Metroid Prime 2: Echoes#Development

{{See also|Metroid (series)#Common gameplay elements|l1=Gameplay of the Metroid series}}

Image:Metroid Prime 2 - Echoes - HUD.png, battles against the Pirate Commandos. The head-up display shows a radar, map and remaining ammunition.|alt=View of a futuristic looking room; mantis-like enemies on powered armor - one firing a red beam - approach the player, whose weapon (a large cannon) is visible in the corner of the screen. Something resembling a black hole is seen on the right side of the enemies, while a gray and red metallic crate is to their left. The image is a simulation of the heads-up display of a combat suit's helmet, with a crosshair surrounding the enemy and two-dimensional icons relaying game information around the edge of the frame.]]

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is an adventure game "with heavy action elements and an emphasis on complex puzzle-solving" in which the player controls the Samus Aran from a first-person perspective.{{Cite web |last=Elston |first=Brett |date=2006-03-02 |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=GamesRadar+ |language=en |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331152721/https://www.gamesradar.com/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/ |url-status=live}} It takes place in an open-ended world with interconnected areas. Gameplay involves solving puzzles to uncover secrets, platform jumping, and shooting enemies. Progress requires both dimensions to be explored, using power-ups that Samus acquires over time. Equipment players collect include the Screw Attack, which allows Samus to somersault in midair and off certain surfaces, and new beam weapons that have limited ammunition.{{efn|Multiple references, including:{{Cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/11/e3-2004-metroid-prime-2-echoes-first-look |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325042749/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/11/e3-2004-metroid-prime-2-echoes-first-look |title=E3 2004: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes First-Look |work=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=May 11, 2004 |access-date=November 9, 2016 |archive-date=March 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |first=Jonathan |last=Metts |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Review |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/4291/metroid-prime-2-echoes-gamecube |date=November 16, 2004 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Nintendo World Report |archive-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831221436/http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/4291/metroid-prime-2-echoes-gamecube |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |first=Matthew |last=Rorie |date=January 18, 2006 |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Walkthrough |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-2-echoes-walkthrough/1100-6114820/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512130811/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-2-echoes-walkthrough/1100-6114820/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=2012-03-27 |title=Basics - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime-2-echoes/Basics |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=June 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627183042/https://www.ign.com/wikis/metroid-prime-2-echoes/Basics |url-status=live}}}}

The head-up display simulates the inside of Samus' helmet and features a radar, map, missile ammunition meter and health meter.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=Samus' Interface |pages=10–11 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}} Several visors are available, and each performs a different function. One, also seen in the previous game, is a scanner that searches for enemy weaknesses, interfaces with mechanisms such as force fields and elevators and retrieves text entries from certain sources. The others reveal and highlight interdimensional objects or cloaked enemies, and create a visual representation of sound.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=Visor Vision |pages=16–17 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}}

Echoes features the parallel dimensions Light Aether and Dark Aether; changes in either dimension often reflect changes in the other. Although the maps in both dimensions have the same general layout, rooms often vary in their designs, creatures, and objects. Dark Aether's atmosphere is caustic and damages Samus' Power Suit, requiring the player to move between "safe zones" that allow Samus' health to slowly regenerate. Safe zones are either permanent, or need to be activated by firing certain beam weapons at force field generators.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=A Planet Divided... |pages=12–13 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}} Power Suit upgrades can reduce or nullify damage caused by the atmosphere.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=Suiting Up |pages=14–15 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}}

Echoes also features a multiplayer mode that allows up to four players to engage in combat using a split screen. It has six arenas and two modes: Deathmatch, in which players attempt to kill their opponents as many times as possible within a set amount of time; and Bounty, which focuses on collecting coins that injured characters drop.{{cite web |url=http://guides.ign.com/guides/499105/page_6.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207072205/http://guides.ign.com/guides/499105/page_6.html |title=Guides: Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Guide (GameCube) - Multiplayer |first=Chris |last=Carle |work=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |archive-date=February 7, 2005 |access-date=November 9, 2016}} Multiplayer in Echoes features the same control scheme as the single-player mode, including the lock-on system for circle strafing while targeting.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=Multiplayer Modes |pages=22–23 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}}

