Final destination, no items, Fox Hound only: Gargoyle's Quest & Metal Gear 2 | Metroidvania Works 23
1,205We bring the first decade of Metroidvania evolution to a close with a game that doesn't quite fit the definition of the format, calling back more to the likes of Zelda II with its multi-viewpoint design and dungeon-oriented structure. Still, Gargoyle's Quest does a lot of interesting things with the idea of exploratory action and absolutely deserves a place at the table in any discussion of what it means to be a metroidvania.
Meanwhile, Metal Gear's true sequel, Solid Snake, more or less marks a departure for its particular style of adventure from the evolutionary trends of mainline action-RPGs. With the likes of Zelda III and SoulBlazer on the horizon, Metal Gear's emphasis on stealth and real-world settings seems out of step with the genre's trends and speaks to the series' eventual place as the anchor of its own distinct segment of gaming... and by "eventual" I mean "after taking a nearly decade-long break."
And with this, we've completed the first phase of Metroidvania Works. The series will return to explore the ’90s... but like Metal Gear's canonization, it'll happen "eventually." However, before that, all those intriguing games like Willow and Strider mean that 1989 beckons for a proper exploration on NES...
Special thanks to episode to Michael Drucker for helping to track down a copy of Metal Gear 2!
Production notes:
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Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! Look forward to SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I in August and Metroidvania: The First Decade in 2024.
NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Game Boy footage captured from Super Game Boy 2 on one-chip Super NES. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.