The Metroid Database

9/9 - Gallery Mode Acquired

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:57:43 -0500

Hola, guys and gals. Got some special goodies for you today. First off, I added the full, hi-resolution Gallery Mode from Other M! For those not in the know, Gallery Mode is unlocked after you beat the game, and subsequent galleries are added as you collect the rest of the items and finish the game completely. BEWARE, THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE GAME!!!

Second, the Brazilian queen of cosplay, Yukilefay, has unveiled some brand new shots of her Zero Suit Samus costume! As usual, Yuki does a stunning recreation of Zero Suit Samus. Be sure to check out the shots on her Deviant Art Gallery.

Last, we just got word that Nintendo World Report will be holding a contest via a special Radio Trivia Live event. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal, but they are giving away some Metroid goodies this time around. If you are looking to win some free Metroid games and swag, be sure to check out Radio Trivia Live on Friday, September 17th. Speaking of free Metroid giveaways, there may be a new contest in the works...look forward to it!

9/8 - Does Samus have PTSD? or, Why Samus has Trouble Fighting Ridley

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:03:36 -0500

VGChartz recently ran an article on the infamous sequence from Metroid: Other M where Samus locks up, unable to fight Ridley (spoilers galore in the link). The scene has garnered LOTS of negative comments from fans of the series, who can't believe that their hero is unable to cope with a monster she has fought - and defeated - multiple times in the past with barely a shrug. What many players might not realize is that Samus is suffering from PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a very real illness that affects millions of soldiers, accident survivors, and rape victims.

Part of this can be blamed on the game's backstory: many people are simply unaware of the history between Samus and Ridley, believing only that she defeated him on Zebes twice (as well as twice more in the Metroid Prime games). Fewer players realize that Samus' parents were killed in a Space Pirate attack on Colony K-2L, though this has been canonical since the days of the Super Metroid comic and Super Smash Bros. However, what many people do not realize is that the raid was lead by none other than Ridley, who killed Samus' mother before her very eyes (this was written into the Japanese manga and while it is never stated in the games, the attack WAS depicted in the live-action commercial). This traumatic experience scarred Samus deeply, and while she was able to overcome her nightmare on several occasions, Ridley's sudden and horrific reappearance on the BSL Station from what Samus had thought was total obliteration was enough to trigger her PTSD, making her unable to cope with the situation. Without this prior knowledge, it is easy to see how a player could have been shocked and confused by this otherwise inconsistent scene, illustrating, if anything, a hole in the narrative that badly needed filling.

To confirm this theory, Stephen Kelley of VGChartz asked two experts on PTSD - one, Darian Koehne, a US Marine who is suffering from the disorder, and Dr. John M. Grohol, a medical expert - whether or not the scene was depicted accurately. Their conclusions are revealing and highlight many of the problems that plague those suffering from PTSD. Let's give Samus - and real people with PTSD - a little more respect, shall we?

9/7 - Yoshio Sakamoto Discusses the Origins of Metroid

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:29:33 -0500

IGN UK has posted a new interview with Yoshio Sakamoto discussing the origins of Metroid and the ideas that went into the development of both the original and Metroid: Other M.

Mr. Sakamoto reiterates that the designs behind the original came about as a result of very limited resources, a small team, and a very short development schedule. Most of the ideas that are now famous - such as Samus as a woman and the Ice Beam - came about purely by coincidence. For instance, the constraints of development lead to the creation of Bombs and the Ice Beam:

In a way, we were stuck; stuck between high walls and we had to think of a way out. This is the feeling we also put in the game. Maybe, you could blast a little hole in the wall? This might lead you to another room or corridor...So we could blast a hole into a wall. That got us thinking � what else could we do, can we perhaps go up? So we came up with the ice-beam... We had very limited memory. So we decided that Samus should be able to jump on frozen enemies and use them as a platform. And that was a great help for saving memory. All we had to do was change an object's colour and by simply changing the so-called collision-check the former enemy suddenly becomes a stepping stone; a really nice gameplay element that hardly requires any memory at all.

Additionally, Mr. Sakamoto reiterates that many inspirations for his games come from film, but are not "consciously used" from them. These inspirations are more "fragments" of ideas that have taken up residence inside his head and which are drawn out during the development process.

As to whether there will be another Metroid...

...I have to admit that I'm a rather greedy person. If someone asked if I would like to make another Metroid, I would say "yes, certainly". But if someone was to ask me if I wanted to do something other than Metroid next, I'd also say "yes". You know, I always want to do something new, something different. And now I'm trying to identify what I want to do and what I should do.

Whatever it is, we'll wait patiently to find out! I'm sure Mr. Sakamoto wants to know what his next project will be as much as everyone else!

9/6 - Old but Good Interview - Sakamoto Talks about His Early Work at Nintendo

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:46:22 -0500

I can't believe I somehow missed this interview! At E3, Chris Kohler of Wired Magazine managed to snag a VERY interesting interview with Yoshio Sakamoto where he discussed his work on his early games at Nintendo. His early titles include Donkey Kong for the Game and Watch, Donkey Kong Jr., Wrecking Crew, Balloon Fight, and Gumshoe. Mr. Sakamoto got his start working with pixel art before moving to design, mentored by both Gumpei Yokoi (his boss) and Shigeru Miyamoto (who was in charge of another department, but would often stop by to give advice). Mr. Sakamoto learned one of his most important lessons from Mr. Yokoi: "If you can draw pixel art, you can make a game." To which Mr. Sakamoto replied, "Well, if my boss says so, then maybe I can. But I certainly know that I have to try."

9/6 - More Sakamoto Interview Madness!

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:35:33 -0500

Yoshio Sakamoto has been getting a lot of interviews lately, thanks to the excitement surrounding the latest release. The latest of these comes from UK magazine Computer and Video Games, which has a rather EXTENSIVE (but often off-topic) interview. It's definitely worth a read, though it's VERY difficult to understand what Mr. Sakamoto is trying to say thanks to a combination of italics and poor translation. Still, there's a lot of great material in here that's well worth digging through.

From initial concept to final product, Other M has been in development for around three years. Mr. Sakamoto is proud of the work that his team has done in innovating Wii controls and feels that the game demonstrates there is plenty of potential still left on the system, provided developers continue to challenge themselves. One of the most surprising things about this interview is that Mr. Sakamoto - and indeed, many of the development staff - felt completely satisfied with the outcome of the game. From the perspective of the developers then the game is a complete success. As for those who think otherwise...

Of course, there's got to be bad impressions as well as good ones. Even the negative ones I am looking forward to seeing.

Which ultimately shows that Mr. Sakamoto is adept at taking feedback seriously in order to improve his design abilities (and that he can hopefully know how to cut through the wails of all the whining babies out there from the fair reviews). As for whether or not we'll see a new Metroid by Team Ninja...

There's always the possibility and if the opportunity comes I'm very willing to work with Team Ninja once again... As far as I'm concerned I'm willing to work with them once again if the opportunity comes but, of course, before deciding anything I have to admit I have no idea about what I should do with this Metroid franchise.

Also, whether or not the next Metroid is developed in collaboration with Team Ninja depends on the type of game and story Mr. Sakamoto wishes to create - and whether or not the next Metroid will be a linear extension of Other M. I would personally like to see another Metroid game with the help of Team Ninja, but I am also wondering where else Samus will go in the future.

There was plenty of interesting discussion of Samus Aran as a character and the development of such iconic characters over a long period of time. Mr. Sakamoto admits that the mysteriousness behind Samus as a character might have been something that kept audiences interested in the series, and so future approaches with the series will find new areas of focus. As for myself, I really enjoyed learning more about Samus as a character; for me, Samus doesn't have to be an enigma to be interesting, and she still has plenty of mystery left about her.

Finally, the interviewer asked PLENTY of questions about Yoshio Sakamoto's thoughts regarding digital downloads and the second-hand game market. CVG seemed a bit TOO enthusiastic about this topic, dedicating roughly a quarter of the interview to it, and so Mr. Sakamoto finally responded, "I think I'd like to focus more on how to entertain people." Bravo!

9/6 - Translated Interview with Yoshio Sakamoto!

