A complete guide to Super Metroid speedrunning - User contributions [en]

Shinespark

2024-09-07T03:05:07Z

StitchL0rd: /* Horizontal Shinespark */ added a second jump press to the instructions.

The '''shinespark''', oftentimes shortened to simply "spark", is a technique that allows Samus to travel at an extremely high speed [[Damage Sources#Other|at the expense of energy]] until Samus collides with a surface she cannot pass through with the technique.

Upon colliding with such a surface, a 70 frame 'crash' animation will occur, which will produce a pair of 'echoes' the moment it ends. The shinespark and the echoes it produces can instantly destroy most creatures affected by their [[Damage|damage]].

The shinespark can be performed either from the ground or in the air and can travel either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. A shinespark cannot send Samus traveling downwards in any circumstance. Vertical shinesparks have a different flight animation than horizontal/diagonal shinesparks.

Shinesparks can still be performed underwater (or in lava/acid/sand) even without the assistance of [[Gravity Suit]] so long as there is a shinespark charge active; however, horizontal shinesparks performed in lava/sand will travel ''much'' slower than normal (regardless of Gravity Suit), and diagonal shinesparks performed in lava/sand will send Samus flying directly upwards instead, with very slight pixel shifts forward.

Using the [[X-Ray Scope]] with a shinespark charge will immediately nullify the shinespark charge.

Activating a [[Charge Beam Combos|Charge Beam Combo]] then performing a shinespark will reduce the crash duration of every subsequent shinespark by 31 frames while the combo is still active. After it wears off or all of its particles collide with an enemy, only the next shinespark will have reduced crash duration.

While in midair, Samus cannot activate a shinespark while the shot button is being held.

Unless Samus is in a crouched position, Samus cannot activate a shinespark while the angle down button is being held.

== Shinespark Charging ==

To charge a shinespark, perform the following:

* Have [[Speed Booster]] equipped
* Hold the run button while moving forward until Samus turns blue, producing echoes
* Slide your thumb on the directional pad from forward to down

If you were successful, Samus should appear to be flashing white.

The length of a shinespark charge is 180 frames on NTSC (3 seconds) and 143 frames on PAL (2.86 seconds). These lengths can effectively be increased by the [[Charge Beam]]. Firing a charged beam shot with a shinespark charge will delay the shinespark timer by one frame each time, allowing up to a maximum delay of three frames.

== Grounded Shinespark ==

To perform a shinespark from the ground, perform the following:

* While in a stationary position with a shinespark charged, press and hold the jump button
* Press forward (whichever direction (left or right) you are facing) or up on the directional pad

The Dachora at the bottom of [[Dachora Room]] teaches the player how to perform a vertical shinespark of this type.

If you want to shinespark diagonally instead, be holding angle up when you press jump.

Shinesparking in this manner is complicated by the fact that if you press left or right before activating the shinespark (or if you already are holding left or right) away from a wall, you will gain momentum, preventing activation.

The window of time between when you activate a shinespark and when you can press a directional button is half a second -- specifically, if you press jump to activate it on Frame 0, you can press right and jump as early as Frame 2, and as late as Frame 30. Jump technically doesn't need to be held, but that will be easiest for all non-TAS runs. If the inputs aren't correctly done for an angle or horizontal shinespark in this window, it will be vertical.

{{#ev:youtube|7TyTiCzWqGM}}

== Aerial Shinespark ==

To perform a shinespark from the air, perform the following:

* Spinjump with a shinespark charged
* Release the jump button
* Press and release up on the directional pad or angle up
* Press and hold the jump button
* Press forward (whichever direction (left or right) your spinjump was traveling in) on the directional pad

If you continue to hold up or angle up when you press jump, you will instead immediately shinespark directly up or diagonally up, respectively.

If you are holding shot and/or angle down (which will break spin), and release those buttons while holding jump, you will activate the shinespark, which will travel directly upwards unless additional input occurs to change its course.

Because of angle down preventing shinespark activation in this manner, it can be used to 'prepare' shinesparks (and prevent potential accidental activations), which can be useful in specific situations, such as fighting [[Draygon]].

Breaking out of your spinjump by pressing shot is different than the above. Pressing up or forward while holding jump after breaking out of your spinjump with shot will cause Samus to immediately shinespark, whereas pressing and releasing forward after breaking out of your spinjump with shot will activate the shinespark.

