Metroid Prime Remastered Review: Does This Classic Hold Up?

Space Pirate Encrypted Data Decoded - Log 10.023.7 - "The alert concerns bioform Samus Aran, also known as the Hunter...a considerable bounty will go to the unit who delivers Aran to command. Dead or alive, it matters not."

Overview

Writing a review of Metroid Prime Remastered presents itself as somewhat of a challenge. The challenge is: do I review Prime as a remastered game that recognises its peers and successors, or do I review Metroid Prime as a piece of history, aware of the context of its original release? You might think the easy solve would be to do both, assessing the game both unencumbered, and commenting on its development (or lack thereof) since its original release. Unfortunately, Metroid Prime Remastered (MPR) doesn’t bless me with that luxury, existing essentially as the same game it was twenty years ago. So, I’m choosing to review MPR as what Nintendo and some others seem to think it is, a full, Nintendo Switch game released in 2023 worth standing alongside other triple A titles.

Besides what appears to be a very competent visual update, Nintendo seems to have forgotten that time can be a benefit, as MPR retains some awfully clunky and monotonous gameplay elements that fail to bring Metroid in the 2020s. Nintendo should not be allowed to fall back so heavily on nostalgia to attain good critical reception, having failed to acknowledge twenty years of development of the genre, and the benefits that have emerged as a result of its diversification. At a price point of £34.99, ignorance just doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid. While MPR shows why Nintendo understands the fundamentals of the franchise’s self-defined genre, what we essentially have is little more than a very polished port, suffering problems that have become abundantly apparent with age.

Samus, Prime, and the Metroidvania

I should make it clear at this point that, barring a brief stint with original Metroid, a short dose of Metroid Prime Hunters on Nintendo DS, and, admittedly, countless hours co-oping the heck out of NintendoLand’s Metroid Blast on the Wii U (the overwhelming nostalgia rushing back to me now), I’ve not played much Metroid at all, let alone ever touched Metroid Prime on Gamecube.

Metroid Prime Remastered is of course a remaster of Metroid Prime which originally released on the Gamecube in 2002, the first entry in the series to utilise a 3D environment and first-person perspective. After blowing up an enemy Space Pirates’ frigate and releasing mechanised dragon, Ridley, bounty hunter Samus Aran (protagonist) escapes on her ship and chases Ridley to the nearby planet, Tallon IV. Arriving on Tallon IV, Samus finds her suit has been badly damaged and she is without the gadgets and tools she usually has. Exploring the landscape, Samus learns that an ancient civilization known as the Chozo have been wiped out by something referred to as “The Great Poison”, induced by a meteor impact some decades ago. Samus goes on a journey to uncover the Space Pirates’ plans on Tallon IV, attempting to solve the mystery of the fallen Chozo race by locating several Chozo “Artifacts” and discover what “The Great Poison” really is.

MPR is described as a “first-person adventure” game by Nintendo, and I think this description ultimately makes sense. The first-person shooter (FPS) elements are more of a tool to embark on the adventure, rather than the game feeling like an FPS that has a sense of adventure. And as with every mainline-series Metroid game, the basic premise of the game is to explore the world and discover upgrades which fuel your progression into further exploration of new locations and areas with these new abilities. This has formulated the basis of the self-defined Metroidvania genre. While the story and lore provide some contextual value, the true aim of MPR, and by extension this style of game, is to encourage exploration through discovery and progression.

Exploring Tallon IV: Gameplay and Design

Contrary to the adventure and curiosity inherent in an adventure, MPR had me feeling rather bored at times, dreading the obnoxiously long journeys I would have to go on to move from one location to another. Backtracking is part and parcel of the Metroidvania formula, but the issue is that traversal simply isn’t fun. Walking everywhere can feel horribly slow and tedious; rolling in style using the morph ball should be exciting but feels more like Peter Parker’s infamous street walk in Spiderman 3 - awkward and uncomfortable – because of its independent camera; and the upgrades you get later in the game, including the spider ball and grapple beam, are too slow and clunky to feel like they’ve been worth the wait. While there’s definitely excitement in planning ahead for, or stumbling your way into, a new upgrade, it’s a shame that these new traversal methods aren’t better implemented across the map to further shorten travel time – a reward I feel is necessary to convey player progression.

The 3D map used to navigate the world of Tallon IV was itself too slow to navigate and unnecessarily convoluted. I understand and appreciate the appeal of designing it akin to a classic space ship hull or visor hologram projection, and using the twin sticks to navigate it. It feels authentic and tactile in the way that pre-2000 science fiction films often do. But this approach could have been refined and the actual movement speed of the cursor should have been sped up. A major gripe with the map is that that connectors between the areas were not clearly indicated. With so many areas that are obviously intertwined on different levels, a hierarchical map which showed the elevators’ connections between floors and areas would have been a much more effective visual depiction of the 3D space.

