One of my most anticipated games of the year is Nintendo’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for the Switch and Switch 2. Samus is one of my favorite video game characters of all time, so I’m always happy to get into more of her adventures.
And with this new game still slated to drop this year, I have some questions about where the story is going and what it could mean for the series going forward.
1. Where does Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Fall on the timeline?
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is in a weird place. The original trilogy and Federation Force take place between the first Metroid on NES and Metroid II: Return of Samus on Game Boy. With this game featuring Sylux and some Metroids, it would seem to follow directly after Federation Force.
That’s the most clear and obvious answer. Part of me wonders if they would play off of the long wait for the game by having Sylux hatch this plan after some long planning. After all, with Nintendo being willing to find a way to incorporate Metroids for other games, it’s possible that Samus will never be done eradicating the last of the titular alien race.
2. Could we get a Samus that keeps her abilities?
One of the core beliefs of the Metroid series is that Samus is only allowed to be powerful for exactly one to two hours of gameplay. I’m sure the attack on the Galactic Federation Research Facility will be the reason we have to start from zero again.
But hear me out. Just once, let Samus keep all of her abilities. And then build on it with whatever time warping mechanic you seem to be introducing here. I’m sure increasing the difficulty of the game a bit to match her powers won’t cause any issues, right?
3. HOW DID WE GET MIND-CONTROLLING METROIDS?
I mean, if we’re just giving the Metroids new stuff to do, cool. What the hell was Sylux up to with that Metroid egg to get here? These are the kinds of variants of the parasite that would have been pretty cool to get in other games.
With no Dark Samus or Phazon Corruption, something had to be cooked up to really push against Samus. I can’t wait to see how this ends up going for her. And if Sylux is really even the real problem in this game.
4. Will we ever get to see Samus really be a bounty hunter?
This is more of a global question than one pertaining specifically to this game. But Samus has built up a reputation as one of the most dangerous bounty hunters in the galaxy. I don’t think that Nintendo would ever drop this responsibility off on Retro Studios, but it is interesting that Metroid hasn’t gone open world.
Games like No Man’s Sky make me believe it’s doable. More than anything, I just want to see Samus actually being a bounty hunter. Not someone who just takes assignments from the in-game government.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is (still) slated for release in 2025
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