I’ll be honest, I never played the original Metroid game for the NES. It wasn’t until many years later that I played it via emulation. It was pretty tough getting around the game and the visuals didn’t help it, at least that’s my opinion of it today. But when I discovered that in 2004, Nintendo had completely remade the original Metroid with improved visuals and an in game save function, I was looking forward to playing it.
Opening the game on my Gameboy Advance emulator, I’m hyped after watching the Metroid intro movie in all its 2D animated glory. Choosing a new save file to start the game, something that wasn’t present in the original NES classic, I began Zero Mission. The planet Zebes has been enlarged and looks better than ever with more than the standard eight colors on the NES original. Sound is sharper too, although somehow different than Metroid Fusion also on the GBA, especially the blaster sounds.
The games map is well spread out with plenty of areas to explore for upgrades. The enemies are pretty typical Metroid fare with ones that jump at you fly at you or machines that can run right over you. The bosses are good, although I would have liked to have there been more of them. Of course, old favorites like Kraid, Ridley, and Mother Brain are here and their all a nice challenge. Although not too hard.
The first one that you encounter is Acid Wurm. This wurm comes from the ground and can attack from anywhere but mainly from the top part of the screen. The thing is you have to defeat him quickly or else be prepared for him to escape and face him again later. It took me a few times once I had plenty of missiles to finish him off before he could flee. He’s more of an early mini boss that you face before ones like Kraid.
The music is a callback to the original and has been redone nicely. The original Metroid theme is one of the first that you hear and it’s enough to get a player hyped. My favorite is when you enter Mother Brain’s area and this ominous electronic riff starts up, it’s epic, and it feels like a final boss… but it isn’t. Even after Mother Brain is dead and you have to escape the planet, unlike the original Metroid, the game isn’t over yet.
Samus’s ship get’s blasted off course and she crash lands into a new area. She ends up losing her iconic armored suit in the process and for the first time, she is wearing the Zero suit. If you have ever played Metroid Other M or seen anyone cosplay the character, then you probably have seen Zero Suit Samus. A simple blue jumpsuit with no added protection, and no abilities. Samus is equipped with nothing more than a blaster and you must avoid enemies rather than blast through as her blaster doesn’t damage.
This feels like DLC or a whole new game, although it is short, just one more area. Your goal is to sneak around until you can recover your Gravity Suit rather than the Varia Suit you had up until this point. I admit, this curveball was a nice change from simply the normal escape, although you still have to face a final boss in Mecha Ridely in a final epic showdown.
End Credits:
By the time the credits rolled, I felt good about my experience playing Metroid: Zero Mission. The game was longer than the original, which it had to be. It utilized the more modern save points, which was first seen for the series on the Super NES with Super Metroid. The enemies weren’t anything new and neither were the bosses, but keep in mind that this game is a remake with a lot more features and detail to offer than the original did. It only took me maybe 4-5 hours to complete, which is usually a good length for a Metroid game.
The game doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, yet it doesn’t feel short either. But replayable, I would say so. If your into the OG Metroidvania style of game that hasn’t been influenced with a souls lite mechanic like many modern ones in the genre do, then by all means play this game. I would say that although this game doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it brings solid gameplay, graphics and a surprise last area that makes this one a great game either to emulate or buy the physical copy. Mission Clear.
8.5/10
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