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Game Corner [PokéMonth]: Pokkén Tournament DX (Nintendo Switch)

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Upon the release of Pokémon: Blue Version and Pokémon: Red Version (Game Freak, 1996), a new craze swept through playgrounds across the world. Entire generations have grown up with Pokémon as clever marketing saw Nintendo’s newest franchise become a massively lucrative and popular multimedia powerhouse that endures to this day. Accordingly, February 27th is now internationally recognised as “National Pokémon Day”, which I’ve expanded to an entire month of Pokémon every Tuesday in February.

Released: September 2017
Originally Released: 16 July 2015
Developer: Game Freak
Also Available For: Arcade and Nintendo Wii U (Original Release)

The Background:
Ever since it was brought over from Japan, the Pokémon franchise has been all about spin-offs and ancillary media; the first generation of videogames and tie-in merchandise ensured that Pokémon was an instant cultural phenomenon, taking playgrounds by storm through the games themselves, the trading cards, stickers, magazines, and toys galore. It didn’t take long at all for spin-off videogames to be produced alongside the main series; we got a videogame of the aforementioned trading card game, some pinball and puzzle games, and even a much-loved on-rails photography videogame. Although battling is very much at the heart of the Pokémon series, the closest it came to being featured in a one-on-one fighter was the inclusion of Pokémon characters in the Super Smash Bros. series (Various, 1999 to 2018) until Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara brainstormed new ideas for the franchise with Tekken (Various, 1994 to 2018) producer Katsuhiro Harada and Soulcalibur (Bandai Namco Studios, 1995 to 2018) producer Masaaki Hoshino. While Ishihara wanted mainly Fighting-type Pokémon featured in the game, Hoshino pushed for more variety amongst the playable fighters, and the game was initially released as a somewhat unpopular and unprofitable arcade fighter before being ported to the Wii U, where it was received much more favourably. An enhanced port was then released for the Nintendo Switch a few years later; this new version of the game included all the previous downloadable content (DLC) and was also met with largely positive reviews.

The Plot:
The player’s created character aspires to reach the top of the Ferrum League alongside their partner Pokémon. However, the tournament is soon interrupted by a mysterious and violent Shadow Mewtwo, which has been corrupted by a strange phenomenon in which Gaia, the energy that allows Synergy Stones to bond the humans and Pokémon in Ferrum, is draining away.

Gameplay:
Pokkén Tournament DX is a 3D fighter in which players customise a 2D avatar and synch up with one of twenty-one different partner Pokémon using a “Synergy Stone” to not just command them to battle as in the mainline games, but effectively battle as the Pokémon in what basically amounts to a series of never-ending battles in different towns across the Ferrum region in the appropriately named Ferrum League. Unlike in the mainline Pokémon games, you won’t actually be traversing an overworld map; instead, the Ferrum region is represented by a simple map screen where you can navigate to different towns, each of which allow for different options, such as initiating online battles, changing your game settings, customising your avatar and Pokémon, or partaking in the single-player story mode, or single or team-based battles. Before you jump into the story or an actual battle, your guide, Mia, strongly advises you to check out the game’s tutorial and this is heavily advised as well, though the game’s controls actually aren’t as complicated as the tutorials make you think (it doesn’t help that there are a lot of tutorials, with each aspect of battling being broken down into separate categories and sections).

Battles take place on two panes and your attack choices depend on what your opponent’s doing.

Still, the tutorials relate the basics of battle: X unleashes a strong attack while Y sends out a weaker or ranged attack, and mixing and matching these inputs (along with movements of the analogue stick or control buttons) will allow you to string together combo attacks to deal additional damage. B allows you to jump, and you can also attack in mid-air, while A performs one of a series of Pokémon-specific attacks, some of which can drain your hit points (HP) or inflict status ailments on your opponent. You can bring up your Pokémon’s attacks, special moves, and combos from the pause menu at any time, and even alter the controls to suit your specifications, but there really isn’t that much depth to the combat; I got along pretty well just using a standard series of combos and heavier attacks, but the tutorial also details how you can hold the R trigger to block, roll and dash out of harm’s way, and initiate a switch between the “Field Phase” and the “Duel Phase” using certain attacks, charging a “Piercing Attack”, or grabbing your opponent for a throw by pressing Y and B together. When in the Field Phase, you’re free to navigate the fighting arena, restricted only by the energy fields that surround you, and easily able to jump over, counter, or charge right through attacks. The Duel Phase switches to a 2.5D sideways perspective like a classic Tekken game and slightly alters the controls to accommodate this, allowing for low attacks and high-stance attacks to knock your opponent’s feet from under them or intercept an aerial attack. This makes fights more about getting up close and personal with your opponent, and you’ll quickly find yourself pummelled unless you counter incoming attacks with X and A or block against hem (though beware as you’ll get staggered if the opponent breaks your guard). Although Pokkén Tournament DX doesn’t include the usual Type-advantage where Water-types trump Fire-types and so forth (despite Mai claiming attacks to be “Super effective!” during battle), each Pokémon favours either power, speed, long-ranged attacks, or is a slightly more well-balanced fighter, and it also features variation of this in the “Attack Triangle” feature. This allows counter moves to trump normal attacks, grabs to win over counters, and normal attacks to fend off grabs, and successfully timing each attack based on what your opponent is doing will not only deal damage and potentially change the battle field, but also refill a small amount of your HP and fill up your “Synergy Gauge” and “Support Gauge”.

Burst Attacks and Support Pokémon can fundamentally change the course of a battle.

When your Synergy Gauge is full, you can press L and R together to enter “Burst Mode”, which will change your Pokémon’s appearance (generally to a Mega Evolution) and not only power-up their attacks but also allow you to pull off a devastating “Burst Attack” which unleashes their most powerful move against your opponent, though this can be blocked and even countered. Filling up the Support Gauge allows you to call in a temporary Support Pokémon; you’ll pick from a whole bunch of these before each battle, and they come in groups of two. While you unfortunately can’t mix and match these to create a customised support team for yourself, each Support Pokémon has their benefits; Support Pokémon will either attack your foe, disrupt them in some way (usually with status effects), or enhance your fighter, meaning you could get a temporary speed, power, or health buff or your opponent may become stunned or disorientated, and timing the use of a Support Pokémon is key to turning the tide in a battle. Battles are fought in a best-of-three format and, between rounds, you must switch to a different Support Pokémon, though you can assign “Cheers” to Mia that will boost your gauges in different ways and potentially allow you to summon a Support Pokémon automatically in the next round. While the Support Gauge fills over time, and you can pick up “Synergy Power” across the arena to boost both gauges, Pokkén Tournament DX definitely emphasises fast-paced, arcade-style action over any kind of patience as your battles are timed and your opponents quickly become very aggressive, though you can alter some of these settings in the options menu. While the tutorials make it seem like battles are quite complicated, they’re really not; I barely even used the block button, and found it annoying that the counter option wasn’t mapped to it as well. Consequently, I found it much easier to spam some ranged attacks at the start of a fight, hit a grab, and charge a Piercing Attack to pummel my opponents, landing a few character-specific attacks here and there (this was risky as I fought with Shadow Mewtwo, and a lot of its special attacks drained its HP) before finishing them off with a Burst Attack.

You’ll find yourself battling endlessly to clear the Ferrum League and complete the optional missions.

Mia claims that you need to learn about the different opponents and arenas but, again, you really don’t; you can best most opponents by attacking aggressively and, while Synergy Energy does spawn differently in each arena and they are either bigger or more enclosed, the fights quickly became very monotonous for me. This wasn’t helped by the success criteria for the single-player story, which sees you battling through the Ferrum League over a series of battles. You start at Rank D and must win a certain number of fights, either in single battles or by tackling five opponents in a row in League Matches, to increasing your standing in the rank. Once you’ve won enough fights, you’ll enter an eight-man tournament, which you must win to face the League Master in a “Promotion Test”. Win that battle and you’ll move on to the next rank to do it all over again, battling more and more opponents to qualify for more fights and finding your foes becoming faster and more aggressive with each Rank. After every fight, win or lose, you’ll receive a star grading based on your performance; varying your attacks and ending with a Burst Attack flourish will score you more points and earn you more PokéGold, which buys clothing and outfits for your avatar and Mia. You’ll also earn experience points (XP) from each victory and loss; when you earn enough XP your Partner Pokémon will level-up and you’ll earn Skill Points that you can use to upgrade their attack, defence, the speed their gauges charge, and how long their gauge effects will last when triggered. Each Rank also comes with some missions for you to complete; these generally involve winning a certain number of battles, winning in a certain way or using a certain number of specific attacks, and summoning specific Support Pokémon a set number of times. With enough victories, you’ll be given one Bonus Key per mission board to automatically complete a mission, and successfully completing them all will complete a picture puzzle, net you additional PokéGold and titles and clothing for your avatar, and will load up another board with more missions to complete. If single battles start to wear thin for you (and, trust me, they will), you can take part in team battles from the main map. This sees you pick a team of three Pokémon to battle against another team of three in an elimination battle; the damage you take and the amount your gauge is full carries over between rounds, but you can still set your Support Pokémon between each round. Sadly, these battles don’t ever appear in the main story, meaning there’s little incentive to deviate from your chosen Partner Pokémon as that’s the easiest way to stay strong enough to compete with the higher Ranked matches.

Graphics and Sound:
While it lacks some of the more memorable tunes seen in the mainline games, Pokkén Tournament DX makes a great first impression with a spectacular CG opening sequence; sadly, such cinematics are few and far between during the bulk of the game. They’ll pop up here and there, but the majority of the game’s story is told using 2D avatars that barely move and using text and dialogue boxes rather than cutscenes. This, as much as the pretty generic battle music, really lets the game down; I get that it’s just a standard arcade fighter, but a little bit more effort could’ve gone into the story and the presentation of the game outside of the main battles. Instead, the story is very secondary; occasionally, your opponents will talk smack to you before and after battles, Mia will chime in with some story-specific spiel to advance the narrative, and you’ll have to move to areas outside of the main overworld map to meet story objectives, but it’s all very cheap and not very becoming of a game that carries such a hefty price tag. Additionally, the map screen is as basic as it gets, and you’ll be absolutely bombarded with Mia’s “helpful” advice during battles unless you shut her off in the main settings.

The opening cutscene and in-battle graphics are where the game’s presentation really shines.

Once you actually get into a battle, things noticeably improve; all the game’s Pokémon are beautifully rendered in just the right balance between realistic and fantastical, very much in the same style as seen in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (Letterman 2019). Pokémon have a number of different intro and outro animations, and these change depending on whether you’re in Burst Mode or not, and will take on different colours in mirror matches. Attacks are big, colourful, and eye-catching, with Pokémon like Sceptile, Gengar, and Charizard impressive with twisting vines, portal-based spectral fists, and plumes of fire, respectively. Also impactful are the Burst Attacks, which basically amount to a short cutscene when your Pokémon will unleash their most powerful attack, and this really helps to sell the danger of these moves so you definitely want to make sure that you unleash yours before your opponent does. Unfortunately, the arenas don’t fare anywhere near as well as the fighter’s character models; I barely even noticed any difference between each arena, even when inside a haunted house or on the deck of a ship with Magikarp flailing about. You can see buildings and other Pokémon in the background in almost every arena, but there’s really nothing much there to make them all that interesting; there are no stage hazards to worry about, no weapons to pick up, and the only things that really change between them are how restrictive they are and where the Synergy Energy spawns in. Thankfully, battles are generally too fast to really make this much of an issue but you’re forced to have so many fights that it’s hard not to notice that the areas are pretty bland and almost interchangeable.

Enemies and Bosses:
In true fighting game fashion, every single Pokémon you can select from will be your opponent at some point in the game. I would say that it pays to get to know what each Pokémon is capable of, but that’s not really that true; sure, Machamp is bigger and slower than, say, Lucario and will buff itself up rather than striking fast and using ranged attacks, and Croagunk is a sprightly little bastard who can whittle down your health pretty quickly with its lightning-fast attacks, but what works against one will generally work against all. There’s a decent array of Pokémon on offer here; while the absence of guys like Hitmonlee and Hitmanchan is questionable (and I don’t really get why we needed two Pikachu…), the inclusion of Suicune, Chandelure, and Darkrai helps to make the available roster very varied so it’s not all focused on Fighting-Type Pokémon. As mentioned, it is useful to take note of what your Pokémon can do; I stuck with Shadow Mewtwo the entire time, whose special attacks drained its HP, but some Pokémon are better attacking from a distance, so you need to be more aware of the field and where you are, while others need to be up close and personal to deal heavy damage. When battling them, though, a simple strategy of dodging, jumping, and keeping up the aggression until you can call in a Support Pokémon or hit your Burst Attack will win you the day more often than not, and the only time I really struggled with anything other than this was when I was trying to complete the different missions and had to hold back on my attacks as a result.

Alongside challenging the Ferrum League, you’ll also contend with the super powerful Shadow Mewtwo.

To advance up to the next Rank, you’ll need to best the League Master. While you’d think that these battles offer something different, they really don’t; League Masters will use Pokémon you’ve probably fought five or six times up to that point, and the only real difference is that they might be at a higher level, and thus have more HP or be more aggressive. After you best each League Master, however, the story will kick back in and you’ll have to battle Shadow Mewtwo; this thing is pretty much well beyond you for the majority of the story, boasting HP in the thousands and making short work of you. I think it might be possible to beat it early on, but I sure as hell couldn’t; in fact, I was barely able to eek out a victory when the story culminated in battling it head-on since it’s easily the toughest fight you’ll have in the story mode. Before you battle it, you’ll have to face three trainers in three new areas a bid to try and cure Mewtwo of its corruption, and these fights actually offer something different as you’re denied the use of Support Pokémon and/or your Synergy Gauge. When you finally battle Shadow Mewtwo for the last time, you must endure the first round without your Synergy Gauge and your Support Gauge will only fill up once Shadow Mewtwo is constantly in Burst Mode in this fight and you’re also denied the buffs Mia provides between rounds. In the second round, you’ll also enter a permanent Burst Mode but will only be able to use your Burst Attack once and there’s no Synergy Power to collect, meaning that these battles can be extremely gruelling as Shadow Mewtwo is a very fast, very aggressive foe who’s constantly coming at you and looking to land his Burst Attack.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Your primary power-up during a fight will by the Synergy Power that spawns in across the arenas; you’ll need to get in their quickly as your opponent can pick these up as well, and it means the difference between filling your gauges or being on the receiving end of their Burst Attacks. It’s a good job the game subjects you to endless battles as you’ll quickly see the benefits of applying Skill Points to your Partner Pokémon; I’m much more focused on attacking so I tended to boost the attack stat above the others, but lengthening the duration of your burst and speeding up your gauges can really help make the tougher battles a lot easier. Unfortunately, though, that’s about it; you don’t learn any new moves, you can’t assign different items or power-ups to your Pokémon, and just about the only other thing you have at your disposal are the Burst Attacks and Support Pokémon. Support Pokémon are a mixed bag; each one charges up at a different speed, and they each have positives and negatives, but it sucks that you can’t customise your own little support team and are stuck with what the game gives you.

Additional Features:
You might think battling through the main leagues will be the end of your journey here, but sadly it’s not. After you purge Shadow Mewtwo, two more unlock, with the last one full of the game’s toughest challenges. You can also revisit the Shadow Mewtwo stages from the story mode whenever you like to take on those unique gauge-less battles, return to each of the leagues you’ve already cleared to mop up any outstanding missions you have left, and you’ll even unlock a new arena to battle in after clearing the story. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll amass a great deal of PokéGold; unfortunately this is all spent on clothing and gear for your avatar and Mia rather than interesting stuff like new arenas or fighters. The clothing options are kind of limited, despite there being a decent variety and colour options, since you can’t mix and match them. New items unlock when you hit certain milestones or complete missions, and you’ll also unlock titles for your avatar and can assign them taunts. There’s an online battle mode, and daily challenges to complete as well, but there really isn’t anything all that fun to unlock. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this “DX” version of the game isn’t even complete as you need to shell out to purchase two more fighters, which also come with two more sets of Support Pokémon and outfits for Mia, which really soured me on the game as I expect a “DX” version to include everything available from the game.

The Summary:
I was really excited to get my hands on Pokkén Tournament DX; I’m not a big Tekken fan but the game looked and seemed really unique and exciting and I was hoping for a really fun brawler that did new things with the franchise. Technically, I got that: Pokkén Tournament DX is very similar to other 3D fighters you might find available as online-exclusive releases in that it has a minimalist approach to its interface and story and focuses on frantic, hard-hitting action with just enough bells and whistles to keep you interested. Unfortunately, it’s lacking in a lot of depth; the customisation, battle, and story options are extremely limited and it’s ultimately pointless earning all that PokéGold and those titles once you’re satisfied with your avatar. There’s also very little incentive to try out the other Pokémon as this actually puts you at a disadvantage due to the level-up mechanic; if the emphasis on the different fighting styles had been more prominent, and the story mode different depending on which Partner Pokémon you chose like other fighters, this might have encouraged experimentation but, for me, it really didn’t. Also, the game becomes very laborious very quickly; after about an hour, you’ve pretty much seen everything it has to offer and there’s very little to keep you engaged as it’s just battle after battle, with the same tactics triumphing 99% of the time, in bland arenas with an excitable girl bellowing annoying statements at you. While the game’s fighters look great and the presentation is pretty impressive at times (in battles and the rare CG cutscenes), the whole package feels very cheap and like it should have just been a budget digital-only title, making for an overall lacklustre experience that left me disappointed since I was expected a little but more (and definitely not expecting to have to pay for additional content!)

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Have you ever played Pokkén Tournament DX? If so, did you enjoy and where did you first play it? Which Pokémon was your go-to fighter, who was your favourite support duo, and which Pokémon was your least favourite? Did you enjoy the focus on continuous battling or did it grow tiresome for you, as well? What did you think to the plot involving Shadow Mewtwo and did you ever conquer all of the leagues? Would you like to see another game in this style sometime, and if so what improvements would you make? Which Pokémon spin-off is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating National Pokémon Day this month? Whatever your thoughts on Pokkén Tournament DX, share them below or comment on my social media and be sure to check out my other Pokémon content.

Game Corner [Zelda Month]: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K3 Comments

On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This year, I’m dedicating every Wednesday to Nintendo’s most famous silent protagonist, Link and his vast and enduring fantasy world of sword and sorcery.

Released: 16 January 2019
Originally Released: 14 January 1987
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D4
Also Available For: Famicom Disk System, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
The brainchild of designer Shigeru Miyamoto, The Legend of Zelda purposely emphasised exploration and experimentation based on Miyamoto’s childhood love of exploring forests and caves. Selling well over 6.5 million copies, the game was a massive success and has been widely recognised as one of the greatest adventure games ever made. A sequel was released the very next year, one that proved to be one of the more divisive titles in the franchise for abandoning almost all of the original’s gameplay mechanics, This, however, was Miyamoto’s intention all along; he assembled an all-new team for Zelda II and infused traditional role-playing game (RPG) mechanics with both the adventuring gameplay of the first game and the sidescrolling action of the likes of Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo R&D4, 1985) and CastleVania (Konami, 1986). Emphasising tactical combat, obscure dialogue, and levelling-up to improve your abilities, Zelda II was a stark contrast to the first game but, surprisingly, this didn’t impact its sales or reception at the time. The game sold nearly 4.40 million copies worldwide and was apparently met with positive reviews for its unique presentation, expansion of the formula, and challenging gameplay. However, while many consider it a hidden and underappreciated gem in the series, Zelda II retains a largely negative reception; interestingly, while Miyamoto returned to the familiar top-down formula for the far more successful sequel, Zelda II went on to influence the franchise’s larger narrative and jump to 3D. The game has been re-released multiple times, though never with any enhancements beyond save states and rewinds, to allow new generations of players to form their own opinions of this black sheep of the franchise,

The Plot:
After saving the kingdom of Hyrule, fated hero Link must embark on a new quest to awaken Princess Zelda’s slumbering ancestor by placing six crystals in six temples, all while contending with monstrous forces seeking to revive the Dark Lord, Ganon, using Link’s blood!

Gameplay:
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a 2D action/adventure game in which players assume the role of the titular green tunic-clad protagonist and journey across the fantasy land of Hyrule, which is divided into forests, deserts, caves, and towns, searching for six crystals to revive a sleeping princess. At first glance, things are somewhat similar to the last game; you’re given three save files which you can name (though this name isn’t reflected in the in-game dialogue) and dropped into the game world after a bit of story text for context. However, as soon as you take control of Link, the differences between the first and second games become immediately apparent; firstly, Link begins in Zelda’s throne room in a traditional sidescrolling format like Super Mario Bros. This comparison becomes increasingly apt as you play with the controls and progress through the game; pressing B or X will see Link swipe with his sword, unleashing his patented Sword Beam when at full health, while A jumps! Jumping?! In a Zelda game? Outrageous! Link can also crouch (though less to duck beneath projectiles and more to perform a low attack) and holds a shield that will defend against some incoming ranged and melee attacks, but that’s it for his options at the start of the game. As soon as you leave the throne room, the game suddenly switches to a top-down view, but one markedly different to that of the first game; rather than presenting an action-oriented overworld, Zelda II takes more inspiration from traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy (Square, 1987) this time, with a few interactable elements and swarms of random battles appearing on the map. 

Gameplay is now infused with RPG elements, placing more emphasis on interaction and combat.

Yes, as you move around the overworld, little black monsters will randomly appear and make a beeline for you; if you come into contact with them, you’ll be warped to a sidescrolling section where you’ll either have to battle past enemies, simply walk offscreen, hop between platforms and over hazards, or collect special items to exit to the overworld. The enemies you face are determined by the sprite that touches you, the area you’re in, and how far into the game you are; touching a Bot-like enemy usually puts simpler enemies in your path, but touching a larger monster will spawn a greater challenge. Sometimes, these sidescrolling sections are mandatory to progress; you’ll randomly be deposited into a lava-filled cave, onto a bridge swarming with Bago-Bagos, or into a haunted graveyard and will have to fight your way out to move on. Defeating enemies will usually (but, annoyingly, not always) award experience points (EXP); yes, like other RPGS, Link must now gain EXP to level-up and increase his attack, health, and magic, all of which is essential for overcoming the game’s more challenging enemies and bosses. Occasionally, you’ll find Point Bags (either out in the open or dropped by defeated enemies) which will give you an EXP boost, and conquering each of the game’s Palaces will automatically award you with a free level. Link can level-up to a maximum level of eight and you’ll be able to select whether its your health, magic, or attack that’s increased each time you level-up, but the amount of EXP you need to level-up increases each time so it’s definitely worth defeating as many enemies as you can and grabbing all the Point Bags you see to get stronger faster. If you were paying attention there, you’ll have seen I mentioned magic; Zelda II introduced magic to the franchise, though it’s used a little differently than you might think. Each town Link visits shelters a wise old man who will freely teach you a spell (though sometimes you need to perform tasks, such as talking to specific non-playable characters (NPCs) or jumping down chimneys, to reach the old man). Pressing + brings up your list of spells and displays how many points they cost to use; you can then press – to perform the spell, though you can only perform them in sidescrolling sections, and the effects will only last for as long as the screen you’re on. Spells range from reducing the damage you take to changing your Sword Beam into a fireball and increasing your jump height and they’re absolutely essential for clearing the game’s Palaces. 

Zelda II is frustratingly obtuse at times and features an inconsistent difficulty level.

