In 2000 IGNcube revealed that the new Metroid would be shown in full-motion video (FMV) form at Spaceworld 2000; and further, that it is being developed by the new Nintendo second-party, Retro Studios.

Sure enough, Nintendo showed a brief clip of the title in FMV form. It was a short but glorious 10 or so seconds. The auditorium at Spaceworld exploded with cheers and fanatical screams, for it was finally here  Metroid had returned. Nine months later E³ 2001 was upon us, and Retro Studios revealed the titles new name, Metroid Prime, and what appears to be more pre-rendered footage. It's not much, but it's all we have to go on at this point.

Features

• Metroid brought into 3D
• High-tech presentation
• First-person perspective
• Enormous bosses
• Dark, moody atmosphere
• Extravagant power-ups
• Cinematic cut-scenes
• Metroid, Metroid, Metroid

The Story
The story so far is that we do not know the story. Nintendo has done nothing more than name the title as Metroid Prime. IGNcube heard rumors prior to the official name announcement that Metroid for GameCube would be a prequel to the original Metroid (NES). The name Metroid Prime seems to indicate that, as "prime" usually denotes something that is the first. Either that or Retro Studios thinks its version of Metroid is of prime -- the highest quality -- value. Regardless of all that, what we do know is what has happened in the course of the last three Metroids. Those being the original Metroid (NES), Metroid II: Return of Samus (Game Boy), and Super Metroid (SNES). In a time and galaxy unbeknownst to us, space pirates plagued the deep of the universe, stealing and bartering illegal trade. The story of Metroid began when a group of intergalactic space pirates stumbled upon a life form from Planet SR-388. This entity was stolen after the pirates attacked a scientific research laboratory secluded deep in the galaxy. Little did the pirates know that this alien form -- which the scientists named a "Metroid" -- was responsible for the total destruction of SR-388's civilization.

After some research, the pirates realized the destructive power that could be unleashed from within the Metroid. They quickly began making plans to use the organism as a biological weapon for their own benefit. The Galactic Federation fought a futile battle against the space pirates on their home planet, Zebes. After a near defeat, they called upon the help of a mysterious Bounty Hunter named Samus Aran. Samus defeated the space pirates' leader, Mother Brain, and thwarted the attacks of her underlings Kraid and Ridley, on the way. Samus did the job, which was required by killing Mother Brain, but the pirates managed to smuggle one surviving Metroid off the planet.

Samus' job was far from over. The fearless bounty hunter was forced to chase the pirates off to the Metroids' homeland where the discovery was made that Metroids came in many shapes and forms and that the Alpha Metroid was the name of the one the pirates originally found. This time Samus' mission was to completely destroy the entire race of Metroids so they would never darken the galaxy again. Of course, Samus again reigned supreme and defeated all the Metroids along with the breeder Queen Metroid. However, there was one egg leftover after Queen Metroid perished. Samus approached the Metroid whereupon it hatched and clung to the hardened bounty hunter for security and life. It was not at all aggressive, and knowing this Samus brought the Metroid back to Ceres  a research colony  as a pet.

The scientists did extensive research on the baby Metroid and found that its special capabilities for absorbing, storing, and releasing energy could eventually benefit mankind. Samus had not been gone long from Ceres to report to the Galactic Federation when a distress signal from the scientists on the planet was received. The hero returned to find the scientists laying lifeless, and after a quick battle Ridley, the former companion of Mother Brain, stole the baby Metroid and headed back to the old hideout on Planet Zebes. After jetting back to Zebes, Samus was stunned to find the planet's interior had been completely reconstructed. Mother Brain was clearly behind this and had resurrected both Ridley and Kraid from the dead. The intrepid warrior once again conquered the vast deepness of Zebes and defeated Mother Brain once and for all after standing at the brink of death. The tireless bounty hunter then fled the planet as it began to self-destruct. In a brilliant megaton explosion Zebes and everything in the path dissolved into nothing. As far as Samus and the galaxy knew, Mother Brain, Kraid, Ridely, and the entire race of Metroids were destroyed forever.

