Ten years.
That's how long it's been since a proper Metroidgame released into the world. Sure, some might argue that Other Mfits the mold. OK. But Federation Force? A fine game, but LOL.
SEE ALSO:Nintendo just promised the world to would-be NES Classic and SNES Classic buyersNow we have Metroid: Samus Returns, a remake/reboot of the lesser-known Game Boy game, Metroid II: Return of Samus. It's a 2D side-scrolling game in the vein of the original, but with all sorts of tweaks and updates. It is, unquestionably, a new Metroid game.
Samus Returnsis out on Sept. 15 and now the first reviews are in. The critics seem to agree: It's great. Here's a closer look at the Discourse.
Aside from a few minor tweaks and a new look, Metroid: Samus Returnsdoesn’t do anything new to the series; and that’s probably for the best. Metroid has made a few wrong turns since the Metroid Prime Trilogy, with sub-par spinoffs like Federation Forceand disappointing games like Other M leaving fans like myself longing for a return to the Super Metroid-style 2D adventure. Samus Returnsmay technically be 3D, but its 2D platforming gameplay still looks and feels like classic Metroid, and it plays even better.
Metroid: Samus Returnsbegins with the same premise that animated the original game: Samus is dispatched to SR3888 to wipe out every single Metroid, which is doable because there are apparently only around 40 of them in existence. Samus begins at the surface and slowly delves deep into the planet, where she encounters more and more powerful Metroids as she hunts for their queen. Along the way, she picks up numerous power-ups, including famous items like the Screw Attack and the Morph Ball, as well as some of the newer innovations from Super Metroid.
Samus, in addition to her many types of guns, can now perform a melee attack. This can be used at any time to knock back an enemy. But enemies no longer just lazily fly back and forth or creep up the sides of walls. Most enemies, when they see Samus, will rear up and charge at her. If you use the melee attack at just the right time (just after you see a very clear flash), you’ll break the enemy’s charge and send them reeling and stunned. And right at this moment, if you start firing your cannon, Samus will automatically point at the enemy, and the bullets will do much more damage, eliminating an enemy in a single shot or two that ordinarily would have soaked up ten or more hits.
I want to be clear: this sequence of moves is, speaking generally, not optional. If you try to play this like a normal Metroid–if you ever say, well, I’ll just try to run through this part and strafe and dodge rather than individually taking on each enemy–you will die. Or you’ll knock off half your health, then stumble into a Metroid battle at a significant disadvantage. Samus has 360-degree aiming in this game while standing still, which is useful, but if you try to take out an enemy by standing still and firing, it will charge you and do big damage before it dies. And its friends will be right behind.
The combat is best on display during the game’s many boss fights. Effectively there are more than 40 of them, as each Metroid you hunt down is like a miniboss in and of itself. Early Metroids are pretty simple, going down with a counterattack and a few rockets. But the Metroids quickly evolve, eventually presenting complex, multi-stage battles with challenging attack patterns to memorize. Toward the end of the game there’s one fight in particular that is one of the most challenging in the history of Metroid, even on normal difficulty. And thanks to the combat enhancements, these battles never feel like a chore. It’s the pinnacle of 2D combat in a franchise that has always suffered on that front.
For new players raised on the mini-maps, HUDs, and objective markers of more recent games, these quality of life improvements go a long way toward making it more accessible. While it doesn’t disincentivize exploration, which we were concerned it might, it does pull players’ attention to the map more frequently, mitigating the need to pore over every tile for secrets. On the one hand, we happily relied on the map to cut down on tedious and unnecessary backtracking. On the other, we lamented how it dilutes the immersion in the game’s exploration. One of our favorite things about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildearlier this year was how it embraced a retro sensibility of minimal extra information, situating the player’s attention squarely on the action itself. It’s far from egregious, but the addition of mapping features to Samus Returnsis the one modern touch we slightly regret.
Metroid: Samus Returnsis a homecoming for one of Nintendo’s most beloved heroes, and it’s a return to form that many had been anticipating for years. ... It has been 13 years since Samus starred in a side-scrolling shooter and after playing through this latest title it’s odd to think of any rational reason as to why she ever left.
UPDATEDSept. 12 at 8:45 p.m. ET Some non-essential info from an earlier version of this story has been redacted, as it was not wholly ours to divulge. We regret the error, and corrected it as soon as we became aware.
TopicsGamingNintendo
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