Special moves for Zero Suit Samus Samus is back in the limelight at the official Smash Bros. website, this time with a few snapshots of her special moves performed while unarmoured.

Poor Pit... be sure to swing over and have a read of the new moves - sounds like Zero Suit Samus won't be so defenseless like in Zero Mission, unless Zebesians turn up as Assist Trophies perhaps?

Interview with Retro and Kenji Yamamoto Music4Games have recently conducted an interview with the sound team from Retro, as well as renowned Metroid composer Kenji Yamamoto. We don't usually hear much from the man behind the aural masterpieces gracing the series, so be sure to drop by and have a read of the entertaining insight into the development of the Prime series' sound and music. It's great to hear how well Yamamoto-san and the sound team at Retro Studios collaborated on the Prime series, working on projects like these from either side of the Pacific certainly wouldn't have been easy.

Some highlights:

M4G: How do you go about composing a score for a Metroid title. Have there been any particular influences you've had in mind while composing for the series? Do you use primarily software-based sound banks or hardware? How do you decide which themes you will reuse from previous Metroid titles? Have you conversed with Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka regarding his work on the original Metroid game on the NES?

Yamamoto-san: When creating the theme song for Metroid, I used the inspiration I felt when I saw the title screen of this game. To me, it's very important to get inspired by the title screen when creating music, so I asked Retro to submit the title screen design at an early stage of the development.

Of course, I'm aware that this is a very difficult request to ask for at the very beginning of the development--when the game itself isn't even finalized--so I knew what I'd get would not be polished enough to be the final title screen. But I could use the faint shape of the design and the rough movement as my inspiration to start designing the music.

I didn't use the sound bank to get inspiration. I didn't have any specific influences for composing Metroid music. I watched the footage first, and used the inspirations I got by playing the guitar and piano to organize the music.

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M4G: Given the fact that Metroid Prime 3 was originally intended as a launch title, how was the sound team able to refine the audio in the extra nine months of development time?

Retro Studios: We were of course disappointed with it not being a launch title, but I know that if we had made launch, it would have been at the expense of overall game quality. Really, there was no "extra" time. We are always trying to add as much value as humanly possible to the player. Sometimes that just takes longer than you initially expect.

Yamamoto-san also hints at his involvement in the next Metroid project (whatever and whenever that may be). The chance of seeing more CD soundtracks for the series is also brought up, but with nothing concrete set in stone yet. But not to worry, remember to drop by our game sections to pick up a selection of the music heard across the board if you wish. Thanks to GoNintendo for the alert.

Gunpei Yokoi - gone but not forgotten Today marks the tenth anniversary of Gunpei Yokoi's passing, the man behind Metroid, Nintendo's Game Boy, Kid Icarus and a host of other games and technology which significantly boosted Nintendo to the fun-loving world they enjoy today. Metroid and Samus wouldn't be what we know them as today if it weren't for this man, and his legacy certainly lives on with each new adventure Samus embarks upon.

Take a moment to remember his efforts next time you boot up a Metroid game, with the series enjoying 20 years and ten major titles his original work will truly never be forgotten. See his Wikipedia entry for more information and be sure to have a read through this Escapist column from back in March for a detailed look at his achievements at Nintendo and beyond.

Walkthrough images update and Metroid game endings A quick media update - to help spruce up the walkthroughs from Metroid to Metroid Prime Hunters I've added a small screenshot to the top of every chapter.

I've also decided to fire up more spoilerific content in the form of images showcasing the different endings from the Metroid series (except Corruption for now). They're hidden behind "view the ending" thumbnails beside each one's details and requirements, so be warned and avoid clicking them if you'd rather see the endings yourself. Check them out in each game section's Secrets and Endings page. Enjoy!

Second MTV Retro interview and the final answer on Metroid Dread MTV's posted their second interview with the Retro fellas with plenty of details about the challenges of building Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii, touching on graphics, voice acting, not taking Samus' abilities away at the beginning of the game, the token system, "fetch quests" and the biggest question on everyone's lips:

MTV: What's the story behind the apparent reference in "Metroid Prime 3" to "Metroid Dread," the rumored but never-confirmed 2D game some fans hope is being made at Nintendo?

Pacini: "It's not what you think it means... it [is] something that was overlooked and wasn't in any way indicating anything about the handheld game. We know no information about the handheld games.

Ah well, at least the rumour's all but put to rest - we should only get our hopes up once Nintendo officially announce something. Check out the rest of the interview for a great read.

Custom Metroid Wii mod If you're a true Metroid fan, this is for you:

The maker is no beginner to console mods, with a Zelda DS mod and Zelda Wii mod already under his belt. This gorgeous Metroid-themed Wii sports a stunning S-logo along with colours inspired by Samus' Varia Suit, heck even the glowing lights on the console and Wiimote match Samus' green and orange. But the best part? The entire setup is currently being auctioned on eBay, but be warned you'll need deep pockets for this baby. Still, it truly is a masterpiece, Nintendo should really start thinking of expanding at least their Wiimote range with customs like these. Thanks to evilhomey for the heads-up.

Super Metroid in Japan and Retro talks Wii controls and graphics This week Japanese gamers can relive the beauty of Super Metroid as the title is now available for 800 points on their local Virtual Console. As for Europe and other PAL regions... still playing the waiting game. In other news, MTV conducted a great interview with Mark Pacini and Todd Keller from Retro, discussing the challenges they faced in producing a smooth and balanced game system for Metroid Prime 3 with the Wiimote and pushing and tweaking the Wii's graphical capabilities. It's a great read for more insight into how the game came together, be sure to stop by and check it out.

Nintendo have also confirmed Wi-Fi support for Super Smash Bros Brawl, so now Samuses (or is that Samii?) can battle each other beyond the living room come the December launch date.

One One Seven... meet Samus Aran For a few years now the one-stop shop for everything Halo, HBO, have hosted the great comic series One One Seven featuring tongue-in-cheek humour from Master Chief and the gang. Several strips over the years featured guest appearances from none other than our Samus Aran, check out the latest one poking fun at the somewhat familiar-looking character in Prime 3.

The Metroid Prime 3 soundtrack is out there A few days ago I launched the Metroid Prime 2 soundtrack, unfortunately it'll be some time before I can get the Corruption soundtrack together. But if you can't wait for the tunes in Samus' latest adventure, swing by the Metroid Database. CapCom has loaded up the entire Metroid Prime 3 soundtrack (eerily on the same day I launched our MP2 one), but warns that track names contain spoilers so you should probably stay away until you've conquered the game.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes soundtrack Not quite the soundtrack from Metroid Prime 3 just yet... instead let me present the soundtrack from Metroid Prime 2! The music from the mid-point of the Prime trilogy took on a deeper atmospheric and ambient tone (along with a few remakes for good measure), but still fits right in with the series. As always grab the entire soundtrack in one zip or pick up each mp3 track separately. Enjoy!