Metroid Prime ranks #1 as my favorite game. In fact, it’s fair to say that Metroid Prime on the GameCube not only rekindled my love for Nintendo from many years ago, but it also brought me back into the world of gaming.
I was still in the active duty Air Force when the GameCube came out in 2001. It wasn’t even on my radar. I wasn’t interested in cubes at all. Instead, they spent some of their extra money on international expansion, used the original Xbox to complement their PS2, and put Nintendo on the back of their minds.
It’s not that I haven’t followed Nintendo’s news and developments yet.I didn’t own a GameCube, nor had I planned to buy one, but I was still interested in the development of Metroid Prime. At the time, it seemed impossible to translate his side-scrolling Metroid franchise into his 3D experience. Yeah, 3D games are the norm now, but back then there were questions like “how do you jump?” It was a legitimate concern people had. Personally, I remember thinking Nintendo would never pull it off. “First person adventure”. I didn’t sell it at all.
When Prime was finally released, it achieved everything it set out to and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Still, I wasn’t interested. In fact, by 2002, I was starting to move away from my hobby of video games. I am newly married (older!) and recently separated from the US Air Force. Before I knew it, my eldest son was born, and while I was still playing games, time constraints and lifestyle changes made me less and less interested. Eventually my 1st gen Xbox stopped working and was collecting dust. One day on a whim, I decided to bring it to GameStop to see if it would be accepted as a deal even though it wasn’t working. By the way, they gave me $80. I thought this was fair, but it was store credit, not cash.
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With an $80 credit and extra money in our bank account from a decent paying construction job I was working on, I wandered the stores looking for something to buy. I don’t remember exactly how much the cube was, but I’m pretty sure it was $80. What an amazing lucky coincidence! On a whim, I bought a used Gamecube, a Wavebird controller, a used Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, and Metroid Prime.
When I got home and hooked everything up, I popped into Metroid Prime and was instantly hooked. straight away. I got my full attention the moment the strange crackling beeps and bloops started. Totally captivated by the feel-goodness (at the time), clever Z-targeting helped the GameCube overcome the shortcomings of his controller. It just felt right, and I spent the next many days exploring its depths and unraveling its mysteries.
There’s a real sense of isolation I felt while exploring Talon IV. It’s almost existential solitude, beautifully balanced with the thrill of discovery. But it was the first time I stepped into a game world that felt alive. His previous 2D Metroid games had also thrown Samus into the unknown and greatly reduced his powers alone, but this was the first time I felt that. realI couldn’t believe I was sleeping on this game.
For years I kept that copy of Metroid Prime and told myself I would play it again on the Wii. I bought it on eBay, accepting the reality that I would never play that copy.
Rumors swirled that the remaster was complete since the Switch launched, but I thought it was just wishful thinking and just connecting the dots with tenuous information. When the February Direct announced that Metroid Prime Remaster was not only real, but would be released that day, I was blown away and immediately downloaded and started playing. All the feelings I had almost 20 years ago returned immediately. The beauty of solitude, adventure and exploration. Metroid Prime saved my love of gaming almost by accident. And now you can experience the game again with the love and respect of a modern remake.
Seth Macy is the Executive Editor of IGN Commerce and would love to be your friend. You can find him hosting his Nintendo Voice Chat podcast.
