| “ | The first of our greatest champion's weapons has been found...by the Ing. Find the Dark Beam. Avenge this blasphemy! |
„ |
The Dark Beam (ダークビーム Dāku Bīmu) is a Beam weapon of Luminoth origin that emulates the dark energy type of Dark Aether and its denizens. This weapon is compatible with Samus Aran's Arm Cannon, and is integrated into her Power Suit during the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Description[]
Samus acquires the Dark Beam.
The Dark Beam fires strange energy similar to the native energy of Dark Aether. Normal shots resemble swirling flattened disks of this dark energy, trailed by a dark streak and globular emanations. Shots are strong, but slow, and quicker enemies can evade them. Larger concentrations cling to objects, hardening into a brittle shell on contact (see Entangler below). Large quantities of this energy charge and open highly hazardous dimensional rifts (see Darkburst). Both normal shots and charged shots have the power to freeze enemies, though the former can only freeze smaller enemies susceptible to normal shots; the latter is required for larger or more durable enemies vulnerable to dark energy. Each creature's appearance when frozen varies, with some creature's body parts being encased in hardened dark matter or the creature gaining a simple violet tone around their body.
Just as with the other Luminoth-designed Beam weapons, the Dark Beam has a limited amount of ammunition. Destroying targets and containers with the Light Beam will provide ammunition for the Dark Beam, and vice-versa. The Dark Beam's base ammunition capacity is 50 units, but Beam Ammo Expansions can be obtained, increasing the maximum ammunition capacity by increments of 50 units. A maximum ammunition capacity of 250 units is possible. If Samus is out of ammo, she can charge the Dark Beam to fire a normal shot.
The Luminoth originally designed the Dark Beam as a means to combat the Ing Horde, theorizing that the energy of the Dark Beam would overload the creatures of Dark Aether, and in effect destroy them. Once tested, this weapon was discovered to be of only average effect against the Ing, inflicting little damage. With further trial and error, the Light Beam and Annihilator Beam were created, both of which proved to be much more efficient in the battle against the Ing.
Uses[]
Along with activating Dark Portals, the Dark Beam has the ability to activate many types of crystalline technology throughout the surfaces of the mirror planets. Firing the Dark Beam at light-charged crystals can have many effects, ranging from lifting a platform to moving machinery. The Dark Beam cancels the functionality of Light Crystals and Light Beacons, causing protective umbrellas of light energy to disappear from the surface of Dark Aether. Fortunately, this effect is only temporary, and can be reversed at any time with an application of the Light Beam or several Power Beam shots. The Dark Beam is also used to open Purple hatches.
Entangler[]
Samus uses the Entangler on a Splinter (in Beta Version of Echoes).
A charged mass of dark energy has the strange ability to encase targets, and harden into a brittle shell. The Entangler, the Charge Beam technique for the Dark Beam, exploits this quality. Firing the Entangler will encase multiple targets within a certain radius completely, immobilizing them and providing the perfect opportunity to shatter the target with a single Missile, making it quite similar to the Ice Beam from Metroid Prime. This technique is highly effective for use against the troublesome Dark Pirate Commandos, and is also effective when used in tandem with the charged Light Beam against Dark Grenchlers.
Samus unleashes the Entangler on a Tallon Metroid.
It is not necessary to directly hit a target with the Entangler, as it will attach to any possible targets within a short radius. Targets hit with the Entangler will become "sticky" for a short time and cause any other creatures that come into contact with this target to freeze as well, but this will only occur before the dark matter has hardened around the original target. The Entangler seems to possess "cold" attributes, as it is capable of rendering Tallon Metroids extremely fragile to concussive weaponry, a result provided by the Ice Beam as well.
In multiplayer, the Entangler can be used to freeze opponents solid, if struck directly by the blast. A frozen player will break free over time, though jumping will lead to escaping faster. If frozen while in Morph Ball mode, a player must drop Morph Ball Bombs to escape (as hinted by the onscreen message). This is similar to how Samus herself is frozen in both Prime and the single-player mode of Echoes. A frozen player still receives the normal amount of damage from Missile fire (20 units of damage per hit).
