Metroid Prime, up until this week’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, at least, is mostly free of spoken dialogue — especially when it comes to its mute protagonist, Samus Aran. But an unused monologue was recorded for the original Metroid Prime, and eventually uncovered by fans, with its performer remaining unknown. Until now.
IGN recently sat down with legendary Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid (among many, many others) voice actress, Jennifer Hale, who provided the voice for Samus — entirely grunts and effort sounds — in the original Metroid Prime trilogy. While we were talking with her (and before it was confirmed she had been replaced for 2025’s Metroid Prime 4) we thought we’d get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding who voiced that once-lost voice-over that was left on the cutting room floor.
That monologue goes as follows, for those who are unfamiliar:
“Ten years ago, below the surface of planet Zebes, the mercenaries known as Space Pirates were defeated by interstellar bounty hunter Samus Aran. Descending to the very core of the Pirate stronghold, Samus exterminated the energy-based parasites called Metroids, and defeated Mother Brain, the leader of the Pirate horde. But the’ Space Pirates were far from finished. Several Pirate research vessels were orbiting Zebes while Samus fought on the surface below. After the fall of Mother Brain, the ships escaped, with the hopes of finding enough resources to rebuild their forces, and take their revenge. After discovering a possible Pirate colony on planet Tallon IV, Samus has again prepared for war, hoping to end the Pirate threat forever.”
With Hale being the most famous voice of Samus, you’d perhaps assume she also recorded these introductory lines to the world of Prime. Well, you’d be wrong.
“That’s Vanessa. Vanessa Marshall,” Hale reveals. It’s perhaps not a surprise, as Marshall is already credited with also lending her talents to the voice of Samus in Metroid Prime, notably contributing her death scream to the sound library. Marshall also starred alongside Hale in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, as well as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as Olga, and may be familiar to fans of animated TV as the voice of Hera Syndulla in Star Wars’ Rebels and Bad Batch series.
As to why Retro Studios and Nintendo went with Marshall over Hale for this prospective monologue, only to then ditch it anyway, Hale says she’s unsure. “I adore Vanessa,” Hale adds. “I love that we actually shared this role. It’s so crazy, and I’m not sure why. I never remember saying no to this. I would never have said no to doing this. They may have preferred her work. I have no idea.”
While not getting to record these fully formed sentences, Hale did get the lion’s share of the grunt work on Metroid Prime. It sounds an intriguing process, which she went on to explain in more detail:
“I like to have identified a character’s way of speaking before I do grunting for them, because how you grunt is different to how I grunt, to how anyone else grunts,” Hale explained. “It’s very specific. If you are a civilian and you’re grunting, you’re like… [makes surprised grunt noise] because it’s all surprising and it’s all new. If you’ve done it a million times, you’re like [makes short grunt noise], because you’ve gone under fire 1,800 times and you’re used to it.”
While that once-lost intro narration was never used in the original Metroid Prime, parts of the monologue would later see the light of day, thanks to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Jay Ward, who voiced Star Fox’s Wolf O’Donnell in the Nintendo fighting game series, rerecorded certain lines of it that were laid under the Opening/Menu – Metroid Prime track on the soundtrack.
Who knows where this monologue will turn up next, or why it was never actually used in the final game. At least for now, thanks to Samus herself, part of this mystery has been solved. Would you have liked the intro narration to have been kept? Although I do love the lonely, wordless nature of Metroid Prime, I do like the “Ripley at the end of Alien” feel this gives to the game. Let us know what you think in the comments.
For more on Metroid Prime, make sure to check out our review of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and for more from Jennifer Hale, read all about why she’d love to return to the Mass Effect series as Commander Shepard or “anyone” BioWare want.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
