
Despite its popularity, the Metroid series has fallen on hard times as of late. Nintendo has done little to address the series over the past several years, and while we got a pretty good spinoff on the 3DS this year, it's struggled greatly commercially. Axiom Verge, while not a Metroid game, was obviously made as a love letter to Metroid fans, and some have gone so far as to say that it stands as a worthy surrogate in the absence of another traditional entry in the long running series.
Evidently, Axiom Verge almost had much stronger ties with the Metroid series, as it was recently revealed that a Samus costume was under consideration. Dan Adelman and Tom Happ recently did a Reddit AMA centered around the game, and one of the questions was whether or not any Samus cameos or amiibo functionality was considered. Here's what Adelman had to say:
We would have loved to have a secret code to have Trace where a Samus costume. Some people inside Nintendo really liked the idea, but after a lot of internal discussion, they ultimately had to decide not to give us permission to do that. I think the idea that someone could play the entire game of Axiom Verge looking like Samus Aran was too big of a concern for them.
His guess as to why they said no is reasonable, as it could be confusing to consumers as to whether or not a new Metroid game had just been released. Still, perhaps they shot the idea down because there's a secret 2D Metroid in the works right now. We can dream.
What do you think? Would you have liked a Samus cameo in Axiom Verge? What did you think of the game? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source reddit.com]
Comments 47
Okay Federation Force doesn't bother me but does Nintendo even care about Metroid's fanbase anymore lol
Why Nintendo, why must you torture us with no proper 2d Metroid! You can't even lend one to your own benefit.
I think it's hilarious that people will whine about this.
like, oh no Nintendo is controlling their own IP
@CharlieSmile What harm would a Samus costume do to the Metroid IP? I don't recall Mario costumes in Bayonetta ruining Mario's image.
When that NES book was on kickstarter Nintendo intervened. Some time later they revealed that they were working on a similar book. Now they pulled down AM2R and this. Maybe, just maybe, there is something they are not telling us.
@Phin68 Nintendo published Bayonetta on Wii U. It's a different situation.
@C-Olimar Not really, because this would have been a Wii U exclusive costume. But I have an idea why they said no.
@Phin68 Bayonetta doesn't have the same type of gameplay a mario game has, so even with the costume, it's not like Bayonetta is going to steal sales from Mario games.
However, more people than not did not want Federation Force. They wanted something closer to 2d Metroid games, and Axiom Verge fills that hole quite nicely. If there was a Samus costume, you can be darn sure that would be another bigger reason to pass Federation Force for this game.
@Phin68 If Bayonetta was a platformer game where you hit blocks, collected coins, and entered pipes, I doubt Nintendo would have given the go-ahead for the costume.
Sad, but not a big surprise; Even though Nuntendo is letting other companies borrow their stuff they wouldn't let this new developer in that easily. It's a strong enough game without Samus, fantastic even.
@Utena-mobile @ricklongo That's a good argument. Though I find it odd that Nintendo would prevent other developers from making a proper Metroid experience, when it's really their job to do so.
That would have been cool.
@Phin68 because then the other developer gets most of the money.
I understand Nintendo...
Well it's not their game so of course they're not going to give it any content. Would had been good but unless Nintendo had rights to own the game they probably won't even throw anything in there.
I can certainly understand Nintendo wanting to protect it's IP. When they finally introduce a Metroid game, (won't they?), it'll be an epic reveal, right?
super metroid maker as nx launch title. all the fanmade metroid you can handle.
I already have this game on steam but I would totally would drop another $15 just to get the samus costume on Wii U.
Nintendo let up on their precious copyright to throw Minecraft a few mario skins. Metroid isn't so lucky as usual I guess.
@Utena-mobile I'll refer you to @ricklongo's comment, then.
EDIT: Never mind, I should read full comments before replying.
Still can't remember a time there was a Nintendo costume in a non-Nintendo published game (costumes, not characters). So there
Yes would be cool scan samus amiibo for costume
@C-Olimar Didnt Rayman Legends have Mario and Luigi costumes? That game was published by Ubisoft. And more recently, we also had the Mario skin pack in Minecraft U, so Nintendo doesnt seem to have a problem with lending their IP. Maybe it depends on how popular the game will be.
Because Samus is TOO FRIGGIN' BIG! She'd take up half the screen! Stage boss confir... Um, never mind. Wrong game, wrong Metroid character! Shuffles out, returns to lurking
Come on guys. We don't need a Samus costume to enjoy Axiom Verge.
Nintendo was against playing Axiom Verge looking like Samus because...?
Oh yeah, because that would have meant having a proper 2D Metroid game.
@audiobrainiac After Federation Force bombing horribly, probably not. Nintendo killed Metroid.
