Hmm, I'll talk about Metroid in a bit but I just noticed that the site does an odd thing where it says the user made the game thread but "Negative World" had the last reply when there are no replies. Probably never noticed it before because users tend to edit the game threads right away and then it presumably fixed that.

Funny, I started this a few weeks ago when I got swept up in the Prime trilogy. Not sure where I got to, I found an elevator (I know that much) but thank goodness for save states. Game is brutal.

When I'd visit my cousins out East in Nova Scotia as a kid, this was one of the three games they owned.
I never liked it.

Thank goodness the series continued though. A lot of good came from this blah game.

That said, good luck! I've always had a strange drive to beat the game but just couldn't do it. I'll be rooting for ya!

I never liked it either. Weird, because I instantly took to Super Metroid like a duck to water. Hmm!

I don't want to be the third person in a row to day I don't like the original Metroid. I think it's a well made game and appreciate a lot of what it did. But I didn't play it until after Metroid II and possibly after Super Metroid. I got that re-release version that came out very late. I found it hard to go back. I've beaten it once or twice and play it a bit every now and again. But the lack of nostalgia and all of it's rough edges make it a game I don't love unlike pretty much every other Metroid title.

Isn't this one of those NES games that came with a map, and the manual has item descriptions and such? I understand not wanting to use a walkthrough and that does defeat some of the purpose for this type of game, but I think using the material originally included with the game is a different case and is how it was intended. I'm sure finding scans of the map and manual should be easy enough.

Oh yeah, that reminds me I need to download Zero Mission.

I have no reason to play original Metroid. Whoo!

Add me to the never cared much for Metroid but absolutely loved Super Metroid camp.

I played Metroid for the first time in '95 or so. I had a Nintendo Power issue with all the maps showing where all the items were, and I believe I relied on it a lot during my first play through. This probably allowed me to enjoy the game a lot more, because I know I would have become frustrated and lost without it.

One of the greatest games ever IMO, but I have it practically memorized so It's easy to get around. It's actually not a huge game, it's just daunting at first. Whenever the opening music plays I get chills.

Shadowlink said:

Oh yeah, that reminds me I need to download Zero Mission.

I have no reason to play original Metroid. Whoo!

Yeah, the NES original became completely obsolete as soon as Zero Mission was released. Very little reason to go back to the 8-but version now, except as a history lesson or to satisfy some nostalgic curiosity.

Great game and not just for its iconic exploration. I wish I could play the Famicom version that lacks the one big flaw in the NES version, the tedium of refilling your life bar. I'd also love to see an indie game focusing on its gameplay mechanics and seeing where else they could go because so few games do what it does.

@GameDadGrant

Except Metroid plays very differently than Zero Mission and, in fact, there are very few games that have the same type of platforming and shooting in tight quarters. Outside of wandering fruitlessly around the first few screens a kid, I didn't play this until about 5 years ago and I'm so glad I didn't listen to people saying it was obsolete.

@Jargon
Jargon is hereby my official spokesperson in NES Metroid matters.

EDIT: Somehow scrolled past @deathly_hallows's post, but I agree with everything there too. Except having it memorized.

Yeah, I'm firmly in the DH/Jargon/r_hjort camp. The camp of righteousness.

Metroid 1 is maybe my favorite game of all time. It was sent from the future. In fact, we STILL haven't reached the time it was sent from!

@Mop it up
I don't recall it having a real map. Maybe just four colored blobs with the name of each area.

Anyway, are people really incapable of playing these games without a map? You just go methodically, right? Try every door, move to the next area, try every door...

It's not like Metroid II, where you can't visually distinguish one place from another.

Anand said:

It's not like Metroid II, where you can't visually distinguish one place from another.

It's totally like that! I tried playing without a map and just kept going in circles because everything looks the same to me.

I can see why other people really like Metroid 1, but it didn't click with me.

@nate38
But the worlds are color-coded! And the areas aren't even that big! Each one only has two or three main vertical hubs.

I guess that there are certain rooms that look nearly identical (Tunnels, Chozo Statues), but I always saw that as somewhat of a benefit to the maziness, especially since the secret areas were usually different. Some even had red herring secret areas in locations where other rooms had actual secrets. That's awesome! And the exploration is so organic. None of the hand-holdy shit that games now have. Y'know, finding a hidden block/area in Super Mario Bros. or Castlevania or Zelda or Metroid actually felt like an event. It was exciting. What was once 'secret' has now become, for the most part, commonplace and obvious.

I dunno. Honestly, I can't really separate out the bias from my opinion, since I played the living shit out of this game during my formative years.

I've beaten this game once. That was enough. It not really fun to me. I do enjoy what came the franchise became, though. I love later Metroids and Metroidvanias.

I think it's fun from a challenge perspective but man, basically this game is full of rooms that are completely identical so it's tough to orient yourself.

The game's biggest flaw to me right now is that whenever you die, you reset back to 30 health, even if you have multiple energy tanks. It's such bullshit. Grinding for missiles and health is super tedious. The level design is the other thing.

I'd love to play Zero Mission but for whatever reason, it's not on the VC yet. Wtf? Great game but it's just super easy. Maybe I can download a save file to enable hard mode off the bat?

I'd love to use ZM as a way for Amanda to try Metroid but I fear it'd still be too complex for her. It's a shame because I think she enjoys watching these games. I think.

Anand said:

Anyway, are people really incapable of playing these games without a map? You just go methodically, right? Try every door, move to the next area, try every door...

SOME OF US HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO WITH OUR LIVES.

I imagine I would have adored this game when I was a kid, but it just wasn't a part of my life. I never owned or rented it, and I never played it at any of my friends' houses either. I started the series at Super Metroid, and I didn't even play that until sometime well into the lifespan of the N64.

That said, I've played through it a couple times in my life. I beat it the first time in one sitting when I unlocked it in Zero Mission and another time in an emulator. It's still a nice game, very impressive when you compare it to the other games of the time.