The first game is notoriously obtuse, rarely giving you much guidance about where to go and what to do, and Zelda II tries to address this by placing more emphasis on interacting with NPCs but, unfortunately, mistranslations muddy the water and leave you either with nonsense vagaries or out-right lies. In each of the game’s towns, Link can talk to NPCs for “hints” or have his health and magic restored, though some NPCS are actually enemies in disguise! There are also times when you need to perform fetch quests or talk to specific NPCs to gain new items or access to new areas; it’s again all annoyingly vague so I’d recommend just cutting out the middleman and using a guide right from the start. All the walkthroughs and level-ups in the world can’t help you when it comes to the game’s difficulty, though; while Zelda II is light on puzzles, requiring little more than the acquisition of keys and the use of certain items on the overworld, its Palaces are often sprawling mazes filled with instant-death lava or water and frustrating enemies, many of whom either take multiple hits to defeat or can resist your Sword Beam, making it useless a lot of the time. While enemies won’t respawn screen to screen, some come in seemingly endless swarms, others are invisible or invincible without certain items or spells, and others are placed in cramped hallways, making attacking and avoiding their attacks extremely aggravating. Perhaps because he’s not used to hopping over platforms, Link’s momentum is a bit janky here, meaning it’s easy to slip or bounce into death pits, and he also flies back upon taking damage, easily costing you a life. Yes, Zelda II also uses a life system; you start with three lives and, when they’re drained, you’re given the option to save your game or continue, which will return you to North Castle or the start of the current Palace, respectively, reducing your current accumulated EXP to zero in the process. While I can just about forgive a lot of the game’s oddities, the combat is awful here; since many enemies block your Sword Beam, you’ll be relying on jumping slashes to attack them, and Link’s range of attacks is sadly limited even after he gains new sword abilities, meaning combat is often as much of a chore as the tricky platforming and insane difficulty spikes peppered throughout the game. 

Graphics and Sound:
Fundamentally, Zelda II is graphically superior to the last game; the sidescrolling sections allow for greater detail in the sprites, particularly Link, and more detailed backgrounds than in the last game. Depending on where you are, you’ll load into various different areas on the overworld, from swamps that restrict your walking speed, to forests and traditional caves. The game’s Palaces share the same Roman-inspired aesthetic, featuring bricks and columns and statues and elevators, but each has a different colour palette and utilises its labyrinthine nature in different ways, such as incorporating crumbling platforms, destructible or falling blocks, lava pits, hidden drops, or pits that lead to lower areas. While Link looks more impressive than in the last game, he has no idle poses and his animation frames are severely limited; his sprites change when you acquire new moves or utilise certain spells, but he’s still limited by the NES hardware so he’s little more than a clunky lug here. Indeed, Zelda II may have been a little too ambitious for the time as the game’s performance struggles noticeably when enemies swarm on the overworld and when there are multiple sprites onscreen in the sidescrolling sections. Sprite flickering, slowdown, and even some glitches are surprisingly commonplace, which is odd considering how well made the first game was and how simplistic so much of the game is. Zelda II even struggles in the various towns, when NPCs wander around, going in and out of houses, to say nothing of the haunted graveyards and hazardous bridges, and you’ll see a lot of sprite tearing and performance issues when battling against the game’s bosses, too. 

While the game is a graphical improvement, it’s perhaps too ambitious for the NES hardware.

On the plus side, Zelda II includes some chirpy and memorable tunes; the main Zelda theme is here, of course, and the main Palace and boss themes are fun little earworms (which is good as you’ll be hearing them again and again). Sound effects like Link’s Sword Beam and blocking projectiles and nice and clear, too, and there’s a decent amount of variety in the game’s locations, if not in the Palaces, which are very copy/paste even with their different colour schemes. Occasionally, you’ll find areas on the overworld where you need to use certain items, either manually (like the hammer and flute) or automatically (like the raft), and there are even some hidden paths and tiles that lead to Point Bags, Magic Jars, or upgrades to your health or magic bar.  Although Zelda II emphasises interacting with NPC, dialogue is extremely limited and littered with mistranslations; thankfully, you can simply hit B to skip dialogue without missing out on the benefits, such as having your health restored. Cutscenes are basically non-existent here; there’s a little animation on the title screen, some story text, and some flashing visuals when you defeat a boss, but that’s basically it until you reach the final Palace. Zelda II is one of the few Zelda games where series antagonist Ganon doesn’t appear at all (unless you lose all your lives and then he’ll taunt you from the Game Over screen) and it also doesn’t feature Link’s iconic secondary weapons like the boomerang or bow and arrow, meaning things get very basic and repetitive very quickly. 

Enemies and Bosses:
A wide variety of monstrous beings will dog Link’s progress in the game’s sidescrolling sections and Palaces, many of them new and unique to this game (as far as I can tell). We’ve got the standard bat-, bird-, snake-, spider-, and jelly-like cannon fodder that swoop, spit, and pounce about, annoying skeletal fish that leap out from water and spit projectiles, and ghostly eyeballs and floating heads that swarm the screen endlessly, bobbing about and decimating your health bar in seconds. It’s not long before you’re challenged by more frustrating enemies; Moblins, Iron Knuckles, Lizalfos, and Stalfos quickly become commonplace, defending against your Sword Beam and attacking with daggers, swords, maces, tridents, and even jump attacks. It can be difficult to land hits on them since you’re reliant on your jumping attacks and their projectiles can be incessant, making them frustrating encounters even when you’re at a higher level. This threat is escalated by the likes of the Doomknockers, Fokkas, Fokkerus, and various teleporting wizards; these guys will hop about, toss a barrage of axes or flames, and need the use of a spell in the latter’s case to even defeat. Toss in the barrage of damage sponge Bubbles, expendable Wosus, fireball-spitting statues, and worm-like creatures and it quickly becomes an uphill battle getting past even the simplest of areas as you have to avoid attacks or switch up your playstyle to overcome the enemies before you.  

The game’s enemies and bosses can be aggravating due to the clunky combat mechanics.

Seven crystals in seven Palaces means, you guessed it, eight bosses to overcome in Zelda II, including the game’s true final boss. This time around, the bosses all have a life bar, similar to the Mega Man series (Capcom, 1987 to present), and drop a key after being defeated, which unlocks the Palace exit. The first boss you encounter is the horse-headed Mazura, whose armour protects him from all your attacks and whose swinging mace will decimate you if it makes contact. Your best bet here is to avoid being backed into a corner and activate your Shield spell to reduce the damage you take since you’ll need to use jumping slashes to hit his only weak point, his head. You’ll use these same tactics against the second boss, Jermafenser, a massive armour-clad knight whose head will detach after a few hits! However, Jermafenser is a bit of a joke; your shield will block his projectiles and, by this point, you should have the downward thrust, which makes short work of him, meaning the journey through Death Mountain and battles against the aggravating Dairas is more of a challenge! The third boss you encounter, Rebonack, is essentially a blue Iron Knuckle on a mechanical horse. He’ll charge across the screen and try to skewer you with his lance, meaning you need to time a downward thrust to rob him of his steed, after which you simply need to block, jump, or duck to defend against his barrage of daggers and attack his head as you would a normal Iron Knuckle. What makes Rebonack unique, though, is that you battle him again later in the game as he appears twice more as a mini boss in Three-Rock Palace, though he’s even easier in these encounters since you’re more powerful at that point. When you reach the Great Palace, you’ll also encounter another mini boss-like enemy, a Giant Bot that splits into several regular Bots upon being hit and slows the game to a crawl as a result. 

Many bosses are surprisingly disappointing and nowhere as challenging as the journey to them.

Journeying through Maze Island Palace will see Link clash with the wizard-like Carock, which is essentially a larger Wizzrobe variant. Because of this, battling it is extremely easy as you can simply activate the Reflect spell and crouch down in a corner; Carock will teleport about firing energy waves at you, but Reflect will send them right back, killing it in seconds. In comparison, the hulking Gooma is more of a challenge; slow and lumbering and wielding a spiked, chained ball, this monster requires a lot of patience as you use the Jump, Shield, and Life spells to avoid and endure his attacks and land hits to his torso. The dragon-like Barba was probably a lot harder in the original game but is made a lot easier with the Nintendo Switch’s rewind feature; it randomly rises from one of three lava pits to spew easily-voidable flame breath at you, so you need to be in the right spot to attack its head when it appears, which is easy to do when you can rewind the game on the fly! The penultimate boss, Thunderbird, poses the most significant challenge; not only must you reach it with a full magic bar since you need to cast Thunder to make it vulnerable, but it floats about spitting endless fireballs and can only be damaged by hitting its face. Once you defeat it, you’ll go straight to the final room and boss, with the damage and magic you lost fighting Thunderbird carrying over. Thankfully, the final boss, Dark Link, can be a bit of a let down; while Link’s shadow copies all his sword attacks and blocks yours with his shield, you can crouch or stand in the corner and easily cheese him, making the final challenge extremely anti-climactic considering how tough the rest of the game is. 

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Unlike most Zelda games, Zelda II doesn’t include Rupees or shops and defeated enemies will not drop hearts to refill your life meter. The only way to restore Link’s health is to find a fairy on the overworld or in a sidescrolling section, level-up, visit an NPC at a town, or find a Heart Container, meaning you’ll mostly be relying on spells like Shield and Life to help reduce damage and restore your health. On the plus side, NPCs will aid you for free, though you’ll sometimes have to jump through some hoops to reach the old man and helpful knights who provide new spells and attacks. Although Link doesn’t get to use iconic sub-weapons like the bombs or hookshot, he can acquire items in each Palace to aid his quest; many of these are passive, automatically activating once you acquire them, such as the candle, raft, boots, key, and magic cross. These automatically light up dark areas, reveal hidden enemies, allow you to traverse streams or bodies of water, and open every door in the game unlike items like the hammer, flute, handy glove, which are activated on the overworld in the case of the former and powerup your sword attacks in the case of the latter to let you smash blocks. 

In place of his usual weapons, Link utilises spells and new sword attacks to progress.

Link is taught eight spells throughout the game that are required to conquer the Palaces. Some are more tactical than others; for example, you don’t have to cast Shield or Life if you’re skilled enough to defeat enemies and bosses with little to no damage, and I only cast Spell a few times in dungeons swarming with Girubokkus and Moas since it turns them (and many other enemies) into harmless Bots. However, you absolutely will need to cast Jump to increase your jump height and reach new areas, you’ll need Fairy to transform into a tiny fairy and bypass larger gaps, and Fire and Reflect are both necessary to defeat certain enemies. Thunder, the most powerful spell in the game, will obliterate all onscreen enemies but it costs so much to use that I only employed it against Thunderbird since that’s the only time it’s unavoidable. Link can also learn two additional sword attacks, the downward and upward thrust, which are super useful for defeating enemies beneath and above him, though it’s not going to help you against Iron Knuckles and other similar enemies, which is annoying. Finally, in addition to finding Point Bags and magic jars, you’ll occasionally come across Link Dolls that will grant you an extra life, though this is sometimes detrimental as it means wasting more time just trying to save the game. 

Additional Features:
As is tradition for the Zelda franchise, numerous Heart Containers can be found all across Hyrule; acquiring these will refill and extend your health bar, and you only need to find one to do this rather than four or five like in other games. Additionally, Magic Containers will do the same thing for your magic bar, so it’s worth exploring a bit to find these, even if it means battling more enemies. As alluded to earlier, some NPCs will only help you after you’ve performed certain tasks or spoken to certain characters; there’s a mirror, water, and kidnapped child to find in order to learn certain spells, Link will need to use Jump and Spell to reach certain houses or unearth areas, and you’ll need to use the flute and hammer on the overworld to eliminate otherwise impassable monsters or reveal hidden areas. Finishing the game allows you to save and alters your save file; selecting it will begin the game anew, with all your spells and level-ups intact, though you’ll have to find all the items and beat all the Palaces again. You can skip to this game by selecting the “SP” version from the Nintendo Switch Online menu, and of course you can abuse the rewind and save state feature to make the game a bit less challenging, but it’s still a tough experience even with these quality-of-life features. 

The Summary:
I put off playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for years; I purposely downloaded it for the Nintendo Wii just to play it years ago but never actually sat down with it until this playthrough, and even then I was very reluctant after all the negativity surrounding it. Unfortunately, I have to say that the criticism this game often gets is entirely justified; it’s such a radical departure from the first game that it’s almost like a completely different game, and the challenge it offers is neither fun or rewarding. Things start out okay enough, but the difficulty spikes dramatically once you reach Death Mountain (the second area of the game, I might add!) and then becomes wildly inconsistent after that. Sometimes you’ll be bombarded with small, annoying enemies and projectiles or forced to fight tricky enemies like Iron Knuckles in narrow hallways, and other times rooms will be largely empty or contain simple platforming sections. I wasn’t a fan of the basic overworld, the aggressive random battle system, or the switch to a sidescrolling perspective; this only works in small doses in Zelda games and the NES just isn’t capable of giving Link the range of movement or attack options required to best utilise this perspective. I didn’t mind the level-up mechanics, or the use of spells, and grinding wasn’t too much of a slog for me unless I was battling Iron Knuckles, but the spells were quite mundane and circumstantial, and I missed using other weapons and solving puzzles. Instead, the game relies on mazes, vague hints, and trial and error to nudge you along, making for a confusing and aggravating experience as I don’t like referring to a walkthrough when I’m playing games. I liked the music, and aspects of the graphics, and the bosses were visually quite impressive, if mostly ridiculously easy compared to what you go through to reach them. Ultimately, I don’t think you’re missing out if you’ve never played this one; it’s a curious oddity in the franchise, one that’s easily skipped over in favour of the more enjoyable sequels, but it could provide some enjoyment for nostalgic gamers seeking to relive the days when videogames were unnecessarily difficult.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Have you ever played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Were you put off by the changes to the gameplay and mechanics, or did you enjoy that it mixed up the formula? What did you think to the game’s difficulty and use of RPG mechanics? Did you struggle to work out where to go and what to do? Which of the game’s spells and bosses was your favourite? What did you think to the final boss? Would you like to see Zelda II remade or a return to this style of game for the franchise? How are you celebrated The Legend of Zelda this month and where games are your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and maybe check out my other Zelda content. 

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid Prime Remastered (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K3 Comments

January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January.

Released: 8 February 2023
Originally Released: 18 November 2002
Developer: Retro Studios, Iron Galaxy Studios, et al
Original Developer: Retro Studios
Also Available For: GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
In August 1986, Nintendo introduced gamers to Samus Aran, the kick-ass bounty hunter protagonist of their Metroid series (Various, 1986 to present). Praised for its challenging gameplay and eventually lauded as one of the greatest games ever, Metroid helped popularise the “Metroidvania” sub-genre. Following the largely divisive Game Boy-exclusive sequel, Metroid made a universally acclaimed comeback on Nintendo’s ground-breaking 16-bit console and then strangely disappeared for over ten years save for being represented in the Super Smash Bros. franchise (Various, 1999 to present) despite rumours of a Nintendo 64 title. In 2000, legendary videogame producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited Retro Studios and, impressed by their first-person shooter engine, tasked them with creating a new Metroid title for the GameCube, which Retro Studios developer John Whitmore believed was due to Miyamoto not caring if the game succeeded or not. Still, the developers threw themselves into the task, working up to 100 hours a week to transition the Metroid formula to a 3D shooter as Miyamoto desired. The developers aimed to make exploration fun, putting more emphasis on challenging boss battles so as not to deter players from wanting to explore, though time constraints saw certain series staples cut from the title. Upon release, Metroid Prime became one of the best-selling GameCube games and was universally praised for its detailed environments, engaging atmosphere, and complex level design. It was followed by two equally successful sequels, making a highly regarded trilogy that breathed new life into the long-dormant franchise, but was stuck on obsolete hardware for over twenty years before this highly praised and successful remastered version was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2023.

The Plot:
After intercepting a distress call, bounty hunter Samus Aran is attacked by Meta Ridley and crash-lands on Tallon IV, whose Chozo inhabitants have been eradicated by an infestation of Phazon, a substance that Ridley’s Space Pirates seek to control to breed more powerful and aggressive Metroids.

Gameplay:
Metroid Prime Remastered is a first-person shooter in which players take on a far more intimate role as the famous bounty hunter, Samus Aran, and explore the various futuristic hallways, Phazon mines, frigid cliffs, and lava-hot caves of Tallon IV. Essentially a 3D, first-person remake of Super Metroid, including many of the same mechanics and elements of that classic 2D adventure, Metroid Prime Remastered emphasises exploration and backtracking as much as varied, frantic gun combat and will have you jumping, rolling, and scanning high and low for new upgrades and ways to progress.The game offers a variety of settings to fine-tune and tailor your experience, from removing Samus’s helmet display, to customising the heads-up display, to choosing different control styles to recreate the original Wii experience, if that’s your jam. Like Super Metroid, Samus begins the game with her full arsenal and abilities, but these are lost after Meta Ridley’s attack, and you’ll have to reacquire them (and more) on your journey. However, you still have your trusty arm cannon, which lets you lock onto enemies with ZR and blast them with A or ZR (charging up a shot for additional damage). Samus can also jump with B or the L trigger, eventually learning a double jump technique, or squeeze through tight gaps by turning into a ball with Y, switching the camera to a third-person perspective in the process. While in your Morph Ball form, you can also hop, drop bombs, and eventually attach yourself to magnetised rails with the Spider Ball upgrade.

Samus’s various beams and visors are crucial to battling and navigating through Tallon IV.

Samus can also upgrade her arm cannon to fire various additional blasts, missiles, and streams of elemental energy; these are required to open certain doors, destroy certain objects, and defeat certain enemies, all of which are usually colour-coded so you know which weapon to switch to using the X button in conjunction with the directional pad (D-pad). Samus can fire regular missiles and, eventually, unleash a barrage of Super Missiles in addition to a flamethrower, freezing stream, and a burst of electrical energy, all of which require missile ammo to utilise. Thankfully, defeated enemies and destroyed crates will drop orbs to replenish your health and ammo for these weapons, both of which can also be upgraded to increase your maximum health and ammo capacity. Samus also has a high-tech visor that allows her to scan her enemies and the environment, adding them to her Log Book (essentially unlocking character models and other goodies in the ‘Extras’ menu) to help you combat enemies or traverse the environment. Later, Samus acquires upgrades to her visor that allow her to see in infrared and utilise an x-ray vision, exposing hidden platforms and heat signatures to find new paths. You can switch between these with the D-pad, a system I found rather cumbersome as there was a noticeable delay when switching visions and I often accidentally changed my vision when I was trying to change my weapon, temporarily disorientating and blinding me. Samus’s abilities only increase as you explore, adding a grapple beam to her arsenal that allows you to swing across gaps with ZL when prompted, drop more powerful bombs to open new passageways, and freely move when underwater or survive the intense heat put out by the Magmoor Caverns and Phazon Mines.

You’ll need the Morph Ball and the intricate 3D map to properly explore your enviroment.

Samus’s helmet also comes equipped with a radar to highlight nearby threats and a 3D mini map, which you can expand by finding various Map Stations in each area. This allows you to view and rotate the complete 3D map from the + pause screen, where you can also read up on your weapons, abilities, and review your in-game progress. The map can also be a bit cumbersome to navigate; there’s no onscreen compass pointing you to your next objective, no way to set waypoints, and no fast travel system, so you’ll need to constantly pause and review the map to find your way to where you need to go. Tallon IV has many lifts to its various locations, some of which need activating with your visor and others which require upgrades to access, all of which are easily identifiable on the map even if finding the exact route can be difficult. Unfortunately, despite being a modern version of the game, Metroid Prime Remastered still utilises an archaic manual save system; you’ll only be able to save at specific Save Sections, which will also restore your health, so you’ll have to proceed with caution lest you die and have to reload from a save point some ways back. Finally, missile charging stations will fully replenish your missile ammunition and you’ll get regular updates on planetary disturbances that point you towards where you’re supposed to go next. Naturally, as a Metroid title, Metroid Prime Remastered involves a great deal of backtracking; you’ll revisit the same areas many times over, with new sections opening up the more you upgrade Samus’s abilities and new, tougher enemies popping up in previous sections. This means you’ll quickly become accustomed to Tallon IV’s various areas, but also means slogging through the same pitch-black, underwater, or aggravating maze-like sections multiple times thanks to a lack of a fast travel system.

Exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving are as important as the gun combat.

Initially, Metroid Prime Remastered has two difficulty settings (“Casual” and “Normal”) with a third “Hard” mode unlocked after your first playthrough on either setting, but the game gets progressively difficult as you play. In addition to the tougher enemies spawning in across the planet, you’ll contend with a variety of hazards, from acid pits, flame bursts, auto turrets, and radioactive Phazon. The more abilities you possess, the more options become available to you to solve puzzles and open new areas; this can mean charging up Morph Ball spinners, destroying coloured lights or defeating all enemies in an area to unlock doors, hacking laser cannons or blowing up obstructions with your more powerful bombs, hopping and dropping to magnetic rails, activating switches and lifts, and taking claustrophobic tunnels in your Morph Ball form. In these 2.5D sections, you’ll need to drop bombs to destroy obstructions or hop to higher platforms, use the boost ability to awkwardly gain enough momentum to fling yourself higher, or dodge pistons and temporary surfaces. Samus will also explore murky underwater areas, hop to a variety of platforms (some of which must be created by blasting stalactites or large, rock-like enemies), melting ice, and charging up electrical nodes to power up doors. Although you’re free to explore at your leisure, your way will inevitably be barred if you don’t have the right equipment, which can be frustrating; it’s doubly difficult remembering these areas when you do have the right equipment, especially as areas can change between visits, seeping them in darkness, flooding them, or spawning in tougher enemies. Compounding matters is the fact that enemies respawn each time you leave and enter an area or save, the need to switch between your visor and weapons quickly to take out groups of enemies, and annoying puzzles that have you blasting runic symbols, activating Morph Ball ports, and rotating magnetic paths to progress.

Graphics and Sound:
Graphically, Metroid Prime Remastered is very impressive; I’ve never played the Metroid Prime games before and am always a bit wary of first-person shooters, but the game looks amazing, including some striking atmospheric effects to add to the immersion. Samus’s visor mists up, rain splatters against it, her reflection appears when lightning flashes, and you’ll hear here grunt in pain whenever she takes damage. Although many of the environments can become stale, especially those set in futuristic labs or comprised of metallic hallways and rooms, Tallon IV is a very diverse alien world, including rainswept ruins, dark caverns, frigid cliffs, and volcanic caves. Each area is connected to each other by a series of lifts, meaning you’ll have to pass through the Chozo Ruins to reach the Magmoor Caverns to access the Phendrana Drifts and explore a submerged ship to reach the fungus-infested Phazon Mines. Environmental hazards are rife in each area, as are the relics of the Chozo civilisation, with statues and runes left behind to guide you as much as the literal ghosts of the past appear to test you. As you upgrade your abilities, you’ll be able to access new areas of each environment, traversing tunnels, platforms, and Space Pirate facilities built into each. Here, you’ll find computer stations and biological experiments housed in glass chambers that will break free to attack you.

The game looks incredible, with some diverse environments and impressive graphical touches.

Although you rarely see Samus in full form, she appears sporadically as you play and in cutscenes; here, she’s entirely mute, dictating her intentions through her body language and leaving the bulk of the game’s story to be told through the optional narration and various texts you scan and log throughout the game. It’s a bit of a shame as Samus looks great; she’s sleek, powerful, and sexy and her suit noticeably changes as you acquire upgrades, but you will see her adopting various poses as you switch weapons or stay stationary. Enemies also exude a lot of menace and personality, particularly Meta Ridley and the squealing, annoying Metroids that fly at your face and drain your energy. Still, the very nature of the first-person perspective means the graphical emphasis is on the environments, which all do a fantastic job of recreating and updating similar elemental and runic areas from Super Metroid. You’ll be hopping across crumbling, frozen buildings, decaying walkways, and traversing pitch-black, luminous caverns with your thermal vision, to say nothing of exploring the dank depths and accessing new (or secret) paths by utilising your abilities in unique ways. Metroid Prime Remastered also features an immersive soundtrack; not only are some classic Metroid tracks included and updated to keep the adrenaline up when enemies and bosses appear, but the game also makes great use of silence and ambient sounds to build tenson or establish a sense of calm following a frantic gunfight.

