Topic: Metroid Prime 1 Remastered

@StarPoint
Prime 1 is definitely more impressive from the standpoint of Super Metroid being the last entry before it. It really was a massive leap into the 3D space. Of course, that wow factor is no longer present for subsequent entries because it's already been done before.

They really nailed the formula.

Tanabe produced all 3 Metroid Prime games with Retro Studios, as well as both DKC games from Retro Studios. When those two pair up, they make pure gold every time. Tanabe went on record at e3 2015 stating he'd like to make another Prime game that explores Sylux (from Metroid Prime Hunters) hunting down Samus, which was shown in an ending of Prime 3.

I suspect that's going to be the plot line for Prime 4, since that's what the ending of Prime 3 showed and that's what Tanabe said he wanted to explore if he made another entry.

I just did my first attempt through the sunken ship and into the phazon mines, I didn't reach a save point, I was attacked by three really agressive enemies (some sort of solider I think) of the same type, not sure what they were! I decided to have a bit of an explore for upgrades before trying again.

@JaxonH Is Tanabe still working with Retro, though? I remember rumors a while back stating that he and Retro weren't on good terms, and he may have left the company for NLG instead. I really do hope he's come back for 4, because, as you said, he has absolutely nailed the formula along with the rest of the team. I would definitely love to see Sylux's character explored as he's definitely one of the more interesting side characters in the series.

I started playing this today but I can't work out a good control scheme for myself. I'd like to use 2 joy cons but I can't adjust sensitivity on either the twinstick+gyro option or the pointer option for it to be just right.

Like I either need twinstick+gyro with a bigger deadzone or Pointer with a much smaller deadzone. Anyone know how I can achieve this? There doesn't seem to be a deadzone toggle

I mean that's blatantly untrue, just on the basic, factual level that he works on more Nintendo games than just the ones made by either of those two companies.

@kkslider5552000 Yeah but I’m just curious if he’s still working with Retro specifically. If they were on poor terms then it might involve Tanabe not working on Prime 4 with Retro.

@ralphdibny
I don't think deadzone is something you can set. It feels fine to me on default dual stick settings with gyro enabled, though I may have adjusted gyro sensitivity a couple ticks so that X and Y values matched. There's really robust sensitivity scales in the settings for both camera and gyro in each axis.

@StarPoint
I saw that report, but...

We know Michael Kelbaugh has spoken highly of him in the past:

"Tanabe-san is very patient, even at times when he doesn't need to be," says Michael Kelbaugh, president and CEO of Retro Studios

And we know Tanabe said he wanted to make another just 1.5 yrs before Prime 4 was announced. I don't think it's Sakamoto. He was working on Metroid Dread, and is likely working with Mercury Steam on a new entry or remake. So it kinda has to be Tanabe.

Report from Liam Robertson cited:

The majority of those I spoke to about their experiences with Tanabe told tales of how he would quite often explode with great passion on certain designers when one of them either made what he perceived to be a mistake, or boldly challenged a creative decision of his.

None of these employees spoke of the producer begrudgingly, however. On the contrary, they described him as a competent creative and leader; albeit a fiery personality. If that makes him sound a bit like J. K. Simmons’ character from Whiplash, that’s not completely off the mark; minus the hurling of furniture and general psychological torment.”

After working with Tanabe on Tropical Freeze, some employees at Retro were apparently unhappy. Retro management appealed to NCL about the situation, and also asked for more autonomy and freedom.

Nintendo did allegedly respond to some of Retro’s requests. Tanabe was removed… but a new staffer from NCL took over his role. This portion of Robertson’s report is less certain, though the producer in question might be Yoshio Sakamoto.

I know the report claimed they removed Tanabe as their contact, but, that was before Retro was awarded Prime 4 and approved to remaster Prime Trilogy. Keep in mind, assuming that's true, then Tanabe would have been the contact heading the project when Bandai Namco was first awarded it. In fact, it would explain why they chose a different studio to begin with. We can very safely conclude Tanabe and Bandai Namco were the original team. But after they decided to scrap development and hand over to Retro, I very seriously doubt they would have done so and cut Tanabe out entirely. Such an offer would have almost certainly been conditional on the fact they sign off on working with Tanabe. Especially since it was only a couple employees at Retro who took issue many years prior, and at a time there was no major game at stake by severing their contact.

