I don't know what I was doing, or what I was thinking back in the early 2000s, back when this came out. I would have been finishing high school and preparing myself for stepping into University, I guess. And I probably was looking at video games with an increased discernment as the Gamecube generation came to a close and we started to feel the manufactured desire for the next-gen experience. I was probably looking at the Gameboy Advance and thinking "how much longer am I actually going to play that thing?"

It was a fair question. Back then I think I talked about how much I loved video games more than I actually loved them. Up until recently, I think this was my defining relationship with games. I'm glad it is starting to spin around (thanks, in part, to the remarkable functionality of the Switch) - and I'm glad that in spinning it around I landed on the Metroid Dread bandwagon.

I'm a story person, overall. Before I get Metroid Dread, I'm committed to playing through the other games so I can get the background. This is where I started. And this game... this game is something exceptional. Certainly one of the best I have ever played. It's controls are tight - aside from the space jump, which never quite connected - and its map is exciting and interesting, but accessible. Samus herself feels like a strong heroine Bounty Hunter, capable of doing-the-deed, whatever the deed might be. And the bits and pieces of lore that you discover about her in the really quite remarkable story-telling method produce a special feeling. Words, it seems, are superfluous to imagery and emotion, music and motion.

I was surprised, when I finished the story and then went online to watch some reviews. There were entire movesets that I hadn't found, including the upward slam where you can suddenly traverse across a map and smash through floors and ceilings, and the charge beam - which I knew existed, thanks to Smash Brothers, but I thought might have been a powerup that came out of a sequel.

That got me excited more than disappointed - and it revealed to me just how smart this not-quite-linear game's design actually is. I want to go back one day, get to 100%, and discover the things I didn't find, and get into those chambers that I knew were there but couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how ot penetrate.

The game is a classic - a true blue masterpiece. Grab it if you can. I can't imagine you'll end up disappointed.

(Update: I've played through Metroid: Samus Returns, which is also exceptional but not quite as exceptional as this one. On to Super Metroid next.)

With the announcement of Metroid Dread, I was willing to get into the series. When I learned of the length of the firsr game, that made me even more interested to emulate it and wow.

Only a few seconds in, you find the morph ball. And with this grab, you click with the game. The game immediately tells you what you need to do to beat the game; collect powerups to help guide you on your journey. I can't think of a game that accustoms the player and gives the objective this quickly.

Zero Mission is indeed a remake of Metroid 1. You can play the original for novelty's sake or even after beating Zero Mission to see the differences as you can play the original version through Zero Mission. As for the differences, Samus can crouch and shoot, her controls are borrowed from Fusion rather than the floatiness of the original. Save points exist instead of the outdated password system that even the original Legend of Zelda has. And like the original Zelda, Zero Mission has a map. Chozo statues restore health and ammo so you don't have to grind as much. There are new areas that I will blur for spoiler's sake, but even if you have already played the original, I really suggest playing it for the new content.

One thing that can be a turn off for people who are not fans of Metroid is crypticism. Let me tell you. There's only one BS moment. The secrets have these subtle nods to them such as enemies appearing in lava (though hiding routes in fake lava makes no sense) and tiles that stand out above the rest.

Bosses are eh. Ridley and Kraid are faithful to their Super Metroid selves, but still better than the original where they're basically your size. Still, even in the remake, Mother Brain is a motherfucking bitch. With only 2 tiles to stand on and lasers and circles coming at you, I find this boss to be bullshit.

Metroid is considered to be Nintendo's most atmospheric franchise to date. I will show some examples so spoilers. I will be blurring spoilers because I want you to play this game for what it does right. My favorite example would be the larva. It's a new type of enemy it has this looming track. Then, there is Imago, a larva bosswith a much lighter, creepier leitmotif. You "kill" Imago and proceed. You hit a dead end, but you also see the cocoon of Imago. You go to where it was, but Imago is nowhere to be seen. Keep going. You see these eggs and break them. All of a sudden, ADULT IMAGO COMES OUTOF NOWHERE WITH THAT SAME LEITMOTIF! It's much faster and louder and got a good scare out of me. That's only one example out of a couple.

