Let's discuss: Metroid

The format of these posts is simple: let's discuss a specific game or series!

Let's discuss the Metroid series. What are you're favorite games in the series? What aspects do you like about it? What doesn't work for you? Are there other games that gave you similar feelings? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let's get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

31 comments

I've played most of the metroid games, and i know theres a ton of nostalgia for super metroid, but to this day nothing has matched the feeling of exploration and awe from Metroid Prime. Every place in the game was so radically different, and the ability to scan and learn about the environment was so unique, and exactly what i didn't know i needed. Learning the lore and finding out what happened to the planet only by analyzing everything made the world feel like it had died, and it's death was a tragedy. All the enemies you encounter are just local animals that don't know better, or had been corrupted by pollution. That is, until about halfway through the game when you meet actually hostile, malicious intelligence, and the combat steps up exponentially.
It's fantastic. I still remember being amazed at the fogging and raindrops showing up on the visor the first time you step off your ship on Talon IV. I had never seen graphocs so good, and such attention to detail, and the game was already 4 years old.
The only game i've ever played that felt similar was subnautica, and while it had the wonder, it lacked the melancholy and insane combat.
Prime is the best in the series, hands down.
- I'd argue Echoes was better in just about every way. It built on everything they made Prime great, while managing to improve on the things that needed improved. I love the whole Prime trilogy, but Echoes felt like it was the best in the series.
- @SadSadSatellite @knokelmaat the only games in the franchise I haven’t played are the prime ones. I think I owned the trilogy for Wii U and never got to it.
  I wonder if the #emulate well.
  
  Look up "primehack", it's a modded version of Dolphin emulator which is specifically for playing the Metroid Prime trilogy. Modernised controls and lots of little QoL improvements, it's my first experience of Metroid and I loved it!
- I see this sentiment a lot and I’ve disagreed. Something didn’t really click for me with Metroid prime - I much preferred the side scrollers. I think it has to do with controllers - up until then I was a mouse and keyboard person, the controller was jarring and janky.
  Maybe I should revisit the series. I never thought it was a bad game, maybe I’ll appreciate it more the 2nd time around.
  I do love me some Metroid games whatever the form.
  
  Absolutely try reversing y axis, in shooters.
  Maybe flip the controller if you can, some people prefer look and strafe on the wrong thumb sticks.

Here's something totally bizarre that you might it might not care about.
The other day I brought up Metroid on the Nintendo Switch NES app (the one that lets you play some NES games with an online subscription.) After playing for a bit, I wanted to show him the Justin Bailey code. But I couldn't remember it exactly at first. So I tried it in various cases, and when I enter the code with all lowercase letters, it crashed the game.
No idea if it'll do that for everyone, or if it did that on the actual NES, but I tried it a few times and it crashed everything.
For reference, I entered in the code like this:
undefined

justin bailey ------ ------
But the actual code is:
undefined

JUSTIN BAILEY ------ ------

Out of the 2D metroids, I think Super Metroid still takes the cake. Dread and 2r are still pretty good but there is a reason why super metroid game design gets taught in college game design courses. One of the best games of all time probably, still trades blows even with good modern metroidvanias. I played it for the first on in the Wii back when I was in high school so this isn't even nostalgia talking, I even played it after the Prime games.
For the 3d ones, both Prime and Prime 2 are classics imo. Just the sheer immersion is something you don't find too often in video games. Prime 2 gets a lot of flak for the ammo system and dark world constant damage, but I think those were useful improvements to balance the game since Prime 1 is quite an easy game. They do add a decent amount of friction to traversing the world and makes the dark world feel actually dangerous to be in. Prime 3 was a bit more forgettable but still not a bad game.
- Super and Echoes might be my favourites as well. Also shoutout to Fusion and Zero Mission. They were good too, although they owe so much to Super.
- Have to disagree with you on echoes - I loved the game, but IMO it was much easier than Prime 1 - the most difficult boss was the probably the boost guardian midway through rather than any of the endgame bosses. The ammo system made the standard power beam too centralising which was boring, and the dark world damage just served to slow the player down, since the light fields regenerated your health.
  
  The ammo system rewarded you with ammo for the opposite color of beam you were using, so you are actually totally free to ignore the power beam most of the time without running into supply issues. Even when you wanted to only use one color, like the light beam when you're on Dark Aether, use the one you don't want in combat to shoot crates and plants and stuff to farm good ammo for the fights.

The original Metroid on NES was so freaking good back in the day. I'm in my late 40s at this point and I still hear songs or themes that make me go "that reminds me of Metroid". The music was iconic.
And it's gotta be said, the original reveal that the hero of the game was a (gasp) girl! I am sure it had an effect on my young impressionable mind. And the good kind of effect, the kind that makes you realize girls can be bad ass too. So awesome!

There are few games that define a genre, transforming them into games for history books, and that’s Super Metroid. It refined the exploration-by-abilities genre we know now as “Metroidvania”, much like Dead Souls defined the “Souls” genre, and so forth.
On the other hand, it also had it lows. Like that entry you don’t talk about that we hope someday is declared non-canon and all copies destroyed by spontaneous combustion.
- Obviously, That Heresy Elicits Ruinous Memories!
- Dead Souls? Did you mean Dark Souls?

I got into metroid in 2014 or 2015 during the 3DS era. Someone mentioned that Super Metroid was their favourite game growing up, so I decided to give it a shot. I had only played the NDS metroid games before, so I didn't really know what to expect.
I ended up being completely blown away, and I think I replayed the game within a year, which is incredibly rare for me - one of the only other games I can think of doing this for was the first Ori game (I have a thing for tight platformers, what can I say).
I'd say super metroid is one of my all time favourite games now, probably number 2 on the SNES to Link to the Past. In terms of influence, I'd put it up there with dark souls.
Last year I also played Prime for the first time when the remaster came out, and loved that too. Really hoping they release 2 and 3!

Super Metroid and the growing list of rom hacks are an endless source of entertainment. I've been watching speed runners for years. Currently watching randos.

The longest I stuck with the franchise was through Metroid Prime Hunters for the DS, and it wasn't the graphics or the game itself that captivated me (although both are awesome, ngl) but the online capabilities and gameplay, I have not even finished the game, only played several minutes of the campaign (which maybe I am not missing out of much here, as I have read it is one of the weakest), and yet I have had more than 500 hrs of playtime thanks to the multiplayer, which I still used even after the closure of the servers thanks to Wiimmfi.
For me the gameplay with the stylus as the main aim control is the best the DS can offer to have a proper and fast paced aim, if you could search for some of the crazy stuff that the pro players managed with this game on YT and how hardcore it can get for this hardware in those days, you'd be surprised, here is a video that comes at the top of my mind, and it is a recent one too, also the sniper battles (imperialist) were pretty awesome.
With that said, I know the franchise and what it means for everyone, I appreciate it that much that I refuse to even play more metroidvanias without finishing Super Metroid (and Castlevania Symphony of The Night while we are at it).

Can we take a moment to appreciate how Metroid II really did the groundwork for what Super Metroid perfected? I don't think SM would have flown to the heights it has had Metroid II not taken the risks it did.
Edit: this wasn't intended as a reply to a comment and should have been it's own comment!

Replayed the Prime series a bunch, most recently the switch remake of Prime.
Great series, I didn't like some of the dialog/cinematics of the third one but the gameplay was great.
Dread was really good, exceeded expectations. Final boss was hard I'm not sure I ever beat it.
Super Metroid was great but I'm not sure whether I ever beat Ridley.
I think I completed the remake though. Really hoping to see Prime 4 at some point, maybe on a new console.

undefined

JUSTIN BAILEY ------ ------
Original NES Metroid was the second game I ever beat, after Super Mario Bros. 3.
- Justin Bailey Samus >>> Zero Suit Samus 👀

Metroid II : Samus Returns. It gave me literal nightmares as a child. I swear it had jump scares in it.

I remember throwing my controller as a kid whenever one of those bubbles attached to Samus.
Great game.
- Can we take a moment to appreciate how Metroid II really did the groundwork for what Super Metroid perfected? I don't think SM would have flown to the heights it has had Metroid II not taken the risks it did.
  Edit: this wasn't intended as a reply to a comment and should have been it's own comment!
  
  Metroid II is my all-time favorite game in the series. It introduces her ship, introduces her iconic look, and is the last game in the series to not include the "break this with this item" blocks. I just love everything about that game.
  
  Metroid 2 turned its technical limitations into claustrophobic feeling. It has aged surprisingly well if you disregard the visuals. I started my Metroids with Prime, but og M2 is the oldest I have actually played through. NEStroid has many outdated features that makes the gaming impractical like starting with 30 health, slow healing, save system, difficulty curve etc. Playing M2 felt closer to Super than NES. The spider ball was also neat. I even liked the experimental soundtrack even though that's an unpopular opinion.

31 comments