Samus skipped the N64
So why did Metroid never get a Nintendo 64 game anyway? We have a historical reason for that! Metroid 64 was actually considered, but Nintendo never pulled the trigger.
Speaking to the magazine Games (via Nintendo Life), series steward Yoshio Sakamoto noted that he was “thinking about the possibility,” of it, but when he “held the N64 controller in [his] hands, [he] just couldn’t imagine how it could be used to move Samus around.” He further elaborated that another company actually turned Nintendo down, straight up:
“Also, I know this is isn’t a direct answer to your question but Nintendo at that time approached another company and asked them if they would make an N64 version of Metroid and their response was that no, they could not. They turned it down, saying that unfortunately they didn’t have the confidence to create an N64 Metroid game that could compare favorably with Super Metroid. That’s something I take as a compliment to what we achieved with Super Metroid.”
My two favorite takeaways from this story:
- Yes, Super Metroid was that good
- And we had two opportunities for an N64 Metroid, and it never came to fruition
All that to say, in 2022, a fan-creation has surfaced that provides a look at what might have been. Shown off by Luto Akino on Twitter [Thanks Rick!], we can see a very early version of what Metroid 64 could look like, and I have to say, it’s spot-on. I get a massive Mega Man Legends vibe from what we’re seeing here. The level of authenticity is off the charts, and I hope they’re able to keep working on it and shore it up to the level they want it to be.
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
