Metroid: Zero Mission
Metroid: Zero Mission is an action/adventure platform run and gun developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. It is a remake of the original NES game using the Super Metroid engine and with the addition of some extra sections. I would suggest this version of the game rather than the original NES game to any fan of the Metroidvania genre who hasn't yet played the original.
I played this game, initially not knowing it was a remake of the first Metroid. Having a pretty good grasp of the original, I found it pretty easy to progress, but really enjoyed all the added extras. Some of them even made me jump because I thought I knew what was going to happen, but something different occurred.
Status
I do not own the game, but I have beaten it in 2:48:63 with 67% completion on normal difficulty.
Review
- Overall: 8/10
- Best Version: Game Boy Advance
Good
- The game manages to take away a lot of the pointless wandering from the original game while still keeping the allure.
- The new area adds extra game play, and is quite nice for those of us who have already beaten the original.
- The more-fleshed out story, full-screen graphics, larger sprites, updated music, background art, etc. really make the game more attractive.
- After you beat the game, you unlock the original 8-bit game as well!
- You can actually save your game, rather than deal with an obnoxious password system.
Bad
- Some of the difficulties of the original game remain, so, if you don't know where to look to find the Varia or a couple of the energy tanks, you may still skip them and find the game too difficult.
- While the game also contains the original 8-bit Metroid game, the Game Boy Advance resolution isn't large enough to display the game full screen, so it is obnoxiously squished.
- Interestingly, when you're given hints on where to go next, the game is surprisingly short, even with the added content.
- I think the box art is kind of lame.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Box Art
Documentation
- Metroid - Zero Mission - GBA - Manual (Australia).pdf
Game manual (Australia).
Links
- mobygames.com/game/metroid-zero-mission - MobyGames.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid:_Zero_Mission - Wikipedia.