Random: Internet Goes Wild Over One Incredibly Small Detail In Metroid Dread

Her suit is looking cooler the more I see it. Also the idle animation is always nice when devs try to make characters feel alive.

Who can't wait another month for this game?

Is it October yet?

I hope the environments aren't all going to be just mechanical corridors and dank caves because that's all that has been shown so far.

I wish I could get hyped for this as others do but the studios' and the 3DS games' mediocrity are still fresh on my mind.

Already preorded the special edition when I was able to. Second game I have ever preordered, after smash special box.

I’m actually staring out the window waiting for the mailman something like this.

I acctually preorder this game. I think it’s my Second game I ever preordered.

Next thing I wanna preorder is F-Zero Switch.

Cries in Nathan Drake

I am hoping for lots of small details to show what 2D Metroid game can look like as a full price tent pole game.

@Nontendo_4DS Proceed to fall on the ground with all limbs in the air I stand my point!

Who said 2d games aren't big budget?

Who cares....is the game going to be any good is the question.

@moodycat What was wrong with Samus Returns in your opinion? I've completed Super and Fusion and thought Returns was great

Can she get her hand on the special edition release though? That would be more impressive.

@DrJoson I'm not @moodycat but I also didn't really like Samus Returns. I didn't hate it or think they "ruined" the game, but it just never "clicked" with me and I didn't finish it.

I had two major issues with it. First, the graphics were kind of dull and uninspired and the little icons that tell you which weapon you need to destroy a block were hard to see and unintuitive. Second, it relied too much on the melee counter attack, which made the gameplay a bit repetitive.

From what I've seen from Dread they fixed both of these issues so I'm still exited for it.

Between Samus Returns and how Dread is turning out, Nintendo/Sakamoto definitely got a good one out of Mercury Steam, hopefully Nintendo will keep them around for a while.

Pretty cool, this game will turn out to be a good time.

@Friendly With the beam cannon pointed and ready?

@moodycat Yup that melee counter is what prevented me from buying Metroid Samus Returns from the moment I saw it at reveal. Seemed clunky and that it broke the pacing, and...appears my judgement was right.

The melee counter in Dread doesn't seem to break the pace as much, but yeah I'm a bit skeptical.

This reminds me to the animations in The Last of Us Part 2, they also do this things and I thought it was impressive. Really surprised (and glad) to see this kind of details in a 2D game, though!

@FlameRunnerFast It depends on the person who plays it. I really liked the melee counter, I had no problem with it at all. And I've been a Metroid fanatic for ages.

Never think you won't like something just because one person didn't. You would miss a lot of great stuff for that.

I love this. Characters interacting with the scene make an artificial world believable. This should not be news but common practice. I would love this kind of programming in every game, or at least decent collision detection! How can developers still get away with having objects clipping like a failed Star Trek transport? This has to become a topic for review critics.

This game looks so cool. Definitely will pick this one up at launch!

@Expa0 Isn't that all of Metroid though? Either caves or tech labs?

I love it when armchair experts use acronyms to show how much they “know”.

@Thaliard grapple beam to grab the package asap to save me a few seconds!

(Should be the other arm of course).

Saw her leaning to the wall with her hand in the Treehouse segment. I found it immediately impressive.

@moodycat the linearity and repetitive Metroid battles both come from the original Metroid 2 though - although I think they did try to improve both slightly from the original.

Doesn’t make the complaint any less valid, but hopefully without the constraints of being a remake, and with more powerful hardware and a bigger budget, Dread won’t suffer the same fate.

Can’t argue with your other points though.

Wow, that's such a small but cool detail.

@Snatcher
It’s an October release?

@the_beaver You say this, but in the Metroid Dread Treehouse event, they explicitly commented how the counter no longer breaks your pacing.

Nintendo is well aware of the criticism. I understand that outside of that, it's mostly a good Metroid. Though I have heard the bosses are meh, the environmental attention to detail is lacking, and the music doesn't stand out.

I might play it someday, but I have a massive backlog before that day happens.

@lat297 I work with animations, and have used Inverse Kinematics both with 2D and 3D bone animations, but even I get uncertain sometimes which is which or how do explain it. Because there is also FK

Nintendo always does this with their games. Just the slightest details that really make their games jump to the level that no other developer can match.

Her hand movement is really cool.
Her left foot penetrating in the rock is way LESS impressive

Oh, wow.

And you guys make a entire article on this ?

Yes and now we know why it’s 60$!
😂

October is long away guys!

@Expa0
They've shown just a small portion of one area. Of course not all areas are not gonna look the same.

I do like my little details in games. Neat.

‘Internet goes wild’ & ‘mind blowing’ are probably the 2 most overused and inaccurate phrases to describe something these days.

So......does this mean Samus can finally crawl?

They pointed this out in the treehouse video

@moodycat While what you say about Samus Returns is true......it's also a remake, that holds pretty true to the source in that regard. Metroid II was very linear and had repetitive Metroid fights (especially the Gammas in II). There was very little backtracking or exploring in the original game. So to say it's not like past Metroid titles isn't accurate, it's very much like a past Metroid game.....the one its remaking. MercurySteam takes some heat for that, but their hands were likely tied in keeping the remake close to the original. I suspect things like the melee counter were born from wanting to add and change things when they couldn't change the format of the original game.
Dread is an original game, so they are likely less tied down and more free to make it more like Super Metroid and Fusion. I think people should hold off judging MercurySteam until we see what they do with an original Metroid game, rather than what they did tied down to remaking a classic.

