Metroid Prime: Yoshim's Open Apology

[YoshiM]

Beware, this be a long read.

Since Metroid Prime was released I was a stalwart naysayer of the game. I played it when it came out, hated it and pretty much labeled it as an "FPS" and sneered at those who tried to convince me otherwise. To me, the Metroid franchise on a console seemed dead with only shadows of the series' former glory available on the GBA.

Well, I come before you a humbled man. I hold the case of my Metroid Prime w/ Echoes demo disk like it was a newborn babe. And here is why:

For a short while I've been on an FPS marathon as this genre ranks up there in what I enjoy playing. I was tunneling my way through Tron 2.0 on the PC. Awesome game at first. Then things started to seem repetitious. I figured it may have been the level I was on so I soldiered forth. Nope- same enemies, similar levels and useless jumping puzzles. Needless to say I used a level skip cheat to get past the more mundane parts and finally a god mode because the game play was starting to grate on me. Finished it and was thankful I did cheat: the ending sucked. One thing that seemed to be a thorn in my side was the objective I was going for required a few levels to get to. "Are we there yet?" kept popping in my mind as derezzed enemies in my path.

Next up: Far Cry Instincts on Xbox. Heard it was good, heard the online was better. Played up to the "dead zone" before I turned the thing off. Everything just seemed a bit "wrong": stealth wasn't overly great (worked well in the PC demo), feral powers didn't "do it" for me and too similar enemies. First it was mercenaries, then little raptor like things, then "mutated" solidiers, then mutated soliders with guns and finally (before I turned the game off) mutated soliders that, when shot, explode. Yawn. Online gaming was pretty much a "check out my home made level" situation. I played a lot of bad to decent player levels but most of the time people weren't playing: they were sight seeing. Groan.

Next attempt: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox (as my PC doesn't have the oomph to play this game properly). Single player didn't grab me so I jumped online, the real meat of this game. Turned it off after a Saturday of screechy early-puberty teens arguing over why so-and-so grenaded a helicopter that was full of teamates (and then going on a rampage when they couldn't resolve anything).

I was disenchanted. Am I just running into games that aren't that great or is it me? I decided to trade in my Far Cry game for something else. EB didn't give me a great offer for what I had so I went to Blockbuster. They still had their 25% off deal going on so I figured I might find something there. Got $27 in credit for Far Cry and started shopping. On the shelf, side by side, were copies of Metroid Prime and MP2: Echoes. For some strange reason I snagged those titles. Maybe it was desparation but I figured what the heck. If anything they might make decent trade bait.

After bringing the games home (after realizing they were way less than marked: $6.99 and $14.99) I fired up MP. As the saying goes, third time is a charm and the game hooked me. I changed my approach and began to immerse myself more, reading the logs and taking the time to scan. I found the effort fullfilling. When touching down on the planet I absorbed the beauty, amazed at what this so-called "dead console" could crank out visually.

So I humbly apologize to the Metroid Prime fans that reside on the board. I should have looked at the game with a more open mind but instead the then FPS fanboy in me couldn't comprehend what Nintendo and Retro delivered to gamers. I'm taking my time with Prime and if things keep going the way they are I think I enjoy Echoes even more.

Let this be a lesson: really try before you diss. I've come to accept that you can't judge a game by a few moments of play, like we could in the old days.

[swlovinist]

Well said, and I too have to admit that I sometimes can be put off by something new(espically by not even giving it a chance), espically if I cannot afford it!

You did not need to apologize, but I will gladly accept it DP brother!

[Sanriostar]

"Apology Accepted.. Captain Needa.."

(Wants to play Metroid Pinball)

[exit]

There were a lot of naysayers when Metroid Prime was announced, majority with the same "Metroid FPS" reasoning. People did have a right to doubt, but it all turned out better than anyone would have ever expected.

I myself had a hard time with the game at first, but it was one of the main reasons why I wanted a GC in the first place. I never did beat it tho, Prime ended up kicking my ass and I gave up.

[goatdan]

The main misunderstanding with Prime, in my opinion, is the fact that it is about as far away from a first person shooter as one can get using a first person view with a gun to shoot baddies. There is a lot of puzzle action here. There is a lot of exploration. There is a lot of platform jumping. It's more like a hybrid between three genres -- first person shooter, third person adventure game and third person platformer.

The big bosses totally remind me of battles like you would see in a Mario or Sonic platformer, and most of the action reminds me of a great third person action game. The perspective is different, but to me... it totally works. And it keeps the Metroid feel amazingly well.

No need to apologize... you just need to sit back and enjoy that game! Now I want to bust it back out Probably something to do when I finally put the DS on a hiatus for a few days...

Although I want to beat Paper Mario too...

[smokehouse]

After reading this I will once again try to play Metroid Prime. I strongly doubt I will enjoy it any more this time around but I will give it a try.

As for paper Mario…it’s amazing, both are good (N64 and GC) but the one on the GC is stunning in both graphics and gameplay.

[stressboy]

As a Metroid fan for the last 18 years, I forgive you, young grasshopper.

[YoshiM]

Well, I set this thread up mainly to 1)Let people who are stubborn like me to cast that mentality aside and just freakin' play and 2)Head off any thoughts of hippocracy if I start praising it ("Wait, I thought you hated Metroid Prime?!").

Smokehouse: just take your time at it. The Metroid 2D mentality was strong the first two times I picked the title up along with the "If it walks like an FPS, shoots like an FPS..." train of thought. If you can keep those things in check and have an open mind your experience may get better.

[jdc]

The sense of adventuring in Metroid Prime was absolutely one of the best gaming experiences ever. The rain, the snow, the sunlight, the dust.

I wasn't too thrilled with the sheer tediousness of the end boss battle. Entirely too drawn out and unnecessary IMO.

Far Cry? A HUGE letdown. MASSIVE letdown. Same as Prime on the adventuring and graphics.......but the game was incredibly, stupendously, "WTF-is-going-on?" easy. I bought it on release day and finished it in ONE sitting. I paid $60 Canadian for the experience. Awesome while it lasted....but over really fast.

[lendelin]

I dislike FPS, always did since Goldeneye that didn't convince me although it comes in a stellar package. (which is also a taste and conception prob which I should test again by playing a FPS).

But Metroid Prime is spectacular, one of the best games of this console generation, and probably the best example how to transfer a 2D game into a 3D game by not slavishly copying 2D elements. (as in Castlevania 64) The atmosphere, sense of exploration, the case of a mysterious world, the strategic boss fights, the pacing in gameplay captures the spirit of the 2D games in 3D. Metroid Prime gives us great indicators what makes a great game beyond narrow gamedesign issues, going beyond such profound changes from 2D to 3D.

The problem is that we have too many games on our shelves which comes with a jaded attitude, and then we are in danger putting a game aside too fast if it doesn't fit our conception; we simply can plug in another game too easily not giving a game a fair chance.

When we started playing, how many great gameplay experiences would we have missed if we hadn't dug our teeth in a game and played halfway through before we realized that this is actually a great game?

Some games start slowly, some even mediocre, and then they get better and better. I had a similar experience with Startropics for the NES. After level 2 I thought that this is a mediocre game, after chapter 3 I thought this is a great game and was thankful that I bought it, and playing chapter 5 I found it as good as Zelda, and enjoyed its variety even more than in Zelda. Thank goodness I didn't have too many games on my shelves back then and gave it a fair chance.

[Sothy]

Battlefield 2 is awesome.

Yeah there can be idiotic kids on the headset but the ignore feature is pretty straight forward.


Im guessing you just got raped and stopped playing.

It happens nancy.