E3: Metroid Zero Mission information

[DADINK13]

I found some information on Metroid Zero Mission. I'm still scouring the Internet for more, but this is what I found from The Metroid Database:

The rumors were true: Metroid Zero Mission is an all-new 2D game for the Game Boy Advance! Early screenshots revealed by Nintendo show a very classic-style Metroid adventure, devoid of the twists found in Fusion and looking more like Super. Also, both the screenshots and the first piece of official Nintendo art for the game show Samus wearing her original Power Suit -- not the version with the beefed-up Varia shoulders featured in Metroid II and beyond -- which, along with the title of "Zero Mission" and the very original-Metroid-looking blue and gold logo on the game's title screen, indicates that this game may very well be a prequel to Metroid 1! Old-schoolers rejoice -- this one looks fun!!

Hopefully, more information on both Zero Mission and Metroid Prime 2 will be revealed as E3 2003 rolls on this week.

I'll update as soon as I find more information.

[DADINK13]

I went searching, and found quite a bit of information...including the first SCREENSHOTS!!!!!!! of Zero Mission. I also found the banner from Nintendo's booth at E3 to further prove it, and the first video from Metroid Prime 2.

http://www.fiyer.com/ningc/img/layout/news/024671.jpg Nintendo's booth

http://www.n-archives.com/screens323.php Metroid Zero Mission screenshots (nine)

http://cubemovies.ign.com/cube/video/no ... prime2.mov Direct download to Metroid Prime 2 movie



The Prime movie is very short, but very impressive. It appears to be using the same engine with a few enhancements. Very impressive for a 15-second movie.

The screens from Zero Mission have me drooling. It almost looks like a remake of the first Metroid, but at the same time it's not. Who knows what it would be like. But like MDb stated, it appears that Samus is wearing the classic Power Suit, not the Varia-enhanced suit that she's had since Metroid II. Looks like the Fusion engine with obvious enhancements--there is transparency in one of the screenshots. Not even Super Metroid had something like that. Seeing how the GBA is a 32-bit machine, we could see better graphics than even Super Metroid in this one if done correctly.


I'll update with more stuff going on at E3 as I find out more. I saw briefly that somebody had new screenshots of Star Fox: Armada. In the meantime, check out the Gamepsy E3 page for more information.
http://www.gamespy.com/e32003/

[DADINK13]

I found some more information about Zero Mission, this time from The Metroid Database:

Further information from various sources sheds a little more light on the mysterious Metroid Zero Mission and reveals that the game is, in all likelihood, not a prequel, but rather a beefed-up remake of the original Metroid. It looks as though we will be taken back to Zebes for Samus' first encounter with Mother Brain, but this time our girl will have all the abilities and weapons she's gained in all her adventures since then! Imagine exploring Metroid 1 with the ability to crouch, wall jump, speed boost and grab ledges, and taking on the game's enemies with the help of Super Missiles and who knows what other weapons! So far, it looks like while Samus herself looks much more streamlined than the big-helmeted sprite did in 1986, her animation pays a sincere homage to the original version, with Samus running notably fast and holding her gun arm out constantly.

Of course, the question remains, why the name Zero Mission? "Zero" usually denotes a prequel of some sort, so why not name the game "Metroid Advance" or "Metroid 2003" or something? This remains a mystery, as do whatever twists and additions Nintendo will throw at us (we already know there will be completely new areas, enemies and bosses added to the game). NCL's website does mention that MZM is a "tentative title," so it may change before the game's release (remember that Fusion was at one point actually titled simply Metroid IV). With an almost Hideo Kojima/Metal Gear Solid-esque level of ambiguity, Nintendo has tesed us with little other than screenshots, video, and a name. So, with no solid information available from Nintendo, all we can do is make a few guesses and wait for some more answers.

Hmm....as much as I'd like to see a totally new side-scrolling Metroid game, the idea of a remake of the 1986 classic does some enticing. It's new, but not all at the same time. With all the abilities of the four previous Metroid games (Prime technically isn't counted as the lineage), exploring Zebes for a second...I mean third time could be really interesting...


....I wonder if they'll work elements from Super Metroid into it....seeing how that game took place on Zebes and all...