Trooper Pirate

:This article is about the specialized Space Pirates in the Phazon Mines. For the standard Space Pirates, see Pirate Troopers. For other uses, see Trooper (Disambiguation).
Trooper Pirates,Metroid 1.5 Design Concept also known as TroopersMetroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide pg. 112Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide pgs. 49, 57-59Metroid Prime Remastered Character Gallery or beam Troopers,Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide pg. 74 are Space Pirates equipped with reverse-engineered versions of Samus Aran's Beam Weapons, found only in Metroid Prime.
==Description==
Trooper Pirates were the products of a Space Pirate Science Team project to duplicate the capabilities of Samus's Arm Cannon. Although the reverse-engineered beams were powerful, the imitations were flawed and the shielding left the user vulnerable to their own Beam weapon system. Troopers had all the standard attacks of normal Space Pirates, being equipped with a Scythe on their left wrist and a modified Galvanic Accelerator Cannon which fired a copied version of Samus' beams. Though their weapon systems are inferior to those of Samus's, they are still quite powerful.
Four types of Trooper Pirates are found exclusively in the Phazon Mines as a relatively common enemy. The types are: Power, Wave, Ice and Plasma. Each type can be killed by the respective Beam or Charge Combo that correlates to the variation of Trooper:
*Power Troopers are perhaps the most difficult to dispatch due to the lack of any special attributes the beam possesses; it can only deliver very limited flinch and knockback power from charged Shots and the beam itself possesses low attack strength. The Super Missiles are recommended, though a Trooper can easily survive one in Hard Mode. The Super Missile's knockback damage helps stun a surviving Trooper for slightly longer than charged shots.
*Wave Troopers can easily be "stunlocked" by charged Wave Beam shots. The Wavebuster is capable of dispatching multiple Troopers in one activation of the Combo and prevents a hit Trooper retaliating. If the Combo is deactivated prematurely, the Trooper will be heavily stunned and will also receive a lot of knockback, allowing Samus to finish off the downed Pirate before it returns back up.
*Ice Troopers can be frozen in place. In the NTSC GameCube versions, they can easily be shattered with a Missile afterwards. In all other versions, they repel Missile fire (implying that the shielding in the Troopers' armor works even while frozen). In this case, the best method to dispatching these units would be to use Charged Ice Beam shots to stunlock them. The Ice Spreader inflicts additional damage and frozen longevity time and is useful in rooms with multiple Ice Troopers huddled close together.
*Plasma Troopers can be lit on fire using the Charge Beam, the sheer strength of the Beam is capable of vaporizing a Plasma Trooper in seconds. Similar to the Power Beam, the Trooper is not stunned by Charged shots, only flinching while receiving damage and minimal knockback. This requires Samus to finish it off with shots quickly and avoid its firepower.
Curiously in the NTSC versions, Troopers flinch from Missiles alone but do not receive damage from them. All other versions have them immune to Missiles, repelling their firepower. With this change in weakness, they grant another weakness: to Power Bombs. In some areas, it is possible to push a Trooper down into a lower elevation using non-Ice charged shots. Though durable, the armor is sometimes vulnerable to other forms of attacks, such as by a Wave Quake Generator from the Omega Pirate and from lethal exposure to Phazon. In one room, Pirate Troopers will perish instantly if they fall into a pit containing the substance.
On a related note, the game implies that the Trooper's weapons are significantly weaker than Samus's beam weapons (a notable example being that the Ice Trooper's Ice Beams fail to freeze Samus). For some reason none of the elemental beams fired by Trooper Pirates seem to have any trace of their respective elements; they are all the same yellow energy projectile. This may be because the elemental properties of each Beam have not been copied successfully. Only various aspects of the beams, such as the Power beam's heavy rate of fire, have been copied. Upon direct physical contact, a Trooper Pirate can do roughly 12 units of damage to Samus (if Samus is wearing the Gravity Suit, on Hard Mode).
All Troopers share relatively the same Logbook entry, the only differences coming from the elemental beam of the Trooper the scan refers to. They are precursors to the Pirate Troopers' designs in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and the helmet design heavily resembles that of the Pirate Commandos and Pirate Commander in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Interestingly, the helmet of the Trooper Pirate is quite similar to the Metroid Prime's head, which might be the result of the original NTSC version of Metroid Prime's events in which the mutated Metroid had integrated Pirate technology and equipment into itself while it was in captivity by the Space Pirates. However, this story element was retconned out with the release of the PAL version of Prime.
