Samus not playable in Dead or Alive 3DS
But she can aid the player.
Metroid star Samus Aran will not be a playable character in 3DS fighting game Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Team Ninja has confirmed.
Fans' hopes were raised last week after a trailer for the game showed a stage inspired by the Team Ninja-developed Wii exclusive Metroid: Other M. Check it out below.
In it recurring Metroid boss Ridley appears as a stage hazard. At the end of the fight Samus pops up in ball form before being engulfed in light, an appearance fans hoped suggested her playable status in the game. Not so.
"The concept of this game is basically to create the best version of Dead or Alive," explained Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi to Eurogamer.
"Actually for the Metroid collaboration, we had help from Nintendo and they're really friendly with us. But the concept of Dead or Alive as the best version of the game means Samus Aran or Metroid is something different. That's why we are not focusing on that in terms of the concept."
He continued: "So talking about Samus Aran, is she playable or not? This time she's not playable. But Samus Aran will be shown in the game. She comes to help the player. That's the collaboration shown there [in the trailer]. But how you can unlock Samus Aran? Please find out by yourself."
Dimensions, announced at E3 2010, is a 3DS launch window title, meaning it'll release at some point between 25th March and the end of June.