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MDb NEWS RECAP
10.04.04
Yeah, the MZM section is finally started.
I mean, it was already started, but now it actually has stuff in it. But
it's still not done. So it's started started. But not finished. Whatever. Go there
and look at boxes and stuff.
Quick rundown of everything that's happened since the last update so many moons ago:
- The Nintendo DS will be released on November 21, 2004 in the US and
will include a demo of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt.
- The second series of NES Classics for the Game Boy Advance will
be released on October 25 and will include Metroid. (I think fans should write
to Nintendo and politely request Kid Icarus in the next wave.)
- Everybody knows about the Gamecube Metroid Bundle, which
includes special packaging featuring Samus and a copy of Prime
and a Metroid Prime 2: Echoes demo. Of course, the demo disc
is also available by registering 5 games at
nintendo.com, but you knew that already...
I think that's it. Hm, I guess I didn't miss that much in the last few months...
well, the new releases are almost upon us so I guess I have some work to do... ^_^;
Meanwhile, big thanks to Cap for keeping the music and fanstuff updated! Asaic has some
really nice maps and stuff ready too -- the MDb ain't dead yet. :)
Awww man, I still gotta make new nav bar icons for MP2 and MPH, and get those
sections going, don't I...rrrrrrgh! :P
METROID TO BE INCLUDED IN FAMICOM MINI SERIES 3
07.14.04
As you may know, there's a Famicom-styled edition of the Game Boy Advance SP
available in Japan, similar in spirit to the recently-released NES edition GBASP
in America. (Actually there were two different Famicom editions,
but that's not the point.) Also, much like the US' NES Classic series, NCL has been
releasing classic Famicom games on the GBA -- 20 of them so far. However,
unlike our GBA game packages with resurrected artwork, the Famicom Mini
series are actually bitchin' little GBA-cart-sized reproductions of the original boxes.
Anyway, now that you're up to speed on the concept, the news here is that Metroid
will be included in the third wave of 10 Famicom Mini carts, to be released August 10.
Series 3 is the Famicom Disk System Selection, complete with little FDS package
reproductions. The list of 10 releases also includes, among others, Zelda II,
Super Mario Bros. 2, two Famicom Tantei Club games,
Akumajo Dracula (better known as Castlevania), and of particular
interest to Metroid/Gunpei Yokoi/Hip Tanaka fans, Parthena's Mirror, aka
Kid Icarus.
While the inclusion of Metroid is of course way cool and fairly essential when considering
an all-star collection of FDS titles, one must sort of wonder why N would bother since
the original Metroid is already playable on the GBA after unlocking it in Metroid Zero Mission.
No word yet on whether or not any of this series of titles will be available in the US
under the NES Classics banner, but seeing as how we didn't even get all 10 of the
first wave of Famicom Mini titles (we missed out on Mappy and Star Soldier),
it may be a while.
Meanwhile, one can only hope that Kid Icarus will be a strong seller and could prompt
Nintendo to finally consider resurrecting the character in a new game.
For more, visit these links on nintendo.co.jp:
Famicom Mini Series 1
Famicom Mini Series 2
Famicom Mini FDS Selection
Famicom Mini Metroid
COVER GIRL SAMUS 2: Part I
06.22.04
The latest issue of Game Informer magazine (issue 135, July 2004)
features a beautiful Metroid Prime 2 cover and a "world exclusive"
in-depth 10-page feature on the upcoming Gamecube sequel. GI was
granted a special look inside Retro Studios at their progress on MP2, and
plenty of interesting details are revealed.
The rest of the issue features lots of great information and photos of E3
fallout, with articles on the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and of
course, lots of upcoming games. (Surprisingly, GI is getting pretty good,
recently seeming to have shed its former identity as little more than a GameStop
propaganda tool and transforming itself into a fairly respectable
publication for videogame enthusiasts. Kudos to them!)
E3 2004 NEWS
05.17.04
E3 has come and gone, and Nintendo came out swinging this year with the
unveiling of the
Nintendo DS system, a new "realistic" Zelda title for the Gamecube,
and of course, Metroid...times two!
We all figured that Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
would be shown, what with new screenshots and information popping up in the last
few weeks, and it was -- hot new video footage of Samus meeting something
called "Dark Samus," multiplayer deathmatch footage, and even Screw Attacking
and wall-jumping in third-person. Prime 2 has also been given a release date of
November 15, 2004, according to Nintendo.
But Nintendo, always with something
up their sleeve, also dropped on us Metroid Prime Hunters, a
first-person, simultaneous 4-player game for the upcoming NDS! Similar in
gameplay to the multiplayer deathmatch feature in MP2, the game utilizes
the DS' dual-screen setup to display the first-person action on the lower
screen, while the upper screen displays a top-view map. MPH is
currently being developed by Nintendo Software Technologies,
Nintendo's American development team, with support from NCL.
Look for more news on both games as it develops. Meanwhile, read up
on the upcoming titles at the following links:
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Nintendo.com's MP2:E page
IGN interview with MP2:E producer Kensuke Tanabe
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Nintendo.com's Nintendo DS software preview page
IGN's Hands-On w/Metroid Prime: Hunters
IGN interview with DS software team members Takashi Tezuka and Hideki Konno
IGN MPH videos
General E3 News
E3 Insider: The official E3 news site
On a personal side note, I'm rather excited about the Nintendo DS.
Besides the innovative gameplay potential -- have you read about
PacPix??-- touch-screen technology, and wireless networking
capability, the machine is pure Nintendo. The dual-screen setup should
really come as no surprise to long-time Nintendo fans (and I'm talking
pre-NES here). Nintendo has always had a double-screen fetish:
from the Game & Watches to the original Punch-Out!!
arcade game to the PlayChoice 10 arcade machines,
they've been stacking two screens on top of each other for 20 years.
I have no idea what kind of niche the DS will find in the saturated
market, but as a gamer with a love of new videogame gadgetry,
I can't wait to add it to my collection.
JOHN WOO TEAMS UP WITH SAMUS
05.12.04
In case you hadn't already heard everywhere else (which apparently all of you have),
as reported back on April 7
here,
here,
here,
here,
and here,
veteran action movie director
John Woo
has been named to
helm the Metroid movie. The project was optioned by Woo and producers Terence
Chang and Brad Foxhoven after Zide-Perry Entertainment let their rights to the film
expire.
Known for years to Hong Kong film buffs for films such as A Better Tomorrow,
Bullet in the Head, The Killer, and
Hard Boiled, Woo is more familiar to American audiences
for directing Hollywood actioners such as Face/Off,
Mission: Impossible 2, and Paycheck.
No word yet on any further developments regarding the movie.
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10.09.04
TONS of new music in Super
10.04.04
MZM section finally has some content
Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt
demo to be pack-in w/Nintendo DS
system at 11.21.04 launch
GAMES:
Metroid Zero Mission
USA - ON SALE NOW
JPN - ON SALE NOW
EUR - ON SALE NOW
AUS - ON SALE NOW
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
USA - 11.15.04
JPN - TBA
EUR - TBA
AUS - TBA
Metroid Prime: Hunters
USA - TBA
JPN - TBA
EUR - TBA
AUS - TBA
Famicom Mini: Metroid
JPN - ON SALE NOW
NES Classics: Metroid
USA - 10.25.04
GUIDES:
Metroid Zero Mission Official Nintendo Player's Guide
USA - ON SALE NOW
SWAG:
Metroid manga Vol. 1 from TokyoPop
USA - Cancelled??
All dates subject to change
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