{{Metroid chronology}}

Echoes takes place on Aether, a planet inhabited by a race known as the Luminoth. The Luminoth lived peacefully, protecting the planet's natural energy, which they call the "Light of Aether". Five decades before the game's events, a Phazon meteor collides into the planet and leaves a scar, causing environmental damage and splitting the planetary energy. The split creates another world in an alternate dimension, Dark Aether, a mirror version of Aether that is dark, arid, and has a poisonous atmosphere.{{cite video game|title=Metroid Prime 3: Corruption|developer=Retro Studios|publisher=Nintendo|date=August 27, 2007|platform=Wii|scene=Galactic Federation Data: Anhur Incident|level=GFS Valhalla {{en dash}} Control Room|quote=Planet Aether, home of the Luminoth, was struck by a "Phazon Meteor" five decades ago. The impact had catastrophic effects on the already unstable planet, creating a "dark twin" of the planet and a fierce race known as the Ing.}} Dark Aether becomes home to the Ing, cruel shapeshifting creatures who intend to destroy the Luminoth, and are able to possess bodies of the living, the dead, and the artificially intelligent beings. Eventually, the Ing and the Luminoth engage in a war over the planet's energy {{em dash}} whichever race controls it is capable of destroying the other, since if one world gains control over all of the planet's energy, the other will perish.{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes {{en dash}} The Official Nintendo Player's Guide|author=Nintendo Power|publisher=Nintendo of America|pages=11–102|date=November 2004|isbn=978-1-930206-52-6}}

Around this time, Space Pirates set up a base on Aether after detecting the mutagenic substance Phazon on the planet. The Pirates had previously tried to weaponize the substance after it contaminated the planet of Tallon IV, but their efforts were thwarted by the bounty hunter Samus Aran.{{efn|name=GKOFTM|As depicted in Metroid Prime}} A Galactic Federation Marine Corps patrol ship encounters one of the Pirates' supply ships leaving the planet and an altercation follows. Both ships suffer heavy damage, and after the Federation loses contact with the Marines, they call Samus to investigate.

While looking for the Marines near Aether, Samus' ship is damaged by severe lightning storms from the planet. Said storms have caused electromagnetic interference that prevented the Marines from communicating with the Federation. Samus finds the troops dead and surrounded by hive creatures called Splinters. The deceased Marines suddenly rise and attack her, apparently possessed, and she fights them off. Samus then encounters her evil doppelgänger, Dark Samus, for the first time, and after a small skirmish Dark Samus jumps through a portal. Samus decides to follow her through it and ends up on Dark Aether, a vile trans-dimensional duplicate of Aether, where she is attacked by a group of dark creatures called Ing, who capture Samus and after stealing the weapons from her suit, throw her back through the portal.

Upon returning to Aether, Samus learns that the Marines were attacked and killed by Ing-possessed Splinters, and decides to enter a nearby alien temple structure to look for clues. When she reaches the structure, she meets U-Mos, the last remaining sentinel of the Luminoth,{{cite video game |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |developer=Retro Studios |publisher=Nintendo |date=November 15, 2004 |platform=GameCube |scene=U-Mos intro |level=Great Temple - Main Energy Controller |quote=U-Mos: Do not be afraid. I am U-Mos, Sentinel of the Luminoth. Please listen, and hear of our world's peril.}} an alien race that have fought against the Ing for decades and are now on the verge of defeat.{{cite video game |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |developer=Retro Studios |publisher=Nintendo |date=November 15, 2004 |platform=GameCube |scene=U-Mos intro |level=Great Temple - Main Energy Controller |quote=U-Mos: For decades, we stood against {{bracket|the Ing}}... yet we now lie on the verge of defeat.}} He tells Samus that after a meteor struck Aether, it created "Dark Aether", from which the Ing spawned.{{cite video game |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |developer=Retro Studios |publisher=Nintendo |date=November 15, 2004 |platform=GameCube |scene=U-Mos intro |level=Great Temple - Main Energy Controller |quote=U-Mos: Long ago, a cosmic object fell to our planet, Aether, exploding with great force. A rift was torn in time and space, and a strange power flowed over the world. Where once there was one Aether, there was now two. One of light... and one of shadow, each existing in its own dimension. It was the end of peace on Aether, for a new race was born that day on the dark world... one filled with hate and terrible power. They are the Ing. The Ing are creatures of shadow and darkness, knowing nothing of peace or mercy.}} He also tells Samus that the Ing have taken virtually all of the 'Light of Aether', the entire collective planetary energy for Aether that keeps the planet stable, and begs her to retrieve it,{{cite video game |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |developer=Retro Studios |publisher=Nintendo |date=November 15, 2004 |platform=GameCube |scene=U-Mos intro |level=Great Temple - Main Energy Controller |quote=U-Mos: Before you arrived, the Ing has stolen a device from us... one that collects planetary energy. With it, they have weakened our planet to the verge of collapse. But fortune smiled upon us today, for the Energy Transfer Module... is now bonded to you. With it, you can help us... help us restore our world. You're our only hope, Samus.}} for if either world gains control over all of this energy, the other will perish.{{cite video game |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |developer=Retro Studios |publisher=Nintendo |date=November 15, 2004 |platform=GameCube |scene=U-Mos intro |level=Great Temple - Main Energy Controller |quote=U-Mos: When Dark Aether was born, our planetary energy was divided. Half for our world, and half of theirs. Should one world gain control of this energy, the other will perish.}} To reclaim the parts of Aether's energy taken by the Ing, she makes use of an energy transfer module, which the Ing that possessed the Alpha Splinter she fought just before the structure just so happened to have.

