Metroid Prime 2: Echoes/Screw Attack

Sanctuary Temple

Up next comes a major bit of exploration, but this time the boss battle is near the start rather than at the end. To start, return to the Reactor Core.

Reactor Core

Locate the Yellow door on the upper level and blast it open.

Transit Station

Don't go in too far because you are immediately attacked by a sentry. Defeat it, go into the room a bit further, and defeat another which appears in the next doorway on the left. There is a cracked window made from Denzium here, so break it with a Power Bomb to reveal a portal, then go through.

Hive Portal Chamber (Dark side)

Logbook

Dark Ingsmasher (Limited chance)

The dark, tougher version of an Ingsmasher is waiting for you in one of the alcoves on the far side. Be sure to get a scan because these don't appear often, then defeat it you would a regular Ingsmasher except use Light beams when possible. The Ingsmasher broke through the glass protecting its alcove giving you the chance to go inside, so use the portal there.

Transit Station (cont.)

In case you haven't guessed already, we're going to be doing a bit of portal hopping in this room. Follow the tunnel to the next alcove and use the portal there.

Hive Portal Chamber (cont.)

Follow the Spiderball track to a third alcove above the other two.

Transit Station (cont.)

Upgrade

Power Bomb Expansion #4

Follow another Spiderball track to cross over the main room and into a small room opposite the alcoves. Here you can collect a Power Bomb Expansion as your reward for completing the maze. Just use the Spiderball again to escape.

At this point you may want to go back to the Reactor Core for a quick save before going on. Then continue to the next area.

Main Research

Upgrade Missile Expansion #42

Logbook Caretaker Class Drone (Only chance) Torvus Falls

This is a large and complicated area. First defeat the quads here, then, before doing anything else, Spider back to where you came in and get a scan of the top of the large cylinder in the center. It's the boss for this room but you won't get a chance to scan it later. Drop down and scan the hologram next to the Yellow door here; the door leads back to Torvus and we'll be covering it later.

To the right of the Yellow door is a Spider Ball track with hammers, rolling pins and other implements of destruction. Time your way past the various obstacles — there are too many to go into much detail — to reach a Missile Expansion.

Now switch to the Echo Visor and locate the emitters locking a door on one side. Shoot all three to open the door and reveal a portal, then go through. You may notice that the drone in the cylinder starts to get excited.

Staging Area (Dark Side)

There are two Hunter Ings here and the battle can be awkward because there are no beacons or crystals to help keep them in check. When they're gone, switch to the Echo Visor again and locate another set of emitters to shoot. Get all four, then scan the panel that's revealed. A hole opens in the floor allowing you to drop down below the central cylinder where another portal is waiting. Before using it though, wait in the safe zone until your health is completely restored. There is another exit you can reach at this point but it's a dead end for now.

Main Research (cont.)

Now it's time to confront the boss here; there's no actual boss bar with this but it has boss music and it can be a tough battle, especially on your first playthrough. Start by Spidering up the track.

Caretaker Drone

There is a ring of Spider Ball track around the edge of the cylinder and you need to stay on it to avoid the electrified floor. This will be a problem because the drone's attacks will knock you off and then you'll need to bomb jump back up; this is harder than it sounds because the electricity seems to interfere with both the bombs and the Spider ability, but keep trying. Meanwhile, the drone will attack with electric arms, so avoid them by moving away if possible, and Boost jump across if they catch up to you. The idea is to destroy the red sensors that occasionally pop out below the drone; do this by Boost jumping into them. They're not in the center through so you have to align yourself with them to get a hit in. When the sensors are destroyed the drone's main control pops out instead and you need to Boost jump into it the same way.

The drone rises a bit and now you must defeat it a second time. There is a difference this time in that the Spider Ball track is broken into two sections, forcing you to Boost jump more often. Otherwise the battle is the same and when you beat the drone again you get a third round with the track divided into three sections. The thing to remember here to not to Boost jump from the middle of a section since otherwise you land in the gap between the other two sections. The sensors do drop health pickups, but they are so small so it's best not to count on them.

When the battle is over, Spider up to the top, then follow the tunnel and drop into a hole. Follow the track down to reach a high ledge. There is no other reward at this point, the whole battle was just to reach this ledge. Note that if you fall off the ledge instead of doing the obvious thing and going through the door here, you can get back again by re-entering through the portal and following the Spider Ball track inside the cylinder again, this time the drone wont' be there.

Central Area Transport West

Upgrade

Missile Expansion #43

An Orb Cannon is here but it's sealed in a cylinder and you must clear the sonic lock. So switch to the Echo Visor and clear the emitters. Once this is done, roll into the cannon to be shot repeatedly until you reach the top. There is still an expansion to get here though, so drop down a level and look for the morph ball track in the wall. You can follow the track in two directions and from there there are multiple paths down a kind of maze back to the start. You need to to follow the correct path to get the expansion, which shouldn't be hard to find. If you don't want to work it out yourself, use the left path at the top and then go right whenever you have a choice. Use the Orb Cannon to get back up to the top.

Watch Station

Upgrade Beam Ammo Expansion #3

Logbook Sanctuary Falls

This is another large room and the first thing you may notice is that there's no bottom to it. There's some platforming to do here but remember that if you fall you only take 10 points of damage and are placed back a short way. First hop onto one of the floating platforms and clear the Rezbits that are lurking around. Look for a White door and jump to the ledge in front of it. We'll be going in there soon, but first scan the hologram there, then jump to the White door and to a ledge on the right where a Spider Ball track start. Continue left on the track where there is a branch going up and follow it to then where you can drop off to a platform with an Orb Cannon.. Note that if you continue right at the start you'll be take to a door which, on the map at least, looks like it leads back to Sanctuary Temple; it's really a dead end though.

Use the cannon and grab on to another track before you fall. This is a long and tricky track to follow, and watch especially for spots where you need to bomb jump before the track carries you to a barrier which knocks you off. Fortunately there are red markers above and below the track at the exact spots you need to drop a bomb in order to reach the next section. Eventually you come to a fork where you need to take the left path. Continue on and, perhaps after a few tries, you'll find yourself in a tunnel. At one point in the tunnel you are given the choice between going forward (i.e. the direction the camera is facing) and going right; continue forward. There is a short tunnel with a Beam Ammo Expansion at the end. Go back and follow the tunnel right to be dropped down near where you started.

Go back to the White door and this time go through.

Watch Station Access

Upgrade

Energy Tank #11

Drop off the ledge and grab the Energy Tank. Now scan the panel nearby to lower Grapple points in the long bottomless corridor next to it. This creates a shortcut back to Main Gyro Chamber; you may have noticed the White door there before but it's no longer a dead now. As long as you have the shortcut, you might want to use it to get in a quick save before going on.