Is Metroid 64 On The Way?
Fans often take it upon themselves to create games that have long been asked about, and some private developers are currently working on Metroid 64.
The Metroid gaming series has famously skipped over the legendary Nintendo 64 console since the gaming developers at the time didn’t have the confidence to create an N64 Metroid game that could compare favorably to Super Metroid. This left the series’ fandom wondering what could’ve been if the legendary console got its iteration of Metroid for years to come, and the game’s absence sparked an entire community of people dedicated to discussions about the game that never came to be. Until now.
As reported by IGN, Metroid fans might have their wish come true, as two fans are trying to do what Nintendo didn’t/couldn’t. A Twitter user, Luto Akino, shared his Unity 3D project that aims to create what Metroid 64 could have been if it had ever been released on the legendary console. As per his video, this version of Metroid opted for a third-person camera instead of a first-person perspective featured in Metroid Prime and has Samus running around a purple cave, using her arm cannon.
The fan-made game currently has no AI opponents besides static blocks, but it offers a pretty good glimpse into what the game on N64 would look like. Akino is working on this project with a friend and hasn’t revealed any plans as to when the project might become available to the public — if ever, considering just how hard Nintendo presses its modding community. Admittedly, this looks rather fantastic and only goes to show that Yoshio Sakamoto, the video game designer, could’ve done it as well, was he not so apprehensive about the game’s transition into 3D.
The Metroid series, which released its fifth installment less than a year ago, had some trouble when the creatives considered following the footsteps of Mario and Zelda and going 3D on Nintendo 64. Yoshio Sakamoto had stated that he shouldn’t be the one making that game, as he couldn’t imagine how the N64 controller could be used to move Samus around. He might’ve been pressured to transition into 3D gaming, but he simply couldn’t make the N64 controller work in his favor; hence, the game was never made.
The Metroid series protagonist, Aran, did make her polygonal debut on Nintendo 64 console, however, though not in a mainline game, but as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. It took Nintendo several years to bring the famous bounty hunter into the third dimension of gaming, releasing the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime on the Game Cube console. Well, if the hill won’t come to Mahomet (Mohammed), Mahomet will go to the hill — and two Metroid fans are doing just that, creating what Nintendo, Yoshio Sakamoto, and an unnamed developer didn’t do.
The fan-made Metroid looks really promising, and the fans of the series feel that it captures what Metroid could’ve been like in 3D before Metroid Prime happened. There are skeptics among the fandom who believe that the project shouldn’t be talked about publicly since Nintendo has no issues requesting a cease and desist on all development projects that aren’t under direct management from the company. It has happened before, and some believe it’s only a matter of time until it happens again.
