Topic: Metroid Prime 4: The Long(er) Wait

All I want in a Prime or new 3D Metroid is a darn 3rd person viewpoint. We've seen games that handle 3rd and 1st views seamlessly for those that lean toward their particular preference. Over-the-shoulder, behind-the-back (Nintendoland - Metroid Blast style), just.... something.

Samus's somersaulting, jumping and general platforming traversal abilities have yet to be properly reflected in the Prime games. Metroid fans don't just play these games because we wanna be Samus, we wanna see Samus. And in 2017, 2D shouldn't be the only view available to make that happen.

@Turbo857 For what it was worth, I enjoyed the Metroid mini-game in Nintendo Land. One of the reasons was because it is the only 3D third person ''Metroid game'' with camera controls. I'd like to see that in a Metroid game one day. I don't think we'll see that in Prime 4 though. Nintendo is going to play it very safe with this game.

@Octane

Remains to be seen but you may be right. Til then, I'll be keepin' my fingers crossed.

Turned out one of the items were worth 2% so it was only the 9 missile expansions missing. Game completed at 100% logbook, 100% items!

Someday I'll get to replaying Prime 2 and 3 but given BotW DLC 2 takes place after the final boss I'll be focusing more on that game regarding single player experiences.

@Grumblevolcano Don't how how you can do 100% logbook. Too tedious for me. I gladly look for all the items, but I've never done a 100% logbook.

@Octane It felt natural while playing through the game, the only scan I struggled with was a research one which turned out to be Gunship (Yes, Samus' gunship which can be your first scan in Tallon Overworld).

@Grumblevolcano You can scan the Gunship before you arrive on Tallon IV, as soon as you get control over Samus! But I've always ignored most of the scans. I feel that I need a guide if I want to complete them, and I may do so one day, but not now.

@Octane Not really, trying to scan the Gunship on the frigate just tells you that you can't get back in because there's a shield in your way (and you don't get the logbook entry). As to how she was able to jump onto the frigate before...

@meleebrawler I see. Well, I did notice the scan icon before, I assumed you could scan it right away. I stand corrected.

Tally for yesterday evening:
Missiles: 230
Power Bomb Charges: 10 (took me a bit to work out where the last one was)
Beam Ammo: 250
Energy Tanks: 13 (May use a guide to help with the last one)
Items: 94%
Scans: 90%

Edit: I finally found the last Energy Tank in Torvus, in one of the underwater pipe sections. It took a combination of my memory + a guide on the tank locations. Kind of wish I didn't waste my time in Agon first....

I may forgo the last five Missile Expansions for now and just head for the end. 25 missiles shouldn't make too much of a difference, methinks.

(Famous last words)

Tl;dr - I beat Prime 2 last night, it was frustrating yet awesome. I'm covering the final moments of the game and my general impressions after playing it.

[Warning: The following post is a monster post. Viewer discretion is advised.]

I decided to forget about those missing Missile Expansions for now, but I may go back at a later time and hunt for them. Instead, I made my way to Sky Temple Gateway and turned in all of the keys. I walked through the beam of light that appeared, saved my game in the convenient save station at the top, and moved Samus towards her impending doom.

Emperor Ing was a big guy. Very reminiscent of a Greenwich horror, tentacles and all.

Phase 1 - This was probably the hardest phase for me, and one that I had to repeat a couple of times. No matter what I did, this guy's tentacles are hard to dodge, and it was difficult for me to get down the timing just right to damage his eye. The tentacles were the main problem; Annihilator Beam ammo worked out on these just fine, but I ran out before I knew it despite going in with full ammo. I had to rely on pickups and some well-placed Power Bombs to take these out. I used some charged shots and quite a few missiles to attempt to take out the eye.

Phase 2 - I only had to do this phase once, though it about killed me with the poisonous gas until I realized that I could use the Spider Ball on the cocoon. I figured out that I could farm the Inglings that kept appearing for health and other goodies, so needless to say I intentionally prolonged this phase for a while once I found out how to destroy the tentacles properly (which didn't take long).

Phase 3 - I also only had to do this phase once, though it took a lot of patience. Points here to Retro for a wicked-looking final form. It took me a short time to figure out how to damage its mouth (Super Missiles), then classic video game logic came into play here with dark/light. That said, I still had a heck of a time causing damage sometimes. At least this form's attacks were easier to dodge than in phase 1, IMO.

After Emperor Ing bit the dust, a classic Metroid trope appeared: The "timer appears, get out fast!" trope. I was quite happy to oblige. What I wasn't happy about was what happened next. Remember when I remarked in a previous post that I was sure I hadn't seen the last of Dark Samus? Turns out I was right. Further points to Retro for another wicked appearance, though I slightly prefer her appearance from the previous fight.

I had to repeat this battle 3-4 times. Not because I ran out of health. Nope! Because the timer ran out. Brief pet peeve moment: Do NOT slap a varied timer on a final battle. Some may enjoy this, but this stresses me out/hampers my thinking a bit since I'm thinking about the remaining time on one level, and trying to focus on the fight on another. At least the game was considerate enough to phase me back in AFTER the Emperor Ing fight. Because of this, the second Dark Samus fight in the game is still my favorite encounter with her. That one didn't leave a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The actual fight was great. Scanning her told me that the Dark Visor wouldn't work, so I resorted to using the Echo Visor. This part of the fight wasn't bad at all since I found her somewhat easy to dodge. The difficulty really ramped up, however, when she raised her (almost) permanent Phazon shield. To be fair, my first death was more as a result of not understanding a crucial element of causing damage here. While I was charging the Power Beam almost constantly during this (second?) phase, I found that I had to be closer to the Phazon emitted (unlike with normal power-ups). Really, I first discovered this by accident during my second try. I almost won the second time (or third, it was pretty late by then), but the timer kicked me in the knees there.

After finally taking her darker half down, Samus escaped back into Light Aether. The Ing tried to follow and impeded Samus's progress at first, but they comically fell along with the rest of their world [insert evil laughter]. Samus returned to the Sky Temple, presumably returned the Luminoth's technology (since she was in the Varia Suit), and bade the respectfully bowing Luminoth farewell. Before leaving Aether, Samus "suited down" to her Zero Suit (slightly weird character model here, but it wasn't bad, I guess. Just a product of the times, I assume, since this was originally a GCN game), and left Aether.

I'm guessing the best ending involves another element of some sort. Not sure if I'll just catch it on YouTube somewhere, or if I'll find those final Missile Expansions and properly access the best ending.

Personal Impressions/Thoughts

Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with Echoes. There are some ways where I feel that it trumps MP1, and vice-versa. I can easily see how this title is polarizing for some, and why they might prefer the first game.

In terms of world design, I feel that Echoes, overall, blows MP1 out of the water. There were more elevators between the different zones (I think), and I feel that most of the zones were well-designed in general. It got a bit linear near the end, but I found that I didn't mind that very much. Unlike in the first game, I didn't get that sick of any one zone/area from having to traverse through it five million times (coughMagmoorcough). A lot of care was clearly put into the game's environment, and I found it more aesthetically pleasing than its predecessor. The Luminoth architecture was well-done, and I've already went on at length about how much I love the Sanctuary Fortress area.

I'm rather neutral to Dark Aether's concept. Some online clearly like it, while others hated it. At first, I didn't like how it could deplete your health and the fact that you had to rely on beacons to regenerate your health (which hindered the pacing somewhat), but this was remedied by suit upgrades. Basically, as the game wore on, Dark Aether became less of a pain.

The story was also a nice change of pace. I learned a lot through scanning, and as discussed before, the story isn't forced on you; barring a little dialogue when talking with U-Mos or the Luminoth holograms, the game's story can be experienced as little or as much as one likes. Plus, the Luminoth are still living. You don't need to rely on the writings of an extinct race to provide guidance. They seem like a respectable, wise race.

There were some touching little moments, too. Near the beginning, Samus respectfully closed the eyes of one of the dead Galactic Federation troopers. Another time, near the end, I scanned the remains of two Luminoth who had died together. One was the father; the other was his daughter. Something hit me there, giving me an inkling of what sort of horrors the Luminoth have been through at the hands of the Ing.

Dark Samus is an interesting character. I wasn't sure how I would feel about her at first, but I feel that Retro did a good job of presenting her character. She seems quite...unstable due to her constant Phazon absorption, and it's neat to see how she changes throughout the game.

Overall, I think I had less fun with some of the bosses when compared with MP1, though some of that was down to the difficulty present here. Crazily enough, Echoes on MPT was apparently nerfed, so I can only imagine how...erm...FUN some of these battles were beforehand. I've already disclosed my thoughts on these fights previously, so to make this post slightly less monstrous, I won't go into detail here. XD

I've also went on about how I generally dislike how a lot of the beam ammo in this game is limited. While I understand why (previously disclosed reasons), it still drives me crazy when I don't have any of it maxed out. Even with all of the Beam Ammo Expansions (and learning how to better manage my stores), I still found myself running out of it in fights that mattered.

In terms of music...no contest here. There are some tracks from MP1 that I like, but I gotta say that Echoes has more tunes that I really like. The Hydrochamber/Torvus Catacombs, the Title Theme, the Splinter Hive Theme (didn't realize it contained heartbeats until I bought the tune in the Soundtrack Extras last night), and more.

It'll be a little bit before I start Corruption, I think. Like after when I finished MP1, I'll take a brief break so as not to get worn with the series (I generally do this with other franchises, too). I'm expecting Corruption to have some interesting changes, particularly since it was built for the Wii to begin with.

(Again, sorry for the book)

@Tyranexx I'm so happy you liked it! I personally love how Echoes feels the most 'alien' of the trilogy, what with the strange blue digital plants in Agon Wastes and the mysterious underwater structure in Torvus, and of course the completely alien and unknowable Ing. And I think the music plays a big part in that too.

