Rumour Metroid Prime remaster/remake planned for 2022 (UPDATE: new rumor from Jeff Grubb, see threadmarks)

[BigBoss]

-Prime 3 was in the Wii Would Like to Play commercial as well as apart of Nintendo’s presser for the Wii reveal. Had its own Wii channel and was apart of the “Month of Metroid”
-Metroid Other M had a whole marketing campaign including a lengthy live action commercial
-Fusion had the tie in with Prime 1 including being included in several magazines at the time
-Hunters was one of the games featured for early DS commercials
-Zero Mission had the “Who Are You Campaign” along with Prime 2. They also did a live action commercial for it.
-Samus Returns was featured multiple times during Treehouse & had a commercial specifically crafted for its history. Also was apart of YT ads playing.

Like the only game they didn’t market in some form or another is Federation Force. All the others had a marketing campaign in some form or fashion.

Prime 3 had notably awful marketing.

 

[Pennington]

So is the biggest upcoming announcement for this holiday season most likely going to be Metroid Prime remade for Switch?

 

[shoichi]

So is the biggest upcoming announcement for this holiday season most likely going to be Metroid Prime remade for Switch?

with an outside shot of the rumored FE game which is supposedly done/near done with some rumored leaks

 

[ProteusRidley]

You best be right. I need this

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

I don't really count anything that happens at Nintendo's own events, but other than that I guess I'll just leave the rest at "fair enough".

The fact that I remember almost none of it though, even as one of the biggest Metroid fans I know... I dunno. Kind of speaks volumes as to the quality of the campaigns to me, personally.

There are other things of course like interviews, previews, advertisements, and the like.

The big issue with Metroid for a large part of its history is people didn’t care. The one time they really did was Prime 1 but they didn’t stay. No matter how big the campaign is if people don’t care then they are not going to make a big deal about it.

Prime 3 had notably awful marketing.

From what I’ve been able to dig up they are the only one saying so. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you. I think it was fine for what it was. At that point Nintendo probably cut their losses on the series since Prime 2 lost half of the audience garnered by 1 with 3 really not picking up any significant gains.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

There are other things of course like interviews, previews, advertisements, and the like.

The big issue with Metroid for a large part of its history is people didn’t care. The one time they really did was Prime 1 but they didn’t stay. No matter how big the campaign is if people don’t care then they are not going to make a big deal about it.

From what I’ve been able to dig up they are the only one saying so. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you. I think it was fine for what it was. At that point Nintendo probably cut their losses on the series since Prime 2 lost half of the audience garnered by 1 with 3 really not picking up any significant gains.

Personally with Prime 2 at least, I'd argue the damage was very much self-inflicted. Nintendo tried so hard to position it as a direct competitor to Halo 2, and that to me speaks to a fundamental misunderstanding of their audiences. Don't get me wrong - there is some overlap (like me, I love both games and think they're the two best games in each of their respective series) but it's not nearly as wide as Nintendo seemed to think.

The other people I knew who were excited about Halo 2 at the time were the kind of heathens who would mash buttons to skip cutscenes on a first playthrough. Halo 2 had some of the best in the franchise and they would mash through them. Something as slow and calculated as Prime 2 would put those people into a coma, FFS. And I imagine they were the majority.

 

[Joe]

Did somebody say METROID!?

 

[CloudLuma]

Metroid Prime Remastered is quite the announcement, but a new Fire Emblem, to be honest is nothing special even with the just released spinoff...
Let's hope they have quite some more surprises...with Splatoon releasing this year, they only have Zelda planned for next year

 

[ProteusRidley]

Better than anything Sony has ever done

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

Personally with Prime 2 at least, I'd argue the damage was very much self-inflicted. Nintendo tried so hard to position it as a direct competitor to Halo 2, and that to me speaks to a fundamental misunderstanding of their audiences. Don't get me wrong - there is some overlap (like me, I love both games and think they're the two best games in each of their respective series) but it's not nearly as wide as Nintendo seemed to think.

The other people I knew who were excited about Halo 2 at the time were the kind of heathens who would mash buttons to skip cutscenes on a first playthrough. Halo 2 had some of the best in the franchise and they would mash through them. Something as slow and calculated as Prime 2 would put those people into a coma, FFS. And I imagine they were the majority.

That could maybe explain Prime 2 but the seeds for its struggle were planted well before that. It didn’t help but I argue after Prime 1 it was inevitable for a reduction in audience. The question there was how big of a loss & unfortunately it was a little over half. It was a mixture of controls, type of game, & Halo coming out. People got their fill & decided not to comeback for the sequels.

