Bounty hunter Samus Aran will have some new tricks up her sleeve in Metroid Dread, but one particular classic move is making a return. Samus will be able to bomb jump forever in the new adventure, provided you can keep up the required rhythm.
The Infinite Bomb Jump (or IBJ) is a technique that’s been usable in 2D Metroid games since the series began, with the exception of Metroid Fusion. In a nutshell, the technique involves Samus entering Morph Ball form, dropping a bomb, and using the explosion to launch upward. If timed correctly, you can lay out several bombs and continue to boost higher and higher, reaching platforms and ledges you’re not supposed to, breaking the critical sequence of various Metroid games. This exploit is used frequently in the speedrunning community.
That makes it kind of funny that Nintendo has confirmed on Twitter that IBJ is present in Metroid Dread. Although the technique was mentioned briefly in the official Super Metroid strategy guide, Nintendo isn’t the type of company to acknowledge game-breaking strategies for its properties — the Breath of the Wild community is constantly finding new techniques that abuse the Bomb and Stasis abilities, for example.
It remains to be seen if IBJ can actually be used to skip portions of Metroid Dread, but considering the official endorsement, it’s doubtful. In any case, bombs are just one of the many weapons Samus will wield in the new adventure. Her vast arsenal includes classic missiles, a new sliding technique, and more. That should all come in handy for facing the deadly EMMI robots.
You can take them on pretty soon yourself; the Metroid Dread release date isn’t far off. It’s headed to Nintendo Switch on October 8.
