We’re excited. We aren’t afraid to admit it. When Nintendo revealed that it was working on Metroid Prime 4 back in 2017, we were beyond ecstatic. Yes, a few years have come and gone since that time, and Metroid Prime 4 has even seen a complete restart in development, but that doesn’t mean we’re any less excited. With 2020 already offering a slew of great games, we wanted to sit down and talk about one we hope to see make a debut this year, and then take that a step further by offering up 4 things we want to see in Metroid Prime 4.
Back in June 2019, Metroid Prime 4 developer Retro Studios posted a job opening for the art director of Samus’ next major game. After eight long months, it appears that they’ve finally filled the position with former DICE art director Jhony Ljungstedt. So, while we wait for more juicy deets, let's take a look at everything we know about Metroid Prime 4. Metroid Prime 4 - The story so far. We start two-and-a-half years ago.
A more open worldOkay, we’ll get this one out of the way quickly, because it’s a pretty big ask. Now, we’re not talking about a real open world here like Breath of the Wild. While this would no doubt be an interesting way to play, we feel that the game would benefit more from a semi-open world that still offers the same type of progression system as the original titles.Part of what draws players to Metroid is the sense of progression that comes as you explore each area, gaining access to new abilities, discover shortcuts, and just looping through the different areas trying to complete each section.
All around it’s a fairly gated off sequence, and we just want to see a bit more exploration available at the start.This could be accomplished by giving players multiple ways to start off. Instead of having a single linear path that leads to a specific upgrade, give players a few ways to start off and go. This could happen by giving players a couple of different planets to explore, or even offer them a few different “landing points” to start the game off.
Either way, it could give a nice bit of variation at the start and could even open up additional bits for speedrunners or return playthroughs down the line.This idea could even be continued later on by giving players more “crossroads” to choose between, giving them at least a little bit more control over how and when they choose to explore certain areas. Don’t make us start over completelyWhile we’re at it, let’s bring up another big ask.
If you’ve played a Metroid game in the past 30 years, then you’ve already experienced the typical formula. Start out with a barebones suit and collect various upgrades as you explore the different areas. You collect your Morph Ball, you collect your Missiles, you get the Super Missiles, the High Jump Boots, and so on down the line until you’ve amassed a collection of different gadgets, gizmos, and suits.Imagine if you start out with all the basics in Metroid Prime 4. You already have missiles; you already have the Morph Ball. Then, as you explore the new world, you start to uncover new gadgets and items to make use of; new types of suits we haven’t seen in the series before. It would still provide the same sense of progression that has made the Metroid games so endearing to fans, while also giving you new items to master and unlock.
Bring back that isolated feelingOne of the biggest driving factors that drew us to the Metroid series was the feeling of being isolated. Like you were the only person in the world. It was this sense of isolation that provided dread at key moments in the series, and even as you began to grow more powerful, it helped to make you feel like a true badass—which is exactly what Samus is, let’s be honest.The original Metroid Prime captured this feeling so well, and we’d love to see a renewed focus on it in Metroid Prime 4. Of course, we’re not exactly sure how things will work just yet—if the game will continue to build off the story from the Prime Trilogy or if they’ll take things in a completely new route.
Either way, if Nintendo can recapture that feeling of isolation in Metroid Prime 4, it will be a huge win as far as we’re concerned.Of course, for anyone who has played the original Prime Trilogy, the true ending of the third game, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, introduced us to Sylux, a bounter hunter who hates Samus and the Galactic Federation. Sylux was later explored a bit more in Metroid Prime Hunters. While some believe that Sylux will play a large part in Metroid Prime 4, it’s still unclear exactly what Samus’ story will entail this time, which leads us to our next point. A complete reboot of the Prime storyOkay, listen, we’re all excited about the idea of a new Metroid Prime game. What we don’t want, though, is a shoehorned attempt to revive the Metroid Prime Trilogy storyline, which effectively came to an end 13 years ago. Yes, Metroid Prime’s overall storyline was great, but we’d rather see Nintendo explore something new this time around than try to build up from what was explored before.Years have come and gone since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and a lot of the players diving into Metroid Prime 4 probably won’t have a firm grasp on that story. That’s where starting over comes into play.
