Nintendo Minute



Nintendo Minute is an internet series hosted by Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, promoting and unboxing Nintendo products, and interviewing developers from the company. Despite its name, episodes are usually well over a minute. The hosts acknowledge this at the end of each episode, saying "And remember, Nintendo Minute is never a minute!" Over 200 episodes of the show have aired. It can be viewed on YouTube and the news service offered through the Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Minute Debate - Super Metroid vs. Metroid Prime


In this episode, Kit and Krysta debate whether Super Metroid or Metroid Prime is the best game in the series; both games are highly regarded as among the franchise's greatest entries. This is the second debate episode of the series. The episode was released on March 6, 2015, during a time when no Metroid games were known to be in development and the series was on hiatus, five years after the release of Other M.

Kit and Krysta agree that the games are evenly matched in terms of quality, but they still chose an answer: Krysta chose Prime, and Kit chose Super. Krysta praises Prime for establishing an immersive, atmospheric alien world, saying that Tallon IV lends itself to the signature isolation of Metroid, and that Metroid Prime 2: Echoes "really clung to that environment sense". She further stated that while the environments in Super were beautiful, they were not necessarily alien and similar environments can be found on Earth. Kit counters that the Super atmosphere was done better since there is very little text to break the immersion, apart from the introduction by Samus, while Prime heavily involves (optional) scanning.

Explaining what a Metroidvania game is, Kit states that Super Metroid defined the genre and is thus a step above Prime, raising the point that the game's immersiveness is ultimately somewhat to the detriment of what a Metroidvania game is. Krysta agrees with this point, saying that Prime defined a genre of its own; the first-person adventure. She counters Kit's earlier point about scanning in Prime, praising its non-linear usage as the player is not required to scan everything in the game, but can if they would like or only scan story-relevant objects. Kit's final point is that Super Metroid uses hidden tutorials with subtle direction of where to go next, which is harder to accomplish in a 3D game.

Krysta praises how Prime transitioned Metroid from 2D to 3D and she loves the music. Ultimately, the two do not decide that one game is better than the other and leaves it up to the viewers.

The Metroid: Other M Varia Suit Samus Figma can be seen between Kit and Krysta throughout the episode, which they acknowledge as "impartial" and a "visual reference" while stating they will not cover that game in the episode. At one point during the episode, the Figma tips over and Kit "tends" to her, with Krysta joking that this was a distraction tactic of his. Kit says "I've been watching a lot of old presidential debates and this is a move that they pulled a lot."

The episode can be viewed here.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force Mission Mode


In this episode, "set in space" (against a space background), Kit and Krysta play M01: Outpost and M02: Hardball, the first two missions of Metroid Prime: Federation Force with YouTubers Katie Wilson and Andre Meadows. This episode was released on August 12, 2016, four days before the game's release.

During Outpost, Kit and Krysta explain the game's mechanics and titular protagonists to viewers, with Andre frequently singing the game's name and providing sound effects. Kit stockpiles Super Missiles and Krysta takes the Repair Capsules. At the beginning of the mission, Katie collects a MOD, and later collects Flame Shots within the Federation outpost. During the battle with the Ice Hopper Nest, Kit jokes that its "regurgitation" attack is the creature being "sick" and "not feeling good". The team completes the mission in 11:31, over the par time of 9:00, but completes the bonus objective of eliminating all Ice Hoppers in each building. By the end of the mission, the team had found a total of five MODs. Kit takes Super Charger I and Recoil Reduction, Katie takes Auto-Revive, Krysta takes Optimized Capsules II and Andre (or "BlackNerd") takes Payload Density I.

During Hardball, the team competes over shooting the spheres into their door unlocking slots, and struggle with the sphere that is suspended on a downward ramp above lava. Kit pushes one of the spheres into a slot using his Mech's body, sacrificing his energy because he "loves you [the team] so much". At the end of the mission, Andre is the one who recovers the Orb. The team is unable to meet the par time or complete the bonus objective, having lost two spheres during the mission.

The episode can be viewed here.

Metroid: Samus Returns New Game Play


In this episode, Kit and Krysta show off new gameplay from the then-upcoming Metroid: Samus Returns, joined by Samantha Robertson from Treehouse in her first appearance on Nintendo Minute. Throughout the video, Sam is playing the game on her Nintendo 3DS while Kit and Krysta watch, presumably on a screen in front of them. This episode was released on August 8, 2017.

