Topic: Metroid Prime 1 Remastered

I was hoping to get through the game with zero deaths, but Ridley got me at the end.😕 It was super fun though! I didn’t realize that Metroid Prime was an actual enemy; I thought it was just a cool name for the series. Also, I ended the game with 84%, but I got what I thought was the 100% ending. Does anyone know why that would be? Is the Samus face reveal part of then end whether or not you get everything? Now that I’ve seen the Samus face reveal, is it worth getting the other ending, or is it just Samus without the Power Suit?

@Mrkittyhead Samus face reveal is part of the normal ending and the 100% ending is story related. That's the best I can describe 100% ending without spoiling it.

@Mrkittyhead @Grumblevolcano Best way to put it without spoiling is it's an extra cutscene that's a sequel hook for Prime 2.

@Grumblevolcano oh, ok. Interesting. I’ll definitely work to see it then.👍

I’ve completed all the 2d Metroids but never played any of the Prime games. I watched my friends finish Prime on the GameCube but seeing him scan everything just for the 💯% just put me off. Maybe I will get it when it goes on sale.

I've made it to the impact crater. Excited to see how this shakes out.

Finally did it. Took me 4 tries. That last section was a real pain, especially with no save in between sections. Loved every bit it, and plan on going to MP2 at some point when I have some time.

@Colonel_Mustache it was no small feat. Glad we were able to pull it off though.

I beat Metroid Prime Remastered.

What a great final boss fight. I'd forgotten how incredible it is.

@Colonel_Mustache
Was this your first time playing the game?

@NintendoByNature
I know this was your first time. Had you played any 2D Metroid games before this? Would you say the game lived up to your expectations and hype?

@JaxonH I've played all the 2d outings, with only NOT beating the original. Even for an NES nerd such as myself, it's too archaic to play through. Metroid II was decent fun though with a guide. I thought it was great, and lived up to the hype. Great power ups and enemies + boss fights. I only got lightly frustrated at the last boss and flipping from one visor to the next. It was a little chaotic, but not overwhelming. It has that same feeling like OoT has going from 2d to 3d. It's everything you love about the series, but so much larger.

@ActionPanther I got MP Remaster on release, having never played on GC. I absolutely adore Dread, which is one of my favorite games on Switch...

I gave a couple of hours to Prime, and it really didn't click for me - to the point where I've temporarily shelved it (hoping to revisit though and give it another chance).

I appreciate that the remastered efforts are fairly immaculate, and can objectively see why some people would love it. But for me, it just lacked everything that I loved about Dread.

So I actually picked up Metroid Fusion in place of Prime, playing on NSO.... and really enjoyed it! I finished Fusion yesterday and genuinely liked the linearity, plot, shorter length etc. Not to mention that some of the boss battles are genuinely challenging (similar to Dread).

Complaining about backtracking in Metroid games is probably a bit divisive, but honestly the backtracking I experienced in Prime felt like a slog at times (vs. Fusion/Dread, where backtracking seems to be minimal... and quite quick in most cases).

I might player Super next, and then try to revisit Prime. It is really frustrating when you really really want to like a game, but it doesn't click

@NintendoByNature
Right!

And as much as I love the 2D entries (and believe me, I do love them to death, specifically Dread and Fusion), I think I prefer Prime because it's able to insert you into the atmosphere in a way the 2D games simply cannot. It's a joy just wandering around the world. Just being in the game world feels so intoxicating.

One of my greatest joys playing when I was younger was memorizing certain destructable rocks I couldn't yet blow up, doors I couldn't yet open, puzzles I couldn't yet solve, then circling back later after a power up to hit all the new areas I could now explore and puzzles I could now solve. Almost an Etrian Odyssey like appeal, where you map out the secrets in your mind. And the better you are at doing that, the more progress you'll make in upgrading your energy tanks, missiles and power bombs.

Admittedly, modern gaming has pampered me to the extent I didnt spend nearly as much time seeking out newly accessible areas as when I was younger. Before entering Impact Crater I remembered an area I hadn't explored yet, and while younger me would have immediately set off for it, current me said eh, I've got enough life tanks, missiles and power bombs.

But that's also one of the best aspects. You can explore or not explore as much as you want.

@Colonel_Mustache
It's so good with the new controls. Graphics are superb, but it's the new controls that really make this game feel flawless. It's good that you waited, as I've known more than one person who was turned off due to the inadequate control schemes of prior entries.

Metroid Prime is extremely fun until close to the end, when it destroys the pacing by forcing you to engage in the world's most annoying fetch quest with the Artifacts. It's super impressive for such an old game, but I've never felt inspired to play the sequels over the years. I'm hoping to make time for the trilogy before MP4 is released, though. Or at least the second and third games, which I'm unfamiliar with.

The mainline 2D titles vary in quality, from unplayable (first two games on NES and Game Boy), to alright (Super) to good (Samus Returns) to great (Fusion) to near perfection (Zero Mission and Dread). In general, those games improved with time.

Didn't like Prime Hunters at all, and still need to get to Other M.

Fission Metroids can go to hell.

@Ralizah
I didnt find it annoying at all.

