Nintendo is one of the most important video game companies on the market, and while its characters and franchises are among the most iconic, there are also some business practices that fans hate and do not understand to this day. One of the most widespread in recent years is that of the “cease and desist” notes (Cease and Desist).that they send to any indie developer who makes games using their characters. It does not matter that they are games made by and for fans, without any type of economic use. The mere use of characters and settings from the Nintendo universe have been enough for some extremely promising projects to be definitively canceled. Today we explore some of the most resonant.
AM2R
Its full name was Another Metroid 2 Remake , and it was an excellent job of restoration and fine-tuning for the original GameBoy game: Metroid II: Return of Samus. The style resembled the Super Metroid proposal, and despite the fact that fans who downloaded it for PC hailed the development and playable proposal of AM2R, it finally fell victim to the dreaded “cease and desist” note. In this case, Nintendo was working on its own remake of Metroid 2 so thankfully fans of the space bounty hunter were able to enjoy a remake, even though AM2R was truly a gem.
Zelda 30 Tribute
A game for web browsers, inspired by the original NES game The Legend of Zelda , but with a three-dimensional approach. The developers came up with it to mark the 30th anniversary of the title that launched the Link and Zelda universe to fame, but they were on the lookout for Nintendo to send them a “cease and desist” note. It happened like that. Soon after, the game was removed from the web and only a few could enjoy it, some even took screenshots and videos of a proposal that was nothing more than a way to celebrate a saga that had brought them so much joy.
Pokémon Prism
A Pokémon Crystal hack that was supposed to be released on Christmas 2016, but was eventually forced to disappear by Nintendo’s legal team. The creator of the hack (a modification of the original game), Koolboyman, said he was very sorry to cancel development of the game but received a notification from Nintendo demanding that he stop production of the software.
Pokémon Prism added a whole new region to explore, more than 200 monsters and the incredible ability to play as the Pokémon themselves during the adventure. Koolboyman and a team of developers spent nearly 8 years on this hack, as well as inspiring a community of stakeholders with more than 8,000 members across the globe.
In addition to canceling Pokémon Prism, two other games that were hacks of titles in the series were also eliminated: Pokémon Brown and Pokémon Rijon Adventures. Once again, the power of Nintendo and its team of lawyers preventing fans from making their creations based on the expansion of the universes of the Japanese firm.
The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link
This title created by the ‘modder’ Kaze Emanuar, used the same graphics engine as the two adventures of Zelda on Nintendo 64: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. The objective of the title was to serve as a bridge between both titles, being then a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time and showing what happened in that intermediate period.
Again, Nintendo’s lawyers requested that any possibility of downloading the title be eliminated and from that moment the title The Missing Link fell into oblivion. Nintendo’s practice of eliminating any use by world fans and the distinctive elements of its franchises has become commonplace.
Zelda maker
For all those adventure lovers who wanted to create incredible worlds to explore with Link, the proposal of Zelda Maker was that the players themselves design their maps quickly and easily, and thus share them with other players. Instead of finding a way to get hold of the idea and satisfy the fans, Nintendo decided to send in its team of lawyers and close the project for good with one of its usual “cease and desist.”
Ocarina of Time 2D
An adaptation of Ocarina of Time, the most acclaimed title of the franchise for Nintendo 64, but in a 2D version . Taking elements of the Super Nintendo versions, it was an excellent combination of the level design and playability of the first games, and the world, the plot and the more ambitious proposals of Ocarina of Time. Obviously, Nintendo took no more than a few minutes to send a “cease and desist” note to the developers as they understood that they were violating the property rights of the world of Hyrule, Princess Zelda and the warrior Link.
What is your opinion of Nintendo’s behavior towards fans and their unofficial games?