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DF Retro: Metroid Prime - Nintendo's first-person masterpiece
- Thread starter Broken Joystick
- Start date
Pancakes R Us
Member
I love Metroid Prime always and forever. Truly one of the best. A masterpiece. And will remain as such for years to come.
D.Lo
Member
Another note: PAL Metroid Prime 1 runs at an internally higher resolution, and gameplay speed has been adjusted so there's no downside (apart from rock solid 50hz, definitely worth it for a 17% resolution bump). It's the definitive version of the game on GameCube if you have a nice 576 CRT (and the canonical one too, many bug fixes and as mentioned by othersit fixes the massive plot hole of Prime escaping then being sealed again). It. Can be forced to 576p too.
The video doesn't note that Prime 1 and 2 were originally converted to Wii controls for the budget priced 'New Play Control' single disc releases, which were released in Japan in February 2009, and they were originally planned for western release. Instead they were delayed and combined into the full price Prime Trilogy.
So the conversions were originally just budget titles and probably had small budgets.
Almost certainly just an oversight.
The video doesn't note that Prime 1 and 2 were originally converted to Wii controls for the budget priced 'New Play Control' single disc releases, which were released in Japan in February 2009, and they were originally planned for western release. Instead they were delayed and combined into the full price Prime Trilogy.
So the conversions were originally just budget titles and probably had small budgets.
Did not know that... could it be possible that it's just a setting that was left off? Like the feature is still there and technically functional, but they just plum forgot turn it on under some kind of settings file? If so, then I wonder if it can be activated via an exploit like the ones for smash brawl...
The game is usually pretty good at leading to the next intended upgrade but yea that part is an exception. I think most people needlessly go to crashed frigate first and it sucks.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
Such a special game.
The Switch is rumored to have pointer controls. Just get rid of the motion stuff and it'd be fine.
From a speedrunning perspective, NA 1.00 (or whatever the first one is labeled) is the definitive Metroid Prime version.
The rumored IR sensor on the right joycon won't really be usable for conventional games.
Dual analog+gyro aiming should be possible though.
I wouldn't want to play Metroid Prime with gyro
I have a physical copy of the game. Worked as well as you would expect. I don't think the e-shop version is any different.
The eShop version has way, waaaaaay faster load times (most notable in Prime 3, where doors can take dozens of seconds on disc to open and open nearly instantly on eShop).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_xoXTwaCOA
Other than that, they're identical, and the disc is also identical on both Wii and Wii U.
I can't really think of any other way to make MP3 playable with the joycons.
So yet again, I'm stuck with the inferior version
At the very least the game masks load times really well so it's not that big of a deal. But I'm happy to hear the digital version is superior.
Pancakes R Us
Member
OG Prime 1/2 controls should be okay,I reckon. One stick movement and lock-on.
I think the best choice for a remaster would be to give us multiple control options. The original controls work fine for the first two games but they can be difficult to adjust to.
D.Lo
Member
Possibly. It seems like a pretty odd thing to be missing due to the change of FOV.
Well yeah, it's full of glitches so is more exploitable. For most normal people not interested in 'quadruple parallel universe movements' level stuff, fixed glitches are improvements however
Why not? An IR pointer is an IR pointer. You may lose the motion/gyro stuff from MP3, which was cool but not as necessary as the pointer.
You have to hold the joycon upside-down to use the IR. It's just going to be the docked substitute for the touchscreen
D.Lo
Member
So? Even if the speculation is true, It's still a pointer, and has at least four face buttons easily-ish available. And depending on ergonomics the stick too. The Wii Remote wasn't completely ideal for Metroid either, reaching for the d-pad for missies (and changing hand position to hit 1 and 2 for other functions) was not perfect either. They key thing is the pointer.
Portable play gets somewhat trickier, but it may not be able to support 'docked joycons' mode with pointer controls I guess. Or it could have some adjusted single screen version touchscreen pointer, which was superb in Metroid Prime Hunters.
It's certainly up there. The move to the 60Hz only Prime 2 was a big downgrade in image quality for a PAL gamer back in the day, and running the PAL version in 60Hz you definitely see more edge aliasing on the exact same game.
