Metroid Dread (Switch)

Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!

Latest Metroid game and the first for Switch. Surprised revealed in spring 2021 and released in October the same year it was the first new 2D Metroid game since Metroid Fusion back in 2002 meaning it was almost 20 years between them, and it's also the first game since Fusion that brings the story forward since the games in between have been stories set before Super Metroid... well, I don't know about Federation Force since I haven't played more than the intro stage. 

Story is that after Fusion the federation got a message with a video of an X parasite on a different planet. Thought of being extinct since the events in Fusion when Samus dropped a whole space station on SR388. So the federation sends in 7 specialised E.M.M.I robots specialised in extracting biological matter. But as usual they lose contact and Samus Aran has to be sent in to finish the job. Arriving she is attacked by a Chozo named Raven Beak that strands her in the middle of the planet and without her powers. So she has to search the planet to upgrade her weapons, avoid and then destroy the rouge E.M.M.I's and escape.

This games hard. Usually you get to the end game and can demolish any enemy and boss, but here I actually have to learn to fight the damn things. Closer to the Metroid Prime end bosses since those were hard as well. Or at least the first two, never finished 3. Also, the tricks you gotta do to get 100 % items is something I couldn't do on my own so I had to look it up and then train to get it. People have played too much of these games if the thought is "yeah, pretty obvious you gotta stand on this edge, shoot the door, shinespark up those two ramps and then get through the speed booster blocks in morph ball mode for a missile upgrade".

In the end it seems like Raven Beaks plan was forcing Samus to fight which would force the Metroid DNA in her to take over and with that allow him to clone the Metroids and use them as an army to conquer the Universe. Unfortunately for him the X destroyed most of his plans and when Samus finally get good enough there is a real battle to the death. I gotta have been killed around 10 times, but I got him. And then I was able to escape with only 5 seconds to spare before the whole planet blew up. There is different gallery images you can unlock depending on ending time, I got almost 15 hours first time. After beating the game once you get hard mode, and we will see if I ever beat it. I can probably cut down on the time by a wide margin just by not being compelled to paint the whole map since it doesn't actually matter, beyond a small OCD tendencies. 

Metroid II: Samus Returns

She's back!

The remake of the second Metroid game. Original game was for the gameboy so the update was rather welcome. I played that one not that long ago, but I apparently didn't write about it here. So what do we have here? A great improvement in my mind. Music is fleshed out compared to the original one and the graphical update was really needed and they even added short cutscenes here and there, especially when meeting the evolved Metroids. Also some extra bosses are added and most of them I believe are completely new. One is even reoccurring one. You first meet this one as it blocks the road and Samus shot it out of it’s way. Then it head on destroying two chozo-statues and then using some kind of rolling drill to chase you through the tunnels and after some more delving into the planets inner core fighting it again and destroying it with a shot behind you. Samus is back!

Still wish the 3DS would support a colour palette

Story is the same as before. After the first game the galactic federation deems the Metroids to dangerous to keep alive with the space pirates running rampant through the galaxy. So they send their elite troops to their planet of origin, SR388. And as standard the federation loose contact with the team and there is only one person to send in, Samus Aran. Playing the game is improved since they gave Samus some new abilities like able to fire in 360 degrees, special moves like a scan pulse to show the map and make it easier to explore since it reveals every hidden item and secret area. Great for people like me, And then there is a slow down power instead of a run faster ability Also suits me better since reaction isn’t getting better with time. There is also some rapid-fire power and then a final forth one which I can’t remember at the moment. The rest are pretty much standard metroid weapons like the spider ball, bombs, super missiles and different suits.

Take that Metroid

So is there any new story? Well, they tie this one together with Metroid Fusion since they show the X returning after eradicating the metroids and it attacking the same monster that is the one that infected Samus at the start of Fusion. And as a bonus for finding 100 % of the items in each area you unlock Chozo-memories which tells the history of the planet when the Chozo arrived, discovered the X and created the Metroids to combat them. After that threat the metroids evolved to its other forms and attacked the Chozo and they were forced to push them back into the planet and lock them in there. And as another Chozo ship arrives the final memory shows how the Chozo are slain by their own kin in the memory called 2d/10. I can swear I’ve heard that before (I think it’s uttered at the attack of the death star in the original Star Wars), but I believe it hints on a future instalment of a new 2d metroid game since that would maybe be the 10th game in the series, the first 4 2d ones (Metroid, Return of Samus, Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion), the 3 prime games, Other M and either Metroid Prime 4 or Metroid Prime: Hunters (but since Hunters is a bit of a spin-of I think they don’t count it or maybe the 2d game will be released before Prime 4… or it might even be Prime 4, what do I know).

