Line #10 WhatCouldHaveBeen/Metroid


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meta_kraid.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Kraid as he was planned to appear in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''.]]
3	The ''Metroid'' franchise has seen its share of cancelled games and scuttled concepts:
4	!!Video Games
5	[[foldercontrol]]
6	[[folder:Mainline Games]]
7	* ''VideoGame/Metroid1'':
8	** Samus originally had several detailed animations that were eventually scrapped due to limited file size, but the final game still retains unique sprites for Samus facing left and right hidden in the code. The game itself uses mirrored sprites.
9
10	* ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'':
11	** A Platform/GameBoyColor version called ''Metroid II'' was planned but never saw the light of day. A [[https://lostmediawiki.com/File:MetroidIIDX-ClubNintendoArticle.jpg mock-up]] image appeared in the German ''Club Nintendo'' magazine, as the room shown does not appear in the game).
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13	* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'':
14	** In an interview, the developers stated that they briefly considered having Samus be naked in her death animation, but quickly scrapped the idea.
15	** Minako Hamano, the secondary composer for the ''Metroid'' series alongside Music/KenjiYamamoto, originally did the voice for Samus when she dies. However, Yamamoto stated [[http://www.metroid-database.com/features/super-metroid-development-team-interview/ it had to be dropped]] because her voice sounded ''too sexual''.
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17	* ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'':
18	** Nintendo didn't plan on developing a ''Metroid'' game for the GBA originally, with the title only entering production following the extremely positive Western reaction to the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' Spaceworld 2000 trailer.
19	** The 2001 E3 preview, at that point simply titled ''Metroid IV'', looked quite different and had several gameplay mechanics that didn't make it into the finished game, including it apparently taking place on a moving space ship rather than a station, and Samus having the ability to walk on walls.
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21	* ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'':
22	** Artistically, ''Zero Mission'' was originally designed with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RExHUXbFt5E a cartoony look]] that resembled a more detailed version of the original game's graphics. The design team later changed it to the mostly realistic-looking version it is now, after deciding a game with more realistic graphics would do better in North America, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff where the franchise is more popular]].
23	** [[VideoGame/SuperMetroid Crocomire]] can be found in the game's files, seemingly indicating that he was going to be included in the game (and the game was meant to tie into ''Super Metroid'' more), but was ultimately cut. Interestingly enough, the Crocomire sprite here lacked the rough skin traditionally found on Crocomire, indicating that the player would damage Crocomire due to in-game events.
24	** Also from ''Super'', they initially had the ability to turn certain items on and off. This was later cut for unknown reasons, but sprites for every possible loadout still exist in the game's code.
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26	* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'':
27	** At GDC 2010, Sakamoto admitted that, due to his demand for a single Wii Remote control scheme and his inexperience with 3D game design, one of his initial ideas was to make 2D sidescroller like previous entries (though the way he phrased it had people believe [[http://web.archive.org/web/20190218161412/https://kotaku.com/metroid-other-m-might-have-been-on-rails-if-not-for-t-5491158 he wanted to make it a rail shooter]]).
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29	* ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'':
30	** Developer Creator/MercurySteam originally pitched two other projects: an original ''Metroid'' Platform/WiiU game that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoV5SbM_V8M would have been a first-person adventure]] similar to the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' and a [[https://shinesparkers.net/mercurysteam-originally-pitched-metroid-fusion-remake/ remake of Metroid Fusion]] for the Nintendo 3DS. The former was rejected due to Nintendo having no interest in a home console installment at the time, and the latter was passed over due to Sakamoto believing that ''Metroid II'' would benefit more from being remade.
31
32	* ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'':
33	** The Nintendo DS version of the game. The game was in development on-and-off throughout the lifespan of the system, the first attempt being in 2005 and the second being in 2008. The second attempt resulted in a prototype that was allegedly shown behind closed doors to Nintendo of America staff at E3 2009, only for it to be once again cancelled due to Sakamoto still being dissatisfied with the project.
34	** [=MercurySteam=]'s initial vision for ''Dread'' was quite lofty. When beginning production in 2018, the game's team had planned for twice as many bosses and a whopping ''120'' cinematics, all of which had to be cut down through development to avoid crunch while still meeting the deadline imposed by Nintendo. This may explain the suspiciously empty top-right corner of the map, the lack of a fourth Aeion ability, and the rushed pacing towards the story's climax.
