
Update: Since we posted the original story, we have since come across this curious post from 4chan's /v/ board (click that link at your own risk) which appears to show a member of Spain's development community attempting to leak the existence of MercurySteam's Metroid.
The post reads:
Mercury Steam is making the new Metroid, how do I know it? because I'm a 3d artist and I made the interview 1 week ago, in Spain. Also 2 friends who worked with me in Gameloft Madrid already moved to Mercury this month.

This thread from the anonymous forum-goer predates our report by 3 months, but serves to corroborate the information we have gathered from our own sources independently. Providing the claims are accurate, it would seem that MercurySteam's play for the license is a more poorly kept secret than initially thought.
Original story: One enduring rumour that has quietly been circulating in the Spanish games industry is that MercurySteam, the studio behind Konami's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series, has been pitching a new entry in the Metroid series to Nintendo. After extensive digging and coordinating with contacts related to the project, we can now confirm this to be the case.
In late May, Nintendo Life learned the company began an effort to expand its staff for the game. As work on its proposal for a new Metroid game was under-way, MercurySteam was hoping to bring in a number of talented new developers hand-picked from other Spanish studios. Hiring calls were posted too as the search widened.
We have ascertained that work on a prototype for this unsolicited pitch was established earlier in the year, and had a full game been green-lit, it was planned to be developed for both Wii U and 3DS. It was being referred to internally as simply 'Metroid', and it has been described as a first person game set in a post apocalyptic sci-fi environment. In their demo, Samus was the main character - as you would expect - but was joined by seven other playable bounty hunters, as well. This is a similar set-up to that seen in the DS game, Metroid Prime: Hunters.
MercurySteam, perhaps somewhat naively, disclosed to those attending interviews the nature of its new project, which is believed to be the initial cause of it starting to leak out. The outcome of the pitch is uncertain, but currently isn't looking good for any hopeful Metroid fans. Rumour has it that it was turned down by Nintendo. Updates from the developers and associated contacts dried up recently, followed by a small series of departures from the company.
Shortly thereafter, an update to MercurySteam's website teasing their next game arrived, further adding to the conundrum. It portrays a man in what appears to be the cockpit of a spaceship, smoking a cigar. The accompanying text reads:
Exploring new worlds
Fighting strange new creatures
Discovering new heroes
Expect news soon
Considering the similarities these brief details bear to the aforementioned Metroid pitch, it is a possibility that these two projects share a connection. Earlier in the year, we were made aware that the developers held a contingency plan of remodelling the game into an original IP, in the event of the proposal being rejected. Whether or not this is now the case remains to be seen.
We reached out to MercurySteam, who were unavailable for comment on the matter. If we hear anything else, we will be sure to update this post.
What are your thoughts on the developer potentially one day tackling the Metroid series? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments 116
So essentially: Started as Metroid Game-> pitched by Nintendo -> recalibrated on a more generic space shooter....
I hope they got turned down. Their 3D Castlevanias are OK, I guess, but Mirror of Fate was a pretty awful take on the 2D "Metroidvania" genre.
I'm glad that it seems they had a plan of refurbishing the Metroid pitch into a new IP.
If it retains the classic Metroid feel but with some updated elements I'll be very happy indeed!
I'd rather have what MercurySteam were pitching then Federation Force. The Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games were pretty good.
as a newbie to Castlevania, I thought Mirrors Of Fate was great! But I am not new to Metroid, I am not sure if they would do it justice perhaps?
I would trust these guys with Metroid; their Castlevania reboots were good and with the guiding hand of the Big N, a new take on Metroid from these guys could be great.
If it was turned down by Nintendo then I expect the game that comes out of that be PS4, XB1 and PC only.
Who cares! Throw a 2-D Metroid and the fanbase will eat that up and say "It's good!" No matter what!
It will be interesting to see the formats their game comes out on. It all depends on how far they got with their prototype. If an engine is up and running on Wii U and 3DS, it would make a certain amount of sense to stick with them, but then what publisher is going to fund a Nintendo exclusive game when the sales are so bad? Hopefully it just comes out on everything.
