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StarTopic Metroid |ST| Praise The Process
- Thread starter Aurc
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Dread's soundtrack mostly doesn't really work outside of the context of the game without all of the environmental sounds that give everything more depth and texture. I wouldn't really listen to Raven Beak fight music by itself as it sounds rather flat but in the game it gets me pumped like nothing else. Now I can only make assumptions about what creative decisions led to this and I can certainly see why it's controversial but it lends the game a kind of physicality or tactility that is especially noticeable in handheld mode. I don't think it's a coincidence that the "melodic" throwbacks are reserved for cutscenes, for example. Either way, seeing as Yamamoto was music director I think it's very intentional for Dread specifically, whether people agree with it or not.
To pitch in, my favourite piece of music from Dread (in the context of the game) is the Escue boss theme as I think it fits for how frantic the fight is, and is probably the hardest fight to not get hit on (and therefore the hardest Dread mode difficulty fight imo).
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I was googling for an anime-styled morph ball for a goof I was making in the direcc specc thread, and ran across something that I think belongs here:
AlxndrNevermind
Rattata
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I just replayed Metroid Prime Remastered (Hard Playthrough 100%) and I was thinking how fortunate we are to have this game available in this upgraded version. The game looks so good on a 4K OLED Tv with an mClassic adapter. I really hope this rumored remakes of the next two Prime games get the same treatment as this release did.
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I wish I wasn't such a snob about OG Metroid's music. Though Planets is superior to the OG game in every other way, I think they really missed the mark with their interpretations of those classic themes.
OP
OP
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They're on the hit or miss side for me, but mostly hits. I love the Kraid's Lair arrangement, but Ridley's Lair is too aggressive for my taste. Zero Mission actually has my favorite rendition. I dig the ominous tone they conveyed.
But yeah, I can understand not being big on the music in Planets. I'm personally cool with it (I especially love all the Super Metroid tracks by Loeder), but I think a function that would allow you to just use NES Metroid's music would be neat.
Stilt Village
GBA
This is my first time hearing Planets, and yeah, that doesn't sound right at all. Kraid adapting the Zero Mission arrangement makes it much more tonally on-point than most of them, but those arpeggios are so distracting and out of place, they sound like rolls on a steel drum. The big thing that stands out to me is how a lot of it seems to have been pitched up compared to the originals for some reason. It's especially obvious with Brinstar, where the melody is just uncomfortably high.
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I often catch myself dreaming about how astounding Skytown and Sactuary would look.
OP
OP
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Yeah, I think that's reasonable critique. Brinstar is more of an upbeat theme, which is why I'm cool with its melody being higher pitched, but overall, there are some embellishments in there that alter the tone of each track pretty dramatically (this bit in Norfair being a prominent example), and I'm kinda split on these changes myself. I do largely prefer the Super Metroid tracks I linked, since they're more faithful, but while still doing their own thing as "demakes" of SM's OST.
If anybody wants a cool twist on replaying a Metroid game, I highly recommend checking out a randomizer for a game of your choice.
Randovania is a piece of software used to randomize several Metroid games and also includes a built in multiworld feature (more info about multiworld later in this post).
The Metroid games Randovania supports:
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Dread
Super Metroid (Experimental)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Experimental)
Metroid: Samus Returns (Experimental)
Another Metroid 2 Remake (Experimental)
Randovania is incredibly beginner friendly as it has customizable presets for each game to adjust what tricks you want to use, what items to start with, what location to start in, optional random transport (elevators etc.) destinations, etc! You still need to watch out for potential softlocks so save to be safe.
The tricks do change how the items are randomized across the game as it may expect you to utilize the tricks you have enabled to progress and complete the game.
