The Wall Jump,[1][2][3][4] also referred to as the Triangle Jump,[1] Touch & Go,[5] or Kick Climb (キッククライム ),[6][7][8] is a technique used to kick off a wall to gain more height. This technique is considered "hidden" as it is not directly taught to the player, and is used in the 2-D Metroid games to Sequence Break and gain access to areas that would normally require a special upgrade such as the High Jump Boots.
In 2-D games[]
This is one of the most important techniques when mastering Metroid gameplay. It is not listed in the games' instruction manuals, but it is demonstrated in Super Metroid by three Etecoons in a secret room. The Wall Jump technique breaks down like this: Samus must Spin Jump (jump while running) at a wall so that she touches the wall. When Samus is touching the wall, the player must press and hold the control pad away from the wall. Samus should momentarily look like she is clinging to the wall. At that moment, the player must press the jump button again. If done correctly, Samus will spring off the wall in the opposite direction. Although Samus "learns" the Wall Jump from the Etecoons, the ability does not require an actual power-up and can be performed right at the beginning of the game.
In narrow vertical shafts, Samus can bounce back and forth between walls by performing the move in opposite directions. In Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission, this technique only requires one wall, allowing Samus to bounce her way up a free-standing wall. Once this move is truly mastered, Samus can explore areas and obtain items which are otherwise inaccessible without further upgrades. While the technique requires very precise timing in Super Metroid, later games in the series have been more forgiving.
Another form of wall jumping is known as the Continuous Wall Jump (CWJ) and involves pixel and frame perfect inputs, but allows Samus to Wall Jump off of the top of a column, while still going in the same direction. The most notable use of this can be going across the Interior Lake without the Grappling Beam, or Speed Booster, by wall jumping off of the column with the Missile Expansion to clear the second half of the room. This technique however, is very risky, and normally is only used outside of Tool-Assisted Speedruns to preform the Sequence Break mentioned above.
As Samus is already very acrobatic from her training with the Chozo, she can still Wall Jump while in her Zero Suit.
In Metroid Fusion, the Wall Jump has been altered. When Samus tries to Wall Jump, she will jump away from the wall in a set arc, making it impossible to continuously jump on one wall as in Super Metroid (without the Screw Attack). This is one of many changes made to the game to presumably prevent Sequence Breaking. While this iteration did not return in Zero Mission, in which the Wall Jump acts more similarly to Super Metroid, Metroid: Samus Returns uses a similar version to Fusion. Samus also cannot perform a Wall Jump in a 1 block wide gap. This was presumably to place more emphasis on the Spider Ball ability returning from Metroid II: Return of Samus. However, shooting immediately after Wall Jumping will stop all forward momentum, allowing Samus to spin back to the wall and jump off it again.[9]
The Wall Jump returns in Metroid Dread and functions similarly to Samus Returns. Samus can maintain the Speed Booster while wall jumping, which is necessary to solve certain Shinespark puzzles.
In 3-D games[]
The Screw Attack in both Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption allows Samus to bounce between two special Wall Jump Surfaces, which looks almost identical to the Wall Jump of older Metroid games. The player only needs to press the jump button in these games, and Samus will automatically Wall Jump off of any other normal walls if she comes into contact with them while doing the Screw Attack.
Metroid Prime Pinball has a minigame called Wall Jump where the player must alternately press the buttons for the left and right flippers in time to scale both screens of the Nintendo DS for an Artifact, Extra Ball, or Special.
Metroid: Other M features the technique again, but using the alternate name "Kick Climb". The jump appears slightly differently when Samus is in and out of her suit. When in and out of her suit, she rockets off the wall with the help of the boosters on her back, with a pop sound also heard when the Speed Booster activates. In the Zero Suit, she does a spin jump through the air after bouncing off the wall. This time, it functions more like the wall jumping in the Mario series, as the game does not require the player to change directions on the control pad when jumping from wall to wall.
Official data[]
Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- DO THE WALL JUMP
- "The three little Etecoons will show Samus how to do the Wall Jump, also known as the Triangle Jump. When you Spin Jump and hit the wall, wait a split second and then press the Control Pad in the opposite direction. Just as you are pressing the Control Pad the other way, press the Jump Button. Samus will appear to "squat" on the wall and then jump out from it. Thank the Etecoons later!"
Nintendo Power Volume 59[]
- TOUCH & GO
- "When Samus jumps up to some flat surfaces, she can hang on for a fraction of a second, change her direction and jump again."
Metroid: Other M On-Screen Tutorial[]
KICK CLIMB
Press and hold [D-Pad] toward a wall and press [2] with good timing to consecutively kick your way up. (Don't change direction with [D-Pad].)
Metroid.com[]
Kick Climb
"Traversing vertical corridors is a cinch for Samus as she leaps from side to side with minimal effort, through elevator shafts and more."
Metroid: Other M manual[]
- Kick Climb
- "If you press and hold the +Control Pad in the direction of the wall and press the 2 Button with good timing, you'll kick your way up the wall. Note: You don't have to change the direction you're pressing on the +Control Pad."
Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide[]
- HOW TO PLAY - ADVANCED TECHNIQUES (p. 9)
- WALL-JUMPING
- "Perform a Spin Jump toward a wall, then push the Circle Pad in the direction opposite the wall while pressing the Jump button at the same time. This causes Samus to push off the wall for a small boost--a technique called wall-jumping. You can continuously perform this technique, so long as there are two walls in close proximity, allowing Samus to bounce up them with ease."
- WALKTHROUGH - SURFACE (p. 33)
- WALL-JUMPING
- "Wall-jumping is a staple of the Metroid series, though none of the game requires you to use the technique. Wall-jumping allows you to climb certain spaces well before you would reach them when following normal game progression. It provides a faster means of traversing parts of SR388's terrain.
Jump toward a wall from a good distance away to spin while jumping. If you don't start spinning, press the Jump button a second time while in the air. As soon as you brush the wall, press the Circle Pad in the opposite direction while pushing the Jump button at the same time. This takes a bit of practice, but it's worth taking the time to master."
Metroid Dread Report Volume 5[]
"Samus’ unparalleled physical abilities elevate her jump actions to another level. One such action is wall jumping, where she can jump up and kick off against a wall to climb even higher.
Nintendo of America tweet[]
"Samus’ unparalleled physical abilities allow her to perform a variety of jumping actions, such as wall jumping. She can also enhance her jumps by obtaining a new ability called "Spin Boost" that allows her to jump again while spinning."[10]
Metroid Dread loading screen tip[]
Development notes[]
A rendering error in Metroid Fusion causes Samus's left arm to disappear when she Wall Jumps off a wall to the left. This error does not occur if she Wall Jumps to the right.[11]
According to Bryan Walker, the Screw Attack and Wall Jump were implemented in Echoes due to fan demand. Walker refers to the Wall Jump as Kick Jump in this interview.[12]
Trivia[]
- In Super Metroid, the Spin Jump will be cancelled if a Wall Jump is executed with a Spin Jump Attack. This is not the case in Metroid Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid: Samus Returns, or Metroid Dread.
- If timed correctly, if Samus takes damage in Super Metroid, the player can perform the same inputs for a wall kick in order to make Samus kick herself away from the hazard. This is known as "Damage Boosting".
- If Samus Wall Jumps on enemies frozen by the Ice Beam in Super Metroid, they will shake. The same applies to the deceased Spore Spawn.
- In Metroid Fusion, Samus says that it was the Etecoons and Dachoras who taught her to Wall Jump and Shinespark (they can be seen demonstrating these techniques to her in Super Metroid). However, Samus has both of these abilities in Metroid: Zero Mission, and the Wall Jump in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
- However, it should be noted in Echoes and Corruption it can only be done on certain surfaces and only works with the Screw Attack.
- In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the Bryyonian Labor Golem that Samus encounters in Falls of Fire is capable of wall jumping.
- Samus, Zero Suit Samus and Dark Samus are all able to Wall Jump in the Super Smash Bros. series. Ridley is the only Metroid character in Smash who cannot.
Appearances[]
- Super Metroid (first appearance)
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Metroid Fusion
- Metroid: Zero Mission
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Metroid Prime Pinball
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- New Play Control! Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Metroid Prime Trilogy
- Metroid: Other M
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
- Metroid: Samus Returns
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Metroid Dread
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide pg. 9
- ^ Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- ^ Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- ^ Metroid Dread
- ^ Nintendo Power volume 59, pg. 37
- ^ Nintendo Official Guide Book for Super Metroid
- ^ Metroid Zero Mission Official Site Super Technique
- ^ Metroid: Other M
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR1LCPFohto
- ^ Nintendo of America (NintendoAmerica). 24 August 2021 1:00 p.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1430213508755492870
- ^ DidYouKnowGaming? "Game Boy Advance Games (GBA) Mario, Zelda, Pokemon & more". YouTube. January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023. (starts at 10:33)
- ^ NOM Staff. "Post game report: Retro Studios talk Metroid Prime 2 Echoes". Computer and Video Games. December 3, 2004. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Sakurai, Masahiro (Sora_Sakurai). "1985年のきょう『スーパーマリオブラザーズ』発売!!" Translation: "Super Mario Bros." released today in 1985 !! 12 September 2020 11:00 p.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1304978109742166016
Special Actions | |
---|---|
Suit | Moon Walk • Spin Jump Attack • Wall Jump • Spin Jump • Crystal Flash • Shinespark • SenseMove Counter Attack • Search View • Strafe/Dash • Slide (Slide Jump) • Parkour |
Arm Cannon | Special Charge Beam Attacks • Headshot • Lock-on • Welding • Overblast • Lethal Strike • Concentration Precision Aiming • Free Aim • Melee Counter |
Morph Ball | Bomb Jump • Bomb-Trick • Five-Bomb Drop • Turbo Bomb • Ball Spark • Boost Jump • Boost Charge Spider Boost • Tower Jump |
See also | Super Smash Bros. moves • Glitches • Sequence Breaking |