Corruption has moment of greatness but I have issues with game beyond the set pieces at the beginning. Even when you're free to wander the experience is very guided and "boxed", upgrades are a bit lacking in numbers and different functionality, too much emphasis on the "super" mode in boss fights, the focus on plot and the hunters add nothing to the game. It's also a bit too gimmicky with it's controls. Good game, great artistic direction, some moments of greatness but I vastly prefer the other two primes (and super, zero mission and even fusion)
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Metroid Prime Trilogy WiiU |OT| - Samus it Ever Was. Now with Ridleyculous low price!
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Bryyo's my personal favorite Prime 3 location. I love the history told in the scans.
The Golden Age
"Look now to the past, and to the time of peace on Bryyo. See the age of gold, when our world was a paradise unrivaled. Hear the songs of joy fill the streets of the Royal City, as the people honor the coming of Bryyus the First, the Liberator. Behold, the launch of our first ship to the stars on that day, and witness the rise of Science, of a New Bryyo. See this, and see the beginning of our downfall."
Age of Science
"The ships of Bryyo sped to the stars, in all directions, bearing the banner of peace. Soon we found stellar bretheren in the Chozo, the Luminoth, and the Ylla. Starborn knowledge came to Bryyo, and we gladly sent our wisdom to our new friends in return. The hearts of Bryyo were filled with pride, and they honor the Lords of Science for all the wonders we provided. As the time of New Bryyo came to be, the old ways faded. The cries of joy from those who honored Science covered the angry shouts of those who mourned the old ways, the Primal Traditions."
Age of Schism
"In time, the wonders of Science were not enough for those who held the Primal Traditions in their hearts. The warning of the Chozo--to seek balance between old and new ways--were not heeded by the Lords of Science, myself included. We forged on, ignorant of the rage in the hearts of the Primals. The time came when Sfimas, first Lord of Science, denounced the Primals and their Traditions in the center of the Royal City. It was as flame to dry forest. Age of Science ended, and the Age of Schism was born."
Age of War
"In the beginning, the conflicts were small, out of sight for most on Bryyo. But they grew, slowly but as steady as the coming of the sun. Diplomacy gave way to brutality, and war came to our world. The Lords of Science turned their minds from exploration to destruction, and unleashed horrors unknown upon their Primal enemies. In retaliation, the Primals turned to the darkest of ancient powers, cursing us, the Science Lords, and all who served our cause. Friends from the stars tried desperately to end the conflict, all in vain. The people of war would not be denied."
Downfall
"Look now to the time of battle, tribe against tribe. See fertile land swept clean of all living things by arcane nightmares or the hellish blasts of Science. See the giant stone Mogenars do battle, destroying the land with their titanic blows. And hear the undying scream of a planet wracked by darkest war. The battles waged endlessly, and the resources needed to sustain our war machines were great. Bryyo too had become a casualty of the war; the air was filled with the smoke of battle and the soil soaked with the toxins of pollution. Calamity after calamity visited the folk of Bryyo, until a world once known for wonders became a scarred husk under the stars. Only a small region remained habitable, and to it the survivors went, bringing the war with them."
Victory
"We, the Lords of Science, mishandled the use of our knowledge. The devastation of the war robbed us of the rare resources necessary to fuel our war engines. Without our machines we were unable to stand up to the Primal armies, and they overran the enclaves of many Science Lords. What few remained fled into dark places, polluted wastelands even the bravest of Primal warriors would not dare enter. Whatever joy there may have been amongst the victorious was quickly stamped out by the grim reality surrounding them. Bryyo, their cradle, their sacred home... was on the verge of death."
Struggle of Exiles
"As the followers of the Primal Traditions celebrated their victory, a number of surviving Science Lords gathered in a hidden sanctuary. It was there that our foolishness became obvious, and we regretted ignoring the Chozo's warning. We realized the folly of following the ways of science with blind faith - and the peril of all Bryyo. The contamination left from all the battles was spreading, and would soon scour the remaining fertile lands, leaving naught but ash. If left unaided, Bryyo would lose what few safe lands and water remained. Once more, our great minds turned to a grand task... planetary salvation. As our enemies searched the lands for us, the last Lords of Science, we created our final machines and launched them into the heavens."
