Metroid: Zero Mission for Game Boy Adv Reviews by Gamers

Not to knock on Metroid Fusion's direction or anything, but it sure is great to see Samus back in her classic suit again. Metroid: Zero Mission is Nintendo's attempt to solidify the popular and successful Metroid series with a stunning, more coherent-but-mysterious storyline that fits what the company worked in for Metroid Prime. The gameplay remains as strong as it's always been, never straying far from what's already been established in past Metroid game. But also like most Metroid games released, Zero Mission seems to end far sooner than it should, and its lighter difficulty level unfortunately helps it end even quicker. Even so, the game is a worthy follow-up that sticks with what made the franchise such a success on every Nintendo console.

Features

• Three difficulty levels
• Classic NES version unlockable
• Link up with Metroid Fusion to unlock extras
• Cartridge save: three slots

We definitely have to start this review off right: Metroid: Zero Mission is not a remake of the original Metroid released on the Nintendo Entertainment System nearly 20 years ago. Instead, team members have taken situations, locations, and enemies from the 8-bit NES adventure, and reformulated an entirely new game design. So while you may recognize some elements in Zero Mission from start to finish, the techniques involved in getting through situations in Zero Mission could never be mirrored in similar areas of the original game. If Samus' first mission was a written tale, the original Metroid is the Cliff's Notes to Metroid: Zero Mission's novel. And even that isn't too apt an analogy, since Zero Mission has significantly more going on after the NES game ends.

Zero Mission is rooted firmly in what Nintendo has already established in past Metroid games. So firmly, in fact, that there's not much new to this "fresh" Metroid experience. Players again take control of Samus at her most basic abilities. She can run, jump and shoot through the alien infested areas, but that's pretty much it right from the start. Luckily, waiting for players at the start of the game is the Metroid staple: Samus' Morph Ball technique. With this ability, players can crouch into a sphere and roll through narrow passages, leading into deeper portions of the alien planet. As Samus gets further into the adventure, she'll earn stronger firepower and more useful skills; the power grab, for example, makes a return from Metroid Fusion and gives players the ability to latch onto ledges. This ability is used for many of the platform challenges in Zero Mission, several of which are used in combination with her Morph Ball, so, like in Fusion, players can pull themselves up from a ledge into ball mode to access those tight nooks and crannies.

Much of the game's challenge, as usual for the Metroid franchise, comes from simply having a keen eye. If there's a spot in an area where you seem stuck with no way out, the graphics will generally indicate how to escape. Some are subtle, like little cracks in the tile that show a destroyable platform. Others require players to blast tiles to reveal the clue to destroy them; some can only be removed with missiles. Or a morph ball bomb. Or a dash attack. Many of these tiles block access to portions of the planet, so without the specific technique in your abilities, it's a good indication that you'll have to make a return trip.

The payoff towards the end of Metroid: Zero Mission is a much more rewarding experience than Fusion's conclusion. Not only does the gameplay and story continue beyond the Mother Brain battle, it veers off into new gameplay territory because players must play as Samus in a much different context, and with additional play elements that's less like a Metroid game and more lifted from games like Flashback. This mission extension is important to the Metroid brand because it better links to Metroid Prime than Metroid Prime linked to the NES Metroid original. The story arc's now structured a bit more solidly thanks to well drawn comic book-style cut scenes and very, very brief text narrative from Samus that explains a couple of important elements that just couldn't be portrayed through wordless animations.

One of the biggest complaints many fans had about Metroid Fusion, at least compared to previous Metroid adventures, was how rigid the level design was with its hand-holding and overly obvious "you need to go here" hint system. Metroid: Zero Mission isn't as bad about it this time around, but it does indicate where players need to be after reaching specific checkpoints, and it definitely keeps things on a rail since players easily recognize that they don't need to be in that specific area anymore after the hint's been given. This seems to be the direction that the Metroid series is headed, what with Metroid Prime starting the trend. And the way Zero Mission handles it is very similar to the GameCube adventure. But at least in Prime players can simply turn this function off. The hint structure is integrated in Zero Mission so much that, even if you look away from the screen, the map still features "where to go" icons as plain as day. It's honestly not that big of a deal, but those irked by Fusion's spoon feeding aren't going to escape it in Zero Mission. The only real knock against Metroid: Zero Mission: it, like Metroid Fusion, is a short adventure, only requiring about five hours to play through the mission, which amounts to about three to four hours of gameclock time depending on how many deaths take place. Exploration can add quite a few more minutes of gameplay since the first time through generally won't net players the entire booty of hidden weapon upgrades, something that certainly adds to the replay value of Zero Mission. However, aside from the new gameplay elements after the Mother Brain battle, the game is just not as challenging a Metroid design this time around. There are only a handful of locations that are truly "head scratching," a factor that's been a lot more abundant in past Metroid games, including Fusion. Boss battles are an absolute joke in the normal setting; Ridley, a devious encounter in past Metroid games, can be taken out with a less-than-graceful flurry of missiles, and the final boss is a simple matter of timing five Super Missiles in the right place. Not exactly full of technique, that's for sure.

At least the designers stuck in a "Hard" setting for players looking for a real challenge, awarded after beating the game. While this setting is definitely one big pain in the ass due to weaker weapons and shielding, stronger enemies, and much less frequent power-up appearances, players have it in their mind on where they need to go and what they need to do from already beating the Normal setting. So while Hard Mode is indeed a challenge, players who have access to this mode already have the upper hand. For those looking for the real honest-to-god challenge, Nintendo even snuck in the original NES Metroid game in the cartridge. It was a hidden treat for GameCube Metroid Prime players, but this time the game is offered in portable form as a bonus for finishing the main adventure. The fully emulated version looks, sounds and plays absolutely identical to the original two-decade old design, and should be proof enough to players that the Zero Mission portion of the game is as far from a "remake" as you can get.

Compared to Metroid Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission is an extremely worthy follow-up, especially in the graphics and sound department. Fusion had already pushed the series in new 2D directions with some really excellent special effects used for area environments and enemy sprites. The same can be said for Zero Mission, even though the impact has been subdued by Fusion's display. The "ooh neat" effects are also a lot more subtle this time around, so don't expect to be bowled over with new graphic techniques on the GBA screen. For the audio, the development team remixed all the tunes from the NES game and added a bunch of new ones to fit the specific areas on the planet. Zero Mission, like Fusion, sounds absolutely fantastic through a set of headphones with all of the effects separated for each ear.

Is it better than Fusion? In terms of presentation, absolutely. The game better fills in the gap left open during Metroid Prime than Fusion did, creating a new story for the lead heroine, and offers a better reward towards the end. But the gameplay, as fun as it is in Zero Mission, was more challenging in Fusion due to its much more difficult boss battles and slightly better constructed puzzle elements.

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