Metroid Prime 4 Beyond: The Ultimate 100% Completion Guide for the True Ending

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond doesn't just have one ending - it has four, and the one you see is a direct reflection of your thoroughness. Your final reward hinges on a brutal 100% completion checklist, a gauntlet of missable scans and one-time-only items. This guide breaks down every requirement and the exact strategies you need to unlock the game's true, secret conclusion.

Understanding Metroid Prime 4 Beyond's 4 Endings

Metroid Prime 4 doesn't just give you one ending - it's got four, and which one you get depends entirely on how much stuff you've actually bothered to collect. We're talking items, scans, the whole package. Here's the breakdown.

Bad Ending (Low Item Percentage)

If you blast through the game and skip everything, you'll get the bad ending. This triggers when you finish with less than roughly 70 percent total completion - that means both items and scans combined. The result? An 18-second cutscene that's as barebones as it gets. You'll see Samus escaping the collapsing site and that's it - no helmet lift, no voice-over teasing future threats, no post-credits stinger whatsoever. The visor stays down, the tone is stark, and the message is clear: you rushed, and the game knows it.

Normal/Standard Ending

Most players will see the normal ending, which kicks in when you finish with anywhere between 70 and 99 percent completion on any difficulty. The scene shows Samus leaving the doomed planet, her gunship drifting into the darkness, and a brief helmet-on shot from the cockpit before credits roll. It's a solid conclusion, and if you want to rewatch it later, you can find it in the Gallery menu under Cinematics. Not a bad reward for a normal playthrough.

Post-Credits Stinger (Automatic)

Here's where things get interesting - after the normal ending, you'll automatically see a post-credits scene that sets up future trouble. Sylux and the five Galactic Troopers you rescued are trapped together on the alien world Viewros. Sylux's armor is beat up but he's still conscious, which creates this tense standoff rather than an immediate fight. The scene ends with an unseen Galactic Federation officer mentioning Project LAMORN - the first time that codename appears in-game, and it's directly tied to Sylux's backstory.

100% True Ending (Secret Post-Credits Scene)

Now for the real payoff. If you hit 100% completion - we're talking every single item, all 486 logbook scans, plus that optional Green Energy capsule that spawns the Memory Fruit sapling - you'll unlock a completely different post-credits scene that replaces the standard Sylux stinger. This one is the helmet-off moment fans have been waiting for.

Samus removes her helmet, places Reger Tokabi's Sollan amulet on the Memory Fruit tree, and the camera does a full 360-degree pan around her head - directly echoing that iconic teaser from the original Metroid Prime back in 2002. The scene also replays uncut flashbacks from throughout your journey, hammering home the Chozo bio-archiving theme. It's a proper reward for the completionists out there, and it connects directly to the series' legacy.

Complete 100% Completion Requirements Checklist

Getting that perfect 100% in Metroid Prime 4 isn't just about grabbing every upgrade, it's a full inventory of everything you've discovered and collected. You'll need to track three major categories: scans, items, and map exploration, and the game won't hold your hand through any of it.

Logbook Scans (246 Total Entries)

The Logbook is where most players get tripped up, and it's not just because you have to scan everything in sight. You need 246 total entries across six categories, but the critical number is getting that gold counter to show 186/186 before you hit the final elevator.

Here's what you're hunting for:

Category	Quantity
Creatures	84
Bosses	17
Research	42
Objects	38
Equipment	35
Bio-Forms	30

The real kicker? Some of these are permanently missable. If you forget to scan a boss during its fight or walk past a unique creature that doesn't respawn, you're locked out of that perfect rating. You'll want to follow a guide for the one-time scans, especially for the 17 bosses who aren't exactly keen on giving you a second photo opportunity.

Item Collection Requirements

Your suit and arsenal have specific targets you need to hit. Here's the complete shopping list:

• 14 Energy Tanks - Max out your survivability
• 24 Missile Expansions - Brings you to 250 missiles total
• 8 Power Bomb Expansions - Raises capacity from 3 to 11
• 50 Green Energy Crystals - Required for the final Altar of Legacy reward
• 12 Suit & Beam Upgrades - All the core ability upgrades

These numbers aren't suggestions; they're hard stops. If you're missing even one Energy Tank when you reach the final area, you'll know exactly what you need to backtrack for.

Final Verification Checklist

Do not ride that final elevator until you've verified these three things:

• Logbook: Gold counter shows 186/186 scans
• Items: Pause menu Inventory screen displays 100% Items
• Map: Every single area shows 100% exploration

The game has a brutal point of no return, and once you commit to the final boss sequence against Sylux, there's no backing out to clean up. You'll also need to scan Sylux itself during the fight to complete your Logbook, so don't get so caught up in the battle that you forget your scanner. Make a separate save file before that final elevator, because if you miss anything, you'll be starting a whole new run to fix it.

