good games don't age.

that's the statement I want gamers to understand because wow this is actually really fucking good! especially for such an early title in the NES' life span. it has everything you expect from a metroidvania, like the non-linear map structure, the power ups you pick up to boost yourself, the exploration, the sequence breaking, the speedrun potential, it's all here and it holds up surprisingly well for being 38 years old.
it is very fun to explore Zebes while looking at the 8 bit sprites and listening to the 30 seconds chiptune songs. sure it is very cryptic but that's not necessarily a bad thing; Metroid is a game that is meant to be replayed and where you're supposed to take notes and potentially make maps on your own, especially with the overall layout of Zebes being given away in the manual. god this is such a cool game with how rough everything is and yet how you're able to see the foundations for how the Metroid series and all those inspired by it use to this very day, both in terms of lore (the manual calls Samus a cyborg lol) and in terms of gameplay. it's simple but efficient. you really feel Samus growing more and more powerful as you acquire more items until you get the screw attack and varia suit and then you basically become invincible. controlling Samus is very intuitive and fun, even if she is a bit too slippery for my taste.

there are two "problems" that only exist because of technical limitations, which is the lack of backgrounds making every room feel extremely similar, and also I can practically hear the console crying whenever more than 5 things come on screen and how much lag it causes. there's also the lack of save station which s understandable cause many games on the NES didn't have

now with how impressive this game is, there are some choices that make it extremely hostile to play, and especially one egregious flaw: Metroid loves to waste your time. there are so many traps and dead ends that are made to waste your time and force you to do unnecessary backtracking. this isn't "aged game design", this is the level designers purposefully being annoying, and that's what keeps Metroid from being something I'll replay often. the lack of a map, very few landmarks and repetitive rooms doesn't help navigation either.

still, Metroid is a great game that I recommend everyone plays, at the very least for historical values. and who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it too.

I'm in love with the way EO leverages the DS to digitize manual mapping. absolutely wonderful, beautiful stuff that captures the spirit of the genre a billion million zillion times better than any automap ever could. in a perfect world this would've heralded imitative ports of every drpg under the sun, and all of them would've been strong contenders for the best versions by default. unfortunately we live in the eternal piss and shit dimension so I'm doomed to pout about the missed opportunity for the rest of my life

as for the rest: game's like one of those images where either you see the old crone or the smokin hot babe; the lamp or the smoking hot babe; the white and gold dress or the smokin hot babe. you know?

from what I gather if you're coming at it from an EO perspective this thing feels like it was coded straight into zhoukoudian limestone by the peking man. folks act like it's the dustiest, crustiest, most satanic verses ass antipathetic crawler ever made. they're out here throwing blankets over their ds at night like a furby to stop it from talking backwards and shit

but if you're coming at it from a broader drpg ("blobbers" if ya nasty) perspective it's almost the complete opposite: decidedly modern, breezy, and accommodating; its push toward transparency, telegraphs, and convenience at odds with the core tension loop pre-bradley wizardry clones fundamentally rely on

I fall into the second category and found most of this to be pretty dry. by the time I hit the 5th Stratum I was approaching vegetative status, zoning out and mashing A with one hand while reading scandalous celebrity gossip on my phone in the other. hovering out of body, well above the dungeon rather than being subsumed by it; existing outside of stress, anxiety, and uneasy decision making. EO just doesn't got the stomach to wrench your guts around, put you on the perpetual backstep, or fill the role of derelict steward the way the most successful clones do

which is fine! I like most of the experimentation here in isolation; there's a dialogue happening that's a lot more interesting than reheating 1980-1988 endlessly. the deterministic angle opens up a lot of unique design avenues; character building could easily swerve toward embracing shortform tactics over longform attrition; and moments like B20F show that FOEs can be more than softball fodder goin woop woop woop in a 3x3 grid. there's a lot to be excited about, it just needs to be contextualized in ways that flatter rather than compromise

more than anything EO needs to stop being uncomfortable in borrowed skin and start being comfortable in its own. no reason to be another mediocre wizardry when it could be a great etrian odyssey 🌈 ⭐❤️

I love this game so much. I think the best way I can summarize my feelings about this game is to describe how magical it feels when I'm doing the most mundane things. Zooming in a random cupboard, seeing Ryo's early 3D robot-hands entering the view and awkwardly open it, and seeing whatever is in store inside; it feels me with child-like wonder, like seeing somebody pull off a successful magic trick for the first time. It's an absolute joy to simply exist in the game's world, and the game excels at making it so easy to immerse yourself in it. No other game feels quite like this. Not even Shenmue II, which has an entirely different kind of magic, at least to me. But we'll get to that game some other time.

Anyways, my only gripe from before is the controls. I didn't quite feel in tune with Ryo as a character in that sense. But replaying this now for the platinum trophy, I don't feel that way anymore. Maybe it's because I'm not playing it under duress of completing it ASAP, but all his moves and mannerisms just clicks to me. I knew exactly when he can move freely, and when he would need a bit more patience and deliberate inputs. It's great. I'm having the time of my life, being completely connected with this game I adore. I didn't feel comfortable giving this game a 10/10 before, but now it's the easiest thing in the world.

Also, I took some street photography style in-game screenshots. I don't normally plug my virtual photography stuff here but I think it would help to visualize how I personally see the world of Shenmue. A view with my rose-tinted lenses, if you will. You can check them out here.

Shenmue was the most comfortable game I've ever played in my life.

Playing a Japan simulator, waking up early in the morning irl and ingame, going outside and running around Sakuragaoka while it was rainy IRL and also rainy in the game, while it played the FREE 1 soundtrack, just going around talking to people... It's so soothing, it made my entire being relaxed, immersed. I felt true happiness, a true sense of belonging in that world Yu Suzuki created. I wish this game was infinite and we were allowed to just live there forever.

Another comfort game. I love when a game is fully committed to making you engage in really mundane tasks. Walking down the hill from your home, passing all the other houses on your way into town, maybe trying your luck with the gacha along the way, making sure to grab some cat food on the way back home, slowly crossing things off your checklist. This shit is exciting to me. Shenmue nails all of that perfectly. Over the course of the game, I became intimately familiar with Yokosuka and its denizens. It almost felt like a second home. It’s one of my favourites. I love it.