Way to get us excited and then crush us.
After playing through the first Lords of Shadow, my stance on this is extremely negative. Gladly, this is rumor can't be true. Nintendo would never hand their beloved franchise to such amateurish developers.
Wow, sounds intriguing.
I'd love to see a more isolated, horror-based Metroid - maybe like Alien: Isolation, but more action-orientated.
@Cia For a beloved franchise, Nintendo sure doesn't seem to care about it lately.
This would have been something different, which I always welcome. The blast ball federation squad game looks terrible so, whatever MercurySteam were up to would have been preferable.
I don't see how can people praise the Lord of Shadow games when they killed the Castlevania series
I don't really know, even if the pitch would have bore some fruit. MercurySteam is not very talented developer in my opinion.
lol so not only did nintendo have a chance to make a metroid game they seem to keep denying the projects but why? are they that bad? o.O
the whole team up with other players seems interesting i magine if it was a multiplayer type thing
@Peek-a-boo
Have you actually played through any MS games? If you have and still retain your stance, then I guess it's an opinion difference. But I'd rather take almost any other developer before Mercury Steam. This being said, the blast ball game ain't looking too interesting for me either... not sure what Nintendo's thinking.
@hiptanaka But none of the Lords of Shadows games were even marketed as Metroidvanias, what did you expect?
So, they debranded the project? If it keeps the Metroid gameplay conventions, that would be enough, as all the decent Metroidvanias on the 3DS are indie retraux affairs. We need something more modern here.
@KO-Cub I'm pretty picky with my Metroidvanias.
@Nomad What tells you Federation Force won't be pretty good, as well?
@Noelemahc Being a 2D Castlevania, I expected Mirror of Fate to have some of what I love about the Igarashi games, but it was much more like a 2D God of War. I guess that's fine if you're into that, but nothing I'd like from a Metroid game.
I think the MercurySteam team has talent, but I really haven't enjoyed the design decisions in games they've released so far. Things always seem neat, but never fun.
So not quite sure how to take this news - it's cool that they gave a Metroid pitch, and kind of a shame they got turned down because I think they need a little assistance in design aspects. Oh well. It'll be interested to see what the game develops into (if it gets released).
On one hand I'm not the biggest MercurySteam fan, their Castlevania games were good but lacking that special something that makes Castlevania...well...Castlevania. On the other hand I'd take anything these guys were planning over the chibi sell out that is Federation Force. Nintendo don't seem to know what to do with the franchise why not open it to new developers?
I would say this is bad but seeing the metroid we are getting maybe it's not so bad. And this is a third party that wants to work with Nintendo. With the state Nintendo is at maybe they should think about letting them do it. Maybe under Nintendo they could make something great.
Lords of Shadow games were some of the worst Castlevania's. Maybe they will be better at making a Metroid style game. They are good at visuals and audio but the controls in the LOS games were not great. I am interested to see this and since it was developed on WII U, if it will continue on the platform even if it's not Metroid.
If this was cancelled due to federation farce I'll be even more angry at it!
Makes you wonder which came first, plan A or plan B?
At the very least I hope Nintendo (if they saw any potential in this game pitch) would work with them to make a great exclusive which is sorely needed since the struggle Nintendo has to remain even relevant is becoming too daunting for any company to endure.
@Mrclaycoat by reading the article, it sounds more like Nintendo just block the project, so I guess this game will come out under another name and probably on other platforms (PC Xbox, Ps4)
I would love to see Mercury Steam or any new developer take on Metroid. I believe the franchise needs some fresh creative minds working on it to be renewed. At the same time, it would be nice to see a brand new project from Retro outside the Metroid and Donkey Kong series. A new IP would be particularly good.
Why the hell would you tease something like this with that headline?
Heartcrushing ;_;
Knowing the quality of games Mercury Steam has made, this would have been as reviled as Other M, or maybe even more.
