Metroid Prime Remastered: No Fusion Suit?

There may be one thing that is missing in Metroid Prime Remastered and that is the infamous Fusion Suit. Originally, this was obtained from linking the game with Metroid Fusion via a GameCube to Game Boy Advance cable and beating Metroid Prime. In the Metroid Prime Trilogy release it could be obtained via the Credit system.

People have already completed Metroid Prime Remastered, of course, but beating the game only unlocks Hard Mode. The Credit system from the Metroid Prime Trilogy is gone, instead it simply unlocks things in the art gallery automatically again. And I have yet to find any evidence that the Fusion Suit is actually available in the remaster.

Quite the opposite, according to the speed running community, it is in the game's code, but it's currently hard coded to FALSE, so there is no way of unlocking it (source). It might be that Nintendo will make it available at a later point, maybe something that involves actually playing Metroid Fusion via the Nintendo Switch Online service Expansion Pack. They could possibly also add amiibo support and make you scan the Fusion Suit Samus from Metroid Dread... Simply something scammy.

The former is probably more likely, since there is nothing stopping them from already supporting amiibo, while Metroid Fusion is not yet part of the Game Boy Advance library. Well, I don't know, but it's a bit disappointing that this is gone for now. I personally liked to use it during Hard Mode, to make it a "Fusion Mode" so to speak, like in Samus Returns.

Metroid Prime Remastered Released

Arguably, one of the biggest surprises of yesterday's Nintendo Direct was Metroid Prime Remastered, which got shadow-dropped right after the event, on the Nintendo eShop. A retail version will be available in a couple of weeks, February 22nd in North America, March 3rd in Europe.

Since I prefer to get my Nintendo Switch games as cards, you will have to wait until then to hear about my impressions. But there is already a ton of footage of this game available and it looks really good. In fact, it puts the Zelda HD remasters to shame here in many different ways. All the assets have been redone, so we're not just getting some prettier / upscaled textures and there are new models for everything: Samus, the environment, the enemies, everything.

It looks more like a full-blown remake than a remaster, where they have been rebuilding the entire game in a new engine (maybe Unreal, or a modernized RUDE Engine). It's very faithful to the original game, however, where it's akin to Ocarina of Time 3D. It also runs completely fluid in 60FPS, where we have seen much uglier games with a much worse performance on the Nintendo Switch. It's very impressive overall.

The control options are also superb. You get four different control schemes: classic, dual-stick, pointer, and hybrid. In addition to what they have shown in the Direct, you can use the Joy-Cons for the same controls as on the Wii, or you can go for the best of both worlds with the hybrid settings. The game even supports the GameCube controller for the classic control scheme – they have thought of everything here!

At the same time they release this out of the blue and it only costs 40€. Compare this to Skyward Sword HD, which was full price and got a full marketing campaign, while its graphics are mostly just upscaled and the game doesn't even offer a hybrid control scheme. This here feels very uncharacteristic of Nintendo, who have been treating all their ports and remasters on the Nintendo Switch as if they were completely new games.

So, what has made them reconsider? What gave them this change of heart? Is Nintendo finally listening to all the complaints? Well, a likely explanation is that many fans were hoping for a remaster of the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy. If they had gone the full price route with each single Metroid Prime game, then this would have caused quite some backlash and disappointment. This way they get away with selling each title individually again and still make more profit than having the Trilogy at full price.

And this also gives fans at least something at the moment, where Nintendo certainly wants to distract from the fact that Metroid Prime 4 is still hiding in the shadows after four years of development, since it got taken over by Retro Studios. Now the fans will first expect Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Remastered and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Remastered before anything else. They may even have the second game finished already and are working on the third as we speak, we don't know, but rest assured that a full Trilogy release probably wasn't ready yet, or else we would be getting that instead.

To my understanding this remaster was actually developed at Retro Studios, where they haven't released anything since Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, which was nine years ago. So, they also probably had to create some sort of output that makes Nintendo some money, while this is to prove that the series is still in capable hands... And it makes me feel very confident about the future of Metroid Prime, whenever that may be.

Game Boy and Game Boy Advance on Nintendo Switch Online

Starting today, you are able to play Game Boy games via a Nintendo Switch Online membership. And with the Expansion Pack you are getting Game Boy Advance games on top. With this we're one big step closer to the Virtual Console library of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, where only the Nintendo DS is missing now. The latter may be a bit tricky, because touchscreen controls are limited to handheld mode, but it's not impossible. Potentially, we may also see GameCube and Wii games in the future, as proven by the Super Mario 3D-Allstars collection, but this may also be something that Nintendo is saving for the next system.

