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

ILikeFeet said:
something something game's not even in development!

wonder how the storytelling will be in this. more like 1 or an evolution of 3. I'm honestly hoping for the latter
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Hopefully a mix of both. Isolation with a strong narrative but with only one or threee characters, those being key. Environmental storytelling, but not just in the form of scanning and a few dead bodies like in most of the trilogy but something really present visually all the time. Drive it up to 11.

Also clearly if they re hiring people it clearly means that mp4 hasnt even begun because clearly they need all the 200 people in retro studios at once to make the game.
 
Mr Doggo said:
Hopefully a mix of both. Isolation with a strong narrative but with only one or threee characters, those being key. Environmental storytelling, but not just in the form of scanning and a few dead bodies like in most of the trilogy but something really present visually all the time. Drive it up to 11.

Also clearly if they re hiring people it clearly means that mp4 hasnt even begun because clearly they need all the 200 people in retro studios at once to make the game.
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Isolation with a strong narrative told environmentally and with a small handful of characters would work for me. MP3's "here's a bunch of random military dudes and bounty hunters and a lot of talking for no reason" is a big nope. MP3 has some really high highs in some of its locations and exploration, but the plot and characters really cemented to me that that's not what I want in a Prime game.
 
SammyJ9 said:
Isolation with a strong narrative told environmentally and with a small handful of characters would work for me. MP3's "here's a bunch of random military dudes and bounty hunters and a lot of talking for no reason" is a big nope. MP3 has some really high highs in some of its locations and exploration, but the plot and characters really cemented to me that that's not what I want in a Prime game.
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Im glad you agree with me. I think Prime 1 and 2's narratives are too barebones to work in a modern sense, especially in what (i imagine) will be a very large game, and prime 3 has too much of it if you get me.
 
UnidentifiedRoot said:
Just do what Dread did, it nailed having a pretty good story for a Metroid game while also keeping the isolationists feeling intact.
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It was good for most of the game then the ending portions were complete idiocy, I'm willing to forgive wasting the strongest substance in the galaxy on research bots as a gameplay mechanic but the things with the thoha/mawkin, samus having RB genetics, dead quiet robe bring in control were all silly. Samus still having metroid DNA is also silly going off the ending on fusion
 
I really hope they make 4 like 1 in terms of storytelling. Just throw me on a planet, let me figure out the history of what happened there and leave it at that.

I haven't played Dread, but all other Metroid attempts at making the stories and characters more complicated have been reaaallly bad.
 
They wanted the game to be like Prime 1. Probably is just focused on writing good content for the info we could get from the scanner or this type of content. The game may be more advanced than we think and they still need to make improvements in the writing quality. At least something inside of me wants to believe the game's development is going well.
 
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Unpopular opinion, but I want something closer to Prime 3, story-wise. No, not necessarily a bunch of characters that talk to you, but just something that makes the Metroid universe feel bigger, and more fleshed-out. A few different planets, each with their own intriguing lore.
 
Schlubotipelto said:
I really hope they make 4 like 1 in terms of storytelling. Just throw me on a planet, let me figure out the history of what happened there and leave it at that.

I haven't played Dread, but all other Metroid attempts at making the stories and characters more complicated have been reaaallly bad.
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Because all other attempts have not been execute well. Frankly I was already tired of how they handled it in Prime 1. Dread really didn’t give me much confidence they are going to fix it. If you ask me I want something like the (unofficial) Manga & Prime 3; this series lives in a space setting with an entity called the Galactic Federation, use it. Instead they would rather, presumably, continue this boring trend of keeping the universe a giant tomb where the only things living are plants, animals, corpses, dead civilizations, & Samus.
 
Aurc said:
Unpopular opinion, but I want something closer to Prime 3, story-wise. No, not necessarily a bunch of characters that talk to you, but just something that makes the Metroid universe feel bigger, and more fleshed-out. A few different planets, each with their own intriguing lore.
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I'm actually with you on this.

My main issue with Prime 3 was mainly in the form of how I felt multiple planets made things feel a bit too "unfocused", not so much that we finally had Samus interacting with more folk that could actually interact with her in ways beyond trying to kill her.

Anything to make the galaxy bigger would be welcome. It's funny/sad that Prime Hunters was the last game in the series that actually did that much, with all the characters/races/civilizations it introduced that don't have anything to do with more Chozo stuff.
 
I prefer to take this "mp4 will follow p1" with extreme caution. I dont think a game like p1 would be enough for today's landscape. Yes i think samus will be isolated again, but with all the"perks" i mentioned a few hours before here. Mp4 will take from mp4, not from mp1, mp2 or mp3.
 
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One way I think they could enliven Metroid Prime 4's narrative is to have events happen to the world as you play through the game. This is one thing BOTW lacked, by the way. For me, I enjoyed when you returned to an area and something different happened. One example is visiting the space pirate frigate in Metroid Prime 1's intro, only to retraverse it as it is self-destructs, and then revisiting a submerged version later on in the game. It's the same environment but every time you travel through it it is different and fresh. In Metroid Prime 4 I'd like to see them take it even further and experience the changes as they happen. For example you could commandeer a mining robot and excavate the landscape, revealing a new path, or a dam wall could be destroyed as you fight space pirates on top of it and have the water sweep you away to a now flooded version of somewhere you've previously been. I'd like to be part of the action and events of the story which happen on top of the historical underpinnings, rather than learn about it solely through static ruins and artefacts.
 
Pennington said:
One way I think they could enliven Metroid Prime 4's narrative is to have events happen to the world as you play through the game. This is one thing BOTW lacked, by the way. For me, I enjoyed when you returned to an area and something different happened. One example is visiting the space pirate frigate in Metroid Prime 1's intro, only to retraverse it as it is self-destructs, and then revisiting a submerged version later on in the game. It's the same environment but every time you travel through it it is different and fresh. In Metroid Prime 4 I'd like to see them take it even further and experience the changes as they happen. For example you could commandeer a mining robot and excavate the landscape, revealing a new path, or a dam wall could be destroyed as you fight space pirates on top of it and have the water sweep you away to a now flooded version of somewhere you've previously been. I'd like to be part of the action and events of the story which happen on top of the historical underpinnings, rather than learn about it solely through static ruins and artefacts.
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I love your idea, its what i meant by driving the environmental storytelling by 11. You could do so much story without having a single gameplay stopping cutscene
 
Aurc said:
Unpopular opinion, but I want something closer to Prime 3, story-wise. No, not necessarily a bunch of characters that talk to you, but just something that makes the Metroid universe feel bigger, and more fleshed-out. A few different planets, each with their own intriguing lore.
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This is more popular than unpopular though. Though, this is applied to more than just a series like Metroid from what I’ve seen, but to other games as well from Nintendo.
 
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As some of you may be aware, I am now a dedicated Metroid drawing person on Twitter. Every day, new drawing cause I need to keep myself busy for like 2 minutes a day instead of thinking about Metroid Prime 4.

Here's day two.
 
ProteusRidley said:
As some of you may be aware, I am now a dedicated Metroid drawing person on Twitter. Every day, new drawing cause I need to keep myself busy for like 2 minutes a day instead of thinking about Metroid Prime 4.

Here's day two.
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Nice!
 


Had to jump on the barbie movie train, so did a bonus drawing while I wait for nintendo to answer my prayers regarding more Metroid Prime 4
 
Pennington said:
Metroid Prime 2 was released only 2 years after Metroid Prime. Do you think a sequel to Metroid Prime 4 is on the roadmap? How long would you expect it to take after Metroid Prime 4 releases? I won't like waiting 6 years if that's how long it'll be.
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I have a gut feeling they’ll do more than Prime 4. A potential Prime 5 would take less time.
 
