@VoidofLight
I hear that. But at least we got Metroid Prime Remastered, and it definitely holds up as a NSW1 remaster of a GameCube title. And has fantastic gyro aiming.
It's been my dream to have the Metroid Prime Trilogy with dual analog controls and gyro on an HD handheld hybrid. We don't have MP2 or MP3, but we do have MP1 and MP4, which itself is miraculous.
You're eating like a champ if this is your first Prime game. I really feel this game is the perfect entry point for new players unfamiliar with the series, who don't have some preconceived notion of what it "should be". Starting with the original can feel pretty obtuse, tbh. There's a reason so many bounced off it. This game really solves those issues in a way I don't think new players will feel stuck to a point of frustration.
And after you beat Prime 4, then go back and play Prime Remastered, which you'll appreciate more having learned the fundamentals and how the game expects you to think.
Btw, some of these morph ball tunnels are absolutely jaw-dropping. I thought Volt Forge couldn't be matched, but I was wrong. Ice Belt might be my favorite area now... but it's so hard because Fury Green is just classic, and Volt Forge is excellent too. And even Flame Pool is a noticeable step above Magmoor Caverns in the original.
You know what, they're all good, I can't choose!
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@JaxonH I'm one of those who never finished MP1. You said that for some wanna-be players, the game "really solves those issues". Could you share what issues MP4 managed to solve?
@cwong15
I wouldn't characterize them as "wannabe players". That comes off insulting I think. I'd say players who bounced off the first. Here's why.
Metroid Prime can be confusing as to where to go next. Yes, if enough time passed it would show a "?" on the map to instruct the player of the intended destination, but how you got there could get really tricky for some players, to the extent I personally know some who gave up as a result.
Prime 4 is designed in such a way that's not really a stumbling block in the same way it was in prior entries. It still has the same design philosphy- if you're in the desert for a bit Myles will radio you and suggest heading to a specific area, but it's not confusing how to get there since the desert isn't a labyrinth. The map clearly shows the destination, and you can even visibly see it in the distance- the giant tree of Fury Green, the massive volcano of Flare Pool, etc.
And when you're in a zone, it always tells you the destination you're supposed to reach. And yes, that's no different than the original, but it's less confusing how to get there. You can look at the map and clearly see the route you need to take. Sometimes a door might be sealed off or frozen over or malfunctioning, and you'll need to look for a tunnel to roll through, but there were times in the original where the destination was across the map and was so far away, you had no clue how to get there. Even I wasted an entire hour exploring the wrong way in an underwater section only for progress to be ultimately blocked near the end, because I didn't yet have the right power to proceed.
Beyond fixes that by blocking your progress much earlier on, so you don't waste so much time before figuring out you're not supposed to be going that way yet. And, thanks to the hub world design with areas around it like spokes on a wheel, and the game suggesting which area to head to next, you don't have to worry about going to the wrong area. And even if you do, progress is blocked pretty early on so you're not wasting so much time.
The game also has checkpoints you can restart from if you die. That's a seismic change from prior entries, which exclusively relied on last used save stations for you to restart from. I died and it restarted me 2 rooms back, and it only took me 60 seconds to get to where I died, whereas in prior games you could lose half an hour's worth of progress, easily.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
Finished Flare Pool. I found it to be kinda meh, but the ending was much more exciting. I was wondering if we were going to get a boss we fight on Vi-O-La and we did here (kind of, only for the first phase but I'll take it). Also a nice little escape sequence. It's not super long or difficult (although I did struggle with it a bit trying to find Grapple points), but it is quite thrilling.
@JaxonH Thank you for taking the time to advise on that (inversion Y Axis on 'cursor' aka lock-on)
It was so unbelievably jarring going from an inverted Y-Axis in free-aim... to then lock on and be dealing with the complete inverse (!) The game is now thankfully playable for me now, cheers mate
I started the game this morning and it's pretty much everything I could ask for in a Metroid game. Don't get the negativity of some people here and to say it will destroy the franchise is just utterly absurd. It's clearly a game that's not for you and that's ok but going around putting a damper on things without giving any constructive feedback is just annoying and on that I'm unsubscribing from the thread now. There's enough negativity in the world already I don't want to come on this website and be drowned by it.