@Expa0 2D Metroid is traditionally all caves and mechanical corridors. The first 3 games were all underground (a bit of surface in Super, but very little), 4 was limited to a space station. Of course, the Prime games broke from this and had a ton of outside and surface areas.
They will likely have areas like in Super Metroid that change the 'dank cave' look, like Brinstar, which was jungle-esque, but still an underground cave. We've barely seen any of Dread, it's probably not fair to judge it on that point as of yet.

Oh yeah, day one for me!!

@Scrubicius It's $60 cause it's an exclusive. You will know if you ever made an exclusive product.

I feel like they talked about this for, like, a minute at the start of the treehouse presentation.

This game is my dream come true in every sense, even in the tiny details.
But, now I'm quite annoyed that, after a week, I still can't preorder neither the Special edition of this game, nor the Zelda Game&Watch....

@Expa0 Right? I don’t understand why people are losing their minds about this game. Samus Returns was extremely mediocre, and it made me never want to play another game by this studio again.

@Gamepro500 Everyone seems to have convinced themselves that it’s good, just based on tiny bits of information. I mean, at least wait for reviews/gameplay vids. This $60 gamble on games we haven’t played isn’t good for our lives.

Gotta love IK rigs.

@moodycat Did you check out the part Ii treehouse stream? It confirms all screenshots so far are from either the first (the mechanical) or second (the magma caverns) area, and that there's a number more. Based on the size of the map, I'd guess there will be 7-9 environment types.

Personally, I'm also already enjoying the new music in the trailers, plus they confirmed Adam will be for lore only, no guidance. And well, the combat looks insanely different from Samus Returns, in a very good way. A melee counter isn't am inherently bad thing after all, and the implementation in this game shows that you'll want to use your whole moveset for fighting now.

I’m surprised Samus Returns rubbed so many people the wrong way. Just replayed it again and it’s not perfect for sure- it doesn’t look great (though the 3D effect is stellar and the backgrounds are often cool), it’s a bit overly difficult in the first half before you get the gravity suit/plasma beam/screw attack trio within an hour of each other and melee countering can be pretty repetitive. On the whole though it was very enjoyable, really my biggest issues stem from the hardware (would’ve looked way better on Switch) and how it’s design was bound to the original Metroid 2. It’s quite linear for a Metroid game and having to fight 40 Metroids is repetitive but again- those are issues that come as a result of it staying true to the source material. An original game is exactly what they need to prove their worth in making a Metroid game and honestly this looks like they’re doing a great job and taking the criticisms of SR to heart (fast melee counters for example being a huge improvement). The only complaint I can level towards how Dread is looking is just in its visuals- it looks fine but definitely a step or two below what the Switch is capable of, though I’m assuming Nintendo aren’t pumping a massive budget into it. Either way, I think Mercurysteam showed a lot of promise with SR. Without needing to adhere to the design of a 20+ year old Game Boy game they should really be able to make something special with Dread.

Internet Goes Wild Over One Incredibly Small Detail in Metroid Dread

HEADLINE AMENDED

@BloodNinja I agree with you about Samus Returns, but I actually loved Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate for 3DS so I’m willing to give MercurySteam some benefit of the doubt with more involvement from Sakomoto and being untethered from the worst game in the series (IMO).

I wouldn’t listen to me though, I like Other M.

@Spiders I never played that Castlevania, was it also a 3DS game? It’s ok to like something on your own grounds, it becomes toxic when it’s just fanboys screaming they like Metroid because they are part of the herd.

I really liked Samus returns. It's one of those few games I accidentally pulled an all nighter to beat because I was so engrossed. And I barely used the melee counter. You dont need to use it. I think Mercury Steam nailed the alien environments and I loved the theme of going deeper and deeper into the abyss.

That is awesome very cool

@moodycat i mean, moody indeed.

I will say one thing i agree with 200 percent... the game played itself with only the initial intro music (to be fair, it was about 60 percent of the same game music looping on GB coupled with silence, just like this game, except this game is 80 percent silence.)

Lol im not a fan of the soundtrack and super low mood music... One area of the remake i wish they sprinkled new bits on. Huge miss.

Allow me to ask, have you played/owned the original Samus Returns?

Aside from the robot boss and other big boss fights, Mercury steam (as they should,) stuck to the original game's formula... Samus doesnt back track often on SR388.

You land, you dig deeper into the planet's core, and kill metroids along the way, as many evolve the deeper you travel.

They did manage to sprinkle a few new locations (the robotlike factory etc)

They basically achieved sticking to the original and adding some sprinkled bits here and there, legit, a 10/10, (minus the lack of music, but they were also sticking to the game's formula.)

Anyway, i think this is why in AMR2, I couldn't get past the first 2hours of the game. Amazing music... legit amazing music, my god... i wish they had asked to borrow their soundtrack. In any case, AMR2 strayed too far from the original game, a beautiful take but not canon etc. I felt poisoned and conflicted trying to play through it.

My 2 cents.

