 and it was premier exploration-based sci-fi action game. It features Samus Iran, who is a renowned bounty hunter, and she's been sent by the Galactic Federation to Planet SR388 to investigate and annihilate the Metroids. She's the best at what she does. Oh yeah, she's super cool. And this is actually a re-imagination of the original Game Boy classic that was released in 1991. Metroid II, Return of Samus. And this game is just, it's beautiful. It's a little bit shinier than the Game Boy version. Yes, it is. And this game is still about discovery and exploration. There's intense boss battles and there's so many pathways to discover and you can take your time through it. And this is really, this is classic 2D Metroid II. It's got the isolation, the exploration, and of course, Samus just generally being amazing. Yeah, and the great thing about this being on the 3DS is that there's so much detail in the background and it's really heightened with the 3D feature on. And you can't see it at home right now, but it does feel really, really good. Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but it adds a lot of depth to the experience. Yeah. Oh, and something I wanna actually show here on the show floor. So in the past, Samus was able to aim at 45 degree angles, but now she has this whole range of motion which really allows for precision here. It's really nice because especially as you get further into the game, there are enemies all over the place. So having the freedom to shoot anywhere you like is incredible. Yeah, so the free aim. Oh, thank you. So the free aim here is also really cool here where when I'm actually moving it and I actually have an enemy onsite and target, the cue will, audio cue will change and also that it will highlight in red. So again, it allows for a little bit more precision here. Yeah, it's still up to you to aim precisely, but that nice visual indicator is just very helpful. Yeah. And Samus here has her very basic abilities and so as I keep exploring and seeing new environments, I'll hopefully gather new abilities to upgrade my suit. So this is another new ability that Samus has in this game and it's a melee counter. And if I time it appropriately and immediately shoot, I do a critical hit on the enemy. But in the circumstance that I don't immediately shoot, I have some time to actually just shoot from afar and give myself a little bit more leeway to not get hit. And then the melee counter is a new ability as you mentioned and it's really great because this game gets challenging. Oh yeah. It's very, very difficult. And since we have Sakamoto-san here while we're speaking about challenges, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about some of the challenges you encountered while developing this game. Yes. Yeah, well I mean, I think, I don't know if you'd qualify it as a big challenge, but something that we face whenever we're working on it on something like this with an established style of gameplay. It's adding, you know, what sort of new elements can we add to something that, again, is established and has, you know, had some success in the past? Yes, I mean, I really felt that it would be difficult to bring in new elements that would add a lot of excitement and at the same time make the fans of the franchise, you know, happy and satisfied. But you know, I think this time with Samus Returns, I think we've done a really good job. And why is that? It's because we found this really amazing partner to work with. And that's Mercury Steam. Thank you very much, Jose. Thanks to you. Thanks to both of you. And after we were speaking, you actually got Samus's legendary Morph Ball ability. I did, and this is very, very handy to get, as you can see through certain tunnels here. Here's a save station, which I don't quite need right now. I'm gonna keep on going and exploring this area. And here, this is a pretty bleak area from where it just was. And you'll see this gate here. This is a little different from the original game. Yeah, it definitely is. And for people that haven't played the Metroid 2 in the past, this purple liquid is actually very painful. And I'll just kind of, yeah, don't, yep. She did it, ow. Yeah, so I can't really go down there and I want to. And I can't really interact with this right now, so I'm gonna keep on moving forward and see. And that's really, that's the nature of this game is you'll come across areas that you just can't survive on yet. You just can't get past and you'll have to acquire new tools and abilities to be able to keep exploring and keep pushing forward. Exactly, so since I couldn't go through the door, I went up and around it. So I'm gonna keep on moving forward. And this is also a brand new feature to the Metroid franchise. These are Aeon abilities. Aeon is a very mystical and powerful energy source. And they actually give abilities to Samus that are very different from the technical upgrades that she gets for her suit. So this one that I just gathered is called the Scampolls. And what it does is that, oh, I should remind people that the Aeon abilities are actually not, they're limited, you can't just span them whenever you want to. And so they'll have their own energy and you'll have to gather power ups for them and also more energy in order to refill that tank. So just to showcase the Scampolls. Yeah, so to showcase the Scampolls, if you see the bottom screen, the map usually kind of explores once you start moving. But if I use the Scampolls, it'll actually open up this quadrant of map already for me. And also on the upper screen will show these blocks that I can easily break. So now I know that, oh, there was an actual hidden path there. And normally you