METROID: SAMUS RETURNS - The Legacy's Redemption | GEEK CRITIQUE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มี.ค. 2020
- Metroid II was a critically important piece of the series’ lore, telling the story of Samus’s first visit to her enemies’ homeworld, establishing concepts that would become mainstays, and setting in motion the story events that would drive the rest of the series. It was also a 1991 release for the Game Boy, every ambition it had tarnished by time. More than any other game in the series, Metroid II needed a remake. And when it finally happened, it would be Metroid's return to prominence after seven long years.
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• Metorid II - SR-388 Th...
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I had an epiphany a few days after I saw this. You know how you said that the tension the first game tried to implement on the way to the final boss fight is totally missing in the remake, like they totally missed the point?
I don't think they missed the point. I think MercurySteam left that long, empty corridor out because that's not how the story goes anymore.
When _Metriod 2_ came out, there was nothing in continuity but the first game. I don't think the fact that Metriods were created by the Chozo even existed yet, save maybe in supplementary materials only a handful of people actually read. Therefore, it made since to show how SR388 had been ravaged by the Metriod menace.
But _Fusion_ -retconned- established that the Metriods were deliberately put there by the Chozo to keep in check something far worse -- the X Parasites.
So _of course_ the lower tunnels of SR388 are still full of life; the Metriods haven't been feeding on them, they've been feeding on the X, allowing the planet's ecosystem to grow and thrive. They're now the _protectors_ of SR388, not its plague.
And sure, if their numbers started growing out of control, they could end up wiping out life on the planet -- but thanks to visual storytelling, we know the Chozo made sure that wouldn't happen. The Chozo built a series of checks and balances to keep the Metriods from overpopulating -- checks and balances that were working perfectly fine, until you blundered in.
Really, the remake in hindsight is much grimmer than the original. Because in this version, it turns out _you're the bad guy_ of the game. You're not the righteous space warrior exterminating a race of evil aliens, like you thought -- you're the villain in an Eco-film whose ignorance and thoughtlessness ends up *dooming* an entire world. We actually see that in the epilogue, when an X infests a native animal, signaling the parasite's eventual takeover.
No wonder the Chozo-built Diggernaut kept attacking you -- it wasn't malfunctioning, it was _trying to stop you_ because it knew what would happen if you succeeded.
That is a freakin' BRILLIANT take, and I wish I'd thought of it! I'm still not entirely sure if the change was _intentional_, but that sure makes a lot of sense!
@@GeekCritique Thanks! And thank you very much for the love -- I've been enjoying your videos for a while now, so it's nice to hear from you.
From a backstory perspective, that works, but doing the change in that way means that the tone of the game, and the experience if you don't know about the X (which were, after all, only ever relevant in one game), is completely unfitting. You say "the remake in hindsight is much grimmer" and "you're the bad guy", but the original had that tone throughout the entire game, and the remake loses it in pretty much every aspect other than the X turning up in the stinger.
In the original, if you thought you're exterminating "a race of evil aliens", you've already missed something - the Metroids aren't evil, they're dangerous animals. This isn't "Metroids are evil and must be destroyed", this is "Metroids are dangerous and pirates keep weaponizing them". It's more closely comparable to Australia's Emu War, except successful. They wouldn't even be a hazard if the Space Pirates didn't keep exporting them; they're animals, they don't have spaceships. See also: In most Metroid games, including the original Metroid 2, the small-wildlife-type enemies go down trivially, with one or two shots. You are a heavily-armed war spelunker, and they are fancy rats and bats; they're only a threat if you've got no energy tanks and there's several of them and you're not paying attention. Most of them aren't even actively hostile. In Samus Returns, even the Gullugs (spike bat things, originally non-aggressive) take a large number of shots if you don't do a fancy melee counter.
The original Metroid 2 did a lot to make you feel uncomfortable with your extermination mission. The remake glorifies it, even if one short scene after the credits (that only makes sense if you played a different game fifteen years before) points out that what you did wasn't exclusively good.
That actually makes sense.
Dont think Samus was the "bad guy", I feel like it was a no-win situation. The Space Pirates had kept repeatedly using the Metroids as weapons, and Ridley being there at the end clearly showed that the pirates knew where to get more. If Samus had just left the Metroids alone, the Pirates would have found them eventually, weaponized them even more and continued to wreaked havoc. It was either get rid of the super weapons now or risk them falling into the hands of something far worse. She made the right call.
Of course, destroying them unleashed something worse as well, though she couldn't have known that. The whole situation was messed up to begin with. If she didn't kill them then the pirates wreak havoc. If she did kill them then the X wreak havoc. If anything, Samus sparing that one baby metroid and thus allowing the vaccine to eventually be made that allowed her to kill the X parasites was the saving grace as she was able to deal with both the Pirates and the X in the end.
"Come on, it's been 18 years since Metroid 4. It's way past time for Metroid 5."
I come from the future. To that, I say "welp."
19*
I do as well and I rewatched all of these to satisfy me until dread comes out.
@@redmetroid743 literally same
@@redmetroid743 Same!
@@redmetroid743 same as well
I love how Samus’s first reaction to Ridley is to kill on sight, same for him. No dialogue, just straight to the point fighting. You can really tell how much they hate each other
Strangely however, she chooses to simply leave his unconcious body on the floor at the end of their battle and walks away. Previous games have demonstrated she goes to further lengths to inflict crippling damage to her nemesis (apparently it took a whole year for Ridley to recover after his bodily explosion in Zero Mission, and in Prime 3 she caused him to disintegrate).
For Samus to merely walk away, knowing her history with the murderer of her parents, is a bit out of character. Especially since this results in Samus leading Ridley straight to Ceres Colony and causing the deaths of everyone aboard.
@@ultraspinalki11 Well, we could argue that she was in a hurry to leave due to the storm that was hitting the planet at the time. Then perhaps she left believing that the storm would end what was left of Ridley.
Although this is just a silly theory that occurred to me.
@@masterrain6356 I wish the developers implemented your idea into the game (show the storm engulfing Ridley's body and causing Samus' ship to have difficulty flying away due to strong winds). Because now Samus looks unintelligent since she knows Ridley and the Pirates were able to track her exact position on SR388, yet she still goes to Ceres and leaves the station unprotected, believing they wouldn't track her again for some reason.
In the original story (before Samus Returns existed), the Pirates were completely absent in Metroid 2. This was the first time they were not involved in any way and didn't intervene in matters related to Metroids. Considering their numerous defeats in ZM and the Prime Trilogy, Samus and the Federation may have believed the Pirates were a thing of the past, thus why they were caught off guard by Ridley's surprise attack on Ceres.
At some point Samus probably just accepts that Ridley can't be killed.
@@VijoPlays not permanently anyways...but I look at the fact he has quite a bit of robotics on his body as a key to how he's even kicking at this point (the 1st time Ridley came back from defeat so the pirates work was rather low quality I say). But the thing to note is Ridley in super metroid didn't have any mechanical parts so I'm assuming they had managed to clone Ridley before the battle on SR388 thus the immediate ambush at Ceres
"Just as WarioWare foretold" okay, that got a chuckle out of me
Reskins of the enemies never really bothered me that much. Mostly for two reasons:
-Metroids have undoubtedly killed off most of the planet's species
-Nature just LOVES reskins. (Polar bear, black bear, grizzly bear, etc)
I only dislike them in supposedly new stories. I know people like classic Metroid imagery, but Metroid is all about enforcing an alien atmosphere, and there is absolutely NOTHING alien about fighting the same enemies in EVERY SINGLE GAME. It's why I find it ridiculous that some people argue that Prime games aren't "real" Metroid games just because you don't fight Geemers for the 5th time.
@Josiah Sepulveda I don't disagree with that either, but just like Ridley (and even potentially Samus if you're daring enough), you can have stories in the Metroid universe without them.
@@gumfireparalax1371 ooh, daring indeed! I remember seeing an artist, Android Arts was the name of his site, he drew some plans for possible games based on the Metroid franchise with different characters.
Given the stinger at the end, my personal head-canon is that at least some of the color-swap reskins are actually X-infected versions of the enemies. That’s probably not it, I know, but I think it’s a cool idea.
Reskins were necessary in the 16-bit days. Because there was just not enough RAM or cartridge space to store a huge variety of enemies. Even in the modern era, it's a bottleneck, but more of a design bottleneck rather than a storage bottleneck (because artists have to design all of the creatures).
It would have been cool if you beat the Queen before the 4 hour mark that would trigger a boss skip for Ridley implying you left before he arrived on the planet and keeping the OG game ending canon.
Ah man, that's a great idea!
This is actually genius
@Agt.BADASS no. You can't actually do that
Why specifically the 4 hour mark? Is that the cutoff point for the original game's best ending or something?
RandomNPC ya that’s the cut off the get the zero suit ending for Samus returns
The funny thing about that Ridley fight is that it could've been a genuine surprise if they did two simple things:
1 - Don't put any kind of enemies' or atmosphere. Let it be a relaxing way out, just like the original.
2 - Instead of putting suspicious refill stations, let Samus get all the way to her ship. That way she can refill her ammo and health, and then make Ridley stop her from leaving. It's not like he can't or wouldn't
Exactly. Ridley damaging the gunship before/ during the fight would have also explained why Samus left abruptly with the baby Metroid and didn’t try to kill him.
or hell even just have the cutscene refill it
That being said, another TH-camr (Nerrel, IIRC) said that Ridley was spoiled pretty early on for him, since he saw the crystals that could only be destroyed by the baby metroid. The only reason to have upgrades locked behind the baby was that there would be a fight after the metroid queen, and the only fight that they'd be willing to retcon onto the ending is Ridley cuz he's too dang popular.
EDIT: I checked, and it was ShayMay, not Nerrel. The latter still has good Metroid content, though.
otakufreak40 It was also because of Ridley appearing in Smash and the Ridley Amiibo coming out, they wanted to hype people up in old and new fans alike. I’m not saying Ridley shouldn’t be in SR, it could’ve been executed better though, and he could’ve felt more similar to the Metroid fights. What I do like about the fight and the game in general though, was that Mercury Steam didn’t put check points in the major(or minor) boss fights. Ridley is a 3 phase fight and if you die you have to beat all 3 phases from the beginning. It’s something MercurySteam really botched with the Castlevania series, but I’m impressed for what they did with SR.
I think the bigger surprise would've been Ridley not showing up at all lol
Buy Metroid Dread people. Metroid needs another comeback! This should be a multi million selling but Samus returns barely hit 500k.
Probably because it was released on the 3DS at the tail end of its lifespan
That doesn't sound too bad considering the time of release and system tbh.
I'm really looking forward to Dread btw
@@robertkenny2636 that could be said but i think it’s also bc Metroid isn’t a popular series in Japan and has most sales in America so the sales aren’t gonna be as good as games that are big in Japan where it came from
@@DanielAyy yea I’m pre ordering it today it looks really good and I’m hyped to have another canon 2d Metroid game after so long
@@gavinmiller134 I won't be preordering it, but if the reviews and overall opinions are positive, i'll definitely buy a physical copy.
Now that's all left is Prime Hunters and Federation Force.
There's also Prime PInball but that would be a 3 hour video
Maybe we can get all the DS games together somehow, also don't forget Prime Hunter First Hunt
@@R0-83-RT Hunters and First Hunt can be the same video.
Federation Force deserves its own.
Pinball can be the Patreon exclusive
@@DarkLink1996. Yeah, I hope Federation Force gets its own video. Even though it's still near the bottom of my Metroid games list, I still have a soft spot of it, and I'd be very curious to see Josh"s opinion on it, even more so than Prime Hunters...
Prime Pinball is the best Metroid spin-off I've played. Maybe it's because I remember 3D Ultra Pinball, but I thought it was a damn fine pinball game. Given this was when Metroid wasn't in a drought period, I think people were more forgiving to it than Federation Force. In retrospect, we can lighten up on FF since it isn't the death song we thought it was going to be.
@@VGamingJunkie I've been saying that for a while.
Honestly, the ending should've clued people into Prime 4 being a thing
"The last metroid was hot garbage, the fandom is not at peace" literally made me laugh out loud
:D
Other M was not only the worst Metroid game, it's one of the worst games I have ever played, period. The boneheaded design decisions, especially with the controls, are mind bogglingly stupid. It goes into "who the hell approved this" territory. This stuff shouldn't have even made it out of the pitch phase. And I'm not even getting into the lousy story (that's a whole other discussion, the game contradicts every other game in the series and does not fit in anywhere), this is JUST the gameplay. Team Ninja is not exactly a great developer (they are below average), and even THEY objected to the controls, saying it would never work. At one point Sakamoto even said (paraphrased) that he recognized that they wouldn't work, but ultimately decided to go ahead because changing it would've meant admitting he was wrong. That is next level arrogance, it should've ended his career as a game developer.
@@StormsparkPegasus shame that sakamoto lost sight of what makes metroid special, and prob lost the trust of nintendo to direct another metroid game after other m
@Agt.BADASS You can dodge in 1st person view. I think it's either shake the wiimote or press the d-pad when the screen flashes green.
@@StormsparkPegasus I thought Other M seemed more like a game they made, then slapped Metroid onto it simply to make it popular. And boy was that not a metroid game.
This game had the most frustratingly perfect difficulty curve. Just when you're ready to rage quit, something clicks, and suddenly you're burning through the next boss
Well see you guys in three years for the Metroid Dread critique.
Whoo boy wait til you hear these news
@@reasonablequit7535 What news?
@@anthonytamuzza591 metroid dread comes out this october!
@@tobiaschevallier-boutell7167 I know. I was talking about the eventual critique of it in three years.
It's the worst Metroid game I have ever played. There's a critique for you. I didn't play Samus Returns, but it looks like it has that same timed melee attack and analog aiming so I won't like it either. It doesn't help that there is a robot that can instantly kill you or that if you don't master counters the average enemy is a bullet sponge.
“A barely remixed track of Magmoor Caverns”
Ridley’s Lair from Super. I know a lot of reviewers credit that music to Magmoor Caverns and I’m not knocking you for it, but for me the track belongs as this late game, threatening, dramatic sounding piece and not just some bland hot level in Prime. And yes, that is to say I think its remix in Prime comes off as a reference for the sake of it. In Super, you’re finally ready to take on Ridley, busting your way through a pretty tough area, there’s a reason for the song to be the way it is
I think another reason why many people credit the theme as Magmoor Caverns is because Ridley's lair and Norfair have several different themes, so saying Magmoor Caverns makes it more immediately recognizable. There's also the simple fact Magmoor caverns is traveled more often in Metroid Prime, than Ridley's lair ever was in Super Metroid.
It's name is Magmoor Caverns in this game's soundtrack.
I mean, why is it called that?
Magmoor Caverns is on Tallon IV and not on SR388. There aren't even any Magmoors in this game.
C'mon just give it an original name.
I'm glad we finally got this song in Smash though.
I stopped the video and came to the comments just to see if someone had pointed this out. That track is from SUPER METROID AND I REEEEEEEEEEEE at the thought of anyone crediting it to a different game.
@@leetcheet1337 It's actually named _Lava Caverns_ in the official CD included in the Legacy Editio.
It's because it IS remixed over the Magmoor Caverns version with mostly the same instruments.
I’m surprised you didn’t talk about the post-credits scene or the Chozo memories because those are some fantastic little moments that deepen the lore even further
Z-10 Chozo memories?
@@kylecampbell565 Yes, the more items you collect unlock a picture gallery called Chozo Memories, showing the history of the Chozo on SR-388. Just by the pictures one can tell what happened. Getting all 10 Memories unlocks a secret 11th Memory, and a possible foreshadowing of things to come? We'll see.
@@Radley1982 kinda like the reward for getting all Chozo Statue items in AM2R, right? The "Our Legacy" log? I had no idea that was in the game, alongside all the other logs, and it was a fantastic surprise for me 😁
@@Mike14264
Basically, but the secret in Samus Returns took it up to eleven, and a brief bit in Dread's trailer made me wonder if they added that because they'd revived Dread even when SR was fresh and new.
@@TheBanishedWind oh yeah, the Chozo General, right?
This probably isn't something most people are going to be talking about, but I absolutely love the models for all the items. Something about seeing them there in 3d makes me happy :)
In general this game just looks really good
I know that I'm over a year late to this video, but regardless, I want to thank you for doing a critique on this entry in the series to show from beginning to end how the Metroid series has progressed. This is one of my top 3 series - has been and always will be- not because of any one element, but rather, how those elements have been brought through to the newer games. And more specifically, your approach in your critiques. The moment I heard the music and sound effects from Super Metroid, I was flooded with memories (both good and bad) and decided that I'm going to dust off the ol' Wii and give the entry a new go. I'm in a drastically different place in life and seeing and hearing the way you've treated all of these entries is inspiring and showcases that this series has stuck around for good reason. So thanks again, for that. And thank you for taking your time to create this series of videos, especially during this time where finding both comfort and inspiration is quite difficult. I hope that you've impacted other gamers this way (and I'm sure you have).
"It's called the Makan... Makakosa... oh screw (attack) it, POWER BOMB CANNON!" I would just like to say, from one DBZ and DBZA fan to another, thank you.
Navyseal4000 I love dbza
@@kalekidsav Makakapotamus
I don't know Josh, the fact that the ending scene shows the X parasite... Samus Returns could still be technically canon in some ways. Also I'm of the firm belief that AM2R and Samus Returns are the two sides of the same coin, that coin being Metroid 2. Two different and outstanding directions of the same game, and it's a joy that BOTH exist, It really feels to me that they compliment each other quite well.
Exactly, it apples and oranges, so to speak.
I completely agree. Each one has it's own fantastic strengths.
AM2R feels like a more loving shot-for-shot remake... But Returns does something new and great with it. AND also makes the metroid fights not just FUN, but also elevates them by giving them additional hidden weaknesses you can exploit (Charged Ice Beam, Grapple beam, etc).
Both are amazing and I'm so glad we got both. :)
Samus Returns is canon.... #ArmCanon ...
Yes that’s right... I went there ;)
You do realize the "it's not canon because the power grip isn't shown as an upgrade" comment is a joke right? Of course this game is canon.
Yeah is like say that super metroid isn't canon because the long beam doesn't appear in the power ups
1:01:47 Speaking from the future: I hope Geek Critique is happy with his wish!
Happy to report Metroid project “Dread” is nearing completion
Fun fact: You can actually beat this game with a 0% competition rate. Lightning Armor pretty much becomes a necessity, you only have 24 missiles and 5 super missiles/power bombs, and you only have 99 health. Aeon powers extend the gauge a little bit, but only three times. If you have this game and don’t have the Fusion difficulty, this is probably the hardest challenge the game has to offer.
Edit: Wow, I didn't think this comment would get a bunch of traction. Thanks to everyone who replied, and a huge thanks to The Geek Critique for hearting this comment!
I’ve stopped playing 100% runs and have focused only on doing 0% Fusion runs. Way more satisfying to play and incredibly fun and challenging. It’s a shame you have to get the amiibo to play, but if you do, this is the best the game has insofar as challenges go.
And IT. IS. FUN!
How in the world do you get so much ammo while still having 0 percent???
Shouldn't a zero percent run effectively result in _1 Super and 1 Power bomb?_
(Assuming you can even get THOSE and it not up the percentage)
@@StarLightShadows Yes, you can get the first packs of power bombs and supers, but that's it. You can also skip the spring ball, high jump, and scan pulse for even more challenge.
@@jessehcreative But each pack of Super's and Power B's give you only one.
"My dumb video game opinions".
That's why I like you, Josh. You're humble.
I enjoy that he always acknowledges that his opinions come from his own personal preferences. It should go without saying, but its still nice. If you love a game and he trashes it (Like Prime 1 ) then it helps that he keeps mentioning that in many ways it just plays against his personal preferences.
"It's way past time for Metroid 5..."
I rewatched this after the 2021 E3 Nintendo Direct, the one that announced Metroid 5, being developed by Mercury Steam. And man, that last bit of “this has some rough edges, but is great and deserves to be further worked out in a sequel that isn’t a remake, and that it’s time for Metroid 5” . . . yeah, looks like you nailed it. :D
ohhh so THATS why you changed the name of the Other M era from "The Unmaking of Metroid" to "The End of Prime"
because they made Metroid not hot garbage again, officially
I mean fair
What a missed opportunity, he could have called this one "The Remaking of Metroid".
@@BetterThanYouXuD
My question is why did he rename the Prime 3 video?
What in the heck? I literally marathoned your whole season of Metroid reviews the past two days, with no expectation that you would be reviewing this one. Time to jump in, I guess!
Perfect timing!
@@GeekCritique I did the same you reignited my love for Metroid
11:30 I think it actually does make a little sense, that’s the only way these species could survive on SR-388 with the Metroids, they have to be agressive
Good point.
"At least you could find those figures at retail, then."
No, no you couldn't.
And history repeats itself again. You can't find them anywhere at MSRP. Same with the special edition of the game (Metroid DREAD).
Correct me if I'm wrong but it's like a pattern, a deliberate move I find despicable of choosing to NOT make enough supply to meet demand.
At this point I don't care about those little "bonuses' anymore. I pray that they don't repeat what happened with Samus Returns, where you simply can't play fusion mode unless you scan the amiibo. Locking a full game mode behind a separate item you can't get anywhere is taking it way too far.
@@user-yu4mf6bs4f Yup. Doing nothing but encouraging piracy and those NFC cards...
I managed to get both for Dread only because I waited for GameStop to open, they only had 5 special editions and me and 2 other guys bought one.
What’s that? *There is literally no answer*
Me, an intellectual: It’s the nameless fear from Metroid Fusion.
_A lot of SR388's animals were on that space station. . ._
It's those eyes from Scooby Doo. They come from SR388
I thought everyone knew Scooby Doo took place in the same world as Metroid
I seriously wanna know what that is.
It's stuff like that which invokes my interest.
I like to think its Genysis from AM2R and sorta Fusion
@@halowillneverbegoodagain1868 OMG I just noticed. The eyes look exactly like the red eyes of the core Metroid Prime. 😳
Thank you for not making this a patreon exclusive, been waiting for a long tme for a video for Samus Returns. So far I'm about half way through, and I'm happy I've got even more to go, love the long video to add to your metroid critique series, I always love coming back to rewatch the entire series. Keep on geeking and critiquing :)
"It's way past time for Metroid 5!!!"
But I guess we can give MercurySteam a couple more months :3
Well, we are finally going to learn what happened after Samus crashed the research station into SR388...
The reveal of Metroid dread was the highlight of e3 2021 for me by miles, I cannot put into words excited I am for the game. It is a game I have been awaiting the release of for years, and playing it is a dream come true for me. I am interested to hear your critique of it and how your experience will be different from mine, cheers.
and this time, Samus will truly be completely alone. She is a fugitive from the Federation. The Space Pirates hate her for what she did to them on Zebes (to say nothing of her deeds in the Phazon crisis). Who does that leave?
For a new release: heck yeah, it was my favorite. For otherwise; I am so fricking hyped for botw2
Personally, I saw the enemies being really aggressive, in addition to being the reasoning behind the counter, as a bit of subtle storytelling.
As the one comment you mentioned from the original Return of Samus Critique said about how the enemies being less common the deeper you go into SR388 shows how dominant a species the Metroids are; I feel this is the same way.
The enemies would, evolutionarily speaking, have to be super aggressive to fight back against the 'troids; any species that wasn't would just be absorbed by them.
And, Tangentially it also holds true w/ encountering the baby. Throughout the game, Samus had to be on the self defense against the creatures w/the counter. So, when the baby doesn't attack her (due to its imprinting), she doesn't attack back/first (however you want to say it) instead lowering her guard and cannon.
