prof | Let's Play Metroid

Zero Mission Chapter 4: Get a Grip

We're in a brave new unexplored frontier!

Last chapter gained us Bombs and two missile tanks, bringing our item rate up to 9%.

Towards destiny!

...is what I'd like to say, but I can't jump high enough, and to the right is just more lava.

Well!

Time to explore.

More enemies flying out of pipes!

Unlike the sissies before, these guys take a couple hits to kill.

These fire monsters serve the same role as the spiked bugs in Brinstar - crawling around on walls blindly.

I could get that missile, but it'd take some tricky bomb jumping, and... well, we'll get back to that later.

After a while, you start to develop an intuition for Secret Passages in these games.

Going down requires, once again, awkward bomb jumping, so we're gonna go up!

Another elevator?!

But I just got here!

CRATERIA

A mysterious new realm to explore!

To the right, and I'm almost immediately faced with water!

Water's a pain. It makes me sluggish and slow to jump.

Instead of dealing with the water area, I shall go up, and see what awaits here!

The Chozo Ruins are just another part of Crateria, really.

This is looking important, though!

These passages are narrow enough that I have to propel myself around with bombs!

That strange block is keeping me from moving upwards, but...

DID SOMEBODY ORDER A SECRET PASSAGE

More strange blocks...

...and an item!

Unknown Item
Required Item Type: Unknown Analysis inconclusive. Item incompatible with current suit.

While it doesn't do anything directly for me, I can destroy these blocks now!

That puts this one right in my path!

Missile Tank
Optional Item Type: Expansion Missile Capacity: 20 -> 25

I can advance through here now!

Whatever else they did, the Chozo had some pretty sweet doors.

The door has sealed behind me!

Well, I'll just run on ahead and

HEY

No boss appearing... no way back up... time to check the walls!

Aha!

Let's see where this takes us.

NEW ITEM

Power Grip
Required Item Type: Exploration Grab and hang from ledges and corners.

This is the answer to a great many mysteries I have encountered of late!

When I come back out, the statue is rising!

Thanks to the Power Grip, I can make all of these jumps!

Let's see what we can do from a grab position.

We can just climb straight up...

Jump off of the edge...

Even attack, in a variety of directions!

It's quite a versatile skill.

And we escaped from the chozopit!

I can even go straight from a grab into the Morph Ball, if there's a 1-tile high tunnel above!

And then a nice long fall back down...

And we have come full circle!

BACK TO NORFAIR

Would barely have been able to get back without the Power Grip!

And this time, I can just grab the ledge, roll up...

Missile Tank
Optional Item Type: Expansion Missile Capacity: 25 -> 30

And our backtrack is complete!

Ending in the same room we started the chapter in!

To be continued!