Metroid Returns is AMAZING

[Malenko]

I know now why Nintendo put out the C&D on the fan remake. This game is pretty great. I just ordered some more NFC Tags so I can flash them with the 4 Metroid based Amiibos, used up my remaining tags hooking a zapcon bro up!

[Howard_Casto]

I'll try it when I feel a little better, but I dunno man.  I've seen a lot of gameplay footage and it seems to pale in comparison to AM2R.  I think they sent a C&D because they realized that the fan project was superior and they didn't want to look bad. 

[05SRT4]

Can confirm its working on the Sky3ds+, Malenko have you found the NFC bins for the tags?

[opt2not]

I really want to play this....on my Switch.

[Malenko]

Can confirm its working on the Sky3ds+, Malenko have you found the NFC bins for the tags?

Not the new ones, but the smash bros ones at NFC Bank. They just came out so in a day or two. I *just* bought 40 more tags, in case my zapcon bro needs a metroid set.

[Howard_Casto]

Well I tried it.  I would say that it's good and not great.  The visuals are ok... that's all any 3ds game can manage given the system's specs....   They seem to have added some prime-esque cut scenes, which is nice.

My main issues are the fact that it's on the 3ds, which sucks (small screen, can't get comfortable for long play sessions, ect.) and the controls.  2D Metroid has had the same controls, virtually unchanged, since super Metroid.  Why they decided to change it I'll never know.  Having to hold down a button to fire missiles is dumb, as is an analog aim button.  The melee gimmick sucks and does nothing but slow down the action.  I don't want to have to wait for a charge and punch stuff to kill it.  Oh and it's 2d but you have to use the analog numb... that's just wrong.

As I suspected, AM2R is far superior.  Remember who's saying that.... I prefer a fan project over an official Nintendo release. 

It's still a good Metroid for on the go though.  That being said, I think fusion and zero mission are also available on the 3ds.... those might actually be better choices. 

I mean I'll stick with it a little bit longer, maybe I'll change my mind.

[elvis]

As I suspected, AM2R is far superior.

This is what I was worried about.  I personally am stuck.  Do I:

* Pay money for the thing in order to show Nintendo I want more Metroid, but risk them making more titles like this instead of what I actually want?

* Not buy it, not contribute to sales, have Nintendo assume Metroid is dead.

And I'm not suggesting that my one purchase will make or break this.  But I wonder how many oldschool fans are thinking the same?

Sonic Mania was an *awesome* Sonic game.  More importantly, it showed Sega embracing fan project developers and making a product that people wanted.  Nintendo, on the other hand, still seem too proud/arrogant to assume that anyone other than themselves (or people they personally bless) are good enough to make quality titles with their franchises.

[Malenko]

My main issues are the fact that it's on the 3ds, which sucks (small screen, can't get comfortable for long play sessions, ect.) and the controls.

I have a 3dSXL , screen size isn't an issue for me.  I do wish I could run and gun with the DPad, but Ive made the adjustment.  After all the crummy 3D FPS style Metroids it was good to go back to the metroidvania style game.  My only really big gripe is that the Metroid boss fight rooms shouldn't be hidden. I have to keep doing that stupid "map reveal pulse" far too often. 

Im not a huge fan of using the touch screen to switch between guns but it works. I also like that most of the gun upgrades get stacked instead of having to reacquire them like in the gameboy original. I didn't like the melee at first but its optional and rewarding to use.  Im not going to limit myself to just one metroid, just one metroid at a time.

Sonic Mania was an *awesome* Sonic game.  More importantly, it showed Sega embracing fan project developers and making a product that people wanted.  Nintendo, on the other hand, still seem too proud/arrogant to assume that anyone other than themselves (or people they personally bless) are good enough to make quality titles with their franchises.

Yeah they they delayed the PC launch for 2 weeks to add Devuno DRM and give a giant middle finger to PC users. ---fudgesicle--- sega, maybe they'll finally go bankrupt and someone more deserving can buy the licenses and make the games we want.

[Howard_Casto]

Please tell me you didn't think the prime series was crummy.  It literally saved the franchise.  I honestly think the reason this game is a bit lack-luster has to do with Nintendo pushing far more resources towards the Prime 4 team.  I do wish we'd get a proper sequel though..... this whole "let's do nothing but prequels because timelines are hard" b.s. that Nintendo keeps pulling is the worst.  With the exception of fusion, every game since super has been a prequel.  Hell it'd be nice to get a proper Zelda sequel as well.  Screw all these alternate timeline, re-incarnated Links... what's going on with Link prime?

Full disclosure, I think all 2d Sonic games are bad, but I think Sonic Mania succeeded despite Sega's involvement and not because of it.  Sega was so inept at making their own Sonic games that they just gave up and hired homebrew guys to do it.  When they realized it was good, Sega DRMed the crap out of it, bundled it with over-priced hunks of plastic, ect..... basically everything they could do to make things worse.  Everything good Sega has done in the last 20 years has either been in the arcades, outsourced to a third party, or both.  They really need to give up on the home console thing except for porting their stellar arcade titles. 

