With only 15 days until E3 2012, a rumor regarding Retro Studios' next game is beginning to spread. The same blog that broke news of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale late last year, Paul Gale Network, is now reporting that Retro's Wii U game will actually be a crossover between the Star Fox and Metroid franchises. However, PGN is cautioning that even it is unsure about the validity of this information. In other words - reserve significant amounts of doubt for what you're about to read.
Apparently teams at Retro were split between working with the Star Fox franchise or developing a new third-person action game that also involved air combat. Nintendo proposed an alternative, which is now being called 'Star Fox - Metroid: Fusion Saga.'
The project's story is simple enough. During an intergalactic warp, Fox and his crew crash into Samus Aran's ship. Samus is sent crashing to an unknown planet below. Missions then unfold as Fox attempts to find Samus while she explores the world around her. Eventually the two Nintendo icons meet to confront Fox villain Andross, who is attempting to harness the power of the symbiotic Metroid creatures.
True to each franchise, Star Fox segments of the game are based on high-action, high energy third-person air and land-based combat, both in Arwings and on-foot. Conversely Metroid portions of the title are more isolated, lonely, and based on the first-person perspective introduced with Metroid Prime.
Again, whether this is a game fully in production, a proposed idea that never made it past the conceptual stage, or simply wishful thinking, is hard to say at this point. The PGN blog has proved credible in the past, but the concept seems so far-fetched it's still hard to believe, regardless of the source. Crossovers happen often in the industry, particularly with Nintendo characters, but why these two concepts wouldn't simply become their own titles - even if both were being developed by Retro - is difficult to understand.
However, with E3 2012 just two weeks away, we should know soon enough.
