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Metroid Dread (and hopefully some general Metroid chat?)

Started by Kelvin, October 08, 2021, 05:09:36 AM

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Kelvin

Figured I'd start a thread as there seemed to be a handful of us really excited about this game.

And while we're here, we might as well also talk about the series more generally, too.

Get excited, fuckers.

Kelvin

I wish they'd re-release the GBA games. It's been ages since I played Zero Mission or Fusion.

Zero Mission I remember really liking until the last section on the Space Pirate Ship, where they strip you of your powers again and have you sneaking around until you re-collect them. With the game reaching it's natural conclusion at Mother Brain, it's just massively deflating to have such a contrived finale selotaped onto the game's arse.

Fusion I remember enjoying, but it's hard to overlook the fact it moved so far from the exploration and atmosphere the series is known for. Maybe I'd view it differently now, but I remember it as a perfectly fine, but unremarkable game, and one which had far too much talking.

Pink Gregory

Criminally, I've only played Metroid Prime; might do Super Metroid next because that doesn't involve getting the Gamecube out.

I think you can still get either Zero Mission or Fusion (I don't think both?) on the WiiU eshop, if that's still up.

AnOrdinaryBoy

Through an act of my own convoluted stupidity, I have bought Dread but as I am cripplingly addicted to buying wanted to buy the special edition in order to have a load of tat I will never touch, I had to get it shipped to a friend's house back in the UK, where it will sit longingly in his gameroom alongside my copy of the special edition of the Xenoblade Chronicles remaster until Japan stops having draconian entry quarantine restrictions and I can visit the UK again (I basically cannot secure the time off of work to make the 24 hour-ish door to door trip worthwhile alongside ten days of quarantine when I get back.)

Anyway, on to the more interesting - and important - Metroid chat, it's just consistently brilliant, isn't it? Its only real fumbles have been when it's tried to introduce story through overlong cutscenes or dialogue boxes as in Fusion and Other M, and even those play well enough. I'd put a Metroid title in the top three first party titles on the SNES (Super), Gamecube (Prime), Wii (Prime 3), and GBA (Zero: Mission).

Chedney Honks

Only ever enjoyed Prime 1 and 3 but I really enjoyed them a lot. I've hardly enjoyed any 2D MV games that I can think of. Can't stand the likes of Hollow Knight and all the indie takes on the genre. Tell a lie, I really enjoyed Momodora because it lasted about three hours and had great music and atmosphere (cartoon tits). I quite enjoyed Bloodstained whatever its name but I couldn't be arsed looking at the map for the one broken bit of wall I'd missed or some place I could now double jump to. The idea is irritating.

I'm just waiting for my Switch to charge so I can download it. It looks like a 3DS game.

GoblinAhFuckScary

BIG on prime 2. can remember counting down the days like mad, surprised to see it often referred as a black sheep in the franchise

Kelvin

Quote from: Chedney Honks on October 08, 2021, 09:03:52 AM
I'm just waiting for my Switch to charge so I can download it. It looks like a 3DS game.

I thought it looked like a phone game in previews. Luckily, while the game is far from a graphical power house (and the cutscenes are pretty framey), I actually think Nintendo did the game a bit of a disservice in their footage, as it always looked really overlit and flat. Whereas, in reality, the game advises you upfront to set the lighting low, which really pushes the shadows and contrast, and in turn adds to the atmosphere. They made the same mistake with their previews of Luigi's Mansion, actually. 

Played Dread for an hour or so this morning. The first thirty minutes is very linear, albeit atmospheric, but shortly after that it begins to open up and loop around, and I was looking over the map to work out where I wanted to look next.  They made a really smart decision to show (found) items on the map, as well as the types of door / surfaces you've seen, so that should hopefully save time on aimless wandering about and pointless backtracking.

Overall, a good start.

Played half an hour of this before work and, for me (Clive), I'm already razzed off because it's got Samus Returns' parry ability in it. I fucking hate it. It ruined the first few hours of Samus Returns until you get the Wave Beam, because the enemies are all bullet sponges unless you parry them to reveal their weak spot to one-shot them. It means that there's only one way past enemies and spoils the flow as you have to stop, wait for them to attack, parry, shoot and carry on.