I'm astounded at the various control methods people prefer, and this game accommodates all of them.
Dual Stick
Dual Stick + Gyro (Camera)
Dual Stick + Gyro (Lock-On)
Dual Stick + Gyro (Camera + Lock-On)
Motion Pointer Aiming
Mouse Aiming
There's even multiple options for free-aiming:
Free Aiming (Gyro) with threshold settings
Free Aiming (Right Stick)
Free Aiming (Revised Right Stick)
You can invert X Camera, invert Y Camera, invert X Lock-On, invert Y Lock-On, change sensitivities for all of them individually, change X mouse sensitivity, Y mouse sensitivity, toggle motion for grapple lasso, motion for spring ball, and customize every last button imaginable, even separately for morph ball mode and when on Viola and when on foot.
@JaxonH
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, was playing more of the game. I don't know exactly how far I am but I've played over 7 hours according to the time on my in-game save file (according to my Switch 2 I have 10 hours in it). I'm at the Ice Belt, which is my favorite area so far and I'm beginning to enjoy the game a bit more than I was. To be entirely fair to this game, I think part of the problem is given how much I love Metroid (my second favorite series behind only Resident Evil), and the work Retro has done for Nintendo over the years, I had my expectations for this one tuned up to 11 when I should've realized given the circumstances, it was never going to reach the insane highs I wanted it to, even after an 18-year wait and 8 after the announcement. It is what it is.
As for the dialog, it's the typical writing and humor that has become really trendy since it was used in the MCU that is plaguing a lot of games these days and it doesn't work for me, not in anything but especially Metroid. I'm not against having dialog in the series. I didn't think MP 3's was anything to write home about but it didn't bother me. I thought it was handled extremely well in Dread. In this game, the first impression wasn't great and it hasn't gotten much better. Factor in the boring open world, a bit of a lack of variety in enemy types and it does weaken the game some. Fortunately, the good so far has lifted things to the point where it's been a more positive than negative experience even if my comments haven't made it seem that way. I'll try to post more the further I get but despite my criticisms the game has got me hooked so that's not a bad thing.
Also just want to say on the very positive side, the soundtrack for this game is absolutely outstanding. I've played pretty much every major release this year and by far my favorite music, and sound in general, is in Metroid Prime 4. I'd say even to people who don't plan to play the game, get on the Nintendo Music app and listen to the tunes that have been put on there.
Ice Belt really surprised me. I thought Volt Forge was peak, but man, once you restore power in Ice Belt it transforms in a way that really impressed me. I also loved that wind section on the chains. Reminded me of the Tomb Raider reboot crossing sections with strong wind that would blow you so hard you'd go right off the edge if you weren't careful.
I can't stop playing, but I'm also scared to finish it cause I know it'll be over then. I agree that Sol Valley gameplay isn't as fun as the bespoke areas, but I do still enjoy it. Riding Viola around is fun, and it breaks up the stress of exploration in between areas. But I can see how it may not sit as well with others.
I'm going down a rabbit hole of logbook lore entries in Ice Belt. Learning about the Grievers and how they were created, and the attempts to cure them... it's fascinating. I wish those diary lore entries were voiced like in Tomb Raider. It's not a big deal but I do think it would elevate it that much more.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@VoidofLight
If you do end up liking MP 4 enough to try other entries, definitely give Metroid Prime 1 a go. Imo, it easily ranks among the 15 best video games ever created, still holds up to this day and the remaster is exactly how a re-release should be done. Even without a Switch 2 patch, it plays phenomenally and looks terrific.
@LightSpirit
Don't let such people run you out. That's what they want to see happen. They want to ruin your fun and steal your enjoyment.
