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Why is the Metroid Prime trilogy so critically acclaimed?

Neuro

Member
Well I personally think of the game being a successor to half life, my rationale is that it shows us spaces that have been seemingly inhabited by a set of people and you the player goes on this question uncover what exactly led to the series of events by exploring these spaces and putting the narrative across.

Samus and Gordon Freeman both don't have a voice , it has been juxtaposed using the voice of the player within the narrative.

Then there is the absolute brilliance of level design, where every door/area brings forward a new challenge that the player has to encounter.

Each of the boss battles in the game are a logical progression of one's abilities (weapon acquisition in the case of Half Life)

All these elements have been beautifully combined to give the player a sense of immersion that I have yet to see in a videogame.
 

Arkanius

Member
Echoes is a fantastic game, it's harder than Metroid Prime but I understand, it's not as disruptive, feels like an Expansion pack to Metroid Prime 1.

Metroid Prime 3 was meh.
 

Joey Ravn

Banned
If you ask me, Metroid Prime is a masterpiece. It has to be among the top ten games of all time.

The other two... not so much. Especially Echoes.
 

LordKasual

Banned
The Scan Visor is one of gaming's greatest innovations

It's basically what Dark Souls does with its item descriptions, except far more thorough, in a way that really immerses you in the alien environments

the series was just brilliant
 

Brickhunt

Member
The Metroid Prime series represents to me the perfect mix of exploration, combat and immersion. Few games were truly able scratch that particular itch like the trilogy.

Even though it is a FPA series, the combat and shooting segments are very unique and as satisfying as l FPS experiences thanks to the lock-on mechanic. In addition, the beam/missile combinations made up very satisfying battles with Space Pirates and Boss Battles.

I hope that in MP4 we go back to beam swapping, rather than the beam stacking from MP3. It is just more fun this way.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
The first Metroid Prime in particular was sort of the console equivalent of a System Shock game in some ways. Probably not in terms of gameplay, but certainly in terms of level design and atmosphere -- a tightly-designed first person adventure game with a very immersive world and atmosphere. Sort of a BioShock before BioShock if you look at it from the perspective of a console gamer.

Echoes had improved level design and probably overall gameplay, but I'm still partial to Prime 1. 3 Tried a lot of new things but probably didn't put it all together as tightly as the first two games.
 
Extremely satisfying gameplay (even in 3), fun exploration/puzzles, and incredible world design. All of that plus hardly any filler and they're close to perfect games.
 
Still think 3 was the best followed by 2 close behind, 1 to me was meh overrated to high heavens.

All comes down to level design/themes, boss battles, world building and exploration

Prime 2 and 3 have amazing bosses, level designs, themes.

Prime 3 had the best pacing of the three and more consistency in quality, where Prime 2 had highest highs and lowest lows of the series.

Prime 1 only has isolated exploration everything else is so inferior to it's sequels
 
Metroid Prime is a top 5 game of all time for me. I didn't care much for Metroid Prime 2 and never owned a Wii so I never played 3, but I cannot exaggerate how much I love the first game.

The only thing that I remember disliking about it was the huge distance to press (is there a term for this) on the GameCube triggers being exhausting on my fingers. The game relied on that second press in the triggers and it was a lot of work.
 

kunonabi

Member
Prime 1 deserves all the praise it gets. I believe 2 and 3 were painfully overrated though especially 3. I tried playing 3 again a few months ago and i couldnt stand it.
 
feels like an Expansion pack to Metroid Prime 1.

I don't know where this concept came from, that sequels somehow "feel like expansion packs" if they aren't, I dunno, so different they fall into a completely different genre from the preceding game...needs to die. No idea where this mind set got started, and it seems to be pretty new since I'd never even heard this phrase applied to a sequel until Splatoon 2 was shown off, but it is the stupidest, laziest, most reductive bullshit I've seen infect gaming so far this year. What's more, if you actually applied it to Echoes of all games, then every sequel must be an expansion pack by default. Just stop.

