![]() ![]() Metroid Prime was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 and was the first 3D Metroid game. Installments Console Titles Metroid Prime Main article: Metroid Prime Along the way Samus discovers the origin of all Phazon and must destroy it to save the galaxy. One such enemy is a mutated Metroid known as Metroid Prime, who absorbs DNA from Samus and becomes Dark Samus, and is the main antagonist of the series. Samus must save several planets from the spread of Phazon, which has the ability to decimate entire ecosystems, while battling enemies who would use the power of Phazon for their own purposes. The Prime series trilogy - Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - follows Samus Aran as she combats Space Pirates experimenting on Metroids with the recently discovered mutagenic substance known as Phazon. The three main titles were later combined with enhanced controls and released on the Wii as the Metroid Prime Trilogy.Ĭhronologically, the Prime series falls between the events of Metroid/ Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid II: Return of Samus, but the storyline is greatly self-contained and has little effect on future games. Instead, the games were released on the next two generations of video game consoles: two on the Nintendo GameCube, two on the Nintendo DS, and one on the Wii. ![]() It’s a minor annoyance, but one that really should have been tweaked for the new default controls.The games heralded a revival of the Metroid series in 2002 after an eight year absence, as the series did not see a release on the Nintendo 64 console as fans had hoped it would. Bafflingly, the jump button is B when Samus is in humanoid form, but when she’s squished down to her signature Morph Ball mode, used to navigate tight crevices and tunnels, the X button is used to jump (or, technically, bounce) while B changes to a speed boost. It is, however, a small disappointment that Retro hasn’t taken the opportunity to refine some of the controls. For purists, there’s an option to replicate the GameCube controls, or use the Switch’s Joy-Cons for motion control, imitating the game’s Wii re-release – although both feel fiddly nowadays. In short, if you’ve played almost any first-person shooter of the last decade, you’ll intuitively know how Metroid Prime handles now. It's the controls that enjoy the greatest leap into modernity, though, with the default scheme now tailored for contemporary dual-stick controls. On visuals alone, this is easily one of the greatest remasters to land on the Switch. Character models are noticeably improved, even for the smallest of grunt enemies, and cutscenes, although practically shot-for-shot identical to the classic release, enjoy greater fidelity and sense of scale. Rain drops fizzle against energy beams and condense on Samus’ arm cannon, vines choke the walls of mysterious Chozo ruins, and it all runs at a solid 60fps. Areas are richer and more detailed than ever, while lighting and environmental effects are significantly improved. It’s startling how much better the game looks now – and the original was no slouch for the time, either. The big differences for Metroid Prime in 2023 are two-fold: visuals and controls. Retro Studios and its partners have done real justice to a rightly beloved classic. The 3D approach does change how some elements of combat work – being able to strafe around enemies while locked on, for instance – but at heart it’s as ‘pure’ an instalment as Super Metroid or Metroid Dread. The criss-crossing of imaginatively detailed environments as new power-ups are acquired, each allowing access to new locations or hidden caches, pulls players back and forth across the planet’s surface as compulsively as Samus’ classic 2D entries ever did. Developer Retro Studios (which handles the remaster with assistance from outside studios including Iron Galaxy and Zombot) could have gone the easy route and turned in a generic sci-fi shooter, but instead Samus’ journey across the abandoned world of Tallon IV packs in every bit as much puzzle solving, skilful navigation of tricky environments, and meticulous mapping of areas as fans of the series expected. What’s as remarkable now as it was over two decades ago though is how much it still feels like a Metroid game, despite the shift in perspective. Metroid Prime was always a radical entry for the series, jettisoning the familiar 2D action platforming in favour of a full 3D, first person shooter approach. Still, the surprise return of bounty hunter Samus Aran is a welcome one, and two decades on from its original release, Prime remains one of her finest adventures. ![]() A remaster of 2002 GameCube classic Metroid Prime has long been rumoured, which made it all the odder that Nintendo ultimately chose to effectively sneak its release out, launching digitally immediately after its most recent Nintendo Direct broadcast (with a physical release to follow). ![]()
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