Retro Game Walkthroughs for Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
Submitted By: Samus X10
Ending Test/Debug Code A _ denotes a space must be entered in the code.
BOMBS_ MISSLE
SCREW_ ATACK_
(Yes it's in all caps)
You start with 111 missles, the Ice Beam, Bombs, and 4 energy tanks.
You start with the ball, but can go fetch another one.
You don't have the Long Jump boots, but they aren't around to pick up.
The missle door to the long beam is open, but you haven't collected it yet.
Kraid and Ridley's statues have been activated(as well as the door to them opened), and you can get into Tourian. However, they aren't dead yet and can still be killed if it tickles your fancy.
Mother Brain can also fail to show up at all, however, if she is there you can scroll back and forth to make chunks of her sprites dissapear until the way is cleared. The text about getting the heck out will be there, but will be brown in the space that is usually occupied by MB. At any rate, you'll be able to leave at your convenience, without a timer. All but a couple Zebetites will have flown the coop, too.
Since you don't have the LJ boots available to you, you can't get the Varia.
Other misc. missle doors throughout the planet will be opened.
STEP 1: Fire your gun at a door so that it opens. Do not go through the open door, but do enter the doorway just far enough so that your gun and a small portion of your arm go through. When the door closes it will close around you; let it do so. STEP 2: Now here's the tricky part. Using the controller pad (or joystick if using the "NES Advantage" or similar device), alternately press the "up" and "down" buttons (or alternately move the joystick between the extreme "up" and "down" positions) in a continuous, rapid sequence. If done correctly, your on-screen character, Samus, will literally climb upwards while he is encased in solid wall. (Be very, VERY careful, however, when pressing the "down" button or using the joystick in the "down" position: if you maintain pressure too long on the controller in the "down" position, Samus will roll up into a ball. If he does so while encased in a wall, he cannot again stand up or recover and may become hopelessly trapped. You may then have to reset or restart the game.) STEP 3: When Samus reaches the top of the screen (don't let him climb entirely off the screen), let go of the controller pad or joystick. Now, repeatedly press the "A" button (the button that makes him jump). Result: as you press, the scene will--if you are in the right place--scroll progressively downwards and Samus will, bit by bit, be carried downwards on the screen along with the ceiling. (If you have a "turbo" feature on your controller, turn it on and maintain continuous pressure on the "A" button to automate this process.) At the same time, a portion of an entirely new--perhaps hidden--room may begin to appear at the top of the screen. You can continue to scroll the scene downwards only until Samus reaches the middle of the screen; in order to scroll more of the scene downwards you must repeat Steps 2 and 3. When you have scrolled enough of the new scene onto your screen, you can have Samus enter the scene by stepping out of the wall which encases him. Samus can do this in either of two ways: A) He may continue to climb higher and higher into the new scene until he ultimately reaches a door in the wall, or B) He may walk out of the wall anywhere. You can have Samus do the latter only if he is not completely encased by the wall--that is, some portion of Samus' body must be free of the wall. (You can adjust the degree to which Samus is encased in the wall in Step 1 by ensuring that as little as possible of Samus' body disappears into the doorway of the door that is to enclose him.) Please note also that in some scenes, Samus' enemies can attack him even though he is encased in the wall. In such situations, he is entirely defenseless unless he can use his gun against them--which he can do if it is free of the encasing wall. You can also, in the right places, use the "wall-door" technique to descend through a floor. The procedure is exactly the same as that described in Steps 1 through 3 above, with one significant difference: in Step 3, when Samus climbs to the top of the screen, continue climbing until he entirely disappears from the screen. Then (as before) repeatedly press the "A" button. This time the scene will scroll not downwards, but upwards for a distance of about half a screen's length. By the time it stops, Samus may or may not have reappeared at the bottom of the screen. If he has not reappeared at the bottom of your screen, don't panic--just repeat the "up-down" controller technique to have him climb a bit more. It takes patience and practice, and you will probably Page 3 "lose" Samus more than once. If this happens, the usual reason is that you have allowed Samus to roll into a ball and he is trapped, or you are in a place where up-down scrolling of the screen is not permitted by the program. Now that you know how to perform the "wall-door" technique, when and where should you employ it? The "wall-door" technique cannot be used just anywhere; its use is permitted only in certain scenes. But the only way to know with certainty whether a given door will permit climbing or not is to try it. Since each side of a door is contained in a different scene of the game, you must try both sides of a door. Most doors do not permit the use of the "wall-door" technique, but some do. And your use of the technique on certain of these doors will lead you to one of the hidden areas of the game. But before you go off to explore one or more of the hidden areas, there is another important thing you should know: THE DOORS IN THE HIDDEN AREAS ARE VERY DANGEROUS! They are not dangerous in the sense that some terrible enemy may happen to lurk behind them. The principal peril of the hidden areas derives from the fact that some of the doors lead off into nowhere. Having gone through such a door, Samus may disappear from the screen, but--surprisingly, and much to your dismay--the scene does not change nor show you where he has gone, although if you are lucky you may still be able to hear the sound of his footsteps. In such cases it is sometimes possible to rescue and restore Samus to the screen, by walking and jumping him around offscreen in just the right manner while listening carefully to the sound of his footsteps. Again, there are other apparently normal doors which become "one-way" once you have gone through them, so that you will be permitted to enter a new room or scene only to be trapped there forever (or until you reset the game). None of the doors in the normal, "documented" game areas ever behave in this unpredictable manner. Unlike the normal zones, navigation through the mysterious hidden areas of Planet Zebes is usually difficult, sometimes frustrating--and it is always quite dangerous to Samus' health. Needless to say, these added hazards make exploration and mapping of the hidden areas more challenging. But consider: the possibility of falling off into the void did not deter Sir Edmund Hillary from climbing Mt. Everest (and unlike your astronaut-friend, Samus, he had no reset button to push in case of emergency). If you are easily deterred and easily frustrated by such difficulties then you really have no business in exploring the hidden areas of Planet Zebes, have you? (Nor, for that matter, should you be reading this.) Now that you have some idea of the navigational perils that await you-- and assuming that you are made of the "right stuff"--you are ready to head out into the hinterlands of Planet Zebes to investigate the hidden areas. There are three large hidden zones that I know of. As far as I have been able to determine, each hidden area is entirely separate from the others. Here are directions to them:
HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #1: ----------------------- From the elevator landing in Hideout #1: Enter the very first door on your right; proceed right as far as you can, go through another door: you will then be at the bottom of a long vertical shaft. You can use the "wall-door" technique on the door that you just passed through (it will now be on your left), or you can attempt to climb up to the top of the long shaft by jumping from one free-standing block to the next. Either way, make your way to the top of this vertical shaft. (I haven't mapped this area out for you, but there are at least ten additional floors hidden above the ceiling at this point!) HIDDEN AREA--BRINSTAR: --------------------- First, a word of warning: Exploring this hidden area is devilishly difficult--more difficult, perhaps, than anything you've ever encountered in any Nintendo game. But if you are truly a person who doesn't give up easily, then give it a try. From the "start" area: Proceed to the right as far as you can, going through three doors. You will be at the bottom of a very long vertical blue shaft. Ascend half way up the shaft: enter the door which appears on the right hand side of the shaft. Proceed to the right, through a sort of tube (its the only way you can go), through another door: you will be in the middle of a long vertical yellow shaft. Go down to the bottom of this shaft. There will be a door on the right side. Do NOT go through this door, but use your "wall-door" technique on it to go downwards, so that you DESCEND through the floor of the shaft. As you continue to descend, you will pass, in succession, several "dead- end" shaft chambers. Do NOT enter any of these chambers, for they have no doors nor exits and you will become hopelessly trapped within them! Continue with your descent until you come to a platform-type room with a red door on the left (requires missiles to open) and a blue door on the right. Enter this room--you've arrived! As I said earlier, of all the hidden areas in Metroid this one is the most challenging. Though possible it is extremely difficult to enter this platform room; perfect mastery of the "wall-door" technique is required, or else you'll wind up trapped below the platform or off the screen. I haven't gotten very far in my exploration of this hidden area--perhaps you will do better. If you do succeed (which is doubtful) be sure to make a careful map of the area; then bestow a favor upon your other, less fortunate or intrepid colleagues by uploading it along with an account of your exploits. Good luck (you'll need plenty of it)! HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #2: ----------------------- There are three different entry points in this Hideout through which you may enter the vast, hidden area which lies above it. In your explorations, refer to the map below. Each numbered square represents a room; the number itself corresponds to one of the forty different room Page 5 illustrations which are depicted below the map. Blank regions on the map or squares without numbers indicate areas that are as yet unexplored. (The illustrations were created using only characters of the extended ASCII set.) A) To get to the leftmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-U-14-20 (This simple code means: From room #1, go down to room #2, then left through rooms #3,3,4,5,5,5,6,3, then up through room #14 to get to room #20. To go from the last room #3 to room #14 you'll need to use the "wall-door" technique.) B) To get to the rightmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-R-10-11-11-12-13-U-14-21 (Use the "wall-door" technique to go from room #13 through room #14 to reach room #21.) C) To get to the central entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-D-36-2-R-7-30-30-8-20-U-14-4-R-3-3-U-14-20 (You'll need to use the "wall-door" technique twice here: first, to go up from room #20 through room #14 and above, and second, to go up from room #3 through rooms #14,20. When going up from room #20 to room #14, it is very important to first jump over to the right-hand side of the screen: then use the "wall-door" technique on the door on the right, NOT the door on the left. If you study the illustrations of these rooms carefully, you'll see why: the "wall- door" technique works only where there is actually a wall; it will not, however, permit you to climb upwards through a floor and then on into thin air.) Some further explanation of the directions for entry point "C" is in order. You may be wondering why the route to the central entry point of Hideout #2 is so circuitous (which it is, quite literally). This is yet another of the mysteries of Metroid. The explanation is apparently this: a screen which ordinarily permits only a horizontal transition to the next screen may permit you to enter and leave it in vertical-scrolling mode--if you can manage somehow to enter it while already in vertical- scrolling mode. For example, some rooms whose ceilings ordinarily bar any attempt at vertical motion will permit it if you manage to enter the room--or even a neighboring room--by going up through the floor from a room beneath. Page 6 This is exactly what is happening in the case of the central entry point--it must be approached while in vertical-scrolling mode, and you can do this only if you approach it by coming up through the floor of a neighboring room. Since the game is somewhat devious in this respect, you must be rather wily as you go about exploring it. If you are not successful in your attempts to enter a hidden area by one means, try approaching it from a different route or direction. And always, keep a record not only of the rooms you discover but of the route you used in approaching them. As you may see from the map, in the "documented" or "normal" area of Hideout #2 there are 84 rooms, while there are (at least) 145 rooms in the hidden area. And without doubt, there are many more rooms waiting to be discovered. This represents a great amount of "undocumented area" indeed, and if we are correct in taking this as a representative example it suggests how much hidden area may also yet be discovered in Hideout #1 and in Brinstar. Which brings us to ponder what is doubtless the greatest Metroid mystery of all: Why do these hidden areas exist? Where do they lead? Do they conceal some great secret? I have not yet reached the end of any one of these areas, but their exploration is so diabolically difficult a task that one must, at least occasionally, suspect some impish or wicked purpose on the part of the programmers--or perhaps they had no purpose at all. But the creation of these areas is evidently not some mere fluke, not some aberration of the program, but a deliberate act of design. For deep within the hidden areas, one may occasionally see specially-drawn scenes which appear nowhere else in Metroid. Just what ultimate goal or end is behind it all? To date, the game counselors at Nintendo of America know virtually knothing about Metroid's hidden areas--they evidently haven't been briefed by the folks in Japan who wrote the program. So, my fellow gamesters and loyal Metroid aficionados, it is up to us. Let us broadcast an appeal to the clever designers and programmers of Metroid, and ask that they enlighten these dark spots on Planet Zebes forthwith and dispel the mystery. If any of the programmers who wrote Metroid in Japan happen to read this, will one be good enough to send a reply? Please tell us all about the hidden areas of Metroid--and tell us, furthermore, if there is an easier way to explore these forbidding regions!
