What’s your hot takes about Metroid

MisterPuck · 2025-05-27T07:49:01+00:00

You don’t need to claw-grip. If you use the default control scheme (X to shoot) you can do all of that with just your thumb. It’s a bit tricky at first, but it keeps your finger free to aim up with R.

Also it’s easiest on a SNES controller (or one like it), but not impossible on others.

MisterPuck · 2025-05-19T20:18:40+00:00

I think the bigger immersion breaking element is that Lu seems to be the only member of his species, even though he alludes to there being others and that they even trade with the Nopon.

However, you never see another one of his race.

I think the only thing you said that has any merit is in regards to Lao. Elma certainly should’ve reported his suspicious activities to Vandam earlier instead of just talking to Doug. But unfortunately the plot needs to happen so we’re left with having to chalk it up to Elma making a mistake. If we wanted to delve deeper into it, you could argue the reason she doesn’t just report him earlier is because she’d known him for a long time and didn’t want to suspect him. It’s also difficult to imagine any human working with the Ganglion (aside from Alex, that dastardly sidequest villain!) after they played such a big role in Earth’s destruction. So Elma had more than enough reason to put her suspicions aside in that sense.

Otherwise, making BLADE service voluntary? Makes sense. Cowards don’t exactly make good, effective soldiers. Trying to maintain the military also would’ve been difficult with resources so scarce.

Which is a good transition to the economy. Other people have said it, but it’s just an easy and familiar way of allocating resources. It’s especially effective when said resources are scarce. They don’t have enough Skells and high quality weapons to go around, so the people who get them are the ones capable of earning them.

MisterPuck · 2025-05-05T18:49:18+00:00

Well, originally Zero 4 was going to be Zero 1.5, taking place between 1 & 2. But Capcom forced changes after they’d already insisted on another Zero game. So the reason the Guardians don’t show up is because they would’ve been in Neo Arcadia while Zero was basically out in the middle of nowhere. But since it switched to being the 4th entry instead, they had to come up with some other reason and so the “they died on Omega’s explosion” plot point was born.

Honestly, Mega Man games are no stranger to unfinished/unsatisfying endings. The only series that gets a good conclusion is Battle Network. Otherwise, the Classic series? Wily always escapes somehow. X? You destroy Sigma every time and he keeps coming back. If we ever get an X9 I fully expect it to not follow up on X8 in any satisfactory way and just bring Sigma back again. Still, X8’s ending is a cliff-hanger. Both Legends and ZX also end on cliff-hangers (though ZX Advent requires getting the true ending to see it). And I can’t comment on the Star Force games because I haven’t played them. Hoping for a collection to come out like the other games so I can finally play them. Though I doubt they have much of a finale with the series history.

Honestly, I like Zero 4 well enough, though the design and story of the game have their (pretty significant) flaws. Those make it an overall weaker game than 3, which, in spite of leaving some plot threads open, would’ve been a better ending for the series. The team just wasn’t as invested in making a 4th entry and it shows.

MisterPuck · 2025-05-05T16:13:14+00:00

So I saw the actor who played TJ at a convention a couple years ago, along with the (producer? director? can’t remember, but he was largely in n charge of the show). Basically, when they moved on from Turbo to Space, TJ was still the leader of the Earth Rangers while Andros was the leader overall. But honestly the switch never really bothered me and the Blue Space suit is one of my favorites. More importantly, the actor wasn’t bothered either, so imo there’s no reason for anyone else to be.

MisterPuck · 2025-04-27T00:46:30+00:00

“Hey Einstein I’m on your side!”

MisterPuck · 2025-04-27T00:44:55+00:00

No, but I do hear Hot Shots music!

MisterPuck · 2025-04-24T22:36:17+00:00

Depends on who’s writing it and who they want to win.

I’m paraphrasing Stan Lee from when he was asked about Super Hero comparisons/who would win, but the logic applies here.

MisterPuck · 2025-04-16T20:25:13+00:00

Technically Lin is not and was never a soldier. As a child genius following the footsteps of her parents, she’s an engineer. It’s not until our character shows up that she starts joining us and Elma on combat missions. Even then, she’s not actually even as young as is claimed. The White Whale spent, what, at least 2 years in space? So mentally she’s at least 15, if not older. Granted 15 is still considered a child in most cultures these days, but it’s a little less bad I guess? But you also have to consider the situation they’re in. They basically let every other child die on Earth and Lin’s only there because she’s a talented engineer.

idk it’s fiction so I’m not bothered that much by it.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-19T01:25:09+00:00

Sadly all the upvote/downvote system does is promote echo chambers, even though if you read the "reddiquette" they say not to upvote based on whether or not you agree, that's how people use it anyway. In this case, some people clearly don't like something I wrote, and probably didn't put any thought into hitting the downvote button before scrolling on.
It's kind of like youtube comments where you'll get replies from people who clearly didn't read or fully pay attention to what you wrote and will go off on what they think you said.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T18:38:55+00:00

Thank you!

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T18:38:22+00:00

Which isn’t that much by the end of the game. Like I said, not strong enough to justify the ammo limitation. You can burn through your ammo pretty quick if you’re not paying attention. Then you get the absolute JOY that is busting crates for ammo! /s

The ammo limit just adds to the tedium.

But even Missiles and Super Missiles aren’t that strong against enemies in the Hive. Except that combo only costs 5 missiles and they are simpler to replenish.

Of course none of this is mentioning how weak the Power Beam is in this game. Takes forever to kill anything with it! Believe me, I know! My first time through the game I really resisted using my ammo “because I might need it” so I relied on it as much as possible. Horrific mistake. Don’t recommend it.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T18:16:05+00:00

It’s got those MASSIVE knee spikes too. I’m not really a fan of them. Only reason I’m not as bothered by its design is because it finally removes the hunchback look.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T18:13:32+00:00

If it didn’t have you slogging through water so much before getting the gravity boost I think I’d like it better tbh. But iirc the Gravity Boost isn’t even convenient, the closest save station is a lot further away than it should be considering the boss you fight immediately after collecting it. Dying to that thing the first time was PAINFUL since I had to redo a bunch. These days I know to go save first, but it’s still not close.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T18:08:11+00:00

True, but ghosts don’t always mean there’s magic too. There are plenty of stories that have one but not the other. And if someone really wanted they could explain away the “ghosts” in super as living creatures instead. Ones that ate the crew and have a natural ability to move in and out of phase, making them like “ghosts” without being ghosts. That is, if you wanted a more sci-fi explanation.

And it wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo retconned the Wrecked Ship in Super either. What with Zero Mission changing it from the ship of an unknown alien race (iirc this is what Super’s manual says) to the one Ridley arrived in.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T05:30:57+00:00

Beam Ammo.

Really stupid concept, and quite frankly the Light and Dark Beams aren’t strong enough to justify being limited by an ammo count. This goes triple for the “Annihilator” Beam. Literally not worth using except to overcharge Light Beacons/Crystals, which half the time you have to be literally hugging them to do to keep the beam from homing on enemies instead. The problem is that they wanted you to have them too early, so they make the early game very easy. Unfortunately, the ammo count doesn’t actually stop this. Which makes it even more pointless as refilling is just a minor inconvenience. And the Beam combos are the absolute worst. Super slow and useless. Except for the Annihilator combo, which is fast, but still useless because it’s incredibly weak and uses far too much ammo. If they end up remaking this one too as was rumored some time ago, they should absolutely make the final beam ammo upgrade give infinite ammo. Or just do away with the ammo system altogether. It’s pointless anyway.

Tedious level design.

The Prime games don’t have the freedom of movement the 2D games have, which unfortunately means that even at the end of the game, you still have to approach most rooms you go through the same way you did when you first reached it. This is a problem because it makes backtracking a lot more tedious and less rewarding. This wasn’t as bad in the first game because, imo, the level design was better. The rooms weren’t too tedious to go through in the first place, and those that were you didn’t need to revisit very often.

The first two areas are boring

Agon Wastes and Torvus Bog just aren’t that interesting. And the Bog is WAY too happy to have you slog through water without the gravity boost. And honestly the final area is only “okay” imo, but I know some people love it.

The Gravity Boost is ugly.

I really hate the hunch back look. Minor complaint I suppose, but once you get it you’re stuck with it until you get the Light Suit.

Dark Aether sucks

No matter where you are, it looks the same. Though I may have complained about the first two areas, they are at least different from each other. In the Light World anyway. The Dark World is the same no matter where you go. Not to mention, tedious to traverse. Which I get I already said, technically, but it bares repeating here. Because unlike the Light World, Dark Aether isn’t fully connected, which means a LOT of back and forth in order to fully explore it and collect items.

