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Rank the Metroid Games


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1. Metroid Prime: Hunters

2. Metroid Prime: Federation Force*

3. Super Metroid

4. Metroid Prime

5. Metroid Other M

-  AM2R

6. Metroid Fusion

7. Metroid

8. Metroid Zero Mission

9. Metroid Prime 3

10. Metroid Prime 2

11. Metroid Prime Pinball*

12. Metroid: Samus Returns

13. Metroid II**

 

Metroid games that I've 100% completed: Metroid Prime: Hunters, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Other M, Metroid: Samus Returns

 

* I ranked Federation Force and Prime Pinball purely on how I enjoyed them as games against the item-based progression design Metroid games typically go by.

- I'm going to show love to AM2R for being the better Metroid II remake. With how much time I have in my Top 5, it'll be hard for AM2R to close the gap, but it's definitely a game I should replay at some point.

** Metroid II is at the bottom of my list for being monochrome, but I enjoy the game more overall than I do Metroid: Samus Returns which had gameplay designs that didn't appeal much to me. I'm mainly giving credit to what Metroid: Samus Returns did atmospherically in ranking it higher.

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It's funny yet true to think that, if they had at least announced either Samus Returns or Prime 4 on the E3 that they showed the initial trailer for Federation Force (just the name logo like they did with MP4 in E3 2017), I wouldn't of really had any hard feelings toward Federation Force as a whole, and would've even leaned more toward getting it which I had already considered for awhile. I think I would've eventually lost interest in the game either way based on how like the Blast Ball demo failed to grab me, but just knowing from the beginning that FF was a harmless spinoff and not some abomination that was threatening to kill or change what was left of Metroid as I knew it (with the 2010 drama still prevalent from years of nothing after Other M), would've given me a much needed peace of mind... even if I'd have still been disappointed that Next Levels' attempt at a Metroid on 3DS got cancelled while FF remained greenlit.

 

Seems you forgot to include Metroid Blast, but I guess I'll just rank all the other spinoffs similarly on how I enjoyed them individually in order to be fair to them, but suppose now my rankings would go something like

 

Metroid Prime

Super Metroid

Metroid Fusion

Metroid Prime Hunters

Zero Mission

Metroid Pinball

Samus Returns

Prime 3

Prime 2

Metroid Blast (Nintendo Land)

Other M

Metroid II

Metroid I

 

Not counting Metroid Blast where I was stuck on the level with the Ridley and Ice Ridley robots, every game I've 100%'ed at least once, partly to help see where I stand on them. List is a mix between number of hours played on said game, how replayable I found them to be (100% speedruns and low % runs in the case of Fusion for instance), or just how playable they were in general or how they aged; the first two original games being ranked bottom in that they were the least playable for me, but were redeemed by their remakes.

 

Regrettably, I never got around to finishing AM2R, which got lost in the shuffle when other games and things on the horizon started getting my attention more, but it's on my backlog of things to finish someday at least. From what I had seen and experienced though, I get why some would consider it the better II remake than Samus Returns. Apart from not finishing AM2R yet, honestly don't know which side I fall on as far as that, when there's things exclusive to Samus Returns I still like too, even if I don't find it that replayable now (hence its placement). The commotion that had surfaced from Nintendo doing their C&D takedown on AM2R like they do with any popular fangame that gets on their radar which led to the fanbase schism between AM2R and MSR, also made me hesitant to pick a side there, but whenever I do finish AM2R, my choice will have nothing to do with the whole Nintendo vs Fans fiasco.

Edited by Ridley Prime
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I honestly don’t care much about fan games. They’re a nice idea in theory to me, but I don’t put them in the same category as an official piece of work.

 

 I also haven’t played every spin off game, so for that reason won’t have them on my own list.

 

1) Metroid Prime

2) Super Metroid

3) Zero Mission

4) Metroid Fusion

5) Metroid Prime 2

6) Samus Returns

7) Metroid Prime 3

8) Other M

9) Metroid Prime Hunters

10) Metroid

11) Metroid 2

 

In my opinion Metroid Prime is one of the best Metroidvainia games ever made, whereas I find Metroid 2 almost unplayable these days.

