To some, Metroid Dread is just another new 2D Metroid game. To veterans, it's the rumored video game they've been waiting 16 years for. This is the (mostly) complete history of how Metroid Dread went from a long-rumored Nintendo DS game up to a megaton Nintendo Switch announcement at E3, along with all the stops in between.
This video is divided into yearly sections that covers Metroid Dread's development history, leaks, and rumors in chronological order, with a quick breakdown of the sections and what they cover here:
00:00 INTRO
00:10 Why Is Metroid Dread Significant?
02:35 The Initial GameInformer and IGN Leak
04:06 Metroid Dread's Listing in Official Nintendo Magazine
05:30 "Project Dread" Scan in Metroid Prime 3
08:03 Liam Robertson's Report of a Metroid Dread Prototype
09:44 Metroid Dread Officially Acknowledged
10:26 Interviews Shed Light on Dread's Development Status
13:31 Liam Robertson's Metroid Video
14:24 The Metroid Series' Darkest Hour
16:18 Samus Returns
18:07 Why A 2D Metroid Skipped the Nintendo DS
18:39 Metroid Prime Trilogy HD and Super Metroid Remake Rumors
19:08 Zippo Leaks New 2D Metroid by MercurySteam
20:31 Why Metroid Dread Was Initially Cancelled
23:58 Mystery of the Second Prototype
27:40 ENDSLATE
TWITTER: / axelayer
TWITCH: / bluestigma
Endslate art by: / sushi_pizza_rrr
Special thanks to SaniKink for the thumbnail art! Please take a look at the original art here: / 1413640581180534784
Big thanks to Kuri as well for helping provide extra input on the video, as well as some of the extra gameplay footage used in the video!
MUSIC USED:
Brinstar Green - Super Metroid (synth remix by Luminist: • Luminist | Super Metro... )
Zenith [CHAPTER 10] - Ginga Force
U.M.N. Control Center - Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Warthog Run - Halo 3
Foreboding - Xenogears
Path to the Truth - Mega Man ZX Advent (ZX Advent Tunes ver.)
With the Sky, the Clouds and You - Xenogears (sometimes incorrectly named as "Shevat -The Wind Calls-")
Chozo Laboratory - Metroid: Samus Returns
The Last Metroid - AM2R
Bond of Sea and Flame - Xenogears
Ultraviolet - Megalomachia
10/16/2021 UPDATE: Turns out, I missed a fun bit of info. In 2019, Vergeben (of Smash leaker fame) made a post on SSBU's GameFAQs message board about all games he had info on regarding upcoming E3 2019 announcements. Everything in his post, from Code Vein's release date to Deathloop's existence, eventually came to pass. This also included less concrete info on a new Warioware game and the existence of Metroid 5, neither of which would be announced for another 2 years.
gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/...
SOURCES USED:
archive.is/tGxCN (IGN 2005 mailbag)
archive.is/f0A4D (1UP reporting rumors of Dread's cancellation in 2005)
www.ign.com/articles/2007/08/...
www.nintendoworldreport.com/n...
metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Talk:... (07/16/21 UPDATE: Mike Wikan calls Dread reference a joke; archived by Royboyx)
archive.is/jMQr (CVG 2007: Nintendo denies Dread existence)
• Metroid Series Develop... (Liam Robertson's Metroid video, info about 2008 build)
www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/...
www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/...
www.destructoid.com/metroid-o... (news of Other M's delay that never made it into the video)
archive.is/cytib (Games™ interview with Other M)
web.archive.org/web/201009041... (archived Revogamers interview)
www.nintendoworldreport.com/t... (the translated Revogamers interview)
www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/...
www.hobbyconsolas.com/listas/... (Hobbyconsolas interview)
/ 1199077680945287168
/ 1391800356796080130
/ 1088839610749181952
zippospeaks.blogspot.com/2021...
www.eurogamer.net/amp/2021-06...
www.gamespot.com/amp-articles...
www.polygon.com/platform/amp/...
