107-579: Metroid Prime Hunters is a 2006 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS . It was released in North America in March 2006, with other territories later. The story takes place in between the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes . Players assume the role of series protagonist Samus Aran , who investigates
214-627: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
321-563: A high-definition remaster for the Nintendo Switch, was released digitally on February 9, 2023, with a physical release on February 22 in North America and March 3 in Europe and Japan. The remaster was developed by Retro Studios with assistance from developers including Iron Galaxy Studios . It features new visuals, updated control schemes (including an option for dual-stick controls) and unlockable art. Metroid Prime Remastered
428-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
535-571: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
642-643: A preview video for Hunters was made available for download through the DS Download Station . A playable demo was also available from the Download Station in North America. In 2006, Nintendo promoted the release of Metroid Prime Hunters in the United States with a television commercial , featuring a gravedigger burying dead bounty hunters in a futuristic setting. The commercial was directed by Len Wiseman , known for his work on
749-767: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
856-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
963-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of
1070-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
1177-560: A cybernetic Space Pirate warrior who was injured in a battle with Samus; Trace, a feared member of the Kriken Empire; Kanden, a lab experiment and a supersoldier that was invincible; Noxus, a bounty hunter of the proud and reclusive Vhozon race; and Spire, the last of the silicon -based Diamonts. The governing body of the galaxy, the Galactic Federation , receives a strange telepathic message. The Federation broadcasts
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#17327796813091284-484: A cybernetic version of Ridley called Meta Ridley, who also escapes. During her escape, an explosion damages Samus' suit, causing some of her abilities to malfunction. Samus escapes the frigate and chases Ridley in her gunship towards the nearby planet Tallon IV. After landing in the Tallon Overworld, Samus explores nearby areas of Tallon IV and discovers ruins of an ancient Chozo settlement. As she explores
1391-517: A developer added reflections to the Morph Ball. The other developers admired the effect, and added it to other parts of the game. NST collaborated with Retro Studios , the company behind several Metroid games, to design the game's art and characters to make sure that they fit into the overall Metroid series. When asked why Metroid Prime Hunters was placed between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes chronologically, Reed noted that
1498-405: A first-person adventure rather than a first-person shooter. The game was showcased at E3 2001 in May, with its title confirmed as Metroid Prime . Kenji Yamamoto , assisted by Kouichi Kyuma, composed the music for Prime . The soundtrack contains arrangements of tracks from previous games in the series because Yamamoto wanted to satisfy old Metroid fans. The initial Tallon Overworld theme
1605-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include
1712-413: A health meter, a danger meter for negotiating hazardous landscape or materials, and a health bar and name display for bosses. The display can be altered by exchanging visors; one uses thermal imaging , another has x-ray vision , and another features a scanner that searches for enemy weaknesses and interfaces with mechanisms such as force fields and elevators. The game introduces a hint system that provides
1819-478: A message to bounty hunter Samus Aran , asking her to investigate and retrieve the "ultimate power", and should it prove irretrievable, to keep it secret or destroy it outright. Six other bounty hunters intercept the transmission and proceed to the Alimbic solar system to claim the power for themselves. Through investigation of the planets and space stations that orbit the Alimbic sun, Samus gradually pieces together
1926-721: A mysterious message that originated from the Alimbic Cluster and comes into contact with a legion of bounty hunters. The game contains more first-person shooter aspects than previous titles in the Metroid Prime series, emphasizing various multiplayer modes with Wi-Fi and voice chat capabilities. It introduced new bounty hunters with unique weapons and alternative forms as well as the ability to travel to different planets with Samus' gunship, concepts later expanded upon in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption . Hunters
2033-450: A number of Game of the Year awards and is regarded by many as one of the greatest video games ever made , remaining one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic . Metroid Prime was followed by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond scheduled for 2025. In 2009, an enhanced version of Metroid Prime was released for