If you press and hold jump, press shot, then release jump afterward or press and hold jump, press and hold shot, release jump, then release shot, you will be able to activate a shinespark with up or angle up. Pressing angle down instead will place Samus in the 'prepared' state.

The window of time to press right or angle up with an aerial shinespark is almost the same as a grounded shinespark -- 1 to 29 frames after activating it, instead of 2 to 30.

== Suitless Shinespark ==

The window of time for the shinespark inputs changes if you're in water without [[Gravity Suit]], such as when collecting the energy tank in [[Waterway Energy Tank Room]] in [[RBO]] or Randomizer.

For a grounded shinespark, if you press jump to activate the shinespark on Frame 0, you can press left on Frame 5 to do a horizontal shinespark. Pressing left on Frame 4 will result in a vertical spark, and pressing left on Frames 1, 2, or 3 will actually cause the shinespark activation to not happen, and you will simply jump left instead. This is because it takes several frames from the jump press for Samus to "wind up" her jump before leaving the ground. For this reason you also need to press jump earlier in terms of the 180 frame window to activate the shinespark after charging it. You can press left as late as Frame 33, otherwise you will do a vertical spark on Frame 34.

An "aerial" spark suitless in water has the same window as it does outside of water: 1 to 29 frames after activating it.

== Practical Guide ==

=== Vertical Shinespark ===

The vertical shinespark is the easiest to perform - regardless of if it is being performed from the ground or air - as the shinespark will default to this mode.

To perform a vertical shinespark from the ground, simply press the jump button while in a stationary position. If you are holding up before pressing jump, the shinespark will immediately send Samus flying upward.

{{#ev:youtube|RsG6fhwXj3M}}

To perform a vertical shinespark from the air, simply press up while in a spinjump. If you are holding jump before pressing up, the shinespark will immediately send Samus flying upward.

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=== Horizontal Shinespark ===

The horizontal shinespark is always performed in the direction you are already facing, regardless of if it is being performed from the ground or air.

To perform a horizontal shinespark from the ground, press and hold jump, then press forward. Note: You must press up within a narrow window of frames after holding jump or else Samus will do a vertical shinespark.

{{#ev:youtube|UdA_s3HjK_w}}

To perform a horizontal shinespark from the air:

1. Press and release jump to perform a spinjump in the direction you want to horizontally shinespark in.

2. While spinning in the air after releasing jump, press and release up on the dpad (or angle up) to initiate the shinespark. Note: holding jump and up (or angle up) simultaneously will immediately cause a vertical shinespark (or diagonal shinespark).

3. After releasing up (or angle up), immediately press and hold jump and forward on the dpad. Note: you must press forward within a narrow window of frames after initiating the shinespark or Samus will do a vertical shinespark.

{{#ev:youtube|RIdkBhclgnw}}

=== Diagonal Shinespark ===

The diagonal shinespark is also always performed in the direction you are already facing.

To perform a diagonal shinespark from the ground, hold angle up and press jump while a shinespark is charged.

{{#ev:youtube|N9ClsP0c43I}}

To perform a diagonal shinespark from the air:

1. Perform a spinjump in the horizontal direction you want to diagonally shinespark in (e.g. if you want to diagonally shinespark towards the top-left, you would do a spinjump to the left and vice-versa for diagonal right shinesparks).

Note: It's important that you let go of the jump button when you press it for this spinjump (do not hold it) or else the game's input reader will think you want to perform a different action for your shinespark.

2. While spinning in the air, hold angle up and then press jump. Do not press any directions on the dpad while you do this.

Note: you must perform this input within a narrow window of frames after initiating the shinespark or Samus will do a vertical shinespark. Alternatively you can press jump and then hold angle up, but you also have a narrow window of frames to hold angle up after pressing jump before the game's input reader interprets your inputs as a vertical shinespark.

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=== Lava/Sand ===

If you do accidentally start a spark inside lava, you can conserve health, and probably save time, by turning off Speed Booster.

{{#ev:youtube|AJoe7OUMgL8}}

Unfortunately this does not apply to sand, so you will simply need to wait for the shinespark to finish.

