|
Post by Sarge on Sept 27, 2021 17:03:47 GMT -5
Oh, right, that's one of the ones that was ported to Dreamcast - it originally ran on Naomi hardware. I beat it last year, and gave it a 6/10. Decent, but nothing mind-blowing for me.
EDIT: Oh, right, there are more of them. Guess the one I played through was released in 2003. Don't know about the others.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Oct 13, 2021 12:15:21 GMT -5
(always liked the original left cover a tad more for nostalgia)
METROID IS A GIRL!?
The Metroid madness for me continues. I didn't have Metroid NES on HLTB, so you know what that means. Surprisingly got one of the lowest times on there for basically 100% too haha, 1h45m. But I've probably beaten it 20 times by now? I also tend to play with a map thesedays, but since the game is still kind of non-linear with the pickups, it's interesting to optimize routes differently. I didn't bother with Wave Beam at all this time, since you need Ice for items and getting by the Metroid's. Wave makes a lot of areas easier, but you can get by with Screw Attack. One weird thing I noticed this time around, when I had a screen full of Energy Tanks and still saw more on the map, I was like wait... have I ever gotten everything in this game? But then I guess they cap out at 6, even though you can find more. Acquiring more than 6 doesn't extend it even further off screen or anything.
No doubt the original Metroid isn't for everyone thesedays. The "issues" it might have are kind of obvious:
- Annoying password system - Start/Respawn default health set to 30 and if you ever die, you have to farm a lot for health and missiles
- Even with High Jump and Ice Beam, you can still get stuck in some areas in the sand/lava etc
For me, I still love it and think it feels great. Won't be the last time I replay this masterpiece.
Looks like I last played it in 2014 on the WiiU, along with Super Metroid and Fusion. I played some randomizer runs of Super in 2018. But I don't have the base game on HLTB either... you know what that means! If I do another quick 100% attempt run today, I predict landing on 97% or so haha. I always seem to miss a pickup or two nowadays. For the most part though, this game is part of my DNA nowadays. I've discovered some cool rom hacks for it recently that are expansions layering on new areas on top of the base game. I think that'll be really cool to check out, the aesthetics for one of them look outstanding too (Project Base and Ancient Chozo). But yeah, need the OG on my HLTB list!
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Oct 13, 2021 13:49:17 GMT -5
The original Famicom box art is the best:
The Famicom Metroid is a 10/10 for me, because it uses memory saves, unlike the NES Metroid's asinine passwords, and also has richer music due to the Famicom's wavetable synthesis. Another positive of the FDS version, is it uses random number generation for the directional patterns of many enemies and projectiles. That is possible due to the RNG in the FDS BIOS. The NES version has set patterns for these which do not offer the same level of challenge. The FDS version has less slowdown than the NES version, most noticeable in boss battles, and in Tourian when using the screw attack. This is because the lack of the wavetable chip (RP2C33) of the NES version requires dedicating more CPU calculations to providing its sound effects. So I suggest for your next replay, give the FDS version a try. My only complaint is the FDS version doesn't include the ability to wear the Justin Bailey suit.
As for the NES Metroid, I'd give it a 9/10, still excellent of course. I beat it once in the late '80s, then again in the early '00s. As a kid the game was mysterious and creepy, but constantly compelling. As a young adult, I didn't find it as creepy, but I appreciated the music more and the brilliant hands-off approach to just letting the player explore and figure out the alien world on their own. It's a brilliant game and genuine classic.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Oct 13, 2021 14:22:32 GMT -5
I was THIS close to playing the FDS version, since I knew of the musical differences (admittedly minor though). But I didn't know about those other details. It is quite easy to manipulate enemies and their patterns in the original, mainly the flying enemies. Not being able to do that as easily would be more challenging and interesting for sure.
From the original Metroid to Dread, I'm still always kind of shocked this is a Nintendo franchise. Some people put it best recently, it's still kind of like Alien but under the somewhat more kid friendly lens of Nintendo. But yeah, from the game design to the themes this series is all about, it'll forever amaze me that they made it. The continued existence of Metroid will always feel like a miracle to me.
