10 Awesome Moments That Defined The Nintendo GameCube

Metroid Prime – the fifth installment in the franchise, released in 2002 – was a crowning achievement for the console, transitioning the series into three dimensions, and accomplishing multiple impossibilities: successfully incorporating first-person shooting into the franchise, and reintroducing the universe to a new generation of players.

Besides that, the game represented something of a hybrid – described as a first-person adventure, rather than a first-person shooter – merging exploration and shooting to create a remarkably unique style of gameplay. Besides Samus – longstanding protagonist of the franchise – the game was a massive departure for the series, developing significantly upon previous installments, evolving into something virtually unrecognisable.

As such, there’s an encounter towards the end of the game that comes as a welcome commemoration, a nostalgic reminder of everything that’s come before. Meta Ridley – a cybernetically enhanced version of the series’ longstanding antagonist – is more powerful than ever before, complete with new armour plating and a more devastating arsenal of futuristic weaponry. The fight itself – though not the final encounter, and not particularly difficult – is a highlight, bridging the eight year gap between Metroid Prime and Super Metroid, in which he was originally killed.