Written by Jeff Buckland, 2/16/2004
Played on:
GBA
Nintendo has done an excellent job in keeping the Metroid franchise alive and successful. While some consider the very 3D Metroid Prime to be an unnecessary departure in style for the traditionally 2D series, others say it breathes new life into the games. Either way, Metroid: Zero Mission is most definitely a 2D affair with great controls and classic gameplay. This time, though, a few new surprises have been thrown in for those that think they know what's coming.
On that point, many gamers do have a pretty good idea of what this game offers, as it's a retelling of the original NES Metroid. Many of the powerups introduced in later games are now here, but at the same time we get a bit more of a background behind how those abilities came about. The classic bosses like Kraid, Ridley, and the unforgettable Motherbrain are of course included, feeding that retro need that many Metroid fans have.
Metroid Fusion was the last game in the series to be released, and its controls were more limiting than they could have been - although it took some players a little while to understand how. Basically, the game's highly structured, linear design required that the player do things in order, which kind of screwed up the fun that many players had after mastering previous games in the series. The idea was that you could break the order that the game required the player do things in, like collect items or kill bosses. Metroid Fusion's too-structured design had little room for this kind of tomfoolery. To this end, Nintendo limited bomb-jumping and wall-jumping, two of the series' most useful maneuvers, down to where they were really only barely useful.
Some of the Metroid Fusion conventions have made it into Zero Mission, like holding the R trigger as a "shift" key for firing missiles. But this time, bomb- and wall-jumping are back in their original forms, and these can be used to great effect throughout the game. Those who want to put together some creative speed runs can go crazy with these abilities here, and this has been expanded even further by allowing you to dash while in the morph ball form.
The original Metroid still stands up a good-looking NES game in my opinion, at least for its time. So many rooms looked the same, but its strange half-natural-formation, half-alien-built style made for an interesting, mysterious landscape that I still find to be unique. Nintendo has kept that in mind for this remake, and while every single pixel has been redrawn for Zero Mission, the classic feel is alive.
Sure, this isn't near as visually impressive as Metroid Prime, and it's even shown up in some ways by Super Metroid on the SNES, but Zero Mission has the visuals where they count. The bosses look excellent, Samus is animated even better than ever (at least compared to her other 2D forms), and the enemies show that original style but with a bit more detail this time around.
We also see some of the reworked yet classic style in Zero Mission's many environments. Quite a few areas will be familiar to those that remember the NES original, right down to the placement of items and enemies. At the same time, they've enhanced some areas and changed around many locations for a new visual flair. On top of this, the bosses are big and look great - those who think 2D gaming is dead should definitely consider what Nintendo has done with Metroid: Zero Mission (and graphics aren't the only reason why).
The best way to describe how Metroid: Zero Mission plays would be to say that it's the original game done in a Super Metroid style. That still doesn't get all of it, though, as the game has a fairly long section that's really unique to the series, and many of the items are now much more difficult to get to.
One of my favorite things about this game is simply that we get a story without a lot of typed-out narrative. Fusion held your hand through every objective, and while some story elements were only possible through some text describing them, it certainly wasn't necessary for Zero Mission's relatively simple narrative. The Chozo statues lying around of course offer up items just like they have in every Metroid game, but they also now point you to your next major objective. Note that they do not actually tell you what's down there; they point you in the direction and that's it. It works well, too, as it leaves in some ambiguity and mystery while giving you a real direction to head in - without making you feel lost like the first three games in the series did.
