For our final Community Spotlight of 2019, we are highlighting the work of Son of Fire Cosplay, who has created some impressive Metroid themed costumes that you may not ordinarily see in the cosplay scene. His creations include a Phazon Suit, Federation Trooper, and he is currently working on a Fusion Suit cosplay! We encourage you to check out his work by clicking the link below!
Feature: The Elysians
Today we have another great feature for you from our writer Quadraxis! In his third feature on the races in the Metroid series, he focuses on the Elysians from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. While you never see anything directly identified as Elysian in the game, the mark they left on Elysia was significant and their presence is felt throughout SkyTown. We hope you enjoy the feature!
Interview: Idzuki Kouji (Samus & Joey / Metroid EX manga)
We are thrilled to present an interview with Idzuki Kouji, the mangaka (author and illustrator) of Samus and Joey and Metroid EX. They were a four-part Metroid manga series that was published in Comic Bom Bom exclusively in Japan. In the interview, Kouji-san shares his memories of working on the series, collaborating with Nintendo and Metroid Producer Yoshio Sakamoto, and the potential future of the manga series.
We would like to thank Kouji-san for taking the time to work with us, and Antoine Fantys for providing the translation to ensure this interview could be released.
Click here to read the interview (English)
Click here to read the interview (Japanese)
Community Spotlight: Metroid-Memes
Every now and then, we like to highlight an up and coming member of the Metroid fan community who is sharing their creativity. Today, that person is Sterling. He is the proprietor of Metroid-Memes, a pair of Facebook and Twitter pages that share hilarious Metroid-themed takes on the latest internet phenomena and jokes that fans of the series can appreciate. We look forward to seeing more of his memes in the future!
Dark Samus amiibo has a release date
When Dark Samus was first revealed as playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo confirmed that she would get an amiibo figure in the future. At E3 this year, they showcased her amiibo for the first time, and now this morning, Nintendo has confirmed when Dark Samus’s amiibo will be released: on January 17, 2020. As of this writing, preorders have not yet opened up for the amiibo, but we’ll let you know when they do!
Source: Twitter
Luigi’s Mansion 3 has a Metroid Prime: Federation Force cameo
Luigi’s Mansion 3 was released two days ago, and has been enjoyed by many players alike. If you’re a Metroid fan playing, there’s something cool to note: at the beginning of the Paranormal Productions level, there’s a hallway with several posters for Mario Strikers Charged!!, Punch-Out!! and Metroid Prime: Federation Force! All of these were developed by the same studio as Luigi’s Mansion 3, Next Level Games, so this is a nice little trip down memory lane. You can check out a screenshot of the poster (on the left) below.
We’ll let you know if there are any other Metroid cameos in Luigi’s Mansion 3 as we continue through the game.
Retro Studios Hires Halo’s Spartan Artist Kyle Hefley
Retro Studios has recently hired Kyle Hefley, the artist behind the Halo series Spartan designs, as lead character artist. Kyle has spent nine years with 343 Industries and has done various Spartan and alien designs and modelling for Halo 4, Halo 5 and the upcoming Halo Infinite. This comes after a recent wave of job listings at Retro Studios, which still has roles like art director and graphics engineer left open.
Kyle Hefley has also done work for games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and Sleeping Dogs. His experience with the Halo series will no doubt aid his position at Retro Studios, as the sci-fi nature of his artwork will be very beneficial to the development of Metroid Prime 4. You can view his portfolio at his Artstation page.
Source: VGC
Community Spotlight: Warlockthevigilante
Today we are proud to be sharing yet another awesome example of the creativity and passion of the Metroid community in the form of Warlockthevigilante, an animator and artist from the United Kingdom, who is working towards creating his own fan-made Metroid anime! Warlock has been sharing clips of his work over his social media, and we really liked what we saw. We hope you’ll enjoy checking out his work, and we encourage you to follow his Twitter account to see more of his amazing animations!
Shinesparkers continue to search for passionate fan projects across the Metroid community, and we encourage you to get in touch if you are working on something and would like us to promote!
Feature: Metroid Through My Eyes
We’re excited to share a very special guest feature with you today! Today, we are sharing a personal story from Danior Snyder, a passionate gamer and Metroid fan who lives with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). LCA is a form of blindness, but it has not stopped him from enjoying the Metroid series and games in general. Danior shares with us how he became a Metroid fan, how his condition impacts his ability to play, and offers ideas on how games can be made more accessible for players like him. Unfortunately, because he graduated from school, he lost access to the equipment that allows him to communicate in Braille, and he has set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe in order to buy it back.
We also reached out to Fight for Sight, a British charity that researches eyesight loss, for a quote to learn more about LCA and what progress has been made in finding a cure. We hope you enjoy Danior’s feature, and contribute to his crowdfund if you can. If not, spreading the word helps just as much!
Community Spotlight: David Verstraete (Metroid fan artist)
Today we’re sharing our next Community Spotlight with you, for David Verstraete! Known in the Metroid community as Porvia, he is a talented Metroid artist whose work has ranged from humorous with a cartoon style, to serious pieces that pay tribute to the atmosphere of the series. David shares how he became a fan of the series and how he was inspired to start drawing the characters. His work is yet another example of the tremendous talent and creativity that thrives within the Metroid fandom. Please check out David’s story and see his artwork at the link below!