=============================================================================== Metroid: Zero Mission -- Low Percent Run Walkthrough Written by TreborSelbon =============================================================================== Introduction This walkthrough is designed to help players new to a 9% Percent Run (though it is also useful for experienced players too). The layout will be exactly the same as it is in my Metroid Prime Low Percent FAQ. Now, I'm writing this guide during an actual game, so everything here WILL work. Suggestions and comments are welcome (contact information is at the bottom of the FAQ). While a low percent run can fall into several categories, this FAQ is concerned only with the lowest percents, meaning only one missile expansion (for normal; hard is a different story I'll explain later). So far, the lowest confirmed is 9% on easy and normal and 10% on hard. This consists of leaving out the Long Beam, Charge Beam, Wave Beam, Speed Booster, Hi-Jump Boots (and therefore, the Jump Ball), the Power Bombs, the Super Missiles, and Screw Attack. Even on easy, a 9% game is no easy task, as some of the final bosses can be quite a pain. Here are the major items: Missiles Super Missiles (OPTIONAL) Power Bombs (OPTIONAL) Long Beam (OPTIONAL) Wave Beam (OPTIONAL) Ice Beam Plasma Beam Charge Beam (OPTIONAL) Morph Ball Morph Ball Bombs Space Jump Varia Suit (SEMI-OPTIONAL, I'll explain later) Gravity Suit Power Grip Speed Booster (OPTIONAL) High Jump Boots + Jump Ball (OPTIONAL) Screw Attack (OPTIONAL) Taking out all the completely optional items, this comes up to 9%. Getting any of the optional items will make the game easier in some way, so feel free to collect one if you're having too much trouble. Now, to explain the label beside the Varia Suit. This suit is optional, because later on, the game will give it to you, whether or not you got it in Brinstar, and it still adds 1% to your total. For maximum challenge, don't get the Power-Up in Brinstar. On hard mode, missile expansions only give you two missiles and you need three at one point to progress through Chozodia (pirates don't drop refills). There are also three different ways to get this extra percent, so those labels above may not apply. The hardest way is to pick up the Screw Attack. Sure, it makes normal enemies easier; but, by this point, they should present very little challenge to you. This is probably the closest you could get to the actual 9% experience on hard mode. It also allows you to bypass the two missile blocks in your way in the Mother Ship. The easiest way is to pick up a Super Missile. This can be used against normal enemies if needed, but its main use comes in bosses: it packs the punch of five missiles. The final way is somewhere in the middle. Instead of a Super Missile, puck up another missile expansion. This is just like normal mode, only harder and with one less missile. =============================================================================== Version History Version 1.0 -- 2/26/04. First release. Just the basic stuff, but the guide is complete. If you ever read my Metroid Prime low percent FAQ, you would've noticed the Speed Run info in each section. I plan on adding that to this guide as well, but in a later update. In the next update, I want to add the walkthrough for hard mode. Version 1.1 -- 3/22/04. I added the information for a Hard 10% game. Because a lot of the rooms are the same, I just put a few notes labeled by a big "HARD MODE" tag (which I may have to modify due to sloppiness). Also, because most of the people reading this will pick the Screw Attack, I've only added it in this update. Since I can't do all three variations at the same time, I'll put the others in the next two versions of this FAQ. =============================================================================== Table of Contents I. Walkthrough A. Segment 1 - Deja Vu all over again B. Segment 2 - Norfair C. Segment 3 - Ridley D. Segment 4 - Kraid E. Segment 5 - Tourian F. Segment 6 - Chozodia G. Segment 7 - The Final Stretch H. Segment 8 - The Final Battle II. Legal Crap III. Special Thanks IV. Contact Information =============================================================================== =============================================================================== I. Walkthrough =============================================================================== Segment 1 -- Deja Vu all over again If you have any sort of familiarity with the Metroid Franchise, you'll know this place very well; after all, it's only our third time in this place. From the start, head left and jump over the obstacle and collect the Morph Ball. Simple enough. Now, roll back under the obstacle and continue to the right. Head into the door and through the next room. Take care of the Skree in the next corridor, roll under the obstruction, and jump into the Chozo's hands to open up the rest of the passageway. Exit through the door, and head up the long shaft. When you get to the first door, you'll notice that it's blocked by a set of blocks that require the long beam to remove. But alas, we're skipping that. Take out a few on this side, and stand on the ledge above the door. Shoot through the floor to gain access to this exit. Head through the small corridor to reach a different colored area of Brinstar. In this shaft, fall all the way down to the bottom (save if you wish, but you haven't done anything) and enter the door. Head to the right in this room and you'll notice the rocks falling from the ceiling. Suspicious, eh? Anyway, continue to the right and pick up the Missile Expansion sitting on the pillar. Now, head back to the left to face a giant worm. I guess this qualifies as a boss, though there's not much to it. It gives you the Charge Beam, but we still want to kill it. By doing so, we will never have to face it again. So, hit it with 3 or 4 missiles before it goes away. After it charges at you from the ceiling, it opens it's eye. That's your cue to hit it with a missile. Repeat until it dies. To refill life or missiles, shoot the little spines that it shoots at you from the sides. After the battle, continue to head to your left. Climb the shaft and save in the Save Room. Head back into the shaft and enter the door directly above you. Just head straight through this next room, avoiding the enemies above you (they won't bother you if you don't slow down). Head through the small room to reach a room with two bug hives. Kill them ever so slowly from the edge of the closest platform (use missiles if you want). Once both are gone, exit through the door on the right. Head through the next room to reach another room much like the previous. As you continue, you'll notice an Energy Tank glaring at you from a pillar directly in your way. There are two ways to get past it. Either you can wall jump off the pillar underneath it, or you can just simply jump over it. Wall jumping over it is actually easier, to me at least, but just just jumping over it is simpler. So, choose your poison. Either way, head through this room to reach a vertical shaft. Try to stay out of the acid along the way. In the shaft, climb up and enter the next door. In the next room, enter the upper door and roll through the tunnel in the upper left corner. Enter the missile door to collect the Bombs. Refill life and missiles if necessary by jumping in the Chozo's hands. When you're finished, exit into the next room and roll back through the tunnel. As you make for the exit, you'll notice that the door is sealed. To get out, bomb the suspicious-looking blocks on the floor to release little Parasites. Keep bombing to get rid of them all. Once they are all gone, the door will activate, and you can exit. Enter the lower left door in the next room and save. Now, you have a choice. You can get the Varia Suit now, or you can save it for later (or not at all). If you're going to get it later, skip down to the third paragraph after this one. If you're going to get it now, read on. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: You absolutely have to get the Varia Suit, so you might as well go ahead and get it now. Head back into the vertical shaft and the first thing you'll notice is the platform above you is too high to reach with a normal jump. Easy enough to fix, as we have bombs. Just bomb jump up to the next platform. Go up to the next ledge (you can Wall Jump up there), and you'll notice a huge void above you with Rippers floating in it. Yes, you have to bomb jump up there. From the right side of the left ledge, wait for the rippers to move to your right before you start bombing up there. Enter the door at the top. Head to the left, being very careful. Sit in the Chozo's hands to refill life and missiles and to open the way. Then, roll through the tube. Continue through the next room, avoiding the Missile Expansion by running through the acid. Exit to reach a Save Point. Save. This next part can be a huge pain. Head into the next room. If you played Metroid 1, you should recognize this room a little. Well, above you are shootable blocks, three deep. Pick the rightmost column of these blocks and shoot them all out. Now, before they reappear, quickly bomb jump up the hole and land to the right. When all the blocks reappear, go as far left as you can without falling through the invisible floor (walk slowly, so that if you fall, you won't land on the break-away blocks). Now, morph into a ball and start bomb jumping. When you are above the height of the ledge to your left, hold left to make your final bomb propel you over there; unmorph along the way. This may take a few tries, so don't get discouraged. From this ledge, shoot the left-most block above you, then quickly morph into a ball and bomb jump much like you did at the bottom of this room. When you near the top, hold right to land on the ledge. Enter the door. The first thing you'll notice in this next room are the two plant-like things in your way. Drop down next to the first one and wait. Those little Parasites will start devouring the plants in order to reach you. When they have torn down both of the plants, starting bombing the heck out of the little buggers. After they are all gone, bomb jump over that small pillar to enter the main part of this room. Our goal, at the moment, is to get on top of that metal thing near the top of the room. To do this, drop down to the lowest ledge without going into the acid. Morph into a ball and bomb jump your way up there. As you roll to the left, you'll have to bomb jump out of the pits (you'll see what I'm talking about). Be quick; at the bottom of these pits are delayed breakaway blocks. So, after about a second, you'll fall into the acid. Upon navigating this maze, you'll end up on a blue platform. Now, the rest of the blocks in this room are delayed breakaway. From this platform, jump to the first block you see. Before it crumbles, jump above the next platform and morph before you land. Quickly bomb jump into that slot at the top of the room. Once up there, roll to the left and onto the delayed breakaway block. Continue to hold left to land in the slot after falling. As you roll off this platform to the left, drop a bomb to take out the bomb blocks. Don't worry if you miss; the block at the bottom won't break away. Now, wait for the Parasites to take out the plant. When they finish, simply enter the door and collect the Varia Suit. From here, head back to the closest Save Point, and save. Then, head to the left and make your way to the vertical shaft. Drop down and save again where you saved earlier. Now, skip down to the paragraph after this one. If you didn't get the Varia Suit, head back to the vertical shaft. Head into the door that leads back into the main part of Brinstar. Since you've been through this route before, there is no need for me to walk you through this. Just head back to the vertical shaft with the Save Point, making sure to avoid the energy tank again. Save if necessary. Now that we're back on the same page, it's time to head to Norfair. So, from this Save Point, head back out into the vertical shaft and drop all the way to the bottom, as you did when you got the missiles. Make your way to the right, bombing the blocks in your way. Head through the door and down the elevator. Once the ride is over, drop down to the bottom of this small shaft and enter the door on your right. Save your game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment 2 -- Norfair From the Save Point, head back into the shaft to your left and continue through the door in front of you. This next room it pretty run-of-the-mill. Just go through it. About halfway through, you'll have to bomb through at wall in your way, but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle. Exit through the far door. In this vertical shaft, head up and exit Norfair via the elevator. Well, since were technically not in Norfair any more, I should start a new segment. But, we'll be heading back shortly, so don't worry. Anyway, head to the right and blast through the wall in your way. Exit through the door to enter a big room. Start navigating the platforms, and you'll see them lead off into the upper left corner of the room. Make you way to that corner (you'll have to bomb and shoot your way through sections of obvious blocks that are in your way). Upon jumping through the hole in the ceiling, hold right to land on solid ground. Navigate the little tunnel and bomb through the floor or wall near the end to reach another nearby tunnel. Head to the right and enter the door. Head to the right in here and collect the 'Unknown Item' (Plasma Beam, which you can't use yet), from the Chozo statue. Exit the room the way you came, taking out the Plasma Blocks in your way. In this room, exit the tunnels by bombing the Plasma Block above you. Head to the left and climb the platforms that lead to the door. In this next area, as you attempt to cross the platform, you'll fall through. No worries; you want to do this. Fall to the left and shoot through the wall about three blocks up from the ground. Climb in, and shoot out the next two blocks in your way. Jump up to the next level (just follow the dark patterns in the blocks to find your way) and roll through the small tunnel. Continue holding left to enter the room with the Power Grips. Collect them and leave. When you re-enter the outdoor area, you'll notice the statue is rising out of the ground. After it stops rising, scale the platforms that magically appear to reach a door in the top left-hand corner. Enter this door to reach another outdoor area of a different color. Shoot the obvious blocks and make your way through the left-hand door. Now, we are in the area where your ship is parked; so, save and refill if necessary and head through the right-hand door. Avoid the Ripper, head over the obstacle, and exit through the door. You should recognize this room. Take the elevator back down to Norfair. Once you reach the bottom of the elevator, take the first door you see (you came through it a few minutes ago). Follow this path all the way back to the next vertical shaft. Save at the Save Point on the other side. Continue through the other door. This is a pretty big room with lots of enemies. Fortunately, they're all small and easy to avoid. After a little bit of climbing and falling, head through the door at the far side of the room. Now, you are in a green vertical shaft. Head up this shaft, avoiding the lone Ripper in your way, and enter the first door you see. In this room, you get to test out your newly-acquired Power Grips. As you head to the left, navigate the small cloud-like platforms until you reach the door. There's a small problem, however. Lava runs across the bottom of this room. Needless to say, don't fall in. There's also a small hangup about halfway through the room. While it may be tempting to jump onto the wider platform, don't; it'll just end up with you falling in the lava on your next jump. Instead, just walk off the previous platform to grab onto the one below the wide one. Now, it's just a simple jump to the next platform. In the next room, collect the Ice Beam and roll under the ledge the Chozo Statue is sitting on. Bomb through the wall, freeze the Ripper, and use it to get over the wall. Exit into a small vertical shaft with bubble-like scenery. Climb on top of the highest platform and freeze the Rippers to get to the upper door. In this room, freeze the enemy that jumps out of the lava and use it to get over that wall in front of you. Use the Chozo Statue to refill life and missiles, then continue through the room. Freeze the three jumping enemies to reach the exit door. Upon entering this room, jump on the block in front of you and freeze the two Rippers for an easy crosswalk to the top of the wall. Avoid the rest of the rippers and shoot through the block on the floor to gain access to the exit. Now, you should be back at the top of that green vertical shaft you were in earlier, though you can't really tell it from the map. Be careful in this room, the last three blocks on the floor are Pit Blocks. Make sure you freeze the Ripper above these blocks. Get on the newly-frozen Ripper and shoot a missile at the highest block in the right-hand wall. Now, bomb jump into this hole (lay a bomb then move right a little; when it explodes, hold right). After passing through this hole, lay a bomb as you fall (the fourth block down). Now, grab the ledge created by this hole and bomb through. Upon emerging on the other side, shoot out the block above you and wall jump up to that ledge. Roll across a final wall and fall all the way down to the bottom of a very long vertical shaft. When you land, shoot a missile at the block at the end of the tunnel to your left. Refill life and missiles if necessary using the enemies coming out of the ground. Enter the bottom left door and save. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: Head back into the shaft and take out the suspicious block in the ceiling. Shoot a missile up the little shaft to take out the missile block above it. Wall jump up the shaft and grab onto the left-hand ledge. Bomb out the left-most block, jump out, and shoot through the wall to your right. Wall jump up the right-hand wall past the missile expansion and enter the first door you can. In this room, take out all the flying enemies. These guys can do loads of damage, so be careful. Enter the left-hand door (make sure you have the missile for it). Ignore the High Jump boots in the next room and roll under the platform. Now, you get to see why you need the Varia Suit. It's not this room, but the next one (you can easily make it through this room without it). Roll as far as you can left and bomb the blocks. Bomb the very next space to gain access to the passage above you. Bomb jump up there and roll left. Bomb through the upper-left part of this passage to get out of the tunnels. Jump over the pillar and exit through the door. This next room is the big hot room that was keeping you from doing it sans Varia. Head left through this room, killing or ignoring the enemies, until you reach the lava. Morph into a ball and bomb jump up and over that pillar of rock to your left. Exit through the left-hand door. Upon entering this room, you'll notice the huge Side Hopper awaiting you. Be VERY careful here; one hit will kill you, regardless of life. Quickly re-open the door from which you just entered. Jump on the ledge of the door, but don't go through to the next room (you are actually standing in the doorway). Turn around and crouch. Now, just blast the Side Hopper until he bites the dust. Enter the left-hand door when you finish and save your game. Now, this part gets a little tricky. It takes five missiles to get to the Screw Attack, and you only have two. Head into the room to your left and position yourself against the left-hand door. Shoot both your missiles straight up to take out two of the four missile blocks above you. Now, use the flame enemy in this room for a refill. If he doesn't give you one, you can shoot through the floor and kill the other one for a refill. If that one doesn't give you one, head into the bottom left door to refill. Then, try again. Once you take out all four blocks, wall jump up to the next level. Use the flame enemy to refill your missiles and head through the door. If he doesn't give a missile refill, enter and exit the door to your left to make the guy reappear. Once you get it, head through the room with the Rippers to reach another door (freeze the ones in your way). Missile it, head in, and collect the Screw Attack. Refill if necessary and head back to the Save Point (to get back down to the lower level, use the screw attack blocks on the right side of the room). Now that you have the Screw Attack, things become much easier. From the Save Point, head to the right until you reach the long vertical shaft. Wall jump or bomb jump to get over that pillar to your right and fall down the small shaft by the missile expansion. When you reach the bottom of this room, head into the left hand door and save your game. You are now caught up with the normal quest. The room immediately to the left of this Save Point can be thought of as a room for refilling life or missiles. There's only one enemy in this room that will actively attack you, but plenty of vines that can be used for refills. A few require a couple of missiles, but that's not a problem. When you exit through the left-hand door, you should have full life and missiles. In the next room, roll to the left to reach a miniboss, of sorts. It's really a simple premise; just shoot those vines off the top of the shell of the larva with missiles. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. The thing is constantly shooting little spiny balls at you, which you can use for missile refills, but they can get annoying. On top of that, you can't get in a good position to shoot the vines, so you have to either freeze the Ripper going in a figure eight or wall jump to get that kind of height. After taking out all the vines, the larva will break through the floor and open up a passage into the next room. Take the elevator down to Ridley. Drop down to the bottom of the elevator room, enter the left-hand door, and save your game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment 3 -- Ridley Head back out of the Save Point the way you came and go through the other door in the elevator room. Stand on the second block to the left of the gap in the floor and shoot a missile straight up. Now, jump and shoot your beam upwards to clear out a landing spot. Time for some fun. You get to bomb jump all the way up there. Or, you can freeze one of those bugs, but where's the fun in that? Anyway, once in the ceiling, bomb the upper right block to clear a path. Navigate the tunnel to reach another part of the room. In here are three enemies. The easiest way to get through is to just run under them. Make your way to the bottom of the room and exit through the right-hand door. You should now be in a vertical shaft. Fall down until you are blocked by a floor. Bomb it, then fall through the Pit Blocks. Enter the first door on your left. This room is probably the hardest room you've encountered so far. There are multiple hopping enemies, which take forever to kill, and little annoying flying enemies coming out of the pipes. All you can do is take your time. Be careful not to shoot the beams that span the gaps. Falling in the lava will do major damage. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: this room is much easier. Just screw attack through all the enemies, making sure not to screw through the beams that span the gaps. In the next room, roll under the wall, ignoring the enemies above you. You'll exit into a vertical shaft. Fall all the way down and enter the left-hand door. Save your game. Head into the left-hand door, hop onto the ledge, fall through, and head left. Shoot the Eye Door three times to gain entry. Head into Ridley's Lair. Yeah, notice nothing is happening. Anyway, head through the door to your left and collect another 'Unknown Item' which just happens to be the Gravity Suit, activated later. Head back out into Ridley's Lair and try to exit the other door. You didn't think he'd just let you walk out with his Gravity Suit, now did you? Don't worry; there's a reason we're fighting him first. He's easy. Really easy. His first move will always be those tiny fireballs; so, keep shooting them until he stops. When he finally does stop, he'll fly into the air (not off-screen). That is your cue to get directly underneath him. You should stand directly between his front and back claws. Fear not, as he won't touch you. It's amazing how this won't hurt you, like it was almost intended. From this position, just keep blasting him with Missiles. At some point, he'll stop to shoot giant fireballs. This is good; use them to refill life or missiles. There is one small hangup, however. He has one more attack: the Tail Whip. However, as long as you stand directly underneath him, he'll never do this (at least he didn't for me, and I know I tried the fight at least 10 times). Once he finally dies, head back to that Save Point a few rooms back and save. To get through the room with the Eye Door, freeze one of the flying bugs and use it as a platform to jump up to the ledge near the ceiling. Shoot the Gravity Block, drop down, and exit. From the Save Point, head back into the vertial shaft and exit through the right-hand door. Run through the next room and shoot through the top of the wall in your way to gain access to the exit. Here's another painful room. As with the previous one, take your sweet time. Freeze the bugs flying out of the pipes, then take out the stronger swooping enemies. Roll through the passage on the other side of the room. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: again, it's really easy, just keep spin jumping until you reach the passage. Exit through the door to reach another vertical shaft. You've been in here before. Climb up as high as you can, and you'll notice the Gravity Block to your left. Shoot it and head through the wall. Follow this little passage until you come out on top of that floor blocking your progress earlier. Head through the door at the top. Head to the left, eliminating the enemies as you go, and navigate the passages until you reach the part with the three swooping enemies. You can take them out, or just run underneath them. Either way, shoot a missile at the leftmost block in the floor. Roll into the hole and lay a bomb to open the path to the exit. You are now in the elevator room. Take it up to Norfair. When the elevator stops, you'll notice the statue heads on the right-hand wall will crumble, revealing a passage-way. Take it and exit through the missile door. In the next room, head through the tunnel in the opposite wall. When you can stand up again, shoot through the floor to reach the lower level of the room. You'll land on a skinny platform that touches the wall. Head to the right end of this platform and shoot a missile at the highest block in the wall. Now, bomb jump into this tunnel to reach a morph ball booster. Lay a bomb in it to reach the upper level again. Use the ball booster one more time to reach the room above you. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: you can save a missile by screw attacking through the small piece of wall to gain access to the second booster. Head to the right and save in the next room. You should recognize the next room. It's where you came out of that long vertical shaft. Yes, you guessed it; you have to climb it. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: you can scale this shaft without using that very long tunnel (the Screw Attack blocks are on the right and left sides of the first and second set of Speed Booster blocks you come to, respectively; enter the door above the second set of blocks). Be prepared to get very good at wall jumping, because that's how you'll have to get up there. Once you reach the very top of this shaft, bomb through the block at the end of the small tunnel that runs along the roof. Fall down and hold left. When you enter that slot in the wall, lay a bomb. Roll through the tunnel to reach the shaft with all the doors on it. Fall down to the bottom and enter the door. You've seen this room before; it has a lot of enemies in it, so take your time if you need to. When you finally exit the room, save. Head through the left-hand door and out into the elevator room. Freeze the Rippers and use them as platforms. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: you can use the Screw Attack blocks and bypass those Rippers altogether. Ride the elevator up. Head through the door and the long room to your left to reach a vertical shaft. Actually, you should know where we are. Also, you should know where we are going. We are going to fight Kraid. So, head up this vertical shaft and take the first door on your left. Head through the small corridor to reach yet another vertical shaft. Shoot through the blocks and drop down the shaft. At the bottom, enter the left-hand door. Follow this path back to the small, one-screen room. Bomb through the floor and drop down the shaft. Enter the door and take the elevator down. Drop down, enter the first door on the left, and save your game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment 4 -- Kraid From the Save Point door, head through the door directly across from you in the vertical shaft. Head through this room, making sure to avoid that missile expansion (you'll have to brave the acid). Keep going and you'll meet Side-hoppers imprisioned in shootable blocks. Take them out very carefully. After a couple more Side-hoppers and flying bugs, you'll come out in a vertical shaft. Shoot the right-most block on the floor to gain access to a hidden area and bomb the floor there to gain access to the morph ball booster. Use it to propel you up the shaft. After you hit the ceiling, hold right to land on the ledge. Take out any of the enemies that are in your way and wall jump up the narrow shaft (alternatively, you could use the wider path). Keep going and enter the upper door. As you walk near the acid, a flying bug will greet you. Freeze it, shoot the two blocks overhead, and climb over the pillar. Keep heading left and enter the door. Shoot through the blocks in front of you and begin falling down the narrow passage. Face right and shoot the oddly-colored block (light blue). Bomb through the tunnel and enter the missile door. Now, it's time to activate the zip lines. Simply morph into a ball and get in that obvious 'slot' on the structure. Stand up, shoot the red dot on the ceiling to bring the zip to you, and stand directly underneath it. Morph into a ball and bomb jump into the zip. The reason for the morph is so you don't collect that Energy Tank in the zip line's path. Once it stops, exit through the right-hand door and save your game. Exit to the right to re-enter the vertical shaft you were in earlier. This time, however, there's only one other door you can enter. So, enter it. Keep heading left through the small room to reach the worm mini-boss. Problem is it's not activated. To activate the boss, just ride the zip line on the ceiling. This guy is quite easy, you just have to be patient (that will be the main idea of all my boss strats). Because you have at most 5 missiles and a short beam, you'll spend a lot of time refilling. To refill, just go stand near one of the doors. Crouch, and, when he spits at you, shoot the spit. To actually damage him, stand on one of the lower blocks. When he starts to twitch, jump and grab on to the zip line (make sure it is on your side before you start this). As you are going over him, shoot a normal shot down onto his weak spot. After the zip drops you off, fire all your missiles at him. Refill and repeat the strat until he goes down. Occasionally, he will raise the acid in the room, so make sure you are not on one of the lower blocks when this happens (unless you have Varia). Also, he gets faster and faster as you accumulate damage, so be sure to have nimble fingers. Once he dies, exit through the left-hand door and use the morph ball booster to launch yourself to the top