IM_MT_

I found this game to be really disappointing and left me pretty cold. I will make a list of things i liked (not very many) and things I didn't like (a lot). For the record, Super Metroid is one of my all time favorite games ever, easily in my top 5. I was dying for a new Metroid-vania style game and while I heard that this one was short, the reviews were positive and supposedly it played good homage to Metroid. I definitely don't agree with either of those statements. The good: + cool retro graphics: Simple but effective with lots of bright colors and smooth animation. + gets right to the action: no boring, drawn out story sequences. Puts you right into the middle of it. + Little hand holding: No "GO HERE NEXT" nonsense or treating you like an idiot. I really hate when games do that, especially in this genre. + some decent powerups: Nothing to complain about here, and I think the submarine one that changes the way your little guy controls underwater was a really good idea. It's one of the only things that breaks the monotony, and I think he's more fun to control underwater than on land, really. ...........now, onto the stuff that made me give it such a low score. -small areas: There are only four areas to explore, which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so freaking small. I mean the maps for these things are TINY. You run around a little bit and next thing you know you've come to the area's boss. -enemy variety: really lacking. You find the same ones all over the place, and they always have the same patterns and movements. It doesn't help they're not really fun to fight, either. -Walk speed: okay seriously why TF is this guy moving so fast!? It feels like the camera is totally zoomed in on everything already, and then this guy is moving faster than sonic the hedgehog. If you're looking for slow, methodical platforming and careful maneuvering you can forget it in this crap. -zoomed in camera: from the start the game feels awkward because you can barely see wtf is coming because the screen seems zoomed in. This combined with how fast your guy moves makes for you constantly running into baddies. This weird zooming in also makes it seem like your guy has a weird jump arc that I never really got used to. It's pretty bad. -no reason to kill enemies: The enemies already aren't fun to fight, but they add insult to injury by them having no purpose other than being in your way. You don't get any experience points in this game, and they don't leave any health or ammo pickups, so they literally just get in your way. -lack of save points: The environments you run around in aren't very big, but once you defeat a boss you have to make it all the way back to the launch pad thing in order to save your game. You can restart from a boss fight, but other than that you can't save. It just feels like an artificial way to add challenge and it isn't fun and doesn't promote exploring. It just makes you want to make it back asap so you don't have to do it again. The fun (well, it's supposed to be fun!) in these kinds of games is the freedom to take your time and explore, look for hidden stuff and feel rewarded for being such a keen explorer. Not in this crap. Get in, get out! -Lame music: it's chip tuney, which is fun until you realize the songs are as boring as the rest of this crap. Really forgettable, which is surprising because Mutant Mudds had some really catchy tunes. -REALLY LAME BOSS(ES): This game palette swaps the bosses. I'm not joking. It's always the same one. At first I thought I went into the same room I already went to and it was making me fight a boss I already beat. Nope. It's just always the same one! You'll find one and it'll be the same as the last one but have a new attack it can do that you will catch onto real quick. It just seems like lazy programming, and becomes REALLY predictable. The maps already show you when you are coming to a boss room, and there's always a health refill before the room, and then the boss is the same exact sprite every time. DOESN'T THAT SOUND EXCITING? -price: $9.99 isn't a lot for a game, but this one is so bare bones and lacking in depth that it seems more like a $4.99 title, OR LOWER. Overall the game had no complexity or rewarding gameplay. It has no rewarding exploration, entertaining enemies, or well designed bosses. Hidden items are easy to find and you never find anything that gives you that "Ah-ha!" feeling of finding something really powerful and fun to use, like in the best games of the genre (SM and SOTN). Remember finding new and exciting areas and bosses in Super Metroid, wondering what could be around each corner? NONE OF THAT IS HERE. I hate to sound so harsh, but this game really misses the mark in areas that this genre thrives on. With unfun enemies and predictable progression through each of the dinky little areas I wouldn't recommend this even when it goes for dirt cheap on Steam.

I will try to keep this short, but if you are a big fan of Castlevania SOTN and Super Metroid this is a must have. The game has tons of areas to explore, loads of weapons/armor items to find, a whole lot of customization, and everything about it is basically top notch at a budget price. The combat never gets boring, even if it takes a little getting used to. This game borrows quite a bit from SOTN but puts its own spin on things with a lot of platforming challenges (puzzles maybe) and unique spells and abilities for both of the playable characters. leveling up gives you points to distribute to your stats and they all make a big difference. There are tons of different abilities and skills to learn. The game really nails the exploration aspect of Super Metroid. I constantly found myself running around looking for new areas and items to acquire. There is a real feeling of mystery and adventure as you're adventuring around, even if you have specific goals most of the time (find a character here, make your way to a certain town to the east, etc.) I am not just giving this game a 10 because I like it a lot, I think it deserves it. It's hands down the best metroid-vania style game to come out in a LONG time. It's criminally underrated and it's really a shame it's so under the radar. A game with this much going for it should be on year end "best-of" lists. My only complaints would be that the jumping arc of your character is a little weird. Sometimes it makes the platforming kind of wonky, but you get used to it. If you think about it, the jump arc on Super Metroid was pretty weird, too. :P Also, the story wasn't bad and I'm glad that it didn't bog down the gameplay (it never spits endless long winded dialogue at you) but it wasn't exactly memorable for me. Maybe I wasn't paying a lot of attention because I wanted to get onto one of the awesome memorable boss battles. Only other complaint is that some of the enemies get palette swapped and reused throughout the game. There's a decent diversity but I would have liked to see some more enemy types. I will give it a reprieve since it's an independent (and amazing) budget title. I've played other so called "great" metroid-vania style games (the underwhelming Dust: Elysian Tale and the extremely disappointing Xeodrifter), and I am a harsh critic. But i can without a doubt recommend to this anybody looking for a great, challenging, and rewarding action-rpg-metroidvania type game. I've put 30 hours into it and I'm still coming back to playing it after beating it once already. Even the music is top notch, creating the mood perfectly and adding its own flair on the whole thing. Really high quality stuff. I'm serious. JUst get this game. It's worth every penny. It's a freaking steal. I hate most modern games and the direction gaming is going, and this is true to the classics in every way. Like I said, it borrows a lot from the best in the genre but changes it up with a unique and fun combat system and lots of customization with quite a bit of challenge thrown in. It all comes together being one of my favorite gaming experiences I've had in a really long time.