I bet this how most things for Nintendo start/end. 3rd party pitches new sequel in coveted franchise. Nintendo reviews and denies them. 3rd party contemplates the work they put into this. Hire /fire a fee people. Rebrand as new IP and release to everyone but Nintendo because they are petty like that. 😉
I'm not really clear. So is it Nintendo asked them to build a Metroid prototype and then turned it down? Or is this company tried to make a Metroid prototype to appeal to Nintendo but got turned down? If it's the latter, well..... I guess I can say anyone can make prototype based on Nintendo franchise, doesn't mean it's a potential project or exciting at all, especially if no one from Nintendo is involved.
Coming from the same studio that made the Lords of Shadow series, I'm not really sadden by this news. Not to mention it does sounds exactly like Federation Force, but for the Wii U and with 4 more hunters.
I suspect they were turned down because Nintendo is already working on something (maybe that's what Retro is doing? I don't know). We'll see though!
@RonF
I'd love to see an in-house Metroid approached similarly to A Link Between Worlds; keep and refine the classic core gameplay of Super Metroid, but experiment with the progression structure and add new mechanics.
There's no way of knowing yet if this game would be any good, or if it'll ever get made. However, I'd love to see a more traditional 2D Metroid game appear at some point.
@kiigu It's the latter. They decided to make a Metroid game, showed a prototype to Nintendo and Nintendo then turned it down.
I would rather take WB games than MercurySteam. Lords of Shadow and its sequel were the reason Castlevania bombed post Igarashi.
Until MercurySteam can make a good and solid game, I won't trust them with any other series. Castlevania was enough.
@hiptanaka Sure IGA's metroidvania games were great but some of the earlier strait forward linear classic Castlevanias are better. It doesn't always have to follow his formula to be a good game in that series but with this said as far as Metroid itself I don't think I could or would even except a strictly linear action platforming game set in it's world. The set pieces in Metroid are meant to be explored. Mercury Steam I don't think would dumb that aspect of the game down which has been so well established in the series.
Honestly, i just want a well populated online metroid shooter for 3ds, so if that happens, i would be happy.
@WarlockNem "Sure IGA's metroidvania games were great but some of the earlier strait forward linear classic Castlevanias are better"
True enough. But Mirror of Fate isn't a good linear Castlevania either, in my opinion.
I've given up on seeing a Metroid now after seeing the insult from E3
I'm not sure what to think of this.
By now, I'm very certain that the horrible mess that was Lords of Shadow 2 was mostly Konami's attempt at turning Castlevania into something it never should've been - the first LoS, while also being violently unfitting in design, at least had a somewhat interesting approach and good gameplay nonetheless.
However, I have no idea what MercurySteam is capable of on their own or with Nintendo, and I'm not sure if I wanna see a Metroid game from them - the whole "several bounty hunters" idea was already badly executed in Prime Hunters.
I'm glad they didn't get to ruin Metroid, the Lords of Shadow games were the worst trash ever.
Just let Retro handle Metroid Prime and give the 2D Metroids to Intelligent Systems, that's all I want.
I loved Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate. I guess I'm in the minority. I think they could have done a fine job with Metroid.
Developer pitches a concept to Nintendo. Nintendo rejects it or it never comes to fruition. Must hapen dozens of times daily. Not seeing what's so interesting here.
New Metroid = great! But does it "have" to be a first person shooter? I liked the Prime games, excellent games. They're even better with the Wii remote and nunchuck, imo.
But Other M at least gave us a 3rd person view in 3D space while feeling reminiscent of the 2D games.
Why can't they do a Metroid that gives 1st person and 3rd person views as options (like Metal Gear Solid 4, Skyrim, GTA 5). I'd be happy with another Metroid in the style of Other M but a Prime styled game with a 3rd person view could work too. As with Mario, jumping is integral to Metroid's game play (or rather somersaulting). And jumping in the Prime games (not counting the screw attack animations) just looks like a cheap cop-out to me. Metroid Blast in Nintendoland showed promise (with obvious room for improvement). I'm sure they could make it happen.
