IGN - It's Nintendo's 125th anniversary! Yes, waaaay back in September 1889 "Nintendo Koppai" was founded as a playing card manufacturer. But over the last 40 years or so, Nintendo has grown into one of the most prolific, successful, and beloved video game makers anywhere.
To celebrate, all month long we're playing 125 of of the greatest Nintendo games ever made. So come on this journey with us, and relive some of our fondest Nintendo-made memories. Up now: Metroid - the game that kicked off one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises.
Other nominees include games like SimCity & Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
There are some good nominees in this list that are deserving to be inducted also, but I feel Metroid has had the most impact on the industry out of all of these. Look how Metroid influenced the evolution of the Castlevania games, and the "Metroidvania" subgenre of games have become a prevailing force in gaming today. Especially now, Metroidvanias are bigger than ever.
I can very much see Resident Evil being added later too, bc it really did popularize and define the survival horror genre. I would say that one is next in line.
Agreed. When I got my NES back then, I of course had Super Mario Bros. But I also got Double Dribble, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Rad Racer, Zelda and Metroid. Loved playing all of them over and over. But Metroid was so deep and the music was so other worldly, that that game has stuck with me to this day decades later.
Sure other awesome games came along like Contra, Castlevania, Mega Man, etc. But Metroid really hit that sci-fi fix. And the twist of finding out who was in the suit was one of those great moments in gaming history talking with other friends in the neighborhood that had the console that rushed to the end to find out for themselves.
Definitely deserves hall of fame like many other picks. Should have been inducted a long time ago.
If any Metroid game should get the honor it should be Super Metroid , it's perfection in my eyes . 30 years later and I still feel it's the most epic shit ever .
Yea, I agree that Super Metroid REALLY raised the bar on atmosphere and exploration, still in my Top 10 or 20 games of all time. The original Metroid did set a good framework, but Super Metroid perfected it in its first sequel. Since it's the only one up for vote, I'd still vote for the original Metroid bc it did establish a very good concept of gaming in a more primitive gaming era. But, you're absolutely right.
The GBA remake deserves it or Super Metroid, the original was a very sloppy and rushed game programmed in 3 months and it shows.
If you've never played the remake, it's absolutely a must play, fixes basically every flaw in the game. Check out ExoParadigmGamer's comparison video.
Super Mario Maker has been a great series for Nintendo, but it is time to move on. How about a Metroid Maker? That would be interesting! Check out Jason Capo’s thoughts for more.
Metroid certainly would be cool, but 100% Zelda dungeon maker should be the priority! It makes the most sense!
The only issue with Zelda, for me, is that it won't have the same freedom of styles that Mario Marker has. Zelda 1, LttP, and the Game Boy ones could all possibly work, but Zelda also has a lot of 3D games. I guess if you limited the styles to Original Zelda, LttP, Minish Cap, and Link's Awakening, that could work. That's four different styles for a dungeon maker, but I think a Metroid Maker is closer to Mario and would probably be easier to make.
@Jeriphro Mario Maker drew mostly from its 2D roots, so I take no issue with a 2D only Zelda Maker. However, they also translated Mario 3D World elements into the 2D space, so I wouldn't mind that they do something similar with overhead Zelda games using more modern 3D elements too. A Link to the Past Remake shows how nice 3D elements can be implemented into the standard overhead Zelda view.
2D Zeldas were the games I grew up on anyways, A Link to the Past being one of my favorite games of all times! They halfway attempted a creator within the Links Awakening remake, but I'd like to see a fully realized creator. Of course though, Super Metroid was also once of my favorite games of all times so I'm dying to see a Metroid maker too. ;)
I'd go either for Metroid Maker a Zelda Maker would also be great even a Mario Kart Maker as well.
Now that Metroid Dread is here, it is time to officially rank the five Metroid titles that make up the 2D storyline. 35 years of Metroid storytelling finally coming to a close, and now it is time to crown the official queen of the lineup. Jason Capp is here to put the five in proper order.
I haven't played Samus Returns but I would've put dread in 4th or 5th place. It had big shoes to fill being the first 2D Metroid designed for home consoles and AAA sensibilities in a long time. It borrowed its innovations from modern metroidvanias, and honestly seemed it was cashing in on their popularity. The level design design and progression was a hot mess. Abilities and their order didn't really make sense in the context of these things. Bosses were basically straight out of hollow knight. Controls were clumsy and as poorly thought out as the rest of the game. It basically boils down to a bland remix of metroid and a clone of clones; A decent game when it should've been incredible.
Umm... did we play the same game?? Because Dread is the best controlled 2D Metroid game to date by a long shot. Not only that, but I would argue that this is one of the most fluid 2D Metroidvania controls in recent memory.
Not only that, but the boss fights in Dread are excellent.
Decent is a major understatement. Dread is fantastic!
I'm talking about free aiming and button combos instead of weapon selection. The joy cons controls are tiny and it was really clumsy. Move your thumb even a mm then your aim is off and have EMMI fucking your face. Some reviews echo this complaint so it's not just me.
Some boss fights are good, some are bad like that electric insect. In any case, the damage they do is extreme, patterns and overall design are decisively not referencing old Metroid. There was an insane difficulty spike in the middle of the game with back to back boss fights, EMMIs, and X enemies. Then you get a uniquely OP screw attack mid-game that trivializes the rest of it and makes for whiplash and a cheap game breaking mechanic. It's all just really sloppy and incongruous IMO.
I’m gonna hit the hard disagree on this one. I haven’t felt this way playing Metroid since Fusion and Super before that.