Just ignore it- giving them attention and saying it gets to you just emboldens them. The only way threads don't get overrun by such people is if reasonable members stick around and have normal conversations. Like @Gamer83 who had some legit criticisms I disagree with but he's genuine, and doesn't exaggerate with an agenda to dogpile or hate bash, and can still acknowledge he's having a great time. Those are the ones who keep the thread grounded in real discussion.
Respond to those kinds of members and let the ones with an agenda talk amongst themselves. We need people like you here, otherwise the thread gets conquered by those who want to see the game fail and just spend every post trashing it.
@cwong15
Ya I really am convinced this is THE game to start with as a newcomer. And once you play Metroid Prime 4 and understand how the game expects you to approach things and solve problems, you'll be better equipped to go experience earlier entries.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@JaxonH
I wouldn't want them to overdue it with spoken lines but if they did want to do something like have Samus read lore entries out loud that would be cool. Also don't think some type of interaction with other characters would be bad. Just keep it minimal. Worked well in Dread.
@Gamer83
Hmm... I hadn't considered Samus herself reading the entries, but ya know, I'm not entirely against that. Could be a smart way of allowing Samus to speak and acclimate long-time fans to the idea of her talking again, without it going down the Other M path.
I did really like how it was handled in Dread though. She spoke one line, but because she never speaks it made it feel all the more special. Especially in the Chozo tongue. I personally really enjoy spoken dialog, but like you I agree it should be kept to a minimum in Metroid games. There's a balance to be struck. Other M was too far on one end of the spectrum, whereas games like Dread maybe were a little light (not for Samus, but for dialog from other characters- Adam at the terminals was essentially all we got).
I feel Prime 4 strikes a pretty good balance actually, but I do wish Samus would have been given a line or two. Something like Dread- even a single line, would have gone a long ways (and while I havent finished the game, I've read enough reviews to know it doesnt happen).
Music is banging btw. I heard you can unlock an OST selection for Viola in-game (the amiibo grants access right away), the problem is, by the time you unlock it you probably wont have much need for it. I strongly recommend getting the Viola amiibo, or an amiibo card, or using your phone, to unlock those additional tracks early. Cause like you said, the music is superb. And when you're jamming out to bangers like the Volt Forge theme in Sol Valley, even if you hate it, you'll still probably have a reasonably good time because of the music. Cruising around crunching crystals and finding secrets is just background activity for a jam session.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
I'd complain about the Amiibo too if it wasn't trivially easy to clone one with an Android phone and a programmable NFC card.
I didn't actually know you could do that but it does reduce the overall experience surely if you have to do something like that instead of just playing the game and enjoying it. Looking at this thread there are quite a few people that have not really enjoyed the game that much and giving it fairly low scores. It does seem a good technical showcase for the console at least in beautiful artwork of the graphics. I guess maybe games like Cyberpunk using DLSS are more impressive but then that definitely doesn't play at 120 fps or even 60fps I think its 30fps and 40fps. It definitely feels like this isn't an essential purchase on Switch 2 or Switch 1 just another good title to consider.
Just to be clear, there is ambient music in the desert. It's just that having the Amiibo allows you to change it to one of the themes from the other areas. Nintendo have been doing this sort of thing for a decade now, with some far more egregious feature blocking, e.g. fast travel in Skyward Sword.
Like I said though, it's very easy to work around, so not worth complaining about much. If only there was such an easy fix for having an empty desert that seemly just exists to pad out the game in the first place.
@JaxonH
I actually picked up the Samus Amiibo a couple days before the game launched because I thought it looked cool, didn't even know what it unlocked, was nice to find out it gave me some tunes to listen to while in Sol Valley. It's still not a fun part of the game but great music does at least alleviate some of the annoyance.
@JaxonH Oh man do I appreciate the checkpoints. This was nice in Dread where you had a checkpoint just before the boss if you die (which I did, often many times), so it was something I was more used to since Dread is my most recently played Metroid. It's nice to not have to do a super big trek back just because a battle went sideways or something.
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