Trace

Trace is a cold, swift Bounty Hunter of the Kriken Empire, who searches for planets for his people to invade. He is one of the six antagonistic Bounty Hunters who first appeared in Metroid Prime Hunters.
==Biography==
A feared Bounty Hunter and member of the Kriken, Trace is a powerful hunter. At a certain age, Krikens are exiled by their clans and sent to distant planets as a rite of passage to find new planets for their empire to invade. As a youngNintendo Power March 2006 issue Kriken, Trace is currently taking his rite of passage and has become a Bounty Hunter to travel around the galaxy in search of planets. Trace sees the so-called "Ultimate Power" as his chance; if he succeeds in getting it, then he will be considered a hero among his people.
Samus first encounters him on Arcterra, battling him and Noxus at the same time and later encountering Trace on his own during her first escape from the planet. He appears in the Sic Transit both times, and at the start of the second encounter, he kills a Guardian by sniping it before he turns his attention to Samus. Trace is then encountered randomly in the Alimbic Cluster, and can take an Octolith from Samus if he defeats her in battle, forcing her to hunt him down to get it back. He reaches the Oubliette before she does, and is found with the other hunters shooting at the Seal Sphere, from which Gorea emerges. It grabs the hunters and assimilates their weapons before releasing them. While Samus stays behind to battle Gorea, Trace and the other hunters are seen fleeing the Oubliette in their respective ships. While Trace's ship is not seen in great detail, it is represented by a red blip during the cutscene.
Regarding Trace's ultimate fate, Richard Vorodi indicated that despite losing out on the fictitious Ultimate Power, he continued his search for a planet for the Kriken to conquer."I think a few of them naturally followed their path like Trace, but a few of the others became smarter, wiser, and jealous of Samus. This event definitely will become a catalyst for future galactic turmoil despite its relatively positive outcome." Interview: Richard Vorodi. Shinesparkers. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
==Gameplay==
Trace, like all other Hunters in Prime Hunters, is encountered on any of the planets or space stations in the Tetra Galaxy, and like all other Hunters, if he defeats Samus in single player, one of her Octoliths will be taken by him and Samus will be forced to hunt him down for it.
Trace's Alt-Form is the Triskelion, which biomorphs his body into a lower compressed form, capable of using a deadly Jump Strike to batter enemies with. As with his Affinity Weapon, he will turn invisible when stationary, although in his Alt-Form Trace is almost completely invisible, as opposed to him still being slightly visible when in his bipedal form.
He is first encountered on Arcterra, engaging in a battle with fellow Hunter Noxus. Samus interrupts the battle, and can engage either enemy, although Trace is seemingly more concerned with sniping Noxus. Upon defeating Noxus, both disappear and are encountered later in the game.
Trace's Affinity Weapon is the Imperialist, a long-range precision laser with optical zoom. When equipped, Trace is capable of turning invisible by holding still for a few seconds. When first encountered while he is fighting Noxus, Trace is able to rapidly fire the Imperialist, which normally has a short cooldown after each shot.
==Official data==
===Metroid Prime Hunters manual===
;TRACE
:"Trace is a Kriken, one of the most hated and feared races in the galaxy. His quest for the ultimate power consumes him, and his every thought is bent toward bringing supremacy to the Krikens and honor to himself."Alt-Form - Triskelion
===Nintendo Power March 2006 issue===
"The Kriken youth Trace is carrying out a rite of passage to search for worlds the greedy and evil race can invade. Using sophisticated Kriken technology, Trace can morph into a three-legged mechanism that can lunge at its enemies and become almost completely invisible."https://web.archive.org/web/20070815193446/http://gonintendo.com:80/?p=6405
===Metroid.com===
"Trace is a Kriken, one of the most hated and feared races in the galaxy. Every Kriken, when he reaches a certain age, is exiled by its clan for a rite of passage. Trace is currently in exile, travelling the galaxy looking for planets to expand the Kriken Empire."
===Trivia quiz===
"Trace is a sniping specialist, and his power is unmatched in open arenas that have lots of ledges. After grabbing the Imperialist, he can watch and choose his targets, unseen by other hunters."
===Logbook entry===
===Metroid Prime Hunters: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide===
;TRACE
:"The Kriken are a widely despised race whose thirst for conquest is nearly insatiable. At a certain age, young Kriken like Trace are exiled from their homes and are expected not to return until they have found a planet worthy of invasion by the Kriken war host.Trace is currently engaged in this rite of passage, and busies himself as a bounty hunter while seeking a suitable planet for his race to consume.Acquiring the source of ultimate power would surely make Trace a hero to his people. And even if he fails to claim it, the planets of the Alimbic Cluster may be worthy candidates for a Kriken invasion."
===Brawl Trophy===
"A bounty hunter and member of the Kriken Empire, which is despised for ruthless invasions of planets. He seeks the ultimate power in order to further empower his people and gain fame and strength for himself. Trace has stealth capabilities and can make himself invisible. His weapon is the Imperialist, a sniping laser."
DS Metroid Prime: Hunters
==Other appearances==
===Super Smash Bros.===
Along with all other Bounty Hunters in Hunters, Trace can be unlocked as a Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Trace is a Novice class Primary Spirit. He is an Attack type, giving him advantage against Grab types and disadvantage against Shield types, and comes with one support slot.
In World of Light, Trace can be found on a volcanic planet in The Light Realm. Trace can also randomly appear on the Spirit Board. In Spirit Battles, Trace uses Samus Aran (in her Super Metroid Gravity Suit) as a Puppet Fighter. The battle takes place on the Battlefield Form of Norfair and uses Psycho Bits (the only Hunters song in Ultimate) as the background music. During the battle, Samus periodically turns invisible, referencing Trace's ability to turn invisible while stationary.
==Trivia==
*Trace (and all other Krikens) shares many features with the Alimbics, these being: an exo-skeleton, no fingers, a floating head, and one eye.
*While in Triskelion form, Trace can fade further into invisibility than in Biped Form. This could be because of the compact structure of his Alt. It is, however, unknown why Trace can only turn invisible while holding the Imperalist, as he can turn invisible in Triskelion form whether he is holding the Imperalist or not.
*While fighting him in the story, Trace can use a barrage of Imperialist beams that does very high damage. This is exclusive to the single player, as multiplayer bots and players can't use this particular move.
*Like all other Bounty Hunters in Hunters, Trace has his own battle theme.
==Gallery==
File:Invisible trace.png|Trace invisible; his figure can be faintly seen.
Trace statue metroid lg.jpg|Unreleased First 4 Figures statue (may have been designed by Goran Sadojevich)
Tracefig02.jpg
Triskelion.jpg|Triskelion
Mph wptrace 1600.jpg
Trace wp 1280.jpg
20060330134020633.jpg
20060330134020309.jpg
MPH Hunters.jpg
All hunters.jpg
DavidSherret 2427 mini poster metroid.jpg
PortraitTrace.jpg
Mph cover updated.jpg
Tracemetroid.jpg
BrawlTrophy19.jpg|Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy description
Hunter ships.png|Trace's ship can be seen when escaping the Oubliette, but not in detail.
Trace wireframe.jpg
Trace model.jpg
Trace pose 1.jpg
Trace pose 2.jpg
Trace pose 3.jpg
Trace Intro.gif|Trace intro from Metroid Prime Hunters.
==Notes==
==References==
ru:Трейс
es:Trace
de:Trace
pt:Trace
Category:Characters
Category:Bosses
Category:Trace
Category:Bounty Hunters
Category:Arcterra
Category:Oubliette
Category:Trophies
Category:Spirits
Category:Extras
Category:Alive
Category:Main antagonists