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An Atomic[1][2] (アトミック)[3][4] is an energy-based, flying creature found in Super Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Their physiology is very simple, consisting of a large sphere with three or four smaller spheres embedded into it depending on the game. Atomics are always found within space ships which suggests they are artificial life-forms.
Aside from coloration, they are identical in appearance to the Bombu species and the two maintenance units, the Harmony and Diligence drones.
Description[]
Metroid: Zero Mission[]
Atomics[4] appear on Zebes in both the Space Pirate Mother Ship and the Wrecked Ship sections of Chozodia. Their main body is green and the three smaller segments are yellow; the latter's constant motion is the only visual indicator that an Atomic rotates as it flies.
They are not present when Samus Aran stealthily infiltrates the Pirate Mother Ship for the first time and only emerge during her second visit and are thus likely released by Space Pirates for additional security. They can initially be found hovering in a passive state if they're unaware of Samus's presence but if spotted they will begin to keep their distance from her, flying away if she gets too close and even more so when Samus uses her Screw Attack. This behavior however allows her to easily corner them due to their movements getting hindered by nearby surfaces and this can facilitate targeting them. Unlike its iteration in Super Metroid, Atomics cannot phase through walls or surfaces though in rare cases, they may become stuck inside one.
An Atomic firing off electricity.
Periodically, Atomics attack by accurately shooting extremely harmful bolts of electricity at her; these attacks can be anticipated by the glow they emanate when charging up their bodies. A bolt fired will fly directly ahead close toward Samus's current known position and can be angled in 8 different directions. When their bolts hit a surface, a large surrounding explosion is created for a brief second. The hit surface then becomes a temporary hazard due to the field of electricity coursing around the area of impact. This makes the previously mentioned cornering tactic a double-edged sword, as their projectiles and all their effects become harder to avoid the more Samus closes in on the Atomics. A direct hit from a bolt and the resulting splash damage from touching a charged surface are both strong enough to interrupt both the powerful Screw Attack and a Shinespark, harming Samus at the same time. Samus may not receive damage during the latter if she is struck immediately after she has impacted on a surface. Bolts are fired one at a time within every few seconds.
Atomics are invulnerable to all beam weapons and can only be eliminated by 2 Missiles, a Super Missile, the aforementioned Screw Attack, or the Speed Booster. If Samus obtained the Charge Beam and has a fully charged shot loaded, Atomics will fly directly to her location once onscreen. When doing so, they do not attack with electricity and any electric attack stored will be halted until Samus's charge shot is gone. With both the Charge Beam and the Screw Attack, Samus can take advantage of this behavior by luring the Atomics toward her and somersaulting directly into them for an easy kill.
Battle Statistics[]
| Attack | Damage Output |
|---|---|
| Contact damage | 15 units of damage |
| Lightning strike and Splash radius | 25 units of damage |
| electrified surface | 5 units of damage |
*Statistics are calculated with both the Varia Suit and Gravity Suit, as Samus would have these at the time of encounter.[5]
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption[]
Atomics appear very rarely and are only found within two instances; one is found in the crashed G.F.S. Theseus on planet Bryyo and the other shelters within the G.F.S. Valhalla's Xenoresearch Lab. In their 3D appearance, the creatures' bodies are comprised of four dark red spheres attached to a larger, grey translucent sphere in which bright energy can be seen within.
Although officially named Atomic like its counterparts from Zebes, its behavior is virtually identical to the Pulse Bombu of Metroid Prime and the Harmony Class Drone of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Whenever Samus is nearby, they begin dropping their red segments directly below them which create an explosion on impact. Their logbook explains that their hazardous energized bodies constantly creates excess electricity which are packed into the red spheres, resulting in immediate regeneration to replace the discarded segments. Curiously, they only begin shedding these bombs when approached by Samus, unlike the Pulse Bombu that constantly drops them regardless of her presence. Each bomb delivers 10 HP of damage (Veteran Mode).
Atomics fly aimlessly and very slowly around the room they're in and as such, they can be avoided easily. They do not seek out Samus unless she charges her Beam weapons near them, at which point they will aggressively fly towards her location due to their attraction to intense energy. When colliding, an Atomic delivers 15 units of HP (Veteran Mode) along with briefly disrupting visor functions (whether damage was taken or not). Atomics can only be killed with the Charge Beam, requiring Samus to begin her attack at a distance in order to charge her weapon and fire it before the creatures can reach her. An Atomic's defenses can reflect even enemy attacks.
An Atomic releasing an explosive segment of itself on-board the G.F.S. Theseus.
Encounters with these creatures are short lived, as completing various tasks will cause them to disappear permanently. In both aforementioned locations they appear in, they are entirely optional to battle and can be avoided. The one aboard the Thesus vanishes once the Satellite Uplink is established and Samus leaves the room completely. Although the one onboard the Valhalla's Xenoresearch Lab can appear multiple times during Samus's initial visits within the room, if she inserts two Energy Cells to bring the generator back online to full power, the moment she leaves the room completely afterward, Phazon Metroids will fill the room instead, replacing the previous creatures found there (which includes the Atomic).