BOMBS_ MISSLE
SCREW_ ATACK_
(Yes it's in all caps)
You start with 111 missles, the Ice Beam, Bombs, and 4 energy tanks.
You start with the ball, but can go fetch another one.
You don't have the Long Jump boots, but they aren't around to pick up.
The missle door to the long beam is open, but you haven't collected it yet.
Kraid and Ridley's statues have been activated(as well as the door to them opened), and you can get into Tourian. However, they aren't dead yet and can still be killed if it tickles your fancy.
Mother Brain can also fail to show up at all, however, if she is there you can scroll back and forth to make chunks of her sprites dissapear until the way is cleared. The text about getting the heck out will be there, but will be brown in the space that is usually occupied by MB. At any rate, you'll be able to leave at your convenience, without a timer. All but a couple Zebetites will have flown the coop, too.
Since you don't have the LJ boots available to you, you can't get the Varia.
Other misc. missle doors throughout the planet will be opened.
STEP 1: Fire your gun at a door so that it opens. Do not go through the open door, but do enter the doorway just far enough so that your gun and a small portion of your arm go through. When the door closes it will close around you; let it do so. STEP 2: Now here's the tricky part. Using the controller pad (or joystick if using the "NES Advantage" or similar device), alternately press the "up" and "down" buttons (or alternately move the joystick between the extreme "up" and "down" positions) in a continuous, rapid sequence. If done correctly, your on-screen character, Samus, will literally climb upwards while he is encased in solid wall. (Be very, VERY careful, however, when pressing the "down" button or using the joystick in the "down" position: if you maintain pressure too long on the controller in the "down" position, Samus will roll up into a ball. If he does so while encased in a wall, he cannot again stand up or recover and may become hopelessly trapped. You may then have to reset or restart the game.) STEP 3: When Samus reaches the top of the screen (don't let him climb entirely off the screen), let go of the controller pad or joystick. Now, repeatedly press the "A" button (the button that makes him jump). Result: as you press, the scene will--if you are in the right place--scroll progressively downwards and Samus will, bit by bit, be carried downwards on the screen along with the ceiling. (If you have a "turbo" feature on your controller, turn it on and maintain continuous pressure on the "A" button to automate this process.) At the same time, a portion of an entirely new--perhaps hidden--room may begin to appear at the top of the screen. You can continue to scroll the scene downwards only until Samus reaches the middle of the screen; in order to scroll more of the scene downwards you must repeat Steps 2 and 3. When you have scrolled enough of the new scene onto your screen, you can have Samus enter the scene by stepping out of the wall which encases him. Samus can do this in either of two ways: A) He may continue to climb higher and higher into the new scene until he ultimately reaches a door in the wall, or B) He may walk out of the wall anywhere. You can have Samus do the latter only if he is not completely encased by the wall--that is, some portion of Samus' body must be free of the wall. (You can adjust the degree to which Samus is encased in the wall in Step 1 by ensuring that as little as possible of Samus' body disappears into the doorway of the door that is to enclose him.) Please note also that in some scenes, Samus' enemies can attack him even though he is encased in the wall. In such situations, he is entirely defenseless unless he can use his gun against them--which he can do if it is free of the encasing wall. You can also, in the right places, use the "wall-door" technique to descend through a floor. The procedure is exactly the same as that described in Steps 1 through 3 above, with one significant difference: in Step 3, when Samus climbs to the top of the screen, continue climbing until he entirely disappears from the screen. Then (as before) repeatedly press the "A" button. This time the scene will scroll not downwards, but upwards for a distance of about half a screen's length. By the time it stops, Samus may or may not have reappeared at the bottom of the screen. If he has not reappeared at the bottom of your screen, don't panic--just repeat the "up-down" controller technique to have him climb a bit more. It takes patience and practice, and you will probably Page 3 "lose" Samus more than once. If this happens, the usual reason is that you have allowed Samus to roll into a ball and he is trapped, or you are in a place where up-down scrolling of the screen is not permitted by the program. Now that you know how to perform the "wall-door" technique, when and where should you employ it? The "wall-door" technique cannot be used just anywhere; its use is permitted only in certain scenes. But the only way to know with certainty whether a given door will permit climbing or not is to try it. Since each side of a door is contained in a different scene of the game, you must try both sides of a door. Most doors do not permit the use of the "wall-door" technique, but some do. And your use of the technique on certain of these doors will lead you to one of the hidden areas of the game. But before you go off to explore one or more of the hidden areas, there is another important thing you should know: THE DOORS IN THE HIDDEN AREAS ARE VERY DANGEROUS! They are not dangerous in the sense that some terrible enemy may happen to lurk behind them. The principal peril of the hidden areas derives from the fact that some of the doors lead off into nowhere. Having gone through such a door, Samus may disappear from the screen, but--surprisingly, and much to your dismay--the scene does not change nor show you where he has gone, although if you are lucky you may still be able to hear the sound of his footsteps. In such cases it is sometimes possible to rescue and restore Samus to the screen, by walking and jumping him around offscreen in just the right manner while listening carefully to the sound of his footsteps. Again, there are other apparently normal doors which become "one-way" once you have gone through them, so that you will be permitted to enter a new room or scene only to be trapped there forever (or until you reset the game). None of the doors in the normal, "documented" game areas ever behave in this unpredictable manner. Unlike the normal zones, navigation through the mysterious hidden areas of Planet Zebes is usually difficult, sometimes frustrating--and it is always quite dangerous to Samus' health. Needless to say, these added hazards make exploration and mapping of the hidden areas more challenging. But consider: the possibility of falling off into the void did not deter Sir Edmund Hillary from climbing Mt. Everest (and unlike your astronaut-friend, Samus, he had no reset button to push in case of emergency). If you are easily deterred and easily frustrated by such difficulties then you really have no business in exploring the hidden areas of Planet Zebes, have you? (Nor, for that matter, should you be reading this.) Now that you have some idea of the navigational perils that await you-- and assuming that you are made of the "right stuff"--you are ready to head out into the hinterlands of Planet Zebes to investigate the hidden areas. There are three large hidden zones that I know of. As far as I have been able to determine, each hidden area is entirely separate from the others. Here are directions to them:
HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #1: ----------------------- From the elevator landing in Hideout #1: Enter the very first door on your right; proceed right as far as you can, go through another door: you will then be at the bottom of a long vertical shaft. You can use the "wall-door" technique on the door that you just passed through (it will now be on your left), or you can attempt to climb up to the top of the long shaft by jumping from one free-standing block to the next. Either way, make your way to the top of this vertical shaft. (I haven't mapped this area out for you, but there are at least ten additional floors hidden above the ceiling at this point!) HIDDEN AREA--BRINSTAR: --------------------- First, a word of warning: Exploring this hidden area is devilishly difficult--more difficult, perhaps, than anything you've ever encountered in any Nintendo game. But if you are truly a person who doesn't give up easily, then give it a try. From the "start" area: Proceed to the right as far as you can, going through three doors. You will be at the bottom of a very long vertical blue shaft. Ascend half way up the shaft: enter the door which appears on the right hand side of the shaft. Proceed to the right, through a sort of tube (its the only way you can go), through another door: you will be in the middle of a long vertical yellow shaft. Go down to the bottom of this shaft. There will be a door on the right side. Do NOT go through this door, but use your "wall-door" technique on it to go downwards, so that you DESCEND through the floor of the shaft. As you continue to descend, you will pass, in succession, several "dead- end" shaft chambers. Do NOT enter any of these chambers, for they have no doors nor exits and you will become hopelessly trapped within them! Continue with your descent until you come to a platform-type room with a red door on the left (requires missiles to open) and a blue door on the right. Enter this room--you've arrived! As I said earlier, of all the hidden areas in Metroid this one is the most challenging. Though possible it is extremely difficult to enter this platform room; perfect mastery of the "wall-door" technique is required, or else you'll wind up trapped below the platform or off the screen. I haven't gotten very far in my exploration of this hidden area--perhaps you will do better. If you do succeed (which is doubtful) be sure to make a careful map of the area; then bestow a favor upon your other, less fortunate or intrepid colleagues by uploading it along with an account of your exploits. Good luck (you'll need plenty of it)! HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #2: ----------------------- There are three different entry points in this Hideout through which you may enter the vast, hidden area which lies above it. In your explorations, refer to the map below. Each numbered square represents a room; the number itself corresponds to one of the forty different room Page 5 illustrations which are depicted below the map. Blank regions on the map or squares without numbers indicate areas that are as yet unexplored. (The illustrations were created using only characters of the extended ASCII set.) A) To get to the leftmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-U-14-20 (This simple code means: From room #1, go down to room #2, then left through rooms #3,3,4,5,5,5,6,3, then up through room #14 to get to room #20. To go from the last room #3 to room #14 you'll need to use the "wall-door" technique.) B) To get to the rightmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-R-10-11-11-12-13-U-14-21 (Use the "wall-door" technique to go from room #13 through room #14 to reach room #21.) C) To get to the central entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-D-36-2-R-7-30-30-8-20-U-14-4-R-3-3-U-14-20 (You'll need to use the "wall-door" technique twice here: first, to go up from room #20 through room #14 and above, and second, to go up from room #3 through rooms #14,20. When going up from room #20 to room #14, it is very important to first jump over to the right-hand side of the screen: then use the "wall-door" technique on the door on the right, NOT the door on the left. If you study the illustrations of these rooms carefully, you'll see why: the "wall- door" technique works only where there is actually a wall; it will not, however, permit you to climb upwards through a floor and then on into thin air.) Some further explanation of the directions for entry point "C" is in order. You may be wondering why the route to the central entry point of Hideout #2 is so circuitous (which it is, quite literally). This is yet another of the mysteries of Metroid. The explanation is apparently this: a screen which ordinarily permits only a horizontal transition to the next screen may permit you to enter and leave it in vertical-scrolling mode--if you can manage somehow to enter it while already in vertical- scrolling mode. For example, some rooms whose ceilings ordinarily bar any attempt at vertical motion will permit it if you manage to enter the room--or even a neighboring room--by going up through the floor from a room beneath. Page 6 This is exactly what is happening in the case of the central entry point--it must be approached while in vertical-scrolling mode, and you can do this only if you approach it by coming up through the floor of a neighboring room. Since the game is somewhat devious in this respect, you must be rather wily as you go about exploring it. If you are not successful in your attempts to enter a hidden area by one means, try approaching it from a different route or direction. And always, keep a record not only of the rooms you discover but of the route you used in approaching them. As you may see from the map, in the "documented" or "normal" area of Hideout #2 there are 84 rooms, while there are (at least) 145 rooms in the hidden area. And without doubt, there are many more rooms waiting to be discovered. This represents a great amount of "undocumented area" indeed, and if we are correct in taking this as a representative example it suggests how much hidden area may also yet be discovered in Hideout #1 and in Brinstar. Which brings us to ponder what is doubtless the greatest Metroid mystery of all: Why do these hidden areas exist? Where do they lead? Do they conceal some great secret? I have not yet reached the end of any one of these areas, but their exploration is so diabolically difficult a task that one must, at least occasionally, suspect some impish or wicked purpose on the part of the programmers--or perhaps they had no purpose at all. But the creation of these areas is evidently not some mere fluke, not some aberration of the program, but a deliberate act of design. For deep within the hidden areas, one may occasionally see specially-drawn scenes which appear nowhere else in Metroid. Just what ultimate goal or end is behind it all? To date, the game counselors at Nintendo of America know virtually knothing about Metroid's hidden areas--they evidently haven't been briefed by the folks in Japan who wrote the program. So, my fellow gamesters and loyal Metroid aficionados, it is up to us. Let us broadcast an appeal to the clever designers and programmers of Metroid, and ask that they enlighten these dark spots on Planet Zebes forthwith and dispel the mystery. If any of the programmers who wrote Metroid in Japan happen to read this, will one be good enough to send a reply? Please tell us all about the hidden areas of Metroid--and tell us, furthermore, if there is an easier way to explore these forbidding regions!
Submitted By: Samus X10
Sorry about samus being referred to as a man but I didn't know.
_ Means that there must be a space in the code there.
