What has become of Metroid?

[Spirit]

Poor Samus, Strong for 25 years, not a foot wrong until one game (in my opinion) Other M destroyed 25 years of good grace.

Now Federation Force, as capable as it is, has done nothing to enrich the Metroid universe or bring dignity back to poor Samus.

Coupled with the fact that the Japanese dont care too much for Metroid to begin with and the outlook doesnt look good for the future of Metroid...

The question is this; what do you think of the current state of the Metroid franchise is?

Is it limping into a bleaker future?

Can things only get better?

Or can things still get worse.

 

[Djinn]

Metroid has historically never had a strong following in NA or Japan. It mostly has the prestige of being one of the classic Nintendo properties, and the official Nintendo scifi game. But it has only had a few releases per console, skipping a generation or two, and generally not doing too well next to the other big franchises.

It does not surprise me that Nintendo has largely ignored the anniversary.

 

[Salem]

Only Nintendo know what will become of Metroid, if they give a ****, they'll give us a good one. The Last one i truly enjoyed was Metroid Prime 2, although I never completed it.

 

[CM30]

It's pretty screwed at the moment, since it's clear Nintendo doesn't know what people want from a Metroid game or care.

As for its future? I think it'll improve with another Prime esque reboot/reimagining in the future. I doubt they'll let it lay vacant forever, especially given how big a name Metroid is (it may not sell, but people do know and remember it).

 

[ITheSuperior]

I hope it improves...
However the fact that they closed down AM2R must mean tha they still care about the series, right...

I just love the series and realy want to see a good game come out.
Something in the style of Super Metroid
(or even a remake) for the 3Ds would be great to reintroduce the series and ,if it appeals to the public, work their way up from that

 

[Justac00lguy]

Into the pit of lost Nintendo franchises, which are ignored despite fans clamouring for their return. Tough **** loyal fans, here's mario netball!

 

[Zora the Greek]

Metroid has historically never had a strong following in NA or Japan. It mostly has the prestige of being one of the classic Nintendo properties, and the official Nintendo scifi game. But it has only had a few releases per console, skipping a generation or two, and generally not doing too well next to the other big franchises.

It does not surprise me that Nintendo has largely ignored the anniversary.

I agree with this. Never got into Metroid as a series, although beating the original is probably my greatest video game achievement. I think it stood out in those first batch of NES games, where each game was very distinct from each other. So, yeah, Metroid was the "space" game, and an open-world (like Zelda), but also a platformer (like Mario.)

I think over time Nintendo has built it's brand around a certain amount of whimsy. Metroid was early days and doesn't really fit that image. It's deadly serious. And now there are a million space games with no sense of humor, so I don't really get what Metroid has to offer nowadays as a franchise.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

The

Spoiler: spoilers

ending of Fed Force could hint at a promising sequel on the NX

 

[Spamomanospam]

I have high hopes for it, but I'm not sure how or when those hopes will come to fruition. Also, I'm the one guy in the world that liked Other M okay. I'll give you the story was terrible, but it was fine visually and the gameplay, I would argue, was a damn sight closer to Metroid's roots than any of the Primes. Point is it was fun and I think that's more important than anything else.

 

[Castle]

Just think... there was a time when Metroid Prime was actually considered a Halo contender.

No really. I didn't dream this. People used to put Metroid Prime and Halo side by side and go "One of these is going places. Not college. But places."

Well it wasn't Metroid

If Ninty ever had any particular reason to cater exclusively to a western market (ha! in bizarro world, maybe) they could go balls out developing Metroid for western sensibilities. But since hell hasn't frozen over and last I checked pigs aren't flying I don't count on that happening any time soon.

 

[Spamomanospam]

I think part of the reason Metroid never caught on like Halo was that it wasn't just a shooter, it was something new and unique. It was like a hybrid shooter/platformer/detective game. New and unique things made by Nintendo never seem to make as much of a splash as reimagined, recycled and renovated new takes on the same thing that's been done since the dawn of gaming.

 

[Mipha]

It actually got better with FF and Other M. Which is apparently a very unpopular opinion.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

I don't think Nintendo has shelved Metroid. The very fact that Federation Force exists is proof that Nintendo is still thinking about the franchise, just not in the way the vast majority of fans want.

I think the right time for Metroid to come back in a big way is within the first few months of the Switch. Imagine how enormous it would be for them to announce Metroid-whatever in the January press conference thingy. It would be huge. I have high hopes for the franchise, actually.

 

[BoxTar]

I mean, if Federation Force, Triforce Heroes, Paper Mario Sticker Star/Color Splash, and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival are any indication, I'd say Nintendo doesn't know what they're doing with a lot of their IPs right now. Metroid just happens to be tossed onto the pile, unfortunately. If there's one thing nintendo knows how to do, however, its to pull themselves back up out of a corner. I have a feeling Metroid will come back in a big way, they will sever ties with the embarrassment that is Other M, and we'll get at least one canon OG Metroid game. The only question is if it'll go 3D like Prime, or return to its 2D roots. Either way, I'm excited to see.

 

[SirJedson]

I would love a 3DS Metroid game in the vein of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion