- Tested on Nintendo Switch
- Finished in 13 hours at 99%
- In dock mode all along on a TV Samsung Q8F 4K 55 inches
Announced « shadow dropped » as a flower during a Nintendo Direct on February 8, Metroid Prime Remastered made a remarkable entrance. If the surprise was partial, it is simply because the rumor of an update of this cult title was regularly evoked. However, his announcement, combined with his immediate availability, had its effect, not without crystallizing some disappointments with some fans of the license who would not have squandered their pleasure at the idea of taste a refreshment of Metroid Prime Trilogy, compilation of the three episodes Game Cube released on Wii in October 2009.
The Queen's Return
However, how not to yield to the temptation to (re)discover this sacred artifact, worthy of those found on Tallon IV. True prowess at the time and at all levels, Metroid Prime is a cult title, considered close to perfection and materializing the extent of Nintendo's know-how as to the passage of his licenses in three dimensions. Super Mario 64 opened the ball to revolutionize the video game as a whole, The Legend Of Zelda : Ocarina of Time perfectly transposed the recipe initiated by A Link To The Past to become one of the most regarded games of all time. How could the Metroid saga renew itself and reach a level of transformation specific to the license while succeeding in its moulting with the same brilliance as the other two Nintendo flagship I.Ps? First of all by zapping the Nintendo 64, where Samus will only appear on the founding opus of Super Smash Bros and broncal prototypes.
Then thanks to the fabulous Shigeru Miyamoto who had a brilliant flash at the best of moments and the erection of a studio full of talents. Retro Studios was founded in Austin (Texas) in 1998 by Jeff Spangenberg under the leadership of Nintendo to design ambitious games for the Japanese firm. If this name is unknown to you, the names of Acclaim and Iguana Entertainment will probably remind fans of the Nintendo 64 and the license Turok. Thus, Mario's creator was impressed by Turok and its aftermath Turok 2: Seeds of Evil who had made the good days of the N64. He also admired the way Iguana mastered their hardware.
That's why in 2000, Myamoto asked Retro Studio to reinvent the series MetroidSo sleepy for too long. Based on their experience with first-person games, the illustrious « Steven Spielberg from video game » changed his original idea of making new Metroid a third person game to make it a subjective game. By passing a cult title like Super Metroid, in 2D horizontal scrolling, where the player had his eyes riveted Samus to a game at the first person, Retro had other choice than to decorate Metroid until its essence to conceive the resurrection from a new (view) angle. Some might say that the Texan studio started from scratch, others (of which I am a part) think that many of the elements that made Metroid Prime's success were already present in the first two Turokin particular its aftermath Seeds Of Evil.
Thus, far from being a simple basic shooter made of series of arenas, the dinosaur hunter was evolving in levels of labyrinth design, where exploration was essential for finding keys and unlocking skills, forcing the player to go back and forth in levels. One blow, one understands even more the choice of Miyamoto, because in essence, many elements present in Metroid Prime were already there in Turok.
Rebirth of a license, synonymous with a new genre
Therefore, the result of this unexpected collaboration between Nintendo, a very protectionist Japanese company with regard to its licenses and the Texas studio, leads to an absolute and timeless masterpiece. It is very simple, even today, the philosophy of the game is still unique in its kind and there is no real « Premium Like ». If it is legitimate to think that Dark Souls the idea of a metroidvania 3D with a labyrinth level design and an environmental narrative, the fact is that the two titles are fundamentally different in their essence.
Also, unlike the Halo of Bungie and Microsoft, to which he was clumsy compared to the time, if the shoot sequences are part of Premium, the game is more conceived as an adventure game , hence its name of FPA (First Person Adventure) in 2002. The rhythm of the game is quiet, players spending the clearest of their time observing, understanding the exotic world around them to solve its mysteries and puzzles.
The game consists of large halls, interconnected by corridors, which Samus will have to analyze in the proper sense as well as in figurative order to be able to progress and understand what might have happened on planet Tallon IV, then eaten by a mysterious evil. Metroid Prime Remastered Being absolutely identical to the original game in its composition, we will address both the game itself and the impressive work of redesigning the title. A title that, although it was released in 2002, is indeed there to remind players of the time as well as newcomers how its status as a cult work is not usurped.
From the start of the game, the presentation sets the tone. The main theme of Metroid revisited by its original composer Kenji Yamamoto wraps us in a musical atmosphere based on electronic sounds materializing a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The animation of the title screen is still as fantastic today, as is the theme associated with it. The first gameplay sequence of the game, featuring Samus who is conducting his investigation in an abandoned space station, shows how the new perspective of the game respects the soul of the license.
A space station followed by a reset of the bounty hunter's skills, then a landing on an unknown planet and in a beating rain. It reminds you Super Metroid ? It is normal, the game respecting and honoring the specifications of the license, while enriching considerably. I will not go into the details to preserve players who have not yet touched this gem. However, keep in mind that Metroid Prime is not an FPS as such and that its rhythm is more a succession of walks whose aim is to search for clues and other elements of history using the scanner integrated with its visor, platform phases and moments when it sneaks into narrow areas in the form of a morph ball.
Of course, if the fighting is not left behind, their number and intensity also climbing as adventure progresses, it is important to remember, however, that they are not the heart of the game. The soul of the title rests on the pleasure of discovering the richness of the environments, the intelligence of its level-design and the gloomy sensation when we recover new skills, weapons or armor that allow to vary the gameplay and discover new areas of the planet. Metroid Prime is more than ever an ode to contemplation while being a real tour de force as he transcribes to perfection the codes of the license. Now, after boasting the intrinsic qualities of the title, what about this remaster?
