Topic: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

@JaxonH Thank you for taking the time to advise on that (inversion Y Axis on 'cursor' aka lock-on)

It was so unbelievably jarring going from an inverted Y-Axis in free-aim... to then lock on and be dealing with the complete inverse (!) The game is now thankfully playable for me now, cheers mate

I started the game this morning and it's pretty much everything I could ask for in a Metroid game. Don't get the negativity of some people here and to say it will destroy the franchise is just utterly absurd. It's clearly a game that's not for you and that's ok but going around putting a damper on things without giving any constructive feedback is just annoying and on that I'm unsubscribing from the thread now. There's enough negativity in the world already I don't want to come on this website and be drowned by it.

@CJD87
Glad to help!

I'm astounded at the various control methods people prefer, and this game accommodates all of them.

• Dual Stick
• Dual Stick + Gyro (Camera)
• Dual Stick + Gyro (Lock-On)
• Dual Stick + Gyro (Camera + Lock-On)
• Motion Pointer Aiming
• Mouse Aiming

There's even multiple options for free-aiming:

• Free Aiming (Gyro) with threshold settings
• Free Aiming (Right Stick)
• Free Aiming (Revised Right Stick)

You can invert X Camera, invert Y Camera, invert X Lock-On, invert Y Lock-On, change sensitivities for all of them individually, change X mouse sensitivity, Y mouse sensitivity, toggle motion for grapple lasso, motion for spring ball, and customize every last button imaginable, even separately for morph ball mode and when on Viola and when on foot.

It's the new gold standard for control options.

@JaxonH Thanks. Those improvements in MP4 do seem like they'd remove a lot of frustrations for newbies like myself.

@JaxonH
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, was playing more of the game. I don't know exactly how far I am but I've played over 7 hours according to the time on my in-game save file (according to my Switch 2 I have 10 hours in it). I'm at the Ice Belt, which is my favorite area so far and I'm beginning to enjoy the game a bit more than I was. To be entirely fair to this game, I think part of the problem is given how much I love Metroid (my second favorite series behind only Resident Evil), and the work Retro has done for Nintendo over the years, I had my expectations for this one tuned up to 11 when I should've realized given the circumstances, it was never going to reach the insane highs I wanted it to, even after an 18-year wait and 8 after the announcement. It is what it is.

As for the dialog, it's the typical writing and humor that has become really trendy since it was used in the MCU that is plaguing a lot of games these days and it doesn't work for me, not in anything but especially Metroid. I'm not against having dialog in the series. I didn't think MP 3's was anything to write home about but it didn't bother me. I thought it was handled extremely well in Dread. In this game, the first impression wasn't great and it hasn't gotten much better. Factor in the boring open world, a bit of a lack of variety in enemy types and it does weaken the game some. Fortunately, the good so far has lifted things to the point where it's been a more positive than negative experience even if my comments haven't made it seem that way. I'll try to post more the further I get but despite my criticisms the game has got me hooked so that's not a bad thing.

Also just want to say on the very positive side, the soundtrack for this game is absolutely outstanding. I've played pretty much every major release this year and by far my favorite music, and sound in general, is in Metroid Prime 4. I'd say even to people who don't plan to play the game, get on the Nintendo Music app and listen to the tunes that have been put on there.

@Gamer83
I see. Makes sense.

Ice Belt really surprised me. I thought Volt Forge was peak, but man, once you restore power in Ice Belt it transforms in a way that really impressed me. I also loved that wind section on the chains. Reminded me of the Tomb Raider reboot crossing sections with strong wind that would blow you so hard you'd go right off the edge if you weren't careful.

I can't stop playing, but I'm also scared to finish it cause I know it'll be over then. I agree that Sol Valley gameplay isn't as fun as the bespoke areas, but I do still enjoy it. Riding Viola around is fun, and it breaks up the stress of exploration in between areas. But I can see how it may not sit as well with others.

I'm going down a rabbit hole of logbook lore entries in Ice Belt. Learning about the Grievers and how they were created, and the attempts to cure them... it's fascinating. I wish those diary lore entries were voiced like in Tomb Raider. It's not a big deal but I do think it would elevate it that much more.

@VoidofLight
If you do end up liking MP 4 enough to try other entries, definitely give Metroid Prime 1 a go. Imo, it easily ranks among the 15 best video games ever created, still holds up to this day and the remaster is exactly how a re-release should be done. Even without a Switch 2 patch, it plays phenomenally and looks terrific.

@LightSpirit
Don't let such people run you out. That's what they want to see happen. They want to ruin your fun and steal your enjoyment.

Just ignore it- giving them attention and saying it gets to you just emboldens them. The only way threads don't get overrun by such people is if reasonable members stick around and have normal conversations. Like @Gamer83 who had some legit criticisms I disagree with but he's genuine, and doesn't exaggerate with an agenda to dogpile or hate bash, and can still acknowledge he's having a great time. Those are the ones who keep the thread grounded in real discussion.

Respond to those kinds of members and let the ones with an agenda talk amongst themselves. We need people like you here, otherwise the thread gets conquered by those who want to see the game fail and just spend every post trashing it.