@SanderEvers @BensonUii It would fit in with what was found out at E3 2014.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/06/e3_2014_nintendo_hopes_to_share_metroid_news_in_the_near_future
The 3D Metroid is probably Federation Force. But that still leaves 2D unaccounted for.
Of course Nintendo axed it. If Nintendo won't celebrate Metroid's 30th anniversary then nobody else can.
It's an understandable decline, but don't worry, there's still a JUSTIN-BAILEY cheat code you can use.
I have hopes this will eventually become a boxed products like "FAST Neo Racing". I really love it.
That's because Nintendo do not want to make proper Metroid game. They know people would confuse this game with Metroid and they don't want to associate IP with this type of game.
@FluttershyGuy Federation Force ruined this joke...
This would have been a great use for the metroid line of amiibo. And to be fair nintendo would profit from any extra amiibo sales from the venture. Plus the goodwill gesture I'm sure would be appreciated by the fans.
To be honest I'm not too upset though as I generally prefer the standard artwork in a game over any bonus skins. They can be fun but most of the time they seem out of place to me.
Metroid is my top 3 fav series ever. Axiom Verge is a great Metroid/contra mix game. I love it. But I don't need to play as Samus to enjoy it.
Also, I am not worried about metroids future. Nintendo ignored it on N64 just to give us 2 metroids at the same time for GBA and GC. we got 3 new games that gen and a great port. Wii era was great as well. 2 games, and aside from terrible voice acting, other m was a great game.
Fed Force is an ok game that only tells me that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about Metroid. Nintendos track record is to test the waters with a handheld game before releasing a console counterpart. NX is going to have Metroid. Whatever NX is, I'm sure of it. I'm not worried, and in the mean time, like anything Nintendo, I'm going to keep replaying the past amazing games since they still better then most games that come out today, aside from when we get gems like Axiom Verge.
@DrkBndr I actually have both games. I'm silly.
Even before I read the article's ending, this had given me more reason to believe that they are making another Metroid game for 2017. Hopefully a "FPS Prime" or "2D Metroid".
A man can dream..
Metroid nx one can dream right
I feel like this would be a shining example of where and how Amiibo allow this kind of thing to happen. Then, Nintendo got their money for the figure, and it's simply a matter of adding a little goodie to the mix, and one only accessible with the Amiibo, so they still very much have control over the IP and appearance of Samus. I feel like it'd be a nice little anniversary present for the franchise, but alas.
Would have been brill even if it was a timed thing still would have been nice.
@Phin68
"Don't recall Mario costumes hurting Bayonettas image"
Bayonetta wasn't a colorful platformer made to mimic Mario either. Now, imagine a clone game of Mario trying to get Mario costumes... That's what we're talking about here.
Surely you can understand why it might not be ok for a game made to mimic Nintendo's IP to literally even let you play as the character too.
Sure, fans might like it and I know I would, but, because the genre is identical and the game is so close already, it treads on territory where the game becomes too representative of the franchise it imitates. When you become so that identical to what you imitate it presents a problem
"Nintendo axed the idea, of course"
I can almost hear the resigned sigh that accompanied that statement. Haha.
@Phin68 Because, funnily enough, when Bayonetta cosplays as Princess Peach or Link (or even Samus, y'know, in case we forget that Nintendo is actually cool with letting other characters dress as Samus) she doesn't actually look like those characters. She still is Bayonetta.
In a pixel-art game such as this, a Samus costume would be tantamount to just playing as Samus, and since Axiom Verge is the same genre as Metroid, it would look exactly like a Metroid game.
It is insane to think that you would compare Axiom Verge to Bayonetta 2.
It's also insane to think that ANYONE AT ALL would be upset about this.
Normally I get annoyed by all the whiny entitlement from the Metroid "fans" every time an issue like this one comes up, but honestly, this strikes me as being rather petty on Nintendo's part. Other people here have suggested making the costume an Amiibo extra, and I think that's a great solution. Throw us a freakin' bone here, Nintendo!
@Randomname19 Oh well... The current state of Metroid makes me want to cry anyway. :/
@FluttershyGuy The current state of Wii U (i.e., having no support from Nintendo) also makes me cry as well.
@C-Olimar That doesn't really mean much. I mean, having Bayonetta of all people dress up as Nintendo characters is a more of an exclamation mark than having Samus run around in Axiom Verge.
i can totally do without a samus.
axiom is its own game. good call
The spin off Metroid for 3ds is not Metroid. It could have as easily been branded My Little Pony. Tell the truth here it was another game and they decided to make a Metroid game out of it.
Of course, it would spark demand for a new 2d metroid even more. Of course Nintendo doesn't want to make another 2d metroid (or another proper metroid for that matter)!
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