Description
Long ago, a bird-like race of creatures (called the Chozo) became extremely advanced technologically, but due to increasing violence in the universe, they began to hide and live more simple lives. The planet Tallon IV was the site of one of their colonies. Years later, a meteor crashed on Tallon IV releasing the strange element Phazon into the planet. Phazon poisoned anything it came in contact with, causing the plant and animal life to either die or mutate into a hideous form.
The Chozo tried to control the power of Phazon but failed. Before abandoning the planet, they were able to cover the impact crater with a temple and seal Phazon into the planets core. Now space pirates have discovered Tallon IV, moving in to study Phazon and harnessing its power. They have also began rebuilding their fortress on planet Zebes and reviving the Mother Brain, Ridley, and Kraid, all of whom were destroyed by Samus Aran. However, Samus has tracked the space pirates to Tallon IV and must now enter the planet to destroy them once and for all before they have a chance to rebuild their destructive forces...
Metroid Prime is a change from the platform-adventuring series, entering the first-person shooter genre for the first time. Players are now behind Samus Aran's visor and must use all their resources to investigate the pirate infestation of Tallon IV. Players can use Samus's beam, with missile and charge capabilities. Along the way, they must recover the bounty hunter's lost abilities like the morph ball and grapple beam, which allow them to reach unexplored areas of Tallon IV. Players must piece together the story of the fallen Chozo to figure what has happened to the poisoned planet, and prevent the pirates from using the Phazon to wreak havoc throughout the planets.
Alternate Titles
- "银河战士" -- Chinese title (simplified)
- "メトロイドプライム" -- Japanese spelling
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Trivia
Development
Nintendo gave the development of
Metroid Prime to the U.S. based
Retro Studios in part due to the fact that the
Metroid series, while being incredibly popular in the United States, has never sold as well in Japan.
Retro Studios also worked on a role-playing game for GameCube called
Raven Blade of which a video was shown during E3 2001. However, in late 2001, it was announced that the game was canceled by Nintendo so that focus would be more on
Metroid Prime. As a result, an unspecified amount of workers were laid off.
Manual
The manual has an amusing problem. Like in many of the Nintendo manuals, there is a lined page for the player's own notes, but the page has light lines on a very dark background. This makes most pen marks practically invisible, so the page is almost useless for its intended purpose (this applies to the Finnish/Swedish original release manual, at least).
Metroid Fusion
After finishing
Metroid Fusion on the GBA, and linking up to a GameCube:
- A new suit will be available
- It will be possible to play the original Metroid on the GameCube
References
Kraid, from
Metroid, was originally intended to make an appearance in
Metroid Prime as a boss and was modeled and skinned by
Gene Kohler for that purpose. However, time constraints prevented it from being included in the final version of the game. Though the beta version displays him inside Phazon Mines, according to Kohler, he was in fact replaced by the Omega Pirate. Kraid is referenced, however, in
Metroid Prime. One of the tanks in the Space Pirate's base suggests that one of the Pirate's experiments is to recreate the creature. Body parts in the vat appear to be Kraid's. Of note is the head, since it appears to be covered by a metal dome in the picture.
Screw Attack
While many of Samus' signature moves are present in
Metroid Prime, the infamous screw attack is strangely missing. Fans speculate that this is due to difficulties meshing it with the first-person perspective of the game. The screw attack does appear in
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Awards
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
- February 2006 (Issue #200) - #52 in the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
- GameSpy
- 2002 – Game of the Year
- 2002 – GameCube Game of the Year
- 2002 – GameCube Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
- 2002 – Best Music of the Year (GameCube)
- Golden Joystick Awards
Information also contributed by
~~,
Mark Ennis,
Steve Thompson,
Tiago Jacques, and
WWWWolf .
