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Metroid: Samus Returns |OT| What's past is prologue.

I just beat Fusion today, for the first time. No one told me it was so hard. Super and Zero Mission got nothing on Fusion. Overall, Samus Returns is harder, but I feel like Fusion had two bosses that were harder than anything is SR.
The Nightmare and Spider thing. Don't know what I would have done without save states. The Samus fight was really hard too.

Metroid Prime, Prime 3, Super, and Zero, all seem to be around the same place (Zero is pretty easy, tho).

Fusion, Prime 2, and Samus Returns are definitely the stand outs. Prime 2 is probably the hardest, overall, because the world design is the most complicated.
 

poussi

Member
Beat the game today at abour 9 hours and 70%. It was great, although I can't help but think it was mostly because the Metroid formula itself is such a great formula for a video game.

I liked the boss battles a lot, but there were just too few. Unless you count the Metroids, in which case there were too many. There was only little variety in the enemies as well. I also wish the layers of the planet were more interconnected, as adventure felt a bit too linear for my taste at least. The best part was probably Samus's movement, which felt more fluid and right than I remember it ever being. The 360 aiming and the skills I don't remember the name of were both good additions.

2D Metroids are great, hopefully they'll make one for Switch too. My thumbs hurt from using the 3DS.
 

tesqui

Member
I just beat Fusion today, for the first time. No one told me it was so hard. Super and Zero Mission got nothing on Fusion. Overall, Samus Returns is harder, but I feel like Fusion had two bosses that were harder than anything is SR.
The Nightmare and Spider thing. Don't know what I would have done without save states. The Samus fight was really hard too.

Metroid Prime, Prime 3, Super, and Zero, all seem to be around the same place (Zero is pretty easy, tho).

Fusion, Prime 2, and Samus Returns are definitely the stand outs. Prime 2 is probably the hardest, overall, because the world design is the most complicated.

Yeah I definitely remember that
Nightmare thing
from Fusion giving me a lot of trouble. That game is definitely difficult.

Also Prime 2 confused my dumb kid brain. I think I only played an hour of that game then traded it in. I've been meaning to give it another chance.
 

Dekutulla

Member
I just beat Fusion today, for the first time. No one told me it was so hard. Super and Zero Mission got nothing on Fusion. Overall, Samus Returns is harder, but I feel like Fusion had two bosses that were harder than anything is SR.
The Nightmare and Spider thing. Don't know what I would have done without save states. The Samus fight was really hard too.

Metroid Prime, Prime 3, Super, and Zero, all seem to be around the same place (Zero is pretty easy, tho).

Fusion, Prime 2, and Samus Returns are definitely the stand outs. Prime 2 is probably the hardest, overall, because the world design is the most complicated.
Yeah, I remember calling the Nintendo Power hotline for help with Fusion because I just got super stuck on
Yakuza

Good times.
 
I just beat Fusion today, for the first time. No one told me it was so hard. Super and Zero Mission got nothing on Fusion. Overall, Samus Returns is harder, but I feel like Fusion had two bosses that were harder than anything is SR.
The Nightmare and Spider thing. Don't know what I would have done without save states. The Samus fight was really hard too.

Metroid Prime, Prime 3, Super, and Zero, all seem to be around the same place (Zero is pretty easy, tho).

Fusion, Prime 2, and Samus Returns are definitely the stand outs. Prime 2 is probably the hardest, overall, because the world design is the most complicated.

It's also one of the reasons why it's superior to the cakewalk that is Super. Zero Mission is a decent challenge on Hard, but Fusion's default mode is just perfect in terms of challenge in my opinion. The bosses in general are great, and you are right, those two in particular are very difficult. Of course, it's not quite as difficult as Metroid or Return of Samus.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Fuck that spider in Fusion, it's the only boss in the series that I consistently have trouble beating.

A lot of missiles. There's a more convenient way to kill them using the first power-up you obtain in the Area.

Hold on, they actually take damage from missiles? One thing that bothered me is that many robotic enemies seemed to take damage from beams and missiles but never died, so I thought the game was messing with me lol.

Just finished getting 100% completion! I think I'm going to take a break from the game for a while before I try to speedrun it, but overall I had a pretty good time rounding up the missing items.

There is one thing I noticed though that I absolutely have to speak my mind on. (late game power-up spoilers)
How the fuck was I supposed to figure out that I need to use the spider-ball plus powerbomb to launch me through red spikes!? I don't remember whether the powerbomb ever did that in previous games, but it was the most obtuse thing ever to the point I had to look online after trying literally everything else.

