Master Malstrom –
Prompted by your musings on piracy, I recently jailbroke my New 3DS and am playing through the pre-Cube Metroid games again. I beat the NES original and Zero Mission back-to-back and am currently working through II and Super Metroid. Other than the points you’ve repeatedly made regarding Sakamoto’s Kojima proclivities and outrageously wrong-headed conception of Samus as a sexy ninja, I think I can articulate the main reason why Sakamoto Metroid sucks. It’s because of lazy level design and a lack of imagination when it comes to employing Samus’s tools.
Any honest assessment of Metroid would concede that from Super Metroid on, the series shifted from true open-world to a tightly scripted experience. This was accomplished by having nearly all of Samus’s collectible items function as keys to access various parts of the world. (This is also the case in NES Metroid, but to a much lesser extent since the only items absolutely required to see the whole map are missiles, bombs, and maybe the Hi-Jump Boots). The big difference between Super and Sakamoto Metroid is that Super’s level design does a masterful job of obscuring this reality from the player by sprinkling “keyholes” all throughout the game world, which makes backtracking a pleasure since the player can’t wait to see how much more of the world has opened up. In Sakamoto Metroid, items are generally used to open up one key area and then never really seen again. The “keyholes” are also typically just blocks needing the correct item, and not something more organic like in Super Metroid.
I’ll use the Speed Booster (SB) as an example. In Super Metroid, you’ll encounter SB blocks in a bunch of different places all over the map before you eventually get it, and will continue seeing them through the end of the game. You’ll also run into a few situations which don’t employ the tiles but still require the SB, such as the corridor with the closing doors that leads to the Ice Beam and Crocomire. Right after getting it, you get to blast through a corridor full of tiles and enemies, which rules. There is also a corridor full of tiles which goes from being a roadblock to a shortcut from one side of Norfair to the other. You can also go back to Brinstar and meet the bird who shows you how to do the Shinespark move, which you can use to find more collectibles.
In Sakamoto Mission, you get the SB after killing Kraid. Your first chance to use it is just running through some blocks. The only place you’ve seen SB tiles so far other than the area you get it in is one particular spot in Norfair, which the game annoyingly points you towards with a map beacon when you pick up the item. You go there, break the tiles with a run, and get the Hi-Jump Boots. The SB never really comes out again as something you need to use to proceed, and instead of crafting a neat situation that would require it like the closing doors, all Sakamoto did was put some blocks in the player’s way. That’s just one example, but it’s like that with pretty much every item. Once you use it to get past the obstacle, you’re more or less done with it for the rest of the game.
TL:DR – Super Metroid is about gradually unlocking the entire world one small piece at a time, and using the right tool for the right situation. Sakamoto Metroid is about getting the key that opens the door to the next part of the game.
Metroid series is a tough nut to crack. It’s clear Sakamoto doesn’t understand Metroid (i.e. Other M), but I think we can come to some definite conclusions.
First party software is not just meant to be profitable, it is also supposed to boost sales of the hardware. Mario does this. Zelda does this. But Metroid doesn’t sell as much. So why do we elevate Metroid to the heightened Nintendo IP status?
One thing that is absolutely clear about Metroid: it is a game designed for the advanced skilled gamer. Metroid is not a ‘my very first platformer’ type game. Nintendo knew this with the first ads for NES Metroid. Observe:
The CHALLENGE is Metroid. The teen is also playing with a NES Advantage… a JOYSTICK. What does that signify, dear reader?
“I don’t know, Malstrom! Do tell me…”
Advanced players were older players. NES advanced players were Atari and arcade veterans. They distrusted the D pad on the NES controller. They were used to joysticks. It is why the NES Advantage sold so much and why they are commonly seen in retro shops (but not the SNES Advantage as the NES generation were comfortable with the D pad).
“Are you saying Metroid is a hardcore game?”
Yes, using our vernacular of today, Metroid is a ‘hardcore’ game. It’s a game for advanced players.
But if Metroid isn’t selling gazillions and boosting hardware sales, what is the purpose of Metroid then to Nintendo? Metroid carries a gravitas that Mario… and even Zelda… do not. Metroid exudes the sci fi class of Alien and 2001: Space Odyssey type atmosphere.
Above: Who knew Samus could play the piano?
Above: It starts at 2:30. This is how we see Metroid… as class.
Metroid is a highly layered atmospheric/immersive game… very, very rich on the immersion and atmosphere. The game is also for advanced players. These two things we know have to be Metroid.
I’m not sure I would place Metroid as an ‘open world’ type game… not like Zelda. But it does seem clear Metroid is about isolation.
Why is it that when I was still fairly new to Minecraft that it felt like Metroid? In some ways, Minecraft is like Metroid. You start on the surface, and you create vertical shafts (by digging down) that lead to different areas with nasty things lurking in the dark. People talk about the rage of digging games such as Minecraft or Terraria or even Steamworld Dig… but Metroid did it first. You weren’t digging, but you were exploring. And you found ancient technology.
I have been told one game is out that has ‘mastered’ the Metroid. I have not played it yet, so I cannot say. This game is Axiom Verge. What say you, reader?
Above: Did Axiom Verge do what Sakamoto cannot?
Malstrom's Articles News 