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Happy 25th Birthday to Metroid!


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25 awesome years. Looking forward to the "Harmony of a Hunter" album from www.shinesparkers.net. Hoping Nintendo also has something up their sleeve like the Zelda concert series tour.

Super Metroid is still my favorite game so this is a pretty awesome milestone for me. I still remember the first time I got to the Mother Brain - it was the middle of the night on a school night and the music and sheer size of her character freaked me the fuck out! Followed by the panic of escaping from the self-destruct sequence in time - Super Metroid was the only game of that 16-bit era that really made me feel like *I* was the character. I love that about it.

What's your favorite Metroid memory?

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Happy birthday to this amazing series! Hopefully Nintendo does something. It really deserves it.

To be honest, I didn't actually start playing the Metroid series until I got my hands on Corruption in 08. I was instantly addicted. It was like the series was pretty much meant for me, and I felt horrible that I didn't know anything about it before hand. It only took a year for me to go back and play all the older games (except for Metroid 2 and Metroid: Zero Mission). To this day, my favorite games out of the series are Super Metroid and the first Prime.

My favorite memory is still my first times inside of Chozo Ruins on Prime. The series' environments are what really set it apart from others IMO. Even in Super Metroid, I was amazed at all the details put into the game. I could talk about the music, forever, too. Kenji Yamamoto tops as my favorite video game musician to this day.

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I love pretty much the entire Metroid series, and finding favourite moments is a bit of a daunting task. I'll try, though... and I'll also include some less-than-favourite moments.

Metroid - I first played it when it came out, got only so far, and set it aside for about seven years. Then I played all the way through it. Best moment has to be the sense of accomplishment when you've destroyed Mother Brain, which is still a challenge to me. My least favourite part is the long tall chamber near Kraid where you have to blast your way up a column of regenerating blocks. That's a time waster and a half every time I play.

Metroid II - Favourite moment is the last area leading up to and including the battle with the Queen Metroid. The music alone gives the whole area a touch of intensity. [sEMI-SPOILER ALERT!] I didn't know until very recently about the method of defeating the Queen from the inside... Least favourite moments are pretty much any battle with a Zeta Metroid.

Super Metroid - Very difficult to choose a favourite moment in a game that is pretty much completely great. I'll choose the super-fast manner of defeating Draygon, or the revelation of the titular Super Metroid at the end. Least favourite moment is trying to collect one of the Missile Tanks in Maridia which requires perfect use of the Speed Booster's Shinespark, or the battle with Phantoom (I'm always relieved when I've rid the ship of that thing).

Metroid Prime - Again, the whole game is one long moment of awesome. The only problem I ever had was occasionally having it freeze when on the elevators. Thankfully I never had a problem playing the Cube disc on Wii, and the Trilogy version has also not locked up on me to date.

Echoes - This being my least favourite of the Metroid series that I've completed, perhaps it's ironic that it has my all-time favourite boss battle: Quadraxis.

Corruption - I am willing to call this the very best shooter and one of the all-time best games that I have ever played, hands down. The closest thing I have to a complaint about this game is fighting with the Mogenar War Golem on Hard Mode. That stone droid is a bastard and three quarters. Oh, favourite moment: exploring the abandoned GFS Valhalla (which I always save until I've cleared out every other location).

Hunters - I haven't finished this one, and I can't really say I'm comfortable with it, so I won't bother finding its best or worst moments for a while.

Fusion - When the SA-X first appears is one of those moments that will stay with me forever. There are a couple of moments that piss me off on every play-through, one of which is an unavoidable encounter with SA-X after the power goes out.

Zero Mission - My favourite moment here is not a plot point or a battle, but the only instance in which I've successfully broken the game's standard sequence of gathering items: getting the Screw Attack before the Super Missiles (if I remember correctly - it's been a while since I pulled it off). Least favourite moment is definitely trying to collect the Energy Tank in the Pirate Ship, in a corridor lined with security lasers which requires absolute mastery of the Space Jump to maneouvre. I have yet to get this tank and I doubt I will ever pull it off without a miracle.

Other M - I don't know why this game gets so maligned just because of the abundance of backstory. Ya'll realize you can skip the cutscenes, right? Anyway, while this certainly isn't the best of the Metroid games, there is no real reason to say it's terrible. Standout moments for me in this one are later boss battles, specifically Nightmare (after activating the Gravity Suit) and Phantoom. I share a few least favourite moments with some reviews: the pixel-hunting sections among them (if you could find exactly what you were looking for without resorting to a guide or FAQ, you are a liar) and a couple of the early mini-boss battles which were a little harder than they needed to be (King Kihunter).

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You may have seen this already now it's been FP'd by IGN, but if you haven't, check out the Metroid 25th Anniversary medley by Shnabubula and his pal Gabe! http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/118/1186531p1.html Just wanted to fire that one out there, it's so good.

Myself, I have only played four games in the Metroid franchise to date; that's the Prime series and Super Metroid (I did not get to play the latter back when it was first released.) I really liked the Prime games. For me one of the greatest moments was in the first Prime game, on my first playthrough, when entering the crashed frigate orpheon. The dilapidated setting and creepy ambience had me set up for a pretty dark and tense segment in the game with "jumpy bits" and so forth, but when the haunting ambience gave way to ethereal twinkly piano music I felt a big sense of relief, and all the tension from the moment disappeared. It's a pretty great example of how powerful game audio can be in playing with our perceptions and how vital it can be for dictating mood and feel.

