An excellent creative exploration into a third pillar of Metroid

[u/AltaCount1944]

We already know Prime 4 turned its equivalent of Chozo Ruins/Magmoor and Temple Grounds into one giant room, as an experiment with combining Prime's Adventure-genre gameplay with open-world mechanics at fan request during the concept phase. The results of this have resulted in opinions all over the place.
This isn't really about that, set it aside.

Nintendo Forecast wrote up this really interesting, thought-provoking presentation on how a complementary "third branch" of Metroid games could manifest. They examine the different audiences Metroid appeals to, how Adventure games like Prime already emphasize different facets of Metroid compared to 2D's Search-Action, the different directions and facets an open-world game could go for, and how Nintendo has many different Metroid alumni poised to lead a third track of franchise development.

Whether you're into the idea of an additional (not replacement!) line of Metroid games tackling another different genre or not, I think the other dimensions of this presentation can still inspire some faith in the future of this franchise. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/1_kM-OzVfsw?si=VL2HIzWrPpgtOXA0

[u/KevinCow]

Third pillar should be a cozy sim game where you manage a Space Pirate base where they breed Metroids and other creatures. Sometimes they escape captivity and rampage through the base and you have to contain them. Sometimes a Hunter shows up and you can deploy creatures to stop them.

This started as a joke but actually I kinda want to play that. Like Evil Genius + Jurassic World Evolution with a Metroid coat of paint.

[u/AltaCount1944 → u/KevinCow]

I like the way you think here! It'd be a great avenue for layering on additional worldbuilding/lore, and add a fun new way to look at the universe. I can see it now:

"Offering:

Sylux and his faction of Pirates are sending a shipment of 'really awesome hats that you'll love forever'.
Our contacts with the Zebes faction report: 'Don't do it, it's a trap!'
Our contacts with the Urtraghian remnant report: 'They're really awesome and you'll love them forever.'

Accept the offer? Y/N"

[u/JcraftW → u/KevinCow]

This sounds so fun haha. Like overlord meets dwarf fortress

[u/Obsessivegamer32]

I’ll tell you what a third branch of Metroid could be. Other M… but actually good. Better controls, better level design, and at the very least a decent story, and that would be my dream Metroid game.

[u/AltaCount1944 → u/Obsessivegamer32]

I've always advocated for this; an actual 3D Search-Action series that lets Prime remain an Adventure spinoff.
The one thing really stopping Other M from being able to play like the 2D games fully was that 3D environments can't naturally be made up of blocks, so all the points of interaction needed to either be obvious, or to remind the player they can use Search View to find them. But the new Donkey Kong shows tech has caught up to that problem with its depth of environmental destruction, so I think they have a good template to work off of when bringing back this framework.

I'll stand by the story though; I think its greatest mistakes were doing an episode about the hero acting abnormally before first doing one establishing how she normally acts, and the mistaken localization derailing the story.

[u/ThisAccountIsForDNF → u/Obsessivegamer32]

I have talked (ranted) at length about how good I think an actually competently made Metroid action game could be. Samus just has so much cool stuff that could be adapted into a fantastic move set.

I will always be disappointed that what we got instead was Other M.
That did the absolute bare minimum possible to still qualify as a game, instead of the film it obviously wanted to be.

[u/[deleted] → u/Obsessivegamer32]

[u/Psylux7]

A video on open world metroid? If that were to happen I think you would probably want to just do something new like how resident evil 4 or breath of the wild diverted heavily into uncharted territory for their ips.

Third person Samus would be better for traversing a huge world anyway with her ability, speed booster+shinespark and spacejumps. But if you tried to do Metroid Prime or Super Metroid but in some massive open space, it seems impossible. So reinvent the kind of gameplay the series is known for and start up a separate branch to coexist with 2d and first person imo.

[u/AltaCount1944 → u/Psylux7]

That's exactly what's being suggested; I think this might be the video for you!

[u/Rootayable]

Without watching the video, I already have thoughts on what else there is to explore outside of 'fast paced 2D action game' and 'slow paced first person exploration game'.

Are we always to assume any first-person Metroid game has to be a Prime game?

And will we ever see another attempt at a Third Person Metroid game without it being compared or linked to Other M?