Weekend Pickups – May 2021

Welcome back for another round of “I don’t really have anything specific in mind, so here’s what games I’ve bought lately”. It was Memorial Day weekend, which is usually considered the kick-off to summer as the weather has finally begun to stay a consistently mild temperature. It’s only a matter of days before we enter a few months of complaining about the heat as a change of pace from complaining about the cold(Talking about the weather…the signs of reaching middle-age have begun). Anyways…I was able to check out the game store in town and picked up a pile handful of games. I found a few PS3 games that I’d wanted to check out for a while, along with a few GBA and a single PS2 game. PlayStation 3 games have remained pretty inexpensive the past couple years, save for the few weeks this spring of people panic buying games after hearing about the now-reversed decision by Sony to shut down the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita digital storefronts. I have also wanted to build up my library of Game Boy Advance games, something I never did years ago when it was the current Nintendo handheld system. I happened to come across a few Castlevania games, which depending on the game, don’t typically sell for egregious amounts of money, but still aren’t something you find everyday.

The Games

Final Fantasy XIII

It wasn’t until my late teens/early 20’s that I really began to appreciate, or “get” RPGs as a genre, particularly(Pokemon Red & Gold being an exception). I’ve begun making the joke that I end up bringing home another JRPG every time I visit the local game store…and this weekend was no different. I’ve played quite a few different Final Fantasy games by this point, but have never played FFXIII(or either of the sequels). I remember when the game was released and thought it looked cool, but (foolishly)thought I was going to play through the previous entries before I’d begin playing it. I always heard a lot of mixed things about the game, but intend to play the game myself and create my own opinions from there…once I finish up what must be a dozen or so other JRPGs first…

The Darkness

I remember reading about a game called “The Darkness” shortly after getting my PlayStation 3 back in December 2007(as the original “Spider-Man” lettering indicates). The premise sounded interesting – a dark, supernatural FPS in which you have an army of monsters, “Darklings” available to summon and attack enemies, alongside an array of conventional weapons. The first game I played on my PS3 was a military shooter called Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction shortly after that, so it got sort of lost in the middle of “bigger” games. I had always heard interesting things about The Darkness(and its sequel), so it’s simply another example of a game I didn’t get around to playing until years later.

Enslaved: Odyssey To The West

Enslaved: Odyssey To The West is a game that I don’t really remember hearing anything about back when it was released in 2010, but in recent years I’ve heard quite a few people mention the game and how underrated it is compared to other games of the era. A hack ‘n slash action-adventure game made by Ninja Theory/Namco starring Andy Serkis and written by Alex Garland. Pretty intrigued by this one…

Singularity

Singularity is another game that I remember hearing about back during the PS3 days but didn’t know all that much about. Similar to Enslaved: Odyssey To The West, I’ve heard more people mention the game in the last few years than I ever did following its release. I really enjoyed some of the older games developed by Raven Software like Star Wars Jedi Knight II, X-Men Legends, or Soldier of Fortune II. It’s a little disappointing that Raven has been relegated to little more than assisting Treyarch and Infinity Ward in making yearly Call of Duty releases since Call of Duty: Black Ops in 2010, which was released a matter of months after Singularity.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

I remember first playing Castlevania: Lament of Innocence on a demo disk inside an issue of PlayStation Magazine and really liking it, so I ended up buying the game a couple months later. I ended up selling the game a few years back when I (regrettably)decided to downsize my game collection, but I’ve been keeping an eye out for a decent copy of the game the last year or so. I’ll admit the game didn’t do anything revolutionary with the series and may not reach the same heights of something like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but I still have something of a soft spot for the game. I had always known of the Castlevania games and had played Super Castlevania, as well as the NES original, but it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that I started getting really into the series, which happened to be right as Lament of Innocence was to be released…

