5 Ways Nintendo Can Bring Metroid Back to 2D

Some established franchises just feel more natural in 2D. Even though I love the Metroid Prime series, I still long for the polished 2D gameplay of the earlier installments. Just for fun, I wanted to think about five different projects or ideas that would suit Nintendo just fine in filling the 2D drought that we have experienced since the GBA Metroids. If you have more ideas, I’d love to hear them

Metroid II Remake

Typically, the Gameboy platforms only received stripped-down ports or adaptations of games that appeared on the full home consoles. So looking back, it is a bit of a surprise the Nintendo released a full sequel to such a popular franchise as Metroid. I’m also very surprised that Nintendo never even released a remake of Metroid II on the Gameboy Advance in the fashion of Metroid: Zero Mission. Since Nintendo never got around to revisiting part II, DoctorM64 has been working on his our remake of the game. His blog not only enough to get your drooling, but it’s an interesting read from a game development standpoint. If Nintendo doesn’t have the initiative to take on this project themselves, they should at least hire DoctorM64 to do it for them.

Metroid: SR388



Another very compelling fan-developer project comes in the form of Metroid: SR388. Instead of re-creating an existing Metroid game, SR388 aims to be a completely original game that uses sprites and other graphics from Super Metroid and adds new weapons, special moves, and enemies. The videos that have been released for this project have been nothing short of stunning and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. And much like my thoughts on the Metroid II project, Nintendo would be smart to embrace a fan project instead of sending cease and desist orders.

Super Metroid HD Remix

I’m really looking forward to the release of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD with hopes that it will be successful and start a trend of retro HD remakes, including some from Nintendo. (I realize the Wii as it stands right now is only capable of 480p, but I am willing to accept lower resolutions as well) I think Super Metroid would be one of the best games for Nintendo to re-master first, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. The beautiful mockup above from Alchemist Defined (the artist behind the Sonic 2 HD mockup) should serve as some nice inspiration.

Metroid Dread

Supposedly, Nintendo had a fresh 2D Metroid game in development for the DS as a follow-up to Metroid Fusion. It was reportedly canceled, but very few people know for sure if Metroid Dread was ever really in development. Whatever the truth holds, it doesn’t change the fact that Metroid fans were anticipating it. If Nintendo had Dread in the works, they should consider revisiting it. If not, they should still think about keeping portable Metroid games in 2D instead of going the Metroid Prime route on the DS.

Classic Metroid DS Compilation

Even if Nintendo doesn’t take the initiative to release a brand new or overhauled Metroid game, the very least they could do is release a nice compilation of their past 2D Metroid games for the DS. Having the original Metroid (and maybe the Zero Mission Remake), Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion on one tiny cartridge would sell very easily at the $35 price range. To me this seems like easy money for Nintendo and a dream come true for many Nintendo fans.