An Octolith is a crystal of unknown material that contains the essence of Alimbic elders. They appear only in Metroid Prime Hunters, in which there are eight of them in total and all are required to gain access to the Oubliette. There are two Octoliths per each planet and space station in the game. The eight Octoliths power the Alimbic Cannon, located on Alinos, which summons the Oubliette that contains Gorea.

Metroid Prime Hunters

Adventure Mode

Left dormant for some time, it is unknown if anyone has attempted to acquire the crystals in the years before the events of Metroid Prime Hunters. Shortly after the events of Metroid Prime, a telepathic message originating in the Alimbic Cluster is sent to to many powerful beings and governments promising the "Ultimate Power" (which does not exist^[1]). Soon, Bounty Hunters from all over the universe begin heading to the Alimbic Cluster in hopes of finding it. The Galactic Federation send Samus Aran, their most prized warrior, to either secure the power, or failing that, destroy it.

Samus soon learns after arriving at the Celestial Archives that the Octoliths are vital to reaching the "Ultimate Power" and collects all eight of these ancient keys, returns to Alinos, and activates the Alimbic Cannon. The Oubliette appears in the center of the cluster and Samus heads off to defeat Gorea. She gains the Omega Cannon in her second battle with the creature, and with this weapon, defeats Gorea.

If another Bounty Hunter defeats Samus, they will take an Octolith and must be hunted down and defeated in order to get it back.

Multiplayer

Octoliths appear in the Bounty and Capture multiplayer game modes. In Bounty, the objective is to capture the Octolith before anyone else and get back to the drop point to earn points. The rules also apply to Team Bounty. The Octolith is the same color as the Octoliths in the Adventure Mode. In Capture, the rules are altered: the different teams earn points when both Octoliths are at their base. These Octoliths are green and orange.

Official data

Logbook entry

Metroid Prime Hunters manual

About Octoliths

"Like Samus, six other bounty hunters are exploring the Tetra galaxy seeking out the Octoliths. If one of these Hunters defeats you in battle, you may lose any Octoliths you're carrying. If this happens, you must battle that Hunter again to reclaim your Octoliths."

Octolith

"A mystery item that holds the key to ultimate power."

Octolith

"Take this back to the goal or base to earn points."

Metroid Prime Hunters: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide

Octoliths

"Collect all eight Octoliths to solve the mystery of the Alimbic Cluster."

Notification

"OCTOLITH ACQUIRED
YOU OBTAINED AN OCTOLITH!"

Messages

"GUNSHIP TRANSMISSION
OCTOLITHS MAY BE THE KEY TO THE ULTIMATE POWER ALLUDED TO IN THE TELEPATHIC MESSAGE."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...DO NOT TRUST YOUR SENSES... THEY DECEIVE YOU..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...LOST...WE ARE ALL..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...END WAS UPON US ALL..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...THE CANNON HOLDS THE POWER..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...OUR PEOPLE ARE GONE, YET WE REMAIN..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
...THE CANCER TRIED..."

"TELEPATHIC MESSAGE
ALINOS HOLDS THE KEY TO ULTIMATE POWER..."

Trivia

• "Octo" is latin for "eight", and there are eight to collect, while "-lith" is from the Greek "lithos", meaning "stone". Thus, "Octolith" means "eight stones". Also, each octolith has eight sides.
• The Octoliths serve the same purpose as the Chozo Artifacts, Sky Temple Keys, and Energy Cells, in that they are the key to the final boss.

• The Octoliths even share a remix of the former's acquisition flourish, the Get Artifact Jingle.

• When Samus touches an Octolith, it shrinks in size and gains a rainbow aura around it. Quickly after altering its form, it enters Samus's Varia Suit.
• With the exception of the first Octolith, Samus receives telepathic messages (in text and audio, transcribed above) that refer to Alimbics in the first-person after obtaining Octoliths. This could suggest that the Alimbic essence contained in the Octoliths are trying to communicate with Samus. Otherwise, they may simply be Gorea continuing to use its telepathic abilities to deceive Samus.
• The area in which the Octoliths are recorded in Samus's Gunship, which resembles a ring, is also the same shape the Octoliths are placed in the Control Room for the Alimbic Cannon.
• If Samus stands in an Octolith's spawn point or moves into said Octolith soon after, the cutscene will not play and will skip to the telepathic message. This can shave a few seconds off (in a speed run) if done successfully.

Gallery

An Octolith in-game.

Samus in the Alimbic Cannon Control Room, surrounded by all eight Octoliths.

References