Pre-Release Metroid Prime 4: Pre-Release Discussion Thread

[Mr Doggo]

Well we've never seen what Sylux looks like under the armor and the varia suit has been consistent in every prime game except for the original.

Granted, retro didn't design sylux to begin with

do you really think nlg could have afforded to redesign him in ff lmao, that game's budget was two cents!

Memes aside, it would not have made sense to redesign his ugly ship in corruption considering he appears for 2 seconds in the game. And FF was just a very stagnant low budget mess that had no ambition whatsoever. They would never try redesigning anything. Not to mention they were doing a spin off, which would have to follow in the directives of the studio making the... main game. Y know, like NST did with Hunters.

Sylux wasn't even the coolest-looking bounty hunter in Hunters, so I'm not sure what exactly Tanabe sees in the character that he hasn't shared with the rest of the class.

We also have to remember that tanabe isnt a writer. He is probably closer to a budget miyamoto.

he's a blank slate.

But this is the reason i believe he was chosen. None of the hunters had any personality ofc, and design isnt something that will matter since that will also be changed. They just wanted a blank slate to write on.

 

[OctoSplattack]

He is probably closer to a budget miyamoto.

"Mom, can we buy a Miyamoto game?"
"No kids, we have a Miyamoto game at home."

But this is the reason i believe he was chosen. None of the hunters had any personality ofc, and design isnt something that will matter since that will also be changed. They just wanted a blank slate to write on.

Fair enough, I suppose. It just a little disappointing that "Slyux returns" is still the only concrete detail we know about the game -- because who the heck knows if that time travel mechanic Tanabe was talking about will be there -- and that piece of information means nothing because he's such a blank character at this point. Doesn't bother me too much, mind you. Just something that makes me go "eh, okay" when I think about it.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Amazon cancelled my Metroid Prime 4 preorder from 2018 when they did deep discounts on preorders as part of a predatory pricing thing. I think the preorder cost was $48.

RIP.


Anyway pretty wild that we're more than 6 years after announcement and the total sum of details we have are:

-Designed by Retro Studios
-Is in first person

 

[Joe]

I'm getting increasingly nervous that we're not going to see it in September.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I'm getting increasingly nervous that we're not going to see it in September.

I've resigned to not seeing the game until Drake reveal

 

[OctoSplattack]

This is the first year where I've actually been a bit antsy about seeing it. February tided me over with Metroid Prime Remastered, I currently have my grand love of Pikmin distracting me for the summer, but September? I don't care if they just give us a vague 2024 release date, please just give us a bit of gameplay. Or distract us once more with Metroid Prime 2+3. Or both. Both is good.

 

[Aurc]

I'm getting increasingly nervous that we're not going to see it in September.

We may not. It really depends on whether based Retro Studios still needs more time, which is totally a possibility. Grubb's rumor about Metroid Prime 2 Remastered is pure hype fuel for me. I'd rather keep waiting on Prime 4, if it means we'll be getting remasters of 2 and 3 in the meantime. I can continue to be patient. Retro are acting on behalf of god, after all. I'm not gonna question their process. All I can do is trust it.

 

[Zeal543]

I'm getting increasingly nervous that we're not going to see it in September.

Good then it's all but confirmed crossgen

 

[Dark Cloud]

I just can’t wait to see it. To see a MODERN Retro game. Haven’t seen that since 2014. An actual brand new game with a new crew of people.

 

[Joe]

Good then it's all but confirmed crossgen

I've been on Team Switch Exclusive for a while now but if we don't see it in September then I am fully ready to admit it will be crossgen.

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

I think people need to stop expecting/hoping for good plots out of metroid games (and zelda as well for that matter), the best you can get is some decent lore and worldbuilding with the prime games. Nintendo's classic games aren't built for that, only xenoblade (and maybe FE I don't play that series) have stories worth a crap (mother 3 was pretty good too).

ah, the simple story = bad story argument my favorite. your options is yours but I loved the story Metroid especially zero mission - Dread

 

[Zeal543]

ah, the simple story = bad story argument my favorite. your options is yours but I loved the story Metroid especially zero mission - Dread

Dread has less than an hour worth of story and it's astonishing how much plot inconsistency/idiocy they managed to fit in that timespan

 

[Mr Doggo]

This is the first year where I've actually been a bit antsy about seeing it. February tided me over with Metroid Prime Remastered, I currently have my grand love of Pikmin distracting me for the summer, but September? I don't care if they just give us a vague 2024 release date, please just give us a bit of gameplay. Or distract us once more with Metroid Prime 2+3. Or both. Both is good.

