so the melee was a bit difficult to get used to but now that I am I really like how it makes you have to consider every encounter, even just random regular enemies. You can't just rush through everything
Between using missiles, managing the Aeion energy, melee counter, the ice beam and the relative level of challenge, this has been some of the better combat in the series I feel. Certainly more complex than something like Zero Mission. Smashing frozen enemies with the melee feels quite dynamic.
My copy arrived earlier than expected so I played a bit today;
Terrible game and I hope that it bombs as Federation force and Other M are the masterpiece and Metroid fans don't know anything and Super Metroid is overrated.
In case it isn't clear I am joking.
Anyway my real thought on the game;
It's pretty good though I can't compare it to the original as despite owning it I never got round to playing it, not that I would want to as I feel that Samus Return does a good job in streamlining it for the causal in a sense that they are free to explore but at the same time the game does a good job in ensuring that they will know where to go and won't get lost.
The 360 degree movement is really good and after recently playing Zero Mission I welcome it.
The Melee counter is pretty cool and I have quickly taken it like duck to water and I am gonna like using it in boss fights, though it does cause enemies to get stuck in some areas when they are charging towards you and I find some enemies placement to be cheap as they can sometime be in areas that you have no idea that they are there until you get hit.
The scan pulse is really good and I have been abusing it here and there, though it does well to have some restraint as it can quickly become overwhelming to have so much of the map uncovered
Going in and out of Morph ball is iffy with the circle pad so I just end up using the touch screen to use it.
I find it disappointing that you can't remap the control as I need press A to jump but accidentally trigger the scan pulse when I don't mean to.
I don't know what they did but doing bomb jumps and wall jumping have been made much easier as I have been pulling off bomb jump which such ease when before I would struggle.
I love that the game auto quick save before boss fights as it just gets the player right back into the action rather than having to trek back to the boss room and only to frustrate them if they fail again.
I kinda wish that Samus had some kinda dodge move and I hope that the next 2D Metroid game find a way of adding that.
But over whole I am liking the game and Nintendo did a great job in working with MercurySteam and I am sure that their experience with Mirror of Fate helped them a bit.
I think the melee counter is great. It's very fast, and it has more functions than just countering. Like others have mentioned you can shatter frozen enemies, and you can even hit enemies out of the air or while hanging on ledges. The fact that most enemies only take one hit after the counter, and the game auto-targets them, makes a huge difference. It makes it a solid addition of risk/reward and speeds up the gameplay a great deal if you're willing to take that extra risk.
I can't understand why it may prompt some players to sit and wait for counters, which would slow the game down, but the best way to use it is on the move. The faster you're moving, the faster the enemies attack. That lowers the window to counter, making it more difficult, but it lets you mow down enemies without stopping, and gives a nice, poppy, high-energy feel to movement and combat, making backtracking more enjoyable.
Enjoying it so far. Doesn't feel like a remake at all, though, there have been very few times I recognised or remembered parts from the original.
It has definitely lost almost all of the sense of dread and suspense of the original, which is a real shame, as that was what made Metroid II special. It was a weird, scary game. This one is much more like other 2D Metroids and as a result it does play much better but that atmosphere has been lost.
Personally, I like the improvements to Samus's cannon a lot and I like the counter mechanic, though I'm still only an hour into the game. I don't wait to bait counters, I attack enemies straight up and only counter if they last long enough to attack me.
The visuals aren't great as it's the 3DS after all, but the 3D works very well on the backgrounds and stresses that Samus is exploring massive caverns rather than just a 2D plane. As for the music it's not exactly a standout so far, though when that original Metroid II overworld theme kicked in for the first time it was a cool moment.
I hoped I would be able to enjoy the game by pretending it was in no way related to Metroid 2, but I still can't help getting annoyed at all the changes. It doesn't feel like there is much love for the original; just keeping some of the superficial stuff out of obligation, while doing nothing to capitalize on what actually made the original great.
This should really have been an original game instead of a pseudo-remake
You will definitely need to be more specific as that is a vague enough premise that any argument is just poking holes at whatever we are meant to interpret from "superficial stuff" and what expectations you had to "capitalize on what actually made the original great". Bring your points to the forefront if you have any.
I think the melee counter is great. It's very fast, and it has more functions than just countering. Like others have mentioned you can shatter frozen enemies, and you can even hit enemies out of the air or while hanging on ledges. The fact that most enemies only take one hit after the counter, and the game auto-targets them, makes a huge difference. It makes it a solid addition of risk/reward and speeds up the gameplay a great deal if you're willing to take that extra risk.
I can't understand why it may prompt some players to sit and wait for counters, which would slow the game down, but the best way to use it is on the move. The faster you're moving, the faster the enemies attack. That lowers the window to counter, making it more difficult, but it lets you mow down enemies without stopping, and gives a nice, poppy, high-energy feel to movement and combat, making backtracking more enjoyable.
