Our first feature of the year is focused on the development team of the original Famicom Disk System (and NES release) of Metroid. The year 2020 marks thirty four years since Samus Aran first blasted onto our television screens, and this feature asks where that development team currently reside. Many of them have gone on to create other memorable titles within Nintendo, and some have been promoted within the company to more senior levels. We also remember the Producer and father of Metroid, Mr. Yokoi.
Episode 01 – Introductions
Our first episode of the Shinesparkers podcast focuses on how the team was introduced to the series, and what our favourite games are. Featuring our host Amanda, and team members Darren, RoyboyX and Torby Brand.
Feature: End of Year Feature 2019
We have reached the end of 2019, and while it has been another quiet year for Metroid, we are proud of the content we have been able to put together for you over the past twelve months. As the person responsible for Shinesparkers, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year gone by, and highlight the hard work of the team and all involved in making this community possible.
In total, we have published thirteen new additions to our Community Spotlight page, thirteen Features and an awesome interview with the legendary Idzuki Kouji, the illustrator and author of the Samus & Joey and Metroid EX manga. We are proud to have highlighted some incredibly talented individuals who have showcased some great Metroid fan projects, and to promote the work of our team with their own written pieces.
I do not take our team for granted. Whether they’re a writer, creating graphics for our headers, or doing their bit to ensure everything runs smoothly in my absence, I massively appreciate it and I value them greatly. To the team, I want to say thank you for putting up with my tasks, my deadlines and tolerating my crazy ideas for the community. It means an awful lot!
Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of Shinesparkers. We aim to put together some special content to celebrate this milestone. One thing I am happy to announce, is the Shinesparkers Podcast! Each month (or as often as we can) we will be getting the team together to discuss topics on the Metroid franchise. We are even hoping to bring together some special guests to join us! Please keep your eyes on the website for more information in the very near future..
Our End of Year feature this year is a fun little quiz, which involve members of the team answering various questions relating to Metroid and the website. It was quite entertaining, and we hope you will enjoy what we put together! You can check out the feature below.
All that is left to say is Happy New Year to our readers. We hope you enjoyed what we put together for you, and we hope you will join us in 2020 for more exciting content!
Community Spotlight: Son of Fire Cosplay
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