I dunno, still a failure at theming to give the genocide game a central combat loop that revolves around self-defense.
And then the second and last points are completely ruined by the amount of enemies on the way to the Metroid Queen and then back to the surface.
I guess I can see your argument, and if this game wasn't a remake of Metroid II I would be on board with your reasoning, however, sometimes silence can speak volumes louder than any action. throughout the whole game, one is in a constant battle mindset, so giving the player a moment to reflect on how desolate the planet has become is a more striking contrast. I hate to bring other games as a point of reference, but this is why the Genocide path of Undertale is so unnerving to several players, due to the silent ambiance.
SAMUS SHOT FIRST! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY REMASTERS SAKAMOTO RELEASES WITH UNNECESSARY ADDITIONS, METROID DID NOT SHOOT FIRST!
@@XSniper74184 lol
I still think your point about the digger boss is well made, but just as a counter-argument of sorts, I've never played a Metroid game, and my immediate thought when the boss started doing the vacuum-suction-move-thing was that you're supposed to drop morph bombs.
I'm not trying to do a lame flex either, I'm pretty terrible at picking up that kind of thing.
I thought you had to go into it in morph ball form like a boss in prime 2
@@WaluigiisthekingASmith OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I felt like an idiot because it took me so long to figure out.
My thought process for that fight was rather crazy. He stopped giving me opening to hammer him on the outside? Time to damage him on the inside, also the fact you can use spider ball to sit in the vacuum dropping bombs instead of trying to stay just ahead of it dropping bombs before trying to get above it was rather fun to point out to my friend (who's copy I played; he made the mistake of challenging me to see who could beat it first knowing I played practically every metroid at that point)
Waluigi is the king A. Smith
Lol, I’m guilty of that mistake too. I even tried it a second time with lightning armor and got completely shredded.
I didn't figure it out for ages either, honestly.
6:20 He seriously hinted at his Mario RPG Critiques, releasing months later, in this throwaway scene. One of the best creators on this site.
Heheh, I think you're the first person to catch that! I knew where I was going next.
Another commenter pointed out that Fusion drastically changed the story for this game, but I think the Prime trilogy should be taken into account here as well. Samus Returns seems to be made with the idea that the Prime trilogy is canon again, what with Magmoor Caverns playing and Ridley's design.
The overarching story of the Prime trilogy is about the effects Phazon had on the universe, certainly, but the primary antagonist for those three games is a Metroid that consumed Phazon energy and became powerful enough, especially after an accident gave it a more powerful, maneuverable body as Dark Samus, that it became a lethal, intelligent, and active threat to the galaxy, even taking over the Space Pirates.
In-universe, the events of the Prime trilogy would absolutely be on the minds of the people who decided to exterminate the Metroids on SR-388. Sure, so far as anyone knows, all the Phazon in the universe, and Dark Samus/Metroid Prime itself, were destroyed at the end of Prime 3. But while Metroids have, so far, been contained to only a few planets, there's no telling what could happen if they absorb other types of energy, especially if people are experimenting on them. Given what happened to the hatchling in Super Metroid, they were likely right to be concerned.
This alone would change the tone of the game. Now, instead of exterminating a species that's only really a threat when weaponized by outside forces, you're eliminating the monsters that gave rise to possibly the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen, outside Mother Brain herself. So of course it's a more action focused, swashbuckling adventure than the original game.
Like you said in the video, when Nintendo remade the original Metroid in Zero Mission, they made as if that adventure were being told for the first time. I think they did the same thing Samus Returns, giving it a drastically different feeling than the original Metroid II because they were telling the story as if Metroid II had never been made.
Also, on an unrelated side note that occurred while writing this comment, didn't the Space Pirates capture an Aurora Unit during Prime 3? Given the designs of those things, that could probably explain how Mother Brain returned in Super Metroid.
Ok you are pretty much right on a lot of this. Except 2 things. 1 is that the magmoor caverns music was a remix of a song from super. And 2 you mention events in super being a reason for samus needing to exterminate the metroids in the game chronologically before it, so the super Metroid wouldn’t be cause to exterminate an already dead species.
@@MarcusTalks123 I actually straight forgot that the Magmoor theme was a remix of a Super Metroid theme. As for point 2, I meant that the events of Super Metroid would justify the concerns about Metroid experimentation.
Another thing: Ridley is known as “Proteus Ridley” in Samus Returns, and serves as a way to directly canonise the Prime Series, where Ridley was kept alive via Space Pirate experimentation and Cybernetic reconstruction.
Proteus Ridley is him regenerating his natural body, and by the end of the game, it’s implied that when he left SR388 he stripped off the rest of the Cybernetics.
@Ironeagle 777 no clue. Perhaps his regenerating body could no longer fit within the cybernetics, and to avoid discomfort he removed them entirely. Perhaps he deemed them “useless” when he was defeated by Samus even with them on. He was also beaten by Samus with a fully Cybernetic body at least twice in the Metroid Prime series.
Do remember his next appearance in the timeline is Super Metroid, where he has no Cybernetic attachments whatsoever and is back to his old fleshy self.
The "you wouldn't download missiles" got me. Great critique as always.
Thank you for the video, I've greatly enjoyed your Metroid series.
I do need to point out something about the game though. something Samus Returns did that apparently most people didn't pick up on is Color Coding. a few hours in I realized that the game was very consistent with how it colored intractable objects. The bombable rocks are always pink, for example. Once I realized this, I quickly figured out that anything pink is weak to bombs. So when the Diggernaut opens up his chest and uses his vacuum, you can see the pink light inside. Almost everything in the game works this way, especially context sensitive enemies and bosses.
WOAH, I'd never noticed that, great catch!
I got to admit you are honestly the best guy to review Metroid ever. You came into it blind which is great as you knew little about it. I binged watched your videos a year ago and loved them while sitting eating snacks and pizza. I didn’t want to move from the videos sooo got lazy and had snacks and pizza haha. This is my second time watching this video but like my 4th or 5th time binge watching the whole review series of Metroid you made. I’m soo impressed and satisfied, I have decided to back you on Patreon. I hope to see new Metroid videos in the future, also hope the wedding ends up back on track mate.
I have a friend who calls himself a Metroid fan only owning this game. A game he never bothered to complete, let alone play, so I did the honours for him, just in time for Dread's announcement. In fact, I only finished the game a couple minutes ago and the words "See you next mission" honestly make it so exciting to join this community in preparation for Dread.
It's funny, to be honest my memories of Samus Returns and AM2R blend together at times to make a game that doesn't exist and I have to make effort to separate the two.
I feel like both did some things better than the other, like for example in my opinion the Queen fight from AM2R is more memorable to me than Samus Returns, yet Samus Returns was the one to actively show the X at the end and there is definitely something to be said about the depth and 3D layering making the caves feel so much deeper, and I especially enjoyed the presence of the troopers and the eventual troopers vs Omega event, and the shipwreck section too.
Didnt the updates to am2r add all those things into it?
the updates to am2r added the x-parasites
You sure? I could have sworn he quit working on AM2R shortly after the first patch when the whole DMCA that was directly addressed to him by name occurred. I mean if it got worked on more under the radar that I missed I'd be delighted to find that update~
Tsuladan Gaming turns out its unofficial but adds concepts Dr. M intended to www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/AM2R/comments/9nonkk/am2r_release_143/
@@kylecampbell565 pretty sure its now in the 1.5 ver.
The Diggernaut is one of my favorite bosses in the whole series
It's nice to see someone be able to come from their own perspective, hear another's, consider theirs, and be able to reconcile the two views.
1:02:00 Good Lord....you predicted Dread so perfectly. I can’t even...wow.
A wonderful episode, without a doubt. Thank you Josh for your work, perspective, professionalism, etc. Even though I've been a fan of Metroid since Zero Mission in 2004, your series has been a major contributor to my fandom. Without you, there's a lot about Metroid that I just wouldn't appreciate or know about.
That's great lead-in into a "BUT", but I'm not here to disagree. What to say...
I never found what I was looking for in Samus Returns. I was hyped for it like almost nothing else in my life; it was up there with Breath of the Wild. Not because of what it seemed to present, but because of the idea that Metroid could be back. Thanks to petty internet arguments I unfortunately had an awful hype cycle, but when I got the special edition in September 2017, I couldn't play it. I had to cry, and to savor the feeling, because Metroid was back. "Metroid's back." I couldn't get over it. I eventually had my fill of blubbering, and when I started the game, it was amazing. The early hours were polished, consistent, they had everything I might have hoped for. I was feeling the promise.
When I finished the game, I hated it. And when I say "hate", I unfortunately mean it. The feelings had inverted. I felt cheated, ripped off, lied to, like the whole game was a facade and no one cared. The game never felt like it evolved past its opening hours. It had nothing to build to. All of SR388 was an empty cavalcade of flat platforms, missile tanks, identical enemies, IT WAS SHALLOW. And in my twisted perspective, I saw the pride of the game in wearing and attempting to elevate the Metroid mantle as arrogance. I, HATED Samus Returns, deeply. Stupidly so.
After over a year and some yada yada, I got tired of bearing such a strong grudge against a game that I knew had objective merits. Feeling such perpetual loathing was tiring, and I wanted to chase it from my thoughts. I'd tried to, for almost 18 months, by selling the game to feel like I got my money's worth, talking myself into appreciation, but I couldn't shake it. SR was my unhappy place. So, as a last effort to ground my views in what the game actually was instead of what I thought it was, I rebought it, and set about to document my second playthrough to stay objective, and write out in comprehensive depth every thought I couldn't shake before, and replace it with an as-close-to-objective-as-possible reflection on the game.
In short, I rediscovered a ton that memory had neglected. I felt some magic again. The quality of the sound design was excellent, the controls were tight, the backgrounds frequently elaborate and intriguing, the boss fights often super engaging. I LOVED the Diggernaut, for being a new take on the escape sequence idea and actually demanding something from me, for being something close to a nemesis as you went through SR388's loop. I, gratefully, had a fresh reminder of everything Samus Returns did well.
But it still felt empty. It still wasn't challenging, not enough, anyways. The Areas were bloated beyond necessity, and I didn't think they warranted their space. For all of the beauty in the background, I felt like I was playing IN FRONT OF an interesting alien planet instead of IN an interesting alien planet, because that complex geometry tapers away as soon as it gets to the place that matters: where you play. The quality of the sound and music was great, but how it was used felt graceless. The environmental storytelling, or storytelling in general, felt weak, like there was no journey to be had. I did in fact choose to play the whole game without the Scan Pulse, having forgotten as much as I ever would. I even pushed to the point of getting 100% item completion, and it didn't make exploration worthwhile. I was sure; I hadn't found what I was looking for.
In the end, my feelings on Samus Returns are neutralized. If I start to feel ill about it, I remember its good points and let it go. If I remember the good times and think about playing again, I remember that I'd have to get through Area 3 again, and how much ISN'T waiting for me, so I just... don't.
In 2017, I believe I expected Samus Returns to bear the entire Metroid legacy on its oversized shoulders, for mostly unfair and external reasons. I expected it to embody everything I loved about Metroid, and when it didn't, there was an inconsistency between my idea of Metroid, what I'd just played, and what most people around me thought of it. Was everyone just so desparate for anything that even LOOKED like proper Metroid that it was guaranteed to be showered in praise? Worse, was it actually what I thought I wanted? Was it a balanced and excellent embodiment of everything Metroid is and was? Were any discrepancies between what I wanted and what I got because the version of Metroid that I loved was just a cloud of imagination and nostalgia? Did I even love Metroid, or just an idea of it, which was now debased?
Now, I see Samus Returns as a perfectly valid flavor of Metroid, and there's a lot I'd like to see iterated or improved upon.
But I'm not excited for a sequel. I can't be excited for Metroid 5 or whatever the next 2D Metroid will be on name alone, or what was presented in Samus Returns. Part of that is the uncomfortably perfect balance of affection and disaffection I feel for it. I'm more-or-less confident that it will be a worthwhile series entry, but I feel like the odds of it disappointing me are equal to the odds of it impressing, amazing, or surprising me. The other part is a lesson learned; I can't get overhyped for something. It's risky, and the promise of the game actually meeting the sky-high expectations does not make it worth the risk.
When 2D Metroid comes rolling around again, I'll be hoping as a desperate fan, but judging like a consumer. I want to love, REALLY love a modern (official) Metroid game, to have my idea of the series and its actual identity be one and the same. To have a dream realized. But IDK if that'll happen.
In the meantime, I will just wait... and see.
(I'm BEGGING you Prime 4, please be greatness incarnate!!)
Thanks to anyone who bothered to read, and thank you again Josh for your wonderful series. It's some of the most professional stuff I've encountered on TH-cam, and it keeps me believing. I hope you and Alisha's families stay well, and that you can get married as soon as possible! I'll also Return to Patreon, for at least a few months. After all you've offered, it's only fair. Until the next episode, one last thank you. Keep on critiquing!
Thanks for reading :')
Edit: This feels like the end to an arc, like an emotional journey. The release of TGC's Metroid reviews have correlated pretty well with my experiences playing Metroid IRL (AM2R and its debacle, my first time playing the Prime Trilogy being concurrent with those reviews), so now that I've made my peace with Samus Returns AND it's been officially Critiqued... it's like it's all wrapped up. I feel like I'm ready for a new chapter, in both :D . Let's finally see what the future holds!
This is an epic comment, and I don't use that word lightly! Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the episode, and I really appreciated reading through your perspective, too!
@@GeekCritique Ah, man... Thank you! (for the 4th time?!). I'm glad my little story of caring-too-much-about-little-things had some value. I feel like I've pretty much said everything I can at this point, but... you're great, and I hope the Critique blossoms into an even more financially viable/secure job, because what you do, what you say, what you bring to the discussion as YOU has real value. You're passionate AND grounded. Not only are your videos entertaining and informative, I've felt like I've been able to use them to "touch base" so to speak. Your AM2R review is a perfect time capsule of that time and situation, your Prime 2 review opened my mind to how much more it was than "Prime 1 but more drab", and especially now for SR; you've vividly re-illustrated to me how the glass is much more than half-full here. And don't worry, I do watch more than the Metroid videos ; ).
Hopefully that little ego boost helps in the coming months ; ) (I am being totally honest though). I hope one day I can get to where I think you are now: doing what you love, and doing it well. See you around Josh, whether next Mission, Critique, livestream, whatever! Have a fantastic whenever-you-read-this!
@@towel9245 all this happened to me with KH3.
It taught me a valuable lesson, too.
I didn't learn it with FF XV, but trust me, KH3 did just fine :(
@@klarenceryoughi Aw, I'm sorry. Do you have some silver linings to look forward to, or are you pretty much out until further notice?
OH MAN! I've waited AGES for this episode! That Metroid Retrospective as well as its followup Retro Studios Retrospective is what I would point to as the closest a gaming retrospective could come to perfection, so I was so excited to see this on Patreon. May the viewing of the conclusion (for now) to the TGC Metroid saga COMMENCE!
Finished. Great episode as always, Josh. As for the Red Eyed Watcher, I do have a hypothesis as to what it is... [SPOILERS BELOW]
I believe it to be Ridley, who was watching your progress in camouflage mode and waiting for the right moment to strike. I mean, if it was intended to be Ridley, the foreshadowing was not done the best. So here is possible evidence:
1. The breath from its nostrils indicates it has a long nose, just like Ridley
2. Super Metroid establishes that Ridley has the ability to turn invisible. Although as to why his eyes are showing instead of completely invisible is another question I cannot answer.
3. Even though his eyes are yellow in the final boss, his eyes were orange-ish in Super Metroid. Although as to why they are completely yellow in the final boss instead of red/orange throughout his entire appearance is another question I cannot answer.
4. Why else would the developers and artists put in the effort to show a mysterious creature, if there wasn't going to be any payoff later on? Maybe they ran out of time? Or maybe they meant it to be Ridley.