Having said this, the level design of MPR is on the whole good, and shows how engaging retracing steps and returning to previous points of interest can be. A great example of this I found to be when I stumbled into a tall room in the Chozo Ruins with a recent rocket upgrade, and realised I could ascend the tower by deconstructing it. I loved the colour schemes and aesthetics of each zone/area, with the Phazon Mines being what I consider a particularly interesting, well designed and challenging area because of its intricate use of Samus’ toolkit, the difficult (though sometimes obnoxious) enemy engagements, and welcome verticality. There is enough diversity of locations and rooms to enjoy exploration, and there were many times I got real gratification from returning to a previous location to see that I had made progress, revealed a hidden secret, or figured out a solution to an obstacle. I had this feeling when I returned to a large chasm in the Magmoor Caverns that becomes multi-scalar upon attaining the grapple beam, opening up a fun, maze-like spider ball path.

I’m still unsure as to whether I’ve reconciled my tumultuous relationship with Prime’s combat system. The concept of utilising multiple different weapon types and tactical visors from a first-person perspective is great and is executed very well in some scenarios, especially against different enemy types, for identifying hidden areas, and even in platforming sections. This is helped by a solid targeting system, evade/dodge buttons, and a highly customizable control scheme, although a quick switch-between-targets button would have gone a long way. The somewhat lack of enemy variety didn’t feel as lazy as I thought it might, and I was content on the whole with the array of alien enemies I fought. But there were times where I felt the combat was designed totally against the player. You might find that you walk into a room and are immediately shot by multiple turrets and flying enemies rushing to invade your personal space. There were also instances where you can’t move out of the bullet sprays firing away at you – avoiding damage simply isn’t an option sometimes (an annoying problem especially evident in some crowded rooms and boss battles). These aren’t helped by the fact that changing weapons and visors mid-fight can sometimes feel sluggish and unresponsive. These issues don’t make the game harder, as may have been intended, they reduce the skill cap attainable, and consequently reduce any sense of mastery over Prime’s combat and systems.

A Vast Divide: Sound and Visuals

The sound of MPR is dominated heavily by techno-synthetic sounds, resounding synthesized vocals, echoey tube instruments, grand, falling string lines, and what I might term, “bashful”, rhythms. It’s a cacophony of sound designed to disorient and isolate you. It’s an apt goal, but, the sound design and music working in tandem fall far flat of what I was expecting. There’s only so long that sciencey-sounding “beep boops” can keep me engaged and immersed in a sci-fi adventure. The instrumentation doesn’t help the immersion, especially the over-reliance on synthesized choir voices played for discoveries and during certain battle music. Whenever I heard that sound I immediately thought, “why do I feel like I’m playing Halo?”. I was constantly wondering why the soundtrack emphasises digital sounds to the behest of natural instruments. I suppose this would have been era-appropriate for 2002, but it seems a missed opportunity to update the sound with some natural instruments. There’s so much untapped potential to make the game scary and intense to prey even more on that isolating tone. But the music is so immemorable and frankly uninspired that I can’t think of a single melody or track name that I remember. It’s a real shame hearing Prime’s meagre soundtrack when we’ve become accustomed to the legendary music and sound design evident in other Nintendo first party games by Koji Kondo.

MPR is also screaming, begging, for some kind of vocal audio or dialogue. The lack of these might make sense from the perspective of Retro Studios aiming to achieve an isolating and lonely atmosphere, but what comes across is a game feeling hollow, with only the repetitive scanning of readable lore keeping minimal engagement in whatever justification has been devised to explain what I’m doing on this god-forsaken planet. Had the sound design or music been more interesting, motivating or atmospheric, this may not have been such an issue. But as it stands the game feels and sounds frustratingly barren.

In stark contrast to the music and sound, the visuals of MPR stand out as amongst the best on the Switch. It’s clear that Retro Studios and other collaborators like Iron Galaxy Studios devoted considerable time to both making this game look gorgeous, and highlighting those little details that go a long way to provide immersion and believability. I’ve only seen comparisons, having not played the original Metroid Prime, but the visual update seems to retain the iconic look and feel whilst bringing it up to a standard seen in some of the Switch’s best-looking games, including Splatoon 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Link’s Awakening, and Pokémon Scarlet and Vio…okay that last one’s just for my own amusement. The textures are fantastic, with high levels of detail on every surface that simultaneously provide space for that nostalgic “fuzziness” on things like futuristic panels and Samus’ heads-up display. The vibrancy of the ambient occlusion in holographic and lighting effects, the flow of magma in Samus’ plasma beam weapon, or even the bubbling molecules of the menu screen, it all looks wonderfully bold and dynamic. I remember the first time early on in my playthrough, when I shot a rocket on a wall right in front of me, and watched in awe as Samus’ reflection came through her visor to show this stunningly detailed, yet ghostly human face behind her metallic mask. Anytime I walked through or out of water was also a delight, noticing the granularity of the raindrops drizzle across Samus’ Power Suit. There’s no denying that this game looks fantastic, and the visuals, for the most part, salvage the bland and uninspired audio to provide some level of immersion and atmosphere.