of the room. Exit through the door. In the next room, which you've already visited, shoot the red switch to bring the zip to you and ride it across. Exit through the right-hand door to enter a vertical shaft. Fall down as far as you can in this shaft and enter the very bottom door (ignoring or killing the enemies as you please). Again, you've been in here before, so you should know how to get through it. Take your time killing the Side Hoppers and avoid the missile expansion. Exit through the left-hand door to reach the main vertical shaft. Enter the door directly across from you and save your game. To get to Kraid, enter the door directly below the door to the Save Point. In this next room, two blocks are blocking a tunnel near the ceiling. Shoot these two blocks and navigate the tunnel to reach the main part of the room. Grab onto the Zip Line and ride it to the left. Rapid fire to take out the clusters of blocks in your way. Exit the door to enter what seems to be the bottom of a vertical shaft. Bomb through the floor above the pit and fall all the way to the bottom. Enter the door there. Pass through a small room to reach another small room. Bomb the suspicious-looking block in the floor and fall through. When you come to a stop, bomb through another block to reach the main part of the room. Enter the door on your left and save your game. Head back into the previous room, and make your way to the right. Take out the flying bugs and that cluster of blocks in the right hand corner of the room. Jump to where the blocks were and enter the tunnel that leads through the wall to the right. Collect the Space Jump, refill life and missiles if necessary, and exit the room. Jump back on that green platform again. Instead of taking the tunnel that goes through the wall, take the one that leads back to the left. Follow this until you come to a door. Enter it and navigate this next room. Again, there are a ton of strong enemies, so take your time. Save in the next room. Head to the right and bomb the suspicious block in the floor of the next room. Fall through the hole to reach a big room. Hold left and shoot the Space Jump block on the way down. Head through the door there to enter a room with the Eye Door. You know what that means; in the next room, Kraid awaits you. If you've played Super Metroid before, you'll know how this fight works. You simply shoot him in the mouth with a missile when it opens. Problem is, you have to open it by hitting him in the face with a missile. Normally, that would be easy, but you have to dodge claw swipes, flying finger nails, and chest spikes. He attacks the same way for pretty much the whole battle, but he has three distinct phases. In phase one, he is not shooting chest spikes at you (unless you fall), so the platform you stand on runs all the way to the door. In phase two, he starts shooting the chest spikes, so your platform is considerably shortened (the 2/3 closest to the door is gone). In phase three, that little short floating platform gets destroyed by a chest spike, so you have to use those to attack Kraid. In phases one and two, stand on the right edge of that small platform (mentioned in the phase two description above) and crouch. In this position, you won't have to worry at all about his claw swipe. When he shoots his finger nails at you, shoot the one coming directly at you and hold L to shoot the one above you. Use that method until you get to phase three. Because the platform you use to attack Kraid keeps disappearing, you'll have to be quicker and riskier with your attacks. Stand on the right-hand side of the spike and his claw swipe will never touch you. When you finally kill him, head into the room with the Speed Booster (but don't collect it) by bombing. Immediately head back into Kraid's Lair and exit through the other door. Run through the next room to enter a big room with a lot of enemies. Kill the ones in your way and exit through the door on the right. In this vertical shaft, stand on the right-hand edge of the second block from the door. Shoot up to open a hole in the ceiling and bomb jump out. Climb the rest of the room using any method you choose (Wall Jumping or climbing that long vertical column of shootable blocks Metroid 1 style). HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: you'll definitely have to climb it like you did in Metroid 1 because you can't wall jump up that column of blocks. At the very top of the room, enter the right-hand door and save. Back in the vertical shaft, head through the door directly across from you. This is what I call the 'Rio Room.' As soon as you latch onto the zip line, you'll get attacked by a bunch of Rios. Now, in an ordinary game, you would have enough missiles to take them out before the zip line ends, but you don't have that luxury here. So, you'll have to improvise. Get on the blocks directly below the zip and morph into a ball. Bomb jump into the zip and it will start carrying you across the room. As soon as you see the first Rio move, start laying down bombs. If you keep doing this, you should kill them all by the end of the line. Once the ride stops, shoot through the Space Jump block to your left, roll through the tunnel, and exit the door. You are now back in the main vertical shaft. Climb up to the top and save. Then take the elevator back to Brinstar. If you need to refill life and missiles, head through the passage to your right and use the Chozo statue. Once you heal or if you didn't need it, head into the vertical shaft to the left of the elevator. Jump on the ledge to your left and bomb the floor. Fall into the hole to reveal a morph ball booster. Use it to shoot all the way to the top of this shaft. Exit through the right-hand door at the top. Head to the right in this next room, roll under the wall, and exit the right-hand door. Head up this very long vertical shaft and enter the door at the very top. Head through this first room, using the statue if you need it. In the next room, there are no enemies, so make your way to the far door unhindered. When the passage opens in the next room, exit through the far door and ride the elevator down to Tourian. Enter the first door on your right and save your game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment 5 -- Tourian HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: boy, are you in for it. 90% of Tourian is your worst nightmare. Sure, you can kill those annoying Rinkas (the ACID CHEERIOS OF DEATH) with a simple spin jump, but the Metroids are a different story. You'll have to constantly refreeze them while waiting for the Rinkas to help you out. In addition to that, there are quite a few more Metroids per room (save for the first room with one). Therefore, I won't mention all the extra Metroids. The main thing to remember is to take your time. Find corners where you can freeze a couple of Metroids, forming a shield against others; then, blast them away. From the Save Point, head through the room to you right into a small vertical shaft. Drop down and enter the bottom door. Here's where you get your first glimpse of a dreaded Metroid. Freeze and missile it. Make sure you missile him quickly, or you'll have to refreeze it; they unfeeze very quickly (it's rediculous how short their freeze span is). It's not a problem in this room, but in rooms where there are multiple Metroids, they can be a real pain. If one latches onto you, morph into a ball and quickly bomb him off you; nine times out of ten, however, you'll die. Enter the door to reach the bottom part of the vertical shaft with the elevator. A Metroid will appear on the far side of the room. Let him come to you; then, freeze and missile him before the Rinkas get to you. Go to where the Metroid appeared (left side of room) and fall all the way to the bottom. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: don't fall; pretty much ignore any haphazard advice like that throughout this segment. Wait here for another Metroid coming from the upper-right corner of the screen. Freeze him and use the Rinkas to refill your missiles. Once you dispatch him, exit through the door. Jump across the first lava pit you see and wait for the Metroid to appear above you. Freeze and missile it, then jump across the raised platforms. A Metroid will appear on the third one, another Metroid will appear on the third platform past this one, and a final one will appear near the door. In the next room awaits four more Metroids. One in the bottom left corner, one in the bottom right corner, one in upper-middle part of the room, and one by the door. Take out the one in the bottom left first. Then, walk to the right and take out the one there. A lot of times, the one above you will come down and ambush you while you are killing this one, so keep your distance and take your time. Kill the one by the door and refill before leaving. Head through the next room into the door directly across from you. Save your game. Head back into the room to your left, shoot through the skinny part of the floor and enter the lower-right door. As you step in this room, a Metroid will appear underneath the ledge on which you are standing. Lure it to you and kill it, then slowly work your way down the room, repeating the process until you reach the scattered platforms. Wait on the first platform for the next Metroid to come to you. Take it out, then drop down to the bottom. Take out the final Metroid and enter the door. The next room is probably the most difficult room with Metroids in it. When you first enter, you'll notice there aren't any Metroids. Odd, but when you look at the map, you'll also see there is no visible floor. That means you need to bomb through it. Be careful, though, as there are Metroids lying in wait for you. The bomb section doesn't start until about six blocks from the door. Jump down onto the one closest to the ledge by the door and crouch. Two Metroids will come at you. Don't rush yourself and freeze them both (and any Rinkas that come at you). When you get an opening, kill the one on the right and jump off the small platform to the right. You are now on solid ground. Let the Metroid get in position and refreeze him. Refill your missiles using the Rinkas, then kill the Metroid. Run across the floor to the left and stand under the left-most floating platform. Two Metroids will appear on either side of you. Freeze them both, then kill the one on the left. Refill and kill the one on the right. Four down, two to go. Bomb this skinny floor and fall down close to the wall. A Metroid should appear underneath you. Lure it to you and kill it. Fall down to the floor and walk across to the right. Freeze and missile the final Metroid here. Either freeze a Rinka or bomb jump up to the next level; then, exit through the left-hand door. Save your game. Now for the fun part: the Zebetites. These guys take eight missiles (seven if you're extremely fast). Unfortunately, you only have five. Solution: kill Rinkas until there are two (or one, if you think you're fast enough) refills onscreen; then, shoot your five missiles, grab the refills, and shoot them. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: haha, I feel sorry for you; you need a MINIMUM of 3 refills onscreen before you can even attempt to take out a Zebetite (shoot two, collect one, repeat until it's gone). Once you take out one, head back to the Save Point. Refill life and missiles as necessary and save. Go back and do the same for the remaining Zebetites, saving between each one. For the third and forth Zebetites, crouch on the right block so the Turrets can't hit you. You can use a similar position for the second Zebetite, but there's no need because there will be five or six Rinkas onscreen, increasing the chance of missiles. Speaking of increasing your missile refill chances, don't get hit. Once all the Zebetites are gone, head back and save. As if that wasn't enough, you now have to face Mother Brain while dealing with Rinkas and Turrets. Positioning is extremely important. Stand on the right block and crouch (preferably towards the left side). In this position, Rinkas will come in from the upper and lower right. The Turrets aren't specifically a problem as long as you are on this platform, so that's pretty good. However, there's a slight problem; you won't be on this platform the whole fight. After you break the glass (twenty missiles), Mother Brain isn't helpless in this battle like she was in the previous games. When she flashes blue, she's about to shoot you with a mind laser. To avoid this, jump straight up. If you get shot by a Turret in the process, don't panic; a Turret blast does considerably less damage than the mind laser (avoid that at all costs). Now, for strategy. When you have full missiles, freeze the Rinkas and shoot Mother Brain in the eye. Refill your missiles (and life, if needed) using the Rinkas and start the process all over again. To refill effectively, kill the bottom Rinka first. That way, you're guaranteed that two Rinkas won't get to you at the same time. HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK: you finally get a break. Ignore all of the stuff in the paragraph above. All you have to do is stand on the right-hand platform and shoot at the tank. When the Rinkas come, perform a spin jump so that you'll land back on this same platform, taking out the Rinkas in the process. Every three missiles, and sometimes at random intervals (watch the eye), she will shoot her eye laser. Avoid this at all costs. Fortunately, all you have to do is jump over it and land on the left-hand platform. When it's safe, just jump back to the other one. Keep shooting and using her the Rinkas to refill for a relatively easy battle. As if you weren't expecting it, once you defeat her, you have to escape. The amount of time depends on the difficulty level (3 minutes for easy, 2 minutes for normal, and 1 minute for hard). Head through the door behind Mother Brain's resting place and you'll pop up in a vertical shaft. This shaft isn't all that difficult to climb, but you will be somewhat rushed. Not only because of the timer, but also because every block in this shaft is a delayed Pit block. Even still, the path should be fairly clear because, without the High Jump Boots, you can only reach certain blocks. At the top of the shaft, take the elevator up to reach Crateria. Head into the door to reach another vertical shaft. This one isn't as difficult, however. Climb up and head to the right. Shoot through the columns, jump over the pit, and exit through the right-hand door. Because you don't have the Speed Booster, you'll have to find a different way around that obstacle in the way. Notice the hole in the ceiling. You'll have to bomb jump up there. Don't worry; you have plenty of time. Once you bomb jump up to the first ledge, you can jump to the rest of them. At the top, roll to the right and fall through the Pit Blocks. You should now be able to reach your ship easily. Congratulations, you completed Metroid 1; but, this isn't Metroid 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment 6 -- Chozodia Watch the cutscene and Samus' ship will fly for what looks like a long way, only to be shot down and crash twenty feet from where she started. Well, she crashed to the right of Crateria (look at your map), but you get the idea. Anyway, you'll start out on a ledge without your Power Suit armed with only a pistol that, amazingly enough, destroys Bomb Blocks. Head to your left and under the ledge to reach the next room. Jump around the ledges and exit through the bottom left (notice Samus crouches automatically when you try to
  get in a crawl space).  In the next room, ignore the Pirates above you and
  head to the left, stopping when you reach the wall.  Shoot the grate, and the
  block behind it, at the base of the wall and head in.  Keep following this
  tunnel until you reach the Map Room.  Down the map and save in the room to
  your left.  The Save Points in this area have the unique ability to refill
  your life and missiles, so feel free to abuse them (though you won't really
  need them; you take a lot of damage without your suit).

