Metroidvania

[gbpxl]

What are some good games of this genre that are not Metroid or Castlevania?

I know of the Mummy Demastered on Switch

What else?

[calthaer]

Have you tried checking out the "Metroidvania" tag on Steam? Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Ori, Dust: An Elysian Tale - there are several good ones, something for your preference in style most likely.

[mailman187666]

Bloodstained is out today. I got my kickstarter copy in the mail yesterday, and played it for about 6 hours. I am really enjoying it, and there is lots to explore. A couple other recent ones I have played worth mentioning are Rabi-Ribi and Sundered. Rabi throws a little bit of "bullet-hell" into the mix, and Sundered has some awesome boss fights as well as a pretty cool art style.

[WulfeLuer]

Dust: An Elysian Tale as mentioned above. One a lot of people that don't think about is TMNT III Radical Rescue for the Game Boy. It's not very elaborate but it's a nice little romp, and a taste of what was to come from Konami.

[Edmond Dantes]

So is there any restriction on platform or era? Cuz like I'm seeing a lot of modern recommendations (odd for the Classic forum).

I guess there's always Rygar on NES.

[Aussie2B]

The problem is that, until indies, there weren't a lot of Metroid-style games that weren't either Metroid or Castlevania.

I mean, I guess you could count stuff like Goonies 2 and Legacy of the Wizard.

As for modern stuff, I had fun with Xeodrifter. Iconoclasts seems cool from what I've played.

[gbpxl]

Open world, non linear, power-ups, backtracking, 2D

Ive played Goonies 2 I dont know if that really fits the criteria

[Gentlegamer]

Axiom Verge

[jb143]

Cave Story comes to mind.

[Edmond Dantes]

Open world, non linear, power-ups, backtracking, 2D

Ive played Goonies 2 I dont know if that really fits the criteria

I've not played Goonies 2 myself, but I can say Legacy of the Wizard sure as hell does. It out-Metroids Metroid.

Again, Rygar (but only the NES version).

I actually could swear the NES had a LOT of arguably-Metroidvania titles. I also recall somewhere mentioning a Super Metroid clone for MS-DOS (I think it was Hardcore Gaming 101).

I'm trying to limit myself to mostly side-scrolling games even tho you didn't list that as a criteria, cuz when you include top-view a lot of those are more like Zelda-clones. The original System Shock on MS-DOS was also a lot like a first-person Metroid.

[YoshiM]

Is the Xbox 360/PS3 dipping their toes into "classic" territory yet? Shadow Conspiracy comes to mind as does the reboot of Strider.

[gbpxl]

I dont see Xbox 360 as being classic even though the oldest games on the system are 13 years old now.

[jb143]

"Classic" has little to do with age and everything to do with quality.

"Classic: Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind."

So yeah, a game only 3 years old could be classic. Plenty of games 30+ years old are anything but.

[gbpxl]

Well I guess its all about perspective. I dont see any console made after the year 1999 as being "classic"

[Edmond Dantes]

Classic has also long been used as a fancy term for "old." Nobody is using the term "Classic Automobiles" to refer to a 2019 Toyota of any stripe.

I honestly would prefer that one section be limited to certain timeframes and another section be for newer stuff, but for this topic it might be okay to just say "screw it, go for broke."

Hey, I just realized Blaster Master should count as a Metroidvania according to the earlier standards, and there are like a million games in that series.

[Aussie2B]

Well, if it's gonna be controversial, I could always shuffle this over to Modern Gaming. But topics that cover both retro and modern games usually are in Classic Gaming, such as the Daily Playing and Beaten in #### topics. Modern Gaming topics also tend to be about current gen games, though, technically, it covers everything from the 6th gen to the present, as explained in the sub-forum descriptions:

Classic Gaming
Here's the place to go to talk about all things "classic" - meaning "before PlayStation 2." Finally a place to discuss RCA Studio II and Fairchild Channel F! Or any of those other home and arcade systems by Atari, Nintendo, Sega, etc. as well as events, gatherings, and imports!

Modern Gaming
From PlayStation 2 to present! Discuss the latest classics, the hottest new gaming technology, the latest direction of your favorite developer, or your thoughts on the latest adventure titles! As we always say: it doesn't have to be OLD to be CLASSIC.

So as far as this forum is concerned, people who think "classic = old" and people who think "classic = good" are both right.

[jb143]

Classic has also long been used as a fancy term for "old." Nobody is using the term "Classic Automobiles" to refer to a 2019 Toyota of any stripe.

