Flaahgra

This is a featured article.

!	This is a rare creature/object. It may only be scanned in one or few encounters.

Flaahgra
Official render from Metroid Prime
Featured in	Metroid Prime
Location	Sunchamber, Chozo Ruins
Attacks	Toxic blasts, ability to grow toxic plants, a pair of vicious scythes on its 'forearms', Flaahgra Tentacles.
Weakness	Vulnerable to Morph Ball Bombs at its roots; stunned by concentrated weapons fire; requires constant concentrated sunlight provided by reflecting panels.
Battle Music	Flaahgra
Reward(s)	Varia Suit

Flaahgra is an enormous mutated plant-like creature in Metroid Prime and is the main boss of the Chozo Ruins.

Origin

“	That which fouls the waters seeks the sun.	„
—Holobanner

Flaahgra was likely once an ordinary plant, perhaps even a sacred one, as it had the honor of being the Chozo's centerpiece flower in their city's Sunchamber on Tallon IV. However, the destructive Phazon mutated it beyond all recognition, resulting in this monstrous beast.

Flaahgra extended its vile roots to all corners of the Chozo Ruins, and began to secrete a poison which tainted the waters of the Ruins. The water was so toxic and corrosive that it dealt damage to Samus on contact, though it was completely cleansed the instant Flaahgra was defeated.

Battle

Samus battles Flaahgra.

Flaahgra begins the battle with one solar panel active. If Samus can disable it with Missiles or Charge Beam shots, she can switch off the Mirror Arrays that give Flaahgra the sunlight from FS-176 that it needs to stay active and functional. The creature can use its scythe-like limbs to flip over the arrays that Samus has disabled to restore power to them if she is too slow to shut off all of them. When all solar arrays are shut off, Flaahgra will collapse and its four spiked Tentacles retract into the large flower's base, allowing Samus to enter Morph Ball-sized tunnels previously occupied by the Tentacles. Once she reaches a Morph Ball Slot located on the outer edge of the creature's base, she can Bomb it, causing damage not only to Flaahgra's central nervous system, but also igniting the flower with the surge of electrical energy. After the blow has been dealt, the upper body of the Flaahgra will writhe, wilt and retreat into the main flower. Seconds later, however, the solar panel(s) powering it will reactivate, plus an additional one (starting with one, with a maximum of all four panels being lit at a time), causing the Flaahgra to emerge a few seconds later, larger and angrier than ever.

In terms of physical offense, Flaahgra can slash with its enormous scythe-like appendages, performing a brutal swipe or two each time it decides to do so. If Samus takes too long to reach the Bomb Slot inside one of the four tunnels, not only will she be pushed back out by one of the Tentacles, but Flaahgra will awaken (due to the reactivated solar panels) and furiously perform an almost 360-degree slash across the floor of the entire room. Each of Flaahgra's four Tentacles are covered with thorns and will flail at Samus if she gets near them.

Its long range offense consists of spitting out small and large energy spheres. While the small ones are quickly spat out in different waves, the large energy sphere requires a moment to charge before being launched, though the process can be stopped if Samus shoots a Missile or Charge Beam shot at the creature's head. Flaahgra can also spray a substance that spawns a temporary wall of corrosive plants along the floor from the central pond to the nearest wall of the room. This wall occasionally proves impossible to jump over, hindering Samus' progress if she was on her way to a Mirror Array.

Lastly, the central pond surrounding the boss is extremely toxic and acts as a defense in a fashion similar to a moat protecting a castle. It is from here that all the polluted water is distributed throughout most of the Chozo Ruins.

Concept art

Due to its exposure to the sun's concentrated energy, the outer shell of Flaahgra has become resilient enough to withstand harm from most weaponry, thus no matter how many shots are fired directly to the head and body, it will only be temporarily stunned, and can only be truly harmed by bombing its central nervous system. However, stunning its main body proves to be useful, as it not only allows Samus to disable the Mirror Arrays without being attacked, but also prevents Flaahgra from reactivating said Mirrors. After all four trenches have been bombed, the herbaceous monstrosity dies, and the Chozo Ruins' water supply returns to its normal, unpolluted state.

