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It seems as time goes by, the GF is becoming more like the Space Pirates. Both organizations have, at one point or another, been vying for control over the Metroids' power, with the GF originally researching their abilities for the sake of galactic civilization while the Space Pirates were weaponizing them in pursuit of galactic dominance. But if the events of Other M and Fusion are anything to go by, the focus of their research turned to militarization of the Metroids, just as the Pirates did prior to their downfall.
Before I heard about this, I was hoping Nintendo would do something like this themselves (I still kinda do), I mean, they did it for the original Metroid. I've never been interested in fan games, but I suppose there's always a first time.
I've never been too interested in fan-games myself but after looking into this myself, it's definitely worth a look...Doctor M64 did an amazing job replicating the world of SR 388 as well as added to it to give a more modernized Metroidvania style Metroid feel...
Something I've been meaning to discuss for a while now, but time is limited for me and I have A LOT to say on the matter. There's a lot of text below and I would understand if people won't bother reading, but I feel like I have to say this anyway.
30 years ago, Metroid was released in Japan and has since left behind a legacy in gaming as one of the pioneers in the Sci-fi genre, as well as introducing one of the greatest ladies in gaming through one of the most shocking spoilers in history.
I feel like a lot of the times I've been speaking about Metroid I probably came off as rather bleak in some ways, of course there's not too much going on with the series right now that I can really get too excited about. With Metroid's 30th Anniversary, my expectations are probably way too high given Nintendo's track record with Metroid's previous anniversaries. Though I can't help but hope for Nintendo to have more planned for the series than what's coming with Federation force and Blast Ball. I know this year seems to be the year of the milestones with Zelda, Pokemon, Sonic, and many others are hitting major milestones. Metroid is one that can't be ignored since it has influenced so many games in the Sci-fi genre and spawned various successors in teh Metroidvania style. So many Indie games being released recently that almost seem like a small brother to the Metroid series it's kind of ridiculous, but it just goes to show how important and how much of an impact this franchise has made in gaming. As well as giving us arguably the greatest female character in all of gaming. Samus Aran has even influenced many characters both male and female alike, and is one of Nintendo's most iconic characters overall.
There's a lot about the future of the series that I want to touch on. Rather than speak about what I don't want from the series, I'm going to go over what I think the franchise could use to really bring it forward as a Nintendo IP and as a brand. I see this series having the potential to become a juggernaut and possibly even a flagship franchise for Nintendo. It's just a matter of whether Nintendo will meet these expectations and pursue such a path for this series.
Some music while you read, this is from the 25th Anniversary fan-made album Harmony of a Hunter.
Increasing the General Scope of the Games
Looking at Breath of the Wild and what it does for the Zelda series, I can't help but yearn for Metroid to do something similar with the amount of freedom given to the player. One thing that makes Super Metroid such a great game for players is how many ways you can approach the game. For the most part every one who plays the game for the first time pretty much played the same way start to finish going down the 'intended' path. But upon successive playthroughs, players can discover other little tricks and methods to go about playing the game through various forms of sequence breaking. A general open sand-box in a way that leaves more areas accessible to the players if they are able to figure out how to get to these areas. Some players can even playthrough the game in reverse and fight all the major bosses in reverse order. I feel like Metroid could really benefit from a large open world game that has a very similar set-up as this where almost all areas are accessible in some way to the player yet they need to figure out different methods to get to different areas.
I feel like this is a good direction for the series to go. Looking at No Man's Sky where an entire Galaxy is an open sandbox, while the scale for this game in particular may be a little large for a Metroid game the general idea is there for the player to just go out and explore to your heart's content. Just like in Metroid Prime, the story is still there for the player to discover while they play through the game, but at the same time its not a primary focus that takes away from the experience.
