Super Metroid: Dependence
Release date: Feb 27, 2007
Author: Black Telomeres
Download: Version 2 [UH] (986 downloads)
Download: Version 2 [H] (506 downloads)
Genre: Exploration [?]
Game: SM
Difficulty: Unknown [?]
Average runtime: 5:23
Average collection: 92%
Read Me: [None]
Forum Thread: [None]
Rating: Star Star Star Star Star
Description
de·pen·dence
n.
3. The state of being determined, influenced, or controlled by something else.
4. A compulsive or chronic need; an addiction

Super Metroid: Dependence is a full level design/layout hack, focusing more specifically on individual room design. It's a bit more non-linear than some previous hacks, and maybe even more so than the original Super Metroid. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.

Since there are very few save points in the game, I'd advise save state use. And unlike some of the other Super Metroid hacks, there are map machines around. However, if you use them, beware the icons on the map, they're incorrect. If I had enough hex expertise to change them, I would have. The map itself is correct though, although like in the original Super Metroid, it conceals more than it tells.

The following are some random things I think you should know about the game before beginning, although if you're strictly hardcore and you want to figure out absolutely everything at the cost of maybe a bit more trouble, then you can skip the rest.

There are a couple of different branches you can go off on depending on which order you want to face different bosses in, and thus you can also make the game easier or much harder by following diverging paths. If you find the path you're going down seems a bit too hard for the level of equipment you have at the time, try experimenting and looking for different ways in other sections of the planet.

If you go to the Wrecked Ship with only 2 energy tanks or less, and it's very possible that you may do so, then heaven help you, for you will not be prepared for what will await you there. Unless you're very good at fighting Phantoon.

Also, the spring ball is now a required item. If you can beat the game without it, congratulations, you're probably superhuman. But I'm pretty sure it's required.

There are also a few sequence breaking opportunities in the game. To give you an idea: With some decent ingenuity, 2 b
Screenshots
Screenshot Screenshot
Ratings and Reviews
By squishy_ichigo on Apr 11, 2015 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
By Zhs2 on May 08, 2015 (Star Star Star Star Star )
87% in 5:27
I wanted to say this hack was kind of cool and did some neat things, but... it didn't. It's an old grandpappy decade-charged fart of a hack made of terrible tiling and even more terrible design decisions. It's alright if you love rooms with like 8/5000 tiles made of shot blocks that you need to shoot to proceed and fun grappling sequences, I guess. In summary, Black Telomeres would get fired really quickly if he was a building architect.
By Aran;Jaeger on Dec 08, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 4:02
[Watch Video]  
No animals to be saved.

Quick Summary of the meaning of my SM hack ratings:
5 orbs: SM hacks within the 80% to 100% (90% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; SM hacks for outstanding wholesome playing experiences and at most minor inconveniences.
4 orbs: SM hacks within the 60% to 80% (70% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Well done SM hacks with noticeable design problems.
3 orbs: SM hacks within the 40% to 60% (50% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Normal decent average SM hacks.
2 orbs: SM hacks within the 20% to 40% (30% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Overall messy, confusing, or punishing SM hacks with some upsides.
1 orb : SM hacks within the 00% to 20% (10% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Ruthlessly unplayable, broken, or barely from the original game changed SM hacks.

Judgement parameters summary:
° Creative ideas and features, polished design, how enjoyable and fun the hack can be, lack of hard to find or cryptic required game elements, the difficulty, and if the hack can be finished without major guides or tools.
° Note that the length of a SM hack will not necessarily contribute to my rating of the SM hack, since instead the averaged out experience over the whole hack will be taken into account to get a relative comparison between SM hacks.
° Besides this, lack of impactful changes from the original SM game also went into the evaluation of SM hacks (otherwise one may consider them among the 3 stars hacks) as follows: Ultimately, for my ratings I consider a situation in which an SM enthusiast that already has, knows about and is familiar with the original game and its prominent mechanics could only choose 1 new SM hack to play and thus would really want to make sure he/she will get a fresh and fantastic experience or journey out of his/her 1 choice.

The goal of all these SM hack ratings is so that rather new players have an overview of the whole spectrum of SM hacks and how to sort them in, in relation to each other, where SM hacks that are rated lower might still be enjoyable for more experienced players.

