Topic: Metroid Prime 1 Remastered

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. The mailman just dropped off my physical copy, but I'm neck-deep in exam stress. The earliest I can play is next Friday.

@Magician 🙌 I'm still trying to finish chained echoes. I think I have 1 more game session of the game and then it's off to the races with prime

Was there no big collection like there was for metroid dread, or can I buy it somewhere. Also can I use amiibo with the game

I feel like after some long hard thought, here's how I'd rank the Metroid games.

Though I will note, the remaster of Prime, specifically, would fall in S-tier alongside Prime 2 Echoes and Dread. If Prime 2 ever receives a remaster similar to Prime, it would probably be elevated to SS tier.

@JaxonH ooh, putting Other M on the same level as Super Metroid hurts my soul deeply. How come you view Other M so highly, or rather, Super a bit lower?

@StarPoint
Well, I don't view Other M that highly, as evidenced by it being 4 rows down on the list, but I do still like it.

Super Metroid just feels too dated to me. The floaty jumps, using select to change weapons, the complete lack of guidance... like, I still think it's a great game, and if I were making this list 25 years ago I'd probably say it's the best game ever made. But compared to newer, more refined Metroid games, I don't think it holds up as well. Completely recognizing its significance and why it's so beloved, I have to be honest about how it feels to me to play it today.

@JaxonH Hey, that's completely fair. I don't mind Super's quirks quite as much, so I have it pretty high on my list, but it's understandable that those things are more noticeable.

Other M on the other hand... yeah. I'm definitely in the camp of people that really disliked it, and I still think it's why the series as a whole was put on a hiatus for so long. Objectively speaking, it's not a terrible game overall, but there were just some things this game did that, as a really big Metroid fan, just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm definitely not bandwagoning on it, I've played the game for myself and noticed these problems on my own. But I'm glad that you liked it still.

@StarPoint
It had some issues. My biggest problems with it actually weren't the common complaints. That never was much of an issue. I'm a gameplay person, so my problems were all mechanical by nature.

I disliked using the D-pad for semi-3D movement, and I very much disliked the disjointed nature of swapping to 1st person mode every time I wanted to shoot missiles. It plays much better in Dolphin where holding ZL activates the IR sensor, and map right analog with gyro for aiming missiles. That way you're not flipping the controller around every time you shoot missiles (they really should have designed it around Wiimote + Nunchuk so the Wiimote was always pointed at TV for missiles when needed, and analog stick could have been used for movement).

Issues aside, I still enjoyed it. At least, until I got stuck half way through and never came back to it.

I definitely agree that game was the primary reason the series went on hiatus. It sold over 1 million copies, but half of them were bargain bin, orange clearance sticker, fire sale price of $5. With the Trilogy on Wii barely mustering 500k beforehand, it sent a clear signal the series needed a break, and a re-evaluation.

But it's back, and stronger than ever. Fusion is also now out on NSO+

@JaxonH Yeah the controls were a huge issue for me as well. It was so clunky having to turn the Wiimote to aim missiles. And yeah, using a D-Pad in 3D space never feels very good.

But yes, I’m so glad to see the series making a comeback. Both Dread and Prime Remastered are phenomenal, Fusion just launched on NSO, and Prime 4 is coming eventually. It’s strange to say this, but Metroid fans have been eating pretty darn good lately, considering how it was prior to the Switch.

@StarPoint
Eating FAT. The whole kitchen pantry. And still hungry for more 😋

@JaxonH
uhhh who, what, where, why. Why was that necessary. “stop it get some help”.

Since I finished chained echoes, I got to play this for about 20ish minutes to the first save station. Playing with dual stick controls but I might switch to hybrid. I'll dive back in again tomorrow night.

I’m pretty much have this one done and dusted. I really liked the earlier parts of the game when the world was smaller to traverse. The lack of a fast travel system for the remaster (remake?) seems like a rather large missed opportunity for updating this near perfect game. I also don’t like how they require all Chozo Artifacts for endgame. Getting 4 or 5 would’ve been enough and wouldn’t unnecessarily extend the duration for people who aren’t collection freaks.

Other than the above, I found the game a lot of fun. The bosses are a lot of fun to defeat and the morph ball is a blast to launch through tubes and up half-pipes.

@NintendoByNature Cool game. I usually bounce off JRPG type experiences but that one struck a chord somehow. The Sea of Stars demo has me excited for that one as well.

@JaxonH

I take umbrage with your tier list, sir.

Super Metroid is my favorite game of all-time, regardless of genre or platform.

And Metroid Pinball shouldn't be seated lower than B.

@NotTelevision definitely worth the ride for a little indie like that.

I finished Metroid Prime for the first time and after how 2D metroid snuck into my heart, I had high expectations with everyone seemingly finding the 3D Metroids amazing as well. And wow, what a letdown. It’s still a good game, of course, but compared to pretty much any of the 2D ones, this is just a dull adventure. I think dull is the right word to use, because nothing feels ‘bad’ per say or annoying, but everything just kind of feels very unexciting. Every boss except ridley left no impression on me, every upgrade just kind of felt ‘I guess I can access that door now’ instead of feeling like an exciting new way to explore new places, the areas were very standard metroid stuff which isn’t bad but also doesn’t exactly help this case of ‘been there done that’. I just have to wonder what people see in this when everything it does, the series has done so much better before that point, especially since this came out alongside fusion, which beats it in music, atmosphere, creativity, just the overall game feel… gameplay is hard to compare when one is 2D and the other is 3D but I had tons of fun playing one and with Prime it just felt like I made one very long walk through a colorful swamp. It looks pretty, but the spirit of exploration was vacant and the atmosphere was more like a light coating than something that sucks me in. The gameplay is fun for what it is, and that’s about all there is to say about it. The ridley boss fight was what I wanted so much more of in this game, and the final boss was the most rinse-and-repeat it could get.

I’m more so baffled by the high praise this game got than by the game itself. It’s a fine game, but when you see it being hyped up and getting absurdly high scores, I guess I expected something more, at least something memorable.

If anyone feels like explaining their love for this game so I can at least try and see it, be my guest, I’d gladly hear it.

@NotTelevision I went into this one thinking that it might need a fast travel system myself. There are some really annoying backtracking sections that are long and tedious, such as when you have to go to Phendrana to get the Boost Ball, then go ALL THE WAY back to Tallon for the Space Jump Boots, then ALL THE WAY back to Phendrana for the Wave Beam. However, after actually playing the game, I found... it's a lot shorter than I remember. I pretty much blew through it in 2 days. I mean, I know it's a GC game that's smaller than modern day adventure games, but I don't remember it being THIS short. If they had implemented fast travel it would feel even shorter to the point where it might be unsatisfyingly short. Now in general I do think fast travel is needed, but they should pair that alongside a larger overworld for Prime 4. Like, Prime 4's overworld should feel 3-5 times bigger than this.

I think part of Prime's backtracking issues have to do with its map design. Travelling to later game areas like Phendrana or Phazon Mines is a pain because they're extremely out of the way from the rest of the game, you have to travel through Magmoor Caverns every time you want to go to and from Phendrana and if you want to go to and from Phazon Mines, you need to travel through the Crashed Frigate or the Ice Beam section of Chozo Ruins. That's what's really adding to the tedium of backtracking.

I'm in the Phazon Mines with only 2 artifacts left to find, both in the Mines. Which means I'm very close to beating the game.

Temporarily paused my playthrough to dive into Metroid Fusion... it's so good. Like, bouncing back and forth between Prime Remastered and Fusion really showcases what makes these games great, be it 2D or 3D, and it contrasts the ways in which the games differ due to being 2D and 3D.

I couldn't be happier having these two Metroid games to bounce between.

But I am seriously, seriously craving some Prime 2 Echoes. I want it so badly...

@Takoda It's funny, the way you feel about Prime is similar to the way I feel about Fusion.