They begin by showing off the functionality and unlockable content of the four amiibo that are compatible with Samus Returns, including the two new figures of Samus and a squishy Larva Metroid, and the Samus and Zero Suit Samus figures released for Super Smash Bros. 4. Transitioning to gameplay, the trio shows off Area 1 after activating the Chozo Seal in the Surface, and demonstrates their function, as well as that of the Teleport Station fast travel feature. At one point, crystals can be seen near the elevator to Area 1, which are the same crystals the baby ate at the end of Metroid II: Return of Samus. Krysta comments that she will frequently find a spot on the Map to go to, and then get distracted on her way there. Sam replies that this is the beauty of a Metroid game. Highlighting the exploration aspect of the game, Sam demonstrates the Map Key and Map Pins that the player can use to assist with navigation.

Sam then demonstrates the Free Aim, and semi-panics when the Metroid Radar begins to beep. Krysta and Sam comment on the depth of the game's backgrounds, and the non-hostile creatures that can occasionally be seen there, such as "bigbug01" and "bigbug02". Kit explains the Metroid life cycle when they encounter an Alpha Metroid, which drains Samus's energy in-game and activates the Reserve Tank that was unlocked via the amiibo. Sam commentates during the Alpha battle about when it is practical to use the Melee Counter, and that Samus Returns is a game where the player must be careful and patient in attacking enemies.

The conversation then turns to the game's producer, Yoshio Sakamoto, who wanted to create the game because he was not involved with the production of the original Metroid II: Return of Samus, of which Samus Returns is a remake. Sam continues by praising his work with MercurySteam to bring the game to life. Recalling playing Metroid II and using Bombs everywhere to reveal secret passages, Sam demonsrates the Scan Pulse Aeion ability, which reveals unexplored rooms on the Map. She adds that it is up to the player whether they want to use it, and not required. After acquiring the Ice Beam, Sam shows off its properties: if an uncharged shot hits an enemy, it will be frozen for a few seconds; if a charged shot hits, the enemy will remain frozen longer.

Sam mentions that the map of Samus Returns has not been copied verbatim from Metroid II. MercurySteam has altered it to feature new secrets while remaining familiar enough.

The game's remixed version of In the Cockpit plays during the episode in the background, combined with in-game sound effects and music. The episode can be viewed here.

Metroid: Samus Returns New Game Play + Concept Art


This episode was filmed live at PAX West 2017 on September 2, 2017, and was released online on September 7th. In this episode, Kit and Krysta, joined by Audrey Drake from Treehouse, host a special panel dedicated to Samus Returns. Audrey, who was involved with the localization of the game, wears a shirt depicting the box art of Metroid, while Kit wears the shirt that won the UTGP 2017 Nintendo T-Shirt Competition, depicting Samus' helmet. They show off a message recorded by Sakamoto, gameplay of a new area and concept artwork of the Queen Metroid, Gravity Suit and Diggernaut, with Audrey explaining that the latter was a Chozo mining robot used by the race to mine into SR388.

In the days prior to the show, Nintendo asked fans to submit fan-made Metroid artwork to be displayed during the show. The hosts chose six pieces. The first one they displayed, submitted by @VariaZim, was actually a slightly altered version of an ending Zim drew for AM2R, another unofficial remake of Metroid II that was released and quickly shut down by Nintendo in the previous year. Kit comments that the piece gives "a sense of the vastness of the universe," with Krysta and Audrey deciding they will discuss the "philosophical nature of this piece", or with Kit's therapist. This may suggest that they are aware of the image's original purpose, and shifted gears. The images can be viewed here.

Transitioning to gameplay, Audrey activates the Chozo Seal in Area 1 and lowers the "poison goo", allowing her to access Area 2. Kit makes a poor comparison between Metroid and Picross. Audrey demonstrates the Scan Pulse and Teleport Station, and then uses the Metroid amiibo to trigger a Metroid Marker, which appears on the Map and leads Samus to the nearest Metroid Husk. Audrey then comes across an Evolved Alpha Metroid and kills it. Encountering red plants, Audrey says that "Much like Samus, they're beautiful, but deadly." Shortly after, she finds the Lightning Armor and demonstrates the ability as she encounters more red plants and a Fleech Swarm. After acquiring the Missile Tank that is close by, Audrey stops playing in the interest of not spoiling too much.

