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Introduction

Super Metroid is a combo platformer/third-person shooter. It's the third installment of the Metroid series, after Metroid (NES) and Metroid II (GB). Arguably the best 2D installment in the Metroid series, Super Metroid definitely holds its own as one of the SNES's classics.

Story

Note that this contains spoilers; read at your own risk!

The game begins shortly after the conclusion of Metroid II, in which Samus has found a friendly Metroid hatchling, the last of its kind, and taken it to Ceres Station for further research. As she is leaving, the station is attacked by the dread Space Pirates from Planet Zebes, who have apparently rebuilt their planet after its destruction in Metroid. Samus returns to investigate and finds the station empty...

Controls

(Note: These are the default control settings; personally, I prefer to change them, as I don't find the default setup to be particularly user-friendly.)

Walkthrough

Note that this section will contain some spoilers.

At several points, you'll be presented with options for proceeding. Such is the nature of Super Metroid, a non-linear game before non-linear games were the norm. My recommendations are meant for a first-time player, but I will present you with the most common deviations from the walkthrough when we reach them, in case you have mastered the moves needed for these other options (or you just want to play differently).

Ceres Station

After the initial sequence, which details the events leading up to Super Metroid, you'll find yourself in Ceres Station on an elevator. From here, make your way down and right through the station (the path is completely linear and there are no enemies or items). At the end, you'll face your first enemy...

After Ridley leaves, a self-destruct sequence will be set, and you'll have one minute to escape. This is plenty of time, just run and jump as quickly as you can. In the short vertical shaft as well as the room with the elevator, the platforms will shoot out jets of hot air/steam/smoke/whatever; just time your jumps to avoid them (they do no damage, so don't worry about your Energy) and step on the elevator to escape.

Landing on Planet Zebes

After a brief scene, your starship will touch down and let you out. There's nothing to the right (even if you are an accomplished Wall Jumper, you'll find your way blocked by a Green Door), so head left instead. Go through the Blue Door.

Here, you'll find everything dark and completely devoid of enemies. Just continue left (you'll pass an area with a small gap; it's currently too small for you to enter) until the room moves downward, which you should follow. You'll see several doors on both sides of the shaft as you head down; only one of them can be entered, and you won't be able to do anything in that room anyway, so just go through the door at the bottom.

In this new room (which looks strangely like the escape shaft from the first game), make your way down to the bottom. The easiest way is just to hug one of the walls; you'll be able to fall most of the way down with no difficulty. When you reach the bottom, go through the door. In the next room, there's nothing to do other than observe more interesting similarities to the first game, so just enter the door on the right side (note that a Metal Door will have closed behind you, preventing you from returning, for now). Finally, you'll encounter an elevator; ride it down (press Down on top to take it down).

Upon landing, you'll find yourself in yet another area that will be familiar to veterans of the series. Here, you can go left or right; yet again, there is nothing accessible to the right for now, so go left. You'll soon come across the Morphing Ball, which allows you to assume ball form to enter those gaps that are one block high. Grab it, then make your way right (you can just roll under the block formation here after shooting the block underneath it). You'll notice a light turned on and some statues are looking at you; it seems the planet realizes you're there. No enemies will appear to fight you, for the moment, so make your way all the way right, past the elevator, and through the door on the other side.

Here, you'll see a Red Door immediately to the right, which you cannot enter at the moment. Shoot the blocks in the center of the room to allow yourself to drop down, then roll into a ball (press Down twice) and move through the gap to reach the door at the bottom of the room. Enter it. You'll see Missile Tank 01; take it and leave (there's nothing else of interest here). Go back to the top of the previous chamber. Remember the Red Door we just ignored? You now have just enough Missiles to open it; do so (you'll use all your Missiles). Run to the right (Energy Tank 09 is hidden in the ceiling here as well, but you won't be able to get it yet, even with Wall Jumping, so just leave it for now), roll under the gap, and grab Missile Tank 02. Now, make your way back to the elevator and ride it up.

Crateria

When you reach the top of the elevator shaft, you'll notice the elevator room is now lit up with that classic elevator music. This can't bode well for you. In any case, exit left.

Here, you'll come across your first normal enemies: Gray Space Pirates. Their attacks do heavy damage for this point in the game (16 energy for a hit from their lasers or direct contact), but they will fall to a single shot from your beam weapon. Defeat them all, grab any dropped items, and leave through the now-flashing Metal Door to the left.

Make your way to the top of the old escape shaft, defeating or avoiding the Space Pirates, and go through the door at the top. Next, open the Red Door at the right, then make your way across the room (shoot the Mellows, and be especially wary of the Reo (the large bird), it does 15 damage per hit; three shots will defeat it), and enter the door on the other side. Here is the Crateria Map Computer; this handy device will show you most of Crateria's map (it's optional, but helpful when exploring). Make you way back past the Mellows to the room before.

The Blue Door across the shaft still has nothing accessible, so continue to make your way up. The Blue Door blocked by a Morphing Ball path contains a Save Unit (I recommend using it). Once you're ready to continue, make your way up and back to the top of the shaft.

Remember that Morphing Ball path we skipped earlier in this area? Now it's time to use it. Roll into the gap, dodge the Ripper as you drop, and go through the door. Here, I recommend just rolling (in a ball) under the Mellows. Open the Red Door, but don't go in yet. Instead, shoot some of the Mellows to replenish your Missiles (and Energy if you've lost any). Once you're ready, go into the door.

Here, you'll notice that the door doesn't close behind you like normal, and just sits open. Odd...that couldn't mean anything good for you when you're trying to raid an enemy planet. Grab the Bombs and get ready for...

After the battle, pick up any Missile/Energy pickups, then leave the way you came. Go back past the Mellows (if you need more Missile/Energy refills you can kill some), to the place where you dropped down through earlier (the one you took to get to the Bombs). You won't be able to leave the way you came unless you're really good at Wall Jumping, so climb up the right side, then Bomb your way out.

At this point, I recommend saving on the Starship (which is direcly right of where you are now); this will also refill your Energy and Missiles to max. Once you're done, go back to the door you've been ignoring all this time, the one opposite the Map Computer corridor. Now, you'll be able to Bomb your way through the blocks; Missile Tank 03 is your prize. Go back to the room with all the doors, and go to the topmost section on the left. See those blocks on the left-hand wall with the weird texture? These are blocks you'll need to Bomb through to proceed. Do so, and go through the door.

Make your way down the incline, dodging or killing the Wavers and Geemers as you go. At the bottom, you'll find Energy Tank 01 - Energy Tanks add 100 units to your maximum Energy and completely refill it as well. Awesome! Once you have the Energy Tank, go through the door.

In this room, you'll find a new enemy - the Green Space Pirate. Unlike its Gray brethren, it's not affected by your beam at all, does 20 damage per hit, and here there's not enough room to dodge them (you can't roll under them, and there's very little space above them). You will therefore want to defeat them--you can do so using either a Missile or two Bombs (be careful with Bombs though, that you don't touch the enemy itself). Work your way down to the bottom. You'll see a Red Door to the right and a Blue Door to the left. The Red Door leads to a small area (not marked on the map) with a hallway, followed by a strange-looking statue. You won't be able to interact with the statue at all, but if you want to go see it, be my guest. When you're ready to continue, go through the Blue Door to the left.

This corridor presents some interesting new enemies. First is the Silver Geemer. Unlike its weaker Blue brothers, which were just cannon fodder, the Silver Geemer can only be defeated with Bombs at this point (Missiles and beam shots won't work). Also new is the Kago, which releases Kagoites when attacked and is destroyed in 11 hits. The Kago drops nothing, but the Kagoites it spawns when attacked can be used to refill Energy and Missiles. If you attack it, just use your beam; otherwise, just ignore them, as the Kago itself won't attack or do damage. To continue, head through the door on the right to find an elevator room. Ride the elevator down.

Brinstar

You begin in...

Green Brinstar

You'll now find yourself in a new area - Brinstar. Brinstar is a jungle-type area, with many insects and plant enemies. You'll note that you obtained the Morphing Ball and first two Missile Tanks from a different area of Brinstar, but now we're here to take on Brinstar proper.

Once the elevator stops, make your way down. When you reach the first two Red Doors, go through the left door first. You'll come across two Zeelas, which are little threat, and a Small Sidehopper, which is much more dangerous. The Small Sidehopper can be defeated with your beam, but it may be worth using a Missile to take them out, as they move fast and take off 20 Energy points per hit. Once you've dealt with the first opponents, head over towards the wall on the right side of the room. The wall can be Bombed; do so, and enter the door. You'll find Brinstar's Map Computer--Brinstar is a large area, and having most of it mapped out will be very helpful. Remember that you'll need to defeat all enemies in the previous room to open the Metal Door to return to the elevator room.

Back in the shaft, take the opposite Red Door. Here, towards the bottom of the room, you'll find Missile Tank 04 (either drop down from the top level through the Pit Blocks, or bomb through the bottom-most blocks; you'll need to bomb the blocks to get out at any rate).

When you're done, return to the elevator room.

The next screen down holds a single Red Door to the left, which contains a Save Unit. Use it, then continue to the bottom of the room.

At the bottom are two Red Doors. The one to the left leads to a room lit only by Firefleas; killing one (whether with your weapons or by touching it) will darken the room; kill too many, and it will be almost impossible to see. The room leads to a Missile Charge Unit. Charge up if you need to, then return to the shaft and take the right-hand Red Door to proceed.

In this new room, you'll mostly encounter Zeelas, but Reos will appear as well. Avoid or defeat the enemies and make your way right; eventually, you'll reach a point blocked off by what appears to be a wall. All the blocks in the wall are bombable, so blast your way through. (Right after this, there are some Speed Booster Blocks, but you can't do anything with them just yet.). Make your way to the door on the right (watch out for the Metarees just before the door, they deal 48 damage per hit at the moment) and enter it.

You'll now find yourself in a very large room. For now, make your way right and down through the room. Missile Tank 20, which is just beneath where you entered, can only be obtained right now if you're proficient at Wall Jumping; if not, ignore it and continue down, defeating or avoiding the Reos. In the bottom left-hand corner is Missile Tank 05. Once you have it, bomb the two blocks showing just to the right to gain access to a hidden area. In it is the Charge Beam, which allows you to charge your beam for additional power (a Charged shot of your normal beam deals 60 points damage, triple its normal output, and is a godsend against bosses if you run out of Missiles and Super Missiles (you probably still lack the latter though). Once you're done, make your way all the way to the top of the room (in the bottom right corner is a Green Door, which you probably can't open yet). In the top-left corner, you can bomb the wall in the Morph passage to reveal the entrance to a Save Unit; use it. To the right is a Red Door; open it, refill your Missiles and Energy on the Zebs from the pipe (they keep respawning), then enter the door you just opened.

This room contains Green Keyhunters. They're vulnerable to your beam, but can take a few hits before going down and do fairly high damage. When you damage them enough for them to lose their wings, they gain the ability to spit acid. You'll need to defeat all of them to proceed through the Metal Door on the right end of the corridor; stick with charged beam shots and save your Missiles, since you have a date with...

Once defeated, you'll be able to jump on top of Spore Spawn's remains and continue upward through the hole in the ceiling. Go through the door at the top of the room.

Here, you can refill on enemies from the first pipe if you like. When you're ready to proceed, drop down the second pipe (it's a long way down, but fall damage doesn't exist in this game), and eventually you will drop in front of Super Missile Tank 01. Super Missiles travel much faster than regular missiles, doing three times as much damage and are able to defeat most armored enemies as well. Grab it, then exit to the left.

In the next room, make your way to the Green Door and open it with a Super Missile. If you haven't already defeated them, this will knock some Zeelas down from the ceiling. Fight the Zeelas/Zebs until you're regained your Super Missile, then exit through the door. You'll find yourself in a hidden area just to the side of the large room that had the Charge Beam in it; you'll need to fire a Super Missile at the block to destroy it, then bomb though the wall on the other side, allowing you to return to the main chamber. Make your way down to the Green Door in the bottom-right corner that we've been ignoring for now (refill your Super Missiles on the Zebs if you like), blast it out of the way, and go in.

In this long room, there is a Yellow Door directly to the right; ignore it, as you won't be able to open it just yet. Instead, make your way right and down. Along the way, on the map nestled under the unexplored room the Yellow Door leads to, is Missile Tank 19 through a pipe (after Wall Jumping, you can jump directly into the pipe, then use the Morphing Ball to access it). It's a fairly easy Wall Jump, so I recommend grabbing it, but I will not assume you have it as you may not be able to Wall Jump. In any case, make your way all the way to the bottom (if you need refills on anything, you can kill the Geegas that come out of the pipes). At the bottom is a pole with a blue light; shoot the light with a beam to open the pole. Make your way past the Small Sidehoppers and through the door.

In this new room, you'll see a platform with a large space underneath. In addition to Zeelas, you'll also find Cacatac, a new enemy. They are weak enemies that are most well-known for their guaranteed Super Missile/Big Energy Ball drop. If you need Super Missile or Energy refills feel free to kill the Zeelas and Cacatacs, otherwise, run across the top of the platform. If you walk, you'll fall through the disappearing blocks, and you can't jump because of the spikes (they do serious damage without a suit), but just running will get you across. Once across, open the Green Door, then defeat the Cacatac for a Super Missile refill. Go through the door.

Red Brinstar

Music and visual theme changes! You'll find yourself in the room shown below:

Here, you're presented with a choice, whether to go up or down. Going up will allow you to get Power Bombs early (as well as an additional Power Bomb Tank and Missile Tank); however, I do not recommend this path, as this opens up very little (basically, it just allows you to get Norfair's Map Computer immediately upon entering), is time consuming, and requires you to be proficient at both Wall Jumping and Bomb Climbing. I will assume you headed down, but if you're looking for a challenge of skill feel free to try to ascend the shaft.

Just below the door are some pipes with Geegas. Restock if you like, then continue down. Opposite a Yellow Door (which is inaccesible) is a shootable block with a Beetom in it. Beetoms can't be beaten with your beams at all, but you can defeat this one by just Bombing rather than shooting the block. Directly right of the shaft that drops into this area are some shootable blocks; shoot/Bomb them to continue down. From here, just drop down (dodge the Rippers if you can) until you reach the bottom of the shaft. Here, you'll see a Green Door to the left and a Blue Door to the right. The Green Door leads to an Energy Charge Unit; fill up if you need. When you're done, head right.

This is probably your first experience with water in the game. Water makes movement very difficult; to make the jump to the next platform, you'll need to jump from dry ground. Shoot the Skrees before you try to jump across. Now, this part is very important; if you miss the jump and land in the underwater thorns, it's very likely you'll die before you manage to jump out. You'll need to land on the small platform in between the sets of thorns, then jump to the side with the door. Go in.

Here, you'll see a shootable block directly overhead. If you're decent at Wall Jumping, you can shoot it and work your way to the top to obtain the Spazer Beam; otherwise, just ignore it for now and continue through the area. Watch out for the Yapping Maw; it can grab you and then drop you on the thorns in the water (which you definitely don't want). Jump quickly past it and to the platform with the Cacatac. The gap in the ceiling here leads nowhere, so just defeat the Cacatac and continue past the second Yapping Maw to the door. Head through it.

In these three rooms, there is absolutely nothing of note other than that you'll briefly find yourself in Maridia, a new area. Pass through all of them until you reach an area with an elevator.

In the elevator room, you'll notice three blocks in the bottom-left corner. These are Super Missile Blocks, but hold off for now on shooting them; we need to make a brief detour to Norfair first, so take the elevator down.

Here, you'll find yourself in a shaft with Sovas (they look like burning Geemers). You can defeat them if you need to refill items. Most of the doors here will do you no good. The top-right door and bottom door lead to "hot" zones, which, equipped as you currently are, will continuously sap your HP. The top left Green Door leads to another area you can "mockball" through (glitch), but even doing so will not take you far, as you will quickly encounter hot zones, though if you tough it out you can obtain the Ice Beam. The middle-left door is a Yellow Door and leads to the Map Computer, so you can only open it if you already grabbed the Power Bomb Tanks from Brinstar. On the second lowest level are two doors: the right one leads to a Save Unit, and then a dead end, while the left (Red) one is the one we want. Save if you like, then use the left door.

In this room, a Metal Door will close behind you. Snag Energy Tank 02, then drop down to the area below (watch out for the Sova; it may be best to wait a while for it to get out of your way, or you can try shooting downward as you fall to defeat it before hitting it. Either way, go through the door; shoot the upper blocks, then get the Hi-Jump Boots and go back to the previous room. Now, you'll need to defeat all the Sovas here to unlock the door; there's one higher up, and one that starts of underneath where the Energy Tank was. Defeat both, grab Missile Tank 06, bomb the blocks in the Morph passage, then leave and take the elevator back to Brinstar.

(Note: If you already have the Spazer Beam, skip the paragraph below.)

From here, backtrack to the area with the shootable block directly above the door (in the room just on the other side of Maridia, on the left-hand side). Shoot the aforementioned block, then use your fancy high jumps to climb to the top of this hidden area. Here, you'll see two blocks in a morph passage; Bomb the first, and shoot the second (if you Bomb it, you'll just drop down right above where a Yapping Maw is waiting), the go through the passage, and open the Green Door. In here you will find the Spazer Beam. This beam splits your beam into 3, improving range, as well as increasing its power (your beam now does double the damage it did before, bringing it to 40 for uncharged shots and 120 for charged shots). Once you have it, make your way back to the elevator room.

Next, you'll want to shoot one of the Super Missile blocks (shown above). Roll through the gap you just made, then drop to the bottom of the chamber. Your Hi-Jump Boots will make it a very easy jump to the ledge that leads to the door; if you didn't get it for some reason, you can also Wall Jump to the ledge (note that you will not be able to proceed past this point without either Wall Jumping, Bomb Climbing, or the Hi-Jump Boots). Either way, continue through the door.

In this next area, shoot the floor to reveal a shootable block, then drop to the bottom. The Metal Door to the left cannot be unlocked right now, but you can Bomb in the bottom-right corner and then roll through a hidden passage to reach a door. Go inside.

Here, you'll find more Keyhunters. Kill them with charged shots or Missiles, and then go all the way to the right (past the large crack in the floor). You'll see a block-wide depression in the ground here; go into the depression and lay a Bomb. You'll open up a passageway; go through it to find a door and a Save Unit. Save your game, then return to the large crack in the floor you saw earlier. Shoot it to reveal a passage; go through the door at the bottom.

You'll encounter more Green Space Pirates. Luckily, the Spazer Beam works very well against these fiends; shoot them three times to defeat them. Missiles and Bombs still work, by the way, as do charged Normal Beam shots. You'll start to see thorns shoot at you from the right; make your way all the way to the right end of the room to find Mini-Kraid, making a cameo from Samus' last Zebes visit. You'll need to kill him (along with all the Space Pirates) to proceed; I recommend just hitting him with a Super Missile, since beams take a very long time to kill him. When defeated, he'll drop Super Missiles and Big Energy Balls. Once he's busy taking a dirt nap, exit through the now-flashing Metal Door on the right.

This room contains a pipe with Zebs and a Boss Door, a new type of door. This door can be opened with 3 Missiles or 1 Super Missile (beams do not work), and it can only take damage when its eye is open. It will shoot plasma balls when its eye is open, so be quick in shooting it. Once defeated, it will reveal a Blue Door. Don't enter the door just yet; you'll want to refill all your weapons and Energy before going on. You can use the Zeb pipe to refill your items; also, there is a Missile/Energy Charge Unit accessible through a shootable section of the ceiling near the left-hand side (the section looks like a silvery metal bar). You'll have to open a Green Door, but the machines can fill your Energy and Missiles to full very quickly; then, you can just refill your Super Missiles at the Zeb pipe. In any case, once you're ready, it's time to face your first real boss fight!

After the battle, head right and grab the Varia Suit. The Varia Suit will prevent you from taking damage in Norfair's hot zones (but not in lava), and will also reduce all damage taken by half--very nice! Make your way back towards the Norfair elevator (you'll need to defeat all the enemies in the room with Mini-Kraid again if you didn't go back to open the door when you went through last time; also, it might not be a bad idea to save at the Save Unit). In the room before the elevator, you'll notice a Metal Door that we passed earlier is now flashing; enter it. Here, kill all the Beetoms (you won't be able to leave until you do so); you can either shoot them all with Missiles, or let them latch onto you and kill them with a Bomb. Once they're gone, you'll be free to leave, but before you do so, shoot the ceiling above the slightly raised portion of floor to reveal Energy Tank 03. Once you have it, make your way to the elevator. Ride it down to Norfair.

Norfair

Time for...

Upper Norfair

Once the elevator reaches the landing pad, get off and go in the first Blue Door on the right (it's directly opposite a Green Door). If you tried to enter this room before, you'll remember you constantly took damage, but the Varia Suit is protecting you now--excellent! Shoot the thin section of floor directly in front of you, then drop down. Watch out for the Small Desgeegas; they will inflict 40 damage with the Varia Suit if they hit you, they move fairly fast, and take 3 shots from the Spazer Beam to go down. Go to the right side of the room, then jump up to the Red Door. Open it and go in.

Here, kill the Geruta (Spazer beam works very nicely; if you didn't pick it up for some reason you'll have to use Missiles) and make your way towards the right-hand side of the room. There will be several more Sovas and Gerutas here; kill or avoid them as you see fit. When you reach the third lava pit from the left, go down into the pit, and shoot the block in the bottom-right corner under the lava. This will reveal Missile Tank 07. Grab it (you'll take some damage, so if you're really concerned you can save it for later, but I would just get it now). When you're ready to advance, make your way all the way to the right-hand side of the room, then drop to the bottom. You'll find a Green Door; fire a Super Missile to open it, then go inside.

In this room, the lava will rise up to a low-ish level. There are Squeept and Dragon enemies here; the Squeept enemies can only be defeated with Super Missiles, while Dragons are also vulnerable to Missiles and charged shots. However, it's best to save your weapons rather than try to defeat them. Either way, don't touch them. Both enemies will do respectable damage at this point. Make your way through the room, avoiding the lava and enemies, and enter the door.

You'll find yourself in a large room. The Blue Door directly above you holds a Save Unit; use it. Still further up, on the top level of the room above the Save Unit, is a Green Door that conceals Reserve Tank 1 and two Missile Tanks. This room can only be reached by expert Wall Jumping or Bomb Climbing at this point (it holds Missile Tank 16, Missile Tank 17, and Reserve Tank 1), so otherwise you should proceed to the far right wall on the level you originally entrered from. You'll see a Waver in a small alcove; defeat it, then drop down below where it was flying (the first level of blocks will break. Keep shooting the floor until you drop down into a new area. Here, you'll find a Ripper II (you can kill it with a Super Missile, causing it to drop a Super Missile to make up for the one you killed it with) and, much more importantly, Missile Tank 08. Collect it, then make your way back to where the trapped Waver was before.

(Note: At this point, if you're skilled at Bomb Climbing you can climb all the way to the top of the room, on the right side (you'll actually need to start near the center of the room if you do this, due to how far the wall juts out), cutting a significant amount of time if done correctly and not even causing you to miss any items (the Missile Tank and optional Wave Beam are both easily accessed from the top level of the room). If you do this, skip the next nine paragraphs; you'll rejoin the walkthrough at the part where you reenter this room on the upper-right ledge.)

Still at the bottom of the room, you'll notice two dragon-like busts near the middle of the room, with a row of blocks in between and another row below the top blocks. Shoot the blocks (both the top set and the block in the middle of the bottom set), the Morph into a ball and make your way through the tunnel system, dropping a Bomb if you can't proceed further (or you need to kill a Sova). When you get out of the tunnels, you'll notice a door leading down and one leading left. The one leading left is a dead end right now, so take the one going down.

You'll enter a short vertical shaft with no enemies. If you need refills, take the door halfway down and fill up on the Gamets in the small room (it has no items, if you're wondering). It's best to kill them while they're still grouped together, as one shot from your Spazer beam will defeat them. When you're ready to continue, go back to the shaft and exit through the door at the bottom.

This room features two new enemies: the Multiviola, which bounces around the room, and the Magdolite, which sits in the lava and throws chunks of magma at you. The Multiviola is fairly durable but will go down evntually to your uncharged beam; the Magdolite can only be killed with Super Missiles, but you can shoot the lava chunks for weapon/Energy refils (how lava immediately converts into explosives, I have no idea). Kill or avoid the enemies, then exit through the door on the right.

The next room is another fairly uninteresting shaft. You can kill the Violas for Small Energy Balls; halfway down is a hidden passage that's blocked by a pole on the other side (you can't open it yet), and at the bottom is a Yellow Door which won't be of any interest to you for quite some time, even if you already have the Power Bombs to open it. Instead, exit through the Blue Door to the right of where you entered.

