Before the release of Metroid: Other M, a ten page “guide book” was shared in Japan to introduce players to the game. Metroid community artist Dana Nicole graciously provided us with scans of the guide book, and we asked Darts to translate it into English for our readers. The guide includes developer commentary from the leaders of Project M, which was a partnership between Nintendo, Team Ninja and D-Rockets.

Feel free to take a copy.

A Famicom game with the latest technology

Famicom Style

Play with the + Control Pad and 2 buttons, Famicom-style

Control Samus with the + Control Pad and 2 buttons (1: beam, 2: jump). The same button will automatically switch to a different action depending on the situation, allowing for a wide range of actions while keeping the controls simple.

Famicom Style

With a single button, perform flashy “Melee Actions”

Lethal Strike

Get close to a downed enemy and deliver the finishing blow with the 1 button.

Sensemove
Press the + Control Pad right as an enemy attacks to perform a spectacular dodge.

Overblast

Climb on top of an enemy with the 2 button and deliver a powerful beam shot with the 1 button.

Search View

Point to an area you want to explore to enter Search View

By holding the Wii Remote vertically and pointing towards the screen, you can switch to Search View and enter Samus’s perspective. From there, you may see things you couldn’t in the third-person perspective (Normal View), such as hidden items or paths.

Normal View ↔ Search View

No matter the location, change your perspective by simply holding the controller differently.

Story

A dream—I had been reliving the tragic moments of my recent past.

I don’t know how much time passed since then.

I was travelling in my Star Ship when I unexpectedly received a signal.

Code name: “Baby’s Cry.”

A common SOS with the urgency of a baby crying…

The nickname comes from the fact that the purpose of the signal is to draw attention.

The signal was coming from a remote part of space. I altered the course of my ship as if this detour had already been part of my flight plan.

History

The terrifying life-form, Metroid…

Released on August 6th, 1986, Metroid is an action game characterized by its sci-fi-inspired setting, and its puzzle-solving element in the form of a giant explorable map.

A Galactic Federation research vessel discovered and acquired an unknown life-form on planet SR388: Metroid. However, on its return journey to the Galactic Federation, the research vessel was attacked by Space Pirates, and the Metroid was stolen. Metroids can multiply simply by being exposed to beta rays, and have the ability to latch onto other organisms and drain their life-energy. By exploiting those abilities, the Space Pirates intended to conquer the galaxy. Dispatched by the Galactic Federation, the lone Samus infiltrated planet Zebes, which had been turned into the Space Pirates’ base, and after a fierce battle, she successfully destroyed their underground fortress, along with Mother Brain.

[Console logo]

Family Computer Disk System

History of Metroid

That baby Metroid took me to be its mother…

The second entry in the Metroid series, released on January 21st, 1992.

Research ships and special combat groups sent to reinvestigate planet SR388, where the Metroids were first discovered, disappeared one after another. Concluding that Metroids, still living in the planet underground, must have been the cause of these disappearances, the Galactic Federation gave Samus the order to exterminate the Metroids. Samus completed her mission and defeated the Queen Metroid in the deepest part of the planet, but then, right before her eyes, a Metroid hatched from an egg. As she was the first thing it saw upon being born, the Metroid mistook Samus for its mother. Samus couldn’t bring herself to kill the baby Metroid, and instead took it to the Galactic Federation’s Space Science Academy, where its study might result in peaceful applications of Metroids.

History of Metroid

The baby gave me power. And then it was destroyed above my head…

The third entry in the Metroid series, released on March 19th, 1994.

Planet Zebes was being rebuilt by Space Pirates survivors. At that time, Samus’s nemesis Ridley attacked the Space Science Academy and captured the baby Metroid, now the last of its kind. Gathered on the rebuilt planet Zebes, the Space Pirates were once again planning to use Metroids as biological weapons. Determined to reclaim the baby Metroid and thwart the Space Pirates’ plans, Samus once again headed to planet Zebes. In the end, the baby sacrificed itself and gave Samus the power to defeat Mother Brain. Due to a self-destruct sequence, planet Zebes exploded and vanished from the galaxy.

[Console logo]

Super Famicom

History of Metroid

“Baby’s Cry”…
It was as though it was crying specifically for me…

“The Challenge of Project M”

— The following are excerpts of the Metroid: Other M developer interview, published on metroid.jp.

The creator of Metroid
Yoshio Sakamoto of Nintendo

Profile:

Yoshio Sakamoto

Game Designer of the Software Planning & Development Division.

In addition to the Metroid series, he took part in the development of various games including the WarioWare series and Tomodachi Collection.

I aimed to create a Metroid that anyone could play, that people who played Metroid a long time ago and don’t play much games nowadays could easily pick up and play.

A game that can be played with just one Wii Remote. This was the one aspect I absolutely wouldn’t budge on; in fact, I felt that if that couldn’t be done, the project might as well not exist.

After all, Metroid started as a Famicom game, so I was strongly fixated on allowing the player to perform all sorts of flashy actions, while remaining as simple to play as it was on the Famicom, with only the + Control Pad and 2 buttons…

[Image caption]

*From “Developer Interview Video: The Challenge of Project M”

The person in charge of the action
Yosuke Hayashi of Koei Tecmo Games’ Team NINJA

Profile:

Yosuke Hayashi

The leader of Team NINJA, reputed for their action games, such as their flagship series Ninja Gaiden Sigma. 

Because it’s a series I had known since childhood, and because I make games at Tecmo, I never thought I would one day work on Metroid!

Our action games make full use of the available buttons, and the players who are familiar with action games really enjoy them, but we always felt there must also be a lot of people who are playing for the first time and aren’t used to this genre. So when Mr. Sakamoto told me he wanted to create a 3D action game that’s played with a single Wii Remote, it immediately clicked with me. Normally, you’d need to do complex inputs to execute flashy moves, but here, we wanted very simple commands to result in those flashy moves…

The person who directed the story
Ryuji Kitaura of D-Rockets

Profile:

Ryuji Kitaura

From Creative Unit “D-Rockets”.

Handles the planning and directing of a variety of video content, ranging from TV commercials to trailers and game cutscenes.

For players to be fully immersed in the story, we had to make sure they wouldn’t lose the motivation to play the game. This meant the story should never be interrupted, and we aimed to convey its key moments through voice acting, music, and pre-rendered cutscenes.

Because we needed to effectively portray Samus’s emotions as the story went on, we put a lot of work into Samus’s facial expressions, using what we call “rigs”, like moving joints. So when she opens her mouth, it also affects her cheeks, when she blinks other parts of her face move too, and all of it adds up to make her feel alive. It’s hard to notice, but even her eyeballs move a little. This is the first time we’ve gone this far to portray a character’s emotions…

[Official website screenshot]

metroid.jp

Trailers and Developer Interview now available

[Video titles]

Release on 9/2. MSRP ¥6,800 (tax incl.)

Metroid, Funroid

Translated by: Darts

Special thanks: Dana Nicole