Mama Robotnik
Member
It has been nearly six years since the last good Metroid game, and nearly ten years since the last 2D Metroid. The last official entry was an ugly linear clumsy misogynistic dumb cutscene, in which our heroine had panic-attacks in front of a dragon she has defeated several times over. The 25th Anniversary though celebrated on GAF, was not noted by Nintendo.
It’s been too long, and I was hungry for a Metroid experience – and though the excellent Shadow Complex, the PSP release of Symphony of the Night, and wonderful DS Castlevania games do scratch the exploration itch - I wanted to play Samus again.
Enter Metroid: Ice Metal. It’s an unofficial entry created through extensive modification of Super Metroid, and I’ve just completed it with fourteen hours on the clock and a 91% item collection rating. I’ve enjoyed it, and more importantly I feel that I’ve completed a new adventure with Samus. The game hasn’t had a lot of exposure on GAF – if any – and I’m hoping to change that.
Just to get your attention – here is an abstract list of things that happen when you play through Metroid Ice Metal:
The merits of the game:
It’s not perfect though, and a few concerns should be noted:
Nonetheless, I find the strengths overcome the weaknesses by a significant amount. Is it as good as Super Metroid, Zero Mission or Fusion? No, of course it’s not. It’s not a substitute for a Nintendo-developed entry, and it has its flaws. It is however an addictive, satisfying and substantial adventure that I’d recommend to anyone with a craving for guiding Samus through a hostile and unpredictable 2D world.
Romhacking.net page for Metroid Ice Metal
SPOILER COMMENTS – Please only highlight if you have no intention of giving the game a go
I wouldn’t normally be so gratuitous with spoilers, but as a lot of people may not be invested enough to want to actually play the game, I thought I’d share just how well Metroid Ice Metal subtly tells it’s concise. straightforward but paced story. The above is my interpretation of the environment and logs, yours may differ.
In conclusion - its not perfect, and its not a Nintendo Metroid, but its definitely worth a look if you want an overdue adventure with Samus. Recommended.
It’s been too long, and I was hungry for a Metroid experience – and though the excellent Shadow Complex, the PSP release of Symphony of the Night, and wonderful DS Castlevania games do scratch the exploration itch - I wanted to play Samus again.
Enter Metroid: Ice Metal. It’s an unofficial entry created through extensive modification of Super Metroid, and I’ve just completed it with fourteen hours on the clock and a 91% item collection rating. I’ve enjoyed it, and more importantly I feel that I’ve completed a new adventure with Samus. The game hasn’t had a lot of exposure on GAF – if any – and I’m hoping to change that.
Just to get your attention – here is an abstract list of things that happen when you play through Metroid Ice Metal:
- You will explore the depths of a frozen ocean.
- You will fire a missile at a monster, who will catch it and throw it back.
- You will escape from a broken elevator.
- You will manipulate monsters into digging through the terrain to get you items.
- You will traverse an organic pandemonium.
- You will come across an ancient experiment portal that moves you around a hidden room in unexpected ways.
- You will fight a wholly unexpected final battle. Definitely not Mother Brain, or even anything like Mother Brain.
- You will save the Galaxy.
The merits of the game:
- The planet is entirely new, and shares nothing with the layout of the original Super Metroid. New and highly modified tilesets, effects and backgrounds give the game a unique feel. The regions are distinct and surprising. I've actually tried to avoid any spoilers in the screenshots, so they don't quite do justice to the scale of the new world.
- Emphasis is on exploration. If you enjoy the unguided exploration of the earlier Metroids – then this game has it in abundance. The game links the areas to strongly hint at Samus’ next destination, but I had enormous fun going off-track and finding secret items throughout the worlds.
- Secrets. There’s loads of them. Sequence breaking is loose and encouraged allowing very different playthroughs.
- It’s not too difficult. The designer of the game has spent effort in keeping the difficulty curve comparable to Super Metroid. You will struggle at the start slightly, and by the end you will be a juggernaut crushing all in your path.
- The story. The game uses the environment to hint at the history of this cursed world. It’s non-intrusive and well done. The map stations allow Samus to access ancient data logs, journals of the dead, with warnings to guide her.
