Metroid Prime is a game of rooms and passages connected by doors, yet no two rooms are alike. Even the simplest metal hallway has a curve, or a pipe, or an intruding tree root to set it apart from any other. The amount of audio and visual detail that went into every aspect of Prime's design is staggering, and each region of Tallon IV's world is unique in character.
Tallon Overworld: Bioluminescent plants and fungus light stony tunnels. Roots from trees spread down rock walls and moss hangs in green curtains from stepped ledges. Waterfalls feed into streams and ponds, and the ever-present rain spatters Samus' beam cannon and visor. The unobtrusive music enhances the feeling of calm. Here one can find a mysterious temple built by the Chozo, displaying their love of iconic architecture, and the flooded remains of the Space Pirates' Frigate, so lately visited while in orbit.
Chozo Ruins: Water trickles through the broken brickwork of stone walls, and sand is carried upon gusts of wind. A feeling of solitude permeates the atmosphere. Tiny green moths gather in the sunlight that pours through the gaps of collapsed ceilings. A past glory can be seen here, gentle and organic, now dried and faded. It's a lonely place but far from empty.
Magmoor Caverns: Tunnels and caverns of dark volcanic rock lit with the lurid red glow from lakes of magma. Glowing ash floats on the super heated air and steam erupts from crevices to fog Samus' visor. Magmoor is a long corridor of fire and stone and my steps through it are hurried along by the music, an ominous march veterans of Super Metroid will instantly recognize.
Phendrana Drifts: From fire, I emerge into ice. Frozen cascades glisten in the light and encrust cold gray stone. Snow is piled into drifts next to the ruins of what possibly were dwelling places long ago. Frosted branches, woven into bridges, add warmer browns and oranges, counterpoints of color amongst the white and blue. Within the organic valleys and caves is the pirate's research center—a hive of metal catwalks and strange machinery. One of my favorite rooms here is the Observatory, with its luminous hologram of the solar system and the heartbeat thump of its power generator.
Phazon Mines: What begins as an industrial area of stone and rusty metal becomes more and more otherworldly the deeper I go. Eventually, I leave the mine shafts, and enter claustrophobic caves illuminated by mutated fungus large enough to stand on, filling the air with irradiated spores. Phazon, somehow both organic and crystalline, spreads tendril like formations across the stone, alive with arcing electricity. It's dark down here, and the uncanny aura is only enhanced by Samus' need to rely on her Thermal and X-ray Visors.
Impact Crater: And now things really get strange. Structures reminiscent of bone and teeth are lit with garish light and the floors that at first seem to be stone squish beneath Samus' booted feet. There can be no doubt that somehow, the very walls around me are alive. This small area is the home of festering corruption.
Tallon Overworld: Bioluminescent plants and fungus light stony tunnels. Roots from trees spread down rock walls and moss hangs in green curtains from stepped ledges. Waterfalls feed into streams and ponds, and the ever-present rain spatters Samus' beam cannon and visor. The unobtrusive music enhances the feeling of calm. Here one can find a mysterious temple built by the Chozo, displaying their love of iconic architecture, and the flooded remains of the Space Pirates' Frigate, so lately visited while in orbit.
Chozo Ruins: Water trickles through the broken brickwork of stone walls, and sand is carried upon gusts of wind. A feeling of solitude permeates the atmosphere. Tiny green moths gather in the sunlight that pours through the gaps of collapsed ceilings. A past glory can be seen here, gentle and organic, now dried and faded. It's a lonely place but far from empty.
Magmoor Caverns: Tunnels and caverns of dark volcanic rock lit with the lurid red glow from lakes of magma. Glowing ash floats on the super heated air and steam erupts from crevices to fog Samus' visor. Magmoor is a long corridor of fire and stone and my steps through it are hurried along by the music, an ominous march veterans of Super Metroid will instantly recognize.
Phendrana Drifts: From fire, I emerge into ice. Frozen cascades glisten in the light and encrust cold gray stone. Snow is piled into drifts next to the ruins of what possibly were dwelling places long ago. Frosted branches, woven into bridges, add warmer browns and oranges, counterpoints of color amongst the white and blue. Within the organic valleys and caves is the pirate's research center—a hive of metal catwalks and strange machinery. One of my favorite rooms here is the Observatory, with its luminous hologram of the solar system and the heartbeat thump of its power generator.
Phazon Mines: What begins as an industrial area of stone and rusty metal becomes more and more otherworldly the deeper I go. Eventually, I leave the mine shafts, and enter claustrophobic caves illuminated by mutated fungus large enough to stand on, filling the air with irradiated spores. Phazon, somehow both organic and crystalline, spreads tendril like formations across the stone, alive with arcing electricity. It's dark down here, and the uncanny aura is only enhanced by Samus' need to rely on her Thermal and X-ray Visors.
Impact Crater: And now things really get strange. Structures reminiscent of bone and teeth are lit with garish light and the floors that at first seem to be stone squish beneath Samus' booted feet. There can be no doubt that somehow, the very walls around me are alive. This small area is the home of festering corruption.