== See also ==

* [[Quick charge]]
* [[Short charge]]
* [[General Movement]]

Mother Brain

2020-06-21T01:42:07Z

StitchL0rd: Moved info about the glass to the General Knowledge section

{{Boss info
|title=Mother Brain 1
|image=MotherBrain1.png
|location=[[Mother Brain Room]], [[Tourian]]
|health=3000
}}
Mother Brain is the final boss of the game. She has three phases, which are usually referred to as MB1, MB2, and MB3.

MB1 rests within her glass tank. MB2 rises from the ground into a mechanized body, fought before acquiring [[Hyper Beam]]. MB3 is an ultra-aggressive version of the previous form, fought after acquiring Hyper Beam and/or during [[Standup Glitch]].

= MB1 =

== General Knowledge ==

Mother Brain and the glass are only vulnerable to [[Missile|Missiles]] and [[Super Missile|Super Missiles]].

Mother Brain has 3000 health. Shots that strike the glass do not deplete her health and only damage the glass, while shots that strike her damage both.

Partially breaking the glass to begin damaging her requires 6 shots while fully breaking the glass requires an additional 12 shots.

Mother Brain will not transition from her first phase into her second phase until both the glass tank surrounding her has been completely removed and her health has been fully depleted.

Contact with Mother Brain deals 30 / 60 / 120 damage to [[Gravity Suit]] / [[Varia Suit]] / [[Power Suit]] Samus, respectively, and ignores invulnerability.

Contact with the surface above or in front of Mother Brain's glass tank deals 15 / 30 / 60 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

== Interactions ==

If Samus is struck by a turret shot, it will produce a cloud that lingers in the air for around a second. This cloud can consume a Missile or Super Missile if one comes in contact with it, which is more reason to be careful when firing at MB1 in lower-percentage categories. There is a group of white pixels that will appear in the air as long as this cloud is present.

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Although MB1's glass tank can be accessed and struck from the back through glitched means, it is not possible to break MB1's glass tank from the back. It will show that it has begun to crack, but never break open.

Rinkas being present while you damage MB1 can cause substantial lag, so it is recommended that you destroy them. Freezing them before destroying them will greatly increase the time it will take for them to respawn.

In categories such as [[14% Speed]] where the above is not possible, it is instead recommended that you simply dodge them to the best of your ability. Jumping then morphing to dodge Rinkas while in midair is probably the most effective way to dodge all of them at once.

Below are some examples of how to handle MB1 in categories where [[Ice Beam]] is not present.

{{#ev:youtube|P4pElnonbqw}} {{#ev:youtube|049ZVbD4DkQ}}

After MB1 has been defeated, the screen will scroll directly onto Mother Brain so she can begin transitioning into her second phase. Although you can minimize the time the game spends scrolling the screen by being closer to Mother Brain right when the scrolling occurs, doing so does not save time as Mother Brain will always take approximately the same amount of time to transition regardless of the time spent scrolling the screen.

Categories that have an abundance of energy, such as [[100%]], can defeat MB1 in the manner below, which will reduce the travel time of Super Missiles, the lag during the sequence, and the likelihood of interference from turrets and Rinkas.

{{#ev:youtube|yOSJYssQg84}}

{{Boss info
|title=Mother Brain 2 / 3
|image=MotherBrain2.gif
|location=[[Mother Brain Room]], [[Tourian]]
|health=18000 / 36000
}}

= MB2 =

== General Knowledge ==

Any part of Mother Brain's body will deal 30 / 60 / 120 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and ignores invulnerability.

Mother Brain's eye laser will deal 30 / 60 / 120 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

Mother Brain's rings will deal 20 / 40 / 80 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and ignore invulnerability.

Mother Brain's bombs will deal 40 / 80 / 160 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

The explosion from Mother Brain's bombs will deal 20 / 40 / 80 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and can strike multiple times depending on how Samus comes into contact with it.

The center of the explosion from Mother Brain's bombs will deal 0 / 1 / 3 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

When below 4500 health, Mother Brain will gain the ability to use her explosive red beam attack, which will deal 100 / 200 / 400 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and can strike multiple times depending on how Samus comes into contact with it.

When at zero health, Mother Brain will gain the ability to use her rainbow beam attack, which she will being charging as soon as possible, and will deal 300 / 600 damage to Samus with Varia Suit equipped / Samus without Varia Suit equipped, respectively. This will also drain Samus' ammo, draining 1 Power Bomb each frame, and 1 Missile and 1 Super Missile every 3 or 4 frames. This drains 75 Missiles, and in the vanilla game will drain all Super Missiles and Power Bombs.

