Metroid Prime 3 Was Originally Pitched as an Open-World Game

The Metroid franchise is one of Nintendo's most beloved properties and is finally ending its four-year dry spell with Metroid Dread coming out in just five days. Fans, however, are still wondering and waiting for the next installment, Metroid Prime 4, which hasn't seen any updates in quite some time. During an interview, Metroid Prime 2 and 3 Senior Producer Bryan Walker unveiled some information on Metroid Prime 3 which could potentially hint at plans for Metroid Prime 4.

Metroid Prime 3 was released 14 years ago for the Wii and it wasn't until 2017 that Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 was in development for the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, just two years later Nintendo announced that Metroid Prime 4 was going to restart development under Retro Studios, the original developers for the Metroid Prime games. Although no new announcements have been made about Metroid Prime 4, some information from the previous installment has been revealed.

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During an interview with KIWI TALKZ, Walker briefly touched on the development for Metroid Prime 3 stating: "Mark (Metroid Prime Trilogy Director) came forward with an interesting twist in the vision and some of the formulas for Metroid Prime 3 as compared to Metroid Prime 2. We wanted to a greater degree leverage the ship as a playable asset for instance. Mark was thinking much more ambitiously. Perhaps there was also an open world, less linear that he (Mark) was proposing."

The idea of an open-world Metroid Prime game that also had the task of introducing the Wii Remote into gameplay sounds like a large task to accomplish and sadly, these plans for the non-linear game were ultimately scrapped. At the time, the plans Retro Studios had for an open-world style Metroid Prime game were just too ambitious on top of the transition to the Wii console.

With that being said, there is no saying what Metroid Prime 4 has in store for fans. As previously mentioned, Metroid Prime 4 will be developed by Retro Studios, and although some of the creative minds behind Metroid Prime 3 are no longer present, the idea of an open-world game could still be on the table. After all, Nintendo has found success with open-world titles such as Breath of the Wild.

It's almost a little sad to hear the comments Bryan Walker had about Metroid Prime 3. Although it's still an amazing installment in the Metroid franchise, the idea of an open-world Metroid game where Samus gets to fly her ship to different planets sounds fascinating. With not much information given on Metroid Prime 4 besides the studio developing it, it's tough to say how the game will play out. With as much time as it's taken, even if it's not open-world, it's more than safe to assume, there is some form of grand vision in mind.

Metroid Prime 3 is available on the Nintendo Wii.

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Metroid Prime 3 Was Originally Pitched as an Open-World Game
Source: Pinay Diaries PH