When it comes to video game developers as a whole. You expect them to go and do things that will lead to big success in the future. Typically, the teams make a game that they “know they can make well” and then see what it does before trying for something even bigger in the future. Then, when they “make their name,” they don’t stop until something stops them. In the case of Retro Studios, they went from a team that was kind of languishing around to becoming synonymous with a pair of Nintendo franchises via its games with Samus Aran and Donkey Kong.
However, over time, things got…weird. It was already quite the jump for the team when it went from a sci-fi first-person shooter to doing a platformer, but then, after the release of its Wii U title with Donkey Kong, it wasn’t making anything. Just as important, the team wasn’t releasing everything. At first, everyone thought that the team was making another DK title, but that wasn’t the case. Then, when Nintendo revealed that Metroid Prime 4 was going back to the drawing board with Retro back at the helm, it made fans wonder what in the world the team was making in its “downtime.”
We may finally have an answer to that, as reliable leaker Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly posted on ResetEra that Retro Studios was working on a kind of “Music RPG” that would’ve been an entirely new IP for the company.
That would’ve been interesting to see unfold had it been completed. Yet, Nintendo canceled the title, with Reilly noting that it was a “complete disaster” in many respects, which led to a serious bit of tension between Nintendo and Retro. That’s something that can kill a studio if things don’t change. However, Bandai Namco wasn’t doing so hot with Samus and her latest “prime title,” so while Retro was initially ordered to do remasters of its original trilogy, they were soon asked to take over for Bandai Namco and bring the series back to the quality that it was known for.
To be clear, this is just what Reilly posted on the site, so certain details may be wrong. That being said, Reilly has been in contact with many from Retro Studios in the past, including interviewing many of them. So, he would likely have that “inside track” to get information such as this.
Regardless, Metroid Prime 4 is slated to come out this year, and that’s something Retro is definitely hoping goes well.
