Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS Confirmed (September)

[Your Vest Friend]

They've confirmed it. 

[MegasonicZX]

Why can't Nintendo do something that makes me happy without doing something super stupid to put me right back at wondering why I support the company?

[SpongicX]

This game looks great, but I wish it was for Switch in HD instead, and I am a bit bummed out to hear about the Amiibo content being exclusive to the Amiibos, especially after how poorly stocked they are in the United States, along with how expensive these figures are getting. I already own the Samus and Zero Suit Samus Amiibos, yet I still need to spend $30 to get another Samus Amiibo, and a new Metroid Amiibo, just to unlock all the content in the game?... Not to mention how a lot of the Amiibo content requires beating the game to use, so the game is basically saying "Congratulations for beating the game, please spend $15-$60 to unlock your bonus content"... Whatever happened to beating the game, and getting rewarded for it?... 

[Salamander]

Definitely a poor move, and not something the first Metroid game in a long time needed.  I can only assume that their justification is that the hard mode is a lot less interesting than it sounds; just a different model and more damage taken.

[Mark1]

18 minutes ago, FFWF said:

Definitely a poor move, and not something the first Metroid game in a long time needed.  I can only assume that their justification is that the hard mode is a lot less interesting than it sounds; just a different model and more damage taken.

I hope this is the case too, as this sort of move is not something which is going by unnoticed.

Mind when Zelda's Hard mode DLC was announced? No one was happy, but when they saw it in action afterwards those voices quietened down.

I'm buying the game regardless, waited too long for another Metroid game. But have no intention to buy amiibo just for the locked content, not wanting Nintendo to believe this sort of action is justifiable.

[Zippo]

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2017/August/Tune-in-during-gamescom-2017-for-live-Super-Mario-Odyssey-and-Metroid-Samus-Returns-presentations-1251161.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaig

http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendos-pax-west-panel-is-a-metroid-samus-returns-themed-nintendo-minute/

Thirsty for more Samus Returns footage?  You're in luck, on Thursday there will be a live stream featuring Sakamoto at Gamescom. Then, next Tuesday during PAX West, there will be a SR themed Nintendo minute.

[Marcello]

So, new information from Gamescom:

New boss shown:

Spoiler

I believe they said its name is Diggernaut.

They showed a sequence of Samus fleeing while it attacks the whole world. Kind of like the moving wall in Hydrocity.

New Aeon ability

Spoiler

Phase Drift: Slow down time for everything but Samus. They show it in combat and two environmental puzzles. One, they slow down time so Samus can roll past blocks that break when she moves over the,m and another to get past blasts of fire, though, to me it seemed, that with good timing you could do that part without the ability.

Omega Metroid art

Spoiler

They also sowed a bit of a battle with one.

Chozo Memories

Spoiler

Memories are unlocked when meeting certain conditions, they tell the lore of the Chozo. Apparently, it reveals a secret about the Chozo that people would have never imaginied.

Though, I imagine it's something we already know from Fusion.

Spoiler

They created the Metroids.

There's a bit of a new Metroid variation.

Spoiler

It's a Gamma Metroid that's on fire and uses fire powers.

 

• Gravity Suit is not a purple glow like in Other M
• If you run into a Morph Ball path and push jump, Samus will automatically curl up.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

[Dejimon11]

New trailer

 

[Teoskaven]

The narrator sounds like he was ordered to read the lines in an epic tone but had woke up 5 minutes before recording and was waiting his coffee, lol.
The game looks very promising, i'm definetly gonna get it.

[Jetronic]

Power Up introduction video

New details on the gravity suit = wonderful

[shdowhunt60]

http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/metroid-samus-returns

And would you look at that, it even scores well on metacritic.

[Semi-colon e]

Okay, so I got this game essentially for half price thanks to a bunch of vouchers I never knew I had. Score! The game itself turned up today. I won't be able to complete it before next week though as I'm away for a long weekend. I've been playing for about an hour so far, so here are my first impressions (please let me know mods if anything here is too spoilery because I don't want to go into the spoiler thread and spoil everything):

- oh wow the game just boots you into the title screen and save files, that's fast

- the artwork is so good in the intro scenes!

