Metroid Prime Federation Force Announced (Next Level, 3DS, 4 Player, Mission Based)

People were mad they didn't get what they wanted. They're showing their disgust with those downvotes.

Not seeing what is wrong here.

I understand that and it's perfectly reasonable, nobody is obligated to like this game or the decision to make it; I more than welcome people to press the downvote button.

However that doesn't really change the fact that I don't personally think Nintendo should care about youtube dislikes on this game, and that doesn't change the fact that for me personally (as an individual) this and all the vitriol that surrounds it is what I uniquely despise about the enthusiast gaming community.
Certain parts of this circle have a talent for being ridiculously hyperbolic, mean-spirited, and venomous (it kind of sucks that the aura of E3 seems to supercharge these traits) a lot of the times it gets a bit tiring for me.
It's the kind of thing that makes me happy that I don't have a passion for making games; who'd want to create stuff for people who act like that?
:P
 
People will still think that as long as that cooking simulator has the lore and characters of F-Zero, then it's OK. Because apparently, the important thing about a videogame which gives it's identity is the lore and not the gameplay/game design.

F-Zero: Show Me Your Mousse!

"It's a fresh take set in the F-Zero universe! You can't complain!"
 
multiplayer only on a handheld

it seems obvious that fans clamor for a new metroid game and nintendo literally had nothing so we got this.

i'm not even a metroid fan and I'm pissed. I would have potentially bought a new 2D metroid or a metroid prime n3DS port.

i don't know how anyone thought this would be a good idea.

It's a good idea because many people play Monster Hunter and Smash 3DS online.
The 3DS lacks a good co-op shooter and this fits the bill.
 
Good Lord, people aren't obligated to be excited about a release.

Nintendo made a calculated business move, attaching a big name to this product. It backfired. Spectacularly. That's life, and the kind of response market research should have seen coming.

I don't think anyone is saying anyone is obligated to be excited about a release. They're not even saying you have to like the game. I think it's fine to be disappointed that no new Metroid was announced. I know I'm disappointed. But I think it's wrong to take out frustrations on this game just because it's not the new Metroid game we wanted when it's not trying to replace the franchise. At least give it a chance and evaluate it on its own merit. You could still hate it.
 
People said the moment they saw Blastball that it was Metroid. How does that happen if it has no resemblence to Metroid game? It doesn't. It plays exactly like the Prime games is guaranteed to have weapons/abilities/enemies/worlds/lore in common with the Prime games.

That's like looking at horrible, terrible fan art and saying, "well I mean you can tell what it's from, so clearly you should enjoy it as much as the original."

This game is missing a vast majority of what I love about the series.

Metroid is about a solitary bounty hunter exploring the depths of hostile, dark environments, coming to an understanding about a world and its history, and evolving her abilities to survive, progress and overcome.

Counter to this, one of the games announced is a bright and bold triple-player sports shooting ball-goal game.

In my mind, its as equally nonsensical as F-Zero: Cooking Simulator.

Exactly, this is pretty much the antithesis to Metroid Prime.
 
Metroid is about a solitary bounty hunter exploring the depths of hostile, dark environments, coming to an understanding about a world and its history, and evolving her abilities to survive, progress and overcome.

Counter to this, one of the games announced is a bright and bold triple-player sports shooting ball-goal game.

In my mind, its as equally nonsensical as F-Zero: Cooking Simulator.

And yet those two descriptions will play more alike than not and your example is nonsensical in a racing context. "In my mind" indeed.
 
Big difference between excitement and starting petitions to have it cancelled. People are going overboard with their disappointment in no Metroid WiiU announcement and channeling it into hate for what looks like a decent 3DS spinoff. It's sad.

Movement and controls were what looked most Metroid-y to me. Point is this looks like a Metroid Prime spinoff. It wasn't some huge shock when Blastball was revelead to be Metroid related.

Exactly. The metroid-y controls are the same as all the other prime games and nobody complained.
The controls are really easy to shoot, so even a crap player can still be good at helping the team.
 
