Sound Test

This article is written from the Real Life point of view

The Sound Test is a function built into the Options screen of some recent Metroid games. They act as a jukebox feature that allow the player to listen to some of the music in each game. Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid: Samus Returns all feature Sound Tests, which have to be unlocked in each game through various means. All three of these games are on handheld consoles, namely the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS. Zero Mission and Hunters are also playable on Wii U through Virtual Console.

The Soundtrack Gallery of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, New Play Control! Metroid Prime, New Play Control! Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes, Metroid Prime Trilogy and Metroid Prime Remastered is similar as a feature that includes a limited selection of music from each game. A difference from the Sound Test is that songs in the Soundtrack Gallery are unlocked individually, through Bonus Credits in the Wii versions or by item and Logbook completion in Remastered. The Super Smash Bros. series games all feature Sound Tests, including Metroid music and sound effects.

Note that none of these Sound Tests contain the entire soundtracks of their respective games. Instead, only a limited selection of songs are included. All jingles, fanfares, and cutscene songs are not included in the Sound Test.

Metroid: Zero Mission

In Metroid: Zero Mission, the Sound Test is unlocked by beating the game on Hard Mode, and accessed via the Options. None of these tracks are named, only referred to by numbers 01 through 23.

• 01 - The theme that plays on the Samus Data Screen and Options.
• 02 - The theme that plays in Brinstar.
• 03 - The theme that plays on the Title Screen.
• 04 - The theme that plays while battling the Charge Beam Beast and Acid Worm.
• 05 - The theme that plays in Norfair.
• 06 - The theme that plays in the Chozo Ruins of Crateria, and in the Lair Entrance Statue rooms.
• 07 - The theme that plays on the surface of Crateria and Chozodia.
• 08 - The theme that plays in Kraid's Lair.
• 09 - The theme that plays while battling Kraid.
• 10 - The theme that plays in the room with the Stone Statues.
• 11 - The theme that plays while battling Kiru Giru larvae.
• 12 - The theme that plays while battling the ensnared Kiru Giru larva.
• 13 - The theme that plays in Ridley's Lair.
• 14 - The theme that plays while battling the Imago.
• 15 - The theme that plays while battling Ridley.
• 16 - The theme that plays in Tourian.
• 17 - The theme that plays during countdown sequences.
• 18 - The theme that plays in the Space Pirate Mother Ship.
• 19 - The theme that plays in Map Stations.
• 20 - The theme that plays while Zebesians are chasing Samus.
• 21 - The theme that plays while battling the Ruins Test.
• 22 - The theme that plays while battling Mecha Ridley.
• 23 - The theme that plays during the end credits.

Full themes not included in the Sound Test include Silence, Wrecked Ship (Crateria version), Zebetite, Crateria - The Space Pirates Appear (undetected version), the theme outside the Ruins Test chamber, and Brinstar (Chozodia version).

Jingles and cutscene themes not included in the Sound Test include the opening prologue, "Reflections Of The Past", "Ridley aboard the Space Pirate Mother Ship", the "Unknown Item jingle", the "boss defeated" aftermath theme, "Ridley arriving on Zebes", Opening (Destroyed Science Academy Research Station), "Samus being attacked outside Zebes", the "Fully Powered Suit jingle", the "Mecha Ridley approaches" pre-battle theme, the "ending jingle", Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare, and both Item Acquisition Fanfares.

Metroid Prime Hunters

In Hunters, there are actually two Sound Tests; one for music (Music Test), and the other for sound effects (SFX Test). This makes Hunters the only Metroid game with a Sound Test containing sound effects. Both Sound Tests can be unlocked by defeating Gorea's second form in Adventure Mode, which can only be done if all Colored Panels are fired upon in its first chamber. It is accessed through the game's Options. While the tracks are numbered ingame, an unused file, BGMSELECTLIST.DAT indicates that they were intended to have proper titles. Although BGMSELECTLIST.DAT contains titles for these tracks, they are unnamed in the Music Test itself.