Problems with the Hypothesis:
1. Why didn't it just grab a Metroid from earlier on and leave? Maybe it needed a larval Metroid as kidnapping an Alpha or Gamma would not produce its desired power for Space Pirate weaponry.
2. How would it get passed the acid and be in an area BEFORE Samus?
3. Why are his eyes yellow and not red?
Can we talk about how great the movement of Samus is in this game, especially near the end?
You don't have to stop and pick up items because they fly to you. The timing on Space Jump is a lot more forgiving. The Morph Ball's faster. Since there's no Speed Booster, you'd think the long horizontal progression would take forever? NOPE! Running from one side of a wider Area to the other takes a minute or two because her move speed is great, without the need to hold the Dash Button the whole time.
Early on, it's a little stop and go as you have to kill enemies so you don't take too much damage. Once you get the Wave Beam though, you can strategically position yourself to kill them whilst behind a wall, and get going without taking damage. Once you get the Screw Attack, you can tear through sections with ease. The fast travel teleporters help eliminate a ton of backtracking.
Overall, it's pretty smooth and fun.
I played the game when it came out, and seeing this video made me want to play it again.
Love your work! Thanks!
Her movement in here is soooo fast even her basic speed is like 2x faster than any other game and the fact that the morph ball isn't an upgrade and finally the space jump is absolutely fluid its just perfect.
Did any of us use the same space jump? Because to me it was finicky as all hell. If I did something wrong in midair (in my experience unmorphing or shooting), was too close to the ground, or took damage I couldn’t respin back into a space jump. It felt perfect in Zero Mission but absolutely awful here. Dread made it way more reliable.
@@cato3277 It’s exponentially better than the original Game Boy version.
@@MageBoyJr True but thats not the benchmark to surpass or equate to, it felt really off and finicky from my experience.
Trust me I’ve seen ppl say zero mission gameplay is more fluid than samus returns and I’m just like how ? 360 aiming, melee counter and aion abilities lmao mfs just don’t know what they’re talking about
Well 19 years after Metroid 4 but we finally have Metroid 5 announced and coming this year!!!!
Probably my favorite Metroid game, people keeps comparing it with AM2R and forget that it is not really fair, because AM2R had all the time in the world, they spend 10 years working on it and they didn't had to wait for Nintendo to approve any changes they made to the original game or designs of the creatures, I think they did an excellent job.
"MAKE IT STOOOOP!!!!!"
31:30 Ngl, had me in between stitches and a PTSD flashback to that moment.
AM2R was closer to a remake to Metroid 2 and Samus Returns was more of a test for future games and after this E3 yea that's definitely the case and im hyped for Dread.
AM2R is a love letter for the franchise, SR is a evolution of the next form of the franchise
Just wondering, since I thought this would be part of a bigger season to get the rest done:
Will you still be doing the other 3?
Will you show how and in what ways they managed to make a Prime game on DS hardware?
Will you show how good or bad Federation Force actually is and look at it as more than just "the game that wasnt a mainline game at this point in time, so its bad"?
*Will you show the world what kind of masterpiece it missed out on by rejecting the very best Metroid game, Metroid Prime Pinball?!*
I actually do like me some pinball, is it unironically good?
@@Mike14264 Yes, Prime Pinball is actually quite a lot of fun. Much better than the Super Mario pinball game for GBA, which is also amusing but grows old very quickly.
“The year 20XD5” ... epic
I know this was released during COVID, but going through any sort of hardship in life and hearing that intro, it's comforting.
Thank you, Geek Critique. Your Metroid reviews have been an enjoyable retreat from both the pandemic and my own crisises.
I've been looking back at talk about Samus Returns since the reveal of Metroid Dread. It's almost impossible to talk about this game without mentioning AM2R. You see it in every review and ESPECIALLY the comments. AM2R nailed the ending, had snappy controls and a sea of references all from (mostly) ONE person. Its praise combined with Nintendo's attitude toward fan games sort of poisoned opinions of THIS game.
However, the more I closely examine, dare I say CRITIQUE the 2 side by side, the more I see how much PROGRESSIVE Samus Returns is versus how RETRO AM2R is. The fan game is a PERFECT replica of a classic Metroid game: you could port it to the 3DS (or even maybe original DS if optimized) and it would look like an official game. All credit to Milton Guasti for sure. Samus Returns is flawed, but it's truly a PROGRESSION of the franchise.
I really want to note the animation and environment. Samus has never shown so much emotion before. Her exaggerated run cycle shows confidence. The cutscenes show her as calculating and not phased at all witnessing new, scary creatures. Most of all, the slick animation between motions (climbing a ledge or just turning around) are so smooth which show how experienced she is. Smooth animation is also great for game feel. The enemy designs also focus on animation because they need readable poses for the melee counter.
But what I really want to talk about is the environment, the one thing that everyone claims that AM2R did better in spades. When you look closely, you can actually see a story told just like the Prime series, except WITHOUT scan logs to help you, only 10 Chozo memories. Most specifically, Area 7. It's the Chozo lab, the BIRTHPLACE of the franchise's namesake (and possibly Samus's power-ups). The music is both eerie and nostalgic, referencing the cutscenes from Super. There's mostly DRONES in this area because it's meant to be a highly secure area, as opposed to Area 5, which was mostly living enemies because it WASN'T inhabited by Chozo. Also Mr. Geek Critique, you didn't even notice all the ICE and AIR FANS around the area that were meant to keep Metroids from entering said rooms! There's even what looks like either a map or blueprints to the Power Bomb within the final Omega Metroid room. Either way, Area 7 is one of the most influential area to the franchise, yet most people just wrote it off as "should've been AM2R".
I'm just glad Nintendo themselves appreciated MercurySteam's work, so much so they let them revived a 10 year long-dead SEQUEL.
The official remake sure has some points, but just as it may have done things better than Metroid 2 or AM2R, it also fucked up worse than those two previous games. It is somewhat balanced, but it doesn't give Samus Returns a clear edge over AM2R
Ok sure, but like, AM2R is a fun game and Samus Returns isn’t. I’m mostly joking of course, but seriously i’m playing Samus Returns right now and i am not having much fun
Looking at all the comments on this video, I'm honestly starting to think that people who played AM2R are just refusing to enjoy Samus Returns on principle. Like they're so bitter over the DMCA that they've turned it into an us-versus-them war with Nintendo and their fans. I haven't played AM2R, but if this is the face of its fanbase, I really don't want to. Congratulations for turning me away from a game I may have enjoyed.
This was my first Metroid, and I'm so glad it was. This game manages to mix more traditional action game elements, with Metroid-style exploration. And even then, with the area structure (and the scan pulse for that matter), the exploration feels more contained, and prepared me for the massive exploration of whole worlds in later games. If nothing else, this, in my opinion, is the best game for new Metroid players. Because when I then went on to play the others, Samus Returns helped me come to like the open ended exploration, so when it was expanded upon in the other games, I was hooked.
Same for me, this was my first Metroid game and now I need to play the rest of the series
The only reason I'd disagree is the difficulty this game possesses, it's harder than most of the other 2d games (besides fusion) which, along with its linear difficulty spike, might make players expect other game's bosses to be similarly challenging, leaving them disappointed.
i loved this game so damn much, it's the reason why i bought a 2DS XL! ...and then i lost the thing in a movie theater... i still cry.
Maybe ask them If they've seen a 2ds,maybe they'll give it back.
Here I am rewatching all of these Fantastic videos while anticipating Metroid Dread
While many people I know were Metroid fans from the beginning I was literally a toddler when I was first introduced to Metroid watching my older brother play through Zero Mission
I fell in love with the story, the art, everything of this story is gold!
And I was here for the second dark age, I remember feeling out of place due to liking Other M
And now years later I feel validated by these videos
I’m telling people I’m a fan and that is all thanks to your videos
So here’s to Metroid, you, and the next mission
CHEERS!