Salvation
"The great machines of the Science Lords performed flawlessly. They absorbed the toxins and pollution in the air and soil, preserving the remaining fertile land of Bryyo. Yet the planet's climate was forever changed, leaving one side eternally scorched by the sun, the other forever in the icy grasp of darkness. The launch of the machines revealed the hidden enclave of the Science Lords to their former enemies. The bright lights in the skies caused by the decontamination equipment stirred old hatred in the hearts of the Primals. Fearing a new attack, the Primals sent their warriors forth to hunt their hated foes. We were now marked for death."
The Hunted
"The Primals crafted new magics to protect their warriors, and sent them into the burning wastelands to hunt the Lords of Science hiding there. Though we tried to avoid conflict, many Science Lords were found and ended by Primal war bands. I was but the sole survivor, the last remaining Lord of Science. In order to protect myself, I adopted the wisdom once shared by the Chozo. I built mighty Mogenars out of stone, and place them outside the walls of my home, there to silently protect me from all enemies."
Decline
"Forgotten in exile, a creature of myth, I, the last Lord of Science, worked tirelessly to protect myself and this world. I crafted magics and machines to bring life back to the wastelands. I found a new source of natural energy in the land and called it Fuel Gel. I vowed to atone for the devastation inflicted upon Bryyo, caused by both science and war. Yet, while I toiled, the Primals slipped slowly into barbarism. With no Science Lords to hunt, they turned on each other, tribe against tribe. Magic was lost to them, and they became as savage as the predator beasts of the wild."
Prophecy
"As time slowly passed, I grew old; even the combined power of magic and science couldn't cheat death forever. In order to preserve Bryyo's environment, I would need a successor. Finding one was a daunting task, for most of the folk saw me as a monster. Time passed quickly as I searched, and my efforts appeared to be in vain. Seemingly by chance, I found a young Primal wandering the wastelands and rescued her. But this was not a chance encounter. She was a prophetess, tirelessly searching for the last Lord of Science to speak to about her visions. In her dreams she saw a starborne death coming to Bryyo, and with her vision came a plea to save her world. Based on her information, I began work on improving the existing decontamination equipment to help prepare a defense for Bryyo against the eventual catastrophe."
Amazing, thanks for sharing!
Version 3.0
Member
On the topic of black bars, here's the deal:
If your Wii U is hooked up via HDMI, you'll have black bars on all sides at any resolution.
If your Wii U is hooked up via component video, you can get rid of them by setting the resolution to 480p. 720p and 1080p still have the black bars, even through component.
The same is true running the Trilogy disc on the Wii U, by the way. I tried every combination today. Nintendo never ceases to amaze me with their technological incompetence or laziness, whichever it is.
If your Wii U is hooked up via HDMI, you'll have black bars on all sides at any resolution.
If your Wii U is hooked up via component video, you can get rid of them by setting the resolution to 480p. 720p and 1080p still have the black bars, even through component.
The same is true running the Trilogy disc on the Wii U, by the way. I tried every combination today. Nintendo never ceases to amaze me with their technological incompetence or laziness, whichever it is.
Ya'll. There is no waggle in this Trilogy. Enough with that.
This is waggle:
In Corruption, you will do some light, gesture-based controls, which work well. The end.
Some of you folks, I would really love to see you play Wii. If you're expending more energy controlling this game then you are holding a normal control, I bet it's hilarious to watch.
This is waggle:
In Corruption, you will do some light, gesture-based controls, which work well. The end.
Some of you folks, I would really love to see you play Wii. If you're expending more energy controlling this game then you are holding a normal control, I bet it's hilarious to watch.
Daniel Jackson
Member
I already have the trilogy on disc. I might buy the eshop version because of the shorter loading times. Does it automatically use the same save file so I can easily continue my progress?
Version 3.0
Member
It's not nice to throw the "waggle" accusation around, true, but to be fair, these games do use "waggle", but only for one function: morph ball jumping.
Starting from mp1....
Do i really have to scan everything?