Enemies and Bosses:
Tallon IV is home to several insectile enemies that will chip away at your energy or exist primarily to annoy you or be farmed for health and ammo; wasp-like bugs, swarms of insects, plant-like enemies, and literal balls of plasma are commonplace, with even some of the smaller enemies being impervious to your standard cannon and requiring upgrades to finally take them out. Some, like the Reaper Vines, are virtually indestructible and simply disappear for a bit before whipping back out at you; others, like the Stone Toads, exited solely to aggravate you as you struggle to build enough momentum to reach higher levels. Some enemies, like the Baby Sheegoths, Jelzaps, and Plated Beetles are heavily armoured and can only be damaged from behind or when they expose their weak spots; others, like the various burrowing insects and the dragon-like Magmoor, burst up from the ground, ice, or lava to attack you. As you progress, you’ll encounter several different Space Pirates (known as “Troopers”); these slash at you up close or fire at you from a distance and come in different colours, rendering them weak to your different cannons but also allowing them to appear invisible, cling to ceilings and walls, and afford them greater mobility in the air and underwater thanks to their jetpacks. By far the worst and most annoying regular enemies are the Chozo Ghosts (which do become easier once you gain additional visors, but the reduced visibility meant I often just ran past them) and the various Metroids. These jelly-like bastards attach themselves to you to drain your energy, can multiply when damaged, and even take on coloured forms to force you to switch weapons and appear in more aggressive octopus-like variants. They can also absorb a great deal of damage, meaning it’s often easier just to try and avoid them and rush to the exit.

The game’s monstrous bosses require a bit of strategy to bring them down.

Samus will have to overcome some monstrous alien enemies to rid Tallon IV of the Space Pirates’ influence, only one of which I recognise from the previous games, that being recurring antagonist Ridley. The game begins with Samus exploring the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon and encountering the Parasite Queen, a massive insectile creature shielded behind a rotating energy barrier. The Parasite Queen swipes its scythe-like claws and spits acid at you and forces you to stay on the move and fire between the gaps in the barrier, and then you’re given seven minutes to flee before the Orpheon explodes. After navigating the intense heat and acid pits of the Magmoor Caverns, Samus is confronted by Flaahgra, a horrific amalgamation of snake, bug, and plant that pollutes the water supply and spews acid at you. To damage Flaahgra, you need to blast up to four nearby dishes with your Charge Beam to stun it, giving you just enough time to roll up the narrow tunnel and drop a bomb at its base and set it ablaze until it finally dies. You’ll also get to put your thermal vision (and your patience) to the test against Thardus, a rock monster that guards the Spider Ball upgrade; the only way to damage Thardus is to locate the glowing weak spots with your thermal vision and unload with Super Missiles, a task compounded by its shockwave attack, the rocks it throws at you, it rolling into a nigh-impenetrable ball, and the weak spots constantly moving and disappearing. The Ice Ruins of Phendrana Drifts are home not just to the annoying Chozo Ghosts but also the gigantic Adult Sheegoth, both of which become semi-regular enemies but the latter of which proves particularly problematic since your regular beam attacks will simply be absorbed by the ice crystals on its back and turned into electrical shockwaves. Luckily Super Missiles and your flammable Plasma Beam can turn the tide, and you can simply ignore the later ones that appear.

Unlike the Elite Troopers, Meta Ridley represents the game’s toughest challenge yet.

As Samus explores the laboratories and facilities hidden on Tallon IV, she will also be attacked by larger, more aggressive Space Pirates. The Phazon Elite is a Space Pirate empowered by Phazon and, like the Elite and Omega Pirates, wields a massive energy cannon on its shoulder. All three of these can absorb your Charge Beams and unleash a shockwave attack, but sporadically prove vulnerable to your Super Missiles; the Omega Pirate variant also sports a cloaking ability, plasma cannons, and limited regenerative capabilities, but all three are surprisingly easy to take down thanks to you being able to target their cannons with your thermal vision. In comparison, their leader, Meta Ridley, is quite the foe; after collecting twelve Chozo Artifacts, you’ll engage in an intense battle with Ridley that sees him flying overheard and far out of range, raining fireballs and breathing fire at you and charging at you to deal massive damage. You can take cover behind the stone columns, but Meta Ridley’s ranged and melee attacks will destroy these, and the only way to damage him is to fire Super Missiles right before he unleashes his flame breath. A huge hurdle here is your ammo; if you run out of missiles, your primary charge beams will only chip away at Meta Ridley’s health bar, so it definitely pays to upgrade your energy and maximum ammo.

Metroid Prime is an aggressive, tricky final boss who will have you constantly on edge.

This is also true of the game’s final boss, the titular Metroid Prime. Before you can even reach this spider-like grotesque, you’ll have to endure an aggravating obstacle course through lava and caustic Phazon, dodging Metroids and hopping to platforms and magnetic rails with only one save station right at the start of the endurance round. Metroid Prime is fought in two phases; in the first, it is protected by a hard outer shell that sporadically cycles between different colours, meaning you’ll have to quickly switch your weapons to deal damage. Again, your charged beams won’t do much so you’ll be relying on your Super Missiles and more powerful attacks like the Wavebuster and Flamethrower but, luckily, Metroid Prime’s projectiles can be destroyed to replenish these (and, occasionally, your health). Metroid Prime is a hell of a challenge, drawing you in with a tractor beam, raining explosive plasma, firing a sustained, powerful laser, spitting toxic balls, and scuttling at you, meaning your only way to avoid damage is to use the clunky dodge move and Morph Ball. After battling it down several layers to the planet’s core, it’s outer shell will shatter for the second phase, exposing Metroid Prime’s luminous, Lovecraftian, octopus-like true form. In this state, it charges up a shockwave attack that can be tricky to jump over and spawns various Metroids to distract you. It also cycles through different stages of invisibility depending on which visor you have, meaning you need to frantically change your vision mode to find it, though it’ll remain completely immune to your attacks until it starts leaking Phazon. You can temporarily use these pools to enter “Hyper Mode”, allowing you to finally deal some damage, but you’ll need to repeat this process a few times to finally end it, which can be an aggravating task thanks to the Metroids, the great range of attacks, and the clunkiness of switching between your vision modes.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As mentioned, Samus can replenish her health and ammo by destroying enemies and finding Save and Mission Stations; her maximum health and ammo can also be enhanced with various hidden upgrades so it pays to explore, cycle through your vision modes, and blast open columns and rocks to see what you can find. Samus starts out with a regular arm cannon that’s serviceable enough but soon gains the Wave, Ice, and (eventually) the Plasma Cannon; these fire bursts of electrical, ice, and fire energy that are crucial for solving later puzzles, opening doors, and defeating enemies but I found it annoying switching between them using a button combination. Similarly, Samus’s visor can be tricky to cycle between, though it does allow you to navigate pitch-black areas and locate hidden platforms and such. Samus’s Morph Ball also gets upgraded to allow her to drop bombs, boost along, and drop limited Power Bombs for greater damage; her grapple beam lets her swing across gaps; and her various suit upgrades allow her to withstand intense heat (though not lava) and no longer be damaged by Phazon deposits, changing her appearance and giving her greater range of movement. As you explore, it pays to scan everything in sight to expand upon the game’s lore and learn secrets, and you’ll even uncover optional upgrades like the Wavebuster and Flamethrower this way. Sadly, there’s no way to pilot or utilises Samus’s ship, but it does fully replenish your health and ammo so it’s worth returning to when you get the chance.

Additional Features:
Tallon IV is a sprawling, interconnected landscape with many secrets to find; many of these increase your maximum health and ammo or award you with upgrades to your arsenal, while others hide Chozo Artifacts. There are twelve to find and you’ll need to locate them all to reach the final section of the game, which is a bit annoying as it unnecessarily pads the game out and basically forces you to use a guide since the hints given are quite obtuse. Finally, you’re encouraged to scan everything in sight; the more you scan, the more lore you unlock, and the more extras are accessible from the main menu, including music tracks, concept art, and character models for both the original and Remastered version of the game. Beating the game on any difficulty setting unlocks “Hard” mode; it’s recommended that you make a copy of your save file ahead of venturing into the final area, though, as trying to start a new game on “Hard” mode will erase your existing save file. Finally, you’re awarded with a different ending, and a different view of Samus in her suit, depending on how fast you beat the game and how close to 100% completion you are when you defeat Metroid Prime.

The Summary:
I was very anxious heading into Metroid Prime Remastered; I always am when tackling an FPS as I don’t like being shot in the back, and especially when taking on a Metroidvania title, but I’d heard nothing but good things about the game (and the entire trilogy) so it was exciting to play this enhanced version on the Nintendo Switch. Technically speaking, Metroid Prime Remastered delivered; the game is beautiful, the locations detailed and varied, ever-changing and interactive, and I had fun blasting enemies, exploring, and upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities. The bosses, especially, were a highlight, being big and monstrous and asking more of you than simply blasting away, and it was amazing seeing how well the developers took the gameplay and mechanics of Super Metroid and translated it into a 3D first-person shooter. Unfortunately, I quickly grew annoyed with the backtracking; the locations might be amazing, but it gets aggravating having to revisit them time and again and being forced to rely on a guide. A fast travel system allowing you to teleport between Save Stations would’ve been greatly appreciated here as it was very frustrating playing long sections of the game or ploughing through lava to reach a save point. I was also annoyed by the vision and weapon selection system, which proved unintuitive and clunky at times, making the colour-coded combat a chore in the endgame sections. It was equally irritating having to scan everything around you to unlock extras, a gameplay mechanic that cropped up all-too-often around this era, and first-person platforming will always be the bane of my life. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy here; I managed a good 70% of the game before I required a guide and had a lot of fun blasting enemies and exploring, but there’s definite room for improvement here; thankfully, I enjoyed enough of Metroid Prime Remastered to be motivated to try out the sequels and see how the gameplay was refined, if at all.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to the remaster of Metroid Prime? Did you enjoy the technical enhancements on offer? Were you impressed by the franchise’s transition to 3D or were you also annoyed by some of the mechanics on offer here? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favourite? Did you ever hit 100% completion on the game? Which of the Metroid Prime games is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid content across the site.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Super Metroid (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K6 Comments

January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January.

Released: 5 September 2019
Originally Released: 19 March 1994
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

The Background:
In August 1986, Nintendo fans were introduced to Samus Aran, the bad-ass bounty hunter protagonist of the Metroid series (Various, 1986 to present). Well-received upon release for its challenging gameplay and now heralded as one of the greatest games ever made, Metroid helped popularise an entire sub-genre of gaming; “Metroidvania” titles became known for being action-orientated games that emphasised exploration and the acquisition of power-ups to progress. Metroid was followed by the Game Boy-exclusive Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo R&D1, 1991), which was both my first experience of the franchise and a largely divisive title that nonetheless directly influenced, at least narratively, the franchise’s jump to Nintendo’s ground-breaking 16-bit console. Producer Gunpei Yokoi and much of the original team returned for Super Metroid, which took two years to develop and took advantage of the SNES’s greater processing power to allow Samus to fire in all directions and explore a far larger, interconnected environment with a detailed map system. This also allowed the team to pull off more diverse visual effects, including more cinematic cutscenes that allowed them to pay greater homage to the Alien franchise (Various, 1979 to present), alongside a team of young, hungry developers. The result was a game met with universal critical acclaim; despite disappointing sales in the United States due to a poorly-timed release, Super Metroid was lauded for its impressive visuals, tight gameplay, and balancing combat with exploration and a steep challenge. A quintessential title in any SNES library, Super Metroid was accompanied by a Nintendo Power comic and ported to numerous consoles, including the Nintendo Switch Online service soon after it launched, allowing new generations of gamers (and myself) to experience it for the first time.

The Plot:
After a Metroid larva is stolen from the Ceres space colony by the monstrous Ridley, bounty hunter Samus Aran returns to the planet Zebes to retrieve the sample and exterminate Ridley and his Space Pirates once and for all!

Gameplay:
Super Metroid is a 2D action-adventure game in which the player once again assumes the role of Samus Aran, a highly capable bounty hunter, and sets off on a quest full of jumping, running, and backtracking (oh, so much backtracking) in order to eradicate the Space Pirates. Essentially, it’s a remake of Metroid in very much the same way Super Castlevania IV (Konami, 1991) is a remake of Castlevania (ibid, 1986); it takes many of the same mechanics, locations, and bosses of the first game and gives them a whole new, super sexy 16-bit makeover. Right away, the player can select between English and Japanese text and has access to three save files (though the Nintendo Switch’s save states and rewind functions negate a lot of this); the player can also customise the game’s controls and choose to turn Samus’s new “Moonwalk” ability (where she effortlessly slides backwards while shooting forwards) on or off. By default, Samus shoots her currently-equipped shot with X, jumps with A (the button can be held for a longer and higher jump), dashes ahead by holding B, and can switch weapons with the ‘Select’ button. Items can be cancelled with Y (though I found no use for this) and Samus can aim diagonally up and down using the L and R triggers. I found the default controls a little clunky so I swapped the jump to B, the shot to Y, and the dash to A, and even then I sometimes still got a little confused about whether I was shooting or jumping and found it annoying that there wasn’t an easier way to cycle between Samus’s different ammo.

Explore and upgrade Samus’s arsenal and skills to reach new areas.

Samus is gifted with infinite ammo for her basic arm cannon; the player can hold down the fire button for a rapid shot, but this later gets swapped out for a charged attack. However, the player can further customise Samus from the pause menu; here, you can equip and unequip the various weapon and armour power-ups Samus obtains, though I preferred to keep them equipped at all times. Unlike the previous games, a small, grid-based map appears onscreen at all times which makes exploration so much easier this time around. Using the pause menu, you can view the full map and better figure out your route, though you’ll need to access map terminals to unlock each location’s map. Pressing down on the control stick or directional buttons will see Samus curl up into a Morph Ball when she acquires the relevant power-up; this allows her to squeeze through small gaps and access areas that aren’t readily apparently. It’s worth shooting, placing bombs, and jumping to find hidden areas and alternative routes, too; the game gets very big and complicated very quickly so any shortcuts or additional resources are always a welcome bonus. Planet Zebes is a veritable maze of doors that must be shot open; they’re colour-coded so you always know which weapon to switch to, but you’ll also be asked to perform a fair amount of horizontal and vertical jumping. While Samus’s later techniques help with this, her wall jumping ability is absolutely nerfed; rather than simply jumping at a wall and hitting jump again, you need to awkwardly hold back and press jump with frame-perfect timing to actually execute the move, which can be needlessly frustrating at times.

Although Samus controls well, her wall jumping and vertical abilities can be frustrating.

Similarly, Samus later acquires the Space Jump power-up; with perfect timing, this allows her to infinitely jump, cross wider gaps and reach higher areas, but the timing required is just too finnicky and random at times (it would’ve been so much easier to just keep hitting jump for a sustained effect). To make matters worse, enemies again respawn when you leave the screen; sometimes, smaller enemies will constantly spawn in certain screens, allowing you to “farm” health and ammo. You’ll also sometimes need to hop into the hands of a Chozo Statue while in your Morph Ball form to clear the path and you’ll find numerous helpful areas where you can catch your breath; save rooms, restore points to refill your health and ammo, and Chozo Statues gifting either new gear or upgrades to your existing equipment, total health, and total ammo. It’s well worth hunting these down as you’ll need your more powerful weapons to defeat the game’s bosses and more formidable enemies; both drop health and ammo when defeated but things are much easier if your maximum level is increased. Although well-equipped, Samus struggles against hazards like water, lava, acid and spike pits; suit upgrades allow her to negate some of these, and her Grapple Beam allows her to swing over hazards but, again, the timing required can be difficult to master. Super Metroid starts out fairly linear but you very quickly become restricted in where you can go, necessitating the acquisition of new power-ups; the more you obtain, the more you’ll need to remember cervices, destructible walls, and unreachable areas. You’ll be constantly backtracking, searching for new paths to the main four bosses, which may mean you’re over or under-equipped for certain encounters. Thankfully, the game is usually quite helpful and won’t leave you trapped in a room because you don’t have the High Jump Boots, but it can be a pain trying to figure out where you need to go and what you need to do.

Graphics and Sound:  
As a SEGA kid, I’ve long been envious of Super Metroid; for me, it’s one of the premier SNES titles and its visual appeal is a huge part of that. In fact, I admit that I was more excited to experience the game than I was to play it because of the difficulty involved in the constant exploration and the frustration of having to use a guide to find my way. Obviously, the game is a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors; Samus had never looked more colourful and lively before (and wouldn’t for many years aftwards), despite lacking much in the way of idle animations. She moves with a fluid grace that is both clunky when it needs to be and slick when she’s showing off her new abilities, spinning and curling and Moonwalking about as she blasts apart Space Pirates. The game’s story is told through text and simple to understand, cinematic cutscenes that utilise both the in-game graphics and a sprinkling of “Mode 7” for extra flair, with much of the ambiance and visual style influenced by the classic sci-fi action/horror Aliens (Cameron, 1986). Space colony Ceres and some levels of Zebes featured dead bodies scattered about, flickering lights at times, and rising bodies of water of varying danger, while the surface is rocked by a constant storm of acid rain not unlike the surface of LV-426.

The game is visually stunning, with a fantastic soundtrack and a strong aesthetic appeal.

While the game’s action is confined to Zebes, Super Metroid isn’t short on visual variety; this is used somewhat sparingly, and to great effect, so the rocky vegetation of Brinstar contrasts nicely with the sunken depths of Maridia and the lava-infested Norfair despite each location sharing similar layouts. Generally, Samus travels left to right from room to room but you’ll also be met by long vertical corridors and have to blast through the environment to progress. It’s not always clear which weapons or abilities you need to progress but there are some visual hints; blasting blocks or walls can reveal the symbol of certain weapons or arrows, indicating how to blow them open or to use your dash, or helpful little gremlins or dangerous digging machines can open new paths. Samus will discover a derelict ship that is plunged into darkness and lifeless until she restores the power; she can also break open glass tubes to further explore the depths of Maridia, blast and pass through certain blocks to drop into hidden areas, and even sink into sand to find new rooms. While there’s not always a lot happening onscreen, this allows each area to stand out all the more and the game to perform consistently, and each location expands and changes with your increased abilities, allowing you to make jumps you couldn’t before to navigate past hazards more effectively. The game also sounds fantastic; there’s a beautiful balance between silence, ominous ambient sounds, creepy tunes, and bolder, more blood-pumping music. Super Metroid ramps up the tension and adrenaline with its boss themes, especially when fighting Ridley and Draygon (who both sport Anguirus’ signature cry). Finally, the game is quite graphic at times; there’s the aforementioned dead bodies, Samus explodes in a similar fashion to Mega Man when killed, and Crocomire’s flesh melts from its bones upon being forced into a lava pit!

Enemies and Bosses:
Samus must blast her way through a slew of alien baddies to win the day, with many of them being variations of the standard, mantis-like Space Pirates. These insectoid aliens clamber on walls, march along the floor, and even hop overhead, firing jagged projectiles and often shielding themselves from your attacks with their claws, necessitating a weapon upgrade or a more convoluted attack pattern. Smaller enemies also pepper the game’s environments, ranging from wasp-like Zebbos, crab-like Scisers, and bat-like Skree, all of which are easy prey for you to farm some resources. Rippers can be temporarily frozen to act as platforms, Kilhunters will buzz about on their insectile wings, spiked Geemers slither about on small platforms, clunky Workrobots stamp about shrugging off your beams, and Evirs emerge from acid to fire projectiles at you. Enemies like the Beetoms and Metroids are a real headache as they can shrug off your regular shot and will latch onto you to drain your health, while Namihes and Funes spit fireballs from walls and guys like the Alcoon and Oum tend to burst out of nowhere for a surprise attack!

Samus faces some mammoth, formidable bosses, including long-standing nemesis Ridley.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are eleven bosses to battle here, with a couple being very similar battles fought in different circumstances. You’ll encounter Samus’s archenemy, Ridley, early on; confined to an enclosed arena, Ridley will swoop at you, spit fireballs, and swipe with his Xenomorph Queen-like tail, but you don’t actually need to defeat him here, just survive until he flies off with the Metroid larva. Ridley, returns, far more formidable, as the penultimate boss; this time, you’re confined to a small platform with health-sapping lava underneath and Ridley hides high above, swooping in to grab and squeeze the life out of you. He also breathes fire and becomes extremely aggressive as the fight goes on, though he is vulnerable to all of your weapons, with the charged Plasma Beam and Super Missiles being the most effective, but he’s certainly no pushover even with all your upgrades. Similarly, you’ll battle two malevolent Torizo Statues, one just after acquiring the Morph Bomb and one later on. You’ll need to make use of the Morph Ball in the first encounter to dodge its projectiles; both stomp about to smash into you and swipe with their claws, but the golden one will sidestep missiles and catch and toss your own Super Missiles back at you and was, honestly, one of the toughest bosses in the game for me! Another early boss encounter is against the Spore Spawn, a gigantic, genetically-engineered plant that bobs about, launching itself at Samus and causing small spores to rain across the screen. These can be blasted for ammo and health, which you’ll need as this alien plant can only be defeated by shooting its central core, which only opens up for a brief window. Defeating it earns Samus the Super Missile power-up and sees the environment wither and decay.

The game’s bosses are monstrous and require a bit of strategy on your part to best.

The first major boss of the game is against Kraid, now much bigger and even more imposing than before (though a smaller version is again encountered beforehand). Now taking up a good chunk of the screen, with the bottom littered with spikes, Kraid lunges at you, spits rocks, and causes boulders to rain from above. Kraid’s only weak spot is his eyes and, when you’ve dished out enough damage, he raises up and you need to make use of small platforms to avoid his projectiles and fire at his head whenever he roars. In the lava-soaked depths of Norfair, you’ll battle the all-but-invincible Crocomire; immune to all of your attacks, you need to force Crocomire   into a lava pit before it skewers you on a wall of spikes! Watch for its projectiles and its skeletal remains, which will burst through said wall in a last gasp attack! Whilst exploring the wrecked ship, you’ll be attacked by ghost-like aliens and eventually face off against their master, Phantoon, a giant, squid-like alien wraith that hovers around the room dropping blue flames, though you can dispense them with your shot to grab some resources. This guy also disappears and reappears about the arena and can only be damaged by shooting at its single, ugly eye, though neither it nor the worm-like Botwoon should cause you too much trouble if you keep your beam charged and have plenty of missiles on hand.

After besting her minions, Samus must do battle with the fearsome Mother Brain!

