SC on Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

They took the word "finally" off the end of the title.

One of the highlights of this past E3 was Nintendo's seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of Metroid Prime 4.  It was just a title graphic, but it did a lot to revive some ounce of faith in Nintendo not letting their non-Mario or Zelda franchises waste away.  I was particularly excited about this because, though I haven't articulated this much in my videos (since Nintendo copyright flags my references to it), I'm a big fan of the Metroid games.  Metroid was the first game I played on the NES that wasn't Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, and I got hooked quickly.  I also sunk more hours than I can count into Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Game Boy and my copy of Super Metroid is still in good condition, box and all.

So you can imagine how I reacted, after already losing my shit over the Prime 4 announcement, when Nintendo's Treehouse segment started with the reveal of Metroid: Samus Returns.  I thought for sure I was daydreaming.  Two Metroid game announcements in a single E3?  And one's getting extra special amiibo?  Fuck going to a convention, I'm stocking up on Metroid gear!

The one thing that gave me pause about it was the developer, Mercury Steam.

One of those "Wait, what?" moments.

Mercury Steam's reputation to the gaming public was heavily marred in the eyes of many.  Their most high-profile games to that point were Clive Barker's Jericho, which was meh, and the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games.  The first one was generally received well despite some shortcomings, but the second one was panned to the point that it lingered with Mercury Steam like a fart in a blanket fort.

Once they were revealed as the developers, my friend Unreal and I were going back and forth about this on the RiverCityGamers podcast and privately.  At some point we both agreed that we hoped Mercury Steam would "pull a Double Helix."

Double Helix Games was a punchline for their work on middling or bad titles like Silent Hill: Homecoming and the Battleship tie-in game.  Then they worked on the first season of Killer Instinct and the newest Strider game and were seen in a much better light.  That was the hope we had after seeing the announcement and the gameplay demos which followed.

That being said, Mercury Steam pulled a Double Helix.

And there was much rejoicing.

Good thing they did, too.  I spent a couple hours driving to a store to make sure I got the special edition.  Just saying, it probably helped that they were working closely with a company hellbent on getting first-party titles right (lately, at least) like Nintendo instead of Konami, which was approaching the height of its "I don't give a fuck" attitude toward video games at the time.

Samus Returns may be advertised as a "reimagining" of Metroid II, but that's only part of what it actually is.  It has the same general sequence of events from the game—hunting down Metroids, getting the lava levels to drop to explore more areas, etc.—but it also borrows elements from other games in the series, namely Super Metroid; things like Super Missiles, the Grapple Beam, and Power Bombs are present.  It borrows the idea of unique animations for kills on some encounters like Other M had and also adds things that aren't in any Metroid games, namely the Aeion abilities and some new boss encounters, effectively making it a quasi-new experience.

Not that one, thankfully.

Control-wise, there is a slight learning curve to Samus Returns.  Holding the R button to use Missiles, Super Missiles and such takes some getting used to for someone like me, who's been conditioned by games like Super Metroid to just press a button to switch to them.  However, it didn't take more than a half-hour after getting Missiles for me to make the adjustment.  By the time I was a couple hours in, I wasn't even thinking about it.  Even hopping around walls and onto ceilings with the Spider/Spring Ball for some more complicated puzzles wasn't an issue.  Even the melee counter, a key feature for dealing with boss or miniboss encounters and another way to handle regular enemies, works well.

Samus' movement controls are modeled to take full advantage of the platform it's on, and maybe a little common sense about what she might be capable of.  Rather than being locked to eight directions all the time, she can aim in eight directions while moving or absolutely anywhere by holding L and aiming manually.  Ledge grabbing makes navigation easier, as does being able to aim and fire in most directions while hanging from a ledge.  From this position Samus can jump off, hoist up, drop off, or climb up while rolling into a ball.  The one thing that I can say is nerfed about her movement is wall-jumping, which can't be abused the way it is in games like Super Metroid but is still simple to pull off.

Among my memories of it, one of the things I distinctly remember about Metroid II was getting lost thanks to the lack of an in-game map.  Samus Returns not only rectifies this by having one, but makes it so you can add multi-colored pins to the map for things you might have to come back for later.  It's minor, but still handy for marking passages or items not otherwise explicitly shown on the map.  The one thing that could make it better would be adding captions to said pins.

Met Raid: Sam Is Return is good goode.

Having to go back to a previous state, either due to a severe fuck up or just plain missing something you might want or need, is simple as the game allows you to load previous checkpoints or saves at any time.  In terms of the user interface and controls, Samus Returns is made about as versatile and accessible as possible.  It clearly has a modern audience in mind, but throws in more than enough nostalgia and adherence to the original Metroid II to keep old schoolers happy.

The environments are well done in their own right.  While the Game Boy original largely had flat black backgrounds, here every area has unique backgrounds to each area and areas within those areas.  I'd frequently glance at the background and see machinery moving or collapsing, alien lifeforms resting or moving along the walls, or storm cells on the not-so-friendly surface of the planet.

This is complemented by a soundtrack which borrows elements from a few different Metroid games, namely a couple tunes heavily inspired by Super Metroid's soundtrack, and even borrows a few sound effects from it.  The songs range from haunting to energizing and almost always work well with each action and environment, save for maybe the first part of the credits roll.  When the theme for the surface of SR388 started up, I was locked in.

Me, shortly after hearing the Brinstar "Red Soil Wetland" music.

Enemy variety is a little lacking in some parts, with a couple particular ones getting palette-swapped and given slightly different abilities.  I'm talking about common enemies, not the various Metroid mutations you hunt throughout the game.  That said, it didn't bother me in the slightest as Metroid II had the same issue.  Not excusing it, just saying it's a common thread.

Boss encounters are challenging at first, but still generally simple to figure out what to do to beat them.  That's only half of it, however, as most fights in this game require equal parts strategy and proper execution of said strategy.  The Queen Metroid and the Diggernaut in particular have a heavy emphasis on execution.

I've completed the game once (in about 10 hours) and am going back to 100% the game, since each area has several sections with items you can't reach without power ups from the later stages.  This is made less of a chore by the teleportation stations scattered around the map, which can send Samus from one end of an area to another or to another area entirely.  I, for one, welcome this as a way to take the tedium out of backtracking for completion's sake.

There's another reason I'm doing this, which is the Chozo Memories gallery, somewhat similar to what Prime offered but in a different format.  Tied to item completion, it shows images of the Chozo civilization before it completely fell to shit, which are divided into four parts, each unlocking separately based on your progress.  I'm a sucker for lore stuff like this so I'm anxious to find out for myself what all of them are.  It's a nice incentive to not just drop the game after getting through it once.

Me, going over the Bloody Roar manga again.

I can't speak much for amiibo compatibility, though I did use my Samus Smash Bros. amiibo on it just to see what it did.  Doing so gave an extra missile reserve tank and a concept art gallery (about 35 images) after beating the game.  Other amiibos have the similar effect of unlocking items, but also grant things like a sound test option, Metroid II art for the gallery, the Fusion suit, and a "Metroid marker" of sorts for the map.

Metroid: Samus Returns is exactly what I hoped it would be.  It's a great take on a classic formula with some new tidbits thrown in that make it a unique experience from its source material.  It sucks Another Metroid 2 Remake got taken down, but it's nice to see that it wasn't in vain considering how well the official game turned out.  Despite my concerns, leading up to its release I was hoping I'd be able to say what I'm about to say, and now I can finally say it.

Good job, Mercury Steam.