==Locations==
*Elite Control
*Elite Research
*Ore Processing
*Central Dynamo
*Omega Research
*Mine Security Station
*Metroid Quarantine B
*Elite Quarters Access
*Elite Quarters (during Omega Pirate boss battle)
*Phazon Processing Center
==Official data==
This Logbook entry is the same for every type of Trooper. The only difference is the Beam mentioned for the respective Trooper.
===Official website===
"Power Troopers have been equipped with a reverse-engineered version of Samus Aran's Power Beam. Power Troopers are highly trained warriors, but a flaw in the design makes these Space Pirates vulnerable to their own Beam Weapon system."
===Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide===
;Wave Trooper
:"Wave Troopers are enhanced Space Pirates. The Space Pirates have begun to reverse engineer your weaponry in hopes of finding a way to bring you to your knees. This one uses a modified Wave Beam gun and can be distinguished from other Troopers by the purple lines on its armor. The Wave Beam is the only weapon that's effective against them. Charge a Wave Beam blast and shoot them. The blast stuns them temporarily. Quickly charge about two more shots halfway and blast again to defeat them; this tactic prevents them from returning fire."
;Power Trooper
:"These foes are yet another form of enhanced Space Pirate. This version uses a modified Power Beam and is distinguished by yellow lines on its armor. Its only weakness is your Power Beam, which makes it one of the toughest Troopers to defeat. Rather than having a shooting match, quickly charge a shot and use your Super Missiles to destroy them. Peppering them with shots from your Power Beam takes too long and leaves you extremely vulnerable. It's best to use the five missiles required for a Super Missile than to take a lot of unnecessary damage."
;Ice Trooper
:"Ice Troopers are the third enhanced Space Pirate you encounter. They use a modified version of your Ice Beam and are distinguished by white lines on their armor. They're extremely weak against your Ice Beam, but no other weapon can harm them. Blast them with a charged Ice Beam shot, then use a missile to shatter them. When fighting a single Ice Trooper, just use multiple Ice Beam blasts and save your missiles."
;Plasma Trooper
:"The Plasma Trooper is the last of the Troopers you'll encounter. It uses a modified Plasma Beam and can be identified by the red lines across its armor. Use your Plasma Beam to defeat them; no other weapon will work. The Plasma Beam has a very high rate of fire, so you don't even need to charge your shots. Just fire like crazy, and they'll fall quickly." 
;Ice Trooper
:Found In: Phazon Mines
:Recommended Weapon: Ice Beam
:"Ice Troopers have reverse-engineered the Chozo technology to employ your Ice Beam into their weaponry. Though not as powerful as the original designs, they still pack quite a punch. The flaw in their design makes them vulnerable to Ice Beam attacks. It's always best to use a charged shot from your Ice Beam to freeze them, and then finish them off with a missile. Normal shots are just too slow and take far too long to do the job."
;Plasma Trooper
:Found In: Phazon Mines
:Recommended Weapon: Plasma Beam
:"Plasma Troopers use reverse-engineered Plasma Beams. The flaw in their copy of the Chozo technology is that they are especially vulnerable to your own Plasma Beam. Keep your distance and use the Plasma Beam to get rid of this dangerous nuisance. The Plasma Beam's rate of fire is high enough that you really don't even need to use a charged shot against the enemy, but it doesn't hurt." 
;Power Trooper
:Found In: Phazon Mines
:Recommended Weapon: Power Beam
:"Power Troopers have stolen the Chozo technology for the Power Beam weapon. Their implementation of the design isn't as good as the original, but still packs quite a punch. Their flawed design makes them vulnerable to Power Beam attacks. Use your Power Beam to blow the Power Troopers into oblivion. If you can manage it, it's best to use the Super Missile (Power Beam Combo) rather than dueling it out with these cretins. In a one-on-one fight, they can really dish out a lot of damage, unless you can find excellent cover." 
;Wave Trooper
:Found In: Phazon Mines
:Recommended Weapon: Wave Beam
:"Wave Troopers are the Wave Beam-toting variation of beam Troopers. Their Wave Beam technology isn't as powerful as the one you're carrying, but it's still dangerous. Use the Wave Beam to destroy them before they get a chance to use theirs on you. Use charged shots to stun them, then quickly use several more half-charged shots to finish them off; this way, they won't get a chance to fight back. When faced with multiple Wave Troopers, use the Wave Beam Combo to quickly lay waste to the entire group."
===Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide===
;WAVE TROOPER
:"A new enemy will approach you in the Mine Security Station: a Wave Trooper. The enemies use reverse-engineered Wave Beam technology to let you know what it feels like to be on the business end of Samus's Arm Cannon. Hit back with some Wave Beam action of your own.There are two other specialized trooper types in the area: the Power Trooper and the Ice Trooper. Eliminate them with the appropriate weapons."
;PLASMA TROOPER
:"You've met three specialized Trooper types (Wave, Ice and Power) and now you can add a fourth to the list. The red-hued Plasma Trooper is fast and dangerous, and only the Plasma Beam can destroy it. Give the newcomer a few blasts from the cannon to teach it who's boss."
===Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide===
;ICE TROOPER
:MORPHOLOGY
:"The Ice Trooper is a Space Pirate armed with Ice Beam technology. Space Pirates have reverse-engineered several weapons, including the Ice Beam. A flaw in the design makes these Pirates vulnerable to their own Beam weapon system. These weapons are inferior to Chozo-designed originals, but still quite potent."
:COMBAT TIPS
:"As with the Power Trooper, the Ice Trooper is basically a Space Pirate, and as such is a formidable foe. Use Missiles to target these enemies from afar."
;PLASMA TROOPER
:MORPHOLOGY
:"The Plasma Trooper is a Space Pirate that's armed with Plasma Beam technology. Space Pirates have reverse-engineered several weapons, including the Plasma Beam. A flaw in the design makes these Pirates vulnerable to their own Beam weapon system. These weapons are inferior to Chozo-designed originals, but still quite potent."
:COMBAT TIPS
:"These Space Pirates are as tough as any other Space Pirates are, plus they attack with Plasma Beam technology! Use the Ice Beam to freeze them, then follow up with the Plasma Beam."
;POWER TROOPER
:MORPHOLOGY
:"The Power Trooper is a Space Pirate that's armed with Power Beam technology. Space Pirates have reverse-engineered several weapons, including the Power Beam. A flaw in the design makes these Pirates vulnerable to their own Beam weapon system. These weapons are inferior to Chozo-designed originals, but still quite potent."
:COMBAT TIPS
:"The attack of the Power Trooper is tough, so use the Power Beam to stop them before they can attack too many times. Power Troopers, being Space Pirates, are clever and attempt to dodge attacks."
;WAVE TROOPER
:MORPHOLOGY
:"A Space Pirate armed with Wave Beam technology. Space Pirates have reverse-engineered several weapons, including the Wave Beam. A flaw in the design makes these Pirates vulnerable to their own Beam weapon system. These weapons are inferior to Chozo-designed originals, but still quite potent."
:COMBAT TIPS
:"The Wave Troopers are susceptible only to the Wave Beam weapon."
===Metroid Prime Official Perfect Guide===
;WAVE TROOPER
:"Wave Troopers are the first of a new breed of Pirate who are only vulnerable to the sort of Beam specified by their name and color; as such, you'll only be able to defeat Wave Troopers with the Wave Beam."
;POWER TROOPER
:"Much like a Wave Trooper, except only the Power Beam and Super Missile can destroy one."
;ICE TROOPER
:"Much like Wave Troopers and Power Troopers, except only the Ice Beam can destroy them. In fact, a fully-charged Ice Beam followed by a Missile will completely destroy them."
;PLASMA TROOPER
:"Like the other specimens of "Trooper," but only attacks from the Plasma Beam will cause a Plasma Trooper any damage."
===Gene Kohler design notes===
"The Trooper Pirates were probably my favorite creatures to create for Prime," recounts Gene. "The concept that Andrew Jones provided me with was awesome… I couldn't wait to get started on it and throw it into the game. It took me about two days to model… three days to skin (texture). I love how they turned out… the animation crew really brought them to life."
Much like Gene's Samus model, the Space Pirates were modeled from scratch and not a pre-existing base model. The original concept came from Andrew Jones, who had a large amount of input from a number of people working on the project. With this feedback, Mr. Jones went back and developed several polished versions for approval by the team. Eventually, "he takes all the recommended ideas for a particular asset, fuses them into his own creative imagination and funnels them all into a finished piece," recalled Gene.
