Metroid Prime
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| Metroid Prime {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Retro Studios {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg November 15, 2002 Image:Flag of Japan.svg February 28, 2003 Image:European flag.svg March 21, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter First-person adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | GameCube {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Metroid Prime is a first-person adventure/shooter video game developed by Nintendo-owned Retro Studios and released by Nintendo in 2002 for the GameCube. It was the first 3D Metroid game and is officially classified by Nintendo as a first-person adventure rather than a first-person shooter due to the large exploration element in the game. It was also the first Metroid game to be released since Super Metroid, nearly eight years earlier (In North America, everywhere else, it was released after Metroid Fusion). The storyline, however, comes in between the original Metroid and Metroid II. Metroid Prime is now available as a Player's Choice title.
The game was first announced in 2001 E3 and was shortly revealed to be played from first-person perspective. Screenshots of gameplay in first-person quickly set off much outrage in many Metroid fans who perceived it as a first-person shooter. The game was widely believed to be an inevitable train wreck, and it was the biggest running joke since Daikatana throughout gaming related boards, publications, and magazines until near the point of retail release where various publications quietly claimed it as possibly the best game they had ever played.
After its release, the game has received much critical acclaim (including a perfect review score from Electronic Gaming Monthly and a 9.7/10 from GameSpot) for its "very impressive graphics, amazing, innovative gameplay (yet still true to the classic Metroid formula), and excellent soundtrack." The video game countdown show Filter named Metroid Prime as having the Best Graphics of all time. It also won many 2002 game of the year awards from major publications and gaming sites. Most Metroid fans believe that Prime was a great transition into 3-D for the series; however, some question the choice on having it made as a first-person game. Also, many fans of more conventional first-person shooter games have questioned the unusual control scheme and wished it were more like a typical first-person shooter. For most players, however, Metroid Prime is an instant classic.
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Phazon
An important part of the Metroid Prime storyline is a highly mutagenic radioactive substance of unknown origin known as Phazon. Direct exposure to this electric blue-coloured substance results in either a violent death or the rapid addition of new abilities and/or organs, depending on the amount of the substance that the organism is exposed to. Another, more powerful, form of Phazon is bright orange and is only found in the core of the impact crater of the meteorite that brought Phazon to the planet. It seems to exist naturally as a solid and sometimes as a liquid, but its solid form may be considered more common—and possibly a metal—as many Space Pirate log entries call for mining of Phazon ore.
According to the North American release, the Space Pirates discovered the powerful creature that fed upon Phazon, and captured it, naming it Metroid Prime.
Storyline Differences
The version released in North America has several storyline differences with the one released in Europe. The European storyline, among other things, says that:
- The Space Pirates never captured Metroid Prime because the twelve artifacts sealed the crater.
- The meteor that brought the radioactive substance Phazon did not come to Tallon IV twenty years before the game starts; it came at an indeterminable time before the game began.
- The Chozo Lore entries paint a much different picture of the relationship between Samus and the Tallon IV Chozo.
The versions released in Japan, Europe, and the North American Player's Choice versions have also had a number of gameplay modifications implemented to prevent players from using certain tricks to play the game out of sequence. Certain aspects of difficulty have also been increased.
Furthermore, when the game was being prepared for translation by a European team, the team decided to remove specific logs from the game which could be originally scanned, finding them to be confusing for someone trying to understand the plot. The edit not only occurred in the translated versions of the game, but also in the PAL English release. Some players sided with the NTSC version of the game, while others decided that since the PAL version was most recent it should be used to determine the specifics of the plot. Eventually Retro Studios released that the removal was never intended by them, and that the official version of the game was the NTSC version (although some people still find that version of the plot inconsistent, despite this). They also promised that nothing like this would happen during the translation of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, although there were still some version differences.
PAL Version Storyline
Many years ago, the Chozo were prosperously living on Tallon IV, then a beautiful planet full of life. The Chozo discovered the power to see into the future and prophecised the coming of "the Worm", which would destroy their way of life. Sure enough, a meteorite harbouring the radioactive substance "Phazon" crashed into Tallon IV, mutating and destroying the life of the planet. The Chozo sealed off the source of the Phazon, the Impact Crater, using their technology with twelve artifacts hidden around the planet. The Chozo then retreated from the planet, waiting for a prophecised hero to destroy the worm and cut short the poison that destroyed Tallon IV.
It is possible that the worm (Metroid Prime) could have been carried inside the Meteorite but the Metroid Fusion Instruction Manual reveals in an official timeline that the Metroids were actually created by the Chozo to prevent the spread of the highly corruptive X-parasites. If this is true, then the Metroid that mutated into Metroid Prime must have already been living on Tallon IV by the Chozo around the area where the meteorite crashed (perhaps it was a Queen Metroid). Like other Metroids, Metroid Prime was attracted to the Phazon energy and fed upon it to the point where it actually became a being of Phazon (as shown in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes).
