metroid
Latest
Phazon Suit Samus statue is ridiculously nice
First 4 Figures has come back around full circle, after completing Sheik and Sonic and his pals, now they've got yet another Samus statue. This one, in our opinion, totally trumps all of their past efforts. Just look at the thing.Of course, the catch is that this costs a bunch of money. $224.99 in money, to be exact. For those of you with a winning lottery ticket, this goes on sale Q1 of next year.
DS Daily: FPS
The latest footage of Renegade Kid's Moon convinced us (and IGN's Matt Casamassina) that the game could be something special, though a few of you evidently still need some encouragement. In the comments, reader John B. argued that no matter how much impressive technology Renegade Kid throws at Moon, it wouldn't be enough, because first-person shooters just don't work as well on the DS.We're of the opinion that the handheld currently lacks a great FPS, but do you think the DS will ever see a triple-A game in this genre, given its obvious technical limitations?
Gamefly sales continue to tempt us
Gamefly is having a sale on some of its used-but-in-great-condition games again, also offering free shipping to spice up the deal a bit. As always, we're passings these savings along to you, while picking out a few we think are worth highlighting for their respective prices: Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire for $12.99 Dewy's Adventure for $14.99 NiGHTS for $14.99 Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for $14.99 Manhunt 2 for $14.99 Victorious Boxers: Revolution for $15.99 Soulcalibur Legends for $15.99 Bleach: Shattered Blade for $17.99 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for $27.99 Super Mario Galaxy for $36.99 Click on the picture or "source" link to see the full list of Wii games, but keep in mind that you might be able to find some of them cheaper elsewhere.
Wii Warm Up: Forming a dynamic duo
We were just wondering to ourselves this morning about the team-up title Sonic & Mario at the Olympics and how such a combination of mascots has been a huge financial success. It caused us to wonder what other kind of team-up could be not only a commercial success, but also a game we actually want to play.And, like responsible bloggers, we decided that we couldn't think of anything good and instead would pass the buck onto you. So, what do you all think? Can you come up with some titles? How about a Duck Hunt clone where Mega Man and Samus compete to see who can shoot the most clay Metroids? Or, what about having Dante from Devil May Cry in a No More Heroes sequel?Of course, that last one is just a selfish suggestion from us.
Brawl Stage of the Week: Metroid revisited
This week we were feeling nostalgic, and nobody's stages sate such cravings as well as Anthony's do. Therefore, we decided to go with another one of his creations. Simply titled "Metroid," this level recreates the look and feel of one our favorite NES classics. In this side-by-side comparison, you can see how well Anthony captured the essence of the original Metroid.
Nintendo dev leaves company, heads to Microsoft
For those of you who keep track of developers and programmers like children keep track of baseball cards, this bit of news is going to be old hat to you. For the rest of the Nintendo loyal, prepare to light some torches and sharpen some pitchforks, because longtime programmer Colin Reed has bailed on Nintendo and taken up a position at Microsoft.Reed was with Nintendo for 11 years, working on such titles as Metroid Prime: Hunters and Pikmin. He now joins Microsoft's Turn-10, an internal studio that is responsible for the Forza Motorsport line-up of games.
Reimagine Metroid in 2D
Behold Metroid: SR388.We always have mixed feelings about sharing fanmade renditions of Nintendo IPs with readers. On the one hand, it would be a shame if things this awesome were kept hush hush, but on the other hand, should the buzz get too loud we know Nintendo won't hesitate to squash the project. In any case, since SR388's creator Von Richter is promoting the digg link, we're going to absolve ourselves from such moral dilemmas and spread the love.The trailer makes this game look like a 2D Metroid reimagining rather than a remake based on any particular title, although some sprites (like Samus's) were clearly ripped. Between the music, original enemies, and intriguing new weapons and abilities, this fanmake has us licking our lips in anticipation. Hopefully we'll get to try it out before Nintendo comes knocking with a cease and desist, should that happen.Fortunately, progress on the game seems to be going quickly. According to Von Richter himself, this trailer (which was released at the end of April) is already out of date.[Via NeoGAF]
Rumor: Metroid Prime Trilogy?
A mysterious tipster sent a rumor in to GoNintendo that a retailer database now lists a product called Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii. GoNintendo's RawMeatCowboy speculates that this would be "Prime 1, (2), and 3 all on the Wii ... but Prime 1 and 2 with all-new Wiimote controls."We believe that, if this is a real product, it's a lot more likely that it's the three Prime games ... in a new box! Or maybe even in the same boxes, but with those inside a new box! Not that that's a bad thing -- the Prime games are very high-quality (even if you hate first-person!), and quite reminiscent of the real Metroids. The first two are definitely among the best GameCube games, and any opportunity to get them in new Wii owners' hands would be welcome.