Prime 1 deserves all the praise it gets. I believe 2 and 3 were painfully overrated though especially 3. I tried playing 3 again a few months ago and i couldnt stand it.

2 and 3 were never overrated. 3 was pegged dead on as being too shooter heavy and a little too simple in its environment design over all and 2 was, if anything, underrated.
 
Everything you said plus the games were some of the best looking of their generation and running at an amazingly smooth 60fps. The Wii versions are even more amazing thanks to the pointer controls.
 

NolbertoS

Member
To me its critically acclaimed because of the length of time fans had to wait to get a Super Metroid sequel, also the first time the series moved to 3-D, also the combat as FPSesque and lastly the story intrigued people. I honestly was ecstatic when Metroid Prime came out. Played the shit outta the game abd beat the last boss barely at that time. Played MP2 and it was just as good too. The last version was OK, but gave closure to the Prime main storyline to me. I'm itching to play a new MP now again
 

Crazyorloco

Member
3 games ranging from good to utterly fantastic in one package.

And personally I love the music, atmosphere, story, game play, and character design.
 

maxmars

Member
How does Mario 64 fit in there??

If anything, the mario series has been increasingly going back to it's 2d roots since galaxy and peaking with 3d world

That's fair. However, Mario 64 was first to open up the third dimension for a Mario game while keeping true to its platforming roots, much like MP vs 2d Metroid.
 

Servbot24

Banned
Prime 1 is the perfect marriage of gameplay, environment design, art direction and story. It's barely short of perfection (artifact hunt is the single blemish and even that is still fun). If I were to attempt grading games on an objective scale, this would probably be the closest thing there is to a perfect game.

Prime 2 basically continues this though some of the twists are a little abrasive.

Prime 3 is a good game but doesn't quite have the Metroid magic. They fell into some standardized AAA design choices which is really unfortunate.
 
It really was a pioneer in environmental story-telling... In many ways the modern trend of environmental story-telling in things like "walking simulators" and even the way that games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne tell their stories is something that Metroid Prime pioneered.

That's one thing I really love about Metroid/Souls. The narrative is not intrusive. It's there, and quite interesting, but the engagement with the story is left up to the player, and I really appreciate that. It feels quite appropriate for the medium of gaming.

Aside from that, of course the exploration, sense of isolation, just the overall atmosphere - everything was brilliant.

I still haven't played MP3, but 1 & 2 rank high on my personal all-time best.
 

giapel

Member
A lot of reasons really, but the art is just exceptional. And it's Nintendo through and through where the world is detailed but not cluttered, if that makes sense.
The first Prime also had a depth to the scenery through actual geometry, not just textures, that I hadn't personally seen before.
 

eXistor

Member
A true sense of discovery and being alone in alien environments is something incredibly attractive to me from a gameplay standpoint and outside of Metroid there have been precious few games to nail that sense. That's why I really hope they'll ditch any federation stuff from the last few games, I hated interacting with other humans. Thats my big worry, because I really don't give a shit about story in gameplay-centric games, especially games like Metroid; it's all about gameplay to me and I fear there's gonna a be a focus on story. But we'll see, it's way too early to tell at this point.
 

gafneo

Banned
I think AVGN should review these games. They are so frustrating. Retro studios lives up to their name. 2 and 3 are like Metroid nes frustrating. People want a sequel because of how polished the presentations are for these games. However only diehard fans will defend them and will deliberately leave out the laundry list of flaws that would never be ignored from a game released in 2017.
 

boiled goose

good with gravy
That's fair. However, Mario 64 was first to open up the third dimension for a Mario game while keeping true to its platforming roots, much like MP vs 2d Metroid.

I disagree.
Mp is clearly metroid in 3d.

64 was pretty different from 2d marios. Sandbox design vs linear.
Multiple objectives in same levels vs level endpoints.
Explorable hub vs world map.

