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[Galava]

Spanish article/interview: http://www.elmundo.es/tecnologia/2017/08/29/59a43d43ca4741db708b462d.html

Some parts translated by me (let's see what I can do):

Interview with Yoshio Sakamoto

It seems unlikely that Nintendo, one of the biggest international gaming companies,
to hire a small company from Madrid to make a game. Sakamoto wanted to do it,
but he didn't know who could take care of it. Then "MercurySteam showed up, with a proposal to make a remake".

"At that moment, I could see that MercurySteam had the required level to take care of Metroid. And being a company in a different country, they have a different perspective and knowledge that can bring a lot tot he table. I met with them to see what they had in mind and know the project. That's how I met José luis and...well, we talked about a lot of things."

José Luis Márquez is MercurySteam Creative director. He was director of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of fate.

We just basically showed our wish to make a remake, and somehow it got to the right people. After two years of development, here we are", tells us Marquez, being humble, and knowing what Sakamoto tells us about them: "When talking to them, I could see that they were a serious studio, really looking forward to start development and to show their knowledge about Metroid. Their prototype exceeded all my expectations and that's how the collaboration began."

Márquez, when talking about the game not having long dialogs or cinematics

"The visual narrative works very well in these games. I believe is one of the cool things about these games, feeling lost in a hostile environment that you have to explore and make your way out, finding abilities and going forward testing new things"

About Samus and feminism

Sakamoto doesn't see his creation as a feminist symbol: "It can be a good example, yeah why not. But I think we have to leave these topics aside. She's a strong being, that fights in solitude against solitude and that fulfills her mission doing the best she can".

About MercurySteam

(...) In that sense, Sakamoto belives that "MercurySteam's help was decisive. They understand very well the original Metroid, but offered a different point of view and helped us try new things". Marques believes in results.:"Once they try the new aiming system, I don't think they will want to go back to the previous one. Still, the opcion of not using it is still there".

Old school game today

Sakamoto has no doubts about the quality of the game. "It's true that despite being an old system perfectioned through the years, the two dimensions can feel old-school, dated,
when comparing to today's generations. But we made some changes and there are camera movements that imitate the three dimensions in the action parts.

Tried to translate some parts, but if you understand spanish, I encourage you to read the article and maybe translate a bit more that you can find interesting

 

[Dark Cloud]

I like when Nintendo looks outside or an outside company brings ideas to Nintendo because they do have different perspectives and ideas for Nintendo's IP's. Just look at Mario + Rabbids and what Ubisoft had in mind.

I kind of hope Nintendo is doing this with Metroid Prime 4 also. Listen to quality developers who want to make a high quality Prime game. I'm sure whatever they do in the end will be the right decision.

 

[Aostia]

I like when Nintendo looks outside or an outside company brings ideas to Nintendo because they do have different perspectives and ideas for Nintendo's IP's. Just look at Mario + Rabbids and what Ubisoft had in mind.

I kind of hope Nintendo is doing this with Metroid Prime 4 also. Listen to quality developers who want to make a high quality Prime game. I'm sure whatever they do in the end will be the right decision.

would be great to have a Metroid 4A

 

[Sadist]

Well the middle argument, about feeling lost in a hostile area, thats my Metroid.

 

[Ushojax]

It sounds like this game brought Sakamoto back to his senses after Other M. When you hear these guys talking about the essence of Metroid it's hard to believe that the last game was just one long corridor with occasional FMVs.

 

[Danielsan]

Feeling lost in a hostile environment is definitely what makes Metroid tick. I can't deal with the Metroid games that throw in a bunch of human NPCs and and cut scenes. I want to explore alien enviroment. I don't give a shit about the "federation".

 

[Dark Cloud]

would be great to have a Metroid 4A

They seem great, but they seem busy.

 

[Aostia]

They seem great, but they seem busy.

Oh yes, I don't believe it will happen.
I just think it would be great for Metroid to come back with them + Tanabe supervision.

 

[hans_castorp]

Sakamoto no se moja con su creación ni la ve como un símbolo feminista: "Puede ser un buen ejemplo, sí, por qué no. Sin embargo, creo que hay que dejar a un lado estos temas. Es un ser fuerte, que lucha en soldad y contra la soledad y que cumple siempre su misión sacando lo mejor de sí misma".

This quote is a bit disappointing.
Let's hope he's learnt from Other M mistakes.

 

[Galava]

This quote is a bit disappointing.
Let's hope he's learnt from Other M mistakes.

He just doesn't want to touch any of those topics (sadly). And yeah, seeing how Japan could (needs to) make use of feminism it's a bit dissapointing from their part.

 

[TheMoon]

Like, why does EVERY single interviewer have to ask the "how did this collabo happen" question at EVERY single opportunity. We have heard that story now 20 times since E3.

This quote is a bit disappointing.
Let's hope he's learnt from Other M mistakes.

It would be nice if you could translate or summarize at least.

 

[Galava]

Like, why does EVERY single interviewer have to ask the "how did this collabo happen" question at EVERY single opportunity. We have heard that story now 20 times since E3.

It would be nice if you could translate or summarize at least.

There you go

Sakamoto doesn't see his creation as a feminist symbol: "It can be a good example, yeah why not. But I think we have to leave these topics aside. She's a strong being, that fights in solitude against solitude and that fulfills her mission doing the best she can".

 

[Ushojax]

This quote is a bit disappointing.
Let's hope he's learnt from Other M mistakes.

He is never going to directly address something like that, we can only judge his reaction to the criticism of Other M by how Samus is portrayed in this game and future entries.

 

[TheMoon]

There you go

thanks.

All that says to me is that he doesn't see her as some big billboard icon/symbol. Not seeing any problem there.