Metroid Dread is that rare case where a franchise gets revived after many years and in the way people want while still being surprising and filled with creativity. It truly is a special game
Well technically Samus returns was the return … idk I personally despise that game (despite thinking dread is the greatest video game ever made)… but from what I understand that game had a fairly mixed reception with people all over the spectrum of opinion on that
Honestly the chozo memories show just how strong raven beak is. Also that it really emphasizes how much he wasn’t taking you seriously at the end fight. Since in game you couldn’t really beat an emmi without a certain power up, and in the chozo memories it shows him over the broken emmi showing that he is the reason it’s in that state.
He seems to be able to shoot the omega cannon without sapping any energy from the brains, he basically got some extra upgrades on you. I've wondered what type of power up Samus would have gotten if she absorbed the final X
@@Nanoqtran Considering that Raven Beak seems to be able to use all of the Aeon abilities Samus had from the Samus Returns game + that blackhole and sunball powers, maybe Samus would get a combination of that along with her already existing Hyper Beam?
When Quiet Robe X appeared in the Ship i was starting to think : can Quiet Robe count as the animal i need to save from the exploding planet? He helped Samus to use the Ship like the animals so...
This definitely was a Metroid dream-game for me. The only place I felt it faltered was that the ending felt weirdly abrupt to me-was there maybe supposed to be a little calm scene with some dialogue from (the real) Adam after ZDR exploded? I dunno. But I do know that other than that, for me, this game was so freakin good. Three cheers for Metroid!
I agree that it would have been nice to hear the real Adam have a short conversation with Samus but honestly the planet was blowing up. I totally get why they just gave the feeling of get out fast and job well done. The X infected Quiet Robe part was good enough for me and it worked perfectly. The ending felt for me, as Obi Wan would say "Another happy landing."
I agree but honestly Samus just returned to the ship turned into a god dammed metroid mere seconds before the planet exploded. What could they possibly talk about? Adam probably has no idea what just happened and Samus went through a LOT.
@@IllmatikRebelTV You're not lying! In fact, before the year was out, I learned enough sequence breaks that I can skip a boss that I really do not like, but is apparently everyone's favorite boss.
The road to Metroid Dread is finally complete! This was such a fantastic review of this amazing game, and the perfect finale to your retrospective on 2D Metroid. It's so rare that a game is actually as good as the fans hope it will be, so we really have to appreciate Dread. The gameplay is next level good, and the story was super epic too. I loved this series of videos and can't wait to see what you do next!
See, I guess you'd have to be a fan of older games like Metroid 2 & Link's Awakening to truly appreciate the soundtrack to this game. For me personally, music doesn't have to be complex. Sometimes it's the simplest melodies that can be the best. I absolutely LOVE it! I love the fact that the atmospheric tunes reminded me so much of Metroid 2 & Link's Awakening, two games that I absolutely loved the sound design of, and I find myself getting these simple themes stuck in my head. Such as the music that plays once you get rid of the 2nd EMMI, and that area becomes devoid of threat. That specific track has a feel of relief but still a tinge of tension in the air. I absolutely LOVE that tune! It's been stuck in my head for days, and I am regularly going back to the area just to hear the music now :)
Metroid Dread is such an amazing game that I did something I've never done for any game before! Immediately upon beating it on normal mode (100% btw) I dove right back in and played for another two hours that night on hard mode! Then immediately upon beating hard mode 100% again, I started a third campaign on normal and tried out some more sequence breaks! Literally no other game ever had me start a new campaign right after beating it, let alone twice, but I just couldn't get enough of this game!
I never comment on UA-cam videos but I just watched all of your Metroid Retrospectives and dude, spot on. It's great to hear someone younger who appreciates the older games for what they did and recognize what this series means to it's fans. And yes, Dread was incredible. I personally haven't had anyone to talk to about the end and oh boy, what a way to leave the story open for the future. I can't wait for Metroid 6 but only can hope we don't enter another lull and I'm not in my 50's when it releases for the Super Nintendo Switch U. Also, I'd like to put in my two-cents and say Dread is the best feeling Samus in my opinion. Prior that would have been either Fusion/Zero Mission. Super Metroid is a masterpiece in world design and atmosphere but I honestly think Samus doesn't control very well now that the GBA games and especially Dread exists. I've always preferred faster characters so the slow, methodical approach for Super is hard to revisit but by no means actually bad. Just noticeably worse than what Samus can be.
My only real gripe with this game is the frequent 'points of no return' that prevent backtracking. I get why they were placed, to ensure players wouldn't get lost, but it still irritated me whenever it happened. I feel like having them serve as soft gates with hidden routes for experienced players to circumvent them would have been a better way to go about it. Knowledge of when they happen and the vast amount of sequence breaks really mitigated them on future playthroughs, however, so it ultimately only affected my initial playthrough. What a game Dread is. A sequel 19 years in the making, and a finale 35 years in the making. Fusion was the first Metroid I ever played, so it being Metroid 5 is extra special to me. Can't wait to see Samus Aran next mission.
I do actually kind of wish there was a slow walk animation for Samus when barely tilting the stick, one that makes no sound in EMMI areas so you can SLOWLY walk around & not have to dash forward making noise. Just a small observation.
I felt the same way untill I found out there is a walking animation with the stealth camo. Then I realized it was a design choice to not trivialize the stealth camo. It's still silly that you can't walk without it but, Videogames gotta videogame.
@Antronix3 Lol well yeah of course, that's the point of the camo. It runs out fast tho. Was not talking about that. Was talking about having a way to move around normally but quieter.
@@Antronix3I think there still could be a meaningful difference in that regular walking would only reduce Samus' sound and detection footprint instead of entirely eliminating it with stealth. But yeah, I thought the same thing after first playing the game, especially coming off of am2r which featured a walking animation. Would've been nice for the game to include it, but it's far from a deal breaker.
Personally, I prefer the way they implemented it. It keeps you on your toes and often forces quick decisions. It helps keep the momentum moving forward.
I liked the suit! I thought the point was that her AND her suit were a singular entity that was then mutated by the metroid dna. That if the suit was the flesh of her as a metroid, it would make sense to be spikey/hard as metroids are supposed to be the superior killing machine
I've barely play any of the Metroid games at all. Never beaten them once but this game, this was one of those games that I didn't want put down from start to finish. Absolutely loved it so much that I'm willing to give the other Metroid games a try. Truly a spectacular experience.
I've bought my Switch Lite specifically to play Dread after seeing a trailer back in July this year (so yeah I'm very late at it) and it made me fall in love with the franchise! I've since finished Fusion and Zero Mission on a small emulation handheld and am currently playing through Super on the same device and also played a bit of Samus Returns on PC. I was contemplating getting a 3DS for it but found the HD pack mod for it and it makes it sooooo much better, since then I left it aside to play the GBA/SNES ones and maybe in the meantime I can get a Windows handheld to play Samus Returns and maybe even AM2R on the go. Samus is super badass, love her!
I picked up dread on a whim haphazardly one day. And while I had heard of Metroid, I mean who hasn't at least heard of metroid, I had never really played metroid outside of I think like a small fragment of super from the super smash brother Brawl demo section. And it inspired me to get into, metroid as a whole, and explain this all simply to state, that at least to me as of now, amazing is an understatement of how much I enjoyed and loved this game.