Once Andrew completed his final concept, it was passed along to Gene for modeling. Gene then interpreted and translated the 2D (two-dimensional) concept image into a fully 3D game asset. "Just about every asset that you see in a game is the combined effort of many team members. Designers, concept artist, modelers, skinners, animators, programmers, sound engineers… all of them put a bit of themselves… their style… into each asset," explained Gene. "My point is that no one asset is made by solely one person. Since I created the model and skin for the Trooper there is a bit of my style… my input placed into it for sure."
Just as he did with the Flying Space Pirate, Andrew came up with "slightly different variations of the Pirates to give some cool, unique, foes for the player to go up against all the while keeping the main enemy race consistent." This again allowed for a greater deal of diversity and artistic creativity.
==Trivia==
*In Metroid: Other M, the Galactic Federation has created a special type of Zebesian Space Pirates known as Super Zebesians. These Pirates are equipped with what seems to be a variation of the Wave Beam; the Super Zebesians are possibly the continuation of Wave Trooper technology.
*The Advanced Pirate Troopers from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption may be a continuation of the Trooper Pirate armour, as they are completely resistant to Beams, although not to Missiles.
*Trooper Pirates were mentioned in the early Metroid 1.5 design document for a multiplayer mode that was a remake of the Omega Pirate battle.
*The official Metroid Prime website shows an image of a Plasma Trooper on the Power Trooper's description.
*All Pirate Troopers are also vulnerable to the Phazon Beam (via hacking) and if killed by it, its body quickly disintegrates.
**In the Gamecube version, a Plasma Trooper may strangely become ignited in flames when hit by the Phazon Beam (via hacking), but will disintegrate like any other Trooper Pirate if defeated with it. Other Pirate Troopers may show a burned body for a split second but without any flames present.
**In Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, the Plasma Trooper is described as only vulnerable to the Phazon Beam, and is alternatively referred to as a Phazon Trooper. These are presumably errors mixing up the words "Plasma" and "Phazon".Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide pg. 111
*A Power Trooper also makes an appearance in Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt. When the player unlocks (and views) the special trailer for Metroid Prime Hunters, a Power Trooper can be seen clinging from a ceiling. It is then shot by one of the three hunters standing at the other side of the room.
*Strangely, the Plasma Beam cannot incinerate Plasma Troopers, while the Flamethrower can.
*The helmet of the Trooper Pirate is similar to the head of the exoskeleton of the Metroid Prime.
*A Pirate Log states that there was originally intended to also be a variant with a reverse-engineered Morph Ball, but the science team behind that experiment wisely chose to move on after nothing but horrible failures.
*In Metroid Prime Remastered, a Trooper Pirate model can be seen on a normal Space Pirate body within the crashed Biohazard Containment on Tallon IV when using the X-Ray Visor. This may be a development glitch or mistake, as this does not occur in any other version of Prime.https://twitter.com/hourai_t/status/1627654865437728774
==Gallery==
Power Trooper Render.png|Power Trooper model.
Wave_Trooper_rip.png|Wave Trooper model.
Ice Trooper Render.png|Ice Trooper model.
Plasma_trooper_fullscale.jpg|Plasma Trooper concept art.
Power_Trooper.png|A Power Trooper in the Phazon Mines.
Power Trooper - Super Missile.png|Samus engages two Power Troopers.
Wave_trooper.jpg|A Wave Trooper first encountered in the Phazon Mines.
Wave Trooper Intro Remastered.png|A Wave Trooper encountered for the first time in Metroid Prime Remastered.
Wave Trooper 2.png
Ice_Trooper.png|Samus faces an Ice Trooper in the Phazon Mines.
Ice Trooper frozen.png|A frozen Ice Trooper.
Ice Pirate Trooper (Gamecube).png|An Ice Pirate standing tall in front of Samus.
Plasma_Trooper.png|A Plasma Trooper in the Phazon Mines.
Plasma Trooper 3.png|A Plasma Trooper on fire.
Plasma Trooper 2.png|Dead Plasma Trooper.
Pirate Trooper Plasma Render Gene Kohler.jpg|Gene Kohler
Pirate Beam Trooper Concept Art Remastered.png|Metroid Prime Remastered concept art.
Character Gallery - Troopers.png|Character Gallery model in Remastered.
==References==
ru:Военный Пират
Category:Space Pirates
Category:Pirate Classes
Category:Tallon IV
Category:Phazon Mines
Category:Phazon Mines Level One
Category:Phazon Mines Level Two
Category:Phazon Mines Level Three
Category:Gene Kohler
Category:Andrew Jones