It's really not hard to understand where disappointment stems from. A unique quality of video games is that their identity is forged in play, not just aesthetics or titles or names. Series earn their fans as defined by the way the game is designed and how it stands out amongst other titles. You can repackage more or less any game as any other franchise, but without that staple of identity in play it is, in reality, meaningless to the fans. Other factors play a part too, including aesthetics, but primarily when people say "I can't wait for the next Metroid/Half Life/Deus Ex/Final Fantasy/etc" they're speaking primarily of game systems.

So with Metroid you have a very clear vision of stage progression, exploration, and pacing. The initial out roar against Metroid Prime was satiated primarily because Metroid Prime, despite the perspective change, was structured exactly like a Metroid game. Metroid Prime has a lot in common with Super Metroid. On the other hand, a lot of the deep seeded, lingering hate against Other M comes not just from the emphasis on narrative, but how the game is designed from top to bottom. It diminishes upgrade based exploration and agency significantly enough for it to lose some of the "soul" associated with the series.

This is the vibe people get with Federation Fighters. There might be an incredible little game beating underneath the Metroid hood, but it calls into question why it's called Metroid at all when it doesn't appear to have anything in common with the series identity. Maybe it'll play differently than first impressions, but it seems primarily a co-op based action heavy game with none of the series strengths highlighted or discussed at all. This is in addition to adopting a chibi-like art style which is far removed from any other mainline or even spinoff Metroid game, further dissonance between the series identity and what this game is titled.

When stuff like this happens it causes fans to call into question why it exists under the current moniker seemingly (if not entirely accurately) at the expense of a mainline title that actually adheres to the series identity. Metroid: Federation Fighters is not Metroid 5 or Metroid Prime 4 in spirit. It's this bizarreo offshoot that might as well be reskinned and called F-Zero: Racing Rangers and you'd be hard pressed to have people say "why is this f-zero it feels like metroid". As a side, there is also this lingering concern with Nintendo that they fob off new entries in their franchises due to arguable poor investment (eg: now is not the time for new F-Zero or Metroid) but seem to obliviously release spin-offs wondering why people are upset and excusing the lack of mainline titles with "we're waiting until we come up with a good idea". It's a crock of shit and outright lie.
 
And yet those two descriptions will play more alike than not and your example is nonsensical in a racing context. "In my mind" indeed.

No, you don't understand.

In F-Zero: Cooking Simulator, you have to cook quickly.

You know, quickly, like the vehicles are in F-Zero.

You have to do "laps" of the kitchen to get your cutlery and ingredients. Just like in F-Zero.

F-Zero: Cooking Simulator fits into a racing context, about as convincingly as a three player bright bold shooting ball goal sports game fits into a series about a lone survivor exploring the darkness beneath worlds in solitude.
 
Just got off work...what the hell Nintendo? Go home, you're drunk. Next Levels first bad game?

In what way does this look bad? I mean, sure, I don't think it's what anyone wants in a new Metroid game, but it looks fine for what it is. Kind of hard to tell, but I'm not nearly ready enough to say it looks like it'll be a bad game.
 
It's really not hard to understand where disappointment stems from. A unique quality of video games is that their identity is forged in play, not just aesthetics or titles or names. Series earn their fans as defined by the way the game is designed and how it stands out amongst other titles. You can repackage more or less any game as any other franchise, but without that staple of identity in play it is, in reality, meaningless to the fans. Other factors play a part too, including aesthetics, but primarily when people say "I can't wait for the next Metroid/Half Life/Deus Ex/Final Fantasy/etc" they're speaking primarily of game systems.

So with Metroid you have a very clear vision of stage progression, exploration, and pacing. The initial out roar against Metroid Prime was satiated primarily because Metroid Prime, despite the perspective change, was structured exactly like a Metroid game. Metroid Prime has a lot in common with Super Metroid. On the other hand, a lot of the deep seeded, lingering hate against Other M comes not just from the emphasis on narrative, but how the game is designed from top to bottom. It diminishes upgrade based exploration and agency significantly enough for it to lose some of the "soul" associated with the series.
I'm asking for permission to copy and paste this awesome post in other similar Metroid discussions when needed. With credit of course.

Thank you.
 
That's like looking at horrible, terrible fan art and saying, "well I mean you can tell what it's from, so clearly you should enjoy it as much as the original."

This game is missing a vast majority of what I love about the series.



Exactly, this is pretty much the antithesis to Metroid Prime.

It's not TRYING to be the main Metroid series. It's a spinoff set in the Metroid Universe. It doesn't have to be anything like main Metroid. They could have made a game about a pirate wielding a laser sword who goes around slicing up Federation Soldiers or a Tourian base builder where you build Tourian and manage resources for the upcoming battle with Samus or made a game where you play as a Etecoon and still called it "Metroid".
 
That's like looking at horrible, terrible fan art and saying, "well I mean you can tell what it's from, so clearly you should enjoy it as much as the original."

This game is missing a vast majority of what I love about the series.



Exactly, this is pretty much the antithesis to Metroid Prime.
It's missing some things and adding others. Hey, almost sounds like a spinoff..

At some point, maybe tomorrow, maybe a year from now.. people will realize this game isn't being made INSTEAD of a Samus Aran entry into the Metroid franchise.

When stuff like this happens it causes fans to call into question why it exists under the current moniker seemingly (if not entirely accurately) at the expense of a mainline title that actually adheres to the series identity.
Solid post but this is basically the core of the problem. People thinking it exists at the expense of a real Metroid game. It's not for a home console, it's not by Retro Studios. If this game is costing us gamers anything, it may be Luigi's Mansion 3 or something similar. Spinoffs are nothing new in gaming and nothing to be afraid of. They're supposed to be different. If they weren't, there'd be no need to call them spinoffs. If this was a game about being alone on a planet and slowly exploring it and getting upgrades, it would have had Samus Aran as the main character and it wouldn't have been a spinoff. Now it's a co-op online shooter that helps explore the Metroid universe and add to Nintendo's library of online games. It could possibly tie into Metroid Prime 4, who knows.
 
Looking back at it, the trailer is kinda crap. Like a cheap powerpoint presentation.

And since we will be roleplaying as Federation soldiers there is bound to be a lack of Morph Ball or similar technology. Just might be a core multiplayer shoot em up.

Hopefully more information makes it seem more interesting. More I look at the Press kit and gameplay snippets the more underwhelmed I seem to become.
 
I'm surprised they even attempt to make another Hunters game, I thought the first one bombed and no one ever talks about it. The multiplayer was pretty decent, actually

and the chibi look and low quality visuals - I fear this might be the next Code Name S.T.E.A.M in terms of sales
 
One could say this game is off-topic, lol
i can see this, off topic and pointless.

The most im willing to go with a Metroid tie in for this game is if they had the "Galacic Federation" sans any Metroid in the title.
Probably because there was Metroid Prime 3 to worry about then. Hunters was just a much less important release.
Didn't Prime 3 came more than a year later?
Hunters came out at a time when we were still getting metroid games. Hunters also developed a niche fanbase of people who played it for the multiplayer.
The point was that Hunters is as far from a good Metroid games as you can get. You should take into context the person i was replying to XD
 
This game is from a team that has no previous connection to the franchise and is presented as a spinoff from the get go. I think you're overreacting.

If this game was Retro's next project, then that's different.

lol. Baffled are you? Your imagined scenario is nonsense. It sounds like the spin-off, within the same genre even. This isn't even as weird as Metroid Prime Pinball, it's like Metroid Prime Hunters.

It's not the response, it's the intensity (and lack of perspective).

EAD Tokyo is not wasting a game development cycle on Mario Tennis. They are hard at work on the next 3D Mario.

Mario Tennis has nothing to do with their title. You didn't get Mario Tennis in place of a 3D Mario.

All of this, thank you. There's so much jumping to conclusions that just because this is the first game with the Metroid name on it in a while, that somehow means it's now considered the new gold standard for the entire franchise. I'm sorry that it's been five years. It's still not nearly the lack of attention the franchise received between Super Metroid and Prime/Fusion, during which the IP was entirely ignored aside from Smash Bros.