I don’t know if anybody in the comment section already clarified this, but the Japanese version of fusion it’s supposed to be a rogue faction of the federation, but they missed translated it for our version
This game is absolutely fantastic.. Finally beat it on both modes 100% & They really killed it.. Cant wait to see what's in Metroid's future after this..
I am awestruck by the quality of this video and the lack of many subscribers this channel has, I had to subscribe. I am definitely going to check out your content more, and see what else you come up with.
The reason the Federation isn't mad with Samus is because the people in charge of the BSL station were corrupt officials. The cloning and use of metroids was made illegal by the federation and as such when the situation was explained she basically got off scot free with a pat on the back even.
Can I just say how great it is that the Metroid franchise is seemingly entering another renaissance similar to the Fusion-Prime era as a result of Dread's success? A game that was basically Nintendo's Half-Life 3. That there are new players entering into the series as a result of the game excited to play more. That there's a surge of popularity surrounding the franchise. That the other games in the franchise was getting a surge of sales on the Wii-U store during Dread's launch showing Nintendo that there is an audience for Metroid games. I don't think it could have gone any better for Metroid Dread or the franchise as a whole.
(spoilers) Ha, I had the opposite reaction to the Red Emmi. I was cheering as soon as Samus grabbed its face spike with her shiny new Metroid Hand because I KNEW I wouldn't have to dick around with yet another "sprint through the monochrome halls until you get lucky" section. Plus Power Bombs were way, way, waaaaaaay overdue especially considering you seemed to mostly need them to... get more Power Bombs. I love MercurySteam, but they seem to have 0 idea what to do with Power Bombs. Although, thinking about it, every game has SOME weirdness with Power Bombs (Fusion having a trillion of them and constantly using them as the massively unwanted "reward" for horrific Shinespark Puzzles, getting them arguably too early in Super and them making the X-ray Scope redundant, most games saving them for the very end and then they're next to worthless as a result).
yeah but then you look at Metroid to return of Samus and realize they definitely know how to use the power bomb especially when combined with the spider ball
I really loved playing Dread. Especially how it often surprised me in how it either surpassed or pleasantly subverted my expectations of it. I have to applaud the people at Mercury Steam who created this in spite of the working conditions. You really felt the passion behind this game in every moment you played it.
Truly incredible. This is exactly the sort of review/retrospective I aspire to on my own channel. I'm really a true Metroid fan of 2 years (watched my friend play Super like 25 years ago) but the passion I've felt for this franchise has been immense, albeit condensed. Super well done
I finally finished the game now that I had time during the holidays and holy heck it was sooo good. I had a horrible time (14 hours), but I enjoyed myself so much. Definitely my favorite Metroid game from the game feel alone. I love how smooth Samus's movement is and most of the bosses felt a lot less frustrating to me than previous games (they're always my least favorite part of a Metroid). Really enjoyed your video as always!
7:20 IIRC, there was a slight mistranslation of sorts because in the japanese version it is implied that those who were planning to use the metroids and X were another faction within the federation rather the entire organization.
I would honestly say that trying to bring in Federation subplot would only complicate a rather simple story in Dread. Dread is mainly about the Chozo, the creators of the Metroids, and their dark side. The focus is on Raven Beak and adding the Federation would like adding Ridley as a bonus boss. It'll be cool but it would detract from the main conflict. Beside, Metroid 6 can handle the Federation rogue faction subplot,
This topped Super as my favorite game of all time. Such an amazing experience. Edit: there's a single power bomb block in a tp room (pretty sure green) that connects ghavoran. The actual only real problem i had with the game.
Just noticed a little detail that may or may not have been intentional. The scanner light coming off the Emmi looks very similar to the shape of the X-ray scope from super Metroid. Idk do with that what you will
"By the way, am I the only one who can't help but see the Xs in this game as space gummies? they look delicious." hmm sounds like what a metroid would say
WHAAAAT??? Hell, I LOVE the white bits of armor! Her default suit is actually my favorite in the entire game simply because it has more white! I love the clean look of white myself, and I think it looks baddass!
Truly god tier gameplay never ages. This game is probably going to become even more heavily praised as time goes on. This is a game that become more fun the better you become at it. The control is so perfectly silky smooth that it rewards good players with an incredibly fun experience. I have no doubt that it will go down as one of the greatest games to ever be released for the Switch.
I need you to know that I have saved a small capture of your video when you show the artwork for Other M as an ending reward. It speaks to me personally.
I love this game. I'm very glad Metroid is back. I was afraid Other M would be the end of the series as a whole due to how hard it failed, but MercurySteam has done such a wonderful job with this game I find it hard to put into words myself. Also, I had no problem with getting my ass kicked by this game. I've been looking for a challenge for a while now after most newer games I've been playing were too easy. I'm glad it's as tough as nails as I had hoped.
Fun fact: during translation, a key plotpoint from fusion was lost. The federation as a whole had no knowledge of what was really going on in fusion with the weaponization of the X. There was a small faction of the federation operating under their noses. That's why samus isn't an enemy of the federation. (I don't like it as much as the federation just being more morally ambiguous than we thought, but it's an explaination I suppose)
7:18 That was a pothole caused by translation and localization errors. In actuality, the Metroid research aboard the BSL was illegal, and was done by a corrupt faction of the Galactic Federation (the exact same thing happened beforehand in Other M. Why they tried it again? I will never know). Needless to say, if they tried her for it, they would only expose their own corruption.
That doesn't change the fact that Adam was in on the Metroid research thing, and also that Samus ended up destroying a Federation research station along with an entire planet.
@@jessehcreative shit. For all _we_ know, Raven Beak could have been down with the Space Pirates! They both had the same mission: use the metroids as bioweapons for galactic domination.
@@hfc2x The fact that Adam was in on the Metroid research makes me wonder: is he a hypocrite? Or was he forced into it by his superiors? I mean, we know now that there was a corrupt sect of the G.Feds, so who's side was he on?
Your content is incredible. Just watched this and the FFVII Remake retrospective. Added every Metroid video of yours to my Watch Later and subbed. Keep up the awesome work!!
OK, you being SALTY about Other EHm, together with your jokes in a monotone kind of voice sold me your review. Thank you for this work of art XD And listen, for a game that "everyone" hates, which is Fusion, after playing Dread every single one is asking for a Remake of Fusion in Dread's engine. This just shows how good the story and atmosphere in Fusion is, just the bulshit for item collecting and the handholding that was done very, very, very badly there. I also love that Samus suit goes from Yellow to blue, since it makes it way more different than the Varia suit. Not only that, I love that in Dread you can see the "Yellow" bits of the Varia Suit in Fusion, just showing that the suit is yellow in the organic parts and orange in the armor part, frankly this new design she got is the best one and just makes me curious how her suit will look next time.
Fusion is literally my favorite game of all time, and I still would die for a remake of it. Considering they got the job by pitching Sakamoto a remake of Fusion, I really hope they get their chance to do it justice.
You can clearly tell they took notes from Prime games too to make Dread that good and that's so awesome. The body language to characterize Samus and the elevator scenes are directly inspired from that.
Not to mention how much of an improvement the Storm Missiles are of the Seeker Missiles, which were a really cool concept but sadly underdeveloped until now. That’s probably my favorite thing they brought back, because I always loved the Seeker Missiles in general and thought they could be even better. I’m SO glad they capitalized on that.
Great video! As I got about halfway through the game I thought it was very linear but after seeing all the sequence breaking I was soooo wrong!! I've waited forever for a 2d metroid and Dread is GREAT!!
I’ve not played it since Dread because I’m worried I’d like the melee counter and Aeion abilities even less, but I do really wanna give it another shot. I mostly really enjoyed it before Dread, and I wanna give it another shot.
Metroid Dread is an absolute masterpiece. I loved when Samus goes berserk and the quiet that precedes her sudden awakening worked so well. And her reaction to Kraid was the absolute oposite to her infamous breakdown when faced with the cloned Ridley. "Oh, hey Kraid. What's that? You want me to blast you in the face? Well, okay!" The most frustrating thing for me is that I have several friends who had Dread before me but never completed it, so I couldn't see what their reactions were to the ending 😢
I am still slightly bitter from childhood about never getting to fulfill my Samus-Baby Metroid buddy cop dreams. Super Metroid still stands as the pinnacle, absolute agreement there, but Dread works so well and does really nicely at mixing together guidance with exploration. It's one of the best games out there.
Also I interpreted the “daughter” remark as meaning he viewed her as a metaphorical “daughter” of the chozo. And since ravenbeak views himself as the outright pinnacle/king/ruler of the chozo, he views her being a descendant of his race as equivalent to being a daughter. Not a literal daughter. Maybe I’m wrong 🤔… but I like my way MUCH better lol
This was my first Metroid game. Metroid dread unlock something special. I wasn’t into these games and when I saw that reveal trailer it looked good. I never expected them to be hard but I managed to beat the game. After that I played the previous games including super Metroid and I was in love with these games. I just decided I wanted to try something new. And after that I watched some amazing story and timeline videos for Metroid. Out of all the games I played they had male protagonists but with Metroid I have to say Samus is one of the best female protagonists in my opinion. Earlier I said the game unlocked something special not just to me but to everyone world wide. It brought tears to old Metroid fans and interest to upcoming Metroid fans. It’s like there was an awakening. But now people are experiencing how difficult it is and the idiotic David Jaffy calling this game “bad game design”. I never seen a returning Nintendo game be this difficult. Mostly they try to make games easier for young kids and will leave old school fans of these franchises a bit salty about it. Now some people are demanding a easy mode for metroid dread which is like annoying. Yes this game drives me crazy at times but when you know what to do that feeling of progress is so satisfying. For the bosses that were hard they require learning and memorizing. They throw you into a boss and they want you to figure it out. But what I love is that you start to learn your enemy’s patterns or weaknesses and you will eventually beat them. Overall DREAD was phenomenal and I’m looking forward for their next 2D Metroid of and recently played Metroid prime trilogy these games are awesome but in my opinion I prefer the 2D games.
@7:29 I don't think "all is forgiven" between Samus and the Federation. They very obviously sent the EMMI robots to ZDR without informing Samus in the hopes that they can get some X-Parasites. As for Samus finding out about their situation, I like to think Adam--since he's on her side--relayed the video transmission and their situation to her. Samus wanting to get rid of the most dangerous life form in the galaxy would be motivation enough for her to go there. After all, the game never stated the Federation hired her, so I can get away with that line of thinking. ;) But yeah, Metroid Dread rivals Super Metroid, and I'm confident I will be stating that years down the line. The game is just so smooth and there was never a dull moment. I was in absolute glee when Samus and Quiet Robe interacted; the devs knew that introducing a live Chozo had to be an exceptional moment in the series, and I don't think they could've done it any more justice!
Before Samus lands on Planet ZDR, ADAM contends with her about the amount of her bounty. Something like, "The bounty for this mission is insufficient. The risks clearly outweigh the reward." As well as, "Treat our lost assets with care, Lady," when referring to the E.M.M.I. She was hired in some way at least.
@@NautilusXO I interpreted the "bounty" comment as Adam saying, "Are you sure this is worth it to you despite no tangible reward? You don't entirely know what you're getting yourself into." As for "Treat our lost assets with care.", Adam may be on Samus's side, but he still represents the Federation and has access to their database. But, I do suppose a hiring by the Federation could've happened, and they underpaid her because of what she did in Fusion.
There are two factors here: - the BSL Metroid facility was a Federation black op, which may or may not have been officially sanctioned, but will undoubtedly have been disavowed when/if it was revealed to the public. Whatever individual Federation officials may feel about Samus's actions, their official public position would be that they owe Samus a great debt for having uncovered dangerous illegal activity, and acted decisively to successfully contain and neutralise a genuinely apocalyptic threat. - Samus is literally the only known individual with even a chance of successfully entering an X-infested region and escaping alive, particularly since it seems that something down there has managed to neutralise the E.M.M.I. So their only options are to send Samus in, or to ignore the situation and hope nothing too bad happens. The fact they're massively underpaying Samus seems like an indication of unofficial displeasure - if they were fans of hers, they'd be making sure to pay her at least the going rate...
@rmsgrey Well, I don't think the whole "Federation weaponizing X-Parasites" subplot really got any closure past Fusion. So, I'm still under the belief that the E.M.M.I robots were quietly sent to Planet ZDR to both confirm an X-Parasite sighting and capture a specimen. Why else would they be armed with extractor needles? As for how this supposed corrupt Federation group is still operating, I'm pretty sure being in a high seat of power gives them the advantage to find some way out of the line of legal fire. Also, I just can't imagine why the offer would be extended to Samus to locate the EMMI robots when X-Parasites are involved. Those of interest would know she'd try and kill the X-Parasites, as she very much did in the game.
I played dread when it came out, and i loved it, so I'm playing every other mainline metroid. I just beat neo ridley in fusion, and all i have left after that is zero mission. Edit: I've never played any of them before btw
It's been two years since release, and I still believe Metroid Dread is very firmly sandwitched between Super Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission in terms of the best Metroid games.
Only thing that’s keeping it from perfect 10 for me: I wanted a bit more depth to the world itself which wasn’t necessarily there for me. I need thick world building like Dark Souls. And wish it could be as deep as Prime games in that sense. But, it is still pretty amazing. Love the movement. This game made me salivate for Prime 4 even more!
This game really is a treat to play. It is just so fast & fluid & controls like butter! The ONLY design choice I'd say is a bit flawed is how the game restricts you from backtracking far more often than it needed to. For a game that allows sequence breaking, there is a whole lot of trapping the player to make them move forward & not backward needlessly, even in situations where doing so would not even present any sequence breaking potential. It doesn't make much sense to restrict the player in that manner, specially since there are players that prefer a more non-linear style of play or the ability to go back to get items they missed earlier after getting a new power-up. The game will often block you off from doing so needlessly, and I don't like that. Perhaps it was a way to keep the player from becoming too overpowered too early perhaps? Either way, I think it's an ill advised design choice. The biggest example I can think of is just after geting the Varia suit when you're dropped down into that narrow area w the teleporter and the two small morph ball tunnels below. The game fills those holes with debris for absolutely inexplicable reasons. I have no clue why they game restricts you in that way. There's really no reason for it.
I'm fairly sure that the reason the game shuts you into relatively small areas with just the intended way forward is to keep players from wandering off to expore the entire revealed map when they miss the one shootable wall or other puzzle blocking progress. There are only so many ways to solve the problem of players not noticing concealed entrances. You can remove the concealment - make it more obvious how to progress or where you're supposed to be headed next at all times. You can shrug and accept that a bunch of players will, like your playtesters, get stuck, spend a couple of hours wandering aimlessly around the map, maybe stumble into some sequence breaks, and eventually either stumble upon the way forward, look it up online, or give up on the game entirely. Or you can limit their search space to something manageable, so it's feasible for them to try bombing every single wall block, etc. Obviously they went with the subtle option for indicating that the way forward is in a given small region (in the form of trapping them there until they figure it out) rather than something more explicit, nor accepting players getting stuck without any sort of guidance.
MercurySteam should remake Metroid Other M as a 2.5d game since is now confirmed to be at least somewhat canon. They should flash out the story, still keeping the same overhaul structure but making samus more silent and she herself deciding not to use her abilities instead of blindly following adams orders, or like modders did in Maxximum Edition making her suit to be damage from hyper beam and be slowly regenerating. Literally just changing this two factors, however they decided would make Other M be a MUCH more palpable game. Call it Metroid Another M idk I trust MercurySteam now
We have very different definitions of catchy. A melody doesn't have to be complex or full of notes to be catchy. I assume that you probably don't like old school 8 Bit Chiptunes all that much either? They aren't very complex but can still be very catchy. Hell, I even find the Map Room music in this game to be catchy!
The only thing lacking story-wise is a follow-up to the discovery of the secret metroid lab in Fusion. Adam clearly states that Samus has done goof'd by going there and that the Fed would not let that slide (which at first let me think that the actual master mind behind trapping Samus on ZDR was the Federation, in order to get rid of someone that knows too much). That along with Adam saying the prize for the mission is shit... Also, the Metroid lab section detached itself from the main BSL station in Fusion to go somewhere unknown. This, in my opinion, makes a lot of material to work with if they decide to continue the story. Also, though I really liked Kraid, I think we miss a Ridley and a few Space Pirates there as well, just to spice things up. I would have loved to see them release the X themselves by trying to chase Samus in Ender. Also, it is now the only Metroid game without any actual metroid in it. In the Prime series and in Fusion, we're pretty much showed that the Pirates have them pretty much everywhere they go and the Fed has its own metroid-based labs... I would have thought that we would stumble upon something. But otherwise, absolutely fantastic game.
I actually really enjoyed repeated Chozo warrior encounters. I felt like they gave me some much needed practice runs and get confident with my movement and counters, all of which would directly contribute to dealing with Raven Beak in the end.
I was super excited about this, and it still managed to surpass my expectations. I didn't want to play Super before it came out since I thought I'd be disappointed in Dread, but now I feel if I go back to Super now, Dread will have made me disappointed in (at least parts of) that. And Super is probably my 3rd favourite game of all time.
there are some things i don't understand in dread, Don't worry, i love this game its in the intro, they made sure to give rave attacks that he actually uses, but i really don't like how the intro is played... lets brake it down, We land, and it cuts to black, then we wake up in wight blue nude suite literally 2 sec after, we get a recap of what happens after we land from going down to falling over to do the lose all power sleep. it can work, if we head control over samus at least once, or if it would be an old TV show where there would be a commercial break but no, it's still the intro oh and samus is still sitting on the ground.
Dread is perfect in my opinion. Obviously I wish the music was a bit more noticeable but it doesn’t bother me too much. Also SR is amazing and dread would not be as amazing as it is without it 😉 kinda like how smash Ultimate wouldn’t be as awesome as it is without smash 4 Edit: you basically said this but I didn’t finish the video when I wrote the comment heh
I'm upset that the SA-X didn't make a return. I actually believed that the plot twist would've been that we, the player, were playing as an SA-X the whole game. Since Samus had stated in Fusion that the X copies intelligence, but not the soul. How insane would it have been that this "soulless" creature was able to replace our favorite bounty hunter, *and we couldn't tell the difference?*
You know, i wouldnt even have been mad if one winged agel DID play for that fight lol it fits quite well and also, samus speaking chozodian was a master stroke to top off the absolute lore DUMP we got in this game. They set up quite a great future potential story
I honestly wish I hadn't spoiled this game for myself, but I just couldn't help it. I couldn't sit there & wait for the month or so that it would have taken me to beat the game as I play it little by little as I have the time. I HAD to know how it all ended, so I watched some playthru footage. Kinda sux cus it would have been SUPER cool to discover everything for myself, but ah well.
Metroid Dread is that rare case where a franchise gets revived after many years and in the way people want while still being surprising and filled with creativity. It truly is a special game
Well technically Samus returns was the return … idk I personally despise that game (despite thinking dread is the greatest video game ever made)… but from what I understand that game had a fairly mixed reception with people all over the spectrum of opinion on that
Honestly the chozo memories show just how strong raven beak is. Also that it really emphasizes how much he wasn’t taking you seriously at the end fight. Since in game you couldn’t really beat an emmi without a certain power up, and in the chozo memories it shows him over the broken emmi showing that he is the reason it’s in that state.
He seems to be able to shoot the omega cannon without sapping any energy from the brains, he basically got some extra upgrades on you.
I've wondered what type of power up Samus would have gotten if she absorbed the final X
@@Nanoqtran
Considering that Raven Beak seems to be able to use all of the Aeon abilities Samus had from the Samus Returns game + that blackhole and sunball powers, maybe Samus would get a combination of that along with her already existing Hyper Beam?
I think he was trying, which is why he was going to win at first.
And him not taking Samus seriously enough is what ultimately leads to his defeat at her hands. God the details of this game….
Damn Metroid is such a cool character.
Hope they let him crawl in the next game though.
@@PGReviews_ 😢
He's my favorite robot in Nintendo, right after the green fairy boy Zelda
Green Mario is one of my favorite nintendo characters
I also think metroid is a pretty cool guy, eh kills aliens and doesn't afraid of anything
When Quiet Robe X appeared in the Ship i was starting to think : can Quiet Robe count as the animal i need to save from the exploding planet? He helped Samus to use the Ship like the animals so...
I mean, he is a bird person so I'd say yes.
But you EAT him.
This definitely was a Metroid dream-game for me.
The only place I felt it faltered was that the ending felt weirdly abrupt to me-was there maybe supposed to be a little calm scene with some dialogue from (the real) Adam after ZDR exploded? I dunno.
But I do know that other than that, for me, this game was so freakin good. Three cheers for Metroid!
I agree that it would have been nice to hear the real Adam have a short conversation with Samus but honestly the planet was blowing up. I totally get why they just gave the feeling of get out fast and job well done. The X infected Quiet Robe part was good enough for me and it worked perfectly. The ending felt for me, as Obi Wan would say "Another happy landing."
I agree but honestly Samus just returned to the ship turned into a god dammed metroid mere seconds before the planet exploded. What could they possibly talk about? Adam probably has no idea what just happened and Samus went through a LOT.
I've done two playthroughs so far following the "intended" route. Trying out the many sequence breaks will be fun.
