682: Metroid: Samus Returns

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Metroid: Samus Returns for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Jobobonobo]

I remember playing this when it came out back in 2017. I played a few hours and thought it was alright, but I was in a phase where I was not big into handheld gaming at this time and just lost interest. Years later, I am back in love with handheld gaming and so decided I would give this another go. I have never played the Gameboy original, but this seems to be heavily different from it in many ways. I guess being free of the Gameboy’s restraints enabled the developers to go wild with what they could put in there. I did like the melee counter and could be especially satisfying to use on the Metroid encounters. That you have to wipe out a set number of Metroids was also nice as it gives the player a nice idea of how far they are into the game and that you can use the chozo statues to tell you where the next one is hiding also saves on unnecessary wandering. The latter powerups really make you feel unstoppable with the spazer beam, space jump and screw attack enabling you to decimate rooms of enemies and clear any gap vertical or horizontal. My only real big issue I had with it is that some of the bosses go on for way too long. Diggernaut and the final Ridley fight have so many phases that each time I thought I was done I would just see them pull another trick and I would think “Oh god, I just barely survived that last round, when will this end?!”. I had to redo those fights a lot, but I was still having a good time, so I was never too upset to give it one more go. While for me, it still does not top the likes of Super Metroid or Zero mission when it comes to 2D Metroid goodness, Samus Returns is a fine Metroid title that I would recommend to anyone who is into the series or Metroidvanias in general.

TWR: Planetary pest control