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1. Metroid Prime (Classic exploration, one of my first games actually)

2. Super Metroid (For the impact it had on the series and its exploration)

3. Metroid Zero Mission (A remake done right.)

4. Metroid Fusion (A game that borrows the SNES aesthetic, and runs wild with a new Samus.)

5. Metroid: Samus Returns (A remake that does some things right, some things bad.)

6. Metroid Prime 2 (Was never one for the dark/light message and worlds, but still good combat.)

7. Metroid Prime 3 (The corrupted mode was okay, but it's not as big as the last two games.)

8. Metroid Prime: Hunters (Really, it's the multiplayer we always remember. Not everyone played it for the story.)

9. Metroid (For starting it all... even if it's archaic.)

10. Metroid Other M (Sorry, as a guy who likes a good story, the voice acting was the WORST. Samus should've never talked, since it goes against everything she is.)

11. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Multiplayer, but... the story isn't as good as Hunters'.)

12. Metroid II (The worst designed, but the remakes did it better.)

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11 hours ago, Ridley Prime said:

It's funny yet true to think that, if they had at least announced either Samus Returns or Prime 4 on the E3 that they showed the initial trailer for Federation Force (just the name logo like they did with MP4 in E3 2017), I wouldn't of really had any hard feelings toward Federation Force as a whole, and would've even leaned more toward getting it which I had already considered for awhile. I think I would've eventually lost interest in the game either way based on how like the Blast Ball demo failed to grab me, but just knowing from the beginning that FF was a harmless spinoff and not some abomination that was threatening to kill or change what was left of Metroid as I knew it (with the 2010 drama still prevalent from years of nothing after Other M), would've given me a much needed peace of mind...

How Federation Force was marketed before release was a complete disaster. Coming out with an even more radical shift on the look and design of a Metroid game to follow up Other M's reception years later was a big mistake, and they should've had a teaser for Samus Returns ready to go back in 2015. Blast Ball to me is the weakest part of what Metroid Prime: Federation Force offers, so it should've never been the first footage released for the game that E3. It also should've not been used as the demo for the game, since it gave no real feel for the main game. A sub-game inspired likely by Rocket League isn't going to give any Metroid vibes. The better demo would've been the first 3 missions available in the main game. I think Nintendo also made a mistake in repeatedly promoting Federation Force as a co-op multiplayer experience, which I feel is less enjoyable than playing through the game solo. It didn't help either that Nintendo kept trying to silence feedback on the game by disabling like/dislike bars and comments for Federation Force footage. After Other M's response, a lot of fans had expected Nintendo to play it safe with a Metroid II remake which ended up happening a year after FF's release. If Federation Force wasn't doomed on first impression, it certainly was after Nintendo's marketing heading towards the game's release.

 

I would probably have Metroid Blast about even with Metroid Prime 3, mainly due to the multiplayer experience I had with my little brother and sisters. It also brought back some of that competitive multiplayer that I had only gotten from Hunters, so I had a number of fun, intense matches with my little brother. Metroid Blast, even with three bosses available iirc, was creative in some of its boss scenarios. I think the most challenging was the Ridley and Ice Ridley encounter that you mentioned, but I think the most memorable was the last stage iirc where it was an encounter with Ridley and Kraid. I got to give credit to Nintendo Land and Metroid Blast for bringing a Kraid boss into 3D and making it enjoyable. It's sad that no one directly involved with a Metroid game wants to bring Kraid back. Maybe Prime 4 will end the hiatus.

4 hours ago, DranSeasona said:

I honestly don’t care much about fan games. They’re a nice idea in theory to me, but I don’t put them in the same category as an official piece of work.

It took me a while to decide to play AM2R, because I was turned off by how it was being put out there during all of the Federation Force backlash. I came around after learning more about the fan project and seeing it in action which lead to me beating AM2R just before the release of Metroid: Samus Returns. It does lack the polish you would expect in an official game for sure in some areas, but for the most part it felt like a Metroid Zero Mission level remake of Metroid II. The two things that stood out to me with AM2R were the level of detail put into visual effects, which felt like Super in that regard, and the ambition the game has with its boss line-up and design.

 

3 hours ago, XLW said:

8. Metroid Prime: Hunters (Really, it's the multiplayer we always remember. Not everyone played it for the story.)

11. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Multiplayer, but... the story isn't as good as Hunters'.)