Critical Missable Items & Scans Guide

Alright, before you get too deep into Metroid Prime 4, we need to talk about the stuff you can permanently screw up. Some scans and items are on brutal timers or lock behind you forever, and missing even one can block that true ending. Here's everything you need to grab before it vanishes.

Permanently Missable Logbook Scans

The Logbook is a completionist's nightmare because several entries can only be scanned during tiny windows - and once they're gone, they're gone for the entire playthrough. While you can replay Boss Rush mode, that doesn't count for the main save file's completion, so you have to get these in your main run.

The biggest gut punch is the Kraid Bio-Signature, which only appears during the nine-second boss intro animation. If you're mashing start to skip the cutscene, you've already lost it. Boss Rush won't save you here; this scan is required for the true ending, so you need to be ready the moment Kraid shows up.

Environmental scans are just as cruel. In the UTC Research Center prologue, the Fury Green Xenobiology Capsule sits inside a lab that seals for good after you ride the elevator. There's no back-tracking until post-credits, which means if you sprint past it, you're locked out until a whole new game. Similarly, the Emergency Broadcast Hologram on Viewros Skybridge disappears forever once the bridge destruction cutscene triggers, so hit that right railing before you advance.

Time-based scans are the real stress inducers. The Geothermal-Vent Organism in Flare Pool spawns on the first basalt ledge, but you need the Psychic Visor to even see it, and it vanishes once the lava-rise cutscene starts. You've got maybe thirty seconds. The Temporal Drone Sentry in Chrono Tower is even worse - you're on a timed elevator ride with roughly fifteen seconds to scan the drone on the left before a cutscene wipes them from existence.

Finally, the Omega Mawkrid Symbiotic Jaw Flora in Reactor Silo Theta becomes inaccessible once you board the departing tram, so you've got to scan during the miniboss fight itself, which means juggling combat and a careful camera sweep.

Area	Scan	Miss Window
UTC Research Center (Prologue)	Fury Green Xenobiology Capsule	Before elevator; lab seals permanently
Flare Pool	Geothermal-Vent Organism	First basalt ledge before lava-rise cutscene (Psychic Visor required)
Chrono Tower	Temporal Drone Sentry	~15 seconds during timed elevator ride
Kraid Arena	Kraid Bio-Signature	9-second boss intro animation (required for true ending)
Reactor Silo Theta	Omega Mawkrid Symbiotic Jaw Flora	During miniboss fight before tram departure
Viewros Skybridge	Emergency Broadcast Hologram	Right railing before bridge destruction cutscene

If you're going for 100%, write these down or keep this tab open, because the game doesn't warn you.

One-Time Only Item Locations

On top of the scans, several upgrade items are locked behind one-way geometry or brutal timers. These aren't your typical expansions; they require specific gear combinations and quick thinking, or they're gone until your next save file.

• Green Crystal #19 (UTC Research Center - Great Mines Collapsing Tunnel): You've got ninety seconds from tunnel entry to bomb a duct above the second ceiling breach. The tunnel fully collapses and seals the crystal forever after that window.
• Energy Tank #7 (Magma Rift Lava River): You'll need Varia Suit, Morph Ball Bombs, and Grapple Beam to reach this, but the platform you bomb only stays raised for thirty-five seconds. Hesitate and it sinks back into the lava, taking the tank with it.
• Missile Expansion #34 (Zero-G Chamber): After you get Gravity Boost, look for a cracked grate on the chamber ceiling. You have to break it and roll into the pipe with Morph Ball before the chamber re-pressurizes; once that happens, the conduit locks and the expansion is toast.
• Power Bomb Expansion #3 (Fracture Array): This one's buried behind three hidden sensors that only show up under X-Ray Visor. Hit them with a ricochet Super Missile to crack the grate, then bomb the conduit to pop the purple capsule - the grate reforms as soon as you leave the room, so you can't come back later.

These are the kinds of pickups that make you stare at your screen in disbelief if you miss them, so plan your route and save beforehand.

Point of No Return Warning

This is it - the one-way door. In Chrono Tower, the Viewros Catalyst elevator triggers an auto-save the instant you step on it, and you can't backtrack after the descent. You're locked into the finale.

The game throws you a final lifeline: a manual save station waits in the 'Elevator Access - Chrono Tower' antechamber, exactly one room prior. Use it, then verify 100% Logbook completion - including that easy-to-forget Glister Beetle in Ice Belt - and confirm you grabbed the final missile expansion behind the Psychic-Lasso grapple point.

