Metroid Fusion sequel, new Paper Mario rumored for Nintendo Switch this year

By Aaron Mamiit Updated April 25, 2023

Metroid Prime 4 may not be arriving soon, but according to rumors, another 2D Metroid game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch this year, along with a new Paper Mario RPG.

Nintendo leaker Sabi, who holds a respectable track record, claims that this year’s Nintendo Switch line-up will be bolstered by the two unannounced games.

https://twitter.com/New_WabiSabi/status/1218362384642822144

Sabi later tweeted that the 2D Metroid game will be related to Metroid Fusion, which was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. The leaker then clarified that according to the source, it will be a sequel.

Fans of the Metroid franchise may be starting to grow weary of waiting for Metroid Prime 4, which was first announced at E3 2017. Nintendo said the following year at E3 2018 that the game was “progressing well,” but details have been very scarce. A Metroid Fusion sequel may whet the appetite for a new adventure with heroine Samus Aran until Metroid Prime 4 rolls out.

Meanwhile, Sabi said that the new Paper Mario game will bring the series “back to how it was.” The original Paper Mario, released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64, and its sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, released in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube, both received positive reviews. However, 2007’s Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii, 2012’s Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the Nintendo 3DS, and 2016’s Paper Mario: Color Splash for the Nintendo Wii U failed to capture the magic that made the first two entries special.

The rumor of a new Paper Mario game was supported by ResetEra member Zippo, who also claimed that the series will “return to form” for the Nintendo Switch this year and that it will not be a remake.

The Metroid Fusion sequel and new Paper Mario RPG, if the rumors are true, will join Nintendo Switch’s 2020 lineup of games that is slowly taking shape. In addition to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore and Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, reliable Nintendo insider said that there are at least two more unannounced ports of Wii U games in the works. The speculation is that these will be Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3.

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