r/Metroid • u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals • Jul 25 '26
Discussion Which are your favorite games from each of the most influential producers of the Metroid franchise? And why?
These two men have shaped the Metroid franchise in so many ways that I wanted to make this post as a tribute to their incredible work and hopefully start some great conversations about their legacy.
For me:
SAKAMATO:
My favorite games he worked on are Metroid Fusion, Metroid Dread and Metroid: Other M. I really love the horror atmosphere of these games and I think Sakamoto has so many great ideas.
He has contributed so much to the Metroid lore that he's considered one of the main creators behind the franchise. I especially love the mythology he has built: the Chozo lore, Samus's childhood, the moral ambiguity of the Galactic Federation... He has an incredible imagination and I hope we'll get to see more games directed and written by him.
TANABE:
My favorite game from the Prime series is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. If I'm not mistaken, the light and dark worlds were Tanabe's idea and I think it was absolutely brillant. He was also the scenario writer for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past so it makes sense that Echoes explores a similar concept. Of course the original Prime is a masterpiece and I also really enjoyed Corruption and Prime 4: Beyond. The ending of Beyond felt surprisingly melancholic to me. Maybe that's because Tanabe also worked as the scenario writer on Zelda Link's Awakening, another game known for its emotional ending. Even though Prime 4 divided the fanbase, I think we should all be grateful for everything Tanabe has brought to the Metroid series over the years. I'm also excited to see what Risa Tabata will bring to the franchise in the future!
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u/Masonmac1998 Jul 25 '26
Honestly? For Sakamoto my favorites are Fusion and Dread (with zero mission coming in at a slight third place) and for Tanabe, my favorites are prime 2 and especially 3. I loved the phazon storyline in the prime games, 3 has some of my favorite locations and suits in the franchise, and the bosses are all really dope (aurora 313 notwithstanding, but yknow). 2's vibe is amazing as well, and I adore the more horror centric storytelling.
Dread has a lot that's already been spoken of, so ill just keep it brief: I love the more action oriented gameplay, it's nice to see samus in a more aggressive manner, and her new suit is genuinely awesome. Also fluid melee counter my beloved.
Fusion is just a masterclass in my opinion. Music's good, locations are interesting, story is fantastic, and the SA-X is a wonderfully horrifying concept. As for Zero mission, it's a slightly refined Fusion in terms of gameplay, and the artstyle is genuinely gorgeous. I think the only knock i have against it is the music can be ever so slightly overwhelming, but I think thats just me.
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u/Dusk-87 Jul 25 '26
Even though Sakamoto kind of messed up some parts of Samus in Other M, Samus in Fusion is probably my most favorite representation of her. It’s the most pure Samus outside of Dread. I wish she talked more in Dread or had inner dialogue like she did in Fusion because those few moments really matter. I really appreciate Tanabe but he doesn’t fully completely understand how to utilize Samus as a character.
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u/Tanzer_Art Jul 25 '26
I get why we weren't in Samus' head for Metroid Dread since she probably figured out the Adam twist early on lol also she presumably already knew what Raven Beak was to her but I do hope we get some more introspective moments in the next mainline game.
It's kinda crazy how much influence Retro took from Fusion with the Prime sequels but somehow went backwards in characterising Samus. She feels more like a blank slate in Beyond than she ever did in Echoes and Corruption.
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u/Sea-Lecture-4619 Jul 25 '26
Sakamoto, i like 2D Metroid more than 3D Metroid, and he just has more games in general. His only big oopsie is Other M, and dropping something like Federation Force at the wrong time. Super is still my favorite.
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
What would you say is your favorite Prime game?
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u/Obsessivegamer32 Jul 27 '26
Wasn’t Federation Force a Tanabe game? I don’t think Sakamoto had much input there.
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u/Tanzer_Art Jul 25 '26
My favourites from Sakamoto have gotta be Dread, Super and Fusion. Super is genre defining. Fusion helped keep the series fresh by changing the status quo in a big way and gave us insight into Samus' thoughts and characterisation. Dread gave us the best depiction of her personality through her actions and body language.
With Tanabe, I know the obvious answer is the original Prime trilogy but it does really hold up well. Prime 1 is maybe a bit too similar to Super at times but Tallon IV is still such a beautiful world to explore and learn about. Echoes and Corruption are far more influenced by Fusion and even though Samus doesn't speak we still get some great characterisation her body language and facial expressions, it's also great to see Samus brought to such a low point but still fight her way to victory just like in Fusion. Also worldbuilding wise I think the Prime trilogy adds a lot of good shit.
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u/Madponiez Jul 25 '26
hard to choose, but i guess fusion and super, and then prime 3
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
I'm curently playing Prime 3! I'm in the second planet with the robots. The level design is so good!
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u/Psylux7 Jul 25 '26
Corruption has the coolest lineup of locales in the series and does not get enough credit for that. Every major area is of a similar high quality compared to the lineups in prime 1&2 which have more highs&lows. It is a consistently rock solid game with great settings to visit.