Ugh not him again.
@bitleman Lords of Shadows 1 is the best selling Castlevania game in the entire series. It outsold the old-school entries, the Metroidvanias(including SOTN), and the other attempts at 3D games.
Don't believe me? Here's some links
http://games.softpedia.com/blog/Lords-of-Shadow-Is-the-Best-Selling-Castlevania-Title-354378.shtml
http://www.destructoid.com/lords-of-shadow-is-the-most-successful-castlevania-ever-253848.phtml
People can rag on the game all they want, but LOS I is not only the most successful entry of the series in terms of sales, but it was the first 3D Castlevania to get it right.
The 64 games failed to do so, and Curse of Darkness was a mess. Lament of Innocence came close, but still has some issues.
As for why LOS 2 failed, I think the answer is simple. Mercury Stream wanted to move on from the series, Konami stopped giving a damn about anything video game related and did not bother helping with the development, it was stuck in development hell for so long interest in the sequel dried up with most fans that did enjoy LOS, and it had some horrible game play decisions that killed the game(why are sneaking levels in a Castlevania game? Especially the own where you play as Dracula?)
But Lords of Shadows I, I loved that game. Its pretty much in the top three in my opinion, with only SOTN and Rondo of Blood surpassing it.
Personally, I will never get the hate or the people that claim its not Castlevania. I understand it plays like God of War, but the PS2 3D Castlevania games played like Devil May Cry. Not to mention, Lords of Shadows brought back elements like a Belmont as a main character, sub weapons, a whip-like main weapons, and some awesome areas that just screamed Castlevania.
Plus, Gabirel Belmont is the most interesting main character in the series besides Alucard. For a series that quite frankly has pretty by the numbers writing, Lords of Shadows did a good job.
@Turbo857
To be honest I would love to see a 3rd person Metroid game again. I love Prime but the FPS view just made everything more slow. Even though Other M gets tons of criticism, it's game play was fun and fast paced.
The first LORDS OF SHADOW was a great action/adventure title, but MIRROR OF FATES was a huge letdown. When it should have focused on Simon they had to shoehorn Alucard in, but water down each character's quests. I sold it the day after I beat it. They could have POSSIBLY done something interesting with Nintendo, but maybe with a smaller franchise like ETERNAL DARKNESS.
@FX29 Agreed. METROID: OTHER M was very enjoyable. It should have been 5 hours longer, though.
Good riddance I say, those guys should stay far away from Metroid or any other Nintendo series.
@WhiteTrashGuy You know what my biggest problem with Mirror of Fate was? The fact that it was not a 3-D Action game. The 3DS could have handled it, and it would have given the system a nice showcase title in a genre that it is still lacking games in.
3-D action games could have worked on a system with the 3DS' power. The PSP got two awesome God of War games, and its hardware is comparable to the 3DS.
Mirror of Fate was decent, but it felt really bland compared to LOS I or the other Castlevania games.
@Nomad
Really? You'd rather have a game developed by the average Mercury Steam than the top tier Next Level Games? Do you really think Next Level Games is going to make a bad game? Cause I don't.
@Caryslan
Agreed. I thought Other M was a blast to play through overall. The perfect Metroid could be made from elements of Other M and elements of Prime, imo. Just like I believe the perfect Zelda could take elements from Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.
But @FX29.... You're giving credit to Lament of Innocence while trashing Curse of Darkness. Man.... do you have that completely backwards!!! I've beaten both and even though neither games are terrible, Lament of Innocence had some very basic and bland level design.
But Curse of Darkness beats LOI in every category. First off it had an awesome, awesome soundtrack, environments were varied (not just in a castle), increased weapon selections and gameplay additions like the innocent devils that level up and assist you. You even gained abilities that encouraged backtracking and discovery. Curse of Darkness is a highly underrated game and most people I know who played it, loved it regardless of how it was received by critics.