Samus goes to three regions{{em dash}}the Agon Wastes, a parched, rocky, desert wasteland region; Torvus Bog, a drenched swamp area that houses a partially submerged hydrosubstation; and the Sanctuary Fortress, a high-technology cliffside fortress built by the Luminoth filled with corrupted robots that serves as the Ing hive in Dark Aether{{em dash}}to retrieve the Light of Aether and return it to the Luminoth temples. Samus fights Space Pirates, Dark Samus, and monstrous Ing guardians on her mission. After Samus retrieves three pieces of the Light of Aether, she enters the Ing's Sky Temple and faces the Emperor Ing, the strongest Ing who guards the remaining Light of Aether. Samus defeats the creature and retrieves the last remaining energy, causing Dark Aether to become critically unstable and begin to collapse, but her path out of the temple's gateway is blocked by a horribly altered and unstable Dark Samus. After defeating her foe in the final battle, Samus is surrounded by a group of Warrior Ing desperate to save their world and their lives; she escapes to Aether through a newly revealed portal just before Dark Aether and the Ing disappear forever.

Returning to U-Mos, Samus finds that the Luminoth were in a state of hibernation but have now awakened. After a brief celebration, Samus leaves Aether in her repaired gunship. If the player completes the game with all of the items obtained, Dark Samus is shown reforming herself above Aether.{{cite web|url=http://guides.ign.com/guides/499105/page_7.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212142127/http://guides.ign.com/guides/499105/page_7.html |first=Chris|last=Carle|work=IGN|publisher=Ziff Davis|archive-date=December 12, 2004|access-date=January 24, 2016|url-status=dead |title=Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Guide - Secrets}}

File:Retro Studios exterior.jpg, based in Austin, Texas, developed Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, as well as Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.|alt=A building with a sign reading "Retro Studios". Trees and a hedge are seen in front of it.]]

After the success of Metroid Prime, Nintendo asked Retro Studios to produce a sequel. They decided against recycling the features of the first game, and instead used new sound models, weapon effects, and art designs. They also implemented the Screw Attack and wall jumping features seen in previous Metroid games, which were not incorporated in the first Prime due to time constraints.{{cite web|url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/112761/post-game-report-retro-studios-talk-metroid-prime-2-echoes/ |title=Post game report: Retro Studios talk Metroid Prime 2 Echoes |date=December 3, 2004 |publisher=Computer and Video Games |access-date=November 30, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309033215/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/112761/post-game-report-retro-studios-talk-metroid-prime-2-echoes/ |archive-date=March 9, 2012}} Another element considered for the previous game was the multiplayer component.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16389 |title=MIGS 2007: Retro Studios On The Journey Of Metroid Prime |publisher=Gamasutra |date=November 3, 2008 |access-date=December 3, 2007 |first=Mathew |last=Kumar |author2=Leigh Alexander |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129191427/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16389 |archive-date=November 29, 2007}} Since the game was a first-person adventure and its deathmatch mode could not easily replicate other shooting games, Retro just tried to "make a multiplayer experience that fans of Metroid games would instantly know and recognise".

The staff opted for a more immersive storyline, with more cut scenes and a plot that focused less on the Space Pirates and Metroids of other Metroid games.{{cite web|access-date=October 18, 2008 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/10/13/metroid-prime-2-echoes-interview |title=Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Interview |publisher=IGN |date=October 12, 2004 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520014315/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/10/13/metroid-prime-2-echoes-interview |archive-date=May 20, 2013}} The theme of light and dark originated from "something that everyone understands: the conflict between good and evil".{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/03/echoes-darkness-and-light |title=Echoes: Darkness and Light |last=Castro |first=Juan |publisher=IGN |date=December 3, 2004 |access-date=November 3, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521013415/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/03/echoes-darkness-and-light |archive-date=May 21, 2013}} Senior designer Mike Wikan said: "We wanted a push and pull, the whole game is pushing and pulling you back and forth between the dark and the light. It ended up being that we wanted something that would feed into that dichotomy, that conflict between the two, and how the player's basic abilities reflect that". The developers sought advice from the producers of the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which also used the theme of parallel worlds.

For Dark Samus, Retro wanted to create a character that was similar to Samus and be the same size, as opposed to the enormous monsters of Metroid Prime. One inspiration was a boss battle in Metroid: Zero Mission in which Samus fights a mirror image of herself. The developers considered Dark Samus a "natural choice" because it fit in well with the "dramatic feel of dark and light".{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/features/metroid-prime-2-egm-afterthoughts |title=Metroid Prime 2 EGM Afterthoughts |work=1UP.com |publisher=IGN |date=November 30, 2004 |access-date=March 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024042304/http://www.1up.com/features/metroid-prime-2-egm-afterthoughts |archive-date=October 24, 2015 |url-status=dead}}

Whereas Metroid Prime was intended to familiarize players with the control scheme, Retro made Echoes more challenging. They targeted more hardcore audience, making the player "always worried about his health", and added more unique boss fights. Two bosses were made more difficult in the final days of development following a request by producer Kensuke Tanabe to "make it tighter". Wikan regretted this decision, and when adapting the game for compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy took the opportunity to make those battles easier.{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/09/metroid_prime_trilogy_had_a_core_dev_team_of_four_surprisingly|title=Metroid Prime Trilogy Had A Core Dev Team Of Four, Surprisingly|publisher=Nintendo Life|date=September 7, 2021|access-date=September 7, 2021|author=Whitehead, Thomas|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908175920/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/09/metroid_prime_trilogy_had_a_core_dev_team_of_four_surprisingly|url-status=live}} The developers found it more difficult to develop than they had expected, and Retro president Michael Kelbaugh said: "We wanted to expand and add to the title, and not just slam out a sequel. Nintendo doesn't do things that way". Some features, such as a hidden version of Super Metroid (1994), were canceled for lack of time. Tanabe later said that Echoes was only about thirty percent complete three months before the deadline Nintendo had set for a 2004 holiday release.{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/interview/rm3j/vol1/index2.html |script-title=ja:社長が訊く『メトロイドプライム3 コラプション』|trans-title=Iwata Asks: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption |access-date=January 31, 2012 |publisher=Nintendo |language=ja |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105191317/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/interview/rm3j/vol1/index2.html |archive-date=January 5, 2012}}

The music was composed by Kenji Yamamoto. The themes used for areas on Dark Aether are dark variations of the themes used for the same areas on Light Aether. Some remixes of music from the previous Metroid games were also used, with the escape theme being a remix of Metroid{{'}}s "Escape" theme, the "Hunters" multiplayer theme taking on Super Metroid{{'}}s "Upper Brinstar" theme, and the theme for the underwater Torvus region, the "Lower Brinstar" theme from the same game.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111005406/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=174|archive-date=January 11, 2008 |url=http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=174|title=Interview with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Sound Team at Retro Studios and Composer Kenji Yamamoto |publisher=Music4games|access-date=October 18, 2008}}

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was released for the GameCube in North America on November 15, 2004, Europe on November 26, and in Australia on December 2.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/metroidprime2/similar.html?mode=versions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913020645/http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/metroidprime2/similar.html?mode=versions|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for GameCube - Release Summary|work=GameSpot|publisher=CBS Interactive|archive-date=September 13, 2010|access-date=November 12, 2016|url-status=dead}} The PAL version lacked the standard 50 Hz mode, and offered 60 Hz mode only.{{cite web|url=http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1720|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041109011910/http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1720|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - 60Hz Only|first=Mark|last=Marrow|website=PALGN|date=November 4, 2004|access-date=November 15, 2015|archive-date=November 9, 2004|url-status=dead}}{{cite book |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet |section=PAL 60Hz Mode ONLY |page=5 |date=November 26, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo of Europe |id=IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV}} In Japan, it was released on May 26, 2005 as Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/04/metroid-prime-2-dated-in-japan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817221536/http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/04/metroid-prime-2-dated-in-japan |title=Metroid Prime 2 Dated in Japan |date=March 4, 2005 |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-date=August 17, 2015 |work=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |first=Anoop |last=Gantayat |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=3824 |access-date=February 23, 2016 |script-title=ja:メトロイドプライム2 ダークエコーズ まとめ [ゲームキューブ] |language=ja |magazine=Famitsu |publisher=Kadokawa Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105094332/http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=3824 |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |url-status=live}}

