I'm pretty much incapable of picking favorites, but the games do each have their own strengths. Prime 1 had strong nostalgia vibes out of the box, since it's practically not too far off from being Super Metroid in 3D, while Prime 2's strengths lie in its darker mood (more akin to Metroid 1) and its interesting environment, power-up and boss designs (as it tried to distinguish itself from its predecessor).
Prime 1 is gamey... and this isn't a bad thing, it's a game and having gamey things is good because gamey is fun! Unfortunately, gamey things can be very unfun. And Prime 2 is coherent... coherently gamey. It picked what gamey things it wanted to have and stuck to it, rather than having a variety of gamey things.
just realized that it's my Prime 1 gameplay. Was just enjoying the video and something felt familiar. For me Prime 2 is better but probably because it was my first Metroid game and also of nostalgia.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I'm very thankful for gameplay videos like yours, the time stamps especially! Metroid Prime 2 is a great first Metroid game to start with.
Crazy that prime 2 is 20 years old. Prime 1 had been out for a bit by the time I got into Metroid, so Prime 2 was one of the first games I was really excited for. I think Prime is probably better because it better emulates the vibe of super Metroid more or less. Prime 2 took some interesting risks, but I think the nature of the dark world really takes it down a notch sadly.
I bought Super Metroid the day it came out. It was $80 friggin dollars. I also bought Prime the day it came out. I didn't like Prime at first. I only made it halfway through the game before giving up on it. Gamestop had Prime 2 on the Gamecube kiosk when it came out. I lost my job and it was a dark time in my life. I didn't have money to buy Prime 2 so I rented it and never returned it. After playing Prime 2 I went back to Prime 1 and finished it. The more I played the games the more I enjoyed them. Prime 2 is still my favorite. My favorite area in the series is the Sanctuary Fortress.
I like the beam ammo as well. I actually made my own head canon on why they have ammo. It is because its luminoth technology and chozo, so they still need ammo. Samus' suit is known to adapt as well. I know they're supposed to be on par with the chozo, but 6 said they were equal. Also explains why there are no beam stacks as well. For prime 1, I see no stacking as a reason of the chozo being a different tribe on Tallon IV. Again, it's all head canon and makes sense to me.
Making head canon is always fun haha. Honestly, your theory on the Luminoth technology makes a lot of sense. While Samus's suit adapts well to other technologies, there might be some compromises.
Prime 2 is my fav, but 20 years later and still can't decide if I like 1 or 3 over each other, their pros and cons cancel each other out. Very tied if Prime 4 does the endgame keys again hopefully you can get them at any thing with prior knowledge, either that or scrap it and just make another area and boss
Nostalgia isn't stigmatized. The problem is that most people will claim they like a certain game from any particular game series, this being the Metroid series in this instance. But most people will deny that nostalgia plays any part in their reasoning for liking a certain game. If that's your reason for preferring a Metroid game, just come out and say it. I think Prime is the best one out of the series. I've only completed Prime and Hunters. I never finished Echoes, but there are a few things I don't like about it.
Hunter's is one I definitely strongly disliked... But I loved primes 1, 2 and 3 though. Hunter's... Is like the ugly duck that just doesn't belong. . Or SHOULD have never existed. . . Well... Maybe that is a touch too harsh. After all... If Hunter's never existed, then I would have never gotten that killer opening theme song I occasionally love listening to... It's.. fire🔥. . .
@@TheDeepThinker-sq3iy Hunters probably shouldn't have been made. It's one I enjoyed. But looking back, there are a few things I don't like about it. The artifact collecting, the constant interruptions of the camera pointing where to go next, the door locking enemy ambushes, and the repetitive bosses. And I can't forget the controls. On the DS, it's impressive. Had it been on the GameCube, it'd be worthy of the worst Metroid game. But I did have a good experience with it, so I could look past the flaws. Had this game never existed, Federation Force and Beyond wouldn't be a thing.
I mostly feel the same as you. From a technical standpoint, MP2 fixed a lot of issues that affected the first one, but MP just FEELS more like a “true” Metroid game.
Funny, I've always said the opposite: Prime 1 is more consistent, while Prime 2 has higher highs and lower lows. Agon Wastes is a terrible first area, imo, mostly because of the basically nonexistent music, while Sanctuary Fortress is the best area in the whole series for me. Also, in Prime 1, you're right that backtracking through Magmoor Caverns is done poorly, but the world itself feels more organic, unlike Prime 2's cleanly divided 3 main areas in a triangle, with nice connections between all of them. Feels less natural than Prime 1's dead ends, hallways, varying area sizes, etc. Anyway, Prime 2 is better imo, because its highs are so high, but Prime 1 is my comfort food, that I can just go back to again and again because it's so consistent, and, yes, nostalgia.
I have more nostalgia for Prime 1, but i still prefer Prime 2, which grew over time on me. I used to prefer Prime 1 when playing the Prime Trilogy for the first time. But after beating more Metroid games (Trilogy were my first three), i realized that what i prefer in the series is its dark atmosphere and the feeling of being helpless and surrounded by danger and oppressing ennemies. And that's just what Prime 2 provides the most imo Other games i have a nostalgia bias towards : Zelda Spirit Tracks, Zelda Skyward Sword and Super Mario 64 DS. But i also have actual arguments to defend them as well, so it's not that bad honestly.
I think the biggest issue with meteoid prime's map is magmoor for sure, that and the number of backtracks. Pretty much every major backtrack takes you through the same old rooms in magmoor to get there, then right back through those exact same rooms to get back to where you need to be to use the item you just got (looking at you boost ball -> space jump -> wave beam). This could work if there was anything new to access or interact with along the way with upgrades you backtrack for, but in general, there isn't. 2 keeps the world spanning backtracks + doubleback to a minimum for the bulk of the game. None in agon for your first go around, only one that takes you out of the area in torvus (i barely count the seeker backtrack because it's quite close to the elevator to torvus), and the one in sanctuary that takes you to lower torvus is mitigated by them putting a connecting elevator straight to sanctuary right there. It was just much more well planned out when it happened, in a way that mitigated the drawbacks of backtracking. Prime 1 practically leans into the drawbacks, and it makes for a more tedious experience
Honestly, even though I do prefer Prime 2 overall, I actually think Prime 1's less structured progression is more fun. The zones feel...more fleshed out? Idk. I love Prime 2, but until the Sky Temple Key hunt, the three main zones are a little one and done. But Prime 2's atmosphere is what always gets it for me. Going into Dark Aether for the first time in a playthrough is special. Everything's so...cramped and scary. And then the relief of getting the Dark Suit and being able to do that *one* particular path back to the Agon Portal Chamber that doesn't have any light bubbles...the world really opens up. And Sky Sanctuary just does really cool things with the dimension swapping. But yeah Spider Guardian is a pain in the ass lol
I love them both near equally, but I think I prefer Prime 2 because of its incredibly and numerous boss fights, and for what is easily the largest ramp up in power and abilities of any Metroid game. I mean Samus early on has her powers stripped down to just an arm cannon, and she can’t even interact with the dark realm without a massive health drain, then by the end she’s basically a demigod with a super light/dark death ray, the dark realm bends to her will, and she can turn light crystals into vortexes that suck in and destroy enemies. It feels electrifying to experience Samus’ power growth in Echoes!
Metroid Prime was my introduction to Metroid. The first time I ever heard of Samus was actually Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo 64. As soon as I saw Metroid Prime was coming out, i got excited about playing a game from the series Samus came from. I bought the day it came out, By the time I cleared Frigate Orpheon and made it down Tallon Overworld? I became a Metroid fan. Now, I've had the opportunity to play pretty much all the games in the series. While Super Metroid is now my favorite Metroid game of all time, Metroid Prime is a very close second. Prime 1 was my first Metroid game, and I'll always have a soft spot for the game because of that.
Prime 1 was not only my first Metroid game that I beat but also my first GameCube game so it really is special to me. As for food/beverages I had at the time, I was drinking kool-aid mad scientwists back then. The raspberry reaction flavor totally reminded me of phazon so it was awesome to drink that while playing.
@@soliddijoyeah it was pretty dope. Sadly they discontinued that kool-aid flavor but then again I really don’t need to be further rotting my teeth with it anyway. It was so good though cause it was kinda tangy tasting and very different than any other kool-aid. That deep blue was almost radioactive looking maybe that’s why it was discontinued. It might’ve been that banned blue food coloring or something. Either that or it just didn’t sell.
I don't think I have a distinct taste for Metroid Prime, but I do remember having a distinct taste for some of the Rom hacks they have... It was a Rom Hack called Ascent for Super Metroid and I specifically remember the taste of beef jerky. I don't think about the Rom hack when I happen to eat Beef Jerky, but when I play the Rom hack, I remember the distinct taste of it. Either way if anybody hasn't played this Rom hack I would highly suggest it! Go check out the website Metroid construction, it has tons of really good rom hacks made by some really talented people.
