Metroid Prime Hunters 2

Metroid is an iconic game series that still lacks the representation and popularity it deserves. Here, I hope to show how I would mend that issue that has persisted since the beginning of the series. Consider this outline as my official pitch to Nintendo for what I would do...

If I Did Metroid. Welcome to Metroid Prime Hunters 2.

Premise:

Taking place between Metroid Fusion and Metroid Dread, Samus is on the hunt for a fugitive, a Hunter wanted for the destruction of an entire planet for an unknown client only called “Handler.” This journey takes her to an asteroid station called Castellum. Before she can enter, she must power down her Power Armor, and after entering she becomes locked out of it (and her upgrades from Metroid Fusion) due to strange Chozo disruptors, which she was warned would happen by her A.I., ADAM. This station is split into six levels, and is treated as open world. The top level is filled with life (and NPCs), like a bustling small town. The second level has less people, acting more like a slum. The third level is an industrial hellscape, filled with machines and madmen. The fourth level is a hidden agricultural paradise filled with alien life, intermixed with strange ancient ruins, and this is where Samus can regain her Power Armor and morph ball. And the fifth level is a mine in the asteroid. The fourth and fifth levels are also twice the size of any of the previous three levels. The sixth and final level is a hidden temple that  therein dwells the most dangerous enemies in the game and final upgrades that Samus can get. Levels one through three can be traversed between freely, levels four and five can be traversed between freely, and level six is on its own.

Gameplay:

Exploration-

When not in combat, Samus can explore the environment and interact with NPCs in a Dark Souls style. Though the world acts as though it is open world, it is still in chunks and can be accessed and progressed in at different points in the game, akin to Jak III, keeping the Metroidvania style, just hidden deeper within than more classical Metroid games. For instance, the first three levels can all be entered in at the beginning of the game, however the player will need to unlock certain abilities to progress further through the three levels. This is once again true for levels four and five, explorable together at the same time but needing upgrades to fully uncover the areas and secrets.

Combat-

Played in a first person perspective, like the Metroid Prime series, the combat is designed more around mobility and the changing of weapons and beams, with the morph ball, grappling hook, shine spark, screw attack, and more all used within combat engagements once the Power Armor becomes unlocked. And that leads to…

Zero-Suit Samus

This will be the biggest change, and biggest risk, for this game, and that is the fact that for about half of the game, Samus is without her Power Armor, instead remaining in her Zero-Suit. This affects much of how Samus, and therefore the player, interacts with the world in the first three levels of the asteroid base. Instead of a morph ball, Samus can crawl and squeeze into tight spaces. Instead of her beam cannon, Samus has her paralyzer and plasma whip to begin the game with. However, she is also much faster in this form, with the inclusion of parkour elements similar to DICE’s Mirror’s Edge. Without her Power Armor, Samus will also take more damage with each attack and experience greater knockback, with Samus’s main tactic for defeating enemies in these sections being evasion and stealth, rather than the unstoppable machine she usually is and will become again in the lower levels of the asteroid once her suit is unlocked. With this gameplay, there will be a new form of isolation and vulnerability instilled within Samus, along with the fact that even though there are more NPCs in the game than ever before, she will be hard pressed to find one that speaks to her, let alone looks at her, with many even avoiding her completely once Samus comes near them. Samus has always been a character who is isolated, alone in a dangerous world, but that usually comes from being alone on an alien planet filled with monsters. This game will explore a little bit more of Samus’s isolation in society, as being a notorious Hunter who has destroyed literal planets does not award her much friendliness nor even cordiality from others.

The Power Armor

Not unlocked until after leaving levels one through three, the Power Armor acts almost like a separate game, gameplay wise, with the suit becoming locked out whenever Samus reenters the first three levels due to the Chozo inhibitors. This is similar to Metroid: Zero Mission, wherein the Zero-Suit sections and the Power Armor sections were separate from each other. The reason this is done is simply for better game design. By having levels one through three be designed specifically around the Zero-Suit and levels five through six around the Power Armor, designers can create more specialized areas, more fun experiences, and better utilize the individual abilities therein. By making these two sections separate from each other, level design, enemy encounters, and boss fights can become much more creative, and the overall gaming experience can be greatly enhanced.

Story:

Prologue

In the first mission of the game, Samus retrieves the last Space Pirate leader, the Hunter known as Weavel, encountering and receiving assistance from another Hunter, Kanden, during the mission with the deal that Samus and Kanden will share the bounty from the Federation. After the battle where Weavel is subdued, all three hunters receive the same transmission- a new bounty of an incredible amount is placed on an as of yet unknown Hunter, one that was last seen on a space station known as the Castellum, and the crime of this Hunter is the destruction of an entire planet. This message gives Weavel time to activate his alt form and flee as only his top half, leaving his bottom half behind to shoot its turret before being dispatched by Samus. Kanden then acknowledges that even Weavel will not let that bounty be sought without him, and Kanden himself admits he will be headed there too, while also acknowledging that soon he and Samus will see each other again on the Castellum.

Main Mission

The main story of this game is about a trap set for Samus that she willingly walks into. After reading the dossier, both Samus and ADAM know that the bounty is truly on Samus, and that the identity will only be revealed once she steps foot on Castellum, but Samus wants to know who wants her dead. Due to ADAM’s analysis, he realizes that she will lose her Power Armor and even communication with ADAM as soon as she sets foot into the base, but she does so anyway, becoming stuck in her Zero-Suit, vulnerable and alone. She explores the first three levels of the station as she is pursued by other Hunters, including Trace, Noxus, and Weavel (one on each level), along with strange alien-cyborg creatures that reoccur as mini-bosses sent by the person known as the Handler. Samus also has an encounter with someone called “The Enforcer” who nearly kills Samus if not for the intervention of the hunter Spire, who wants to face Samus at full strength. After gaining access to the lower levels of the station, it becomes clear that ancient Chozo technology has been used to create new and flawed genetic experiments, with Samus facing bosses that reflect these affronts to nature and two more Hunters, Spire and Kanden, while continuing to be taunted by the Enforcer and the Handler, however Samus now also has access again to ADAM in these levels. The final level of the station is where the Handler’s genetic labs are hidden, and his identity revealed. After defeating the Enforcer and the Handler, Samus’s journey back to the surface is a peaceful one, not a race against time or at the threat of destruction, but time for Samus to reflect on her mission and what it means to be a hunter. This comes to a conclusion when before exiting the station, each of the Hunters arrive, but instead of stopping her, they give their respects, allowing Samus to leave in peace before they try collecting the bounties out on themselves. The game ends with ADAM asking Samus where they go from here, with Samus saying one of the very few voice lines she has in this game, “Home.” Over the credits, Samus is seen finally returning home for once, in a secluded small cabin in the midst of a mountainous desert, removing her Power Armor, and watching a rare rain come down.

Side Missions

These “side missions” act like those in Elden Ring, with no quest log or map update, but rather purely dependent on exploration from the player in order to advance them, but they still have clear beginnings and endings.

• Federation Force:

  • This side mission is about a Federation mech strike force known as the Federation Force. This mission starts with the discovery of any of the four golem mechs from the members of the Federation Force. While fighting a mini-boss guarding the mech, Samus will receive aid in the form of a hunter named B.O.B. whose weapons and armor are made of reused technology. This B.O.B. reveals himself to have been one of the original Federation Force members who became dishonorably discharged and is now seeking out his old squad, the rookie they were with, and his old commander, Alex Miles, who were all lured to this station and have gone missing. Samus assists B.O.B. solving the mystery of the missing Federation Force, and also uncovers the secrets of B.O.B. himself. This side mission is continuous throughout both the Zero-Suit and Power Armor sections of the game

• Manticore:

  • This side mission is about the recurring appearance of an alien monster called the Manticore that at times can act like both friend and foe, with Samus learning its origins and deciding the creature’s fate. This mission is only completed in the Power Armor section of the game.

• Missing People:

  • This side mission is an investigation undertaken in the first three levels of the game, began simply by overhearing conversations of NPCs, which most never directly talk to Samus, the only exceptions being B.O.B., bartenders who give clues about areas, police officers who give clues about enemies, and the beggar known as Mercuse, who gives clues about the three side quests and can be found on every level, except level six. For this specific mission, Samus must uncover the strange and seemingly random disappearances of people on the station, ranging from the madmen of the industrial district, to those of high status. This mission is only completed in the Zero-Suit section of the game.

Scan Visor / Wrist Scanner

Samus in her Power Armor has her scan visor, and in her Zero-Suit has a wrist scanner, which are used in classic Metroid Prime fashion, analyzing enemies, helping to solve puzzles, and gathering lore, which in this game also includes lore and background information on Samus, the other hunters, and even allies and enemies of past games, with the idea that a comprehensive Metroid Compendium could be completed in game.

