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METROID ZERO MISSION
Platform--Game Boy Advance
Publisher--Nintendo
Genre--Action

WALKTHROUGH/FAQ
Version--1.10
Last updated--May 16th, 2004
Author--Paul Byrne/consummate gamer
E-mail--consummate_gamer@yahoo.com
AIM--consummate gamer
Web site--www.geocities.com/consummate_gamer
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This FAQ is for the North American version of Metroid Zero Mission.

                                ---------------
                                Version History
                                ---------------

Version 1.00 (April 10th, 2004)--initial public release.

Version 1.10 (May 16th, 2004)--As far as the walkthrough goes, I fixed a few
errors (mostly grammatical arrors and a directional mistake in section 3.A),
added a few more differences about the hard difficulty, and added three more
short cuts. Also, I added some obscure game play mechanics, added the last two
gallery pictures, corrected the Metroid Fusion link mistake, and added Kong
IV's discovery. Lastly, I changed a few enemy names, and updated a few enemy
stats in the bestiary.

There were some pretty big mistakes that took me forever to update, but I'm
still going to do another update sometime around the month of July.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Introduction
   A. Preface
   B. Story
2. Rudiments
   A. Controls
   B. Power-Ups and Techniques
   C. Game Play Mechanics
3. Walkthrough
   A. Skipping the Long Beam
   B. Acquiring the Varia Suit Early
   C. Defeating Kraid Early
   D. Acquiring the Super Missiles Early
   E. Defeating Ridley Early
4. Zebesian Regions
5. Secrets
6. Bestiary
7. Credits
8. Copyright Information
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1.) INTRODUCTION
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1.A.) PREFACE
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"Metroid Zero Mission" is another great installment to the Metroid series,
which should come as no surprise when considering Nintendo's successful
delivery of previous sequels/prequels. Zero Mission, as its name implies, sets
the stage for Samus' very first mission. This game takes place back on planet
Zebes where the Metroid series first took root. It plays much like "Metroid
Fusion" (the last handheld Metroid game that Nintendo released), but it's set
in the same environment as "Metroid"--the original, eight-bit game. Take
Fusion's graphics, controls, and game play, give it Metroid's world map, and
you've got Metroid Zero Mission.

Zero Mission is a retelling of the original Metroid, but it's not quite what
you can call a remake. It's almost like the same story being retold from a
different perspective, except it's still being told from the same perspective.
The corridors and secret passageways that made up the original world map have
been dramatically redesigned, and rehashed areas from "Super Metroid" have been
thrown in as well; there are plenty of fundamental changes in the game to make
it a completely new experience but with the assurance that it will be on par
with the original Metroid. Zero Mission's nostalgic value, alone, makes this
game well worth playing (of course, you'd have to have played the original for
this to matter). Even if you didn't play the original, you will still enjoy
this game.

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1.B.) STORY
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Here's the story behind Metroid Zero Mission, taken directly out of the
instruction booklet (note--this is almost identical to the story in the NES
Metroid's instruction booklet):

PROLOGUE

In the year 2003 of the Cosmic Calendar, representatives from the many
different planets in the galaxy established a congress called the Galactic
Federation, and an age of prosperity began. A successful exchange of cultures
and civilization resulted, and thousands of interstellar spaceships shuttled
back and forth between planets. Soon, however, Space Pirates began to attack
the spaceships, threatening the galactic peace. The Galactic Police and
Galactic Army struck against this aggression, but the pirates' attacks were too
powerful, and it was impossible to catch them all in the vast reaches of space.
So, the Federal Bureau called together powerful bounty hunters to battle the

Space Pirates. In the year 20X5 of the Cosmic Calendar, a terrible incident
occurred. The Space Pirates attacked a deep-space research vessel and seized
capsules containing samples of an unknown species that had been discovered on
planet SR388. The Space Pirates' objective was to acquire this life-form: known
simply as Metroids, these floating organisms were incredibly dangerous, as they
could latch onto any other organism and drain its life-energy. Furthermore, it
was possible to replicate Metroids in vast numbers by exposing them to beta
rays. The hypothesis that the Metroids were responsible for one of the greatest
mysteries in the entire galaxy--the extinction of planet SR388--was generally
accepted as fact.

If the Space Pirates were able to breed Metroids and use the creatures as
biological weapons, the destruction of all galactic civilization would be near
certain. After a desperate search, the Federation Police discovered the Space
Pirates' base of operations on the fortified planet Zebes. They launched a full
assault on the planet, but pirate resistance was strong, and the planet could
not be taken. All the while, in a room hidden deep within the center of the
pirate fortress, the preparations for multiplying the Metroids was progressing
steadily.

As a last resort, the Federation Police decided on a risky strategy: to send a
lone space hunter to penetrate the pirate base and destroy the mechanical life-
form that controlled the fortress and its defenses--the Mother Brain. The space
hunter chosen for this mission was Samus Aran. Considered the greatest of all
the bounty hunters, Samus had successfully completed numerous missions that
others thought impossible. Despite her accomplishments, much of Samus's true
identity remained wrapped in mystery.

Alone, Samus Aran successfully landed on the surface on Zebes, which was, in
fact, the planet where Samus was raised as a child. Burying all her memories of
the planet, Samus agreed to carry out this mission and face the traps of the
Mother Brain. But the question remained: could Samus Aran truly complete this
task and return peace and order to the galaxy?

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2.) RUDIMENTS
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2.A.) CONTROLS
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The controls for Metroid Zero Mission are identical to Metroid Fusion's
controls, except for the use of Select:

Control Pad--moves Samus in the corresponding direction (pressing down once
causes Samus to kneel and pressing up undoes this)

Start--brings up the map for the current region

Select--toggles between Missiles and Super Missiles (if applicable)

A Button--makes Samus jump

B Button--makes Samus shoot her arm cannon

L Button--angles Samus' arm cannon upwards to a forty-five-degree angle
(press down while holding the L Button to angle downwards to a forty-five-
degree angle)

R Button--Missiles/Super Missiles/Power Bombs (needs to be held down)

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2.B.) POWER-UPS AND TECHNIQUES
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                                   ---------
                                   Power-Ups
                                   ---------

There are a total of one hundred items--or power-ups--in this game. Most of
them increase your abilities to allow further progression in the game, but some
of them just allow you to hold more ammunition or units of energy.

Morph Ball--also known as the Maru Mari, this item allows you to turn into the
form of a ball, so that you can roll through the many narrow passageways found
on Planet Zebes. Press down twice (once to kneel and again to morph) to use
this ability, and press up twice (once to kneel and again to unmorph) to stand
up again. This item is located in Brinstar to the left of where you begin the
game.

Long Beam--this beam allows you to shoot all the way across the screen and adds
extra firepower (equal to half the firepower of the Short Beam) to your current
beam weapon combination. This power-up can be found in Brinstar (see part 1 of
the walkthrough).

Missile Tanks--gives you the capability to fire Missiles, which open Red
Hatches. Each Missile Tank adds five Missiles to the maximum amount that you
can carry, except on hard where they only add two Missiles to your maximum.
There are a total of fifty Missile Tanks throughout the game; they can be found
in various regions of Planet Zebes (see each region's distribution chart in
section 4).

Charge Beam--this beam allows you to charge up each shot for a blast that's
four times more powerful than normal. You can also use the charge during a spin
jump as a mock Screw Attack or "Charge Attack" (see "techniques" below). This
is acquired from the centipede mini-boss in one of two places in Brinstar (see
part 1 of the walkthrough).

Energy Tanks--this will increase the maximum amount of energy that you can
hold. On easy and normal, this will add a hundred units to your maximum, but,
on hard, it'll only be fifty units. There are a total of twelve Energy Tanks
throughout the game; they can be found in various regions of Planet Zebes (see
each region's distribution chart in section 4).

Bomb--this item allows you to lay bombs whenever you're using the morph ball
(press the B Button). Bombs can blow open secret passageways, damage enemies,
and propel you through the air. You can even use its propellant capabilities to
"bomb jump" to high, out-of-the-reach ledges (see "techniques" below). This is
acquired  in Brinstar (see part 1 of the walkthrough).

Unknown Item [1]--this item allows you to destroy the mystery blocks in the
region where it's found. Analysis on this item will not yield anything, but it
will be listed under your beams on the Status screen. This is acquired in the
Chozo Ruins [1] sub-region of Crateria (see part 4 of the walkthrough).

Power Grip--this item allows you to grab onto ledges. From there, you can
either pull yourself up onto the ledge, drop off, or jump up and away from the
ledge. This is acquired in the Chozo Ruins [1] sub-region of Crateria (see part
4 of the walkthrough).

Ice Beam--this beam allows you to freeze enemies and adds extra firepower
(equal to half the firepower of the Short Beam) to your current beam weapon
combination. This power-up can be found in Norfair (see part 6 of the
walkthrough).

Unknown Item [2]--this item allows you to destroy the mystery blocks in the
region where it's found. Analysis on this item will not yield anything, but it
will be listed under your miscellaneous items on the Status screen. This is
acquired in Kraid's hideout (see part 8 of the walkthrough).

Speed Booster--this item allows you to run at sonic speeds. Speed boosts can
destroy enemies and Boost Blocks that are in your way, and they can also be
used to perform a "Super Jump" (see "techniques" below). This is acquired after
defeating Kraid in his hideout (see part 8 of the walkthrough).

High-Jump--this item allows you to jump much higher than normal and, even,
gives you the ability to jump while in Morph Ball form (press the A Button).
This is acquired in Norfair (see part 10 of the walkthrough).

Varia Suit--this upgrades your Power Suit by providing immunity to acid, fleas,
and extreme temperatures. It also reduces enemy damage by a fifth. This is
acquired in Brinstar (see part 11 of the walkthrough).

Screw Attack--this item allows you to kill almost any enemy by spin jumping
into them (as though you are using a Charge Attack), and you can also use it to
destroy Screw Attack Blocks. This is acquired in Norfair (see part 12 of the
walkthrough).

Wave Beam--this beam allows you to shoot through walls and adds extra firepower
(equal to half the firepower of the Short Beam) to your current beam weapon
combination. This is acquired in Norfair (see part 12 of the walkthrough).

Super Missile Tanks--gives you the capability to fire Super Missiles, which
open Green Hatches. Each Super Missile Tank adds two Super Missiles to the
maximum amount that you can carry, except on hard where they only add one Super
Missile to your maximum. There are a total of fifteen Super Missile Tanks
throughout the game; they can be found in various regions of Planet Zebes (see
each region's distribution chart in section 4).

Unknown Item [3]--this item allows you to destroy the mystery blocks in the
region where it's found. Analysis on this item will not yield anything, but it
will be listed under your suits on the Status screen. This is acquired in
Ridley's hideout (see part 13 of the walkthrough).

Plasma Beam--this beam allows you to pierce through most enemies, so it will
actually hit an enemy multiple times with the same shot, and it adds extra
firepower (equal to half the firepower of the Short Beam) to your current beam
weapon combination. This is acquired after defeating the Chozo hieroglyphic
mini-boss in the Chozo Ruins [2] sub-region of Chozodia (see part 20 of the
walkthrough).

Gravity Suit--this upgrades your Power Suit by providing immunity to lava and
allowing you to perform any action underwater the same as you would on land. It
also reduces enemy damage by a half. This is acquired after defeating the Chozo
hieroglyphic mini-boss in the Chozo Ruins [2] sub-region of Chozodia (see part
20 of the walkthrough).

Space Jump--this item allows you to jump continually in midair using spin
jumps. This is acquired after defeating the Chozo hieroglyphic mini-boss in the
Chozo Ruins [2] sub-region of Chozodia (see part 20 of the walkthrough).

Power Bomb Tanks--gives you the capability to detonate Power Bombs, which open
Yellow Hatches. Each Power Bomb Tank adds two Power Bombs to the maximum amount
that you can carry, except on hard where they only add one Power Bomb to your
maximum. There are a total of nine Power Bomb Tanks throughout the game; they
can be found in various regions of Planet Zebes (see each region's distribution
chart in section 4).

                                  ----------
                                  Techniques
                                  ----------

Wall jump--also known as the "Triangle Jump," this is the only technique that
doesn't require any power-ups. To wall jump, spin jump into a wall, and jump
again but move in the opposite direction once you're touching the wall (the
timing for this is different from other Metroid titles). If you're having
trouble, try pushing away from the wall a split second before jumping the
second time.

Charge Attack--this technique requires the Charge Beam. To perform a Charge
Attack, make sure your arm cannon is fully charged, and spin jump into an
enemy. This should be used with caution, though, since you will get hurt by
using this technique on enemies with many hit points (although it will still
transfer the damage to the enemy). The amount of damage this attack inflicts is
equal to a fully charged shot from your arm cannon.

Bomb jump--also known as the "Turbo Bomb," this technique requires the Bomb
power-up. To do this, you will need to lay the initial Bomb, and, right as it
goes off, lay another Bomb. Right when the second Bomb goes off, lay another
Bomb, and repeat. Each progressive Bomb will hit you higher and higher into the
air, but the timing for this is different from other Metroid titles and may
require a bit of practice (more than the wall jump). Additionally, you can also
adapt this technique into a diagonal bomb jump: Lay the initial Bomb, but move
a bit to the left/right, and lay the next Bomb when the first goes off (so
you'll be using the same timing as a normal Bomb jump). Once you've got it
started, move against the force of the Bombs; when the Bombs knock you away,
move back towards the blast. From there, it can even evolve into a horizontal
bomb jump, using, still, the same general timing. You'll need to delay each
Bomb by a fraction of a second, and you should only move back towards each
blast just enough for the explosion to barely hit you. It takes a lot of
practice to advance this far into bomb jumping, though.

Super Jump--this technique requires the Speed Booster. If you press down during
a speed boost, it will temporarily store the kinetic energy from the speed
boost (for about five seconds) which you can use to perform a Super Jump,
although it will put a stop to the initial speed boost. Press the A Button to
release this energy (you CANNOT be moving when you press the A Button), and
you'll have about half a second to choose the direction of the Super Jump. The
default direction is up, but you can also jump left, right, and diagonally (up
and to the left or up and to the right at a forty-five-degree angle). When
performing a Super Jump, you will shoot off in the direction that you chose,
until you hit a solid wall. Super Jumps can also be performed in ball form, but
you'll need the High-Jump item. Super Jumps in ball form operate the exact same
way that they when standing.

Shinespark--this technique requires the Speed Booster. If you ever Super Jump
into a ramp or sloped surface, you'll begin speed boosting on the ground again;
this is called a Shinespark. From this point, you can continue speed boosting
in the direction that you're running, or you can even link another Super Jump
to another Shinespark (there are a lot of really annoying puzzles that require
the use of this technique). Shinesparks can also be executed in ball form, but
you'll need the High-Jump item. Super Jumps in ball form operate the exact same
way that they when standing.

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2.C.) GAME PLAY MECHANICS
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This section isn't quite complete yet, but it explains the less-important
details of how the game operates, including how damage--both yours and the
enemy's--is calculated.

                                     -----
                                     Samus
                                     -----

Most of Samus' capabilities are already outlined in section 2.B, but there are
a few unimportant things I thought I'd cover in a separate section:

--you can start a spin jump while in midair by pressing the A Button
--you can stop a spin jump while in midair by pressing the down, up, or the
  B Button
--when shooting directly up or down, the direction you're facing makes a slight
  difference
--without the Long Beam, you'll actually shoot a bit farther while running as
  oppossed to shooting while standing (this applies diagonally too)
--your long-ranged attacks do not travel much farther than a screen's length,
  unless you actually follow them across the screen
--getting hit by an enemy will take away the "Super Jump ready" status
--you cannot use a save station or map-data port while in Morph Ball form
--you cannot pause the game during cut scenes (including when the gateway to
  Tourian is lighting up); while moving from one room to another; while using a
  save station; while the prompt from using a save station/map-data port/Chozo
  Statue, or collecting an item is still on the screen; or, oddly enough, while
  setting off a Power Bomb
--you will fall off any ledge during a Power Bomb detonation
--you can move through frozen enemies when pulling yourself up from a ledge
--morphing into the ball will cause any charged beam shots to automatically
  fire off
--with the emergency space suit, you cannot crawl and fire at the same time

                       --------------------------------
                       Interaction with The Environment
                       --------------------------------

Again, most of this stuff is already explained somewhere in this
FAQ/walkthrough, but there are a few unimportant things I thought I'd cover in
a separate section:

--some hidden areas will be made transparent when you move into them, and
  others are revealed only after moving past a specific point in the room
  (e.g., areas where Space Pirates are lying in wait for you), while others
  remain opaque regardless
--by setting off a Power Bomb, you can see into hidden areas
--some Fake Blocks can be destroyed by any weapon, but some cannot be destroyed
  by the Screw Attack
--some Bomb Blocks can be destroyed by the Screw Attack
--some blocks regenerate every few seconds, others only regenerate after
  re-entering the room, and some remain permanently destroyed for the rest of
  the game
--although most Red, Green, or Yellow Hatches are protected on both sides, only
  one side of the hatch needs to be opened to remove the protection.
--most of the enemies in a given room have two movement patterns (i.e., they'll
  be in two different places each time you enter the room), but some enemies
  will always be in the same place
--after riding an elevator to another region, none of the enemies in the
  elevator room will move until you do
--non-flying enemies can be knocked onto the floor (if they're not already
  there) by using a Power Bomb, Super Missile, or Super Jump
--like the Pirahna Plants in "Super Mario Brothers," if you stand too close to
  a Zeb/Gamet/Geega/Zebbo pit, they will not come out
--activating a goal-oriented Chozo Statue (i.e., one that marks a location on
  your map) may bring about certain changes in another room (e.g., extra
  enemies), but these changes can also be initiated by completing the
  identified goal before activating the Chozo Statue (this will also cause the
  Chozo Statue to activate itself and sit down)
--if you skip the Varia Suit, it will automatically be removed from Brinstar
  and added to your Status screen once you get the Gravity Suit (so you can
  make a nine-percent run easier on yourself by getting the Varia Suit)

                                 -------------
                                 Taking Damage
                                 -------------

The amount of energy you lose from getting hit by an enemy is based on three
factors: The strength of the enemy attack, what suit you're wearing (e.g., the
default Power Suit, Varia Suit, or Gravity Suit), and the difficulty you're
playing on. The strength of an enemy attack can be found in section 6, and the
difficulty acts as a multiplier: On normal, an enemy's strength is twice as
powerful as on easy, and, on hard, it's four times as powerful as on easy. The
Varia Suit reduces the damage taken from enemy attacks by a fifth, and the
Gravity Suit reduces the damage taken from enemy attacks by half. The default
Power Suit is the standard, so it doesn't reduce any damage. Also, the
emergency space suit, damage-wise, is the same as the default Power Suit.

A piecewise function is required to make a formula out of this. The variable
for attack strength is "A," the variable for the difficulty is "B," and the
variable for total damage is "C." If the difficulty is set on easy, B = 1, if
the difficulty is set on normal, B = 2, and if the difficulty is set on hard,
B = 4. Don't forget the order of operations (parentheses, exponents,
multiplication/division, and, then, addition/subtraction).

If you're wearing the default Power Suit, C = A(B)
If you're wearing the Varia Suit, C = 4/5 A(B)
If you're wearing the Gravity Suit, C = 1/2 A(B)

Important--any fractions are truncated AFTER total damage (C) has been
determined, UNLESS total damage is less than 1 (in which case the fraction is
rounded up).

However, the damage you incur from environmental hazards, Parasites, Metroids,
or Ridley's grab attack is calculated differently, and there appears to be no
universal formula behind these drain attacks. While wearing the default Power
Suit, Parasites take off 2 units of energy per second, acid takes off 7.5 units
of energy per second, lava takes off 20 units of energy per second, super-
heated rooms take off 10 units of energy per second, Ridley's grab attack takes
off 16 units of energy per second, and Metroids take off a whopping 100 units
of energy per second. While wearing the Varia Suit, lava takes off 12.5 units
of energy per second, Ridley's grab attack takes off 8 units of energy per
second, and Metroids take off 15 units of energy per second. Finally, that
green goop in Tourian takes off 15 units of energy per second (you can't get
this far without the Gravity Suit). Difficulty makes no difference, as you'll
take damage at the same rates. Also, if two of these conditions occur at once,
the damage rate does not get stacked: Priority goes to the highest-damaging
condition. For example, if you're wearing the Varia Suit in lava with a Metroid
latched onto you, you'll only lose 15 units of energy per second.

                                --------------
                                Dealing Damage
                                --------------

Not all enemies can be hurt with a specific weapon. Some enemies, like bosses,
can only be hurt under very specific circumstances. With that being said, each
weapon/attack does a different amount of damage. The weakest weapon is your
default Short Beam, so I've arbitrarily given it a strength of 1. Any time you
receive a new beam power-up, it is added to your current combination beam
weapon to produce its own unique attack. With the exception of the Charge Beam,
each time you add a new beam power-up, the strength of your beam weapon grows
by .5 (1/2). Note--Plasma Beams hit enemies multiple times. While the Charge
Beam does not add any extra power to your beam weapon, it gives you the
capability to charge your beams up to a much more powerful strength. This will
quadruple the beam's strength, but, if the beam isn't fully charged, it'll have
the same strength as it normally does. For example, if you have the Charge
Beam, the Long Beam, and the Ice Beam, a fully charged shot would have a
strength of 8 (and so would a Charge Attack). As far as your other weapons go,
Bombs have a strength of 4, Missiles have a strength of 10, Super Missiles have
a strength of 50, and Power Bombs have a strength of 25. Lastly, there's the
Screw Attack, Super Jump, and speed boost. These attacks pretty much kill any
non-boss enemy in one hit, so, if a strength can even be assigned to them, it's
at least 100.

Short Beam--1
Short Beam and one other beam--1.5 (6 with fully charged shot)
Short Beam and two other beams--2 (8 with fully charged shot)
Short Beam and three other beams--2.5 (10 with fully charged shot)
Short Beam and four other beams--3 (12 with fully charged shot)
Bomb--4
Missile--10
Super Missile--50
Power Bomb--25
Screw Attack, Super Jump, or speed boost--at least 100

                                 -------------
                                 Dropped Items
                                 -------------

During your travels, you'll destroy many enemies, and you'll sometimes be
rewarded with an item. The five items that an enemy can drop are small energy
capsules, big energy capsules, Missiles, Super Missiles, and Power Bombs. A
small energy capsule restores five units of your energy, while a big energy
capsule restores twenty units of energy. Dropped Missiles restore two of your
Missiles, and dropped Super Missiles also restore two of your Super Missiles.
Dropped Power Bombs, though, only restore one Power Bomb.

Most enemies drop items while others don't, and the enemies that do drop items
may not always drop an item every time one is destroyed Some enemies can drop
any of the five items, yet others can only drop one of the five items. Usually,
if you have a full stock of a particular item, enemies that are capable of
dropping the item(s) that you need will do so. However, a few enemies will drop
one item over another regardless of whether or not you need it.

                                     ----
                                     Time
                                     ----

Basically, game time only runs while Samus is on the Game screen. This includes
saving your game (when you first save your game AND when you're restarting from
that save point), downloading map data, using Chozo Statues, and collecting
items. Additionally, the game time also runs during any circumstance where you
have no control over Samus and she isn't even visible but on the Game screen
nonetheless: When Samus is first landing on planet Zebes; the first cut scene,
where you have just arrived in Brinstar; and when escaping in the space ship.
However, the game's timer will not run during any other cut scenes, during the
two segments where the gateway to Tourian lights up, during the segment where
Mother Brain's room and the next two rooms explode (after escaping in your
ship), or while the game is making the transition from one room to another.

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3.) WALKTHROUGH
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If you've played the original Metroid, then this game will probably be a whole
lot easier for you--as far as finding your way around goes. Additionally,
having played any of the other Metroid games will also help: The boss battles
mostly resemble those of Super Metroid, and there are a lot of shinespark
puzzles and other elements from the previous Metroid titles.

This walkthrough explains how to obtain every item, and they are covered in a
very time-efficient order (though, not the most efficient order). Generally,
each part of this walkthrough is separated by region transition, so some
sections are quite large in comparison to others. Save Rooms, Map Rooms, and
Chozo Statues are acknowledged for your convenience, but you don't necessarily
need to use them every time you see one. Be advised, though, that the damage
you take from enemy attacks is double on normal and quadruple on hard. Also,
some rooms will have more enemies, harder enemies, or both for higher
difficulties (among other surprises).

The five sections at the end of this walkthrough are for completing the harder
goals earlier than usual or skipping them completely. A knowledge of the game's
layout and Samus' techniques is required for these sections, as they mostly
explain the part that deviates from the norm. In addition, the locations of
power-ups are, also, not explained in these sections for the same reason.
Lastly, if you happen upon a secret passageway that doesn't seem to have any
practical use, it's probably just there for a nine-percent run: Beating the
game with only the Morph Ball, one Missile Tank, the Bomb power-up, the Power
Grip, the three Unknown Items, and the Gravity Suit (if you don't have the
Varia Suit, the game gives it to you just out of spite). Important--a nine
percent run is impossible on hard because you NEED an extra Missile Tank or a
Super Missile Tank or the Screw Attack as your tenth item.

                                  -----------
                                  1--Brinstar
                                  -----------

You'll begin in the same spot as the original Metroid, so the Morph Ball--or
the Maru Mari, as it was known in the original Metroid--is just to the left of
the platform you're standing on. To get to it, just jump over the rock
formation (press the A Button), and simply pick it up. Use your Short Beam
(press the B Button) to destroy the Zoomers that are crawling around on the
ceiling, the walls, and the floor of this room. If you're playing on the easy
or normal difficulty, all of these Zoomers will be the weaker, yellow kind,
whereas, on the hard difficulty, all of these Zoomers will be the stronger,
purple kind.

After acquiring a new ability, the game will shift to the Status screen to
explain how to use your newfound ability. With the Morph Ball power-up, you can
now morph into a ball by pressing down twice (once to kneel and again to morph)
and roll through narrow passageways. Use this technique to get back to the
platform where you started, and continue proceeding to the right. Once you get
to the Blue Hatch at the end of the room, blast it with your Short Beam to open
it. Any hatch that is colored blue can be opened with a simple blast from any
of your weapons. On easy and normal, the next room just has a single yellow
Zoomer crawling around the middle structure. However, if you're playing on
hard, the Zoomer will be purple, and there will also be a ton of those
Parasites, so move through the room quickly. There is more below the floor,
but, right now, you cannot get to it. Continue moving right, but be careful of
the Skrees in the next room: They're hanging from the ceiling, and they will
attempt to dive bomb you when you get near them. On easy and normal, there will
be three green Skrees, but, on hard, there will be five gray Skrees instead.
Running all the way to the right without stopping will get you safely past
either group of Skrees, but you can also angle your arm cannon up (hold the
L Button) to shoot them on the way down. If they find their way to the floor,
and you still haven't destroyed them, get away from them because they will
explode and hurt you. At the end of this room, there is a narrow passageway
that leads to a Chozo Statue.

Stand in the statue's opened hands, and morph into the ball. This will cause
the statue to move into a sitting position, exposing a secret path, and it will
replenish your energy and show you where your next destination is on the map
(press Start). Any other Chozo Statues you come across will also replenish your
energy, but they do not always identify your next target on the map (if you can
carry Missiles, Super Missiles, or Power Bombs, they will re-supply you with
those too). Following the secret path leads you to the bottom of Brinstar's
main shaft. To your right is a Save Room, where you can save your game. Just
enter the room, and stand on top of the device in the center, and you will be
asked if you want to save your game. Should you restart the game or get a game
over, the last Save Room that you used is where you will begin your saved game
from.

                                   ---------
                                   Long Beam
                                   ---------

Your next goal will be to attain the Long Beam, but it's possible to skip this
item, although it will make the game more difficult. If you'd like to skip the
Long Beam, go to section 3.A. Otherwise, continue reading. Move up the long,
vertical shaft, but ignore the brown Rippers you encounter (the things moving
back and forth in midair): You cannot destroy them until later, so just work
your way around the Rippers. Don't hold back on the Zoomers, though. You'll
probably need to angle up or down (hold the L Button and press down) in order
to shoot some of them. On easy and normal, the Zoomers in this shaft will all
be the yellow kind, but, on hard, they'll all be the purple kind. Head up
towards the top of the shaft, until you reach a hatch on the left (you'll pass
a hatch on the right, but ignore it). Go into this room and destroy the green
Skree on the ceiling. Then, blast apart the three Fake Blocks to the left,
which are covering the entrance to a narrow passageway. This passageway leads
to some more green Skrees and an Item Room containing the Long Beam. To acquire
the Long Beam, just shoot the Item Ball in the Chozo Statue's hands, and pick
up the resulting item. With the Long Beam upgrade, you'll be able to fire all
the way across the screen, and each blast will inflict one and a half times the
amount of damage as the Short Beam did.

Back outside of the Item Room, there is another narrow passageway directly
above the previous one. This passageway leads up into another room where you'll
need to use the Morph Ball to navigate under two large Fake Blocks. Then, blast
the large Fake Blocks apart, and continue moving up through the room. There
will be another large Fake Block then two green Skrees then one final large
Fake Block before you exit left into the next room. This leads up into the
middle of a corridor. You'll need to go right, but the hatch leading into that
room will be colored gray. This means that there is some event or miscellaneous
requirement that must be fulfilled before this door will open for you (usually,
you need to defeat all the enemies in the room to get the hatch to open). In
this case, you just need to head left into the next room. Stay out of the
orange-yellow acid pools along the floor, as you make your way left towards the
next room. Coming in contact with the acid will only drain your energy bit by
bit, so you'll have plenty of leeway if you accidentally fall into it. The room
to the left is the ominous gateway to Tourian, the area of Zebes where Mother
Brain is housed. The statue that will be facing you is a rendition of Kraid,
and the other statue is a rendition of Ridley. You'll need to defeat both
before they'll grant you access into Tourian. Once you've entered the room with
the Kraid and Ridley statues, the Gray Hatch in the other room will unlock for
you... but a Dessgeega will come out of the ceiling and attack you, as you get
near the hatch. Shooting it rapidly will slow it down a good bit which should
give you enough time to kill it before it can jump into you. If you need to,
you can also run under the Dessgeega when it jumps, although, sometimes, it
won't jump high enough for you to run under it. If you know how to wall jump,
you can even get back up to the platform on the left and shoot it safely from
there. The next room contains another Chozo Statue that will point out your
next target on the map. Activating this Chozo Statue allows you to get back out
into the main shaft.

                                 ------------
                                 Missile Tank
                                 ------------

Go back down the shaft to the Blue Hatch you saw earlier on the right (you'll
have to blast through two large Fake Blocks to get back down there). With the
Long Beam, you can now destroy all of the Fake Blocks within the outlined
narrow passageway that lead to this hatch. Inside it is a short corridor that
connects the main shaft to another long shaft on the right. Go down this second
shaft, avoiding the brown Rippers and destroying the Zoomers as you go (the
second hatch on the right is a Save Room). Again, on easy and normal, most of
the Zoomers in this room will be the yellow type, but, on hard, they'll all be
the purple type. Additionally, a bunch of Parasites will appear here on the
hard difficulty. These tiny, annoying, flea-like creatures will also appear
here on the other difficulties but in much smaller numbers. Parasites will
attach themselves to you if you move over them, but they'll only be able to
hurt you in groups of four or more. For now, you won't be able to destroy
Parasites, but you can get them off of you by jumping and shooting downwards
(they have to be on your lower body for this to work) and also by going into
another room. At the bottom of the shaft, go through the hatch to the right.
Immediately after entering this corridor, you'll notice the walls shaking.
Ignore this, and make your way across the room to a pipe that has Zebs coming
out of it. These insect creatures slowly rise from their origin and, once
they've reached your elevation, charge towards you. They'll continuously emerge
from certain pipes and pits, so these are great places for restoring energy or
ammunition for your weapons you'll soon attain. Past this are three green
columns amidst an acid pool. The middle column contains a Missile Tank which
you need to open the Red Hatches (you should have seen one immediately after
entering the second shaft). To fire Missiles, hold the R Button and press the
B Button. On easy and normal, each Missile Tank will add five more Missiles to
the maximum amount that you can carry. On hard, each Missile Tank only adds two
Missiles to your maximum. For time being, you should use them sparingly (the
Missile icon at the top of the screen will keep track of how many Missiles you
have left).