Agreed. 2023 feels like the first year where we may be able to finally get a peek at MP4, any direct now, its great. Buuut if MP2R really is happening that probably means that...

I've resigned to not seeing the game until Drake reveal

...this is happening lol.

No matter what, mp4 will be legendary. Have we ever gotten a nintendo game that took like over 6 years (and counting) from announcement to actual first trailer before?

 

[MetalLord]

Agreed. 2023 feels like the first year where we may be able to finally get a peek at MP4, any direct now, its great. Buuut if MP2R really is happening that probably means that...

...this is happening lol.

No matter what, mp4 will be legendary. Have we ever gotten a nintendo game that took like over 6 years (and counting) from announcement to actual first trailer before?

literally last week

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

Dread has less than an hour worth of story and it's astonishing how much plot inconsistency/idiocy they managed to fit in that timespan

k, i don't care bird dad and Metroid powers too cool

 

[Mr Doggo]

literally last week

lmaoooo i literally blacked out rn. Yeah

 

[Dark Cloud]

Dread has less than an hour worth of story and it's astonishing how much plot inconsistency/idiocy they managed to fit in that timespan

I think that’s a Nintendo thing. Nintendo’s “stories” get exaggerated by fans.

 

[Aurc]

Dread has less than an hour worth of story and it's astonishing how much plot inconsistency/idiocy they managed to fit in that timespan

I think Dread's story was overall okay, but I absolutely agree that, at times, the idiocy truly was "astonishing". It kinda squanders a lot of cool lore potential.

• Featuring a living, non-hostile Chozo for the very first time in series history, of Samus's tribe, lead scientist on the Metroid project, SR388's last survivor, and having him spew a couple minutes worth of exposition before killing him off at the hands of a random generic robot enemy.
  
  
• Having it be a plot point that Raven Beak was working to "contain" an X pandemic on ZDR (how would he do that? Fusion shows us the X Parasites are capable of flooding large areas within minutes?), and in that timeframe, Samus went through literally every adventure between Metroid 1 and 5, including the Prime games. Ridiculous. What was Raven Beak supposed to be doing that whole time? Why didn't he just go back to SR388 with Quiet Robe and retrieve / pacify at least one Metroid?
  
  
• "I am your father"
  
  
• The implication that Samus can only use her Arm Cannon because of Raven Beak's genes.

I do like Dread a lot, but I have some clear issues with it. The writing is camp, man. Please give us a better narrative, Retro.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I just can’t wait to see it. To see a MODERN Retro game. Haven’t seen that since 2014. An actual brand new game with a new crew of people.

New and old people haha. Best of both worlds

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

I do like Dread a lot, but I have some clear issues with it. The writing is camp, man. Please give us a better narrative, Retro.

some of the best narratives of all time are camp, in fact, I hope prime 4 narrative take ques from shonen anime

 

[Aurc]

some of the best narratives of all time are camp, in fact, I hope prime 4 narrative take ques from shonen anime

If that means Samus is gonna be extremely cool and powerful, I can dig it

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

If that means Samus is gonna be extremely cool and powerful, I can dig it

give Samus and Sylux a buu saga Goku/Vegeta dynamic where Sulux is a salty bitch about how much cooler Samus is then him

 

[BozPaggs]

I don't think it'll be cross-gen release, I think it'll be a switch game with the potential for a next-gen update (possibly paid)

*unless 2witch is out before May

 

[Marce-chan]

It's almost guaranteed that Samus is gonna be voice acted(I think it can be Jennifer Hale again since she voiced her in the trilogy and is the most prolific gaming actress ever), but will an actress serve as face model for her?

I think the face design in Metroid Prime Remastered is really beautiful and faithful to the original, but I wonder if they'll go for either more realistic as in actually chapter from an actress (like Lara Croft in the reboot trilogy) or if they'll go for an stylized realistic look like that if Other M and MPR.

Also who do you think would be the face/mocap and VA of her? I think that it's possible that they go for a well known actress to further promote and market the game. Nintendo isn't really allergic to this stuff as we tend to think, with Pauline/Jump Up Super Star having lyrics and live presentations in Odyssey being the most recent example I can think of. Other M live action commercial too? I think the actress that did that would be a great Samus.

 

[BozPaggs]

It's almost guaranteed that Samus is gonna be voice acted(I think it can be Jennifer Hale again since she voiced her in the trilogy and is the most prolific gaming actress ever), but will an actress serve as face model for her?

I think the face design in Metroid Prime Remastered is really beautiful and faithful to the original, but I wonder if they'll go for either more realistic as in actually chapter from an actress (like Lara Croft in the reboot trilogy) or if they'll go for an stylized realistic look like that if Other M and MPR.

