Metroid Prime

[ReanimatedSorceress]

I have really strong memories of the first time I played Metroid Prime. When I first got my GameCube I rented Metroid Prime to have something besides Melee to play. I spent a lot of late nights in front of a small CRT television with a pair of headphones on and the combination of the headphones, sitting so close to the screen, and the general atmosphere as well as game's hub had me totally immersed in Talon IV. I think this game is right up there with Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time personally. I played the game off and on for years, even restarting my file because I'd forgotten my progress, but I never truly minded. I finally played it all the way to the end last year.

Thought I'd make a thread for this game because I'm currently playing it on hard mode. The only difference I've noticed is enemies have more health and Samus takes a lot more damage. The early enemies will eat about 15 points of damage with a single hit, and falling into environmental hazard drains you very quickly. I can't imagine it being that much more challenging if you just finished the game and remember all of the topography and puzzles but being that I've only finished the game once and it's been almost a year since I even touched it, it does a decent job of making the game a little more tense.

 

[Uffe]

My brother has played every Metroid game except Metroid Prime: Federation Force. He's a big Metroid fan. I've played Metroid Prime, but that was after I played Metroid Zero Mission, Metroid II: The Return of Samus/Metroid: Samus Returns, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, then Metroid Prime, and then Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. But I haven't completed that game yet. It has been a long while since I've played it, so I'd probably have to start over. Maybe we'll get a Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Switch, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[ReanimatedSorceress]

The only thing I'm concerned about with a possible switch trilogy is that they'll just base it on the Wii ports from that trilogy, and those versions are actually different from the original games both due to the new control scheme as well as storage space on the disc. In the first game, it only effects some visuals on the arm canon, so it's not a big deal, but in prime 2 the new controls make a couple of purposefully difficult bosses too easy. I want to say they changed something in 3 but Corruption is the one I've played the least of.

I've been hunting for a copy of Echoes for quite a while and the price keeps going up. Big sigh.

 

[Uffe]

The only thing I'm concerned about with a possible switch trilogy is that they'll just base it on the Wii ports from that trilogy, and those versions are actually different from the original games both due to the new control scheme as well as storage space on the disc. In the first game, it only effects some visuals on the arm canon, so it's not a big deal, but in prime 2 the new controls make a couple of purposefully difficult bosses too easy. I want to say they changed something in 3 but Corruption is the one I've played the least of.

I've been hunting for a copy of Echoes for quite a while and the price keeps going up. Big sigh.

Control schemes was one thing that came up when my brother and I were talking about a possible Trilogy for the Switch. And yes, it would most likely just be a cleaned up port of the previous games. My brother loves Metroid Prime 3 out of the Prime games. Is Echoes really that popular? Some people started with that game as their first Metroid, so they love it. Metroid Prime mostly got its influences from Super Metroid, and Super Metroid is still to this day a very popular Metroid game, so I can see how Metroid Prime also is pretty popular.

 

[Miss Misty]

I can see the merit of re-releasing the trilogy for the Switch since the Switch is way more popular among the type of gamers who would actually enjoy the Metroid Prime games, and iirc the trilogy came out near the tail end of the Wii's lifespan (and well past the point where most "serious" gamers had written the Wii off as a gimmick). It'd print money for them. That being said, as someone who owns the Wii trilogy already, I'd probably be a little grumbly about that coming out before MP4.

 

[ReanimatedSorceress]

@Uffe the first game is generally the most popular, but Echoes has kinda pulled a Majora's Mask and became a sleeper hit because most of us sucked too much to best it when it came out (it's the hardest of the trilogy for sure, not counting corruptions hypernode difficulty)

Also GameCube games have gained value faster than Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo games did. You used to be able to get most first party Nintendo games for N64 and GameCube for $30 or less in most cases, and for about 12 years.

The last time I checked the price of Echoes it was anywhere from $80-100. Last summer, it was going for $60.

 

[Uffe]

@Uffe the first game is generally the most popular, but Echoes has kinda pulled a Majora's Mask and became a sleeper hit because most of us sucked too much to best it when it came out (it's the hardest if the trilogy for sure, not counting corruptions hypernode difficulty)

Also GameCube games have gained value faster than Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo games did. You used to be able to get most first party Nintendo games for N64 and GameCube for $30 or less in most cases, and for about 12 years.

