Metroid nominated for the World Video Game Hall of Fame

The Strong National Museum of Play, an American museum dedicated to the history of play – be it toys, comic books or video games – has announced the twelve finalists for induction into its World Video Game Hall of Fame. The nominees include the original Metroid on NES. According to the official website:

Nintendo’s Metroid launched in 1986 and inserted players into a futuristic world brimming with innovative adventure and evocative music. The game combined the platforming of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and non-linear story elements from The Legend of Zelda, offering a new game play experience. The protagonist, Samus, also gave the gaming industry its first playable human female character in mainstream video games. The game launched a franchise with 13 core titles that has sold more than 20 million units worldwide.

Metroid was previously nominated for induction in 2018. Players can vote for their favorite games on the official website once per day at the link below, until March 21. When voting is over, the chosen games will be displayed within the Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. We will learn which games made the cut on May 9th. Let’s get Metroid into the Hall of Fame!

Click here to cast your vote for Metroid

Source: The Strong National Museum of Play/GameSpot

Feature: Smabura-Ken – Secret Trophies

Our first feature of 2024 is a translation of a news post on Smabura-Ken, the official Japanese Super Smash Bros. Melee website. Personally written by Masahiro Sakurai himself, the site featured information on each of the fighters, contests and interviews with development staff. This page concerned the secret trophies you could only unlock through certain promotional events in Japan, including the Samus Unmasked trophy. The site was never localized for English-speaking audiences, and we wanted to ensure this would remain accessible to Western Metroid fans. You can read the translation at the link below.

Click here to check out the feature

Nintendo artist discusses designing Metroid Dread’s amiibo

Metroid Dread was released with two amiibo based on Samus Aran and one of the E.M.M.I. in the game. Recently, a Nintendo employee by the name of Minoru Uenaka wrote a recruitment page for Nintendo where he discusses the design of both amiibo, and the key art for Metroid Dread as well. Uenaka said that he referenced his graduate studies in “artistic anatomy” when bringing the characters to life. The team elected to have the amiibo look like they were facing each other when placed beside one another. An image of a prototype Samus amiibo was also shared.

The recruitment page is in Japanese, but Nintendo Everything translated it into English. Both versions can be accessed at the links below.

Source: Nintendo/Nintendo Everything

Metroid Prime Remastered Nintendo Switch Online icons return for a limited time

Nearly a year ago, icons based on Metroid Prime Remastered were shared through Nintendo Switch Online to mark the game’s release. Now, they’ve returned. If you didn’t pick them up the first time and want them, this is your chance! They are available once again until January 4th at 4:59pm PST, so stock up on your Platinum Points!

Source: NSO Icons Alerts

Feature: End of Year 2023

Every December, we close out the year with our annual End of Year feature. In this we have highlighted the Metroid news we got in 2023, primarily the surprise release of Metroid Prime Remastered, and all of the interviews, Community Spotlights, features and podcast episodes we shared. We interviewed a total of seven Metroid developers, including Kit and Krysta, LeRoy Strauss and the directors of multiple live-action commercials. Additionally, we published five Community Spotlights, and our Creative Director Roy led an investigation that identified the vast majority of all previously unknown actresses who have voiced or portrayed Samus.

On behalf of the Shinesparkers team, we want to thank all of our readers for their continuing support this year. From all of us, Happy New Year! May we all receive the Metroid news we have been awaiting in 2024, namely, a trailer/release date for Metroid Prime 4.

Click here to read our End of Year 2023 feature

Interview: Yasuo Kanemaki

Our last interview of 2023 is with Yasuo Kanemaki, the director of the Japanese Super Metroid commercial! While it was only ever aired in Japan, the commercial has become very popular with Western fans since being uploaded to the internet. This was the last of several interviews conducted as part of the investigation to identify Samus’s actresses. Kanemaki-san had a lot to say about the commercial, from the production design to the story concept, and even a frightening incident that occurred on set. We hope you’ll enjoy the interview!

Click here to read the interview

Episode 28 – Super Metroid Audio Drama

Shinesparkers Metroid Podcast
Shinesparkers Metroid Podcast
Episode 28 - Super Metroid Audio Drama
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For our third and final podcast of 2023, Amanda and Roy recorded an audio drama based on the Super Metroid comics in Nintendo Power. Amanda voices Samus and Virginia Aran, while Roy voices Armstrong Houston and Rodney Aran, and Amanda’s husband Dan voices Old Bird. We also answer listener submissions to our mailbag about their thoughts on Metroid Prime Remastered.

Podcast is hosted by Amanda, with team member Roy and guest Dan VanHiel.

00:00 – Introductions
00:42 – Topic: Recap of the Year
08:02 – Super Metroid Audio Drama
16:25 – Mailbag
21:32 – Bloopers

Feature: In Search of Samus

Today’s feature has been two years in the making. Back in January 2022, we published an interview with Lenka Volfová, who portrayed Samus in the live-action commercial for Metroid: Other M. That we finally managed to identify her after so long made me realize it was possible to find the rest of Samus’s actresses. While the public is already familiar with most of her voice actresses, the majority of the actresses who portrayed Samus in live-action commercials had never been identified. I wanted to change that, and ensure they would at long last be recognized. In January of this year, I began my investigation, with the goal of discovering who they were and what they were doing now. While I didn’t quite find all of them – three remain unaccounted for at the time of writing – I am incredibly proud of what I managed to achieve, finding eleven previously unknown actresses.

This feature is the result of a year-long investigation. More than that, it is a celebration of Samus Aran, an iconic video game heroine, and the many accomplished women who have worn her Power Suit since 1986. I hope that if they read this, they can feel proud to have played this beloved character.

Click here to read the feature

Feature: The Chozo – Part One

The latest entry in our series of features on the races of Metroid is now available on Shinesparkers! Team member Quadraxis has written about the Chozo that settled on Elysia and developed SkyTown, before leaving the midair city for a simpler life on Tallon IV. As in features past, here Quaddy examines the history, physiology, culture and technology of this tribe of the Chozo, who eschewed weaponry and war for a life of peace and tranquility. We hope you consider reading this new feature!

Click here to check out the feature