Metroid Series Catch-All

I was about to come back to complain about the lack of a "make R toggle missiles instead of making me hold it" option, but then I had an idea.

I totally just wrapped a rubber band around my pro controller to keep the R button pressed during a fight that was giving me trouble.

It worked like a charm and I don't feel the least bit sorry.

Vargen wrote:

yes Nintendo thank you for that one way funnel to the boss I'm so glad I missed that side door to the save point and now I either have to do nothing else with my Switch until I master this boss or go way the hell back before the biggest BS EMMI run yet

You can definitely get back to the main map from the checkpoint before the boss room.

(Maybe I’m wrong, assumed you meant the final boss)

Nah, this was a different spot. I got there through one of those blocks that breaks when you step on them, and the only way out was locked behind the upgrade the boss dropped.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

I've been on a slow burn with Dread since my wife said she wanted me to start it, even though I was waiting for her to finish. So far, I have beaten

Spoiler:

Kraid and got the morph ball,

and wandered around thinking it looked like I could get a bunch of upgrades and found out I couldn't get half of them, which made it feel like a lot of my time doing so was wasted.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your gaming habits), this game doesn't really reward backtracking like most Metroidvanias do. Or even exploration really. I had my easiest time with the game when I just assumed it was linear and tried to mainline toward a tangible objective, and for the most part the map design backed that up.

Even the bosses don't reward exploration. You can invest in getting more etanks, but the boss encounters cut through health so quickly you basically have to memorize the fight no matter what you do. So taking extra time to find resources is not as incentivized in this game.

Its a little weird and a subtle design difference, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I guess I like that its streamlined, but it does make it less rewarding to just get lost, and there aren't many opportunities to feel like you organically stumbled on some new area.

Both Metroid and Zelda franchises are kind of best when you explore right before the very end if you want 100%. That's kind of how they work. Dread is definitely somewhere between Super Metroid and Fusion in regards to its open-ness and linearity. However, in regards to combat and the amount of damage bosses do, it's an odd sort of design choice where they clearly want it to be challenging, but are then designing with a specific kind of speed runner in mind as well.

It's actually pretty darn amazing, but it's still classic Metroid and a lot of modern takes on the genre have other influences.

I dabbled in Metroid Fusion the past couple weeks on my 3DS, and beat it with 98% today. Which is the closest I've been to 100%, but there were still two upgrades on the main deck they decided to lock me out of. As "linear" as Dread's progression can be, or how they lock the player out, it's nowhere near as limiting or infuriating as Fusion is or can be. Maybe I'll go back another time to get the final two items, but it would basically mean replaying all the item hunts post-Screw Attack again, and given that you have to find the routes between sectors since any trip to the navigation room locks you into the final stretch, it's not something I really feel like doing.

I can see a lot of where they built on ideas in Fusion, as that's where they started messing with Shinespark a bit more (or at least I think), but Dread is just so much better than Fusion that it made me dislike Fusion even more.

I'd honestly be happier if they just dumped the whole shinespark / speedboost thing entirely. I just don't... jive with those puzzles.

The game feels a bit railroady at times, but there do seem to be a number of paths open if the player is skilled enough to execute certain tricks. Backtracking is definitely not particularly warranted until a number of traversal / movement powerups are obtained, not that it stopped me from doing so each time I got a new shiny thing and remembered that One Place where The Thing Was.

Not done yet, definitely hitting some "I am not as good at this games as I once was" feels, but the boss checkpointing is reasonable. Will never be a fan of the EMMI zones. It's just not my jam. I've successfully parried out of the grab a few times, but never with any consistency.

Can't see bothering to replay on hard, nor to speed run for a sub 4hr time. Not even sure I'll be able to get all the items! It's good, but I don't think I'd derive any significant joy from such an endeavor.

Shinespark may be the easiest yet in this game though. They let the charge carry through slides and wall jumps for later activation. And the time to execute seems longer.

There's one missile+ that I got in both runs from a door above, although I've seen videos of people doing it from the door below. Seems like a lot of flexibility.

Stele wrote:

Shinespark may be the easiest yet in this game though. They let the charge carry through slides and wall jumps for later activation. And the time to execute seems longer.

There's one missile+ that I got in both runs from a door above, although I've seen videos of people doing it from the door below. Seems like a lot of flexibility.

Yeah, it's easier in that I've actually been able to do a few things. I just am not one for long sequences of precise-ish platforming. There's at least one I saw and thought I knew how to get it only to be immediately stymied:

Spoiler:

There's something in the EMMI zone in Artaria that you clearly speedboost / shinespark from the right going left. It's across the large room, and you have to do it in ball form. But as soon as you get across, there's a ramp and I immediately stopped. Not sure what am supposed to do there

Yeah ramps let you reset the charge. That's been in all the previous games too.

So you spark forward into the ramp, Samus starts running again, and you press down to store another charge. Then you can use that one for your next spark.

There's a great one in Zero Mission (2:30) where you have to do 4 of those in a row, climbing to the top of a room, then through a door, fall, catch a ledge, do one more, then fall again and go through a wall.

That re-storing works in ball form too? The one I'm referring to is a single block height gap.

The thing you describe would not identify as "great" to me. It sounds like abject frustration distilled into its purest form.

