In October, I decided to finally give a Metroid game a shot. My idea was to start with Metroid (1986) before playing Metroid Dread, making videos on both. While I enjoyed Dread a lot, the original was unsurprisingly archaic. For fans of the franchise though, or people who grew up playing the original, would you say it’s the worst Metroid game? Link to the video I made on the original Metroid, if you’re interested in seeing what someone who had never played a Metroid game before thought:
[**Never Have I Ever Played: Metroid – (First Impressions 2022)**](https://youtu.be/8I9xABkup6c)
by Jackcifer
25 Comments
Revolutionary for its time.
35 year old game plays like 35 year old game
The original Metroid was my first video game ever so I’m biased, but I actually prefer Metroid to Metroid 2 on the Gameboy. Yes Metroid is very clunky, but I found it more fun than Metroid 2 because of the less linear design, the superior soundtrack, and the colorful graphics.
I hated fighting Metroids over and over in Metroid 2. Not to mention the Metroid fights in the original were super intense in the original. I loved making my own map of the original Metroid back before there were any easier options, but Metroid 2 was so linear I gave up mapping it out.
That being said I tried to play Metroid recently and it’s truly painful. It definitely hits different than when I was a child with no other video games or responsibilities. Metroid 2 is probably better objectively, but I prefer Metroid
I played it at release. For the time period it was absolutely mind blowing and incredibly progressive, at least to an eight year old American boy. That being said it has not aged well. While the controls aren’t bad per se, they definitely don’t feel as good as anything that’s come out in the last 20 years. No map makes the game extremely opaque. Having no in game cues makes it easy to miss what weapons you need to complete a given section, it’s trial and error. So while it left it’s mark on gaming forever, it’s similar to other great pieces of entertainment like Citizen Kane or Gone With The Wind, modern audiences just won’t understand what the fuss was about.
It hasn’t aged gracefully but at the time there was nothing like it. It’s a valuable part of gaming history.
Is Other M mainline? Because Other M.
Without checking your video (because I’m a cynic), I would guess your problems with it are mostly from it being a product of a generation before yours.
It wasn’t the worst, not while Other M and Prime: Federation Force exist. It was a revolution for its time, a game that created an entire genre. Of course it is archaic, it came out a long time ago, the formula got better as the series continued.
If we don’t consider mainline Other M and the Prime games, then maybe
It kinda feels like Pokémon Red and Blue. It’s a classic and great game, but the ones that came after really improved upon it
And also like LeafGreen/FireRed, Zero Mission really made a great job remaking it
In terms of playability Metroid 2 is much worse.
In terms of sheer visceral reaction most people will probably choose Other M.
It’s so very easy to say it’s the worst Metroid game, when it’s a game from the NES era. None of those games are very good by today’s game standards, although they did set the standard for what good video game design is. If you look at the games with that time in mind, they were revolutionary for their time.
Granted, Metroid: Zero Mission is a very much improved version of the original. But the original will always have a special place in many people’s hearts. Especially those who were alive back when they were originally released.
I mean, by virtue of todays standards yes, just like playing the original Legend of Zelda is pretty much a chore to play or the original Fire Emblem.
But through the lens of the standards at the time, they were ahead of the game.
Pretty sure that title belong to Other M if anything. Metroid 1986 was revolutionary for it’s time and deserves the kontext it is put in. Other M is just a missguided failure.
Totally unfair to call it the worst.
It’s definitely the worst. Play zero mission. It’s the first game but plays better.
It’s still not as bad as Metroid II on original hardware. Blur city…
No.
Next question.
Yeah, I didn’t much care for the original even back on release, but I appreciate what it paved the way for. It’s like Mega Man 1 in that regard.
Though for my money, Other M is by FAR the worst Metroid.
I would say Metroid 2 is probably worse as it’s almost all the same issues as the first game, but cramped into a GB
I was there when it was new, videogames were still very novel, and all the genres were being born in real time. Metroid was one of the first big open ended style games which really stood out compared to stage-based games with timers.
Obviously, it will seem bad comparing it to Dread now, but it deserves its recognition in gaming history, Nintendo even considered it their ultimate game once since it was like a combo of Mario’s platforming and Zelda’s nonlinear exploration.
Why are the mods allowing spam posts like this one to be kept up? OP is quite obviously fishing for subscribers or clicks to their YT channel/video
Not to me. That was my first Metroid game and I’ve beaten it a couple times. I enjoy it every time I go through it.
I’m not clicking on the link or going to your YT channel, you knob
If you’re not counting remakes (in this case, Zero Mission) than Metroid 2 is worse.
The original Metroid was so unique back then. I enjoyed the exploration and finding items to progress. It’s old and obviously has issues, but it started what is probably one of my favorite game series and character. It led to Metroid 2 and Super Metroid, which was the inspiration for Symphony of the Night and Metroidvanias in general. Today, it’s archaic and has been replaced by Zero Mission, the better game, imo. Though I prefer hard mode in ZM for the best Metroid 1 experience.
Honestly, staring with almost zero health is my only issue with it.
When I die in Zelda I know I can go to the fairy at least, even if its just one more tedious task. When I die in Metroid I have no idea what to do besides grind enemies for health.