== Offense / Defense ==

As MB2's body ignores invulnerability, it serves as a fantastic way to deal damage to yourself.

MB2's bombs can be destroyed by your own [[Bomb|bombs]]. As a safety option, it is not recommended because of the time required to destroy her bombs. MB2 has a tendency to immediately spawn a bomb after one has been destroyed.

Both the bomb object and the bomb explosion can be negated by the effects of either [[Screw Attack]] or [[Pseudo Screw Attack|pseudo-Screw]], but this is rarely relevant.

MB2 cannot create another bomb when one is already on screen and she will sometimes crouch before planting bombs. MB2's frequency in spawning bombs will increase the more you stay grounded.

MB2's eye laser can also be negated by a "screw" effect. It is MB2's secondary counter to aerial actions, as it travels in a straight line directly out of her eye.

Because MB2's rings ignore invulnerability and fire in a volley, it is quite easy to be "combo'd" by them if you aren't careful. This is one of MB2's most fearsome attacks since it is available to MB2 during the entire fight, cannot be negated by a "screw" effect, and cannot always be predicted. MB2 tends to fire rings based on how often you leave the ground.

Despite MB2's body and her rings ignoring invulnerability, they do happen to grant a normal invulnerability period.

MB2's redbeam is composed of a number of explosion hitboxes making it possible for multiple to strike Samus at the same time. It is also possible for redbeam to not deal any damage to Samus when it appears to land. This is more commonly experienced when morphed, but it is entirely possible to have happen even when Samus is standing still. It simply depends on what pattern is formed by the explosions of the beam.

If MB2 produces a bomb, MB2 will not be able to fire a redbeam until that bomb detonates.

Perhaps surprisingly, redbeam can also be avoided by "screw" effects. It will also sometimes not be generated depending on which sprites are on screen at the time of MB2 attempting to fire it, indicated by MB2's hand flicking without creating a beam.

"Screw" effects as a safety option are inherently slow because they require you to stop charging the beam, increasing the length of the fight.

Players who are experienced enough to consistently survive MB2 in lower-percentage categories tend to agree that the scariest part of the fight is around the moment that MB2 gains the ability to fire redbeam. To prevent being caught off-guard, it is important to keep track of how many charged shots have struck MB2 during the fight to know when she will be able to fire it. Once you have avoided this initial redbeam, the rest of the fight should be much easier to handle than before.

A common piece of misinformation is that MB2 gains the ability to fire redbeam at 25% health when she actually gains it when she goes ''below'' 25% health, similar to how Ridley actually enrages when he goes ''below'' 50% health, not ''at'' 50% health.

MB2's rainbow beam is unavoidable if it fires. Even if Samus is out of bounds when it is fired, it will drag Samus back inside the chamber, dealing damage and stunning her.

The energy drain from MB2's rainbow beam will take up to 15 frames longer to occur depending on how far away Samus is from the right wall when it makes contact with her.

{{#ev:youtube|AZl1qaaaxIQ}}

MB2 will move forward frequently during the fight, and will move backward when her brain is struck. Even uncharged beam shots and normal bombs can force her back as long as they strike her brain.

== Categories ==

=== 14% ===

Below are video examples of four MB2 fighting styles using [[14% Ice]] items.

'''Underneath'''

{{#ev:youtube|QshSn9p9u1M}}

'''Underneath (Jumping)'''

{{#ev:youtube|NAaq5jLkHBo}}

'''Wall'''

{{#ev:youtube|oFAcqauMbPE}}

'''Wall (Jumping)'''

{{#ev:youtube|W2Te5XuEn3Q}}

'''Pre-Redbeam'''

Each fighting style has its own positives and negatives that you should weigh appropriately when deciding which to use. Although the video examples give a decent indication of the strengths and weaknesses of the styles, they do not showcase every possible detail, and are not indicative of how you in particular would execute them.

A negative of fighting underneath MB2 is that it suffers from needing to perform turnaround animations during the fight in response to MB2 moving forward and backward during the fight. Every time a turnaround animation is performed, it prevents the beam from charging for six frames until the turnaround animation completes. Although it is a minor drawback, it can add up over the course of a 4-7 minute fight.

Another negative of fighting underneath is that shots can be blocked by her hand.

Fighting underneath MB2 without performing jump manipulation can result in more opportunities to be sniped by one of MB2's other attacks when you attempt to avoid a bomb explosion.

