[Rev.][Games] Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii)

Metroid Prime Trilogy
 
Developer: Retro Studios

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 2009

The Metroid Prime Trilogy comprises of three highly acclaimed games on one single disc. And it is certainly one of the best compilation discs around.

So, what do you get in this package that warrants a purchase, even if you bought the original three games? Well, we have the European box, which comes in a shiny sleeve, pictured above, and the box itself is a standard Wii game box, but the insert card just has the box art and logo without any text (bar the PEGI logos). Inside, you get the prized disc, plus an art booklet that contains art from the games as well as giving you background to the entire Metroid Prime story, and the instruction booklet is for all three games. The bonus content from all three games is now neatly packaged up in the bonus menu on the disc too.

I must warn you now though, that similarly to SSBB, Metroid Prime Trilogy comes on a dual-layered disc, which means if your Wii disc drive lens isn’t totally clean, you won’t be able to play the game. However you can cheaply buy the official lens cleaning kit from online retailers, which certainly does the job, or send your Wii off to Nintendo for them to clean it.

The Wii controls from Corruption have been successfully brought over to the GameCube games, with each one working perfectly with the Wii remote and nunchuck. Visor swapping is still done with the minus button as in Corruption, and beam swapping is now done in the same way using the plus button.

So now what about the games? Do they still live up to their greatness? They certainly do.

Metroid Prime

The original Prime is the one most often said to be the best game out of the trilogy, and looking back it’s easy to see why: it’s FPS style combat system combined with first-person adventuring is a perfect combination, offering intuitive control. 

The game’s story is well developed, and when playing through you get a real sense of the Chozo’s peril at the coming of the meteor (which through Corruption we now know to be a Phazon leviathan).

The areas in the game’s world are still some of the best I’ve seen. Landing on Tallon Overworld in the first half hour is a sight to behold, with Samus’ ship soaring over the treetops, and the rain falling onto the ground below. But this compares nothing to the snowy wastes of Phendrana, which is renowned as a sight that wows gamers.
The music, composed by Kenji Yamamoto, is amazing too; with some themes such as Magmoor Caverns taken straight out of Super Metroid, but with stand-out themes such as Phendrana’s Edge, and the battle themes.

Metroid Prime is a perfect start to the trilogy, and it’ll make you want to play the other two games before you’ve considered them.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime 2 is the darkest out of the three Prime games, and does a good job following on from Prime; and is certainly the toughest of the three.

First you have Dark Aether, a poisoned and distorted variant on the main world featured in the game, Aether. It has been seen by some gamers as a pain to trek through, especially with the game’s ammo system; but I personally find it an exciting challenge, which in parts feels very much like a survival horror. The Hunter Ing you find once you reach Dark Torvus still give me a sense of foreboding.

The ammo system has also been criticised, but I myself found it no burden, and in several playthroughs on the GC, and my recent MPT playthrough, I have never run out of ammo.
Some of the bosses can be tough, such as the boost and Spider Guardians; but Echoes features some of the memorable bosses such as the giant Quadraxis and the grotesque Chykka.

Echoes is certainly a good game, and certainly doesn’t let down on the first game, and when you get to the end I’m sure you’ll be very satisfied.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

After the first two games, Corruption doesn’t feel as good or polished to my opinion. Corruption takes a more action-based route, foregoing some of the exploration of its prequels, and is in a way let down by that, as it omits some of the emersion and the “one alone” feeling.

However, it still attains the quality of the series, with stunning landscapes, challenging enemies, and a mind-blowing storyline.

One of my criticisms of the game is that the music (not including the opening theme here) is at times too removed from the previous two games. For example, the Galactic Federation themes, and the Berserker Lord and Ghor themes just seem a bit too action based for my liking – I prefer the vibrant alien sounding themes like those used for Rundas, Gandrayda, and Dark Samus. 

Still, it comes up better on its prequels when looking at the beautiful visuals, especially in places like Bryyo or Elysia.

The Wii controls are fully utilised in the game with certain objectives requiring those precise hand movements, which is refreshing after all the mindless shooting of Space Pirates in Norion. I quite like the Hypermode feature; which (for those who haven’t played the game) allows you to become invulnerable for a limited amount of time, but you also have to manage that power so that Samus does not become totally corrupted. The return of the stackable beams was a good addition, even though it was mainly for control reasons (no button available for visor swapping). Although it takes an element of strategy away from the game, it makes combat more fluid.

I don’t deny that Corruption is a fitting end to the Trilogy, but I would have liked to have more exploration and less focus on action.

Metroid Prime Trilogy – Overall

Overall, Metroid Prime Trilogy is the best value compilation package since the XBox 360’s Orange Box. Three fantastic games for the price of one isn’t an offer that should be passed by. Playing the three games back to back is an experience that deepens your knowledge of the series, and the Trilogy package provides an excellent presentation to do so.

For Metroid veterans, you’ll enjoy the adventure all over again, as well as gaining all the bonuses, which include cut down soundtracks for all three Prime games.

For newcomers to the Prime Trilogy or the Metroid series, prepare for one of the fullest and most enjoyable experiences you’ll ever get on any console, for even though it’s not perfect, it’s definitely one of the best games around.

Scores

Metroid Prime Trilogy – 9/10
Metroid Prime – 9/10
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – 8.5/10
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - 8/10