So ya, I think we can say with a high degree of certainty Tanabe is at the helm. NCL likely just had a chat with Tanabe, asked him to be professional, and Retro signed off on that being good enough for them, especially if it meant being awarded such a premier title after years wasted under their autonomy which we also heard Nintendo was not happy about.

Think about it from NCL's and Retro's perspective. Retro and Tanabe produce Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, Metroid Prime 3, Metroid Prime Trilogy, DKC Returns, DKC Tropical Freeze all within an 11 year span. Nintendo then removes Tanabe and give Retro their requested autonomy around 2014, and for the next 5 years nothing comes to market. Projects they spent years working on ultimately get cancelled. Nintendo would not be happy one of their highest caliber studios is not only not producing highly acclaimed games, they don't have anything to show for it. In addition, Tanabe's Metroid Prime 4 project with Bandai Namco is proving to be of sub-standard quality...

Retro would feel like they have to prove themselves to make up for those 5 lost years, and Nintendo would want to go back to what was working before to ensure they get back on track ASAP. That situation just screams "put Tanabe back with Retro". And with Prime 4 being moved to Retro in 2019, I believe that's exactly what they did.

@JaxonH cheers, I just had another go with twinstick+gyro but I just can't gel with it unfortunately. Because the deadzone is so tight/non-existent, my screen is a rattling, motion sickness inducing mess. I know it's because of my shakey hands but some old Wii games would allow the player to adjust deadzone so that sort of thing wouldn't happen.

Obvs I can reduce sensitivity but then I can only make minor adjustments to aiming with the gyro while the bulk of movement is handled with the right stick whereas I would like to do all of my aiming with gyro.

I'm currently on the Pointer option which is most similar to the Wii layout but unfortunately it has the opposite problem where huge movements are required to turn the camera. Sensitivity toggles in this mode don't appear to reduce the huge deadzone, they feel like they kind of toggle either the speed or acceleration of camera movement but you still need to move the gun fairly far to actually trigger a rotation movement.

So yeah, that's why I need something that's half way between twinstick+gyro and pointer controls! 😅

I know I'm probably being fussy. I thought Metroid Prime 3/Trilogy on Wii had this level of customisation available but I'd have to boot it up to check as it has been a long time and I am pretty sure that I am completely misremembering. Other First Person Wii/Wii U games definitely had some great customisation options where a Right Stick wasn't needed at all. Possibly stuff like the Conduit and the Call of Duty games.

Anyhow, I will try and make do with Pointer controls for a while - at least I've remapped shoot and missiles to ZR and R respectively on a system level so that feels a bit more natural even if it makes the rest of the game a bit confusing.

Btw, I love your metroid collection pic from earlier in the thread! Do you think the Dread special edition was worth it for all those art cards? I was considering buying it at some point but then I was gifted the standard edition so it's off my radar now. Probably for the best as I have enough physical stuff in my life!

So I had another attempt at Phazon Mines, and worked out that I had somehow missed TWO save points! It's much easier now.

@ralphdibny
Thanks! I think so, but then again I'm a huge Metroid fan and like having the collectible box on display. It also comes with a steelbook case and a nice art book. Which... that's what I look for in a CE. The art cards are a nice bonus.

Guess it depends on how much you like Metroid, and what price you can find one for.

Btw, I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but I'd recommend at least considering playing with right analog swinging the camera and gyro being used to aim at enemies on screen after you've swung the camera toward them. Reason being, that's how the dual analog gyro controls were designed to be played, so if you adapt your mindset it'll work well as intended. Plus, most other Switch games with gyro are designed to be played that way, so if you nail down the skill for it, it will pay dividends across the board.

