Special #3 is here, and with this edition our old-school fuel has been delivered in the form of Metroid 64, a game in the works from developer Luto Akino and 3D modelist and animator Adrian Garcia.
We spoke to Luto to find out more about Metroid 64, which looks to be an exciting insight into the ‘what could have been?’ misfortune of a skipped generation for the Metroid series, intent on bringing justice to the fans of one of Nintendo’s most recognisable franchises.
Luto, first of all, thanks telling us more about your project. We (and many others) love the look of what you have shown so far and are eager to hear a bit more about where you’re taking this fan game. On that note, you recently unveiled a full plot for the game. I think it’s safe to say everyone wants to know - what is your end goal for Metroid 64, and can we expect to see a playable version any time soon?
Yes, Adrian Garcia the main 3d modeler and animator and I, have received a great wave of positivism regarding the project and it's great because it motivates us even more in our task, since the final goal is to have it completely finished for all of us who were always waiting for a game of the saga in the 64 bits console but it never came at the time. To say a concrete date to release even a demo would be very irresponsible on our part but believe me we are doing everything possible to accelerate the development process of the game so that very soon all of you can try how great it feels to control the character all over the scenery.
The 3D model of Samus not only looks great, but the animations are satisfyingly fluid. Are you hoping to recreate an exact N64 game feel or is it more of an artistic influence for you to work with?
Thanks, our main 3d artist Adrian Garcia does a wonderful job with the characters. Our intention is to make the player feel that old and beautiful feeling of the 90s and we want the player to get lost in the feeling of that time, so we try to be as accurate as possible without losing sight of the goodness of today's technologies.
A Metroid title has graced pretty much every Nintendo console but the N64. Is creating this game a way for you to fill the gap many fans felt by Samus not making an appearance in that impactful generation?
Definitely, it is a personal void that all fans share, because the 64-bit console marked a before and after in many important franchises but there were many missing games that we missed out on in that generation.
You previously stated that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the biggest influence for this game, could you tell us a bit more about why, and if anything else has played a role in the creation of Metroid 64?
There are 4 very important influences in the development of the game for me, and among them Ocarina of Time has been fundamental, features such as the robustness of its combat system, the fluidity and smoothness of its controls, the ingenuity and creativity of every detail in the scenarios, the sound and music section so deep and immersive, and so on. I think it goes without saying what a watershed this game legend turned out to be for the lives of many gamers and for the industry itself. With that base in mind it was just a matter of looking for details in other games that could give me a clearer vision of what I would need. From Megaman Legends 1 & 2 I further corroborated how the shooting could be implemented with the game's targeting system and how to improve the interaction between the character's jumps and the stage platforms. In Starfox 64 I saw how I could implement Samus' gun sight, as well as the feeling of the shots, the explosions, the visual effects, the sounds and that immersive feeling that the game gives you when accompanied by the music, the voices and the continuous action. And finally Blaster Master blasting again gave me a clearer vision of how the caverns of an alien planet could look like on the N64, through the atmosphere and the topology of its scenarios.
We understand it's a huge task to undertake as a solo developers. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Finally I want to thank each and every one of you who have supported the project, and mainly thank Adrián García, because initially this was just a personal demo, but he saw a little video I posted some time ago on Instagram and saw the potential and offered me to make the never made version of the N64 that he was already developing since some time ago but in 2.5D perspective and so was born all this that we are living today, a third person Metroid 64 fan game, the dream of many of us.
And for the moment that's all, I think the less you know about the story and important things about the game, the more epic it will be for all of you. long live the 90’s.
Luto, we can’t thank you enough for your time in telling us about what is personally one of the coolest looking fan games we’ve seen yet! good luck to you and Adrian, we cant wait to see more!