I was a toddler when the first Metroid came out x_x
One cool detail I noticed about the Ridley fight on my most recent playthrough is that, for each of the three phases of the fight, they play a different remix of Ridley's theme from one of the previous games. The first phase is a remix of his Other M theme, the second is Metroid Prime, and the third is Metroid Fusion.
I almost did a spit take from the Federation Force joke
I know! Especially with the main theme sounding like the speakers are melting 😆
I’m really glad to see this pop up. Your videos are some of my favorites on the platform and I love going back to watch them years after they come out.
I liked the Ridley fight because I just like thay sort of thing, but it definitely feels out of place.
*that
This has aged so well and your wishes in the epilogue are now being realized! See you on the next Mission on 10/8!
I just replayed it in preparation for Dread, and to be honest I was surprised of how much better it is to what I inititialy thought. Originally I was very nitpicky to the game because it didn't fit the mold of what a metroid game is to me. No sequence breaking, an extremely linear path even more than the original or am2r, almost no background story. But now I see it for what it is, I don't think it is a proper metroidvania or a traditional metroidvania, an action focused metroid game, and it is an incredible action game with exploration elements. And suddenly I was having a blast through the whole playthrough in fusion mode.
The aeon abilities which I interpret as just more keys for secrets are actually very well implemented for combat, splitsecond choices of wether you prefer to avoid damage or deal extreme damage. Even the icebeam received a combat oriented revision, it now significantly decreases the missile resistence of the enemies and metroids and prevents the latter for using any elemental attacks, making them more likely to do the counterable move, so it becomes a very valuable tool in the early game. Qlphas and gammas become a lot less frustrating and repetitive if you experiment with your abilities and use them as you get them.
I think this game has the best combat system of any 2D metroid and some of the best bosses.
I just did the opposite, played dread and then picked this up for the first time. Definitely can see a lot of dreads dna in samus returns. I still like dread more, but there's absolutely a lot to love about Samus returns
@@leftovernoise Yeah I enjoyed it, and thankfully dread has addressed pretty much all of my problems with Samus Returns. Kind of makes me a little worried that the game will be worse in comparisson. But tbt I don't plan on revisiting Samus Returns any time soon. I love playing the series from 1 to 5, and my game of choice for number 2 is AM2R.
Are we just going to ignore the presentation, theme, and difficulty of diggernaut? So ominous yet such a bop
"It's way past time for Metroid 5" *OH BOY...*
I didn't realize this game had a Fusion Mode.
Locking it behind an Amibo is BULLOCKS!
That diggernaut chase man, that gives me flashbacks, the good kind
Haven't watched the video yet but I liked it after the intro alone thank you for being a wonderful beam of light in these dark times and I wish the best for you and your fiancee
Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you so much!
I've been thinking about those complaints with the ending in Samus Returns "Ruining the moment and missing the point" of Metroid 2's hallway. Having just recompleted the game: I think this new ending fits in with the newer lore fairly well.
While in the original you're a (Bounty) Hunter going out to eradicate an INCREDIBLY dangerous species for the betterment of the galaxy, the ending makes you somewhat doubtful, the emptiness letting you see the wreck that the Metroids brought upon SR388... As had you. It lets you reflect on what you did, debate if it was truly the right call.
The ending in Samus Returns, however, doesn't have that same tone in part due to the world building that came AFTER the original's release. You're not there to hunt down a "dangerous species", you're there to hunt down a BIOWEAPON (which eventually turns out to be more of an antidote to the real dangerous species). The Metroids are an artificial species that, while they're strong predators and ran wild against the Chozo, they're moreso "designed" by the Chozo as a cure to the X plague (which somewhat take the role the Metroids had in the original game thinking about it?). The Chozos designed them to get rid of the X, not the ecosystem.
That, I believe, is the explanation as to why the final levels are filled with more enemies than the original. The Metroids, while they did end up running wild and disrupting some of the ecosystem, were regulated by the Chozos' containment system, keeping only a certain amount at each area in such a way that the ecosystem wouldn't be overrun by them. Due to that, the hallways of the final area aren't devoid of non-Metroid fauna.
If anything, I somewhat appreciate the ending lap around SR388 to something of Samus's way of giving the baby the treatment the Chozo gave her (that's the feeling I got from Metroid 2's ending after the fact she was raised by the Chozo was properly canonized, since iirc that wasn't a thing around the original's release.) It wasn't just mercy, it was empathy. The Chozo, after finding her as the lone survivor of her colony, pick her up and raise her in their own way, leading her to become a warrior. I like to think that, in doing that final cleanup lap through SR388, Samus is giving the baby that knowledge of its world, now that it has no other members of its species to do that. She's raising it out of a sense of understanding for its condition, and guilt about being to it what Ridley was to her.
Am I thinking too deep into this? 100%. But that's kinda what was going on in my head when playing through Samus Returns' ending. Sorry for the ramble, but I wanted to put my thoughts and interpretation out there.
Don't be so sensitive Samus Returns ruined nothing.
@@robertkenny1201 debatable.
Both Metroid 2 and AM2R kinda help you reflecting on your journey at the end and how you just literally exterminated a whole species that couldn't have done any harm if the federation simply took measures to prevent the space pirates or any one else from visiting SR388 again.
Samus Returns is literally just "Haha! Spazer goes brrrrt."
This and Dread just changed Samus character for the worse.
@@Myuutsuu85 Not in my opinion it didn't.
5:50 this is how I felt about Dread! I became a fan around 2018 or 2019 and being here for Dread has been incredible!
I hope the closing statements basically predicts Metroid Dread.
I adore this game. Next to Link Between Worlds, this is my favorite game on the 3DS. The progression is dope, the music is solid, and the 3D visuals are fantastic; best use of the gimmick I've seen. Also, that final boss fight was one for the books. It was fast and challenging and fun as fuck.
Oh yes ! I just love the way Samus "detach" herself from the background with the 3D turned on and just stands out. To the point where with the effect turned off, it just bothers me to look at it, haha... it just makes the game more comfortable to look at, having foreground and background separated (and yet unified) like that.
A man of fine taste--also my two favorite 3DS games.
@@andyjoseph7991 I always play with the 3D on. I feel like the depth of the 3D makes up for the lower frame rate and makes it easier to play.
@@booski1865 Same. Too bad that people who love that 3D effect, seem to be in a minority I feel like... and I mean, I get it, some people aren't "compatible" with it, for X or Y reason, or they play on an older 3ds model so it's not the most practical thing... but I know a lot of people who really didn't give it a fair chance. Or they all told me "it's just a gimmick". Well... in most cases, yeah, but so what ? xD Why MUST it be necessarily "improve" the gameplay ? Can't it just be cool AF ? :0
Even some developpers stopped giving a shit about it, that's the saddest part to me... :/
This, castlevania lords of shadow mirror of fate and tales of the abyss are my favorite 3ds games
Never had an issue with the touch screen controls personally.
Edit: you don't need the baby metroid for most of the backtracking, it just lets you bypass the real puzzles. Most of them require you to use the aeon powers instead, you just weren't able to see it.
There's one section that you'd think requires the metroid because the door closes too quickly but that's when you use the time warp to slow it down. You're missing out on some of the best puzzles in the game by bringing the baby metroid with you. It's not a solution, it's a crutch.
Thank you for not making this a patreon exclusive; this is one of my favorite videos
Someone else might have pointed this out, but there are plenty of opportunities for getting upgrades before you’re supposed to. I found that most missile or health upgrades blocked off by those blue crystals could be reached in another, less obvious way after poking around a little, and it always made me feel cool for “outsmarting” the game
This video sounds more like one of his Sonic critiques. This is probably because he has played this game before, but it's a nice change of pace from the usual.
To that I say congratulations.
What an amazing video! And, as a Patreon, I can say I don't mind a bit it's not Patreon-exclusive. Keep up the good work!
Magmor Cavern theme from Metroid Prime is just Lower Norfair (Ridleys lair) from Super Metroid!
I literally started replaying the Metroid series right now, because of your vids! Thanks for releasing this here man, means a lot, and was such a nice surprise. You’re doing a great job, and the internet is a better place because of it!