Tyrian wrote:

That re-storing works in ball form too? The one I'm referring to is a single block height gap.

Hmm I think so.

I used this site for the last few of my 100%. It has two images for each missile, energy, or power bomb location. One showing the map location and one showing the room. Or if it requires shinespark it's a gif showing the move. So if you know what you're after or at least what zone you can figure out pretty quick if you're on the right track.

I just watched someone doing the one I was talking about, and they just successfully went up the ramp with no clear indication as to any other action being taken... So I'm not sure why it wasn't working for me. Do you need to hold the direction you're traveling when you hit a ramp?

Tyrian wrote:

I just watched someone doing the one I was talking about, and they just successfully went up the ramp with no clear indication as to any other action being taken... So I'm not sure why it wasn't working for me. Do you need to hold the direction you're traveling when you hit a ramp?

Some of these controls were baffling to me. Sometimes they seemed to work, and other times not, and I couldn't always figure out what the difference was. Great game but the controls / control layout added some difficulty to it. It felt wonky at times.

Stele wrote:

Yeah ramps let you reset the charge. That's been in all the previous games too.

So you spark forward into the ramp, Samus starts running again, and you press down to store another charge. Then you can use that one for your next spark.

There's a great one in Zero Mission (2:30) where you have to do 4 of those in a row, climbing to the top of a room, then through a door, fall, catch a ledge, do one more, then fall again and go through a wall.

That one in 2:30 is certainly great if you can pull it off, but watching it just... dang.

But yeah, some of these require such travel that it feels almost nonsensical.

I just did it last month.

The hardest part was waiting to trigger the shine until you get through the door. I did it too early a couple times, and ran out before I hit that lower platform. Or I waited too late and ran into the screw attack blocks and lost it.

Welp, despite saying I probably wouldn't, I've been putting in some effort to do a few of the shinespark / speedboost puzzles. They are definitely more aggravating than satisfying, mostly because my hands don't always seem to do what I know I want them do to.

I'll likely end up doing them all, but that'll be it. Given how much I die to bosses, I just do not have the energy to do a speed run or hard playthrough. One good playthrough will be plenty!

Silly question: Why do I as an person who has problems with fine motor control need to hit three buttons to seemly do anything?

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Silly question: Why do I as an person who has problems with fine motor control need to hit three buttons to seemly do anything?

Follow up question. Why do I as a person find it not so bad that it stops me from playing this game, but back when Resident Evil 5 did it, I was done with that game before the demo was over?

Answer: Nintendo.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Silly question: Why do I as an person who has problems with fine motor control need to hit three buttons to seemly do anything?

My hands work pretty well, and I'm having trouble with this. Maybe this will help:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/byr65Gh.jpg)

That's the rubber band position I worked out that will hold down the missile button without interfering with any of the others. It came in real handy the first time I had to fight two of the

Spoiler:

Chozo Robots

at once. It was much easier to dodge stuff while still putting out enough damage to finish the fight.

Hmm... I need to figure out how to clean that left analog stick.

That only works until the next missile upgrade. Although maybe...

There are certain phases of certain bosses I kept R pressed the whole time charging shots. Hmm

Well, I just got the

Spoiler:

lock-on multi missile

and that worked fine with the band. I'd be surprised if they made me throw it away any time soon.

I loved the few hidden super speed rocket jump (when did "shinespark" become an official thing?) secrets in Super Metroid.

I got a little annoyed that they seemed to lean a bit more into it in Metroid Zero Mission but it wasn't bad.

I am borderline hating the rocket jump/launch puzzles in Dread.

Cant wait for me to get my copy of dread

EvilDead wrote:
Tyrian wrote:

I just watched someone doing the one I was talking about, and they just successfully went up the ramp with no clear indication as to any other action being taken... So I'm not sure why it wasn't working for me. Do you need to hold the direction you're traveling when you hit a ramp?

Some of these controls were baffling to me. Sometimes they seemed to work, and other times not, and I couldn't always figure out what the difference was. Great game but the controls / control layout added some difficulty to it. It felt wonky at times.

I can confirm this now, if you shinespark dash into a ramp, you must hold the direction of the ramp in order to travel up it. Otherwise Samus just stops.

I have collected all items, and the Burenia one with multiple room / ramp traversal was by far the worst one for me. Honestly, mostly because of how much trouble I had in getting the spark started and stored! There was JUST enough room to trigger it, but often times I'd shoot off the ledge and not get the spark.

Now I just need to tackle the final boss.

Well done!

Beat it on Hard, 100%. Kinda disappointed that the rewards from playing on hard don't seem to be any different from playing on normal. Also I didn't find it to be that much harder? The enemies still hit for a stupidly large amount, so other than being slightly more defensive I basically didn't change anything about my approach.

I saw there's at least one 100% speed run (normal) at just over 2hrs. That seems bonkers to me.

Tyrian wrote:

I saw there's at least one 100% speed run (normal) at just over 2hrs. That seems bonkers to me.

Yeah, it’s a treat watching the routes get better and better. IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/240/htc/37/hundred-points-symbol_1f4af.png)

This game has been kinda tough for me to play. I've taken several breaks, since its is not too relaxing or me to play at this time. I did just complete my first Shinespark puzzle, and I can see how that's gonna get even more challenging.

I just got the following item:

Spoiler:

Plasma Beam.