The multiplayer in Metroid Prime Hunters puts a sizable gap between it and the other Metroid games for me. I'm just not getting anywhere near the same rush and satisfaction, and that experience is happening consistently over a sitting with almost every kill. Being very active as Trace in particular and sniping heads on the move with an end result of 8+ headshot kills in a 10 kill match is something else. I can't get into that kind of rhythm with any other game. Personally, I'm pretty much where you're at with the gap between Hunters and Federation Force in spite of having them as my #1 and #2. That's even with thinking that Federation Force offers the better adventure mode experience than Hunters. Since doing multiple playthroughs of Federation Force, I haven't been able to go back to Hunters' adventure mode for about 4-5 months now.

 

Edited by IU
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I'm terrible at ranking.

 

*Metroid: Un-fucking-playable by today's standards. Have never beaten without the Narpas Sword.

*Return of Samus: Same as above, but replace "Narpas Sword" with "restore points".

*Super: I tend to flip between this and Prime as my favorite depending on my mood. Has a few very miniscule kinks with the controls that I'm not terribly fond of, but is otherwise perfect.

*Fusion: Pretty good, aside from a few bullshit difficulty spikes.

*Prime: See Super, except that the minuscule kinks with the controls were fixed in the Trilogy rerelease.

*Zero Mission: First exposure to the series outside of Smash. Fixes what few problems I had with Super.

*Echoes: First exposure to the Prime sub-series. Loved the atmosphere and most boss fights, didn't care for Beam Ammo and beacon-hopping.

*Pinball: Fun for about thirty minutes.

*Hunters: Mediocre single-player campaign backed up by hacker-infested online community. Only reason I haven't sold my copy is because I met @Arvis through it.

*Corruption: Probably the weakest of the Prime trilogy, but still fun.

*Other M: Somewhere, buried underneath the terrible story, D-Pad-locked controls, and assassination of Samus's character, there's a great game screaming to get out. This is the fastest Samus has ever been in 3D, and being able to beat the shit out of enemies from up-close is a fun idea that deserves better than a shitty quick-time event. Basically, I agree that it's a bad game, but it still had a few good ideas that could be better-handled in the future.

*Federation Force: Haven't played, but want to give it a fair chance.

*Samus Returns: Better than Fusion, not as good as Super and Zero Mission.

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Despite our opinions on Samus Returns lowering over time once the novelty wore off (during the hype of Metroid officially being back from its 2nd hiatus I considered it to be one of the best 2D's/sidescrollers up there with Super Metroid, but now it just falls somewhere in the middle among them) and the competition it had from fans with AM2R, I would still like for MercurySteam to be able to do another Metroid in the future, whether in the form of a Fusion remake like they were initially wanting (would be somewhat appropriate given the X-Parasite cliffhanger that Returns ended on) or a Fusion sequel. I think they would be able to improve upon the mechanics they had in Samus Returns and have an overall much less repetitive game when they're not going off the Metroid II formula.

Edited by Ridley Prime
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Super Metroid - It's not the perfect game people say it is. But a game doesn't need to be perfect to offer a transcendental experience. This was the last 2D Metroid I played before Returns came out, and even with all of my aimless wandering I still walked away with a new favorite in the series. It was also my second SNES game, after MegaMan X. For me it was amazing to experience the seamless exploration I didn't know was possible on Super Nintendo. 

 

Zero Mission - I love the presentation of the story. The fluidity of the controls. The stealth mission after the Mother Brain fight. This is the game I still boot up to do speedruns of. 

 

Metroid Fusion - Do people still hate Metroid Fusion? Because it's always been one of my favorites. I rather liked the focus on narrative and the linearity that people complain about so much. The scripted run-ins with the SA-X made for some of the most tense moments I'd ever experienced in a game. 

 

Prime - This game's an all-time classic. It's so easy to forget how monumental a feat making the jump to 3D was for Retro, and doing so as flawlessly as they did, no less. Prime 4 has a lot to live up to. 

 

Prime 3 - I loved getting to interact with a cast of other characters for once, and it fleshed out Samus' relationship with the Federation and contextualized the struggle against Phaaze. And how often do  we get a game where forced motion controls don't instantly cripple the experience? 

 

Metroid Prime Hunters - I had so much fun with the multiplayer back when DS online was still functioning. This game gave us five awesome new bounty hunters, and duking it out online with a bunch of strangers was something so cool that the universe couldn't handle it happening again. But for all the nostalgia I have for the multiplayer, the campaign is a little weak for me. At least there is a campaign, and we'll always have that to enjoy. That and local multiplayer with bots.