2140-439: A painfully cramped endeavor". Concurring with this sentiment, GameSpy noted that using the stylus to play the game felt a bit strange. Eurogamer also expressed their disapproval of the control scheme, predicting it would lead to "the coming years of physiotherapy on [their] arms". They were also unhappy with the game's "flimsy" multiplayer experience, noting that it is best used when played locally with friends who also have
2247-513: A salute. The development team for Metroid Prime Hunters at Nintendo Software Technology (NST) was led by the game's director, Masamichi Abe and the lead technical engineer, Colin Reed, who had both previously worked together on several games, including the Nintendo games Pikmin and 1080° Snowboarding . The team for Hunters was composed of thirty people, which Abe noted was larger than
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#17327796813092354-711: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
2461-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
2568-467: A small DS cartridge. Despite a few "small quirks", the magazine noted that Hunters "is a very polished game". The Times concurred with these claims, noting that the touchscreen capability worked very vell on the system. GameRevolution admired the "high-quality work" found in the game's production design and smooth online play. 1UP.com asserted that fans of the Metroid series should recognize
2675-454: A specific order; for example, players cannot access certain areas until they find a certain Beam to open doors, or discover new ordnance with which to beat bosses. Players are incentivized to explore to find upgrades that increase Samus' maximum ammunition and health . The heads-up display , which simulates the inside of Samus' helmet, features a radar display, a map, ammunition for missiles,
2782-700: Is a reinterpretation of Metroid ' s Brinstar theme, the music heard in Magmoor Caverns is a new version of the music from Super Metroid ' s Lower Norfair area, and the music heard during the fight with Meta Ridley is a fast-paced reimagining of the Ridley boss music first featured in Super Metroid , which has reappeared in most Metroid games since. Early in development, the English electronic duo Autechre were asked by Retro Studios to compose
2889-735: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
2996-428: Is easier using first-person. Pacini said that after picking that perspective, the crew decided not to make a traditional first-person shooter, instead they had to break down the stereotypes of what a first-person game is and make a fun Metroid game. Pacini said that Retro tried to design the game so that the only difficult parts would be boss battles and players would not be afraid to explore because "the challenge of
3103-495: Is equipped with a Power Suit that allows her to access her gunship from anywhere. She can scan almost any object in the game; the gunship will return relevant information retrieved from its database. An Arm Cannon is attached to the Power Suit, which she uses to attack enemies. To enter small tunnels, Samus can roll into a Morph Ball , an alternative form of the Power Suit that decreases her size substantially. In this form, she
3210-484: Is given an unlimited supply of bombs but is only allowed to use three at a time. She can use the bombs to defend herself and destroy small objects. In Metroid Prime Hunters , the Nintendo DS's top screen shows Samus's HUD as seen from her visor, which displays the amount of remaining ammunition for the currently selected weapon along with her health ; in multiplayer games, the number of kills and time remaining in
3317-534: Is one of the first Metroid games to address the reason Samus does not start with power-ups acquired in previous games; she begins the game with some upgrades, including the Varia Suit, Missiles and Grapple Beam, but they are lost during an explosion on the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon . The producers stated that starting with some power-ups was a way to give the player "different things to do" and to learn
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3424-730: Is planned for release in 2025 for the Nintendo Switch . Characters and stages from Metroid Prime have frequently appeared in other Nintendo games such as the Super Smash Bros series, in which the Frigate Orpheon is a playable stage, with the Parasite Queen in the background and music from Metroid Prime . Metroid Prime ' s gameplay and HUD have influenced other first-person shooters such as Geist and Star Wars: Republic Commando . A demo of
3531-666: Is set within the Alimbic Cluster in the Tetra Galaxy, where it was once ruled by the Alimbic race. The Alimbic race disappeared without notice, leaving artifacts scattered throughout the solar system. In the present, a telepathic message is sent from the Cluster to bounty hunters and other intelligent species, stating the key to the "ultimate power" resides there. The solar system consists of two planets (Alinos and Arcterra) and two space stations (the Celestial Archives and
