Retro Inspired: Metroid: Samus Returns
Darran quizzes Yoshio Sakamoto about his decision to update Metroid II for 3DS
It can be a rocky rollercoaster ride if you’re a fan of Metroid. It always appears to be one of the franchises that Nintendo gives the least attention to – likely because its sales come nowhere near the likes of Mario and Zelda – but its core games are usually worth the long waits.
2016, however, was not a good year for the many followers of Samus Aran. Project AM2R, an astonishingly good fan remake of Metroid II: The Return Of Samus was shut down by Nintendo just days after its developers released a demo to the public, causing wails of anguish from fans who were desperate for more Samus adventures. A short time afterwards those same fans were greeted with what’s largely seen as the weakest game in the Metroid series, Federation Force. Things were certainly not looking rosy for Metroid’s future – but the future has a habit of changing.
Just ten months after the release of Federation Force, Nintendo used its June 2017 Treehouse event to reveal not one, but two new Metroid games. The big news was the reveal of Metroid Prime 4, well at least the reveal of its title. It nevertheless sent fans reeling, but Nintendo had one more trick up its sleeve, a retelling of Metroid II, Samus’ very first portable adventure, which would be heading to Nintendo’s 3DS and would be released by the end of the year. So how did fans end up with two new games? Yoshio Sakamoto, who is serving as producer for the remake, Samus Returns, and has been involved with the series since the original NES game says it comes down to good timing. “We’re constantly searching for the next Metroid game to develop,” he says. “We ended up working on two games now simply because lots of different pieces happened to fall into place at the right time.” He also pointed out that there’s no connection between AM2R or the new game, revealing: “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve not played it. There is no connection.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Nintendo has used the 3DS to revitalise an older Nintendo game – Fire Emblem Echoes also came out this year – but unlike that game Samus Returns has been created by a different company, and even Sakamoto himself wasn’t involved in its creation, so creating Samus Returns has been a little more difficult. “All games contain some message from the developer to the audience,” he begins. “I wasn’t a developer on the original Metroid II, so I needed to make sure I properly understood this message, to maintain the original quality of the game, while at the same time making it into something that can stand on its own as a new game. This endeavour to make the game as a homage to the original was an extremely novel experience for me during my time working on Metroid titles, and critical for the development of Metroid: Samus Returns.”
For MercurySteam’s Jose Luis Márquez, who acted as director on Samus Returns alongside Takehiko Hosokawa, his involvement began with that simplest of things – a phone call. “We had always publicly expressed our admiration for Nintendo and the special love we felt for the Metroid franchise,” he explains when we asked him about MercurySteam’s involvement with Samus Returns. “I don’t know exactly how Nintendo knew about this desire, but the case is that it was heard and [it] reached the people who could make it possible. One day we received a call from them and now here we are.”
Of course, that phone call does begin to make a lot more sense when you realise that MercurySteam was a developer that had not only proven its mettle when it came to working alongside big Japanese names – Hideo Kojima, no less – but that it was also quite capable of resurrecting a beloved gaming franchise, in this case, the Castlevania series. We’re somewhat
amazed that it’s taken this long for the two developers to get together and we were keen to know what Mercurysteam’s secret was when it comes to looking after legacy franchises. “I would say that the most important thing to get right is to find a good balance to keep the spirit and respect the legacy of the franchise has while keeping an eye on modern standards and not forgetting about new audiences,” notes Jose. It’s a sentiment that Sakamoto is aware of, as he’s been a custodian of the franchise for over 30 years. “I’m always aware of the responsibility,” he says. “I believe that while focusing on meeting the expectations of our fans, it’s important to do ones best to not be conservative and not get stuck in a rut.”