BOMBS_ MISSLE
SCREW_ ATACK_
(Yes it's in all caps)
You start with 111 missiles, the Ice Beam, Bombs, and 4 energy tanks.
You start with the ball, but can go fetch another one.
You don't have the Long Jump boots, but they aren't around to pick up. The missile door to the long beam is open, but you haven't collected it yet.
Kraid and Ridley's statues have been activated (as well as the door to them opened), and you can get into Tourian. However, they aren't dead yet and can still be killed if it tickles your fancy.
Mother Brain can also fail to show up at all, however, if she is there you can scroll back and forth to make chunks of her sprites dissapear until the way is cleared. The text about getting the heck out will be there, but will be brown in the space that is usually occupied by MB. At any rate, you'll be able to leave at your convenience, without a timer. All but a couple Zebetites will have flown the coop, too.
Since you don't have the LJ boots available to you, you can't get the Varia.
Other misc. missle doors throughout the planet will be opened.
STEP 1: Fire your gun at a door so that it opens. Do not go through the open door, but do enter the doorway just far enough so that your gun and a small portion of your arm go through. When the door closes it will close around you; let it do so.
STEP 2: Now here's the tricky part. Using the controller pad (or joystick if using the "NES Advantage" or similar device), alternately press the "up" and "down" buttons (or alternately move the joystick between the extreme "up" and "down" positions) in a continuous, rapid sequence. If done correctly, your on-screen character, Samus, will literally climb upwards while he is encased in solid wall. (Be very, VERY careful, however, when pressing the "down" button or using the joystick in the "down" position: if you maintain pressure too long on the controller in the "down" position, Samus will roll up into a ball. If he does so while encased in a wall, he cannot again stand up or recover and may become hopelessly trapped. You may then have to reset or restart the game.)
STEP 3: When Samus reaches the top of the screen (don't let him climb entirely off the screen), let go of the controller pad or joystick. Now, repeatedly press the "A" button (the button that makes him jump). Result: as you press, the scene will--if you are in the right place--scroll progressively downwards and Samus will, bit by bit, be carried downwards on the screen along with the ceiling. (If you have a "turbo" feature on your controller, turn it on and maintain continuous pressure on the "A" button to automate this process.) At the same time, a portion of an entirely new--perhaps hidden--room may begin to appear at the top of the screen. You can continue to scroll the scene downwards only until Samus reaches the middle of the screen; in order to scroll more of the scene downwards you must repeat Steps 2 and 3.
When you have scrolled enough of the new scene onto your screen, you can have Samus enter the scene by stepping out of the wall which encases him. Samus can do this in either of two ways: A) He may continue to climb higher and higher into the new scene until he ultimately reaches a door in the wall, or B) He may walk out of the wall anywhere. You can have Samus do the latter only if he is not completely encased by the wall--that is, some portion of Samus' body must be free of the wall. (You can adjust the degree to which Samus is encased in the wall in Step 1 by ensuring that as little as possible of Samus' body disappears into the doorway of the door that is to enclose him.) Please note also that in some scenes, Samus' enemies can attack him even though he is encased in the wall. In such situations, he is entirely defenseless unless he can use his gun against them--which he can do if it is free of the encasing wall.
You can also, in the right places, use the "wall-door" technique to descend through a floor. The procedure is exactly the same as that described in Steps 1 through 3 above, with one significant difference: in Step 3, when Samus climbs to the top of the screen, continue climbing until he entirely disappears from the screen. Then (as before) repeatedly press the "A" button. This time the scene will scroll not downwards, but upwards for a distance of about half a screen's length. By the time it stops, Samus may or may not have reappeared at the bottom of the screen. If he has not reappeared at the bottom of your screen, don't panic--just repeat the "up-down" controller technique to have him climb a bit more. It takes patience and practice, and you will probably Page 3 "lose" Samus more than once.
If this happens, the usual reason is that you have allowed Samus to roll into a ball and he is trapped, or you are in a place where up-down scrolling of the screen is not permitted by the program. Now that you know how to perform the "wall-door" technique, when and where should you employ it? The "wall-door" technique cannot be used just anywhere; its use is permitted only in certain scenes. But the only way to know with certainty whether a given door will permit climbing or not is to try it. Since each side of a door is contained in a different scene of the game, you must try both sides of a door.
Most doors do not permit the use of the "wall-door" technique, but some do. And your use of the technique on certain of these doors will lead you to one of the hidden areas of the game. But before you go off to explore one or more of the hidden areas, there is another important thing you should know: THE DOORS IN THE HIDDEN AREAS ARE VERY DANGEROUS! They are not dangerous in the sense that some terrible enemy may happen to lurk behind them. The principal peril of the hidden areas derives from the fact that some of the doors lead off into nowhere.
Having gone through such a door, Samus may disappear from the screen, but--surprisingly, and much to your dismay--the scene does not change nor show you where he has gone, although if you are lucky you may still be able to hear the sound of his footsteps. In such cases it is sometimes possible to rescue and restore Samus to the screen, by walking and jumping him around offscreen in just the right manner while listening carefully to the sound of his footsteps. Again, there are other apparently normal doors which become "one-way" once you have gone through them, so that you will be permitted to enter a new room or scene only to be trapped there forever (or until you reset the game).
None of the doors in the normal, "documented" game areas ever behave in this unpredictable manner. Unlike the normal zones, navigation through the mysterious hidden areas of Planet Zebes is usually difficult, sometimes frustrating--and it is always quite dangerous to Samus' health. Needless to say, these added hazards make exploration and mapping of the hidden areas more challenging. But consider: the possibility of falling off into the void did not deter Sir Edmund Hillary from climbing Mt. Everest (and unlike your astronaut-friend, Samus, he had no reset button to push in case of emergency).