Its getting annoying to see the game through that little circle.
I fear ill miss something important if i tun it off
The space station escape was tottaly cramped by me searching for new things to scan
Im starting to remember why i didnt enjoyed this game
Do i really have to scan everything?
Its getting annoying to see the game through that little circle.
I fear ill miss something important if i tun it off
The space station escape was tottaly cramped by me searching for new things to scan
Im starting to remember why i didnt enjoyed this game
Dion Blaster
Member
I played MP3 before MP1 and slightly control the Gamecube controls. I really liked platforming/exploring just using the left stick more and got a bit sick of aiming with the wiimote by the end of corruption. In fact I prefer the GC controls just enough that it feels worth it to give up widescreen.
You don't have to scan everything. Scan what you want to scan.
Scanning's there to provide hints and backstory; it's usually not required.
Ulysses 31
Member
What you on about? There are no black borders on my Samsung LED TV so you should take a closer look at your TV model/settings before blaming Nintendo.
This is actually a key reason for one of my bigger (but ultimately unreasonable) disappointments with Corruption. When I first heard that Retro wanted to do a multi-planet trek in game, I was flabbergasted thinking "holy shit, we'll be going through three Aethers?!" Of course as I learned how game design actually works over time, that dream would seem impossible (creating multiple content rich locales with their own climaxes/boss battles and then pacing it properly), but damn if I wasn't hopped up on premium unleaded hopium and expecting labyrinthine complexity that would make Echoes look more linear than tic tac toe.
For all that though, I still think Phaaze was a segment of the game that should have been much longer than it was. The atmosphere there was flawless.
There's no requirement to scan things most of the time unless you want to - if it annoys you that much, save it for when you're stuck, because that's what it's really for - a sort of hint system.
Version 3.0
Member
So why are "black bars" mentioned in the OP and various posts? I know what I'm doing. I have a top-of-the-line Sony Bravia W900A, the best gaming TV on the market (IMO), which is why I bought it. There is an issue. Wii games on the Wii U output a smaller picture than any standard device.
If you don't have black bars, then post a helpful reason why instead of blaming me for trying to help.
Hm, I have this nagging feeling I missed an energy tank or two somewhere. Just picked up Space Jump in Prime 1 and I have four tanks. Also, I think now might be a good time to go re-explore the Chozo Ruins. With the water purified and Space Jump, I'm pretty sure there are places I can go that I couldn't before.
In Prime 1, when is that point where you can get nearly everything, anyway?
In Prime 1, when is that point where you can get nearly everything, anyway?
There is nothing in gaming as supremely awesome as syncing a save in Samus' gunship so that she does the animation for going into/coming up out of her ship when the bit from 1:10~1:47 plays. It's one of those times in games where I felt the devs either did something intentionally or made something awesome by accident. Seeing Samus looking outward at the environment (eyes hidden behind the powered visor) while that portion of the music plays just gives this awesome feeling of serene curiosity, as if you are the only thing in existence seeing the sights in front of you and I always take a moment to think "what would Samus actually be thinking in this situation" whenever that happens. That curiosity is also enhanced because of how the visor obscures her expressions when re-emerging from the ship. It's as if you're left to "feel" in her place.
To be honest, I think Samus is my single favorite Nintendo character just because of how open to interpretation she is. That is of course on top of her easily being Nintendo's best player character in terms of the sheer amount of shit you can do with her throughout the series.
After you get the final suit upgrade
If you want to just scan the log entries for backstory, here's what to scan for some of them.
- Chozo Lore: Walls of heiroglyphics that shine and ripple
- Pirate Data (Prime 1): Computer terminals with blue monitors
- Luminoth Lore: Weird glowing ball-and-stick models; color denotes the language required to read them
- GF Lore (Prime 2): Corpses that aren't possessed
- Pirate Data (Prime 2):
- Bryyo Lore: Wall paintings that shine and ripple
- Skytown Lore: Floating robots that reveal a holographic display when you shoot them
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
I'm not alone! I love their reptilian design and all the history on the planet. There's even a room with busts of twelve emperors, and all twelve are different models. Plus, the planet was tidally locked; that was pretty neat.
