another 5 Super
Missiles (and of course, another percentage point to your item totals).
CRATERIA (1)
------------
01. This one is in the main Crateria Shaft that leads out of Old Tourian.
Stand on the ledge that sticks out from the wall and Bomb it to access
a tunnel that leads to a yellow door. Open it with a Power Bomb and go
in the new room. Freeze the Boyons on the floor to create a runway,
then charge the Speed Booster. Hold it and vertically Shinespark at the
end to reach a new area to get this Expansion.
BRINSTAR (3)
------------
02. This is in the first room in the jungle area with the security gates.
Speed Boost or Mockball past them, then shoot the ceiling to expose a
new area. Climb up and defeat the Rios to find this Expansion.
03. This is near the same first jungle shaft. Go to the bottom and set a
Power Bomb to blow away the floor, then drop to the bottom and go into
the green door. Eliminate the Beetoms and enter the next room. Run
and spin jump as you see the Energy Tank (#04) to clear the invisible
gap and enter the next door to find this Expansion.
04. This is the Expansion that you get after defeating the Spore Spawn. Go
past the Zebs and drop down the long shaft to find this Expansion.
NORFAIR (1)
-----------
05. This is in Lower Norfair in the room with the Golden Torizo battle.
Space Jump and shoot out the ceiling above where he lands from, then
set a Power Bomb to reveal this Expansion.
WRECKED SHIP (2)
--------------------
06. After defeating Phantoon, go back to the main corridor and enter the
now-unlocked door to find this Expansion.
07. This is also in the main corridor, directly across the way from #01.
Bomb a path through the wall and shoot the robots out of the way, then
set a Power Bomb to reveal paths in the wall. Bomb Jump into the second
one from the bottom to enter a hidden passage to reach this Expansion.
MARIDIA (3)
-----------
08. This is in the large room with the Grapple Blocks and the Powamps. Go
to the left-hand side and roll off the ledge while staying morphed to
run into a Geemer. The impact will slow you enough to roll into a hidd-
en Morph Ball passage. Roll up and over the bump to get this Expansion.
09. This is in the same exact area as Missile Expansion #42. This one is
right next to it.
10. This is in the same area as Missile Expansion #43. After getting it,
go to the right and spin jump over the floor to avoid the collapsing
blocks to grab this Expansion.
POWER BOMB EXPANSIONS (10)
==========================
You have a maximum total of 10 Power Bomb Expansions, resulting in a net tot-
al of 50 Power Bombs. Each additional Expansion is another 5 Power Bombs (and
of course, another percentage point to your item totals).
CRATERIA (1)
------------
01. From your ship, go to the left and charge the Speed Booster. Hold it
and Shinespark diagonally to the right to land on a ledge. Open the
door and backtrack to the edge, then charge the Speed Booster again.
Hold the charge and horizontally Shinespark through the Alcoons to get
this Expansion and avoid the lava tides.
BRINSTAR (5)
------------
02. After freezing the Rippers at the top of the large pink Brinstar corr-
idor, make your way through the enemy-filled room and go through the
next door. Shoot through the floor and go through the green door at the
bottom. Hop across the platforms to reach this Expansion.
03. Keep going up the second part of the Brinstar corridor until you find
the elevator going to Crateria. On the left is a green door; go inside
and destroy the Sidehoppers, then you'll find a Maneater at the end
that is dead. Set a Power Bomb to blow away the floor, and you can drop
into the hole to collect this Expansion.
04. This is in the room with the Etecoons. Wall jump up to the top, then
mid-air morph into the tunnel to find this Expansion.
05. This is in the same area as Missile Expansion #16. Once you have it,
set a Power Bomb to blast away part of the wall, then go through the
hidden area to reach a room with giant Sidehoppers. Destroy them all,
then go to the right and you'll find an odd block in the floor. Destroy
it with a Super Missile to drop into the room with this Expansion.
06. This is in the second large green area. From the start, leap up to a
high ledge to find a yellow door. Open it and go inside to fight some
more giant Sidehoppers. Kill them all and bomb through the right-hand
wall to reach this Expansion.