  Chozodia is a little trickier than any other area in the game because you
  can't kill anything in your current state.  All you can do is stun them.  The
  good news is you can actually get to your suit without alerting any Pirates
  to your presence.  If you do alert one, however, there are places to stand to
  keep them from spying you.  I'll point out most of them, but this walkthrough
  will be a 'stealth' walkthrough.

  To advance from the Save Point, you'll have to go through the crawl space
  near the ceiling.  In the next room, a Pirate is standing directly underneath
  you.  When he looks towards the left, fall down and shoot him.  By the time
  you get to him, he'll be turned around and won't see you.  After you stun him
  or he sees you, head to the left and under (or over the platform).  Climb to
  the top, and, if the first one didn't see you, stand on the left end of the
  second highest platform.  Shoot up and right to stun the Pirate.  If the
  first one did see you, jump jump up to the top platform and stun him from
  there.  Either way, once he's stunned, head to the right and out the door.
  Walk off the ledge and crawl under the platform.  Head into the next room (if
  either Pirate saw you, you'll have to wait for him to leave before the gate
  goes up).  In this room, climb over the vertical beam that's in your way and
  crawl through the crawl space.  Go as far as you can to the right and shoot
  out the blocks.  As soon as you start to fall, press A to go into a spin
  jump.  Then, wall jump off the wall, climb up the ledges, and enter the door.
  The wall jump is so you don't trip the laser at the bottom of the room.

