Speed running

Unlike its predecessors, Metroid Prime is not designed to be run quickly, as evidenced by the fact that the ending one gets is determined solely by the percentage of items one picks up, not how quickly one finishes the game. A person who knew precisely where to go would likely still take seven to ten hours to finish the game; however, the current world record is one hour and four minutes, done by kip using the NTSC version of the game. Speed runs are possible by taking shortcuts that allow the player to collect items in a different – and faster – order from the one intended (known as sequence breaking). Speed running is popular among hardcore fans of Metroid Prime and can significantly increase the replayability of the game.

(Please note that as the game was released later in the PAL territories, it was greatly cleaned up, and thus the PAL version and the Player's Choice versions are not as good for speed running as the original NTSC version.)