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate

 

Since there will be no DnD this weekend, how about some other games? Like, say, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate? Got it this Thursday and finished it yesterday. Played for around 11 hours to 100 %, so a bit short, but while it last it gives you a cinematic epic experience. It start with a short basic level with Gabriel Belmont, main character from the first game in the reboot series. Then you continue to play the game with Simon Belmont, Alucard and finally Trevor Belmont. The story takes place mostly over a 30 year period (excluding the Gabriel Belmont section that would take the game over a 60 years period). All character have the same basic attacks, but differs in special attacks and abilities. For example the sub-weapons, Simon has some kind of Molotov cocktails (replacing the usual holy water sub-weapon) and axes while Trevor has a boomerang shuriken (instead of the cross or is it still called the cross?) and electric bomb (which I can't recall if it has some counterpart in Castlevania, but they remind me of a special attack from the Mystical Ninja 64 game, coincidentally another Konami game) and Alucard has flying bats and the stop-hourglass (instead of the stop-watch, but that's just pointing at words). To be frank, I hardly used them when not necessary, except the electric bomb since it was pretty useful against aquatic enemies and especially in groups of them. The reason for this is that they are much slower to use than in the original games, there you could just throw them, here it is recommended to charge them first, but if the enemy hits you, you have to restart and the combat is to fast for it to work and the enemies requires much more damage than in the old games.

Anyway, each character explore different parts of the castle, some may overlap, but due to the different abilities of the characters (Alucard and Trevor's double jump ability mostly) they need special ways around the same room, at least compared to Simon who can't double jump and must rely on the whip much more (although, since the other characters have the same ability it feels like he's just the weakest of them, especially if you go back to his chapter to find the last percent of hidden chests after playing through the others), but since he's mostly the first character he's a good introduction. A pity that the demo they released started with Trevor who is the last character you play through the game. Combat is fairly easy with button mashing working most of the time (should probably mention that I'm not that into these kind of action games), but you need to use combos with certain enemies that prefer to block (as I side note, I HATE the vampires with swords and wings in this game). Blocking and shield crashing is the most useful and should be mastered if you even want to attempt to fight certain enemies or any boss at all. You also have certain attack combos, limited to the 18 level cap you have. Here is also the reason why I'm not that interested in these kind of games, I end only be able to perform the most basic attacks. Either I can't remember the combo or my fingers can't act correctly. Doesn't need it here since blocking and dodging goes a long way. Although that was on normal and easy setting.

Graphically? Looks great. It looks dark, evokes the gothic setting perfectly and you can see backgrounds and enemies without problem (compare it to Castlevania: Circle of the Moon where the limited light of the Game Boy Advance made it really hard to see anything). Musically it's alright, it works for the setting and changes if you are in combat or not, BUT... it doesn't feel like Castlevania music. None of the old tunes are there. This soundtrack evokes an epic cinematic experience, but where is the catchy tunes from the old games? Where is Simon's Theme? Trevor's or even Alucard's? Why not use them as battle themes if they don't fit the mood of the castle? It's the same thing in movies when they remake old movies or revive franchises that have iconic music and they just throw it out. Transformers, Conan and I have great fear the same goes for Robocop. Just a small tune over the credits maybe or you can do like Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword by playing the song backwards. Or they might have done it and I don't know about it, but since no one has mentioned it I assume no.

All in all, it does a great job evoking that cinematic experience battling hordes of undead, clinging for your life riding the back of several creatures and the combat works perfect for it and when you pull of combos, blocks and dodges it feels amazing and the music ties it all together. Well worth to play, but it feels a bit short and the only re-playability value is a hardcore mode. Nothing like switching characters for the different chapters or combining your own vampire hunter (or even play as Dracula himself). Oh, and before I forget, does the 3DS offer something special for this game? Yes, besides the 3D effects (which works fine) you can now leave notes on the map for places you can't access and need to come back for. Makes it so much easier than roaming the halls until you stumble upon a passage that needed the double jump for example. You can probably use it to write down the hints the dead knights gives you as well since you have 50 notes and I at most used 12 or so for the different parts. Only wished I had finished the original Lords of Shadow, but I don't have TV at the moment and the game is packed down at my parents home.