#MetroidDread #NintendoSwitch #DevelopmentHistory
After nearly 6 whole months, this video now has a PART 2: kzhead.info/sun/faWBetCfn6uufnA/bejne.html
The year is 2045, metroid 6 is announced directly into our neuron connections. Being no longer able to grasp physical objects, I command my sentient grapple AI with Bluetooth Wi-fi Intel Inside to fetch me my telephone booth/microwave machine: "it's here" I say as I pick out my pizza
The pizza arrives, and yet I find something is missing. On the pie, I can see every topping, perfectly intact; perfectly positioned. But my big gulp-sized gamer soda is nowhere to be found. I can no longer enjoy my pizza. Gamer time is ruined.
@@TheRealFolkBlues were both of your comments supposed to be read in "Other M Samus' voice" or was that just a genius bit of improv on my part, because reading it with her vocal delivery made it so much funnier I can't lie!
A reality like that sounds like hell, I want to touch things.
Well guess what..... most probably we have it in 2025, i will be alive (hope)
This Craig guy is the real deal. Committed to his sources, reports and never gave up on the title, Metroid Dread after all these years. Mad respect.
You missed one vital piece: shortly before E3 2019, Vergeben leaked an insane amount of stuff. Almost all of it was at E3, except for a new Wario Ware and Metroid 5. Because literally everything else was true, I awaited those two games knowing they were real. This year we got both.
I actually forgot Vergeben existed after the Smash Ultimate rumor mill really put his name out there. Actually bummed out I missed this bit of info. Many thanks for catchin' and posting it, boss.
“Maybe sometime in the future I will bring it to you” And BOY DID IT PAY OFF.
Metroid Dread was the cool horror Metroid game with a neat title, never knew it was in development hell for so long
There was another horror title called metroid 1.5 that retro were making
Fun fact about Metroid 1.5: Some of the concept art from that project ended up making it into Metroid Prime 2's concept art gallery, like the Metroid/human hybrid and the split-personality AI. The pitch for Metroid 1.5 had some really cool, ambitious ideas like those.
@@TheRealFolkBlues some of the art was also used on dread. The Emmi are a concept from that game
@@TheRealFolkBlues ppo
@@TheRealFolkBlues ib
The E.M.M.I. Is so powerful it kept Dread hiding for 15 years.
Now that Sakamoto is finally giving the fans what they want with Metroid Dread perhaps this fanbase can stop spreading those false rumors that he supposedly said he hated the Prime series and was abusive to his workers. The poor guy has been slandered for over a decade. I think it's about time he gets the apology he deserves.
Hopefully, Dread proves itself well enough to salvage the public opinion on Sakamoto. Not to say he's infallible, but the guy really got turned into the series' scapegoat for the better part of a decade after Other M.
Here’s hoping. The fanbase seems to only want his head on a platter after all.
@@TheRealFolkBlues The dude made one controversial game and the fanbase acts as if he can never make a good game ever again. And I know they claim OM destroyed Samus's character, but in the end Samus Returns returned her to her former badass glory, and Dread seems to keep with that. He clearly saw people didn't like his interpretation and pulled back on it and reverted back to what worked before.
It’s funny because i started playing metroid after reading an interview Sakamoto gave around the time Samus returns was released. I can tell from that, the man love he’s job even if the fans don’t always love him.
I mean Super Metroid's development sounded like hell. Sure we got a great game, but you can't just ignore that it was made by abusing the people making it
I feel so happy for Sakamoto, metroid is his baby and he is finally releasing a game that had been stuck in his head for well over a decade.
I am impressed what Mercury Steam did with the Metroid franchise. Metroid Dread has shown us how the Spanish studio has improved since their Castlevania Lords of Shadow Days. This game is a masterpiece!
Honestly they fucking NAILED it
I don't think Lords of Shadow is a bad game at all. It was perhaps a bit more than they could handle but I never felt there was any kind of laziness or incompetence there. They were talented professionals who wanted to make the best game they could and they made good games.
wow, incredible editing and delivery my dude. love Metroid.
As Mr. Miyamoto quote said, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." This is very true for Metroid Dread....especially with the scores it's getting since it's released.
Dread actually received less favorable reviews than Fusion thanks to the game being a retread of previous installments.
Lol what?