Official data

Official website

"Flaahgra is a massive plant-based life-form with a snake-like body and powerful arms. It gains its strength from sunlight. The tentacles it uses to attach itself to the ground are also used to absorb water. The creature's mutated hydration system pollutes the water source with noxious excretions, creating the perfect environment for Flaahgra's growth and nourishment. Flaahgra is extremely territorial, and will viciously attack any intruders."

Its central nervous system is located near its base, where sprawling tentacles are tightly affixed to the ground."

Logbook entry

RemasteredOriginal

Flaahgra

Temporary scan

Morphology: Flaahgra
This mutant plant is the source of toxic water in the Ruins.

Logbook entry

Flaahgra's growth cycle has been radically accelerated. As a result, it requires near-constant exposure to solar energy to remain active. This exposure has made Flaahgra's outer shell thick and durable. Concentrated weapon fire can daze it for short periods, but its lower root system is unprotected and vulnerable, however. Exploit this flaw when possible.

[Remastered][Original]

Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

BOSS BATTLE: FLAAHGRA

"Flaahgra is a huge mutant plant that's been making all the water around here toxic. To destroy this evil poisonous plant, you must first disconnect it from its source of energy: sunlight. Once its sunlight is cut off, Flaahgra becomes inactive long enough for you to lay a bomb in each of the four tubes running from its base.
To use off Flaahgra's sunlight supply, you must use your Charge Beam or fire a missile at the glowing red orb at the base of the reflectors. When you hit it, the reflector is knocked out of commission. After you knock the first one down, Flaahgra retracts its roots from the four tubes at the base.
The most effective way to reach the reflector is to hold down [L] to lock on to Flaahgra. This way, you can strafe around to the reflector while you shoot Flaahgra. Although your shots won't hurt Flaahgra, your missiles and Charge Beam will stun it for a short time.
TIP: If you use missiles to stun Flaahgra, make sure you wait for it to recover before shooting another one. Hitting Flaahgra while it's already stunned only wastes missiles.
Once Flaahgra is down, quickly morph into the Morph Ball and roll down one of the tubes. When you reach the end of it, lay a bomb to destroy that part of Flaahgra.
After the first tube is destroyed, two reflectors are knocked into place. You must now repeat what you just did, except this time there are two reflectors to shoot at. The tricky part now is to knock the second one before Flaahgra gets a chance to flip the first one back.
To accomplish this, hold down [L] to lock onto Flaahgra and begin to strafe to one side; strafing is much faster than running, and this keeps you focused on Flaahgra while you circle the area. Keep your Charge Beam ready to fire at Flaahgra every time it comes to. When you reach a reflector, fire the Charge Beam at the red orb to knock it back.
Once the first reflector is down, continue along the same pattern to the next one. It is crucial that you continue stunning Flaahgra. If you fail to stun it, it will knock the previous reflector back up, and you'll have to start over.
When you successfully knock down both reflectors, you must find a nearby tube and blow it up from the inside. When you blow up the tube, both reflectors are reset, in addition to a third one. Use the same technique to knock back the three. Once that is done, all four reflectors are reset, and you must do it all over again.
TIP: Keep a steady strafe around Flaahgra as you go for the reflectors. As long as you keep it stunned from your Charge Beam, it can't knock back the reflectors already hit.
The fight is finally over when the fourth and final tube is blown up. You prize for defeating Flaahgra is the Varia Suit."

Flaahgra

Found In: Chozo Ruins

Recommended Weapon: Missile Launcher and Charge Beam stuns only

Weak Spot: Mirror reflectors

"Flaahgra is the huge flower that has been making all the water around Chozo Ruins toxic. Your weapons can only stun it for a short time. While stunned, you must knock down the sunlight reflectors that it gets energy from. Hold [L] to keep Flaahgra targeted. Shoot missiles or your Charge Beam to stun it while you strafe toward the mirror reflectors. You must shoot the red orb at the bottom of the reflectors to knock them over.
Without sunlight, the Flaahgra kneels over and gives you time to inflict the real damage at the base of it while in Morph Ball mode. Flaahgra is very protective of its mirrors. If you shoot them, it tries to reposition the mirrors. The only way to prevent this is to keep pummeling Flaahgra so that it remains stunned."

Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide

FLAAHGRA

FLIP THE RADAR DISH

"The massive creature guarding the Varia Suit is called Flaahgra. It gains strength from sunlight, and happens to live in a room surrounded by four radar dishes. Lock onto Flaahgra and strafe in a circle until you reach a radar dish with a red spot exposed. Shoot Flaahgra until it's stunned, then hit the dish with a Charge Beam or Missile to lock it into place."

ROLL INTO THE CHANNELS AND DROP A BOMB

"After you flip the dish, a channel will open at Flaahgra's base. Use the Morph Ball to enter the channel and drop a Bomb. The blast will kick you out, at which point you must repeat the entire process with more dishes."

LOCK ON AND ALTERNATE YOUR FIRE

"When you flip a dish, Flaahgra will immediately turn its attention to it. You can use the opportunity to move to the next dish or attack the beast while it's distracted. Use the dash maneuver (Control Stick plus B) to move quickly and stay locked on."

SPEEDY MORPH BALL

"If you stay locked on to Flaahgra and keep circling, you can attack the boss and fire Missiles at the radar dishes at the same time. Just shoot at Flaahgra, blast the dishes when you run past them and keep firing. The Morph Ball is generally faster than walking, so use it every time Flaahgra falls to the ground and you need to reach a channel. Once you defeat Flaahgra, you'll get the Varia Suit."

Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide

FLAAHGRA

MORPHOLOGY

"This mutant plant is the source of toxic water in the ruins. Flaahgra's growth cycle has been radically accelerated. As a result, it requires near-constant exposure to solar energy to remain active. This exposure has made Flaahgra's outer shell thick and durable. Concentrated weapon fire can daze it for short periods, but its lower root system is unprotected and vulnerable, however. Exploit this flaw when possible."

Metroid Prime Official Perfect Guide

BOSS: FLAAHGRA

"(Preliminary note: If you want a 100% complete Log Book, be sure to scan both Flaahgra's main body and the Tentacles; the safest way to do it is to scan after you've stunned both with Missiles or two Charged Shots.)
The idea here is to avoid Flaahgra's poison gas blasts and his scythe-like claws--so that you can blast the red spot appearing on the back of the mirrors surrounding his body. This is the key aspect in preparing the boss to receive real damage.
There are four stages to the Flaahgra battle. In the first stage, only one mirror will have to be taken down--via Missile blast or full-powered Charge Beam shot to the glowing red spot at the reflector's rear; two reflectors will become active in the second stage, three in the third, and all four in the fourth and final stage. Each time you successfully hit a red target, take care to shoot two Missiles (or two Charge Beam shots) directly at Flaahgra's main body to stun the creature for a few seconds so that you can make the damaging move (he'll keep knocking the mirrors down if you don't stun him): Once all the mirrors providing sun to Flaahgra are tilted upward, he will fall forward, and the vines blocking the canals will lower, allowing you to roll inside and set a bomb in the Morph Ball Slot--causing damage to the main body. Flaahgra will lose 25% of his life, and the next stage of the battle will begin. Once Flaahgra is dead, you'll receive the Varia Suit."

Nintendo Power Volume 163

FLAAHGRA

"Flaahgra draws its power from sunlight, which a series of radar dishes reflect onto her. When the battle begins, lock onto Flaahgra and side-step to the dropped radar dish. Flip the dish up by hitting it with a charged Power Beam or a Missile.
Once you flip the dish, the channels at Flaahgra's base will open. Use the Morph Ball to roll into the channel and plant a Bomb. The explosion will kick you out, at which point you must repeat the process. There will be one more radar dish each time, for a total of four.
You'll need to stun Flaahgra, or it will knock the radar dishes back down. Two Missiles will stun the beast long enough for you to hit a couple of dishes. Alternate between flipping the dishes and keeping Flaahgra stunned. The lock-on-and-strafe maneuver is a lifesaver."

