Metroid Prime

The Metroid series was very notable for being 2D platformers, but the very aspect that set Metroid aside from other series was a clear Alien-film based influence that kept a creepy aura, freaky creatures, and a female protagonist. Metroid Prime 3 manages to keep all of that, and turn itself into a wonderful 3D action-adventure platformer with shooter elements that makes the creepy, sci-fi, techno-orchestrated, environment heavy saga where any game play can be made amazing with Metroid.

As we all know, Metroid is a very exploration heavy game. It requires going through hundreds of rooms multiple times to solve new puzzles and collect new gear. Metroid Prime somewhat puts more emphasis on it through its optional hint system, which helps the player to look for rooms and items by using amazing new gear.

This brings me to my next statement: The gear is great. We welcome back old gear like the Gravity Suit, which allows for easy access through water, making for an actually easy water level. Didn't see that coming, right? Good water levels? And we have the Spider Ball which goes on rails to new tunnels, and we bring back the same old lightning, fire, ice trilogy of elements with the Wave, Ice, and Plasma beams, along with upgrades that require missiles! When the items aren't dazzling people with special effects, they're kicking Pirates cold.

That there brings me to the graphics. These are without a doubt some of the best graphics on the Gamecube. Metroid Prime's crew worked hard to make this a neon-visual spectacle while creating creepy environments that rivals the dreary, yet convincing environments of Aliens. I mean, dubstep mixtapes could get some album cover art from this. Metroid Prime is a laser light-show in the scenery, items, creatures, and Samus.

These visuals are often powered by a soundtrack of techno music plus ambient and orchestral work! What a wonderful soundtrack. Some of the best remixes of past Metroid tunes are in Metroid Prime, all composed by Kenji Yamamoto. The ambient works are often creepy, and sometimes quite soothing. The techno elements help bring out the sci-fi aspects, even in the rocky areas, and the exciting parts are just as exciting as they need to be depending on the boss the player will battle.

We also find new creatures that show a wide variety of ways to take care of them. Some require special beams while others require visors.

And now we have the visors. I mentioned pick-ups before, but visors require their own paragraph. The visors show off a wide array of new areas and special effects that are vital to the gameplay. The Scan visor allows for many things to view a creepy and satisfyingly complex story that revolves around Samus, the Chozo, the Pirates, and Phazon, as well as the titular experimental Metroids and their new forms. The thermal visor allows for usage of the wave beam and viewing electrical circuits and currents, and the X-Ray visor... Come on. Tell me out don't want an X-Ray visor you can use without getting cancer.

And finally, the story. As we progress through the game, we find more information... and more mystery, surrounding Samus's friends, the Chozo. Their disappearance and their strange premonitions are told through runes. The Pirates then have their own logs for experimentation, which slightly connects to the Chozo's disappearance. We also find out a lot about the Prime trilogy's plot: Phazon. Yes, Phazon. Screw the ooze from Ninja Turtles. Phazon is a freaky and effective mutagen that can be as dangerous mentally as it's physically powerful which makes some fearsome mutants! The story was so well put together.

Overall, Metroid Prime was well put together with every aspect of the video game making process, and they all worked together to create a strong, Metroid-esque aura that gained the franchise more popularity. People went a whole generation without a Metroid release before Metroid Prime came around, and they were very well pleased with the game. I was pleased with it so much it became my favorite video game.