Mama Bird Returns
(Played on launch Switch, Handheld Only, in Japanese text)
Metroid Dread is not a game yours truly would recommend over several more modern and cheaper exploration-based side-scrolling action platformers. The newest in the Metroidvania name’s sake series did not take enough lessons from the newer titles in a subgenre its predecessors helped to define. But just like From Soft’s Soulsborne series, there always seems to be something admirable about a game combining old-school tough-but-fair design with relatively top-notch production value. Or else, Dread would not have been the first Metroid game yours truly had ever beaten.
My playthrough clocked at 12 hours 20 minutes by the end screen, with only 40% of the items found. One can argue that I made the game harder for myself with only 499 Energy and 125 Missiles into the final battle, but those numbers only mean you can take half a dozen more hits in those twitchy, fast and furious battles.
Boss fights are surprisingly fast in Metroid Dread and require player to master movements like Space Jump or Flash Shift, both in terms of timing and execution. It’s always rather like 2007’s God of War 2: no life bar of the bosses. While those are not the more elaborate Quick Time Event plaguing cinematic games in the mid aughts, timed melee counters are required to finish those fights, or the bosses simply refused to admit defeats.
Other than Boss fights and Metroid series’ signature final escape, Dread settles down to a more deliberate pace when player explores its side-scrolling labyrinth. Those who like it would call the design “elaborate” while those who don’t would call it “convoluted”. My impression would be something in between as my senses are more costumed to the waypoints of modern titles, A video guide was consulted a half dozen times during my playthrough, but once I knew where to go, there would at least be a couple of hours of fun to have until I got lost again.
Such level design is one of reasons why yours truly think more highly of Dread than the Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening 2 years ago. The remake of the Gameboy game almost required a step-by-step guide to be beaten by a mind more costumed to modern hand-holding designs. The other reason being the smooth frame rate. As I mentioned above, the boss fights are demanding and fast, a high frame rate certainly helped to pull one through all the ordeal.
Dread has 2 new features that justify its subtitle.
The first being no access to Samus Aran’s ship until the final cut scene. The ship had been a save point doubles as healing and restock station in previous side scrolling Metroid games. But no such luck here, the goal of the game is to get back to the ship, rules are you have to defeat a rouge galley to get there
The second being the very Shinji Mikami action horror levels with E.M.M.Is. Those are indestructible robots cable of grabbing and one-shoting Samus. Well, you have two extreme short windows for counter to escape their grasp, but those are really hard to pull off. Once you have access to a small room in their patrol zones, you need to beat a boss to gain the fire power to blow up an E.M.M.I. Then find yourself two nice long corridors, one to blow away the robots’ armor, another to blow their heads off. Defeated E.M.M,Is are sources of Samus’ powers like Ice Missiles and other one needs to beat the game with.
Metroid Dread was billed as the fifth and final installment of Metroid story started with 1984’s original. Unlike Super Metroid, or “Metroid 3”, on SNES and Metroid Fusion, or “Metroid 4”, on GBA, Dread does not have a title screen with “Metroid 5” in its opening cut scene. There is short recap of event in Fusion (It pretty much amounted to “Samus went to this place and accomplished her mission by blowing it up.”), but the game can be enjoyed as a standalone title from beginning to end.
Even as a relatively slow year for video games, 2021 has its fair share of Metroidvanias, on both the Super-Metroid-like side and the Caslevania-Symphony-of-the-Night-like side. What taps the former’s scale is that the first side-scrolling, made-for-home-console Metroid game since Super Metroid came out. What taps the latter’s scale is that this newest Metroid has several old bones in her body. The mama bird of the subgenre can still fly high, but the age shows regardless.