One reason is, the fun of the game is exploring new areas once you get power ups, and doing one final pass in each area to get secrets and solve puzzles once fully powered up is something I'd do anyways. Finding the artifacts is fun to me. Using the clues to track down where they are... it's just fun.

The other reason is, you can get them as you go. That's what I did this time. You're literally going through those areas anyways, and nothing is stopping you from grabbing them right then and there.

I highly recommend Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. I still regard it as the single greatest video game I've ever played. I'm replaying it now, in fact, on Steamdeck via PrimeHack with dual analog and gyro.

It has more down to earth areas (not your typical fire, ice, etc elemental zones), better puzzles, more streamlined backtracking, way cooler concept with Light and Dark Aether (similar to Zelda Link Between Worlds), and an atmosphere unrivaled by any other game I've played, Metroid or otherwise.

Prime 3 is also a must play, even if I wouldn't rank it quite as high as Prime 2.

@JaxonH It would've been fine if they'd been some sort of secret the player could choose to unlock before the final boss. Maybe to unlock an alternate ending or something. But gating completion behind a fetch quest that involves scouring the entire map for collectibles based on arcane clues is just the most annoying form of padding. It's worse than The Wind Waker's shard hunt near the end of that game. Maybe less annoying on replays when you can just choose to optimize your run to grab them ASAP, but it still exists as an artificial imposition on the natural flow of playing the game. The 2D games have nothing like that, and they're better for it, frankly.

Yeah, I think I need to make Prime 2 & 3 part of my schedule this year. It'll suck if I have to put off Prime 4 until later because I haven't beaten the other games in that particular subseries yet. It'll also give me a reason to go back to my Wii U! Prime 3's footage always put me off, since the inclusion of other alien characters makes it look like Halo or Mass Effect or something. When it comes to Metroid games, I don't really want them to expand the cast or worldbuilding.

@JaxonH I just remembered. I never beat Other M, but I do own it. And yea, I fully agree. It was a joy going from location back to location with newer upgrades finding energy tanks and missiles.

I really should play MP2 now. Just hard to strap myself in with a WiiMote and tv.

Just saved after grabbing the Power Bomb.

I'm not sure if that was the "infamous run" everyone was talking about a few pages back, but either way it sure was tense!

@RR529
Yup, that was it. Well done!

@NintendoByNature
The controls are a hindrance after experiencing dual analog with gyro. I'd recommend PrimeHack if possible, with mouse mapped to gyro.

@Colonel_Mustache
The only issue with backtracking in Prime is the fact no elevators in Phendrana Drifts go anywhere other than Magmoor Caverns, requiring you to travel through Magmoor any time you go to or from Phendrana, which means you must travel through two complete areas to go from Phendrana Drifts to Phazon Mines. All other areas are only separated by one in between at most.

Metroid Prime 2 solves this, though tbh it never bothered me that much because I enjoy scouring the world. If I traveled 10+ times through an area it might bother me, but 2 or 3 times feels normal in the course of a playthrough. Still, one extra elevator from Phendrana to Phazon would have been perfect.

Also yes, optional would be fine with me.

The Switch really does make games more enjoyable. I played half on the TV, half on handheld/tabletop, and even a portion with my XR glasses. The versatility of playing games in multiple form factors never ceases to amaze me, even all these years later.

@Ralizah
You're certainly not the only one to express that sentiment, and definitely won't be the last, and I do agree it can be annoying in some games... most even (notably Zelda), but it just never felt that way to me in Prime games. Due to the nature of backtracking for secrets anyways, looping back through such an immersive world always felt like pure joy to me. It's a fetch quest done right imo. Most games can't pull it off because it's just annoying to travel, but in a game where it's intoxicating to just be in the world, and enticing to explore old areas for newly accessible secrets, it doesn't feel that way in Prime. Rather, it feels like a victory lap as you make your final round scouring for secrets you previously couldn't access.

I wouldn't be opposed to it being optional though because I'd still have access to it (so I'm happy) and those who don't want to do it wouldn't have to (so everyone is happy). I definitely think that would be the best option. But at least for me, I loved it, and even more so in Prime 2. Not just because the world of Prime 2 is far more... oppressively captivating, as another put it, but also because you really can't explore much of the dark world until near the end of the game when you get the Light Suit, which is when the final temple key hunt begins. So unless someone just hates exploring (in which case I'd question why they're even playing Metroid) the allure of exploring Dark Aether without hindrance once you finally get the Light Suit is enough to make one go back through anyways. The Temple Keys are just one more reason, and add to the fun with deciphering the clues and the joy of discovery.

Metroid Prime 3 does actually have a bit of a Halo vibe. But having beaten the game, I can confidently say it's Metroid through and through, and in hindsight, I appreciate the new perspective it brings to the lore and universe. We never really got to see the Federation before Prime 3, and it would make sense a game set out in space in the far future with sentient bird species and floating brain leeches would also have other alien lifeforms, some who are bounty hunters like Samus Aran. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Prime 3 is very underrated imo. It gets the least amount of attention of the three, but it's definitely a worthy entry.