Darkburst[]
Samus uses the Darkburst against two Pirate Commandos.
Once acquired from the Mining Station B, Agon Wastes, Samus can use the Darkburst, the Charge Combo for the Dark Beam. Though it consumes 30 units of Dark Ammo, as well as five Missiles, it creates a large sphere from the Arm Cannon, moving on a fairly fast, straight trajectory.
This particular Charge Combo is of great use against aerial foes, or large numbers of enemies, ripping apart their molecular structure and drawing them into a "dark dimension, pulling enemies to oblivion."
Official data[]
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes manual[]
- DARK BEAM
- "The Dark Beam can hinder enemies, extinguish Light Crystals, and is effective against Light Aether enemies. Charge it to fire the Entangler, which enshrouds enemies in shadow. The Dark Beam can open purple hatches."
Metroid Prime Trilogy manual[]
- Dark Beam
- "This is a slower shot, but effective against light-side enemies. This beam uses Dark Beam Ammunition."
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes acquisition message[]
"Dark Beam acquired!
Press [C-Stick (Right) to switch to the Dark Beam./Press [+] then point left to switch to the Dark Beam. Charge weapon to fire a normal shot when out of ammo.
Additional data downloaded to Inventory Screen. Press [START]/[2] to access the Inventory Screen."
Inventory data[]
Dark Beam
The Dark Beam fires blasts of shadow energy. Shots from the Dark Beam can hinder enemies and objects as well.
Press 
/Hold 
and point left to select the Dark Beam as your active weapon.
When out of Dark Ammo, you can charge the Dark Beam to fire a normal shot.
Fire the Dark Beam to deactivate Crystals.
Dark Beam blasts have limited effect on Ing and dark creatures.
It takes several hits with the Dark Beam to hinder enemies and enshroud objects with dark matter.
Charge the Dark Beam to fire an Entangler blast. Enemies struck by this blast will be enveloped in shadow tendrils for a few moments, unable to move or fire.
The Entangler costs 5 Dark Ammo to fire.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- Dark Beam
- "The Dark Beam works best against Light World enemies. The charged version is especially good at freezing foes in place, and will fire a spray of goo that follows the target for a short distance. If you run out of ammo, you can fire a shot by charging the beam."
- DARK BEAM
- "The Dark Beam is slow. Really slow. If you're using it, try to get close to your enemies--they can usually avoid the shot at any range. A charged Dark Beam shot (which freezes your enemy is sludge) followed by missiles is a great way to drain a foe's energy. If you're on the receiving end of a shot of sludge, tap B to break free. If you're in Morph Ball form, drop a couple of bombs."
Development Data[]
The Entangler's effect of encasing nearby enemies with dark energy was programmed by Andy O'Neil. According to Kynan Pearson, it was originally much more powerful, generating many more globules of darkness on impact, which had a larger area of effect that could spread and hit multiple targets.[1] The effect was reduced in the final game for reasons of balance.[2]
Within the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc exists a scannable device within the Command Center known as a Dark Cannon. This machine appears to harness the Dark Beam's energy for use with the Dark Portal stationed within the same room, its power able to keep the Portal open for possibly longer time than normal. Internally, this machine is named Dark Beam Cannon, implying this may be a makeshift Pirate variation of the Dark Beam. In the final game, the Dark Cannon itself is unscannable and the terminal used to activate the Dark Cannon instead deactivates a Blast Door leading further into the Space Pirate mining facility. The Dark Cannon itself is still believed to be used by the Pirates offscreen, as a squadron of Pirate Commandos are seen entering an activated Portal during Samus's hidden arrival into the room.