Choosing the pool of locations to randomly start in:
Multiworld is a very cool and also very beginner friendly feature in Randovania. If you do not know what multiworld is, think about you and however many more people each have a unique deck of cards which then all get put together and shuffled as one before being redistributed out - it essentially means other people's items may be in your game e.g. my Morph Ball could be in @Aurc's game and he would need to get it for me. It even works across different games so someone could play on Metroid Prime with someone else on Metroid Dread and the Metroid Dread player may have the Metroid Prime player's Ice Beam and the Metroid Prime player may have the Metroid Dread player's Cross Bombs. There is no theoretical limit for how many people can play in the same multiworld, but the more people there are, the longer it will take to generate the randomization and the longer it will take for everyone to beat the game, so keep that in mind. Each player can also choose their own custom preset that they already made for the single player randomization your own game is still tuned to your liking. Sometimes, you may have to wait some time for someone else to get an item you need to progress and that can take a while to be prepared to do something in the meantime. So far, the multiworld feature only supports the non-experimental games (Metroid Prime 1, Prime 2, and Metroid Dread).
I had a thought, it would be cool if we, as a community, organise a Famiboards multiworld session where the participants can choose their own game (out of the games that are multiworld compatible) - the participants also do not all need to be playing at the same time (but do need to be present when the game is being generated so all participants are included in the generation) as you can just collect the items that you can get and then wait on other people in their own time but you do need Randovania open while playing so the items collected are stored in the multiworld server correctly. This sort of multiworld is called an "Asynchronous Multiworld" so each person can play in their own time. I would love to know if anybody would like for something like this to be organised!
EDIT: We can use the Metro Androids Famiboards club for organising this, too!
Randovania is a piece of software used to randomize several Metroid games and also includes a built in multiworld feature (more info about multiworld later in this post).
The Metroid games Randovania supports:
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Dread
Super Metroid (Experimental)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Experimental)
Metroid: Samus Returns (Experimental)
Another Metroid 2 Remake (Experimental)
Randovania is incredibly beginner friendly as it has customizable presets for each game to adjust what tricks you want to use, what items to start with, what location to start in, optional random transport (elevators etc.) destinations, etc! You still need to watch out for potential softlocks so save to be safe.
The tricks do change how the items are randomized across the game as it may expect you to utilize the tricks you have enabled to progress and complete the game.
Choosing the pool of locations to randomly start in:
Multiworld is a very cool and also very beginner friendly feature in Randovania. If you do not know what multiworld is, think about you and however many more people each have a unique deck of cards which then all get put together and shuffled as one before being redistributed out - it essentially means other people's items may be in your game e.g. my Morph Ball could be in @Aurc's game and he would need to get it for me. It even works across different games so someone could play on Metroid Prime with someone else on Metroid Dread and the Metroid Dread player may have the Metroid Prime player's Ice Beam and the Metroid Prime player may have the Metroid Dread player's Cross Bombs. There is no theoretical limit for how many people can play in the same multiworld, but the more people there are, the longer it will take to generate the randomization and the longer it will take for everyone to beat the game, so keep that in mind. Each player can also choose their own custom preset that they already made for the single player randomization your own game is still tuned to your liking. Sometimes, you may have to wait some time for someone else to get an item you need to progress and that can take a while to be prepared to do something in the meantime. So far, the multiworld feature only supports the non-experimental games (Metroid Prime 1, Prime 2, and Metroid Dread).
I had a thought, it would be cool if we, as a community, organise a Famiboards multiworld session where the participants can choose their own game (out of the games that are multiworld compatible) - the participants also do not all need to be playing at the same time (but do need to be present when the game is being generated so all participants are included in the generation) as you can just collect the items that you can get and then wait on other people in their own time but you do need Randovania open while playing so the items collected are stored in the multiworld server correctly. This sort of multiworld is called an "Asynchronous Multiworld" so each person can play in their own time. I would love to know if anybody would like for something like this to be organised!
EDIT: We can use the Metro Androids Famiboards club for organising this, too!
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D
Deleted member 2
Guest
All music is bad
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Heron
The BABY
Played Metroid Dread again this weekend and while I had a ton of fun (as always), it's not the best Metroid to replay, is it? Feels incredibly linear once you have a rough idea what you're doing. The teleports in particular give it the feeling that the devs are just bringing you from item to item, becuase it's always the right decision to use one when you have access to a new one. The whole thing about the "invisible hand" of Metroid game design is that it's supposed to be invisible. In Dread it isn't.
