Super Metroid Guide: 3.7: The Perilous Waters of Maridia

There were certainly a lot of items to collect in the last section; you should now have 10 Energy Tanks for 1099 energy, 300 energy in 3 Reserve Tanks, 160 Missiles, 30 Super Missiles, and 35 Power Bombs. Quite a haul, but we're not done yet! Go ahead and unequip your Ice Beam again (you won't be needing it at all in Maridia.) To continue, climb back up above the broken glass tube, and go through the door in the ceiling.

Nice peaceful music, eh? Anyway, go through the door on the right, blasting open the green gate and killing any Scisers that get in your way as you head to the door. We'll be back here a bit later, but I like to visit the Map Room now, as Maridia is large and can be a little confusing. To get there, roll under the blocks in the middle of this room (where the Scisers are coming out) to drop down into another room; blast open the red door here and get the map data for Maridia, then head through the blue door on the left. Make your way through this tunnel with Boyons and Zebbos, blasting through another green gate; at the far end, drop down into the tunnel outside Maridia. Go back to the broken-tube room and save NOW!

Make your way back up to the room with the Scisers and the green gate. Open the door behind you, blast the gate open again, and kill ALL of the Scisers on the ground (a charged Beam shot each will do). Here comes the tricky part. Go to the right, and start a dash to the left. Super-charge JUST before you reach the door, then once through the door quickly run with the charge to the left. On the platform to the left of the floor door is a row of plants, two of which stick out. Stand in the EXACT spot the leftmost one is, and Super-Jump straight up. If you positioned yourself correctly, you should JUST miss hitting the small platforms on the way up, and blast through some Speed Booster Blocks to a tiny alcove with a pack of MISSILES (165). Whew.

Insectoid's Tip:

You'll know if you super-charged at about the right time if you can see Samus turn white/yellow on her way out the door. This maneuver requires near-precise timing; if you can't get it on the first few tries, reset and try again. I won't blame you if you don't get it the first 20 tries; it took me about that long to learn how to do it right. I HIGHLY recommend saving afterward, if it took you a while to do.

Hold left as you fall out of the alcove to land on the ledge up here. Climb all the way to the top, ignoring the pack of Super Missiles to the right (you'll be getting it shortly). At the top, go through the door.

This large room is dotted with grappling blocks, Scisers, and balloon-like enemies called Powamps. Head down and right, and morph before you go over the edge; hug the left wall (don't worry about the Sciser) and you'll roll into a hidden tunnel. Roll to the left, ignoring the Sciser in here, and pick up the pack of SUPER MISSILES (35) we saw a moment ago. Roll back out of this room and back to the large room; drop down here. Head to the right, jump out of the ditch, and go through the door in the floor on the far right.

There are Skulteras and a new pink variety of Space Pirate in here; your current weapons have no effect on them, so stay clear. This room is divided into several pits; jump over this one to the left, then over the second one. Drop down into the third pit (there should be no door and a single pink Pirate at the bottom); ignore the Pirate and walk through the wall to the right… a secret passage. Blast open the red door and go through.

This room has a peculiar enemy called a Tatori (which looks a little like a giant Ripper), along with several smaller Tatoris. To wake it up, shoot either it or the smaller Tatoris; it will start spinning around and fly back and forth until you step on it. Step on it now while it's still in the middle of the room, and it'll start spinning straight up. Arm your Grappling Beam, and when the Tatori reaches its peak, jump up and latch onto the grappling block up above and slightly to the right. Swing around and land on top of it to collect the ENERGY TANK (11), then drop back down. Lure the Tatori over to the right side of the room, and jump on it to stop it. As it rises, angle up and keep shooting the right wall until you reveal a Missile pack; spin-jump at the wall to collect the MISSILES (170).

Insectoid's Tip:

I had the good fortune on one occasion to be standing near the right-hand wall when the Tatori came spinning towards Samus, and did not jump in time; the Tatori somehow picked up Samus and carried her upward as if she was standing on top of the thing. On impulse I started shooting at the wall to reveal the Missile pack, and collected it without even jumping! So that's another way to collect it, I guess.