The same can’t be said of Draygon, which acts as something of a teaser for the later Ridley fight. Draygon will swoop down and grab you, slamming you against the wall if you’re not careful, requiring a unique strategy beyond just dodging and shooting. If you let it grab you, you can shoot your Grapple Beam at an electrified wall panel; you’ll take damage, but you’ll also toast Draygon in the process, leaving her insectoid children to mourn her corpse. I wouldn’t underestimate the Silver Space Pirates, either; this duo is fought in Ridley’s lair and are only vulnerable when they flash gold, making them an exercise in frustration as they flip and slice and kick to whittle you down. Once you’ve defeated the main bosses, you’ll be able to access Tourian, a metallic landscape where Metroids wander freely. Here, you’ll encounter the titular Super Metroid, which proves invulnerable and will drain your health to almost nothing before fleeing. Eventually, you’ll battle Mother Brain once more; like before, this massive brain sits in a jar and is protected by laser walls, a constant spread of projectiles, and a lava floor. Once you shatter her protective casing, she rears up into this monstrous bipedal monstrosity that stomps about in a claustrophobic area, spitting explosive breath and blasting you with laser beams from her eyes! When you deal enough damage, she’ll decimate you with an unavoidable rainbow laser; luckily the Super Metroid comes to your aid, sacrificing itself to restore your health and gift the Hyper Beam, which cuts down Mother Brain. Once she’s defeated, the whole planet crumbles around you and you have three minutes to escape to the surface, whereupon you’ll be granted a special image of Samus depending on how well you played.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Samus starts with ninety-nine units of energy and her regular arm cannon but it’s not long before you’re increasing her exploration abilities with the Morph Ball and upping her arsenal with the missile and Super Missile, which both deal far greater damage than her regular shot, and increasing her maximum energy with the fourteen Energy Tanks. You can also find four Reserve Tanks to have some health restored after death, can use the X-Ray Scope to search for these, and hidden paths, in the environment, and grab the Speed Booster to run through walls and enemies alike and the Grapple Beam to latch on to overhead blocks and certain walls (if you can get to grips with the controls). In addition to finding numerous energy recharge stations, you can also fully refill your ammo at similar stations, usually located near a save room, and you’ll find loads of power-ups to increase your maximum ammo for each bomb. Samus can also upgrade her suit to allow her to freely move underwater, increase her defence, and allow her to resist certain types of lava, all of which is essentially for exploring the entirety of Zebes, Samus’s main cannon can also be upgraded to allow her to charge a more powerful attack that’s great for inflicting big damage against bosses, temporarily freezes enemies to create extra platforms, and allows her to fire three beams at once that go through walls and enemies alike. You’ll also acquire the ability to drop balls when morphed (clearing obstructions in tighter spaces and boosting you over small ledges), a screen clearing Power Bomb, and the Spring Ball that lets you jump while morphed. The High Jump boots increase your jump height, the aforementioned Space Jump allows you to clunkily continuously jump, and the Screw Attack adds an electrical crackle to your jump spin to damage enemies.

Additional Features:
Upon finishing Super Metroid, you’re given a percentage showing how many of the game’s secrets you found. You can freely load up your save file to backtrack and hunt down anything you missed if you like, but the game’s endings are based on how much time you took not how much you found. You’ll only get to see Samus in her skin-tight under garments if you beat the game in under three hours; playing between three and ten will see her remove her helmet, and playing for more than ten hours sees her preserve her modesty behind her suit and you settling for a thumbs-up. In the final escape sequence, you apparently have the option of saving the trapped Dachoras and Etecoons, though I didn’t notice them in my playthrough and it appears to add nothing to the ending but personal pride. This version of the game naturally allows you to create a save state at any time and make use of the Nintendo Switch’s rewind function, which is perfect for the game’s many aggravating sections, and you can also take advantage of a special save state version of the game that lets you skip right to the end with all of Samus’s upgrades.

The Summary:
Of all the Metroid games I’ve played, I’ve played Super Metroid the most but I never managed to finish it before this playthrough. The game is absolutely gorgeous, with a visual appeal that’s matched by its soundtrack and massive, action-packed bosses and the appeal of its main character. However, the large-scale nature of the game and the copious backtracking were always intimidating for me as I really didn’t want to have to keep referring to a guide; luckily, I was able to get through Super Metroid without too much help in this regard, but it can be frustrating when you seem to have exhausted all your options only to have missed a destructible block tucked away. While Super Metroid is impressively put together, with some fantastic detail, variety, and challenge on offer, playing the game from start to finish has made me see flaws in the game’s controls; wall jumping is absolutely atrocious and techniques like the Space Jump are needlessly finicky, ruining a lot of the platforming sections and making me wonder how anyone ever managed to succeed at the game without the aid of save states. The bosses are equally challenging, even when Samus is fully armed and powered up, making for a tough but ultimately very rewarding gameplay experience. Had these control issues been tweaked to be simple button presses, it would’ve been a perfect five out of five but Super Metroid is still one of the quintessential SNES titles and is well worth investing your time and patience.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Super Metroid? Would you agree that it’s one of the titles that defined the SNES era of gaming? Did you struggle with the controls at all and what did you think to the large, inter-connected game world? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favourite? What did you think to the graphical upgrade and the level of detail on offer? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other sci-fi content across the site.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K6 Comments

January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January.

Released: February 2023
Originally Released: November 1991
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
Brain-blasting bounty hunter Samus Aran shocked the gaming world when she was revealed to be a woman in the challenging Nintendo classic, Metroid (Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems, 1986). Although highly praised and crucial to the popularisation of the “Metroidvania” sub-genre, Metroid’s sequel came not on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) like Nintendo’s other franchise characters, but on their revolutionary (and incredibly popular) handheld system, the Game Boy. Many of Metroid’s developers returned for the sequel, which separated itself from other Game Boy titles with graphics comparable to its 8-bit counterparts and expanding upon Samus’s abilities and narrative in ways that would influence future games. Not only was Metroid II my first experience of the franchise, but it also included a unique palette for when played on the Game Boy Color, though it largely divided critics upon release. Reviews praised the quality of life improvements and expansion upon the gameplay of its predecessor, while also criticising the music and limitations of the Game Boy hardware. Yet, Metroid II endured; a fangame remake was scuppered by Nintendo prior to them remaking the game for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, with Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD) being largely well received. The original version of the game also found a home on Nintendo’s online services, including this Nintendo Switch Online version, to help keep this cult classic alive for new gamers.

The Plot:
Following her encounter with the Metroids, bounty hunter Samus Aran is sent to the Metroid home world, SR388, to destroy the entire species.

Gameplay:
Metroid II: Return of Samus is a run-and-gun adventure game with an emphasis on exploring the various alien landscapes of SR388, upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities, and hunting down forty Metroid variants to curb the malicious species. Players once again assume the role of the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, who sports the same abilities from the first game and more, most notably the ability to shoot upwards and while crouching, simple additions that make blasting aliens and destructible blocks so much easier. You’re given three save files to play with, which can be switched to or deleted from the main menu, though there are no options to reconfigure any game settings, like the controls or difficulty. However, since it was originally a Game Boy title, you’ll only make use of two buttons during gameplay: A lets you jump (and you can hold it to jump a little higher) and B lets you shoot (and you can hold it to continually fire at foes). Samus will compress into a spherical Morph Ball if you press down on the directional pad twice, and you can switch from her infinite gun arm to her finite supply of missiles by pressing the – button. The + button pauses the game, but you again won’t find a map screen, here, meaning exploration is still a chore, despite Metroid II being a slightly more forgiving and straightforward title.

Run, shoot, and roll your way through a confusing alien world hunting Metroids.

Unlike in the last game, players can make use of save stations to save their progress and sporadic refill pods for their health and ammunition, reducing how often you’ll blast away at enemies to farm for resources. As before, enemies will respawn whenever you enter an area, though this time around to you must alter the environment, clearing lava and other hazards so you can progress further. Puzzle solving isn’t really a thing in Metroid II; the closest you get are blasting certain doors with your missiles to open them and navigating deep chasms, some of which are somewhat maze-like and have hidden holes that drop you to lower levels, though you’ll sometimes have to use Samus’s Bomb power-up to blast away boulders. This game debuts the Spider Ball, which allows Samus to slowly crawl up walls and ceilings, and you’ll be using this a lot to scale cliffs and ruins, especially as the game progresses. However, your primary objective is to hunt down the forty Metroid variants hidden around SR388; you can keep track of how many remain using the game’s limited heads-up display, but you won’t be given any hints or direction about where to find them beyond hitting dead ends until you’ve acquired new power-ups. Occasionally, Samus will dive into water or must traverse sticky goop; spikes and lava pits are commonplace, as are destructible elements like weeds and sandstone, and you’ll also have to navigate a pitch-black area later in the game that’s incredibly frustrating as there’s no way to light your path. Mostly, though, you’ll be exploring long corridors, deep shafts, and crawling up walls and through narrow tunnels, blasting enemies and hoping the path leads to an upgrade or another Metroid.

Graphics and Sound:
Releasing a couple of years after the debut of the Game Boy, Metroid II is quite a bland looking game, especially as far as the backgrounds are concerned. Backgrounds are largely completely blank, either white, black, or that weird green colour the Game Boy favoured, with very little in the way of foreground details, for the most part. Some areas are the exception to this rule, of course, with an abundance of overgrown stone ruins, rocky caves, and biomechanical areas peppered throughout the game so you know when you’ve transitioned from what could loosely be called the overworld to an area of some significance. Many areas contain lethal lava, dank water, or gloopy muck that restricts your movements but are largely indistinguishable from each other; sometimes the rocks look more like peanuts, sometimes they’re metallic, and sometimes they’re almost like bubbles, but the game becomes disappointingly and confusingly uniform very quickly. Caverns, ruins, and mechanical trappings signpost areas containing Metroids and power-ups, but it’s easy to think you’ve accidentally backtracked as SR388 isn’t exactly divided into elemental sections. Having the overworld be rocky and the main sections be distinctly water-, metal-, botanical-, or lava-themed would’ve helped to distinguish them but, as is, there’s only a handful of areas that impress when it comes to their aesthetics. While this is commonplace on the Game Boy, it’s not as if there weren’t games that were able to do a little more with the hardware, so it’s pretty disappointing here, especially as the game lacks a map.

As impressive as many of the sprites are, the backgrounds, locations, and music suffer.

On the plus side, Samus looks great, far better than she did on the NES and showcasing a surprising level of detail. While she doesn’t have any idle poses, her suit changes to reflect her upgrades and she has more poses to assume thanks to her expanded moveset. In addition to her iconic ship sat in the opening section, you’ll always know when a Metroid is nearby by the presence of a hatched Metroid egg, there are a couple of cutscenes showing the Metroids evolving into new, more powerful forms, the Chozo Statues are nice and big (with one even being destroyed), and there are usually some fun hidden paths to take towards goodies. Sadly, the music isn’t all that impressive, aiming for claustrophobic and ominous but being limited by the Game Boy hardware. However, the biggest disappointment for me was the complete lack of any story; there’s no story text, the title screen is incredibly bland, there’s no introductory cutscene, and the game just…ends, albeit with an impressive large sprite of Samus running alongside the credits that changes depending on how fast you beat the game.

Enemies and Bosses:
In addition to the indigenous Metroid population, SR388 is home to a whole host of alien lifeforms, from bug-like creatures to robotic forces and defences that I have assume were left behind by the Space Pirates. All of these will respawn after you exit an area and, while most can be defeated in one or two shots, others will be almost invulnerable until you acquire new power-ups or continually spawn and chase after you to bash you into spikes or lava. We’ve got floating slug-like enemies, laser turrets, hopping toad-like creatures, tiny bugs that drop from ceilings, weird flying proboscis-type things that drop you towards hazards, bat-like drones, and slug-like fish that slither around platforms. Speaking of which, the bone-armoured Motos resist your blaster and can only be taken out from behind or with the Screw Attack (though they often drop larger health orbs); they’re often found alongside Ramulken, who are similarly armoured but jump about the place, though most enemies can simply be blasted or outright avoided, especially if you’re close to a health point. The only boss-type enemy you’ll encounter that isn’t a Metroid variant is the armadillo-like Arachnus, which disguises itself as a Chozo Sphere and not only spits projectiles at you but completely resists your attacks when rolled up. However, it’s vulnerable to your bombs, so you can lay a bunch of those to take it out and pry the Spring Ball from its remains.

You’ll need plenty of missiles (and patience) to snuff out the various monstrous Metroids.

As in many Metroid games, the titular, jellyfish-like aliens will appear near the end of the game, latching onto you and draining your health and only being vulnerable when frozen by the Ice Beam and peppered with missiles. The forty other Metroids you battle in several mini boss encounters are evolved Metroids that take on an insectile, ant- or wasp-like form that allows them to fly. The most common of these are the “Alpha” variant, which are largely harmless and simply float about the place, meaning the “Gamma” variant is quite the sharp difficulty curve with its more monstrous appearance and lightning bolt appendages. They’re a joy compared to the “Zeta” Metroids, though, which frustratingly badger you from behind, spit fireballs, and can only be damaged when blasted in the face with missiles. Similarly, while the “Omega” Metroids are far slower, they spit electrical sparks that produce splash damage and float about the place, making them a difficult target despite their size. Each of these may also be fought in enclosed arenas, above spikes or lava, within sandstone, or in areas with small platforms or blocks to make avoiding damage even more troublesome. Once you’ve destroyed thirty-nine of them, nine more regular Metroids need to be dispatched before you face off with their monstrous, dragon-like queen. While technically a simple battle, requiring only that you use the Screw Attack to escape damage and blast the queen with missiles (you can even Morph Ball to safety to refill your health and ammo using a convenient tunnel), this is a laborious and dull fight thanks to the restricted area, the aggressiveness of the queen, and the fact that you need to hit her with 100 missiles! Apparently, there’s a way to Morph Ball into her mouth and lay a bunch of bombs in her, but I couldn’t manage that so it was a lot of tedious evading, blasting (missing), and rewinding when I took too much damage.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As ever, enemies will drop health orbs and missiles to refuel you but, this time around, you can also find larger, dedicated, and inexhaustible refuel stations to top these up in a pinch, and they’re not always hidden away either. Similarly, you can find Energy and Missile Tanks to expand your health bar and maximum ammo (though these are often hidden away or at the end of winding tunnels). As is often (if not always) the case, Samus mysteriously loses all the upgrades she got in the last game and needs to reacquire them from Chozo Statues hidden throughout SR388. You can upgrade her arm cannon to the Wave Beam (which increases accuracy), the Ice Beam (which temporarily freezes enemies), the Spazer Laser Beam (which fires a triple shot), and the Plasma Beam (the most powerful, which passes through objects and enemies), and will even get the chance to switch back to them at one point (with the Ice Beam being required for the final section). Samus’s jump can be extended with the High Jump Boots before allowing her to reach higher, further areas (through carefully timed taps of A) with the Space Jump, before becoming an offensive move with the iconic Screw Attack. Her Morph Ball can also be upgraded to drop bombs, bounce, and cling to walls, which, while slow, is basically a requirement in some areas.

Additional Features:
Sadly, there’s not much to Metroid II. Like I said, there are Energy and Missile Tanks to find that you could conceivably miss but that’s about it. The only reason you’d replay the game beyond enjoying wandering around a confusing handheld landscape is to try and beat the game in under three hours so you’ll be treated to seeing Samus in a bikini; otherwise, there are no bonus or extra features to speak of here. As ever, you can make liberal use of the Nintendo Switch’s rewind and save state features to make the game a lot easier, though it’s still a challenge at times.

The Summary:
I’m glad I finally played through Metroid II: Return of Samus; when I was a kid, I had the original cartridge for my Game Boy, but I remember getting stuck fairly soon into the game. Low and behold, I hit the same dead end here and quickly became reliant upon an online guide, which is not my preferred way of playing any game. Sadly, it’s basically required here as there’s no map system, which is weird as I definitely think a rudimentary map could’ve been inserted whenever you pause the game. Ultimately, this was a tough one for me; I liked how much the gameplay mechanics of the original were improved, even if only in basic ways, but I don’t think this kind of game works on the Game Boy; Metroid is all about exploration and backtracking and, while Metroid II is a bit more linear than others in the series, it still requires more than the Game Boy is capable of delivering. Yes, the sprite work looks good, but every area is too constricted and repetitive to stand out like they would on even the NES and it gets a bit boring facing the same batch of Metroids over and over again. There is a lot to like here, with some fun encounters and areas and the thrill of upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities, but I think Metroid II was trying to be a little too ambitious for the Game Boy. I’m tempted to see what the Nintendo 3DS remake is like to compare it but, sadly, it’s ridiculously expensive to get hold off so I’m left with this paradoxically technically impressive and technically limited entry in the series that felt too much like a chore to play through for mee to properly enjoy.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Are you a fan of Metroid II: Return of Samus? Did you own it on the Game Boy and, if so, how did you cope without a guide or the rewind features? Were you impressed with Samus’s new abilities and combat options? What did you think to the more linear mission and Metroid-hunting gameplay? If you’ve played the Nintendo 3DS remake, how does it compare to the original? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid reviews.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K7 Comments

January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January.

Released: 14 November 2018
Originally Released: 6 August 1986
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: GameBoy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
It’s probably fair to say that, compared to Nintendo’s other heavy-hitters like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda (Various, 1986 to present), the Metroid franchise (Various, 1986 to present) is maybe one of the company’s more under-rated properties. I actually have had very little experience with the series outside of the Super Smash Bros. series (Various, 1999 to 2018) and brief experiences with Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo R&D1, 1991) and Super Metroid (Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems, 1994), though this is mainly due to growing up as a SEGA guy. Metroid came about after Nintendo had seen success with their early titles for their industry-saving console, the NES. Producer Gunpei Yokoi and directors Satoru Okada and Masao Yamamoto collaborated on the title, which was heavily influenced by Alien (Scott, 1979). The developers sought to create an action-orientated game in which power-ups would be not only permanent, but necessary to completion, and with a strong emphasis on non-linear exploration. Metroid ended up being so successful in this regard that it, and Castlevania (Konami, 1986), spawned an entire videogame subgenre dubbed “Metroidvania”. Metroid was well-received upon release; reviews praised its challenging gameplay and it has since been recognised as one of the greatest games ever made. Metroid would spawn a number of sequels and spin-offs, and was ported to many subsequent Nintendo consoles either as an unlockable bonus or as a full-blown remake. Considering how popular and influential the series, and this first game, have become over the years, it’s no surprise that Metroid was included in the Nintendo Switch Online service soon after it launched, which also allowed me the chance to play it for the first time.

The Plot:
Bounty hunter Samus Aran journeys to the planet Zebes to retrieve the parasitic Metroid organisms from the malicious Space Pirates, who plan to replicate the Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then use them as biological weapons in their mad plot for galactic conquest.

Gameplay:
Metroid is a 2D, sidescrolling, action/platformer with a strong emphasis on run-and-gun action, horizontal and vertical jumps, backtracking, and exploration. Players take on the role of Samus Aran, an armoured bounty hunter with a blaster for an arm, and must explore the planet Zebes, which is comprised of five relatively distinct areas all joined together in a huge game map. Samus begins the game able to shoot directly ahead or above and to jump, and you’ll quickly find that ground-based enemies are beyond your ability to destroy in the early going as Samus can’t shoot downwards or defeat enemies by jumping on them. You’ll also, literally, run face-first into a wall if you give into your gamer’s instinct and head to the right; instead, you should go left from the starting area, where you’ll find your first Chozo Statue and your first power-up, the Morph Ball, which lets you curl up into a ball by pressing down and thus slip into small tunnels and areas. From there, the sheer scope of your mission quickly becomes very daunting; not only do enemies respawn when you leave the immediate area (not the immediate screen, as you can scroll to the left and then go back to the right and your enemies will be back) but you’re missing the most crucial aspect a game like this needs: an onscreen map. I have absolutely no idea how gamers managed to play Metroid without this simple convenience, and have heard that they either drew their own maps or consulted magazines at the time just to get an idea of where the hell you’re meant to go. Since you acquire different upgrades along the way that help you access new areas, and a lot of the areas look very similar save for some different colours and flourishes, you’ll need a good memory and a lot of experimentation to figure out where you’re going and what you’re doing.

Explore a large, interconnected map finding upgrades to reach new areas.

Thankfully, you can at least hold down B or X for a rapid fire function and hold A to jump a little higher, and Samus is relatively durable; her health is measured in numerical units, and her default weapon has unlimited ammo, but you will have to deal with some difficult jumps (made all the more frustrating by some horrendous enemy placement and movements) and knockback damage that can send you dropping into lava or spikes, where your health will whittle away to nothing in no time at all. Metroid gives you just one chance to finish the game; if (well, when, really) you die, the game is over and you’re given a ludicrously long password to continue but, thankfully, the Nintendo Switch version allows for both save states and a rewind function if (again…when) you make a mistake. Health and ammo is dropped by enemies and there are numerous points where you can simply stand there, blasting at constantly respawning enemies to farm health or missiles, but take care as enemies can pounce from behind and more spawn in the moment you pick up your item. Your primary goal in Metroid is to find and defeat two bosses to create a bridge that leads to the final area, Tourian, to confront Mother Brain but, to reach these bosses, you’ll need to find new upgrades to open doors or reach new areas with a higher jump, temporary platforms, or dropping down through destructible blocks. Although areas start out pretty simple, it’s not long before you need to blast at stone blocks to create pathways and platforms (though you need to be careful as the blocks will damage you if you’re standing there when they spawn back in), hopping over tiny rocky platforms floating over lava, and dodging past tougher enemies. Luckily, there are no instant death hazards here, but you can easily get trapped in a dangerous position where enemies and hazards drain your health, or you’re left with such little health that you’ll die soon after anyway. All of this means that Metroid is a pretty touch experience, even with the quality of life features offered by the Nintendo Switch; it doesn’t take much for a simple mistake to lead to disaster, enemies can take quite a few hits before being dispatched, and it’s ridiculously easy to get turned around and completely lost. Luckily, there’s no time limit to worry about, and the game is much more enjoyable with a detailed map to help you out.

Graphics and Sound:
Given that it’s an 8-bit title, Metroid is quite the pixelated adventure; Samus, especially, stands out against all of the game’s dark backgrounds thanks to her orange armour but, as you might expect, doesn’t really have many frames of imagination. She ambles along at a decent pace, even able to shoot and run at the same time, but you’ll notice that the game suffers from severe slowdown when too many enemies or items are onscreen at the same time. Each area of Zebes is accompanied by a funky little tune, with the now-recognisable Metroid theme being the catchiest of them, but you won’t encounter any context or story-related text until the final moments of the game, meaning you’ll need the instruction manual to have any idea of what the hell’s going on.

While areas can be distinctive, there are many screens and sections that are confusingly similar.

Planet Zebes is split into five areas: Brinstar, Kraid’s Lair, Norfair, Ridley’s Lair, and Tourian, with each one connected by stone or mechanical tunnels and lifts that you can descend and ascend. Each area has a different colour scheme to help differentiate them a little (blue, green, grey, purple, etc) but they’re also very similar and feature nearly identical tunnels and screens in each area, meaning that it’s very easy to lose track of where you are. Some areas feature cloud platforms, stone columns, lava, bubble or monstrous platforms and ceilings, while others are long vertical shafts you need to make your way up. These long shafts can be safer spaces where you can restock on your supplies, but you’ll also need to make use of your Bomb to blow up blocks and descend downwards to give your Morph Ball a little boost to enter into seemingly impassable walls. While lava pits are best avoided, some are actually fake and lead to new areas; other times, you’ll need to navigate through tubes, avoiding or blowing up enemies and hoping you don’t end up being boiled alive. Little touches like moss, different types of stones or foreground elements, and minor visuals help to make some screens a little more distinct but it’s very easy to get confused as some screens are literally identical but at different points on the map and you’ll no doubt be driven made by the constant beeping when your health is low.