Rumors and speculations had them on the next Metroid Prime for the Wii U and on Diddy Kong Racing (Wii U as well), helping Monster Games. I wonder what happened since Retro also twitted about being at E3 but they never showed up, and Monster Games weren't around as well.

It's almost as if...those games might not release by early 2016, and thus they weren't going to be discussed at this year's E3. You know, like Nintendo has been saying would be the case for months. How crazy!
 
It's not TRYING to be the main Metroid series. It's a spinoff set in the Metroid Universe. It doesn't have to be anything like main Metroid. They could have made a game about a pirate wielding a laser sword who goes around slicing up Federation Soldiers or a Tourian base builder where you build Tourian and manage resources for the upcoming battle with Samus or made a game where you play as a Etecoon and still called it "Metroid".
True. And as long as there is a "main Metroid game" out for fans to have their fix, any spinoff is welcomed.

Thing is... there is no such thing as a proper Metroid game ever since 2010 (2007 if you only count the good ones). And yet, all we are getting is this.
 
I don't think anyone is saying anyone is obligated to be excited about a release. They're not even saying you have to like the game. I think it's fine to be disappointed that no new Metroid was announced. I know I'm disappointed. But I think it's wrong to take out frustrations on this game just because it's not the new Metroid game we wanted when it's not trying to replace the franchise. At least give it a chance and evaluate it on its own merit. You could still hate it.

Yeah there are some reactions going overboard; that "cancel the game petition" is of course laughable.

But Nintendo isn't some innocent party here. Using the Metroid name wasn't like an accident or something they had to do - they wanted to use people's nostalgia and predispositions. And it backfired, which is totally understandable. Really its one of the major pitfalls of Nintendo's style of IP management. When you cultivate such distinct brands, put out only select releases and bank heavily off title recognition you run the risk of driving right off the cliff.

Basically, the preemptive hate, disapproval, and disappointment is to some extent justified as a consequence of Nintendo's massive miscalculation.
 
It's really not hard to understand where disappointment stems from. A unique quality of video games is that their identity is forged in play, not just aesthetics or titles or names. Series earn their fans as defined by the way the game is designed and how it stands out amongst other titles. You can repackage more or less any game as any other franchise, but without that staple of identity in play it is, in reality, meaningless to the fans. Other factors play a part too, including aesthetics, but primarily when people say "I can't wait for the next Metroid/Half Life/Deus Ex/Final Fantasy/etc" they're speaking primarily of game systems.

So with Metroid you have a very clear vision of stage progression, exploration, and pacing. The initial out roar against Metroid Prime was satiated primarily because Metroid Prime, despite the perspective change, was structured exactly like a Metroid game. Metroid Prime has a lot in common with Super Metroid. On the other hand, a lot of the deep seeded, lingering hate against Other M comes not just from the emphasis on narrative, but how the game is designed from top to bottom. It diminishes upgrade based exploration and agency significantly enough for it to lose some of the "soul" associated with the series.

This is the vibe people get with Federation Fighters. There might be an incredible little game beating underneath the Metroid hood, but it calls into question why it's called Metroid at all when it doesn't appear to have anything in common with the series identity. Maybe it'll play differently than first impressions, but it seems primarily a co-op based action heavy game with none of the series strengths highlighted or discussed at all. This is in addition to adopting a chibi-like art style which is far removed from any other mainline or even spinoff Metroid game, further dissonance between the series identity and what this game is titled.

When stuff like this happens it causes fans to call into question why it exists under the current moniker seemingly (if not entirely accurately) at the expense of a mainline title that actually adheres to the series identity. Metroid: Federation Fighters is not Metroid 5 or Metroid Prime 4 in spirit. It's this bizarreo offshoot that might as well be reskinned and called F-Zero: Racing Rangers and you'd be hard pressed to have people say "why is this f-zero it feels like metroid". As a side, there is also this lingering concern with Nintendo that they fob off new entries in their franchises due to arguable poor investment (eg: now is not the time for new F-Zero or Metroid) but seem to obliviously release spin-offs wondering why people are upset and excusing the lack of mainline titles with "we're waiting until we come up with a good idea". It's a crock of shit and outright lie.