I'm presuming that, like Samus Returns, Samus will end up with upgrades that make the parry largely irrelevant, so it's not a dealbreaker at this point. Samus Returns was rather good once you got the Wave Beam, so I'm expecting the same here. Everything else about it is rather lovely. It looks really nice, the sound has a creepy ambiance to it, the EMMI robots have a proper creepy horribleness to them too.

Quote from: Chedney Honks on October 08, 2021, 09:03:52 AM
Only ever enjoyed Prime 1 and 3 but I really enjoyed them a lot. I've hardly enjoyed any 2D MV games that I can think of. Can't stand the likes of Hollow Knight and all the indie takes on the genre. Tell a lie, I really enjoyed Momodora because it lasted about three hours and had great music and atmosphere (cartoon tits). I quite enjoyed Bloodstained whatever its name but I couldn't be arsed looking at the map for the one broken bit of wall I'd missed or some place I could now double jump to. The idea is irritating.

I'm just waiting for my Switch to charge so I can download it. It looks like a 3DS game.

If you want a short, fun Metroidvania with a nice aesthetic, check out Gato Roboto:

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Gato-Roboto-1567687.html#Overview

Chedney Honks

This is a great game if you enjoy being home alone at night having a panic attack and imagining someone is chasing you up the stairs.

brat-sampson

It's called Metroid Dread, not Metroid Baby: Time for Baby Sleep.

Chedney Honks

I assumed it was an ironic title, but no, it's a real description of the game.

Junglist

The parry mechanic is entirely optional and there isn't a single point you have to use it. I'm 6 hours in and have only used it when the game described it to me.

Kelvin

Quote from: Chedney Honks on October 08, 2021, 12:52:55 PM
I assumed it was an ironic title, but no, it's a real description of the game.

Not sure if you're joking, but I found re-entering those EMMI areas to be genuinely nerve wracking, and even killing them with the special beam feels like trying to kill the terminator. Killed the white one when it was about three atoms from my nose.

Quote from: Junglist on October 08, 2021, 12:56:21 PM
The parry mechanic is entirely optional and there isn't a single point you have to use it. I'm 6 hours in and have only used it when the game described it to me.

Yeah, my experience was that you can just parry through most small enemies, and Metroid games have always encouraged you to jump over and around minor enemies filling the caverns.

AsparagusTrevor

At the start of the first lockdown I went through a phase of playing classic Nintendo-console games emulated (I had a Mega Drive as a kid), including a lot of NES/SNES stuff I missed out on - a couple of Zeldas and a couple of Castlevanias, all the Marios (though I had played most of these several times before). This led me to playing all the 2D Metroids and Super Metroid being one of the most enjoyable recent gaming experiences I remember.

It's a shame I probably will never own a Switch to play this new one. Maybe in 20 years time I'll be playing it emulated.

Junglist

You can emulate it flawlessly now and don't even need top of the line PC hardware considering the Switch is massively underpowered.


Chedney Honks

Nice animation and movement on it. Not a fan of the chase bits but that's just part of the game. Tough tit. Feel like they're slightly antithetical to the exploration but I get they're probably trying to give the genre a bit of a jolt.

Kelvin

Really like it, feels distinctly like Metroid, in a host of ways I honestly didn't think they'd recapture after all these years. I reckon the atmosphere is probably it's strongest attribute - it's legitimately eerie at points - but the whole thing feels right; like a modern interpretation of the series, rather than something that lost it's identify a bit, ala Fusion.

The exploration is interesting, though, and I can't make up my mind how I feel about it yet. The game is just unbelievably good at looping you round on yourself and putting you back in exactly the right spot you need to progress with your latest item. Even with these large complicated maps, I've barely ever felt like I was wandering aimlessly, as the developer's unseen hand is always leading me the right way. And yet - and I know this is ironic, considering the Metroidvania thread I started a few weeks ago - but the fact I'm not needing to consciously backtrack much myself, make those choices and mistakes, means it doesn't really feel that exploratory, even though you're always returning through old areas and accessing new rooms and regions. I just can't work out if that's brilliant, streamlined design, or a touch over-simplified.   

In any case, I've not been bored once after 2-3 hours, and I'm loving it.

Junglist

Quote from: Chedney Honks on October 08, 2021, 07:41:15 PM
Nice animation and movement on it. Not a fan of the chase bits but that's just part of the game. Tough tit. Feel like they're slightly antithetical to the exploration but I get they're probably trying to give the genre a bit of a jolt.

