My friend and I have recently made a deal to finish each other's #1 favourite games. His was Metroid Prime and so I just spent my Christmas holiday soldiering through that.
Some disclaimers: Firstly I am not a fan of ambiguity. I don't like being lost or having no direction. I cannot stand a game wasting my time. Metroid style games infuriate me for this reason. The only game in this genre I'd completed before was Headlander, and I loved that mostly for the relatively clear direction while still being able to explore should I choose and find secrets.
Secondly, I'm playing the Trilogy version on the Wii so expect complaints about controls. Thirdly, I played on the 'Normal mode' which I have since learned is actually an 'easy' mode made for the Trilogy version. I was unaware.
--------
The complaints that are almost certainly my own fault:
This was not the first time I had attempted to play Metroid Prime but it was the first serious attempt I'd given at finishing it. (previously having only just gotten Charge Beam before putting the game away). My biggest initial gripe is how clumsy the controls feel. You get used to it, and by the end of the game I had few problems but it never ever feels right. It made Samus feel more like a puppet I was handling via marionette rather than actually controlling a character. This is not the games fault however, and while it did exacerbate my frustration it was not the cause of it.
I also could not stand the slow meander whenever you get a new item and finding all the areas that it 'unlocks' and hoping that it's actually progress rather than another missile expansion. 5-10 minutes apiece going to each new place is just so much wasted time. But that's purely a preference thing and I get that fans love that stuff.
Complaints that are kinda my fault but the game is also at fault:
Primarily I felt the game lacked tension. This is very likely due to playing on the "Normal" mode, the enemies did practically no damage, and in turn I also did practically no damage so every fight is more a battle of attrition. Learning the enemy patterns is simple (for the most part every boss only had one or two that were recycled endlessly) and this is only further amplified by the lack of damage on all parties making fights feel tedious, and the sense of relief coming from a feeling of "finally this bit is over" rather than actual relief of tension from an intimidating scenario. Omega Pirate, Meta-Ridley and the final boss are particularly bad with only really having 2-3 attacks per form and incredibly predictable patterns. Dishonorable mention to Meta-Ridley's ground form that has "1/5" the amount of HP and yet takes several times the number of hits. Cheap and transparent artificial difficulty.
While the control issues stemming from the wii version are plentiful they are not the only ones. The grapple beam is absolutely borked with several grapple points simply not working except for very specific angles, and having to do multiple grapples in a row is a chore. I had my friend (a Metroid veteran) play these sections as well to confirm that there is definitely something fucky with how grappling works in some sections. Lock-on targeting also has several issues with locks sometimes disengaging for no discernible reason or even just not activating at all despite looking directly at the enemy. Switching beams and visors is nowhere near as snappy as it needs to be considering the types of problems the game throws at you (again, this is a Wii problem).
Complaints that are absolutely the game's fault:
Many enemies don't feel like obstacles to overcome but more nuisances to fill in the gaps. Fission Metroids, Jelzaps and Chozo Ghosts are the most egregious of these types of enemies, the latter of which is one of the laziest enemies in the game. There is a complete lack of threat with the Chozo Ghosts. They dim the lights which is more annoying than anything else and to defeat them you simply have to wait for them to stop zipping around while they fire single shots that will miss more often than not, and are beyond simple to dodge otherwise. Couple this with having them appear in every other room in the Ruins and it just reeks of careless design.
Many of the weapon upgrades seemed superfluous, particularly the Wave/Ice/Plasma upgrades. I found myself trying to use them against enemies and bosses and found they were near-useless in any combat scenario. Bosses seemed to take almost no significant damage from them, and considering the amount of resources it uses it was simply not worth it and I found myself ignoring them entirely.
Many times I found myself stuck on geometry as well which was especially annoying in boss fights. The entire water section on the Tallon Overworld was a nightmare (mostly due to the aforementioned Jelzaps) and I was able to get all the way deep into the area (thinking that you'd be rewarded with Gravity Suit at the end so that you could immediately see how useful it was) before the game politely informed me that the Gravity suit was not here, and only then did it inform me it was all the way back in Phendrana Drifts. That is not a fun trek and I don't know if I just got unlucky but that was a total ragequit moment. Fuck that.
Things I loved:
Despite all of the above, I had a really good time with Metroid Prime for the most part. Enough to be open to continuing the trilogy and preparing for Prime 4 on the Switch as I become more familiar with the conventions of Metroid games and less frustrated by my perceived flaws in their fundamental design philosophy. I really loved some of the combat encounters, particularly anything and everything to do with the Space Pirates (with one exception mentioned above) and felt they were used to great effect and proper threats. Satisfying to overcome and resulted in a couple of close calls even on the very watered-down difficulty.
I absolutely adore the Scan mechanic, allowing the player to not only gain a knowledge of the world built but also glimpses of things to come, motivations for the bad guys, in-game context for why and when the difficulty is ramping up. Just lots of really good stuff here and something I'm eager to explore again in future entries if it stays. Something I'd love to see used in more games.
Things I liked:
Contrary to popular opinion I didn't find the music to be anything special but it wasn't bad. It just didn't hit the notes the same way for me. Pleasant enough though and suited the areas. I felt that the combat was decent when the enemy design was on point, and there were some neat puzzles to solve. Nothing mindblowing but it was competent.
Conclusion:
A game with many flaws. A halfway decent FPS, a halfway decent puzzle-platformer, great world-building but poor design choices result in a middling experience for me and definitely not a game that is turning me around on the wonders of exploration and Metroidvania/Adventure-Platformers in general.