The Next Chapter
The question now is where does the story go next? After all, the Metroid race was totally destroyed as far as we know. Well, there are many options, but several more prominent solutions come to mind. If by Metroid Prime isn't a prequel, the story could revolve around one of the following:

Synopsis 1: Originally it was thought the Metroids are from Planet SR-388. However, they could very well have originated on another planet. The Metroids must have thrived on a remote part of Planet SR-388 until they destroyed the civilization that stumbled upon them. So, it would stand to reason that another life form or civilization may have brought the Metroids to the planet many years before. This would leave room for the next Metroid to revolve around a plot where a new group of bad guys (be them pirates or even a twisted alien corporation) seeks out the Metroids to use in their own evil way.

Synopsis 2: All the Metroids may have been destroyed, but their DNA was not. When the Metroid from Super Metroid transferred its energy into Samus it also transferred some of its DNA into the dying bounty hunter. Somehow at a later time, Samus is placed in a hospital were they find and extract this DNA. Slowly the plot unfolds and a Metroid is cloned from the existing DNA. A group of space pirates steals the Metroid and brings it back to their home planet where they begin cloning it for, no doubt, reasons for galaxy domination.

In the event that Metroid Prime is indeed a prequel, the options for a storyline are many. Unfortunately these options are a bit baffling to the Metroid storyline. With Metroid (NES), the Galactic Federation called upon Samus to take down Mother Brain and her band of pirates who were using the Metroids for evil. This was Samus' first introduction to Metroids. In a prequel setting, we really can't think of any way Samus would face off with Metroids, as technically she would have never encountered them before the Galactic Federation called upon her. It's important to note that there's no official confirmation that Metroid Prime is a prequel. What's most curious is that in the brief video shown at E³ 2001, Nintendo and Retro label it as "Metroid.004" indicating it could be a sequel. And, even more interesting is that Metroid IV is what Nintendo is labeling the Game Boy Advanced version as! Whether Nintendo has plans to give the same storyline to both is not known, and the likelihood of that seems slim as the style of the two games seems quite different.

Unfortunately, solving the storyline is the least of the problems. For now, it appears we'll have to wait a bit longer for Nintendo to unveil the storyline. Metroid has always revolved around a delicate sense of atmosphere, control, perspective, and all-around balanced gameplay. Considering those things, IGNcube will briefly breakdown some of the more important aspects that encapsulate Metroid.

• Genre - It's important to note is that Metroid Prime is being billed as a "First-Person Adventure." IGNcube was the first to break the news that Metroid for GameCube, now Metroid Prime, would be viewed from a first-person perspective most of the time. Still, as we reported, the game is still supposed to retain its focus on exploration and adventure. We're not sure if Nintendo decided to use the term First-Person Adventure in light of our coining it, but whatever the case is it looks like they're sticking with it. So in terms of genre, we have some clues.

   

• Perspective: Camera Angle - First and foremost, everyone remembers Metroid because it's one of the all-time great 2D action/adventure games. In fact, the last Metroid  Super Metroid  thrust itself into 2D greatness with its awesome visuals and nearly flawless gameplay. Judging from the FMV scene which was shown at Gamecube's unveiling, the new Metroid is indeed in 3D. Many are worried the game will lose its flare with the move into 3D, but then again many said the same thing about Zelda. With that in mind, Retro Studios should be taking a lot of notes from Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. Right now there are really only two solutions to a stable camera in 3D: a first-person perspective or third-person viewpoint with a "Z-lock" method like Zelda pioneered. It appears that initially, Retro Studios, was attempting to implement a third-person perspective.

  However, because of time constraints and unproven camera techniques, Nintendo consulted with Retro Studios and ordered a revamp. The new Metroid would be seen through the eyes of Samus (for the full story click here) instead of over her shoulder. Fans of the original series began to scream bloody murder as predicted, but there's more to the story. The first-person perspective is not indicative that the game is a first-person shooter. Apparently this fourth installment of Metroid will focus on exploration and power-ups. Just like the Metroids of old you fight huge bosses and use plenty of cool gadgetry to explore new areas. Suffice it to say that if anyone could pioneer an action/adventure game via a first-person perspective, it would be Nintendo. There is a silver-lining to this very dark cloud, though. The camera will switch from first-person to third-person perspectives throughout the game when the situation calls for it. One likely candidate for this is when you use the grappling hook. We're sure that's only the beginning, though, and Nintendo will not release this game until it's perfect.

