Sakamoto talks Samus being a woman, no plans for another 2D Metroid, the future of Metroid, WarioWare for 3DS more
Yoshio Sakamoto on Samus being a woman…
“Samus being a woman wasn’t really decided from the beginning. She had no sex at that moment. Someone said it could be a surprise for the player to discover Samus was a woman at the end of the adventure. In some way, I was going to ‘have a girl’ completely by chance.”
Sakamoto on how the gameplay system for the original Metroid was created…
“These things are new to people. We were asked to make a videogame with a completely unseen game system. We came up with a pretty complicated / complex game, and without considering the development status, someone had already decided the launch date. Date was close and Metroid was totally unplayable. There was a ‘crisis meeting’ where we discussed how to solve it without losing what we already had in the game. That decision brought the Metroid system to life, with the maze structure, the color doors, the secrets and abilities to gain new access, etc.”
Sakamoto discussing Other M…
“I’m very proud and satisfied with Metroid Other M. It’s what I wanted to do. It’s different to Super Metroid, I don’t think any of them could surpass the other.”
Sakamoto on whether or not the new style presented in Other M is the future of the series…
“People will determine if this is the new way for the franchise. We are not the ones who have to tell them what the trend to follow is, but them to us.”
Sakamoto on the possibility of another 2D Metroid…
“We don’t have plans on any new 2D Metroid, but if the opportunity comes or an interesting idea appears, it could be fun and I’d like to work on that style again.”
Sakamoto on the 3DS…
“I’ve been pretty busy with Other M so I don’t have deeply detailed info on the Nintendo 3DS capabilities yet. I cannot give any future details.”
Sakamoto on whether or not he’s happy with the outcome of the first to third-person system…
“I’m very proud of the first to third-person system. I know some people ask why we didn’t include movement in first person. It’s soon to see if we were right (people have yet to play), but those reactions will be important. When you change to that view, it’s more difficult to recognize your position on the map, and I didn’t want to complicate that and keep the 2D essence.”
Sakamoto on what WarioWare needs for a new release…
“With WarioWare you have to take full advantage of the new hardware, but it also has a pretty strong personality. I should think about that new WarioWare that probably would have to come for the Nintendo 3DS and try to add some freshness to the series without losing its personality.”
Sakamoto also said that a new Metroid title would take place after Fusion in the Metroid timeline.
Thanks to Clingon for the tip!