An unused Inventory entry exists within the Bonus Disc. Its entry is slightly different from the final entry. The Bonus Disc entry mentions the ability to deactivate "Lightsticks" (which may mean the Light Crystals housed on a staff; the term "Lightstick" is not used anywhere in the final game). The phrase "Entangler blast" is oddly missing a space in between, and "Dark Creatures" is lowercased in the final game.
Dark Beam
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc
The Dark Beam fires blasts of shadow energy. Shots from the Dark Beam can hinder enemies and objects as well.
Press to select the Dark Beam as your active weapon.
Fire the Dark Beam to deactivate Crystals and Lightsticks. The Dark Beam requires ammunition to fire, unlike the Power Beam.
Dark Beam blasts have limited effect on Ing and Dark Creatures.
It takes several hits with the Dark Beam to hinder enemies and enshroud objects with dark matter.
Charge the Dark Beam to fire an Entanglerblast. Enemies struck by this blast will be enveloped in shadow tendrils for a few moments, unable to move or fire.
Trivia[]
- The "dark energy" fired by this weapon is known to current terrestrial science, if only hypothetically: cosmologists believe that this "negative gravity" permeates the vacuum of space and repels all matter, driving the expansion of the universe. If significant amounts of the field could somehow by concentrated and fired, the massive yet localized expansive force would likely be quite damaging, tearing the target apart from within.
- There are multiple similarities between the Dark Beam and the Ice Beam. One is that the Dark Beam uses the same "raised" shape Arm Cannon configuration. Secondly, both Beams can immobilize targets. Additionally, their Charge Combos function similarly. Even still, the Dark Beam has several advantages, such as a higher rate of fire, and an overall higher capability to deal damage, seeing as how there are more enemies weak to it in comparison.
- Additionally, the Dark Beam shares the Ice Beam usefulness against Metroids, including Dark Tallon Metroids.
- The Dark Beam is assigned its name by the Space Pirate Science Team, although I-Sha refers to it by the same name.
- Despite the fact that the weapon is in Space Pirate hands when Samus finds it, I-Sha informs her that it has been claimed by the Ing. This would appear to apply to the Light Beam instead, as it is found on Dark Aether.
- The Dark Beam is one of two pieces of Luminoth technology to make use of dark energy, the other being the Dark Sentinel Crystal.
- Dark Samus is vulnerable to the Dark Beam rather than the Light Beam, because she is a being of the light world. She is often confused with Darklings, when she is a separate copy of Samus.
- Curiously, when Samus is frozen by Dark Samus's Charge Beam during the second fight, the moment the former breaks free, purple Phazon chunks can be seen on her visor. This may be an oversight by the developers, as the ice-escaping animation in Echoes is likely being reused from the other enemies capable of freezing Samus within the same game. In Echoes, Dark Samus is the only enemy capable of freezing Samus without a dark matter weapon.
- Additionally, the Dark Beam is found on Light Aether, while the Light Beam is found on Dark Aether. The rooms where the Beams are found are also polar opposites of each other.
- Out of the three Beams introduced in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the Dark Beam's icon is the only one with the least number of changes from its early beta icon, retaining its general shape, while the other two Beam icons received large-scale redesigns.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Interview: Kynan Pearson. Shinesparkers. November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Kiwi Talkz - 20th Anniversary Interview With Kynan Pearson
| Beams | |
|---|---|
| Armaments | Arm Cannon • Paralyzer |
| Weapons | Power Beam • Wave Beam • Ice Beam • Plasma Beam • Grapple Beam Hyper Beam: (MD/MP3/SM) • Phazon Beam • Dark Beam • Light Beam Annihilator Beam • Nova Beam • Zero Laser |
| Enhancements | Beam Burst • Charge Beam • Diffusion Beam • Long Beam • Phazon bullets • Spazer Beam • Tractor beam • Wide Beam • Omega Cannon (Dread) |
| Affinity Weapons | Volt Driver • Battlehammer • Magmaul • Shock Coil • Judicator • Imperialist • Omega Cannon (Hunters) • Electro Lob |