Fighting underneath MB2 while performing jump manipulation can result in opportunities to accidentally bump heads with MB2 when she ducks down to drop a bomb.

Although fighting against the wall removes most issues that fighting underneath has, the primary negative of fighting against the wall is shots can miss due to MB2 ducking her head. Additionally, a lack of jump manipulation may cause more hard-to-dodge patterns to occur in comparison.

Jumping frequently during the fight will encourage MB2 to use something other than her bombs because she is programmed to counter aerial movement with her other two attacks. This will make the ground a safer place during the fight for avoiding those attacks, and should cause you to need less turnarounds during the fight. With frequent enough jumps, you can essentially keep MB2 locked into those two attacks.

Styles that involve frequent jumping may quickly cause the player to experience fatigue in their hands depending on how they grip their controller.

The "Wall (Jumping)" style may take the longest to become comfortable using if you choose to use it, as your understanding of MB2's AI will greatly impact how effective it is.

When fighting against the wall, it is helpful to be in the habit of crouching before jumping over bombs as [[Hitbox Manipulation#Crouch Jump|crouch jumping]] will provide additional height, which can make avoiding certain volleys less tense. There are some situations where without the extra height, you may have to land on top of a bomb explosion that hasn't been cleared from the ground yet, and hope that your positioning was on point to nullify its damage.

Fighting against the wall may be the worse option for safety depending on your level of experience and execution.

During periods of time where MB2 has her head sticking out and appears to be locked into place for a few seconds, the recommended course of action is to either not jump at all, or stop jumping and then resume jumping right before you think this phase will end. If you do not jump at all, she will more than likely, once this phase ends, drop a bomb followed by an immediate ring volley.

It is of the utmost importance that you keep track of how many shots you have landed during the fight to know when MB2 will gain the ability to redbeam. If you happen to lose count, there are a few contingency plans. You can possibly abuse the fact that MB2 will preemptively cock her head back to fire redbeam when a bomb is down, which will act as a visual cue for when the first redbeam will be incoming. Alternatively, you may be able to extrapolate the time in which MB2 should be around redbeam phase based on the time in which, for example, MB1 hit the ground after her defeat, or MB2 rose from the ground. The former would require a timer and having knowledge of what amount of time typically passes between those two points. For example, if you are having a solid 14% Ice fight in terms of speed, MB2 should gain the ability to redbeam a little over three minutes past the point when MB1 hit the ground.

Ultimately, what matters the most is that you are able to defeat MB2. Even if a style seems like it would save slightly more time than another, the time you would potentially save means nothing if you cannot actually survive the fight.

'''Redbeam'''

You should be able to consistently fire three shots at MB2 every redbeam cycle. You should be able to squeeze in a 4th at least half of the time; however, depending on the sequence of events (how quickly MB2 is firing redbeams, how efficient are your shots, et cetera), it may be difficult to both release the fourth shot at the right time and input a jump to dodge an incoming redbeam. There are some ways to deal with this - three of which are listed below in the order of safest to riskiest.

{{#ev:youtube|fI_GIrb0bwc}}

It gives you plenty of space on the right side of the room with which to dodge anything MB2 could possibly throw at you. If all she does is fire a redbeam, then you simply run back to the wall, fire three shots, run back to her, and repeat the process ad nauseam.

This strategy probably causes an average loss of over a second per redbeam cycle, but should make the redbeam phase a cakewalk.

{{#ev:youtube|5IYVxM65Css}}

By holding your third charge shot on a cycle, you can fire it around the time MB2 would fire her redbeam so you can focus more of your attention on avoidance. It usually causes a little bit of lag by firing it around the time of a redbeam, which actually helps give you more time to react to MB2. It costs very little time, especially if you only do it on certain redbeam cycles. For example, a visual cue you can use to gauge whether or not you should hold your shot is how much of MB2's redbeam is left on the screen when you fire your first shot of a cycle.

{{#ev:youtube|s5YNgyZ7lR0}}

Similar to the above, except you do not hold your third charge shot, and instead hold your fourth charge shot at times where you need to jump while charging it. You basically predict that MB2 will immediately fire a redbeam after third shots and jump at the appropriate time, continuing your charge while in the air and firing it at the appropriate time.

=== 14% Ice ===

Charged Ice deals 90 damage, meaning it will take 200 shots to reduce MB2's health to zero.