  In the next room, head to the right until you reach the wall.  Keep wall
  jumping off the left-hand wall until you reach the top (by staying on the
  left-hand side, you avoid the Pirate in the alcove on the right-hand side).
  At the top, land on the ledge, shoot out the bottom block, and head through
  the door.  In the next room, if a Pirate has seen you, you'll have to fall
  through the Pit Blocks (continue holding right so you land on the platform)
  because the gate is down.  If the gate is still up, however, just jump over
  the Pit Blocks.  Head up the room and enter the top door.  If a Pirate is
  chasing you, wait on the other side of that pillar in the middle of the room.
  When he leaves, head through the room and jump through the ceiling.  Hold
  left to grab onto the ledge.  Crawl through the crawl space.  In the next
  room, fall through the floor.  Head into the door on your right to save your
  game.

  After saving, head back out into the room.  Wall jump up the left-hand wall
  and shoot the block directly above you (the 'wall' is actually a T-shaped
  section in the middle of a big room).  Once you land, wall jump back up the
  wall and grab onto the ledge embedded in the ceiling.  Walk left to fall down
  this T-shaped platform.  Fall through the Pit Block and shoot the floor
  directly beneath you to open up the path (the section is marked by cracked
  blocks).  Continue down the room, opening the path as you go, until you come
  to a purple-colored area.  Head to the right.  When you get to the end of
  this ledge, be careful.  At the bottom of this drop are two Pirates.  You can
  do this two ways.  To not be seen, fall off and hold left to grab onto a
  platform above the Pirates.  Quickly pull yourself up and head left.  The
  other way is to fall between them and let them kill each other (a Pirate shot
  will kill another Pirate).  Either way, head through the door to your left.

