Metroid Database Bestiary

A ghostly alien with an extremely large eyeball. Phantoon is a creature from another dimension that stowed away on the ship the Chozo crash landed on Zebes. It is unknown if Phantoon actually caused this crash to occur, but its presence seems to drain all the electricity from the ship. The organs in its enormous, bulbous head allow the creature to shift in and out the spectrum of light at will, as it has full control over the electromagnetic field surrounding itself.

To the uninitiated, Phantoon can be a difficult fight, but following this strategy allows a very quick and easy way to defeat it. If you have collected enough Super Missiles, shoot one at Phantoon when he reveals himself, then immediately deselect your Missiles and begin to charge your beam. Phantoon will then appear at the top-middle of the screen and shoot 8 waves of blue flames at you. If your beam is charged, spin-jump directly into the waves, and you will avoid them completely unharmed. Alternate between jumping right-to-left and left-to-right. You just have to figure out the timing when it will shoot its waves at you and make sure you are spin-jumping into those waves. Keep repeating this method until Phantoon is defeated. If you need to, shoot beams at its blue flames for extra energy and missile refills throughout the battle.

The Japanese instruction manual states Phantoon is a by-product of Mother Brain's malicious ghost: "[Phantoon is] Mother Brain's consciousness given substance. The evil thought-waves surrounding her soul have turned into an evil spirit that has suspended the ship's operations."

The development art for Metroid: Other M later stated that Phantoon is a creature from another dimension. We can only see just its head. What Phantoon’s whole body looks like is completely unknown. Phantoon also highly resembles Powamps, but it has never been officially stated if they are related.