565th played so far
Genre: Platform/Shoot Em Up
Platform: Gameboy Advance
Year of Release: 2004
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
More 2D Metroid! This game brings us back to the stylings of Super Metroid and the like after our interesting trek into Metroid Prime‘s 3D world, doing so as an enhanced remake of the original Metroid game.
In this game it means that it starts the same and has the same basic structure, but expands by adding a lot of secrets, some abilities and so on. The other Metroid platformers have been enjoyable, so I’m hoping this will follow suit.
Our Thoughts
I’m not sure how I would have felt about this game if the original had been on the list. There have been some unnecessary remakes on the game before (Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes for one), but here the original isn’t listed. I have played bits of it, but the difference is so much more noticeable here. There is a significant graphical upgrade – NES to GBA does that for you, and the game takes full advantage of this.
The main gameplay is pretty much what you’d expect from it – wander around giant cave systems, screen by screen, avoiding and killing enemies while the world slowly opens up as you gain more powers and abilities. You can backtrack for extra secrets but still have a partially prescribed path to get to your real goals. The standard Metroid abilities are here – things like rockets and bombs, map and save rooms, and plenty of enemy variety.
Still, it pushes you forward by always having more barriers as you unlock places, keeping up the pressure to keep exploring. The main blocker are the boss battles, big and one that I just as often seemed to reach it half dead without resources. Relying on save points here feels annoying, even if it’s understandable.
Final Thoughts
Metroid Zero Mission is a fun Metroidvania game. The original’s design shines through, either that or it was updated really well here. It teaches you the game without saying much leads you without often being prescriptive. The graphics create a good environment, with differing cave environments that set the different parts of the game apart. I’ll be playing more soon.