Date played: September 16th
Platform: 3DS
Samus Aran is back, and she's amazing.
After the events of the first game, a few remaining Metroids are found on their originating planet, SR388. Samus Aran is dispatched to exterminate them and eliminate the threat, for good.
Metroid Samus Returns is a re-imagining of Metroid II: Return of Samus, on the original Game Boy. I have to admit, I've never played that one, so I don't have a point of reference. But one thing is for sure, Samus Returns is an fantastic game in every way. Even on the aging 3DS hardware, it manages to look great, taking great advantage of the 3D display and dual screen setup. The graphics look great, which surprised me! The beautiful music also stood out right away. I heard tones from other games, though I can't quite say which exactly...
After the brief animated intro, the game begins in earnest. I have to kill 40 Metroids. That's it. That's the objective of the game. I love that.
I'm quite early in this 2D, classic Metroid game, but I'm loving it already. There's a great map, tons of hidden secrets, a slew of new abilities to discover and an army of new enemies to battle. Samus is well-equipped so far. I've got the charge shot, freeze shot, morph ball, morph ball bombs, spiderball and of course, the good old missiles. She also has the ability to free-aim, which adds a lot of flexibility to combat and makes the game feel modern. She can even scan the environment to see hidden blocks for a limited time, and fill out the map in a small radius.
However, the biggest addition to the famous bounty hunter's arsenal is undeniably the melee counter. Inspired by Metroid: Other M (it's ok, that was one of the good parts of that game!), it allows Samus to counter most attacks, then follow it up with a beam shot. It's relatively easy to pull off, but requires concentration against some enemies.
I made it through two main areas, though of course they still hide many secrets. Progress between areas is gated by a large statue. It can be crossed by giving it a special item, which is only found by killing Metroids. To reach the third area, I've had to kill 5 of them, each of them slightly different. The idea is the same in every fight, where the creature will attack with sweeping motions, floating in the air. These attacks can be countered, unless the beast has it's electric shield up. It can also float above Samus, dropping bombs that can be shot to replenish health and supplies.
One battle in particular was very difficult for me, as it took place in a room where parts of the floor were covered in damaging thorns. This meant little to no room for error during battle. Maybe I could I have been more efficient with it? Maybe it would have been easier if I had picked up the freeze beam first, but I didn't. Either way, it was the only battle that killed me, and it killed me about 10 times.
Finally killing the Metroid was fucking glorious. I'm going to kill them all. Every last one.
Platform: 3DS
Samus Aran is back, and she's amazing.
After the events of the first game, a few remaining Metroids are found on their originating planet, SR388. Samus Aran is dispatched to exterminate them and eliminate the threat, for good.
Metroid Samus Returns is a re-imagining of Metroid II: Return of Samus, on the original Game Boy. I have to admit, I've never played that one, so I don't have a point of reference. But one thing is for sure, Samus Returns is an fantastic game in every way. Even on the aging 3DS hardware, it manages to look great, taking great advantage of the 3D display and dual screen setup. The graphics look great, which surprised me! The beautiful music also stood out right away. I heard tones from other games, though I can't quite say which exactly...
After the brief animated intro, the game begins in earnest. I have to kill 40 Metroids. That's it. That's the objective of the game. I love that.
I'm quite early in this 2D, classic Metroid game, but I'm loving it already. There's a great map, tons of hidden secrets, a slew of new abilities to discover and an army of new enemies to battle. Samus is well-equipped so far. I've got the charge shot, freeze shot, morph ball, morph ball bombs, spiderball and of course, the good old missiles. She also has the ability to free-aim, which adds a lot of flexibility to combat and makes the game feel modern. She can even scan the environment to see hidden blocks for a limited time, and fill out the map in a small radius.
However, the biggest addition to the famous bounty hunter's arsenal is undeniably the melee counter. Inspired by Metroid: Other M (it's ok, that was one of the good parts of that game!), it allows Samus to counter most attacks, then follow it up with a beam shot. It's relatively easy to pull off, but requires concentration against some enemies.
I made it through two main areas, though of course they still hide many secrets. Progress between areas is gated by a large statue. It can be crossed by giving it a special item, which is only found by killing Metroids. To reach the third area, I've had to kill 5 of them, each of them slightly different. The idea is the same in every fight, where the creature will attack with sweeping motions, floating in the air. These attacks can be countered, unless the beast has it's electric shield up. It can also float above Samus, dropping bombs that can be shot to replenish health and supplies.
One battle in particular was very difficult for me, as it took place in a room where parts of the floor were covered in damaging thorns. This meant little to no room for error during battle. Maybe I could I have been more efficient with it? Maybe it would have been easier if I had picked up the freeze beam first, but I didn't. Either way, it was the only battle that killed me, and it killed me about 10 times.
Finally killing the Metroid was fucking glorious. I'm going to kill them all. Every last one.