would just have to shoot everywhere to try and find breakable blocks. And you can still do it that way if you want to. But if you have the Aeon to pull it off, the Scampolls is also very, very helpful. Yeah, keep in mind though that not everything can be easily broken with your laser. So that's kind of some ammo that you'd have to waste. And it's nice to actually have the Aeon ability to strategize about which one am I gonna use? Am I gonna use my ammo? Or am I gonna use the Aeon ability in order to keep on discovering and exploring? Absolutely. Throughout her long career, Samus has had a lot of unique abilities at her disposal. And as we've seen already, this game adds even more. So Jose, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about the process you guys went through of adding new abilities like the melee counter or the Aeon abilities. Yes, well, from the beginning, it's like I'm also wanting to challenge ourselves to bring new ideas to the cities. So we were given freedom to prototype a lot of different ideas and mechanics and say which ones would better fit within the Metroid universe. Once these ideas and mechanics were discovered, it was just a matter of iterating and policing the design. Oh, wonderful. They really add a lot to the experience, so good work. Yes, they do. So here is an energy station and I'm a little bit low, so I'm just gonna take that. You always wanna take advantage of those energy stations. Every little bit of health matters. Yeah, for sure. You'll notice that a beeping started. That's actually my Metroid detector. It's telling me that there is a Metroid nearby. Again, for people that don't really know what Metroids are, they're an alien species that they're pretty dangerous and they suck up the light form of any alien species in order to survive. Yeah, you don't wanna hug a Metroid necessarily. Yeah, exactly. Another thing I want to showcase here is actually the mapping system that this game has. So now that in case I'm not able to go through a door because I don't have the ability to unlock it. Which happens a lot. Yes, I have these pins now that I can just drop it onto the map and then that'll kind of be my note for myself that, oh, I wanna revisit this later once I grab an ability and maybe I can try it later. And as you mentioned, this game is so much about exploration and going back and trying to find every square inch of the map to find all of the mini hidden secrets. So this pin system is actually very, very useful. Yeah. Oh, I'm getting close, but I'm gonna go investigate. This area. Your Metroid senses are still tingling, so keep searching. He's getting closer because the beeping is getting a little bit more insistent. Found a hidden missile tank. Yeah. But see, that was an example where I kind of knew already that this pass was there, but the scan pulse would have been very useful right there to kind of show those blocks. There's another save station. So there we go. The sample told me that block is breakable, but I can't shoot it. So I'm gonna try a missile instead. It's open. And that's a good point. If you ever run into an area you can't progress past, use all of your weapons and it's always... Yeah. Oh, it's a little friend. Hi, friend. That was a Metroid, but we're actually not fighting him. We're actually fighting his first evolution. And this is known the Alpha Metroid. He looks twice as friendly as a regular Metroid. So if I time it correctly, I can actually melee counter him and it gives me an advantage to actually hit him for more damage. You'll also see that he'll drop these little sparks. If I actually hit those sparks, I'll get more ammo replenishment. So in case I end up using all of my missiles, I could always go around him and try to shoot those in order to get more missiles. Nice melee countering. And I'll say, I don't know how well the home audience can hear this, but the sound effects in this game are incredible. The music, the atmospheric sounds are just really great. So Sakamoto-san, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about what went into the development of the soundtrack for this game. About the soundtrack and the SC, the development, the production, and the effects that were received, I'd like you to tell us a little bit about that. In this Samus Returns, two of the sound composers from Super Metroid are participating. Well, we have two of the composers who worked on Super Metroid on the team for Samus Returns. They've been in charge of the Metroid series for a long time, so even if I don't say anything, I want them to play the music that they want them to play. And you know, and they've worked on pretty much every Metroid title since that time doing music for us. And so I really don't have to say anything. They just go do what they do, and what they do is create great music. Excellent. We'll lock them up. Don't ever let them go. Whoops. So you made quick work of that alpha Metroid. Good work. I did. So I'm actually going to go return to that gate that I couldn't get to before and see what happens now. But make my way there. So in the original Metroid 2, whenever you defeated a certain prerequisite number of Metroids, the ground would rumble and then you would know that you would be able to proceed to the next area. So now in this game, you have these gates and if you press on it and you enter the Metroid DNA that you had just gathered from the Metroid you just killed, it will enter into this gate, unlock, reduce this hazardous liquid that was killing me before, and now I'm able to get to the next area. It's really cool having this really visual cue of your progress in the game as well. Yeah. So now I'm going to go to a later area in the