Somehow, in the midst of all this turmoil, Retro Studios managed to make a game that is not only completely faithful to its history and lineage, but also puts the image of GameCube being a kiddy console firmly to rest once and for all. Nintendo clearly saw the potential that the Retro staff was struggling to realize, and with a little close tutelage, the two companies have shown what it looks like when potential is realized.

Until now, Splinter Cell and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were the front runners to be Game of the Year, and deservedly so. Yet Retro Studios has seemingly come out of nowhere to usurp Super Mario 64 as one of the best video games ever made. Metroid Prime is certainly not flawless, but it’s a perfect example of a game that is greater than the sum of its parts, easily overcoming any deficiencies in its design.

Gameplay

The individual areas in which you’ll play through Metroid Prime are widely varied, if a tad on the clichéd side. Magmoor Caverns is a hot, lava filled area, where jets of steam fog up your visor and flames lick at your heels. Phendrana Drifts is an icy wasteland, the Chozo Ruins spark memories of a bygone civilization and the Tallon Overworld closely resembles a rainforest, which shows off the game’s gorgeous rain and mist effects.

However, the real star here is the visor. Someone at Retro is a true visionary (no pun intended), as the visor makes Metroid Prime more than just a 3D Metroid game. Aside from the Scan Visor, a Thermal Visor lets you see heat signatures and more easily find hidden switches or track enemies in the dark. Better yet is the X-Ray visor, which lets you see through semi-solid objects.

With the variation in visors, it becomes clear why dual-analog control was left out. Being able to switch visors on the fly (along with your weapons) is crucial to the gameplay and, in fact, discovering new ways to use those Visors is much like finding that first bombable passageway.

Therein lies the true genius of Metroid Prime: discovery. Even though the game guides you along through a built-in hint system, you still feel like you’re discovering everything for yourself. Enticements like an out-of-the-way missile container or energy tank have you dreaming up ways of reaching them. Seeing an unreachable platform or item has you salivating for the power up that will let you explore those further reaches. This leads to a fair amount of backtracking and revisiting, but it nearly always results in opening more of that area or acquiring a new item.

The weapons are initially limited to six classic Metroid staples. The power beam is your main weapon, missiles are your heavy artillery and bombs are used for demolition, while the wave beam, ice beam and plasma beam round out the list. Each weapon also has an upgrade that can be fired in a “combo” by charging it and hitting Y. These upgrades can be tricky to find, but they are some of the more impressive weapons in the game.

Abilities can also be recovered, including the morph ball and its speedy counterpart, the ball boost. A grappling beam allows Samus to swing Tarzan-style to new areas, and there are multiple suit upgrades that include new abilities.

Sadly, a few favorites did not make it into the game, namely the screw attack. Since Samus doesn’t spin during her jumps (how disorienting would that be in first-person?) there was little point in adding that famous attack. Likewise, the jump ball didn’t make the cut, though you can still bomb your way to new heights in classic Metroid fashion by chaining explosions together.

Samus has a fairly lengthy stay on Tallon IV, clocking in at 20-25 hours of game-calculated time, but gamers can expect to spend 40- to 60-percent more in actual gameplay. Many of the boss battles are difficult, and it will take several retries to find a method and rhythm that will allow you to prevail. Those unfamiliar with standard Metroid-style gameplay might double that number of gameplay hours as they learn the nuances needed to proceed.

Graphics

Visually, this game has no equal on the GameCube. Sure, some games use more recent technology; Rogue Leader and Star Fox Adventures both managed to implement bump-mapping to great effect. But neither title had the incredibly solid framerate of Prime, which is complemented by amazingly detailed animation frames for each character.

Prime also delivers detail in a way that shows nothing was deemed too infinitesimal in the art design. Rain bounces off of Samus’s blaster weapon, ichors splatter on her visor, water splashes, heat waves rise from her overheated blaster … you could go on forever. Each is impressive and adds to the atmosphere of Prime in a distinctly tangible way, something a prettier rock face just can’t do. Throw it on an HDTV and call it a day.

Sound

Not to be outdone by the art direction, the soundtrack is absolutely fabulous. Borrowing themes from previous titles as well as offering new tunes, each riff grabs at your reminder node and releases that sense of nostalgia and sets the scene perfectly. With that said, there’s nothing here that’s going to have you humming it afterward. The music is made up of MIDI arrangements, but with instruments and themes that sound this good, and the ability of MIDI tracks to change tempo and instruments on the fly, it really makes it seem like your movements will move the music, and it’s not just simple background noise.

Presented in Dolby Pro Logic II, sound effects realistically pan around you, making sure no enemies will sneak up on you unless you’re simply not paying attention. Samus’ suit also screeches emotionally, if that’s possible, when she’s engulfed in lava, and Samus herself screams believably when she dies. The audio package is an outstanding effort all around.

Replayability

Metroid Prime is a single-player game, so there’s no hope for multiplayer deathmatch and battles of the visors. Yet the ability to explore new areas and reach previously unreachable platforms will have gamers coming back for more.

There are also some unlockable surprises, both for Metroid Fusion owners and for those people who scan and acquire all of the items. These unlockables include the original NES version of Metroid (if you beat Metroid Fusion for the GBA and link it to your GameCube) and an image gallery featuring some pretty cool concept art and renders.

It’s hard not to wax poetic about the experience that is Metroid Prime, but there has not been a sequel this true to its heritage, yet fresh and new since … well, since Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. But Nintendo better make room on their awards wall, because Prime is on track to make those games look like Fisher Price toys. When the only real complaint that can’t be debated is the lack of a widescreen option for those with the means, you know you have a real winner

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