If you are easily deterred and easily frustrated by such difficulties then you really have no business in exploring the hidden areas of Planet Zebes, have you? (Nor, for that matter, should you be reading this.) Now that you have some idea of the navigational perils that await you-- and assuming that you are made of the "right stuff"--you are ready to head out into the hinterlands of Planet Zebes to investigate the hidden areas. There are three large hidden zones that I know of. As far as I have been able to determine, each hidden area is entirely separate from the others. Here are directions to them:
HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #1: -----------------------
From the elevator landing in Hideout #1: Enter the very first door on your right; proceed right as far as you can, go through another door: you will then be at the bottom of a long vertical shaft. You can use the "wall-door" technique on the door that you just passed through (it will now be on your left), or you can attempt to climb up to the top of the long shaft by jumping from one free-standing block to the next. Either way, make your way to the top of this vertical shaft. (I haven't mapped this area out for you, but there are at least ten additional floors hidden above the ceiling at this point!)
HIDDEN AREA--BRINSTAR: --------------------- First, a word of warning:
Exploring this hidden area is devilishly difficult--more difficult, perhaps, than anything you've ever encountered in any Nintendo game. But if you are truly a person who doesn't give up easily, then give it a try. From the "start" area: Proceed to the right as far as you can, going through three doors. You will be at the bottom of a very long vertical blue shaft. Ascend half way up the shaft: enter the door which appears on the right hand side of the shaft.
Proceed to the right, through a sort of tube (its the only way you can go), through another door: you will be in the middle of a long vertical yellow shaft. Go down to the bottom of this shaft. There will be a door on the right side. Do NOT go through this door, but use your "wall-door" technique on it to go downwards, so that you DESCEND through the floor of the shaft. As you continue to descend, you will pass, in succession, several "dead- end" shaft chambers.
Do NOT enter any of these chambers, for they have no doors nor exits and you will become hopelessly trapped within them! Continue with your descent until you come to a platform-type room with a red door on the left (requires missiles to open) and a blue door on the right. Enter this room--you've arrived! As I said earlier, of all the hidden areas in Metroid this one is the most challenging. Though possible it is extremely difficult to enter this platform room; perfect mastery of the "wall-door" technique is required, or else you'll wind up trapped below the platform or off the screen.
I haven't gotten very far in my exploration of this hidden area--perhaps you will do better. If you do succeed (which is doubtful) be sure to make a careful map of the area; then bestow a favor upon your other, less fortunate or intrepid colleagues by uploading it along with an account of your exploits. Good luck (you'll need plenty of it)! HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #2: ----------------------- There are three different entry points in this Hideout through which you may enter the vast, hidden area which lies above it.
In your explorations, refer to the map below. Each numbered square represents a room; the number itself corresponds to one of the forty different room Page 5 illustrations which are depicted below the map. Blank regions on the map or squares without numbers indicate areas that are as yet unexplored. (The illustrations were created using only characters of the extended ASCII set.)
A)
To get to the leftmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-U-14-20 (This simple code means: From room #1, go down to room #2, then left through rooms #3,3,4,5,5,5,6,3, then up through room #14 to get to room #20.
To go from the last room #3 to room #14 you'll need to use the "wall-door" technique.)
B)
To get to the rightmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-R-10-11-11-12-13-U-14-21 (Use the "wall-door" technique to go from room #13 through room #14 to reach room #21.)
C)
To get to the central entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-D-36-2-R-7-30-30-8-20-U-14-4-R-3-3-U-14-20 (You'll need to use the "wall-door" technique twice here: first, to go up from room #20 through room #14 and above, and second, to go up from room #3 through rooms #14,20. When going up from room #20 to room #14, it is very important to first jump over to the right-hand side of the screen: then use the "wall-door" technique on the door on the right, NOT the door on the left.
If you study the illustrations of these rooms carefully, you'll see why: the "wall- door" technique works only where there is actually a wall; it will not, however, permit you to climb upwards through a floor and then on into thin air.) Some further explanation of the directions for entry point "C" is in order. You may be wondering why the route to the central entry point of Hideout #2 is so circuitous (which it is, quite literally).
This is yet another of the mysteries of Metroid. The explanation is apparently this: a screen which ordinarily permits only a horizontal transition to the next screen may permit you to enter and leave it in vertical-scrolling mode--if you can manage somehow to enter it while already in vertical- scrolling mode. For example, some rooms whose ceilings ordinarily bar any attempt at vertical motion will permit it if you manage to enter the room--or even a neighboring room--by going up through the floor from a room beneath. Page 6 This is exactly what is happening in the case of the central entry point--it must be approached while in vertical-scrolling mode, and you can do this only if you approach it by coming up through the floor of a neighboring room. Since the game is somewhat devious in this respect, you must be rather wily as you go about exploring it.
If you are not successful in your attempts to enter a hidden area by one means, try approaching it from a different route or direction. And always, keep a record not only of the rooms you discover but of the route you used in approaching them. As you may see from the map, in the "documented" or "normal" area of Hideout #2 there are 84 rooms, while there are (at least) 145 rooms in the hidden area. And without doubt, there are many more rooms waiting to be discovered. This represents a great amount of "undocumented area" indeed, and if we are correct in taking this as a representative example it suggests how much hidden area may also yet be discovered in Hideout #1 and in Brinstar.
Which brings us to ponder what is doubtless the greatest Metroid mystery of all: Why do these hidden areas exist? Where do they lead? Do they conceal some great secret? I have not yet reached the end of any one of these areas, but their exploration is so diabolically difficult a task that one must, at least occasionally, suspect some impish or wicked purpose on the part of the programmers--or perhaps they had no purpose at all. But the creation of these areas is evidently not some mere fluke, not some aberration of the program, but a deliberate act of design. For deep within the hidden areas, one may occasionally see specially-drawn scenes which appear nowhere else in Metroid. Just what ultimate goal or end is behind it all? To date, the game counselors at Nintendo of America know virtually knothing about Metroid's hidden areas--they evidently haven't been briefed by the folks in Japan who wrote the program.
So, my fellow gamesters and loyal Metroid aficionados, it is up to us. Let us broadcast an appeal to the clever designers and programmers of Metroid, and ask that they enlighten these dark spots on Planet Zebes forthwith and dispel the mystery. If any of the programmers who wrote Metroid in Japan happen to read this, will one be good enough to send a reply? Please tell us all about the hidden areas of Metroid--and tell us, furthermore, if there is an easier way to explore these forbidding regions!
_ Means that there must be a space in the code there.
BOMBS_ MISSLE
SCREW_ ATACK_
(Yes it's in all caps)
You start with 111 missiles, the Ice Beam, Bombs, and 4 energy tanks.
