This page details one or more prototype versions of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Please elaborate.

Having more detail is always a good thing.

Specifically: Lack of info. What do the menu options do?

This article is a work in progress.

...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.



The prototype's title screen

The prototype of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is dated March 2, 2006 and built on GameCube development hardware outfitted with additional RAM. The game requires at least 128MB of GameCube memory, which is nearly three times as much as the GameCube's 43MB of non-unified RAM. As such, the game will not work on retail hardware - the only way to play it is on the aforementioned development kit or by bumping up the emulated system RAM in the Gamecube/Wii emulator Dolphin.

This represents a glimpse at the intermediary step between GameCube and Wii development, and can be played entirely with a GameCube controller. The prototype itself is filled with debug options.

The prototype was found and dumped from the last slot of a GameCube development cartridge known as an "NPDP cart". Therefore, it is assumed a GameCube GBOX with additional RAM and a pseudo-Wii Remote interface was used to demo it at E3. In the debug output, a SDK driver not seen before is mentioned, dated 2005 and labelled "KPAD" (as opposed to the GameCube "PAD" driver and the Wii "WPAD" driver), which is assumed to control the pseudo-Wii Remote hardware.

Debug Menu

Game Menu

The main debug menu. Various options can be accessed from here, including Save and Load (which have three slots when selected). The player cannot reenter the ship in order to save the game or leave Norion.

Cheats Menu

Weapons Menu

Various weapons can be accessed from this menu. D-Pad controls are inaccessible for selecting weapons as it hasn't been implemented yet.

Upgrades Menu

In-game visor controls are mapped to Right on the D-Pad, although the visors themselves are incomplete or not fully implemented yet.

Morphball Menu

Interestingly, settings referring to a Fire Ball and Ice Ball are present. When you activate these and go into Morph Ball mode...the game crashes.

Misc Menu

Allows the player to change Energy Tank values and modify Samus' health status.

Player Menu

Audio Menu

Grapple Menu

Player Gun Menu

Player GUI Menu

Player Orbit Stuff Menu

Revolution Menu

Non-functional. It is assumed that the GameCube hardware the prototype was developed on had an additional daughterboard attachment that either allowed a hardwired Wii remote prototype or bluetooth functionality for prototype wireless Wii remotes.

Hyper Mode Menu

Game Rewards Menu

An early version of the final token system.

Debug Camera

To do:

Record a video of this so readers can see what the camera looks like.

A third-person debug camera is enabled by pressing Up on the D-Pad. The camera switches from the first-person perspective to a fixed position not unlike Super Mario 64, the position of which is determined by where the player activates the third-person camera.

The Samus model lacks animation with the exception of the arm cannon tilting vertically to approximate when the player has aimed up or down. Samus simply appears to float above the surface of the level. In this mode, Samus is completely controllable in the same manner as if she were being controlled from the first-person perspective.

By holding L, you can switch control from Samus to the camera; this allows you to move the camera and aim it at different spots with the control and C-sticks. Pressing Y teleports Samus to the camera's location.

Event Sub Menus

The initial demo starts out after Samus has landed on Norion. The 3D map for the room Samus landed her ship is incomplete.

There are sub-menus that show and toggle certain events that happen during the Norion sequence in the final game.

Map Teleport

By pressing X and Y at the same time while in the map screen, Samus will be teleported to the highlighted map zone.

Differences

Items

All items can be activated through the debug menu; however, a lot of them aren't functional. The Scan Visor can be used, but there aren't any scannable objects. The Command Visor HUD works, but Samus' arm cannon clips through her left hand, but it is usable after the Rundas cutscene to call the ship. The X-Ray Visor is completely non-functional and only turns the Combat Visor HUD red.

The Plasma Beam and Nova Beam only change the color of the Power Beam and adds more damage. Effects for the beam hitting a wall do not exist.

