Topic: Metroid Dread

Dread is between Other M and Super for me as my 4th favorite of the series. Eventually, Dread is likely going to overtake Super Metroid, especially as I get more familiar with the map and achieve better completion times. Multiple 100% runs also have the potential to put Dread over Super, which I've only done 100% for once.

Federation Force still is a decent margin above Dread. Metroid Dread has better movement, bosses and 100%, but Federation Force's sheer variety holds up really well against the game. Dread almost becomes one dimensional in this comparison.

Metroid Prime Hunters is leagues better than Metroid Dread. I mistakenly was over hyped after first beating Metroid: Samus Returns back in 2017, and compared Returns to Hunters for the top spot. It plummeted in my rankings on the second run and only is 7th because Returns did redeem itself on my third run through in anticipation for Dread's release. I didn't want to compare Dread much to Hunters after completion to avoid feeling that kind of disappointment again. If I were to give the nod to Dread in anything compared to Hunters, it would have to be the bosses. That said, my favorite boss battle in the series remains Slench 3 if just barely with the Raven Beak fight being very close behind.

At best, Metroid Dread will be a go-to Metroid game for the traditional formula experience either alongside Super or replacing Super.

Beat the game. Official clear time was 14.5 hours, at 80% completion. Probably spent 20 hours playing but my transfer to OLED and switching playing on the Lite some days messed up my system timer.

No joke, this game is absolutely amazing. That ending and final boss? EPIC! I can confidently state this game is the best game I've played all year, and maybe even last year too, save for perhaps Monster Hunter Rise. Definitely my favorite 2D Metroid of all time, by a wide margin, and despite clinging to Metroid Prime 2 as my favorite Metroid overall, I'm beginning to question that now. Idk if it beats Metroid Prime 2, but it's close. Very close. A different experience for sure, but what a flawless execution.

The only thing I think is keeping this game from being a 100% blowout as my GOAT is the fact the music wasn't quite as good as many past entries. It was good, just not as good, and didn't quite hit that legendary soundtrack status. But, by no means was it bad. Just... most of my faves of all time have soundtracks second to none- Monster Hunter World and Rise, DKC Tropical Freeze, Metroid Prime 2, etc. But that's like, the only negative thing I can really say about it. And it's not even negative. Music was 8/10, everything else was 10/10.

BTW, I beat the final boss on my 4th try. I was expecting some arduous 5 hour battle of frustration based on what some others had reported. Who was that guy who reviewed the game and said it took "6 hours" to beat the boss? My goodness. It wasn't that hard.

Granted, I'm an experienced Metroid player but still, I'm no speed runner or upper echelon player. Just an average Metroid fan who struggled like everyone else.

@kkslider5552000
It is no doubt impressive, but I feel this game deserves the #1 spot, maybe #2 just to account for the possibility there's some generational masterpiece I didn't play this year.

I don't trust critics with Nintendo games (or any games, really, but especially non Zelda/Mario Nintendo games) for accurate representation of quality beyond general ballpark.

To me, Metroid Dread is one of the best games I've ever played, and so is Monster Hunter Rise. Both of these games which released this year are among my top 10 of all time (haven't really sorted out where they fall in that top 10). Both are easy 10/10 games imo. Same thing happened with DKC Tropical Freeze. That game genuinely may be my all time favorite- at least top 3 best games I've ever played, with the fattest, juiciest 10/10 that could possibly be afforded. Absolute masterpiece of perfection. But it got "ok" and "decently good" scores. It's... ya. Games on Nintendo systems just aren't rated the same (unless it's Zelda... or 3D Mario)

In any case, it's a really, really great game. I've heard some say it's OK, some say it's really good and better than expected, and some say it's absolutely incredible. I think it's absolutely incredible and blows every 2D Metroid out of the water- yes, even Super Metroid, which to me, it's not even close- this game is waaaay better. No disrespect to Super, it's legendary, but I like this much, much more.

@Buizel
That's a fair question. For me, modernity does factor in. No denying it. Fluid controls and mechanics, HD visuals (doesn't have to have a $100m budget, but just having pleasant 3D visuals integrated into a 2D game really elevates the experience versus playing an old sprite based game).

@NEStalgia
Well done my man. Well done. 👏

Stand tall and proud. You're now part of the Dread club 😉

Those wanting a little more after dread, should check out mummy demastered if you haven't already. It's fairly tough like dread is, but it's definitely not as refined or fluid as dread. Still some fun to be had here and it should still be on sale.