After Samus defeated the Space Pirates on Planet Zebes at the end of the first game, a Space Pirate colony discovered high radioactive levels on the surface of the barren planet Tallon IV. Investigating the radiation, they set up a new base to conduct research. They soon discovered the radioactive material and named it Phazon. They researched its potential and developed a new race of Elite Pirates that were over-powered by Phazon. They also discovered that the Metroids were attracted to the Phazon because of the enormous energy emitting from it but had not managed to create any new weapons out of them.
The Space Pirates traced the source of the Phazon to the Impact Crater and found bio-signs within but they could not access it because the Chozo had sealed it with the twelve artifacts. They searched for the artifacts but were hindered by the Chozo Ghosts who were guarding the artifacts until the phrophecised hero would come to take them and destroy Metroid Prime. When Samus picked up a distress signal from an unknown space vessel flying over Tallon IV, she discovered that it belonged to the Space Pirates but had been overrun by small parasites. While escaping the ship, she came across the metallic re-incarnation of Ridley, one of the leaders of the Space Pirates who also escaped.
Back on Tallon IV, Samus infiltrated the Space Pirate bases, destroying the Metroid population along with the Elite Pirate specimens in containment. Upon defeating the newly developed Omega Pirate, Samus' Power Suit became contaminated with Phazon. After collecting the twelve artifacts, Samus defeated Ridley once again and gained access to the Impact Crater. There, Samus defeated Metroid Prime, whose only remaining instinct was to absorb all the nearby Phazon that existed in the crater and Samus' Power Suit. The crater collapsed but Samus was able to escape. Meanwhile, Metroid Prime (now a simple pool of Phazon) began to reform itself in the form of Samus' Power Suit. Now a creature of pure Phazon, Metroid Prime (now Dark Samus) searches the galaxy for more Phazon to rebuild its weakened form....
Items
Related article: Items in the Metroid series
Throughout the game, the player will find and collect many different items, which range from weapons, to upgrades of Samus's Power Suit, and to various other items that grant additional abilities (such as the Morph Ball). Most of the items from previous Metroid games make appearances here; however, the functions of many of them have been altered to suit the 3D environment. For example, the space jump only allows the player to perform a double jump, as opposed to jumping continuously as in previous games, to prevent the player from getting stuck or unwittingly triggering a glitch.
Glitches can allow knowledgeable players to receive items much earlier than intended, or to bypass collecting them altogether. The current world record for lowest item pickup percentage at the end of the game is 22%.
Locations
- Space Pirate Frigate
Orbiting the planet Tallon IV, this is where Samus begins the game. The frigate's name is Orpheon. The Space Pirates conducted numerous experiments on this frigate on parasitic lifeforms. However many of these experiments went catastrophically wrong, as the gargantuan parasitic creatures escaped from their labs and wreaked havoc; destroying everything in their sight and leaving a trail of injured Space Pirates behind them. After Samus' visit, the frigate goes into critical meltdown and explodes. A large chunk of debris from the frigate plummets towards Tallon IV and crashes on the planet. Samus later explores the sunken piece of the frigate after she acquires the Gravity Suit.
- Tallon Overworld
A rainforest-like area, this is where Samus initially makes planetfall and is where Samus' gunship stays for the duration of the game. Tallon Overworld also encompasses the sunken Orpheon.
- Chozo Ruins
This ancient structure was once a center of the thriving Chozo civilization on Tallon IV that was brought to an end by the meteor that hit many years ago. When Samus arrives at the ruins the water supply is infested with poison, and she has to find a way of purifying it.
- Magmoor Caverns
A kind of subway system for the game—its magma-filled tunnels connect all the areas together with the exception of the Impact Crater. The Space Pirates use the caverns as a source of geothermal power. The music is a remix of Super Metroid's "Ridley's Lair".
- Phendrana Drifts
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This cold, mountainous location consists of three main parts: an ancient Chozo ruin, some Space Pirate research labs (since the subzero temperatures make specimen containment easier), and the ice caves and valleys at the edge aptly called Phendrana's Edge. It is home to many creatures of electrical origins (Pulse Bombu, Scatter Bombu) and ice based creatures (Sheegoth, Ice Shriekbats).
- Phazon Mines
The Phazon Mines are the center of the Space Pirates' Tallon IV operations. The scenery here alternates between the Space Pirates' mining and research facilities and dark caves illuminated only by the glowing Phazon. Some of the Metroids here have been mutated by the Phazon to become Fission Metroids (Metroids with the ability to split into two when shot at).
