Jun 03 2009
Metroid is Team Ninja’s best chance to move on
When company figurehead Tomonobu Itagaki left Team Ninja and Tecmo on June 3, 2008, it was a public blow to the company that left many wondering about the fate of franchises like Ninja Gaiden, especially when a few other developers followed him out the door.
One year later… Rather than announce a new Ninja Gaiden and immediately try to fill the shoes of Itagaki, Tecmo and Team Ninja surprised everyone at E3 by announcing its efforts with Nintendo to develop a new 3D Metroid game featuring lots of third-person action and graphics that are impressive enough to make you second-guess which console the game is running on.
The E3 trailer that debuted Metroid: Other M.
Granted, most consumers won’t know anything about Itagaki’s role at Tecmo or his exodus. For those of us who do, however, this Metroid game gives Team Ninja a chance to show it’s still got it, and having Nintendo in its corner to guide the process will balance any of the temporary effects that might have cropped up following Itagaki’s departure.
The fast, beautiful action is vintage Team Ninja and a perfect match for a Metroid series that’s looking to echo back to its 2D roots.
A lot of the action debuted so far is as cinematic as the cutscenes. Here Samus grabs an enemy in a headlock and bulldogs it to the ground.
For a unique experience, the gameplay switches to first-person action during pivotal sequences like this one.
If Team Ninja was a chicken with its head cut off, that bird just sprouted a new noggin, and now she’s determined to learn how to fly.
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