 

Samus Returns - This game is awesome for being the game to break the seven-year Metroid hiatus, and for presenting the story of Metroid II with a fresh new coat of paint. It's pretty awesome to play, too, and has a really nice embellishment at the end of the game. But the repetitive nature of the 40-odd boss fights holds it back some for me. 

 

Prime 2 - This game has bursts of being amazing, and long stretches of trudging through Dark Aether not knowing what to do. I do think it's neat that each Prime game successfully holds its own identity through music, atmosphere, and style of progression. It's just a shame that the Light and Dark world mechanics were so cumbersome. 

 

Metroid II - As the first Metroid game I ever played, I still have a strong attachment to this one. I still think there's merit to playing the original, since Returns didn't quite capture the feeling of isolation and tension present in the original game. But it's rough going back to it after Super perfected the gameplay style. 

 

Metroid - This game embodies pure frustration for me. No map.  Spawning with 20 HP after dying. The most backwards difficulty curve this side of Zelda II. The Kraid fight. I respect it for the groundwork it laid, but give me Zero Mission any day.

 

Other M - It has a pretty cool Phantoon fight, and the action is pretty satisfying if you don't think about it too much. But the bland characters, forced writing, forgotten subplots, hamstrung missile functionality, frustrating pixel hunts, nonexistent music, pointless cameos, lackluster ending, and inconsistent characterization of Samus make for an experience I don't care to revisit. I've long been over the outrage, but I'm content to forget about this one.

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Okay here's my actual Metroid history.
 

Super Metroid - Fnally played through it fully last year after ages of mostly appreciating it from afar. Really tough to get used to but really damn cool. Beautifully designed game. 
It's one of the best speedgames around and watching them after playing really helped me appreciate how much depth there is to the game that isn't spelled out at all. Extremely rewarding type of design, where there's always more to come back for.

Metroid - Clunky as hell and I've never suffered through the whole game, but I appreciate it in weird ways.
Also a cool speedrun; with door-related OoB glitches you can beat it in around 10 minutes, and the boss strats are seriously insane. Starting around early 2017, a runner called Metroid McFly came it and blew up the game. Just showed up and started running with a route that everybody thought was TAS only. A couple of the older runners (really good ones who I enjoy watching) tried to come back and catch up but McFly left everybody in the dust. Super inspiring. I def recommend checking out his stream to see it in action sometime https://twitch.tv/metroidmcfly

Metroid Prime - 10/10 world and design but unplayable controls. I tried playing this several times but the tank controls when trying to playtform and inability to aim independently of movement kill it for me. Got seriously fed up with it in parts where you can't lock on to things above you because your aiming slows down the higher up you try to aim. Seriously, what the fuck was going on in their head when they implemented that? Second stick aiming was not a cosmic brain idea buuuut whatever. Y'all have probably already heard me ranting about Retro's hard-on for shit controls so I won't go on about it again.
Wanna play the Wii version at some point to see if that's tolerable because at least I'll presumably be able to aim, though not looking forward to the remote shit either. Don't have a Wii any more

Metroid 2 - Was the source of a lot of cool ideas in the series, but it aged like milk. Wanna play AM2R at some point. Nintendo official remake looks flashy but less interesting.

I haven't played the others. Hear the GBA games are good. 

Edited by Pichi
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Guess it helped that I was already well versed in tank controls even before Prime, which didn’t really hinder my platforming. The limitations in movement and aiming reach was initially annoying at times, but not enough to say it was unplayable. Can confirm the Wiimote controls made it better, in any case.

 

Regarding how the games look in the case of AM2R vs MSR, I get preferring the sprites over the 3D models since it makes AM2R feel closer in appearance to the other sidescrollers, but I feel some (not here but in general) were kinda harsh on MSR aesthetically. It looks fine; good as can be for a 3DS game, and 2.5D seemed kind of inevitable regardless for an official II remake or any future non-1st/3rd person game.

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I actually felt that MSR was one of the better 3DS games in terms of graphics. Certainly felt they made good use of what little engine is there. I liked how clean and precise the controls felt, too. When I died, I knew it was my own fault (normally, a certain boss fight notwithstanding).

 

The major upgrade in terms of game progression and navigation over Metroid 2 was also greatly appreciated, and I liked the additions they made, overall. Again, minus how that one boss fight about 2/3 or 3/4 through is handled...

