I wanted to play Metroid again, and having a handheld capable of playing all classic games in one, I wanted to give it a go!
Metroid 1 was done with Zero Mission. I played and beat NES Metroid and can confidently say it’s not my cup of tea. Love Zero Mission and love replaying it.
Metroid 2 was done with AM2R. This was my first time playing and beating AM2R, and a handheld is the right way to play it. Might try to beat the original and the 3DS remake… eventually but it’s not my favorited Metroid.
Super Metroid. I have the snes game, I played it here and… it’s a love hate relationship. I played and beat it before, but not in a long time. And coming off of 2 fusion clones, the controls are way too floaty and watered down for my poor muscle memory. I also got lost… a lot. And it took my 4 hours of game time. About 2 weeks of on and off play time. Ultimately I like it, but this is the oldest I can recommend anyone going back in Metroid.
Metroid Fusion. My personal fav since it was my first game (the save battery died in my original game as a kid and I can beat this game on 2 AA before they die). Snappy fast smooth and I just love this game and replaying again for the untenth time.
I remember trying to beat Metroid fusion under 2h as a kid. It seemed unreachable and soon after a bit of practice it was even easy. Collecting items and doing record time is another story.
You seem to have honorable stats if I remember correctly.
I think Super and Fusion are perfectly played together. Kind of like Ocarina of Time and Majora’s mask.
The former “perfected” the formula, the latter corrupts it and subverts your expectations.
All are good on their own, but together they sing
I did a similar thing earlier this year too! Except without AM2R since I was just playing on NSO.
It was my first time playing ZM and Fusion, and my first time completing any of them.
Loved Zero Mission. I think it’s now my favourite besides Prime. Super Metroid was as fantastic and deeply atmospheric as I remembered from my childhood, and the fact both games use the same world layout was lovely and deepened the experience for me. But I found myself missing the QOL improvements from ZM - especially the map.
By comparison, I enjoyed Fusion, but found it far too linear. The annoying computer shuttles you from objective to objective and it felt like a disappointing deviation from the open exploration of the other games. Definitely the weakest of the three because of that, IMO. But as you say, it was your childhood fave and you can’t argue with those memories haha
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I have AM2R but I haven’t played it yet. My favourite game in the series is Metroid 2, followed by Super, and then the original Metroid for NES.
It’s funny how you mention getting lost. I love getting lost in games and trying to find my way out. I love that the first 2 games in the series don’t have a map. A lot of people really seem to hate that though.
Metroid always felt like you could get lost, but the environment had enough clues to get you back on track. Map has holes in the area here. Progression traps you there. There were times in Super, where the game almost gives you that sierra moon logic to get yourself out. Thankfully it doesn’t, but it’s mighty close.
Watch out for La-Mulana, especially the original Windows version. That game has some insane moon logic puzzles! And it’s an absolutely sprawling Metroidvania with an Indiana Jones theme! Love it!
Heheh, I completed Metroid 1 in one session the other week. No maps or guides; second-best ending. Got Varia suit early by bomb jumping. Never got Wave beam or Screw Attack.
I don’t think I’ve finished any of those. Played through like 2/3ds of a couple? Maybe I should try, I am a chronic game-not-finisher. When I get near the end of a game, I stop. It’s a weird psychological thing with me.
Hummm, maybe try one with a guide, get yourself through one and see if it makes the next easier.
Zero mission has an easy mode so might be beginner friendly.
Which handheld is that? Looks nice.
Anbernic RG35XX H. It’s good but you’d definitely would want to install a custom OS, like Knulli or MuOS before you use it. Makes the experience better.
Had one, can confirm these things are unusable without Knulli imo
Not OP but I’m 99% sure that’s the Anbernic RG35XXH
Zero Mission, AM2R, Super & Fusion is basically the perfect run of games. I do agree that Super Metroid is the best and if you can only play one that’s the one to go with.
If you’re able Metroid Dread on the Switch is the perfect continuation.
Also did you play AM2R on that device? I thought it only ran on Windows.
AM2R is on Portmaster, which is how I played it. Proton also lets you play on Linux if you want to there.
Dread is next, but this system isn’t powerful enough for a switch title, and I’m yet to recover from my last play through to go back to that game.
There are translation layer utilities now that allow x86 code to run on ARM architecture.
Glas you enjoyed them!
I wish I could get into it. I liked Prime, and fell in love with Prime Hunters. It just feels too “clean” for being in space.
I disagree!
Metroid prime 1 is number 4(to me at least, I didn’t have a gba until late)
Game literally says Metroid 4 in the opening cutscene. Plus Prime wasn’t made by Nintendo.
I’m not disagreeing with you, just relaying my experience.
Chronologically, it’s just after 1, starting right after Samus’s escape from Zebes. She doesn’t even leave Zebes’s star system.
When the other Prime games take place is not clear though. It would be weird to cram all of that before 2 but I don’t think there is any other hint pointing at when they could happen compared to the 1-5 series, including Prime 4.
If someone wanted a full main canon run, they’d have to insert that Other game between 3 and 4. Seriously, though, nobody deserves that punishment.
Nice looking handheld!
Try to play them in real hardware or FPGA with SNAC and a CRT. Old games are a lot more difficult today because we are adding lag (input and/or screen). I remember to play Super Metroid in emulation and the jump to wall thing was so hard because the lag. I love 2D Metroids, the 2D one in Switch is cool too.
Most of these were GBA, which I have and honestly the emulation of mGBA is spot on. SNES9x didn’t feel off from an SNES either. At least not enough to make chaining the space jump easier.
I heard from one of the reviewers that the Pocket Nova’s input lag is the same as the consoles because of the custom horizontal screen
According to this vídeo https://youtu.be/usQQ42egzus the nova has 12 frames of latency with run ahead enabled. For me thats too much lag for some retro games, like plataformers or shmups for instance.
