Jeremy Gallen's Game Reviews

Mother Brain Is Your Master

Though my family had owned the original Nintendo Entertainment System, there were quite a few of the Big N’s flagship series I didn’t get into until the following console generation or even the generations beyond. Among these was their Metroid series, whose early installments took bounty huntress Samus Aran through space fighting the eponymous aliens in side-scrolling gameplay that would ultimately establish the Metroidvania subgenre of games, of which I’m somewhat fond, and first experienced with Super Metroid. The very first entry would receive a remake on the Game Boy Advance entitled Metroid: Zero Mission, which would bring with it many contemporary (at least in the remake’s sense) enhancements.

Zero Mission primarily focuses on Samus as she explores the planet Zebes in search of Mother Brain, an entity that controls the operations of Space Pirates experimenting with the franchise’s titular lifeforms, and afterwards, the smugglers themselves. The backstory, some involving Samus herself, and the added content extending beyond the original version’s plot are nice, although actual narrative scenes and dialogue are minimal, but one could argue in this case that the game doesn’t force its plot down the player’s throat. Generally, the story isn’t exactly the prime of space opera, but doesn’t detract from the experience.

The remake’s gameplay borrows chiefly from the sole Super NES entry of the franchise that would ultimately spawn the Metroidvania subgenre of video games, with Samus able to fire her arm cannon horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and receive upgrades that enhance her offensive, defensive, and exploratory capabilities. Those accustomed to the gameplay of two-dimensional series entries will find themselves at home, and franchise newcomers will welcome difficulty options when starting a new game, with there still being reasonable challenge even on Easy mode. As in other entries, though, there is some randomization as to what enemies drop when defeated, and a slightly taxing endgame, part of which involves a stealth sequence, but otherwise, the game mechanics help more than hurt.

The control is largely easy to adjust to, if at moments restricted by the Game Boy Advance having two less buttons than the Super NES, with the in-game maps often being helpful as well, and plot points occasionally indicated. However, as can be the case with most games of its kind, one may find it easy to get lost in the game world, which can in some cases account for fake longevity (although the game itself isn’t too long), and there are other issues such as the inability to view playtime in-game, the lack of fast-travel, and the occasional inconvenient placement of save points, but there aren’t too many other ways in which the remake could be more user-friendly.

Those who started the main series after the first two games will be right at home.

Though the Game Boy Advance’s sound capabilities were somewhat inferior to those of the Super NES, Nintendo’s sound team for the most part did a nice job recreating the eight-bit original’s soundtrack, with some tracks such as the foreboding title screen theme even prolonged a little. Music such as the Brinstar theme also recalls the Mars Movement of Gustav Holst’s The Planets suite, and that for Kraid’s Lair sounds like a techno homage to the ballroom waltzes of Johann Strauss and his son. As implied, the quality of the soundtrack can be inconsistent, but the sound effects never seem out of place, and overall, the remake’s aurals are mostly pleasant to behold.

The original Metroid looked good for an eight-bit game, and the Game Boy Advance remake does justice visually, with some occasional anime stills mostly showing Samus’s design within and without armor, nice colors, gorgeous alien environments, good spaceship design, fluid animation, and great enemy designs, though some are palette swaps. Ultimately, Zero Mission is a sight to behold from beginning to end.

As mentioned, the remake is short, conquerable in as little as three hours, though absolute completion naturally takes longer and adds lasting appeal, as do the multiple endings and difficulty selection.

Overall, Metroid: Zero Mission is a great remake that honors the spirit of the original while expanding upon it and making it more accessible to contemporary audiences, given its solid gameplay and exploration and audiovisual presentation, alongside the minimal temporal investment and consequential lasting appeal. There are issues such as the ease in losing oneself within the game world, not to mention the absence of flesh regarding the narrative, although players mostly concerned with the gameplay will find the remake to be a good starting point to experience the beginnings of Samus Aran’s intergalactic saga.

This review is based on a single playthrough on Easy difficulty.