I remember the first time I experienced Metroid Prime on the Gamecube in 2002. I had just gotten into first-person shooters with Bungie’s Halo and was fascinated about how Nintendo translated one of their most prized series into this budding genre. I mean, how could they possibly make a perfect 2D platformer into a 3D FPS and still maintain all the essence that made the series special? More importantly, how can you jump and maneuver through levels as you did in the previous versions? It was a mystery and, honestly speaking, I was very skeptical about how this would work out.
Thankfully, it all ended up fine.
Metroid Prime became one of the best games in Nintendo’s modern library. The sequel that would follow on the GC would end up equally as good, if not slightly better in my opinion. And after a few portables, and some revisits to a 2D platforming style, the very game that redefined a series has made it right back to where post-Super Metroid began. This time Metroid Prime is remastered and running better than ever on Nintendo’s Switch.
What’s remarkable about this re-release is that:
1) Nintendo did a good job of improving the visuals and making it a true remastered title while not messing with it too much where it strays far away from the original idea.
2) The game’s puzzle-solving, mysteriousness, and fun non-linear progression system still hold up after nearly 20 years.
Much like they did with the first release of the game, Nintendo seemed methodical and intentional in what it wanted to do the second time around.
Let’s get this started.
Gameplay that survives the test of time
I went into Metroid Prime Remastered with a strong sense of nostalgia, but also a grounded viewpoint that maybe Samus’ adventure would be stuck in time without truly translating to modern gaming tastes that had shifted over 20 years. I mean, going back to Halo on the original Xbox was a blah experience, as modern FPS games have set new standards that are almost somewhat required to enjoy an FPS experience these days. And that is okay in the long run, as games like Metroid Prime and Halo helped to shape the FPS world we live in right now.
Getting back to the topic at hand, in a way, I wasn’t wrong about being concerned that MP would be stuck in time. The first-person shooting was far easier than I remembered from my first run-through in 2002. The controls weren’t nearly as confusing and complicated this time around, in fact, the controls were simple and easy to use. After 21 years of playing this genre, I have gotten pretty darn good at controlling a thumbstick for camera movement and a thumbstick for player movement. That might sound funny when you read it, but please keep in mind that using thumbsticks for the first time can be incredibly jarring. My wife has been playing the hell out of Hogwarts Legacy and never had to deal with two thumbsticks before that game. I have watched her struggle to navigate those controls for the past two weeks. Getting your brain to work with thumbsticks for the first time can be maddening.
Anyway, I digress, the difficulty of that experience back in 2002 didn’t translate to modern times. In fact, the controls and how to navigate Samus were surprisingly easy during this review process. I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was to easily switch between weapons, hop to and from platforms, and have the option of locking on enemies with ZL instead of trying to be precise like you’re playing Call of Duty. It was all easy and not at all unfamiliar. And I didn’t fully appreciate how simple Nintendo had made it back in the day, mainly because I didn’t know better, but now all of that has risen to the top of MP’s gameplay structure. Because of this simplicity, and my experience that brought that simplicity to light, I have enjoyed the game far more the second time around because the controls aren’t a distraction. It’s actually quite beautiful and moved my focus squarely on what makes Metroid Prime an absolute gem – the puzzles and non-linear gameplay.
My younger self must have been smarter
I started my journey through Metroid Prime Remastered last Friday. I felt like 20 years removed from the original experience would somehow translate to the puzzles in the game becoming easier in some weird way. Well, let me tell you, they haven’t. Much like playing Metroid or Super Metroid, navigating from point to point, building up Samus, and then trying to figure out how to get to the next level is quite the challenge, even for a game this old. The very essence of Metroid Prime lives on in this remastered version. Of course, this is the reason you keep playing this game, and is what fuels its engine.
The puzzles and creative design of the gameplay engage the gamer and keep the title memorable. The tiny steps of progression mixed with the sliver of non-linear structure is an epic combination that breathes life into this oldie but goldie. For example, right off the ship, Samus lands on a space station that she must traverse to see what the heck is going on thanks to a distress signal that was sent out. The game throws some simple puzzles at you such as unlocking a barrier by scanning and blasting certain points. Once inside, the game gives you subtle hints of how you should be getting around. Sometimes you’ll find a small hole in the wall big enough for Samus to form into a ball and roll through. Sometimes you’ll find a hook for her to cast an electronic rope to swing across. At this early point in the game, you feel invincible and are just looking for visible reasons to use these budding talents. The game introduces you to the idea that you’ll run into impossible obstacles that require solutions you may or may not have. You’ll be given a free preview of what to expect when everything goes to pot, which it does. It’s a great way of introducing samples of gameplay that will soon turn enormous.
