Morph Ball
The Morph Ball (also referred to as the Round Ball, Morphing Ball or by its Japanese name of Maru Mari) is a special add-on to the Power Suit which has become a staple of the Metroid series. When Samus enters Morph Ball mode, her suit safely compresses into a small ball that can role around. She also usually has or can obtain bombs that can be dropped in this mode. The Morph Ball and bombs have been present in every game of the series thus far.
Information
The Morph Ball is a powerful feature of the Chozo Power Suit which has not yet been replicated. It appears that Samus's suit did not originally have this ability, as she usually has to find the Morph Ball power-up first. The primary advantage of the Morph Ball is that Samus can fit through small openings. She also moves faster in ball mode and can avoid attacks more easily. The Morph Ball's primary weapons are bombs and the rarer Power Bombs, which are detailed below. One ability which differs from game to game is whether or not Samus can jump when in Morph Ball mode. Some games have specific upgrades which increase Samus's jumping ability. In other cases, Samus can only mimic jumping by utilizing well-placed bombs. Morph Balls can also activate and/or power machines that contain Morph Ball slots, usually by either placing a bomb or using the Boost Ball.
If Samus does not automatically have a Morph Ball at the start of the game, it will be gained at an early point of the adventure. In Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission, it is located within Brinstar near Samus's starting point. It is located at the same area in Super Metroid, although Samus starts the game further away at Crateria. In Metroid Fusion, the Morph Ball is obtained by defeating Arachnus X on the Main Deck early in the game. In Metroid Prime, Samus starts the game with a Morph Ball but loses it with her other upgrades in an explosion at the beginning of the game, and Samus gains a new Morph Ball at the Chozo Ruins after beating the Plated Beetle. In all other games, Samus starts off with the Morph Ball and can use it for the duration of the game. It even receives special attention in Metroid Prime Hunters, where it functions as Samus's "alternate form", and the other bounty hunters have their own alternate forms which have similarities with the Morph Ball. The Morph Ball was also featured in the non-canonical Metroid Prime Pinball, in which Samus was trapped in Morph Ball form for a majority of the game. She was also able to transform into two 'Phazon Balls' as well as receive two extra clones.
Morph Ball Upgrades
Spider Ball
This is an ability which allows Samus to crawl along walls and ceilings while in Morph Ball form, vastly improving mobility, although the specifics differed depending on the game. In Metroid II, it was implied to be caused by some kind of adhesive and allowed her to move along any solid surface without being effected by gravity. In the Metroid Prime series, the Spider Ball instead only allows Samus to move along special Spider Tracks that run along walls and ceilings, and it utilizes magnetic force. In the latter two Prime games, Samus can use the Boost Ball ability to repel from the track with glass-shattering force.
It was found early in Metroid II in a hidden area that could be found using bomb jumps. In Metroid Prime, it is found in the Quarantine Cave of Phendrena Drifts after defeating Thardus. Samus has it at the beginning of Metroid Prime 2, but it is stolen by the Ing and must be reclaimed by defeating the Spider Guardian at the Dynamo Works area of Torvus Bog. In Metroid Prime 3, it is held by a Chozo Statue at the Powerworks in Skytown.
Spring Ball
This is an upgrade which allows Samus to jump while in Morph Ball form. In Metroid II, it is found after defeating an Arachnus within the game's second area. In Super Metroid, it was found at Maridia in an area that could only be accessed once a skatool tunneled through a wall of sand. In Metroid Fusion, it is referred to as the Jumpball and is gained with the Hi-Jump Boots after defeating the Zazabi at Sector 2. In Metroid Zero Mission, Samus automatically gains the Morph Ball jumping abillity through the Hi-Jump Boots.I n Metroid Prime 3 and the Wii versions of the other Prime games, the Spring Ball is automatically available but coupled with the Morph Ball Bombs (i.e. when Samus loses the bombs in the beginning of the first two Prime games, the Spring Ball effect will be gone as well until Samus gets the bomb power-up again).
Boost Ball
With this upgrade, the morph ball can charge up and energy which is released as a speed boost. While it is useful; in evading enemies, the Boost Ball is most commonly used for areas containing half-pipes. Samus can repeatedly use the Boost Ball while going up and down a half-pipe to gradually build up speed and eventually reach new heights. In the latter Metroid Prime games, it has an extra function of helping to propel Samus to repel Samus from Spider Ball tracks.
In Metroid Prime, it is found in the Phendrena Canyon area of Phendrana Drifts. Samus retains it until the beginning of Metroid Prime 2, when it is stolen by the Ing. It can be reclaimed only after defeating the Boost Guardian at Dark Torvus Bog's arena. In Metroid Prime 3, it is found in SkyTown after defeating the Defense Drone. Samus also automatically has the Boost Ball throughout Metroid Prime Pinball.
Hyper Ball
This is a special technique that is activated when Samus goes into Morph Ball form while in Hyper Ball. It unleashes Phazon energy in what appears to be electricity and attacks strikes most nearby enemies. The Hyper Ball is found at Bryyo's Leviathan after defeating Mogenar.
Bomb
The bombs are small explosives that Samus can drop only while in Morph Ball mode. They can cause (mostly minor) damage to enemies and can also break through certain blocks to unlock hidden passages. They are effective against sandstone and talloric alloy. The bombs are Samus's primary method of defense while in Morph Ball Mode and are particularly effective for fending off attacking Metroids. Bombs can also be used to power some machines with Morph Ball slots. The Morph Ball is immune to the bomb, but the detonation will cause the Morph Ball to bounce in the air. This acts as a substitute for jumping, and with proper timing bombs could be used to pull off multiple Morph Ball jumps into the air in order to reach out-of-reach nooks. Samus can somehow produce countless amount of bombs, although only up to three can be present at a time. In some games, Samus will automatically drop five bombs at the same time if going into Morph Ball mode after fully charging the arm cannon.
In Metroid and Zero Mission, the bomb could be found at a Chozo Statue within Brinstar at an early point of the game and is one of the first power-ups available. In Metroid II, it is once more found early in the game within the hands of a Chozo Statue. In Super Metroid, it was held by what appeared to be a Chozo Statue at Crateria, but it then turned out to be a Torizo that attacked Samus. In Metroid Fusion, the bomb data could be download from a data room in Sector 1. In Metroid Prime, Samus starts off with bombs but loses them amongst various other weapons in an explosion at the beginning of the game. The Morph Ball bomb is regained by defeating the Incinerator Drone at the Burn Dome of the Chozo Ruins. In Metroid Prime 2, the bomb is stolen by the Ing and is regained by defeating the Bomb Guardian at the Agon Temple in the Agon Wastes. Samus also automatically has the bombs at the beginning of Prime 3. In Other M, Samus has the bombs from the beginning but cannot use them until Adam authorizes it following the defeat of the Brug Mass.
Power Bomb
The Power Bomb is a highly potent type of bomb that is often regarded as Samus's most powerful weapon. Samus can only release one at a time, and it will release an explosion that covers the whole screen. Power Bomb explosions destroy all nearby enemies, usually cause massive damage to bosses and reveal new passageways. They are effective against the Bendenzium and Denzium alloys, and Power Bombs can also open yellow hatch doors. Samus can only carry a very small number of Power Bombs on her, but there are usually expansions found at points in the game (similar to Missile expansions) which increase the Power Bomb capacity. It works differently in Other M, where it instead is a charged version of a bomb. Instead of Samus having a set number of Power Bombs, she must wait to charge the next Power Bomb.
In Super Metroid, Power Bomb expansions could be found in any order hidden throughout Zebes. The Power Bombs were used for two special tricks in this game only. One was a healing technique that could only be activated by using a Power Bomb with severely low health and certain amounts of ammunition. This would convert the Power Bomb into a bubble of healing energy to restore Samus's health. The other trick was that single Power Bombs could be combined with a charged beam to perform a special combo blast. In Metroid Fusion, the Power Bombs could be downloaded from a data room in Sector 5. In Metroid Zero Mission, the Power Bomb was originally held by a Chozo Statue, but it was taken by the Space Pirates and then had to be retrieve from the Space Pirate Mother Ship. It is the last item to be found in the game and is completely optional, being primarily used to find more optional upgrades.
In Metroid Prime, it is found at the Central Dynamo of the the Phazon Mines after defeating the Cloaked Drone and navigating an electrified maze. In Metroid Prime 2, it was stolen from Samus by the Ing at the beginning of the game and was retrieve by defeating the Power Bomb Guardian at the Undertemple of Torvus Bog. In Metroid: Other M, Samus has the Power Bomb at the beginning of the game but is prohibited from using it due to its danger (because of the possibility of survivors aboard the Bottle Ship). It is only activated at the end of Samus's battle with the Metroid Queen without any notification and is needed to finish off the Metroid Queen from within her stomach. It is then used to open various new areas for post-storyline tasks, although the Power Bombs also awaken the hostile Desbrachian enemies.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- In the Super Smash Bros. games, Samus will withdrew into the morph ball briefly for some moves. Her down special move is also the Morph Ball Bomb, and it was possible to pull off bomb jumps within the games. Additionally, Samus's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a very similar appearance to the health-restored Power Bomb trick from Super Metroid, although Power Bombs are otherwise absent from the games. A sticker of the Morph Ball from Metroid Prime Pinball also appeared in Brawl, and a trophy of it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.
- In Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Samus makes her cameo appearance at the Metroid-based Geothermal Reactor stage in Morph Ball form at the end of a fight and releases a Power Bomb to defeat Ridley.
Trivia
- The original Metroid instruction manual referred to it as "Maru Mari", its Japanese name which means "round ball".
- The Morph Ball's appearance occasionally changes in the games when Samus gets a new suit or Ball upgrade, primarily within the Prime series.
- A Space Pirate log in Metroid Prime shows that the Space Pirates failed to replicate Samus's Morph Ball (while they had succeeded with most of her other weapons) as four of their prototypes wound up leaving the test subjects "horribly broken and twisted".