Metroid Fusion FAQ/Walkthrough

By: Phediuk

3. Archives

3.2. Easter Egg

Oh. My. God. You're actually interested in doing this useless and frustrating task? You're insane.

If I've said it once, I'll say it a million times: the Easter Egg isn't worth a TENTH of the effort it takes to get. But if you're still intrigued, I'll tell you how, where, and when to get it. But I won't tell you in detail, as Zauron's excellent Metroid Fusion walkthrough at GameFAQs will do just that.

After beating Nightmare, and releasing Level 4 Security Locks, it's possible to get back to the Navigation room without getting the Diffusion Missiles. You must start in the area to the upper right of the giant glass tube near the Security Room, start a boost, and then keep the boost until you reach a wall of Speed Booster blocks that you broke through when you first entered the sector. The only way to keep the boost that long is to do a long string of Shinesparks into slopes placed haphazardly around the area. However, you can't make a single mistake, or you have to start from the boost runway again. Obviously, this is very frustrating and absolutely not worth your time to do.

I'm not even going to post the Easter Egg here; it would basically suck any last glimmer of worthiness from this task. Just do it for yourself and find out how disappointing it is. Besides, I've already erased the file where I got the Easter Egg, and I don't plan on getting it again.

3.3. 1% Challenge

To start with, this walkthrough is NOT the place to come if you want help with the 1% Challenge. If you need help, I'll refer you to Super Saiyan's excellent 1% Challenge Guide at GameFAQs. I've just included this section for the sake of completion.

For starters, what is the 1% Challenge? Well, as you should know, there are 20 Energy Tanks, 48 Missile Tanks, and 32 Power Bomb Tanks in the game. Add those up and you get 100. Your percentage at the end of the game depends on how many of these 100 tanks you got throughout. While some of them are cleverly hidden, others are directly in your path, and some of them quite difficult to actually avoid. However, only one of these tanks is absolutely impossible to miss. It's a Missile Tank in Sector 3, during Mission 5. That's the tank that gives you the 1%, hence the 1% Challenge.

The 1% Challenge is quite difficult and entirely optional, and you get no reward for completing it aside from the satisfaction of doing so.

But how difficult IS the 1% Challenge? Actually, it's surprisingly easy, for the most part. In fact, you could just about use my walkthrough for every section of the game, and skip all the tanks I tell you to pick up. There are just a few major trouble spots in the game, where my strategies are entirely inneffective...

1. Nightmare-X. The hardest part of the 1% Challenge. The strategy I use will get you nowhere against this guy.
2. Arachni-X. Due to the shortage of Missiles, you'll need to use a 'camping' technique to beat it. Charged shots are the way to go, but good luck with the second form...
3. Ridley-X. This battle was a joke in the regular game, but turns out to be one of the oughest parts of the 1% Challenge. You must be MUCH more defensive this time around, and learn to avoid his tail hammer.
4. To a lesser extent, Serris-X. You MUST memorize his pattern, or you'll die quickly.

That's all I'll cover in this guide, because SSZ's guide will tell you all of this and more. Go and use it, it's awesome.

3.4. Speed Runs

Not much to say here but a few tips...

-A Pseudo Screw Attack is a man's best frieend during a speed run. Use it-often.

-Only get tanks in your path. NEVER get tannks that force you to sidetrack into another room.

-Be on full aggression against all bosses. Period.

-Only kill enemies in your path, and when yyou do so, use a Pseudo Screw Attack for maximum efficiency.

-Avoid using Missiles unless you must.

-Only save once after each mission. Don't uuse any others.

-Know the game. Play through each mission ttwice to fully familiarize yourself with every false block, enemy location, etc., so that on the second time through, you will know the fastest and most efficient path.

My fastest times are:

w/o 100%: 1:13
w/100%: 1:51