Topic: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

The game is incredible. Edge is on that pipe lol.

It is, however, controversial to some inasmuch that it isn't quite as "metroidvania" as past entries, and while I don't personally agree with the extent of responses from some, which is grossly exaggerated, I do understand where many criticisms are coming from.

But no, the game is not horrible. It's actually incredibly fun. My favorite Metroid in the Prime series. Is it perfect? No. But what game is.

Anyone who reads a review giving this game a 4 and believes it, while ignoring the perfect 10 it received and countless 8's and 9's, is just looking for confirmation bias.

Play it for yourself, or don't. All I can say is I adore this game, and don't really care if it doesn't perfectly align with prior entries. I maintain that if this game wasn't a Metroid Prime entry, and was just some 3rd party game made in the spirit of Metroid Prime, it would have been glazed from east to west.

In fact, I'm glad Edge scored it a 4 because it just proves my point that the game has been unfairly sabotaged in its critical reception. Even those voicing legitimate concerns recognize that's utterly ridiculous. So if it wasn't clear before, now it's irrefutable. And once you realize Edge unfairly trashed it, you begin to wonder how many other sites did as well. And it's not always so blatantly obvious. Sometimes it could just be underscored by a point or 2 to blend in.

Seeing complaints about no Metroids....they're barely a thing in the games they're in, and in some games don't show up at all.

Since when did Edge become the font of all wisdom?

All reviews are a matter of opinion, of course, and I'll defend the right of whoever wrote that review to score it how they did. Still, at the same time, it's an obvious outlier for a game that's had over a hundred professional reviews by now without anyone else scoring it that poorly, and even more so than the numerous ones where it got full marks.

Having already played it to a finish and had a chance to form my own opinion about it, it's definitely more of a flawed gem. If you go into it with an open mind and reasonable expectations for a game that clearly caused its developers a lot of trouble to make, there's still a heck of a lot to like about it in amongst those flaws and I'd think that the bulk of the reviewers recognized that too.

It's good enough even to be at least someone's game of the year, even though it wasn't mine and it probably won't be yours either.

I just beat the game. I definitely enjoyed it, but agree with a lot of the criticism. It cannot hold a candle to the original Metroid Prime and the magic of playing it back in the day. The Federation characters are not as awful as I expected, but should not have been in the game regardless. The desert was pretty meh overall and unnecessary, but I did enjoy the surprise bonus boss battle on the bike. All the areas(or "dungeons") were cool IMO, but kind of felt like they were lacking in fun, clever puzzles and exploration. The graphics are great(especially for a game that was built for the switch 1) and there is some great music, though having to buy a 30 dollar Amiibo just to get music in Sol Valley is absolutely disgusting. Shame Nintendo, shame! Controls were classic Prime and I loved that.

I had a good time overall, but I think the game was trying too hard to be Zelda. I love Zelda, but Metroid is not supposed to be that. I also can't believe it took Retro over 5 years to develop it as well. WTH? I do hope they continue and make a 2nd trilogy and address all the criticisms with Beyond in 5 and 6. Feel free to try some new things, but get back to the Metroid fundamentals. Show us you can still be the Retro that blew us away with the original Prime all those many years ago now.

You forgot about Super Metroid.

Semi random, but on topic with 'Super' Metroid. Nintendo did a stellar job with their updated CRT Filter(After slightly bumping up the sharpness on my TV & increasing my TV's Back light brightness to compensate for the CRT scanline darkening,) for NSO NES(I also recommend jacking up your TV's color beyond the norm and using Native color gamut to compensate for the darker emulated nes color) & SNES, but I still can't stand how they don't allow you to reduce the size of the default 4:3 CRT mode screen. I'm currently gaming on a 55"(Which translates to an almost 45" '4:3' picture...) Sure, you can opt for pixel perfect mode which shrinks down the screen size on NSO, but then there's no CRT filter(Which is a must if you're like me) and the aspect ratio ends up looking unaturally narrow.

For 8-16 bit games, along with Saturn, PS1 & N64, a 27" 4:3 CRT is my preffered size, or max 32". 32" is a must for Dreamcast, GameCube & Wii though. But nearly 45" for NES & SNES? Can't do it. If Nintendo released the same screen size adjusting option like in Arcade Archives I could easily get the screen size to my liking. Retro Sprite based graphics don't look good on large screens. But at least those that prefer handheld mode can get a bite sized image on either their NS OLED or NS2. Too small for my liking though. Back to the real thing on a CRT! lol

Although, I'll admit. The nostalgia, just that magic isn't what it used to be. it's fading. I find myself jumping into some of my most beloved & cherrished retro titles, only to turn the game off within 10 minutes. it's never the same! That first time experience you had with said game, when these games were cutting edge and in the now is what it's all about, and you can't recreate that. it's impossible. I always think back to the people that were once in my life that aren't here anymore, my youth, pop culture in general etc, and ya. Once you've done it, you've done it. I think many video game experiences for a lot of us are probably best left in the memory banks or past, and instead to be remembered fondly.

