Game:

Super Metroid (1994)

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Show

Duration: 2:28:01

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Originally recorded: February 11, 2024
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I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when KI told me Goemon 3 was the best game of the Super Famicom tetralogy. After all, the second game was such a significant improvement over the original. Plus, I generally tend focusing on stages in platformers as opposed to dealing with an overworld more complex than an overglorified menu -- so hearing word that this game was going for a more "Zelda-style" format didn't exactly convince me that things were only going to get better.

That being said, I'm also generally willing to admit when I'm wrong... at least as long as I can remember it.

I wish there was a better term for the style of platformer this game turned out to be. It's clearly in the "Metroidvania"/"Search Action" family, but those terms don't exactly represent what I'm talking about well enough. You know, games with multiple "smaller" maps as opposed to a single, giant one where you pretty much spend the entire campaign. The Shantae games are probably the best comparisons I can make off the top of my head. It's a shame that most of those games tend to draw direct inspiration from Super Metroid or SotN in terms of their overall layouts.

But what I really find the most surprising is how it feels like the Impact sections were flipped on their head from the last time. I generally had fun smashing through areas to stock up Impact's energy and pipe bombs before, but in 3, it was kind of a drag. Of course, considering just how much the actual fight itself improved, that's a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. They gimped what essentially amounts to a mini-game in favor of improving both the visibility and responsiveness of the actual fight itself.

I'm also really digging the fact that Goemon's weapon is permanently set at "Level 2", even if it means losing out on the cool factor of the fully-powered weapon. Turning the cat statues into pieces of heart was also pretty cool. I just wish I knew what the elephant statues did in the previous two games. At least 3 outright states that they serve as a full map of the current area. I'm still kicking myself for missing one of the cat statues in the first level though. KI's been replaying the game to refresh their memory about it -- that's why they didn't show for this first session. I asked them if you ever get a chance to revisit it and while their answer wasn't exactly confident, they did seem to think it's more than likely that I'll get my chance at some point.

There was a bit of controversy surrounding this game's translation when it was first released, particularly with a term that was used in some of the dialogue. Admittedly, I didn't know which version of the translation patch I got... but I did at least trip one of those landmines in this first session. According to KI, I ended up with the sanitized version after all. Still a bit of a shock to see the word this version used pop up regardless.

I think the weirdest part is just how different the translations between the second and third Goemons feel. Ganbare Goemon 2 feels like something that actually could've been released by Nintendo of America back in the day, with goofy dialogue and the use of "Hades" as opposed to "Hell" near the game's conclusion. The third game, on the other hand, seems to be more in line with a standard fan translation, focusing on accuracy over era-specific accuracy. It makes me wonder which path the fourth game is going to take...

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