Phendrana Drifts (theme)

This article is written from the Real Life point of view

Phendrana Drifts
Featured in	Metroid Prime Metroid Prime Pinball Metroid Prime Hunters
Location	Phendrana Drifts Arcterra
Composer	Kenji Yamamoto Kouichi Kyuma
Other titles	Ice Valley Arcterra 24
Related	Phendrana Battle Hunters Noxus Ice Bryyo

Phendrana Drifts is the main theme of the area of the same name in Metroid Prime.

It begins playing ingame when Samus enters the Phendrana Shorelines; in the rooms before, "Ice Connect" is heard instead as a lead-in. This theme is meant to build-up to its faster-paced remix, Phendrana Battle, featured in the back half of Phendrana where Samus obtains the Gravity Suit.

In the Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks, this theme is titled Ice Valley (アイスバレイ), as the area is in the Japanese version of the game. It is one of several themes that can be purchased from the Soundtrack Gallery in New Play Control! Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime Trilogy. In the Soundtrack Gallery of Metroid Prime Remastered, it unlocks for free. Remastered additionally represents this theme with an image of the Phendrana Shorelines.

It was also remixed for the pinball table based on the Phendrana Drifts in Metroid Prime Pinball.

The Metroid Prime Hunters theme, Arcterra, was arranged by Lawrence Schwedler. It begins playing when Samus enters the Ice Hive, Fault Line, and Sanctorus respectively, and can also be listened to as track 24 in the Music Test after Gorea's second form is defeated. This version makes changes to the melody, and plays the Phendrana theme in the parallel minor key of its original major key. Arcterra has a more subdued and ominous tone than the original theme, but still becomes energetic and hopeful-sounding with added instruments after the first minute. In addition, an excerpt from Phendrana Drifts was remixed as part of Noxus's battle music, and the same portion of its melody is included in the Hunters theme for the scene with Noxus in the intro movie.

Echoes of the music can be heard in the Ice Bryyo theme of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

The theme from Prime can be heard here, the theme from Hunters here, and the theme from Pinball here.

Trivia

• An earlier version of the Phendrana Drifts theme exists within the files of the Metroid Prime Kiosk demo. It sounds slightly different overall. It can be heard here.