Metroid producer Yoshio Sakamoto’s involvement with the series go all the way back to the original game. He wasn’t initially assigned to the project, but that all changed when the team encountered some issues during the latter stages of development.

Speaking with Game Informer, Sakamoto reflected on the first Metroid’s creation:

“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.”

The newest Metroid game, Samus Returns, is just a few days away. As it turns out, Sakamoto has wanted to work on a 2D Metroid “for four or five years.”

He said:

“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.”

Sakamoto also confirmed that the new melee counter system was an idea from MercurySteam. He believed “it felt fresh and new, and I really felt a possibility that this Metroid was going to be something new.” Sakamoto added that “it’s a really great invention.”

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