game. And we've gotten a glimpse of it a little bit, but the 3DS hardware really goes a long way in bringing this world to life. It helps communicate the isolation of Samus being stuck on this alien planet. So Sakamoto-san, could you speak a little to how you use to the 3DS tech to bring this world to life and really reimagine it? Yes. Yeah, I mean, I do think that with this title, of course, the 3D effects are put to great use and really does help build the world that we're exploring. But I'd like to go ahead and ask Jose to talk a little bit about some of the more technical aspects. Yes, it was very clear to us from the beginning that if we wanted to convey to the player the greatness of the inner depths of the planet and the past glory of the social civilization, we had to provide a big sense of scale thanks to the depth given by the 3DS capabilities. So we wanted to reflect this from if we only the development process, this scale through the first initial concept parts. Thank you so much. Oh, and you've gotten yourself in trouble, Teresa. I always do. I ran into his room and he didn't like me being here. Aw, he woke him up from a nap. Don't do that. But I'm stuck here until he gives me leave. And now it's not the time to play with it necessarily, but I wanted to point out that you also got your spider ball upgrade. That's right, and I also got bombs here. So these are actually very handy for taking him out. Oh my gosh. Well, you play with your new friend. This is obviously an enemy from the original game, and that brings to mind the fact that all of the enemies can actually be redesigned for this version. So Jose, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about what the process was for redesigning the enemies from the original game. Yes, we wanted to respect the visual design of the regular enemies as much as possible, but we had to adapt the attacks, movements, and behaviors so they could fit with our new gameplay without making them lose much of their original feel in the process. And as for the Metroids, they were the stars of the show, along with Samus in the original game, and they wanted also to be the same in our game. They suffered a massive overhaul from the visuals of the original game and their gameplay mechanics, and also we wanted to clearly show the transition in their life from one Metroid to another. This is something that is very clearly reflected in the movements, behaviors, and attacks. Thank you. And good work to you. Oh, thank you. So I could actually take the Spider Ball, and the Spider Ball is actually in an ability here that's very unique to Metroid too, but I'm actually going to do a very hard technique that I am not doing very good right now. I swear I practiced this. The bomb jump. Oh no. Alright, last try. Metroid fans have spent hours trying to get to the craziest places using bomb jump. Oh no. But I'm actually trying to work your way around this map. That also brings me to the point that a lot of the maps have been redesigned for the new system. So Jose, can you speak a little to the process of redesigning the maps as well? Yes, we wanted to respect as much as possible the original layout of the original game because it has such a distinct structure within the Metroid series. And well, we wanted to add a lot of new series or new things because we wanted to be felt also new. And we added lots of sections different from the original game because we wanted to accommodate all of our gameplay needs. And also we wanted the game to be more dynamic and diverse than the original game, introducing some classic abilities from other games in the series, but that were not present in the original game. And also we added some new, of course, special abilities that are unique to this title. So the combination of both made us realize some very interesting situations regarding double design for players to actually figure out their way forward in new ways. Actually, before I take this elevator, I want to show this. This is also a new feature to Metroid Samus Returns, and it's a teleport station. This actually helps a lot with the mobility of the game where instead of backtracking all the way through previous areas, you can actually use the teleport to quickly jump into a new area. And this actually really helps when you're trying to gather some items that you weren't able to in the past or explore new pathways that you weren't able to before. I'm not going to take it right now. I'm actually going to go back and take this elevator to a new area. But you're right, it's such a huge addition to the game. Being able to more quickly get to the areas you've already been to and find all these GC secrets you weren't able to get at before. Well, because gathering all these items, it actually rewards you in the end because it does get more difficult as you further get into the planet. And the baddies do get really hard. So you definitely want to get all those upgrades and the items, and it rewards you. But you can also choose not to if you want a challenge. So I've visited previous lava rooms before, so I know that this red door looks a little bit dangerous, but I'm going to go in anyway just to show a rebel. Yeah, it hurts. Yeah, I don't want that. Okay, so I'm going to actually use the scan pulse because I see there's something up there and I'm pretty sure there's a pathway. Just to make sure while you have the A on energy might as well. There we go. Excellent. So we're going to go up here. I love how if you had just shot up above you, it would have looked like there wasn't anything to break. So it's actually good that you used the scan pulse right there. Yeah, I have gotten lost more than once. Here's another