Metroid: Zero Mission
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| Metroid Zero Mission | |
| Missing image Zmbox.jpg US Metroid Zero Mission box art. | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Release date(s) | February 9, 2004 (NA) May 27, 2004 (JP) |
| Genre | Action Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
Metroid: Zero Mission is a part of the Metroid series and a remake of the original Metroid. Like the others, it features intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran as the playable main character.
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General mechanics
This game was made as a retelling of the story of the original Metroid game for NES, and most players will recognise the general layout as being very similar. However, many new items, areas, and minibosses have been added as well as an entirely new area near the end of the game. At first glance, it appears to be a linear game, forcing the player to acquire certain items in a certain order. However, careful exploration of the environment allows for the player to disregard a large part of this ordering. This technique has been termed sequence breaking and makes it possible, if very difficult, to finish the game collecting only 9% of the items. Progress can be saved only in certain rooms, called, appropriately, "Save Rooms", and marked on the in-game map with an S.
Metroids
The appearance of Metroids themselves in this game is similar to the original Metroid. Metroids appear only in Tourian, the lair of the original final boss, Mother Brain, and only in the original "toothed jellyfish" form.
Items and objects
Main article: Items in the Metroid series
Many powerups and items make reappearances from the older games in the series, with similar uses and effects. The core items from the franchise (the two Suit upgrades, the Morph Ball, the Morph Ball Bomb, Missiles, and various different Beams) are present in the same form as in other 2D installments. The Hi-Jump Boots and Spring Ball are now one item, as are the Wave and Spazer Beams. The only new item is the Power Grip, which allows Samus to cling to ledges, an ability that she had innately in Metroid Fusion. The Wall Jump technique is usable in this game, on one or two walls, as is the Shinespark, Samus' Speed Booster-powered super jump.
Music and graphics
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The music consists of orchestral arrangements of Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka's ambient influenced soundtrack, with higher-quality samples to take advantage of the more powerful audio hardware available. It is made by the Super Metroid composers Minako Hamano and Kenji Yamamoto.
The original Metroid soundtrack was one of the first low-key game soundtracks aimed at building atmosphere without the intrusive loops of the likes of Super Mario Bros; the move to an orchestral and more continuous score is therefore an unexpected stylistic departure for the remake, and has not been universally accepted by fans. However, from a technical and compositional standpoint, the music is some of the most impressive on the GBA platform.
The graphics are similar to Super Metroid's 2D, and feature cinematic cut-scenes which were heavily promoted in the game's marketing, although they are in fact infrequent and relatively short.
Extras
A feature unique to Zero Mission, Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 is the ability to unlock extra features, such as an emulation of the original NES Metroid, and a sound test, by completing the game on different difficulty levels. Using a GBA to GBA game link cable, this game can link to Metroid Fusion, and all ending images from Fusion (including the Japanese endings from other difficulties) will be available for view on the Zero Mission cartridge. Also, there is a gallery where all endings unlocked in Zero Mission can be viewed.
Retcons
Metroid: Zero Mission contains a number of definite or perceived retcons to the Metroid storyline. First and foremost are the differences in the appearance of areas shared directly with Super Metroid. These include the area of original Brinstar where the player begins this game, the escape shaft and Mother Brain's chamber in Tourian, and various areas in Crateria.
A significant possible retcon involves the Space Pirate Mothership and Chozodia, areas which Samus explores at the end of this game. In Super Metroid, there was a Wrecked Ship located at approximately the same location on Zebes, but the manual and other sources stated that this ship was left by cosmonauts who crash-landed on the planet in the distant past. In addition, the ruins of Chozodia are not present in Super Metroid, nor is there enough apparent room for them between Crateria and the Wrecked Ship. The Space Pirate Mothership contains a number of characteristics apparently meant to identify it with the Wrecked Ship, including the canister-shaped workbots found in several rooms. There are many possible explanations to avoid retcons here, but all are fan conjecture.
In this game, Kraid is as large as he was in Super Metroid. It had previously been assumed by most fans that Kraid's increase in size in the latter game was due to some type of genetic engineering. In addition, this game contains no decoy "Fake Kraid," which is a departure from a short but celebrated tradition.
Likewise, it had previously been assumed that Samus Aran's arsenal and skills had increased in complexity over time. Zero Mission now shows us that Samus has been using the same types of suit powerups with all of their abilities since the beginning.
Zero Mission establishes as a fact in the series that the Chozo once lived on Zebes and that Samus was raised there as a child. These details had never been explicitly mentioned in games themselves before, but had been revealed in various other materials, such as the manual for Metroid Prime and the Nintendo Power comic series.
See also
- Gunpei Yokoi
- Metroid Prime
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Metroid II: Return of Samus
- Super Metroid
- Metroid Fusion
- Metroid (video game species)
External links
- GameFAQs entry for Metroid: Zero Mission (http://gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/data/36844.html)
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