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

Wow, that company's CEO sucks ass, lol.

Just constant transphobia.

I don't understand the point of being an extremely online asshole when your entire company is based upon multinational corporations hiring you to do grunt work.
 
 
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Where's the evidence that this company is working on Prime 4 and the CEO transphobia, people should post evidence quite frankly.

What do you mean people online can just post made up shit without any sources?? No one would do that, would they. 🤔
 
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wonder if they're going to add in any bounty hunter side mission stuff like what was originally planned for prime 3, or if we're going to get a prime hunters multiplayer mode
 
They could go in any direction at this point, no real info.

I don't think they should feel the need to have to stick with any previous lore though.
could you elaborate, please? I got curious by what you meant.
wonder if they're going to add in any bounty hunter side mission stuff like what was originally planned for prime 3, or if we're going to get a prime hunters multiplayer mode
I def think and hope so. I think there is so much to be gained :)

... Tho... get some good designers on those side quests smh. I dont want them to go full BOTW mode (sidequests are easily the weakest point of botw i swear, they re like early bethesda quests but the whole game is like that)

Retro has a Cinematics and Narrative Producer I just saw. Did anyone else see this before?
I think so. I dont have much to add here other than saying how quality the cinematics in the game will be :)
 
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I'm saying Metroid Prime 4 shouldn't feel the need to stick to previously established factions or characters for side missions, multiplayer, plot etc.

It hasn't been super compelling.

They could do a multiplayer mode that is just 16 clones of Samus in a simulation and that itself would be fine, lol.
 
They could go in any direction at this point, no real info.

I don't think they should feel the need to have to stick with any previous lore though.
I consider the lore to be pretty absolute. Were they to break it, I'd be disappointed. I don't think Samus being an actual bounty hunter breaks any existing lore, though. Her going after high value Space Pirate commanders and such would be in line with her character.
 
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I'm saying Metroid Prime 4 shouldn't feel the need to stick to previously established factions or characters for side missions, multiplayer, plot etc.

It hasn't been super compelling.

They could do a multiplayer mode that is just 16 clones of Samus in a simulation and that itself would be fine, lol.
Ah, i very much agree, id be super happy if mp4 went all new and just threw the pirates away. They re not very interesting.

Hunters despite how not important it was to consumers seems to be playing a lot in metroid prime, so i could totally imagine the lore introduced there being massively expanded in mp4.

As for the multiplayer mode, i dont care about how absurd it is as long as there is an explanation. It being a silly simulation would be perfect for me, its a very decent explanation already.
 
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I'd only want multiplayer if it was done by an outside studio. Retro needs to make sure the single player is spectacular first and foremost.
i agree, for once. While there are signs pointing that mp4 is going to have some online presence (like hiring a cod multiplayer designer among a few other people) i dont think that implies it having an outright multiplayer mode, at least not one made by retro.
 
I'd only want multiplayer if it was done by an outside studio. Retro needs to make sure the single player is spectacular first and foremost.

i agree, for once. While there are signs pointing that mp4 is going to have some online presence (like hiring a cod multiplayer designer among a few other people) i dont think that implies it having an outright multiplayer mode, at least not one made by retro.
I still think that if multiplayer, or any type of segment of the game that involves "player interactions" shows up at all, it's not likely going to be a typical deathmatch or hero-shooter affair. For better or worse, I'd say that Splatoon being as successful as it is means that the pressure is off Metroid Prime to vie for a similar niche, or Nintendo trying to make into a "Halokiller" again.

That'd free them up to do anything from Souls-like invasions, or maybe something even more unique that nobody's thought up.
 
I still think that if multiplayer, or any type of segment of the game that involves "player interactions" shows up at all, it's not likely going to be a typical deathmatch or hero-shooter affair. For better or worse, I'd say that Splatoon being as successful as it is means that the pressure is off Metroid Prime to vie for a similar niche, or Nintendo trying to make into a "Halokiller" again.

That'd free them up to do anything from Souls-like invasions, or maybe something even more unique that nobody's thought up.
i dont think i ever wanted a typical deathmatch again, or thought that was happening tbh.