- movement feels natural, even off the circle pad

- the counter attack is actually pretty easy to pull off so far but you'll be doing it on the blue bat things all the time. You'll take hits sometimes, but the enemy health drops are pretty generous so far

- you can aim while moving just like the old games, but you won't get much precision unless you stop. The main flaw so far is that you have to be dead stopped before using the L button's aim, or you'll start moving forward again

- it has that true metroidvania feel, even moreso than the original game

- the aeon ability to uncover the map is ungodly useful as this game is HUGE and I don't feel like it casualises the game much if at all, though I still uncovered a few things the old style way. The Castlevania style warp points are welcome as well due to the game's slower pace than other 2D Metroids

- Metroids are brutal - I died to the second one three times due to the arena shape and high damage output. Getting reckless is the worst idea you could possibly imagine compared to most 2D Metroids. Getting a counter attack off and spamming missiles seems to be the best way to defeat Alphas, though I've only encountered three so far

- the wall jump is pretty gimped, I don't think you can jump off one wall like in Super and Zero Mission and it's quite hard to pull off

- however, the infinite bomb jumping shown in the trailer, while a little tricky to get the timing down for, is super cool - I got an early energy tank and fought a Metroid early this way, you're probably required the Spider Ball or Space Jump or something, and I fucking love it

 

Overall, some minor niggles, but it's pretty damn good so far. I'm not sure I'll put it above the likes of Super, Prime, or Zero Mission yet, but this is a really fun game.

[Austroid]

I've been pretty happy so far playing through an actual Metroid release after 7-ish years. (Technically 10 if you don't count "that one.")

While the controls are a bit tough getting used to with stuff like the new deflecting move, having to hold down multiple buttons to aim and fire missiles, etc. I never liked or beat the original Metroid II honestly. But hopefully by the time the credits roll Samus Returns improves on it how Zero Mission did with the NES Metroid.

So far I'd say its a great return to form for our dear Sammy!

[Maxtiis]

The game is pretty fun, but I've already gotten tired of the counter attack, especially on those blue bat things. Actually the enemy variety in the game seems piss poor so far, but I only made it to the third area so I'm not sure if that improves.

[Jetronic]

On 9/15/2017 at 7:47 AM, Semi-colon e said:

- the wall jump is pretty gimped, I don't think you can jump off one wall like in Super and Zero Mission and it's quite hard to pull off

Just push A, you don't need to move while wall jumping. Despite the wall jumping being how it was in fusion, I find it to be a lots faster here than it was there and makes platforming through vertical shafts really quick.

In other news

Finished the game in under 7 hours with 64%. Went back and got all the other items to unlock the chozo memory gallery. Scanned the 2 smash amiibo after for the other gallery and sound test. Just waiting on a shipment for my 2 Samus returns amiibo. I want the squishy.

16 hours ago, Maxtiis said:

The game is pretty fun, but I've already gotten tired of the counter attack, especially on those blue bat things. Actually the enemy variety in the game seems piss poor so far, but I only made it to the third area so I'm not sure if that improves.

I countered a good amount of them, but I usually Ice beam + missile combo them so I could just keep running. I find the counter to be just fine, it's nearly half a second to go from whacking them to shooting them, even faster since Samus' first shoot from a counter is a charged shot. You can also just hold R and use the missile after a counter as well.

[-Robin-]

Beat the game in a little under 13 hours, getting to 100% along the way. I still hold Super Metroid and Metroid Prime to an unfair regard, but Samus Returns fits snugly in the #3 spot. I had a lot of fun with it, though the boss battles can get really aggravating six minutes into them.

 

Spoiler

I'm also thrilled with the Chozo Gallery's secret. It's clear Nintendo finally has a new direction they want to explore Metroid with, and I'm all for this one. Sign me up.

 

[Blue Wisp]

Spoiler

The Chozo memories are so god damn weird but at the same time so god damn fascinating. My favourite addition to Samus Returns by far.

You see the two Chozo leaders speaking. The left Chozo seems to be like "Heeeey old buddy" as if greeting the other Chozo.

But then...

We get ANOTHER Chozo leader apparently massacring his Chozo brethren with an Arm Cannon. But this Chozo leader has a completely different headdress design compared to what the previous one had.

Yet the scene seems to be the same, as if a continuation. Are they the same Chozo or is it a third party?

This could have so many ramifications. This could lead anywhere, and that makes me excited, we're getting Metroid lore I've been waiting for so god damn long. My main problem is that this seems to be unrelated to Metroid Prime 4, which means that we have to wait several years to even see if this gets a continuation or not. And that sucks.

