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Posted

Got back to Metroid: Zero Mission yesterday to wrap up my first game on the Wii U! Finished the game with 7 Energy Tanks, 150 Missiles, 18 Super Missiles and 4 Power Bombs, and (I think?) every unlockable suit upgrade.

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This being the first Metroid game that I've played through to the end, I've got to say...this has set the bar impossibly high for what I now expect from the other games.

I gave myself the night to sleep on it so that I wouldn't say something over-the-top while running on fumes, and I'm glad I did, because now I can earnestly say that this is an instant favourite. If it wasn't for the glut of other games I want to experience for the first time, and now having a serious desire to get to other Metroid games, I would have instantly started playing this again immediately...and heck, in a way, I kind of did, spending about an hour playing the copy of the original Metroid for NES that you unlock after the credits roll. It definitely felt slower and much more laboured in ways compared to Zero Mission, but it was still a good bit of fun to try it out. I do have some criticisms of the game, but I think they just become glaring in the face of everything else I enjoyed about the game.

I think my main criticism of the game remains the same, being that the bosses don't really come close to matching the depth of the rest of the game, and I say this realising that with this being a remake of an NES game, perhaps my criticisms are also in part aimed at the original. I think I feel this way because there were far fewer puzzles than I expected when facing them, with only one (the giant larva / centipede looking thing hanging from the ceiling) really matching what I wanted to see more of from the bosses, as you needed to freeze a turtle flying around before jumping on top of it, landing two missiles on the boss, before trying to freeze the turtle again, all the while doing your best to evade a spray of shots from above. It's challenging enough to feel rewarding, designed well enough to be engaging, but not anywhere near as silly as the bullet hell fights you see from most of the other bosses, especially the final two, which seriously boil down to brute forcing your way through and hoping your dodging is up to snuff. 

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On the topic of criticisms, I do have some other minor ones, the first one being that while I really enjoyed the upgrades you got throughout, as far as I could tell there was no way to turn individual upgrades off? This resulted in me going from extremely confident with my platforming in the game, to a bit less confident when learning how long to hold and not hold A down to use Hi-Jump, and flat out "okay now there's only a 70% chance I jump the way I want to" once getting access to Screw Attack. Space Jump also just felt way too unreliable - though this probably down to getting access to it late on and not having time to get used to the timing for it - to the point that I genuinely resorted back to my Bomb-bouncing ways a couple of times. Less a criticism and more of an observation: I might be wrong, but it looked like there was some slowdown towards the end in that final area when things got a bit hectic? 

I do want to talk about exploration (mainly some of the my favourite moments of discovery!) and the rest of the game some more, but given how much I enjoyed it, I'm sticking those points in a spoiler tag.

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Masterclass in level design and discovery; great music which helped perfectly set the tone and atmosphere throughout, along with some amazing sound design; and some really great puzzles and platforming sections. I have my criticisms of certain aspects, absolutely, but they don't get in the way of this game being a tremendously lean but expansive experience. 

One heck of an introduction to Metroid, and I can certainly understand and agree with the excitement for Zero Mission...they need to hurry up and bring GBA games like this to the Switch! For now, though, I think I'll take my time before I get to the next one, partly as my expectations really are astronomically high for the next Metroid that I play now, and also because it will involve tracking down a copy of Samus Returns -- I don't want to miss whatever happens next! :peace:

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Posted

Woah, woah, woah, hold up, @Julius

You actually got early Super Missiles on your first playthrough!? Impressive!

Zero Mission is an interesting case, because it was the first time the developers made a Metroid game with the intent of allowing people to get a very tiny amount of items. It's entirely possible to finish with just the Morph Ball, Bombs, a Missile Tank, the Power Grip, the Ice Beam, the Varia Suit and the 3 unknown items, giving you a measly 9%.

It's bloody difficult! And the developers expected people to try this, as there's two ending screens that you only see if you finish the game with 15% or less. (One for Normal, one for Hard)

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Posted (edited)

BTW, @Julius, that Super Missile you managed to find? You actually got that earlier than intended and sequence broke the game! Kudos ;) (MZM is intentionally designed to be sequence broken, you can even kill Ridley before killing Kraid if you want to!)

Yeah, MZM is just amazingly good :D 

Might I recommend you play through Metroid 2 GB before playing Samus Returns though? I think you’ll appreciate SR more having already played Metroid 2 first (SR is also a VERY different game from the original Metroid 2 as well).