A successful lift for a sublimated soul
Thus, from the intro of the game and the arrival of Samus on the imposing space frigate, we realize how much the term Remastered is an understatement, as the work on the textures and remodeling of Samus are impressive. It's very simple, Metroid Prime Remastered is certainly one of the most beautiful titles of the machine and does not have to blush with the boosted competition in teraflops.
One of the best compliments we could give to this remaster is that he succeeds in making the Metroid Prime original obsolete graphically, where it was customary to sáxtais of its timeless character. Obviously, far from me the idea of denigrating the original game whose vampirical image of young first outclasses almost all of its contemporaries, which therefore represents a basic material more than solid.
However, when compared side-by-side, differences are immediately visible. Nothing remains intact, everything has been redone, whether it is Samus herself, his enemies or the extent of the environments, all while succeeding in exploiting never to distort the original work. It's very simple, we can summarize Metroid Prime Remastered as the very incarnation of our memories, even those who adorn the past. We are in fact far from the lazy portages of the compilation gathering the adventures of the mustachu plumber, so that one might think that it is a completely credible foretaste of the much expected Metroid Prime 4.
The devil is in the details they say. Therefore, all the effects associated with Samus' intra-deegetical vision, i.e. inside his helmet, are enhanced. Besides the display in 16/9nd and HD from the ATH, whether it is raindrops that flow on the helmet, condensation effects and viscous stains that spread on it, everything has been reworked in the smallest detail. Better, they have been improved, as evidenced by the rain on the surface of Tallon where one can not only distinguish each drop striking the Samus cannon, but in addition, if you point your cannon up, the rain drops will then fall on it.
Finally, Samus being mysterious in essence, a feeling reinforced by subjective sight, one of the favourite gimmicks of the players of the era was sublimated. Indeed, when Samus is subject to an explosion or if she pulls a missile into the water, the face of the heroine that appears as suddenly as it steals has been completely reworked.
If Metroid Prime is a game recognized for its incredible artistic direction and its enchanting atmosphere, sublimating the very notion of immersion in video games at the time, this feeling of immersion is more present than ever in this remaster. Like a Scorn (read our critical, our podcast and our folder dedicated) Before the hour, each environment, each piece is a work of art that tells a story and conceals a mystery, thanks to remarkable work on the architecture of each region of Tallon and to the credibility of a world that possesses its own ecosystem and whose videoludic mechanics are also justified in a credible and consistent way with the universe.
This atmosphere of no other kind is reinforced by the soundtrack of the game, which is of course without a false note. From the screams of heroin to the sounds of atmosphere, everything is done to plunge us into this world with such singular identity. The sense of loneliness inherent in the saga Metroid, without dialogue and where the kinematic scenes are as brief as reduced, is here at the center of the experiment. The player then becomes Samus, one-on-one with himself, and Tallon IV relies on him to penetrate all the secrets. In addition, if the game enjoys a memorable soundtrack, each song has been kept identically to illustrate perfectly the different regions of the planet, they revive and never come out of the game, with the exception perhaps of the theme that accompanies the fights against the ghosts chozos, annoying in the long run.
Refreshed and Eternal gameplay
Nevertheless, this remaster is not content with mere visual improvements as it incorporates many features that improve the player's comfort. If the index system is, contrary to what can be read here and there, a resumption of the original game, most were already present in the compilation Metroid Prime Trilogy release in 2009 on Wii. Thus, the game is playable with the joy-con, the pro controller and even a Game Cube switch compatible controller. In fact, players can now choose between a style of old-fashioned commands, based on the lock system and where Samus is run only with the left stick, a much more current system where we use two sticks as in any FPS, or even use the joy-con to simulate the principle of score specific to the Wii version.
In addition, we appreciate the possibility of jumping directly with the morph ball and which had been introduced in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption then added to each game in the Trilogy edition. Finally, the presence of a gallery where different artworks can be consulted, a playlist to listen to the music of the game and the possibility to consult the 3D models of the game can be unlocked as the player progresses.
In the end, if one can understand the grunt of some players who would have liked to have the trilogy at once rather than only the original episode, it is clear that this Metroid Prime Remaster enjoys a remarkable job and that the 40 € The demand does not seem so expensive given the efforts made. One can only pay tribute to such a work, where many publishers, including Nintendo, are used to offering at full price a simple HD port of the game. If Metroid Prime enjoys a cult game aura two decades later, this Remastered recalls the reasons of the most beautiful manners. By updating the way to play the title, and sublimating every detail of a game that includes an incalculable number, Metroid Prime Remastered is not only the ultimate version of one of the greatest games in history, but also one of the most beautiful games in the Switch. If we regretted two things, the first being the absence of the original bonuses such as the presence of the founding episode on Nes and the fusion costume of the Metroid game of the same name, the second, is not to be taken lightly, as it makes the expectation of Metroid Prime 4 even more unsustainable.
For
- An absolute masterpiece in its finest case
- A unique experience still today
- Didn't take a ride
- Music, dazzling
- The feeling of loneliness
Against
- Give me Metroid Prime 4 for Christ's sake
- Metroid Nes and Fusion Costume absent
It's nice to read such a love cry to this masterpiece. It's also one of my favorite games of all time.
I did it again this year (15 years ago) as well as the 2nd. I redone them on PC through a mouse-key mod and a graphic lift, less successful than this remaster, which simply adapted the old game to current resolutions and "upscale" textures.
I was so obsessed with my exploration that I was going to bed really late, the sign of great games.
And to say that KillerS7ven still hasn't done it:-O
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