When you think of famous Nintendo franchises, you think of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and more recently, franchises such as Pokemon and Animal Crossing. Well, I know I did anyway. That was until I came across an amazing looking game called Metroid Prime. Developed by Retro Studios, Metroid Prime was a continuation of the Metroid series that first debuted in 1986 with the critically acclaimed Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan). Being a Sega kid, I’d never heard of Metroid before, but was blown away by the graphics and gameplay from trailers and magazine reviews, especially considering the original release was on the Gamecube, the console that everyone considered the weakest of the 128-bit generation despite some genre-defining games. I knew I had to play this game, and it was the game I got with the system for Christmas, along with Smash Bros Melee and Super Mario Sunshine. As good as the other games were, they never got a look in as I was totally immersed in the Metroid world, from the lava caverns of Magmoor, to the snowy drifts of Phendrana, constantly being sucked in by its deep gameplay, amazing graphics, and immersing soundtrack. Even upon completing the game, I restarted it on the harder difficulty, besting my times and item collections, and firmly kicking Metroid Prime’s ass!
When Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was announced, I made sure I got the game on release date, and as much of a evolution rather than revolution from the first game, Echoes still had the deep gameplay and gorgeous graphics, but this time brought a much deeper story, this time dealing with two separate worlds – Light and Dark – connected by a single event. Echoes was the first Metroid to include a multiplayer mode, but this was a secondary feature, and never really took off despite some hectic deathmatches with my brother.
Due to having a family and not being able to afford new releases, I missed the initial release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but kept a close eye on its development, and it looked like a great way to end the Prime trilogy after positive reviews and some good scores. Again, the point was made that it didn’t really do anything new, but I wouldn’t have complained, and am not complaining now that I’ve got my hands on the Trilogy pack on the Wii.
Being built specifically for the Wii has changed the core of the game slightly, this time with an added focus on the Wii motion controls, but also streamlining the game, making it easier for Prime series veterans like myself. One thing that stood out to me though is the immense boss battles, which force you to use every game mechanic at your disposal. There’s also an added focus on puzzles, sometimes making you scratch your head in frustration before realising the simple task to complete. Only being half-way through the game, I can’t say for certain that the game polishes off the trilogy in great style, but so far, it’s been the wait to play it.
What stands out across the entire series is the art direction, from the enemies to the environments, to the little touches like the arm cannon effects and Samus’ visor reflections. Retro Studios saw a chance to bring to life the sci-fi worlds first presented on the NES and SNES, and make them have real depth, character and emotion, despite them being alien planets. Another score is the creature and enemy design. Some of the enemy design is simply inspired, and the boss battles are only rivalled by another great Nintendo series, Zelda. Pushing the Gamecube to its very limit with the first two games, some PS2 games paled in comparison, and the 3rd on the Wii also pulls some very impressive graphical punches compared to the big boys.
The sound direction is immense too, with a futuristic synthesised sound, which really plays well on the alien theme. Add in there some amazing sound effects and creature noises, the overall package presented in the Metroid Prime trilogy is a complete saga, immediately playable and a series that should go down in history as one of Nintendo’s very best. Consider me a convert!
