Nintendo's Sakamoto talks Metroid: Samus Returns development, Switch interest, connections between 2D/3D Metroid games, and more

Website HobbyConsolas had a sit-down interview Nintendo’s Yoshio Sakamoto, and the bulk of it focuses on Metroid: Samus Returns. You can see all those details below, but there's also some talk about why the DS never got a traditional Metroid game, why it took so long for Samus to come to 3DS, and even a tiny bit of Switch talk.

– Sakamoto says the biggest challenge was overcoming the reputation of previous entries in the series and fans’ memories of them
– There were the regular difficulties one encounters during game development
– Sakamoto says Metroid has evolved in all areas, including gameplay, graphics, etc.
– Sakamoto thanks the fans for allowing Metroid to evolve
– On whether he looked at the Prime series when developing the Metroid 2 remake: “Absolutely.”
– Samus Returns reuses sounds from Metroid Prime and songs from Super Metroid
– Sakamoto feels there are certain sounds that fit well with certain things
– There was never a Metroid on DS due to its tech specs
– it seems that Sakamoto felt the system wouldn’t be able to bring his vision to life
– It took awhile for a Metroid to appear on 3DS due to various circumstances, such as not being able to have the right team
– Samus Returns was on 3DS instead of Switch to take advantage of stereoscopic 3D and dual screens
– Sakamoto has long been interested in a user interface in which a map can always be displayed and using the touch screen
– Sakamoto says Switch is an attractive piece of hardware, and there are various possibilities
– He can’t say anything about developing a new Metroid for Switch, but he’s always aware of potential options
– Regarding breaking conventions of Metroid like Zelda: BotW did, Sakamoto always tries to find new ways to approach games
– Sakamoto wanted to remake Metroid 2 since it tells an important part of the series
– he wanted more fans to be aware of the story since it’s been roughly 20 years since the original release
– MercurySteam gave a proposal, and thought it was interesting to work with them on the remake
– There weren’t difficulties with MercurySteam being in Spain
– the two sides talked regularly and progress continued 24 hours a day as one side could work while the other slept
– Samus doesn’t speak in Samus Returns because she didn’t need to
– On Samus’ role, Sakamoto says it changes depending on the concept and theme of the game
– The same also goes for the approach to narrative style
– The images you can unlock in Samus: Metroid Returns seem to imply something about the Chozo tribe
– Sakamoto only says that it does indeed imply something, but wants fans to try and figure out what’s meant by it
– MercurySteam had the idea to make Ridley the final boss of Samus Returns
– Sakamoto thought this would surprise the fans and they would enjoy it, so he approved the idea
– Sakamoto says the 2D Metroids he’s worked on and the Prime games are different series'
– there is no direct link between the stories of these games
– the goal between 2D and 3D Metroid games was to preserve the timelines for a minimum level of consistency
– Sakamoto also wanted the 3D devs to be free to create the games that they considered appropriate
– Sakamoto is most proud of Samus Returns for having launched a new 2D Metroid that was well-received
– Sakamoto also enjoyed working with the dev team