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Episode 34 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Spoilercast

Shinesparkers Podcast
Shinesparkers Podcast
Episode 34 - Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Spoilercast
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Our first podcast episode of 2026 is a spoilercast for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Amanda, Roy and Irene share their feelings on the game’s characters, gameplay, atmosphere and story, and where they think the Metroid Prime franchise could go next. Additionally, Amanda reads listener reviews of Metroid Prime 4 from the mailbag.

Be warned that there are spoilers for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, so if you have not completed the game yet, please consider waiting to listen to this episode until you have.

Podcast is hosted by Amanda, with team members Roy and Irene.

The drawing of Samus and Armstrong mentioned in this episode: https://x.com/KAJiRAkreations/status/2003506636070277282

The Stranger Things video with Jessica Martin mentioned in this episode (she appears starting at 2:26): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICYhaTbyQrQ

00:00 – Introductions
00:40 – Topic: Our thoughts on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
41:44 – Mailbag
48:48 – Bloopers

03 Feb 2026
Metroid Prime 4 Permalink

Nintendo earnings report suggests Metroid Prime 4 has sold under 1 million (UPDATED)

February 3, 2026

Nintendo have released their latest earnings report this morning, and it suggests some bad news for Metroid fans. Their financial results include lists of their first-party games that have sold over 1 million copies. Kirby Air Riders, released a few weeks before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, sold 1.76 million units, and that is specified on the report. However, no sales data is available for Metroid Prime 4 on either Nintendo Switch 1 or 2. This likely suggests that it has not sold 1 million copies to date.

Metroid Prime 4 spent eight years in development, from its initial announcement in 2017, to restarting development in 2019. It had a notably lackluster marketing campaign as compared to Metroid Dread. In the lead-up to release, there was relentless online criticism from the Metroid fanbase over the open world desert hub, Vi-O-La motorcycle, and NPCs, Myles MacKenzie in particular. All of these factors may have had an impact on Metroid Prime 4’s sales.

Source: Nintendo

UPDATE (February 4, 2026): According to independent journalist Stephen Totilo, Nintendo told him that Metroid Prime 4 has in fact sold 1 million copies, when the sales totals of both the Switch 2 Edition and Switch 1 version are combined.

Source: Stephen Totilo

02 Feb 2026
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January 2026 News Roundup

February 2, 2026

Now that February 2026 has rolled around, we have prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in January. See below:

January 11 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the top spot for downloads in December (Europe)

January 26 – Charity Speedrun Event ‘ICE Breaker’ Begins Soon – Supporting Minnesota against ICE

January 27 – Metroid Prime 2 might be coming to Nintendo Switch Online (UPDATE: Denied by Nintendo)

We published three features in January: our translation of a Metroid Prime 4: Beyond developer interview in Famitsu, our group review of Metroid Prime 4, and our translation of a second developer interview in Nintendo Dream. On YouTube, we shared a video version of Episode 33 of our podcast (featuring Laura Kate Dale) and a compilation of all Metroid-related posts on the Nintendo Switch News app.

We’ll have more content to share in February and throughout the rest of 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for that! As always, we’ll see you next mission.

27 Jan 2026
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Permalink

Metroid Prime 2 might be coming to Nintendo Switch Online (UPDATE: Denied by Nintendo)

January 27, 2026

UPDATE (January 29, 2026) – Nintendo of America issued the following statement to IGN:

“We recently provided a retailer with an image of Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics titles that incorrectly included games that are not planned for release at this time. The image has been removed, and we apologize for any confusion.”

It seems that Metroid Prime 2 is not coming to Nintendo Switch Online at this time… unless it is, and Nintendo are covering up a leak. In any case, it’s not coming to NSO. For now.

The original post follows:

BREAKING: a banner image has been spotted on the Walmart website for Nintendo Switch Online, including Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It has not been confirmed for re-release on Nintendo Switch Online yet. After years of rumors of a Metroid Prime Remastered-style remaster of its sequel, it appears that the second Metroid Prime game might only receive a simple port for NSO members with the Expansion Pack subscription tier.

At the time of writing, the banner is still up on Walmart’s site. Time will tell if it comes to NSO, but we will report on it as soon as it does!

Source: Walmart

26 Jan 2026
Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Permalink

Charity Speedrun Event ‘ICE Breaker’ Begins Soon – Supporting Minnesota against ICE

January 26, 2026

A speedrun event called ‘ICE Breaker’ launches Jan. 30th 11:00am ET, lasting until Feb. 1st, and will include various speedruns to support Minnesota! This event was made by helix.midwestspeedfest.com and ReallyReallyLongAThon, and will be hosted at twitch.tv/reallyreallylongathon.

This event includes two Metroid games, being Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, ran by Mr_Shasta and BashPrime respectively. You can see the schedule here.

ICE Breaker will support Minnesota in accordance to advice from standwithminnesota.com and Minnesota residents. The purpose of this event is to support Minnesotans as they contend with extreme ICE activity by raising awareness, community support, and funds.

We wish both Helix and the team at ReallyReallyLongAThon the best of luck!