The boss fights in MP2 were better and the OST is so damn good (MP1 OST is also 10/10). The last escape sequence and the music playing fighting dark samus one last time. It all felt high stakes. What a game, personal fav of GC even above Zeldas and RE4.
I played Prime 1 and 2 several times recently, and I got to say... I will take going back and forth through Magmoor Caverns, artifact hunting, and dealing with Chozo Ghosts a thousand times over being locked into a room one more time with Dark Pirate Commandos. Power Beam almost feels useless when fighting them, and it's like five Light Beam charge shots, or using the Light Beam missile combo like a shotgun to get rid of them in a reasonable amount of time. Takes like 4 super missiles to do the same thing. Meanwhile, the Chozo Ghosts are a super missile and a charge shot to deal with, and most of the time you can just run right by them unless you are going for one of a few specific artifacts. You can run right past Dark Pirate Commandos too, but sometimes they lock you into a room in Trovos Bog until they either go away or you kill them, and they have NO BUSINESS being right outside of one of three main exits to the Great Temple.
Good points, totally agree about the key quest being better in Prime 1, I think Prime 3 did it the best of the 3 myself. While I do prefer Prime 2, i think its better with a caveat, only when you get to Torvus, Agon is too drab and the music is boring, the Chozo Ruins is a way better first major area, and does the drab atmosphere better by not using it too much
Me and my brother were hit by a nostalgic wrecking ball when we saw namco museum back in 2001 for the (classic/original) old Xbox when my brother was 3 and I was 1 back then.
We have quite the opposite opinions on both games (I like 2 better than 1), but i didn't enjoy having ammo on 2, specially when i played 1 and i got that relief of spamming the most op beam And as you said, i'm definitely one of those persons that find frustrating the long paths you have to take when it comes to backtracking, most of the time i found myself investigating phazon mines and having a hint like "go to chozo ruins you d*mb" and it was really frustrating to me because i'd spent so much time just going from one point to another because there were little shortcuts to take so yeah, i kinda got more frustrated playing 1 than playing 2 (even though i agree the end game of 2 is a lot more slower and probably boring) One of the things i really loved about 2 was to be in "close conctact" with the Luminoth and some of the GF soldiers, as watching their bodies really sold the illusion of "i've gotta save this people, they've already tried hard enough" which i couldn't get from the Chozo as i couldn't see the efforts of them, but i'm probably biased by nostalgia lol Anyways, both games are pretty awesome and have their own strenghts and i'll always encourage people to play from 1 to 3
Personally I think the games just got better as they made them. My favorite is Prime 3, and then I would place 2 in second and then 1 in third. The metric I use is really really simple. It's just how much I enjoy playing each game.
Man, I also have this vivid memory of when I got Metroid Prime. I went to a Game store with my mum (I got it as a birthday gift), and on our way home we came across one of my friend’s parents. They obviously had to stop to have a little chat. Two minutes into the conversarion, I literally could not help myself and told them I was going home. I can still hear my friend’s mum say “Look at him, he’s so nervous” as I walked away from them 😂. I was SO NERVOUS to get back home and start playing such a fantastic game lmao definitely one of my childhood’s games, if not THE game. Nice video btw you got yourself a new subscriber!
Honestly, I like that. I feel like a lot of more heated discourse could be avoided if people were willing to admit to and embrace subjective factors to their preferences. It's not like we can't still have a nuanced discussion of the pros and cons of each game, as you also went into, but yeah, sometimes it's something as simple as a fond memory at play, and that's okay. In my case, I think the memory-association factor worked against Prime and in Echoes' favor. I actually heard the Prime soundtrack long before playing the games, so went into it with certain preconcieved ideas for the areas and bosses each theme went to, which were sometimes exceeded and often at least met, but in a couple specific cases didn't quite match up. Plus, I played the bulk of Prime after losing a stable job, whereas I finished the ending of it and played Echoes and Corruption in quick succession a couple years later, when I had the relief of moving back home after a pretty rough patch in a bad apartment situation. Though I think it's a testament to Prime's quality that I still love it a ton despite all that. But yeah, for me there's nothing quite like the memory of starting Echoes late at night with all the lights off, and being so immediately and completely engrossed that by the time I stopped to take a break, I had made it to the first Dark Aether exploration in Agon Wastes. It was something like 2 or 3 AM by that point, and I was still wide awake, so I decided to go for a walk to the nearby 24-hour gas station for a soda and a snack. With it being the middle of summer, there was a huge thunderstorm rolling into town. Seeing the huge clouds with lightning flashing was honestly pretty gorgeous, and that plus the dark night sky reminding me uncannily of the newly-discovered Dark Aether, made that short regular walk extremely memorable for me. But yeah, those experiences are my own, just as yours are your own, and I think it's good that we can take those into account when discussing the games. There are objective aspects to each that can be weighed against each other, (even if I think they come out pretty close in net quality, they definitely have some very different strengths and weaknesses when digging into them more) but I'm not going to try to seriously argue Echoes is the better game or anything, because no small part of my love for it is tied to my specific experience around when I played it.
I love hearing that story. I really think how much we like a game has a lot more to do with where we're at in life than we even realize. Some games hold certain memories that others just can't compete with. I'm glad you shared this! If I had a similar experience, Prime 2 might have been my favorite haha.
Great vid, nostalgia is powerful!! Just beat prime 1 for the first time last night and man the backtracking frustrations were real. But ultimately glad to have played it
Both of them are amazing, but for me the only thing Prime 2 does better are the boss fights. They are a major upgrade from Prime 1. But as far as everything else goes, Prime 2's level design, music, presentation, and mechanics are all almost as good as Prime 1, but not quite on the same level. Most of Prime 2's new powerups are fine, but not game changing. The light and dark beams are just re-skinned ice and wave beams except with ammo, and I was never really bothered that Prime 1 doesn't have the screw attack. To me, that item isn't really a good fit for 3D Metroid. It works way better in the 2D games.
They both do some things really well. I go back and forth on things like level design between the games all the time. I agree with you about the Screw Attack. While it's a welcome addition to Prime, I think it's way better in the 2D games. Although, Prime 3 makes much better use of it than Prime 2 does.
Prime 2 is my favourite Metroid game. Didn’t used to be. I played all the Prime games when they came out. They were a big part of my teen years. But a couple years ago I replayed them and Prime 2 just surprised me in unexpected ways. It had previously been my least fave. But being a horror fanatic, that feeling of re-exploring Dark Aether, and that sense of danger, in the dark in the glow of my old CRT TV this recent play through was just something else. There’s so many reasons it’s become my new favourite. But the dark oppressive atmosphere is definitely up there. Plus Sanctuary Fortress has got to be thee coolest Metroid location! Def my fave location. Hope we get some really cool creative stuff like that in Prime 4. 🙏 Can’t wait!
As someone that played Echoes first, I have to say I enjoyed it more. I really enjoyed the twisted world presented in Dark Aether, it seemed like nothing else in the Metroid saga. The boss fights were amazing and the mechanics almost perfect. Then I played Prime 1 and it was superb, but besides Omega Pirate and the endgame, the gameplay seemed a bit watered down compared to Prime 2. It really depends which one you played first because it will determine your expectations for the next one.
Prime 1's endgame hunt certainly edges out 2's in the amount of artifacts that can be found early, it's always a pleasure to plan out your journey to collect some of them way before they are needed. That said, 1 doesn't really give you anything notable to shake up the game for the hunt unlike 2, which in addition to the new cool suit with more unique abilities, gives you the an incredibly satisfying and powerful weapon, and a new fast travel option between the temples to really oomph up the victory lap and allow new routes to be taken (not to mention Screw Attack's possibilities in earlier areas as well). Additionally, the clues you have to find are more tied to thoughtful exploration rather than reading up on all of them from a single place, making it a more involved and satisfying effort to track the keys. I'd appreciate if they could be acquired without the dark vision with proper knowledge, but personally I just can't get enough of the power fantasy which the Light Suit and Annihilator Beam provides. Sonic Boom might also just be the most single satisfying button press in any video game :D Prime 1 is an excellent game, but Prime 2 just happens to be my favorite game of all time
Prime 2 is definitely my favorite one. It has Quadraxis, the best and most unique boss fight in Metroid HISTORY. Having to literally use every single powerup during the fight to defeat it. That fight has not been topped yet and I love Dark Samus 2 fight on hard mode.
@@soliddijo It is. Quadraxis is literally the perfect Metroidvania boss by making almost every power up you have acquired throughout the game be mandatory to be used and used skillfully. Chykka used the Grapple Beam and I was hoping Emperor Ing required precise screw attacks to defeat him. I have a save file dedicated to Dark Samus 2 fight and then leads up to Quadraxis fight on hard mode lol.
@@soliddijo Agreed. Also the puzzles are better and more detailed using the portals the affect different things in the other realms. I'm glad you know that objectively speaking, you can't like Prime 1 more than 2. It HAS to be because of nostalgia as Prime 1 was a real breakthrough game for its time as a FPS. Prime 2 does everything better. Prime 3 really upped the puzzle game too with all kinds of different ones using all systems your suit has. Bosses in Prime 3 were subpar given it was the 3rd game and Hypermode was very exploitable to wreck everything.
When I was a wee lad (3-4) I grew up watching my dad play Metroid. It was either super Metroid, prime 1 or 2 and I just remember sitting next to my 2 brothers and my dad on the carpet staring at the tv. So talk abt nostalgia.
My favorite so far is Prime 3. Love the different Planets; especially Bryoo and Phaaze, the Pirate design, the Federation, and most importantly all the extra visual world building. Up until Prime 3 we still pretty much didn't know much about the Federation. Up until Prime 1 we also didn't know much about the Pirates. If there's a group of people I would like to expand Metroid, it's the Developers of the Prime series.
Thanks! I was really hoping to express my conflicting opinions on these two games. Sometimes, how much you like a game really just depends on how you feel haha
@@soliddijoI think a lot of the stigma that is pointed at nostalgia is a response to people arguing that others should like a game because of their nostalgia. Which is a silly thing to do since nostalgia is inherently personal. You didn’t fall into that trap, so anyone who tries to dunk on your nostalgia is just trolling. I’ve long had the theory that one prefers FF6 or FF7 based on which one they played first. Mine was 6, and I was instantly hooked from the ominous title screen fanfare.
@@clug3r Flawless? no. There is no such thing as a completely flawless game. But masterpiece? yes. Your wording implied that you think the games are overrated.
My experiences with "Donkey Kong Country" versus "Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest" might respectively parallel your experiences with "Metroid Prime" versus "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes". DKC2 arguably expands upon and greatly improves many elements of DKC1 such as the boss fights, the environmental variety, the uses of animal buddies, the secret bonus/challenge rooms in levels, the rewards for clearing said rooms, the integration of swimming mechanics, and the overall degree of challenge. However, my heart still gravitates towards DKC1 a little more. The soundtrack and atmosphere of each individual environment hits me a little more. I like playing as the original duo of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Some of DKC1's unique bonuses, like the optional mini-games you activate by getting three golden animal tokens, really stuck with me too. I like King K. Rool's debut in DKC1 and his simplicity there, versus the more explicit pirate theme of K. Rool and his Kremling minions in DKC2 (not that I don't like K. Rool having a costume gimmick). The comparatively lower difficulty makes DKC1 easier for me to return to and spend a relaxing time playing from start to finish, like "gaming comfort food". And DKC1 still has a good amount of difficulty, unique levels, and revolutionary-for-the-time mechanics by its own merits. Finally, I also have more nostalgia for DKC1, due to that being the first game I ever beat as a kid, plus the fond memories of playing DKC1 with my siblings.
Hear ya bro, i played MP1 on Gamecube like 10 times and the MP2E like 5 times and MP3C like 2 times, then miss the chance of getting MPTrilogy with its metal case, and after a tone of years, bought it on the wii eshop and played again on the wii like 3 more times, echoes 3 times and MP3C 1 time... Then.. after more years transfer the data to my WiiU and again played them 2, 2 and 1 times again.. and recently i just played MPHD on the Switch and OMG!! i almost played eyes closed but I'm pretty sure I spent way more time than the first time just watching everything on HD and i was like 😮😍🤩😱😍 on every step specially Phendrama Drifts!! Can't wait to play MP2 Echoes HD bro!!!
One of my favorite games purely because of nostalgia is this game on the PS2 called Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights. It's kinda one of those platformers mixed with a collectathon which I super duper love collectathons.
Personally I find Prime 1 just a tad too easy even on hard mode where as Prime 2 will kick your ass even on normal mode, and yeah the end game hunt is worse in Prime 2, in Prime 1 only a single artifact is gated behind the phazon suit where as Prime 2 8 keys are gated behind the light suit
Weird! I really liked Phazon mines for the enemy variety. The music track when fighting metroids in the dark in the lower mines slaps. And the phazon lighting up the area with invisible platforms… I actually didnt like Phendrama drifts due to how long the pirates lair area is. And having to use the heat visor
I feel that way about Super Metroid, played it first time when I was about 4, finish it when I was 8 and since then it has become my favorite game ever. When it comes to MP1 and MP2 I played them both at about the same time and I like 2 a little better
I can’t agree with the areas when prime 1 has super Mario 64 basic themes about fire and lava. There’s nothing even alien about them, compared to looking at any art from super Metroid or zero mission. Prime 2 all the way.
It's a better experience the first time but I feel it's not as replayable as Prime 1. Particularly with the collection quest at the end, it's much easier in Prime 1 to collect the artifacts more continuously when you know where they are located, you can't really do that in Prime 2.
Prime 1 is my favourite and not just because I have nostalgia for it. The locations, weapons and enemies just feel better to me. Prime 2 is like a darker and more competent version but lacking the heart of the original. I love 2 but it feels more calculated and planned, less organic, almost to a fault. Plus don't forget you can play in the fusion suit from Metroid Fusion in Prime 1.
One game I love just because of nostalgia is Megaman X Command Mission. It’s not very good. It has its moments, but it’s not great. Still, I have so many good memories associated with it that I can’t help but love it!
Prime 1 - Influence from super Metroid Prime 2 - Influence from Metroid fusion Prime 3 - A little halo Influence, but it's mainly original and would've been better if they weren't forced to compromise for the Nintendo Wii Love all these games though!!!
Upon replaying the games a couple times, I've come to really appreciate the "end game token hunt" in each of the Prime games. They come across as tedious and pace-killing at first, but truth be told, I don't like ANY of the final bosses in each of the games. If anything, I appreciate having a bit more time to wander around the environments before I have to drag myself to the final fight. As for which of the first 2 I like more? I summarize it as Prime 2's gameplay has greater peaks, but worse valleys. Ultimately, I do prefer it slightly more than the first one.
On my side, I prefer Prime 2 over Prime 1 for a few reasons, but I have to say the main reason I prefer Prime 2 is the endgame. I really hate Prime 1's endgame. I hate going through Phazon Mines, using the Heat/X-Ray visor to be able to see anything in some rooms just annoys me cause of their visual effects, Fusion Metroids are a pain to deal with even considering you can one-tap them with Power Bombs and the Beam Pirates only taking damage from specific beam and combos makes crowd controlling them a pain, not helped by their large HP pool. With Prime 1's endgame, I don't feel that much more powerful, just feeling like I got more tools in my arsenal. Meanwhile with Prime 2, you spend the whole game always pressured by Dark Aether's atmosphere and juggling Light and Dark Beams for the most damage possible. At the end of the game, the Light Suit just says "Lol, Lmao" and you're now immune to Dark Aether's poison, and the Annihilator Beam just feels SO good to use on everything and auto-aims so I can just spam-shoot while focusing on dodging. The power progression of Prime 2 is what makes me ascend and not even mind the Key-hunting that's somewhat more limited than Prime 1's artifact hunt.
Prime 2 has more and better boss fights, but other than that the levels and dark world mechanic is just ok, limited ammo sucks tho. Prime 1 made me immersed in the atmosphere more. Prime 2 felt like a dungeon with the dark side dungeon, not like Im exploring a lonely, alien world.
Its ENVIROMENT, it is so much detailed in prime 1, biomes feel alive, and you really feel like you are in other world... Prime 2 feels less detailed, and in fact, it is.
Original is the best. Hands down. Prime 2 has this very specifically depressing vibe that i love but.... The first is the full spectrum of emotions for me.
Yea, let me explain something. I played the original Metroid, the NES Metroid WAY BACK WHEN. Backtracking has been a part of Metroid from the beginning, I know some of you hate it, I DONT FUCKING CARE. I love it. Prime FEELS like a Metroid game. I never thought anyone would be able to translate the FEEL of this series to 3d. Shooting, accurately while running and jumping and dodging in a fully 3d environment... The puzzling backtracking secrets and figuring out where to go and what to do... PRIME FEELS LIKE CLASSIC METROID AND I FUCKING LOVE THAT. It is exactly what I wanted from a 3d Metroid game. I love the fog in the visor, seeing Samus reflection, the condensation, the music the lighting I could go on, for its time this was a BEAUTIFUL game, so good looking in fact and so perfect in its art style that it is still impressive 20 years later, and the music/sound design, wow, this game is just a 10/10 virtually perfect. Echos makes some welcome changes, it also makes unwelcome changes.... I like Echos, I do, but not as much as Prime, BECAUSE PRIME FEELS MORE LIKE METROID. Now don't take that to mean that Echos doesn't feel like Metroid, it does, and it is a great game in its own right... an 8.5/10 maybe even a 9, but it's not Prime. In the end they are both FUCKING AWESOME, but Prime is just... better cuz it is FEELS more like Metroid. I don't want Metroid to change, I like it because of what it is, I like the puzzle solving backtracking secret finding, I like figuring out where to go and what to do myself, how to get that last damn missile that I don't even need CUZ I WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOT TO GET IT DAMMIT. I also like the story... Probably most of you don't care about the story of Metroid, but I do... I want to know more about the Space Pirates, and the Metroids themselves, about the Chozo and how Samus came to have one of their ships and Armor. I am not saying I want an RPG or a book where it's all spelled out... I want it in little pieces in games for me to find... I love Metroid and Prime is the best the series has ever been, Echos is great don't get me wrong and Super Metroid is a 9.9/10, but Prime is nearly Perfect, exactly what Metroid should be. It took a team in Texas to bring Metroid into the 3d era... and no one has done it better since...
