When it comes to the Metroid franchise, two games are often considered to be the very best: Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. Interestingly enough, when Metroid Prime released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, fans nearly had the opportunity to revisit the 1994 Super Nintendo classic. In a new episode of the Kiwi Talkz podcast, former Retro Studios senior engineer David “Zoid” Kirsch revealed that he first played Super Metroid after being assigned to work on Prime. He beat the game twice in just three days, and liked it so much he figured out a way to get it emulated in the GameCube game.ย
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Unfortunately, Nintendo turned down Zoid’s idea, as he had used a third-party emulator to make it work. However, his idea did inspire Nintendo and Retro Studios to include a playable version of the original Metroid game for the NES. That option was unlocked when players connected to Metroid Fusion using the Game Boy Advance Link Cable.
These days, it’s much easier for younger fans to access some of Nintendo’s earlier games, but it’s worth noting that simply wasn’t the case in 2002! Concepts like the Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online’s NES and SNES apps weren’t a thing at the time. Games like Metroid and Super Metroid were long out-of-print by the time of Metroid Prime‘s release, so including either of these games was a pretty big deal.
Super Metroid wouldn’t end up re-released on a Nintendo console until the original Wii released in 2006. Given the game’s legendary status, it’s pretty amazing to think that it was unavailable to the general public for twelve years! Since those days, Super Metroid has become pretty easy to access on a number of Nintendo platforms, including Wii U and Switch. Nintendo’s announcement of Metroid Dread last year even convinced a number of newcomers to check out the SNES game. Ironically, Metroid Prime is not currently available on Nintendo Switch, though rumors have pointed towards an HD remaster being in the works.
Do you wish Metroid Prime had included Super Metroid? Which of these Metroid adventures is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