He never said that tho
Tell that to Super Mario World
The fact that we have known of dread's existence for as long as I have been alive is just interesting to me. I am hyped, just as much as everyone else, and I'm saving to buy a switch just for this.
did ya play it yet?
@@jacobpavone3477 Of course I did. Good game 100%. The only issue I believe that the game can have is maybe the difficulty? It may push new players away. Other than that the game is pretty much perfect.
Really curious about the original prototype now, wish it was still somewhere out there like beta Pokemon builds that seem to periodically reveal themselves to the internet. Great coverage and vid!
You know if I had to guess it's probably the Emmi themselves The way they track you down is downright terrifying The unnatural way they do it as well I doubt it would have worked as originally planned This was on the DS
@@anarchomando7707 if it was on the DS it probably would have been very scripted like the SA-X from Fusion
Actually Samus Retuns foreshadowed dread, on the chozo memory’s you unlock a secret 11th if you get 100% and it is called 2/d. Aside from this there are 10 memorys, a / can be used to mean divide, if you divide 10 by 2 you get 5 and a d, so it will be 5d, 5 dread and the 2D can mean its a 2D Metroid game, and the chozo that killed the others is in the dread trailer to add fuelnto the fire.
the "Project Dread" thing in Prime 3 had more sense than that
@@ignaciocatalan6592 exactly except project dread in prime 3 was a coincidence
Really, there's no point in adding a Chozo Twist in the series unless it was going to be followed up.
It's very clearly a hint towards the actual metroid dread that released in 2021 moreso than the prime 3 reference. If you play both games it's blatantly obvious.
You over complicate it. The text "2/d" was written in RED. So... "2/d red"... "To Dread".
Craig Harris must feel soo accomplished, is like how everyone treated vale news network as this crazy old man rambling about half life 3 until alyx was announced and everything that he has been said for years was proven correct
Given what's come out of the recent Nintendo Gigaleak, it appears a Metroid prototype was in development in 2006 onward from Intelligent Systems, but it wasn't for Dread, but Other M. It makes me wonder why they didn't make it.
Gods, can you imagine how much of a fucking meltdown the internet would’ve had if they found anything about Dread or its prototypes in the gigaleak?
@@ScorchtheHawk not all Nintendo info from the Gigaleak is out there yet, it’s possible that more Dread info could be hiding out somewhere, waiting to be released
Metroid Dread is the closest thing we'll ever have in modern times to a Myth actually being real. A community knowing something existed but also doubting its existence, then, finally, losing their minds because they knew they weren't crazy. From "it's gonna happen," to "nah, that ship has sailed," to "no way, it was real." This game has eluded us for 16 years, it has driven people mad and even subconsciously becoming some sort of conspiracy theory. As it turns out, this trailer has shown us that there really are aliens in Area 51, if you know what I mean.
You name dropping the "Nintendo Revolution" took me all the way tf back. I forgot those days when we didn't know the wii was...the wii...
To me its the most fascinating development history I've come across. But still I often wonder why there was so much conflicting info in 2005-2008 and what the game would have actually been like
Because Nintendo R&D 1 was disbanded and made into Nintendo 3rd Party support department.
@@masterhind2036 but that wouldn't have effected why it was cancelled. They claim it was hardware issues
@@masterhind2036 it also doesn't explain why some people said it far in development and others said the opposite. Plus intelligent systems were involved
As soon I saw "Metroid 5" I was like "YEEEAAAHHHH after all these years we have a sequel.
This was a very well produced video; rivals the big boys honestly. I hope you get some more recognition after this considering that you definitely deserve it.
this was very insightful and educational.
Metroidbros! Our time has come!
Arlo's reaction is pure condensed excitement
Originally Next Level Games had to do a 2D Metroid before moving on to Prime FF, maybe that was the second attempt to develop Metroid Dread.
By now, Metroid Dread is out, and is one of the biggest Metroid releases ever. I hope people still remain curious about the early DS iterations. Especially hearing how the game originally looked, that the story concepts were not fully ironed out by that point, and the struggles with trying to implement an enemy like the E.M.M.I. which was apparently the reason the initial versions were scrapped, it'd be up there with those early versions of Yoshi's Island and StarFox 2 as among Nintendo's most interesting prototype material.
The fact that you put Some Call Me Johnny's reaction was an immediate subscribe for me.
I can read spanish from having lived in spain, that translation at 18:35 is pretty much exact!
Dread finally coming out before Elder Scrolls 6 and GTA 6 is fucking hilarious to me
So, you mentioned it remained to be seen in Dread was truly worth the wait I just wanna say, for the record, it was that and so so so much more. It was so cool looking back on the history of its long-winded development. This game is everything I ever wanted from this series, and I hope they can bring the same fire to Prime 4 when it's finally close to finished. Thanks for the video. This was very heartwarming, and I love the editing.
I was merely 2 or 3 years old when the rumors of this game began. Now this game is out and I am a graduate of the class of 2021
wow great video! I've been digging into info on Dread ever since the reveal (as one does when they hyperfixate) and I've kinda been waiting for someone to make this exact video with this high quality, and here it is! You touched on pretty much everything, I too think there mightve been some kind of early build as of '05, with the second attempt in '08
Good video. When I saw the title drop at the presentation I had a feeling it was more significant than I thought, but I had totally forgotten I had seen those rumors about the Dread title back in the day in those game magazines. Thanks for putting this together. Seeing detailed development history is very interesting.
This video’s INCREDIBLY made, it feels like a KZhead classic waiting to explode in popularity. Keep up the good work, Blue!
Now I wanna see the two prototypes of Metroid dread.
Playing Dread, I can see why it was shelved for so long. Imagine trying to do the EMMIs with hand-drawn sprites and getting their pursuer AI that clings to surfaces like that on the DS, or even 3DS. Nah fam, no way no how.
Fantastic video and top quality as well. Hopefully you'll make more of those.
I'd say Metroid Dread definitely benefited from its long drawn out history. What a superb entry to the series.
I was born, graduated elementary school, graduated Middle school, made a boyfriend, broke up with him, beat all of the Metroid games, and went into my first year of high school before Metroid Dread got a trailer. damn. Metroid Dread is older than me, and it's not even out yet.
Dude, awesome video! I really love how you covered the history of dread from back in the early 2000s to now. Makes me feel old! I remember looking at forums as well after I played fusion waiting for the next entry in the franchise. Still can't believe it's real! I hope you can cover more Metroid news in the future and maybe do some let's plays of prior entries in the franchise. Honestly though, considering how long it's been in development and how the fans have been inquiring about it, I'm really hoping this becomes one of the best if not the best selling Metroid games of all time. 🤞
Amazing video! I’ve been following Metroid Dread since the first mention of it on the forums back in the day! Thanks for making this in depth video covering everything! I was so so excited when I saw the name at E3!
Great video man! I really love these types of development history vids and your delivery was well done. Really excited to see what else you do in the future! Hope the algorithm is kind to you; this video should have way more views.
I had no idea how significant dread is, but i am happy for the countless metroid fans. Maybe i get into the metroid franchise with that game
It’s been 19 YEARS!
Managed to get interested by the series barely a month before the reveal, as I haven't had options to play it earlier (and wasn't interested in emulation). Played thru all 2D games in release order and got hooked instantly. Boy was I happy when Arlo started screaming. Now i know exactly way. Kinda feel envy about that, but I'm also glad i didn't have to wait that long.
The production quality of this video is phenomenal. Love how it's all put together!
this video showed up in my recommendations today. it's a great video, i hope it's being shown to other people looking for metroid content. i can tell from the extremely high quality of the research that you're passionate about metroid. i also appreciate your visual and editing style, it's quite "soulful" as they say. i feel like a lot of people might shy away from putting more niche or otaku references in their videos because it doesn't appeal to a wider audience, but i appreciate it because it shows genuineness (and helps me find cool stuff to check out). i have subscribed and can't wait to see what else you'll put out.
Really nicely put-together video! I enjoyed the fluid editing and overall it just felt well informed and in-depth.
