The Irony of Metroid Prime

By Special Contributor WillBillXP/Vista-YoshiX

Sources include IGN, Gamespot, Gameinformer's review of Metroid Fusion, and opinions from gamers from old message boards.

The year was 2000, and the Gamecube was being unveiled at Spaceworld. There were tech demos and game previews everywhere, and they all showed that the purple box was a powerful little cube. One of these demos was an FMV sequence featuring a super detailed model of Samus running down a highly detailed corridor of a spaceship, and then turning around and blasting an enemy. Along with the realistic Zelda and Mario 128 demos, this was probably one of the biggest highlights for hardcore Nintendo fans at that time. However that didn’t last a year later. Today on In Depth, I will show you the controversy behind making Metroid Prime a “First Person Shooter.”

It seemed that everything for Gamecube would go perfectly. However, in 2001, there was some serious news that disrupted fanboys everywhere. First, it was revealed that the (at the time), un-named Metroid Prime would be a first person shooter. Even worse, it wasn’t being developed in Japan. Rather it was going to be developed by a fledgling Texas Based 2nd party studio called Retro. Fans mocked the game, calling it “Retroid” as an insult. The reactions to “Retroid” were almost as bad as “Celda,” another controversial move that resulted in many boycotting Gamecube. Things were not looking good for Gamecube. People believed that Nintendo had hung themselves and abandoned everything that they had been building upon since the NES days. Nintendo seemed to have gone mad, and many were alienated over nothing and refused to wait and see the final outcome. When the playable demos for Metroid Prime came, there wasn’t a lot of positive feedback either. The demos just seemed to concern others further. The opening mission of the spaceship was what was featured as the main demo. However it suggested that Prime was going for the linear FPS style. People assumed that it was going to be nothing more than some stupid and uninspired Halo clone. The playable demos dismayed, and mislead everyone about what is perhaps the greatest accomplishment in the History of Games.

Even though Gamecube was getting sceptic remarks about its future, its sibling, Gameboy Advance, was doing very well. Fans prayed for Nintendo to stop the development of “Retroid” and make a real Metroid game by Nintendo R&D1. Nintendo didn’t fully stab these people in the back with their news. It was announced in March 2001 that there would be a Metroid game for Gameboy Advance. Then a year later at E3, it could be seen that this was going to be the sequel everyone wanted. At least, that is how it seemed at the time. It had been roughly 8 years since Super Metroid was released, and Samus was going to be back. However there is a lot of Irony to Samus’s comeback. This 2D Metroid game, subtitled fusion was a departure from the series! Instead of focusing on exploring areas and finding weapons to find various ways to complete the game, it focused on a heavy story that didn’t even involve the actual presence of Metroids heavily at all. Rather, the gameplay was very linear, and involved the extermination of parasites called “X.” Samus’s traditional power suit wasn’t even worn by the heroine. Many were disappointed with the outcome of Fusion. Some went even as far as actually hating the game and calling it the weakest in the series. Fusion was generally rated high by the critics but many did feel that it was a little too linear for a Metroid game. The “other” Metroid game, that had been mocked on for so long, was the opposite of Fusion.

Metroid Prime captured what Fusion did not; Nostalgic Gameplay. Retro Studios knew what they were doing, and they did not forget what Metroid was all about; the thrill of exploring massive worlds. Losing all the Power-Ups at the beginning of the game certainly was a big sign that Retro was going to force you to find all of the power-ups. Exploration, moody atmosphere, unique art style, and Metroid Music and sound were taken into heavy thought and employed in the game. Nintendo wasn’t going to let one of their best classic franchises be destroyed. Retro Studios faced proved all the skeptics wrong about the 1st person mode, and they showed that just because a studio is new, doesn’t mean their first games will be bad. In some ways, the skeptics (which were probably just about every Metroid fan in existence) discriminated and pre-judged the game. The end result was something bigger and better than anyone could even possibly imagine. The scope of the game was grandiose, and the atmosphere was taken directly out of Super Metroid. In many ways, Prime was Super Metroid in true 3D. Retro Studios achieved the impossible, and Metroid Prime to this day is considered one of the best games of all time.

A few opinions of Metroid Prime and Fusion

Prime: Yes, Retro studios really did achieve the impossible. The first person view was very misleading. I will admit, Prime was my First Metroid game, and I had trouble getting into it at first. I was very bad at it. However once I got the hang of things, I loved the game to death. The non linear gameplay and massive environments are still impressive in this Next Generation of gaming. Prime was a beautiful accomplishment in every department. It is truly a revolutionary title that has set the bar for Metroid games very high.

Fusion: I found it much easier to get into, as this was my second Metroid game. I think the idea behind fusion was to make something that Newcomers could get into easily. Fans will most likely like it, but Hardcore Metroid fanatics are likely to hate it. Looking back, I can see where many complaints lay in the game. It is a bit short, the missions are linear, and game feels easy compared to other titles in the series. I like it still, but it’s definitely not the best Metroid Game (what were you thinking Game informer!?). Nerveless, it is a solid title that must not be missed or completely overlooked.
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Thanks to friend of the site, WillBillXP for submitting this great editorial!

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