I dont think it has much to do with splatoon, more like that those things are a thing from the past.
 
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Lately I've been trying to guess what the major new feature in this will be. Are there any interesting FPS mechanics you think will or should be borrowed / innovated on in MP4?

My wild guess is some kind of titanfall-esc giant robot section. Something like sections where you traverse an area twice on two different size scales.
 
I still think that if multiplayer, or any type of segment of the game that involves "player interactions" shows up at all, it's not likely going to be a typical deathmatch or hero-shooter affair. For better or worse, I'd say that Splatoon being as successful as it is means that the pressure is off Metroid Prime to vie for a similar niche, or Nintendo trying to make into a "Halokiller" again.

That'd free them up to do anything from Souls-like invasions, or maybe something even more unique that nobody's thought up.

Would never happen but I'd love something really off the wall like what they were going for in Metroid tactics but have it be a vs mode, or somehow iterate on Pinball to allow for some sort of multiplayer. Or just make a sequel to Marble Madness where you are racing to the finish through obstacles in ball form. You could even use boostball for more speed and to defeat enemies, and spiderball to cross gaps and climb up stuff, etc.

Lately I've been trying to guess what the major new feature in this will be. Are there any interesting FPS mechanics you think will or should be borrowed / innovated on in MP4?

My wild guess is some kind of titanfall-esc giant robot section. Something like sections where you traverse an area twice on two different size scales.

Probably time travel stuff, as Tanabe hinted about it in the past. Hopefully they implement it in more interesting ways than the Light/Dark world in Echoes.
 
I'd only want multiplayer if it was done by an outside studio. Retro needs to make sure the single player is spectacular first and foremost.
It would be pretty cool if NST came back to do Metroid Prime 4 multiplayer deathmatch after they did Prime Hunters. Next Level Games also has Metroid Prime multiplayer experience so they could totally do multiplayer stuff for Prime 4 too.
 
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Lately I've been trying to guess what the major new feature in this will be. Are there any interesting FPS mechanics you think will or should be borrowed / innovated on in MP4?

My wild guess is some kind of titanfall-esc giant robot section. Something like sections where you traverse an area twice on two different size scales.

I hope very much that they implement gyro aiming, particularly if scanning continues to be a core part of the exploration.

I would also like to see interaction with the environment be a little more consistently applied, such that it is more materials-based than being entirely reliant on specifically placed props. For instance, if i get a morphball that lets me climb metal surfaces, then I should be able to use it more places and on more surfaces than just those that were very specifically placed there as part of a puzzle. For me, the end goal here would be to allow more exploration of abilities/spaces and a reduction in puzzle signposting - which really trivialises most puzzles when you know what texture/object to look for.
 
Lately I've been trying to guess what the major new feature in this will be. Are there any interesting FPS mechanics you think will or should be borrowed / innovated on in MP4?

My wild guess is some kind of titanfall-esc giant robot section. Something like sections where you traverse an area twice on two different size scales.
Arkane games really remind me of Metroid, so they could ape some shit from Dishonored and Prey. especially Prey with its more sandboxy environments and nonlinearity
 
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Metroid as a series is mostly linear except if you reach like the 99.8th percentile or better in terms of skill.

I think you could do a non-linear Metroid game with soft gating (eg, you can go to a Metroid infested area without the ice beam or a fire area without the Varia Suit but it will be much harder. This is different from hard gating where you just can't get to an area without the super missiles or something), but it's honestly pretty hard to do soft gating with things other than combat.

I really haven't seen a game that has done soft gating of platforming well. I think having fire areas that you have to go through more quickly without the Varia suit could actually be platforming soft gating done well, but it's hard to come up with too many other examples.

I do think soft gating would be a lot more compelling to both hardcore fans and general audiences, but it's extremely hard to do.
 
they could always skip the tool based gating and go for something more like Breath of the Wild where you're not limited by your tools but how well you can play. like in BotW, you can run up to the final boss (almost) right after starting the game and beat it if you're good enough. no-hit runs are a thing in Metroid so it makes sense from a design perspective
 
Metroid as a series is mostly linear except if you reach like the 99.8th percentile or better in terms of skill.

