The Japanese crew, which included producers Miyamoto, Kensuke Tanabe and Kenji Miki, as well as game designer and Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto, communicated with the Texas-based studio through emails, monthly phone conferences and personal gatherings.

He is a key member in the development of the Metroid series, as he was it's co-creator.

Yoshio Sakamoto joined the team as soon as he had returned from his vacation after the completion of Metroid.

Retro Studios developed the storyline of Metroid Prime under the supervision of Yoshio Sakamoto who verified the plot ideas to be consistent with the lore of the series ' earlier entries.

Under development for 18 months, Super Metroid was directed and written by Yoshio Sakamoto, and produced by Makoto Kano with Gunpei Yokoi serving as general manager.

While brainstorming for ideas to Metroid Fusions plot, the game's lead designer, Yoshio Sakamoto, decided to create an original story instead of remaking a Metroid game because he " always to do something really unprecedented, something people have never played before ".

The game was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto, a Nintendo veteran who has been involved with the Metroid series since it first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System and has played a role in every Metroid game except for Metroid II.

In the Metroid e-Manga created by Yoshio Sakamoto Samus first met Ridley while he was commanding the attack on her home colony of K-2L.

Sakamoto also said Nintendo approached another company to make an N64 Metroid, but the offer was declined as the developer felt they could not make a game that could be up to Super Metroids standards.

" Sakamoto noted that Super Metroid was deeper and more involved than previous Metroid games, and considered it to have a more dramatic overtone.

When asked whether he thought that recent game violence controversy would cause any negative backlash for Super Metroid, Sakamoto stated, " We don't think there's too much violence in the game.

" Sakamoto mentioned that there was a possibility for a Metroid game for Nintendo's upcoming video game console, the Nintendo 64, then referred to as " Project Reality ", but reminded that it was not guaranteed.

Sakamoto is the only member from the Metroid development team to also work on Metroid: Zero Mission.

While working on the concept for the next Metroid game after Metroid Fusion was released in 2002, one of the developers for Metroid Fusion suggested that Super Metroid be ported to the Game Boy Advance ; however, Sakamoto decided to port Metroid instead.

Sakamoto, noting that Metroid Fusions gameplay was drastically different from previous Metroid games, 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 [...] at the same time, retell the story of Samus ' original mission ".

Retro Studios wrote an extensive storyline for Metroid Prime, which was considered a major difference from previous Metroid games.

The development team also considered implementing the Speed Booster power-up from Super Metroid, but discarded as they considered it would not work well due to the first-person perspective and the " limitations imposed by the scale of our environment ".

Although considered by a few to be the weakest game in the franchise, Metroid II still received generally favorable reviews, receiving an aggregated score of 78 percent from Game Rankings.

In his review for GameSpot, Frank Provo found it " absolutely astonishing that Nintendo let 13 years go by before making Super Metroid readily available again ", but considered the most important thing was that players " can now play this masterpiece without having to track down the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge or fumble with legally questionable emulators ".

Metroid Fusion was considered fun and satisfying by several reviewers.

Publications including IGN and The Independent considered the gameplay too similar to Metroid Prime, while GamePro was unhappy that the game did not have a customizable control scheme.

" Eurogamer appreciated every minute of the game, affirming that Metroid: Zero Mission should be considered one of the best games available for the Game Boy Advance.

Game Informer appreciated the new material, and believed that fans of the Metroid series would " absolutely adore " Metroid: Zero Mission, which they considered one of the greatest video games in the history of gaming.

1UP. com considered Metroid: Zero Mission to be one of the " most ambitious, comprehensive and successful " remakes for a game such as Metroid, noting that " Zero Mission expands on its source material with refined control, gameplay ideas retrofitted from its sequels, new plot hooks for subsequent chapters of the saga, and some jaw-droppingly cool innovations which add new layers of complexity to the series.

", as well as a hidden Metroid themed bonus stage. The game is considered as one of the few reasons to own a Virtual Boy, as well one of the best games for the system.

The first was the sequel Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, released in November 2004 for the GameCube, in which Samus travels to planet Aether and discovers that a Phazon meteor crashed on the planet creating an alternate reality, while fighting a mysterious enemy called Dark Samus.

They counteract the parasite's damage by creating a vaccine using Samus's cellular sample from the remains of the infant Metroid that Samus previously contacted.

The development team decided to return to the roots of Metroid gameplay by creating a game based on the original.

The rewritable aspect of the disks also opened up new possibilities ; games such as The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kid Icarus were released to the FDS with a save feature.

When producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited Retro in 2000, he did not like the games being produced, but suggested the development of a new Metroid game, considering the studio could deal well with the license after seeing the prototype of a first-person shooter engine they created.

The game features two weapons new to the Metroid series: the tri-splitting Spazer Laser Beam, and the Plasma Beam, which passes through enemies when shot.

Metroid II features the Space Jump, a new suit enhancement that allows Samus to jump infinitely and access otherwise unreachable areas.

Metroid II marked a " new high point " for handheld game consoles, with graphics that were almost as good as the 8-bit graphics in games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Previously seen areas were added to Super Metroid to add a sense of familiarity that would satisfy players of previous Metroid games, and " the new sections also give a much greater sense of drama to the game.

Metroid Fusion includes gameplay mechanics new to the series, such as the ability to grab ledges and climb ladders.

Owners of both Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion can unlock new features in Metroid Prime using the Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable.

" The game introduces gameplay mechanics that are new to the Metroid series.

Comparing the game to Super Metroid, GameSpot thought that Metroid Fusion offered that game's best qualities packaged in a new adventure.

" The game did not feel new to GameSpy, which complained that even the final enemy encounter draws heavy inspiration from Super Metroid.

( Games included Super Mario Land 1-3, the new released Donkey Kong which had a special " Super Game Boy " border and color palette, Metroid 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Super Star Wars Episode IV, Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Pinball Land, Tennis, World Cup, Alleyway, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, and Tetris.

The Metroid Redesign mod is a hack of Super Metroid that revamps the game and adds new objectives.

One of the biggest challenges that the developers faced was in adding enough elements to Metroid: Zero Mission to make it feel new, while keeping the spirit of the original Metroid.

In addition to borrowing the plot from Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission introduces new cinematics to push the story forward.

A number of reviews were pleased with the new content added to Metroid: Zero Mission.