Anyway, this adds Link's Awakening DX and The Minish Cap to the list of Zelda games that can be played on the Nintendo Switch. Of course there is the remake of Link's Awakening already, where this here is basically now the discount version. But there is some different content in there with the photo quest, where you may want to experience this as well. They also could have added both versions of Link's Awakening, but at least the original one can still be played via the Game & Watch.

Oracle of Ages & Seasons will also be added in the future, where this doesn't bode well for a remake, at least not anytime soon. Obviously, Nintendo isn't too concerned about these competing with each other or else we wouldn't have gotten Link's Awakening in three different variants during the last years, but they started things with the remake and not the other way around. People might just play the NSO version and then don't care anymore. But let's see...

The Minish Cap is always nice to have in any case. It has aged quite well, where it's not in immediate need of a remake or something. What makes this very valuable compared to Wii U is that you can select between the different European and North American versions. This is special for Europe, because the European version was based on an earlier build, which had a nasty bug related to the Kinstone quest and was missing the Bomb Bag upgrade from Stockwell's shop (see TCRF). Finally, we get to enjoy the improved version officially.

It's also always nice just to try some games for fun, without the need of purchasing them, where I will look into the GameBoy Advance Fire Emblem games at some point.

I won't be getting the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack just for that, however, but what will make me upgrade is A Link to the Past & Four Swords. If you can play this online with friends, this will be a huge deal. I never had the chance to play the full four-player version of the game, which makes a difference, since the levels get changed based on the player count.

Anyway, with this the list of Zelda games that can be played on Nintendo Switch is steadily growing:

• The Legend of Zelda (NES)
• Zelda II - The Adventure of Link (NES)
• A Link to the Past (SNES)
• Link's Awakening (Remake)
• Link's Awakening DX (GBC)
• Ocarina of Time (N64)
• Majora's Mask (N64)
• Oracle of Ages (GBC)
• Oracle of Seasons (GBC)
• The Minish Cap
• Skyward Sword HD
• Breath of the Wild
• Tears of the Kingdom
  

That's 12 out of 20. What will be missing are the following:

• A Link to the Past & Four Swords
• The Wind Waker (HD)
• Four Swords Adventures
  
• Twilight Princess (HD)
• Phantom Hourglass
• Spirit Tracks
• A Link Between Worlds
• Tri Force Heroes
  

It's possible that Four Swords will return via the GBA service and it's likely that they will bring back The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD at some point as well. And everything save for the two Nintendo 3DS games could potentially also be included in future Nintendo Switch Online collections.

Metroid is also looking very good all of sudden, where the total number of playable Metroid games on the Nintendo Switch has doubled:

• Metroid (NES)
• Metroid II - Return of Samus (GB)
  
• Super Metroid (SNES)
• Metroid Fusion (GBA)
• Metroid Prime Remastered
• Metroid Dread
  

There are still many Metroid games left, where this isn't even half of it, but we're getting there and in the least we will be also seeing Metroid: Zero Mission at some point.

By the way, it's weird how they started things with Wario Land 3 on the Game Boy Color, but Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and Wario Land II are still missing. Even the original Super Mario Land is not there yet, which is a bit odd, but these games will slowly, but certainly pour in over the next months and years.

Nintendo Direct February 2023 Roundup

A good summary of the Nintendo Direct would be "get hyped for a lot of old stuff coming back". Whether it's GameBoy (Advance) games, Metroid Prime, Camilla, Birdo, or some classic Zelda enemies in Tears of the Kingdom, there was some nostalgia for everyone here!

Still, it was a very good Direct overall, I'm personally just a bit underwhelmed by the important last part. I was hoping to see some gameplay of Tears of the Kingdom, but instead it's just another trailer with a lot of snippets that the internet can and will dissect. To be fair, there is a lot to dissect here. And maybe I'm getting my wish that Nintendo won't show too much of the game in advance, which is also fine with me.

The biggest surprises for me were probably Metroid Prime Remastered and the GameBoy additions to Nintendo Switch Online. It's not so much the fact that these are a thing, where this has been expected and rumored for quite some time, it's just that I didn't see this happening right now. It's even all available on the eShop already... I will be waiting for the physical release of Metroid Prime Remastered, however, which comes out on March 3rd.