You start with the ball, but can go fetch another one.
You don't have the Long Jump boots, but they aren't around to pick up. The missile door to the long beam is open, but you haven't collected it yet.
Kraid and Ridley's statues have been activated (as well as the door to them opened), and you can get into Tourian. However, they aren't dead yet and can still be killed if it tickles your fancy.
Mother Brain can also fail to show up at all, however, if she is there you can scroll back and forth to make chunks of her sprites dissapear until the way is cleared. The text about getting the heck out will be there, but will be brown in the space that is usually occupied by MB. At any rate, you'll be able to leave at your convenience, without a timer. All but a couple Zebetites will have flown the coop, too.
Since you don't have the LJ boots available to you, you can't get the Varia.
Other misc. missle doors throughout the planet will be opened.
STEP 1: Fire your gun at a door so that it opens. Do not go through the open door, but do enter the doorway just far enough so that your gun and a small portion of your arm go through. When the door closes it will close around you; let it do so.
STEP 2: Now here's the tricky part. Using the controller pad (or joystick if using the "NES Advantage" or similar device), alternately press the "up" and "down" buttons (or alternately move the joystick between the extreme "up" and "down" positions) in a continuous, rapid sequence. If done correctly, your on-screen character, Samus, will literally climb upwards while he is encased in solid wall. (Be very, VERY careful, however, when pressing the "down" button or using the joystick in the "down" position: if you maintain pressure too long on the controller in the "down" position, Samus will roll up into a ball. If he does so while encased in a wall, he cannot again stand up or recover and may become hopelessly trapped. You may then have to reset or restart the game.)
STEP 3: When Samus reaches the top of the screen (don't let him climb entirely off the screen), let go of the controller pad or joystick. Now, repeatedly press the "A" button (the button that makes him jump). Result: as you press, the scene will--if you are in the right place--scroll progressively downwards and Samus will, bit by bit, be carried downwards on the screen along with the ceiling. (If you have a "turbo" feature on your controller, turn it on and maintain continuous pressure on the "A" button to automate this process.) At the same time, a portion of an entirely new--perhaps hidden--room may begin to appear at the top of the screen. You can continue to scroll the scene downwards only until Samus reaches the middle of the screen; in order to scroll more of the scene downwards you must repeat Steps 2 and 3.
When you have scrolled enough of the new scene onto your screen, you can have Samus enter the scene by stepping out of the wall which encases him. Samus can do this in either of two ways: A) He may continue to climb higher and higher into the new scene until he ultimately reaches a door in the wall, or B) He may walk out of the wall anywhere. You can have Samus do the latter only if he is not completely encased by the wall--that is, some portion of Samus' body must be free of the wall. (You can adjust the degree to which Samus is encased in the wall in Step 1 by ensuring that as little as possible of Samus' body disappears into the doorway of the door that is to enclose him.) Please note also that in some scenes, Samus' enemies can attack him even though he is encased in the wall. In such situations, he is entirely defenseless unless he can use his gun against them--which he can do if it is free of the encasing wall.
You can also, in the right places, use the "wall-door" technique to descend through a floor. The procedure is exactly the same as that described in Steps 1 through 3 above, with one significant difference: in Step 3, when Samus climbs to the top of the screen, continue climbing until he entirely disappears from the screen. Then (as before) repeatedly press the "A" button. This time the scene will scroll not downwards, but upwards for a distance of about half a screen's length. By the time it stops, Samus may or may not have reappeared at the bottom of the screen. If he has not reappeared at the bottom of your screen, don't panic--just repeat the "up-down" controller technique to have him climb a bit more. It takes patience and practice, and you will probably Page 3 "lose" Samus more than once.
If this happens, the usual reason is that you have allowed Samus to roll into a ball and he is trapped, or you are in a place where up-down scrolling of the screen is not permitted by the program. Now that you know how to perform the "wall-door" technique, when and where should you employ it? The "wall-door" technique cannot be used just anywhere; its use is permitted only in certain scenes. But the only way to know with certainty whether a given door will permit climbing or not is to try it. Since each side of a door is contained in a different scene of the game, you must try both sides of a door.
Most doors do not permit the use of the "wall-door" technique, but some do. And your use of the technique on certain of these doors will lead you to one of the hidden areas of the game. But before you go off to explore one or more of the hidden areas, there is another important thing you should know: THE DOORS IN THE HIDDEN AREAS ARE VERY DANGEROUS! They are not dangerous in the sense that some terrible enemy may happen to lurk behind them. The principal peril of the hidden areas derives from the fact that some of the doors lead off into nowhere.
Having gone through such a door, Samus may disappear from the screen, but--surprisingly, and much to your dismay--the scene does not change nor show you where he has gone, although if you are lucky you may still be able to hear the sound of his footsteps. In such cases it is sometimes possible to rescue and restore Samus to the screen, by walking and jumping him around offscreen in just the right manner while listening carefully to the sound of his footsteps. Again, there are other apparently normal doors which become "one-way" once you have gone through them, so that you will be permitted to enter a new room or scene only to be trapped there forever (or until you reset the game).
None of the doors in the normal, "documented" game areas ever behave in this unpredictable manner. Unlike the normal zones, navigation through the mysterious hidden areas of Planet Zebes is usually difficult, sometimes frustrating--and it is always quite dangerous to Samus' health. Needless to say, these added hazards make exploration and mapping of the hidden areas more challenging. But consider: the possibility of falling off into the void did not deter Sir Edmund Hillary from climbing Mt. Everest (and unlike your astronaut-friend, Samus, he had no reset button to push in case of emergency).
If you are easily deterred and easily frustrated by such difficulties then you really have no business in exploring the hidden areas of Planet Zebes, have you? (Nor, for that matter, should you be reading this.) Now that you have some idea of the navigational perils that await you-- and assuming that you are made of the "right stuff"--you are ready to head out into the hinterlands of Planet Zebes to investigate the hidden areas. There are three large hidden zones that I know of. As far as I have been able to determine, each hidden area is entirely separate from the others. Here are directions to them:
HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #1: -----------------------
From the elevator landing in Hideout #1: Enter the very first door on your right; proceed right as far as you can, go through another door: you will then be at the bottom of a long vertical shaft. You can use the "wall-door" technique on the door that you just passed through (it will now be on your left), or you can attempt to climb up to the top of the long shaft by jumping from one free-standing block to the next. Either way, make your way to the top of this vertical shaft. (I haven't mapped this area out for you, but there are at least ten additional floors hidden above the ceiling at this point!)
