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u/SpecialHat4878 1d ago
They should go back and do it now
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u/JustSomeWeirdGuy2000 1d ago
We got a Citizen Kane N64 game in 2024.
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u/chunkysteveo 1d ago
Here's a fan built proof of concept to scratch that itch of.... what if.... https://youtu.be/0kBtaWnuOzM?is=84iU6iHIS0gishjx
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u/KinopioToad 1d ago
It was a possibility. It was pitched to at least one studio. They wouldn't make it because they felt they wouldn't be able to make the same caliber of title that Super Metroid was at the time.
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u/ShawnOfEons 1d ago
They were going to make a Metroid 64, but it was cancelled because the N64 couldn’t handle what they were trying to do. So they had to wait for the next system and then they did Metroid Prime. I think there were pictures of the Metroid 64 game before it was cancelled. Unless those pics were fake.
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u/AlexFullAAE 1d ago
Nintendo actually thought about it and has contacted several studios to think about a dev, but the 3D was a too big challenge on that console for that game, making a 2D game on N64 wouldn't have been a good deal, the controller wasn't felt fit for it either, and the shadow of the all mighty Super Metroid on SNES... several reasons that can explain why we've never seen such a game 🫤
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u/condor6425 1d ago
The N64 Dpad is great for 2D games, you just hold the outer prongs. I would have loved a 2D Metroid on N64.
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u/AlexFullAAE 1d ago
There are multiple options that could have been chosen by developers to make M64, as long as we could have played it on N64 ! Nintendo choices just have made it technically impossible to achieve (the heavily detailed environment they wanted, the framerate, the simultaneous actions in controls, the 3D...), the capacity of cartridges and the hardware of the console did not allow that and they wanted to wait for the next generation. Anyway, the GC got the good hardware but they still kept the tank control of Samus 🫤 We had to wait for the remastered version on switch to get it perfect with a modern 2 sticks controls.
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u/bubbletrashbarbie 1d ago
Not even close, on the wii with motion controls is the perfect set up for first person Metroid.
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u/pinkocatgirl 1d ago
Yeah they could have done it like Kirby 64 which has linear 2D levels rendered in 3D
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u/fpcreator2000 8h ago
Mischief Makers has entered the chat.
A great example of 2D well done on the 64.
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u/frankduxvandamme 1d ago
Yes, but back then 3D games were the next big thing. 2D games felt like last gen stuff. Also, Metroid is one of Nintendo's less popular franchises, so to make a 2D Metroid game on a console whose main selling point was 3D might have killed the franchise.
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u/wtfbbqpwnin 1d ago
Not true at all, it wouldve been possible. Look at games like Jet Force Gemini.
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u/AlexFullAAE 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rareware was one of the consulted studios to produce a Metroid game, they declined due to game specs from Nintendo. JFG is a Rareware game with Rareware game specs, they got full control in its development so it's not comparable. I would have loved playing a M64, it's just a matter of facts that it could have never been made with the strict requests from Nintendo.
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u/AlexFullAAE 1d ago
Can dv me as much as you like, I'm not defending a pov, they're just facts I'm reporting...
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u/AlexFullAAE 1d ago
I've found a video that gives some few info https://youtu.be/s_iPIm0MzCY?si=58bLDPuefgrNBfxg
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u/TheNewYellowZealot 1d ago
They made a ton of 2.5d games on the Super Nintendo. Kirby 64 and yoshi story stand out.
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u/popnfreshbass 1d ago
Metroid in 2.5D would have been the best option…..
But you have to remember timing is everything. When the 64 came out. 3D graphics was IT. Mario made the jump. Zelda made the jump. DK made the jump.
If a 2D Metroid game would have release on the 64 it would have been considered a failure no matter how awesome it was. Not because the game wouldn’t have been great. But the EXPECTATIONS would not have been met by the target audience.
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u/TheNewYellowZealot 1d ago
Was Kirby 64 considered a failure?
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u/popnfreshbass 1d ago
Reading the reviews from it’s release it averaged about a 7/10. With notes like from Gamespot and IGN like:
“polygonal take on the 2D platformer”
"illusion of 3D, rather than pushing boundaries like Super Mario 64”
“Feels like an old NES title”
So maybe failure is not the right term. Maybe disappointment is better?