@BloodNinja Yeah for 3DS, and an HD port later ported to PS4 and XBOX, but the really well done 3D was a big part of the appeal for me.
It’s not an Igavania, which rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way but I appreciated the departure and straightforward take. Plus the combat was really well done. Worth noting I did not like Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow at all.

@Spiders Nice to know!

All I needed to hear was the ppl behind Samus Returns are working on this. Hard pass. When you have to build a generous continue system into a Metroid? The claims of trying to recreate OS difficulty fly out the window: they knew ppl would be dying a lot, and instead of balancing, threw in a catch all. That and Samus now controls like a particularly methed up refrigerator. I'll just pretend this one doesn't exist.

@Dizavid To be fair, how is the continue system in that game any different to having save points before difficult sections like bosses on other Metroid games? I don’t understand why there’s a continue system in that game, particularly against bosses- I don’t know why they didn’t just add save points before those encounters if you’re just going to continue from there anyway. Regardless, what’s the difference other than not being able to save directly in those tough parts?

@Outlander999 I noticed that, too!

@CorvoRevo "The developer's post about this has since blown up - with over 18K Likes." It sounds like at least 18000 people would be interested in reading an article about this. Good thing there aren't 18000 comments saying "slow news day, eh?"!

This goes to prove just how effective attention and dedication to small details can greatly improve and influence the gameplay experience.
I'm looking forward to playing this game! 😁👍🏻

@Gamepro500 If you liked Samus Returns on 3DS then yes it will be good

On the topic of small details, it reminds me of how they didn't just mirror the Samus sprite in some of the older games but made sure her cannon was always on the correct side. That was the kind of thing I appreciated.

@Dizavid Ok, you're free to ignore this. Meanwhile, the rest of us will enjoy like kids the first brand new 2D Metroid game in 19 years.
I prefer this situation a thousand times more than having nothing at all. But you shall see.

I honestly thought both SR and AM2R would've worked really well with Psycho-esque string covers of some of M2's music

@sdelfin On another note, Metroid 1 actually has unused sprites for a left-facing Samus that can be seen in the Japanese commercial

@r0mer0 this is actually a good point I feel like we’ve come far enough with technology that we should be less forgiving of this.

Love stuff like this. Someone mentioned Uncharted. Right on!
Doing Metroid right.

I need it now!!! .... actually... October is fine. I have a busy summer ahead. But still!!

@METROIDDREAD Pretty sure this game is 3D, with a 2D perspective. I believe they call it 2.5D.

@the_beaver But it’s 3D polygons. And it’s not been 19 years. Samus Returns came out on the 3DS just a few years ago. It was made by the same studio that made Dread and it was really spectacularly boring. I put it down halfway after losing interest. I do not have high hopes from this studio, based on their past offerings.

@Dizavid Same reaction, here. I gave Samus Returns a good go, but once the initial “Oooooh” wore off, I found it to be boring. Then I learned the same studio is making Dread. The treehouse presentation nailed the coffin for me, it looks and plays identical to Samus Returns. I’m still happy with Super Metroid, so I don’t mind skipping this mess.

This is the only switch game that I'm actually excited about this year

@Deepdoop Me too! Too pity that we don't have earlier such games. I hope Metroid Prime 4 will follow next year, at least Christmas 2022.

@BloodNinja I said "brand new", that one is a remake.
Anyway, I enjoyed it so much it became one of my favorite 3DS titles. So the fact that is being made by the same company is a good thing for me XD

Interesting.

@the_beaver I’m not sure I would call it brand new, it’s the same stuff being repackaged. I’ve got my eye on it but there’s no way in heck am I paying $60 for a game that I know will be completed in 90 minutes.

Nice, it makes sense too.

@Expa0 Bingo! Both of their metroidvanias on 3DS really missed the mark for me. They might be technically proficient developers but I don't think they really understand the gameplay of the games they're making sequels to.

@lat297 Ikr? Lol, but seriously, I wish people would use full terminology first, followed by the acronym or initialism, before using the abbreviated version by itself, especially when addressing general audiences or anyone who wouldn't know what the acronym means. It's one thing Elon and I agree on; acronyms should never be used if they might make understanding more difficult or slower

So cool to see all the little details. At the treehouse they emphasized how they put a lot of work into the little touches of this game, so I'm looking forward to discovering more in October!

@Ghost_of_Hasashi
My comment was sarcastic aiming at the people who complained about the price.

P.S. what about the exclusive games that where under $60?

@MarcelM
It seems like you are confusing movement with collision. The physics engine is using the location of the object, in this case the rock cropping bitmap, to place the animation of the character and by extension the hand as directed by the code. It's a fairly simple programming trick and when combined with the animation of the character gives it a more organic movement. Which IK can do if they are using that.

@BloodNinja Lol that's what i said it's just a modified samus returns, but if people think a hide and seek game is worth throwing away $60 on then by all means.

@BloodNinja Should all new Metroid games be budget priced then? Most Metroid games, especially the main series, have endings based around completion time. I don't know why Metroid Dread shouldn't be able to be beaten in 90 minutes. I would actually prefer that be the best ending threshold than the usual 2-3 hours.

It's a really cool detail.

You can tell Mercury Steam is treating this game with the respect it deserves. It's easily the most excited I've been for a video game this generation besides Monster Hunter Rise.

