What Could Have Been / Metroid

Kraid as he was planned to appear in Metroid Prime.

The Metroid franchise has seen its share of cancelled games and scuttled concepts:

Video Games

Mainline Games

• Metroid:
  • Samus originally had several detailed animations that were eventually scrapped due to limited file size, but the final game still retains unique sprites for Samus facing left and right hidden in the code. The game itself uses mirrored sprites.

• Metroid II: Return of Samus:
  • A Game Boy Color version called Metroid II was planned but never saw the light of day. A mock-up◊ image appeared in the German Club Nintendo magazine, as the room shown does not appear in the game).

• Super Metroid:
  • In an interview, the developers stated that they briefly considered having Samus be naked in her death animation, but quickly scrapped the idea.
  • Minako Hamano, the secondary composer for the Metroid series alongside Kenji Yamamoto, originally did the voice for Samus when she dies. However, Yamamoto stated it had to be dropped because her voice sounded too sexual.

• Metroid Fusion:
  • Nintendo didn't plan on developing a Metroid game for the GBA originally, with the title only entering production following the extremely positive Western reaction to the Metroid Prime Spaceworld 2000 trailer.
  • The 2001 E3 preview, at that point simply titled Metroid IV, looked quite different and had several gameplay mechanics that didn't make it into the finished game, including it apparently taking place on a moving space ship rather than a station, and Samus having the ability to walk on walls.

• Metroid: Zero Mission:
  • Artistically, Zero Mission was originally designed with a cartoony look that resembled a more detailed version of the original game's graphics. The design team later changed it to the mostly realistic-looking version it is now, after deciding a game with more realistic graphics would do better in North America, where the franchise is more popular.
  • Crocomire can be found in the game's files, seemingly indicating that he was going to be included in the game (and the game was meant to tie into Super Metroid more), but was ultimately cut. Interestingly enough, the Crocomire sprite here lacked the rough skin traditionally found on Crocomire, indicating that the player would damage Crocomire due to in-game events.
  • Also from Super, they initially had the ability to turn certain items on and off. This was later cut for unknown reasons, but sprites for every possible loadout still exist in the game's code.

• Metroid: Other M:
  • At GDC 2010, Sakamoto admitted that, due to his demand for a single Wii Remote control scheme and his inexperience with 3D game design, one of his initial ideas was to make 2D sidescroller like previous entries (though the way he phrased it had people believe he wanted to make it a rail shooter).

• Metroid: Samus Returns:
  • Developer MercurySteam originally pitched two other projects: an original Metroid Wii U game that would have been a first-person adventure similar to the Metroid Prime Trilogy and a remake of Metroid Fusion for the Nintendo 3DS. The former was rejected due to Nintendo having no interest in a home console installment at the time, and the latter was passed over due to Sakamoto believing that Metroid II would benefit more from being remade.

• Metroid Dread:
  • The Nintendo DS version of the game. The game was in development on-and-off throughout the lifespan of the system, the first attempt being in 2005 and the second being in 2008. The second attempt resulted in a prototype that was allegedly shown behind closed doors to Nintendo of America staff at E3 2009, only for it to be once again cancelled due to Sakamoto still being dissatisfied with the project.
  • MercurySteam's initial vision for Dread was quite lofty. When beginning production in 2018, the game's team had planned for twice as many bosses and a whopping 120 cinematics, all of which had to be cut down through development to avoid crunch while still meeting the deadline imposed by Nintendo. This may explain the suspiciously empty top-right corner of the map, the lack of a fourth Aeion ability, and the rushed pacing towards the story's climax.
  • The Special Edition artbook contains some interesting unused designs, such as a Network Station sphere that forms the old Adam's face to speak to Samus, biomechanical E.M.M.I.s with nightmare-inducing cyborg body horror, and a Kraid with black scales and an impressively muscular build.

