Metroid Prime: Trilogy
Encyclopedia
Metroid Prime: Trilogy is an action-adventure
video game compilation developed by Retro Studios
and published by Nintendo
for the Wii
video game console
. The compilation features three games from the Metroid
series: Metroid Prime
, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
. Prime and Echoes, which were originally released for the Nintendo GameCube
, were updated with many of the features that were first implemented in Corruption, such as a new control scheme based on the Wii Remote
and an achievement system
.
The compilation was released in North America on August 24, 2009, in Europe on September 4, 2009, and in Australia on October 15, 2009. Nintendo has discontinued the title in both North America and Australia. It was not released in Japan, because the Prime and Echoes remakes were released as standalone games in the New Play Control!
collection for that region. Metroid Prime: Trilogy was well-received by critics, with much praise to the new controls.
The updated Wii versions of Prime and Echoes, which were released separately in Japan as part of the New Play Control! series, utilize the same Wii Remote control scheme introduced in Corruption. Other updates include shorter load times, upgraded textures, bloom lighting, altered visual effects, and 16:9 widescreen capabilities; however, the heads-up display
is always displayed at the original aspect ratio, causing it to be stretched horizontally when in widescreen mode. Additionally, the award system from Corruption was incorporated into the first two games. Players earn tokens
by accomplishing certain tasks, allowing them to unlock in-game items such as artwork, music, a screenshot feature, decorative items for Samus' ship in Corruption and the Fusion Suit
in Prime. The game also featured a multiplayer mode from Echoes, but was limited to local four-player games and did not feature online play. In response to complaints from players and critics about Echoess high difficulty during some of the boss battles, the difficulty of the encounters was lowered.
, Metroid Prime was the first 3D title in the series, changing the perspective from sidescrolling third person to first-person view, with third-person being used on the Morph Ball gameplay. The game starts with protagonist Samus Aran
receiving a distress signal from Space Pirate Frigate
Orpheon. After an accident causes the ship to be destroyed, Samus lands on the nearby planet, Tallon IV, where the Space Pirates discovered a powerful radioactive substance known as Phazon. Samus fights off the Pirates and their biological experiments, eventually leading to a battle with Metroid Prime, a highly mutated Metroid that had been feeding off the core of a Phazon meteorite. The game received universal acclaim by critics, winning several Game of the Year
awards, and sold over two million units worldwide.
from a ship near Aether, a planet inhabited by a race known as the Luminoth. There, she discovers that the troops were slaughtered by the Ing, an evil race that came from an alternate dimension of Aether created by a Phazon meteor. Samus travels to three temples to ensure the destruction of the Ing, while battling Space Pirates and her mysterious doppelgänger
called Dark Samus. Although it was positively received, criticism of the game was driven on the steep difficulty and multiplayer components. Sales for Echoes were lower than the first, with a total of 800,000 units.
. While fending off a Space Pirate assault, Samus and her fellow bounty hunters are attacked by Dark Samus. After Samus loses contact with the other hunters, the Galactic Federation sends Samus on a mission to determine what happened to them. During the course of the game, Samus works to prevent the Phazon from spreading from planet to planet while being slowly corrupted by the Phazon herself. The game received high critical acclaim, and as of March 2008, 1.31 million copies of the game were sold worldwide.
. Walker considered the compilation to be "an almost unheard of opportunity to take something you had already released and make it better". Senior designer Mike Wikan said most of the content additions were subtle changes, such as streamlining the engines for steady framerates and shorter loading times, and higher resolution textures. Prime had the addition of light bloom
, and Echoes had difficulty tweaks to make it "more accessible to those who were really intimidated early on". For Corruption, the code was examined to find ways to make it run faster and better than in the original Wii release. On October 2, 2008, Nintendo presented the New Play Control! series of GameCube remakes, with Prime and Echoes among the initial Japan titles. In May 2009, Nintendo announced that all three games would be packaged in a single-disk compilation internationally.
had also discontinued the game. Following Nintendo of America's announcement, Nintendo of Europe assured that the game was not discontinued in their region.
and GameRankings, Metroid Prime: Trilogy has an average of 91 out of 100 and 92.27 out of 100, indicating "Universal Acclaim". GameSpy
praised it for being the compilation of three great games for the price of one. IGN
awarded Trilogy a score of 9.5 out of 10, citing the "fantastic gameplay" and "brilliant presentation values", while NGamer
UK complimented the addition of achievements system, and said the package had a good money value, calling it a "massive amount of gameplay per pound
". Eurogamer
's review thought the new implementations made it attractive to newcomers and old-time fans, and declared that "not since Super Mario All Stars in the SNES era has Nintendo taken an opportunity to unite one of its great series in such an irresistible way". 1UP.com
's review liked the implementation of the new control scheme, stating that "the smooth precision of the Wii Remote makes the older games well worth revisiting". IGN later ranked Trilogy third in a list of 25 best Wii games, behind Super Mario Galaxy
and its sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2
.
