Metroid Dread

[Steven Pendleton]

Older? I'm most definitely in the "younger" demographic as far as AtariAge users go, but I've been playing Metroid for 2/3 of my life now, so maybe I count. Maybe I don't. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm probably fairly competent at this game, so I probably know the answers to anything you want to know.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[+-^CrossBow^-]

44 minutes ago, thegamezmaster said:

Have a question about this game. Any older players having no problem playing the game or does anyone have any problems. I remember when Super Metroid first came out and got through it fine. This one, having a lot of problems. Wish they would come out with an official strategy guide with complete walkthrough. Guess my age is showing. lol Appreciate any feedback or help!

I'm pretty sure I fit this. I don't recall having any issues really getting through the others I've played in the series, but this one has been kicking my butt quite a bit. I was only finally able to beat Kraid because of the morph ball bomb trick. Prior to that I could NOT get past his second phase at all. Just couldn't find the rhythm needed due to lack of reflexes these days or perhaps something I'd only suspected but I think I'm now convinced is a thing. Controller lag on these newer wireless controllers. Most of the games I've played on modern consoles since wireless controllers were a thing were mostly casual fair RPGs or stuff that didn't quite require exact button timing to play the game. This one does in several places and I'm wonder if the controller I'm using is part of the issue?

[DavidD]

11 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Older? I'm most definitely in the "younger" demographic as far as AtariAge users go, but I've been playing Metroid for 2/3 of my life now, so maybe I count. Maybe I don't. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm probably fairly competent at this game, so I probably know the answers to anything you want to know.

What is "younger" on AtariAge, though?

 

I've had a hard time with the bosses, but not really with the other parts of the game...

Edited October 29, 2021 by DavidD

[Steven Pendleton]

51 minutes ago, DavidD said:

What is "younger" on AtariAge, though?

Let's just say I was in my 20s when I made my account.

[Razzie.P]

14 hours ago, thegamezmaster said:

Have a question about this game. Any older players having no problem playing the game or does anyone have any problems. I remember when Super Metroid first came out and got through it fine. This one, having a lot of problems. Wish they would come out with an official strategy guide with complete walkthrough. Guess my age is showing. lol Appreciate any feedback or help!

45 here. Not sure if that puts me in the “older” category, but I suspect it does.   I didn’t have any problems with most of the game.  I did, however, struggle with the controls a lot in 2 ways --- 

1. the way they were mapped just felt awkward to me. 
2. It seems to miss a lot of inputs, causing stupid deaths.   The game didn’t feel difficult at all to me, and pretty much every death just felt like a control issue.  Like the lag or timing changed based on how much action was going on at the time.
    

 

13 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Just couldn't find the rhythm needed due to lack of reflexes these days or perhaps something I'd only suspected but I think I'm now convinced is a thing. Controller lag on these newer wireless controllers. Most of the games I've played on modern consoles since wireless controllers were a thing were mostly casual fair RPGs or stuff that didn't quite require exact button timing to play the game. This one does in several places and I'm wonder if the controller I'm using is part of the issue?

Eh, I wouldn’t necessarily blame your reflexes just yet.  ?  That may be the case, but the game gave me fits, too, and it always felt “control” related.  I didn’t see anyone else having the problem, though, so figured it was just me.

 

Oddly, though, I immediately followed this one with a playthrough of another Metroidvania game (Guacamelle 2) and while that game itself felt much more difficult to me, I never had a death that felt like it was caused by lag or missed inputs.

[Tanooki]

22 hours ago, DavidD said:

What is "younger" on AtariAge, though?

 

I've had a hard time with the bosses, but not really with the other parts of the game...

That's my issue completely.  I'm pretty solid getting around and not getting destroyed, but it's hit and miss on the full on bosses.  Kraid was a pushover, the chozo (mini) boss robots aren't too bad either, but the early scorpion was aggravating, and I got stuck and put the game down days ago with that shitty water tentacle hentai nightmare boss.  But now i'm told you can kind of cheap around a bypass on this with the diffusion beam so I may go back to it this weekend.  If not I may have just called it quits for now, for good...because it's just a shitty button tango I can't seem to not handle.  Having to juggle a stick for precise aim, both R buttons with L to go between missiles and the tether is garbage.  It could have been done better, was done better in the past.

[DavidD]

3 hours ago, Tanooki said:

It could have been done better, was done better in the past.

I've made it through everyone BUT the final boss and, while I was annoyed and DID have to try 20+ times on some bosses, I must agree that, overall, the bosses are fair, just very difficult.

 

The final boss, though...

 

I feel like part of the problem is that Samus seems like she takes FAR more damage in this game than ever before.  I can have a full complement of health tanks and it feels like I can only take 2-3 hits, total, from a boss.

[thegamezmaster]

Thanks for all the input. Seems like trying to play MD, can't do anything in this game like back in the day. Guess things change. lol Sorry but hard to put into words. Playing this is very hard.

