05 Oct 2017
Metroid Prime, Super Metroid Permalink

Metroid progressive rock tribute album The Dark Hunter is out now

October 5, 2017

The Dark Hunter, a new progressive rock Metroid tribute album by Ro Panuganti and Materia Collective, is available now. It features six reimaginings of the most iconic themes from the original Metroid, Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. These include the Brinstar Red Soil area theme from Super Metroid and Ridley’s iconic battle theme (music video for that is below). Ro Panuganti is a musician who’s been covering classic and modern video game soundtracks for over five years on YouTube. According to Ro, The Dark Hunter was influenced by progressive artists such as Pantera and Alice in Chains. He hopes this album will inspire you to pick up a guitar or Super Metroid, Metroid Prime or the newly released Metroid: Samus Returns!

The Dark Hunter is now available on Bandcamp, iTunes and Spotify.

UPDATE: You can watch the Ridley music video below.

Source: Operation Rainfall, Crunchyroll

02 Oct 2017
Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Metroid: Samus Returns Permalink

Spain’s promising first week sales data for Metroid: Samus Returns

October 2, 2017

Retail sales data from Spain has come out via the big Spanish magazine Hobby Consolas:

Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo 3DS) – 6,373

According to their report, Metroid: Samus Returns managed to sell 6,373 units in its first week (week 37, 2017 – going from September 11, 2017 to September 17, 2017). With Samus Returns releasing on Friday the 15th, this puts it at two days of actual availability.

To compare, the magazine also released lifetime sales to date (as of week 37 as well) for the previous Metroid title, Metroid Prime: Federation Force.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Nintendo 3DS) – 3,364

Considering that the latter game released over a year before Samus Returns and only managed to sell in that whole time a bit more than half of Samus Returns’ first week numbers, the Metroid II remake seems to have gotten off to a good start with a promising sales debut. It unfortunately also further puts into perspective how poorly Federation Force performed commercially.

For more comparisons, Monster Hunter Stories for Nintendo 3DS, which released a week prior to Samus Returns, moved 5,491 units, and PS4 title Yakuza Kiwami, which released two weeks prior, managed to sell 2,428 copies by week 37. The next step up for new releases is the racing simulation F1 2017 selling 11,092 units across three platforms with three weeks of lead-up to Samus Returns’ release. More sales data for week 37 is at the source link.

Source: Hobby Consolas via NeoGAF’s Bruno MB

29 Sep 2017
Metroid: Samus Returns Permalink

Longtime Metroid producer indirectly confirms a detail about Metroid Dread

September 29, 2017

Longtime Metroid producer Yoshio Sakamoto was interviewed recently by Game Rant regarding Metroid: Samus Returns. While the game has been met with critical acclaim, many people have criticized Nintendo for and wondered why they would choose to put the game on an older handheld console at the end of its lifecycle, as opposed to the newer and much more powerful Switch console. Here’s what Sakamoto had to say:

“One of the themes we chose to stick with this time [with Metroid: Samus Returns] was utilizing both 3D visuals and a dual screen setup. In fact, I’d been interested in creating a Metroid title that allowed you display the map constantly on a second screen and interact with the elements of the UI by touching them since the time of the original DS.”

This is especially interesting. Metroid Dread was a 2-D sequel to Metroid Fusion rumored to be in development for the original Nintendo DS in the 2000s. Little has ever been said of it, but in 2015, an anonymous source at Nintendo Software Technology revealed that they had seen a prototype of Dread on the DS, which was reported in a video by game researcher Liam Robertson. Later, Robertson mentioned in a follow-up video that the Dread prototype featured a Map on the bottom screen, with gameplay on the top screen. This likely means that Sakamoto was talking about Dread.

With this revelation, is it possible we’ll ever learn more about this mysterious game that never was? Time will tell.

Source: Game Rant

29 Sep 2017
Metroid: Samus Returns Permalink

Europe: New Samus Returns Wallpapers at MyNintendo

September 29, 2017

If you live in Europe and have a My Nintendo account, you can now purchase two newly added Metroid: Samus Returns wallpapers. These are 50 Platinum Points each and come in a range of resolutions to suit your desktop or mobile devices. They join two other Samus Returns themed wallpapers, which are all available until the 1st of March 2018, and can be downloaded from this page.