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MercurySteam used the engine of their Castlevania LoS: Mirror of Fate game (also debuted on 3DS) for Samus Returns, which is fine, but it shows. The Aeion abilities I definitely wouldn't mind being a staple for future 2.5D sidescrollers, assuming there's some new ones that either add on to or replace one or two of the ones introduced in MSR. Maybe make the counter system not as pivotal though, I don't know.

 

Referring to the drilling robot (Diggernaut) ?

 

 

....

Didn't do this at first since the original post didn't say or specify to do so, but since enough others have added a certain description or explanation to their ranking list for each game, guess I'll do the same here.

 

Metroid Prime

- Super Metroid: Although I feel Prime had aged better, realized after thinking more that I can't unanimously put it above Super, when both had a similar strength impact on me shortly following their debut. Super Metroid was what first introduced me to the series when I got my SNES as a youngin' (the game was packaged with said system), and while I wasn't expecting there to be another game at the time (for good reason apparently when Super Metroid was originally intended to be the last one, as a trilogy), it left its mark on me throughout the rest of the SNES lifecycle and even during the N64 when Metroid was nowhere to be seen outside of Samus in the original Smash Bros. Then Prime came along and solidified me as a fan for life in addition to Fusion. A Prime or 3D/1st person game on the 64 in general wouldn't of aged too well, so am fine Metroid missed out during gaming's first 3D era. I consider Prime as fortunate to have debuted on the Gamecube, and later had its controls improved on the Wii port.

 

I've acknowledged Prime's flaws time and again, but Metroid's successful jump to 3D has still made it stick with me ever since, while Super represented the pinnacle of innovation with the sidescrollers. Even if Prime's legacy never tops the original for me, that's okay. I'm sure I'll still love Prime 4 and whatever comes after for their own merits.

 

Metroid Fusion- Apart from what was already said about my speedruns and such which made it one of my most replayed games (linearity gripes be damned), have a soft spot for Fusion for all the horror elements it had, complemented by the X having the most freakish mutations of anything they devoured, not to mention giving us a sleeker new Samus who fans would still like to see more of. Fusion sequel when?

 

Metroid Prime Hunters- While I wasn't really into online at the time and thus didn't experience its online multiplayer, the more random nature of the single player with enemy spawns and different paths you can take with the order of which you collect the Octoliths, made it more replayable for me long run than I original thought it would. Also have to give it credit for expanding the lore in ways the other games did not, not to mention meeting a lot of Metroid fans who were first drawn to the series by that game, @IU included. The hunter affinity weapons were to put it simply, unique, and a welcome deviation from Samus' standard powerup kit which doesn't happen often enough. You can only have so many flavors of the wave beam, plasma beam, etc in games before it starts to get stale.

 

Have plenty to thank this game for, all things considered, and if MPH ever got some kind of port that had its online return, I'd definitely try it out.

 

Zero Mission- One of the other very sequence breakable games of the series, with multiple different endings, on top of being a solid remake of the original game with a memorable new epilogue.

 

Metroid Pinball- As good as one could expect from Metroid Prime being recreated as a pinball game, which I had a solid number of hours with. I defended it during the pre-release skepticism just on how fun it looked which it quite well turned out to be. Seems it wasn't that successful but glad this got to be Metroid's first actual spinoff (especially for the soundtrack). Shame there wasn't any pinball sequel games as a result though.

 

Samus Returns- Everything I've already said about it in this thread aside, feel it deserves to be ranked at least this high (or maybe a little lower depending on how much more I end up enjoying AM2R after completing it) for bringing goodwill and faith back to the series after 2016's poorly timed & marketed spinoff. Props to the game also for making Gamma Metroids more engaging than I remember them being in the original, and the Omega Metroids being a definite improvement over any previous appearance as tough bruisers who keep you on your toes.

 

Prime 3- Repetitive grapple beam/lasso and overpowered Phazon mechanics made this less remarkable for me as time went on, but I still give it credit for things like making more use of the gunship than other games, which I hope to see expanded on more in the future, after MP3 gave us the ship grapple and ship missiles. The three hunters were pretty likable characters, but wasted potential, and had a rushed ending to Dark Samus to top it off, though have had plenty time to move on, and be ready for a mainline sequel without Phazon.

 

Prime 2- The Ing were interesting, but not as compelling for me as the X were for a possessive parasitic species, but I enjoyed the Luminoth and their technology/creations. Nothing to really say about the beam ammo system or portal hopping/light & dark world that hasn't already been said. Just convoluted to progress through and thus not that replayable for me, but still a solid game.