NORFAIR (3)
-----------
07. This is in the large room right after Crocomire. Pre-open the door to
this area, then go back and charge the Speed Booster. Hold it as you
reach the pillars with the lava, then spin jump over them and Shine-
spark horizontally through the door to land on the ledge leading to the
room with this Expansion.
08. In the horizontal room before the elevator leading to the Armored Pir-
ates, use Power Bombs on the Super Dessgeegas to also clear out part of
the architecture. Roll through to a hidden passage to find this Expan-
sion.
09. This is in the same area as Missile Expansion #34. Navigate the maze
of tunnels next to the Missile Expansion and enter the next area to
find a door in the floor. Go through it and use Power Bombs to destroy
some blocks blocking the Expansion.
WRECKED SHIP (0)
--------------------
There are no Power Bomb Expansions in the Wrecked Ship area.
MARIDIA (1)
-----------
10. This is in the same large sandy room as Missile Expansion #45. Cross to
the other side with the Space Jump and use the Spring Ball to bounce up
and over to this Expansion.
BEAM WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS (5)
============================
You have five Beam Weapons in the game (not counting the Power Beam that you
start the game with). Each new Beam Weapon "stacks" on top of the others,
however, you cannot simultaneously equip the Spazer and the Plasma Beams.
Each of the additional weapons adds another percentage point to your item
totals.
01. CHARGE BEAM
At the bottom of the large pink room that leads to the Spore Spawn, use
Bombs to break through part of the floor to reach the room with this up-
grade.
02. SPAZER
In lower Brinstar before reaching Kraid's lair, you'll find a room with
Yapping Maws and a Cacatac. Shoot through the ceiling and wall jump up
the narrow shaft, then Bomb through the Morph Ball Tunnel to reach the
room with this upgrade.
03. WAVE BEAM
From Norfair's green bubble room, take the lower of the two paths at the
the top. Go into the next red door, spin jump across the floating plat-
forms and open the blue gate. Run off the ledge to the right and wall
jump up the rock face to reach the room with this upgrade.
04. ICE BEAM
In Norfair, take the first door on the right. Speed Boost past the secur-
ity gates, then head to the left to the room with the Funes. Navigate the
staggered layout, then shoot through the floor before the door to reach
a series of Morph Ball passages. Roll into the middle one to reach the
room with this upgrade.
05. PLASMA BEAM
In Maridia, get to the large Maridia Pipe that connects the two sectors,
then go to the upper left area to find a door on an underhang. Space Jump
to this door, then go up and to the right to reach a large room with the
upgrade at the bottom right corner.
MOVEMENT SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS (5)
================================
You have four additional upgrades that increase the mobility of your Power
Suit. Each one adds another percentage point to your item totals.
01. HIGH JUMP BOOTS
When you first enter Norfair, drop to the bottom door on the left. Go in
and navigate the tunnel to reach the room with this upgrade.
02. SPEED BOOSTER
From the green bubble room in Norfair, take the upper path through the
green door and shoot through the ceiling to reach a new path. Go through
the door and race past the collapsing bridges to find this upgrade at
the end.
03. SPACE JUMP
You'll find this in the adjacent room after defeating Draygon.
04. GRAPPLING BEAM
After defeating Crocomire, head to the left into the next room, then go
through the floor. Drop all the way down and use Power Bombs to clear the
rubble away, then Speed Jump across the chasm to reach the room with this
upgrade.
05. SCREW ATTACK
You'll find this in the adjacent room after defeating the Golden Torizo.
MORPH BALL ENHANCEMENTS (3)
===========================
You have three enhancements for your Morph Ball mode in the game, each of
which gives you increased mobility or offensive capability. Each additional
item adds another percentage point to your item totals.
01. MORPH BALL
This is located at the bottom of the elevator leading away from the Old
Tourian site, right where it was in the first METROID.