                             ---------------------
                             Mini-Boss--Beam Beast
                             ---------------------

After picking up the Missile Tank, go back to the second shaft. As you get
close to the hatch, though, the creature responsible for all the earlier
rumblings will come out and attack you. As it burrows in and out of the floor
and ceiling, it will make two walls out of its centipede-like body and trap you
between them, so be sure to stop running when you see this happening.
Otherwise, you'll run straight into the creature and take damage. The Beam
Beast's weak point is its eye, but you'll only have a limited window of time to
hit it, as the creature will have it's eye closed for the duration of the time
you're fighting it. The higher the difficulty you're playing on, though, the
less time you'll have to hit the exposed eye. Its head will be situated in the
top-center of the screen. Only Missiles will work on the exposed eye, but don't
stand underneath it too long: The creature will come charging down from the
ceiling to attack you after a few seconds (anytime you see it biting its
mandibles together, that's your cue to get out of the way). After charging you,
it will either charge at you again or shed thorns off of its body towards you.
These thorns come from whichever side you are closest to, and four are shed--
starting from the bottom and going up. You can shoot the thorns with your beam
weapon to destroy them, and they will usually leave stuff behind too (restock
your missiles if you need to). After, taking its first hit, the Beam Beast
likes to mix things up by consciously seeking after you when it charges rather
than just coming down from the ceiling in a straight line. To dodge this, wait
on one side of the screen, until it begins charging towards you, and run to the
other side of the screen. It takes three Missile hits to kill the Beam Beast.

                                  -----------
                                  Charge Beam
                                  -----------

The centipede has a chance at running away, and, if it does, you'll see it
again very soon. It takes three hits in the same encounter to destroy the
Beam Beast. If you succeed in destroying it, it will leave behind the Charge
Beam: Hold down the B Buttton to charge up your arm cannon, and release it for
a blast four times more powerful than normal. You can also perform a pseudo-
Screw Attack on enemies by spin jumping while fully charged. This should be
used with caution, though, since you will get hurt by using this technique on
certain enemies (although it will still transfer the damage to the enemy).

After your encounter with the Beam Beast, go back up the second shaft to the
Red Hatch you saw earlier. Open this door by shooting just one Missile at it,
and enter to begin making your way to the far-right side of Brinstar. On your
way, Parasites will periodically drop out of the ceiling, but ignore them, and
continue moving; go right through this next corridor, avoiding the pools of
acid and shooting the Mellows that follow you across the room. Don't get
obsessive about clearing the room of enemies, as another Mellow will flock to
this room every few seconds. The next room is a short shaft, but don't go down
it yet. Instead, proceed through the hatch on the right. Move through the
upper-left corner of this room (there's a hidden passage) where you'll find
some sort of Mellow hive, a sac-like organism, blocking your way to a Missile
Tank. These can be destroyed using just the Long Beam, but they'll take many
hits before they'll die, and they have four Mellows swarming around them that
get in the way of your shots. You can get around most of the swarming Mellows
by shooting the lower or upper part of it. After gaining the Missile Tank, head
right, jumping from platform to platform along the top of the room. There are
two more of these Mellow hives blocking your path.

The next hatch leads to a similar short shaft which you cannot descend into.
Again, go through the hatch on the right. This places you in a corridor that
contains a pillar of large Fake Blocks with a group of four Fake Blocks
underneath them. The bottom-right-most Fake Block contains a Missile Tank.
Also, this room is where you can encounter the Beam Beast again if you haven't
already defeated it. The same strategy as outlined three paragraphs above
should be used for it. If you still can't defeat it, it will alternate between
reappearing back where you first encountered it and here, at this spot, again.
If you've already defeated the centipede, there will just be three green Skrees
in its place (unless you didn't pick up the Charge Beam). Right after this part
of the room, there are some more pools of acid and an Energy Tank atop a
metallic column. Pick up the Energy Tank to increase the maximum amount of
energy that you can hold. On easy and normal, this will add a hundred units to
your maximum, but, on hard, it'll only be fifty units. Past this Energy Tank
are two more pillars of large Fake Blocks. These pillars are in the middle of
an acid pool, so be sure to blast them apart before jumping towards them.
You'll encounter three (more) green Skrees and a few more acid pools before
exiting right into a third long shaft.

                                     ----
                                     Bomb
                                     ----

At the bottom, there's a Red Hatch on the left leading to a Map Room. You can
use these rooms to download partial maps that are added to your current Map
screen. Just move Samus up to the device that is lowered from the ceiling, and
it will take care of itself from there. The downloaded map generally helps a
great deal in pinpointing exactly where your next destination is but not so
much on how to get there, and they hardly ever identify where the more secluded
secret areas are located. Back out in the third long shaft, go up to the third
hatch on the right (above where you initially entered this shaft), and enter
it. Inside, you'll find three yellow Zoomers roaming around a platform and
another yellow Zoomer above that. There will be two hatches on the left side of
the room: The bottom one leads to a Save Room, and the top one leads to a
seemingly uninhabited room. This top room has a narrow passageway running along
the ceiling that leads to a Red Hatch. Blow it open with a Missile and pick up
the Bomb power-up that you find in the resulting Item Room. You can use this
item to lay bombs whenever you're using the morph ball (press the B Button).
Bombs can blow open secret passageways, damage enemies, and propel you through
the air. You can even use its propellant capabilities to reach high, out-of-
the-reach ledges. In earlier Metroid games, this "bomb jump" technique required
much more practice than it does in this Metroid game: You can, usually, just
uncontrollably mash the B Button to get a bomb jump started.

Before leaving the Item Room, morph into the ball, and bomb away the Fake
Blocks in the passageway under the Chozo Statue. This will reveal a not-so-
secret room behind the Chozo Statue containing a Missile Tank. Blast away each
Fake Block. Then, bomb yourself up onto the next floor to get to the Missile</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
Tank. After leaving the Item Room, Gray Hatches will block both your exits.
You'll need to go towards the hatch on the right and bomb the small column of
Bomb Blocks: More of those Parasites are hiding in this platform, and they're
going to pour out of the hole you'll make. However, with the Bomb power-up, you
can destroy them. Lay a bunch of Bombs everywhere--even before the initial Bomb
goes off--and that should take care of most of them. Then, roll through what's
left of them, allowing the Parasites to grab onto you, and lay a Bomb, but
remain near the explosion. Once they've all been destroyed, the hatches will
become open-able again. Make your way back out to the third long shaft then
back through the room where you found the Energy Tank then to the second of the
short shafts (the one on the right). The area below the floor is accessible now
that you have the Bomb power-up. Blast the Bomb Blocks with your Bombs, and
head through a combination of yellow and purple Zoomers and a single brown
Ripper to the hatch at the bottom-left of this shaft. Inside, you'll encounter
five Wavers which are flying creatures that move diagonally and reflect off the
walls, ceiling, and floor. Behind the Red Hatch at the left side of this room
is another Chozo Statue that will identify an area of Norfair as your next
target on the map.

Make your way back towards the first of the short shafts. As you're going back
through the room with the Mellow hives, If you destroyed all three of the
Mellow hives, they'll be gone for good and so will the Mellows in the next two
rooms after that. If you didn't get all three of them, you'll only need to
destroy one of them when you're heading towards the hatch on the left side of
the room. Once you've reached the other short shaft, lay Bombs a few spaces
away from the left hatch to reveal the opening that leads down the shaft.
There's a Missile Tank down there, but it's a little frustrating to acquire
(you may just want to wait until later to get it): While in midair, you'll need
to bomb an opening into a short passageway containing the Missile Tank, and
you'll need to get back up to where you dropped from, so you can attempt to
roll into the passageway as you're falling. If you don't do this quickly
enough, the passageway will reseal itself, and you'll need to start all over
again. Unfortunately, if you didn't clear out the Mellow hives, you'll be
repeatedly bombarded by the Mellows the whole entire time you're trying to
accomplish this. To get out of this shaft, blast your way up through the Fake
Blocks on the left wall. Be selective about which blocks you shoot, though:
You'll need some of them as a platform to reach the higher ones. Theses blocks
will also regenerate, if you accidentally destroy the wrong ones.

From this point, it's possible to get the Varia Suit early, but it requires a
lot of precision that isn't completely necessary if you choose to get it later.
Refer to section 3.B if you want to get the Varia Suit now. Additionally, you
can also defeat Kraid at this point, although it will be about as difficult as
acquiring the Varia Suit early. Refer to section 3.C if you want to fight Kraid
now. Otherwise, keep reading. To get into Norfair, go back to where you
acquired your first Missile Tank (near where you first fought the centipede
mini-boss), and continue moving right towards the end of the corridor. There
will be a rock formation attached to the ceiling over a pool of acid that you
can blast apart with a single Bomb. Afterwards, there will be a few more acid
pools and pits with Zebs emerging from them, as you move right to the end of
the corridor. From there, a Blue Hatch leads into the elevator shaft that takes
you into Norfair. As you're riding the elevator down into Norfair, you'll view
a short cut scene of Samus' activities being observed by the Mother Brain.

                                  ----------
                                  2--Norfair
                                  ----------

Although your next target is situated to the right of the elevator shaft in
Norfair, you'll need to go through the hatch on the left first (there is a Save
Room through the hatch on the right, but don't bother going past that). Also,
don't go down through the center of this room where the purple Rippers (they
hurt more than the brown ones do) are hovering back and forth: Bomb along the
floor on either the right or left side, until you blast open a Bomb Block. You
may notice another type of block while bombing: Screw Attack Blocks. These
blocks cannot be destroyed until much later on. Under either Bomb Block, you'll
find a Pit Block. These blocks disintegrate whenever you stand on them. They'll
reappear about a second afterwards, but, from underneath them, there's nothing
you do to get them to disintegrate again.

Going through the hatch on the left takes you into a corridor with intermittent
lava pools and two insect-dispensing pipes. Note that there is a difference
between lava and acid other than color: Lava depletes your energy quicker than
acid does. In Norfair, the pipes are inhabited by Gamets which are just a
slightly stronger version of Zebs. Past the Gamet pipes are a few Novas on
platforms above the lava. Novas are fiery creatures that roam along the
surfaces of the room they inhabit, like Zoomers (they, too, are slightly
stronger than their counterparts in Brinstar). Above one of these platforms is
a Missile Tank near the ceiling. Skip it for now because it'll be much easier
to obtain in a few minutes (though, it's not too hard to bomb jump up there
anyway). Past the Missile Tank are some Mellas (unless you're playing on hard)
which are just Norfair's version of Mellows. On easy and normal, purple Gamets
will come out of both pipes, and there will be two purple Novas and two Mellas
in this room (on normal, there will also be an orange Nova). On hard, red
Gamets will come out of both pipes and the lava pit to the left of the Missile
Tank, and there will be four orange Novas. The left wall contains a secret
passageway that connects to an adjoining room. Shoot or bomb the bottom of the
wall to reveal this passageway, and roll through it with the Morph Ball. At the
other end, there is another narrow passageway atop a rock formation. Past that,
you'll find a few more Mellas (three on easy, and five on normal and hard) and
a hatch leading left into the next room. Move up through this room, and take
the elevator into Crateria (on hard, a purple Ripper appears below the
elevator).

                                  -----------
                                  3--Crateria
                                  -----------

Upon reaching Crateria, move right through a pillar of Fake Blocks and into the
next room. This takes you into a water-filled area with several platforms that
lead right to a Yellow Hatch. You won't be able to open this door for a long
time, so forget about it. In the water below, are several fish-like creatures
called Skulteras. These enemies take many hits to destroy, but they swim
somewhat slowly towards you, giving ample time to kill them before they can
hurt you. Take note of the effect water has on your mobility, as you will move
a lot slower (both running and jumping) and bombs will have no propellant force
on you. At the shore, where you entered this room, lies a secret passage to a
Missile Tank. Bomb or shoot your way to the lower-left corner of the room
through a Fake Block and three large Fake Blocks to an opening containing a
Missile Tank and a single Skultera. Shoot the wall on the left to reveal the
Missile Tank then the Fake Block underneath it, so you can walk into it without
having to use the Morph Ball. Come back up to the surface and board the first
few platforms, moving into the upper-left corner of this room. There's a chunk
of Bomb Blocks that you may need to blast apart first (it's possible to go
around it using the wall jump). After that, there's just a large Fake Block
preventing you from moving through a narrow passageway up into the next room.

                              ------------------
                              4--Chozo Ruins [1]
                              ------------------

This is actually a sub-region of Crateria, so you haven't actually left
Crateria. Move through some more narrow passageways, using Bombs to clear a
path towards the hatch on the right side of the room. Along the way, you should
notice a suspicious block that you cannot destroy. The next room is an Item
Room that is half filled with water and contains four more of these suspicious
blocks. The Chozo Statue is holding a mysterious Unknown Item that will be
listed under the beams on your Status Screen. Analysis on this item will not
yield anything, except that "Item [is] incompatible with current suit." Despite
this, you'll now be able to destroy the suspicious blocks with any blasts from
your weapons. You'll need this ability to get back out of the water and to
acquire the Missile Tank near the door to this room. There are also two Fake
Blocks to the left that you'll need to destroy in order to get out of the
water pit containing the Missile Tank.

                                  ----------
                                  Power Grip
                                  ----------

Outside of the Item Room, destroy the mystery block, go up through the opening,
and head left. There's some stuff to the right, but you can't do anything with
it yet. There are four platforms leading up to a door on the left (the door is
encompassed in the mouth of a gigantic statue). This door leads into a room
decorated in Chozo relics and a bridge made of Pit Blocks. Go ahead and fall
through the floor, then shoot at the left wall, destroying a large Fake Block.
Behind it, there will be a small column of three Fake Blocks. Destroy these
too, and jump up into the small area above. Bomb yourself into the narrow
passageway and move left. You'll move onto a Pit Block and fall through, but
keep moving left to exit into the next room, as there's another Pit Block
directly below the first one. This is another Item Room, except the Chozo
Statue is just a part of the background. Grab the Power Grip item, and use it
to head back out into the other room: Jump up into the ledge (you'll grab onto
it and hang there), and press up to crawl onto the ledge. While on ledges, you
can also press the A Button to drop off the ledge, or you can press the
A Button while holding left/right to jump up and away from the ledge. Note--you
HAVE to be moving towards a ledge in order to grab onto it; you cannot just
jump/drop next to a ledge no matter how close you are to it. Note--once you
have the Power Grip in your possession, you won't be able to re-enter this room
again, as the upper Pit Block outside will be replaced with a solid,
indestructible block.

Back out in the room with the bridge of Pit Blocks, a green pillar will rise in
the background, forming six ledges for you to use to get back up to the top.
The bridge of Pit Blocks will be gone, and a hatch on the left is your exit
(the hatch to the right is locked). This leads out into an area with three
smaller but tangible pillars. Atop the second one is a large Fake Block that
you should blast out of your way, and atop the third one is a narrow passageway
filled with two Fake Blocks that need to be destroyed. Grab onto the ledge of
the third pillar and roll up into the narrow passageway (just press up to pull
yourself up from a ledge and directly into a narrow passageway). The door to
the left leads out of the Chozo Ruins and back into Crateria.

                                  -----------
                                  5--Crateria
                                  -----------

You'll emerge onto the Planet's surface on a cliff that stretches out into the
large vacant space of this room. Down below is your goofy spaceship where you
can save your game and restore your energy/weapons at the same time. Just jump
on top of it, and you'll automatically be lowered inside and prompted to save.
Again, there's a few secrets in this room, but you won't be able to do anything
about them until later. The hatch leading back to Norfair is to the right of
your spaceship. Go into the next room where you'll find two Rippers. Jump
across the water, or wade through it, and pull yourself up and out of it.
There's another mystery block you need to destroy at the end of a short, narrow
passageway. The passageway dumps out onto a Pit Block and into another short,
narrow passageway which dumps out onto the other side of the room. Take the
hatch on the right out to the room where you originally entered Crateria from.
Then, take the elevator back into Norfair.

                                  ----------
                                  6--Norfair
                                  ----------

There's an out-of-the-way Missile Tank you may want to pick up. If not, head
back to the elevator shaft where you first arrived in Norfair, continue past
the Save Room, and skip ahead to the next paragraph. Once you're back in
Norfair, move down to where the first hatch on the right is at. Then, climb
into the narrow passageway on the left using the Power Grip ability. Move down
the room, destroying the Novas and avoiding the purple Ripper in the lower-
right corner. On easy, there will only be a single purple Nova on your way
down; on normal, there will be three purple Novas; and, on hard, there will one
purple Nova and two orange Novas. At the bottom, go through the hatch on the
right into another corridor filled with pockets of lava pools, Mellas, and one
of those Gamet pipes. Past the pipe are some Novas roaming around platforms and
some more Mellas. On easy, there will be two purple Novas; on normal, there
will be three purple Novas; and, on hard, there will be three orange Novas and
one purple Nova. At the end of the corridor, there is a Missile Tank sitting
atop a metallic column. After grabbing the Missile Tank, go back to the
elevator shaft where you first arrived in Norfair, and continue moving right
past the Save Room.

You'll be in another room with lava, but a tall wall to the right forces you to
move upwards, so you should grab onto the ledge above where you entered the
room. Pull yourself up onto the ledge, jump to the next platform, grab onto the
ledge near the ceiling, and pull yourself up onto that ledge. There will be
rock platforms leading down to the other side of the wall where you'll
encounter a purple Nova and a Polyp, a wierd, inorganic enemy on the floor that
launches balls of lava at you. You can destroy the balls of lava with just a
shot from your beam weapon, but the Polyp, itself, will require stronger
firepower (a single Missile will do the job). Move right and up onto more
platforms leading you over another tall wall. There will be even more rock
platforms leading down and another Polyp on the other side of this wall. From
here, move right over a bridge of Fake Blocks which has a Squeept trapped
underneath it and past an orange Nova and some more rock platforms leading up
into an empty corner of the room. Ignore all of this, for now, and continue
moving right through the hatch leading to the next room (if you didn't get the
Power Grip, a strange, gooey life form will be blocking your way to the next
room).

                                   --------
                                   Ice Beam
                                   --------

You'll be in the main shaft of Norfair which leads upwards past three purple
Novas and a brown Ripper. On hard, though, this area will have three brown
Rippers and two purple Novas. Do not take the second hatch up on the right: It
leads into a room where the intense heat will deplete your energy as though
you're standing in acid. Take the first hatch up on the right instead. This
leads you into a room with a few tiny platforms over an expansive lava pool and
some purple Novas. On easy, there will just be two Novas, but, on normal and
hard, there will be five. Also, on hard, there will be three Dragons in this
room. These creatures look like sea horses, but they dwell in lava pits and
come up to shoot balls of fire at you when you're within range. Both the
Dragons and their fireballs can be neutralized using just your beam weapon (the
fireballs may even leave an item behind). You may not always have a clear shot
at the Dragons, though. Carefully move left across this room, as the sparse
platforms are barely big enough for you to stand on them. Also, you'll need to
make good use of your Power Grip ability too. The door on the left side of this
room takes you to an Item Room where you'll receive the Ice Beam. Combined with
the Long Beam, shots from your arm cannon will, now, be twice as powerful as
the Short Beam by itself. In addition, you can also freeze most enemies with
the Ice Beam and use the frozen enemies as a platform to stand on (generally,
enemies get frozen by the first shot).

You can't go back out the hatch you just came in because it will be sealed by a
Green Hatch, and, like the earlier Yellow Hatch, you don't have what's needed
to open this kind of door. However, you can roll under the Chozo Statue with
the Morph Ball and blast away two Fake Blocks which will lead you into another
room. In it, a purple Ripper is hovering back and forth between two columns.
Freeze the Ripper, and use the newly created platform to help you get over the
column on the left and out into the next room. This will be a short shaft with
three more purple Rippers and a Save Room through the left hatch. On hard,
there will also be an orange Nova on each wall and an extra, purple Ripper
moving along the ceiling. Freeze the Rippers, and use them as platforms to
reach the hatch at the top of this shaft on the right. To facilitate this
process, freeze them all when they're on the right side of the shaft, but try
not to have them all frozen on top of each other (wall jumping also helps you
get from one to the next). Inside the next room, there are two Squeepts that
you'll need to freeze and use as platforms to get across the lava. After the
second Squeept, you'll come upon another Chozo Statue. For some reason, though,
this Chozo Statue is moved right to the edge of the lava pit on hard, so that
you end up grabbing onto its hand when jumping across the lava. Regardless,
this Chozo Statue will direct you to your next destination in Kraid (also known
as "Mini-Boss hideout I" or "Kraid's Hideout" in the original Metroid).

After the Chozo Statue, continue heading right. You'll need to freeze three
Squeepts to get across a large stretch of lava, then head right through a Blue
Hatch. This will take you into yet another room where you'll need to make
platforms out of frozen enemies. This time, there won't be any lava to fall
into if you miss. When you freeze the first two purple Rippers, make sure
they're spread out, so you'll be able to reach and climb over the wall to the
right. The next wall to the right contains a Missile Tank one space down from
the ceiling: Blast away the Fake block, freeze the purple Ripper, and use it to
get to the Missile Tank (grab onto the ledge and pull yourself into the alcove
containing the Missile Tank). Below this, there's a large Fake Block and, on
the normal and hard difficulties, there's another purple Ripper past that. Take
the hatch to the right to get back out to Norfair's main shaft. You'll be at
the very top of the shaft with a purple Nova and a brown Ripper (on the hard
difficulty, the Ripper will be hovering along the floor for some reason). If
you'd like to defeat Ridley early (or obtain Super Missiles or the High-Jump
early), go to section 3.E. Otherwise, go to the far-right wall, and you'll drop
through some Pit Blocks. Go back down the shaft, and take the third hatch on
the left. You'll be back inside the room with the Squeept trapped under the
bridge of Fake Blocks, but there will be a lot more enemies added to it
(activating that last Chozo statue or completing its objective--acquiring the
Speed Booster--triggers this). To let the Squeept out, you'll need to blast the
Fake Block directly above it and the one on to the right as well. When the
Squeept is at the peak of its jump, freeze it, and use it to grab onto the
ledge above it. Grab the Missile Tank to the right and head towards the
elevator shaft that will take you back into Brinstar (this will be the first
one you come across when going right through each room). Freeze the two Rippers
to get back up to the elevator, and take it back into Brinstar.

                                  -----------
                                  7--Brinstar
                                  -----------

With the Power Grip. it will be easier to acquire the Varia Suit, although
you're not supposed to get it until later (according to the Chozo Statues), and
you don't really need it to get through Kraid. If you want to get the Varia
Suit now, refer to section 3.B. Start moving left back to the middle long shaft
in Brinstar. In the upper-left corner of this shaft, there's a secret room you
can reach by freezing the two brown Rippers. This is a little out of the way,
so you might want to get this Missile Tank later before acquiring the Varia
Suit or on your way into Tourian. If you insist on getting it, though, try to
freeze both Rippers towards the left side, so the narrow passageway that you'll
need to pull yourself into is more accessible. On hard, there will only be one
Ripper, so you'll have to make up for that by wall jumping the rest of the way.
Inside this secret room, there's a Missile Tank. After picking it up, blast the
bomb block beneath where the Missile Tank was. There is a Pit Block underneath
the Bomb Block that will dump you out into the main shaft of Brinstar.

To get into Kraid, head all the way back to the very beginning. As you're going
down the main shaft, you'll see a suspicious formation on the left that looks
like it could serve as a narrow passageway (a little ways down from the
corridor that links the main shafts to the middle shaft). Freeze the nearby
Ripper and use it to jump onto the ledge. Destroy the Bomb Block, enter the
passageway, and move left into the semi-secret room. Move to the left wall,
eliminating the two Skrees as you go. Drop through the two Pit Blocks and shoot
the other Skree as you fall. Here, there will be six Zoomers moving around a
rock formation. On easy and normal, they'll be four purple and two yellow
Zoomers, but, on hard, they'll all be purple. Under the Zoomers lies two more
Pit Blocks and another Skree when you drop through them. Get the Missile Tank
to the left and roll into the passageway on the right. You'll fall through
another Pit Block and see a Super Missile Tank. Boost Blocks prevent you from
taking it, and there's nothing you can do about it until later. Roll into the
narrow passageway to the right to exit back out into the main shaft. Move down
the shaft and through the hatch on the left. Roll through the narrow passageway
and clear the room of all the Skrees. Three spaces away from the passageway,
there's a Fake Block in the ceiling hiding an Energy Tank (there's an Energy
Tank hidden here in the original Metroid and Super Metroid as well). Bomb jump
your way up to it (if you can), or freeze the far-left Skree to get up to it.
If you have problems getting it, new Skrees will appear after defeating Ridley
(unless you're playing on hard) that can be frozen closer to the Energy Tank.
Now, go through the hatch on the left. Blast away the Bomb Blocks to get under
the floor and move down the shaft where you'll find a redundant combination of
brown Rippers and purple Zoomers. At the very bottom is a hatch that leads into
the elevator shaft that leads to Kraid.

                                   --------
                                   8--Kraid
                                   --------

As you enter the main shaft of Kraid's hideout, take special note of the
kick-ass background music that is a favorite to many Metroid fans. If you've
already got the Varia Suit, getting through Kraid will be a breeze. If not,
then take special care to stay out of the acid because there are various places
where you can get caught up in it for a few seconds. Take the first hatch down
on the left which takes you into a Save Room. There's a hidden passageway three
spaces up from the floor in the left wall (you can't grab onto it, so bomb
yourself into it). In the next room, move left, bombing the two blocks in the
in the narrow passageway. You'll see five stair-like columns over an acid pit
with a Missile Tank atop the middle one. Grab it, and head back towards the
main shaft.

Outside of the Save Room, the Red Hatch to the right leads to the power station
for the zip lines. Shoot a Missile at the Red Hatch, and head inside. Move
right across the large acid pit, and jump across two platforms. You'll see a
similar formation of stair-like columns (seven this time) with a Missile Tank
atop the middle one. Pick up the Missile Tank, and continue moving right
through the corridor, until you see the two Side Hoppers trapped between the
four large Fake Blocks. First, shoot only the bottom Fake Block, and attack the
Side Hopper on the floor (you may want to use Missiles, since you'll only need
two for each of them, and they're likely to leave Missiles behind anyway). When
you've destroyed the bottom one, go ahead and clear away the top Fake Block, so
you can shoot the Side Hopper on the ceiling. Next, you'll come across a Geega
pipe. Geegas are Kraid's version of the Zebs/Gamets. Almost all Geegas will
attack in pairs (the two exceptions are noted). Right past the Geega pipe are
two more Side Hoppers in the same scenario as before, except you'll have to
deal with both the Geegas and the Side Hoppers at once. To counter this,
destroy the Geegas, but do not pick up whatever item they may leave behind.
New Geegas will not come out, until you've picked up all items from them or the
items they left behind disappear (you'll have about ten seconds before the
items finally disappear). Destroy the Side Hoppers during your reprieve from
the Geegas. Then, go through the hatch on the right. You'll see a Zeela roaming
around a platform and a tall, transparent tube of some sort with many brown
Rippers in it (Zeelas are Kraid's version of the Zoomer/Nova, except slower).

On hard, almost all of the Zeelas in Kraid's hideout will be the red type (the
only place where they're the yellow type on hard is the main shaft). The red
Zeelas are especially different from the yellow ones, and, quite possibly, the
coolest enemy in a Metroid game ever: When you destroy them, their eyes burst
from their eyestalks and explode!!! Just make sure you don't get hit by the
exploding eyes, or you'll take minor damage. Move next to the tube, and bomb
the Fake Block in the floor to reveal a Morph Ball launcher. Destroy the Bomb
Blocks over the launcher to get down to it, and lay a Bomb inside of it (stay
in Morph Ball form afterwards). Once the bomb has energized it, the launcher
will shoot you straight up into the air, only stopping when hitting a solid
platform or ceiling.

The launcher will only get you up about halfway through this room. You'll pass
a Missile Tank on the way. To get it, stay in Morph Ball form and drop back
down into the top-most narrow passageway. This will drop you into the
passageway containing the Missile Tank. Directly after acquiring the Missile
Tank, dropping down to the next part of the passageway will place you on top of
a Pit Block that will take you back down to the Morph Ball launcher. If you
know how to wall jump or feel like bomb jumping back to the top of the room,
you can roll out of the way of the Pit Block and proceed back up to the top of
the room without using the launcher. Once there, use the alcoves on both sides
as something to grab onto. Shoot any Zeelas or Fake Blocks in your way, and
jump from alcove to alcove (angling your arm cannon will help in hitting your
targets). Once you're on top of the mess, head up and left through the hatch at
the top of the room. This leads into a corridor with two Fake Blocks over a
Geega pit (these Geegas do not attack in pairs). The Fake Blocks fill a
passageway in the left wall that you'll need to grab onto and pull yourself
through. Move left past a Geega pipe (these Geegas also attack one by one).
Then, jump over an acid pool, and exit through the hatch on the left. Shoot the
three large Fake Blocks and drop down the hole, shooting against the wall on
the right side. This should have hit a Fake Block and opened up a small hole
which you'll grab onto (the Fake Block is colored blue instead of gray). If you
missed, you'll find another Morph Ball launcher and a group of four Zeelas
moving around on the same platform at the bottom of the room. Use the launcher
to get back up to the top of the room and try again. You may find it easier to
use Bombs and roll into the secret passageway. Once you're inside, you'll be
able to see into the hidden area which will reveal a Fake Block that you should
bomb. There will be another group of four Zeelas moving around on an identical
platform and a Red Hatch to the right. Open the door with a missile, and enter.
This is where the power station for the zip lines is located. Jump onto the
structure, morph into the ball, and fit yourself into the groove in the center
of the structure. This will give power to the zip lines throughout Kraid.

Directly above the power station, you'll find a red, circular device imbedded
in the ceiling. Shoot this to get the zipper to come to your end of the line.
To ride the zip line, simply jump near the zipper, and you'll automatically
grab onto it and swing across the room. You'll automatically drop off the zip
line once you've reached the end too, but you can also drop off manually by
pressing the A Button. This zip line takes you to an Energy Tank and drops you
off next to a Geega pit. Make use of them to refill your Missiles and energy,
and move right through the Save Room and into the next room after that. You'll
be back in the room with the transparent tube, except you'll be confined to the
left portion of it. Move right, fall through the Pit Block, and go through the
hatch on the left. Head left through this small, empty corridor and into the
next room which contains a mini-boss. This room is filled with acid, and there
are four blocks over the acid (two on each side) that serve as platforms. If
you entered this room before activating the power station for the zip line,
there just would've been two yellow Rios in it (these are somewhat big, flying
creatures). Move into the room and take the zip line across the acid pit...

                             --------------------
                             Mini-Boss--Acid Worm
                             --------------------

Halfway across the acid pit, a huge, worm-like creature will come crashing
through the floor and into the ceiling (barely missing you). It's weak spot is
the orange part of its body directly below its head. When you get to the other
side, take a few shots at this area of the Acid Worm's body (all attacks work,
but Missiles will kill it quicker). Shortly afterwards, the worm will retreat
into the acid. It will bite its fangs together twice before attacking you. This
is your cue to jump on the zip line and ride it across the acid pit: The Acid
Worm will attack the spot where you were standing when it was biting its fangs
together, so, if you were waiting on the upper block, the worm will immediately
retreat back into the acid when it misses you. However, if you were waiting on
the lower block, the Acid Worm will accidentally latch onto the upper block
when you jump onto the zip line. At this time, its weak spot will once again be
exposed, and you should begin firing at it once you drop off of the zip line
(you can turn around while on the zip line, so you'll be facing the worm once
you get across the acid pit). If you cannot get out of the way of the worm's
attack, it will latch onto you and pull you into the acid pit. Also, if you're
waiting on either side of the room, the worm will rise from the acid and spit a
group of three purple balls at you. You can shoot these to restock your energy
or Missiles. As you continue to damage the Acid Worm, it will gradually speed
up its attacks (if you're playing on hard, the attacks will be sped up much
more quickly). If you're playing on the normal or hard difficulty, the worm
creature will begin raising the level of the acid after taking fifteen hits
from the Missiles (you'll see its fangs remain outstretched while it's raising
the acid level). You'll need to get up on the higher block to avoid the acid.
When the acid lowers back down to its original level, take the zip line across
the pit because the Acid Worm will follow up with its previous attack method
immediately afterwards. Once you've shot it with thirty Missiles, it dies, and
the acid pit will begin to drain.

Once the acid has drained enough, go down into the pit, and bomb the area where
the worm was coming out of the floor. You'll destroy two Bomb Blocks, but there
are two more right below those, so bomb them as well. Go down into the hole,
and move left across the remaining acid. Shoot the Fake Block at the very top
of the left wall, and climb into the hole you create. Bomb the large Fake Block
at the end of the narrow passageway to reveal a secret room with three yellow
Zeelas crawling around a column over an acid pit. On hard, these Zeelas will be
red, but there will be four of them. Freeze one of the Zeelas, so that you can
use it as a platform to acquire the Missile Tank atop the column. After getting
the Missile Tank, go back out into the mini-boss room and take the hatch in the
upper left which leads back to the room with the Morph Ball launcher. From
there, work your way back to the main shaft. Also, there won't be any more
Geegas in the next room, and the second pair of Side Hoppers in that first
corridor will have also disappeared, but a new Geega pit has formed just
outside of the main shaft (between the two platforms near the hatch).

