Metroid: Zero Mission

The Good
It's a Metroid, what's not to like? A polished, more playable, more accessible version of a great, if too hard, NES classic. Take a core game from that old one, add great SNES-style graphics, make it just perfectly playable, add great remixes of the classic music tracks, and you've got a complete and utter masterpiece that you gladly play over and over and over until you are too tired to play anything.

The Bad
I've heard people calling this far too short and simple. You can't do much about the shortness - even slowest players should beat this thing in 6 hours on Normal level on their first try - but I say this is good for replayability in portable games, especially when the thing wants me to play it faster and faster. If I know I have three hour trip ahead, I can usually count on completing this thing in that time.As for simplicity, well, I think this thing is generally pretty straightforward, which is not to say it is challenging at places.

And you have to kill Ridley in this game. Ridley is cute. =(

The Bottom Line
What do you get when you get a chance to take a NES game and turn it into a SNES-like game? A good chance to rework on playability and enjoyability, that's what.

This is a remake of a NES game, and a quite successful one at that. I kind of liked NES Metroid, but that thing is just way too hard by most modern scales. When most developers convert games from NES to GBA, they get things more balanced in this respect. Not a wonder. And it worked just fine in this game's case.

I used to hate all platformers unconditionally and little bit of 2D Metroids too (well, I only played the NES game and Super Metroid a little bit), but nowadays, I'm completely sold, and most of the thanks for that go to this little game. (Well, I still hate platformers, excluding Metroids!) For those who have never played the games, this game should be a good introduction to the series. Then follow that up with Prime and Fusion and Super and... well, just skip Metroid II, but you get my point.

Oh, and if you beat it, it also lets you play the original game. I'm still trying to figure that game out. It's hard.

The Good
A metroid with a lot of upgrades and items to improve the abilities of the character (in this case, Samus) with which to advance and with a lot of action, a balance that I loved. I haven't completed it 100%, but I'm satisfied with what I've achieved.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the game was longer than I had understood, as I thought the story ended with the original main boss, but this remake added additional story that I imagine connects to future instalments.

The Bad
As a negative point I would only mention the length of the game. Not because it's not long enough, not because it didn't expand enough the original game, it just left me wanting to enjoy more discoveries. I feel that the Samus Zero part is short and the exploration of the area is a bit lacking after what was seen previously during the adventure.

The Bottom Line
A highly recommended game, an amazing gem, and probably, at the risk of being wrong, one of the best 2D games of the series.

The Good
Metroid: Zero Mission is the second Metroid game I've beaten; I beat Metroid Fusion a while back and started Metroid Prime but got nowhere (need to pick that up and play it again sometime).

M:ZM is essentially a remake of the very first Metroid game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. However, it is more like a Director's Cut than a straight remake; a good example of another Director's Cut game would be the Gamecube version of the original Resident Evil. While the core game is intact, new locations, enemies, and bosses have been added to the game to extend the experience and provide more of a back story to your adventure.

Originally released in 2004, the graphics for M:ZM definitely stand up to the test of time. The majority of the time I played this game on my NES Edition Gameboy Advance SP; however, the graphics show up even better if you play it on the GameBoy Player that you can attach to your Gamecube. Colors are brighter, graphics are enhanced, and the music and effects sound clearer.

The gameplay is your typical Metroid style. You are thrown into an environment and have to go around recovering/acquiring various abilities in order to advance further through the area. Sometimes you will come across a locked door that you cannot even open without an ability you won't acquire until maybe a few more hours into the game. While this adds a certain level of longitivity to the game, it occassionally gives off a sense of artificially prolonging the game. However, completionists will delight in trying to achieve a perfect 100% collection score with a minimal time.

If you can complete the main mission, you will unlock a perfectly emulated version of the original Metroid for the NES, as well as a Hard mode that will definitely give you a challenge.

The Bad
While the Metroid series has never been known for its immersive story, it seemed that there was even less of a story than in Metroid Fusion. In M:F, cutscenes would occur more frequently, and you would constantly be getting updates from that computer personality.

The essential story of M:ZM seems to be 1- Destroy Mother Brain, and then 2-Destroy the Space Pirate ship. Not really much of a story, although I guess it's comparable to the "story" in the original Halo. However, it does get the job done; although it leaves us with a lot of questions, such as "Why was Samus raised on this planet by these creatures in the first place?"

One thing I appreciated about Metroid: Fusion was the directions your computer "friend" gave you, as well as good story reasons why you should go there. In Metroid: Zero MIssion, you are still prodded at times, but there is no reason as to why. Whenever you stumble across a Chozon statue, you will typically gain a new ability, and then be treated to a quick little shot of where you need to go next, without any reason as to why you should go there (other than you really can't go anywhere else).

I know a lot of fans of the series hated the prodding in the other game. They are disciples of the Super Metroid game where you have to find and discover everything for yourself. I am afraid I must disagree with them on this. Some motivation as well as direction is always a helpful thing in games, and is an evidence of good game design. Ever play a game where you have no clue where to go or do next? Not fun.

I beat the game just shy of 5 hours with a 76% completion rate. Obviously the game is a little on the short side. However, I'm thankful for the fact that I had already beaten another 2D Metroid game, because if I hadn't, and I hadn't used any guides or FAQs, it would probably have taken me much longer with a smaller completion rate.

The Bottom Line
A short action adventure title that can whittle away an afternoon or car ride, Metroid: Zero Mission is an excellent introduction to the series and is also a fun and enjoyable game for long term fans of the genre. I highly recommend it.