Nintendo launched several websites to initiate a viral marketing campaign for Echoes,{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-launches-fake-metroid-sites/1100-6111052/ |first=Chris |last=Kohler |title=Nintendo launches fake Metroid sites |date=October 21, 2004 |work=GameSpot |access-date=November 15, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128235814/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-launches-fake-metroid-sites/1100-6111052/ |archive-date=January 28, 2015}} with inspiration drawn from Halo 2{{'}}s alternate reality game I Love Bees. The websites included Luminoth Temple, an Internet forum; Channel 51, a conspiracy theory website that featured grainy QuickTime videos of Metroid Prime 2 as if it were footage of extraterrestrials; Orbis Labs, which sold a "self-contained armored machine" called "Battle Sphere", similar to the Morph Ball; and Athena Astronautics, which advertised sending women into space, featured a blog, and offered job positions for bounty hunters on Monster.com. Athena Astronautics gave a random selection of 25 people who replied to the offer an "interactive training manual", which was in fact a free copy of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050225085357/http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8573§ion=feature |url=http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8573§ion=feature|title='Bounty Hunter' Job Posting Generates Surprising Response|date=December 17, 2004|archive-date=February 25, 2005|publisher=GameDaily|access-date=November 15, 2008}} A promotional game disc was also released leading up to the game's launch, containing a brief demo and trailers for the game, as well as an interactive Metroid timeline.{{cite web | last=Torres | first=Ricardo | title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc Impressions | website=GameSpot | date=August 10, 2004 | url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-2-echoes-bonus-disc-impressions/1100-6104320/ | access-date=March 9, 2024 | archive-date=March 9, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309233614/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-prime-2-echoes-bonus-disc-impressions/1100-6104320/ | url-status=live}}

A Metroid-related spoof of "I Love Bees" appeared online in October 2004, to which Nintendo reacted by stating that it was not involved with it. The campaign featured similarly named domain names such as ilovebeams.com, which each had an image of Samus with the caption: "All your bees are belong to us. Never send a man to do a woman's job".{{cite web|last=Bramwell |first=Tom |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news261004ilovetease |title=Nintendo doesn't much care for bees |publisher=Eurogamer |date=October 26, 2004 |access-date=November 15, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114033737/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news261004ilovetease |archive-date=January 14, 2010}}

Echoes was re-released in Japan in 2009 for the Wii console, as part of the New Play Control! series. It has revamped controls that use the Wii Remote's pointing functionality, similar to those of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/02/first-look-wii-de-asobu-pikmin |title=First Look: Wii de Asobu Pikmin |publisher=IGN |last=Tanaka |first=John |access-date=October 2, 2008 |date=October 2, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022075114/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/02/first-look-wii-de-asobu-pikmin |archive-date=October 22, 2012}} The credit system from Corruption is also included to unlock the original bonus content, as well as the ability to take snapshots of gameplay.{{cite web|url=http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/metroid-prime-trilogy/1017382p1.html |title=The Consensus: Metroid Prime Trilogy Review |first=Phil |last=Theobald |publisher=GameSpy |date=August 24, 2009 |access-date=February 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211035203/http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/metroid-prime-trilogy/1017382p1.html |archive-date=December 11, 2012}} The difficulty of the boss battles in Echoes was also lowered.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/21/metroid-prime-trilogy-review |title=Metroid Prime: Trilogy Review |last=Casamassina |first=Matt |publisher=IGN |date=August 21, 2009 |access-date=February 12, 2013 |quote=[Retro Studios] took a look at some of the common complaints of Prime 2 and found that many users said it was too difficult and particularly unbalanced during some key fights with bosses like the spider and boost ball guardians, both of which have been made just a little more manageable in Trilogy. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225215241/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/21/metroid-prime-trilogy-review |archive-date=February 25, 2013}} The Wii version of Echoes was released in North America and Europe on August 24 as part of the compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy, which also includes Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Both Prime and Echoes contain all of the enhancements found in their Japanese New Play Control! counterparts.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/22/metroid-prime-trilogy-hands-on |title=Metroid Prime Trilogy Hands-on |publisher=IGN |first=Craig |last=Harris |date=May 22, 2009 |access-date=May 22, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024212201/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/22/metroid-prime-trilogy-hands-on |archive-date=October 24, 2012}} The compilation was re-released on the Wii U's Nintendo eShop on January 29, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-14-mario-galaxy-2-metroid-prime-trilogy-headed-to-wii-u-eshop |title=Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy headed to Wii U eShop |first=Tom |last=Phillips |work=Eurogamer |publisher=Gamer Network |date=January 14, 2015 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120234559/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-14-mario-galaxy-2-metroid-prime-trilogy-headed-to-wii-u-eshop |archive-date=January 20, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2015/01/14/super-mario-galaxy-2-metroid-prime-trilogy-coming-to-wii-u|title=Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy Coming to Wii U|first=Jose|last=Otero|work=IGN|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=January 14, 2015|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709082317/https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/14/super-mario-galaxy-2-metroid-prime-trilogy-coming-to-wii-u|url-status=live}}

