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

Nintendo has tried to clear up any questions about when exactly in the series timeline Metroid Prime 4 takes place. While the answer was short and sweet, if anything, I've become more confused than I was before.

Whenever there's a new entry in a long-running Nintendo series, longtime fans try to figure out when exactly in the game's universe calendar the events of that game might occur. The distinction when this happens is that Nintendo really isn't thinking about this, and we don't want it to either. But if we argue about it long enough, someone from HQ will stick their head out and give us answers just so we stop arguing.

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

That's probably why we now know when exactly in Samus' lifetime Metroid Prime 4 takes place. In an interview with Famitsu where various people from Nintendo who have worked on the Metroid series asked questions, it was confirmed that Prime 4 takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

Samus fires a super missile at Crocomire in Super Metroid.

Simple, right? No, not really. If you're a die-hard Metroid fan and think that doesn't make sense, it's because there's another half to this 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 costume in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Family

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.

Of course I have questions. If Samus left the original timeline to go on her adventure in Metroid Prime 4, then who is Samus in Metroid Fusion and the other games that take place beyond that timeline? I'm going to assume this is a multiverse situation where Prime 4 takes place on another branch away from what I'll refer to as the sacred timeline. Marvel fans will know what I'm talking about.

Nintendo has said you don't have to worry about it anymore, but I bet you will

I'm clearly thinking about this too much already — and I won't be the only one — as the Prime 4 developer adds, “From now on, you don't have to worry about the timeline.” They noted that the decision was deliberate so that the Prime games can continue without affecting what happens in the 2D Metroid games.

Samus crouched down with her fist on the floor in metroid prime 4.

A smart, if still confusing, decision considering Samus' journey ended in the events of Metroid Dread, the latest 2D game in the series. There will be more 2D games, as further hinted by Nintendo's comments about distancing themselves from the Prime games, but they will probably start a whole new story and potentially even take place in a whole new timeline, although that last part is pure speculation.

The removal of Prime 4 from Metroid's sacred timeline has moved it into The Legend of Zelda territory. Nintendo has had similar problems figuring out what happened in Kingdom of Hyrule. Metroid's timeline isn't nearly as confusing as Zelda's (yet), having two defined branches after the events of Ocarina of Time, and officially confirming Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are their own thing and have no place in the series' official timeline.