Metroid general

[ShitLurker]

Western devs have absolutely no faith in their own audience, do they? Between the yellow paint and the annoying characters telling you what to do every 2 minutes or the lobotomy markers seemingly every game now has telling you where to go, there is no space for nuance or interpretation anymore. Samus is arguably the first strong female character in gaming, she didn't need anyone to spell that out she let her actions prove that in silence(aside from Other M, of course). But we can't have that in our modern games now, so we will literally remind you that she has a vagina at every turn, chuddie!
I really hope this is just a flower motif, because I can definitely buy that this is what the 343 rejects and tumblr refugees over at nu-Retro would do.

How ca you have faith in your audience if you don't have faith in yourself

 

[Two Dollars]

What’s better for a first playthrough of Prime 1?
- GameCube
- Wii
- PrimeHack
- Switch remaster

 

[Großmann]

What’s better for a first playthrough of Prime 1?
- GameCube
- Wii
- PrimeHack
- Switch remaster

Switch Remaster. The visuals are less jarring (I’m assuming you did not grow up playing games from that time period or earlier) and you have more control options to choose from. This isn’t to say that the other options are bad, but that the Switch Remaster has the lowest bar for entry — unless you don’t have a Switch, then just go with the Nintendo emulator you have available.

Remaster: Best visuals and control options, missing the extra content from the original, no pointer controls, no emulation mods.

PrimeHack: Better visual resolution (assuming your hardware is good), many controller options including KB&M, mods, access to the other two Metroid Prime games, but not on original hardware and is dependent on your PC’s capabilities.

Wii: Pointer controls and is part of the Prime Trilogy, but may not like it because of the pointer controls and incorporation of bloom into the visuals compared to the original.

GCN: Has the OG Metroid as a bonus and the Fusion Suit (if you link a GBA with Metroid Fusion), but is on the weakest hardware of the options and has stiff controls compared to other options.

 

[Strangolapreti]

Western devs have absolutely no faith in their own audience, do they? Between the yellow paint and the annoying characters telling you what to do every 2 minutes or the lobotomy markers seemingly every game now has telling you where to go, there is no space for nuance or interpretation anymore. Samus is arguably the first strong female character in gaming, she didn't need anyone to spell that out she let her actions prove that in silence(aside from Other M, of course). But we can't have that in our modern games now, so we will literally remind you that she has a vagina at every turn, chuddie!
I really hope this is just a flower motif, because I can definitely buy that this is what the 343 rejects and tumblr refugees over at nu-Retro would do.

Honestly, that sounds less a problem of western devs in general and more a mainstream thing.
That said, you can see online people complaining about everything a popular game has that offers some degree of challenge or diversion.

Ironically, that's kind of why Dark Souls became such a popular thing, in a market where games became more and more popular, you see more people that wants to be part of it but lacks skill, so devs needs to accustomate their own game for them, more often than not at the detriment of the core audience as they pander to the masses, meanwhile the devs of Dark Souls never really care about that, they knew their game was niche so they made it the usual way, the fact that people enjoyed it and everyone jumped to play it was an afterthought, not something planned.

I'm fucking tired to mention this game, but there was a recent Team Cherry interview, they made this comment regard Expedition 33 and Silksong being the frontrunners for this year's GoTY:
"Expedition 33 is exceptional and broadly palatable. We’re on that knife’s edge where it appeals to some and infuriates others"
Maybe this is the kind of mindset game devs should have, be aware that your game may not be for everyone and try to make something good rather than popular, since its quality what attracts customers and keeps your franchise/studio alive for the next entries.

You can see this degradation with elder scrolls games and their respective magic system:
- Morowind has a complex magic system that didn't look particularly good but was extremely effective nonetheless, with a vast array of effects that allowed to break the game completely.
- Oblivion has a slightly less complex magic system that still provides variety and customization, as well as a multitude of effect where almost everything had practical use in the specific build.
- Skyrim's magic is absolute garbage, requires a shitton of levels to be almost viable but it LOOKS COOL AND AMAZING AND IMPRESSIVE.
One of the signs of degradation is this basic trick of pumping up visuals while reducing the substance; linear maps, enemies with a samey moveset, open worlds...
The yellow paint and constant tutorials are also part of this, and Its not really good.

