Okay, so, here's the thing. I honestly don't get it myself and maybe someone here can shine some perspective.
I've played games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate III that have very detailed nudity and, particularly in the case of Cyberpunk, sex scenes that probably go very near the line between 'M' and 'AO'. Not only do I have no problem with this, I take full advantage.
Oh, but you put some yonic looking architecture in my 'T' rated Metroid, now I'm uncomfortable.
Man I wish I could be at the same point in the game as most of you are. With real life plans and work I've gotten so little time to game.
Then on Monday, a day off, I tried to play but for some weird reason my surround sound kept shutting itself off. (Honestly it's over ten years old. I might just need to replace it) this for whatever reason made the Switch 2 go: "Oh hey, I no longer recognise the HDMI port I'm plugged into."
I literally had to keep switching to a different port before the Switch 2 would go: Oh HEY I can display to the TV again.
Only to repeat the process when my surround shut iself off again. >_>
Then my roommate and I moved to playing Tales of Symphonia where I was still using the surround, and no problems. Stays on the entire time.
I've basically gotten to the Volt tower where I'm assuming you get the motorcycle, and haven't been able to get much farther.
I imagine H. R. Giger wasn't counting on everyone who watched Alien being phallophobic either. I think it's something akin to why the Eyes Do Not Belong There trope works so well, or why the giant hand creatures in Elden Ring are so creepy: we're wired to find something inherently wrong about a human body part, or anything that resembles one, showing up in a context we're not accustomed to.
Okay, seriously, you've probably heard this before, but seriously, do not put off crushing those green crystals. People keep saying how much of a slog it is. But I kept getting them whenever I saw them going from place to place. Not really hunting them out, but taking them as I saw them. Eventually, you'll get a tracker that will show you what direction to go to find more and you'll be. Over the limit before you know it.
But I can easily see it being a slog if you save it all until the end game, because you do have to collect a lot of them. So...yeah, absolutely get what you see while you play. Don't save it until the end.
I've actually been crushing those on the regular. Enough to notice that more crystal formations appear as the game goes on.
What I did sleep on was actually turning them into the thingamajigger, so I was missing out on a useful upgrade for a good chunk of time.
I'm about... I want to say at least halfway through. I've fought that jackhole for the second time, and used the new powerup from that.
My chief complaint about the game so far is that is hews a bit too close to the first Prime, and only grudgingly innovates on it. My opinion may change as time goes by.
I've actually liked the desert, because it's actually doing something new. Also, small enough that I can just boost past it when I want to leave.
I just started the point of no return. I'll give my final writeup when I'm done. For now I just want to say that every once in a while, a game will teach me a new word...or make it have deeper meaning than just the dictionary definition.
With Final Fantasy XIV, I already knew the word "nihilist," but the game gave it deeper meaning than just a "in my head I know the websters definition."
With Metroid Prime 4, the word is "yonic." It mellowed out a little bit mid game (not completely, but a little bit). But, um...it's back in full force with Chrono Tower.
You know, when I beat Super Metroid I was like "HUG YEAH! I HUGGING DID IT!" When I beat Metroid Dread I was shaking with excitement. I couldn't believe I'd finally beaten it. This one...meh! And maybe that's because I had it on Easy Mode. Maybe it's because I couldn't care less about the NPC's (except Armstrong, she's kinda cool). But in any case, I was left with a sense of "okay, I guess that's another one done."
And again, yes, I did this on Easy Mode. But there's a very simple reason for that. I suck at the Prime games. Like, all the 2D games, I've beaten legit, no asterisk beside the "I win" note. Prime 1, I got to the final boss and got my ass kicked. Prime 2, I got frustrated long before end game. Prime 3, I got to the final boss and got my ass kicked. So yeah, I put this one on Easy mode and it is now the very first Prime game I've ever beaten. Great sense of accomplishment (read sarcasm).
Graphics
Graphics are top notch. I'm not going to lie. It's very beautiful (except for MacKenzie who was beat with an uncanny valley ugly stick). But aside from MacKenzie, the graphics are really top notch. I've heard some complaints about how the desert looks, but I mean, c'mon! You're talking about and endless valley of sand! How much can you really do with that. Everything else, except MacKenzie) looks very polished and nice.
As Pocket pointed out, the word of the day is "Yonic," which, Giger inspired or no, I was not expecting in a Metroid game. I mean, there's subtlety and then there's right in your face, can't ignore. But I guess that's the aesthetic they were going for. And honestly, if this weren't a T rated game, or a Metroid game, I wouldn't have even batted an eye. I just find it a very odd choice for a Metroid game. MHO.
So, pretty graphics, gotta knock it down one for MacKenzie's ugly, uncanny valley mug.
