Nintendo Announces New Metroid Prime for 3DS
By Brad Jones 26 August 2015
Amongst a raft of all-new titles revealed during E3’s special Nintendo Direct, we learned that Metroid Prime: Federation Force is in development for the Nintendo 3DS. As well as a set of co-op missions, the game is also set to include Blast Ball as a multiplayer mode.
First unveiled at the Nintendo World Championships on Sunday, Blast Ball came as a surprise to both the contestants and the fans in attendance. Since our first glimpse of the title, the rumor mill has been working overtime as speculation as to the nature of the game ran rampant.
Some suggested that it might be part of a larger continuation of the Nintendoland series. Others were positive that it was a new Metroid game, thanks to its various stylistic similarities. Further evidence was unearthed when observant fans spotted the Metroid universe’s ship-naming conventions present during gameplay in the World Championship.
However, now we know that Blast Ball will be just part of a larger package. Four-player co-op might not be the norm for the often-isolated Metroid series, but it’ll certainly be warmly received by the legions of fans desperate for a new instalment.
From the brief snippets of footage seen in the video briefing, it seems that players will take on the role of Federation Troopers and engage enemies across the universe. Several different locations were shown, including one planet that looked remarkably similar to Phendrana Drifts, one of the most iconic areas in the original Metroid Prime.
The title’s graphics look to adopt a more cartoonish style than fans of the series will be used to. While this is most likely due to the limitations of the hardware that it’s running on, it’ll be interesting to see if the game’s tone follows suit. However, it’s far too early to make any assumptions about whether or not this will be the case.
Despite being one of Nintendo’s most tenured franchises, recent years haven’t been so kind to Metroid. The Prime series helped it make the jump to 3D better than most, but 2010’s Other M did a great deal to undo the work done by Retro Studios.
More information on Federation Force is sure to be made available as E3 rolls on, so stay tuned to Game Rant for all the latest as it emerges.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is set to release on the Nintendo 3DS. No release date information has been made available as of the time of writing.
