Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s Villain Means One Game Needs a Remake Before Launch

 

Coming off the heels of the exceptional Metroid Prime Remastered released for the Switch last year, the hype for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has reached new levels after the game received its first official gameplay look during the latest Nintendo Direct. Part of the trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond showcased the game's mysterious antagonist, Sylux, briefly teasing Samus' encounter with this foe. While many fans want to see Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption remastered in the lead-up to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's release, there is one game in the franchise that is arguably in greater need of a remake before this next entry launches.

Although it would make sense for Nintendo to release remasters of the second and third Metroid Prime games after the success of the first, there is another game that is harder to access and is just as crucial to getting players up to speed before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases. Metroid Prime Hunters was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2006 as a game set between the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. While only a side game in the series, if Nintendo wants to follow the Metroid Prime timeline with its remastered releases, Metroid Prime Hunters is next and is the perfect way to familiarize players with Sylux ahead of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Metroid Prime Hunters follows the story of several bounty hunters, including Samus, who are called to the Alimbic Cluster — once home to the now-extinct Alimbic race — by a mysterious force promising the secret to ultimate power. Along with Samus, the bounty hunters Kanden, Spire, Noxus, Trace, Weavel, and Sylux heed the call and make their way to the Alimbic system in search of this power. Working on behalf of the Galactic Federation, Samus is tasked with preventing this rumored ultimate power from falling into the wrong hands.

While these bounty hunters each serve as foes bent on obtaining this ultimate power for themselves, Sylux is introduced as one of Samus' most dangerous opponents on this mission. Sylux holds a particular hatred for Samus and the Galactic Federation, although the reasoning behind this hatred has never been fully explored. After the events of Metroid Prime Hunters, Sylux becomes a shadowy adversary in subsequent games, appearing in the special ending of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption following Samus' ship and at the end of Metroid Prime: Federation Force where he can be seen releasing a Metroid from a Federation Force research lab.

Metroid Prime Hunters Deserves a Modern Upgrade

It's clear that Metroid Prime Hunters holds a more important role in the franchise's story than its status as a side game would have players believe. Unfortunately, the game is largely held back by the Nintendo DS' hardware, forcing players to use the handheld's touchscreen to aim Samus' arm cannon for a less-than-ideal control scheme. While the game was made available on the Wii U's eShop, it still required this awkward control scheme using the Wii U's gamepad, and is no longer available now that the Wii U eShop has been discontinued.

To better give this game the attention it deserves, updating both Metroid Prime Hunters' graphics and controls to align it with those of Metroid Prime Remastered would give the game a chance to really shine. There are a lot of unique ideas in a game that has largely gone overlooked by many Metroid fans, and Metroid Prime Hunters is more relevant than ever thanks to Sylux's upcoming villainous role in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Giving players access to the origin of Sylux in the Metroid franchise would be the perfect way to prepare players for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.