Accessibility, Performance and Extras

What’s the best thing about MPR, you ask? Is it the gameplay, visuals or sense of adventure? No, the best thing, is that it runs at a very smooth 60 fps, a total dream for the Switch! Games should be running smoothly on games consoles in 2023, so it’s not exactly a revelation. But I never experienced any dips in framerate or even any glitches or hiccups through general play. Smooth framerate is unfortunately, a rare experience in the Switch’s performance when it shouldn’t be, but I commend Retro and other studios for expertly porting and optimising this game for Switch.

As I touched upon earlier, MPR provides a lot of options, settings and customizability when it comes to its controls. I found the newly-added dual-stick option for the remaster, with extensive remapping and sensitivity options, the best way to play. The Wii-style motion controls weren’t quite accurate enough and I found it difficult trying to calibrate them. While the return to Gamecube settings were just a nightmare, being totally outdated and feeling stiff and rigid compared to what players have become accustomed to over the years - though it’s a nice touch that they’re included for die-hard nostalgia gamers. There are also heads-up display (HUD) options such as choosing to have Samus’ helmet visible, whether the HUD remains fixed in place in first-person and the opacity of the HUD. These options are extremely useful as I found the HUD to be much too cluttered when fully opaque and helmeted. I wish that MPR went a slight step further and allowed you to take away certain elements that I didn’t feel were necessary, like the miniature map, radiation bar, and aesthetic lines. I only needed the essentials – ammo count, visor type, weapon type, and radar. The pause menu also does a good job providing information to the player, including weapon and ability uses, enemy types, and lore. I also like that the artifact collection hunt is aided by somewhat cryptic descriptions (though they are sometimes quite obvious), and there is a hint system for players that find themselves without clear direction or sense of where to go next. One minor issue I found was the description of the missile launcher. While detailed, it doesn’t describe how to use the charge combo enhancements well. So, if you missed the quick text box which describes how to use it on pickup, or come back after not having played for a long time, you may forget that mechanic and end up stuck.

A nice touch by the developers has been to add a large array of concept art, character models and music in a dedicated “Extras” section in the main menu. Players can view various models and their differences between Metroid Prime and MPR. It’s a nice feature, showing that Retro Studios care, and it would go a long way with players if other games were to add this.

There are some other issues worth mentioning. The Joycon rumble feature is far too intense and far too loud in MPR, with no way to reduce it in-game. I found myself having to turn rumble off via the Switch’s settings instead because it was so excessive. The game is also heavily reliant on a color-coded weapons system, but thankfully Retro Studios have made this more accessible, giving players with colorblindness support through the three colorblind mode options of red, blue or green assist. Though they stop short of providing options for people with multiple colorblind types.

Final Thoughts

Frustratingly, I can see why critics and players love Metroid Prime Remastered so much, being an extremely faithful remaster of the original. There can often be a real sense of adventure. The discoveries and abilities are at times, exciting to find and use. Visually, the game looks beautiful and has lots of nice additions to add depth and detail to the environment and characters. However, I do feel there has been too much nostalgia plaguing critical reception to MPR, with some ignorance of the issues that this game suffers from. MPR fails to properly execute its themes, mood and atmosphere, and this is largely due to the failure of music and sound design. This isn’t helped by gameplay issues whereby player progression isn’t effectively rewarded and backtracking becomes tiring and cumbersome. Movement in this game simply isn’t fun. Because of this, I’m discouraged from wanting to explore, and from wanting to backtrack and re-discover, concepts that are central to the game and the genre. I return to the dilemma I stated at the start of this article: reviewing MPR presents a challenge. I could ignore some of its issues, and give in to the argument that in 2002, this may have been a groundbreaking and incredibly innovative game. But Nintendo and critics alike should not rely so heavily on nostalgia to review this game, because there are glaring problems that have not been addressed. And with the development that the genre has undergone in the past twenty years, it feels deceitful and unfair to ignore the improvements and benefits that have occurred during that time.

Metroid Prime Remastered can provide a good sense of adventure, but there are real issues that need to be acknowledged. If Nintendo and Retro Studios release remasters of the second and third instalments, as I presume, they will, then it will be interesting to see how the series developed over the years. With Metroid Prime 4 eagerly anticipated as a major Switch release in the coming years, I hope that they take on board the criticisms presented here, and aren’t blinded by the nostalgic love for the original Metroid Prime that critics have been espousing.