Bevendre

In the last couple weeks nostalgia hit me something fierce and I went back to play through the entirety of Metroid Prime 1, 2 and 3 in the Prime Trilogy collection for the Wii.  No collectible guides, no scan lists, just relatively blind runs going off of memory.  I had played through all 3 games completely, with 100-100 finishes on all 3 in the past, so I didn’t see the need to do full runs again.  After playing through all 3 one after the other I can’t help but compare the three and rank them on a few things, so below are the best in various categories:

Pacing: Metroid Prime
Presentation: Prime 3 Corruption
Story: Prime 2 Echoes
Enemies: Prime 2 Echoes
Settings: Metroid Prime
Upgrades and abilities: Prime 2 Echoes
Logbook and scans: Prime 2 Echoes
Ship use: Prime 3 Corruption
Ship design: Metroid Prime
Replayability: Metroid Prime & Prime 2 Echoes
End boss: Prime 2 Echoes.

Overall, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is my favorite entry in the series.  Though it does suffer most heavily from the common complaint against backtracking in Metroid games, it does so in a unique way and serves to only expand upon the greatness that was Metroid Prime.  As a standalone game Metroid Prime is better, but I prefer 2.  

I like Metroid Prime 3, but it’s a rather distant third in the trilogy, for me.  Though it looks gorgeous (all of the entries do) it ends up being bogged down by several aspects that feel little more than pure gimmick to feed into the motion controls that were still relatively new at its release.  Several design aspects irk me in general, and even moreso in light of its predecessors and how things were handled in those games made by the same developer.  I’d still recommend it, but I just have a lot more trouble getting into it in comparison to the other two.

All in all, the Metroid Prime Trilogy is a great collection of great games that I would recommend without hesitation to anyone with a Wii or a WiiU, especially since it’s available on the WiiU marketplace.  They are all games that can be enjoyed through watching alone, but must be experienced to truly love.  Prime 1 and 2 control very well on the Gamecube, and all 3 control well with the motion controls of the trilogy collection.  I can only hope that the next system sees a return of the series.