suit upgrade. I love this. This does feel really good. Really epic. I love how vibrant the colors are. It's just this world is so metroid. So beautiful. Yeah. And it's just, again, it's really cool when the 3D features on because you get to see all the stuff that's happened in the background. But yeah, so I'm going to go in here. And Samus has her classic suit. Yeah, her various suit. We're going to take out here. So let's try going back to the way we came from. That was close. That was close. That was very close. I like to play it dangerously. And now you can survive the very, very hot. So we're going to explore this room now. And we could always go back and explore other lava rooms to see what we missed. I have to point out that this is all one planet. This is all SR388. But look how different the environments are. It's a big planet. There's a lot of different areas and a lot of variety. So much variety, yeah. And every area is just so colorful and unique on its own. So here I'm going to show a new Aeon ability called Lightning Armor. And what it does, it gives us green glow to Samus, but also overcharges my melee and lets me go through enemies without taking much damage. But it does take away from my Aeon pool. And so I want to actually save it in case I need it later. Every time you get hit, it actually makes your Aeon gauge go down. So you can just run foolishly through a group of enemies unless you want to feel a lot of pain. Yeah. So here's another door that I'm unfortunately not able to get in through. So I'm going to do another pin here. But I'm also going to show here, there's this information screen that will actually see, it'll show different items that are shown in the map. And if you're not quite sure what that icon means, it will actually tell you here. And it will actually unlock too once you've discovered it and you know how to interact with it. So definitely keep an eye on these because these are actually really informative. It'll help you remember what you already know. Yeah. And we've already seen a few new Chozo artifacts, but that brings me to the question. Sakamoto-san, can you tell us a little bit about the decision to integrate more Chozo artifacts into this version of the game? So, you know, this game is set on SR388, and it's a planet that was home to the first generation of the Chozo artifacts. So, you know, this game is set on SR388, and it's a planet that was home to the Chozo civilization at one point, and so it saw the Chozo flourish, and it also saw them crumble, so this whole area has this historical background of being a place just sort of filled with lots of riddles. So that's why you see all of these, again, Chozo ruins that you mentioned throughout the game. And I think if you, you know, you had a chance to play Samus Returns, you might find some of the answers to the riddles that the Chozo civilization left behind. What a tease he is. But it is possible that there may be some new and more intriguing riddles introduced through the game as well. Fine. I guess everyone's just going to have to wait and see. She keeps some surprises. You've gotten yourself into trouble again. I did. So this is the second evolution of the Metroid species. This is the Gamma. I was able to do a counter melee on him, finally, as he came up close to me, but I'm also going to use Ice Beam, because it seems to be really weak to his nucleus, so I'm just going to keep on attacking him. But yeah, he's got a dynamic set of moves. He's swooping down on me. Electricity on me. But that's a good point. If you're ever fighting an enemy or a boss and your weapon of choice doesn't seem to be making a big dent, try and try one of your other weapons or abilities, because they might be a little more successful. And since I'm a little below on health, I'm going to feel safer if I put on my lightning armor, so I'm just going to go here. You've made him mad. Yeah, he is not happy with me. I'm just going to throw this out there. Your legs are really creepy. Yeah, I'm not a fan of spiders, so yeah, this guy creeps me out. Oh, he's turned red though, so you're doing well. Yes, I should be almost there. And that's another kind of visual indicator to show you that you're getting closer to making men's meat of this guy. Yeah, and there's all those audio cues too for when's the right time to... Oh boy. When's the right time to melee him? So it only happens when he goes down on the ground, but yes, I was able to successfully come to work. All right, well, with that, I actually want to show another leader area in the game because I think it'd be really cool to show the fans. Excellent, let's do it. So while you switched your other save file, Sakamoto-san and Jose, we're hoping you could tell us a little bit about how you went about balancing this game because there's obviously a lot of abilities and it must have been difficult to balance making them feel useful to players without taking away from the challenge. Yes, of course, you know, it feels great. It's exhilarating to use this. It's so fun, it's so fun, it's so fun to play with it. I'm really looking forward to this. I don't know how it goes, but it's so fun to play with it. So I want to show you that you're getting closer to balancing with this game. Yes, well, I actually want to show you It feels great. It's exhilarating to use these really powerful and dynamic abilities and, you know, players want to use them and we want them to use them, of course. But, you know, one of the things we have to be careful of is if we, you know, overuse them if we make them too powerful, it reduces, you know, some of the tension that you feel in the game, and it sort of has the counter-effect of actually