Proto:Metroid Prime

This page details one or more prototype versions of Metroid Prime.

To do: Need more descriptions for things (still) and possibly re-organize this page.

In 2002, Nintendo released Version 7, 8 and 9 of their in-store kiosk disk, which included a Metroid Prime demo.

Early Menu and Build Date

Version	Action Replay Code
NTSC-U Kiosk	0035ECFB 00000000

An unfinished title screen menu can be accessed when byte 0x1b in the game tweaks is set to 00. This title menu uses the rest of the older background videos left on the disc after the ones for the demo finish. The menu is very barebones, offering functionality to start a new game or load one of three saved games or change a limited selection of options. Notably here the title screen lets you choose what world to spawn into, though there is only one world available in the demo (frigate).

Build date Jul 24 2002 time 14:11:18

(Source: http://www.metroid2002.com/retromodding/wiki/Tweaks_(Metroid_Prime)#Game, Woofmute, Gilgamesh)

Debug Map Teleport

Version	Action Replay Code
NTSC-U Kiosk	0035ECFB 00000000

Along with the unfinished title screen and build date, a debugging tool to teleport to any room visible on the map is present. When the code is activated, pause to bring up the map and highlight any room (going to the map station first makes this more useful). Press Z to load into the highlighted room at the normally unused spawn points placed in those rooms. You will spawn with whatever item loadout the spawn point has set.

Differences

Title Screen

Proto	Final

Most notably, the title screen is much darker (due to the "scanlines") and the logo in the center is different from the final version. There is no file select screen because this is a demo. However, videos of the transitions from main menu to file select screen, etc. to etc. exist in the final game's files.

Save Function

The prototype lacks a save function; all Save Stations are disabled.

Pause Menu

Proto	Final

The pause menu consists only of a simple map viewer in place of the Inventory Screen. The "Opened doors" are blue instead of green and the "Closed/All Beams" Doors are white instead of blue. Also the player location "peg" is white and triangular instead of green and roundish.

World Map

Proto	Final

The world map in the demo is unfinished and contains remnants of an older world layout for the game. At this time, the world map only contains Tallon Overworld (middle), Chozo Ruins (bottom), Phendrana Drifts (right), and Phazon Mines (top). According to internal room names, Magmoor Caverns was once part of Tallon Overworld. It is unknown if the Crashed Frigate was implemented yet.

HUD

Proto	Final

In the final, the HUD is much brighter, enhancing the 3D effect. The energy bar was changed, with the extra energy tanks and the bar switching places, and the word "Energy" being moved from the right to the top of the HUD. The beam icons lack their respective colors and have a turquoise color instead. The edges of Samus' helmet are also different, being more curved than in the prototype. Blue lights were added to the bottom, and the frame was brightened.

Opening Credits

Proto	Final

In the prototype, the message in the opening reads "Orbit inclination 51.60" 226 kilometers above the planet tallon IV." and has a different, blue-coloured font, while in the final version it reads "Unidentified distress beacon has been tracked to a derelict space vessel in orbit above Tallon IV" in a white font different from the one in the prototype.

Music

Title

Demo	Final

Prologue

Demo	Final

Chozo Ruins Main Plaza

Demo	Final

Ice Valley

Demo	Final

Sounds

Sounds ripped from the demo:

Ripped Sounds Demo Ripped Audio.

Weapons and Visors

To do: Add images of the final game's beams and visors for comparasion.

Beams

All beams in the prototype vary somewhat from the final version.

Ice Beam

• The Ice Beam takes longer to start charging. It takes approximately 2 more seconds to start.
• Samus starts in the Frigate equipped with the Ice Beam; she does not have this beam here in the final. Additionally, its position is on the right (where the Wave Beam would be in the final).

Plasma Beam

• Has a different texture than the final. Its texture is more like fire than magma.
• The Plasma Beam's charged shot is a slow ball of fire, unlike the final's large "beam".
  • Notably, the final game's inventory description for the Plasma Beam mentions this version instead of having an accurate description of the final charged shot:

Charge the Plasma Beam to fire a sphere of plasma. Enemies struck by this blast will be engulfed in flames for a few moments.

• • The slow ball of fire follows the nearest enemy without having to lock onto that enemy.
  • The charging animation for the Plasma Beam is incomplete.
• The Plasma Beam is missing many of its sound effects and has a different firing animation for its charge shot.
• An uncharged Plasma Beam shot lasts much longer than the final version, giving it a much slower rate of fire.
• It also seems to prolong the animation of whatever it hits; this is most noticeable when used on Parasites.
• Collision detection involving it seems off; it has a tendency to "miss" completely and it sometimes fails to burn enemies.
• It seems to have multiple hitboxes and ignores shields (the latter seems to be intentional).

Wave Beam

• The Wave Beam seems to be unable to damage Auto Defense Turrets, instead of disabling them immediately.
  • Does a lot more damage when compared to the final; two uncharged shots can quickly dispatch a Space Pirate.
• The charging animation for the Wave Beam is incomplete.
• The Wave takes longer to start charging. It takes approximately 2 more seconds to start.
• The Wave Beam functions slightly differently from the final version; uncharged shot fire 4 shots in a plus pattern rather than the final's 3. A screenshot on the demo disc shows that this was a later change.

