Metroid Samus Returns 3DS

 

Last year my kind little Starfish (known by other people as Nollaig) purchased me Metroid Samus Returns on the 3DS for Christmas. I was looking forward to playing it for a long time and while I started it last year it ended up falling to one side, until recently. 

I like Pringles, so many different flavour options, in the last few years they have added even more. Some of the flavours are good, some not so much. I recently tried their Katsu Curry flavour, the first few were okay but was not sure I wasn't fully sold on it but quickly I ended up consuming the entire can. Playing Metroid Samus Returns on the 3DS I found myself asking was it this actually tasty or was the flavour just not for me?

Story

One of my favourite games in the Metroid series is Zero Mission, which is a remake of the original Metroid. Samus Returns on the 3DS is a remake of Metroid 2 on the Gameboy. The story sees the bounty Samus Aran sent to the planet SR388 to investigate the disappearance of a reconnaissance unit.  It is time for Samus to suit up and take on the Space Pirates and the Metroids again. 

Overall the story is fun and simple. I have always been drawn to the Metroid series due to the setting and gameplay, the story is just the icing on the cake and I don't need much icing.

Visuals 

The visuals look really good, and unlike many 3DS games where the 3D can be so-so in the case of Samus Returns it looks awesome. The different areas you visit are mostly under the surface of the planet and features a lot of caves and caverns, along with lava pits of death and the familiar Chozo statues that hold your next coveted power up. 

Overall the visuals look good, and while some areas can look a little samey Nintendo has done a lot to set it apart from the original release on the Gameboy.

Music

There is something very classic Nintendo when it comes to the Metroid music, it could never be mistaken for another series, and Samus Returns is no different. The music always has a retro sound even the newer games in the series and remakes. The soundtrack is created by Japanese composer Daisuke Matsuoka, who works include; Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Super Smash Brothers on Wii and 3DS.

The score is just over an hour, or two depending on which version you find online (I went for the longer version). There are some great tracks, my favourites being; 'Title', 'Samus Appearance Jingle', 'Item Obtained', 'Alpha Metroid', 'Area 1 Caverns', 'Diggernaut Chase', 'Verses Diggernaut' and 'Verses Proteus Ridley (Phase 1-3)'. Overall a fun soundtrack steeped in nostalgia.

Gameplay

Metroid Samus Returns is a 2D/3D side-scrolling game. Any fan of the series will be used to the format of the game. At a Metroid games core; explore an area, if come across something you need a power-up for, move onto another area, later on, once you get the power-up return to the area. This type of gameplay not only pushes the player to explore but gives a reason to go back to areas already visited to try and get 100% completion.

As Samus traverses the planet there will be the opportunity to upgrade your health, power-ups and missiles. New (for me anyway) is the ability to activate abilities for a time such as; rapid-fire, increased protection and one that allows you to reveal the map around you including hidden areas. 

Samus has a ton of great weapons, my favourites being the morph ball and the full upgrades three-way laser beam. The accuracy of weapons is great and taking a moment to aim helps you use a lot less ammo. 

The areas are littered with enemies, while most of them are fine there are some poor ones most notably the bosses themselves. The bosses repeat themselves, a lot, and while I can only imagine it must be difficult to come up with so many different devices in my opinion less is more. There are some cool bosses later but not enough to make up for the repetition of the earlier ones.

Overall the gameplay is classic fun Metroid, and while the repetition of bosses could be annoying it wasn't a deal-breaker either.

Final Thoughts 

So, after thirty hours how did I feel? The story is nothing exciting (apart from near the end), visuals and music are great. The gameplay is awesome with very little to complain about overall. This one gets a solid 4 out 5

Iconoclasts - Review

I was recently looking at a list of all the games released this year, among them was a game called Iconoclasts, available on PS Vita and Steam.  I recently played Detroit Become Human and wanted to go for something lighter before engaging in the next big game.  I watched the trailer for Iconcoclasts and thought it looked fun so away I went to download it.

Mint is great and has many uses, my favorite being when it's used in plain old mint sweets.  They are a great palate cleanser, whether you have just consumed garlic and don't want to kill someone when talking to them, or if you have just got sick and want to forget you did.  Playing Iconoclasts I found myself asking was this the refreshing cleanse I needed to get my mouth feeling right?