What I'm getting right after this Direct is the Expansion Pass for Fire Emblem Engage, though. It's probably the most surprising thing here how excited I am for this... But I've been playing the game for a couple of hours and I do enjoy the Emblem Ring feature quite a lot, where it's nice to see some old faces in new glory. It definitely feels different from Fire Emblem Heroes, it's much more special, where I was also surprised that they've turned Veronica into an Emblem as well.

Anyway, it's getting very late here and I will dive into all the interesting topics over the course of the weekend. There will be a lot to talk about, so stay tuned!

Nintendo Direct February 2023 Predictions

As announced on Twitter, we will be getting a Nintendo Direct tomorrow, 11PM CET, with 40 minutes focused on the first half of 2023. And I probably don't need to tell you what we can expect here: it's going to be 35 minutes of waiting through smaller announcements, before the big marketing push for Tears of the Kingdom will finally begin.

 

Time for Tears of the Kingdom

We haven't really seen that much of the game yet and this can either make you worried, or it can be seen as a good thing. I would personally prefer it if Nintendo were to restrain themselves from showing too much of the game, because I like to be surprised while playing myself. But I also don't want to be out of the loop and I want to talk about the game before its release here on this blog, so ignoring the official media isn't an option for me.

The Nintendo Switch Presentation Trailer for Breath of the Wild, as epic and amazing it may be, had used so many key scenes that I often thought, "Oh, I know this from the trailer", while playing through the more story-focused parts of the game. Of course it was all just small glimpses and up until that point they hadn't even shown us that game's Zelda... You have to build up some hype somehow and that's what's going to happen tomorrow, where they want people to talk about the game for the next three months straight. And that's best achieved with a meaty trailer.

Surely, we will also get to see the first actual gameplay, where they may introduce us to some of the new core mechanics, like morphing through ceilings, the object-based time reversal, or the more sophisticated sky diving. So, they will certainly elaborate on some of the things that got teased in the three previous teaser trailers.

Other than that it will be all about the marketing around Tears of the Kingdom. With Breath of the Wild Nintendo got a huge money maker on so many fronts, where the sequel surely won't be any different. We can expect things like:

• Nintendo Switch OLED Model - Tears of the Kingdom Edition
• Tears of the Kingdom Limited Edition
• Tears of the Kingdom Expansion Pass
  
• Tears of the Kingdom amiibo
• Other merchandise
  

Unusually for Nintendo, we already had some leaks in the last two months, where we apparently can look forward to that Nintendo Switch OLED and potentially even some Zelda LEGO. Well, take my Rupees, Nintendo!

I don't necessarily expect them to announce a full amiibo line, like they did with Breath of the Wild, since the age of amiibo is over. But they will very likely bring back the amiibo system from Breath of the Wild and may introduce one or two new figures, like Link in his new ancient look, with the long hair and the corrupted arm. The Eyegore monster would also make for an awesome amiibo.

An Expansion Pass isn't a safe bet, since the development of Tears of the Kingdom already started as DLC and they had five years of adding all sorts of things to the Hyrule from the previous game. So, they might go without one and just move on to the next game, but it's still a possibility, especially since DLC keeps a game in the news and will offer more content throughout the rest of the year. We will see.

Maybe there also will be some special exclusive armor piece if you have a savegame of Breath of the Wild on your Nintendo Switch, or something like that, but they have already done this with Age of Calamity, even though this only gave you the Training Sword.

There is also the question whether they will open the Nintendo Direct with Tears of the Kingdom or save it for the end. If they open with it, to get it out of the way so to speak, this means that they have another ace up their sleeve, something big to end the Nintendo Direct with. But I don't really see this happening, because I personally expect that Tears of the Kingdom will be the big thing for 2023 and they don't want to distract from it, even if there is something else on the horizon.

It also feels like this may be the swan song for the Nintendo Switch and any other big shots, like a new Super Mario or even Metroid Prime 4, are probably already in development for the next system. There is still Pikmin 4, though, which could be a title for later 2023 and could be shown in the Direct.

What about other Zelda?

If you look at comments on Twitter and the like, which you probably shouldn't, you will see quite a number of people asking for ports of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD, as well as remakes of Oracle of Ages & Seasons. And this is what you call "setting yourself up for disappointment". Since it's a given that we will be seeing Tears of the Kingdom tomorrow, it seems like some people desperately need something else in their hopes and expectations that won't be happening.

Naturally, it would be nice to get all these Zelda ports and remakes at some point, but there is the right time for this and this time is not now when we're getting the next big AAA The Legend of Zelda title in just three months. A The Wind Waker HD or a Twilight Princess HD can't and shouldn't compete with that and are best saved for a time with no new Zelda release. Nintendo does not want their releases to cannibalize each other.

At this point I believe they are saving these for the Switch successor and will also throw in Skyward Sword HD for a three-in-one collection. Maybe with all these titles upgraded to 4K... And the Link's Awakening remake already ran quite badly on the Switch, where a follow-up certainly will profit from better performance as well.

So, what else?

If we're talking about ports and remasters, I'd love to see Metroid: Samus Returns on the Nintendo Switch, running in the same engine as Metroid Dread. The timing would even be a great fit, where the original came out after Breath of the Wild and maybe didn't get the attention it deserved due to being released on an older system with the Nintendo 3DS. This will also give the Metroid fans something to do in the meantime, where I don't expect to see Metroid Prime 4 tomorrow.

The fourth wave of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will certainly be teased. Here I'm hoping for a release in April, so that this is out of the way before Tears of the Kingdom will eat up all my time. We've recently seen the new Piranha Plant Cove in Mario Kart Tour, where this course will likely make it into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as well this year.

Speaking of DLC, Fire Emblem Engage will likely have its second pack announced, where the Expansion Pass will offer four up until the end of 2023. And it's smaller announcements like this that will fill the Nintendo Direct. It always is. There is also the Bayonetta Origins game coming soon, which hasn't been featured in a Direct yet. And likely some more third party ports and JRPG stuff, even more ports, and so on.

I don't expect to see Silksong, but I'd love to be wrong. People keep claiming that it has to come out soon, because Microsoft said during their presentation in June 2022 that all featured games are slated to come out in the next 12 months, but Hollow Knight: Silksong wasn't part of that infographic, even thought they've showed a new trailer for the game. So, don't hold your breath!

The big star tomorrow will be Tears of the Kingdom and everything else will most likely just be padding.

Got Fire Emblem Engage Divine Edition

Well, I got this about two weeks ago, but I wasn't able to make photos until today, because it is the first day with some sunlight since then. I also haven't played the game yet, where I may give it a try today...

But I got lucky and was able to pre-order the Divine Edition of Fire Emblem Engange from the My Nintendo Store when it briefly came available for a second time in early January. And this time everything went well, so the items were properly packed and nothing got damaged.

The Divine Edition comes with the usual steelbook and artbook, where those are always nice to have and are the main incentive to collect such Nintendo special editions for me personally. That and the cleaner cover for the card case.

In addition there is a collection of a dozen high quality cards of the different Emblems, like Marth, Celica, Corrin, and Byleth. In this way it feels similar to Special Edition for Metroid Dread.

The artbook is much bigger, though, where it has A4 size. And there is an A1 poster of the game's cover art. The My Nintendo Store also put a second poster on top, in A2 size and with the motive from the artbook's cover, and a pin (the latter is not pictured).

Now, before I revisit Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch, I want this to be my "Fire Emblem February". I have been playing Fire Emblem Fates for a bit lately and I also want to get (back) into the other two Nintendo 3DS titles, mainly to see if there's any worthwhile DLC before the eShop closes at the end of March.

There are a lot of Fire Emblem games on my backlog (including Three Houses and Three Hopes), where I'm having a hard time to catch up with it all, but in the least I'm currently trying.

Zelda LEGO Leaked?

Source

Now, I couldn't tell you how often I reported about Zelda-based LEGO IDEAS during my time writing for ZeldaEurope, where there has been a lot of interest in this. Of course they never would go anywhere, because they were made by fans and something like this would require an official license.

But then the official Super Mario LEGO happened during the 35th Anniversary of the franchise and this has opened the doors for other Nintendo collaborations in the future, like for The Legend of Zelda. And this leak looks like the real deal, where to my understanding this possibly comes from some user testing.

This is a two-in-one set of the Great Deku Tree, where you can build either the variant from Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild. This is ingenious, but with 1920 pieces it will be also more pricey and probably aiming at serious collectors. But it makes sense to have something sophisticated for Zelda, after the Super Mario stuff felt more like it came out of the LEGO DUPLO line for small children.

Well, I loved LEGO in any form as a child and got nice collection back then, but it became uninteresting the day I got my GameBoy. And now all of this sitting in boxes at my mother's basement... But I would most likely get this set if it came to the market, and revive my early childhood passion, even it's just for a day or two.