Dude, you're so right. Metroid Prime 2 is GREAT, but there's just something magical about the first one. It really did a good job capturing the essence of Metroid in 3D.
Since I was little I have always been a Prime 1 is the best preacher, and over the years I discovered why I felt this, I'd have to make like 1 hour video to explain but in short I measure them both in their strengths and weaknesses and even giving Prime 2 lots of leeway it just can't stand against the original because it is too much like the original but not innovative enough. Want a hot take? For a while I held the position that Prime 3 was a better game than 2 just by a little precisely because it felt more innovative but over the years I felt like prime 3 deviated too much in other aspects
I felt the same way about 2 and 3 for a while. When I first finished 3 it was between it and Prime 1 for the title of my favorite and 2 was my LEAST favorite. After I played them all some more I came to the same conclusion as you. Prime 1 > Prime 2 > Prime 3; but all of them are great.
i never got over the drastic needless change from a beautiful but hardened woman, to a anime style girl, the character design from prime 1 is perfect, samus never needed to be a busty super model, and ever since they made her that way, her character has felt split to me. as if you gave the backstory and physical abilities of rambo to justin beaber... it just never fit....
I think one of the things that brings down MP 2 a bit is how they copied a little too much from MP 1 IMHO. From beams to monsters and power ups. A lot of it is just reskinned from the original. I wouldn't have minded waiting a little longer for the game at the time, if they had made it a little more unique.
Au contraire, i believe the Spider Ball Guardian is the best boss in the trilogy. Secondly, if you go trough Phazon Mines in a straight line, you might suffer from Phazon Hallucinations, there are actually 3 ways to go through there.
Map structure in Echoes better than in Prime?! Come on! Prime’s map is the improbable success at making a 3D version of a Metroid map, while echoes is but a bunch of corridors stemming from and a few hubs here and there… That, indeed, reduces backtracking. But thus it kills a key feature of Metroid games.
I have to strongly disagree with Prime 2 having better areas, obviously this is just my opinion. P2 areas feel monotone, repetitive, kinda confusing and overall unremarkable. Even so, we all know the Prime Trilogy is amazing and we enjoy every game with its strengths and weaknesses.
6:59 honestly i think this was my main problem with Prime 3 other than game breaking bugs(the game wouldn't register hits with my hyper wave beam using the visor on the egg sac halfway through phaaze) They didn't go hard enough with the bounty system, we needed more maps like the ships we didn't need but could go to.
@@soliddijo I saw in an article they had a plan to do actual "bounty hunting" before the OG Creators of the IP told them that actually Samus was meant to be a "space warrior" and her "Bounty Hunter" title was actually not intended to indicate she hunted people for bounties.
I think it is perfectly fair to like an objectively inferior game more than a better one. Yes, Prime 2 is better than Prime 1 in most ways, from a game design standpoint. But if the way Prime 1 makes you *FEEL* is better for you, than that's just fine. I actually feel the same way about Prime 1, and I have lots of other games I also like more than their technically superior sequels. For example, of the five (so far) Shantae games, I like the original best despite it being a pretty bad game even for its day. I simply like how it sets up the world and story and characters that the rest of the series builds on. Nostalgia has a downside, however. It's not a bad reason to like something, but it *is* a bad reason to *dislike* something else. So many people suffer from nostalgia poisoning and refuse to give certain games a fair chance simply for being different. See, for example, the Paper Mario series and the visceral hatred lots of people have for all the games that came out after Thousand-Year Door. It's fine to have favorites, but it's even better to be able to look past that and appreciate games that are different. The fact that our gracious host can do that, considering how much he enjoys Prime 2, speaks very well for him.
Same for me with BotW et TotK, I realy feel like TotK is objectivly a better game, though for no reason I just like BotW better. Echoes in some aspects is better than Prime 1, but I still think it is better than Echoes
at one point in my llife i knew mp1 like the back of my hand but i still loved mp2 alot more. its like they took everything abt mp1 and made it better. espcially the soundtrack. that being said i HATED the part where u had to go around looking for the 9 keys. i dont understand why they made that part so complicated
No, the 2 is worse than the 1. Its reverse ammunition system is clearly bad and if the 3 is returned to the conventional ammunition system, it is not for nothing. The other big flaw is the obtaining of the 12 keys which is a real purge to perform compared to the artifacts of 1. I specify that I am one of the fans who made the 2 at its release and that it divided enormously, its new hype compared to that of the 1 came much later, perhaps by younger players.
This is one reason I really like Prime 2. The focus of each area or "dungeon" is a lot more efficient than Prime 1. It really just comes down to preference.
Prime 2 was never well received compared the 1, I even tried to like it but it felt so cheap reusing the environment like they did. I imagine prime 2 would have been extremely successful if they had just spent more time on level design. Either way I remember how disappointed everyone was when prime 2 was released, it was truly upsetting as I knew we wouldn't be getting a 3 anytime soon after that on the GC.
Matthewmatosis had a really beautiful way of putting this kind of comparison. Games are made up of good and bad. Prime 1 has more good and also more bad than prime 2. Prime 2 is more consistent and a much more confidently made game, but I don't think it ever matches the moments of brilliance in prime 1.
Dark Aether is not for everybody. That's actually one of the unique parts of 2 I like haha. I totally understand why many people don't like it though lol
I'm pretty much incapable of picking favorites, but the games do each have their own strengths. Prime 1 had strong nostalgia vibes out of the box, since it's practically not too far off from being Super Metroid in 3D, while Prime 2's strengths lie in its darker mood (more akin to Metroid 1) and its interesting environment, power-up and boss designs (as it tried to distinguish itself from its predecessor).
Yeah man, it's tough. They're both great games for different reasons.
Prime 1 is gamey... and this isn't a bad thing, it's a game and having gamey things is good because gamey is fun!
Unfortunately, gamey things can be very unfun. And Prime 2 is coherent... coherently gamey. It picked what gamey things it wanted to have and stuck to it, rather than having a variety of gamey things.
Seeker missiles in prime 2 with wii controls are actually functional and fun to use in battle
I'll have to mess around with them when I play the Wii version! The version I've played the most is the Gamecube version
@@soliddijo Oh yes no one likes the seeker locks lol
9:57 Metroid: Prime Rib
I'm so glad you said this 🤣🤣
The comparison of Prime 1 and 2 really parallels a lot of the comparisons of Super and Fusion.
just realized that it's my Prime 1 gameplay. Was just enjoying the video and something felt familiar. For me Prime 2 is better but probably because it was my first Metroid game and also of nostalgia.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I'm very thankful for gameplay videos like yours, the time stamps especially! Metroid Prime 2 is a great first Metroid game to start with.
The boost guardian was so difficult I swear it took me like 100 times to beat that the first time around
The guy who programmed it said he had to play it in debug mode so he could design it. Even he acknowledged how hard it was.
In my most recent playthrough on hard, I had to attempt it an embarrassing amount of times lol
Crazy that prime 2 is 20 years old. Prime 1 had been out for a bit by the time I got into Metroid, so Prime 2 was one of the first games I was really excited for. I think Prime is probably better because it better emulates the vibe of super Metroid more or less. Prime 2 took some interesting risks, but I think the nature of the dark world really takes it down a notch sadly.
Time flies! And yeah, Prime 2 seemed to do a lot of things to address some issues with Prime 1, but ultimately it lost some of the magic
My introduction to the prime games was in the Wii’s Metroid Prime Trilogy. Metroid Prime 1 is my favorite. I played them all together.
I bought Super Metroid the day it came out. It was $80 friggin dollars. I also bought Prime the day it came out. I didn't like Prime at first. I only made it halfway through the game before giving up on it. Gamestop had Prime 2 on the Gamecube kiosk when it came out. I lost my job and it was a dark time in my life. I didn't have money to buy Prime 2 so I rented it and never returned it. After playing Prime 2 I went back to Prime 1 and finished it. The more I played the games the more I enjoyed them. Prime 2 is still my favorite. My favorite area in the series is the Sanctuary Fortress.