 

[Two Dollars]

The visuals are less jarring (I’m assuming you did not grow up playing games from that time period or earlier)

I don’t know why you’d assume that, but no, I grew up playing N64 and Gamecube (besides, Gamecube aged beautifully). I just didn’t play any of the Prime games besides briefly trying 1 about a decade ago. It’s a series that I always felt wasn’t for me specifically but I could see that it was well-made, and the Prime 4 discourse is kinda making me want to give it another chance.

 

[Großmann]

I don’t know why you’d assume that, but no, I grew up playing N64 and Gamecube (besides, Gamecube aged beautifully). I just didn’t play any of the Prime games besides briefly trying 1 about a decade ago. It’s a series that I always felt wasn’t for me specifically but I could see that it was well-made, and the Prime 4 discourse is kinda making me want to give it another chance.

My assumption was that you were too young to have played it back then since you haven’t played it by now. Thanks for clarifying. However you choose to play, go in with patience and with the expectation of a slower, more contemplative experience. Don’t try to rush it or expect an action-packed spectacle. And if you played the 2D Metroids, don’t expect the same style of game.

 

[Hemorrhoy Rogers]

Finally beat Prime 2. Game kind of shits the bed near the end but I liked it well enough (did they really need to put another wall jumping section right before the final boss?). The Ing Emperor is very annoying due to having to constantly look up with the gamecube controls to aim at the tentacles. 2nd phase was whatever and the third got annoying near the end due to the stupid ammo limit on the beams. Dark Samus was fun to fight again but I nearly ran out of time trying to figure out you need to absorb that specific phazon attack. Onward to 3. I dunno if I'll just marathon it or alternate between it and 4. I'm trying to have the first 3 games still fresh in my mind as I play 4.

 

[starborn427614]

Finally beat Prime 2. Game kind of shits the bed near the end but I liked it well enough (did they really need to put another wall jumping section right before the final boss?). The Ing Emperor is very annoying due to having to constantly look up with the gamecube controls to aim at the tentacles. 2nd phase was whatever and the third got annoying near the end due to the stupid ammo limit on the beams. Dark Samus was fun to fight again but I nearly ran out of time trying to figure out you need to absorb that specific phazon attack. Onward to 3. I dunno if I'll just marathon it or alternate between it and 4. I'm trying to have the first 3 games still fresh in my mind as I play 4.

Prime 2 is a messy game, but its highs are just about good enough to make up for its weird gameplay quirks. It might be best to marathon 3 as it leads directly into 4.

 

[Lone MacReady II]

Switch Remaster. The visuals are less jarring (I’m assuming you did not grow up playing games from that time period or earlier) and you have more control options to choose from. This isn’t to say that the other options are bad, but that the Switch Remaster has the lowest bar for entry — unless you don’t have a Switch, then just go with the Nintendo emulator you have available.

Remaster: Best visuals and control options, missing the extra content from the original, no pointer controls, no emulation mods.

PrimeHack: Better visual resolution (assuming your hardware is good), many controller options including KB&M, mods, access to the other two Metroid Prime games, but not on original hardware and is dependent on your PC’s capabilities.

Wii: Pointer controls and is part of the Prime Trilogy, but may not like it because of the pointer controls and incorporation of bloom into the visuals compared to the original.

GCN: Has the OG Metroid as a bonus and the Fusion Suit (if you link a GBA with Metroid Fusion), but is on the weakest hardware of the options and has stiff controls compared to other options.

I think newfaggots should have to play the GC version to understand what old salts had to go through with those tank controls, a right of passage if you will, like old school horror games.

I'd also pick the GC version for one very key reason, a reason that 99% of people probably don't care about but I'm mentioning it anyway. For some dumb fuck reason multiple lore entries from Prime were edited in the Trilogy version, which subsequently became the default used for the remaster. The edits, while small, remove a very genuine bit of heart from the Chozo and how they address Samus as one of their own. Old Retro having the Chozo call Samus their Hatchling is so on point. A complete understanding of the soul of Metroid. The fact that the Chozo are almost coterminous with Samus, seeing her in visions and feeling saved by her presence despite the fact that all the Chozo on Tallon IV are dead or turned into ghosts. Peak.

