NES Metroid is boring

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

11 hours ago, Link said:

Like I said, it's hard. So I don't blame you. I tried back then but I was bad at it and I didn't have Nintendo Power. And that's why I never got anywhere in Metroid. 

This means it's a terrible game, like Super Mario 3 without a battery enabled save! 

All of the cool kids drew their own maps!

[RH | 4,916]

It’s hard for me to really rate this vs. Super Metroid.  I didn’t get to play Super Metroid until it came out on the Wii VC.  That and Paper Mario are the only two VC games I bought that I didn’t own as a kid AND beat on the Wii.  That says something because I had no nostalgia for it and time as an adult is critical.

M2 is not a linear title but it felt more linear and that always takes away from the feeling of exploration.  M1, though same-y looking, felt like it was truly random and added to the realism of being lost, but M2 was just a solid game that utilized the possibilities it had with the SNES and cart-sizes of that time but felt slightly linear.

I don’t know.  Metroid 2 is far more accessible (and that’s not a bad thing) but there’s something to be said about the satisfaction of finally defeating Mother Brain and THEN racing back to your ship after all of that confusion and hunting. It’s almost like these are two separate games and they need to be evaluated by different metrics even though, yeah, the point of both games is to unlock and explore a cavernous unknown world.

Oh and I never made or used a map.  I’d acts all cool about it but, honestly, I think the fact is it never occurred to me to do that.  I feel like I played/replayed so many parts of M1 (which is a testimony to my gamer incompetence, lol) that I learned the areas well enough that I didn’t need a map.  Even now, in my brain I feel like I can map out about 25-35% of the game.

Edited April 28, 2023 by RH

[CIB_Wholesale | 418]

13 hours ago, SilverSurfer said:

Not a troll post. If I try really hard, I guess I can see why some people enjoy this game. I just don’t like it at all. I spent countless hours as a kid wandering around aimlessly and never accomplished a damn thing. Recently picked it up again, and nope, still can’t get into it. 

what am I missing? I want to give another chance. Should I play it with a guide? Wouldn’t that be cheating? I must be doing something wrong with all the praise this game gets. Help me please.

finally someone said it!

 

it is  boring

 

can you add a poll to the post?

 

[Nugfish | 652]

I also think Metroid blows, but Super Metroid is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time. I think for me it's the complete lack of atmosphere and Super Metroid put in a map which is 100% necessary.

[G-type | 2,482]

I always dug the music and the vibes, but never got far into when just playing randomly... With a Nintendo Player's Guide, I beat it and had a blast.

[SilverSurfer | 11]

*I added a poll to my first post*

From the comments, I think I'm right about Metroid, it is boring.  I haven't read a convincing argument against that.  But I think the key is that some things can be boring AND still be enjoyed by people.  For example, watching golf on the television is boring, but some people actually like it.  

That being said, unless I find a Nintendo guide, I think I'm done with this game.  Perhaps I'll try Metroid Zero, or the SNES Metroid.  That one is on my backlog, but I wanted to give Nes Metroid a good try before getting to it.

[Hammerfestus | 3,858]

I‘ve started it a whole bunch of times with the intent of going further but I just never get very far.  I just don’t have the patience any more I think.  Oh woe unto us!  What cruel fate hath begat unto us this false blessing!  Why hast thou forsaken us oh glorious save battery!  Why  are we left with only abomination!

[glazball | 170]

"Boring" is a dumb word to describe Metroid, whatever you think about it.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,547]

29 minutes ago, SilverSurfer said:

*I added a poll to my first post*

From the comments, I think I'm right about Metroid, it is boring.  I haven't read a convincing argument against that.  But I think the key is that some things can be boring AND still be enjoyed by people.  For example, watching golf on the television is boring, but some people actually like it.  

That being said, unless I find a Nintendo guide, I think I'm done with this game.  Perhaps I'll try Metroid Zero, or the SNES Metroid.  That one is on my backlog, but I wanted to give Nes Metroid a good try before getting to it.

Well, it's subjective.  People who grew up with are drawn in by the atmosphere.  People who grew up with II and Super might find it a bit unrefined.  Younger generations would probably find all of the above ancient and creaky.

As far as major NES games go, it's definitely one that maybe hasn't aged as gracefully as others.  That's the general sentiment.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I played and beat NES Metroid for the first time ever earlier this year. I used a guide. I preferred to do it and it helped with my personal enjoyment of the process. It's up to you to decide what is best for you, but imo there is no shame in using a guide. 

