| Metroid Prime | |
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| Developer(s) | Retro Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Released | NA November 15, 2002 EU March 21, 2003 |
| Genre | First-person action-adventure, First-person adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Ratings | CERO: All ages USK: 12+ |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube |
| Media | 1 × Nintendo GameCube Game Disc |
| System requirements | 3 memory card blocks |
| Input methods | Gamepad |
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 15, 2002. It is the first 3D game in the Metroid series, and is classified by Nintendo as a first-person adventure[1] rather than a first-person shooter, due to the large exploration component of the game. In North America, it was also the first Metroid installment to be released since Super Metroid in 1994 (in all other markets, it was released after Metroid Fusion).[2] Metroid Prime is the first of the three-part Prime storyline, which takes place between the original Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus.[3][4] Like previous games in the series, Metroid Prime has a science fiction setting, in which players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran. The story follows Samus as she battles the Space Pirates and their biological experiments on the planet Tallon IV. Despite initial backlash from fans due to the first-person perspective,[5] the game was released to both critical and commercial success, selling over one million units in North America alone[6] and becoming one of the highest reviewed games of all time.[7]
Contents |
Gameplay
- See also: Gameplay of the Metroid series
As in previous Metroid games, Prime takes place in a large, open-ended world with different regions connected by elevators. Each region has an entire set of rooms separated by doors that can be opened with a shot from the correct beam. The gameplay revolves around solving puzzles to uncover secrets, platform jumping, and shooting foes, with the addition of a "lock-on" mechanism that allows circlestrafing while keeping focus on the enemy. The game is the first in the series to use a first-person view as opposed to side-scrolling, except in Morph Ball mode, when Samus's suit transforms into an armored ball and the game uses a third-person camera.[8] The protagonist, Samus, must travel through the world searching for twelve Chozo Artifacts that will open the path to the Phazon meteor impact crater, while collecting power-ups that enable the players to reach previously inaccessible areas — such as the Varia Suit, which protects Samus' armor against heat, allowing to enter volcanic areas. Some of the items are obtained after boss and mini-boss fights, present in all of Tallon IV areas but the Magmoor Caverns. The head-up display simulates the inside of Samus's helmet, featuring a radar, a map, ammunition and health meters, and a health bar for bosses. The display can be altered by exchanging visors, including one using thermal imaging, another with x-ray vision, and one with a scanner that searches for enemy weaknesses and interfaces with certain mechanisms such as force fields and elevators, allowing the player to operate them.[9] Prime also introduces a hint system that provides the player with a general idea of where to go.[9]
Items
Throughout the game, players must find and collect items that improve Samus' arsenal and suit, including weapons, armor upgrades for Samus' Power Suit and items that grant abilities. Among these are the Morph Ball, which allows to roll into narrow passages and drop energy bombs, and the Grapple Beam, which works similarly to a grappling hook by latching onto special hooks, called grapple nodes, and allowing to swing from them across gaps.[9] Items from previous Metroid games make appearances with altered functions. The percentage of collected items and Scan Visor logs unlock art galleries and different endings. Manipulation of the game's physics can allow knowledgeable players to receive items earlier than intended, or to bypass collecting them, a challenge known as sequence breaking. Prime is the first Metroid game to address the reason Samus does not start with power-ups. She begins the game with certain upgrades, but during an explosion in the Space Pirate's ship they are all lost.[10] Players of the game can gain two features by connecting Prime with Metroid Fusion using a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable: use the Fusion Suit that Samus wears in Fusion and the ability to play the original Metroid.You can also use a "soft mod" device such as the action replay or gameshark to do this or other things.[9][11]
Plot
