Artstyle: First impressions...Didn't really stand up very well with a lot of the hardcore fans, myself included.
However it is important to note that the game's artstyle was actually quite similar to the original Metroid as you can see Samus had a similar large sized head that we saw in this game. It is possible that the artstyle took inspiration from the original Metroid. Another thing to note is that Zero Mission initially was supposed to have a similar artstyle. So it's nothing too far removed from Metroid.
That aside, when it comes to the Primes, it's definitely a stark contrast. The Prime Trilogy probably has the most realistically rendered graphics for any Nintendo game ever made. So naturally associating the game's chibi style with such ahead of their time graphics, that still hold up to today's standards is going to leave a bit to be desired.
I'm not a fan personally, but for what it is, it works. I don't particularly think such a style was the best choice but this is speaking from my own personal tastes (afterall I'm not a fan of Wind Waker's artstyle and I consider that game within my Top 10 favourite games of all time so I can live with it). But with that said it was rather hard to take the game seriously when the characters have such proportions. A lot of the creatures just looked so awkwardly compact. The explanation behind the game's style was that enemies looked too small and were hard to see, though this wasn't a problem in Hunters (of course Hunters has it's own problems, but that's besides the point)
In terms of the game's atmosphere. It's satisfactory for the most part. The game's environments did their job to convey themselves as Metroid environments. Bion definitely looks like a planet I want to explore further in teh future given the history it has with the mentioned extinct race and the ruins left behind (as long as I don't have to deal with Collussum again, did we really need to fight this thing THREE ****ING TIMES!?) As for Excelcion and Talvania? Nothing too standoutish other than a few similarities to Phendrana and Elysia...
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Music: It's....there...I get a very John Williams vibe and at some points, I was also reminded of the music from the Mass Effect trilogy, as well as Metroid of course. However all this came without any particular tracks that really stand out, there was no Lower Brinstar, Phendrana Drifts, or Kraid's Lair. Apart from the familar Samus fanfare that pops up every now and then there's nothing really familiar as far as Metroid goes.
For the most part a lot of the music was more atmospheric which is fine, but at the same time what wasn't just seemed rather generic. That being said it wasn't terrible by any means. Based on Metroid standards though, that's a different story entirely.
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Gameplay: The big question is how does this game stackup? In terms of it's control set-up, if you're familiar with the Prime Trilogy it's very natural. Gyros at first were a little jarring, but after getting the hang of them they definitely improved how the game played, although at times they really pushed you to use the gyros against certain enemies and for some puzzles. Due to the game being on a handheld you do get a bit of a cramped feel after playing for longer periods, but that's mainly on the handheld and not the game. The game itself felt very comfortable to play any issues with the game are not in it's controls. Unlike Other M and Hunters.
But how does it fit in the Metroid franchise? Isolation? Exploration? Discovery?
Well...It's there, but barely noticable really. There were times I felt a bit isolated especially being a solo player but those feeling never really lasted long due to the missions that lasted around 10 minutes on average (even managed to complete some missions in under 5) the game's atmosphere actually did give me a sense of foreboding at times, one such example was in Mission 21: The Core, when you are zipling forward and you see almost nothing ahead of you expect for the gaseous vapours from Talvania's atmosphere, there was a sense of anxiousness that drove that sense of anticipation (that ended up leading to a long and rather dull boss fight).
There's some elements of exploration but in what felt like an overly simplified format. Blast this pile of ice and look you found a hidden mod! Oh Goody! Although some mods were worth finding but it is all randomized and most of the time the mods were nothing I really had an interest in since most of the time they were simple temporary upgrades for weapons I never used.
Speaking on Mods, when you play Solo you get a special Mod, the Lone Wolf Mod. It definitely makes the game easier since you take half damage and deal double damage (it's pretty broken when you pair it with +50% all damage dealt and -50% all damage taken mods) I tried to avoid using it unless I needed that extra help.
Aaaaand speaking of help. As a solo player there were plenty of times where it could've been very beneficial to have an extra player or two simply because you are able to split tasks to different players. Some Missions I especially felt overburdened was Mission 4: Containment and Mission 9: Blender. This game without a doubt is designed for Co-operative play. But as a solo player I felt the game was still doable. Most of the time I never felt the need for the Lone Wolf Mod while other times I struggled simply because I was unfamiliar with how to handle objectives and the second run through I was able to better prepare myself beforehand and found myself having an easier time...