3d world is 2d mario in 3d. Not 64 .
 

Synless

Member
The first Metroid Prime was the best single player fps/a to come out in that generation imo. Amazing atmosphere, music, and lore. The gameplay was tight, it still holds up due to the art style and 60fps. I hold it in higher regard than Halo.
 

Mark1

Member
People. A Prime game with dual analog controls might actually be a thing now.

Want them to do this with the BoTW bow and arrow style aiming system. Heck I want Prime 4 to borrow the exploration elements from that game too. Imagine the vertically of that world that massive and more in first person.

To the people commenting on Prime 3 being the weakest of the trilogy. Completely agree, still good fun though.

Think Prime 3 was a product of catering to the new casual market on Wii. Felt much more streamlined and shooter focused.
 

levyjl1988

Banned
The only problem with the game is:

- If you miss scanning something, you are SOL as it was a one time off. So completionist are fucked. So completing your records is impossible.

-It is difficult to assess which collectable upgrades you missed and which ones you have collected.

- Otherwise, it's a good game.
 

Lutherian

Member
I think AVGN should review these games. They are so frustrating. Retro studios lives up to their name. 2 and 3 are like Metroid nes frustrating. People want a sequel because of how polished the presentations are for these games. However only diehard fans will defend them and will deliberately leave out the laundry list of flaws that would never be ignored from a game released in 2017.

Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".

Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".

Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".


maxresdefault.jpg


Please, go play Metroid 1 on NES again. It didn't aged well at all. Prime 2 and 3, frustrating like Metroid NES. No, no no no, you never played Metroid 1 to be such ignorant.
 

royox

Member
Reach Tallon IV, it's raining. Water drops on my visor.

I'not home so don't have my "im tripping balls.jpg" to post.
 
There aren't.

They're bosses. The point was to give it to you then take it away.

There are.

There are actual soldiers you fight alongside with, not just the bosses. I love the gameplay so it didn't matter that much for me, but you were part of a "team" in that game, but the people who say you weren't that alone in 3 as in 1 and 2 are clearly right.

Still awesome games, all three. Wii controls are brilliant. Would love to have those controls on Switch if possible :-(

I think AVGN should review these games. They are so frustrating. Retro studios lives up to their name. 2 and 3 are like Metroid nes frustrating. People want a sequel because of how polished the presentations are for these games. However only diehard fans will defend them and will deliberately leave out the laundry list of flaws that would never be ignored from a game released in 2017.

Complete nonsense. What the fuck. There's no such "laundry list of flaws". For fucks sake.
 

Neptonic

Member
The first one at least was literally Super Metroid in 3D space and it worked incredibly. MP1's world is probably one of my favorite world designs in video games, second only to Dark Souls 1.
 
Just played Metroid Prime, but music is really good, goes with the zones perfectly. Zones are really well designed as well as the whole world is interconnected. I really love that style. Graphics still hold up and gameplay is tight.

Never played 2 or 3.
 

gafneo

Banned
Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".

Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".

Prime 3 is "Metroid NES frustrating".


maxresdefault.jpg


Please, go play Metroid 1 on NES again. It didn't aged well at all. Prime 2 and 3, frustrating like Metroid NES. No, no no no, you never played Metroid 1 to be such ignorant.
Its true. I don't talk about frustration often, but those games are cheap in their outdated game designs. MP 2 is even more frustrating than the original Nes Metroid. People talk trash about Zelda2 being unfair. Well, they have not faced the wrath of Prime 2.
 

low-G

Member
Not to diminish what I said earlier, but when MP2 came out right around Half Life 2, I was disappointed that MP2 tried to be more actioney, where HL2 was far superior in that way.
 
Its true. I don't talk about frustration often, but those games are cheap in their outdated game designs. MP 2 is even more frustrating than the original Nes Metroid. People talk trash about Zelda2 being unfair. Well, they have not faced the wrath of Prime 2.