One idea I have involves Samus's Zero-suit as it could be a method for going places that may be out of reach early on with her Power Suit. Like in Breath of the Wild where the player can choose to tun around nearly naked at the top of a cold mountain any time they want. Giving the player the option to power down Samus's Varia suit anytime and use her added mobility to be able to reach areas she can't otherwise. For example, underwater her Varia Suit just sinks like a stone but in her Zero suit she can swim to higher places she won't be able to reach until later on and give her access to new areas. Of course there will need to be some consequences for this to help players think carefully about where they use the Zero-suit, for one her defenses are very poor in comparison as perhaps some enemies could even one-hit kill Samus and extreme temperatures will also take effect on her, though the player can still be bold if they want to. Also it could be a little overpowered using her Zero-suit to reach some critical point in the game like a boss and just power back to her Varia suit, so of course there'll need to be some limitations in how much she can power in and out of her suit. Of course a lot of these areas aren't crucial to progressing forward in the game and just a means for exploration or allows Samus to acquire optional power-ups. The more progress the player makes the less need there is to use Samus's Zero-suit. This is just my idea and one possible way to approach an open world setting in a Metroid game.
Expanding the Metroid Universe
Of course one of the purposes of Federation Force is to expand upon the Metroid universe. I feel like the way it's being expanded upon is not the right approach for this time (once again the worst part about Federation Force is it's timing.) There's still so much about what we got that we've still only scratched the surface.
SR-388 is one very important setting in Metroid that we've barely had the opportunity to explore. Only in Metroid II, which not everyone has played, have we been able to explore. This is one reason why this game is in dire need of a modernized remake. Much like what happened with Zero Mission giving us more to explore as well as expanding upon the lore of the Chozo and what they did on this planet. There's so many small tidbits of their technology we encounter. As well as touching on more of the origins of the Metroid species. Other than 'the Chozo created them to fight the X' there's not much about the origins of the Metroids we know about. A Remake for Metroid II can really provide a lot in terms of expansion in the series in this realm.
Additionally to that we can still learn more about Zebes. Zero Mission gave us some more insight into some things about this planet, but being probably THE most important setting in any of the Metroid games, I feel there's still so much more we could explore. I don't feel like Super Metroid is in need of a remake, at least not as much as Metroid II, but if it were to get a remake it could really benefit from a much bigger scale setting, perhaps with more regions to explore. Once again providing a better insight on the Chozo and the metroids.
With all that said of course we shouldn't forget about adding in more new planets and settings for Samus to explore. The Prime trilogy has already expanded upon the Metroid universe in such a huge way with the Luminoth and the effect of Phazon on several planets. As well as touched more on the history of the Chozo on planets like Tallon IV and Elysia. Hunters did well to once again introduce more sentient races to the mix with the game's bounty hunters and it's bits of added lore. A Post-fusion game is a really good opportunity to introduce new aspects to the series since at that point Metroids, Space Pirates, and possibly even Ridley are all gone for good. While the Galactic Federation may provide some decent conflict at this point, I feel like it would be rather dull on it's own without some other new race or villain to take the lead within the new game. I just want to see what more this franchise can provide.
Additional Gameplay
One thing that Other M introduced to the Metroid series (although it wasn't exactly the best implementation for it) was more action oriented combat. Specifically close-quarters melee. Having the ability to use close range combat on enemies that gets too close gives the player more options rather than button-mashing to shoot beams or missiles most of the time and also allows the player to clear themselves away from enemies that get a bit too close for comfort. This would espeically be useful for her Zero-suit as she has even less means of defending herself otherwise. Late game CQC would become less useful as she acquires more powerful weaponry such as the Screw Attack, but once again it just allows for more options.
Corruption added a new element that has yet to be fully explored in any other Metroid, of course it was still rather limited and that involves controlling Samus's ship. In the game you can use it as a method of fast travel when you get to a certain area and you can use the ship for certain puzzles within teh game as well, but as said it was a very limited element within the game for the most part. You even collect additonal weapon packs for Samus's ship but considering how little you use Samus's ship the upgrades ended up being almost useless within the game. While I don't really want Metroid to get to the point were we'll have Samus in the middle of Star Wars like dog fights as that pretty much star Fox's domain in Nintendo gaming. There's so much more that can be done when it comes to utilizing Samus's ship. Perhaps even using teh ship to get to otherwise impossible to reach areas within an area and having the ability to dock it not only at multiple locations around the planet, like in Corruption, but pretty much anywhere so long as the area was accesssible.