35	** The Special Edition artbook contains some interesting unused designs, such as a Network Station sphere that forms the old Adam's ''face'' to speak to Samus, biomechanical E.M.M.I.s with nightmare-inducing cyborg body horror, and a [[spoiler:Kraid]] with black scales and an impressively muscular build.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Prime Games]]
39	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'':
40	** The entire game was originally going to be in third-person view, but Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't pleased with it (citing that it wasn't intuitive) and had the team scrap what they had so far in order to redo the game in first-person view.
41	** The Morph Ball almost didn't make it into the game due to the development team having trouble trying to make the transition from first person view to third person view being seamless as it was in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' when Samus curls and uncurls in ball form. The dev team planned to scrap the power-up if they couldn't get the idea to work, but Miyamoto stated that if the team couldn't get the idea to work, then the game itself wouldn't work.
42	** At first the artists took to rendering classic ''Metroid'' enemies such as Sovas and Kihunters, but Nintendo told them to try making their own enemy designs instead. This led to Tallon IV having a much more unique ecosystem and less of a rehash of ''Super''.
43	** Apparently, it took so long to find a composer for the game that the team was ready to leave the game without any soundtrack at all, if need be. Music/KenjiYamamoto finally stepped up late in development and composed the game's soundtrack.
44	** During a livestream with Sean Booth, it was confirmed that Music/Autechre were initially considered to compose the game. While Nintendo decline, both band members were thanked in the credits.
45	** Equipping different Beam weapons would have caused the Arm Cannon to transform entirely - for example, the Ice Beam would've turned it into a claw and the Wave Beam would've turned it into a tapered alien shape. Renders can be found [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/6/68/Gene_Kohler_Samus_weapons.png/revision/latest?cb=20180719023615 here.]]
46	** The Phazon Suit was going to be purple and green, similar to the Fusion-Varia Suit from ''Fusion''.
47	** Kraid was going to be a boss in the Phazon Mines. [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/b/b6/MP_Kraid.jpg He got far enough in development that he was modeled and textured]], but was cut for time. According to the modeler, Gene Kohler, he was ''not'' replaced by the Omega Pirate; he was already planned to appear before Kraid's cut. Kraid's exclusion here meant that it take nearly 2 decades before he would appear in a ''Metroid'' game again, in ''VideoGame/MetroidDread''. Concept art also shows a giant version of Mother Brain and different versions of Ridley (one showing his muscles and organs while another had him look more robotic), implying that those could have been in the game.
48	** An odd enemy with a Queen Metroid-like head, a Zebesian-like claw cannon, and a bunch of tentacles, was scrapped. Its model was placed in the Pirate lab in Phendrana Drifts as a corpse called Experiment 7526.
49	** It was originally intended for Samus to battle a much less restricted Parasite Queen; in other words, the Queen was not going to be fought within a container as seen in the final version of the game. This is shown in Metroid Prime 's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwW8fpECZn8 very first trailer]], with the boss running across the room and climbing on walls.
50	** The game's files contain an unused model and animations for [[http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/IceBoss a boss resembling a large ice-themed primate]] that was supposed to be the boss of Phendrana Drifts instead of Thardus (who was originally the boss of the Magmoor Caverns). It was cut because the developers felt that its design didn't fit in well with the rest of the game or the ''Metroid'' series as a whole. Consequently, Thardus was moved to Phendrana Drifts, which is how the Magmoor Caverns became the only area in the game without a boss or even a mini-boss.
51	** The Impact Crater was intended to be much larger than the one in the final game, and also would've featured an escape sequence after defeating the Metroid Prime. This was cut due to time constraints, but a small hint that you were supposed to escape during gameplay remains in the final game: the ending cutscene after defeating Metroid Prime features a title card reading "Crater Collapse Imminent. Evacuate Immediately." Since that escape now happens off-screen, it feels like an odd insert.
52	** The Screw Attack and Speed Booster power-ups were going to be obtainable, but were scrapped. The Screw Attack was later added to ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' while the Speed Booster wouldn't appear in a 3D ''Metroid'' game until ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM''.
53	** Retro wanted to include ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' as a secret EmbeddedPrecursor, but Nintendo shot it down because they lacked an in-house way to emulate [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] games on the [=GameCube=]. While it was possible with third-party software, they they didn't want to deal with any potential legal issues. The settled with adding the original ''VideoGame/Metroid1''.
54	** At one point, the game was set between ''Super'' and ''Fusion,'' and Phazon was once a byproduct of Metroids based on their EnergyBeing nature.
55	** Retro Studio didn't start out by developing a Metroid title. Rather, one of the first titles they worked was an action-adventure title that starred three {{Action Girl}}s who fought genetically-enhanced terrorists on Earth. It was then retooled to an alien working for Earth to fend of an invasion from a different alien race. Shigeru Miyamoto saw this pitch, and suggested turning it into a Metroid game.
