I don't think it would work for every franchise but for Metroid ... yeah possibly. The franchise has gotten stale anyway and the IP it's inspired by -- Alien, is an R-rated movie.

Been there, done that

It has alien or mushroom blood Nothing red. They also keep it toned down a bit to keep the idea in focus. You are reminded you are in a alien world and everything is out to get you. Red blood again cheapens that feeling.

I never said make the blood red. Just doing the same things as Prime, the same things already shown to be conducive to a great Metroid, just in modern graphics would probably be enough. It was already pretty grim, its just the Gamecube graphics made it look tamer it would in top end Switch graphics.

While I agree that Other M was a pile of human waste, and I had a feeling it would be as soon as I saw that Team Ninja (who are not nor have ever been a good developer) were involved. In all fairness to Sakamoto, he was also the monster behind Metroid (designer),  as well as Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission (director of all three). AND he worked directly with Retro as an adviser during their Prime trilogy.

So...he's literally the man behind most everything fans love about the Metroid series. He just fucked up big time, 1. Working with Team Ninja (ever), and 2. Wanting to give Samus a voice and more backstory. I don't condemn him for wanting to give a character that is essentially HIS creation, MORE character. But he did it the wrong way. The story was pretty bad to Other M, but it wasn't the worst aspect of the game, by far. I STILL wouldn't have liked it if OM had played great, but the fact is, Other M plays like a game developed by Team Ninja: meaning, it has shitty/floaty physics, iffy hit detection, often wonky/bad camera work, horrible platforming physics, etc. And whatever genius came up with that GOD AWFUL "turn the Wiimote to fire missles at the screen in the MIDDLE of a battle" mechanic, should be slapped. THOSE are the prime reasons the game is a piece of garbage. Don't get me wrong, the story IS bad. But I could have suffered through it if Other M was a joy to play. It was far far from that.


So I don't condemn Sakamoto for one game. He is literally the godfather of the Metroid franchise, so hating him is pointless. And just for reference, he also worked on such games as Balloon Fight, Kid Icarus, DK Jr., as well as being the producer for the Wario Ware and Rhythm Heaven games, and Tomodachi Life. So it isn't as if he "shouldn't ever be allowed to touch a Nintendo game again". He's an integral part of Nintendo's history, and part of some of the best games they've ever made. He just REALLY fucked up when it came to Other M. But Nintendo in general did that, working with Team Ninja.




As for the idea of Metroid being Rated M? I really don't see the purpose. The series is as "dark" or "mature" as it's ever needed to be. What else do people think that it needs to make it "more adult"? Tons of pointless blood and gore when Samus blasts enemies? Perhaps some "Rated R" language for no reason? Or maybe if you beat the game fast enough you get to see Samus fully nude? lol No thanks. I think Metroid has always been perfectly "mature" as is.

And just because I always do, I'll point out that I, personally, want them to make a fully 2D Metroid again, in the vein of Super Metroid, with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics, and gameplay/mechanics as good as if not better than Super Metroid. A PROPER follow-up to that game. Fusion was good, but it was too linear. That is what I, and I'd imagine many old school Metroid fans want. I wouldn't be UPSET by another Prime game, I liked that side series, I just don't think it's necissary. I'd like to see Samus get back to her roots again, and prove that the so-called "Metroidvania" genre, is done best by the franchise that started it.

Ninja Gaiden,Ninja Gaiden II and Ni-Oh disagree.

I don't know if Metroid really benefits if it goes rated-M. If it had struggled to sell consistently well prior, what makes it have greater audience potential going M-rated? I know some will point out Halo, CoD, GTA, etc., but Metroid is a different beast compared to these other series. If Donkey Kong Country was able to save the SNES and overshadow Super Metroid (both released in the same year) was out and the same with Super Mario Galaxy over Prime 3 and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, what can help Metroid find that audience that will allow it to grow?

I guess it can get influence front Alien Isolation but I don't know the sales of that game so I'm not sure how M-rated Metroid can do. Maybe somehow make Samus more agile and athletic like in Other M to showcase her described Super human abilities (she did become enhanced and is described as a super athlete so why not utilize that part of her abilities along with her usual arsenal?)

It would be interesting to see a M-rated Metroid game, but at the same time I don't think it would bring much to the franchise.

Most of them all involve maimings, brutal killings, ect of humans, and or genitalia on monsters.

Ignoring the above mentions, Metroid Prime games are just as "M" as any of those. It just doesn't get the M rating cause it doesn't glorify "gore"

You can still have a creepy, scary, sci fi game without resorting to gore. Heck, it's a common trope that many horror movies fall to. They don't have good stories, actors, ect and thus rely on "shock" moments, jump scares, ect to try and set itself apart.

Metroid going "M" for the sake of M, would be like a shitty horror movie doing something extreme for sake of extreme like Human centipede.

It's hard to say. 

Taking popular industry trends and putting a Nintendo spin on them seems to be working right now for Nintendo better than anything else. 

Zelda is successful because you can tell the younger designers looked at things like Skyrim and implimented that into the design. 

Splatoon even by the design team is influenced by other online shooters. 

The old Nintendo mantra would have been "we don't need to look at these industry trends, we'll just keep our head in the sand". 

Maybe making a darker, edgier, "scarier" Metroid would turn out well.