The last time I checked the price of Echoes it was anywhere from $80-100. Last summer, it was going for $60.

I wouldn't be able to tell you which of the three was the most difficult. I still haven't completed Echoes. My brother played all three, though. I do wonder why Echoes has apparently gained popularity, though. I wish my TV hadn't died. I'm using a monitor and I'm not so sure I'm able to hook up the Wii to it. Maybe I am, I don't know. I would like to finish Echoes and Corruption before Metroid Prime 4 comes out.

 

[ReanimatedSorceress]

I wouldn't be able to tell you which of the three was the most difficult. I still haven't completed Echoes. My brother played all three, though. I do wonder why Echoes has apparently gained popularity, though. I wish my TV hadn't died. I'm using a monitor and I'm not so sure I'm able to hook up the Wii to it. Maybe I am, I don't know. I would like to finish Echoes and Corruption before Metroid Prime 4 comes out.

I definitely think that people's obsession with more difficult games helped boost Echoes' popularity, and I would also assume that many of us were too young to really digest some of the themes of the game (similar to what happened Majora's Mask)

---

At this point I've beaten Flaaghra and made it to Phendrana Drifts in hard mode. Once you have more than 2 health tanks, you can start being a little more wreckless, just not with Flaaghra because one hit can do 45 damage and the vines will drain your life very quickly as well if you need up. I can already tell I'm going to hate the research facility and such because the sentry cameras take 4 missiles now. So far I'd say hard mode is fun and not overwhelmingly difficult if you're very familiar with the controls and enemy patterns. I'll update again later to see how my feelings about this change~

 

[Tao]

The only thing I'm concerned about with a possible switch trilogy is that they'll just base it on the Wii ports from that trilogy, and those versions are actually different from the original games both due to the new control scheme as well as storage space on the disc. In the first game, it only effects some visuals on the arm canon, so it's not a big deal, but in prime 2 the new controls make a couple of purposefully difficult bosses too easy. I want to say they changed something in 3 but Corruption is the one I've played the least of.

I've been hunting for a copy of Echoes for quite a while and the price keeps going up. Big sigh.

I preferred the Wii versions. The Wii versions of Prime are actually among the extremely small list of games I actually liked using the Wiimote with.

Though I wont disagree that the games weren't made easier to some degree because of it. The original two Primes were made with the Gamecube controller and its limitations in mind which really wasnt suited to the direction FPS games were heading at the time in regard to controls, unless they used that crappy little nub c-stick. It was more in line with Goldeneye than any twin stick FPS with some of the same limitations every other platform had moved past, Goldeneye itself having aged like milk (at least using the original controls. I hear it's great on an emulator with mouse+keyboard).


They'll definitely use the Wii version if a Switch port comes out. With it having two analogue sticks (maybe even gyro support) it would be weird for them to have it in line with the Gamecube version instead. I also cant see a mainstream audience accepting the original scheme either with how different it is from the expected control method.

 

[Uffe]

I definitely think that people's obsession with more difficult games helped boost Echoes' popularity, and I would also assume that many of us were too young to really digest some of the themes of the game (similar to what happened Majora's Mask)

---

At this point I've beaten Flaaghra and made it to Phendrana Drifts in hard mode. Once you have more than 2 health tanks, you can start being a little more wreckless, just not with Flaaghra because one hit can do 45 damage and the vines will drain your life very quickly as well if you need up. I can already tell I'm going to hate the research facility and such because the sentry cameras take 4 missiles now. So far I'd say hard mode is fun and not overwhelmingly difficult if you're very familiar with the controls and enemy patterns. I'll update again later to see how my feelings about this change~

My brother and I were 14 when Majora's Mask came out. It was immediately my brother's favorite Zelda game. I remember at the time people didn't really care that much about it and would say Ocarina of Time was a better game. As for Metroid Prime: Echoes, it kind of took me a while to get into that game. It looked and sounded different from what we were presented with in Metroid Prime. As I progressed, I began to enjoy it some more. It was the same with Metroid II: Return of Samus. It was dated, and from the other Metroid games I had played, it wasn't looking that great. The lack of music also didn't help. But as I progressed, I found myself enjoying the game a lot.

