One of the most surprising moments at Nintendo’s recent E3 press conference was the announcement of Metroid: Other M, a game being made by Tecmo’s Team Ninja, known for their work on the Dead of Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises. Marking the second time that Nintendo has collaborated with Tecmo on a Wii title (the first being Fatal Frame IV with the help of Grasshopper Manufacture), Metroid: Other M promises to be one of Nintendo’s biggest titles for 2010.

Kotaku interviewed two of the men behind this ambitious project. Yoshio Sakamoto, long-time developer of Nintendo’s 2D Metroid titles, and Yousuke Hayashi, head of Team Ninja, sat down to discuss the title.

The first bit of detail about Other M is that it won’t support Wii MotionPlus. The team, however, promises to deliver in two areas that Nintendo has typically not focused on in previous installments: stylishness and story.

"Our goal is to provide the most interesting gameplay and deliver the most cool Metroid ever," Sakamoto commented.

The interview elaborates that development of a new Metroid title for Wii commenced in 2006, when Sakamoto realized that his 2D Metroid needed an idea for a Metroid title on Wii that used in-game 3D graphics. Retro Studios, despite their highly-regarded work on the Metroid Prime series, was not an option when working on the first concepts. Sakamoto elaborates on this by saying "Retro has their own approach toward Metroid games. They had their own producer. Their approach to Metroid games has traditionally been the FPA — first person adventure — but my concept was kind of different than that and I was looking for a team that could bring my idea to life."

That’s when Team Ninja became part of the team. Hayashi explained that Team Ninja "is very fond of Samus as a character. We've all got huge soft spots for her."

Story will be one of the most important aspects of Other M. Sakamoto wants to tell more of Samus’ story, something that started in the 2D Metroid games such as Metroid Fusion on Gameboy Advance "With Fusion, that game was very story-driven. In that game, I believe I was able to explain Samus as a character, as a person, not just somebody in armor. And I was not only explaining Samus but the characters around her… with Super Metroid I showed, through her relationship with the baby Metroid, some of her maternal instincts. Between those two stories I feel I was able to explain Samus as a person. But because Metroid equals Samus, I'd like to develop her character further, as a soldier, as a human, also as a woman. That's what they're hoping to do with Other M."

Finally, both developers confirm that this new Metroid project will be one aimed directly at the fans, but hope that it offers enough to appeal to a new fanbase. "Our goal in developing Other M," Sakamoto comments, "Is to deliver the kind of Metroid that all fans want to play."

Samus’ Varia Suit and Ice Beam are in the game along with new abilities and a feeling of progression of the character’s powers. Hayashi finished by saying that “Metroid has definitely been one of those games where as the player progresses through the story you can really feel yourself powering up.”