A fan is making the Metroid 64 game that never was

A fan has shared his take on what a Metroid game might have looked like if it came out on the N64.

The Metroid series did have some 3D entries on the GameCube and Wii, but Nintendo did skip a generation in the transition from the SNES to the N64. But ultimately one never actually released on the N64, so one fan and indie dev has decided to make their own take on what a Metroid might be like on the classic console.

What is Mario Strikers: Battle League? | Nintendo Switch

Watch on YouTube

Luto Akino is an indie game developer from Mexico, working on a variety of projects currently, but they also recently shared some gameplay of Metroid 64, the absolutely not Nintendo developed fan game. The environments right off the back certainly look like they would be from an N64 game, and also suitable for the general moody and frightening atmosphere in the Metroid series.

It also sees Samus running, jumping, and rolling around the place, though currently it is just a small, basic location. A shooting mechanic is also in place, which seems to have some kind of lock-on, obviously necessary for a console that only has one analogue stick. It's a really cool early take on a potential N64 version of Metroid, so probably worth keeping an eye on to see how it develops.

An interview with series creator Yoshio Sakamoto from a while back did have him confirm that he tried to figure out how to make a Metroid game for the N64, but it just didn't feel right. "I was actually thinking about the possibility of making a Metroid game for N64 but I felt that I shouldn’t be the one making the game," said Sakamoto. "When I held the N64 controller in my hands I just couldn’t imagine how it could be used to move Samus around. So for me it was just too early to personally make a 3D Metroid at that time."

At the very least now Sakamoto doesn't have to think of how to put Metroid on the N64.