Movement Systems

Space Jump

The age-old space jump is about as simple as simple gets; after jumping, hit the jump button again to get an extra boost of air. When you obtain this, numerous areas of the game that were previously unreachable will become passable.

Gravity Boost

The gravity boost will make your underwater travel that much more easy, as it will let you forcefully propel you past the resistance of the water, making your underwater movement as quick and easy as that on the surface. In addition, you can tap the B button three times while underwater, with the third tap giving you a short burst of propellant that'll let you make jumps that would normally be impossible to manage.

Grapple Beam

Again, a fairly simple concept: when you see a grappling point (which appear in your HUD as large claws), you can attach to it with your grapple beam by holding down the left trigger. (Just make sure you're not actually trying to lock onto an enemy!) While you're grappled, you can adjust your movement by tilting left or right on the analog stick, or release yourself by letting go of the left trigger.

When you spot a wall like this, you'll know that you can jump up it with your wall jump.

Screw Attack

Although ostensibly an attack system, you're going to be using the Screw Attack to move around much more often than you'll be using it to kill things. It's essentially a supplement to your space jump, in that you activate it by hitting B after space jumping; when you do, Samus will roll up into a ball of energy and propel herself across great distances. You can keep tapping B for extra distance, but only up to a maximum of five times; if you're not where you need to be by then, you're going to have a long drop ahead of you. Or below you, as the case may be.

Of course, the Screw Attack can used as an attack, but is difficult to aim or use against enemies at close range, making it more of a defensive measure - in that it protects you from damage while screw attacking - than an offensive one. In addition to covering large horizontal distances, though, you can also use it to ascend when you find special wall panels. When you see a cratered wall like the one in our screenshot, bust out your Screw Attack and jump from wall to wall until you reach the top.

Release your boost right about here for maximum height on your half-pipes!

Boost Ball

While rolled up into a morph ball, Samus can hold down B to charge herself for a boost, which will increase her speed for a short time. Although this can be ostensibly used as an offensive weapon against troublesome ground-based enemies, it does only light damage, and is best used as a transportation aid. In addition to activating spinner devices, the boost ball will make it possible for Samus to propel herself up the side of half-pipes to reach ledges set into walls above. We found it best to release your boost just before you start to head up one side of the half-pipe to get the highest distance, but most half-pipes are fairly small affairs, which will let you get good height without much effort.

Spider Ball

In addition to the boost ball, Samus also has the spiderball move available to her. When you spot a spiderball track (which are generally one ball-width wide with moving arrows on their surfaces), you can hold down the right trigger to attach yourself to it. If the track is a simple path from one place to another, you can hold on until you reach your destination, then release the right trigger to drop to the ground; otherwise, you'll need to use some of the supplementary maneuvers available to you.

When you're apparently required to fly from one track to another, your usual mode of transportation will involve the boost ball. While you're attached to the spider track, you can charge up your boost and then release it for a sudden boost of acceleration directly away from the face of the track; this will let you cover short distances between tracks that are facing one another. If a track is above you, though, you're likely supposed to use a morphball bomb to reach the upper one. You don't need to let go of your spiderball mode while laying a bomb; you can hold down the trigger and automatically be detached and reattached to the upper track after you reach it.