Not only that it gives Speed Running a higher level of challenge because your trying to maintain momentum and the game throws a lot more challenge in the way.
YES! After countless deaths I finally managed to take down the final boss. Oh man, what a truly great game. Definitely the Metroid game I have been waiting for! I think I will jump right back to it and collect 100% of the items than play through it again in hard mode... this will tough. Even on normal it's probably the most challenging of the 2D games!
I finished the game with around 78 % of the items and with 11:46 h on the clock! Can't wait to see how speedrunners gonna route this game. It's quite long, so I'm curious if you could beat it in 2 hours (and if you get another ending?).
I would seriously advice against starting on Fusion mode. I haven't tried it myself, but so far I'm finding this to be the hardest 2D Metroid ever, and I can't imagine how brutal Hard must be, let alone Fusion mode.
A good challenge. The scan ability seems to remove the tedium without taking anything really away from the challenge of figuring things out.
The 3D, though nice, isn't quite the god-tier it was made out to be, and as is almost always the case for me on my O3DS, it can be frustrating. That's usually the case with action-heavy gameplay.
And though I do truly love the melee counter, it wears thin fast when backtracking. That being said, I do like how it fits the theme of the game, since most of the regular monsters are, well, kinda just wildlife.
I would seriously advice against starting on Fusion mode. I haven't tried it myself, but so far I'm finding this to be the hardest 2D Metroid ever, and I can't imagine how brutal Hard must be, let alone Fusion mode.
If I'm impressed by any one thing, and trust me, it's not just one thing, it's how great it feels to play. This game, with requiring the analog slider and locked at 30 fps, feels better to control than a lot of similar games do on a d-pad and at 60 fps. This must've been playtested to utter perfection by the testers.
I haven't even finished Planet Robobot and this is probably coming in the mail tomorrow...
I also have like 10 console games I'm trying to finish.. what am I gonna do??!
I think the melee counter is great. It's very fast, and it has more functions than just countering. Like others have mentioned you can shatter frozen enemies, and you can even hit enemies out of the air or while hanging on ledges. The fact that most enemies only take one hit after the counter, and the game auto-targets them, makes a huge difference. It makes it a solid addition of risk/reward and speeds up the gameplay a great deal if you're willing to take that extra risk.
The checkpoint system is sometimes incredibly lenient (starting you back right before a metroid room) or kinda mean (had to do a whole relatively annoying section after dying stupidly against a bunch of stupid flamethrowers and monsters).
Also fuck those dumb angry bees swarm things, they're super annoying.
If I'm impressed by any one thing, and trust me, it's not just one thing, it's how great it feels to play. This game, with requiring the analog slider and locked at 30 fps, feels better to control than a lot of similar games do on a d-pad and at 60 fps. This must've been playtested to utter perfection by the testers.
I think the icons on the map are kinda terrible. I miss a Giant S to indicate a Save point. E for Elevators and T for Transport stations would be great
The checkpoint system is sometimes incredibly lenient (starting you back right before a metroid room) or kinda mean (had to do a whole relatively annoying section after dying stupidly against a bunch of stupid flamethrowers and monsters).
Also fuck those dumb angry bees swarm things, they're super annoying.
I think the game only checkpoints you before and after Metroid/Boss fights. Any other death since you used a save point will send you back to that save point
It's pretty ridiculous that somehow this 30fps game feels better than flippin' Zero Mission. Could just be the excitement of playing a new Metroid after all this time, but yeah.
I think the icons on the map are kinda terrible. I miss a Giant S to indicate a Save point. E for Elevators and T for Transport stations would be great
I think the game only checkpoints you before and after Metroid/Boss fights. Any other death since you used a save point will send you back to that save point
Enjoying the game, but the counter attack mechanic is really unnecessary. They've made enemies spongy to justify its existence, but if they kept enemy health normal and didn't force every encounter to have an obviously telegraphed move the game would be so much better. It just interrupts the flow and forces you to constantly wait for a counter-bait attack. I don't understand why this was included.
Oh shoot, right now I'm hunting down all the missing items for the 100% and I think I now know which item surrounded by spikes all the reviewers out there had the most trouble with - Zone 4 I suppose?
So far no luck and still no idea how to reach it. Damn. But please no hints!
Just got into Area 2 of the game. So far so good. The counter mechanic works really well in the game. So far I've yet to have issues with aiming or morphball but I recall having those issues in past 2D Metroids as well.
By the way, I noticed that if you manually upload DNA to one of the Metroid altars without having killed all of them, it'll mark one of the missing ones on your map.
Really liking it so far but it was about 2 years since I last played my 3ds and it is a bit difficult you go back to after switch to be honest. Also in getting pretty bad cramps from playing it. That never happens to me with the switch.