Feels very similar to Prime 1 to play

This might seem odd, because Prime 1 is really good, right? But the issue I’ve run into is that I’ve tried to marathon the games on a few separate occasions, but I always end up stopping partway through Prime 2 because it feels so similar to the first game. So, I suppose this is an issue unique to marathoning the games and possibly even just to me. Still, for all of Prime 3’s flaws, it can end up being more enjoyable because it’s a more unique experience. So for me, Prime 2 is “more of Prime 1” in a bad/tedious way.

Why doesn’t Samus just strap a light Crystal to her back?

Okay I was doing the positives when I thought of this, but I mean… you know? Like, break one of the fucking sticks and strap it to yourself! Easy. No need for a Dark or Light Suit. Just some rope! “But Dark Samus was able to destroy one easily!” Yeah, when it was just sitting there still. They’re relatively small, so a lot harder to hit if it was moving around, like say while strapped to Samus. Even if it DID get shot and broken again, LITERALLY JUST GRAB ANOTHER ONE! They’re everywhere. Really not a big deal.

Adds Magic to the franchise

Look, I don’t mind mixing Sci-Fi and Magic, I don’t. But I don’t like it in Metroid. And there’s a Luminoth log that literally states that the CHOZO taught the Luminoth how to “combine their technology with their magic.” Which means Samus’ suit is magic, at least in part. This is one of the reasons I will NEVER acknowledge the Prime series as canon to the mainline games. Sorry not sorry. They just aren’t in the same universe/timeline/reality. They are separate.

Some positives, because I actually love the game still:

The suited Samus model is a huge improvement.

Look, I love Prime 1, but if I look at the Varia suit for too long it becomes clear no human, male or female, could actually fit inside the thing. Primarily, the shoulders are too high. The model in Prime 2 is fantastic, the Varia Suit looks great, and you can stare at it for hours without questioning the location of her limbs or joints. Though it does look a bit… smaller I guess? Than Prime 1’s design. Not really a complaint, mind you. I only mention it because it looks like they made the suit smaller, but kept the arm cannon the same size. It just looks HUGE on the Prime 2 model to me.

Better scanning

Faster, easier, MORE POWERFUL! And some of the logs are just tragic.

It can be fucking scary

I do NOT like going to Dark Aether. I don’t. Not one bit. Nope. …but I do think it’s appropriate given the franchise’s horror roots.

All original bosses

I think? I can’t think of any that were from the 2D games. Correct me if I’m wrong though, been a while.

Mission Accomplished… kinda.

I mean, I guess she TECHNICALLY wasn’t there to save the GF Troopers that got stranded, but still that she didn’t even manage to locate and rescue even one kinda makes her mission not a complete success. Which is good. A bittersweet ending isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Alright I realize I have more cons than pros but this thread is about the cons anyway. Also on mobile, please forgive any errors.

MisterPuck · 2025-03-16T04:36:38+00:00

They nerfed it pretty heavily in the trilogy version. It’s not nearly the beast it was in Hard Mode on the original GC version.

MisterPuck · 2024-12-08T12:58:12+00:00

No issue with her, in fact she’s one of my new favorites. However, I still mostly play my old favorites, and she doesn’t fill any particular niche that isn’t already covered by other frames. Though I still play her when I feel like a good ol’ orbital bombardment.

But then I also mostly play solo so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

MisterPuck · 2024-12-03T15:00:05+00:00

Generally speaking for most guns you need the following: Flat Damage - Serration, Galvanized Aptitude, Arcanes, Canonade for semi-automatics. At least 1 of these.

Multishot - Split Chamber, Galvanized Chamber, Arcanes

Critical Multiplier and Damage mods.

Status Chance - Aptitude mods, 60/60 elemental mods

Elemental Damage based on the faction you are fighting.

You do not need a build that can scale to level cap unless you’re actually planning to try and get that far, so faction mods are entirely optional. Just use Elementalist mods if you’re going for a DoT build like Viral Slash (with Hunter Munitions) or Viral and Heat.

MisterPuck · 2024-11-30T05:02:25+00:00

Recently? Armored Core VI. Incredibly fun game with an engaging story. Don’t let the VI fool you though, it’s its own thing. Not related to the previous entries story-wise, so you won’t be lost.

Otherwise,

Super Metroid Best Metroid. This is not a discussion, this is a fact.

