Thread by @drawn_tweets

For some time now, I've wanted to talk about things I play, watch, or read. I recognize that Twitter isn't a good place to talk about a long subject, but I don't have the time to be looking at other platforms either. So I'll do this and then see how terrible it is.

With the announcement of #Metroid Dread, I thought it was a good opportunity to revisit the franchise, the whole franchise if possible. So I'm starting with the original #NES game - you might have it, it's an unlockable for Prime and ZM.

Disclosure: I played a few weeks ago, and didn't think of taking screenshots at the time, so I replayed a bit to refresh the game in my mind and have a few screenshots.

Metroid is the start of one of the most beloved videogame franchises, but how well does it hold up 35 years later? After all, years of improvement in both graphics and game design will affect our judgement on old software. Soundtrack for this thread:

When starting, we see the game's name, twinkling stars, and (maybe) the surface of Zebes. If you wait, you'll see that your mission is to defeat mother brain - the only information you'll get during the game unless you read the manual. There's also a quite pleasant song playing.

Reading the manual, you'll get some information about your mission, the Galactic Federation who employs you as a bounty hunter, and how the space pirates stole the Metroid from a research spaceship, and could be used as a weapon. Your mission is to destroy them and Mother Brain.

Do note that the manual implies Samus is male, but her profile comes from a third party that claims that her identity is a mystery - and even the Japanese manual uses he, so it's not a mistranslation. This is likely to surprise the player with the ending.

If you're wondering what's the difference with the Famicom version, besides having the title in katakana, the song plays a bit differently - and it's not the only one - and it has a save system, while the rest have to use a password system if they want to resume their game.

Famicom's cart slot had two extra pins that could be used by extra sound hardware, the NES had these pins at the bottom of the unit, so they couldn't be used by games.

Another notable difference is that enemy behavior (where they aim, how they move) are less predictable in the Famicom version due to differences in the RNG (random number generator) implementation.

And now with the actual game, we have enemies, Samus, foreground, and no background. Graphically speaking, it's not impressive compared to later NES games, but it didn't look bad or out of place at the time of release.

However, while the game doesn't look bad compared to games at the time, the map itself can be confusing with its limited palette and its size. You also have to backtrack, so it's easy to get lost, specially when most rooms leading to Chozo statues have the same basic layout.

The game has many secrets for items - that albeit not strictly required - will make your chances of survival higher, but finding a breakable block doesn't guarantee you'll get anything but pain. Dead-ends, death pits and lack of directions can make navigation frustrating.

Mechanically speaking, the game is easy to understand, you can move, jump and fire, and slowly get more tools as you explore Zebes. There is a variety of enemies with different health, attack patterns, and weaknesses; defeating them will often net you energy or missiles.

Generally, what will cause the most trouble are the two bosses - Ridley, and Kraid - you have to defeat to gain access to Mother Brain. Encountering Metroids may be a problem first time around, as you'll need to have the Ice Beam equipped in order to freeze them.

In the end, the original Metroid is an interesting - if frustrating - adventure game. To those who want to start the franchise, I'd sayto skip it, play another game first, and then, if they are feeling daring, play this one.

Despite my criticism, I still had a good time with the game, and the music is still great.

If you want, you can complain about this format, my writing, or even my opinion, or you can try to guess the next thing I'll talk about.