56	** Retro Studio developed the game with the mindset of it being a ContinuityReboot rather than being canon within the then-current trilogy. It was Nintendo who brought it into the timeline, setting it between the first two games.
57	** There no plans originally to have bonuses tied to connecting the game with ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', because ''Fusion'' didn't even exist, much less be in development. Incidentally ''Fusion'' exists because of the positive reaction to ''Prime'''s Spaceworld 2000 trailer.
58
59	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'':
60	** Lead technical engineer Jack Mathews claimed the team wanted to better differentiate the Light and Dark Aether versions of each location, but they ran out of time. Because of this, the Sanctuary Fortress and Ing Hive are the only two areas that are really that different.
61	** Charge Combos were planned to be usable in Morph Ball - they would've used Power Bombs instead of Missiles.
62	** There was a plan to have both a Dark Luminoth enemy and a boss fight with an incarnation of Ridley called “Dark Ridley”. The former was scrapped because it made no sense InUniverse; a Luminoth would rather self-terminate than allow itself to be controlled by the Ing. As for the latter, Dark Ridley has an unused theme on the disk, which [[https://youtu.be/kbFR7qBQOe0 has been uploaded]] to Website/YouTube. It was possibly only serving as a placeholder, however, because it’s his theme from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' slowed to half speed and put through some filters to create an echo effect. Nonetheless, it suggests that a similar tune would have been used had his boss fight made it into the game.
63	** Text describing a "Morph Ball Racing" multiplayer mode can be found in the game, but Jack Mathews said it was scrapped because it wasn't very exciting.
64	** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' [[EmbeddedPrecursor was going to be an unlockable extra]] similar to how the original ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' was in ''Prime''. It was cut due to time constraints.
65	** There were some differences in the promotional demo versions of ''Echoes'':
66	*** Aether is shown with a sun and a moon in its sky. In the final game, Aether is a moonless RoguePlanet.
67	*** There is leftover data for the arm of a Space Pirate in the place of Samus' first-person arm cannon model, which was for a scrapped multiplayer mode in which Space Pirates were playable.
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69	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'':
70	** Noxus' name was originally just Nox. In January 2022, Richard Vorodi said in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rohRYGKvflA an interview]] that when coming up with names, they then had to do a search to make sure the names weren't already claimed or used by some other entity. In this case, they likely had to modify the name because of the Creator/WestwoodStudios game ''VideoGame/{{Nox}}''.
71	** Power Bombs were going to see use, but they got cut (likely for multiplayer balance). The enemy Trocra's model is actually called [="PowerBomb_Model"=], leading fans to assume that its assets were repurposed.
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73	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'':
74	** After completing ''Metroid Prime 2'', the studio wanted to experiment with other Nintendo franchises, including ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''. ''Metroid Prime 3'' was [[https://youtu.be/oKs_Oyfuyuc?t=1058 made at Nintendo's insistence]], as Iwata wanted a ''Metroid'' title at launch in order to showcase the Platform/{{Wii}}'s capabilities
75	** A scrapped idea for the game was to have Samus doing some actual bounty hunting as optional side-missions, to avert the series trend of her [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything doing everything]] ''[[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything but]]'' [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything her stated profession.]] Nintendo balked at the idea for two reasons: the first being that they didn't think it was in-character[[note]]Nintendo didn't realize the connotations of calling Samus a bounty hunter in Western regions. Retro Studios (and most Westerners) assumed this meant she was "[[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]], but with a sense of honor," while Nintendo HQ believed that she was an altruistic space adventurer.[[/note]], and the second being that Nintendo didn't believe the studio was large enough to do such expanded elements while still making the desired release deadline.
76	** [[CoolStarship The Gunship]] was originally meant to play a larger part in the game, with ''piloting sections''. They were cut when Retro realized they didn't have the expertise to pull them off, preferring to scrap them entirely rather than deliver something unsatisfying.
77	** There were going to be Chozo ruins on Bryyo, as shown by concept art in ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', but the area was cut out, leaving the only Chozo artifacts being in Bryyo Ice.
78	** [[spoiler:Gandrayda]] was going to have a Reptilicus transformation too. This was likely cut due to the fact that [[spoiler: she]] already had plenty of other forms to use.
79	** The original concept for the opening Ridley fight wasn't supposed to be falling down a shaft, but would rather have been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbeRLmfCHk&t=2452s Samus standing on the top of her ship]] while it was [[AerialCanyonChase flying through a canyon.]]
