4/5 ★ – caleb_mercer's review of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

I liked Metroid Prime 2: Echoes quite a lot, but I think that it ultimately fell short of its predecessor due to not only some foundational issues with the games structure but also by falling in to some of the same traps of the first Metroid Prime. To understand my problems with Prime 2, it must be compared to Prime 1. It might be unfair to have problems with a game because of how it compares to another, but when a sequel either takes a step back from the first or fails to improve on the negative aspects of it I find that somewhat inexcusable. Not to mention, I have problems with Prime 2 outside of its relation to Prime 1 and in the end I still liked the game as a whole. It cannot be overstated just how immersive a game the first Metroid Prime game was in 2002 and still is. The linearity of item progression was overshadowed by the immaculate atmosphere and world design. Even if the game was linear it wasn't super obvious on first playthrough. From quite early in the game the player had access to four of the five areas of the game, even if they couldn't progress too terribly far in Phendrana Drifts or Magmoor Caverns. The areas players didn't have access to at first were made memorable so that when the respective item was attained it didn't take too long to figure out where to go, and even if it did the world was pretty well interconnected. The first exercise in making Prime 1's roadblocks memorable that comes to mind is the crashed frigate in Tallon Overworld. The crashed frigate is an area intended to be accessed somewhere around the middle of the game, but the player can encounter it as soon as they have the morph ball which is the first upgrade obtained. If they do stumble upon it they are greeted with a massive area with a large crashed ship across a big pool of water. The first time the area is entered two space pirates fly away overhead with jetpacks. This will most likely be the first time the player sees space pirates outside of the prologue, not to mention the fact that the crashed ship is striking and unlike all of the more natural areas encountered up to that point. This all combines to create something the player desperately wants to explore so when they get the gravity suit which lets them move more freely in water they know exactly where they want to go first. So even though the gravity suit is received on the far end of Phendrana Drifts and several hours after the crashed frigate can first be seen, the player still remembers this. The way that this relates to Prime 2 is in one of my problems with it. 2's most important roadblocks aren't all that memorable, which can leave the player confused on where to go next. This compounded with the self-contained areas created two big problematic moments for me. Prime 2 is divided into four distinct areas and their dark world counterparts. Temple Grounds is in the middle, with each other area branching off from doors in a circular room that are only opened after each is completed. It is probably the most obvious way that Prime 2 sets itself apart from 1 in terms of world design. Only having access to Agon Wastes at the beginning and putting every single relevant item in that area establishes to the player that this is how the game will be structured. Completing Agon Wastes opens access to Torvus Bog and for a while the bog progresses in the same self-contained fashion as the wastes. Until you get the boost ball and are supposed to use it on a roadblock in the wastes, a random unassuming halfpipe in the middle of the area. Not only does the game betray the precedent it set for how progression works, it doesn't even make it clear that it has been betrayed. This was the first time I actually had to look up a guide to figure out where to go next in one of these games, and while the game has a hint system it can take too long to activate at times and shouldn't basically be required to progress. The game does this one more time in the Sanctuary Fortress, requiring the player to go all the way to the bottom of the bog to a frustratingly insignificant wall in a previously completed bosses arena. This might sound like a minor problem given that it only happens twice over the course of a 12+ hour game, but not only was it a source of frustration unparalleled to anything prior but the unremarkable roadblocks were somewhat a problem in the self-contained areas. Specifically the fact that at some point late in the Sanctuary Fortress you're required to blow up some knocked over canisters. It took me forever to figure that one out because I had completely forgotten about that roadblock, considering it was literally some trash in the corner of a random room. My other main problem with Prime 2 I will say less about because it is essentially the same as Prime 1, though slightly different. The Chozo artifact scavenger hunt from the end of 1 is back in the form of Sky Temple keys at the end of 2. In one way, it is slightly better. By the time the player gets to the scavenger hunt in 2 they are significantly more powerful with the light suit and annihilator beam, which the game actually lets the player properly use unlike the plasma beam in 1! The scavenger hunt is made worse than in 1 two puzzling ways however. In one you were able to scan hints for each of the artifacts and then in your inventory it told you whether you had obtained that artifact. In 2 there is a similar hint scanning system which is actually done in a cool way with they keybearers, but the menu doesn't tell you which ones you have and haven't gotten for some reason. It is also made worse in the integration of the keys into areas. In Prime 1 you weren't able to get a majority of the artifacts until toward the end of the game, but a good chunk were available from around the middle onwards. In 2 you aren't able to get a single key at minimum until you have the dark visor which is one of the last items you get, and even then almost none of them are available until you have the last couple of items. To make this worse the keys aren't usually even integrated in cool ways, they are just in invisible enemies in random rooms throughout the world. Aside from a couple insignificant problems though, these were my main reservations with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Otherwise, I loved the game. The more contained areas were initially off-putting given how real the world of Prime 1 felt, but the more video-gamey feel of 2 allowed the developers to put a lot more fun and varied puzzles and bosses in the game. The gameplay is at worst the same as Prime 1, but there are a few QOL improvements like the overhauled scanning system. I absolutely loved the lore of the Luminoth and really appreciated the developers disconnecting this game from previous franchise staples like the Chozo and Ridley. Overall, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a worthy sequel to the legendary Metroid Prime. Aside from a couple of frustrating steps back the game is super fun and expands upon some of the best aspects of Prime 1, like the combat and puzzles. The increased difficulty is welcomed and the tonal shift is great. I completed the game in 14 hours and one minute with an 80% completion rate.