The developers of the original Metroid Prime have recently expressed their disappointment with the remastered version of the game due to the removal of their names from its credits.
Zoid Kirsch, the senior gameplay engineer on Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 on the GameCube, was extremely disappointed that the original developer’s team has not been listed in the credits section of Metroid Prime Remastered. It was recently released last week after the Nintendo Direct announcement but after completing the game and seeing the credits section, the names were not there.
It does mention the guys who worked on the game but it was shortened to one line. It simply says, “Based on the work of Metroid original Nintendo GameCube and Wii Version development staff.” A pretty disappointing mention for those who have worked hard for the original game.
“While many studios did amazing work on the remaster, I’m let down Metroid Prime’s Remaster does not include the full original game credits,” he says. “I worked with so many amazing people on the game and everyone’s name should be included in the remaster, not just a single card like this.”
Technical Lead Engineer of Metroid Prime 1 and 2 Jack Mathews also shares the same disappointment with Kirsch in a Twitter post. He was also the principal engineer on Metroid Prime 3.
“This is a travesty, “Mathews said. “Not just for my credit (even though most of my code was probably replaced), but for people whose code and work are largely unchanged, like Mark HH, Steve McCrea, all of the uprezzed art and concepts, the game design. Shameful.”
There have been various instances that remasters or remakes of original games have not properly mentioned or credited the original development staff members. Some do not even mention them at all, which has led to the new developers getting criticized.
Unfortunately, there are no regulation guidelines that could enforce companies to properly credit original creators and developers of games for remasters or remakes so they are at their mercy.