Story

The game is set in a world that is controlled by one belief system.  Doing anything outside of this system will get you hurt, maimed, re-educated or killed.  This fanatical group called Concern,  after years of harassing people on the streets for money to send to the third world which then actually goes towards paying their wages they got bored, added a 'The' to their name and took over the world.  I'm joking, of course, that would never happen...they have spies everywhere so I can't say anything further.  The Moon is cracking apart and people are losing it, they feel that their god referred to as 'Him' (spoiler alert it's not music group) is a little upset at the non-believers and is coming to reap vengeance on everyone.

The game has you play as Robin, a mechanic, that in itself makes her a rebel.  In the early part of the game you are interrogated by Agents Black and White, one complains of their head hurting, the other throws out statements like 'someone's been twisting nuts - harlot!'.  That doesn't stop Robin wanting to investigate recent events and generally ends up throwing a spanner in the works.  She does have 'help', I use the term lightly as your sidekicks disappear frequently and don't ever seem to provide any real support.  The biggest pain is Royal, A.K.A. Dead Weight, A.K.A. Pain in the Ass, he is supposed to be powerful but gets knocked out a lot.

Overall I found the story to be pretty underwhelming, there is a lot of dialogue in the game but it feels drawn out, unnecessary and in more than a few places dull.  The companions you have are pretty annoying, occasionally you will be able to take control of them but they are so underpowered by comparison of Robin it just feels like a slog using them.

Visuals

The visuals are done in a cutesy 8-Bit style, trees and bushes have either a cube or pyramid design which is quite fun.  Playing through the game some it reminded me of Zelda and Metroid, which wasn't a bad thing.  I liked the look of the Isiligar, a town under the sea, almost like a fish tank but for people...a people tank?  Some of the enemies were really great, two of my favorites being; The Silver Watchmen, a Samurai with a purple laser katana and Mother who has the ability to make a giant tiger out of concrete and cars.

Overall the visuals were really good and were definitely one of the stronger elements of the game.

Music

I found the music interesting as it had the ability to switch from cute and peaceful to dark and sinister in a heartbeat.  What was impressive to me was that it was done so seamlessly and gave the game an interesting feel.  The music was written, produced and composed by Joakim 'Konjak' Sandberg,  who is also the creator and developer of the game, a Swedish man with many talents.

The soundtrack runs at over two hours which I found to be pretty amazing for a smaller game, especially when everything was done by one person.  My favorite tracks included:

'Nuts and Bolts Title'

'Robin (Blockrock)'

'Controlled Cacophony (Battle 1)'

'Whiteout (VS Agent White)'

'Indoctrination (The Tower)'

'The Greater Good (One Concern)'

'Jet Black (VS Black)'

'Mother (VS Oedipus)'

'Castle Doctrine (Final Battle)'

Overall a strong soundtrack that manages to blend light and darkness together without missing a beat.

Gameplay

The game can be best described as a 2D side-scrolling puzzler and playing through it I could definitely tell it took its cue from games like Zelda and Metroid, unfortunately, it doesn't do it nearly as well.  The puzzles, for the most part, don't feel like puzzles but more annoying obstacles.  The controls are not always as responsive as they should be and sometimes basic movements like climbing a ladder or picking up a box feel like a hardship.

Robin can upgrade and collect new weapons throughout the game, the wrench has some great abilities, and the gun has a cool swapping mode later in the game.  Outside of this, you can collect schematics which are used for creating tweaks, in honesty I found them to be disappointing and did not enhance my experience.  If you never used them you would not miss them.

During my time playing I found there to be a few points where it felt like I was on a desert island and somehow managed to stand on a plug and I thought to myself 'why the hell is that there?'.  There is an area where you have to be stealthy or you fail, not only did it feel out of place but it was supposed to be training for something that you never need.  The other point was where you play as Mina, she has a slow firing gun, moves slowly and can't crawl, so playing as her was infuriating and felt like a handicap. 

Complaints aside I did enjoy many of the boss fights and felt this is one of the stronger parts of the gameplay.  The final boss was interesting and offered a challenge without being frustrating.  Overall the gameplay wasn't great and I found myself way too often wanting the game to be over. 

