not much... here it is.
Metroid was a godsend on the NES. The combination of world-exploring adventure and alien blasting action made for an absolute classic. A few years after its 1986 launch, two sequels, one for the Game Boy, one for the SNES, put us back in the shoes of Samus, the interstellar bounty hunter. What we didn't know was that Super Metroid would be her only starring role for eight years. Quite a drought for one of the most well-known and beloved gaming franchises in history.
When news spread that Metroid would be returning on the Nintendo GameCube, the rapture was palpable. Concerns of turning the classic 2D side scrolling Metroid into an FPS were quickly dashed when Metroid Prime released to overwhelming praise. Since then, the Metroid floodgates have opened. After Prime's late 2002 release, we've seen three new Metroid games, including a sequel to Prime, as well as spin-offs on Nintendo's GBA. And things are looking up for Samus fans this year, as we're expecting two more games to hit stores before 2006. Suddenly, Nintendo can't get enough Metroid!
But if you thought the GameCube would see the last console appearance by our favorite female bounty hunter, you clearly don't know Nintendo very well. Though details on their upcoming system, codenamed Revolution, are extremely sparse, we do know that work has already begun on Metroid Prime 3. Developed by Retro Studios, the same guys that helmed the last two Prime games, Prime 3 should not only show off the graphical power of Nintendo's latest console, but also its ability to pull off some brand new gaming experiences. Odds are this will involve the much-ballyhooed Revolution controller, which remains the unknown jewel in the system's crown.
The devs have gone on to say that Prime 3 will be about closure, tying up the loose ends from the past two games. Whether this'll be the last Metroid FPS for a while remains a mystery, but chances are that this will at least wrap up the whole Phazon storyline.
Alas, details on a release date are still AWOL, but a Metroid game at launch certainly wouldn't help system sales, eh Nintendo? Well, we can dream at least...