From here, take the second hatch down on the left (under the Save Room). This
takes you into an acid-filled room. Shoot the two Fake Blocks that fill the
passageway to the left, and pull yourself into it. Behind the Fake Blocks are
two Bomb Blocks. Past this is a Fake Block you'll drop onto and a zigzagging
passageway that you'll have to bomb yourself up through. Take the zip line left
across the room, but shoot as you go because there are five large Fake Blocks
in the zip line's path. After dropping off of the zip line, take the hatch on
the left into a room with an acid pit, some Zeelas, and a brown Ripper. Move up
the platforms through the room and take the upper-right hatch. This leads into
a room with some sort of spider creature that looks a bit like a Side Hopper.
This one will only hop towards you, so stand near it while kneeling, and shoot
it. You should also morph into the ball whenever it jumps over you to ensure
that it won't hit you. Towards the right of this room, there's a passageway
that you'll have to pull yourself up into. This leads up then back to the left
into a narrow passageway that takes you above another spider creature. The
ceiling is too low for it to jump, so the spider thing can only run into you.
The passageway above it dumps out near a Gray Hatch on the left, but the spider
can get to you there. Shoot the spider, but, if you need to, go back into the
passageway, and move to the other side. The passageway above the spider is made
up of Fake Blocks, so you can destroy one of the blocks and drop down to shoot
the spider again. Then, when it starts getting close to you, jump back up into
the passageway, and find another spot to attack it from. The more you damage
it, the quicker it will move (it will also change color accordingly). If you
just use Missiles, you should be able to destroy the spider before it can even
get near you (it takes ten Missiles to kill it). For some odd reason, only the
spider at the top of the room will appear if you've already defeated Ridley,
unless you're playing on hard. Additionally, neither of these spiders will
re-spawn, although the other ones in Norfair will.

Once you've defeated both spider-like creatures, you can leave through the
upper-left hatch which will lead back out into the very top of the room you
just came from. Bomb yourself into the narrow passageway and move left until
you fall through a hidden hole to get the Missile Tank below. You'll, then,
land on a Pit Block which drops you onto another Pit Block which drops you back
down to the two Zeelas and the Ripper. At the bottom of the room, you may
notice another brown Ripper moving through the acid. This acid is just an
illusion and can't hurt you. Lay a single Bomb to blast apart the floor, then
drop down to reveal that this is actually a long shaft. On hard there will be
two Rippers below the floor, so watch out for it. At the very bottom, you'll
find two more Zeelas and a hatch leading right. Through this hatch are two
similar, short corridors leading right. In the second corridor, there's a Red
Hatch to the right and what looks like a tunnel leading to a room below. Shoot
a Missile at the Red Hatch, and enter the room to the right first. There is a
zip line, three Side Hoppers, and six purple Rippers in this room. Move right,
until you see the Rippers along the top of the room. A little further right,
you'll see four rows of green blocks imbedded in the floor: These have a Bomb
Block in the center of them that cover the Morph Ball launcher under each one.
You'll just need to use the launchers to clear away the Rippers and the Boost
Blocks directly below the zip line. If you have trouble hitting the Rippers,
freeze them directly over the launchers, and they'll be sitting ducks for your
attack. Once all the Rippers and Boost Blocks are gone, get the zip line on the
right side of the room, and use the right-most Morph Ball launcher to grab onto
the zip line. You'll need to stay in ball form to get to the Missile Tank you
saw back on the left side of the room.

                               ----------------
                               Unknown Item [2]
                               ----------------

Once you've attained the Missile Tank, go left back into the short corridor.
Bomb the floor over the tunnel, and drop down. This takes you into a room where
you'll be standing near the top end of a similar tunnel. There will be a
mystery block to the right, but it's different from the previous ones, so you
won't be able to destroy it. Again, bomb the floor over the tunnel, and take
this one down to the bottom part of the room where you'll find two Geega pipes
and some Zeelas. The hatch on the left leads to a Save Room, and the hatch on
the right leads to an Item Room. Outside of the Item Room, there's a platform
with a large Fake Block above it. To the right of this block, there's a
regular-sized Fake Block that's covering a secret passageway into the adjacent
Item Room. Destroy both of these blocks, and pull yourself up into the narrow
passageway that leads inside of the Item Room. The Chozo Statue holds another
Unknown Item. This one will be listed under the miscellaneous items on your
Status Screen, though. Upon receiving this item, you'll be able to destroy the
new type of mystery blocks with any blasts from your weapons.

Shoot the mystery block to get back outside of the Item Room. Then, get in
between the two Geega pipes where another mystery block separates two halves of
a narrow passageway. Directly below this mystery block are two Missile Blocks.
These can be destroyed with a simple missile blast. After clearing out this
area, go left through the narrow passageway above. You'll come across a few
more Zeelas, but continue moving to the upper hatch on the right. This leads
into a corridor where a yellow Rio and a Side Hopper will simultaneously attack
you at several intervals. Use Missiles to destroy the duo; use one for the Rio
and two for the Side Hopper (when firing at the Side Hoppers, you should kneel,
or wait for them to jump). The next room to the right is another Save Room
followed by a short corridor. Take the hatch on the right into a small room
with a red Zeela on a platform above a Geega pipe. On hard, there will be two
red Zeelas on the platform. If you've been playing on easy or normal, and this
is your first encounter with a red Zeela, just remember not to shoot them from
close by because their eyes come off and explode (!). Use the Geega pipe to
replenish your Missiles and energy. From here, you can either go to Kraid's
lair, or, if you don't think you're ready, you can head back to the main shaft
(Kraid's pretty easy, though).

To reach Kraid's lair, go to the second paragraph after this one. Otherwise,
continue reading. Pull yourself onto the platform near the ceiling, stand in
the middle, and shoot the Fake Blocks above you. This creates a tunnel up into
the room above where you'll head left through a Blue Hatch. This takes you into
yet another short corridor that leads left into the next room. There are two
Zeelas in this room. Move all the way to the left, and shoot the Missile Block
above you. Now, bomb your way up to the Bomb Blocks above which will create a
short, narrow passageway to a large Fake Block on the left. Alternatively, you
could've gone up along the right half of the room, through some large Fake
Blocks, and down a series of Pit Blocks to get here, but this way is shorter
and will make it easier to return to this part of Kraid's hideout (the Missile
Block you destroyed prevents this, as does another in this room). On the right
side of this room, there's a blue Missile Block above you. Shoot a Missile at
it, and pull yourself into the narrow passageway above. Then, navigate your way
to the hatch on the upper-left, and go through it. This room is kind of tricky:
The two structures on the side are comprised of Bomb Blocks, and the one in the
middle is comprised of Pit Blocks, but you'll need to go across the zip line in
bomb form to get to the hatch on the left. To do this, get on top of the column
of Bomb Blocks, shoot the red instrument in the ceiling to get the zip line on
your side of the room, morph into the ball, and lay a single Bomb. The blast
will lift you up to the zip line and take across the room. The door on the left
leads to the bottom of the main shaft. You can get back up to the top by
grabbing onto ledges, freezing three brown Rippers, and destroying the left-
most, large Fake Block above the frozen Rippers (just make sure the top Ripper
is frozen towards the center of the room). If you feel like exploring, though,
take the left hatch at the bottom of the shaft, and continue reading.

In this room, there's another Geega pipe and five Side Hoppers. The Side
Hoppers on the left side of the room are clumped together. Clear them from far
away, so they can't gang up on you (use Missiles). The hatch on the left leads
into another room with a glass tube, a Morph Ball launcher, Zeelas, and a lot
of brown Rippers. In this room, there's a Red Hatch to the left, but it's only
keeping you from getting into a Map Room, so you may want to skip it. Morph
into the ball, and roll under the platform in the center of the room and into
the launcher. After shooting yourself to the top of the room, take the hatch on
the right into the next room. This room contains three Side Hoppers and a
Missile Tank. After clearing the room of the Side Hoppers, climb ON TOP OF the
platform with the red instrument for the zip line. Make sure the zip line is on
the right side of the room, morph into the ball, and lay two Bombs about a
quarter of a second away from each other (the first will activate the zip line,
and the second will lift you up onto the zip line). If you've timed the second
Bomb a little off, you can always move left/right to make up for the late/early
timing. If you succeed, the zip line will take you left to the Missile Tank
while in ball form. Make sure you drop off the zip line as soon as you're over
the Missile Tank, or the zip line will drop you in the wrong place, and you'll
have to start over. Once you've attained the Missile Tank, take the hatch on
the right to get back out into the main shaft of Kraid's hideout.

The corridor back out to the left contains another tunnel leading to a room
below: Blast the Bomb Block a few spaces away from the right hatch, then drop
through the hole. You'll fall past two adjacent mystery blocks into a room with
many red Zeelas. Make your way back up to the two adjacent mystery blocks,
shoot them both, and proceed to the left through a Blue Hatch. This takes you
into the short corridor outside of Kraid's lair. The hatch on the left is
covered by an eye creature. This particular hatch eye will not attack you. When
the eye is exposed, shoot it with either a Missile or a charged up blast from
your arm cannon, and it will die, uncovering a Red Hatch. After entering
Kraid's lair, you'll view a short cut scene of Kraid emerging from the floor,
and, then, the battle begins.

                                  -----------
                                  Boss--Kraid
                                  -----------

This encounter with Kraid is done in the style of Super Metroid rather than the
original. You'll begin the battle standing on a ledge that's five spaces long.
Kraid's weak spot is his opened mouth. To get Kraid to open his mouth, you'll
need to shoot his eyes with either a Missile (preferred because they're
quicker) or a fully charged blast from your arm cannon. Additionally, you'll
need to use either of these two attacks to damage Kraid once his mouth is open.
This will be somewhat difficult because Kraid repeatedly flings a pair of his
claws at you (on hard, these claws will travel through the air much faster than
usual), and they'll often intercept any shots you take at Kraid's head. These
claws may leave behind items when you destroy them, though, so it's not a total
loss. Still, these claws are annoying because Kraid aims for you, and, with the
limited amount of space that you have, it's not that easy to dodge them AND
shoot at Kraid. There's a Missile Block directly above the door that you may
want to destroy to give yourself more room (you can't hit Kraid from it, but it
IS useful to grab onto when dodging the claws). If you happen to fall off of
the ledge early in the battle, Kraid will shoot two horns out of his stomach
and into the left wall directly below the area where you came in. These will
destroy most of the platform you were using earlier, but you can use the horns
to get back up to what remains of the platform. Be careful not to get hit by
them, though (you can kneel on the first one to avoid the second one). Shortly
afterwards, The horns will systematically explode from the bottom up
(strangely, the explosions don't hurt you), so don't dawdle.

If he hasn't already, Kraid will begin launching the bottom two horns from his
stomach after you've hit the inside of his mouth with four Missiles. At this
point, Kraid will periodically swipe at you with his other hand. When you see
him lift the other hand up, you'll have about a second before he swats the
small area directly in front of him. If you time it right, you can jump
straight up to dodge this attack, or you can just drop off the platform to the
right. While his hand is raised, you won't be able to hit his eyes or mouth, so
time your shots correctly. After shooting the inside of Kraid's mouth with
eleven missiles, he'll begin shooting a third horn from his stomach. This will
destroy what's left of the platform, and you'll have to take the rest of your
shots from atop Kraid's horns. When the horns begin exploding, be careful not
to get hit by the next one as you fall down. After shooting the inside of
Kraid's mouth with fifteen missiles, you'll have defeated him. As he's sinking
back into the ground, the game will cut to a shot of the gateway into Tourian
and Kraid's statue lighting up: The first half of the gateway into Tourian will
now be unlocked.

                                 -------------
                                 Speed Booster
                                 -------------

After Kraid perishes, head left into an Item Room, destroying the three Bomb
Blocks that are in your way. The Chozo Statue holds the Speed Booster power-up
which allows you to run at hyper speeds. To activate this ability, just move
left/right like normal, except you'll need enough room on a flat surface to
build up speed for the boost. When speed boosting, you'll eradicate almost any
enemy you come in contact with (some exceptions are the gooey, pillar-like
organisms with the circular object in the center of them and the purple
tendrils found in the lower part of Norfair), and you'll also be able to
destroy Boost Blocks and Fake Blocks. You can test this new ability out by
starting a speed boost from under the Chozo Statue back out into Kraid's former
room. When done correctly, you'll begin leaving an afterimage once you reach
the right side of Kraid's former room. This is the point in a speed boost where
you'll be able to destroy enemies and barriers, so you'll plow right through
some Boost Blocks and into the next room. Note--when performing a speed boost
through multiple rooms, don't forget to open any doors in your path (you'll
have enough time to do this while running, though).

There's another group of Boost Blocks that you should break through in the next
room, so keep running, or you'll lose the speed boost. If you happen to get
stuck between the groups of Boost Blocks, there's a Fake Block in the ceiling
of the green-colored room that takes you up into a zigzagging narrow passageway
and onto a Pit Block that drops you on the other side of the Boost Blocks. If
you've still got the speed boost going, continue running until you get to the
next room on the right. Otherwise, clear the room of any Zeelas that will
prevent you from building up enough speed (getting hit by an enemy causes you</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
to lose any speed that you had built up), and speed boost into the next room on
the right. This room is a long shaft, and there's another set of Boost Blocks
that you need to break through, so keep running until you're past them (there
are also three Pit Blocks before this, but you'll zoom across them). If you
press down during a speed boost, it will temporarily store the kinetic energy
from the speed boost (for about five seconds) which you can use to perform a
Super Jump, although it will put a stop to the initial speed boost. Press the
A Button to release this energy (you CANNOT be moving when you press the
A Button), and you'll have about half a second to choose the direction of the
Super Jump. The default direction is up, but you can also jump left, right, and
diagonally (up and to the left or up and to the right at a forty-five-degree
angle). When performing a Super Jump, you will shoot off in the direction that
you chose, until you hit a solid wall, which is why you may find it useful in
the vertical shaft (use it one space to the right of the last Boost Block).

If you didn't use the Super Jump, you can get up the shaft by freezing the
brown Rippers and making good use of the long column of Fake Blocks along the
right wall. The Power Grip and wall jump are a lot of help too. The first hatch
up on the left leads into a corridor with a Geega pipe and a waterfall of acid
amidst an acid pool. It's possible to build up a speed boost from the room's
entrance to the Geega pipe on the left and super jump to the end of the
corridor (you can also shinespark and reuse the Super Jump to get back to the
beginning of the corridor). Alternatively, there are some stair-like columns
over the acid that you can also use to get there (a few of them are home to a
red Zeela). Either way, you'll move through the acid waterfall to get across,
but this only incurs a minimum of damage (even less with the Super Jump). At
the left wall, there's a Fake Block concealing a Missile Tank in the bottom
space.

Back outside in the shaft, move up to the top of the room. The hatch on the
right takes you to a Save Room, and the hatch on the left takes you into a room
with a zip line and a long stretch of acid. You need to take the zip line to
get across, but a hoard of green Rios (ten) will attack you as you cross the
acid. Shoot Missiles at them, and go nuts if you have to because you don't want
them to knock you off the zip line: There is no floor to this room, and you'll
end up in the room below with the acid waterfall (but you can't just go back up
through the acid). At the other end of the zip line, you'll land on a small
platform with a mystery block to the left of it. Shoot the mystery block, and
take the narrow passageway left where you'll bomb a large Fake Block covering
the other end of the passageway. Exit left into the main shaft of Kraid's
hideout. There will be a high wall directly in front of you that you need to
get to the top of. Eventually, a yellow Zeela will come down the wall, and you
can freeze it to get to the other side. You can also wall jump or bomb jump to
get there faster. However, there's a large Fake Block directly in front of it,
so, if you don't know how to bomb jump correctly, you'll end up dropping down
to the bottom of the shaft. If this is the case, you can get back up to the top
by grabbing onto ledges, freezing three brown Rippers, and destroying the left-
most, large Fake Block above the frozen Rippers (just make sure the top Ripper
is frozen towards the center of the room). There are two more items you can
pick up before leaving Kraid, though. If you don't want to bother with them,
continue reading from part 9.

Once you're on the other side of the high wall, enter the hatch to the left.
This room contains three Side Hoppers and a Missile Tank. After clearing the
room of the Side Hoppers, climb ON TOP OF the platform with the red instrument
for the zip line. Make sure the zip line is on the right side of the room,
morph into the ball, and lay two Bombs about a quarter of a second away from
each other (the first will activate the zip line, and the second will lift you
up onto the zip line). If you've timed the second Bomb a little off, you can
always move left/right to make up for the late/early timing. If you succeed,
the zip line will take you left to the Missile Tank while in ball form. Make
sure you drop off the zip line as soon as you're over the Missile Tank, or the
zip line will drop you in the wrong place, and you'll have to start over.

Once you've attained the Missile Tank, take the hatch on the right to get back
out into the main shaft. Shoot a missile at the Red Hatch up on the right, and
enter (you may want to save before going in here). There are four Rios in this
room and an Energy Tank at the very end. The Energy Tank is surrounded by Boost
Blocks, so you'll either need to perform a speed boost jump (more convenient)
or a Super Jump (less risky). If you want to perform a speed boost jump, run
right through the four Rios (eliminating them) across the bridge of Pit Blocks
and, when you get to the very end of the bridge, jump across the acid to the
Energy Tank. If you don't jump near the very end of the Pit Block bridge, you
probably won't destroy any of the Boost Blocks, or you might just destroy the
bottom one (in this case, you can pull yourself up into the area with the
Energy Tank). If you want to perform a Super Jump, run until the instant that
the speed boost has been initiated (this should be right before the bridge of
Pit Blocks), and press down to save the energy. While you're doing this the Rio
closest to you will probably attack you, so shoot it with a missile before it
can. Then, move back to the left, until you've reached a slightly higher
elevation, and Super Jump to the right. If you somehow end up in the acid on
the right side of the room, and you haven't destroyed the bottom Boost Block,
it's possible to wall jump out of the acid. If you can't wall jump, though,
quickly head left through the Pit Blocks, until you're out of the acid (this
will really drain your energy because you'll grab onto and fall through each
Pit Block without ever leaving the acid. Once you've picked up the Energy Tank,
ride the zip line back to the beginning of the room, go up the main shaft, and
take the elevator to Brinstar.

                                  -----------
                                  9--Brinstar
                                  -----------

After leaving Kraid, you'll view a foreboding cut scene of Ridley with a mean
scowl on his face while he's traveling through space in the Space Pirate
mother ship (unless you've already defeated Ridley). When the elevator comes to
a stop back in Brinstar, the head-like rock formation to the right will fall
apart, revealing a hidden area with a three yellow Zoomers. You'll find a Red
Hatch to the right which takes you to another Chozo Statue. This one will point
out your next destination on the map, and it'll be somewhere in Norfair.

At this point, there's another place where you can get the Super Missiles
early. If you want to get them now, go to section 3.D. Otherwise, continue
reading. To the left of the elevator shaft, there's a Morph Ball launcher
hidden within the rock formation in lower-left corner. You'll be able to see it
once you blast away the Bomb Blocks and fall into it (the outer rock will
temporarily become see-through). This launcher sends you crashing through
platforms all the way to the top of the shaft, through the ceiling, and into a
hidden area. When you start falling back down, hold right to roll into the
alcove containing a Missile Tank. Now, make your way back to the elevator that
takes you into Norfair, but, as you're going up Brinstar's main shaft, there's
a secret passageway in the right wall that contains a Missile Tank. The
passageway is located five spaces up from the first ledge on the right (just
past the first Ripper). Inside, move as far right as possible and lay a Bomb.
This will destroy a series of Bomb Blocks, giving you access to the Missile
Tank above. Also, there's an exit on the right that leads out into the middle
long shaft. Move right through this exit until you drop through a Pit Block.
Continue moving right through the narrow passageway, blast the Bomb Block above
you, and proceed to the elevator shaft that leads to Norfair.

                                  -----------
                                  10--Norfair
                                  -----------

At the bottom of the elevator shaft, run from the far-left side into the Save
Room and past that to the next room on the right. When you get into this room,
you'll have just enough speed built up to perform a Super Jump. Choose right as
your direction, and you'll rocket through the room until you hit a ramp. If you
ever Super Jump into a ramp or sloped surface, you'll begin speed boosting on
the ground again. This is called a Shinespark. From this point, you can
continue speed boosting in the direction that you're running, or you can even
link another Super Jump to another Shinespark (later, you'll come across a few
really annoying puzzles that require the use of this technique).

                                   ---------
                                   High-Jump
                                   ---------

You'll need to speed boost into the main shaft on the right, so keep running
(if you screw something up, you don't need to start all the way back by the
elevator shaft). Once there, you'll break through some Boost Blocks in the
floor and uncover another part of this long shaft. Below, enter the hatch on
the left. You'll be inside a corridor with a purple Nova crawling around
amongst a group of Fake Blocks (on hard, this will be an orange Nova). Shoot
these out of your way, and go past the two Polyps to the far left of this room.
If you're playing on the normal or hard difficulty, you'll find a Dragon in the
lava pool here. From here, speed boost back out into the vertical shaft again
(if you're playing on the hard difficulty, a Polyp on the floor will just
barely allow you to build up a speed boost, although you can just destroy it
anyway), and you'll reveal yet another hidden area under the floor. Under this
floor, there will be a Missile Tank behind a tall wall to the right, but you
should ignore it for now. Move left through another hatch, and you'll be in a
corridor with lava along the floor and some Gerutas (Norfair's version of the
Rio). On easy, there will be two purple Gerutas and one green Geruta; on
normal, there will be four purple Gerutas and one green Geruta; and, on hard,
there will be four green Gerutas and one purple Geruta. Jump across the
platforms to the Red Hatch on the left which protects an Item Room containing
the High Jump power-up. With it, you can jump a good bit higher, and you'll
also be able to jump when you're morphed into the ball form (in ball form, you
can only jump about as high as you could when you were in regular form without
the High Jump ability).

If you don't already have the Varia Suit, you'll probably want it to get, as
the next two rooms to the left are hot enough to drain your energy. There is
another way into Ridley, though (refer to section 3.E), but you'll miss out on
an awesome ability and a useful addition to your beam weapon. However, if you
do possess the Varia Suit, skip ahead to part 12. Otherwise, go back out into
the main shaft, and pull yourself up over the high wall. Pick up the Missile
Tank, and drop down as far as you can go. On the left, there's a large Fake
Block separating you from a Blue Hatch, but don't bother going through it.
Instead, take the next hatch up on the left into a room with another Chozo
Statue. This one will show you where to get the Varia Suit. There's a hatch
above the Chozo Statue on the right that takes you back up the main shaft. Go
through it, and move right, until you find a Morph Ball launcher (there's a
pair of Missile Blocks past the launcher that you can blast through to access
this area as well). Use it to shoot yourself back up towards the top of the
middle of the shaft. Then, make your way back to Brinstar (don't forget that
you can speed boost through the next room).

                                 ------------
                                 11--Brinstar
                                 ------------

The Varia Suit is up the middle long shaft and through the corridor to the
right. As you're approaching the middle shaft, get a speed boost started from
the area where you fought that centipede mini-boss through the hatch on the
left to the bottom of the middle long shaft. Store the energy before running
into the rock formation on the left (you won't have very much room), spin jump
onto the lowest part of the rock formation (the second space from the edge),
and super jump in an upwards direction. It'll only take you about half of the
way up the shaft, but it's little things like this that help make the
difference when you're trying to beat the game as fast as you can.

Keep going up the long middle shaft of Brinstar, until you reach the hatch on
the right. Take this hatch into a long corridor with one yellow Zoomer and some
purple Zoomers (if you enter this corridor before getting the High-Jump, it'll
also have two Skrees here). Once you pass two metal columns you can shoot the
red stripe on the second one to get it to move up one space (which isn't really
helpful since the High Jump allows you to get over it), there will be two Bomb
Blocks protecting an area with four narrow passageways that are stacked on top
of each other. Blast through the Bomb Blocks, and take the top passageway, but
be careful forpurple Zoomers in it (before getting the High-Jump, these
Zoomers--as well as the purple one at the far-right end of this corridor--
would've just been the yellow type). Use Bombs to eliminate any Zoomers in
these passageways, but avoid doing this on top of Fake Blocks. Once you're out
of the passageway, jump over the acid pit, and proceed to the right. You'll
come across a Living Barrier, a strange, pillar-like organism that's blocking
your path (this also appears after acquiring the High-Jump, and it looks a bit
like a miniature version of the final boss to "Contra"). Shoot the Fake Block
near the top of the ceiling, and go through the resulting narrow passageway. A
Pit Block will drop you down to the floor, forcing you to move through the
hatch on the right into a short corridor with a single Waver. Here, there are
two columns of Fake Blocks situated four and five spaces away from the hatch on
the right (three Fake Blocks in each column for a total of six). Shoot away
these Fake Blocks, and pull yourself up into the secret area. The left side of
the floor up there is comprised of Pit Blocks, so you'll need to jump from the
Fake Blocks to the ledge on the left side. Once on this ledge, shoot the two
Fake Blocks above you, jump up to the next area, and go through the hatch on
the left.

                                  ----------
                                  Varia Suit
                                  ----------

Inside the next room are two more of Living Barriers. Wait for some Parasites
to come out of the ceiling, and they'll eventually swarm all over them and kill
the two obstacles. This is the only way to remove these things, but they don't
re-spawn upon re-enetering a room, like regular enemies do, so you'll only have
to deal with them once. Bomb yourself or jump through the hole on the left, and
jump over the acid to grab the ledge near the ceiling. Pull yourself into the
narrow passageway, roll leftwards, and drop down onto a Pit Block. This Pit
Block will hold together a little longer than others, so use this limited time
to jump up, and grab the next ledge (as you're falling onto the Pit Blocks, you
should be unmorphing out of the ball form to speed things up). Repeat this
process once more, and a Pit Block will drop you on a platform in the middle of
the acid. To the left there are four more of these slow Pit Blocks (one of them
is just barely level with the acid, so it's hard to see). Use the first two as
platforms to get across the acid once more, and pull yourself into the narrow
passageway near the ceiling. Move onto another slow Pit Block at the end of the
passageway, and roll left, as you fall through it. Further left, there's a row
of Bomb Blocks four spaces up from the ground that you'll need to blast apart.
This will release some more Parasites onto another Living Barrier. Wait until
they destroy it. Then, proceed left through the hole in the wall (there's a Pit
Block below this hole that will drop you into the acid, so be careful of it),
and fire a Missile at the Red Hatch to the left. Inside this Item Room lies the
Varia Suit.

After attaining the Varia Suit, your armor will change to an orange color, and
damage taken from enemy attacks will be reduced by a fifth. Also, you will no
longer take any damage from acid, fleas, or super-heated rooms. Use this new
immunity to retrieve the Energy Tank from the acid in the last room. Shoot
along the bottom of the acid pool, until you destroy large Fake Block. Move
into the hole you created, kneel, and repeatedly shoot the Fake Blocks in the
left wall. Now, roll through the passageway with the Morph Ball, and pick up
the Energy Tank. Go back through the hatch on the right and down the room with
the two Wavers. Now that you have the Varia Suit, some Parasites and an
additional Waver have appeared in this room. Also, some more Parasites have
appeared in the corridor to the left, but you won't be able to get them down to
the Living Barrier, unless you have Super Missiles (in which case shoot the
Super Missile Block at the left end of the above passageway), so head right
into the Save Room.

Keep moving right past a Zeb pipe and onto another metallic column containing a
Missile Tank. Past the Missile Tank is a wall containing a narrow passageway
above an acid pool. There is an area below the floor in the acid pool, but it
is blocked by another one of those Living Barriers. Shoot the Fake Block on the
far left, and jump into the narrow passageway while in Morph Ball form (if you
try to bomb your way up there from within the acid, you'll go through the
floor, although it will help later on to have these Fake Blocks cleared away)
where you'll find another of those metallic columns that move when you shoot
the red stripe. Behind the column are the needed Parasites (they also appear
only after acquiring the Varia Suit), so let them attach themselves to you, and
take them down to the Living Barrier (be careful not to accidentally bomb
anything while transporting them). Once it's destroyed, proceed to the right,
and take the narrow passageway into the next room. Once you get out of the
acid, there will be a Chozo Statue to the left. It's blocking the way to a
narrow passageway that leads back into the last room where the Parasites were,
so go ahead, and activate it. It will identify your next destination to be at
the bottom of Norfair. Keep moving right; you'll pass three gray Skrees on the
ceiling and a Zeb pipe, and you'll go through a hatch out into the far-right
long shaft. Drop down, but watch out for the two brown Rippers you'll pass as
you free fall. Go back to Norfair, and, if you never got the Missile Tank in
the short shaft to the left of where the Mellow hives appear(ed), you should
pick it up along the way.

                                  -----------
                                  12--Norfair
                                  -----------

Back in Norfair, go down to the Item Room where you just received the High Jump
power-up. From there, head left through a narrow passageway under the Chozo
Statue. This takes you into the center of a rock formation inside a super-
heated room. Go as far to the left as you can, and bomb through the two Bomb
Blocks. Immediately after this are two more Bomb Blocks in the ceiling. Blast
them apart, and jump up into the area with the Nova. There's one more set of
Bomb Blocks to the left that you'll need to destroy before getting out of the
rock formation. Now, head left over the wall and through a Blue Hatch into
another super-heated room. There are a bunch Fake Blocks and some sporadic Bomb
Blocks strewn along the floor of this room. You'll have to destroy them all to
make room for a speed boost (the very first Fake Block will reappear). There
are ten Mellas along the ceiling, so make sure you clear them out of the way
too, or they'll swoop down and interfere with your speed boost. Also, on easy
and normal, there will be two purple Novas and three orange Novas, and, on
hard, there will be five orange Novas; they may also get in the way. When
you're ready, run from the right side of the room to the left, and jump through
the barrier of Boost Blocks hanging from the ceiling. Then, take the Blue Hatch
on the left into the next room.

                                 ------------
                                 Screw Attack
                                 ------------

There's another one of those spider creatures from Kraid in this room. This one
will both jump and run towards you (as will all others from now on), but, like
usual, you should be able to shoot enough Missiles at it before it can even get
anywhere near you. Past this is a Save Room which leads further left into a
short corridor with green walls. There, shoot through the ceiling next to the
hatch on the left (this requires four Missiles). This takes you into a hidden
area with a Blue Hatch on the left. Go left through the hatch and into a room
with some Ripper IIs (these are just a tougher version of the Ripper). On easy,
there will be four of them, but, on normal and hard, there will be six of them.
Freeze the Ripper IIs to get through the room, but ignore the Missile Tank in
the center of the room, and proceed left to a Red Hatch. Open it with a
missile, and enter the Item Room to retrieve the awesome Screw Attack ability.

With the Screw Attack, you can create a lethal vortex whenever you spin jump.
This attack will instantly kill enemies that you come in contact with, but it
doesn't work on certain enemies (e.g., bosses and a few other special enemies).
It can also be used to break Screw Attack Blocks, like the ones surrounding the
Missile Tank outside of the Item Room. Try out the Screw Attack on the
Ripper IIs, and break your way through the Screw Attack Blocks to the Missile
Tank. Afterwards, head back out into the room to the right, and use the Screw
Attack to break through the floor on the right side. Just so you know,
acquiring the Screw Attack will cause two more spider creatures (for a total of
three) to appear in the room to the right of the Save Room.

Below, you can either shoot through the floor near the hatch on the right, or
you can just take the hatch on the left into the next room. Both paths lead to
the same place, but the bottom path seems quicker. If you choose to go through
the floor and take the bottom path, it leads to a corridor with three Gamet
pipes and an undulating floor. On all difficulties, there will be two orange
Novas in this corridor, but, on easy, the Gamets will all be the purple type,
while, on normal and hard, the Gamets from the first and last pipes will be the
red type. If you choose to take the top path, it takes you through a room where
you'll need to freeze enemies to make it over three high walls (a Gamet then a
Ripper then a Squeept) to the Blue Hatch at the left. Both paths lead out to a
shaft with more green walls, two purple Novas, and a Multiviola--a gaseous
enemy that bounces from wall to wall. Multiviolas are slow enough, though, that
they pose very little to you. There's a Red Hatch down to the left that's
protecting a Map Room and a lava pit below that.

The lava pit is actually another illusion that leads down into a tight space
with two purple Novas. From there, you can shoot two Fake Blocks on the right
and drop towards the real bottom of this shaft, passing two Ripper IIs and
another purple Nova along the way. There's another lava pit down there, but
this one is the real deal, so go through the Blue Hatch on the right. This
takes you into a room with lava running along the floor and columns made out of
large, red and green bubbles. The top of the first column (near the Dragon) is
made of two Fake Blocks, so don't let it surprise you when you break through
them with the Screw Attack. Jump from column to column across the lava,
avoiding the Novas and the two swooping Gerutas as you go. On easy and normal,
there will be three purple Novas and one orange Nova, while, on hard, there
will be one purple Nova and three orange Novas. Be very careful not to fall
into the lava near the center of this room: Unless you know how to wall jump,
you won't be able to grab the top of any columns to get out of the lava,
although you'll still have the option to roll through the lava under the
columns and take heavy damage. Take the hatch on the right back into another
short corridor with green walls.