- Impact Crater
This is the final area of the game. This location is completely corrupted by Phazon radiation. Samus finds orange Phazon which is strong enough to damage her even through the Phazon Suit. Infested with Metroids, this area is extremely dangerous.
Bosses
Parasite Queen
The first boss in Metroid Prime, the Parasite Queen is located on the Space Pirate Frigate. The parasite queen was made by genetically combing phazon with the parasite genome. As a result the parasite queen is huge and has the ability to shoot acid from its mouth. It can also create multiple space parasites very quickly. After three parasite queens escaped on the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon they killed most of the crew. However, one was killed from being burned to death while another was killed in battle lying dead in the emergency evacuation area. The other one was fought and killed by Samus in the nuclear reactor of the ship. This was a grave mistake because as soon as the parasite queen was defeated it fell into the reactor core causing a meltdown and ultimately the destruction of the frigate. Most of the parasite queen is quite resilient but it can be injured by firing on its mouth which is its weakest point. It is surrounded by rotating shields and fires acid from its mouth. Plug missiles and beam shots into its mouth to defeat it.
Flaahgra
Flaahgra is a large mutated plant that is the source of the poisonous waters in the Chozo Ruins. There were two main parts to Flaahgra, the actual creature and the root. The way to stop the beast is to cut off its access to solar energy (disabling the sun dishes) and plant bombs into its root system using the morph ball. Flaahgra gives up the Varia Suit when it's defeated, which protects Samus from super-heated areas in Magmoor Caverns. After Samus kills it she can return to the room later when she has the Spider Ball and Super Missiles to battle three Chozo Ghosts to retrieve a Chozo Artifact needed to access the Impact Crater.
Thardus Image:Thardus.jpg Thardus is an experiment created by the Space Pirates who used Phazon on inorganic objects to make sentient beings for weapons, but the Pirates gave up trying to pacify it since it became too dangerous. Thardus is locked in a quarantine cave from which there is no real exit. Thardus has the ability to control the weather, roll into a ball, hurl large phazon-infused rocks, and encase enemies in ice. However, the Phazon experiments resulted in structural weaknesses within the rock that make up Thardus. In order to defeat Thardus, Samus had to switch to the thermal visor and fire at the glowing rock with the wave beam. After a while, her thermal visor will overload, but by then she can lock on to the glowing phazon rock with the combat visor. Dealing enough damage to the rock will cause the rock to explode, Samus' super missiles were well suited for this. At this point she had to switch back to the thermal visor to track down another rock. Destroy 6-7 rocks to achieve victory. Defeating Thardus gave Samus the Spider Ball.
Omega Pirate Image:Omegapirate.jpg The Omega Pirate resides in the Phazon Mines. It is an extremely large Elite Pirate which is able to become invisible and regenerate health. It attacks with its powerful hands, a Wave Quake Generator, and a missile Launcher. Omega can also summon Beam Troopers as a distraction, but ironically, most of its attacks can defeat any unlucky Trooper that is on the ground. Defeating the Omega Pirate gives Samus the Phazon Suit, which protects her from Blue Phazon damage (but not the Orange Phazon in the Impact Crater). She obtains the suit when the dead pirate collapses on her, enhancing her suit with the huge amounts of Phazon stored in him. Depending on a player's skill, Omega Pirate can be one of the toughest bosses in the game.
Meta Ridley Image:Mission24 0003.png Meta-Ridley is Ridley, the "space dragon", that after having most of his body destroyed during the fight with Samus in Zebes, was turned into a cyborg. The fight with Meta-Ridley occurs above the crater in the Tallon Overworld after all 12 Artifacts are collected. Meta-Ridley has two forms: a flying form and ground form, who uses a number of weapons and melee attacks. His weak spot is the plating on his chest. He is the leader of the Space Pirates, as well as the final boss Samus must defeat before she can enter the Impact Crater. It should be noted that he wasn't killed during this fight, just like the previous fight against him on Zebes in Metroid, and Metroid: Zero Mission, and rather appeared to die when he fell off of the platform to the ground several hundred feet below. Whether he escaped before or after the crater exploded is unknown.
Metroid Prime Template:Main The final boss of the game. It exists in two forms: the first being a spider-like creature with mainly projectile attacks. This form has veiny patterns across its body and is weak against different beams depending on which color they are: Power Beam if yellow, Wave Beam if blue/purple, Ice Beam if white, and Plasma Beam if red. The second form is an entity of pure phazon and tentacles. It is most commonly called "The Essence". To defeat the second form of Metroid Prime, Samus must stand in the pools of Phazon it creates and cycle through the Combat, Thermal and X-ray visors so as to see Metroid Prime and then let loose with the new Phazon Beam.