Krysta then turns to reading comments, the first of which recommends having Audrey on. Other comment discussions include drawing maps when playing Metroid II, speedrunning and whether the Melee Counter can be abused. Audrey responds by saying that the game's difficulty has been balanced around the Melee Counter and other new abilities.

Music played in the background during the episode include Theme of Samus and Chozo Laboratory. The episode can be viewed here.

History of 2D Metroid


In this episode, Kit and Krysta host a retrospective on the previous 2-D games in the Metroid series, in release order: Metroid, Metroid II, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission. The episode was released on September 15, 2017, the same day as the most recent 2D (style) game, Samus Returns. In-game audio for each game can be heard during the episode. Kit plays each game through the Wii U Virtual Console.

The release year for Metroid is given as 1987; it was actually released the year before in 1986. Kit and Krysta reflect on how the original Metroid revolutionized gaming as a side-scrolling title where the player character can move from left to right and vertically. Additionally, Samus was revealed as a woman, with a famous password that allowed the player to control Samus without her Power Suit.

Showing off Metroid II, Kit and Krysta remind viewers that Sakamoto did not work on the title and this is why he wanted to make Samus Returns. Kit highlights the game's Game Boy frame and green monochrome color scheme features present with its re-release on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. He also mentions that Metroid II introduced many items to the series that would later become staples, such as the Spider Ball, and that original Metroid II concept artwork can be unlocked in Samus Returns.

Transitioning to Metroid 3/Super Metroid, Kit calls it one of the best games ever made and says the introduction of the game is among the most iconic. Kit mentions that Super Metroid is where the series hit its peak with regard to visual storytelling. Demonstrating the Ridley battle at the beginning of the game and the ensuing countdown sequence, Krysta reveals that she is terrified of escape sequences in Metroid, and suggests that the Ceres escape could be what caused that fear. Kit then mentions that the game's ending was particularly memorable, and that it introduced the Map and more new abilities. This portion of the retrospective ends when Kit lands on Crateria on Zebes.

Moving onto Metroid 4/Metroid Fusion, Krysta gives a brief summary of the game's story, with the X Parasites making a resurgence following the extermination of the Metroids. She was unable to recall their name until Kit corrected her and reveals that Samus is infected by an X, forcing the creation of the Fusion Suit and physically weakening her. In-game, Samus has a hunched over pose and breathes heavily. However, Samus is now immune to the X and is sent to investigate them. Kit acknowledges that Fusion is the first game of the series to put a greater emphasis on storytelling, and is a more guided, linear experience. Discussing the Fusion Suit, Kit brings up the Fusion Mode difficulty level in Samus Returns, "implying" it has a connection to the suit.

Metroid: Zero Mission (or "Metroid 5", as Krysta calls it), a remake of Metroid on Game Boy Advance, is demonstrated last. Kit mentions that it made sense to remake the original game with more powerful hardware, and when the R&D1 team was more experienced. He acknowledges that, like Samus Returns, it is not a completely faithful remake as it adds new features. Per Krysta's request, Kit morphs into a ball in the hands of the Chozo Statue holding the Long Beam to receive an energy recharge. Kit compares it to Fusion, while stating that it does not share emphasis on the story.

After looking back at all of the previous games and completing Samus Returns, Kit asks Krysta where it fits in the pecking order of the series. She believes that Super Metroid is still the best, but Samus Returns is a close second. Krysta then encourages viewers who may not be fans of Metroid to try Samus Returns as a start, and then perhaps look at the other titles.

The episode can be viewed here.

Related episodes
Episodes with Metroid elements, that are not focused on the series.

Nintendo NY Shopping Spree Showdown
Kit and Krysta participate in a scavenger hunt at Nintendo New York to see who can acquire the most correct items. None of the scavenged items were Metroid merchandise. A corner of the store focused on Metroid can be seen when Kit and Krysta pass it; the corner includes Samus (render from Metroid Prime) on the headboard above, with Samus Returns T-shirts and Jakks Pacific Samus toys on sale.