According to a developer interview, Metroid Prime almost included a completely playable emulation of Super Metroid. Metroid Prime and Super Metroid are two of the series’ most critically regarded games, with the latter being hailed as a cult classic in gaming in general. As a result, this attempted inclusion isn’t altogether surprising. There have been reports since 2019 that the Metroid Prime trilogy will be remastered in HD for the Nintendo Switch.
After being launched on the Wii, the Metroid Prime trilogy was previously converted to the Wii U. Of course, nothing has been proven as of yet, and these stories have been going on for so long that it’s difficult to know their veracity. According to the most current speculations, the first Metroid Prime will be remastered in HD rather than the trilogy. Whichever games are remade, any Metroid Prime would make the wait for Metroid Prime 4 a little less painful. Retro Studio’s attempt to incorporate Super Metroid into Metroid Prime is discussed in an interview with Metroid Prime developer David Kirsch on the Kiwi Talks YouTube channel (via Destructoid).
Kirsch mentioned that the team was highly enthusiastic about Super Metroid and that they installed a SNES emulator on the GameCube to see whether it could be used in the game. However, Nintendo finally rejected this attempt due to the emulator’s use of third-party code. Later, the original Metroid on the NES became playable on the GameCube after users used a link cable to connect the completed data of Metroid Fusion to Metroid Prime. In terms of Metroid Prime 4, there has been no indication of where it is in its development cycle. Retro Studios is still hiring developers for Metroid Prime 4, but no trailers have been released since the game’s debut teaser trailer in 2017.
Among the new hires are a designer from 2018’s God of War and a producer who has previously worked on Overwatch and Grand Theft Auto. Despite the fact that Super Metroid was never included in Metroid Prime, the original Metroid being playable on the GameCube is something of a consolation prize. Nintendo rejecting emulations is not uncommon, as the company has a lengthy history of taking down third-party emulators for copyright infringement. The quality of the Nintendo 64 emulation on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack also doesn’t help, however there have been recent improvements to the emulation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time port. Despite the fact that the technique of obtaining Metroid was somewhat convoluted, it demonstrates the team’s enthusiasm for both Super Metroid and the Metroid franchise as a whole.