Why do people think they can pitch stuff to Nintendo? Has Nintendo EVER accepted a pitch like this? I love them and everything, but they're incredibly stubborn and protective of their properties. This sort of thing will probably never work.
Please no. Lord of Shadows was sooooo boring and on rails it hardly befits being called a Castlevania game. Just one more attempt to force feed a AAA experience into something which doesn't need it.
Yay, of course Nintendo turned it down..... Why give us what we'd like to have over something we didn't ask for... Thanks for nothing again, Nintendo.
@crzysortagamer Well Metroid Federation Force will answer that need for a 3DS online Metroid Shooter. As for well populated, that remains to be seen.
@FX29 The gameplay of Other M really sold the game to me. Metroid is just as much platforming as it is Shooter. While I liked the Prime games, I thought Other M had better gameplay. If the used a 3rd person control set up similar to Splatoon, I believe they could make an amazing 3rd Person 3D Metroid.
Is this the same guy from unseen 64? He sounds just like him?
Just you wait, when this new game is announced we're gonna see it come out for every platform except the 3DS and Wii U.
I'm only assuming so of course..
I really liked the 3DS Castlevania thought it had some awesome graphics and good use of 3D personaly I think they would do an amazing job with Metroid on the other hand why is Nintendo refusing to give us a Metroid title ?
@ChronicMids Would be the first Nintendo character on non-Nintendo platforms.
Metroid is dead.
@Boidoh Doesn't he just suck?
So i'm the only person who actually liked the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games? Especially the 3DS one? Damn
If Nintendo trusted Mercury Steam to make a new Metroid, then I would trust Mercury Steam to do the job. The fact that they turned it down isn't necessarily a sign of a bad game, just that it's not what they have in mind for Metroid... though Federation Force really makes me wonder about the future of the franchise. I don't lament said future. It could be very interesting.
Anyways, I hope we get to see what they pitched as an original franchise one day. Even if it's just Metroid-esque, sign me up.
their 3DS castlevania was terrible and the biggest dissappointment for me of the 3DS era considering the series had such an excellent run on hand-helds since the GBA days. One of my favorite hand-held series (well, used to be).
their 3DS castlevania was terrible and the biggest dissappointment for me of the 3DS era considering the series had such an excellent run on hand-helds since the GBA days. One of my favorite hand-held series (well, used to be).
@Retro_on_theGo So was Kid Icarus.
Kids these days.
Federation Force port to WiiU and Other M 3D for 3DS
I highly doubt this game could be any more out of touch with the fanbase than Federation Force is, Nintendo just doesn't seem to like Metroid anymore. Hopefully something comes of this game, because we really need a Metroid kind of experience this gen.
Mediocre team wants to work on half dead franchise.
At this point any indie darling of the eShop could do a better job on Metroid.
@Bolt_Strike There is a Metroid kind of experience this gen, you just need either PC or PS4 for it (Axiom Verge).
Please no. MercurySteam just seem like amateur developers that can only follow the "me-too" formula. I'd rather see them make something of their own and build from there. This is coming from someone who feels LoS1 and MoF were decent, while LoS2 felt drab and goofy.
Actually, of ALL the recent and speculated Metroid news the idea of Mercury Steam working on Metroid is thus far my favorite idea. The Metroid formula is a good fit for them (as long as they don't go all God of War like they did Castlevania).
Started playing Metroid Prime Triology this week - funny to see this news come up. I LOVE the prime series. Understandably it's not everyone's favorite but I really enjoy it.
Bravo, Nintendo. I wouldn't trust these guys to even come near the Metroid franchise. Only the first Lords of Shadow was good, the other two were awful. I can guarantee you Federation Force, from a beloved and proven developer like Next Level Games, would be infinitely better than a "true" Metroid game with Samus that's developed by these guys. No doubt in my mind, whatsoever. Anyone saying otherwise is truly blinded with hate at Federation Force because it's not what they want it to be, who develops the game makes all the difference in the world and those two studios are on the opposite ends of the spectrum.
