Wesley Yin-Poole
Guest
Nintendo and Retro Studios brought Metroid into stunning 3D with 2002's Metroid Prime, rebooting the series in a first-person shooter style through a sometimes challenging but ultimately fruitful relationship between Japanese and Western teams -- each with their own unique backgrounds and perspectives. But it wasn’t always smooth rolling for Samus along the way.
That’s according to a new book: Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, in which Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe comments throughout, sharing memories and insights from his perspective working with the U.S.-based Retro Studios on a Metroid game. This was a significant cross-seas, collaborative effort for Nintendo. Retro was working on a completely separate first-person game before series producer (and Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator) Shigeru Miyamoto proclaimed it should be a Metroid game. Metroid Prime was thus born. Tanabe recalls: “Metroid Prime was not a project that was originally planned. It was a title that came about by chance, as a result of Mr. Miyamoto clarifying the direction Retro should take… In a way it could be called a miracle.”
The game we are making now is a Nintendo game.
Tanabe frames the relationship between Retro Studios and Nintendo as ultimately hierarchical, with Nintendo having final say. “...Nintendo retained the final decision-making authority, there were many instances early on where our approaches to the specifications did not align, leading to disagreements. Retro often explained, ‘This is how Western studios approach and think about game development.' To help them understand our perspective, I told them, ‘Yes, but the game we are making now is a Nintendo game, and this is Retro’s first time working on one. I’ve been working on Nintendo games my whole career, so I believe I have the most experience in making Nintendo games. So please trust me first.'”
This led to creative tensions, with Retro holding its ground, clearly unwilling to totally cave to Nintendo. “One day, during a video conference about the Meta Ridley battle, our discussions kept clashing, and we couldn’t find common ground," Tanabe continued. "Time slipped away and by the time the meeting (which had started in the morning) finally ended, the sun was setting.”
Tanabe describes a Retro Studios that needed to be introduced to a set of design philosophies unique to Nintendo, for example enemy design beyond bosses was something Miyamoto had strong feelings about. “Many Nintendo developers have learned from Mr. Miyamoto that the appearance of enemy characters should be designed based on functionality… this had not yet been articulated quite so concisely. As a result, it took time for us to convey the concept clearly to Retro.”
You can see the collaboration working well in some cases, for instance, Retro won out in the implementation of morph ball rolling. In Metroid Prime, you generally view the game through Samus’s visor in first-person fashion, but for puzzles and tight spaces, Samus can transform into a rolling Morph Ball at which point the camera zooms out to third-person. Tanabe says of this: “The transition animation for shifting from first-person Morph Ball mode was proposed by Retro …however Retro also suggested a skip feature to reduce morphing time, but Mr. Miyamoto directed that it should be unskippable, as it was one of the opportunities to view Samus in third-person.”
The Metroid Prime Sequels Were Unplanned and a Bit Miraculous As Well
The Metroid Prime Trilogy came about not as a planned epic, but instead was generated from excitement around the storyboard for the secret ending of Metroid Prime. Spoilers for Metroid Prime follow in Tanabe’s description:
"Today, it’s common for movies to include short teaser scenes after the end credits — but at the time, I think, this kind of ending left a particularly memorable impression. When the art director first showed me the storyboard for the 100% ending of Metroid Prime, he explained: ‘This is a scene where Metroid Prime absorbs Samus’s cells and regenerates.’ Naturally, the idea arose: well then, let’s use this character to create a sequel. Around that time I recall that some movies specifically announced as a trilogy from the outset were a hot topic, so I told the team, ‘Why not make it into a trilogy?'"
To unlock this secret ending in Metroid Prime you must achieve 100% item completion, which means collecting all items.
It seems that Retro really pushed hard for the rolling mechanic to be expanded and ultimately won out, in an example of Nintendo relenting in the face of a great idea. Tanabe says: “Retro also proposed the mechanic of rolling through half-pipes in Morph Ball mode. Initially, Nintendo was skeptical, questioning whether it would actually be fun. However, Retro responded, ‘Please try it first before deciding.’”
The exchange of ideas and a willingness for teams to learn from one another paid off ultimately in a game IGN called a "must-have masterpiece” and which, for the 2023 remake, I scored a perfect 10/10. Tanabe reflects: “[The Metroid Prime Trilogy] was made possible by Retro maximizing the hardware’s potential through expert engineering, incorporating countless ideas without compromise to refine game design, and setting new standards for graphics in Nintendo titles.”
Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective is out October 28, 2025 and shares hundreds of pieces of concept art from the trilogy across Gamecube, Wii, and the Prime remake on Nintendo Switch. Comments from Retro Studios accompany Tanabe’s frequent notes, along with text taken from the game’s ample expository logs and scans. Metroid Prime 4, the latest team-up between Retro Studios and Nintendo, is set for Nintendo Switch 1 and Switch 2 on December 4, 2025.
Samuel Claiborn is IGN's managing editor and a fixes/breaks ancient arcade and pinball machines in his garage. TCELES B HSUP to follow him @Samuel_IGN on Twitter.