Samus Aran blasted her way into E3 2017 with Nintendo's announcements of Metroid Prime: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS and Metroid Prime 4 for the Nintendo Switch.
The last game in the iconic franchise was Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which was released last year for the Nintendo 3DS. The game, however, did not feature Samus, which has made fans of the series thirsty for a new title that stars the bounty hunter.
Metroid: Samus Returns For Nintendo 3DS
Metroid: Samus Returns, which was announced for the Nintendo 3DS, is not an entirely new title. It is a reimagining of the Game Boy title Metroid II: Return of Samus into a modernized side-scrolling title that features the armored heroine.
After the announcement of the game on Nintendo's Treehouse Live, original Metroid codirector Yoshio Sakamoto and developer MercurySteam's José Luis Márquez revealed more about the upcoming Nintendo 3DS title.
Similar to Metroid II: Return of Samus, players will hit the ground running in Metroid: Samus Returns, hunting the aliens known as Metroids right from the start. There are 40 total Metroids in different evolutions in the game for players to take down.
The fight against Metroids will be made easier by the abilities of Samus in Metroid: Samus Returns. The hero has free-aiming capabilities that will allow players to point her arm cannon in any direction, and will have a melee counter move to knock back enemies who get too close. Samus can also use Aeion abilities, which are skills that use an energy gauge and are different from suit upgrades, alongside familiar moves such as the Spring Ball and bomb-jump.
In Metroid: Samus Returns, players can fast travel across locations through Teleport Stations, and can return to their last checkpoint or load up their last save quickly through the in-game menu. There will also be two new Amiibo figures that will be released for the game, Samus Aran and Metroid.
Metroid Prime: Samus Returns will launch on the Nintendo 3DS on Sept. 15.
Metroid Prime 4 For Nintendo Switch
The second title that was announced is even better news for fans of the franchise, as it is not a simple port or remake. Metroid Prime 4, the newest installment in the series, has been confirmed to come to the Nintendo Switch.
Unfortunately, there is not much that can be learned from Nintendo's announcement, as it only revealed the logo for the upcoming game. The lack of screenshots or a trailer may hint that it may be a while before Metroid Prime 4 arrives, but for hardcore fans, the news that it is finally on its way may be enough for now.
Metroid Prime 4 will pick up the series from Metroid Prime 3, which was released in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii. A teaser for Metroid Prime 4, however, was slipped into the post-credits scene of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, with many gamers believing that the character at the end is the hunter Sylux.
Metroid Prime series lead Kensuke Tanabe then said that he wants to build the franchise's story around Samus and Sylux, which could mean that the pair may be an integral part of Metroid Prime 4.