These short corridors are all connected to each other, but you'll need to be
able to break through Boost Blocks to get through some of the floors. There's
another large Fake Block in the floor to the right (this area is very
repetitive), so shoot it, and go down below. On easy and normal, you'll find a
purple Nova, an orange Nova, and a purple Ripper down there. On hard, you'll
find three orange Novas, a purple Ripper, and a Polyp. There will also be a
Blue Hatch on the right which you should go through to attain two more Missile
Tanks. This will be another room with those freaky, green and red bubbles and
lava running along the floor. Head right past two Squeepts and a purple Nova.
When you come upon the third Squeept, shoot the top-most bubble in the wall to
the right to uncover a hidden Missile Tank. Continue to the right side of this
room to gain another Missile Tank. Then, head back out into the room with the
green walls. From there, take the next hatch up on the right into a corridor
with Gerutas and some plant-like tendrils emanating from the floor and ceiling.

                                   ---------
                                   Wave Beam
                                   ---------

The purple Vines (the ones that have ensnared green Gerutas) require two
Missiles to be destroyed, but all the other ones can be cleared using normal
shots from your arm cannon. The purple Gerutas can be freed from their green
Vines (unlike the green Gerutas that are tangled in the purple Vines), but they
can be destroyed in a single shot while they're caught up in the Vine, so you
should destroy the Geruta first. Take the Blue Hatch at the other end of this
corridor into another room with a fake lava pit. Shoot the large Fake Block
near the left hatch to get down below the floor. On easy and normal, there will
just be two purple Novas down there, but, on hard, there will be a purple Nova,
an orange Nova, and two Multiviolas. Go through the lower hatch on the left
into a room where another spider-like creature awaits you. It's trapped between
two columns of Bomb Blocks, but the Screw Attack works on it, so you won't have
any problems with the spider. Shoot a Missile at the Red Hatch to the left, and
enter the Item Room to get equipped with the Wave Beam.

The Wave Beam allows shots from the arm cannon to pass through walls. You can
test it out on the spider thing that will re-spawn back outside, but it's
quicker to just kill it with the Screw Attack. Backtrack until you're above the
fake lava. Then, proceed right through a Save Room and into a corridor with
some lava pits and more of the red and green bubbles. As you begin moving right
through this room, you'll come upon a Gamet pit where three Gamets will attack
you at once. Past this are two long rows of Fake Blocks that regenerate.
Without the Wave Beam, you wouldn't be able to clear away all the of Fake
Blocks in enough time to speed boost right through the Boost Blocks at the
other end of the corridor. Take the Blue Hatch on the right into an area
infested with grub-like creatures.

As you enter the next room, you'll notice that the music suddenly changes and a
Gray Hatch seals the left exit. There's a Larva towards the top of the room,
but it's only vulnerable on its underside. Move directly under the Larva, and
shoot up through the rock at it. When it's dead, you can take the upper passage
to the right side of the room where you'll find another Larva blocking your
path. This one's a bit trickier to kill: It will charge at you, and you can
shoot at it to get it to back up (Missiles make it retreat faster), but it
can't fit out of the passage on either end. You'll need to leave Bombs in the
path of its charge to harm it. Four Bomb blasts are enough to destroy it, but
don't line the Bombs all at once. The Larva will stop charging, as it takes
damage. Instead, lay the Bombs, as the Larva renews its charge towards you.
Once you've eliminated it, the hatches will unlock, and you can attain an
Energy Tank to the left above the sloughed skin that the grub left behind (it's
protected by a Missile Block).

Now, speed boost right out into the main shaft of Norfair. This will break the
Boost Blocks that were preventing you from getting to the very bottom of the
shaft earlier. Pick up the Missile Tank, and go left through the Blue Hatch
into another Save Room. To the left of the Save Room is another corridor full
of Gerutas and those Vines that come out of the ceiling and floor. Save your
Missiles for just the mid-sized and larger Vines because you'll be needing your
Missiles for two up-coming mini-boss encounters. These Vines mostly leave
Missiles behind, though, so you'd probably replenish your stock of them anyway.
Again, Missiles are required for the purple Vines (the one that's wrapped
around a green Geruta and the two coming out of a Grub's exoskeleton). The
hatch at the left end of this corridor will take you into the first of these
two battles. When you enter the room, morph into the ball, and go into the hole
in the left wall where you'll fall through a series of Pit Blocks. Lay a Bomb
to destroy the Bomb Block to your left, and move out into the room where you'll
see one of those Larvas tangled up in more of the Vines.

                           ------------------------
                           Mini-Boss--"Spore Spawn"
                           ------------------------

This battle is an imitation of the Spore Spawn boss from Super Metroid (which
was also redone in Metroid Fusion). The Vines are your target in this battle,
and only Missiles will work on them. The Larva and the attached Vines are
hanging from the ceiling, so you'll need to freeze the Ripper to get a good,
clear shot of the plant matter. This Ripper, though, is unique as it has
insect-like wings and flies in a figure-eight pattern instead of the usual
back-and-forth pattern. Additionally, the Screw Attack cannot harm it, so it
can't be killed (yet). To get the best shot of the Vines, freeze the Ripper
when it's just barely against either wall, and angle up towards them. However,
the Ripper doesn't stay frozen for as long as an enemy normally would, so re-
freeze it when you see the effects of the Ice Beam begin to wear off. There are
three Vines on each side of the Larva that take three Missiles to destroy (a
total of nine for each side), and there's some sort of tendril in the center
that's immune to any damage. The only opposition you'll face are the
alternating bursts of spores from the two pods on either side of the grub. Each
burst will send a radial pattern of eight spores spreading across the room. You
can shoot each spore to destroy them (and, possibly, receive some ammo/energy)
Once you've destroyed all six of the Vines, the weight of the grub will tear
apart the tendril in the middle, and the grub will fall through the floor,
opening a passage to the elevator shaft that leads to Ridley (if the Ripper is
caught underneath the grub, it gets killed).

                                  ----------
                                  13--Ridley
                                  ----------

After taking the elevator down to Ridley (also known as "Mini-Boss hideout II"
or "Ridley's Hideout" in the original Metroid), you'll view a cut scene of
Ridley arriving on planet Zebes. Assuming that you haven't acquired the Super
Missiles already, there are two ways to get to Ridley: The regular way and the
short cut. Unless you're doing a speed run, there's really no reason to take
the short cut, since you'll miss out on a lot of items. If you want to take the
short cut though, skip to the fourth paragraph in section 3.E. To reach the
leader of the Space Pirates, you'll need to exit back out of his hideout to the
room where you fought the imitation Spore Spawn (if you're low on Missiles,
though, you can restock them in the room to the right of the elevator shaft).
Now that you've visited Ridley's hideout, the Larva will no longer be imbedded
in the floor: It will have fallen even further through the floor creating
another passage to Ridley. Drop down into the hole where you'll find an empty
shell left behind by the Larva. Head left into another room, and drop through
the Pit Blocks in the floor. You'll be in an area leading further left with
several eggs along the floor. As far as I can tell, the eggs are just there for
atmosphere, although you can blow them apart if you like. At the end of the
room, you'll see a Super Missile Tank encased in some sort bug secretion. As
you come upon it, the newly metamorphed Larva will attack you in the form of a
wasp-like creature.

                               ----------------
                               Mini-Boss--Imago
                               ----------------

Imago's weak spot is it's abdomen. Shoot it with missiles if you have them. If
not, use charged shots from your arm cannon. At first the wasp creature will
just make swoops across the room at you, starting off real slow but picking up
enough speed to outrun you halfway across the room. You can dodge this by
morphing into the ball (or by kneeling in some areas). The most efficient way
to inflict damage upon Imago is to run behind it, shooting at it's posterior
(you'll have to angle up when you're running left across the room). To
accomplish this, just wait at one end of the room until Imago passes by you and
begins its trip to the other side of the room. Then, you'll have a clear shot
at it's abdomen for a few seconds. Don't wait too close to the walls, though,
or Imago will repeatedly attack you until you back off. As Imago progresses
through each phase, it will swoop across the room faster. Once you've shot
Imgao's abdomen with thirteen Missiles, Imago will begin firing stingers at you
as it makes each pass. It's difficult to do without getting hurt in return, but
you can shoot these stingers, and they may drop items. Once you've shot Imago's
abdomen with twenty-six Missiles, the wasp will fire the stingers more rapidly.
After taking thirty-eight hits from your Missiles, the Imago's abdomen will
fall off and explode, while the wasp creature flies off. Move up to the
protected Super Missile Tank, and Imago will crash into it, destroying itself
and the secretion around the Super Missile Tank. Grab the Super Missile Tank,
and exit the room on the right.

In the next room, you'll find three Violas crawling around a small platform.
These life-forms are Ridley's version of the Zoomers/Novas/Zeelas. Below the
small platform and one space to the right is a Missile Block. Destroy it, and
go down into the next room. To the right is a Save Room and to the left is a
Green Hatch which can be opened with a Super Missile. To shoot a Super Missile,
press Select until the Super Missile icon at the top of the screen has been
highlighted (the Super Missile icon will also keep track of how many Super
Missiles you have left). Then, hold the R Button, and press the B Button like
you would when shooting regular Missiles. While Super Missiles have the same
strength as five regular Missiles, shooting five regular Missiles at a Green
Hatch will not get it to open (nor will any amount of regular Missiles).
Afterwards, make sure you switch back to regular Missiles, so you don't
accidentally waste any Super Missiles. On easy and normal, each Super Missile
Tank will add two more Super Missiles to the maximum amount that you can carry.
On hard, each Super Missile Tank only adds one Super Missile to your maximum.

With the Green Hatch open, go left into a corridor containing Violas,
Dessgeegas (you fought one near the beginning of the game), and some Holtzes
which are Ridley's version of the Rio/Geruta. On easy, there will be four blue
Violas, three Dessgeegas, and three Holtzes in this corridor; on normal, there
will be two blue Violas, one orange Viola, three Dessgeegas, and four Holtzes;
and, on hard, there will be one blue Viola, two orange Violas, four Dessgeegas,
and four Holtzes. However, you don't have to go through all of this, since
there's a Bomb Block five spaces to the right of the first column: It leads
under the floor into a narrow passageway that bypasses all the enemies. There's
another Bomb Block at the other end that will take you out of the passageway.
If you'd rather tough it out with the enemies, use the Screw Attack because the
Holtzes and Dessgeegas can take a lot of damage. At the end of the corridor,
there's a Red Hatch leading left into the next room. Shoot a Missile, and enter
a room containing an Energy Tank at the end of a short corridor.

This room is a trap (it was used in the original Metroid and repeated in Super
Metroid): There's a hidden pit in the middle of the floor that drops you down
far enough to prevent you from jumping back up (unless you can know how to bomb
jump). The four middle spaces make up the false part of the floor, but you can
also inch your way across the floor, until the illusion becomes partially
transparent. If you happen to fall into the pit anyway, skip to the next
paragraph. Otherwise, continue reading. Go through the Blue Hatch on the left
into a room with a Holtz. The structure in the center contains many hidden
Violas (on easy, seven blue and one orange; on normal, nine blue and three
orange; and, on hard, twelve orange), so eliminate them using the Wave Beam
before destroying the Bomb Block near the floor, or they'll swarm out of the
hole faster than you can kill them. There's another Bomb Block near the floor
on the left side of the structure that takes you out to the other side of the
room. Another Holtz will greet you on the left side of the room. Past it is a
Blue Hatch leading out into the long shaft that runs along the left side of
Ridley's hideout. Skip the next paragraph.

From the bottom of the pit, move left through the Blue Hatch into a corridor
with five Dessgeegas (on normal and hard, there will also be two Holtzes).
Avoid using the Screw Attack here because the floor above the lava pool is made
up of Fake Blocks. If you want to risk it, you can halt the screw attack in
midair by pressing down or up, but you'll have to do so about two spaces above
the floor. Proceed left through the Blue Hatch into the long shaft that runs
along the left side of Ridley's hideout. If you missed out on the Energy Tank,
go to the top of this shaft, freezing Violas and using them as platforms as you
go, and take the hatch on the right. The structure in the center of this next
room contains many hidden Violas (on easy, seven blue and one orange; on
normal, nine blue and three orange; and, on hard, twelve orange), so eliminate
them using the Wave Beam before destroying the Bomb Block near the floor, or
they'll swarm out of the hole faster than you can kill them. There's another
Bomb Block near the floor on the right side of the structure that takes you out
to the other side of the room. Another Holtz will greet you on the right side
of the room. Past it is a Blue Hatch leading back out into the corridor with
the Energy Tank and fake floor. Once you've picked up the Energy Tank, head
back to the left shaft.

As you make your way down the shaft, use the Screw Attack to clear the Violas
out of your way. About halfway down are two Blue Hatches. The one on the left
is a Save Room, but the one on the right doesn't go anywhere useful. Further
down the shaft is a Missile Tank atop a column and another Viola. At the very
bottom, there's a Zebbo pipe and a Red Hatch to the right. Zebbos are Ridley's
version of Zebs/Gamets/Geegas, although this particular pipe has them attacking
in groups of threes. There's a secret under the floor of this shaft, but you'll
need to open the Red Hatch with a Missile and head right first. This takes you
right through a Map Room and out into a long corridor. Make use of the facility
now because you'll need to speed boost through this room to get two secret
Missile Tanks, and the map-data port will get in your way if you haven't used
it yet. The long corridor past the Map Room has several lava pools and sporadic
strips of Zebbo pipes (strangely, some of the pipes are inactive). Directly
above the very first Zebbo pipe are two Fake Blocks that will take you into a
hidden passage above the strip of Zebbo pipes. There's plenty of room up there
to build up a speed boost which you can use to get two more Missile Tanks. If
you don't want to get these unnecessary Missile Tanks, skip the next two
paragraphs.

From the hidden passage above the Zebbo pipes, give yourself enough space, run
left while shooting (so you destroy the regenerating Fake Blocks), and store
the energy immediately before falling back down to the floor. From there,
quickly move left, and spin jump over the lava. Then, open the Blue Hatch to
the left (you may just want to open this hatch before doing all of this), and
super jump left into the ramp, initiating a shinespark. Speed boost left
through the Map Room out into the left shaft, and you'll break through some
Boost Blocks in the floor. This will take you down into a lava pit, but it
turns out to be an illusion anyway. In this hidden area, open the Blue Hatch to
the left, and speed boost into the next room. Store the energy from the speed
boost at the very left end of this room, make sure you're one space away from
the wall and facing right, and super jump straight up. You'll break through two
Boost Blocks and either land on or grab onto the small ledge on the right. From
there, use the Morph Ball to move right through the narrow passageways, but be
wary of the Pit Block at the bottom of each drop. As you fall down the first
drop, you can just move right into the next passageway before landing on the
Pit Block. There are two Pit Blocks in the next drop. The first one will be the
slow version, though, giving you enough time to unmorph and grab onto a ledge.
Pull yourself into the next passageway, and unmorph as you fall down the next
drop. You'll need to be facing left, so you can grab onto the ledge down there.
There's a Missile Block to the right of this ledge that's colored blue. Shoot a
Missile at it, and move through the opening you create.

Now, comes the tricky part. A few spaces past where the Missile Block was,
jump, and shoot towards the bottom-right (angle down) at the apex of your jump.
This will destroy a group of Fake Blocks and a solitary Fake Block, but you'll
only be able to see the group of Fake Blocks (the solitary Fake Block is
further right--off of the screen). Quickly roll right through the lower of the
two narrow passageways until you drop through a series of Pit Blocks. If you
do it fast enough, you'll be able to roll left into another passageway as you
drop through the Pit Blocks. If you don't do it fast enough, the Fake Block
that you couldn't see will regenerate, forcing you to drop through ALL the Pit
Blocks, and you'll need to start over again from the room to the right
(although you'll need the Wave Beam to do it this way, it's possible to do it
without the Wave Beam by shooting the lone Fake Block and grabbing onto the
ledge as you fall through the Pit Blocks). However, once you're down in the
lowest of these passageways, there are two more Pit Blocks that you'll need to
watch out for: A slow one below the set of Fake Blocks and a normal one
directly under the Missile Tank at the end of the passageway. You can get the
Missile Tank without moving completely onto the regular Pit Block. Once that's
done, you'll need to shoot through the group of Fake Blocks, so you can shoot a
Missile at the Missile Block(s) above them. In order to do this, you'll need to
stand on the slow Pit Block, so be quick about it. Don't worry too much about
falling through this Pit Block, though, since you'll be able to grab onto the
ledge it forms (as long as you've unmorphed and move left/right as you fall).
Once the first Missile Block is destroyed, things get really easy because
you'll have enough room in the above area to stand, allowing you to clear away
the next three Missile Blocks and interwoven Fake Blocks. However, all this
work is just for a simple Missile Tank. Once you're ready to leave, build up a
speed boost from the same room, run back out to the shaft on the right, and
super jump through the above Boost Blocks.

Now, head back into the long corridor full of Zebbo pipes. You can use the same
hidden area in the ceiling to build up another speed boost that you can use to
super jump right to the other end of the corridor (useful for speed runs). On
easy, green Zebbos will attack from eight of the pipes, and yellow Zebbos will
attack from one of the pipes; on normal, green Zebbos will attack from five of
the pipes, and yellow Zebbos will attack from six of the pipes; and, on hard,
yellow Zebbos will attack from twelve of the pipes. With all the room this
corridor has, you'll only come across a few other enemies: On easy, three blue
Violas and one Holtz; on normal, one blue Viola, two orange Violas, and two
Holtzes; and, on hard, two orange Violas and one Holtz. About a third of the
way through the corridor, there's an unguarded Missile Tank for you to pick up.
When you finally reach the other end of the corridor, the Blue Hatch on the
right takes you into a Save Room. Past the Save Room is the long shaft that
runs along the right side of Ridley's hideout.

There are another two Missile Tanks you can acquire from this point, but
actually getting them can be frustrating enough that you should consider
skipping them. They won't be any easier to get later, though, so, if you just
HAVE to get them, continue reading. Otherwise, skip to the third paragraph
after this one. Back out in the long corridor to the left, there's another
hidden area in the ceiling above the nearest (the far-right) strip of Zebbo
pipes. You can also use this one to build a speed boost to be used in the right
shaft: After storing the energy from the speed boost, fall through the ceiling,
spin jump right over the lava, run into the Save Room (it helps to open the
hatch beforehand), immediately open the Blue Hatch on the right side of the
Save Room, and super jump into the ramp to the right (you'll need to move down
the left ramp a little, though). After shinesparking back into a speed boost,
you'll dash into the shaft that runs along the right side of Ridley's hideout.
Store the energy from the speed boost before running into a nearby wall, and
quickly spin jump up to the second hatch on the left (above the Save Room).
From there, super jump to the right, and you'll break through the Boost Blocks
in the wall, uncovering the first hidden area.

Go right through a Blue Hatch into a room with a column running along the right
wall. To get to the Missile Tank, you'll need to super jump up along the right
wall through a Boost Block (start the speed boost from the other room). Make
sure you're facing left before you perform the Super Jump, so you can grab onto
a ledge. Once you're up there, the Bomb Block to the left will set off a chain
reaction when destroyed. The long, winding string of Bomb Blocks, though, is
the only thing that will keep you from falling through the Pit Blocks below. As
soon as the Bomb goes off, roll left, until you drop down three times and pass
under a column that hangs from the ceiling (remain in ball form for that part).
When you pass under the column, unmorph, and pull yourself up onto the ledge to
the left. The chain of Bomb Blocks forms the ledge that you'll be standing on
and a wall to the left, so you'll have to wait until the floor underneath you
is about to disappear before you should jump left. If you time it correctly,
you'll barely get past the area where the wall was and grab onto another ledge
to the left. In the upper-left corner there's a small column that you need to
pass under and grab onto from the left side. However, the top part of this
column is a slow Pit Block, the bottom part of this column is a regular Pit
Block, and you need to wait for the chain reaction of Bomb Blocks to clear a
path to another column along the left wall before you can get off of the slow
Pit Block. If you have the time, wait a split second before grabbing onto the
column in the first place. The chain reaction of Bomb Blocks needs to go up
along the second column and start going down the other side of that column
before you can jump onto it, so jump when you see the chain reaction making its
way up the column. If you grab onto the column, all that's left is to pull
yourself onto the other side to receive the Missile Tank, but, if you miss,
you'll have to start all over from the room outside.

From the same room, build up a speed boost from the right end out to the next
room on the left. You'll see an alcove in the ceiling where you'll need to
super jump up through. From there, wait for the top Fake Block that you
destroyed to regenerate, so you can speed boost through the Blue Hatch on the
right. In the next room, there are two large barriers of Fake Blocks that
you'll need to shoot through in order to have enough room for the speed boost.
However, the second barrier has a Missile Block in the middle of it: While</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
still running, you'll need to take a few shots using the Wave Beam to clear
away the first barrier and expose the lone Missile Block in the second barrier.
Then, quickly switch to Missiles, and destroy the Missile Block. Immediately
afterwards, you'll begin speed boosting and break through some Boost Blocks.
There's a short wall in the middle of these Boost Blocks, though, and you'll
have to jump over it while speed boosting. There's just barely enough room to
make it through these Boost Blocks, so you'll have to be very precise. Try to
jump about a space and a half away from the wall. If you succeed, your reward
is only a lousy Missile Tank. To get back out into the shaft to the left, just
speed boost left out into the next room and through a wall.

In the shaft that runs along the right side of Ridley's hideout, there is a
Viola for each of the four platforms leading up to the top of the shaft: Three
blue Violas and one orange Viola on easy, two blue Violas and two orange Violas
on normal, and four orange Violas on hard. Go through the third hatch on the
left (two hatches up from the Save Room). This takes you into a corridor with
more strips of Zebbo pipes: On easy, green Zebbos will attack you from five
pipes, and yellow Zebbos will attack you from one pipe; on normal, green Zebbos
will attack you from three of the pipes, and yellow Zebbos will also attack you
from another three pipes; and, on hard, yellow Zebbos will attack you from six
of the pipes. You'll also have to deal with Dessgeegas in addition to the
Zebbos (three on easy, six on normal, and five on hard). The three bridges in
this corridor are made of Fake Blocks, so be careful using the Screw Attack, or
you'll end up in a lava pit or the room below (in which case just take the Blue
Hatch on the right to get back out to the right shaft). Each strip of Zebbo
pipes has a dormant pipe with Fake Blocks under it that serve as access to and
from the lava-pit areas. Underneath the left-most strip of Zebbo pipes, there's
a hidden Missile Tank. To get it, take the dormant Zebbo pipe down to a smaller
lava pit that's actually just another illusion. You'll need to blast through a
small bridge of Fake Blocks to get into this "lava pit," and shoot the bottom
space in the right wall to uncover the Missile Tank. After you're done, take
the hatch on the left into the next room.

This room has four Multiviolas trapped in an area with a Missile Tank. You can
get into this area using a Bomb. Then, take out the Multiviolas with the Screw
Attack. After getting the Missile Tank, pull yourself into the alcove on the
left side of the room, and lay another Bomb. This will destroy a series of Bomb
Blocks which leads into an area above the room. Go up there, destroy the Super
Missile Block to the right, and go through the narrow passageway that it was
covering. At the end, there's another series of Bomb Blocks, and it will
uncover a solitary Fake Block that hides a Super Missile Tank. After acquiring
it, head further left into the next room. In this shaft, there's a column with
two blue Violas going around it. Destroy one of them, and freeze the other on
the right side near the bottom. Then, carefully jump on it without using the
Screw Attack to get to the Missile Tank atop the column. From there, just walk
left off the column, and you'll grab onto the platform to the left. If you
happen to fall below, you'll land on Pit Blocks and should skip the next
paragraph. Otherwise, enter the room on the left, and continue reading.

Move left through this corridor, using the Screw Attack to dispatch the four
Dessgeegas. If you're playing on normal or hard, there will be five Dessgeegas
in this room. Take the hatch at the end into a room with a Super Missile Tank.
There's also a hidden passageway you can grab onto in the upper-right corner of
this room that takes you up into another room. Shoot the Fake Block in the
center of the room to reveal a Missile Tank, and go through the hatch on the
left. Before doing anything in this next room, shoot the column of Fake Blocks
near the left wall (there are four of them). Then, quickly morph into the ball,
and roll through the narrow passageway to the left, until you're on top of a
Pit Block. This Pit Block is slow which will give you enough time to grab onto
the ledge above it before the Fake Blocks reappear. Pull yourself into the top
passageway, get the Missile Tank, and drop down the right side, but unmorph as
you do, and grab onto the left ledge. From this vantage point, you can angle
down and shoot a Fake Block in front of another Missile Tank. Once you've done
so, pull yourself into the narrow passageway (so you'll be morphed into the
ball), and roll back to the right to pick up the other Missile Tank. To get
back up to the Blue Hatch, drop through the Pit Blocks to the bottom of the
room, and use the Morph Ball launcher in the lower-right corner. Now, make your
way back to the shaft with the two Violas around the column, and drop down to
the bottom.

                               ----------------
                               Unknown Item [3]
                               ----------------

If you didn't make it to the other side of the column, just refer to the above
paragraph when you're ready to try again. Right now, though, head left through
a Blue Hatch into a Save Room. Past the Save Room, move left onto a Pit Block,
and continue left past a Zebbo pipe, until you reach another one of those eye
creatures. This one will shoot an eye beam at you whenever it opens its eye.
Jump or make use of the Morph Ball to avoid this, and shoot the exposed eye
with a missile, super missile, or charged up blast from your arm cannon; you
can't shoot through the eye beam, though. After three Missiles or several fully
charged beam shots, the eye creature dies (only one Super Missile is needed,
though), and you'll be able to go through the Blue Hatch into Ridley's lair.
Ridley isn't there yet, so move left through the hatch at the other end of his
room. This takes you into an Item Room where you'll receive another Unknown
Item that will get listed under your suits on the Status Screen. Use it to
shoot the new type of mystery block behind the Chozo Statue, and move through
the hidden passage behind that. Pick up the Energy Tank back there, use the
Chozo Statue to refill your Missiles/Super Missiles if needed. When you exit
back out into Ridley's lair, both hatches will lock, but he won't come out,
until you're facing the left near the right wall.

                                 ------------
                                 Boss--Ridley
                                 ------------

Again, this battle will resemble that of Super Metroid's encounter with Ridley.
As soon as Ridley lands, the two ends of the floor will fall off into the lava
(and so will you, if you're standing on them), leaving a platform in the middle
and a tiny part of the floor on either end of the room. Unlike, the other
bosses or mini-bosses in this game, Ridley doesn't have a weak spot, so you can
shoot just about any part of his body. Ridley makes up for this, though, by
being heavily offensive. He'll enter the battle with an immediate and long-
lasting barrage of small fireballs. You can rapidly shoot these fireballs to
destroy them (after every three fireballs, they'll alternate between being
shot a little higher or a little lower, but you probably won't even notice
this, unless you're fighting Ridley with only the Short Beam). Try your best
not to get knocked into the lava at this point because it's difficult to get
out with Ridley launching fireballs at you from his mouth. Once Ridley's done
shooting fireballs at you, he'll fly around aimlessly for a few seconds before
executing any of the other attacks at his disposal.

If Ridley's hand gets close enough to you, he'll pick you up, fly to the top of
the room, and blast you with another barrage of small fireballs while still
holding you. You can break free of his grasp by moving around on the Control
Pad or shooting enough Missiles at him. Ridley can't grab you if you're morphed
into the ball on the floor, though. Ridley, usually, doesn't repeat the
previous fireball attack, unless you run away from him. However, there's a
different fireball attack that occurs more frequently where he launches a
spread of larger fireballs at you. You can just shoot the larger fireballs too,
and they may even leave behind items, unlike the smaller fireballs. If you're
standing near a wall, the larger fireballs can be tricky because there's one
that sneaks its way down the wall long after you've cleared the others away.
This spread of large fireballs usually ushers in Ridley's next attack (though,
only after you've dealt a large amount of CONSECUTIVE damage to him--anything
more than ten Missiles): He swings his tail around in a stabbing motion (he'll
swing it twice, and, THEN, stab), getting closer to you with each stab. On the
easy difficulty, Ridley will only stab with his tail once or twice, but, on
normal or hard, Ridley will stab with his tail anywhere from two to nine times,
though usually five times at least. To dodge this attack, you can either morph
into the ball and roll under Ridley between each stab, or you can wall jump to
the top of either wall (you can also jump up and away from his tail, but,
usually, you won't have the room to do this because Ridley gets right up in
your face and has a tendency to follow this up with a spread of the large
fireballs as well). If you choose to roll under Ridley, he will begin ramming
his tail into the ground while moving towards you. After a few minutes into the
battle, Ridley can fire two consecutive spreads of the large fireballs, so
watch out for this.

The best strategy, generally, is to stay underneath Ridley and shoot him while
he's flying around, but you'll need to stay between his hand and his tail (use
the Morph Ball if you need to, and watch for any upcoming attacks). Don't
forget to use your Super Missiles (on hard, use the Super Missiles last, so
you'll defeat Ridley before you can face any repercussions). Just make sure you
aim away from his tail, as it acts like a shield and nullifies any shots. Use
regular Missiles when you run out, and you should be able to defeat Ridley
before resorting to charged beam shots (unless you're HARDCORE and can do it
with only TWO Missiles). after hitting Ridley with fifty Missiles (remember--
one Super Missile equals five regular Missiles), you'll have defeated him. Both
halves of the gateway to Tourian will now be unlocked, signaling that it's your
next destination.

After defeating Ridley, head towards the long shaft that runs along the right
side of Ridley's hideout. Outside Ridley's lair, freeze the Zebbo to get into
the upper-right corner of the room. There's another mystery block up here to
the right. Behind it lies a hidden passage that drops you back down to the Blue
Hatch on the right. Head right through the Save Room and the room after that.
This will put you in a corridor with a winding floor. You can speed boost
through the trapped enemies at the other end of this corridor, but that's all
they're there for. The corridor to the right has three Zebbo pipes and some
Holtzes. On easy, green Zebbos will attack from two of these pipes, yellow
Zebbos will attack from one of these pipes, and there will be two Holtzes in
this room. On normal and hard, yellow Zebbos will attack from three of these
pipes, and there will be four Holtzes in this room. There are two large Fake
Blocks concealing a hidden area that runs under the floor (one at each end):
Shoot the floor just before it rises to a slightly higher elevation, grab the
Energy Tank down there, and come up at the other end. Proceed right through a
narrow passageway that dumps you out next to the hatch on the right. This leads
out into the right shaft.

Make your way to the mystery block above the third hatch (for some odd reason,
this mystery block does not appear on hard) and up to the top of the shaft (if
you didn't make it across the pit with the two Violas on the column, now's a
good time to go back and try again). Take the hatch on the left, into a room
with two blue Violas on the same platform (on normal and hard, one of them will
be orange) and yellow Zebbos. Freeze one of the Zebbos to reach the Missile
Tank in the upper-left corner of the room (you'll need to jump high into the
air and get the Zebbo to chase you a little to the left in order to freeze it
in the right spot). Once you've got the Missile Tank, drop down to the floor,
and move left and up, until you reach the area with the two Holtzes (on normal
and hard, there will be three Holtzes). There's a Missile Block in the floor
next to the far wall. Below it are some Bomb Blocks that lead down to a room
with a Zebbo pipe. Take the hatch on the left into the elevator shaft, and
leave Ridley.

                                  -----------
                                  14--Norfair
                                  -----------

When the elevator comes to a stop in Norfair, the two head-like rock formations
to the right will fall apart, revealing another hidden area. You'll have to go
this way to get back up through Norfair. There's a Gamet pit past the wall
followed by a Red Hatch which leads into a room with a broken Chozo Statue.
Behind it there's a narrow passageway that can either take you right through
some Screw Attack Blocks to a Morph Ball launcher or down through some large
Fake Blocks to a passage that runs under the room and to the left. If you
skipped the Screw Attack, the passage leading under the room will take you
right to it, although it's still possible to access the Morph Ball launcher in
this room: Head down through the large Fake Blocks, destroy the Missile Block
at the top of the right wall (it helps to keep the Bomb Blocks intact), and
take the resulting passageway and hidden Morph Ball launcher up to the initial
Morph Ball launcher. It only shoots you up into the next room above (the second
room with tendrils and Gerutas), but you'll be one small room away from the
main shaft of Norfair. The path leading under the room, however, takes you to
yet another Morph Ball launcher at the end of a long corridor. You'll need to
speed boost over the launcher in order to break the Boost Blocks covering it.
This last launcher shoots you up through several short corridors, and, at the
top of them, you can pick up the Screw Attack (if you haven't already) by going
through the room to the left. There are a few more items in this part of
Norfair, but they'll be out of the way, and there are still some more items in
this area that are inaccessible, so you might as well wait until later to go
back through this area.