Other Weapons

• Missiles work slightly differently from the final version: the Y button activates missiles. Pressing Y again in "missile mode" fires a missile. This behaviour was removed in the final.
• Power Bombs can only be used whilst the player is completely still. Upon use, the player cannot move until the animation ends (playing the "Game Over" sound at the peak of the explosion).
  • Presumably, this would have been used to test the death animation in Morph Ball mode.
• Bombs have a different explosion effect from the final, resembling a lingering blue orb.
• Charge Combos are present and work as they do in the final version, though they have a different (and much longer) start-up animation.
  • Missile costs are lower than in the final; all Charge Combos use 5 missiles to fire as opposed to 10 (5 for the Super Missile) in the final.
  • You start with all beam combos by default, even though you don't start with the beam that has that combo.
  • All charge combos besides Plasma Beams's aren't any different.
• The Flamethrower is somewhat buggy and does not work as intended.

Scan Visor

• Scanning takes a fair amount longer than in the final.
• All Scan Points use the orange icon, whereas the final has both orange and red points.
• The game does not pause upon completing a scan.
• The dialogue box that displays text is mostly silent in the final.
• The Logbook presumably is disabled for the demo; no scans are recorded to it.
• The scan text seems to be different.

Thermal Visor

• The Thermal Visor uses a different palette from the final, consisting of colours ranging from red to blue. Additionally, its sound effect is different.
  • Additionally, there is a static effect over the screen and most of the visual elements are missing, except for visors and beams.
  • The Thermal Visor's beeping noise that it plays when equipped seems to be different.

X-Ray Visor

• The X-Ray visor has an old, runic/ancient circular look.
• The X-Ray visor targeting reticle is always visible. Also, the roundish dashes around the reticle move left or right around the reticle depending on which way you turn the visor.
• The X-Ray visor's HUD is circular, with the warning indicator and missile count around the circular HUD.
• The X-Ray Visors palette doesn't seem to make things transparent, such as the arm cannon.

Early Title Screen

Present in the videos directory is an unused movie of what appears to be a very old main menu screen loop:

A variation of this early logo (without the subtitle) appears in image 6 and 7 of the Metroid Prime gallery on the "Nintendo GameCube Blockbuster Preview Disc 2002" DVD.

• 

  Image 6

• 

  Image 7

Included Rooms

No other worlds (like Phendrena drifts and Tallon IV) are present on the disc. No "extra" rooms are included in the Space Pirate Frigate.

Inaccessible Equipment

While inaccessible in normal gameplay, most of the final's equipment is present, coded, functional, and can be activated using Action Replay codes:

Action Replay code	Equipment	Notes
00372C4B 00000001	Wave Beam	Fires four shots instead of three.
00372C53 00000001	Plasma Beam	Uses different textures to the final version. Animations and sounds seem unfinished.
00372C6F 00000001	Power Bomb
00372C83 00000001	Thermal Visor	Uses a different palette and SFX from the final version.
00372CA3 00000001	X-Ray Visor	Does not work correctly. When switching to it, the game appears to be unable to read data related to the Visor and crashes. However, by changing another value in the same area of memory (0x00372C1F), one can make the game switch off a Visor, including the X-Ray Visor (0x01), which gives approximately one second of correct x-ray vision before it switches to the Combat Visor.
00372CAF 00000001	Space Jump Boots
00372CCB 00000001	Boost Ball
02372C54 000003E7 02372C58 000003E7	Always Have 999 Missiles
00B87BC6 00000099	Make X-Ray visor work	You must be in emergency evacuation area where the injured Space Pirate is.

As mentioned above, this area of memory holds several more flags and values that toggle or otherwise change the available equipment, such as the current amount of Energy Tanks.

To do: More information about equipment (maybe?), maybe more about this memory area.

Unused Models

An early version of the Varia Suit featured pads on the left hand.

An unused pick-up model with an unknown purpose.

Demo Exclusive Models

These models were used in the demo, but not in the final game.

A morph ball exclusive to the demo. The color scheme suggests it's meant for the gravity suit, however there is no further evidence to support this theory.

An enemy named Sova that appeared in the demo but never made it to final.

Wave and Plasma Beams, respectively.

Inventory Screen

While the inventory screen is not accessible, there are unused strings for it, containing descriptions of some items.

Inventory Screen
Arm Cannon
Beam Upgrades
Morph Ball Upgrades
Suits
Visors
Secondary Items
Powerups
Default visor ( UP on D-Pad )
Used to unlock elevators and doors and download enemy info ( LEFT on D-Pad )
See invisible enemies and invisible paintings of missile icons on walls ( RIGHT on D-Pad )
Paints hot/cold objects with patriotic colors ( DOWN on D-Pad )
Default beam ( UP on C-Stick )
Shoots shards of ice ( RIGHT on C-Stick )
Shoots purple stuff ( DOWN on C-Stick )
Shoots plasma ( LEFT on C-Stick )
[insert description here]
Additional jump while still in air
Press and hold L while looking at a grapple target
Hit Y in first-person mode to activate
Hit Y to fire while missile launcher is active
Default suit
Protects from lava damage
Cancels out water physics
???
Really big missile with a really cool particle effect
Seeks out nearest enemy to damage
Deals out mediocre damage for the low cost of 3 missiles per second
Freezes all enemies within blast radius
Who knows
Hit Z while in first person mode
Charge A while in morphball and let go when you're glowing yellow
Hold R while in morphball
Hit B while in morphball
Hold still and hit Y while in morphball
Gives you 10 energy units
Gives you 20 energy units
Would probably give you 1 power bomb, if it existed
Tanks of extra energy

Full Walk-through (with all items)

This page or section has one or more broken YouTube links. Please find an archived version of the video(s) or a suitable replacement.

This video comes with a full walk-through with explanations:

Demo-Only Glitch in Bio Tech Room

This video shows how to do a glitch in the room "Bio Tech". This glitch is not present in the final game.