 

[Graystripe2000]

Some sales data for the game in Spain.

https://shinesparkers.net/spains-promising-first-week-sales-data-for-metroid-samus-returns/

[Salamander]

I played this game on a week away recently, which it just about lasted out; 100% in fifteen hours.  I had approached it with caution; I'm dubious about MercurySteam, after their work on Castlevania, and I'd read a rather ambivalent review of the game.  I needn't have worried; this game was everything I was looking for.  A proper feeling of isolation and exploration, with the ability to get lost even with the Scan Pulse helping out; 360 degree aiming and to a lesser degree the Melee Counter feel like natural extensions of Samus's moveset; buckets of atmosphere, carefully considered flow, graphics which help to give a sense of place and which avoid creating confusion between foreground and background.  I really appreciated how every weapon upgrade had some associated new door type it could open; it's a little thing, but it really made the game feel huger, made your powers feel more purposeful.

Even the things I was concerned about all worked out better than expected.  The different areas, though broken up in a linear order, largely felt suitably overwhelming and open on their own; the Aeion powers, which I'd thought sounded gimmicky, were well-integrated and turned out to be basically powers that didn't fit into the standard equipment and worked better on their own buttons; the flashy Melee Counter sequences against bosses didn't detract from the gameplay, as you'd just have been sitting there pumping rockets into exposed weak points anyway, so why not make it look a little more interesting?

So far as actual criticisms go, I would say that, this being a 3DS game, I'm disappointed that they didn't let you use the ZL and ZR buttons to cycle between weapons and rocket types; in a pinch, you either have to hurry out your stylus, or get fingerprints on your 3DS screen, which I'm really not happy about.  (With that said, apparently if you aim at a Grapple point, the game automatically switches you to Grapple?  I never noticed that, but I wish I had known about it.)  My only other objection is the method used to defeat red spikes:

Spoiler

Specifically, Spider Balling onto a Power Bomb and getting blasted away.  That's all very well against a wall; but on floors, why does it only work when Spider Balling, such that you won't budge without it?  It's ridiculous that you're forced to use the move that should keep you stuck where you are in order to be moved away, while not using the wall-clinging option will leave you unmoved!  The execution is completely counterintuitive and needed to be rethought.

So, maybe a couple of points on which the game could have educated you a little better.  (Additionally, while it doesn't come up in-game, it bothers me, years too late, that the Metroid life cycle skips a number of Greek letters; jumping to omega for the final stage is fine, but beta, delta, epsilon?  Never heard of 'em.)

Overall, though, an excellent game, and with 2D Metroid back on the table, I'm excited to see what they do next.

[Sean]

Played a couple hours of this game. I'm immediately unimpressed by the forced usage of the melee counter. It's impossible to play the game without it, and if they had just programmed enemies to not always attack you on sight, it wouldn't even have to be used at all.

[-Robin-]

The melee counter compensates for the some tediously precise angles the 3DS circle pad allows for, since it allows for instant lock-on. 

 

The platforming can get cramped at times with the level of enemy presence, and that's dire in Hard Mode and Fusion Mode. Having a counter option to immediately take care of danger that you still have to time the counter for helps significantly.

[Sean]

I wouldn't mind if it was used in particular situations, but just about every enemy encounter in the game mandates it. You see those blue bats everywhere and I often get blindsided because they start up their attack just slightly off-screen, or there's multiple enemies at once who launch their attacks one after the other and I can't counter them all. Even those generic goombas who walk around slowly try to bum-rush you if you get too close. It's not only cumbersome compared to how past games did it, but it's forcing this extra layer of combat that never had to be there in the original games that totally breaks the flow of what I'm doing every other second.

Super didn't need this, Fusion didn't need this, and Zero Mission didn't need this. Why does 2D Metroid now need it all of a sudden?

[Scott]

3 hours ago, Sean said:

 It's impossible to play the game without it, and if they had just programmed enemies to not always attack you on sight, it wouldn't even have to be used at all.

It is possible to play without it. With some foresight.

 

One of the later beam weapons also makes everything a tonne easier by letting you shoot through terrain

[Salamander]

The bats are a pain, and the combat counter overall could probably stand to be used less, but lategame you barely use it because you're just shooting everything dead almost before they appear on-screen.  So arguably there is a question here of balance.  I have absolutely no problem with Samus having a melee move and think it is natural, but at the same time I had been imagining a more general kind of counter, something like an offensive block or shield, rather than a reaction specific to particular attacks.

[Semi-colon e]

The counter is overused early on, but gradually gets less and less required as you power up. Also the game could have made it clearer you could use the ice beam to freeze enemies and then one shot them with a missile or even by running up to them and bitch slapping them. I didn't know about it on my first run. Samus Returns rewards experimentation on enemies.

A follow up in this style could have fewer enemies proportionally use it though, especially early on. But I still like the move. And I still really like this game. I've played all the classic style ones recently and I still think it holds up against the rest despite the enemy variety issues and other minor things.