How Metroid got made (and Switch 2 gambling!)
Added 2024-02-15 15:12:36 +0000 UTC
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With Metroid Prime 4 the most likely game to accompany the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 (and with listeners asking about the origins of "Metroidvania") Frushtick thought now would be the ideal time to revisit the history of the game that started it all.
If you learn one thing from this behind-the-scenes history, make it this: that miracle Metroid got made is a miracle. A long development, limited initial resources, big changes, and last-minute tweaks converted a nugget of an idea into a beloved long-running series.
In the back half, we set the gambling odds for potential Switch 2 releases. What are the chances you see a new Earthbound in the first few months of Nintendo's next handheld console? Listen to find out!
Our list of potential Switch 2 releases
- Metroid Prime 4
- More Mother/Earthbound
- New 3D Mario
- Newer Super Mario Bros.
- Zelda: BOTW + TOTK 4K upgrades
- NEW Paper Mario
- Kirby’s Dream Course 2 or full Kirby spinoff
- Mario Golf Advanced
- Pokemon "Golden"
- More Golden Sun
- New Donkey Kong Country
The original Metroid box art
The original The Legend of Zelda art
Other stuff!
- Footage of Super Mario 128, the Mario demo that showed off the Gamecube
- Nintendo published a 30-minute chunk of The Legend of Zelda Orchestra Concert!
- The 25 best movies on Netflix right now
- YouTube served us pure, earnest gold and now we're sharing it with you
- Millennial vs. Gen Z video essays
- Eurogamer's Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader review
Comments
incredibly late comment but I was always under the impression that Metroidvania as a term wasn’t initially coined to be a genre name but to differentiate SotN and the Iga handheld ‘Vanias from classic Castlevania.
Nick Ostrem
2024-07-21 15:27:33 +0000 UTCI wish I had listened to this back in February so I could’ve dropped this tidbit at a better time. Metroid 1 had a saving system! Most Famicom Disk System games could save to the console. The battery and password saves being in Zelda and Metroid respectively were introduced because those games were back ported to the cartridge based NES for international markets.
PokéRedstone
2024-07-17 23:32:22 +0000 UTCReally appreciated the deep dive into what the term Metroidvania means and how it originated. It's a term that I mostly understood, but had a difficult time defining. I also never knew why it was tied to those two games specifically. I also appreciate the fun fact about Metroidvania being a portmanteau of two portmanteaus. This is the kind of pedantic nerd fact I love.
Sheebly
2024-03-26 21:24:00 +0000 UTCOh, and in regards to video game esoteric terms: I think it was an old Besties episode where someone called Metroidvania games "mapformers" like platformers which then begs for a dissection of "platformers" because that too is a nutso term for a game about jumping.
Kyle Van Son
2024-03-17 22:46:31 +0000 UTCLoved this convo, would love for you to continue talking Metroid History. Maybe it's the next series you all play like Metal Gear! No Star Fox mentioned in your Switch 2 expectations? I actually put the appearance of more Donkey Kong pretty likely given his popularity in the Mario movie and the new ride coming to Universal!
Kyle Van Son
2024-03-17 22:45:00 +0000 UTC"Listener-sustained"
Tessa H.
2024-03-09 23:16:16 +0000 UTCRuss has infected me. Chris said "Mario" and I thought "hmm that sounds wrong" 😭😭
Theresa Karasek
2024-03-04 16:20:10 +0000 UTCThis was great! One term that I've seen and would love a bit more explanation of is roguelike vs roguelite, what each means and how they differ. Thank!
Notes Reviews
2024-02-29 21:00:49 +0000 UTCAwesome thanks for the dive into Metroid and the interesting behind the scene facts. Bit teary though as looks like Switch 2 ain't coming till 2025 (rats)
Bonestorm1000
2024-02-29 03:46:06 +0000 UTCI thought it was Metroidveinia for a while. Like “in the vein of a Metroid game”.
Emily Lewis
2024-02-28 01:27:15 +0000 UTCSome term clarification ideas… I would like to know the genre differences in an RPG vs a JRPG. I know the J stands for Japanese, but like…are they different besides just where they were made? What exactly is a Souls-like? Is it just the chance of dying and losing your loot from that run? How is it different than a roguelike?
Emily Lewis
2024-02-28 01:20:15 +0000 UTCLoved the episode. Regarding the Mother 3 predictions, I thought this video was very useful for giving a legal reason that we have never seen it officially localized outside Japan. I also just love this channel in general for its legal perspectives on video game topics: https://youtu.be/if64VlLa5Oc?si=WBqsUKNnrU3a6pkG.
Bill Davis
2024-02-26 23:01:08 +0000 UTCYou could sign off by saying the show is “thanks to the support of besties like you” PBS style.
Mike Sklens
2024-02-25 17:15:54 +0000 UTCI finally figured out why I love these Resties deep dives and I can't believe it took me so long. They remind me of the History of Fun! Tbh, I listened to that way before I knew who you 2 or the McElroy's were. Didn't put 2 and 2 together until now!