Also who do you think would be the face/mocap and VA of her? I think that it's possible that they go for a well known actress to further promote and market the game. Nintendo isn't really allergic to this stuff as we tend to think, with Pauline/Jump Up Super Star having lyrics and live presentations in Odyssey being the most recent example I can think of. Other M live action commercial too? I think the actress that did that would be a great Samus.

Part of me wants nothing more than Sigourney for the voice just because, but I think for face/mocap and voice Elizabeth Debicki would be a good fit, same height as Samus too (not that height makes a difference, just a fun bonus)

 

[Marce-chan]

Part of me wants nothing more than Sigourney for the voice just because, but I think for face/mocap and voice Elizabeth Debicki would be a good fit, same height as Samus too (not that height makes a difference, just a fun bonus)

I would definitely love either scenario!!

I was just thinking here about Emma Darcy. In some of the scenes in House of the Dragon, they look a lot like what I think would be Retro's vision of Samus face considering the model in MPR. Also they're at their peak with Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, one of the biggest shows of 2022 and everything.

Spoiler

 

[BozPaggs]

I would definitely love either scenario!!

I was just thinking here about Emma Darcy. In some of the scenes in House of the Dragon, they look a lot like what I think would be Retro's vision of Samus face considering the model in MPR. Also they're at their peak with Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, one of the biggest shows of 2022 and everything.

Spoiler

Good shout! As long as Samus kicks back with a space negroni in the 100% ending

 

[Supreme Overlord]

i'll just say this: i think its bizarre that people actually expect retro to not change everything about sylux's design considering that each prime game has changed samus's face.

Like, what.

One should hope they would -- it's kind of what Sylux has for recognizability, but that doesn't mean it'll make people recognize it -- though that's not going to do much as regards making Sylux interesting, or what role this hunter might actually play.

do you really think nlg could have afforded to redesign him in ff lmao, that game's budget was two cents!

Memes aside, it would not have made sense to redesign his ugly ship in corruption considering he appears for 2 seconds in the game. And FF was just a very stagnant low budget mess that had no ambition whatsoever. They would never try redesigning anything. Not to mention they were doing a spin off, which would have to follow in the directives of the studio making the... main game. Y know, like NST did with Hunters.

I maintain those appearances are kind of pointless, not really adding anything for what they're meant to tease; they're dead weight from a storytelling perspective.

We also have to remember that tanabe isnt a writer. He is probably closer to a budget miyamoto.

He seems to be calling the shots on this regardless, to build to the vision he's developed. One doesn't have to be a writer to say, "hey, add a stinger of this character doing a vaguely menacing thing." In fact, being a writer might help with restraint in that area.

Well we've never seen what Sylux looks like under the armor and the varia suit has been consistent in every prime game except for the original

Ah, I've got you.
Sylux's face has already been changing in every appearance. Clever.

some of the best narratives of all time are camp, in fact, I hope prime 4 narrative take ques from shonen anime

And some of the best are also not.
Why are you hoping it takes from shonen in particular? I don't really get the appeal of patterning Metroid as such. Though some might argue Prime is just a filler arc anyway.
In some ways, it almost seems Tanabe's Metroid has begun to trend something akin to that way as is, and it's part of what makes me wary

 

[VorpalNonsense]

I long for the day when I never have to read Sylux's name again

 

[Dark Cloud]

Sylux is a blank state. He can be molded. To me that’s a good thing.

 

[Aurc]

Sylux is a blank state. He can be molded. To me that’s a good thing.

She can fix him?

 

[Mr Doggo]

He seems to be calling the shots on this regardless, to build to the vision he's developed. One doesn't have to be a writer to say, "hey, add a stinger of this character doing a vaguely menacing thing." In fact, being a writer might help with restraint in that area.

When seeing the interviews with kiwi talkz i never really got this at all. They didn't talk as being ordered around, that was never Nintendo's approach, their approach with Retro was always to offer and see if they take it. Of course, i believe Nintendo created a rough draft of what the story should be, but they didn't fill it. Point A to Z, now you fill it.

I

One should hope they would -- it's kind of what Sylux has for recognizability

I need to ask one question: what recognizability? It would not be far fetched to say that the vast majority of metroid fans has no idea of who he is.

some of the best narratives of all time are camp, in fact, I hope prime 4 narrative take ques from shonen anime

no.

Sylux is a blank state. He can be molded. To me that’s a good thing.

preach.

She can fix him?

lmao

 

[AngryAlchemist]

some of the best narratives of all time are camp, in fact, I hope prime 4 narrative take ques from shonen anime

Me and the squad on our way to hunt some Metroids n' shit Canonically just X-parasites now

 

[MrBones]

What if Samus and Sylux turns into a love story?