@Gamepro500 100% agreed! In particular the hide and seek parts look very tedious, with their insta-death cut scenes if you get caught. Other games have had sequences like that and they always get slammed in reviews, not sure why they are doing it here!

@I-U side scrolling Metroid games tend to be on the short side, with 2-4 hours being the average completion on someone’s first time (skill dependent.) Metroid prime games tend to cover the 8-12 mark. Still short games, by today’s standards, but more content than the side scrollers. A casual speed run of any 2D Metroid game tends to be in the 90 minute mark. World record ones are in the 45-60 minute mark, depending on the route and game. It’s just an interesting fact of gaming. So yes, I think these smaller titles should be more budget priced.

@BloodNinja What would be your price point for new Metroid games in general with those completion times in mind?

@I-U $40 is fair for a side-scroller. $60 is insane, and everyone who buys it is being taken advantage of by Nintendo. It's gonna sell millions of copies, so there's no need to over-charge. They will profit.

@BloodNinja How does this play like Samus Returns? Both the Melee Counter and Free Aiming can be done while running, as well adding more movement options. Plus saying it is a mess is premature.

This is amazing attention to detail. They did not have to go through the process of programming this one animation, but they did anyway! Kudos to MercurySteam for their hard work! I'm really excited for this game!

@Er0n3Ro That's my point. It's a re-hash of Samus Returns, and based on the treehouse footage we have seen all there is to see about it. They showed a lot of game, there. Adding a couple of movement options isn't all of a sudden going to make it a wildly different game. Game devs always do this sort of thing, repacking the same stuff but with different color palettes and slightly altered movement. I'm just saying, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'm not falling for their repackaging, this time.

@BloodNinja I don't see how this is a rehashed Samus returns. As I said before they have improved upon previous mechanics, as well adding new mechanics like the EMMI's, new suit upgrades, bosses and enemies, as well as the overall structure and story of the game makes it different from Samus returns. Plus we haven't seen the entire game, meaning there's more to see.

@BloodNinja Are you coming to that price by comparing it to a $40 "Metroidvania" game already on the Nintendo Switch? What would be your new price point for non-siderscollers like a Metroid Prime game or something like Other M?

@I-U I'm comparing it to the countless other games in the genre named after it, not much else to go with. Where are you going with this? It's not that complicated. Honestly it's a $20 game, but Nintendo has to price-hike everything, not because it's good, but because of demand. Nothing more. If it were a dude in a space suit name Sam and it was "Sam's Space Adventure," it wouldn't be $60 lmfao!

@Er0n3Ro Yeah, like I said. More re-hashed nonsense under the guise of it being new. Mega Man 3 had the power slide. That's not a new move. Ninja Gaiden has wall grabs, again, nothing new. The rest is gonna be the same as all the other, games, you can already list what's gonna be in it: missiles, varia suit, gravity suit, morph ball, ice beam, plasma beam, etc, etc, etc. The enemy you mentioned isn't a "new mechanic," I'm not sure what you're seeing there. You mean it's the only enemy in the game that has line of sight, and can decide to see Samus or not? Okay, Metal Gear called, they want their game back. Crysis has someone in a mechanical suit that can go invisible, so they even stole that idea. See where I'm going with this? It's a mish-mash of things from other games, being piled on top of Metroid without any rhyme or reason. Then people somehow think it's new. lol. Stealing ideas from literally every other action game in existence isn't new.

Literally everything that gives Metroid it's charm and personality is being squelched out for all this other stuff pooled from other games that made those games unique. Why use the morph ball anymore when you can power slide? What's the point of that redundant mechanic?

BUT THE SUIT'S WHITE OH GEE GOLLY MUST BE NEW

@Expa0 I hope so too.

@BloodNinja I think that would depend on whether Sam's Space Adventure would have the production value of an indie game or that of a 1st party Nintendo game. Is the $20 value that you are giving Metroid Dread purely based on a 2-4 hour game length?

Sweet. Little details like these give some games atmospheres a huge shot in the arm. Makes for a more believable and compelling world.

@I-U Can you repeat the same question a 4th time? Maybe that will work.

@BloodNinja I'm surprised you're happy with Super Metroid considering how much you detest the rehashing of ideas for Metroid Dread. What I don't know is whether you're someone who played the game back when it first released or first experienced the game through the Wii's Virtual Console. If you only paid $8 for Super, I can imagine you sweeping how much Super Metroid rehashes under the rug. If you got the game for the SNES when it released though, I don't think most of your arguments regarding Dread's content and value hold up. If it was a gift, that too would make sense why you would have a problem with one and not the other. I'll give you this though that the Melee Counter, no matter how fast MercurySteam decides to make it, doesn't feel right and is likely going to make normal enemy interactions a bit bland/more of nuisance again like they were for the most part in Metroid: Samus Returns.

@I-U I got Super Metroid when it was first released, still have it and still love it, and it was only $30 at Toys R Us. It’s night and day different than Dread, which looks really shaky. Nobody is going to be playing Dread in the next 30 years. Coincidentally, you can still get Super Metroid for only $30 on eBay, if you know where to look. My point is that once you have gotten over the whole being lost thing, these games are only a couple hours in length. I think it’s dirty that Nintendo hides a games true length behind a rat maze, and then justifies it as $60.

@BloodNinja For someone that clearly has no desire to play Dread, you sure do spend alot of time talking about it. We get it.....you don't dig this new Metroid. Let the people that do care have their moment and move on man.

