With the release of the highly-anticipated Metroid Prime 4 confirmed to be somewhere down the line, fans have been looking back on the preceding three entries in the series to reflect on which elements they prefer from the earlier games. Do they prefer the meditative isolation of the first Prime? The gloomy mystery of Prime 2: Echoes? Or perhaps the more theatrical approach to Prime 3: Corruption.
All of these titles share advantages and disadvantages that the developers at Retro Studios and Nintendo would be wise to draw from. Thanks to the technical edge the Nintendo Switch has over its predecessors, Prime 4 has a real shot at being the best entry in the series. For that to happen, though, fans will want to see certain elements preserved, as well as others that the new game should avoid.
Don't: Too Much Combat Focus
Although past Metroid games have had some impressive boss fights and enemy encounters, the core of the experience has always been, and always should be exploration. That's not to say that the developers shouldn't include exciting action setpieces, just that those action sequences shouldn't be prioritized at the expense of the game's environments and puzzles.
This is an issue core to the identity of Metroid, so it needs to be preserved with care. Fans typically aren't coming to a Metroid title looking to play an exhilarating shooter in the same way they might come to Halo. Combat can be the icing on the cake, but the core of the experience needs to remain true to the franchise.
Do: Keep Samus Isolated
The two titles that are arguably the best-regarded in the Metroid franchise are Super Metroid and the original Metroid Prime. Outside of outstanding environments and memorable puzzles, a common element these two games share is their feeling of intense isolation. In both of these games, Samus is totally alone, left to her own devices on an alien world.
This is a theme that should be preserved in Prime 4. Keeping potentially distracting elements like side characters and radio chatter out of the way allows the player to fully immerse themselves in the game's world, which is a critical goal of any good Metroid game.
Don't: Too Many Cutscenes
A critical component of enjoying any good Metroid game is immersion; the player needs to feel like they're the ones plumbing the depths of some magma-filled cavern in outer space. This necessity is part of what makes the Prime games so brilliant -- the first-person perspective allows the player to step into the shoes of Samus Aran in a totally new way.
Because of this, Prime 4 should cut down on unnecessary dialogue and cutscenes that might interrupt the player's immersion. Super Metroid is an excellent example of this sort of restraint used well: there are hardly any cutscenes, but when the game does decide to use them they're deployed to great effect.
Do: Connect To The Rest Of The Series
One of the special endings of Metroid Prime 3 featured a sneak peek of what appeared to be a mysterious spacecraft secretly pursuing Samus's ship at the end of the game. The ship was later confirmed to be in the ownership of the mysterious bounty hunter Sylux, a character who seems to harbor a deep resentment towards Samus for unclear reasons.
Although nothing is confirmed, fans have speculated that Sylux might have something to do with the events of Prime 4, and at any rate, they do want to see some sort of connection to the series at large in the new game. Perhaps Prime 4 will be a direct sequel to its predecessor, or perhaps it will throw caution to the wind and take place after the events of Metroid Fusion? Only time will tell.
Don't: Linearity
One of the complaints that fans had with the previous entry in the series was its perceived linearity. In Prime 3 Samus could fly her ship from planet to planet, but players still felt somewhat confined by the route they were supposed to take through the game.
Although the invisible hand of the developer is always guiding the player through even the best Metroid games, the player should feel like they themselves are the ones forging ahead into an alien world, piecing together its puzzles and defeating its enemies to progress. Obvious linearity hurts this impression, undermining the game in the process, so it should be avoided in Prime 4.
Do: Introduce New Mechanics And Powers
One of the coolest things about every new Metroid game is seeing the exciting new powers that Samus will unlock as she explores her environment, as well as how the game might implement familiar powers in new and interesting ways. Past Prime games have been excellent about this, giving Samus an exciting toolbox of different visors and beams to help her progress through the game.
With the hardware advantage that the Switch has over the Gamecube and Wii taken into , it's safe to be excited for some cool-looking powers to come by Samus in the new game. Hopefully, these powers will shake up the gameplay, making exploration even more exciting.
Don't: Too Many NPCs
Although Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was an excellent game in its own right, it did have a tendency to lean a little bit too heavily into the "cinematic" style of shooters that were in vogue at the time, meaning that the game had a wide cast of characters and NPCs that would interact with Samus throughout the game.
Although some of these interactions were welcome, such as those with federation troopers that fleshed out how the Galaxy at large viewed Samus, they did undercut some of the atmosphere that makes Metroid unique. It's hard to feel like a solo bounty hunter exploring an unknown alien world when coworkers are calling on the radio all the time.
Do: Allow For Motion Aiming
Most fans will agree that the best way to experience the Metroid Prime trilogy was via the port that the original three games got as part of a collection for the Nintendo Wii. This was because the Wii version of the trilogy allowed for motion aiming through the Wii Remote - a vast improvement over the original control scheme that Prime 1 and 2 had on the Gamecube.
The developers should hold on to the option to use motion controls in Prime 4. Luckily, shooters on the Switch such as Doom: Eternal and Splatoon 2 have motion aiming built-in, which bodes well for the feature's inclusion in the game.
Don't: Long Backtracking Sequence At The End
Although every Metroid Prime game is beloved for its own reasons, a complaint that fans share between each entry is the obligatory backtracking sequence that the player must slog through in order to unlock the final area. Whether it's Chozo artifacts or batteries for a derelict ship, necessary backtracking is always present at the end of a Prime game.
While some of these sequences have been more or less intrusive than others, they all tend to interrupt the pacing of the game to the detriment of the overall experience. It would be best to do away with this in Prime 4 to keep the flow of the game moving along.
Do: A Release Date!
It has been a long, long time since the world was last graced by the presence of a Metroid Prime game, and the franchise, in general, has been underrepresented on the Switch, leaving Metroid behind as games from Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon did huge numbers.
Needless to say, the announcement of Metroid Prime 4 was a welcome one for fans. Unfortunately, that announcement was, at the time of this writing, nearly three years ago. Patience is certainly a virtue, but this has been a long wait no matter how one looks at it. The number one thing that fans want to see from Metroid right now is some gameplay, or maybe, just maybe, a release date.