Metroid Prime : Hunters

Metroid Prime Hunters Nintendo DS is a 2006 first-person action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo. Set between Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, it sends intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran into the Alimbic Cluster after the Galactic Federation intercepts a telepathic promise of "ultimate power." North America received the game in March 2006, followed by Europe in May and Japan in June. Rather than being the earlier Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demonstration supplied with some launch-era DS systems, this is the complete adventure with its own campaign and multiplayer suite.

The single-player Adventure mode adapts the exploratory side of the Metroid Prime games to a handheld. Samus travels in her Gunship among the locations of the Alimbic system, including the volcanic world of Alinos, frozen Arcterra, the Celestial Archives, and the Vesper Defense Outpost. Each destination is built from interconnected rooms, routes, locked doors, hazards, enemies, and artifacts. Progress hinges on locating Octoliths, ancient keys connected to the source of the transmission, while revisiting areas as new equipment and information make further paths accessible.

The Nintendo DS layout is central to how Metroid Prime Hunters plays. The upper screen presents Samus's visor view, with status information such as health and ammunition, while the touch screen carries the radar and aiming controls. In the default setup, the D-pad moves Samus and stylus movement turns her viewpoint and targets the Arm Cannon. Samus can scan objects and opponents for data, fire her standard armament and acquired weapons, launch missiles, and curl into the compact Morph Ball to travel through narrow passages and place bombs. The result is a first-person game that asks players to navigate, look, scan, fight, and manage the twin screens at once.

Samus is not alone in the hunt. Six competing bounty hunters pursue the Alimbic secret: the Federation-hating Sylux, cybernetic Space Pirate Weavel, Kriken hunter Trace, laboratory-made Kanden, Vhozon warrior Noxus, and the last Diamont, Spire. They appear as rivals during the campaign, giving the race for the artifacts a competitive edge. Their presence also matters mechanically: each hunter has an individual combat specialty, signature weapon, and alternate form, mirroring Samus's ability to become the Morph Ball. The story gradually reveals what became of the Alimbic civilization and why its long-hidden power is so dangerous.

Multiplayer broadens the cast beyond the Adventure mode. Up to four participants can choose Samus or the six rival hunters for arena battles, with time and point settings, radar options, and computer-controlled additions when fewer human players are available. The original DS release supported local Multi-Card Play and DS Download Play, and it also launched with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features, including online matches and voice chat. Choosing a hunter changes more than appearance because the characters' weapons and alternate forms create different approaches to movement and combat.

Hunters occupies a distinctive place in the Metroid Prime branch of the series. It was made by Nintendo Software Technology rather than Retro Studios, yet it retains familiar Prime ideas such as visor-based scanning, environmental discovery, the Arm Cannon, and Samus's Gunship. At the same time, its stylus-led aiming and hunter-versus-hunter design make it a Nintendo DS-specific interpretation of the formula. The game later returned on Wii U Virtual Console, although that version does not provide the original wireless communication features. For players exploring the series' mid-2000s history, Metroid Prime Hunters remains the chapter that introduced its rival hunters while bringing Samus's first-person missions to the DS.