Topic: Metroid II Remake Has Finally (Had The Hammer) Dropped

[MagicCow64]

So I saw on Twitter today that the years (maybe as many as eight?) long one-man fan project to remake Metroid II: The Return of Samus in the style of Zero Mission is finally complete.

You can download it for free here:

http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/

Here's a picture!



I played about an hour and a half of it today, and it's pretty goddamned impressive. It's more constrained than Zero Mission given the structure of the original Gameboy game, but it so far has managed to slip in some surprises and add some more coherent gating within the tiered labyrinths. Each Metroid encounter feels more individual (I spotted one that was in-between growth stages) and the game overall controls perfectly. Thus far I'd believe this was a professional, polished Nintendo product.

[azeke]

Pretty cool remake. Having completed the original relatively recently i still remember where things are.

It took me some time to get used to diagonal aiming, because i never played SNES run'n'guns that had it (Contra games or Super Metroid for that matter).

Interesting that game keeps Gameboy's square aspect ratio but resolution (i think?) is bigger than in original because Samus doesn't look as big as in original which created slightly cramped atmosphere.

Not sure how to feel about cling to corners mechanic a-la Spelunky:


I am going to trust remake developer that he didn't break original game's maps by introducing this.

Visually, it's very interesting to see reinterpreted sprites in colour:



^ no idea why this particular fly enemy looks like Samus' ship

Developer also added some story logs:



Probably to explain some weird architecture on Metroid home planet. I am looking forward to read how he's going to explain final area. Also i want to see how it looks visually because it was already cool looking (and sounding) in original.

[Adrock]

Looks good. I don't have a controller to play this on. I was thinking of getting an Xbox One controller, but I just bought a bicycle and an Airdyne bike for health/death prevention purposes so I don't have a lot of expendable cash at the moment. I'm looking forward to more of azeke's impressions as he typically gets pretty in depth with them.

[MagicCow64]

Yeah, Azeke did a way better job than I of breaking out impressions.

Speaking of which, regarding the ledge grip: I think it works well here. As you mention, the claustrophobic framing of the Gameboy original is gone, so they had to kind of stretch out the map design to compensate, so the gripping feels natural with the arrangement of space. The pushed-out sizing also lets them slip in new stuff pretty organically.

I played another hour this morning, and while I originally thought this was a pretty conservative adaptation, it appears that the designer has diverged more and more the deeper you get, to good effect. The areas are well-themed and differentiated, and the soundtrack is great (sounds like advanced-chip tune Metroid Prime).

[Soren]

Head up. If you want to play this you better download it ASAP. Nintendo is starting to drop the hammer.

https://twitter.com/MetroidDatabase/status/762432458641936388

[ejamer]

Head up. If you want to play this you better download it ASAP. Nintendo is starting to drop the hammer.

https://twitter.com/MetroidDatabase/status/762432458641936388

Grabbed the download as soon as I heard, for exactly this reason.

Sadly, from a legal standpoint I think Nintendo is almost required to drop the ban hammer on a project like this, aren't they? Which is a crying shame, because this looks like exactly the type of Metroid game I want to play and would be willing to pay for. Please: give me that opportunity!


(On the other hand, both the Mother 3 and Project Zero 4 fan translations are still available. And there are reports that a bunch of the DMCA takedown requests supposedly coming from Nintendo have really come from an anonymous troll instead. So... not sure exactly what to believe?)

It would be incredible to see a Metroid 2 remake on 3DS... Maybe someday that will happen. In the meantime, I hope the developer ends up getting the recognition he deserves. By all (early) accounts I've read, this looks like a fantastic fan remake.

[MagicCow64]

Oof, that sucks if the takedown is for real. I mean, I guess from a bloodless corporate perspective a free remake of Metroid II is technically competing with the $2 Gameboy rom on the 3DS eshop, which might make Nintendo another couple thousand bucks. While it would be great if Nintendo licensed the work for official release, that kind of thing just does not happen.

Did this remake rip assets from the GBA games?

[Shaymin]

Wouldn't Nintendo skip straight to the cease and desist rather than use the DMCA?

And wouldn't they go after the main website rather than a rehoster?

And wouldn't they have done something with the demo considering it's been around for years?