I looked for Sakimoto's name in the credits but didn't see it. Guess he came onboard for Super and on, but most of us here know that Gunpei's involvement with the first three is probably the secret sauce to them having a different vibe. I still think most facts lead to Sakimoto being the reason Other M has its story issues, but beyond that I'm pretty curious again about just how involved he's been with the series for nearly 30 years now. Unsung hero of Nintendo... something tells me him and Miyamoto "I just don't get it" (Super Metroid) aren't eye to eye on game design. lol
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Oct 13, 2021 14:55:34 GMT -5
IIRC in the original Metroid credits, Yoshio Sakamoto is credited as "Shikamoto"... he was very much involved with the original game. I remember reading an interview with Sakamoto where he said the film Alien was a big influence. By way of the protagonist being female, and H. R. Giger's world/monster design in the film. That stuff translated into Metroid noticeably. To see what a Metroid game headed by Gunpei Yokoi and excluding Sakamoto entirely is like, hit up Metroid II: Return of Samus.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Oct 13, 2021 15:04:43 GMT -5
IIRC in the original Metroid credits, Yoshio Sakamoto is credited as "Shikamoto"... he was very much involved with the original game. I remember reading an interview with Sakamoto where he said the film Alien was a big influence. By way of the protagonist being female, and H. R. Giger's world/monster design in the film. That stuff translated into Metroid noticeably. To see what a Metroid game headed by Gunpei Yokoi and excluding Sakamoto entirely is like, hit up Metroid II: Return of Samus. Dude, since 8bit era credits are generally terrible and filled with misspellings or nicknames, I DID see "Shikamoto" scroll through and had a strange hunch... Guess I was spelling it wrong myself, you're right that it's Yoshio Sakamoto. Metroid II is definitely different. It's a lot more linear in ways and the focus on having to hunt down X amount of key enemies is unique. It and the formula itself isn't my favorite for the series, but I do appreciate that it has a different style, along with two excellent remakes. The Spider Ball ability is really creative and out there too. It worked in Prime 2-3 with some on-rails tracks and all, but it's interesting that they haven't done it again in the other 2D games. I figure it's far too complex of an ability to design around haha. They could make it a late game ability perhaps but I guess by then, you generally have Space Jump and whatnot for maneuvering around in the end. Also for Alien... Chozo statue?
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Oct 13, 2021 16:13:42 GMT -5
The Chozos are certainly an example of the Giger artistic influence. - After failing last week to get Heretic to run on my old desktop, today I was successful. Turned out all I needed to do was go into GOG's DOSBox configuration for the game, and change the display adapter from OpenGL to DirectDraw, and that did the trick. So I put some time into Heretic this afternoon, managed to beat the first stage, then died immediately on the second one. After not having played Heretic since 1994, what struck me was how smooth the engine is despite adding look up/look down, how good the 2D graphical elements are, and that the music is enjoyable. You can tell id Software didn't make this though, as the general "feel" of the game is more contemplative than Doom, but that's Raven's touch. I know there's a lot of Doom fans on this board, but did anybody here ever beat Heretic? Or Hexen?
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Oct 13, 2021 17:53:38 GMT -5
Ex: I beat Heretic for the first time in 2018 and I think it slotted into my top 10 for retro games at least that year.
Specifically I beat Heretic - Shadow of the Serpent Riders, I think that version includes an additional episode or two. Probably played on the default difficulty and clocked in 9h25m on Steam.
I still prefer to play original Doom engine games without vertical mouse look actually. Keep it authentic and smooth. But yeah I had a great time with Heretic. It really doesn't try at all to be more than a Doom facelift but that worked for me. I think I recall it having a lot more weird special weapons and stuff though. Not as balanced as Doom's arsenal. Maybe the expansions added or removed a weapon here and there too.
Hexen has a hub world and some light RPG elements. Like Stryfe, I can't really get into Doom engine games that tried to flex the engine like this and do more than shooting. I don't know. Maybe you'll dig it though. It's certainly different unlike Heretic which is just medieval Doom.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Oct 13, 2021 20:48:36 GMT -5
Cool that you beat Heretic, didn't realize it was that long (I've got the same version). I've also dabbled in Hexen and Hexen II in the past. Hexen II definitely feels like Quake, IIRC it uses that engine actually.
I bought and played the Strife CD version when it first released, I'm very familiar with it. I did not finish Strife back in the '90s though. At the time the idea of an FPS/RPG hybrid didn't really click with me*, I might like it more these days though.
*With the exception of the original System Shock, which DID click with me.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Oct 13, 2021 21:16:54 GMT -5
I picked up the Heretic and Hexen games on GOG not long ago. I've been meaning to give at least the first game some run.
|
|