4:54 You know what Fusion does need though? A true sequel, a game that takes place after Fusion in the timeline. I feel like there's so much potential for a good Metroid game there. At the very least, it's an excuse to bring back the Fusion suit for another game.
At least we got a sequel tease for a Metroid 5 here in the Chozo Memories?
So for me. Metroid II was one of my first games. I've played through it at least once a year for probably 25 years now. I cherish that game. With that said. Samus Returns, while it is a good game, don't get me wrong at all. I enjoyed it. I really don't care for it as a Metroid game.
It has its moments that shine through. Samus has her best characterization in years. Her final shot against Diggernaut is incredible. Her relationship with the Baby Metroid is so well done. I love the cleanup phase with it tagging along. I do love these aspects of Metroid.
However, unlike you the combat isn't why I'm playing Metroid games. The atmosphere, the tone, the worlds we explore in them are what keeps me coming back. It's where Samus Returns falls so hard on its face. You bring it up in the critique that tonally it's nothing like Metroid II. That's my problem with it. And it's because I've spent almost my entire life with that game. I hate the gauntlet after the Queen. The reflective trek up is something so iconic with Metroid II that I can't imagine how it was down away with. The way the enemies become more aggressive and stronger the deeper you get. Then taper off until there's nothing on the trek up to Queen. Metroid II told it's story through it's world and I loved that about it, it feels natural where Samus Returns never relents in being a game first and foremost.
One of the things that also really got to me where all the vacuums and goop on the walls. It actively discourages you from thinking outside the box like you would in most Metroid games. Find a good place to bomb jump? There's probably a vacuum there so you can't. Find a good place to spider ball? There's goop on the walls you can't stick to. It just such a drag that a series that rewards you with thinking about how to use it's abilities actively denies you the ability to do so.
I know I'm in a minority in the detractors of Samus Returns and I get it. I will say I found while AM2R never got as bleak as Metroid II that it was an extremely competent remake that honored the original. Samus Returns feels like a good game that just read the cliff notes of the original.
I honestly do hope it gets a sequel and Mercury Steam makes an original game. I feel there is a blueprint for an incredible Metroid game here and I believe they could do it when they're not working in the constraints of being a remake. Maybe finally make Metroid Dread. I want to see the franchise finally move forward past Fusion and I think they're totally capable of delivering. For Samus Returns. Good game, I have the amiibos, the collector's edition, and the SR 3DS but I don't honestly think I have the desire to play that game again.
Other problems with the game include the complete loss of enemy diversity. Nearly 50% of Metroid 2's enemies were cut, which is why we see the same few over and over again in Samus Returns. This ruins the immersion of Samus being in an exotic alien planet, thus further ruining the atmosphere.
Subtle environmental story-telling was also altered for no clear reason. That haunting broken Chozo statue near the Queen? Gone.
@@ultraspinalki11 that's actually what I meant about the enemies getting more aggressive and then tapering off. The deeper you go the enemies get stronger, they are the ones that adapted to survive the later evolutions of the Metroids. Then as you start getting close to the Omegas then there's just small enemies that the Metroids would find pretty inconsequential and have left alone. Then no enemies being in the Queen's area at all. I appreciated that about Metroid II.
@@DrazenX195 Remember when at the start of SR you see Metroids eating a Hornoad? And then the game contradicts itself by shoving all these hordes of regular animals living right next to the heart of the extremely dangerous Metroid species. I think Metroid 2 and AM2R even put effort into making sure robots and animals are rarely seen together, as one can imagine the malfunctioning robots would likely attack the animals.
The devs who worked on Samus Returns probably believed players would find the empty caves boring and decided to stuff it with enemies to keep the mindless action going.
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching on the internet. I’m glad you’re super proud of it; it’s well deserved.
Seeing this video makes me happy. Not only does it hype me up for Metroid Prime 4, but it was YOUR videos that got me into this fandom in the first place (along with tje channels uploading Metroid music.)
Thank you for the hour and (almost) 3 minutes of episode for this. For us who have to stay indoors, it's always a blessing to get some good entertainment.
Also, that ending was precious~
Josh, I was unaware you were even working on this XD
Thanks for the nice surprise, made my day
I appreciate you making this available to everyone, as someone who has been following your metroid critiques. And I wish you and your partner the best fir the future.
If you plan on spending the rest of your life with them, waiting a little longer for the official confirmation will be worth the wait.
This was about the time I started to become a Metroid fan, near the beginning of 2020 I beat samus returns, then beat super, then fusion, and even Metroid 1, and after truly becoming a metroid fan, the trailer for dread came out, and I couldn’t have become a Metroid fan at a better time
I've been waiting for this one so much I have watched it 7 times now. I am thankful for this video. God bless you and your entire family!!
Metroid Retrospective XI: Geek Critique Returns. Great retrospective, and while I didn’t agree with everything, you always do such an excellent job of explaining it. This was actually my 2nd Metroid game I’ve played and my first 2D one (I played Prime a couple months earlier). Eventually I played all the 2D games including AM2R (except the original versions of 1 and 2), and enjoyed each of them considerably. I think you nailed it on the head when you said that this game pushed the series in a new direction while remaining distinctly Metroid. That’s what makes me love it so much. I’m just glad that this seemed like it was made with passion instead of nostalgia pandering. And I also can’t help but be a sucker for cinematic flair, which this game has plenty of. I feel like there’s a consensus on the internet that AM2R is better than SR in every way, I just don’t care. I love both to pieces and both are valuable reinterpretations of an arguably outdated game. I think I prefer SR but who cares. As always, keep up the great work and stay safe! 👍
Thank you so much for posting this on TH-cam as well. It means a lot to be able to watch this. Especially with the news of dread coming out. You're the best as always! Thank you as always and stay safe.
Good luck with the wedding!
36:23 "There's an uneasy Dread"
Hah! Called it!
Thank you for finally reviewing this!
While AM2R felt more like a remake, this game felt more like a reimagining. I can really tell that the team behind this is trying to do their own spin if Metroid, instead of trying to be as fateful as possible and they really succeed with alot of it. The 360 aiming is awesome, the aeion abilities are fun to use, the grapple beam is more usefull than ever, the areas are almost unrecognizable and the boss fights are better than ever.
And yes, some thing's doesn't work like they completely missed the tone the original game had, the scan pulse kinda ruins any surprises the game has in store for you in the next room and Ridley feels a little to fan service'y. But things like that doesn't ruin the game for me. In other words I'm glad. I'm glad it doesn't feel like another Fusion or another Zero Mission. Even tho it's a remake, this still feels like it's own thing and I'm glad this franchise is still able to evolve into greater thing's.
Thank your for appreciating and not hating this awesome game
Thanks for this, I needed it.
You're so welcome!
I just started watching this 4mins in actually and I have to comment already. Thank you for making available to everyone, I will definitely consider patreon, tho I have no clue what that is or never cared to know either until this channel. I've watched all the metroid series and now starting this one. Btw the editing and intro to this video with what you're saying and the music looming is really good!
Just found this channel and binged this Metroid series. FANtastic!
Metroid Dread really does improve on absolutely everything in this game.
In my opinion Metroid Samus Returns looks better Super Metroid.
This is the most positive talking I have heard about this game, most of the reviews were like "Uugh, isn't like the original, and AM2R made it better and..." You give me hopes for this game again.
purists are such cancer and am2r fanboys don't get a say.
Thanks man, I've been spending my free time between work (I work in pharmacy so i'm working overtime right now until this all dies down) trying to ease off some stress by replaying the entire metroid series, so this is perfectly timed. Hope you and yours are well.
17:00 really highlights how Metroid is able to make you feel like you are beating the system! Not just because of how you experienced the room, but also how I experienced it!
I actually got the spider ball BEFORE the ice beam and the solution I found to that room was complicated enough that I came out of it thinking "I was probably supposed to use the ice beam there, but I got it by abusing the spider ball! Take that, game!"
It's an amazing feeling, and the fact that they made that room's solution feel like a victory against the game (or, in a way, a victory against the world Samus is exploring) is AMAZING