Rising lava! Unlike the last time you saw rising lava, this lava will easily rise high enough to drown/burn you. So quickly make your way across the room. You'll see a Fune (the weird face monsters that spit fireballs); ignore it, and instead roll into a ball and go underneath it (there is a passage below it). When you emerge, shoot the thin blocks here and make your way to the top (again, ignore the Funes, you can kill them with Super Missiles but it's not worth it). When you reach the top, go in the door.

This room holds still more lava, this time with no visible way to cross. You can try toughing it out in the lava, but you probably won't make it across. Instead, wait for the Tripper (a Ripper with a platform on its back; sometimes also called a Platform Ripper) to come close. Jump on top, roll into a ball to avoid the spikes, and ride it to the area in the center. Avoid the spikes and the pole (which is there just to block your jump; wait for it to go into the celing before crossing) to see more lava. Here, wait for another Tripper and ride it across (roll into a ball once again); just make sure to jump before this one goes all the way in the lava to avoid taking damage (this particular Tripper will slowly drop the longer you're on it). Go through the door.

Finally, an interesting shaft! As you make your way up, you'll encounter Multiviolas and Alcoons; both will fall to your beam weapon. The first Blue Door above where you entered will take you nowhere. Instead, make your way to the Red Door above it. Go inside.

You'll see a weird-looking moving green platform here (pictured to the right). If you land on one of these platform with your weapon pointed straight down or straight up, you'll just fall through. So don't do that, but jump on the platform (watch out for the Fune's fire balls). Use the platforms to get across (there are four in total), shoot the light on the pole to get it out of the way, then jump to the platform for Missile Tank 09. Take it.

Now, you have two options (this game just loves to give you choices, doesn't it). If you know how to Wall Jump, you can continue right. Take as big a jump as you can, and you'll land on some spikes, taking fairly heavy damage (if you took a perfect jump and are quick, it's actually possible to Wall Jump off the opposite wall without taking damage, but this is extremely difficult to do and not worth retrying for). As quickly as possible (before your hit invincibility wears off), spin jump at the right-hand wall, and Wall Jump to the Red Door on the upper ledge. Open it to find the Wave Beam, then head back to the shaft you were in before you entered the platform/spike room. The Wave Beam is awesome. Not only does this beam triple your beam's power, but it also allows you to shoot through walls. This second trait is particularly useful, as it allows you to hit the light on poles with blue lights no matter where you're standing. This in turn allows you to skip a long detour to Brinstar that is in your near future, and instead collect your first Power Bombs and the Grappling Beam (in addition to Missile Tank 13, Missile Tank 14, and Missile Tank 15) in one trip after picking up the next major item. This is a serious time savings (and this game does track your play time), so if you're into Wall Jumping even in the slightest it's strongly recommended. The other option is to simply go back (either jump back across the platforms or drop to the bottom of the room on the left side of your current platform). Since you may not know how to Wall Jump, this guide will assume you did not get the Wave Beam early; however, I will make a note when those of you who did pick up the Wave Beam already can skip ahead. Once you're back in the shaft, make your way to the top, and take the door (it's on the left-hand side).

At this point, those of you who Bomb-climbed to the the top of the large room will rejoin the walkthrough (make sure to grab Missile Tank 09 and the (optional) Wave Beam by heading to the shaft mentioned in the paragraph above). Make your way to the top of this sectioned-off area; open the Green Door, then kill the Red Cacatac to regain your Super Missile (make sure not to fall down, which will set you back a long way). Go in the Green Door.

Kill the Skrees here, then shoot the ceiling near the center of the room to reveal a passage. Jump up, then shoot the next section to open up the other side. Here, you'll find a pipe with Gamets; refill if you need, then continue through the door. In this long room, you can fight your way through if you like, but it's easiest to just run until you reach the Red Door on the other side. Open the door, but don't go in just yet. Waiting for you is Missile Tank 10 in the ceiling near the door (you'll have to shoot straight up from near the door to reveal it). Take it (if you've been following the walkthrough your Missile capacity is now 50), then go in the door.

Here, the first thing you should do is open the door behind you (you'll see why in a minute). Once you've done that, grab the Speed Booster. The lava will be begin rising very rapidly; you need to run as fast as you can back to the Blue Door on the other side of the previous room (you'll see some cool effects, but just keep going). Don't stop to fight or for anything else, just run! If you the lava catches up you may still be able to escape, but you'll take heavy damage and probably die if you're not close to the end of the room. Once you reach the door, open it and go inside. Go back down to the bottom of this room, then through the door and back to the large central chamber.

Here, kill the Cacatac, then jump down off the ledge (you won't be able to jump all the way across to the door on the other side, but you can still Wall Jump up there if you're so inclined). Go through the Bomb-block tunnel again by blasting the blocks between the dragon busts; when you reach the end of the tunnel, take the left-most Blue Door, which we've been ignoring up until now.

In this room, cross to the other side (ignore the gap leading down) and enter the Blue Door opposite where you entered. Here, run until you see the blue echoes; you'll break through the blocks as well as the Beetoms, and reach the door on the other side. It leads to a Save Unit (use it), then to the elevator shaft. Don't take the elevator up just yet though. Instead, go through the topmost Green Door (the one above the Yellow Door). Here, Speed Boost past the poles, then go through the door.

Now, use the Trippers to help you pass over the lava, but remember that these are the kind that like to sink under your feet, so don't linger too long on them. Go through the door on the other side. In this new room, make your way to the top of the shaft. In front of the door on the top, you'll se two blocks that are lower than the rest of the floor; shoot them. Make your way down to where you see a Morph path leading off screen, take it, then go into the door. Grab the Ice Beam, then make your way back through the previous shaft and through the door at the top (you can use your new beam to freeze the Funes if it makes it easier for you).

Here, you'll find a new enemy, Boyon. There's no point trying to defeat them (it's just a waste of Super Missiles), but if you get close enough they'll jump up and down constantly. Get close enough to make the first one jump, then freeze it when it's about level with your platform. Jump to it, and repeat for the other two Boyons. Roll through the Morph path, then cross this small lava pool (you can freeze the Ripper II if it helps you), then go through door. You'll drop down through a series of blocks.

(Note: If you already grabbed the Power Bombs from Brinstar (by ascending the tall shaft there instead of descending), there's no need to return to Brinstar, as you already have everything you could have collected from there at this point. Instead, skip to Return to Norfair, which will pass through this same area. You'll rejoin the walkthrough at the point where it mentions Power Bombing in this room.)

When you hit solid ground, shoot the block in front of you and roll right through the Morph path to eventually be deposited by the door to the elevator shaft (beware the Sova). Go in.

Head to the top of the area and ride the elevator back to Brinstar.

Brinstar Revisited

When the elevator reaches the top, make your way left to the tall shaft on the other side of Maridia. Once you get there, you'll find yourself at the bottom. You'll need to climb all the way up the shaft. The first section can be climbed by freezing the Rippers and using them as platforms. Once you reach solid ground again, destroy the breakable floor/wall sections and continue to work your way upward. You'll reach the door leading to the other side of Brinstar; keep going up past this door. Finally, you'll reach a narrower section with Rippers; freeze them and work your way through the top (shoot the middle section of the thin celing section to open a hole near the top). When you've done all of this, enter the door.

In here, you'll find thorns, strange flowers, and Zebbos all waiting to damage you. Don't let any of them touch you; instead, work you way across the room (you can refill on the Zebbos if need be) and into the door.

A Yellow Door closes behind you! You'll notice a shaft with two other doors doors; the Green Door to the left holds nothing of interest right now, but the first door up on the right holds a Save Unit. There's also an elevator, but it will only take you to a small room with no exit except through a Yellow Door. So how to proceed? Simple, shoot the floor where you can see the 2x2 red blocks to reveal a hole, then shoot the thin floor below that to continue further down. Make your way down (kill or avoid the Zeros), and enter the Green Door down here.

In this room, you'll see some Boyons; freezing them is the quickest way around them. Make your way to the statue, and grab Power Bomb Tank 01. Immediately lay a Power Bomb to destroy the wall behind the statue; here you'll encounter Missile Tank 11. Take it, then make your way back to the previous room. There, make your way back up to the Green Door we just ignored. Open it, equip your Super Missiles, and head inside.

Sidehoppers! Not the little ones, though. These Sidehoppers are enormous, fast, and powerful (they do 40 damage each time they hit with the Varia Suit), and a Metal Door closed behind you to boot (won't open until you defeat all three Sidehoppers). Use your Super Missiles to take them out (switch to Missiles or charged Ice Beam shots if you run out of Super Missiles), the lay a Power Bomb against the left wall. This will take out part of the metal floor sections; drop into the left-most flower to find it does nothing except conceal a passageway. Inside is Power Bomb Tank 02. Grab it, then return to the previous shaft.

Save your progress. Refill your Super Missiles on the Cacatacs and your Power Bombs on the Zeros, then make your way back to the Norfair elevator (ignore the elevator to Crateria, it doesn't do us any good at the moment); you'll be using the exact same path you took to get here, but it will be much easier going down (just dodge the Rippers in the areas they appear). You'll pass a Yellow Door on your way down the shaft; continue to ignore it for now, as you still don't have enough items to do anything in that area. When you reach the elevator, take it back down to Norfair.

Return to Norfair

After the elevator lands, the first thing you should do is go down to the Yellow Door in this shaft and open it. Here you'll find the Norfair Map Computer, which will aid you in your travels through Norfair. Once you have it, enter the door immediately above the Map Computer (the one you used to reach the Ice Beam earlier).

Once again, Speed Boost past the falling poles. When you reach the door, don't go inside. Instead, lay a Power Bomb to destroy the Power Bomb Blocks. Drop down into the hold you just made, and fight your way past the Small Desgeegas. When you reach the door on the left side, enter it.

This room is tricky, especially if you can't Wall Jump. Most of the platforms are blocks that will disappear when you step on them, and Missile Tank 12 is directly across from where you came in (shoot straight at the wall), but you'll need to jump quickly to avoid falling through the blocks (you can also freeze Sovas to give you a somewhat more permanant platform). Grab the Missile Tank, then drop down to the bottom of the room, and go through the door.

In this room, run until your Speed Booster kicks in, and blast through all the enemies and blocks. Keep going until you fall near a Green Door. Open it, but don't go in just yet. Instead, make your way up in this portion of the room, kill a Cacatac to regain your Super Missile, and save at the Save Unit. Once you've saved and feel ready, make your way back down and through what was a Green Door (will now be a basic Blue Door) to face...

Head through the door to the left to exit (stay out of the acid).

In this new room, there is a Save Unit through the door directly below where you entered from; take advantage of it. Back in this room, you'll see a ledge on the upper left-hand side. You can either Wall Jump, or take a good running jump from the green platform to reach the ledge. Open the Red Door to find Power Bomb Tank 03. (If you got the early Wave Beam and went immediately to Crocomire after getting the Speed Booster, but didn't climb the Brinstar shaft to get the Power Bombs early, this will be your first Power Bomb Tank.) Leave this small chamber and take the door in the bottom-right corner of this room.

In this room, you'll see a door to your left. Ignore it, and drop down instead. You'll fall a long way down, eventually landing near a Red Door leading right. Enter the door, then run to the Morph passage (stay out of the acid, as usual). Roll through the tunnel, then jump across the smal platforms when the acid level drops. At the end, you'll find Missile Tank 13; take it, then return to the shaft and go all the way down to the bottom. Take the door leading down.

Here, eliminate the Mellas, then lay a Power Bomb as shown below to clear out all the blocks in one shot. Next, go all the way to the right, then Speed Boost left. You'll reach maximum speed in time to destroy some blocks to the far left in your path. Our ultimate destination is a door on the far side of the room, but if you're confident in your abilities to control a high-speed jump in mid-air and in your Wall Jumping, you should grab the item located high above where the room opens up. While still in Speed Booster mode, jump before you run off the platform, then immediately after leaving the ground, hold right. If done correctly, you will land right on the platform (or be within a Wall Jump or two of the top). Up here is Missile Tank 14; grab it, then use the Morph passage to drop back down to where you started. If you can't Wall Jump, or don't feel like trying to steer a supersonic jump, just continue on.

Now, we need to jump all the way across the room. It is possible to Wall Jump to the ledge on the other end of the room as well, but using the Speed Booster to propel your jump to go all the way across the room is a much easier and faster method. So, run to the right side of the room, run all the way left, and press and hold the Jump Button just before you run off the ledge. If done correctly, you'll find yourself landing neatly on a ledge in front of a Blue Door; enter it.

Here, you'll find the Grappling Beam. This useful tool allows you to swing from the blocks with "+" signs on them, as well as certain enemies, and also can be used to defeat weaker enemies quickly and collect their spoils. If you didn't collect Missile Tank 14, do so now; from the ledge just outside the Grappling Beam room, you can jump up to find Yellow Ripper IIs. These special Ripper II enemies can be latched onto with the Grappling Beam; use them to swing across to the Missile Tank, then make your way back to the Grappling Beam room (either by swinging back across or by doing the jump again).

Once you're ready to continue, you'll need to start working your way back to Crocomire's room. If you're proficient at Wall Jumping it is possible to scale the long shaft, but the difference in time is negligible compared to Grappling through these next rooms. So, continue up, and use the Grappling Beam Blocks (shown to the right) to swing to the door (while holding Fire with the Grappling Beam selected, press Up to hold close to the block, press Down to extend yourself away from the block, and use the Left/Right to swing). Go through the door at the top of the shaft.

In the next room, it's actually possible to just jump across if you take a running start (you don't need to be in blue Speed Boost mode to make the jump). You can also use the Grappling Beam blocks to cross; either way, enter the door on the far side of the room.

Here, some Funes will be more than ready to annoy you; dodge their fireballs and work your way up the shaft. When you reach the platform with practically nothing visible above it, jump straight up to see some Grappling Beam Blocks; Grapple them and swing to the door, which you should enter.

In this room, it's a little tougher than the previous ones. Swing across the first pool of water with the Grappling Beam Blocks to reach a central platform. Now, you'll see a space that's probably too far to cross in just one swing; you'll need to swing, then Grapple another block while in the air, which allows you to swing and then Grapple another block from the air, ad infinitum, until you reach the other side. If you fall into either pool, use the Grappling Beam to defeat any enemies and climb out to try again. Once across, shoot the Green Light with a Super Missile to raise the pole, then go through the door. You're now back at the top of the long drop shaft; go through the door above you.

Here, go to the Save Unit, save, then go to the door above to reach Crocomire's room. In Crocomire's room, make your way to the Metal Door (which will be flashing) and go past it for now. When you reach the area where Crocomire fell in the acid, you'll see a long line of Grappling Beam Blocks. Using the same technique as in the last water-filled room, use these to cross over the acid pit to the other side, where Energy Tank 04 awaits you. Take it, then exit through the flashing Metal Door about halfway across the room.

Now that you're in the room above Crocomire, you can save at the Save Unit if you like, then proceed through the door at the top of the shaft. The room you'll enter is a large room with lava at the bottom. Freeze or ignore the Dragon you see when you enter, and make your way upwards. You'll meet a Geruta; kill it, then proceed along the top of the platform to see some Grappling Beam Blocks. Just like you did in Crocomire's room, use them to cross this large chamber. On the other side is Missile Tank 15; take it (you should now have 75 Missiles if you followed the main walkthrough path), use a Super Missile on the Green Light to open your path, and exit through the door here.

Item Acquisition

This section is entirely optional, but strongly recommended. Doing all the exploration detailed here will significantly increase your weapon and Energy stocks (5 Super Missiles is especially little for how far we've advanced) and make the rest of the game much easier for you; however, nothing in this section is required. If you don't want to do anything here and just want to advance in the game, exit to Brinstar, take the long shaft (with the Rippers) all the way to the top, and make your way to the elevator to Crateria up here (the one near where you got Power Bombs earlier if you followed the walkthrough). Take the elevator, open the Yellow Door, and proceed up the shaft. Then, defeat the Keyhunters, open the Yellow Door to the right, and enter it to find yourself right where you would need to be for Crateria Revisited. The walkthrough, however, will assume you've done everything detailed here.

Item Acquisition - Norfair

You'll find yourself in the Norfair elevator room (with the elevator that leads to Brinstar). Here it's time to decide your path, based upon how you've played through the game to this point. If you got both the Wave Beam and Reserve Tank 1 (along with Missile Tank 16 and Missile Tank 17 that come with it) and followed the walkthrough, all that's left for you to do here is collect the Ice Beam and Missile Tank 12. To do this, go in the top-left Green Door in the elevator area, then run across and enter the door on the other side. Make your way across the room with the Trippers, then up the Fune shaft. Shoot the floor in front of the door at the top of the shaft, drop to the Morph passage leading off screen, grab the Ice Beam, then go back to the room with the falling poles. Set a Power Bomb, drop down, defeat the Small Desgeegas, and head through the door. Missile Tank 12 is hidden in the wall opposite where you entered (shoot the wall to reveal it); use quick jumps, frozen enemies, or Wall Jumps to retrieve it. Head back the way you came in, Power Bomb the blocks to get back to the main part of the pole room, then pass through the Bombable section of celing and through the Morph path, which will drop you in front of the door to the elevator shaft. Go through the door. At this point, there's nothing left for you do do in Norfair. Take the elevator to Brinstar, and skip ahead to Item Acquisition - Brinstar. If you're missing any of the items mentioned above, continue reading.

Make your way to the next screen up from where you are now (you're currently at the bottom of the shaft with the elevator). Take the Blue Door right (the one leading to a Save Unit). As usual, save if you want to, then Speed Boost across the room to the right. Proceed through the next room as well (ignore the path leading down) and you'll find yourself in the chamber with the Morphing Ball tunnel. Here, use a Power Bomb on the ledge above the door to open a path to the main chamber. Jump up from the ledge outside the Save Unit room, then use the Grappling Beam to Grapple the Grappling Beam Blocks on the ceiling (another method of reaching the Grappling Beam Blocks is to freeze a Ripper in the middle of the room).

(Note: If you already collected the Wave Beam, skip the next paragraph.)

Swing to the ledge on the right; you'll find yourself near the path that led to the Speed Booster. Take the lower of these two doors (it should lead to a shaft that continues downward). Take the first door down from the top on the right side of the room, and make your way across the platforms (this is the room where Missile Tank 09 was, to help jog your memory). You'll notice the Grappling Beam Blocks from before; now that we have the Grappling Beam, we can use them to cross the spiked chasm instead of taking damage and Wall Jumping. Grapple across to the Red Door, open it, grab the Wave Beam, and then return to the big chamber with the Wavers and Cacatac.

(Note: If you already picked up Reserve Tank 1 and the two Missile Tanks from the rooms above the Save Unit, you can skip the next three paragraphs and make your way to Brinstar instead.)

Latch on to the Grappling Beam Blocks at the top of the chamber, and swing left. Open the Green Door, and go inside to find Missile Tank 16. Collect it, then lay a Power Bomb (or do the Bomb Spread move--charge your beam, then roll into a ball to drop 5 bombs around you) to reveal a hidden pole and a shootable section of the wall (it will be level with where the pole stops). Roll through the gap, and enter the door on the other side.

This room is more or less a giant lava pit, complete with Dragons and Sovas. Make your way across the room. The last floating block on the left of the room holds Missile Tank 17. If you want to take it without taking damage, freeze the Sova under it before grabbing it. Reserve Tank 1 is in the ball on the ledge; grab it as well. Reserve Tanks are special Energy Tanks that only kick in if your energy drops to zero. If this happens, all the energy currently stored in your Reserve Tanks will be removed from the Reserve Tanks and added to your Energy total. Reserve Tanks aren't filled by Energy Charge Units or collecting Energy Tanks (but are refilled by using your Starship), and only begin to fill after your regular tanks are full.

Once you have all the items, return to the Waver chamber.

From here, use the Morphing Ball tunnels (or Power Bomb Blocks) to make your way to the bottom section of this chamber. Go through the door going left, across this room, and Speed Boost back to the Save Unit. From here, exit to the elevator room. If you haven't grabbed the Ice Beam (or Missile Tank 12) yet, grab them now, otherwise skip the paragraph below. Copy/pasted instructions for grabbing the two items from above:

To grab the Ice Beam and Missile Tank 12, go in the top-left Green Door in the elevator area, then run across. Make your way across the room with the Trippers, then up the Fune shaft. Shoot the floor in front of the door at the top of the shaft, drop to the Morph passage leading off screen, grab the Ice Beam, then go back to the room with the falling poles. Set a Power Bomb, drop down, defeat the Small Desgeegas, and head through the door. Missile Tank 12 is hidden in the wall opposite where you entered (shoot the wall to reveal it); use quick jumps, frozen enemies, or Wall Jumps to retrieve it. Head back the way you came in, Power Bomb the blocks to get back to the main part of the pole room, then pass through the Bombable section of celing and through the Morph path, which will drop you in front of the door to the elevator shaft. Go through the door.

Ride the elevator to Brinstar.

Item Acquisition - Brinstar

When the elevator reaches the top, fire a Super Missile at one of the blocks to the right of the elevator (the ones we broke through to reach Kraid), and pass through, jumping to the ledge with the strange face on it. Go through the door, make your way to the bottom, and Bomb the bottom-right corner of the wall. Roll to the Blue Door, and enter. Here, defeat the Keyhunters (they should pose little threat to you now), and then lay a Power Bomb near the right wall (not the area the door to the Save Unit--the right wall in the main section of the room). Jump into the newly exposed area and roll into a ball to access the passage, the follow it to receive Missile Tank 18. You'll drop through some blocks--just make your way back to the Norfair elevator.

From the elevator, make your way to the tall shaft. Make your way to the Yellow Door we've been ignoring to this point (refill your energy at the Energy Charge Unit if you like). The door appears to be blocked off, but using a Power Bomb will clear a path to it and open the door all at once. Go inside.

You'll find yourself in another room lit by Firefleas. There are also Wavers and spikes here, both of which will be more than happy to damage you. The Grappling Beam is an excellent weapon here--it will defeat the Wavers but not the Firefleas (remember, you want to conserve as many Firefleas as possible to keep the room somewhat lit). In this first part, carefully make your way right, avoiding both the spikes and the Firefleas (you can freeze the Firefleas to stop them from moving around and also to allow you to touch them without killing them). Eventually, you'll come to a long row of Grappling Beam Blocks on the ceiling. Use them to cross the remainder of the room (beware the Yapping Maws, they can grab you while you're Grappling). Remember that you don't need to take full swings, and in such a crowded and dangerous area as this one, it's generally best to swing while very close to the block and only swing a few blocks over, rather than trying to cover huge distances in one swing. Eventually, you'll reach a ledge with a Red Door--drop down to the ledge, open the door, and go inside.

Here, jump on the small ledge and lay a Bomb. This will cause a pole to rise up, moving you to the upper passageway. Follow it to the end; you'll drop down in front of a Chozo statue, which holds the X-Ray Scope. The X-Ray Scope allows you to see hidden passageways and destructible blocks, but as you're using this guide you shouldn't need it too much. Once you have it, get on top of the statue and Bomb in the top-right corner (use a Bomb to propel yourself so you can lay the Bomb, then another one to get into the hole). Go into the hole, drop down, and follow it until you hit a wall. Place a Bomb here; it will raise yet another pole under you. Keep rolling right, and you'll find yourself in front of the door you entered through. Exit, and make your way all the way back to the tall shaft the same way you got here.

When you get to the tall shaft, use a Power Bomb to clear a path, then take the door halfway up that leads to the rest of Brinstar (if you remember, this is the door from earlier where you had the choice to go up to get early Power Bombs, or down to continue with the game).

(Note: At this point, due to all the weak enemies, it's worthwhile to disable the Ice Beam when you're not actually using it. This will allow you to defeat the weak enemies in one hit rather than having to shoot them again.)

Here, pass through this room (refill on the Cacatacs and Zeelas if you need to) and go through the door on the far side. In here, use the Wave Beam to hit the Blue Light and open the pole, then continue to the platforms a screen below the left exit. From here, look for a pipe high in the wall (if you didn't get this Missile Tank earlier by Wall Jumping); with the Hi-Jump Boots you should be able to reach it easily. Roll through the pipe for Missile Tank 19. Continue through the room to the Blue Door on the left and exit through this door (the Yellow Door opposite this door is now accessible, but leave it alone for now; we'll be taking care of it at a more convenient time).

First, make your way up to the Yellow Door you may have noticed last time you were here (it's right above the exit passage from Spore Spawn's room, about a third of the way up on the right). Use a Power Bomb to open the door, then go inside (make sure you have decent Energy stocks), and go in.

