Overview

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Review

Release Date: 02.09.2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Developer: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Nintendo of America, Inc.

Reviewed by Luke Campbell on 2.6.2004

Review Rating: 10/10

User Rating: 8.89/10

When a remake of a game is announced, many people groan and think, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." After all, in years past, we've seen remakes of games like Pong and Centipede, which featured tacked-on elements that actually made the remake less fun to play than the original version. So when Metroid: Zero Mission was planned as a remake of the 1986 NES classic, fans were a bit wary of how Nintendo might redo the game. Thankfully, Metroid fans have nothing to worry about, as M:ZM shows that Nintendo is capable of remaking a classic from the ground up without tarnishing the source material.

M:ZM is the tale of Samus Aran's "zero mission" on Planet Zebes, and Samus says it is a place she "once called home." The game starts in the same way as the NES version: go left, hop the stuff in the way, and get the Morph Ball. From there, the game is altered, so while NES Metroid vets will find several areas familiar, item and enemy placement has been shifted around slightly, and room structures are also altered. Fans of Super Metroid on the SNES will note the inclusion of several rooms from that game as well; these areas also have altered item and enemy placement. Still, it's a cool way to tie Super Metroid into the "zero mission", since areas of the first Metroid were included in Super Metroid.

Gameplay elements from later installments in the Metroid series are present, so expect to see the Speed Boost and Power Missles from Super Metroid, the hanging grip move from Metroid Fusion, as well as others. These moves can be used in all areas of the game; revisiting previously explored areas with newfound abilities is rewarded with more bonuses in the form of more missles or energy tanks. The game does a decent job of directing the player towards the next objective without all of the hand-holding that was present in Metroid Fusion, as a point on the map is given as direction, but without tipping Samus off to the dangers ahead. In this sense, the game is actually improved over the original, because players will spend less time aimlessly wandering, and more time seeking out the next event in the story or hunting hidden areas. Also, thanks to the inclusion of the auto-map feature (first used in Super Metroid and popularized in Castlevania games), there's never a sense of being lost, and save points are clearly marked on the maps for reference.

Graphically, M:ZM looks great. The GBA is already home to some rather awesome 2D games, but M:ZM is surely one of the best-looking GBA titles available. Everything has been redone: characters animate well, backgrounds are beautiful, and it is neat to see how the locales and enemies from 1986 have been spruced up for 2004. Midbosses Kraid and Ridley were fairly small sprites years ago, but thanks to the improvements in technology, these bosses are large and look intimidating this time around. The music sounds great as well, and is true to the original; those familiar with the music will immediately recognize all of the area themes, and maybe find themselves humming the music in the shower.

Unlike Metroid Fusion's text-driven story, M:ZM features very little text, and is instead progressed largely through text-free animated cutscenes that set up boss fights or introduce new areas. For example, as you head to Tourian, there is a cutscene of an enemy being sucked dry by several Metroids, giving players an idea of how deadly the Metroids really are. The first Metroid game was not heavy on story elements, so it is nice to see that Nintendo did not alter the game's structure just for the sake of adding some character conversation or filler content. M:ZM is all about platforming, exploration, and action, which is delivered and does not disappoint.

Metroid was a game that many players found difficult to complete, but M:ZM is much easier. Even the trickiest areas can be navigated with little trouble, and the first eighty percent of the game is a cakewalk. However, the final twenty percent of the game is all-new, so even the most die-hard fan of the first Metroid is guaranteed to see something new introduced to the series in this game, which borrows slightly from both Metroid Fusion and Konami's Metal Gear Solid, and makes for a tougher last leg of the game, but still not hard enough to be frustrating.

Nintendo must have known that the lack of difficulty would cause some players to gripe, so three difficulty modes are built-in. Easy and Normal are the two initial modes available, and Hard mode is accessible after being unlocked. Also, beating the game unlocks the original 1986 NESMetroid, which is fully playable on the GBA; after using some of the newer gameplay features and power-ups, playing through the original seems even tougher than usual.

There isn't much else that can be said about M:ZM without spoiling the story. Simply put, it takes a game that is already regarded as a classic, makes it look and sound prettier, adds new gameplay elements to the mix, and stretches the length of the game out quite a bit to present an awesome package that belongs in everyone's game collection. Don't miss it.

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