2002 video game

Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the fifth main installment in the Metroid franchise. It was the first Metroid game to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002 and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).

Metroid Prime takes place shortly after the events of the original Metroid. Players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she battles the Space Pirates and their biological experiments on the planet Tallon IV. Metroid Prime was a collaboration between Retro in Austin, Texas, and Japanese Nintendo employees, including producers Shigeru Miyamoto and Kensuke Tanabe. Miyamoto suggested the project after visiting Retro's headquarters in 2000. Since exploration takes precedence over combat, Nintendo described the game as a "first-person adventure" rather than a first-person shooter.

Metroid Prime sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Metroid game until Metroid Dread (2021). It won a number of Game of the Year awards and is regarded by many as one of the greatest video games, remaining one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic.

Metroid Prime was followed by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025). In 2009, an enhanced version of Metroid Prime was released for the Wii in Japan and as part of the Metroid Prime: Trilogy compilation internationally. A remastered version was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2023.

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