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge

For as much as I and many others love the Banjo-Kazooie games, it’s usually(and understandably) the console releases that are mentioned. There were two BK games released for the Game Boy Advance – Banjo Pilot and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge; the former being a cart racer similar to Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing(Banjo’s first appearance, btw) while the latter is an adventure-platformer more along the lines of what one associates with the series. Throughout video game history, handheld releases very RAREly(well done, right?) receive the recognition of home consoles, it’s easy to be unaware BK games were even made for the GBA. You don’t come across either game very often, but I’m still looking for a copy of Banjo Pilot to go along with Grunty’s Revenge…

Speaking of sequels that went unnoticed because they were released on a handheld…

Gunstar Super Heroes

Gunstar Heroes is one of my absolute favorite Sega Genesis games and would likely be near the top of my all-time favorites as well. A sequel – Gunstar Super Heroes was released on the GBA in 2005, 12 years after the original. It was only within the last decade or so that I myself had even heard of the game and I don’t seem to be alone in that regard as I’ve come across many others who were surprised to hear there was a sequel released. Looking forward to this one…

Advance Wars

Advance Wars is a series that I’d always wanted to play, as I have heard next to nothing negative about the game from anyone or anywhere since its release back in 2001, but was a little intimidated by for the longest time as RTS-type games have always been my weakest genre of games. I came across a copy of Advance Wars for a decent price and decided to finally give it a shot. The GBA releases are revered by fans and seemingly destined to be ignored by Nintendo as Intelligent Systems has finally started to gain more recognition now the Fire Emblem games have begun to increase in popularity on this side of the Pacific.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

While I have played a few of the Castlevania games for the Nintendo DS, I have never really played any of the three GBA releases – Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow. Circle of the Moon was released as one of the launch titles for the Game Boy Advance on June 11, 2001. None of the Castlevania games on the GBA seem to be very easy to find in the past few years and the latter pair(the ones that didn’t essentially get erased from the overall Castlevania timeline by Koji Igarashi) have begun to skyrocket in price, so as soon as I saw Circle of the Moon the other day I knew I had grab it. It’s just 11 days short of the 20-year anniversary of the Game Boy Advance’s release in North America, so it’s a perfect time to kick back and play some Castlevania….maybe I’ll even get around to watching Season 3 of the Netflix series as well.

That’s all for now! I’m pretty satisfied with the games I was able to find over the holiday weekend. What games have you picked up recently? Let me know. Thanks for reading!

Metroid Fusion

On November 17, 2002 Nintendo did something unique – releasing a pair of Metroid titles simultaneously with Metroid Prime being released on Gamecube and Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance. While Prime went on to revolutionize the franchise, Metroid Fusion it seems has always been overlooked as the little brother to its Gamecube counterpart, despite also receiving critical acclaim. I recently played through Fusion and it provides a gaming experience just as terrific as when it was first released nearly seventeen years ago.

same Samus, new fusion suit

Metroid Prime and Fusion were the first games in the series since 1994’s Super Metroid on the SNES, with Samus’ only appearance on the N64 being part of the roster of flagship characters in the first Super Smash Bros game. Prime made the jump from 2D side-scrolling adventure-platformer(titles falling within this subgenre will go on to be known as “Metroidvania” games) to first-person perspective, which many were skeptical about prior to its launch. Metroid Fusion in contrast to Prime, kept the familiar 2D camera and gameplay of Super Metroid while adding a few improvements. It’s certainly understandable, thought still unfair how Fusion would not receive as much attention as Prime as it didn’t present a radical change in the formula that fans had grown to love.