Prime Games

• Metroid Prime:
  • The entire game was originally going to be in third-person view, but Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't pleased with it (citing that it wasn't intuitive) and had the team scrap what they had so far in order to redo the game in first-person view.
  • The Morph Ball almost didn't make it into the game due to the development team having trouble trying to make the transition from first person view to third person view being seamless as it was in Super Metroid when Samus curls and uncurls in ball form. The dev team planned to scrap the power-up if they couldn't get the idea to work, but Miyamoto stated that if the team couldn't get the idea to work, then the game itself wouldn't work.
  • At first the artists took to rendering classic Metroid enemies such as Sovas and Kihunters, but Nintendo told them to try making their own enemy designs instead. This led to Tallon IV having a much more unique ecosystem and less of a rehash of Super.
  • Apparently, it took so long to find a composer for the game that the team was ready to leave the game without any soundtrack at all, if need be. Kenji Yamamoto finally stepped up late in development and composed the game's soundtrack.
  • During a livestream with Sean Booth, it was confirmed that Music/Autechre were initially considered to compose the game. While Nintendo decline, both band members were thanked in the credits.
  • Equipping different Beam weapons would have caused the Arm Cannon to transform entirely - for example, the Ice Beam would've turned it into a claw and the Wave Beam would've turned it into a tapered alien shape. Renders can be found here.
  • The Phazon Suit was going to be purple and green, similar to the Fusion-Varia Suit from Fusion.
  • Kraid was going to be a boss in the Phazon Mines. He got far enough in development that he was modeled and textured◊, but was cut for time. According to the modeler, Gene Kohler, he was not replaced by the Omega Pirate; he was already planned to appear before Kraid's cut. Kraid's exclusion here meant that it take nearly 2 decades before he would appear in a Metroid game again, in Metroid Dread. Concept art also shows a giant version of Mother Brain and different versions of Ridley (one showing his muscles and organs while another had him look more robotic), implying that those could have been in the game.
  • An odd enemy with a Queen Metroid-like head, a Zebesian-like claw cannon, and a bunch of tentacles, was scrapped. Its model was placed in the Pirate lab in Phendrana Drifts as a corpse called Experiment 7526.
  • It was originally intended for Samus to battle a much less restricted Parasite Queen; in other words, the Queen was not going to be fought within a container as seen in the final version of the game. This is shown in Metroid Prime 's very first trailer, with the boss running across the room and climbing on walls.
  • The game's files contain an unused model and animations for a boss resembling a large ice-themed primate that was supposed to be the boss of Phendrana Drifts instead of Thardus (who was originally the boss of the Magmoor Caverns). It was cut because the developers felt that its design didn't fit in well with the rest of the game or the Metroid series as a whole. Consequently, Thardus was moved to Phendrana Drifts, which is how the Magmoor Caverns became the only area in the game without a boss or even a mini-boss.
  • The Impact Crater was intended to be much larger than the one in the final game, and also would've featured an escape sequence after defeating the Metroid Prime. This was cut due to time constraints, but a small hint that you were supposed to escape during gameplay remains in the final game: the ending cutscene after defeating Metroid Prime features a title card reading "Crater Collapse Imminent. Evacuate Immediately." Since that escape now happens off-screen, it feels like an odd insert.
  • The Screw Attack and Speed Booster power-ups were going to be obtainable, but were scrapped. The Screw Attack was later added to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes while the Speed Booster wouldn't appear in a 3D Metroid game until Metroid: Other M.
  • Retro wanted to include Super Metroid as a secret Embedded Precursor, but Nintendo shot it down because they lacked an in-house way to emulate SNES games on the GameCube. While it was possible with third-party software, they they didn't want to deal with any potential legal issues. The settled with adding the original Metroid.
  • At one point, the game was set between Super and Fusion, and Phazon was once a byproduct of Metroids based on their Energy Being nature.
  • Retro Studio didn't start out by developing a Metroid title. Rather, one of the first titles they worked was an action-adventure title that starred three Action Girls who fought genetically-enhanced terrorists on Earth. It was then retooled to an alien working for Earth to fend of an invasion from a different alien race. Shigeru Miyamoto saw this pitch, and suggested turning it into a Metroid game.
  • Retro Studio developed the game with the mindset of it being a Continuity Reboot rather than being canon within the then-current trilogy. It was Nintendo who brought it into the timeline, setting it between the first two games.
  • There no plans originally to have bonuses tied to connecting the game with Metroid Fusion, because Fusion didn't even exist, much less be in development. Incidentally Fusion exists because of the positive reaction to Prime's Spaceworld 2000 trailer.

• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes:
  • Lead technical engineer Jack Mathews claimed the team wanted to better differentiate the Light and Dark Aether versions of each location, but they ran out of time. Because of this, the Sanctuary Fortress and Ing Hive are the only two areas that are really that different.
  • Charge Combos were planned to be usable in Morph Ball - they would've used Power Bombs instead of Missiles.
  • There was a plan to have both a Dark Luminoth enemy and a boss fight with an incarnation of Ridley called “Dark Ridley”. The former was scrapped because it made no sense In-Universe; a Luminoth would rather self-terminate than allow itself to be controlled by the Ing. As for the latter, Dark Ridley has an unused theme on the disk, which has been uploaded to YouTube. It was possibly only serving as a placeholder, however, because it’s his theme from Metroid Prime slowed to half speed and put through some filters to create an echo effect. Nonetheless, it suggests that a similar tune would have been used had his boss fight made it into the game.
  • Text describing a "Morph Ball Racing" multiplayer mode can be found in the game, but Jack Mathews said it was scrapped because it wasn't very exciting.
  • Super Metroid was going to be an unlockable extra similar to how the original Metroid was in Prime. It was cut due to time constraints.
  • There were some differences in the promotional demo versions of Echoes:
    • Aether is shown with a sun and a moon in its sky. In the final game, Aether is a moonless Rogue Planet.
    • There is leftover data for the arm of a Space Pirate in the place of Samus' first-person arm cannon model, which was for a scrapped multiplayer mode in which Space Pirates were playable.

• Metroid Prime: Hunters:
  • Noxus' name was originally just Nox. In January 2022, Richard Vorodi said in an interview that when coming up with names, they then had to do a search to make sure the names weren't already claimed or used by some other entity. In this case, they likely had to modify the name because of the Westwood Studios game Nox.
  • Power Bombs were going to see use, but they got cut (likely for multiplayer balance). The enemy Trocra's model is actually called "PowerBomb_Model", leading fans to assume that its assets were repurposed.

• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption:
  • After completing Metroid Prime 2, the studio wanted to experiment with other Nintendo franchises, including The Legend of Zelda. Metroid Prime 3 was made at Nintendo's insistence, as Iwata wanted a Metroid title at launch in order to showcase the Wii's capabilities
  • A scrapped idea for the game was to have Samus doing some actual bounty hunting as optional side-missions, to avert the series trend of her doing everything but her stated profession. Nintendo balked at the idea for two reasons: the first being that they didn't think it was in-character^note Nintendo didn't realize the connotations of calling Samus a bounty hunter in Western regions. Retro Studios (and most Westerners) assumed this meant she was "Boba Fett, but with a sense of honor," while Nintendo HQ believed that she was an altruistic space adventurer., and the second being that Nintendo didn't believe the studio was large enough to do such expanded elements while still making the desired release deadline.
  • The Gunship was originally meant to play a larger part in the game, with piloting sections. They were cut when Retro realized they didn't have the expertise to pull them off, preferring to scrap them entirely rather than deliver something unsatisfying.
  • There were going to be Chozo ruins on Bryyo, as shown by concept art in Nintendo Power, but the area was cut out, leaving the only Chozo artifacts being in Bryyo Ice.
  • Gandrayda was going to have a Reptilicus transformation too. This was likely cut due to the fact that she already had plenty of other forms to use.
  • The original concept for the opening Ridley fight wasn't supposed to be falling down a shaft, but would rather have been Samus standing on the top of her ship while it was flying through a canyon.

• Metroid Prime: Federation Force:
  • Next Level Games began work on a Metroid PvP multiplayer shooter codenamed Project Valkyrie for the Nintendo DS in the late 2000s, with these three pieces of concept art being the only things to publicly surface from that stage of development. The project would end up being put on hold when Nintendo requested that the company make Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, then revived afterwards as a potential Wii U title, before being retooled into Metroid Prime: Federation Force for the Nintendo 3DS, an idea that producer Kensuke Tanabe had wished to do since the Nintendo DSi.

Proposed and Cancelled Games:

• A Metroid installment for the Nintendo 64 was considered, but ultimately scrapped due to Yoshio Sakamoto being uncomfortable with 3D game design and Nintendo's R&D1 team having no interest in making 3D games. An unknown third-party studio was asked to create the game, but they rejected it on the basis that Super Metroid was a Tough Act to Follow.
• An alternate version of Metroid Prime 2 was pitched following the first game's completion, entitled "Metroid 1.5". In it, Samus would have been trapped on an alien starship from another dimension immediately after the first game, whose owners wish to collect bounty hunters and steal their abilities. The concept never fully got off the ground, but several elements (multiplayer, an evil Samus doppelgänger, alien villains from another dimension, a ship adventure with unconventional method of unlocking abilities, etc.) were salvaged and later used in the other Metroid installments.
• During the development of the Wii, one of the games planned for the console was an Intelligent Systems developed Metroid, though the only information currently known is that, had it completed production, it would have released sometime after Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
• Following the completion of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, a member of its production team pitched a prequel spin-off: a Turn-Based Tactics game akin to the X-COM series, taking place shortly after Samus first left the Chozo and having her as one of many Galactic Federation and bounty hunter units under the player's command as they try to stem Space Pirate incursions on various planets. The proposal never made it out of internal approval at Retro Studios, due to most of the studio being tired of making Metroid games at that point.

Other Media

• In the 1980s, DiC Entertainment pitched a Super Mario Bros. Power Hour series that would have animated shorts dedicated to various Nintendo properties, with the Metroid series being one of them. Said shorts would have featured the bounty hunter as male. The entire project was passed over in favor of producing The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
• The Nintendo Power article covering Blood of the Chozo mentions that the Nintendo Power Source staffer who created the frame story had also created more story material that went unused. This is followed by a passage that discusses Samus's backstory, including the deaths of her parents Captain Thea Aran and Chief Engineer Avram Aran and the disappearance of her younger brother Solomon Aran, implying that this excerpt was one such unused concept.
• A Metroid comic helmed by Archie Comics was pitched in the early 2010s by Archie Sonic artist Steven Butler, but was passed over in favor of Ian Flynn's Mega Man (Archie Comics).
• In the mid-2000s, the rights to produce a Metroid film were acquired by director John Woo and intended for release in 2006, but the studio immediately ran into hurtles regarding the story. Specifically, the film was intended to be an Origins Episode for Samus, but Samus had no real character to speak of, and Nintendo, much more cautious about film adaptations after the tremendous failure of Super Mario Bros. (1993), did not want another studio to be the one to answer the questions about Samus' origins and personality. The fact that Nintendo could not provide many answers about the main character, nor wanted the producers to answer the questions themselves, rather obviously made it difficult for development to continue, and the rights eventually lapsed.

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