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Metroid Prime (series)
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The Metroid Prime series is a subset of the Metroid series published by Nintendo and developed by Retro Studios. The Prime series consists of a main trilogy and two titles released on handheld systems: a spin-off game, which deviated from the trilogy storyline, and a retelling of the first Prime game in the form of a fast-paced pinball-based game. The Prime games were the first Metroid titles using a three-dimensional first-person perspective. The games heralded a revival of the Metroid series in 2002 after an eight year absence, as the series did not see a release on the Nintendo 64 console as fans had hoped it would. Instead, the games were released on the next two generations of video game consoles: two on the Nintendo GameCube, two on the Nintendo DS, and one on the Wii. The three main titles were later combined with enhanced controls and released on the Wii as the Metroid Prime Trilogy.
Chronologically, the Prime series falls between the events of Metroid/Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid II: Return of Samus, but the storyline is greatly self-contained and has little effect on future games.
The Prime series trilogy - Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - follows Samus Aran as she combats Space Pirates experimenting on Metroids with recently discovered the mutagenic substance known as Phazon. Samus must save several planets from the spread of Phazon, which has the ability to decimate entire ecosystems, while battling enemies who would use the power of Phazon for their own purposes. One such enemy is a mutated Metroid known as Metroid Prime, who absorbs DNA from Samus and becomes Dark Samus, and is the main antagonist of the series. Along the way Samus discovers the origin of all Phazon and must destroy it to save the galaxy.
Installments
Metroid Prime
- Main article: Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 and was the first 3D Metroid game. The game is officially classified by Nintendo as a first-person adventure rather than a first-person shooter, though there are many combat sequences, because of the extensive exploration elements in the game.
Samus follows the distress signal of a Space Pirate frigate to the planet Tallon IV, a former Chozo colony. On the surface she uncovers a series of Space Pirate operations involving a powerful substance known as Phazon, which was brought to the planet on the back of a strange meteor and was slowly devastating the local ecosystem. She dismantles the Space Pirate labs and mining operations and heads into the Impact Crater of the meteor, where she encounters an intensely-mutated Metroid known as Metroid Prime. Though Samus defeats the creature successfully, it manages to survive, and using DNA from the Phazon Suit it rips from her, Metroid Prime becomes the entity known as Dark Samus.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Main article: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The successor to the highly-acclaimed first-person adventure Metroid Prime, Echoes is the second installment in the Prime series. It was released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2004 and was the first Metroid game in the series to feature a multiplayer function. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes received a reputation for having punishing difficulty, but was still well-received.
In this installment, Samus is hired by the Galactic Federation to make contact with and render assistance to a squadron of Galactic Federation Marines that went missing in the Dasha region.[1] She follows the marines to the planet Aether, which had also been infected by Phazon after a meteor impact, creating a hellish mirror image known as Dark Aether infested with dark creatures called the Ing. Dark Samus and the Space Pirates also ventured to the planet, attracted by the Phazon there.
The marines she was sent to assist were dead before Samus arrived. She makes contact with the local people, known as the Luminoth, and uses Portals that connect the two dimensions on the planet to repel the Ing, as well as the Space Pirates who were mining Phazon on the planet and experimenting on Tallon Metroids. She manages to destroy the Ing presence, collapse Dark Aether, and seems to destroy Dark Samus as well. But the threat of Phazon still exists.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- Main article: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
The final game in the Prime series and the sequel to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Corruption was the first Metroid game ever to be released for the Nintendo Wii in 2007. The game's setting is mainly on the planets Norion, Bryyo, Elysia, and the source of all Phazon, Phaaze. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, like Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, accomplished a milestone as well besides being the first Metroid title to be released on the Nintendo Wii. The game revolutionized the control scheme for later First-Person Shooters on the Wii. The same controls were used in the New Play Control! versions of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. In Metroid Prime: Trilogy, the same control scheme was used. The game was very well received for its tight controls and gameplay, but some considered it as the black sheep in the series because of the close resemblance of First-Person Shooters instead of an action-adventure game. Some video game websites criticized it because of its overly easy difficulty and lack of reliance on puzzles and that the game was very short compared to its predecessors.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy
Trilogy is the Collector's Editon of all three Metroid Prime games in the series, with the first two being ported for the Nintendo Wii in 2009. The game borrowed the controls from the New Play Control! versions of the first two Metroid Prime titles released in Japan. It also has the Multiplayer of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes with the new controls as well. The game featured concept artwork and other extras to those who purchased the package. Metroid Prime Trilogy is one of the few titles on the Nintendo Channel with a Platimum rating, indicating its replay value and its gameplay elements. The trilogy is defined as a must-own of three of the most highly-acclaimed games for their systems. The game, like the others, had good reception and included all three games into one package. Its production, however, is discontinued.
Metroid Prime Hunters
A spinoff game of the Metroid Prime series, released for the touch-screen capable handheld called the Nintendo DS. While it still incorporated qualities of the main games, some features were changed from the games. Metroid Prime Hunters takes place between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It is the first Metroid game ever to feature competitive online multiplayer support, and it pioneered the way for other online Nintendo DS titles to follow. It is the first Metroid title ever to feature Full Motion Video (FMV) in its cutscenes. The game was not given the same good reviews from the other games, but it was praised for its online support.
References
- ↑ "--- Mission File 02543 --- 8 days ago, contact with Galatic Federation trooper squad Bravo was lost.
--- Contract Agreement --- Locate Federation troopers and render assistance.
--- Data Confirmation --- Last transmission received from a rogue planet located in the Dasha region called Aether." —Samus Mission File (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)
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