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| The box art for Metroid: Zero Mission |
Publisher: Nintendo
Console: Gameboy Advance, ported to Wii U
Release Date: February 19, 2004; ported to Wii U June 19, 2014
ESRB Rating: E
Ah Metroid, what an amazing exploration game that combines science-fiction with side scrolling shooter goodness. (WHOA that was a mouth full!) It got its first start on the NES and brought on various new gameplay styles to add to the series like the first person shooter in Metroid Prime or the talkative, innovative, unskipable cut scenes in Metroid: Other M. It’s not Metal Gear Solid guys it’s a Metroid Game! Anyways, it was actually one of the games that had a non linear style in which you could explore multiple areas, kind of like the Legend of Zelda, which was made at the same time Metroid was made, coincidence? I think not! This was a game you did not want to get lost in, plus there was no map in the older games so you would have that empty feeling of “WHERE THE *&^% do I GO?”. It was also a game where you could have power ups that lasted you for the whole game and the multiple endings at the end depending on your time finished beating it. Now, I’m going to talk a little bit about the Gameboy Advance.
Such a great handheld game, bringing many memories to my childhood since it was the first video game system I ever owned. It was a 32-bit console that didn’t seem more than 16-bit. It has a more horizontal look to it than the Gameboy Color or Original Gameboy, but included the L and R triggers like the Super Nintendo. The screen was so dark you couldn’t see anything, and I remember buying this stupid 3rd party accessory that looked like a headlight that attached to the front of the screen. So Nintendo, decided to fix this with the Gameboy Advance SP to fix that crap and have a brightness button. But the model was designed like a laptop! Also with the SP, it had an actual battery you could recharge instead of changing those AA’s every time with the original Gameboy Advance. This handle held had some pretty good games for its library, like Pokémon Leaf Green and Fire Red, Advance Wars, instead of Famicom Wars, Mother 3, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga and, Metroid Zero Mission!! There is also Metroid Fusion but i never got to that...I should...any who, onto the review.
I chose to review this game since it is a remake of the original Metroid for the NES and has many things to add like the story and gameplay. This is a single player game that controls a bounty hunter, under the name Samus Aran, sent to Planet Zebes to destroy Mother Brain. Created by Space Pirates, Mother Brain defends the island from intruders like the player venturing through the game. These Space Pirates are mass producing Metroids on Zebes, which suck up all the energy of life forms and pose a great threat for the galaxy. Zebes apparently is where Samus was raised as a child and now must fight on her planet to save the galaxy from a bio-hazardous weapon being unleashed by the Pirates.
The gameplay involves going through up to seven areas, side scrolling through the landscape of Planet Zebes. The player starts up with no power-ups what so ever but gains them over time after exploring areas. Then those power ups can be used to explore NEW areas! These areas all connect to each other so there is a lot to get around with. You must either blast open a door normally or with a missile. Use your power ups or find a secret area you wouldn’t think of exploring like a dangerous lava pit that leads to another area. There are a lot of these things, not just lava pits but the walls too!
To not get lost in this game, Nintendo decided to put a map to help you out on which area to go next and even check out the status of your suit. With your suit, you get a life meter and bunch of things to power up your suit. Most of the notable powers are the first ones you get which are the Morph Ball and the Screwattack (NOT THE WEBSITE…oh wait you weren’t thinking of that). You can also gain a variety of missiles and Energy tanks that give you another 99 Energy, kind of like a Heart Container in Zelda (notice similarities in the titles yet!). Of course, you lose all your energy due to damage, lose all your energy and game over. You can replenish your weapons and energy through Chozo Statues, these weird bird like statues in a fetal position, its kinda creepy, and enemies that you destroy. Save Rooms will, well, same the game (sorry, no Justin Bailey password). Good for on the go with hand held games.
For controls, you use A to jump and B to shoot, with the directional pads directing where you go. You can also use the L and R triggers to point in a diagonal direction so you can reach an enemy across or right below you. You also learn how to use the basic power ups in the game, my only complaint is just the annoying Space Jump power up, that makes you continuously jump up in the air with out landing on a platform. You have to jump in a somersault way or you will not continue to go in the air which frustrates me a little. The controls in this game are so tight, and jumping is superb. Getting to areas is no problem control wise, with you just having to worry about using your wit and gut to explore the area instead of trying to get up a ledge you’ve had trouble for 30 mins getting up.
Enemies do their job for a certain purpose. Some are made for you to replenish energy/weapons while some make you want to throw the Gameboy out the window faster than you can say: “Ridley”. Speaking of certain bosses, the bosses are all pretty easy if you know their weakness (*cough, cough* MISSILES). They even did some revamping on the sizes of the bosses compared to the laughable NES versions, they look so cute in 8-bit. Talking about the game, it has similar graphics and gameplay to the SNES version of Metroid Prime. There are very short cut scenes like when you start the game or go to a different area that just tell a story or tell you what to expect (unlike Other M). The environment has the look of a science fiction planet, taking on the way the NES version made the areas and creating outstanding visuals for different areas that suit each other. The enemy and heroin-uh wait… I mean hero (hehe… I didn’t reveal anything…oh wait you know already) have classical designs that complement the scenery. Oh and the music, where do I begin! Hirokazu Tanaka, who composed most of Nintendo’s recognizable titles, besides Legend of Zelda and main Mario games, created an epic, mysterious, dark and panicking atmospheres to most of the areas. It will either get you humming (the Brinstar theme) or telling you to get the HECK OUTTA THERE! These are all just classic songs and most of these melodies are my personal favourites. Like I would carry these themes on my IPod, they’re that good! This game has a great reply value and your gameplay run time should run from two hours to four hours depending if you speed run or play it normally. There are many different endings depending on your game time, which will show a picture of Samus in her Zero Suit or just her Power Suit. Getting all the energy tanks and missiles tanks is also another replay value since there is also a completion mark at the end of the game.
This is a must have for any collector for the Gameboy Advance or someone who has never played the NES version but wants a revamped version of it. It includes many new features compared to the NES version like added areas, unlockables to play the original NES version and the ability to connect to GBA with a Metroid Fusion gamepak. It also has a Zero Suit Mission after you defeat Mother Brain. Yes I know you people wanted to see a pixelated woman in a skin tight suit. Overall though, this is a game I highly recommend to anyone introduced to the series or wants to play this for nostalgia to the NES version.
This has been a Wawa911 review, and until next time…Game On!!
- Wawa 911
9/10
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| Metroid Zero Mission - GBA Version Screen Capture |
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