Mysterious Pirate Rat
2024-02-23 18:31:06 +0000 UTCI'm curious to hear you all talk about your video game genres that you gravitate towards. Like a ranking of your favorite genres to play. We all know Russ loves Metroid Anisa, Justin card games like slay the spire and Chris likes the Criterion collection. Love the show. Happy to support on Patreon
kid_inkarus
2024-02-23 16:21:28 +0000 UTCA very fair point!
Chris
2024-02-23 05:03:44 +0000 UTCOn the topic of metroidvanias / search action games I think y'all did an excellent job explaining the definition. My concern with calling them search action games is that that isn't really as good SEO as metroidvania is even if it is otherwise a better name. Think about it this way, if someone who wasn't familiar with either term heard the besties or anyone else talking about games that sounded interesting to them and they decided to look on steam for other games of the same genre Metroidvania is the term used everywhere. I think it's too well established at this point to try to change it.
Woodani
2024-02-22 23:37:37 +0000 UTCI'd love to get a history of Actraiser and then a b segment on other games that nailed the two genre style (meaning two genres that don't go together like action platforming and city sim etc)
Caleb Ackerman
2024-02-22 14:24:45 +0000 UTCI do think the term Search Action is clearer and better, but I worry that we as a society do not talk enough about Metroid and Castlevania and their impact on me personally, so I will continue to use Metroidvania 🤪
Renzol47
2024-02-21 15:44:03 +0000 UTCI’m guessing the confusion around Pelé’s name and inspiration for Samus is that although Pelé ‘s given name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, he spent almost the entirety of his playing career at Santos, the Brazilian football club - which I think in the episode you mentioned the Metroid team thought his name was Santis Arantes do Nascimento. Anyways, fun episode and great history lesson!
greyandgory
2024-02-21 14:54:32 +0000 UTCListener funded 😁
Taylor Moore
2024-02-21 13:59:24 +0000 UTCThere’s one term I’ve been hearing Russ throw around a lot, usually at the beginning of an episode, and I don’t know what it means. Sounds something like “MYYYnameisrussfrushtickandiknowthebestgameofthewEEEeek”. I hear it every week and can’t for the life of me figure out what he’s talking about.
Jake Steuver
2024-02-20 21:59:29 +0000 UTCAs mentioned I think the term metroidvania is so much in the gamer zeitgeist that like souls-like it just gives a good cross generational vibe of what those games are trying to do gameplay wise. Search action I think is more succinct but feels too sterile and dose not offer up anytype of emotional expectation in the type of game play. Racing, shooter, platformer, fighters,ect had the fortune of being coined by the masses early. I think if the English speaking world had been exposed to the term search action more in its infancy it would be more widely used.
David Wright
2024-02-20 18:15:54 +0000 UTCReally for me, the difference between a metroid-like (or search action if you prefer) and a MetroidVania was the rpg elements. The Metroid games don’t have levels, grinding, gear, builds etc. everything you find (typically) is a direct upgrade to what you had. Whereas you take something like Symphony of the Night or Bloodstained or even Hollow Knight you have more granular choices. This is in addition to the other qualifiers mentioned in the episode.
William (Biggggg5) Mason
2024-02-20 14:35:51 +0000 UTCI totally thought you guys were saying surge action game this whole time and didn’t think twice about it..
Just Bugs Podcast
2024-02-20 02:01:44 +0000 UTCListener-dependent? Listener-mandated? Listener-contingent? Listener-reliant? Idk. Maybe one of those.
billfromamerica
2024-02-19 21:15:01 +0000 UTCI can’t tell if it’s a bit or not at this point.
Alex Russell
2024-02-19 17:50:42 +0000 UTCI knew generally what metroidvania meant, but since I don't like these type of games and don't play much of them, I wasn't aware of the specific aspects of the game that are on the "checklist". So yes your definitions helped 👍
Emily
2024-02-19 17:06:58 +0000 UTChttps://www.reddit.com/r/metroidvania/comments/a023z2/why_is_zelda_not_considered_a_metroidvania/
Chris
2024-02-19 15:35:44 +0000 UTCThey have a lot in common! There's a wild Reddit thread of folks debating this question!
Chris
2024-02-19 15:35:32 +0000 UTCAren’t most Zelda games big one map geargated games? Is Ocarina of time a 3D metroidvania?
Rashad
2024-02-19 15:16:17 +0000 UTCLoving the resties history dives! Something that came up in this episode that I think would be super interesting (if there's enough for an episode) are password saves in early games. How they actually worked/the pros they offered over save states (if they were being used after that was an option/etc, I realized I'm now very curious
Cakeatjobs
2024-02-19 15:13:23 +0000 UTCLove the episode and the history lesson! I'm also glad I can add "Fameecom" to the rich tapestry of Russ Frushtick pronunciations. He even almost tripped up Chris.
Ceasar Gonzalez
2024-02-19 02:36:33 +0000 UTCMy thought with the term Search Action as well. 😂
Tyler N Capeta
2024-02-19 00:48:52 +0000 UTCI am one of the people asking what a Metroidvania game actually is, and the combo of Search Action Game and Russ’s explanation cleared a lot up. Thank you! I knew it was a combo of Metroid and Castlevania because duh, but I’ve never played either of those so that meant nothing to me.
ames
2024-02-18 21:50:12 +0000 UTCI like the idea of filling out the encyclopedia. As a casual gamer there is a lot of terminology in some of the reviews that go over my head. I always appreciate the way you all break things down.