Nearly everything? Probably after you get the fourth beam.
The Space Jump doesn't actually open up many new power-up locations in the Chozo Ruins though.
The black bars are overscan from the SD TV era of PS2, GameCube and Wii. SDTVs usually had about 10-15% overscan on the picture so developers only rendered to the viewable area to save power. Wii U is an HD console that renders its games to the full display like a PC would.
At 480p fullscreen, Wii renders games at about 596x456 within a 640x480 resolution with black bar overscan surrounding it.
Normal black bar overscan for Super Mario Galaxy 2 running on Wii and Wii U captured directly from a Avermedia Video Capture Card.
If you don't have black bars while playing Metroid Prime Trilogy your TV is displaying with about %15 overscan, either from having overscan on, or is a 720p TV without the option to disable overscan. (480p through Composite/Component on HDTVs is usually zoomed in a little from overscan by default)
If you have black bars while playing Metroid Prime Trilogy your TV is likely 1080p with overscan off or set to 1:1 Just Pixel mode to get the full image like you would see on a PC monitor.
Don't forget the music, the best in Prime 3.
The black bars are overscan from the SD TV era of PS2, GameCube and Wii. SDTVs usually had about 10-15% overscan on the picture so developers only rendered to the viewable area to save power. Wii U is an HD console that renders its games to the full display like a PC would. (If you're seeing a difference between Component and HDMI for black bars, your TV either has different defaults for overscan for each input, or the overscan option is set different between inputs)
At 480p fullscreen, Wii renders games at about 596x456 within a 640x480 resolution with black bar overscan surrounding it.
Normal black bar overscan for Super Mario Galaxy running on Wii and Wii U.
If you don't have black bars while playing Metroid Prime Trilogy your TV is displaying with about %15 overscan, either from having overscan on, or is a 720p TV without the option to disable overscan.
If you have black bars while playing Metroid Prime Trilogy your TV is likely 1080p with overscan off or set to 1:1 Just Pixel mode to get the full image like you would see on a PC monitor.
Thank you for providing this post. I hope everyone who's debating about black bars will read it and carry on.
Personally, I have a 1080p set without an overscan option, so I'm living with 'em. My high-tech solution: turn off the lights and forget that the black border exists within 30 seconds.
Version 3.0
Member
Thank you, sir. Not all TVs have those sort of settings, though, and trying to help anyone to find them would be tough over the internet. If anyone's interested, I can walk them through it on a Sony model from the last couple of years, but otherwise, it might be simplest to use the (annoying) solution I posted, if it's available to you, (component/480p) for the duration of your playthrough of these fantastic games.
I played a bit of Prime today wearing headphones and with the music muted. The sound design is even better than I thought. There are so many small details that I never noticed before, like the crunching snow in Phendrana Drifts, electrical sparks, and the buzzing of powerups. It's a totally different experience. The music is too good to stay muted though.
Ulysses 31
Member
JimboJones
Member
I only get black bars with the TV set to "just scan" setting to 16:9 gets rid of them.
I just leave them on, doesn't bother me to be honest as they aren't very big.
I just leave them on, doesn't bother me to be honest as they aren't very big.
Version 3.0
Member
Whatever. You're probably cropping all your other content without realizing it. If you don't have anything useful to post on the issue, then why bother? Nobody cares if you think your TV is magic.
Setting the Wii U to 480p 16:9 will have much better results if you're looking to fill the screen.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
I thought it being designed around the new controls was one of it's strongest points. It helped distinguish it from Prime 1 and 2. Environmental storytelling and art direction were by far the strongest in the series. The actual gameplay and missions had much more context and environmental puzzles were stronger than ever. Music and boss battles were on par with Echoes easily. All of the tedious designed decisions from Echoes were gone, a huge plus in my book. I have a hard time deciding if I like Prime 1 or 3 more.
Game still looks great. And sounds fantastic. Wow, I forgot how amazing the music in this game is.
Wii controls work good too. No problems with them so far.
Was thinking of playing this on Dolphin, but I don't think it's worth the effort/glitches. Only downside to the Wii/Wii U version is that it doesn't fill the entire screen.
