Trivia Time!
Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the name "Metroid" was chosen in honor of American lawyer Metroid Smith, who defended Nintendo in the Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. case.
During the case, Miyamoto paid Smith a visit, who took Miyamoto on the NYC Metro, and then to a Mets game. The serendipity of these Met-based names left Miyamoto no choice, and the word "Metroid" was trademarked that very afternoon.
While trying to find his way back to his hotel after the baseball game, Miyamoto found himself lost in the metro system, encountering terrifying street performers throughout his journey. This underground exploration would inspire the gameplay of the Metroid series, and the game's bosses would each be based on the most upsetting performers that Miyamoto fled from.
Kraid in particular was based on a large man with a rickety green sousaphone, which shot screws and bolts out whenever the man blew too hard into his instrument.
Stay tuned for more Trivia Time segments in the near future!
Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the name "Metroid" was chosen in honor of American lawyer Metroid Smith, who defended Nintendo in the Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. case.
During the case, Miyamoto paid Smith a visit, who took Miyamoto on the NYC Metro, and then to a Mets game. The serendipity of these Met-based names left Miyamoto no choice, and the word "Metroid" was trademarked that very afternoon.
While trying to find his way back to his hotel after the baseball game, Miyamoto found himself lost in the metro system, encountering terrifying street performers throughout his journey. This underground exploration would inspire the gameplay of the Metroid series, and the game's bosses would each be based on the most upsetting performers that Miyamoto fled from.
Kraid in particular was based on a large man with a rickety green sousaphone, which shot screws and bolts out whenever the man blew too hard into his instrument.
Stay tuned for more Trivia Time segments in the near future!
9 Comments
This is close but in the Nintendo Power Magazine I just pulled out of the shoebox I keep under my bed, it says that it was actually a euphonium and not a sousaphone. More false trivia.
Fun fact! The origin of the name of the iconic character Ridley was also a result of Miyamoto's metro system trek. As he hunted for an exit, he ran into a strange man who spoke in riddles when Miyamoto attempted to ask him for directions, which was troublesome because not only could Miyamoto not solve his riddles, he also could not speak English, and the language barrier (inspiration for the name of the Varia suit, written as バリア, or "barrier" in Japanese) only made things harder.
Miyamoto had originally wished to call this character Riddler, but fears of another lawsuit caused the need for an alternate name. What they had settled on was リドリ, or "Riddley" in Japan, which was then brought over to the U.S. as "Ridley".
The more you know!
Miyamoto had originally wished to call this character Riddler, but fears of another lawsuit caused the need for an alternate name. What they had settled on was リドリ, or "Riddley" in Japan, which was then brought over to the U.S. as "Ridley".
The more you know!
@_DC A common misconception, but there's actually no such thing as a Euphonium anymore! They all died out in the early to mid-20th century. Panama disease, a wilt-causing fungus, evolved to attack Euphonium trees, soon resulting in the extinction of Euphoniums around the world. A different strain of brass instrument, the Cavendish Sousaphone, was resistant to the fungus, and has dominated the market ever since.
@CrystalPixel We hear you! Please refer to the account bio for more information.
@CrystalPixel We hear you! Please refer to the account bio for more information.
@UrLocalBanktoad what the heck he never told us this part
@Nintendo I think @UrLocalBanktoad was making fun of you. No offense, hopefully
@Teshena I can assure you that is not the case. I was simply bringing up some trivia I had remembered about the development of Metroid. By no means did I intend to offend anyone.
@UrLocalBanktoad is our senior correspondent, we greatly depend on their insider knowledge
Kirby Jackson, Metroid “Samus” Smith, Mario Luigi, and Joe “Kid” Icarus won that trial 🙏
CrystalPixel
2 months ago