Specific Games I want to See
-Metroid Prime 4
My first experiences with the Metroid franchise lie with the Prime games. Prime 1 and 2 are amoung my favourite games on the Gamecube and while I haven't played Prime 3 quite as much as the first two it is still a solid game that so far rounded off the trilogy in a fairly decent way. The teaser at the end hinted at a sequel that so far Nintendo hasn't given us just yet. After the reveal of Federation Force it was officially confirmed that the mysterious ship at the end was that of the bounty hunter Sylux, so it makes sense as the antagonist for the fourth entry in the series. Federation Force appears to touch on the conflict between the Galactic Federation and the Space Pirates and seems to serve as a stepping stone for the next installment much like Hunters did for Prime 3. At this point in the timeline both Dark Samus and Ridley are out of commision leaving the Space Pirates without authority. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' in a similar way for the Pirates to first ally with Dark Samus, before following her lead, Sylux just makes sense as a new leader for the Pirates that could lead them in a large scale galactic war against the Federation. What is Samus's role? Simple, track down and eliminate Sylux, perhaps she gets tips suggesting activity in certain areas or on different planets which allows her to traverse through different environments in search of the other bounty hunter who at times shows itself to mess with Samus.
All this is fine and dandy, what if there was something more, perhaps the pirates located another plot device like Phazon that makes things more dire for the Federation. Perhaps another alien race like the Metroids or X that the pirates attempt to use as bioweapons against the Federation that makes things more complicated. Which could in turn give reason for both Sylux and ultimately Samus to traverse through different alien environments as both are on the hunt.
-Metroid 5
Arguably the most important new game Nintendo could give us in terms of Metroid continuity. At this point in the series; the Metroids, Space Pirates, Mother Brain, Ridley, and the X parasites have all but been completely eliminated along with the destruction of two major planets being Zebes and SR 388. Samus has likely made herself an enemy of the Federation and likely has very little options in terms of a sanctuary to go to. So the big question is, where to from here? Probably one of the best courses of action is to have Samus track down what happened to the Chozo. Still one of the most undiscovered elements within the Metroid series, this myterious race just up and vanshied despite being one of the most advanced and sophisticated civilized races in the Metroid universe. Perhaps during all this more can be uncovered regarding the origins of Samus as well as the Metroids in terms of the plans the chozo had for each of them. While teh Metroids were created to eliminate the X, there could very easily be more to it. Remember that Metroids were originally created as 'ultimate warriors.' Now all that's left of them lies in the DNA of another warrior that the Chozo created in Samus Aran. And perhaps what lies in her DNA could serve as a major plot element within the new installment as not only it could give Samus a means to new abilities making her a more formidable presense, but makes her a primary target for the Galactice Federation as they have greatly shown interest in the Metroids as well as them being the ones who put the Metroid DNA there in the first place. As well as Samus unlocking her true potential from the metroid DNA that lies within her, unlocking new abilities. The Metroids and Samus as one! The Chozo's success in creating the 'Ultimate Warrior'. In time, Samus could discover her true purpose and full potential as the chosen 'Hatchling.' Come to think of it, perhaps the main reason Samus spared the baby Metroid on SR 388, the pivotal moment that set a long series of events from that moment onwards was because she saw what reminded her of herself. The last of her kind, barely at the beginning of it's life, nearly defenseless. For the entire series up to that point Samus has shown no mercy or compassion towards this race of mindless parasites, but in this moment she showed mercy towards the last of it's species. This new game could truly delve into Samus's character in a way we've never seen before.
-Metroid II Remake
I have heard of some demand for a Super Metroid remake. While in time it could be neat to see one come to fruition, I feel there is a much greater need for Metroid II to get a proper official remake. As I've mentioned before we've hardly ever explored SR 388 and since most haven't even played Metroid II introducing a remake for this game that is at this point more than 25 years old. It would be a great way to push teh Metroid franchise back into a side scrolling Metroidvania style to parallel with the Prime styled FPS games that have taken the main focus of the series for several years. Touching upon more of the Chozo's history on the planet as well as touching on how they came about creating the Metroids to take on the X. A remake would be a good opportunity to expand on the game's story and plot since there barely was any in the original beyond 'find and kill metroids,' this can be done in a similar way to Zero Mission without adding a Zero-suit segment. Though I feel like adding some event that causes Samus to lose most of her power-ups at the end (since this game leads immediately into Super Metroid where she has almost none of the power-ups she had at the end of II).