[ClexYoshi]

yeah, I had been anticipating this for a long time. too bad it dropped right when my computer is dead. I Downloaded it on this laptop that I can't play it on to transfer it later, but yeah...

... actually, this might inspire an RFN E-mail.

[Order.RSS]

Sadly, from a legal standpoint I think Nintendo is almost required to drop the ban hammer on a project like this, aren't they? Which is a crying shame, because this looks like exactly the type of Metroid game I want to play and would be willing to pay for. Please: give me that opportunity!

Yeah as I understand it, once you copyright something, you need to defend that copyright. You can't selectively let amateurs make fan-projects with your copyrighted name/image/etc, but then double down on commercial parties who want to profit from that copyright. That would be unfair competition, so you need to defend your copyright from every infringing party, regardless of intent.



Unfortunate, but yeah, if they let their copyright get diluted that's a terrible position to be in for Nintendo.

[Luigi Dude]

And wouldn't they have done something with the demo considering it's been around for years?

The demo was no different then most Nintendo fan games.  Just short little project made from ripped and modified sprites isn't something that Nintendo cares about.  The problem is the final version of this game is a full remake of Metroid II that gives it the Zero Mission treatment that not only are people praising, but many are saying it's so good it could easily pass as a real Nintendo game. 

In other words the games problem is it ended up being too good.  There's a billion Mario and Pokemon fan games that Nintendo doesn't give a **** about sense none of these come close to offering the experience and quality the main games do.  With this game the guy basically made something that could easily pass as a Nintendo made Metroid II remake, which is a big no-no to most companies since it's a free product that's actual competition to their main products now.


Edit:

Looks like this whole thing might be a hoax since Metroid Database still has the download link up at their site and hasn't been able to confirm if the DMCA came from Nintendo themselves.  Usually when Nintendo orders something taken down it's very clear the issue comes from their legal department unlike what seems to be happening here.  Apparently the DMCA came from Oregon instead of Washington, which is very suspicious since anything from NOA would come out of Washington.

[rygar]

Thanks MagicCow, I really wanted this, and I got it soon after you posted. I'm going to play the 3DS version first, but I figured Nintendo would get it taken down almost immediately, and I'll want to check it out later.

I'd love to play it on the 3DS, along with Zero Mission, and Axiom Verge. I've been kind of saving Metroid 2 and Super Metroid since the 3DS Metroid library is so limited. I might get 2 in soon and then save Super Metroid for what currently looks like a sparse winter.

[MagicCow64]

And ****, the release post has been removed from the creator's site, so it looks like the takedown was real. Still, it's out in the wild, so it shouldn't be too hard to get a copy.

[NWR_insanolord]

I've seen it pointed out that it's interesting Nintendo just now shut this down. This didn't come out of nowhere, it's been in development for a long time, and they could have sent the guy a C&D a long time ago like they have with other similar projects in the past, but they waited until it was done and publicly released to take it down. Like they were doing it because they legally had to, but intentionally letting it be finished so it could get out here before they did it, knowing the files would still float around long afterward.

[nickmitch]

Kinda depends on how closely Nintendo has been following this.  I honestly didn't know about this until it came out.  At that point, most of the videogame accounts that I follow on Twitter were tweeting about it.  So, to me, it seems plausible that Nintendo wasn't fully aware until it was finished or at least didn't expect it to get as far as it did.

[King of Twitch]

They pulled the Nintendo Power archives too, if my news feed sidebar is to be believed. Sad that we can't have nice things.

[Luigi Dude]

Kinda depends on how closely Nintendo has been following this.  I honestly didn't know about this until it came out.  At that point, most of the videogame accounts that I follow on Twitter were tweeting about it.  So, to me, it seems plausible that Nintendo wasn't fully aware until it was finished or at least didn't expect it to get as far as it did.

Like I mentioned earlier the likely situation is the games quality is what worked against it.  Most Nintendo fan games go unnoticed by the masses unless it's something like Project M that requires Smash fans to buy Brawl to use anyway so it's a win-win for Nintendo.  This game was so above and beyond what normal fan games are and as a result was getting so much more attention then normal that it created a situation where Nintendo not only knew about it but had to take it down.