I think you could do a non-linear Metroid game with soft gating (eg, you can go to a Metroid infested area without the ice beam or a fire area without the Varia Suit but it will be much harder. This is different from hard gating where you just can't get to an area without the super missiles or something), but it's honestly pretty hard to do soft gating with things other than combat.

I really haven't seen a game that has done soft gating of platforming well. I think having fire areas that you have to go through more quickly without the Varia suit could actually be platforming soft gating done well, but it's hard to come up with too many other examples.

I do think soft gating would be a lot more compelling to both hardcore fans and general audiences, but it's extremely hard to do.
they could always skip the tool based gating and go for something more like Breath of the Wild where you're not limited by your tools but how well you can play. like in BotW, you can run up to the final boss (almost) right after starting the game and beat it if you're good enough. no-hit runs are a thing in Metroid so it makes sense from a design perspective
Zero Mission and Dread actually do have a lot of soft gating even if there is still a lot of hard gating. For ZM, you can do Ridley before Kraid if you know the secret passages of Norfair, or do 80% of the game without the long beam if you find the hidden shortcut in Brinstar. Dread also has a lot of intended skips behind speed booster puzzles, such as Gravity (and thus Screw Attack) right after Ice Missiles. I think if Metroid were to forgo hard-gating altogether in favor of a BotW-esque structure, getting to the final boss rather than the final fight itself should be the big challenge that's assuaged by main story progression imo. There could be a game-spanning navigational test of finding hidden pathways, where upgrades exist more to give you a better QoL while exploring, similar to how clearing the Divine Beasts made the final boss easier. Honestly the more I think of this the more I really want it
 
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they could always skip the tool based gating and go for something more like Breath of the Wild where you're not limited by your tools but how well you can play. like in BotW, you can run up to the final boss (almost) right after starting the game and beat it if you're good enough. no-hit runs are a thing in Metroid so it makes sense from a design perspective

Yeah, that's also extremely hard to do with platforming, lol.

If this game isn't an action platformer and is just a Metroidy/open-world take on DOOM Eternal, then this could work, but platforming gating is extremely hard to do well whether skill based or tool based and every Metroid game except Hunters, Federation Force, and Pinball has been an action platformer instead of just an action game.
 
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It would be pretty cool if NST came back to do Metroid Prime 4 multiplayer deathmatch after they did Prime Hunters. Next Level Games also has Metroid Prime multiplayer experience so they could totally do multiplayer stuff for Prime 4 too.

I've wondered if NLG is possibly doing some support work on Prime 4 since they do have some experience, similar to how Monster Games provided support on TF.
 
I should bring up that probably the best soft skill-based gating in platforming is probably wall jumping in Super Metroid so there is some precedent there.

But I still would assume >95% of people who beat Super Metroid did not learn how to wall jump except maybe in the area where you're taught how to wall jump.
 
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I actually do believe NLG is providing some support in some capacity.
me too. I think all the western studios are giving a hand. NST, NLG, etc.
I've wondered if NLG is possibly doing some support work on Prime 4 since they do have some experience, similar to how Monster Games provided support on TF.
but not on multiplayer lol, ff sucks. I was thinking more like art support and the like.
 
me too. I think all the western studios are giving a hand. NST, NLG, etc.

but not on multiplayer lol, ff sucks. I was thinking more like art support and the like.

I wonder though, at this point, how much bandwidth NLG has. After releasing their "smaller" project (Strikers Charged), the vast majority of their team is now probably hard at work on Bryce Holliday's next game.
 
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Probably time travel stuff, as Tanabe hinted about it in the past. Hopefully they implement it in more interesting ways than the Light/Dark world in Echoes.
Considering Tanabe was involved with both LTTP as well as OoT, I'm sure there's probably some leftover ideas from those games that he could probably mine for ideas, not to mention whatever Retro themselves might bring to the table.

