Metroid Prime 3 details

By Tom Bramwell Published 4 August, 2005

The Revolution rolls closer.

A rare interview with Nintendo's second-party cohorts Retro Studios has shed some light on Metroid Prime 3, which is bound for release on the next-gen Revolution format sometime next year by current estimates.

The interview, aired official Metroid site Luminoth Temple, talks of bringing closure to the story, retaining the game's first-person viewpoint and taking full advantage of the new system.

"The plot of Prime 3 is about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle," the Retro Studios spokesperson said. Apparently the planet Phazon will play a key role again, and heroine Samus Aran willf ind herself coming up against Metroid enemies and new threats as well.

"We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," Retro said. Wow, a game that uses a control pad! The point, of course, is that the fabled Revolution pad is said to be quite interesting and different to what we've experienced before. Details on what it actually does have yet to be revealed.

On the audio/visual side of things, apparently we'll see "even more" of the "drastic improvements", visually, that we witnessed moving from Metroid Prime 1 to 2. "Our engineers are a very talented and dedicated bunch, and they're constantly looking for ways to make our games run smoother with more details."

Finally, Retro spoke of composer Kenji Yamamoto, who will reprise his role creating the game's soundtrack. "We hope to take the music into some new directions for this title, and there's no doubt Mr. Yamamoto is going to relish the challenge," Retro said.

Nintendo previously confirmed the existence of Metroid Prime 3 with a very short and unrevealing teaser trailer at its pre-E3 press conference, but this is the first time any solid details have emerged.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 7 years ago

    I've had MP2 since Christmas and still haven't gotten around to playing it. :-(

    /shame

  • Cloudane #2 7 years ago

    "The fabled Revolution controller"

    is now getting on my fucking nerves.

  • Derblington #3 7 years ago

    I've had MP1 since release and still haven't gotten around to playing it!

  • tpfkanep #4 7 years ago

    Can't wait... for my copy of MP2 to arrive.

    /which is bound for release on the next-gen Revolution format sometime next year by current estimates./

    Hmmm... 2006 release then for the Revo...?

  • Milbe #5 7 years ago

    One very good reason to buy the Nin:Revolution.

  • MBar #6 7 years ago

    completed MP2 on normal. played up to the Ball Speed Boost Boss on Hard. then gave up. he's ridiculously hard!

    "The fabled Revolution controller" is now getting on my fucking nerves.

    i just want to know now. it better be good, or /insert empty threat/. twice!
    Edited by MBar at 04/08/05 @ 10:47

  • itamae #7 7 years ago

    Wait a second, Metroid Prime had a story? O_o

    And I thought it was all about running around shooting stuff for shiny things...

  • tpfkanep #8 7 years ago

    What's up with this? Anyone here with access?

  • Chtulie #9 7 years ago

    Yay!

    (though the Emperor in 2 still continues to defeat me, and 2's more prominent storyline was a bit.... hackneyed)

  • ST.. #10 7 years ago

    I want to like MP, but I can't....it was lovely yes, atmospheric yes, but in terms of fun and enjoyability it was like having my sinuses filled with hot tar.

  • Rahul #11 7 years ago

    The planet in Metroid Prime was called Tallon IV, not Phazon.. that's the name of the radioactive blue material you find everywhere.

  • Abscido #12 7 years ago

    One very good reason to buy the Nin:Revolution

    The only reason you need. Echoes is a work of beauty.

  • lefizz #13 7 years ago

    That the trouble with the cube a few worth title which you can be arse to play, I have one which i picked up damn cheap with metroid and wind waker. Never really been that bothered about either of then enough to play . Nitendo problem i think, they seem to produce consoles with great games you cant be arse playing

  • riz23 #14 7 years ago

    WooHoo! I guess I better start MP2 (mine is still wrapped since march) as well now. My guess is that the revolution controller will have a gyroscopic tilt mechanism and you use it when Samus is in ball form. Bring it on!

  • AndyE #15 7 years ago

    "I want to like MP, but I can't....it was lovely yes, atmospheric yes, but in terms of fun and enjoyability it was like having my sinuses filled with hot tar."

    I feel the same way about Metroid Prime. I played it all the way up to the Meta Ridley boss fight and decided I had enough. Why didn't they just give it FPS controls?

  • DaveTheHutt #16 7 years ago

    WTF, lefizz? Two of the finest games this generation, and you can't be bothered to play them? Sheer insanity!

    And if I hear one more person whining about MP not having FPS controls... *Wah! This game's not the same as the last one I played! Wah! I've got to think! Wah! It's too hard!*

    Hutt out

  • smelly #17 7 years ago

    I didnt like metroid prime.

    And im apparently a nintendo fanboy.

    Gimme mario/pikmin/zelda/pokemon any day of the week over this.. :-)

  • onyxbox #18 7 years ago

    I loved MP1 and 2, and rank them up there with the likes of ICO and Ninja Gaiden as the best of this gen.

    As for all the shit about the Rev controller, it's not Nintendo that are hyping it up they're probably still finalising the design and if it wasn't for MS pushing the 'next gen' so soon I doubt we'd know much about the PS3 either.

  • Huntcjna #19 7 years ago

    I just started MP2 since it was in the blockbuster sale brand new for a tenner and bloody good it is too

  • smelly #20 7 years ago

    "they're probably still finalising the design "

    unlikely if games are in dev for it.

    More likely is they dont want to show it to the press/public until they have REAL games running on it (and on final hardware), so they can demonstrate how it'll work.

    Also bear in mind if they show their games now, people are expecting the other two to have games which look as good as all that pre-rendered crap at e3. So if they saw REAL revo games now they may not look as good in comparision to pre-rendered tech demos. My guess is they're waiting for 360 to come out so people can see REAL games running on that to make REAL comparisions to.

    But then i'm only guessing.

  • coderkind #21 7 years ago

    Still gotta get round to playing Metroid Prime 2. Had it for ages, but other games have gotten in the way recently, like the truely excellent God Of War and Resident Evil 4.

  • Freek #22 7 years ago

    There's been real footage out for months, infact right from day one of E3 there's been real footage of next gen games and they did look as good as the prerendered stuff. And neither would Nintendo even care because they've always said that the gameplay comes first but that thier machine is also just as powerfull as the other two. So no matter how you look at it, that doesn't matter.

  • smelly #23 7 years ago

    "infact right from day one of E3 there's been real footage of next gen games"

    Funny i was there, and i didnt see any playable next gen games running on the consoles they were intended for. The few that were playable just running on pc's and macs at a "guess" of what the consoles could do.


    "but that thier machine is also just as powerfull as the other two"

    Yip, but as i said, most people seem to believe that the next gen games really are going to look like the killzone demo.. LOL. Maybe it's safer to wait for peopel to see what next gen games really look like? Save the fanboys shouting "have you seen the xxx demo? It looks crap compared to that killzone demo", etc etc.

    But i'm probably wrong on that score.
    Edited by smelly at 04/08/05 @ 12:20

  • Ulgen #24 7 years ago

    "More likely is they dont want to show it to the press/public until they have REAL games running on it (and on final hardware), so they can demonstrate how it'll work."

    As I understood it, they didn't want to reveal the controller for fear of Sony and MS copying their ideas. So they wait until it's too late to change anything on the PS3 and Xbox360 controller.

  • #25 7 years ago

    I didnt like metroid prime.

    You can put me in the "didn't like Metroid Prime" camp too.

    It just didn't feel fun to play in ANY WAY - and I NEVER understood the point of the scanning much less the WAY it was implemented.

    On the other hand, I thought the demo of Metroid Prime Hunters on Nintendo DS was great. It seems more action-oriented and the control system seems super-intuitive. It's the closest thing I've come across yet to a mouse and keyboard combo. The only thing I would suggest is, since MP:H isn't a platform game that like Zelda, jumping should be handled automatically.

    Perhaps some posters are right: maybe giving the console prime games FPS Controls would make it more intuitive.

  • kalel #26 7 years ago

    Meh, another shitty FPS...







    /trolls

  • regmund #27 7 years ago

    Without any details about the new controller this just sounds like a typical year-on-year fifa update shiny new gfx etc.Meh.

  • kangarootoo #28 7 years ago

    "And if I hear one more person whining about MP not having FPS controls... *Wah! This game's not the same as the last one I played! Wah! I've got to think! Wah! It's too hard!*"

    There is no right and wrong when it comes to controls. All you can hope for is the best fit for the majority of players (or a sack of options).

    That said, when it comes to controlling my character in a game I don't want to have to think, I just want to play the game. The point of a game is to entertain right? To make me have fun right? If I have to "think" or circumnavigate hard controls just to begin having fun, the game has slipped at the first hurdle. Macho "if you can't stand the heat" type attitudes have no place in game design. Challenge is only valid if it results in fun for the player.

    I'm not saying MP2 failed here, as plenty of people loved the controls. But the player is never wrong, and Nintendo essentially failed for those people who didn't like the controls. Perhaps they should have included both as an option for the player to choose (although that has never been the Intendo way).

    I've never seen a study of what percentage of people liked the controls over the traditional twin stick mechanic, but I'd like to.
    Edited by kangarootoo at 04/08/05 @ 13:53

  • Chtulie #29 7 years ago

    Why include both control options, just play a metroid prime boss battle and imagine doing the same with standard fps controls and it'll become apparent that with such a setup you'd get slaughtered in no time (just the speed of MP bosses move compared to fps bosses, you'd have to be dodging all the time and wouldn't be able to get a shot off, mp's controls a perfectl for the game, and standard fps controls are perfect for standard fps games).