The guy who made this should just pull a Freedom Planet (which started as a Sonic fangame) and alter it enough so that he can then sell it as an original title.  Yeah it would take some time but would be worth it in the end since he already has the core of a great game in place and could then actually make a nice profit on his almost decade of work.  This is the problem with fan projects like this is you'll always be at the mercy of the actual IP holder.  Yeah Nintendo is usually fine with fan games as long as the creator doesn't try to profit from them but no Nintendo fan game have gone as far as this game did in terms of quality and matching the production value of an official product.  He should have at least figured he was getting into unknown territory with what he was doing.

[Shaymin]

Now, who asked for the NPs to be brought down - Nintendo, or Future? (Keep in mind NOA stopped caring about Nintendo Power right when Future took over in 2007.)

[Spak-Spang]

Nintendo should just buy the game from him and officially release it for their system.

[ejamer]

Now, who asked for the NPs to be brought down - Nintendo, or Future? (Keep in mind NOA stopped caring about Nintendo Power right when Future took over in 2007.)

Who is the company publishing the retail versions of comics (Zelda and Mario) from those old mags?
Either that entity, or whoever is licencing the content to them for printing, has a pretty solid reason for wanting to remove the free (and totally unauthorized) copies being provided online.


Still a shame. I wasn't likely to use digital copies of old mags in any meaningful way, and certainly wouldn't pay for them, but have fond memories of Nintendo Power from my childhood and would have enjoyed browsing the online archives for short time out of nostalgia.

[Ian Sane]

While it seems odd that after all this time Nintendo waited until after it released to cease and desist it, this is Nintendo.  They're clueless cuckoo heads at the best of times so I think it would be very believable that they were completely unaware of it until its actual release raised its profile enough to attract their attention.

While I completely understand why Nintendo would drop the hammer on this, and I would do the same in their shoes, it's frustrating when you look at how disconnected they are from the Metroid fanbase.  Metroid isn't a huge selling series but it's a very well respected one with a dedicated fanbase.  In the last several years Nintendo released a very infamous dud of a Metroid game and is just now returning to the series with a spinoff that plays nothing like Metroid, has a graphic style that is nothing like Metroid and is unwanted by the Metroid fanbase.  This unofficial remake is actually more what the fans want than what Nintendo is offering.  Nintendo is shutting down a game the fans wanted and is pushing their own game the fans rejected the second it was revealed.  Nintendo could have easily created their own Zero Mission style take on Metroid II during this time.  When you're shutting down a game that better resembles what the fans want than your own title then you're embarrassingly out-of-touch with your fans.  If Nintendo were smart they should look at the situation and realize their approach to Metroid has been wrong.  But instead Federation Force will bomb and they'll come to the conclusion that Metroid doesn't sell.

[ejamer]

...  But instead Federation Force will bomb and they'll come to the conclusion that Metroid doesn't sell.

Seems cynical, but I've seen enough Nintendo decisions that I'll bet on this outcome.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think the lack of Metroid games over the last six years would suggest they've already come to that conclusion.

[MagicCow64]

Alright, just finished the game today, took around 6.5 hours. I found the pneumatic transport room at about hour 5 and paused to go back to the previous areas and clean up, and I was quite surprised to see that I was at 100% when I saved before the final boss to check. I feel like that would not have happened in a full-on Nintendo game, as I did not go crazy power bombing every room and whatnot looking for secrets (I've played Super Metroid three times and never got above 90%).

Which kind of feeds into my overall assessment of the game: It's a really cool project and a clever adaptation of Metroid II, but in the end it doesn't quite get to the level of Fusion or Zero Mission. I was pumped when the new stuff started showing up mid-way through, but it becomes clear that most of the additions are kind of half-baked or just inconsequential. Like, I was pleasantly surprised to find the research ship on the surface, but it turns out to be tiny and just have an energy tank and a forgettable mini-boss. The power plant was probably the only addition that I thought was fully effective. And aside from the new stuff, it's chained the original's structure which doesn't hold up that well in terms of general level design.