I've never played a randomizer, but I couldn't help but think that Dread would benefit from an official randomizer more than any other Metroid - because the gamefeel, combat, movement etc is all right on point, but there's no real exploration at all. It feels like a game where the "in-between areas" have been removed, like all fat has been trimmed. It gives the game a relentless kinetic energy that is super fun, but also a bit one-note. I honestly think one of the reasons that the music is as non-descript as it is is that you're barely ever in one place long enough to listen to it, and you're constantly shooting anyway. All of that said - it's still a great game.
I just hope the next 2d Metroid slows Samus down a bit and is less of a pure action game.
Also, the Emmi sections, as the big unique selling point... they don't quite hit, do they? They're fine, but... they don't quite work. They don't feel like the cat and mouse sense of being hunted they're supposed to. You either get spotted or don't, and then it's a mad chase, and if you get caught, you lose five seconds of progress. There's no real strategy there, or fear.
I do have a hacked Switch, maybe I'll look into this Randovania. I'm always wary of fan projects though... I wish Nintendo would do it officially.
I've never played a randomizer, but I couldn't help but think that Dread would benefit from an official randomizer more than any other Metroid - because the gamefeel, combat, movement etc is all right on point, but there's no real exploration at all. It feels like a game where the "in-between areas" have been removed, like all fat has been trimmed. It gives the game a relentless kinetic energy that is super fun, but also a bit one-note. I honestly think one of the reasons that the music is as non-descript as it is is that you're barely ever in one place long enough to listen to it, and you're constantly shooting anyway. All of that said - it's still a great game.
I just hope the next 2d Metroid slows Samus down a bit and is less of a pure action game.
Also, the Emmi sections, as the big unique selling point... they don't quite hit, do they? They're fine, but... they don't quite work. They don't feel like the cat and mouse sense of being hunted they're supposed to. You either get spotted or don't, and then it's a mad chase, and if you get caught, you lose five seconds of progress. There's no real strategy there, or fear.
I do have a hacked Switch, maybe I'll look into this Randovania. I'm always wary of fan projects though... I wish Nintendo would do it officially.
Zeal543
Chain Chomp
I'm with you but 2D metroid abandoned meaningful exploration in favor of fast action 2 decades ago, sakamoto and mercurysteam don't seem to be interested in proper exploration and dread was more than successful enough to carry the design ethos onto metroid 6.
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I think Dread's controls and movement is fun enough to make it replayable (though I'll always firmly stand by the fact that Metroid's controls have been about that silky smooth since Fusion, the GBA games already put in a lot of that work). But yeah. It's not a particularly great exploration Metroid. No matter how easy the sequence breaks are, it just isn't much more than point A to B.
I also feel like they should kind of cut their losses with the horror stuff, to be honest. As much as I like it, it's never been executed as well as it should have, and it's weird to see how the series has basically pigeonholed itself for the last 20+ years with it. Zero Mission's finale ... the SA-X being entirely scripted ... the EMMIs never evolving the concept much, it's all fine but it left stuff to be desired and I think it would be better to just focus on something exploration based next time. I still love the horror stuff, but it's so easy to say "IF THEY JUST DID IT THIS WAY IT WOULD BE BETTER", and I don't think they ever matched their full potential with it, despite trying for 2 and a half games at this point.
Though I will say I have the opposite impression, I actually thought the EMMIs were cooler on a replay, whereas they started to feel a bit too one-dimensional to be much more than time wasters on an initial playthrough. It was very fun finding out that if you're good enough at platforming and aiming your grapple beam, you can basically just run past the last two EMMIs even as they chase you.
I also feel like they should kind of cut their losses with the horror stuff, to be honest. As much as I like it, it's never been executed as well as it should have, and it's weird to see how the series has basically pigeonholed itself for the last 20+ years with it. Zero Mission's finale ... the SA-X being entirely scripted ... the EMMIs never evolving the concept much, it's all fine but it left stuff to be desired and I think it would be better to just focus on something exploration based next time. I still love the horror stuff, but it's so easy to say "IF THEY JUST DID IT THIS WAY IT WOULD BE BETTER", and I don't think they ever matched their full potential with it, despite trying for 2 and a half games at this point.