MB2 will gain the ability to redbeam after 151 shots land.

Ice Shield particles also deal 90 damage each, so they are equivalent to a charged Ice shot.

The best way to open the fight is with three [[Charge Beam Combos#Ice Shield|Ice Shield]]s. You will want to position yourself next to the brain before it rises up from the ground, and charge the beam for the first Ice Shield the moment MB2's foot first appears as it emerges from the ground. Once the beam has reached its maximum visible charge (size), jump and hold jump so that all Ice Shield particles will connect with MB2. Do the same for the second. For the third, you will want to move forward a bit as you fall down since MB2 will more than likely start backing up. Although unlikely, it is possible that MB2 will instead not move backward and react with an eye laser or ring volley, so keep that in mind. If you want to be safe, only perform two Ice Shields instead.

You may find it to not be worthwhile to perform Ice Shields during later parts of the fight, such as during redbeam phase, as it can be very difficult to make all four particles consistently land. Even if you were able to, it would take you out of position and may affect your rhythm of charging the beam. It may be possible to squeeze the extra Ice Shields in during the middle of the fight, but would be quite risky due to MB2 being able to react with moving forward or using an aerial counter. There is also the chance that a particle does not get consumed, which would prevent the beam from being used.

=== 14% Speed ===

Charge by itself deals 60 damage, meaning it will take 300 shots to reduce MB2's health to zero.

MB2 will gain the ability to redbeam after 226 shots land.

Not much to explain here. It's basically just a more strenuous 14% Ice fight, so enjoy.

=== Any% KPDR ===

Charged Ice + [[Wave Beam|Wave]] + [[Plasma Beam|Plasma]] deals 900 damage, meaning it will only take 20 shots to reduce MB2's health to zero.

MB2 will gain the ability to redbeam after 16 shots land.

There isn't much that needs to be explained here. The fight is halfway over by the time MB2 does anything, and you usually only have to avoid one redbeam to survive that phase, so unless your familiarity with the fight is lacking, MB2 here is barely a threat.

{{#ev:youtube|bjN0xHrBDAQ}}

The above information can also apply to 100% Items, [[100% Map Completion|100% Map]], [[GT Classic]], and [[RBO|Reverse Boss Order]].

=== Any% PRKD ===

Charged Ice + Wave + [[Spazer]] deals 300 damage, meaning it will take 60 shots to reduce MB2's health to zero.

MB2 will gain the ability to redbeam after 46 shots land.

Although this version of the fight is substantially longer than the above, certain 14% strategies should not be involved. Namely, fighting underneath MB2 is not advisable due to Spazer's width; however, if you want to still perform jump manipulation, you can freely abuse medium-sized jumps with [[Hi-Jump Boots]] during the fight.

{{#ev:youtube|kdQPtyOz_P0}} {{#ev:youtube|z_rv802mkpo}}

A way to potentially save time during MB2 that applies more to Any% PRKD than other categories involves MB2's rainbow cutscene. MB2 will not transition into her rainbow cutscene until a) her health becomes zero and b) she is off of her attack cooldown. Basically, depending on MB2's attack sequence, she can either transition into her rainbow cutscene the moment she hits zero health, or she may spend some seconds on attack cooldown from a redbeam, which wastes time. MB2's redbeam causes an attack cooldown of close to four seconds (meaning she cannot do anything for that amount of time), which affects her transition. It may be possible (perhaps through efficient charge beam usage, or perhaps through jump manipulation or a similar sort of manipulation) to somewhat consistently have the 60th shot land around the time she is off attack cooldown rather than around the time she fires another redbeam, so that you can minimize the amount of time MB2's delay costs you.

As you may notice from the video examples, when you are aware that MB2 is close to zero health and believe she will not have time to fire another redbeam, you can reduce the distance between Samus and MB2 when firing the remaining shots. You can do this to potentially prevent another redbeam from occurring, which as explained previously, would place MB2 on attack cooldown and delay the rainbow cutscene further.

Examples of MB2 fights where MB2 immediately transitions into her rainbow cutscene include [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMuXUvnk6Hg&t=28m50s Saturn's GT Classic TAS] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tse9ytU3dA&t=43m30s&hd=1 Saturn's Reverse Boss Order TAS]. You can witness that the moment that the 20th shot connects, MB2 transitions without delay. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXD6w-M4H4w&t=38m55s Behemoth's 43:46] includes a genuine example of this concept, with the 60th shot landing while MB2 is off attack cooldown after recently planting a bomb, resulting in a transition that isn't delayed.