Luckily for Metroid fans, being stuck in a rut is one thing that Samus Returns cannot be accused of. Unlike many remakes, Samus Returns is not a levelfor-level reimagining of the original, although it’s certainly inspired by it and the story and structure remain similar. The core concept is identical, so Samus is sent to SR388 to exterminate the Metroid threat once and for all. It’s a tale of mass genocide that hasn’t changed since the original storyline in 1991 so we were keen to know how much influence the Game Boy release had on Jose and his team. “I didn’t play the original game during development,” he tells us. “However, when I first heard about the chance to remake it, the first thing I did was to replay it again from beginning to end. I had played it many years ago but I wanted to relive the experience, capture the game’s spirit and have it fresh in my mind before entering development.”
Not constantly accessing the original game has certainly helped Mercurysteam, as it’s allowed Samus Returns to feel very much like its own game, rather than simply trading off what came before it. While many of the moves that Samus has access to will certainly be familiar to those that have played a Metroid game before, Jose and his team have added all sorts of new mechanics, which helps Samus Returns feel incredibly fresh, regardless of whether you’re a fan of the original Game Boy release or just like playing adventure games. “We wanted to greatly improve the original game so this remake could be felt almost as a new game,” explains Jose. “Regarding Samus’ abilities, she is now able to free-aim at enemies, to perform a melee counter to defend herself from incoming enemy attacks (a movement that leads during boss fights to powerful, interactive grab sequences) and to make use of Aeion Energy to cast up to four different Aeion abilities that enhance navigation, combat, defence and exploration. We’ve also added other classic abilities from other games in the series that were not present in the original game, giving even new uses to some of them (like the Grapple Beam). As a result, of all of the above the level design of the original game has been greatly modified to accommodate all our gameplay needs: we’ve even added Teleport Stations to help players explore the intricate cave system of planet SR388. Regarding enemies and bosses, we’ve also made a massive overhaul both in their visual and gameplay designs. Finally, we’ve also added a new boss that was not present in the original title, either.”
While the new mechanics spice things up, it doesn’t mean that adding them was straightforward. It’s tricky to find a suitable balance between the mechanics of old and taking a series or a game in a fresh new direction. “That was the biggest challenge we tackled though development,” Jose confirms. “It was not an easy task to find the proper mechanics that worked best when built over the foundation of a classic Metroid experience. That said, we are very confident with the final result and we feel very happy about how smooth their integration has ended up blending with the existing core mechanics.” Sakamoto is keen to point out as well that the general evolution of handhelds has also helped improve this new Metroid adventure. “I am always trying to make full use of the features of different hardware,” he tells us. “The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld game device that’s extremely suited to the Metroid platform, with its two screens and touchscreen features etc. In particular, I wanted to make good use of the stereoscopic 3D feature. I feel it turned out very well.”
Sakamoto has a good point, as Samus Returns really does look fantastic on the 3DS. While we’re confident that an enhanced Switch version of Samus Returns will be on the cards, it’s going to lack the intensity that the 3DS game offers. MercurySteam did an exceptional job with its 3D work on Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow – Mirror Of Fate and it’s done a similar job here, with real depth to the huge caverns that Samus explores and great cinematic cutscenes that show off the powerful Metroids she battles. And while we’re on the subject of bosses, it’s worth noting that the numerous Metroids that Samus fights aren’t actually that far removed from those of the Game Boy version, meaning not all elements of the original game have been remade. “There will be no new types of Metroid other than those that appeared in the original”, concludes Jose. “There are, however, stronger versions of some of them which are closer to its next evolution step. This allowed us to gradually increase the challenge and variety through the game while still remaining faithful to the Metroid evolution cycle proposed in the original game.”
It sounds like a missed opportunity, but the Metroids remain challenging to battle against and unlike the original, exploration of your surroundings is far more important this time around. It’s certainly a compromise, but it’s a good one. We’re also hoping that the deft work that MercurySteam has done on the game means that other developers will get the chance to create more games in the Metroid universe. One thing’s for clear, though, as long as there’s a voice for the adventures of Samus, new Metroid games will continue to get made. “I think it’s because users spur us on,” concludes Sakamoto when we ask him about the franchise’s popularity. “It’s clear that the reactions from fans have an influence on subsequent Metroid games.”