Shinesparkers is proud to share another feature! This is a translation of a review and interview on the site for Hobonichi, a Japanese lifestyle product brand, shared in 2003. It begins with their reviews of Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime and the original Metroid played on GameCube, and then gives way to a conversation-style interview between Metroid producer Yoshio Sakamoto and acclaimed Japanese author Miyuki Miyabe. They discuss the development of the Metroid saga, and Miyabe’s progress playing through the games in her spare time. This is a wonderful conversation that has never been translated into English until now, and we hope you’ll enjoy reading it!
Glaedrax has played Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Our former team member Glaedrax has had the chance to play Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at Japan Expo in France! Totally not jealous at all… in a tweet, he confirmed chatter about the game now having an air dash, and the Boost Ball.
The air dash is done by pressing the jump button twice, and pushing the control stick in a direction. This will likely add a new dimension to combat encounters. Secondly, some have reported the Boost Ball being in the demo and therefore the game; and he confirmed this to be true. It doesn’t have any visual or sound effects, so it’s possible that Retro Studios forgot to remove it from the demo. You use it by holding B and releasing the button in a direction. The Joy-Con 2 will vibrate when charging a boost.
If Glaedrax shares any more impressions, we will update this post. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is scheduled for release at some point in 2025.
Source: Twitter
June 2025 News Roundup
Now that July 2025 is here, Shinesparkers has prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in June. See below:
June 6 – Metroid’s speedrun communities reveal how the games perform on Switch 2
June 6 – Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective delayed to October 28, 2025
June 10 – Good Smile Company announces reprinting of Metroid Prime 3 Figma
June 19 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond advertisement surfaces in London Underground
In addition to last month’s Metroid news, we started the yearly poll, Your Favorite Metroid Game 2025 (Poll Opens), which is still ongoing until the end of July!
We also wrote a feature about the incredible people behind Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Who’s Working on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?, including promising new names and old developers with a great legacy!
We have a lot more content planned throughout July and the rest of the year, and we will continue to share any Metroid news that comes up. See you next mission!
Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion icons now available on Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo Switch Online is now making Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion icons available. Both games has six icons each, costing 10 Platinum Points each. They are “play to unlock”, so you must first play both Super and Fusion in the SNES and Game Boy Advance apps. You’ll earn 50 points for each one, for a total of 100. Note that to play Fusion with the Game Boy Advance app, you will need the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online.
The icons will be available until August 4. Get yours today!
Source: Nintendo Everything
Predicting Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s release date
Last week, we ran a poll on our Twitter page and YouTube channel to ask the Metroid community when they think Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be released. We still don’t have an answer on that, despite a recent London tube ad making some people think it got shadow dropped, forcing Nintendo to clarify it said “Out now” in error.
We asked our readers if they think Beyond will be released in August, September, October or November, with December not added because you can’t make more than 4 choices in a Twitter or YouTube poll. A July release is unlikely since Nintendo is putting out Donkey Kong Bananza and in the full swing of its promotional tour, so we’re likely getting Beyond in the latter half of the year.
On Twitter, the consensus with a total of 437 votes was November (31.4%), followed by October (29.1%), September (25.2%) and finally August (14.4%). Interestingly, the results on YouTube were different with 126 votes: 40% of you said September, 29% November, 18% October and 12% August.
Some of you pointed out that Pokémon Legends: Z-A is being released in October, so it’s less likely that Nintendo would drop another long-anticipated title in the same month. A few thought September made the most sense since no games are currently announced for that month, or early November because it will come shortly after the delayed release of Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective.
We’ll have to wait a few more months to see who got it right. In the meantime, as soon as we know when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set for release, we’ll bring the news to you straight away.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond advertisement surfaces in London Underground
Holy London Underground ads Batman! The first advertisement for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has surfaced in the wild. /u/orchestar in r/NintendoSwitch spotted an ad for Beyond at Oxford Circus in the London Underground. Notably, it says “OUT NOW”, which is probably meant to say “COMING SOON” instead. After all, we still don’t know when it will be released. Additional photos have been shared by @Wario64 on Twitter.
Hopefully this is a sign that marketing for Beyond will be ramping up soon!
UPDATE: In a statement to Video Games Chronicle, Nintendo confirmed that the ad saying “out now” is incorrect, and Beyond has not been released yet.
Source: r/nintendo/Wario64
Feature: Who’s Working on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?
Today, we’re sharing a new feature that tells you who is and has been working on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at Retro Studios. It’s based on extensive research into past and current employees at Retro during Beyond’s development cycle, from the month it restarted in January 2019, to the present. While similar features have cropped up on other sites over the last five years, we believe this is the most up to date version.
On behalf of the Shinesparkers team, I want to thank everyone at Retro who has worked on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and the previous three entries in the series. We can’t wait to play it at long, long, long, long last!
Good Smile Company announces reprinting of Metroid Prime 3 Figma
Following the reissue of their Metroid: Other M Figma, Good Smile Company has announced that the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Samus Figma will be reprinted as well. Preorders for the U.S. and Canada have been opened today and the figure will ship in Q3 2026. A link to preorder the Figma is below:
Samus Aran: Prime 3 ver. Figma
Source: Good Smile Company (Twitter)
Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective delayed to October 28, 2025
An update on Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, the art book that was slated for release on June 24. Today, the publisher Piggyback has tweeted that the Retrospective “is now set for an on-sale date of 10/28 [October 28].” They have not explained the reason for the delay.
It should be noted that at the time of writing, various online storefronts offering the book still have the original release date, June 24. They must not have been updated yet.
We have reached out to Piggyback for comment and will update this post if we hear from them.
Source: Twitter
Metroid’s speedrun communities reveal how the games perform on Switch 2
Anticipating the release of Nintendo Switch 2, the Metroid Dread speedrun community has begun testing the game, showing both promising results and unfortunate news for some fans.
For players that have the physical copy of Metroid Dread, it seems like there won’t be a significant upgrade when it comes to the loading times of the game. It more or less matches the load times that Switch 1 had.
For players that have the digital copy of Metroid Dread, it appears that the loading speed has gotten a great boost. Early testing indicate that the first loading screen takes around 17 seconds, which is around 8 seconds faster than the average loading time on the original Switch console. Overall, it’s looking like a 40% reduction in loading times for digital copies!
Metroid Dread already has a loading time difference between physical and digital versions, where the game loads the quickest on digital with the game loaded from the system memory. To see this disparity be potentially greater is definitely unfortunate.
Aside from loading times, the game is still running on 60 frames per second, and the game is still rendered at 900p. While the game runs smooth already, some players experienced frame drops in certain rooms, particularly during the Red Chozo Soldier fight in Hanubia.
Tests from speedrunner なまたす (nama tasu) indicate that the frame drops are now gone!
As for Metroid Prime Remastered, the game was already highly optimized, so there are relatively little to report. Based on Draconif’s experience, the biggest thing to note is that the door leading to Artifact Temple now opens up immediately! Loading into files is also slightly faster, and any occasional frame drops, such as explosions from nearby Flying Pirates, are now gone. The game essentially runs perfectly!
Source: Dread Speedrunner Vangi, Dread Speedrunner なまたす, Metroid Prime Speedrunner Draconif