(Review)
Utilizing a few little jailbreaking tools on my iPhone, I was able to finally play through my first 2D Metroid game, and how appropriate for it to be a remake of the very game that kicked off the entire franchise. I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into; I was just trying out something new and I had heard good things about the Metroid series. And I'll be damned if I said I wasn't pleasantly surprised.
First, a little rundown: You play as intergalactic bounty hunter named Samus Aran. You've arrived at Planet Zebes because...I dunno, they needed a plot. You start off ill-equipped for the mission, wielding nothing but your weak Power Suit and a short-range arm cannon. You quickly discover, however, that you can search for and equip new powerups, such as making your arm cannon long-range, an upgrade that allows you to curl up into a ball and fit into small spaces (dubbed the Morph Ball), a higher jump, and various other pieces of equipment. All of these upgrades, as well as tanks that increase your Energy and Missile capacity, are scattered in the nooks and crannies of Zebes, which is split into various sectors: Brinstar, Norfair, Kraid's lair, Ridley's lair, Tourian, and, being a remake, Zero Mission includes four new locations: the Chozo Ruins, Crateria, Chozodia, and Space Pirate Mothership. As usual to Metroid games, Zero Mission promotes backtracking and exploration, so when you can't get to a powerup yet that you can clearly see, you need to come back later when you get a different, more easily-accessible powerup.
There are some specific spots in Zebes that sort of become a pain in the ass to navigate, either because you can't find the powerup needed or simply because it requires tedious backtracking. If you've never played a game like this, you'll definitely find yourself running circles around Zebes, completely and hopelessly lost on where to go, either because you accidentally sequence-skipped, you've been given more than one directive, or because you can't find the next upgrade for the life of you. Due to this, I had to use a detailed map at various points of the game. In that respect, it's a bit like the original Zelda, which actually makes sense considering they were both originally on the same system.
After completing Zero Mission (which has one final mission past the original Metroid's story, which I won't spoil), you'll unlock an emulated version of the first Metroid game. Considering Zero Mission runs perfectly on my emulator, I can't blame the program for Metroid's insane amount of lag. It's almost to the point of being unplayable. But, it's just a bonus, so completing it isn't required (thank God). If you want to play the original game, I'd recommend the Virtual Console or Metroid Prime's emulation.
The visuals and sounds of Metroid: Zero Mission are incredibly memorable; each location has its distinct colorful features, making them a blast to explore and discover every little nook and cranny (until you get so mad you wanna rip your hair out). The soundtrack, despite it being an early-ish GBA game, sounds great. Granted, every track, save for the ones in new locations, are all remixes of NES themes, so of course they'd sound better in comparison, but it's still a great composition.
If you have any way to play this old classic remake of an old classic, I'd highly recommend it. It's a great way to get into the Metroid series, and a game that I could see myself replaying for completion.
Utilizing a few little jailbreaking tools on my iPhone, I was able to finally play through my first 2D Metroid game, and how appropriate for it to be a remake of the very game that kicked off the entire franchise. I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into; I was just trying out something new and I had heard good things about the Metroid series. And I'll be damned if I said I wasn't pleasantly surprised.
First, a little rundown: You play as intergalactic bounty hunter named Samus Aran. You've arrived at Planet Zebes because...I dunno, they needed a plot. You start off ill-equipped for the mission, wielding nothing but your weak Power Suit and a short-range arm cannon. You quickly discover, however, that you can search for and equip new powerups, such as making your arm cannon long-range, an upgrade that allows you to curl up into a ball and fit into small spaces (dubbed the Morph Ball), a higher jump, and various other pieces of equipment. All of these upgrades, as well as tanks that increase your Energy and Missile capacity, are scattered in the nooks and crannies of Zebes, which is split into various sectors: Brinstar, Norfair, Kraid's lair, Ridley's lair, Tourian, and, being a remake, Zero Mission includes four new locations: the Chozo Ruins, Crateria, Chozodia, and Space Pirate Mothership. As usual to Metroid games, Zero Mission promotes backtracking and exploration, so when you can't get to a powerup yet that you can clearly see, you need to come back later when you get a different, more easily-accessible powerup.
There are some specific spots in Zebes that sort of become a pain in the ass to navigate, either because you can't find the powerup needed or simply because it requires tedious backtracking. If you've never played a game like this, you'll definitely find yourself running circles around Zebes, completely and hopelessly lost on where to go, either because you accidentally sequence-skipped, you've been given more than one directive, or because you can't find the next upgrade for the life of you. Due to this, I had to use a detailed map at various points of the game. In that respect, it's a bit like the original Zelda, which actually makes sense considering they were both originally on the same system.
After completing Zero Mission (which has one final mission past the original Metroid's story, which I won't spoil), you'll unlock an emulated version of the first Metroid game. Considering Zero Mission runs perfectly on my emulator, I can't blame the program for Metroid's insane amount of lag. It's almost to the point of being unplayable. But, it's just a bonus, so completing it isn't required (thank God). If you want to play the original game, I'd recommend the Virtual Console or Metroid Prime's emulation.
The visuals and sounds of Metroid: Zero Mission are incredibly memorable; each location has its distinct colorful features, making them a blast to explore and discover every little nook and cranny (until you get so mad you wanna rip your hair out). The soundtrack, despite it being an early-ish GBA game, sounds great. Granted, every track, save for the ones in new locations, are all remixes of NES themes, so of course they'd sound better in comparison, but it's still a great composition.
If you have any way to play this old classic remake of an old classic, I'd highly recommend it. It's a great way to get into the Metroid series, and a game that I could see myself replaying for completion.
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