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81	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'':
82	** Creator/NextLevelGames began work on a ''Metroid'' [=PvP=] multiplayer shooter [[https://youtu.be/ZQ8xa4drduQ?t=514 codenamed Project Valkyrie]] for the Nintendo DS in the late 2000s, with [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/b/be/Samus_NLG.png/revision/latest?cb=20140907134604 these]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/2/27/Boss_design_1.png/revision/latest?cb=20140907134605 three]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/8/83/Boss_design_2.png/revision/latest?cb=20140907134605 pieces]] of concept art being the only things to publicly surface from that stage of development. The project would end up being put on hold when Nintendo requested that the company make ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', then revived afterwards as a potential Wii U title, before being retooled into ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'' for the Nintendo 3DS, an idea that producer Kensuke Tanabe had wished to do since the Nintendo [=DSi=].
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	!!! Proposed and Cancelled Games:
86	* A ''Metroid'' installment for the Platform/Nintendo64 was considered, but ultimately scrapped due to Yoshio Sakamoto being uncomfortable with 3D game design and Nintendo's R&D1 team having no interest in making 3D games. An unknown third-party studio was asked to create the game, but they rejected it on the basis that ''Super Metroid'' was a ToughActToFollow.
87	* An alternate version of ''Metroid Prime 2'' was pitched following the first game's completion, [[https://www.unseen64.net/2019/12/09/metroid-prime15-gamecube-cancelled/ entitled "Metroid 1.5"]]. In it, Samus would have been trapped on an alien starship from another dimension immediately after the first game, whose owners wish to [[TheCollector collect bounty hunters and steal their abilities]]. The concept never fully got off the ground, but several elements (multiplayer, an evil Samus doppelgänger, alien villains from another dimension, a ship adventure with unconventional method of unlocking abilities, etc.) were salvaged and later used in the other ''Metroid'' installments.
88	* During the development of the Platform/{{Wii}}, [[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/07/nintendo_leak_reveals_scrapped_wii_games_including_a_metroid_title_from_intelligent_systems one of the games planned for the console]] was an Creator/IntelligentSystems developed ''Metroid'', though the only information currently known is that, had it completed production, it would have released sometime after ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''.
89	* Following the completion of ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'', a member of its production team pitched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ8xa4drduQ a prequel spin-off]]: a TurnBasedTactics game akin to the ''VideoGame/XCom'' series, taking place shortly after Samus first left the Chozo and having her as one of many Galactic Federation and bounty hunter units under the player's command as they try to stem Space Pirate incursions on various planets. The proposal never made it out of internal approval at Retro Studios, due to most of the studio being tired of making ''Metroid'' games at that point.
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91
92	!!Other Media
93	* In the 1980s, Creator/DiCEntertainment pitched a ''[[https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/8/18536769/super-mario-bros-power-hour-metroid-castlevania-cartoons-dic Super Mario Bros. Power Hour]]'' series that would have animated shorts dedicated to various Nintendo properties, with the ''Metroid'' series being one of them. Said shorts would have featured the bounty hunter as male. The entire project was passed over in favor of producing ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow''.
94	* The ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' article covering ''Roleplay/BloodOfTheChozo'' mentions that the Nintendo Power Source staffer who created the frame story had also created more story material that went unused. This is followed by a passage that discusses Samus's backstory, including the deaths of her parents Captain Thea Aran and Chief Engineer Avram Aran and the disappearance of her younger brother Solomon Aran, implying that this excerpt was one such unused concept.
95	* [[http://archive.is/Fzbrw A Metroid comic]] helmed by Creator/ArchieComics was pitched in the early 2010s by ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie Sonic]]'' artist Steven Butler, but was passed over in favor of Creator/IanFlynn's ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics''.
96	* [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/28/whatever-happened-to-the-metroid-movie In the mid-2000s]], the rights to produce a ''Metroid'' film were acquired by director Creator/JohnWoo and intended for release in 2006, but the studio immediately ran into hurtles regarding the story. Specifically, the film was intended to be an OriginsEpisode for Samus, but Samus had no real character to speak of, and Nintendo, much more cautious about film adaptations after the tremendous failure of ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'', did not want another studio to be the one to answer the questions about Samus' origins and personality. The fact that Nintendo could not provide many answers about the main character, [[NoOriginStoriesAllowed nor wanted the producers to answer the questions themselves]], rather obviously made it difficult for development to continue, and the rights eventually lapsed.

Context WhatCouldHaveBeen / Metroid