3/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Metroid: Zero Mission.

TLDR: This game is pretty good, but it waits until the end to be great. Gameplay: As a remake of the first Metroid, Zero Mission feels simplistic but still high quality. I havent played the original but I can tell what was added and what was kept relatively the same. A complaint I have is that most of the common enemies found throughout the game are just whatever. Theyre barely an obstacle. So ZM isnt really about combat but almost completely dependent on exploration / traversal until boss fights. It's a short experience and it does a good job at leading you where you're supposed to be. I thought it was overall fine up until the finale, which is a completely new section where you play as Zero Suit Samus on the Space Pirate Mothership. From that section up until the end the game is an absolute banger. It's almost a shame because it feels like it could have been much more but it wanted to stay somewhat true to the experience. I'd rate it higher but it sort of just came and went. And also I found the controls to be somewhat finnicky, especially when it came to Gravity Suit jumping. Story: Not a lot going on here which is fun. The intro cutscene is actually sick as hell with the "Emergency Alert" abruptly cut with Samus ship flying super fast. I also really like the random cutscenes that play between loading areas. Makes me want to see more GBA games which cutscenes. Graphics: Zero Mission is probably the best looking GBA game I have seen so far. Every sprite looks great as well as backgrounds / environment. Basically everything looks fantastic. Very colorful. Detailed too. So much to pick apart. I especially love the color differences between the suits. Sound: Game sounds great. I liked hearing all the tunes that I was already familiar with but finally in their proper place. Brinstar and Kraid tugged at my nostalgia. Extra: There's a lot, A LOT of items to find in Zero Mission. All of which are scattered throughout the entire map. Some are easy to find. Some are hard. And some are actually kind of fucked up. Especially the "Shine Spark" trials which I had to look up guides for because I would have never figured out myself. What is with the shine spark anyway? Why does the game not tell you about that. Favorite Thing: The entire end segment. Not My Favorite Thing: SHINESPARK ITEMS.