 

[Dynamite Bean]

Another reason i'd vouch for playing the GC version of Metroid Prime is the amount of sequence breaking you can do on the very first version, a lot of which was patched up in the trilogy, remaster, and even later releases of og prime

example you can get the space jump boots as soon as you land on tallon iv which opens the game up a lot and that's not including other tech you can preform to get certain items or areas earlier like the plasma beam or ice beam

Oh and randomizers too, the randomizers for prime 1 and 2 also add endless replayablity

 

[TerranTony98]

What’s better for a first playthrough of Prime 1?
- GameCube
- Wii
- PrimeHack
- Switch remaster

its between the switch remaster and prime hack, if you want keyboard and mouse controls prime hack is the obvious choice, but genuinely the switch remaster looks better and runs really well on the switch.

 

[Großmann]

Another reason i'd vouch for playing the GC version of Metroid Prime is the amount of sequence breaking you can do on the very first version, a lot of which was patched up in the trilogy, remaster, and even later releases of og prime

example you can get the space jump boots as soon as you land on tallon iv which opens the game up a lot and that's not including other tech you can preform to get certain items or areas earlier like the plasma beam or ice beam
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oqLDBR5bEfg
Oh and randomizers too, the randomizers for prime 1 and 2 also add endless replayablity

A first time player shouldn’t be trying to do speedrun tricks and using randomizers.

 

[Dynamite Bean]

A first time player shouldn’t be trying to do speedrun tricks and using randomizers.

Correct but I still don't think it hurts to mention them as some of the differences alongside the lore changes like another user said

 

[X Prime]

Was there ever a given reason why the lore entries were changed?

 

[UERISIMILITUDO]

Was there ever a given reason why the lore entries were changed?

Nintendo changes the stupidest shit for no fucking reason. I've only played Pikmin 3 on the Switch, and they changed the walking speed of the pikmin to be uniform, whereas apparently they used to have variable speeds. From what I've seen, this completely changes the characteristics of a boss fight, the musical bird, because they chose not to change it to compensate for the adjustment.

 

[X Prime]

Old Retro having the Chozo call Samus their Hatchling is so on point. A complete understanding of the soul of Metroid.

You have a big problem here though in that you're basically implying the Japs themselves don't get it (not to mention the Europoors).

Which, given Other M, may not be too far from the truth at this point in the case of the former. One really wonders sometimes if Nintendo making cool characters is an accident.

 

[winderson_silva]

those load times are PAINFUL.

I was recently replaying RDR2 on PC and it is incredible how much of a difference fast load times make. Shame that optimizing your game is a dying art.

BREAKING: D-list VA should keep her mouth shut.

"The third most famous female character in history must be a Man."

 

[Strangolapreti]

I wanna ask you a question.
When you think of playing a Metroid game, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?
Personally speaking, I think of that time I first got missles in Super Metroid, backtracked to a red door and opened it.
A friend of mine had the whole thing about bombing floor tiles leading to a hole that leads nowhere, and then come back later to realize there was a second fake floor to bomb to access the next area.

 

[UERISIMILITUDO]

When you think of playing a Metroid game, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

Unfiltered: Backtracking in space. Filtered: Shooting aliens with cool weapons like the ice beam in a labyrinth. The fall-through blocks or whatever are also pretty cool.

The ice beam in particular is something bittersweet to me. It was in the first three games, but its exclusion in Metroid Fusion was for story reasons. Regardless, it's still necessary and common enough to make platforms out of enemies. This is something that was almost entirely absent in Metroid Dread however, and I've had to accept that the series is going in a different direction than I like in this respect. Ice missiles aren't the same, because they're too strong for most enemies and just kill them instantly. I also remember trying to make a platform out of the black, dissolved Chozo masses while playing in Dread mode only to die when I tried using one as a platform.

It's also pretty weird how only Super Metroid had vertical doors. Sure, the maps have more irregular shapes now and it doesn't really matter, but it's still odd to me how they no longer use those at all.

 

[Two Dollars]

Nintendo changes the stupidest shit for no fucking reason. I've only played Pikmin 3 on the Switch, and they changed the walking speed of the pikmin to be uniform, whereas apparently they used to have variable speeds. From what I've seen, this completely changes the characteristics of a boss fight, the musical bird, because they chose not to change it to compensate for the adjustment.

They did the same thing with the Switch port of Mario 3D World where they sped up all playable characters and reworked some of the physics, without adjusting any of the level layouts to compensate, with no option to change it back.