If you ride that elevator with anything missing, your only fix is reloading an old backup or starting a full New Game+. Don't let the auto-save trap you.

Biome-by-Biome Collection Strategy

Biome 1: Verdant Overgrowth (Early Game)

From the moment your boots hit the surface, you need to be scanning everything. The first major test comes in the 'Canopy Vines' room - the second big open-air chamber you'll hit after that initial elevator ride. Look up. That Grapple Point anchored to the ceiling? It's not just for swinging; it's a one-time scan, so tick it off your list before you forget.

While you're in the room, don't miss the obvious alcove on the east wall. That leaf-ledged ledge halfway up holds Missile Expansion #1, and you can grab it right away if you've got Morph Ball and your basic Bombs. It's tempting to rush through this opening area, but you'll kick yourself later if you miss any flora or fauna scans. Get it all done before you head underground.

Biome 2: Crystalline Caverns

The Energy Tank here is locked behind your first real Shinespark puzzle, and it's trickier than it looks. In the 'Crystal Dash Corridor', you'll spot a Speed Booster crate - shatter it, drop into Morph Ball, and immediately crouch to store the spark. From there, bomb the crumble blocks beneath you and spark diagonally upward to claim the tank.

Here's the sneaky part: once you land in that alcove, don't leave without scanning the wall. There's an Alpha Predator corpse frozen in the rock, looking like a rib-cage silhouette, and this scan is a one-time deal. Miss it now, and you're locked out for the entire run.

Biome 3: Magma Refinery

This whole section is on a timer, which means you can't afford to dawdle. First, roll up to the Bomb Slot at the end of the Cooling Tunnel and drop a Power Bomb - this triggers a 60-second lockdown. Immediately jump on the mag-rail cart, and when you reach the ferron-ore slab, blast it with a Super Missile to snag a Missile Expansion.

Defeating Pyroclast is mandatory here; it'll spawn Mech Part Alpha once it goes down. But don't celebrate yet - after the fight, scan the cooling manifold behind the arena. You'll spot a missile-shielded hatch that needs another Super Missile. Pop it open to grab the Power Bomb Expansion, because once you leave this room, there's no coming back.

Biome 4: Orbital Research Spire

Time to put that X-Ray Visor to work. Missile Expansion #21 is floating inside the zero-G test chamber, but you won't see the path without the visor equipped. It reveals three invisible platforms made of refractive carbon-lattice; use Grav-Jump to hop across them and reach the transparent capsule holding the expansion.

The real gut-punch is in the alcove sidewall. There are three Project AWYR data entries - 'Phase-Shift Alloy,' 'Zero-G Stress Test Log,' and 'Funding Withdrawal Notice' - and all of them are missable if you leave the room without scanning. Tick them off before you float away.

Biome 5: Phazon Depths

Phazon doesn't mess around, and the final Aeion Tank proves it. It's tucked in a Phazon-coated alcove on the south-west upper ring, but here's the catch - you've gotta grab it before you touch those purge valves. Activate them first, and the Phazon level rises too high to stand in, locking you out permanently.

Before you shoot any valve, scan the Purge Valve Array itself. Once the fight starts, Abyssal Hunter Alpha spawns for roughly eighteen seconds, so you need to scan it immediately or lose the entry forever. After that, charge up your Wave Beam and blast the destructible wall to reveal the Beta Epsilon Mech Part and its one-time scan.

Biome 6: The Last Process (Final Area)

You're at the finish line, but don't get cocky. Before you step into the 'Eye of Viewros' elevator, there's a tiny maintenance tunnel on the right wall - it's only accessible during the cut-scene camera lock, so you have one shot at this. Morph-ball inside, boost up the half-pipe, and bomb the cracked grate to grab Process-Mech Part Zeta, pushing your item count to 256/256.

While you're still in that shaft, look straight up. There's a rotating green data-plug above the fan, and when your reticle flashes orange, you need to scan it. This adds 'Aurora Unit Zeta - Process Synchronization' to your logbook, completing it at 256/256 entries.

Do not enter that elevator until your inventory shows 256/256 items and your logbook sits at 100%. Once you ride up, there's no turning back.

Extended Sylux Backstory & Gallery Unlocks

How to Access the Extended Sylux Cutscene

If you want the full Sylux origin movie, you'll need to hit the daunting 100% completion mark first. That means tracking down all 18 Teleporter Keys, every single Energy and Missile expansion, and finishing the entire logbook. The logbook is where it gets nasty - you can't miss those Sylux or Sylux Morph Ball scans, which means you'll need to be thorough during the handful of encounters where they appear.

