Genre: Metroidvania, First Person Shooter
Year: 2004
Developed by: Retro Studios
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: Gamecube, Wii
#58
Feeling Like: Going to the dark side
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is my least favorite Metroid Prime, and it’s still my 58th favorite. If you’re following the 500 as I’ve been writing it, ie going from 500 to 1 (I’m not sure why you would, but thank you!), you’ll know that I’m a sucker for Metroidvanias, first person shooters and games dripping with atmosphere. There was a 0% chance I wouldn’t be addicted to the Primes as a result, they truly are a phenomenal collection of games and the best the Metroid series has to offer.
I know some hate the notion of having platforming perils in a first person view, because you can’t see your feet. But Retro Studios knew this and they gave the player such a perfect sense of space and weight that I never had a single issue with that. Because of the ingenious move to put the player inside of the helmet, I always felt like I was Samus Aran. That meant I saw what she saw, literally, every single second I wasn’t curled up in the morph ball. Journeying around a strange planet wouldn’t feel nearly as threatening, exotic, claustrophobic, or alien without being behind the visor. It was perfect in Metroid Prime, it’s perfect here.
Every location feels interesting, every room has a piece of information to scan and learn about, or a threatening new monster, or a puzzle I had to think through, or a hole that I could morph ball into. The formula wasn’t brand new, but it still tapped into everything I loved about video games as a medium.
Just listen to the title theme. It tells you everything you need to know about Metroid Prime 2. If it tickles your fancy at all, even if it elicits the slightest smile on your face or intrigues you in the most minute way, you’re going to love this game. Trust me.
The damaging areas of Aether were annoying to deal with, but I think that was the point. Besides, they give you a wee bit of light to shoot at, providing little safety domes. At times, they felt like an Anglerfish’s lure and I was consistently negotiating with my brain.
“Hmm, that next light dome seems far.”
“Nah, go for it.”
“But I don’t have enough health.”
“But there could be some more health in that direction.”
“Yeah, you’re right! Besides, if it’s too dangerous I can just turn around.”
“That’s the spirit!”
MOVE-DAMAGE-DAMAGE-DAMAGE-TURN AROUND LIKE A SCARED LITTLE KITTEN
As Kyla could tell you, confronting the unknown is not a strong suit of mine. I would make for a terrible intergalactic bounty hunter.
Retro was the master at guiding you along without actually holding your hand. I was never good enough to completely burst away from the trodden path, but what’s a Metroidvania that doesn’t allow for some good intentioned wandering? I’ve never really needed hard drugs, because whatever neurotransmitter fires during the item acquisition music, results in a fantastic high. And it’s only slightly less addictive. I would scurry to every crevice, every cavern praying I would find a new tool to help me kick some galactic ass and to hear that music one more time.
Did I put the Primes too low on the 500? I’m looking ahead at the Almighty Spreadsheet and while there are some absolutely stellar games to come, none of them made me feel like a walking, not-talking tank. A slayer of evil, rescuer of friendlies, with a nuclear weapon on my arm and the ability to roll up into a little ball that can zoom up a half pipe and snuggle into the smallest of spaces. Missiles are fun, but the dark and light beam additions are so satisfying that Retro actually had to put an ammunition counter on them, a first for a non-missile powerup. And hey, a nice nod to Ikaruga by ensuring the only way to get ammo for the Light beam is to kill enemies with the Dark beam, and vice versa. I like when developers force me to use a variety of weaponry.
I like how you barely interact with anything friendly in Prime 2 and Prime. It makes it that much sweeter when you do find solace in a save room or a somehow-survived NPC. But that’s the feeling they’re going for, isn’t it? It’s not horror, but it’s something close to it. Since Metroid was heavily influenced by the movie Alien (I mean, Samus is female for a reason), Nintendo wanted players to feel uneasy at all times. As in, you may be the only person alive within light years and nobody is coming to help you. Figure it out. Oh, and here are some kickass songs and terrifying beasts to deal with. Enjoy!
The Ing were a great new addition to Samus’ roster of baddies, even if they did have obvious glowing weak points on their faces. They can posses the bodies of the living, dead and even AI meaning they’re always around every corner and I had no idea what form they would take. Bosses were an even greater challenge, the Spider Guardian in particular had my number for dozens of attempts. Nothing was given to me in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. I refused to look at walkthroughs, no way was I going to give in to the little leprechaun on my shoulder telling me to take the easy way out. I was having too much of a good time to not persevere.
And the Screw Attack was back! Is this the coolest move in gaming history? I wasn’t sure how they’d pull it off in 3D, as they negated to include it in Metroid Prime. Smartly, when you start hopping around, the camera pans out to give a third person perspective. It looks so dope that of course I needed to see it in all its glory. Wall jumping with it wasn’t the smoothest experience, but I’ll take whatever form of the Screw Attack I can get. Whenever I’m wiped from walking home from the office, or wanting to scale mountains or wishing I was home, in my head I’m Screw Attacking my way there. I am very suspectable to daydreaming; if you ever spot me gazing into the distance, there’s a good chance I’m thinking about Samus’ mobile death aerial somersault.
There are a few drawbacks that hold Metroid Prime 2 back from being even higher, but I’m having a hard time pinning those down. The new visors lead to some really trippy visuals, the Ing are menacing, Aether’s locations are a brilliant playground, the map is STILL unequalled as far as I’m concerned – I haven’t gone on about the map, have I? Ok, I’ll tackle that in Metroid Prime but I will say it’s criminal other game maps, particularly 3D Metroidvanias, don’t just adopt it entirely. It’s absolutely sublime. I know where I am, where I’ve been, and where to go within a second or two. Modern games like God of War and Control have nothing on this, even though they should.
Going into this entry, I wasn’t sure I would have anything to say and now I have to stop myself, especially since there’s another Prime coming up next at #57. So I’ll wrap it up with this: Dark Samus, much like she was in Metroid Fusion, is a terrific counterpart even if we had already seen her a few years ago. There’s a ton of familiar, but too many fresh additions for Prime 2 to feel remotely stale. It’s dark, it’s gloomy, it’s creepy. It’s Metroid at some of its finest. And if it sounds like I’m repeating myself, just think of it as an Echo(es).
The 500 