Metroid: Zero Mission

[dataDave]

I'm ordering mine online when I have enough cash - no way am I paying ?35 for a GBA game. I don't think I ever have done tbh.

Now, to go slightly off topic...

Prime is 10x the game Ico is. Main defining factors being game length, difficulty, experience and atmosphere. I don't care for easy games with pretty graphics.

The one reason I don't read reviews or buy magazines anymore: I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ANYONE ELSE'S OPINION!

Shallow? You like your games, I like mine. I lost all hope for VG journalism when Halo received a 'revolutionary' 10.

[Matt Hughes]

I got mine form DVD box office but it has still not shipped.

I think there price is around the ?20 mark.

Same here. Mine shipped 45 minutes ago, supposedly.

Can't wait .

[Jaxon]

I see on the map there should be a route from The Space Pirate ship back to the other areas but cant find it?

You've probably found it already, but in case you didn't...

There are two exits in the bottom left quadrant of Chozodia, both leading to Crateria. They're in the "Chozo Ruins" area marked green on your map, not inside the ship which is blue. To get to the lower exit, power bomb the glass tunnel between the ruins and the ship and find the hidden passageway to the left and below it. Follow those rooms left until you reach the passage. For the other one, again start from the tunnel and begin moving left, and then up and right when you can no longer go any further left.

[Typhoon Thompson]

I got mine form DVD box office but it has still not shipped.

I think there price is around the ?20 mark.

Same here. Mine shipped 45 minutes ago, supposedly.

Can't wait .

Mine still has not shipped!!

When did you order your copy?

[Jaxon]

Okay, after poking around in every corner for about 10 hours, and finally finding 100% of the items, I can safely say, without fear of contradiction:

Zero Mission is the hardest Metroid ever!

Okay okay, hear me out.

While the average guy can probably beat Zero Mission in about 4 hours, getting 100% on this game is an entirely different story. After you've gotten all of your suit upgrades, the object is to go into item finding mode, and it's here where the difficulty cranks up to maximum. Those crazy, loveable Japanese designers pent up in their Tokyo offices are probably grinning mischiveously at the bogglers they've put in their game for you to find and uncover. It's an awesome excercise that requires both your mind and your fingers. This game is an absolute delight to play, from beginning to its complete and utter end.

In fact, I would like to know how many of you, once you get the game, are able to find 100% of the items without resorting to a guide or spoiler. Heck, it would be pretty hard even IF you had a walkthrough printed up right beside you. You can start the list with yours truly.

So, if you've already beaten the game and are looking for something a little more difficult, forget the Hard mode option on the title screen. The real challenge is already before you

[Typhoon Thompson]

Mine shipped on Saturday, really looking forward to this now.

[Bleeders]

Got mine (and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles) on Friday.

Started playing today and it feels more like a traditional Metriod-title than Fusion did IMO, which I quite enjoyed.

[hobo]

You've probably found it already, but in case you didn't...

cheers Jaxon, help appreciated.

[The Mole]

My copy came this morning from importmadness (?12.99 at a pre order price )

So far have not been able to try it out as im off to uni in a minute, i will give it a good playtest when i get in.

[Sketcz]

Now, to go slightly off topic...

Prime is 10x the game Ico is. Main defining factors being game length, difficulty, experience and atmosphere. I don't care for easy games with pretty graphics.

The one reason I don't read reviews or buy magazines anymore: I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ANYONE ELSE'S OPINION!

Shallow? You like your games, I like mine. I lost all hope for VG journalism when Halo received a 'revolutionary' 10.

hehehe, the man loves 2D and also makes a good point, well said Mr Fallows!


Anyway, regarding MZ item collection difficulty.
I personally hated MF, too linear. I also didnt like at all some of the seemingly impossible to reach missile upgrades.

One, in a room filled with collapsing blocks, I still havent collected, apparently I need to dash, climb a ladder, dash again, jump over something and dash again. I never got past that ladder, so I to hell with this crap and put it back on my shelf without ever getting every item.

I am a firm believer that percentage hunting, such as for items in metroid games, should be very easy to reach, just bloody difficult to find. In SM, they were all easy to get to, if you knew where to look. Finding them was the tough part.
MF, they were all in plain site, but reaching them required the kind of nimble reflexes reserved normally for chimps drugged up on stimulants.


Are the items in MZ really more difficult than those in MF? Surely nothing can be worse than the missile container with the collapsing blocks everywhere? That has to be the cheapest example of design Ive seen in a long time.
Basically I need re-assurance. Metroid games have never been reflex games for me, it was always been the experience and exploration....

[Jaxon]

95% of the items in Zero Mission are of the SM design theory: Easy to reach once you find them. Some are well concealed, but unfortunately too many of these are also too easy to find, which is one factor among many that contributes to the game's short completion time. Let's see...there's an Energy Tank just laying on the ground in plain sight. It's a no brainer!

Missing are the stupidly hidden items of Super Metroid. That game had a penchant for hiding Missile upgrades behind rock tiles...but not just any rock tiles. They had to be behind the smallest little outcrop of rock protruding from the sky at the top of the largest room of the map where no one could ever reach. And there were jaguars there too when you found them.

The remaining 5% are the ballbusters inspired by Fusion. I've never played Fusion before, so these were new to me and so much more challenging that and I immensely enjoyed them. These are also the most fiendishly hidden puzzles. You're going to miss them entirely on your first play through. They're safely out of the way of the weekend warrior who isn't seeking a challenge and just wants the experience.

However there is more than one way to reach a lot of the items, enabling you to pick stuff up in pretty much any sequence you want. Of course, if you want something sooner you're going to have to sip the mad monkey juice and have lightning pop out of your fingers, but when you have the correct powerup and do it the "proper" way, it becomes a cakewalk.

[Typhoon Thompson]

Got my copy this morning.

So far I am only an hour into it but I am finding that it has a lot in common with Prime.

BTW My postage from DVD box office said the game came from Belgium, is that the case with all their stuff? 8)

[Geoff D]

Typhoon - yep, the free airmail option is re-shipped from a European hub, so no customs interference. Doesn't work for bigger items (consoles) as these are shipped courier direct.

[Firsty]

I got this last tuesday but didn't have time to play it as constantly as I'd liked. So I only got up to "that bit" on Friday and finally had time to finish it today. I'm SO impressed. This game is great, I was expecting nothing from it. "That bit" is so tense that my GBA was actually soaked with sweat :/

One of the best games of the year IMO.
It just leaks quality

[Strider]

Well what can I say, been playing this loads and loads over the last week and I now think it's amazing. Where's the embaressed icon?