The main thing I hope is that it's not simply another excuse for a "dual world" mechanic. If we're going to be screwing with timelines, and Sylux ends up being something akin to Metroid's answer to a "Hero of Time" figure with a darker twist, let's go balls to the walls with the idea.
 
I think it'd be interesting if the Prime series officially ended up amounting to a divergent timeline, with this Samus never sent on her mission to eradicate the Metroids on SR388. As a result, there is no infant Metroid, the X Parasites never see a resurgence, Samus is not administered the Metroid vaccine, and Raven Beak is successful in making a second expedition to SR388, fulfilling his plans in using Metroids to establish a galaxy-spanning dystopia.

It would free the Prime series from many constraints of continuity and timeline adherence, while still enabling Retro to explore an alternate, darker reality where Raven Beak's plans actually came to fruition, should they so choose. The inverse of the 2D saga, where instead of Metroids being effectively extinct, they're horrifically ubiquitous.

I'm just spitballing. I have near total confidence that it won't end up anything like this. Fun to think about, though.
 
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Considering Tanabe was involved with both LTTP as well as OoT, I'm sure there's probably some leftover ideas from those games that he could probably mine for ideas, not to mention whatever Retro themselves might bring to the table.

The main thing I hope is that it's not simply another excuse for a "dual world" mechanic. If we're going to be screwing with timelines, and Sylux ends up being something akin to Metroid's answer to a "Hero of Time" figure with a darker twist, let's go balls to the walls with the idea.
My take on the subject is: If mp4 does feature some kind of time mechanic it will be so well developed we wont be calling it a gimmick, because for the audience the game is aiming its difficult to really do any sort of gimmick. BOTW didn't have any main one for example, you didn't have to go to the past to do something.

That aside, i hope Retro told Tanabe very kindly that this idea is stupid and they should not do it as time travel always leads to BS.
(tho again i dont really believe it will work as a gimmick)
I think it'd be interesting if the Prime series officially ended up amounting to a divergent timeline, with this Samus never sent on her mission to eradicate the Metroids on SR388. As a result, there is no infant Metroid, the X Parasites never see a resurgence, Samus is not administered the Metroid vaccine, and Raven Beak is successful in making a second expedition to SR388, fulfilling his plans in using Metroids to establish a galaxy-spanning apocalypse.

It would free the Prime series from many constraints of continuity and timeline adherence, while still enabling Retro to explore an alternate, darker reality where Raven Beak's plans actually came to fruition, should they so choose. The inverse of the 2D saga, where instead of Metroids being effectively extinct, they're horrifically ubiquitous.

I'm just spitballing. I have near total confidence that it won't end up anything like this. Fun to think about, though.
I cant believe someone agrees with me! I think the idea of using Prime 4 as some kind of set up for SR is absurd for many reasons

The prime series is the most popular and acclaimed part of the franchise, it shouldn't serve as some kind of stool for the 2D games like a few fans keep saying recently. It's not that the trilogy didn't have things that added to the overall narrative ofc, but it wasnt the focus; Phazon was. And it was much more interesting than Metroids.

With that said, i dont think that will happen, it might have a few things that could be used to point to SR but it will be a original story of course, keeping the prime tradition of going much deeper in the overall metroid universe.
 
I cant believe someone agrees with me! I think the idea of using Prime 4 as some kind of set up for SR is absurd for many reasons

The prime series is the most popular and acclaimed part of the franchise, it shouldn't serve as some kind of stool for the 2D games like a few fans keep saying recently. It's not that the trilogy didn't have things that added to the overall narrative ofc, but it wasnt the focus; Phazon was. And it was much more interesting than Metroids.

With that said, i dont think that will happen, it might have a few things that could be used to point to SR but it will be a original story of course, keeping the prime tradition of going much deeper in the overall metroid universe.
You may hate this, but I also view the idea of the next couple Prime games leading into the events of Metroid 2 to be equally as compelling, haha. Samus going from the events of 1, straight into the genocide of an entire species in 2 makes little sense to me, if you only take into account the 2D saga. I think the Prime games serve a purpose of painting a more gradual picture of what occurred. That being, a series of escalating galactic crises involving Metroids at the forefront, rather than the events on Zebes serving as the primary catalyst for their demise. The Federation's last resort, rather than an initial measure rooted in panic.

Ultimately, I think there's a lot they can do with Prime 4 that will either add further texture to the overall saga, or see Retro finally split off from any association with Metroid 2 onwards. I think both possibilities are compelling for different reasons, and I'd be cool with either of them, provided they're done well.
 
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You may hate this, but I also view the idea of the next couple Prime games leading into the events of Metroid 2 to be equally as compelling of an idea, haha. Samus going from the events of 1, straight into the genocide of an entire species in 2, makes little sense to me, if you only take into account the 2D saga. I think the Prime games serve a purpose of painting a more gradual picture of what occurred. That being, a series of escalating galactic crises involving Metroids at the forefront, rather than the events on Zebes serving as the primary catalyst for their demise. The Federation's last resort, rather than an initial measure rooted in panic.

Ultimately, I think there's a lot they can do with Prime 4 that will either add further texture to the overall saga, or see Retro finally split off from any association with Metroid 2 onwards. I think both possibilities are compelling for different reasons, and I'd be cool with either of them, provided they're done well.
No no please do not think i am some 2d hater, i love the games. Although i disagree with you in that regard, i think its totally fair for you to think that.

But i'd still prefer if we moved in another direction like in the past games.

I think it’s best not to fully use Tanabe’s old interviews of what he’d like. That was some time ago and maybe Retro brought some other ideas to the table.
Preach.
 
It would free the Prime series from many constraints of continuity and timeline adherence, while still enabling Retro to explore an alternate, darker reality where Raven Beak's plans actually came to fruition, should they so choose. The inverse of the 2D saga, where instead of Metroids being effectively extinct, they're horrifically ubiquitous.
Retro is already free to do basically anything while the games take place between metroid 1 and 2 while staying distant from the constant retcons added to the metroid timeline post-super by sakamoto and the gang, I don't really think that's necessary.

I'm almost certain Metroid Prime 4 is renamed to something that drops "Prime" from the title as Metroid Prime herself is extremely dead and all Phazon is gone too, lol.
prime means first person, they've emphasized this and the reason why hunters and fed force are called it. Prime will likely drop the number 4 but not the prime moniker
 
I mean, I don't know if most people know that about first-person and I don't know how helpful it's been, lol.

(Also, Metroid Prime Pinball exists)
 
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I think it'd be interesting if the Prime series officially ended up amounting to a divergent timeline, with this Samus never sent on her mission to eradicate the Metroids on SR388. As a result, there is no infant Metroid, the X Parasites never see a resurgence, Samus is not administered the Metroid vaccine, and Raven Beak is successful in making a second expedition to SR388, fulfilling his plans in using Metroids to establish a galaxy-spanning apocalypse.

It would free the Prime series from many constraints of continuity and timeline adherence, while still enabling Retro to explore an alternate, darker reality where Raven Beak's plans actually came to fruition, should they so choose. The inverse of the 2D saga, where instead of Metroids being effectively extinct, they're horrifically ubiquitous.

I'm just spitballing. I have near total confidence that it won't end up anything like this. Fun to think about, though.
You know me. I've been pretty much a fan of this basic idea ever Tanabe mentioned that time travel was an idea he was pondering over. Not only because it would just effectively give Retro and Tanabe the narrative freedom to do other things, but it would also just mean that they're not beholden to Sakamoto's side of the franchise any more than Sakamoto has to bother remembering what the Prime games did.


Retro is already free to do basically anything while the games take place between metroid 1 and 2, I don't really think that's necessary.
That's the thing, though. Why should they and Tanabe be "stuck" working within the confines of that point in time of the series timeline and just succeed in making it more and more crowded, assuming more games are just going to come? If they continue growing their side of the universe, they're inevitably going to cause (even more) contradictions between their plot and Sakamoto's, anyway.

Split-timelines and the multiverse are just so especially commonplace now that I think if they did do it, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. It still wouldn't be anywhere close to Zelda in complexity, either.
 


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