I really enjoyed the game btw. 

[fcgamer | 4,729]

1 minute ago, CodysGameRoom said:

I played and beat NES Metroid for the first time ever earlier this year. I used a guide. I preferred to do it and it helped with my personal enjoyment of the process. It's up to you to decide what is best for you, but imo there is no shame in using a guide. 

I really enjoyed the game btw. 

I just want to take the time to state that I agree wholeheartedly with this. I'll even go one step further and say that I see no shame in using game genie or whatever when playing.

I think that by now, as we're all adults, priorities change and time is limited. So there should be no shame in wanting to experience a game in a pragmatic way, even if it's different or "easier" than how we would have played it as kids. I don't have an interest in 100%ing games anymore for the same reason.

[Jynx | 140]

I didn't go into much detail, so now I will.

I enjoy many things about the first two games that were done less good in later games. Maybe I'm just better at this, but the maps of Metroid 1 and 2 aren't very confusing. When you're playing, you learn and remember your way around just by remembering.

Metroid is also best played without continuing. When I was learning to play the game for the first time in my 20s, I realized that once you die it's best to just start the whole game again. Metroid is a short game, so replaying from the start takes almost as much time as grinding for health and missiles. Each time you play, you want to figure out how to get a little farther, until you make it to the next E-Tank.

The best trick is to save one of the early E-tanks for the end, when you're about to go down to where the Metroids live. Continuing in Metroid also makes you less familiar with the maze, as you forget where things were. By playing from the start repeatedly, you will remember the maze more quickly.

I feel like many people who call themselves Metroid fans only really like Super Metroid, the first Metroid Prime, and Metroid Zero Mission. People who come to the series later on tend to notice the problems of Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. The fanbase as a whole isn't one of my favourites.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Jynx

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

I think you have to love the mapping. The discovery in Metroid is what’s fun. It’s not exactly Contra. Grab some graph paper or the Gridmaker iOS app.

The health grind is dumb AF but I don’t remember dying a ton in Metroid  The hard part is really just the exploration. I mean there’s like 2 bosses.

[Jynx | 140]

Many people also hang on to lots of missiles, which is a bad idea. Unlike later Metroids where missiles are built mainly for bosses, missiles are very important for taking out normal enemies just to make it through the maze. Don't be afraid to use them!

[G-type | 2,482]

9 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

The health grind is dumb AF but I don’t remember dying a ton in Metroid  The hard part is really just the exploration. I mean there’s like 2 bosses.

sometimes, you just gotta suck it up and grind for those Spaghettios

[phart010 | 1,707]

Metroid + Saving (v 0.3) - snarfblam
adds MinimaP, filesave, Beamstacking, Better icebeam and bombs

MDbtroid - Infinity’s End:
Nicer title screen, Nicer endings, Updated player sprites, Updated enemy sprites, updated Kraid and Ridley, Updated Mother Brain,  updated tiles

‘Roidz - DemickXII:
Nicer background tiles, Animated lava, doors and elevators, Animated corridors, Animated Norfair, Animated Tourian, updated tiles

Metroid Mother:
This hack combines the three above hacks. It was created to be the ultimate NES remake of a classic game.
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1988/

Metroid 99:
starts you off with your tanks FULL and at 99 energy

Metroid Mother+99:
This is an addendum to the Metroid mOTHER patch by dACE, which adds the functionality of the Metroid99 patch by Maximum Potion. By patching this on top of Metroid mOTHER, you will start the game with 99 health, and any energy tanks will be refilled.

https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3640/

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by phart010

[Estil | 1,265]

21 hours ago, SilverSurfer said:

Not a troll post. If I try really hard, I guess I can see why some people enjoy this game. I just don’t like it at all. I spent countless hours as a kid wandering around aimlessly and never accomplished a damn thing. Recently picked it up again, and nope, still can’t get into it. 

what am I missing? I want to give another chance. Should I play it with a guide? Wouldn’t that be cheating? I must be doing something wrong with all the praise this game gets. Help me please.

Did you try making a map as you went along?  That's what the manual says to do.