@thedudeabides05 No. This is an open forum. People who like the game are gushing about it. Well, people who dislike it are allowed to gush about why they don't like it, as well. You can see my icon, just block me or scroll past. Nobody is forcing you to read my replies. People are directly responding to me, so I'm replying back. Sorry, but I'm popular today LOL j/k

@BloodNinja Again when I mean new, I mean new within the metroid series. Adding new things to a series helps it distinguish it from its predecessors, as well as expanding on the traditional formula preventing it being stagnant or redundant without losing it's charm and personality. Plus the games you mentioned metroid dread is "stealing", aren't in the exact same genre or aren't implemented in the exact same way. You can take concepts from other games and implement them in a way that makes them unique in their own right like using stealth to avoid an omnipotent enemy. Plus it isn't a good thing to own ideas since other people might want to find ways to improve it or change it to make it unique, that's how we got many indie and fan games that built upon the metroidvania formula. Just like the director said, they are still keeping the formula from classic metroid while building upon it. Plus the difference between the slide and the morph ball is that the slide is limited since it requires a straight path with no obstructions, while the morph ball isn't limited to that.

@Er0n3Ro They didn't do anything unique with any of those mechanics, though. The stolen mechanics look lifted from other games and simply inserted into Metroid. It makes the gameplay look gimmicky and dumbed down. Why wall jump when you can just grab the wall now? Dumbed down. Why morph ball when you can slide? Redundant feature. The invisibility thing is just to avoid the cheap insta-deaths from the silly Emmi (spelling?) so that's not something really meaningful. You push a button to activate a skill and then just sit there until the thing decides to climb elsewhere. I'm all for utilizing mechanics across different games; it doesn't matter which genre the mechanic originated from. If the game doesn't do something meaningful with it, it's just a gimmick to get people to buy and therefor, has no place in the game to begin with. The problem with long-running series is when they perfect the gameplay, like in Super Metroid, the people who develop for it later try to add things that aren't necessary. It's bloat, and the game would have been much more appealing without the robot chases and without all the extra abilities. Have you seen speedruns of Samus Returns? The runners only use a fraction of all the extra stuff, like the Aeons and such, so it was redundant even in that game. And they largely avoid using the melee counter, unless they can trick the game into also triggering a fall animation just as they land the hit so they can keep moving. Just saying, open your eyes to what Nintendo is trying to sell you, because it's very much like a snake-oil salesman, in this particular case.

@larryisanassman It felt like a lazy remake to me. Diggernaut had no business being in the game (it didn't feel like a Metroid-esque boss at all and had too much health), the true final boss had no business being in the game (they probably did it for fan service, but come on, enough is enough, plus he was ridiculously tanky). The music was literally ripped straight from Prime 1, showing MercurySteam had no creativity in that department, piggybacking off of another dev's successes). I didn't have a problem with fighting 40 Metroids, I knew what the original game was (I'm not all negative lol). I don't recall if Return of Samus had respawning enemies while you're in the same room, but that "feature" in Samus Returns was infuriating. Thank god AM2R finally came out.

As for the melee counter and people saying it relied too heavily on it, I used it once in the forced tutorial and never again. Had zero trouble beating the game and fighting enemies (minors and bosses) all felt natural for a Metroid. So, even if they somehow ruin this new melee mechanic, I have confidence we can all ignore it and be better off playing it like an old school Metroid.

@BloodNinja I thought the physics in Super were garbage compared to Zero Mission's and I think it should've had those Chozo statues that told you where to go like ZM too

In other words, I think Super is kinda garbage and I treat it like I treat Melee: Games that get way too much credit than they actually deserve and have really toxic communities behind them

@The-Nate I like the movement in both games, honestly. The Chozo statues were a nice touch, especially if you forget where to go.

Amazing details like this are the classic Nintendo signature. Samus was always a realistically animated character, and they're doing this without any fancy pants engine. I can't wait to play this game!

@r0mer0 your pfp scared the ***** out of me lol

@BloodNinja What other platforming games had a slide before Mega Man 3? All I can remember is arcade Strider (understandable because it's Capcom), which also had the wall grab. I didn't have a TG16 (until 1993) or a Genesis, only a NES, so I'm missing knowledge. I've been trying to trace gaming 'moves' for a while now because I find it interesting figuring out the first instance of something being used. For example, 'double-tap a direction to run' goes back as far as Pac-Land (1983), tap and hold the left or right buttons to run.

@BloodNinja reading through all your comments about that the price is too high (you haven’t played it yet nor are you in the position to say how much a game with a 19 year production cycle should cost) and that because it’s the same as Samus Returns so it WILL be a bad game (again, you haven’t played it yet), I realised you’re just one of these:

@Friendly This is soo true, he is not being objective at all just spreading his own negative bias. I like Mercury steam, i picked up Castlevania mirrors of fate around 2017 I think on a eshop sale. 1st Metroidvania game and I really liked it. It then convinced me to buy Samus Returns. And the issues was more it being a remake after so many years, it being released while the Switch was already released, and needing to damage control Federation Force. But the game on its own is a very good game, especially for me as a new comer (I am still playing it)

Last Metroid game I played was prime 1 and not even thoroughly, and before that Metroid on NES but I was 5 years old or something and the game always freaked me out.

