All Metroid Prime Games in Chronological Order 2025 (Full Timeline & Play Guide)

The Metroid Prime series can be confusing if you’re trying to follow the story rather than the release dates. Some games are prequels, some are side stories, and now Metroid Prime 4 is finally joining the mix. In this guide, we’ll walk through all Metroid Prime games in true chronological order, explain where they fit in the larger Metroid timeline, and highlight what makes each entry unique. By the end, you’ll know exactly which game to start with, what comes next, and the best way to experience Samus’s entire Prime saga from beginning to end.

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Where Do the Metroid Prime Games Fit in the Metroid Timeline?

Nintendo’s official timeline and most fan timelines agree on one key point:

The entire Prime sub-series takes place between the original Metroid / Zero Mission and Metroid II / Samus Returns.

So if you zoom out:

• Metroid / Metroid: Zero Mission
• Metroid Prime saga (all six Prime games)
• Metroid II / Samus Returns → Super Metroid → Other M → Fusion → Dread

Inside that Prime block, the internal order is:

Metroid Prime → Hunters → Echoes → Corruption → Federation Force → Prime 4: Beyond

So let’s go through them one by one.

1. Metroid Prime (2002 / Remastered 2023)

Canonical position

First game in the Prime saga, directly after Metroid / Zero Mission.

Platforms / best version

• GameCube original (2002)
• Wii version via Metroid Prime: Trilogy (motion controls)
• Metroid Prime Remastered on Nintendo Switch – the best modern way to play

Story & setting

Samus follows surviving Space Pirates to Tallon IV, a ruined Chozo world corrupted by Phazon, a mutagenic substance that arrived via a Leviathan meteor. She explores the planet’s surface, Chozo Ruins, research bases, and the Phazon-tainted Impact Crater, eventually confronting Metroid Prime, a monstrous Metroid-mutant born from Phazon exposure.

This game kicks off the entire Phazon storyline that Echoes, Corruption, and Federation Force expand on.

Gameplay highlights

• First-person exploration with heavy focus on scanning, environmental storytelling, and backtracking
• Iconic visor system (Scan, Thermal, X-Ray)
• Classic Metroid upgrades (Morph Ball, Missiles, Power Bombs)
• Puzzle-oriented boss encounters

Spin-offs that share this slot

• Metroid Prime Pinball (DS) retells the story as a pinball adventure
• Metroid Prime Remastered retells the same events with new visuals

Both sit in this same timeline slot.

2. Metroid Prime Hunters (2006)

Canonical position

Takes place between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Platform

Nintendo DS

Story & setting

Samus responds to a telepathic distress call from the Alimbic Cluster claiming to hold “ultimate power.” When she arrives, she finds six rival bounty hunters also chasing this power: Sylux, Weavel, Trace, Kanden, Noxus, and Spire.

Hunters hardly advances the Phazon storyline, but it is extremely important because:

• It introduces Sylux, who becomes central to the future of the Prime saga
• Sylux later appears in Corruption’s secret ending and is heavily teased for Prime 4

Gameplay highlights

• First-person shooter built for dual-screen aiming
• Very action-heavy compared to other Prime games
• Unlockable alternate hunters in multiplayer

How it connects

Once Hunters concludes, Samus returns to work, and Echoes picks up her next major mission later.

3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)

Canonical position

Occurs after Hunters, continuing the Phazon storyline.

Platforms

• GameCube
• Metroid Prime: Trilogy (Wii)

Story & setting

Samus is sent to Aether, home of the Luminoth, where a Phazon meteor split the planet into two dimensions:

• Light Aether – normal
• Dark Aether – poisonous and ruled by the Ing

The Luminoth are losing the war for their planet’s energy, and Space Pirates are exploiting the situation. Samus must:

• Travel between Light and Dark Aether
• Recover planetary energy
• Stop Phazon corruption from spreading further

Gameplay highlights

• Light / Dark world mechanics
• Harsh, high-difficulty environments
• Beam ammo management
• Heavy puzzle exploration

Connection to Corruption

Although the Aether crisis ends, Phazon remains an escalating galactic threat, leading directly into the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007)

Canonical position

Takes place six months after Echoes and concludes the original Phazon trilogy.

Platforms

• Wii original
• Metroid Prime: Trilogy (Wii / Wii U eShop)

Story & setting

The Galactic Federation is fighting a large-scale war against Space Pirates enhanced by Phazon. Samus is infected with Phazon by Dark Samus, giving her dangerous Hypermode abilities.

Key story beats:

• Missions across Norion, Bryyo, and Elysia
• The Space Pirates fall under Dark Samus’s influence
• Samus travels to Phaaze, the living Phazon planet
• She destroys Dark Samus and eliminates Phazon from the universe

This explains why Phazon never appears in later Metroid games (chronologically speaking).

Gameplay highlights

• Full Wii pointer-based shooting
• Ship commands and multi-planet structure
• Hypermode: massive power at a cost

Important teaser for Prime 4

If you complete the game 100%, a secret ending shows Sylux’s ship stalking Samus—direct setup for Prime 4.

5. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (2016)

Canonical position

Happens after Corruption, still before Metroid II.

Platform

Nintendo 3DS

Story & setting

This spin-off follows a squad of Galactic Federation Marines rather than Samus.

It is set after the destruction of Phaaze and the defeat of Dark Samus:

• Federation forces strengthen their control
• Pirates reorganize while weakened
• Co-op missions span multiple planets
• Samus appears briefly but is not the protagonist

Gameplay highlights

• 1–4 player co-op missions
• FPS with mod-based mech customization
• Objective-driven missions rather than exploration-heavy maps

Why it matters

Although divisive, Federation Force:

• Shows the political aftermath of Corruption
• Continues the Prime timeline
• Officially sits between Corruption and Prime 4

Most modern timelines place Prime 4 directly after this game.

6. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025)

Canonical position

Part of the same Prime block, taking place after Federation Force and still before Metroid II.

Platforms & Release

Nintendo Switch & Switch 2
Releases December 4, 2025

Story & setting (what is known)

Samus travels to Viewros, a world with deserts, jungles, and ancient psychic relics. She gains new psychic abilities and uses a high-tech bike called Vi-O-La for traversal and combat.

Key points:

• Sylux returns as a major antagonist
• Classic Prime features return (Scan Visor, Morph Ball)
• More open planetary zones
• Story revolves around a dangerous Galactic Federation artifact
• Metroids and Space Pirates play a central role

Why it sits last

Prime 4 builds on Sylux’s story—introduced in Hunters and teased in Corruption—and on the Federation’s growing influence, shown in Federation Force.

Unless Nintendo retcons it, this is chronologically the final Prime entry.

Spin-offs & Collections: Where They Fit

Metroid Prime Pinball (2005)

DS spin-off that retells the Metroid Prime story with pinball gameplay.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy (2009)

Wii collection containing:

• Metroid Prime
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)

Switch remaster of the original Metroid Prime.

Chronological Order vs Release Order

Story / Chronological Order

1. Metroid Prime (or Remastered)
2. Metroid Prime Hunters
3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
5. Metroid Prime: Federation Force
6. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Release Order

1. Metroid Prime (2002)
2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)
3. Metroid Prime Hunters (2006)
4. Metroid Prime Pinball (2005)
5. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007)
6. Metroid Prime: Trilogy (2009)
7. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (2016)
8. Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)
9. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025)