Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’ve been chewing on. Today, Nile considers whether it’s time to push the (rewind) button…
Last month, Nintendo announced that it was adding Metroid: Zero Mission to the Nintendo Switch Online service. For me, it was an incentive to cross off a big commitment on my backlog: completing all 2D Metroid games. Since Zero Mission, the 2004 Game Boy Advance remake of the 1986 original, is the canonical first entry in the series, it’s the perfect starting point.
I’ve had access to the game on the original hardware for a long time, but I’ve been waiting for the NSO version for features like save states and rewind. After completing my playthrough, I came to the key conclusion that judicious use of the Rewind feature will ultimately make you a better player – or at least a more satisfied one.
I will preface by saying that my gaming skills are quite modest. No other Nintendo series manages to consistently humble me the way Metroid does. That said, it also did more to raise my skill ceiling than anything else. When I recently faced one of the series’ most iconic adversaries, I was left with two options: the rewind button or get good.
Of course, I’m referring to Mother Brain, the Cycloptic super-computer and final encounter with Metroid’s final boss. Since Zero Mission includes a brilliant epilogue that takes place after this fight, the big brain serves as the penultimate boss of the remake, but is still the hardest encounter in the game. Some even argue that it is an unfair fight.
part of me felt that I really had no right to continue the game knowing how tired I was of that climactic battle
Set in the depths of Tourian, the battle takes place on two tiny platforms suspended above a pool of boiling lava, with Samus constantly bombarded by turrets, circular missiles, and the Mother’s brain itself emitting bursts of energy from its single eye. The single-screen playing field is claustrophobic, and almost every punch will throw you into the health-draining lava below.
Up until this point, the game offered some relatively difficult boss fights that I was able to beat in a few tries or even on the first try. But Mother Brain turns things up to 11 and it’s really frustrating, with the oncoming fire attack making it difficult to even position yourself for an attack while Samus is constantly being tossed around like a rag doll.
While looking for battle strategies, I took a peek at YouTube comment section and saw that I wasn’t the only one feeling stuck and demoralized. “I’m literally just being ping-ponged until I die,” wrote one. “This boss design is terrible… It’s not fun, it’s frustrating,” snapped another. “This fight is my only gripe with this game.”
So far, I haven’t used the rewind function much during my playthrough, other than a tricky platform input here or there. I’m not a purist and generally have no problem with save states or rewinding the game, especially if it makes a historically significant game more accessible. So I decided to hit rewind quite often during Mother Boss to undo my mistakes and even the odds.
But when I finally took her down and continued the story, a part of me felt that I really had no right to continue the game knowing how long I endured that climactic battle. As curious as I was about the epilogue, which leans heavily on stealth gameplay as Samus dons her ‘Zero Suit’, I felt compelled to go back and defeat Mother Brain with skill alone.
So, I loaded up my save and made my way back through Zebes, collecting all the power-ups and energy tanks I missed. Even then, trying to fight again brought defeat after defeat. But as I pushed on, I noticed that I was getting closer to my goal by staying in the fight longer. After a coffee break (I always play better when I’m caffeinated) I was able to finally knock her down.
(If you’re interested, to defeat Mother Brain you’ll need to crouch and throw super projectiles and regular projectiles at her eye. Use the sea bream and bolt attack against the circular projectiles while jumping between the two platforms. If you get knocked down, try to grab onto the edge of the platform as to avoid falling into the lava. Pressing up while jumping will make it easier to get out of the lava pool.)
For me, this was no longer an empty victory, but a well-deserved one. I continued to play with a sense of satisfaction and finished the game soon after. While I consider Mission Zero to be among Nintendo’s best remakes, it’s still worth asking: Is the fight with Mother Brain a frustrating blemish on an otherwise masterful reimagining? So let’s do it:
It’s clear that the original designers had to get creative with this fight, since your enemy is an immobile brain in a jar with no accessories, so he gets shot at in all directions. While the controls are much more fluid in Zero Mission than the NES original, the playing field is more limited and the action is much faster.
Another difference is that Mother Brain directly attacks Samus, which she doesn’t do on the NES. While Zero Mission is an overall more accessible experience than the brilliant but dated original, Mother Brain is actually more difficult in the remake. NES players managed to defeat Mother Brain without suffering damagea feat I just don’t think is possible in Mission Zero.
But unfortunately, if the fight was unusual, I wouldn’t give an opinion about it here. As we all know, there’s something to be said for gruelingly difficult boss fights that force you to prove your mettle and validate your mettle. As relentlessly frustrating as Mother Brain is, it is only he manages to remain manageable without ever letting you forget his terrible ordeal.
From that perspective, it’s an extremely successful game design. As for the modern convenience of the rewind feature, I think it should function as a lifeline to undo clumsy inputs, but never to the point where it actively diminishes your sense of accomplishment gained from mastering difficult gameplay through persistence and honed skill – which many of us play games with. for.
Zero Mission takes the groundbreaking title and elevates it across the board with new areas and bosses, updated visuals and gameplay mechanics, and a far greater depth of storytelling. It is the definitive remake that surpasses the original and proves to be one of the best entries in the series. So if you want to get into Metroid, don’t be put off by the tough combat.