These get better later on.

Kelvin

Oh, and it was a really good choice making the one "friendly" character - your ship's A.I, ADAM - sound like a cybernetic psychopath. There's absolutely nothing comforting in making contact with him.   

Magnum Valentino


Kelvin

Quote from: GoblinAhFuckScary on October 08, 2021, 09:36:25 AM
BIG on prime 2. can remember counting down the days like mad, surprised to see it often referred as a black sheep in the franchise

Prime 2 is great. That last region set in the entirely mechanical city is arguably the best region in the Prime series, and unlike Prime 3, it doesn't feel like they watered down the elements that made Prime 1 so good - if anything they pushed them further and broke a few.

The dark world is definitely a bit of a slog - primarily because its such an ugly environment to keep returning to - but I think the game is primarily overlooked because its sandwiched between the more action focussed Prime 3, and one of the best games ever made in Prime 1.

Kelvin

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on October 08, 2021, 10:06:18 PM
Would it be a good first Metroid game?

I'm maybe not the best person to judge, as I've played almost every Metroid game, but I reckon it would be fine. They give you a brief summary of important events before you start and the game doesn't seem heavy on story so far. Your ship computer gives you little info dumps when you make contact with it, too. 

Chedney Honks

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on October 08, 2021, 10:06:18 PM
Would it be a good first Metroid game?

It's the most I've ever played of a 2D Metroid and it's good. I prefer the Prime games but this is pretty straightforward and fun.

I agree with Kelvin that it feels very streamlined, like I always end up at just the right place to use my new ability or whatever. That's no complaint because figuring out which distant door I can now open from staring at a map is of no interest to me.

Kelvin

Quote from: Chedney Honks on October 09, 2021, 07:45:14 AM
It's the most I've ever played of a 2D Metroid and it's good. I prefer the Prime games but this is pretty straightforward and fun.

I agree with Kelvin that it feels very streamlined, like I always end up at just the right place to use my new ability or whatever. That's no complaint because figuring out which distant door I can now open from staring at a map is of no interest to me.

Yes, and you do still have to look at the map to see where the newly accessible areas are. It's just that somehow the critical path doors are always nearby.

peanutbutter

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on October 08, 2021, 10:06:18 PM
Would it be a good first Metroid game?
If you've got nintendo's online service you've instant legal access to Super Metroid

Chedney Honks

#26
The bosses remind me me why I hate 2D games but otherwise I think this is great.

i.e. I'm crap at 2D stuff like this.

Chedney Honks

Quote from: Kelvin on October 08, 2021, 08:34:19 PM
Oh, and it was a really good choice making the one "friendly" character - your ship's A.I, ADAM - sound like a cybernetic psychopath. There's absolutely nothing comforting in making contact with him.   

MEDIBOT!

Dickie_Anders

I love the first Metroid on the NES. It's an extremely devious nightmare of a game, going into it blind. Just a horrible labyrinth where everything looks the same and you feel hopelessly lost while getting buggered by those little ceiling shits that shred your health. And those fucking flies that keep coming out of the pots. Jesus christ.

You comb the map to find the one tile that's bombable to access 70% of the game, and they're in the most random horrid places. Kraid's Lair is my favourite level possibly in video game history. The music is brilliant and there's a massive chunk of the map, a vertical room with a bunch of little rooms coming off from the sides, that is basically pointless and just there to confuse and disorient the player. No game has made me feel true dread like that one. It's from a time when developers didn't give two shits about guiding the player, they left you to your own devices and you had to figure out this hell they created for yourself

I played Super Metroid directly after and it's a very good game as well, but almost for the opposite reasons. Much more player friendly and enjoyable in a "having fun playing a game" way. But the original is still the one for me. No other game has got my blood up like it, not even joking

popcorn

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on October 08, 2021, 10:06:18 PM
Would it be a good first Metroid game?

I'd say Metroid Zero (GBA, but very emulatable) is the perfect first Metroid. It's a remake of the original so it's very vanilla, no gimmicks, but it's also just fucking great. I replayed it for the third time last year (along with Fusion) and had a whale of a time all over again.

Super Metroid is phenomenal, there are still ideas in it that take my breath away, but it's more tricksy and hard to get into, and dated in some ways - they improved the controls a lot in later iterations.