Metroid series

[Tuffty]

Metroid (メトロイド, Metoroido?) is a series of science fiction action-adventure video games conceived by designer Makoto Kano and artist Hiroji Kiyotake and produced by Nintendo. Metroid chronicles the missions of bounty hunter Samus Aran who protects the galaxy from the depredations of the Space Pirates and their attempts to harness the power of fictional organisms such as the eponymous Metroids. It is noted for having one of the first female protagonists in a video game, and for its nonlinear gameplay. Metroid combines the platforming of Super Mario Bros. and the exploration aspect of The Legend of Zelda with a decidedly darker atmosphere.

As of 2008, the Metroid series consists of ten games spanning most Nintendo consoles, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii, with a Twelfth installment arriving on August 31, 2010 and is the eleventh part in the Metroid story. It is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises with 16 million games sold, and all of the Metroid games have received some level of critical acclaim. Samus Aran is featured in many other Nintendo-produced games along with secondary characters such as Mother Brain and Ridley. Nintendo has adapted several Metroid games into manga, and a live-action movie has been considered.

The name "Metroid" is a portmanteau of the words "metro" (as in rapid transit) and android, and was meant to allude to the mainly underground setting of the first game as well as its robot-like protagonist

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With a new game on the horizon, as well as being an iconic game series in it's own right, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a thread to the adventures of a certain Samus Aran. First off, some more info about Metroid : Other M

Metroid: Other M​ (メトロイド　アザーエム, Metoroido Azāemu?) is a video game in development by Team Ninja and Nintendo SPD Production Group 1 (collectively called "Project M") for the Wii. It was announced by Nintendo of America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime and a trailer was briefly shown during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009. The game features gameplay in both first- and third-person perspectives. Fils-Aime stated that Metroid: Other M would "take you deeper into Samus's story", and also noted that the game would be a return to the style of the traditional series as opposed to the Prime series, though the game would have a "harder edge". The game was originally set to be released on June 27, 2010, but was later delayed to August 31. It is also scheduled for release in Japan and Australia on September 2, 2010, and in Europe on September 3, 2010. A demo was playable at the Nintendo Media Summit in San Francisco in February 2010. The game was also at E3 2010 as a playable demo.

I think Other M looks pretty cool. Not much is revealed about it, but it looks to be a very action heavy, linear game although I keep hearing reports that there are hidden areas with missile expansions and what have you, and there are areas that you can't access until you get the ability to access them later on in the game, another series staple. Not really so sure about the interaction between Samus and other people though, and nor have I heard anything about scanning, which leads me onto the next notable entries in the Metroid series, at least for me anyway, the Metroid Prime Trilogy

Metroid Prime: Trilogy is an action-adventure video game compilation developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The compilation features three games of the Metroid series—Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption—on a single dual-layer disc. Prime and Echoes, which were originally released for the Nintendo GameCube, have been updated with many of the features that were first implemented in Corruption, such as a new control scheme based on the Wii Remote and an achievement system.

The compilaton was released in North America on August 24, 2009, Europe on September 4, 2009, and in Australia on October 15, 2009. Nintendo has discontinued the title in both North America and Australia. It was not released in Japan, where the Prime and Echoes remakes were released as standalone games in the New Play Control! collection. Metroid Prime: Trilogy was well-received by critics, with much praise to the new controls.

Sorry for lack of screenshots, there's not many great ones encompassing all of them Anyway I completed the first Metroid Prime a few days ago, which I think makes it the game I've replayed through to completion the most (3 times) but it has been around 8 years since I last played it. And I was rather concerned before I played it again, in case it hadn't aged well, or if nostalgia made it seem better to me than it was now that I'm older and, a lil wiser.