4/5
Gameplay
I mean, gameplay is tight. You press a button, things happen. Things are intuitive. Action is smooth. Dare you expect less on a Metroid game? The controls are impeccable.
I never found myself fighting the camera. It always pointed where I needed it to. Camera controls were tight. I had minimal to no clipping issues. Very solid.
The new psychic powers are easy to use. The different kind of beam weapons actually using ammo is actually not a bad idea. I kinda dug it.
5/5
Presentation
Okay, here's where things get ugly. Look, I think I've said it before. But it bears repeating. I WANTED TO LOVE THIS! Oh my goodness, did I ever want to love this. And you know, I kinda do. But there's that word..."kinda." I didn't want to like this game. I wanted to love this game. When it comes to my gaming Life, you have Zelda, Metroid, Mass Effect...and then you have absolutely everything else. Some of my earliest 8-bit Nintendo memories are of Metroid. Even Other M which I unequivocally loath, I came away (at first) trying to minimize the bad points (yeah, the story was bad, but the gameplay was good). I...LOVE...METROID. So I didn't want to simply like this game. I wanted to LOVE this game. BUT!
Human NPC's
Actually, I'm mostly going to dump on MacKenzie here...because I...hate...MacKenzie. Maybe it was his uncanny valley punchable face compared to the other NPC's faces that actually fit in better. Maybe it was his nerdy ass personality. And like I've said before, there's "nerdy" in a good way and "nerdy" in a bad way. And, well, I...hate...Mackenzie.
Luckily some of the others balance it out. I absolutely loved liked Armstrong. The other two guys (whom you'll notice I don't even remember the names of) and the robot were...there. So, the hatred for MacKenzie was balanced out...to a degree.
But as has been said before, NPC's don't belong in Metroid. Like, it worked in Metroid Prime 3 because they were restricted to the tutorial level. It...well...it didn't work in Other M...but we've already established Other M is trash. NPC's just don't belong in Metroid. But if you're absolutely going to have them, don't make Samus moot. It's wearing thin in Zelda and it totally takes me out of the narrative with Metroid.
Also, don't make them like Navi: hey, hey, listen, hey, over here, listen, hey! Just add another tally to the "reasons I hate MacKenzie" list.
Motorcycle
I freaking love the bike. The bike is awesome. I want another game just to have Samus on her motorcycle race Link on his motorcycle. You want instant cool, just add motorcycle. I could play for hours just riding the bike...EXCEPT!
There just isn't that much to do with it. I mean, I won't say the desert is completely empty. But that's another subheading. Bottom line is though, for such a cool new mechanic, it's little more than something to get you from point A to point B...which if they'd just given you fast travel...but that's also another subheading.
Bottom line...awesome idea, but the game didn't take full advantage of it.
Desert
There's just not much to do here. You get green crystals, which feels like a shoehorned in mechanic in any case. You get an area that takes you from one biome to another, which could have been better done by either taking out the desert completely and rethinking how the map fits together and/or having a few fast travel spots here and there. You get some upgrades, which could have easily been split up among the other areas.
That's it, those are the only three purposes the desert serves, which as pointed out, could have been done better by wiping out the desert completely and just using the area's you have to better affect.
But then I guess you would've have had any use for the motorcycle...which just circles back around to my point about the cycle not being implemented to its fullest potential.
Amiibo
I guess it's unavoidable. I have to talk about this. I bought the Amiibo, not because I wanted to unlock stuff, but because I'm a Metroid fanboy and they amiibo looked pretty. That said, there are complaints about having the desert music locked behind an Amiibo paywall. I can't argue against that. Soundtrack music playing in the background during gameplay is not something you lock behind an amiibo. I mean, what should Amiibo be used for? That would be a great discussion to have. Personally, I'd say things like aesthetic skins, ammo and energy refills.
But basic stuff like background music should not be locked behind a paywall, whether you're talking Amiibo or general DLC.
Presentation overall
I mean, what else can I say? With all the bitching I just did, surely, you're not expecting a high score, right?
2/5 - and only that high because at least with the motorcycle, they have a good idea they can use in a better way in future games
Ending
As I said earlier, with other games, there's an excitement. Sometimes it's because I just beat a hard game and I'm full of adrenaline, shaking at the accomplishment. Sometimes it's because the story is so gripping that the fate of the characters has me wracked with all kinds of conflicting emotions. Here I felt...meh. Maybe it's on me that I didn't feel much accomplishment because I had it on easy level. But for a Metroid game, the story didn't really dig its hooks into me either.
So, after defeating Sylux, it turns out he's still alive. All the NPC's stay behind, holding him back so that Samus can make her escape. It doesn't show them dying...though for them to be going up against Sylux, someone who stands toe-to-toe against Samus, you can infer their chances. And...I felt nothing. Like, maybe a little "ah man!" type sentiment for Armstrong. I kinda liked Armstrong. But nothing that really felt devastating like, say, the deaths of Thane or Mordin. And then Samus comes home to plant a tree.