NEW CONTENT SPOILERS

After what was the final boss of the original, there's an escape sequence. Samus bolts to her ship and... Is this it? Is this the end? OH SHIT! Space Pirates shoot her ship down and Samus no longer has her power suit. She only has her pistol that only stuns enemies. What was once a game where you're a badass gaining upgrades to help you, you are now vulnerable and everything is stripped away from you. It's now a stealth section that explains the Space Pirates better than the original and ups the tension. Taking damage can take away an entire cell so you best be careful. After minutes of running and running away. You encounter a boss. Afterwards, you retrieve your power suit along with the upgrades that were once unknown being revealed. Awww yeahh. How the turntables. You fight back at the pirates. It's a one woman army. Oh, what's that? You're now scared of me? Bitch, I'm Samus Aran and I'm gonna kick your ass. What an amazing power fantasy. It's an earned one ofter running away with nothing to fight back with.

I plan on playing this game again for 100% completion some day. I have never gotten the Shinespark(turns out that it is a hidden move in the Speed Booster. Oops), but I hear the overuse of it it's one of the most criticized things about completing Zero Mission. If you're willing to get into Metroid with Metroid Dread coming out, this is the best place to start. To reiterate, if you didn't enjoy Metroid 1, you still should play Zero Mission. It took me 3.5 hours to beat with 50% completion so it's quite a short game and easy to get into and it seems to be the case for the rest of the 3. The verion of Metroid 2 that I'll play next will be AM2R.

CURRENT RATING: 8.5/10

This was my first Metroid game that I have ever played. And as a remake of a very first entry it got me really excited for the franchise.

The game aged very well. It isn't a particularly hard game, but I don't think that the challenge is point of this game anyways. The joy lies in exploration of different areas and wonder what cool power up you will get next. I never felt lost in this game, which is also good. Secret passages are well hidden and require some attention to be found. Upon my completion I apparently got 56% of all the collectables. Which is far less than I expected. So there is plenty of content for anyone who wants to 100%. But even for me, all the stuff that I collected was more than enough to get the most of the game.

The game did disappoint me a bit regarding the variety of enemies and the feeling of different ares. While overall graphic presentation of the game is great, the new area felt new and different only when you have just came from another one. The music changes which is already a lot, but the color palette and enemies are almost the same. The music on the other hand was great.

But a very pleasant surprise came after defeating the "final boss". After defeating the brain you escape the planet and the credits are rolled... or are they? You got shot down by space pirates and you are forced to infiltrate their ship without your trustworthy space suit. And this section felt much more tense. For the most part you are a prey avoiding the enemies and crawling through hidden passages. It felt amazing how different the game immediately felt. And it also felt super satisfying when you get your suit back and just mow through the enemies that were deadly just a moment ago.

Bottom line, the game is quite great and you should play it! It is short but sweet.

Originally started playing this as a 5-10 minutes session game, then I went too deep with the game's world and puzzles.

with each session with each part I get stuck on I felt like the game wanted me to think outside of the box with very minimal clues to help fined items or key hidden packages around the level. It kept me going back to find how it will go and if I ever will reach the end on my own.

Tbh, There were moments in the level design where progressing was kind of random with paths unlocking when you aimlessly going back to check for something else to do.

Going in I expected the boss fights to be with somewhat moderate difficulty, I had fun fighting each one of them. They give a good challenge and good fight, but sadly I think this is going to be a first time only feel because I already figured the patterns.

I enjoyed those small cutscenes with how ominous things are looking with the feel that I'm being watched with movement I make.

The Brain fight was kind of annoying with "throw trash everywhere on the screen". I eventually made it.

The last Section of the game where Samus is striped of her suit and the games turns into semi stealth was absolutely FANTASTIC. High tension trying to figure Where I'm going and not get caught or killed with mix of puzzle element into it is something I had so much fun with than I needed.

The moment I got the suit back was wild. It was such a Big "Fuck you" to everyone who kept chasing me, with all the powers unlocked. It was a satisfying moment and I'm glad that I played this game and enjoyed what It offered.

I'm gonna try and play Super Metroid. If I enjoyed that game as much or even more, then call me a Metroid fan.