Why Metroid: Prime will be a disappointment
By: Michael Duff

(Warning: may contain a spoiler to Super Metroid for those that have yet to finish the game.)

Let my state this before I begin, I love Super Metroid. It is my favorite Super Nintendo game to play, and one of the best, period. Do you know why it is so much fun? Simple, it is a 2-D side scrolling platformer, and a damn good one at that. An engrossing storyline perfectly connecting it to the first two Metroid games adds to the overall experience. When I first bought Super Metroid I wanted to know what happened with Samus and the baby Metroid. Likewise when I started Metroid 2: Return of Samus, I wanted to know how Samus was going to be able to destroy every last Metroid.

Here is where I see the first initial problem with the Nintendo GAMECUBE version of Metroid, Metroid: Prime, the story. It doesn’t really connect to the other three Metroids very well. Yes it is supposed to be taking place before the first Metroid does, but I see no reason to continue playing the series. After Super Metroid was done I felt a great ending has been made to the trilogy. Mother Brain was completely defeated in her final form, and the last Metroid in the universe was destroyed. So, what else is there for Samus to do? The Metroids are gone, the Space Pirates no longer pose a threat, all that’s left is to find a knew bounty to hunt. Instead of continuing on with the name Metroid I feel that Samus should be out exploring different galaxies. Maybe she found a new life form that poses an even bigger threat than the Metroids ever did. I just want something new.

The second big problem I see is the jump to 3-D. While this subject has been tackled many times, with both a good and bad outcome, I don’t see the need to make the transition if it is not needed. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. Mario and Zelda made the jump to the next dimension with style, they came out looking like a million bucks, but I always go back to my Super Nintendo and Nintendo to play them in full 2-D glory. The jump for Mario was a necessity, as he has been shown in every possible form otherwise, there was no place else to go. Zelda did not need to go to full 3-D, but it was pulled off brilliantly. Even though, I can never get enough of the good old 2-D versions, and with the rumor that Nintendo is porting the original Legend of Zelda to the Game Boy Advance I will finally be able to take the greatest game and play it anywhere I go.

Metroid, on the other hand, was tailor made for the second dimension. The Metroid games are custom designed for 2-D, and seeing Samus in any other form seems almost criminal. Now that Metroid: Prime is being designed as a FPS, hold the boat! Some of the best things in Super Metroid are climbing up long vertical shafts by freezing aliens and using them as stepping-stones for each jump, imagine that being done in the first perspective. It just does not seem logical.

Taking Metroid into the third dimension is an unnecessary leap in the franchise. I suggest having a completely knew planet with a completely knew species to contend with. Just keep a picture of Samus on the cover so people will still know that it does tie in with the Metroid series. The Metroids are finished, leave them to rest and find a new, more dangerous species of alien to contend with, have a new breed of different Space Pirates try to use them to take out the universe, and have Samus wipe them out herself. Or a better idea would to make a Super Mario All-Stars like package only with the Metroid series. Upgrade the graphics and sound (everything else was done perfectly) and add some cinematic scenes. That game would be a guarantee success. It has worked before, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.