Final Thoughts

So, after eighteen hours of gameplay how did I feel?  Underwhelmed and happy for my journey to be over with Robin and Co.  The story was a little all over the place, the other characters, for the most part, did not enhance the experience but instead diminished it.  The visuals and music were really good and were by far the strongest part of the game.  The gameplay itself was lacking and I feel a little more polishing could have made it a far better experience.  It is important to note that this game was built from the ground up by one person and I greatly respect that as I do Fez creator Phil Fish.  While I had to really debate this one the game narrowly scraped a 3 out of 5

Metroid Zero Mission - Review

Recently I have been thinking about Metroid Zero Mission & how I really wanted to play it again. I first played it when I was still living in Galway about 10 years ago, a friend of mine loaned it to me & I remember thinking how awesome it was at the time.  Metroid Zero Mission is an updated version of the original Metroid released in 1986, featuring a lot more colour, story & gameplay.  While sometimes updated versions or remakes of games feel unnecessary this is definitely not the case with Zero Mission.


Have any of you ever eaten Findus Crispy Pancakes?  I remember eating them as a child & really liked them, they are minced beef wrapped in a pancake & covered in breadcrumbs.  Simple, cheap, tasty.  A few years ago I tried them again for the nostalgia value & to see if I still liked them. They were terrible; filled with cheap fatty meat, overly crispy, no substance, no flavor & nothing like a pancake.  I should have left them in my past as a good memory.  Playing Metroid Zero Mission I had to ask myself was it like the tasty Findus Crispy Pancakes I used like or what I now know them to taste like?

The story is simple but that is not a bad thing. There are space pirates who have set up shop on the planet Zebes, their plan: to capture samples of the creatures know as Metroids & use them to crush any enemies who oppose them.  You play as Samus Aran, bounty hunter, your mission:  stop the pirates & destroy the mechanical life form know as Mother Brain.


While I enjoy a good story in games sometimes simplicity is key.  I think this is proven with Metroid Zero Mission.  The additional storyversus the original really helps expand the Metroid story & that of Samus Aran.

While the game is 13 years old it still looks really good & beside the original 1986 classic it looks fantastic.  I think Mecha Ridley is one of the best looking enemies (see above), he is bird like with giant claws to destroy you & that glowing red heart is just begging to have missiles shot at it.  There are many interesting looking areas visually, two of my favorite are the Chozo Ruins & the surface of Planet Zebes.  The Chozo Ruins look great as they have an Ancient Egyptian feel with a slight twist. Being on the surface of planet Zebes is really cool as it feels so open & is a nice reprieve from being inside.  There are short animated sequences in the game that look as good now as they did before & really help build on top of what the original Metroid created.


Visually I didn't have many flaws with the game apart from maybe one near the end of the game. When you escape from the Space Pirate Mothership you get on what can only described as a blue computer mouse which just looks really terrible, especially when so much of the design used in the rest of the game is so good.


The musical score is created by; Kenji Yamamoto & Minako Hamano. Yamamoto previously worked on many game including; Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Donkey Kong Country Returns, The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.  Hamano has worked on; Wario World, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX.


I feel the game moves between two very different sounds; a creeping foreboding & a powerful unstoppable force.  The two sounds helps balance the gameplay & offers a nice mix of darkness & light.  My favorite pieces include: 'Space Pirate Assault', 'Final Attack', 'Deorem/Mua Boss Theme',
'Mecha Ridley Boss Theme', 'Kraid's Lair', 'Brinstar Theme', 'Prologue', 'Main Theme' & 'Staff Credits'.

The gameplay is a lot of fun, going into an area & not being able to fully fill the map is exciting as I could not wait to get the upgrade that would let me clear the area 100% later on.  Finding the upgrades for your suit & increasing health & missile capacity was a great feeling.  My favorite upgrades were; screw attack, morph ball & power grip.


There were small things when playing the game that made me smile, one of the best examples of this is when you are on the Pirate Mothership & there is a barrel in your way.  When you hit it with your weapon it sprouts legs & starts walking away from the area it is blocking really slowly.


Mecha Ridley was my favorite boss, not only as he is the last boss but also it actually feels like when you defeat him there is more skill used unlike some of the others bosses that just felt like a lot of it was based on luck.


There are definitely good reasons to try & replay the game, one of them is that there are multiple endings to the game.  The ending you get all depends on item completion percentage & how quick you finish the game.  Finishing the game on normal unlocks the original Metroid game.


All in all some solid gameplay & a lot of fun to play.





So after 5 hours, 38 minutes & quite a few deaths what did I think?  Honestly it was a lot of fun playing it again & I can imagine playing it again in the future.  If you own a GameBoy Advance & never played it I would buy a copy right now.  A big monkey thumb up for this one!

Advancing Boy!

I have always enjoyed handheld gaming, it's more than just the convenience of being able to play games anywhere.  For me its the awe & admiration I feel towards developers when playing a great portable game.  When creating a game for a handheld device there can be a big limitation on what can be achieved.  There is less power in these devices which means lesser graphics need to be replaced with greater stories & gameplay.  Many developers  are unable to step up to the plate & we become awash with mediocre or bad games. However there are some willing to rise to the challenge & push the console to its limits & provide us with the great games we crave. With this in mind I am going to spend at least the next two posts discussing handheld consoles & their games.

Before playing Zero Mission I had never played a Metroid game, as I was a Sega Kid it was an easily missed series.  While I realize for the most part that Zero Mission is basically a suped-up colour version of the original game I really loved it & thought it added to the original (which I later played).

The plot in some way reminds me of Aliens, a group messing with a dangerous species they hope to control. Samus (Ripley) being one of the only sane people decides to take care of business & ensure the universe doesn't get any more screwed up than it already is.

One of the first things that grabbed me was the music, sometimes eerie & other times really action packed. It could make you feel alone & isolated or pumped up & ready to kick ass. The game could be both colourful & dark. Some areas on planet Zebes felt dark but was always balanced by Samus's bright suit.

I loved the gameplay! There is something about coming against an unpassable area & then later getting an upgrade & you think to yourself, now I can get through that part. One of my favorite upgrades is the roll - simple but effective.

The game in itself made me want more & although it got some negative feed back due to its length I walked away satisfied & happy (that's what she said).  There is a saying I feel rings true here "always leave them wanting more", there are number of games that can feel overly long especially if the story is weak - this is not one of those games.

This game series was another first for me. I was aware of Zelda series but had never played any of them. I am not embarrassed to say it but I found the game tough.  It was a style of gameplay I was relatively unfamiliar with & combined action with puzzles.

You play as Link a pint size green menace who swings his sword round & smashes pots, his excuse for doing this? Saving the Kingdom of Hyrule & the Princess - being honest it's a good excuse. Your mission is to restore an ancient blade called the Four Sword, to do this you need to find the Picori people.  Your main tools are a sword, shield, a thirst for destruction & of course Ezlo a talking green cap.

The music always gave me the feeling of urgency, whether I was in a field or in a dungeon. The game always feels bright even when you are in a darkened area, this is probably due to Link's appearance. His crazy green hat, pointy ears & blonde hair help keep a certain lightness to a game which can be very dark.

The game play is quite fun & as you work your way through the game you obtain more weapons to help you over come obstacles.  Each dungeon you enter usually has a new weapon & a key item.  The boss at the end of the dungeon usually offers the main challenge, forcing you to consider every move you make & pick the right tools to defeat them.

While this game is not my favorite in the series it was a great introduction to it. If for some reason you have not had the chance to play a Zelda game this might be the place to start. Being honest though my favorite is the Phantom Hour Glass, more on this later.

While I have mixed feelings on this game I feel it is worth mentioning. The appeal for some is the gameplay, for others it was the story & for me it was probably the look of the game. I also want to give a shout to a friend of mine Max who introduced me to this game & the previous two games mentioned.

The story for me was not too exciting. Andy a Commander of the Orange Star Army is seemingly attacking other countries for no reason. You get take on the role of one of the Commanders & fight your way through various enemies.

The music was fun & up beat which is one of things I liked about it. For me though one of things that let it down was that the maps, they felt dull & lifeless.  On the plus side the animations when attacking enemies looked great.

I have never been big in to turned based games especially war games.  While I can appreciate the benefit of turned based gameplay in a war style game its feels out of place.  Some would argue that it is better as it gives you time to plan your moves & act more strategically.  For me I feel real time strategy is the way to go; reacting,counter attacking & planning on the go.

It may seem I have done nothing put the game down & to degree that is true. I do feel some of the map designs could be improved along with the game mechanics.  On the other hand I feel the game can be very fun; great animations & the commanders you can play as each have their own quirky personalities & abilities. Bottom line, if you like turn based combat, fun animations & characters this one is for you.

So its time to come to the close of another post but before I go here are some other titles that are worth checking out (it's a short list because I got caught up in my next handheld device):

Pokemon Emerald
R-Type 3
Mario Golf Advance Tour


See you next time!