Jesus Areyano
2024-02-18 20:52:37 +0000 UTCNintendo will 100% not do something as generous as the $10 upgrades we’ve seen from other platforms. I expect a Switch 2 release of BOTW or TOTK to be at least a $50 separate purchase with no discount for previous buyers. Pokemon has so much brand cachet that they could get away with a full $60/$70 rerelease of S&V that just fixes the graphical issues of the Switch 1 release.
Brian Haworth
2024-02-18 19:09:01 +0000 UTCLove The Resties and I especially love this episode. I’m a late Metroid fan because Dread just got me absolutely hooked. I’ve been going through the backlog and this episode was amazing insight.
Jimmers
2024-02-18 19:01:07 +0000 UTCAwesome thanks :)
Melissa O'Neil
2024-02-18 17:29:32 +0000 UTCGreat episode! I love these video game history deep dives. Not going to lie, I joined the Patreon mainly for the hot fresh Resties episodes. Looking forward to all that sweet Unicorn Overloaded content!
Charmanderson Cooper
2024-02-18 17:27:45 +0000 UTCTwo critical aspects of souls likes are having a dodge roll as well as a stamina based combat system.
Thomas Kent
2024-02-18 13:42:38 +0000 UTCSearch Action is a great alternative but I feel like I'll look stupid if I ever use it. Metroidvania is so entrenched. I feel like Castlevania got into the name because it was the second major franchise to do it, like how Souslike for a while was called Soulsborne because Bloodborne happened. But in a post Elden Ring world it makes little sense to give Bloodborne naming credits
Snoozy
2024-02-18 13:23:49 +0000 UTCLoved the history lesson. Knew some already but the restaurant credit tip, at the end, was news to me. Keep it up, Resties!
Directional Joy
2024-02-18 02:13:51 +0000 UTChttps://nifflas.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Nifflas_games
Chris
2024-02-17 23:38:22 +0000 UTCSuch a good question. Honestly, Spirit Farer is sort of a mish mash of lots of genres and hard to define. Technically a metroidvania doesn't need combat, but examples are rare. This developer is prob the best creator attempting this:
Chris
2024-02-17 23:38:17 +0000 UTCI think I mostly understand Metroidvania, but I think more examples of popular recent metroidvania’s would be helpful! Is Spirit Farer like a pseudo search action game but the action is very chill? Or does it need to have fighting?
Melissa O'Neil
2024-02-17 22:54:39 +0000 UTCGreat ep Resties! Love the history lesson 💕
Luke
2024-02-17 16:42:10 +0000 UTCIf we must wait for Switch 2 in 2025, then we deserve more Icarus!
Chris
2024-02-17 14:50:23 +0000 UTCGuys THIS is the console version where we get a sequel to world famous video game classic Kid Icarus: Uprising, right guys! ... Right? :(
Ethan Holland
2024-02-17 06:43:24 +0000 UTCI was surprised you didn't include a prediction of another virtual console being added to Switch Online alongside Switch 2! What do you guys think are the odds that GameCube gets added to Switch Online for the new console?
Brendan Linwood
2024-02-17 01:51:05 +0000 UTCVery very good guess!
Chris
2024-02-17 00:31:27 +0000 UTCYep. This is the Resties episode for Tuesday, plus a bonus one. And then we will be back to our regular schedule of two a month in March!
Chris
2024-02-17 00:31:06 +0000 UTCI finish this episode and immediately see news that sources are pointing to Q1 2025 for the next Nintendo Switch
Kyle Barnes
2024-02-16 23:35:12 +0000 UTCThese are the two bi-weekly episodes. It has moved here from now on.
Anthony Layton
2024-02-16 21:06:16 +0000 UTCOne thing I can think of is souls-like games aren’t gear-gated.
MetaRidleyScott
2024-02-16 20:47:45 +0000 UTCHow do you distinguish the search action genre from souls-like? I’ve never played dark souls, but I am told that my favorite games are search action with souls-like combat/revive characteristics (hollow knight, blasphemous 2). Where is the venn diagram overlap? Would I like dark souls if I loved those other games?
Juliamka
2024-02-16 20:30:47 +0000 UTCI wonder if Plante is talking about Ultros 14 minutes, 15 seconds into this episode? Such a gorgeous game… loving it so far (have sunk a few hours in). Hope y’all cover it in the future since I don’t hear any outlets talking about it!
Thomas Barker
2024-02-16 19:15:04 +0000 UTCAre these 2 resties episodes the episodes for the two biweeks or are they bonus episodes
Cow
2024-02-16 18:18:37 +0000 UTCI’m not gonna lie. When hearing Metroidvania, I understood the Metroid part, but not the vania part. After this episode, I feel so dumb. Yet, enlightened.
Anthony Layton
2024-02-16 17:48:49 +0000 UTC