The game gets you connected, and used to how Samus works in this 3D environment, then it does something very familiar. It takes all those things away with your escape from the self-destructing space station. Shortly after your escape, it crash lands you on a remote planet, and challenges you to go find all of these items and attributes introduced to in the beginning so that you can keep moving forward. While it was a familiar script when compared to Super Metroid or Konami’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which do the exact same thing at the beginning of those adventures (you preview the powerful version of your character, then get downgraded), it sets up gameplay design structure for the rest of Samus’ adventure in Metroid Prime.
First and foremost, the new planet you crash on has several places to explore but won’t give you immediate access to those places. By restricting your access, the design piques your interest and creates motivation to explore areas and figure out what is needed to progress. This is a classic technique in the series, where you feel rewarded by solving the progression puzzle in the game. For example, when you first crash, you will run into regular doors that open right away and you’ll run into doors with steel plates on them. You can’t blast the steel plates off, so that means there is another weapon out there that can. You explore, you run into several obstacles before you find the right place, and then you more than likely go up against a mini-boss or boss to earn that attribute to move to the next step. In this case, you find rockets. Those rockets can explode the steel plates. Once those plates are off, you run into your next obstacle, which is needing the ability to roll into a ball. Then the exploration dance begins again.
This structure of explore, discover, acquire, progress, and explore more has always been with the series and it’s the driving reason why the series is so beloved. It works here in a first-person perspective as well as it did in the previous two titles. How Nintendo and Retro Studios translated the same feeling and motivation from a 2D world into a 3D environment is nothing short of miraculous work from a mad genius. It’s seamless in its intentions and execution when compared to previous titles in the series. And all of that still works very well in the remastered version of the game. It still feels compelling and engaging. It still gets you hooked on the exploration and progression process of the game. It survives the test of time.
Overall, Metroid Prime Remastered proves that the gameplay design is still as much fun as it was when this game was originally released on the Gamecube. It also proves that Nintendo has a formula that still feels relevant and fun, even if it’s the same formula that stretches back to the 1980s. How they craft that formula from game to game, especially with puzzle design and item usage, makes for a great time.
About that remastering
At this point, we all know that Nintendo hasn’t mimicked Capcom in revamping, remastering, and reinventing its old series, much like Capcom did with Resident Evil. We can all admit that Capcom went above and beyond the term remastering with RE. It’s insane how good those games look and how they brought them into a modern era. For Metroid Prime, the remastering can be seen and enjoyed in a couple of ways.
The first is that the visuals, while remastered and far better than the Gamecube thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch, aren’t an incredible leap from the original style. You can say that is bad or that Nintendo might seem lazy because of it, but I think that there is enough lighting, shading, and environmental improvements to give the Big N some praise. They may have pushed the visuals forward on the Nintendo Switch, but they didn’t push it so far that it’s unrecognizable from the original release. There is little reason for Nintendo to follow in the footsteps of Capcom when it comes to remastering. Not for its Metroid series. It has a certain style and panache that it shouldn’t exceed or it runs the risk of becoming unrecognizable. It’s a good compliment to the original and it doesn’t take you away from the original experience. I can dig and understand that.
For me, the joy of this remastered game comes with its audio and controls. I love the soundtrack and game audio. I forgot how magical and mesmerizing those tunes were. They really pushed the adventure forward and they got me into the gameplay. Music is 90% of any good production, and game production is no different.
Audio aside, the controls were equally a big deal this time around for me. As I stated earlier, having gone through many FPS games before returning to Samus’ first 3D adventure, the controls felt like a natural and modern control scheme. Nintendo did a superb job of translating the game controls to something up-to-date. This only added to my enjoyment of the journey. As much as I love the Gamecube controller, I could never go back to it after so many decades of thumbsticks. It just wouldn’t make sense.
As for the other odds and ends, there are some extras you get with the remastered version, such as unlockables and bonuses, but for the most part, the above is what is the main course. Is all of this worth the $39.99 asking price? I think so, especially for those who have never been on this journey. You’re getting the best of the best with this version of Metroid Prime. The adventure is still fun, relevant, and long.
On that note, let’s conclude.
Conclusion
Metroid Prime Remastered is a solid return to one of the best games in the Nintendo library. Its upgraded visuals, outstanding audio and controls, and timeless adventure is worth the revisit.
