Metroid Co-Creator Calls Transition To 3D A Necessary Change

Nintendo's veteran designer Yoshio Sakamoto not only helped create the NES classic Metroid, but he also oversaw every 2D incarnation of the critically acclaimed series until the franchise went 3D in 2002. So when we sat down with him this week to discuss his newest project, Metroid: Other M, we couldn't help but ask what he thinks of the direction the series has taken.

"Well things certainly have changed a lot for Samus and the Metroid games from the very beginning to where they are now," Sakamoto told us, "but I feel that it was a very natural and desirable evolution. In fact each step along the way felt like it was a necessary and important change. When you think about the kind of experiences you have with Metroid, you’re slowly sinking into an unexplored world.  So adding 3D to that definitely adds a certain level of immersion and sense of depth when you’re exploring the worlds."

However, Sakamoto was quick to point out that they're taking a different approach to how gamers will play in 3D, by making it handle more like its side-scrolling predecessors. "...We’ve been able to come full circle in terms of controls. We’ve been able to take the feeling of immersion and depth of the 3D games and marry that to the accessible control schemes available in the first games."

We'll bring you more of our interview with Sakamoto later in the week. In the meantime, check out our hands-on impressions of Metroid: Other M from the show floor.