TheWorthyEdge
Member
Fuck.
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Unseen 64: Metroid Series Development Insights (Prime Hunters, Metroid Dread)
- Thread starter Glowsquid
- Start date
Neff
Member
To be fair I've never played that one. But I have played (and bought) enough mediocre 'me too' bandwagon-jumping Indie Metroidvanias to be left with little faith in anyone pursuing dreams of competing in the genre due to too many of them concentrating on things like 'atmosphere' and 'isolation' at the expense of solid design.
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
I just can't validate your thesis on why Nintendo is abstaining from developing Metroid. If your reason was accurate, why would they fund Bayonetta 2, Fatal Frame, or Devil's Third? Much more niche games that cost a pretty penny.
You need to play La Mulana. It's tough, but nails that feeling of exploration as you collect clues to solve puzzles incorporated into the level design. Make sure to keep a journal to write down anything you see, because you'll be consulting it often.
Oh, don't worry. Franchise #19384 will have such a thread when this becomes funny so the cycle can start all over again. Seriously, what is with the internet and overreaction?
You're right! These threads are gonna be so funny when those 2D Metroid games Nintendo hasn't been working on continue to not be announced.
Bakkus
Member
Really? Now I want a source.
We don't know why it was cancelled or even if it was in active development. I'm not sure if I would ever describe metroidvanias as super popular either.
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
First, they didn't do that. Second, we know nothing more about this games' development aside from it being 2d and cancelled.
Combat Wombat
Banned
Dread has been around for a looong time. Before all the recent indie 2D Metroidvania craze.
They'd rather have someone else make games like those for them than do it themselves. That's what I'm getting at, and that Metroid is like those games you mentioned. But because Metroid is associated with Nintendo, like Other M showed us, if something goes wrong, it will blow up in their face, not the other company.
Dread was cancelled before the recent boom of Metroid-style games.
direct_quote
Member
Man it's been over a decade since we got a 2d Metroid...
The video states that it was in development for at least a short period of time. And yes, we don't know why it was cancelled, so I'm hoping they at least tried to do a lot to salvage the project. Not sure why their next choice would be to make a random spin-off though.
As for the popularity of metroidvanias, they're pretty huge in the indie scene right now, and as far as I'm aware they're doing quite well. Maybe that's not the best indicator of their popularity on Nintendo consoles though.
???
They didn't do it, but all we know is that they did it...?
ElRenoRaven
Member
Good video like normal. It really is sad to see how far the Metroid franchise has fallen. It was right up there with Halo for me as far as my favorite games goes. Maybe someday it will find it's way again and come back to greatness.
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
I thought you were implying that they cancelled it for federation force.
SCReuter
Member
LOL. It's like Nintendo thinks we're a bunch of mature, open-minded gamers. Get outta here with that crap, Ninty! It's Super Metroid re-imaginings or nothing for this big boy.
evil monkey
Member
Just curious on one thing. Has Nintendo ever released spin-off games for a series only to never release a mainline entry?
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Nope
evil monkey
Member
wellthereitis.gif
Federation Force is a really boring take on a really interesting idea and that's more of a bummer than it not being a new 2D game.
For what it's worth, what really does Metroid have to offer as a 2D series that everyone else isn't already doing?
Linkstrikesback
Member
That's a loaded question. When else has Nintendo waited with a gap of 5+ years between games in a series, just to release a spin off?
Bakkus
Member
I feel like crying. TTYD is the best game ever made. To think they want to change a franchise that has recieved no complaints whatsoever for being stale is just mind-blowingly asinine.
Retromelon
Member
Metroid prime hunters was the first metroid game i ever played and i loved both the singer player and the multiplayer. Years later i played the gamecube metroids and saw what i was missing. I still wish multiplayer like mph would return to the series
Wario Ware?
Well, there was a 5 year gap between Star Fox Command and the next Star Fox title, and said title was just a 64 remake...
Not exactly a spin-off, but I'd consider it only being a remake of a game that already exists a bit worse.
Entryhazard
Banned
Dude made Super Metroid lol
It's less them cancelling one project for another and more me being confused about what possibly made them think federation force without a mainline game (2d or 3d) alongside it was a good idea.
I don't know, I'm not a game designer. That's for Nintendo to figure out. Indie devs seem to be able to find lots of different things to do in the metroidvania genre, I'm sure Nintendo can too.