Prime has an extensive use of storyline, which was considered a major difference from previous Metroid games.[12] Short cutscenes appear before important battles, and the Scan Visor can be used to read text related to the back-stories of the Chozo and the Space Pirates. The game begins as Samus receives a distress signal from the Space Pirate Frigate Orpheon, whose crew has been slaughtered by the Pirates' own genetically modified experimental subjects. Upon arriving at the ship's core, she battles with the Parasite Queen, a giant mutated version of the tiny parasite enemies occasionally seen in the ship. After the battle, the Parasite Queen falls into the frigate's reactor, causing it to explode. While Samus is making her escape, an electrical surge destroys all of her Power Suit's upgrades. After watching Ridley fly towards Tallon IV, Samus gives chase in her gunship. Samus initially lands on the Tallon Overworld, a rainforest-like area. She discovers the Chozo Ruins, the remains of the Chozo civilization on Tallon IV that was destroyed with the crash of the Phazon meteor.[13] After obtaining a missile launcher, Samus enters a Chozo temple in Tallon Overworld, and discovers that the temple houses a seal to the meteor's impact crater,[14] which the Space Pirates are trying to break.[15] The containment field is powered by twelve Chozo artifacts, which must be found to open the path to the crater. [16] After defeating Chozo Ruins' boss, a giant, mantis-like plant called Flaaghra, she obtains the Varia Suit upgrade, and is able to enter Magmoor Caverns, a series of magma-filled underground tunnels, used by the Space Pirates as a source of geothermal power and connected to all of the game's other areas. Samus then journeys to the Phendrana Drifts, a cold, mountainous location divided into an ancient Chozo ruin, Space Pirate research labs that feature the first Metroids in the game, and ice caves and valleys that are home to electrical and ice-based creatures. After obtaining the Gravity Suit in Phendrana, Samus infiltrates the Phazon Mines, a mining and research complex, and the center of the Space Pirates' Tallon IV operations, where she obtains the Phazon Suit and the last of the Chozo Artifacts. Those allow her to enter the Impact Crater, where she finds a Phazon-mutated beast called Metroid Prime. During the final cutscene, a dying Metroid Prime steals Samus's Phazon Suit, reverting her armor to the Gravity Suit, and Samus escapes the collapsing Impact Crater and leaves Tallon IV in her ship. In a post-credits scene, Metroid Prime uses the Phazon Suit to recreate its body. The Prime trilogy is set between Metroid and Metroid II [4], [3], but sources such as Gradiente, Brazil's former distributor of Nintendo, and the Nintendo Power comics adaptation of Metroid Prime,[17] set the games as occurring after Super Metroid. The Brazilian publicity even states that the Phazon meteor is a piece of Zebes,[18] destroyed after Super Metroid.
Development
After Super Metroid, Metroid fans eagerly awaited a sequel. It was supposedly slated for the Nintendo 64 or its ill-fated accessory, the 64DD, but while the game was mentioned,[19] it never entered production, because Nintendo "couldn't come out with any concrete ideas".[20] Metroid Prime was developed as a collaboration between Retro Studios and important Nintendo EAD and R&D1 members. Retro Studios was created in 1998, by an alliance between Nintendo and former Iguana Entertainment founder Jeff Spangenberg. After establishing its offices in Austin, Texas in 1999, Retro received five game ideas for the future GameCube, among them a new Metroid,[21] despite not even having development kits.[22] Nintendo members, such as Shigeru Miyamoto, Kensuke Tanabe and Kenji Miki, as well as Metroid designer Yoshio Sakamoto, communicated with the Texas-based studio through emails, monthly phone conferences and personal gatherings. The game was originally envisioned as having third-person perspective gameplay, but this was changed to a first-person perspective after Miyamoto intervened, causing almost everything already developed to be scrapped.[20] Among the reasons for leaving the third-person perspective were Rare's trouble with the camera in Jet Force Gemini, shooting in third-person "not being very intuitive" and exploration being easier using first-person.[22]
| "We didn’t want to make just another first person shooter. [...] Making a first person shooter would have been a cheap and easy way to go. But making sure the themes and concepts in Metroid were kept was something that we wanted to do. And translating those things into 3D was a real challenge. For example, translating the morph ball was one of the hardest things to do.” Michael Kelbaugh, Retro Studios president since 2003[22] |
