Metroid Prime: FF – not just an FPS, important plot, meeting Samus, more talk of wanting to continue after Prime 3, more
Wired is the latest outlet to have published an article with commentary from Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe. Tanabe discussed Metroid Prime: Federation Force in-depth, including how it’s more than just a shooter, bits about the story (and how it’s important to Prime’s overall plot), how it’s players’ “first chance to actually see Samus in-game”, and more. He also again touched on wanting to continue the Prime series after the ending of the third game.
Read on below to read up on what Tanabe said. You can also find Wired’s full article here.
– Tanabe sees himself as an outsider
“I was trained to look at [Metroid] from a different perspective. I’d never seen anything that focused on the Galactic Federation against the Space Pirates. I thought that would be an interesting idea to explore.”
– Tanabe says the game isn’t just about playing matches of Blast Ball for victory on the space pitch
On one of the planets players will visit…
“On one of them, there will be research that the Federation has to conduct, and they get to the planet thinking it’s an abandoned place that the Federation used to use before, but they find out that the Space Pirates have been using that place to plot something against the Galactic Federation. Creating the ultimate weapon.”
– Tanabe doesn’t want the game’s missions to be just a series of firefights against enemies
– That’s what Next Level Games came up with at first.
“Their idea of first-person shooting games is to have a lot of targets to go through. I also wanted, instead of having an abundance of enemies to shoot around, to have more time to be able to get used to the controls.”
“There’s one mission where you have a railway with carts on top of it, and your mission will be to push that from beginning to end. The point of this mission will be to avoid the magnetic force against you to get the carts onward to the goal, and there you have the Space Pirates spawn to add to that, to be in your way.”
“It’s not just about bringing [enemies] that are clever, but also focusing on other ideas that I could implement in the game to make things a little trickier and more challenging for players to go through a single mission.”
– This is when Next Level had its a-ha moment
“We’re not just creating a first-person shooter game, we’re creating a Nintendo game.”
– Tanabe’s desire to create a first-person shooter type game where beginners and advanced players could play together is where “Blast Ball” came from
“If you have this huge target, this huge ball in the middle of the field, it would make it easier to learn aiming and control skills.”
– In the game’s story mode, Blast Ball comes as a replacement for a standard “tutorial” type level
– Tanabe says he isn’t in charge of Metroid as a whole
– Nintendo producer Yoshio Sakamoto leads the way on Metroid
On wanting to continue the Metroid Prime story after the third game…
“Are you familiar with the ending of Prime 3? You might remember the scene where Samus gets on the ship and you see the planets, but after that, there’s another ship that lands in that place. That was actually Sylux, who appeared in Metroid Prime Hunters. In my mind, I still have that idea where Sylux is going after Samus. So to continue that story is something I’d love to work on.”
On where Federation Force fits in and how it’s sort of like The Avengers…
“Just to watch the movie Avengers to see what it’s all about, I watched the single [movies] that focused on each hero. While there has been some negative feedback, this is something that will be very important in the plot, the whole idea of the Prime universe.”
“So far, all the games have been focused on you as a player being Samus. This is your first chance to actually see Samus in-game, through your own eyes. There will definitely be a chance for you to meet with her in the game.”
“When [other Nintendo employees] see the games I create, they might be unique, and people may not agree with them.”
– They ultimately let him run with it, because they know Tanabe delivers quality
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to make games that focus on Tingle.”
