geozeldadude wrote:finished metroid prime pinball recently. just curious if anyone has finished the hard mode. also, is it just me or is the pirate frigate board way harder than the tallon IV board?
After you mentioned this I started playing on Expert mode. Completing the multi-mission is *really hard*. I finally managed after a whole week and the full weekend practice. I did get 10 millions though (I'm sure there are better players out there but I thought it was quite good).
Everything starts at level two. You get NO extra balls with the only exception being when you complete the Artifact Temple (1 extra ball, basically). And then you head out to Impact Crater and good luck.
If anyone is trying to do it I have some strategies. It is good to think what you need to do, and also practice a bit on Single Mission mode (training the bosses, Artifact Temple and Impact Crater in particular).
I agree that the Tallon table is quite a bit easier, so don't use the Frigate at all. Start on Tallon and stick to that. There are 2 artifacts (and 2 power-ups) on the boss fights.
Ideally you leave Tallon Overworld for the first time with 10 artifacts and without having lost any balls. That means you don't have to return to the Overworld before taking your first attempt at the Artifact Temple. But it doesn't always happen that way. If you happen to leave with 9 artifacts, it is very much worth trying to get the 10th on Phendrana Drifts by smashing lots of those crystals that give you the Force Field.
Each time you need to leave Overworld you need to survive 3 modes: Burrowers (easy), Triclops (hardest) and Metroids (hard). If you already have all 10 artifacts, do NOT risk it - particularly for Triclops Terror, it is better to let the time expire than taking unnecessary risks.
Artifacts:
In general you should try to start by clearing either Triclops (ideal) or Metroids right at the start. If you lose there you haven't wasted much of your time and you can re-start.
In order to gather artifacts, the best ways are probably Combat mode (write SAMUS) and Wall Jump (Wall Jump used to be good for milking extra balls, but not in Expert mode :/). Possibly you are also good with the Hurry-up mode but to get the artifact you need to catch it really fast before the points start to go down which I found was often tricky.
The ones that aren't re-usable (as far as I can tell) are still worth pursuing: I found getting 10x bounty multiplier to be pretty simple, and also the multi-ball options were decent - you need to get the super jackpot to get the artifact there. I like to save my first Phason multi-ball for using on a Triclops Terror, which often means I don't get the super jackpot but I manage to clear the Triclops without losing an actual ball.
Phason Frenzy mode is almost as good as a free artifact if you get it (I usually didn't though). You just need to avoid the side-lanes and survive.
It is not particularly easy to get it, but if you can get a Super Combo (4x combo on consecutive ramps) you also get an artifact. Sometimes the shots line up one after the other and you nail it. I don't remember if this one is re-usable.
General survival:
You can't get extra balls so staying alive is the top priority - this bears repeating, you can always get more artifacts later. Let Triclops Terror and even Metroids time out if you don't think you are fairly safe.
In general you should try to keep the Force Field on as much as possible. This is particularly so when doing Triclops and Metroids on Overworld, and also on the boss fights. Getting an artifact or special gives you a bit of Force Field time, but the most common way is to enter the scanner. The scanner is actually extremely useful, it will also give you Health recharges when you are low and other stuff like that. Get used to accessing it frequently - this also goes for the bosses.
In terms of dying from zero Health, I only found this a genuine issue on boss fights (the biggest danger in Phendrana Drifts are the Triclops, although it is conceivable that you could get smashed by the boss).
Bosses:
I start always with Phendrana Drifts boss, although it is the easiest one for me. I do this because the Power Bomb can be helpful on Phason Mines, whereas the Missiles are not needed in Drifts. I try to leave Drifts with a Power Bomb, but if your Health is low or if there are two Triclops in the lower part of Drifts it may be better to just finish off the boss instead of hanging around.
In the Mines, it is better if you get more SAMUS letters before collecting the Missile (but don't enable Combat before getting the Missile, as it is hard to avoid it after it is ready). It is much easier to defeat the boss if you access Combat mode and use 4 missiles on it. I think that even if the boss is at full health, 4 missiles, 1 hit when he is recovering, and 1 Power bomb will kill him - but if you hit him twice that should work as well and you keep the Power bomb for the last boss if you get there.
If you get to the Artifact Temple and lose, you don't lose a life, but you get sent somewhere else. Personally I found it slightly safer to go back to Tallon and never even tried other options, but it may be worth trying Phendrana Drifts (although the boss will now be at level 3 I believe) instead.
On the final boss, the Power Ball is essential. Before grabbing the ability it is a good idea to use the Scanner to refill on Missiles and Power Bomb (although the Metroids will also drop Missiles often and Power Bomb rarely).
It takes 3 Power hits to get to the final form (which is a bitch) - it is a bit tricky, you can use your bombs near the legs that block your way to the Power Ball power-ups to clear the way for the shot (that way you don't need to actually take the shot twice).
Use your Power Bomb on the final form if you have it, you will probably want to focus on using the Power Ball on it. If you get Combat ready the missiles also knock some of its health down so it is good to have all 4 with you.
Ivo.