I dunno, man, I think one thing this game was pretty good at was subtly hinting uses for your new abilities. Whenever you got something new, the number of a particular kind or puzzle would increase near the area where you got it, and this was true for the power bombs and those layouts too. I
noticed that the space between the spikes hinted at the use of morph ball too,
so it didn't take me too long.

Also, it was optional anyway, so 8 think it's fine they didn't spell it out. Imagine trying to wrap your head around the shinespark puzzles in Zero Mission without having played Super before.
 

BFIB

Member
Working on a trade to get a 3DS. Would the standard XL be fine for this and AlBW? It is the c stick needed?
 

wwm0nkey

Member
So in other news that 30,000 copies this sold in Japan? That was 70% for units that were even shipped to Japan. So pretty good actually!
 

eXistor

Member
Just finished (100%). My thoughts remain much the same, but I've softened a bit over time. I still don't think this is anywhere near the better 2D Metroids, but it sits comfortably in the mid-tier Metroids.

There's a great game in this good game. It's overly long, which hurts the diversity in this game. Too many areas look alike. I'd say cut about 30% of the game and you'd have a much better flowing, and not as repetitive game. The game just about overstays its welcome and there comes a point where the game is just all repetition, which is a shame. The level-design in general is decent, but not great.

It's been said many times before, but the music is non-existant. Metroid ost's should be melodic imo.

The counter-mechanic blows. Actually, it's not that it blows; it's just overused. Thank god toward the end
the counter becomes completely obsolete and you can play it like traditional Metroid somewhat
. The complete lack of enemy-diversity doesn't help with this as they all behave the same, just with more HP.

In a way it's a shame this is a remake of II. I think this should have been a stand-alone game.

Anyway, without sounding too negative, I did overall enjoy it. I hold Metroid dear to my heart (Super Metroid is my favorite game of all time and Prime is another masterpiece). At the very least I'm happy this is a pure Metroid and it bodes well for the future.

Quick personal ranking (of the mainline games)

Super>Prime>>>>Zero Mission>Prime 2>Metroid 1>Prime 3>Samus Returns>Fusion>Metroid II Return of Samus>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Other M.
 
I don't remember Fusion giving me very much trouble as a kid, but I absolutely returned the original Prime because I couldn't get past the Hive Totem / Incinerator Drone thing at the very start. Trying to play an FPS with a single analog stick was confusing as hell after coming from Halo.

I haven't gotten Samus Returns because I don't have a 3DS, but AM2R has some of my favorite 2D fights in the series in terms of feeling fair but still being tense. The (spoilers I guess?)
bullet hell boss
without the Plasma Beam was nail-biting to the point that I killed it with a sliver of health as it was inches from me, and the final
Queen
fight was great, too - even at 100% you didn't really feel like you had a significant advantage over it. I'm also terrible at controlling sidescrollers / 2D games outside of Smash, though, so that probably doesn't help.
 
I still maintain that Fusion has the best 2D bosses. Super has a lot of creative fights but they are all too short and easy, even the final one, and Zero Mission (even though it remains my favourite 2D Metroid) is just okay in that department. Samus Returns could have stolen the crown IF there were more new fights but it's held back by the 40 Metroid thing being repetitive so it'll probably settle for 2nd place.

I don't remember Fusion giving me very much trouble as a kid, but I absolutely returned the original Prime because I couldn't get past the Hive Totem / Incinerator Drone thing at the very start. Trying to play an FPS with a single analog stick was confusing as hell after coming from Halo.
I had more trouble with the hive mecha, especially on hard mode I still dread that fight. Keeping track of the wasps. In general I often find the mini bosses to be harder than the main ones in the Prime series.
 

Servbot24

Banned
Just beat it (not 100%)! Took 11:45, quite a meaty game. The final 'power-up' you get was really cool and an awesome surprise. Aiming is a great addition. I saw some comments that this game was really difficult, though it seemed pretty easy to me. I only died on a couple of the bosses (granted one of them took around 10 tries), and I think I only one time I wasn't quite sure where to go next.

This was a really good game, probably an 8/10 for me. It would be below ZM, Fusion and Super (also below all the Primes), but even so I think it adds to the Metroid catalogue in a very positive way.