Finished the first playthrough on normal mode. I still have Dread, Super and Fusion as my top 3 Metroid games (in that order) but this game is right there behind them. I played it on the GameCube when it launched and while I know I was a huge fan of Prime 1, I did forget a little bit just how much I loved it. The HD graphics and twin stick controls make it even more fun to play. One of the complaints I saw back in the day was 'too much scanning' but I get caught up exploring environments in every game, even ones where it's pointless, so I like that extra stuff. It's amazing how just over 20 years later MP still holds up phenomenally well, shows how great the design is, everything a video game should be about and I love the little atmospheric storytelling,even just the look on Samus' face at the end of the game, subtle stuff that shows there doesn't need to be hours of pretentious garbage to get the point across.

Overall, a near-perfect example of how to re-release a classic and really hope 2 and 3 get the same treatment, though hopefully MP 4 comes out first been waiting on that one for a while.

@JaxonH cheers, yeah it's definitely a good way to control games! I've used that dual analog + gyro to fine-tune-aim in stuff like the old Doom games. I do really like it for more fast paced games but I'd probably use the Pro controller with that control method because it's just a bit of movement to aim.

I think I was just hoping to get a proper first person Wii-'em-up experience from the Metroid Prime Remaster. Which to be fair, you sort of can, it's just not quite as good as later first person games that were on the Wii and Wii U.

I do kind of find the static arm cannon a bit odd using the twin stick in this game, I think it makes the rest of the movement much more noticeable. I'm sure I'll find my niche with it anyway, one way or another!

@Gamer83
Did you ever play Metroid Prime 2?

That one's where the money's at. I like scanning in Prime, but I loooove scanning in Prime 2. Not just because the scan visor was improved so that entire objects are highlighted as blue (non-critical scans), red (mission-critical scans) and green (already scanned), which makes identifying scannable objects way easier, but also the fact you can scan anywhere on the object rather than a single node. And, the scans are also more interesting.

@JaxonH
Played all the Primes, including Hunters. 2 is my least favorite of the numbered entries. Still a great game but I don't know why I just never got into it like I did 1 and 3.

Metroid Prime Remastered Pin Set from Nintendo of America platinum rewards, for 800 coins.

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/metroid-prime-remaste...

Love it all so far. I just got to the hall of elders last night. The only sections that are slightly frustrating are the thermal visor sections. I typically get my @$$ kicked during those segments.

@NintendoByNature
Now imagine ppl experiencing this 20 years ago. When this game released, it was a revelation.

It released right off the back of the PSone/N64 era. So expectations of what a game could be was basically Super Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye, etc. The most recent Metroid game at that time was Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

And then comes along Metroid Prime out of nowhere and completely upends the table, setting a new bar for game quality. The fact the game holds up so well today speaks volumes about how enlightening it was to play 20 years ago.

GameCube only sold 21 million units, and yet 1 in 7 owners purchased Metroid Prime. It was an outstanding release.

It pains me greatly knowing it "only" sold 3 million copies (phenomenal for the install base, but it deserves so much more). It pains me even more knowing neither Metroid Prime 2: Echoes nor Metroid Prime 3: Corruption could crack 2 million units. And the Prime Trilogy, despite releasing on an install base of 101 million units, barely sold half a million copies. The Wii era was downright disrespectful. But... that's Nintendo's fault for prioritizing blue ocean casuals over their dedicated fans (to be fair, their dedicated fans were dwindling by the generation, and something had to be done to break that trend, so I don't entirely blame them).

Switch feels like the first time Nintendo is solely focused on core gamers and has a massive, captive audience to sell to. Prime 2 needs a remaster just to rectify the fact less than 2 million people have played it. That feels insulting on a personal level to me.

@JaxonH oh boy, you're talking to one of those 6 who didn't buy prime back in the day. I bought the gamecube when I was starting freshman year of high school, so I was very picky about what I bought. I barely knew about prime other than some chats on the bus with other kids. I was wierd when I was a kid haha. The game that got me amped for the cube was resident evil remake.

But, I bought the trilogy on wii u, and barely scratched the surface in the game until now. Once I'm finished, I might go and play the other two and fight those controls lol. This games awesome though. I'm getting an upgrade or two every session, and a boss at least once. At this rate, I'll probably beat it by Sunday, maybe Saturday.

@TheBigBlue haha yep! Same with those dang space pirates. Blast EVERYTHING until the music finally stops.

Guess who just beat this game 100%? Me!