Exit this room at a dash, super-speeding right through the pink Pirate (seems they aren't immune to the Speed Booster…), then backtrack to the large room with the grappling blocks along the ceiling. Now, normally you would need to either go back to the beginning of the room and jump to the grappling blocks, or latch onto one of the balloon-like Powamps and swing up on top of one of the blocks, and then swing across to the door in the upper-right. However, there is a faster way to get there.

Insectoid's Tip:

For those who are curious, there is also a door up at the top of the room that leads to the red elevator shaft in Brinstar. Remember this for later!

You'll notice that the ditch at the bottom of the room is just long enough to reach super-speed if you dash across it. After killing the two Scisers that are in the way, start at the door in the floor on the left and dash right, storing the super-charge as soon as you get it. Spin-jump to the platform above and right of the gap here, angle up, and Super-Jump diagonally to the right. You should hit the ceiling just to the left of the door. (Full credit goes to Marshmallow for this trick.) Go on through.

You'll wind up in a small metallic shaft crawling with Scisers; climb up the right side and go through the door at the top. In this sandy area, avoid the Owtches and head right to what looks like a dead end; run through the wall to find a hidden chamber with a pack of MISSILES (175). Head back to the left, up through the opening, and out of the water to the door on the left; go through it.

In this long room, kill any Menus (Maridia Mellows) that get in your way, and avoid the Owtches as you make your way left. At the apparent dead end, jump through the wall and continue, until you end up in a shaft. Watch out for the Menus as you spin-jump up to the platform above, and go through the door there. Keep heading left (past the Zebbo pits) until you fall in a ditch with a Choot. Shoot it, then drop down the center of the ditch to find a small room with a pack of MISSILES (180) and a pack of SUPER MISSILES (40). Jump back out into the ditch, and backtrack all the way back to the metallic shaft. Drop down to the bottom of the shaft and shoot the floor to reveal a tunnel below. Kill the Scisers and blast through the green door on the right.

The music suddenly changes to something more depressing than peaceful; I call this "dark" Maridia. This large metallic room is right smack in the middle of Maridia, and we'll be coming back to it several times. Anyway, drop down and set off a Power Bomb to blow away the floor. Drop into the tunnel, and blast open the red door on the left. Save your game in here, then exit and start dashing to the right. Ignore the odd little Yards, and super-charge when you get to a narrow shaft. Super-Jump up it, and collect the pack of MISSILES (185) sitting there. Go to the right, and stop when you see the Super Missile pack. There are crumble blocks here; point the X-Ray Scope at the floor to spot them, then jump over and collect the SUPER MISSILES (45). Fall down the crumble blocks, and head back to the left (ignore the door on the right).

Back on the ground level of this room, dash left and super-charge before you reach the door to the Save Room. Back up a bit until you're just outside the tunnel, then Super-Jump straight up, and hold left to land on a platform above. Head left and go through the door in the ceiling. Here you'll meet a new enemy called a Mochtroid. Unlike real Metroids, these clones are far weaker, so you shouldn't have any trouble with them (in fact, the Grappling Beam kills them with one hit; keep this in mind for later). This room is a bit of a maze; make your way up, down through a crumble block, right, and down, shooting out the walls and Mochtroids as you go. When the bottom floor is clear, you should have enough room to super-speed from the left through the Booster blocks on the right. Go through the door here, and prepare to face the mini-boss Botwoon.

BOTWOON
HP: 3000
Attacks: poison bolts 24, body 32.

Missiles – 100 (30)
Charged Spazer/Ice/Wave – 300 (10)
Super Missiles – 300 (10)

With the number of Super Missiles you have now, this should be a piece of cake. Botwoon is a snake-like creature that darts in and out of holes on the screen. Occasionally he'll stop and spit poison bolts at you; these are nearly impossible to avoid.