Overall, the game has little purts of what can be considered a Metroid game. You are given a few missions at a time and you can play them in whatever order you feel like so long as you have them unlocked, though the game still requires a specific story progression. Each mission for the most part was pretty linear though the maps weren't particularly huge to give the more Metroidvania appraoch the series is known for. There was very few places I felt stuck simply because everything's pretty well laid out for you. The missions themselves have a decent variety and sometimes feel like they may be specific puzzles that you'd find in certain areas in a Metroid game...
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Story: At first the story doesn't really seem like something out of the ordinary. Galactic Federation are investigating stuff in some planetary system, Oh No! Space Pirates show up, what're they up to? Oh No! it's more significant thatn we thought!
That sort of stuff...The Metroids in the game (yes this game has Metroids) felt very randomly plopped in the story and had very little significance overall (apart from the Post-credits scene that is) Also there were a few facepalm moments from the Commander's dialogue. Knows about the Omega Pirate but was surprised teh Space Pirates were in possession of Metroids, also finds out about a Super weapon the Space Pirates are building and questions why they haven't detected it, shortly after we discover a facility where the Pirates are researching cloaking technology, doesn't put two and two together until an encrypted message from Samus actually tells him, 'oh well that explains it'
Oh yeah Samus went missing but its sort of treated as not that big of a deal...well maybe she's hiding? carry on...
Either way this leads me into my next point, The End game. Samus was captured by the Space Pirates. Apparently it's more imporatnt for them to eliminate the Galactic Federation than it is to actually kill their single greatest threat. Who they then decide to 'Honey I blew-up the Samus' which ultimately leads to the final boss of the game. Except you only fight Samus's Morph Ball. Why? iunno...The fight was obnoxious but nothing really too over the top in terms of difficulty. Shortly afterwards, Samus dies, I've waited for a Metroid game for years and I'm now plagued with teh guilt that I killed one of the most iconic characters....obviously she doesn't really die but still didn't really help what I witnessed....then we go to fight a Mother Brain clone...Master Brain! which for the most part works very much like Mother Brain from the original Metroid since you just have to shoot it when it's shields are down and instead of Rinkas you have these annoying turrets that keep pestering you constantly. Finally you're met with yet another horde of Space Pirates because the 400,000 you've faced throughout the game weren't enough they wanted to throw one last one at you for good measure. Then Samus saves the day! Surprise she's not dead! Then she runs off you gets blown into space and Samus saves the day again!!!!
I think it's apparent I wasn't that impressed with the endgame. I felt a little underwhelmed to be honest. It was apparent that the end-game was coming due to the previous three missions, but it still felt quick, almost rushed.
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Final Thoughts: I have to be honest, I did enjoy the game, there were several moments that I did indeed feel like I was playing a Metroid game though as mentioned those feeling didn't really last. But for what it is? It's decent. While playing this game I couldn't shake the desire to be actually playing a full-fledged metroid title instead, despite going into this with an open mind, I was still playing this instead of a proper game. Do I think it deserves to be placed amoung the rest of the franchise? Yes, I do actually, as said I did feel some flashes of what makes a Metroid game but overall it felt very simplified in those areas. Progression was very linear but due to the gameplay leaning closer towards a multiplayer co-op you can't really blame it. At the end of the day I'm treating this game for what it is, a spin-off. It's not meant to be the next big installment, nor is it meant to be taken as the future direction of the series. The biggest problem this game faces is not it's artstyle, or the linear map progression, or that it's a 'Metroid Prime' titled game, but it's timing. If Prime 4 or another 2D Metroid game was out or on the way for the 3DS, Wii U or NX then no one would complain as much about this game's existence, there'd be no pointless petition (like Nintendo will listen anyway), there'd be no negative outcry. Remember 'Metroid Prime' Pinball exists...FRACKING PINBALL!!!
With that said I do have some problems (a lot of these problems are just nitpicks nothing really deal breaking) with the game overall, but as a big Metroid fan that was indeed a big skeptic of this game, I was pleasantly surprised with what I got. I did enjoy playing the game, despite not playing the intended way with others. It's definitely a good game, not great by any means especially by Metroid standards, but it's definitely not the worst game of the series.
Final Rating:
7/10
I have to say that this game overall felt like an appetizer for me...Now I just have to wait for the main course......however long that will take...