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Dragonfangs: You can't retell a story that's never been told before, so Sakamoto is obviously referring to the first Metroid game there. However, retelling Metroid through the manual and port is possible, but unlikely.
Well, since Zero Mission is a game where Samus retells the story of her first mission, it could be seen as a retelling of a mission we have not heard the details of yet.
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Dragonfangs: "Rework" implies change to something already finished. To say you're reworking something that you're currently working on for the first time doesn't make sense.
Of course it does. They could have had the beta version of Zero Mission then reworked it to have newer features. Zero Mission is the only game that Sakamoto refers to in that quote.
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Dragonfangs: Why would he even mention remakes if he does not consider ZM one? He is asked what was challenging when making ZM and mentions negative aspects of remakes, clearly implying ZM is a remake.
He could be implying that the entire game would be seen as a remake, which it is not. We know that Sakamoto considers the gameplay to have been remade. I think this statement is showing that while gameplay was remade, there are still enough new things added to game overall to make it feel like a brand new game.
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Dragonfangs: "I wouldn't necessarily call it a remaking of the backstory" does NOT mean "It isn't a remaking of the backstory" and does not clearly indicate anything. My take on it is that he's reluctant to call it a remake because there's stuff added to it.
Not necessarily means, "something is not jsut because it may seem that way". Just because gameplay was remade does not mean the storyline was. Sakamoto is saying that it is not a remake of backstory.
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SABERinBLUE: Actually, an attempt is neither a success nor a failure. If the attempt fails, then it is not an attempt at all, but rather a failure.
That did not make sense.
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SABERinBLUE: Um...how does this help nintendo?
The more people think about a video game series, the more inclined they are to play it and buy new games.
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SABERinBLUE: Indeed, the attempt is admirable. But it stops being admirable if one presses a point without sufficient logic to back it up.
What about all of the map, storyline, and game inconsistencies? All of the in-game facts indicate that it is a prequel.
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SABERinBLUE: This is all based on nothing unless you can quote specific examples of Sakamoto saying something that incontrivertably supports your argument.
"So, to answer the question on why Zero Mission is based on the NES version of Metroid: our basic development concept was that we wanted to return to the roots of Metroid gameplay. I'm sure that you're aware that Metroid Fusion was a different style of game from all the Metroid titles up until then. We wanted to show people who had never played a Metroid game prior to Metroid Fusion, the roots of the Metroid franchise, that this is what Metroid is, this is the style of gameplay that Metroid sprang from..."
Zero Mission is merely based on Metroid, not a replacement. Also, a few gameplay references, and reference to the roots of the series.
"Of course, we want to expand the Metroid franchise in different ways. In the 2D games we haven't seen any real change in the Metroid gameplay. So that's something we want to challenge ourselves to do, add new elements to the Metroid franchise, and find new gameplay styles that we can give to the players in order to expand the franchise."
Another gameplay reference and a reference to gameplay styles.
"We've added new enemies, new items, and new puzzles to the game. So if we were to say it was a completely new game we wouldn't be entirely off-base. Obviously we used the original Metroid as the base for Zero Mission, and the concept was to take that original gameplay and rework it into something that felt fresh and new, while still keeping elements from the original game that people would be familiar with."
Again, they used Metroid as the base for Zero Mission, nothing more than that. Another gameplay reference and reference to the original gameplay style that they reworked into something new.
"One of our biggest challenges was to add enough elements to make the game feel like something that's new, while not straying far from the original Metroid, to lose the meaning of what we were trying to do. We spent a lot of time balancing those two elements in addition to actually working in elements that we hadn't seen before in a Metroid game, finding a way to implement them in Zero Mission...and then finding a way to balance this gameplay and make it into something people would enjoy."
What were they trying to do? Return the series to the roots by remaking classic gameplay and making it fresh and new at the same time. Also, another gameplay reference.
"We had a lot of challenges to face, but the biggest one for me was finding a way to implement this new style of gameplay at the end of the game. We spent a lot of time working on that, and I feel that it was something that turned out to be very good, and something new that feels like Metroid. So I'm glad we were able to get that into the game, in a form that we felt was complete and well done."
Style of gameplay. Also a reference to the game feeling like the Metroid gameplay formula.
"I wouldn't necessarily call it a remaking of the backstory. We've taken this opportunity to explore the backstory a little bit more. With Metroid Zero Mission not using text-based messaging or language in the game, we've used more visual cinematics to express the story through her recollections or memory. Through that, we've created a story that is open to interpretation to the player, and as people play I think they'll interpret Samus' past based on what they take on those cinematics. So I think in a way it's expanding on the story at the same time retaining some of the mystery of it."
He would not call it a remake of the backstory, rather an expansion. He refers to Samus' past, which also indicates a prequel. Explore the backstory. He also states that they created a story. How does a remake create a story? It does not, it simply retells one and remakes it, which Sakamoto said this was not.
"I can't say we're at the point where we'll regularly update the Metroid series, but I think if you look at what we've done with the recent Metroid games, you'll see that we've been really building on the series and the gameplay, and offering new experiences. Metroid Prime was obviously a change in the Metroid gameplay, and allowed both people who played Metroid games before to experience it again, as well as the people who may have never played a Metroid game before. And with Fusion what we tried to do was take the Metroid gameplay and use that in a more story-based game. This time with Zero Mission we really wanted to go back to the roots of the Metroid series, and introduce it to those people who are newer to the franchise, while at the same time building that experience and offering a new style of gameplay. I think what we're going to continue to do is to look at different possibilites with the Metroid franchise, ways that we can expand upon it. We don't have any precise plans, but I can definitely say that we are looking at ways to continue to advance the franchise."
Here he states that they are building on the series, and the gameplay and offering new experiences. Remakes only make old experiences anew. A new experience indicates a new adventure. Again, more references to offering a new style of gameplay. Finally he states that they will look for ways to expand upon the franchise. How does a remake expand? Not by making everything inconsistent, that is for sure.
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SABERinBLUE: Also, I find it interesting that when other people quote Sakamoto at you, you say that the translated nature of the quotes make them vague at best, but when you reference Sakamoto, you say that his words concretely support your argument.
No I do not. I said that one word could be a reference to the first mission. That in no way suggests that the entire interview was mistranslated.