I haven't played Metroid Prime on Hard Mode, but I do remember fighting Flaaghra for the first time. That boss was very frustrating. Phendrana Drifts was probably my favorite place, because I love winter, and the trance music that played the further you got in was motivating. The Research Facility was kind of creepy. I hated the turrets. They kind of reminded me of 007 Goldeneye on the N64. And then the Metroids get free, don't they? It's been a while since I've played. The scariest place in that game to me was Phazon Mines. And then the boss that's in there when you progress further. Whoever composed the music for that boss, it was very fitting, because that thing was scary!

 

[ReanimatedSorceress]

I don't even tell people Prime is a first person shooter. I mean, yeah, you shoot things but it's more of a fort person adventure

 

[Miss Misty]

I preferred the Wii versions. The Wii versions of Prime are actually among the extremely small list of games I actually liked using the Wiimote with.

Though I wont disagree that the games weren't made easier to some degree because of it. The original two Primes were made with the Gamecube controller and its limitations in mind which really wasnt suited to the direction FPS games were heading at the time in regard to controls, unless they used that crappy little nub c-stick. It was more in line with Goldeneye than any twin stick FPS with some of the same limitations every other platform had moved past, Goldeneye itself having aged like milk (at least using the original controls. I hear it's great on an emulator with mouse+keyboard).


They'll definitely use the Wii version if a Switch port comes out. With it having two analogue sticks (maybe even gyro support) it would be weird for them to have it in line with the Gamecube version instead. I also cant see a mainstream audience accepting the original scheme either with how different it is from the expected control method.

I actually didn't like the aiming with the Wiimote in the Wii version. It makes turning really difficult. Unless there was some button I was missing, it was so annoying needing to tilt the Wiimote just to turn around. Pointing and shooting is really satisfying, but some other means of controlling the camera outside of gun mode would have been nice.

On the other hand, I discovered to my amusement that the morph ball segments from the original MP1 and MP2 were easily broken by the morph ball jump introduced in MP3. There were a few puzzles predicated on the idea of needing morph ball bombs to jump. Meanwhile the Wii version uses MP3's controls so you get the Wii-flick jump immediately upon getting the morph ball powerup, removing the need to backtrack from a few segments and the need to time multiple bomb jumps together in a few other segments.

 

[Cress]

I have Trilogy, and I've gone through all 3 games several times! Yeah Prime 1 on hard/hypermode difficulty isn't too bad. There's a few challenging parts (like trying to get the power bombs and Meta Ridley), but if you know what you're doing it shouldn't feel too different from normal/veteran. Still a fun way to go back through the game!
@ the morph ball's jump, I'd absolutely take making 2 bosses in Prime 2 easier in exchange for having an easier-to-access jump for the rest of the game. It's more of a QoL thing imo, and nothing in Prime 1 becomes easier because of it. I don't see how you wouldn't want it. (Although yeah they did also intentionally make a few bosses easier in the Trilogy version of Prime 2 aside from the ball jump thing, I forget which ones though but Boost Guardian was probably one of them).

Prime 3 on hypermode is my favorite in the Trilogy. It's stupidly difficult but also really challenging to get through, and it requires you to play the game in a completely different way than in normal or veteran difficulty. I like it. :]

I actually didn't like the aiming with the Wiimote in the Wii version. It makes turning really difficult. Unless there was some button I was missing, it was so annoying needing to tilt the Wiimote just to turn around.

There's an option in the settings where you can change the sensitivity at which the camera turns. So you can force the game to have the gun on the center of the screen, and any movement will turn the entire camera along with it. It's possible you were playing on the complete opposite end, where the camera won't turn unless you move the pointer alllllll the way to the edges of the screen, and that option does feel really gross to use. You could try looking for that!