In 2000, three games were canceled in order to establish focus on Prime, and in 2001, the fourth other project (an RPG called Raven Blade) was canceled, so that Prime would be the only game in development.[23] The first public appearance of the game was a 10-second video at SpaceWorld 2000. In November of the same year, Retro Studios confirmed in the "job application" part of its website its involvement with the game, and at E3 2001, Prime was officially announced by Nintendo, receiving mixed reactions due to the change from 2D side-scrolling to 3D first-person.[24] Kenji Yamamoto, assisted by Kouichi Kyuma, composed the music for Prime. The soundtrack contains remixes of tracks from previous games in the series:[25] the initial Tallon Overworld theme is a remix of Metroid's Brinstar theme, the music in Magmoor Caverns is a remix of Super Metroid's Lower Norfair area, and the music during the fight with Meta Ridley is a remix of the Ridley boss music first featured in Super Metroid, which has been remixed and featured in most Metroid games since. Tommy Tallarico Studios also aided in developing the sound effects.[26] Kraid, a boss from Metroid and Super Metroid, was intended to make an appearance in Prime, and designer Gene Kohler modeled and skinned him for that purpose. However, time constraints prevented him from being included in the final version of the game. Though the beta model displays him inside Phazon Mines, Kohler says he was not replaced by the Omega Pirate.[27]
Versions
Prime was released in three different versions: the original North American version; a second version, released in North America and Japan, with resolved technical issues (such as a glitch which occasionally caused the game to freeze when using elevators connecting to Chozo Ruins); and the European version, with resolved glitches and altered certain elements of the gameplay to prevent sequence breaking. The European translation had logs removed or changed, resulting in a different storyline and log book.[28][29] For instance, a narrator was added in the opening and closing scenes. Some of the changes were in the NTSC region's Player's Choice re-release, along with more changes not in other releases.[30] Before the release of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes in 2004, Nintendo released a platinum-colored GameCube bundled with a copy of Prime containing a special second disc, featuring both a preview trailer and a demo for Echoes, a timeline of Metroid games and an art gallery.[31]
Reception
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2002 Game of the Year runner-up[33] |
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2002 Game of the Year[34] |
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Game of the Year (2002) |
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2002 Game of the Year |
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Conference |
Excellence in Level Design |
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Metroid Prime became one of the best-selling games on the GameCube, with about 1.49 million copies sold in the United States alone,[6] earning more than $50 million in revenue.[39] It is also the 8th best-selling GameCube game in Australia,[40] and sold over 78,000 copies in Japan[41] and over 250,000 copies in Europe, thus entering the Player's Choice line in the PAL region.[42] Prime was also critically acclaimed, including a perfect review score from Electronic Gaming Monthly.[43] It was praised for its detailed graphics, with special effects and varied environments,[44] moody soundtrack and sound effects,[12] level design,[45] immersive atmosphere,[8] and innovative gameplay, centered on exploring as opposed to the action of games such as Halo[46] while staying faithful to the Metroid formula.[47] Criticisms were also made, mostly for the unusual control scheme, which Game Informer considered awkward;[48] lack of focus on the story, making Entertainment Weekly compare the game to an "1990s arcade game, filled with over-the-top battle sequences, spectacular visual effects -- and a pretty weak plot";[49] and backtracking, stated by GamePro that inexperienced players "might find it exhausting to keep revisiting the same old places over and over and over".[50] On Game Rankings, Prime stands as the third-highest-rated game of all time, with an average score of 96.3% (as of November 2007).[51] The video game countdown show Filter named Prime as having the Best Graphics of all time. It also won 2002 Game of the Year awards from major publications and gaming sites. Prime was also chosen into lists of best games: 24th in IGN's Top 100,[52] 29th in a 100-game list chosen by GameFAQs users,[53] and 10th in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever".[54] GameSpy chose it as the third best GameCube title of all time, behind The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Resident Evil 4,[55] while IGN put it at first in a similar list.[56] Metroid Prime also became popular among hardcore gamers for speedrunning, with specialized communities being formed to share these speedruns.