  • Ulgen #30 7 years ago

    1. If you go into Metroid Prime expecting a standard issue FPS game, you're bound to go wrong. It's more like an action-adventure.

    2. Not all games are there for you to have "fun". There are so many other experiences than having fun offered by games today. Metroid Prime is no unique game here. It's not for everyone. As so many other games.

  • smelly #31 7 years ago

    "And if I hear one more person whining about MP not having FPS controls... "

    Well depending on how revolutionary the controller is, i'd guess this version could have even more freakier controls.

    "Meh, another shitty FPS... "

    Actually more of a boring adventure with FPS and platform elements thrown in, and some marble madness style gameplay too. It's a great game on that score, but too much back tracking for me, and too hard for me too.


    "year-on-year fifa update shiny new gfx"

    Big difference between a game where all yer doing is kicking a ball around a pitch, and one which is as complex and big as metroid prime is.

  • Freek #32 7 years ago

    That wasn't "geuse work" that was real time footage running on dev kitts, and those were even LESS powerfull then the final consoles, so that was real, verry real. Adn there's even more footage out there now as more games have been unveiled that looks just as good.
    Sure the Killzone footage at Sony press confrence was prerendered but for some strange reason people now think that was true of everything shown at E3 wich is ofcourse not the case, and even less so of MS' stuff since that console was closer to launch so the luanch titles were much further in developement.
    Besides the fact that next gen games are not being judged by that Killzone demo at all, namely because the footage that's out there now is not even that far off from that, and everybody knows it was prerenderd footage so it doesn't come up in debate.
    The whole "oh no it's prerendered" dramas have been done, it's over, since there is now loads of real footage of what next gen games look like.
    Edited by Freek at 04/08/05 @ 14:50

  • Sid-Nice #33 7 years ago

    "The fabled Revolution controller"

    Wow... Is Fable coming to the Revolution?

  • Blerk #34 7 years ago

    Not all games are there for you to have "fun". There are so many other experiences than having fun offered by games today.

    o_O

    That is possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen written on here. Ever.

  • tengu #35 7 years ago

    You forgot 'hilarious' Blerk :D

    Best laugh I've had today!

  • Blerk #36 7 years ago

    It's far too wrong to be funny!

  • freedumb #37 7 years ago

    'Wait a second, Metroid Prime had a story? O_o

    And I thought it was all about running around shooting stuff for shiny things...'

    It wasn't done in the traditional cutscene sense. You were mainly an explorer, finding out things for yourself, reading all the scans to gain information on past, present or future events, the installations and the enemies, and of course puzzles.

    MP1 was amazing stuff, but I never got round to playing the second one. Too many games to play before it came out, and even up till now.
    Edited by freedumb at 04/08/05 @ 17:40

  • volb #38 7 years ago

    Aaah, Metroid Prime. It took such a long time of obsessively following the "scan all, find all, collect all" mantra to finally realize that I was completely fed up with the mere idea of playing it for even one more second.

    As the GameRankings will tell you, it just oozes quality. It is quite remarkable that its special brand of polish leaves so many people lying cold inthe mud, a few of which having already commented on this thread. It just goes to show that you can't trust a reviewer. Any of them. Ever.

  • ProfessorLesser #39 7 years ago

    /cries at the Metroid hatred

    I just don't get why people mightn't like this. Baffles me. Even without the argument over the controls... I never found them an issue! You adapt. Or how the game is too hard... MP2 was too easy. MP1 was about right.

    I could rant about MP2 till the cows come home, and I have done elsewhere, so I won't again. But that game really rubbed me up the wrong way.

  • Galvanizer #40 7 years ago

    "Not all games are there for you to have "fun". There are so many other experiences than having fun offered by games today."

    Agreed many games provide an array of emotions on the player. RPG's especially. It tends to be games that have a lot of narrative like MGS, Zelda, FF, Kingdom Hearts....

    Metroid Prime was a brain teaser. It was NOT fun, just very inriguing and adventurous.
    Edited by Galvanizer at 05/08/05 @ 01:03

  • Ulgen #41 7 years ago

    "Metroid Prime was a brain teaser. It was NOT fun, just very inriguing and adventurous."

    Thank you. My point excactly.

  • Toonster #42 7 years ago

    Woah, I'm surprised at how many people didn't like MP. I'm still in the middle of it and I love the hell out of it. Sure, it wasn't easy to get into at first, but once you're in the meat of the game, you can't take your hands off it. Great stuff.

    One question: If I'm gonna buy Metroid Prime 3, should I play MP2 first, or is not really that big of a deal?

