Metroid - NES

So I have a confession to make. I don't think I've ever beat Metroid in all of the years I've owned it. Sure it's a classic game, sure I've had it since probably the late '80s/early '90s, but for some reason or another I don't think I've ever managed to finish it. Even with the Justin Bailey code I don't recall ever beating the game.

If you read my Shadow Complex review it will come as no surprise to hear that I enjoy Metroid. I've always enjoyed this game. Though when I was young I always thought this game was very difficult. I remember falling down those long vertical corridors because I missed a jump, I remember some of the trickier places where you had to freeze enemies so you could jump on them to make it across lava filled screens. Though in beating the game last night I really wonder how far I actually made it into the game as a child. I don't recall at all ever fighting the two sub-bosses, Kraid and Ridley, and frankly a lot of the places I went to didn't look all that familiar. Perhaps as a kid I had the attention span to play for one or two hours, but maybe not the four or five it would have taken me to get very far in the game.

There's also another problem: while I will say the game itself isn't particularly difficult, the final area to get to the mother brain as well as the escape out are what I would call very difficult. That would be my guess as to why, even with the Justin Bailey code, I never managed to finish the game. The end part is brutal.

You have two problems with the end stage: 1) It's just difficult in and of itself, the metroids can drain your health rather quickly and are kind of difficult to get off. 2) The slow down when there's too many objects on the screen ain't helping. When I got to the last room before the mother brain the slow down made the game almost unplayable. There was just way too much going on for the little NES to handle.

Though as of February 3rd, 2011 I can now say with great pride (okay, not really all that much pride) that I have beat Metroid for the NES. It was a fun game, it was actually just as fun as I remember it being. There's something enjoyable about games that let you explore, that aren't exactly linear. I've always really liked those types of games. Metroid probably wasn't the first game like this and it probably isn't the best, but it's the one that sticks out in my memory and it's the one I remember loving as a kid. If you haven't played Metroid perhaps it's time to dust off the ol' NES and give it a go.

Squid.

Shadow Complex - Xbox Live Arcade

Yep, yet another XBLA game. About a year ago I bought Shadow Complex knowing almost nothing about it. I remember reading a review for it and hearing about its similarities (gameplay wise) to Metroid on NES. I didn't think much about it until a couple months later when I saw it on sale for half off. What the hell, it looked fun so I picked it up... and then proceeded to not play it for a year or so.

I was looking for a game last week and nothing was really peaking my interest. So I decided to look through my Arcade games. Shadow Complex, eh, why not.

The first half hour or so started out badly for me. I just couldn't get into the game. The aiming felt off, the controls felt a little awkward, and I wanted to see more of the screen... I wanted a more widescreen feel. A little more left and right.

Thankfully I continued playing because suddenly it all came together. It all made sense to me. Suddenly I was transported back to the fun I was having playing that NES classic so many years ago. I understood why they were often compared to each other. It feels like Metroid. Sure you can draw the obvious conclusion that it's because it has same type of gameplay, but it's more then this. It's the exploring. It's the realization that you can now open a door or enter a new area because of this brand new power up you just got.

Shadow Complex drew me in. I didn't want to just play this game. I wanted to play it and see everything. I wanted to see every secret room, I wanted to open every locked door, I wanted to play all of this game.

I can tell a game is good when I become a completionist. When I want to play all of a game I know it's a good game. There's a lot of games that are very good but that I don't feel like finding and doing everything. When you don't really want a game to end you know that it's a step up from the rest. That's Shadow Complex.

I had this game for a year at least and never bothered to play it. This is a damn shame. I spent twelve hours playing and beating Shadow Complex and I have to say it was an incredibly good time.

Go out and buy Shadow Complex. Especially if you enjoyed Metroid as a kid. Overall it's just a really fun game. It's a game you want to play. A game that you want to find everything. A game that knows you want to explore so it lets you. Seriously, do yourself a favor and don't miss out on this one.

Squid.