Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Shouldn't Leave Out One Potential Villain's Return

Metroid Prime 4: Beyondis finally seeing a release after years of anticipation from hardcore Nintendo fans. First announced at Nintendo’s E3 2017 showcase,Metroid Prime 4: Beyondwent through a long period of radio silence before finally re-emerging at a Nintendo Direct last year. Expected to release sometime in 2025, Nintendo fans will finally get their chance to play the next chapter in Samus Aran’s story, one that should serve as a fantastic swan song for the Nintendo Switch.

In its first proper gameplay showing last year, much attention was placed onMetroid Prime 4: Beyond’s major villain, Sylux. Previously appearing at the end of the last entry,Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, gamers will finally get the chance to see Samus face off against this evil bounty hunter. That said, Sylux should not be the only villain to appear in this upcoming game, and the developers at Retro Studios shouldn’t forget about the franchise’s most iconic foe.

Metroid Prime 4_ Beyond Tag Page Cover Art

Sylux Shouldn’t Be Metroid Prime 4’s Only Big Bad

Metroid Prime 4 Should Bring Ridley Into The Fray

Metroid Prime 4: Beyondshould feature some appearance fromtheMetroidfranchise’s most notorious villain, Ridley. One of its most common recurring characters, Ridley has become arguably the biggest enemy of theMetroidfranchise even though he’s always been a secondary antagonist in each of his appearances. Ridley’s iconic villain status largely comes because he was responsible for the death of Samus’ parents and the destruction of her childhood planet, K-2L.

Samus’ defeat of Ridley inMetroid Prime 3: Corruptionmay seemingly put him off the table forMetroid Prime 4: Beyond, but there’s still reason to believe he could return in this new game. After all, Ridley has continued to appear ingames that followCorruptionin theMetroidtimeline, such asMetroid: Samus ReturnsandSuper Metroid. Thus, it’s not impossible for Nintendo and Retro Studios to bring this vicious Space Pirate back in the new game.

Ridley Is Too Iconic To Be Forgotten In Metroid Prime 4

Part of the reason Ridley could return inMetroid Prime 4: Beyondis that, quite frankly, he’s just that iconic in the franchise. Ridley has appeared inalmost all of the previousMetroidgamesand has appeared in each numberedMetroid Primegame save forMetroid Prime 2: Echoes. He’s one of those characters that seems to always come back, thus leaving a precedent for him to make a return in this new game.

Even with the idea of Ridley being defeated inMetroid Prime 3: Corruption, the character has been cloned numerous times across the franchise’s other entries. Even in theMetroid Primetitles, Ridley appeared as Meta Ridley in the first game before a Phazon infusion turns him into Omega Ridley inMetroid Prime 3: Corruption. There’s no reason to believe Ridley can’t be cloned into a new form when this new game comes along.

Samus’ defeat of Ridley inMetroid Prime 3: Corruptionmay seemingly put him off the table forMetroid Prime 4: Beyond, but there’s still reason to believe he could return in this new game.

Ridley’s Return In Metroid Prime 4 Doesn’t Need To Be A Boss Fight

Ridley may not even need to have aproper boss fight inMetroid Prime 4: Beyond, as the game could instead add to his lore. Given that the game takes place before Ridley’s appearances inMetroid: Samus ReturnsandSuper Metroid, Retro Studios could use Samus’ pirate scanning to explain how Ridley survived post-Phazon. There’s plenty of room to expand on the story of the franchise with Ridley, even if he doesn’t properly appear in the game.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyondwillfinally showcase Samus’ battle with Syluxteased at the end ofMetroid Prime 3: Corruption, but he shouldn’t be the only villain in this new game. Whether it’s in a proper boss battle or background lore integration, Retro Studios shouldn’t forget about Ridley.