It boasts a total of seven boards based on the game, though only two are fully playable. Three exist solely for boss battles, one is essentially a multiball Wizard Mode and one is exclusively multiplayer.
Metroid Prime Pinball demonstrates the following tropes:
- 1-Up: The first Metroid game to feature them.
- Adapted Out: Of the five main bosses from the original game, Flaahgra is the only one to make no appearance. Somewhat strange that it is the only snub, as its fight from Metroid Prime made the most use of the morph ball, being the only one of the five where it was mandatory.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: All of the minigames have alliterative titles. Parasite Purge, Metroid Mania, and so on.
- Attack Its Weakpoint: The fastest way to defeat the Omega Pirate is to activate Missile Mode, fire directly at its shoulders and kneecaps, and then strike it directly with the ball as it attempts to recover in the nearby Phazon.
- Bottomless Pit Rescue Service: The force field, though it has to be periodically turned back on.
- 11th-Hour Superpower: The Force Ball ability.
- Ground Punch: Used to great effect by the Omega Pirate.
- Homing Projectile: The space pirate missiles and Metroid Prime after it loses its armor.
- Karma Houdini: Meta Ridley is a constant nuisance in the Artifact Temple, but you never actually get to defeat him.
- Life Meter: Samus has one of these, and can indeed die instantly if it is depleted.
- Long Song, Short Scene: The game's version of Magmoor Caverns can only be heard when waiting for a signal from another DS to start the multiplayer table.
- Machine Monotone: The Announcer has a flat monotonous voice that barely if ever changes tone, and only indicates events and (when applicable) their levels. Her comment if you beat the game is just a simple "Awesome" without any fanfare or flare.
- Me's a Crowd: Clone mode, Gunship multiball, and at the Artifact Temple.
- Mythology Gag: "Hunters", the multiplayer music from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, is this game's designated multiball and multiplayer music. In other words, any situation where there is more than one Samus.
- Numerological Motif: The Artifact Temple heavily emphasizes 12. You're awarded 1,200 points per floor symbol touched, 120,000 points for shooting the board's saucer at the start and the 12 totems, and 1,200,000 points for shooting the saucer at the end.
- Oddball in the Series: A Pinball Spin-Off in one of the two major Metroidvania franchises.
- One-Winged Angel: Metroid Prime has both of its forms, and the second one can only be damaged with a specific powerup.
- Personal Space Invader: Metroids, as always. Luckily, bombs still work on them the same as any other game in the series.
- Pinball Spin-Off: It's a heavily condensed retelling of Metroid Prime, just with less first-person adventure and more pinball.
- Plot Coupon: You must collect twelve Chozo Artifacts to reach the final two boards, two of which must come from Thardus and the Omega Pirate.
- Rock Monster: Thardus returns as the boss of Phendrana Drifts.
- Shout-Out: Tallon Overworld's playfield is based off of Theatre of Magic.
- Smart Bomb: The Power Bomb works in this manner, though only for whichever screen Samus is currently on.
- Time Trial: Single board playthroughs of any of the boss boards keep score in this form.
- Took a Level in Badass: The Triclops was a minor annoyance in the original game, as all it did was latch onto the Morph Ball and spit it out for minor damage. But in a pinball game, where the ball being released at an unfortunate angle is the worst possible fate...
- Video Mode: In which Samus Wall Jumps in order to reach an artifact.