Though I will say I have the opposite impression, I actually thought the EMMIs were cooler on a replay, whereas they started to feel a bit too one-dimensional to be much more than time wasters on an initial playthrough. It was very fun finding out that if you're good enough at platforming and aiming your grapple beam, you can basically just run past the last two EMMIs even as they chase you.
Stilt Village
GBA
Oh, I really hope Sakamoto got the stealth thing out of his system with Dread. I was optimistic going in, but it's really not any better than it was in Zero Mission. We just keep getting increasingly large portions of the map dedicated to it. The entirely scripted SA-X sequences are still the best iteration of the concept, in part because it's the only one where stealth actually works for most of the encounters. You're really better off just running through and hoping for the best with every other instance, it's pretty nonsense.
The EMMIs do improve on a replay, but I think mostly because you need a certain level of fluency with the controls to be able to reliably escape them. Once you reach the point where you're no longer fumbling things, it's not too bad to make it through so long as you don't get screwed over and land directly on one after a drop or something. Which is the main saving grace of them, if you're skilled enough at the game you can mostly blitz through their areas without having to mess with them. Hurray.
The EMMIs do improve on a replay, but I think mostly because you need a certain level of fluency with the controls to be able to reliably escape them. Once you reach the point where you're no longer fumbling things, it's not too bad to make it through so long as you don't get screwed over and land directly on one after a drop or something. Which is the main saving grace of them, if you're skilled enough at the game you can mostly blitz through their areas without having to mess with them. Hurray.
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Keep us posted on your progress and opinion of the game as both continue developing!
Mekanos
Physically Repellant
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Finally got the Morph Ball, I sometimes forget I have it when I'm trying to navigate. How I've missed it.
Looks like I'm about to fight Kraid. Gotta say I don't think wall jumping has ever been as satisfying as it is in Dread, there are moments where it's like "can I make it? I'm not sure if... oh sweet I made it." Feels good.
Also I got the Varia Suit and I gotta say... I think its color combo is a bit garish lol:
Looks like I'm about to fight Kraid. Gotta say I don't think wall jumping has ever been as satisfying as it is in Dread, there are moments where it's like "can I make it? I'm not sure if... oh sweet I made it." Feels good.
Also I got the Varia Suit and I gotta say... I think its color combo is a bit garish lol:
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Yeah the white throws the orange off imo, it kinda bugged me too.Finally got the Morph Ball, I sometimes forget I have it when I'm trying to navigate. How I've missed it.
Looks like I'm about to fight Kraid. Gotta say I don't think wall jumping has ever been as satisfying as it is in Dread, there are moments where it's like "can I make it? I'm not sure if... oh sweet I made it." Feels good.
Also I got the Varia Suit and I gotta say... I think its color combo is a bit garish lol:
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Yeah I LOVED how they held out on giving it to you, because it's nearly always the first thing you get in Metroid games. And they really made you miss it, and it was a huge relief finally getting it.
OP
OP
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I still prefer Wall Jumping in some of the other games (Super, Zero Mission, AM2R) due to single Wall Jump being possible, plus the input being more involved, but yeah, Dread's are solid too. Using them to get some good evasions going during the E.M.M.I. sequences is especially satisfying. I usually use Phantom Cloak less than five times per playthrough, since running and jumping is just way more fun.Finally got the Morph Ball, I sometimes forget I have it when I'm trying to navigate. How I've missed it.
Looks like I'm about to fight Kraid. Gotta say I don't think wall jumping has ever been as satisfying as it is in Dread, there are moments where it's like "can I make it? I'm not sure if... oh sweet I made it." Feels good.
Also I got the Varia Suit and I gotta say... I think its color combo is a bit garish lol:
I do like Dread's Varia Suit, but not in place of the more classic look. The white inner at least makes it feel like its own distinct thing, with the yellow still present, just on the muscle layer. I definitely prefer Dread's base Power Suit though, and its Gravity Suit is my favorite iteration across the whole series, so I wonder how you'll feel about it.
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I was about to say, the Varia suit is still pretty good IMO and I don't mind the color combo (maybe I'm used to orange/white/blue being a Denver Broncos fan lol) but yeah the gravity suit in Dread is my favorite by miles, it's incredible.
