Metroid, Metroid 2, and Super are my definition of the Metroid series. And why shouldn’t they be? They were the ones made by the original Metroid team, who knew what they were doing. I don’t care how many Metroid games come out to make those three a small minority (Which is inevitably going to be a lot, since Metroid is becoming one of Nintendo?s main franchises). Those three games will ALWAYS define the series, even when Metroid Party, Metroid Kart, and Paper Metroid hit the shelves.
>_>
But M1-3 all have pretty different atmospheres anyway. Sure, 1 and 3 have a few similar areas and concepts, but the way they’re laid out and played still feels very dissimilar. MF was the closest thing to SM in terms of actual ‘feel’ and atmosphere due to the graphics, music, and enemies, and no amount of HAL ripoffs will change that. M2 on the other hand had an entirely different design from the other two in the original trilogy, being designed very linearily (oh, wait, it has no map? oh, WELL then, it must be identical to SM’s nonlinear mapped system, then!), and featuring no space pirates or any bosses save for the metroid mutations, which are completely different experiences than the 2-5 giant monster bosses of the other two… especially once Super added random Zelda-esque weakpoints instead of M1’s “shoot them until they boom”.
But if any game today made this many changes from the formula, or probably even fewer, you’d scream ‘wtf this isn’t metroid.’
To which I just have to wonder, what the fuck IS metroid to you, then?
Can I really explain that?
It isn’t about bosses, maps and Space Pirates though, like you seem to think.
First, you say:
Yet when I point out that there is no specific atmosphere, you say that doesn’t matter.
Something here just does not add up.
Correct. Bosses + maps + Space Pirates =/= atmosphere.
I can respect this idea, since it’s something that I happened to like about Prime 1.
But I dont WANT Metroid prime 3 to feel oldschool. I want it to FEEL New, and Next gen, but still be Metroid, and I think it’ll accomplish that. I doubt that Prime 3 has ditched ALL of those elements, since I KNOW that you will be alone is SOME areas. The way I see it, they’re giving FAR more potential for Variety, and a fresh experience. I promise you, if they remade prime 1, then game critics would say that it brought nothing new to the table. The new gameplay elements they’ve added probably work better with the new setup, and the way I see it, it WILL feel fresh, without betraying the series. I can respect you not wanting change in that way, but it’s inevitable for the series to evolve.
Prime 1-Evolution
Prime 3-Revolution
I dunno, I’d say that having a map vs. being lost can change the atmosphere quite a bit, as can what enemies you fight, as can a game being a linear travel down with occasional branches vs being a sprawling exploration-based adventure in all directions. And then there’s M1 and 3 with their themed areas, and 2 with… rock, rock, a bit of metal, more rock, rock of a slightly different shade… it may be partially due to the limits of black and white, but it still greatly affects the atmosphere, as do the irritating beeping “songs” that play in most areas.
Oh, one other thing–why do the GF troopers in the intro bother you so damn much? Super Metroid’s intro featured Samus interacting with other humans, but after that they never showed up again. THey might be a little more longlasting this time (spilling over into the ‘Ceres Station’ type of area, etc), but knowing the Metroid style that they said they were sticking to, they’re most likely not gonna show up much further in…
The atmosphere I’m talking about it this:
The fact that, no matter the difficulty of the game, you still feel overwhelmed with an alien planet to tackle all by your lonely mysterious bounty hunter self. Getting lost in strange environments and fighting your way to full power.
EDIT:
Yeah, In cutscenes before the game even started. It set the story for the entire game, instead of the story progressing throughout the game, which would kill the atmosphere I just described.
Meh, can’t argue with that. Still, it makes the game feel so limited Storywise. I mean honestly, Prime 1’s story was interesting, but it wasn’t a fraction of what made the game compelling (the atmosphere and gameplay). Metroid prime 3 will finally give motivation otherwise for completing objectives, which I’ve always loved. Twilight princess did a good job of this, and Metroid prime 2 did a good job at first (with the whole GF thing).
Metroid prime was fine without it, but honestly, if Metroid prime came out next month with enhanced graphics and control, would it impress you? It might be a good game, but critics and gamers woudl attack it for not being innovative or fresh enough. I just think you shoul dembrace change a little more. Give it a chance at least.
I welcome change (believe it or not), but story isn’t compatible with Metroid the way it is with Zelda.
And you don’t know that Corruption won’t be that way. Perhaps after the intro at the GF base you’ll only see the other hunters again as bosses, and thus you WILL be alone, save for hostile aliens.
But you’re so damn dedicated to hating it that you judge it before we know nearly enough for you to make that call.
Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’ll be a fucking awesome game anyway, or maybe it’ll suck. But either way, we can’t know yet.
And heaven forbid the story ever progress. >_>
And either way… it could very well go the same way as Super, but more immersive. Just picture Super’s intro as playable, then you get the prompt to go hunt down the metroid larva, you fly off, and … never see any of those people again, just exploring a hostile alien planet alone as you hunt for your mission objective. Then a plot twist comes after you find the objective, maybe there’s one quick cutscene of orders–or maybe even none at all, as Samus just turns to what she knows is her new objective. It’d still be the same game, just as “good”, except with Samus walking around in the intro instead of being a drawing. Why couldn’t Corruption go this way? Though again, it’s too early–we can’t know, so why judge it already?
Edit: “Story isn’t compatible with Metroid”? That makes no bloody sense. Metroid has always had a pretty good story overall.
Hell, you were a fan of the first Prime, yeah? It had plenty of story progression in the way of cutscenes. Story does not require dialogue and interaction, especially not beyond the intro.
A story that progresses, I mean. <_<
In Prime, you find out more about the Pirates, phazon, and Tallon IV along the way (and it’s pretty cool how they did that with scans as to not kill the atmosphere), but you leave the planet the same way you came aboard, with no major plot twists along the way.
But seriously, what you’re saying right there: I can’t judge this game yet because there is a possibility that they’ve shown us nothing but the bad?
Maybe so. After all, they’ve shown us nothing but the intro. Maybe it starts off like shit but develops into a masterpiece. >_>
Though everyone who’s played it says it starts off well anyway–everyone but the insane zealot fanboy ‘purists’, that is.
Come on, Daz, don’t you think that’s just a little bit naive? “She likes it”. The whole Corruption Alien Symbiote ripoff is more lame than the whole light/dark thing. You can call in your ship to fight your battles for you… the list is endless. <_<
I LIKE calling in the ship. I don’t know what you mean by alien symbiote ripoff. Though…
“She likes it” was REALLY wtf. I’ll give you that. But hey, lots of commercials for good games sucked.
I would have said Spiderman 3, but the alien symbiote that “corrupts” and slowly takes over Peter Parker has been around a lot longer than that movie. =P
Well it kinda reminds me of Alien Resurrection… and hell, Metroid’s ripped off–er, I mean, been inspired by–Alien so many times by now, it doesn’t even phase me >_>
The same thing can be said about Metroid and Zelda, and light/dark has LttP written all over it.
What does that have to do with this discussion?
You were phased by the light/dark worlds, right?