Chapter 36: The Masters of Phaaze

But there's a nasty surprise awaiting in the depths. Right at the bottom of the shaft you'll find the home of a huge Sarlacc-like monster as it tries to snap at you with multi-layered jaws. Try to move away from the beast towards the exit, but if it successfully ensnares you simply don't let up with the Hyper Ball to eliminate the threat.

Move through the exit here to discover the Metroid Cavern - home to a massive Metroid nest on the left wall of the region. Leap down the cliff and take a peek inside - a huge interior home to more Metroids than you can count are easily visible. So you know what that means. Three Phazon Metroids will periodically eject from the nest - something in their food must be off as these annoying bugs won't stop skittering about hassling you. Clear the first wave out and step around the corner nearby.

A weird door blocks your path - scan it to learn that this thickly armoured panel can only be harmed by damaging the surrounding optical nodes. Watch them closely, quickly fire at any that open briefly. The Metroids will surely give you madness here, so use the Hyper Ball if any grab hold. With enough damage dealt to the optical nodes, the entire group will open and flail madly as the door's armour plate retracts. Quickly fill it with Hyper Beam fire to blast the obstacle clear.

Step inside the adjacent chamber beyond to find your next exit blocked by a weird glowing blue Phazon mass - will this ever end??? The mass glows blue before summoning packs of Phazon Hoppers - stand your ground and clear out the opposition from here (the burrows all the Phazon Hoppers eject from are too tough to crack). With all targets dispatched, the Phazon mass will promptly explode and release a trio of Phaz-Ing.

Excellent - deploy the Grapple Lasso on each target and overload them with Phazon energy to drastically drop your Phazon meter.

Step around the open corner and move through the exit to find another narrow drop shaft. No other way forward, so take the plunge. Except this shaft has another angry inhabitant. Near the base you'll be ensnared by a huge creature that words surely cannot describe... Scan the thing for a similar assessment - but you'll need to harm the weirdo enough to release its grip.

Open up with Hyper Beam, Charge Beam and Hyper Missile fire, with enough damage handed over it'll release you to the (relative) safety of the floor below. On Hypermode difficulty don't expect to harm it enough before it reels you in - but don't worry about any damage you receive.

Leave the Metroid egg habitat here and move deeper into the adjacent chamber. Here lies a thick tongue-like substance covering the floor, while three Phazon Metroids phase in to give you grief. Deal with all three before filling the tongue-floor with enough weapon fire to break through. Don't mind the swarm of disturbed Miniroids sweeping up from the deep - take the plunge yet again to close the distance to Dark Samus' lair.

Step through the following narrow rocky tunnel to face a sight Samus won't soon forget.

You're now standing in the Genesis Chamber, home to an infant Leviathan still in its early stages of life. Never-ending waves of Phazon Metroids guard this otherwise-helpless being, so expect to have the pesky parasites bothering you constantly.

Scan the massive organ surrounding the tiny Leviathan to learn that its sides look like they can be ripped off. Indeed they can. Clear out any visible Metroids and lock onto the C-icon on the side of the massive organ. Deploy the Grapple Lasso and tear back to expose the innards.

Deep inside the twisting blue core you'll spot the miniscule Leviathan Infant crawling around - hard to believe this tiny being eventually turns into one of those meteor-sized beasts. Scan the creature for your Logbook - be sure to read the entry for a very detailed description of the Leviathan's regular life cycle (how does Samus' Scan Visor pick up all that info?).

The target is vulnerable - begin filling it with Phazon energy from your weapons. Try to score Charge Beam hits to help keep suppressive fire up, but don't expect the being to simply squirm around and let itself meet a nasty end. Not only will Phazon Metroids keep appearing, but the Leviathan Infant will eventually crawl through to the opposite side of the giant organ (use the X-Ray Visor to track it inside the womb).

So let's leap across to the other side. Watch out as you do - you do not want to find yourself falling down to the energized floor below - otherwise you're in for a world of hurt.

But before leaping across the only small safe ledge connecting the two platforms, take a quick look below it. See something strangely familiar lying there? Use your Scan Visor to confirm it: the remains of another Metroid Prime creature lie motionless there - I don't know how it ended up here but it's certainly an advantage to avoid facing a live one again.

Leap across to the opposite platform and keep your distance from the inhabitant already there. A Jelsac on the opposite side won't be happy to see you - quickly destroy it from afar. Face the huge organ and use the Grapple Lasso to rip the thick cover off this side, revealing the Leviathan Infant inside.

Now it hasn't got anywhere to run. Keep attacking the beast and remember to stave off any Metroids giving you trouble. Don't worry too much about your Phazon meter now, just focus on the Leviathan Infant.

Eventually it'll sneak back to the opposite side of the organ, leap back and carefully take out a Jelsac hopping down from above. At long last with enough Phazon dosage, you'll know when the Leviathan's had enough. The entire organ will burst, tearing the mass apart and releasing an entire swarm on Anti-Phazon units. Be certain to draw them all in - you're going to need your Phazon meter as low as possible now.