 

[Miss Misty]

I have Trilogy, and I've gone through all 3 games several times! Yeah Prime 1 on hard/hypermode difficulty isn't too bad. There's a few challenging parts (like trying to get the power bombs and Meta Ridley), but if you know what you're doing it shouldn't feel too different from normal/veteran. Still a fun way to go back through the game!
@ the morph ball's jump, I'd absolutely take making 2 bosses in Prime 2 easier in exchange for having an easier-to-access jump for the rest of the game. It's more of a QoL thing imo, and nothing in Prime 1 becomes easier because of it. I don't see how you wouldn't want it. (Although yeah they did also intentionally make a few bosses easier in the Trilogy version of Prime 2 aside from the ball jump thing, I forget which ones though but Boost Guardian was probably one of them).

Prime 3 on hypermode is my favorite in the Trilogy. It's stupidly difficult but also really challenging to get through, and it requires you to play the game in a completely different way than in normal or veteran difficulty. I like it. :]

There's an option in the settings where you can change the sensitivity at which the camera turns. So you can force the game to have the gun on the center of the screen, and any movement will turn the entire camera along with it. It's possible you were playing on the complete opposite end, where the camera won't turn unless you move the pointer alllllll the way to the edges of the screen, and that option does feel really gross to use. You could try looking for that!

That's exactly it. I even remember griping to my bf about it when I got the trilogy because it was such a strain angling my wrist that long so many times in one play session. I didn't realize it would be an issue before I started so I never thought to look in the options. And then after I started I forgot all about the options menu existing. I'll have to remember this the next time I play! Having the gun locked in the middle of the screen like a normal FPS would feel better, I bet. Should have been the default, though, tbh.

Eh there are a few optional puzzles in Prime 1 that are easier. Like it's been a long time since I've played, but I can think of a few missile upgrades or extra health tanks that required double bomb jumps which can be turned into a flick + bomb in midair + flick into the bomb as it explodes. In the grand scheme of things, it's not even close to the hardest thing the trilogy asks of you, but I'd say it does make those things marginally easier to get.

 

[MasterM64]

I absolutely love this masterpiece of a game! Metroid Prime was my first Metroid game and it truly is one of my favorite Gamecube games to this day. Of all the Metroid games I have played, only Metroid Fusion was able to top this one for me. Everything from the controls to the immersion aspect of the game truly make it a must-play for anyone who has a Gamecube and is willing to try something new. Like many other games on the Gamecube, Metroid Prime was a huge evolution of an already established Nintendo IP. Going from 2D to 3D for Metroid was no easy task and Retro Studios will be commended for this achievement for years to come (very relieved they are the ones developing Metroid Prime 4 now).

 

[Mr_Persona]

I think they should release a trilogy on switch for next year anniversary. But not have it limited time offer. Games were always fun even with annoying controls! My brother liked the game a lot and instead he decided to get a digital version for 3ds so he will never lose the game. I think l have one also downloaded on my...not sure

 

[tumut]

I still prefer 2D metroid games so much more. My mind is more attuned to navigating 2D environments

I had Prime 2 Echoes at a kid and couldnt get past one part and never finished it, got it from Gamestop for like 15 bucks.

Post automatically merged: Oct 10, 2020

I think they should release a trilogy on switch for next year anniversary. But not have it limited time offer. Games were always fun even with annoying controls! My brother liked the game a lot and instead he decided to get a digital version for 3ds so he will never lose the game. I think l have one also downloaded on my...not sure

Only if its cheap and has a decent ammount of legacy content unlike the sad and lazy ports on Mario 3D All Stars

 

[~Kilza~]

I've played the entire Metroid Prime trilogy (and all of the games in the Metroid series for that matter). I rented Metroid Prime a long time ago and ended up falling in love with the game, so much so it's my 5th favorite game of all time. I would eventually end up buying it and ended up getting Echoes and Corruption both on release day, and have 100%ed each game and have beat them all on the hardest difficulty. My personal ranking of the Prime trilogy games has to be 1 > 3 > 2.

It would definitely be nice to get the Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Switch, seeing as how so many other games are coming to the Switch, lol. Still, I'm glad we at least have Metroid Prime 4 being developed (and by Retro Studios, thankfully), which will hopefully help to bring the Metroid series back to life.