r/Metroid

Over the past month i finally started playing the Metroid games for the first time and i've been loving all the ones i've played (Zero Mission, AM2R, Super Metroid and i've played an hour or so of both Metroid 1 and 2) until i got to Fusion.
Now apart from the game being very linear i've only ever heard good things about it so i was excited to play a more story heavy game, only to walk away from it feeling disappointed.

The Story was good don't get me wrong, but it was the gameplay that left me feeling frustrated and honestly very annoyed at the game in a way that none of the others ever did. The hidden blocks and paths in this game felt a lot more bullshit (the infamous floor pillar isn't even that bad compared to some others) and there were numerous times i was stuck in a section for about 5 minutes until i gave up and looked up which single block i failed to bomb/missile in a collection of 7 rooms. (or in the case of an illusion block that i just didn't think about jumping next to and power bombs don't reveal! what fun!) this became less annoying once i unlocked power bombs but still.

There were a couple times in the game where i decided to not go the "intended path" because i wanted to explore, i'd find a hidden pathway leading to an upgrade and another path that opened up even more, only to loop back around and find out that i was meant to go this way and that the intended path actually lead to a locked door that i would open from this side. it made the exploration feel very unrewarding imo.

People have been saying this for literal decades but i don't think the linearity of this game is something i enjoy, i understand that coming off of Super Metroid they wanted to go in the complete opposite way, (much harder to catch lightning in a bottle twice in a row than it is to innovate and try something else) but it really does not work for me sadly.

why even have the wall jump if its completely neutered?

My actual biggest gripe with this game (which i've almost never seen anyone complain about so it might be a full skill issue on my part but idc i think its really stupid and need to vent) is the Core X parasites "micro" bosses after the actual boss. I don't mind the bosses being harder in this game, i think zero mission was too easy in some parts and you can pretty much facetank 80% of all bosses in these games, but throwing a Core X at me after i barely killed Nightmare or SA-X with maybe 81 health remaining and then me DYING to that stupid thing because it shoots its own beams if i hit it, combined with the fact that everything hits like a truck (yes, i get the story reason) has made me ragequit at least twice. Especially coming off of Super Metroid and having the deal with the much worse diagonal aiming system of the GBA games.

not really a criticism of the game but i see people praise the atmosphere and the "scariness" of the game and SA-X but i sadly felt none of that. i really wanted to like this game the way i see people gush about it online but i just can't, there's too much stuff in it that sours the rest of the experience for me. It's still a good game but its just not for me.

Of all the Metroid games i've played i can definitely see myself replaying them in 2-3 years, Fusion might be the only exception. (maybe in like 5 years)

Zero Mission 9/10

AM2R 8/10

Super Metroid 10/10

Fusion 6/10

When i first started the franchise i had a choice between Zero Mission and Fusion and i almost chose Fusion first, which makes me wonder, would i have liked this game more if i started with it? would its "flaws" have pushed me away from the franchise completely? do i not like this game because i played the others first?
I'm curious if any Fusion fans agree with any of my points, i'd love to hear people's opinions and thoughts on this.

Anyways i'm off to play the Prime Trilogy.

EDIT: I'd like to clarify that i take back the "overrated" part of the title, it feels more combative than what i meant, you're not wrong for having Fusion as your favorite, im happy you enjoyed the game more than i did.

Hey all, I remember a little bit ago I saw another Prime 4 discussion post about Sylux, and in the comments there was a link that contained information about Sylux's motives, kind of like a "prequel" or "prologue" text that pretty much summarizes Sylux's motives. I'm really trying to find it again, please help!!! I've been searching everywhere for this tidbit, and it looks super official too. Why they didn't clarify this shit in the game is BEYOND me.

(...Get it? Beyond? L-Like Metroid Prime 4 Beyond?)

But rather, it was Nintendo's absolutely asinine decision to not at least port Echoes and Corruption to the Switch before release, let alone a remaster. For people who first jumped into this series, and like to do everything square and don't feel comfortable with emulation, having only the Metroid Prime 1 remaster and MP4 available to play on Nintendo's current gen console can absolutley give the player a sense of whiplash had they not known the direction that the Prime series was headed in before the hiatus. Having Corruption be playable on current gen Nintendo hardware could have had the effect of tempering expectations that people had of MP4 being "MP1 2.0" and signaled to players the fact that Beyond was going to be more similar to Corruption than MP1.