| ! | This is a rare creature/object. It may only be scanned in one or few encounters. |
Flaahgra is an enormous mutated plant-like creature in Metroid Prime and is the main boss of the Chozo Ruins.
Origin
| “ | That which fouls the waters seeks the sun. | „ |
—Holobanner | ||
Flaahgra was likely once an ordinary plant, perhaps even a sacred one, as it had the honor of being the Chozo's centerpiece flower in their city's Sunchamber on Tallon IV. However, the destructive Phazon mutated it beyond all recognition, resulting in this monstrous beast.
Flaaghra extended its vile roots to all corners of the Chozo Ruins, and began to secrete a poison which tainted the waters of the Ruins. The water was so toxic and corrosive that it dealt damage to Samus on contact, though it was completely cleansed the instant Flaahgra was defeated.
Battle
Samus battles the Flaahgra.
Flaahgra begins the battle with one solar panel active. If Samus can disable it with Missiles or Charge Beam shots, she can switch off the Mirror Arrays that give Flaahgra the sunlight from FS-176 that it needs to stay active and functional. The creature can use its sharp limbs to flip over the arrays that Samus has disabled to restore power to them if she is too slow to shut off the rest of them. When all solar arrays are shut off, Flaahgra will collapse and its four Tentacles retract into the large flower's base, allowing Samus to enter Morph Ball-sized tunnels previously occupied by the Tentacles. Once she reaches a Morph Ball Slot located on the outer edge of the creature's base, she can Bomb it, causing damage not only to Flaahgra's central nervous system, but also igniting the flower aflame due to the surge of electrical energy. The moving body of the plant creature shrinks and sinks back inside the immobile flower. From that point on, the process repeats, as one additional reflector panel activates each time, up to a maximum of four, repeatedly growing Flaahgra back to its monstrous size. When a trench is bombed, it disappears under the acidic pond surrounding the boss, taking a Tentacle with it each time.
In terms of physical offense, Flaahgra can slash with its enormous scythes, performing a swipe or two each time it decides to do so. If Samus takes too long to reach the Bomb slot inside one of the four tunnels, not only will she be pushed back out by one of the Tentacles, but Flaahgra will awaken (due to the reactivated solar panels) and furiously perform an almost 360 degree slash across the floor of the entire room. Each of Flaahgra's four Tentacles are covered with thorns and will swipe at Samus if she gets near them.
Its long range offense consists of spitting out small and large energy spheres. While the small ones are quickly spat out in different waves, the large energy sphere requires a moment to charge before being launched, though the process can be stopped if Samus shoots a Missile or Charged Power Beam shot at the creature's head. Flaahgra can also spray a substance that spawns a temporary wall of corrosive plants along the floor from the central pond to the nearest wall of the room. This wall occasionally proves impossible to jump over, hindering Samus' progress if she was on her way to a Mirror Array.
Lastly, the central pond surrounding the boss is extremely toxic and acts as a defense in a fashion similar to a moat protecting a castle. It is from here that all the polluted water is distributed throughout most of the Chozo Ruins.
Due to its exposure to the sun's concentrated energy, the outer shell of Flaahgra has become resilient enough to withstand harm from most weaponry, thus no matter how many shots are fired directly to the head and body, it will only be temporarily stunned. Only through the bombing of its central nervous system can the creature be dealt damage. Stunning it proves to be useful however as it not only allows Samus to disable the Mirror Arrays without being attacked, but also prevents Flaahgra from reactivating said Mirrors. After all four trenches have been bombed, the beast dies, and the Chozo Ruins' water supply returns to its normal, unpolluted state.
Concept art
Official data
Official website
"Flaahgra is a massive plant-based life-form with a snake-like body and powerful arms. It gains its strength from sunlight. The tentacles it uses to attach itself to the ground are also used to absorb water. The creature's mutated hydration system pollutes the water source with noxious excretions, creating the perfect environment for Flaahgra's growth and nourishment. Flaahgra is extremely territorial, and will viciously attack any intruders."
Its central nervous system is located near its base, where sprawling tentacles are tightly affixed to the ground."
Logbook entries
Template:Infobox Multiple Logbooks
Mike Sneath interview
Flaahgra is the first boss character that Andrew Jones concepted. This creature was a lot of fun to work on because Andrew did about five variations for the creature. There was the ‘core’ concept, but I ended up taking a few other details from the other variations Andrew created. Todd Keller created a concept for giant plant flower that Flaahgra sits inside of. The first version of this boss had all the tentacles as part of the plant. Later the designers decided to detach the tentacles and make them more part of the room like you see in the game. The room and creature sort of evolved together as the designers worked their way through how this boss character would play out.
Trivia
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Holobanner
- Upon closer inspection of Flaahgra's head, green butterflies can be seen flying in close proximity to its mushroom structures. These can be seen when the boss collapses from lack of exposure to the sun's energy.
- Before entering the Sunchamber, a unscannable pink Holobanner in Flaahgra's likeness can be seen.
- The energy spheres Flaahgra fires, in particular the large variant, heavily resembles a charged Power Beam shot. It can be looked upon for closer inspection when the projectile hits the wall, as it will remain stuck for several seconds.
- Flaahgra may have originally been a large Bloodflower before it was heavily mutated by Phazon, due to the similarities the boss' flower base shares with it.
- Flaahgra's theme should normally be extended from what is heard in the original NTSC version of Prime, but a programming bug prevents it from looping correctly. The extended theme can be heard in the PAL and Japanese versions of Prime, and the Wii versions retain the full rendition of the theme.[1]
- If Samus Sequence Breaks by surviving the Magmoor Caverns without the Varia Suit, she can return and battle Flaahgra with a full arsenal. The Bomb Slots can be detonated with Power Bombs, and Flaahgra can also be damaged with the Wavebuster. [1]
- Likewise, if Samus obtains the Space Jump before facing Flaahgra, she can detonate the Bomb Slots from the outside by space-jumping onto Flaahgra's platform and laying bombs before sliding off.
- Flaahgra, along with the Parasite Queen, are the only major bosses in Metroid Prime that do not appear in Metroid Prime Pinball.
Beta
An early animation reel of Flaaghra displays it in an open swamp, rather than the enclosed chamber where it is encountered in the final game.
Gallery
References
- ^ Version Differences: Flaahgra. Retrieved on 2009-08-07.