The N-Files: Metroid and Wii U

Let’s pretend you, the person reading this blog, is a bottomless pit of game creation talent. You just got contracted to work for Nintendo on a one-time game deal. Satoru Iwata walks into your office on your first day, hands you the key to Nintendo’s Scrooge-McDuck money pit, and says, “Your platform is Wii U, and we’re giving you Metroid. Make it.”

There is a big part of me that hopes this scenario has already played out several times, with all of Nintendo’s franchises. I personally love my Wii U, and I love what Nintendo has done in the past with so many great franchises. Thus, I still hope there is something huge coming down the pipe. I hope this for no other reason than: there could be. Nintendo had the ball, and dropped it, but they’re still Nintendo. I still have hope.

I_Want_to_Believe

 

So, back to the scenario at hand. Let’s conspire. If you had all the cash, all the permission, and all the resources at your disposal to make an awesome Metroid game on Wii U, what would you do?

Bring it online!

The first thing I would try to do with a new Metroid game is to create an online multi-player experience, beyond Miiverse. A bunch of bounty hunters running around, finding upgrades, and using them to blast away at eachother? Sounds like a Chozo engineer’s dream. I imagine something like a cross between N64 Rare’s Goldeneye and Treyarch’s Call of Duty, with something similar to Metroid Prime’s engine. Part of me feels like this should have happened a long time ago.

Don’t fix what was already awesome.

The Gamecube’s Prime trilogy was one of the most immersing game experiences to my recent memory. In HD with a new story line, I think the game would feel as fresh as ever, even using basically the same style of gaming engine.

Samus, plus the Gamepad, equals success.

This should be the franchise that answers all the questions about Gamepad utilization. One way or another, the gadgetry of the Wii U console is almost perfect for all the upgrades and suit options that Samus Aran unlocks throughout the game.

You could get really creative and do something like strapping the Gamepad to a forearm, while using the WiiMote-Nunchuk combo to navigate and shoot. Then, you could control the ship the same way Samus does, using a control scheme on your  wrist. Crazy? Yeah, but still, if that happened, you’d be matching the lore of the game to your controller, which is pretty cool to think about.

I should put a disclaimer here that I’m not a game designer, or an artist, or a coder. I don’t know what it would take to make any of this happen, or if it is possible, but I hope that there are at least a few people at Big N doing some dreaming about what is next for Metroid on the Wii U.

What would you want to see happen next with this franchise?