Metroid Fusion begins with Samus Aran accompanying a team from Biologic Space Lab, or BSL, to the Metroid homeworld of SR388. While on the surface, Samus is infected by an unknown parasite that attacks her central nervous system and later renders her unconscious and crashes her ship. The Galactic Federation rescues Samus, performing an emergency operation as the parasite, now known simply as “X” has FUSED itself so deeply to Samus that parts of her power suit were unable to be removed. A cure has been found however, as the cells from the infant Metroid that Samus has informally adopted(the same one from Metroid II) act as a vaccine and destroy the X cells as Samus makes note of the fact it has now saved her life twice. Shortly after regaining consciousness, an explosion happens at the BSL and Samus is sent to investigate; she is not completely alone this time as a new onboard computer AI is installed to assist. Samus decides to name the AI “Adam” and states the demeanor of this new partner is strangely familiar and sounds very much like her former academy officer, Adam Malkovich. Samus’ mission to investigate the disturbance at the BSL begins by cautiously making her way to the nearest navigation room to get a better layout of the facility; the BSL consisting of a Main Deck which is connected to six individual sectors, each one comprising of a different climate. Shortly after arriving, Samus learns the X parasite that nearly killed her has infested the BSL and Samus clone has been spotted destroying areas of the lab. The X parasite possesses the ability to copy the genetic makeup of its host and has created a duplicate of its most recent victim. Due to not operating at full power just yet, Samus is strongly advised to steer clear of this more powerful copycat and make her way through the research facility. Samus is able to recover her suit abilities as she progresses through the BSL before making the discovery of a secret area full of….you guessed it, Metroids. It turns out the Galactic Federation has secretly been working on a program to breed all different types of Metroids with the intent to weaponize their power. Further adding to the dangerous scenario is the fact the Samus clone, named SA-X has been alerted to her presence as has begun to hunt her down. After confronting Adam, Samus learns that the Galactic Federation has deliberately withheld certain information and power suit abilities as they feared if she were to know what was going on she would do her best to shut down the operation; they go so far as to order Samus to remain in the navigation room as Federation forces are en route to secure the facility and the SA-X, whose powers prove too enticing to resist. Samus knows the Federation will be walking into a massacre as they are no match for the SA-X, whose power will only continue to grow, putting the entire galaxy in jeopardy. Samus successfully reasons with her AI counterpart (then revealed to be very consciousness of the her former commanding officer Adam which had been transferred posthumously) and quickly devises a plan to propel the BSL down to nearby SR388 and annihilate any remaining X parasites in the process. Samus initiates the destruction sequence only after confronting and defeating the SA-X before heading back to her ship to escape the facility. Before she can reach her ship however, she is attacked by an Omega Metroid and nearly killed before the SA-X attacks the creature head-on and is destroyed, leaving Samus to finally return the favor and absorb the power of the SA-X and obtain the Ice Beam once again just in time to defeat the Omega Metroid and escape as the BSL crashes into SR388.

The gameplay of Metroid Fusion is nearly identical to that of Super Metroid, and plays just as flawlessly. You navigate your way through the Main Deck and Sectors 1-6 and acquire various upgrades for your power suit, beginning with missiles before other handy powers like Charge Beam or Morph Ball Bomb to assist you along your way. You also earn power suit upgrades such as the Varia Suit which protects you from extreme heat or cold, or the Gravity Suit which enables you to move freely underwater. This is a central formula in Metroid games and even after multiple games still proves one of my favorite aspects of the game – finding a new toy and excitedly looking for an excuse to use it. There are many corridors and hallways to search along the way to your next objective point, with many doors being locked and only accessible AFTER finding the locking mechanism for the corresponding color; quintessential Metroidvania – exploring every inch of an area and then returning(backtracking?) to a previous section as you are finally able to see what’s behind the door or where it leads(remember that door that was locked at the beginning of the game…?). One nice upgrade is the ability to grab ledges and climb up, this replaces wall jumping as the only way to scale vertical passages, at before you get the Screw Attack upgrade(another favorite 🙂 ).