Best way to reintroduce the classics, imo, is to your kids & nieces if you have them, on original hardware & software with a CRT. I'm all over the map here, but i was hoping to play through Super Metroid on NSO, but i can't deal with the near 45" 4:3 screen size. I can deal with a bit of latency, and there is latency. But it's not game breaking or anything. it's doable.

And it's funny, So many Ninendo fans consider Super Mario World, LOZ: ALTTP & Super Metroid as the SNES holy trinity, which I almost agree with. Except...Super Metroid hasn't aged all that well(Soundtrack & visuals are still top notch mind you), but Samus's controls are too stiff & clunky, and you get locked into crouching once you press down. Boss battles can feel sloppy too. Where as SMWorld & LOZ: ALTTP have both aged wonderfully, like a fine Wario Wine.

Dread has the ultimate 2D Metroid Controls. That game controls like a dream, with so much finesse, precision & diversitiy. They practically feel flawless. Even though I'm not entirely sold on it's art direction and almost clinical set pieces & generic enemy design. Prime 4 by comparison is in a completly different league entirely and class of it's own. But yes, I need to finish Super Metroid. I remember being blown away by it's first 20 minutes back in 94', especially mode 7 Samus's Ship effect during the opening cutscene. But that was it for me. As is, it's essentially going to feel new for this dooder! It's been on my back log for centuries, same thing applies to Mega Man 7, Demon's Crest & Yoshi's Island. I still haven't come close to finishing ALTTP Either!

My (hopefully) quick review after finishing the game yesterday that I'll try to keep as spoiler free as possible:

Things I liked:
The presentation: This is kind of the most obvious area, but the game is fantastic visually and runs very well. Additionally, I thought the soundtrack was stellar and set the mood really well, and I'm very much looking forward to listening through the whole thing soon. The overall sound design is also pretty solid.

The bosses: Fairly surprised about this, but I actually really enjoyed the boss fights in this game. It felt like they balanced the difficulty really well, and put a lot of the focus on actually learning and dodging the attacks, which I appreciated. The final two fights are especially large standouts.

Lack of dumb "Metroid Moments": This might seem like a dumb one, but it was pretty refreshing to have a Metroid game where every new puzzle and path feels solvable and logical, and the solution isn't just "bomb the floor randomly".

Things I'm mixed on:
The structure: As mentioned above, I like that the next place you need to go almost always makes sense. But sometimes I feel it's just a little too easy to figure out. And despite the huge open desert, this game might be even more linear than Fusion honestly, which is slightly disappointing to me. Also, the upgrade path feels really predictable and uninteresting. Very few upgrades really excited me in any way. It was mainly just "oh cool, I can open new doors now". Which isn't too abnormal, but it just felt like way too many upgrades were just that

The characters: I actually like the idea of having some characters in the game, but for the most part they were just sort of boring. I will stand by the take that they could've been fun, if they actually had whacky or fun personalities instead of being the most boring characters ever written (exaggeration, but you get what I mean). I will come to the defense of Myles though. He is really not that annoying, I honestly don't get the hate.

Sol Valley: I like some parts for sure. Having little puzzles to solve or smaller areas to explore is pretty cool, but it's mostly too big and too empty, and could've desperately used some fast travel options.

Things that didn't land for me:
The green energy crystal grind: This is just blatant padding and shouldn't be in the game. There is no challenge or fun to finding green energy crystals. You just see them and drive into them.

Lack of enemy variety: This is definitely one of the biggest letdowns for me, as the game starts out strong in this regard, but by the end it's pretty much the same enemies spammed over and over. Kind of a bummer.

The backtracking: A staple of the Prime series, and pretty monotonous here. Especially the FOUR times you have to backtrack to the same place for the same reason (IYKYK).

So yeah, in conclusion, a lot of stuff in this game kinda missed for me, which is unfortunate. I feel like this game definitely shows some signs of development hell, which is certainly unsurprising considering how long it took to come out. But that's not to say it's terrible, or even bad by any means. I think it still scratched that Metroid Prime itch for me, even if it wasn't perfect. And I really think this team at Retro could definitely do a lot better if they get a second attempt with the experience they have now. To grade it in baseball terms, it went one for four on the day with a single and a walk. Or to use normal terms, I'd give it a 6/10. Certainly not bad, but also not spectacular imo.

Unfortunately, this did not end up being short. Also my hand is going numb after typing this whole thing out on a phone lmao.

I can understand when people say it feels like a game from a previous generation, but for me I don't think that's a bad thing...

Just on the Green Energy hunt thing, that was never a problem for me, as I just ran into any I saw while traversing, and after doing all the shrines etc, it seemed like I easily made the required amount by the time ending drew near. I suppose if someone just zoomed from destination to destination across the desert and didn't bother much collecting the stuff, it could be a grind though. But after playing DK: Bananza I couldn't help smashing any stuff I came across lol.

@JaxonH The thing is, you seem to be claiming some kind of conspiracy of bias against the game while ignoring that you, perhaps, are biased towards it.

I don't think this is about Edge, anyway. That score is an outlier and they're entitled to that opinion (the review raises some good points, even if I disagree with the score). Away from the reviews, folk that I know are disappointed by the game on some level, myself included. That's not to say we're not enjoying our time with it but we do have reservations. I just hope that the series can recover to its heights in the hopefully not too distant future.