02. MORPH BALL BOMB
This is in a small area near the surface of Crateria. Roll down a Morph
Ball passage and enter a room with a Torizo masquerading as a Chozo stat-
uary. Defeat the Torizo for the upgrade.
03. SPRING BALL
From the large room prior to the first section with Mochtroids, sink into
the first quicksand pit at the bottom. Sink into the next one to reach a
long hallway with Evirs, then head to the right. Go through the hole in
the ceiling, Space Jump over the long pillar, go down and into a room
with a sand machine. Destroy the obstruction and let it carve a path to
the room with this upgrade. Use the Morph Ball Tunnels to reach it.
ARMOR ENHANCEMENTS (2)
======================
There are two upgrades to your Power Suit in the game. Each one increases
your defensive capabilities and your maneuverability. Each additional armor
enhancement also adds another percentage point to your item totals.
01. VARIA SUIT
You'll find this in the adjacent room after defeating Kraid.
02. GRAVITY SUIT
After defeating Phantoon, access the upper levels of the Wrecked Ship and
take the paths through the rock to get back inside. Find the Chozo statue
and morph into its palm to let it carry you through a hidden path to the
room with this upgrade.
VISOR ENHANCEMENTS (1)
======================
You have an extra Visor mode that allows you to see hidden items. It also adds
another percentage point to your item totals.
01. X-RAY SCOPE
After you have Power Bombs, open the yellow door in the middle of the
large vertical pink corridor in Brinstar, then avoid the FireFleas and
grapple across a long segment to reach the room with this upgrade.
========================
== 10. SECRETS AND TIPS:
========================
SUPER METROID has a few interesting things here and there besides what's been
already covered in the walkthrough. There are numerous glitches that you can
play with if you're bored enough, some of which are pretty interesting. Some
can break the game or cause graphical screw-ups; others give you more to play
around with. Some of the glitches are included here, along with a few other
small tidbits.
1. WRECKED SHIP EARLY BREAK-IN
Ever notice that there are two entrances to the Wrecked Ship? The second
one is accessed from Maridia, so there should be no way for you to get
there without first having the Gravity Suit, but in fact, there is. All
that is required is Power Bombs and the Ice Beam. To do it, enter Maridia
the normal way via the glass pipe. Make your way through the first vert-
ical ascent into the next room. Enter the red door on the right and open
the green gate. Keep going to the right into the next room that has the
broken pipe. This leads into the first of the two long quicksand hallways
with the Evirs. Carefully jump (don't spin jump here as your trajectory is
too wild) from platform to platform to reach the end (if it's too trouble-
some, consider using the Ice Beam to freeze the Evirs so you don't have to
contend with them shooting at you), which takes you to the entrance of the
Maridia Pipe, the large purple shaft that connects the north and south
sectors. Use a Power Bomb to break part of the ceiling, and jump up to the
door leading to the Pipe, which will drop you off in the sandy area that
the Plasma Beam is located in. Unfortunately, while you can easily use
single wall jumps (or if you're that bored, infinite bomb jumps) to reach
the ledge with the door leading towards the Plasma Beam, you can't get in
there yet because the door is locked until you defeat Draygon. However,
you can fire at the door and hear a sound effect of a door opening - this
is because this particular door (for no particular reason) has a second
door right behind it. You can open this one because your Wave Beam travels
through walls, but it's still not awesome enough to get past regular old
locks.
Travel through this sandy room to reach a blue door on the other side.
Quickly jump to the middle of the quicksand to avoid being grabbed by a
Yapping Maw, then jump to the other side with the door. Jump into it to
avoid another Yapping Maw, then enter the next room to reach the vertical
area that leads up to Crateria. Climb this area and use the Ice Beam at
the top to freeze the Rippers, then enter the Craterian cave. There is a
part in the ceiling you can shoot just before the water begins, so you can
still jump up into it. Get out of the Morph Ball maze and head to the
collapsing blocks, and hold right while falling to land on solid ground.