#TrustTheProcsss

 

[Aurc]

What if Samus and Sylux turns into a love story?

#TrustTheProcsss

Alright, this is a process I cannot trust. Sylux is a Jim Bob.

 

[Mr Doggo]

What if Samus and Sylux turns into a love story?

#TrustTheProcsss

no because sylux needs to be gay we need some hot male alien fanart for metroid smh

 

[Giancarlo]

She IS a lovely person, gave many interviews to metroid fans, talked about it on social media, even allowed to be credited on am2r (which had to be removed lol)

Samus will certainly not speak for hours, but i def domt expect her to talk only in one cinematic in the whole game. Considering mp4 will (most likely) be a much larger and longer gwme than dread, that could not happen. And retro' samus is more subdued than 2d samus, tbh.


Doubt, they will probably go for a famous american va or actress, as the game's main audience is the us, lol. Nikki might return in spanish, as mentioned.

Jessica Hale might be a possibility as well, but they might get a younger actress.

when i refer to cinematics ans Samus talking or not on it, is the possibilty of her only speaking in crucial cinematics of the game, not speak all the time, like they did in Other M, make her speak in the begining of the game, when she meet Sylux, when she confrot Slylux and at the end or in some plot twist moment, Retro Samus is more subd

Sylux is a blank state. He can be molded. To me that’s a good thing.

yes, Retro Studios/Nintendo can write him as a dark reflection of Samus or a anti-hero, he/she discoverd all the Galactic Federation darker secrets and show they are not a fully atrutic instuition.

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

$20 sylux is a failed Samus clone by the federation

 

[Mr Doggo]

$20 sylux is a failed Samus clone by the federation

you be quiet this moment or so help me God >: (

 

[OctoSplattack]

$20 sylux is a failed Samus clone by the federation

He hates the Federation because his version of the Morph Ball turns him into a cube.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Just give Samus a Portal gun

 

[BozPaggs]

Just give Samus a Portal gun

As long as we get Sylux singing Still Alive during the credits I'm all for it

 

[Mr Doggo]

As long as we get Sylux singing Still Alive during the credits I'm all for it

(want you gone is miles better)

 

[BozPaggs]

(want you gone is miles better)

agreed but contextually they're both bangers

 

[Aurc]

I have something to tell Seth Rogen.

 

[Marce-chan]

I have something to tell Seth Rogen.

With the amount of US propaganda that DC and Marvel make, I think Seth is super based in fearing their process.


Also please Seth be the voice of Sylux. Or maybe a brand new character that's an introvert nerd which is Samus best friend. I mean if they mean for Sylux to be someone you fear.

 

[lemonfresh]

#trusttheprocess

 

[AllEchse]

Good then it's all but confirmed crossgen

What would even be the difference between crossgen and a Switch release?
I feel like that's more of a spectrum.
It's build for the Switch first, so if anything it's only gonna have a few enhancements.
If the next console is backwards compatible then it might aswell be just a patch or the game on the cartridge already just loading different performance settings depending on the hardware.
Or does crossgen mean there has to be another game case on the shelf has to have the Switch 2 logo on it?
Cause I don't feel like there's gonna be much of a difference.

 

[Zeal543]

What would even be the difference between crossgen and a Switch release?
I feel like that's more of a spectrum.
It's build for the Switch first, so if anything it's only gonna have a few enhancements.
If the next console is backwards compatible then it might aswell be just a patch or the game on the cartridge already just loading different performance settings depending on the hardware.
Or does crossgen mean there has to be another game case on the shelf has to have the Switch 2 logo on it?
Cause I don't feel like there's gonna be much of a difference.

My hope is there will be more active enhancements for switch 2 if it's made as a crossgen game vs just for the switch, in particular I'm not confident the game will be a solid 60fps on base switch

 

[AllEchse]

My hope is there will be more active enhancements for switch 2 if it's made as a crossgen game vs just for the switch, in particular I'm not confident the game will be a solid 60fps on base switch

We'll see about the framerate.
MP Remastered is like the best looking Switxh game and runs at 60 fps, depending on which direction they take with the size of the levels I could see it still happen.
With the new game they also don't have to work on adapting 20 year old code to run on the Switch.
I could see it running at a lower framerate if it was a downport to Switch, but it isn't, and I'm not sure if it would look good if the Prime 1 remaster ran smoother, even if Prime 4 may have bigger areas.

Outside of framerate I don't see them being able to do much?

Maybe something unnecessary like raytraced reflections or something. But nothing that doesn't feel like it was tacked on after the fact. So I don't get the excitement, especially because we havent seen anything of the game yet