Enemies and Bosses:
Planet Zebes is host to all manner of alien baddies who will hop, swoop, and fly right at you without a second’s hesitation. While some of the smaller, weaker enemies can be destroyed in one shot, others take multiple shots and even the simplest of enemies can cause a major problem as they respawn constantly from all angles and it’s easy to get hit by one (and knocked into lava…) Spiked Zoomers are the easiest and most frequent enemy, though you’ll probably be farming pick-ups from Zebs quite often as well. Skree drop from the ceiling and will explode if you don’t destroy them quickly, Wavers, Rios, Multivolas, and Sidehoppers bounce around the screen erratically, Dragons spit fireballs at you in an arc from lava, and Rippers travel back and forth and make for useful temporary platforms oney you acquire the Ice Beam. In Tourian, you’ll encounter the titular Metroids, bug-like parasites that float around and home in on you to suck your energy away and which can only be destroyed with your limited supply of missiles.

After besting Ridley and Kraid, you’ll face your toughest challenge yet in Mother Brain’s defenses.

Considering the size of its map, Metroid only features three bosses; I assume you can theoretically tackle Kraid and Ridley in whatever order you like (assuming you take the right paths using a guide) but I fought Ridley first. This stubby little purple dragon hops up and down in the middle of the arena shooting projectiles at you. These also form a kind of protective shield that will block your shots, but can be destroyed with your weapons. Ridley doesn’t really need to do much else as he can absorb a huge amount of punishment before finally exploding, and the same can also be said about Kraid. Kraid is a little more formidable; he meanders back and forth across a platform surrounded by acid and constantly fires missiles and throws bladed projectiles at you, all of which you must dodge and shoot through in order to land the necessary multiple hits on the bulbous monster. There’s also a fake version of Kraid hiding in his lair, which will respawn upon defeat, and only by destroying the real Kraid can you complete the bridge and enter the game’s toughest and most unfair area by far. Mother Brain is a stationary brain inside a glass jar but is protected by an intricate and unrelenting arsenal of wall-mounted lasers, bubble-like projectiles, and barriers which you must blast through with your missiles. As if that isn’t bad enough, you’re given precarious platforms to stand on to shoot at her and must battle over a lava pit, constantly dodging and being pummelled by projectiles as you desperately try to fire your missiles at her through the narrowest of openings. Once she’s defeated, you’re then given about 999 in-game seconds to navigate up one final shaft and get to safety before the whole place explodes, making for a heart-poundingly tense and massively frustrating finale to an already challenging game.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Samus will find a wide variety of useful, permanent power-ups to gradually make her journey a little easier. It’s well worth taking the time to explore (or use a map…) to seek these out as you can increase her health by finding Energy Tanks (which will add another block of 99 health units to your total) and increase her maximum supply of missiles up to 255 with Missile Tanks. Since you need missiles to open doors and deal the maximum amount of damage to enemies, and will find yourself absolutely crucified in Tourian without these, these are both well worth seeking out. As mentioned, you’ll need the Morph Ball to progress past the first few screens, and soon acquire the Bomb to use in this form to destroy ground-based enemies or propel Samus into tunnels. The Long Beam will extend the range of Samus’s default weapon, which can also be upgraded to the Ice Beam (which, naturally, freezes enemies and turns them into temporary platforms but be warned as a subsequent shot will unfreeze them) and, eventually, the Wave Beam (which increases the firing range of your main attack). Samus can also find the High Jump Boots to extend her vertical jump, the Screw Attack to damage enemies with a spinning jump attack, and the Varia Suit to reduce the amount of damage she takes from enemies and hazards.

Additional Features:
As mentioned, the Nintendo Switch version allows for up to three save states and includes a rewind feature, both of which are incredibly useful for when you land in a sticky situation or want to take a break. If you fancy jumping ahead, you can also play an “SP” version of the game that bestows you with all the available equipment and upgrades and drops you right outside of the battle with Ridley. Unlike many videogames of its era, Metroid doesn’t feature a high score system but it does include multiple endings; the faster you finish the game, the more of Samus’s true form will be revealed in the ending. Additionally, after finishing the game, you’ll automatically start over in a new game with all of your power-ups (though without the additional Energy and Missile Tanks you acquired) or even garbed in a skin-tight outfit rather than armour.

The Summary:
I may not have ever properly played a Metroid game before, but I was fully aware of the franchise and its emphasis on backtracking and exploration. Consequently, I was a little intimidated to play through Metroid, especially as my limited experience with the series had left me struggling to find my way around. Although it is a real problem that Metroid doesn’t feature any kind of map (which is weird, as The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo R&D4, 1986) released earlier that same year and featured a rudimentary map system), it’s nothing you can’t solve with a quick Google search, meaning your only remaining hurdle is the challenge offered by the gameplay. While the controls are tight enough, Samus is a bit slippery and floaty at times, and her inability to fire in all directions makes things problematic, but nowhere near as annoying as the respawning, erratic enemies and tricky platforming sections. The various upgrades definitely help with this, and once you have a bit more health and a more powerful main attack and have gotten used to the repeating rooms and enemies, the game becomes a lot of fun. It’s definitely rough around the edges, though; when playing retro games on modern consoles, I always try to imagine how gamers coped back in the day and, in the case of Metroid, I can only assume they got through it with a great deal of patience and trial and error. Still, this was a decent experience and I’m glad that I finally played through it; it’s maybe a little too challenging and confusing at times for just a casual playthrough, though, so I’m interested to see if I find the later releases more appealing with their improved graphics and controls.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever played Metroid? If so, what did you think to it and how do you think it holds up today, both against its subsequent titles and other games from that era? Did you struggle to navigate the inter-connected game map? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favorite? Have you ever finished the game without using modern enhancements, and what’s the best ending you’ve achieved? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or leave a reply on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid reviews.

Game Corner [DK Day]: Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K6 Comments

In 1981, Shigeru Miyamoto and his team at Nintendo R&D1 created Donkey Kong, an arcade title that was not only one of the earliest examples of the platform genre but also introduced gamers everywhere to two of Nintendo’s most recognisable characters: Mario and Donkey Kong. Mario, of course, shot to super stardom but today’s a day to celebrate everyone’s favourite King Kong knock-off and to say: Happy birthday, Donkey Kong!

Released: 15 July 2020
Originally Released: 18 November 1994
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Rare
Also Available For: Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), SNES Classic Edition

The Background:
After establishing themselves in the United States with the financial and critical success of Donkey Kong (Nintendo R&D1, 1981), Nintendo then captured the home console market with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and their moustachioed mascot, Super Mario. Although Donkey Kong wasn’t completely forgotten during this time, featuring in sequels and spin-offs during the NES’s lifecycle, it was legendary British developers Rare who breathed new life into the cantankerous ape with their Donkey Kong Country series (Rare, 1994 to 1996) that pushed the SNES hardware to its limits with their revolutionary pre-rendered graphics. Rare impressed Nintendo back in the day with their ability to reverse-engineering the NES and publishing over sixty titles for the console, and by utilising Nintendo 64 workstations to produce SNES titles. Wishing to compete with SEGA’s Aladdin (Virgin Games USA, 1993), and seeing the long-dormant Donkey Kong franchise as low risk, Nintendo handed the character to Rare and they assembled a team of twelve developers (their biggest yet) to develop the title. Inspired by the level design of Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo R&D4, 1988), Rare sought to make the game’s levels short bursts of challenging fun that tailoured to a player’s increasing skill level. Kevin Bayliss redesigned Donkey Kong to be more muscular and cartoonish to aid with animation and Rare were given license to completely redesign Donkey Kong Jr. into a brand-new character, Diddy Kong, to act as DK’s physical opposite. Donkey Kong Country was one of the first videogames to utilise pre-rendered 3D graphics; their computers ran night and day to decompile the 3D models into traditional 2D sprites and, although physically taxing for the team, the result was the third-bestselling game on the SNES. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with the game seen as a significant benchmark in the presentation of videogames; the visuals and soundtrack have stood the test of time and the game is still heralded as a classic. Donkey Kong Country re-established the popularity of the brand was followed by a couple of equally well-regarded sequels but has only been sporadically released on other hardware due to legal issues. Thankfully, it was later included in the SNES Classic Edition and to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in 2020 and developers Retro Studios made the franchise relevant again with their 2.5D rebranding of this influential title.

The Plot:
When the greedy King K. Rool steals his beloved banana hoard, Donkey Kong and his nephew, Diddy Kong, set out to recover them from the king’s Kremling army.

Gameplay:
Donkey Kong Country is a 2D, sidescrolling action/platformer that, thanks to the benefit of its pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds, takes on a bit of a 2.5D aesthetic at times. Players take control of the titular ape, now reimagined as a tie-wearing, banana-obsessed scamp more likely to bop on a lizard’s head than toss a barrel at a plumber, but the game does support two players and offers two characters to control. You can go it alone, tagging between the brutish Donkey Kong and his nimbler nephew Diddy Kong with the A button, or play with a friend in simultaneous co-op not unlike Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992), or take it in turns to clear levels in a competitive contest mode. Both Donkey and Diddy Kong share many of the same abilities but are physically distinct in a number of ways: B allows your Kong to jump, Y sees Donkey roll into enemies and Diddy cartwheel into them and also allows both Kongs to pick up and throw a variety of barrels. Donkey Kong is slower, a far larger target, and has a bit of a stunted jump compared to his more agile nephew, though he can slap the ground by pressing down and Y, but you’ll probably want to switch to Diddy to make getting past larger obstacles a little easier or have more control when making jumps. Both Kongs can also squeeze through small gaps and act as the game’s health system; if you have both Kongs onscreen, a hit from an enemy or obstacle won’t kill you, but it will send your partner running off, though you can call them back by finding and tossing one of the many DK barrels scattered across the game’s environments.

The Kongs can use their allies, jumping abilities, and barrels to progress through levels.

For the most part, Donkey Kong Country has you hopping across gaps (often with the aid of swinging ropes), bopping on enemies and collecting bananas. It’s not long before you’re jumping into barrels to clear greater distances and progress forwards; some of these rotate or move side to side and up and down, some automatically fire you and some are activated by a button press, with timing being key to avoiding a fall down a bottomless pit or damage from a spiky Zinger. Platforming quickly becomes trickier as the game progresses, with gaps becoming longer, requiring a roll or cartwheel into a jump for a longer jump, slanted platforms and greater hazards all testing your reaction times. Some stages require you to jump at special Stop & Go barrels to briefly light up the area or deactivate Rockkrocs so you can progress, others are set underwater and see you swimming about with no means of defending yourself unless you find one of the Kongs’ many animal friends, Enguarde. One of the most prominent stage designs are those set in the mines where you’re stuck in a runaway mine cart and must make split second decisions to jump over gaps, hazards, and from mine cart to mine cart to progress, which can be difficult with the low lighting and oncoming enemies. Level hazards soon play their part in the platforming as well, with snowy stages robbing you of your traction, Gnawties trying to crush you in giant wooden wheels, and flaming oil drums not only spitting out an endless supply of baddies but also charbroiling you when you hop to them as temporary platforms. As if falling and moving platforms didn’t make things difficult enough, there’s also a time where you’re forced to jump from a moving conveyor belt to grab fuel drums; you can’t afford to miss a single one or else your platform will fall and won’t come back so you need to make quick decisions about when to jump.

Use lighting, runaway mine carts, and animal buddies to progress and rack up those extra lives.

The game features forty levels, all accessed via a word map; between levels, you’ll automatically progress onwards into new areas, including jungles, rainforests, temples, mines, and caverns, and interact with the Kongs’ allies. Funky Kong allows you to fast travel across the island once you’ve visited at least two areas, Cranky Kong offers fourth-wall breaking advice that comes across more like bitter criticism, and Candy Kong allows you to save your progress (though you can obviously create a save state at any time using the Nintendo Switch’s menu options). The Kongs are also aided by allies within levels as well; they can ride Rambi, Enguarde, Expresso, and Winky to bash through enemies, charge through water, temporarily fly, and spring up even higher, respectively, while Squawks will light your way with a useful lantern. These buddies also act as another hit point and, if you’re hit or jump off them, you can often hop back onto them as they run around the environment, and you can use their abilities to find secret areas in each level. These lead to hordes of more bananas, balloons, or K-O-N-G letters. Collecting a hundred bananas, all four K-O-N-G letters, or a balloon awards an extra life and you’ll be stockpiling a fair amount of these without even trying, but you’ll also find golden buddy statues that will take you to bonus games where you control that animal and must collect as many bananas as possible within a time limit. This all adds to your completion percentage and injects a little gameplay variety to the title, but also encourages exploration as sometimes bananas floating just out of the way indicate a hidden barrel or tossing an explosive barrel at a wall will open up a new bonus area.

Graphics and Sound:  
If I’m being brutally honest, I never really thought too much of Donkey Kong Country’s visual presentation; even as a kid, seeing these pre-rendered 3D models pixelated down to 2D sprites looked a little messy and not quite as crisp as other 2D platformers of the time. However, having said that, I rarely had the chance to be hands-on with the game as a kid, or in the years since, so this is my first time actually playing it from start to finish and the visuals work really well when in motion. Donkey and Diddy Kong are full of life and personality, sporting idle animations and having distinctive movements and quirks when performing the same or similar moves. Their enemies are equally charming, sporting that exaggerated anthropomorphic quirkiness that Rare did so well back in the day, though their animations are noticeably less varied than the two protagonists. One thing I did enjoy was how clean the screen is; the heads-up display is absent until it’s actually required (appearing when you grab pick-ups or earn or lose a life), allowing you to really appreciate the variety of visuals on offer here. While you’re not going to see anything you’ve not seen in a hundred other platformers from Donkey Kong Country’s environments, the game presents them in a wholly unique way with its pre-rendered aesthetic. You’ll be swinging through jungles, jump to broken mine cart tracks in dank mines, and hopping to conveyer belts in a rusted factory all while some absolutely jamming tunes play throughout the game.

The pre-rendered graphics, while a little fuzzy, definitely add to the game’s visual appeal.

There are some opportunities for exploration and experimentation (try charging walls when on Rambi or jumping to bananas up above on Winky) and the game does a fairly decent job of recycling its level tropes with new hazards and such, like having Croctopi chase after you in later underwater sections rather than just spinning around or having you bounce on tyres on moving platforms to cross gaps and gain the extra height needed to avoiding enemies and obstacles. Even better, the game’s locations are bolstered by some environment effects; day turns to night, jungles are battered by thunder, lightning and rain, the frozen mountains become swamped by blizzards, and the mines and caves are seeped in low lighting. Often, there’s no lighting at all, with your sprites being the only things being visible onscreen until you free Squawks or activate a light-up barrel, and the use of lighting and foreground objects really helps to add to the tension when trying to avoid slipping off the edge of a platform and jump to another. Although the game is light on cutscenes, they story is effectively told using dialogue strings between the Kongs and their allies, though the focus here is very much on dropping you into the next action-orientated area to take on an ever-escalating challenge rather than trying to overcomplicate the simple plot. All you need to know is that the banana hoard has been stolen and Cranky is better than you.

Enemies and Bosses:
Donkey and Diddy Kong will face a number of King K. Rool’s most disposable pawns in their quest, from regular Kremlings like the Kritters to their more jumper variants, to voracious little crocodiles, sharks, and slippery snakes. Wasp-like Zingers will often be found hovering around in mid-air, usually surrounding a platform or a barrel you need to blast to; larger enemies will prove difficult for Diddy to take out without a barrel so you might want to switch to Donkey Kong if you’re having trouble, and orangutans will incessantly throw barrels at you in a fun call-back to the original Donkey Kong. Spiked wheels, hungry fish, and vultures will also cause a headache, especially the latter as you’re often asked to fire your Kong/s at a flock of vultures to bounce off them and reach out of the way platforms, which can be tricky to do as if you hold the directional pad for too long you could overshoot and if you don’t hold it long enough then you’ll undershoot.

While Queen B. stands out, the repeats of Gnawty and Necky were disappointing to see.

Each area of Donkey Kong Country houses a boss battle; victory against one of King K. Rool’s elite earns the Kongs a large, Nintendo-branded banana and allows them to progress onwards to the next area but, while you’ll fight seven bosses in the game, only three of them are unique and the others are, disappointingly, reskins and repeats of each other. The first boss you’ll take on is Very Gnawty, a giant beaver who hops about in a cavern full of the Kongs’ bananas; with each hit he takes, his jumps get a little faster, but it doesn’t take much at all to put him down. It’s thus disappointing when this same boss is repeated for the fourth battle, even though Really Gnawty jumps much higher and is noticeably much more aggressive in his attack patterns. The second boss you’ll fight is the Master Necky, a huge vulture who pops his head in from the left or right side of the screen to spit bouncy coconuts at you; thankfully, there’s a tyre conveniently placed in the centre of the boss room that you can use to avoid his projectiles and hop onto his head. This boss is recycled for the penultimate boss battle as well; again, Master Necky Snr. might have a different colour palette and be a bit more aggressive, but he’s essentially the same boss battle, which I can’t help but be a little let down by considering how good the game is otherwise. Thankfully, Queen B. mixes things up a little bit; this gigantic Zinger flies around the arena in a specific pattern, immune to all attacks except a barrel to the face. However, she becomes temporarily invulnerable and hyper aggressive after each hit, so you’ll need to position yourself in the right place to avoid her erratic swoops.

While Dumb Dum destroys itself, King K. Rool tricks you into thinking you’ve won…

Dumb Drum also stands out as a unique boss battle; a giant, sentient drum, this guy tries to crush you from above and spits out a number of enemies into the area that you’ll need to take out. You can’t damage Dumb Drum no matter how hard you try; you simply have to outlast it and it’ll take itself out from ramming the ground once too often. Finally, you’ll confront the Kongs’ mortal enemy, King K. Rool, onboard his pirate ship, which stands as the final area of the game. King K. Rool has two methods of attack; first, he’ll run from one side of the screen to the other and try to charge into you, then he stands on one side and tosses his crown at you as a projectile. When he does this, it leaves him vulnerable to attack so you can jump on his head and, after a few hits, he’ll fold like paper and the credits will roll. Well, the “kredits”, at least, and it turns out that this is a fake-out as King K. Rool pops back up for another round. This time, his charge is much faster, and he also causes bouncing cannonballs to rain down from above, which can be difficult to avoid unless you make use of Diddy’s smaller hit box. Otherwise, your strategy remains the same; jump over him, avoid his projectiles and hazards, and hop on his head until he’s done in for good and you get to enjoy the real credits sequence (and Cranky’s embittered criticism of your performance).

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Your primary power-up in Donkey Kong Country will be those DK barrels; you’ll want to break these open every chance you get to have both Kongs at your disposal and stave off a death from your next hit but be sure to not accidentally break them if you don’t need them. Star-branded barrels acts as checkpoints and a number of other barrels (wooden, metal, and TNT ones) can be thrown as projectiles to take out one or a whole group of baddies in single throw. Otherwise, you’ll want to collect every banana you see and hunt down those K-O-N-G letters and red balloons to rack up some extra lives and keep an eye out for golden buddy statues or hidden rooms where you can earn more of them to access bonus stages. Finally, of course, there are the buddies themselves, with Enguarde being especially useful to making navigating those maze-like coral reefs that much easier.

Additional Features:
The ending you get (or, at least, the feedback you get from Cranky Kong) is directly tied to how many of the game’s secrets you uncover; this includes finding all of the K-O-N-G letters, hidden rooms, and bonus areas, all of which adds to the completion percentage seen on your save file. However, while you’re free to revisit and replay every level in the game and try to find every secret, it’s not actually necessary and you don’t get anything for it except for bragging rights. Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch Online version of the game allows you to make use of the save state and rewind features to make playing this game a breeze; now, if you make a mistake, you can just rewind or reload your game and try again, which is a God send in some of the game’s trickier sections.

The Summary:
It’s always exciting for me, a childhood SEGA boy, to finally play classic Nintendo titles. I’ve always had a fascination with the SNES and love to get my hands on the system’s most famous games whenever I can, and a full playthrough of Donkey Kong Country has been a long time coming for me. Despite my apprehension concerning the graphical style, the game holds up really well; environments pop through some fun and unexpected weather and lighting effects and Donkey and Diddy Kong never fail to impress when they’re onscreen, controlling and animating beautifully. Enemy and hazard placement becomes increasingly challenging, but not impossible, and I liked how many of the levels were short, sharp bursts of action that tested your reaction times. I can’t imagine playing the game on the original hardware without the aid of save states or the rewind feature, however, as I think it would’ve become quite frustrating quite quickly even though the game dishes out the extra lives like they’re going out of business. It’s a little disappointing that the game didn’t do more with its levels and bosses; repeating boss battles is always as much of a let down for me as a boss gauntlet, but I enjoyed the addition of ridable animal buddies, the hidden secrets and bonus rooms, and that trademark Rare humour that pushes you to find everything. In the end, I can see why Donkey Kong Country is so beloved; I’ve definitely played better 2D platformers but there’s so much more happening here than the unique visual style and it’s easily one of the best, basic platforming adventures of the 16-bit era.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to Donkey Kong Country? Did you own the game for the SNES as a kid and, if so, were you surprised by Donkey Kong’s dramatic visual overhaul? Did you find all of the game’s secrets and bonus rooms? Which of the animal buddies was your favourite to control and did you favour Donkey or Diddy Kong when playing? Were you disappointed that the boss battles weren’t more diverse and what did you think to the fake-out ending? Which of the Donkey Kong Country games is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Donkey Kong’s anniversary this year? Whatever your thoughts on Donkey Kong Country, leave them below or share them on my social media.

Game Corner [Mario Month]: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K5 Comments

So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 11 January 2019
Originally Released: 18 November 2012
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Original Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also Available For: Nintendo Wii U (Standard Edition)

The Background:
After the videogame industry crumbled following an influx of numerous overpriced consoles and mediocre titles, Nintendo pretty much single-handedly saved the industry with the runaway success of Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo EAD, 1985) and, following the “Console Wars” of the mid-nineties, Nintendo and their famous mascot continued to be an innovative and reliable staple of the videogame industry. After a successful venture into the third dimension resulted in some of Mario’s most beloved titles, Nintendo decided to return Mario to his roots with the release of New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo EAD, 2006) on the Nintendo DS, a 2.5D title that spruced up the platformer’s classic sidescrolling gameplay with new features and modes and which proved to be a hit. Two follow-ups soon followed, one for the Nintendo Wii and one for the 3DS, with both receiving high praise for their multiplayer functionality and addictive gameplay mechanics, and the development of a further follow-up for Nintendo’s unfortunate Wii U console soon began. The first Super Mario title to feature high-definition graphics, New Super Mario Bros. U was designed specifically with the Wii U GamePad in mind and emphasised single-player vertical exploration. The game was highly praised and sold over 4.8 million units; as part of the 2013 to 2014 “Year of Luigi” campaign, an expansion pack was created as both a separate physical release and downloadable content which featured shorter, tougher levels and focused on Luigi’s unique playstyle. After Nintendo bounced back in the home console market with the Nintendo Switch and achieved great success with Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD, 2017), this enhanced port of the game was developed for the console; containing all previously released material, and some additional features, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was also met with positive reviews and become one of the best-selling games for the Switch.

The Plot:
Bowser, King of the Koopas, and his children (Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings) invade Princess Peach’s castle and hold her hostage, flinging Mario, Luigi, and two Toads far away. The portly plumber and his friends then resolve to travel across the land, defeating Bowser’s minions along the way, in order to rescue Peach and restore her castle to normal.