The controls for Metroid Fusion feel right at home on the Game Boy Advance(or DS, as I used) and are blast to play. Super Metroid utilized the six buttons of the SNES controller, whereas Fusion accomplishes this while using only four. The L shoulder button serves as diagonal aim both upward and downward while the R button is held while pressing the B button to fire missiles. The only ability found in Super Metroid not found in Fusion is the X-Ray visor which I honestly don’t find myself missing all that much. Just like in previous games, your health and ammo are acquired from defeated enemies as Samus is informed that due to her power suit being inFUSED by the X, she is able to absorb the parasitic organisms as they float mid-air. The yellow X will replenish your health, while the green X will restock your missiles, but don’t wait too long to grab them or they will attach themselves to another nearby life form causing the same enemy you just blasted to respawn right in front of you. This is also used as a puzzle element in a couple areas as I couldn’t figure out how to proceed to the next room before realizing I had to destroy an enemy and refrain from grabbing the floating replenishment as you need to allow the X to replicate an enemy a few times before allowing you to pass.

The sound and visuals of Metroid Fusion still provide the ambience and atmosphere one has come to expect from the series and proves a worthy successor to Super Metroid. The feelings of isolation and trepidation have permeated through Metroid as a series. The Alien movies have been enormous influence on the Metroid series and the games have never shied away from showing it; Ridley – one of Samus’ most recognized adversaries is named after Ridley Scott, the director of Alien. Remember…in space, no one can hear you scream 😉

While I love nearly everything about Metroid Fusion, there are just a few critiques.

• The story is a bit weak(story never being the strongest aspect of any Metroid game)
• Navigation and save stations: There are numerous save and navigation rooms scattered throughout the BSL facility, almost too many. The save stations are never far enough apart to make you moderately uneasy about losing any of your progress, a contrast to other Metroidvanias where being given the opportunity to save your game is a welcome relief. This would definitely be considered a very minor nitpick, as it was a bit of a stretch to find things I disliked in the game.
• Difficulty spike during boss battles: The overall difficulty of the game is pretty moderate, but the boss fights can prove to be surprisingly tricky. A lot of the difficulty is the fact many bosses take up the majority of the screen leaving you a very small window to maneuver around, usually sticking to the corners of the screen in Morph Ball mode.
• Perhaps my biggest critique is the game can at times, tends to do too much “hand-holding” in regards to mission objectives. In Metroid Fusion, your AI companion Adam frequently acts as a compass by pointing out exactly where your should head next and reminding you of details that you shouldn’t overlook. The fact there seems to be a navigation room where you are told exactly where to go every few minutes. While this may have been a decision to make the game a little more straightforward or accessible to Metroidvania newcomers, it feels like one of my favorite aspects of the subgenre has been diminished in encouraging you to explore every nook and cranny of the area as you discover health tanks and missile expansions, along with clues as to where to proceed next.

saving the day against the Omega Metroid

To summarize(finally!), Metroid Fusion is an excellent entry to the series that is every bit worthy of being called a successor to Super Metroid, which is still considered one of the greatest games of the Super Nintendo, if not all-time. The game plays every bit as well as its 16-bit predecessor and the controls, along with sound and visuals are superb considering the limitations of the Game Boy Advance 17 years ago. My favorite moment of the game is facing off against Ridley X, who is defeated rather easily by a constant barrage of missiles, before absorbing the floating X to finally receive the Screw Attack. This always represents the greatest feeling in the Metroid games, the moment when you’ve upgraded all of Samus’ weapons and power suit abilities and relish the feeling of power provided by your new toys as you go to confront the final boss of the game. There’s also the fact you can connect your GBA and Fusion to a Gamecube to unlock the Fusion suit in Metroid Prime, as well as a full-version of the original NES game to play on your Gamecube, which was pretty awesome. Metroid Fusion may not have reinvented the franchise, but it certainly is among the best the series has to offer.

Have you ever played Metroid Fusion or Prime? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to go through and write a post for every Metroid game, if nothing else to pacify myself until Prime 4 Nintendo decides to re-release more Metroid games. Well…that’s another week, another Nintendo game for show and tell 🙂

Keep on playing…