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u/TheNewYellowZealot 1d ago
Man that sucks to read but I also remember the absolute vitriol people had for games back then. Honestly Crystal shards is my favorite Kirby game, I love the power mixing and wish they’d bring it back.
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u/Boxing_joshing111 1d ago
This is gonna sound ridiculous but I’d seen pictures of Castlevania 64 in magazines and thought it looked cool so when I saw Symphony of the Night at the store I bought it. I returned it because it was just 2d.
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u/Pfizermyocarditis 1d ago
I remember reading about preview for Mischieve Makers at the time and it was unheard of that they'd make a game the wasn't full 3d
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u/PajamaSamSavesTheZoo 1d ago
Do you mean N64? They did not make a ton. They made like 10
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u/travischickencoop 1d ago
I believe it’s 4 as far as 2D sidescrollers go
Yoshi’s Story, Kirby 64, Mischief Makers, and Tarzan
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u/JustSomeWeirdGuy2000 1d ago
Mischief Makers would like to have a word with you.
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u/mightypup1974 1d ago
A hidden gem, sure, but let’s not kid ourselves that it was some kind of sleeper hit
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u/ABC_Dildos_Inc 1d ago
Powerslave/Exhumed on Saturn was Metroid Prime before Metroid Prime.
The N64 absolutely could have done a 3D Metroid game.
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u/dquilon 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am kinda glad we didn't get it. It turned it to be one of the best entries in Prime.
The N64 would probably be too limiting, janky with bad cameras in those games early on.
I love Turok 2, definitely one of my favorite games ever, the same with Jet Force Gemini, but Turok had frame stuttering in some heavy action scenes, and JFG had janky controls with weird momentum that made it harder than it should.
On the other hand, I've only played Prime (trilogy) on the Wii system, and it was incredibly awesome (when setting high sensitivity expert controls). Truly worth the wait back then.
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u/Inglorii 1d ago
Idk why, but I sometimes dream that I would learn gamedev simply to create Metroid 64. And I'm not even the most thorough Metroid fan, having only completed Dread and Zero Mission
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u/Armandonerd 1d ago
I always forget that Metroid was never on the N64.
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u/bionicle_159 1d ago edited 1d ago
was just in smash bros if I recall
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u/Armandonerd 1d ago
I meant a Metroid game. Not Samus.
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u/bionicle_159 18h ago
yeah I got that, just was saying that was the only N64 thing that used the IP
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u/TooBroke4Ramen 1d ago
It's not out of the realm of possibility, we're getting new N64 games these days so who knows what will come out in the future.
Obviously the Metroid theme would have to be dropped to avoid lawsuits, but a spiritual successor would be amazing.
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u/Get_your_grape_juice 1d ago
I’m glad it didn’t happen. We probably don’t get the Prime series in the Metroid 64 timeline, and I consider those to be the crowning achievements thus far in the entire franchise.
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u/Buttered_Toast33 1d ago
Probably for the best this didn’t happen. Had some really big shoes to fill after Super Metroid and not every series successfully transitioned from 2D to early 3D.
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u/bubbletrashbarbie 1d ago
IMO how they did the 3DS Metroids as 3d games but 2D platforming(like how they had Kirby and the Crystal Shards and Yoshi Story done) would have made a great Metroid.
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u/Bacononthebeeach 3h ago
Playing Turok 1 gives me Metroid Prime vibes and makes me confident a Metroid Prime on N64 would have worked had they thought of it at the time.
I may be wrong but I think members of the turok dev team worked on Prime 1.
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u/Zealousideal_Towel61 1d ago
Just play Samus Returns. It uses one analog stick and is what would have been possible on N64 but with better graphics.
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u/tanooki-suit 1d ago
Well get cracking, claude.ai and a few others, apply whatever work you think you need to do and get started. ;)
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u/officer_terrell Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1d ago
I dunno, waiting until the GameCube was pretty cool. When I first played Metroid Prime I was BLOWN away by the graphics. I'm sure it would've been similar even if there was an N64 game but the jump would've been a little smaller.