I like the beam ammo as well. I actually made my own head canon on why they have ammo. It is because its luminoth technology and chozo, so they still need ammo. Samus' suit is known to adapt as well. I know they're supposed to be on par with the chozo, but 6 said they were equal. Also explains why there are no beam stacks as well. For prime 1, I see no stacking as a reason of the chozo being a different tribe on Tallon IV. Again, it's all head canon and makes sense to me.
Making head canon is always fun haha. Honestly, your theory on the Luminoth technology makes a lot of sense. While Samus's suit adapts well to other technologies, there might be some compromises.
Prime 2 is my fav, but 20 years later and still can't decide if I like 1 or 3 over each other, their pros and cons cancel each other out. Very tied
if Prime 4 does the endgame keys again hopefully you can get them at any thing with prior knowledge, either that or scrap it and just make another area and boss
Nostalgia isn't stigmatized. The problem is that most people will claim they like a certain game from any particular game series, this being the Metroid series in this instance. But most people will deny that nostalgia plays any part in their reasoning for liking a certain game. If that's your reason for preferring a Metroid game, just come out and say it. I think Prime is the best one out of the series. I've only completed Prime and Hunters. I never finished Echoes, but there are a few things I don't like about it.
Hunter's is one I definitely strongly disliked...
But I loved primes 1, 2 and 3 though.
Hunter's... Is like the ugly duck that just doesn't belong. . Or SHOULD have never existed. . . Well... Maybe that is a touch too harsh. After all... If Hunter's never existed, then I would have never gotten that killer opening theme song I occasionally love listening to...
It's.. fire🔥. . .
@@TheDeepThinker-sq3iy Hunters probably shouldn't have been made. It's one I enjoyed. But looking back, there are a few things I don't like about it. The artifact collecting, the constant interruptions of the camera pointing where to go next, the door locking enemy ambushes, and the repetitive bosses. And I can't forget the controls. On the DS, it's impressive. Had it been on the GameCube, it'd be worthy of the worst Metroid game.
But I did have a good experience with it, so I could look past the flaws. Had this game never existed, Federation Force and Beyond wouldn't be a thing.
I mostly feel the same as you. From a technical standpoint, MP2 fixed a lot of issues that affected the first one, but MP just FEELS more like a “true” Metroid game.
And that's why I'm so conflicted lol
and prime 2 doesnt? what a BS take is this lmfao
@@MultiDarkII weirdly hostile response for a simple opinion
Sounds to me that you like Echos more mentally, compared to liking Prime 1 more emotionally. This is not a bad thing, just an observation.
I think that's exactly it
Funny, I've always said the opposite: Prime 1 is more consistent, while Prime 2 has higher highs and lower lows. Agon Wastes is a terrible first area, imo, mostly because of the basically nonexistent music, while Sanctuary Fortress is the best area in the whole series for me. Also, in Prime 1, you're right that backtracking through Magmoor Caverns is done poorly, but the world itself feels more organic, unlike Prime 2's cleanly divided 3 main areas in a triangle, with nice connections between all of them. Feels less natural than Prime 1's dead ends, hallways, varying area sizes, etc. Anyway, Prime 2 is better imo, because its highs are so high, but Prime 1 is my comfort food, that I can just go back to again and again because it's so consistent, and, yes, nostalgia.
I have more nostalgia for Prime 1, but i still prefer Prime 2, which grew over time on me. I used to prefer Prime 1 when playing the Prime Trilogy for the first time. But after beating more Metroid games (Trilogy were my first three), i realized that what i prefer in the series is its dark atmosphere and the feeling of being helpless and surrounded by danger and oppressing ennemies. And that's just what Prime 2 provides the most imo
Other games i have a nostalgia bias towards : Zelda Spirit Tracks, Zelda Skyward Sword and Super Mario 64 DS. But i also have actual arguments to defend them as well, so it's not that bad honestly.
I think the biggest issue with meteoid prime's map is magmoor for sure, that and the number of backtracks. Pretty much every major backtrack takes you through the same old rooms in magmoor to get there, then right back through those exact same rooms to get back to where you need to be to use the item you just got (looking at you boost ball -> space jump -> wave beam). This could work if there was anything new to access or interact with along the way with upgrades you backtrack for, but in general, there isn't.
2 keeps the world spanning backtracks + doubleback to a minimum for the bulk of the game. None in agon for your first go around, only one that takes you out of the area in torvus (i barely count the seeker backtrack because it's quite close to the elevator to torvus), and the one in sanctuary that takes you to lower torvus is mitigated by them putting a connecting elevator straight to sanctuary right there. It was just much more well planned out when it happened, in a way that mitigated the drawbacks of backtracking. Prime 1 practically leans into the drawbacks, and it makes for a more tedious experience
Honestly, even though I do prefer Prime 2 overall, I actually think Prime 1's less structured progression is more fun. The zones feel...more fleshed out? Idk. I love Prime 2, but until the Sky Temple Key hunt, the three main zones are a little one and done. But Prime 2's atmosphere is what always gets it for me. Going into Dark Aether for the first time in a playthrough is special. Everything's so...cramped and scary. And then the relief of getting the Dark Suit and being able to do that *one* particular path back to the Agon Portal Chamber that doesn't have any light bubbles...the world really opens up. And Sky Sanctuary just does really cool things with the dimension swapping. But yeah Spider Guardian is a pain in the ass lol
I agree, Prime 2 NAILED its atmosphere!
I love them both near equally, but I think I prefer Prime 2 because of its incredibly and numerous boss fights, and for what is easily the largest ramp up in power and abilities of any Metroid game. I mean Samus early on has her powers stripped down to just an arm cannon, and she can’t even interact with the dark realm without a massive health drain, then by the end she’s basically a demigod with a super light/dark death ray, the dark realm bends to her will, and she can turn light crystals into vortexes that suck in and destroy enemies. It feels electrifying to experience Samus’ power growth in Echoes!
Metroid Prime was my introduction to Metroid. The first time I ever heard of Samus was actually Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo 64. As soon as I saw Metroid Prime was coming out, i got excited about playing a game from the series Samus came from. I bought the day it came out, By the time I cleared Frigate Orpheon and made it down Tallon Overworld? I became a Metroid fan. Now, I've had the opportunity to play pretty much all the games in the series. While Super Metroid is now my favorite Metroid game of all time, Metroid Prime is a very close second. Prime 1 was my first Metroid game, and I'll always have a soft spot for the game because of that.
Prime 1 was not only my first Metroid game that I beat but also my first GameCube game so it really is special to me. As for food/beverages I had at the time, I was drinking kool-aid mad scientwists back then. The raspberry reaction flavor totally reminded me of phazon so it was awesome to drink that while playing.
That's an awesome memory! It's weird how our minds associate different foods and drinks with the games we're playing at that time.
@@soliddijoyeah it was pretty dope. Sadly they discontinued that kool-aid flavor but then again I really don’t need to be further rotting my teeth with it anyway. It was so good though cause it was kinda tangy tasting and very different than any other kool-aid. That deep blue was almost radioactive looking maybe that’s why it was discontinued. It might’ve been that banned blue food coloring or something. Either that or it just didn’t sell.
I don't think I have a distinct taste for Metroid Prime, but I do remember having a distinct taste for some of the Rom hacks they have... It was a Rom Hack called Ascent for Super Metroid and I specifically remember the taste of beef jerky. I don't think about the Rom hack when I happen to eat Beef Jerky, but when I play the Rom hack, I remember the distinct taste of it. Either way if anybody hasn't played this Rom hack I would highly suggest it! Go check out the website Metroid construction, it has tons of really good rom hacks made by some really talented people.
The boss fights in MP2 were better and the OST is so damn good (MP1 OST is also 10/10). The last escape sequence and the music playing fighting dark samus one last time. It all felt high stakes. What a game, personal fav of GC even above Zeldas and RE4.
I really like Prime 2 for it's atmosphere, although, I can't really pick favorites as I like them in their own ways.
I played Prime 1 and 2 several times recently, and I got to say... I will take going back and forth through Magmoor Caverns, artifact hunting, and dealing with Chozo Ghosts a thousand times over being locked into a room one more time with Dark Pirate Commandos. Power Beam almost feels useless when fighting them, and it's like five Light Beam charge shots, or using the Light Beam missile combo like a shotgun to get rid of them in a reasonable amount of time. Takes like 4 super missiles to do the same thing.
Meanwhile, the Chozo Ghosts are a super missile and a charge shot to deal with, and most of the time you can just run right by them unless you are going for one of a few specific artifacts. You can run right past Dark Pirate Commandos too, but sometimes they lock you into a room in Trovos Bog until they either go away or you kill them, and they have NO BUSINESS being right outside of one of three main exits to the Great Temple.