Frustrating? Cheap? Outdated design? What? How?
 

Piers

Member
I liked Metroid Prime 3 the most, I think.
Backtracking in those games are horrendous when you have zero idea what to do and doors have to load.
 

mdtauk

Member
Super Metroid is my first love in the franchise, but I found Metroid Prime 3 enjoyable, where I couldn't really get into Prime 1 and 2.
 
I think AVGN should review these games. They are so frustrating. Retro studios lives up to their name. 2 and 3 are like Metroid nes frustrating. People want a sequel because of how polished the presentations are for these games. However only diehard fans will defend them and will deliberately leave out the laundry list of flaws that would never be ignored from a game released in 2017.

Is mumbling on about a bunch of nonsense your shtick or something?

That's kinda what I got between your statement here, this thread and this other thread, both made by you.
 
Its true. I don't talk about frustration often, but those games are cheap in their outdated game designs. MP 2 is even more frustrating than the original Nes Metroid. People talk trash about Zelda2 being unfair. Well, they have not faced the wrath of Prime 2.
What? I beat Prime 2 on hard difficulty when I was fourteen and I didn't even have any experience with the series. It's not my favorite of the Prime series and I understand that the design was sometimes tedious, but both Zelda II and Metroid are much harder and frustrating. The only real challenge in Prime 2 is that spiderball boss.
 
It really was a pioneer in environmental story-telling. The vast majority of the narrative in these games is pieced together using little details uncovered by your scan visor. In many ways the modern trend of environmental story-telling in things like "walking simulators" and even the way that games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne tell their stories is something that Metroid Prime pioneered.

That's also not to mention the amazing level design, atmosphere, sense of isolation, fantastic boss battles. They're just incredible games all-around.

yeah, that's a good way to put it.

I'd add that Retro did what so many people thought they would fail to do: translate a side-scrolling adventure game into a first-person one.
 

gafneo

Banned
Frustrating? Cheap? Outdated design? What? How?

Ball puzzle boss worst thing in a video game period. Get trapped in rooms and have to drain important resources, searching high and low for sky keys. These are a few examples. I'd be here all day if I had to talk smack.
 
I liked Metroid Prime 3 the most, I think.
Backtracking in those games are horrendous when you have zero idea what to do and doors have to load.

This was true for me when I played through 1 for the first time. I enjoyed the game a lot but the map was just too complex for me (but then I am really, really bad with directions in real life, easily anime trope bad). I approached it slower and more "methodically" for the other games and replays, and that helped a lot. When I saw a missile upgrade I couldn't access, I just looked at the map for a few seconds, tried to think of some way to remember the place etc. Helped a lot, even if not directly.

Ball puzzle boss worst thing in a video game period. Get trapped in rooms and have to drain important resources, searching high and low for sky keys. These are a few examples. I'd be here all day if I had to talk smack.

Sorry, I saw your username after I posted, wouldn't have responded otherwise. Feel free to continue talking out of your ass, as long as you keep it funny.
 
Ball puzzle boss worst thing in a video game period. Get trapped in rooms and have to drain important resources, searching high and low for sky keys. These are a few examples. I'd be here all day if I had to talk smack.

You kinda opened up the door already dude. Dropping a disparaging post without explaining and then complaining about how it'd take forever for to explain when pressed for an explanation doesn't elevate your credibility.
 

gafneo

Banned
What? I beat Prime 2 on hard difficulty when I was fourteen and I didn't even have any experience with the series. It's not my favorite of the Prime series and I understand that the design was sometimes tedious, but both Zelda II and Metroid are much harder and frustrating. The only real challenge in Prime 2 is that spiderball boss.

Zelda 2 is a cake walk if you get the right items. Prime 2 is frustrating midway through and gets worse at the very end. You may not realize it because you have high tolerance for the type of game that it is. 2D Metroid gets more tolerable except when you have to farm. Having to do chores in 3D is just not fun on any level to me.
 
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