[Gentlegamer | 174]

Metroid is a pretty kewl gai he kilz aleinz n doesnt afraid of anything

[Tulpa | 3,514]

5 hours ago, SilverSurfer said:

 

From the comments, I think I'm right about Metroid, it is boring.  I haven't read a convincing argument against that.  But I think the key is that some things can be boring AND still be enjoyed by people.  For example, watching golf on the television is boring, but some people actually like it.  

 

Definitions of "boring" differ from person to person.

I acknowledge that Super Metroid is objectively superior in every way, but I still enjoy the original.

 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Just here to say thank you to the godfather for metroidvanias

 

”Boring”  can be the same as “too hard”, as well as “too easy” to different people. 

[wongojack | 217]

I played Metroid when it was new bitd, and I loved it.  I did have the Official Nintendo Player's Guide which had extensive maps to help.  Would I have enjoyed it as much without those maps?  Probably not, but my overall experience with the game was absolutely transformative.  It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment as I made progress through the map and eventually beat mother brain.  I found it repetitive at times but anything but boring.  I've played it several times since and in 2023 there are probably better alternatives (Super, Zero Mission), but I have very high nostalgia for the original and will always admire it for forming my impression of what a video game can be.  I'm honestly shocked there weren't more copycats on 8 bit systems.

Edited April 30, 2023 by wongojack

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Agreed. Even after going back to it when I was older and knew what was going on I still didn't enjoy it. Super Metroid is probably my favourite game of all time overall.

[rdrunner | 422]

Liking the poll results here.  For a while there I was thinking "here we go again".

NES Metroid is absolutely a classic game, easily one of the best of its era.  Complaining about it in 2023 for not having certain quality of life improvements that actually evolved from its legacy is just wrong.

Edited April 29, 2023 by rdrunner

[Brickman | 3,994]

1 hour ago, rdrunner said:

Liking the poll results here.  For a while there I was thinking "here we go again".

NES Metroid is absolutely a classic game, easily one of the best of its era.  Complaining about it in 2023 for not having certain quality of life improvements that actually evolved from its legacy is just wrong.

Especially because the GBA version resolves all the issues the OP has with the game.

It’s definitely not a boring game, the NES version is just a product of its time.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

@SilverSurfer You can't be convinced, but where I'm lost is where is your argument exactly WHY it is boring. I re-read that first post, you seem more confused about how to approach it than just being bored.  Or the fact you're confused makes you bored because you give up trying?  If that is the reason then I'd get why you'd be bored because you're doing circles and getting(feeling like getting?) nowhere.

The game itself inherently despite the shadowy hidden utterly counterintuitive and lame speed time for the best view of Samus is designed to be more slower, plodding, exploratory, and with a dash of foreboding and spooky intent really.  You go in blind and damn near naked in a way, a cork gun on a short string is your only attack and enough life for someone in a shirt and pants would have too.

No map, no damn clue (other than manual) why you're there or what to do.  You're just dropped between two I guess enemies and a choice, and the wrong choice pops a 180 to fix that incorrect choice with the morph ball (maru mari.)  After that it's just more go and grow and hope not to die.  There's not much there to get bored of, there is too much there to get utterly confused and spun about to a point of annoyance, disappointment, and confusion and then some.  Call it the lack of developer foresight (no map, zones so lacking in detail areas feel to overlap as they kind of do in look) on top of the limits of the MMC1 spec of the time largely but not entirely parroting the already outdated FDS format.

Nintendo knew by the time it crept over to the states the game was lacking some fairly necessary gimmes to make sense of it.

The Official Nintendo Player's Guide (Pg52) out in 1987 about a year after the game with full maps.
 https://archive.org/details/The_Official_Nintendo_Players_Guide_1987/page/n47/mode/2up 
Later in 1991 (October) Nintendo Power V29 (Pg38) they did an 8 page spread with the maps and more again too.
https://archive.org/details/NintendoPower1988-2004/Nintendo Power Issue 029 (October 1991)/page/n39/mode/2up

There really is no reason to be bored with this at all if confusion was the reason, Nintendo kept giving out help with this one, once in the silver box era, then later when they re-issued the game in a yellow box too.  One the premium guide, the other just a standard off the rack copy of Nintendo Power.

Maybe the style of game isn't fun to you, then that would make sense too.  The game is just a product of the era, lacking in some common sense design that NCL didn't have, but NOA did, hence not once but twice giving way the full map and how to progress in the game to win, effectively giving you the map Super Metroid would have pre-built on paper.