 

Metroid Blast- This game made me excited for the potential of Metroid on the Wii U, even if said potential was never met since the system was a dud (Nintendo's biggest failure out of any system of theirs I had gotten) that was too risky to have something more niche like Metroid on, but I don't regret experiencing it still. Loved every level it had for the most part. Just wish the co-op had online too, but y'know. I would say I'd welcome a spiritual successor of sorts for Metroid Blast, but I suppose we already got that in the form of Federation Force.

 

Other M- Initially this used to be among my top 5 at least, but the main thing that made it drop down the list for me over time was the controls. Particularly, the jarring way in which you have to switch between 1st and 3rd person mid battle (and not being able to move at all while in 1st person, only look around and aim), which made some parts more a hassle than they needed to be because of the odd design, or more difficult in the case of hard mode where you had no energy tanks/expansions... Things like the health regen/concentration and Sense Move I could adapt to and let slide, but the mixture between 1st and 3rd person for combat and exploration was suffice to say, too ambitious, at least under the control layout we were given. Maybe if there had been Nunchuck functionality for the game with the Wiimote, some of the ideas for the controls could've worked better, but I think the game should've just been fully 3rd person if nothing else, taking away the unnecessary pixel hunts in the process. Then there's the lack of music in comparison to the other games but when it didn't have Metroid's usual composer, was to be expected I suppose. The story and characterization I can't even be bothered to touch on or give some retrospect view at this point.

 

Other than that, it's been difficult to look back on the game as fondly (even when playing) from the hiatus it put Metroid in along with the years and years of in-fighting there was over it. The more I talked about the game elsewhere in general, the more glad I was to eventually just treat it as a taboo subject under normal circumstances when it came to Metroid, saving me from future potential arguments with people. It's unfortunate because as flawed as Other M is I don't hate it with a passion or anything. Underneath all the flaws is a decent game in there somewhere, but the good ideas and concepts it had frankly would've been better saved for another game, probably one far earlier in the timeline. I don't think Samus speaking for instance is inherently bad, but because of the monotone choice in direction she was given for the voice acting (no disrespect to Samus' english VA whose been better talented in other things), it didn't really work out far as Other M. The fanservice like Phantoon, or having like the Speed Booster in a 3D game for the first time could only do so much, although I still appreciate the game for parts like those.

 

Metroid II- Despite how poorly it aged, the Zeta and to some extent the Omega Metroids remain intense encounters. Wouldn't of had it any other way with this game being the first to introduce us the Spider Ball among some other power-ups.

 

Metroid I- Despite being ranked bottom as feeling the least playable in hindsight, even this game I wouldn't go as far as to call unplayable (unplayable I often find to be a hyperbole term saved for the most extreme cases). With the password system and if you were normally patient enough to grind for health before moving on, you could usually go a long way before possibly dying... Felt there was enough compensation at least compared to other brutal NES/8-bit games of the time.

Edited by Ridley Prime
Forgot to put the title names in bold
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I think the counter was only there because it was in line with how Metroid 2 itself worked. Don’t think it would return (no pun intended) in a new Metroid game.

 

Yes, Diggernaut. Good ideas but not well executed, IMO.

 

 

I guess I will follow suit and not be the odd man out, then. :P

 

1) Metroid Prime

As mentioned, I regard this as one of the best of the genre in terms of execution. I have replayed it many times, and it has always felt just as good as the first foray. Sure, it’s not perfect; the controls are rigid and the difficulty spike at the end kind of comes out of nowhere, for example. But I think it’s overshadowed completely by the overall experience. The graphics were great and still hold up reasonably well (as much as can be expected), the soundtrack was amazing, the exploration options engaging, and the enemies and bosses overall pretty memorable, especially compared to most of the rest of the series for me (although nothing beats Kraid/Ridley/Mother Brain, of course). One of my favourite games ever.

 

2) Super Metroid

This gets this spot mostly because of how important it is to the series, but it still holds up as a challenging, and very fun experience. That baby Metroid scene even before Other M was so effective it is surprising to me. Just a well done game, with not much to complain about.

 

3) Zero Mission

This game is such an excellent remake, I hold it up as an example of how proper remakes should be: improve the game experience while keeping the spirit of the original. The end sequence was such a creative idea for the series and, again, very effective in terms of atmosphere even for a 2D game.