Interestingly, the cyan and yellow coloration of the previously mentioned Pulse Bombu and Harmony Class Drone make them visually closer to the Atomics from the 2D games in comparison to Metroid Prime 3's variant.
Super Metroid[]
The Atomics[1] reappear during Samus' second mission on Zebes and are located exclusively within the Wrecked Ship. While the ship's energy is being drained by the Space Pirate Phantoon, all Atomics are initially encased in half-spherical glass casings embedded in surrounding equipment. However, they break loose from their short-circuiting containers once the ship is operational after the Pirate's defeat, likely a result of the massive amount of energy returning all at once.
Despite being exactly the same in appearance to their previous 2D iteration, they differ drastically in all other aspects. Unlike the variant from Zero Mission which try to keep a set distance from Samus or the variant from Metroid Prime 3 which flies aimlessly unless drawn by Samus' Charge Beam, Super Metroid's Atomics will actively pursue her the instant she steps inside their rooms and harm her on contact. As they chase her, they are able to move through any surface unhindered much like the Wave Beam and Rinka. This is their only method of attack, as they lack the long-range projectile seen in Samus' last visit to Zebes. These Atomics can be damaged by all weapons in her arsenal.
In several rooms of the Wrecked Ship, immobile Atomic-like entities can be found pulsing with a bright green color alongside their containers. These remain encased even after the ship is re-energized. The Atomics' connection to the Wrecked Ship in this game hints at a stronger link to the Chozo than the ones from Zero Mission which were seemingly tied to the Space Pirates.
Internal enemy data[6][]
ATOMIC
| Enemy Data | |||||||
| Color | HP | ATK | E | BE | M | SM | PB |
| Normal | 250 | 40 | 0 | 65 | 31 | 2 | 2 |
Information
Logbook entry[]
Atomic
Morphology: Atomic
Corporeal energy that sloughs explosive segments of its form.
Atomics are creatures composed entirely of energy. A strong energy blast is adequate to destabilize the Atomic and cause it to explode. They are sustained by their core, which generates a constant supply of electricity. When an abundance of energy has been produced, the Atomic will discharge a section of its body in the form of an explosive projectile. When near sources of energy of an opposite polarization, the Atomic will respond aggressively.
Development data[]
Internal data for the Pulse and Scatter Bombus, as well as the Harmony and Diligence drones, reveal they are named "AtomicAlpha" and "AtomicBeta" respectively. This directly suggests that all these entities were originally meant to be Atomics, thus explaining their shared physiology. in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the Atomic is internally named AtomicAlpha, ironically being a recycled Pulse Bombu.
Trivia[]
An Atomic's damage SFX from Zero Mission.
- The Wrecked Ship's Atomics from Super Metroid were likely to have originally served as power sources, as the glass containers most of them escape from are connected to the ship's surrounding machinery and appear to be short-circuiting, hinting at their energy-based nature. These Atomics are thus likely to be of Chozo origin, seeing as the Wrecked Ship's original owners were none other than the bird race.
- While the Atomic in Zero Mission is implied to be of Space Pirate origin due to being mostly seen patrolling the Mother Ship, it may in actuality be reversed-engineered from the Chozo's model as Pirates are known to do with alien technology.
- Atomics in Zero Mission share yet another aspect with the Bombus and drones: its projectile. This attack is an electric bolt not unlike what is discharged by the Scatter Bombu and Diligence Drone. When the Atomic's projectile hits a surface, it creates an electrified explosion somewhat similar to the orbs dropped by the Pulse Bombu and Harmony Class Drone.
- Atomics and Bombus' energy-based nature make them akin to the somewhat sentient Phaazoids which are entities made from residual Phazon energy. Unlike the Atomics' presence being restricted to ships, Phaazoids can form anywhere including out in nature as long as the locations are on a planet that holds a destroyed Leviathan.
- The Atomics from Zero Mission are one of the few beings in the Metroid universe that can simultaneously break through the Screw Attack and damage Samus Aran at the same time.
- Atomics do not appear in Zero Mission's Easy Mode.
- Also in Zero Mission, an Atomic's lightning bolt appears similar to the Ruins Test's lightning bolt (also housed in Chozodia) and can inflict the same base damage (50 HP loss without Varia and Gravity Suits).
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Super Metroid internal memory files
- ^ Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- ^ Super Metroid Hisshou Kouryakuhou Official Strategy Guide Book pg. 23
- ^ a b Metroid Zero Mission Perfect Guide [1]
- ^ Under normal suit conditions, contact damage is 30, lightning strike/explosion is 50, charged surface damage is 10.
- ^ The data isn't listed in Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide.