This remaster gave me the chance to play Metroid Prime for the first time, and it was awesome.
Retro Studios and Iron Galaxy did a great job remastering the game within the budgetary and developmental constraints I imagine they were under. While it unfortunately didn't fix many issues that were present in the original (which I will talk more about later), the scope of the project was probably not big enough to account for them, and that's fine honestly. Their job was to graphically update the game from the ground up while adding a few bells and whistles, and from that perspective they knocked it out of the park. Having the game's definitive version, which this is, available on Switch now is all I really needed.
Graphically, the game looks excellent and runs flawlessly. I don't quite agree with people that say it's the best looking game on the console, but it is very much up there for me too. The reworked models, textures, lightning, particle effects all come together to make a game that already looked great on Gamecube look way better, which is high praise. The game also runs at 60 fps and consistently runs at that, which is kind of mindblowing when the graphical quality of the game is also so good.
However, what I think is the remaster's greatest feature is the variety of control customization that the game provides. All control schemes from previous versions of the game came back, as well as two new ones in the form of dual stick and hybrid controls. I played through the game twice, and chose classic controls on my first playthrough. I found them super weird at first and had a really tough time getting used to performing even the simplest of actions because it played like nothing I had ever played before. Despite this, it didn't really take too long for me to get used to them, and I found them very effective when I did. Moving with tank controls and then having to hold another button to stay still for more accurate aim sounds annoying, but they struck a very good middle ground with it. They pretty much had to when designing the game with the Gamecube controller's limitations in mind back then. They work great, even now, as much as they threw me off at first.
I then tried the hybrid controls on my second playthrough, and I found them to be even better. I love them, honestly. They work nearly the same as the classic controls, but have gyro integrated into them. When you press the same button as you did with the classic controls to stay still and aim, you instead use gyro to do so. Beyond just being more precise, this change also frees up the left analog stick. Since this stick isn't needed to aim anymore, you can freely move around with it and aim without coming to a stop. The degree of control this provides feels amazing, and improves the pace of the game because if you're skilled enough, you can keep moving while shooting precisely a lot of the time.
This control scheme alone makes this the definitive version of the game in my book. I can't go back now after trying it (though I do want to try the remaining control schemes on future replays of the game to experiment with them). The fact that not only did they bring back both control options that people have different preferences on, but also added two new ones (one of which I think is the best) speaks volumes to how good of a remaster it is. It's not something we often see with Nintendo games in general, but having this degree of options should be standard.
Lastly, the remaster adds concept art and character models, both from the original version and the remaster, as well as a music player. These can be viewed in the extras section in the main menu. I always love seeing extras like these in games, because in the case of concept art especially, it's as close as we get to learning about the inner workings of game development. As much as it frustrates me that we get so little on that front, I take as much as I can get and it serves as a great feature in this game.
As for the game itself, I don't quite believe it's the peak of what Metroid can offer, but it comes very close. While Super and Dread are tied for my favorite Metroid games, Prime comes in third place for now (though there's many in the series that I still have yet to play). It is still a really great game that provides the same kind of satisfaction and engagement that Metroid games always do for me.
The game is structured much the same as most other Metroid games, kind of like a huge labyrinth. The game funnels you down a specific path at the start and removes most of your abilities after introducing them to you in the Frigate Orpheon. The possibilities then begin expanding when you keep getting upgrades and earn new ones, little by little. The name of the game is exploring the whole world with the appropriate abilities to open the way forward and to earn collectibles that make you stronger. It's a gameplay loop that has always been effective in these games and continues to be here.
Where this game differs from previous Metroid games (beyond the obvious dimensional shift) mainly involves combat and storytelling. To address the combat system first, I honestly think it's the strongest in the series. An issue I have with combat systems in other games comes from the inclusion of the screw attack. I understand that getting empowered to the extent that you can obliterate everything is supposed to be satisfaying, and it is, but it also breaks the combat into pieces.
In the case of Super and Samus Returns it's not too bad because either the rest of the combat is very simple (like in Super) or the Screw Attack is better balanced around your other options (like in Samus Returns). Hot take: I believe the combat in Dread suffers the most from this and becomes very uninteresting the more you progress. The game initially gives you many different combat options that are well balanced, but as soon as the Screw Attack shows up, none of that matters anymore.
Prime doesn't suffer from this at all because it doesn't have a Screw Attack. No combat option really overshadows another one because they each have strengths and weaknesses, and different enemies encourage or force you to use different tools. The way missiles were handled is also great. In other games, your overall missile count can become irrelevant when you get stronger tools, but this game sidesteps that issue by providing upgrades that deal more damage but drain the hell out of your missile count, adding more depth to your options. In essence, the combat is all about fighting enemies one-on-one and dodging their attacks while choosing the best weapon for the job. It's awesome.
As for it's storytelling, Metroid Prime has some of the best that I've ever seen in a game. The game doesn't explicitly tell you anything that happens, and you have to figure it all out on your own by using your Scan Visor and picking up on context clues. This game tells you it's story implicitly, and does so from two different perspectives (those of the Chozo and the Space Pirates). Reading logs provides great characterization for both. They convey the Chozo's simultaneous care of nature and serious dedication to their role in the universe, as well as their humongous pride in themselves. They also highlight how awful and depraved the Space Pirates are and the degree to which they cross the line with their experiments. None of this is done through cutscenes or dialogue. The extent to which this game crafts it's story and worldbuilding this way is top of the line.
As much as I love this game, a few big issues weigh down the experience for me to the extent that it's not quite one of my favorites. For one, the structure in which mandatory upgrades are placed can be extremely annoying. The game at times makes you travel a long way to get an item, and then makes you backtrack all the way back to where you were to open up a path without much in the way of change. Backtracking is an essential element of these games, but Prime unfortunately handles it poorly and can be a slog because of it.
It doesn't help that the map flat out sucks. Even though it signals which doors can be openned with which beams, that's about it. Absolutely no information is conveyed regarding which items or upgrades you have and haven't picked up. This becomes an absolute pain when you attempt to go for 100%. I tried to do so but couldn't because I was missing a single missile expansion without a clue of where it was, and the game provides no signifiers to indicate this. I hate it.
Even with that said, Metroid Prime is a great achievement of a game, especially for the time in which it came out, but it's still well designed even when compared to today's standards. It says a lot that I had no prior experience with it and I still think this. Metroid good.
Retro Studios and Iron Galaxy did a great job remastering the game within the budgetary and developmental constraints I imagine they were under. While it unfortunately didn't fix many issues that were present in the original (which I will talk more about later), the scope of the project was probably not big enough to account for them, and that's fine honestly. Their job was to graphically update the game from the ground up while adding a few bells and whistles, and from that perspective they knocked it out of the park. Having the game's definitive version, which this is, available on Switch now is all I really needed.
Graphically, the game looks excellent and runs flawlessly. I don't quite agree with people that say it's the best looking game on the console, but it is very much up there for me too. The reworked models, textures, lightning, particle effects all come together to make a game that already looked great on Gamecube look way better, which is high praise. The game also runs at 60 fps and consistently runs at that, which is kind of mindblowing when the graphical quality of the game is also so good.
However, what I think is the remaster's greatest feature is the variety of control customization that the game provides. All control schemes from previous versions of the game came back, as well as two new ones in the form of dual stick and hybrid controls. I played through the game twice, and chose classic controls on my first playthrough. I found them super weird at first and had a really tough time getting used to performing even the simplest of actions because it played like nothing I had ever played before. Despite this, it didn't really take too long for me to get used to them, and I found them very effective when I did. Moving with tank controls and then having to hold another button to stay still for more accurate aim sounds annoying, but they struck a very good middle ground with it. They pretty much had to when designing the game with the Gamecube controller's limitations in mind back then. They work great, even now, as much as they threw me off at first.
I then tried the hybrid controls on my second playthrough, and I found them to be even better. I love them, honestly. They work nearly the same as the classic controls, but have gyro integrated into them. When you press the same button as you did with the classic controls to stay still and aim, you instead use gyro to do so. Beyond just being more precise, this change also frees up the left analog stick. Since this stick isn't needed to aim anymore, you can freely move around with it and aim without coming to a stop. The degree of control this provides feels amazing, and improves the pace of the game because if you're skilled enough, you can keep moving while shooting precisely a lot of the time.
This control scheme alone makes this the definitive version of the game in my book. I can't go back now after trying it (though I do want to try the remaining control schemes on future replays of the game to experiment with them). The fact that not only did they bring back both control options that people have different preferences on, but also added two new ones (one of which I think is the best) speaks volumes to how good of a remaster it is. It's not something we often see with Nintendo games in general, but having this degree of options should be standard.
Lastly, the remaster adds concept art and character models, both from the original version and the remaster, as well as a music player. These can be viewed in the extras section in the main menu. I always love seeing extras like these in games, because in the case of concept art especially, it's as close as we get to learning about the inner workings of game development. As much as it frustrates me that we get so little on that front, I take as much as I can get and it serves as a great feature in this game.
As for the game itself, I don't quite believe it's the peak of what Metroid can offer, but it comes very close. While Super and Dread are tied for my favorite Metroid games, Prime comes in third place for now (though there's many in the series that I still have yet to play). It is still a really great game that provides the same kind of satisfaction and engagement that Metroid games always do for me.
The game is structured much the same as most other Metroid games, kind of like a huge labyrinth. The game funnels you down a specific path at the start and removes most of your abilities after introducing them to you in the Frigate Orpheon. The possibilities then begin expanding when you keep getting upgrades and earn new ones, little by little. The name of the game is exploring the whole world with the appropriate abilities to open the way forward and to earn collectibles that make you stronger. It's a gameplay loop that has always been effective in these games and continues to be here.
Where this game differs from previous Metroid games (beyond the obvious dimensional shift) mainly involves combat and storytelling. To address the combat system first, I honestly think it's the strongest in the series. An issue I have with combat systems in other games comes from the inclusion of the screw attack. I understand that getting empowered to the extent that you can obliterate everything is supposed to be satisfaying, and it is, but it also breaks the combat into pieces.
In the case of Super and Samus Returns it's not too bad because either the rest of the combat is very simple (like in Super) or the Screw Attack is better balanced around your other options (like in Samus Returns). Hot take: I believe the combat in Dread suffers the most from this and becomes very uninteresting the more you progress. The game initially gives you many different combat options that are well balanced, but as soon as the Screw Attack shows up, none of that matters anymore.
Prime doesn't suffer from this at all because it doesn't have a Screw Attack. No combat option really overshadows another one because they each have strengths and weaknesses, and different enemies encourage or force you to use different tools. The way missiles were handled is also great. In other games, your overall missile count can become irrelevant when you get stronger tools, but this game sidesteps that issue by providing upgrades that deal more damage but drain the hell out of your missile count, adding more depth to your options. In essence, the combat is all about fighting enemies one-on-one and dodging their attacks while choosing the best weapon for the job. It's awesome.
As for it's storytelling, Metroid Prime has some of the best that I've ever seen in a game. The game doesn't explicitly tell you anything that happens, and you have to figure it all out on your own by using your Scan Visor and picking up on context clues. This game tells you it's story implicitly, and does so from two different perspectives (those of the Chozo and the Space Pirates). Reading logs provides great characterization for both. They convey the Chozo's simultaneous care of nature and serious dedication to their role in the universe, as well as their humongous pride in themselves. They also highlight how awful and depraved the Space Pirates are and the degree to which they cross the line with their experiments. None of this is done through cutscenes or dialogue. The extent to which this game crafts it's story and worldbuilding this way is top of the line.
As much as I love this game, a few big issues weigh down the experience for me to the extent that it's not quite one of my favorites. For one, the structure in which mandatory upgrades are placed can be extremely annoying. The game at times makes you travel a long way to get an item, and then makes you backtrack all the way back to where you were to open up a path without much in the way of change. Backtracking is an essential element of these games, but Prime unfortunately handles it poorly and can be a slog because of it.
It doesn't help that the map flat out sucks. Even though it signals which doors can be openned with which beams, that's about it. Absolutely no information is conveyed regarding which items or upgrades you have and haven't picked up. This becomes an absolute pain when you attempt to go for 100%. I tried to do so but couldn't because I was missing a single missile expansion without a clue of where it was, and the game provides no signifiers to indicate this. I hate it.
Even with that said, Metroid Prime is a great achievement of a game, especially for the time in which it came out, but it's still well designed even when compared to today's standards. It says a lot that I had no prior experience with it and I still think this. Metroid good.