Source: My Nintendo

27 Sep 2017
Metroid: Samus Returns Permalink

Nintendo confirm Samus Returns for Nintendo World Championships 2017

September 27, 2017

Nintendo have confirmed that Metroid: Samus Returns will be one of the games played at this year’s Nintendo World Championship live from the Manhattan Centre’s Grand Ballroom in New York City on the 7th of October. The event will be live streamed via Nintendo’s YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as the official Nintendo World Championships website.

Check out the announcement trailer below!

Source: Nintendo of America

21 Sep 2017
Super Metroid Permalink

Fan album by Luminist features Super Metroid music

September 21, 2017

The only thing better than Metroid music is even more Metroid music. Luckily for us, Luminist, an electronic artist based in the UK, has produced synthesized recreations from Super Metroid. 

We’ve actually managed to get in touch with Luminist and he’s provided us with some interesting facts concerning the conception of the album, as well as some background information that you can find below.

After the positive reaction I received from my original Metroid: Resynthesized project last year, I decided to continue making immersive synthesizer recreations of retro videogame music. Naturally, the next choice was Super Metroid. (Sorry M2… I don’t think I could do justice to your amazing Game Boy bleep-bloops – and I started this project long before any of us knew about Samus Returns!)

I have recreated a selection of music from Super Metroid using hardware synthesizers (for the synth nerds, I used a Korg MS20 Mini like last time, but a Roland JU-06 features on “Arrival In Crateria”). This time I’ve gone a bit more high fidelity, imagining what Super Metroid would sound like with modern atmospheric sound effects. I will be posting gameplay videos with each track so you’ll be able to immerse more fully into the feel of the game with the new sound.

So, I’ll bet you’re just itching to have a listen to the music, right? Well, Luminist ran into some trouble.

To those looking looking for a download link, here’s a surprise. When I made this album I went through the proper avenues to license it for sale legitimately, but at the last minute it was blocked by Nintendo. Unfortunate for me with the hundreds of hours that went into the project – but they own the rights to the music so they can do what they like with it, that’s fair. The plus side is that you all get it for free now!

There is one snag, and that’s time. I originally planned to recreate the WHOLE soundtrack (notice that it says Vol I in the title) but at the moment it looks like I won’t be able to continue on the project for a while. Unfortunately time = money, and while this is a really fun rewarding project, I need to be able to afford to eat and stuff. Of course if everyone loves this album I’ll keep doing them – it might just take a long time

This basically means that we get to listen to the music for free, but it may make things more difficult for Luminist to continue working on the project. However, if you would like to toss him some support, there is a way to do so!

At this point I have to shamelessly plug (sorry everyone!) – this licensing issue weirdly doesn’t effect my first release of the original Metroid: Resynthesized album (I have no idea either, go figure). So if you like this one and want to support me, please buy the previous one on iTunes or Google Play!

So, if you’d like to contribute, feel free to buy the original album on iTunes or Google Play. Luminist also has a bandcamp page you can visit, if you’re interested.

That being said, you can download the full album in all its glory by clicking on the image of the album cover below! Happy listening!

20 Sep 2017
Metroid: Samus Returns Permalink

Metroid: Samus Returns makes top 3 debut in Japanese sales charts

September 20, 2017

Metroid: Samus Returns makes its debut in Japan’s Media Create sales chars in its first week on the market.

03./00. [3DS] Metroid: Samus Returns # (Nintendo) {2017.09.15} (¥4.980) – 30.855 / NEW

At 30.855 units sold, the game sold decently enough when compared with the other remake of a classic Metroid title, Metroid: Zero Mission on the GBA during the height of the series’ popularity. Note that these sales figures do not include digital sales of eShop copies.

*** Update ***

Here are the numbers from Famitsu. Note that Media Create and Famitsu sales data always vary a bit between each other due to different tracking methods. Neither of them include digital sales. The percentage number indicates the amount of the shipped stock that has been sold through.

