Jools Watsham Explains How Moon Chronicles Was Inspired By Metroid

Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham has explained to Siliconera how the company’s forthcoming Moon Chronicles was inspired by the iconic Super Metroid on the SNES. Watsham shared that the game flow and level design found throughout the game was more from Super Metroid than the first person based Metroid games. However, he says the stylus based controls in Moon Chronicles was inspired by Metroid Prime Hunters on the Nintendo DS.

“My inspiration for the gameplay of Moon Chronicles—specifically in terms to the game flow and level design—was more from Super Metroid than the FPS Metroid games,” Watsham shared. “However, the stylus control method was absolutely inspired by Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS.”

“One of the main ‘Metroid’ aspects that we incorporated into Moon Chronicles is the ‘gates’ or progression blockers that must be returned to once the solution has been acquired. In Super Metroid this is usually accomplished by collecting a new power-up, whereas with Moon Chronicles it is largely story-driven or involves accomplishing a task or collecting a special item to gain access to the new area and progress through the game.”

“Another key element that I love about the Metroid series is the sense of many secret hidden pick-ups scattered all about, requiring the player explore beyond the main path of the game, which improve the player’s attributes in some way,” Watsham continued.

“This is where we utilize the Remote Access Droid (RAD) in Moon Chronicles, enabling the player to navigate the RAD unit into small ducts that Major Kane cannot enter in order to disable force-fields to allow Major Kane access and collect special items or progress into new areas. The RAD also provides a great sense of puzzle solving, which is another key aspect of the Metroid series.”

“There is a chance that each enemy destroyed will drop a pick-up that helps your current situation,” Watsham says. “You’ll find that you will typically get what you need at that moment, whether that is ammo for your Muon Pistol or a health pick-up. This serves as a great way for the player to feel the need and satisfaction from destroying enemies.”