You'll find two Small Sidehoppers and one large Sidehopper here. Defeat them all ASAP, then jump up and Grapple to the block, and swing off in such a way that lets you shoot the Blue Light with your Wave beam (you can also Wall Jump to do this). Once you're opened up the pole, Grapple/Wall Jump through the gap, and down the other side. Go through the door to find Energy Tank 05. Take it, then return to the Sidehopper room. From here, use your Wave Beam and protected position to easily defeat all of the enemies (remember you can shoot through the wall), then shoot the bottom-left corner of the area you're standing in to make a pole rise out of the ground. Ride it as far as it goes, open the pole, and exit the room.

In this large chamber, make your way to the area just above you and to the left where a group of Small Sidehoppers are. You can use the Grappling Beam Blocks above this area to cross the chasm and gain access to Missile Tank 20 (if you're following the walkthrough you now have 100 Missiles), assuming that you didn't get it already, obviously. Take it (if you didn't get it earlier), and lay a Power Bomb here to reveal a hidden area below. Equip all of your beams and enter.

More Sidehoppers! Use your beams, Missiles, or Power Bombs (not Super Missiles) to defeat them, then look for a strange-looking area in the floor. Bomb it or use your X-Ray Scope to reveal that it's a Super Missile Block; shoot it with a Super Missile to destroy it. Drop through the gap to find Power Bomb Tank 04. Take it, then shoot the pole to move it out of the way. Set a Bomb at the bottom of the area where the pole was to destroy a block, then drop through the Pit Block underneath it. When you reach a wall, lay another Bomb to raise a pole, then roll out, and exit through the door. You'll fall through a Pit Block and be back in the large chamber.

Now, take the Blue Door just above where you grabbed Missile Tank 20. You'll see some Speed Booster blocks a few screens in; I recommend not breaking through them. There are no items below, only an Energy Charge Unit and Dachola, who shows you how to use the Shinespark technique (we will be using this later, but not just now). If you do fall through, refill your Energy, then copy Dachola's actions to return to the main corridor. Make your way to the door on the far left of the corridor and go through.

You'll find yourself in the elevator shaft to Crateria. Immediately lay a Power Bomb when you enter; this will reveal a hidden area leading down. Drop all the way down to the bottom of this area, then take the door leading left. Here, kill or avoid the Beetoms and make your way to the next room.

As you make your way left here, you'll see an Energy Tank; however, do not run to the Tank, as you will fall through the floor, and have to loop all the way back to try for it again. Once you see the Energy Tank, use your X-Ray Scope to find the chasm hidden in the floor (if you don't have the X-Ray Scope, the chasm is 3 tiles wide and starts the fourth tile away from the Energy Tank; see the image above), and jump over the chasm to acquire Energy Tank 06. Use a Super Missile on the Green Door to acquire Super Missile Tank 02 (it's been quite a while since we've seen one of these, hasn't it). Once you have it, return to the room that had the Energy Tank and drop through the floor (through the gap we just jumped).

Here, you have the option of going left or right. Going left through the door takes you to a Save Unit; going right leads to the exit. Roll under the thorns, and remember that the rest of this room will contain many Beetoms, which can be killed with Missiles or Bombs. Make your way across the room (you can use the Zebbo pipes to refill energy if needed) and go through the door on the other side.

Here, you'll find three squawking creatures, the Etecoons. They are here to teach you how to Wall Jump, and Wall Jump you must do in order to leave this area. It's actually fairly simple: jump at the wall, then start to move away from it when you make contact, and you'll see Samus' pose change. At this point, hit the Jump button to jump off the wall (watch the Etecoons as well, they do it exactly how you need to do it). If you just want to escape, you just need to make it to the ledge one screen up; you can Bomb the block here to reveal a passage back to the elevator room. But the real reason we came here is for the item at the top of the shaft, so Wall Jump to the top of the shaft (there's a small ledge about half-way up on the left-hand side you can use if you miss a Wall Jump higher up). It's possible to Wall Jump using only a single wall, but the timing is much easier if you use both walls and go back and forth between them. Once you make it to the top, you'll see a Morph passage to the right. Either roll into a ball out of a Wall Jump into the passage or jump from the platform on the other side of the chasm; either way, you're rewarded with Power Bomb Tank 05. Take it and then exit through the door at the top of the chasm to return to the elevator room (you can also drop down and use the lower exit if you fall).

(For those of you who prefer videos, use the video below (I did not play any part in making it), which details very nicely how to perform the technique:)

(Note: If for some reason you absolutely cannot make it to the top of the shaft, you can just get to the first exit (only one Wall Jump is needed to do this), and come back when you have the Space Jump to obtain Power Bomb Tank 05. I don't recommend this, but it is an option if you just can't Wall Jump to the top for whatever reason.)

If you came from the top of the Wall Jump chasm, a Metal Door will have closed behind you. Either way, you'll now want to make your way to the highest pair of doors (where the left door leads to the Map Computer.

(Note: If you exploited the "mockball" glitch earlier and already got Reserve Tank 2, Super Missile Tank 03, and Missile Tanks 21 and 22, you already have everything worth obtaining from Brinstar at the moment; you can just leave on the elevator, and skip ahead to Item Acquisition - Crateria.)

Go through the door on the right (opposite the Map Computer corridor). Here is another room with falling poles (and remember, you got Missile Tank 04 from here a while back); now that you have the Speed Booster, you can pass them easily. Run all the way across the top platform to the other end of the room, and open the Red Door you find here. Take Reserve Tank 2 that the statue holds, then roll through the tube under the statue platform. Here, you'll encounter Missile Tank 21 in plain sight. Collect it, but don't leave just yet; Missile Tank 22 is hidden in the wall (you can use a Power Bomb to easily find it, or bomb into the wall from the platform Missile Tank 21 was on). Grab it as well, then return to the area with the statue, and exit to the previous area.

Shoot the ceiling next to the right-most pole to reveal a passageway. Up here, you'll find Small Sidehoppers and Wavers; dispatch them and grab any refills. At the end of the passage is Super Missile Tank 03; take it, then fall through the platform it was on to return to the entrance of the room. Exit to the elevator area.

Now, take the elevator up to Crateria.

Item Acquisition - Crateria

From here, there's little to do except to make your way back to your Starship. The enemies here should be no trouble at this stage of the game, so just use your map to make your way to the Starship. As for the Red Door you may have ignored earlier, you again can check it out if you like; it will look different than it did last time you saw it, but it still has absolutely no practical purpose.

Outside, you'll notice that the storm has stopped. Once you reach the ship, the first thing you should do is save your progress and replenish your supplies (the ship replenishes everything, not just Energy and Missiles). At this point, there are some very nice items you can get using the Shinespark technique. It's not particularly difficult (easier than Wall Jumping, in fact), and everything will be on the same screen as the ship (which also has no enemies), so even if you mess up you can just try again, and recharge your Energy on the ship if things get low. Again, I highly recommend getting these items, but the decision is yours; Super Metroid is incredibly non-linear, and in most cases, if you don't want to do something, you probably don't have to. If you're having trouble, these can also be done with Space Jump Boots, but at that point in the game it's a huge detour, and it can very easily be done now.

The first thing to is use your Speed Booster to destroy the blocks to the right of the ship (Power Bombs will work also). After this, run until you see echoes. Once you have echoes, and you're fairly close to the point shown above, press Down on your D-Pad to charge the Shinespark. The charge will last about 5 seconds, so if you're too far away just run back and try again. Move to the point shown above (and make sure to face right), and then make sure you aren't pressing any arrow keys. Press Jump, then immediately hit R (you can also just hold R as you jump). Done correctly, you'll see Samus shoot off diagonally and then land on a very high ledge (Energy will be drained while you're flying, but this shouldn't be any concern). There will be a Yellow Door here; open it, and go inside.

Here, kill the Alcoons and stay out of the acid (and don't touch the spikes), and make your way to the far side of the room. The room contains Power Bomb Tank 06; take it, then leave.

Back outside, move as close to the door as possible, then run across the ledge. You have just enough time to charge your Shinespark here (press Down just before you fall off; remember you can't charge it while airborne). Next, drop straight down off the platform. Now, jump and immediately after jumping, hold the Left arrow. If done correctly, you'll shoot sideways, blast through a breakable wall, and hit a door (which will stop your movement). Open it, but don't go inside. Instead, go back to the ship, save and replenish your Energy, then Shinespark to the high ledge just like you did before. Now, again starting touching the door, run and charge your Shinespark (again, press Down just before you fall off), drop to the platform below, then Shinespark left once again (the same process as above. This time, since the door is open, you'll shoot through to a new room. (If you fail, just replenish your energy at the Ship and try again. For opening the door, you can also Shinespark diagonally from the top of the ship, or jump (you might have to Wall Jump to get high enough) and bomb/Power Bomb through the wall instead of Shinesparking from the high ledge.)

If you replenished your Energy and did everything else correctly, you'll shoot all the way through this long room through several more breakable walls to a door. (If not, you'll just have to fight your way through the room; use Power Bombs to take out the destructible wall sections to save your Energy.) Go in the door.

Here, you'll find a Chozo holding Energy Tank 07. Take it (it refills the Energy you lost Shinesparking too--awesome!), then use a Power Bomb to reveal a hidden passage under the statue. Once you emerge on the other side of the wall, shoot the breakable wall section about halfway up. Then, you'll see several sections of destructible wall; use Bombs or (preferably) Power Bombs to eliminate them and make your way left, staying out of the acid and away from the spikes (both deal significant damage). When you reach an area with spikes and then open space on the other side, lay a Power Bomb; you'll probably take some acid damage because of the distance, but you'll blow away the fake part of the wall, allowing you to pass. Near the door is a Yapping Maw (basically harmless, but try to avoid it anyway) and a Zebbo hive; refill your Energy/weapons on them if you like, then go through the door.

Here, you'll find a large amount of breakable wall; your beam will deal with it nicely. Before advancing, take a look at the image above. In order to get both of the next two Missile Tanks at one time, you'll need to clear through the sections of Pit Blocks on both sides. It helps to check where they are; the X-Ray Scope will let you see the location, as will the Bomb Spread move (preferable, since it continues to show their locations until you leave the room; to do it, charge your beam, and while charging morph into a ball). You need to jump directly onto the spot with the X shown above, otherwise you'll only be able to collect one of the Missile Tanks, and will have to to redo the whole sequence to get the other one (without an Energy Tank to refill your Energy halfway through to boot). Once you start falling, watch carefully as you fall; you'll find Missile Tank 23 (on the left) and Missile Tank 24 (on the right). Don't fall too far before getting them, or you'll miss both (once you reach the sction with the Missile Tanks, only the bottom-most Pit Block will respawn; the others will remain cleared so long as you don't leave the room), but clear enough Pit Blocks on both sides so that you can access both tanks. The walls between you and both Missile Tanks can be destroyed with Beams, so do so. Grab both tanks, then fall the rest of the way down to return to familiar territory (you'll have to Bomb a section of floor in the middle of the shaft here to make it to the main section of the shaft. From here return to the Starship.

At the Starship, save, and now we are going to head right (all this time we've been waiting to go right here). You'll see a Green Door on the far side; you know what to do with it. Go inside, and pass through the next room also. In the following room, defeat both Keyhunters, and open the Yellow Door with a Power Bomb.

(Note: If you got the Wave Beam early and didn't take the detour to Brinstar for the Power Bombs, now is the time to grab them and also a Missile Tank you missed in the far reaches of Brinstar. In this room, about halfway across, is a shootable section of floor. Shoot it, and make your way down (don't touch the Sciser enemies, they hurt). Blast the Yellow Door with a Power Bomb, go in, and take the elevator down to Brinstar. The first door on the left is a Green Door; open it, kill all three Sidehoppers, then use a Power Bomb on the far left wall to blast away the floor. Jump through the leftmost flower to obtain Power Bomb Tank 02. Return to the elevator shaft, and go to the "bottom." Blast through the floor, and make your way to the Green Door here. Open it, cross the room carefully, grab Power Bomb Tank 01, then set a Power Bomb to clear away the wall and grab Missile Tank 11. Return to the shaft, ride the elevator back to Crateria, open the Yellow Door to exit the elevator room, and go to the top of this shaft to rejoin the walkthrough.)

Enter the Yellow Door to your right to continue.

Crateria Revisited

Regardless of the path you took to get here, you'll now find yourself in a watery room with a Missile Tank on a small platform halfway across. One way to cross the room is just to Shinespark across, but this can be tricky. It's easiest to use the Grappling Beam Blocks. Using the Grappling Beam Blocks, swing across, and drop onto Missile Tank 25 to collect it. While you're here, you may notice that the Grappling Beam Blocks to the right appear cracked. This means that they can only hold you for a few seconds, after which they will break and you will fall if you were still holding onto it. Make your way quickly past these blocks and enter the door on the other side.

In this new area, the first thing you should do is go into the water. Go to where it gets deeper; at its deepest point, in the bottom-right corner under a ledge, is a breakable wall section about halfway between the ground and the overhang. Shoot it, then jump and Morph into the passage. On the other side, you'll find Missile Tank 26. Once you have it, return to the surface, and jump onto the platform above the water. In this area, you can either jump across the gaps (remove the Hi-Jump Boots if you have them), or use the Grappling Beam Blocks. Either way, make your way right across the platforms. Be careful if you fall into the water; it's filled with Skulteras, which are very sturdy and deal great damage. When you reach a gap with a Yellow Ripper II flying back and forth, again you have the option of either Grappling the Yellow Ripper II, or just jumping across (Hi-Jump Boots don't affect this, but it's best to re-equip them now). Above the Ripper is a Metal Door you won't be able to open, and further above that is rock you won't be able to penetrate. So continue along the platforms, open the Green Door to the far right, and go inside.

Wrecked Ship

The first thing you'll notice as you enter is that the power is out. On the minus side, Save Units and Map Computers won't function, but on the plus side neither will conveyer belts, Work Robots, sparking wires, or, yes, spikes (I have no idea why they would need power, but they won't hurt you with the power off). Run across this room and through the door.

You'll find yourself in the main stairwell-type area of the ship. Coverns will spawn here; if you're standing still, they'll spawn on top of you, so keep moving to avoid them (once they appear, you can kill them and obtain refills). Directly across from you is a Save Unit, but as mentioned it doesn't work right now. You won't be able to do anything at all by going up (you can explore, but there are no items or anything else of interest accessible there right now), so instead head down. The Metal Doors are all sealed (they need power to open); don't bother killing Covern enemies to try to open them, as they spawn indefinitely. The first thing you'll see heading down is a Metal Door; ignore it. The next screen down, on the left, has a Bombable section of wall level with the floor. Bomb it, and go through this area full of traps (nothing here except Covern will be able to damage you though--all the more reason to collect this one now!), find Missile Tank 27, then head back to the stairwell.

Continuing further down, you'll see another Metal Door, this time on the left side. Opposite the door is another Bombable wall section, but don't bother with it just yet; the end is blocked, so you won't be able to get any items out of it just yet. Instead, shoot at the floor to reveal a path leading further down. At the bottom of the room is a Green Door. Blast it and continue on through.

Here, heading left will take you to the Map Computer, which, again, doesn't work. So head right instead. The right wall has a passage at the base of the wall; roll into a ball and enter it. Bomb the wall section halfway through, then continue to find another Boss Door. Defeat it just like you did Kraid's, then go to the Map Computer room on the opposite end of this corridor; if you jump up and down on top of the computer, it's an excellent place to grind Coverns for any Missiles/Super Missiles you may have used. Once you're ready, go through the Boss Door you just defeated to find...

After Phantoon dies, you'll notice the lights have come back on. Head back to the previous room, and the first thing you'll see is a sparking wire. Avoid touching these, as they will damage you (some of them also drop sparks). Roll back through the passage to the main section of the room to find that the Work Robots are now active. They can be used as platforms, but their shots hurt a lot, so be careful. You'll also find Powerorbs; these enemies can take a fair amount of damage before going down, so kill or avoid them. Go to the Map Computer room, and activate it to reveal the layout of the ship, then return to the previous room and take the door in the middle this time (the one going up).

Here, make your way up the stairwell and through the shootable floor. Enter the first flashing Metal Door on the left. Inside, you'll find a small room with Super Missile Tank 04. Grab it while avoiding the sparks, then return to the stairwell.

Remember the Bombable wall section I said was blocked off, just before fighting Phantoon? Well, now it's not blocked. Bomb the base of the wall opposite the door you just came through, then roll through the passage (Bomb the block on the other end of the passage as well). Enter the door on the other side.

When you enter, you'll immediately see a new enemy, Bull. They can be defeated by anything except uncharged beam shots, so use whatever works (I would use the Grappling Beam, personally). Make sure to avoid and shots from the off-screen Work Robots and make your way right. When you reach the right wall, shoot the Work Robot to make it move out of the way (you can force it off the platform if you like), then Bomb the wall and get Samus to the position shown, then roll through the wire. You'll reach Super Missile Tank 05; take it, then return to the stairwell. Make your way to the top (ignore the Metal Door halfway up for now; stop at the Save Unit to save though), shoot through the shootable ceiling, continue upward, and enter the door.

A Metal Door will close behind you, and you'll find yourself face-to-face with an upgraded version of the Keyhunter, the Yellow Keyhunter. Avoid contact with them, as they can pack a punch. Use whatever you have to defeat them; hiding behind pillars and using the Wave Beam is an effective strategy and my preferred method here (the pillars tend to block their swoop attacks). You'll also need to take out all the Powerorbs to open the doors. Once everything is defeated, open all the Metal Doors, and go through the door on the right.

You'll see several Work Robots blocking some conveyer belts ahead. Shoot them into the pits, and make your way right. You'll see Missile Tank 28; take it, then return to the previous room and exit through the left-hand door now to return to Crateria.

You're now in the previously-inaccessible upper section of this outdoor area. There are two Missile Tanks here, and the area is quite large, so read carefully. Make your way across the platforms, and be on the lookout for Trippers. When you see one, what you'll want to do is this: jump on, and ride it until you see another Tripper above. Jump to that new Tripper (freeze it if it makes it easier), then ride it until you reach one yet higher up. Repeat this process until you can't go up any higher; when you reach the left wall here, Missile Tank 29 is hidden (shoot the wall). Once you have it, drop down to the ground and make your way to the far right wall on the ground.

Near the wall, you'll see a short depression three blocks wide. In the middle of this depression is a Super Missile Block (Bomb it first or use the X-Ray Scope to be sure before firing any Super Missiles). Break it, then drop down through the gap. Bomb/shoot the block immediately to the left of where you drop, then go left to find Missile Tank 30. Now, you'll need to return the way you came. Do not take the lower path leading right; it will drop you into the lower section, and you'll have to loop all the back around to return here (you don't want this). Instead, return to the surface the way you came; shoot the block you just destroyed if it already respawned, then jump and Morph into the hole. Again, do not go right here, it will again just drop you into the lower section of this area. Jump out of the hole (you'll probably have to destroy the Super Missile Block again to get out). Back on the surface, then shoot the block as shown in the image above to open another path. Make your way through, refill on the Zebbos if needed, then enter the door.

Inside this room-within-a-room, you'll find Wavers and Choots, a new emeny. Choot may look harmless, but don't be fooled; it deals heavy damage if you touch it, and will jump up if you get close. Dispatch all the enemies (Grappling Beam works like a charm here), make your way to the opposite door, and go through.

This is the only area in the game where you'll see a Red Geemer (it's above you). Interestingly, if you leave and go above to where the Geemer is now, it won't be there. In any event, as the Geemer cannot reach you, there's no use worrying about it; it does have the unusual property of trying to follow you. Kill or ignore it (you can use the Grappling Beam to snag any refills it drops) and go through the door to the right to return to the Wrecked Ship.

A Metal Door closes behind you! You'll never be opening this one, so just continue on. Use the Grappling Beam Blocks to swing across the spikes (or just jump across if you don't care about the damage for some reason) to reach a Chozo statue holding...nothing? That's odd. There's no way out of this room--there are no hidden passages, and the Metal Door can never be opened. So what to do? You may remember that the Chozo Statues hold balls that turn into items when shot. Maybe if you roll into a ball in its hand...? Do so, and watch what happens.

You'll find yourself in a new area. You'll see a Blue Door to the right, but ignore it for now. Instead, Bomb the floor where you're dropped to reveal a passageway; roll through, then Bomb/shoot/Power Bomb at the end to reveal a new area. Jump to the ledge and shoot the wall to reveal reach the main area. Here, you'll see several Work Robots. Your goal is to push (using your weapons) the Work Robots into the pits to form a continuous platform (you'll see why soon). So do so, making sure each pit has a Work Robot in it. Grab Missile Tank 31 from the end of the hallway. As I'm sure you've noticed, Chozo statues like to hide passageways. So Bomb around the statue to find...the statue itself is composed of Power Bomb Blocks! Fire off a Power Bomb to reveal a continuation of the hallway.

Remember the Shinespark move I told you about earlier (the one we used to obtain Power Bomb Tank 06, among other items)? We're going to use it again, only this time we're using a vertical one instead of a diagonal or horizontal one (it's the easiest of the three, and you may as well learn it now since it will be required to obtain several items later as well). Go to the left side of the hallway (past the spike pits with Work Robots), and start running right. When your echoes appear and you're reasonably close to the right wall, hit Down as you run to charge your Shinespark. Move to the thin gap going up, the jump straight up (make sure you're not pressing R) to blast upward through the shaft and through a Speed Booster Block. You'll find yourself in a new area; move right to drop to the main section of the room, and jump over the depressed section of blocks to reach Reserve Tank 3; take it, then drop through the lower section of blocks and return to the area with the Blue Door and the Chozo Statue we used to get down here, and go through the door now.

You'll find an item ball here; shoot it to reveal the Gravity Suit. This great item will not only cut damage dealt by 3/4, it will also allow you to move freely in water and acid (you'll still take damage in acid though), and take no damage from lava (your movment will be somewhat impaired still, but really this just means you can't use Speed Booster). Take it, then exit through the door on the left. You'll drop out of the Metal Door we saw earlier; return to the Wrecked Ship, as we still have one more item left to collect here (if you fall into the water, you should be able to jump back up to the platforms using your fancy new water movement abilities).

Return to the stairwell, save at the Save Unit if you want, then take the flashing Metal Door beneath the Save Unit that we've been ignoring until now. We ignored this path to this point because the water would have made the jumps impossible; now, you'll be able to do them with ease. Defeat the Bull, then enter the door on the other side here.

This room involves carefully jumping to avoid the spikes as well as the spiked bottoms of the falling platforms. Make your way right and through the door.

Here, at the top of the shaft you'll see a Blue Door leading right, but don't take it. Instead, shoot the middle of the ceiling above you to reveal a hidden area in the ceiling. Up here, shoot the thing wire-like thing to on the right side to break through, then open the Red Door and enter.

This is essentially another Grappling Beam room, only this time instead of harmless water we have water with spikes and Skulteras in it, and you'll have to Grapple to/from those fun green platforms that don't hold you if you're aiming up or down, and fall when you jump on them (oh, and the Grappling Beam Blocks are of the cracked variety, so don't dawdle on them). If you fall, make your way to the right side of the room to climb out of the water and try again, or just Wall Jump up the left wall underwater if you prefer (it's much easier with the Gravity Suit). When you make it all the way across, you'll see a Chozo statue holding Energy Tank 08. Take it, then exit the room and return to the Blue Door we passed earlier. Don't enter yet.

Here, you're presented with yet another choice. Our next destination is Maridia, in those three rooms near the Brinstar elevator to Norfair; the question here is how you want to go there. The game intends for you to take this door right to go through the rest of Crateria and eventually reach Maridia. However, there are still a few items in Old Tourian/Brinstar left to collect (including three that are very difficult/impossible without the Gravity Suit, which is why we didn't go for them yet), while the path through Crateria directly into Maridia is long, has a lot of dangerous enemies (Skulteras, Choots, and Owtch, amongst others) and, more importantly, doesn't allow us to easily obtain any new items (there are only two new items along the entire route; one can't even be collected for some time yet anyway, and there's a much more convenient time to collect the other). I think I've already shown you my preference (to go through Brinstar), but the choice is yours. The walkthrough will assume you took the Brinstar path here; if you took the Maridia path, the path is almost entirely linear, so just follow it downward; when you emerge from a vertical pipe, you can go left to continue (rejoin the walkthrough from the Maridia section) or right to obtain the Spring Ball (after which you must go left and rejoin the walkthrough).

Return to Crateria

Assuming you choose the Brinstar path, don't take this Blue Door. Instead, make your way back to the stairwell, then out to Crateria (the lower exit to Crateria is far easier).

