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I am so excited to finally own this.
My GBA days were very limited game-wise and with the Nintendo 3DS' Ambassador Program I was able to play Metroid Fusion but not Zero Mission. Hell, It was only the other day that I realized this is where Samus' Zero Suit derives from. Having never played more than a few minutes of the original Metroid, I am very pleased to finally own this on the Wii U's virtual console.
I'll try to update my experience in this thread. Is anyone else playing this game right now? Is it your first time? General non-spoilery tips for me? I'm all ears.
Hard to really give out tips. It's not a hard game but if you want to add a bit of challenge, ignore the Chozo statues that have you going into a Morph Ball on their hands. They just tell you where to go next. Oh and do play it more than once. The game is designed around sequence breaking and finding alternate routes or skipping power ups is actually very fun. I think the lowest % you can beat it at is 9%.
I've encountered a few of those Chozo statues. I think they're pretty cool considering the original has the complaint that it's too confusing and back-tracky. Though so far this feels quite linear.
Did Nintendo patch a lot of that sequence breaking stuff in the GBA Zero Mission or no?
I just downloaded the Brinstar map and saved after about a quick 20 minute session. It's fun and the controls are easy to work with. I'm a bit more comfortable with ZL instead of L but I'll deal.
Hah, I was going to make this thread when I finally cleared my current playthrough.
I've been playing it in little bursts between my Battlefront and Destiny sessions on PS4. My memory is pretty hazy from the first time I played it- I'm doing alright, but I know I'm missing a pile of secrets and powerups and my time is nowhere near as fast as it should be.
This is a game that benefits from multiple playthroughs I feel, so hopefully you can go into it with that mindset. Do your first playthrough to get a feel for the game, then start going for the distinct endings. There's 8 different ones. (Spoilered if you care about that sort of thing:)
1. More than 4 hours/ Easy mode ending 2. 2-4 Hours 3. Less than 2 Hours 4. More than 2 hours with 100% items 5. Less than 2 hours with 100% items- Normal mode 6. Less than 2 hours with 100% items- Hard mode 7. 15% or less items- Normal mode 8. 15% or less items- Hard mode
IMO those last two are where the game design *really* shines, but they're not for the fainthearted. Playing for the other endings first is recommended.
And no, the sequence breaking in this game isn't patched, rather it's deliberately *built in* to the maps. It's why I rank this game far above Super Metroid.
Yeah this one isn't confusing at all with the map and not having the same room be copy/pasted over and over haha.
And the sequence breaking is actually intentional. It's designed into the game which is why it makes it so fun. There's a bunch of hidden paths everywhere to take shortcuts and speed run the game. I've beaten it in under an hour before. It's quite fun and adds to the replayability of it
@Shadowlink I think I've played it twice now? Maybe? Will definitely play it again. Probably soon, replayed Fusion recently and have been getting the bug.
In general I'm really appreciating the Prime-like vibe. Why does it feel so prime like? Was Prime well modeled after the original Metroid or was this modeled after the Prime games?
I just found myself not going where I need to go but instead roaming into the Chozo Ruins and finding a weapon that isn't compatible with my current suit. Maybe it's not quite sequence breaking in the way others are talking about but it seems that I've gone off the beaten path here...
@DrFinkelstein Yeah I'm digging the Prime in 2D vibes I'm getting from this game. For one, they seemed to have styled the music more towards the Prime style, not to mention stuff like the Chozo Ruins and morph ball and Chozo statue stuff. The art direction kinda feels like a 2D Prime as well.
You're not too far behind me.
@Zero This too. I would love if the next Metroid feels like the original Metroid Prime again. 2 and 3 sorta lost something, even though they're amazing games in their own right. Prime 1 though was perfection. Itching to play the Prime series again so badly now. I got horribly stuck in MP2 when I got the Wii Trilogy. I actually think I mighta broke it.
In general I'm really appreciating the Prime-like vibe. Why does it feel so prime like? Was Prime well modeled after the original Metroid or was this modeled after the Prime games?
Like Carlosrox said, the music and art seem to be modeled a bit after Prime. Specifically most of the Chozo stuff, which borrows the vocal instrument for an "ancient religion" type of feel. There're also quite a bit of intricate, angular lines in the design of some of the relic-type environments that light up for that extra mystical feel.
This game's so good. I remember playing through it like 8 times in a row when I got it, determined to get every ending (and I did!). Might be worth it to double-dip just so I don't have to have my Game Boy Player be the only way to play this...
@carlosrox There was a game-killing glitch in Prime 2 though they fixed it for the Japanese release so I'd be surprised if it was still in the Trilogy?
. Just roll with it, it will all make sense.
