Metroid Prime 4’s Spot in the Metroid Timeline Officially Confirmed

The inclusion of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond into the overall series has often confused die-hard fans, as it isn’t clear when this game takes place relative to Samus’ other adventures. Thankfully, a recent interview with the latest entry’s developers seems to have shed more light on the timeline, some much-needed insight. While Metroid Prime 4 aims to stand alone, this context reshapes the story somewhat into something satisfying for lore enthusiasts.

According to a Famitsu interview, Nintendo developers of Metroid Prime 4 claim that the game is set before Metroid Fusion, but after Super Metroid. This puts the game’s events behind the also-recent Metroid Dread, the latest return-to-form to the series released back in 2021. However, additional details from this interview mainly focused on how Metroid Prime 4 was intended to be a “free and original setting” rather than something connected or reliant on the 2D Metroid games.

Unlike some other divisive elements of Metroid Prime 4, this timeline reveal is actually rather interesting considering where it places Samus for the events of the game. As one of the few games after Super Metroid and Metroid: Other M, this places the latest first-person title near the end of the series, but still far beyond the other Metroid Prime titles, which have always been nestled in a weird place compared to the rest of the series.

Metroid Prime 4’s Placement Marks A First For The Series

Metroid Prime 4 is the very first Metroid Prime game that takes place after Super Metroid, one of the biggest landmarks in the series. While not the focus of Beyond‘s story, this opens up more opportunities for players to control a more developed Samus, whose journey has made her more experienced for the events on Veiwros.

Read Next

Metroid Prime 4 Struggles to Evolve Beyond Its Roots While Still Offering a Satisfying Metroidvania Experience (Review)

Despite the developer’s desire to make Metroid Prime 4 independent of any part of the 2D timeline, the inevitable comparison to those games help provide some crucial context. Metroid Prime 4 being after Super Metroid and Other M likely allowed the developers to have a more complete character to work to give players a defined Samus for a new adventure.

While some fans might prefer the inexperienced Samus of the older Metroid Prime games, which all only take place after the first Metroid, the veteran seen in Metroid Prime 4 is arguably better for the game’s setting. Overall, the distinction doesn’t matter much, as the newest title is meant to create an original world and story that are nearly separate from other Metroid games as a whole. An established Samus creates a blank slate for a new journey, designed for new and veteran fans of the series to try without needing to know anything from past games.

Do you think they chose the right spot in the timeline for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond? Leave a comment below and join the conversation at ComicBook Forum!