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Feature: The Great Games: MetroidSamus is back with a vengeance...By Chris Vavra - 07-26-05 |
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Part Four of an on-going special feature examining the greatest games in history for all systems, by star editorialist Chris Vavra. The Great Games: Metroid Metroid is something of a curious anomaly. If you ask a casual gamer what they know about Metroid, they’ll say “Oh, isn’t it that game with that chick pretending to be a guy? Sounds really gay.” Many other derivatives have been used and this is about as clean as it’ll get. Sorry, watchdog mothers. If you ask a hardcore gamer or one that has been playing video games since the early 90’s, you’ll probably get a look of awe and wonder as they try to remember the good ol’ days. Those days seem like long ago, and they have been. Metroid first came out in 1986. It is 19 years old, which makes it older than me (a very depressing fact). Since Gumpei Yokoi released his non-linear side-scroller, the series has remained a strong mainstay in the Nintendo lineup and has a very powerful cult following. The curious fact is that only seven games have been released for the dynasty since its inception. That’s not very many, all things considered. The only parallel is Zelda, which has, I believe, 12 games in 18 years. Part of Metroid’s magic has been its elusive and rare nature, and there is no better way to find out where it attained this majestic wonder than by going back to the beginning. I had mentioned that The Legend of Zelda was one of the first to use the non-linear approach. Miyamoto owes everything to Yokoi, who devised this game and decided that a game that relied on the player to go from A to B to C wouldn’t be very exciting; thus, he decided to liven things up by forcing the gamer to hunt on his own wits to find new upgrades, weapons, and battle enemies to push their way through to the evil Mother Brain. Yokoi’s weapon system was also adopted by Miyamoto when he made Zelda. Each new weapon that is obtained will come in handy for a previous obstacle that looks too challenging or can’t be done. In short, Yokoi helped create much of the framework used in Zelda, but it still took the genius and magical touch of Miyamoto to make it work. He just got a little help from his friend. By his nature, Yokoi was an out-of-the-box thinker. His innovative ideas for Metroid were re-used in the underrated Kid Icarus a year later (this is a game that has been begging for a new title, but perhaps it is best that it remains an icon of the NES). There is little question that the ideas also influenced Hideo Kojima, who released Metal Gear in Japan for the MSX-2 in 1987. Yokoi’s ideas of non-linear gaming would serve well for action/adventure games for years to come. As well as being a brilliant game designer, Yokoi also created the Game Boy and the Virtual Boy. The latter would be remembered in shame, but it had been part of Yokoi’s legacy to think differently from everyone else. This was his one misstep in an otherwise brilliant career. It would also be his last for Nintendo, who tossed him in 1995. He died two years later in a freak car crash in Tokyo. Metroid’s innovative genius really helps the game overcome many shortcomings. Many gamers, especially the old-school ones, think Metroid is one of the best games ever. It isn’t. There are a few minor problems. First of all, it is too short. It is theoretically possible to beat the game in under thirty minutes, which is a drag. Second, many of the items are hidden in poor locations. Third, the game isn’t very challenging. It might have slinked into obscurity had it not been for two key elements. The first was the ending, which revealed to all gamers that their favorite bounty hunter wasn’t a man, but a woman. This surprise shocked gamers and it sent many into deep catatonic trances about this game, or so I’ve heard. The other element was a code. Many gamers know it as the Justin Bailey code. The code gave you access to a super-powered Samus with a spiffy new suit. No one had ever seen a code that gave gamers access to such unlimited power. Both elements gave the game something of a mystic status that Zelda achieved a year later with the 2nd Quest cheat. Over the years, Metroid continued to make leaps and bounds in gameplay, graphics, and game design, but in 2004 Nintendo decided to go back and use the remake craze to give Metroid a new facelift. This was one of the few games around that really did need it. A new and better game would give the gamers a fresh look at the start of the dynasty and it would allow the newer gamers to have an idea of where it all started. Metroid: Zero Mission was released in February 2004, and it proved to be an inspired game. Many of the new additions were obvious, but Nintendo gave us a treat by using the Chozo themes from Metroid Prime and adding a whole new section to the game after Mother Brain was defeated. This new part of the game was a gambit for Nintendo because if they did it wrong the whole thing would have been shot, but they stayed true to the formula and tied in the rest of the game with little trouble. Zero Mission brought Metroid full circle and it allowed everyone to see the true brilliance and majesty of the title that started one of the greatest video game dynasties ever. Next Game: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater |
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