Yes. Sequence breaking is where the crazy fun is at! It's like mad ways to sequence break
I found the early grapple one by Accident on my first run cause I was slightly lost hunting for goodies
@@IllmatikRebelTV You're not lying! In fact, before the year was out, I learned enough sequence breaks that I can skip a boss that I really do not like, but is apparently everyone's favorite boss.
I’ve realized that Adam stopped calling Samus “Lady” immediately after the first contact, which I didn’t think much of it until the end
The road to Metroid Dread is finally complete! This was such a fantastic review of this amazing game, and the perfect finale to your retrospective on 2D Metroid. It's so rare that a game is actually as good as the fans hope it will be, so we really have to appreciate Dread. The gameplay is next level good, and the story was super epic too. I loved this series of videos and can't wait to see what you do next!
Thanks for sticking around, glad you enjoyed it!
See, I guess you'd have to be a fan of older games like Metroid 2 & Link's Awakening to truly appreciate the soundtrack to this game. For me personally, music doesn't have to be complex. Sometimes it's the simplest melodies that can be the best. I absolutely LOVE it!
I love the fact that the atmospheric tunes reminded me so much of Metroid 2 & Link's Awakening, two games that I absolutely loved the sound design of, and I find myself getting these simple themes stuck in my head. Such as the music that plays once you get rid of the 2nd EMMI, and that area becomes devoid of threat. That specific track has a feel of relief but still a tinge of tension in the air. I absolutely LOVE that tune! It's been stuck in my head for days, and I am regularly going back to the area just to hear the music now :)
Metroid Dread is such an amazing game that I did something I've never done for any game before! Immediately upon beating it on normal mode (100% btw) I dove right back in and played for another two hours that night on hard mode! Then immediately upon beating hard mode 100% again, I started a third campaign on normal and tried out some more sequence breaks! Literally no other game ever had me start a new campaign right after beating it, let alone twice, but I just couldn't get enough of this game!
Between the glitches and sequence breaks, I got 6 back to back playthroughs before tapping out.
I never comment on UA-cam videos but I just watched all of your Metroid Retrospectives and dude, spot on. It's great to hear someone younger who appreciates the older games for what they did and recognize what this series means to it's fans. And yes, Dread was incredible. I personally haven't had anyone to talk to about the end and oh boy, what a way to leave the story open for the future. I can't wait for Metroid 6 but only can hope we don't enter another lull and I'm not in my 50's when it releases for the Super Nintendo Switch U.
Also, I'd like to put in my two-cents and say Dread is the best feeling Samus in my opinion. Prior that would have been either Fusion/Zero Mission. Super Metroid is a masterpiece in world design and atmosphere but I honestly think Samus doesn't control very well now that the GBA games and especially Dread exists. I've always preferred faster characters so the slow, methodical approach for Super is hard to revisit but by no means actually bad. Just noticeably worse than what Samus can be.
Thanks for watching the series! Glad you enjoyed Dread as well.
My only real gripe with this game is the frequent 'points of no return' that prevent backtracking. I get why they were placed, to ensure players wouldn't get lost, but it still irritated me whenever it happened. I feel like having them serve as soft gates with hidden routes for experienced players to circumvent them would have been a better way to go about it. Knowledge of when they happen and the vast amount of sequence breaks really mitigated them on future playthroughs, however, so it ultimately only affected my initial playthrough.
What a game Dread is. A sequel 19 years in the making, and a finale 35 years in the making. Fusion was the first Metroid I ever played, so it being Metroid 5 is extra special to me. Can't wait to see Samus Aran next mission.
I do actually kind of wish there was a slow walk animation for Samus when barely tilting the stick, one that makes no sound in EMMI areas so you can SLOWLY walk around & not have to dash forward making noise. Just a small observation.
Me too.
I felt the same way untill I found out there is a walking animation with the stealth camo. Then I realized it was a design choice to not trivialize the stealth camo. It's still silly that you can't walk without it but, Videogames gotta videogame.
@Antronix3 Lol well yeah of course, that's the point of the camo. It runs out fast tho. Was not talking about that. Was talking about having a way to move around normally but quieter.
@@Antronix3I think there still could be a meaningful difference in that regular walking would only reduce Samus' sound and detection footprint instead of entirely eliminating it with stealth. But yeah, I thought the same thing after first playing the game, especially coming off of am2r which featured a walking animation. Would've been nice for the game to include it, but it's far from a deal breaker.
Personally, I prefer the way they implemented it. It keeps you on your toes and often forces quick decisions. It helps keep the momentum moving forward.
I liked the suit! I thought the point was that her AND her suit were a singular entity that was then mutated by the metroid dna. That if the suit was the flesh of her as a metroid, it would make sense to be spikey/hard as metroids are supposed to be the superior killing machine
I've barely play any of the Metroid games at all. Never beaten them once but this game, this was one of those games that I didn't want put down from start to finish. Absolutely loved it so much that I'm willing to give the other Metroid games a try. Truly a spectacular experience.
I've bought my Switch Lite specifically to play Dread after seeing a trailer back in July this year (so yeah I'm very late at it) and it made me fall in love with the franchise! I've since finished Fusion and Zero Mission on a small emulation handheld and am currently playing through Super on the same device and also played a bit of Samus Returns on PC. I was contemplating getting a 3DS for it but found the HD pack mod for it and it makes it sooooo much better, since then I left it aside to play the GBA/SNES ones and maybe in the meantime I can get a Windows handheld to play Samus Returns and maybe even AM2R on the go. Samus is super badass, love her!
This was my first core Metroid game - and I had this video bookmarked till I cleared it. You did this incredible game justice.
I picked up dread on a whim haphazardly one day. And while I had heard of Metroid, I mean who hasn't at least heard of metroid, I had never really played metroid outside of I think like a small fragment of super from the super smash brother Brawl demo section. And it inspired me to get into, metroid as a whole, and explain this all simply to state, that at least to me as of now, amazing is an understatement of how much I enjoyed and loved this game.
The terminator reference with the emmi was beautiful sir
I don’t know if anybody in the comment section already clarified this, but the Japanese version of fusion it’s supposed to be a rogue faction of the federation, but they missed translated it for our version
This game is absolutely fantastic.. Finally beat it on both modes 100% & They really killed it.. Cant wait to see what's in Metroid's future after this..
I am awestruck by the quality of this video and the lack of many subscribers this channel has, I had to subscribe. I am definitely going to check out your content more, and see what else you come up with.
Great video! Glad u found your channel!
Storm missles absolutely shred every single boss and mini boss btw
I'm glad I took the time to watch this. Great review dude. Hope to see you gain more subs.
The reason the Federation isn't mad with Samus is because the people in charge of the BSL station were corrupt officials. The cloning and use of metroids was made illegal by the federation and as such when the situation was explained she basically got off scot free with a pat on the back even.
Can I just say how great it is that the Metroid franchise is seemingly entering another renaissance similar to the Fusion-Prime era as a result of Dread's success? A game that was basically Nintendo's Half-Life 3. That there are new players entering into the series as a result of the game excited to play more. That there's a surge of popularity surrounding the franchise. That the other games in the franchise was getting a surge of sales on the Wii-U store during Dread's launch showing Nintendo that there is an audience for Metroid games. I don't think it could have gone any better for Metroid Dread or the franchise as a whole.
(spoilers)
Ha, I had the opposite reaction to the Red Emmi. I was cheering as soon as Samus grabbed its face spike with her shiny new Metroid Hand because I KNEW I wouldn't have to dick around with yet another "sprint through the monochrome halls until you get lucky" section. Plus Power Bombs were way, way, waaaaaaay overdue especially considering you seemed to mostly need them to... get more Power Bombs.
I love MercurySteam, but they seem to have 0 idea what to do with Power Bombs. Although, thinking about it, every game has SOME weirdness with Power Bombs (Fusion having a trillion of them and constantly using them as the massively unwanted "reward" for horrific Shinespark Puzzles, getting them arguably too early in Super and them making the X-ray Scope redundant, most games saving them for the very end and then they're next to worthless as a result).
yeah but then you look at Metroid to return of Samus and realize they definitely know how to use the power bomb especially when combined with the spider ball
Then again, it's not exactly easy to make puzzles and balance combat around a SCREEN NUKE
I literally said out loud to myself about Other M having energy parts too and then that clip played ☠☠
27:06 Ghavoran has a hidden block that connect the two halves. I think its in or near the teleporter room. Use the scan pulse to find it.
It's a power bomb block though, so it's literally at the end of the game.
Very competent and comprehensive review, probably one of the best around YT.
Thanks!
I really loved playing Dread. Especially how it often surprised me in how it either surpassed or pleasantly subverted my expectations of it. I have to applaud the people at Mercury Steam who created this in spite of the working conditions. You really felt the passion behind this game in every moment you played it.
Truly incredible. This is exactly the sort of review/retrospective I aspire to on my own channel. I'm really a true Metroid fan of 2 years (watched my friend play Super like 25 years ago) but the passion I've felt for this franchise has been immense, albeit condensed. Super well done
Thanks!
I KNEW i wasn't the only one reminded of the DKC Returns games lmao. Great, great review!
I finally finished the game now that I had time during the holidays and holy heck it was sooo good. I had a horrible time (14 hours), but I enjoyed myself so much. Definitely my favorite Metroid game from the game feel alone. I love how smooth Samus's movement is and most of the bosses felt a lot less frustrating to me than previous games (they're always my least favorite part of a Metroid).
Really enjoyed your video as always!
7:20 IIRC, there was a slight mistranslation of sorts because in the japanese version it is implied that those who were planning to use the metroids and X were another faction within the federation rather the entire organization.
I would honestly say that trying to bring in Federation subplot would only complicate a rather simple story in Dread. Dread is mainly about the Chozo, the creators of the Metroids, and their dark side. The focus is on Raven Beak and adding the Federation would like adding Ridley as a bonus boss. It'll be cool but it would detract from the main conflict.
Beside, Metroid 6 can handle the Federation rogue faction subplot,
This topped Super as my favorite game of all time. Such an amazing experience.
Edit: there's a single power bomb block in a tp room (pretty sure green) that connects ghavoran. The actual only real problem i had with the game.
I absolutely love your Metroid series. So much so I had to watch each video twice!
Just noticed a little detail that may or may not have been intentional. The scanner light coming off the Emmi looks very similar to the shape of the X-ray scope from super Metroid. Idk do with that what you will
Great review - been playing since Metroid 2 on the Gameboy and I agree - its like the 2D metroid formula perfected :D
Great reviews. Binging your previous ones now 👍
Oh yeah
"By the way, am I the only one who can't help but see the Xs in this game as space gummies? they look delicious." hmm sounds like what a metroid would say
Great video, can't believe you're such a small channel! Subscribed!
Much appreciated!
I really hope Mercury Steam keeps making more 2D Metroid games
I'm glad this game are making people wanting to play other Metroid games
WHAAAAT??? Hell, I LOVE the white bits of armor! Her default suit is actually my favorite in the entire game simply because it has more white! I love the clean look of white myself, and I think it looks baddass!
32:50 Hey All, Scott Here! Death...*cues outro*
Truly god tier gameplay never ages. This game is probably going to become even more heavily praised as time goes on.
This is a game that become more fun the better you become at it. The control is so perfectly silky smooth that it rewards good players with an incredibly fun experience. I have no doubt that it will go down as one of the greatest games to ever be released for the Switch.
I need you to know that I have saved a small capture of your video when you show the artwork for Other M as an ending reward. It speaks to me personally.
I love this game. I'm very glad Metroid is back. I was afraid Other M would be the end of the series as a whole due to how hard it failed, but MercurySteam has done such a wonderful job with this game I find it hard to put into words myself.
Also, I had no problem with getting my ass kicked by this game. I've been looking for a challenge for a while now after most newer games I've been playing were too easy. I'm glad it's as tough as nails as I had hoped.
Fun fact: during translation, a key plotpoint from fusion was lost. The federation as a whole had no knowledge of what was really going on in fusion with the weaponization of the X. There was a small faction of the federation operating under their noses. That's why samus isn't an enemy of the federation. (I don't like it as much as the federation just being more morally ambiguous than we thought, but it's an explaination I suppose)
7:18 That was a pothole caused by translation and localization errors. In actuality, the Metroid research aboard the BSL was illegal, and was done by a corrupt faction of the Galactic Federation (the exact same thing happened beforehand in Other M. Why they tried it again? I will never know). Needless to say, if they tried her for it, they would only expose their own corruption.
That doesn't change the fact that Adam was in on the Metroid research thing, and also that Samus ended up destroying a Federation research station along with an entire planet.
@@hfc2x That is indeed a head-scratcher, even in the original, _superior_ Japanese script.
And we _still_ don't know who "The Deleter" is.
I still feel like a reveal of Raven Beak heading that sect of the GF would tie the story together really nicely.
@@jessehcreative shit. For all _we_ know, Raven Beak could have been down with the Space Pirates! They both had the same mission: use the metroids as bioweapons for galactic domination.
@@hfc2x The fact that Adam was in on the Metroid research makes me wonder: is he a hypocrite? Or was he forced into it by his superiors? I mean, we know now that there was a corrupt sect of the G.Feds, so who's side was he on?
Your content is incredible. Just watched this and the FFVII Remake retrospective. Added every Metroid video of yours to my Watch Later and subbed. Keep up the awesome work!!
Truly god tier gameplay never ages. This game is probably going to become even more heavily praised as time goes on.
OK, you being SALTY about Other EHm, together with your jokes in a monotone kind of voice sold me your review. Thank you for this work of art XD
And listen, for a game that "everyone" hates, which is Fusion, after playing Dread every single one is asking for a Remake of Fusion in Dread's engine. This just shows how good the story and atmosphere in Fusion is, just the bulshit for item collecting and the handholding that was done very, very, very badly there. I also love that Samus suit goes from Yellow to blue, since it makes it way more different than the Varia suit. Not only that, I love that in Dread you can see the "Yellow" bits of the Varia Suit in Fusion, just showing that the suit is yellow in the organic parts and orange in the armor part, frankly this new design she got is the best one and just makes me curious how her suit will look next time.
Gosh I would love if they remade Fusion in the style of Dread.
Fusion is literally my favorite game of all time, and I still would die for a remake of it. Considering they got the job by pitching Sakamoto a remake of Fusion, I really hope they get their chance to do it justice.
