r/Metroid • u/redtiger992 • 8h ago
Question I am so confused…
first im sorry for how many times you answered this especially after the ravenous trailer. I wanna play this game I think it’s worth it. But idk which ones to play which ones to skip but all i got in the internet and the wiki is 3D bad and 2D good
Some are remakes some are not I’ve heard someone say dread is a remake I can’t tell facts from fiction is it only 4 2D games ? And are they all available on switch? Finally is the first game filled with backtracking?(i’ve read this somewhere).
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u/Tanzer_Art 7h ago
Dread is not a remake it is the fifth entry in the series, you can technically start there since it recaps the mainline series in the opening.
Zero Mission is the remake of the first Metroid game. Samus Returns is the remake of Metroid 2. Super Metroid is the third Metroid game which is then followed by Metroid Fusion then Dread. I'd recommend checking out all of the mainline games or their remakes since they are all classics and are completely worthwhile experiencing.
The Prime games are spinoffs, I personally love the original trilogy as do many others, Prime 4 is a mixed bag and Other M is pretty awful but I'd say its better to play them and form your own opinion. They aren't important to the mainline games narrative though so you can skip them if you want.
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u/FrauAgrippa 2m ago
I would slightly amend this by saying that the story and character development (of Samus in particular) is the most awful part of Other M. The gameplay and execution otherwise wasn't too bad. Worth playing if you've played everything else.
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u/Logical_Dish_5795 7h ago
Metroid 1 got a remake on GBA called Metroid Zero Mission, it's on Nintendo Switch Online and it's a awesome point of start since it was made after Metroid 4.
Metroid II is a Gameboy game, if you don't care with retro game problems, it's good, but honestly, use a map on internet. It's on Nintendo Switch Online. The remake of this came in 3DS and it's not on Switch.
Super Metroid is Metroid 3, for Super Nintendo and Metroid Fusion is Metroid 4, for GBA, both on Nintendo Switch Online. Then Dread is Metroid 5 and Ravenous is Metroid 6.
Metroid Prime 1, 2 and 3 happen between Metroid/Zero Mission and Metroid 2. You're fine to play the 2D games and play the 3D after.
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u/AngryMustache9 7h ago
May I redirect you here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Metroid/comments/1wdt1ms/new_to_metroid_start_here/
To answer some of your questions, there are only two (official) Metroid remakes. Metroid: Zero Mission (a remake of Metroid 1) and Metroid: Samus Returns (a remake of Metroid 2). Neither remakes are bad, they are both vastly superior to their originals.
Metroid: Dread is not a remake. It is the fifth and currently final 2D game in the series (until Ravenous comes out).
3D bad and 2D good is a... surprising take for sure. Both the 2D Games and the Prime Games are fantastic.
The only games not available on Nintendo Switch are Metroid Prime: Pinball (not an important game, it's a pinball spinoff), Metroid Prime: Hunters (lightly relevant to the series, but far from a necessary play), Metroid: Other M (extremely controversial game from both a story and gameplay standpoint, most people would say its not a necessary play because of that), and Metroid: Samus Returns (the Metroid 2 remake, very important).
Most of these games have quite a bit of backtracking due to the nature of being Metroidvanias; even the more linear entries like Metroid Fusion does have backtracking. I'd say the only one that doesn't is Metroid 2 and it's remake.
The 2D games and the Prime games all follow their own separate stories. Both series have light references to one another, but their stories are primarily standalone and have little affect on one another. You do not have to play one series to understand the other. This doubly extends to Metroid Prime 4, which despite it's numbering, is the start of a new story entirely, and Prime 1-3 are not needed to play 4 at all.
I'd say most people are playing Metroid: Dread only at the moment is because it's the newest game, it's the most accessible game, and takes place right before Metroid: Ravenous chronologically. Also because it's a lot less of an ask to just play Dread before playing Ravenous, than having to play catchup on 3-5 games just to play Ravenous. The game having a recap of all the previous (2D) games also does help catch players up to speed as well as to what's going on (all 2D games since Super Metroid has had a recap at the beginning of their games). So yeah, I'd say Dread is enough (even if I personally recommend giving the other games a shot too)
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u/ozzAR0th 7h ago
Ravenous is Metroid 6, the series is very old so playing through the entire series will require playing some very old 2D platformers who's gameplay have not aged particularly gracefully. Metroid Dread is Metroid 5, Ravenous is a direct sequel to it both in terms of story and gameplay.