Bomb Jump to the next ledge, then you can access the blue door that takes
you up higher. Climb this shaft and head outside to a large lake that will
take you to the Wrecked Ship. This part is actually the easiest to cross;
just run through the water, making long spin jumps over the walls to get
to the far left. Spin jump up to the next platform, then jump at the
ledge up to your right. You should emerge out of the water long enough to
do a quick wall jump that will drop you on the ledge by the door leading
into the Wrecked Ship.
Doing this, though, makes the game act a bit funky. For starters, the game
designers never intended for you to get here without already having beaten
Phantoon, so there are no "before battle" triggers here. The rooms are
powerless, but there is no water to be found in any of the areas. Also,
the Energy Tank that the Chozo statuary holds doesn't even appear at all.
The only way to trigger these to appear is to go down and fight Phantoon,
after which point all the rooms activate like normal. It's a pretty inter-
esting thing to mess around with if you're bored.
2. SPACE/TIME BEAM AND MURDER BEAM
This is probably the most famous of the potential game-breaking glitches.
There are two variations of this trick - the Space/Time Beam and the so-
called "Murder Beam". The descriptions for both are somewhat lengthy, so
they are detailed separately below.
- SPACE/TIME BEAM
This "beam" can trigger a glitch where you completely reset Zebes to its
original state - all bosses respawn and all opened doors return to their
starting color - with two exceptions: your inventory doesn't reset, and
neither does the game clock (unfortunately enough, it could make for
some interesting speed runs). To successfully pull off the Space/Time
Beam, you must first meet a couple of conditions. First, you have to
possess all Beam upgrades (Charge/Spazer/Wave/Ice/Plasma), and you have
to have at least one of the Movement Upgrades (Speed Booster, Hi-Jump
Boots, or Space Jump). Second, where you are in the game is crucial to
pulling this off. Think of the rooms you're in as a series of screens.
The area you trigger these needs to be pretty large (Brickroad's Glitch
FAQ specifies a trigger of 25 screens, counting "empty space" on the
area map), and you need to be in the 25th (bottom-most) screen for it
to work. This basically means your best places to pull this off are in
the hallway with the Boyons off of the old Tourian escape shaft, the
large pink room in Brinstar, or the room directly above Crocomire. Keep
in mind, though, that even meeting these conditions, you can still lock
up the game. Once you're in the proper area and you've set up, face left
and open the door. You have to stand very close to it (most people say
"point blank" range, but this doesn't give a distance description, so
stand as close as possible) and open your inventory. Go to your Beams
and activate the Charge, Ice, and Spazer Beams - keep the Wave and Plas-
ma deactivated. Now go to your Boots and let the cursor sit on one of
them - it doesn't matter which. At the same time, press Left and A (you
obviously need to have A mapped to something first, like Item Cancel).
One of three things will occur: (a) your chosen boot upgrade will turn
off, meaning you hit A too early; (b) you will turn on the Plasma Beam
and turn off the Spazer, meaning you hit A too late; or (c), your boots
will remain active and you'll turn on Spazer and Plasma at the same time
(this is what you want), though Plasma will have a block that says "VAR"
next to it. Now, return to the game and fire - if you did this correct-
ly, your inventory at the top will disappear and be replaced with a
jumble of orange pixels and the game will suffer from incredible slow-
down (if you did it incorrectly, you'll know right away because the game
will freeze). Now run through the door you opened - if you emerge and
the environment resets around you, you did it correctly. This is why the
best area to do it is in the old escape shaft - the pre-Morph Ball mist
returns, making it extremely easy to know if this worked or not. Before
proceeding, return to your inventory and turn off either the Spazer or
the Plasma Beam, and then save your game somewhere to return the game,
more or less, to normal by ridding it of graphical screw-ups. Go have
fun re-fighting the bosses with your upgraded equipment for some funny
side effects. Try this in the Landing Site and you can just up and leave
the planet, too.
