Metroid Prime 4 takes place before Metroid Fusion, but in a separate timeline

Nintendo has tried to clear up any questions about when Metroid Prime 4 will take place in the series timeline. While the answer was short and sweet, if anything, I'm more confused than ever.

Whenever there's a new entry in a long-running Nintendo series, longtime fans try to piece together when that game's in-universe calendar might take place. The takeaway when this happens is that Nintendo doesn't really think about this stuff, and we kind of wish we didn't either. However, if we argue about it long enough, someone from headquarters will pop their head out and give us an answer so we stop arguing.

Metroid Prime 4 takes place in the Metroid timeline, but also takes place in its own brand new timeline.

Perhaps this is why we now know when Metroid Prime 4 will take place during Samus' lifetime. In an interview with Famitsu where various people from Nintendo who worked on the Metroid series raised questions, it was confirmed that Prime 4 takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

Samus firing a super missile at Crocomire in Super Metroid.

Simple, right? Well, no, not really. If you're a diehard Metroid fan it makes no sense to think so, that's because there's another half of the explanation. “In this game, Samus has traveled through time and space and jumped into another dimension,” adds the Prime 4 developer.

Samus Aran in her new suit in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond had such a long development cycle that another reboot was “out of the question”.

Both Nintendo and Retro knew Metroid Prime 4 couldn't wait any longer.

Naturally, I have questions. If Samus left the original timeline to begin her adventure in Metroid Prime 4, then who is Samus in Metroid Fusion and the other games that take place outside of that timeline? I'm going to assume this is a multiverse situation where Prime 4 is happening in a different branch of what I'll refer to as the sacred timeline. Marvel fans will know what I'm talking about.

Nintendo says you don't have to worry about it anymore, but I bet you do

I'm obviously thinking about this a lot already – and I won't be the only one – as the Prime 4 dev adds, “From now on, you don't have to worry about timelines.” They noted that the decision was a conscious one so that Prime Games could continue without affecting what was happening with the 2D Metroid games.

Samus crouched in Metroid Prime 4 with her fists on the floor.

A smart, if still confused, decision to consider Samus' journey wrapped up in the events of the most recent 2D game in the series, Metroid Dread. There will be more 2D games, Nintendo's comments have further hinted at keeping them away from Prime games, but they will likely start a completely new story and potentially even be in a completely new timeline, though that last part is purely speculation.

Removing Prime 4 from Metroid's hallowed timeline moved it into The Legend of Zelda territory. Nintendo has had a similar problem figuring out what happened to the kingdom of Hyrule. Metroid's timeline isn't as confusing as Zelda's (yet), with two defined branches following the events of Ocarina of Time, and officially confirming that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are their own thing and have no place in the series' official timeline.