Nintendo has historically been able to boast of being the only major video game company capable of transforming the 2D games with which it defined genres in the 80s into respective 3D masterpieces when it was time to redefine those same genres in the 90s and 2000s based on polygons. . Its “triforce” of franchises has always been Mario, Zelda and Metroid, courtesy of many others and with the Adventures of Samus Aran more reclusive in a corner for cult and quiet sci-fi compared to more universal platformers and fantastic plumbers. , Donkey Kong and Link.
Launching Metroid Prime 20 years ago now was all about happy ideas, divine interventions, and a mix of fortune and skill, because while the jump to Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time in retrospect seems like a more natural job Elevating the usual plan, creating a labyrinthine atmospheric adventure by dealing with the geniuses of Gunpei Yokoi and Yoshio Sakamoto, also in the hands of a new (American!) team seemed, and for a while was, mission impossible. Legend has it that it was Shigeru Miyamoto, almost always horrified by FPS, who pointed out that it would all work much better in first person, bringing design and technology to the forefront, and veteran Kensuke Tanabe was able to give him life. End of such a complicated and unprecedented production with the Retro Studios team in Texas, led by Mark Pacini. Of course, with a lot of talent that came from Iguana, from Turok.
All of this is necessary to put into context what Metroid Prime meant on the Gamecube in 2002 and 2003. Designed as a first-person adventure or FPA, its focus was on exploration and not so much combat, but it is that, based on the smoothness and goal setting more than inspired by the invention of Ocarina, it also allowed action plays to work better than ever on a stick-centric console. It was, along with GoldenEye 007, Halo and the aforementioned Turok, the game that marked how it would be played in first person with a controller in the following decade, something that obviously evolved with the second stick.
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The last elements of this retrospective review were navigational and environmental factors. Metroid Prime worked in first-person due to the exquisite work that was done to make the player feel like he was facing Samus Aran. The different viewers, the ability to scan so many elements of the setting (in the process of evolving what we now call environmental storytelling) brought an incredibly personal way of exploring which was the biggest difference from mazes from the original 2D series. And to tie it all together, the holographic map served series connoisseurs and strangers alike with a reference that was as simple to understand as the time squares of the NES, yet groundbreakingly three-dimensional and organic.
I could go on about everything else that made the adventure a masterpiece. His rhythm, his sense of discovery, or that he could allow himself to elegantly draw a formula that today we would criticize at first sight: that of stripping Samus of the capacities of his costume, of distributing them without too much logic in Tallon IV and to mark back steps worthy of counting the daily steps. It didn’t matter, just like in Mario 64, it didn’t matter to go into the same frame to do something a little different and date the next star. Just like the emptiness of Hyrule’s mini-camp in Ocarina didn’t matter. You play one of the three today, you play Metroid Prime today, and you enjoy everything that will be banned in Metroid Prime 4 because it was a masterclass in 3D metroidvania design with rules of thumb. before, perhaps the first of all.
Metroid Prime Remastered is almost an AV remake
And icing on the cake, the work of Retro Studios (with a hand of Iron Galaxy, given to the ports of shooters on Switch) in this remastering is fantastic. Metroid Prime Remastered is by far the best take on the classic yet, and it’s so good in fact that the biggest downside I can think of is that Nintendo hasn’t given it the accolades it deserves. It almost felt more like GoldenEye 007 than yes, which is an equal or superior classic, but whose workmanship and ownership falls far, far below. For a game that’s been in the works for quite some time, the surprise announcement and release might be instantly exciting, but it doesn’t put the scratches worthy of such important work. Metroid Prime Trilogy for Wii had more presence, but it’s still a digital release now and another physical with no special edition, no paraphernalia, no trilogy in sight, when we come from MercurySteam’s hugely successful Metroid Dread and when it has finally started production on Metroid Prime 4 from Retro Studios itself. It looked like something different from a Nintendo Direct and it isn’t.
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Because it’s not just the first time that we can play Metroid Prime in HD and on a laptop. They’ve also built in 5.1 surround sound, so communications can be heard more clearly, and you can hear when the Seegoth attacks you from behind, when a shot ricochets off a missile latch, or when a door slams shut behind you. , while the music is playing. Kenji Yamamoto’s atmosphere sounds better than ever. But most noticeable is the extra work in terms of new textures, added geometry, and additional light effects. Subtle while respecting the original art, but very grateful to be playing today. Reaching Phendrana’s icy zone for the first time is still amazing, but now its realistic snow, rocky textures and icy reflections on the walls make for something unexpected in a remaster: some of the best graphics ever made on Nintendo Switch. nobody and great promise for the inevitable remastering of Echoes and Corruption and the future fourth opus. Metroid Prime 2 and 3 have already added a lot more geometry, hustle and complexity, so we’ll have to see how they handle performance and if they tweak as much as here, because in this Remastered they had to sacrifice a bit of resolution on TV and laptop at It goes very well, a minor and understandable inconvenience.
Finally, we also appreciate that they have implemented four types of control: double lever, pointer, hybrid, classic. You can play like a Gamecube depending on the lock and float, or like a Wii with the dancing pointer and the feeling that you have to keep your pulse on (and reset to center all the time). Or like in today’s shooters, especially on laptops, by moving the camera with the right stick. Particularly interesting is the hybrid option, which combines the best of both worlds and allows aiming with the gyroscope at the press of a button. Personally, I’ve become such a fan of the Wii controls that I use the pointer option quite often (like in the video above), but other times I just kick back and try the dual or hybrid. They are all very good.
Introducing Metroid Prime Remastered, a first-person video game masterpiece that now looks, sounds and plays better than ever. An exception to other HD ports and remasters Nintendo has done in the past, which looks more like Ocarina of Time 3D or Wind Waker HD than Pikmin 3 Deluxe and didn’t come out at full price. It’s a shame they didn’t give it the decorum the launch itself deserves, but Retro should be proud and now is the time to plan the trilogy while we’re once again excited about the development of Metroid Prime 4 .