Metroid and the Not So A-MAZE-ing Mirror

I get it now.

So, due to the 3DS Ambassador Program I played Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and Metroid Fuison in succession, though have not finished either, and now I understand two things. Why I didn’t like games with mazes in the past, and why those games are liked by so many. That many now includes myself.

So here’s the prologue. I didn’t like the Metriod series. After seeing a Let’s Play done by NintendoCapriSun (NCS) and subsequently having no idea what I was doing after trying in from my ambassador program, I didn’t think these games were going to be for me. Now, by no means did NCS do a bad job with his Let’s Play. But after seeing the entire game and then still having no idea what I was doing, I was a bit discouraged. I tried going around, I think I got an energy tank and a missile upgrade, maybe, but I wasn’t getting anywhere fast and decided to stop.

Next came Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Now, before I get into this, let me say that contrary to these two posts, I really, really like the Kirby series. Seriously. It’s one of my favorite.  We just happen to be discussing some of my not-so-favorite titles. Here’s a quick rundown to show you what I mean.

Kirby Games in order of Favoriteness (1=Best)

1.      Kirby and the Crystal Shards

2.      Kirby Squeak Squad

3.      Kirby’s Epic Yarn

4.      Kirby Super Star Ultra

Now, those are just the ones I’ve beaten. Kirby Returns to Dreamland seems to feel like it’s going to go somewhere above 3, but I’m not quite sure yet. Amazing Mirror however…

Amazing Mirror didn’t really live up to my expectations. First I accidentally missed a tutorial level. I just went back and checked and no, it doesn’t really explain anything. So, back when I started the first time, I went into the little mirror and to my surprise I found myself in an expansive maze. After walking straight to the same boss twice, I found I was underwhelmed.

After giving it another go a few days ago and the today I decided on a different game to take me though my 4 hour ride home from family Christmas stuff. I chose Metroid Fusion.

And no joke, I had a Paragoomba Shift.

Today.

You see, Metroid Fusion is now my favorite Metroid game. More impressively than being my favorite of two, it got me to understand how a game with a maze layout should be designed. Let me explain.

As per usual for me, I’ll start my example with Mega Man. This kinda design is right up my alley. Using the smallest sections of the games in question that you can give a property to, in the case of Mega Man a Robot Master level, let’s see how the game gets you from point A to point B. In Mega Man it goes like this. “Here’s point A, point B is to the right. Go that way and you’ll get there.” In Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, it goes “Here’s point A. There are 8 point B’s out there. After you find one we’ll bring you back here” In Metriod it goes “Here’s point A. Beat the game.”

However in Metroid Fusion, the game gives you a very clear idea of what your doing. Like this “Here’s point A, here’s point B. There’s a bunch of stuff between point A and point B, but here’s a rough idea of it so you know what you’re doing. Oh and by the way, here’s why you’re going to point B.”

Strawman argument? Perhaps. But it’s how I feel. Now there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Mega Man example. In fact, in general I prefer that kind. However, that’s simply not how the Metroid series is designed, and I respect that. And I think the way Metriod Fusion presented it was the best I’ve seen so far.

Whatever the case, Metroid Fusion has restored my interest in the Metriod series. I’ll be trying out the 2^nd and 3^rd installments eventually, but now, I have a gigantic spider to blow up for robot parts.

I’ll show you the spoils some other time.

Fourtune Cookie #1: Kirby Super Star Ultra

Ah yes, welcome to Foutune Cookie, where fate decides a game for me to talk to you about. Why is it called Foutune Cookie you ask? Because I use the Backloggery's Fourtune Cookie option, a progam that picks one of my games at random, to pick a game for me to talk about. I'll talk about the Backloggery in a day or two, but now, Kirby Super Star Ultra.

Before we discuss Kirby Super Star Ultra, henforth to be refered to as KSSU, it must be noted that I have never played the original game, Kirby Super Star. I had no attatchment to the game, which I belive many people do. I say this because out of all of the handheld Kirby games I've played enough to form an opninion on, this is my least favorite.

