Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Metroid Dread is Exciting, Tense, and Fun

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Nov 202023
 

It took me long enough to get here, but I finally played Metroid Dread.

I actually started it last October, but played only about an hour or so and then put it on hold until this year, when I started over since I’d made so little progress the first time.

Metroid Dread is set after the events of Metroid Fusion, which makes it the latest game in the timeline, and follows Samus as she heads to a remote planet to investigate the loss of contact with the EMMI robots deployed there.

EMMI featured heavily in the marketing, because it adds a new element to the gameplay. While most of the world is the usual Metroid-style exploration and combat, certain areas are “EMMI zones,” patrolled by the rogue EMMI robots intent on destroying Samus. You can’t fight them normally, and they can kill you in a single hit, which means you need to use stealth and/or run to avoid them.

The EMMI sections are tense and exciting, although there were times when I started to get annoyed with them (especially when it seemed like the EMMI was intent on staying in the tiny area I was trying to traverse instead of patrolling).

Dread was developed by MercurySteam, who also did Samus Returns, and the melee counter system from that game returns. In general, the combat feels really good, which makes it a lot of fun to play. That’s good, because I found some of the boss fights to be really hard. There were several where I started out thinking the fight was impossible until I slowly learned how to react to the various attacks.

As far as exploration goes, to some extent the progression feels a bit too guided, with the game making it clear where it wants you to go first. However, once things opened up a bit more, I got to enjoy its design anyway. It felt like it wasn’t geared toward backtracking after each upgrade quite as much, but I had fun sweeping through each area once I had all my abilities to get as many upgrades as possible.

Now, this one is a bit more story-driven than the others in the series… but I kind of played it as though it wasn’t. I don’t know how to explain it. Maybe I’m just not attached enough to Metroid lore or wasn’t in the right state of mind for Metroid storytelling, because even though I wanted to be interested, I didn’t pay as much attention to it as I normally would.

But regardless of my lack of attachment to the story, I definitely enjoyed my time playing Metroid Dread. I still need to play Super Metroid and the Metroid Prime games, but if they announce a Metroid 6, I’ll be interested for sure!

(Since Metroid Prime 4 seems to be in limbo, maybe I’ll have time to play the Prime games before it comes out.)

What did you think of Metroid Dread?

Metroid: Samus Returns – So Many Metroids

 Reviews, Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 262022
 

After finishing Zero Mission in December, I moved on to the next Metroid game on my list, Metroid: Samus Returns.

Samus Returns is the 3DS remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus.

(I’ve never played the original, so I can’t compare them.)

This is the third Metroid game I’ve played, since I started with Fusion. While I had fun with Samus Returns, I’d say it’s my least favorite so far.

The gameplay is fine. I enjoyed the new melee counter system a lot once I figured out the timing. Switching between different abilities was a little annoying, but not bad. And of course, I love the general gameplay structure of exploring and finding upgrades.

It’s just so repetitive. The first time I had to fight a bunch of Metroids and then come back to drain away the deadly liquid that filled the lower part of the area, I thought it was neat. Then it happened again. And again. And again.

Sure, there are different types of Metroid fights, but once you encounter a new type, it shows up over and over.

I was so tired of fighting Metroids and following that same basic pattern to progress through an area, that by the time I got near the end, I was ready to be done. However, something that happened near the end made me feel much more kindly toward the game than I might otherwise.

Click for Metroid: Samus Returns spoilers
TEENY TINY METROID

TEENY TINY METROID

I love the baby Metroid! It’s so cute! I mean, I actually stopped thinking about Ace Attorney briefly, because my mind was occupied with how cute this little tiny Metroid was.

So despite growing tired of the game, I actually ended it on a positive note.

Overall, I’d say I still found Metroid: Samus Returns to be a fun game worth playing, just a bit too repetitive compared to the others I’ve played in the series so far. Next up, Super Metroid!

Metroid: Zero Mission is an Exciting (and Sometimes Tense) Adventure

 Reviews, Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 012021
 

As we approached the release of Metroid Dread, I decided to catch up on the Metroid games I hadn’t played yet.

…I’m working on it, okay??

I recently finished playing Metroid: Zero Mission for the first time, after dragging out my Wii U since it didn’t look like a port was coming anytime soon.

Zero Mission is a remake of the first Metroid game. It’s only the second Metroid game I’ve played, having finally finished Metroid Fusion a few years ago, but I love the basic exploration-driven principles of the genre.

So I had a great time exploring in Zero Mission and backtracking whenever I could access new areas, although I missed a lot of the hidden items since some felt too tricky for me to spend the time trying to find them.

Some of the boss fights were tricky for me, but I did manage to get through them. And the section at the end (which I understand was added for Zero Mission) was surprisingly tense. I liked that a lot.

It’s less story-driven than Fusion was, and Fusion wasn’t too story-driven to start with. Still, I come to this genre for the gameplay first and foremost, despite my love for story-driven games, so I can’t complain about that.

Overall, I’m happy I went back and played Zero Mission. Now I’ve played two Metroid games, so I only have a few more to go! How do you feel about Metroid: Zero Mission?

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