Legacy
- Further information: Metroid series chronology
Three other Metroid games in the same first-person style were released after Prime, as well as a pinball spin-off. The first was the sequel Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, released in November 2004 for the GameCube, in which Samus travels to planet Aether and discovers that a Phazon meteor crash on the planet created an alternate reality, while being pursued by a mysterious enemy called Dark Samus - which is Metroid Prime wearing the Phazon Suit. Echoes is also the first Metroid to include a multiplayer mode. It was followed by Metroid Prime Pinball, a spin-off game developed by Fuse Games and released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS.[57] Prime Pinball is a virtual pinball game that features the locations and bosses of Prime. The next game released was Metroid Prime Hunters for the Nintendo DS, with a storyline that takes place between the events of Prime and Echoes. A demo of the game, titled Metroid Prime Hunters - First Hunt, was released with purchase of a Nintendo DS, and the full game was released on March 20, 2006 in North America, and May 5, 2006 in Europe. The storyline follows Samus trying to discover an "ultimate power", while facing six rival bounty hunters. Hunters was not developed by Retro Studios, but by Nintendo's Redmond-based subsidiary Nintendo Software Technology. The game is more centered on first-person shooter aspects than Prime and Echoes, with removal of assisted aiming, more action-oriented gameplay, and various multiplayer modes.[58] Prime's second full sequel is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which closes the Prime series,[59] and was released on August 27, 2007 for Nintendo's Wii. In Corruption's story, Samus is corrupted by Phazon after being attacked by Dark Samus, who became leader of a Space Pirate group and is sending Phazon Meteors (called "Leviathans") to corrupt planets. Corruption makes changes in gameplay from Prime and Echoes, such as trading the assisted aiming for free aiming with the Wii Remote, and changing the interchangeable beams for a stackable upgrade system. Metroid Prime's style of gameplay and HUDs led to influence and comparison in later first-person shooters, such as Geist[60] and Star Wars: Republic Commando.[61] The Frigate Orpheon is featured as a stage in the upcoming Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Parasite Queen appears in the background of the stage.[62]
References
- ^ Nintendo. Metroid Prime company line. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ Metroid Fusion release dates. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ a b History. Metroid Zero Mission Official Site (Japanese version). Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ a b Ice27. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Bonus Disc FAQ/Walkthrough. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ No Metroid For You. N-sider (February 19, 2001). Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ a b US Platinum Videogame Chart. The Magic Box. Retrieved on 2005-08-13.
- ^ Metroid Prime reviews. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
- ^ a b c Kasavin, Greg (2002-11-15). Metroid Prime review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2006-01-29.
- ^ a b c d Nintendo (2002). Metroid Prime Instruction Booklet (in English). Nintendo of America, Inc..
- ^ a b Williams, Bryan (2002-11-19). Metroid Prime review. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ Metroid Prime, Fusion connection revealed. GameSpot (2002-10-25). Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
- ^ a b c Mirabella, Fran (2002-11-11). Metroid Prime review. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Chozo Lore "Meteor Strike" (NTSC version) : "A meteor came, casting a dark shadow of debris over the land with the violence of its impact. [...] But the meteor brought with it corruption. A Great Poison burst forth into the land, clawing at life with such violence that we were ripped from our peaceful state and find ourselves wandering as shadows of the mortal forms we left behind, searching for why we are here."
- ^ Chozo Lore "Contain" (NTSC version): "And so, before it is too late, we now make our last stand. We have begun to build a temple to contain this darkness: at its heart we will place a Cipher, a mystical lock powered by twelve Artifacts and filled with as much power as we Chozo can harness in our ethereal states. Even when we are done, it may be too late."
- ^ Pirate Data "Artifact Temple" (NTSC version) : "Field team reports are in on an aged structure of alien design built on the surface of Tallon IV. Studies show this structure projects a containment field. This field bars access to a prime source of energy within a deep crater. Science Team believes the field is powered by a number of strange Chozo Artifacts. We have found some of these relics and studies on them have begun.As this field could hinder future energy production operations on Tallon IV, we must dismantle it as soon as possible. If this means the destruction of the Chozo Artifacts, it will be done."
