The first new 2D Metroid game in 19 years is coming to Nintendo Switch this fall and from the gameplay we've seen so far, courtesy of Nintendo Treehouse, it looks like it'll be a blast. It seemingly has features from Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS as well as some of its own innovations. This game wasn't always planned for 2021 though. Its development was meant for the original Nintendo DS but according to Producer Yoshio Sakamoto, it was shelved because Nintendo felt the hardware wasn't ready for the game they wanted to make.
Metroid Dread is meant to be the sequel to Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance and according to Sakamoto, an end to the 2D Metroid series. It was slated to be at E3 in 2005 but didn't make it to the show floor. Even some at Nintendo didn't have information about it. For a little while, it became a mystery reported on by various gaming news sources and something for fans to wonder about. Now, after all these years, Metroid Dread is finally ready. It just took a while to get there.
Previously, Metroid Dread's co-developer, MercurySteam, had worked on Metroid: Samus Returns for the 3DS which was a remake of the Game Boy game, Metroid II: Return of Samus. Dread shares a lot of similarities with Samus Returns such as the free-aim, melee attacks and fast action gameplay. However, Nintendo wanted to take Dread even further mechanically than what the 3DS' hardware allowed for.
First conceived back in the early-to-mid 2000s, Dread was in development for a short time until it was decided that the technology wasn't there. Later on, somewhere around 2008, a new prototype of Dread was created from the ground up and was supposedly shown to Nintendo prior to or around E3 in 2009. At this time, it was speculated that the co-developers were Nintendo Software Technology, a subsidiary company, or the studio behind Metroid Fusion, since the prototype at the time closely resembled that graphical style. Once again, Nintendo felt the technology still wasn't there to make the Metroid game the publisher wanted, and Dread was shelved once more. Even in 2018, they felt the 3DS didn't have the tech, making it clear why Nintendo ultimately ended up choosing the Switch for Metroid 5.
With the capability to be a handheld and a home console, Metroid Dread is finally finding a home on the Nintendo Switch. The developers really wanted to focus on making it a new chapter for the series even though it does share some elements with Samus Returns. Sakamoto and others have finally found a platform for the Metroid game of their dreams with cutscenes, 2.5D sections and for the first time ever, enemies that can actually follow or chase Samus across rooms and areas. With Metroid Prime 4 still a mystery, Dread will have a lot riding on it. Yet, the game proves that Nintendo still puts a lot of love into its classic franchises.