I mean, Metroid endings aren't usually long, evolved things where you see what all the NPC's are doing like Zelda. It's never been about tying up things in a neat little bow. Usually you just see a planet explode, credits and a picture of Samus that varies depending on percent completion or time spent completing. So it's not like I was expecting some grand denouement. But for me to say I "felt nothing" after completing a game...that's not good.
1/5
Was it fun?
Look, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun with this. I did absolutely have fun with this. I don't spend 17 hours 58 minutes finishing a game that I'm not having fun with. I just don't. And overall, I like the game. I really liked the game. But what's the leitmotif of this entire review? I don't want to like a Metroid game. I want to love a Metroid game. This...it just wasn't it.
4/5
Overall rating
So...brass taxes (what does that even mean, anyway), what is my overall rating? I mean, it was fun. I enjoyed it. It was also pretty and it introduced a motorcycle, which I love. And I've always been a Metroid fanboy. I'm not even going to try and deny that. I'm a Metroid fanboy only slightly one grade below being a Zelda fanboy. But how can I write a review so full of criticism and then give it any kind of good grade? It breaks my heart, but I just can't.
3/5 stars
4.5/10
C rating
I liked it just enough that I don't feel like I wasted my time. I hope it does well enough because Metroid is a struggling franchise as it is and I will always want to see more Metroid. But I don't want it to do so well that Nintendo in any way thinks that this is the way the franchise should go, because that would really break my heart.
Yeah, it’s very good…but not AMAZING. I still wonder how much of this game is salvaged from whatever Bandai Namco was doing. Maybe the yonic stylings are leftovers from that, it wouldn’t be out of place among Asian developers.
Then again, that never stuck out to me until it was pointed out so I don’t know if that’s a “me” issue or a “you all” issue
"Getting down to brass tacks" was a phrase used when you were picking out a coffin. People used to decorate their coffins with brass tacks. So, it's a phrase meaning "getting down to serious business and fine details."
...Or it's about reupholstering chairs. But, the coffin thing is probably more memorable.
Yeah, it’s very good…but not AMAZING. I still wonder how much of this game is salvaged from whatever Bandai Namco was doing. Maybe the yonic stylings are leftovers from that, it wouldn’t be out of place among Asian developers.
Then again, that never stuck out to me until it was pointed out so I don’t know if that’s a “me” issue or a “you all” issue
I just finished it today myself getting all items but only 85% of the scans, which honestly I don't know how I missed that many. Like where were all these logs I missed?
I'm pretty much where I was before. Just kinda ok with it overall which is disappointing after such a long wait. What is new doesn't really excite me, and what returns feels nice and familiar. I mostly enjoyed the story the game was trying to tell and finally giving us some context to Sylex as to why he hates Samus was good. I didn't mind the NPC's overall unless it's MacKenzie playing the Navi role. Just let me turn that off in the late game if I'm out exploring please.
My Thoughts on the desert and bike haven't changed. The desert just feels like was there to validate the purpose of the bike. i would have preferred the tower itself be the hub and as you obtained the teleportation keys access to teleport between the main hubs or the tower to get around faster. The shrines and their upgrades could have been sprinkled into the various biomes.
Gameplay well is for the most part more of the same. The bike admittedly does break things up a little bit and does bring a few set piece moments to the game at times, but only in very small amounts compared to the rest of the game. The hunt for items never felt unfair as I will admit a few did get me to look up a game guide in how to achieve a few things and admittedly I felt a bit braindead for not realizing the design of the puzzles. Combat on normal felt fair. I did die a few times in boss fights but never felt completely overwhelmed.
Graphically, it works for a Metroid game. not overly cartoony but only just sharp enough that no one confuses it for being photo real. It looks cool enough. I really didn't think about the shapes of things until it was pointed out to.
The ending.... Well most Metroid games haven't had too stellar of an end most of the time and this one to me felt at least a little more involved with the NPC's, but still comes out as a pretty meh end. I looked up the amiibo secret ending and honestly it felt nice to see how it ties back to the rest of what was shown, but was pretty much locked away just to hide a small fact that honestly will get out more even without locking that cinematic away.
Overall I agree that this was a middle of the road average Metroid Game. Honestly I think where this felt hollow over Dreads brilliance was the fact that Smaus was built up here as this chosen one and yet felt like it was just another Tuesday for her. Dread had personal stakes in the story and honestly the accumulation of a ton of story beats over the base game series. Here we see Samus randomly play babysitter as she tries to find her way home fighting a guy who we barely know after two previous appearances and being the savior of another dying race. It gave me a bit of Prime 2 feelings in that regard despite 2 being the one I never finished. And hey we got token Metroid weak spots to fit the namesake in somewhere.. I'm happy to play it, but I'm not thrilled about it in any context.