F-Zero.
Though I guess that depends on if you consider the handheld games mainline entries or spinoffs.
He made Super Metroid over twenty years ago.
That's because the talent left in disgust once Project H.A.M.M.E.R. (aka MachineX) stayed in development hell for too long. That game should have been out around the Wii's launch if not a year later, but as the execs kept shooting down the devs' ideas, time stretched on and people started leaving.
That's why they're on C-tier projects now. They have C-tier talent left, apparently.
Entryhazard
Banned
And Fusion and Zero Mission after that. Other M is rather an exception rather than proof of a trend
It's not even a bad game by general standards, I think some take that game as a personal offense
Linkstrikesback
Member
Launched the same year as wario world and only 2 years after wario land 4. They then went crazy and started releasing Warioware in rapid succession.
I don't think starfox command is a real example either, granted, it's bloody weird, but if you took away the touch screen controls which Nintendo was forcing in to several DS games even when it wasn't a good idea, then the thought of it as a spin off probably wouldn't even cross your mind.
He was involved, but so? It was a different time. Lucas was involved in Empire Strikes Back. He got access to more modern technology and put ridiculous cartoon CG into the old movies and then made the prequels.
Sakamoto got modern tech and made Other M. Anyone capable of making Other M is not capable of making a good Metroid game. It's definitive. He does not get it.
Well...he had sole control over Other M. That tells you how out of touch with the series since he was Director, Producer and Sole Writer of the game. There are several other "great" ideas too, all of which sucked in the end because he was a dictator and couldn't handle that much power. Ambiance instead of Metroid-like music? Check. Chose the English Voice Actress for Samus. Check. Forced Wii Remote controls and First Person Segments. You betcha. Glowing Gravity Suit because it didn't look right in his serious cutscenes? Yup.
You can't say it was an exception when he had that much control and that much influence over a project, because it was the culmination of everything he was working towards. He said it himself. Other M was his Ultimate Metroid game. The Metroid game that finally surpassed Super Metroid. The series standard bearer henceforth, the game every other one in the series would be held up against.
And it was terrible.
Entryhazard
Banned
Well I guess Miyamoto is a complete hack after he butchered Sticker Star after its track record.
Shinespark?
It's kinda like asking what Mario has to offer that everyone else isn't already doing.
Retromelon
Member
The gameplay was enjoyable for the most part. The story and way samus was presented was such an affront that it completely overshadows any positive that could be brung up
Sakamoto readily admitted that he wasn't any good at 3D games. He gets lost too easily and can't ever navigate the space well. Kind of a funny thing for someone known as the head of a series based on exploration.
He's a 2D game designer. His staff didn't do Metroid on a home console after Super because they had no 3D experience- they stuck with 2D long after everyone else moved to polygons. That's why Retro took over on console while Sakamoto's staff stuck to the handhelds, where 2D was still considered appropriate (things are obviously different now with 2D games enjoying a huge resurgence).
That's also why they partnered with Team Ninja, to help them build a game in 3D and hit the ground running instead of wasting months figuring out the basics.
So yes, Other M was a bit of an anomaly in the sense that it was Sakamoto leaving his comfort zone and attempting to overcome his big weakness with polygonal game design. There's no reason to think a 2D Metroid made by his staff at this point would be anything less than a first rate game, as that's what Sakamoto is natural with. I personally would be more skeptical of a 2D Metroid if Sakamoto weren't involved.
Linkstrikesback
Member
And at one point, Nick cage was considered worthy of an award for best actor, for a romantic drama no less. Peoples talents and skillsets change with time.
Are you implying the amazing Nicholas Cage isn't still worthy of an award for best actor?
TheSpaceBetween
Member
False. Sakamoto wanted the game to be 2D movement in a 3D world in the vein of Pandemonium!/Klonoa. It was Team Ninja that insisted the game be fully in 3D.
And the story?
Cuz it wasn't very good or memorable. For me, the game was unplayable. I could never play it right and always got hand cramps after 2-3 minutes. Oh, and instant Game Over pits. What the hell?
He also did Fusion and Zero Mission which both got critical acclaim and he also worked on other franchises such as Tomodatchi Life, Rhythm Heaven, and WarioWare. The idea that he's some sort of hack that stumbled his way into success doesn't make any sense. It's likely he's a very talented game designer in the business for thirty years who made a bad game. It happens.