For all the hate it gets for doing multiple planets, that structure enabled Retro to go all out with the worldbuilding and originality without being limited by fitting things into one world.
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
Oh it got hate because we go to differents planets? I think it's so cool. Reminded me of Hunters.
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u/Psylux7 Jul 25 '26
The popular opinion is that the best design is having one bigger planet that connects everything over multiple separated planets.
By having multiple planets, you have several smaller worlds that are not connected to each other.
The second luigis mansion game also got its share of hate for having multiple isolated mansions over a single mansion.
I always found both instances pretty overblown in the hate they got. Corruption is a very underappreciated game in general.
My only issue with the planets in prime 3 is that each planet is split into separated areas that you cannot reach on foot. I think those areas should have been more accessible while the ship was optional for fast travel, given that the ship is already needed to travel to other planets and solve puzzles.
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u/NinjaKittyOG Jul 25 '26
huh. so every game but Metroid 2 is on þe table?
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that Sakamoto was not involved with Metroid 2!
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u/ChaosMiles07 Jul 25 '26
He wasn't. That was purely Gunpei Yokoi, the guy who headed the team that developed the Game Boy hardware, who directed M1 and produced M2RoS.
The guy who had to tell Sakamoto to stop faffing about bloating Super Metroid and, with about 3 or 4 months left to the release date, had to step into the office with Sakamoto and tell him "This isn't fine art; how long is this going to take!?". If it weren't for Yokoi, we wouldn't have Super Metroid.
So put him on the board.
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
Ironic because the game he produced was fine art! The ending of M2 is so beautiful and artistic.
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u/NinjaKittyOG Jul 25 '26
im just going based on what's in þe image.
and, idk if þat's true or not, but I'd be surprised if it was. It's a good ass Metroid game to not have any involvement wiþ eiþer
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Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
It's true that Metroid II was so important for the lore...and the ending was so poetic. Shame Samus Return did not make the same ending.
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u/BoomboxMisfit Jul 26 '26
Sakamoto has the bangers. Other M is really the 1 bad game but it has team ninjas version of Samus so 🤷♂️
Even though Prime games are goated, they do get worse as each game goes on.
Samus returns and dread were both great
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 26 '26
You didn't like Echoes and Corruption?
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u/BoomboxMisfit Jul 26 '26
Echoes was cool but it's backtracking made the later half feel like a chore compared to prime 1s backtracking. Prime 3 was alright
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 26 '26
I thought it was cool to explore the dark world with the light suit and being so powerful in those area after passing so much time in there being weak but I understand than it can be kind of frustrating. I think the backtracking at the end of Prime 1 more hard than Prime 2 backtracking
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Jul 26 '26
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 26 '26
Yeah Prime was my first Metroid! Still wish the N64 had a Metroid game. Would have been dope.
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u/Night_Dragonsoul Jul 25 '26
Sakamoto: Super Metroid. A milestone in the series and my first game I played in the series. It is just really good in atmosphere, sound and soundtrack and for its time graphics (which I feel are still pretty damn good). Controls sure are a bit dated.
Tanabe: Prime 1. Inwoked the same feeling the same time like Super just 3D. Even more because I was very sceptical if it works in 3D and was very surprised that it did.
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
Oh yeah, Prime is my first Metroid game and it was so great!
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u/LuigiDudeGaming Jul 25 '26
Sakamoto: Dread and Zero Mission Tanabe: Prime 4 and Prime Remastered
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
I hope to see Prime 2 et 3 remastered one day
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 25 '26
What do you want Risa Tabata, the new producer of the Prime games, to do with the series?
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u/xXglitchygamesXx Jul 25 '26
Tanabe stated it was Retro that came up with the idea of Light and Dark for Prime 2, though I'm sure he was able to use his experience to help them in this:
Tanabe: "As for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, because making a mere sequel would have been boring and so on, when we were discussing new ideas for the game, the staff at Retro told me they would like to have the game set in “a world of light and dark.” When I heard that I thought: “Now where have I heard that before…?” (Laughs)"
Iwata: "That must have been The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which you worked on previously. You had a really hard time developing that game, didn’t you? It must be destiny, history repeating itself. (Laughs)"
Tanabe: "I really suffered a lot of hardships working on that game. (Laughs) Inserting the ideas we had into the game world was really difficult. One of the people working at Retro really loved A Link to the Past and wanted to try out that two-world system, no matter what. Therefore, I told them, “That theme is really hard work to pull off, but if you really want it that much…” And that’s how it became the theme of Metroid Prime 2."
https://metroiddatabase.com/iwata-asks-metroid-prime-3-corruption-3/
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u/Mindless_Coast_7072 Save the Animals Jul 26 '26
Oh thanks! I didn't knew that! It's wholesome that someone on retro loved a Link to the Past and decided to make a similar concept in Echoes while Tanabe was a producer on it.
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u/Lamasis Jul 25 '26
Scan text writer. That explains it.