Metroid Zero Mission = Love at first play

[SoulBlazer]

Today, using my gift of early birthday money from a grandmother, I bought two brand new games -- Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Metroid: Zero Mission (the former for the Game Cube, the latter for the GBA). Since I'm a huge Final Fantasy nut I started on CC first, played it for a while, enjoyed it, and decided to try Zero Mission on my Game Boy Player.

I purposly try not to find out too much about most new games. In both these cases, it was the brand name that sold me on buying it. All I knew about Metroid: Zero Mission was that it was a remix of Samus' first mission, as depicted in the original Metroid -- enter Zemus and destroy Mother Brain.

As the title indicates, I was instantly hooked. And I'm not even the biggest Metroid fan out there!

From the moment I turned the game on and saw the nice 2D graphics combined with the same music from the main menu of original Metroid, I knew it was going to be a retro treat. Sure enough, starting in Brinstar, they played the same music. Samus looked just about the same. I had to start off by going to the left to get the Morph Ball. Brinstar even looks very close to the original, with much of the same enemies.

Best way to describe the game? Looks like Metroid Fusion, plays like Metroid.

Not to say that there are'nt new things. You still have the option to explore to your hearts content but the game gives you hints on where to go -- every now and then you'll find a Chizo statue with it's hand extended. Get in it and the map will show you a little light, indicating the area that you want to go to next. There's some new artifacts and items in the game, some new areas, and also some new bosses.

Finally, if you link up Metroid Fusion, you can do....something. There's a option for it, but I need to look into what it does. And there's Easy and Normal game mode, but again, I don't know what the difference is.

This game is a classic. I ended up spending two hours on it and was shocked to see where the time went.

Anyone else picked this up yet?

[Perkar]

i snagged my copy today too... played a little over an hour so far. i just ran through the original metroid 7 or 8 months ago, so it's still kind of fresh in my mind (with the help of connectivity to Prime).

i must say... this game kicks total ass. there are some new tricks already... the hanging sliders, bomb catapult things... fuck, i can't wait to see what the end of this is going to be like... i'm hooked

[SoulBlazer]

Well, it helps if I read my manual.

You can connect to Metroid Fusion if you have finished that game -- you either need another GBA or the Game Boy Player. It unlocks a special gallery of Fusion that you can look at in Zero Mission.

Also, if you finish Zero Mission, you get a gallery for that game -- AND you unlock classic Metroid!

[pango]

i also just got zero mission and it definitely kicks much ass. definitely better than fusion.

[Lady Jaye]

That's great! I'll pick it up probably next week (once the fallout of the money-sucking fun called Valentine's Day is gone), if my employer has a copy available in stock.

After I finished Metroid Fusion, I unlocked the original Metroid and I had the reflex to use Samus' newer skills (like the hang on edges skill). So it's great news that Zero Mission has integrated some of these skills.

[Sotenga]

After I snag R-Type Final, (which should be this week) my next target will probably be this. It looks real danged sweet, from what I've seen of it. I even caught a visual of the final boss over at the Video Game Museum... interesting. I expected to be the Mother Brain... unless that IS the Mother Brain, in which case... cool.

[Dr. Morbis]

My only problem with it is that it has been completely dumbed down for the wimpy modern gamers. Why does it tell you exactly where to go next? What ever happened to exploration? And why does it fill up your life every time you turn around? I'm about half way through right now, but I've come to the conclusion that I would seriously have to go out of my way to die. I mean, dying in this game must be really challenging! Yes, the new style rocks, but give me the original any day. To me, the spirit of Metroid has always been about exploration.

[davidbrit2]

And why does it fill up your life every time you turn around? I'm about half way through right now, but I've come to the conclusion that I would seriously have to go out of my way to die. I mean, dying in this game must be really challenging!

I think this is to compensate for another change. The original Metroid was like "Ooh, you got a boo-boo. Want to go back to the entrance of this area and keep going?" But now it's "You're dead bitch. Want to reload?"

[gamergary]

Does the Justin Bailey code work?

[Jive3D]

There is no password system in Zero Mission, it's a save cart, so NO, Justin Bailey doesnt work until you beat the game and unlock the original metroid and use it there.

Zero mission is totally awesome. I have been playing a copy of it and I plan to purchase it very soon.

I purchase very few GBA games, but this one is very much worth the purchase. The title screen alone is AWESOME.

I'm at the point where I just got the wave beam (or whatever the gun is that shoots through walls). My little bro says that I am semi-close to the end.

Too bad that there is no HARD setting. I'm playing on normal and the action for the game isnt all that hard at all.

[davidbrit2]

I'm at the point where I just got the wave beam (or whatever the gun is that shoots through walls). My little bro says that I am semi-close to the end.

That's what I thought, too. And then, uh, you'll see. ;-)

[Jive3D]

I know that there is an extended portion of the game after the battle with Motherbrain, read that from an interview online at ign or something, something like 20% of the game is post mother brain.