You of course need a PAL TV which are higher resolution (ideally a quality PAL CRT), so NTSC countries would mostly not be able to take advantage of the extra detail even if they got hold of the disc unless they had a fully PAL compliant TV.
ResidentDante
Member
Wow, one of the best PAL conversions ever?!
The four face buttons would be on the bottom of the controller. It'd be like playing a game using the pointer and only the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wii.
Interesting. It'll be awesome to get some developer input on these things. I'm still hoping for a Rayman 2 episode with all/most of all versions covered including dev comments on every one.
24 hours turnaround is far shorter than I expected. Did the other episodes come together on such a short production pipeline too?
Yeah, Rayman 2 will be a huge project in terms of resource gathering.
Production time varies per episode but the basic gist is - 24 to 72 hours. Half-Life 2 and Goldeneye, for instance, were solid three day affairs. Silent Hill 2 took two days.
Smaller episodes can happen more quickly. It depends on the depth of info to be presented. Symphony of the Night, for instance, is one of the shorter episodes but took as long as GE and HL2 due to the need to illustrate how VDP1 and 2 worked as best as possible.
The issue is that I need to focus on regular DF work as well which requires a lot of time.
DF Retro only works due to the fact that I already have intimate knowledge of these games prior to covering them. I just brush up on them with light research to confirm that I'm correct and just roll into it. I tend to plan out the episodes in my head first then go through and basically make a capture check-list of everything I need. The episodes are fairly modular by design which makes it easy to go back and add more if I need. I could easily expand out the Wii section on Metroid Prime, for instance, if I had the time.
I don't know what the workflow looks like for other people doing videos, but I pretty much focus on delivering reasonably decent production values and interesting information as fast as possible. If I had a week or more to work on a single episode, man, the results could be really special.
OrbitalBeard
Member
Finally got around to watching the video. Fantastic work as always.
What I wouldn't give for a Switch version of this game.
What I wouldn't give for a Switch version of this game.
D.Lo
Member
Surely they'll do an HD version as a download at least.
I'm actually putting off another trilogy playthrough a year or so in case they do! Same with Skyward Sword.
I will never forgive the PAL version for changing the Phazon Suit's cutscene.
Also, the only two really big fixes I like are fixing the gamebreaking Artifact of Warrior glitch and giving Flaahgra its full theme. But losing the ability to dash while scanning sucks, and I'm not a fan of some changes like the added narration. I fully admit most of this comes from me owning and playing the NTSC version so many times.
runnin_blue
Banned
Dude. Do you sleep?! Lol.
Your output so far has been seriously impressive and there are many of us obviously enjoying it. Thank you deeply for your efforts.
The thought of you doing most of this off the top of your head is mind boggling. I can't remember last week!
I'd like to see you tackle Rayman 2 as well, but yeah, there's a lot to cover.
Looking forward to the next episode, whatever it may be.
Speaking of getting the Gamecube version to run in widescreen on Dolphin, just found out there's a mod to out there to make the HUD look properly in widescreen as well, and it's not horrifically stretched like the Wii version either, so win-win.
The whole ice beam/space jump/gravity suit stretch is a real downer in this game. I also had forgotten about the fetch quest at the end of the game. This game is really not as "perfect" as I had remembered.
The whole ice beam/space jump/gravity suit stretch is a real downer in this game. I also had forgotten about the fetch quest at the end of the game. This game is really not as "perfect" as I had remembered.
OrbitalBeard
Member
The fetch quest never bothered me, because Metroid is all about exploration anyway. I'd agree that it's probably the worst part of the game though, but that's not me saying it's bad.
mattwhite924
Member
I think back in the day I read that it's because MP1 was updated to use the MP2 engine, which didn't include the effect.
It sounds plausible, but I'm not sure if that's really true.
I did this my first time playing. I managed to get myself back out but Jesus that sucked balls and yes the area should have had some other kind of wall for people who don't have the gravity suit yet.
There's a hud mod too?! Now that is sweet.
mavericktopgun
Member
Can you make a DF Retro video about Rogue Leader (or 2) and F-ZERO GX?