3638-783: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . Metroid Prime Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube . Metroid Prime is the fifth main Metroid game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective . It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe
3745-557: The Underworld series, and was produced by the Leo Burnett Worldwide , while the special effects were handled by Ntropic. According to Wiseman, the commercial intends to "give the players a sense of how high the body count is going to be in this game, the amount of mayhem, and just how vicious Samus can be". In May, Nintendo of Europe and HMV held the "Hunt Is On Tournament" competition in several locations throughout
3852-446: The Metroid formula. Criticisms included the unusual control scheme, lack of focus on the story, and repetitive backtracking. Game Informer considered the control scheme awkward, Entertainment Weekly compared the game to a "1990s arcade game , filled with over the top battle sequences, spectacular visual effects—and a pretty weak plot", and GamePro wrote that inexperienced players "might find it exhausting to keep revisiting
3959-616: The Nintendo 64 controller could be used to control Samus. Nintendo approached another company to make Metroid for Nintendo 64, but the offer was declined, supposedly because the developers thought they could not equal Super Metroid . Metroid Prime was a collaboration between Nintendo EAD and R&D1 and the American company Retro Studios . Retro was created in 1998 by an alliance between Nintendo and Iguana Entertainment founder Jeff Spangenberg . The studio would create games for
4066-428: The Nintendo DS when it launched in North America on November 21. As a single-player game, it consists of training scenarios with no specific plot, while the multiplayer portion allows up to four players to compete via the Nintendo DS' local wireless communications. GamesRadar wrote a positive review for the demo, citing it as "a fine showcase for demonstrating what the Nintendo DS hardware is capable of". In early 2006,
4173-557: The Oubliette before any of the hunters could evacuate to safety. Otherwise, the panels would transport her and Gorea to another realm for a more definitive final battle where Gorea becomes invincible to all weapons, save for the new Alimbic weapon, the "Omega Cannon", which Samus finds and uses to destroy Gorea once and for all. As Samus and the other hunters evacuate the exploding Oubliette on their respective ships, three Alimbic spirits appear before an armorless Samus, and honor her with
4280-646: The Wii as part of the New Play Control! series. It has improved controls that use the Wii Remote 's pointing functionality, bonus content and the ability to take screenshots of gameplay. In other countries, this version was released in the Wii compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy . The compilation became available for download from the Wii U 's Nintendo eShop in January 2015. Metroid Prime Remastered ,
4387-574: The Wii in Japan and as part of the Metroid Prime: Trilogy compilation internationally. A remastered version was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2023. Metroid Prime is an action-adventure game in which players control protagonist Samus Aran from a first-person perspective, unlike previous games in the Metroid series, with third-person elements used for Morph Ball mode. The gameplay involves solving puzzles to reveal secrets, platform jumping , and shooting foes with
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4494-444: The Wii . The first two games were re-released on Wii as part of the New Play Control! series in Japan, and as part of the Wii compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy (2009). A pinball game, Metroid Prime Pinball (2005), and the action spin-offs Metroid Prime Hunters (2006) were released for the handheld Nintendo DS console, and Metroid Prime: Federation Force (2016) for the Nintendo 3DS . Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
4601-581: The best-selling games on the GameCube . It was the second-best-selling game of November 2002 in North America, behind Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ; 250,000 units were sold in the first week of its release. As of July 2006, the game had sold more than 1.49 million copies in the U.S. alone, and had earned more than US$ 50 million . It was also the eighth-bestselling GameCube game in Australia. More than 78,000 copies were sold in Japan, and Nintendo added
4708-478: The "Best DS Action Game" of 2006. The game also received the awards for "Best Graphics", "Best Shooter/Action Game", and "Best Wi-Fi Functionality" from Nintendo Power for 2006. The bounty hunters in Metroid Prime Hunters are featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as unlockable character trophies. Sylux also makes a minor appearance in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , where he follows Samus in
4815-818: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
4922-490: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
5029-480: The Galactic Federation marines. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is marketed to have Sylux as a major antagonist, following up on the tease shown in Metroid Prime 3 . Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for
5136-499: The Infinity Void. Here, she and the other six hunters confront Gorea, who originated the telepathic message in an attempt to free itself. After the beast absorbs the powers of Samus' rivals, Samus engaged in a proacted battle with it. If she did not heed the words of the Alimbic prophecy by shooting seven colored panels in the arena with their representative sub-weapon in a particular sequence, Gorea's demise would quickly destroy
5243-468: The Morph Ball, which allows Samus to compress herself into a ball in order to roll into narrow passages and drop energy bombs, and the Grapple Beam, which works by latching onto special hooks called grapple nodes, allowing Samus to swing across gaps. Unlike those in earlier games in the series, the beam weapons in Metroid Prime have no stacking ability, in which the traits of each beam merge. Instead,
5350-781: The Phazon experimentation project, including the Metroid Prime, a creature that had come to Tallon IV with the meteor. Advancing deeper into the mines, Samus fights her way through the Phazon-enhanced Space Pirates and obtains the Phazon Suit after defeating the monstrous Omega Pirate. At some point, Samus discovers the Artifact Temple that the Chozo built to contain the Metroid Prime and to stop
5457-477: The Phazon from spreading over the planet. To gain access to the meteor's Impact Crater, Samus must collect and unite the twelve Chozo artifacts. As Samus returns to the temple with the artifacts, Meta Ridley appears and attacks her. Samus defeats Ridley and enters the Impact Crater, where she finds the Metroid Prime. After she defeats it, the Metroid Prime absorbs Samus' Phazon Suit and explodes. Samus escapes
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#17327796813095564-454: The Pirates' own genetically modified , experimental subjects, using a mysterious radioactive substance called Phazon. At the ship's core, she battles with the Parasite Queen, a giant version of the tiny parasites aboard the ship. The Parasite Queen is defeated and falls into the ship's reactor core, initiating the destruction of the ship. While Samus is escaping from the frigate, she encounters
5671-655: The Space Pirates as a source of geothermal power . Following the tunnels, Samus travels to the Phendrana Drifts, a cold, mountainous region which is home to another ancient Chozo ruin and a Space Pirate research laboratory used to study the Metroids . After obtaining new abilities, Samus explores the wreckage of the crashed Orpheon and then infiltrates the Phazon Mines, where she learns the outcome of
5778-586: The United Kingdom, with BT Openzone providing a video link. Metroid Prime Hunters was released on March 20, 2006 in North America, followed by the release in Europe on May 5, in Australia on May 23, in Japan on June 1, and in South Korea on December 6, 2007. The game was later re-released on the Wii U 's Virtual Console service, in Japan on September 30, 2015, in North America on June 2, 2016, and in Europe on September 15. Metroid Prime Hunters
5885-536: The Vesper Defense Outpost). The protagonist of the single-player "adventure mode" is bounty hunter Samus Aran , who investigates the Alimbic Cluster after the Galactic Federation receives a telepathic message. During the investigation, Samus is confronted by six other bounty hunters: Sylux , a deadly sharpshooter who harbors a strong hatred for the Federation and Samus by association; Weavel,
5992-867: The Year", "Outstanding Innovation in Console Gaming", and outstanding achievement in " Art Direction ", " Game Design ", " Gameplay Engineering ", " Original Music Composition ", " Sound Design ", and " Visual Engineering ". It was the most nominated game at the awards ceremony. Metroid Prime appeared on several lists of best games; it was ranked 23rd in IGN ' s Top 100, 29th in a 100-game list chosen by GameFAQs users, 18th in Official Nintendo Magazine ' s 2009 list of greatest Nintendo games and 10th in Nintendo Power' s "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". IGN named Metroid Prime
6099-469: The art in the Scan Visor, would sleep in the office and resume working when he woke up. We didn't want to make just another first person shooter. ... Making a first person shooter would have been a cheap and easy way to go. But making sure the themes and concepts in Metroid were kept was something that we wanted to do. And translating those things into 3D was a real challenge. For example, translating
6206-487: The best GameCube game, while GameSpy ranked it third in a similar list, behind The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Resident Evil 4 . Nintendo Power also ranked Metroid Prime as the sixth-best game of the 2000s. Wired ranked the game 10th in its list of "The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade" for popularizing "exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming and story" among first-person shooters, saying that
6313-427: The collapsing crater and leaves Tallon IV in her ship. If the player completes the game with all of the items obtained, Metroid Prime reconstructs itself into a body resembling Samus. According to producer Shigeru Miyamoto , Nintendo did not develop a Metroid game for the Nintendo 64 as the company "couldn't come out with any concrete ideas". Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto said he could not imagine how
6420-440: The development team of most other Nintendo DS games. Kensuke Tanabe of Nintendo came up with the original idea for the game. Retro Studios , which developed previous Metroid Prime games, was unable to develop Metroid Prime Hunters because it was already working on a game. Therefore, Tanabe contacted NST with the idea, and let them develop it instead. NST developed the game instead of Nintendo themselves because Nintendo wanted
6527-471: The division to influence Metroid Prime Hunters with western ideals, styles, and presentation. While developing the game, most of NST's efforts were focused on its multiplayer aspect because of its first-person shooter gameplay, and to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and voice chat capabilities of the Nintendo DS. One of the game's designers, Richard Vorodi, noted that "the hardware kinda dictated their focus onto
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#17327796813096634-486: The earlier games. The developers intended that Kraid , a boss from Metroid and Super Metroid , would appear in Metroid Prime , and designer Gene Kohler modeled and skinned him for that purpose, but he was cut for time reasons. The team considered implementing the Speed Booster power-up from Super Metroid but concluded it would not work well because of the first-person perspective and the limitations imposed by
6741-460: The experience offered in previous games in the Metroid Prime series. They criticized the levels as "contrived and predictable", and noted that the designs felt too formulaic "after a few worlds of hunting for keys, fighting repeat bosses, and escaping before the bomb blows". The Washington Times agreed that the game's repetitiveness eventually grew tiring, and that "manipulating the DS controls will be
6848-452: The following year. Like the previous titles in the Prime series, Metroid Prime Hunters is generally classified as an action-adventure with navigation and discovery being prominent gameplay elements. The game differs from its predecessors with the removal of assisted aiming, more action-oriented gameplay, and the inclusion of an online multiplayer mode. The player controls Samus Aran , who
6955-539: The following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion , Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994). Metroid Prime takes place between the original Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus . Players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she battles the Space Pirates and their biological experiments on
7062-469: The forthcoming GameCube targeted at a mature demographic. After establishing its offices in Austin, Texas in 1999, Retro worked on four GameCube projects. When Miyamoto visited Retro in 2000, he suggested a new Metroid game after seeing their prototype first-person shooter engine . In 2000 and early 2001, four games in development at Retro were canceled, including an RPG, Raven Blade , leaving Prime
7169-455: The functions of these items before settling into the core gameplay. Retro Studios wrote an extensive storyline for Metroid Prime , which was considered a major difference from previous Metroid games. Short cutscenes appear before important battles, and a scanner in the heads-up display extracts backstory-related information from objects. The Prime trilogy is set between the events of Metroid and Metroid II . The game takes place on
7276-459: The game stemmed primarily from its control scheme. IGN found that the high learning curve and "cramp-inducing" control scheme made it difficult to play. This sentiment was shared by Electronic Gaming Monthly , which claimed that placing the interface used to switch visors and weapons on the touchscreen made the process unnecessarily complex. The magazine was also disappointed with the game's single-player mode, claiming that it does not live up to
7383-460: The game the "Best DS Action Game" of 2006, while Nintendo Power gave it awards for "Best Graphics", "Best Shooter/Action Game", and "Best Wi-Fi Functionality". Over 410,000 copies of the game were sold in North America in its first month of release, and it was the fourth best-selling game during its debut month in Japan. Metroid Prime Hunters was re-released on the Wii U 's Virtual Console service in Japan in 2015, and in North America and Europe
7490-675: The game to its Player's Choice line in the PAL region. It sold 2.84 million copies worldwide and was the best-selling Metroid game until Metroid Dread (2021). Metroid Prime received "universal acclaim", according to Metacritic . Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it a perfect score. It won numerous Game of the Year awards and was praised for its detailed graphics, special effects, varied environments, moody soundtrack and sound effects, level design , immersive atmosphere and innovative gameplay centered on exploration in contrast with action games such as Halo , while staying faithful to
7597-444: The game was "breaking the genre free from the clutches of Doom ". Wired ' s writer continued that Metroid Prime took a massive stride forward for first-person games. Metroid Prime also became popular among players for speedrunning ; specialized communities were formed to share these speed runs. Metroid Prime was followed by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) on the GameCube and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) on
7704-406: The game was finding your way around". Senior designer Mike Wikan said that the focus on exploration led the team to spend time making the platform jumping "approachable to the player", and to ensure the gameplay had "shooting [as] a very important, though secondary, consideration". Retro developed the storyline under the supervision of Yoshio Sakamoto, who verified that the ideas were consistent with
7811-405: The game was not influenced by the story of either game, so there were no continuity issues. He described Hunters as a side story to the Metroid Prime series. A preview of Metroid Prime Hunters was featured at E3 2004, which players control different colored variations of Samus in a deathmatch . A demo version , titled Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt , was included as a pack-in game with
7918-450: The game's "worthwhile" and "electrifying" multiplayer mode. Nintendo Power praised the game as a "new-school, action-packed" game that makes a "great addition to the growing collection of Wi-Fi titles", and The Guardian claimed the game's multiplayer aspect as their favorite feature. The Sunday Times wrote that Metroid Prime Hunters does a "staggering job" of replicating the style of previous Metroid Prime games. Complaints about
8025-501: The game's ending. Tanabe said in E3 2015 that he wanted to create a story that centers around Samus and Sylux, noting that "there's something going on between them. I want to make a game that touches upon it". With a Nintendo 3DS game, Metroid Prime: Federation Force , Tanabe hoped that Federation Force 's plot would lead to future Metroid Prime games based on the relationship between Samus and Sylux, with additional involvement from
8132-479: The game's lack of an online feature, the company announced in August that the game's release was delayed to give the developers time to implement Nintendo WFC support. After the game's release was delayed to give NST time to implement the multiplayer feature, the developers took the time to make more changes. They worked on the game's framerate to make the graphics move more smoothly. The game's visuals were improved;
8239-432: The game's multiplayer mode". Wanting to introduce a new element to the Metroid series, Abe created several new bounty hunters after he realized that the game's multiplayer mode and the new bounty hunters could both be implemented seamlessly into the game: "We had this idea early on and thought that would be a good way to introduce Metroid Prime Hunters and the new bounty hunters to the gameplay and take advantage of that in
8346-399: The game, and The Press called Metroid Prime Hunters the best-looking game for the Nintendo DS. The Australian agreed that the graphics are "outstanding" and push the Nintendo DS to its limits, and The Independent asserted that Metroid Prime Hunters was perhaps the best first-person shooter ever for a handheld console. GamePro was surprised how Nintendo squeezed Hunters into
8453-455: The game. X-Play had particularly negative sentiments about the game, feeling that it was poorly implemented into the hardware. Metroid Prime Hunters was the fourth best-selling game in its debut month in Japan, selling 32,467 units, and has since sold over 90,000 units there. Over 410,000 units of the game were sold in North America in 2006. Hunters received several awards and honors. IGN gave it an "Editors' Choice" award, and named it
8560-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
8667-496: The help of a "lock-on" mechanism that allows circle strafing while staying aimed at the enemy. Samus must travel through the world of Tallon IV searching for twelve Chozo Artifacts that will open the path to the Phazon meteor impact crater, while collecting power-ups that let her reach new areas. The Varia Suit, for example, protects Samus' armor against high temperatures, allowing her to enter volcanic regions. Some items are obtained after boss fights. Items must be collected in
8774-465: The history of the Alimbic race. She discovers that they were a peaceful, spiritual, highly evolved society. The Alimbic utopia was shattered when a comet struck the planet (Alinos), and out of it emerged a monstrous creature named Gorea. The creature copied the cellular structure of the Alimbics, physically mimicking them and their weapons, and destroyed their civilization. Unable to stop Gorea's rampage,
8881-412: The last of their race transformed themselves into focused telepathic energy, then confined Gorea into a "Seal Sphere", which they placed in a starship called the Oubliette . The ship was launched into a dimensional rift called the Infinity Void, to be released only when eight keys called "Octoliths" were assembled. After warding off the other bounty hunters, Samus retrieves the eight Octoliths and opens
8988-450: The morph ball was one of the hardest things to do. —Michael Kelbaugh, Retro Studios president since 2003 Nintendo created the music, Retro handled art and engineering, and both teams worked on the overall design. The Japanese crew, which included producers Miyamoto, Kensuke Tanabe, Kenji Miki, and designer and Metroid co-creator Sakamoto, communicated with Retro through e-mails, telephone conferences and personal gatherings. The game
9095-487: The multiplayer". Metroid Prime Hunters includes several references to previous games in the Metroid Prime series. Samus' ship is from the original Metroid Prime , and her suit is the same one that appears in Echoes . The developers decided to add them because they wanted to show that the technology has evolved, and they also wanted to include something that was instantly recognizable to those who had played previous games in
9202-444: The only game in development. During the last nine months of development, Retro's staff worked 80- to 100-hour weeks to reach Nintendo's deadline . According to senior artist James Dargie, it took them almost six months to do the first level that Nintendo approved, and then they had less than a year to do the rest of the game. Concept artist Android Jones , a lifelong fan of the series whose work included Samus's Varia Suit and most of
9309-467: The planet Tallon IV, formerly inhabited by the Chozo race . Five decades ago, the Chozo race fell after a meteor impacted on Tallon IV. The meteor contaminated the planet with a corruptive, mutagenic substance that the Space Pirates later named Phazon, and also brought with it a creature known to the Chozo as "The Worm". A large containment field emitter of the Artifact Temple in the Tallon Overworld area
9416-476: The planet Tallon IV. Metroid Prime was a collaboration between Retro in Austin, Texas , and Japanese Nintendo employees, including producers Shigeru Miyamoto and Kensuke Tanabe . Miyamoto suggested the project after visiting Retro's headquarters in 2000. Since exploration takes precedence over combat, Nintendo described the game as a "first-person adventure" rather than a first-person shooter . Metroid Prime sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide. It won
9523-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
9630-440: The player must cycle the four beam weapons; there are charge combos with radically different effects for each. Other upgrades include boots that allow Samus to double-jump and a Spider Ball upgrade that allows her to climb magnetic rails. Items from previous Metroid games appear with altered functions. Art galleries and different endings are unlockable if the player collects a high percentage of items and Scan Visor logs. Prime
9737-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as
9844-613: The player with clues about ways to progress through the game. Players can gain two features by connecting Prime with Metroid Fusion using a GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable : cosmetic use of the Fusion Suit that Samus wears in Fusion and the ability to play the original Metroid game. Throughout the game, players must find and collect items that improve Samus' arsenal and suit, including weapons, armor upgrades for Samus' Power Suit and items that grant abilities—including
9951-490: The round are also shown. The bottom touchscreen displays the radar. When using the default control scheme, movement is controlled using the D-pad , and aiming is controlled by dragging the stylus along the touchscreen. Metroid Prime Hunters features a multiplayer mode that supports up to four players and includes voice chat capability. In it, the player is able to control Samus or one of six other bounty hunters featured in
10058-417: The ruins, she learns that the Chozo on the planet had been killed off by the Phazon infesting the planet, which originated from a meteor that impacted on the planet many years ago. After regaining her lost abilities in the ruins, as well as defeating a mutated plant creature that was poisoning the local water supply, Samus finds her way to the Magmoor Caverns, a series of magma -filled tunnels, which are used by
10165-464: The same old places over and over and over". In 2004, the video game countdown show Filter said Metroid Prime had the best graphics of all time. During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Metroid Prime with " Console First-Person Action Game of the Year "; it also received nominations for " Game of the Year ", "Console Game of
10272-439: The scale of game's environment. The first public appearance of the game was a ten-second video at Space World 2000 . In November of the same year, Retro Studios confirmed its involvement with the game in the "job application" part of its website. In February 2001, the game was confirmed by Nintendo, which also announced that because of its emphasis on exploration and despite the first-person perspective, Metroid Prime would be
10379-524: The series. On level design, Abe said that as the game's controls shifted from an analog stick method to touchscreen aiming, the developers wanted to avoid making the gameplay and the control scheme more difficult. Metroid Prime Hunters was first revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, with IGN giving the game their Best Nintendo DS Game of E3 award. When Nintendo received negative feedback at E3 2005 about
10486-431: The single-player mode. Each bounty hunter has a unique alternative form, such as Samus's Morph Ball, and a special weapon. The game host can set options for point and time limits, and restrict the use of radar. Computer-controlled players of varying skill levels can be added to games if the minimum of four players is not met. Metroid Prime Hunters takes place between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , and
10593-424: The soundtrack, but this was halted by Nintendo. Tommy Tallarico Studios initially provided sound effects, but Miyamoto deemed them not good enough for an extended presentation at Space World 2001 . The game supports Dolby Pro Logic II setups and can be played in surround sound . A soundtrack album, Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks , was published by Scitron on June 18, 2003. Metroid Prime
10700-428: The technical achievements that the game showcases. GamesRadar lauded Metroid Prime Hunters ' gameplay, and believed that the game was strictly for hardcore gamers "who live for fragfests". Convinced that making a Metroid game different from its slow-paced adventure predecessors into a "nail-biting wrecking ball" was a "risky trick", they appreciated the results. Both GameSpot and Game Informer enjoyed
10807-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure
10914-442: Was acclaimed. Samuel Claiborn of IGN described it as "a perfect example of how to both honor a lauded classic and bring it up to code". It was criticized for not crediting the developers of previous versions of Metroid Prime by name, instead crediting them as "original Nintendo GameCube and Wii version development staff". As of March 2023, Metroid Prime Remastered had sold 1.09 million copies. Metroid Prime became one of
11021-462: Was announced by Nintendo at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo . A pack-in demo version of the game, titled Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt , was included with the Nintendo DS when it launched in November. Reviews were generally favorable towards the game; praise focused on its gameplay and graphics, while criticism targeted its control scheme. It also received several honors; including an "Editors' Choice" award from IGN , which also named
11128-431: Was built as a seal to the meteor's energies and influence within the crater where it landed, which the Space Pirates attempt to disable or bypass in order to gain better access to extract the Phazon. The containment field is controlled by twelve Chozo artifacts that are scattered around the planet. Samus Aran intercepts a distress signal from the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon , whose crew have been slaughtered by
11235-436: Was given "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic . Several reviews praised the amount of value that Metroid Prime Hunters offered on the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. GameZone considered the game phenomenal, and believed that it used the DS to its maximum potential regarding graphical ability and innovation. The Toronto Sun remarked that the graphics were big enough selling points on their own for
11342-450: Was planned to use a third-person perspective, but after Miyamoto intervened this was changed to first-person perspective and almost everything already developed was scrapped. The change was prompted by camera problems experienced by Rare , which was developing the Nintendo 64 game Jet Force Gemini . According to director Mark Pacini , Miyamoto believed that "shooting in third person was not very intuitive"; Pacini also said that exploration
11449-409: Was released for the GameCube in North America on November 18, 2002. In 2003, the game arrived in Japan on February 28, and Europe on March 21. In 2004, Nintendo released a Metroid Prime GameCube bundle, including a second disc featuring a trailer and a demo for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , a timeline of Metroid games, and an art gallery. Metroid Prime was re-released in Japan in 2009 for
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