Wii controls work good too. No problems with them so far.
Was thinking of playing this on Dolphin, but I don't think it's worth the effort/glitches. Only downside to the Wii/Wii U version is that it doesn't fill the entire screen.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
I love Bryyo as well. The mutated orange mushrooms and ancient stone statuary gave it a very distinct look. Retro's artists are soooooo good. Prime 3 is still their crown jewel in that regard. Out of the three major areas though, I have to rank it behind the absolutely fantastic Elysia and Pirate Homeworld. My favorite lore would be learning about the Elysians. The downfall of the sentient machines really got to me for some reason.
ArkkAngel007
Member
How're the impressions for download times for this? This'll be the first digital purchase on the Wii U I've done.
Like most Nintendo games sadly they're not that proactive about putting their soundtracks out there to download.Why isn't the Prime series soundtracks on iTunes?
I made this thread a week or so ago to celebrate the Metroid Prime Trilogy's soundtrack. Here is the OP of that thread with some music (includes all three games title screen themes which were removed in the Trilogy). You can read the rest of the thread for everyone else's choices. (sorry mobile users)
They were of course hailed and praised when they were released, but with the impending re-release of the Prime games on the Virtual Console I wanted to revisit them. Kenji Yamamoto's compositions are just beautifully crafted, evoking the feelings of "Isolation", "Danger", "Mystery", that exemplify what most fans feel the Metroid series is all about, in the right places. He also included at least 1 remix of a song from Super Metroid in each game.
Each game in the trilogy has amazing stand-out music and it is a testament to Yamamoto's capability and craft that they never grew stale, since he kept the same themes constant throughout the saga and often reused or remixed themes for all three titles. I could go down the entire soundtracks of each and point out all of them as quality, so I am hard pressed to limit myself and not make a super huge list. But ended up with one anyway
Metroid Prime
Title Screen
Parasite Queen Battle
Tallon Overworld
Phendrana Drifts
Magmoor Caverns (Super Metroid Remix)
Crashed Frigate Orpheon
Space Pirate Battle
Meta Ridley Battle
Metroid Prime Battle
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Title Screen
The Luminoth Temple Grounds
Ing Battle
Space Pirate Battle 2
Torvus Bog Submerged Temple (Super Metroid Remix)
The Sanctuary Fortress
Quadraxis Battle
The Light Temple
Dark Samus Battle 1
The Emperor Ing
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Title Screen
Space Pirate Battle 3
Bryyo
Rhundas
Skytown Elysia
Helios
The Space Pirate Homeworld (Super Metroid Remix)
Gandrayda
The Valhalla
Omega Ridley
Dark Samus Battle 2
I guess the one knock I can levy against the Trilogy is that they did remove the awesome Title Screens and Main Menu's with their cool music. I guess they wanted to keep the UX simple and not put layers of different menus on top of each other to get to the games.
Yes, this was a great thread!
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
I agree with everything bolded.
It makes me happy to see MP3 getting some love in this thread. Most people seem to like it the least of the trilogy, but it's actually my second favourite, behind MP2. I actually like MP1 the least. It's a fantastic game and there are many things it does better than its sequels, but MP2 and 3 destroy it terms of the art that went into their environments. You can tell MP3 was made last; it shows in how much more smoothly the art fits together than in the previous games, and the environments are far more creative.
That's actually one of the few problems I have with MP1: the environments are straight out of the Nintendo playbook of "ice level, fire level, forest level," etc. MP2 and 3's environments were more unique, and 3 in particular pulled out all the stops. The art design in 3 is outstanding.
Take a lesson, Zelda. Your environments don't need to be the same every time.
