Metroidvania 2D Action/RPG Catch-All

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I can think of at least a dozen games in this category, but hopefully this genre is niche enough that we can manage to make a catch-all for it.
So the idea is to create and maintain a list of every game as described in the subject line of this thread and to talk about how great these games are and eventually I'll go through and put in links.

newly added - PC (Mac & Linux to come later) Hollow Knight
being kickstarted

Master Alphabetical List:

Aliens: Infestation (DS)
Aquaria
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night (its straight linear action, but it's such a great parody of Castlevania games, and I was a big fan of the newsfeed/blog that coined the sub-title that the creators then actually used, what can I do?)
Capsized
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (timed multiplayer)
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance / White Night Concerto (GBA)
Castlevania: Mirror Of Fate
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Cave Story
SNES Demon's Crest
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Guacamelee
Hasslevania: The Quest for Shuteye
Hollow Knight
Legend of Zelda
Legend of Zelda: A Link To the Past
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Legend of Zelda: Minnish Cap Adventure
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Megaman Zero 1-4
Metroid: Fusion
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid: Zero Mission
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Odin Sphere
Ori and the Blind Forest
Outland
Redder
Rogue Legacy??
Shadow Complex
Skinny
Snailiad
Spelunky?
Super Metroid
Tomba
U.N. Squadron - you pick up new weapons, planes, and money and choose what missions to take on. More importantly I really love it.

Should these be on the Master List?
I've decided from now on we need two votes; more or less. Or I could be less lazy and do research.
An Untitled Story
A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda (on Steam)
Aztaka (on Steam)
Biozone (on Steam)
Bloodrayne: Betrayal
LostWinds
LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias
Megaman games with ZX in the title
PixelJunk Shooter 1 or 2
Xardion

What will not be put on the list and possibly a list of reasons.
Megaman games in general
1) too many games to mention
2) most games with the word Megaman in them do not fit the category and
3) if you've never heard of Megaman how did you get on this site?
Pure Platformers like Mario or N or Super Meat Boy
Pure Action games like Alien Hominid, Dark Void Zero, Contra, and Metal Slug
Anything with Turn-Based Combat
Batman: Arkham Asylum because it is in 3D
Diablo

Criteria/Things to Keep in Mind:
Non-linearity is not strictly a requirement given sufficient space to explore
Must have combat as an option, we explore because we're looking for loot and things to shoot
Leveling up not strictly required either
(mostly) 2D gameplay
Freeform backtracking - i.e. you can backtrack if you want
Collecting money that you can spend at a shop is in Castlevania but not Metroid
Unlocking new equipment or abilities over time happens in a lot of games, but Mv does it in a way that allows you to change how you play the game, this is what separates this genre from (mostly) pure action games and pure platformers

Whew! That was almost like work. Post away, Metroidvanians, with games not on this list, why they should be included and your praise for the same.

Another Question:
Should I put "adventure" in the title. For instance, if not for the fact that Metroid is in the title of metroidvania, Metroid is really an adventure game. How does one tell the difference? To me, in this case, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, and Hasslevania provide discrete power-ups while Castlevania provides a variety of weapons with differing characteristics and a continuous character progression system.

I only played the first couple of hours of Odin Sphere, so maybe it changes later on, but I definitely did not get a Metroidvania vibe from it. I haven't played Muramasa or (obviously, since it isn't out) Elysian Tail, but they are supposed to be similar, so I would exclude them for the same reason.

I can see the argument for including Bionic Commando: Re-armed, but I'd say leave it out, since it is made of distinct, mostly linear levels, rather than one huge map (I know the maps in Metroidvania games are often segmented, but it doesn't have the same effect as completely separate levels).

I'm personally of the opinion that the "traditional" Legend of Zelda games are basically the same genre, but with a top-down view, rather than a side view. I see you already have a couple of them, so I would add:

  • the original Legend of Zelda (I haven't played it since I was a kid, so memory may be faulty, but I think it fits)
  • Link's Awakening
  • Oracle of Ages
  • Oracle of Seasons
  • ... other Zelda games, but I either haven't played them, or just can't think of them.

Cave Story definitely fits.

The first Tomba game. Awesome game, but good luck finding a copy for less that $150. Not sure about the second one.