Good points, totally agree about the key quest being better in Prime 1, I think Prime 3 did it the best of the 3 myself. While I do prefer Prime 2, i think its better with a caveat, only when you get to Torvus, Agon is too drab and the music is boring, the Chozo Ruins is a way better first major area, and does the drab atmosphere better by not using it too much
Me and my brother were hit by a nostalgic wrecking ball when we saw namco museum back in 2001 for the (classic/original) old Xbox when my brother was 3 and I was 1 back then.
We have quite the opposite opinions on both games (I like 2 better than 1), but i didn't enjoy having ammo on 2, specially when i played 1 and i got that relief of spamming the most op beam
And as you said, i'm definitely one of those persons that find frustrating the long paths you have to take when it comes to backtracking, most of the time i found myself investigating phazon mines and having a hint like "go to chozo ruins you d*mb" and it was really frustrating to me because i'd spent so much time just going from one point to another because there were little shortcuts to take so yeah, i kinda got more frustrated playing 1 than playing 2 (even though i agree the end game of 2 is a lot more slower and probably boring)
One of the things i really loved about 2 was to be in "close conctact" with the Luminoth and some of the GF soldiers, as watching their bodies really sold the illusion of "i've gotta save this people, they've already tried hard enough" which i couldn't get from the Chozo as i couldn't see the efforts of them, but i'm probably biased by nostalgia lol
Anyways, both games are pretty awesome and have their own strenghts and i'll always encourage people to play from 1 to 3
Personally I think the games just got better as they made them. My favorite is Prime 3, and then I would place 2 in second and then 1 in third.
The metric I use is really really simple. It's just how much I enjoy playing each game.
That's the only metric you really need
@@soliddijo if that pattern continues, it bodes really well for Prime 4, right? 😁
I like the atmosphere more in Prime 2, but both are great games worthy of a playthrough (or more)!
Man, I also have this vivid memory of when I got Metroid Prime. I went to a Game store with my mum (I got it as a birthday gift), and on our way home we came across one of my friend’s parents. They obviously had to stop to have a little chat. Two minutes into the conversarion, I literally could not help myself and told them I was going home. I can still hear my friend’s mum say “Look at him, he’s so nervous” as I walked away from them 😂. I was SO NERVOUS to get back home and start playing such a fantastic game lmao definitely one of my childhood’s games, if not THE game. Nice video btw you got yourself a new subscriber!
I think that's what you have to do when you're waiting to play greatness haha. Thanks for sharing!
Honestly, I like that. I feel like a lot of more heated discourse could be avoided if people were willing to admit to and embrace subjective factors to their preferences. It's not like we can't still have a nuanced discussion of the pros and cons of each game, as you also went into, but yeah, sometimes it's something as simple as a fond memory at play, and that's okay.
In my case, I think the memory-association factor worked against Prime and in Echoes' favor. I actually heard the Prime soundtrack long before playing the games, so went into it with certain preconcieved ideas for the areas and bosses each theme went to, which were sometimes exceeded and often at least met, but in a couple specific cases didn't quite match up. Plus, I played the bulk of Prime after losing a stable job, whereas I finished the ending of it and played Echoes and Corruption in quick succession a couple years later, when I had the relief of moving back home after a pretty rough patch in a bad apartment situation. Though I think it's a testament to Prime's quality that I still love it a ton despite all that.
But yeah, for me there's nothing quite like the memory of starting Echoes late at night with all the lights off, and being so immediately and completely engrossed that by the time I stopped to take a break, I had made it to the first Dark Aether exploration in Agon Wastes. It was something like 2 or 3 AM by that point, and I was still wide awake, so I decided to go for a walk to the nearby 24-hour gas station for a soda and a snack. With it being the middle of summer, there was a huge thunderstorm rolling into town. Seeing the huge clouds with lightning flashing was honestly pretty gorgeous, and that plus the dark night sky reminding me uncannily of the newly-discovered Dark Aether, made that short regular walk extremely memorable for me.
But yeah, those experiences are my own, just as yours are your own, and I think it's good that we can take those into account when discussing the games. There are objective aspects to each that can be weighed against each other, (even if I think they come out pretty close in net quality, they definitely have some very different strengths and weaknesses when digging into them more) but I'm not going to try to seriously argue Echoes is the better game or anything, because no small part of my love for it is tied to my specific experience around when I played it.
I love hearing that story. I really think how much we like a game has a lot more to do with where we're at in life than we even realize. Some games hold certain memories that others just can't compete with. I'm glad you shared this! If I had a similar experience, Prime 2 might have been my favorite haha.
Great vid, nostalgia is powerful!! Just beat prime 1 for the first time last night and man the backtracking frustrations were real. But ultimately glad to have played it
Both of them are amazing, but for me the only thing Prime 2 does better are the boss fights. They are a major upgrade from Prime 1. But as far as everything else goes, Prime 2's level design, music, presentation, and mechanics are all almost as good as Prime 1, but not quite on the same level. Most of Prime 2's new powerups are fine, but not game changing. The light and dark beams are just re-skinned ice and wave beams except with ammo, and I was never really bothered that Prime 1 doesn't have the screw attack. To me, that item isn't really a good fit for 3D Metroid. It works way better in the 2D games.
They both do some things really well. I go back and forth on things like level design between the games all the time. I agree with you about the Screw Attack. While it's a welcome addition to Prime, I think it's way better in the 2D games. Although, Prime 3 makes much better use of it than Prime 2 does.
Prime 2 is my favourite Metroid game. Didn’t used to be. I played all the Prime games when they came out. They were a big part of my teen years. But a couple years ago I replayed them and Prime 2 just surprised me in unexpected ways. It had previously been my least fave. But being a horror fanatic, that feeling of re-exploring Dark Aether, and that sense of danger, in the dark in the glow of my old CRT TV this recent play through was just something else. There’s so many reasons it’s become my new favourite. But the dark oppressive atmosphere is definitely up there. Plus Sanctuary Fortress has got to be thee coolest Metroid location! Def my fave location. Hope we get some really cool creative stuff like that in Prime 4. 🙏 Can’t wait!
As someone that played Echoes first, I have to say I enjoyed it more. I really enjoyed the twisted world presented in Dark Aether, it seemed like nothing else in the Metroid saga. The boss fights were amazing and the mechanics almost perfect. Then I played Prime 1 and it was superb, but besides Omega Pirate and the endgame, the gameplay seemed a bit watered down compared to Prime 2. It really depends which one you played first because it will determine your expectations for the next one.
I actually really agree with that. I think between these two games it's really about which one you played first.
Prime was my first metroid game, prime 2 my second. I can confidently say prime 2 absolutely clears prime 1.
Prime 1's endgame hunt certainly edges out 2's in the amount of artifacts that can be found early, it's always a pleasure to plan out your journey to collect some of them way before they are needed. That said, 1 doesn't really give you anything notable to shake up the game for the hunt unlike 2, which in addition to the new cool suit with more unique abilities, gives you the an incredibly satisfying and powerful weapon, and a new fast travel option between the temples to really oomph up the victory lap and allow new routes to be taken (not to mention Screw Attack's possibilities in earlier areas as well).
Additionally, the clues you have to find are more tied to thoughtful exploration rather than reading up on all of them from a single place, making it a more involved and satisfying effort to track the keys. I'd appreciate if they could be acquired without the dark vision with proper knowledge, but personally I just can't get enough of the power fantasy which the Light Suit and Annihilator Beam provides. Sonic Boom might also just be the most single satisfying button press in any video game :D
Prime 1 is an excellent game, but Prime 2 just happens to be my favorite game of all time
Prime 2 is definitely my favorite one. It has Quadraxis, the best and most unique boss fight in Metroid HISTORY. Having to literally use every single powerup during the fight to defeat it. That fight has not been topped yet and I love Dark Samus 2 fight on hard mode.
Quadraxis is GOATED
@@soliddijo It is. Quadraxis is literally the perfect Metroidvania boss by making almost every power up you have acquired throughout the game be mandatory to be used and used skillfully. Chykka used the Grapple Beam and I was hoping Emperor Ing required precise screw attacks to defeat him. I have a save file dedicated to Dark Samus 2 fight and then leads up to Quadraxis fight on hard mode lol.
@@blackpow3r Honestly the boss fights are one of the best things about Prime 2. They are really on a whole other level from Prime 1
None of the fights in Prime 1 ask you to make use of your arsenal like Prime 2 does
@@soliddijo Agreed. Also the puzzles are better and more detailed using the portals the affect different things in the other realms. I'm glad you know that objectively speaking, you can't like Prime 1 more than 2. It HAS to be because of nostalgia as Prime 1 was a real breakthrough game for its time as a FPS. Prime 2 does everything better. Prime 3 really upped the puzzle game too with all kinds of different ones using all systems your suit has. Bosses in Prime 3 were subpar given it was the 3rd game and Hypermode was very exploitable to wreck everything.
