Having opted for a Genesis/Mega Drive over a SNES during my youth, I never really had a chance to play Super Metroid and thus am not prey to the lingering nostalgia almost everyone who owned an SNES during that time now feels for this game. I had played the original Metroid on the NES many years back, but had never really explored it too deeply. And while I had played and loved the Prime series on the Gamecube, I've never owned a GBA and so missed the two Metroid games which were released on it.
Boy, what a mistake that was.
Which isn't to say that I don't still love the Prime games on the gamecube (I do), but they were an entirely different experience from the 2D bliss of the GBA Metroid titles: Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission.
While I enjoyed Fusion immensely, I find that the pacing of Zero Mission is just right to inspire in me a slavish desire to replay the game and achieve a better end-ranking. It isn't short, but it can be comfortably completed in a day when one had nothing better to do.
The play mechanics are superb, with action and exploration never feeling awkward or unnatural. The level design is amazing (consider how deeply recent portable Castlevania games have been influenced by the style of play, which originated in Super Metroid, and, expanded over the two series, has come to be known as 'Metroidvania.' The essence of a Metroidvania is exploring a complex and highly interwoven environment where one must return to previous segments of the map to unlock new locations with some newly acquired skill.). The music and sound are not spectacular, but I found some tunes surprisingly catchy. Enemies are well-balanced with some clever boss fights. The whole game is a seamless and thrilling adventure. And it is one of the better remakes I've played: perhaps not as drastic in terms of quality shift as was the Gamecube remake of RE1, but this is still pretty impressive. Near the end of the game, there is even a new segment which surprised me with a new gameplay style.
2D games don't come better than this. Get it while you still can.
Having opted for a Genesis/Mega Drive over a SNES during my youth, I never really had a chance to play Super Metroid and thus am not prey to the lingering nostalgia almost everyone who owned an SNES during that time now feels for this game. I had played the original Metroid on the NES many years back, but had never really explored it too deeply. And while I had played and loved the Prime series on the Gamecube, I've never owned a GBA and so missed the two Metroid games which were released on it. Boy, what a mistake that was. Which isn't to say that I don't still love the Prime games on the gamecube (I do), but they were an entirely different experience from the 2D bliss of the GBA Metroid titles: Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission. While I enjoyed Fusion immensely, I find that the pacing of Zero Mission is just right to inspire in me a slavish desire to replay the game and achieve a better end-ranking. It isn't short, but it can be comfortably completed in a day when one had nothing better to do. The play mechanics are superb, with action and exploration never feeling awkward or unnatural. The level design is amazing (consider how deeply recent portable Castlevania games have been influenced by the style of play, which originated in Super Metroid, and, expanded over the two series, has come to be known as 'Metroidvania. ' The essence of a Metroidvania is exploring a complex and highly interwoven environment where one must return to previous segments of the map to unlock new locations with some newly acquired skill. ). The music and sound are not spectacular, but I found some tunes surprisingly catchy. Enemies are well-balanced with some clever boss fights. The whole game is a seamless and thrilling adventure. And it is one of the better remakes I've played: perhaps not as drastic in terms of quality shift as was the Gamecube remake of RE1, but this is still pretty impressive. Near the end of the game, there is even a new segment which surprised me with a new gameplay style. 2D games don't come better than this. Get it while you still can.