Edited by Dcubed
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Posted
  On 10/31/2021 at 11:24 AM, Dcubed said:

BTW, @Julius, that Super Missile you managed to find? You can actually get that as your first Super Missile and use it to sequence break the game ;) (You can even kill Ridley before killing Kraid if you want to!)

Yeah, MZM is just amazingly good :D 

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I think he actually did get that as his first Super Missile!

  On 10/31/2021 at 11:06 AM, Julius said:

and crash through some rooms to find my first Super Missile. Damn, that felt good! 

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Sequence breaking on his first playthrough? That's a Metroid fan in the making!

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Posted (edited)
  On 10/31/2021 at 11:28 AM, Glen-i said:

I think he actually did get that as his first Super Missile!

Sequence breaking on his first playthrough? That's a Metroid fan in the making!

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Yeah, I misread it first time round.  I can’t believe he pulled that off on his first playthrough! That’s bonkers!

Seriously @Julius, bravo! :bowdown:

Now you need to get 100% of items and then attempt a hard mode run (then a minimal 9% run; MZM actually does have a specific ending screen reward for a low % run BTW ;) )

BTW @Julius, if you are planning on playing through NES Metroid; I strongly recommend using a map/guide while playing along.  It honestly will make the game much more enjoyable (the copy/paste rooms will frustrate you to no end otherwise).

Edited by Dcubed
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Posted (edited)

I really should replay Zero Mission one of these days. It's been a long time, and the most I remember about it is feeling a lot like a smoother Super Metroid.

Anyway, it's cool that Julius started with this one. Not only is the plot unburdened by other entries, I think Super Metroid hits that much closer when you have the context from the first game.

(P.S.: If you can't find Samus Returns for whatever reason, do not be afraid to try out the original Metroid II, which should be on the 3DS VC)

Edited by Jonnas
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Posted
  On 10/31/2021 at 11:24 AM, Glen-i said:

Zero Mission is an interesting case, because it was the first time the developers made a Metroid game with the intent of allowing people to get a very tiny amount of items. It's entirely possible to finish with just the Morph Ball, Bombs, a Missile Tank, the Power Grip, the Ice Beam, the Varia Suit and the 3 unknown items, giving you a measly 9%.

It's bloody difficult! And the developers expected people to try this, as there's two ending screens that you only see if you finish the game with 15% or less. (One for Normal, one for Hard)

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  On 10/31/2021 at 11:31 AM, Dcubed said:

Now you need to get 100% of items and then attempt a hard mode run (then a minimal 9% run; MZM actually does have a specific ending screen reward for a low % run BTW ;) )

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Yeah, I definitely got the sense going through that there were areas you could make it through earlier with different items, not to the extent that both of you mention though!

Also had no idea I wasn't supposed to get that Super Missile first, especially as I'm pretty sure I didn't come across any until coming to the green doors on Norfair, but I think that just goes to highlight my point about the sense of discovery in the game being really intuitive. I do wonder if going in knowing that this was a remake of an NES game is what made me pay attention at points like that, as I know that some of those games can be very archaic to return to in their original forms. 

No doubt I'll return to the game at some point for those other ending screens, I had a hunch there might be something like that after seeing the ending screen I got in the Gallery after beating the game, but didn't expect there'd be a few! 

  On 10/31/2021 at 11:31 AM, Dcubed said:

BTW @Julius, if you are planning on playing through NES Metroid; I strongly recommend using a map/guide while playing along.  It honestly will make the game much more enjoyable (the copy/paste rooms will frustrate you to no end otherwise).

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No plans to yet, think it was more I wasn't quite ready to move on from the game so quickly wanted to check it out, but will definitely keep that in mind if I ever play it in the future. 

  On 10/31/2021 at 11:24 AM, Dcubed said:

Might I recommend you play through Metroid 2 GB before playing Samus Returns though? I think you’ll appreciate SR more having already played Metroid 2 first (SR is also a VERY different game from the original Metroid 2 as well).

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  On 10/31/2021 at 12:57 PM, Jonnas said:

(P.S.: If you can't find Samus Returns for whatever reason, do not be afraid to try out the original Metroid II, which should be on the 3DS VC)

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I'm not totally against the idea of playing the original before Samus Returns, as not only is the latter a bit expensive to get your hands on these days (~£60 secondhand), I can appreciate what you mean Dcubed about it being different to the remake just considering things like the parry and modern QOL improvements. 

I think my biggest concern over playing the original would be that I imagine the map is either very basic (or it lacks one completely), which wouldn't be too bad. If that's the case, though, is it a bit more linear, or would I be best off looking for a map to accompany me through the game? 

Oh, and completely unrelated...

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...my Wii U Pro Controller has arrived! First impressions are that it feels very nice in the hands, I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl. Probably needs a bit of a clean, but is in by far the nicest condition of any of the secondhand controllers I've bought over the last 18 months. 

I should have a few Wii and Wii U games arriving over the next few days, so will probably give an update on my first wave of pickups and Virtual Console raiding once they're here :peace: 

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Posted (edited)

I don't think that Metroid 2 really suffers all that much from not having a map; certainly not like Metroid 1 (which was absolutely begging to have an in-game map).  Metroid 2 is a much more linear game than Metroid 1, and it also has much more recognisable and distinctive areas than Metroid 1.  It also doesn't suffer from the copy/paste room problem that Metroid 1 has; it's very enjoyable to play even without a map IMO.

Samus Returns is a completely different game from Return of Samus; it's much more open and non-linear, more in the vein of Super Metroid.  I'd argue that it doesn't even really retain the feeling of Metroid 2 at all to be honest.  It's a fine game in its own right, but it isn't really much like Metroid 2 outside of retaining the same basic game structure of Metroid Genocide.

Edited by Dcubed
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Posted
  On 11/1/2021 at 4:48 PM, Julius said:

I can appreciate what you mean Dcubed about it being different to the remake just considering things like the parry and modern QOL improvements. 

I think my biggest concern over playing the original would be that I imagine the map is either very basic (or it lacks one completely), which wouldn't be too bad. If that's the case, though, is it a bit more linear, or would I be best off looking for a map to accompany me through the game?

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Metroid II lacks a map, but the game is segmented in a way that it's actually fairly easy to orient and pace yourself. It's the only Metroid that's designed with that notion, that players can't check the map. Hilariously, fans have actually tried to build a map with that gameworld and found out it was unfeasible, as it overlapped at various points.

IMO, the lack of a map also adds to the atmosphere, and the sensation of feeling stranded in the middle of a hostile environment (and that's a big "IMO", as I know this isn't the majority's opinion).

The remake takes the same concept and does a lot more than just give it a coat of paint and QOL features. Its design philosophy is much different, in both gameplay and atmosphere (heck, even storytelling). All it has in common with the original is the basic premise and the general outline of the plot.

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Posted
  On 10/31/2021 at 11:24 AM, Glen-i said:

Zero Mission is an interesting case, because it was the first time the developers made a Metroid game with the intent of allowing people to get a very tiny amount of items. It's entirely possible to finish with just the Morph Ball, Bombs, a Missile Tank, the Power Grip, the Ice Beam, the Varia Suit and the 3 unknown items, giving you a measly 9%.
It's bloody difficult!

I know that's probably impressive but to an outsider that sounds like an amusingly long list of items to 'just' complete the game with. [emoji14]
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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted
  Quote

Nintendo has taken two of its most popular Wii U games offline to fix what is says is a security vulnerability.

Both games were taken offline at 8.30pm PT / 11.30pm ET on Thursday (4.30am GMT today) to fix the issue, and Nintendo suggests it may be days before they’re back online.

“We have identified vulnerabilities with online play for [these] network [services] and have begun temporary emergency maintenance,” a message on Nintendo’s Network Maintenance site reads.

“We expect an extended maintenance duration while we address these issues and have not determined when online play will resume. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.”

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https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-has-taken-wii-u-games-mario-kart-8-and-splatoon-offline-for-security-reasons/

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/netinfo/en_US/index.html

Some more info at the videgameschronicle link with dataminers having their say.

That's @Cube's weekend ruined, then!!

  • 4 months later...
  • 2 months later...
Posted

Very sad news.  We knew this day would be coming soon enough, especially with hackers screwing around with Nintendo's Wii U/3DS servers, but it's still sad to see happen.

Hope we can get a few NE nights in for some Wii U and 3DS multiplayer fun before the doors close.

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Posted

Ah i still have my WiiU sitting below my second TV. Mostly use it to play Wind Wakewr and Twilight Princess. The fishing in TP is no joke, really fun. Wind Waker is just a fun game all around.

Then again the stores have been shut down for a while now. Should have saw it comming really.

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