Notes on Metroid Prime 4

After a very long wait, the fourth game in the Prime series finally arrived. It took me a while to complete it as I took time to explore and enjoy the scenery. When it was first announced I watched the Nintendo Direct from an AirBnb in LA. That was also my first and only E3 attendance. It was very memorable. Then, much later, came the news about the restart of its development. So, finally getting to play this game was like a dream come true. The series of Metroid Prime games has been one of my favorite iterations within the Metroid franchise. Its slower pace lies in sharp contrast to its side scrolling iterations, like Fusion, Samus Returns and Dread. All of these increased the pacing of the game in comparison to Super Metroid. The slower pace provides greater immersion and emphasizes exploration. On Switch 2 the environments draw you in with great detail and the game plays smoothly.

For the most part Metroid Prime 4 felt a lot like the first one in the series. Many of the upgrades that Samus gains are very reminiscent of the elemental beams you can acquire in Prime 1. Other upgrades simply have the ‘Psychic’ prefix added on, but mostly work the same as before. Overall the game is very fun and includes a lot of lore behind the beings that lived on the planet, the Lamorn. As you venture forth, scans reveal a lot about them and their plight.

There are a number of quirks though. Samus is usually portrayed as a lone hunter. This time around she encounters a few Federation soldiers that aid her in her mission. At times they seem more like a burden. There are also constant reminders of where to go next while out exploring the vast area called Sol Valley, which can be jarring and distracting. Prime 1 did have beacons that reminded the player of objectives, but these worked because they only ever activated once and allowed the player more time to explore before guiding them forward. The character transmissions felt like a cattle prod at times, urging you forward with total disregard about the kind of game it is.

Metroid Prime 4 is a great entry in the series. The bosses are challenging. Exploring feels great and discovering things on your own is very rewarding. It even has a system similar to Prime 3 where you can have pick ups marked on your map, making reaching that 100% easily achievable. Hopefully the next game in the series won’t take as long.