Metroid Prime

Summary

Samus makes her first leap into 3D with a first-person adventure for Nintendo Gamecube! Set sometime between the original Metroid and Metroid II, Samus tracks a newly-resurrected Meta-Ridley to the planet Tallon IV. Once there, she uncovers a malevolent Space Pirate plot that centers around harnessing a mysterious radioactive substance known as phazon.

 

Notes:

  • Released on the Wii in Japan under the Wii de asobu (New Play Control) label, which were Wiimote-compatible ports of Gamecube games.
  • Released as a part of Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii and WiiU (both physical and digital)
  • Released as Metroid Prime Remastered on Switch. Digital eShop version was released 02.08.2023.

Release Date

« ‹ of 3 › »

Metroid Prime Screenshots

Metroid Prime E3 2002 Screenshots – MDb Exclusives!

 

Go BackBack to Music Albums

Metroid Prime marked a new style of music for the Metroid series, dominated by electronic scores and X-Files-esque whistling, a style requested by the Retro Studios staff. A departure from the orchestral score of Super Metroid, Metroid Prime redefined the series musically as a mysterious confluence of technology, civilization, and nature. The soundtrack was composed by Kenji Yamamoto with assistance by Kyoichi Kyuma. 2002 also saw Kenji Yamamoto work on Metroid Fusion, making it a busy year for the man who defined the music of Metroid for over a decade. Both soundtracks were released in a single album.

Metroid Prime introduced new favorites such as "Ice Valley" (Phendrana Drifts), "Artifact Temple" which defined Chozo grandeur, the beautiful "Crashed Ship Frigate Orpheon", and the memorable "Title" theme, which appears in many guises throughout the series. A heavy dosage of remixes includes one of the best "Brinstar" arranges as "Planet Tallon IV", the ever-popular "Lava Caves" (Magmoor), "VS. Meta Ridley", and finally "Frigate Orpheon" as the first of many arrangements of "Mysterious Statue Room" from Super Metroid. However, Prime is also dominated by what I call "atmospheric minimalism", amelodic music that replicates background noise. While a nod to the original Metroid, tracks such as "Ancient Chozo Ruins" illustrate how dependent such music can be on game space, though other tracks such as "Phazon Mines" demonstrate its potentials for compelling audio. Note that "Chozo Ruins (Main Plaza)", which plays in the water-filled temple, contains bars that would later reappear in MP2E's "Torvus Bog."

Unfortunately, Metroid Prime's soundtrack contains many noticeable audio bugs (clicks, reverb), a result of poor mastering. Thankfully, Prime Blue remastered the soundtrack, removing the blemishes to create the clean audio heard below, making this the definitive version of the soundtrack. This collection also contains music from the game's trailers and alternate versions of the tracks, as well as unique tracks from the demo version played at E3 and store kiosks and the Japanese Wii version. Finally, special to the MDb is a collection of voice clips and SFX, many of which were either unused or not present in the North American release. The official soundtrack is listed below.

This playlist contains extra and miscellaneous tracks outside of the main OST. These include trailer themes, Demo Disc music, and alternate versions of main themes.

The Metroid Prime & Fusion Soundtrack contains most of the game's music, though tracks don't loop and some songs are missing in order for the whole thing to fit on a single CD. In addition, they contain audio errors that were removed by Prime Blue, as listed in the other album. Still, it is a fantastic collection of Metroid music contained on a single disc. Unfortunately, as of August 2011, the album is out of print.

 

Metroid Prime US Theatrical Trailer

Metroid Prime US Spot (15 sec.)

Metroid Prime JP Commercial 1

Metroid Prime JP Commercial 2

Metroid Prime EU Commercial

New Play Control! Metroid Prime Japanese Commercials

Metroid Prime Complete FAQ/Walkthrough

v1.00 by Falcon Zero, 11.12.03

Metroid Prime Official Nintendo Player’s Guide (2002, Nintendo)

 

          Nintendo’s guidebook for Prime is laid out in a very useful format, with numbered maps introducing each segment of the game and those numbers corresponding to easy-to-follow walkthrough information in the following pages. A very sleek, cool looking layout that’s also easy to read and provides quick and easy access to any information you need. The index in the back lists every weapon, item, and Chozo Artifact along with their locations and the page of the guide on which you’ll find more details. Nintendo’s book also features complete maps and a walkthrough for the unlockable NES Metroid! Out of all the official Metroid Prime strategy guides, Nintendo’s, appropriately enough, is the best.

Metroid Prime/Metroid Fusion Official Strategy Guide (2002, Prima)

 

 While Prima had budget-conscious gamers in mind by being the only publisher to put out a combined Prime/Fusion guidebook, the layout for both games is complete, but very tightly packed. The crowded layout makes it less than appealing to look at and a little difficult to follow. Still, if you’re gonna buy both games but you only want to spring for one book, this is the only one that covers both.

 Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide (2002, Brady)

 

Brady’s offering is sort of the opposite of Prima’s. Whereas Prima’s book has all its information crammed tightly together, Brady’s guide is laid out in more widespread paragraphs. Lots of reading to do, as opposed to the conveniently organized nuggets in Nintendo’s book. This guide also contains some factual errors (e.g., it states that Metroid Prime’s second form only produces “normal Metroids, and not the Fission Metroids” — the author must have gotten extremely lucky and not had Prime send out the Fissions and Hunters), which is difficult to overlook in a guide. However, the advantage that Brady’s book has is its handy appendices containing maps, item/weapon/artifact locations, complete Pirate Data logs, complete Chozo Lore logs, Research Data logs, and enemy scan data at a glance. Plus, it’s the cheapest of the Prime guides at only $9.99.

Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide (2002, Versus)

 

 

 Delayed until a month after the other guides were released, Versus’ offering is a thick volume complete with a free poster. However, the guide is basically a fully-written text walkthrough (much as you’d find in .txt format on any website) peppered with screenshots. It does contain 3D-modeled maps, lists of the locations of all the Missile/Power Bomb/Tank expansions with screenshots, and a full guide to NES Metroid (although it, too, is a text walkthrough more than anything), but I still find the Nintendo guide to be the most efficient and useful.

Nintendo Power, Volume 163, December 2002

 

Metroid Fusion may be on the cover, but Volume 163 marks Nintendo Power’s first Prime strategy coverage. This also probably makes it the most Metroid-centric issue of Nintendo Power ever published. The tips and strategies these 7 pages offer are extremely summarized, only touching on the bare essentials while leading you up to Phendrana Drifts. The coverage continues in Volume 164. Magazine scans from Retro Mags.

MENU