 

[EnergyDrink]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games ... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

So unless they really reworked MP1 (not just graphics and controls) I don't see it going big in any way.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games to... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

Sounds to me like it's just not for you.

Prime 3 was the anomaly of the trilogy and IMO the weakest of the 3. Wanted too desperately to be something that Metroid (and especially Prime) is not.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games to... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

 

[Skies]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games ... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

So unless they really reworked MP1 (not just graphics and controls) I don't see it going big in any way.

I... would just suggest taking this opportunity to try Metroid Prime 1 again. It's one of the greatest designed games of all-time from beginning to end.

MP3 was designed with a general audience in mind due to Wii audience, so it might be more welcoming but it doesn't reach the heights of the first (imo).

 

[Cubs017]

I... would just suggest taking this opportunity to try Metroid Prime 1 again. It's one of the greatest designed games of all-time from beginning to end.

MP3 was designed with a general audience in mind due to Wii audience, so it might be more welcoming but it doesn't reach the heights of the first (imo).

Oh it’s amazing. I just think he’s saying that it’s not likely to be a massive seller. If it does Dread numbers that would be great.

 

[Thorakai]

Nintendo should bring Metroid superfan John Cena to promote Metroid Prime 1

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

Oh it’s amazing. I just think he’s saying that it’s not likely to be a massive seller. If it does Dread numbers that would be great.

Dread itself had to beat Prime numbers to become the series best seller, and I'd argue that the kind of game Prime is has broader appeal than the 2D entries, especially in this time in gaming.

I'd find it hard to believe if this iteration of Prime doesn't sell as well at the very least.

 

[Jersh]

I was hoping for a 2023 MP4 release, but that seems unlikely if 2/3 come next year. Jeez, if it's 2024, that would make 5 years since the reboot and 7 years since the first announcement. Crazy how even both BOTW games could end up having a shorter reveal to release periods.

Did anyone specifically say next year for 2/3?

 

[ILikeFeet]

Nintendo should bring Metroid superfan John Cena to promote Metroid Prime 1

would be a better idea to find a woman to promote a game staring a woman

 

[MetalLord]

Wouldn't be a bit weird if MP1 gets a big work remaster, making it close to a remake (like Crisis Core) and then 2 and 3 also got rereleased but with just a resolution bump, or something not close to that MP1?

Because it took 4 years just to remake Prime 1 and retro is too busy with an important game that already got delayed and restarted from scratch,the prime trilogy dont reuse a lot of assets, even samus suits and armors are different in the 3 games

 

[EnergyDrink]

I... would just suggest taking this opportunity to try Metroid Prime 1 again. It's one of the greatest designed games of all-time from beginning to end.

MP3 was designed with a general audience in mind due to Wii audience, so it might be more welcoming but it doesn't reach the heights of the first (imo).

I don't follow the fan discussions about which is the best Prime game.

On a personal note I liked the storytelling and scanning in MP3 and remember it to be relatively varied in gameplay. MP1 felt for me like a 2D action game in 3D, more like Dread. The game focused on the obstacles/bosses and to get better by mastering the controls. MP3 felt more like exploring a strange world.

Anyway. A only graphically overhauled MP1 will not bring a new big audience to buy it. Fans and a nostalgic audience will probably like it, but that will hardly make it a "big" holiday title.

On the other hand I expect that MP4 will be made for a "more general" audience, like MP3. An only graphically changed MP1 could probably scare away the potential audience for MP4. If I played MP1 first I probably never bothered to try MP3.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

would be a better idea to find a woman to promote a game staring a woman

Sigourney Weaver?

 

[ika]

My only petition for Metroid Prime would be compatibility with the GameCube controller… I never really enjoyed the new controls on the Trilogy version.

 

[Crusters]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games ... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

So unless they really reworked MP1 (not just graphics and controls) I don't see it going big in any way.

Fam. Energydrink does not like a game that is highly acclaimed and most of us all like. In fact, he has stated his dislike for this game, while stating his like for an entry with a consensus below the entry he stated dislike for.

We all know and read the rules here.

Prepare the dungeon.

 

[beaglor]

would be a better idea to find a woman to promote a game staring a woman

we need to force-fem john cena

 

[Gengar]

Did anyone specifically say next year for 2/3?