Crateria Again

Work your way left to the starship (it should be quite easy now that you have the Gravity Suit) and save and replenish your supplies at the ship. Take the door left (the one on the ground, not the one we Shinesparked through earlier).

In here, follow the familiar passageway left and then down, and take the door down that leads into the Old Torian escape shaft.

In the shaft, turn off your Ice Beam for now, then hug the right wall and drop down. Make sure you keep shooting downward as you fall to defeat the Space Pirates before you hit them. Still flush with the wall, when you land on a small platform, Bomb the wall to reveal a passage. Go through to find a Yellow Door. Open it, equip your Ice Beam, and then enter.

(Note: Before proceeding with the walkthough, note that the room you're entering now contains a vertical shaft (on the right end of the corridor) which is the best practice spot in the game for Wall Jumping. It contains two walls an ideal distance apart (their distance apart is fairly typical of many shafts throughout the game), and is ideal for practicing the technique because of the perfectly straight walls, the lack of enemies in the shaft, and how high it goes up. Try to take some time out to master Wall Jumping; especially if you can learn to Wall Jump using just one wall, you'll save yourself a lot of time later (not to mention on any subsequent playthroughs, for example if you decide to do a speed run). Incidentally, it's also a great place to practice Bomb Climbing if you're interested in that technique, but Wall Jumping is more important. You probably won't be Bomb Climbing much unless you're attempting challenges, but you can do that here too. If you don't want to practice now, you can always return to this room; it will always be available on a playthrough so long as you've collected Power Bombs.)

Moving right, you'll see four Boyons. Freeze them so they're level with the ground, then run back to the door. Quickly (before the Boyons unfreeze) run right until you get echoes, charge your Shinespark, and jump straight up anywhere in the shaft you'll find on the right end of the room. You'll shoot up a long ways, and when you reach the top, you'll find yourself next to Super Missile Tank 06. Once you've grabbed it, roll through the gap here, then use your Grapping Beam to swing across the spike pit (there aren't any wrinkes here, like platforms or cracked blocks). Enter the door on the left side here.

A Metal Door will close behind you (it can't be opened at all). Go into the Morph passage and Bomb the wall to find yourself back in the escape shaft. Go all the way down to the bottom this time and through the Blue Door to the right.

In Mother Brain's old room, kill the Space Pirate standing right in front of you, then Bomb the block in the middle of the platform (under the middle of the broken class capsule that formerly protected her). Now, you can do the Bomb Spread move to quickly bomb the rest of the way through, or just Bomb/Power Bomb out the blocks like usual. Either way, you'll see Missile Tank 32 hidden under the floor; take it, then return to the corridor, exit right, and take the elevator to Brinstar.

Old Brinstar

Now, make your way to the right, through the door, then through the door to the right again at the top of the short shaft. You may remember that I mentioned an Energy Tank here when we first came through here, but told you to leave it because we didn't have the items to obtain it? Now we do have the needed items. Defeat the Geemers, Skrees, and Reo, then, just before the Morph passage, shoot at the ceiling to reveal Energy Tank 09. Use your Hi-Jump Boots to go get it (it's also possible to Shinespark at it if you didn't obtain the Boots for whatever reason, but you'll need to shoot the block before Shinesparking). Once you have it, lay a Power Bomb under the Morph passage to destroy the blocks here. Shinespark up the small shaft you see going offscreen (it's also possible to Wall Jump and lay a Bomb at the top to destroy the block, then Wall Jump again to get to the top, but Shinesparking is far easier), and go through the door.

Here, you'll see lots of water. It's actually possible to cross this room without the Gravity Suit, but it's extremely difficult and requires a perfectly-timed jump from the previous room, which is why we saved this area for now. When you land, use your X-Ray Scope to find the edge of the invisible platform, then jump on top of it and follow it right. Watch out for the dropping black balls as you work your way left; you can destroy them with a Super Missile, but it's easiest just to dodge them. Go through the door on the other side.

Here, you'll find Missile Tank 33 in plain sight. Take it, but don't leave just yet; Missile Tank 34 is hidden on the left-most block at the base of the item pedestal. Once you have both, leave, cross the previous room, and enter the door to the right.

Back in this room, lay a Bomb in between the dragon heads to destroy the block, then drop down. As you fall, stay in ball form and hold Right to clear out a Pit Block. Roll right to get out of here, then exit the room to the left and take the upper-left door in the shaft. (If you don't land on the Pit Block, from the ground here you can jump and hold right to land on it.)

Back in the elevator room, head back to the elevator, but don't take it. Instead, go left (to where the Morphing Ball was). Go all the way against the wall, then lay a Power Bomb to destroy it. Continue left to find Power Bomb Tank 07. Take it, then Bomb the wall in the bottom-left corner to reveal a short Morph passage; bomb the wall again on the left side to reveal the exit. Defeat all three Sidehoppers, then exit through the Metal Door (this is that Yellow Door in the green passage we've been ignoring for so long).

In here, cross to the left and take the door leading left. Go through the Morph passage, then Bomb by the two blocks below you (where you Bombed to get the Charge Beam). You'll find yourself near the Chozo statue that had the Charge Beam. Lay a Power Bomb to destroy a block under the Chozo, then roll through. Dop all the way down to reach a Red Door; open it and enter.

In this watery room, first eliminate the Zeros (collect the Power Bomb Refills they drop if you need to). If you go all the way left, you'll see some boxed-in Puyos (an enemy you may have seen just after you got the Grappling Beam, back in Norfair) and Skulteras. Looking at the blocks with the X-Ray Scope will reveal Speed Booster Blocks, so make your way all the way right again. From here, Speed Boost through all the blocks and enemies, and you'll find Energy Tank 10. Take it, then return to the Charge Beam Chozo (you'll need another Power Bomb to get out). Return to the main part of this chamber, and exit through the door in the lower right-hand corner.

From here, you'll need to make your way to the small Maridia section we've been passing through to this point (the one near the elevator to Norfair). If you need detailed directions, refer to the Brinstar section (after Spore Spawn), as the path through this portion is exactly the same; however, I beileve your maps and prior experience should be sufficient to get there.

Maridia

At this point, you should be in one of the three rooms between the Norfair elevator and the rest of Brinstar. Go to the middle one of the three.

The Underwater Caves

In this area, you'll be enclosed within a large glass tube. Bombs, Missiles and Super Missiles will do nothing with the tube, so try your strongest explosives (a Power Bomb). This will destroy the tube, dropping you into water and revealing a small shaft. At the bottom is a Save Unit (use it if you like); our destination is the Blue Door at the top of this shaft. Go inside.

Up here, you'll notice a Red Door leading right. Go inside.

In this room, dispatch all the Sciser enemies (don't touch them, as they do a lot of damage; the Grappling Beam is excellent for taking them out) and open the pole by using a Super Missile on the Green Light. Don't go through the door on the right side yet. Instead, open the door you just came through (the one on the left), and then go all the way to the base of the ledge on the right side. From here, run and charge up your Speed Boost. Just before going through the door, hit Down to charge your Shinespark, then enter the door.

Now, go to the spot shown above, then jump straight up (be quick, and don't get hit by the Sciser, or you'll lose your Shinespark and have to try again). You'll rocket upwards (probably killing a few Skulteras or Scisers) and reach Missile Tank 35 (you'll collect it on your way up). Drop back down to collect the refills if you like; either way, make your way to the top of the room (killing or avoiding the Skulteras and Scisers) and enter the door at the top right of the chamber (ignore the Super Missile Tank for now, we'll get to that in a little bit).

In this new room, roll into a ball, then drop down along the left wall (the one that goes to the bottom of the room) while holding left. (You'll probably get hit by a Sciser while doing this; don't worry about it, the item we're about to collect is more important.) If done correctly, you'll find yourself in a Moph passage. Follow it back to the previous room, and take this passage to obtain Super Missile Tank 07. Grab it, deal with the Sciser, then return through the passage.

Back in this new room, you'll drop down to the bottom of the room after leaving the Morph passage. Ignore the door under you; it will just lead you back to the bottom of the previous room. Instead, either Wall Jump back to the upper platforms, Shinespark out, or go right to get a very makable jump. On the upper platforms, make your way right (ignore the Powamps and Grappling Beam Blocks for now) and take the door on the far right leading down.

Ignore the Skultera underneath you and go left instead. You'll see a new Space Pirate type here, the Pink Space Pirate. These enemies are extremely powerful; their lasers travel very fast, and their defenses are high. There are only two ways to kill them right now--Speed Booster or Charge Attack (using Charge Attack will require two hits and you'll take high damage the first time, so it's probably not worth it). So avoid it, and make your way to the next ledge on the left. You'll see a Skultera here (kill it or avoid it); drop down to the bottom and hold right. You'll see a lone Pink Space Pirate patrolling here; quickly run right (through the fake wall) to avoid its laser shots. Open the Red Door and enter.

Here, you'll find Tatori and Tatori Jr., two friendly "enemies." They won't attack you, but if you shoot a Tatori Jr., the Tatori (the mother) will rise up out of the ground and try to ram you with her shell, dealing heavy damage. (Neither the Tatori and the Tatori Jr. creatures cannot be killed at all.) You can use this to your advantage, however; if you jump on top of her while she's trying to ram you, she'll move high upwards, essentially acting like a mobile elevator. You can use this to reach the Grappling Beam Block near the middle of the room on top; on top of the block is Energy Tank 11. You can use the Grappling Beam to swing all the way around; release while you're above the tank and not swinging fast to fall on it and collect it. Don't leave just yet; Missile Tank 36 is hidden here, in the right wall (in the long, straight section about halfway up). Either use the Tatori as an elevator, or Wall Jump up the wall, shoot along the wall, and grab it. Once you have both items, leave.

(Note: If you don't want to attack the Tatori Jr. creatures and infuriate the big Tatori, it's still possible to get the Energy Tank and Missile Tank. You can simply Wall Jump (or Bomb Climb) along the right wall for the Missile Tank; as to the Energy Tank, it's possible (though very difficult) to reach by Wall Jumping up the left wall, then Grappling the block in midair; you can also Bomb Climb or Shinespark (start running in the previous room, in the passageway) to get close enough to the block to Grapple it, or just come back when you have the Space Jump to easily obtain both items. The Tatori method is much easier and can be done right away, but can be risky if you're really low on Energy for whatever reason.)

Run back through the secret passage and use your Speed Booster power to easily defeat the Pink Space Pirate at the bottom of the area. Make your way back to the door in the top-right corner, and go in (remember, avoid the Space Pirates' attacks).

Here, use the platforms to work you way to the top-left ledge, the use the Grappling Beam to cross. If you fall, note that the Powamp enemies can also be Grappled and used to return to the upper levels of the area; they drop a Super Missile when defeated, but will shoot spikeballs in all directions if attacked. As you work your way across, you'll see a door heading up about half-way across the room. You can ignore this door for now; it contains a Red Skultera (the only one in the game) and a shortcut back to Brinstar near the Power Bombs. The shortcut is one-way; we can make use of it later, but for now you should remain in Maridia. Continue Grappling across the room, and enter the far-right door.

(Note: An alternate method to reach the door is to Wall Jump using the edge of the ledge; jump from the lower far-left plateau to do this.)

In this new shaft, work your way up, defeating the Scisers as you ascend. Go in the door at the top.

Here, head right and through the wall (watch out for the Owtch) and grab Missile Tank 37. Once you have it, there's nothing left to do here, so go through the middle-left door.

This room features the afore-mentioned Owtch and Menu, a new enemy you've seen if you already grabbed the Spring Ball (pointless exercise though it was). Owtch will move around under the sand, occassionally popping out to hurt you. They can be killed with Power Bombs (and Super Missiles/charged beams if you're lucky), but you're probably better off just avoiding them. Menu is essentially an upgraded bug enemy; their damage is fairly low for this point, but they attack in large groups and can take a fair amount of damage before dying. Kill them with the Grappling Beam.

Still in the same room, make your way left. You'll soon come to a fake wall; you can pass right through it. When you reach the other side, you'll be attacked by three Menus. Jump to the high platform and exit left through the door.

Here, make your way left, then down. At the bottom of this pit, kill the Choot, then walk to the middle of of the pit to drop down through a hole. Pick up Super Missile Tank 08 and Missile Tank 38 (both in plain sight), then make your way back to the shaft after the the large room with the Grappling Beam Blocks.

Go to the bottom of the shaft, then shoot the middle section of floor to reveal a breakable block. Drop through the gap, then make your way right to find a Green Door. Open it to gain access to a new portion of Maridia.

The Underwater Ruins

This area appears like a dead end, but fear not; a Power Bomb dropped on the lower section will open the way for you. Drop down. The Red Door on the left here contains a Save Unit; I recommend using it. Back in this room, run right until you see a narrow (two blocks wide) shaft going up. Charge your Shinespark and shoot up this shaft. You'll find Missile Tank 39 to be easily accessible. Further right, you'll see Super Missile Tank 09, but don't run across the second section of the platform, because you'll just fall down before reaching it; instead, use your X-Ray Scope or Bomb Spread to find the two Pit Blocks (if you look closely, the sit over the top of another shaft), jump over them, and claim your prize. Once you have it, use the Pit Blocks to return to a lower section. Ignore the door here, and head left to drop down to the lower level. (If you encounter Yard enemies, either ignore them or kill them with a Bomb.)

Make your way to the far right and lay a Bomb (or just shoot it) to destroy a section of the floor in the lower-right corner. You'll have noticed the sinking sand traps here; both of them will take you to new areas. Be aware that this isn't always the case; many will just set you back by dropping you in a previous area, and some others will just have spikes or nothing at the bottom. Take the left one (note that Speed Boosting on a sand trap will cause you to run over the top, rather than sink), if you're not sinking to a new room, move around the pit until you do.

In this new shaft, you'll find yourself unable to jump. Kill or avoid the Bull enemies here, and drop down (as mentioned, you won't be able to jump at all). You'll fall into a new room. Here, ascend the narrow shaft to find Missile Tank 40. (If you've been following the walkthrough, you should be up to 200 Missiles now--good job). Back at the bottom, work your way across the sand (keep jumping to avoid sinking) and jump to the ledge just right of the sandfall. Go up this narrow shaft, then cross the next one going down (don't fall in, or you'll have to start over). The next two small shafts have big black balls in them--either avoid them or destroy them with a Super Missile. Now here is the tricky part. The set of four blocks on the far side here are Pit Blocks. There's a Morph path leading to a Power Bomb Tank just underneath these blocks. What you need to do is roll into a ball, fall through the Pit Blocks, then immediatly hold Left on the controller. If done properly, you'll find yourself in the Morph passage. Pass through and grab Power Bomb Tank 08. Take it, Bomb or shoot the block near you to eliminate it, then drop through the sand to the room below (the exit is in the far right side of the sand pit). If you fail, you can try again as often as you like, just be careful not to sink through the sand at the base of the room.

Here, you'll immediately find yourself surrounded by Evirs, which are...evil. These enemies are fairly sturdy, and shoot their tail barbs at you to deal damage. Freeze, kill, or avoid them. Once again you have a choice. If you feel reasonably confident in your Wall Jumping or Bomb Climbing skills, head right here to get the Spring Ball, a mostly useless yet fun upgrade you'll need mostly for completion purposes. If you don't feel confident in your Wall Jumps, or if you already got the Spring Ball (or you go this far without collecting the Grappling Beam), head left (skip the next four paragraphs to rejoin the walkthrough):

Work your way right and through the door. Remember that the sandfalls will hinder your jumping. Enter the door. Here, ignore the door on the other side of the room. You'll see a Cracked Grappling Beam Block that appears to serve little purpose. Let's grab it anyway. The block will diappear. Now, you need to jump up through this gap to one of the ledges on either side (you don't need to Wall Jump, even from the sand; you'll be able to make the jump in one bound if you have the Hi-Jump Boots; if not, you'll probably have to Bomb Climb up). Now, you'll need to Wall Jump (or Bomb Climb) your way up the shaft. The fastest way is to Wall Jump just using one wall, but if you're not skilled enough to pull that off, you can use both walls and still climb the shaft. For the most part this is similar to when you were with the Etecoons...until you reach the top. At the top are numerous Menus, so either make a beeline for solid ground, or lay a Power Bomb to eliminate them and climb back up. Once you've landed, cross to the right, and take out the Menus here. Drop through the Pit Blocks, then defeat the Puyo and move to either side to fall further down. You'll find yourself in front of a door; enter it.

You'll see a new enemy, Shaktool (with the cutter-legs). It'll be happy to burrow through the sand ahead, but it can't break the Power Bomb blocks in the way. Luckily for both of you, you can, so do so. Let Shaktool do its thing (don't touch it, it will damage you, and don't kill it until it's done; you can Bomb the Yards if they're being annoying), then exit through the door on the other side.

Here, drop through the little passage, and take the left fork and follow it to the end. You'll come to a Chozo statue with the Spring Ball; take it, then work your way out of the next two rooms. Go to the far left of the shaft to drop through some Pit Blocks, then continue down (shoot the blocks to get down to the bottom level) and take the door left. You'll be back in the room with the Cracked Grappling Beam Block; once again, continue through the door on the left to find yourself back in the room with the Evirs.

Make your way left. The Evirs will be annoying; you'll just have to put up with them and try to get out of the area before they can hurt you too much. Exit through the door on the left to find yourself in a small room. You can Bomb some blocks in the ceiling, but don't bother, it doesn't lead anywhere useful right now. Continue through the door to the left.

More Evirs! And more sand! This room isn't my definition of "fun," but we'll have to deal with it. Make your way through the room, freezing or avoiding the Evirs as you go. When jumping over the short pilars, remember to stay out of the sandfalls, they will interfere with your ability to jump. Go through the door on the left to find a Sciser enemey. Use your Grappling Beam on it and continue through the door to find a broken tube room. The left exit leads nowhere, so go through the fake floor underneath the small platform instead (watch out for the Scisers). You'll land beside two doors. The Red Door to the right houses the Maridia Map Computer, the last one you'll find if you've been following the walkthrough; plug into it if you haven't done so already to reveal much of Maridia's map. To continue, exit left, then make your way past the Boyons and Zebbos here. Shoot the Green Light to lift the pole, then drop through the hole at the end to find yourself back in one of the three rooms by the Norfair elevator. Go left to reach the glass tube you destroyed earlier, and exit through the door on top. Make your way to the top of this room to find yourself in the Grappling Beam/Powamp room; cross it with your Grappling Beam and through the upper-right door to reach a shaft. Shoot the center of the floor, and work your way down and right, through the door to return to where the room where you first fell through the sand pits. Fire off a Power Bomb to return to the lower level of the room. Save your progress at the Save Unit here, then continue.

Now, we need to get power-ups out of the sand pit on the left side. To do this, shoot/Bomb the floor in the righ corner on the ground, then drop down and Speed Boost over the first pit (as long as you're in Speed Boost mode, you won't sink). Stop once you get to the second pit and let yourself sink through. You'll find yourself in another sand-filled shaft; just drop down, kill/avoid the Bull enemies, and get to the next area.

In this new room, ignore the narrow shaft to the right; there's nothing there. Instead, jump out of the sand to the ledge just to the left of where you came in. Shoot the block above you, then jump to the upper ledge. Here, you may notice a large black ball waiting to fall on you; either cross the shaft quickly to avoid it, or shoot it with a Super Missile. In the next small shaft is the same sort of deal--either shoot the ball, or drop into the shaft and immediately jump back to make the ball drop and explode harmlessly. Once you cross this one, you'll see a 2x2 block above you, and another one below you. The one below you is Pit Blocks; the one above you is a shootable block. Shoot the one above you. Now, you need to reach the Morph passage above you. If you have the Spring Ball, this is easily done; jump (in ball form) onto the Pit Blocks and hold Jump down. You'll get maximum height, but won't stay on the blocks long enough for them to drop you. Jump and roll through the passageway. If you don't have the Spring Ball, this is much tougher (but not impossible). You'll need to step on the Pit Blocks, then immediately jump up towards the passage, Morph in mid-air, and slide in. If you fall, just try again; you won't have to deal with the black balls again even if you go through the Pit Blocks, so just jump through the passages for another attempt. In any case, once you make it in the passage, you'll see a fork. The left fork leads to Missile Tank 41, while the right fork leads to Reserve Tank 4, the last Reserve Tank available if you've been following the walkthrough to this point. Grab both, then exit through the sandpit on the left side.

You'll land in the left room with the sand and Evirs. Once again, you need to return to the room you entered the two sandpits from. Copy/paste from above:

Make your way through the room, freezing or avoiding the Evirs as you go. When jumping over the short pilars, remember to stay out of the sandfalls, they will interfere with your ability to jump. Go through the door on the left to find a Sciser enemey. Use your Grappling Beam on it and continue through the door to find a broken tube room. The left exit leads nowhere, so go through the fake floor underneath the small platform instead (watch out for the Scisers). You'll land beside two doors. The Red Door to the right houses the Maridia Map Computer, the last one you'll find if you've been following the walkthrough; plug into it if you haven't done so already to reveal much of Maridia's map. To continue, exit left, then make your way past the Boyons and Zebbos here. Shoot the Green Light to lift the pole, then drop through the hole at the end to find yourself back in one of the three rooms by the Norfair elevator. Go left to reach the glass tube you destroyed earlier, and exit through the door on top. Make your way to the top of this room to find yourself in the Grappling Beam/Powamp room; cross it with your Grappling Beam and through the upper-right door to reach a shaft. Shoot the center of the floor, and work your way down and right, through the door to return to where the room where you first fell through the sand pits. Fire off a Power Bomb to return to the lower level of the room. Save your progress at the Save Unit here, then continue.

Back in this area, your goal is now the door in the top-left corner (we're done with navigating sand pits now, unless of course you fall into one). The fun part about this stage of the game is that there are multiple ways of reaching almost any location, and this is no exception. The game intends you to use the horizontal walls of Grappling Beam Blocks to do a type of Wall Jump using the walls lined with Grappling Beam Blocks, then Grapple across gaps high in the room. (When you grapple onto these vertical series of Grappling Beam Blocks, you'll assume a pose like the Wall Jump pose; if you quickly press Jump while releasing Shoot, you'll Wall Jump. I'll refer to this technique from here on out as "Grapple Jumping.") If you don't feel like doing this, you can also Wall Jump, Bomb Climb, or Shinespark there, or, if you're feeling creative, jump on top of a Yard when one is about half-way up. However you get there, enter the door..

In here, you'll see several Puyos. In addition, there are Mochtroids, a new enemy. These are not real Metroids; they can still suck off your energy, but are easily defeated and move rather slowly. This room is a maze of sorts; many of the wall sections are shootable blocks, which you can destroy to move ahead. There are also a few spots with Pit Blocks. In any event, your ultimate goal is to get to the bottom of the room, in the middle, then clear out enough space to charge your Speed Booster. Do so, and run right to break through the blocks and reach the door. Open it and enter the next room to face:

In this new room, your first goal should be to kill the Puyos to clear a running lane (you'll need it in a little bit). Once you've done that, refill any lost Energy/Super Missiles on the Zoas that spawn from the sand (use the Grappling Beam). When you're ready to continue, go to the far left end of the flat area, then Speed Boost all the way across the room. You'll pass over the sand pits, and reach a door. Don't go in yet; this room holds a very valuable item. To get this item, work your way left, and jump on the ledge formed out of the purple bricks, and roll into a passage. Until you get near the Energy Tank, just Spring Ball (or lay a Bomb to jump if you didn't grab the Spring Ball) if you run into a wall. When you get near the Energy Tank and drop down (you will be over the first sand pit), don't contiue left, or you'll just fall into the pit. Instead, Bomb/Spring Ball up and left. Follow the path to Energy Tank 12, then exit out the other side of the maze. You can Speed Boost across the sand again to reach the door. Go through it.

This shaft features walls covered in Grappling Beam Blocks, as well as a hidden Morph passage in the bottom-right corner. The Morph passage leads to some Oum enemies (indestructable, but you can climb over them) and a Missile Charge Unit. If you already refilled your Missiles, don't bother with this passage, but it's there should you need it. When you're ready to continue, head back to the shaft. You need to climb the shaft to the top. Once again, there are numerous ways to do it--Grapple Jumping, Wall Jumping, freezing the Mochtroids, and Shinesparking (you can charge it in the previous room) all work wonders, or you can even Bomb Climb if you're bored. The Metal Door half-way up can't be opened at the moment; instead, continue through the door at the top, however you got there.

You'll find yourself in a long chamber. At the bottom is sand; there are spikes under the sand, so don't linger there. Most of the walls are lined with Grapple Blocks; there are also grapple blocks you can swing from, and Mochtroids you freeze or kill for refills. Carefully make your way across this room using whatever combination of strategies you like (personally, I recommend Wall Jumping and swing from Grappling Beam Blocks), being especially careful not to touch spikes or fall deep into the sand. When you reach the far right side, you'll see two doors. For now, take the lower (Green) Door.