Gameplay:
Like the classic Super Mario games of the bygone 8- and 16-bit days, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a sidescrolling platformer but, in the style of the New Super Mario Bros. subseries, it’s a 2.5D title. The game allows up to four players to team up and travel across eight colourful, whimsical Worlds, hopping across platforms and on enemy’s heads in their quest to defeat Bowser’s minions. Each of the five playable characters controls a little differently and has slightly different power-ups and mechanics tied to them, meaning that the game’s difficulty is directly tied to which character you pick (Mario is an all-rounder, for example, while Luigi has poor traction, and Nabbit cannot be harmed by any enemies, making him the default “Very Easy” mode of the game). Each character has their own set of lives, but shares any collectibles they find along the way, and you can easily revisit and replay previous Worlds with whichever character you like from the overworld screen and the submenu. As is also the style of these kinds of Super Mario games, the controls are as simple as you could want: by default, the A and B buttons allow you to jump and you can hold the X and Y buttons to run, though you can swap these two sets of controls around if you like. Jumping three times in succession, especially while running, will allow you to pull off a triple jump to reach higher areas. When jumping, you can kick off walls to wall jump higher or potentially save yourself from falling down a pit (though you’re just as likely to accidentally wall jump off a platform or block and die if you’re not careful), press down to perform a block-smashing butt stomp, or press A, B, L, or R to perform a little twirl for a bit of extra height. You can also climb up and down ladders, press down when on a slope to slide down and kick any enemies out of your path, and tap the jump buttons when underwater to swim along. X and Y can also be used to hold certain items or characters, such as a Koopa shell or a Baby Yoshi, and you can release the button to throw these at enemies or to collect out of reach Coins.

Play alongside your friends with five different playable characters, each with slightly different mechanics.

Jumping, however, remains your primary method of attacking enemies; with well-timed jumps, you can clear gaps and entire sections of the game using the triple jump and gaining extra height by bouncing off an enemy’s head, but it pays to not be too complacent as some enemies either can’t be defeated by jumping on them or will hurt you if you try. Similarly, other enemies can only be dispatched by jumping at the blocks or platforms beneath them to either knock them off or tip them over, and you’ll also want to make use of the game’s many different power-ups and suits to help take out enemies faster. By default, each character begins the game with five lives and in their base form; this means that one hit will kill you, so be sure to search out a Super Mushroom or similar power-up as soon as possible to gain an extra hit point. When playing as Toadette, the Super Crown will transform her into “Peachette”, allowing her to float and double jump just like Princess Peach is known to do, while Nabbit doesn’t actually power-up from any of the items (but is immune to damage to compensate). When playing, you’re battling against a time limit, which alerts you when it counts down to the last 100 seconds and speeds the game’s music up accordingly to help push you forward. As if this, and the high number of hazards and projectiles you’ll eventually face, wasn’t bad enough, you also have to keep an eye out for the bevy of bottomless pits, which eventually expand to cover the majority of the ground in later Worlds. Handy checkpoints placed within Worlds will power you up and allow for a respawn point, but you still get kicked out of the World and have to manually re-enter, in your base form, to try again. Fail enough times and a “Super Guide” block will appear to help show you how to succeed, but the World will be flagged as incomplete until you finally reach that flagpole unassisted by this mechanic. Your main objective, unsurprisingly, is to head to the right of the screen, jumping over pits, hopping to platforms and blocks, and taking out any enemies in your way to reach the flagpole. Along the way, you’ll contend with such hazards as fog-spewing clouds, rising and falling platforms, swaying mushrooms, giant toppling heads, cannons, temporary platforms, and plumes of both water and sand.

There’s plenty of variety, and challenge, awaiting in the game’s different Worlds.

While gameplay is, by the nature of its presentation, quite linear, there are opportunities for exploration; paths are hidden behind the background, leading to Coins and blocks, you can spawn vines to reach upper platforms, and you can enter pipes to explore underground areas, again usually for Coins or to find one of the three Star Coins hidden in each World. Sometimes, you can wall jump beyond the boundaries of the screen to take shortcuts or reach Secret Exits, which create new paths (or bypass Worlds entirely) on the overworld map so you can reach the Koopaling’s castle for that World. Some Worlds feature autoscrolling sections, either horizontally or vertically, that force you to stay on the move to keep from being crushed or boiled by rising lava, and, after clearing World 2, the game will ask you to choose a path to tackle either World 3 or World 4 (though you can, and absolutely should, backtrack to play both of these Worlds regardless). These Worlds add a new wrinkle to the overworld map in the form of the haunted locations (usually mansions, but there’s a shipwreck, too) infested with Boos. Boos will only advance towards you when your back is turned, and these stages tend to feature confusing door mazes, temporary platforms formed by hitting P Switches to turn Coins into blocks, and light-based mechanics where you need to carry a Baby Yoshi to light the way and scare off Boos. Other Worlds favour tilting platforms, slippery ground, an abundance of pits and crushing hazards, and you’ll even find yourself jumping to and swimming in bubbles when progressing vertically through World 7. You’ll also have to watch out for bigger enemy variants, instant-death lava and poison, and weighted platforms that either require you to jump to keep them moving or will stop if too many enemies and items drift onto them. There’s a lot of fun, colourful variety on offer and your platforming and jumping skills will be progressively put to the test as you clear each World, with more and more hazards and gimmicks being thrown in your path; thankfully, the controls are tight and responsive enough to manage these, but it’s true that the jumping can tend to be a bit spotty at times and you can easily find yourself slipping off a platform or falling to your death when you didn’t mean to.

Graphics and Sound:
I’d played New Super Mario Bros. before, so I was well aware of how great Mario and his Worlds look in 2.5D but New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is absolutely gorgeous to behold; Mario, Luigi, and their friends have never looked better in 2.5D thanks to the Switch’s high-definition graphics, with each of them sporting cute idle animations and victory poses when finishing a World. This emphasis on adorable character models and animations even carries through to the enemies, who still hop and dance to the jaunty themes playing in the Worlds to not only give you an opening to attack but also to allow you to better time your jumps or anticipate enemy movements. As is often the case, there’s no spoken dialogue in the game and the characters largely rely on gibberish and pantomime and simple cries of “Yahoo!” and “Oh, no!” to make their point, which is fine by me, though you will encounter non-playable Toads who will offer encouragement, power-ups, and challenge you to mini games in their houses. There can often be a lot happening on the screen at any one time, between the enemies, moving platforms, obscured paths, and projectiles, but everything pops out and has a discernible pattern and it’s simply a matter of skill and timing to overcome the obstacles in your way.

The game shines in its visuals, making for probably the best looking 2.5D Super Mario title yet.

Similarly, the Worlds on offer here are just as vibrant and visually interesting as the character models; there’s a lot to see in the background and foreground, often to tease you into taking a risk on a hidden path or entice you into trying a different power-up to make a tricky jump. While the Worlds are pretty standard Super Mario fare, ranging from colourful fields to snowy landscapes and lava-ridden castles, there’s also some fun throwbacks to previous Mario games, like Soda Jungle (which features retracting vines, rotating logs over poisonous water, and enlarged enemies and blocks), and the haunted houses. You’ll also traverse a desert full of quicksand, shifting sand, and statues to jump from, a beach-front and coral reef where jets of water blast you along underwater, tricky jumps to chains and up and across the rocky landscape of the mines, and a whimsical but taxing trip through the clouds. Every World also features two castles, which adopt an ominous stone-and-magma aesthetic and feature crushing blocks, buzzsaws, and rotating platforms, and you’ll also have to endure a cannonball and Bob-omb filled obstacle course when whisked onto Bowser’s battleship.

Enemies and Bosses:
The vast majority of the enemies you’ll encounter in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe are returning baddies from previous other Super Mario videogames, such as the mushroom-like Goombas, green and red Koopas, Boos, Thwomps, Chain Chomps, Bullet and Banzai Bills (which are frequently invulnerable), Piranha Plants, and Monty Moles. Most of these are pretty harmless, wandering back and forth or in easily recognisable patterns, but they quickly fill up the screen in larger numbers and some of the more annoying enemies, like the Hammer Bros (and their fire, ice, and boomerang variants) and Dry Bones, can cause headaches with their arching projectiles and ability to respawn, respectively. Naturally, there are also some new enemies in the game as well, such as the squirrel-like Waddlewings (which often carry Super Acorns for your consumption), walrus-like Flipruses, the screen-filling Dragoneel, homing Targeting Teds, and the mischievous Nabbit, who steals Toad’s items and must be captured in a race against the clock in previous Worlds.

A number of mini bosses will constantly return to oppose you, changing size and tactics each time.

In addition to the seven bosses you’ll encounter, you’ll also have to contend with a couple of mini bosses along the way. Not only will your platforming skills be tested if you choose to go back and capture Nabbit (and you really should, if only to get him off the overworld and get his items), but six of the Worlds include a tower guarded by Boom Boom, a muscular Koopa who is afforded new abilities by Kamek as the game progresses. Primarily, Boom Boom will attack by flailing his pythons at you, either in a charge or a jumping, spinning attack, but he also grows in size and sprouts wings to dive down at you. While the arena you battle him in is often altered by cosmetic changes befitting the World (such as water and lava), the area you fight him in is never really a hazard and it’s actually beneficial to use the walls to get better height and bop him on the head three times, which is usually easier to do than with the Koopalings since Boom Boom doesn’t attack while protected by his shell. In World 6, the tower is defended by a Sumo Bro who is enlarged by Kamek; this hulking brute can’t be attacked from above and causes electrical shockwaves by stomping his feet, and can stun you with his jumps. To defeat him, you need to jump into the platform he’s standing on while beneath him to tip him onto his shell and then jump on his exposed belly three times to put him away. World 7’s tower is guarded by Kamek himself, who magically spawns in blocks containing enemies. You can hop around on these to try and jump on his head when he teleports in, but he’ll cause them to rain down and hurt you, or release their captives, and he also flings magical bolts at you that cause the ground to become temporarily unstable. Sticking to a set pattern and staying off the floor is your best chance at winning this battle, and it’s not too difficult to jump on his head when he teleports in nearby. You’ll also battle Bowser Jr. one-on-one twice in the game, once after clearing World 5 and then again after World 7. You need to traverse the cannons of Bowser’s battleship to reach him, and both battles are a little different. In the first, you’re underwater and must lure the Targeting Teds into his craft while avoiding the Bullet Bills that fire horizontally and vertically through the arena. The second battle is much tougher; you’re on a precarious metal-blocked platform and Bowser Jr. floats just out of reach, occasionally tossing Bob-ombs at you. His craft sports boxing gloves which can wreck and temporarily destroy the ground beneath you, or extend to shove you right off edge, but you can quickly hop on his head as he passes by or run up them to bonk him if you’re fast enough. Bowser Jr. also causes trouble in World 8, ramming into you, blocks, and platforms to try and hurt, kill, and force you into lava and also joins his father for the finale.

The Koopaling’s each guard a castle filled with death traps and have some tricks of their own to slow you down.

Before you can reach that climatic battle, however, you have to contend with the seven Koopalings, each of whom awaits after clearing a castle filled with death traps and hazards, and each of them will erratically spin at you in their spiked shells after you land a hit, which can be tricky to avoid. First up is Lemmy Koopa, who tosses progressively larger bombs at you, though you can hop onto these for an extra bit of hang time. Morton Koopa Jr. awaits in World 2 and knocks segments of a giant, caterpillar-like Pokey at you from across the arena that you need to jump over or duck under. This battle’s made a little tougher thanks to Morton shaking the ground with his stomps and the two gaping holes to a bottomless pit at either side of the platform, though you can use the walls to help avoid the Pokey projectiles. After this, you have a choice of your next destination; I chose to visit World 3 first so I battled Larry Koopa next; this pint-sized sucker fires bolts from his magic wand and can be tricky to hit thanks to the three water jets that burst up from the arena floor. The arena is similarly against you when you visit World 4, as Wendy Koopa skates about on the slippery ice and causes icicles to drop from the ceiling. The only way to reach Iggy Koopa is to find the Secret Exit in World 5; this leads you to one of the more troublesome boss battles as Iggy constantly runs away through the pipes, appearing on the floor and the ceiling, and fires bolts at you that can also cause up to two large Magmaarghs to pop up. His shell attack is also a pain as he’ll reverse direction, which can catch you off-guard and result in a hit, but once you figure out which pipe leads him to where you can anticipate his movements and hit him accordingly. Roy Koopa is a pretty simple and enjoyable fight; he fires Bullet Bills from a bazooka and hops up onto the stream of floating platforms to evade you, which means there’s a fall hazard in play here, but I found this the easiest boss of them all as you can just hop on his head, take the high ground, and instantly repeat without him getting off another shot. Finally, there’s Ludwig von Koopa, who hovers at the top of the arena, duplicating himself and filling the screen with diagonal projectiles that can be tough to avoid. Naturally, you need to hop on the head of the real Ludwig to score a hit, and the projectiles only increase with each successful blow.

After making it through the lava-filled final World, you’ll have a face off against a gigantic version of Bowser.

Finally, after beating all the other Worlds and crashing Bower’s airship, you’ll dispel the dark cloud surrounding Peach’s Castle and tackle the final, most aggravating World of the game. The once lush and verdant castle has been transformed into a stony, lava-filled hellhole; flaming meteors fall from the sky, lava rises and falls beneath your feet, and you must not only cross the sea of burning magma on a raft but also watch out for Bowser Jr.’s attempts to crush and boil you alive. Succeed, and you’ll reach the final battle, which begins familiarly enough with you ducking under and jumping over fireballs spat by the Koopa King himself. When faced with Bowser, you’ll need to jump over or duck under his fireballs and quickly run underneath him to hit the switch and cause the bridge beneath him to collapse, but this is only the appetiser to the game’s true finale. Enlarged by Kamek’s magic and joined by Bowser Jr., Bowser battles you to the end on the castle rooftop, again spitting high and low fireballs and jumping about the place. To defeat him, you need to dodge Bowser Jr.’s Bob-ombs and hop on his head after avoiding his craft slam; you can then commandeer the Junior Clown Car with B, tapping B to hover over Bowser’s head, and then hit R to crash onto him. Like his kids, Bowser becomes a spinning dervish after he’s hurt and you’ll need to run under his shell when you get the chance to avoid being hurt or killed, and then dodge the rain of fireballs he spits into the air to repeat the same cycle over, dodging more Bob-ombs and fireballs as you go but, as long as you have at least a Super Mushroom and are mindful of your jumps and hit box, this shouldn’t be too difficult to do.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Many of Mario’s most famous power-ups are here for the taking, including the Super Mushroom, 1-Up Mushroom (with extra lives also awarded with every 100 Coins you collect), Super Stars, and Fire and Ice Flowers. Super Stars are rare in the Worlds themselves but endlessly helpful as they make you invincible for a short time (and speed you up and add a nifty somersault to your jump) and successfully defeating a bunch of enemies in a row in this state will net you an extra life, but it won’t protect you from instant death hazards, unfortunately. The Fire and Ice Flowers let you shoot off a bouncing projectile with X or Y, with the iceballs temporarily freezing enemies to create platforms or allow you to throw them. Other power-ups include the Mini Mushroom, which grants you a moon jump, the ability to run up walls and enter tiny pipes, but costs you your ability to actually defeat enemies. POW Blocks will defeat all onscreen enemies, the aforementioned Super Crown lets Toadette become Peachette, and you can also hover through the sky with the Propeller Mushroom or slide along the ground or water (and fire off iceballs) with the Penguin Suit.

There are plenty of fun power-ups, old and new, to help you in your whimsical journey.

If you can knock Lakitu out of the sky, you can briefly take control of his cloud to fly over stages, and you’ll also come across the new Super Acorn power-up, which transforms you into a flying squirrel and allows you to glide, cling to walls, and perform an arch to gain a little extra height. You can also win P-Acorns from the various mini games which allow you to mid-air jump indefinitely, and you’ll find Yoshi eggs hidden in blocks throughout the game. Yoshis come in four styles, the regular green (which you ride as normal, using his tongue to eat and spit out enemies, chow down fruit for power-ups, and make use of his flutter jump to reach higher areas), and three Baby Yoshis: magenta (which swells up into a balloon to help you bypass hazards), blue (which spits out bubbles), and yellow (which can light up dark and/or haunted areas). Each of these baby Yoshis will also automatically eat up any enemies or projectiles that come your way and can be throw, but it’s usually better to keep them in hand. Every now and then, a Toad will offer you a power-up at the end of a World, and you can play mini games in their houses to collect Coins and earn more power-ups (though you’ll lose out if you get a Bowser tile), and you’ll also find power-ups on the overworld on occasion, too.

Additional Features:
There are 246 Star Coins to find in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, three in every World, and collecting them will really test your patience and platforming skills as they can be well hidden or hanging in precarious positions. When you finish the game as any character, you’ll unlock the ability to save at any time on the overworld (previously, the game saved after towers and castles and you could only create a one-time save point), the Secret Island (a kind of pointless overworld inclusion that lets you view the credits and various other in-game records, and the Superstar Road. This is where those Star Coins will come into play as you can unlock eight new challenge stages by collecting every Star Coin in each of the game’s other worlds, which is easier said than done. Accomplishing all this adds another Star Stamp to your save file, which allows you to brag that you’ve finished the game to 100%, though finishing the game as the other characters doesn’t factor into this achievement. There are also some alternative paths on the overworld beyond the Secret Exits where moving to certain points causes you to collide with enemies and be warped to a special challenge (usually involving the Super Star) or be automatically taken to different Worlds.

New Super Luigi U adds a whole new level of challenge and difficulty to the game.

Being as it’s the most complete version of the game available, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe also features the New Super Luigi U content, which excises Mario from the playable roster, expands upon Luigi’s controls and physics to make him slippery and light as all hell, and reduces both the length and time limit of each World. Worlds are also full of references to Luigi, from statues to sprite work and silhouettes and an abundance of green, as well as being restructured into bite-size obstacle courses that will offer the greatest challenge of the game by far. With checkpoints gone and hazards everywhere, it’ll take every bit of skill and precision jumping to best this mode, which pushes you to use your triple jump, loose physics, and the game’s power-ups in new ways to bop off enemies, avoid death traps and hazards, and reach the goal flag. The game also offers a few additional challenge modes, including time trials and speed runs, Coin collections, and 1-Up collections, all of which deny you the use of power-ups, put you against a tough time limit and meeting criteria (like not touching the floor), and award you either a Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medal depending how well you do. Boost Rush allows you to take on rejigged versions of the World’s according to certain criteria (such as focusing on the balloon Yoshi, Penguin Suit, or Squirrel Suit) to nab Coins and speed up the tempo of the game and the enemies. Finally, you can go head-to-head against other players in Coin Battle, or put together your own courses using Coin Edit to challenge your friends, and all of the game’s modes can be played with other players, who will respawn in bubbles after losing lives.

The Summary:
Although I’ve never had the greatest relationship with Super Mario titles since I notoriously struggle with his classic titles and only really got into the franchise once it moved into 3D, I really enjoy these 2.5D throwback games and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe truly is an exemplary title that showcases the very best of this side of the franchise. Colourful, visually appealing, and bolstered by jaunty music and cute, cartoony attention to detail, the game impresses with its tight controls and a fantastic implementation of some of Mario’s 3D skills (such as the triple jump and wall jump). While it can be frustrating at times because of the precise nature of its platforming and how inconsistent the physics and wall jumps can be with some characters, this is purposely implemented as part of the game’s difficulty curve and, more often than not, any mistakes you make will be because of you rather than the game being unfair. Every enemy, challenge, and obstacle can be overcome with skill and patience, and you’ll find yourself using Mario’s power-ups (especially the new Squirrel Suit) to take risks that invariably pay off to launch you off enemies and towards the coveted flagpole. The inclusion of four additional playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, really helps to add some variety to the gameplay (though I would’ve preferred there only being one Toad and to have Peach be playable by default, no matter how little sense that makes) so that anyone of any skill level can pick this up and enjoy it, and the boss battles, while simple, were pretty fun thanks to the challenging castles you have to go through beforehand. Super Luigi U was a much-appreciated additional feature, if one I found far more harrowing and frustrating, and I enjoyed all the extra challenges and features to help extend the game beyond the main story. Overall, this is easily my favourite 2.5D Super Mario adventure by far; it takes everything that worked so well in Mario’s better 16-bit titles and infuses them with the Switch’s high-definition graphics and mechanics, and it was an extremely fun and challenging gameplay experience from start to finish.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Did you enjoy Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe? How do you feel it compares other Mario titles, specifically the previous Super Mario Bros. games? Which of the playable characters was your favourite and why? Did you enjoy the new power-ups and the challenge offered by collecting the Star Coins? Which of the boss battles did you struggle with, and did you ever get all of the Star Stamps on your save file? What did you think to Super Luigi U? Which of Mario’s Switch games was your favourite and how are you celebrating Mario’s birthday this year? Whatever your thoughts on Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, feel free to share them below or drop a comment on my social media and be sure to check back in for more Mario content throughout March!

Game Corner [Zelda Day]: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (Nintendo Switch)

Dr. K3 Comments

On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, with its silent protagonist, Link, and his vast fantasy world of sword and sorcery not only enduring over time but constantly evolving and improving as the series progressed.

Released: 16 July 2021
Originally Released: 18 November 2018
Developer: Tantalus Media
Original Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also Available For: Nintendo Wii

The Background:
I’d like to think that even Nintendo couldn’t have predicted just how impactful the Legend of Zelda series’ (Nintendo EAD/Various, 1986) first foray into 3D was going to be; their attempts to follow up on the unprecedented success of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD, 1998) resulted in one of the franchise’s darkest and most underappreciated entries, and Nintendo were keen to appeal to a wider audience with Ocarina of Time’s spiritual successor, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (ibid, 2006), which proved to be an the incredible success for Nintendo’s fledgling GameCube. Having turned the videogame industry on its head with the Nintendo Wii, producer Eiji Aonuma aimed to build upon the expansive nature of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess to present the biggest and most detailed Zelda gameworld to date by offering something new through the Wii’s unique motion controls, more elaborate sword combat, a greater focus on exploration, and providing an origin story for the Master Sword. Since I struggle a bit with the Wii’s ridiculous motion controls, I missed out on Skyward Sword when it first released, but it was a massive critical success; considering how widely praised the game was, it was perhaps inevitable that Nintendo would produce a high definition remake for the Nintendo Switch as part of the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series. The long-rumoured upgrade of the lauded title was developed by Tantalus Media and the gameplay mechanics were redesigned so players could use either the Joy-Cons or a more traditional control scheme, alongside numerous other quality of life improvements to the graphics, frame rate, and save feature. Preorders for Skyward Sword HD sold out on Amazon, and the game sold over 3.6 million units worldwide; however, while it was met with largely positive reviews, it did score less than the original version. Still, reviews praised the more focused gameplay mechanics compared to other, larger Zelda games, and its technical achievements, though faced some criticism for the dated motion controls.

The Plot:
Positioned as the first adventure in the Legend of Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword details the origins of the powerful Master Sword as Link, resident of the floating island of Skyloft, embarks on a quest to rescue Zelda, his childhood friend, after she is kidnapped and taken to the Surface, an abandoned land below the clouds, by the malevolent Ghirahim as part of a plot to awaken an ages-old darkness upon the world.

Gameplay:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a partially open world action/adventure in which players once again assume the role of an incarnation of Link, here a knight-in-training on an island above the clouds. Right away, players have two control options available to them that allows them to utilise motion controls much like the original Nintendo Wii release or to use a more traditional control scheme; however, while this latter option is more comfortable for me, it’s very different from how a Zelda game traditionally plays. A is now an action button that allows you to open doors and chests, talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), and pick up items; B is used to put your weapons away or can be help down while running or otherwise moving for a burst of speed (though you can’t hold it down indefinitely or you’ll drain your stamina wheel and be left defenceless as Link tries to catch his breath), X is mainly used to charge ahead when on your Loftwing, and Y isn’t really used at all. Consequently, sword combat is mapped to the right analogue stick; you can hold ZL to target enemies or interactable objects and flick the stick to unleash a sword attack (perhaps because of this, Link is now right-handed, as opposed to the traditional left). This actually took me a bit of time to adapt to as Link seems to swing his sword in the opposite direction you flick (swinging left with you flick to the right, for example), which can make activating certain switches and attacking some enemies tricky as you need to swing where there’s an opening.