HIDDEN AREA--BRINSTAR: --------------------- First, a word of warning:
Exploring this hidden area is devilishly difficult--more difficult, perhaps, than anything you've ever encountered in any Nintendo game. But if you are truly a person who doesn't give up easily, then give it a try. From the "start" area: Proceed to the right as far as you can, going through three doors. You will be at the bottom of a very long vertical blue shaft. Ascend half way up the shaft: enter the door which appears on the right hand side of the shaft.
Proceed to the right, through a sort of tube (its the only way you can go), through another door: you will be in the middle of a long vertical yellow shaft. Go down to the bottom of this shaft. There will be a door on the right side. Do NOT go through this door, but use your "wall-door" technique on it to go downwards, so that you DESCEND through the floor of the shaft. As you continue to descend, you will pass, in succession, several "dead- end" shaft chambers.
Do NOT enter any of these chambers, for they have no doors nor exits and you will become hopelessly trapped within them! Continue with your descent until you come to a platform-type room with a red door on the left (requires missiles to open) and a blue door on the right. Enter this room--you've arrived! As I said earlier, of all the hidden areas in Metroid this one is the most challenging. Though possible it is extremely difficult to enter this platform room; perfect mastery of the "wall-door" technique is required, or else you'll wind up trapped below the platform or off the screen.
I haven't gotten very far in my exploration of this hidden area--perhaps you will do better. If you do succeed (which is doubtful) be sure to make a careful map of the area; then bestow a favor upon your other, less fortunate or intrepid colleagues by uploading it along with an account of your exploits. Good luck (you'll need plenty of it)! HIDDEN AREA--HIDEOUT #2: ----------------------- There are three different entry points in this Hideout through which you may enter the vast, hidden area which lies above it.
In your explorations, refer to the map below. Each numbered square represents a room; the number itself corresponds to one of the forty different room Page 5 illustrations which are depicted below the map. Blank regions on the map or squares without numbers indicate areas that are as yet unexplored. (The illustrations were created using only characters of the extended ASCII set.)
A)
To get to the leftmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-U-14-20 (This simple code means: From room #1, go down to room #2, then left through rooms #3,3,4,5,5,5,6,3, then up through room #14 to get to room #20.
To go from the last room #3 to room #14 you'll need to use the "wall-door" technique.)
B)
To get to the rightmost entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-R-10-11-11-12-13-U-14-21 (Use the "wall-door" technique to go from room #13 through room #14 to reach room #21.)
C)
To get to the central entry point: From the elevator landing (room #1), proceed along the route of rooms as indicated by the following sequence: 1-D-2-L-3-3-4-5-5-5-6-3-D-36-2-R-7-30-30-8-20-U-14-4-R-3-3-U-14-20 (You'll need to use the "wall-door" technique twice here: first, to go up from room #20 through room #14 and above, and second, to go up from room #3 through rooms #14,20. When going up from room #20 to room #14, it is very important to first jump over to the right-hand side of the screen: then use the "wall-door" technique on the door on the right, NOT the door on the left.
If you study the illustrations of these rooms carefully, you'll see why: the "wall- door" technique works only where there is actually a wall; it will not, however, permit you to climb upwards through a floor and then on into thin air.) Some further explanation of the directions for entry point "C" is in order. You may be wondering why the route to the central entry point of Hideout #2 is so circuitous (which it is, quite literally).
This is yet another of the mysteries of Metroid. The explanation is apparently this: a screen which ordinarily permits only a horizontal transition to the next screen may permit you to enter and leave it in vertical-scrolling mode--if you can manage somehow to enter it while already in vertical- scrolling mode. For example, some rooms whose ceilings ordinarily bar any attempt at vertical motion will permit it if you manage to enter the room--or even a neighboring room--by going up through the floor from a room beneath. Page 6 This is exactly what is happening in the case of the central entry point--it must be approached while in vertical-scrolling mode, and you can do this only if you approach it by coming up through the floor of a neighboring room. Since the game is somewhat devious in this respect, you must be rather wily as you go about exploring it.
If you are not successful in your attempts to enter a hidden area by one means, try approaching it from a different route or direction. And always, keep a record not only of the rooms you discover but of the route you used in approaching them. As you may see from the map, in the "documented" or "normal" area of Hideout #2 there are 84 rooms, while there are (at least) 145 rooms in the hidden area. And without doubt, there are many more rooms waiting to be discovered. This represents a great amount of "undocumented area" indeed, and if we are correct in taking this as a representative example it suggests how much hidden area may also yet be discovered in Hideout #1 and in Brinstar.
Which brings us to ponder what is doubtless the greatest Metroid mystery of all: Why do these hidden areas exist? Where do they lead? Do they conceal some great secret? I have not yet reached the end of any one of these areas, but their exploration is so diabolically difficult a task that one must, at least occasionally, suspect some impish or wicked purpose on the part of the programmers--or perhaps they had no purpose at all. But the creation of these areas is evidently not some mere fluke, not some aberration of the program, but a deliberate act of design. For deep within the hidden areas, one may occasionally see specially-drawn scenes which appear nowhere else in Metroid. Just what ultimate goal or end is behind it all? To date, the game counselors at Nintendo of America know virtually knothing about Metroid's hidden areas--they evidently haven't been briefed by the folks in Japan who wrote the program.
So, my fellow gamesters and loyal Metroid aficionados, it is up to us. Let us broadcast an appeal to the clever designers and programmers of Metroid, and ask that they enlighten these dark spots on Planet Zebes forthwith and dispel the mystery. If any of the programmers who wrote Metroid in Japan happen to read this, will one be good enough to send a reply? Please tell us all about the hidden areas of Metroid--and tell us, furthermore, if there is an easier way to explore these forbidding regions!
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