KCTal
2002
As much as I loved playing this, there was also a ton I didn’t like. SA-X is super cool and I was genuinely nervous sometimes due to the excellent atmosphere (the frozen Ridley tease in particular was another great moment), but you get railroaded into sections more often than usual and the backtracking takes even longer than SM.
Still fun, but not the best the series is capable of.
Still fun, but not the best the series is capable of.
This is near perfect and undoubtably the best way to experience the original Metroid. Controls are tight, nothing mandatory is frustrating to get (that’s saved for some optional shinespark puzzles which I’m alright with), music is great given the GBA’s soundcard, and visuals are amazing. The addition of an icon on the map that lets you know if there’s an item somewhere in that tile and if it’s been collected is a godsend coming from Super Metroid where I circled back through areas so many times. Also, the brief extra cinematic moments were awesome and really helped in terms of atmosphere. They also made entire sections of the original with now standard controls and items in mind along with straight up new content that keeps things really fresh.
However, three of those items are relegated to endgame just for completion purposes without having a real purpose in the main adventure which is a little weird. The four other new items are incorporated really well, though. Another flaw with it is that the bosses can be really easy, save for Mother Brain.
This is easily the best way to play Metroid 1 and one of the best in the series I’ve played so far. Even with my few small issues, none of them really prevented me from loving this game front to back.
However, three of those items are relegated to endgame just for completion purposes without having a real purpose in the main adventure which is a little weird. The four other new items are incorporated really well, though. Another flaw with it is that the bosses can be really easy, save for Mother Brain.
This is easily the best way to play Metroid 1 and one of the best in the series I’ve played so far. Even with my few small issues, none of them really prevented me from loving this game front to back.