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I think Dread has the best base suit in the whole series. I was actually kinda sad when I found the Varia Suit because I didn't want the main suit to change 
OP
OP
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The fact that each suit in Dread (and Samus Returns!) has a unique model is an underrated factor. Minor differences aside, you basically had the Varia and Gravity Suits being color variants of each other in Super, Prime, etc., but in Dread, suit features on the model itself become gradually more emphasized, giving off a greater impression of growth:
(Major Metroid Dread suit spoilers, Mekanos don't open pls)
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(Same here, Mekanos don't open!!!)
I hate to say the Metroid suit always tripped me out because it doesn't evoke the classic Metroid larva look, but I just had a thought: what if her pauldrons were basically Metroid-like, with them being clear with the red nucleus and all that? Maybe it would be horrible? But I wish they had done something a little closer to the iconic Metroid look.
Supreme Overlord
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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Following Fusion, I always figured Samus' suit in the new era would take on more of a carapace design, still sleek(ish) but organic and finding ways to be evocative of shelled metroid lifeforms -- all the while, still distinctly Samus.*
Also the circles on the back of the Fusion suit evoke the metroid nuclei, so there's a starting point to work with for the classic imagery.
As it stands, things don't really quite square with how I'd figured it, and I doubt they really will, but I can hope.
*It would also be available in Super Smash Bros.
Also the circles on the back of the Fusion suit evoke the metroid nuclei, so there's a starting point to work with for the classic imagery.
As it stands, things don't really quite square with how I'd figured it, and I doubt they really will, but I can hope.
*It would also be available in Super Smash Bros.
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Y'all hate Monster Hunter or something?
space_dragon
Cunning Commander
The Dread Varia Suit ROCKS. Y'all is crazy.
Mekanos
Physically Repellant
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Usually Kraid is a pushover but he stumped me for a good minute here. However after about 4-5 tries I realized the easiest way to kill him:
-During the second phase, camp in the corner and fire beams over and over at the stomach. Not only will you destroy the bouncing orbs but when they drop health/missiles, if you stay in the corner and jump, you'll trigger them flying over to you.
-You can duck under his spikes - or use them as platforms to quickly climb to the top instead of waiting for the magnet.
I've heard that Dread has the hardest bosses in the series and I definitely get that vibe. But that was a satisfying boss battle because once I "solved" it, I reversed it pretty easily and blew him halfway to hell.
-During the second phase, camp in the corner and fire beams over and over at the stomach. Not only will you destroy the bouncing orbs but when they drop health/missiles, if you stay in the corner and jump, you'll trigger them flying over to you.
-You can duck under his spikes - or use them as platforms to quickly climb to the top instead of waiting for the magnet.
I've heard that Dread has the hardest bosses in the series and I definitely get that vibe. But that was a satisfying boss battle because once I "solved" it, I reversed it pretty easily and blew him halfway to hell.
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Dread's boss fights are fantastic especially in the second half of the game because your movement and toolset is so much better than in previous games. Yes, they're hard, but even the hardest (the final boss) feels fair and has a rhythm to it that once it really clicks with you you can dodge and be mostly untouched and feel like a complete badass. The final boss of Dread actually made me feel somewhat similar to the final boss of Sekiro in that it initially feels absurdly difficult but once you really learn it and get the patterns down and know how to do it, it just feels SO good.
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It's one of the best Varia suits I agree, but it sucks cause I don't think it's as good as the power suit, which you give up too quickly.
AtomicZach
Koopa
I mean it makes sense, the Metroid Queen (what that suit is supposed to be emulating) has always been portrayed as one of the most deadliest things out there. So copying that was the right move in the long run. Though I do wish they went more wild with the concept and made Samus some horrid alien hybrid visually while still being heroic
AtomicZach
Koopa
Side note: I've finally completed Metroid II: Return of Samus. And I can say with confidence that Metroid II: Return of Samus certainly was a video game. It definitely does its best to emulate a Metroid game only a small Game Boy but man can you feel the restrictions at every opportunity. I do think Samus Returns is the better game to play in comparison.
