Taking a blender to the last two decades of Metroid
(spoiler free)
Over 15 years ago, Super Metroid released on the Super Nintendo to critical acclaim. This sequel to its NES and GB predecessors was beautiful, and its 2D action played perfectly down to the pixel. Its hard to believe that it was only seven years later that Retro Studios created the next console Metroid, the exquisite Metroid Prime. Like its predecessor, Prime was beautiful, but it took the franchise into 3D, putting players behind the visor of gamings greatest heroine. In doing so, Retro created a masterpiece, but still left the series' roots back on Zebes. And some fans simply couldn't be tided over by the pair of classic Metroids released for Handhelds in the years following.
Leave it to Team Ninja of all developers to make the old Metroid relevant again. They, along with Nintendo, took Super Metroid, spread it out along a 3D plain, added a bit of Prime nougat, and created a delicious Metroid Sou flee for all those old Metroid fans eager for a real return.
And with it, Ninja brought Samus into largely uncharted territory, giving her a voice with which to talk to the biggest cast in Metroid history. Lets make no bones about it; this game wants to be a movie. Like Metal Gear Solid 4 before it, this game has some long cut scenes, and they aren't entirely consistent. The voice-acting is largely very good, but drops off periodically throughout the presentation. The presentation itself is also hit-or-miss, with key characters making a single appearance before vanishing, leaving the player to fill in the holes. That said, there's nothing quite like seeing past Metroid moments, including Super Metroid's brilliant climax, animated in beautiful 3D.
The game play itself is perhaps the best and only way to interpret past games in the series to the 3D world. You maneuver Samus through hallway after hallway, stopping (or simply slowing down) to dispatch enemies or locate an upgrade. It controls much like classic Metroid games, though thanks to the extra dimension, up and down on the directional pad now move Samus left and right, with vertical movement assigned to the 2 button. This control scheme feels very familiar for fingers that still remember the old Metroid, and results in a smooth experience throughout. The player is also afforded some new maneuvers courtesy of the Team Ninja crew, including melee attacks that often take out foes in a single hit, and dodges that simultaneously charge up Samus' arm cannon, allowing for slick counters.
The key holdover from the "Prime" game play is the first-person view, which is activated by simply aiming the Wii remote at the screen and using A to fire, while B locks on and allows for missiles. It is a mechanic that takes some getting used to, and ones enjoyment of the game may hinge on how quickly one adapts to the unique scheme. While some have obviously had frustration, I became used to it fairly quickly, and long before the game ended I was having no issue turning, locking on and firing for devastating damage.
I have my own suspicions that this was originally a planned Metroid movie, adapted to give the Wii one more blockbuster title, but even if that were the case, the result of the adaption is one of the finest games of 2010 and a jewel in the Wii Library. As for me, I feel that it ranks just behind Metroid Prime as the best the series has to offer. And any game that can claim to be better than Super Metroid has serious bragging rights indeed.
