After being missing in action for years, Samus Aran finally returns next month with Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS. The series’ return from exile is obviously a very welcome development, but some Metroid fans can’t help but worry where the series may go next. We know there will be a fourth Metroid Prime game, but what about the original 2D series?
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Well, Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto recently sat down with Eurogamer, who asked where the original series might go in the future.
“It’s a tricky question to answer about the future. [That said], the Metroid series is not over. We’ve just made a full-fledged remake so I’d rather take on something new. That’s my general approach, and [Metroid: Samus Returns] was a new challenge.”
Something new! I like the sound of that – perhaps we’ll finally get a chronological follow-up to Metroid Fusion? Eurogamer also asked whether Sakamoto plans to work with external studios like Samus Returns developer MercurySteam again…
“I don’t really think of things as internal or external. What’s important for me is we have a good chemistry with whoever develops the game, that they have a good understanding of the series and have the ability to add things which constitute improvements. Of course, when you deal with a partner you’re not familiar with, you’re not sure at the beginning if things will go well. However, if they go well, they go well. I feel [the partnership with MercurySteam] was meant to be. When you have a team, which is external but also from overseas, they have an even more refreshing perspective and the kind of challenges I want to keep my mind open to as well.”
Finally, the ultimate question – does Sakamoto plan to another game similar to the divisive Metroid: Other M?
“[Other M] had a different narrative and its own expression of a Metroid game. Right now, we don’t have any plans to reiterate the same approach. It’s important we keep making something which is new and refreshing to keep the exciting for the series. And to use the past to keep things refreshing rather than get bogged down and simply reproducing the past.”
Phew, dodged a bullet here! Of course, everything could change if Metroid: Samus Returns doesn’t sell, but it sounds like the Metroid series is back on the right track.
Metroid: Samus Returns rolls onto Nintendo 3DS on September 15.
[via Eurogamer]