Development notes

“	Flaahgra is the first boss character that Andrew Jones concepted. This creature was a lot of fun to work on because Andrew did about five variations for the creature. There was the ‘core’ concept, but I ended up taking a few other details from the other variations Andrew created. Todd Keller created a concept for giant plant flower that Flaahgra sits inside of. The first version of this boss had all the tentacles as part of the plant. Later the designers decided to detach the tentacles and make them more part of the room like you see in the game. The room and creature sort of evolved together as the designers worked their way through how this boss character would play out.	„
—Mike Sneath

An early animation reel of Flaaghra displays it in an open swamp, rather than the enclosed chamber where it is encountered in the final game.

In the original NTSC version of Prime, Flaahgra's theme was incorrectly shortened to only a third of its intended length. The full theme can be heard in the PAL and Japanese versions of Prime, and the Wii versions retain the full rendition of the theme.

Jack Mathews joked that Flaahgra's name means "boss plant" in Aramaic. Flaahgra's cinematics went through multiple iterations to ensure that the game communicated to players when Flaahgra was stunned, how to damage it and where.

Trivia

“	The cries of this dying land echo in our ears as we Chozo watch the Great Poison seep ever further into the living pulse of the planet. The dark energy sinks into the trees and waters, devouring all life. Peaceful beasts die by the thousands - some creatures survive, but their forms grow as twisted and evil as the force that fell from the sky. Many of these mutated monstrosities remain small enough to do little harm, but others grow enormous and threaten our very existence. One such beast defiles our sacred fountain, disgorging poison from its foul form, replacing pure, flowing water with cascades of creeping death. Even in the face of such horror, we Chozo do not turn in fear. We are all that stands in the way of this Great Poison, and it is our duty to contain it.	„
—Spreading Evil - Chozo Lore

Holobanner

• Upon closer inspection of Flaahgra's head, green butterflies can be seen flying in close proximity to its mushroom structures. These can be seen when the boss collapses from lack of exposure to the sun's energy.
• Before entering the Sunchamber, an unscannable pink Holobanner in Flaahgra's likeness can be seen.
• The energy spheres Flaahgra fires, in particular the large variant, heavily resembles a charged Power Beam shot. It can be looked upon for closer inspection when the projectile hits the wall, as it will remain "stuck" for several seconds.
• Flaahgra may have originally been a large Bloodflower before it was heavily mutated by Phazon, due to the similarities the boss shares with it, specifically Flaahgra's base resembling a Bloodflower, both plants having tentacle-like roots, and the fact that both spew toxic orbs.
• If Samus Sequence Breaks by surviving the Magmoor Caverns without the Varia Suit, she can return and battle Flaahgra with a full arsenal. The Bomb Slots can be detonated with Power Bombs, and Flaahgra can also be damaged with the Wavebuster.
• Likewise, if Samus obtains the Space Jump before facing Flaahgra, she can detonate the Bomb Slots from the outside by space-jumping onto Flaahgra's platform and laying bombs before sliding off.
• Flaahgra, along with the Parasite Queen, are the only major bosses in Metroid Prime that do not appear in Metroid Prime Pinball.
• The massive sea beast Rastodon on the ocean world in chapter 6 of Metroid EX was similar to Flaahgra, although it poisoned an entire ocean and not just a spring. Despite this, destroying it also purified the water.
• Flaahgra and it's corruption by Phazon is indirectly referenced in Dark Samus's Classic Mode route The Great Poison Given Form, more specifically the fourth battle, where she teams up with Ivysaur in a double-match.

Gallery

Concept art

Concept art

Official render

Scan

Flaahgra's slumbering form.

The creature sends toxic weeds in Samus' direction.

Samus evades the weeds.

Flaahgra emerges

The central 'stem' and head of the plant.

The Flaahgra emerges after two mirror arrays are active.

One of the creature's projectile attacks.

Samus plants a Morph Ball Bomb in one of the slots at the base of the creature's root system.

Flaahgra returns, powered by multiple mirror arrays.

Flaahgra charges a multiple-beam attack.

The Flaahgra perishes in flames.

Toxic weeds appear then shrivel over the bud.

Purified water flows from the fountain.

Flaahgra is no more.

Samus fighting Flaahgra in an earlier version of Prime (note the different energy meter and "Energy Low" message).

Unused scan images seen in concept art.

Flaahgra's skull.

Metroid Prime Remastered Character Gallery

Metroid Prime Remastered artwork