He didn't really say anything specific about their release dates, I was just speculating.

 

[Skies]

I don't follow the fan discussions about which is the best Prime game.

On a personal note I liked the storytelling and scanning in MP3 and remember it to be relatively varied in gameplay. MP1 felt for me like a 2D action game in 3D, more like Dread. The game focused on the obstacles/bosses and to get better by mastering the controls. MP3 felt more like exploring a strange world.

Anyway. A only graphically overhauled MP1 will not bring a new big audience to buy it. Fans and a nostalgic audience will probably like it, but that will hardly make it a "big" holiday title.

On the other hand I expect that MP4 will be made for a "more general" audience, like MP3. An only graphically changed MP1 could probably scare away the potential audience for MP4. If I played MP1 first I probably never bothered to try MP3.

I don't think I follow.

Metroid Prime 3 is much more linear and action focused, on purpose. It's also segmented to multiple planets, instead of a being a true metroidvania like Metroid Prime 1. The hypermode makes MP3 easier in comparison to the other two. It's definitely the closest to Dread in design.

Metroid Prime in comparison is much more exploration focused of the two, with tons of backtracking and environmental learning required to progress. Metroid Prime 3 really got away from that with going to the planet system.

Again, I would suggest retrying MP1 because I think most would agree your impression from the first few hours is nowhere close to the actuality of the product. But I'm glad you liked Metroid Prime 3, I agree that it is an amazing game!

Regarding sales performance, a proper remake of Metroid Prime is a huge deal. It is one of the highest regarded games of all time, has a very large following, and was the previous best selling entry in the series before Dread. The game also holds up extremely well. I personally think the Switch effect will end up pushing into the multiple million seller category easily.

 

[Rooster]

This is not a "big" holiday game, far from it.

Personally I really enjoyed Prime 3 on Wii, bought the triology later to play the first games ... and I played some hours of MP1 and was so bored and disappointed that I never bothered with MP2.

So unless they really reworked MP1 (not just graphics and controls) I don't see it going big in any way.

Gonna be bigger than Bayonetta and Advance Wars, possibly Xenoblade.

It's not Pokemon or Splatoon, but it'll probably do a few mil, which is big enough.

would be a better idea to find a woman to promote a game staring a woman

Almost loops back around to sounding insulting.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

The first Prime is more of an exploration game than action one.

The third one was tailored more to combat.

Weird stance.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

Yeah it's feeling like opposite day here for me too.

I kinda stopped trying to parse it.

 

[Josh5890]

Assuming the rumors are correct, I am really curious to see how 2/3 stands against 1 in remaster/HD form. In a perfect world, I'd love to see all three get the same treatment, but if it means that we will get the trilogy on the Switch sooner than expected then I really can't complain.

 

[Pavolink]

Omg yes! I love all of the Primes.
Although, we already knew about the remaster, so another insider speaking of is always welcome.

Prime 2>Prime 1

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

Prime 2>Prime 1

 

[Dark Cloud]

Omg yes! I love all of the Primes.
Although, we already knew about the remaster, so another insider speaking of is always welcome.

Prime 2>Prime 1

Finally, someone else who realizes 2 is better than 1.

 

[HockeyBird]

Only true Metroid fans have the Metroid Prime Hunters demo but not the Metroid Prime Hunters game.

 

[Dark Cloud]

2 has the better title screen theme to 1 also

 

[Jersh]

He didn't really say anything specific about their release dates, I was just speculating.

My assumption for a while now has been that we'll get 1-4-2-3. While that's not really the sensical order, it's not particularly important for these games. I actually rather doubt both 2 and 3 will come next year regardless of when 4 is ready, as if they've been in production it hasn't been for very long based on rumors from late last year.

Personally, I'm expecting 1-4-2 to go 2022-2023-2024, with 3 coming out anywhere from 2024 to 2026 depending on when 2/3 enter production and how they do it. If they're made at the same time, I could see both in 2024 - especially if they're more simple upscales and potentially sold together. But if they're one after the other, I'd expect 2 to wrap up some time* in 2023 or even 2024 depending on when it starts, and that might just not be enough time to get 3 out the next year. For reference, the CEO of Tantalus claimed that Skyward Sword HD took a year and a half, and it wasn't entirely clear in context if that was the entire development time or a subset (he was talking about how difficult it was to get the controls right just prior). Metroid Prime 2 could likely be done faster than that, but 3 has similar control issues to explore. (As an aside, I'd hope Tantalus is asked to do 2/3 if Retro's not doing them.)