Definitively worth checking out, but I also wonder what I would think about it if i wasn't constantly cross-checking it against the Gameboy game, which I played earlier this year. I also feel like Nintendo would have put out a superior adaptation given the limitations of the base structure, with something even more off the rails than the suit-less section in Zero Mission. Like, the queen wouldn't actually be the queen, and would unleash another round of 'troids into the planet or something for a surprise back-half of the game.

[ClexYoshi]

While it seems odd that after all this time Nintendo waited until after it released to cease and desist it, this is Nintendo.  They're clueless cuckoo heads at the best of times so I think it would be very believable that they were completely unaware of it until its actual release raised its profile enough to attract their attention.

While I completely understand why Nintendo would drop the hammer on this, and I would do the same in their shoes, it's frustrating when you look at how disconnected they are from the Metroid fanbase.  Metroid isn't a huge selling series but it's a very well respected one with a dedicated fanbase.  In the last several years Nintendo released a very infamous dud of a Metroid game and is just now returning to the series with a spinoff that plays nothing like Metroid, has a graphic style that is nothing like Metroid and is unwanted by the Metroid fanbase.  This unofficial remake is actually more what the fans want than what Nintendo is offering.  Nintendo is shutting down a game the fans wanted and is pushing their own game the fans rejected the second it was revealed.  Nintendo could have easily created their own Zero Mission style take on Metroid II during this time.  When you're shutting down a game that better resembles what the fans want than your own title then you're embarrassingly out-of-touch with your fans.  If Nintendo were smart they should look at the situation and realize their approach to Metroid has been wrong.  But instead Federation Force will bomb and they'll come to the conclusion that Metroid doesn't sell.

I kinda find it hilarious that this is happening in the same year that Sega has unveiled it's unprecedented collaboration with a pair of fans who have been making engines and level design for their own Sonic fan projects for YEARS.

The REAL shame here is how many dead metroid pitches there probably are. Unseen64 have uncovered a couple of these talking to former NST and Mercury Steam likely did the same at around the time they were muucking up Castlevania.

I'm pretty confident that Nintendo has to know there's desire for this. they HAVE to be looking at the numbers on stuff like Axiom Verge, Ori, Cave Story, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (by the way, I'm pretty confident one Matt Bozon dreams of doing a metroid game)... I mean, our very own Dr. Johnathan Metts told the head of the american branch of the hydra that is Nintendo to his face.

I think nobody in Japan has the drive to do this, and they don't trust a team outside of themselves to do it. NoA thinks otherwise and they probably tried to keep a lid on AM2R, and the lid got blown off of it by all the coverage the game got and NCL caught wind of it.

[Ian Sane]

Anyone else find it ironic that if you look at the indie scene and there are Metroidvanias all over the place, yet both Metroid and Castlevania are effectively dead?  There is a whole generation of indie devs that seem to have been inspired by Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night and yet Nintendo and Konami act like those games are irrelevant.  If indie off-brand Metroidvanias can find enough of an audience for those devs to continue to make games then why couldn't Nintendo and Konami pull it off when they've got the existing brand names?  Konami has pretty much given up on videogames but with Nintendo I think the problem is that they're thinking too big.  They seem to want Metroid to be a big mainstream hit but if they made it for the 3DS or as an eShop release with a smaller team and didn't go for broke on HD visuals they could probably make something profitable that would be very well received and popular with the smaller audience that's into Metroid.  Hell they probably could have just spent the resources they spent on Federation Force and put it towards a real Metroid and it would probably sell better than Federation Force will (which I assume is going to be a massive bomb).

[Luigi Dude]

They seem to want Metroid to be a big mainstream hit but if they made it for the 3DS or as an eShop release with a smaller team and didn't go for broke on HD visuals they could probably make something profitable that would be very well received and popular with the smaller audience that's into Metroid.

That's exactly the issue with Metroid right now.  To Nintendo making an eShop only, lower budget 2D Metroid like all the indie projects inspired by it is a sign of defeat.  After that happens who would be willing to buy a full priced retail 2D Metroid anymore?  They want to be able pull a NSMB or DCK Returns where they can make the return of the first 2D Metroid in over a decade a big deal that drives up sales of a full $50 retail game in sales over a million.  Metroid Fusion sold 1.6 million copies which is more then Super which did around 1.4 million.  In comparison Zero Mission didn't even sell a million which is why we've never seen any official sales on what it sold.

