Nintendo dropped a bombshell at the start of this year when it revealed the development of Metroid Prime 4 had been entirely restarted. At the time, the company's senior managing executive officer, Shinya Takahashi, explained how development had not reached a required standard for a Metroid Prime sequel and as a result, series producer Kensuke Tanabe was calling on Retro Studios for assistance with the new entry.
Despite the delay, there was a collective sigh of relief when it was revealed the Texas-based studio would once again be involved with the series. Still, it's been quite a while since Retro worked on a Metroid game. In fact, its last release was the third entry in 2007. Are the same people who even worked on the original trilogy series still about?
According to VGC, "half of the full-time" developers who worked on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are still at the studio more than a decade later. There was reportedly around 50 people working full-time on the Wii title and to do this day, about 27 of those individuals remain. This supposedly includes a total of four contractors who signed on permanently with the studio. As for the staff who worked on the original title on GameCube, there is believed to be "less than ten of the 40-plus team" still present. VGC further explains how "virtually all of the lead creators" have now left the studio.
Perhaps the most notable departure was Mark Pacini - the lead designer for all three Prime games, who eventually joined Armature (ReCore) in 2008. The series' lead artist, Todd Keller, followed him and so did five other developers. Seven others moved to Bluepoint Studios (responsible for the HD remaster of Shadow of the Colossus) and various other team members took up positions at companies like Bethesda.
In more recent months, Retro Studios has posted multiple job listings on its official careers page. This project obviously has a long way to go, so it's now a matter of waiting patiently for the game and hoping Nintendo can get it right the second time around (with the assistance of Retro Studios, of course).
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 47
They've remained consistent thus far! Love Retro. First post!
After that much time it is inevitable that they will go through drastic team changes, DKC TF was still amazing though so I have faith in them, it's just that we haven't seen anything from them other than that in such a long time that gives me cause for concern.
No one better expect ANY Metroid Prime 4 news for the next 2 years. We are not going to hear about it this year, we are not getting a trailer next year, and absolutely in no way possible will we be getting the game till at least 2022. Both Breath of the Wild 2 and Bayonetta 3 will be out long before that game is.
They may have lost a few key players when it comes to Metroid Prime, but after DKC:TF, I’m not the least bit worried with the current Retro Studios team. They can handle it.
Bluepoint is amazing. I wish they were working on Switch games! I hope Retro can hire great programers and artists, whatever is needed. I want Prime 4 to be it's best! I'd also love for Nintendo to start making a 2D Metroid. Doesn't matter if it's new or a remake, as long as it runs at 60fps (unlike Samus Returns with it's horrible 30fps!).
@arekdougy Did you rush to get the first post and say "love Rare" instead of "love Retro"? Hey I love Rare too!
Speaking of Metroid Prime 3. I enjoyed this game when it came out. However while re-playing it about a year ago, it seemed a little silly. I believe the additional characters didn't really age well and just made the overall experience a little hokey. My son loved it though so I was happy.
Prime 1 has aged beautifully and is in dire need of an HD re-master!
Doesn’t matter how long this game takes, I just how the wait will be worth it. Really looking forward to seeing what Metroid on the switch is going to look like!
I've just resigned myself to not knowing anything until the game comes out. Maybe it will be 2020 and the game will be revolutionary, maybe 2021 and the game is "just another Metroid Prime". I have faith that it won't be garbage, and hope it will be great. And it will get here when it gets here.
No Metroid game has ever disappointed me, even if they haven't set me on fire. Even Hunters and MP Pinball on the DS were great little games. (Note that I haven't played Federation Force).
Surely i cant be the only one who saw the picture in the headline and thought a Metroid game just got announced
It's been some time since they've belted out a Metroid title, but it's reassuring to learn that about half of the team for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption still remains. I'm pretty confident that they'll work with Nintendo to deliver a quality product. Both Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze are amazing games that exude plenty of care and charm.
Prime 3 is the weakest of the 3
......half? I thought only the key developers left. I can't believe that many people left.
@PBandSmelly I believe there is and it's titled Federation Force
@GrizzledVeteran Yes...I just so happened to...say that I love Rare...in addition to Retro...hmmm, yes, that is indeed what I meant to do! Ahahaha
@Valdney The bar is set quite high, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. I just prefer the "connected singular world" structure of the first two. Prime 3 is still an outstanding action adventure title.
just waiting patiently no not really this stinks bummed. We are still so far away from a release. I turn 50 this year don’t have much time left on Zeebes oops I mean earth
Just make it a mobile game.
I still wonder what they were doing after DKTF 🤔
Anyway, nice news
Still, I hope they have the original script... There was a small cliffhanger or something
@Kainbrightside Joycons don’t need a sensor bar. Labo VR kit uses pointer controls in the garage mode. So there’s hope.
Metroid and Retro have never let me down before and I have no reason to believe that this will be any different.
@Xelha Making a weaker game in the hands of a talented development team (which Retro are) means only good things for a sequel, because they can improve on many of the shortcomings of the previous game.
Making a masterpiece and following it up with a lesser sequel is much easier.
I have high hopes for Prime 4 simply because you can tell they're really taking their time with it. Really wouldn't worry about Prime 3 being the (arguably) weakest point of the series.
Given that it's literally been a dozen years, I'd say that's impressive.
Now I wonder what we get first: Metroid Prime 4 or Fusion Remake?
Remember the ending in Samus Returns?
Though, there were such "endings" in MP3 and MPFF
I’d prefer to know how many remain from the first Metroid Prime game. Metroid Prime 3 is nothing compared to the greatness of the first game, and in my opinion is not a great game at all. I mean, it had cutscenes and dialogue with silly looking aliens! Not necessarily Retro’s fault, and they made DKC TF in the time since which is a great game.
