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Metroid is perhaps the most notable Nintendo franchise that skipped the Nintendo 64. While the possibility of a Metroid 64 has been mentioned in passing, it does not seem that it was ever in any serious consideration. (According to a 2010 interview with Super Metroid director Yoshio Sakamoto, both he and another company they tried to outsource a potential Metroid 64 to could not see any way for it to compare favourably to Super Metroid.) Now, indie developer Luto Akino is working on what he thinks Metroid 64 may have looked like.

A Tweet from April 26, 2022 shows a two minute demo of gameplay basics; we get to see Samus running and shooting, turning into a morphball, as well as some platforming. While development is certainly in the early stages, Akino appears to be serious about the project, to the point that he has written a synopsis for the story and decided where it will go in the timeline, taking place before the original Metroid so that it doesn't "interfere with the official timeline." Akino has also said that, while he would love for it to be playable as a ROM, right now it is only being developed for the PC.

You can follow Metroid 64's development on Akino's Twitter and Instagram pages.

 

[lordelan]

Don't wanna be rude but if it's not a rom but "only" a PC executable, that looks like a N64 game, I'm not interested at all. Good luck though. Guess he'll have his fans.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

This will 100% get a C&D before completion, now that the cat is out of the bag.
They'll probably wait until development is far along, just to waste the maximum amount of effort.

 

[Cyan]

Why N64 games must be in 3D?

 

[Dumbfreak]

I don't understand Nintendo fans doing this tribute games and promoting them publicly.
Just do it and release it when it's done. Or don't do them at all.
Do you want a C&D?

 

[Archolm]

I don't understand Nintendo fans doing this tribute games and promoting them publicly.
Just do it and release it when it's done. Or don't do them at all.
Do you want a C&D?

What like, they get points for teasing a N64 style Metroid, yet won't have to do any work, cause bad Nintendo! ... profit!

 

[BlusterBong]

I think this is likely going end up as some lame remake of another Metroid game, like AM2R was, as if just remaking Super Metroid and slapping on Metroid II Mechanics on it was worth the attention it gained despite better Fangames before and after it's release deserving the attention AM2R got like Sonic Robo Blast 2 and Rayman Redemption for examples on both sides of the time scale.

 

[urbanman2004]

D@mn, that's cold blooded. The demo does a decent job showing off the main move-sets of Samus. I know it's currently only being developed for PC which I don't mind, but the icing on the cake for me would be if the dev decides to include a controller configuration preset in the game to able to use an actual Nintendo 64 controller. I'm definitely looking forward to the progress of the development of this fan-made project. Gives me hope that we'll get a release as promising as AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake v1.1). I just pray Nintendo doesn't seek its litigious goons to track this guy down w/ a cease and desist or threats of a DMCA takedown.

 

[J-Lin]

I can't stand it when demakes aren't even available on the platforms they are trying to capture the spirit of. Once it releases, someone please consider making it run on real hardware.

 

[YamiZee]

this is what this game would have been like on the N64 or PS1, but oh, it's only gonna be playable on PC, not on those systems or emulators of those systems.

Developing for the original hardware is a lot harder than messing around with unity 3d. The audience that cares about it running on original hardware is also far more niche and most people would rather have the convenience of an exe than use an emulator. The authenticity won't be on the same level but for 90% all that matters is that it captures the feeling of an N64 game, not that it actually is one.

 

[MikaDubbz]

Developing for the original hardware is a lot harder than messing around with unity 3d. The audience that cares about it running on original hardware is also far more niche and most people would rather have the convenience of an exe than use an emulator. The authenticity won't be on the same level but for 90% all that matters is that it captures the feeling of an N64 game, not that it actually is one.

Not arguing that it's an easy undertaking at all. I just want these devs to be upfront from the start and not hide behind lies to get the reader's attention. Not a fan of this practice, simple as that. Again, I love revisiting the OG 3D style, I do, but don't deceivably get my hopes up that you've got something that might be playable on the classic hardware, when that's not the case at all.

While on the subject, anyone see this actually impressive project that just popped up? A version of Portal, actually playable on N64 hardware and emulators, now THIS is what excites me: