Let's N-Decide: Best Metroidvania

[Ronnie]

Shamelessly stolen thread idea from ResetEra. Kept it to ten entries, so obviously other Metroid games miss out for example. Didn't include Dead Cells cause I don't really consider it a Metroidvania.

The choices are open to interpretation whether you consider them the "best" or your "favourite", always a tricky distinction.

Feel free to list top 3 if you'd like, but more importantly what is it about your choice(s) you like?

(apologies for the thread title )

[Grazza]

Just to clarify, I'm not including Wonder Boy/Monster World style games, otherwise my winner might be Shantae and the Pirate's Curse.  Also, of the above list I have only played Axiom Verge, Cave Story, Hollow Knight, Steamworld Dig and Super Metroid.  That aside, my two favourites are:

 

Metroid: Zero Mission

Metroid Fusion

 

There is something about those two (and they are two games I've always found hard to separate) that is so far above other Metroidvanias, even Super Metroid.  For me it's that they occupy the fine line between classic and modern, in that they are much evolved from the NES, SNES and Game Boy iterations, but not in the current era of 2.5D or HD, hand-drawn games either.  Neither has autosave, yet both are generous enough in terms of save rooms.  They're challenging, but probably won't frustrate you for days and days, and both keep the pace going with plenty of upgrades.  Speaking of which, they both get the balance right between telling a linear story and offering a decent amount of exploration.  To me, they are just the best, and designed in the kind of way I understand.

[Sofiz]

Have to give my vote to Yoku because he makes my heart smile and restores my humanity.

[Nicktendo]

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight

Game of the decade. 

 

[Jonnas]

Super Metroid is the one I voted for. I'm a sucker for tight level design, and Super Metroid not only has that, it also manages to tie that level design into an emotional beat (that moment you find the ship through the other side,complete with triumphant music). The vast majority of this game's emotional beats are told wordlessly, Ridley's ominous existence, Crocomire's shocking death, the husks in Tourian... It's bloody good stuff, and sets this game above others in the genre.

(The other Metroid games also manage to find a way to stand out... it's just that Super Metroid trumps them. And I should clarify, that while Metroid Prime is even better than Super Metroid, I don't think that game fits in the genre)

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is my favourite from the Castlevania side of things (this sub-genre specifically). If you read my recent Dawn of Sorrow impressions, you can tell I adore the soul system, since it offers such a big amount of gameplay variety. The monsters and bosses look fantastic, the environments are fun to navigate and mow through, Soma Cruz is a very cool protagonist, and there's a competent story about self-affirmation and the triumph of human willpower.

(I still haven't played Symphony of the Night, or Order of Ecclesia. The others I did play all had something unique going for it, and I think they're all worth playing)

I'd also like to mention Teslagrad, a wonderful indie game from this genre that's not about combat at all: it's about physic-based puzzles. The power-ups you gain allow you to tackle more complex puzzles. Like Super Metroid, it also tells a wordless story, but it's the music and visuals that really make this game shine.

Finally, Rogue Legacy is also worth mentioning, for being a Metroidvania Roguelike. It's super fun to play, there's a solid progression system, cool music, and the only flaw I'd point out is that it feels too derivative of Castlevania at times (there's a skeleton enemy that throws bones in an arc, for crying out loud).

I'd like to give Hollow Knight a shot, but I already have a sizable number of Metroidvanias in my backlog. I'm sure the opportunity will present itself when Silksong is released. Yoku's Island Express is the one I should keep an eye on, lest I forget it exists. The demo I tried was an absolute treat.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Jonnas

[Sméagol]

5 hours ago, Jonnas said:

I'd like to give Hollow Knight a shot, but I already have a sizable number of Metroidvanias in my backlog. I'm sure the opportunity will present itself when Silksong is released. Yoku's Island Express is the one I should keep an eye on, lest I forget it exists. The demo I tried was an absolute treat.

Ehh no. Hollow Knight is the best MetroidVania I have on my Switch. But I love the genre and I hate ranking games, so I'm not voting (it's why I generally stay out of all these kind of threads). I can't say if it's the best of all time, plus it's just retarded to only have 10 options. I must have 10 MetroidVanias on my Switch alone I think. Or close to it. I'm missing a few like that Teslagrad you mentioned.

But to get to the point: Waiting until Silksong is released most likely just gives you have 2 enormous MetroidVanias to play through, so play Hollow Knight now! I've put about 50 hours in it I think, and I'm not even 100% done. 

[MindFreak]

2 hours ago, Sméagol said:

Hollow Knight is the best MetroidVania I have on my Switch. But I love the genre and I hate ranking games, so I'm not voting (it's why I generally stay out of all these kind of threads).

You and me both. I can't rank things generally because it doesn't make sense in some way to say that something is definitely better than others - especially when the bar is already high. Guacamelee! is an awesome Metroidvania, great in it's own ways but Hollow Knight is too. How am I to choose between two greats?

However, I actually voted. I voted on Hollow Knight because I have never experienced a game that was so tightly knitted and so well-crafted. It surprised me in the order of and which abilities we got, even though I have played a lot of Metroidvanias. I can't really say that about many other games.

[S.C.G]

Metroid Zero Mission & Metroid Fusion

Purely for their time of release and the lasting legacy they've left behind, still every bit as playable today as they were on the GBA and they look amazing on the big screen.

[Hero-of-Time]

This gets my vote.

The GOAT.....or pig, lion, frog, snake and dragon.  

Stunning visuals, amazing soundtrack, rewarding gameplay, fun mechanics and a map system that can be upgraded to show you where stuff is ( essential for me to rate a Metroidvania game highly). Amazing game and one of the best games on Switch that nobody played. 

Special mention also goes to the Blaster Master Zero games on switch. 

[S.C.G]

Ah yes, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom another Switch game which only got US physical Switch release...

It's now on my list again, but it just depends on when I can/want to pay up to £40 for it.

Looks amazing though.

[nekunando]

I'm currently playing Guacamelee on Switch, amongst other things, and can safely say it definitely isn't the best 'Metroid-vania' (A large part of me despises that term  )

I haven't played it for years but I think my heart has always stayed with pretty much one of the first, if not the first, I really played in this particular genre and that is Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on DS. It was so good and I'm not sure any Castlevania I have played since has ever quite lived up to that introduction.

It was my first love  

Edited June 21, 2019 by nekunando

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, nekunando said:

I'm currently playing Guacamelee on Switch, amongst other things, and can safely say it definitely isn't the best 'Metroid-vania' (A large part of me despises that term  )

I haven't played it for years but I think my heart has always stayed with pretty much one of the first, if not the first, I really played in this particular genre and that is Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on DS. It was so good and I'm not sure any Castlevania I have played since has ever quite lived up to that introduction.

It was my first love  

I really need to play the GBA and DS Castlevania games at some point....and Symphonia of the Night. I could never get into them due to my general dislike of the genre but now that I've got to grips with how to play such games, I should really give them all a try, especially given that they are regarded as some of the best the genre has to offer.

[Glen-i]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with Metroid Zero Mission.

[Dcubed]

Yeah, I’d probably give my vote to Metroid Zero Mission as well.  Metroid is the best series in the genre and MZM is just the most polished and well crafted example of that series.

 

There are a lot of close contenders within that same series (including all three Prime games, Super and Fusion) and a lot of great examples outside of the series; but if I have to pick just one? I’ll go for MZM!  

[Ronnie]

Currently playing through Ori and the Blind Forest, loving it even though it's a lot more linear than most Metroidvanias (you'll never get lost) and it handholds you through the collectibles.

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Ronnie said:

Currently playing through Ori and the Blind Forest, loving it even though it's a lot more linear than most Metroidvanias (you'll never get lost) and it handholds you through the collectibles.

Sounds perfect.

[Ronnie]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Sounds perfect.

Definitely makes it easier to Platinum, or whatever t f the Xbox equivalent is

[Hero-of-Time]

25 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Definitely makes it easier to Platinum, or whatever t f the Xbox equivalent is

Ori is actually a very hard 1000/1000 (platinum).

[Ronnie]

Nice rundown here

 

[Cube]

A few of my personal highlights:

Control is my favourite Metroidvania game. I absolutely loved backtracking everywhere for each power/key I unlocked to find every secret I could in previous areas. It has great combat and the amount of power you gather throughout the game is quite wonderful. 

God of War is heavily story based but blends it into its Metroidvania elements extremely well, Jedi: Fallen Order and Rise of the Tomb Raider are also wonderful Metroidvania games.

[Dcubed]

It feels weird seeing people include Metroid games within the "Metroidvania" category...

Metroid isn't a Metroidvania.  It's just a Metroid!

[Aperson]

Does that make Castlevania just Castlevania and not Metroidvania too?

 

Granted, there are only about 6 Castlevania games or so that fall under that category and they for some reason moved away from that style after a while (probably due to the failed attempts to try and bring the series into 3D). I'm playing through Symphony of the Night but still some way from finishing it so that will have reserved judgement.

 

What about Dark Souls? It has an explorable interconnected map and you require certain items to get to certain areas. Its commonly considered the progenitor of its own genre, the "Soulsborne" but it has a lot of Metroidvania like elements to it.

[Jonnas]

What constitutes a Metroidvania seems a tad arbitrary at times, considering 3D games are often excluded whenever the genre is discussed (for example, the video Ronnie posted even posited that the likes of Arkham Asylum and Resident Evil could potentially qualify, but chose to exclude 3D games). I figure the likes of God of War (2018) and Dark Souls fit the criteria necessary to part of the genre, but it's not often presented that way.

(I have no idea what DCubed is on about Metroid not being one. Like, "Metroidvania" is just a way to name the genre that Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night popularized, it's not something that needs to be a mix of the two)

Edited April 2, 2021 by Jonnas

[Ronnie]

Can't say I would ever consider Control or God of War (PS4) Metroidvanias, I think they would seem pretty out of place on that list IGN put up, even if 3D games were included. The rebooted Tomb Raider I could maybe see the argument for though.

I think it's the same with a lot of games these days having RPG elements or crafting/survival. Just because they include bits of those genres doesn't mean the overall game itself belong to it.

As for IGN's list, completely agree with their top 3, Guacamelee 2, Ori 2 and Hollow Knight. Easily my standouts, at least in the more traditional 2D space. Nice to see Yoku get some love too, what a clever original game that was.

Edited April 3, 2021 by Ronnie

[Zell]

On the subject of 3D Metroidvanias, the only game I've played recently that feels close is Bloodborne, although it doesn't fully commit to that concept. I don't really see games like Tomb Raider and God of War as being very Metroid-y at all really, they're much closer spiritually to RE4.

There are a number of great 2D Metroidvanias on the market these days, although at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, I don't think any of them quite eclipse Super Metroid.