@jakysnakydx Half of their portfolio consists of Castlevania games, only one of which was good, while the rest of their portfolio actually sucks. These guys are one of the last "big name" studios you want working on the Metroid franchise.
Dear Nintendo: Please do not let these talentless hacks anywhere near the Metroid franchise, thanks!
@Timppis it's another unseen64 article. So it's pretty much a pointless article. In the end who cares? The game isn't coming out so why bother even posting it.
Break castlevania and metroid, ambitious!
@Cia The first Lords of Shadow game did pretty well financially and commercially. You're using poor logic; "Nintendo won't trust them because I found one of their games bad!"
Mercury Steam do not have a good game under their belt. They are the Uwe Boll of games. Federation Force will be 00 times better than any piece of junk these people make.
Unless Nintendo has creative control, then it could be good.
@GraveLordXD Federation Force is a sequel to the well liked Metroid Prime Hunters, which also had no Samus.
@CrazedCavalier But really bad critically. It alienated fans of the series. Yet people think it's sensible to think FF will be a horrible game, because like its well liked predecessor Hunters, Samus isn't a playable character.
I just play Alien Isolation and joke with myself that its Metroid Dread.
A Metroid game that was pitched and canceled issue 135. Sigh!
By the way, I did like Castlevania Mirror of fates. And the first Lord of shadows also looks fun (even if it may be more God of war then Castlevania). The second one looks a bit dumb, with those neon-city's. That's definitely NOT Castlevania!
@Caryslan
I don't see how the sales are relevant here. It's basically a Wii Sport effect.
The casuals who never played a Castlevania game before bought this game because it looked like a brown and bloom AAA game and the core audience bought it because it was written Castlevania on the box.
Then the casuals realized this game was mediocre and the core fanbase realized it wasn't a Castlevania game at all. Both audience didn't buy the following games. Franchise killed by LOS. Stop living in denial please.
I guess they really want to go after specifically the Metroid and Vania parts of the genre 0_0 Anyway, Nintendo better be turning this down because they've got a better Prime game in the works, not just because they're sexist and don't want to pay for even an Arkham Origins-quality Metroid Prime game. I'd love an Origins-like Prime game, dammit! Especially with current gen visuals.
@madadam81 You play as Samus in Metroid Prime Hunters...you even have the hunter-class gunship from the other Prime games.
@Nictendo64 Unseen64 is a historical archive for games that were never released and cut content; that sort of thing. It has absolutely nothing to do with this.
I wish I could actually get to the point where I could pitch a game to Nintendo. I'm fully convinced that my master plan for a re imagining of Star Fox would rock their world...
Nintendo needs to stop outsourcing development of Metroid, Star Fox, and F-Zero games and start making them themselves like they used to in the days of the NES, SNES, and N64. That way maybe they can get a break from making Animal Crossing and Mario Kart games all the time, and we could get the freshened up classics with the Nintendo quality we're used to.
We've had way t0o many platformers lately. In general, moving backwords from 3D to 2D is really hard to pull off well.
Metroid has plenty of 2D games in the past that were great, but it takes a lot these days to make a platformer stand out. The mindbogglingly confusing world of the original metroid games would need to be brought back, and expanded upon.
It's likely to bomb. 3DS and Wii U double releases are also tricky to pull off. Either one is almost exactly the same as the other, or they are both crappy. For successes like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Smash Bros, there are absolute bombs like the latest Sonic games.
If they do metroid 2D, it needs to be done well, and they need to add something new, like procedurally generated levels and some kind of online multiplayer done well. Frankly, they need to do some kind of good Online multiplayer for a 3D release as well, cause we are severely limited in online multiplayer games with active communities.
@bitleman The Castlevania IP has been hanging by a thread since the end of 16-bit era. LoS1 was the defibrillator to the heart the franchise needed to breath new life into it, albeit short life. Mercurysteam took from the 8-bit/16-bit games and blew it up in scope. I think they're a team with a ton of potential, and will surprise people in the future.
@Nomad No they weren't.