Finally, sometimes for SM hacks it can be relevant that they may be significantly more enjoyable from a player standpoint at which the player is well practiced and familiarized with Super Metroid's game mechanics in general, and that in particular some of the best SM hacks may not be the outright best first SM hack choices to play otherwise because of this, and for beginner SM hack players this typically steers the best first SM hack choices towards some of the SM hacks that I rated with 4 orbs instead of 5.

Rating for some hacks may be off by 1 Star, but arguably not more, and ratings are not attempted to be provided within the precision of ''half orbs''.
By Pixel_Tiger on Jul 01, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
95% in 10:33
Good hack if you know how to set rules for savestating!
By Black Luster Soldier on May 12, 2018 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 2:13
Not a good hack, but not terrible either. There is a severe lack of Save Stations in the game, there are some questionable design choices (such as the spikes in some rooms in ProtoTourian (this hack's version of Maridia) and the possibility of getting stuck in the escape sequence). I do not recommend playing this on console.

Still not as bad as Black Telomeres's other hack, Golden Dawn.
By caauyjdp on Nov 08, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
97% in 8:55
Spent about 13 hours on this.
Hack starts with 60 damage spikes(fact that you could have found an etank before that doesn't matter). It doesn't get better. It has some neat moments. Red crateria norfair is one. Boss rooms are... memorable?
Hack likes to hide progression path sometimes. It loves one way passaegs that make you backtrack through couple other areas to get back to where you just were.
Not enough save stations.
It seems like escape is really trollish, but maybe I just haven't found "correct" path.
One item requires clipping through blocks(twice) as far as I can tell.
Avoid.
By PHOSPHOTiDYL on Oct 06, 2022 (Star Star Star Star Star )
67% in 4:06
Really does need a few more save stations...

Thankz for the hack!!
By RX-78-2 on Jun 18, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
99% in 3:38
it's not that good of a hack but I give it 3 orbs because it could be worse.. it isn't the best or the worst hack and for that, I'll give it a 5/10.. I wouldn't recommend playing this unless you like rage quitting ALOT.. the boss and miniboss fights are annoying to no end and the way those boss/miniboss rooms are set up is just plain dumb to me (except BT tho).. but yeah if you wanna ruin your day and waste hours of your time then this is the hack for you :)
By ClaireDiviner on Mar 18, 2024 (Star Star Star Star Star )
88% in 4:14
[Watch Video]  
This was an interesting full hack. Definitely not for the casual players, but isn't hard enough for me to consider this a challenge hack in the same way Super Hard Metroid, or even Super T-Metroid were. There wasn't anything that stands out in this hack, however; it's pretty standard. That said, I do have two issues with this:

- The path forward in ProtoTourian (Maridia): There are Power Bomb blocks at a ceiling in a Metroid room that would more than likely not be seen by the player. The X-Ray Scope cannot reach that high, unless the player had the forethought to freeze one of the Metroids, and use them as platforms. You can bomb the ceiling to reveal them, but the position of said blocks means the player would more often than not have had to find them by accident. It could've been implemented better, and be made more transparent to the player.

- Red herrings: There are a few doors in this hack that cannot be reached, and the player is given the impression that there's some kind of secret way into the door, or some path that leads out of it. The truth is that these doors go nowhere, and are simply there to piss people off. Case in point, there's a blue door in the room where Screw Attack is acquired that is normally unreachable. When X-Ray Climbing, one can reach said door. Entering it will take the player to another Lower Norfair room that can be reached elsewhere, making that door above the Screw Attack absolutely pointless.

Other gripes include the path forward in Tourian being one of those hidden paths that X-Ray can't reveal, etc. Also, I must be superhuman as Black Telomeres says I could be, because I did not find the Spring Ball, nor could I find it, so it was not for a lack of trying. If anyone knows where that hidden sumbitch is, I'd love to know.

Those issues out of the way, everything else is pretty straightforward. Some parts can be seen as challenging to the average player, while to veterans, not so much. I think the biggest selling point for this game, more than anything, for better or worse, is its open-endedness, as the player can take almost any route they want to proceed. Of course, this means some parts of the game will become harder, depending on where one chooses to go first, but that's part of the charm. Overall, I give this a 3/5.

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