• 01: TITLE - The theme that plays on the Title Screen.
• 02: MENU - The theme that plays on the Samus Data Screen.
• 03: RESULTS - The theme that plays on the ending screen.
• 04: CELESTIAL_GATEWAY - The multiplayer theme for the Celestial Archives.
• 05: ALINOS_GATEWAY - The multiplayer theme for Alinos.
• 06: VESPER_GATEWAY - The multiplayer theme for Vesper Defense Outpost.
• 07: ARCTERRA_GATEWAY - The multiplayer theme for Arcterra.
• 08: SHADOWS - The theme that plays at the entrance of the Celestial Archives and in the Fuel Stack.
• 09: ENEMIES - The theme that plays while battling certain Psycho Bits, Barbed War Wasps, and Voldrums.
• 10: THE_ARCHIVES - The theme that plays throughout the Celestial Archives.
• 11: PURSUIT - The theme that plays during initial encounters with Kanden and Spire.
• 12: KANDEN - The theme that plays while battling Kanden.
• 13: FOREBODING - The theme that plays in Data Shrine 02 (before encountering Kanden), the Stronghold Void, and the Oubliette.
• 14: CRETAPHID - The theme that plays while battling Cretaphids.
• 15: AFTERMATH - The theme that plays after a boss is defeated, and in the Alimbic Cannon Control Room.
• 16: ESCAPE - The theme that plays during countdown sequences.
• 17: ALINOS - The theme that plays throughout Alinos.
• 18: SPIRE - The theme that plays while battling Spire.
• 19: SLENCH - The theme that plays while battling Slenches.
• 20: THE_OUTPOST - The theme that plays throughout Vesper Defense Outpost.
• 21: GUARDIANS - The theme that plays while battling Guardians.
• 22: SYLUX - The theme that plays while battling Sylux.
• 23: DESOLATION - The theme that plays at the entrance of Arcterra.
• 24: ARCTERRA - The theme that plays throughout Arcterra.
• 25: NOXUS - The theme that plays while battling Noxus.
• 26: TRACE - The theme that plays while battling Trace.
• 27: THE_ELDERS - The theme that plays in the depths of Alinos.
• 28: DEMON_SPAWN - The theme that plays while battling Fire Spawn and Arctic Spawn.
• 29: SPACE_DECAY - The theme that plays in the Celestial Archives airlock.
• 30: WATCHING - The theme that plays in the depths of Vesper Defense Outpost.
• 31: WEAVEL - The theme that plays while battling Weavel.
• 32: GOREA - The first theme that plays during the Gorea boss battle.
• 33: HUNTERS - The theme that plays during the staff credits.
• 34: GOREA_RETURNS - The second theme that plays during the Gorea boss battle, and the multiplayer theme for the Oubliette.

Hunters is the only Prime game to feature replayable music in any version of it where the tracks do not have to be unlocked with in-game currency. It is also the only Metroid game with a traditional Sound Test to not be a remake of a previous game.

The Hunters Music Test is the most complete of any Sound Test, containing almost every full theme in the game. However, it is still missing a few tracks, including the various Hunter Gunship themes, the Noxus vs. Trace theme, the Arcterra and VDO timed puzzle themes, the malfunctioning Fuel Stack theme (a version of Vesper Gateway that speeds up as the energy overflow in the room continues) and the variations of Gorea's first theme. Like all other Sound Tests, it also lacks jingles and cutscene music.

Metroid: Samus Returns

In this game, the Sound Test is unlocked via scanning the Zero Suit Samus amiibo, having finishing the game once. It is accessed via the Gallery section of the Options. Music tracks are given the following names:

• Prologue - The theme that plays during the game's prologue and Chozo Memories.
• Menu - The theme that plays in the menus, set inside Samus's Gunship.
• Surface 1 - The theme that plays on the lower-right part of the Surface after acquiring the Scan Pulse.
• Boss Battle 1 - The theme that plays during standard Alpha Metroid battles.
• Area 1 - The theme that plays throughout Area 1 and the second half of Area 7.
• Area 2 - The theme that plays in superheated rooms.
• Boss Battle 2 - The theme that plays during Gamma Metroid battles.
• Boss Battle 3 - The theme that plays during the Arachnus battle.
• Area 3 - The theme that plays in the lowest section of Area 3.
• Area 4 - The theme that plays in the first half of Area 4.
• Boss Battle 4 - The theme that plays during Zeta Metroid battles.
• Area 5 - The theme that plays in the middle section of Area 5.
• Area 6 - The theme that plays in the lower tunnels of Area 6 after the first Chozo Seal is unlocked.
• Boss Battle 5 - The theme that plays during Omega Metroid battles.
• Boss Battle 6 - The theme that plays during the Diggernaut battle.
• Area 7 - The theme that plays in the first half of Area 7.
• Area 8 - The theme that plays in the lowest section of Area 8.
• Boss Battle 7 - The theme that plays during the Queen Metroid battle.
• Surface 2 - The theme that plays on the left side of the Surface after the baby hatches.
• Boss Battle 8 - The first theme that plays during first phase of the Proteus Ridley battle.
• End Results - The theme that plays in the ending when displaying the time taken to beat the game.

Full themes not included in the Sound Test include Title, M2 Surface Arr, all versions of Silence, M2 Ancient Chozo Ruins Arr, Matad Ambi, Boss Alpha2, Area4 5 Basic, Area2 Basic, Area2 Add1, Met2 Caverns3, Met2 Caverns4, Boss Manic Miner Chase, Area Indefinite, Met2 Ancient Chozo Ruins, Area1 Add1, Matad Area01 Damage, Metroid Nest, Area10 Basic, Met2 Metroid Hatching, Boss Ridley Second, Boss Ridley Third, and Staff Credit.

Jingles and cutscene themes not included in the Sound Test include Movie Ship Landing, both versions of Samus Aran's Appearance Fanfare, Get Artifact Jingle, Item Acquisition Fanfare, Boss Before, Matad Jinchozo, Tank Jingle, Event Jingle, Movie Ending, and Chozo Gallery.