Use motion controls, or the analogue stick, to attack and deflect and consult Fi for advice.

If you knock an enemy down, they’ll sometimes be left open for a “Fatal Blow” that allows you to leap at them for an instant kill, and Link and both perform is signature spin attack, jump swing, and also stab at enemies with his sword. Eventually, you’ll also learn the “Skyward Strike” which sees Link hold his sword aloft to charge it and then sending out an energy wave to damage enemies from a distance, which is a handy feature. Link can also defend himself with his shield by holding ZL and perform a shield bash, which doubles as a parry, by pressing in the left analogue stick. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the game’s shields can be burnt or broken, meaning you’ll either need to upgrade them to toughen them up, buy now ones, or complete a side quest to get a more durable shield. Like many 3D Zelda games, Link automatically jumps from ledges; he can also hang down, shimmy along, and climb vines, all of which will drain your stamina meter. Link can also swing from ropes to reach new areas, which can be a bit tricky to perform as you need to aim yourself with the left stick and flick the right stick up and down in just the right motion to get the momentum you need. Chatting with some NPCs will also offer you a few dialogue options, which don’t really factor into the plot or change their perception of you, but they do help to give Link a little bit more characterisation this time around. Once Link acquires the Master Sword, he also gains one of the most annoying travelling companions I’ve ever had the misfortune of being lumbered with as Fi, the spirit of the sword, acts as a guide, navigator, and tutorial to the player very much in the same way as Navi did back in the day. You can call upon Fi at anytime using the directional pad (D-pad) to gain insight into targeted enemies, remind yourself of your current objective, or get some advice, but she also pops up uninvited at various points to hold your hand or point out the obvious. She also helps you to search for objectives, treasure, and other items by using the sword’s “Dowsing” ability, which puts you into a first-person mode and guides you towards your set target.

Link can sour through the clouds, burrow underground, and must brave trials without the aid of his gear.

You can bring up the map using the – menu and set markers to also help guide you in the right direction, which is very useful as it can be easy to get turned around a bit. One thing to keep in mind here is that there are no manual saves; you need to find a Bird Statue to manually save your progress to one of three save files, though there is an autosave feature that effectively adds as a checkpoint system. Similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo EAD, 2002), the game’s overworld is a series of islands and set areas connected by a large void, in this case the open sky; Link can fly to new destinations using his Loftwing, which replaces the traditional horse, by tapping A to ascend and B to slow down or charge into enemies using X. You’ll be utilising the Loftwing a lot to travel back and forth between the three main areas of the game, as well as Skyloft and the smaller items as the story demands, but you can five down to any Bird Statue in any area and exit dungeons (or teleport to the Sky) from these same statues, though you can’t fast travel between destinations using this system. Though Link takes fall damage, you’ll soon acquire a Sailcloth that lets you glide to the ground from high falls by holding ZR (though you can’t actually manoeuvre him while he’s descending). This also allows you to ride air currents upwards and you’ll eventually gain the ability to swim and even twirl through and jump out of the water very much like Zora Link in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (ibid, 2000). Link also later acquires the Digging Mitts, which allow him to burrow underground and crawl through narrow caves, smashing boulders and activating switches to progress further, and also gets his hands on the Goddess’s Harp that lets him open up new areas by strumming the stings with well-timed movements of the right stick, which is a far cry from the ocarina playing or wind conducting from previous games. Link will also have to complete four trials in the “Silent Realm”; here, he loses all of his equipment and items and must race around collecting fifteen Sacred Tears across the map while avoiding the ghost-like Watchers and making sure you don’t touch the Waking Water or your Spirit Vessel doesn’t deplete as this will awakens the Guardians, who will hunt you down and eject you from the dimension upon impact, forcing you to begin all over again.

You’ll constantly be travelling back and forth between three areas in search of key items.

Although Skyward Sword looks like the biggest Zelda experience ever seen at the time, it really doesn’t actually feel that way; I’d argue that Twilight Princess felt much bigger and more connected thanks to actually having a large overworld with different routes and areas all linked together. In Skyward Sword, you’ll be spending most of your time travelling back and forth between the three main regions on the Surface (Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and the Lanayru Desert), Skyloft, and the Thundercloud up in the Sky. Each area is an isolated environment; you won’t find any routes or means to travelling from Faron Woods to Eldin Volcano beyond flying there on your Loftwing, but each of those regions does have a few other areas that you’ll explore as the game progresses. The Lanayru Desert, for example, is home to a treacherous desert, the Temple of Time, and a mine, all of which you’ll need to explore at various points. The main quest of the game asks Link to travel to each area thee times and acquire one of three different key items or meet three different objectives each time. At first, you’ll need to find three stone fragments form each region to access the Thundercloud; then, you need to find three Sacred Flames to power up the Master Sword. Then, you need to travel back again and find three pieces of the Song of the Hero and access the game’s final dungeon, all of which can get a bit repetitive even though the enemies and the environments do change which each revisit. Faron Woods becomes flooded, for example, and Eldin Volcano erupts, and you’ll find new regions opening up with your new gear and completing story-based tasks, such as Lake Floria just off Faron Woods, the ghostly Sandship and Rickety Coaster in Lanayru Desert’s Sand Sea (both of which are accessed by piloting a boat armed with a cannon), and at one point you’ll find yourself relieved of your weapons and gear and having to escape (and retrieve them) from Eldin Volcano without being spotting in an expansion of the Gerudo Fortress section of Ocarina of Time.

There are many puzzles here, from hitting switches, to crossing lava, and rearranging the environment.

Naturally, you’ll visit a number of dungeons in your quest, which (as is tradition) are realised as elemental-themed temples. Inside, you’ll find small keys to opens doors and a Dungeon Map (which now reveals Bird Statues, chests, and points of interest by default to replace the Compass) to help you progress, and you’ll need to clear rooms of enemies, activate switches and pressure pads, and take on sub-bosses to acquire the temple’s new weapon, which will allow you to progress further and tackle the boss. Sometimes you’ll need to move a weighted block onto a switch or out of the way to climb a ladder; other times, you’ll need to hit switches to raise or lower water and lava, cut through cobwebs, send eyeballs spinning, and shoot or hit faraway switches to open doors. Link will also need to hit plant bulbs (or carry them on the tip of his sword) to create temporary platforms in lava, grapple to floating plants or specific targets with the Clawshots, toss or guide bombs into baskets to create platforms over quicksand, and sever ropes to lower drawbridges. In Lanayru Desert, the majority of the puzzles are based around the “Timeshift Stones” which, when struck, will turn part of the immediate area from a desolate desert into a vibrant landscape, causing enemies, switches, equipment, and even land formations to form so you can progress. Many puzzles require you to carry a Timeshift Stone around or placing it in a specific area to lower one barrier while activating another, which is quite a unique and creative mechanic that really makes you think about how to tackle puzzles. All of these puzzle gimmicks and mechanics are revisited in the game’s final area, Sky Keep, which also features a unique and annoying gimmick that sees you rearranging the different rooms of the temple to open up new paths and acquire the three pieces of the Triforce.

Graphics and Sound:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword certainly looks impressive; this HD version of the game has potentially upscaled the graphics to make everything very vibrant and moody, when necessary, and the game employs an aesthetic style that merges the fantastical realism of Twilight Princess with the cartoony presentation of The Wind Waker. In addition to having dialogue options during some conversations, Link continues to showcase a variety of facial expressions to help flesh out his otherwise silent character, and you’ll be hearing a lot of gibberish (mainly from Fi) when talking to others. Otherwise, there is no voice acting here, as is to be expected from a Zelda title; some dialogue can be sped up by pressing B and you can skip some cutscenes entirely by pressing the – button, but it can mean you’re left a bit clueless afterwards. Although each region is populated by unique NPCs, many of which are new to the series (such as the Ancient Robots but, while Parellas replace Zoras, Gorons are still present in the game), you’ll find the vast majority in Skyloft. Here, you can chat to Headmaster Gaepora, buy, sell, and upgrade items in the market, and will come across Link’s obnoxious rival, Groose, whose pratfalls and antagonism eventually turns into heroism as he helps aid Link’s quest to rescue Zelda.

Areas have a lot of see and do, and even change as the story progresses.

The game also features an appropriately operatic score that includes new renditions of the iconic Legend of Zelda main theme and versions of memorable tunes such as “Zelda’s Lullaby”; when you engage with enemies, successive strikes also speeds up the tempo of the battle music to help keep the adrenaline pumping and each area is nicely punctuated by both ambiant sounds and a fitting soundtrack. Skyloft is an impressive starting area and a pretty large central hub; you’ll find rooms to sleep in to pass the time and replenish your health, the market, a graveyard, and a practice hall to work on your sword techniques. While the Sky is basically just a barren void, there are small islands and rocks floating around that you can visit to find chests, mini games, and a prominent side quest centred around the Lumpy Pumpkin establishment. Shafts of red, yellow, green, and blue light will point you towards the three main regions and wherever you’ve placed a marker, and you’ll need to dodge Octoroks spitting rocks at you and tornados that will blow you off your Loftwing. The inside of the Thundercloud is initially best by storms and lightning and home to both one of the more annoying push puzzles in the game and the decidedly Wind Fish-like Levias, a gigantic whale that flies through the sky and clears the air after you free him from the parasite that has infected him. Although it’s possible to advance and alter the time of day by sleeping in beds, this rarely factors into the main plot, but it does turn Skyloft from a safe, vibrant location to a dangerous area as enemies spawn in under the cover of darkness. Similarly, when taking on the four Trial Gates, the immediate area takes on a darker, more ethereal quality as shadows become more prominent and glowing magical barriers bar your progress.

Areas are quite large and varied, but not as connected as in other Zelda videogames.

The game’s three main regions are based around classic Zelda tropes such as the forest, volcano, and desert, while also incorporating themes like water, wind, and time into their later areas. You can create shortcuts in each but pushing logs and mine carts, blowing up rocks, or grabbing levers to open gates (and also using your new weapons), but the areas will fundamentally change as the story progresses. Faron Woods start off as a kind of confusing wooded area that leads onto a cliffside leading to the Skyview Temple, a water and bug-infested cave or sorts, is home to a great tree, and also leads to a flowing river that takes you to Lake Florina (which later floods the woods) and the Ancient Cistern, a kind of steampunk-like Temple whose golden Oriental aesthetic hides a scary underground area. Eldin Volcano is full of lava and steep hills for you to run up while avoiding boulders tossed by enemies; enemies also wait atop wooden columns that you can knock over with bombs, and you’ll run around on a spherical rock, lobbing bombs are walls and trying to not burn your ass in the Earth Temple. Later, the whole area is covered in ash as the volcano erupts and you need to sneak around and recover your gear, avoiding spotlights, and douse face statues with water to gain access to the Fire Sanctuary, where you’ll be digging through the dirt with the Mogma Mitts. Lanayru Desert sees you racing across quicksand, using the map and markers to avoid sinking, activating three power generators to raise the Mining Facility, an area which springs to life with the Timeshift Stones to reveal conveyer belts, wind-powered platforms, and all manner of mechanical obstacles. You’ll also use one of these Timeshift Stones to safely cross the Sand Sea and ride the Rickety Coaster’s insane mine cart, and awaken the long-dead dragon that resides in the Lanayru Gorge.

Enemies and Bosses:
Longtime fans of the franchise will recognise many of the enemies that crop up in Skyward Sword, most of which are tailored to the game’s new combat system; Deku Babas and Bokoblins, for example, need specific horizontal or vertical swipes of your sword to dispatch, and this is carried through to tougher enemies like the Lizalfos and Stalfos. While you can easily mow down the bat-like Keese and Chuchus with reckless abandon, you’ll have to factor in elemental variants that will electrocute or burn you, you generally can’t just swipe away at enemies; you’ll need to either cut down Beamos columns and stab them in the “eye” or shoot an arrow at them from afar to destroy them, reflect back Sentrobe missiles with well-timed swings of your sword, run up and over Moblin shields to attack them from behind, drag Furnix to the ground with your Whip, blow the spinning magnets atop the Armos’ heads with the Gust Bellows to expose their weak spot, and toss water on Magmanos to turn it to stone and chip away with your sword. Enemies become tougher and more prevalent as the game progresses, causing less dangerous areas to become more hazardous as shield-carrying Moblins wander about and archer Bokoblins take shots at you from above; these latter can also call in reinforcements with horns, carry bombs, and even take on a zombie-like appearance to cause even more bother.

While you’ll fight some of the sub-bosses ore than once, nothing’s more persistent than the Imprisoned.

Naturally, each of the game’s Temples is home to a sub-boss as well as the main boss. These are often newer, tougher enemies that soon become part of the regular ensemble you encounter, such as the Lizalfos, Moblins, and Moldorms. Lizalfos can be tricky to defeat as they swipe at you with their tails, guard against your attacks with their armoured arms, and breath fire, but you can parry their attacks to leave them open to your attacks, which is a system that serves you well for other sub-bosses like the Stalfos and its four-armed cousin, the Stalmaster. You can use a similar tactic against the two skeletal pirates, LD-0016 Scervo and LD-003D Dreadfuse, who swipe at you with a sword and hook hand and try to force you back into a spiked wall as you try to sever their limbs and force them off a narrow walkway. Easily the most recurring (and frustrating) sub-boss is “The Imprisoned”, a gigantic beast who you must defeat three times, with each battle getting harder and adding new wrinkles. The Imprisoned can only be hurt by attacking its toes; slice off all eight and you then have to frantically run around it to attack the sealing spike in its head, but it causes shockwaves with each step, crawls around in an invulnerable state, tries to climb upwards, and even flies in later encounters. Groose is on hand to help you in the latter two battles; you can switch to him to catapult bombs at the creature to stun it, and will need to perfectly fire Link at the creature’s head to finish it off for good before it can reach the Sealed Temple, which will cause a game over and force you to begin the fight all over again.

You’ll fight Ghirahim three times, with the final battle somehow easier than the first.

Another boss you’ll encounter numerous times throughout the main story is the game’s primary antagonist, Ghirahim the Demon Lord, who serves as the boss of the Skyview Temple, Fire Sanctuary, and the penultimate boss of the game. Ghirahim is perhaps one of the most frustrating boss characters I’ve ever fought as all of your weapons and tactics are useless and must be set aside for patience and well-timed strikes; Ghirahim can easily block, avoid, parry, and even steal your sword while tossing hard-to-avoid daggers at you, charging in for big damage, and teleporting all over the place. However, you’ll notice that he mirrors the position of your sword; so, if his hand is on the left, lure him in and strike from any direction other than left. When he teleports, roll or dash away and hell get stuck in the ground, leaving him open for a flurry, and you can utilise the same tactics as with Stalfos and the Stalmaster and strike at him wherever his swords aren’t positioned when he brings out his own blade. You can also interrupt his charging attack with a well-timed strike, but these can be pretty tough battles though, ironically, I actually found the final encounter with him to be the easiest of the three (potentially because I had actually figured out how to fight him by this point). This is a three-stage encounter against Ghirahim’s true form that you must wade through a hoard of enemies to even get to; you start off on a magical platform and must perform shield parries to expose the glowing jewel in his chest that can only be damaged with stabs. Hit a few to knock him down to the next platform and perform a Fatal Blow to deal damage and trigger the next phase, which sees him busting out his daggers, and his final phase where he shields himself with a gigantic sword. However, you can chop away at this with repeated swipes of the Master Sword to leave him defenceless and finally put him down for good soon after, which actually makes for a pretty exhilarating final battle against the so-called Demon Lord.

Bosses are large and quiet inventive, requiring interesting uses of your weapons to stun and defeat.

Outside of these fights with Ghirahim, you’ll also have to contend with some pretty inventive, if a bit aggravating, boss battles. The insectoid Scaldera awaits at the end of the Earth Temple and sees you rolling bombs into is rocky hide, and gaping mouth, while avoiding fireballs (and getting blown up yourself), to crack its outer shell and swipe at its exposed eye. Moldarch awaits in the Lanayru Mining Facility and Lanayru Shipyard; this giant scorpion clamps you in its pincers and swipes at you with its tail, but can be hurt by swiping at the eyes in its appendages. When it burrows under the sand, you’ll need to blow the sand away with the Gust Bellows to get it to emerge so you can stab it in the face. Koloktos guards the Ancient Cistern and is probably the first most visually interesting and mechanically engaging boss battle; you basically need to avoid the blades it tosses at you and dodge out of the way when it swings its swords at you, and then use your Whip to detach the arms and use one of the dropped swords to slash at its legs and main body. Eventually, it starts to attack more aggressively, meaning you’ll need to use the nearby columns for cover, and you’ll need to slash at its repeatedly with its own weapon to cut it down to size and finish it off. The Cthulu-like Tentalus attacks the Sandship, smashing its squid-like tentacles through the hull, flooding, and capsizing the boat and leading to a dramatic confrontation in the storm swept deck of the ship. You’ll need to run about avoiding the tentacles as they burst through the deck, or slice them in half with a Skyward Strike, then avoid being swatted by them to shoot an arrow into the beast’s eye to down it and slash at it with your sword. When Tentalus switches to the upper deck, it lashes at you with its Medusa-like hair, which you must wade through with sword slashes to get the final blow on the massive sea creature. After enticing out Levias with a massive cauldron of Pumpkin Soup, Link must chase after the gigantic whale on his Loftwing, charging into the eye-ball tentacles that sprout from its hide, before landing on its back and battling Bilocyte. This is easily the easiest boss battle in the entire game and simple requires you to reflect Bilocyte’s projectiles with swipes of your sword, then attack its head when it gets stunned.

Demise, a precursor to Ganon, challenges you to a relatively simple sword fight in the finale.

After defeating all of the game’s bosses, travelling back and forth, and collecting everything the plot requires you to get, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda and flees through the Fate of Time to the past, where he sets a whole hoard of enemies against you that you must wade through before battling the Demon Lord for the last time. Even if you’re victorious though, the Imprisoned rises one last time and begins absorbing Zelda’s essence, allowing the demonic Demise to be reborn. After dispatching Ghirahim and reverting him to his natural form of a sword, the malevolent demon transports away to another dimension to await your final challenge. I recommend preparing yourself for this final battle, and saving your game, before following Demise and engaging with him in a one-on-one sword battle with two phase; first, you need to keep your guard up and parry Demise’s attacks to leave him momentarily vulnerable to a sword swipe. Demise will occasionally charge at you, but also keeps you on your toes with fake-out attacks, but the main issue you’ll have here is timing your parries properly and not letting your shield break. In the second phase, lightning strikes all around, charging both Demise’s sword and yours; holding the Master Sword aloft will let you charge it for a Skyward Strike, which will both counteract Demise’s own energy beam and stun him long enough for you to strike. Ultimately, it’s not a particularly difficult battle, but the atmosphere and music definitely help to make it quite engaging, it’s just a shame that it involves so much waiting and strategy. While there is no boss battle in the Sky Keep (beyond rematches with some of the sub-bosses), you can unlock a boss rush, of sorts, after resurrecting and restoring Lanayru the dragon. Lanayru allows you to battle every boss in the game (aside from Levias and Bilocyte) in succession, with only the items he held when he first fought them, or playthrough the Silent Realm challenges again in order to earn rewards such as Rupees, treasures, a Heart Piece, or the indestructible Hylian Shield.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As you embark on your epic quest, a wide variety of recognisable pick-ups and power-ups are at your disposal; slashing bushes, pots, rolling into trees, and defeating enemies will yield hearts to refill your health and Rupees, which can be spent buying new gear, potions, and upgrades for your gear. You’ll also find Stamina Fruit scattered all over the place, which will refill your stamina meter, and Goddess Cubes, which can be dispelled with a Skyward Strike and allow you to open special chests all over the place and gain more Rupees or treasures. I recommend scooping a fairy up in your bottle so you can restore six hearts upon defeat and you can buy potions for your empty bottles, which will replenish your health or stamina meter, but you can’t permanently upgrade the stamina meter, acquire new tunics, or learn any magic. Defeating bosses will yield a Heart Container, and you’ll occasionally find Heart Pieces all over the place, four of which will also increase your maximum health by one heart.

In addition to additional weapons and gear, you can also purchase upgrades for your items.

Each of the games dungeons includes a new weapon for you to add to your inventory: the Beetle allows you to pilot a little mechanical beetle to hit switches, defeat or stun enemies, and drop bombs; the Clawshots let you grapple to vines and specific targets (and even disarm enemies); the Whip lets you pull switches and swing from certain hooks; you can roll or toss bombs to blow upon certain rocks; the Digging and Mogma Mitts let you dig up collectibles or burrow underground; the Slingshot and Bow let you shoot at enemies and targets from a distance; and the Gust Bellows disorientates enemies and lets you move platforms or blow away sand. You can also buy new gear from the market, such as extra bomb bags and quivers to increase your maximum capacity, shields to defend yourself, and a Bug Net to capture bugs that can be sold in Skyloft. As you explore, you’ll find a variety of treasures that can be used to upgrade your gear in Skyloft to increase their damage or range. Furthermore, key items like the Water Dragon Scale and Fireshield Earrings allow you to swim and withstand extreme heat and you can also purchase expensive extras from Beedle to increase your adventure pouch, expand your wallet, and spawn additional health among other things.

Additional Features:
There are sixteen different treasures and twelve bugs to find throughout Skyward Sword, in addition to twenty-seven Goddess Cubes to activate, thus awarding yourself additional Rupees and gear. There are also twenty-four Heart Pieces to find, which will extend your maximum health to twenty hearts, and a number of side quests available to keep you busy. The owner of the Lumpy Pumpkin will have you ferrying hot soup, collecting pumpkins, and playing the harp with his daughter (both extremely tricky mini games) in order to make up for damaging his property, the Thrill Digger has you digging in specific spots for Rupees, and you can dive for Rupees after fixing up Fun Fun Island. You can also rapidly slice bamboo sticks with your upgraded sword and shoot arrows at pumpkins for additional awards, but the most prominent side quest is the pursuit of “Gratitude Crystals”. After finding a lost girl in Skyloft, the cursed   Batreaux asks you to help others to earn these crystals and bring them to him to receive big Rupee rewards, a Heart Piece, the biggest wallet available, and also restore him (as in Batreaux) to human. These crystals are earned from helping NPCs in various ways, such as bringing a scrap of paper to a mysterious man in a toilet, bringing medicine for a wounded Loftwing, and repairing the fortune teller’s crystal ball. After completing the game for the first time, you can create a new save file that allows you to play through in “Hero Mode” where the enemies are tougher and shuffled about and neither enemies or pots will drop hearts, making the game much more challenging (although the Skyward Strike does instantly charge).

