The subject of this article is not named in-game.
The current title is from a guide or other published source.
Pull Blocks[1], also known as Grapple Blocks[2], Grapple Beam Blocks or Grapple Beam Boxes[3], and red grapple points[4], are traversable obstacles in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and a type of block in Metroid: Samus Returns and Metroid Dread.
Appearances
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Grapple Blocks are encountered twice in the game, in the Gateway Hall on Bryyo and in Botanica in Eastern SkyTown, Elysia. As the name implies, they are blocks that must be pulled with the Grapple Lasso to make platforms for Samus Aran to use.
The Grapple Blocks in both appearances look very different. On Bryyo, they resemble a Mogenar-class War Golem's head, and feature two red eyes. When pulled, a second block falls out from behind it, creating a platform. This is done so that Samus can get back up onto the ice bridge.
In Botanica, there are two Grapple Blocks that must be pulled to ascend the room. Scanning them reveals that they once stored nutrients for the Cyrlic trees in the chamber. Additionally, they are adorned with the Chozo Artifact symbol.
Metroid: Samus Returns
In Metroid: Samus Returns, Pull Blocks appear as blocks with red Grapple Points that Samus can pull using the Grapple Beam (expelled from her Arm Cannon). Some Pull Blocks are destructible, while others can only be moved. They tend to be obstacles that must be moved or destroyed to open up paths and/or shortcuts. They are called Pull Blocks in the Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide. They differ from blue Grapple Points, which are indestructible and immovable Grapple Points.
The Zeta Metroids and Queen Metroid both have parts of their bodies that can be grappled like Pull Blocks: the back and tongue, respectively. When Samus first encounters the Diggernaut, she mistakes its drill arm core for a Pull Block and accidentally reactivates the robot in the process.
Metroid Dread
Grapple Beam Blocks also appear on ZDR in Metroid Dread. They feature blue triangles and often obstruct tunnels. The locations of these blocks are added to the map when found, and the map updates when each block has been destroyed. Larger Grapple Beam Boxes can be pulled out of place, but this will not break them; they may instead drop into a gap and block off other routes, particularly in Ghavoran. Grapple Beam Boxes are etched with Chozo characters reading "KEN", but nothing is written on other obstacles that require the Grapple Beam.
Official data
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption scans
- Gateway Hall
- "Statue does not appear to be attached to the ground and could be pulled with enough force."
- Botanica
- "Container can be pulled out from wall. Once used to store nutrients for nearby flora."
Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide
- INHABITANTS & ECO SYSTEM OF SR388 - BLOCKS (p. 27)
- PULL BLOCKS
- "Pull Blocks are not hidden, and they function differently from most other blocks. Some Pull Blocks can be destroyed, while others can only be moved. No matter which type of Pull Block you encounter, the solution for dealing with them is always to pull them with the Grapple Beam."
Trivia
Artwork of Ghavoran.
- Artwork of Ghavoran published in Volume 10 of the Metroid Dread Report includes what appears to be an early version of a Grapple Beam Box. The design of this box differs from the ones in the published game; most noticeably, the color scheme is predominantly red as opposed to blue, appearing more like the Pull Blocks from Samus Returns. Furthermore, the writing on the Grapple Beam Box in this artwork does not correspond to letters in any known Chozo alphabet, suggesting that the script used throughout ZDR was altered during development.
Gallery
_Pull_Block_(Grapple_Beam).png "Metroid Samus Returns Blocks (Grapple) Pull Block (Grapple Beam).png (142 KB)")
