Metroid: Samus Returns is FANTASTIC so What's Next for 2D Metroid?

[MTZehvor]

spemanig said:

mZuzek said:

Wow.

You have a capacity for being negative about stuff that goes way beyond what I imagined was possible. In the end, your post kinda feels like a "hurr durr not my metroid", just exponentially developed in loads of words.

I understand why you wouldn't like the counter, since it is a dramatic change to combat, but since combat was actually so irrelevant in previous Metroid games I don't really see that big of an issue. I do think it was poorly used in most boss fights, because then it just triggers long-ass "interactive" cutscenes that instantly wipe out like 50% of the boss's health, but for the most part it's something I just got used to. In previous games, I'd see enemies and ignore them, in Samus Returns I see enemies and quickly shave them off with the counter. I liked how it made enemies more aggressive though, it made it feel like there was a bit more of a real obstacle to the exploration and it made the world seem more dangerous.

But yeah, the fact you somehow dislike free aim is beyond baffling. I understand the complaint about not being able to move while aiming, but that is such an extremely shallow complaint. When did you actually aim and shoot diagonally while moving in any previous Metroid game, like, ever? Once, twice? It was never much of an useful feature, if you're moving you're usually shooting forward, except in very specific cases. Also, don't get me started on how cumbersome it was to aim diagonally down in Fusion and ZM, a problem free aim fixes completely. Previous Metroid games weren't designed in a way that your 8-direction shots could hit every enemy, they were designed in a way that had loads of enemies that were awkward to hit because of their positioning, and now with free aiming those enemies are no longer a pain in the ass because the controls allow you a lot more freedom.

Whats funny is that boss fights are the one area where i don't mind the counter because I actually don't need to use it, and bossed don't exclusively spam counterable moves.

Enemies in metroid games are mostly wildlife. They arent meant to be obstacles. They are set dressing. Bosses and enemies like the space pirates are. Even so, enemies die in one hit with the counter, which is just an easy to execute QTE. In what way does that make the world feel dangerous? Enemies in SR are mindless annoyances that all react in the exact same way.

Moved and aimed diagonally all the time in Super. And even if it was rarely, it absolutely eclipses the amount of times that being rooted to the ground was more useful, which is a resounding never. And aiming diagonally down absolutely was cumbersome in those games. The solution isnt then to make a worse, infinitely less useful aiming option. It's to go back to what worked before. I'd infinitely rather not be able to aim comfortably in one direction, the least useful direction, while still having perfect mobility with an attack that is actually useful in literally every scanario than SR's implementation.

Previous metroids required you to move to hit an enemy at the very most. Thats it. Heaven forbid a metroid game forces the player to be mobile. There's nothing awkward about that. The idea that free aiming as it's implemented now offers more freedom is an objectively false one, for reasons I've already argued. SR trades literally every other freedom the previous way offered for the "freedom" of not having to take one step forward to hit an enemy. Absolutely not worth it.

Agree and disagree with this. Enemies in previous Metroid games have largely just been set dressing (although I'd argue Fusion is a major exception to this), but that doesn't mean they should stay that way. If the game wants to make them more of a threat like Fusion, or (as they are in this game) use them as a way to get the player used to a major mechanic of the game, in this case, the counter system, then go for it. Regular enemies shouldn't be restricted to this one, small role of just being target practice. 

Being able to aim in any direction, even if it means being rooted to the ground, is absolutely useful. Being able to precisely aim at enemies from long distances away, especially Metroids, was something I found to be extremely helpful. Losing diagonal aiming while standing still does suck, but you can do it while running, simply by holding the stick to the right and slightly up. The only thing I think really adversely affected gameplay was the grapple beam at points; doing multiple consecutive grapples without a button for diagonal aiming isn't as easy.