Metroid Prime was revealed to have almost included a fully playable emulation of Super Metroid, according to a developer interview. Both Metroid Prime and Super Metroid are two of the most critically acclaimed games in the series, with the latter being hailed as a cult classic in gaming as a whole. Therefore, this attempted inclusion isn’t entirely a surprise.
There have been rumors as far back as 2019 that the Metroid Prime trilogy will receive an HD remaster on the Nintendo Switch. The Metroid Prime trilogy has previously been ported to the Wii U after it was originally released on the Wii. Of course, nothing is confirmed as of yet, and these rumors have been going on for so long that it’s hard to know their validity for sure. The most recent rumors now suggest that the first Metroid Prime will receive the HD remaster treatment as opposed to the trilogy. Whichever games get remastered, any Metroid Prime would help make the wait for Metroid Prime 4 easier.
An interview with Metroid Prime developer David Kirsch on the Kiwi Talks YouTube channel (via Destructoid) talks about Retro Studio’s attempt to implement Super Metroid into Metroid Prime. Kirsch stated that the team was very passionate about Super Metroid, and added a SNES emulator into the GameCube to see if it could be put into the game. But ultimately, Nintendo shot down this attempt due to the emulator being third-party code. Later on, the original Metroid on the NES became playable on the GameCube once players linked completed data of Metroid Fusion to Metroid Prime using a link cable.
As far as Metroid Prime 4 is concerned, there continue to be no signs of where it’s at in its development cycle. Retro Studios continues to hire various developers for Metroid Prime 4, yet no trailer has been released beyond its first teaser trailer in 2017. These hired developers include the likes of a designer from 2018’s God of War, as well as a producer who has previously worked on Overwatch and Grand Theft Auto.
Despite Super Metroid ultimately not being implemented into Metroid Prime, the original Metroid managing to be playable on the GameCube is somewhat of a consolation prize to make up for this. It’s not unusual for Nintendo to reject emulations, as Nintendo has a long history of shutting down third-party emulators for copyright infringement. It’s also not helped by the quality of the Nintendo 64 emulation on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, though there have been recent improvements to the emulation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time port. But although the method of obtaining Metroid was a bit convoluted, it nonetheless shows the team’s passion for both Super Metroid and the Metroid series as a whole.
