16 December 2025

Beyond’s Annoying NPCs Were Almost Even Worse

By newsgame

Dataminers discovered cut content from Metropid Prime 4: Beyond, publicly sharing that one of the more controversial elements to the game could have been much worse. After a lengthy and difficult development period, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has finally launched, giving fans the opportunity to dig into Samus’ latest adventure for both the NIntendo Switch and Switch 2. While players will likely find a lot of familiar elements, there were some aspects to this newest entry that no doubt made some fans scratch their heads.

The Metroid series in general is known for its claustrophobic hallways and zones, leaving players feeling isolated and alone on these distant alien worlds. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond largely runs with many of these concepts, but as fans have seen and now experienced, developer Retro Studios has added a few features which seemingly go against those core principles. Protagonist Samus Aran now has a motorcycle named Vi-O-La, allowing her to traverse the massive and largely deserted Sol Valley hub area that connects to the other explorable zones. However, for many fans, one of the most controversial additions is actually the NPC characters Samus can come across.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review – The Most Disappointed I Have Ever Been With a Video Game

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a beautiful game with some exciting action, but it’s otherwise difficult to find many positive things to say about it.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Cut Companion Dialogue

Unlike previous games in the franchise, one of the core concepts of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is that Samus is tasked with rescuing members of the Galactic Federation Marines, eventually becoming temporary companions on her journey. The revelation was revealed during the final preview event for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, with the chatty technician Myles Mackenzie seemingly becoming the poster child for the community’s newfound fear. Many felt as if this went against the idea that Metroid games should feel isolating, as now Samus had to not only deal with escort style quests, but deal with companion characters chatting with her during the journey.

As it turns out, what fans experienced in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond could have been so much more. Dataminers discovered new audio files of cut NPC banter, adding even lengthier conversations from the troopers that Samus comes across. According to the details, these conversations would likely have played out at the Base Camp and would have largely fleshed out each character’s background and personality.

Metroid Prime 4 Hasn't Clicked For You Yet You're Not Alone Resize — metroid prime 4 alone image

While many Metroid fans would likely have viewed the conversations as unnecessary, players would have discovered new details about these NPC troopers, typically falling back on a bit of humor to liven up the conversations. VUE-995 and Private Armstrong discuss things like working out, Seargent Duke would claim that VUE-995 needs some grease because the others are complaining it is squeaking, while Armstrong also admits she’s a big fan of dogs and has one named Bowser back home.

What isn’t immediately clear is if these audio lines are actually just cut completely or if they’re potentially being planned for something down the road. It’s entirely possible that if these lines are to be used in some capacity, they could show up in a future update for Metroid Prime 4, either for a New Game+ mode which many have been asking for, or perhaps a dedicated content expansion sometime in the future. Alternatively, it’s entirely possible that Nintendo knew the NPC conversations would be controversial and aimed to cut them down to avoid major backlash, while not fully undermining one of the core elements in Metroid Prime 4.

Even without the inclusion of chatty NPC characters, it’s clear that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been divisive for fans. On one hand, it makes sense considering the lengthy and, at times, chaotic development cycle the game experienced, essentially being rebooted and moved to Retro Studios to handle. The game itself seems like a mix of ideas, both new and intended to be nostalgic, with fans continuing to debate how well it ultimately all came together in the end.