Last February, EvB – otherwise known as EvilBoris, said that “Retro are definitely working on something Donkey Kong related.” He added that it could be awhile before we saw anything from that. When someone praised Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, he also responded with: “Funny you should say that”.

More: David Wise, Retro Studios

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Switch boxart

Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Switch | 39 Comments

Nintendo has released the boxart for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Switch. See the packaging image above.

More: boxart, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Switch screenshots

Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Switch | 4 Comments

Nintendo has prepared a handful of screenshots showing Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Switch. We have them below.

More: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios

Designer talks about how Retro Studios turned an original FPS into Metroid Prime

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 15 Comments

Metroid Prime has a pretty interesting development history. Before it was a Metroid game, Retro Studios was working on an original first-person shooter that had no ties to anything Nintendo-related. It was only when the big N stepped in and saw a level of the game that the game eventually morphed into Metroid Prime.

Speaking in the latest issue of Switch Player, senior designer Mike Wikan noted:

“When I came on board, the Engine group was significantly behind schedule and there was no way to create gameplay demonstrables in an effective fashion. I was told, quite literally, by leadership that designers would design the game on paper, then hand it off to engineering and art to create it. In my opinion that was insanity.”
“When Nintendo arrived suddenly, wanting to see demonstrables of all the games that the teams were working on, only our FPS had demonstrable real-time scriptable content. Nintendo liked what they saw and proposed we adapt that game and viewpoint, but restart it as a Metroid game.”
“The moral of the story is that if you see a problem, work to solve it; don’t assume someone else will take that responsibility on.”

More: interview, Metroid Prime, Mike Wikan, Retro Studios, top

Deus Ex, Unreal composer working at Retro Studios

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 31 Comments

Accomplished video game composer Alexander Brandon has revealed that he’s working at Retro Studios. Brandon wouldn’t say what he’s involved with, but did mention that “the work is incredibly exciting and the team is awesome”.

Brandon has contributed to a variety of franchises and individual games. He previously worked on the Deus Ex and unreal series as well as Tyrian, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, Thief: Dark Shadows, Neverwinter Nights 2, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Alpha Protocol, and Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Here’s Brandon’s Facebook message:

More: Retro Studios, top

Metroid Prime director on making the game, Nintendo’s influence, leaving Retro

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 32 Comments

Game Informer recently spoke with Mark Pacini from Armature Studio. Although some of the discussion touched on Batman: Arkham Origins – Blackgate and his new game ReCore, he also spoke quite a bit about his days at Retro and directing Metroid Prime.

One interesting anedcote was about when Retro was meeting with Shigeru Miyamoto and other folks from Nintendo’s main headquarters in Japan. After the meeting, Pacini’s boss said that they were upset with him. Why? Pacini didn’t have a pencil and paper at the meeting, so Nintendo felt he wasn’t listening. Pacini called it a “very noobie mistake” on his part, and wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen again.

Making Metroid Prime was the toughest project for Pacini from a development standpoint and getting it completed. “I think it was just the amount of stuff we were trying to do in the time we were doing it,” he said.

More: interview, Mark Pacini, Metroid Prime, Retro Studios, top

Metroid Prime director surprised and thankful of the series’ longevity

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii | 38 Comments

Mark Pacini acted as director for Nintendo and Retro’s three Metroid Prime games. Then in 2008, he went on to co-found Armature Studio.

Pacini is now directing the Xbox One title ReCore – a game that actually takes a decent amount of inspiration from the Metroid Prime series. GamesBeat took a brief trip down memory lane with Pacini while interviewing him about his new game, and asked if he’s surprised by the longevity and how people still play the titles he made back with Retro.

He said in response:

“For sure. I was thankful to be part of the team that made those games. When we were making those, that was never one of our goals. We were just trying to make something cool. It was an unexpectedly great thing, that people started to do that. It’s awesome that people are still playing those games, but it’s a big surprise to us.”

Thanks to Jake for the tip.

Source

More: interview, Mark Pacini, Metroid Prime, Retro Studios

Rumor: Retro’s NX game not Metroid or Donkey Kong, out next year

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 58 Comments

Emily Rogers has returned with some new speculation about Retro Studios’ new project. As one would expect, this new title would be on NX.

Rogers wrote on Twitter a short while ago that the title in question isn’t Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, or Diddy Kong Racing 2. She adds that the project is planned for 2017.

Below are Rogers’ tweets:

Rumor part 2: Not Diddy Kong Racing 2 either. It sounds more like a new IP.
— Emily Rogers (@ArcadeGirl64) April 29, 2016

If I get any updates on this, I'll let you all know.
— Emily Rogers (@ArcadeGirl64) April 29, 2016

Source

More: Retro Studios, top

Rumor: Kensuke Tanabe and Retro no longer on good terms, Sakamoto could be new NCL producer

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 44 Comments

Nintendo’s Kensuke Tanabe has long been associated with Retro Studios. While working with the company, Tanabe acted as producer (or co-producer) on all of its games – the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country titles. Now, however, the two sides “are allegedly no longer on good terms,” according to a report from Liam Robertson.

Here’s one excerpt from Robertson’s report:

“Last year, I was investigating Tanabe with regards to this. This involved speaking to a number of developers who had worked alongside him. The way in which they all described Tanabe’s directorial style was fascinating. Their words built up a portrait in my mind of a Gordon Ramsey esque figure who strived for perfection and berated anything short of it. It’s difficult for me to fully convey my impressions of him without explicitly detailing the anecdotes shared with me in confidence, which could compromise those involved; but I will try my best to elaborate.

More: Kensuke Tanabe, Retro Studios

Retro Studios opens new website

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 29 Comments

Metroid Prime maker Retro Studios has finally updated its website with a new design. You can see it for yourself here.

If you saw Retro’s site previously, you could tell that it was really in need of a makeover. Thankfully, this new one employs a more modern design, and a number of the individual pages have been updated.