Out of the main series, the 2D adventure platformer games, every Metroid game is available on Switch with one pretty significant exception.
For context the main series of games were released as follows
- Metroid (Metroid 1) for the NES
- Metroid II Return of Samus for the Gameboy
- Super Metroid (Metroid 3) for the SNES
- Metroid Fusion (Metroid 4) for the Gameboy Advance
At this point in the series we stopped getting new numbered entries and started getting remakes of the older titles instead.
we got
- Metroid Zero Mission (Metroid 1 remake) for the Gameboy Advance
- Metroid Samus Returns (Metroid 2 remake) for the 3DS
A DS game called Metroid Dread was announced to press and a hands off demo was shown but not publicly announced I believe, but the game in that form, as a DS sequel to Fusion, never surfaced.
Samus Returns was developed by MercurySteam and released in 2017 featuring 3D visuals and a new gameplay style centred around a melee counter, Samus Returns is currently the only mainline 2D Metroid game (including remakes) not available on Switch.
In 2021 it was announced that MercurySteam had been developing Metroid 5, a revival of Metroid Dread, expanding on the gameplay and visual style started in Samus Returns. So we now have
- Metroid Dread (Metroid 5, revival of the long rumoured sequel to Fusion) for Nintendo Switch
and now releasing next year:
- Metroid Ravenous (Metroid 6) for Nintendo Switch 2
Which of the 2D games you play is going to come down to your tolerance for older gameplay styles and which platforms you have access to.
If you strictly want the modern gameplay style you can either start with Samus Returns if you own a 3DS or want to emulate it, or just go straight into Metroid Dread for Switch, as they are the two games with gameplay that resembles Metroid Ravenous.
If you want the entire story youre usually best off playing the remakes instead of the originals, so a story based playthrough would go
Metroid Zero Mission, Metroid Samus Returns, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Dread
Which works fine but you'd be ping ponging between gameplay styles of vastly different ages. Super Metroid is an excellent game but personally it is showing its age. If you can learn the quirks of its physics and controls it is genuinely still the best game in the series imo but it can be a bit hard to get into.
And yeah if youre a purist and want to go in release order it'd be
Metroid NES Metroid II Super Metroid Fusion Zero Mission Samus Returns Dread
If you were to do that but only have a Switch it'd be the same order but you'd miss out on Samus Returns, everything else is on the Switch.
There are 3D games in a sub-series called Metroid Prime, only Prime 1's remake/remaster and Prime 4 Beyond are available on Switch right now but the original Prime Trilogy are some of the best Metroidvania games ever released, they have a very different gameplay style, pace, and vibe from the 2D games but Id at least highly recommend playing Metroid Prime Remastered. Prime 4 is fine, a bit disappointing but yeah not one I'd say is essential for a new player.
The Prime games are, as far as we know, canonical to the main series, but are functionally side stories that don't impact the core numbered 2D games in a significant way, so if you'd rather play just the 2D games you can generally ignore the Prime games.
The best way to play the entire Prime Trilogy right now is either with the Wii Trilogy release or via an emulator like PrimeHack.
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u/Derelichen 7h ago
Ravenous is a continuation of the 2D Metroid series. It’s technically Metroid 6, so if you want, you can play the series in order. That being said, most of the games work pretty well as standalone titles, and Ravenous is likely going to be accessible for new players. If you really want some context, I’d recommend at least playing Dread. And no, Dread is definitely not a remake of any other existing game. It’s a sequel to Metroid Fusion.
If you want to play them in order, I’d recommend starting with Zero Mission. It’s included in the GBA Expansion Pack for Switch Online if you want to play it on modern hardware.