You can clearly tell they took notes from Prime games too to make Dread that good and that's so awesome. The body language to characterize Samus and the elevator scenes are directly inspired from that.
Not to mention how much of an improvement the Storm Missiles are of the Seeker Missiles, which were a really cool concept but sadly underdeveloped until now. That’s probably my favorite thing they brought back, because I always loved the Seeker Missiles in general and thought they could be even better. I’m SO glad they capitalized on that.
Agree. I forgot it was in Prime 3. Such a nice touch !
I don't know what magic the algorithm was on to bring me this video but all i can say is i like your style mystery man
I love the scenes of Samus traveling from location to location. They give you time to dread what comes next
27:15 there is a power bomb block next to the green teleporter i ghavoran, which is the only both way connection after the grapple block is pulled.
Great video! As I got about halfway through the game I thought it was very linear but after seeing all the sequence breaking I was soooo wrong!! I've waited forever for a 2d metroid and Dread is GREAT!!
After my probably 25th playthrough of Dread, I went back to Samus Returns, and I think I like it even better after Dread
I’ve not played it since Dread because I’m worried I’d like the melee counter and Aeion abilities even less, but I do really wanna give it another shot. I mostly really enjoyed it before Dread, and I wanna give it another shot.
Metroid Dread is an absolute masterpiece. I loved when Samus goes berserk and the quiet that precedes her sudden awakening worked so well.
And her reaction to Kraid was the absolute oposite to her infamous breakdown when faced with the cloned Ridley.
"Oh, hey Kraid. What's that? You want me to blast you in the face? Well, okay!"
The most frustrating thing for me is that I have several friends who had Dread before me but never completed it, so I couldn't see what their reactions were to the ending 😢
I totally love your review and I've seen quite a lot for this game, keep doing such a fine job friend
Thank you!
19:29 I see what you did there, and I love it.
I am still slightly bitter from childhood about never getting to fulfill my Samus-Baby Metroid buddy cop dreams.
Super Metroid still stands as the pinnacle, absolute agreement there, but Dread works so well and does really nicely at mixing together guidance with exploration. It's one of the best games out there.
I really liked this review! How is it that you have so few subscribers? Anyways, best of luck, you have a new one now 😁😁👍🏼
Thanks!
Also I interpreted the “daughter” remark as meaning he viewed her as a metaphorical “daughter” of the chozo. And since ravenbeak views himself as the outright pinnacle/king/ruler of the chozo, he views her being a descendant of his race as equivalent to being a daughter. Not a literal daughter. Maybe I’m wrong 🤔… but I like my way MUCH better lol
just beat it im so happy. finally a metroid that beats super im incredibly impressed
Don't leave us hanging. Let us know your thoughts on Other M! 😂
Nice job! I agree with your point of view. Dread really surpassed my expectations.
This was my first Metroid game. Metroid dread unlock something special. I wasn’t into these games and when I saw that reveal trailer it looked good. I never expected them to be hard but I managed to beat the game. After that I played the previous games including super Metroid and I was in love with these games. I just decided I wanted to try something new. And after that I watched some amazing story and timeline videos for Metroid. Out of all the games I played they had male protagonists but with Metroid I have to say Samus is one of the best female protagonists in my opinion.
Earlier I said the game unlocked something special not just to me but to everyone world wide. It brought tears to old Metroid fans and interest to upcoming Metroid fans. It’s like there was an awakening. But now people are experiencing how difficult it is and the idiotic David Jaffy calling this game “bad game design”. I never seen a returning Nintendo game be this difficult. Mostly they try to make games easier for young kids and will leave old school fans of these franchises a bit salty about it. Now some people are demanding a easy mode for metroid dread which is like annoying.
Yes this game drives me crazy at times but when you know what to do that feeling of progress is so satisfying. For the bosses that were hard they require learning and memorizing. They throw you into a boss and they want you to figure it out. But what I love is that you start to learn your enemy’s patterns or weaknesses and you will eventually beat them.
Overall DREAD was phenomenal and I’m looking forward for their next 2D Metroid of and recently played Metroid prime trilogy these games are awesome but in my opinion I prefer the 2D games.
32:33 This got quite a laugh out of me.
@7:29 I don't think "all is forgiven" between Samus and the Federation. They very obviously sent the EMMI robots to ZDR without informing Samus in the hopes that they can get some X-Parasites. As for Samus finding out about their situation, I like to think Adam--since he's on her side--relayed the video transmission and their situation to her. Samus wanting to get rid of the most dangerous life form in the galaxy would be motivation enough for her to go there. After all, the game never stated the Federation hired her, so I can get away with that line of thinking. ;)
But yeah, Metroid Dread rivals Super Metroid, and I'm confident I will be stating that years down the line. The game is just so smooth and there was never a dull moment.
I was in absolute glee when Samus and Quiet Robe interacted; the devs knew that introducing a live Chozo had to be an exceptional moment in the series, and I don't think they could've done it any more justice!
Before Samus lands on Planet ZDR, ADAM contends with her about the amount of her bounty. Something like, "The bounty for this mission is insufficient. The risks clearly outweigh the reward." As well as, "Treat our lost assets with care, Lady," when referring to the E.M.M.I. She was hired in some way at least.
@@NautilusXO I interpreted the "bounty" comment as Adam saying, "Are you sure this is worth it to you despite no tangible reward? You don't entirely know what you're getting yourself into." As for "Treat our lost assets with care.", Adam may be on Samus's side, but he still represents the Federation and has access to their database.
But, I do suppose a hiring by the Federation could've happened, and they underpaid her because of what she did in Fusion.
There are two factors here:
- the BSL Metroid facility was a Federation black op, which may or may not have been officially sanctioned, but will undoubtedly have been disavowed when/if it was revealed to the public. Whatever individual Federation officials may feel about Samus's actions, their official public position would be that they owe Samus a great debt for having uncovered dangerous illegal activity, and acted decisively to successfully contain and neutralise a genuinely apocalyptic threat.
- Samus is literally the only known individual with even a chance of successfully entering an X-infested region and escaping alive, particularly since it seems that something down there has managed to neutralise the E.M.M.I.
So their only options are to send Samus in, or to ignore the situation and hope nothing too bad happens.
The fact they're massively underpaying Samus seems like an indication of unofficial displeasure - if they were fans of hers, they'd be making sure to pay her at least the going rate...
@rmsgrey
Well, I don't think the whole "Federation weaponizing X-Parasites" subplot really got any closure past Fusion. So, I'm still under the belief that the E.M.M.I robots were quietly sent to Planet ZDR to both confirm an X-Parasite sighting and capture a specimen. Why else would they be armed with extractor needles?
As for how this supposed corrupt Federation group is still operating, I'm pretty sure being in a high seat of power gives them the advantage to find some way out of the line of legal fire.
Also, I just can't imagine why the offer would be extended to Samus to locate the EMMI robots when X-Parasites are involved. Those of interest would know she'd try and kill the X-Parasites, as she very much did in the game.
Your tier list is perfect imo.
10:14 That actually _is_ the hyper beam! But now with the power of a Kamehameha.
You just get a new subscriber amazing video
I played dread when it came out, and i loved it, so I'm playing every other mainline metroid. I just beat neo ridley in fusion, and all i have left after that is zero mission.