-Asymmetrical Multiplayer (Evolve Crossover)
In a similar vein as Zelda and Pokemon now having crossover titles built in similar ways to other games like Dynasty Warriors and Tekken. I could very easily see Metroid take on an all-star game in the style of Turtle Rock's Evolve. I would very much like to see a spin-off take a route like this. Since Nitnendo's trying to push multiplayer in the Metroid series I feel if they are going to do so they need to go big or go home.
For those who are unfamiliar, Evolve is an Asymmetrical Multiplayer. Where you can play as one of many different 'bounty hunters' who go out and explore various alien environments in order hunt and track some abominable monster that's on the loose. Or you can play as the monster which is where a lot of the fun lies in the game. The game is essentially an extreme version of cat and mouse, though the way the games go sometimes it's hard to tell which is the cat and which is the mouse.
So much of this fits so well with the Metroid series as you could play as a bounty hunter such as Samus, Sylux, or Rundas; or you could play as some powerhouse of a creature like Ridley, Dark Samus, or Nightmare. This could take place in one of many Metroid inspired enviornments like Phendrana, Norfair, Chozodia, Brinstar, etc. While playing the game and exploring both the bounty hunters and monsters could find power-ups within the environment that make them stronger and more capable of their specific task. There would be different game modes that allow for different objectives; Standard Bounty Hunt, Free-for-all, Survival, Capture the Flag/Find the Objective, etc. You could even implement the Zero-suit in this game as your purpose as a suitless Samus is to either find safety or just survive as other bounty hunters or monsters are out in the enviorment. A game like this could really have some great online play as well that could work similarly to Battlefront.
There's so much potential in a game built like this Evovle already has so much Metroid like qualities since a lot of the gameplay involves tracking and exploring an environment to find the bounty.
Let me also emphasize that a game like this is probably Ridley's only chance of becoming playable in any game. Though it's not quite the same as Smash, a Metroid themed crossover like this would still be really awesome I feel.
Here's a roster proposal I have...
Hunters (in the game Evolve characters were based around four classes (Assault, Medic, Support, Trapper, and a team of four hunters set out to take down the monster) with three available characters in each class. 12 Characters total to choose from; However in this title all Hunters have their own unique abilities and have their own strengths and weaknesses, not all campaigns involve being a part of a team, most of the time you want to try to claim the bounty before your rival hunters, although Team Hunts would still be available)
-Samus Aran
-Rundas
-Gandrayda
-Ghor
-Sylux
-Spire
-Kanden
-Trace
-Weavel
-Noxus
-G-Fed Trooper
-Space Pirate Trooper
Bounties (In Evolve there are four mosnters to choose from (Goliath, Kraken, Wraith, Behemoth) Each with it's own unique abilities and methods of destruction. In Evolve the mosnters simply need to take out all of the hunters or simply surive long enough. Monsters need to be on the move and hunt for prey that gives them strength. Once they eat enough they will then Evolve into the next stage which they then become more difficult to take out. Monsters can evolve twice and stage three is the strongest they can be, as they become very difficult to take down. Anyone who plays the monster wants to get to stage three as quickly as possible, then they can start a hunt of their own to take out the hunters. For the most part the Metroid monsters can work in a similar fashion, perhaps some of them can gain more strength than others, for example Metroids get the most benefit from evolving as they can grow through their life cycle as they go, the Larval stage is teh Metroid in it's weakest form, but it is able to feed quickly and evolve into the Alpha stage which is now more durable, until finally reaching the Omega stage which it the strongest form of the Metroid. On the other hand Nightmare for example would've evolve quite as drastically, perhaps since it's a machine it can't really feed on wildlife but gain some power source which improves it's gravitation for one or two stages. Another example Ridley could be rather sluggish at first crawling awkwardly on the ground, perhaps in a simialr state as the Mystery creature (not an exact stat mind you) where his wings can't quite give it lift but as he gets stronger he becomes more agile, faster and then can fly making him incredibly hard to touch for the hunters. As you can see I've limited my choices to five since Evolve has very little to choose from. I picked them based on certain themes and abilities they posses; Ridley (because it'd be dumb not to have him) Metroid (heavy growth very weak->very strong) Dark Samus (small/human-sized glass cannon) Nightmare (mechanical powerhouse) Phantoon (Ghostly menace))
