Metroid Prime 4 Fans Are Excited About a 10-Year Old Time Travel Tease Finally Coming True

10 years ago, Metroid Prime bid shaper Kensuke Tanabe sat down with maine astatine E3 2015 and said he'd similar to marque a caller crippled successful the franchise with a clip question mechanic.

This was, obviously, a agelong clip agone — truthful agelong agone that the Nintendo Switch was inactive lone known by its codename NX — but the chat remains 1 of Tanabe's astir forthcoming interviews connected the Metroid Prime series' future, discussing the stories of Dark Samus and Phazon, bounty huntsman Sylux, and an thought for a caller Metroid Prime crippled that focused connected a azygous satellite crossed aggregate points successful its timeline.

"Instead of broadening it to much planets I would person 1 and would absorption connected the timeline, and being capable to alteration that," Tanabe said to me, astatine Eurogamer astatine the time. "That's 1 absorbing thought I person successful mind... but I recognize galore radical thought that [Echoes] was excessively difficult."

By evoking Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Tanabe is referring to its dual-world gameplay that saw players displacement betwixt airy and acheronian versions of the aforesaid abstraction — a conception that prompted a premix of reactions from players. Still, the thought of clip question appears to person stuck with Tanabe, who has erstwhile again returned arsenic the shaper of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — a crippled which contains different similarities to the conception helium discussed backmost then.

Take the bounty huntsman Sylux, for example, a quality that adjacent fans of the Metroid Prime trilogy mightiness conflict to remember. A rival of Samus, Sylux was introduced successful the Nintendo DS spin-off crippled Metroid Prime Hunters (for which Tanabe was besides a producer). As portion of the aforesaid interrogation a decennary ago, Tanabe confirmed the spaceship seen during the cliffhanger tease astatine the extremity of Metroid Prime 3 belonged to Sylux, perchance mounting up a rivalry successful a aboriginal game.

"It was Sylux, different huntsman from Metroid Prime Hunters astatine the extremity of Metroid Prime 3," Tanabe said to maine astatine the time. "Personally I'd similar to make a communicative centring astir Sylux and Samus."

Well, rotation guardant a decennary and Sylux is so a large beingness successful Metroid Prime 4 — and past week the quality was adjacent announced arsenic getting an amiibo figurine, too.

As for the thought of a crippled featuring clip travel, fans person agelong held onto Tanabe's proposition — and adjacent pointed to the achromatic spread signifier seen successful Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's logo successful the anticipation that it mightiness mean Samus tin make immoderate benignant of time-dilating abstraction spread to question into the past oregon future.

Now, supposedly leaked container creation for the crippled posted connected reddit appears to notation Samus arsenic being stuck connected the game's satellite of Viewros aft being transported crossed abstraction and time — prompting much chatter that clip travel, conscionable similar Sylux, has remained portion of Tanabe's plans.

"I'm assuming it'll enactment precisely similar however Dark Aether works successful Prime 2," wrote Metroid instrumentality Spinjitsuninja connected reddit, earlier the expected container creation leaked. "We spot respective portals successful the caller trailer anyways, truthful unless those are awkward warp points, I deliberation it shows akin satellite design. They could ever person the crippled instrumentality you to antithetic eras, with much than 2 'worlds' to spell between? But that mightiness beryllium ambitious."

"Calling it now: you person to deed a definite velocity connected the motorcycle to clip travel, backmost to the aboriginal style," added different fan, Gleethor connected ResetEra. "Could adjacent spot it adjacent instantly changing the scenery astir you erstwhile you clip travel, which could surely explicate wherefore it's comparatively sparse."

Last week's Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer yet revealed the game's merchandise day and besides showcased a caller open-world motorbike for Samus, though the video felt thing of a low-key showing wrong the wider Nintendo Direct. Here's hoping we get to spot much of the crippled earlier its December 7, 2025 merchandise day — if lone we could clip question to that.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social