Metroid: Zero Mission

"Best Metroid game on the GBA ever!!!"

Wow! When I played this game the first time through, I was astonished to see how everything went. Almost all the characteristics that make this game good are good. So many items to get and a LOT of exploration. That's the main dish of gameplay for this game. Why? Read down below in the review and you'll see. Let's summarize this game in on word: Excellent. For those of you who disagree that, read down below and you'll see why, again. Why did you come here? To see how good this game is.

Gameplay:10/10
Ahhhh.... The main dish of the review. This game has excellent gameplay. The controls are quite smooth and a whole bunch of exploration tends to give explosive fun to the player! There's also a wide range of items to get, like the classical Morph ball and the missles, along with a wide range of enemies, beam weapons, and other weapons too! This would certainly last quite a long time to seek these weapons and enemies out. It'll also take quite a few hours to get all the items too. Yes, the areas of Zebes are HUGE, and it'll take quite a few hours to see these areas out. Say, let's take Brinstar and Norfair as an example. Those areas are equally good areas for exploration and the terrain you'll face. Those areas also have a big stack of items to collect, and a load of hidden areas that you'll see on the way. There's also tons of action throughout the game too. Take the area where you fight Motherbrain and the Metroids. That is action packed. Freezing the monsters and pumping them with missles is kind of fun. But not the kind of fun where you need to face a LOT of them. In the Motherbrain battle, there's a lot of little enemies shaped like circles flying around in the screen. In that situation, the action gets a little bit crazy there. There's also some tension in the game too. Take Chozodia without your power suit and powerups. There's a lot of tension and a lot of skill required in that section of the game. It's kind of fun that you can sneak around without getting spotted. Why is it fun? Because it takes a lot of skill. Again, the meat section of the review is very good.

Graphics: 10/10
Another part of the main dish we're having in this review.The graphics are very good on the GBA. It really reflects the gameplay and the room you're in as you play. It also reflects the area you're in. These graphics are also pretty high quality and meets above standard according to my expectations. Even Samus Aran herself is very well animated. Also the enemies' reactions and animations are very well animated, detailed, and designed. Man, these details are just as good as the regular Playstation (i.e. good for the GBA). Why? Play more of this game and you'll see. Let's take the graphics on Tourian and in Chozodia. See how good the quality is on the graphics? They are fairly detailed and really fit into the theme of the stage. When you're almost done with the game, try backtracking all the way to Tourian. If you did, go to where you fought Motherbrain. The wreckage graphics on fairly detailed and really fit into the conditons of the room. Even the backgrounds, especially where you landed by ship are pretty stylish and really fit into the room you're in, along with what part of Zebes you're in.

Sound/Music: 10/10
The last part of the dish of this review is its sounds and music. The sounds of this game really fits into the action of what Samus is doing and other actions. The sounds are quite exceptional compared to other games on the GBA. It also really fits into the animations. The music, of course, fits into what area you are in and what the conditions are in the current room you are in. All in all, the sounds and the music are very exceptional, greater than my standards. Take Brinstar's and Norfair's music, for example. Those music tracks really fit into the terrain of this section of Zebes. If you listen to Norfair's music enough, you'll get the feeling that it's an area with a lot of hot terrain. This tells you that the music really fits into the action and the game itself. Our last part of our main dish has finished and was pretty good.

Value/Lasting time: 10/10
Although the game is only about 3 hours long, you can spend almost up to 5 hours looking for all the items and upgrades in the game, along with exploring all the hidden areas in the map. Not only that, you can explore other areas you can go into! That's a lot of adventure and exploration! There's also a wide range of endings you can get, depending on how long you played and/or how many items you got. That means you can beat the game many times as you want and it'll still be pretty fun! You can play this game as long as a month unlocking all the ending images. There are some challenging conditions that must be met to unlock a certain ending image (e.g. To get a certain ending image, you must get 15 or less of the items on Normal). That could take quite a long time to unlock. There are also a few bonuses you can unlock, too. Those expectations of unlocking these bonuses are quite steep too. Take the sound test for example. You get that bonus after beating the game on Hard mode, which is unlocked when you beat the game on Normal. That can take quite a long while to unlock. Although this game is kind of easy and sort of linear, try playing on Hard mode. Then, you'll won't think that this game is easy anymore. It's an outbreak of hardcore difficulty. Even the Motherbrain you think is actually really hard. Why? Play this game on hard and you'll see.

Overall: 10/10
The gameplay, graphics, sounds, and the value all contribute to how good this game is, that is, VERY exceptional. Also, it also meets up to the GBA's gaming criterion. It also meets up to the gaming class standards. After you read this review, go out to a video game store and grab a copy of Metroid:Zero Mission! You'll see how EXACTLY how GOOD this game is. But if you don't trust me, read this review and pick up a copy of the game and you'll SEE how GOOD this game is. Literally. If you say that this game is good, pat yourself on the back and give yourself a cheer. Good job. If you don't, slap yourself hard and read this review. Bad job.

Buy or rent?
I strongly and seriously suggest that you buy this game. It's THAT good. Play the game more and you'll figure out. I won't rent the game since you would want to play the game more. But anyways, good luck finding a place where you can rent GBA and other handheld game console games.

Closing:
Metroid:Zero Mission is a game that really lives to its expectations for the GBA. It also meets all its standard characteristics that make the game good, like graphics, sound, animation, and of course, the more importantly, gameplay. It also meets up to par with other GBA games and other video game consoles (PS2, XBOX, GC). Even if this game is outdated, you can get this game from your disposal and start playing it. That exceptional presentation just never ends; it's a total classic game. 10 years from now, Metroid:Zero Mission would still be a great game. So great that it will stay in your memories forever. Literally. To me, I would recommend this game to just about everyone who likes video games and has a GBA, Metroid fan or not, boy or girl. Don't question to me if you want this game or not; it's a REALLY good game. It's that good. Just read the review here, or read it on Gamespot or IGN. It's just the same thing I said here on this review. Don't trust these review either? How about you look deeper into their reviews or just play the game and then you'll see. Still don't trust how good this game is? Play more other video games and you'll find out.

Man, I spent 3 hours typing this review up! Dude, why do we need 1500 words minimum for a review to be submitted (WTF)?

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/04