-Ridley
-Metroid
-Dark Samus
-Nightmare
-Phantoon
-Samus Aran (Zero-suit) (can make for interesting gameplay as she can be neither a hunter or a bounty, but I feel she could function like she did in Zero Mission where she has to rely on stealth to reach a certain objective or survive for a certain amount of time while other hunters and monsters are roaming around the environment, of course avoiding hazards within the environment also)
Enviroments (Evolve has 16 different Maps, they provide a variety of areas to explore and has its own fair share of dangers around every corner; in this game the environments would likely be heavily based on a lot of stuff found in the Metroid series. In typical Metroid fashion Hunters can explore the surrounding area while they are on the hunt looking for clues left behind by the monster or other hunters and perhaps find power-up that can improve their offenses and defenses; Missiles can become Super Missiles, bomb can become Power-bombs, of course every hunter gets some sort of benefit from the same power-up (ex. a missile upgrade can Power-up Sylux's shock-coil) there's a lot of potential in a game like this, heck you could even have secret areas in a very maze-like fashion that allows for more areas to search and hide while hunters hunt, and bounties....bounce? In addition to all this different hunters and monsters would have different advantages and disadvantages in different environments, one of the more obvious being Metroids probably not fairing too well in Phendrana, while Ridley probably might not do so well in Sanctuary Fortress due to there not being enough food to get stronger, Dark Samus would do better in Phazon rich environments, etc)
-Brinstar
-Phendrana Drifts
-Phazon Mines
-Norfair
-Torvus bog
-Sanctuary Fortress
-Bryyo Cliffside
-Chozodia
-Skytown
-Pirate Homeworld
-Ancient Tower (Metroid II, I'm not sure what it's actually called)
-Biological Space Lab (SR-X)
-Maridia
-Old Tourian
-perhaps a couple original environments
Wildlife (Evolve had lots of hostile wildlife the hunters and monsters alike encountered at times they are rather harmless unless disturbed or they can come out of nowhere and attack what ever gets too close. The monsters can hunt and eat some of the wildlife it finds in order to grow stronger. In this game the wildlife would consists of many different kinds of Metroid enemies, perhaps even feature some suprise boss like enemies (such as a massive Kraid for example))
Overall a game like this would need to do what Hyrule Warriors has done by including a lot of elements from the games that fans enjoy while still adding in new elements that are original to this game. Oh, and very much like in Evolve, there'll be plenty of environmental hazards and creatures that can ruin your day if you're not careful.
A song that comes from one of my earliest experiences with Metroid.
In closing
As bleak as I tend to sound at times, I am rather optimistic about the future for the series. Federation Force has generated a lot of controversy, sure. But with it came a boatload of passionate fans who have expressed their concerns for the series they care about (of course they could've expressed their passion in a different and less hateful manner), and with that came a response from Nintendo, which is a pretty big deal in and of itself. While for the most part Nintendo does like to do their own thing, I can only hope this could indeed generate some more desirable results for the series as Nintendo has seemingly 'got the message.'
In addition to that comes the release of several Metroid titles to virtual console recently. First came Zero Mission at the beginning of the year for the Wii U, easily became one of my favourite games in the franchise. Then came Super Metroid along with other SNES classics to the New 3DS, you have no idea how amazing it is to be able to play Super Metroid anywhere, and finally Metroid Prime Hunters for the Wii U, which gives us almost all Metroid titles available between all current gen Nintendo consoles. This is pretty huge considering there will likely be a lot of new fans being introduced to these games. I can only hope that a lot of new players have gotten a taste of what the Metroid series can offer and what the future can possibly bring for the series. Heck because of this I was able to catch up on the series and have been able to play titles I wasn't able to before this year. I have really enjoyed most of what the series had to offer beyond the Primes (the whole trilogy still stands amoung my favourite games of all time.) At least in terms of gameplay, as I haven't really gone in blind with the story for these games as I wasn't sure I would've been able to play these before now. So it was a shame I couldn't play these games blind. However, at this point in time, I can confidently say that Metroid has easily became my favourite video game franchise. With Metroid Prime remaining as my favourite game of all time.