Um... it's a mainline sequel to Fusion and maybe even more so Super because it's not being relegated to the handheld console and the lower production values and design sensibilities that comes with. The point is that we waited almost 20 years for a game that feels like it's inspired by the games it inspired and sort of lost its identity. It should be inspiring a new generation of games. Super is vastly vastly superior to this game.
I'd like to chime in. Let me first state I am pretty big metroid fan, as well as metroidvania genre player. Just going to go through your remarks here. Of course it's going to use newer innovations than stick to the gameplay limitations of old, it only makes sense trying to bring in a newer generation into the metroid universe. I am ok with this as it still felt like a metroid first and foremost to me.
Level Design was really well done, if you paid attention to the maps (not saying you didnt), there was a very elegant flow from one zone into the next. I will agree that some abilities and their orders were a bit weird (I wont go into this too deep if theres any new players reading), but yes having some of the more powerful abilities mid game and having some lighter more obvious early game abilities later was a little strange, but thats a minor gripe.
Lets talk on controls: I have 100% the game on normal as of now, so I have completed all of the pretty intense "Shinespark Puzzles" they threw in the game that really test your skills at controlling Samus. The controls are just fine, even using the joy cons to beat the game. The ability to hold buttons to alter what weapon you're using made from some extremely badass attack combos in boss fights.
You first mentioned Hollow Knight, and not sure as to how far you got on that, but if you did play it, you are aware of the damage those creatures and bosses do. So I am confused as to how you are shocked by the damage bosses in MD put out. I welcome this as its another step forward into a realm where gamers are wanting more challenging games (This coming from a person who loves souls games and can complete super metroid sub 3 hrs on 100%). The boss fights were incredible. There were a couple "bug" bosses that I didnt really consider full bosses, more like mini bosses, but I get your point.
All in All, Dread was a BLAST. It was a fluid, fast paced, fun experience. My only real complaint, was I was expecting a soundtrack that could rival or get close to that of super metroid and I was a bit let down there.
They just don't make soundtracks like Super's anymore. I would argue that Dreads chief innovations is the difficulty and boss design, which is why I think comparisons to Hollow knight are especially apt. But also, and maybe you didn't notice, the numerous spear wielding Chozo mini-bosses were very similar to hornet and mantis lords from hollow knight. Beak raven was unlike any 2D metroid boss I've ever fought, and a lot like some endgame bosses in hollow knight. I revisited Super yesterday and noticed the damage bosses do is a stark contrast to dread where it almost treats energy tanks like the soul containers in hollow knight; one hit will often deplete an entire tank. Hollow knight has mechanics that compliment its boss design (healing, deflection, badges) and dread just has dated QTEs. I died more than I did in hollow knight and didn't feel like I was having as much fun or control over the experience.
In super, screw attack is optional and along with space jump the last items you get in the game. It mostly facilitates backtracking, and the list of things it can't do is much shorter than in dread. You get speedboost and need to use it to get through a couple of obstacles, but there's not really any terrain designed to utilize it in a way that feels natural or powerful, and it's most compelling in that sloppy sort of energy/missle tank mini-game. You get grapple beam and use to grapple across a couple of ceilings, which is really bad honestly and sort of skippable too. It basically just becomes a door and hole opening tool.
It's just bad design honestly. Metroid is supposed to have an organic progression that is complemented by level design that conveys a story, and dread just feels like it randomizes progression in an uninspired maze of rectangular rooms. There's no rhyme or reason to anything that happens, it's just there because it was there before.
Like I said, it's a decent game but Super is a masterpiece of level design and just being good enough by other standards kind can unfortunately mean it's a piece of shit by metroid's standards. Oh and apparently Samus is a Jedi and Darth Vader is her dad. That's the cherry on top.
oops meant the list of things screw attack can't do is shorter in dread than super. it's basically OP and the level and enemy design is not an impedance to cheaping out the way it is in super. there's just no thought put into it or what it represented in super at all.
@oldenjon it'll never be a super metroid, and nothing will touch that game, which is true. and on those remarks, its super unfair to really compare any of them to such a godlike title. All in all, I had a great time 100% it on normal. The music was lackluster, the item order list was a bit strange, but overall was super fun... I look forward to running it every so often and trying out hard mode! (All games look to others for reference. Hell even metroid looked to the Alien franchise as reference. So to critique dread for referencing another metroidvania (hollow knight) without criticizing hollow knight for referencing the obvious (super metroid) is a bit looney.
I don't think it's looney at all. Let's be honest, pretty much anything sci-fi horror is referencing alien. Samus was not originally written as a woman, and Super's story is only vaguely alien whereas Dread's story is blatantly Star Wars. Hollow Knight was a very long game that balanced its challenges with good atmosphere, exploration, platforming, secrets etc. Started my 2nd playthrough and Dread is a short, frustrating, and jumbled mess that doesn't excel at any one thing and probably shouldn't cost $60. Realized you get spin boost, then 30 mins later space jump. WTF? It's OK that this game is not perfect, and tempered my expectations before going into it. I did not think it would fail to reference, and at least try to improve upon, itself and it's own ideas though. It doesn't bode well that it will ultimately be the breakthrough title in the series. More short, derivative and expensive experiences with the metroid brand stamped on it coming your way.
"it's inspired by the games it inspired and sort of lost its identity."
That's deep.
Still a fantastic game. When I get a wiiU, Im looking forward to owning this again. dunno if I will ever actually sit down and play it again (takes too much time) But I want it in my library.
Holy Mother 125 years?!! Thats amazing! Way to go big N!
huh. I didn't know Nintendo started out as a playing card company. Thats kind of interesting.