Topic: Metroid Prime 1 Remastered

@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.

Yeah, I think I would've been fine with the artifacts if they were optional or if it was more clear you were supposed to be collecting them while you're traversing through the world...
As for the backtracking, I think it would've been better if the worlds were connected via one single location as a hub instead of I have to go through this area to get to this elevator to go here?
Those would be my only nitpicks though personally...

@JaxonH Good to know about that, I know that's part of what they touted when announcing the game but I didn't realize it made that much of a difference, so in that case I am glad I waited! To play via Handheld mode in addition to TV mode helped in parts too...
Man I love the Switch!

@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 You know, the funny thing is I read about that "infamous run", and was dreading it... and I have no clue what point it even was...
I may have better reflexes than I thought...

@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.

@JaxonH Yeah, I mean it wasn't that much of an issue for me, and sometimes it was just me going to one area thinking I needed to head there only to realize I needed to head back a different longer way... Which is more my fault than the games...
Edit- I am definitely hoping we're going to get Prime 2 and 3 sooner than later now...

@Colonel_Mustache
If we're getting Prime 2 and Prime 3, I suspect it'll happen this year. Why? Several reasons.

1 I'm convinced Switch 2 is releasing March 2024. So the remaining two Prime remasters would need to release within the next 12 months in order to not split across platforms
2 Doug Bowser confidently claimed they have a very strong lineup this year. With rumors of no other massive new titles after Zelda and Pikmin, what then could release to qualify as very strong? How bout Metroid Prime 2 Remastered and Metroid Prime 3 Remastered? That fits the bill for Doug's description while also not being a blockbuster, which some claim Zelda/Pikmin will be the last of
3 The original leak stated Nintendo approved all three games to be Remastered

Doesn't mean they're coming. But if they're coming, it'll be this year. Of that I am certain.

@Colonel_Mustache, @JaxonH, yeah, I managed to get through it on my first try, so while tense it wasn't nearly as infuriating as I feared it'd be.

The most annoying part was simply the fact that there were so many new Space Pirate variants introduced during that section that I had to take so many pot shots trying to scan them all. I think my health was down to half at one point, but there's a room filled with (respawning) poison spawn enemies partway through that you can use to refill on health drops.

Was kinda nervous about those electric spider ball sections Jaxon was talking about due to the huge health hits you incur for messing up, but those were the easiest sections IMO. The first one only consists of two spinning turbine like things that are very easy to judge, & then the second is full of those molecule looking enemies that emit electricity, but you can just stand at the top & kill them all with the wave beam before safety dropping to the bottom.

@JaxonH Solid points there, and I agree it'll be this year...
...I just have to be patient somehow... 🙃
Well I guess we do have Advance Wars and Zelda coming up...

@RR529 Yeah I kept getting confused why I was damaging them until I switched my arm cannons, and I did get a bit low on health a couple of times but managed to make it through okay...
I've actually played enough of those tight space sections that that was the easiest part for me actually...

Is there a way to get gold points for a sealed physical game without opening the seal ?

@Ninfan
No, the only way is by opening and inserting the cartridge

But consider this. The gold points would be worth 40 cents. The value lost from opening a sealed game surely exceeds 40 cents. So you're not really losing much.

@Colonel_Mustache
Oh ya, there's plenty of other games in the meantime. It's just... when you get the Metroid itch, nothing else quite satisfies it

[quote=JaxonH]@Ninfan
No, the only way is by opening and inserting the cartridge

But consider this. The gold points would be worth 40 cents. The value lost from opening a sealed game surely exceeds 40 cents. So you're not really losing much.

@JaxonH good point

Prime 2 is structured a bit more like this (although there's also an ALttP/ALBW-esque light/dark world mechanic and you can only travel between areas in the light world). There's a central hub sort of area and the remaining areas all branch off from it, with some shortcuts between the other areas you can unlock later in the game.

@JaxonH Exactly, Metroid Prime hits in a different way...

@Bolt_Strike Huh, good to know... Sounds like I'll really enjoy 2 then as well!

It's a shame that an idle animation that has Samus lower her arm cannon is tucked away in the control options rather than being a default, and then once that's figured out the target reticle doesn't follow the arm cannon when it's lowered. That's my experience with Prime Remastered though, several aspects are just not quite there. This is the best graphical release for the Metroid Series. It should be possible to take clear screenshots of the environment. They covered everything in the options (HUD, helmet, arm cannon) but a visual that will be centered in any shot.

I completed it last night! I thought it was excellent, the final "stages" were great. This is easily one of my top 5 favourite games on the Switch. I finished in 19:59 with 60%.

Still slowly working my way through this.

Defeated the Omega Pirate this afternoon. I didn't think it was all that tough luckily. Then again I had already collected most of the energy tanks by the time I fought it so that probably played a part (I was only missing two by the time I went into the fight, and the next one was located right after the fight, so I'm only missing one now).

@RR529 Nice! How are you doing with artefacts? By the Omega Pirate, I only had 3 or 4 so I spent a bit of time going back and find the rest.