![]() In fact, Prime can be more accurately described as a first-person exploration game, one in which the goal is not, strictly speaking, to destroy the most enemies. Superficially, Metroid Prime resembles a first-person-shooter, and back in 2002 it confused a lot of gamers who were trained to see “first person + laser gun” and immediately assume the point was to run around guns blazing. Metroid Prime excels at this, which also means it’s one of those games that’s nearly impossible to put down: there’s always one more room to explore, one more nook or cranny to poke around in. The feeling you get when you finally acquire some skill – say, Samus’s fabled ability to curl up into a “Morph Ball” – and in an instant unlock a wealth of new navigation options to play with, is second to none. The Metroidvania genre is immensely satisfying to play. Exploring the planet, Samus slowly unlocks the secrets left behind by the ancient lost civilization of the “Chozo”, whose mysterious extinction is somehow tied to the Pirates’ latest experiments. For the first time in Metroid history, players control series star Samus Aran from behind her visor, making her way across the hostile planet of Tallon IV, now overrun by evil Space Pirates. Prime puts the Metroidvania model to good effect in a then-new (and still fresh) first-person reimagining of the genre. There are purple doors, white doors, and so on, along with plentiful hidden areas that you can find by simply fooling around with your different abilities/equipment. ![]() Return to the red door after acquiring the Plasma Beam, and you can blast your way through. Encounter a glowing red door early on in Metroid Prime, and you’ll have to turn back. ![]() The so-called “Metroidvania” genre, which owes its origins to those two mid-80s titles, involves sending players through enormous, intricately interconnected worlds in which progression can only be achieved by unlocking new abilities, which then make it possible to access previously unavailable areas. Oddly, however, Prime Remastered‘s biggest selling-point – a revised control scheme – may well be its biggest weakness.īefore Castlevania, there was Metroid, and before Metroid there was… well, nothing quite like it. Two decades later, Metroid Prime remains almost as fresh and exciting as it did in 2002. I happen to consider Metroid Prime a better game than Super Metroid – something which many gamers are likely to disagree with – but the fact that it so manages to feel like Metroid, albeit from a radically different perspective, is a testament to the skill of developers Retro Studios. Not since Super Mario 64 brought the Italian plumber into 3D has a Nintendo game so thoroughly and definitively made a genre transition while still retaining something of the original’s essence. ![]() The original Metroid Prime remains rightly revered not only as a masterclass in first-person action games, but also in how to successfully modernize a series. It takes everything that made the original Prime legendary, and improves it just enough to merit new attention. Available now for Switch.Ī high-def remaster of the beloved GameCube title, brought to us by the studio that made the 2002 original. Our review of Metroid Prime Remastered, developed by Retro Studios. ![]()
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