In here, there are no enemies. You'll also notice some easy Grapple gaps and some un-moving spikes. Hmmm....cross the room; in the right wall is hidden Missile Tank 42, so grab that. Once you have it, make your way back to the first pit and fall in. The spikes are fake, explaining their immobility (how immobile spikes manage not to hurt Samus is a long-standing question). At the bottom of this chasm is a Boss Door; defeat it to turn it into a Blue Door. Don't go in yet; instead, go back to the previous room and take the upper door (the Red Door) to find a Save Unit and Energy Charge Unit. Refill any depleted weapon supplies on the Mochtroids; when you're done, Save at the Save Unit, then return to the Boss Door you just destroyed and enter to face...

Here, your prize is the Space Jump. This item allows you to jump in mid-air during somersaults, essentially allowing you to fly. Depending on how you played your game, this may allow you to get some things you missed before. Feel free to practice using it in Draygon's room, then exit to the shaft just outside Draygon's room when you're ready to continue on with the game.

Ascend the shaft, and exit left at the top. Here, go up and refill your Energy (at the Energy Charge Unit) and save at the Save Unit. Go back outside and make your way across this room; kill the Mochtroids to refill your weapon supplies as you go, then exit through the door to the upper left.

In this room, go down and use the Missile Charge Unit if you need it, then take the now-flashing Metal Door at the mid-level of this chasm.

This new room serves more or less as practice for your Space Jumping abilities, with spikes and high walls everywhere. The only type of enemy is a special Blue Cacatac, which is like any other Cacatac except its color. Shoot them for Super Missile refills if you like, and work your way to the door in the upper left-hand corner.

In this small shaft, defeat the Cacatacs and exit through the bottom-left door. In this small room you won't be able to jump against the sandfall (and there's nothing there anyway), so just go through the door on the left.

If you started running in the previous room, here it's possible you could defeat an Owtch by running through it. Either way, work your way up; your destination is the flashing Metal Door near the top of the room (on the right side; if you came to Marida through Crateria, you probably passed it), opposite and a little above the Green Door on the left going down. Enter the Metal Door.

This room features Choots, Puyos, and Menus. Your goal is the door at the top of the shaft; work your way up using the Space Jump and defeat any enemies when you land on a platform. A tip (this applies anywhere, mind you, not just here) is that even if you've fallen down too much to Space Jump, you can still Wall Jump to regain your jump (Wall Jumping works the same way with the Space Jump boots as without), so long as you still are in a somersault jump. Once you've made it to the top, enter the door.

You'll find a Puyo colony, the only one of its type in the game. Defeat or avoid them, and enter the door on the other side.

A Metal Door closes behind you, and the room is full of Pink Space Pirates! Uh-oh. Make your way to the bottom left (where you see a dot on your map) to find the Plasma Beam. The Plasma Beam is the most powerful beam in the game; it is three times as powerful as the Spazer beam (note that the Spazer and Plasma beams cannot be equipped at the same time; if you didn't grab the Spazer Beam or don't have it equipped for whatever reason, it will multiply your beam's power by 6, otherwise you'll see your beam's power triple over the Spazer), and passes through enemies. Use your nowfound power to defeat the Pink Space Pirates, then leave through the now-flashing Metal Door. Return through the next two rooms to the large sand room we entered this zone from (the one that had the flashing Metal Door to the Plasma Beam).

At this point, our next destination is Norfair. There are several ways to get there, but the easiest is just to go through Maridia (ignore the areas leading to the Crateria elevator, there are no items there or in the part of Crateria to which they lead). Enter the Green Door on the other side of this room, which will send you down a tube. When you emerge, drop down and Bomb the floor, then exit left. You'll now be with the Evirs; use your Space Jump to stay out of the sand (your shiny new Plasma Beam will make very quick work of the Evirs; what a difference a few upgrades make).

(Note: If you didn't grab the Spring Ball earlier but do have the Grappling Beam, go to the right to get it, then return left and follow the instructions below.)

Go through the door on the left to find a Sciser enemey. Use your Grappling Beam on it and continue through the door to find a broken tube room. The left exit leads nowhere, so go through the fake floor underneath the small platform instead (watch out for the Scisers). You'll land beside two doors. The Red Door to the right houses the Maridia Map Computer, the last one you'll find if you've been following the walkthrough; plug into it if you haven't done so already to reveal much of Maridia's map. To continue, exit left, then make your way past the Boyons and Zebbos here. Shoot the Green Light to lift the pole, then drop through the hole at the end to find yourself back in one of the three rooms by the Norfair elevator. To reach the elevator, take the door on the right to find yourself in Brinstar, then take the elevator down.

Norfair Revisited

In the elevator room, make your way down to the second door from the bottom on the right (the one to the Save Unit). Save your progress, then Speed Boost through the next room, and cross the next room as well to emerge at the bottom of the large chamber.

Take the shaft leading down (stop at the room half-way up if you need a pitstop), and go through the door at the bottom. Cross this room (your Plasma Beam will quickly defeat the Multiviolas, but not the Magdolites) and enter the door on the other side. In this shaft, take the route down that we've been ignoring for so long. At the bottom is a Yellow Door, open it, refill your Power Bombs if you like, equip your Ice Beam, and enter the room.

This is a very deep lava lake. There's a Morph ball tunnel that leads above the lake, but ignore it; it's a dead end (it's just there so you can see the head on the other side of the lake). Instead, dive into the lava (with a Gravity Suit it won't hurt you). Down here you'll find Namihe, which are Fune relatives that cannot be defeated, only frozen. Use your Space Jump to jump out the other side of the lake, and enter the door at the top left.

Ignore the elevator for now and go to the next room. It's a Save Unit; definitely save your progress now, as some of the toughest gameplay in the game is coming up. When you're ready, ride the elevator down.

Lower Norfair

Welcome to the best atmosphere in the game! In this hell-like area, you have (yet another) choice to make when the elevator lands: you can take a detour to the left to get an awesome item (two of them, actually), or just go right to reach the boss quicker. The choice is yours, but the boss fight will be extremely difficult without that item, so I recommend going left, and that's what the walkthrough will assume as well. If you do decide to go right, go through the door at the end of the corridor, then Power Bomb the floor and go through the door on the right down here to rejoin the walkthrough (scroll down to the fifth paragraph after the mini-boss box below).

(Note: If, for whatever reason, you came down here and didn't grab the Space Jump (it's very difficult to do, but not impossible, as both Bomb Climbing and exploiting a glitch still allow access to Lower Norfair), definitely head right; you will not be able to proceed past a certain point to the left without have the Space Jump in your inventory.)

As you work your way left, kill or avoid the Dragons (they have new colors but the same ones you were dealing with before) and the Polyps (the fiery jets; they can't be defeated, so avoid them). Space Jumping as close the ceiling as possible is the easiest way to do this; it also helps keep you out of the acid (which still hurts you). Enter the door on the left end of the corridor.

Here, you'll see a deep acid lake. Space Jump across to find some blocks covering...a Chozo statue? If you use a Bomb or the X-Ray Scope, you'll see that these are actually Power Bomb blocks. Use a Power Bomb to take out the blocks and see that the statue isn't holding anything. Remember last time we met a Chozo not holding anything? Roll into a ball in its hand (shown below), and the acid will drain (it will also remove a blockage near the bottom of the lake, allowing you to proceed). If you didn't grab the Space Jump, the Chozo won't do anything at all; the only way to avoid the acid and the blockage is to unplug your SNES and play a different game :)

Once you've drained the lake, work your way through the Morph passage at the bottom. You'll see some blocks in the way; Bombs will eliminate them, as will a Power Bomb. Continuing on, you'll see Magdolite and Holtz enemies. Holtz is essentially a Geruta, upgraded in terms of power and defense in keeping with the stage of the game we're in. Any beam (even uncharged Normal beams) will damage it, as will Super Missiles and Power Bombs, but it's defense is quite high so stick with your Plasma combo. You've seen Magdolites before; avoid them or refill off their thrown lava. Make your way to the Blue Door on the left down here. When you're ready, go inside.

In this area, you'll see Missile Tank 43. However, be careful reaching it; the six-block-wide lowered section in the floor is composed of Pit Blocks, so if you miss it you'll have to come all the way back around to reach the Missile Tank. The easiest way across is to use the Spring Ball; just roll into a ball and hold down Jump as you cross the Pit Blocks to the other side to avoid falling through. If you don't have it, you'll just have to do your best with Space Jump or jumping immediately when you land on the Pit Blocks. In any case, once you have it, fall through the Pit Blocks to reach a new area. Make your way right and...huh? Something's falling from the ceiling! Dodge out of the way (run back left) to see a Chozo-like creature drop from the ceiling. It sure doesn't look friendly!

Before going to the next room, go up to the ceiling on the right side and lay a Power Bomb (if you didn't already do this). Up here, shoot at the wall on the left side for Super Missile Tank 10--the last one in the game. Once you have it, exit through the door on the right.

The Chozo here holds the final item missing on your Inventory screen, the Screw Attack. This item is massively overpowered, destroying most non-boss enemies in one hit, and making you nigh-invinicible (there are still a small number of attacks that can hurt you, but only bosses and Metroids have them), all in addition to breaking through Bombable (but not shootable) blocks. If you followed the walkthrough, the Screw Attack will the be the last special item (meaning items other than Missiles, Super Missiles, and Power Bombs) that you acquire in the game.

Once you have the Screw Attack, use it to destroy the ceiling, and make your way upward. The room half-way up contains an Energy Charge Unit--use it if Golden Torizo drained your Energy. Continue upward and through the door at the top.

This room features very fast-moving Ripper II enemies. They don't do much damage, and your Screw Attack will tear them to shreds (they drop Super Missiles too--awesome if you're low). Also, remember to stay out of the acid, you'll still take damage, Screw Attack or not. Shoot the Green Light with a Super Missile to raise the pole, refill your Super Missile on a Ripper II, and continue through the door to the right.

Here, ignore the path going upward that's visible on your mini-map and enter the door leading right. Screw Attack quickly through the pillars to avoid the rising acid, and go through the door to the right.

Immediately freeze the Namihe and make your way up. If you've been following the walkthrough and grabbed the Screw Attack this will be your first encounter with Gold Space Pirates. They're basically upgraded Pink Space Pirates that do more damage but are vulnerable to more types of attacks. The Screw Attack and Plasma Beam (must be charged for the grond variety) still dominate; use whatever method you like to destroy them. When you reach a section of ceiling, use your Screw Attack to blast through, and continue upwards to a door. Ignore it for now, and shoot your way through yet another ceiling. Take the door leading left at the top.

Here, shoot through the floor in the center to make a hole, then drop down (don't Screw Attack), and on the ground below, roll all the way to the left (flush with the wall) and lay a Bomb to create a hole. You should find yourself on solid ground still after dropping down. Roll left to find a small chamber with Missile Tank 44. Take it, then go back up the way you came (don't Screw Attack until you're past the shootable block) and through the door.

(Note: If you fall through the Pit Blocks, you'll have to loop all the way around to get back here. The path is very linear, but it contains strong enemies (including Desgeegas and Gold Space Pirates) and takes more time.)

Back at the top of this shaft, go down to the door below (leading right) and enter it.

This is another of those fast-rising acid rooms. You need to move quickly to avoid getting caught up in it; drop down, then immediately Space Jump upward through the center of the chamber. Your target is the door in the upper-right corner, so make your way up there. When you reach it, go in.

Ignore the obvious blocks concealing a path downward, and instead go right for now. You'll find yourself in another one of those Fireflea rooms. Ignore the path leading upward and instead use a Super Missile (not a Power Bomb, or you risk killing some of the Firefleas) on the Fune directly in front of you. Pass through the fake wall behind it, and work your way down. Screw Attack to a small platform near the right wall above some spikes. It holds Energy Tank 13. Grab it, then exit the room the same way you came in.

(Note: If you like, you can continue upward and collect the two Missile Tanks and Power Bomb Tank 10 that are in that area and then return to this room to continue with the game, however there is a much more convenient time to collect them, and Missile and Power Bomb Tanks are frankly not that critical at this late stage of the game. This walkthrough will assume you waited.)

Now (back in the small chamber just before the Fireflea room), shoot the floor to reveal a passage going down that we ignored earlier. Work your way down. You'll see Red Keyhunters here, the toughest ones to date. They deal heavy damage and can take a pounding before going down. Unfortunately for them, you have both the Plasma Beam and Screw Attack; shred them like you've done to all the other enemies down here. Half way down the shaft is a Save Unit. Definitely save, as it will be the last one we see for a while. Once you've done so, work your way to the bottom of the shaft. Here, you'll find some blocks inside what appears to be a Morph passage; Bomb the blocks, then take the passage right. When you reach the end, drop a Power Bomb to open the Yellow Door and destroy the dragon head blocking your path. Enter the door.

The game wants you to believe this room is a dead-end, but you should have seen enough of this by now not to fall for it. The passage is the small nook in the bottom-right corner (the one just large enough to enter in ball form. Go there (Spring Ball really helps, but it's possible without), lay a Bomb to reveal a passage, and continue left (Bomb the block on the other end as well). This is probably your first encounter with a Desgeega (the full size ones, not the Small ones you battled in Upper Norfair). They deal heavy damage and move fast. Use your Screw Attack to defeat them and continue left. You'll see a statue-like thing straddling what appears to be a gap. Ignore it for the time being and instead Screw Attack the block in the bottom-left corner. Pass through here to find Power Bomb Tank 09--a hint for the statue, perhaps? Collect it, then lay a Power Bomb to destroy the statue. Continue down the shaft (watch out for the spiked platforms), open the Green Door, and go inside.

Here is your first encounter with Silver Space Pirates. These particular Space Pirates don't use lasers at all; instead, they try to damage you with their martial arts. They're immune while silver; only when they turn gold can they be harmed. Charged Plasma shots are a very easy way to defeat them; just stand near them and let them try to dropkick you while you shoot them to oblivion. Defeat both to pass through the Metal Door on the other side.

This room consists of Holtz enemies and Zebbo pipes, along with spikes on the ceiling and acid. Use the Zebbos to replenish if needed and work your way across the room (kill the Holtzes). Go through the door.

Here, you can just Space Jump across. At the far end is a Boss Door; open it, then restock on the Zebbos that come out of the acid (if you need Power Bombs, kill the Violas). Once you've stocked up, head left through the door for the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny!

Congratulations! You've just completed the hardest fight in the game (if you can beat Ridley, you should have no issues with any of the challenges yet to come). In the room to the left of Ridley's lair, you'll see the broken Metroid capsule. This doesn't bode well. Before you leave, shoot the lower-right corner for Energy Tank 14, the last one in the game. Once you have it, exit, and leave Ridley's lair through the top-right door.

For now, don't worry about recharging anything besides Energy (unless you have less than 5 of an item) and just Screw Attack right. Pass through the next two rooms (ignore the Silver Space Pirates). Ascend the shaft, and try to avoid letting the spiked platforms fall on you. Power Bomb your way out, and Screw Attack the Desgeegas as you head right. Go in the door, then bomb the upper-right dragon head and follow the passage to emerge at the bottom of the Keyhunter shaft. Bomb the blocks to get out, then save at the Save Unit (you really don't want to have to fight Ridley again). Continue up to the top, through the shootable blocks, and go through the door on the right.

You're back in the Fireflea room now (the one that had Energy Tank 13). This time, ascend the shaft (beware of the Funes and black balls); at the top, pass through the fake wall to the left and through the door. Here, jump over the spikes and defeat the Alcoons, then make your way left and up. You'll see a door; ignore it, and go right instead (watch out for another Alcoon). You'll find Missile Tank 45; take it, then jump to the top-right corner and plant a Bomb (or just use a Power Bomb). You'll enter a maze; use the X-Ray Scope help you work your way right, or just use trial and error (if you fall through a Pit Block, you can just go back a bit and try again; if you don't have the X-Ray Scope use a Power Bomb to get rid of all the Bombable blocks). Once out of the maze, Bomb the block in your way and go through the door.

In this room, shoot the dragon head to the right, then jump on the pillar to eliminate it (it's actually Pit Blocks). Your prize is Power Bomb Tank 10, the last one if you've been following the walkthrough. Repeat the process to destroy the other pillar, and exit through the door to the left. Make your way back through the hidden door to the left, and through the next room; when you reach the top-right door, enter it this time.

This room is tricky. You need to Space Jump over the acid, but avoid Screw Attacking near the metal poles hanging down, or poles will come down to block you and force you into the acid. Once you reach safe ground on the other side, wait for the acid to drop, then roll through the passage. On the first ledge, Bomb (or Screw Attack) the third block from the right to creat a hole. Roll through the passage into a hidden room, which contains Missile Tank 46. This is the final Missile Tank if you've been following the walkthrough, as well as the last item overall. Grab it, then roll back through the passage. Ascend the shaft and shoot the middle of the ceiling near the top, then exit through the door.

Phew! You're out of Lower Norfair now. Make your way left to drop through some Pit Blocks, then continue to the left and roll through the passage to emerge in the shaft near the Wave Beam and Missile Tank 09.

The Crateria Statue

Your destination now should be your starship in Crateria. There are numerous ways to get there, but the quickest is using the passageway through Maridia alluded to earlier. First, make your way to the elevator to Brinstar and ride it up; you should be familiar enough with this area by now to find your way there. Once you get there, go to the room with the tube you blew up earlier, and go through the door at the top. Go all the way to the top of this room, and through the door. Space Jump to the door leading up (it will have some Grappling Beam Blocks under it). Open it, defeat the Red Skultera or ignore it, ascend to the top, then jump into the Morph passage in the wall. Take the door on the other side to find yourself in Brinstar. Raise the pole with a Super Missile, then roll through the passage to emerge in the shaft with an elevator to Crateria. Ride it up, then blast open the Yellow Door if you didn't do so already, make your way up and then left to where the ship is.

When you reach your ship, use it to save and replenish your supplies.

Item Check

Since we're very near the end of the game, it's time to check our progress. If you've followed the walkthrough (or otherwise collected everything), you should have the following:

• 1,499 Energy (14 Energy Tanks + 99 Energy you started with)

• 230 Missiles (46 Missile Tanks x 5 Missiles per Tank)

• 50 Super Missiles (10 Super Missile Tanks x 5 Super Missiles per Tank)
• 50 Power Bombs (10 Power Bomb Tanks x 5 Power Bombs per Tank)
• Grappling Beam
• X-Ray Scope
• 4 Resrve Tanks (holding 400 Energy)
• Charge Beam
• Ice Beam
• Wave Beam
• Spazer Beam
• Plasma Beam
• Varia Suit
• Gravity Suit
• Morphing Ball
• Bombs
• Spring Ball
• Screw Attack
• Hi Jump Boots
• Speed Booster
• Space Jump

If you have everything, or don't care and just want to finish the game, continue; otherwise, refer to the Items section to help you find anything you missed.

Exit to the room on the left (on the ground), then make your way through this room and to the diagonal slope room (where you found Energy Tank 01 way back when). Pass through here as well, then descend the shaft with the Green Space Pirates. At the bottom, go through the Red Door on the right, which you may have ignored to this point.

You'll find yourself in a corridor. There's nothing interesting at all here, so just run through to the other side and go through the door.

In here, you'll see a statue-like thing. Watch the scene, then drop down into the water to find an elevator. Make sure your Ice Beam is equipped, then ride the elevator down.

Tourian

Welcome to the final area in the game! You'll notice that Tourian already comes mapped out--no need to search out a Map Computer.

Upper Tourian

After the elevator lands, get off and enter the door on the bottom of the chamber to the right to find a Save Unit. Use it, then return to the shaft and go through the other door. As usual, stay out of the acid here.

Here, you'll find Metroids. Metroids are very tough to take down; the cannon way is to shoot them with the Ice Beam, then hit them with 5 Missiles or 1 Super Missile. It's also possible to kill them with Power Bombs, which will be your only option if you didn't grab the Ice Beam. Note that you won't be able to freeze a Metroid if it's draining you; to get it off, either leave the room, use enough Power Bombs to kill it, or use Bombs at an angle to try to force it off (Screw Attack will prevent them from grabbing you, but if one is already latched on, you won't be able to Screw Attack). Metroids latching on to you are very bad; they'll drain your Energy extremely rapidly. You'll also see Rinkas--these leave no refills, and will do minor damage if they hit you. Don't bother trying to kill them all, because they'll just keep being produced. You'll find four Metroids in here--defeat all of them to proceed through the Metal Door.

In the next shaft are two Metroids waiting for slaughter--destroy both and proceed.

The long corridor here contains three Metroids. Do what you do best and continue on.

This shaft has 3 Metroids, the last ones you will be seeing this game. Dispatch them, then continue on.

Lower Tourian

This room houses the incredibly rare Blue Sidehopper. Their damage is the same as a normal Sidehopper, but what makes them interesting is that the only way to kill them is to use 5 (!) Super Missiles on them. It's not worth it, so just Screw Attack to avoid damage.

(WARNING: You are now just before the point of no return. If you continue to the next room, you will NOT be able to come back to any of the areas explored up to this point. So, if there are items you want to collect, places to explore, things to see, etc. in any of the prior areas you've visited, DO NOT go through the door on the left. You can go back the way you came and exit out the elevator to return to Crateria. The Metroids won't respawn should you leave, by the way, but the Blue Sidehoppers will respawn if you defeat them and then leave. In addition, from this point forward there will be no refills for Reserve Tanks, Super Missiles or Power Bombs, so if you're missing any, go refill them before you continue. If you're ready to finish the game, continue onward.)

Go through the door to the right here.

A Metal Door closes behind you, and it looks like another Torizo wants to fight you! Go forward and...something's not right, it's not moving at all. Walk past the Torizo to watch it turn into a dust pile, and go through the door on the other end of the room.

In this corridor, you'll see more creatures turned to dust. Make your way through the room. Eventually, you'll see a Blue Sidehopper jump on screen, only to be immediately attacked by a giant Metroid. (Don't use any Super Missiles or Power Bombs on the Metroid or the Sidehopper; both are invincible to your attacks and the events here are scripted.) Watch the scene; afterwards, you will have exactly 1 HP remaning (it won't affect Reserve Tanks; don't use them, because there's no way to fill Reserve Tanks anymore). Shoot through the blocks to the right and pass through the doorway.

Here, shoot your way down to the bottom and open the Red Door, but don't go in yet. Instead, use the door on the left. You'll see a Charge Unit for Energy and Missiles. This will be your lifeline for the remainder of Tourian--it's your only source of item refills. Fill your Energy and Missiles, then go out and through the Red Door we just opened. Go to the far end of the corridor, use three Missiles on the Boss Door, and go in (remember you can't refill Super Missiles anymore).

A new shaft! The middle door contains a Save Unit. I don't recommend using it unless you copied your file; if you save here, you cannot access any other areas of the game except the final battle. Open the Red Door at the bottom (again, don't use Super Missiles) and go inside.

Here, you'll find four Zebetites. They are only vulnerable to Missiles and Super Missiles, but you should be saving your Super Missiles (remember you can't refill them). So use your Missiles to destroy each one. Don't stop shooting one once you're started, or it will regenerate. In addition to Rinkas, this room also has turrets, which do 5 damage per hit and can be ignored. Once you've destroyed all of them, go back to the Charge Unit and refill (the Zebetites won't respawn), then come back here to face the brains behind the operation.

After Mother Brain dies, a timer will be set for 3 minutes, and a hole will appear in the left wall (it's the only way out). Time to blow this joint!

Escape from Zebes

You actually have plenty of time to escape, but don't dawdle. Once you've gone through the hole in the wall, you'll find yourself in a room with dropping poles. Your Hyper Beam will eliminate them. Go through the door, then down the next shaft and through the next door (the path is linear). Don't worry about the Silver Space Pirates; they do pitiful damage (3 per hit), and fall easily to your Hyper Beam.

In this area, take the path level with the door you just came in through, and work your way right. You'll see a path leading up; take it, then head back left. When you see another path upward, take it, then use your Speed Booster and Hyper Beam to blast through the Space Pirates and to the door. Go inside.

In this new area, quickly ascend the shaft. At the top, follow the path. When you start dropping down a shaft, notice the gap in the floor just right of you near the top; that's the path to the exit. As you reach the bottom, acid will begin rising, so don't sit around. When you get open air, Space Jump to the aforementioned gap (it's in the top-left corner of the section, then run across the platform shooting your beam to destroy the Space Pirates. Keep running and shooting as you go through the door.

