Metroid: Zero Mission

"~Exterminate all Metroid Organisims on Planet Zebeth..Zebes*~"

Metroid: Zero Mission

Zero Mission (ZM) is what people like to call a "re-telling" of Samus's first mission (game, Metroid I) from the NES. But, there is more than what meets the eye; Zero Mission is way more than just a remake with better graphics put in and better musical tracks. No, it's way more...

The level designs are redesigned a lot, so sometimes you wouldn't even recognize it's Brinstar at times. More power-ups from the previous (future) Metroid games are here, such as the Charge Beam, that wasn't present in the original Metroid. Next off, they've added sub-bosses throughout the level that weren't in the original. Cutscenes, new levels and more make ZM tone of the best er...remake.

Graphics 10/10
I'm pretty sure Metroid I didn't have that good graphics, for it's time. But as the series progressed the graphics seemed to always get better. Zero Mission continues that line, and gives you the best graphics of the traiditional 2D traditional Metroid games!

The enviorments are just beautiful. Each level has it's own set of rocks, platforms, and special backgrounds that make it astounding. Brinstar's rocky corriders actually look like rocky rocks now. The backgrounds not only serve as pretty eye-candy, but they also distinguish which room you're in. Compared to the coloured bricks in the original, and a black background for every room, this one does it so that you can tell which room is which, preventing you from being lost and such. Also, to add there are now cutscenes. They tell you what's going on and what's to come in a more in-depth view.

From the enemies, the power-ups, bosses and much more have been completely redone to please the audience. They are fresh new sprites that have never been used before, which takes away the laziness scale >=).

Story 8/10
Planet Zebes... I called this planet home once, in peaceful times, long before
evil haunted the caverns below. Now, I shall finally tell the tale of my first
battle here... my so-called Zero Mission.
-Samus Aran

Basically the same plot as the original storyline. The Space Pirates are planning to control a strange life-form called the Metroid, to go control the galaxy. It's up to you, Samus Aran, the galaxy's bounty hunter, to go stop their plan. Pretty simple, considering that the original games had simple storylines.

Sound/Music 10/10
The music tracks are a great improvement over the original Metroid game by a mile! Most remakes have music that is either completely new or remixed too much that you can't hear the original tune. Not Zero Mission. It's tunes are very, very clear. It sounds like the original tracks, just with a more exciting tune. The tracks aren't fuzzy at all, and it's very clear.

The sound effects are better too, by a thousand fold. Everything from Samus's Morph Ball Bomb to the sound of your beam. Compared to Metroid I, it's very, very good. Compared to the others, it's better. I don't know about you, but for me, the sound effects in the other Metroid games (excpetion of Prime) were very bland. Maybe it's just me =|

Gameplay 10/10
Now the juice of the game. It's gameplay. It hasn't changed MUCH from the previous Metroid games, the gameplay at heart stays true. It's sort of like an Action/Adventure game. You progress through the game until you reach an obstacle you can't overcome, so you backtrack to get the item to overcome the obstacle. Simple, yet so brilliant.

In Zero Mission, there are a lot of new power-ups that weren't present in the original Metroid, such as the Charge Beam and Super Missile. This makes the game have more obstacles that you must overcome using your new inventory, and adds just a cooler inventory screen to look at <=D.

Another thing that makes this game ten times better then it's original Metroid game is the speed increase. Of course, this makes the game go by very quickly, and it can be beaten very quickly. I've seen records of beating ZM in 59 minutes at the best. The speed is now at a glorius 30FPS (?) prior to it's NES game, which was at 10FPS (?). Travelling through corriders and long hallways seem half the time as it took in the original game. Very good indeed.

In the original Metroid, there was about only three bosses. Kraid, Ridley and Mother Brain. But, to make sure that the audiences get more action in between stages, Nintendo has added a plethora of Mini-Bosses on which you test out your skills and new arsenal upon. This makes the game better, as it ensures you that you are going the right way and doing the right thing.

The Level Designs in ZM are very good. Apart from the graphics telling the differences for each room is, almost every room is unique. Each with it's own set of puzzles and obstacles. After you get a weapon, you immediatly use it's core purpose that the level serves you, allowing you to practice with it. But after that, you keep using your weapons throughout the game. It's made in a way so the way you use your weapons and key items are spread out, instead of using it all for one section and thinking of it as nothing. Another thing that struck me =3!

Difficulty 5/10
It depends. For those who never tried a Metroid game will find it difficult in their first time playing, and the game could last them for about 4-6 hours. But after that, as they master the basic moves, they can beat Zero Mission in about 3 hours.

The difficulty depends for even the best of players of Metroid. They could do a Speed Run, which just goes through the game, getting the items and not bothering to get any expansions. Then there is also the 100% people, who get all of the energy tanks and missile tanks and so forth in the levels to try to get a 100%.

The game can seem very easy from a lot of views, easier than most games. Thats why there are also Difficulty Modes! Choose these in the beginning of a new file. Easy is very, VERY easy. Normal is normal, while Hard may be a little harder than the average. It can suit your difficulty level, but in every way, Zero Mission isn't and won't be the hardest Metroid game yet =/

Replay Value 6/10
Metroid Games (with the exception of Metroid Prime 2) don't really have a certain *replay* value...after you beat the game you can beat it again and again and again, increasing your skills as you go on. Zero Mission is the same, but as with Fusion, you get an image gallery depending on how you beat the game. I suppose you can try getting all of those...

But, a thing lots of people like to try to do is a LOW PERCENTAGE GAME, meaning they try to collect only about 15% or lower of the total expansions. It may seem easy at times, but with your low supply of missiles, it's very difficult to beat those hard-to-beat bosses. That's where the true Replay lies in the game. Also, there is a nice treat at the end of the game ;) Trust me, it'll give you some extra replay value.

Overall 9/10
What to say? I had lots of fun with Zero Mission. It's what led me into all of the other Metroid Games. But what I found out was that if you play Zero Mission before any other Metroid game, you won't get used to the other Metroid games a lot. Zero Mission feels so much better in a way then the others in a way, but a lot worse compared to other games.

So, in conclusion, don't play Zero Mission as your first Metroid Game. Try Fusion first, then try Zero Mission; it'll really enchance the experience <=0 I give it a 9/10, because I really don't think that there is a real "perfect" game ever. 9/10 is pretty high in my standards, so live with it ^^

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/31/05