@cwong15
Ya I really am convinced this is THE game to start with as a newcomer. And once you play Metroid Prime 4 and understand how the game expects you to approach things and solve problems, you'll be better equipped to go experience earlier entries.

@JaxonH
I wouldn't want them to overdue it with spoken lines but if they did want to do something like have Samus read lore entries out loud that would be cool. Also don't think some type of interaction with other characters would be bad. Just keep it minimal. Worked well in Dread.

@Gamer83
Hmm... I hadn't considered Samus herself reading the entries, but ya know, I'm not entirely against that. Could be a smart way of allowing Samus to speak and acclimate long-time fans to the idea of her talking again, without it going down the Other M path.

I did really like how it was handled in Dread though. She spoke one line, but because she never speaks it made it feel all the more special. Especially in the Chozo tongue. I personally really enjoy spoken dialog, but like you I agree it should be kept to a minimum in Metroid games. There's a balance to be struck. Other M was too far on one end of the spectrum, whereas games like Dread maybe were a little light (not for Samus, but for dialog from other characters- Adam at the terminals was essentially all we got).

I feel Prime 4 strikes a pretty good balance actually, but I do wish Samus would have been given a line or two. Something like Dread- even a single line, would have gone a long ways (and while I havent finished the game, I've read enough reviews to know it doesnt happen).

Music is banging btw. I heard you can unlock an OST selection for Viola in-game (the amiibo grants access right away), the problem is, by the time you unlock it you probably wont have much need for it. I strongly recommend getting the Viola amiibo, or an amiibo card, or using your phone, to unlock those additional tracks early. Cause like you said, the music is superb. And when you're jamming out to bangers like the Volt Forge theme in Sol Valley, even if you hate it, you'll still probably have a reasonably good time because of the music. Cruising around crunching crystals and finding secrets is just background activity for a jam session.

Just to be clear, there is ambient music in the desert. It's just that having the Amiibo allows you to change it to one of the themes from the other areas. Nintendo have been doing this sort of thing for a decade now, with some far more egregious feature blocking, e.g. fast travel in Skyward Sword.

Like I said though, it's very easy to work around, so not worth complaining about much. If only there was such an easy fix for having an empty desert that seemly just exists to pad out the game in the first place.

@JaxonH
I actually picked up the Samus Amiibo a couple days before the game launched because I thought it looked cool, didn't even know what it unlocked, was nice to find out it gave me some tunes to listen to while in Sol Valley. It's still not a fun part of the game but great music does at least alleviate some of the annoyance.

Ice Belt is by far my favorite area. Just look at this...

@Gamer83
What's your favorite track thus far? Obviously I'm going with Volt Forge, but I'm curious if you (or anyone else) favors a different track.

Vi-O-La themes I've unlocked so far. I prefer the Sylux theme. But the Samus Varia and Metroid Prime themes are good, too.

@JaxonH Oh man do I appreciate the checkpoints. This was nice in Dread where you had a checkpoint just before the boss if you die (which I did, often many times), so it was something I was more used to since Dread is my most recently played Metroid. It's nice to not have to do a super big trek back just because a battle went sideways or something.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond looks cool from what I’ve seen online about it. It comes out on December 4, 2025. I hope to get it for Christmas. It’s on my list.

Great game so far. As others have said, boy, it sure does look nice!
I'm taking my sweet time with it. Only just got to the second save station with Mr Myles in tow.

I don't have the game myself but have been reading as many reviews as possible to gauge whether it was worth buying the game. However multiple reviewers have definitely stated no music in the desert without amiibo so perhaps you already have a amiibo linked to your system and the other is you get about a good 3 hours of gameplay I think before it all starts going wrong. It's like the game was incredibly short and the motorbike sections became the extra padding to add more hours to it. A bit like how Halo extended the hours of gameplay with repetition too. My overall impression is its not a bad game but its not a great game either. It seems a technical showcase for the original Switch though. Super impressive on that older format but sadly gameplay nots so great. I've seen comments that Metroid Prime remastered on Switch is a far better game and that has a metacritic score of 94 compared to 80 for this game.

It feels like the pricing isn't justified to me, its not that good a game and considering how many games I have yet to start on various formats I feel I will put this on the backburner for a while hoping Nintendo patch the game to make it a better overall experience like they are doing with Mario Kart World. I don't have a Switch 2 I'm only considering buying for the Switch version but did intend to buy the Switch 2 cartridge so I have it ready for when I buy a Switch 2. I shall probably buy it secondhand in a few months, post Christmas when people need to start paying for Christmas and sell stuff they aren't too bothered about.

@BonzoBanana I have played the game and there is music in the desert without needing to use an Amiibo. Like I said, it's ambient and quite different to the rest of the soundtrack, but it's definitely there. The Amiibo unlocks a radio that allows you to change the music and listen to other tracks, that's all.

If you still don't believe me, maybe watch this video here, which also clears up a few other misconceptions about the area.

Any "reviewer" who tells you that it doesn't isn't to be trusted and quite possibly hasn't even played the game properly. I've not seen any professional reviewers who claim that, but I wouldn't put it past some YouTubers to lie about it for engagement.