Despite the praise, Metroid Prime: Trilogy has been subject to criticism. GamePro
's review said that graphically, "the games do look a bit dated" and complained that the HUD was "out of aspect" to fit the widescreen. Official Nintendo Magazines review said that some aspects of Prime and Echoes had aged, saying the backtracking "feels like more of a chore than it did seven years ago," and that it is "not until [Echoes] enters its final third that things really start to pick up". GamesRadar
considered the achievements too expensive, and that the similarity between the three games gives "an inescapable sense of déjà vu
". Edge
magazine's review noted that the control scheme was not very innovative, and that Echoes and Corruption "favoured graphical flourishes over design innovation". While the main reviewer for Game Informer
praised the game, the "second opinion" reviewer considered the collection "subpar", saying it lacked innovation, and that the Wii control scheme, particularly aiming and panning, "is inferior in every way to the traditional scheme from the GameCube titles". Furthermore, the removal of the subtle graphical effects present in the GameCube versions of Prime, and a minor dialogue change in Corruption have been led to minor fan criticism. In a interview for Metroid fansite
, Shinesparkers, Corruption voice actor Timothy Patrick Miller was asked to recall on a minor dialogue alteration for his voice work:
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game compilation developed by Retro Studios
Retro Studios
Retro Studios is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in October 1998 by the video game veteran Jeff Spangenberg after leaving Acclaim Entertainment, as an independent studio making games exclusively for Nintendo Company, Ltd.On May 2, 2002, Nintendo...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The compilation features three games from the Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series: Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...
, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, known as in Japan, is a first-person, action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. It is the seventh game in the Metroid series, a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, and the first game in the series with...
, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first-person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series, and the final entry in the Metroid Prime trilogy—excluding two spin-off titles. It was released in...
. Prime and Echoes, which were originally released for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, were updated with many of the features that were first implemented in Corruption, such as a new control scheme based on the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
and an achievement system
Achievement (video gaming)
In video gaming parlance, an achievement, also sometimes known as a trophy or challenge, is a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters...
.
The compilation was released in North America on August 24, 2009, in Europe on September 4, 2009, and in Australia on October 15, 2009. Nintendo has discontinued the title in both North America and Australia. It was not released in Japan, because the Prime and Echoes remakes were released as standalone games in the New Play Control!
New Play Control!
The New Play Control! series, known in Japan as is a program by Nintendo to upgrade several GameCube games for release on the Wii. These re-releases incorporate graphical improvements, which include 16:9 widescreen support. They also feature reconfigured controls to fit the Wii Remote...
collection for that region. Metroid Prime: Trilogy was well-received by critics, with much praise to the new controls.
Overview
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
is always displayed at the original aspect ratio, causing it to be stretched horizontally when in widescreen mode. Additionally, the award system from Corruption was incorporated into the first two games. Players earn tokens
Achievement (video gaming)
In video gaming parlance, an achievement, also sometimes known as a trophy or challenge, is a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters...
by accomplishing certain tasks, allowing them to unlock in-game items such as artwork, music, a screenshot feature, decorative items for Samus' ship in Corruption and the Fusion Suit
Metroid Fusion
, also known as Metroid 4, is an action-adventure video game published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2002, and in Japan in February 2003. The game is the fourth main installment in the Metroid series...
in Prime. The game also featured a multiplayer mode from Echoes, but was limited to local four-player games and did not feature online play. In response to complaints from players and critics about Echoess high difficulty during some of the boss battles, the difficulty of the encounters was lowered.
Metroid Prime
Originally released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Metroid Prime was the first 3D title in the series, changing the perspective from sidescrolling third person to first-person view, with third-person being used on the Morph Ball gameplay. The game starts with protagonist Samus Aran
Samus Aran
is the protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles...
receiving a distress signal from Space Pirate Frigate
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
Orpheon. After an accident causes the ship to be destroyed, Samus lands on the nearby planet, Tallon IV, where the Space Pirates discovered a powerful radioactive substance known as Phazon. Samus fights off the Pirates and their biological experiments, eventually leading to a battle with Metroid Prime, a highly mutated Metroid that had been feeding off the core of a Phazon meteorite. The game received universal acclaim by critics, winning several Game of the Year
Game of the Year
Game of the Year is a title awarded by various magazines, websites, and shows to a deserving game. Many are only for PC or console video games...
awards, and sold over two million units worldwide.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes continues from the events of the first Prime, and featured a multiplayer mode. Samus is sent to rescue Galactic Federation MarinesSpace marine
The space marine, an archetype of science fiction, is a soldier that operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill amphibious roles: ship defence, landing parties, and general high-mobility deployments...
from a ship near Aether, a planet inhabited by a race known as the Luminoth. There, she discovers that the troops were slaughtered by the Ing, an evil race that came from an alternate dimension of Aether created by a Phazon meteor. Samus travels to three temples to ensure the destruction of the Ing, while battling Space Pirates and her mysterious doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
called Dark Samus. Although it was positively received, criticism of the game was driven on the steep difficulty and multiplayer components. Sales for Echoes were lower than the first, with a total of 800,000 units.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Released in 2007, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was the first title in the series to be released on the WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. While fending off a Space Pirate assault, Samus and her fellow bounty hunters are attacked by Dark Samus. After Samus loses contact with the other hunters, the Galactic Federation sends Samus on a mission to determine what happened to them. During the course of the game, Samus works to prevent the Phazon from spreading from planet to planet while being slowly corrupted by the Phazon herself. The game received high critical acclaim, and as of March 2008, 1.31 million copies of the game were sold worldwide.