03./00. [3DS] Metroid: Samus Returns # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.09.15} (¥4.980) – 28.596 / NEW <60-80%>

*** ### ***

Only the evergreen hit Splatoon 2 and Konami’s new entry in their popular football simulation series Winning Eleven moved more units last week. The standalone spin-off of Uncharted sits below Metroid at number 4. Also of note is that Metroid: Samus Returns released on a Friday whereas most other new releases (such as the aforementioned Winnig Eleven 2018) come out on Thursdays. After the poor sales of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, this is an overall positive bounce-back for the series!

To compare, here is some first week sales data of past Metroid titles in Japan. Compiled by NeoGAF user The_lascar. Metroid Prime: Federation Force data taken from the CY 2016 chart. Some additional Metroid-series sales data can be found here, compiled by user L~A. Bonus shoutouts to the internet’s Cheesemeister!

[Platform]  Title   (Publisher) {Release Date} (Price) – First Week / Lifetime Totals

[GBA] Metroid Fusion (Nintendo) {2003.02.14} (¥4 800) – 49 680 / 155 528
[GCN] Metroid Prime (Nintendo) {2003.02.28} (¥6 800) – 39 829 / 78 384
[GBA] Metroid: Zero Mission (Nintendo) {2004.05.27} (¥4 800) – 39 112 / 85 045
[GCN] Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo) {2005.05.26} (¥6 800) – 17 680 / 40 355
[NDS] Metroid Prime: Pinball (Nintendo) {2006.01.19} (¥4 800) – 0 / 15 541
[NDS] Metroid Prime: Hunters (Nintendo) {2006.06.01} (¥4 800) – 32 613 / 90 028
[WII] Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo) {2008.03.06} (¥6 800) – 34 151 / 74 647
[WII] Metroid: Other M (Nintendo) {2010.09.02} (¥6 800) – 44 103 / 75 578
[3DS] Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Nintendo) {2016.08.25} (¥4.700) – 4.023 / 10.932

Source: Media Create via NeoGAF

19 Sep 2017
Metroid Prime: Federation Force Permalink

Metroid amiibo unlocks secret Paint Job in Metroid Prime: Federation Force

September 19, 2017

It has been discovered that the Metroid amiibo released for Metroid: Samus Returns also works for the previously released Metroid Prime: Federation Force. By tapping the amiibo on your 3DS in that game, you’ll unlock two Metroid-themed Paint Jobs, Flying Life-Form in the Campaign, and Floating Parasite in Blast Ball. The Campaign Paint Job lets you carry packs of five Repair Capsules instead of only one, but Blast Ball Paint Jobs do not give gameplay benefits.

Apparently, dataminers found references to a Metroid Paint Job a while ago, but it was not usable until now. This means that the Metroid amiibo has been planned for over a year and secretly implemented into Federation Force. The Samus Returns Samus amiibo does not do anything different; it unlocks the same Paint Jobs as the Super Smash Bros. Samus amiibo.

Source: Hyrule Blog

19 Sep 2017
Super Metroid Permalink

Super Metroid Developer Interview Released

September 19, 2017

Nintendo has released a new developer interview to mark the upcoming release of the SNES Classic Edition. In this third installment, the interview focuses on Super Metroid with the game’s Director Yoshio Sakamoto and composer Kenji Yamamoto.

The interview highlights personal stories and memories from the development of the game which range from  fun anecdotes to the challenge and emotional journey of working on Super Metroid. It’s a great interview that I highly recommend! You can find the full interview here.

Source: Nintendo of America

18 Sep 2017
Uncategorized Permalink

Metroid: Samus Returns hits UK Top 10 Sales

September 18, 2017

After just hitting the shelves, Metroid: Samus Returns manages to make it into the top 10 releases for the week ending 16th September. It stood at 8th on the list, an impressive feat for having only been on the market for its second day when the totals were counted. It’s also the highest selling Nintendo release for the week, though NBA 2K18 is higher on the list but is digital only, so isn’t counted as a Nintendo release for these charts.

This no doubt signals that the series is not dead just yet.

Source: UKIE