  

   

• Power-ups - This is possibly the most important aspect of the game, as everything you do relies on your power-ups. If you don't have Super Bombs, you can't get through the orange doors, and if you don't have the grappling beam you can't access certain areas. This is what makes the game so great. You spend a great deal of time just searching for these power-ups, and when you find them you are unbelievably excited to use them. One of the bigger problems in other games is you despise going back to another area just to do something trivial. But, in Metroid, you get your power-up and subsequently go back to an area you've already explored so you can access new parts of that area. The bottom line is that power-ups are a must, and we need lots of the classic ones (wave beam, ice beam, grappling beam, screw attack, speed booster) and hopefully some clever new ones as well. We certainly wouldn't mind seeing some awesome cut-scenes for these upgrade sequences either.

   

• Giant-size Bosses - Metroid has always been chock full of mini-bosses and bosses during the course of the series. One of the highlights of spending your time wandering around and finding power-ups is running into this intimidatingly large boss. The mere fact that a comparably small character could beat such a huge monstrosity made you feel powerful. Judging by what was shown at E³ 2001 Retro has a grasp of this.

The fact is, though, there's so much that made these 2D games great and with the translation into 3D there has to be some sacrifices, but there will also be some huge advantages. Gamecube is an ultra-powerful machine and its well suited to handle nearly anything the development team comes up with.

Outlook
The outlook is very bright. The art they showed off at E³ 2001 should instill faith in fans of the series. It's retaining its grungy "feel," and in fact it seems Retro is pushing the franchise in an even darker direction. The brief design of the Metroids shown in the promotional video is extremely sinister -- just as is the boss design. As for the company itself, Retro Studios is founded on a base of some of the most talented people in the industry. While the former creator of Metroid, Gunpei Yoikoi, has sadly passed away many, members of the team still work on Game Boy projects for Nintendo of Japan and are assisting with Metroid Prime.

As well, Shigeru Miyamoto, who is famous for his brilliant game design (see Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, and others) is helping steer the Retro Studios team in the right direction; probably communicating some of the ideas between the former team and current team. This in itself should calm Metroid fanatics nerves. He recently had this to say about Metroid and Retro Studios, "We really think that the team that is working on Metroid right now is best suited to be working on a Metroid game. We really looked at the gameplay and had lots of discussions about it, and in those discussions we really thought that any game, whether it be Metroid or Mario or anything, it is going to have to evolve and it is going to have to change. In discussions with the team it came up that perhaps the best kind of gameplay for this game was going to be first-person. That's not final and that's not decided, so don't think that it is first-person necessarily because it might change."

Miyamoto is known for adding the subtle touches that make games ultimately more brilliant. Things like the Z-targeting lock in Zelda, the double tap nitro blast in Excitebike, and countless other ideas have made his designs famous. With him overseeing development, we needn't worry. In combination with this, we must consider that Retro is filled to the brim with talented individuals. Individuals from places like Valve (Half-Life), id Software (Quake), and the former Iguana Studios (Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter). There's no proof these people are working on Metroid, but the point to note is that the Retro has many talented individuals in its nest. It has taken the best of the best and put them under one big Nintendo roof.

Furthermore, Metroid is now headed to Gamecube  a very powerful piece of next-generation hardware. So, what do you get when you combine unimaginable processing power, a brilliant franchise, and an ultra-talented development group? We're not entirely sure, but we feel confident the end result will be nothing short of awe-inspiring. The concept art is already looking very stunning. Furthermore, Metroid is so highly demanded by the public that Nintendo will never release it until it's everything we want and more. Hopefully Nintendo has more to show on the title at its upcoming Spaceworld show in Japan.