There are several that I haven't played it, but I've either heard fit the description, or got a vibe from their demos

  • Shantae - never played it
  • The new Rush'n'Attack game - played a bit of the demo and didn't think it was that good, but it seemed like it was going for that style
  • That new game Outland - I played enough of the demo to decide that I need to play it when I have a smaller pile. It seemed like it might fit, but not sure. It depends on whether it opens up later on, or is just a linear run to the end.

Also, maybe Heart of Darkness. It was a fantastic game, and you should totally play it if you can find a copy (I think they made a PC version, so that might be easier to track down than a PS1 disc). However, if memory serves, it was pretty linear.

This definition can probably flip-flop around a bit, but at present I feel like Capsized, which has just been released on Steam (and, presumably, XBLA), might quality. Its action is perhaps more frenetic than is the norm here, but it does a good job of providing a moody sense of exploration to go alongside this. The art and animation remind me of Aquaria, too, which can only be a good thing as that one may well be my absolute favourite game to fall into this category.

I'm totally not convinced that any of the zelda games are appropriate and the 3D metroid games don't function like the 2D ones at all. The 2D castlevanias and metroids you just have a single contiguous map, there's no hub or level select (the overworld in the zeldas really just acts as an elaborate hub between dungeons). But if that's not the important bit and primary requirement is that you can occasionally gain powers that open up new bits of the game then a never ending stream of games would qualify.

I always thought that Metroidvania implied the following: 2D platformer, action/rpg gameplay, single contiguous world, gaining powers unlocks new areas. The 3D metroids are so far down the FPS path that playing them is nothing like something like Castlevania:Dawn of Sorrow

Hasslevania: The Quest for Shuteye... and a Rush game on the site I found? Games for my day are done.

Cool thread. Yeah, Tomba 1 & 2 are fantastic, if you can get ahold of them. I kept hoping that they'd get rereleased on PSN. Now I don't know what to hope.

I've heard fantastic things about Cave Story, but have never played it myself.

http://www.cavestory.org/

I think you might need to tighten up your definitions, Roland. Sounds kind of like so far it's just "sidescrollers." For instance, "RPG" does not mean "that thing has numbers on it" or "you get a sword and that thing looks like an elf."

It's a good topic and I love me a good Metroidvania, so I'd like to keep disappointments to a minimum.

necroyeti wrote:

Cool thread. Yeah, Tomba 1 & 2 are fantastic, if you can get ahold of them. I kept hoping that they'd get rereleased on PSN. Now I don't know what to hope.

I keep hoping that too, but it's pretty unlikely to happen, even without the PSN fiasco. From what I understand (reading between the lines of the wikipedia page) Whoopee Camp went out of business after Tomba 2 and no one know who has the rights.

DrunkenSleipnir wrote:

I've heard fantastic things about Cave Story, but have never played it myself.

http://www.cavestory.org/

Yes, yes, yes. One of the best Metroidvania style games ever.

Thanks for the responses!
Definitions: from my perspective it's a battle between including games metroidvania fans would like versus avoiding having to list every f-ing game ever made.

LobsterMobster wrote:

I think you might need to tighten up your definitions, Roland. Sounds kind of like so far it's just "sidescrollers." For instance, "RPG" does not mean "that thing has numbers on it" or "you get a sword and that thing looks like an elf."

It's a good topic and I love me a good Metroidvania, so I'd like to keep disappointments to a minimum. :)

Very true! However, in modern parlance, if somebody puts Action in front of the word RPG, then you, your enemies, and your equipment will likely have stats/numbers of some kind.

All hail Symphony of the Night! So say we all!

RolandofGilead wrote:

Very true! However, in modern parlance, if somebody puts Action in front of the word RPG, then you, your enemies, and your equipment will likely have stats/numbers of some kind.

Yes, but I think that's a failing of the objective "somebody" rather than the word (and I don't mean you any offense as you're right, that is how RPG is typically used these days).

Think of it like when someone says a movie is "like a video game." What they typically mean is that it has a lot of over-the-top, ridiculous action. We all know that calling it "game-like" is insufficient at best and incorrect at worst. I think "RPG" is a lot like that. It may be the word we all use, but it's the wrong word.