Bravo.

latest
 
I thought the actual blast ball stuff was multi-player and the actual game was relevant to the Metroid plot from the federations standpoint. I mean you see them fighting aliens and stuff as a team.
Of course I understand that this isn't the AAA Metroid home console game with Samus everyone was expecting and I'm a bit disappointed as well. But hey, it's not 'bad' watching it again.
 
In what way does this look bad? I mean, sure, I don't think it's what anyone wants in a new Metroid game, but it looks fine for what it is. Kind of hard to tell, but I'm not nearly ready enough to say it looks like it'll be a bad game.

I think your standards are very low then, it looks aesthetically displeasing and cheap.
 
Didn't Prime 3 came more than a year later?

The point was that Hunters is as far from a good Metroid games as you can get. You should take into context the person i was replying to XD
I don't remember exactly but even so, we had some progress, some trailers, some hype and even a demo. We knew that there was a main Metroid in the work making Hunters a less important release.
 
You'd think that with all the brilliant indie developers out there, some of them making impressive Metroidvania games, Nintendo could find a single talented partner to make a 2D Metroid, even a remake.

Heck, a single man made this:

zemsQfZ.gif


(I made the above GIF as part of making this E3 gif)

He is certainly showing up Nintendo's offering.
 
Looking back at it, the trailer is kinda crap. Like a cheap powerpoint presentation.

And since we will be roleplaying as Federation soldiers there is bound to be a lack of Morph Ball or similar technology. Just might be a core multiplayer shoot em up.

Hopefully more information makes it seem more interesting. More I look at the Press kit and gameplay snippets the more underwhelmed I seem to become.

To be fair though, it's an fps and fps 3ds trailer are never too flash hot.
Once you see the gameplay though and focus on completing the mission objectives, you will totally forget the trailer ever happen in the first place !
 
Yeah there are some reactions going overboard; that "cancel the game petition" is of course laughable.

But Nintendo isn't some innocent party here. Using the Metroid name wasn't like an accident or something they had to do - they wanted to use people's nostalgia and predispositions. And it backfired, which is totally understandable. Really its one of the major pitfalls of Nintendo's style of IP management. When you cultivate such distinct brands, put out only select releases and bank heavily off title recognition you run the risk of driving right off the cliff.

Basically, the preemptive hate, disapproval, and disappointment is to some extent justified as a consequence of Nintendo's massive miscalculation.
Miyamoto said in 2014 that their plan for spinoff titles was to give fans something to chew on while they waited since development times are getting longer and longer. I don't think they would have made this title if they didn't at least have plans for the future of Metroid. That makes this an optimistic sign, not something to get upset over.
 
I honestly think they might have been going for a prime collection on 3DS, and found some sort of road block to its release. Instead of scrapping it altogether, they converted it into federation. They gambled that, since the core gameplay is still highly derivative of metroid prime, and it would be too much work to do a fully original line of enemies, keeping the Metroid elements would be for the better.

Maybe they would have been better off if the name itself didn't have metroid, but it was going to have a significant prime influence from the very start.

Blast Ball makes this very weird though. How on earth did that come about?
 
You'd think that with all the brilliant indie developers out there, some of them making impressive Metroidvania games, Nintendo could find a single talented partner to make a 2D Metroid, even a remake.

Heck, a single man made this:

zemsQfZ.gif


(I made the above GIF as part of making this E3 gif)

He is certainly showing up Nintendo's offering.
Yah I know it blows my mind Nintendo hasn't made a 2d Metroid entry in forever.
 
To be fair though, it's an fps and fps 3ds trailer are never too flash hot.
Once you see the gameplay though and focus on completing the mission objectives, you will totally forget the trailer ever happen in the first place !

I just hope the game doesn't force you to stick with that puny pea shooter.
 
You'd think that with all the brilliant indie developers out there, some of them making impressive Metroidvania games, Nintendo could find a single talented partner to make a 2D Metroid, even a remake.

Heck, a single man made this:


He is certainly showing up Nintendo's offering.

Thing is if they make a sidescrolling entry today it would have to be polygon graphics.
 