I do see what people say when they talk about how the GB game starts getting more empty the deeper you go and the atmospheric storytelling but I don't know, that works for like a few seconds before my brain goes "ok....what now?" Would still rank it slightly higher than NES Metroid though.
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Now compare them both to AM2R
OP
OP
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Oh yeah, I remember posting my thoughts on the Metroid Suit back in February, and you agreeing! I still feel exactly the same way, lol. Totally something I think should've gone more in the direction of "horrid alien hybrid visually while still being heroic", as @xaszatm put it above.
As for the pauldrons: yup, I do feel like something a little more interesting could've been done there. The whole suit just has no translucency or nuclei, visible nerves, etc. at all. It's just a spiky green shell thing with red gamer lights on it. It looks more like a costume than a transformation to me. Oh well. I hope they switch up the design a bit for when she goes Super Saiyan again in Metroid 6.
As for the pauldrons: yup, I do feel like something a little more interesting could've been done there. The whole suit just has no translucency or nuclei, visible nerves, etc. at all. It's just a spiky green shell thing with red gamer lights on it. It looks more like a costume than a transformation to me. Oh well. I hope they switch up the design a bit for when she goes Super Saiyan again in Metroid 6.
I've played like the first 10 minutes of OG Metroid 2. I agree that it's easily one of the video games of all time. I'll eventually go through it in its entirety, but then again, I've been telling myself that since I was a teenager. I love the heck out of AM2R though (gameplay-wise, it's second only to Dread imo, despite being a fan game), and Samus Returns is pretty dang good too.
AtomicZach
Koopa
I'll do that later. I'm moving on to Super Metroid first. It's on the list though.Now compare them both to AM2R
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omg now I'm picturing Samus with those cycling rgb leds
Okay I had to check and yep, there is fanart of this.
agree agree agree
Mekanos
Physically Repellant
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I haven’t played AM2R but I honestly found the GB version more enjoyable than the 3DS remake. It’s a nice little game, if obtuse at points, and you can see the connective tissue between Metroid and Super. Samus Returns 3D just felt bloated and sluggish. I’ll probably try to get AM2R running on my Steam Deck after I beat Dread.
Aurc please play Metroid II one day, it’s cool I swear lol. One of my favorite Game Boy games alongside Link’s Awakening and probably the one I care about most. If you play it on Switch you can play in color if you like which is great!
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It's so good
It retains the vibes of the GB version but upgrades the experience into something more like Zero Mission or Super. It feels a lot more cohesive, like you can play Zero Mission, then AM2R, then Super, and feel like you're playing a consistent trilogy. And the ending is much more faithful to the original than what Samus Returns did ffs
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Seems like I'm the outlier here that was pretty underwhelmed by AM2R. I can appreciate the effort put into it but I honestly found it bloated and missing the point of the original by turning it into yet another Super-like game.
Don't get me wrong: I love Super as much as the average Metroid-fan but that doesn't mean that you have to turn every other game in the franchise into a Super clone
Don't get me wrong: I love Super as much as the average Metroid-fan but that doesn't mean that you have to turn every other game in the franchise into a Super clone
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OP
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AM2R is based on Zero Mission's framework, but with a number of worthwhile improvements made to game feel, resulting in extremely fast and responsive gameplay. It's part of why I personally prefer it to Samus Returns. SR's game feel is on the more chunky side.
I promise I'll post about it once I do play it! It's the only significant Metroid game I've just never been able to make it through.
There's a fan colorization I played with last time (EJRTQ) that I'll probably go back to. It's actually really nice looking:
But it's a Zero Mission clone!Seems like I'm the outlier here that was pretty underwhelmed by AM2R. I can appreciate the effort put into it but I honestly found it bloated and missing the point of the original by turning it into yet another Super-like game.
Don't get me wrong: I love Super as much as the average Metroid-fan but that doesn't mean that you have to turn every other game in the franchise into a Super clone
I do get some folks not being into it. Condensing my reasoning for loving it into one paragraph: it feeling snappy to play is one aspect, but more importantly, I think it adds more "juice" to Metroid 2, by way of its additional bosses and content. In the other versions of M2, there's not as much to break up the repetitive nature of the Metroid hunting itself. AM2R has some great extra boss fights, plus stuff like the robot bit, escape sequence, G.F.S. Thoth, etc.