That's why it's been so long since we've gotten a 2D Metroid.  Zero Mission despite being well beloved my fans and critics alike, was a huge drop in sales compared to Fusion.  Nintendo knows the series can do better which is why they're waiting until they have the right idea and team to release such a title that can achieve million plus sales again.

[Oedo]

According to the developer, there's been no cease and desist handed down from Nintendo and so far they've only sent DMCA notices to the sites that had the game up for download. The C&D could still be coming, but if this holds it sounds like the developer can continue developing and updating the game, which would be about as good an outcome as anybody could have reasonably hoped for in this kind of situation.

[Shaymin]

I'm plotting out something for the site that is the equivalent of a "trade value" column for Nintendo franchises, and I'm not sure Metroid is in the top 10 at this point BECAUSE its core gameplay is effectively open source.

[NWR_insanolord]

On a certain level I can agree with that, but at the same time there are at least ten times as many indie 2D platformers as there are indie Metroid-style games, and Nintendo still manages to stand out above the crowd when they want to.

[Oedo]

It really depends on the parameters you'd set for what's eligible to be included and what constitutes "trade value." In the strictest sense, I can only think of five Nintendo properties that I think are easy calls to have more intrinsic value than Metroid (plus two more that I think most people would have ahead of it, but I'm not so sure about). If you're a little more liberal with what's included (like series that are combinations of other properties, or derived from existing properties), or start bringing numbers into it, then it becomes really interesting. That sounds like a really neat idea for a column.

[ThePerm]

I downloaded as soon as I could, I haven't installed it yet though. Nintendo should work on having a few remakes available for GameBoy games because I'd imagine they are still good games, but the system had it's limitations, and I'd imagine not everyone got to play them. I never had a Gameboy, yet there are a number of games I might be interested in playing if they had them available, but with some visual tweeks.

[MagicCow64]

That's a decent point about the proliferation of Metroidvania titles on the indie scene reducing the incentive for Nintendo to dip back in, but I've played a lot of them given my love of the three "modern" 2D Metroid games, and I still honestly think that Shadow Complex is the only one that gets in the ballpark. The framework seems approachable to indie devs, but in practice it seems to be quite hard to actually nail the design ethos. Both Axiom Verge and this Metroid II remake gave me strong first flushes, but ultimately turned out lacking. I think Nintendo could really look at the formula and give it a refresh with a 2.5D game with novel mechanics, if they were so inclined.

[Ian Sane]

Metroidvania fans are not casual rubes that only know a few titles.  Everyone that digs Metroidvania games is fully aware of what Metroid is and probably adores it.  Saying that too many similar games it going to make it hard for Nintendo is stand out is like saying that too many metal albums will make it hard for a new Metallica album to stand out.  The competition can make it difficult for any new Metroidvania franchise to stand out and find an audience but Metroid is the strongest brandname there is in that genre.  The only way that would diminish is if Nintendo ruins the brand by making poor titles under the Metroid label, you know like they've been doing since 2010, and "Sonics" it.

The people playing Shadow Complex, Cave Story or Axiom Verge would all eat up a proper Metroid.  If anything part of the reason these games find an audience is because Nintendo has been so shitty at filling the demand for such titles themselves.

[TrueNerd]

AM2R is (almost) the Truth.

I am shocked at how much of a Metroid-ass Metroid game this is. The way Samus moves and animates, the art style, the music, sound effects, all the intangibles, this is Metroid. I play as many Metroidvanias as I can get my hands on and this is as close as we've gotten to Zero Mission since Zero Mission. One dude made this!

Someone in this thread said items and upgrades aren't as cleverly hidden as they are in Nintendo-made Metroids, and I think that's accurate. We'll see how the end game content is, as that's usually where the multi step shinesparking stuff happens. (I'm only two hours in.)

Quibbles aside, the game is giving me the same "I need to play all of this ASAP" pull that the best Metroidvania games give me. That's just about the highest compliment I can give a game.

So far, 10/10 would torrent again.

[azeke]

Metroidvania fans are not casual rubes that only know a few titles.

Tell that to all those self-proclaimed "hardcore metroidvania fans" who aren't even aware of Toki Tori 2, La-Mulana and Fluidity/Hydroventure.