{{Video game reviews

| GR = 92% (69 reviews)

| MC = 92/100 (60 reviews){{cite web|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes reviews |publisher=Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/metroid-prime-2-echoes/critic-reviews/?platform=gamecube |access-date=September 8, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126094747/http://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/metroid-prime-2-echoes |archive-date=November 26, 2010}}

| 1UP = A

| EuroG = 9/10

| GI = 9.5/10

| GamePro = {{Rating|5|5}}

| GSpot = 9.1/10

| GSpy = {{Rating|5|5}}

| IGN = 9.5/10

| XPlay = {{Rating|4|5}}

}}

In December 2019, review aggregator GameRankings ranked Metroid Prime 2: Echoes as the ninth best GameCube game and the 281st best game of all time.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/gamecube/589573-metroid-prime-2-echoes/index.html |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Reviews |publisher=Game Rankings |access-date=October 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205215000/https://www.gamerankings.com/gamecube/589573-metroid-prime-2-echoes/index.html |archive-date=December 5, 2019}} Comparing it to Metroid Prime, GameSpot{{'}}s Brad Shoemaker said that Echoes was as good as its predecessor, and delivered everything he expected.{{cite web|last=Shoemaker |first=Brad |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review |work=GameSpot |date=November 12, 2004 |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/1900-6112996/ |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131195920/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/1900-6112996/ |archive-date=January 31, 2015}} IGN{{'}}s Matt Casamassina called the gameplay "superb" and "nearly flawless",{{cite web|last=Casamassina |first=Matt |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review |publisher=IGN |date=November 11, 2004 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/12/metroid-prime-2-echoes-2 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115170036/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/12/metroid-prime-2-echoes-2 |archive-date=January 15, 2013}} and Vicious Sid of GamePro praised Echoes as "an extraordinary return to form".{{cite magazine|access-date=November 24, 2008|url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/39492/metroid-prime-2-echoes/|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes|magazine=GamePro|date=November 12, 2004|last=Sid|first=Vicious|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227033213/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/39492/metroid-prime-2-echoes/|archive-date=December 27, 2008}} Echoes was considered one of the best single-player experiences on the GameCube by Kristan Reed of Eurogamer, who also considered the story to be "intricately designed and elaborately constructed into a coherent environment".{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_metroidprime2_gc |title=Metroid Prime review |publisher=Eurogamer |date=December 9, 2004 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |first=Kristan |last=Reed |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110033653/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_metroidprime2_gc |archive-date=November 10, 2010}} GameSpot and IGN praised the campaign as a lengthy and rewarding adventure and appreciated the minimum 20 hours required to complete the game. The game was considered suitable for players of any age by Computer and Video Games, which called Echoes essential for anyone who owned a GameCube.{{cite web|access-date=November 24, 2008 |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/112977/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/ |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |work=Computer and Video Games |date=December 8, 2004 |last=Boxer |first=Steve |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719023743/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/112977/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes-review/ |archive-date=July 19, 2011}} The theme's dynamics between dark and light was lauded by GamePro, along with the "simple, quirky, and ridiculously addictive" multiplayer mode.

