Cognition Dissemination: I Hate Knowing About Metroid 64
A number of Nintendo franchises skipped the Nintendo 64 thanks to the company and development partners at the time pursing other ideas, and the system not being as successful as previous consoles — especially outside the United States. Metroid was one of the biggest. The franchise infamously went on around an eight-year hiatus from 1994 to 2002 despite the title released in the former year, Super Metroid, being successful by all accounts. The franchise returned with both Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion for GameCube and Game Boy Advance, respectively, in the latter year, but a fan is aiming to create the kind of project that could have existed between that gap.
Enter Metroid 64, a solo effort from one Luto Akino. The aptly-named project is Akino’s attempt to create the kind of Metroid that would have released on the N64, using game design elements and polygons fitting for the time. (Outside Samus’ character model from her Super Smash Bros. appearance.) The environments look fittingly drab for a Metroid game, with the requisite blurry textures adorning the ground and walls. The blurry textures, like several other N64 games for those who remember what they actually resembled, help Samus stick out among them. The game’s controls appear reminiscent of Jet Force Gemini’s, in how the player character appears to control like a tank with the camera fixed behind them. The lock-on feature, however, wouldn’t be out of place in a Mega Man Legends game. It’s a daunting project for one person to take on, but it looks like a good effort.
At last working in #Metroid64 I adjusted small details, and placed a test texture. There is a bug with the beams direction when Samus is flat against the wall that I need to fix #metroid #F2P #n64 #lowpoly #Nintendo64 #Zelda #unity #unity3d #madewithunity #gamedev #3dmodeling #3D pic.twitter.com/sWBYoTbove
— Luto Akino (@LutoAkino) April 26, 2022
I just hate to know about this. It was shortly after I stumbled upon videos and updates for the game on Akino’s Twitter account and the story on Kotaku that I realized the project was doomed. This isn’t me assuming that Akino will never finish the game thanks to the sheer amount of effort required for one person to create a worthwhile 3D experience. If I and a bunch of people on the internet know about it, there’s no way Nintendo isn’t watching this game’s developments like a hawk, waiting to pounce on the prey when the time is right.
Nintendo notoriously dislikes fan efforts, evinced through the pile of previous ones they’ve cancelled, even from creators who sought no commercial gain from them. One among them included a Metroid project: Another Metroid 2 Remake, or AM2R for short, a solid remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus that reused sprite work from Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission. Nintendo made sure it didn’t get too widespread, though at least that one made it to release and can still be found online in the right corners or given to anyone who knows the right person. It’s unlikely that Nintendo only killed the project because they had their own Metroid II remake (Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS) that eventually released.
The dilemma here will come in Akino’s need to be careful with showing too much of the project from here on, while also having to spread the word about it to inform anyone who still hasn’t seen it for support. But should the worst come to pass and Nintendo comes after it, or if he even thinks Nintendo will take overt notice of it, there should be some kind of contingency plan. I don’t want to underestimate how much work would be required to turn this into an original game or a knockoff, but even that would be a solid idea: A solid throwback to N64 third-person shooters. It’s not like there are a lot of those, but it would take time to remove the Metroid-centric elements from the game — assuming this kind of plan doesn’t already exist.
The issue is how doubtful it would be for a fan game-turned-original project to generate the same amount of buzz. It certainly won’t bring as much as a fan project based on a demonstrably popular Nintendo franchise, and when (not if) Nintendo goes after it, the trouble will be in maintaining the buzz should Akino desire to turn it into an original project. This all assumes it won’t run into other issues before Nintendo can get to it, leading to this being put on hold for years to come, if not forever. Let’s assume that won’t happen for the sake of this post that’s gone on long enough, but the chances of that aren’t low considering how daunting 3D solo projects can be.
The most preferable outcome is Nintendo leaving this the hell alone and realizing that a solo fan project won’t hurt them. But we have been down this road far too many times to see any other outcome playing out. If only Nintendo could be like former competitor Sega, which not only leaves fan projects alone but isn’t afraid to hire some of them for official projects like Sonic Mania. It’s 2022, but Sega still does what Nintendon’t. Some mantras refuse to die.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