I am shocked at how much of a Metroid-ass Metroid game this is. The way Samus moves and animates, the art style..

No wonder, considering art-style is taken straight from the original article.

[ThePerm]

I tried to play this, but my computer sucks. Most of my USB ports are dead so I can't plug in a controller. Last summer, all I did was replay Metroid Games, those were fun.

[Wah]

RIP git gud an get new one bra!

[King of Twitch]

I just finished this and it was spectacular. I haven't played M2, Fu, or ZM, so it was all new to me and went into it blind, an experience I have not felt since Prime 3 nearly a decade ago. It has just enough linearity and small enough in scope to keep it from getting frustrating even when you get lost. Loved the music, loved the graphics, loved the enemies and environments, couldn't put it down (even when I was lost), enraged by the few boss fights, grateful for the ample save stations, in awe at some "story action" points, wishing it would never end.

8/10 for some boss fights, glitches, some powerup abilities that aren't fully explained, and a few sections that giftwrap powerups without putting up much of a challenge. If they had another few months it'd be a perfect 10.

[Soren]

Hey, remember last week when Pokemon Uranium and AM2R were nominated for Best Fan Creation at the 2016 Game Awards?

Well you shouldn't, because it never actually happened, apparently. This really should not surprise anyone, but it removes what little legitimacy the Game Awards had by caving in to one of their sponsorships.

https://www.destructoid.com/pokemon-uranium-and-am2r-dropped-from-best-fan-game-category-at-the-game-awards-400486.phtml

[nickmitch]

Sucks, but kinda makes sense from Nintendo's perspective.  Can't let people win awards on things you sent cease-and-desist orders over.  Would probably only entice people to make more of them.

Though, the lesson they won't take away is: Metriod II desperately needs an "official" remake and people want it.

[Ian Sane]

How many fan films that use someone else's IP get nominated for Oscars?  How many songs with unlicensed samples get nominated for Grammys?

None.

So why does excluding indy games that illegally use someone else's IP hurt the legitimacy of the Game Awards?

[Soren]

So why does excluding indy games that illegally use someone else's IP hurt the legitimacy of the Game Awards?

Because it's an awards show caving into pressure from a sponsor. The Game Awards created the category in 2014 and has had no problems until today. Twitch plays Pokemon, based on a ROM of the original Pokemon Red running on an emulator, won that year. For better or worse, The Game Awards legitimized the work of modders and fan content with an award voted by the community.

Nintendo is so salty with the creators of these fan-made games that they're willing to pull their muscle on this one and Keighley is apparently willing to let Nintendo bully his awards show. Meanwhile, iD software is congratulating the makers of the Brutal Doom 64 mod on their nomination.

[ThePerm]

Nintendo needs to start a fund to buy up all this talent. Most of these are US based. Get these guys together and turn them into a studio. Call them something like...wait that name is awesome im not publicizing it.

[Stratos]

That actually sounds a lot more community friendly than C&D-ing some fan creations to death. Invite the creators into a probationary program where they can work with other skilled creators overseen by someone at Nintendo and if they can put out a quality product within one year (either a professionally done version of their fan creation w/ Nintendo oversight or another project of Nintendo's choosing) then offer them a job at one of their studios.

[Khushrenada]

That actually sounds a lot more community friendly than C&D-ing some fan creations to death. Invite the creators into a probationary program where they can work with other skilled creators overseen by someone at Nintendo and if they can put out a quality product within one year (either a professionally done version of their fan creation w/ Nintendo oversight or another project of Nintendo's choosing) then offer them a job at one of their studios.

That sounds reasonable except, from a business point of view, if you reward the people who have modded these games and broken copyright, you are sending out a message of encouragement for others to start doing this too and you could then have a whole lot more people modding and putting a spin on your IP's and increase the proliferation of this copyright infringement because they have an expectation of being possibly rewarded for it with jobs in your company like these others were given for doing this. And chances are Nintendo doesn't want other fans or more people doing this then there are already.

[King of Twitch]

yah. wouldn't want all those basement dwellers doing remakes of Mario 2: The Lost Levels and eating into their profits.





giveth, taketh away.