@Kilroy I get not enjoying it, but lazy? No way! It’s literally a game made from the ground up that added a ton on top of the Metroid 2 foundation. I understand not appreciating what it ended up being but they clearly put a lot of effort into it. Lazy would’ve been sticking to the template of Metroid 2 verbatim and just modernising the look and QoL- they did way more than that. It’s pretty much a completely different game save for the story and goal.

I also don’t think you can level complaints about the soundtrack to Mercurysteam- the music was done in-house at Nintendo, so the (disappointing) choice to use the Prime remix of the Norfair music was most likely a decision made by those composers. Even then, isn’t it only that one song ripped from Prime?

The Ridley fight was almost definitely Sakomoto’s decision to include too; there’s no way they would let Mercurysteam do what they want with the lore. And to be honest, who really cares. Metroid doesn’t have the greatest story anyway and especially after Other M it’s just a mess all around, might as well have some fun with it. At any rate it ended up being arguably the best boss of Samus Returns so not a big deal. Would have liked something more original but again, I seriously doubt Mercurysteam can be blamed for the decision to include that fight.

@BloodNinja Yes, like the Mega Man games. I have heard It called 3/4 but either way makes since to me.

@larryisanassman Lazy in the sense that I felt creativity and polish were lacking, not actual time put in to make new assets. The music, I'll be honest, I assumed Retro made the music back then and assumed MS made/chose it in SR. That's the assumption I make when a publisher outsources development to a third party since, in general, you see a drastically different game compared to what the publisher is known for or you see a lot more spirit from the dev's side of history vs the pub's in how the game is made.

Magmoor Caverns, minor item jingle, major item jingle and Samus's death sound are all ripped from other games. These four are so prominent in the game that to me, they really stick out. But yeah, I believe the rest of the soundtrack is original. Had they remixed the music in any way, I wouldn't be complaining at all, but they didn't.

If Ridley was Sakamoto's decision, it's still too much Ridley, lol. No, the story isn't the best, but that's like saying Zelda's isn't the best. Fans still try to piece together every bit of info, it's not like Mario where everything is a play, so you can't just say "have some fun with it". And including the fight vs designing the fight, I'm going to believe design was MS (again, way too tanky and repetitive, that doesn't seem like Nintendo's m.o.). I thought zetas were the most enjoyable fights, tbh.

@BloodNinja It's not night and day difference. You're calling Metroid Dread a rehashed game, which I somewhat agree on just don't view it as a negative, while being a big fan of the biggest rehash in the current Metroid Series that's not a remake which is Super Metroid. Let's also both agree that we're not prophets that can see 30 years into the future, but I do know Super Metroid hasn't made it to 30 years itself of being played unless you're maybe referring to the team that actively worked on the game. So because these games are designed in a way that opens up in correlation to the player's skill level, they should be making less money off of their game. If you think a Nintendo 1st party game that can be beaten in 2 hours should be no more than $20, Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey maybe should have released right into the bargain bins in 2017. Should Metroid games be designed without regard to the player's intelligence and skill level if they want to have a $60 price point?

You're also saying that Metroid: Samus Returns has plenty of mechanics that go unused in speedruns and therefore is unnecessary content for that game. You're applying that to what you've seen so far of Metroid Dread. You're a fan of Super Metroid though which allows the player, if they know, to do an input entering the Golden Torizo room that gives the player nearly all of Samus's major upgrades, plenty of Energy Tanks, Reserve Tanks, Missiles, Super Missiles and Power Bombs. The player gains 53% of items just from simply pressing the right buttons when entering a single room in Super Metroid. How bloated is Super Metroid's rehash of Zebes when all of that can be gained in that one location? Seems like there's plenty of content there that can be cut without any loss since speedrunners can do it.

@I-U The Golden Torizo Code is a glitch left in the final version of the game, and you still have to play most of the game to get to that point, and then you have to know the code, which is not common knowledge. Nice false equivalence, though. And yes, many games are filled with unnecessary padding and bloat to extend their playtime. Breath of the Wild and Odyssey both make that sin. Those both should be bargain bin games at this point. Skyrim offers notably more content than BOTW and is significantly cheaper on PC, yet the Switch version, which is riddled with bugs and performance issues, is more expensive. Just another problem with Nintendo’s price point. The fact that Mario 3, Mario World, Mario 64, and Mario Odyssey can all be beaten in similar times should tell you something. My point still stands, if you choose to pay $60 for this hype, then you teach Nintendo it’s ok to pay that much for sub-par experiences.

@Friendly I don’t answer to children who reply with cartoons, and wth is this 19 year development cycle nonsense you pulled out of thin air? Bring something worthwhile to the discussion, you can’t even mention a single thing in that atrocious treehouse presentation?

@Sanangelo89 I’m going off the treehouse presentation, and those guys sounded not the least bit excited and they were actually playing the game. I think there’s some truth behind that; it’s way better than being a mindless fanboy who just consumes the next Nintendo product.