Multiplayer FPS isn't exactly my thing but I don't know, it looked fun in the Treehouse Live Event. I don't think I'll be getting it but looks fine for a spin-off.

I'm surprised they even attempt to make another Hunters game, I thought the first one bombed and no one ever talks about it. The multiplayer was pretty decent, actually

and the chibi look and low quality visuals - I fear this might be the next Code Name S.T.E.A.M in terms of sales

At least with this one they can bash Nintendo for it not being a new IP.

I wonder how things would be looking if they just introduced it as a new IP called Federation Force

Then it would probably sell worse than The Wonderful 101.
 
Rising out of the murk of occasional lurking to say this:


Looking at the trailer again. I mean... they couldn't even make them cool looking marines? It had to be Lego Marines? Like, if they made an atmospheric co-op game in the Metroid universe, I would be ALL OVER THAT. I have dreamed of that, but this looks like crap. Literally. A DS with Hunters in it pooped this out after a hard night of drinking and bad Tex-Mex.

Are we looking at early beta footage?
 
Except that in fact, it is. And will be as long as there is no actual Metroid game in my console.

What? Is it not more likely that the thought process wasn't, "Hmm, should we make a Metroid game or a Federation spin-off?" and rather "Oh shit, this Metroid game is taking a long time to make and/or it is going to the NX, we better come up with something else to satiate the fans in the meantime."
 
Miyamoto said in 2014 that their plan for spinoff titles was to give fans something to chew on while they waited since development times are getting longer and longer. I don't think they would have made this title if they didn't at least have plans for the future of Metroid. That makes this an optimistic sign, not something to get upset over.

You're kind of talking around my point there. I never brought up the future of Metroid, it doesn't really matter for this game.

At base, they wanted to use the Metroid name to get sales. That was a mistake. They are getting the backlash now.
 
Thing is if they make a sidescrolling entry today it would have to be polygon graphics.

I actually would like an entry that used animated high class pixel art.

Would also like a Survival Horror kinda thing with Metroid. Something that gives you a feeling of complete isolation. But that won't happen.

You can upgrade you mech suit at the start of the game with more powerful weapons.

Cool. My only other concern is the number of enemies we fight. Names like Ice Beast aren't helping much.
 
Blast Ball has a spectator mode based on a bottom screen glimpse from footage I posted a while back. Interesting.

BB also has some fucking fantastic sound work now that I'm able to listen through my good headphones
 
It's missing some things and adding others. Hey, almost sounds like a spinoff..

At some point, maybe tomorrow, maybe a year from now.. people will realize this game isn't being made INSTEAD of a Samus Aran entry into the Metroid franchise.


Solid post but this is basically the core of the problem. People thinking it exists at the expense of a real Metroid game. It's not for a home console, it's not by Retro Studios. If this game is costing us gamers anything, it may be Luigi's Mansion 3 or something similar. Spinoffs are nothing new in gaming and nothing to be afraid of. They're supposed to be different. If they weren't, there'd be no need to call them spinoffs. If this was a game about being alone on a planet and slowly exploring it and getting upgrades, it would have had Samus Aran as the main character and it wouldn't have been a spinoff. Now it's a co-op online shooter that helps explore the Metroid universe and add to Nintendo's library of online games. It could possibly tie into Metroid Prime 4, who knows.

I don't care if Prime 4 comes out tomorrow, I still would think this title isn't being handled correctly. I think there's a big difference between a spin-off that respects the source material, and one that uses a series as a springboard for seemingly no reason.
 
Except that in fact, it is. And will be as long as there is no actual Metroid game in my console.

Or...it's not. Next Level was never going to be the one to make a new "real" Metroid. This is as close as they got. Your alternative would be for NLG to do something else entirely and the Metroid name continues to languish in obscurity and irrelevance for at least another year. Is that your preferred alternative? I'm honestly asking, because I can't put myself into the mindset being displayed all over this thread.

If nothing else, this project, like Prime, and like Other M, once more has people openly discussing what the true essence of Metroid is. Suddenly the brand is being talked about. How awful.
 
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