Metroid Prime 2 retains a minor, curious footnote in the series: a local multiplayer mode that few players actually saw. Producer Kensuke Tanabe uses a new art book to say he would be glad if a rerelease or remake gave more people the chance to play it.
The comments appear in Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, where Tanabe notes that Retro Studios completed the multiplayer without compromising quality, but that the mode was built for local play, so “the number of players who actually experienced it might not have been very large.” He adds that if the game is remade, he would be delighted for more people to have the chance to experience it.
The art book also sheds light on an earlier pitch; a complete multiplayer-focused follow-up was suggested after the original Metroid Prime. Still, Retro pushed for a standalone sequel and delivered Metroid Prime 2: Echoes instead. Tanabe describes a development schedule that left little room for extensions, forcing quick decisions in the final months and even requiring multiple translators to work in parallel to speed approvals.
People have expected Switch rereleases of the GameCube-era Metroid Prime games since Metroid Prime Remastered arrived in 2023, and interest in the trilogy has only grown with the prospect of another entry in the series. For related coverage of the series’ future, see the reporting on Metroid Prime 4 being rated ahead of the Nintendo Direct.
The artbook is available to purchase from Tuesday, October 28, and Tanabe’s remarks are likely to reopen the conversation about how Nintendo might bring older multiplayer modes to modern audiences.
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