It's one of the reasons why sequence breaks really improve the game on replays. For example, getting the Plasma Beam without having the Grapple Beam is super simple (at least in the original NTSC version) and allows you to get an easy Power Bomb from Phendrana Drifts, which means you can get into the Phazon Mines from Magmoor Caverns and completely skip the Crashed Frigate. And if you want to go one step further, you can get the Ice Beam and Plasma Beam before the Spider Ball.
Also, the best way to handle the Artifact hunt is to collect them as you progress instead of leaving them all until the end of the game. There's only one Artifact that's not available until you beat the Omega Pirate.
Zombegoast
Member
I still believe the Gamecube was ahead of it's time with how efficient it was seeing Metroid Prime and Factor 5's games. It couldn't do traditional shaders like the Xbox but it makes up for it using TEV
It's not really an exception, The game deliberately lures you into the frigate before you can get the suit as part of the intended route. It wants you to go to that dead end so you can experience the contrast between exploring the area before and after the gravity suit. The fact that it is actually optional yet so many players go back in there on replays is what makes me consider this part the shining high point of the game's map design.
D.Lo
Member
That's pretty minor lol. Yeah most people will always prefer the version of any game they grew up with/played a bunch first.I will never forgive the PAL version for changing the Phazon Suit's cutscene.
Also, the only two really big fixes I like are fixing the gamebreaking Artifact of Warrior glitch and giving Flaahgra its full theme. But losing the ability to dash while scanning sucks, and I'm not a fan of some changes like the added narration. I fully admit most of this comes from me owning and playing the NTSC version so many times.
Pop-O-Matic
Banned
You'll get the Wii version on VC at best.
I'd rather it didn't have motion controls at all because holding those bits upside down looks weird as hell. I say this as someone who loved the Wii's controls.
Beer Monkey
Member
Booted up MP for GCN and the Wii Trilogy version last night. Hard for me to go back to gamepad after using the 'pointer' controls, the latter feels superior to me now, though a few years back I felt the opposite was true. Weird. I guess my muscle memory has faded re: the Gamecube controls.
Good times, though I need to see if I can reduce stutter by tweaking settings.
Good times, though I need to see if I can reduce stutter by tweaking settings.
Barrow Roll
Member
I used to prefer the NTSC Phazon Suit cutscene, but over time I came to prefer the PAL version. Samus already standing after being crushed and then striking an action pose is pretty silly. I like the look of her rising up from the puddle of Phazon and taking a moment to look at her hand and witness her transformation.I will never forgive the PAL version for changing the Phazon Suit's cutscene.
Also, the only two really big fixes I like are fixing the gamebreaking Artifact of Warrior glitch and giving Flaahgra its full theme. But losing the ability to dash while scanning sucks, and I'm not a fan of some changes like the added narration. I fully admit most of this comes from me owning and playing the NTSC version so many times.
Also I don't remember if the Wii version actually cuts off part of the cutscene like in that YT upload, here's a better comparison:
https://www.metroid2002.com/version_differences_phazon_suit_cut_scene.php
Also, PAL actually got a proper Grapple Beam cutscene:
https://www.metroid2002.com/version_differences_grapple_beam_cut_scene.php
There are so many little changes made to the PAL version, it really is sort of a director's cut of the game. The NTSC Wii version of Metroid Prime is my definitive version as it has all of the PAL changes, without the narration, and the superior Wii Remote controls.
The later version makes more sense, but the original version is more hype; I love how you get the impression Samus's suit was really fucked up by the Phazon and then she overcomes it.
[url=" will never forgive the PAL version for changing the Phazon Suit's cutscene.
Also, the only two really big fixes I like are fixing the gamebreaking Artifact of Warrior glitch and giving Flaahgra its full theme. But losing the ability to dash while scanning sucks, and I'm not a fan of some changes like the added narration. I fully admit most of this comes from me owning and playing the NTSC version so many times.
I hope you're joking. That pose is so stupid.
True but it's the only time you'll see Samus do that pose ingame that you can see in plenty of promotional material.