Topic: Metroid (NES)

[Mop it up]

I have noticed that the people who say they like NES Metroid have played it during or close to the NES days, and the people who don't like it played it later on. It would seem that it's a case of people liking it only due to nostalgia. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just making an observation.

[Halbred]

I played it back on the NES and probably didn't really "get" it, which is understandable. Hell, I didn't "get" Super Metroid when it first came out. I finally got around to playing both games in my late teens. I appreciated what Metroid was trying to do, and I've beat it several times (even got 100% once or twice), but it's clear that Super Metroid was what it's "supposed" to be.

You could say the same of Link's Awakening. It's a fully-realized version of Legend of Zelda.

[Louieturkey]

Some people like some games and dislike others.  I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it.  During the NES's life, games were harder and were harder to learn.  So people who enjoyed those games usually still enjoy them.  They just like the games that leave more up to the player.

[Mop it up]

During the NES's life, games were harder and were harder to learn.  So people who enjoyed those games usually still enjoy them.  They just like the games that leave more up to the player.

That sounds like nostalgia for old games and design. It's exactly what I was saying. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, and I'm not sure why some people view it as a bad thing.

[NWR_insanolord]

There's a difference between being hard because of a genuine, legitimate challenge, and being hard because of being broken and/or cheap. I can appreciate the former; I'd argue this game is closer to the latter.

[Guitar Smasher]

During the NES's life, games were harder and were harder to learn.  So people who enjoyed those games usually still enjoy them.  They just like the games that leave more up to the player.

That sounds like nostalgia for old games and design. It's exactly what I was saying. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, and I'm not sure why some people view it as a bad thing.

Because most of the time when someone says "your opinion's just based on nostalgia", it comes with the pretense of "which makes your argument for this game invalid."

[Ian Sane]

Hell, I didn't "get" Super Metroid when it first came out.

Me neither.  I remember playing it a bit at a demo kiosk at a store and wondering why I reached a dead end in a side scroller.  I didn't get Zelda at the time either.
 
About three years later while in high school my brother bought Madden '94 from a friend of his because he wanted a five player SNES game.  The guy threw in A Link to the Past FOR FREE.  Once I gave that a whirl I realized what type of game I should have been paying more attention to this whole time.  A few years after that I got my first job and having money for the first time started collecting old SNES games.  I found Super Metroid with box in manual in perfect condition and bought it on a whim because I knew Nintendo made it and it was supposedly good.  Playing that game for the first time when I really didn't know what to expect is one of the best game experiences of my life.
 
If one enjoys having to explore an area with no indication of what to do and no map then I imagine Metroid is pretty damn awesome for them.  I don't like games that blatantly tell me exactly what to do the whole time.  That isn't nostalgia talking that's just what I prefer.  Maybe some people prefer taking that a further level where there aren't even clues at all.

[KDR_11k]

I had a ton of game guides so I knew what to expect even though I got both Zelda and Super Metroid as bare cartridges from a flea market.

[Mop it up]

During the NES's life, games were harder and were harder to learn.  So people who enjoyed those games usually still enjoy them.  They just like the games that leave more up to the player.

That sounds like nostalgia for old games and design. It's exactly what I was saying. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, and I'm not sure why some people view it as a bad thing.

Because most of the time when someone says "your opinion's just based on nostalgia", it comes with the pretense of "which makes your argument for this game invalid."

I guess that's true, and it's why I clarified my statement with "there's nothing wrong with that" to show I wasn't trying to belittle anyone's opinion. I was just noting that the people who like NES Metroid played it during its time, or have some fondness for NES in general; what that means is up for interpretation.

[Sundoulos]

Oh, I think it's fair to say that nostalgia is a component, though it's not the only one.  I think it's also true that sometimes experiences, age, among other things can shape your preferences in gaming.   I wouldn't expect someone who grew up on more recent games to find some of the old ones as engaging as I do. 

When I was really young, my Dad bought an Atari 2600 and 5200.  Compared to what I played on those systems, Zelda and Metroid was a complete paradigm shift in the way I thought about games.  Yes, I'm old (34).  Sue me.

[UltimatePartyBear]

I started gaming on a 2600, too, but I still find Metroid too primitive to enjoy.  I would probably like it if I had played it when it was new.  I remember being with a couple of kids at school who were talking about it while one drew the other a map from memory.  I looked at the map and saw the interconnected horizontal and vertical passages, and then the foreboding note "Metroids!" above one cavern, which struck me like "Here be dragons" on an ancient map of the world.  It was a mind-expanding experience just being confronted with that on notebook paper.  And yet I didn't get to play the original until years later.  I played Metroid II first, and Super Metroid, and it was longer still before I played the original.  By then it had nothing left to grab me with.