 

4) Metroid Fusion

I feel this one gets a lot of rap for being too linear, but quite honestly all Metroid games are, they’re just better at disguising it than this one, perhaps. In any case, the SA-X scenes were surprisingly scary and you really see that Alien inspiration played out best in this game, in my opinion. It has a couple weird difficulty spikes, but overall a great game.

 

5) Metroid Prime 2

The rest of these games are only vaguely in order except the last two. You know what? I liked how repetitive this game’s structure is. It fits well with one of the overall themes of balance, and reminds me of Symmetry Village in Oracle of Ages. The beginning sequence was also well implemented. My biggest gripe with this game is just that it doesn’t offer a lot after Metroid Prime besides Dark Samus.

 

6) Samus Returns

I liked this game a lot, but the randomly difficult Diggernaut soured the experience for me. I felt much of the latter half of the game was difficult but fun, whereas I felt the Diggernaut sequence was just the former. Overall however a good game and liked the twist at the end.

 

7) Metroid Prime 3

I just found this one boring and contrived in terms of story, which was disappointing considering what felt like was promised. Overall it was fun, but I enjoyed it the least of the Primes. I did like the various world concept though, that was implemented fairly well for its time.

 

8) Other M

There’s much to be said about how poorly executed the story and dialogue was in terms of direction, and the random quick time event in the middle was dumb. But I rather enjoyed the game’s style, enemies and overall feel. The story wasn’t that bad in my opinion and I have no qualms with Samus’ PTSD. Just had a lot of expectations that fell a bit flat, which isn’t entirely the game’s fault.

 

9) Metroid Prime Hunters

I found this forgettable, honestly. Despite how it did the multi-worlds bit first. I had nobody interested in multiplayer, so that didn’t help.

 

10) Metroid

Honestly, Zero Mission just did everything better. That’s the one major downside of remakes, I guess. Not much else to say, and that’s part of the point.

 

11) Metroid 2

Again, the remake was just better overall for me, especially the terrible soundtrack. I could barely even get halfway through, it was just so painful for me. It’s really just because it was a Gameboy game; there was a lot of ambition there, I just don’t think it worked. Sure it’s important. Sure it isn’t actually a bad game by any means. But compared to the rest of the limited series (as in, a few games over many years), this one just aged the worst.

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1) Super Metroid-  Classic, great atmosphere, great music.

2) Metroid Zero Mission-  Great remake of original with the extra touches.  Stealth mission felt like it fit and not tacked on.

3) Metroid Prime-  Transition to 3D worked really well. Loved the visors.

- Metroid Prime Pinball-  I really liked how they handled this and would have loved a sequel with more boards.

4) Metroid Prime 3-  motion controls worked for most part.  Just hated the worlds didnt feel like worlds.

5)  Metroid Samus Returns-  A badly needed remake of the gb original. The final final fight wasnt necessary.

-Metroid 2- It was good but the one game I got completely lost in.  Everything blended together on the Gameboy.

6) Metroid Hunters- I liked the other hunters, but the wiiu screen setup wasnt meant to copy ds screens.

7) Metroid Prime 2- A lot of cool ideas, but the lack of beams and poorly done light/dark world just kinda hurt it.

8) Metroid Fusion- Nightmare made me stop playing it.

9) Metroid- Its a classic, but that nes difficulty and health farming takes FOREVER.

10)  Metroid Other M- Bad control decisions, bad story parts ruin the good parts. It could have been great exploring Samus's past and that scientist...was good seeing the ghost again.

 

 

Have not played to rank:

Metroid federation Hunters

AM2R

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19 hours ago, DranSeasona said:

especially the terrible soundtrack. I could barely even get halfway through, it was just so painful for me. It’s really just because it was a Gameboy game

nah man. Pokemon TCG had several 2-minute tracks that were all bangers. You can do crazy stuff with the Game Boy.
They just tried to use a lot of silence and stuff like the NES game but they just didn't get it right.
And I mean Lavender Town is the obvious example of creepy and foreboding done right.

Exhibit A:

 

 

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Oh for sure, Pichi. I agree the Gameboy music when done right can be effective. That comment about the Gameboy was a general statement about how I feel their ambitions were just beyond what the Gameboy was capable of matching, and only so happened to follow the comment about the almost unbearable soundtrack.

 

Of course there were great Gameboy games that made exceptional and creative use of the hardware, but there’s no denying they all had to sacrifice more for that adaptation than games on the more technologically capable consoles of the time. I think Metroid is just a game series that does better with more technology backing it up, in general.

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