Thanks to Thor Gaming and Nintendo Israel for providing the review copy
Metroid Prime Remastered (Nintendo)
While all the fans are eagerly waiting for the fourth game in the Metroid series that was announced to them somewhere at the E3 2017 conference, Nintendo did something that it hasn't done in a very long time.
It maintained masterful wireless silence, and surprisingly released the remastered version of one of its most iconic games ever - Metroid Prime - for the Nintendo Switch portable console.
The game (which was originally released for the Gamecube console in 2002 and is considered quite a game changer) comes in a remastered version for the portable Switch console.
And what a great version.
Nintendo managed to take their classic and bring it once again with all the improvements, renovations and adaptations to the present day.
Let's dig.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
For those who don't know, the Metroid series will put you in the shoes of Samus, the intergalactic bounty hunter (and perhaps the first woman in the gaming world) who investigates a distress signal coming from a pirate space station, only to discover that she is under attack by monstrous creatures and genetic experiments.
After a not particularly tough boss fight (because it's still the beginning of the game) Samus will find herself on the planet Talon IV lacking special abilities and powers.
From here on our role as players will be to progress slowly, explore the planet and the mysteries around it, unlock new abilities, and overlap with Talon IV.
Of course not before we defeat the pirates and understand what is behind their actions and the genetic experiments they conducted.
Prime manages to take the Metroidvania genre, which was created by this series since the 2D days, and convert it to 3D perfectly.
This means that you will explore areas, solve environmental puzzles, develop abilities, and return to places you have already visited to use the new abilities to reach new places and progress from there.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
It's also important to note that Metroid Prime is a first-person game, but it's really not a first-person shooter.
I mean, you do shoot and fight.
But this is really not the essence of the game or the emphasis of the gameplay.
It comes in the exploration of the world and the general feeling that will accompany you throughout the experience.
Each Talon IV is immersed in different and varied locations, from ancient ruins to menacing magma caves.
The exploration of the world is done organically without too much effort or an attempt by the developers to spoon-feed the players.
Samus has an environmental scanning ability in her suit, and at any stage players can explore the environment and get information that will enrich the extensive world building.
An element that you really don't see in many games.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
Metroid Prime does a lot of things well and it stands the test of time even today, but it's definitely thanks to all the renovations and adjustments that the remake went through.
The game was originally released for the Gamecube console at a time when first-person games were relatively experimental in the console world.
This created situations where the controls would be very strange and unintuitive, especially by today's standards.
The version for Nintendo Switch updates the control of Samus for both Joy-Cons, and this already gives the game a much more standard, modern and enjoyable feel.
Of course you can use my least favorite option (which was also available in the Wii version a few years ago) and that is of course to use the Joy-Con's motion sensors.
But I stuck to the classic-modern control which made it easier for me not only in the battles, but also in the platforming sections that became the more abrasive R-B-E in the new version.
I only have one complaint: the enemy AI in the game doesn't seem to have been adapted to the gameplay, mainly because the whole thing felt a lot easier than I originally remembered it.
But it could also be the fact that I first played it when I was 14.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
Everything is brand new and shiny
What's amazing about Metroid Prime is that even though it's a remastered version, it looks like it's a remake.
This means Nintendo and Retro Studios didn't just update HD resolutions.
They did a total makeover for the entire game and updated all the models and textures from the ground up.
It makes Prime feel like a game built from scratch.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
I ran the review mainly on the OLED console, although I also installed the game on an old version of the Nintendo Switch and in both the gameplay remained at 60 frames per second.
When you connect the game to the console dock, it will run at 900p resolution, compared to 600p in mobile mode, and I didn't find any frame drops or stuttering in either mode.
Everything went Silky Smooth perfectly and this is one of the most polished innovations I have experienced.
Whether you play in mobile mode or connected to a TV, I think this is one of the most beautiful and impressive games you will find on the Switch, and it manages to prove how this old console can still deliver impressive games even without Ray Tracing or HD or monstrous hardware that compares to the competition.
Do you see that this is an old game?
Yes.
Does it look bad?
No.
Games are not just graphics.
They are a combination of art and design, and Metroid Prime manages to integrate the whole package.
Metroid Prime Remastered (photo: official website, Nintendo)
and the bad
One part I have to complain about in this update is the lack of manual saves.
The game saves only at very specific points, which is most of the times in the main area of the game.
This causes situations where if you die, then you've thrown away at least half an hour of gameplay, sometimes more.
It can be very, very frustrating.
Especially if you are exploring an area and are about to enter a boss fight without prior knowledge and are caught off guard.
Some will say "trial and error", I say "add manual saving".
And it shouldn't harm the original game experience, because you can still leave the automatic saves.
In conclusion
Metroid Prime Remastered is a piece of surprise for fans of the series, and is a masterful example of how innovations should look.
Especially in today's industry.
Nintendo and Retro Studios have managed to take an iconic game, revamp it and make it feel like new, and make it perfectly accessible to old and new players alike on the Switch console.
Now let's just hope that Nintendo intends to release the next two games in the series in preparation for Metroid 4.
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metroid
Nintendo
nintendo switch