Powamp

PowampsSuper Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide are passive creatures that dwell in the depths of Maridia on Zebes.
==Description==
===Super Metroid===
Powamps generally simply float around in the water, immobile, and inflate whenever other creatures come near. They are not aggressive, and can be latched onto with the Grapple Beam for use as a makeshift Grapple Point. Despite their docile nature, Powamps will cause damage if touched, as well as explode if Samus shoots one; the explosion will launch several spiked projectiles in all directions.
Several are encountered in a room popularly known as "Mount Death".
===Metroid Fusion===
In Metroid Fusion, several X Parasites have been able to infest/mimic the Powamps that were living on the Biologic Space Laboratories research station. The X have modified the creatures' genetic structure, giving them new traits, such as darker coloring and a spiky exterior. They are encountered only in the watery environments of Sector 4 (AQA). They are most notable for their frustrating nature, in which they inconveniently block the paths to small access routes throughout the sector by inflating when Samus approaches.
To approach these without causing them to enlarge, they need to be frozen from afar by an Ice Missile. The only weapon capable of incapacitating them from an indirect angle is the Diffusion Missile. When frozen in either an inflated or deflated state, they can be used as platforms to reach high areas in less cramped areas. They can be killed with the Screw Attack or a Shinespark.
In one room, freezing a Powamp at a certain angle will allow Samus an alternate means of seeing the Secret Message. Within the room, Samus must jump below the rightmost platform in front of them, then press left at the peak of a jump and immediately fire an Ice Missile down diagonally. If angled correctly, the Missile will freeze the Powamp and allow Samus to get to the Navigation Room without using the Shinespark method. This exploit was fixed in the Japanese version.https://tcrf.net/Metroid_Fusion#Map_Difference
Metroid Fusion: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide refers to Powamps as "inflatable enemies".
==Official data==
===Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide===
POWAMP
==Development notes==
The internal name of the Powamp in Super Metroid is Puu.
Powamps in Fusion have an unused animation where they are missing the left and right spikes on either side of their heads. Their spikes exist as separate unused sprites, implying that the creature would have been able to fire them as projectiles.biospark. Metroid Fusion - Unused Sprite Animations. YouTube. June 21, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnwul2oWMc (starts at 17:23)
==Trivia==
*The Powamp bears some physical resemblance to Phantoon, though no connection is known to exist between the two.
*The word "Powamp" is possibly a portmanteau of the two words "power" and "ampere," the latter being the unit of electric current in SI. However, this may be a coincidence given that Powamps do not have any known connections to power or electricity.
==Gallery==
Powamp-X Screen1.jpg|The Powamp that can be used to access the Secret Message
==References==
es:Powamp
ru:Пауамп
Category:Species
Category:Zebes
Category:Maridia
Category:BSL
Category:Sector 4
Category:Sealife
Category:Recurring Species
Category:"Friendly" Creatures
Category:X