Echoes{{'}} graphics and design received significant praise; GameSpot considered it some of the best on the GameCube, and IGN called it "gorgeous" and "one of the prettiest GameCube titles". The Guardian{{'}}s Nick Gillett found the game entertaining and stated that its maps, terrain, and bestiary made for an amazing epic space adventure.{{cite news|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/nov/27/games.theguide |work=The Guardian |date=November 27, 2004 |last=Gillett |first=Nick |page=30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209154424/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/nov/27/games.theguide |archive-date=February 9, 2017}} Bryn Williams from GameSpy complimented the game's controls and level design, commenting that the game was challenging but fair.{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Bryn |url=http://uk.cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/metroid-prime-2/566621p1.html |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review |publisher=GameSpy |date=November 26, 2004 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009063117/http://uk.cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/metroid-prime-2/566621p1.html |archive-date=October 9, 2008}}

A major criticism of Echoes focused on the game's high difficulty, with Game Informer declaring that "not only are the boss fights unforgiving, the environment is sometimes difficult to follow".{{cite magazine|last=McNamara|first=Andy|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review|magazine=Game Informer|date=January 2005|page=126|issue=141}} Some reviewers found it difficult to search for the Sky Temple keys. GameSpot criticized this mechanism and called it "a scavenger hunt much tougher than the rest of the game", and 1UP.com said that the only purpose it served was to artificially extend the game's length.{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes |title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review |work=1UP.com |publisher=IGN |last=Pfister |first=Andrew |access-date=March 24, 2015 |date=December 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024043815/http://www.1up.com/reviews/metroid-prime-2-echoes |archive-date=October 24, 2015 |url-status=dead}} The game's multiplayer mode was also considered by some to be unsatisfying. GameSpy called it a "secondary feature", The Age{{'}}s Jason Hill called it "bland and dull"{{cite news|title=Metroid Prime 2: Echoes|work=The Age|date=December 9, 2004 |last=Hill|first=Jason|page=5}} and Eurogamer said that the single-player features did not translate well to that mode. Game Informer criticized the multiplayer mode because of its inclusion of the lock-on mechanism, considering it a feature that made multiplayer too simple.

IGN was critical of Echoes{{'}} graphics and noted that the textures sometimes blurred when viewed up close, and the frame rate occasionally decreased. Publications including IGN and The Independent considered the gameplay too similar to Metroid Prime,{{cite news|last=Armstrong|first=Rebecca|date=December 18, 2004|title=Computer Games|work=The Independent|page=98}}{{cite news|last=Herold|first=Charles|date=November 25, 2004|title=Game Theory; A Big Sequel That's Worthy Of Its Lineage|work=The New York Times|page=G5}} while GamePro was unhappy that the game did not have a customizable control scheme. Computer and Video Games and The Age were disappointed that Echoes was not as innovative in terms of gameplay as Metroid Prime. The Age{{'s}} review also found the control scheme "unwieldy" and the difficulty "unforgiving". Serge Pennings of The Observer noted there were too few opportunities to save the game while playing,{{cite news|title=It's Prime Time|work=The Observer|date=April 10, 2005|last=Pennings|first=Serge|page=68}} an aspect X-Play also criticized by saying that most of the game's difficulty was "because the save system is poorly implemented and downright cheap".{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606101151/http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/926/Metroid_Prime_2.html|archive-date=June 6, 2007|url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/926/Metroid_Prime_2.html|title=Metroid Prime 2 |publisher=X-Play|access-date=November 29, 2008}}