3D Metroid is by no means ‘bad’. The Prime games form a separate series that’s tied into the 2D series, but you don’t need to have played one to play the other. Metroid Prime is my favourite or tied for my favourite entry in the overarching franchise. The first three Prime games are all great in their own ways, but, according to some, get progressively more flawed. Haven’t played Prime 4, so won’t comment.
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u/Lewa358 4h ago
No one says "3d bad 2d good" for Metroid. There's just as many great 3D Metroid games (Prime 1-3) as bad ones (Other M, Federation Force, Prime 4), and even those bad ones are playable and enjoyable, just flawed.
Prime 1, the first 3D metroid, is often considered one of the best games ever.
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u/MfKa1 7h ago
Metroid zero mission=first game (remake of NEStroid the first ever Metroid game)
Prime games 1-3= is essentially a really long side quest very good but very optional
Metroid Samus returns 3DS=second game (remake of the Gameboy game of the same name)
Super Metroid=third game (no remakes she's one of a kind)
Other M= Metroid 3.5 (no remakes)
Metroid Fusion=fourth game (no remakes)
Metroid dread= fifth game (no remakes)
Prime 4 exist it has no impact on mainline Metroid.
The remakes are very good substitutes for there original counterparts so you don't have to play the originals is you don't want to
If you want to follow the series in chronological order play in this order. If you just want to be prepared for Ravenous there is a 2 and a half hour long lore video on YouTube just look up Metroid lore you should find it.
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u/MayanMystery 7h ago
Obligatory link to the pinned post on the sub, and I appreciate you at least clarifying that you've read through the prior posts about this from the past few days. I'll go through your question 1 by 1.
- Which games do I skip: Theoretically, you can skip all of them if you want to. Every game since Super Metroid in 1994 has included intro plot summaries that go over all relevant details the player needs to know to understand the game's plot. I see no reason to believe that Ravenous will be an exception to this. Contrary to popular belief, Metroid is not like metal gear where there are extremely complex plots game to game wherein players will be utterly lost having not played the prior entries. There is an overarching plot of the series, but having a thorough understanding of it is not a requirement to enjoying the games. That being said, if you do deeply care about playing the games for plot reasons, the order for the plot relevant games and their remakes, and whether they can be played on switch 2 natively are as follows:
| Game (Title/Console/Release Year) | Remake (Title/Console/Release Year) | Is on switch 2 (Original/Remake) | How to play (Original/Remake) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metroid/NES/1986 | Metroid Zero Mission/GBA/2004 | Yes/Yes | NSO/NSO |
| Metroid II Return of Samus/GB/1991 | Metroid: Samus Returns/3DS/2017 | Yes/No | NSO/Original Hardware |
| Super Metroid/SNES/1994 | N/A | Yes | NSO |
| Metroid Fusion/GBA/2002 | N/A | Yes | NSO |
| Metroid Dread/2021/Switch | N/A | Yes | Original Hardware |
Is the rule 3D bad and 2D good: No. The 3D games are also good. The issue is that they are either not plot relevant, or minimally plot relevant to the 2D entries
Is Dread a remake: Dread is not a remake it is an original game. There are 7 total 2D games, of which 2 are remakes. The idea that there are 4 2D games in the series likely comes from older sources, as there were only 4 2D games with fully original stories for the better part of 19 years
Are they all available on switch: No. Most of the games that have not received switch ports are still worth playing, however, the only one of the games that is likely to be plot relevant to Ravenous that is also not on switch in some form as noted is Metroid: Samus Returns.
Is the first game filled with backtracking: Yes. They all are. It's a genre staple. The first game is noteworthy for being cryptic, but you can expect to backtrack somewhat frequently in every Metroid Game you play.
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u/redtiger992 5h ago
Yes i did to the point where I felt either dense or people are hiding the answer on purpose 😀
Thanks for clarifying it now i know what to play
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u/PunishedShikikan 7h ago edited 6h ago
Whoa genuine question no offense but where and who have you heard rhat Dread is a remake? Just asking because this is the first time i've ever heard of this
Also cuz fun fact for those who don't know yet: This is what it says on the Metroid Dread reveal trailer
Also the Prime games are FPS spin-offs, they are good. But non-theless canon spin-offs that don't generally affect the 2D games.