@hiptanaka Its not that I don't think Federation Force wont turn out good. It probably will be a good game. Its just that without the focus on Samus Aran, the game doesn't seem like a proper Metroid Game. Can you imagine going ages without a New Zelda game then getting one without Link where you played as four generic Hyrule gaurds that teamed up to beat monsters. Would you call that a proper Zelda game?
@JaxonH Next Level are a better developer then MS, but come on mate, they're not THAT bad. I though the first Lords of Shadow game was really good. I was saying I liked the IDEA they pitched better then the concept of FF.
@TwilightAngel No. I thought they were good too. Different then the traditional games in the series but not bad. There are just a lot of hard to please gamers out there.
@Melkac For the record I prefer the traditional Konami developed Castlevania (metriodvania) games. Just because they were better then the MS Castlevanias doesn't automatically make the LOS games bad. Lighten up will you folks.
If this is the case then the Metroid series has been spared. Mercury steam has to be one of the most inept studios out there that actually gets opportunities.
Their Castlevania LOS was mediocre at best with the two sequels being absolutely terrible i simply don't understand how their studio doesn't get closed down.
A real fortune they didn't get their paws on the Metroid franchise they would have destroyed it as they did with the Castlevania franchise.
Guy's seriously never accept mediocrity in your games because Mercury Steam is the pure definition of mediocrity.
Thank God their pitch was rejected! They rebooted and changed the format of what Castlevania should be, something no one asked for. Like hell would I let them even come close to Metroid. That studio is full of charlatans.
@Kilroy Well, nobody knows for sure yet whether or not it was rejected.
@Nictendo64 Unseen64 is actually pretty reliable.
What comes to the rest of cynicism and pessimism in your post. I say boohoo. Go cry yourself a "pessimistic" river of self-righteousness and "sarcasm".
@Kilroy No one asked for Lords of Shadow, yet ironically it's the most commercially successful Castlevania game ever.
@LeatherApron
Well it's possible a mediocre studio could do wonders with Nintendo's breath on their neck. There were many example in the past. But in the case of the LOS games, they just weren't Castlevania games. But it isn't really surprising because the Castlevania IP was artificially stamped on the game on Kojima's order. I doubt the people who made the game played a Castlevania game before showing the LOS prototype to Konami.
And the soundtrack was a disaster. Even if it would probably not be a problem for an outsourced Metroid game since Nintendo take very care of the musical aspect of their outsourced games.
They made the worst Castlevania games...
I would hope that Nintendo greenlit the game. MercyrySteam is a great dev and I thoroughly loved Mirror of Fate. Sure, people say it's not a good metroidvania game but that's like calling a potato the worst apple you've ever tasted.
@Peek-a-boo, I feel that Nintendo is very protective of the Metroid series and would rather handle it internally. I feel they're trying to avoid a situation like Star Fox or F-Zero, where the franchises were handed off to various outside developers. If I recall some of the higher-ups at Nintendo, such as Miyamoto, didn't like the directions taken with it.
Federation Force is in a different situation because it is being produced by Tanabe, the leading producer of all previous Metroid Prime titles. He was looking to produce a multiplayer-focused game similar to Metroid Prime Hunters, but with an emphasis on co-operation instead. There was even a point in development where you did play as Samus, but given the emphasis on multiplayer it was to be the focus of the main campaign, not just a multiplayer mode like Blast Ball. Tanabe didn't think it would make sense to have four Samuses on screen and instead looked to focusing on the Galactic Federation and their endeavors throughout the galaxies. While it is not a traditional choice, Federation Force was developed as a Metroid game first and a multiplayer shooter second. Personally, this is not the game I wanted, and I do have a slither of hope that this Spanish studio will produce a new Metroid title for Wii U, but I think Federation Force will be a fine game in itself and should play with some interesting themes. I'm actually looking forward to it.
The biggest joke in this news is people calling metroidvanias "the classic castlevanias"
I'd rather Retro studios make the next big Metroid game.
Well damn, this seems spot on.
It's funny reading this now.
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