  Walk to the left and fall through the Pit Blocks.  Head through the door
  directly to your left.  In this next room, you get a glimpse of your newset
  foe:  spotlights.  Well, it's not really a foe, but they'll still alert
  Pirates to your presence.  Avoid them and head through the upper door.  In
  the next room, head up the room, shooting the blocks in your way.  Enter the
  left-hand door at the top.  In this next room are two sections of bomb blocks
  separated by a gate.  If the Pirates are alerted to your presence, shoot the
  first section of blocks and stand under the ledge by the door until he
  leaves.  Head into the other door and save your game.

  Head through the left-hand door to continue our run.  Run off the ledge by
  the door to land on a bigger ledge.  Wall jump up the wall to your left and
  get on top of it.  Walk off to the left to land on top of the beam generator.
  From there, jump on top of the wall to your left.  Now, get a running start
  and jump to the left.  Land on or grab the platform (made up of delayed Pit
  Blocks), then jump to the left and grab the beam generator.  Head into the
  door.  Head through the next room (how boring).  In the next room, jump off
  and grab the ledge on which you were just standing.  Now, jump to your left
  to get next to the wall, then wall jump enter a hidden passage.  Fall down
  and shoot out the block in the floor.  Follow the passage and fall through
  the floor again.  Keep falling down a long vertical shaft with windows (it's
  outdoors) to reach another outdoors scene.  You're in a tunnel.  Head to the
  left to get out of this tunnel.  Head through the next room to reach the
  Chozo Ruins.  Keep running left until you exit this room (you'll fall all the
  way to the floor and crawl under a crawl space.

  In the next room, stand up and shoot out the bomb blocks over your head.
  Jump over the pillar and shoot through the next set of bomb blocks.  Crawl
  under the low wall and exit the room.  Since there's nothing interesting in
  the next room, just run through it (if you somehow activated a pirate, you
  can stand in the shadow on the ledge).  Save in the next room.

  From the Save Point, head to the left and through the next room.  When you
  get to the room with the spotlights, crawl under the low wall to your left;
  then, inch back out to the right until you are in crouching position.  Now,
  the spotlight won't see you.  Once it passed very close to you (and is out of
  your way), wall jump up the wall and exit through the upper-right door.  In
  the next room, just fall down to the floor and exit.  Keep running right
  while shooting to take out all the blocks in your way.  When you reach the
  end, climb the ledges and exit through the door.  If you haven't activated
  the Pirates, exit through the upper door.  If you have activated them, run as
  far right as you can in this room and shoot the wall.  From this position,
  the Pirate that chases you into the room won't see you.  From there, you can
  jump back to the original ledge after he leaves.  Once you exit through the
  upper door, head into the next room and exit through the door.

  Another enemy is introduced in this room.  The eyes on the walls will spot
  you if you cross thier line of sight (clearly marked by the yellow beams), so
  be careful.  Obviously, they can't see through solid objects, so use the
  blocks to your advantage.  Once you pass all the eyes, exit through the door
  at the top.  In the next room, jump over the small obstacle in your way and
  crawl under the wall.  Keep moving left because the delayed Pit Blocks will
  collapse behind you.  Don't worry about shooting the blocks; there's pleny of
  time to shoot them all.  Also, the Pirates won't bother you unless you fall.
  After you stand up, you'll notice another skinny floor next to the wall.
  Those are regular Pit Blocks.  To keep your stealth, jump to the left and, as
  you fall through the Pit Blocks, shoot the wall to the left to open up a
  small alcove.  You should grab the ledge.  Shoot down and to the right to
  stun the Pirate down there.  As soon as you stun him, fall to the floor and
  enter the door there.

  Head to the left through this room.  If a Pirate has seen you, you still need
  to head to the left (standing in the shadow on the ledge does nothing for
  you).  In the next room, shoot through the wall to your left and enter the
  door.  Here is where you lose the Pirate (if you picked up one).  To lose him
  crawl under the blocks and crouch in the shadow of the pit.  Either way, head
  up this room and exit through the upper door.  Shoot the blocks in your way
  in the next room, and crawl through the tunnel.  In the next room, navigate
  the ledges and exit through the upper door.  Fall through the floor here;
  then, climb the small vertical shaft.  Enter the hidden room to you left and
  save your game.

  After saving, head back into the room and exit through the door directly in
  front of you.  Jump over the weird statue that held the fake Power Bombs and
  continue through the room.  Don't worry about the pirate with the bombs; you
  can't catch him.  Head through the upper door to reach another vertical shaft
  with eyes.  Stand behind the block and wait for the eye to go back down.
  When you have a clearing, drop down to the next safe spot and wait some more.
  When you have another clearing, drop down and to the right and crawl through
  the tunnel to enter the second half of the room.  Again, await for the eye
  to move up behind the block so you can get by.  Exit through the upper door.

  This next room is one of the trickiest room on the whole route.  There are
  four Pirates in here with very little cover.  Head to the right until you see
  the first Pirate walking on top of the platform to your right.  When he turns
  his back, run and stand under his platform.  When he turns back to the left,
  make a run for the next platform and crawl under the block.  Inch out of the
  crawl space to enter crouching mode.  While crouched in this position,
  neither of the two Pirates onscreen can see you.  When both of them have
  their back to you (the one above you is facing left and the one to the right
  is facing right), freeze the one in front of you and head for the door to the
  right.  The timing is VERY hard to get down; you'll want them to be as far
  away from you as possible.

  Once you enter the door, you'll be in a very big vertical shaft.  Walk off
  the ledge and land on the platform.  Don't fall down to the bottom, at all
  costs.  There is a Pirate waiting for you.  Anyway, climb the room until you
  reach the small tunnel (not far above the entrance door).  Once you crawl
  into the next room, keep crawling until you can stand up.  Exit through the
  door and head up through the next room.  Walk off the ledge to land on the
  floor.  Head to the left, making sure you only pass an open spot in the
  ceiling (where the Pirates are) when they have their backs turned to you.  At
  the far end of the room, climb the blocks to get to the top of the room.
  Head to the left, ducking under the low walls and shooting out the blocks in
  your way.  Whatever you do, don't shoot the floor, or you fall down and alert
  the Pirates.  At the end, head through the gap in the wall (if a Pirate has
  been chasing you this whole time, shoot the floor AFTER you jump off it to
  make them lose track of you).  Continue to the right and save in the next
  room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 7 -- The Final Stretch

  From the Save Point, head though the door on your right (it's the only way
  you can go).  Scale the ledges and enter the upper left-hand door.  Here, you
  get to fight a Chozo-esque statue for your 'Fully Powered Suit.'

  This guy really isn't that difficult.  Your goal is to shoot the 'ball' with
  Samus in it four times.  Problem is, if you can see Samus, your shots will
  actually hurt you.  Therefore, wait for the ball to change forms (when it
  changes forms, you should be able to see it quite easily) before you shoot
  it.  Keep in mind that as the fight goes on, the time the ball stays in this
  vulnerable phase gets shorter and shorter.  Anyway, he starts off the fight
  by doing nothing, so think of this as a free round.  For the second and
  subsequent rounds, a hologram of the statue comes out of the wall and starts
  flying around the room (it follows a pattern, so learn where he's going
  next).  Don't touch any part of it, including the ball.  Also, when the image
  on the wall flashes, a thunderbolt will come down out of the sky directly
  above you.  To avoid it, just keep moving.  Occasionally, in the latter
  stages of the battle, he will shoot a thunderbolt in the center of the room.
  The tunderbolt will hit the floor and split up, travelling towards each wall.
  Just jump over this to avoid it.  Again, the key to this battle is patience.
  Always be in a position to shoot at the ball if it changes, and don't shoot
  unless you're in that position.  Once you finally take him out, head back to
  the Save Point and save.

  From now until the final boss, the game is rather easy because you can
  actually kill the Pirates.  You also take less damage.  So, from the Save
  Point, head back to the right and missile through the floor.  Fall down to
  the bottom and run to the right.  Ignore the Super Missile beind the Speed
  Blocks and head up to the next level (shoot through the blocks).  Head up to
  the top of this room and exit through the upper right door.  In this next
  room, it appears as if your progress is blocked by the Screw Attack Blocks.
  But, of course they're not, or we wouldn't even be here.  The second block
  from the door in the floor is a Missile Block.  Remove it and fall down.
  Crouch and shoot a missile to your right to take out the block in front of
  you to allow access to the main shaft.  Fall down to the very bottom, taking
  out the Pirates along the way (or, you could take them all out after you
  reach the bottom).  Missile the bottom right block in this room (in the
  floor), and head into the tunnel.  Roll to the left under the Screw Attack
  Blocks and bomb your way out of this tunnel.  HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK:
  obviously, you can Screw Attack through both of these barriers to save time
  and missiles.  Head into the door.