Mini-Bosses
Mini-Bosses are fairly common throughout the beginning of the game. Mini-Bosses can be characterized as enemies with special battle music and yet lack a health bar at the top of the screen, with no way of escaping the battle. Most of the mini-bosses will be encountered only once, though some, like the sheegoth, plated beetle, and chozo ghost, can be found several times after the initial fight.
Hive Mecha - The first accesable miniboss, it is criticized as one of the most often missed scans in the game due to the fact that the actual scan is below the surface of the water. This machine calls several Ram Warwasps (another one time scan) to its aid throughout the battle and is its only form of attack. The warwasps will circle you at highspeed then stop before attacking three at a time sometimes knocking you into the poisonous waters below. The goal of the battle is to shoot inside the mouth while open to destroy part of the inside. Each destruction of a mouth means that it calls three more warwasps to its protection until you destroy three mouths at which point the machine will deactivate and surrender a missile upgrade, or in this case the actual missile launcher.
Plated Beetle - This battle starts off with Samus against 15-20 regular beetle enemies in a small room to 'soften her up.' After all of them are defeated the Plated Beetle makes his entrance in the center of the room. Unlike the previous beetles he can only be harmed in the back and to get to his back you must wait until it is about to charge and then side jump, quickly launching a missile. After he is defeated you may retrieve the morph ball upgrade.
Incinerator Drone - A waste disposal drone who found Samus to be an enemy. Impervious to Samus's limited arsenal at first, it spun around the room in the center, sending flames from both of its mechanical 'arms.' It did however reveal its core which Samus quickly damaged causing it to set a nearby War Wasp Hive on fire causing the angry insects to attack Samus. After enough damage to the drone, both it and the hive were destroyed and Samus recieved the morph ball bombs.
Speed running
Unlike its predecessors, Metroid Prime is not designed to be run quickly, illustrated by the fact that the ending one gets is determined solely by the percentage of items one collects, rather than by how quickly one finishes the game (as was the case in earlier Metroid games). A person who knows precisely where to go would likely still take seven to ten hours to finish the game; however, the current world record is one hour and four minutes, done using the first North American (NTSC) version of the game. Speed runs are possible by taking shortcuts that allow the player to collect items in a different—and faster—order from the one intended (known as sequence breaking). Speed running is popular among hardcore fans of Metroid Prime and can significantly increase the replayability of the game. Fast finishes in this game are somewhat complicated by the loading system: the game loads as it is played, with few loading screens, and original NTSC versions of the game will sometimes freeze.
(Please note that because the game was released later in Japan and the PAL territories, changes were made to prevent sequence breaks. The Japanese, PAL and North American Player's Choice versions are therefore undesirable for speed running compared to the original North American (NTSC) version.)
Avoiding the Frigate
A problem with Metroid Prime was the fact that it was possible to bypass the frigate entirely. Once the player has the gravity suit, rather than heading through the frigate, they could simply go back to the Chozo Ruins to get access to a new lift which would take them to where the frigate ends. Whether this is a faster method is debatable, but it bypasses a missile launcher and an energy tank.
Trivia
- Allegedly, Kraid was intended to make an appearance in Metroid Prime as a boss, and was modeled and skinned by Gene Kohler for that purpose. 1 However, time constraints prevented it from being included in the final version of the game. Though the beta model displays him inside Phazon Mines, he was not in fact replaced by the Omega Pirate (according to Kohler). Kraid is referenced, however, in Metroid Prime: one of the tanks in the pirate's base suggests that one of the pirate's experiments is re-making the creature. Body parts in the vat appear to be Kraids.
- Some sources, like Gradiente, Brazil's then-distributor of Nintendo, and the Nintendo Power comics adaptation of Metroid Prime[1], incorrectly set the game as happening after Super Metroid. The Brazilian publicity even says that the Phazon meteor is a piece of Zebes[2], destroyed after SM.
- Metroid Prime has now sold far over 2 million copies worldwide, and approximately 1.5 million copies in the United States alone.
Sequels
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a direct sequel to Metroid Prime. It was released in North America on November 15, 2004, and in Europe on November 26 2004
- Metroid Prime: Hunters is a similar game to Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes which takes place between the two titles. The game was released on March 20 2006 for the Nintendo DS, the European release date is reported as May 5 2006. A demo of the game was released with purchase of a Nintendo DS titled, Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt.
- Metroid Prime 3 is due to be released on Nintendo's next generation console the Nintendo Revolution in 2006. Footage of this game was shown at E³ 2005. It was later determined that the footage was run on GameCube hardware instead of the Revolution's.
See also
External links
- Metroid Prime's official website
- Metroid Prime speed runs at archive.org
- GameFAQs entry for Metroid Prime
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- {{{2|{{{title|Metroid Prime}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
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- Template:Musicbrainz album 2
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- Hints for Metroid Prime
- Metroid Primed An article on Metroid Prime's development in The Escapist
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