Let me be clear: Metroid is my absolute favorite video game series of all time. While I realize it’s quite common for longtime gamers to identify with a particular Nintendo franchise, I’ve always felt that Metroid was something special. The isolation, the atmosphere, the sense of progression; everything about the franchise reaches out to me.

That being said, I realize that the franchise has fallen on some hard times. The release of Metroid Prime 3 was practically ignored by Nintendo and its PR teams, Trilogy is almost impossible to find in stores and even harder to get for a decent price, and Other M was such a disappointment (both in terms of quality and in sales) that many a fan’s faith in Nintendo’s ability to handle the franchise has been shaken.

That’s why I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the top four things that I believe should be done with the next entry in the Metroid franchise.

Note: these are just this writer’s opinions. Currently, Nintendo has announced no plans regarding a new Metroid title.

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Sometimes, the touch of a new developer can turn a familiar series into something fresh again (Metroid Prime). Other times, new blood can really focus on what made a series great in the first place (Contra 4). And of course, there’s always the chance that they’ll completely miss the mark (Star Fox Adventures).

I’d like to take a moment to discuss some of the collaborations I’d like to see.

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The WingDamage staff spends way too much of their time thinking about and playing video games.

Game Ideas are a series of random articles where members of the WingDamage staff propose their own ideas for a video game. Most of the game ideas featured on the site are for entirely new games with new mechanics. But some ideas are just too awesome to keep to yourself.

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One of the purest joys in life is watching terrible dancers try to dance. Horrible rhythm, weird contortions, the gasps for breath, even the overly passionate closed eyes (as though the music is causing physical pain). I love it all. I could watch it for as long as they have it on.

That is why I think the following game idea is so amazing.

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"Are you ready for some Football?!"

I don’t think this one could replace Madden at the top of the charts but I think a combination of super heroes and sports could be awesome. Picture the Avengers playing the X-Men in a football game. On Defense, Wolverine is lined up as a defensive lineman, with Cyclops playing free safety. Colossus is a linebacker, and the other X-Men fill out the rest of the defense. Offense has Captain America as the Quarterback, Luke Cage at Fullback, Ms. Marvel at Wide Receiver, Thor is an Offensive Lineman, and other Avengers fill out the rest of the offense.

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"Look out, Dawin! The Finches are right behind you!"

Now that EA has transformed Dante’s Inferno from a poem about a tour through hell into an epic God of War style fight through the demons of Hell, the proverbial floodgates have opened and all of classical literature is up for the Extremification treatment. As anyone who has read any of my articles here at WingDamage can tell you, I have only a passing knowledge of the English language. Part of this ignorance is an utter disregard for classical literature. I think this makes me a perfect candidate to join EA in transforming classical literature into video games. Video game developer guys please send all royalties to WingDamage care of Shaolinjesus.

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"Shawn Rocks the Dead"

With the seemingly endless parade of new rock games and the plethora of instruments that accompany each release, I think it is about time someone put the power of ROCK to good use. I think it is time to use the power of ROCK to kill some zombies. Read on to learn more about my idea for a good old fashioned zombie killing rock game.

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Do you ever have one of those little flashes of inspiration? Where you are sitting there doing some random thing and you think “I have a great idea for a game.”

Well, here at Wingdamage.com we are all about gamers and gamer culture. I think a big part of being a gamer is thinking up your own ideas for what would make a great game. So with that in mind, I thought we could have some fun and share some of our ideas about games we have thought up. To start us off, I thought it would be fun to share with everyone an idea I had for an XBLA or PSN game.

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"Not a representation of the idea"

I played a decent amount of Action RPGs in 2008. Among these were games such as “The World Ends With You”, “Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core”, and “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates” (subtitle within a subtitle? Yeah… they went there!) to name a few. At some point during the year, playing these games got my creative juices flowing. My brain gave birth to an idea and I felt compelled to write it down. There it sat, alone inside a notebook. But today, faithful readers, I will share with you my dream.

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