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"Norfair's gauntlet" is a group of three rooms in Norfair. It appears in Metroid as a single room, and in Metroid: Zero Mission as multiple.
Description[]
Metroid[]
This is a long corridor that stretches underneath the main hallway and the elevator shaft to Brinstar. It lacks a floor and is instead filled at the bottom with lava, akin to other horizontal corridors in Norfair. The ceiling and walls of the first part of the room consist of brown bricks, which also make up multiple midair platforms. Uniquely for a Norfair corridor, several of the platforms are joined by metal bricks, forming a "bridge" of sorts directly in front of the entrance. Air Holes that spawn Gamets sit atop some of these platforms.
Past the "bridge" are several more platforms and pillars of Fake Blocks, some of which float in midair while others are attached to the ceiling. These lead to a wall of purple bubble material, with a hidden tunnel reachable by Bomb Jumping off a platform directly beside it. The tunnel has several blocks impeding progress, but these can be Bombed to remove them. Past the wall is another wall (made of bricks), which can be climbed by freezing an enemy in front and using it as a platform. Behind the wall are two midair metal platforms with one pedestal each, containing Missile Tanks.
Zero Mission[]
In Zero Mission, the room is split in three. It cannot be fully and safely explored until Samus has obtained Super Missiles (either in the Imago's hideout or through Sequence Breaking) and Varia Suit. It cannot be visited anyway until the Speed Booster has been obtained, as the door to this room in the blue-bubble shaft is concealed by Boost Blocks.
The first room is set in a partial cave, with Chozo ruins close to the entrance. Although the overall gauntlet still contains lava in each room, it is much more shallow in the first two than the original game. In fact, only a small gap between the floor and the exit in the first room is open to the lava. The exit is locked with a Green Hatch, hence the need for Super Missiles. Along the walkway are several cloud-like midair platforms. Some are destructible, while others are not, but the latter are placed above Samus's head. Once Samus clears out the destructible blocks, and a Polyp on the floor, she can run until her Speed Booster activates and jump to the exit ledge, then Shinespark into the next room.
The second room is similar to the gauntlet's original appearance in Metroid, containing numerous midair pillars made of Fake Blocks, as well as multiple cloud-like platforms. The second room is superheated, and unsafe to explore without the Varia Suit. Should Samus fall into the lava below, it is shallow enough that she can escape it easily. A Missile Tank can be found in this room (see below).
The third room is a large chamber suspended over a much deeper basin of lava. On the first visit, Samus finds a chain of cloud-like blocks forming a partial rectangle to the left, with a Super Missile Tank behind it. Deploying a Bomb on the upper blocks (not the ones Samus stands on) destroys them in a chain reaction so she can get to the tank. Destroying the lower blocks causes Samus to drop to a lower "floor" that consists of hidden Fake Blocks, through which she would fall into the lava.
Connecting rooms[]
- Blue-bubble shaft (via Blue Door)
Inhabitants[]
Metroid[]
- 8 Sovas (6 orange, 2 blue)
- 8 Gerutas (6 purple, 2 orange)
- 6 Air Holes that spawn Gamets
- 4 Squeepts
- 1 Multiviola
Zero Mission[]
First room[]
Second room[]
- 10 Dragons
Third room[]
- 4 Sovas (3 orange, 1 purple)
Items[]
- Missile Tanks (Metroid)
- In Metroid, two Missile Tanks can be obtained at the far left end of this corridor, behind the wall.
- Missile Tank (Zero Mission)
- Requires Super Missiles and Varia Suit. Only one tank is found in the second room of the gauntlet, hidden at the very top of the last midair pillar of Fake Blocks. Samus can freeze a Dragon to use as a platform if she has trouble reaching it.
- Super Missile Tank (Zero Mission)
- In the third room, on a ledge above a floor of Pit Blocks. Samus must carefully jump across the blocks to obtain this. She can also return with the Space Jump.
Official data[]
Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- 194 missile tank (pg. 71)
- "After you open the green hatch in the hot-air corridor that runs under the elevator shaft, hop and buzz through enemies and wall segments, pressing Up to stop the Screw Attack. When you reach the last barrier before the left ledge, blast through the blocks up to the ceiling to expose a Missile Tank."
- 195 super missile tank (pg. 72)
- "When you reach the barrier, hop up in Morph Ball form and place a bomb near the upper-right corner. The wall will disappear but the platform will remain, giving you easy access to the tank and a booster runway."