Hopefully it's a sign the series will come back strong. With that in mind there are some things I'd like to see changed for future entries. Main critiques:

- The biggest problem is that I didn't feel connected to the world like in other Metroids. Too many areas felt generic; I didn't feel like I was seeping into a planet, but was instead just walking through some cartoon sci-fi areas. This gets better in the second half with some more unique areas, and I think the 2.5D contributes to the problem of the environment not having much character (although I love the 3D effect in this game).
- Fighting Metroids gets old after a while and makes the game too predictable. I would like to see ebb and flow in the structure of the next game.
- The layout of the game is very linear (or as it turns out,
circular
), which adds to the predictability of playing it. Seemed even more linear than Fusion (where I actually was cool with the structure). For the next game I'd like to see more connections between areas and more interlocking environments so that it feels like more of a mesh than a line. I think Prime did this best.
- The counter becomes kind of pointless around halfway through. I think they missed an opportunity to introduce new types of power-ups based on the counter.
- Speaking of which, almost every power-up in this game I have already seen in a Metroid game. Maybe not a fair point since this is a remake, but still, it's something that you're aware of while playing.
- Wish there were more enemy variety. Seeing unique enemies would have done a lot for making exploration feel more exciting.
- More of a personal gripe, but I don't think the art direction is quite there. Metroid doesn't need to be super realistic and gritty or anything like that, but this went too far into the cartoony direction and was even goofy in parts. Hopefully they continue to explore new directions for the next entries.

Really loved the game because the gameplay is fantastic, which is why I write a bunch of critique and still give it an 8/10. :)
 

Rudolf

Neo Member
I just beat Fusion today, for the first time. No one told me it was so hard. Super and Zero Mission got nothing on Fusion. Overall, Samus Returns is harder, but I feel like Fusion had two bosses that were harder than anything is SR.
The Nightmare and Spider thing. Don't know what I would have done without save states. The Samus fight was really hard too.

Metroid Prime, Prime 3, Super, and Zero, all seem to be around the same place (Zero is pretty easy, tho).

Fusion, Prime 2, and Samus Returns are definitely the stand outs. Prime 2 is probably the hardest, overall, because the world design is the most complicated.

Each Metroid game has different difficulties.

About the 2D Metroid :

- Metroid 1 (NES) is the hardest Metroid game to finish normally.

- Metroid Fusion is the hardest Metroid to find all items (some of them are really hidden behind false walls that you can't reveal with the power bombs).

- Metroid Zero mission is the hardest Metroid to get all items (not to find them) : you must manage to do the most hardcore movements (especially the Shinespark) in the series (I think about an energy tank between Chozodia and Mother Ship: it's a nightmare !!! ). And one more thing : if you find all items, the final boss becomes stronger and hits much harder (he can kill you in two hits even if your energy is full). Even the elite space pirates in the mother ship are difficult in hard mode (I was already killed by two of them during the escape after the final boss in hard mode, so I had to fight again the final boss ! ).

About the Prime Trilogy :

- Echoes is the most complicated game for its (double) level-design, and also the hardest to find all items. It's also the longest game.

- Corruption has the hardest boss in the entire Prime trilogy (in Hypermode difficulty). And its final boss (in Hypermode difficulty) is the hardest boss in the entire trilogy.

About Metroid Fusion, yes : this game isn't easy, because the enemies hit hard. Do you know there is a hard mode, exclusive to the Japanese version ? It makes the game harder because you have less energy (the half) and less ammo (exactly like in Metroid Zero Mission's hard mode). If you're using an emulator, you can find a Japanese rom and import a finished file (the Japanese texts are not a problem because you already know the story).
 

MoonFrog

Member
Tbh. I find Hive Mecha sooo much harder on the Wii trilogy. Lock-on makes that fight a lot easier for me even if they speed out of it quickly. It lets you snap to target.
 

Fettbacke

Neo Member
What am i supposed to do in the (i think?) last bossfight...

when the queen fires the floating green orbs + the two red laser? There is just no way i can dodge all that shit.
 

MoonFrog

Member
What am i supposed to do in the (i think?) last bossfight...

when the queen fires the floating green orbs + the two red laser? There is just no way i can dodge all that shit.

I
clung to ceiling and dropped between balls as she was about to throw a tantrum
.

When she does it the other way, to the floor.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Seeing people complain about sore thumbs and cramps again... There is help that only costs a couple of dollars or euros, makes all the difference in the world and makes the 3DS super comfortable to hold: get a grip

Y7wh0GW.jpg

 

Opa-Pa

Member
I like that some say that the counter gets old fast and that enemies are too spongey and others say it becomes useless later on, because in reality the counter is never mandatory, but this only becomes apparent once you have all the beam upgrades.