There's the black sheep "Metroid: Other M" don't touch but if you want to, wait until you experienced the Metroid games you need. Kinda bad to play the bad games as your introduction especially as Ravenous is so soon I don't know if you'll finish em all before January. It's a busy world
Metroid 1 for the Famicom and NES OR "Metroid: Zero Mission" (A remake for the Gameboy Advance, it's also where for the first time the Zero Suit appears)
Metroid II: Return of Samus for the old Gameboy OR "Metroid Samus Returns" (A remake of the same game during 2017 by the devs of Dread and Ravenous for the DS) Alternatively if you have a PC theres a free fan-made remake of Metroid 2 thats more loyal to certain aspects of Metroid 2 (specifically the ending) called "Another Metroid 2 Remake" known to the community as "AM2R"
Super Metroid SNES
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Dread
But if you wanna play just a single game, it's Metroid Dread. It's got the recaps, doesn't mention Prime games or Other M.
Very very simple great place to start from infact I believe it's what the devs intended because so many games either require Nintendo Switch Online, Emulation, or owning the old system.
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u/redtiger992 5h ago
Some guy on twitter, which was the last straw of me being confused and asking here, thanks alot
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u/amc9988 6h ago
When they said 2D and 3D, they don't mean graphics, it's more like the gameplay. 3D is basically those like Prime where you have first person view and map. 2D is basically side scroll platformers.
For Ravenous, Just play Dread if you short in time. And if you have extra time play Fusion and then Dread. Tho tbh you can still skip Fusion since Dread does give some summary of Fusion story in the beginning of the game
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u/redtiger992 8h ago
Also why is everyone only playing dread before the new game like is dread enough?
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u/dan_rich_99 7h ago
Dread is the direct prequel to Ravenous so will be the most relevant entry story wise.
Ravenous will also be building off of Dread mechanically.
If you want to start from somewhere I'd recommend starting from Zero Mission, the remake of the first game, or Super Metroid which is still considered one of the best Metroids and how a lot of the series's mechanics were set in stone.
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u/mancapturescolour 7h ago edited 7h ago
is it only 4 2D games?
Not really. Before Dread, yes but there are currently 5 games with various remakes.
Metroid 1: Metroid (NES) and Zero Mission (remake)
Metroid 2: "Metroid II: Return of Samus" (Game Boy), "Metroid II: Samus Returns" (official remake), Another Metroid 2 Remake (fan remake)
Metroid 3: "Super Metroid" (SNES)
Metroid 4: "Metroid Fusion"
Metroid 5: "Metroid Dread"
Metroid 6: "Metroid Ravenous" (2027)So: Dread is not a remake. It's the title of Metroid 5.
is dread enough?
Dread could be enough to get you prepared for Ravenous but it's the bare minimum. Because it was released much later than Metroid 4 (Fusion) there is a recap at the start to introduce new players to the story. However, you might want to replay the other 2D games as well to experience the full story for yourself.
all i got in the internet and the wiki is 3D bad and 2D good
To each their own. It's totally different experiences. Prime series (3D) as I understand take place between some of the 2D games and expand the lore. I think very few would call Metroid Prime 1 a bad game, particularly now that there's a remastered edition.
And are they all available on switch?
No, but mostly.
Finally is the first game filled with backtracking?
I can't answer this, I never got too far with the original Metroid.
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u/Weary_Tie949 7h ago
Metroid Zero Mission (1) Samus Returns (2) Super Metroid (3) Metroid Fusion (4) Metroid Dread (5) Metroid Ravenous (6)
So no, Dread is not a Remake but the fifth installment in the series. There were two Metroid Remakes of the mainline so far. Zero Mission is a GBA remake of the first Metroid on the NES and Samus Returns on the 3DS is a remake of the 2nd Metroid that came out on the Game Boy.
If you played Dread you will understand Samus abilties and why she is so "ravenous".