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Metroid Prime Remastered, where to go next?

2K View2023-03-22

We live in times when Remastered versions of titles, considered classics, are in fashion. It's quite amusing to check on social that there is indeed a demand for this type of content, but there is also the other side of the coin, where there is a slice of gamers who don't understand the reason for these, let's say, improved versions. On one hand, it is quite positive, if the remastered is well implemented because it allows players to remember moments when they were happy, or for the simple fact of allowing new people to experience the journey that was dear to many and who knows, they itself fall in love with the title.

In my case, that's exactly what happened. I had never played Metroid Prime before. In fact, my only experience with the Metroid Universe was with the most recent adventure, Metroid Dread. The Metroidvania genre is not completely unknown to me, quite the contrary, it is side by side with the Rogue-Like genre, a genre that is very dear to me and that I consume regularly. The Metroidvania genre is defined by situations where the player needs to explore, a lot, to be able to progress along paths that were previously closed.

Metroid Prime is the fifth title in this universe and it was initially released in 2002. Taking place between the original Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus, the player will step into the armor of a bounty hunter named, Samus Aran, at the exact moment in which Samus is in direct confrontation with the Space Pirates. The Space Pirates are technologically advanced creatures and one of their plans will be to carry out experiments with the DNA of several different species, on the planet Tallon IV, in order to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

The planet Tallon IV is divided into 5 different sections, with a wide variety of fauna and flora and some secrets yet to be discovered. All Lore that can be discovered will have to be decoded by the player using the scanning skill available on Samus's visor. In this sense, the story is told through logs of experiments carried out by Space Pirates, which can be found on computers spread across different areas. It is undoubtedly a different experience from the so-called "normal" ones, where history is transmitted through interactions between people. In fact, you can never hear Samus's voice. There are a lot of positive things about this title, but I would particularly like to highlight the construction of the planet, and its level design, it is really superb.

Most of the action is passed in a First Person's view, through a helmet that presents all the information through its HUD. While this note can be quite immersive, I confess that at first, it took a while to get used to everything, since it's a lot of information to process on a first hit. As the adventure progresses, it is possible to receive new types of visors that help the player in the most diverse ways. A delightful detail is the reflection of Samus' own face on the helmet's visor after some brighter event, such as an explosion. The only time the view changes to the third person will be when switching to Morph Ball form, which can happen at any time. Speaking of this subject, some of the rooms and even puzzles will have to be apporached in Morph Ball, not leaving the player completely at the mercy of enemies, since it is also possible to apply damage with the simple press of a button.

While playing this title in handheld mode is quite impressive, my entire experience with it was done, on a monitor, with the Pro Controller. It is also possible to use the Joy-Con's motion controls, but unfortunately, at the time of this review, one of my Joy-Cons suffers from a very frustrating drift problem. All the controls are quite intuitive, from switching between different attacks with the hand cannon, changing the type of display, or switching to the Morph Ball. I have to highlight the autofocus mechanic which was undoubtedly the option that helped me the most, mostly because the camera control not being smooth enough. The simple fact of moving from right to left and focusing on a precise location takes some time to get used to, let alone when you have a screen full of enemies.

As this is a Remastered of a version already released some time ago, it is possible to see the differences at a graphic level. The environment, the cutscenes, the effects, such as explosions, the various types of attacks that can be applied by the player, are very well done. Small tweaks have even been implemented in Samus's hand cannon when selecting her different attack types. Enemy models, whether normal enemies or even bosses, could have been, in my opinion, improved.

I confess that I had a love-hate relationship during my adventure in Metroid Prime. This title leaves everything open for the player to explore on his own and try to understand the different options he has after finding a new mechanic. However, after, if I'm not mistaken, about 15/20 minutes, a "hint" option will appear that will tell the player where to go next. This often means moving between two or three different biomes, full of enemies, interceptions, and elevators. The time you "spend" going through all these rooms is absurdly high.

No other game moved me as much as this one. The exploration opportunities, the different upgrades, the feeling of completion you get when capturing every single piece of the bigger puzzle is tremendously fascinating and that's what kept the fire burning to keep playing. Metroid Prime Remastered's adventure is extremely recommendable, even if the first sensations are a total loss of focus as to which place to visit next.

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