- MURDER BEAM
The Murder Beam, so named because if done correctly, inflicts infinite
damage on what you're fighting. This isn't something to be tried on any
regular enemy, though. Set up like you're trying the Space/Time Beam,
except (a) face left, (b) charge your beam before going to your invent-
ory, and (c) leave the Wave Beam equipped - you must have all five Beams
active for this one. Select Spazer and Plasma simultaneously, then go
back to the game, and you'll see Samus charging either a black or green
ball of energy. Fire this at a boss to create an invisible "wall" that
causes damage to anything on the other side of it. This really shines in
the final Mother Brain fight because she is always on the opposite side
of the invisible wall, so her demise is extremely quick. Another boss
you can try this on is the Golden Torizo.
3. MOTHER BRAIN GLITCH
I've detailed above how the "Murder Beam" can be used to infinitely damage
Mother Brain during the final battle and how you can glitch your way past
the first Zebetite, but there is one final exploit you can trigger during
the final battle that can potentially speed things along a bit. This one
basically allows you to damage Mother Brain during the phase where the
Super Metroid is refilling your health. Mother Brain's HP has already re-
set for the next battle, so you get a little time exploit out of it. To
do this one, you must first meet a certain set of conditions. First, you
have to have over six Energy Tanks (counting your Reserve Tanks) before
she uses her Hyper Brain Wave attack. When she starts to charge up, go to
your inventory and remove the Varia Suit. Once she's whittled you down to
about one or two Tanks left, you can let the scene play out where you get
stunned, or put the Varia back on immediately and use your Reserve Tanks
to get you above three Energy Tanks. If you do this right, you'll never
get stuck in the "stunned" sprite, and you'll freely move. If you do get
stuck, mash the D-Pad to get yourself unstuck, then use the Space Jump to
continuously hover in the upper right corner. When Mother Brain starts to
use her second Brain Wave, you'll still be freely moving, and your sprite
will turn green. Space Jump to the left, then back to the right to fix
this and let the Super Metroid attack Mother Brain. Your sprite will turn
green one more time after the Metroid lets go, but the important thing is
to stay airborne here. The Super Metroid will fly around for a bit trying
to latch onto you, and when it does, it's safe to stop Space Jumping. Now
you have full control while the Metroid is attached, so start Screw Att-
acking Mother Brain as quickly as possible for some free damage. You won't
be able to kill her (like METROID PRIME 2: ECHOES' Jump Guardian fight,
you'll only lower her to 1HP), but provided you can get in enough hits,
this can significantly shorten the final phase, if it wasn't short enough
for you already. If she's bright red when the Super Metroid sacrifices
itself, then one or two shots from your absorbed Hyper Beam should be all
that's needed to eliminate Mother Brain.
Why this works is that in an ordinary progression, the Gravity Suit is an
upgrade to the Varia, in that it does everything the Varia can do and then
some. You can see this in action by gathering enough Energy Tanks to sur-
vive Norfair without the Varia, get the Grappling Beam or the Speed Boost-
er (choose your flavor for accessing the Wrecked Ship), and then go and
pick up the Gravity Suit. The Gravity Suit won't give you the damage re-
duction of the Varia, but it will cancel out heat damage. With that said,
in every single enemy encounter in the game, the two Suits work together
to reduce damage from enemy attacks - every encounter except for Mother
Brain, anyway. During this fight, the game only checks for the presence of
the Varia Suit. By removing it, you enable a flag that tells the game how
much of the Brain Wave you can withstand. Letting Mother Brain get to the
point where she's about to use her final attack and then re-equipping the
Varia and getting yourself above the three Energy Tanks she'll drain then
cancels out the damage flag, and allows you to keep moving around.
4. BLUE SUIT SAMUS
This is an interesting little side effect that occurs if you kill Draygon
using a Shinespark. To even accomplish this in the first place means that
you must perfect Short Charging the Speed Booster. Get caught by some of
the mucus that Draygon releases, then Short Charge. When Draygon reappears
on the screen, diagonally Shinespark into his belly. If you haven't done
enough damage, this won't kill him, but you'll significantly damage him.
