Metroid Producer Sakamoto Says He Has Wanted To Make A 2D Metroid Game For A Long Time

Metroid: Samus Returns is due out for the 3DS in less than two weeks, and Game Informer recently sat down with producer Yoshio Sakamoto to discuss his work with the franchise since the beginning. Originally, Sakamoto wasn’t even a part of the first Metroid’s team, but got assigned the project after they encountered some problems.

Sakamoto reflected on his experience with the original Metroid, saying the following:

“My boss told me that the Metroid team was having a very hard time, and as someone who had experience on building video game projects could I go and somehow help this game progress to release? In short, I was forcefully asked to participate. By his tone, I really smelled danger. And as I joined the project and looked around, I realized that the release date was right around the corner but the project had nothing there. Even with our limited resources and time, I figured out how we could leverage the existing components of the game to create variation and an exciting experience.”

“Metroid was one of my first experiences on a pretty big video game project, but I wasn’t sure if players would enjoy the game. I thought that it was a special game, and even then, I believed that it could be a special franchise, something that I would like to continue. Through the development of Metroid 1, I really grasped the possibilities and potential of a video game.”

In regards to Samus Returns, Sakamoto has been wanting to work on a 2D Metroid for a while, as he went on to explain.

“I have been wanting to make a 2D Metroid game for four or five years. Compared to the rest of the Metroid franchise, Metroid II has a unique game design and its characteristics really stand out. I didn’t make the original, but I have huge respect for the original game. It tells the story of an important event in the Metroid series, which is Samus meeting the big Metroid, so I wanted players to have the opportunity to experience this very important event in the franchise.”

You can read the rest of the interview with Sakamoto here.

Metroid: Samus Returns will release for the Nintendo 3DS on September 15th, 2017.