For over 35 years the Metroid series has raised the bar for science fiction action adventures. Spanning over a dozen titles on nearly every Nintendo platform, the series has stood out from other franchises due to its careful attention to detail, artfully crafted sense of isolation, and fantastic level design. However, as with any work of art, for every feature or epic moment that was included, at least five have ended up on the cutting room floor.
While players have not been made aware of everything that has been cut from the Metroid series over the years, quite a few things have come to light. There are many reasons why something might be cut from the final build of a game, from time constraints to technical difficulties. Whatever the reason though, it's fascinating to consider what might have been had things turned out a little differently.
5 Bounties
One cut feature came about as a result of a misunderstanding between the American developer Retro Studios and the series producers at Nintendo of Japan. Since the beginning of the series, Samus was labeled as a space bounty hunter, meaning that she hunts down criminals for money. The developers at Retro Studios wanted to implement this feature into Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This would have seen Samus hunting down criminals in a hub world to acquire classic Metroid power-ups and abilities.
The problem was that Nintendo didn't really have a clear understanding of what a bounty hunter actually was. In reality, they intended for Samus to be more of a space hero or warrior rather than a bounty hunter. Some of the higher-ups at Nintendo did not like the idea of Samus being primarily motivated by money or material reward and demanded that Retro cut the feature. It's a shame that they did, as such a feature would have provided an interesting change to the Metroid formula.
4 3D Kraid Boss Fight
Up until the release of the original Metroid Prime, the three big baddies of the space pirates were Ridley, Kraid, and Mother Brain. It should therefore come as no surprise that when it was determined that space pirates would be the primary antagonists of the first Prime game, Retro Studios had originally planned for Kraid to appear in the game as a boss.
This version of Kraid, dubbed Meta Kraid would have featured cybernetic enhancements and blue Phazon veins running up his body and been fought in an area of the Phazon Mines. Ultimately, Meta Kraid had to be cut due to time restraints, which is a shame as it would have been interesting to see how Kraid's moves would have been translated into 3D.
3 3D Mother Brain Boss Fight
Another classic Metroid boss which was considered for a 3D appearance in Metroid Prime was Mother Brain. Unlike Kraid, it appears that the fight against Mother Brain was cut while in the concept phase with the only evidence that it was ever considered being a piece of artwork from development.
The artwork in question portrays Mother Brain as being gargantuan in comparison to Samus. Given these facts, one must wonder what such a battle would have been like if it had made it into the final version of the game. The closest thing to a fully 3D Mother Brain that would appear in the Metroid Prime series was a fight against a possessed aurora unit in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
2 Dark Luminoth
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was the first entry in the series to allow Samus to interact with a friendly NPC in the form of U-Mos, the last sentinel of the Luminoth species. U-Mos was the only living Luminoth that Samus encountered throughout the course of the game. If some early trailers are to be believed though, this might not always have been the case.
Some trailers seem to show what appears to be an Ing-possessed Luminoth. It would appear that this character was cut from the final game fairly late in development. The idea of a boss fight against a possessed Luminoth is certainly intriguing as outside scattered logbook entries the players never actually got to see how these creatures fought though it seems like they perhaps possessed some form of telekinetic abilities.
1 Metroid Prime 1.5
Metroid Prime 1.5 was a pitch for a sequel to Metroid Prime that was ultimately rejected before it entered full development. The only evidence remaining of its existence was a developer interview and some concept art. The story would have had Samus trapped on a ship whose AI had gone insane and fractured into multiple different personalities. The goal was to stop the AI before it could crash the ship into a peaceful planet.
What would have made this game especially interesting is the fact that the ship is currently passing through a parallel dimension which would alter the laws of physics in several interesting ways, such as inverting gravity or having rooms in which time moved backward. It's a shame that players never got to see any more of it, though the idea of traveling through a parallel dimension would at least make an appearance in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.