Details regarding a Wii-exclusive game that was in development at Retro Studios have appeared online, which describe it as being similar to Valve's Portal. While the studio is best known for its work on the Metroid Prime series, the developer has tried and branched out into creating other series and games for Nintendo. This can be seen with games like Mario Kart 7 and Donkey Kong Country Returns, though the studio has a history of pitching several other games to Nintendo. These include failed pitches for Zelda spin-offs, such as a tactical strategy RPG known as Heroes of Hyrule.

Retro Studios was swinging into high-gear around 2008 with the release of Metroid Prime 3, the final game in the trilogy at the time. It was a game that took full advantage of console's technology, with Metroid Prime 3's ease of its motion controls still being praised to this day. The developer then started prototyping a brand-new game using Prime 3's engine, known as Adept, which was very similar to Valve's Portal.

This was detailed in a brand-new video from DidYouKnowGaming, where prototype footage of Adept was showcased. It looks and plays very similarly to Portal, with the game's cylinder mechanic being very comparable to Valve's game. Unlike Portal, however, the player has an unlimited amount they can put down. These cylinders can be used to fire projectiles, teleport, and even push anything that comes into them upwards. These cylinders could be used as a method of solving puzzles by launching objects to certain areas, with other mechanics including fire and ice cylinders which shoot elemental projectiles.



This prototype was created by the programmer of Metroid Prime 2 and 3, Paul Tozour, who was able to pitch this game to Nintendo's higher-ups in Japan and the producer that oversaw Retro Studios, Kensuke Tanabe. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, from Tanabe not understanding what Portal was to Tozour's attempt to get him to play Portal being unsuccessful (due to him sharing a copy being seen as "giving a gift" which went against company policy), and the insular nature of Nintendo development, the pitch didn't go through, which Tozour blamed himself for.

Despite the setback, the executives at Retro Studios told Tozour that he could keep working on Adept if he converted it from a Wii to a Nintendo DS game instead. However, Touzor believed Adept wouldn't work as well on the DS either. The video also goes into more development details regarding past pitches that Retro Studios had proposed to Nintendo, such as a Nintendo DS exclusive The Blob game and more information on Project X.

Posted: Nov 09, 2023 2:32 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://gamerant.com/nintendo-wii-portal-game-similar-retro-studios-canceled/