Our first feature of 2023 is now available on our website! As a follow-up to last year’s feature on the Space Pirates, team member Quadraxis has written an overview of their Zebesian counterparts. These pirates were responsible for the attempted mass breeding of Metroids and posed a major threat to both the Galactic Federation, and society as a whole. Quaddy examines the history of the Zebesians, as well as their physiology, culture, technology, weaponry and the wars they have fought. We hope you consider reading this new feature!
Episode 26 – Bryan Walker
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Our twenty-sixth episode of the Shinesparkers Podcast stars Bryan Walker, the former Development Director at Retro Studios, who oversaw Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime Trilogy and the standalone New Play Control! Wii port of Metroid Prime. Bryan shares his memories of working at Retro Studios, answers our questions, and offers his thoughts on video game leaks and the Bounty Hunters in Metroid Prime 3. We also answer our mailbag on the topic of potential downloadable content for Dread.
Podcast is hosted by Amanda, with team member Roy.
00:00 – Introductions
01:26 – Interview: Bryan Walker
26:44 – Topic: The Corrupted Bounty Hunters
32:25 – Mailbag
37:05 – Bloopers
The GameSpot tour mentioned in this podcast: Retro MP3 days
The whiteboard mentioned in this podcast:
Metroid DiC cartoon was going to be part of an animation block
A few years ago, we reported that an animation cell surfaced in the estate sale of a DiC employee, revealing a Metroid TV series was considered at one point. Notably, the cell depicted Samus as a man. Now, in an oral history of DiC’s The Legend of Zelda series, the story editor and writer of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Reed Shelly, has revealed more. DiC had considered creating the Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, an hour-long block of animated shows based on games including Metroid, as well as Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, Double Dragon and California Games. Ultimately, only Mario and Zelda were made into shows.
We may also have an explanation for why Samus was depicted as a man. Nintendo conducted little oversight of the Zelda show beyond providing character designs and a “franchise bible”, along with copies of the first two games. Presumably, this was also the case with Metroid. Since none of the writers were themselves gamers, they did some research and then decided to take the shows elsewhere. Without the internet at the time, or playing Metroid and getting the best ending, they would not have known Samus was a woman and therefore assumed she was a man. Ah, what could have been…
Source: Polygon
Feature: End of Year 2022
Our final piece of content for the year is our annual End of Year feature. We wanted to highlight the Metroid news we got in 2022, including the free updates to Metroid Dread, as well as the wonderful community projects that came to fruition this year, and the content we published. We interviewed seven Metroid developers in writing and on the Shinesparkers Podcast, highlighted seven creators in our Community Spotlight series, and restored some of our legacy content from before 2017. All in all, a good year.
On behalf of the team, we want to thank all of our readers for their support this year. From all of us, Happy New Year, and here’s to more content and Metroid news in 2023! (Metroid Prime 4 trailer pretty please?)
Samus Aran’s namesake Pelé has died
Pelé, the legendary soccer player from Brazil, died today at the age of 82 after a long fight with cancer. Pelé played for over three decades and led Brazil to victory at the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970. What many people may not know is that he was the partial namesake of Samus Aran – her surname was derived from Pelé’s birth name, Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Hiroji Kiyotake, who created Samus, is a massive fan of soccer. This tidbit was revealed in a 2004 interview with the Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream (as translated by the Metroid Database).
On behalf of the team at Shinesparkers, we offer our condolences to Pelé’s family, friends and fans during this devastating time, and we will remember his passion for soccer, as well as his contribution to Metroid.
Source: The Washington Post
Feature: Top Facts You Didn’t Know About Metroid
In our penultimate feature for the year, we are pleased to share eight top facts you didn’t know about the Metroid series! There are lots of secrets most fans know, like the secret conversation in Metroid Fusion or the Geemer that looks like Samus in Super Metroid, but did you know that there are Parasites in Metroid Prime named after the Three Stooges? Or that Super Metroid originally had a marketing slogan or even subtitle? Or that Samus shares a Japanese voice actress with Thomas the Tank Engine and Ellen Ripley? We have investigated a number of mysteries over the years and compiled them into this feature, in the hopes of sharing these secrets with a wider audience. Let us know your favorite facts on our social media platforms, and who knows? In the future we may uncover more!
Community Spotlight: Skylar
Our final Community Spotlight of 2022 is now live! This month, we are highlighting the talented artist Skylar, who became a fan of the series through Metroid Dread. As she started posting her artwork online, she quickly gained attention and fans of her work. The piece that’s in the spotlight header image is one of her most popular, and for good reason. Skylar is studying to become a professional video games artist, and we are excited to see her art in a game someday!
Lost Metroid games detailed in new DidYouKnowGaming? video
DidYouKnowGaming? has released a new video today that covers lost Metroid games that have been rumored for years. Narrated by vinesauce, the video reveals the results of DYKG’s investigations into whether and how far Metroid 64 got into production, as well as “Project Valkyrie”, the prototype that Next Level Games was developing, for which concept artwork was leaked online in 2014. (Disclosure: I proofread the script for the Metroid 64 portion of this video at DYKG’s request). Additionally, former Metroid Prime engineer Paul Tozour reveals an XCOM-like spinoff he pitched at Retro Studios for the first time, Metroid Tactics. Quite a few Metroid games have never seen the light of day, so it’s always fascinating to learn about what could have been.
You can watch the video at the link below.
Source: DidYouKnowGaming?
Feature: Prime: Metroid Reimagined Review
Last Friday November 18th, Outset Initiative released a visual album called Prime: Metroid Reimagined, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Metroid Prime. Our team member Naner wrote a review of the album, sharing his thoughts about its unique take on Prime’s iconic music. In the absence of official recognition by Nintendo of Metroid Prime turning 20 years old, Prime: Metroid Reimagined ensured the date did not pass us without celebration. You can check out Naner’s review at the link below, with the album embedded so you can hear it for yourself.
Feature: Metroid Prime’s 20th Anniversary
Today is a momentous occasion, as it is the 20th anniversary of Metroid Prime! To celebrate, the Shinesparkers team has come together to pay tribute to both Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion as they enter their second decade of existence. These games revived the Metroid series back in 2002 after an eight year hiatus following Super Metroid, and have consistently remained some of the fans’ favorite Metroid games.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on Fusion and Prime as they turn 20. Chime in on our social media pages, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.