It's often enjoyable to consider what could have been - new IPs, sequels and spin-offs that never made it to stores. Examples such as Star Fox 2 and Metroid Dread have us wishing for the ability to visit an alternative universe, to play titles that were, at some stage, destined for our consoles.

Even games we do get evolve a great deal during development, and it's in this area that this week's feature from Unseen64 is particularly interesting. It mines a lot of information on Metroid Prime, including the protracted path to the final product.

There's plenty of interesting information there, including how the original action adventure concept that became Prime was a new IP that was rejected by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Some of our favourite parts of the feature include bosses that didn't make it past the conceptual stage. You can see some familiar - and otherwise - boss designs below, and concept videos for an Ice Boss and a Flying Insect boss.

Metroid Prime Bosses

Another concept that we found particularly interesting is an early idea for a 'living Chozo', which never made it to the game.

Living Chozo

We heartily recommend reading the full feature, which also demonstrates changes in design and visual style as the project progressed through years of demos and presentations. It's fascinating to see the lengthy route taken to produce what remains, we'd argue, as one of the finest games released on Nintendo systems.

[source unseen64.net]