FRANCHISE FOCUS: METROID 26 MCV 16/07/10
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METROID THE HISTORY OF
Why Metroid is still in its Prime
The next evolution of Nintendo’s sci-fi adventure series is due to hit the UK in September in the form of Metroid: Other M. James Batchelor speaks to Nintendo about what has made the series so popular…
IT MAY NOT be as recognisable as Mario, Zelda or Pokémon, but the Metroid series is still one of Nintendo’s most popular flagship franchises. Targeted at a more core demographic than their family-friendly counterparts, the Metroid games have shifted over 16 million games worldwide since the original landed in 1986. “Metroid has been a much loved and critically acclaimed part of Nintendo’s IP and line-up for nearly 20 years now,” says Nintendo’s Roger Langford. “The original Metroid was partially influenced by platform games, from which it borrowed extensive areas of jumping, and RPG style titles, from which it
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possible,” says Langford. “The original Metroid had five different endings based on how quickly a player could complete the game – a design
unheard of at the time. “Super Metroid is one of the most popular speed running games, and helped popularise speed running in video games. “The first Metroid also introduced the challenge of having three minutes to
Metroid has been a much loved and critically acclaimed part of NIntendo’s IP for nearly 20 years now.
Roger Langford, Nintendo
borrowed non-linear exploration. “However the game also offered something new at the time with its atmosphere of solitude. Metroid was also one of the first video games to feature an exploration to the left as well as the right, and backtracking to already explored areas to search for secret items and paths.” In fact, the earlier entries in the series pioneered a variety of game features – not the least of which is Samus’ status as one of the first female protagonists in gaming history. The innovative features helped the series accrue a cult following that has steadily grown over the decades and even the more recent entries have broken new ground. “The Metroid games have been popular in the past for speed running – completing a game in the fastest time
Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991) Format: Game Boy Series order: 6th Samus appears in the first of her many handheld adventures on a mission to wipe out the Metroid race.
The release of new Metroid games has been as erratic as the storyline’s chronological order, but each entry has effortlessly impressed Nintendo fans…
Metroid (1986) Format: NES Series order: 1st The groundbreaking original that shocked gamers with a twist after the conclusion: Samus Aran is a girl.
Super Metroid (1994) Format: SNES Series order: 7th One of its most popular versions to date. Samus must stop the Space Pirates from cloning Metroids.
escape from either a planet or a ship that is set to self destruct, which is another recurring gameplay innovation of the series. “However, the Prime trilogy had more of a focus on exploration, as the secret endings were unlocked not by quickest time, but by the highest number of pickups the player had collected, such as missile expansions and energy tanks.
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“This meant that there was a great deal of time needed for backtracking and exploration as opposed to the 2D games, where the player needed to skip areas to achieve a ‘perfect ending’.” So what makes Metroid games still appeal to millions of consumers today? Countless franchises have come and
Metroid Fusion (2002) Format: Game Boy Advance Series order: 9th A decade after her handheld debut, Samus appears on GBA as she tries to save herself from alien infection.
Metroid Prime (2002) Format: GameCube Series order: 2nd The first console Metroidouting after a generation gap and the first in the series to use first-person perspective.
Metroid: Zero Mission (2004) Format: Game Boy Advance Series Order: 1st A remake of the original Metroid made for GBA, Zero Mission adds extra content and reworks the order.
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