This was such a great video man! Loved your narration, the information you brought up got me more invested in the Metroid space too as someone who isn't a long-time fan of the series. This was just very well done and you've definitely stacked up my hype for Dread!
Good use of Xenosaga and Xenogears music
Two franchises that should come back. It's been long enough and they both got enough of a following for remakes to happen. Especially Xenogears.
@@redking8243 - Agreed. They need to chance to redeem the game from its 2nd disc purgatory
@@_sir_reginald Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition is proof that people are very willing to buy the older Xeno games so I don't see why Square enix and Nintendo couldn't get some extras by polishing and improving the games by a good margin.
great video, very informative and makes me more hyped for the game. Your editing is also great, makes the video very high quality.
Fantastic video man, Really well written and edited! Definitely subscribing and looking forward to seeing more! Also one little bit of info I've heard recently about Dread is Daniel Bloodworth from easy allies (who has a long history with nintendo and in the gaming industry) mentioned that he remembers seeing a short demo/video of what he believes to be dread running on a DS at e3 in one of their videos. Quite possible he could be misremembering as it was so long ago but it could be possibly mean there was a build being shown at some point
Great use of the Xenogears soundtrack in this video my dude! Especially loved your use of Premonition and The Wind Is Calling, Shevat of the Azure Sky. And Ties of Sea and Flames was a great way to close out the video.
Niiice!! Good catch! Yeah glad I wasn't the only one who was come over with emotion and recognition. That game and its badass soundtrack hold a special place in my heart
+ Sir Reginald Definitely! Xenogears and Xenosaga quite literally changed my life. Especially their music!!! I probably never would have learned classical music and gotten involved in what I did in college were it not for the inspiration of those games.
This was a great history lesson. Really love your editing style!
I'm looking forward to Dread and also future videos from your channel. This was incredibly well done and makes me excited to see your future uploads. Glad I found the channel from this video. Cheers.
This is incredible, holy hell. Nice work putting this all together! Even me being the avid Metroid fan I am missed so many details you've covered. I'm always happy to learn more about my favorite video game series. 💜
One of the biggest reasons I love the Metroid franchise is due to not only its in-game lore, but real life lore being shrouded in such mystery. We're still awaiting Prime 4 and I will always be excited to hear anything about it because it's just so mysterious. Whether the developers are intentionally trying to create that augmented reality experience with their games or not, I can say, the mystery about there development and the community behind them trying to uncover literally ANYTHING makes the games all the more exciting to me to finally play. I remember when I first booted up Dread I was so ready for not only the actual game experience but what truths it would uncover about the Metroid series and development process. I felt like a journalist/detective when playing through Dread.
This is such a good video! I'm a big Metroid fan and am super hyped for Dread but after seeing this it makes me appreciate it even more. It's a shame this video hasn't gotten at least a 100k views because it really deserves it.
You've earned yourself a subscriber. This is possibly the most comprehensive video about the subject yet.
I got Metroid Fusion for my 12th birthday along with a GBA, A Link to the Past, and Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. It quickly became my favorite game of all time, and I’d been waiting the vast majority of my life for a sequel. I actually took the day off work when Metroid Dread came out. I played it and beat it, and the only thing that really held me off from loving it was its difficulty. But I remembered how people always say how hard Fusion is for them, while it’s a piece of cake for me because I’ve played it a million times, so I’ve been putting more and more time into Dread. Each time I play it, I love it more and more. I don’t know if it’ll top Fusion in my head, but it’s quickly grown to stand alongside it as a more than worthy sequel to my favorite game of all time. I love this game so much, and almost a year later, I still can’t believe it exists. It’s basically the equivalent of Valve fans getting Half-Life 3. I’m actually tearing up again seeing Johnny and Arlo’s reactions for the millionth time lol
Oh wow, I genuinely love your editing style and what you bring. I'm so surprised you only have 1.3k subs. Keep it up! You'll go far
I have never seen such a high quality video from a channel with such a low amount of subscribers, keep up the good work!
This was a great video, very well researched and presented! How do you not have more subs?