Here, you'll find two of the Silver Space Pirates (the karate ones) trying to stop you, with acid rising from below. The Hyper Beam will kill them easily, or just run through them. If you have echoes from your Speed Booster, you can save a nice chunk of seconds here: charge your Shinespark (press Down while running) when you emerge in the old escape shaft, then quickly jump to the small platform flush with the wall about a screen up (you can use the one on either side). Immediately jump straight up--you'll rocket up the escape shaft and find yourself very close to the top. If it doesn't work, you'll still make it just fine, just quickly Space Jump up along one of the walls. EIther way you take to get to the top, go through the door.

More familiar territory! And no more enemies. Make your way up, and then right (don't bother trying to explore, most of the doors are Metal). When you see the Morph passage (the one that you took to get the Bombs ages back), you have a choice (last one, promise). You can either leave (though the door leading to your ship) and fly out to escape, or you can save some friends first. To save your friends, go through the Morph passage, take the shaft to the bottom, and go through the door. Cross this room and go into the room where you got the Bombs. A Metal Door will close behind you, and won't open until you release Dachola and the Ettecoons. But how to do it? Shoot the right wall. They'll leave (you won't be able to follow them), and the Metal Door will flash, letting you out again. Run through the corridor, then take the shaft back up. Bomb the blocks, exit through the door, and board your ship (press Down while on top of it) to escape and beat the game.

Enjoy the credits! A few notes. First, if you saved your friends, as your ship flies away, you'll see a small dot flying off towards the right-hand side of the screen. That's Dachola and Ettecoons escaping (apparantly they have their own ship). Second, the game will tell you your time taken. The best ending (or, more specifically, how much skin you see in a later scene) comes if you took less than 3 hours to complete the game; other endings range from there. The credits will roll, then Samus will appear in a form dependent on how long you took. Then, the game will give your completion percentage. There is a total of 100 items in the game; if you followed the walkthrough to the letter (or otherwise collected everything), your percentage will be 100%. It's actually possible to complete the game with a percentage as low as 15%, but such a challenge is beyond the scope of this guide.

Speed Run Tips

Here are general tips relating to doing a speed run:

• Plan out a route before you start playing. A map I recommend is Zeric's on GameFAQs, but there are many others out there. In particular, try to avoid as much backtracking and doubling-back as possible in your run, as poorly-planned routes generally waste far more time than technical mistakes.
• Learn all of your techniques. Especially Wall Jumping and Shinesparking are useful, but all of the techniques listed in the section can shave time if you know when and how to use them, as will proficiency at basic running, jumping, and shooting..
• Play through the game a few times to get a better feel for controls, battles, etc.
• Watch Speed Run videos on YouTube (or elsewhere) to get an idea of how top-flight players do their speed runs.
• If you're just going for the best time possible and not doing a 100% Speed Run, don't try to collect every item. Many items (such as the ones you must beat Crocomire to access in Norfair, or the Spring Ball) are simply not worth the time to get unless you're going for 100%. On the other hand, remember that skipping items can also end up costing you time, by forcing you to take alternate routes or using longer methods (such as Bomb Climbing) to pass certain areas. And make sure you have enough weapons and Energy Tanks to take on the boss fights with.
• Speaking of low percentages, you must have at least the following to complete the game (without extreme glitching anyway): 2 Missile Tanks, 2 Super Missile Tanks, 1 additional Missile or Super Missile Tank, 1 Power Bomb Tank, 3 Energy Tanks, Varia Suit, Gravity Suit, Morphing Ball, Bombs, and Speed Booster (these items account for 14%). In addition, you must have enough firepower to win against both of the Mother Brain's forms; the Charge Beam is the easiest way to fulfill this requirement (as you can use it indefinitely against the second form), but in lieu of the Charge Beam you can choose to get enough Missiles and Super Missiles to take down both forms. In a Speed Run you're likely to have significantly more items than this, but don't try to plan any route that doesn't meet these minimum requirements, as it won't work.
• Remember that special powerups (like beams, boots, etc.) are more important than Energy/Reserve Tanks, which are more important than Super Missile Tanks, which are far more important than Misile Tanks, which are more important than Power Bomb Tanks. In other words, when planning a Speed Run, it's best to try to get most of the Energy Tanks and as many Super Missile Tanks as practical, but you shouldn't be worrying about Missile Tanks too much (and especially Power Bomb Tanks as you'll never need more than 1 tank). Don't skip special powerups unless they're either way out of your way (for example, Grappling Beam and Spring Ball) or useless (X-Ray Scope). That being said, there's no reason to skip an item in a Speed Run if it's right there in your path, regardless of what item it is.
• One of the biggest questions in a non-100% Speed Run is whether to get the Grappling Beam. On the one hand, the Grappling Beam makes exploring many areas much easier, and allows you to quickly kill Draygon, but on the other hand, it is far out of the way (with all the other items near it being nigh worthless), and skipping it also allows you to skip Crocomire (who can be time consuming). If you're not too confident in your ability to use the main techniques (Wall Jumping, Shinesparking, and Bomb Climbing), I recommend collecting the Grappling Beam, as you will likely need all three to complete the game if you don't grab it. If, however, you're proficient at using all three of these tricks, feel free to skip the Grappling Beam and save some major time.
• If you're not going for 100%, skip the Spring Ball and all the items in the Maridia sandfalls; all of them are quite time consuming to obtain (and the sandfall items require you to loop all the way back to the top room in order to continue).
• Against Draygon, use the fast strategy to win quickly, it's much faster than winning with weapons (assuming you have the Grappling Beam of course).
• Against Phantoon, use Super Missiles unless you're not collecting the Charge Beam (and if you're doing a Speed Run, you should be getting the Charge Beam).

Reference

This section contains lists of items, enemies, and world objects.

Items

This section contains a listing of every item in Super Metroid, and its location and how to get it.

Missile Tanks

Missiles are your standard secondary weapon. Early game they do great damage, but are few in number. Later, you will have a lot of them, but their damage is poor. These are required to open Red Doors. There is a total of 46 Missile Tanks in the game, with each one having 5 Missiles, for a total of 230 Missiles.

Missile Tank 01

Location: Brinstar
Requirements: Morphing Ball How to Get: After obtaining the Morphing Ball, go to the next room to the right, then go to the bottom and roll through the Morph passage, then go through the door.

Missile Tank 02

Location: Brinstar
Requirements: Missile Tank 01 How to Get: After obtaining Missile Tank 01, return to the shaft and use your Missiles on the Red Door. Missile Tank 02 is on the other end of this room, behind a Morph passage in plain sight.

Missile Tank 03

Location: Crateria, lowest door on the left in the shaft between the outside and the old Tourian Escape Shaft
Requirements: Bombs How to Get: Bomb your way through the blocks in the previous corridor, then enter this room to obtain the Missile Tank

Missile Tank 04

Location: Brinstar, through the first Red Door to the right of the leftmost elevator shaft
Requirements: Bombs How to Get: Either Bomb your way through the wall at the bottom, or fall through the Pit Blocks above the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 05

Location: Brinstar, at the bottom of the large chamber just before Spore Spawn
Requirements: Bombs How to Get: Once you reach this large room, drop down to the bottom. The Missile Tank will be in plain sight.

Missile Tank 06

Location: Norfair, elevator room to Brinstar, through the lowest door leading left (it's a Red Door) Requirements: Super Missiles How to Get: The easiest way is to follow the room up after obtaining the Hi Jump Boots. This is also accessible through a hidden passage in the wall near the entrance (the block shown in the picture will have to be Bombed to reach the Missile Tank).

Missile Tank 07

Location: Norfair, in the second room through the upper-right door from the elevator shaft
Requirements: Varia Suit How to Get: The tank is in the third lava pit from the left (the rightmost one before the door). Shoot the corner as shown, then roll into the lava to grab it (you will take some damage). If you're concerned about the damage you can get it after you have the Gravity Suit.

Missile Tank 08

Location: Norfair, in the "hub" room made of greenish orbs
Requirements: Varia Suit How to Get: Upon reaching the room, head to the lower-right corner, where a Waver will be flying around trapped. Drop down through the fake floor and Pit Blocks, then shoot your way through more levels of floor until you reach the area with the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 09

Location: Norfair, in the room before the Wave Beam (the large room off the shaft that leads to the upper-right section of the green orb room) Requirements: Varia Suit How to Get: After entering the room, cross the green platforms, shoot the Blue Light to raise the pole, and jump to the platform containing this Missile Tank

Missile Tank 10

Location: Norfair, in the long corridor just before the Speed Booster (in the upper-right corner of the map) Requirements: Varia Suit How to Get: At the end of the room, in front of the Red Door leading to the Speed Booster, shoot the ceiling to reveal this Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 11

Location: Brinstar, in the room whose entrance is hidden at the bottom of the rightmost elevator room to Crateria
Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: After obtaining Power Bomb Tank 01, immediately lay a Power Bomb near the Chozo statue to destroy the wall and reveal a path to Missile Tank 11

Missile Tank 12

Location: Norfair, in the room immediately after the Power Bomb Block passage in the top room on the left from the elevator (through a Green Door) Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Once in the room, the Missile Tank is in the wall as shown above. Shoot the wall, then Wall Jump to it, or quickly jump across the Pit Block platforms.

Missile Tank 13

Location: Norfair, in the corridor off the shaft with the really long drop after Crocomire
Requirements: Crocomire defeated
How to Get: After dropping down the shaft here, you'll see a Red Door. Enter it, then make your way to the right end of the room to find the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 14

Location: Large chamber before the Grapling Beam (it's the lowest room visible on the map besides the boss chamber), in the upper-right portion
Requirements: Crocomire defeated; Wall Jumping or Grappling Beam How to Get: Either use the Speed Booster to jump up to the upper wall section here and then Wall Jump the rest of the way up, or grab the Grappling Beam and use the Yellow Ripper IIs to swing across the top of the room to the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 15

Location: In the large room connecting the shaft leading to Crocomire with the elevator shaft
Requirements: Access to shaft leading to Crocomire; Grappling beam or Bomb Climbing How to Get: You can access this room anytime once you can access the shaft leading to Crocomire. To get the Missile Tank, use the Grappling Beam. It's also possible to Bomb Climb to it, however this is extremely difficult.

Missile Tank 16

Location: Norfair, through the top-left Green Door in the large room made of green orbs
Requirements: Varia Suit; Grappling Beam or Wall Jumping How to Get: From the large orb room, either use the Grappling Beam Blocks to get to the ledge, or Wall Jump to it. Enter the Green Door to find the tank in plain sight

Missile Tank 17

Location: Norfair, in the next room to the left from Missile Tank 016, through a secret passage in the wall
Requirements: Varia Suit; Grappling Beam or Wall Jumping How to Get: In this room, make your way all the way left and shoot the platform. If you want to avoid falling in the lava, freeze the Sova underneath the block before you grab the Missiles.

Missile Tank 18

Location: Brinstar, in the room right of the elevator with Green Keyhunters (the one with the crack in the middle that leads to Kraid) Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Set a Power Bomb in the area shown, then jump and morph into the passage and drop down for the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 19

Location: Brinstar, in the green vine room with the Geega pipes
Requirements: Super Missiles; Hi-Jump Boots or Wall Jumping How to Get: In the location shown, the pipe in question (actually a passage) is high up on the wall. Either Wall Jump to it, or use the Hi Jump Boots.

Missile Tank 20

Location: Brinstar, in the tan "hub" room (the one with Missile Tank 05 and the Charge Beam) under where you first enter
Requirements: Bombs; Grappling Beam or Wall Jumping How to Get: The first time you pass through here, the only way to reach this is to Wall Jump to it. If you come back with the Grappling Beam, you can use the Grappling Beam Blocks to cross the pit and reach the tank.

Missile Tank 21

Location: Brinstar, in the treasure room on the other end of the top-right room from the left-most elevator to Crateria
Requirements: Bombs; Speed Booster or "mockball" (glitch) How to Get: Once you reach the room with Reserve Tank 2, roll through the metal "bar" underneath the Chozo statue. In the image above, Missile Tank 21 is the tank on the pedestal.

Missile Tank 22

See Missile Tank 21, except Missile Tank 22 is hidden within the wall (Bomb/Power Bomb to reach it).

Missile Tank 23

Location: Crateria, above the shaft with the Green Space Pirates on the way to Brinstar. To get here, go to the room with the Starship. On the left wall three screens from the ground is a flat section of wall. Use whatever method you like to break through, then enter the door. Make your way through the next two rooms and you'll come to the top of the hidden section of this shaft.
Requirements: Bombs; Wall Jumping or Speed Booster or Space Jump (Note: While it's technically possible to do this as soon as you have the Bombs, it's recommended to wait a while; the acid will kill Samus very quickly at this early stage.) How to Get it: Shoot through the breakable blocks, then drop through the Pit Blocks and shoot the shootable wall to open access to this Missile Tank; it's the one on the left in the image above. Note that if you drop through the middle of the Pit Block sections, you can actually obtain both Missile Tanks in one go.

Missile Tank 24

Same as Missile Tank 23, except Missile Tank 24 is the one on the right.

Missile Tank 25

Location: Crateria, three rooms to the right of the Starship Requirements: Power Bombs; Hi-Jump Boots or Speed Booster or Grappling Beam How to Get: Once you have Power Bombs, you can blast open the Yellow Door barring access, then jump with Hi-Jump Boots (or Shinespark or Grapple) to receive the Tank.

Missile Tank 26

Location: Crateria, in the next room to the right of Missile Tank 25 (in other words, the room before the Wrecked Ship) Requirements: Power Bombs; Speed Booster or Grappling Beam How to Get: Once you're in this room, go to the lowest point underwater, in the bottom-left corner. There's a shootable block hidden in the wall under the ledge here; shoot it, then roll through to reach this Missile Tank

Missile Tank 27

Location: Wrecked Ship, in a hidden passage off the main stairwell.
Requirements: Power Bombs; Speed Booster or Grappling Beam How to Get: In the main stairwell, go to a ledge on the left side two screens down from the entrance hall (the long room with a conveyor belt that leads to Crateria). Bomb the base of the wall, then make your way left to claim the Missile Tank. If the power is still off it will be very easy, all you have to watch out for are Coverns; if you already powered up the ship, you'll have to contend with the spikes and conveyor belts as well. I recommend getting this before you power the ship on.

Missile Tank 28

Location: Wrecked Ship, in the room just right of the upper-most room with the Yellow Keyhunters (the one that leads to the upper half of the large room outside in Crateria) Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: After defeating Phantoon, go to the uppermost room (the one on top of the main shaft) and defeat all the enemies, then enter the door to the right. Cross the room to find the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 29

Location: Crateria, in the upper half of the large room immediately to the left of the Wrecked Ship (enter through the upper corridor in the Wrecked Ship) Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: Once in the area, look for some Trippers flying around. Use them to make your way to the upper section of the room (freeze them if you're having trouble making jumps). When you reach the highest Tripper, the Missile Tank is in the left wall the Tripper runs into. Shoot the wall to reveal it.

Missile Tank 30

Location: Crateria, in the upper half of the large room immediately to the left of the Wrecked Ship (enter through the upper corridor in the Wrecked Ship; same area as Missile Tank 29) Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: Near the left wall, look for a Super Missile Block (use Bombs or the X-Ray Scope; it's in a small depression in the ground level). Shoot the block, drop through the hole, shoot the shootable block shown above, then make your way left to grab the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 31

Location: Wrecked Ship, in the area accessible by using the upper half of the large room in Crateria (the one with Missile Tank 29 and Missile Tank 30) to access a new part of the ship
Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: First, use the Chozo statue in the room above to descend to this lower level (roll into a ball in its hand). Then, Bomb the floor directly underneath where it drops you, follow the Morph passage, then shoot/Power Bomb a large section of wall, and emerge to be in a short corridor with Missile Tank 31 at the end.

Missile Tank 32

Location: Crateria, in Mother Brain's old room (the one just left of the middle elevator to Brinstar) Requirements: Bombs How to Get: On the far left side of the room, where the destroyed life support systems for Mother Brain are, Bomb your way through the floor. An easy way to do this is to Bomb the first block (which is in the middle of the broken glass), then use the Bomb Spread move to bomb out the rest of the blocks. Once through, drop down to collect the Missile Tank. (This can actually be done as soon as you acquire the Bombs and doesn't require any special techniques, but it's well out of your way, which is why I recommend waiting.)

Missile Tank 33

Location: Brinstar, at the end of the secret passage above Missile Tank 02. Use a Power Bomb to open the passage, the climb the shaft, enter the door, jump to the invisible platform, cross it, and enter the door on the other side to reach this small room.
Requirements: Power Bombs; Wall Jumping or Speed Booster or Bomb Climbing; Gravity Suit (optional, highly recommended) How to Get: Missile Tank 33 is the one shown above on the pedestal. It's sitting in plain sight.

Missile Tank 34

See Missile Tank 33. Missile Tank 34 is the one sitting on the ground on the left edge; shoot the left corner of the pedestal's platform to reveal it.

Missile Tank 35

Location: Maridia, about two-thirds of the way up the first large room after Power Bombing the glass tube.
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: This one is tricky. Go into the door leading right at the bottom of this room, use a Super Missile on the Green Light to get the pole out of the way, and defeat the Sciser enemies. Now, from the right end of this room, run all the way left, and just before you go through the door back to the large room, press Down to charge your Shinespark. Quickly run into the large room and go left. Look for a greed seaweed that looks different from the others; jump straight up on the tile where this plant is located (move quickly to avoid the Sciser) to blast up and through some Speed Booster blocks, collecting the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 36

Location: Maridia, in the room accessible through the secret passage of the lower large room just right of the room that has Missile Tank 35 (in other words, the room with the Tatori and Energy Tank 11) Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: The Missile Tank is hidden halfway up the large flat section of the right wall. You can reach it by using the Tatori, Wall Jumping, or Bomb Climbing; shoot the wall about halfway up to reveal the Missile Tank

Missile Tank 37

Location: Maridia, through the door at the top of the short shaft right of the large room with Powamps and Grappling Beam Blocks Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Upon entering this sandy room, immediately head through the wall to the right to find this.

Missile Tank 38

Location: Mardia. From the room containing Missile Tank 37, take the middle-left door and follow the passage. Pass through the fake wall and continue left and up to a door, leading to this room.
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: In this room, head left, then drop down to a pit. Kill the Choot, then drop through the false floor in the middle of the shallow puddle to find yourself near Missile Tank 38 and Super Missile Tank 08.

Missile Tank 39

Location: Maridia. From the large room with Powamps and Grappling Beam Blocks, go through the door in the upper-right corner, then shoot the floor and drop down. Follow the hallway to a Green Door; open it to enter this room
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Drop down to the bottom of the room (level with the Save Unit door, not in the sandy part). Run left, and when you see a gap leading up in the ceiling, press Down to charge your Shinespark, then jump straight up the shaft. Missile Tank 39 will be right there when you land.

Missile Tank 40

Location: Maridia. From the room containing Missile Tank 39 and Super Missile Tank 09, go to the bottom level and shoot the floor in the bottom-right corner. Drop down, and fall into the right sandpit. Let it take you down, and fall through the next room to reach the chamber with this Missile Tank
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Once you land in the sand, go left and climb the narrow shaft to reach the Missile tank.

Missile Tank 41

Location: Maridia. From the room containing Missile Tank 39 and Super Missile Tank 09, go to the bottom level and shoot the floor in the bottom-right corner. Drop down, Speed Boost left, and fall into the left sandpit. Let it take you down, and fall through the next room to reach the chamber with this Missile Tank.
Requirements: Gravity Suit; Spring Ball (optional, but recommended) How to Get: Once you fall into this room, jump to the ledge to the left from the sand, and work your way through the shafts filled with falling black balls. You'll eventually reach an area with a Pit Block right below you and a shootable block above it in the shaft. Shoot the block, then Spring Ball to the Morph passage (or quickly jump and roll into a ball in mid-air), then follow the passage to obtain both Missile Tank 41 and Reserve Tank 4.

Missile Tank 42

Location: Maridia, in the upper portion of the passage leading to Draygon's lair.
Requirements: Botwoon defeated
How to Get: In this room, go to the far right side, and shoot the wall to reveal the Missile Tank.

Missile Tank 43

Location: Lower Norfair. From the elevator leading to Upper Norfair, follow the path left, and in the next room use a Power Bomb to reveal the Chozo statue, then roll in its hand to drain the acid. After doing so, make your way down and right, then enter the door. (This is the same room as the one with Golden Torizo, but this Missile Tank is in the upper-left portion.) Requirements: Space Jump; Spring Ball (optional, but recommended) How to Get: The real issue with this Missile Tank is the Pit Blocks and the limited jumping space. If you have the Spring Ball, just roll into a ball and hold Jump down to cross the Pit Blocks easily. If you don't have it, you can also Space Jump across, but your jumps must be very precise, or you will fall through.

Missile Tank 44

Location: Lower Norfair. After crossing the rising acid corridor (the one with Screw Attack-able blocks aceesible from the first room to the right of the elevator and Power Bombing the floor), ascend the shaft. At the top, you'll see a door going right, but ignore it; instead, shoot the ceiling, and go through the door up here.
Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: Once at the top of this shaft, shoot the middle section of blocks to destroy them. Drop down (don't Screw Attack), and go up against the left wall. Lay a Bomb, then roll through the passageway leading left to see this hidden area with the Missile Tank. (You can escape the same way you entered, but don't fall through the Pit Blocks that are to the right of the left-most block before the passage.)

Missile Tank 45

Location: Lower Norfair. After crossing the large room with fast-rising acid, go through the right-hand door in the small room here to find yourself in a room lit by Firefleas (this is the room with Energy Tank 13). Ascend this shaft, then go through the fake wall to the left at the top to find a door to this room.
Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: Simply head left when you enter, then up. When you reach a door, ignore it and go right through the upper section instead; you'll see the Missile Tank in plain view.

Missile Tank 46

Location: Lower Norfair, in the area just before the exit (with the Red Keyhunters and poles that drop down trying to block your jumping) Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: After passing the poles, roll through a morph passage to find a series of large ledges leading up. On the first ledge you encounter, Bomb the third block from the right edge of the ledge to reveal a passage, then roll left through the passage to find the chamber shown above that contains the Missile Tank. If you're following the walkthrough, this will be the final Missile Tank, and in fact the final Item overall, that you obtain.

Super Missile Tanks

Super Missiles are great items, and often your go-to weapon for boss fights. They travel faster through the air than regular Missiles, and do three times the damage in most cases (against certain opponents, however, their damage will be doubled). Super Missiles will also open Blue, Red, Boss, and flashing Metal Doors in one hit, and are the only way to open Green Doors, destroy Super Missile Blocks, or activate Green Lights (requires one Super Missile for all three types of barriers). There are 10 Super Missile Tanks in the game, and each one holds 5, for a total of 50 Super Missiles.

Super Missile Tank 01

Location: Brinstar, after defeating Spore Spawn, go through the door at the top of his room.
Requirements: Defeat Spore Spawn How to Get: Drop through the right-most pipe in this room (it's actually made of Pit Blocks), and drop through this long shaft to land in front of the Chozo Statue holding the Super Missiles.

Super Missile Tank 02

Location: Brinstar. Power Bomb the bottom of the leftmost elevator room to reveal a continuation downward. Make your way to the bottom, then go through the Blue Door, and cross this room as well. Here, jump over the hidden pit (just in front of Energy Tank 06), open the Green Door, and go inside.
Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Once you reach the room, the Super Missile Tank will be in plain sight.

Super Missile Tank 03

Location: Brinstar, in the top-left room from the elevator shaft.
Requirements: Bombs; Speed Booster or "mockball" (glitch) How to Get: Once in this room, either Speed Boost or Mockball past the dropping poles. To reach the Super Missile Tank, shoot the ceiling just right of the last pole, and then go up. Fight your way through the Small Sidehoppers and Wavers to find the tank at the end. Grab it, then drop through the pedetal (it's actually a Pit Block) to leave.

Super Missile Tank 04

Location: Wrecked Ship, in the bottom-left Metal Door off the main stairwell
Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: Once in the room, the tank is in plain view, just avoid the sparking wires and grab it.

Super Missile Tank 05

Location: Wrecked Ship, in a door past a Bombable wall opposite Super Missile Tank 04 (the entrance is in the main stairwell) Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: Once in the room, you'll see several Work Robots and spikes. Avoid them and work your way to the right wall. Here, shoot the Work Robot out of the way, then Bomb the third block up from the ledge. Roll through the passage to find this Super Missile.