Take a deep breath and plummet down the gaping hole left by the dead Leviathan in the floor - we've finally arrived.

Watch as Samus gracefully lands atop a round metallic platform - the first piece of non-organic technology seen on this world. That ever-so-familiar tune kicks in as a metallic iris opens in the floor - you must know what's about to emerge from deep below the steamy pit. Right as the iris seals shut (for that added oomph), Dark Samus itself emerges from the abyss - this time in the flesh. "Samus looks like you now!" You might be thinking, and thankfully the coward won't run this time.

Right here and now you'll experience the fight to determine the fate of the galaxy, and whether Phazon emerges victorious or is completely wiped from the face of existence. You're up for multiple final battles, first against Dark Samus and its annoying Dark Echo clones (don't forget to scan Dark Samus for your Logbook), then against something you've probably seen coming for some time now.

All the while that Phazon meter is still slowly rising, inching you towards failure. You'll need to finish these battles as quickly as possible and employ some handy tricks to avoid receiving a beating from Dark Samus, so be sure to refer to the bosses guide for tips.

I'm going to say this now, and please heed this warning. If you're going to attempt to finish the game on Hypermode difficulty, you're in for a frustrating time filled with numerous bouts of learned helplessness. I'm not going to bag Retro in their design of the game at this point, but the difficulty level spikes insanely high from the Veteran difficulty mode - so do not try it unless you're capable of taking the flak and are ready to learn from a lot of mistakes.

But let's not let one difficulty level ruin it for the other two. Upon conquering Dark Samus and its cronies here in the heart of its true origin, we'll finally discover what happened to poor old Aurora Unit 313. Summoning the massive construct from below the chamber, Dark Samus literally enters the twisted creature's brain before assuming control of the combined creation of the Federation, Space Pirates and Phazon.

You're up for two battles here, one against the initial Aurora Unit as it remains attached to the platform, and one final climactic battle as it detaches to freely fly about the chamber. The fights will be incredibly frantic, you're going to need plenty of tricks to conquer this beast before your Phazon meter fills completely. Refer to the bosses guide for tips to finish both forms of the evil supercomputer and ultimately seal the fate of your dark nemesis.

If you remembered to scan the Aurora Unit during the battles, you'll learn that Dark Samus has fused itself, the AU and Phaaze together symbiotically - a very dangerous operation to quickly develop Leviathans. As upon the AU's destruction, Dark Samus emerges from the wreck of the AU with a very nasty headache. No longer in control of the massive Phazon orb around it - an event very similar to that back on Tallon IV occurs. Dark Samus - and Phaaze - have met their fate.

Congratulations, you've done it! After three games and countless battles against the virulent Phazon - watch as Dark Samus disintegrates one final time - right before the planet literally starts to shake itself apart. No need to worry - you've done all the work you need to. Thankfully that final explosion of the Aurora Unit didn't give Samus a lethal dose of Phazon corruption, in fact watch as every drop of Phazon in her body dries up - sending her right back to normal with a now-useless PED Suit.

Samus Aran, in the heart of Phazon - with the Galactic Federation watching her back - has saved the galaxy once again, fulfilling a Chozo legacy, rescuing the Luminoth race from the losing side of a war, and preventing galaxy-wide Phazon corruption, all the while blasting a few Space Pirates for good measure. All in a day's work.

Sit back and enjoy the ending - you may have been hanging out for a planetary explosion in the Metroid Prime series like the good old days - well you won't be disappointed.

The Federation fleet barely manages to escape back through a wormhole before the entire sentient planet of Phaaze supernovas - taking your captured Leviathan battleship and all remaining Pirate forces loyal to Dark Samus with it. Without Phaaze - all the remaining Phazon out in the cosmos is presumably destroyed and utterly annihilated. I sure hope PED Marines weren't in any firefights when they discover their weapons don't work anymore...

Did you manage to find all 100% of items in the game? If so, you'll be treated to two extra cutscenes book-ending the credits. Enjoy the finale, you've earned it!

Finale

Now to wrap up the series, we've got a few points to note. At the very end of the final cutscene (did you see the bonus 100% one? Very interesting...), you'll be asked if you wish to save your game. If you select Yes, next time you select to play this save file you'll start out at the beginning of the game again and can choose a different difficulty setting. You'll need to save your game now to register whichever difficulty setting you just completed the game on and any final credits you picked up on Phaaze.

You'll need to play through Hypermode difficulty at least once if you aim to score all the gold credits, otherwise all the other red credits, blue credits and Friend Vouchers can be scored on a single play-through on any difficulty setting. Refer to the Credits Guide if you need specific details.

One final note: your Logbook scans will all be retained when playing through the game again, so feel free to check up on the Logbook Guide to help fill in any gaps.

Well, that's it from me, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this epic conclusion to the stunning Metroid Prime trilogy, and be sure to try out the first two Primes if Corruption was your first Metroid experience. See you next mission!

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