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Pennington said:
Metroid Prime 2 was released only 2 years after Metroid Prime. Do you think a sequel to Metroid Prime 4 is on the roadmap? How long would you expect it to take after Metroid Prime 4 releases? I won't like waiting 6 years if that's how long it'll be.
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It depends if its a sequel like echoes or a sequel like... i dont know, mp4?

If its just a new adventure, we probably can expect it somewhat soon, 3 years maybe? It probably wont be tho.
 
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Pennington said:
Metroid Prime 2 was released only 2 years after Metroid Prime. Do you think a sequel to Metroid Prime 4 is on the roadmap? How long would you expect it to take after Metroid Prime 4 releases? I won't like waiting 6 years if that's how long it'll be.
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I think they will make another Metroid Prime after but if that will be a Prime 5 isnt a safe bet imo even if it is the most probable. They could maybe make a prequel or reimagine a 2D entry to Prime style, all depends on Nintendo’s plans for Prime and Metroid in general

Also if the next game is Prime 5 I expect it to take as long as Retro’s Prime 4 due to game development taking so much longer nowadays and Nintendo treating Prime as a big deal (still the wait should be shorter due to not BNS stuff)
 
Pennington said:
Metroid Prime 2 was released only 2 years after Metroid Prime. Do you think a sequel to Metroid Prime 4 is on the roadmap? How long would you expect it to take after Metroid Prime 4 releases? I won't like waiting 6 years if that's how long it'll be.
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I suspect Prime 4 (which may not actually end up being called Prime 4, but rather, go by a different subtitle) is being developed as the first in a new trilogy, yes. I sincerely doubt the gap between it and the next game will be unbearable, but I suppose it all depends on how well the game does, both critically, and commercially.
 
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My feeling, probably to protect my sanity, is that it'll be akin to the Pikmin 3 scenario. They'll make the best Metroid Prime game they can at the time making use of all the contemporary resources and technology. Then we won't see another one until the state-of-the-art advances to a new standard. So I'm betting we won't see MP5 until VR is commonplace.
 
Pennington said:
My feeling, probably to protect my sanity, is that it'll be akin to the Pikmin 3 scenario. They'll make the best Metroid Prime game they can at the time making use of all the contemporary resources and technology. Then we won't see another one until the state-of-the-art advances to a new standard. So I'm betting we won't see MP5 until VR is commonplace.
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I... dont think they are comparable. I mean i do agree that Retro does give a shit about graphics, but i doubt they care about VR specifically.
 
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Pennington said:
My feeling, probably to protect my sanity, is that it'll be akin to the Pikmin 3 scenario. They'll make the best Metroid Prime game they can at the time making use of all the contemporary resources and technology. Then we won't see another one until the state-of-the-art advances to a new standard. So I'm betting we won't see MP5 until VR is commonplace.
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Prime 4 seems like Nintendo intended it as a big project, they will want to re-use assets if that is the case to profit of the investment made like they did with BOTW 2 . That means new Prime games one way or another, also dont know what else Retro woukd do especially if DK goes back in-house, another chance at a new IP?
 
Pennington said:
My feeling, probably to protect my sanity, is that it'll be akin to the Pikmin 3 scenario. They'll make the best Metroid Prime game they can at the time making use of all the contemporary resources and technology. Then we won't see another one until the state-of-the-art advances to a new standard. So I'm betting we won't see MP5 until VR is commonplace.
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This makes like little sense. Nintendo isn’t holding out for…VR
 
Blue Monty said:
Prime 4 seems like Nintendo intended it as a big project, they will want to re-use assets if that is the case to profit of the investment made like they did with BOTW 2 . That means new Prime games one way or another, also dont know what else Retro woukd do especially if DK goes back in-house, another chance at a new IP?
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Yeah, I think it's safe to say that Nintendo will want Retro to be a reliable factory for Prime for awhile, before they can try their hand at something new.

After nearly a decade without much to show for it, going back to Metroid Prime seemed like a "makes sense" type of thing.
 
