The results of our poll to discover Shinesparkers readers favorite Metroid game of 2025 are now available. After 513 votes, find out how each game ranked at the link below.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be playable at Fan Expo Canada this month
Nintendo have announced that a selection of their games will be playable at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto, which will run from August 21-24. The games will include Metroid Prime 4: Beyond! If there was any doubt it’s still set for release this year, the announcement says in parentheses “available later in 2025”. Tickets to the event are available on the official website.
Will any of you be going? Chime in on our social media! If you get to play Prime 4, tell us how you felt about the game!
Source: Nintendo of Canada
July 2025 News Roundup
Now that August 2025 is here, Shinesparkers has prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in July. See below:
July 1 – Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion icons now available on Nintendo Switch Online
July 6 – Glaedrax has played Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
July 25 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond rated in South Korea
In addition, we published a new feature, Hobonichi x Nintendo. It’s a translation of a feature on the Hobonichi website that included a review of Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime and the original Metroid on GameCube, and an interview between Yoshio Sakamoto and Miyuki Miyabe.
Our annual favorite Metroid game poll ran from June 1 to July 31 and has now closed. Stay tuned to our website, where we’ll be announcing the results on August 6.
We have a lot more content planned throughout August and the rest of the year, and we will continue to share any Metroid news that comes up (including, hopefully, a release date for Metroid Prime 4). See you next mission!
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond rated in South Korea
Today on July 25, the Game Content Classification Committee of South Korea rated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for ages 12 and up. This is the first rating for Beyond by any video games rating board in the world.
The GCCC’s description of Beyond is as follows (translated using Google): “Mild Violence (using weapons attached to the suit to attack alien lifeforms). Therefore, it has been rated as ‘for ages 12 and up.’ in accordance with Article 21 of the Act on the Promotion of the Game Industry and Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Rating Classification Regulations”. The rating also confirms that Samus is sent to Viewros after her encounter with Sylux at the beginning of the game.
We still don’t have a release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. As soon as we know when it’s coming, we’ll bring the announcement straight to you.
Source: Game Management Committee
Feature: Hobonichi x Nintendo
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