Metroid Prime: Remastered is a Strong Upgrade to an Already Good Game

Audience: 10+

Genres: Shooter, 3D Platformer, Adventure

Overall Content Rating: Clean

Content Warnings

Violence

Shooting & killing aliens

Slight amounts of animated (yellowish-green) blood

Overall Review

I wasn't sure what to expect from Metroid Prime: Remastered. I had never played a 3D Metroid game before, and I haven't had the opportunity to play many first person shooters. Coming out on the other side, I'm extremely glad I played the game, and I'm excited to play more games like it in the near future.

Metroid Prime: Remastered takes place on a planet known as Tallon IV. You play as Samus Aran, a deep space bounty hunter tasked with infiltrating a pirate operation taking place above the planet. After the ship crash lands on the planet due to your success, Samus flies down to the planet's surface to insure the destruction of the pirates, only to unveil a dark and nefarious plan which would destroy the peaceful, lush world and unlock a terrifying, deadly power. Samus must collect twelve ancient artifacts created by the ancient, extinct Chozo inhabitants to open a barricade to a mysterious crater, which appears to be the source of this wicked power. While there is no dialogue and the main character never utters a word, there is plenty of lore to be discovered through ancient Chozo scripts and detailed pirate logs (which are poorly encrypted, you'd think they'd TRY to hide their plans a little better). It's a fascinating story with a wonderful payoff by the end.

The world of Tallon IV is absolutely gorgeous. Its ambiance and smoothness make it a marvelous treat to look at. Each area, of which there are five (technically six but you're there for approximately two seconds so whatever), is distinct and stunning in its own way. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful greenery of the Tallon Overworld and the bleak industrialized caves of the Phazon Mines. The enemies look realistic and intimidating, artistically rendered with grim undertones. The foreboding music and fluctuating lighting gives each area its own uniquely dangerous feel. The designs of Samus' suits, weapons are sleek and intense, which makes playing as her feel extremely cool.

The game mechanics are smooth and methodical, especially in terms of Samus' movement. There is no sprinting, which could be seen as a detriment, but I quite like it. It gives every movement a purposeful feeling, and causes you to slow down and think about each attack and jump logically. There is a large amount of parkour in the world, and due to the floaty game physics, it is satisfying to pull off big, elaborate moves. The blasters, however, are extremely quick and satisfying to use, which couples with Samus' heavy, methodical movement nicely. Once you get the hang of the controls, which is not that difficult to do, you never have a moment where you get frustrated with the game's mechanics (unless you're like me and fail easy jumps four times in a row).

The enemies are fun, although they can be slightly repetitive at times. There are many variants of the same enemies, which is interesting, but not as interesting as fully unique creatures would have been. However, the bosses in this game truly shine. Two of the bosses are simple and similar, but the other eight bosses are genuinely some of the coolest and most unique bosses I've ever had the pleasure of fighting. They're difficult in their own ways, but don't feel too unfair (besides the Omega Pirate oh my goodness that thing would not die). It was enjoyable fighting them and pleasurable beating them. Their designs were intense and awesome-looking, and their attacks were fun and intriguing.

I only have one major gripe about this game, and that would be the fact that you have to backtrack a lot. The game has a really fun world map, where the individual levels are all connected in multiple ways, making it genuinely feel like an expansive world while still maintaining a linear, level-like experience. However, due to the lack of fast travel, this means that you often have to traverse back and forth in the same level areas to collect and drop off artifacts, as well as find new doors and weapons. Pathways you had to begrudgingly pass due to not having the right weapon type only become passable later in the game, meaning you'll need to hike back and forth between many of the areas at least a dozen times. This is especially true of the area near your landed ship. However, the enemies occasionally change in certain areas and it is somewhat enjoyable to open up doors you had to pass earlier, as if they're a bit of treasure you can finally obtain.

Overall, this game was really enjoyable. It took about 30 hours for me to complete, although it can probably easily be completed in 20 or 25. I tend to complete games more slowly than other people. It has no profane or inappropriate content, and minimal blood and gore. The game obviously contains shooting and violence, as the point of the game is to eradicate the villainous pirates, but it is never gory or excessive. It's an enjoyable first-person shooter with awesome gameplay, despite some flaws. If you're on the fence about buying this game, or you simply enjoy a good first-person shooter or sci-fi adventure, I would 100% recommend this game. Metroid Prime: Remastered is a remaster done right, and it gives hope to both Metroid and Nintendo fans that their beloved, outdated games will come back in the future, better than ever.