Gotta love that ZX music great video man so great for someone with so few subs I'm joining
YOO Xenogears music and Metroid fucking nice
I remember having hope of Metroid Dread in 2007 when that Prime 3 scan was on a Kotaku article. The game listing in the magazines gave it credence and it’s so amazing to finally see it come out as a fan since Prime 1 and Zero Mission
This is honestly a well-constructed video, for real. It's just so mindblowing to see such high quality video coming from a 3-digits youtuber. You know what? You deserved my subscription. You definitely do. I'm expecting more from you (or maybe not, i don't mind). Let's have fun with this next Metroid, partner
I hope to see you grow this was amazing
What a pretty new channel I'm going to be following for a good while~
I really liked the clips you used to portray each year on the timeline
How does a creator make such a well produced video and only have 235 subs? Subscribed.
This was an absolutely incredible production!! It was really amazing to see just how deep the rabbit hole went. I always knew about Dread, but never to this degree. Looking back at all the mentions of it, now living in a time where it fully exists, is so surreal. Just to throw my hat in the ring, I feel like Sakamoto would've hoped for Dread to be released within the timeframe of Other M's release. I know I'm reaching here, but hear me out. Other M served as a story to bridge the gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, and in doing so, it would turn eyes towards Fusion's story. By doing this, Fusion and the events both before and after it would be on fans' minds, helping to build hype for Dread's then hypothetical release. Moreover, it would also prevent a dry spell for all types of Metroid fans. For those wanting a story-focused game, they get Other M; for those wanting a title more focused on traditional gameplay, they could have Dread. Of course, as we know, this scenario never happened, but the rest is now history. Anyways, my rambling aside, this video was of such high quality!! Your thorough research combined with top notch editing, voiceover, and overall pacing made this a wild ride. I cannot wait to see what else you have in store~!!
I was actually already really hyped for another Metroid 2D game, I knew some of the backstory and how important this is. But daamn I swear I never thought it had gone to so many things, like I just heard the interview with Sakamoto and was like holy crap, but now I am more shocked. Now I am not hyped, I am *super ultra mega extra hype*
The editing and presentation of this video is phenomenal. Genuinely proud to be subscribed before 500 subs
Fantastic video! You earned a sub. I was surprised to see that you're still at 1k! Can't wait to see your channel grow
2:49 UMN control center from xenosaga II. Love that soundtrack.
I'm not much for words right now, but I really enjoyed watching this video, seeing how the pieces fall in line over almost 2 decades. Beautiful work.
This is a way better look at it's history in development hell than I ever expected. Great job man.
18:22 Had to subscribe just for that bit, Loved the video!
Extremely great video. You deserve more subs
Dude, this video was amazing! I've subbed in case you decide to make more high quality stuff like this
These videos are very professional, you should get a lot more views!
Fantastic video. You deserve more views and attention.
Perfect vid to get me even more excited. So close!
This videos quality is absolutely amazing
9:00 I... am so delighted to hear _Xenogears_ music.
I'm watching this 3 hours before release. It's hard to imagine that its been as long as it has since a true continuation of the story has happened. For context: Halo, the entire Halo franchise, has only existed for a measly one year longer than the gap between Fusion and Dread. Dreads mystery and mythical status over the years is only going to serve to make this one of the best releases I've ever looked forward to in my life. If it does well, we may be entering a renaissance of Metroid games. Similar to when Prime and the Fusion Trilogy came out. Maybe even better. Here's hoping anyway.
Unseen64 is a treasure trove for game leaks and old content. Love the shoutout. Can't wait to see dread prototypes in like 10 years haha.
This video is incredible you deserve more subs so I’m subbing
This is the first time iv'e seen this channel and it looks quite quality
I appreciate the oddly sufficient number of ROD the TV clips
Interesting the use of the Halo (among the others) music in a metroid video, there are so many great tunes from the metroid OST you could pick!
Great video thank you man!
Very informative. Also, nice Touhou references/memes.^^
Feels wild being vindicated on the Dread train after all this time. Great video homie.
This is a great video keep up the good work
subbed for very high quality games video. Keep up the good work.
A Documentary by Fans for Fans, wow this was so satisfying well done!!!
this video ended up in my reccomended and I enjoyed it a lot.
Very cool content. Subscribed!