Out of all video game franchises it is one that has affected me the most as it not only has a special place in my heart for the countless hours I put into the Prime trilogy, and the 2D Metroidvania titles I've played recently, but it has greatly influenced me both as an artist and a person. This franchise has quite literally changed my life in that it inspired me to become a concept artist (at this point I feel it can be an achievable goal if I stop being so damn lazy).
I feel way more passionate about the Metroid series then I do about any other franchise, as much as I really adore both Zelda and Pokemon, Metroid is just on another level to me. Even though lately I haven't had much to look forward to, I am eager to see what the future holds for this franchise that has given so much joy from both the past and present. And I can only hope that this franchise can finally take the necessary steps to the pinnacle of gaming once again. Happy 30th Metroid! Here's to another 30 years!
I just want to thank anyone who's actually bothered to read the whole thing, and apologies to those who may be a little annoyed with the extra scrolling...I know this wall of text may have been rather intimidating but I wanted to share my thoughts regardless. I spoilered it anyways because it really was a lot.
#DARKSAMUS4SMASH
#RIDLEY4SMASH
"too big" be damned...
We are delighted to share a very special message from Hirokazu Tanaka, the composer of Metroid. #Metroid30 pic.twitter.com/OlqPq46Evo
— Metroid Fans (@MetroidFans) August 6, 2016
Sounds kinda like Uprising's Fiend's Cauldron in a way. An incentive for not sucking, that's something.
I took a look at the controls online a few days ago, and I was slightly surprised at the similarity to the classic Prime control scheme. I was expecting something a bit different. I'm very familiar with the Prime controls, so I can't imagine having any issues whenever I decide to get the game.
One would think that the mechs could use that boost meter for more than just hovering in the air. I guess having a short-ranged dash on ground was too much to ask?
More an incentive to not bring your best gear unless you're confident... Well sometimes you can get away with bringing near-useless or no mods, like the stealth mission early on, but generally it feels like you just have to go in once and die horribly and then bring the good stuff just to finish the stage. You're definitely not getting all three medals first time, at any rate.
That's literally the sidestep thing. Like when you lock onto something in Prime, except you don't need to lock on here. It's significantly faster then walking, like 1.2x or something. As somebody with a N3DS I can turn parallel to a hallway and dash around easily, though my friend has issues without a c-stick.
So wait, you're likely to lose the gear you TAKE with you? Not the ones you find? That seems kinda backwards if you ask me.
Use an online map.
As Swamp said use a map...Although I never really had too many issues navigating...even though everything is somewhat samey at least the textures differ within each area...so if you pay attention to that it may help...
Don't forget that the lava levels change whenever you destroy all Metroids in a particular area. You can use this as somewhat of a guideline if you ever miss any targets and need to backtrack to the last area you scoured through. Or as the above people said, a map will help in locating Metroids and expansions (especially Missile Tanks since some of them tend to be out of the way).
No one was really speaking of a reboot, though...A remake for Metroid II and maaybe Super Metroid (Moreso for Metroid II cuz it needs one more than Super Metroid)...but not a total series reboot...
It's definitely very well made for a fan-game...I haven't played much of it unfortunately because I don't have a controller I can use on the PC (though a buddy of mine offered to lend me one once he finishes with a couple games), and playing it with a keyboard was a little more frustrating for me (haven't really played any PC games in years so I'm not used to using all my fingers for gaming)Aetheri
My friend has AM2R. I'm going to say I was impressed with how the game turned out. It looked and had the atmosphere of Metroid. I would not have known if it was fan-made if it wasn't openly said that it is. That's how good it looked to me.
This is why Metroid is at its best when it's light on story.
I think he was talking about my thoughts on the idea of a reboot of the current timeline I talked about 4 months ago.
