IGN: How was the labor split between Retro and NCL?
Nintendo: The only thing we handled completely on our end was the music, which was done by Research and Development Team 1 (R&1).Kenji Yamamoto -- who did the music in the original Metroid and all of the Metroid games -- did the music on this game as well. Other than that,everything else was handled on Retro´s end.
Miyamoto-san: Even through the entire Nintendo 64 period we were thinking of ways to produce a new Metroid title.
(...) Actually, we´ve been working for about three years on this game.
This is the first time we´ve dealt with a foreign development team to this degree in building a game from scratch.
IGN:When did work on the game begin?
Retro studio: We started to put people on it around June 1999.
Miyamoto-san: But, I remember thinking before that time they could do a Metroid title.
Retro studio:The atmosphere of the game is extremely important.
Exploration and platforming were key elements that we tried to instill in every part of the game to make it interesting.
IGN: What was the hardest part of the game to get right?
Retro studio: Probably the first-person jumping.
From the beginning, we realized that we were going to have to pay a lot of attention there since we were creating a platformer.
IGN: Which of the previous Metroid titles influenced you the most?
Retro studio: I´d say that Super Metroid was the most important because that´s the one that we grew up with and that we still love to play.
IGN Will we have to wait another eight years for the next Metroid game?
Miyamoto-san: We´ve been discussing future projects while working on this game,
so I think it will be a little quicker than in the past. We´ll be working around the clock again! [laughs]
IGN: What´s next for Retro Studios? We know you had some projects you put on hold, any chance of reviving them?
Retro studio: Yea, currently we´re still developing the Japanese and European versions. So that´s consuming all our work time.
IGN: Did you feel any pressure from being trusted with such a beloved Nintendo property?
Retro studio: There was a lot of pressure. Metroid is a very, very popular series. We knew that there were a lot of fans out there that we needed to please.