- It feels Metroid.
It’s not perfect though, and a few concerns should be noted:
- The save rooms are distant, moreso than is needed. I recommend save states to save progress.
- Within the hundreds of rooms in the game, there are a small amount that offer some confusing design choices – such as an empty secret room (its item hidden elsewhere) or a very difficult isolated room early in the game (that you don’t have to enter). These stand out somewhat, in what is overall a very tight package.
- Players who appreciate the overt guidance given in Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion may find the exploration taxes their patience. I enjoyed it – and found the major items without a guide – but some people may not enjoy such loose exploration.
Nonetheless, I find the strengths overcome the weaknesses by a significant amount. Is it as good as Super Metroid, Zero Mission or Fusion? No, of course it’s not. It’s not a substitute for a Nintendo-developed entry, and it has its flaws. It is however an addictive, satisfying and substantial adventure that I’d recommend to anyone with a craving for guiding Samus through a hostile and unpredictable 2D world.
Romhacking.net page for Metroid Ice Metal
SPOILER COMMENTS – Please only highlight if you have no intention of giving the game a go
Metroid Ice Metal tells a story through gradual changes in environment as per the series tradition. The planet is in chaos and is very cold, with structures decaying above and beneath the surface. Metal pipes and pumps tell us of recent colonists – the Galactic Federation – who long-abandoned their secret facility here. Beneath this, ancient Chozo cities in the style seen in Metroid II Return of Samus, are overrun. Familiar long-dead enemies such as Ridley and Crocomire, are mysteriously present.
There is an ancient frozen ocean – Deep Ice – which when progressed through leads to an organic living area called The Core. At the centre of this fleshy tomb is a Chozo Facility, untarnished by time. Galactic Federation technology appears to have been fitted within.
The logs in the game tell how the Federation discovered this world, and the mysterious Ice Metal gas that offers Phazon-like mutagenic abilities. They installed an Aurora Unit into the Chozo Facility to try and harness its technologies – but this was sabotaged and turned on the Federation scientists.
The saboteur is revealed during the final showdown. Samus removes the Energy Tank powering the Aurora Unit, and on her way out awakens an extremely powerful Chozo robot – who presumably reprogrammed the Aurora Unit to prevent the desecration of the Chozo facility. The robot may also have used the Aurora Unit’s knowledge of the Space Pirates combined with the Ice Metal to recreate some of Samus’ more notorious enemies – Ridley, Kraid, etc - as seen earlier in the game. Samus battles the Chozo robot while the Ice Metal loses containment. She escapes the planet and it explodes behind her.
There is an ancient frozen ocean – Deep Ice – which when progressed through leads to an organic living area called The Core. At the centre of this fleshy tomb is a Chozo Facility, untarnished by time. Galactic Federation technology appears to have been fitted within.
The logs in the game tell how the Federation discovered this world, and the mysterious Ice Metal gas that offers Phazon-like mutagenic abilities. They installed an Aurora Unit into the Chozo Facility to try and harness its technologies – but this was sabotaged and turned on the Federation scientists.
The saboteur is revealed during the final showdown. Samus removes the Energy Tank powering the Aurora Unit, and on her way out awakens an extremely powerful Chozo robot – who presumably reprogrammed the Aurora Unit to prevent the desecration of the Chozo facility. The robot may also have used the Aurora Unit’s knowledge of the Space Pirates combined with the Ice Metal to recreate some of Samus’ more notorious enemies – Ridley, Kraid, etc - as seen earlier in the game. Samus battles the Chozo robot while the Ice Metal loses containment. She escapes the planet and it explodes behind her.
I wouldn’t normally be so gratuitous with spoilers, but as a lot of people may not be invested enough to want to actually play the game, I thought I’d share just how well Metroid Ice Metal subtly tells it’s concise. straightforward but paced story. The above is my interpretation of the environment and logs, yours may differ.
In conclusion - its not perfect, and its not a Nintendo Metroid, but its definitely worth a look if you want an overdue adventure with Samus. Recommended.