In truth you can take down most enemies with just the beam or with missiles to speed things up, all you have to do is attack from afar. Then you get the spazer and it's even more simple, and of course there's the ice beam too.

Combat is pretty flexible but you won't know about it if you don't get creative and just limit yourself to standing still to trigger parriable attacks.

I
clung to ceiling and dropped between balls as she was about to throw a tantrum
.

When she does it the other way, to the floor.

Yeah I think the patterns vary so you have to react accordingly, but spider ball helps a lot. There's the aieon shield as well.

So in other news that 30,000 copies this sold in Japan? That was 70% for units that were even shipped to Japan. So pretty good actually!

That's great news!
 

Stopdoor

Member
The original Metroid does have a backwards difficulty curve - once you slog through the beginning and die less (having to refill your energy manually sucks) the game becomes surprisingly easy for an NES game. Wave Beam and Screw Attack trivialize everything like the modern games.
 
Random opinion: GameCube controls are better than Wii controls for the Prime series. :)

They certainly suit Prime and Echoes better than the motion controls, as the games were specifically designed around the control scheme. Overall though I cannot agree... Corruption was a HUGE upgrade in controls... Everything felt so comfortable and fluid.
 

Toxi

Banned
Corruption has the hardest boss in the entire Prime trilogy (in Hypermode difficulty). And its final boss (in Hypermode difficulty) is the hardest boss in the entire trilogy.
Losing against the last stage of the Aurora Unit is so damn demoralizing, because you know you're gonna have to go through the Dark Samus and first stage of the Aurora Unit fights again.
The original Metroid does have a backwards difficulty curve - once you slog through the beginning and die less (having to refill your energy manually sucks) the game becomes surprisingly easy for an NES game. Wave Beam and Screw Attack trivialize everything like the modern games.
Yep.

Also Kraid is way too fucking hard and Ridley is pathetically easy.
 

forrest

formerly nacire
Seeing people complain about sore thumbs and cramps again... There is help that only costs a couple of dollars or euros, makes all the difference in the world and makes the 3DS super comfortable to hold: get a grip

I'm using a circle pad pro (for grip purposes) as I'm on the old 3ds XL and unfortunately it doesn't really solve the issue of left thumb cramping and fingers going numb. You grip looks great though. Angling your palms out so that your left thumb makes a natural sweeping arch to access the stick/dpad is a huge ergonomic improvement.

This design choice is also my biggest gripe with the Switch in portable mode. Frankly, I hate it.

I'm just collecting things at this point in Samus Returns so it isn't too bad as there isn't a lot of demanding scenarios occurring, but after I 100% it, I doubt I'll return to play on my 3ds even though I've really been loving the game.
 

Rudolf

Neo Member
Losing against the last stage of the Aurora Unit is so damn demoralizing, because you know you're gonna have to go through the Dark Samus and first stage of the Aurora Unit fights again.

Yes, I know that feel bro ! ^^

The original Metroid does have a backwards difficulty curve - once you slog through the beginning and die less (having to refill your energy manually sucks) the game becomes surprisingly easy for an NES game. Wave Beam and Screw Attack trivialize everything like the modern games.

Yes, but when you are in Tourian at the end of the game, Metroid 1 becomes very hard again (especially against Mother Brain, and the game is lagging in his room ! ).
 
- Echoes is the most complicated game for its (double) level-design, and also the hardest to find all items. It's also the longest game.

It may be hard to believe, but Corruption is actually the longest. Speed runs prove this. Echoes may take longer for many on a first playthrough due to being a more difficult game, but Corruption has the most overall content.
 

Rudolf

Neo Member
It may be hard to believe, but Corruption is actually the longest. Speed runs prove this. Echoes may take longer for many on a first playthrough due to being a more difficult game, but Corruption has the most overall content.

Yes, I was thinking about the first playthrough in Echoes, but maybe you're right when we know already both Echoes and Corruption.
 

MoonFrog

Member
I love the Prime games. Surprised I didn't end up replaying them this time around; just did SM and the GBA games back in June. Usually it is SM and Prime 1 and 2 when I go through a Metroid craze. Though I liked Prime 3 a lot better when I replayed it, so that's a more common fixture these days.
 

Teggy

Member
I never played Metroid 2. Was
fighting the same boss 20 times
a feature of that game? I’ve played most of the other Metroids and it seems weird.
 
I had more trouble with the hive mecha, especially on hard mode I still dread that fight. Keeping track of the wasps. In general I often find the mini bosses to be harder than the main ones in the Prime series.
Are you using your motion tracker in the top left corner? I feel like this fight is designed to teach you to use it, and it's really quite simple once you do.