Edit: I've never played any of them before btw
Just finished zero mission and fusion in the past week or two. I liked them both a lot for different reasons
@@leftovernoise yea, I just beat ridley in zero mission, and I finished fusion the other day. I'm inclined to agree with you
It's been two years since release, and I still believe Metroid Dread is very firmly sandwitched between Super Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission in terms of the best Metroid games.
Only thing that’s keeping it from perfect 10 for me: I wanted a bit more depth to the world itself which wasn’t necessarily there for me. I need thick world building like Dark Souls. And wish it could be as deep as Prime games in that sense. But, it is still pretty amazing. Love the movement. This game made me salivate for Prime 4 even more!
This game really is a treat to play. It is just so fast & fluid & controls like butter! The ONLY design choice I'd say is a bit flawed is how the game restricts you from backtracking far more often than it needed to. For a game that allows sequence breaking, there is a whole lot of trapping the player to make them move forward & not backward needlessly, even in situations where doing so would not even present any sequence breaking potential.
It doesn't make much sense to restrict the player in that manner, specially since there are players that prefer a more non-linear style of play or the ability to go back to get items they missed earlier after getting a new power-up. The game will often block you off from doing so needlessly, and I don't like that. Perhaps it was a way to keep the player from becoming too overpowered too early perhaps?
Either way, I think it's an ill advised design choice. The biggest example I can think of is just after geting the Varia suit when you're dropped down into that narrow area w the teleporter and the two small morph ball tunnels below. The game fills those holes with debris for absolutely inexplicable reasons. I have no clue why they game restricts you in that way. There's really no reason for it.
I'm fairly sure that the reason the game shuts you into relatively small areas with just the intended way forward is to keep players from wandering off to expore the entire revealed map when they miss the one shootable wall or other puzzle blocking progress.
There are only so many ways to solve the problem of players not noticing concealed entrances. You can remove the concealment - make it more obvious how to progress or where you're supposed to be headed next at all times. You can shrug and accept that a bunch of players will, like your playtesters, get stuck, spend a couple of hours wandering aimlessly around the map, maybe stumble into some sequence breaks, and eventually either stumble upon the way forward, look it up online, or give up on the game entirely. Or you can limit their search space to something manageable, so it's feasible for them to try bombing every single wall block, etc.
Obviously they went with the subtle option for indicating that the way forward is in a given small region (in the form of trapping them there until they figure it out) rather than something more explicit, nor accepting players getting stuck without any sort of guidance.
MercurySteam should remake Metroid Other M as a 2.5d game since is now confirmed to be at least somewhat canon. They should flash out the story, still keeping the same overhaul structure but making samus more silent and she herself deciding not to use her abilities instead of blindly following adams orders, or like modders did in Maxximum Edition making her suit to be damage from hyper beam and be slowly regenerating. Literally just changing this two factors, however they decided would make Other M be a MUCH more palpable game. Call it Metroid Another M idk I trust MercurySteam now
I've been waiting for this vid since oct 10
We have very different definitions of catchy. A melody doesn't have to be complex or full of notes to be catchy.
I assume that you probably don't like old school 8 Bit Chiptunes all that much either? They aren't very complex but can still be very catchy. Hell, I even find the Map Room music in this game to be catchy!
I've beat this 6 times now. Best time is 3 hours and some change just earlier today. I might play it again tomorrow. It's that good.
The only thing lacking story-wise is a follow-up to the discovery of the secret metroid lab in Fusion. Adam clearly states that Samus has done goof'd by going there and that the Fed would not let that slide (which at first let me think that the actual master mind behind trapping Samus on ZDR was the Federation, in order to get rid of someone that knows too much). That along with Adam saying the prize for the mission is shit...
Also, the Metroid lab section detached itself from the main BSL station in Fusion to go somewhere unknown. This, in my opinion, makes a lot of material to work with if they decide to continue the story.
Also, though I really liked Kraid, I think we miss a Ridley and a few Space Pirates there as well, just to spice things up. I would have loved to see them release the X themselves by trying to chase Samus in Ender.
Also, it is now the only Metroid game without any actual metroid in it. In the Prime series and in Fusion, we're pretty much showed that the Pirates have them pretty much everywhere they go and the Fed has its own metroid-based labs... I would have thought that we would stumble upon something.
But otherwise, absolutely fantastic game.
I actually really enjoyed repeated Chozo warrior encounters. I felt like they gave me some much needed practice runs and get confident with my movement and counters, all of which would directly contribute to dealing with Raven Beak in the end.
I was super excited about this, and it still managed to surpass my expectations. I didn't want to play Super before it came out since I thought I'd be disappointed in Dread, but now I feel if I go back to Super now, Dread will have made me disappointed in (at least parts of) that. And Super is probably my 3rd favourite game of all time.
Dread is great and maybe I'm in the minority, but I still prefer Super.
there are some things i don't understand in dread, Don't worry, i love this game
its in the intro, they made sure to give rave attacks that he actually uses, but i really don't like how the intro is played...
lets brake it down,
We land, and it cuts to black, then we wake up in wight blue nude suite
literally 2 sec after, we get a recap of what happens after we land from going down to falling over to do the lose all power sleep.
it can work, if we head control over samus at least once, or if it would be an old TV show where there would be a commercial break but no, it's still the intro
oh and samus is still sitting on the ground.
Dread is perfect in my opinion. Obviously I wish the music was a bit more noticeable but it doesn’t bother me too much.
Also SR is amazing and dread would not be as amazing as it is without it 😉 kinda like how smash Ultimate wouldn’t be as awesome as it is without smash 4
Edit: you basically said this but I didn’t finish the video when I wrote the comment heh
I'm not sure I like it as much as you do, but I thought your review was well done
I got chills when she spoke
I'm upset that the SA-X didn't make a return.
I actually believed that the plot twist would've been that we, the player, were playing as an SA-X the whole game.
Since Samus had stated in Fusion that the X copies intelligence, but not the soul.
How insane would it have been that this "soulless" creature was able to replace our favorite bounty hunter, *and we couldn't tell the difference?*
19:30 I see you are a man of culture
This was my first 2D Metroid game. Only played Metroid Prime 3 before. Was amazing!!
Heh, you used a clip of my favorite movie (Back to the Future) while talking about my favorite game.
Anyone notice how the first cinematic encounter with Raven Beak shows you how to beat him?
You know, i wouldnt even have been mad if one winged agel DID play for that fight lol it fits quite well and also, samus speaking chozodian was a master stroke to top off the absolute lore DUMP we got in this game. They set up quite a great future potential story
I honestly wish I hadn't spoiled this game for myself, but I just couldn't help it. I couldn't sit there & wait for the month or so that it would have taken me to beat the game as I play it little by little as I have the time. I HAD to know how it all ended, so I watched some playthru footage. Kinda sux cus it would have been SUPER cool to discover everything for myself, but ah well.
I wasn’t subscribed this whole time 😩 dude I apologize. Just hit the button and the noty bell.. can’t wait for more great content!
i bought it twice too lol. I took friday off work and realized amazon wouldn't deliver my copy till like 7pm and dread was on the eshop at 5am so...
36:06 Literally the same situation happened to me.
I disagree with what you said about the Metroid suit. I love how it looks a lot.