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:32:39 -0500

Nintendo World Report has translated a Spanish interview with Yoshio Sakamoto! The interview is top-notch and quite enlightening, with commentary on the original Metroid, Other M, Wario Ware, and the future of the series. Mr. Sakamoto says that many of the ideas that appeared in the original Metroid were decided in an emergency meeting just months before the game's completion and that Samus' gender was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

More interesting, Mr. Sakamoto says that he currently has no ideas for a 3DS game (and isn't terribly familiar with the hardware at the moment), but that he's pretty exhausted after such a long project (I'll bet!). Much of the discussion involved WarioWare, which makes me think that maybe we'll see something new in that series for the 3DS first, if not a smaller title. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll see another 2D Metroid anytime soon, though it's not out of the question:

There are no plans for a new 2D Metroid nor any other similar project. But if the opportunity arises or a new idea surfaces it will be very fun, and I would love to do something along those lines.

So while there are currently no plans for a new Metroid, you can bet we'll see Samus again.

Mr. Sakamoto also says that comparisons with Super Metroid are a bit difficult because "I believe that they are completely different games, and I don't believe that one is superior to the other. I think they are both magnificent titles..." I'll have to agree with this! I'm currently playing through the game again on Hard (and will be finishing it again on Normal as well!). It's a total blast!

9/6 - Remix: TJ's Other M Diary - 09.03

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:37:33 -0500

TJ's Other M Diary - 09.03

9/6 - Remix: Other M Packs Updated with PAX 2010 Photos!

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:55:23 -0500

Other M Packs Updated with PAX 2010 Photos!

9/6 - Awesome Chalk Art from PAX 2010

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:43:11 -0500

If you were at PAX 2010, you may have caught this awesome chalk art of Metroid: Other M by the master, Eric Maruscak. Eric spent the entire conference working on it and finished it up for the final day of the show. Pretty awesome stuff! Thanks again for the pics, sirboulevard!

We're glad to see that Metroid has received a lot of love at PAX. Not only was there an awesome exhibit with the costumes from the live-action commercial, but Other M was playable, and Metroid Metal had an awesome concert. There was even a visitor who sang a song about Samus: "How lonely it is in this suit that only fits one" & "I wonder what happens when I roll into a ball? I guess I need a therapist or at least a massage!" We couldn't agree more.

9/5 - Metroid: Other M Audio Journal on Original Sound Version

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:22:36 -0500

Game Audio HQ Original Sound Version picked up a review copy of Metroid: Other M and decided to run an audio journal. The article's author, Jayson Napolitano, previously did an audio journal and interview with Kenji Yamamoto which has been reposted from Music4Games. Napolitano gives a different perspective on the audio than some of us have had, enjoying the ambient quality of many of the tracks as well as the orchestral scores for the cutscenes, which were performed live by the Arigat Orchestra (Tokyo) and the Asian Philharmonic Orchestra (Beijing). He often likens the score to that of a survival horror game, which is right on-target for some of the incredibly hair-raising pieces. Based on this combination, Napolitano deemed Kuniaki Haishima's score to be "Nintendo�s most high quality soundtrack to date," definitely soundtrack material. This is certainly going to be debatable, given how Super Metroid set the bar for our expectations of what a good Metroid score should be like, but it's good to hear an alternate view from an audio expert. In case you're curious, Kenji Yamamoto did not compose Metroid: Other M because he has been scoring Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country Returns. I'm just as curious as the next guy to know whether Mr. Yamamoto manages to give David Wise's score the same treatment he gave Super Metroid. The Audio Journal contains some vague spoilers, so read with caution.

9/5 - Remix: Metroid Metal: Expansion Pack Review Added!

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:40:09 -0500

Metroid Metal: Expansion Pack Review Added!

9/3 - Remix: TJ's Other M Diary - 09.02

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:47:23 -0500

TJ's Other M Diary - 09.02

9/3 - Remix: TJ's Other M Diary - 09.01

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:47:07 -0500

TJ's Other M Diary - 09.01

8/31 - Remix: Metroid Other M Packs Page Updated!

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:43:36 -0500

Metroid Other M Packs Page Updated!

8/29 - Remix: Correction: There IS no 'Aquasphere'

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:02:52 -0500

Correction: There IS no 'Aquasphere'