Hypermode can be enabled along with all of its upgrades, it can be activated by pressing A, B, X and Y at the same time (you need to use the "give all powerups" cheat in the debug menu to "unlock" it). It has an early and functional Hyper Ball attack and Hyper Beam and the visor will turn green. After a certain ammount of time the visor will turn purple, indicating that it has entered Corrupt Hyper Mode, and turning red while time finishes. While in morphball mode it will display the current state of Hyper Mode and the time it has to finish. If the time ends while in Corrupt Hyper Mode, Samus will die.

Grapple Beam can be used anywhere by pressing Y (missiles are moved to Z) instead of being restricted to select locations.

Boost Ball and Screw Attack are perfectly functional. The Boost Ball graphics appear slightly different. Screw Attack still uses the morph ball hitbox, but the ability to cancel it has already been removed.

Gameplay

The opening sequence of the final is not present when the demo loads into gameplay. The beginning of the prototype starts on Norion, where Samus exits her ship and must approach the Federation soldier in order to trigger a cutscene. The voice work for this sequence was recorded, and attempting to run past the soldier will still trigger the cutscene. In the final, the entire landing sequence of Samus' ship, exit from the ship, and dialogue with the soldier happens in one continuous cutscene. The details of the mission objectives are highlighted with greater detail in the final.

Samus cannot reenter her ship. Saving and loading are done from the debug menu.

After calling the ship after the Rundas cutscene, trying to enter it will result in a message displaying "Save Station Inactive".

Missile expansions use the Varia Suit pickup graphic from Metroid Prime as a placeholder; Energy Tanks appear yellow.

The landing site is laid out differently; the room that normally has the Grapple Lasso does not exist, and the missile expansion to the right of the ship is collected by jumping across and blasting open a grate with a missile instead of by grappling across.

Cargo Hub has an upper balcony and a totally different enemy layout; it appears the Aeromines did not exist at this point in development. A missile expansion behind another grate can be found on the upper floor. The door leading to Generator B is for some reason behind a solid wall and covered in a missile shield; the shield can be removed, but the door can't be opened.

Substation East has a pathway on the left side of the room; the morph ball tunnel appears to have originally been intended to be optional, with the energy tank on the opposite side of the room. The panels that retract in and out haven't been animated yet, so the energy tank is impossible to collect without manipulating the debug camera. There are pipes blocking the tunnel on the opposite end that retract into the wall when the energy tank is collected.

The layout of Cargo Dock A is completely different; as you enter the room ramps off into an upper and lower floor. The upper floor contains a morph ball tunnel that can be unlocked with Grapple Lasso and then entered to obtain a missile expansion. No cutscene triggers when you enter, but the door locks until you kill all the pirates in the room.

The Rundas event in Cargo Dock A is partially implemented: he kills the pirates in the cutscene, but afterward he just stands there and the door unlocks.

The pull-twist-push switches haven't been implemented yet, so they're used by standing in front of them and pressing A like one of the hand scanners.

The side room with a missile expansion (Maintenance Station) on the way to Generator C is not present yet. A missile expansion is in Conduit C, in a side alcove right before the morph ball tunnel; that expansion has been removed in the final.

The Ridley attack in Cargo Hub C is partially implemented, although he doesn't have his bite attack yet; it's not possible to defeat him. The fight in Generator C is not present, either: the cutscene plays, then Samus is dumped at the edge of the shaft.

The meteor event doesn't occur. While the doors leading to the tower corresponding to Generators A and C open, the door for Generator B stays up, as the event where Rundas activates the generator has apparently not been implemented. It's possible to get through them using the debug camera, but the door on the other side doesn't open, so you can't progress to the tower.

Dialogue

The Federation Trooper speaks an entirely different, albeit abridged, script essentially stating the same mission objects and current situation.

Leftovers

The Dark Visor from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes can be selected, but doesn't work.

The Game Over screen is still the same as in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

In addition, a large amount of strings from the second Prime game can be found among the files. Examples include the names of the bosses, the text displayed after Samus' suit reboots from the Rezbit virus, and the "All [area name] Dark Temple Keys acquired!" messages.

Strangely, Rundas and Ridley, neither of which can be found in Metroid Prime 2, are referenced by name just before Amorbis, the first major boss of Prime 2.