Review: Metroid Zero Mission

In 1986, Nintendo shook the video game market with a new kind of game. The world had seen side-scrollers before with earlier games like Kung Fu Master and Super Mario Bros, but this game redefined what a side-scroller could do.

With a variety of weapons, tons of enemies, and an enormous, sprawling dungeon for players to explore, Nintendo’s Metroid reshaped a genre.

Now, almost two decades later, Nintendo finally revisited its game that spawned a series with a new Game Boy Advance remake, Metroid: Zero Mission (MZM), which will likely go down as one of the best side-scrollers of 2004.

MZM is probably the first remake to ever deserve being called a “remake,” in that it offers more than just a few graphic changes.

After descending into Brinstar and picking up the Morph Ball, the similarities to the 1986 predecessor quickly vanish. While maps are loosely based on the classic, dramatic changes were made that will probably confuse any players expecting to navigate from memory.

Fortunately, the game adds an auto-map feature, similar to Konami’s Castlevania titles of the last 7 years and Nintendo’s Super Metroid. The auto-map rendering the old process of pencil and paper mapping obsolete, letting players spend more time playing than figuring out how many blocks on their graph paper they just went up so they don’t draw colliding corridors.

The story of the game is dramatically fleshed out. In 1986, players were given a single page in the instruction manual to inform them just why they were playing. Today, MZM is complete with a text and graphic intro, cut scenes throughout the game as bosses move in and metroids gobble up some space pirates.

The artwork is certainly … different than one might except from a Japanese video game. The full screen visuals oddly remind me of X-Men and Batman artwork circa 1996. Don’t misunderstand, the artwork isn’t at all bad, it’s just different than what one would expect from the country where everyone has orb-like heads, triangle chins and spiky hair.

While the story is expanded, the game is by no means linear. Kneeling in the palms of certain Chozo statues will cause them to show you the way to items, but whether or not you go and collect them is another matter.

My first time through the game, I ignored the maps and Chozo statues, which led me to beat Ridley first, then Kraid, then Mother Brain–all before getting the Varia Suit. Certainly a challenge.

However, playing through the “suggested way” could lead to a considerably less challenging experience, as this game has enough power-ups providing a “kid-safe” experience anyone could beat it with ease.

The game retains the items from the original NES edition, as well as a few items from Super Metroid. The bomb jumping trick lost in Metroid Fusion makes a return in this game, so bombing upward into passages is again a great way to go exploring for power-ups.

But even bombing upward is often rendered obsolete, since Samus has a new ability allowing her to grapple onto edges and pull herself up. This combined with Super Missiles, which kill Ridley and Kraid in only a couple hits and can shatter Mother Brain’s glass in as few as four really make the bosses seem less “boss-like.”

The real challenge comes later in the game, when Samus finds herself stripped of all weapons and armor against enemies who can take as much as an energy tank at a time in damage with a weapon unable to damage them. For the sake of surprise, I won’t say when or why this happens, but it’s a whole new story never seen in the original.

One of the most criticized aspects of the game is how long it is. Taking players about 4 - 6 hours their first run, it seems very reasonable to me for a portable game. The frequent save chambers also help since this is something players probably wouldn’t be going at more than 20 minutes.

It seems ridiculous to me to expect a side-scroller to exceed 6 hours, especially on a portable system. Anyone with the time and desire to sit down and play a 15 hour game on a 2.5″ LCD may want to re-evaluate his or her gaming habits.

Beating the game unlocks a slew of new features, including Hard Mode, Time Trial, sound test mode, a gallery mode, where players are awarded new art depending on how quickly they can clear the game, and a playable version of the original Metroid in all its 8-bit glory, now with cart saving–though the classic passwords all still work.

However, despite all this praise, MZM has its drawbacks.

In terms of music, the game is somewhat lackluster. There were relatively few improvements made to the soundtrack since the classic days, aside for one or two remixes later in the game, which are admittedly nice.

The most disappointing music is that which accompanies some cut-scenes. Some of these scenes seem to be trying for an almost ambient feel, which may work well in RPGs, but against the bursting action themes of Metroid, seem staggeringly out of place.

The graphics, while nice, show many signs of having been recycled out of Metroid Fusion and Super Metroid. They don’t look bad, but there’s many times where players might be left thinking, “We’ve seen this before.” I think a bit more originality could be called for in that department.

Overall, MZM is an excellent platform game packed with enough extras to merit at least several plays through the game, which is more than can be said of recent Castlevania titles, which go stale after two or three plays.

Time Trial mode should give anyone who enjoys the game an endless source of self competition, if not competition against internet players, assuming Twin Galaxies picks up on the game soon. Not that I ever expect to see players competing at the 5 minute level like Super Mario Bros.

The presentation and gameplay of MZM are definitely first rate, and should offer enough to make it worth the $30 price tag. The most disappointing moment is when you get bored of MZM and notice we never see such quality side-scrollers anymore.