Yoshio Sakamoto E3 2010 Interview

Mr. Sakamoto talks about his first Metroid project since 2004.

about Other M

Metroid was first developed for NES, which is called Family Computer System in Japan, then came "Metroid II" for Game Boy, "Super Metroid" for Super NES, and the most recent version is Metroid Fusion for Game Boy Advance.

But there is a hole in the story continuity between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

This new version is recognized as the one that fills the story gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.

about SAMUS ARAN

A young Samus will appear in the game, as Samus looks back on her past.

You will learn what kind of girl she had been and why she had acted in such a manner.

And now that she has grown up a bit what kind of mindset does she have?

And how will it change eventually?

Now I think we have included this history of Samus.

She has an inner fortitude.

But she is compassionate at the same time.

When she rescues the baby Metroid, this shows her kindness.

But it also means that she is immature and unprofessional.

Her imperfections add to her attractiveness and humanity.

We wanted to show the players that Metroid is a story about a woman who has been fighting the whole time.

So we have especially concentrated on showing the personal aspect of Samus, which is very attractive.

Wii + Other M

The most important factor when we first thought about developing the new Metroid for Wii was, making this game controllable with just the Wii Remote.

The Control Pad and the two buttons for character moves, shots and jumps.

This was the basic rule for us to develop this game, so holding the Wii Remote horizontal was necessary.

Holding the Wii Remote horizontal can replicate the feel of the original Metroid action, which is how the players used to play the previous Metroid games on NES and Game Boy Advance.

The missiles and the beams are Samus' basic abilities.

Our goal was to show her using these abilities in a 3D space.

Making her look great moving around and defeating enemies, giving the final blow...

We applied these actions as new elements.

We'd like the players to enjoy the visuals of the fights with the bosses and the enemies, since I think they look epic and cool.

So basically you move Samus by holding the Wii Remote horizontally, and in some of the fighting scenes you use the pointer as you do in an FPS.

Searching is a very important element for Metroid.

Searching around by pointing, and thinking, "What is this?" or "There is something over there."

That's why we incorporated this feature.

I had been saying that we need to develop this game with those specifications in mind.

I also love the idea of a single Wii Remote controller.

We are trying to make the controls as simple as can be but you can do very cool moves with these simple controls.

We applied some groundbreaking game design, such as automating some particular motions, to make the players think, "Even I can operate this game with just the Wii Remote."

People who grew up with the NES, who are now having kids can feel that it is playable for them.

And kids... Kids these days are good at playing games, but any of them can have the impression that this game is easily playable, and it really is easily playable.

Also, they can control characters' cool motions without even thinking about it.

That impression - playing games are fun, Metroid is fun - will be carried over.

I want all the players to know that not just Metroid but playing games in general is fun and easy.

Team Ninja is an excellent team with a classic game creator's spirit and passion.

Their passion and their effort to create good games came through to me.

I was inspired by them and greatly appreciate them as a game developer.

Each creator is looking at the same goal with their own creativity, and that made this game good.

to fans

It's been a while since we launched the last Metroid game for a home console.

We developed this game so that all the Metroid fans would say, "This is the Metroid that I wanted to play" or "This is the Metroid that I've been waiting for."

At the same time, I am asking those players, "Is this the Metroid you wanted?"

I assume this game meets fans' expectations.

I hope you will enjoy this.