  Bomb the far left block in the floor and fall into the lava (don't worry,
  your Gravity Suit protects you).  Fall to the left, space jump out of the
  lava, and fall back down to the floor.  Jump up and enter the tunnel in the
  left-hand wall.  Keep rolling left to fall through the Pit Block.  This room
  has Pirates and Eyes in it, so take them out at your leisure.  Head through
  the door at the bottom.  Take out the Pirates in your way, then walk off the
  ledge to the left.  Continue to hold left to fall through Pit Blocks and
  reach the lower level of the room.  Run to the left, shooting out the blocks
  as you go, and enter the next room.  Take out the Pirates and enter the door
  at the top of the room.  Fall down the pit right beside you and enter the
  bottom-right door.  Take out the Pirate in front of you and the one behind
  you to open the gate.  Head into the next room and save.

  Head to the right.  Ignore the Pirate standing on the ledge; he won't notice
  you.  In this next room, roll undter the low wall and take out the blocks in
  your way.  Kill the Pirates and exit through the tunnel to the right.  Roll
  out of the tunnel, quickly unmorph, and kill the Pirates.  Space jump to the
  top and enter the right-hand door.  Head through the next room, into the
  glass tube, and exit through the right-hand door.  Kill the Pirate that you
  see and Space jump to the top of the room (take out the Pirates as you go).
  Land in the alcove and lay a bomb.  After the path opens, space jump up to
  the tunnel.  Roll through this tunnel and into the next room, take out the
  Pirate, and exit through the door.

  This is your first encounter with probably the most dreaded regular enemy:
  the Black Pirate.  Only your beam will work on it, but it can take a TON of
  damage.  Just ignore this one (you'll get to fight some later) and head
  through the other door.  Quickly turn around and shoot at the door.  After
  you kill the Pirate that comes in, space jump across the top of the room and
  enter the door on the other side of the room (do your best to avoid the
  Bombus).  Head through the Save Point into the next room, turn around, kill
  the Pirate following you; then go back and save your game.

  Now, head back into the room to the right and bomb away the two walls to
  reach the exit door.  Once you head in, take out the Pirate directly in front
  of you and morph into a ball.  The cracked blocks in the ceiling are Screw
  Attack blocks, which you can't use.  However, the first block immediately to
  the left of the cracked blocks is a missile block, and so are the two above
  it.  Shoot them all out, then Space Jump up there.  HARD MODE WITH SCREW
  ATTACK:  just use those blocks to reach the upper level of the room.  Take
  out the Pirate in your way.  The set of cracks in the ceiling to your right
  are bomb blocks, so bomb jump up there and take them out.  After taking out
  the Pirate, head into the right-hand door.  In the next room, you'll
  immediately notice a Black Pirate.  Quickly jump up to the next level, turn
  around and shoot the door from which you just entered, and wait.  Eventually,
  the Black Pirate will leave.  Head up over the T-shaped obstacle you went
  through earlier, and enter the bottom right door (take out the other two
  Pirates in your way).  Save your game (this does not apply to hard mode).

  Head back into the previous room and enter the missile door directly above
  the Save Point.  There are no enemies in this room, so just head to the top
  and exit through the small tunnel.  In the next room are two Black Pirates.
  To get through safely, space jump across the top of the room, fall down, and
  enter the door.  Turn around and immediately take out the Pirate that follows
  you.  There are really no tricks in this room; just lots of Pirates.  Take
  your time and take them out one by one.  One is on the floor underneath the
  door, one is on a platform in the upper-right corner, and two are on the
  floor by the door.

  In the next room are several more Pirates.  Again, take your time and make
  your way to the bottom left door.  Take out the Pirates in front of and
  behind you and bomb through the tunnel to reach the exit.  I don't mean to
  sound like a broken record, but this next room is more of the same:  Pirates.
  Head up this room cautiously and exit through the upper door.  Finally,
  something different:  Bombus (not that it's a refreshing change).  Shoot
  through the cracked floor near the door and navigate the tunnel to reach the
  exit (be careful; their pulses can still hurt you through the floor).  The
  next room has lots of Pirates.  Carefully scale it, luring them down to a
  good position if necessary, and exit through the upper door.

  In the next room, if there are any Pirates trailing you, take them out before
  you continue.  Then, roll under the low wall.  Take out the Pirate there (if
  he sees you, another will come from the door you behind you).  Finally, take
  out the Pirate on the next level from the platform.  After that, head into
  the door to your right.  Turn around and kill the Pirate following you; then,
  save in the next room.

  After saving, head back to the left until you reach the big room.  Get on the
  platform close to the ceiling, and lay a bomb.  Ignore the Pirate and enter
  the right-hand door.  Normally, in this next room, you'd need a Power Bomb to
  get through.  But, since you don't have them, you'll have to find another
  way.  Fortunately for you, there is hidden tunnel in the ceiling that you can
  space jump into (2 blocks from the wall).  After you exit the tunnel,
  continue to the right.  Bomb through the wall and enter the next room.  There
  is nothing of interest to you in this room, so just enter the door at the far
  end.  Shoot out the cracked block in the wall, and roll into the tunnel.
  Fall through the delayed Pit Blocks and enter the missile door to face Mecha
  Ridley (for lack of a better name, I guess).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 8 -- The Final Battle

  And, what a fitting final battle it is.  In low percent, Mecha Ridley can
  prove to be quite a challenge for several reasons.  For one, he does tons of
  damage.  He has three main attacks:  a claw swipe, a fireball attack, a
  missile attack (he shoots three), and an eye laser.  The claw swipe does 40,
  75, and 99 damage (easy, normal, and hard, respectively); each fireball does
  15, 30, and 60 damage; each missile does 20, 40, and 80 damage; and each hit
  from the eye laser does 15, 25, and 50 damage.  Using this damage guide, if
  you get stuck in a place where you are, without a doubt, going to get hit,
  pick the attack that does the least amount of damage.

  Now, for the attacks themselves.  To avoid his claw swipe, just crouch (or
  morph) in the lower left corner.	 This is the easiest attack to avoid
  because, as long as you stay crouched, it will never hit.  Unfortunately,
  circumstances require that you jump at times, which I'll get to later.  To
  avoid the fireball attack, just space jump between the two streams of
  fireballs (not nearly as hard as it sounds).  This attack is perhaps the
  easiest to avoid, as he only does it as a stand alone attack.  To avoid the
  missiles he shoots, you'll have to either destroy them or avoid them.
  Because they are your only means of refilling life and missiles, however,
  you'll be destroying them most of the time.  The only time you will need to
  jump over them is when he is doing all three of his big attacks at once (the
  eye laser, the missiles, and the claw swipe).  Avoiding the eye laser isn't
  all that bad, in and of itself.  It's avoiding it while avoiding the other
  attacks that's the problem.  90% of the time he does this attack, he's either
  overlapping it with missiles, the claw swipe, or both.  To avoid it, you can
  either morph into a ball or simply jump over it.

  Time for the actual strat.  Mecha Ridley has two distinct phases.  In the
  first phase, he'll do all the attacks save the eye laser.  This is obviously
  the easier of the two phases.  In the second phase, he'll do all the attacks
  save the fireball attack.  Obviously, he starts in phase one and transitions
  to phase two after you break the glass around his weak spot (it takes 10
  missiles).  In phase one, crouch in the corner.  You shouldn't get hit at all
  in this phase.  Aim diagonally up.  If he shoots missiles, take them out.  To
  effectively take missiles out (i.e. without getting hit), you'll need to pay
  attention to Ridley's place on the screen.  If he is all the way to the
  right, take out the first missile by shooting diagonally up; then, take out
  the rest by shooting directly to the right.  If he is closer to you, you can
  take out two of the missiles easily by aiming diagonally up, perhaps all
  three (not guaranteed, however, so shoot right after a couple shots).
  Use the recovery time of his claw swipe to attack.  When he extends his neck,
  be ready to space jump over the fireballs.  After you sucessfully land nine
  missiles, wait until your life and missiles are fully refilled before
  breaking the glass.

  HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK:  this phase is very simple, really.  Just keep
  space jumping in the upper left-hand corner (this takes out the missiles and
  avoids all claw swipes).  After each claw swipe, land and shoot him.  Try to
  finish the phaze so that he is at the back (11th missile hits his exposed
  weak spot).

  After his glass is broken is when the fight becomes tough.  Here's a little
  more about his positioning because the strat depends on it heavily.  When he
  is at the front, you are fairly safe.  The missiles are easier to destroy
  and the eye laser is easier to avoid.  To start with, roll into a ball and
  hold L (nothing happens).  Now, watch his back.  When the missile silo opens,
  start watching his eye.  When you get an opening, quickly unmorph, shoot the
  missiles, and remorph.  After he does the claw swipe, collect your booty.
  If you ever get low on life or want to refill missiles, don't attack him
  while he's in this position (because it's the easiest to manage).  A
  successful attack will result in his moving to the back, making it harder to
  refill temporarily.  When he does move back there, your best bet in avoiding
  the eye laser is to jump over it.  If he combines it with missiles, look for
  an opening, much like you did when unmorphing.  If he does all three from
  back here, you can space jump near the ceiling as the missiles get close to
  you to avoid all three attacks.  This won't get you any refills, but you
  won't get hit either.  This also automatically moves him to the front.  As
  you attack him, he'll get faster, noted by color changes.  It takes 35
  missiles to kill him after his glass is removed.

  Also, occasionally during the battle, he tends to go into 'stupid mode.'  In
  this mode, his eye lasers will not even be anywhere close to you.  Use this
  to your advantage.  You can then treat his second phase exactly like his
  first phase.  When this happened to me, I beat him without ever getting hit
  once!  The length of time he stays in this mode depends, but it usually lasts
  a long time.  After you kill him, don't get too excited.

  HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK:  the second phase is not quite as simple as the
  first.  There are a couple of options for fighting him; you can just do the
  strat listed above the whole way, or you can mix it up with the strat I'm
  about to give you.  Start by space jumping along the left-hand wall.  From
  here, you don't worry about the missiles.  Now, what you DO have to worry
  about are those eye lasers.  As you are space jumping (you should be about
  half-way up, no higher than the top line in the wall), watch each laser.  If
  the laser is horizontal, jump over it (or, if you don't feel like you can,
  just fall beneath it; just watch out for the claw).  If it's at any other
  angle, keep space jumping where you are.  As soon as you see his claw go up,
  jump as high as you can.  Now, none of this is really hard, as long as you
  have fast reaction times.  As for when to do which strat, I suggest doing the
  'space jumping strat' when he is as far right as he can be.  When he is
  closer to you (after the claw swipe), use the 'crouching in the corner'
  method because it's a lot harder to avoid those lasers at close range.

  As with Mother Brain, Nintendo isn't going to let you off easy.  You now have
  to escape.  Don't worry; five minutes is plenty of time.  HARD MODE WITH
  SCREW ATTACK:  you only get three minutes, but don't worry, it's still plenty
  of time.  When you can, exit through the left-hand door.  Space jump to the
  top of the room and shoot the topmost block in the central column.  Grab the
  ledge, roll through the tunnel, and exit through the door.  Because the
  Pirates are always on alert now, there will be no sneaking.  As you run
  through this room, continuously shoot you beam to hit the two Pirates at the
  end.  Exit through the door.

  In the next room, it may look like you are stuck, but there's a tunnel
  directly above the door that will lead you past the gate.  Shoot through the
  wall ahead to enter the tunnel; then, stand up and use the tunnel you
  previously used to skip the Power Bomb Block.  Exit through the left-hand
  door.  Take out the Pirate that you can see and bomb through the floor.
  Ignore the next door and continue down the room until you reach the bottom.
  There is a Pirate under the platform near where you just bombed, one on the
  next platform nearest to the floor, and one by the door in the bottom-right.
  As you enter the next room, quickly shoot the Pirate standing above you and
  to the right.  Work your way down this room, being very careful not to land
  on any Pirates.  To do this, continuously shoot downwards until you land.
  HARD MODE WITH SCREW ATTACK:  I shouldn't have to tell you to use it
  liberally from now on (especially on the Bombus).  That way, if you were
  going to land on a Pirate, you would freeze, or even kill, him first.  Exit
  through the bottom door.

  In the next room, be very very careful.  The Bombus have a habit of just
  sitting in the doorway, blocking your progress.  Either wait for them to
  clear out, or take the hit and go through.  This next room is rather tricky.
  There are numerous Pirates in here and very little room for error.  Just walk
  off to the left and shoot downward until you reach the floor.  Take out the
  Pirate on the floor and exit through the door (ignore the rest of them).  As
  Bomb through the tunnel.  As you near the end, you'll notice a Pirate.
  Either quickly unmorph and take him out or lure him into the tunnel and bomb
  him to death.  Exit through the door.  The next room is quite easy; there's
  only one Pirate.  Exit through the upper door.  The next room is the big,
  maze-like room with all the Pirates.  Again, take your time and you'll easily
  make it through.  Exit through the door on the other side.

  This room has two Bombus and a Pirate in it.  Space jump across the top of
  the room to avoid the first Bombu.  Then, fall down and kill the Pirate (you
  may have to shoot downward in case he's underneath you).  Go under the second
  Bombu and roll through the tunnel into the next room.  This is the trickiest
  room of the whole escape.  You HAVE to fight two Black Pirates, and they can
  take a beating.  Fortunately, there is a beautiful strat that's fairly easy
  to pull off.  First off, jump down to where they are (not literally; hug the
  wall and land on the lowest ledge).  When you have their attention, space
  jump back up to the top of the room.  Once on flat ground again, crouch and
  face left (position yourself so that you are on the left side of that pillar
  in the background).  When a Pirate comes up, hit him a few times and watch
  him.  If he comes up to where you are, quickly run right and jump in that
  morph ball tunnel above.  Roll to the left.  Once he jump off the ledge, go
  back down and repeat the process.  If, once he climbs up the wall, he starts
  shooting at the wall in the opposite direction, keep blasting him until he
  dies.  The addition of a second Pirate doesn't make this any harder; so, once
  they're gone, drop down to the floor.  When the gate to your right opens,
  walk in to the ship.  Be careful; you don't want to come all this way to get
  killed by the Pirate that jumps out of the ship, do you?  Take him out and
  jump in the ship.

  Congratulations!  You've just completed the game on the lowest possible
  percent.  Now, watch the credits and enjoy your accomplishment.


===============================================================================
===============================================================================

II.  Legal Crap

  This FAQ is the 2004 Copyright of me, TreborSelbon.  Any of the Metroid stuff
  is the property of Nintendo.  This FAQ is for personal use only.  Don't take
  it, change it, sell it, promote it, or use it in any way, shape, or form
  without asking me first.  Basically, if you need this FAQ for something other
  than personal use, I MUST give you permission.  Websites are not covered
  under personal use.

  If anyone reads this anywhere other than the sites I specifically mention
  below, let me know immediately.

===============================================================================

III.  Special Thanks

  As you might have seen already, I didn't do all this myself.  I would like to
  thank Tim, Toozin, Radix, Nate, Banks, Paratroopa, Tzyr and everyone else who
  inspired me to make or had a hand in the actual making of this FAQ.  I
  wouldn't be human if I haven't left someone off; so, let me know if your name
  should be here, tell me why, and I'll put you here.  Yes, I'll update the FAQ
  JUST to put someone's name in the credits.

  Of course, I'd like to thank CJayC for hosting my FAQ on such an awesome
  site:

  http://www.gamefaqs.com

  I'd also like to thank Nate for hosting an awesome site.  Metroid
  Headquarters is now merged with his site Metroid 2002.  This merge solved a
  pretty big conflict with a download service.  Plus, Nate's site kicks ass.
  Go here for tons of helpful videos for this game, as well as other Metroid
  games (Fusion, Prime, Super, etc.), and some other stuff.  Full runs will be
  up on that site in a little while.

  http://www.metroid2002.com

===============================================================================

IV.  Contact Information

  Email: spudrobert2@hotmail.com
  AIM: TreborSelbon

  You know how hotmail is...lots of spam.  So if you send me an email, make
  sure I can make out that it's about the FAQ.  If it's not clear, it may get 
  deleted.  I'm on AIM every night, so feel free to IM me.  I'll gladly take
  any questions, suggestions, or comments about the FAQ.

===============================================================================