[Tanooki]

8 hours ago, DavidD said:

I've made it through everyone BUT the final boss and, while I was annoyed and DID have to try 20+ times on some bosses, I must agree that, overall, the bosses are fair, just very difficult.

 

The final boss, though...

 

I feel like part of the problem is that Samus seems like she takes FAR more damage in this game than ever before.  I can have a full complement of health tanks and it feels like I can only take 2-3 hits, total, from a boss.

I'm saying the same, just that the control(gameplay) setup in specific limited places (like that water boss) are so badly done with button juggling for basic needs to be precise and fast switches is badly done and unreasonable.  The bosses are nasty compared to the game, but not evil and unfair nasty, just requires a more 80s into 1995~ era precision challenge or get screwed which is fine.

 

But I want to add something, what you said about ever than before.  Not quite.  Metroid Fusion largely is just BROKEN when it comes to damage, it's why I have never finished it or even more than half as it was just utterly and amazingly infuriating how semi-perfect you have to be playing just the WORLD not the bosses which is nuts.  I get she was weaked by X in that strange fusion suit, but they took it too far.  Previous and since games you could take numerous hits from either the small and a few or so from larger targets before draining an E tank.  Fusion though a large can take an entire tank plus in 1 hit (or close to 1) and the little pea shots to wimpy walking grunts 2-3 hits can kill too.  Other games, you can take more of a beating, but you're glass Samus in that game and it just sucked the joy out of it.

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

But I want to add something, what you said about ever than before.  Not quite.  Metroid Fusion largely is just BROKEN when it comes to damage, it's why I have never finished it or even more than half as it was just utterly and amazingly infuriating how semi-perfect you have to be playing just the WORLD not the bosses which is nuts.  I get she was weaked by X in that strange fusion suit, but they took it too far.  Previous and since games you could take numerous hits from either the small and a few or so from larger targets before draining an E tank.  Fusion though a large can take an entire tank plus in 1 hit (or close to 1) and the little pea shots to wimpy walking grunts 2-3 hits can kill too.  Other games, you can take more of a beating, but you're glass Samus in that game and it just sucked the joy out of it.

Now try playing Fusion on hard mode! Yes, it does have a hard mode in Japan. Not sure about the PAL version. I am planning on doing a 0% or a 1% run of hard mode Fusion some time before I die. Should be relatively interesting!

[Tanooki]

I'm just not that insane, I already find it a bit unfair compared to all previous Metroids as far as damage output goes.

[Steven Pendleton]

Fusion was the first Metroid game I ever played, so I never noticed its damage levels until I saw people talking about how high they apparently are on GameFAQs maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I still remember the first time I beat that game, even though it was somewhere around December 2002 when I was... considerably younger than I am now. My end time was 3 hours and 21 minutes. Not sure why I remember my first Metroid completion time, but I do. Forgot the item percentage, though. Probably somewhere around 42%, but I don't really remember.

[roots.genoa]

Fusion was also my first Metroid, or at least the first 2D one, and I didn't notice anything. Before then, I was mostly a SEGA gamer and found most of the NES and SNES classics way too hard for me (I was used to arcade games in which you respawn where you are, not at the beginning of the level), but I don't remind finding Metroid Fusion hard at all, on the contrary.

[Tanooki]

Seems to be about perspective, if Fusion is where you started then you looked probably forward more than back as a feel for how stuff could be.  I started on the old NES game, and looking at the 3 before it, or even zero mission around the same period, Fusion is the nastiest when dealing out punishment for mistakes.  That said it's also in some ways considered far more confined, linear, and in that respect easy since you're not likely to get confused/lost as previous games were more open ended to a point.  It was a hot button change up of a game for the series when it arrived.

[Tanooki]

Can't edit...bleh.  The last of those videos kind of works, it's not consistent but it did break the wall at least.  This game gets more and more fiddly with button kungfu for abilities the deeper it goes unfortunately.  I've got it a good way further, at this rate I do so I don't get lost peek here and there if I get into circles with a guide online but only at that spot not to ruin stuff, so I'm like capable of the double jump now and the super missile, ice missile was the last with that emmi (hate they're back.)

[Tanooki]

I got more into it, system twisting in rage angry at it at times with that stupid X based bug boss ...infuriating.  I did get the swarm missile, not liking that EMMI in that area at all.  The game areas are quite fun still, but the faster progression into nastier sub-boss and boss battles is making the game feel more like a chore than fun to me, an infuriating chore that's demotivating my interest in it I'm starting to consider changing to another title.  But, I know if I do this odds are I won't put it back in the slot.  My LRG Doom collection arrived, it's a taunt at this point.

[Emehr]

I picked up Dread with my son on launch day. He'd been catching up on the Metroid titles he hadn't finished yet so he was primed (no pun intended). I've been playing Metroid games since the NES so I was more than ready for Metroid 5. We both love it. He beat it in 3 days then played and beat hard mode. It took me a little longer. I like to explore as much as I can. It was a good challenge and I had a blast the whole time. Samus' fluid movements felt spot-on and the background scenery was gorgeous.