Super Missile Tank 06

Location: Crateria. Go to the old Tourian Escape Shaft, and drop to the lowest platform along the right wall (not all the way down; it's one screen above the door going left at the bottom). Bomb it, then use a Power Bomb on the door.
Requirements: Power Bombs; Ice Beam; Speed Booster How to Get: Freeze all the Boyon enemies so they're level with the ground. Quickly run back to the door, then run right to charge your Speed Booster (hurry befoer the Boyons unfreeze). Once you see a shaft going up, chage your Shinespark, then jump straight up to rocket up the shaft. When you reach the top, you'll find yourself right by the Super Missiles.

Super Missile Tank 07

Location: Maridia. From the room with the Powamps and Grappling Beam Blocks (accessible from the top-most door to the left-most large area), drop down along the right wall in ball form and hold left. Eventually, you'll go into a Morph passage; follow it to reach this area.
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Once in this area, follow the Morph passage (watch out for the Sciser) and continue left to find the Tank.

Super Missile Tank 08

Location: Mardia. From the room containing Missile Tank 37, take the middle-left door and follow the passage. Pass through the fake wall and continue left and up to a door, leading to this room.
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: In this room, head left, then drop down to a pit. Kill the Choot, then drop through the false floor in the middle of the shallow puddle to find yourself near Missile Tank 38 and Super Missile Tank 08.

Super Missile Tank 09

Location: Maridia. From the large room with Powamps and Grappling Beam Blocks, go through the door in the upper-right corner, then shoot the floor and drop down. Follow the hallway to a Green Door; open it to enter this room
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Drop down to the bottom of the room (level with the Save Unit door, not in the sandy part). Run left, and when you see a gap leading up in the ceiling, press Down to charge your Shinespark, then jump straight up the shaft. Missile Tank 39 will be right there when you land. Grab it if you want, then continue right. You'll see a floor section over what appears to be a shaft going down; jump over it, as these are Pit Blocks. Once past it, grab the Super Missile Tank.

Super Missile Tank 10

Location: In the same room as Missile Tank 43 and Golden Torizo Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: Space Jump to the top of the room on the right side. You'll see a break in the lower ceiling stone, with bricks above. Here, either lay a Power Bomb or Screw Attack through the blocks, then shoot at the location shown above for the game's final Super Missile Tank. (You can actually do this during the battle with Golden Torizo if you like.)

Power Bombs

Power Bombs are high-powered explosives that will affect an entire screen area. They are very effective for clearing out all enemies in the screen. In addition, Power Bombs are required to open Yellow Doors and destroy Power Bomb blocks, and will also destroy any shootable or Bombable blocks in the blast range (in other words, like a lesser X-Ray Scope). There are 10 Power Bomb Tanks in the game, each holding 5 Power Bombs, for a total of 50 Power Bombs at game's end; if you're trying to go for a low percentage, Power Bombs are the easiest items to cut out, as you will never need more than five (one tank's worth).

Power Bomb Tank 01

Location: Brinstar, at the in a secret room through a passage underneath the right-most elevatory room to Crateria.
Requirements: Super Missiles; Wall Jumping or Ice Beam How to Get: Cross the room (freeze or avoid the Boyon enemies) to find this Power Bomb Tank on the far left end of the room.

Power Bomb Tank 02

Location: Brinstar, through the upper-left Green Door in the right-most elevator room to Crateria
Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Defeat the Sidehoppers, then lay a Power Bomb against the far left wall to destroy the floor. Drop through the leftmost flower to find the Power Bomb Tank.

Power Bomb Tank 03

Location: Norfair, from Crocomire's room head left, then enter the door in the upper-left corner
Requirements: Crocomire defeated
How to Get: Upon entering, the Power Bomb Tank will be in plain sight. (If you grabbed the Wave Beam early and faced Crocomire after getting the Speed Booster, this will be your first Power Bomb Tank.)

Power Bomb Tank 04

Location: Brinstar, in the room directly below the passage to the left-most elevator to Crateria from the tan "hub" room (the one with the Missile Tank 05, Missile Tank 20, and the Charge Beam). From the ledge with Missile Tank 20, drop down and lay a Power Bomb to blast open the hole in the wall that leads to this room.
Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Defeat the Sidehoppers, then look on the floor for an odd shaped block (it's not too far from the left wall). Shoot it with a Super Missile, and drop down to claim your Power Bombs. To escape, shoot the pole and follow the path to a door.

Power Bomb Tank 05

Location: Brinstar. From Energy Tank 06, drop through the hole in the floor, then make your way right. Enter the door to find yourself in a new shaft.
Requirements: Power Bombs; Wall Jumping or Space Jump How to Get: From the bottom of the chamber, simply Space Jump or Wall Jump (it should be easy, just mimic the Ettecoons) your way up the shaft. At the top, you'll see a Morph passage leading right; jump and roll into the passage to reach the Power Bombs.

Power Bomb Tank 06

Location: Crateria, though the Yellow Door on the upper-right ledge of the room with your Starship (Shinespark, Bomb Climb, or Space Jump to it) Requirements: Power Bombs; Speed Booster or Bomb Climbing or Space Jump How to Get: Work your way across this room, defeating the Alcoons and staying out of the acid. At the end of the short room is the Power Bomb Tank lying in plain sight.

Power Bomb Tank 07

Location: Brinstar, in the passage directly left of the Morphing Ball (you can access it either through the Yellow Door in the green passage, or by Power Bombing the wall behind the Morphing Ball's pedestal) Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: EIther Power Bomb the wall where the Morphing Ball was (make sure to set it close to the wall, to destroy all of it) and run left, or enter through the Yellow Door from the long green passage, defeat the Sidehoppers, then Bomb the wall in the bottom-right corner to reach them.

Power Bomb Tank 08

Location: Maridia. From the room containing Missile Tank 39 and Super Missile Tank 09, go to the bottom level and shoot the floor in the bottom-right corner. Drop down, and fall into the right sandpit. Let it take you down, and fall through the next room to reach the chamber with this Missile Tank
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: First, jump to the ledge to the right of where you entered, then work your way up and to the right. Eventually, you'll find a path leading down along the right wall. Roll into a ball, and get on the Pit Blocks as far left as you can (but fall through), and hold left. If done correctly, you'll roll into a passage immediately below the Pit Blocks, with the Power Bomb Tank below you.

Power Bomb Tank 09

Location: Lower Norfair, in the room where you have to Power Bomb the weird monkey statues (the room also has Desgeegas) Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: When you Power Bomb the statue, you'll notice a block in the lower-left corner was also destroyed (you can also just Bomb or Screw Attack the block directly if you prefer). Roll through this passage to reach the item.

Power Bomb Tank 10

Location: Lower Norfair. After crossing the large room with fast-rising acid, go through the right-hand door in the small room here to find yourself in a room lit by Firefleas (this is the room with Energy Tank 13). Ascend this shaft, then go through the fake wall to the left at the top to find a door to this room.
Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: Simply head right when you enter, then up. When you reach a door, ignore it and go left through the upper section instead; you'll see Missile Tank 45 in plain view. Grab it if you want, then Bomb/Power Bomb the Bombable block in the upper-left corner of the wall, then work your way through the maze (if you fall through, just make your way back through it) to the exit on the right side (you'll drop through some Pit Blocks, then have to Bomb the block to reach the door). Enter the door to find Power Bomb Tank 10 to the right. If you followed the walkthrough, this will be the final Power Bomb Tank you collect.

Grappling Beam

The Grappling Beam allows you to swing from Grappling Beam Blocks and certain enemies (namely, Yellow Ripper II and Powamp), and also defeat some weaker enemies in one hit (and collect refills). It can also be used as part of the "Grapple Jump" technique, which is basically an inferior (but easier to pull off) version of Wall Jumping. The Grappling Beam is used as a secondary item.

Location: Norfair, after defeating Crocomire, go to the room to the left, then drop down the shaft below the room and go through the door at the bottom. Make your way to the ledge on the left side of this large room (Speed Booster is the easiest way to reach it) to reach the Grappling Beam.
Requirments: Crocomire defeated
How to Get: Once in the room, the Chozo statue will be holding the item.

X-Ray Scope

The X-Ray Scope is used to find gaps and shootable/breakable blocks in rooms. It requires you to be standing still, or it won't work. In addition, the X-Ray Scope does not work in boss rooms or rooms lit by Firefleas (it will serve as a light in Fireflea rooms though). It's selected as a secondary item; use the Dash button to activate it (release to deactivate).

Location: Brinstar. In the tall red shaft is a Yellow Door behind some blocks. If you set a Power Bomb, you'll blast away the blocks and open the door. The X-Ray Scope is in the room at the far end of this corridor.
Requirements: Power Bombs; Grappling Beam How to Get: In the aforementioned long corridor, use your Grapping Beam to make it to the end, then enter the Red Door. Here, make your way left (set a Bomb on the small ledge to raise the pole and give yourself a leg up). Roll left, and fall through the Pit Block to find the X-Ray Scope.

Energy Tanks

Energy Tanks allow you to increase your maximum energy. Each Energy Tank adds 100 units of Energy to your maximum, and there are 14 Energy Tanks total (including the 99 Energy you start with, your maximum possible Energy is 1,499). You must collect at least 3 Energy Tanks in order to be able to beat the final boss, but completing the game with only 3 Energy Tanks is extremely difficult, as Ridley and Draygon can both pack a punch, and some of the final boss's attacks will be fatal if they hit you with that few Energy Tanks. Note that collecting an Energy Tank will also refill your Energy to maximum.

Energy Tank 01

Location: Crateria, in the diagonal room left of the starship
Requirements: Bombs How to Get: It's in plain sight at the left end of the corridor.

Energy Tank 02

Location: Norfair, in the lowest room on the left from the elevator to Brinstar (through a Red Door; this is also the room before the Hi-Jump Boots) Requirements: Super Missiles How to Get: It's sitting on the open on a pedestal when you enter the room.

Energy Tank 03

Location: Brinstar, through the Metal Door at the bottom of the shaft to the right of the elevator to Norfair
Requirements: Kraid defeated
How to Get: First, defeat the Beetoms, then shoot the ceiling at the location shown above to reveal the Energy Tank.

Energy Tank 04

Location: Crocomire's room, on the far right
Requirements: Crocomire defeated; Wall Jumping or Speed Booster or Grappling Beam (highly recommended) How to Get: Use the Grappling Beam to swing across the Grappling Beam Blocks after defeating Crocomire. It's also possible to tough out the acid and Wall Jump to it, but it's extremely difficult to do, and if this is only your fourth Energy Tank you'll probably expire before you reach it. Yet another option is Shinesparking (do a Horizontal Shinespark from mid-air and high up, which is a very difficult move indeed); I strongly recommend the Grappling Beam.

Energy Tank 05

Location: Brinstair, through the Yellow Door about half-way up in the main "hub" room (the one with the Missile Tank 05, Missile Tank 20, and the Charge Beam).
Requirements: Power Bombs; Wave Beam How to Obtain: Kill the Sidehoppers in this room, then Wall Jump/Grappling Beam towards the pole at the top of the room, and use the Wave Beam to hit the light. Drop down the other side and enter the door to find the Energy Tank.

Energy Tank 06

Location: Brinstar, at the bottom of the leftmost elevator shaft use a Power Bomb to reveal a lower section, then take this all the way to the bottom and go through the door leading left, and through another door leading left
Requirements: Power Bombs How to Get: Once in this room, move carefully, as there is a hole in the floor just in front of the Energy Tank. When you reach the position where Samus is in the image above, jump to the Energy Tank to avoid the hole.

Energy Tank 07

Location: Crateria. From the room with your Starship, Bomb/Shinespark the straight section of wall three screens off the ground to the left of the ship, then go through the door. Proceed through the room, destroying Bombable blocks as you go, then enter the door on the other side.
Requirements: Bombs; Wall Jumping or Speed Booster (highly recommended) How to Get: Once in the room shown above, the Energy Tank is held by a Chozo Statue, but make sure not to step in the acid. (Note: Technically, it's possible to get this as soon as you have the Bombs, but it's extremely difficult, as you will have to manually Bomb through each breakable wall, and the acid will kill you off very fast if you fall in. I advise just waiting until you come back with the Speed Booster and Shinesparking through the long first room to avoid most of the difficulties that this passage presents.)

Energy Tank 08

Location: Wrecked Ship, in the room with the exit right to Crateria, shoot the ceiling above the exit door, and go up to find a Red Door; pass through it
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: In this room, you can either use the Grappling Beam Blocks to cross the room, or tough it out in the spikes underwater and Wall Jump up the left wall. Either way, once out of the water you'll see a Chozo with the tank.

Energy Tank 09

Location: Brinstar, the same room with Missile Tank 02 Requirements: Hi-Jump Boots or Speed Booster How to Get: Once you have either the Hi-Jump Boots or the Speed Booster, shoot the ceiling as shown above and jump (or Shinespark if you have the Speed Booster instead of the Hi-Jump Boots) to the tank. Note that you can reveal this tank as soon as you reach the room, but you won't be able to reach it without either Speed Booster or Hi-Jump Boots (it's too far to Wall Jump).

Energy Tank 10

Location: Brinstar. From the Charge Beam's statue, lay a Power Bomb, then roll through the passage. At the end is a Red Door for you to enter.
Requirements: Gravity Suit How to Get: Simply use your Speed Booster on the ground level to clear through the enemies and blocks and open the path to the tank. Be sure to kill the Zeros first though.

Energy Tank 11

Location: Maridia, in the room accessible through the secret passage of the lower large room just right of the room that has Missile Tank 35 that you may have used Shinespark to reach (in other words, the room with the Tatori) Requirements: Gravity Suit; Grappling Beam or Space Jump or Bomb Climbing How to Get: The Energy Tank is hidden high up in the left half of the room, near the center. The easiest way is to use the Grappling Beam Block, but Space Jump and Bomb Climbing will also work.

Energy Tank 12

Location: Maridia, in the room just right of Botwoon's room
Requirements: Botwoon defeated
How to Get: First, Speed Boost your way to the right side of the room, then look for a small ledge on the right edge of the brick wall. Use it to enter some Morph passages, then navigate the maze to reach the Energy Tank. Just before reaching it is a path leading down and eventually into the sand; you'll want to jump and continue on the upper path rather than following the lower path down.

Energy Tank 13

Location: Lower Norfair, in the dark room with Firefleas (accessible by crossing the large room with rising acid, then going through the right door of the small chamber you enter) Requirements: Space Jump How to Get: When you enter, you'll see a Fune on the opposite wall. Kill it with a Super Missile (using Power Bombs tends to kill Firefleas, which you don't want), and then work your way down and around to the Energy Tank. It is located near the lower-right wall, on a platform just above some spikes.

Energy Tank 14

Location: Norfair, in the room immediatly left of Ridley's lair
Requirements: Ridley defeated
How to Get: Shoot the left wall at the location shown to reveal the Energy Tank. If you followed the walkthrough, this is the last Energy Tank in the game.

Reserve Tanks

Reserve Tanks are special Energy Tanks that only kick in after your regular tanks are depleted. If this happens, your Reserve Tanks will restore you for whatever amount of energy they contain (note that, after reviving you, any damage from the enemy attack that zero'd your Energy that was not absorbed by your regular Energy Tanks will be taken from your new Energy supply). You can also use them manually to refill your Energy at any time from the menu. There are four of them in the game, and they each hold 100 units of energy, for a maximum of 400 units of reserve Energy. These tanks can only be filled by collecting Energy refills from enemies or by using your Starship; Energy Charge Units and Energy Tanks will not fill Reserve Tanks. When you first collect a Reserve Tank, it will be empty.

Reserve Tank 1

Location: Norfair. From the large "green orb" room (the one with Missile Tank 08), go through the Green Door at the top-left. Here, in addition to Missile Tank 16, is a shootable block in the wall; use Power Bombs or the Bomb Spread move to raise a pole to easily roll through. Take the passage and enter the door on the other side.
Requirements: Varia Suit; Grappling Beam or Wall Jumping How to Get: On the far right side of the room is a ball with the Reserve Tank in it; you'll have to make your way across the platforms (Missile Tank 17 is also on the same screen).

Reserve Tank 2

Location: Brinstar, in the treasure room on the other end of the top-right room from the left-most elevator to Crateria
Requirements: Bombs; Speed Booster or "mockball" (glitch) How to Get: In the hallway, use your Speed Booster (or the mockball glitch) to pass the falling poles, and enter the door. The Chozo statue is holding the Reserve Tank.

Reserve Tank 3

Location: Wrecked Ship, in the area where the Chozo takes you to after rolling into a ball in its hand
Requirements: Phantoon defeated; Missile Tank 31 How to Get: Follow the directions for Missile Tank 31, and make sure there is a Work Robot in each gap. After obtaining it, use a Power Bomb to destroy the Chozo statue, then Speed Boost from the left end of the corridor. When you get near the right wall, press Down to charge your Shinespark, then jump straight up. Run left to fall through a Pit Block, then jump over the depressed section of floor here to obtain the Tank.

Reserve Tank 4

Location: Maridia. From the room containing Missile Tank 39 and Super Missile Tank 09, go to the bottom level and shoot the floor in the bottom-right corner. Drop down, Speed Boost left, and fall into the left sandpit. Let it take you down, and fall through the next room to reach the chamber with this Missile Tank.
Requirements: Gravity Suit; Spring Ball (optional, but recommended) How to Get: Once you fall into this room, jump to the ledge to the left from the sand, and work your way through the shafts filled with falling black balls. You'll eventually reach an area with a Pit Block right below you and a shootable block above it in the shaft. Shoot the block, then Spring Ball to the Morph passage (or quickly jump and roll into a ball in mid-air), then follow the passage to obtain both Missile Tank 41 and Reserve Tank 4.

Beam Items

Beams will increase the power of your beam. In addition, each beam also grants a special power. These are well worth your time to collect, as they make progressing through the game much easier. You start the game with the Normal Beam, which deals 20 damage per hit (1/5 the power of a regular Missile). All beams are optional, but highly recommended unless you're doing a low-percentage challenge.

Charge Beam

The Charge Beam allows you to charge your beam. Charging triples the power of your current beam, and is required to damage most bosses and some normal enemies with your beam weapon (Missiles and Super Missiles will always work on bosses, however).

Location: Brinstar. From the left-most elevator, take the bottom-right Red Door, then cross this corridor to reach the tan "hub" room.
Requirements: Bombs How to Get: Drop down to the bottom of this room, near Missile Tank 05. You'll see two blocks in the base of the nearby platform; use a Bomb to destroy them, then roll into the passage and drop down to find this highly-useful upgrade. Note that this can be obtained before fighting Spore Spawn (and I highly recommend you do so).

Ice Beam

The Ice Beam allows you to freeze most enemies (but not bosses); also, it increases your beam's power by 1.5x (typically, this won't be noticable except against very powerful opponents). Note that if an enemy would normally die in one hit, you will need to shoot it twice to kill it. For this reason, the Ice Beam should be unequipped if you're heading through an area with weak enemies and aren't using it. It's possible to skip collecting the Ice Beam (even though the game strongly "nudges" you to get it), but you will need to be proficient at both Wall Jumping and Bomb Climbing to do so; you'll also miss out on Super Missile Tank 06.

Location: Norfair. From the elevator shaft to Brinstar, go through the Green Door on the top-right.
Requirements: Super Missiles; Speed Booster or "Mockball" (glitch); Varia Suit (optional, highly recommended) How to Get: In the room with the dropping poles, either Speed Boost or Mockball by them, then enter the door on the other side. Pass through the next room and, in the next room, go all the way to the top, then shoot the floor in front of the upper door and drop down. Halfway down is a Morph path leading to the room with the Ice Beam. (Note: If you didn't collect the Varia Suit yet and are using Mockball to get the Ice Beam early, move quickly through the hot rooms. There are two: the two between the shaft with the entrance to the Ice Beam's room and the room with the falling poles. All the other rooms along the route won't harm you.)

Wave Beam

The Wave Beam is awesome. It triples your beam's power, first of all. If you don't have the Spazer Beam (or Plasma Beam), your beam will travel in a wave pattern (hence the name); this will increase the range somewhat, but can also make aiming difficult. If you do have the Spazer Beam, there will be little change to the trajectory of the Spazer (the Plasma Beam will fire two beams when combined with the Wave Beam). The coolest part about the Wave Beam is its special effect, though. The Wave Beam will allow your beam to pass through walls. This is particularly useful in Norfair, where you can use this to obtain Power Bombs and the Grappling Beam earlier, saving major time (see the walkthrough for more information about this). It's also required to obtain Energy Tank 05, a great item (Energy Tanks are extremely valuable). You definitely want to get this as soon as possible.

Location: Norfair. From the shaft that leads to the upper-right ledge of the green orb room in Norfair (the one with Missile Tank 05), go through the upper-right Red Door.
Requirements: Varia Suit; Grappling Beam or Wall Jump How to Get: In the large room, use the green platforms to cross the first half of the room. Open the pole using the Blue Light to access a platform with Missile Tank 09. Collect it if you want, then go to the right edge of the platform. If you have the Grappling Beam, you can use the Grappling Beam Blocks to cross the spike pit and reach the Red Door; otherwise you will need to jump down into the spikes (you'll take heavy damage) and Wall Jump up the right wall to the door. Enter the Red Door to find the Chozo with the Wave Beam.

Spazer Beam

The Spazer beam is a nice upgrade to your beam that will serve you well for much of the game. It doubles your beam's power and splits the beam into 3, giving it much better range and making it easier to hit (in most cases). Definitely grab this before fighting Kraid.

Location: Brinstar, above the corridor just to the left of the three small Marida rooms
Requirements: Super Missiles; Hi-Jump Boots or Wall Jumping How to Get: On the left edge of the aforementioned corridor just above the door going left is a a shootable block. Shoot it, then either Hi-Jump or Wall Jump up to the top of this area. Bomb the first block, shoot (don't Bomb) the second, then roll through the passage and go through the Green Door to find this great upgrade.

Plasma Beam

Hailed as the ultimate beam, and for good reason, the Plasma Beam is incredibly strong; it makes your beam attacks 6x stronger (!), and, as if that weren't enough, its special property allows it to travel through any enemy that doesn't block the shot as well as affecting some very powerful enemies that aren't affected by other types of beam attacks. Practically the only disadvantage is how late you get it and that it can't be used with the Spazer Beam (it's almost always superior though). Definitely get this item.

Location: Maridia. Go through the Metal Door in the large, sandy room along the path to the elevator to Crateria (this is the room with the Green Door leading down through a pipe).
Requirements: Draygon defeated
How to Get: Once inside the Metal Door, you'll find yourself in an area with Puyos and Choots. Wall Jump or Space Jump to ascend the shaft, defeating the enemies as you go (Grappling Beam is great!), and go through the door at the top. Pass through this new room, then, in this room with Pink Space Pirates, you'll find the Plasma Beam in the bottom-right corner. Use it to blow away the Space Pirates and unlock the Metal Door.

Suit Items

The Suit items give Samus special defensive properties; she also gains resistance to damage. Both suits are practically required (it's theoretically possible to skip the Varia Suit, but extremely difficult).

Varia Suit

The Varia Suit allows you to move through hot rooms in Norfair without taking damage. In addition, it also cuts in half all damage dealt to Samus. Unfortunately, it does not prevent lava or acid from damaging you.

Location: Brinstar, in the room immediately right of Kraid's lair.
Requirements: Kraid defeated
How to Get: After defeating Kraid, go to the next room to the right. The Varia Suit will be in plain view on a pedestal.

Gravity Suit

The ultimate suit, the Gravity Suit allows Samus to move freely in water and acid (you'll still take damage in acid though), and move more easily in lava (Speed Booster will not work in lava). In addition, the Gravity Suit nullifies damage from lava, and reduces all other damage taken by 3/4 (so after equipping it you'll take half the damage you did with the Varia Suit, and 1/4 the damage you took without a Suit).

Location: Wrecked Ship; access the area with the Gravity Suit by taking the stairwell to the top, then going through the left door here to Crateria. You goal now is the door to the right of the "room within a room" you can see on your map; refer to the main walkthrough (after Phantoon) for more detalied instructions
Requirements: Phantoon defeated
How to Get: Once back inside the Wrecked Ship, cross this spike filled room, then roll into a ball in the hand of the Chozo Statue on the right end of the room. After the scene, you'll find yourself in front of a door; go inside to find the Gravity Suit.

Misc. Items

These are items that give you powers that can't be catagorized into one of the other categories.

Morping Ball

The Morphing Ball allows Samus to roll into a ball, which is necessary to access many passages ("Morph passages") and also to lay Bombs and Power Bombs. The Morphing Ball can also be used defensively, to make Samus smaller to avoid enemy attacks. To activate ball form, press Down twice while standing (if you're kneeling, press Down once). This item can also be used to roll into a ball in mid-air. Required to complete the game.

