Metroid Prime Remastered has a texturing error driving one of the original devs batty
The alpha level is jarring to say the least.
Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp 
Image via Nintendo
Metroid Prime Remastered was launched as a surprise yesterday during the February 2023 Nintendo Direct. However, for all the good the developers have done bringing the game’s visuals and mechanics up to par with current releases, one of the game’s original developers has noticed a jarring mistake they can’t ignore.
Soon after the game’s release, Zoid Kirsch, senior gameplay engineer for Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, took to Twitter to voice his frustration. He explained that the team working on the remaster has done an amazing job but has used the wrong alpha levels for the game’s iconic doors. This particular subject is noteworthy to him because he “spent months working on the doors.”
Related: When is the release date of Metroid Prime Remastered Physical Edition?
Ed Nightingale of Eurogamer, where this story was originally reported, has jumped into the original version of Metroid Prime and confirmed with side-by-side screenshots the difference in alpha levels. Given the overall quality of Metroid Prime Remastered, this is a minor issue, as Kirsch himself points out in his praise for the improvements made to both Samus and boss models.
The Metroid Prime Trilogy is something of a holy grail among Nintendo fans. Remakes and remasters have been highly requested for years, and now it seems as though Nintendo has answered a third of the prayers uttered to them. Metroid Prime Remastered is reasonably priced at $39.99/£34.99.
Related: Metroid story timeline – Everything you need to know for Metroid Dread
Fans have expressed surprise and joy over the lower price point compared to other new Nintendo titles, which don’t tend to slip below $60/$70 too often. Should the rest of the trilogy launch in a similar way at a similar price, though, all three games could cost you roughly $120/£105. This is quite steep, considering the Wii release of Metroid Prime Trilogy was the same as any other full-priced Nintendo title. Still, at least this indicates that work is being done on the Metroid Prime trilogy with an eye to remastering the games. Whether that extends to the spin-off titles like Metroid Prime Hunters for Nintendo DS remains to be seen.
Metroid Prime Remastered follows Samus Aran as she responds to a distress signal on a Space Pirate outpost only to find and pursue Ridley onto the nearby planet of Tallon IV. Once there, players must acquire all of Samus’ lost gear, battling the world’s various bosses and remnant Space Pirates in the process before taking on something far more deadly than her old nemesis. Metroid Prime.
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