@masterLEON I think Valis 2 or 3 introduced a slide move at some point, but I don’t remember which came first. At the very least, that was a game that had no “low ground” movement, for lack of a better term, so it felt like it served a meaningful purpose. I find many of the changes to the gameplay in Dread to just be stuck in there without thinking about it. Like the morphball is iconic to Metroid and made the game unique and kinda whacky. Now she can just slide like other games. I think Crysis 2 utilized a power slide, too, which other FPS games started to pilfer. I enjoy great movement options but I like meaningful ones, to be sure! Thank you for being reasonable in all this!! The fanboy brigade keeps trying to shout me down lol

@Edu23XWiiU I love how her body realistically compresses to the shape of a bowling ball, I do that every Sunday.

I’m having a hard time being excited for this game. I frickin love Metroid, but Dread looks very uninspired. Environments look very bland—it all looks like ‘caves and labs’, as someone said earlier. And the hide and seek gameplay with the robot is just… no thank you. Also, latching onto a wall is a new power? Definitely is NOT a new concept, for Metroid or otherwise (PS—look to Axiom Verge for some truly inspired and unique abilities in a 2d side-scroller). I’m 100% not convinced on Dread. Will be waiting on reviews for this one, I’m sad to say!

@Ear_wiG Put up your fanboy shield, lol. I kid though, but I’m in the same boat as you. I want to give it the benefit of the doubt, because it’s Metroid! But then I look at the asking price, the low-performance console, the uninspired visuals, the redundant power ups, the mediocrity that was Samus Returns...and it puts me on the fence! If Nintendo ever curbs their arrogance and lowers their prices a bit, and if the game proves me wrong somehow then I may try it! But right now it’s not looking good!

@BloodNinja If most of Super Metroid has to be played through to get to that point, most of the major upgrades would be acquired and most of the benefit of the code would not exist as they again would have most items. I don't think most speedrunning strategies are common knowledge to a majority of a game's player base, but you're bringing that up against Samus Returns so I think the Golden Torizo code is fair game. 53% of the game's items can be gained by the player in Super Metroid by entering a single room, no issue with how much of the map then won't be visited, but a player beating a game without a few mechanics is an issue and is a bloated experience because of it. Do I have what you're saying correct?

All games with a speedrunning community that have figured out how to beat a game in a matter of hours or less, are games that provide sub-par experiences according to you. Super Metroid is not a perfect take on any formula, it's sub-par since it can be beaten in under an hour. Also, with your argument, it takes longer to beat Samus Returns than it does Super Metroid, so while both are still sub-par experiences Samus Returns is the better, more worthwhile experience.

What similar completion times tell me is that Nintendo is still making games that allow for plenty of skillful play while also providing plenty to experience for the casual player or for the first time players. There are more people outside of the speedrunning community playing Nintendo's games than there are within it, and I don't get how their achievements undermine the value of Nintendo's games if anything they increase the value. If you want Metroid games that give the player less control relative to your usual 2D outing, ask for more like Other M. If you haven't played that one, you might like it twice as much as Super Metroid, the Other M world record is 2 hours and 14 minutes.

@BloodNinja ok mate. You’re right in everything you said. The game will be horrible and nobody has the right to enjoy it. Nobody should even be looking forward to the release because this is not the first mainline metroid game after metroid 4 which released in 2002.

Yeah, we all should hate on the developers because of them making a remake and not look forward to the future.

Also, you’re playing video games. Dunno what you’re talking about when you mentioned cartoons...

@I-U @bloodninja the game’s not even out yet....

That’s my whole point. Let people enjoy this moment. The return of original 2D metroid games. A new entry. After 19 years. Not a remake.

Dunno why he HAS to make 30+ posts saying Dread is bad in every way already. Just annoying. One who has to make a point because he so wants to.

@The-Nate That's a cool bit of trivia and I did not already know that, so thanks for sharing. Truly interesting. I'm not surprised that they were interested in that since Samus is asymmetrical due to the arm cannon, but I'm surprised they actually tried to implement it considering the memory limitations of the time.

@BloodNinja I've not played Valis 2&3, but I wasn't aware of any sliding, only crouching. Either way, they still came out after Strider, so the search continues. I was going to try to pick them up back in the day while it was still cheap, but after watching playthroughs when they became available, I thought otherwise. I'd only be getting them for the novelty of the cutscenes at that point.

But yeah, I'm not touching this whole Metroid Dread thing with a grappling hook, LOL. I've also not played SR, so I don't think I have anything to contribute. That said, isn't Morphball mostly used for pipe mazes or just to get around obstacles in general? The slide sounds like something else completely, unless I'm wrong.

@masterLEON I’m fairly certain that Strider probably did it first, I just used Mega Man 3 because that’s my favorite LOL. But yeah, the morph ball and the slide were both demonstrated solving the same thing, a long, straight tunnel. The morphball is also normally used for pipe mazes, yes. I feel the slide is redundant and lessens the personality of the game, but I’m not allowed to have that opinion on this site so I’ll just tell you lol

@Friendly It’s physically impossible for me to prevent anyone from enjoying the game, don’t take all this personally. The last 2D game was Samus Returns, and unless I’m going senile that isn’t a 19 year old game. Don’t let the hype blind you.

@I-U

@I-U Hey, you’re the one focusing on game length, which is why I’m speaking to you on those terms. There are plenty of short games worth playing, and those games are made by humble people who know their price point. My gripes with Dread extend beyond the game length, and I’ve already pretty extensively broken down all the redundant mechanics and gimmicks they presented at the tree house. Based on the great amount of info showed, I already have a very good feeling this isn’t for me. It makes me disappointed to see another franchise I love nose dive, so I’ve got a lot to say about it.