If Nintendo can approach it as if it is a new storyline entirely, it will give the studio more room to work with things, instead of having to stick to conventions introduced in the early 2000s. Don’t get us wrong, we’d love to learn more about Sylux, but the first return to the Metroid series in over 10 years shouldn’t have any attachments to previous entries.As you can see, we’ve got some pretty big ideas for Metroid Prime 4. Of course, nobody knows what the game is going to entail just yet, or what storyline it’s going to follow. We’re excited and intrigued to learn more when Nintendo shares it. February 15, 2020 10:08 AMAs a corollary to this, here's a list of things I do NOT want in MP4:1. Crafting - This has been all the hotness in games of late, it does not add real depth to the kind of game that Metroid has been. Samus is a walking tank already, she shouldn't need to craft ammo or small upgrades from dirt and sticks she finds along her way.2.
Overly linear gameplay - Just having an 'open world' is not good enough if I can't sequence break or at least start to explore areas I might not be ready for. To me, having enough skill or ingenuity to get to an item before you should have is one of the hallmarks of the Metroid games I loved. Straying off the beaten path to find an upgrade 'the hard way' was always a great feeling. Similarly, I shouldn't be locked out of going back to previous areas once they are completed.3. Motion/gimmick controls - Other than aiming with the Wii-mote, all the other motion controls in the Wii versions of the game felt super-gimmicky. Tight controls make me feel like I'm controlling a badass bounty hunter.
Samus is a badass, make the player feel like they are too.4. No real sense of danger - Yes, Samus is a badass in a power suit of unfathomable power, but I don't want to assume I can just barrel through the whole game without worrying about health or ammo. Samus is alone on an unfamiliar alien world most of the time. This should not be a ride at an amusement park. It also makes overcoming each (well-designed) challenge that much more rewarding, by making you feel, again, like a badass. February 15, 2020 10:51 AMIt needs to not be Metroid Prime 4. It needs to be Metroid Galaxy of the Wild.
A total rework of the gameplay, bringing back the classic formula while expanding the options.I don't know if a more open world is necessary, in that part of what makes those games work (like Dark Souls and Hollow Knight) is a sense of progression and interconnectedness. I think isolation is more key, for the vibe of the series.I don't care about starting over.I also hardly care about the story (same w/ Zelda). Nintendo must know this; these games barely have a story.
Nintendo has rebooted Metroid Prime 4 and placed series developer Retro Studios in charge of the title’s ongoing development.“The current development status is very challenged, and we had to make a difficult decision as a development team,” Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi said. “We did not make this decision lightly. This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal planWe strongly recognise that this delay will come as a disappointment to the many fans who have been looking forward to the launch of Metroid Prime 4.”Why would Nintendo just restart the development of one of its most anticipated new games? The company didn’t share all of the details, but it indicated during the video announcement that the game just wasn’t living up to the expectations it had set for this franchise. What’s fascinating about this is that Nintendo never confirmed who was working on Metroid Prime 4 prior to this recent announcement. However, it was that Bandai Namco had been given the task.
While that does mean that Metroid Prime 4 is going to be delayed even further, it’s actually kind of hard to not see this as somewhat encouraging news. Developer Retro Studios was responsible for the. The studio has proven that it understands and what makes Metroid Primetitles work. Many people hoped that Retro would be the developer to work on Metroid Prime 4 in the first place. While this delay is most certainly unfortunate, we’ve seen what happens when other studios get Metroid games wrong, and the results are not pretty. The team that Retro has built around Metroid Prime 4 is pretty impressive, too.
Former DICE art director Jhony Ljungstedt ( Battlefield 5, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst) has joined former Halo lead character artist Kyle Helfey, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze lead designer Stephen Dupree. The team is led by original Metroid Prime trilogy producer Kensuke Tanabe.While it might be a long time before we see Metroid Prime 4, here’s hoping that the game we get will be worth the wait. With that said, here’s everything that we know about Retro Studios’ Metroid Prime 4: Metroid Prime 4 Release DateThere is currently no release date for Metroid Prime 4. Considering that all development progress made up until the point that Retro Studios took over has seemingly been scrapped, it could be quite a while until we actually see this game. That takes Metroid Prime 4‘s likely release date from “possibly in 2019” to most likely not before 2021. Metroid Prime 4 TrailerIt’s a little disheartening to look back on now given the massive delay, but this is the Metroid Prime 4 teaser showcased at E3 2017.