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« on: May 31, 2023, 10:31:04 PM »
This ended up being longer than expected. 🤷♀️ Also, unmarked spoilers.
Metroid Prime Remastered
This was a rare full price game for me. I read conflicting reports on whether this was intended to be a limited physical release so I picked this up ASAP just in case.
I can't find the interview, but I vaguely remember reading the developers didn't want to change too much because they considered Metroid Prime to be perfect already. To that: Ehh, the game is still good though it definitely shows its age in certain aspects. Game development and design have advanced to much in 21 years so what was fine in 2002 feels kind of janky in 2023 like the platforming.
Some thoughts:
1. The texture work here is amazing. I probably wouldn't have fully appreciated it had I not seen it side-by-side with the original. The remaster looks the way I remember the original.
2. The original controls are... fine. I opted for the default dual stick though switching between beams and shooting missiles felt less natural. Overall, movement felt better while combat felt worse.
3. Morph Ball jump was added though I would have preferred it be mapped to the B button like in first person mode, or for an option to swap jump and boost in Morph Ball mode.
4. Beams no longer cast dynamic lighting that illuminate the environment. Digital Foundry speculated that this may not play well with the new lighting system or it could be a performance issue. I didn't think I'd noticed when I watched their video, but I definitely did because...
5. While the lighting system is collectively much better in Metroid Prime Remastered, some halls and rooms are really dark now making navigation more difficult since you can't see as well (not the rooms that are pitch black on purpose). Adding new/more light sources and/or being able to shoot beams into those areas for depth perception and overall placement of self and other objects/enemies would have gone a long way.
6. In my old age, I simply cannot stand any area in games where it's pitch black. I get the effect the developers are going for, but you know......... don't. It isn't fun. In this game, this is usually accompanied by enemies you can only see with a different visor. Collectively, all of that is a bad time.
7. I forgot how Chozo Ghosts just start popping up in other rooms at a certain point. They're just as awful in 2023. Sometimes you can simply walk by them to the next room while others you actually have to fend them off because you have to do a thing in that room. And fellas, y'all didn't have to go so hard on the Chozo Ghost music.
8. The world is not as connected as it should have been. Going back to Phendrana Drifts and especially the Phazon Mines often felt like a chore. There's an elevator to the Phazon Mines that leads to the Frigate Crash Site but the door isn't accessible from the ground. I understand gatekeeping during the first pass, maybe even the second. After that, it's just a pain in the ass to navigate. Adding some floating platforms later on would have been a game changer.
9. I'm a little disappointed Nintendo didn't throw in Jennifer Hale's narration that leaked like 15 years ago as a bonus.
10. The Spider Ball sound effect is 🤌.
11. Semi-hot take: There should have been a third person mode added in Metroid Prime Remastered (similar to Capcom with Resident Evil Village). Granted, that would have been a ton of work. While Metroid Prime doesn't need a third person mode, it would have been nice to see the game in a new way after all these years.
Anyway, I probably won't play Metroid Prime again. I really should stop replaying games I loved as a much younger person. I'll always remember how I felt playing certain games for the first time. And while those memories remain, there's no way to recapture that feeling so there's at least a tinge of resentment when a game isn't as good as my memories of it. For that reason, I probably won't replay Super Metroid ever again either (will likely play a remake though). Still, I try to be mindful of this when assessing a game years down the line.
That said, while Metroid Prime may not be as good as it was 21 years ago, it still mostly holds up, and this is a great remaster. A lot of care went into sprucing up the visuals without negatively affecting the original's absolutely wonderful art design. While it was nice to revisit the game, I need to start crossing games off my backlog. Speaking of...
Metroid: Samus Returns
I started a new save file since I hadn't played the game in nearly six years. I wanted to officially finish Samus Returns before returning to Metroid Dread which I also didn't finish. I'm also stalling on returning to Breath of the Wild because I haven't found the motivation to practice Trial of the Sword until I'm good enough to beat it.
I previously dropped Samus Returns in 2017 because I couldn't beat Diggernaut. This is especially hilarious because if you forgo 100% item collection after this boss, there's maybe like an hour of game left. The Diggernaut boss has one move that sucks you in and causes an egregious amount of damage. If only there was a way to remain planted on the ground to prevent this. Straight up bush league game design. Not really. You're supposed to use Spider Ball. My dumb ass straight up stopped playing a game because I forgot that one of the game's most used mechanics existed. 🤷♀️
Anyway, this remake is fine, good even. Some thoughts:
1. The gameplay is on point. It has the requisite exploration and hidden upgrades the series in known for. The Melee Counter feels like a natural evolution for the series, like a better implemented SenseMove/Counter Attack from Other M.
2. The level design is not as refined as I'd like it to be, making SR388 feel disjointed. The various areas flow sequentially and are not interconnected in any way. Warp points feel out of place in Metroid. However, they're kind of functionally needed in Samus Returns due to how self-contained and isolated each Area is. Super Metroid had intentional shortcuts between sections, allowing you to consider the best return path. Without those, backtracking can be kind of a slog.
3. There were some places where you have to go through a few rooms to get a power up. The developers could have added a crumble block in the last room to drop you off at the first room. Instead, you just have to backtrack through all those rooms. The strangest thing is they only do this sometimes; other times they don't. It's such a weird design choice.
4. The Metroid fights were not particularly fun which is a bummer in particular due to how many there are. It's a lot of waiting, usually for a Melee Counter white flash. Also, some Zeta Metroids flee to different rooms. Why? Overall, just a bad time.
5. MercurySteam did its best with the controls. Not being able to run and aim hurt the combat particularly in some boss fights. There are too many functions for the limited inputs of a regular 3DS. Mapping beam and missile switching to the touchscreen is less than ideal. Mapping instant morph ball to the touchscreen felt intentionally offensive (especially given how some of the collectable upgrades are obtained).
6. A New Nintendo 3DS control option would have been greatly appreciated.
7. Samus Returns looks good for a 3DS game though it could definitely use a Switch/Switch 2 remaster. The textures are pretty muddy, and some areas are just Purple, The Room®.
8. There are too many lights on Samus' suits, ultimately bogging down the design. Every upgrade just adds more lights. Generally, these kinds of design cues are intended to make a character stand out. That isn't really the case here. I never had trouble seeing Samus. Silver lining: nothing is worse than the last suit in Metroid Dread (which got spoiled for me). Yikes.
9. Adding Ridley was a mistake. I like the surprise of a new final boss; I just wish it wasn't Ridley again.
10. The extended Last Metroid sequence felt tacked on. From a gameplay perspective, it functionally acts as the final power up but only for collecting optional upgrades. This only drags out the end game similar to Other M's epilogue. And while it may add depth and context to other games in the series, it's an unnecessary change. That one particular scene in Super Metroid doesn't require further contextualization. It accomplishes the same thing on its own more effectively and in far less time.
11. Yo, that part in Area 8 where the Metroid counter increases was 🤌.
12. Feature locking Fusion Mode behind Amiibo was pretty crummy. Mind you, I won't even touch regular Hard Mode. I don't support the practice of locking this kind of content behind Amiibo out of principle. The Samus Returns 2-Pack Amiibo was really hard to get at the time and is hella expensive now. Granted, you can get unofficial NFC cards on eBay for like $15. You shouldn't have to do that though.
I realize these are mostly criticisms. However, I actually liked Samus Returns. Collectively, it's a good game, and I don't regret spending time on it. I won't play it again, not on 3DS anyway. From what I played of Metroid Dread, some of these issues have already been addressed such as the controls though admittedly, that's more a criticism of the hardware.
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