For quite some time now, theMetroidseries has not been one of Nintendo’s strongest IPs, noticeably lacking regular releases. The most recent game in the franchise to release was theMetroid 2remakeMetroid: Samus Returnson the Nintendo 3DS back in 2017. Aside from the coreMetroidseries,Metroid Primehas been rather dormant as well, with fans waiting almost 4 years sinceMetroid Prime 4’s announcement at E3 2017.
Despite what seems to be a troubled development process over at Retro Studios, with development for the game completely restarting development in 2019, some fans have had their hopes up for aMetroid Primetrilogy to release on the Switch. These hopes have been largely fueled my rumors and supposed leaks, with no official announcements or hints from Nintendo or its partners, but now, some fans seem to be harassing one of the series' former developers.
RELATED:Metroid Prime 4 Hires Former Dreamworks Employee as Lighting Artist
Fans may remember that earlier this week, former Retro Studios developer and lead designer of all 3Metroid Primetitles Michael Wikan commented onthe prospect of aMetroid Primetrilogy,stating that it would take a “herculean effort” to make it happen. Reportedly, some fans hadn’t taken the comment very well, and proceeded to barrage Wikan with abusive messages online.
The news comes by way of theMetroidfan-site Shinesparkers, which shared the message of Wikan receiving harassment via social media. While details were not revealed, Shinesparkers urged the community to be on their best behavior, saying “TheMetroidcommunity is better than this, please be kind.” Of course, it’s worth noting that the former game designer never actually stated that a remastered trilogy of any sort will never happen, but simply expressed doubt due to a variety of factors. These include the fact that Retro Studios would need to “brute force” hard code anyMetroid Primeremaster or re-release,as the game developer no longer has the appropriate tools to do so easily.
However, Wikan did state that the first 2Metroid Primetitles would likely be easier to port to the Switch, since they have already been ported over to the Nintendo Wii, thoughMetroid Prime 3: Corruptionwould take more effort as the game was designed for the Wii’s motion controls. The recent announcement ofThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordHDhas shown that Switch ports of motion control-heavy Wii games are possible, but it isn’t currently known how much work it has taken to rework the game’s controls.
Regardless, fans continue to look towards theupcoming all-virtual E3 experiencein June, where Nintendo is expected to make a plethora of announcements. Among news on theMetroidseries, fans hope to learn 3, the sequel toBreath of the Wild, and even the heavily rumored Nintendo Switch pro console revision.
MORE:The Switch Could Use Multiple Metroid Games if Metroid Prime 4 is Not Yet Ready
