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[SatoAilDarko]

So I don't like to bump old threads but I'm going to bump this just because it's somewhat relevant. I KNEW I remembered something like this from a few years ago. Wonder if this turned into Samus Returns?

Not really but it led to it.

Sakamoto: It started about two years ago. I’ve been wanting to make a 2D Metroid game for quite a while, and I’ve been thinking about what sort of team I’d like to work with when creating such a game. At some point during all of this, I heard from our folks over at Nintendo of Europe that this developer MercurySteam was interested in making a remake of a classic Metroid game.

I heard MercurySteam and I knew they’d made some Castlevania titles, so I thought it was possible there was an affinity for our title as well. I said, ‘Well, man, I gotta meet these guys, let’s go to Spain.’ So we flew to Spain. MercurySteam had created a small prototype for me to take a look at. I looked at it, talked to them, got a sense of what their team was about, and said, ‘Yeah, let’s see what we can do together.’

http://kotaku.com/metroid-samus-returns-feels-great-to-play-1796236226

On whether Nintendo reached out to MercurySteam or the other way around…

There was a very fateful meeting, so we’ll tell you that to start off with.

I just wanted to start out by saying I’ve been wanting to make a 2D Metroid game with today’s technology for quite a long time. It wasn’t only my personal desire, but also because I know there are a lot of people out there in the world who have been clamoring for a 2D Metroid game.

For myself, I’ve been wanting to revisit that fundamental, basic, core essence of Metroid, that 2D gameplay, and I was considering ways to go about taking on that challenge. That was more than two years ago.

Then I heard of MercurySteam and they were looking to take on the challenge of remaking a Metroid game. It wasn’t Metroid II, but again I’d heard about this desire from the MercurySteam team.

I knew MercurySteam from their development work on Castelvania. I thought, “We’ve got to meet with these guys,” and so we flew out to Spain [where MercurySteam is located]. Over the course of that meeting, obviously we had a great time. It seemed like, wow, there’s a lot of potential here, and basically that’s really how it got started.

Jose Luis Márquez: Like Sakamoto-san said, we approached Nintendo to make a remake of a classic game. We are also a fan of the series, so we were happy to know that they wanted to collaborate with us.

http://nintendoeverything.com/metroid-samus-returns-devs-on-how-mercurysteam-came-on-board-art-style-possibility-of-2d-metroid-on-switch/

From the OP:

We have ascertained that work on a prototype for this unsolicited pitch was established earlier in the year, and had a full game been green-lit, it was planned to be developed for both Wii U and 3DS. It was being referred to internally as simply 'Metroid', and it has been described as a first person game set in a post apocalyptic sci-fi environment. In their demo, Samus was the main character - as you would expect - but was joined by seven other playable bounty hunters, as well. This is a similar set-up to that seen in the DS game, Metroid Prime: Hunters.

Tldr: Basically Mercury Steam wanted to remake Metroid Prime Hunters but the pitch was rejected. Sakamoto heard about it and knew they had made a 2D Castlevania game and Castlevania and Metroid make up the word Metroidvania. So he flew to Spain and met with the team and saw a prototype they had made for him. He liked what he heard and saw and decided to work with them but not on a Prime Hunters remake but a remake of Metroid II.

 

[Eusis]

Hindsight: Both a blessing and a curse

Could still have the last laugh.

But it's improbable. And more likely it'd be "eh, got disappointing at the end but it started strong!" at this point.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Is there still time to get my bored Patrick Stewart narration idea into Samus Returns?
Probably not.

 

[Neiteio]

Is there still time to get my bored Patrick Stewart narration idea into Samus Returns?
Probably not.

"The last Metroid is in captivity... THESE ARE DARK TIMES"

 

[VLiberty]

why the hell would you want to remake Hunters of all games?

 

[Claude Augario]

why the hell would you want to remake Hunters of all games?

The multiplayer was fun, before the hackers ruined it.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

why the hell would you want to remake Hunters of all games?

It wasn't a remake of Hunters so much as what MercurySteam pitched was conceptually a lot like Hunters. They repurposed the ideas into Raiders Of The Broken Planet.

Apparently, Sakamoto was thinking of remaking Super Metroid before settling on Metroid 2.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

It wasn't a remake of Hunters so much as what MercurySteam pitched was conceptually a lot like Hunters. They repurposed the ideas into Raiders Of The Broken Planet.

Apparently, Sakamoto was thinking of remaking Super Metroid before settling on Metroid 2.

No read the quotes. Sakamoto was just thinking of making a 2D Metroid before deciding to remake Metroid II.

MecurySteam wanted to remake a game that wasn't Metroid II and pitched it to Nintendo. Based on the OP it had to be Hunters.