Metroid Prime 4: Beyond rewards thorough exploration and dedicated collection with a robust achievement system. From scanning every creature to finding all hidden artifacts, these achievements offer a satisfying meta-game for completionists. This section details the various collectible and exploration-based achievements you can unlock.
Collectible Achievements
These achievements are tied to finding and collecting specific items scattered throughout the game's vast environments. This includes:
- Missile Expansions: Finding all Missile Tanks in a given area or across the entire game.
- Energy Tanks: Locating all Energy Tanks to permanently increase Samus's health.
- Power Bomb Expansions: Discovering all Power Bomb Tanks for increased explosive capacity.
- Artifacts/Relics: Depending on the game's lore, there may be unique collectible items that unlock specific achievements upon gathering a certain number or all of them.
Each collectible type often has its own tiered achievement, encouraging players to seek out every last one. For example, you might get an achievement for finding 50% of Missile Tanks, then another for 100%.
Exploration Achievements
These achievements focus on how you interact with and discover the game world:
- Scan Achievements: Scanning a certain percentage of the game's flora, fauna, and lore entries. This encourages players to use the Scan Visor extensively.
- Area Completion: Fully exploring specific regions of the game, often indicated by a completion percentage in the pause menu. This might involve finding all items, defeating all enemies, or activating all necessary mechanisms.
- Secret Areas: Discovering hidden rooms or pathways that are not immediately obvious.
- Lore Entries: Unlocking all lore entries by scanning specific objects or defeating certain enemies.
Tips for Achievement Hunting
- Utilize the Scan Visor: Make it a habit to scan everything you encounter. Many lore entries and enemy weaknesses are only revealed through scanning.
- Backtrack Regularly: As you acquire new abilities, revisit previously explored areas. Many paths and collectibles become accessible only with new upgrades.
- Check Your Map: Pay attention to unexplored sections of your map. Areas that are entirely blank or have unvisited rooms are prime targets for exploration.
- Listen to Audio Logs: Lore entries often provide hints about hidden areas or the sificance of certain collectibles.
Achieving these milestones not only grants bragging rights but also often unlocks concept art, lore entries, or even in-game bonuses, making the pursuit of completion a rewarding experience.