DISCLAIMER: MP3 IS MY FIRST METROID GAME

Sorry for the late column, but my computer hasn’t been working too much. So I had previously planned to make this week’s column about Wii being 1st place, but now, it’s about Metroid and my thoughts about the original (VC version), the series, and the latest installment. Get ready for the Second edition of Juano’s Wiikly Column.

Time for a little history lesson. Metroid was first released for the NES back in 1986. The game mainly focused on exploration and backtracking. You played as Samus Aran, a bounty hunter on a mission to destroy the space pirates and discover a new species known as the Metroid. Eventually Samus defeats Kraid, Ridley, and Motherbrain. However, we then discover the truth about Samus. HE’S A SHE!! Indeed this shocked many people as back in the day, video game protagonists tended to be men. Since then, Samus has gone through many adventures… and fast forward to present day.

Metroid has gone through many changes. Super Metroid came and passed. The 2D Metroid games have moved on to the portables and on the consoles, we now have the Metroid Prime series. Now, I’m not big into Metroid so I don’t know all of the games, just the generality. The months leading up to the launch of the Wii (E3 ‘06 to be more specific) we were treated to many game trailers and demos. We had a Brawl trailer, SMG demo, Twilight Princess demo, and a Metroid Prime 3: Corruption demo. Since I wasn’t and had never been into the game, I mainly focused on Mario Galaxy and Brawl (wasn’t a Zelda fan either). Prime 3 and Twilight Princess were both slated for a Wii release launch. But only TP saw the light of day.

We all wondered, what happened to MP3? Why no release? Adding online? MP3 was delayed in order to polish it and make it look awesome, unlike most of the Wii games out there. Was there online? No. Why? Ask Nintendo. Do I think the delay was worth it? Probably, but we were left with a huge drought of game January-June. What do you mean by “wasnt into Metroid” and not “am not into Metroid”? Here’s the story.

One say I was sitting down and thinking to myself: Im a hardcore gamer, right? I mean I play a whole bunch of BIG Nintendo franchises, Mario, Pokemon,… what?!?! THAT’S IT?!?! I need to expand my games a little bit. So you know what I did? I bought 2000 Wii Points and bought Kirby, Zelda, Metroid and Kid Icarus for the NES. Greatest decision ever. I immediately fell in love with the games, although the pass system in KI and Metroid can be annoying. So here’s my mini-review of Metroid for NES:

The game is great. Pass system can be annoying sometimes, and there can be lag when a lot of enemies are on screen, but it plays fluidly, and is very enjoyable, even for your first Metroid game. What is my favorite part of the game? Music.

So then I decided to take a closer look at the Prime series. I found it to be very interesting, a first person shooter with Adventure elements. I said, Ok let’s experiment a bit. Got the game yesterday, AMAZING graphics, CRAZY voice acting, it’s the best Wii game out right now, and I’m not even 10% into the game (stupid meteor). If you want to see my full opinions on Metroid Prime 3, read my upcoming review.