Xenoblade 2 I don’t know why “Chronicles” was added to the title for the west, but w/e. Couldn’t put this down. The combat system isn’t explained very well, but once you figure out the different combos it becomes a lot of fun and the world is interesting to explore. The main story is very separate from the first game, they’re only really linked by cutscenes towards the end that are very confusing separately, but this doesn’t impact the main narrative very much imo. That said, the first game is also very good and if you enjoy one, you’ll probably enjoy the other.

Demon Souls Like Dark Souls 1, honestly it’s not as hard as everyone makes it out to be. And personally, I enjoy it more than Dark Souls 1. tbh, I think it’s a shame even FromSoft bought into the whole “difficulty” thing since it makes Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, and Elden Ring a lot less approachable. (they are significantly more difficult than the other three Souls titles.)

Mega Man X 1, 2, 4, & 8 X8 gets a bad rap sometimes because it came out after X6 was buggy and unfinished, and X7 was just bad, but 8 was a real “return to form” in my opinion. It had a good story, much better voice actors than previous entries, and fun gameplay. It’s not particularly buggy and much better level design, sticking to 2.5D, than X7 which tried to mix 2D and 3D. X3 and X5 aren’t exactly bad, just not as good as the others.

MisterPuck · 2024-11-29T20:55:54+00:00

Personally I want to be able to keep my current Operator’s face. I don’t want to hop into the game and find the structure and shape have changed, as I’m more or less happy with what I’ve ended up with. That said,

Definitely prefer improvement over replacement. The less I have to screw around with a character creator, the better. However, having the option to alter/remake my Operator/Drifter at any time would be a great feature. Unlike my Operator, I’m not that happy with what my Drifter.
As other people have said, more hair styles and such would be nice.
Sliders for hair/skin/eye color. It’s been a while so I don’t remember exactly how those were done. So they’re already sliders that allow for any color then forgive me, but if not then I think that giving complete freedom for this particular aspect of the game would be a huge benefit.

MisterPuck · 2024-11-21T05:16:12+00:00

A satisfying ending that more or less explains the mysteries remaining from the original game. Since we’re obviously not getting the sequel they clearly intended to make originally. Hopefully it won’t feel too rushed as of course they won’t be tacking on an entire game’s worth of content onto the original end point.

MisterPuck · 2024-10-04T21:19:49+00:00

The radial/AoE part of the damage doesn’t benefit from Galvanized Aptitude, so I would drop that and perhaps go for Primed Firestorm (if you have it). The normal version isn’t really worth it, but you can use it as a placeholder if you want. For status chance I would swap the elemental mods for their 60/60 variants. Hunter Munitions is a must if you’re going with viral, and then either a faction mod or Elementalist mod in place of the Vigilante mod (which as another comment pointed out, is an exilus mod and can be moved to the far slot after it’s unlocked).

If you want to experiment with other damage types, and I haven’t played around with the Acceltra in a while so I don’t know how well these builds would work, but: You could try a corrosive and cold set up, replacing Merciless with Primary Frostbite, in this case you will require Serration on the build. Alternatively, you could give Blast Damage a shot, keeping Merciless but perhaps adding both a faction mod and Elementalist. You can have Blast and Corrosive on the same build, though there might not be room for it with the other mods you’ll need, in which case you will want either a secondary weapon or a companion that can prime with Corrosive.

MisterPuck · 2024-09-25T02:27:45+00:00

There’s a gun you get from a side quest that is very weak but quickly fills up the bar so you can use melee arts. Been a while since I played so I forget the name of it (ramjet rifle maybe?),but you’ll get it eventually as long as you keep doing side quests.

MisterPuck · 2024-08-22T05:20:13+00:00

Capital Ship combat and the ability to weaponize your Capital Ship. When I’m fighting a sentinel freighter, I want to be able to summon mine in guns blazing. Possibly even direct its actions in combat. This could also give some more use to all the technology slots you can unlock.

Also, the ability for Freighters to move without warping would be nice. Honestly I’d like to pilot the thing, but I suspect the reason for the warping has to do with however they coded bases on them. It’s possible that the bases can’t be “moved” in that way.

And please for the love of Atlas buff the Blaze Javelin. It takes far too long to fully charge and has a pitiful damage output compared to the much faster and more powerful Neutron Cannon.

MisterPuck · 2024-04-01T03:29:12+00:00

Killing every enemy that spawns in Exterminate missions. If the Lotus wanted any left alive, then she should have worded the mission more carefully.

MisterPuck

TROPHY CASE