*If 2 wraps up in 2023, I could see a scenario in which it releases then and Prime 4 isn't until 2024. But whenever 4's done, the other games will be moved around it, not the other way around.

Sigourney Weaver?

Brie Larson did a sponsored promotion for Dread, wouldn't be surprised to see her do something similar for Prime 4. She's done other Nintendo ads too.

The game focused on the obstacles/bosses and to get better by mastering the controls. MP3 felt more like exploring a strange world.

These descriptions really feel swapped to me, and based on every opinion I've ever read on the games, everyone else as well. How strange.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

2 has the better title screen theme to 1 also

So many good takes in here ahhh

 

[beaglor]

I like the Corruption title theme best - 2 theme least. About the only thing it did better than the first two games, tho.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

Brie Larson did a sponsored promotion for Dread, wouldn't be surprised to see her do something similar for Prime 4. She's done other Nintendo ads too.

Yeah, but how many Aliens films has she been in?

/s

 

[Jahranimo]

Omg yes! I love all of the Primes.
Although, we already knew about the remaster, so another insider speaking of is always welcome.

Prime 2>Prime 1

Another has seen the light (aether) and is openly willing to admit it.

It's the best of the trilogy!

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

I'm honored to be in the presence of so many chads tonight.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

To me—-

Prime = Prime 2 >>>>>>>Prime 3

 

[Josh5890]

I've only played the first one so Prime 1 is clearly the best one

 

[Instro]

To me—-

Prime = Prime 2 >>>>>>>Prime 3

That's pretty much how I feel. Prime 1 and 2 trade blows, each being better in certain ways than the other. Prime 3 is a good game, but very easily the worst of the bunch.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

To me—-

Prime = Prime 2 >>>>>>>Prime 3

 

[Jersh]

Ah, the Prime 1 vs. Prime 2 debate. A classic. I can't not go with the original Prime, despite having them pretty close on replays, and that's purely based on how different my impressions of my first playthrough were.

My first playthrough of Prime - which was the first Metroid game I played through (after grabbing MPT on Wii U for $10, what a steal) - saw me immediately play through the game again on a higher difficulty going for 100% instead of jumping into 2. I loved it that much, and was admittedly caught off-guard by clearing the game saving the file and making me replay it to get the rest of the collectables. That gameplay loop of getting lost in a world, exploring every bit just to figure out where to go, getting a new power-up that recontextualized the way I could move around the map, and eventually having my new options narrow down until I was lost again was so good.

Unfortunately, I can't be quite as kind to Prime 2, and not for the reasons you usually see. I took no issue with the more difficult encounters and general hostility of Dark Aether. Rather, my problem is with how the critical path was structured. Prime 1 teaches you rather early that when it comes to progression, the entire map is fair game; it feels like you 'clear' the Chozo Ruins at one point, but then you spend 2 seconds in Magmor Caverns and 5 minutes in Phendrana Drifts before getting looped back to the overworld, and then the rest of the game is spent doubling back everywhere and it's obvious that 'clearing' an area isn't really a thing. Progression in Prime 2 feels more defined; you're given a task of collecting energy from 3 areas, and each area is more or less the same deal in how they're gated. Without sequence breaking, getting energy from one area is what takes you to the next. There are only two points in the game before the key hunt that involve back tracking to a previous area.

Which was precisely my problem. When I hit these points - especially the first one - I wandered around the current area for hours, as I figured chances were I missed something; that was always the case earlier in the game, and the first backtracking point doesn't come until you're almost halfway through the game. It's done naturally; unlike Prime 1, you're not looped back to an elevator (that a lot of the time is also a new shortcut). You just get an upgrade, and the only way to make further story progress is to go back the way you came all the way to the overworld (or, in the case of the second time, back to the second area). It doesn't fit in with the way the rest of the game is structured at all imo, and feels like it was done out of obligation of being a Metroid game instead of something that made sense to do. I eventually just looked up where I was supposed to go (which I never do; I immediately turned the hint system off and forgot it existed, which is why I had to look it up lol) and was just left frustrated wondering how I was supposed to think of what the game wanted.

Now, on replay, that's not a big deal, and I've enjoyed the game a lot. But my first playthroughs of Metroid games are usually the most magical, and Prime 2 had those two spots dragging it down big time for me.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

I've only played the first one so Prime 1 is clearly the best one

Most people but unironically:

Ah, the Prime 1 vs. Prime 2 debate. A classic. I can't not go with the original Prime, despite having them pretty close on replays, and that's purely based on how different my impressions of my first playthrough were.