AtomicZach
Koopa
Eh, Samus Returns kind of feels like a needed test run for Mercury Steam. As much as people love to rag on it and make unkind statements, it's status as the stepping stone that brings us to Dread makes it hard for me to hate the game.
...to be honest the sheer amount of bile AM2R fans will spit out at the 3DS remake has always made me shy away from AM2R. It was way fucking worse pre launch too. The amount of "Samus Returns was made in 6 months to kill AM2R and AM2R should have been made official, how dare Sakamoto!" was too fucking much. Especially since the creator of AM2R has gone of record for liking Samus Returns and those same "fans" of AM2R responded by attacking the creator for "not getting his place".
Heron
The BABY
Man, Metroid 2 was one of the formative games of my early youth, and my first Metroid. I remember playing it in my Gran's house in Ireland in the dead of winter, no heating on, shivering under the blankets with that Game Boy light / magnifier thing, and being completely terrified the whole time I was playing it. Such an insane atmosphere that game created with so little to work with. And just such an incredible game by game boy standards. Like, easily a top 5 game boy game for me. Does it hold up nowadays? Absolutely not. But the core idea of the map design, the spider ball, hunting and exterminating a defined number of progressively more dangerous - it's all just an incredible concept.
So when Samus Returns came out I was excited. And I liked it! Because it was the first decent Metroid game in a decade, and made real improvements to Metroid gamefeel. But was it in any way the Metroid 2 I remembered? It was not. Only reminded me of Metroid 2 once or twice in the whole thing, and the level design was distinctly unmemorable. But a decent game none the less.
So then after being harrassed to try it for YEARS, I finally tried AM2R. Took that long because I typically hate fan games. Boy was I wrong. Not only does it feel like Metroid 2 incarnate from start to finish, it's one of the best remakes of anything I've ever played. I loved, loved, loved it. Part of my enjoyment, though, was playing it on a hacked Switch. I tried on PC and I just can't enjoy playing games - any games - on a computer screen. Playing in portable mode on Switch it really felt like an official Nintendo release, and made me wish Nintendo still made old-school sprite games.
So yeah, I can understand if anyone is hesitant but if you've got a hacked Switch you have to try it. It's just fantastic. I think I prefer it to Zero Mission and possibly Fusion too.
So when Samus Returns came out I was excited. And I liked it! Because it was the first decent Metroid game in a decade, and made real improvements to Metroid gamefeel. But was it in any way the Metroid 2 I remembered? It was not. Only reminded me of Metroid 2 once or twice in the whole thing, and the level design was distinctly unmemorable. But a decent game none the less.
So then after being harrassed to try it for YEARS, I finally tried AM2R. Took that long because I typically hate fan games. Boy was I wrong. Not only does it feel like Metroid 2 incarnate from start to finish, it's one of the best remakes of anything I've ever played. I loved, loved, loved it. Part of my enjoyment, though, was playing it on a hacked Switch. I tried on PC and I just can't enjoy playing games - any games - on a computer screen. Playing in portable mode on Switch it really felt like an official Nintendo release, and made me wish Nintendo still made old-school sprite games.
So yeah, I can understand if anyone is hesitant but if you've got a hacked Switch you have to try it. It's just fantastic. I think I prefer it to Zero Mission and possibly Fusion too.
Evil Lucario
Star Successor
AM2R is always going to be tainted by it being used as a cudgel by dumb Metroid fans back in 2016 and trying to use it to completely put down Samus Returns, even if it is pretty good.
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I played Samus Returns and found it decent but not exceptional and then I played AM2R which was decent but not exceptional and then I realized that the reason for that is that Metroid 2 is decent but not exceptional. That said, I think AM2R is a great remake of a decent game whereas SR feels more like its own thing.
edit: of course, the fact that AM2R was seemingly made by one guy is impressive in and of itself
edit: of course, the fact that AM2R was seemingly made by one guy is impressive in and of itself
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I happened upon this post when doing my rounds around tumblr today and thought I had to share it here. Apologies if it has been posted before I haven't kept up with the entire thread aaaa