Multiplayer: 2-8 Players

Multiplayer will be similar to the original Metroid Prime Hunters, with a selection of Hunters that players can choose from to play as, each with their own unique weapons and alternate forms. There will also be a selection of maps to choose from and multiple modes. There will also be a progression in multiplayer to unlock new hunters and new bosses (more on that later). All of the Hunters from the original Metroid Prime Hunters return, along with the Hunters from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption as unlockable characters, and even some new characters. Where the gameplay changes is by having each Hunter feel even more unique than they did in the original title, by designing this multiplayer mode after modern “Hero Shooters,” giving each Hunter their starting “affinity weapon” from the first game or original “affinity weapons” for new playable Hunters. Each Hunter will also be assigned one of three classes of characters: Specialist, Protector, or Infiltrator.

Modes-

• Battle:

  • Four to eight players compete to receive the most amount of kills.

• Survival:

  • Last Hunter standing wins with a set number of lives.

• Capture:

  • A capture the flag type game, where the flag is a captured metroid, played in teams.

• Bounty:

  • A capture the flag type game, where the flag is a captured metroid, played free for all.

• Escort:

  • Teams of three Hunters must protect a boss and destroy an enemy boss, both of which are other players.

• Hunt:

  • One player plays as a boss and the other three play as Hunters, or two players play as bosses and the other six play as Hunters.

Character Classes-

• Specialist

  • Medium Individual Damage

  • Medium Area Damage

  • Medium Health

  • Medium Speed

• Protector

  • Low Individual Damage

  • High Area Damage

  • High Health

  • Low Speed

• Infiltrator

  • High Individual Damage

  • Low Area Damage

  • Low Health

  • High Speed

Playable Characters-

• Starting Hunters:

  • Samus Aran

    • Affinity Weapon: Missile Launcher

    • Alternate Form: Morph Ball

    • Class: Specialist

  • Weavel

    • Affinity Weapon: Battlehammer

    • Alternate Form: Halfturret

    • Class: Specialist

  • Kanden

    • Affinity Weapon: Volt Driver

    • Alternate Form: Stinglarva

    • Class: Protector

  • Spire

    • Affinity Weapon: Magmaul

    • Alternate Form: Dialanche

    • Class: Protector

  • Trace

    • Affinity Weapon: Imperialist

    • Alternate Form: Triskelion

    • Class: Infiltrator

  • Noxus

    • Affinity Weapon: Judicator

    • Alternate Form: Vhoscythe

    • Class: Infiltrator

• Unlockable Hunters:

  • Zero Suit Samus

    • Affinity Weapon: Paralyzer / Plasma Whip

    • Alternate Form: Spacesuit

    • Class: Infiltrator

    • Unlock: Receive the Power Armor in Story Mode

  • B.O.B.

    • Affinity Weapon: Chimera

    • Alternate Form: Pegasus

    • Class: Protector

    • Unlock: Complete the ‘Federation Force’ Side Questline in Story Mode

  • Enforcer

    • Affinity Weapon: Gravity Beam (Name TBD)

    • Alternate Form: TBD

    • Class: Specialist

    • Unlock: Complete the Main Story

  • Gandrayda

    • Affinity Weapon: Seeking Blades (Name TBD)

    • Alternate Form: Biomorph-G

    • Class: Infiltrator

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Battle / Survival) as an Infiltrator

  • Ghor

    • Affinity Weapon: Plasma Blast (Name TBD)

    • Alternate Form: Gunship

    • Class: Protector

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Battle / Survival) as a Protector

  • Rundas

    • Affinity Weapon: Ice Lines (Name TBD)

    • Alternate Form: Ice Armor (Name TBD)

    • Class: Specialist

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Battle / Survival) as a Specialist

  • E.M.M.I.

    • Affinity Weapon: Extraction Spike

    • Alternate Form: Pursuit Drone

    • Class: Infiltrator

  • ADAM

    • Affinity Weapon: EMP (Name TBD)

    • Alternate Form: Virtual Transfer

    • Class: Protector

  • Sylux

    • Affinity Weapon: Shock Coil

    • Alternate Form: Lockjaw

    • Class: Specialist

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Capture / Bounty) as Any Class

• Starting Bosses:

  • Omega Metroid

    • Special Ability: Metroid Spawn

  • Dark Samus

    • Special Ability: Phazon Corruption

• Unlockable Bosses:

  • Ridley

    • Special Ability: Meta Transformation

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Escort / Hunt) as or with Omega Metroid

  • SA-X

    • Special Ability: X-Parasite Infection

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Escort / Hunt) as or with Dark Samus

  • Mother Brain

    • Special Ability: Power Dampener

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Escort / Hunt) as or with Ridley

  • Raven Beak

    • Special Ability: Battle Wings

    • Unlock: Win 15 Matches (Escort / Hunt) as or with SA-X