  • darkphoenix #43 7 years ago

    Metroid Prime 1&2 are amongst the best games ever released.
    The controls are perfect, since it's not a true fps, more like a first person adventure/shooting/plattform game, and it is unique.

    But the challenge the MP games propose is not for everyone, I'm afraid...
    It requires skill and patience, and not whinning about.

    It´s too hard for you?
    Well, just go back to your quick-save-mouse-targeting-pc-fps...

  • Nikanoru #44 7 years ago

    rofl @ anybody who wanted MP to be Halo.

    Both MP1 and 2 were fun as hell. They had _adventure_ which is FUN, environments that are each unique and serve as more than just decor (unlike most other games) which is FUN (even though they're also great on a superficial level because they're more beautiful, atmospheric and detailed than most games could ever muster), gameplay that doesn't involve trying to keep the fucking reticule on the enemy all the time (which I am SICK of, it is NOT fun) thus allowing to focus on other gameplay aspects (THAT ARE MORE FUN), and enemies and bosses with the kind of complexity (i.e. not JUST SHOOT EM HUR HUR) that you rarely see which is also FUN. MP1&2 have variety, variety is FUN, library levels are NOT fun.

    Also, there is no "backtracking" in this game. Backtracking is going back through a linear level. There are no real linear paths in this game, there is no single point that provides progress, this game has "broad advancement."
    Of course, some people are just so stuck in one mindset through years and years of brainwashing by run of the mill FPS's that they can only think in terms of LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 YAY. That shit is NOT fun, you might as well be playing an on rails shooter.

    In fact, if I see some retard say "backtracking" one more time I'm going to kick their fucking face so hard they'll shit wisdom teeth. Well...I can't exactly do that, but I assure you I'll stare at the screen real hard!


    So, anyway, if you bring FUN into this, Metroid Prime wins it over most games any day.

    Of course, if your personality is such that even light complexity, variety and depth makes you pull your hair out, you might not see the fun in MP. In fact, you should probably not sit in front of your gaming console and go out to do some more FUN things like partaking in football riots.


    I'll share a little analogy that I believe I've used here once already.
    Recently, I'd decided I should let my 7 year old brother play a bit of Castlevania: SotN. He killed a few beasties (stopped to ask me which fork in the road to take - the decision seemed bothersome to him) and then came to his first locked door. Killed a few more thingies, door was still locked. Then asked "can we play another game?"
    He went back to his football game.
    He can be forgiven, he's 7. But this thread made me think of that.

  • Nikanoru #45 7 years ago

    Erm, quite true actually. For example, Pro Evo's controls are so complex that they're a bit too much for even the Xbox pad.

    Whereas Metroid Prime's are fairly simple and just a bit crap.

    Haha, yeah, because more buttons used = better gameplay! Even if it's just kicking a ball in the net on the other side...DUDE, it's got more different ways to kick it!

    That is just hilarious.

  • ProfessorLesser #46 7 years ago

    Jesus, thank you Nikanoru et al! Some people with some sense at last.

    I still don't understand how people found MP1 hard, though. Or why they think MP2 is even close to on a par with it... Echoes simply pales in comparison. The level design makes me want to die. Not to warrant a face-kicking from Nik, but the level design made it feel a lot more like you were backtracking in MP2. Most of the items seemed rubbish to me as well.

    As a crude and superficially fanboyish analogy:
    MP1 is comparable to OoT, like similar triangles. The OoT-to-MM jump is not comparable to the MP1-to-Echoes 'jump'. That's how I like to think of it.

    But really, I really and honestly could argue about this all day. There were some good things about MP2, but for me the bad things overshadowed them. MP1, however, is legendary.
    Edited by ProfessorLesser at 07/08/05 @ 21:37

  • ProfessorLesser #47 7 years ago

    I would disagree with you in terms of the music and the story. The story was far too cliché and something Metroid should never have attempted. The music was just... dull. Except the title music. And maybe some of the bits I've forgotten against Dark Samus.

    Most of the boss battles were as good as those in Prime. A few (morphball!) were better. A couple, like the endbosses, were much, much worse.

    As for graphics... difficult one to call. I suppose technically they may well have been improved on. But they didn't feel varied enough... Agon and Temple and Torvus all melded into one for me. And don't get me started on the God-awful Purple World. Sanctuary is the excellent exception, of course (Quadraxis was a let-down though).

    What you could definitely say was better in MP2 was the cinematography. Prime needed more of the kind of encounters Echoes had between the two Samuses (Samii?)... the pre-fight cutscenes were rather special, I thought.

    I should've played Echoes first. Half of my malcontent towards it is simply feeling massively let-down. There's so much room for improvement though. If I'd have played it first, I could then have just gaped at Prime afterwards.

    And I said I wasn't going to rant...