The XCOM-Style Metroid Game That Never Saw The Light Of Day

When it comes to Nintendo franchises that go all the way back to the early days of the NES, few are as notable as the "Metroid" series. Charting the adventures of intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, the moody science-fiction series has managed to remain a relevant part of Nintendo's stable for decades.

Of course, as Nintendo has increasingly searched for the secret sauce that will bring more fans into the "Metroid" fold, the company has experimented with the series pretty heavily over the years. From Retro Studio's first-person-shooter style in "Metroid Prime" to Team Ninja's more action-oriented and controversial "Other M," there has been no shortage of different styles of games in the series. 

With this in mind, it probably comes as no surprise to longtime fans that other projects that would have employed different gameplay styles have been pitched for the "Metroid" franchise as well. One of these came from the aforementioned Retro Studios and would have been an RTS-style game in the vein of "XCOM."

An in-depth video from popular content creator DidYouKnowGaming? charted many of the unheard-of and lost games in the "Metroid" franchise, titles that never came to full fruition. Retro Std purported strategy game would have taken place much earlier in the "Metroid" timeline than any other entry in the series, focusing on the time period after Samus Aran first left her adopted Chozo benefactors behind to explore the galaxy. As this part of the "Metroid" timeline is particularly veiled in mystery, it could have been an excellent opportunity to explore the origins of the iconic bounty hunter more thoroughly,

Tentatively titled "Metroid Tactics," the game would have allowed players to "control the legendary Samus Aran, a squad of elite Galactic Federation troopers, and various other bounty hunters as they work together to defeat the Space Pirates," according to a pitch document for the project. The pitch also explained that "along the way, the player can hire new units and upgrade all of the units in his team with many different kinds of new armor, weapons, skills, and abilities." In other words, classic Metroidvania progression with an strategic team-building twist.

Unfortunately for the fans who might love how this sounds, "Metroid Tactics" never made it past the pitch phase at Retro Studios and was never sent up the ladder to the brass at Nintendo as a result.