Introduction
"The franchise is dead!" That's the sentiment that erupted through the web like a Power Bomb blast as gamers got their hands on Metroid: Other M for the first time. The game ruined nearly everything that anyone ever loved about Metroid and left a bitter taste in their mouths, so the pessimism wasn't exactly unwarranted. But this is Nintendo we're talking about here, and Nintendo never lets a good franchise die. Heck, they never let a bad franchise die. Or even a sort of mediocre one that no one would have even rememebered if it wasn't for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. So there's hope yet.But where do they go from here? How do they even begin to repair the damage? If I were on a team assigned to come up with concepts for the next Metroid game, the very first thing I would do is dust off the old NES/Famicom and play this:
Originally released in 1986 for the Famicom Disk System in Japan and later in 1987 for the good ol' NES, Metroid was an incredible fusion of two of Nintendo's most successful releases: Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. The caverns were huge, the enemies were deadly, and the hero was like no other.
Players were put in control of Samus Aran, the "cyborg space hunter" and most powerful being in the entire universe. Except she didn't have any of her powers yet. It was up to the player to explore the fortress world Zebes, collect cool and unique power-ups, and use them to destroy the Space Pirate leader Mother Brain, her army of life-sucking Metroids, and her lieutenants, Kraid and Ridley.
And it was awesome. Players who completed the game quickly enough were rewarded with the knowledge that the character they had been playing as for those 5 or less hours was a woman, something that was unheard of in videogames at the time. Players who finished it really fast were rewarded with images of Samus in greater stages of undress, with the best ending unlocked only by players who completed the game in less than 1 hour.
Others, who didn't care as much about 8-bit partial nudity, spent their time exploring the depths of Zebes searching for every last item they could get their hands on to see just how much of a badass Samus could be.
Some did both, and that led to some seriously cool stuff down the line, like under 2-hour 100% runs of Metroid Prime.
For this LP, we'll be playing the game both ways. First, a segmented run in which we collect all of the items scattered throughout Zebes without caring too much about how long it takes. Then, we'll go for a single segment run through the game using a password that lets you play without the Power Suit. The mission? Complete the game in 1-hour or less and see the best ending. I like to call this the "Super Swimsuit Speedrun".
What Should I Expect?
- Competence
- Extermination of the creatures of Zebes using a variety of deadly methods.
- The manliest Ridley fight.
- To learn about Metroid.
Spoilers?
Let's get them all out of the way right now.
- Samus is a woman.
- There are Metroids.
- The base explodes after you kill Mother Brain.
- Ridley wins
Now, without further ado:
100% Run
| 1. Brinstar Blues | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 2. Norfair Nocturne | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 3. Screw Attack Samba | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 4. Wave Beam Bolero | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 5. Ridley's Rondo | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 6. Varia Suit Shuffle | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 7. Monstrous Mambo | blip.tv | YouTube |
| 8.The Last Dance | blip.tv | YouTube |
Breaking Stuff
| Front Door Ice Beam | blip.tv | YouTube |
| blip.tv | YouTube | |
| The Many Deaths of Ridley: (Dropbox Thanks to hawk16zz!) | Dropbox | YouTube |
| Samus Aran's "(Stuck In) The Wall" | blip.tv | YouTube |
| The Super Swimsuit Speedrun | YouTube |
MURDERTROID by Spineshark
Full Playlist
Individual Tracks
1. Burn Store
2. Neither Just Nor Fair
3. SkridleyX
4. Krainium Kastle
5. BRAIN DAMAGE
Better not let Sakamoto see MokBa's badass Samus drawing.
Too good to leave it in a post that will eventually be lost to time.
"Hey there, Samus! I got you your favorite, energy! No, I'm not a Nova in disguise don't point that over here AAAH-!"