Metroid Prime 4 Developers Strove to Ensure MacKenzie Wasn’t Annoying

Share via:

• 
  
  Copy Link
  
• 
  
  Facebook
  
• 
  
  X
  

The core issue is that I don’t want any of this in a Metroid title. No supporting cast, no dialogue—just the haunting atmosphere of isolation as I navigate a treacherous alien world. This has been the prevailing sentiment of the Metroid community for decades. While 2002’s Metroid Fusion is hailed as a masterpiece, its most enduring criticism remains its reliance on long-winded dialogue sequences that dictate exactly where the player should go next.

While Fusion was strong enough to survive its chattiness, Other M leaned so heavily into narrative and dialogue that it became the most polarizing entry in the franchise. Fans spent years lamenting the decision to surround Samus with Federation soldiers who never stopped talking. It’s a baffling creative choice, then, that Prime 4 centers itself on a similar cast of talkative allies.

MacKenzie isn’t the fundamental problem with Metroid Prime 4; he is simply a symptom of a larger issue. The game is an excessively directed experience that undermines its stunning visuals, tight combat, and fluid movement by funneling the player through linear paths that stifle the joy of discovery. MacKenzie’s incessant radio transmissions are merely a reminder of the game’s core disconnect from what made the series legendary. It wouldn’t matter if the dialogue was written by Shakespeare if the end result still robs the player of their agency.

While our Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review found several points of contention, our list of the best upcoming Nintendo Switch games still has plenty to get excited about.