- ^ Chozo Lore "Binding" (NTSC version) : "The congregation of Artifacts that hold the Great Poison at bay still hold strong. Fearful of the potential within the Artifact Temple, the invaders known as Space Pirates tried to destroy it, only to fail in every attempt. We scattered the Artifacts across the planet for their protection, and only a few have fallen into invader hands. Failing to understand them, they now seek to unmake them. Again, they fail. They are right to fear these things. Great power sleeps inside them. Prophecy calls for their union, come the day that the unholy Worm is met by the great Defender. We can only hope the Artifacts are not destroyed by the invader, for then all will be lost. So, we do what we can to preserve the Artifacts, and to guide the Newborn to them."
- ^ Dreamwave Productions (January-March 2003), "Metroid Prime", Nintendo Power (no. 164 – 167), ISSN 1041-9551
- ^ Metroid Prime on a large Brazilian e-shop (Portuguese). Submarino. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ News Archives: 1996 – 1999. Metroid Database. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
- ^ a b Developer info for Metroid Prime. Nintendo.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Metroid Primed. The Escapist (2006-04-04). Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ a b c MIGS 2007: Retro Studios On The Journey Of Metroid Prime. Gamasutra (2007-11-27). Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ History of Retro Studios. N-sider (2004-12-17). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Metroid Prime development. N-sider.
- ^ Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks. Soundtrack Central. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ Tallarico, Tommy. www.tallarico.com - Metroid Prime. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
- ^ Did You Know? Classic Metroid enemy Kraid was planned to be in Metroid Prime. Generation N. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ Koran Rag. Chozo Lore FAQ and Pirate Data FAQ (NTSC version). GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
- ^ Luke Scutt (BlitzBoy). Log Book FAQ (PAL version). GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ Version differences: version number. Metroid2002.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ New Metroid Prime Bundle Announced for GameCube. GamePro (2004-04-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Metroid Prime articles and reviews. GameStats. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ IGN staff (2003-01-23). 2002 Overall Game of the Year. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002: Game of the Year. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Game of the Year 2002. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ (2002-11-15) "Metroid Prime review". Edge magazine (115). Retrieved on 2006-01-29.
- ^ Metroid Prime Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Metroid Prime reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Campbell, Colin / Keiser, Joe (July 29, 2006). THE TOP 100 GAMES OF THE 21st CENTURY: 39-30. Next Generation. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ Australia's Choice (2006-10-16). Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ Japan GameCube charts. Japan Game Charts. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ New Player's Choice titles!. n-europe (2003-10-03). Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ Metroid Prime Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Castro, Juan (2005-04-29). The Top Ten Best-Looking GameCube Games. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ Metroid Prime review. Eurogamer (2003-03-21). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Game Rankings review. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Entertainment Gaming Monthly reviews. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Reiner, Andrew. Metroid Prime review. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Space Craft. Entertainment Weekly (2002-11-22). Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ Review: Metroid Prime. GamePro (2002-11-15). Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ Game Rankings' top games. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
- ^ IGN's top 100 games of all time. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
- ^ GameFAQs: 10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
- ^ (February 2006) "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". Nintendo Power (200).
- ^ Top 25 GameCube Games of All-Time - #3: Metroid Prime. GameSpy (2005-08-12). Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ The Top 25 GameCube Games of All Time. IGN (2007-03-16). Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Metroid Prime Pinball. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Colayco, Bob (2006-03-12). Metroid Prime: Hunters review. GameSpot.
- ^ Metroid Prime 3 Details Emerge. IGN (2005-08-03). Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ Gamespy Geist interview. Gamespy (2005-08-15). Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ Star Wars: Republic Commando review. GameSpot (2005-02-25). Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ Frigate Orpheon. Nintendo/HAL Laboratory (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
External links
- Metroid Prime's official website
- Metroid Prime guide at StrategyWiki
- Metroid Prime at MobyGames
- Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks (disc 2) at MusicBrainz
- Metroid Prime OST (disc 2) at MusicBrainz
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| Main series | Metroid (Zero Mission) · Metroid II: Return of Samus · Super Metroid · Metroid Fusion |
| Prime sub-series | Metroid Prime (Pinball) · Metroid Prime Hunters · Metroid Prime 2: Echoes · Metroid Prime 3: Corruption |
| Universe | Samus Aran |