Three Retro Studios staffers escape, save Etecoons on the way out
Three high-level members of Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios have left the company. Design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller, and technology engineer Jack Mathews' last day at the Austin-based, Nintendo-owned developer was Friday. Shacknews speculates that the three are going to start a new company, which is certainly more likely than the three of them simultaneously tiring of game development.Retro's last released project was, of course, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, after which Pacini said the company would be working on non-Metroid projects. Apparently, even that wasn't enough change for these three -- or they just feared for the condition of their tea tables.(Yes, the title is a Super Metroid reference and not a Metroid Prime reference. Close enough.)
Shacknews: Key staff leave Metroid Prime dev Retro Studios
Shacknews reports that several "key" employees of Austin, Texas-based developer, Retro Studios, have left the company. The studio is best known for its work on the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy, which concluded in August last year on Nintendo's Wii.Staff members said to have been escorted off the premises last Friday include design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller and principal technology engineer Jack Matthews. There's no word yet on what their futures entail, but Shacknews notes that Retro Studios is in no danger of closing. Which is just as well, really, since we're in no danger of not wanting more games from them. We'll let you know when we hear more on this subject.Update: There's some unconfirmed gossip from mysterious dealer in rumors, Surfer Girl, who mentioned that "something definitely went down at Retro" in a post dated Sunday, April 20th. An unnamed individual is quoted in the post as saying, "Pretty much no one at retro would agree to relocate at nintendo's behest, as asinine shenanigans are typically met with little fanfare."
Samus Aran spotted in Unreal Tournament III
Oh, Samus, did you lose all of your suit's abilities again? Is that why you're running around in Unreal Tournament III, picking fights with Master Chief? Wait, is your lawyer okay with this? Does he think all this modding magic is "great?"[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Samus enters the Unreal Tournament III fray
It's all very well being able to play as Master Chief or Marcus Fenix in Unreal Tournament 3, but what about Nintendo fans? Who can they play as? Thankfully, one skillful modder has created a Samus Aran character model to placate the UTIII playing Nintendo mob. The model itself looks excellent and we can't wait to try it out. You can find more information as well as links to the mod (cooked for the PS3, naturally) at ut3mod.com. Go check it out and let us know what you think.
Ask Joystiq: hunting, singing, hating, saving
This week on Ask Joystiq, we tackle Smash Bros Brawl's quirky saving preferences, universal disdain for Metroid II, the Smash Bros Brawl theme song, and the hunt for a classic Apple II platformer.If you have any burning questions, unsolved gaming mysteries, or just a desire for musings from our knowledgeable cadre of writers, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com (and yes, we write it that way for a reason).Q: If you haven't noticed by now, you cannot save your [Super Smash Bros. Brawl] game save to an SD card. However, you can save Vault data (Replays, Snapshots, and Custom Maps) to an external SD card. What gives?-AndyWe asked Nintendo the same thing and got a predictable no comment, but we expect the answer has something to do with forcing players to unlock the game's myriad characters, stages, trophies and stickers on their own. This seems a little overbearing to us, though ... what does Nintendo care if we want to just unlock everything outright? This isn't like Xbox Live, where cheaters get an unfair advantage on the Gamerscore boards -- with SSBB, the only person a cheater is cheating is themselves.
Awesome Metroid II fan remake three years in the making
Metroid II: Return of Samus often gets a bad rap from Nintendo fans for being the "worst" of the early Metroid games. We're happy, however, that some still regard it as a seminal part of the Metroid timeline. In the spirit of Metroid: Zero Mission, one intrepid fan has been building a full remake of the classic Game Boy title, and so far we're impressed with what we've seen.Using Game Maker 7, DoctorM64 has been lovingly recreating planet SR-388 using graphics from Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion. He's even gone the extra mile and recreated many of the original Game Boy enemy sprites in full color. The project has been in development for three years, but has recently ramped up, with a newly released gameplay trailer (seen above), and a fully playable tech demo.We're looking forward to seeing more of this project, and hoping that Nintendo doesn't swoop in and do what they do best. The PC-only tech demo is available on the project's blog, but check out a video of the tech demo in action after the break.
