A Metroid fan has modified a replica arm cannon to achieve peak performance by adding extra light and sound effects straight from Metroid Prime. Metroid Prime 4, the currently unreleased sequel to the popular sub-series, has gone for months without any official updates, but fans are still holding out hope for news of the game to arrive soon.
In the first Metroid Prime game, Samus finds herself exploring the planet Tallon IV in search of Meta Ridley, discovering the highly dangerous substance known as Phazon in the process. The game proved to be hugely popular, and now five Metroid games bear the 'Prime' name. These include the three main Prime games, as well as Hunters and Federation Force, although it must be said that Federation Force failed to live up to the popularity of its predecessors. Nevertheless, the Metroid Prime games as a whole were well received by fans. As such, they were the inspiration for an array of merchandise, which included a replica of the Metroid franchise's most iconic weapon, the Arm Cannon.
Now one fan has taken one of these replicas and modified it, in order to make their Arm Cannon as close to Samus' own as possible. Reddit user Psychosolver posted a video of their finished project, which shows the Arm Cannon run through all four of the main beam modes from Metroid Prime: Power, Wave, Ice, and Plasma. Each mode is accompanied by its own color of LED lighting and appropriate sound effects, and can be quickly swapped between via a keypad hidden inside the Cannon. This is in stark contrast to the original, which only replicated the basic Power Beam.
Psychosolver has said that they wish to keep improving on the current version in the future, namely by adding the beams from Metroid Prime 2. They were inspired to create their Arm Cannon by a similar project from fellow Redditor Cakeisfun, who showed off their own modified Arm Cannon replica two years ago and provided resources that allowed others to follow in their footsteps. Although the Arm Cannon is sadly no longer being sold in stores, Psychosolver was able to source one at the time in 2020, shortly after seeing Cakeisfun's post. However, other obligations soon led to them shelving the project for a time. But now the modifications to the toy are finally complete, and the end product is rightfully earning Psychosolver copious amounts of praise online.
The Arm Cannon replica as it was originally sold was already an impressive addition to any Metroid fan's collection. This modified version, however, is even better. It greatly improves upon the original design with its additional functionality, and as a result it looks and sounds just like it came straight from the world of Metroid. It is clear that Psychosolver has put a lot of time and effort into perfecting the design, and this has certainly paid off. This version of the Arm Cannon really is Samus' trusty weapon come to life.
Sources: Psychosolver/Reddit, Cakeisfun/Reddit
A Metroid fan has modified a toy replica of Samus's trusty arm cannon, perfecting the resemblance to Metroid Prime with additional beam modes.Matthew Wilcox