We’re continuing the 30th anniversary celebrations for Super Metroid with our latest feature. We wanted to know where the development team of Super Metroid is now, more than three decades on. Many Metroid fans are familiar with producer Yoshio Sakamoto and composers Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, but many more people developed the game, tested it and marketed it, and we were determined to ensure they were recognized as well. Click the link below to learn more.
Episode 29 – Super Metroid’s 30th Anniversary
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Our first podcast episode of 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of Super Metroid! Amanda and Roy are joined by team member TorvusBolt to share their memories of playing Super Metroid for the first time and discuss their favorite Easter eggs and secrets. We also answer listener submissions to our mailbag about potential actresses to play Samus in a live-action Metroid film. (which according to Amanda are all wrong – find out why by listening!)
Podcast is hosted by Amanda, with team members Roy and Torvus.
00:00 – Introductions
00:53 – Topic: Super Metroid’s 30th Anniversary
19:39 – Mailbag
27:18 – Bloopers
The Nintendo Power cosplay mentioned in this episode: https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/File:Metroid_very_early_cosplay_in_NP.png
The Miranda Lawson-Samus video mentioned in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-6qTVpTIjE
Feature: Super Metroid’s 30th Anniversary
Today marks a monumental milestone: the 30th anniversary of Super Metroid! The Shinesparkers team has once again assembled to pay tribute to Super Metroid. The game continues to be acclaimed to this day due to its atmosphere, non-linear gameplay, impactful story and unforgettable boss fights. We also took to our social media pages to ask our readers for their memories of playing Super Metroid, and we received a lot of responses! Click the link below to read the feature, and here’s to 30 more years of one of the greatest Metroid games of all time!
Metroid nominated for the World Video Game Hall of Fame
The Strong National Museum of Play, an American museum dedicated to the history of play – be it toys, comic books or video games – has announced the twelve finalists for induction into its World Video Game Hall of Fame. The nominees include the original Metroid on NES. According to the official website:
Nintendo’s Metroid launched in 1986 and inserted players into a futuristic world brimming with innovative adventure and evocative music. The game combined the platforming of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and non-linear story elements from The Legend of Zelda, offering a new game play experience. The protagonist, Samus, also gave the gaming industry its first playable human female character in mainstream video games. The game launched a franchise with 13 core titles that has sold more than 20 million units worldwide.
Metroid was previously nominated for induction in 2018. Players can vote for their favorite games on the official website once per day at the link below, until March 21. When voting is over, the chosen games will be displayed within the Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. We will learn which games made the cut on May 9th. Let’s get Metroid into the Hall of Fame!
Community Spotlight: Domus Populi
Our first Community Spotlight of 2024 focuses on Domus Populi, a 3D modeling student and self-taught artist who’s already made a splash in the Metroid community with her art. Her mission is to shine a more positive light on Metroid: Other M and its characters than it has received in the past. We hope you’ll check out her incredible work!
Feature: Smabura-Ken – Secret Trophies
Our first feature of 2024 is a translation of a news post on Smabura-Ken, the official Japanese Super Smash Bros. Melee website. Personally written by Masahiro Sakurai himself, the site featured information on each of the fighters, contests and interviews with development staff. This page concerned the secret trophies you could only unlock through certain promotional events in Japan, including the Samus Unmasked trophy. The site was never localized for English-speaking audiences, and we wanted to ensure this would remain accessible to Western Metroid fans. You can read the translation at the link below.
Nintendo artist discusses designing Metroid Dread’s amiibo
Metroid Dread was released with two amiibo based on Samus Aran and one of the E.M.M.I. in the game. Recently, a Nintendo employee by the name of Minoru Uenaka wrote a recruitment page for Nintendo where he discusses the design of both amiibo, and the key art for Metroid Dread as well. Uenaka said that he referenced his graduate studies in “artistic anatomy” when bringing the characters to life. The team elected to have the amiibo look like they were facing each other when placed beside one another. An image of a prototype Samus amiibo was also shared.
The recruitment page is in Japanese, but Nintendo Everything translated it into English. Both versions can be accessed at the links below.
Source: Nintendo/Nintendo Everything
Metroid Prime Remastered Nintendo Switch Online icons return for a limited time
Nearly a year ago, icons based on Metroid Prime Remastered were shared through Nintendo Switch Online to mark the game’s release. Now, they’ve returned. If you didn’t pick them up the first time and want them, this is your chance! They are available once again until January 4th at 4:59pm PST, so stock up on your Platinum Points!
Source: NSO Icons Alerts
Feature: End of Year 2023
Every December, we close out the year with our annual End of Year feature. In this we have highlighted the Metroid news we got in 2023, primarily the surprise release of Metroid Prime Remastered, and all of the interviews, Community Spotlights, features and podcast episodes we shared. We interviewed a total of seven Metroid developers, including Kit and Krysta, LeRoy Strauss and the directors of multiple live-action commercials. Additionally, we published five Community Spotlights, and our Creative Director Roy led an investigation that identified the vast majority of all previously unknown actresses who have voiced or portrayed Samus.
On behalf of the Shinesparkers team, we want to thank all of our readers for their continuing support this year. From all of us, Happy New Year! May we all receive the Metroid news we have been awaiting in 2024, namely, a trailer/release date for Metroid Prime 4.
Interview: Yasuo Kanemaki
Our last interview of 2023 is with Yasuo Kanemaki, the director of the Japanese Super Metroid commercial! While it was only ever aired in Japan, the commercial has become very popular with Western fans since being uploaded to the internet. This was the last of several interviews conducted as part of the investigation to identify Samus’s actresses. Kanemaki-san had a lot to say about the commercial, from the production design to the story concept, and even a frightening incident that occurred on set. We hope you’ll enjoy the interview!