After the release of Super Metroid for the SNES in 1994, there was an 8 year wait until the series would see return to a home console, that being Metroid Prime on the GameCube. Produced by Nintendo and their new 1st party developers of Retro Studios, Metroid Prime marked a bold move for the series as it transitioned into the world of 3D as a first-person shooter action-adventure, an unusual mix of genres. But by golly did it work. One of my fondest memories not just in Metroid Prime but in all of gaming is the incredible immersion felt wearing the helmet of Samus Aran, seeing steam fog up the visor or the intense blast of a charged shot emit a brief reflection of your eyes. Quite simply this was one of the most expertly designed and engrossing adventures you're likely to find in gaming.
With an added emphasis to exploration and immersion in the world, extra care and attention went into creating intuitive controls and well considered UI (user interface) design. From your health and missile count, to warning indicators of nearby threats and a mini-3D map of your surroundings, all needed information is displayed clearly and naturally for the player's use. Even when switching between various types of visors, each visor is given a distinct visual aesthetic to distinguish their unique functionality while adapting these other UI elements to fit with these fresh new looks. While on the topic of visors, the new addition of the Scan Visor also plays a pivotal role in making this game one of the most immersive experiences imaginable. Scanning is introduced not only as a key component in solving puzzles and finding enemy weaknesses, but as a major means of the game's storytelling and world building. So much of the world is filled with various bits to be scanned; From data logs to alien species and flora to runic histories and more, there is so much rich, interesting lore that makes this world feel all the more alive and significant for it.
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| Nothing quite captures the satisfaction that comes from scanning anything and everything in Metroid Prime. |
While Metroid Prime stands tall as the best in the series for its incredible pacing and expertly crafted worlds to explore, that doesn't make its two sequels any less superb adventures to play. Following the critical acclaim of Metroid Prime, the second entry of this to-be trilogy, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, saw release also for the GameCube on November 15th, 2004. In this adventure, Samus travels between two parallel dimensions to save a planet on the brink of destruction. The dueling worlds adds a clever wrinkle in deciphering navigation between environments that are both alien and familiar at the same time. While exploring the Dark Aether is an intimidating and frustrating process at first, there is a satisfying growth of power as you obtain new suits and slowly turn the tides of dominance over this domain.
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| Concept art of the Light Power Suit in Metroid Prime 2. |
Then three years later, the series would conclude with the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, this time for the Nintendo Wii. Spanning across multiple planets, Samus ventures out to put an end to the corrupting force of Phazon and the nefarious schemes of Samus' Phazon-based doppelganger, Dark Samus. The real headliner of this adventure was the brilliant implementation of motion controls, which make both navigation and combat a seamless experience. I argue that no other FPS game has managed to top the technical achievements of these controls to this day, and I fathom why more developers don't strive to emulate such excellence on display here.
If you're looking for the means to experience yourself this phenomenal trilogy of Metroid Prime games, fortune favors the patient as the series was later bundled into one collective set in 2009 as the Metroid Prime Trilogy, later also released on the Wii-U eShop in 2015. The best part of this compilation is that it updates the first two games with the terrific motion controls as sported in Prime 3, making this the ideal way to experience this set of masterpieces. Now with the announcement of Metroid Prime 4 to come to Switch, the world waits with much anticipation to the series' return to form in unparalleled immersive first-person action-adventures. And perhaps equally as enticing, many are just as hopeful for a port of this beloved Metroid Prime Trilogy to come to Switch as well. Whatever may come to be, these engrossing exploits won't soon be forgotten. Here's to more good hunting bounty hunter!
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