 

All of the bosses felt like fair fights and were pretty fun when you got to know their moves. The only issue I had was timing the 'X' button swipe move to finish off the boss with the spear. I would get to that point and just hand the controller to my son, who got it every time. Didn't have an issue anytime else, even the last boss. Just those spear bosses.

 

Going back and finding all of the missed upgrades is a lot of fun as well. Especially the speed boost puzzles. Super rewarding once you pull it off. Overall a great time and a nice addition to the franchise.

 

[Tanooki]

I think that may be something to consider and I procrastinated bad prior to deciding at the last moment to get Dread.  The only legit main line Metroid game I never finished, let alone even bothered with half of was it's direct prequel, Metroid Fusion (Metroid 4.)  I was thinking of firing up a mix of Zero Mission and that one to have a little fun as I never did the chozo bits of Zero Mission either having nailed the old NES game a few times over the years along with the SNES too.

 

The funny thing with Dread is, and it makes me mad, is that I don't think the game is utterly that much harder than previous entries.  For some reason I get this flubbing Joe Biden loss of function problem with the odd button combinations you need to flip between very fast with like grapple, blaster, missile, or blaster missle and space jump/flash slide and I just repeatedly fuck up and get killed.  I know what to do, I think what to do, but it just doesn't cooperate on a few of them until I get lucky.  The gold chozo prick I can't deal with the black spew, I couldn't deal at all with that underwater hentai tentacle monster so I went around it.  The rest isn't bad.

[Steven Pendleton]

Don't get the new patch if you want to skip the suit upgrades.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[King_Salamon]

I was super excited about Metroid Dread but didn't pick up the game for a couple of weeks and then the demo was released.  I tried the demo and it resulted in me not liking the game.  The whole running away from the robot thing is something I didn't care for.  Although I always liked Evil Otto chasing me in Berzerk, the amount of running away in Dread is overkill.

 

I think I enjoyed the previous Metroid games like the NES one for it's Zelda (NES) exploration gameplay.  Playing Metroid (NES) on my 3DS is not as fun as it was anymore.  lol  I guess I'm getting old.  

 

Now Dread looks amazing and I enjoyed the exploration but I'll pass when I have to run and escape from some enemy.

[Tanooki]

Yeah I agree the EMMI does more so earlier on ruin the experience because you're really hung out to dry in an excessive way about it.  But really if that's what put you off, the heavy handed button juggling with precision timing needed to survive a couple bosses and sub bosses, because the difficulty is very unbalanced you'd probably find utterly infuriating.

[King_Salamon]

On 12/11/2021 at 3:56 PM, Tanooki said:

Yeah I agree the EMMI does more so earlier on ruin the experience because you're really hung out to dry in an excessive way about it.  But really if that's what put you off, the heavy handed button juggling with precision timing needed to survive a couple bosses and sub bosses, because the difficulty is very unbalanced you'd probably find utterly infuriating.

Yeah that does not sound like fun to me.  I'm ok with 'missing out' on this entry in the series.  

[Tanooki]

10 hours ago, King_Salamon said:

Yeah that does not sound like fun to me.  I'm ok with 'missing out' on this entry in the series.  

I almost quit on the game almost 1/2 into it, but as I had pointed out to me, this one boss I couldn't manage to put up with because of how the button juggling went (underwater one with tentacles) was like 20 fails in a row, COULD be bypassed with a bit of a cheat, and had this cheat not been found that would have been it.  Thanks to the bypass I got to the last 2 battles of the game, and I quit there.  The sub-boss before the final boss a room away is actually nastier to fight than the actual boss because of some very tiny amounts of time given with fiddling between a few face buttons and 2 top ones to juggle 2-3 abilities in succession to win was just too much.  I was losing my temper, didn't want to have a flying switch or something of the sort, so I called it there, the game more than not was a hell of a lot of fun with some good decent challenge navigating and opening the world, finding things, etc *BUT* the forced use of some fiddly controls that could have been done better (as is in the past) and yo-yo difficulty of some bosses over others is equally awful.  I would not blame even a seasoned gamer from quitting on this one because yet again(to a far less degree than the even more fiddly and boring Metroid2 3DS remake) Mercury Steam kind of screwed up.  If you're just a metroid addict, metroid pro, you'll be fine and get through it I'm sure, but for most people the game is an evil bitch.

[Tempest]

That kind of sounds like Prime 2's last boss where the difficulty spiked so bad that I almost gave up (the fiddly motion controls didn't help). 

[roots.genoa]

5 hours ago, Tempest said:

That kind of sounds like Prime 2's last boss where the difficulty spiked so bad that I almost gave up (the fiddly motion controls didn't help). 

Motion controls in Prime 2? On the Wii trilogy I guess...