Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube, Wii)
Samus is sent to Aetheranother mysterious planet after the Galactic Federation loses contact with Squad Bravo. As we approach the planet, we see that it is constantly changing color, and it turns out that this is absolutely not beneficial for Samus either, whose Ship gets caught in storm clouds and is struck by lightning. Despite this, she manages to land safely (about as safely as you can get when crashing through a roof).
It won’t be long until Samus encounters a disturbing doppelganger known as Dark Samus. (Spoiler alert: This is the same one we saw at the end of the first game, so it’s essentially the titular Metroid Prime itself, albeit in a form that closely resembles Samus.)
Samus finally races through a portal in Dark Aether, a parallel world that is home to a deadly race called the Ing. She is attackedbut she just manages to escape, although lose most of their abilities.
Samus soon realizes another race known as the Luminoth (which bears a slight visual resemblance to the Chozo) and, after meeting their leader U-Mos, learns that a meteorite impact has caused a dimensional split on the planet Aether. She works with U-Mos to enter the Sky Temple, Dark Aether’s parallel to the Great Temple. There She confronts and defeats the Emperor Ingthereby effectively completing her mission and initiating the destruction of Dark Aether.
But this nasty rascal Dark Samus prevents Samus’ escape back to Aether, and here Samus learns his true identity, as his face bears a resemblance to the cores of the Metroid race.
Samus and Dark Samus face each otherThe former emerged as the winner. Samus escapes just as Dark Aether collapses, and upon her return to Aether she witnesses the revival of the Luminoth race. However, when she leaves the planet with her ship, the once decayed remains of Dark Samus begin to reform.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (GameCube, Wii)
Samus, along with three other bounty hunters named Gandrayda, Ghor and Rundas, is hired by the Galactic Federation to repair organic supercomputers called Aurora Units. These damned Space pirates attack a nearby planet called Norion and so the bounty hunters are forced to launch a counteroffensive.
During the attack Meta Ridley — the thug we supposedly defeated in the first game — returns and attacks Samus. Rundas saves our bounty hunter when Meta Ridley apparently falls to his death (Hayes, exactly).
Then the time has come The team discovers a meteor riddled with Phazon called Leviathan racing towards the planet. While they try to activate a defense mechanism, Dark Samus returns with all her might. Dark Samus knocks out all the bounty hunters except Samus, who is able to activate the defense laser just in time, destroys the Leviathan.
About a month later we learn that Samus is slowly corrupted by Phazonand so the Federation gives her a new suit that allows her to control the Phazon (to a certain extent). She learns that the other bounty hunters had previously traveled to planets where Leviathan activities had been observedbut the Federation had since lost contact with them.
Samus sets out to prevent more Leviathans from causing a huge riot, but She must face her once friendly bounty hunter friendsthe now corrupted by Phazon to the point that they become enemies.
She eventually lands on the space pirates’ homeworld, which is heavily infected by Phazon. Samus meets Ridley againbut the creature has now been enhanced by Phazon and is therefore known as Omega Ridley (similar to the original Omega Pirate in the first game). Samus defeats Omega Ridleybecause of course she does.
Finally, Samus makes her way to the planet Phaazewhich turns out to be the origin of Phazon and the Leviathans. When she arrives there, she begins to absorb dangerous amounts of Phazon, but is able to mitigate the effects by putting herself into permanent hyper mode. Eventually, she discovers Dark Samus again, who fuses with a stolen Aurora Unit connected to Phaaze’s core.
And so begins the decisive battle between Samus and Dark Samuswith the former emerging victorious, purifying the Phazon in her own body and causing Phaaze’s self-destruction. She manages to escape and takes a moment to remember her fallen comrades. After venturing into the depths of space, we see a mysterious battleship Follow Samus. Sylux is back.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force (3DS)
In “Federation Force,” Samus does not play the main role, but rather a team of Federation soldiers who are reinforced by mechanical suits based on Samus’ Power Suit.
After the events of Corruption, The destruction of Phaaze and the subsequent extermination of Phazon significantly weakened the space piratesand so the Federation forces begin a mission to wipe them out completely.
Samus is discontinued to effectively collect intelligence for the Federation troops and discovers a huge battleship known as Doomseye, controlled by an entity called Master Brain.
The Force loses contact with Samus and later discovers that she has been captured by the Space Pirates, who force her to fight against the Federation Forces. She is defeated and subsequently buried under rubble, but when the Federation Force confronts Master BrainSamus returns to help and proves to be instrumental in Master Brain’s final defeat.
After completing the game Sylux is observed infiltrating the Galactic Federation to find a Metroid egg. A Metroid child hatches from the egg while Sylux looks on. This little piece of information could be crucial to understanding why Slyux is flanked by Metroids in the Prime 4 trailer, although it is also believed that these creatures could be “Mochtroids”, creatures created as part of the Space Pirates’ plan to clone the Metroids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to play every Metroid Prime game to understand Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?
That remains to be seen, though we suspect that given the time that has passed since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Nintendo will want to make the fourth main game as accessible as possible. Corruption tied up a lot of loose threads quite well, so Beyond presents a good opportunity to introduce an entirely new storyline that is detached from the narrative of the previous games.
You will not need it is important to have played the previous games, but you will of course understand the plot better then.
Will Dark Samus appear in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?
Possibly. After all, Metroid Prime itself is a major antagonist, so it makes sense that the creature would appear in some form in a fourth game in the series. Whether it will appear in the guise of Dark Samus is currently unclear, but it would be cool to see it back.
Will Phazon play a role in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?
Honestly, we think the entire Phazon storyline is wrapped up at this point. Even if Metroid Prime returns, we suspect it won’t rely on Phazon at all.
The destruction of the planet Phaaze in Corruption essentially wiped out the Phazon, so we’d be very surprised if it reappeared. However, there are rumors that Beyond might involve time travel, so who knows?
Should I play the previous games to understand Sylux’s role?
Honestly, no. Everything you need to know about Sylux can be found either in this article here or in our previous article detailing the character. Her role in Hunters is quite significant, but her appearances in Corruption and Federation Force are little more than brief cameos.