Development
In 2004, while Retro Studios was finishing Echoes, senior producer Bryan Walker suggested to studio president Michael Kelbaugh to "do something for the fans by putting all the games together on a single disc in a collector[']s 'trilogy' edition". Kelbaugh sent the proposal to Nintendo, which the company accepted. Development on the compilation started shortly before the release of Corruption. Development used only a few of Retro Studios' staff, as most of the crew was busy with Donkey Kong Country ReturnsDonkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns, known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling 2.5D platform game developed by Retro Studios and released by Nintendo for the Wii console on November 21, 2010, in North America, December 3, 2010, in Europe, and on December 9, 2010, in Japan...
. Walker considered the compilation to be "an almost unheard of opportunity to take something you had already released and make it better". Senior designer Mike Wikan said most of the content additions were subtle changes, such as streamlining the engines for steady framerates and shorter loading times, and higher resolution textures. Prime had the addition of light bloom
Bloom (shader effect)
Bloom is a computer graphics effect used in computer games, demos and high dynamic range rendering to reproduce an imaging artifact of real-world cameras. The effect produces fringes of light around very bright objects in an image, obscuring fine details...
, and Echoes had difficulty tweaks to make it "more accessible to those who were really intimidated early on". For Corruption, the code was examined to find ways to make it run faster and better than in the original Wii release. On October 2, 2008, Nintendo presented the New Play Control! series of GameCube remakes, with Prime and Echoes among the initial Japan titles. In May 2009, Nintendo announced that all three games would be packaged in a single-disk compilation internationally.
Release
Metroid Prime: Trilogy was released in North America on August 24, 2009, packaged in a steel-book case, along with an art booklet. The European release in the following month maintained the booklet, while the Australian release in October only had a metallic cardboard slip cover. On January 8, 2010, it was reported that Nintendo of America was no longer producing or shipping Metroid Prime: Trilogy. On January 11, 2010, it was reported that Nintendo AustraliaNintendo Australia
Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. established in 1994, located in Victoria is Australia's local head office, sales, licensing and distribution centre for products and other Intellectual Properties created by Nintendo Co., Ltd of Kyoto, Japan and is owned by Nintendo Co., Ltd in Japan. Prior distribution...
had also discontinued the game. Following Nintendo of America's announcement, Nintendo of Europe assured that the game was not discontinued in their region.
Critical reception
On review aggregators MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings, Metroid Prime: Trilogy has an average of 91 out of 100 and 92.27 out of 100, indicating "Universal Acclaim". GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
praised it for being the compilation of three great games for the price of one. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded Trilogy a score of 9.5 out of 10, citing the "fantastic gameplay" and "brilliant presentation values", while NGamer
NGamer
NGamer is a British magazine which mainly covers Nintendo video game consoles and software, and also to a much lesser extent, Sony and Microsoft consoles. The first issue was released on 13 July 2006...
UK complimented the addition of achievements system, and said the package had a good money value, calling it a "massive amount of gameplay per pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
". Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
's review thought the new implementations made it attractive to newcomers and old-time fans, and declared that "not since Super Mario All Stars in the SNES era has Nintendo taken an opportunity to unite one of its great series in such an irresistible way". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's review liked the implementation of the new control scheme, stating that "the smooth precision of the Wii Remote makes the older games well worth revisiting". IGN later ranked Trilogy third in a list of 25 best Wii games, behind Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
and its sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, in Japan on May 27, 2010, in Europe on June 11, 2010, and in Australia on July 1,...
.
Despite the praise, Metroid Prime: Trilogy has been subject to criticism. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
's review said that graphically, "the games do look a bit dated" and complained that the HUD was "out of aspect" to fit the widescreen. Official Nintendo Magazines review said that some aspects of Prime and Echoes had aged, saying the backtracking "feels like more of a chore than it did seven years ago," and that it is "not until [Echoes] enters its final third that things really start to pick up". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
considered the achievements too expensive, and that the similarity between the three games gives "an inescapable sense of déjà vu
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...
". Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
magazine's review noted that the control scheme was not very innovative, and that Echoes and Corruption "favoured graphical flourishes over design innovation". While the main reviewer for Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
praised the game, the "second opinion" reviewer considered the collection "subpar", saying it lacked innovation, and that the Wii control scheme, particularly aiming and panning, "is inferior in every way to the traditional scheme from the GameCube titles". Furthermore, the removal of the subtle graphical effects present in the GameCube versions of Prime, and a minor dialogue change in Corruption have been led to minor fan criticism. In a interview for Metroid fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
, Shinesparkers, Corruption voice actor Timothy Patrick Miller was asked to recall on a minor dialogue alteration for his voice work: