Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread was an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in the late 2000s. It was to be the sequel to the 2002 Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion. The game was listed an issue of the UK Official Nintendo Magazine with a release date of November 2006, but was never released.[1] A message in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) was interpreted as reference to Dread, though Retro staff variously referred to this as a coincidence or a joke.[2][3]

Metroid Dread
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
SeriesMetroid
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
ReleaseCanceled
Genre(s)Action-adventure

In 2010, series designer Yoshio Sakamoto confirmed that Dread had existed, but that staff would start from scratch if development resumed. Critics of the time expressed an interest in seeing the game or a similar 2D side-scrolling Metroid game, and listed Metroid Dread in their "most wanted" list. Metroid returned to the side-scrolling format with Samus Returns (2017).

History
Metroid series designer Yoshio Sakamoto at the 2010 Game Developers Conference

Metroid Dread first appeared in an official internal software list made by Nintendo in 2005 which listed "key DS games set to be announced in the future".[4] This led to the expectation that it would appear at the E3 convention in 2005 or 2006.[5][6][7] Metroid Dread is the only game on the internal software list that has not yet been released.[4] It was to be a 2D side-scrolling video game and a sequel to the 2002 video game Metroid Fusion.[7] IGN editor Craig Harris noted that Nintendo revealed it too early and that people should wait until next year.[8] By late 2005, rumors suggested that Metroid Dread was cancelled or placed in development hell.[7][9]

The game was listed in the February 2006 issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine, with a release date of November 2006. The March issue listed a general 2006 date, with a suggestion to look to E3 that year for further details, but the game never appeared at the convention.[10]

Corruption reference

A message reading "Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion" was found in the 2007 Retro Studios video game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.[4] Corruption director Mark Pacini denied a connection and stated that it was entirely coincidental.[11] Wired writer Chris Kohler expressed skepticism over Retro's denial; he felt it would be believable if Pacini said that it was a joke, but the claim that it was a coincidence was not.[12] The message was edited in the Japanese version of the game, which launched later that year and instead refers to a "dread class turret".[13]

Later discussion

In 2010, Sakamoto confirmed that Dread had existed, but said that Nintendo would "start from scratch" if they returned to it.[14] He also stated that they were "waiting and watching and reading the comments to see what people are interested in before we make any comment on the project".[5] In other interviews, he denied that the Wii game Metroid: Other M (2010)[15] and the Nintendo 3DS game Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) had any connection to Dread.[16]

In May 2010, Harris stated that the story for Metroid Dread was completed and that he had seen it. He claimed that Nintendo was able to "bring it back at any time".[17] Research conducted by Unseen64 in 2015 indicated that a playable prototype was created around 2008 and shown to Nintendo Software Technology and Nintendo of America staff at E3 2009. According to Unseen64, the project was no longer called Metroid Dread at that point and had an art style similar to Metroid Fusion.[18] In a 2018 interview with Hobby Consolas, Sakamoto said that the DS was not powerful enough to create the Metroid game that he had envisioned.[19]

Response

Since its listing, critics have expressed an interest in Metroid Dread or a similar 2D side-scrolling Metroid project being revived. According to Sakamoto, questions about Metroid Dread were popular, especially in interviews following E3.[20] Audrey Drake listed it as her second most-wanted thing at E3 2012, specifically developed by Retro Studios and released for the Nintendo 3DS with "Super Metroid-style gameplay."[21] IGN featured it in their "Life Support: Games in Danger" article.[22] K. Thor Jensen included it in his list of "video games you will never, ever play." He felt that Metroid: Other M was a disappointment and it made him nostalgic for Dread.[23] Patrick Klepek noted that the possible cancellation of the game was not good for "old school Metroid fans."[9] Thomas East included Dread and its apparent reference in Corruption in their list of "11 amazing Metroid facts and secrets." East added that he was hopeful for a possible 3DS release.[24]

Marc Zablotny, a writer for the Official Nintendo Magazine, included it in his 2013 wishlist. He used Kirby's Return to Dream Land, a game originally announced in 2005 and released in 2011, to show the possibility that Metroid Dread could still be made. He also stated that he was more interested in what Dread "stood for rather than the specific game itself."[7] Zablotny later included it in a list of the "15 more Nintendo Games you never got to play" and called it one of the most infamous examples of a canceled Nintendo game.[25] Nick Chester from Destructoid criticized Nintendo for its focus on games such as the Brain Age series as opposed to a 2D Metroid game.[26]

References
  1. https://leviathyn.com/74911/monday-mysteries-project-s-t-e-m-metroid-dread/
  2. Kohler, Chris (September 27, 2007). "Retro: Metroid Dread Name Drop 'Complete And Utter Coincidence'". Wired. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  3. Thomsen, Mike (September 27, 2007). "Retro: Dread Reference in Prime 3 a 'Coincidence'". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. Casamassina, Matt (August 27, 2007). "Metroid Dread Nearing Completion". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  5. Harris, Craig (March 12, 2010). "GDC 10: Sakamoto on Metroid Dread: Please Be Patient". IGN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  6. Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2007). "Nintendo Teases, Denies Existence of Metroid Dread". Wired. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  7. Zablotny, Marc (January 1, 2013). "Nintendo 2013 wish list". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  8. Harris, Craig (September 19, 2005). "Nintendo DS Mailbag". IGN. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2005.
  9. Klepek, Patrick (November 20, 2005). "Metroid Dread Cancelled?". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  10. https://leviathyn.com/74911/monday-mysteries-project-s-t-e-m-metroid-dread/
  11. Totilo, Stephen (September 26, 2007). "Retro Studios Answers The Dreaded "Metroid Dread" Question -- And Other "Prime" Exclusives". MTV. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  12. Kohler, Chris (September 27, 2007). "Retro: Metroid Dread Name Drop 'Complete And Utter Coincidence'". Wired. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  13. https://gonintendo.com/?p=37730
  14. "Yoshio Sakamoto discusses Metroid 64, Metroid Dread and the 3DS". GamesTM. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  15. Totilo, Stephen (June 3, 2009). "Nintendo: New Metroid Is NOT Metroid Dread". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  16. Campbell, Evan (June 14, 2017). "E3 2017: Metroid: Samus Returns Is Not Metroid Dread". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  17. Harris, Craig (May 3, 2010). "Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast Episode 75 - Wii Feature at IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  18. Whitehead, Thomas (July 8, 2015). "Unseen64 Digs Up Development Insights Into Metroid Prime: Hunters, Dread and Federation Force". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. Alonso, Álvaro (July 19, 2018). "Así se hizo Metroid: Samus Returns - Entrevista a Yoshio Sakamoto". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  20. Grant, Christopher (March 12, 2010). "Metroid Dread concept is something Sakamoto 'can't say never existed'". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  21. Drake, Audrey; George, Richard (June 1, 2012). "E3 2012: IGN Nintendo's Most Wanted". IGN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  22. Geddes, Ryan (March 30, 2011). "Life Support: Games in Danger". IGN. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  23. Jensen, K. Thor (January 21, 2011). "Video Games You Will Never, Ever Play". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  24. East, Thomas (April 20, 2012). "11 amazing Metroid facts and secrets". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  25. Zablotny, Marc (September 8, 2013). "15 more Nintendo Games you never got to play". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  26. Chester, Nick (September 6, 2007). "Nintendo denies Metroid Dread poppycock". Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.