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Man... makes me feel old... a beloved childhood game turns 25. Happening a lot these days, but only the really great ones that have survived are being bragged about. I mean, I didn't see anyone celebrate Ice Climber's 25th or anything.

I haven't played all of 'em, but I concur that Super Metroid is my favorite out of the ones I have. Still go back and play through it now and then. Favorite memories would be the thrills of finding a secret energy tank by taking a leap of faith. "Hey, maybe that lava won't kill me, maybe I'll find something super cool... holy crap I was right!!!"

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I love Super Metroid, and the handheld games were pretty good, as well. Plenty of people love the Prime series, but for the time I played it I just...couldn't get into it, for some reason. Ah well.

Favorite moment would be in Super Metroid - when I discovered a way to beat the game without getting the Varia suit... it takes a shitload of luck manipulation, but it can be done.

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Metroid Prime is my favorite game of ALL TIME. I've played through it at least 8 times. I had no idea what I was getting into when I played it; I had only played Metroid Zero Mission before (My second favorite Metroid game) and I was so engrossed in the awesome story and scanning mechanics, not to mention the incredible music and graphics and some of the best atmosphere I'd ever seen.

I really, REALLY hope it gets some sort of tribute...Although, judging by Nintendo's "tributes" to Mario and Zelda (a SNES game with a bleh CD and a zelda wiimote...although the travelling symphony is cool) doesn't really give me the highest hopes. If it helps, we can just consider Trilogy to be an early tribute to Metroid.

And still think Other M is a good game, no matter what anyone says.

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Honestly, I think I first really got into Metroid with Metroid Prime, followed quickly by Fusion, though I had seen Super Metroid played cover to cover by a friend years prior. And I had occasionally played Metroid up at visits to relatives' houses but I never got anywhere significant.

Both Fusion and Prime were incredibly fun, and I loved the atmosphere of both Tallon IV and the science ship. I found Fusion incredibly punishing at the time, having not really played a 2D Metroid before. I soldiered through it and beat it though. I quickly grew enamored with the series.

Since then I've tried to play through the original, Super Metroid, Echoes, and Corruption. I don't recall beating any of the other ones, but I adored Super Metroid and found Corruption to be pretty good. Echoes... eh... although it has a very similar feel to the original Prime in gameplay, I just haven't found Aether particularly compelling so much as really, really irritating. The gameplay is still solid and high quality, but I don't find it to be nearly as fun.

I love this series. Very few others have done atmospheric this well, and I kind of hope they go back to a more minimalistic style of storytelling, or one like Prime where it's only as much as you want by scanning stuff.

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Least favourite moment is definitely trying to collect the Energy Tank in the Pirate Ship, in a corridor lined with security lasers which requires absolute mastery of the Space Jump to maneouvre. I have yet to get this tank and I doubt I will ever pull it off without a miracle.

Try charging up a shinespark before you drop down there. :smile:

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Awesome. Just finished my 101% run (and scans) on Metroid Prime 2 in celebration. Took about 10 hours, which I'm mad about because I could have easily cut that back into 9 or 8 and a half if I didn't carelessly forget about a 2 items and a few scans. D:

I know technically the anniversary was two days ago, but I'mma keep celebratin'. On to Supah Metroyd!

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I semi-recently got a new personal best time of 1:06 on Super Metroid with 100% items. I absolutely love the Metroid series, though I have yet to beat the original Metroid and Metroid 2.I just cant keep all of those near identical rooms straight in my memory and inevitably get lost.

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Having played and beaten every game, except Metroid Prime: Hunters and Metroid: Other M, I must say I am incredibly impressed by this series, as it even manages make a pinball game epic. I love Metroid Prime: Pinball, but the first Metroid Prime game is probably my favorite game in the series (and one of my favorites of all time). The first encounter with Meroid though was Super Metroid, which was quite an unforgettable experience.

Happy birthday Samus!

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Try charging up a shinespark before you drop down there. :smile:

How dare you be right! :smile: Thanks, Lemon! Took me about a dozen attempts (just to break through the floor) but I think I've got it down pat.

Now for the missile packs on the far right of Ridley's lair that require Matrix-calibre reflexes... (I can get those after a few dozen tries each, but now those constitute my least-favourite part of the game).

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My two favorite Metroid moments are when I found the second (first?) Ice Beam in Brinstar in college -- all of my life I would have told you that there's only one, in Norfair.

The other one was seeing Metroid Prime for the first time. While I still prefer Super Metroid (and LttP, and most of the SNES incarnations of everything), I was totally blown away by how many things Retro did right. Everything about Prime is perfect. Someone in the original review said that it was as if the best game from five years in the future got sent back in time. I think it's yet to be outdone...

...unfortunately, that includes both Prime 2 and 3, which imo were not as good, largely because the keyhunts got more ridiculous.

Lastly, some fan projects worth your time:

SM Redesign: An SNES hack of Super Metroid that features a completley redone world, a couple new powers, and a new physics engine hardcoded on top of Super Metroid, making it feel like a completely unique game, not just a new map. It's hard but not impossible -- nothing more than double bomb jumps, for instance.

DoctorM64, one of the artists on the Shinesparkers album (which rocks, go get it), is putting together a remake of Metroid 2, which is under loved by almost everyone. The project is approaching completion, and many of us are very eager to get our hands on it.

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