Tbh. I find Hive Mecha sooo much harder on the Wii trilogy. Lock-on makes that fight a lot easier for me even if they speed out of it quickly. It lets you snap to target.
Turn off Lock-On Free Aim when playing MP1 and 2.
 
I like that some say that the counter gets old fast and that enemies are too spongey and others say it becomes useless later on, because in reality the counter is never mandatory, but this only becomes apparent once you have all the beam upgrades.
Yeah. If the enemies are too spongey then you're probably playing it like the older 2D games, but SR introduces new mechanics that beg to be used - I don't see why you should limit yourself anyway. There are just so many Aeion + beam + missile combinations (even Aeion + Aeion) that are effective when used right, not just the counter mechanic. It reminds me of Prime 2 in a way because that game was also quite particular about what to use against what enemy if you didn't want to spend forever fighting them.

Are you using your motion tracker in the top left corner? I feel like this fight is designed to teach you to use it, and it's really quite simple once you do.
I...don't use it no. Haha wow. Now I feel stupid. I will take note of this on my next playthrough, thanks.
 

Teggy

Member
Yes. But it was also janky and ugly aka atmosphere

Interesting, I’ll have to watch some YouTube videos when I finish it. I can’t say I’m a fan of this format but at least it gives me some perspective on why it’s getting better reviews than I would expect.
 
It may be hard to believe, but Corruption is actually the longest. Speed runs prove this. Echoes may take longer for many on a first playthrough due to being a more difficult game, but Corruption has the most overall content.

Part of this has to do with Corruption being so linear, though. Echoes has a lot of optional stuff and different orders you can do stuff, but even from a speedrunning perspective Corruption comes out to like 3 hours.
 
Nearly done with Area 2, overall liking the game but not loving it.

Each area is great on its own, but I miss the big connected world feel of Super and Zero Mission. I actually enjoy the backtracking.

Also the enemies are repetitive as fuck, you can't really run around quickly because the enemies attack so fast that you basically have to go from one to the next melee countering them. It was a good idea but I think it was badly executed. Works well on the boss fights when they only rarely use their standard melee attack.
 

Nia

Member
Even while being ripped to shreds during the finale, I have to say I felt proud for
Ridley, for finally being the final boss.
 

milkham

Member
i just got the space jump, so far i feel like the game is just fine. Guess I got a little too hyped. Completed replays of zero mission and fusion in the last few months and this just isn't hooking me the same way.
 

Ogawa-san

Member
Kind of comforting to see not-so-positive comments here, because I'm having the hardest time going through this game. I normally devour a metroidvania in a few sittings but I drop this at almost every save point - and if there was a quick save option it'd be even more often.

I just got to the 4th area and I don't care anymore. I don't wanna roam around looking for that umpteenth metroid.
 

Celine

Member
Wow the 3D in this game is very good.

That's one of my biggest complaints actually. The morphball thing is so goddamn annoying. Sometimes jumping, going to morphball, and spiderballing to a wall given the inputs and issues with the 3DS ergonomics made me want to scream at times.

I finished the game. I think it's not a bad game but I don't think it's a great game. Probably some degree of Metroid starvation helps it. The game design just isn't enjoyable to me.
If you touch the touchscreen you will active the morphball.
this way is easier than pressing two time down.
 

Kyuur

Member
Just got the
Grapple Beam
and I think thanks to free aim, this game has the best implementation of it of any 2D Metroid.

Really enjoying the game thus far; played AM2R earlier but they feel like almost completely different experiences. Can't wait to dive in some more!
 

D.Lo

Member
I normally devour a metroidvania in a few sittings but I drop this at almost every save point - and if there was a quick save option it'd be even more often.
Reading this word being back-applied to an actual Metroid game grinds my gears.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Was looking for a song on Youtube, and god.

Every time you refer to Lower Norfair as Magmoor Caverns, each of Diggernaut's phases is prolonged by 5 seconds.

Reading this word being back-applied to an actual Metroid game grinds my gears.

I kinda get why people do it but yeah. It's like calling Doom 2016 a Doom clone, except worse.
 

mrkgoo

Member
What am i supposed to do in the (i think?) last bossfight...

when the queen fires the floating green orbs + the two red laser? There is just no way i can dodge all that shit.

when ever the green ball thing started I'd morph and roll under her chin until it all played out - granted the last form she kind of hits you I think,, but I brute forced it having taken little damage up until that form
 
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