Source: ICE Breaker

25 Jan 2026
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Feature: Metroid Prime 4 Nintendo Dream Interview

January 25, 2026

Today we’re sharing another translated interview! In the March 2026 issue of Nintendo Dream, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond producer Kensuke Tanabe, composer Kenji Yamamoto and Retro Studios’ Design Director Bill Vandervoort were interviewed about the game’s development. They discuss, among other topics, the challenges of development from its restarting and the impact of COVID, the process of designing the Vi-O-La bike, writing the Logbook and the Galactic Federation troopers’ dialogue, and building the world of Viewros. They also elaborate on Sylux’s role in the game.

Most significantly, Tanabe-san has confirmed that Metroid Prime 4 is his final game at Nintendo, and he is retiring after 40 years with the company. Although a sequel is not currently planned, Tanabe-san hopes that his Associate Producer, Risa Tabata, will succeed him as Producer of the Metroid Prime series and see Sylux’s arc through to its end.

On behalf of the Shinesparkers team, I want to congratulate Tanabe-san on his retirement and thank him for his role on the Metroid Prime series since its inception in 2002.

Click here to read the interview

11 Jan 2026
Metroid Prime 4 Permalink

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the top spot for downloads in December (Europe)

January 11, 2026

As reported by Nintendo Everything, Nintendo has revealed the ‘Top 15 Downloads’ of December, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond made the top spot for Nintendo Switch 2 downloads!

These numbers are based on sales data from the European Nintendo eShop, and they exclude purchases made on the Nintendo website, during discount periods, Game Voucher redemptions, free downloads, and upgrade packs.

The charts are as follows:

Nintendo Switch 2

1. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
2. Nintendo Switch Sports
3. Donkey Kong Bananza
4. Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
5. Assassin’s Creed Shadows
6. Super Mario Party Jamboree
7. Mario Kart World
8. Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
10. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
11. Octopath Traveler 0
12. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2
13. Stardew Valley
14. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
15. Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Nintendo Switch

1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2. Pokemon Legends: Z-A
3. Nintendo Switch Sports
4. Super Mario Party Jamboree
5. Stardew Valley
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
7. Minecraft
8. It Takes Two
9. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2
10. Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
11. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
12. Disney Dreamlight Valley
13. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
15. Super Mario Galaxy 2

Based on those numbers, it seems like the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was the most popular edition of the game.

On the ‘Top 15 Downloads’ of November for Europe, there is a similar indication where Beyond was at #9 for NS2, and the Nintendo Switch version did not make the list at all.

Source: Nintendo / Nintendo Everything

10 Jan 2026
Metroid Prime 4 Permalink

Feature: Shinesparkers Reviews Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

January 10, 2026

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been out in the wild for just over a month now, and the team have been playing through Samus Aran’s latest adventure ever since. Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve had time to formulate our opinions of it, several members of the Shinesparkers team have assembled to review Metroid Prime 4 together. Although we don’t give scores in our Metroid reviews, we hope that you’ll take the time to read our thoughts and understand how we felt about Beyond.

Click here to check out our group review

06 Jan 2026
Metroid Prime 4 Permalink

Feature: Metroid Prime 4 Famitsu Interview

January 6, 2026

Our first feature of 2026 is live! In late December 2025, an interview was published in Famitsu magazine with an unspecified member(s) of the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond development team at Nintendo. While other sites have published translated excerpts of the interview, this is a translation of the whole discussion. The interview reveals who asked for Metroid Prime 4 to be made and the challenges in development, discusses the open hub world of Sol Valley, Sylux and the Federation Trooper NPCs, and shares a humorous anecdote about Retro Studios’ love for Texas BBQ. It’s a very interesting read, and we hope you’ll enjoy it! A huge thank you to Darts for the translation.

Click here to check out the feature

01 Jan 2026
Metroid Prime 4 Permalink

December 2025 News Roundup

January 1, 2026

Happy new year! To conclude 2025, we have prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in December. See below:

December 1 – Shinesparkers Metroid Prime 4 Video: Get involved!

December 2 – New NSO icons – Metroid II: Return of Samus & Metroid: Zero Mission

December 2 – Final Metroid Prime 4: Beyond predictions from our friends

December 3 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond gets update 1.1.0 ahead of launch

December 4 – Nintendo Music adds 7 Metroid Prime 4 tracks in special release

December 9 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts at #3 in UK sales chart

December 10 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Holographic Poster Set now available from My Nintendo

December 11 – Wave 2 of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond icons on Nintendo Switch Online available

December 11 – Unused dialogue from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond discovered – (Spoiler Warning)

December 12 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was the 6th best selling game in Japan last week

December 14 – Metroid Prime 4 World Databook shared on Nintendo Today!

December 15 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts at 2nd on Swiss sales chart, falls to 15 on UK chart

We published our #SamusIsBack video with contributions from the Shinesparkers community, as well as our annual End of Year feature recapping everything we published and all the Metroid news of 2025.

We hope that you took time over the holiday season to enjoy Metroid Prime 4 and time with your loved ones! We’ll be sharing new content in January and throughout the rest of 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for that! As always, we’ll see you next mission.