There are many moments in my gaming life that I will never forget. The final battle in "Paper Mario". My sweet, sweet victory over Red in "Pokemon Gold". But among all of those, there may be none as memorable as the opening sequence in "Metroid Prime".
When I was around nine years old, I didn't know what to expect. A lot of my friends were into "Halo", and my parents bought me a game that, at least on the cover, looked a lot like it. I wasn't at all expecting such a creepy, dark, and yet completely engrossing experience.
Dead Space Pirates were everywhere. Everything was quiet. The entire frigate was in ruin. Parasites were running everywhere. Turrets, left behind by their masters, operated unaware that their own home was in any danger. And at the end of it all, a huge, bulking, frightening monster awaited me, and did battle.
As far as my gaming standards were concerned back then, the game could've well ended by then, but nope: I still had a whole planet left to explore. The world was my playground. At first, of course, I couldn't do anything but jump and shoot, but after collecting various power-ups, I felt like some sort of superhero. And yet, I was still vulnerable. Still alone in this dark, evil world. And of course, still afraid of many creatures.
The first Metroid kept me awake for days. I had never played a Metroid game before, but when that first jellyfish monster latched on to me, I felt this intense feeling of "OhgodIneedtogetthisgodforsakenthingoffme".
The many puzzles were amazing too. They were never impossibly hard, but some of them were quite challenging. I remember being stumped in the temple in Phendrana, trying to think of how to get two Chozo Shamans to meet.
I could go on and on and on. This game is an amazing cavalcade of not only childhood memories, but also intense gameplay and a very intriguing story, if you're willing to look for it, that is. If you can find this gem, pick it up right now. You owe it to yourself.
Rating: *****
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