Whichever launcher you take, you'll need to make your way towards the main
shaft afterwards. In this shaft, there are Screw Attack Blocks that bypass the
two sets of Boost Blocks, although you can also use a Morph Ball launcher to
get up there. Once you're past the last set of Boost Blocks, go ahead and get
the Missile Tank in the super-heated room (the hatch near the top of the main
shaft), since you have the Varia Suit, and you're practically right next to the
room. There's very little to this room: Sparse platforms over lava and a few
enemies which include three purple Novas, two Squeepts, and a Geruta (on normal
and hard, one of these Novas will be orange). The Missile Tank is at the end of
the room. Once you've got it, head back into Brinstar.

                                 ------------
                                 15--Brinstar
                                 ------------

Again, speed boost into the second shaft, and super jump up through most of it.
If you never got the Energy Tank in the ceiling near the beginning of the game,
the three green Skrees have changed to gray Skrees, and the far-right Skree is
now closer to it (this change occurs after defeating Ridley). Otherwise,
continue moving up to the top of this shaft because there's a hidden room with
a Missile Tank that will also take you to Tourian. In the upper-left corner of
this shaft, freeze the two brown Rippers (on hard, there will only be one
Ripper). Try to freeze the Rippers towards the left side, so the narrow
passageway that you'll need to pull yourself into is more accessible. After
picking up the Missile Tank inside the hidden room, bomb the area where you
found it to reveal a secret passage that dumps you out into the main shaft of
Brinstar. Conveniently, you'll only be a little ways down from the top of the
shaft, so take the Blue Hatch above into the room with the Chozo Statue, and
make good use of the facility (you'll need it if you're missiles are low). Head
left through the corridor with the acid pools towards Tourian. When you reach
the gateway, Kraid and Ridley's statue will open, and you'll go through their
mouths into an elevator shaft on the left. As you ride the elevator to Tourian,
you get to see a cut scene of the Metroids running rampant, as they steal the
life energy from a Space Pirate.

Important--while it's possible to get this far without the Ice Beam, you NEED
it to defeat Metroids. Otherwise, you'll get locked inside a room with a
Metroid, and you'll be forced into a Game Over (this is the only bad situation
that's completely impossible to get out of in this game, although you can still
leave Tourian to go get the Ice Beam).

                                  -----------
                                  16--Tourian
                                  -----------

The elevator takes you straight into a shaft, but a floor prevents you from
going anywhere other than right into a Save Room. Past the Save Room is another
small room with a dead Space Pirate on the floor and a blue hatch leading
further right. Note--all other Space Pirates you find in Tourian are also just
for show. The next room is where you'll encounter the first (orange) Rinkas.
Rinkas are little rings of fire that are shot directly at you from diamond-
shaped structures within the walls, ceilings, and floors. On easy and normal,
only about half of these structures actually shoot the Rinkas at you, but, on
hard, all of them will be working. Although Rinkas are shot repeatedly in a
manner similar to how Zebs/Gamets/Geegas/Zebbos repeatedly attack you, they,
generally, are just used to distract you. You can freeze them to put a
tentative halt to their activities, and you can even destroy them for items,
unlike in other Metroid titles. Enter the blue hatch at the bottom of this room
where you'll fight your first Metroid.

From now on, hatches will begin locking you into each room, until you've
defeated each Metroid. The Metroids in this game are sneaky, as they appear
from the background, and you may not have enough time to get away if you aren't
watching out for them. If a Metroid grabs onto you, it'll drain your energy
much faster than standing in a lava pit. The only way to get a Metroid off of
you is to blast it with Bombs, but make sure you don't lay too many Bombs and
knock yourself back towards the Metroid once it's off of you. Always keep your
distance from Metroids. To kill them, you have to freeze them first and shoot
either five Missiles or one Super Missile at them. You'll need to be fast
because Metroids unfreeze a lot quicker than regular enemies, although you can
always re-freeze them (on hard, they unfreeze even faster). Metroids, though,
will leave behind two items, so you shouldn't run out of Missiles any time
soon. If you do run out of Missiles, turn your attention to the Rinkas, until
you've got enough (make sure that you have enough before engaging a Metroid).
Also, take on Metroids one at a time if you can help it: Progress through each
room slowly. If you do get caught in an ambush, use Super Missiles to
exterminate them before they can overwhelm you. Should a Metroid latch onto you
during an ambush, you can actually freeze and destroy the other ones while the
initial Metroid is still attached to you (you just can't freeze the one that's
latched onto you, so don't aim upwards in this situation). This method will
help you skip the hassle of juggling your focus between all the Metroids but
with the trade off of losing more energy than necessary.

The hatch to the left of this room leads to the area under the floor of the
elevator (on hard, there will be three extra Metroids in this room). A Metroid
will enter the foreground once you're in the shaft, so take it out before going
anywhere. A little further down the shaft, another Metroid will appear,
although it's the last one in this shaft. Take the blue hatch at the bottom
into a lava-filled corridor. There's a Metroid waiting for you at the first
jump (two on hard). Past it are several rectangular platforms over the lava
where two individual Metroids will attack you about halfway through the
corridor (on hard, one of these Metroids will be paired up with an extra
Metroid). The final Metroid in this corridor is all the way to the right (also
paired up with an extra Metroid on hard). After defeating the Metroids, take
the right hatch into the next room. At the bottom of this next room, a Metroid
will appear on the left and right side (on hard, there will be a group of three
Metroids on the left and a group of two Metroids on the right). If both should
come out at once, move back up to the left to hopefully separate the two
Metroids. Then, take them out as they follow you. There are two more Metroids
up and to the right (three on hard). You can lure one of them down to the
bottom of the room before dealing with the other, though. Take the hatch on the
right into a room where some Fake Blocks divide the upper and lower half.

In the lower half of this room, green Rinkas appear on the left. These Rinkas
drop items more readily, so make use of them if you're low on energy or
Missiles. The hatch in the upper-right leads to a Save Room, while the hatch in
the lower-left leads to another shaft. In this shaft, the next four Metroids
will appear below you. Use the properties of the Wave Beam to your advantage by
shooting through the floor to freeze these Metroids (on hard, only three
Metroids will beneath you). As soon as you drop down to the lower part of the
shaft, the fifth Metroid will attack you from the right, and the last Metroid
is at the very bottom near the hatch to the left (on hard, there are four
Metroids waiting in the bottom area of this shaft). The room to the left is the
last room containing Metroids, but they're hiding underneath the floor which is
made up of Bomb Blocks. Bomb near either side of the room, so you don't drop
down into the center where you may get attacked on both sides (two Metroids on
each side). If any of the four Metroids latch onto you here, try to get it off
near the walls because there's another area below the floor where two more
Metroids are waiting (three on hard), and you don't want to accidentally bomb
through the floor. Once all the Metroids have been eliminated, the hatch in the
upper-left of this room takes you to the final Save Room before battling Mother
Brain. In the corridor to the left of this Save Room, you may want to stock up
on Missiles or energy using the green Rinkas. Once you're ready, go through the
Red Hatch at the end of the corridor to battle Mother Brain.

Mother Brain is protected by four Zeebetite units. Each Zeebetite unit acts
like a barrier, as they block you from progressing into the next segment of
Mother Brain's lair. You can only damage them with Missiles or Super Missiles,
but they will slowly recover from these assaults. It takes about seven to eight
consecutive Missiles (depending on how fast you can unload them into the
Zeebetite) or two consecutive Super Missiles to fully destroy each Zeebetite
installment, so try your best not to let the Rinkas or gun turrets distract
you. You can freeze the Rinkas, but the only things you can do about the gun
turrets are stay out of the line of their fire or screw attack through each
blast. By themselves, the turrets' shots are easy to dodge, as they only fire
in forty-five-degree angles, but, combined with the Rinkas, they can seriously
hinder your efforts to destroy both the Zeebetite installments and Mother
Brain. A good way to destroy each Zeebetite unit without any interference is to
shoot Missiles at them from a distance while moving closer to them. It keeps
you moving, so that you're either dodging a turret blast or using the Screw
Attack to clear the area in front of you, and, since the Rinkas will home in
on your previous position, you shouldn't have to deal with them at all.
Additionally, the second and third Zeebetite installments can be more easily
destroyed when shooting at an angle from the floor: The platforms above will
protect you from the turrets. Each segment of the room past the third will have
a lava pit. Past the fourth segment of the room is a high wall with a narrow
opening near the top. Once you pull yourself through it, the breach in the wall
will close, forcing you to fight the Mother Brain.

                              ------------------
                              Boss--Mother Brain
                              ------------------

You'll only have two extremely small platforms to stand on. If you happen to
get knocked into the lava, use the Screw Attack when getting back up onto the
platforms, or you may get knocked right back into the lava again. None of the
turret fire can hit you when shooting from the right platform while kneeling,
but, conversely, the Rinkas have a harder time hitting you on the left
platform (though, you can just freeze the Rinkas for a temporary fix). There's
also a little nook in the upper-right (where you came in) that you can use as a
backup hideout when things get hectic. You can hit the case surrounding Mother
Brain from this corner area when angling down, but it's probably easier to hang
from the left platform, and shoot it. The best way to do it, though, seems to
be screw attacking back and forth between the platforms, taking shots once
you're out of harm's way. It takes five Missiles to initially crack the glass
case enclosing Mother Brain and another five for each subsequent fracture. Once
you've shot the case with twenty Missiles, it breaks completely. Mother Brain's
weak point is its eye, and only Missiles and Super Missiles will work.

Destroying Mother Brain's glass case actually creates a tiny space where you
can easily shoot it from point blank range, but don't even bother trying to
stand there: You have to be in just the exact spot, and it's not worth it
anyway, since the eye is going to periodically shoot at you. The eye beam is
capable of inflicting massive damage too, as it can hit you twice in the same
attack. You'll be able to tell when it's getting ready to do this, though,
because Mother Brain will keep its eye closed which will protect it from any
Missiles. Then, when you're in the target area of its eye beam, Mother Brain
will flash blue and release its deadly attack. Jump out of the way at all
costs, but try to screw attack while doing so. Remember--you can always
initiate a spin jump while performing a regular jump (you may even find the
delay this creates more helpful in some situations). However, the eye beam is
only used after you've fallen into the lava (or if you've just grabbed onto the
side of a platform) and after inflicting a certain amount of damage upon Mother
Brain. On easy, Mother Brain will shoot the eye beam at you for every ten
Missiles that hit the eye; on normal, Mother Brain will shoot the eye beam at
you for every five Missiles that hit the eye; and, on hard, Mother Brain will
shoot the eye beam at you for every three Missiles that hit the eye. If you
fall below the eye's line of sight before firing the specified amount of
Missiles at Mother Brain's eye, it will still shoot the eye beam at you once
you've hit Mother Brain's eye with the remainder of the Missiles (although,
it's possible to skip past an eye beam on hard using a Super Missile). It takes
thirty-five Missile hits to destroy Mother Brain, but, once that's done, you'll
have to escape from a very unexpected bomb that's about to go off.

                                --------------
                                17--The Escape
                                --------------

On easy, you'll have three minutes to get out, and, on normal, you'll only have
two minutes, but that's still plenty of time. On hard. though, you'll only have
a minute to get out, so you don't have time to make multiple mistakes. Once
Mother Brain's been destroyed, you'll have a few seconds before the timer
actually starts counting down. Strangely, you can still run against the spot
where Mother Brain was hooked up, but you still can't move through it, until
the countdown begins. You can even build up a speed boost by running against
this spot and use it to super jump through part of the next room. Head left
through the remains of Mother Brain's glass case and into the long escape shaft
(if you were able to build up a speed boost, use the super jump a space away
from the right wall). The platforms in this shaft are small and mostly
comprised of slow Pit Blocks. You can wall jump up either wall to save a little
time, but there are several platforms that get in your way which usually
negates whatever time you may have saved wall jumping. Take the elevator at the
top up to a new area in Crateria. Go right into the next room, and move up
along the platforms. Once you've reached the top of this room, move right.
You'll need to clear away three pillars of Fake Blocks as you near the Blue
Hatch on the right (use the Screw Attack to save time). Get a running start as
you exit through this hatch because there are some Boost Blocks on the other
side that you should break through. Note--there is a secret passageway above
the Boost Blocks and to the left, but this is only there for a nine-percent
run, where you wouldn't have the Speed Booster and would need to bomb jump to
get up there. Directly past the Boost Blocks is your space ship. After entering
it, you'll view a long cut scene of your escape.

                                 ------------
                                 18--Chozodia
                                 ------------

Jump down from the ledge where you begin, and head left into the next room.
Pull yourself up onto the ledges above, and continue moving left. You'll be
able to see parts of the Space Pirate mother ship, but don't worry about
anything attacking you yet. There's a narrow passageway you'll crawl through
before arriving in the next room where you'll be able to see some Space Pirates
through the windows. As you move left, you'll also see a ramp leading upwards
to a Green Hatch. Below this are two Fake Blocks in the bottom left wall (where
the vent is) that you can use instead to get into the mother ship.

                         ----------------------------
                         19--Space Pirate Mother Ship
                         ----------------------------

Upon entering the ship, you'll see an extremely short cut scene of a robotic
eye opening (you'll find out exactly what this is later). Move through the
passageways under the floor into a Map Room. Shoot the Fake Blocks above you,
get the map data, and go through the Blue Hatch to the left. This takes you to
a Save Room that will restore your energy, so take advantage of the facility
(all other Save Rooms in this region will also restore your energy). Grab onto
the ledge to the left, and take the narrow passageway into the next room.

Your emergency pistol isn't capable of damaging the Space Pirates, but, when
it's fully charged, it can stun them. The pistol takes about two and a half
seconds to fully recharge, so make sure your first shot hits its target. Once a
Space Pirate has seen you (their sight distance is pretty good, but they can't
quite see all the way across a room), it activates the alarm, and all other
Space Pirates in the current room will become conscious of your presence. Going
into another room will not shut the alarm off, though. Due to the linear layout
of this seemingly complicated region, the Space Pirates can track you down very
well (on hard, there will be a few extra space pirates that chase you through
some of the rooms when the alarm is going off). Additionally, shutters will
remain closed while the alarm is going off. The alarm gets deactivated after
the Space Pirates have lost contact with you for about ten seconds, yet there
are some special circumstances where it won't shut off, regardless of how long
you've stayed out of their sight. Whenever the Space Pirates are tailing you,
just move through each room as fast as you can. Generally, the only way you'll
get the Space Pirates off your back is by hiding or separating yourself from
them in some manner, and these occasions are noted in the paragraphs below.

Outside of the Save Room, the first Space Pirate you'll encounter waits
directly below you. It's almost impossible to get past the Space Pirate without
being detected because it'll turn towards you whenever you drop down (the only
way to get past it undetected is to drop down and stun it at the exact second
it's turning AWAY from you). If you get seen by the Space Pirate, the shutters
to the left will close, but you can climb over them and through a narrow
passageway. From there, head up and to the right where you'll find another
Space Pirate. Stun it, and head right into the next room. Here, you can hide
from the Space Pirate on the other side of the narrow passageway. Should you
not get there in time, there's also a hidden area in the upper left of this
room where you can blast through the floor, forming a loop. Past the shutter to
the right is a hatch leading into a room with laser-beam trip wires.

You might as well just run through the first trip wire you see because it's
just as difficult to get past this room without setting off the alarm. Head
towards the upper-right corner of this room. You'll enter a narrow passageway
that leads to a dead end. You need to shoot the wall to the right, but that
will also destroy the floor underneath you which drops you through a trip wire
(the only way to get past the laser-beam trip wire is to initiate a spin jump
immediately after falling and wall jump onto the wall to the right). Climb up
the wall on the right, and go through the upper hatch. Keep moving right, until
you climb up a wall. There's a Space Pirate waiting for you here, so
immediately use the platform above to make your way to the top of the room. If
you time things correctly, the second Space Pirate will accidentally shoot the
first one, killing it. At the top of the room, there's a Fake Block covering a
narrow passageway that leads to the Blue Hatch on the right. Shoot it, and
crawl through to the shaft on the right. In the shaft, a shutter lies in your
path, but there are a series of Pit Blocks next to it that drop you down to
another area of this shaft. Normally, this would've gotten the Space Pirates
off your back, but there's another one waiting for you down there, so quickly
head to the top of the shaft, and move left through a Blue Hatch. In this room,
you can hide behind the wall to the left (this wall is made of Bomb Blocks, so
don't go shooting your gun off for some reason). Once the shutter goes up,
proceed left, and up into a hangar where you'll be able to see three of the
Space Pirates' fighter ships. Unfortunately, you can't get to them yet, so
crawl left into another room where you'll drop through some Pit Blocks. To the
right is a Save Room that you may need to make use of (the hatch for this Save
Room is locked on hard).

From here, there's a short cut you can take, but it requires the use of the
wall jump. If you can't wall jump, skip to the next paragraph. This room has a
wall running up through the middle of it, but there's a secret tunnel inside of
it. From where you fell through the Pit Blocks, move left to the right side of
this wall. Then, wall jump along the wall once or twice, until you can see the
platform on top of this wall, and shoot up at it. This will open up the secret
passage (shots from the ground won't reach it), so wall jump up to the opening,
and grab onto the ledge you've created. After falling through the inside of
this wall, you'll land on a Pit Block which drops you into an area with a
cracked floor. Shoot the floor, go down to the next level, and shoot the floor
in the opposite corner. Repeat this once more, and move to the right where the
path takes you down to the bottom of the room. There are two Space Pirates down
there at the very bottom, so just drop down to the next level by grabbing onto
the ledge to the left. Then, move left over the Space Pirates, drop down to the
bottom, and crawl under the wall to the hatch on the left. Enter this next
room, and skip the next paragraph.

Head up to the top of this room then left then down to the blue hatch on the
left. Move left into the next room, shoot the floor towards the right side of
this room, and drop down. There's a Space Pirate you cannot avoid down there.
Ignore it or stun it, and crawl through the narrow passageway to the right.
This takes you back into the last room, except you'll be under the floor. Shoot
the bottom corner of the floor to the right, drop down, shoot the bottom corner
of the floor on the opposite side, and repeat once more. After dropping through
the third floor, move right, and drop to the bottom of the room. Once you hit
the floor, jump left onto a platform because there'll be a Space Pirate on
either side of you. Letting them see you and quickly jumping out of the way,
though, will cause them to shoot each other. Afterwards, go through the Blue
Hatch on the left.

This takes you into a room where you'll fall through a series of Pit Blocks. If
the alarm is still activated, a shutter will trap you in this area, but the
Space Pirates won't be able to reach you. Move left into a small shaft where
some searchlights are scanning the room. On easy, there will be two
searchlights; on normal, there will be four searchlights; and, on hard, there
will be five searchlights. They're a little lenient as to when they've spotted
you, but do your best to avoid them while getting to the top of the room.  The
hatch at the top takes you back into a previous room. Shoot the large Fake
Block near the upper-right corner to get up to the next floor. Then, shoot
another large Fake Block in the upper-left corner to reach the next floor after
that. Take the hatch on the left into a room divided into four compartments
with a shutter in the middle. If the alarm is active, and the shutter is down,
shoot the wall in front of the shutter, and hide in the area at the bottom of
the room. Once the shutter goes up, shoot the wall to the left, and go through
the Blue Hatch into the Save Room on the left.

Past the Save Room is a large room full of the laser-beam trip wires. If you
know how to wall jump, you can bypass all of them, by wall jumping up along the
first wall to the left. If you don't know how to wall jump, go down along the
right wall to the very bottom of this room. Move left, jump onto the first
platform, and jump over the two horizontal trip wires (these trip wires don't
appear on easy), but watch out for the trip wire above you. Jump left up to the
next two platforms, but be aware that the first two blocks of the second
platform are slow Pit Blocks. Then, jump up to the right onto another platform,
and move right across some more slow Pit Blocks. There will be a horizontal
trip wire two spaces above you (this trip wire doesn't appear on easy), so fall
into and grab onto the next platform. This is also made out of slow Pit Blocks,
and you should quickly crawl under the wall to the right. On the other side, a
vertical trip wire forces you to move up (this trip wire also does not appear
on easy), so grab onto the top end of the trip wire, and jump left onto a
platform (this is the spot where you would've wound up if you had wall jumped
earlier). From there, jump left to another platform comprised of slow Pit
Blocks, jump left again onto another platform (above a vertical trip wire which
doesn't appear on easy), and drop down to the Blue Hatch leading to the next
room. If you should set the alarm off in the process of navigating through
these trip wires, you can either run back to the room before the Save Room, and
hide in the upper-left compartment, or you can just continue moving towards the
next room, and hide there (whichever is closer).

The next room is completely deserted whenever the alarm is off. There's a
hiding spot above the hatch to the right, but you might as well go into the
next room if the alarm is going off: There's a hidden area behind the left wall
in that room, but you need to wall jump up to the top of the left wall to get
in there (you can't see the entrance to this area, so watch for when you grab
onto the ledge). Once behind this wall, shoot the floor below you, and move
right, dropping far below to a corridor with a glass tube in the center of it.
If you can't wall jump, watch out for the Space Pirate hidden in the right
wall, and take the narrow passageway at the bottom of the room into the shaft
on the right. Here, shoot the cracked part of the wall (or even the floor) in
the lower-right to drop down to the bottom of the shaft (this will also drop
two hidden Space Pirates as well). Take the Blue Hatch on the left into the
aforementioned corridor with the glass tube. At the end of the corridor lies
another empty room, but this leads into some sort of Chozo temple, separate
from the earlier Chozo Ruins.

                              -------------------
                              20--Chozo Ruins [2]
                              -------------------

Upon entering, you'll be standing on a slow Pit Block. Go ahead and drop down
to the bottom of this room, and crawl through the narrow passageway to the
left. Shoot the large, brown Fake Block above you, and move left to a group of
similar blocks. Shoot them to reveal a narrow passageway with a Fake Block in
it which leads further left into an empty room. Past this is a Save Room then
another empty room. Past this is a large room with more searchlights. On easy
and normal, there will only be four searchlights, but, on hard, there will be
six. If you know how to wall jump, you can skip any trouble by going up along
the wall where you enter this room (after waiting for the searchlights to
pass). If not, crawl under two walls to the left, make your way up to the top
of the room, and move right towards the next room, avoiding the searchlights as
you go. Also, watch out for the Space Pirate two levels up: It's behind a wall
you may accidentally begin to crawl under, as you try to find the way to the
top of the room. Additionally, on hard, there will be an extra Space Pirate
patrolling the area where you jump up to the third level of this room, so wait
for it to walk away before jumping up to the next level.

In the next room, the exit is in the lower-right corner. This puts you in a
room containing more of the large, brown Fake Blocks. These blocks form narrow
passageways, so shoot them to get through this room faster (even if a Space
Pirate is chasing you, it'll keep up with you just the same regardless of what
you choose to do with these blocks). Past the blocks, move up and through the
doorway on the right into a room where the floor and right wall are made up of
similar brown blocks. The exit is directly above the entrance, though there's a
shutter in front of it. If you need to get away from the Space Pirates, climb
up to the shutter, and shoot one of the brown blocks to set them all off (a
Space Pirate WILL see you if you don't shoot the blocks). This takes you back
through the upper part of the last room and into a shaft with a new type of
security: Eye-laser sensors that move along the wall.

These eyes emit yellow beams of light that represent their field of vision. If
you break it, the alarm will go off and the eye-laser sensors will shoot at
you. As you move up through the shaft, make use of the shaded areas where the
eye-laser sensors cannot see you. There are three of these eyes in this room,
so be careful not move up through the room too quickly or let them see your
foot dangling out of the shaded area. Move left through the next room, and
crawl under the wall. This takes you onto a bridge of slow Pit Blocks over a
shallow pit filled with Space Pirates. You'll have plenty of time to get to the
other side of the wall--even with the three Fake Blocks in your way. If you
should happen to fall into the pit, however, there's a Fake Block all the way
to the right--where you first started crawling under the wall--that takes you
out of the pit. On the left side of the room, you'll drop through some Pit
Blocks in the floor, and a Space Pirate will see you. If you're quick enough,
though, immediately shoot the left wall (the first two spaces directly below
the Pit Blocks) when you drop through the floor, and grab onto the ledge you'll
create. While hanging from the ledge, you can angle down and stun the Space
Pirate, allowing you to get past it undetected. The exit in the bottom left
takes you into a room with a shaded area near the ceiling. If a Space Pirate is
chasing you, do not hide here because it will sneak back into the room through
a hidden area in the upper-left corner of this room. Instead, go left into the
next room, and shoot the left wall. Behind it is the doorway to the next room.
There, shoot the brown block in your way, and, if you need a place to hide, use
the shaded area in the lower-left corner.

Afterwards, get to the top of the room, and go through the doorway on the
right. There's another shaded area along the top of this room, but it's more of
a trap than it is a safe haven, so don't bother using it. Shoot through the
brown blocks on the right, enter the next room, and make you way towards the
top. Here, you'll see an unusual Chozo Statue holding a Power Bomb Tank, except
you won't be able to get to it, and you'll need to take a detour into the room
to the left. Here, Pit Blocks will separate you from any Space Pirates on your
tail. At the top of this room, there's a doorway to the right that takes you
further into this Chozo temple and a hidden area to the left that leads to a
Save Room. Note--this Save Room does not appear on the Hard difficulty.

Once you've reached the unusual Chozo Statue, you'll find that the Power Bomb
Tank is missing, and, at the very top of the room, you'll see a Space Pirate
walking off with it. There is no way to stop the Space Pirate or obtain the
Power Bomb Tank. Also, for some reason, you can blast apart part of the floor
on the right side of this Chozo Statue, and fall through a Pit Block to the
area below (it doesn't seem to come in handy at all). In the next room, you'll
encounter more of those eye-laser sensors on the walls (two on the left side of
the room and one on the right side). Move down to a narrow passageway on the
right, and crawl through it (none of the eyes--on either side of the room--can
see you in the passageway). As you move up to the doorway on the right, stay
away from the left wall (the eye-laser sensor on the OTHER side of the room can
see you here), and take caution when pulling yourself onto ledges: You may move
too far up the screen and accidentally set off the alarm.

The next room has four Space Pirates in it, and getting through it without
being seen is hard because you'll usually be within the sight range of two
Space Pirates at the same time. The first one is on a platform, so run under
the platform when it isn't looking, and stun it from below. The next Space
Pirate is on a thicker platform with a narrow passageway running underneath it.
While the first one is stunned, wait until the next Space Pirate isn't looking,
and crawl to the opposite side of the second platform (there's a very small
shaded area here). Then, stun the third Space Pirate just as the second one is
moving away from you, and run right to the end of the corridor (the last Space
Pirate rarely ever spots you, as long as you keep moving). This leads out into
a long shaft.

It looks like there's a lot to explore in this shaft, but all the other exits
are blocked somehow, and you only need to crawl through a narrow passageway
directly above you. You'll be in a dark corridor with two more narrow
passageways above you, running almost the full breadth of the corridor. The
exit on the left takes you into a room with three columns. Use these platforms
to get to the doorway in the upper-left part of the room. The next room is
large and filled with Space Pirates. While moving left along the bottom of the
room, avoid being seen by the Space Pirates that pace back and forth above.
Once you get to the wall, use the platforms to climb to the top of the room,
and move right. Be careful not to shoot any part of the floor (specifically,
the blocks with Chozo faces on them), as it will set off a chain reaction that
destroys the whole entire floor up there. As you move right, you'll need to
crawl under two walls, shooting the brown block that covers the other end of
each wall. Farther right, you'll jump onto a separate platform where a shutter
may keep you from getting to the next room. If the alarm is going off, shoot
the platform to the left, and any Space Pirates that are chasing you will fall
to the bottom of the room. Proceed through the Save Room on the right and into
the next room where the background music suddenly changes to one with an eerie
tone. Make your way to the doorway in the upper-left, and prepare yourself for
the lamest battle in any Metroid game.

                             ---------------------
                             Mini-Boss--Ruins Test
                             ---------------------

Once the cut scene is over, the orb that the Chozo hieroglyphic on the wall is
holding will come to life, and you'll see a reversed reflection of yourself in
it. When the symbol appears in the Orb, shoot it with a fully charged shot. If
you time it incorrectly and shoot your reflection, it will hurt you instead.</pre><pre id="faqspan-5">
Also, touching the Orb will hurt you. After the first hit, the whole Chozo
hieroglyphic will come to life and circle the center of the room, although you
can safely touch any part of the hieroglyphic. Additionally, lightning will
strike if you're not moving, and it'll be aimed at you. There's a sound effect
that cues this attack, but you can also watch the Chozo hieroglyphics: Whenever
the lightning is being shot, the apparition will stop moving while the one on
the wall will flash. You can dodge the lightning, though, simply by moving left
or right. However, you may find the lightning to your advantage, as it will
make the Orb easier to hit. You may also find it easier to jump around while
waiting for the symbol to appear. After shooting the symbol a second time, the
hieroglyphic will begin moving along the edges of the room in a bouncing
motion. After the third hit, the hieroglyphic moves in the same pattern but
faster, and random lightning bolts will split once they hit the ground and
travel along the floor then up the wall (these lightning bolts will strike
regardless of whether or not you're moving, and they always come down from the
center of the room). You can tell these lightning bolts apart from the other
ones because the hieroglyphic on the wall will flash for a longer duration. On
hard, the lightning bolts that travel through the floor and walls appear more
frequently. If you take too long hitting the symbol that appears in the Orb,
the hieroglyphic will go on to its next movement pattern (if the hieroglyphic
is two or more phases ahead of schedule, it will revert to the appropriate
phase once the symbol's been hit). After the fourth hit, the battle will be
over, and you'll watch a short cut scene where you are awarded your upgraded
Power Suit.

The exit to this room is in the upper-right corner. Use the Space Jump to get
there: While spin jumping, press the A Button in midair to spin jump again (you
can do this indefinitely). Now that you've attained your fully powered suit,
Space Pirates and other enemies will be patrolling the region more heavily.
Outside of the room with the Chozo heiroglyphic, make your way down to the
shutter, shooting the three Space Pirates as you go, and shoot a missile at one
of the blocks below you with the Chozo faces on them. There's water down there,
but the Gravity Suit allows you to move through it as if you're on land. Speed
boost to the right side of the room to acquire a Super Missile Tank. From here,
there's an aggravating shinespark puzzle you can torture yourself through to
get an Energy Tank. If you feel like skipping it, shoot the brown block above,
go to the top of the room, exit right, and skip to the next paragraph. You'll
need to shinespark your way to the top of this room, utilizing the ramps on
each platform (the side each platforms is on will alternate). It sounds easy,
but, usually, you'll only have one unit of running space between each ramp and
it's respective wall. Once you manage to get the speed boost going into the
next room, press down while the screen is making the transition into the next
room, so you're sure to store the energy before running into the wall. You'll
be at the top of the previous, long shaft. Quickly screw attack through the
blocks with Chozo faces on them, and fall to the platform on the left. There,
super jump into the ramp, drop to another platform on the right, and super jump
through the wall on the right. This takes you into a secret room in the Space
Pirate mother ship (it's inaccessible from inside the ship) where you'll
receive the aforementioned Energy Tank. To get out, speed boost to the right
wall, and super jump left. Don't worry about the narrow passageway at the top
of the room: It's just there to keep you from getting stuck between the two
groups of Boost Blocks in this room (which are just there to keep you from
exploring the outside of the mother ship).

At the top of this shaft there's a pillar of Screw Attack Blocks in your way.
However, you may have noticed the Missile Block in the floor that leads into a
narrow passageway that goes around the Screw Attack Blocks. This is only there
for a nine-percent run because you won't have the Screw Attack. Additionally,
you may notice several other places where an obsolete narrow passageway is
protected by a Missile Block (and also one in the last room with just a Fake
Block and a couple Pit Blocks). These are also there for nine-percent runs.

The first platform down from the top of the shaft has a Missile Block in the
top-most space of the wall. This leads back into the room with the water. Just
pick up the Missile Tank, and go back out into the shaft (there are Pit Blocks
under the Missile Tank that take you down to the bottom of the room). At the
bottom of the shaft, you'll find three more Space Pirates. You'll also find
that the other entrances to the shaft have been sealed off (the same way that
the room with the hieroglyphics was sealed off), so screw attack through the
Totem Pole-like blocks at the very bottom of the shaft. This puts you in a room
filled with lava, but the Gravity Suit will keep you from taking any damage in
it. Screw attack through the floor, and navigate through the narrow passageway
to the right to pick up a Super Missile Tank. Next, space jump your way over
the wall to the left, and take the narrow passageway into one of the previous
rooms with the eye-laser sensors going up and down the walls. Here, you'll find
that a doorway has, again, been sealed off. Screw attack to the bottom of the
shaft, enter the room on the left, and move to the wall on the left (this drops
you through two Pit Blocks, so you won't have to deal with the shutter). Take
the doorway on the right, and bomb the floor away (shots from the emergency gun
act as bomb blasts, so you'll find yourself inconveniently bombing a lot of
things). Below, there's a Super Missile Tank in the left wall. It's three
spaces up from the narrow passageway, and it's protected by a Missile Block.
From there, just make your way back into the Space Pirate mother ship.