To me, an "action/RPG" is simply, "action." The weapons may have numbers on them but does that change how the game is played? Do we really care that much? Is there anyone out there who loves action games and hates action games where weapons have numbers on them? Why do we even call Zelda an RPG in the first place?

You might say that Metroidvania games are action games where you collect items, some of which help you get to new areas of the game. I think that's accurate, and also why we invented the word "Metroidvania."

I'm sorry, I don't mean to derail. Pet peeve.

I love Metroidvanias! Also, would the DS Zelda games (Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks) fit? They have polygonal graphics and what-not, but outside of the traveling portions of the games, they're still played from the top-down perspective of the purely 2D games.

Also, I'd say if the original Legend of Zelda fits the description, Link's Adventure counts as well.

Oh, almost forgot! LostWinds and LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias for the Wii! I haven't played Winter of the Melodias, but it looks pretty similar to the first game, and I really liked the first game.

DanB wrote:

(the overworld in the zeldas really just acts as an elaborate hub between dungeons)

Or as a vast mega-dungeon! Especially Majora's Mask. The majority of the game is in the overworld.

DanB wrote:

The 3D metroids are so far down the FPS path that playing them is nothing like something like Castlevania:Dawn of Sorrow

I'm not seeing it. Especially with the first Metroid Prime. I got the exact same Metroid feeling while playing that as I did when playing Super Metroid. But this is about 2D games, so it's really not important.

DanB wrote:

The 3D metroids are so far down the FPS path that playing them is nothing like something like Castlevania:Dawn of Sorrow

I can see this perspective, but I disagree, at least with regard to the first Metroid Prime (I only played about halfway through Echoes and never touched the third). The focus of the game was genuinely on the exploration and using your abilities to open up the gameworld, rather than on the shooting. And the shooting was, by virtue of the lock-on functionality, more like playing a 3d Zelda game with the camera in Link's head rather than behind his body.

I was worried that Prime would feel like an FPS, but Nintendo really wasn't blowing smoke up our butts when they called it an FPA - first person adventure. That's exactly what it was.

MechaSlinky wrote:
DanB wrote:

(the overworld in the zeldas really just acts as an elaborate hub between dungeons)

Or as a vast mega-dungeon! Especially Majora's Mask. The majority of the game is in the overworld.

DanB wrote:

The 3D metroids are so far down the FPS path that playing them is nothing like something like Castlevania:Dawn of Sorrow

I'm not seeing it. Especially with the first Metroid Prime. I got the exact same Metroid feeling while playing that as I did when playing Super Metroid. But this is about 2D games, so it's really not important.

I suppose it comes down to this. When someone says metroidvania in a review I think "oh kinda like Super Metroid" not "ah ha! some kind of Zelda clone". Zelda-like things are surely a sub-genre of their own. And I'm pretty sure Majora's Mask is a law unto itself.

I totally see the argument for including the 3D metroids in the list, although they ain't what I'd picture, but I'd draw the line at zelda style things.

Farscry wrote:

I was worried that Prime would feel like an FPS, but Nintendo really wasn't blowing smoke up our butts when they called it an FPA - first person adventure. That's exactly what it was. :D

I still think that the Prime series are more an FPS with a focus on adventuring than the are 2D platforming adventures in the style of metroid or castlevania.

It's kind of like how I'd class Castlevania:Lords of Shadow in with God of War and Ninja Gaiden before I'd consider it a metroidvania game.

Also, wouldn't Metrovania be a better portmanteau? Rolls off the tongue more easily at least.

If we are including Zelda games, we should probably add in 3D Dot Game Heroes.

I have fond memories of the SNES game Xardion. I would have to play it again to be sure, but I believe it is similar gameplay wise with the upgrade mechanic and exploration. The interesting thing about it was that you had 3 different robots you could toggle between at any given time (kind of like Trine) that had different uses and could reach areas the other 2 could not.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/x...

DanB wrote:

I suppose it comes down to this. When someone says metroidvania in a review I think "oh kinda like Super Metroid" not "ah ha! some kind of Zelda clone". Zelda-like things are surely a sub-genre of their own. And I'm pretty sure Majora's Mask is a law unto itself.