When I was a wee lad (3-4) I grew up watching my dad play Metroid. It was either super Metroid, prime 1 or 2 and I just remember sitting next to my 2 brothers and my dad on the carpet staring at the tv. So talk abt nostalgia.
My favorite so far is Prime 3. Love the different Planets; especially Bryoo and Phaaze, the Pirate design, the Federation, and most importantly all the extra visual world building. Up until Prime 3 we still pretty much didn't know much about the Federation. Up until Prime 1 we also didn't know much about the Pirates. If there's a group of people I would like to expand Metroid, it's the Developers of the Prime series.
Love this way of analysing the two games side by side with no pretense to it being anything other than your opinion. Great work!
Thanks! I was really hoping to express my conflicting opinions on these two games. Sometimes, how much you like a game really just depends on how you feel haha
@@soliddijoI think a lot of the stigma that is pointed at nostalgia is a response to people arguing that others should like a game because of their nostalgia. Which is a silly thing to do since nostalgia is inherently personal. You didn’t fall into that trap, so anyone who tries to dunk on your nostalgia is just trolling.
I’ve long had the theory that one prefers FF6 or FF7 based on which one they played first. Mine was 6, and I was instantly hooked from the ominous title screen fanfare.
@@IslandUsurper Great point!
Seeing the improved graphics when Samus gets out of her ship in 2 for the first time was an amazing feeling as a kid.
both are just good, the only one point in favor on MP2 is it puts a good challenge to beat when you finished playing MP1.
Definitely, Metroid Prime 2 is so much harder than the first one. Emperor Ing is a real struggle on hard mode lol
Calling Metroid Prime "just good" is kinda wild. It's one of the highest rated games of all time.
@@Beefnhammer yes they are good... you want me to say "masterpiece,flawless,perfect"? lmao.
@@clug3r Flawless? no. There is no such thing as a completely flawless game. But masterpiece? yes. Your wording implied that you think the games are overrated.
@@Beefnhammer what? LMAO dude "just good" implied they are not better than each other i was giving my opinion on why MP2 is a slightly better game.
My experiences with "Donkey Kong Country" versus "Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest" might respectively parallel your experiences with "Metroid Prime" versus "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes". DKC2 arguably expands upon and greatly improves many elements of DKC1 such as the boss fights, the environmental variety, the uses of animal buddies, the secret bonus/challenge rooms in levels, the rewards for clearing said rooms, the integration of swimming mechanics, and the overall degree of challenge.
However, my heart still gravitates towards DKC1 a little more. The soundtrack and atmosphere of each individual environment hits me a little more. I like playing as the original duo of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Some of DKC1's unique bonuses, like the optional mini-games you activate by getting three golden animal tokens, really stuck with me too. I like King K. Rool's debut in DKC1 and his simplicity there, versus the more explicit pirate theme of K. Rool and his Kremling minions in DKC2 (not that I don't like K. Rool having a costume gimmick). The comparatively lower difficulty makes DKC1 easier for me to return to and spend a relaxing time playing from start to finish, like "gaming comfort food". And DKC1 still has a good amount of difficulty, unique levels, and revolutionary-for-the-time mechanics by its own merits. Finally, I also have more nostalgia for DKC1, due to that being the first game I ever beat as a kid, plus the fond memories of playing DKC1 with my siblings.
Hear ya bro, i played MP1 on Gamecube like 10 times and the MP2E like 5 times and MP3C like 2 times, then miss the chance of getting MPTrilogy with its metal case, and after a tone of years, bought it on the wii eshop and played again on the wii like 3 more times, echoes 3 times and MP3C 1 time... Then.. after more years transfer the data to my WiiU and again played them 2, 2 and 1 times again.. and recently i just played MPHD on the Switch and OMG!! i almost played eyes closed but I'm pretty sure I spent way more time than the first time just watching everything on HD and i was like 😮😍🤩😱😍 on every step specially Phendrama Drifts!!
Can't wait to play MP2 Echoes HD bro!!!
These are great games to replay! I really hope they remaster MP2 the same way they did Prime 1!
One of my favorite games purely because of nostalgia is this game on the PS2 called Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights. It's kinda one of those platformers mixed with a collectathon which I super duper love collectathons.
Prime 2 is the very best. No questions asked.
Personally I find Prime 1 just a tad too easy even on hard mode where as Prime 2 will kick your ass even on normal mode, and yeah the end game hunt is worse in Prime 2, in Prime 1 only a single artifact is gated behind the phazon suit where as Prime 2 8 keys are gated behind the light suit
I like Prime 2 more.
I really hope the switch gets a P2 remaster as well.
A Prime 2 remaster would be awesome!
Weird! I really liked Phazon mines for the enemy variety. The music track when fighting metroids in the dark in the lower mines slaps. And the phazon lighting up the area with invisible platforms…
I actually didnt like Phendrama drifts due to how long the pirates lair area is. And having to use the heat visor
Hey, to each their own! I will admit that I'm also not a particular fan of the pirate lair in Phendrana Drifts lol
I feel that way about Super Metroid, played it first time when I was about 4, finish it when I was 8 and since then it has become my favorite game ever.
When it comes to MP1 and MP2 I played them both at about the same time and I like 2 a little better
I can’t agree with the areas when prime 1 has super Mario 64 basic themes about fire and lava. There’s nothing even alien about them, compared to looking at any art from super Metroid or zero mission. Prime 2 all the way.
It's a better experience the first time but I feel it's not as replayable as Prime 1. Particularly with the collection quest at the end, it's much easier in Prime 1 to collect the artifacts more continuously when you know where they are located, you can't really do that in Prime 2.
A Prime 2 remaster like Prime 1 with a few fixes and tweaks would be rad
Prime 1 is my favourite and not just because I have nostalgia for it. The locations, weapons and enemies just feel better to me. Prime 2 is like a darker and more competent version but lacking the heart of the original. I love 2 but it feels more calculated and planned, less organic, almost to a fault.
Plus don't forget you can play in the fusion suit from Metroid Fusion in Prime 1.
One game I love just because of nostalgia is Megaman X Command Mission. It’s not very good. It has its moments, but it’s not great.
Still, I have so many good memories associated with it that I can’t help but love it!
History and graphics 2 is deff top tier
Most SNES games developed by Nintendo, Square, Enix, Capcom or Konami are my nostalgic drugs of choice.
Prime 1 - Influence from super Metroid
Prime 2 - Influence from Metroid fusion
Prime 3 - A little halo Influence, but it's mainly original and would've been better if they weren't forced to compromise for the Nintendo Wii
Love all these games though!!!
your older now an you got nostalgia
They’re all good but are best played with Wii motion controls
Upon replaying the games a couple times, I've come to really appreciate the "end game token hunt" in each of the Prime games. They come across as tedious and pace-killing at first, but truth be told, I don't like ANY of the final bosses in each of the games. If anything, I appreciate having a bit more time to wander around the environments before I have to drag myself to the final fight.
As for which of the first 2 I like more? I summarize it as Prime 2's gameplay has greater peaks, but worse valleys. Ultimately, I do prefer it slightly more than the first one.
On my side, I prefer Prime 2 over Prime 1 for a few reasons, but I have to say the main reason I prefer Prime 2 is the endgame.
I really hate Prime 1's endgame. I hate going through Phazon Mines, using the Heat/X-Ray visor to be able to see anything in some rooms just annoys me cause of their visual effects, Fusion Metroids are a pain to deal with even considering you can one-tap them with Power Bombs and the Beam Pirates only taking damage from specific beam and combos makes crowd controlling them a pain, not helped by their large HP pool. With Prime 1's endgame, I don't feel that much more powerful, just feeling like I got more tools in my arsenal.
Meanwhile with Prime 2, you spend the whole game always pressured by Dark Aether's atmosphere and juggling Light and Dark Beams for the most damage possible. At the end of the game, the Light Suit just says "Lol, Lmao" and you're now immune to Dark Aether's poison, and the Annihilator Beam just feels SO good to use on everything and auto-aims so I can just spam-shoot while focusing on dodging. The power progression of Prime 2 is what makes me ascend and not even mind the Key-hunting that's somewhat more limited than Prime 1's artifact hunt.
Aether simply can't compare to the sheer natural beauty of Tallon IV.
Prime 2 has more and better boss fights, but other than that the levels and dark world mechanic is just ok, limited ammo sucks tho.
Prime 1 made me immersed in the atmosphere more. Prime 2 felt like a dungeon with the dark side dungeon, not like Im exploring a lonely, alien world.
Its ENVIROMENT, it is so much detailed in prime 1, biomes feel alive, and you really feel like you are in other world... Prime 2 feels less detailed, and in fact, it is.
I think the true answer isn't nostalgia. It's emersion and the graphics.
Original is the best. Hands down. Prime 2 has this very specifically depressing vibe that i love but.... The first is the full spectrum of emotions for me.
