Metroid Prime: Miyamoto would have canceled the original game if this mechanic had failed

It’s been more than two decades since Nintendo surprised everyone by announcing that a North American studio would be in charge of a new Metroid installment and that, unlike the well-known titles of the franchise, this one would be in first person. Retro Studios achieved what seemed impossible, but it was not so simple, because the project, in its initial phase, underwent a test that, if it had failed, would have led to its cancellation.

Shigeru Miyamoto Claims Morph Ball Is The Secret To Metroid Prime’s Success

The new episode of the DidYouKnowGaming? channel was dedicated to some Nintendo GameCube titles, including Metroid Prime. The information gathering allowed us to find an interview from the German magazine N-Zone with a member of Retro Studios at the time where they revealed what filled them with pride when they created the first title of the franchise. In this regard, the creatives highlighted that it was the Morph Ball, its design and its mechanics, because in addition to being a challenge in itself, it was also something risky.

Metroid Prime would have been cancelled if the Morph Ball design and mechanics had failed

Retro Studios talks about risk with this part of Metroid Prime because when the idea was proposed, Shigeru Miyamoto considered it essential to keep the project alive. In practice, if the American studio failed to present something well-designed, fun and justified with the Morph Ball, Nintendo would cancel the project.

In this regard, the video cites the statements of Shigeru Miyamoto, then producer of Metroid Prime, who considered that the Morph Ball and the way it was executed as a mechanic with well-designed and intelligent puzzles were a very important part of the success of Metroid Prime, even if it could have meant its premature end: “if the experiment failed, the project would most likely have been canceled. However, it went very well and from the first moment we knew that Metroid Prime was a solid project.”

In related news, a Metroid Prime 4: Beyond designer recently spoke about the passionate work that went into the details, in his case in the HUD, so that the data on the screen and the view inside Samus’ case did not detract from the beauty and importance of the scenarios.

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