Metroid Prime Remaster - Game Review
Samus is back in the first person but is this second time through Talon IV gonna be a first in score?
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00:00 While some of the elements of its design feel antiquated, stunning changes made to the Metroid
00:07 Prime's visual design, performance and controls are enough to breathe new life into one of
00:12 the greatest video games of all time.
00:14 Whether this is your first journey to Talon 4 or return trip, Metroid Prime Remastered
00:18 is well worth your time and attention.
00:20 Peering through the lens of the combat visor, it's easy to believe that it's a window,
00:24 your way of assessing the acrid ecology of Talon 4.
00:27 But it's really a mirror, reflecting the anguished determination of Samus Aran as bright
00:32 beams of light illuminate dark and dusty corridors.
00:35 Two decades later, Metroid Prime's smartest visual flourish has lost none of its impact.
00:40 Is that down to the quality of this remaster which occupies uncommon ground between faithful
00:44 emulation and confident reconfiguration?
00:47 Or because the foundations first outlined by Retro Studios have largely circumvented
00:51 the slow decay of time?
00:53 It's difficult to say.
00:54 Although we can tell you that Metroid Prime Remastered is a triumph.
00:58 Remastered is like seeing Metroid Prime for the very first time.
01:00 A quiet contemplative adventure where the balance of power shifts gradually.
01:04 Not as you repair the damaged Vari suit, slowly expanding the capabilities with hidden troves
01:09 of technology, but as you gain a better understanding of the alien flora and altered fauna that
01:14 surrounds you, that hurts you, that hunts you.
01:17 Metroid Prime is underpinned by vibrant imagination and powered by a vivid attention to detail.
01:22 That was true of the original, though the atmosphere is undoubtedly accentuated after
01:26 a careful remastering process.
01:28 The hiss of a power suit straining against the weight of movement.
01:31 The audible crosstalk as visor modes layer atop of one another.
01:34 The sharp exhale of air, Samus' energy shield is peppered with plasma.
01:38 All of it combines to create such a severe sense of place that the arm cannon quickly
01:42 feels like a direct extension of your fingertips.
01:45 More so than ever before now, with the introduction of a somewhat finicky dual analog stick control
01:50 option alongside classic and pointer schemes.
01:53 Almost all of Metroid Prime's stories conveyed environmentally and through the accumulated
01:57 written logs.
01:58 At the time, this was a somewhat unconventional narrative structure.
02:02 In the context of modern first-person adventure games, it still feels revolutionary.
02:06 There's a freedom to Metroid Prime's core design that is as daunting as it is exhilarating.
02:11 Getting lost isn't a mistake, it's the point.
02:13 An opportunity to conquer undulating terrains that always find a way to fold back on themselves.
02:19 Getting your scan visor won't remind you of forgotten mission objectives, but it will
02:22 let you learn more about every incidental object around you.
02:27 The three-dimensional map is as difficult to read today as it was way back when, which
02:31 we still believe was designed as such to sabotage concerned efforts to get back on track.
02:35 There were a lot of rapid comparisons drawn between Halo Combat Evolved and Metroid Prime
02:39 in 2002, and Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary featured a high-definition visual overhaul
02:45 that while technically impressive, stripped much of the charm and personality out of Installation
02:50 04.
02:51 The landscape was recognisable, but alien.
02:53 Giant jagged shapes terraformed into smooth cylindrical structures.
02:57 Conversely, Metroid Prime has only been accentuated in its remastering, with its labyrinthine
03:02 corridors and concourses gaining a scale of depth and level of detail that the GameCube
03:07 wasn't able to deliver.
03:08 Not without our imaginations filling in the blank spaces.
03:11 There's a real authenticity to the presentation, new textures and geometry, all of which help
03:16 propel Metroid Prime Remastered through some of its rougher areas.
03:20 The headache of navigating dark facilities with the thermal visor, the slow arc of combat
03:25 against multiple antagonists, the sheer simplicity of the morph ball puzzle.
03:29 While Metroid Prime isn't a difficult game by any stretch of the imagination, the safe
03:33 state limitation is perhaps the biggest signal of antiquation of the GameCube era.
03:38 Even the scanning which needs to be completed in every quadrant of the sprawling spaces
03:42 and the secrets which may be lurking within, leading to replay lengthy sections because
03:46 of a poorly timed strafe, can feel somewhat arduous.
03:49 There are rough ledges, but Metroid Prime Remastered is worth the occasional splinter.
03:53 Metroid Prime is to first-person shooters what Super Metroid was to side-scrolling platformers.
03:58 It's singular and special, inspiring generations of players to dream of more immersive worlds
04:02 and pushing countless video game designers to try and deliver them.
04:06 The fact that Metroid Prime is able to carry as much resonance today as it did 20 years
04:10 ago doesn't just speak to the quality of the remaster that Retro Studios and a legion
04:14 of partnering development teams have delivered, but the strength of the underlying foundational
04:18 design.
04:19 Metroid Prime Remastered is not only a dazzling reminder of why the original is one of the
04:23 very best GameCube games, but a pointed argument that it should stand as one of the all-time
04:27 greats.
04:28 Hail the Chozo!
04:42 -Metroid Prime Remastered-
04:43 (whooshing)