@ix8750 that's a great way to explain the vibes for each game
... But they're both amazing?
Exactly!
Yea, let me explain something. I played the original Metroid, the NES Metroid WAY BACK WHEN. Backtracking has been a part of Metroid from the beginning, I know some of you hate it, I DONT FUCKING CARE. I love it. Prime FEELS like a Metroid game. I never thought anyone would be able to translate the FEEL of this series to 3d. Shooting, accurately while running and jumping and dodging in a fully 3d environment... The puzzling backtracking secrets and figuring out where to go and what to do... PRIME FEELS LIKE CLASSIC METROID AND I FUCKING LOVE THAT. It is exactly what I wanted from a 3d Metroid game. I love the fog in the visor, seeing Samus reflection, the condensation, the music the lighting I could go on, for its time this was a BEAUTIFUL game, so good looking in fact and so perfect in its art style that it is still impressive 20 years later, and the music/sound design, wow, this game is just a 10/10 virtually perfect. Echos makes some welcome changes, it also makes unwelcome changes.... I like Echos, I do, but not as much as Prime, BECAUSE PRIME FEELS MORE LIKE METROID. Now don't take that to mean that Echos doesn't feel like Metroid, it does, and it is a great game in its own right... an 8.5/10 maybe even a 9, but it's not Prime. In the end they are both FUCKING AWESOME, but Prime is just... better cuz it is FEELS more like Metroid. I don't want Metroid to change, I like it because of what it is, I like the puzzle solving backtracking secret finding, I like figuring out where to go and what to do myself, how to get that last damn missile that I don't even need CUZ I WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOT TO GET IT DAMMIT. I also like the story... Probably most of you don't care about the story of Metroid, but I do... I want to know more about the Space Pirates, and the Metroids themselves, about the Chozo and how Samus came to have one of their ships and Armor. I am not saying I want an RPG or a book where it's all spelled out... I want it in little pieces in games for me to find... I love Metroid and Prime is the best the series has ever been, Echos is great don't get me wrong and Super Metroid is a 9.9/10, but Prime is nearly Perfect, exactly what Metroid should be. It took a team in Texas to bring Metroid into the 3d era... and no one has done it better since...
Dude, you're so right. Metroid Prime 2 is GREAT, but there's just something magical about the first one. It really did a good job capturing the essence of Metroid in 3D.
Since I was little I have always been a Prime 1 is the best preacher, and over the years I discovered why I felt this, I'd have to make like 1 hour video to explain but in short I measure them both in their strengths and weaknesses and even giving Prime 2 lots of leeway it just can't stand against the original because it is too much like the original but not innovative enough.
Want a hot take? For a while I held the position that Prime 3 was a better game than 2 just by a little precisely because it felt more innovative but over the years I felt like prime 3 deviated too much in other aspects
I felt the same way about 2 and 3 for a while. When I first finished 3 it was between it and Prime 1 for the title of my favorite and 2 was my LEAST favorite. After I played them all some more I came to the same conclusion as you. Prime 1 > Prime 2 > Prime 3; but all of them are great.
i never got over the drastic needless change from a beautiful but hardened woman, to a anime style girl, the character design from prime 1 is perfect, samus never needed to be a busty super model, and ever since they made her that way, her character has felt split to me. as if you gave the backstory and physical abilities of rambo to justin beaber... it just never fit....
Great video, and you expressed a lot of opinions that I completely agree with and feel the same way about.
That's great to hear! I'm glad you resonated with this!
Any Prime 3 love?
I love Prime 3, but it's the one I've played the least lol
@@soliddijoYou said lol. I never said that.
I think one of the things that brings down MP 2 a bit is how they copied a little too much from MP 1 IMHO. From beams to monsters and power ups. A lot of it is just reskinned from the original. I wouldn't have minded waiting a little longer for the game at the time, if they had made it a little more unique.
Hi which more Puzzel and metroid???
I go with 1 & 2! I just love them😅
Au contraire, i believe the Spider Ball Guardian is the best boss in the trilogy. Secondly, if you go trough Phazon Mines in a straight line, you might suffer from Phazon Hallucinations, there are actually 3 ways to go through there.
The Spider Ball Guardian is definitely a test of skill lol. I didn't know that about Phazon mines. I'll have to look into that!
Map structure in Echoes better than in Prime?! Come on! Prime’s map is the improbable success at making a 3D version of a Metroid map, while echoes is but a bunch of corridors stemming from and a few hubs here and there…
That, indeed, reduces backtracking. But thus it kills a key feature of Metroid games.
I have to strongly disagree with Prime 2 having better areas, obviously this is just my opinion. P2 areas feel monotone, repetitive, kinda confusing and overall unremarkable. Even so, we all know the Prime Trilogy is amazing and we enjoy every game with its strengths and weaknesses.
6:59 honestly i think this was my main problem with Prime 3 other than game breaking bugs(the game wouldn't register hits with my hyper wave beam using the visor on the egg sac halfway through phaaze)
They didn't go hard enough with the bounty system, we needed more maps like the ships we didn't need but could go to.
That would have been really cool. I think they could have done a lot more interesting stuff in Prime 3
@@soliddijo I saw in an article they had a plan to do actual "bounty hunting" before the OG Creators of the IP told them that actually Samus was meant to be a "space warrior" and her "Bounty Hunter" title was actually not intended to indicate she hunted people for bounties.
I think it is perfectly fair to like an objectively inferior game more than a better one. Yes, Prime 2 is better than Prime 1 in most ways, from a game design standpoint. But if the way Prime 1 makes you *FEEL* is better for you, than that's just fine. I actually feel the same way about Prime 1, and I have lots of other games I also like more than their technically superior sequels. For example, of the five (so far) Shantae games, I like the original best despite it being a pretty bad game even for its day. I simply like how it sets up the world and story and characters that the rest of the series builds on.
Nostalgia has a downside, however. It's not a bad reason to like something, but it *is* a bad reason to *dislike* something else. So many people suffer from nostalgia poisoning and refuse to give certain games a fair chance simply for being different. See, for example, the Paper Mario series and the visceral hatred lots of people have for all the games that came out after Thousand-Year Door. It's fine to have favorites, but it's even better to be able to look past that and appreciate games that are different. The fact that our gracious host can do that, considering how much he enjoys Prime 2, speaks very well for him.
Same for me with BotW et TotK, I realy feel like TotK is objectivly a better game, though for no reason I just like BotW better.
Echoes in some aspects is better than Prime 1, but I still think it is better than Echoes
at one point in my llife i knew mp1 like the back of my hand but i still loved mp2 alot more. its like they took everything abt mp1 and made it better. espcially the soundtrack. that being said i HATED the part where u had to go around looking for the 9 keys. i dont understand why they made that part so complicated
*Reads title* No buts!
A totally fair opinion
Metroid prime 2 clears
Prime 2 is my favorite game of all time.
No, the 2 is worse than the 1. Its reverse ammunition system is clearly bad and if the 3 is returned to the conventional ammunition system, it is not for nothing. The other big flaw is the obtaining of the 12 keys which is a real purge to perform compared to the artifacts of 1.
I specify that I am one of the fans who made the 2 at its release and that it divided enormously, its new hype compared to that of the 1 came much later, perhaps by younger players.
And chocolate is better than vanilla.
It is better
MP2 is better than 1 sometimes. Overall no it's MP1.
Good video!
Thank you!
Prime two is also great because it's kind of like a hybrid of Metroid and Zelda world design.
This is one reason I really like Prime 2. The focus of each area or "dungeon" is a lot more efficient than Prime 1. It really just comes down to preference.
The back tracking really set the game back from being a perfect.
The backtracking is definitely worse than other Metroid games. There are definitely some things Prime 1 could have done better
Nice work, enjoyed the video!
Thank you very much!
The 1st is best
Prime 2 has better mechanics
Prime 1 has better story, world, atmosphere, and environments.
Prime 2 was never well received compared the 1, I even tried to like it but it felt so cheap reusing the environment like they did.
I imagine prime 2 would have been extremely successful if they had just spent more time on level design.
Either way I remember how disappointed everyone was when prime 2 was released, it was truly upsetting as I knew we wouldn't be getting a 3 anytime soon after that on the GC.
Matthewmatosis had a really beautiful way of putting this kind of comparison. Games are made up of good and bad. Prime 1 has more good and also more bad than prime 2. Prime 2 is more consistent and a much more confidently made game, but I don't think it ever matches the moments of brilliance in prime 1.
The Dark Aether gimmick of deteriorating health and waiting in a bubble to regain health was inexcusable. Echoes plays too slow to enjoy
Dark Aether is not for everybody. That's actually one of the unique parts of 2 I like haha. I totally understand why many people don't like it though lol
6:05 Saying Metroidvania in a Metroid game review 🤢🤮
*Metroid haha