I remember way back in the nes days that some kid I knew said that you you beat the game in a certain way, then you fight the space pirates that are higher in command than mother brain and they each took off 500 points of health per hit. I always knew it was BS, but it always intrigued me

[tholly]

I will definitely be getting this, just the Christmas, Birthdays, and now VDay really suck up the extra money I had. And Im in school so i dont get too much money until the summer. When I have extra I will pick this up though, and i know i will love it.

[farfel]

as usual the teeny boppers are complaining that it's too short (shakes head) These people wouldn't know a good game if it bit them. Do they not know of repalying over and over?

[Needle]

Zero Mission is a great game. I won't say anything else about that since I don't really have much to add there... but I do have one complaint.

Am I the only person who's getting sick and tired of the Speed Booster upgrade? It was first introduced in Super Metroid and I didn't really like it then either. The thing is, with each game, it's become the "teacher's pet" of Samus powerups. In Metroid Fusion, they added an ability where you could shoulder-charge into a ramp to regain control of Samus and initiate a second charge. In Metroid: Zero Mission not only have they retained this ability, but also added the ability to charge while Samus is in Morph Ball mode.

After beating Zero Mission the first time, almost every single item that I didn't find the first time somehow involved getting tricky with the Speed Booster. To be honest, I'm downright sick of it. The Speed Booster is a boring powerup and it also uses a confusing control scheme. I wish Nintendo developers would think of other ways to hide missile tanks than to place them behind speed booster walls.

Anyone who has begun searching for 100% item collection rate will probably know what I mean.

[SoulBlazer]

Well, I have'nt had much time to play on the game yet due to work this week, but it does'nt seem short to me. The only way I could see it being short is if you follow the objectives, and don't take time to explore extra areas and hunt out items.

I just finished Kraid last night. Took quite a while to find how to get to him. Like in the original game, you have to do some crazy moves in order to get through some areas -- bombing and carrying up a wall, and then moving into a new crack, bombing all over the place, freezing enemies and carefully climbing up a wall.

Some new things are the additions of 'lifts' controled by power balls which you shoot in order to use to get over some areas; the addition of 'mini bosss' that come at you now again; and taking a page from Metroid Prime you have a new area, Crateria (the surface) where your ship and the Chozo Ruins are. (Brinstar and Norfair remain the two main game areas, along with Tourin, the central base, and Kraid and Ridley.) Also, you can get 'artifacts' that don't seem to do anything but they give you the ability to destroy large blocks of a certain type.

Kraid is introduced in a cut-scene when you enter the room and he looks AWSOME. Lost the first time, but got him the second time. Not too easy, but not too tough either. Since I had a healthy supply of energy and missles (thanks to my exploring) I was able to just take the damage and rain missles on him.

Next time I play it will be to go through Norfair to get to Ridley. Have'nt found the Varia yet....I hope it comes up soon.

[Perkar]

well, i finished the game tonight. i must say... it kicks much ass. definitely adds to the metroid experience and the storyline overall...

i finished it in 3:16:08, with a mere 52% completion... i dunno if i'm gonna be anal enough to go through again and try for that 100%... heh.

[SoulBlazer]

Well, I just wanted to say I finsihed the game yesterday. It was a little short, yes, but it still took me over five game hours, which means I got the worst ending.

The game has EIGHT ENDINGS in it. The hardest ones are gotten by getting all of the items in Hard Mode under three hours, or getting less then 15 percent of the items in that time.

Like many other Metroid games, the endings just differ between the various states of dress (or undress) that Samus is in at the end of the game. I've seen all of the ending pics, and in the best one all I can say is huba-huba.

The version of Metroid that you unlock after finishing the game is a little different from the version that you could get with Metroid Prime. That version was a exact straight port of Metroid. This one has been scaled to take better advantage of the small screen of the GBA and the save feature is a little improved.

Oh, the extra stuff? let's just say the rumors are correct -- after you beat Mother Brain, you get to play a new stage where Samus does not have her suit. And it's not easy, either.

The game does have some nice replay value cause of all the endings and trying to find items. Anyone else got this now?

[Sotenga]

Booting this topic up, I just got the game today. And the Lord doth sayeth, "It is good."

I'm already making great progress. I already whuped Kraid's scaly green ass and got the Speed Booster as a result. Go me! I'll have to go hunt down Ridley next, but these two and the Mother Brain aren't the only bosses this time around! Of course, I didn't expect it to be a dead exact remake of the first Metroid with enhanced graphics and sound. I've encountered many surprises... and early in the game, I encountered quite a surprise! ZM already gets tons of points for doing something for me that most VG's haven't done in a long time: make me jump!

It happens right after you get missles. You'll know what I'm talking about. I probably wouldn't have been shocked if I wasn't on the Game Boy Player.

[The Clonus Horror]

How does it look on a big screen via the game boy advance player? And for that matter, how do the GBA Castlevania games look? I do not like handhelds, but if I'm ever going to keep getting good old-school style games and dislike handhelds, I'm going to have to pick up a Gamecube, Gameboy Advance Player, and some gba games (but not the remake of Contra III--played it at a friends and wanted to piss on it).

Thoughts? Comments? Advice? Nude pics?

Thanks,

Jim