@DarthNocturnal Not to mention that

@pikku @JaxonH Hmmm...I will admit that controls are incredibly important to me in Metroidvanias, as for me the fun lies in gradually being able to more expertly navigate your environment. That said, I never found Zero Mission's controls to be bad...it's just that Samus Returns and Dread are a massive step up! I have heard a few bad things about Super's controls but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Almost done with Samus Returns now. Will probably take a couple of weeks break before moving on to Super.

@JaxonH haha, thanks! That thing was brutal, but at least it's not another unfinished game to haunt me!

Never want to see him again, though! I'm playing again on hard but intend to stop before him, and maybe before Z57. It's wasn't fun at all on normal and I don't hate myself enough to go out again on normal let alone hard

@Buizel Supers controls aren't bad, they're just really really stiff by design. Even when it was new on SNES it felt weird and wooden, but it's not accidentally shoddy controls, it's just unusual controls that feel right once you're used to them.

Except wall jumping. That's just "Nintendo hard" for unforgivable input reasons.

Say what you will about Super Metroid's wall jumping, it really is satisfying when you know how to pull it off.

@NEStalgia Interesting to know. One thing I really didn't like about Zero Mission was the space jump...it felt like there was absolutely zero room for error and I really struggled to pull it off a lot of the time. I imagine it's a similar case with wall jumping?

@Buizel There will be a learning curve for the controls in Super Metroid and probably a period of adjustment coming from the newer games first but if you take it on its own merits you'll find it very freeing. The freedom you gain from learning to wall jump alone is beyond rewarding, really blows the game open.

@JoyBoy I'd call it more relief than satisfying. Makes no sense why it's as difficult as it is lol

@NintendoByNature You don't think it makes sense for a woman in a space suit to have trouble wall jumping? ;P

@JoyBoy

@Bolt_Strike To be fair, I think the reason they made that choice with the power bombs is to reduce the amount of backtracking required in 100% runs. The majority of power bombs that can be gotten early require no tricks whatsoever, and are just open to obtain once you get either Gravity Suit or Grapple Beam.

The game is incredibly sequence break friendly though, at least in once crucial way. Despite the sheer insane number of ways you can sequence break (including stuff like pseudo beam and early Screw Attack that are very unintended), the game is designed in such a way that you absolutely cannot softlock yourself as far as I can tell. That was definitely a purposeful design decision.

I'm sure someday someone will manage a softlock, sure (Ghavoran w/o speed booster could cause one if it was managed), but the game works super hard to always provide a way out.

Meanwhile, the ADAM sequences are also setup to not break no matter what order you play the game in, which is another nice touch.

@Buizel Yeah, space jump was tricky in ZM (heck, sometimes it's almost tricky in Dread), but Wall jumping in Super is just.....IDK if they tried to make it hard on purpose or if it's just broken and fans have embraced the brokenness. It's not just a skill for sequence breaking, one point in the game requires you do it, and it has "phantom" characters demonstrating it on repeat until you learn it. It's very very specific the sequence you press buttons in, and the timing of it. It works more like a fighting game than fluid platformer controls. Jump into the wall, start the slide down, press away from the wall for a split second THEN press jump, repeat, with perfect sequence.

There's nothing fluid or intuitive about it, it's a very deliberate button sequence event.

@mr_somewhere I'm not sure I'd call wooden controls that require freakishly impeccable timing "freedom"

@JoyBoy She can cling to magnetic walls, scale magnetic ceilings, curl into a ball, drop a nuke, roll through it, and slip through cracks, break rock by boosting through it while in a ball, or just with her head when she shine sparks, walk through lava, survive a 1000ft drop with no damage, and infinitely suspend herself in the air with unlimited jumps. But leaping off a wall...that's a feat of miracles!

@NEStalgia The pattern you're missing is rhythm. She was raised by bird people, and not the musical kind.

@NintendoByNature you don't need the wall jumping in super Metroid. It is there for speedrunners. I am terrible at it and every time I go down the animals path it takes me a good 10-15min to just manage to get out... For some reason I can easily do one wall jump but 3 in a row? God no

@NEStalgia If you use the brief animation where Samus is pushing against the wall as a tell it helps a lot. I played it quite a number of times as a good and found it difficult to get back into when I was older but that helped a lot. It does take some time to get used to.

@Balta666 hmm I didn't realize that. I feel like I needed to use it at one point but I might be wrong. Anyway, it's a horrible mechanic for an otherwise good game. I have to admit though, super is lower on my 2d metroid list. Dread is by far my favorite.