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Blue Monty said:
Prime 4 seems like Nintendo intended it as a big project, they will want to re-use assets if that is the case to profit of the investment made like they did with BOTW 2 . That means new Prime games one way or another, also dont know what else Retro woukd do especially if DK goes back in-house, another chance at a new IP?
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I dont think Retro would have gone back to DK even if prime 4 wasnt a thing. They would either have tackled some other ip or yeah, third attempt at a new ip.
 
Blue Monty said:
Would be funny if NLG (under Nintendo) is able to get a new IP out before Retro does ngl
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oh it would be depressing and hilarious. It may happen tho considering these talks that NLG still has another game to release and Retro wont be ''free'' to do something else until like 2024 at least
 
Dark Cloud said:
This makes like little sense. Nintendo isn’t holding out for…VR
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If I were to identify one upcoming technology which is perfect for the first-person, immersive, look-at-the-raindrops-on-your-visor Metroid Prime, it would be Virtual Reality. If VR really does mature to become more than a niche and game companies want to pursue it as the next big thing, wouldn't this make the most sense? Nintendo is known for tying their rationale for new franchise games to new innovations. Otherwise, what would be the impetus to greenlight another Metroid Prime game after MP4? I think the safest bet would be a new gimmick.
 
Blue Monty said:
Prime 4 seems like Nintendo intended it as a big project, they will want to re-use assets if that is the case to profit of the investment made like they did with BOTW 2 . That means new Prime games one way or another, also dont know what else Retro woukd do especially if DK goes back in-house, another chance at a new IP?
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Maybe their investment this time around isn't in-game assets as much as it is a healthy and productive Retro Studios.
 
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Pennington said:
If VR really does mature to become more than a niche and game companies want to pursue it as the next big thing, wouldn't this make the most sense? The safest bet would be a new gimmick.
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Nintendo doesnt chases trends, they re stupidly slow to do certain things. The only thing slower than that is VR growing up to a sizable market, it wont happen anytime soon.

Retro isnt Miyamoto too, you can find gimmicks in the trilogy but they are made to be functional even if sometimes they could have been a little more tuned (hypermode for example). Not only that but MP4 (and any other sequel or spin off) is a game that is mostly going to appeal to the hardcore market so i really cant see them sticking some game breaking gimmick.

Pennington said:
Otherwise, what would be the impetus to greenlight another Metroid Prime game after MP4? I think the safest bet would be a new gimmick.
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Sales and critical acclaim i suppose? MP4 could outmatch any Fire Emblem game by a lot, in sales and in critical acclaim, and we re talking about the biggest of the B-sellers here.
 
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Pennington said:
If I were to identify one upcoming technology which is perfect for the first-person, immersive, look-at-the-raindrops-on-your-visor Metroid Prime, it would be Virtual Reality. If VR really does mature to become more than a niche and game companies want to pursue it as the next big thing, wouldn't this make the most sense? Nintendo is known for tying their rationale for new franchise games to new innovations. Otherwise, what would be the impetus to greenlight another Metroid Prime game after MP4? I think the safest bet would be a new gimmick.
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I'm a very big fan of VR, but I highly doubt Nintendo is going to hold ANY game back for it and I really don't want them to. I don't think Nintendo would make a good VR system anyways. The vast majority of their library is third person.
 
Pennington said:
Metroid Prime 2 was released only 2 years after Metroid Prime. Do you think a sequel to Metroid Prime 4 is on the roadmap? How long would you expect it to take after Metroid Prime 4 releases? I won't like waiting 6 years if that's how long it'll be.
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Not only was it made in two years, but Retro was about 40 people back then. We live in a world where AAA sequels can take 5 years or more with teams 10 times that size... Look at BotW and God of War Ragnarok.
 
Mr Doggo said:
i think retro had 60 people at that time but yeah. Quite crazy really.
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40 full time employees, the rest were contractors apparently. This was from the mouth of one of the devs who said as much on Era. Either way, pretty impressive! It's crazy how much game development has changed since then.
 
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