Also, MP1 distinguished between "important scan" and "non-important scan" with red and orange. Seriously, if you only have two colours, don't make them almost the same colour. :|
MP1 is pretty incredible everywhere else, though.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
I always feel like I'm the only one that LOVES Corruption on GAF haha. Yes, it has problems, but they are very minor. I really don't get how bent out of shape people get over the intro when 90% of the game is spent in isolation just like any other Metroid. Also, people bitch about the planet hopping as opposed to a single location, when the only REAL difference is a cutscene with Samus flying on her ship vs an elevator ride. Corruptions environments COULD be a single planet if they wanted, as they are far more cohesive than Prime 1's, yet Prime is given a pass on this. And as you said, it does utilize the cliche forest, ice, lava, etc. The other criticism I have is that the boss battles are far behind those in Echoes and Corruption. It feels weird to criticize my favorite game of all time, as it is absolutely fantastic, but there WERE many things improved in the sequels that don't get enough credit.
Alex_Mexico
Member
Oh yeah because the whole Dark vs Light in MP2 is super original right? Never has Nintendo ever used that one before!!! And even if you were right that would only make you half right since the whole damn dark world looked like shit all the time, too same-y and had horrible non-music.
I do agree on MP3. Original environments and superb art direction. But in MP1's defense it was the first Metroid game in 8 years and the first 3D Metroid ever. They were already taking a huge gambit with the whole First Person thing. They had to play it safer with the setting or risk being too unfamiliar for Metroid fans, after months of hate and skepticism about Retro being able to pull off this at all.
I mean, can you really blame them? Metroid Prime 1 was anything but safe
TheSpaceBetween
Member
I think it's a safe bet the poster was referring to the environments themselves. A desert, a swamp, a technoindustrial facility, etc.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
Shit, the intro segment of 3 has that part where
you're rolling along in morph ball mode and suddenly Ridley crashes onto the pipe you're in, pins you, and tries to bite you, and then the awesome boss battle that follows.
Alex_Mexico
Member
I understood that. I'm saying MP1 risked so much in so many ways that they had to, admittedly, play it safer in the environments. And it still was a new thing back in 2002 being the first 3D Metroid ever and all!
My point still stands. Even if the environments were more original in MP2 that would be true only in the light world because in the (also clichéd as shit) dark world everything looked like crap and the same. I couldn't tell one level clearly from other if I was looking only to dark world screenshots! The "originality" card was spent on the light sections also because the other half is a horrible thing to look, hear and be in.
I know MP2 is a better game than the vast majority of games in the market today but for me it was a test of frustration and agony. I dreaded going to the dark world everytime that I had to do bad. It's a shame that the good graphics, music and art direction were spent only on half the game.
So to clarify about the black bars I have the option to turn off overscan in the developers menu of my tv. When I turn it off Wii U games display full screen, but there are black bars for Wii games. Should I leave it on while playing wii games? Will it get rid of the black bars and everything will still be visable?
It could have been a little longer, but even its current form was a much better final area than the Impact Crater and Sky Temple; mainly by virtue of being more than a couple of unremarkable rooms. Shame that the finale it led to was so underwhelming compared to its predecessors.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
Correct. A desert that used to be farmland, a sunken bog that used to be a forest, and the most unique technological fortress I've seen.
And fuck it, I'm going to defend Dark Aether too. Most "dark worlds" are magic/fantasy in origin and associated with either dark magic or the underworld; Dark Aether was sci-fi and designed from Metroid's sense of "otherness" and unease from the go. It was the "creepy, uneasy" thing Metroid does, and the music contributed to that feeling. It may have been a "dark world," but it was pretty damn different-looking from any other dark world I've seen. The only thing I think Dark Aether did wrong was having each dark environment be too similar; it lacked the diversity of Light Aether.
Alex_Mexico
Member
We can agree on that. But to me, that sin, is a bigger one than the first 3D Metroid ever having a more traditional forest, lava and ice level.
It's like hating on Ocarina of Time for being set in Hyrule featuring Death Mountain and Kakariko Village.
Even Prime 1 had the aesthetic sense to visually differentiate the Impact Crater from the other Phazon-related environments we'd seen up to that point, so I'm not sure why they couldn't manage even some different colour schemes for Dark Aether - the similarities between each dark area absolutely hurt them. I don't really agree on the music, though - where they should have been dread-inducing industrial ambiance, the Dark Aether themes ended up as blander versions of the main themes for each location, conveying very little in terms of atmosphere. Though I guess the tiny amount of memory allocated for audio samples would have obstructed any attempt to go in that direction...