Echoes won an award in almost every category it was nominated for at the 2004 Nintendo Power Awards,{{cite magazine|date=May 2005|title=2004 Nintendo Power Awards|magazine=Nintendo Power|volume=191}} and won awards for Best GameCube Game of 2004 from IGN,{{cite web|url=http://bestof.ign.com/2004/cube/17.html|title=IGNcube's Best of 2004 Awards: GameCube Game of the Year|access-date=November 15, 2008|publisher=IGN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217021919/http://bestof.ign.com/2004/cube/17.html|archive-date=December 17, 2004}} Electronic Gaming Monthly,{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electronic-gaming-monthly-and-computer-gaming-world-announce-the-best-games-of-2004-54005327.html |title=Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer Gaming World Announce the Best Games of 2004 |publisher=Ziff Davis Media |date=February 8, 2005 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015105202/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electronic-gaming-monthly-and-computer-gaming-world-announce-the-best-games-of-2004-54005327.html |archive-date=October 15, 2012}} and GameSpy.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217043401/http://goty.gamespy.com/2004/gcn/index10.html|archive-date=December 17, 2004|url=http://goty.gamespy.com/2004/gcn/index10.html|title=GameCube Game of the Year|publisher=GameSpy|access-date=November 16, 2008}} The game was a finalist in GameSpot{{'}}s 2004 "Best Action Adventure Game" category across all platforms.{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050303051021/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/bestof2004/day4f_1.html | url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/bestof2004/day4f_1.html | title=GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2004 - Best Action Adventure Game | date=January 5, 2005 | work=GameSpot | archive-date=March 3, 2005 | url-status=dead}}{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050116015337/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/bestof2004/day4w_2.html | url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/bestof2004/day4w_2.html | title=GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2004 - Best Action Adventure Game Winner | date=January 5, 2005 | work=GameSpot | archive-date=January 16, 2005 | url-status=dead}} During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Echoes received nominations for "Console First-Person Action Game of the Year", and outstanding achievement in "Art Direction" and "Visual Engineering".{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2005&idGame=188 |title=D.I.C.E. Award By Video Game Details Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |website=interactive.org |access-date=28 September 2023 |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206104620/https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2005&idGame=188 |url-status=live}} It was rated the 174th best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power{{'}}s Top 200 Games list,{{cite magazine|date=February 2006|title=NP Top 200|magazine=Nintendo Power|volume=200|pages=58–66}} the 74th best game by GameFAQs users,{{cite web|title=The 10 Best Games Ever |url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/top10 |publisher=GameFAQs |access-date=October 4, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716111618/http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/top10 |archive-date=July 16, 2015}} the 15th best GameCube game by IGN,{{cite web|title=The Top 25 GameCube Games of All Time |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/16/the-top-25-gamecube-games-of-all-time?page=3 |publisher=IGN |date=March 16, 2007 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325192211/http://cube.ign.com/articles/772/772300p3.html |archive-date=March 25, 2007}} and the 13th best by GameSpy.{{cite web|url=http://cube.gamespy.com/articles/639/639689p14.html |title=#13: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |publisher=GameSpy |date=August 11, 2005 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016005709/http://cube.gamespy.com/articles/639/639689p14.html |archive-date=October 16, 2008}}

Echoes sold 470,000 copies in North America in December 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/01/14/prime-outperforms-echoes |title=Prime Outperforms Echoes |last=Casamassina |first=Matt |publisher=IGN |date=January 13, 2005 |access-date=November 3, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219184845/http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/01/14/prime-outperforms-echoes |archive-date=February 19, 2014}} It was the ninth-best-selling game in its debut month in Japan with 16,105 copies sold, ranking it behind Yu Yu Hakusho Forever and Hanjuku Hero 4: 7-Jin no Hanjuku Hero.{{cite web |url=http://www.m-create.com/jpn/s_ranking.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050605012636/http://www.m-create.com/jpn/s_ranking.html |script-title=ja:2005年5月23日〜5月29日 週間ソフト&ハードセルスルーランキング |language=ja |publisher=Media Create |archive-date=June 5, 2005 |access-date=July 10, 2016 |url-status=dead}} By August 2009, 800,000 copies had sold worldwide.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/29/a-space-bounty-hunter-in-texas?page=7 |title=A Space Bounty Hunter in Texas |publisher=IGN |author=Casamassina, Matt |date=August 28, 2009 |access-date=April 28, 2010 |author-link=Matt Casamassina |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928094904/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/29/a-space-bounty-hunter-in-texas?page=7 |archive-date=September 28, 2012}} The game ultimately sold more than 1.10 million copies worldwide.{{Cite book|title=2020CESAゲーム白書 (2020 CESA Games White Papers)|publisher=Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association|year=2020|isbn=978-4-902346-42-8|page=241}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20041015052027/http://www.channel51.org/ Channel 51], [https://web.archive.org/web/20041023013602/http://www.orbislabs.com/ Orbis Labs] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20041104055824/http://www.athenaastronautics.com/ Athena Astronautics] websites at the Internet Archive
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171026121533/http://www.metroid-database.com/game/metroid-prime-2-echoes/ Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]}} at the Metroid Database

{{Metroid series}}

{{Retro Studios}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:2004 video games

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