Well I was wrong. It's aged very well, and I had a blast playing through it once again. I think, for me, it is the best game I've ever played. It's amazing how they can convey story without any narrative exposition you're used to like cutscenes or even dialogue, but through scanning the environment, finding out the downfall of Tallon IV and the Chozo race and exploring through the ruins of a once great civilisation. It is a lonely time spent on Tallon IV, but it is the most atmospheric game I've ever seen. The art direction shows how a game can still look so good after a long time, and the soundtrack is just fantastic, still gave me shivers listening back to it after so long.



After fumbling about with the Wii controls in the beginning, it became second nature after an hour, so it still plays just as fluently as it did back in the day, if not more so. Really, I could go on why I love the game so much (and probably will later), but even now, there's no other game on the market quite like it, except for maybe Bioshock. But the moment Samus landed on Tallon IV, in a lush green valley in stormy conditions and you look up at the sky to see raindrops hit the visor of your helmet, I was hooked into that world. 

Of course, now it's straight onto Prime 2, which will essentially be a new game as I really don't remember much about it. That could be a damning verdict on it, but I do remember enjoying it, even though it was bloody difficult.

[Tuffty]

[Tuffty]

[meowchi]

knowing team ninja i'm willing to bet they are going to include samus as a guest character for their dead or alive 3ds game. ethier her or momoji!

[Tuffty]

I think the fans would freak out at seeing Zero Suit Samus with DOA breast physics.

For me, Metroid Prime is right in my top 5 games of all time. Has some of the finest inspiring experiences I had in gaming and my favourite moment was when I reached the Phendrana Drifts for the first time. At this point you've come to realise that the planet is in disarray with a vile infection spreading across the planet, destroying a once great civilisation and rendering an entire species extinct. You've traversed through the ruins and encountered some dangerous wildlife in the process, the planet seemingly doing it's best to test you. You take the elevator up past the Magmoor Caverns and emerge out into the outskirts of the Phendrana Drifts. And the contrast to where you had just been could not be more different. Where you crossed through lava in an enclosed underground cavern, here you're in an open snowy field with cloudy skies. Where you once listened to this pounding, almost tribal music urging you forward through fire and flames, now you hear the gentle piano start to play until you feel like even the music seems cold to listen to.



It's a cold empty place, but also beautiful when you see the snow falling from the sky or birds (or the Tallon IV's equivalent) circling around. It's peaceful yet you know the Chozo, even here, are setting you on a test. The Phazon infection had spreaded even here, you would have to venture further. But for that moment, I just had the same feeling of awe and inspiration as say, seeing The Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3. It was at this point that Metroid had hooked me in and I've never looked back. And as I was playing this for the first time, I look outside the window to see it's also snowing outside. As an impressionable youth, that had some profound effect on me And as I played it again recently, I still had that same feeling in reliving this part again.

[Tuffty]

CROSS-POST

Just reached a particular area in Metroid Prime 2. Samus crosses through the swamplands of Torvus Bog, the music below again just perfectly complimenting your exploration through an alien world. Completely absorbing throughout in the context of gameplay:



And as you continue through the swamplands you eventually discover the entrance to a submerged temple. And it was one of those moments where I just set the controller down and absorbed it all. Haunting yet beautiful. A feeling that all is calm, yet the worst is still to come.

MP2 is hard! I'm enjoying it so far, it's experimental in that you have to resource your ammo supply and lots of other little upgrades where you navigate the environment in different ways from MP1. It's a hugely atmospheric game, as much as MP1. It's got that little bit of Okami in it, in that your actions in the Dark World ultimately restores life to the Light World. But the planet has been so ravaged by the Ing attack that I question what's the point if there's no intelligent race around to benefit from it? But really the mission Samus is on, is built on a promise. That by removing the Ing attack, someday life will be restored to this tranquil planet, as it was with Tallon IV.

Metroid Other M looks to divide opinion as I suspected. Most love the action but as I had feared, there's not as much focus on exploration and the focus on Samus, giving her a voice, ultimately makes her a less interesting character than if they hadn't. I imagine I will play it at some point, I'll just have to go in expecting a different game from what to expect.