Now, I use the term "Least Favorite" lightly, because by no means is this a bad game. I just feel it's a little lackluster is all. Perhaps my viewpoint is afflicted by expecting too much from it, because it is a remake of a game, and if I had to judge the original based soley of this game, I'd have to give it major credit for how much variety and magnitude was put into the game. But nowadays, well, the sheer size of the game isn't as impressive. And much of the additional content added looks larger than it is.

Okay, let me explain how the game works. KSSU gives you modes to play, early one you're given a few and as you complete them you get more modes until you eventually unlock them all. One of the problems with these modes is that a lot of them "based" off each other. Revenge of the King is a harder version of Spring Breeze, Meta Kightmare Ultra is basically the main games with Meta Knight instead of Kirby, meaning your playing the entire game with a beefed up sword ability. Begining to see a pattern here?

But there's certainly much more to this game than these negitive points I have with it. Many of the main features of the game are creative ideas that are fun to try out. The Great Cave Offense is a pretty fun twist on Kirby with a Metriod/Zelda-esque them of finding treausers using certain abilities in what's basically a maze, though the maze is sort of funneled in a large circle to keep you from getting hopelessly lost. There's also Milky Way wishes which has you collect powerups throughout the course of the title and once you collect them you can use them at your leasure, the challenge being that you can't take powers from the enemies around you and are stuck with what you have collected. Unfortunatly, once you get about half of the abilities and the sense of being nearly indestructable since you'll never lose a power because it can be resommoed at will, things get a little dull as you try to find those last powers that really wouldn't be that helpful compared to the aresenal you have now.

The Areana is a fun place to battle all the bosses with limited health refills. This is probably the most challenging part of the game because, let's face it, platforming is pretty negligable when you can fly infinatly. Then you get to the True Arena where you fight stronger versions of the bosses, which I have yet to beat. There's also the Helper to Hero mode where you do The Arena but instead you fight with one ability throughout the entire thing. However, this mode is indentical to The Arena outside of this and after about one or two playthoughs you'll probably feel a sense of repeditaveness and may give up unless you're the competionist type.

Have I failed to mention the Helpers yet? Well I should, because they are absouletly without a doubt... kinda cool. The AI on these guys is about as good as you'd expect, and they can be helpful. They'll do extra damage to that boss and you can use them as a backup abilty in case you lost the one you were using. But be wary, cause if you want to snag an ability from an enemy you'll have to work fast or your helper will destory them in a beserk fit of rage! Or at least fight as he's programed too.

What is more than kinda cool is the multiplayer. Oh yes, it's been around before Yarn and Return to Dreanland. However, unlike those you're going to want to play with someone who has their own copy of the game. I say "want" instead of "need" because technically you can play multiplayer without two copies of the game, but you can only play on one DS, which means your friend is going to have to look at your screen while pushing buttons on their own  DS, and you can only play on Spring Breeze, which is basically the KSSU's tutorial mode, which is really short.

However, if you DO have two copies of the game, well, things get interesting. You can now play any part of the game with a freind standing in as a helper. ANY. PART. There is no limit to this whatsoever. The partner plays as a helper, so you'll have to summon them yourself, but after that? Smooth sailing. There is nothing more fun to do with this game then boot it up with a freind and wail on enemies  with your newfound co-op skillz. It also helps you with harder sections of the game and is really, just a great time.

Anthing else I have to say about the game is pretty small. I like the new boss in Milky Way Wishes for Meta Knight, but I'm still confused why he blew up the Haleberd. Gourment Race is fun but really short. I like some of the continuity established within the game, like the return of one of Dynablade after you help her. The cutscenes are pretty cool and can be epic. I love the Masked Dedede theme. I think Kirby's a little to big and bulky and he controls  a little clunky compared to the other handeld games I've played.

All in all, that's pretty much Kirby Super Star Ultra. If you were a fan of the original, then you'd probably love this one too. It's definatly a good starting point for a newer Kirby fan as well, as this shows you the basics while still providing newance within the title. If you have a freind with the game you'll definatly have a blast playing it with them. To me, the test of time has weared on this game a bit, but it's still good and worthy of the Kirby name.

Now if you'll excuse me, it has become tommorow as I wrote this, so I'll put hyperlinks in here at a later date.