My first playthrough of Prime - which was the first Metroid game I played through (after grabbing MPT on Wii U for $10, what a steal) - saw me immediately play through the game again on a higher difficulty going for 100% instead of jumping into 2. I loved it that much, and was admittedly caught off-guard by clearing the game saving the file and making me replay it to get the rest of the collectables. That gameplay loop of getting lost in a world, exploring every bit just to figure out where to go, getting a new power-up that recontextualized the way I could move around the map, and eventually having my new options narrow down until I was lost again was so good.

Unfortunately, I can't be quite as kind to Prime 2, and not for the reasons you usually see. I took no issue with the more difficult encounters and general hostility of Dark Aether. Rather, my problem is with how the critical path was structured. Prime 1 teaches you rather early that when it comes to progression, the entire map is fair game; it feels like you 'clear' the Chozo Ruins at one point, but then you spend 2 seconds in Magmor Caverns and 5 minutes in Phendrana Drifts before getting looped back to the overworld, and then the rest of the game is spent doubling back everywhere and it's obvious that 'clearing' an area isn't really a thing. Progression in Prime 2 feels more defined; you're given a task of collecting energy from 3 areas, and each area is more or less the same deal in how they're gated. Without sequence breaking, getting energy from one area is what takes you to the next. There are only two points in the game before the key hunt that involve back tracking to a previous area.

Which was precisely my problem. When I hit these points - especially the first one - I wandered around the current area for hours, as I figured chances were I missed something; that was always the case earlier in the game, and the first backtracking point doesn't come until you're almost halfway through the game. It's done naturally; unlike Prime 1, you're not looped back to an elevator (that a lot of the time is also a new shortcut). You just get an upgrade, and the only way to make further story progress is to go back the way you came all the way to the overworld (or, in the case of the second time, back to the second area). It doesn't fit in with the way the rest of the game is structured at all imo, and feels like it was done out of obligation of being a Metroid game instead of something that made sense to do. I eventually just looked up where I was supposed to go (which I never do; I immediately turned the hint system off and forgot it existed, which is why I had to look it up lol) and was just left frustrated wondering how I was supposed to think of what the game wanted.

Now, on replay, that's not a big deal, and I've enjoyed the game a lot. But my first playthroughs of Metroid games are usually the most magical, and Prime 2 had those two spots dragging it down big time for me.

This is actually a pretty understandable take, especially if you were coming straight off Prime 1 and expected more of the same. In hindsight I notice a lot of people tend to praise the hub structure of Prime 2 as reducing a lot of the confusing backtracking, but if you were expecting to need to constantly revisit previous areas a la Prime 1 in a more open format, I can see why you'd be lost as it's not super well sign-posted that it isn't necessary to go any further back than the Great Temple (at least until the key hunt)

 

[Aurc]

You mean you didn't enjoy fighting the same statue eye totem boss 6 times in a row, to the backdrop of screechy arhythmic DS music that could have been straight from Desert Bus?

Played Hunters for the first time last year, myself. I was aghast at how abhorrent it was. Every level amounted to the same lame artifact hunt, the planets were super generic, and devoid of any personality, there's the horrible copy and paste boss fights, and the story is more or less lifted straight from Prime 1. Oof.

I'll stop myself there, since I don't wanna be too much of a hater. Very disappointing game to play in 2021, but I suppose it was more about the multiplayer, to be fair.

 

[Aurc]

Another has seen the light (aether) and is openly willing to admit it.

It's the best of the trilogy!

I just can't dig it. I'd go 1 > 3 > 2. I think Prime 2 suffers heavily from the fact that you're made to tediously keep switching between normal, and Dark Aether. I greatly disliked that mechanic, and thought it didn't suit Metroid very well, personally. I think it would've helped a great deal, if Dark Aether had an even greater level of differentiation from its normal counterpart. I believe I recall reading that was originally the plan, but development couldn't accommodate it.

It's primarily for that reason Echoes is among my least favorite Metroid games, but regardless, the music and lore are as on-point as can be, and Sanctuary Fortress is a serious contender for best level in the Prime subseries, if not Metroid as a whole. It's been a few years since I last played it, so I'm probably going to end up giving it another chance, pretty soon. I do hope it fares better on revisitation, for me. I wanna enjoy it more.