Only Botwoon's head is vulnerable. The easiest time to shoot him is when he stops to shoot bolts at you, but early on you can also hit him when he's moving. I usually wind up making liberal use of the angle up button here.

Aim carefully and shoot Super Missiles at his head when he swims by, and especially when he stops. After 6 Super Missiles, he'll speed up, and he'll get even faster (and VERY hard to hit) after 8. 10 should finish him off.

Insectoid's Tip:

You'll notice that the charged Spazer combo does the same amount of damage to Botwoon. Like with previous bosses, hitting Botwoon isn't the problem; it is WHERE you hit him that matters. If you hit part of his body instead of his head, it won't count.

When Botwoon is down, the right wall collapses, allowing us to proceed. Go through the door on the right.

This is the long sandy room; we'll be coming back here several times. DO NOT fall into the left-most sand-pits (yet), as you'll wind up back near the large metallic room, and have to climb back up here again. Anyway, shoot the Puyos, and start dashing to the right from the drop in the floor next to the door. You will super-speed over several sand-pits and through a bunch of blocks; notice that there is an Energy Tank in the tunnel above you? Find a patch of solid ground, and examine the structure with the X-Ray Scope. There are several hidden tunnels in there, as shown on this crude map:

Insert map here...

There are two ways to reach the Energy Tank:

The narrow passage on the left side. This would require either a Spin-Jump and morph in mid-air, or the Spring Ball (which you don't have just yet).
The longer passage on the right side. For a long time, I thought that the right-hand passage was a dead end, but discovered by accident that there IS a way through. You'll have to bomb-jump several times, and there's room to stand and use the X-Ray Scope, so as long as you don't fall through the hole in the bottom (right into a sand pit), you should be able to collect the ENERGY TANK (12).

Either way, once you have the Energy Tank, make your way out of the structure, being VERY careful not to fall into the sand-pits. Go through the door at the far right.

In this shaft are more Mochtroids and many grappling blocks on the walls. (There is also a passage through the bottom of the right wall, which leads to a Missile Recharge Room.) Arm your Grappling Beam and latch onto the grappling block wall; you'll be able to jump off of the place you latch on, as if you had wall-jumped. Go all the way to the top of the shaft and through the door on the right.

Insectoid's Tips:

Grapple-jumping is tricky; when you latch onto the block, make sure your beam isn't too long. When you see Samus crouched up against the wall, you can let go of the Grappling Beam for a moment and jump off the wall, as if you did a wall-jump. If it looks like Samus is just hanging from the wall, you'll have to try again.
If you have trouble grapple-jumping, try wall-jumping instead, wherever possible; it's actually faster.
Did I mention the Grappling Beam kills Mochtroids with one hit? ;)

This LONG room is filled with Mochtroids and grappling blocks. Drop down, blasting Mochtroids as you go, and latch onto the first grappling block over the sand. Swing to the right, and keep this up until you reach a wall of grappling blocks. Make your way up it, and when you get to the top, drop down on the other side. Continue right, swinging over sand-pits, until you see some grappling blocks higher up. Latch onto the grappling block over the sand here, and swing up; release and latch onto the high grappling blocks. At the top, drop down once more and head right to another wall. There is a single grappling block VERY high up on this wall, and may take a few tries swinging from the grappling blocks down here to get the necessary height to reach it. When you do, though, jump onto the top of this wall. You're finally at the other end of the room; there are two doors here. The red door goes to a Save Room and an Energy Recharge Room; use these if you wish. To proceed, drop down and blast open the green door.

The floors of this next room are covered with fake spikes, so don't panic. Head to the right until you reach the end, then shoot the pipe in the middle of the wall to reveal a pack of MISSILES (190). Go back to the left, and drop through the set of fake spikes nearest the door. You'll fall down and reach an Eye Door; boss time. Blast the Eye Door with a Super Missile and go through to face the boss, Draygon.