The Summary:
After struggling to get to grips with, and properly enjoy, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD, 2017), I was somewhat excited to finally get the chance to play Skyward Sword, a title I had long avoided as I have no desire to play any game, much less a Zelda game, using purely motion controls. Although it took me a little while to adjust to the analogue-based combat and camera controls, both of which are a little clunky due to the control mapping, I found a lot to enjoy in this game. The focus on using specific sword swipes to defeat enemies and bosses made this a very unique Zelda experience, but did make the combat a bit awkward at times, especially with the reversed controls. The visual presentation was very good, but I do feel like many of the areas are much too empty and restricted; since the game’s set in a world of disparate islands above the clouds and a surface accessible only from specific points, it didn’t really feel like a large, interconnected world and reminded me a little too much of the wide, largely empty ocean from The Wind Waker. Flying on the Loftwing was fun, and the boss battles were very engaging and inventive; even the battles against Ghirahim, despite being frustrating at times, were interesting as it required more than just slashing at them mindlessly but the game really lets itself down with the constant back and forth. I feel like it might’ve been better to have areas like Lake Floria as separate as the other regions, just so that the world felt a little bigger and had a bit more variety, but continuously having to revisit the three main regions again and again find something else in each area quickly became repetitive and disappointing, even when the areas visually changed. The lack of tunics and customisation options for Link was a shame, though I felt the game had a better balance between the stamina meter and destructible items compared to Breath of the Wild, which went way overboard in those aspects. Ultimately, there’s a lot to like here and it’s a perfectly enjoyable Zelda title, but, despite being visually superior, I think I still prefer Twilight Princess as it did a much better job of crafting a large, interconnected fantasy world with a lot of variety and a better mixture of new and old gameplay elements.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you played this HD version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword? How do you feel it compares to the original Wii release and were would you rank it amongst all the other Zelda titles? Were you a fan of the motion controls and the switch to a vast world above the clouds? Which of the dungeons and bosses was your most, or least, favourite? What did you think to the constant back and forth between the same areas? Which of the Silent Realm trials was the hardest for you? Were you able to find all of the bugs and treasures? Which Zelda game is your favourite and how are you celebrating the franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on Skyward Sword, sign up to leave a comment below, or let me know on my social media.

Game Corner: Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo Switch)

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Released: 31 October 2019
Developer: Next Level Games

The Background:
In 1996, following their success in the “Console Wars” of the nineties, Nintendo entered the third dimension with Nintendo 64, a console that stood out against its competitors by continuing to use cartridges, coming readymade for multi-player player, and featuring a unique controller design. Having lost out to Sony’s new-fangled PlayStation, Nintendo sought to recoup their once-vaulted position as the premier entertainment option with the Nintendo GameCube, which finally saw the company switch to discs (albeit with a suitably “Nintendo” flair) and was also notable for Mario’s younger brother, Luigi, finally receiving his time in the spotlight with Luigi’s Mansion (Nintendo EAD, 2001), a game that focused more on exploration and puzzle solving as Luigi channelled his inner Ghostbuster to suck up ghosts infesting a hotel and rescue his brother. Although the game sold extremely well and was a critical success, it took twelve years for the game to get a sequel. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Hames, 2013) released for the Nintendo 3DS and was also a best-selling title for the system and met with largely unanimous praise. After development of a third game for the Wii U was delayed, Next Level Games finally returned to the franchise six years after the release of the second game; developed for the Nintendo Switch, Luigi’s Mansion 3 saw the setting expand from a mansion to a high-rise hotel and also increased the game’s accessibility by including on- and offline multiplayer modes. Considering the success of its predecessors, it’s perhaps no surprise that Luigi’s Mansion 3 became one of the Switch’s best-selling titles and was regarded as Luigi’s best adventure yet.

The Plot:
Luigi, his pet ghost dog Polterpup, Mario, Princess Peach, and three Toads are invited to the luxurious Last Resort hotel for a vacation. Soon after arriving, Luigi awakens to find the hotel transformed into a haunted building and the others imprisoned in pictures by the hotel’s ghostly owner, Hellen Gravely, as part of a trap set by the nefarious King Boo. Arming himself with Professor E. Gadd’s newest Poltergust vacuum, Luigi hesitantly sets out to rescue his friends and suck up the hotel’s ghost infestation.

Gameplay:
Like its predecessors, Luigi’s Mansion 3 as an action/adventure game with a strong emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving. Players are played into the shoes of Mario’s younger, often unfairly overlooked brother, Luigi, who is robbed of his usual athletic abilities and must rely on a vacuum-cleaner like device, the Poltergust G-00, rather than his jumping prowess to dispose of the many ghosts that have infested the hotel. As you explore the many dark hallways and various themed floors of the hotel, you’ll need to use Luigi’s torch (or “flashlight” for any Americans out there) to stun nearby ghosts; you can do this by tapping or holding A, which will freeze most ghosts on the spot for a few seconds so you can suck them up by holding down ZR and filling up an onscreen circle by holding back on the left analogue stick. Once this is full, you can press A to perform a slam move that will deal greater damage to the ghost and speed up the process, but just sucking them up is enough to whittle down their health.

Stun ghosts and suck them up with your trusty Poltergust G-00.

You can also use ZL to send out a gust of air to push enemies back or fire certain items at ghosts as projectiles, or press ZR and ZL together to perform a quick burst akin to a jump that won’t let you reach higher platforms but will knock back enemies. All of these Poltergust functions are also useful for interacting with your environment; you can suck up curtains and sheets, blast furniture and chandeliers, and affect almost everything in every room either with the vacuum or by pressing X. This will reward you with loot, such as Golden Coins, gold bars, bills of money, and pieces of heart to refill your health, but can also uncover hidden ghosts. Some of these, such as shiny gold and blue-coloured variants, will reward you with additional loot and collectibles, so it’s well worth exploring every room you enter to see what you can uncover. You can use the left-hand circle pad (or directional pad, depending on which Switch you have) to call for Mario with left, right, and down, or enlarge the onscreen map by pressing up. The map can also eventually be accessed from the + menu, which allows you to view the floor you’re on, review your current objectives, and chat with E. Gadd for hints, though it’s generally pretty clear where you need to go and not only will Polterpup occasionally pop up to show you where you need to go but E. Gadd will communicate hints to you through the “Virtual Boo” if you struggle to solve puzzles.

Luigi can use his plunger or his gooey doppelgänger to solve puzzles.

As the story progresses, E. Gadd will furnish you with these additional upgrades, and others; eventually, you’ll gain the ability to fire plungers with Y, which you can suck up to destroy chests and other parts of the environment, activate switches and such, and remove protective items from certain ghosts. You’ll also acquire the “Dark-Light Device”, another torch-like appendage that lets you uncover hidden chests, doors, and other secrets, track Polterpup and the mischievous Polterkitty, and even defeat certain enemies by holding X to shine the dark-light around the environment. Your most useful ability, and the game’s big new gameplay mechanic, is “Gooigi”, a protoplasmic double of Luigi that E. Gadd eventually supplies you with and which you can send out of the Poltergust but pressing in the right stick. Doing so switches your control to the gooey double, who can slip through bars, vents, and grates and allow you to clear rooms and puzzles by activating switches or opening doors as one character and progressing as the other. Gooigi is quite fragile, having only twenty-five hearts to his name, and immediately dissolves upon touching water, and many of the game’s puzzles and bosses that involve him are geared specifically towards having a second player on hand. If you don’t have one, you’re forced to switch between the two on the fly using the right analogue stick, which can be tricky and frustrating at times and leaves Luigi vulnerable to attack while playing as Gooigi. Still, it’s an interesting mechanic and make you think a little harder about approaching each room, as your exploration may uncover a hidden vent that leads to a key or other loot.

You’ll need to make innovative use of Gooigi and the Poltergust to find the keys needed to progress.

Your primary objective in Luigi’s Mansion 3 is to rescue the three Toads, Mario, and Princess Peach from the magical paintings they’ve been trapped in. To do this, you’ll need to defeat a number of bosses to acquire the missing buttons for the hotel’s elevator; each boss you defeat awards a button, giving you access to another floor of the hotel, and many of the floors contain a specific theme that help them to stand out. Most of the time, you need to navigate through rooms clearing out all of the ghosts you encounter and exploring any hidden areas; other times, you’ll need to find a key to open doors, or find another way around if doors are blocked or barred, or use the two Luigis to activate switches and fans with their weight or Poltergusts. The game’s puzzles eventually become a bit more complex, and it’s not always immediately clear what you need to do: in one area, you need to roll and unroll carpets according to how they appear in a mirror; in another, you need to use the jump burst to uncover dangerous and painful laser traps; and other times, you need to blast Toad at breakable walls or use your plunger to pull down weights to activate lifts. Quite a few puzzles require you to shut off water streams so that Gooigi can reach a switch, or have you creating shortcuts using ladders, or blowing on windmills to rotate rooms and access hidden switches or keys. Probably the most complex puzzle is found on the eighth floor, which is a television studio; here, you need to warp between four different film sets using television sets and activate a film camera as one character while the other fends off ghosts to acquire an item, which must be then taken to another set and so on until you’re able to get the key item you require.

Graphics and Sound:
Luigi’s Mansion 3 retains both the charming, cartoony aesthetic of its iconic characters and also the gloomy, ominous surroundings of its predecessors. Luigi’s character model is fantastically expressive; his body shivers and his teeth chatter as he cautiously wanders the hotel’s hallways, and he jumps with fright at any sudden movements or sounds. I find it endlessly amusing that the developers continue to implement a specific button to have him call out for Mario in a terrified voice, and it’s a continual source of amusement to see how he comically reacts to scares, rooms, and even damage. Of all the other Mario characters seen in the game, the one you’ll interact with the most on a gameplay level is Toad; you have to rescue three of these little blighters, and they’ll follow you around, squealing with fear at every opportunity, and you can give them a little high-five or even shoot them as a projectile to progress further. You’ll also spend a great deal of time interacting with Professor E. Gadd, who sets up a laboratory in the hotel basement that you can quick travel to for upgrades, hints, and to view bonus materials, and all of these familiar characters are brought to life wonderfully using the power of the Nintendo Switch.

The Last Resort is full of rooms both bizarre and expected, and carries a comical horror throughout.

The Last Resort is quite a large and versatile environment; although it’s a hotel, it contains many areas and rooms that you might not expect. At first, you’ll explore such traditional areas as the basement, laundry room, and various bedrooms and dining rooms you would expect to find in a hotel. Each of these are infested with ghosts, of course, and filled with interactable objects, but things start to get incredibly bizarre as you explore the upper floors of the hotel. Here, you’ll enter the aforementioned television studio, a floor littered with magician’s tricks and apparel (including mirrors and upside-down rooms), a gymnasium, and an Egyptian-themed floor full of hieroglyphics, sand, and even a pyramid. You’ll also find a pirate-themed cavern, a beach, and explore rat-infested sewers and a boiler room, and scale a crumbling, wrecked staircase in the overgrown gardens. There are fifteen floors to visit and two basement levels to explore, with secrets and enemies increasing the further you progress; areas start to become more and more overrun with ghosts and different combinations of enemies, which constantly keeps you on your toes, and it’s continuously amusing to see what new surprises await you on the next floor as the hotel is crammed full of both surreal areas like the Unnatural History Museum and the comparatively normal master suite at the top floor.

The game’s presentation shines through, but especially in the pantomime-like cutscenes.

While the graphics and environments are impressive and full of a decent amount of variety, the music isn’t really all that interesting. The iconic Luigi’s Mansion theme plays sporadically throughout the game, and areas are mostly accompanied by bursts of lightning, skittering rats, chattering ghosts, and the sounds of Luigi’s terrified footsteps and whimpers. Ambient sounds and subdued musical cues help add to the game’s comical terror, and Polterpup’s inexhaustible enthusiasm is a welcome addition and, as is the standard for Mario games, characters speak using text boxes, gibberish, and a few choice voice clips, so you won’t have to worry about sitting through any overblown cutscenes here and can simply enjoy the characters employing amusing pantomime-like motions and spouting nonsense when they interact.

Enemies and Bosses:
As you might expect, given the franchise, your primary enemies in Luigi’s Mansion 3 are a series of ghosts who have taken residence in the hotel. These range from the standard blue-coloured Goobs (who are easily mopped up but sometimes shield themselves with shades and wield melee weapons like baseball bats), the yellow-coloured Oozers (who pop up from hiding spots to throw projectiles at you), and miniature versions of these enemies. You’ll also have to fend off rats, bats, and spiders (though these little critters can be easily dispatched with a burst of your flashlight), and possessed chests and bins that need to be blasted with projectiles or subjected to your dark-light. Soon enough, you’ll come across more formidable ghosts, however: the Hammers will try to crush you with their cube-like bodies and must be sucked up from behind, Slinkers will scare you and leave you vulnerable and also try to kidnap Toads, and Trappers require both Luigi and Gooigi to suck on their tongues to dispatch them. When in the Tomb Suites, you’ll have to knock over mummified ghosts with your jump burst and unravel their bandages to expose their ectoplasmic bodies, and larger and more diverse groups of enemies will eventually populate the hotel’s higher floors, causing you to mix and match your attack strategies.

The first few bosses slowly introduce mechanics that prove extremely useful for later battles.

Seventeen bosses must be fought in the game’s story, with fifteen of them being required to beat in order to access every floor in the mansion; while their attacks differ from each other and you’ll generally have to employ different strategies in each battle, they all mostly boil down to finding a way to stun the boss and then suck them up with the Poltergust. The first boss you’ll encounter is a ghostly steward, who shields himself from your flashlight with suitcases and then tosses them at you in the hotel’s basement. On the fifth floor, you’ll counter a particularly malevolent maid who disappears through the bedrooms of the RIP Suites and will cause Luigi to sneeze with her feather duster, and can only be sucked up after using your plunger to slam the briefcase stuck in her stomach. In the hotel’s mall, you’ll need to find a number of different keys to confront Kruller, a bulbous security guard who dissolves Gooigi with a water pistol and must have his shades sucked off so that he can be stunned, but also strikes with a rolling attack. While in the second floor kitchen, you’ll battle the first formidable boss of the game, Chef Soulfflé, who shields himself with a frying pan and unleashes a spinning attack with his knives. To defeat him, you’ll need to avoid the fishes he throws at you and stun him by firing melons at him to leave him vulnerable to your torch and Poltergust.

Soon, you’ll need to use your Poltergust in innovative ways to outwit and defeat the bosses.

Things start getting a little more complicated when you battle Amadeus Wolfgeist, a pianist who remains safely out of reach on the stage and causes chairs to fly at you, distracts you with ballerina ghosts, and then possesses his piano. In this form, he is invulnerable and hops around the theatre, but can be stunned when Amadeus pops out of the piano; you then need to try and shoot bombs into the piano lid to collapse it and drag Amadeus out with your plunger, which gives you the chance to properly damage him but you’ll also have to watch out for his flaming attacks and the piano keys he tosses at you. Another troublesome boss is King MacFrights, who’s fought in a medieval coliseum and can only be stunned when he charges at you for a lance attack while archers shoot arrows at you. After slamming him a few times, his armour will break and you’ll have to dodge his spinning attack and strike while he’s left dizzy and vulnerable. Just reaching Doctor Potter can be a chore as you have to weave through the wild gardens to get to him and, when you do, he sends his Venus flytrap at chomp away at you; avoid this, however, and it’ll get stuck on the environment, allowing you to cut it using a convenient buzzsaw, which leaves him vulnerable to your Poltergust. After helping Morty the ghostly director find his megaphone, he’ll force you to star in his latest production and battle a Goob inside a Godzilla-like costume; you must use the Poltergust, in conjunction with Gooigi, to force the monster’s fireballs back into its face in order to damage it. Once you destroy the suit, the Goob is easily sucked up, and you can also choose to suck up Morty as well by going into his office in you fancy it.

Later bosses make use of their environment to defend themselves and attack you!

In the Unnatural History Museum, you’ll be attacked by another monstrous enemy as the caveman-like Ug possesses a giant Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, which can only be damaged by firing eggs first into its mouth and then into the glowing red orb in its rib cage. Once the T. rex is destroyed, Ug himself will come out to fight; while he’s a bit of a bruiser, as long as you stay away from his club and burst-jump over his shockwaves, you can stun and suck him when his club gets stuck in the floor. Clem awaits you in the boiler for a battle in a reservoir of water lined with spikes; he’ll attack you with a fan and send out landmines, which you must direct towards him to blast him out of the water and leave him vulnerable, meaning it’s best to leave Luigi floating in the water and have Gooigi on the outside ready to attack. After conquering the Tomb Suits’ puzzles and traps, you’ll battle Serpci, a pharaoh-like entity that protects herself with a mound of sand and strikes at you with cobras. Sucking at her sand and snakes will cause her to become exposed, then you must dodge the projectiles she fires to stun her, though her speed and unpredictability make her a particularly aggravating boss. A trio of magician ghosts, Nikki, Lindsey, and Ginny, await you in the Twisted Suites; this is actually good preparation for the final boss as the three fire playing cards at you from their magician’s hats and must be stunned with a jump-burst when they try and grind you up at close range and you must attack each ghost in turn, with decoy ghosts taking the place of each of the triplets as they’re captures.

After chasing down Polterkitty, you’ll need to make use of Gooigi to defeat the game’s later bosses.

One of the most recurring enemies you’ll face is Poltergkitty, a mini boss who steals a couple of the elevator keys and forces you to chase after it across the floors of the hotel. When you finally confront it, you need to face away from it and wait for it to creep up behind you; right as it’s rearing to strike, at the very last minute, you must turn around and stun it so you can suck it up and remove one of its tails until it’s defeated. Captain Fishook awaits you in the Spectral Catch; at first, you need to avoid his charge and the swing of his hook, stunning and sucking him up when he gets stuck in the deck of the ship, but things get much more harrowing when the shark possesses the ship itself, turning the wooden decking into a gnashing mouth that you must fire bombs into and avoid being tipped into it by the ship’s wild dipping. Johnny Deepend absolutely requires the use of both Luigi and Gooigi and is best fought with another player; Luigi must take cover and distract the boss so that Gooigi can slip around behind it and drain the water from the pool. After that, simply avoid his fists, remove his shades, and stun him with a water polo ball to suck him up, and you’ll then have to contend with DJ Phantasmagloria. First, you have to deal with the dancing Goobs, stunning the one who has the elevator button you need with a jump-burst, before the boss officially joins the battle. DJ Phantasmagloria teleports around the dance floor tossing vinyl records at you and you need to use the burst-jump to knock off her afro and leave her vulnerable to your flashlight so you can suck her up.

Fittingly, thanks get extremely challenging and chaotic for the final showdown with Hellen and King Boo.

When you finally reach the fifteenth floor of the hotel, you’ll have to face off against the hotel owner, Hellen Gravely, in another boss battle that is absolutely built to be conquered by two players. While Luigi must avoid the spinning lasers and coloured laser walls, Gooigi must head down into the lower levels to deactivate the aforementioned laser walls by pulling four switches. Removing all four walls makes trying to suck her up much easier but realistically you can probably do just as good a job of avoiding her attacks and going after her with one or two of the walls deactivated. As the battle progresses, you’ll have to avoid more lasers by either frantically running around the arena or jump-bursting over them, and water will flood the lower level, restricting which switches you can pull, though you can flash the green lights on the walls and the insects to replenish your health if necessary. Afterwards, you must head to the roof to do battle with King Boo, who tries to squash and rattle you by dropping down from above and causing shockwaves, spits a bunch of fireballs at you, tries to slam and swipe at you with his tongue, electrifies the roof tiles, and tosses bombs into the arena. You must quickly suck one of these up and fire them into his mouth, which is easier said than done given how tricky the aiming mechanics can be, and this only makes the battle harder as King Boo spawns first one and then two duplicates and vastly increases the aggression and number of its attacks. You’ll only gain victory by firing bombs into the right King Boo, but it’s actually easier to just blast as many bombs as possible at all the targets and hope for the best as things get very chaotic very quickly thanks to the time limit in the final phase.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
At the start of the game, your options are limited to your flashlight but it doesn’t take long before you acquire the Poltergust G-00. However, once you have this, you’ve basically got everything you’ll need for the remainder of the game; sure, you get the dark-light, the plungers, and the Virtual Boo but there’s only really one prominent upgrade to the Poltergust, the Super Suction, and it’s only used once in the game, which is a little disappointing. You can earn additional upgrades for the device by meeting certain requirements, such as collecting all of the game’s gems or defeating all of the optional Boos, but none of the money you earn is used to upgrade your repertoire or even your health. When Professor E. Gadd sets up his shop, however, you can buy some helpful items, such as Gold Bones to have Polterpuppy resurrect you when your health is drained and sensors to alert you to nearby Gems and Boos, but that’s about it in terms of items and power-ups beyond the temporary use of a buzzsaw in the gardens.

Additional Features:
As alluded to, there are some rewards you can earn for meeting specific requirements, referred to as “Achievements”; these are directly tied to repetitive actions, such as riding the elevator, defeating specific numbers of ghosts, and interacting with certain objects in each environment. They’re also tied the game’s few collectibles; every floor has six hidden gems to find, with many requiring quite a bit of exploration and ingenuity to track down, and you’ll also be given the optional task of hunting down sixteen hidden Boos, who require a little more strategy than just stunning and sucking up as they like to play hide-and-seek, must be stunned with the dark-light, and can be difficult to pin down. When you complete the story, you’ll receive a letter grade and get to see a rebuilt version of the hotel that reflects how much money you have but, unlike in the first game, you don’t get to play through a mirrored version of the game on a new save file.

Hunt down hidden gems and Boos, and battle against friends in the game’s multiplayer modes.

You can view the ghosts you’ve defeated and the gems you’ve collected at Professor E. Gadd’s lab, but the majority of your additional playtime will probably be taken up with the game’s extra modes, which can be played either solo or alongside fellow players. The ScreamPark challenges you to collect Coins, defeat ghosts, or shoot at targets to score points for your team; the ScareScraper sees you defeating ghosts, rescuing Toads, and fulfilling other objects either alone or in teams while avoiding traps. At the end of those mode, you’ll battle the Boolossus, an even more formidable version of King Boo that adds a phasing attack to its arsenal and splits into a number of regular Boos after eating a bomb. If you fancy putting your hand in your pocket, you can also purchase some additional content (such as costumes, games, and ghosts) for these modes, though I have to say that I remain unimpressed with the lack of post-game content.

The Summary:
I remember enjoying the original Luigi’s Mansion back when I borrowed it for the GameCube when it came out, but being disappointed by the post-game content; there wasn’t too much on offer beyond the main game, despite there being a lot to see and do as you explore, and I can’t say that I was too interested in revisiting the franchise after that experience but I was won over by the game’s visual style and charm. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is basically more of the same; the gameplay and mechanics haven’t really changed all that much as far as I can tell, and the developers haven’t really complicated the premise with too many different mechanics. The addition of Gooigi is an interesting one that is tailor-made for two players (specifically an older and younger player) but perfectly acceptable to play solo as long as you can properly manage your characters thanks to the puzzles and areas being quite restricted to closed off areas. As visually impressive as the game is, and as expansive and diverse as the hotel is, however, there’s really not too much to occupy your time in the main game outside of bustin’ ghosts and ransacking the hotel for loot. There’s still no option to play as any other character, which I find endlessly disappointing, and while you suck up a lot of currency, there’s very few opportunities to really spend your money on anything beyond a few minor additions to your arsenal, and beyond the hidden gems and Boos there’s not really much incentive to explore or search around the hotel’s rooms. I imagine that the additional modes offer a lot of replay value, and that the game is more enjoyable in co-op mode, but I put all of my time into the single player story and, while I had a good time, I was hoping for a little more from it. A mirrored mode, purchasable upgrades and skins, and maybe the option to utilise Polterpup and/or Toad would have been nice but there’s definitely enough content and gameplay on offer to keep players (especially younger players) invested and challenged, I just think there could have been a little more spice added to the mix.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you played Luigi’s Mansion3? What did you think of it compared to the previous two games, and which was your introduction to the franchise? Are you a fan of the series and how different it is from the traditional Mario formula? Do you agree that there could have been a little more in-game content or were you satisfied with what was on offer? Which of the floors and bosses was your most, or least, favourite and did you ever play the game in co-op? What games are you playing this Halloween season? Whatever you think about Luigi’s Mansion, sign up to leave your thoughts or let me know on my social media.