#METROID PRIME REMASTERED SERIES#

Originally the controls for Metroid Prime on GameCube were so clumsy and awkward that its fans had to argue it was not an FPS at all, but something else, such as a first-person puzzle game. It’s all logically laid out to reflect the story and setting, but the world mirrors your progress in a brilliant way: Rooms that once took toil and grit to get through can soon be zipped through with the help of a newly obtained skill or weapon. A flowing fountain babbles down the side of a sunny sanctuary hall a furnace chamber pumps heat through conveniently morph-ball sized vents to other areas a lab deep underground holds experiments in tubes that act as jump-scare time bombs. Each room has a purpose and a name, with details that make no two places quite alike. If we ever end up getting that new BioShock, 2K would be foolish not to try to prop it up with a BioShock Remake.There are so many things to laud in Metroid Prime, but its biggest accomplishment is Tallon IV itself.

#METROID PRIME REMASTERED SERIES#

It may be hard to quantify exactly how much Metroid Prime Remastered ends up buoying Metroid Prime 4 when it comes out, but it certainly put some positive energy around a series that no one is talking about much anymore, and that has to be invaluable for anyone trying to make an old franchise feel new again. Armored Core 6, Pikmin 4, and Dragon Age 4 would all get a significant boost from a well-timed remake or remaster too. But if Fable Remastered showed up on Game Pass a few months before it, there’s a good chance I could turn myself into a Fable fan before the next entry. As a PlayStation kid, Fable 4 means nothing to me. This should always be the way legacy sequels are handled. Metroid Prime Remastered gives people a way to get into the series, and a reason to care about what comes next. No matter how much a sequel is advertised as a jumping-on point, people will always be skeptical about jumping into the fourth game in a series.

When you launch a Call of Duty game every year you can make some reasonable assumptions about how many people will play it, but it’s been more than 15 years since the last Metroid Prime, and it’s a lot harder to gauge how many fans are left. There’s an inherent risk to making legacy sequels in long-dormant franchises like Metroid Prime. When Metroid Prime 4 eventually gets a release date, anyone who is curious about it will be able to play a modern, updated version of the original on the same console.

It introduced the series to younger generations and those who missed out on it the first time. Metroid Prime Remastered, which has sold over a million copies so far, created new Metroid Prime fans. Most Switch owners under the age of 30 didn’t play the original Metroid Prime, and those of us who did can hardly remember it (or anything) anymore.

Metroid Prime released on the GameCube in 2002, a 21 year old console that sold only one-tenth as well as the Switch. Whether intended or not, Metroid Prime Remastered definitely has people excited for Metroid Prime 4. Related: It’s A Good Thing That The Best Games Of The Year Are Remakes Nintendo hasn’t confirmed any of this is true, but based on the timeline and rumors, it seems to be the strategy. Its release earlier this year would seem to be an indication that Metroid Prime 4 is coming soon. When development restarted in 2019, Metroid Prime Remastered’s release date was subsequently delayed. People like to say that Metroid Prime Remastered is an advertisement for Metroid Prime 4, and while that’s a bit reductive - a lot of work went into making the remaster a great game in its own right - it’s pretty clear that Nintendo planned to release remastered versions of the original trilogy in the lead up the fourth entry in order to build anticipation.

Metroid prime remastered