The 10 Biggest Changes in Metroid Prime Remastered

10 Biggest Changes in Metroid Prime Remastered

Ty Richardson

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the 10 Biggest Changes in “Metroid Prime Remastered”!

For this list, we’re looking at some of the major changes in “Metroid Prime” between its original version, Wii port, and the Switch remaster. Assuming you’re playing it, how are you liking “Metroid Prime Remastered”? Let us know down in the comments!

The Leading Lady Herself

One of the very first observations is just how different Samus looks this time around. Her older character model in the GameCube and Wii versions of “Metroid Prime” was already impressive with the amount of detail. The suit looked like it could be a real thing thanks to the cohesive structure and plating placement. It honestly still looks great today! The remaster, on the other hand, makes the suit less glossy, letting us appreciate some of the finer details while allowing the color to pop a bit more.

Frigate Orpheon

When looking at our older footage of our own “Metroid Prime” playthrough, we immediately noticed just how different Frigate Orpheon looks. This is where the phrase “it's practically a remake” has some merit. Our opening level boasts a lot more detail this time around. While the geometry is generally the same, the frigate now has additional features to show that it isn’t just made of blocks and cylinders. There are control panels, vents, additional armor plating, frames around structures that would need it, and the streams of light emanating from the front no longer come off super angular.

Specs

From the get go, you’ll notice just how fantastic “Metroid Prime Remastered” looks. Indeed, it looks as if Nintendo has finally entered the age of ultra HD and sixty frames per second. Unfortunately, that is not the case. When docked, the game only renders at 900p. That’s still a big step up from the original game’s 480p, but considering how old both the GameCube and the Wii are, we were really hoping the Switch could AT LEAST adhere to the standard 1080p for this. We’re just glad the game runs at 60fps like it did back then, though. Plus, it maintains a smooth framerate even in handheld mode.

HUD

This is one change that is going to depend on how you like your HUD displayed. While the widescreen gives more room for the player to take in their surroundings, it might still feel a bit cluttered to some players. Thankfully, there are settings to customize your experience the way you want. You can change the HUD’s opacity if you want to see more of the environment and even turn off the visibility of Samus’s helmet. And if the HUD’s movement makes you a bit motion sick, you can turn that off, too.

Difficulty

“Metroid Prime Remastered” offers two difficulty settings for those who just want to shut their brain off and explore. If you, for some reason, don’t want to partake in the game’s excellent combat, you can choose to play at Casual Difficulty, making the game a total breeze. But if you aren’t great at figuring out where you need to go, there’s a newly integrated Hint System to help you out. If enough time passes before you haven’t made it to the next objective, the game will set a marker down for you. As for puzzles, well, you’re on your own for those.

Visual Effects

No, we’re not about to get into the obvious “look, graphics better!” spiel. An interesting piece of the remaster is how some visual effects are different from the original. Let’s go back to Frigate Orpheon once more. In the opening shots, you’ll notice a lot of light beaming in the background and Tallon IV is glowing quite a bit for some reason. The remaster cranks this down a notch and offers not just a more realistic skybox, but also more visual clarity. On top of that, elements like electricity and fire will light up their surroundings as they would in real life. It all adds more immersion than the GameCube and Wii versions did.

Combat

Of course, combat has remained largely the same, yet there is one little detail we want to point out - the reticle. Yes, it sounds uninteresting, but we’re not talking about the shape or whatever. No, what you have is essentially a form of aim assistance outside of the lock-on mechanic. In case you have trouble seeing an enemy or an object you can shoot at, you will now be given a three-pronged reticle pointing out the enemy or object. It certainly helps when trying to spot things if you have trouble finding stuff from a distance, especially if you’re playing in handheld mode.

Controls

“Metroid Prime Remastered” comes with four different control schemes to satisfy both new and returning players. By default, you will be set to Dual Stick controls, which modernizes the experience by assigning one analog to movement and the other to camera. If you’re more familiar with the original, you can set the controls to Classic and relive the GameCube days. For those who experienced “Metroid Prime” on Wii, you can set the controls to Pointer and play that way. And if you want a weird blend of the GameCube and Wii controls, well, go for it. That’s there, too.

The Leading Space Pirate Himself

Who could ever forget the epic introduction of Meta Ridley? This is easily the best moment in the early parts of the game, and it is even better in the Switch remaster. As with the aforementioned visual effects, lighting has been reeled back to make for a clearer picture without sacrificing spectacle and vibrancy. Meta Ridley himself has gotten a serious makeover, too. Overall, his look hasn’t changed, but now, you can see more details in his mechanical parts. You can see where his flesh meets with his armor plating, and he’s gotten some additional parts that light up, making him all the more menacing.

Additional Content

Of course, no remaster is complete without a sweet bag of goodies to celebrate the game. Nintendo has already revealed that you can unlock concept art from both the original “Metroid Prime’s” development as well as the remaster’s development. However, there is another treat hidden in the audio settings. Turning on Narration will trigger special versions of cutscenes that only existed in the European and Japanese versions of “Metroid Prime”. Silence is golden to some, but to us, having Narration turned on is like experiencing this gem for the first time all over again.