Some disclaimers: Firstly I am not a fan of ambiguity. I don't like being lost or having no direction. I cannot stand a game wasting my time. Metroid style games infuriate me for this reason. The only game in this genre I'd completed before was Headlander, and I loved that mostly for the relatively clear direction while still being able to explore should I choose and find secrets.
Secondly, I'm playing the Trilogy version on the Wii so expect complaints about controls. Thirdly, I played on the 'Normal mode' which I have since learned is actually an 'easy' mode made for the Trilogy version. I was unaware.
--------
The complaints that are almost certainly my own fault:
This was not the first time I had attempted to play Metroid Prime but it was the first serious attempt I'd given at finishing it. (previously having only just gotten Charge Beam before putting the game away). My biggest initial gripe is how clumsy the controls feel. You get used to it, and by the end of the game I had few problems but it never ever feels right. It made Samus feel more like a puppet I was handling via marionette rather than actually controlling a character. This is not the games fault however, and while it did exacerbate my frustration it was not the cause of it.
I also could not stand the slow meander whenever you get a new item and finding all the areas that it 'unlocks' and hoping that it's actually progress rather than another missile expansion. 5-10 minutes apiece going to each new place is just so much wasted time. But that's purely a preference thing and I get that fans love that stuff.
Complaints that are kinda my fault but the game is also at fault:
Primarily I felt the game lacked tension. This is very likely due to playing on the "Normal" mode, the enemies did practically no damage, and in turn I also did practically no damage so every fight is more a battle of attrition. Learning the enemy patterns is simple (for the most part every boss only had one or two that were recycled endlessly) and this is only further amplified by the lack of damage on all parties making fights feel tedious, and the sense of relief coming from a feeling of "finally this bit is over" rather than actual relief of tension from an intimidating scenario. Omega Pirate, Meta-Ridley and the final boss are particularly bad with only really having 2-3 attacks per form and incredibly predictable patterns. Dishonorable mention to Meta-Ridley's ground form that has "1/5" the amount of HP and yet takes several times the number of hits. Cheap and transparent artificial difficulty.
While the control issues stemming from the wii version are plentiful they are not the only ones. The grapple beam is absolutely borked with several grapple points simply not working except for very specific angles, and having to do multiple grapples in a row is a chore. I had my friend (a Metroid veteran) play these sections as well to confirm that there is definitely something fucky with how grappling works in some sections. Lock-on targeting also has several issues with locks sometimes disengaging for no discernible reason or even just not activating at all despite looking directly at the enemy. Switching beams and visors is nowhere near as snappy as it needs to be considering the types of problems the game throws at you (again, this is a Wii problem).
Complaints that are absolutely the game's fault:
Many enemies don't feel like obstacles to overcome but more nuisances to fill in the gaps. Fission Metroids, Jelzaps and Chozo Ghosts are the most egregious of these types of enemies, the latter of which is one of the laziest enemies in the game. There is a complete lack of threat with the Chozo Ghosts. They dim the lights which is more annoying than anything else and to defeat them you simply have to wait for them to stop zipping around while they fire single shots that will miss more often than not, and are beyond simple to dodge otherwise. Couple this with having them appear in every other room in the Ruins and it just reeks of careless design.
Many of the weapon upgrades seemed superfluous, particularly the Wave/Ice/Plasma upgrades. I found myself trying to use them against enemies and bosses and found they were near-useless in any combat scenario. Bosses seemed to take almost no significant damage from them, and considering the amount of resources it uses it was simply not worth it and I found myself ignoring them entirely.
Many times I found myself stuck on geometry as well which was especially annoying in boss fights. The entire water section on the Tallon Overworld was a nightmare (mostly due to the aforementioned Jelzaps) and I was able to get all the way deep into the area (thinking that you'd be rewarded with Gravity Suit at the end so that you could immediately see how useful it was) before the game politely informed me that the Gravity suit was not here, and only then did it inform me it was all the way back in Phendrana Drifts. That is not a fun trek and I don't know if I just got unlucky but that was a total ragequit moment. Fuck that.
Things I loved:
Despite all of the above, I had a really good time with Metroid Prime for the most part. Enough to be open to continuing the trilogy and preparing for Prime 4 on the Switch as I become more familiar with the conventions of Metroid games and less frustrated by my perceived flaws in their fundamental design philosophy. I really loved some of the combat encounters, particularly anything and everything to do with the Space Pirates (with one exception mentioned above) and felt they were used to great effect and proper threats. Satisfying to overcome and resulted in a couple of close calls even on the very watered-down difficulty.
I absolutely adore the Scan mechanic, allowing the player to not only gain a knowledge of the world built but also glimpses of things to come, motivations for the bad guys, in-game context for why and when the difficulty is ramping up. Just lots of really good stuff here and something I'm eager to explore again in future entries if it stays. Something I'd love to see used in more games.
Things I liked:
Contrary to popular opinion I didn't find the music to be anything special but it wasn't bad. It just didn't hit the notes the same way for me. Pleasant enough though and suited the areas. I felt that the combat was decent when the enemy design was on point, and there were some neat puzzles to solve. Nothing mindblowing but it was competent.
Conclusion:
A game with many flaws. A halfway decent FPS, a halfway decent puzzle-platformer, great world-building but poor design choices result in a middling experience for me and definitely not a game that is turning me around on the wonders of exploration and Metroidvania/Adventure-Platformers in general.