Fan remake of Metroid II is not only awesome, but also playable
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Fan_remake_of_Metroid_II_is_not_only_awesome_but_playable'; We love fans. Not only because we are fans and we're completely narcissistic, but because they always come up with some of the coolest things.Take, for example, this remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the original Game Boy. It may be nothing new for a fan to recreate an oldschool game, but this is one of the best we've seen. DoctorM64 not only did a great job with the sprites, but also tweaked the level design a bit so that the game flows more smoothly.If you want to try this remake for yourself, it's only a click away. Keeping in mind that this is only a tech demo and not the completed version, we're sure that you'll be even more impressed. Also, you can check out DoctorM64's blog to get a feel for the creation process.[Via Destructoid]
Wii Fanboy takes Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wi-Fi for a test drive
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Wii_Fanboy_takes_Brawl_Wi_Fi_for_a_test_drive'; When I ripped open the FedEx package today in a whirling dervish of nails and teeth, I found what I had been expecting: a copy of Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo, the wonderful and kind souls they are, decided this crummy little blog was good enough to get a copy of the game along with the press. A single tear poured down my cheek, kind of like that recycling commercial. It was a magical moment.I then realized I had to work today and couldn't get my game on. As the day progressed and I tapped away at my keyboard, putting up news items and other stories that all 12 of you readers care about, the game sat there in front of my monitor, mocking me. It was almost like some kind of evil temptation, as I thought about just ducking away from my responsibilities to play. I then realized that it is my responsibility to play! I've got to review the damn thing, don't I?And when I heard that Joystiq's own Kyle Orland got a copy of the game too, I decided a few mutliplayer matches were in order. And in the interest of those who don't want anything spoiled for them, stop reading here. The rest of you can head past the break where the real action is.%Gallery-3347%
VC Tuesday: Metroid's Japanese boxart is really great
The Japanese version of Metroid differs from the American version in four major ways: It comes on a disk instead of a cartridge Thanks to the Famicom Disk System hardware, that music has instruments that don't show up in the cartridge version It uses a Zelda-style save screen instead of passwords The boxart is amazingly awesome The Virtual Console version doesn't come on any media, has no box, and, of course, uses the decent Wii savestate system, so that just leaves us with the music. Is better music a fair trade for getting the game seven months after we did?As for Star Luster, the Japanese version differs from its U.S. counterpart in just one way: It exists Metroid (Famicom Disk System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Star Luster (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
Japan's Virtual Console outlook for March: Joyful, Lustrous
Nintendo has updated their Virtual Console page with the planned releases for March. The list contains 10 titles, meaning that we should expect two or three a week. Oh, well. There are some very cool releases this month, including a Japan-only Famicom fighting game from Nintendo (!) called Joy Mech Fight. Other high-profile games include the first Metroid, which will be the Famicom Disk System version and therefore feature even better music, and Fantasy Zone, the second promised Sega Master System games.We're personally excited about the inclusion of Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun, not because it's a good game, but because it's a Virtually Overlooked game. We win again.Famicom: Metroid Star Luster Joy Mecha Fight Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun City Connection Sega Master System: Fantasy Zone Super Famicom: Super Gussun Oyoyo PC Engine: Psycho Chaser Bomberman: Panic Bomber Mr. Heli no Daibouken (Battle Chopper)
Nintendo-themed cases bring style to your DS
If you're still searching for the perfect case for your DS Lite, you might want to check out these handmade options by eBay's munkybaby05. Made with yarn, felt, and plastic canvas, these cases are adorably geeky, and according to the seller, will fit snugly on any DS Lite. There's two Metroid options, including the one pictured above and a Samus vs. metroid case. If you prefer the Legend of Zelda as your game of choice, though, she also has a case featuring Link and another with a sparkly Triforce.The cutest of all, though, are the Mario-themed cart cases, which are shaped like little boxes and can hold about nine or ten games. The game holders are available in red mushroom, green mushroom, or question block designs.Currently they're not too expensive for handmade items ($18 including shipping and handling for the DS Lite cases, $11 for the game cases), but of course, you never know with eBay.[Thanks, GenoBoost!]
Huge discounts and prizes at Play Asia's Year of the Rat Lucky Sale
Bringing in the Chinese New Year, import shop Play Asia has slashed the prices on over five thousand of its in-stock games and accessories. What's more, each order you put in between today and February 29th will count towards an entry for you to win a variety of Japanese consoles, games, and store credits. There's just too many items on sale to list, so we've picked out a few from the DS and GBA sections that might pique your interest. DS game sales: Ryuusei no RockMan: Dragon, Leo, and Pegasus - $48.90 $9.90 Nodame Cantabile - $48.90 $14.90 Operation: Vietnam (US) - $24.90 $16.90 Slide Adventure: Mag Kid - $58.90 $19.90 Oshare Majo Love and Berry (DS Collection) - $58.90 $19.90 K-1 World GP - $48.90 $24.90 Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 - $48.90 $29.90 Jump past the break for the accessory and GBA bargains!