Once you've cleared that hurdle, head to the Gallery menu and scroll the cinematics section. You'll find the backstory cutscene four from the bottom on the right-hand side, lurking there like a reward for your suffering.

But here's the workaround: if you managed to snag the limited-edition Sylux amiibo, you can view that same scene immediately on a fresh file. No grinding required.

Gallery & Concept Art Unlocks

The Gallery's got a whopping 140 unlockable items total, and 100% completion cracks open the Concept Art tab with 89 pieces of pre-production art. Your scans directly feed this system - every creature, boss, lore object, and artifact you log turns into a dedicated concept-art page.

The breakdown looks like this:

• Concept art pages from logbook scans
• 3D character turn-arounds for major NPCs
• Enemy model sheets showing design iterations
• In-engine cinematics you've already watched

If you go the extra mile and grab 100% of the Green Energy Crystals, you get bonus bundles: extra Sol Valley entrance vistas and key art for the Lamorn Shrine.

Helmet-Off Scene Details

The true ending scene only lasts about 14 seconds, but it packs a punch. Samus steps through the final portal wearing the Legacy Suit, which then reverts to your standard Varia Suit. She plants the Memory Fruit paired with the Psychic Crystal, and it immediately sprouts into a small tree.

That's when she removes her helmet, leaves Tokabi's pendant on a branch, and walks away as the sun rises. The final shot lingers on a distress beacon blinking in the distance - a not-so-subtle tease for Metroid Prime 5.

Pro Tips & Common Mistakes to Avoid

Save Management Strategy

Metroid Prime 4's save system seems generous at first glance, but there's a nasty surprise waiting at the finish line. You've got two layers to work with: Save Stations scattered through the world, and a main-menu 'Copy Save' that duplicates your file into an empty slot. That second one is your lifeline for 100% runs, and you'll want to use it religiously.

The community has settled on a reliable five-slot rotation that keeps you safe: Story, Boss, Region, Point-of-No-Return, and Post-Credits. This setup guarantees you'll always have a pre-endgame snapshot to fall back on, which is crucial because once the credits roll, the game's autosave updates your only active slot and locks you into a 'cleared' universe. You can't backtrack anymore, so you'll be stuck if you missed anything. Always make a manual copy right before that final door - preserving that 'uncleared' state is the difference between a completed logbook and a ruined save.

Scanning Best Practices

Here's the golden rule that'll save your sanity: the Red-Box Rule. Every boss scan hit-box turns red and vanishes two to three seconds after the boss's HP hits zero, so your window is brutally short. Boss scan prompts actually appear three times - during the intro when they're invulnerable, mid-fight during armor breaks or phase shifts, and during that final stagger animation below 10% health.

Most players mess up on that last one because when you see the boss stagger, you need to stop attacking immediately and get that scan off. This is especially critical for the final boss, Sylux, who carries the last two logbook entries. He has unique scans called Aetherial Echo and Nova Essence, and missing either locks your progress at 99% with no way back. Don't be the person who beats the game and realizes they're one scan short.

Backtracking & Map Usage

Your map is more than just a navigation tool - it's your completion checklist. Those pulsating white dots appear in real-time for rooms with uncollected expansions, which is fantastic... except they only show up if you already own the gear required to access them. So you won't see a dot behind a Plasma Beam door until you actually have the Plasma Beam.

The trick is pairing those dots with the Mission tab's room-by-room percentage tracker. Instead of blindly revisiting every corner, you can spot a 75% room with a pulsing dot and know exactly where to go. One critical return point is Hydro-Gardens - once you grab the Plasma Beam, you can finally collect crystals #47-49 that were teasing you since your first visit.

Final Boss Scan Warning

When Sylux hits 20% health in his second phase, STOP attacking completely. He'll enter a state called Aetherial Overload, spawning the Nova Essence scan node, but it disappears the moment he starts his Chrono Collapse attack. Miss this, and you're locked at 99% logbook completion forever - reloads won't bring it back. If you've got the Chrono Band suit upgrade, activate Reflex Mode to extend your scanning window to about 40 seconds, giving you much more breathing room. This is the last scan you'll need for the secret post-credits stinger, so don't rush the finish.

Achieving 100% in Metroid Prime 4 is a meticulous test of patience and precision, demanding you master every scan window and navigate every point of no return. By following the strategies for each biome and heeding the critical warnings, you can secure the true ending and its legacy payoff. Now, it's time to suit up, scan everything, and claim your perfect completion.