Location: Brinstar, in the room with the middle elevator to Crateria (from the Starship, go left, then follow the more-or-less linear path to reach the elevator to Brinstar) Requirements: None
How to Get: After landing, go left, then jump over the rock formation to see the Morphing Ball on top of a pedestal. To escape, either Wall Jump over the formation, or shoot the block and roll under the formation. This will always be the first item you obtain; all other items in the game require you to have collected it.

Bombs

The Bombs allow you to set explosive devices to destroy Bombable blocks. Bombs will also propel Samus upward (straight if she doesn't move to either side after laying it, otherwise at an angle away from the bomb), which forms the basis for the Bomb Climbing technique. Furthermore, if used next to any kind of destroyable block, a Bomb will reveal what kind of block it is, helping you to locate and destroy them. They can also damage enemies (including a few enemies who are immune to beams), and deal 40 damage each hit. Bombs are required to complete the game.

Location: Crateria, from the room left of the Starship take the morph passage down, then follow the hallway past the Mellows to reach the room with the Bombs
Requirements: Missile Tank 01 How to Get: Once in the room, simply shoot the ball the Chozo holds and take the Bombs. Note that once you take them you'll be thrust into battle with Torizo, whom you must defeat to escape.

Spring Ball

The Spring Ball is a nifty yet non-essential item that allows you to jump while in Morph form. If you hold down the Jump button, you'll continually jump, allowing you to easily cross Pit Blocks. Note that your jump height is affected by whether you have the Hi-Jump Boots; you will get more height on your Spring Ball jumps if you have it.

Location: Marida. To reach this item, you'll need to reach the the right-most room with Evirs and sinking sand near the bottom of Maridia, and take the right-hand door.
Requirements: Gravity Suit; Grappling Beam; Wall Jump or Bomb Climbing or Space Jump How to Get: Once in the aforementioned room, Grapple the Cracked Grappling Beam Block, then quickly swing to a ledge. The block will disappear; now you need to jump through the hole to a ledge above (if you have the Hi-Jump Boots, you can jump out of the sand directly to the ledge without using Space Jumps, Bomb Climbing, or Wall Jumps). Once on the ledge, Wall Jump, Bomb Climb, or Space Jump your way to the top of the shaft (watch for the Menus), go left, then drop down to find a door leading left. Go through the door, lay a Power Bomb, let the Shaktool burrow through the sand, and take the door on the other side. Here, drop down, and take the left fork to find yourself near the Spring Ball's statue.

Screw Attack

The Screw Attack is a great item. The Screw Attack activates any time you do a somersault jump. It kills almost all non-boss enemies in one hit, and makes you immune to most types of damage while using it (except for acid, spikes, Ridley's tail, and the final boss's energy rings and mind laser), and is also able to break through Bombable blocks with ease. It's optional, but highly recommended; it will make the late-game challenges far easier for you.

Location: Lower Norfair, in the room after Golden Torizo
Requirements: Golden Torizo defeated
How to Get: After beating Golden Torizo, go to the room on the right to find the Screw Attack waiting for you.

Boot Items

Boot items increase your mobility, allowing you to access otherwise unreachable locations.

Hi-Jump Boots

The Hi-Jump Boots enable Samus to jump higher, as the name implies. They are not required to complete the game; however, you will need to be proficient at Wall Jumping, Bomb Climbing, and Shinesparking to finish without the Hi-Jump Boots.

Location: Norfair, through the bottom-right Red Door from the elevator to Brinstar
Requires: Super Missiles How to Get: After entering the room, you'll see Energy Tank 02 in front of you. Grab it if you want, then drop through the platform and through the narrow chasm. Enter the door here, then shoot the upper section of the dividing wall in the middle to access Hi-Jump Boots.

Speed Booster

The Speed Booster allows you to run at high speeds, outrunning falling poles, defeating enemies, and breaking Speed Booster Blocks (it will also break Bombable blocks). It's also needed to use the Shinespark technique. Speed Booster is required to finish the game, so don't bother trying to skip it.

Location: Norfair. You'll need to reach the upper-right corner of the room with Missile Tank 08. You can do this either by Bomb Climbing (faster, but quite difficult) up the center of this room, or by following the long loop around to the ledge from below (longer, but requires less skill--see the main walkthrough for more details about this). Once there, go through the Green Door in the upper-right corner, then shoot your way up through the ceiling and go through the door to reach the corridor to the Speed Booster.
Requirements: Varia Suit How to Get: Run to the end of the path here (don't bother fighting anything), then open the Red Door. In here is the Speed Booster. After you grab it, be prepared to run like hell; lava will rise very rapidly, and you'll probably die if you don't at least make it close to the far end of the long corridor before it catches you.

Space Jump

The Space Jump boots allow you to jump again near the peak of a somersault jump, effectively allowing you to fly. Note that if you fall too far before jumping, you'll just continue to fall, but you can still Wall Jump to continue jumping. It's technically possible to complete the game without it, but it's extremely difficult, so unless you're trying to shave off every percentage point possible, just grab it.

Location: Maridia, in the room directly left of Draygon's lair Requirements: Draygon defeated
How to Get: After defeating Draygon, go through the Metal Door on the lower left to gain access to the Space Jump.

World Objects

In this section, you will find information about the most important objects you'll see in the world, and how to interact with them.

Doors

Doors serve as barriers between rooms; you will need to open them to proceed.

Blue Door

Blue Doors are the most common kind of door, and can be opened with any weapon except Power Bombs.

Red Door

Red Doors require 5 Missiles or one Super Missile to open.

Green Door

The only way to open a Green Door is to fire a Super Missile.

Yellow Door

Power Bombs are the only way to open a Yellow Door.

Metal Door

A Metal Door cannot be opened at all unless it's flashing; flashing Metal Doors can be opened by any weapon. Most Metal Doors can be made to flash either by clearing all enemies in the room or defeating the area boss, but there are a few Metal Doors that can never be opened.

Boss Door

Boss Doors shoot plasma balls at you. To defeat them, hit them in the eye 3 times with Missiles (or one Super Missile). After destroying it, it will turn into an ordinary Blue Door.

Poles

Poles are similar to doors in that they serve as barriers to your progress, but are different because Poles are in the middle of a room rather than between rooms, and you must be able to hit the light with the appropriate weapon to raise the pole.

Blue Pole

A Blue Pole can be raised by shooting or Bombing the Blue Light. If you have the Wave Beam, it's possible to do this from either side of the pole.

Green Pole

A Green Pole requires you to shoot the Green Light with a Super Missile. Note that if you on the opposite side of the pole from the light, you will need to find an alternate route as you won't be able to lift the pole.

Blocks

Blocks also serve as barriers to your passage; very often, the blocks shown below are disguised to look like the nearby environment and mask hidden passages; you can Bomb (not Power Bomb) a block to force it to reveal if it is actually a destructible block (if it isn't destroyed by the Bomb but can be destroyed another way, the block will change to one of the ones below). The X-Ray Scope will also reveal such blocks (in addition to showing fake floors, walls, and ceilings). Note that some, but not all, destructible blocks will respawn after a while when they're destroyed.

Shootable Block

Shootable blocks can be destroyed by shooting, Bombing, or Power Bombing them.

Bombable Block

Bombable Blocks can be destroyed by Bombs, Power Bombs, Speed Booster, or Screw Attack.

Super Missile Block

The only way to blast through a Super Missile Block is with a Super Missile.

Speed Booster Block

These blocks can be destroyed by running into/over them while Speed Booster is active (Samus has echoes), or by Shinesparking into them or jumping at them while in Speed Booster mode.

Power Bomb Block

Power Bombs are required to break these blocks.

Grappling Beam Block

There are two different types: normal and Cracked. Both types of Grappling Beam Block will allow you to swing from the block with your Grappling Beam, but Cracked Grappling Beam Blocks (in the image here, the block on the right) will break after a few seconds of Grappling to them, so be quick.

Pit Block

Pit Blocks are broken when you step on them, and are often used as traps or one-way passages. Most of them will immediately reform after breaking, but some of them will not respawn.

Machines

The machines shown below perform various functions, ranging from refilling weapon stocks to saving progress.

Save Unit

This is used to save your progress. As with any game, make use of them when you run across them.

Missile Charge Unit

This machine refills your Missile supply. It will not refill any other weapons.

Energy Charge Unit

An Energy Charge Unit refills your Energy to maximum. Note that they cannot refill Reserve Tanks.

Starship

Samus's Starship serves as your base for the mission. In addition to saving your progress, it will also refill all weapon and Energy levels (including Reserve Tanks) to maximum. Make use of it whenever you can.

Enemies

Here is an A-Z list of enemies you will encounter. For color varations, I only provide a picture of one of the colors (unless the different colors have different properties, as is the case with Space Pirates for example), but will mention the colors in the description of the enemy as well as where each color is found. "Damage Values by Suit" refers to the amount of damage the creature will deal to Samus based upon her suit type (unlike bosses, most enemies deal the same amount of damage for that given enemy irregardless of how they hit Samus). "Where Found" is a listing of areas where the enemy can be found. Finally, note that this list uses the spellings of enemies' names given in the manual, where available; alternate spellings will be noted in the description of the enemy.

Alcoon

Beetom

Botwoon

See Botwoon's description in the main walkthrough.

Boyon

Bull

Cacatac

Choot

Covern

Crocomire

See Crocomire's description in the main walkthrough.

Dachola

Dachola is a friendly creature found in Brinstar (it doesn't attack or damage you). It shows you how to Shinespark; mimic its moves to escape its shaft if you fall in.

Desgeega

Dragon

Draygon

See Draygon's description in the main walkthrough.

Ettecoon

Ettecoon, like Dachola, is a friendly creature and won't attack or damage you. It's in a shaft in Brinstar, to help you learn the Wall Jump technique.

Evir

Fireflea

Fune

Gamet

Geega

Geemer (Blue/Red)

Geemer (Silver)

Geruta

Holtz

Kago

Keyhunter (Green)

Keyhunter (Yellow)

Keyhunter (Red)

Magdolite

Mella

Mellow

Menu

Metaree

Metroid

Mini-Kraid

Mochtroid

Multiviola

Namihe

Oum

Owtch

Phantoon

See Phantoon's description in the main walkthrough.

Powamp

Powerorb

Puyo

Reo

Ridley

For a description of Ridley, please see the main walkthrough.

Rinka

Ripper

Ripper II

Sciser

Shaktool

Sidehopper (Green)

Sidehopper (Blue)

Skree

Skultera

Small Desgeega

Small Sidehopper

Sova

Space Pirate (Gray)

Space Pirate (Green)

Space Pirate (Red)

Space Pirate (Pink)

Space Pirate (Gold)

Space Pirate (Silver/Karate)

(Note: For the laser-using Silver Space Pirates, see Space Pirate (Silver) below, as the two types have different stats.)

Space Pirate (Silver)

(Note: For the Karate-type in Norfair, refer to Space Pirate (Silver/Karate) above, as the two types have different stats.)

Spore Spawn

For detailed information about Spore Spawn, see its entry in the main walkthrough.

Squeept

Tatori

Tatori Jr.

Torizo

See Torizo's description in the main walkthrough.

Torizo (Golden)

See Golden Torizo's description in the main walkthrough.

Tripper

Viola

Waver

Work Robot

Yapping Maw

Yard

Zeb

Zebbo

Zeela

Zero

Zoa

Techniques

This section contains instructions on various techniques you can use to help you advance. Note that none of these techniques are required to finish the game, but all of them have the potential to help you greatly (whether by saving time, allowing you to get items early, opening access to otherwise inaccessible items, etc.)

Any spoilers in this section have been blocked using the Spoiler feature; if you haven't beaten the game yet, read any hidden text at your own risk!

Wall Jumping

Wall Jumping is arguably the most important technique to learn. Wall Jumping is a mostly a matter of timing; however, remember that you can't Wall Jump off of surfaces that damage you (like spikes), and that it is possible to Wall Jump using frozen enemies (and Spore Spawn's husk, lol).

To start, jump at a wall (as alluded to above, the wall should not have spikes or other things that damage you on it). When you get very close to the wall, move slightly away from the wall. You'll see Samus assume the pose below:

You actually have about half a second to two-thirds of a second during which you can complete the Wall Jump. This is a short window, but with some practice it's very doable. An excellent place to practice this technique is the shaft leading to Super Missile Tank 06 (in Crateria; you'll need Power Bombs to open the Yellow Door). The shaft goes up a very long distance (you won't be able to exit through the top by Wall Jumping due to the Speed Booster Blocks, but it goes extremely high so this shouldn't be a concern), it has no enemies, and, most importantly of all, it has two walls a fairly average distance away. First, you should practice Wall Jumping using both walls. The technique for this is easier, as you can use the trajectory of the previous jump to carry you to the opposite wall, and just Wall Jump back and forth up the shaft. Once you are able to do this consistently, try to learn to Wall Jump using only one wall. This is more difficult because you must quickly veer back to the wall after a Wall Jump so you can perform the next Wall Jump; the key here is to not veer back to the wall until after completing a Wall Jump. This technique is also often used to veer back onto a ledge after Wall Jumping once on a wall below. If you can master this as well, it will carry you a long ways, both in Speed Runs and Low Percentage Challenges, as both require extensive Wall Jumping, and most areas where Wall Jumping is important only have one wall to work with.

The video below gives a detailed tutorial for you to follow for Wall Jumping with both two walls and one wall, in case text explanations aren't your thing (I didn't make it, however).

How does this help you specifically? In many cases, it helps you because it allows you to collect many items near your path that you would otherwise have to collect another item (like the Hi-Jump Boots or the Grappling Beam) to open access to the area, then return. Wall Jumping allows you eliminate a certain amount of backtracking; the most notable case of this (in a 100% run anyway) is using the technique to get the Wave Beam early, since you can just grab the items near the right elevator shaft in Brinstar as you pass through Crateria to the Wrecked Ship, instead of having to make a trip all the way up there and then back to Norfair. for the Power Bombs. In addition, Wall Jumping is often quicker than Grapple Jumping or freezing enemies. In other words, Wall Jumping saves time by adding a lot of flexibility to your run, as well as allowing you to skip several items completely in Low Percentage games (in particular, the Hi-Jump Boots and the Grappling Beam, although Wall Jumping alone isn't enough to skip the latter).

Grapple Jumping

Grapple Jumping is very similar to Wall Jumping, but it requires using the Grappling Beam to hold onto a Grappling Beam Block in a verical row of blocks. When you do this, Samus will assume a pose like the one above, and hold it as long as you stay Grappled; simply press Jump as you release the Shot button. This technique is easier than Wall Jumping because it eliminates the timing element, but slower and far less useful.

Shinespark

The Shinespark is required to access some items (for example, Missile Tank 38, Super Missile Tank 08, and Reserve Tank 3), but for the most part the Shinespark is a move that ranks on top of the list, alongside Wall Jumping, as a time-saving technique. Executing a Shinespark is simple (you must have the Speed Booster). First, run until the Speed Boost activates (until Samus turns blue and you see echoes behind her). Then, as you run, press Down to charge the Shinespark (you must be on the ground and still running at this point). If you did this first part correctly, Samus will be flashing white. Now, quickly move to where you want to Shinespark from (you have about 5 seconds before it wears off). At this point, you have several different trajectories available:

• Vertical: Simply jump straight up. This is the most commonly used type in the walkthrough, and the only one absolutely required by the game for obtaining items.
• Diagonal: Face the direction (left or right) you want to go, then jump straight up while pressing R. You'll shoot diagonally upwards in whichever direction you were facing when you jumped.
• Horizontal: Jump straight up, and then immediately after jumping press Left or Right (whichever direction you wish to go). The timing for this is a little harder than the other two, but you should be able to do it after a few tries.

It's also possible to Shinespark from midair, but this is much more difficult and not needed for this walkthrough (it's only used for some Speed Runs and Low Percentage Runs). To do so, do a somersault jump after charging your Shinespark, then, at the point you want to Shinespark, hit Jump and R (for a diagonal) or Jump and R, followed immediately by Jump and Left or Right (for a horizontal).

For practicing the move, the screen where the Starship is located is the most useful, since you can easily refill your energy and there's plenty of running room combined with no enemies.

In any event, as you fly through the air in the Shinespark technique, your energy will be drained. If you shoot through an open door, you'll continue Shinesparking through the next room. You'll stop either when you hit a wall/ceiling (most enemies you hit will be defeated), or when you reach 30 Energy (it's not possible to Shinespark if you have less than 30 Energy).

While most useful in Low Percentage games and for collecting items that specifically require it, Shinesparking does have one notable time-saving function in a 100% game, to quickly obtain some items in Crateria that would otherwise require you to make your way through rather dangerous and time-consuming areas. If you want to practice, a good area is the one by Samus's ship, as it has a lot of space, no enemies, and several large areas ideal for Speed Boosting.

Short-Charge Speed Boost

(Note: This is actually a glitch, but it's generally recognized as a legitimate maneuver by high-level Super Metroid players.)

While not specifically mentioned in the walkthrough, this can be used to reach maximum speed earlier. For the most part, this is used to charge a Shinespark in areas where normally it would be impossible to activate the Speed Booster normally (such as Draygon's room (to activate the Blue Suit glitch; an explantion of the glitch is beyond the scope of this guide, but Brickroad's Glitch Guide will give you the lowdown) and the short-ish runway on the far-left of the room left of the Wrecked Ship (to Shinespark quickly across to the Wrecked Ship entrance)). It's very simple to execute: just walk for about three to four blocks, then start to run. Samus will reach full speed slightly earlier than normal.

Mockball

(Note: This is a glitch; if you're one of those games who absolutely refuses to exploit glitches, simply don't use this technique.)

The Mocball is actually useful in only two areas, but is significant enough of a sequence-break that I will explain it here. Activating the Mockball is fairly simple. You must have Speed Booster turned off (or not have obtained it at all) to use the Mockball. First, run until you reach top speed (which will happen very quickly without the Speed Booster). Then, jump while running. It needs to be a fairly low jump, or you'll go too far (I'll explain this in a minute; just remember for now that your jump needs to be compact). Then, your goal is to roll into a ball as you hit the ground while holding the button in the direction you wish to move. If done wrong, you'll either bounce when you land, or stop moving. If you did it correctly, you'll find yourself in ball form moving at run speed rather than a middling speed. You can keep moving in ball form at this higher speed until you either fall off a ledge or hit a wall. The video below is a visual demonstration of how to do it (be aware that I did not make this video):

How does this help us? Both rooms where this glitch is useful bar access to items that otherwise cannot be obtained until later. In Norfair, this can be used in the room with falling poles to obtain the Ice Beam early. This is completely marginal at best (you can't get Missile Tank 12 or reach Crocomire on this route until you have Power Bombs anyway, if you're trying for 100% completion), but it can be used as an alternative to Wall Jumping for getting Missile Tank 16, Missile Tank 17, and Reserve Tank 1 early, as well as as an alternative to Bomb Climbing for skipping the loop to the upper-right corner (freeze the Wavers and use them to ascend the room). Both of these can be helpful, but you can achieve the same result using Wall Jumping and Bomb Climbing respectively, and even Bomb Climbing has a better return on investment if done well. You can also immediately go to Brinstar to collect the Power Bombs, but this isn't particularly helpful either, since it saves no time and a combination of Wall Jumping and Bomb Climbing would achieve the same result anyway.

The real beauty of this glitch, however, comes much earlier, in Brinstar. In the room with falling poles near the left-most elevator (the room with Missile Tank 04), you can use this technique (jump just before entering the door to the room in the elevator room) to roll under the dropping poles (and not fall through the Pit Blocks) to reach the other side of the room, which is supposed to be inaccessible at this point. Reserve Tank 2, Missile Tank 21, and Missile Tank 22 are all great items to get this early, but the real kicker here is Super Missile Tank 03. You're getting this quite a while before you normally should be able to; you can now skip Spore Spawn entirely (which is a nice time savings if you're not going for 100% completion, since it likes to take its time in exposing its core), or take your shiny new Super Missiles and blast Spore Spawn to smithereens and defeat him very quickly; 3 Super Missiles plus a Missile or Charged Shot will kill it. Heck, taunt Spore Spawn by entering the room, then using a Super Missile on the Green Door underneath you to exit. And even ignoring Spore Spawn for a moment, notice from both the Walkthrough and Items sections above that you normally won't get any more Super Missile Tanks other than the one by Spore Spawn until well after you defeat Crocomire. Having five extra Super Missiles against both Kraid and Crocomire is a significant help to you as well, as these are by far your most powerful weapons at this point, and will make short work of both opponents. All in all, using the Mockball glitch here gives you a very nice edge in a Speed Run.

Bomb Climbing

The final technique I will cover here is mostly used in Low Percentage games. Bomb Climbing, like Wall Jumping, allows you to reach many areas well before you normally would be able to. However, there are several important differences that make this technique largely inferior to Wall Jumping in normal games and 100% Speed Runs--in particular, that Bomb Climbing is much slower than Wall Jumping. It takes much longer to Bomb Climb a distance than to Wall Jump. On the other hand, Bomb Climbing does not require walls; it can be done anywhere where you can find a straight path upwards to your destination (which is pretty much everywhere).

There are two ways to Bomb Climb; the fastest, and generally easiest, is to start in midair (defeat any ememies that might interfere before starting). Jump staight up (Spring Ball helps a lot, but it's very doable without), then quickly Morph if you're not in ball form already, then, on your way up and about two to three blocks from the peak of the jump, lay a Bomb. Just before the first Bomb goes off, lay another Bomb. If you did this correctly, the first Bomb will propel you up. From here on out, place the next Bomb just before the previous one goes off. (You'll quickly find that the timing is simple once you have the climb started, and you'll be setting Bombs to a beat; count out the beat if this helps you be more accurate.) You'll slowly climb upward; when you reach where you want to be, angle slightly in the direction you want to go so the last Bomb propels you to your ledge.

The technique is covered in detail (including a faster variant which is far more difficult but really only used in certain challenge runs) in video form here (this is not my video, as such I claim no credit for making it):

In a 100% game, Bomb Climbing isn't particularly important, as most of the time it's faster to either Wall Jump, Shinespark, or find some other means to reach your destination. However, there is one place where Bomb Climbing stands out: in the green orb room in Norfair (the one with Missile Tank 08), you can use Bomb Climbing to skip the long loop to the upper-right corner by Bomb Climbing through the middle of the room (defeat the Wavers and Cacatac first; start your climb from the shootable blocks between the dragon heads). Due to the shape of the wall here it's not possible to Wall Jump up, and jumping from the Green Door ledge in the upper-left corner presents an extremely difficult Wall Jump (and it takes too long to get up here to just keep trying the jump). Bomb Climbing, meanwhile, allows you to skip a relatively long sequence with no items (except Missile Tank 09 and the Wave Beam, which are both very close to your destination anyway) in a minute or two if your technique is good. In Low Percentage games, you'll be doing so a lot, however, since it will be necessary to skip a lot of items (especially the Ice Beam and Grappling Beam) and Wall Jumping or Shinesparking is not always possible or practical in these areas.

Contact

You can contact me by emailing me at bover87 [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also post a topic on the GameFAQs Super Metroid board for gameplay questions; while I don't read the board regularly, there's still a fairly active community there. For issues with the guide (errors, etc.), please email me.

Credits

• GameFAQs, for hosting this guide (and many of the ones listed below as well) and for creating the new file format this guide uses, which allows a lot of new possibilities over text guides, especially being able to post images and links directly in the guide, format text, and create tables and info boxes.
• Zeric's Super Metroid Map (located on GameFAQs). It was an excellent tool for helping me construct a path to efficiently complete the game and ensure the guide contains all available items, and given the nature of this game, maps are very helpful aids to playing. (For reference, the playthrough I used to write this guide took 3:31 (three and a half hours) of game time, and that was without using such time-savers as getting the Wave Beam early. Great job Zeric!)
• Foxhound3857's Super Metroid Walkthrough (also located on GameFAQs) for information about boss HP and attack damage stats, as well as information about attack patterns for Torizo and Golden Torizo.
• The now-defunt Norfair Super Metroid Guide, for official enemy names as well as images to help me identify them, and for the information about Torizo and Crocomire stopping to allow you to pick up refills. (If you are/were the owner of this site, please email me so I can credit you properly.)
• Brickroad's Glitch FAQ (once again located on GameFAQs), for assistance learning the exploitable glitches (in particular, the "mockball" and Short-Charge Speed Boost) that this game has. Check it out, it's a wonderful resourse for those of you looking to minimize your Speed Run times or just mess around with the game engine.
• Kejardon's 15% Walkthrough, for a list of the absolute minimum amount of items needed to complete the game (another great guide on GameFAQs)
• Nintendo, for creating this classic game
• You, for taking the time to read this :)