[vwalbridge]

I somehow managed to literally never play any of the Metroid games growing up.

Suggestions of which ones I should play and in what order?

[Malenko]

Please tell me you didn't think the prime series was crummy.

I know they were successful commercially and got good reviews critically,  but none of that has any bearing on if I liked them, and I didn't, except the pinball game. Too much walking, not enough combat coupled with the fact I don't really like  first person games to beging with. That's 2 big reasons why I personally don't like them. The pinball game on the other hand, while only 6 tables played well and you could even "nudge" the table with the touch screen on the bottom.

As for your Sega rant, I agree 100% except the part where all 2D sonic games are bad. The 2 iterations of the Kart racers were good, but all the rest of the 3D Sonics have been the bad games. The 2D games for the most part Ive enjoyed, except the knuckles chaotix 32X game, what a dumpster fire!

Back to Metroid returns; Ive finished the main part of area 3 not sure I want to bother going back and getting the missile upgrades and what not before heading into area 4, I rarely ever use them. If anything this game has me wanting to go back and finish Super Metroid again, something I can also do right on my 3DS.

[Malenko]

I somehow managed to literally never play any of the Metroid games growing up.

Suggestions of which ones I should play and in what order?

The first is a classic, but you wont miss much by jumping right into Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion.

[pbj]

Was mildly interested until I found out this is a 3DS game.  Pass.

[Howard_Casto]

I somehow managed to literally never play any of the Metroid games growing up.

Suggestions of which ones I should play and in what order?

The first is a classic, but you wont miss much by jumping right into Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion.

The "correct" order is:

Zero Mission (remake of the original), AM2R (the real Metroid II kind of sucks), Super, Fusion and the Prime games.  I say this because while simplistic, there IS a story in the Metroid series.   You'll get more out of it if you go in order.  Do yourself a favor and don't bother playing the portable games on a portable.... they are really more suited for long play on a couch. 

The prime games are technically prequels, but not really.... their bosses, ect are expansions of the classic monsters, so it'd be confusing to play those first.  Personally I think the original NES game is my favorite, but I understand that it's really hard and zero mission is a really good remake that will be more consistent with the visual style and mechanics you'll find in the other 2d games. 

As for the others..... federation force is crap, spinball is just a gimmicky pinball table, the 3d portable games kind of suck and Other M, while fun to play, is going to have you yelling at the screen when the story bits come up.... so save that one for when you are desperate for more Metroid. 

[vwalbridge]

I somehow managed to literally never play any of the Metroid games growing up.

Suggestions of which ones I should play and in what order?

The first is a classic, but you wont miss much by jumping right into Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion.

The "correct" order is:

Zero Mission (remake of the original), AM2R (the real Metroid II kind of sucks), Super, Fusion and the Prime games.  I say this because while simplistic, there IS a story in the Metroid series.   You'll get more out of it if you go in order.  Do yourself a favor and don't bother playing the portable games on a portable.... they are really more suited for long play on a couch. 

The prime games are technically prequels, but not really.... their bosses, ect are expansions of the classic monsters, so it'd be confusing to play those first.  Personally I think the original NES game is my favorite, but I understand that it's really hard and zero mission is a really good remake that will be more consistent with the visual style and mechanics you'll find in the other 2d games. 

As for the others..... federation force is crap, spinball is just a gimmicky pinball table, the 3d portable games kind of suck and Other M, while fun to play, is going to have you yelling at the screen when the story bits come up.... so save that one for when you are desperate for more Metroid.

Thanks! Perfect...exactly what I was looking for. I feel kind of lucky that will be able to binge play all of these games for the first time.

[Howard_Casto]

So I've been playing it a bit more today and I'm going to have to re-evaluate a bit.  I still hate the controls and they've turned most of the minor enemies into needless charge goblins, but I'm starting to see a bit of that Nintendo touch in regards to how they are deviating from Metroid II in terms of map design and unlocking mechanics.  I still prefer AM2R as the superior Metroid II version, but this one is definitely worth a play.  7 out of 10.  (RIP XPlay)

[opt2not]

As for the others..... federation force is crap

  It’s not that bad.

[Howard_Casto]

Let's put it another way.  Federation force isn't Metroid, it has no business having the Metroid name tacked on to it and whoever made that decision needs to be fired or have a pay cut.  It's a decent arena fps for the 3ds..... that's sort of the problem though... I'm just speaking for myself but I don't really want an arena fps for the 3ds.  Prime hunters made the same mistake.... at least you could play as Samus in that one though. 

[opt2not]

Arena FPS? Are you talking about Blast Ball, a small game mode that isn’t even the main game?
Federation Force has levels and areas just like the Prime games do. It’s got a multiplayer Zelda Four Swords  cooperation gameplay style that isn’t that bad actually.