I was also going to point out that this site itself says " it doesn't have to be OLD to be CLASSIC." If someone said about a modern game "a classic example of a metroidvania game" I don't think anyone would think twice about it.

As far as classic cars...The Classic Car Club of America defines it as 'a "fine" or "distinctive" automobile, either American or foreign built, produced between 1915 and 1948.' So age and quality, not just old.

At any rate, the OP asked nothing at all about the age of the game so I don't really how that's relevant , especially since the first game they mentioned was for Switch.

Either way, most of the ones I could think of had already been named.
Maybe the SteamWorld Dig games?

[gbpxl]

As far as definitions, game packaging and graphics have not largely changed since the PS2 so I think thats why its considered modern era

Yeah I dont really care what system. I figured most examples would be download only titles anyways

[Tron 2.0]

Guacamelee 1 and 2 i'm surprised no one mention those games.

[bb_hood]

La Mulana is really gud

[Edmond Dantes]

I think Adventure Island 4 is a Metroidvania (this is a series that seems to vary between its Wonder Boy clone roots and trying a more adventure style, as Super Adventure Island II on the SNES is also kind of a metroidvania... does it count if there's an overworld map?)

[gbpxl]

Im not sure

From what i gather, cave story was the first in the genre that wasnt part of either series

[Edmond Dantes]

Im not sure

From what i gather, cave story was the first in the genre that wasnt part of either series

Errr, ummm.... no? Especially considering some of us have named examples that precede Cave Story.

[kupomogli]

I'm sure you've already played it, but Zelda 2. Sure there's the overworld, but outside of the overworld it's all about collecting items to get past certain barriers in and out of dungeons.

I'll also mention Legacy of the Wizard as well, and while exploration on the game is great, too difficult to find out actually where to go and what to do, so I've never finished the game. It's enjoyable and I've played big chunks of the game several times(always from a new game.) If you want a game you'll finish without a guide though, I'd stay away from this one.

Demon's Crest, kind of similar.

Alien 3.

Aliens Infestation

Kid Icarus (Gameboy version atleast.)

Super Robot Haggle Man 3 on Retro Game Challenge.

[FoxNtd]

Nobody mentioned Hebereke yet?

[Gentlegamer]

Side scrolling action-adventure games

Shape Shifter - TG-16
Wonder Boy III The Dragon's Trap - SMS
The Battle of Olympus - NES

[Edmond Dantes]

I'll also mention Legacy of the Wizard as well, and while exploration on the game is great, too difficult to find out actually where to go and what to do, so I've never finished the game. It's enjoyable and I've played big chunks of the game several times(always from a new game.) If you want a game you'll finish without a guide though, I'd stay away from this one.

Legacy of the Wizard is totally finishable without a guide. When I finally beat it, the only thing I didn't find on my own was a single item, the shield, which can only be purchased from a single well-hidden shop.

[Aussie2B]

I don't doubt it's possible with endless amounts of trial and error, but it would be an absolutely miserable experience for most gamers, I would imagine.

[bb_hood]

Yeah, while I love Legacy of the Wizard its so tough and cryptic. I have never beat it, tried many times.

[Edmond Dantes]

I don't doubt it's possible with endless amounts of trial and error, but it would be an absolutely miserable experience for most gamers, I would imagine.

Eh, honestly the worst part for me was just I didn't realize Xemn's glove could push blocks into solid walls, so there's one part that looks like it requires the magic pickaxe (which is a Lyll item) when it really doesn't.

That and there is absolutely a "suggested order" for the bosses (you want to do Xemn's crown last).

Maybe I'm just used to this stuff but on the playthru where I finally beat it, it didn't seem so tough to me. Then again I also finally beat Blaster Master earlier this year so who knows.

[Aussie2B]

I can't recall if I got Xemn's crown last or second to last. I know I did the pet first, then the girl, then the parents. I was somewhat enjoying the game for the first couple crowns, but any positivity I felt about the game was destroyed by the misery of doing the parents' sections. My main beef with Xemn is that the controls for moving blocks are horrendous. And I was with referring to a map in Nintendo Power and some online resources. I couldn't imagine playing the game blind. There are so many walls in the game that you must pass through but there's no indication that you can do so, so if you're playing blind, you basically have to tediously check every single tile. It's the same reason I despise the second quest in Zelda. The first quest has logic to it and gives you visual cues to figure out where to bomb, burn, etc. In the second quest, everything is placed at random, so finding something is dumb luck, not because you actually used your brain to figure something out. Playing Legacy of the Wizard without any outside help sounds like torture to me.