Hurrah! The SA-X was killified on my fifth or so go. It seems there’s an easy way to kill it, if you jump over it and shoot it in the back. Then I had to run to my ship, which had vanished – to be replaced with a [spoiler]! Then [spoiler] happened, and it was the end!
After being stuck for a bit unable to figure out where the heck I was supposed to be going, I finally stumbled across the security robot I fought earlier. Only this time, he had rockets and could electrify the water he was wading around in. For some reason, though, he was easier to kill. I got the Wave Beam from him, so I can now shoot through walls. I then went into the Restricted Area the robot was trying to …
It took many, many attempts, and lots of dying very quickly, but I finally figured out the way to dodge Nightmare in his second “phase”. Well, I’d figured it out already, it was just because my Space Jump skillz were not ub3r1337 that I couldn’t put them into place. Some of it was also down to luck – namely, where he stopped. In certain places it meant I could fire off a million rockets into his face, in others only …
Managed to outrun the SA-X this time. I didn’t realise you could shoot it with ice missiles to freeze it. I didn’t have a lot of energy left afterwards, so had to limp my way to a save point. The SA-X can kill you in two hits, even if you have some 600 units of health. Nasty. After that, I found the cause of the vegetation growth – another boss. This one was pretty wasy, but took some 753265 missiles …
It took another three attempts, but Mr Spider is teh dead. WIN. Well, WIN for a bit, since there’s more of the game left. He did give me the Space Jump, however, which was nice. Not that I can control it properly, of course. Wandered around a bit looking for the “cause of the vegetation” that is blocking up the main power silo of the research lab. Found an entrance to somewhere, but the SA-X was lurking in there too …
Jumpy shooty killy explodey fun later (including another run-in and escape-from the SA-X Evil Me), and I make it back to my ship. There I’m told that the power is down everywhere, and I need to find the cause. Some maze navigation ensues, and I kill some X-Space Pirate thingies, and run into a giant spider. Who kills me in about three hits. Boo.
Still plugging my way through this. Started and got through Sector 3, killed a security robot, and then had to move onto Sector 6. Picked up the Varia suit from the boss at the end, which means I can now go in ice and fire areas. One of which was Sector 5, which was next. “Completed” Sector 5, and an alarm went off – I had to rush back to Sector 3 and run through it all to a room …
It looks like I spoke to soon about always having your hand held as to what to do next, since I spent a merry half an hour stuck. Finally found a route through Sector 2, and killed the eyeball boss thing. Then moved on to Sector 4, which was somewhat simpler to get around. Killed the boss there too – Sector 3 next, it seems. I have the super jump, ball jump, and power boost now too.
OK, so it’s more linear than Zero Mission. In a way, that’s actually a good thing. I did spend a fair amount of Zero wondering where the hell I was supposed to go next, so actually being told this time around is a good thing. Probably. I’ve done the bit at the beginning, and found and fixed the five atmospheric controller thingies, and then got into Area 2. I have the Charge Beam, Morph Ball and Power Bomb so far, …
I completed Metroid Zero Mission for the GBA some time before Christmas, and although this is considered to be not as good, I’ve just had a quick go and it seems to be more of the same. I don’t have any weapon power-ups or anything yet though, so things may change then. The graphics and sound are near identical too.
From the name I fully expected this game to be a soulslike so just clicked nope-skip every time I saw it for sale. But then I stumbled across it on a Metroidvania Games You May Have Missed list and I re-evaluated. Then I noticed it was on sale for about three quid on PSN and so bought it. First thing I have to say about it is that it’s HUGE. I’m used to 2D Metroidvanias for being 8-10 hours long, …
I’ve a mixed history with Donkey Kong games. Donkey Kong 64 I loved, for a while, until it became clear it was a nightmare of repetition and collecting. Donkey Kong ’94, for the Game Boy, is one of my favourite platformers. I hated all the Super NES Donkey Kong Country games with their stupid pre-rendered graphics and terrible physics and collision detection. The evolution of those for the 3DS and Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns was better, and I completed …
Sadly not the full Metroidvania experience I was expecting (the reason it ended up on my wishlist in the first place, following a review), Momodora still feels like one. Creepy town with a creepy castle, a curse, a map to explore, and pixel graphics? It certainly has the look of one. What’s missing is all the extra powers that open up new areas. Sure, there are some, but very few. That means it is more a standard explorey platformer, hence …
Konami changed things in the Metroidvania formula for Order of Ecclesia in a number of ways. Firstly, you play solo as An Actual Woman, a rare thing in Castlevania games. Shanoa is part of an organisation tasked with protecting the world from the possible resurgence of Dracula in a time in history when the Belmonts seem to have disappeared. Spoiler: the organisation actually wants to resurrect Dracula. Secondly, there’s a world map with many discrete, and mostly small levels. Like …
Fun fact: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the DS was my first Metroidvania type Castlevania game. Yes, I played the Holy GBA Trilogy a couple of years after this, and it’s 19 years since I first played Dawn of Sorrow. I’d not even had this diary going for that long at the time. Somehow, I still remembered a lot of the game. Most of the bosses, how to reach certain areas, and certainly the plot were all there in my …