The story lives in the Prime universe, thus is aptly named. It’s produced by the Prime Exec Producer, so it has a legit backing.  Just because the art style and that you don’t play as Samus, all that nerd mob mentality deemed it as crap, so most people didn’t give it a chance. But it’s a solid game and a much better FPS than Hunters or any FPS on that console.

Did you actually play it or are going off the opinion of the popular nerd hate?

[pbj]

Let it go, opt.  He thinks you should be fired or have your pay cut.

[opt2not]

  With all the disposable income I spend on upscalers, maybe I should.

[Malenko]

Let's put it another way. Prime isn't Metroid, it has no business having the Metroid name tacked on to it and whoever made that decision needs to be fired or have a pay cut.  It's a decent fps but its not a good Metroidvania game..... that's sort of the problem though... I'm just speaking for myself but I don't really want yet another fps game that is covered with a coat of Metroid paint.

FTFY 

[Howard_Casto]

That doesn't work man... Prime was critically acclaimed, sold really well, and won many awards.  Federation force didn't. 

Opt I forgot that you worked on that game so I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, but that's as far as I can go.  Blaming the fan base when a game isn't well received isn't a good move man... you really need to work on that. 

[opt2not]

Howard, I’ve been doing this for over 18 years now, have been apart of a lot of successful games since the PSX days (and a few bombs)...but Federation Force was the first and only time I had witnessed how nasty fans can be, and I’ve worked on a few games that have incredibly obsessive fans.

Never have I’ve seen a petition created by the fans calling for the cancellation of a project I’ve worked on. While working on, that is. Calling for the dev team of just under 100 developers, people who are just as passionate about games, that have a history of creating multiple successful titles; that have families, mortgages, dependancies  etc., to be fired for attempting to release a game that didn’t agree with them. Can you imagine? Calling for Nintendo to pull our funding, our paychecks, and shutting the studio down.
 This was all from a small sneak peak too! No one had even played the game yet!

Now I can take the hits, if there’s merit to the criticism, but when fans judge a project as harshly,  as nasty, and as ignorant as that, you are damn sure I’m going to blame them for not receiving it well. It was really despicable, and it for sure effected how the finaling of the game went.

So this is why I ask if you actually played the game before? Or are you just another sheep of the Nintendo fanbase that was quick to mob on this title?

[Howard_Casto]

And yet, you attack the fan base again.  Games are a product.... consumers didn't want that product.  The reason is irrelevant.  Attacking them will get you nowhere. Figuring out what they want and selling them that is the way to go.  Learn your lesson and you'll be better for it.  I stand by the fact that whoever thought it would be a good idea to slap the Metroid name on a game that doesn't have you playing as Samus made a grave mistake.  Aside from maybe Kid Icarus, no Nintendo franchise gets fewer sequels, spaced so far out than Metroid.  Considering people didn't exactly take to Other M either, a full Metroid game was the only thing the fans would accept.

I'll be 38 years old this October.  I pretty well know what I'll like or not like by a trailer.  If you are asking me if I played it extensively then, no I didn't.  I don't need to though... I played enough....it's not for me.  I think you had a bad experience and you are taking it out on me... it's not healthy man. 

Like I said I'm sorry I hurt your feelings and because of that I've volunteered yet another response even though you weren't owed one.  It's time to let it go. 

[pbj]

I've never much liked a single Metroid game I've played, and the distaste goes back to the first one. I vaguely recall some decent FPS one on DS but lost interest halfway through.  Dusty case sitting on the shelf.   

[opt2not]

Howard, you are normally articulate to why you like or don’t like games, yet you can’t seem to detail why you didn’t like Fed Force. So it’s clear you didn’t actually play it, most likely you’re just following along the rest of the fan ragers cause it was trending at the time. 

If “it’s not for you”, that’s fine, don’t buy it, carry on.
But calling for people to get fired over the fact that you don’t agree with the franchise tie-in is pretty low-brow, man.

 I’d love to know what you do for a living so we can all criticize your work and judge whether or not you’re worthy to be employed.

[Malenko]

I’d love to know what you do for a living so we can all criticize your work and judge whether or not you’re worthy to be employed.

Can I have your babies?

Howard, he's saying the fans had condemned the game well before it even came out and that most judged it without ever playing it, then asked if you ever played it . I don't see why you are being so veiled and coy about how much you played it or why you are taking it as an attack. Also, you do realize that Bryan was an artist on a team and not the director or producer , right?

Full disclosure I played Prime for about 2 hours, which I thought was a fair shake. I didnt like it. I didnt try the 2nd one but I played the 3rd for like 30 minutes /shrug

Aside from maybe Kid Icarus, no Nintendo franchise gets fewer sequels, spaced so far out than Metroid. 

Star Tropics, Earthbound (aka Mother), Pilot Wings, Excite bike , WaveRace ,etc might disagree with you.  And now you make up a reason why none of those examples count.