                         ----------------------------
                         21--Space Pirate Mother Ship
                         ----------------------------

As you approach the Space Pirate mother ship, build up a speed boost, so you
can super jump to the top of the long shaft just inside the ship. There will be
a new type of Space Pirate waiting for you just before you reach the room full
of trip wires. This one is colored black and has more life and a more
aggressive fighting style: It moves toward you, repeatedly shooting, and jumps
over you to shoot you from the other side (though, it generally changes this
routine up by plowing straight through you). Additionally, they can only be
hurt by shots from your beam weapon. You're better off avoiding them, since
they, like the regular Space Pirates, don't reward you with any items. Also,
the room past this is now occupied by Probes, green, spheroid enemies that
shoot electricity at you (they're from the Wrecked Ship area of Super Metroid,
although they did not shoot anything at you in that game). However, if you're
on easy, these enemies won't appear anywhere in the game. These little buggers
cannot be destroyed using any of your beam weapons, but you can keep them from
firing electricity by charging up your arm cannon. This will also attract them
towards you (like the items in Metroid Prime), and they'll be sitting ducks for
some Screw Attack action. If they do get a shot of electricity off, stay away
from the area where it hits because it will stay electrified for a few seconds.
These enemies, though, are some of the only non-boss enemies in this region
that will leave behind any items.

Continue moving right back towards the hangar. Two rooms past the Save Room,
you can screw attack through the cracked portion of the ceiling, so you don't
have to backtrack too much. Once you're above, either shoot missiles at the
cracked area to the left or bomb the cracked area to the right. Above this,
destroy the next cracked area with ONE missile (the next space is just a Fake
Block). There's a Work Robot up there (this is also something from Super
Metroid) that's blocking your path to a Super Missile Tank, but you can just
shoot it to get it moving (it'll have to turn around first, though). The Red
Hatch leads to a dead end, so head right back towards the hangar. Once you get
there, you'll find a different type of shutter blocking the fighter ships, so
move up to the top of the room, and take the narrow passageway left into the
next room. Space jump past the black Space Pirates into the next room after
that. There, make your way to the top of the room where another Work Robot will
be in your way. If you have the Wave Beam you can get it moving before you
reach it, although you can use Missiles to knock it a few steps forward and
Super Missiles to knock it even farther than that (Missiles will just bounce
off the robot if you're right next to it, though). Afterwards, snake your way
through the rest of the room to the hatch on the left.

                                ---------------
                                Power Bomb Tank
                                ---------------

In the next room, go through the Blue Hatch at the bottom-left using the Screw
Attack on the way down to eliminate the Space Pirates. Having the Wave Beam
greatly speeds up your trip through the next room: You'll have to go through a
narrow passageway filled with alternating Bomb Blocks and Fake Blocks. Ignore
the Work Robot above the passageway, and enter the hatch on the left. Head up
through this room, using the Screw Attack to deal with more Space Pirates, and
through the hatch on the right. There, move to the right, fall through the Pit
Blocks near the end of the room, and go through the right hatch. Climb to the
top of this room, utilizing the Screw Attack every step of the way, since the
Space Pirates seem to enjoy waiting near every ledge in this room. When you
arrive in the next room, you should notice a change in the background scenery,
as you'll be in what appears to be the bridge, or command center, of the
vessel. Move to the bottom-left corner of the room, and drop down into the
tunnel along the wall. Entering this room will automatically turn off the
alarm. Take the narrow passageway farther down to another room where you'll see
a Space Pirate carrying the Power Bomb Tank you saw earlier into the room on
the right (despite the fact that you can reach the Space Pirate with the Wave
Beam, there is still no way to interfere with this Space Pirate). Inside this
room, the power-up is protected by a trip wire on either side of it. You might
as just run through the wires, since you only have to deal with two Space
Pirates, and going all the way around them is more trouble than it's worth.

You can lay Power Bombs by morphing, holding the R Button (this highlights the
Power Bomb icon at the top of the screen which keeps track of how many Power
Bombs you have left), and pressing the B Button. They work like regular Bombs,
except the explosion fills up the whole screen. On easy and normal, each Power
Bomb Tank will add two more Power Bombs to the maximum amount that you can
carry. On hard, each Power Bomb Tank only adds one Power Bomb to your maximum.
Use the Power Bombs to open the Yellow Hatch to the right where you can get
another Power Bomb Tank, unless you're on the hard difficulty (in which case,
you'll have used your only Power Bomb). In the room to the right, use your
other Power Bomb to destroy portions of the ceiling, and retrieve the Power
Bomb Tank up there (two Space Pirates are also up there). Afterwards, head back
up to the bridge. If you go through the second hatch on the right, it takes you
through a small, empty room and into a Save Room (this is the last Save Room in
the game). From here, you can either beat the game, or go back through earlier
areas and find everything you missed. I'd recommend beating the game first
because, then, the missing items in each region will be listed on your Map
screen, and they'll be easier to locate. You definitely won't need any of that
stuff to beat the final boss, so, if you choose to beat the game now, skip to
the second paragraph of part 32 of this walkthrough.

Make your way back towards the Chozo temple. In the shaft outside of the
bridge, you can use a Power Bomb to blast a hole through the platform near the
right wall. Also, when you get past the room with the alternating Bomb Blocks
and Fake Blocks, go ahead and open the Yellow Hatch: It will take you into a
room with a Super Missile Tank, and, ultimately, get you to your destination
much faster. The Super Missile Tank has a Bomb Block on either side of it, but
what you don't see is that the floor around it is also made of Bomb Blocks. Go
ahead and bomb the floor anyway, since you can easily take on the Space Pirates
below, especially if you use the Screw Attack on the way down. Past the Green
Hatch on the right is an empty room that leads down to a Red Hatch on the
right. This puts you directly under the first Work Robot, which was blocking
the way to a Super Missile Tank. From there, get to the glass tube in the
corridor just outside of the Chozo temple.

                                 ------------
                                 22--Chozodia
                                 ------------

If you've played through Super Metroid, you know what to do here: Use a Power
Bomb, and bomb the crap out of that glass tube. Drop to the ground below, move
to the lower-right corner of the room, and use another Power Bomb. Now, speed
boost through the opening, and super jump to the very top of this room. It's
possible to super jump while in the Morph Ball form, but it requires the High-
Jump power-up: Just speed boost, press down twice (once to kneel and store the
energy and twice to morph), press the A Button, and choose the direction for
the Super Jump (if needed). Using this technique you can super jump through the
column at the floor and through the platform containing the Power Bomb Tank at
the top of the room. You need to be very fast, though, because the Boost Blocks
in the column regenerate quickly, and you won't have any room to jump if the
second block up reappears. You don't NEED to super jump through the platform to
get the power-up (it's just nice to know), so don't get obsessive about it.

Next, go back outside to the lower-left corner of the room, and set another
Power Bomb there as well. This takes you into a shaft with four Probes (these
enemies don't appear on easy). At the bottom, there's a Save Room on the right,
and a Blue Hatch on the left that leads to a sloped room full of the red
Zeelas. Clear the seven Zeelas out of this room, and speed boost back into the
shaft. Go to the center of the shaft, and super jump, but keep your arm cannon
charged because the enemies there will shoot electricity at you which would
prevent you from getting the hidden Energy Tank two rooms up. Once successful,
this places you right outside of the Chozo temple, so go back down from the
remains of the glass tube and through the shaft with the electrical enemies.

Past the room with the Zeelas is a small shaft with only three of those green
Probes (again, these enemies won't appear on easy). Past that is an equally
small corridor that's obviously hiding a secret area above it. There's a hidden
passageway in the center of the ceiling. You might want to shoot your arm
cannon up there first, as there's a tangle of narrow passageways with six
purple Zoomers crawling through them. First, take the path on the left. Then,
take the right path and, then, the left path again--using any places where you
can stand to fire off your beam weapon as needed--to a Super Missile Tank that
should be exposed from all the Wave Beam activity. Once that's taken care of,
move into the room on the left. This room has a maze built out of chain-
reaction Bomb Blocks. Shoot up through these Bomb Blocks, so you can see where
they are. Then, bomb the one on the far-left, and go up into the narrow
passageway. Next, set off the second line of Bomb Blocks to the right. Go up as
far as you can (three spaces from the ceiling), and lay a Bomb three spaces
away from the end of the passageway (this should only destroy three Bomb
Blocks). At the end of this chain is a hidden Super Missile Tank. There's a Pit
Block below it IN THE PREVIOUS PASSAGEWAY where you can set off another chain
of Bomb Blocks. There's one last chain of Bomb Blocks two spaces to the left of
where the Pit Block dropped you that leads to the hatch on the left. This takes
you back into the watery part of Crateria. You won't be there long: Just head
left, until you reach the elevator, and take it into Norfair.

                                  -----------
                                  23--Norfair
                                  -----------

Head into the main shaft, and speed boost down to the next floor. Go left into
the corridor, and open the Green Hatch at the end of it. This takes you into a
super-heated room with lava running along the floor. On easy, this room
contains two purple Novas, one orange Nova, and one Dragon; on normal, there
will be four purple Novas, two orange Novas, and three Dragons; and, on hard,
there will be two orange Novas and ten Dragons. There are many long columns of
Fake Blocks over the lava, so getting to the other end of this corridor would
be a little troublesome without the Gravity Suit or Screw Attack. The last
column is hiding a Missile Tank at the top of it. The next room to the left has
a series of Bomb Blocks that sets off a chain recation. The Space Jump makes
this too easy, so here's how to do it without the Space Jump: Climb onto the
platform, bomb the left-most edge of it, and quickly run to the left and jump
to the platform containing the Super Missile Tank. The wall of Bomb Blocks
that's initially in your way will be set off, allowing you to get the power-up.
If you're not fast enough, though, the floor will also be set off, and you'll
fall onto Pit Blocks which would drop you down to a deep lava pool with two
Dragons at the bottom of it, although there are some platforms down there that
you can land on. However, if you're playing on hard, there will be two purple
Novas and four orange Novas on the other side of the Bomb Blocks, and there
will be three Dragons at the surface of this lava pool.

The next items are deeper into Norfair. Go back to the main shaft, and speed
boost through the second floor down. Go left through the next hatch down, and
head towards the area where you picked up the Screw Attack. Once you're past
the Save Room, shoot the floor on the right side of the room, and drop down.
There will be a Green Hatch to your right that takes you into a room with a
long stretch of lava and small platforms. At the end of this room there's a
narrow passageway that leads to the next room, but there's also three rows of
Boost Blocks in the top spaces of the wall that you can use too (there is an
unseen ceiling above these rows of Boost Blocks, so don't bother trying to
super jump diagonally through this area). The Gravity Suit is required for
this, as you'll need to build up a Speed Boost and super jump off of one of the
higher platforms; it's almost more trouble than it's worth. The adjoining room
is similar but shorter. With both rooms put together, there's a total of two
red Gamet pipes, eight purple Novas, and three Dragons on easy; three red Gamet
pipes, seven purple Novas, two orange Novas, and four Dragons on normal; and
three red Gamet pipes, two purple Novas, seven orange Novas, and five Dragons
on hard.

This path leads to another room where there's a hidden area in the lava under
the floor: The Fake Block is on the left side near the hatch, and there is a
Multiviola and a Ripper II down there. This hidden area takes you to another
room with lava running along the floor. At the left end is a column with a
Super Missile Tank atop it. Again, your fully powered suit makes this one too
easy, so here's how you do it when you don't have the added special abilities:
Get a Gamet to chase you by running from its pipe onto the small platform to
the left, and freeze it when it's about halfway between you and the column. Be
careful not to destroy it with the Screw Attack (if you have it), as you'll use
the frozen Gamet to grab onto the column. However, there's a secret area past
this column. You'll be able to freeze the Gamet once more, but go ahead and
destroy the Fake Blocks in the wall to the left first. Aim down without
kneeling to freeze the Gamet again on the other side of the column (again,
about halfway between you and your destination). You might be able to just run
off the column onto it, but be careful not to destroy the Gamet with the Screw
Attack if you do jump. Once you're in the secret area, run left, and grab the
Missile Tank. You're able to build up a speed boost doing so which you can use
to super jump back to the right side of this corridor. On your way back through
the two connected rooms, you can also speed boost through the lava of the left
room and super jump left across the room.

The last two items require the Gravity Suit and are further left in the shaft
with the bubbly green walls and fake lava pit. At the bottom of this shaft,
there's a real lava pit with a Missile Block in the floor. It's located below
the small platform to the left, and there's another Missile Block directly
below it. The Blue Hatch below the floor takes you into a lava-filled room.
Move to the left wall (you'll go up a few platforms), and destroy the row of
Missile Blocks three spaces up from the ground. This leads into a secret area
where you can Space Jump up to a Power Bomb Tank. There's also a Missile Tank
outside of this area and a little further up the room. It's in a narrow
passageway on the right, but it's protected by a Missile Block. You'll need to
destroy the Bomb Block underneath it, so you'll have room to stand and fire the
Missile. There's a column of Pit Blocks underneath the Bomb Block, so you need
to do all this rather quickly. If you can't jump back up to the Missile Tank in
time, you won't have to start over completely, as the Missile Block won't
reappear. Once, you've got everything in Norfair, head up to the elevator shaft
that takes you into Brinstar.

If for some reason you need to head back up into Crateria, there's a neat short
cut you can take through the corridor to the left of the Brinstar elevator:
Speed boost into this corridor, store the energy just after entering the room,
and super jump left through this corridor while in ball form. If everything
goes as planned, you'll break through the wall that separates the two rooms and
another wall after that, until you hit the hatch on the left side.

                                 ------------
                                 24--Brinstar
                                 ------------

Again, build up a speed boost, as you're entering the bottom of the second
vertical shaft, but, this time, use the Super Jump back in the corridor that
leads to Norfair. In the corridor, move down the ramp, and super jump back
towards the shaft (left) while in ball form. You'll just barely clear the upper
end of the ramp and smash through some Boost Blocks into a secret room from
earlier. You can also shinespark while in ball form, although it's difficult to
tell that you're doing so. This will occur directly after tearing through the
two brown Rippers, so make sure you press down on the Control Pad, or you'll
weakly fall short of your target farther left. It's possible (and probably
easier) to roll back through the last set of Boost Blocks before they
completely reappear, although you can also super jump through another set of
Boost Blocks near the ceiling if you miss this opportunity (don't forget to
shinespark on the other side). Once you're back on the right side of the room,
reuse the Super Jump from the lowest elevation to the right (be VERY careful
not to accidentally move back into the middle long shaft), and jump left again.
This takes you through the main shaft and even more Boost Blocks to a Super
Missile Tank. Afterwards, go down to Kraid to pick up a Missile Tank you
couldn't get earlier.

                                   ---------
                                   25--Kraid
                                   ---------

Once you're in the main shaft, head down to the second hatch on the left (just
below the Save Room). There's a Missile Tank hidden below the acid in this
room, but it's kind of tricky to get. Jump into the second acid pit past the
zip line, and clear away all the Fake Blocks down there. This takes you to a
narrow passageway running along the floor with two Boost Blocks covering the
other end of it. To break through them, you'll have to speed boost through the
narrow passageway WHILE MORPHED INTO THE BALL. To do this, speed boost to the
left, store the energy, and morph into the ball. Now, super jump into the ramp
on the right, and you'll perform a shinespark in ball form. Keep speed boosting
to the right while in ball form, and you'll break through the two Boost Blocks,
acquiring the Missile Tank. Additionally, you can store the energy from the
speed boost again and shoot yourself through a column of Boost Blocks rising up
from the center of the narrow passageway (you'll get back out to the main shaft
a little quicker). Once that's done, go back up into Brinstar.

                                 ------------
                                 26--Brinstar
                                 ------------

Head to the corridor where the game first began. You can use the hidden shaft
there to get back up to Crateria, although Pit Blocks and Boost Blocks will
prevent you from just space jumping up there. There's a Morph Ball launcher
underneath the platform where the game first began. You'll have to destroy the
layer of Bomb Blocks and Power Bomb Blocks (to save time, just use a Power
Bomb) that cover the platform to get down to the launcher. It'll shoot you
through the Boost Blocks in the ceiling and up into a room that looks like an
elevator shaft but has no elevator.

                                  ------------
                                  27--Crateria
                                  ------------

Once you hit the ceiling, move to the left, so you don't fall back down to
Brinstar. Take the hatch on the left into a short, empty corridor that leads to
the bottom of a fairly big room. Near the top, you'll come upon a strangely
discolored rock formation that's blocking your way up to the rest of the room.
You can blast through with a Power Bomb, and you'll find that this is part of
the escape route you took earlier. Follow the left path back into Tourian.

                                  -----------
                                  28--Tourian
                                  -----------

Upon re-entering Tourian, you get to see the aftermath of the bomb that went
off. Unfortunately, it seems that only three rooms were affected: The escape
shaft, Mother Brain's lair, and the corridor outside Mother Brain's lair. Also,
Rinkas will no longer appear in any part of Tourian. Drop down to what remains
of Mother Brain's lair. The lava in this room has turned into some kind of
weird, green goo that also acts as lava, except you aren't immune to it (even
with the Gravity Suit). There's a secret room under the area where Mother Brain
was fixated. Bomb the floor until, the Super Missile Block is revealed, and
destroy it. Below, you'll find a Power Bomb Tank. Next, head right towards the
Save Room at the end of the damaged corridor. From outside the Save Room, speed
boost back towards Mother Brain's lair, and jump through the doorway (the two
rows above the doorway are made up of Boost Blocks, so you'll have plenty of
leeway). The Space Jump will allow you to keep up the speed boost, as you jump
through Mother Brain's former lair into the escape shaft. Any columns in your
way, except the last one on the left, will be comprised entirely of Fake
Blocks, so you should be able to maintain the speed boost without too much
difficulty. Once you've made it into the escape shaft, break through the Boost
Blocks in the left wall to uncover a secret area (the Boost Blocks occupy the
same rows as the adjacent doorway and even have two extra rows on top). Your
reward is a lousy Missile Tank hidden in the floor near the Boost Blocks. Now,
you just have to attain the last couple of items in Crateria, and you can
return to the Space Pirate mother ship.

                                  ------------
                                  29--Crateria
                                  ------------

If you have the unfortunate luck of approaching the planet's surface from one
of its other entrances (e.g., from the elevator to Norfair), you'll have to go
through a few additional hoops before attaining the Power Bomb Tank hidden
there, and you should continue reading from the next paragraph. Move back up to
the suspiciously discolored rock formation, and proceed out to the planet's
surface in the next room. Be sure to speed boost through the wall out there
(don't take the obsolete, narrow passageway that bypasses the Boost Blocks),
and store the energy before running into anything. The good thing about this
puzzle is that--should you fail--you won't have to restart from another room,
since you've already cleared away a large enough running space near the hatch
on the left. With the energy stored from the speed boost, get over to the big,
rock formation by the hatch on the right as fast as you can (you may need to
shinespark and restore the energy, so you don't lose ability to super jump).
Now, morph into the ball, and super jump from the far-right space at the edge
of this rock formation: Pick the upper-left direction for the super jump (if
you just press the L Button, be careful to face the proper direction, although
you can always use the Control Pad to be completely sure). When executed
correctly, you'll break into the middle part of the massive left wall at an
angle, but you'll only penetrate a few spaces into this wall. Set off a Power
Bomb to create a narrow passageway that takes you to a Power Bomb Tank. With
that out of the way, take the upper hatch on the left side of this room into
the Chozo Ruins [1].

From the elevator to Norfair, set off a Power Bomb to destroy the two Power
Bomb Blocks on the floor in this corridor. This'll give you enough room to
speed boost into the room on the left, through the wall, and out onto the
surface of Zebes in the next room. Immediately after entering this room, press
down to store the energy from your speed boost. There are plenty of sloped
surfaces out there to shinespark back into a speed boost, but most of them lead
into a wall of some sort, so you'll need to be fast when restoring the energy.
Your goal will be a slope near the left of this room (it's close to where
your ship would've appeared) that levels out and sends you breaking through the
left wall--back towards the escape route you took earlier.

After breaking through the Boost Blocks, store the energy, and super jump into
a slope to the left (the reason you should break through the Boost Blocks along
the floor first is so that you won't have to go back through the last two rooms
to get a speed boost started). Now, head back over to the big, rock formation
by the hatch on the right as fast as you can (you may need to shinespark and
restore the energy, so you don't lose ability to super jump). Morph into the
ball, and super jump from the far-right space at the edge of this rock
formation: Pick the upper-left direction for the super jump (if you just press
the L Button, be careful to face the proper direction, although you can jump
backwards when using the Control Pad). When executed correctly, you'll break
into the middle part of the massive left wall at an angle, but you'll only
penetrate a few spaces into this wall. Set off a Power Bomb to create a narrow
passageway that takes you to a Power Bomb Tank. With that out of the way, take
the upper hatch on the left side of this room into the Chozo Ruins [1].

                              -------------------
                              30--Chozo Ruins [1]
                              -------------------

Head to the large room in the upper-right corner of Crateria (past where you
got the first Unknown Item), and open the Yellow Hatch in the right wall. This
leads into a corridor that puts you back in Chozodia. However, use the corridor
as running space to speed boost back out into the large room. Once you're back
in the large room, store the energy (you may just want to get this between
screens again), and quickly space jump to the ledge above you. Then, super jump
right into a slope, and you'll speed boost through a pillar of Boost Blocks,
acquiring a Super Missile Tank. While the "Super Missile Tank acquired" prompt
is displayed, hold down on the Control Pad, so you can restore the energy from
the speed boost. Next, super jump into the other side of the slope to the left,
and store the energy again. Quickly, drop to the platform against the right
wall, morph into the ball, and super jump left. This will send you through a
row of Boost Blocks and onto some Pit Blocks. These drop you into a secret
area, but make sure you move left as you fall, so you can collect the Missile
Tank before dropping through two more Pit Blocks. Otherwise, you'll have to
start all over. Once you're through the Pit Blocks, drop down to the platform
below, and screw attack through the wall on the right. This takes you back up
to the hatch that serves as a backdoor to Chozodia.

                              -------------------
                              31--Chozo Ruins [2]
                              -------------------

Move left, until you drop down into what appears to be a dead end. There's a
Power Bomb Tank hidden in the wall to the left. It's three spaces up from the
ground, and there's a Missile Block in front of it. There's another Missile
Block in the floor next to the right wall. Beneath it is a narrow passageway
with a Power Bomb Block at the end of it. This takes you back into the Chozo
temple--just past the room with the searchlights to be specific. Annoyingly,
there's a lone power-up deep in the heart of this temple that you couldn't get
before, so make your way back towards the room with the hieroglyphics. When you
reach the top of the nearby shaft with the eye-laser sensors, detonate a Power
Bomb to unseal the latter portion of the temple. The next place with one of
these obstacles will be the long shaft in the upper part of the temple, but
make sure to set off the Power Bomb in mid-air, so you can just barely clear
away another pile of these Chozo blocks directly above you. This obstacle was
blocking your entrance into the corridor with the three narrow passageways on
top of each other. Take the top narrow passageway to the right wall, and shoot
a Missile at the center of the ceiling. In the secret area above, you'll find a
Power Bomb Tank. With that out of the way, head back towards the Space Pirate
mother ship using the short cut through the lava-filled room.

                         ----------------------------
                         32--Space Pirate Mother Ship
                         ----------------------------

The next two items are in the lower section of the mother ship. Unfortunately,
you won't be able to super jump to the top of the long shaft past the glass
tube, since you no longer have the glass tube as running space for the speed
boost. Two rooms past the Save Room, move down to the Blue Hatch on the left
by shooting through the large Fake Block in the floor and the other one in the
floor below that. This takes you into the room where you first encountered the
searchlights. Enter the hatch at the bottom of this room. Here, use a Power
Bomb to get down to the area below, and go through the hatch on the right. This
puts you back in the room where first encountered the laser-beam trip wires.
From there, head back to the Map Room, and proceed through the Red Hatch on the
right. You'll be back in one of the corridors that you were sneaking through
earlier, except, now, you'll be able to engage the Space Pirates. The last
Super Missile Tank is hidden here in the ceiling above a Missile Block (look
for the cracked part of the ceiling). Next, go through the Green Hatch to the
right, and you'll be back outside the vessel. Head into the next room on the
right, and go to the upper-left corner (next to the Space Pirate mother ship).
Lay a Power Bomb to uncover the last Power Bomb Tank and a secret passage into
the mother ship. This takes you into a small room where a Pit Block prevents
you from going back outside. The room to the right is the one with trip wires
again. The last item lies two rooms away from the final boss, so go back up to
the bridge (to save time, take the same path you used to get down here and,
then, through the room with the three Space Pirates hiding under the floor).

Once you've reached the bridge, take the top-most hatch on the right side into
a corridor with a narrow passageway running through most of it. Use a Power
Bomb to open up the left side of this passageway, and enter the next room to
the right (there's also a secret passageway in the ceiling that goes around the
Power Bomb Blocks). The last Energy Tank and the final item in the game lies
below the floor, but, coincidentally, this may also be the most annoying
power-up to acquire. From the right side of the room (or even the next room),
speed boost to the left, and jump through Boost Blocks in the floor; the jump
should be very light. Now, comes the bad part: Space Jump to the right,
avoiding the laser-beam trip wires along the floor and the two along the
ceiling. You'll also have to go under two trip wires that run vertically. Past
the trip wires is the Energy Tank, but it's got a shutter in front of it. If
you make a single mistake, you'll have to leave the room to reset the shutter,
which means you'll have to start all over again. Getting this Energy Tank can,
literally, take hours. Getting past the two vertical trip wires will be hard
enough, but, then, you have to space jump horizontally between two wires that
are only four spaces apart. To get past the two vertical trip wires, make sure
that you're falling when you approach them so that you end up underneath them.
Immediately afterwards, space jump repeatedly, until you're out from underneath
it. You'll need to be very careful not to accidentally grab the side of the
trip wires, though, and pull yourself on top of them. For the horizontal trip
wires, you'll just need to repeatedly space jump as lightly as you can without
dropping too far down or rising too far up between each jump.

There's also an alternative way to get this Energy Tank that's much less
annoying: Use the running space above to build up another speed boost that you
can use to super jump past the trip wires. You just need to quickly get down
there with the energy stored, walk right off the platform, and super jump to
the right directly before breaking the laser beam (you may have problems
getting down there fast enough if the hole in the floor isn't that big). When
you acquire the Energy Tank, you may want to go back and save your game, as
there's nothing else left but to face the final boss.

The room to the right has a wall running through the center of it (also,
entering this room will automatically turn off the alarm). The middle of this
wall is filled with Pit Blocks (the bottom Pit Blocks are slow), and there's a
Fake Block in the middle of the wall that you'll use to get inside the wall. To
get out of the wall, lay a Bomb at the very bottom, and exit onto the right
side of the room. All that stands between you and the final boss is the Red
Hatch to the right.

                              ------------------
                              Boss--Ridley Robot
                              ------------------

I like to call this boss "mecha-Ridley," since it sounds much cooler than
"Ridley Robot." This boss gives you very little room as it is, but, then, it
gets even further up in your face if you don't repel each of its attacks. It
usually starts the battle by clawing at you with its mechanical arm. This
attack has enormous reach (pun intended), but it can be surprisingly easy to
dodge: You can space jump into the upper-left corner of the room, jump straight
up along the left wall (as long as you have the High-Jump), or kneel (or morph
into the ball) in the lower-left corner. Just watch for the Ridley Robot to
raise its hand, and immediately take the desired course of action. Also, when
the Ridley Robot swipes at you, this actually moves it closer to you, and
you'll have to damage the transparent covering on the Ridley Robot's chest to
get it to back off (it can't get any closer to you after this, though). If you
don't get it to move back onto the right side of the room, the Ridley Robot
will cover an even larger area with the next swipe of its claw. Fortunately,
you'll still be completely safe kneeling in that lower-left corner. However, as
far as jumping out of the way goes, you'll only be safe in the upper-left
corner, and you probably won't be able to get there in time, since you'll have
to start moving towards this spot BEFORE you see the Ridley Robot even raise
its hand (and there's no sure-fire way to predict this).

The Ridley Robot's weak spot is the red instrument on its chest, but it's
protected by that transparent covering. Only Missiles and Super Missiles will
work on this covering, and you'll have to wait, until the Ridley Robot's head
and claw are out of the way. If you're running low on Missiles/Super Missiles
(less than five Missiles and no Super Missiles), the Ridley Robot will
eventually launch a wave of three heat-seeking missiles at you. If you happen
to destroy any of them, they may leave items behind (they won't drop anything
if they just run into the wall, though). Shooting these missiles can be tricky
because the Ridley Robot may claw at you during this attack. As a counter
measure against this possibility, you should either use the Screw Attack while
space jumping into the upper corner or shoot them immediately after being
launched.

If you have collected every item, the Ridley Robot will have more life than
usual. Normally, it will begin launching fireballs from its mouth after the
covering gets hit with three Missiles, but, with your items maxed out, it'll
take eight Missiles to usher in this next phase. These fireballs are shot
towards both the upper-left corner and the lower-left corner and form a "V."
This attack is easy to dodge, since you can just space jump between the lines
of fireballs. The Ridley Robot has a tendency to use this attack repeatedly
before clawing at you again. Normally, it takes ten Missiles to destroy the
covering, but with all the items, it takes thirty Missiles. Important--if the
Ridley Robot is already on the left side of the room when the covering gets
destroyed, it won't back off unless damaged again (additionally, don't waste a
Super Missile destroying the, as the extra damage won't carry over).

Once the red instrument is unguarded, the Ridley Robot will start shooting eye
beams at you and no longer use the fireball attack. The Ridley Robot will make
a decent effort to hit you with the eye beams the first time it uses them, but
it will just reuse the same pattern for almost the rest of the battle. In other
words, if you're space jumping in the upper-left corner when the Ridley Robot
is about to shoot the eye beams, it will shoot towards that same spot every
other time, regardless of where you stand (the position of its head will affect
each shot, though). At this point, the Ridley Robot will launch the wave of
three missiles on a regular basis (usually, after shooting the eye beams,
although both attacks can be used at the same time). Like the fireballs, the
Ridley Robot can repeatedly attack with both the missiles and the eye beams.
Again, only Missiles, and Super Missiles will work on the little red thingy on
its chest. If you want to sneak in a few more missiles, get the Ridley Robot to
lift its head out of the way by jumping to the top of the room; this will keep
its weak spot exposed. As it suffers more and more damage, it will increase the
battle tempo by launching more and more waves of missiles while attacking with
the eye beams more frequently (sooner or later it will change the shooting
pattern for the eye beams). Again, space jumping into the upper corner in
conjunction with the Screw Attack is the best way to deal with this situation,
but you'll have to dodge the eye beams while doing so. Still, put more emphasis
on getting the Ridley Robot back onto the right side of the room after each
attack. About the time it turns purple, the Ridley Robot will guard its chest
more closely by covering it with its claw and head (although you can still get
it to lift its head by space jumping high enough).Normally, the Ridley Robot
takes eighteen Missiles to defeat, but, with one-hundred percent of the items,
it takes fifty-four Missiles.

                                --------------
                                33--The Escape
                                --------------

Of course, it wouldn't be Metroid without some kind of crazy bomb going off
after you beat the final boss. You'll have five minutes to get to the hangar
where the Space Pirate fighter ships are docked. This is plenty of time, so
there's no need to panic. However, on hard, you'll only have three minutes, so
get there as fast as you can without being reckless. Just outside of the Ridley
Robot's room, shoot the Fake Block in the top space of the wall to the left and
the Fake Block on the other side of the wall (so you don't have to lay a Bomb
inside the wall to get out). Inside the wall, you'll drop through regular Pit
Blocks, until you reach the hole in the other side of the wall. Make sure you
don't fall any further through the slow Pit Blocks below, or you'll have to re-
enter the wall again. Two rooms ahead, a shutter will block your way to the
other side of the room, but there's a secret passageway above it.