Try to do this after his belly is red for more success. Anyway, Shinespark
into him to kill him, which triggers this glitch where you remain "stuck"
in your Speed Booster state. It's neat because your graphical echoes will
still follow you, and you get other benefits as well. For one thing, you
will always be able to charge a Shinespark by simply pressing down. Also,
because the game thinks you're running at full speed, you'll kill any
enemy by touching them, and all blocks except for Super Missile and Power
Bomb Blocks disintegrate as well. Unfortunately, all of these benefits
come at the cost of you not being able to use the Dash button anymore -
dashing cancels this glitch, as does Shinesparking. But it's still a nifty
trick to try out. If you're of the hardcore variety, try keeping it all
the way to Mother Brain and try Shinesparking her - it's pretty fun.
5. FUN WITH INFINITE BOMB JUMPING
Consecutively Bomb Jumping can be used to reach many areas if you have the
patience to do so, and if you're really skilled, you can hover in place or
alter your trajectory to propel you diagonally or somewhat horizontally.
Nothing in this speed guide requires the IBJ technique or its variants
(those are saved for minimal percent runs), but it's a handy technique re-
gardless. But here's a fun fact: It takes exactly 150 regular height Bomb
Jumps (not altering the placement for hovering, that is) to reach from the
bottom of the Landing Site to the top of the sky in Crateria.
6. BYPASS AMMO AND ENERGY STATIONS
This is a quick little speed trick that saves seconds if you have to use
an Energy or Ammo Station. Press Start just as you plug in, then return to
the game. You can move even while your stocks are being replenished, and
head out of the room to continue. You can do this with Map Stations, too,
although you won't download the map data for some reason.
7. GLITCH-OMIRE
Crocomire's pretty fun to mess around with. If you get the Plasma Beam
before fighting him (no easy task, mind you - try the Space/Time Beam for
more success), you'll literally fragment him into pieces. This is because
Crocomire isn't one single sprite - he's made up of multiple ones that
glitch out if you fight him in a way you're not meant to. Use the Game
Genie code to turn on the Hyper Beam, and it'll be one shot, one kill as
he'll just backpedal continuously into the lava. Plasma does this too if
you hit him square in the mouth. But by far, the absolute funniest thing
to do to him is to detonate a Power Bomb. Most bosses tend to ignore them
as there is no damage flag present - even Kraid is unaffected - but boy,
Crocomire just flat out gets pissed off at you and starts relentlessly
stampeding to the left. Keep setting Power Bombs to make him rage out and
he'll smash you into the spikes at the end. Pretty funny to watch, really.
=======================
== 11. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
=======================
This guide, overall, is my work. I wrote it, from start to finish, but by no
means is the information contained within it entirely mine. Multiple people
have contributed to this final product, either directly or indirectly. This is
where I'd like to thank those who helped this along.
- KEJARDON: Damage ratios for weapons, boss HP amounts, and the like.
- BRICKROAD: His extensive Glitch compilation was immeasurably helpful.
- RED SCARLET: For the route used in the first couple of versions.
- BARTENDOR_SPARKY: Final route revisions and other optimizations.
- METROID2002.COM: Instead of thanking more individual people, I'll thank the
community as a whole - Nate and Radix especially, but with
extra nods to Kip, Amasawa, and everyone else who helped
with sequence breaking and cataloging for this game.
- NINTENDO: For making a game that I can still play 18 years later.
Thanks to everyone else who may not be mentioned here - from way back in the
day, everyone that assisted with Metroid HQ before I killed the project, and
of course, my family and friends.
There. Now, I think this guide is finally completed. Then again, I said that
back in 2005 after its last update, and came back to it 9 years later for a
complete revision. Time will tell, I suppose.
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== 12. LEGAL INFO:
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This walkthrough must always be shown in full form, unaltered, and with credit
given to the author. You are free to use this for personal use, but if you wish
to host it on another website, you must e-mail me first with a request for per-
mission. Copyright (C) 2012 Timothy Jones (NeoChozo). Some rights reserved.
All rights, including the copyrights of game, scenario, music and program are
Copyright (C) Nintendo.
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