Editing Metroid Prime (section)

== Gameplay ==
[[File:M screen017.jpg|thumb|left|alt=View of volcanic caverns; an enemy with a jetpack shoots a green ray at the player, whose weapon (a large cannon) is visible in the corner of the screen. The image is a simulation of the heads-up display of a combat suit's helmet, with a crosshair drawn onto the enemy's location and two-dimensional icons relaying game information around the edge of the frame.|Samus in battle with a Flying Pirate. The player character is controlled from a first-person perspective.]]

''Metroid Prime'' is an [[action-adventure game]] in which players control protagonist [[Samus Aran]] from a [[First-person (video games)|first-person]] perspective, unlike previous games in the ''[[Metroid]]'' series,<ref name="gamespot">{{Cite web |last=Kasavin |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kasavin |date=November 15, 2002 |title=Metroid Prime review |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metroid-prime-review/1900-2897768/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326205335/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metroid-prime-review/1900-2897768/ |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |access-date=January 19, 2014 |publisher=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="IGN">{{Cite web |last=Mirabella III |first=Fran |date=November 11, 2002 |title=Metroid Prime review |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/11/metroid-prime |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207014156/http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/11/metroid-prime |archive-date=December 7, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2006 |publisher=IGN}}</ref> with [[third-person view|third-person]] elements used for Morph Ball mode.<ref name="gamespot" /> The gameplay involves solving puzzles to reveal secrets, [[platform game|platform jumping]], and shooting foes with the help of a "lock-on" mechanism that allows [[circle strafing]] while staying aimed at the enemy.<ref name="gamespot" /><ref name="IGN" />

Samus must travel through the world of Tallon IV searching for twelve Chozo Artifacts that will open the path to the Phazon meteor impact crater, while collecting [[power-up]]s that let her reach new areas. The Varia Suit, for example, protects Samus' armor against high temperatures, allowing her to enter volcanic regions. Some items are obtained after [[boss (video games)|boss]] fights. Items must be collected in a specific order; for example, players cannot access certain areas until they find a certain Beam to open doors, or discover new ordnance with which to beat bosses.<ref name="manual">{{Cite book |url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/GCN_Metroid_Prime.pdf |title=Metroid Prime Instruction Booklet |publisher=[[Nintendo#Divisions|Nintendo of America]] |year=2002 |access-date=August 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701231330/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/GCN_Metroid_Prime.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="IGNGuidesUpgrades">{{Cite web |last=Mirabella III |first=Fran |title=Metroid Prime Guide/Power Suit Upgrades |url=http://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime/Power_Suit_Upgrades |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818013605/http://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime/Power_Suit_Upgrades |archive-date=August 18, 2012 |access-date=August 10, 2012 |website=[[IGN]] |date=March 26, 2012 |publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]}}</ref> Players are incentivized to explore to find upgrades that increase Samus' maximum ammunition and [[Health (gaming)|health]].<ref name="open">{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=John |date=September 26, 2007 |title=Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130319/game_design_essentials_20_open_.php?page=7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025212951/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130319/game_design_essentials_20_open_.php?page=7 |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=August 10, 2012 |publisher=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref>

The [[Heads-up display (video games)|heads-up display]], which simulates the inside of Samus' helmet, features a radar display, a map, ammunition for missiles, a health meter, a danger meter for negotiating hazardous landscape or materials, and a health bar and name display for bosses. The display can be altered by exchanging visors; one uses [[Thermography|thermal imaging]], another has [[Radiography|x-ray vision]], and another features a scanner that searches for enemy weaknesses and interfaces with mechanisms such as force fields and elevators.<ref name="manual" /> The game introduces a hint system that provides the player with clues about ways to progress through the game.<ref name="IGNGuidesBasics">{{Cite web |last=Mirabella III |first=Fran |title=Metroid Prime Guide/Basics |url=http://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime/Basics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818090216/http://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime/Basics |archive-date=August 18, 2012 |access-date=August 10, 2012 |website=[[IGN]] |date=March 26, 2012 |publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]}}</ref>

By connecting ''Prime'' with ''[[Metroid Fusion]]'' using a [[GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable]], players can unlock Samus's Fusion Suit as an optional cosmetic, as well as a playable [[video game console emulator|emulation]] of the original ''[[Metroid (video game)|Metroid]]'' game.<ref name="manual" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Varanini |first=Giancarlo |date=October 25, 2002 |title=Metroid Prime, Fusion connection revealed |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-fusion-connection-revealed/1100-2895768/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326045655/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-fusion-connection-revealed/1100-2895768/ |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |access-date=April 10, 2007 |publisher=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref>

=== Items ===
[[File:Morphball.jpg|thumb|right|While Samus is in Morph Ball form, the view changes to a [[third-person view]].|alt=A metallic ball stands in a futuristic corridor, with sparks of electricity in the background. Atop the image is a bar and a number indicating the health of the player, and three round icons indicating the remaining bombs.]]

Throughout the game, players must find and collect items that improve Samus' arsenal and suit, including weapons, armor upgrades for Samus' Power Suit and items that grant abilities{{mdash}}including the Morph Ball, which allows Samus to compress herself into a ball in order to roll into narrow passages and drop energy bombs, and the Grapple Beam, which works by latching onto special hooks called grapple nodes, allowing Samus to swing across gaps. Unlike those in earlier games in the series, the beam weapons in ''Metroid Prime'' have no stacking ability, in which the traits of each beam merge. Instead, the player must cycle the four beam weapons; there are charge combos with radically different effects for each. Other upgrades include boots that allow Samus to double-jump and a Spider Ball upgrade that allows her to climb magnetic rails.<ref name="manual" />

Items from previous ''Metroid'' games appear with altered functions. Art galleries and [[Multiple endings|different endings]] are unlockable if the player collects a high percentage of items and Scan Visor logs. ''Prime'' is one of the first ''Metroid'' games to address the reason Samus does not start with power-ups acquired in previous games; she begins the game with some upgrades, including the Varia Suit, Missiles and Grapple Beam, but they are lost during an explosion on the Space Pirate frigate ''Orpheon''.<ref name="gamespy">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Bryan |date=November 19, 2002 |title=Metroid Prime review |url=http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/metroid-prime/536060p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225035741/http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/metroid-prime/536060p1.html |archive-date=February 25, 2007 |access-date=January 21, 2007 |publisher=[[GameSpy]]}}</ref> The producers stated that starting with some power-ups was a way to give the player "different things to do" and to learn the functions of these items before settling into the core gameplay.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Totilo |first=Steven |date=September 26, 2007 |title=Retro Studios Answers The Dreaded "Metroid Dread" Question — And Other "Prime" Exclusives |url=http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2007/09/26/retro-studios-answers-the-dreaded-metroid-dread-question-and-other-prime-exclusives/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511084750/http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2007/09/26/retro-studios-answers-the-dreaded-metroid-dread-question-and-other-prime-exclusives/ |archive-date=May 11, 2013 |access-date=March 19, 2008 |publisher=MTV |df=mdy-all}}</ref>