Like other iconic Nintendo series, Metroid has a timeline documenting Samus’ space adventures from past to present. Although the newest outing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is very much its own thing, it is still part of the Prime series as a new chapter.
Outside of the first-person entries, it’s now apparently been mentioned by Nintendo how this game fits within the entire history of the Metroid series. Speaking to Famitsu recently, Nintendo’s development team reportedly told the famous Japanese gaming outlet how the latest Switch and Switch 2 outing is set after Super Metroid on the Super Nintendo and before Metroid Fusion on the Game Boy Advance (thanks, Nintendo Everything).
In saying this, it’s reiterated how the new entry takes place in “another dimension”, meaning there is no need to worry about the timeline or possible impacts on the 2D Metroid series. As a result, players can jump into this new adventure without any prior knowledge and enjoy the original setting. It has been an 18-year wait between this game and Corruption, after all.
In our review of Metroid Prime 4 here on Nintendo Life, we also mentioned how newcomers would be able to enjoy this new adventure without having to understand the history of the series. If Nintendo, Retro Studios or a prominent Nintendo figure says anything else about how exactly Beyond fits within the Metroid timeline, we’ll provide an update.