This is an awesome little addition. Man, October can't come soon enough.

That's what I called Attention to Small details. Small things makes it worth playing just to see if you can replicate it yourself. And there's probably more as gamers find them like glitches in BOTW.

I think ya'll broke BloodNinja. I've never seen BloodNinja get this worked up over something.

@BloodNinja Hm, if the slide happens to be faster, and/or can drop bombs, and/or can be used to attack then there might be a counterpoint. If not, ball wins, ballality.

@BloodNinja you’re not even reading what others are saying. I typed ‘ A new entry. After 19 years. Not a remake.’

And yes. Fusion was 19 years ago.

@Chowdaire just annoying really. You can have an opinion about a game, fine.

But just let others enjoy it. Say what you want about a game but if others are looking forward to it, let them. To each their own, right?

@masterLEON I wouldn’t mind getting proven wrong!

@Friendly I read what you wrote, but in order to acknowledge that I would have to ignore all the Metroid titles that got released in that 19 year span of time, so I don’t believe you.

@BloodNinja Which 2d metroid that wasn’t a remake came after fusion?

@BloodNinja I'm focused on game lengths as you argue that 2D Metroids should be budget priced due to being able to be beaten quickly. You also implied that these modern games are sub-par experiences for being able to be beaten so quickly, yet some of the best games of all time are such games i.e. Super Metroid. I can understand your position having concerns with the gameplay itself, but I don't get the value vs. length position.

@Friendly There hasn’t been one. They’ve all been either 2.5D, or 3D. The last 2D Metroid was AM2R. Nintendo stopped producing 2D sprites and mainly does 3D modeling, now.

@I-U This back and forth is tiring when you are simply repeating yourself. Clearly you’ve lost all points, if you keep circling back to the one you cling to the most.

@BloodNinja the word Remake is impossible for you to read. You’re just starting to get annoying. And you want to make a point to just make a point.... a ninja-troll.

But whatever. I’m looking forward to this new entry. Very hyped for the first new entry in the 2D metroid line of games in 19 years. And I’m hoping I will enjoy it as much as I think I will.

@BloodNinja Dont waste your breath on these people as you would have to have a brain to understand something so simple. Metroid 5 is a slightly upgraded samus returns, and to see this all you have to do is go back and look at the original trailers. Same camera angles, same models, same gameplay, and same engine that was upgraded to make use of the switches resolution. If they think that is worth $60 then let them buy it, but i guarantee you that once the game is released all you will hear is people complaing about the lackluster gameplay and short game length.

@Gamepro500 that’s an easy prediction. There’s always people complaining.

Just as you and @bloodninja are complaining now. And some will be disappointed in the game and most will love it. Because most people understand what they’re buying. It’s just that the vocal minority is very vocal usually. Just as the many posts you two have written just to complain for complaining’s sake.

‘Stop having fun.’
‘Stop looking forward to this game.’

This is the first time I pre order *****, can't wait

@Friendly Literally nobody is saying that except you!

@Gamepro500 I'm with you on that! And thanks, maybe it's time to let their hot air dissipate! LOL

SMOKE

CHOPPED LOG

DISAPPEARED

@Dumaraz there, someone has to say it. this guy right here resume it all for you Samus returns nay Sayer's

Well done mate 👍🏻

@Friendly If you can't handle the heat, don't pick up the keyboard.

@Chowdaire Nobody is worked up, but thanks for asking.

@BloodNinja oh cool. Ninja references.

And here I am with my comic.

@BloodNinja Your criticisms of Metroid Dread as a rehash and as a potentially short game are hypocritical. You do not seem to hold any of that against Super Metroid, which is a rehashed, short game and has been for over 27 years. There's also hypocrisy in how you use speedrun achievements against Samus Returns but not against Super, which hands over 53% worth of its items in a single instance. If I'm repeating myself, it's due to you not making any points.

@I-U Super Metroid, the third game in the series, is re-hashed? Sounds like you’ve been smoking too much hash. Anyway, you aren’t making any logical points, you’re just being a fanboy sheep, and you have attached too much of your personal hatred to my comments directed at a game you aren’t even involved in. You’re scraping so low you’re trying to use an obscure glitch in SM to justify your weak argument. I’m sure you’re ready to give your $60 over to Nintendo, who cares little about your enjoyment of the game and only about how many copies they sell. You defend that, and you’re part of that problem, in my book. Begone to my block list purgatory, so I don’t have to deal with your childish wailing any longer.

@Friendly You were right about him. I should've dismissed those comments sooner instead of wasting my time with a discussion.

That hand was already IK rigged for sticking to the arm cannon, but this is still not all that easy to implement in an arcade action game.

I'm going to assume the hitboxes of Samus and the environment to be entirely separate from the rendered geometry we see, which would allow the rig for the arm to react to nearby surfaces at no consequence to gameplay.

@BloodNinja Um. hahaha?

@DrJoson I loved samus returns. But I hated the timed part with the drill. That was un-metroid, and nearly caused me to stop playing the game. Luckily I persevered and still think it's one of the best 2d metroids.

@BloodNinja Then don't and move on. No need to comment on every Metroid Dread article. Problem solved.

@Snatcher I NEED IT NOW