Topic: Metroid Prime 4: The Long(er) Wait

In terms of melee combat in a Metroid prime game - I think the grapple beam could be used for that. Kind of an improvement of what we could do in prime 3.

You mean the one in the cutscene or the one that you actually explore first? Because I'd actually like to see the former added to the game.

This is one of the best named threads on NL - well done OP, bravo! ..it would certainly seem like we do have a long wait ahead of us - the lack of actual game footage (in-game or cinematic) in the E3 reveal would make it seem like Prime 4 is in the very early stages of development ..hopefully we'll get remasters of the original Trilogy between now and then to help refresh our memories! **fingers crossed!**

The E3 reveal suggests at the very earliest, Prime 4 will be a holiday 2018 game but probably later.

@Grumblevolcano Yeah, I have to agree - I've actually got it mentally penciled in for a 2019 release...but hope we get to see some footage next year (E3 '18?) to satiate our appetites

I do suspect we'll be waiting until 2019 to play this game, but we'll probably see first gameplay footage at E3 2018. The early reveal definitely feels like a "don't worry, we're working on it" statement and it's not really ready to be shown.

I assumed Haru meant the large room where you activate the portal and enter Dark Aether itself. I agree, that room was quite impressive! I'm beginning to enjoy the Luminoth architecture in the game.

I managed to get both the dark and light beams last night. While I like them both (particularly what happens to the arm cannon when doing a charge shot with the dark beam), I hate that they're limited; I think it's kind of weird that you have to attack an enemy with the opposite beam in order to replenish the other. It's driving me a bit nuts as I like to keep stuff like that filled up if possible.

I also got to fight Dark Samus. That was a fun fight, though I was expecting her/it to be fought later in the game. I wonder how she/it got to Dark Aether in the first place? By hitching a ride with the space pirates?

@Tyranexx The limited beam ammo adds to game's "horror" atmosphere, at least before you get to expand it. Like grabbing your first shotgun in Resident Evil (the charged Light Beam is even basically a shotgun blast!), you now have a weapon that can really hurt the monsters you've been facing up until now, but you also have to be mindful of when and how you use it. Though, it's mitigated by the fact that pickup containers are EVERYWHERE, so it's not too difficult to hold enough ammo for times that it is needed (if you DO run dry, you can charge to fire a basic shot for door-opening purposes). The logic for getting opposite beam ammo is to keep you from continuously blasting enemies with lucky drops, and eventually have to either search for weaker things to kill in order to find more or fall back on a weaker beam.

I personally liked this as it encouraged different approaches across different scenarios, instead of just always using the most powerful beam at the given moment (you pretty much never had to switch off of the Plasma Beam in Prime 1 for anything other than colour immunities or the odd super-long distance shot).

@Tyranexx Did you 100% Prime 1 and see the secret ending? It shows something about Dark Samus that you might not be aware of...

For anyone interested in where the former retro employees are now:

After seeing that I'm not so sure I would want Retro working on the new Prime lol. Reminds me too much of what happened to Rare. There is a good reason why Nintendo let them go.

@Spoony_Tech Keep in mind there's like 70 people working at Retro and that all these are people who left the company between 2001 and 2017. If the last DK titles are anything to go by, they still have talent in spades. Can't wait to see what they've been working on, personally.

That's what I've been saying for years. The current team can make an amazing DK game, but they have little experience with Metroid. So I never understood why anyone wanted Retro to make another Prime game.

I think the situation is a bit different from Rare however, since Nintendo actually owns Retro.

@Octane The same is true of every game studio though, and Ubisoft can still make almost the exact same Assassin's Creed games over a decade, across a global array of studios, lol. I think a lot of it has to to with existing assets and code.

@Haru17 they can just remake the first me triode with hi rez graphics and multipleya
i would be fine with that.@octane

Team deathmatch anyone.

@meleebrawler: Fair enough, I guess. What you're saying (or posted) does make sense. I'll probably adapt to the mechanic, but my first impression of it wasn't very positive. The thing was, at the time I was trying to conserve ammo and was still having a tough time. Thanks for telling me that the doors at least can still be opened with depleted ammo.. I haven't played much since my last post, but I did find a beam expansion that will definitely help out.

@MarcelRguez: I finished Prime 1 at 95% (missed a couple of scans and missile expansions, at least from what I've gathered), but I have watched footage of the best/secret ending (I think). My ending showed the Phazon suit being forcibly ripped from Samus as Metroid Prime "died". However, the supposed "best ending" showed a hand rising from a puddle of Phazon on Tallon IV. I'm assuming Prime's conscience, or sentience, etc. used the high-powered suit that it stole from Samus to give itself form again, continually evolving/powering itself up with Phazon (as evidenced by scans that I've done in Prime 2). That still doesn't really explain how it/she traveled to Aether. It may have been shown in that "best" ending, but it's been some time since I've seen it. My best guess though is that Dark Samus hitched a ride somehow. shrug

@Tyranexx Ok, you have the basics down. That's what the ending shows, yes. Keep playing Echoes and don't worry about it.

Oh, didn't see the "intentionally" part of that statement.

Meh, I wasn't super impressed with that room. I did like the buildup to activating the portal but the room itself wasn't much to write home about.

I'm more interested in exploring that area in the cutscene where the Ing steal Samus' gear. It really bugs me that that entire section of Sky Temple Grounds where you fight the Dark Troopers in the Light World is completely inaccessible in the Dark World, they have cut rooms from the Dark World but not entire sections. I have a sneaking suspicion that was actually intended to be in the game but they cut it.

Yeah, that's annoying. It's pretty much impossible to fill both up without an ammo station (or Samus' ship which serves as one).

Don't worry, you'll see her again. She's like Bowser in 64/Galaxy, you fight her several times throughout the game (although unlike Bowser, she's not the main boss of the area).

And yeah, they don't really explain Dark Samus' origins any more than you already know.

You know, all this talk about Echoes's horror and dread elements... yet ironically, it's probably the most light-hearted of all the Prime games, or even the entire main series (barring Federation Force). The music in the light world is rather upbeat for the most part (perhaps to contrast Dark Aether), and a lot of it consists of remixes from classic 2D games to tickle nostalgia bones (not to mention Super Metroid's colored doors). Phazon and it's corruption takes a backseat, and for once Samus ISN'T too late to help the natives. It says a lot when this game's ending is almost unambiguously positive, while 1 and 3's were more bittersweet than anything.

I never thought about it like that, you make some good points.

I really did enjoy actually being able to save the planet and inhabitants before it was completely corrupted/split in 2. As opposed to just seeing the remnants of an advanced civilization in the other games.