reducing the excitement and sort of, again, that thrill that we want players to feel. So, again, it's a really delicate balance. Well, yeah, and I think a good example of some of the difficulty in that fine-tuning is what we just saw on screen is this beam burst. And what's difficult, again, about finding that balance is you have to measure the effect of the weapon, and you also have to take into consideration the amount of energy it uses and the supply of energy that's available to you. And trying to come up with, again, a balance that works throughout the game and keeps all of those factors in mind, it can be quite challenging. I think, you know, we put quite a load on Mercury's scheme and having them do that, but I think they did a remarkably good job. Yes, I completely agree with Sakamoto-San's words. It was difficult to balance the new abilities, not only because they can be used alone, but only because they can be used in combination between them, and also they can be combined with the classic abilities, too. So, at the end, it was pretty tough, but we, however, are very confident that we finally found the best possible balance for all players to fully enjoy them. Yes, I think you achieved a great balance, and trust me, it's still difficult. All right, so my Metroid detector went off again, and this is the Gamma Husk, so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be facing him. Maybe it's something cutlier, a little guy? Or maybe not. Yeah, maybe not. So, this is the next evolution, this is the Zeta, and he's pretty gnarly. I'm not a big fan of him. And as Sakamoto-San was saying about the beam burst, I actually wanted to showcase this other Aeon ability because it is so powerful, it's so cool, and it feels really powerful. And I missed my moment into the melee counter. He does so much damage, too. He does. I'm going to use a combination of abilities here, from missile to grapple to beam burst. You really have to be on your game with this guy, because he switches up his patterns a lot. Oh, he does. He's hard to predict. Yeah, he's hard to predict, and he totally aims for me, too. Like, he's got me down. Nice. That's just the beautiful melee counter, too. I love how it slows down time, and it has that really cinematic presentation. Yes, it feels so epic and action-y, and I absolutely love it. This is my least favorite move. This one gets me every time. Oh, God. Oh. And now you died on purpose, so that we could see it's down as high. She looks so elegant there. Beautiful, yes. So, thank you. You're welcome. I aim to please. Yes. All right, I'm going to try this again. Yes, you can do this. We all believe in him. I'm going to skip the cutscene. I'm going to get right into that. All right. Nice melee counter right off the top. Oh, he was nice enough to give it to me, so I'll take it. Yes. The other side. I got a good shot at the nucleus. You know, he's not invited to your birthday party anymore. No. You ruined it. I like green, but not in my face. No. And as we're showcasing here, the new abilities, your beam burst there, your lightning armor, they add to the experience, but as to the balance they were talking about earlier, they definitely don't make it easier. You have the eye on gauge, and you can't spam these abilities at all. I mean, I think you're already out of them, so. It's all right. Third time's the charm. He's pretty strong. Yeah, he's pretty awful. I'm hopeful that this third time I can get it. Yes. You have the power of Samus at your disposal. I have all our abilities. Oh, I missed him. He missed me at that time. That was lucky. He's going to feel that tomorrow. I hope so. So mean. That was your favorite. Oh, God. I absolutely hate him. He's more afraid of you than you are of him. Is that really the case? That's the truth. I don't think he cares much about me. Do you think you have a handle on it? He switches it up. Oh, yeah, I know. I always need to be on guard with him, because it's never the same pattern or consistent at all. You're getting really close, though. I think you can do this. Oh, I don't know. I can do it. I can do this. We believe in you. This is the time. And he's not going to do that move. Maybe Sakamoto-san can give me some tips. Do you have a hint? Do your best. Good luck. That's all I can. No pressure having creator and Metroid watching you. No. I'm like the bean burst looks. It is. It feels so good. And I ran out of me on energy. That was my best one. Oh, no. I've got to do it the old-fashioned way now. Missiles it is. Oh, that was close. Just stay down. Yes. Finished with the melee counter. That's beautiful. Well worth the wait. Thank you. Good work, too. Well, that is all we have to show for game footage, but we do have some cool announcements to also show to the folks at home. So I'm really excited. Shall we? Oh, we shall. All right. So as you probably might have seen in the very beginning of the game, the surface area, amoeba functionality is active in this game. It does support the two Samus, the Zero Suit Samus and the regular Samus from the Super Smash Brothers line. But there's also two new amoeba that we're so excited to show you guys. So we actually have them right here. I'm going to ask you to hold. Actually, no. I'm going to give you the honors of holding him because he's so awesome. So you get the Metroid and this is the best part. He's actually squishy. He actually feels like a Metroid. So cool. And he's like breaking out of this little case and everything. And then you also have Samus again here, but she's in her classic Metroid two pose. And that is just so, so cool. Like the amount of detail that's around her. It's just, it's so amazing. She feels so cool. And.