Just about every other room after this will be the exact same (except with the
alarm going off). Also, you can only take a linear path to the hangar, as all
other routes have been blocked off. The Ridley Robot should've dropped enough
energy to completely restore you, but if, you happen to need any more, you can
get it from the few Probes along the way (unless you're playing on easy, where
you wouldn't need the extra energy anyway). When you get to the room with the
alternating Bomb Blocks and Fake Blocks, go up into the area with the robot by
shooting the Fake Blocks on the left side of the room. You can build up a speed
boost above the narrow passageways, but you have to wait on the Work Robot to
get out of the way (again, shoot Super Missiles/Missiles to get it out of the
way quicker). This will break the two Boost Blocks to the right, dropping you
down to the exit. However, you can store the energy, take it into the shaft to
the right, and shinespark your way up the shaft. Immediately after entering the
next room (the large room with the Work Robot blocking the passage near the
ceiling), you can super jump in ball form to the right, breaking through every
wall in the room and rocketing through the next room until reaching the hangar.
This is hard to pull off, but it saves you a tremendous amount of time. If
you're going to take the regular way to the hangar, though, you'll notice that
something has been changed in the room outside of the hangar. It's actually for
the better, as the two uber Space Pirates have been replaced with just regular
Space Pirates, and (if you're playing on normal or hard difficulty) two of
those Probes have also been thrown in for good measure.

Once you've reached the hangar, eliminate the Space Pirate that's following you
into the room through the narrow passageway. There are two black Space Pirates
waiting in front of the emergency shutter below. If you're running low on
energy, try luring one of them up to the top of the room, and taking them out
one at a time. They'll see you once you're standing near the ledge above them,
but they take a few seconds to react to your presence. Once you get the first
one to the top of the room, the other one will be on its way shortly, so make
the most of the situation. After defeating both black Space Pirates, the
emergency shutter will open. You'll have to fight one last Space Pirate before
hijacking the fighter ship: As you get near the vessel, the door will open, and
a red Space Pirate will jump out. If you're shooting repeatedly while moving
towards the ship, you'll destroy it before it even has a chance to do anything.
Then, jump into the fighter ship and, you'll have beaten the game.

After beating the game you'll be awarded a gallery picture based on your clear
time and whether or not you collected one-hundred percent of the items (see the
"Endings" sub-section of section 5 for further details). The Samus icon will
also appear next to your save file. This will add two extra features to the Map
screen: A timer displaying your game time and a list containing the number of
Energy Tanks, Missile Tanks, Super Missile Tanks, and Power Bomb Tanks in each
region. This will show both the power-ups you've already acquired and the ones
that haven't been found yet. Additionally, you can also start the game over
from the very beginning without losing the Samus icon. Difficulties that you've
already beaten on the same save file will appear in yellow text, although
there's no reward for beating every difficulty on the same save file.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.A.) SKIPPING THE LONG BEAM</pre><pre id="faqspan-6">
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You don't actually need the Long Beam to get into Brinstar's second long shaft.
As you're going up the first long shaft, you'll notice a hatch on the right
side that's sectioned off from the rest of the shaft. There's also an outlined
chunk of rocks that can obviously be destroyed to reach the hatch on the right,
but you won't be able to shoot all of them out of the way. However, there are
some Fake Blocks in the floor above the Blue Hatch (two to four spaces away
from the right wall) that lead down to this hatch. The game will be more
challenging than usual, as your range will be drastically limited, and your
firepower will be much weaker than it's supposed to be. In places where an
enemy is guarding a ledge that's inaccessible in any other way (e.g., the
Mellow hives), or just when you need the range to shoot across a pit of some
sort (e.g., acid pits with pillars of Fake Blocks in them), you'll just barely
be able to get close enough to shoot the target and proceed through the game.
With that out of the way, continue reading from the third paragraph after the
one titled "Long Beam."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.B.) ACQUIRING THE VARIA SUIT EARLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's possible to get the Varia Suit as soon as you've obtained the Bomb power-
up, although it'll be much harder to do without the Power Grip, Ice Beam, or
High-Jump. First of all, you'll need to have the timing down for the bomb jump
technique. Second, you'll need to know how to bomb jump diagonally. Both of
these are covered in section 2.B if you're unfamiliar with them.

The Varia Suit is located in Brinstar. Go to the top of the middle long shaft,
and take the hatch to the right into a long corridor with two green Skrees, a
purple Zoomer, and a yellow Zoomer. There will be two metal columns in your
way, though. The first one you can just roll under with the Morph Ball, but
you'll need to shoot the red stripe on the other one to get it to move out of
the way. Past the metal columns are two Bomb Blocks and four narrow passageways
that are stacked on top of each other. Take the top passageway, but be careful
for yellow Zoomers in it (use Bombs to eliminate any Zoomers in these
passageways, but avoid doing this on top of Fake Blocks). Once you're out of
the passageway, jump over the acid pit to a platform with a yellow Zoomer on
it, and proceed to the hatch on the right. If you have the Ice Beam, go to the
second paragraph after this one. Otherwise, continue reading. Enter the next
room, and take out the Waver. In the ceiling, there will be two columns of Fake
Blocks situated four and five spaces away from the door on the right (three
Fake Blocks in each column for a total of six). Quickly, shoot away one column
of these Fake Blocks, and bomb jump your way up there. You won't have any time
to fumble around with the Bombs, since the Fake Blocks will reappear just as
you're passing through them. In the secret area above, the floor on the left
side is comprised of Pit Blocks, so the only way to get to the ledge on the
left side is bomb jumping again, though diagonally this time. If you don't get
the Bomb jump started on your first try, wait for the Fake Blocks to reappear
before trying again. Once on this ledge, shoot the Fake Block above you, and
bomb jump up there as well. (there's a Waver up there that may interfere with
this process). Again, the Fake Blocks will reappear, so get the Bomb jump
started on your first or second try. Once you're up there, go through the hatch
on the left.

Inside the next room are two Living Barriers which are strange, pillar-like
organisms that block your way. Wait for some Parasites to come out of the
ceiling and slowly destroy the two obstacles for you. This is the only way to
remove these things, but they don't re-spawn upon re-entering a room, like
regular enemies, so you'll only have to deal with them once. Bomb yourself
through the hole on the left. A structure hangs from the ceiling over the
immense acid pit to the left, and you'll need to utilize the Bomb jump
technique again to get up into the structure. Start the Bomb jump from the tip
of the lower ledge, and move left into the passageway directly before hitting
the ceiling. Roll leftwards, and drop down onto a Pit Block. This Pit Block
will hold together a little longer than others, so use this limited time to
bomb jump up to the passageway on the left. The next Pit Block will drop you
next to the platform below, so you can just roll left onto it as you fall. Now,
go to the very left edge of this platform, and bomb jump diagonally to the
left. Your goal will be the narrow passageway near the ceiling, but it's far
enough away that you'll probably need to delay the timing for each Bomb, so you
can get the maximum distance out of it. If things go awry, try to land on one
of the four platforms. These are actually slow Pit Blocks, so move back to the
platform quickly after landing on them. If you fall into the acid, however, the
only way to get out is to the right where you first began bomb jumping in this
room. If you find that this is too difficult, you may want to try bomb jumping
from one of the slow Pit Block platforms. Though, you'll have to get it started
on your first try. When you get inside the passageway near the ceiling, move to
the end, and fall through the Pit Block, but move left as you do so. Drop down
to the platform above the acid, and blast the row of Bomb Blocks in the wall to
the left (four spaces up). This will release some Parasites onto another Living
Barrier. Wait until they destroy it. Then, proceed left through the hole in the
wall (there's a Pit Block below this hole that will drop you into the acid, so
be careful of it), and fire a Missile at the Red Hatch to the left. Inside this
Item Room lies the Varia Suit. Skip the next two paragraphs.

Enter the next room in Morph Ball form, and pass under the Waver. In the
ceiling, there will be two columns of Fake Blocks situated four and five spaces
away from the door on the right (three Fake Blocks in each column for a total
of six). Quickly shoot away these Fake Blocks before the Waver makes its next
pass across this short corridor. If you pull this off quick enough, the Waver
will go directly into the gap you just created, and continue up into a secret
area. Follow it up there by grabbing onto a hidden ledge on the left side of
the gap you just created and pulling yourself up there. The floor on the left
side is comprised of Pit Blocks, so you're going to need to freeze the Waver,
and use it to get to the ledge on the left side. Make sure the Waver is in the
right spot because you'll only get to freeze it once before your next shot
destroys it (unless you skipped the Long Beam). Once on this ledge, shoot the
two Fake Blocks above you, and wait for another Waver to come down from the
area you opened up (the Fake Blocks will reappear, so keep the area opened up,
but be careful not to shoot the Waver prematurely). Use this Waver as another
platform to reach the hatch above you on the left.

Inside the next room are two Living Barriers which are strange, pillar-like
organisms that block your way. Wait for some Parasites to come out of the
ceiling and slowly destroy the two obstacles for you. This is the only way to
remove these things, but they don't re-spawn upon re-entering a room, like
regular enemies, so you'll only have to deal with them once. Bomb yourself
through the hole on the left, and jump over the acid to grab the ledge near the
ceiling. Pull yourself into the narrow passageway, roll leftwards, and drop
down onto a Pit Block. This Pit Block will hold together a little longer than
others, so use this limited time to jump up and grab the next ledge (as you're
falling onto the Pit Block, you should be unmorphing out of the ball form to
speed things up). Repeat this process once more, and a Pit Block will drop you
on a platform in the middle of the acid. To the left, there are four more of
these slow Pit Blocks (one of them is just barely level with the acid, so it's
hard to see). Use them as platforms to get across the acid once more. When you
get to the end, fall into the acid, quickly move left, and pull yourself up
onto the ledge a few spaces away from the wall. Now, bomb jump up to the row of
Bomb Blocks in the wall to the left (four spaces up), and blast them apart.
This will release some Parasites onto another Living Barrier. Wait until they
destroy it. Then, proceed left through the hole in the wall (there's a Pit
Block below this hole that will drop you into the acid, so be careful of it),
and fire a Missile at the Red Hatch to the left. Inside this Item Room lies the
Varia Suit.

After attaining the Varia Suit, your armor will change to an orange color, and
you will no longer take any damage from acid. Also, the Varia Suit reduces
damage taken from enemy attacks by a fifth. Now that you have the Varia Suit,
there will be a few changes to the enemies in the surrounding rooms: In the
corridor a few rooms back, most of the yellow Zoomers and both of the Skrees
will have disappeared, but a few purple Zoomers have taken their place. Also,
some Parasites will appear at the right end of the corridor with the Zoomers
(in a narrow passageway near the ceiling) and another group appears in the room
to the left of the Save room (in a secret area at the right end of the room).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.C.) DEFEATING KRAID EARLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once you've obtained the Bomb power-up, it's possible to enter Kraid's lair
and defeat him without further aid from additional power-ups. You'll need to
know how to bomb jump (both diagonally and regularly) to do this, but it'll
also help to know how to wall jump. If you're unfamiliar with either of these
techniques, refer to section 2.B.

Once inside Kraid's hideout, you can either activate the power for the zip
lines and, then, head towards Kraid, or you can skip the zip lines completely
and go straight to Kraid. If you wish to head straight for Kraid, skip to
the next paragraph. Otherwise, make your way to the power station for the zip
lines, and continue reading. Completing this objective isn't the least bit
difficult, until you shoot yourself to the middle of the room with Morph Ball
launcher. Without the Power Grip ability, you'll have to resort to either the
wall jump (preferred since it's quicker and easier), or the Bomb jump to get to
the top of the left wall with the alcoves in it. From there, you HAVE to bomb
jump up to the hatch on the left. The next room is the really tricky part,
though: You'll need to get through an annoying narrow passageway near the
ceiling, except two regenerating Fake Blocks cover the entrance to the
passageway, and it's above an acid pit. Also, the acid pit dispenses Geegas,
though only one at a time. To put a tentative stop to the Geega activity, kill
them until one drops an item, but don't pick it up. Now, shoot both Fake
Blocks, and do your best to bomb jump diagonally through the passageway. The
best place to start the Bomb jump from seems to be about half a space away from
the acid pit. It may also help you to bomb jump to the wall and integrate into
a vertical Bomb jump along the wall. If you don't get the Bomb jump started on
the first try, just wait for the Fake Blocks to reappear because you won't have
enough time to get through (don't forget about the Geegas reappearing either).
Once you succeed in doing this, continue on towards the power station, and
defeat the Acid Worm. Then, head back to the main shaft, and go through the
Blue Hatch beneath the Save Room like normal. Here, you'll have to bomb jump
diagonally over another acid pool into another narrow passageway occupied by
regenerating Fake Blocks but without the aggravation of dealing with periodic
Geegas. You only have to shoot the first Fake Block, to get in the passageway,
but you'll have to bomb jump from one of the two Fake Blocks that forms a floor
over the right side of the acid pit. Once you're successful, it's pretty much
the usual routine to get to Kraid. There's a few places where you'll have to
bomb jump a short distance up to narrow passageways (all of them outside of the
Item Room containing the Unknown Item), but that's about it. If you have any
problems anywhere along the way, refer to part 8 of the walkthrough.

In order to skip powering up the zip lines, you'll either need the Power Grip
item, or you'll need to know how to bomb jump horizontally. Regardless, enter
the second hatch down on the left from the elevator to Kraid's hideout. Without
the Power Grip, you'll have to bomb jump diagonally over an acid pool into a
narrow passageway occupied by regenerating Fake Blocks. You only have to shoot
the first Fake Block, to get in the passageway, but you'll have to bomb jump
from one of the two Fake Blocks that forms a floor over the right side of the
acid pit. Towards the middle of this room, you'll come across five large Fake
Blocks over a giant acid pit. With the Power Grip, you can climb onto one of
these large Fake Blocks and bomb yourself to the next large Fake Block.
However, these large Fake Blocks are only a single space down from the ceiling,
so you'll need to get right at the very edge of them (it'll look like you're
hovering in the space between the large Fake Blocks) before laying the Bomb
that will knock you to the next one. Obviously, you'll need to do this on your
first try because the Bombs will destroy the blocks. Once you get to the last
large Fake Block, move to the extreme-left end of it, and lay two quick Bombs.
When they go off, move left towards the platform at the end of the acid pit,
and unmorph, so you can grab onto the ledge. The extra Bomb blast should keep
you in the air long enough to move a little further left towards the platform.
If you don't have the Power Grip, just destroy all of these large Fake Blocks,
and bomb jump horizontally over the acid pit. Once you're successful, it's
pretty much the usual routine to get to Kraid. Without the Power Grip, there's
a few places where you'll have to bomb jump a short distance up to narrow
passageways (all of them outside of the Item Room containing the Unknown Item),
but that's about it. If you have any problems anywhere along the way, refer to
part 8 of the walkthrough.

After you've defeated Kraid, though, you need to pick up the Speed Booster in
order to get past the room with the green Rios. To do this, build up a speed
boost in the room below the green Rios by running out into the shaft to the
right. Once there, store the energy from the speed boost, and quickly spin jump
up to the Blue Hatch on the left (without the Power Grip, you'll need to wall
jump in order to get there in time). Then, open the hatch, and super jump left
through the green-Rio room before the speed boost energy dissipates. If you
don't have the Power Grip, you'll need to spin jump about two spaces up into
the air, cancel the spin jump (press down, up, or the B Button), and super jump
left through the room with the green Rios. You'll hit the left wall of this
room and fall towards the acid. If you perform the Super Jump high enough in
the air, though, you'll be able to land on the tiny platform at the end of the
inactive zip line. Otherwise, you'll need the Power Grip to grab onto this
platform. Shortly afterwards, the swarm of green Rios will catch up with you,
but you'll have enough time to situate yourself onto the tiny platform and
shoot away the mystery blcok to the left. From there, just head left through
the narrow passageway, and you'll be back out in the main shaft.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.D.) ACQUIRING THE SUPER MISSILES EARLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are five different Super Missile Tanks that you can obtain early on.
Three of these can already be acquired when defeating Ridley early, so those
are covered in the next section. Also, the first of the three Super Missile
Tanks in Ridley can be acquired much faster--when starting from the beginning
of the game--than the Super Missile Tanks covered in this section. That being
said, there doesn't seem to be much of a practical use for getting these two
Super Missile Tanks early. The only thing it's good for is taking the long way
through Ridley's hideout but skipping Imago. Anyhow, these are the Super
Missile Tank in Brinstar and the one in Crateria.

For the one in Brinstar, you'll need the Speed Booster and the High-Jump. Just
head to the corridor that leads into Norfair, and build up a speed boost into
the bottom of the middle long shaft. Then, head back into the last room to the
lower part of the floor--a few spaces in front of the hatch. Next, open the
hatch, morph into ball form, and super jump left back into the middle shaft.
You'll just barely clear the upper end of the ramp and smash through some Boost
Blocks into a secret room. Directly after tearing through the two brown
Rippers, you'll shinespark (while still in Morph Ball form, although there
aren't any visible indications of this) so make sure you press down, or you'll
weakly fall short of your target in the main shaft to the left. It's possible
(and probably easier) to roll back through the last set of Boost Blocks before
they completely reappear. You can also super jump through another set of Boost
Blocks near the ceiling of this secret room if you missed that opportunity
(don't forget to shinespark on the other side). Once you're back on the right
side of the room, reuse the Super Jump from the lowest elevation to the right
(be VERY careful not to accidentally move back into the middle long shaft), and
jump left again. This takes you through the Brinstar's main shaft and even more
Boost Blocks to a Super Missile Tank.

For the Super Missile Tank in Crateria, you'll need only the Speed Booster. Go
to the area directly above the Item Room where you found Unknown Item [1].
There's enough running space up there to get a speed boost started, but do it
so that you're running towards the pillars on the right. Once you've started
speed boosting, store the energy, and quickly wall jump up along the first
pillar. From the top of this pillar, super jump to the left, and you should
shinespark back into a speed boost on a small ledge against the left wall.
Before running into the wall, store the energy again. Now, you'll need to spin
jump about two spaces up into the air, break out of the spin jump (press down,
up, or the B Button), and super jump to the right immediately afterwards. If
you do it correctly, you'll shinespark back into another speed boost on a ledge
against the right wall, and you'll break through some Boost Blocks which are
protecting a Super Missile Tank.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.E.) DEFEATING RIDLEY EARLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Power Grip is required to defeat Ridley early, and you'll have to pass the
Ice Beam to get to Ridley, but you don't necessarily need it (although, you do
need the Ice Beam to get past the Metroids in Tourian). If you don't plan on
using the Ice Beam to reach Ridley, you'll need to know how to bomb jump (both
diagonally and regularly) and wall jump instead. If you're unfamiliar with
either of these techniques, refer to section 2.B.

Once you've obtained the Power Grip, you'll be able to access Norfair's main
shaft which is where you'll find a secret route to Ridley's hideout: An
auxiliary shaft to the right of the main shaft. This early in the game, the
only way into this secret shaft is at the very top of the main shaft. If you
have any problems getting there, refer to part 6 of the walkthrough. Once
you're in the section at the top of the main shaft, kill the purple Nova, and
freeze the brown Ripper against the right wall. Jump onto the Ripper, but avoid
stepping on the floor within three spaces of the right wall (they're Pit
Blocks). There's a Missile Block in the top space of the right wall that leads
into the secret shaft. Without the Ice Beam, though, you'll just have to
jump over the Pit Blocks whenever the Ripper is on the other side of the room
and grab onto the wall. Upon entering the secret shaft, you'll drop down a
narrow tunnel to solid ground, but you'll be cut off from the area to the right
that will take you down the rest of the shaft. There's a narrow passageway of
Bomb Blocks above that connects to the next tunnel, so you'll need to bomb jump
your way up there (it helps to blast the first Bomb Block when initially
dropping down to this area). Once you're in the second tunnel, shoot the Fake
Block above, and use the alcoves on each side to climb up to the top of the
tunnel. Then, take the long drop to the bottom of the shaft where you'll find a
red Gamet pit. To the left there's a narrow passageway with a Missile Block at
the end of it. This leads back out into the main shaft (if you're out of
Missiles, shoot the Gamets until they leave some behind). From there, you can
either get the High-Jump item or sneak into Ridley's hideout. To go after
Ridley, skip to the next paragraph. Otherwise, continue reading. At the bottom
of the main shaft, shoot the Missile Block behind the Missile Tank, and
navigate your way through the narrow passageway to the area above. Then, you'll
need to wall jump up along the right side of the main shaft past a Missile Tank
to a narrow passageway that connects to the other side of the shaft. There, a
Blue Hatch on the left leads into a corridor with some Gerutas on the ceiling
and lava along the floor. At the end of this corridor is the Item Room where
the High-Jump is located.

At the bottom of the main shaft, head left through the Save Room and the
corridor filled with tendrils. Just past the corridor, destroy the "Spore
Spawn" Vines, and enter Ridley's hideout like you normally would (if you didn't
pick up the Ice Beam, you'll have to wall jump to shoot the Vines for the Spore
Spawn battle). If you have any trouble with this part, refer to the paragraph
titled "Mini-Boss--'Spore Spawn'" in part 12 of the walkthrough. After entering
Ridley's hideout, there are two ways to reach him: The normal way through the
wasp mini-boss (the long way), or the super-cool, secret way (the short cut).

To take the normal way, where you fight Imago, refer to part 13 of the
walkthrough, and, once you've defeated Ridley, continue reading from second
paragraph after this one. Otherwise, get off the elevator after arriving in
Ridley, and go through the hatch at the bottom-right. This room appears to be a
dead end, but there's actually two secret passageways in the ceiling that leads
to another room. However, one of the passageways is sealed with a Missile
Block, and you'll only be able to open it on your way back. The passageway that
you CAN use is in the left side of the ceiling two spaces away from the wall.
You'll need to open it with a Missile, though. Afterwards, there's a large Fake
Block above it that you'll also need to shoot. Then, you can either bomb jump
your way up there, or freeze one of the Zebbos from the pit on the right side
of the room to get up there. Once you're up in the ceiling, you just need to
set off a chain reaction of Bomb Blocks further above you and follow the
resulting passageway to an area with some Holtzes. From there, move left then
down to the bottom of this room then left again. This takes you past another
Zebbo pit and two Violas to a hatch on the right. On the other side is the
shaft that runs along the right side of Ridley's hideout.

In the long shaft, you'll just have to bomb through the floor down to the
right, fall through a Pit Block, and enter the first hatch to your left. The
three platforms over each pit in this room are made of Fake Blocks, so be
careful not to shoot them (if you fall into the pit on the far-left, the only
way to get out is to wall jump). Use Missiles on the Dessgeegas, and avoid
dealing with any of the yellow Zebbos. Two rooms past this corridor is a shaft
with two Violas going around a column. Falling down the shaft takes you to
Ridley, but making it to the other side of the shaft without falling down will
take you to a Super Missile Tank (which should really help you out when
fighting Ridley this early). To get across the shaft, eliminate one Viola, and
freeze the other on the right side of the column but towards the bottom of it
too. Then, jump onto the Viola, and grab onto the other side of the column. If
you're doing this without the Ice Beam, it's possible to wall jump off of this
column or bomb jump diagonally onto it, but you'll probably have a very
frustrating time succeeding. From there, you'll be able to safely jump to the
platform on the left side. This leads into a corridor with some more
Dessgeegas. Again, use Missiles, but try to take some of them out with your
beam weapon first, as you'll need to come back through this room again, and
you'll need even more Missiles. Past this is a room containing the Super
Missile Tank. After acquiring it, head back to the shaft and drop down to the
bottom. From there, move left through some rooms until you pick up the Unknown
Item. If needed, use the Chozo Statue to refill your energy and ammunition.
Then, go back into the last room, and you'll fight Ridley. If you have any
trouble with this part, refer to the third paragraph before the one titled
"Boss--Ridley" in part 13 of the walkthrough.

After defeating Ridley, you'll have problems getting through the next room: The
exit is behind a wall, and you can't jump high enough to reach the upper-right
corner of the room. If you have the Ice Beam, freeze a Zebbo to get up there
(you'll need to jump high to get it frozen close enough to the ledge up there,
though). Otherwise, destroy the Zebbo, and bomb jump up there while the next
Zebbo is waiting on the item from the first Zebbo to disappear. Then, move
right until you're in a corridor with many enemies trapped under a platform and
a wall that separates you from the hatch on the right. You won't have to deal
with the enemies, so just shoot the large Fake Block in the upper part of the
wall, and continue on into the next room. There, you can take a secret passage
under the floor (to find it, shoot the floor at the left side of the room just
before it rises to a slightly higher elevation) to a narrow passageway that
leads out into the right shaft. Go back up the way you came in, shooting the
mystery block to get to the top of the shaft, and head towards the elevator
shaft.

*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
4.) ZEBESIAN REGIONS
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

Since the walkthrough is broken up by region, this section may help you find
any missed or overlooked items, although this information can essentially be
obtained from your map after you've beaten the game.

                                   --------
                                   Brinstar
                                   --------

POWER-UPS
--Morph Ball
--Long Beam
--Charge Beam
--Bomb
--Varia Suit
--3 Energy Tanks
--10 Missile Tanks
--1 Super Missile Tank

FACILITIES
--4 Save Rooms
--8 Chozo Statues
--4 Elevators (one leads to Norfair, one leads to Kraid, one leads to
  Tourian, and one leads to Crateria, but it's just a shaft with no elevator)
--1 Map Room

                                    -------
                                    Norfair
                                    -------

POWER-UPS
--Ice Beam
--High-Jump
--Wave Beam
--Screw Attack
--1 Energy Tanks
--13 Missile Tanks
--2 Super Missile Tanks
--1 Power Bomb Tank

FACILITIES
--5 Save Rooms
--7 Chozo Statues (one of these is broken)
--3 Elevators (one leads to Brinstar, one leads to Crateria, and one leads
  to Ridley)

                                   --------
                                   Crateria
                                   --------

POWER-UPS
--Unknown Item [1] (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [1])
--Power Grip (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [1])
--3 Missile Tanks (two are in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [1])
--1 Super Missile Tank (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [1])
--1 Power Bomb Tank

FACILITIES
--1 Save Room (this is actually your space ship)
--1 Chozo Statue (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [1])
--3 Elevators (one leads to Norfair, one leads to Tourian, and one leads to
  Brinstar, but it's just a shaft with no elevator)

                                     -----
                                     Kraid
                                     -----

POWER-UPS
--Unknown Item [2]
--Speed Booster
--2 Energy Tanks
--9 Missile Tanks

FACILITIES
--5 Save Rooms
--2 Chozo Statues
--1 Elevator (it leads to Brinstar)
--1 Map Room

                                    ------
                                    Ridley
                                    ------

POWER-UPS
--Unknown Item [3]
--3 Energy Tanks
--13 Missile Tanks
--3 Super Missile Tanks

FACILITIES
--4 Save Rooms
--1 Chozo Statue
--1 Elevator (it leads to Norfair)
--1 Map Room

                                    -------
                                    Tourian
                                    -------

POER-UPS
--1 Missile Tank
--1 Power Bomb Tank

FACILITIES
--3 Save Rooms
--2 Elevators (one leads to Brinstar, and the other leads to Crateria)

                                   --------
                                   Chozodia
                                   --------

POWER-UPS
--Plasma Beam (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--Gravity Suit (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--Space Jump (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--3 Energy Tanks (one is in the sub-region Space Pirate Mother Ship, and
  another is in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--1 Missile Tank (in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--8 Super Missile Tanks (three are in the sub-region Space Pirate Mother
  Ship, and another three are in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--6 Power Bomb Tanks (four are in the sub-region Space Pirate Mother Ship,
  and two are in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])

FACILITIES
--8 Save Rooms (four are in the sub-region Space Pirate Mother Ship, and
  three are in the sub-region Chozo Ruins [2])
--1 Map Room (in the sub-region Space Pirate Mother Ship)

*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
5.) SECRETS
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

                           ------------------------
                           Endings/Gallery Pictures
                           ------------------------

Right after the credits, you'll see Samus in several poses before a final pose
is revealed to you. The final pose is based on the collection percentage of the
items in conjunction with your clear time. If you beat the game on easy, you
always see Samus in full armor. Also, on normal and hard, if you don't collect
one-hundred percent of the items AND take four or more hours to beat the game,
you'll see Samus in full armor as well. If you beat the game on normal or hard,
and you don't collect one-hundred percent of the items BUT take between two and
four hours to beat the game, you'll see Samus in full armor but without her
helmet. If you beat the game on normal or hard, and you either collected one-
hundred percent of the items or take less than two hours to beat the game,
you'll see Samus in her emergency space suit. You'll also see Samus in her
emergency space suit if you completed the game with fifteen percent of the
items or less. Additionally, you are awarded a gallery picture after this final
pose which is based on these same factors:

Samus wearing full armor--beat the game on easy, or beat the game without
getting one-hundred percent of the items in over four hours.

Samus wearing full armor with her helmet off--beat the game on normal or hard
without getting one-hundred percent of the items in between two and four hours.

Samus wearing emergency space suit--beat the game on normal or hard without
getting one-hundred percent of the items in under two hours.

Samus walking through a city--beat the game on normal or hard, getting one-
hundred percent of the items.

Samus in a bar--beat the game on normal, getting one-hundred percent of the
items in under two hours.

Samus looking down at a city--beat the game on hard, getting one-hundred
percent of the items in under two hours.

Samus sitting on a window sill--beat the game on normal, collecting fifteen
percent of the items or less.

Samus wearing full armor with an image of Samus wearing her city clothes in the
background--beat the game on hard, collecting fifteen percent of the items or
less.

Once you've unlokced a gallery picture, you can view it in the options menu on
the Samus Data screen. Once you've unlocked all eight of the gallery pictures,
the text for the "GALLERY" option will turn yellow, like the difficulty
settings that you've beat on each save file.

                                  -----------
                                  Unlockables
                                  -----------

Unlock gallery pictures--beat the game under the specifications outlined in the
above sub-section (each gallery picture is unlocked individually).

Unlock the Metroid Fusion gallery--download the Metroid Fusion gallery from a
copy of Metroid Fusion (gallery does not already have to be unlocked on the
Metroid Fusion cartridge). To do this, you'll need two Game Boy Advances (or
GameCubes with Game Boy Players), a copy of Metroid Fusion, a copy of Metroid
Zero Mission, and a Game Boy Advance Link Cable. Now, follow these steps:

--make sure that both systems are hooked up to a power source (e.g., double A
  batteries or an AC Adapter plugged into a standard 120-volt AC wall outlet)
--insert the Metroid Fusion cartridge into one system, and insert Metroid Zero
  Mission into the other one
--connect the system with the Metroid Zero Mission cartridge to the purple end
  of the Game Boy Advance Link Cable, and connect the system with the Metroid
  Fusion cartridge to the gray end of the link cable
--power on Metroid Fusion, but immediately hold down Start and Select, until
  the Nintendo logo disappears (the Game Boy logo will remain, though)
--power on Metroid Zero Mission, and bring up the options menu
--highlight the "METROID FUSION LINK" option in this menu, and press the
  A Button

This will begin the data transfer, so don't turn the power off for either game,
and keep the link cable still, until the transfer is complete. If the transfer
fails, re-check the connections on the link cable, power off both games, and
try again. Once sucessful, the "METROID FUSION LINK" option will change to
"METROID FUSION GALLERY."

Unlock the original Metroid--beat the game on any difficulty.

Unlock the hard difficulty--beat the game on normal.

Unlock the sound test--beat the game on hard.

                                  ----------
                                  Soft Reset
                                  ----------

You can "soft reset" the game at any point by pressing or holding the A Button,
the B Button, Start, and Select simultaneously.

                -----------------------------------------------
                Kid Icarus' Correlation to Metroid Zero Mission
                -----------------------------------------------

WARNING--SPOILERS AHEAD! This was discovered by Kong IV (GameFAQs user name)
who originally posted this on the GameFAQs message board. Here is the post in
its entirity:

Kong IV | Posted: 4/3/2004 11:40:54 PM | Message Detail

Kid Icarus was for all intents and purposes the 'sister game' of Metroid. Both
were released in the same year, back to back, and both contained the password
system that many of us are still intimately familiar with. And both were done
by the same development dudes. Hey, Metroids even made a cameo appearance in
Kid Icarus's sky level. But unlike Metroid, Kid Icarus never really took off
with the fans like Metroid has.

And here we have Zero Mission, a faithful reinvention of the original 1986
classic, and I have just noticed that a particular game element exists in
homage to Metroid's lesser known companion. The concept of the Three Sacred
Treasures was that Pit (the hero) recieved a sealed chest after defeating the
three main bosses. These chests were useless to Pit until he reached the final
level. At that point, the locks fell off and Pit instantly gained the powers of
the items inside.

This is mirrored in Zero Mission's concept of the Unknown Items. Each of them
is useless to Samus until the endgame, in which all three of them activate at
the same time, drastically increasing Samus's powers to unprecedented levels.
In fact, the choice of Unknown Items even matches Pit's original Treasures!

Plasma Beam = Arrows of Light (pass through multiple enemies)
Gravity Suit = Mirror Shield (increase defense)
Space Jump = Wings of Pegasus (infinite flight)

At first, I didn't understand the purpose of the Unknown Items, but now I am
certain that they exist as a homage to one of Kid Icarus's most memorable game
concepts.

*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
6.) BESTIARY
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

Here, you can find a lot of useful information about every enemy in the game:
How many hit points they have, how much damage you incur from their attacks,
what items they may leave behind, what part of the game they can be found in.
I've listed these statistics in each enemy's chart, and there's also a brief
description with any important details underneath each enemy's chart.
Also, I've included other things on this list that don't exactly fall under the
guidelines of an enemy (e.g., acid, Work Robots, Zeebetite).

Most of the enemy names were pulled straight out of the NES Metroid's
instruction booklet, but I've taken the liberty of designating some of the
newer enemies with my own names (these will all begin with lower case letters).
I've resorted to Nintendo's official strategy guide for some of the names that
were missing, but it wasn't very helpful: They were mostly descriptive names,
like "acid worm" and "living barrier," but some of mine were still better.

As for the rest of the chart, enemy hit points are based off of your weakest
weapon--the Short Beam. For example, the purple Zoomers have four hit points
because it takes four shots from the Short Beam to destroy them. However, some
enemies, like the Rippers, cannot be killed by conventional means, so a range
is listed in cases where the exact amount cannot be determined. To find out the
strength of each weapon, go to the "Dealing Damage" sub-section of section
2.C. Alternatively, an enemy's strength is based off of your weakest armor on
the easiest difficulty. For example, yellow Zoomers have a strength of five, so
getting hit by one ON EASY will decrease your energy by five units while
wearing the default Power Suit. Some enemies, though, have actual attacks--
other than coming in contact with you--and these are noted underneath the
enemy's chart. To find out how the difficulty level and your armor affect the
damage you incur, go to the "Taking Damage" sub-section of section 2.C. Some
enemies can drop items, while others don't. Additionally, whatever items an
enemy can drop are not always at an equal ratio with each other. For example,
the Dragon enemy usually leaves behind small energy capsules, but it's capable
of leaving behind any other item as well. If this is the case, it will be noted
underneath the enemy's chart. Lastly, the enemies are categorized by region--in
the order that each region is first entered when following the path set by the
Chozo Statues. Without further ado, here are the enemies:

ENEMY NAME--Zoomer [yellow]
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--1.5
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
Also known as Geemers, these simple enemies endlessly crawl along whatever
surface they're attached to. You'll usually come across them on the floor, so
you may have to angle down to shoot them. The purple version of the Zoomers are
tougher in every way, though. Also, Zoomers have counterparts in Norfair
(Novas), Kraid (Zeelas), and Ridley (Violas).

ENEMY NAME--Zoomer [purple]
REGIONS--Brinstar/Chozodia
HIT POINTS--4
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The purple Zoomers are both quicker and stronger than the yellow ones, and they
can take more damage as well. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--Skree [green]
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--1.5
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
Skrees dive bomb towards the ground whenever you're below them. Once they've
reached the ground, they self destruct in an effort to hurt you with shrapnel
from their bodies. Their self destruct only has a strength of 1, though. The
gray versions of Skrees are tougher in every way.

ENEMY NAME--Skree [gray]
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--4
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The gray Skrees are both quicker and stronger than the green ones, and they can
take more damage as well. Other than that, they are exactly the same. Their
self destruct has a strength of 2.

ENEMY NAME--Ripper [brown]
REGIONS--Brinstar/Norfair/Crateria/Kraid
HIT POINTS--50 or less
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
Rippers hover back and forth across a horizontal stretch of space. At the
beginning of the game, they're indestructible, and their only purpose is to get
in your way. Only Super Missiles and stronger firepower can destroy them, but
they're sometimes frozen for platforms. The purple versions of Rippers are
stronger.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD--acid
REGIONS--Brinstar/Kraid
STRENGTH--7.5 units of energy per second with the default Power Suit
===============================================================================
Acid is a yellowish-orange color, and it'll drain your energy bit by bit when
you come in contact with it. It's not very potent, though, so you could spend
quite a bit of time in the acid before it actually gets close to killing you.
Once you get the Varia Suit, you'll nullify the acid's effect on your energy.

ENEMY NAME--Dessgeega [1]
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--21
STRENGTH--12
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
               (most likely, Power Bombs too)
===============================================================================
This is actually a different type of Dessgeega than the ones found in Ridley's
hideout, and it's also the only one of its kind in the game. This enemy will
attack you in a cramped part of the corridor leading to Tourian. It has a lot
of hit points for an enemy this early in the game, but you can slow the
Dessgeega down considerably if you shoot it rapidly enough. If it jumps high
enough, you can also run under it to avoid having it corner you. If you skip
the Long Beam, it's possible to fight this enemy after returning from Chozodia,
but I haven't been able to figure out how to do this yet.

ENEMY NAME--Parasite
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--4 or less
STRENGTH--2 units of energy per second with the default Power Suit
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
Parasites are excruciatingly small and hard to see on anything other than the
Game Boy Player. They will attach themselves to you if you move over them, but
they'll only be able to hurt you in groups of four or more. Early in the game,
you won't be able to destroy Parasites, but you can get them off of you by
jumping and shooting downwards (they have to be on your lower body for this to
work) and also by going into another room. Bombs and Power Bombs are the only
things that can destroy Parasites, but you'll need them in some areas to
destroy the Living Barriers that block your way. Once you've acquired the Varia
Suit, Parasites will no longer be able to hurt you.

ENEMY NAME--Zeb
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--3
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These insect-like creatures slowly rise from their origin and, once they've
reached your elevation, charge towards you. Zebs live in pipes, pits, and acid
pools, and an infinite amount of them will continuously emerge from these
places, so they are great for restoring energy or ammunition. They have
counterparts in Norfair (Gamets), Kraid (Geegas), and Ridley (Zebbos).

ENEMY NAME--Beam Beast
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--30 or less
STRENGTH--4
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
I can't say I like the name that was chosen for this mini-boss (according to
Zero Mission's Official Player's Guide), but I'll use it anyway to make things
more "official." This centipede creature will shake the walls of whatever room
it occupies. It initially attacks you after obtaining the first Missile Tank,
but it may run away to another room if you can't defeat it fast enough. It's
charge attack has a strength of 6. After, taking its second Missile hit, the
Beam Beast turns red. It drops eight items in addition to the Charge Beam.
Refer to the paragraph titled "Mini-Boss--Beam Beast" in part 1 of the
walkthrough for further information.

PROJECTILE TYPE--thorn
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--2
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These thorns are shed from the Beam Beast after it charges down from the
ceiling at you. Each time it goes through with this attack, it'll drop four
thorns towards you which you can shoot for items.

ENEMY NAME--Mellows
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--1.5
STRENGTH--2.5
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
Mellows are only found in three rooms in Brinstar, but they do a pretty good
job of harassing you, and their small size makes them difficult to hit. The
Mellows that protect the Mellow hives will only swarm after you if you get too
close to them, but the Mellows in the other two rooms will automatically chase
after you (mostly hovering a few inches above you) once you've entered their
rooms. The only way to get rid of the Mellows for good is by destroying all
three Mellow hives at once.

ENEMY NAME--Mellow hive
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--32
STRENGTH--7
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile (for some reason, they only drop
               items when frozen)
===============================================================================
There are only three Mellow hives in the whole game, and they're all found in
one room too (one of them is in a hidden area of the room). Destroying a Mellow
hive is difficult because each one has four Mellows that perpetually swarm
around the hive (unless you freeze the hive), acting as a shield. Destroying
all three Mellow hives at once gets rid of the Mellows for good. However, if
you only destroy one or two of them and leave the room, the Mellow hives which
you destroyed will be back again.

ENEMY NAME--Waver
REGION--Brinstar
HIT POINTS--4
STRENGTH--6
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies fly in diagonal patterns, reflecting off of any walls they hit.
There are only two rooms that they appear in, and they seldom drop items.

ENEMY NAME--Living Barrier
REGIONS--Brinstar/Norfair
===============================================================================
These gooey, pillar-like organisms appear mostly around the area with the Varia
Suit, and their only purpose is to block your progression. The only way to
remove them is to get four Parasites on them, and they'll devour the obstacle
over the course of about three seconds.

ENEMY NAME--Ripper [purple]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--50 or less
STRENGTH--10</pre><pre id="faqspan-7">
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The purple Rippers are stronger than the brown ones. Other than that, they are
exactly the same, though the purple ones only appear in Norfair.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD--lava
REGIONS--Norfair/Ridley/Tourian/Chozo Ruins [2]
STRENGTH--20 units of energy per second with the default Power Suit and
          12.5 units of energy per second with the Varia Suit
===============================================================================
Lava is an orange color, and it'll drain your energy bit by bit when you come
in contact with it. It's very harmful, so don't mess around with this stuff.
Once you get the Gravity Suit, you'll nullify the lava's effect on your energy.

ENEMY NAME--Gamet [purple]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--2
STRENGTH--4
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These are Norfair's counterpart of the Zeb from Brinstar, and they live in
pipes, pits, and lava pools. They are stronger than Zebs and can take more
damage as well, although the red Gamets are even tougher. Some purple Gamets
attack from the same origin in groups of three.

ENEMY NAME--Gamet [red]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--7
STRENGTH--8
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The red Gamets are stronger than the purple ones and can take more damage as
well, although the red Gamets can't attack from the same origin in groups of
three. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--Nova [purple]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--2
STRENGTH--6
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
Also known as Sovas, these fiery creatures are Norfair's counterpart of the
yellow Zoomer from Brinstar. They are stronger than yellow Zoomers and can take
more damage as well, but they are a tad bit slower than yellow Zoomers. The
orange Novas are tougher in every way.

ENEMY NAME--Nova [orange]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--6
STRENGTH--11
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These fiery creatures are Norfair's counterpart of the purple Zoomer from
Brinstar. They are stronger than purple Zoomers but slower. In comparison to
purple Novas, the orange ones are both quicker and stronger, and they can take
more damage as well. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--Mella
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--1.5
STRENGTH--3
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These fiery creatures are Norfair's counterpart of the Mellow from Brinstar.
They are stronger than Mellows and can take more damage as well, but they are
nowhere near as fast and annoying as Mellows.

ENEMY NAME--Polyp
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--10 or less
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
Polyps are strange, inorganic enemies on the floor that launch balls of lava at
you. Stronger firepower than your beam weapon is required to destroy these (a
single Missile will do the job). No damage is incurred from coming in contact
with Polyps. They usually leave behind Missiles.

PROJECTILE TYPE--lava ball
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--4
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These are launched at you from Polyps. You can destroy the balls of lava with a
single shot from your beam weapon. They, usually, don't leave items behind,
but, when they do, it's almost always a small energy capsule.

ENEMY NAME--Squeept
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--10 or less
STRENGTH--8
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile/Power Bomb
===============================================================================
Squeepts live in the fire seas of Norfair and jump out of the lava, like a
fish, when you get near them. Only Missiles and stronger firepower can destroy
them, but they're usually frozen for platforms.

ENEMY NAME--Dragon
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--9
STRENGTH--9
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
Dragons look like sea horses, but they dwell in lava pits and come up to shoot
balls of fire at you when you're within range. They can be neutralized using
just your beam weapon, but you'll usually be on a small platform over lava when
fighting them, so you should probably eliminate the threat they pose as quickly
as possible by shooting a Missile into them. Angle down to hit them, although
you may not always have a clear shot at the Dragons. They usually leave behind
small energy capsules over other items.

PROJECTILE TYPE--fireball [1]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--4
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule
===============================================================================
This is shot from Dragons, and they travel in the form of an arch. Shoot them
with your beam weapon to destroy them.

ENEMY NAME--Geruta [purple]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--5
STRENGTH--8
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies hang out along the ceiling and swoop down towards you when you
pass underneath them. The green version of the Gerutas are tougher in every
way, though. Also, Gerutas have counterparts in Kraid (Rios) and Ridley
(Holtzes).

ENEMY NAME--Geruta [green]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--20
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The green Gerutas are both quicker and stronger than the purple ones, and they
can take more damage as well. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD--extreme heat
REGIONS--Norfair/Ridley
STRENGTH--10 units of energy per second with the default Power Suit
===============================================================================
Super-heated rooms will have a bright-orange haze in the background, and being
in one of these rooms drains your energy bit by bit. It's a little worse then
being in acid, so, if you know what you're doing, you can usually traverse
through these areas without any protection. Once you get the Varia Suit, you'll
become immune to the extreme temperature's effect on your energy.

ENEMY NAME--Multiviola
REGIONS--Norfair/Ridley
HIT POINTS--6
STRENGTH--9
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These gaseous enemies are a bit like Wavers: They bounce from wall to wall in
the room they occupy. However, they closely resemble orange Violas. Multiviolas
are slow enough that they pose very little to you.

ENEMY NAME--Ripper II
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--?
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
Ripper IIs are stronger and faster than the purple Rippers, and they are immune
to Super Missiles. Ripper IIs can only be found in a few deep parts of Norfair.

ENEMY NAME--small Vine [1]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--1.5
STRENGTH--3
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are green, plant-like tendrils that grow in two rooms at the
bottom of Norfair. This is one of the two smaller tendrils, and it's hard to
tell the difference between the two of them.

ENEMY NAME--small Vine [2]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--3
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are green, plant-like tendrils that grow in two rooms at the
bottom of Norfair. This is one of the two smaller tendrils, and it's hard to
tell the difference between the two of them.

ENEMY NAME--medium Vine
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--6
STRENGTH--7.5
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are green, plant-like tendrils that grow in two rooms at the
bottom of Norfair. This Vine is a mid-sized one.

ENEMY NAME--big Vine [1]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--9
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are green, plant-like tendrils that grow in two rooms at the
bottom of Norfair. This is one of the two bigger tendrils, and some of them
have ensnared purple Gerutas. While the Geruta is caught in the tendril, it
only has one hit point.

ENEMY NAME--big Vine [2]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--20 or less
STRENGTH--12.5
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are purple, plant-like tendrils that grow in two rooms at the
bottom of Norfair. This is one of the two bigger tendrils, and some have
ensnared green Gerutas (the green Geruta cannot be destroyed separately from
the tendril). Only Missiles, Super Missiles, and Power Bombs will work on them,
as touching this enemy in any way will always hurt you (even when traveling at
hyper speeds or using the Screw Attack).

ENEMY NAME--Larva
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--15
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
Larvas can only be found in one room at the bottom of Norfair (another slightly
different type of Larva can also be found at the bottom of Norfair). Larvas
have very thick skin around their bodies except on their underside. You'll need
to either use the Wave Beam or Bombs to kill them. For the one that charges
towards you, you can get it to back up a little by shooting beams at them, or
you can get them to back up faster by shooting Missiles at them (even faster
with Super Missiles if you have them). Larvas drop five items each.

ENEMY NAME--"Spore Spawn" [Vine]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--30 or less
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
These are the Vine components of the Spore Spawn mini-boss that are choking the
life out of the suspended Larva. There are three Vines on each side of the
Larva and a tendril of some sort between the six Vines. The tendril breaks
under the weight of the Larva after clearing away all six of the Vines. Refer
to the paragraph titled "Mini-Boss--'Spore Spawn'" in part 12 of the
walkthrough for further information.

ENEMY NAME--"Spore Spawn" [Larva]
REGION--Norfair
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
This is the Larva component of the Spore Spawn mini-boss that's suspended near
the ceiling by Vines. The Larva changes to a green color after destroying three
of the Spore Spawn Vines. Once all the Vines have been destroyed, it turns
blue, and touching the Larva will no longer hurt you.

PROJECTILE TYPE--spore
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These are shot from the two pods on either side of the Spore Spawn Larva. Eight
of them shoot out in a radial pattern from each burst, and they can be
destroyed for items.

ENEMY NAME--Ripper [wings]
REGION--Norfair
HIT POINTS--?
STRENGTH--1
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
This Ripper is unique as it has insect-like wings and flies in a figure-eight
pattern instead of the usual back-and-forth, horizontal pattern. Additionally,
the Screw Attack cannot harm it, so it can't be killed, unless the grub falls
on it. Also, this Ripper unfreezes much quicker than normal.

ENEMY NAME--Skultera
REGION--Crateria
HIT POINTS--10
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These fish-like enemies are from Super Metroid, and they can only be found in
one room: The watery cavern below the first Chozo Ruins. They are very strong,
so do not let them hit you. They don't swim too fast, so you should be able to
take them out with just your beam weapon (though, they can be killed with a
single Missile if needed).

ENEMY NAME--Zeela [yellow]
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--3
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies are Kraid's counterpart of the yellow Zoomer from Brinstar. They
are markedly slower than yellow Zoomers but can take more damage. The red
Zeelas are tougher in every way.

ENEMY NAME--Zeela [red]
REGIONS--Kraid/Chozodia
HIT POINTS--6
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies are Kraid's counterpart of the purple Zoomer from Brinstar. They
are much slower than purple Zoomers, though. In comparison to yellow Zeelas,
the red ones are both quicker and stronger, and they can take more damage as
well. Additionally, when killed, their eyes will burst forth from their stalks
and explode. The exploding eyes have a strength of 1.5.

ENEMY NAME--Side Hopper
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--15
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are Kraid's counterpart of the Dessgeega from Ridley, but
Dessgeegas are stronger. Side Hoppers, like the name implies, jump around on.
Some jump along the floors while other jump along the ceiling. Shoot them with
Missiles.

ENEMY NAME--Geega
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--2
STRENGTH--4
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These are Kraid's counterpart of the Zeb from Brinstar, and they live in pipes
and acid pools. They are just as strong as purple Gamets and can take the same
amount of damage as well. While most Geegas attack from the same origin in
groups of two, there are some that only attack in ones.

ENEMY NAME--Rio [yellow]
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--8
STRENGTH--6
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies, generally, hang out near the ceiling and fly down towards you
when they see you. The green version of the Rios are tougher. Also, Rios have
counterparts in Norfair (Gerutas) and Ridley (Holtzes).

ENEMY NAME--Rio [green]
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--10
STRENGTH--6
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The green Rios are quicker than the yellow ones, and they can take more damage
as well. Other than that, they are exactly the same. Also, these enemies only
appear in the room above the acid waterfall.

ENEMY NAME--Acid Worm
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--300
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
The Acid Worm is a mini-boss you fight directly after powering the zip lines.
It's charge attack has a strength of 5. After taking fifteen Missile hits, the
Acid Worm turn a reddish-purple color, and, after taking twenty-three Missile
hits, it turns red. Also, it leaves nine items behind. Refer to the paragraph
titled "Mini-Boss--Acid Worm" in part 8 of the walkthrough for further
information.

PROJECTILE TYPE--purple ball
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These are launched from the acid worm's mouth in groups of three, and they can
be destroyed for items.

ENEMY NAME--spider
REGIONS--Kraid/Norfair
HIT POINTS--100
STRENGTH--29
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The spider enemies can either run or jump towards you, and these movements will
get even faster as more damage is inflicted upon them (they'll change color
accordingly too). The two spiders in Kraid, though, will only be able to use
one of their transportation methods. They have an insanely high strength for
a non-boss enemy this early in the game, especially on hard. Use Missiles to
destroy them before they can get near you. Spiders drop three items each.

ENEMY NAME--hatch eye [1]
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--4 or less
STRENGTH--12.5
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
There is only one of these, and it guards Kraid's lair. This particular hatch
eye does not shoot at you. Hit the eye when it's opened with a fully charged
beam blast or Missiles. It leaves three items behind.

ENEMY NAME--Kraid
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--between 150 and 149 (most likely, 150)
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
Kraid is the lesser of the two bosses that you'll need to defeat to get into
Tourian, although he's much bigger than Ridley. The horns Kraid shoots from his
stomach have a strength of 15, and his swipe attack has a strength of 10. Kraid
turns a little brown after taking four Missile hits, then orange-brown after
taking eleven Missile hits, and red after taking twelve Missile hits. He leaves
behind twelve items, and defeating him opens one half of the gateway to
Tourian. Refer to the paragraph titled "Boss--Kraid" in part 8 of the
walkthrough for further information.

PROJECTILE TYPE--claw
REGION--Kraid
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--2
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
The claws are flung from Kraid's right hand in groups of two. You can shoot
them for items, but they also serve to intercept any shots taken at Kraid,
since they're aimed straight for you. On hard, the claws move much faster.

ENEMY NAME--Imago
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--between 376 and 375 (most likely, 375)
STRENGTH--25
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
Imago is a wasp-like creature that slightly resembles the Kihunter from Super
Metroid. It's stinger has a strength of 5, but it can also shoot these at you
upon entering its second attack phase. After taking thirteen Missile hits,
Imago will turn green, and, after taking twenty-six Missile hits, Imago turns
red. Imago leaves behind six items. Refer to the paragraph titled "Mini-Boss--
Imago" in part 13 of the walkthrough for further information.

PROJECTILE TYPE--stinger
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These stingers are repeatedly shot at you from the Imago's abdomen after it
turns green, and you can shoot these for items.

ENEMY NAME--Viola [blue]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--6
STRENGTH--8
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These gaseous creatures are Ridley's counterpart of the yellow Zoomer from
Brinstar. They are stronger than yellow Zoomers and can take more damage as
well. The orange Violas are tougher in every way.

ENEMY NAME--Viola [orange]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--10
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These gaseous creatures are Ridley's counterpart of the purple Zoomer from
Brinstar, but orange Violas are stronger. In comparison to blue Violas, the
orange ones are both quicker and stronger, and they can take more damage as
well. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--Dessgeega [2]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--15
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies are Ridley's counterpart of the Side Hopper from Kraid, but
Dessgeegas are stronger. They, too, jump along the floors and ceilings. Shoot
them with Missiles.

ENEMY NAME--Holtz
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--15
STRENGTH--20
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These enemies hang out along the ceiling and swoop horizontally down towards
you when you get the slightest bit near them. Holtzes have counterparts in
Norfair (Gerutas) and Kraid (Rios).

ENEMY NAME--Zebbo [green]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--3
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
These are Ridley's counterpart of the Zeb from Brinstar, and they live in
pipes. They are stronger than Zebs and can take more damage as well, although
the yellow Gamets are even tougher. Some green Zebbos attack from the same
origin in groups of three.

ENEMY NAME--Zebbo [yellow]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--7
STRENGTH--9
ITEMS DROPPED--all items
===============================================================================
The yellow Zebbos are stronger than the green ones and can take more damage as
well, although the yellow Zebbos can't attack from the same origin in groups of
three. Other than that, they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--hatch eye [2]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--between 30 and 29 (most likely, 30)
STRENGTH--12.5
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
There is only one of these, and it guards Ridley's lair. This hatch eye will
shoot at you, and it's eye beam has a strength of 15. Hit the eye when it's
opened with a fully charged beam blast or Missiles. It leaves three items
behind.

ENEMY NAME--Ridley
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--between 500 and 499 (most likely, 500)
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
Ridley is the greater of the two bosses that you'll need to defeat to get into
Tourian. Ridley's tail has a strength of 25, and his grab attack will drain 16
units of energy per second with the default Power Suit and 8 units of energy
per second with the Varia Suit. After hitting Ridley with twenty-six Missiles,
he'll turn an orange color, and, after hitting Ridley with thirty-eight
Missiles, he'll turn a reddish color. He leaves behind eight items, and
defeating him opens one half of the gateway to Tourian. Refer to the paragraph
titled "Boss--Ridley" in part 13 of the walkthrough for further information.

PROJECTILE TYPE--fireball [2]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--7.5
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
These fireballs are rapidly shot from Ridley's mouth at the beginning of the
battle and at any other times he feels like it.

PROJECTILE TYPE--fireball [3]
REGION--Ridley
HIT POINTS--1
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
These fireballs spread out after being launched from Ridley's mouth, and you
can destroy them for items.

ENEMY NAME--Rinka [orange]
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--4
STRENGTH--5
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
Rinkas are little rings of fire that are shot directly at you from diamond-
shaped structures within the walls, ceilings, and floors of Tourian. On easy
and normal, only about half of these structures actually shoot the Rinkas at
you, but, on hard, all of them will be working. Although Rinkas are shot
repeatedly in a manner similar to how Zebs/Gamets/Geegas/Zebbos repeatedly
attack you, they, generally, are just used to distract you. You can destroy
them for items, unlike in other Metroid titles.

ENEMY NAME--Rinka [green]
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--4
STRENGTH--10
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/small energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
These Rinkas are both stronger and faster than orange Rinkas. Other than that,
they are exactly the same.

ENEMY NAME--Metroid
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--50 or less
STRENGTH--100 units of energy per second with the default Power Suit and
          15 units of energy per second with the Varia Suit
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/small energy capsule/Missile/Super Missile
===============================================================================
The Metroids in this game are sneaky, as they appear from the background, and
you may not have enough time to get away if you aren't watching out for them.
If you're fighting them without the Varia Suit, do everything you can to keep
them from grabbing onto you. The only way to get a Metroid off of you is to
blast it with Bombs. To kill them, you have to freeze them first and shoot
either five Missiles or one Super Missile at them. You'll need to be fast
because Metroids unfreeze a lot quicker than regular enemies. Metroids will
leave behind two items.

PROJECTILE TYPE--turret fire
REGION--Tourian
STRENGTH--5
===============================================================================
These are shot in forty-five-degree angles from the turrets in Mother Brain's
room. You can safely screw attack through the turret fire.

ENEMY NAME--Zeebetite
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--70 or less
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
There are four Zeebetite units in Mother Brain's room, and they act like a
barrier, as they block you from progressing into the next segment of Mother
Brain's room. You can only damage them with Missiles or Super Missiles, but
they will quickly recover from these assaults. It takes about seven to eight
consecutive Missiles (depending on how fast you can unload them into the
Zeebetite) or two consecutive Super Missiles to fully destroy each Zeebetite
installment, so try your best not to let the Rinkas or gun turrets distract
you.

ENEMY NAME--glass case
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--between 200 and 191 (most likely, 200)
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
The glass case surrounds and protects Mother Brain. Only Missiles or Super
Missiles will work on it, and it will fracture four times before completely
breaking.

ENEMY NAME--Mother Brain
REGION--Tourian
HIT POINTS--between 350 and 341 (most likely, 350)
STRENGTH--0.25
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
The top of Mother Brain is spiked and has a strength of 10. Mother Brain can
only be damaged by shooting Missiles or Super Missiles at its eye. Depending on
which difficulty you're playing on, Mother Brain will close its eye after a
certain amount of damage has been inflicted (100 damage on easy, 50 damage on
normal, and 30 damage on hard) and fire an eye beam at you. This eye beam has a
strength of 25, but you'll usually bounce back into it for double damage. Refer
to the paragraph titled "Boss--Mother Brain" in part 16 of the walkthrough for
further information.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD--green goo
REGION--Tourian
STRENGTH--15 units of energy per second with the Gravity Suit
===============================================================================
This is some sort of green goop that only appears in the trashed part of
Tourian. It drains your energy bit by bit when you come in contact with it, and
it's much more powerful than lava. Not even the Gravity Suit can provide
immunity to this substance.

ENEMY NAME--Space Pirate [red]
REGION--Chozodia
HIT POINTS--15
STRENGTH--50
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
Space Pirates look a lot like humanoid crabs. They can shoot beams from their
claws that have a strength of 50. Space Pirates are the most aggressive regular
enemies you can find, as they'll chase you down if they see you and, even,
follow you through other rooms.

ENEMY NAME--Space Pirate [black]
REGION--Chozodia
HIT POINTS--36
STRENGTH--25
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
Black Space Pirates aren't worth the trouble it takes to defeat them. They're
like regular Space Pirates, but they're much more aggressive and immune to
every attack (even other Space Pirates' beam attacks will bounce off of them),
except your beam attacks. Additionally, the Plasma Beam's piercing effect does
not work on black Space Pirates, and their beam attack has a strength of 50.

ENEMY NAME--eye-laser sensor
REGION--Chozo Ruins [2]
HIT POINTS--2 or less (most likely, 1)
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
These enemies travel along the walls of two shafts in the second Chozo Ruins.
They emit a beam of light that will set off the alarm if broken. They are
immune to the Screw Attack, and their eye beams have a strength of 8.

ENEMY NAME--Orb
REGION--Chozo Ruins [2]
STRENGTH--25
===============================================================================
This is the orb that the Chozo hieroglyphic holds. It attacks with two types of
lightning but both have a strength of 25. Shots from your emergency pistol also
have a strength of 25. Refer to the paragraph titled "Mini-boss--Ruins Test" in
part 20 of the walkthrough for further information.

ENEMY NAME--Probe
REGION--Chozodia
HIT POINTS--20 or less
STRENGTH--15
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These enemies are from the Wrecked Ship area of Super Metroid. Missiles, Super
Missiles, and the Screw Attack are the only weapons that will work on them.
Their electrical attack has a strength of 25, and the aftershock has a strength
of 5. You can keep them from shooting off this electricity and even draw them
towards you by charging your beam weapon, like in Metroid Prime.

ENEMY NAME--Work Robot
REGION--Space Pirate Mother Ship
===============================================================================
This is another enemy from the Wrecked Ship area in Super Metroid. However, the
Work Robots cannot hurt you in this game, but they still get in your way. Shoot
at them to initially get them moving. Then, fire Missiles at them to get them
moving faster, or Super Missiles to get them moving even faster than that (the
Missiles will just bounce off if you are too close).

ENEMY NAME--Ridley Robot
REGION--Space Pirate Mother Ship
HIT POINTS--varies
STRENGTH--varies
ITEMS DROPPED--big energy capsule
===============================================================================
The Ridley Robot is the final boss of the game, and its hit points and strength
vary depending on what percentage of the items you've collected. If you have
one-hundred percent of the items, the Ridley Robot will have 540 hit points and
a strength of 75. Otherwise, it just has 180 hit points and a strength of 37.5.
However, you have to destroy the transparent covering before you can inflict
any damage upon the Ridley Robot. Its claw attack has the same strength as the
Ridley Robot, itself. Its fireball attack has a strength of 30, and its eye
beam has a strength of 25. As it suffers more and more damage, it will change
from it's default gray color to a dark blue to purple, then, to red (normally,
these color changes take place after it's hit with five, ten, and fourteen
Missiles, respectively; but, with maxed out items, they occur after it's hit
with fourteen, twenty-eight, and forty-one Missiles, respectively). It leaves
behind thirty items. Refer to the paragraph titled "Boss--Ridley Robot" in part
32 of the walkthrough for further information.

ENEMY NAME--covering
REGION--Space Pirate Mother Ship
HIT POINTS--varies
ITEMS DROPPED--none
===============================================================================
The transparent covering protects the Ridley Robot's weak spot. Its hit points
vary depending on what percentage of the items you've collected. If you have
one-hundred percent of the items, the covering will have 300 hit points.
Otherwise, the covering will only have 100 hit points.

PROJECTILE TYPE--missile
REGION--Space Pirate Mother Ship
HIT POINTS--2 or less (most likely, 1)
STRENGTH--40
ITEMS DROPPED--small energy capsule/big energy capsule/Missile
===============================================================================
These missiles are launched from the Ridley Robot in waves of three, and can be
destroyed for items.

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7.) CREDITS
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

The following sources contributed to this FAQ and deserve due credit:

Mike Kandziolka--informed me on how to get the Work Robots out of your way
faster

Terence (GameFAQs user name)--I found out that you could get past all the Space
Pirates undetected after watching his perfect stealth video where I also found
out about another short cut.

Metroid2002 (www.metroid2002.com)--This Web site has lots of helpful videos for
Metroid Zero Mission (or any Metroid title for that matter), and it also showed
me how to skip the Acid Worm without bomb jumping horizontally.

Kong IV (GameFAQs user name)--discovered the similarity between the Three
Sacred Treasures in "Kid Icarus" and the three Unknown Items in Zero Mission

GameCubeKing04 (GameFAQs user name)--for the speed boost trick after defeating
Mother Brain

ajbolt89 (GameFAQs user name)--for the great Ridley Robot strategy, proving
that a 9% game on hard is impossible, and various other contributions

GoldenShadow (GameFAQs user name)--I found out about the short cut to the Screw
Attack after reading one of Goldenshadow's posts.

Various Nintendo sources (NES Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission instruction
booklet and the Super Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission's Nintendo Player's
Guide)--I acquired most of the enemy names and other terms from these sources
as well as information on the last two gallery pictures. I also learned about
the Ridley Robot's extra attack power from the player's guide.

Special thanks to CJayC for GameFAQs, Nintendo for the Metroid series, and
Metroid2002 for the helpful Web site.

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8.) COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

This FAQ is copyright 2004 Paul Byrne. This guide is only for private,
non-profit use and may not be distributed in any way. Use of this guide as a
part of any public display or on any Web site other than GameFAQs is strictly
prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.

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