Metroid Prime is a masterpiece of every dimension, sitting up there in the stars with its ancestor, Super Metroid.
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Story
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Who needs one? The game does boast a story, however. At first glance, it may not be much at all, but dissecting the story of the game to the bone actually shows that Retro Studios is not so good at telling stories, so much as forcing the player to figure the whole thing out for theirself if they so choose to. This is a nice, original touch. The game introduces the Scan Visor, which you can use to scan the anatomy of creatures as well as learn Chozo Lore and Space Pirate Data entries. If you don't scan these, you're missing out on how you figure the entire story out. If you scan nothing, you will not understand where anything came from, how anything happened, nothing. But if you scan everything you can as the chance arises, then you would understand how the Metroid Prime came to be, how Ridley came back as a mechanical cyborg, where creatures like Flaahgra and Thardus came from, etcetera. As for its place on the timeline, the Prime series takes off a few months after the events of the original Metroid/Zero Mission. Story: 10/10
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Graphics
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Another thing Retro Studios can be known for is their remarkable ability to push the graphical ability of games to the limit, and I mean that in every sense. In comparison to Metroid Prime, games like Halo: Combat Evolved and such do not live up to Prime's graphical qualities. This is absolutely astounding for a GameCube game when the GameCube is a third of the way through its life span. Games on the GCN released around the same time as Metroid Prime may never beat it graphic-wise. With that said, there are some parts of the visuals that do look as though they would be on a GCN game, but that's forgivable. Graphics: 10/10
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Gameplay
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Story is good. Check. Graphics are wonderful. Check. Now gameplay? Hm...
Just kidding! Prime whoops ass when it comes to gameplay. The gameplay is mostly what made this game so great. Retro did an amazing job with it, making Prime one of the best dimensional transitions a series could ever make. Through and through, Prime feels like a Metroid game. The environments feel practically nostalgiac, even the newer ones that which did not share a similar environment with Super Metroid. There is that wondeful sense of freedom present. As for sequence breaking, Retro doesn't want you doing it. And so they should; despite the freedom given, it is greatly difficult to sequence break this game, requiring you to screw with the game's mechanics and in some cases forcing you to utilize "secret worlds" which are glitchy environments found beyond the walls Retro put up for you to stick to.
But even without sequence breaking, Metroid Prime is still a must-have. The level design is wonderful and as said, nostalgiac. You will explore things ranging from an abandoned Chozo settlement to a frozen shoreline to a lava cavern in the depths of the planet to a deadly Space Pirate stronghold in some mines used for digging up Phazon, which will later become Metroid Prime's defining element. But those are not all that you will explore.
The difficulty is just right, but may be harder for someone who isn't necessarily a hardcore gamer. You won't feel overwhelmed nor underwhelmed, with a few tedious parts throughout such as trudging through the Phazon Mines or fighting Thardus, the most evil boss in the game.
Ridley makes a pleasant return, first being seen near the beginning as you flee from the Space Pirate Frigate that brought you into this whole mess. Throughout the game, you see him at certain points, leading up to you fighting him near the end as the next-to-last boss. But he's not just Ridley this time, he's META Ridley. Beast.
As for controls, the game nails it here as well. Perhaps not nearly as good as Prime 3's controls, but hey, whaddya think the New Play Control titles are for? The controls flow well, and do not require a steep learning curve to get a hold of. Once you're through the Space Pirate Frigate, I think you'll have it down.
Now for bosses. Retro outdoes themself again, bringing us wonderful new bosses with excellently creative designs and wonderful strategies for us to administer in order to ensure victory in favor of our favorite bounty hunter heroine. The bosses range from a wasp-guarded totem to a malfunctioning fire-spitting drone used for unknown reasons to a large bundle of rocks held together by Phazon. Damn.
Items. The game introduces its fair share of items to Samus's arsenal, but also brings back some old, non-organic friends. New items include the Boost Ball (supposedly a 3D version of the Speed Booster), the Phazon Suit, the Thermal Visor, the X-Ray Visor, the Scan Visor, and more. Returning items include the Varia Suit, Gravity Suit, Wave Beam, Ice Beam, and Plasma Beam, as well as long-lost items such as the Spider Ball. Gameplay: 10/10
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Sound
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Retro outdoes themself AGAIN. This time with sound. The music is wonderful, memorable, and even nostalgiac. Some old tracks are the Lower Norfair score transferred into the Magmoor Caverns, the first Tallon Overworld track which is a chorusing, slower version of the Metroid series's signature Brinstar theme, and Ridley's theme which is remixed as hell but still brilliant. New tracks include Phendrana Drifts, which even despite that it's new will move you and bring back some memories. The sound effects are brilliant, far more realistic than the 2D games. Kudos again again again, Retro. Sound: 10/10
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Length/Replay Value
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The game has a nice length. You can't beat it in a sitting, unless you have trained yourself to master the arts of sequence breaking and speed-running. It's satisfyingly lengthy. Due to it being substantially longer than the 2D Metroid titles, Metroid Prime simply lacks the replay value that Super Metroid, the later Zero Mission, and even Metroid Fusion share and hold so dearly. But that is entirely forgivable. Length/Replay Value: 9/10
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Fun Factor
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Do you like shooters? Do you like Metroid? Do you like adventure? Do you like Sci-Fi? Do you like semi-genuine horror? Do you like the freedom to explore? If you answered "yes" to AT LEAST ONE of those questions, then you will find Metroid Prime an undeniably fun game. Fun Factor: 10/10
Overall: 10/10, perfect. Despite that I have so far given two other games an overall rating of 10, know that I don't hand out 10's like candy. I just seem to rate games that easily deserve a perfect 10. :D
Metroid: Zero Mission may have been rated 10 by my pure squeeing fanboyism toward the Metroid series, but that isn't the case here. This was my first Metroid game (despite that this wasn't the Metroid title that got me into the series) and I found it an amazing game in general, let alone an amazing Metroid game. If you enjoy the genre (and/or silently responded "yes" to any of the questions I asked at the beginning of the Fun Factor section of this review) pick up this game NOW if you have not already done so. No questions, private!
Ultimate Ridley out.