DRAYGON
HP: 6000
Attacks: slime causes lethargy, body 40, tail bash 40,
turrets 32, electric current 4.

Missiles – 100 (60)
Charged Spazer/Ice/Wave – 300 (20)
Super Missiles – 300 (20)
Grappling Beam – A LOT, if used right…

You'll drop down and find no boss to be seen at first, but there are some Evirs. Use the time before the boss appears to destroy the turrets on the walls (use a Super Missile on each; it's faster). Eventually, Draygon will appear.

Draygon's attacks are simple: he'll swoop down (you can roll up to dodge these), and eventually he'll stop and start spewing slime all over the place. Shoot these as many of these slime-balls as you can. If the slime hits you, you'll slow down; mash left and right on the Control Pad to break free before Draygon grabs you (at which point he would bash you with his tail).

There are two ways to approach this fight:

The usual way. Shoot the slime for refills, and when he stops spewing it, arm your Super Missiles and let him have it (aim for his belly). Morph out of the way of his swoops, and repeat. It takes 20 Super Missiles to finish him.
The easy way. This is actually quite a time-saver, if you do it right. Make sure you destroy all the turrets; doing so leaves behind an electric current (like in the Wrecked Ship). Hang around the left side of the room, and when Draygon starts spewing slime, let it hit you, and make sure you're facing left when Draygon picks you up. At this point, arm your Grappling Beam (yes, you read that right) and when you're close enough to one of the busted turrets, latch onto it. Samus will lose several tanks worth of energy, but the raw amount of current passing through her to Draygon kills him in only a few seconds!

Collect the refills, and go through the flashing door on the left. Shoot the Chozo Statue's marble for the SPACE JUMP! You can now continuously spin-jump in mid-air (takes practice), eliminating the need for the Grappling Beam in most cases.

Insectoid's Tip:

My brother also had trouble with Space-Jumping on his first game. I still have trouble with it after all these years. The trick is to form a sort of rhythm tapping the Jump button; you'll get it eventually.

Exit this room, and use it now to jump back up to the door you came in. Space-Jump up through this shaft, and back through the door on the left. Backtrack through the long room, saving on the way (trust me; you'll be doing a lot of Space-Jumping soon). At the other end of the room, go through the door.

Back in the shaft with the Mochtroids, drop to the bottom (ignore the flashing door) and shoot the door open, then from the far right dash through it. Super-speed through the long sandy room to break the blocks, then fall into one of the left-most sand-pits. You'll sink into a sandy pit filled with Bulls (I call these 'Bull-pits.' But perhaps 'Bullpens' would sound better?); you have no choice but to keep falling, down into another tunnel. There are Zoas here; raid their nests if you want refills. Go left through the door, then left back into the large metallic room. Save if you'd like.

At the bottom level, go right until you reach a dead end. Not quite; shoot the floor to reveal a tunnel below you; drop down and head left, ignoring the Yards, until you reach the first of two sand-pits; sink down into it, and you'll fall through a Bull-pit to another chamber. In here, you'll fall to the bottom. Jump up and climb the platforms to the left to reach a pack of MISSILES (195). Drop back down and go to the other side of the room. Jump up the platforms, and morph; roll onto the crumble block below and hug the right wall to roll into the nook, then shoot away the block to reach the pack of POWER BOMBS (40). Drop back down, morph into a ball, and roll as far to the right as you can go.

You'll eventually fall down another pit to a tunnel with a bunch of Evirs floating around. Kill them as you make your way to the right, and go through the door at the end. Ignore the door on the right in this room, and latch onto the single crumbled grappling block in the ceiling, then immediately let go; it disappears after a moment. Space-Jump up through the newly-made hole, all the way to the top of this narrow shaft.

Insectoid's Tip:

Getting through the hole is tricky, even with the Space Jump. I've determined that it should take only two spins (two presses of the Jump key) from the left-hand platform to get into the hole; you'll just have to practice.
Using the Space Jump is NOT the only way to get through the hole. If you unequip the Space Jump (or if you came here directly from the Wrecked Ship, via Crateria and the high-speed tube), you can attempt a precise spin-jump off the surface of the sand below. While possible, it is very difficult; the one time I managed it was when I made a normal (non-spin) jump from the right-hand platform, and then a spin-jump off the sand. If your timing and aim is right, you'll jump right through the hole. Then, you can either wall-jump or Space-Jump up the long shaft.

Watch out for the Menus at the top; if they hit you, you might fall and have to jump all the way back up. Once you get up here safely, go to the right and drop down; find the crumble blocks and fall through them until you get to a door on the right. Arm your Power Bombs NOW, and go through.

Insectoid's Tip:

If you have "ICON CANCEL" set to 'AUTO', you'll need to select your Power Bombs VERY quickly upon reaching the next room!

When you enter the room, IMMEDIATELY drop a Power Bomb to blast away the bendezium wall on the right. The robotic thing in here is called a Shaktool, and it will break through the solid blocks for you, so don't shoot it! This involves a LOT of patience; it takes a minute or so for it to get to the other side, but it's the ONLY way to get through. Ignore the enemies at the other end, and go through the door.

In here, morph and roll under the block, then roll left, down, and right, bomb-jumping your way over to a Chozo Statue. Shoot its marble and grab the SPRING BALL! Yeah! Now you don't need to bomb-jump anymore. Use your new toy to jump back up the tunnels to the entrance, and backtrack through the Shaktool tunnel. When you reach the room with the crumble blocks, blast the Puyos and go to the left, falling through some more crumble blocks and shooting out some sandstone blocks to drop into the room below. Go through the door on the left, and then through the next door.

We're back in the Evir room; Space-Jump to the other side, and go through the door. Drop a Power Bomb to blast away part of the ceiling; climb up and blast open the green door in the ceiling, and jump in. You'll shoot through a LONG tube, all the way to a large sandy room high above the large metallic room. In here, head up and right, blasting enemies as you go, until you reach a pit. There is a flashing door below you; it was locked until you defeated Draygon. Getting to it involves Space-Jumping DOWN and then over to the ledge (a tricky affair that I often mess up; if you fall, you'll just have to Space-Jump back up). Go through the door.

In this long shaft, Space-Jump up to the top, avoiding or shooting the Puyos and Choots that get in the way. At the top, go through the door. In front of you here is a pile of Puyos just sitting there. Blast them out of the way, and go through the next door. Oh no… the door turned metal. And this room is full of those pink Space Pirates you can't destroy! Drop down to the very bottom and head to the right; shoot the Chozo Statue's marble to uncover the PLASMA BEAM! YEAH!! This mighty green Beam is three times as strong as the Spazer (which is now unequipped; it can't be used at the same time as the Plasma).

Opening that metal door above is a cinch now. Blast all of the stupid pink Pirates into nothing, and the door will unlock. Go through it, and notice how the Plasma Beam blasts through ALL of the Puyos here in one shot! Backtrack to the large sandy room, and fall to the very bottom, into the water. (The door on the right, above water level, leads to an elevator to east Crateria and the Wrecked Ship.) Head right, and go through the door at the end of this tunnel, and then through the flashing door (which was also locked until you defeated Draygon).

It's been a while since you saw a Cacatac, hasn't it? These blue ones are basically the same as their Brinstar counterparts. But with the Plasma Beam, you can blast them away in one shot. Blast the Cacatacs and go up and through the door on the right. In this room, drop down and kill the Cacatac, then morph and bounce through the narrow gap on the right. Space-Jump to the right until you see some more Cacatacs; blast them and Space-Jump up and over the wall here, and go through the door at the bottom.

We're back in the shaft with the grappling blocks and Mochtroids. Drop down, shoot open the door, and from the far right dash through once again. Back in the long sandy room (last time!), super-speed through the blocks, and sink into one of the left-most sand-pits again. Notice as you fall through the Bull-pit that the Plasma Beam wipes out even the Bulls in one shot! Anyway, once you're back in this tunnel, go left through the door, back into the large metallic room.

Go back down into the secret tunnel again, only this time super-speed (from the far right) over the first sand-pit to reach the second; go ahead and sink in. You'll reach another small chamber with two items; they're both on the left side this time. Jump up to the platform, and shoot the blocks out of the way. Morph, then bounce up and right into the tunnel above without falling through the crumble block (tricky!). Spring to the right and bomb the marble for the final RESERVE TANK (4), then head to the left and collect the pack of MISSILES (200). Drop down through the crumble block, then morph and roll around near the left side of the room to find the pit out.

We're done collecting items in Maridia, so head to the left, Space-Jumping past the Evirs to the door, and go through this door and the next as well. We're back in the room above where the Map Room is located. Backtrack from here to the tunnel below Maridia, and head right, back into Brinstar.

Blast the Super Missile block to the right of the elevator, and reenter Kraid's Lair.

Go down, bombing through the tunnel, and through the door in the ceiling. Head right, blasting the Kihunters out of the way, all the way to the far wall. Drop a Power Bomb to reveal a tunnel leading to a Missile pack; spring up into it and drop down to collect the MISSILES (205). You'll fall through some crumble blocks into the little tunnel leading to the Save Room. Bounce out, and return to the elevator room.

Blast away the Super Missile block, then roll through and take the elevator down to Norfair.

Back here after quite a while; I recommend that you reequip your Ice Beam now. Go down through the lower-right door and save your game; there is a tricky item we need to collect before going to Ridley's Lair. When you're ready, climb up to the upper-left door, and enter at a dash, super-speeding past the shutters and through the Booster blocks. Drop a Power Bomb to blast away the blocks and drop down, and begin heading left, shooting the Dessgeegas and Mellas (Norfair Mellows). (You could have gone this way when we were in Norfair last, but it would have been out of the way.) Go through the door at the end SLOWLY!

If you go in too fast, you'll notice right away why I said slowly; all the platforms (save the single block next to the door) are crumble blocks, and it is tricky to get back up again if you fall. From where you're standing, shoot the wall opposite you to reveal a Missile pack; it will disappear after a moment. Before you got the Space Jump, the easiest way to get this pack was to freeze and use the Sova on the platform below you as a stepping-stone to reach it. You can still do it that way, but you can also simply shoot the block and Space-Jump all the way over to collect the MISSILES (210).

Insectoid's Tips (for the old way):

You won't be able to see the platform below you when you walk in. Morph and bounce up; when you land, the screen will be showing several blocks lower than before.
On freeze location: Your best bet is to freeze the Sova when it is on the left side of the platform, just to the right of the left edge.
In rapid succession: freeze the Sova, shoot the block hiding the Missile pack, Space-Jump to the frozen Sova, then hang-ten off the Sova and Space-Jump at the wall, collecting the Missiles.

After collecting the Missiles, drop down to the bottom of the shaft, and go through the door at the bottom. Start dashing now, and you'll super-speed through Multiviolas, red Space Pirates, Speed Booster blocks, across a crumbling bridge, and some more Booster blocks before winding up in the vertical shaft we were in just before Crocomire earlier. Go through the lower door on the right, through the room with the Dragons and the Energy Recharge Room. In the room with lava and Yapping Maws, simply Space-Jump all the way across, then go through the door at the end. Open the blue gate and roll through the passage into the shaft with Violas we visited earlier on the way to the Wave Beam. Drop down to the bottom, then blast open the yellow door and go through.

This is a large room filled mostly with lava. The narrow tunnel straight ahead is a dead end, so don't bother with it. Now that you have the Gravity Suit and Space Jump, you can traverse the lava lake. Drop down into the lake, and when you get to the bottom, head left a little and then Space-Jump up and out. (Try to avoid the Namihes as you go; their fireballs are more damaging than those from Funes.) Jump into what looks like Ridley's mouth and go through the door.

Index

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