== Rainbow Cutscene ==

Before transitioning into her third phase, Mother Brain will, of course, unleash her rainbow beam upon Samus, and then will be attacked by the Super Metroid before she is able to fire another.

Interestingly, the speed of this sequence - specifically, the length of time it takes for Mother Brain to crouch down during the Super Metroid's attack - is variable.

For categories where the player is unable to perform the Standup Glitch, the primary factor that will determine how quickly Mother Brain will crouch down is actually her foot placement. If Mother Brain's foot is placed a few pixels more forward compared to what is normal, this will cause her to spend less time being attacked by the Super Metroid before crouching down, thus resulting in a swifter cutscene.

[[File:Sniq_foot.png]] [[File:Sat_foot.png]]

The left image is Mother Brain's normal foot placement. The right image is Mother Brain's "more forward" foot placement.

The reason why the resulting swifter cutscene happens is related to Mother Brain's head. How it shifts during the cutscene directly determines how long the cutscene takes.

The "more forward" foot position seems to only happen when Mother Brain steps slowly backward before firing redbeam.

Below is a comparison of various [[Tool Assisted Speedruns|tool assisted speedruns]]' cutscenes to demonstrate the potential difference in speed.

{{#ev:youtube|VzVB7DvKpoo}}

In terms of cutscene speed, Cpadolf's 100% is 2.5 seconds faster than Saturn's GT Classic, 3.45 seconds faster than Saturn's Any%, and 5.53 seconds faster than Sniq's Any%, meaning that Saturn's GT Classic is 0.95 seconds faster than Saturn's Any% and 2.97 seconds faster than Sniq's Any%, and Saturn's Any% is 2.08 seconds faster than Sniq's Any%. (figures are approximations)

The reason why Cpadolf's 100%, in particular, is so much faster than the others is because Samus is able to influence Mother Brain's head movement, independent of her prior foot placement. Saturn's GT Classic would have been able to do the same, but did not influence her as effectively, as perhaps it was not known at the time that it was possible to do so.

= MB3 =

== General Knowledge ==

Mother Brain has 36000 health.

Any part of Mother Brain's body will deal 30 / 60 / 120 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and ignores invulnerability.

Mother Brain's rings will deal 20 / 40 / 80 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and ignore invulnerability.

Mother Brain's bombs will deal 40 / 80 / 160 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

The explosion from Mother Brain's bombs will deal 20 / 40 / 80 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively, and can strike multiple times depending on how Samus comes into contact with it.

The center of the explosion from Mother Brain's bombs will deal 0 / 1 / 3 damage to Gravity Suit / Varia Suit / Power Suit Samus, respectively.

== Interactions ==

MB3 can only unleash rings and bombs, but will attempt to unleash them at a rate of roughly one attack per second, and will step forward while attacking with them much more than before.

MB3 can have multiple bombs active at once; however, their explosions will not expand nearly as far as MB2's.

Hyper Beam deals 1000 damage; therefore, 36 strikes will destroy her. Hyper Beam will also temporarily stun MB3 when it connects, pushing her back and preventing her from using attacks during this period. It is possible to keep MB3 stunlocked during the entire fight by landing shots frequently enough.

Having multiple Hyper Beams on the screen at once will generate substantial lag, so if you're optimizing for real time, try to minimize the distance between Samus and MB3 while firing so that this is avoided.

In categories that do not obtain Hi-Jump Boots, MB3 can be handled quite easily in the manner shown below. For most of the fight, you should be able to stand aligned with the closest dark vertical pipe / fifth floor tile from the right wall, hold angle up, press and hold jump, then press and hold shot about ten frames later until four Hyper Beams have been fired, and repeat this process until you are victorious. You may have to make slight adjustments depending on how MB3 shifts around, or if MB3 is able to spawn a bomb or rings.

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Often referred to as the "lag corner", a beginner's strategy for this phase is to stand in the corner of the right wall, face MB3, and hold the shot button and angle up during the entire fight. Even though it is very slow, it requires very little effort to survive the fight.

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= See also =

* [[Bosses]]
* [[Standup Glitch]]
* [[Murder Beam]]