I totally see the argument for including the 3D metroids in the list, although they ain't what I'd picture, but I'd draw the line at zelda style things.

Oddly enough, I consider Metroid to have far more in common with Zelda than with Symphony of the Night. Both the Zelda games and the Metroid games have the same basic structure: venture into an area; collect an item in that area that allows you access to the next area (and secret items in other areas); venture into that new area to collect another item that allows you access to the next area; repeat. Symphony of the Night follows that pattern to an extent, but the power-ups that allow you to explore more of the castle feel incidental to the new areas you uncover rather than the goal you're working toward. All of those games are in roughly the same genre, but I see a greater connection between Metroid and Zelda than Metroid and Castlevania, despite the "Metroidvania" moniker.

DanB wrote:
Farscry wrote:

I was worried that Prime would feel like an FPS, but Nintendo really wasn't blowing smoke up our butts when they called it an FPA - first person adventure. That's exactly what it was. :D

I still think that the Prime series are more an FPS with a focus on adventuring than the are 2D platforming adventures in the style of metroid or castlevania.

I know a lot of people feel this way, and I honestly think that the hang-up is on the perspective of interacting with the game rather than the gameplay itself.

If you compare the way the shooting/combat is utilized in Super Metroid with the way it is in Metroid Prime, they're very similar. Most enemies can be evaded or skipped entirely. Only certain rooms require defeating all enemies to unlock the exits (both games had this). More of your time is spent searching for either how to get somewhere or for an item that will allow you to get somewhere than on how to deal with combat situations.

Compare this with the 3d Ninja Gaidens, where as you move along, you are continually stopped in the majority of areas by unskippable combat encounters, and the design of the game is based around the action and combat.

For me, it boils down to this: if you designed Super Metroid as an overhead-perspective game with multiple z-levels of elevation, then stuck the camera in Samus's helmet, you'd get Metroid Prime. Not Gears of War, not Call of Duty, not even Mass Effect. It's very specifically Metroid, and not because of the trappings of the franchise's art and names.

An Untitled Story (scroll about halfway down) is an awesome free metroidvania game. It features tricky jumping, but I don't ever feel it was unfair (most of the seriously tough stuff is optional).

I forgot to mention: VVVVVV is a decent Metroidvania for PC.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I forgot to mention: VVVVVV is a decent Metroidvania for PC.

It's a platformer. A very short one at that. A great platformer sure, but what's so Metroidvania about it?

LobsterMobster wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I forgot to mention: VVVVVV is a decent Metroidvania for PC.

It's a platformer. A very short one at that. A great platformer sure, but what's so Metroidvania about it?

You're right. I had it in my head as a Metroidvania because of the non-linearity of the platforming and the hunt for the trinkets, but there's not much of the area unlocking of a Metroidvania. Proceed.

DanB wrote:

Also, wouldn't Metrovania be a better portmanteau? Rolls off the tongue more easily at least.

That just sounds like a Castlevania game that spends way too much time and money on trying to look pretty.

Also, "metro" is a pretty common word whereas "metroid" is not.

...tagging for follow-up, yo.:D

I suggested this as a Fringe Buster today -

http://jayisgames.com/games/snailiad/

Fun little retro styled metroidvania.

[x] platformy exploration
[x] powerups enabling further exploration
[x] backtracking allowed
[x] hidden collectables / areas
[x] snails

Tyrian wrote:

I suggested this as a Fringe Buster today -

http://jayisgames.com/games/snailiad/

Fun little retro styled metroidvania.

[x] platformy exploration
[x] powerups enabling further exploration
[x] backtracking allowed
[x] hidden collectables / areas
[x] snails

I can't play that because I really hate snails.

Dyni wrote:
Tyrian wrote:

I suggested this as a Fringe Buster today -

http://jayisgames.com/games/snailiad/

Fun little retro styled metroidvania.

[x] platformy exploration
[x] powerups enabling further exploration
[x] backtracking allowed
[x] hidden collectables / areas
[x] snails

I can't play that because I really hate snails.

Even cartoony ones? Insanity!

Here's another nice flash-based Metroid-vania style game:

Redder

kilanash wrote:

Here's another nice flash-based Metroid-vania style game:

Redder

Really great game

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