I give it a C-. It knows what it is doing, but barely any more than that
I decided to get the Sylux Amiibo, not because I had any real desire to see the cutscene that I was already able to see on Youtube, but really just because it's the only Metroid Amiibo I didn't have. So...yeah, full set.
So...having some time away from this, I mean, not much has changed. But I think I would like to circle back to MacKensie.
No, my view on him has not changed. . I hate his design. I hate his personality. I hate everything about him.
BUT, would I hate him so freaking much if they took out the whole constant Navi thing where you're trying to explore and he's constantly saying, hey, listen...go here! If they just took that out, would I still hate him so...freaking...much?
I mean, don't get me wrong. Yes I would still not like him. Nothing they do short of a complete rewrite and redesign would make me like him. But if they took out the Navi aspect, I don't know if I would utterly hate him so much.
I could bring him stuff. He could make improvements to the suit. Yeah, see you next time, least favorite NPC. I could relegate him to the background where he belongs.
I don't think there's anything they could do to make me actually like the character...but that one change possibly could have kept me from outright hating him.
︀︀Retro never got to truly make a Prime 4 from scratch, they had to follow the original template on the Bandai Namco version to a certain extent because Nintendo had already burned too much money 2 years in and Retro was tasked with executing on what was a flawed concept from the start. Primes 1-3 walked a perfect line in my opinion of western and eastern design sensibilities but Prime 4 has a lot of tonal whiplash︀︀ and it’s because Retro had to try and salvage some stuff from the original version.︀︀︀︀
The interview pretty much confirms Prime 5 will be a thing unless Prime 4 bombs (as Retro has built up the production pipeline to become the Metroid studio, thats something I’ve been saying for a while, that DK won’t be a thing going forward as Retro is different now.)
If Prime 1-3 are the LOTR films then Prime 4 is the Hobbit films plagued by meddling and not enough time for Peter Jackson/Retro to do what they truly do.
it’s Boxing Day here in NZ and I know it’s Xmas there in the U.S. so a big merry Xmas to Retro cause I’m even more impressed you were able to put something out that is as good as it is given all the crap you had to contend with behind the scenes, have a great holiday break you well and truly earned it
“At the start of the project, perhaps due to the influence of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we saw a lot of comments on the internet saying ‘we want to play an open-world Metroid’. However, Metroid’s core element of ‘increasing the amount of explorable areas by unlocking powers’ is not very compatible with the ‘freedom to go anywhere from the beginning’ of open worlds. Thus we thought to design a limited area that could be freely explored, and have that be a hub that could connect to other areas. Then we thought that if one could move around on the bike in a satisfying way in that area, it could be a segment that mitigates the tension from exploration, and paces the whole game.
In the end, the game took much longer than expected to finish, and we realized that players’ impressions toward open-world games had changed. That being said, development had already been reset once before (when we started again from scratch with Retro Studios) so backtracking development again was out of the question, and we resolved to move forward with our original vision. During this time, shooting games and action games went through evolutions, with an increase in game speed in particular, but taking in those changes would have made it difficult to construct the tempo of an adventure game, so we actively chose to not take them into account. Therefore, I think this game is pretty much divorced from the changing of times.”
In other words, I pretty much nailed the situation And it also explains, what I feel, are A LOT of the game’s issues, especially on the narrative front with the NPCs.
I will argue that an “open world Metroid” IS viable, IMO. But it’s going to require some shifts in what people EXPECT from a Metroid title. I would LOVE to see a game where you are given a “sector” of planets and be given actual bounties to hunt down. Maybe mix some infiltration and action scenarios with a story about hunting bounties that build to a major threat. Maybe instead of the typical “upgrade progression” you have to find hidden caches and bounties/objectives to find upgrades for your suit (and until you find correct parts, be limited on WHAT equipment you can bring with you). Aside from the barren hub, I really didn’t mind the different zone setup in Prime 4.
In other words, I pretty much nailed the situation And it also explains, what I feel, are A LOT of the game’s issues, especially on the narrative front with the NPCs.
I will argue that an “open world Metroid” IS viable, IMO. But it’s going to require some shifts in what people EXPECT from a Metroid title. I would LOVE to see a game where you are given a “sector” of planets and be given actual bounties to hunt down. Maybe mix some infiltration and action scenarios with a story about hunting bounties that build to a major threat. Maybe instead of the typical “upgrade progression” you have to find hidden caches and bounties/objectives to find upgrades for your suit (and until you find correct parts, be limited on WHAT equipment you can bring with you). Aside from the barren hub, I really didn’t mind the different zone setup in Prime 4.
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