After a long absence, Metroid returned to Nintendo platforms (no, Federation Force DOES NOT COUNT!!!!) via Metroid: Samus Returns, with Prime 4 coming to Nintendo Swich in the future. Despite the pun on the name, Samus Returns is the modern remake/upgrade to Return of Samus that happened on the Game Boy. Add that to Zero Mission, the remake of the original game and you see a small pattern emerging with its 2D titles.
Now, to be fair, both Samus Returns and Zero Mission had significant upgrades. Zero Mission added the Zero Suit levels (which stuck with players so much that Zero Suit Samus became a Smash Bros. character) and Samus Return added Aeion Abilities, 360 degrees of rotations in regards to shooting, and more. But, fans are now wondering, are the 2D games stuck in remake mode? According to Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto, that’s a no. In fact, he feels that there won’t be anymore remakes:
“It really depends on the reasons you have for undertaking such a challenge, whether there’s a need for it, and your own motivation, but at the moment I have no plans for another remake. I think we need to spend time considering whether fans are only wanting remakes going forward, and what that might mean.”
I can speak for fans when we say thanks for Samus Returns, but let’s make some more original Metroid games. To this day, my favorite Metroid game is Fusion, which was a totally original title. And there are many who would love to see a pure 2D Metroid game on the Switch. Guess we’ll have to see if it happens.
As we wait for more news on potential future 2D versions of the franchise, check out why Metroid: Samus Returns makes me happy.