I'm not crazy about the aesthetic, but I've never had a hatred for the dark world trope like some do, and enjoyed how Dark Aether felt like a survival horror more than most Metroid Prime areas. I think the limited ammo was part of that.

While Echoes with its environments and story are my second favorite in the series, I feel like it's the most deserving of a remake. Prime 1 doesn't really have any crazy new concepts or huge views that couldn't be realized at the time and on the development timetable it had, and Prime 3 did what it was setting out to do perfectly on the Wii. I would love to see an Echoes remake that blows out the world, Ing and especially Luminoth cultures, war, and Dark Samus rivalry in new ways. Seeing that world before it became destroyed, like when the Ing first started to break through, would be incredible. So, while the game they made is totally a 10/10, I can't help but dream about what's down there in that Luminoth city.

In terms of boss fights... they still haven't gotten good yet. Of course there were some good fights in Echoes, but I feel like Retro didn't go crazy with successive phases and weak spots until Corruption.

Echoes is my favourite metroid game and it's in my top 5 video games in general. I agree with everything Haru17 said above.

Cant wait. Hopefully a good mixture of all 3 Prime games.

Make it Great Again like MP1.

Make it Hard Again like Echoes.

Make Multi World Again like Corruption.

After the nonsense of OtherM and Federation Force, Just Make Metroid Great Again! 🇯🇵

@Tyranexx Yeah, all the Prime games give the best endings for getting 100% of the items. You're not missing much if you don't get it in 2, though. It's something that gets (accurately) addressed the instant you start Corruption. You haven't seen nothing of what Dark Samus can do yet...

One cool aspect about her is that she is your twisted parallel not only in terms of how she fights you, but also in her general actions. Like you, she explores planets in search of power-ups and new abilities. Unlike you, she does it with an all-in-one substance in Phazon. She basically is a more traditional RPG character, gaining experience and levelling up with increased stats and sometimes new moves. This trend continues in her following appearance, with an even more disturbing method...

"Dark Samus gained 20000 Phazon points. Dark Samus levelled up! +200 HP. +10 Attack. +10 Defence. +50 Intelligence. Dark Samus learned Charge Beam! Dark Samus learned Boost Ball!"

I started up Metroid Prime for the first time in like 10 years since I only played it for 45 minutes and wanted to see what all the hype was about, but the lack of an autosave feature promptly led to a ragequit. Maybe I'll pick it up in another 10 years, lol.

Not really that impressed with what I did play, though. Granted, it was just the tutorial section and I died during the evacuation, but the initial gameplay mechanics of running and shooting and scanning 500 different things didn't exactly lead to a positive first impression. Not a fan of the lack of C stick usage, either. It boggles my mind that they didn't use it, and instead make you walk and aim the gun with the same stick.

And from what I've heard, there's not much of a story, which further causes me to not feel like playing it. I can trudge through boring gameplay if there's a good story, but if the main draw is the gameplay, it doesn't really seem like it's my kind of game at all. The gameplay that was there was incredibly basic. Does it improve as the game goes on?

@KirbyTheVampire

It's the perfect game - but it sounds like you already formed your opinion before you started.

@Aurumonado I'm not forming my definite opinion yet, I'm just saying if the gameplay can be summed up in that area before the evacuation, and if there's not much of a story, it might not be for me, which is why I asked if the game picks up at all after that first area.

The game becomes much better as it goes on, but at the same time, the core gameplay is shown off in that area. It's the world and level design that is different after that, and is part of the appeal.

I'm genuinely trying not to be rude when I say this but it could also be that you currently suck at the game, if the initial area was an actual challenge. I think I died there the first time I played it way back in the day too? So like many good games (especially ones with unusual gameplay) you will probably enjoy it more when you stop sucking at it.

Metroid Prime 1's tutorial area is maybe the only criticism I could ever give it. "Hey here's this series known for great worlds and exploration...explore a linear ship for a half hour". Probably necessary because it was such a weird game to play at first, but it's still well below the quality of the rest of the game.

also you dont have to scan everything lolololol, its optional for a reason

@kkslider5552000 I think I do suck at it, lol. I was genuinely expecting to be using the C stick to aim, so when that turned out not to be the case, it really threw me off for some reason, even though it's really not a foreign concept at all, especially among older games.

And that's good to hear that later levels get more interesting. I figured that would be the case, but I thought I'd ask just in case it all ended up being super linear like the ship, since I prefer not to waste my time with games I won't actually end up caring about.

And I know most of it is optional, but I read in this review that scanning stuff and finding all the little hidden stuff was really interesting and immersive, but even though most of it was pretty bland information, I felt paranoid that I would miss interesting tidbits that show off what little story there is, so I was probably scanning way more than I should have been. I'll try to be less OCD about it next time, lol.