When I’m not producing content for Shinesparkers, I am an Xbox achievement hunter and general completionist. In any games I play, whether they’re on Microsoft or Nintendo systems, I always strive for 100% completion in every game I play, whether they’re excellent, mediocre or terrible games I never want to touch again. I completed Federation Force, an extremely difficult game, in August 2019 after struggling through it for three years. I never would have attained this, or would have become the completionist that I am today if it wasn’t for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Let me take you back to early 2009. This was when I first became a Metroid fan. I was hooked on the series and eager to play each of the games. I remember that once I picked up Metroid Prime Trilogy and started playing Corruption, I was immediately intrigued by the Bonus Credit system, which had also been applied to the first two games in the compilation. Scanning creatures, saving Federation Marines and even killing a Reptilicus with its own throwing chakram all unlocked credits, which led to further rewards including concept artwork, music and the ability to wear the Fusion Suit. The Friend Vouchers were of particular interest because they were the hardest to get, and so I put effort and focus into getting them all. I can’t remember if I did, but I had enough to get most of the rewards.
It took me four years after getting Trilogy to finally have the courage to take on Hypermode difficulty in Corruption. I’m not sure why I was so hesitant – barring damage changes between the two difficulty settings, it was no less different than the normal difficulty level on which I had played and replayed the game several times. Furthermore, I played the original Metroid Prime through on Hard Mode, twice. Perhaps at a young age, the prospect of a harder difficulty was daunting to me. Now, it’s hardly a deterrent, and I’ve gained experience with the hard modes of many a game, be it Metroid or otherwise.
I finally faced Hypermode in October 2013. I remember not using Hypermode – as in, the Phazon-powered Hyper Beam – when fighting Rundas, and dying as a result, because I wanted to make it a challenge (upon respawning I immediately mopped the floor with him). I can’t recall how much trouble, if any, I had with the other bosses, but I will never forget the battle with Omega Ridley. I estimate that it took twenty minutes to kill him. My health was whittled down to three units of energy, and I was about to die.
I fired desperately at him, and sweat ran down my body. I found that if I Screw Attacked towards him every time he began to charge at me, it would cancel his lunge attack and cause him to sidestep, saving me from death. My thumb was sore afterwards from mashing the A button to shoot, but I didn’t care. I had done it, and had a new Gold Credit as a result. I went to Phaaze and finished the game that day. I died of Terminal Corruption for the first time while fighting Dark Samus, but I wouldn’t give up there, and on my second try I crushed Hypermode once and for all, unlocking my last Gold Credits. To complete the Trilogy, and the three games I had come to cherish, was cathartic for me, not only because I had completed a long outstanding game, but because it awakened a hunger in me for achievements, milestones and other gaming accomplishments, and I went on to attain numerous feats in various games over the following years. I’m still not finished my journey of completionism.
I bought my Xbox 360 in late 2012, and started casually earning achievements before I became insatiable for them. It was never intended to be a full blown hobby, but it snowballed, and I reached 100,000 gamerscore in September 2018. Every game I’ve played has varied in terms of difficulty, but I always rose to the challenge and emerged with a feeling of satisfaction, and vindication once I proved that I could do it.
Nintendo doesn’t have an achievement system on their consoles, but I’m convinced that the Bonus Credits in the Trilogy are why I gravitated towards the achievements in Xbox games. Facing Hypermode enabled me to complete games such as EA’s Mirror’s Edge, where the levels became extremely difficult to complete, and the achievements harder to unlock as I got deeper into them. Yet in spite of hours of swearing, frustration and thinking I’d never get it done, I always succeed, every single time.
As of September 2019, I have completed hundreds of games, unlocked over 6,000 achievements and earned over 190,000 gamerscore since 2012. I’ve popped achievements every day since September 29, 2015, beginning a multi-year daily achievement streak that I want to keep going for as long as possible.
Completionists know that squeezing every inch of content out of a game isn’t always easy. Ask members of the team I’ve played with how angry or frustrated I became at Metroid Prime: Federation Force when we completed missions together. However, we still had fun. We killed the Rohkor Beetle in mission 12 in forty-two seconds! We started Federation Force in late 2017, and two years later, I finally unlocked all the Paint Jobs in August 2019. There are many other games I still have yet to complete, including every game in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Although I haven’t played through Corruption in a few years, I still watch playthroughs and occasionally pick Trilogy up from time to time to explore the environments. Corruption was the impetus for my achievement fixation, and desire to complete every game I play. This is part of why the announcement that Metroid Prime 4 was in development meant so much to me. It’s not only the satisfaction of finally seeing the pilot of that mysterious spacecraft (Sylux’s) but of seeing the story of a game that has been so important in my life be continued. It’s the exciting prospect of more Bonus Credits to unlock, more scans and Logbook entries to read, and more secrets to discover. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption made me a completionist, and I will always be grateful to it for that.
Written by RoyboyX