Damn we need the Trilogy remake in the mean time. This year would be good!
@GravyThief the article says less than 10 of the 40 strong team that developed MP1 remain at Retro...
@datamonkey ah, that’s what I get for quickly catching up on NL articles in the morning before I start work!
That’s the headline for me then, less of a positive spin.
30 comments and no love shown yet for MP2 : Echoes ? It has to be my favorite. I loved the Trilogy as a whole but the atmosphere of isolation and the feeling of claustrophobia that ensued in the Aether in MP2 was game design witchcraft.
MP1 had a consistent ambiance while MP3 was a little all over the place (lava temple! sky station! lost haunted ship! it felt like a Zelda compilation on YouTube), but I'd still replay it over and over if I had the chance.
Retro Studios, even though the whole original staff isn't there anymore is still the best studio to work on this.
Staff at development companies leave all the time. There’s such a demand for them that they get poached left, right, centre. Retro has made consistently good games, so it bodes well.
What I want to know is whether that other game they’ve been working on for years has been canned, or if it still has a small team finishing it up.
Yeah, MP3 wasn't very good. But I suspect that was because they tried to attract the people who bought the Wii for Wii sports and games like that. To me, MP2 (Echoes) is still the masterpiece in the trilogy.
Can we get a Metroid Prime trilogy re-release in meantime?
Having played the HD remaster of Shadow of the Colossus with high expectations (never having played the original) can't say I was impressed. Maybe the game was broke and terrible before they got their hands on it?
@coleman83 Crikey, that has to be one of the highlights of this console generation for me so far. The original Shadow of the Colossus was great to begin with, got better with the PS3 hd version, and got incredible with the last remake. Ah well, different tastes and all that.
Metroid Prime 3 was mediocre though, that's a fact.
@echoplex It's definitely my favorite in the Prime series today in spite of my complicated feelings for it during my childhood.
The unique, oppressive atmosphere (especially compared to the more by-the-numbers video game-y areas of its predecessor), the engaging desperate plight of the Luminoth, the exciting combat difficulty, the unique structure of the world, the uplifting resolution that makes all the struggles and darkness you went through feel justified... It's a wonderful title that sadly got overshadowed by being compared to a predecessor that completely changed the public perception of what a Metroid game could be.
@NullPointerExcep I've been pondering that too. I think they must have had a game scrapped themselves at some point, or else it seems like their DKC3 or whatever would have been announced.
I dont think that Prime 3 was bad or mediocre, it was fantastic, in fact on first release it was my favourite of the trilogy because of the new control scheme.
If Prime 4 is anywhere near as good as any of the first 3 games then It'll be vying to be my favorite Switch title (alongside Fire Emblem and potentially Bayonetta 3).
I'm amazed that many people stuck around a dev studio that long! I'm a little more optimistic now for M4!
Retro makes good games, but I would feel much better if someone from the original MP team came back (director or lead artist at least). The truth is that while the people still there have proven themselves with solid games, they are not the type of games that line up with Metroid Prime well. And those 27 remaining from Prime 3 could all be coders and not design or art people.
I'm hopeful for this game, but not convinced it will be a return to form, yet. One additional problem is that Metroid Prime was technically amazing for its day and Nintendo doesn't have a platform to compete well in that arena. It will have to be clever with graphics and gameplay and brave enough to stand out in some way from the others, like Breath of the Wild... but how likely is that with so much riding on it? Tough place Retro is in. I hope for the best.
For the record as there seems to be an undercurrent going on about comparing the Prime games:
I think Prime and Echoes stand up to the passage of time the best, but 3 was amazing the first time I played through. The cutscenes were uneven and sometimes problematic, but the tragic nature of the story eventually helped balance that. The art direction and the corruption that affected Samus and how that progressed to the finale was very nice.
The motion controls will always be divisive, I think. Aiming with the Wiimote was much preferred by me though (and I loved how the remaster added that to the others) The motion of ripping off shields with the grapple was my favorite and it really is too bad it released before motion+ as it would have reduced the fiddly nature of the interactions. I'm sure some didn't feel those were as immersive as they could be, but I ate it up.
Still, the overall game design and pacing of the original was the best (if you are paying attention to the 12 keys along the way) and Echoes is just very immersive and, again, fully committed to its art design. The pacing was a little dicey and the difficulty of the remaster settled in nicely.
All of them have great, great moments and aspects and it is a truly great trilogy.
@locky-mavo
They've lost all the team leads from DKC TF at this point too. Vince Holy, Tom Ivey, Mike Wikan and Kynan Pearson are all gone. Retro burns through senior staff at a much higher rate than comparable Western studios.
Recore was a great game that deserved more attention. I'm surprised their hasn't been any talk of a Switch port.
@JasmineDragon I was pleasantly surprised by Fed Force, after all the hate i wasn't expecting much but the campaign is surprisingly good, not amazing by any means (especially by Metroid's high standards) but it doesn't deserve all the hate it gets. It's actually quite impressive for an FPS on the 3DS, it is quite atmospheric and the 3D effect makes the game look lush, defo worth a go if you have a 3DS i feel
Let's not forget that the past two projects Retro did seemingly were canceled. So I wouldn't have much confidence at this point until we see something.
@Zorox88 Because Microsoft owns the studio and IP
@Toadie Yeah, I've heard that from a few people. That ship has sailed, though. I hardly touch my 3DS these days and I've got a shameful backlog of Switch, PC and DS/3DS games.
In a way it's not reassuring. Makes me wonder how fresh the game will be.
3 was the weakest...because it was the most lineair! Instead of one big planet they chose a couple of planets (levels if you will). There was also less focus on collecting. Both decisions may have been Nintendo's fault. The aiming and ripping shields apart was amazing in my opinion.
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