GoNintendo have posted the Japanese eShop updates for this week and its looking like a really good week. Lets hope other territories get a second taste of Metroid on the eShop.

Nintendo eShop
Okiraku Tennis 3D - 500 Yen
Nikori no Puzzle Masyu - 500 Yen

Virtual Console
Metroid II: Return of Samus - 400 Yen

DSiWare
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - Free
Spot the Difference - 500 Yen

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I'm still waiting for a remake. It would have been appropriate with this being Metroid's 25th birthday and all. It could have even coincided with the 3DS's launch.

Posted by

Tranquilo

on: 09/27/11, 04:59

@Zero The only way I've ever beaten the first game is with the Narpas sword password, which gives you everything from the start or something. Game just isn't fun.

I've beaten Metroid II though. It holds up way better.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 14:08

Zero Mission ruined Metroid? What was there to ruin? The game was incredibly fun and a heck of a lot more playable than the original.

Posted by

VofEscaflowne

on: 09/27/11, 15:41

@Simbabbad I love Metroid II, but I wouldn't be opposed to a remake. It's not like you couldn't still play the original.

I'd still rather see a new 2D Metroid though.

And I agree with V. I very much prefer Zero Mission, but it didn't ruin Metroid for me. Metroid 1 has never been fun for me.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 15:41

Edited:

09/27/11, 15:43

@rebonack
GAHHH!!

I can't believe we have more Metroid II fans than Metroid I fans here. It's like the Twilight Zone.

On-topic, I never really got into Metroid II. It has neat elements, but also elements that turn me off. Adding color would make it a hell of a lot more playable for me.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 18:43

Edited:

09/27/11, 18:44

Haha, that's my perspective on putting a map or differentiating the rooms in Metroid.

I only played Metroid II recently. I was actually enjoying it, but I didn't really like the progression mechanic of earthquake - find new passage. It's possible that I didn't really understand the way it worked, though.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 18:53

Yeah, it seems interesting in concept, but I gave up on the game after searching for the next area for an hour. Couldn't they have gated the world through stuff like the Spider Ball? I guess all bets are off once you get that, though. Well, most bets. Metroid II is certainly a unique entry.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 19:31

Edited:

09/27/11, 19:32

@Anand It baffles me that you enjoy the NES Metroid, but think Metroid II needs to be more playable. I didn't play II until a couple of years ago (around Prime 3's release), but I had no problem playing it.

Diff'rent strokes I guess.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 19:44

No! I cannot accept your strokes!

Metroid II has an enormous sprite for the screen size. An interesting choice, but not very accessible. And I find the progression to require much more wandering. But I have a incredibly strong bias, since I often played Metroid I in my youth, but never played II.

So what, exactly, do you find so inaccessible about the NES game? It's tough in the beginning, but as soon as you get a few power-ups, it's pretty easy. (It kind of baffles me that you enjoy Zelda II, but not Metroid I.)

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 19:51

Well I must admit to having a strong bias towards Zelda II. I can't remember a time when I didn't know exactly where to go, so it's tough for me to compare it to Metroid, where I have never had any idea where to go.

I've never gotten terribly far in it, so maybe I haven't reached the easy part (although I think that's the first time I've ever heard the original Metroid called easy). The controls feel stiff, all the corridors look the same and I don't know where to go, so I grind at one of those respawn points, then I die and have to grind again.

Maybe I'll give it another (another) shot on 3DS. I really want to like it - I love all the other Metroid games, particularly the 2D ones.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 21:14

Well, how do you feel about Kid Icarus? I think Metroid I, Kid Icarus, and Zelda II all have a similar difficulty curve. Like, they start out really, really hard, and then get easier. Of those, I feel that Metroid I was the easiest, by far.

If you play again and manage to make it past 'the wall', you just might enjoy it. Maybe. Even though everyone else here hates it.

Once you get an energy tank or two, you shouldn't have to grind too much.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 21:56

Edited:

09/27/11, 21:57

Metroid is only fun if you know the game's map inside and out. I get lost too easily in that game.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 09/27/11, 21:59

I have played very little of Kid Icarus. I'm interested in it, but hearing comparisons to the original Metroid deterred me. I was hoping it woul be one of the Ambassador titles so I could give it a shot.

Would you recommend using a GameFAQs map for Metroid, or is the exploration part of what makes it fun? Because I feel like I'm in the same boat as Grant, in that I get lost way too easily because all the corridors look the same.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 22:08

@Anand
Hey, I don't hate Metroid...yet. Could you help a brother out?

anon_mastermind said:

So, when I get to Norfair do I go left or right? I have the power bombs and the freeze shot.

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 09/27/11, 22:10

Haha, I saw that post, but I don't remember that kind of stuff, offhand. I have an abysmal memory, so all that I can offer are vague generalities. But here's my simplified guide to exploration from the other thread:

When in horizontal corridors, make sure to shoot the ceiling and bomb the floor as you go through. When in vertical corridors, fall down until you reach a door that you can access. Enter and look for stuff. If it's a dead end, turn around and keep falling. If not, either turn around and close out the corridor or pop out to the next vertical corridor and keep falling. Repeat until you hit the bottom, and then climb back up to see if there's anything that you missed. You might not find all the missiles that way, but you'll find enough stuff to beat the game.

If you start looking for hidden areas, then it can be complex, but I don't think the basic layout is too bad, honestly.

If you still get lost, then the use of GameFAQs is up to you, of course, but that seems to me a bit like printing out a GameFAQ for an Adventure Game and beating the whole thing in twenty minutes. I'm not sure you'd appreciate the game.

Is the world really that big? Each section only has 3 or 4 vertical corridors, right?

Oh, and a lot of people hate Kid Icarus, too, Rebs. I can't make any promises, but it is certainly a unique title with many charms. If you can make it past the first world with style, you're golden.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/27/11, 22:21

Edited:

09/27/11, 22:27

I'll try giving it another shot. No promises though.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/27/11, 23:02

Zelda > Metroid > Zelda 2 > Metroid 2 > Kid Icarus

Posted by

Jargon

on: 09/28/11, 00:04

@rebonack
Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you give up again.

Outwardly.

@Jargon
Hmm...

Metroid > Zelda 2 > Zelda > Kid Icarus >>>> Metroid 2.

Man, what a great period, though. Nintendo really branching out and pushing the boundaries of what a video game on a home console could be. All of those games explore sprawling, multidimensionally-scrolling worlds in different, interesting ways. That's why I love the NES-era so much. Such a feeling of freshness.

Posted by

Anand

on: 09/28/11, 00:22

Hmm, we can use multiple >s?

I'd probably say

Zelda>>Metroid>Zelda 2>>Metroid 2>>>>Kid Icarus

The first four are all games I thoroughly enjoyed playing. Kid Icarus I'm afraid didn't do it for me.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 09/28/11, 01:44

Zelda > Zelda II > Metroid II >>>>>>> Metroid

I haven't played Kid Icarus, but I imagine it would rank low.

Posted by

rebonack

on: 09/28/11, 02:10