@eldersnake nah, it feeling like a GameCube game is definitely a strength for me!

@Haruki_NLI There are metroids everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, in the original Metroid Prime trilogy. I was just expressing disappointment that none was seen in-game in Beyond.

@echoplex There were Metroids in a few areas per game in the original trilogy.

They are in one area in Metroid Zero Mission. One area in Super Metroid. One area in Fusion. Not at all in Dread.

They've always been a rare enemy, boss, or glorified plot starter for most of the series.

Except Metroid 2, obviously, and that game is part of why they are so rare now.

Also, for the love of god, HD remasters of Echoes and Corruption now please! We are sitting here in the Switch era with the excellent remaster of Prime 1 and now Prime 4 and it's like 'HELLOOO Nintendo and Retro? You there?? There's a big gap/hole here now! Can you kindly address this now?' 🙄

@Rahmus
Not some "conspiracy". I dont think people gathered together and "conspired" lol.

But I do think people will exact vengeance against Nintendo for not making the exact game they think it "should have been". In fact it's plain as day. I also think there's a desire to exact vengeance due to anti-Switch 2 sentiment, and some won't dare to expose that inner desire if it sticks out like a sore thumb, but if they smell blood in the water and perceive an opportunity to mask it behind "legitimate criticism" they'll do exactly that. Not everyone, but certainly some.

This isn't some wild, tinfoil hat statement.

I agree. That's exactly the kind of game I wanted. 2025 is chock to the hilt with "modern games". I wanted a Metroid Prime, which was conceived in the GC/Wii era. And they gave us precisely that.

Slower movement, focus on exploration rather than high speed combat, puzzle solving, collecting, all the hallmarks of the original.

But they did modernize where it mattered, and as a result Idk if I'll be able to go back to prior entries. For example, auto saves before bosses or scripted combat encounters. Map markers. Gyro/mouse aiming with a multitude of control options. Voiced dialog for other characters. These modernizations all contributed to Prime 4 feeling less frustrating than other entries.

And that's exactly what they should have done. Give us the old school game design with modern comforts and improvements. If it didn't feel like a "GameCube/Wii" game it wouldn't feel like Metroid Prime.

I still want Prime 2 and 3 remastered with gyro aiming and map markers, but Prime 4 has scratched that lingering itch I've had for something new these past 2 decades.

@Haruki_NLI While it's true that the actual enemy isn't seen too often (I will say there's a fair amount in Prime 1, but mainly only limited to Pirate strongholds and Impact Crater, but other than that yeah you don't see them in most of the game), the fact that they're not really there at all in game is fairly disappointing. What's worse is that they are shown in a cutscene at the beginning of the game and there's lore about them fusing with the major bosses in the game, but that's completely unexplored. It's just sloppy writing and evidence that something seems to have went wrong with the game's development, even beyond what we knew about the infamous restart.

@JaxonH “exact vengeance” is a bit strong, wouldn’t you say? Certainly not plain as day - you’re assuming motive against a group who are saying what a lot of non-critics are saying too.

I think it’s far more likely that this game is fine but conservative, which leaves it exposed to critique. It’s well-made but design-wise it’s a bit soulless.

I can’t help but feel that at some point in its development when it was rebooted they looked at doing a full open world game à la Breath of the Wild but realised that they didn’t have the budget. The result is a sparse open world stitched in between largely linear sections.

The thing is, I do enjoy it while playing but I’m fully aware that it’s not a classic.

I'm at the end game, just haven't beaten it yet (in case I am missing anything that is end game)...with the talks about Metroids showing up. It wouldn't make a tone of sense, given what happens in the very beginning. Unless there were already Metroids on Viewros, they wouldn't be there. I'm not making a statement on whether or not they should be in the game, it's just that based on the story, it makes sense.

We see similar infusions happening to enemies, which is very reminiscent to past Prime games.

Like what others are saying - there was likely more that was planned, but they did what they could with the game. Like others here, I'm much higher on it - but I do understand some of the critiques. But that Edge review - I haven't seen the full review, but this line I think is way off base "Nintendo games have tested our patience before, but rarely in so many ways at once, and not without a core brilliance that makes such transgressions forgivable." There is absolutely a Core brilliance in Prime 4, and in no way is the game a 4.
They also gave Air Riders a 5 - and while that game was not for me, there is no way it should be scored that low.

I mean Sylux's Metroids could've easily been caught in the teleportation blast along with Sylux himself and the Federation soldiers. That would easily explain why we could see Metroids roaming around Viewros.

"Conservative" isn't quite the right word either because that implies that it doesn't change too much which they definitely did. What I think better describes Prime 4 is that it's simplified, a lot of the things they did differently made the game feel easier and less demanding (especially cognitively) and that tends to be off-putting to certain demographics of gamers that want intellectual stimulation, a game like this insults their intelligence. That's what the controversy behind this game is about.

@Bolt_Strike you are right on that one...I was hoping that they show up in the final battle...unless they have fused with others that you fight...