Metroid Violinist's Hack Reviews - Metroid Construction

Metroid: Return to Zebes by alexman25 [ MZM

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jan 19, 2019 (

)

26% in 0:53

My updated review of Return to Zebes (2.4.6)

Game time: 0.40.04
Percentage: 56%

Found some cool sequence breaks that let me beat the game really quickly with few items, I got loads of missiles and etanks though, but my first playthough of this version was fun and could probably be optimized, I got plasma after wave then fought ridley, got gravity and went back to ship- so I barely played the whole new version- lol.

OLD POST:
Overall a pretty fun hack, although I wish there was more. There were a couple of tiling errors and there, and some of the bosses were a bit too difficult for me, I found that this was an overall fun hack.

One last note: That music was AWESOME!...

-See you next mission-

Retroid by ProjectXVIII [

Unknown], rated by Metroid Violinist on May 02, 2020 (

)

32% in 1:08

A great remake of the first game, got stuck underneath the Tourian bridge even after beating both bosses, but nevertheless it was great.

I loved that it included the original "save" system NEStroid had.

Mintroid by Golden Warrior [ MZM

Quick Play], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jun 23, 2020 (

)

92% in 0:20

I just completed Mintroid, I thought it was a pretty good hack, although ZM blue oddity during transitons, and as Alexman25 said above, some ugly palettes, but good job nevertheless.

Ancient Chozo by Albert V. [

Vanilla+], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jul 03, 2020 (

)

81% in 4:13

The perfect way to replay through Super Metroid if you've gotten bored of the original game after playing numerous times, again and again. This changed up a lot and I personally loved every change, even if I got lost a few times- lol.

Thank you so much for making this hack, Albert V.

AMNR - Nes Mission by The Brothers Crafters [ MZM

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jul 03, 2020 (

)

% in 1:14

COULDN'T COMPLETE! (Completion Time is the time at my final save-point)

Plasma Pirates at blue ship gate couldn't be killed due to no plasma-

I liked the hack until Pirate Ship, only real problems were varia transformation bug and lava effects appearing out of lava- I was able to kill Ridley first which was awesome.

I would've given 5 stars, but the Pirate Ship segment was just the original, but filled with Plasma Pirates and was unable to complete escape sequence.

Metroid: Recovery Mission by alexman25 [ MZM

Spoof], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jul 07, 2020 (

)

100% in 0:29

Amazing hack, by far the best thing you've done Alex-

Super Metroid - GBA Edition by The Brothers Crafters [ MZM

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Dec 21, 2020 (

)

77% in 1:20

This hack was decent, however- the more and more I played it, the more I just wanted to play the original Super Metroid. I watched Alexman25's video on this hack, and had a bad first impression, upon playing it myself I noticed a few things were fixed (ie. Norfair elevator) but some things like the cutscene after boss deaths were completely fucked. Sad to see no Phantoon replacement either.

Overall, hack was okay but made me realize SM doesn't need a remake, it's fine as is and would really only benefit from a graphic overhaul. Just play the original SM.

Animals "Saved"- lol

P.S. Please ask before using others' gfx work- :P

Metroid Laboratory Mission by Arthsoldier [ MZM

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jul 01, 2022 (

)

No completion stats.

(This may be a pointlessly long review, I suck at condensing things.)
I won't be the first to say this, and I probably won't be the last; this hack is very poorly made on a general level.

I hate to sound crass and be harsh, but I got perma-locked when playing the game as intended(?)
I'd let something like this slide if this were the first version of the hack and was subsequently fixed in a "Day-One" patch, but as far as I can tell, the update fails to address the issues I faced.

This hack lacks any form of polish, doors are placed weird, the layouts of the rooms and map are generally confusing, stale, and over-all, needlessly cramped, etc. etc.

Unfortunate, as you likely have a passion for making Metroid hacks/fan-games (why else would you have made this, otherwise?). But, consider spending a few extra hours polishing and fully playing through the hack to make sure it's actually beatable.

I entered this hack as open-mindedly as I could, seeing as it's your first hack, it's obviously going to lack polish and generally be a poor experience, but this is genuinely a low-point in the poor hacks I've played throughout my time.

I hope the issues I, and others have brought to light are addressed, and improved upon in the future, you can do this.

Junkoid by P. Yoshi, Mindflower [

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Feb 01, 2023 (

)

No completion stats.

Phenomenal use of existing, edited, and original assets, completed the hack in less than 3 hours. Got just about all of the items there were to give.

The level design really lent well to NEStroid's physics and I really appreciated a lot of the themes and visual uniqueness of each area. This hack is extremely well put together and I could see it being something that could've been released alongside NEStroid and Kid Icarus.

I appreciated a lot of the polish and extra stuff put here, such as the manual and cover arts, truly felt like an experience only the NES-era could give.

Nothing negative to comment on, truly. A well done hack.

Project Base 0.8.1 by begrimed [

Improvement], rated by Metroid Violinist on Feb 15, 2023 (

)

85% in 2:03

This review may seem redundant given that this hack has already received so much praise, but this is truly a near-perfect way to re-experience Super Metroid. Any criticisms I had during play were so minor that they might as well have been nitpicks, especially since I had forgotten the few gripes I had by the time I was finished. Beautiful use of vanilla and edited tiles, extra movement options, and level edits were done to perfection, and I was finally fully immersed in a game in which I had trouble immersing myself in after such a long time.

This hack is almost exactly what I would've wanted as a kid when I played the original, and it does everything I would've done perfectly if I had made a similarly styled hack.

This hack is so masterfully crafted that I would recommend it to anyone looking for their first Metroid experience. Because if this isn't a perfect example of what Metroid is at its core, I'm not sure what is.

Metroid: Salt Mission by alexman25 [ MZM

Spoof], rated by Metroid Violinist on Apr 03, 2023 (

)

4% in 0:04

A compelling story full of passion and the true mark of a great writer.

Despite being a short hack made only for April Fools, I had my fun with it and got a few laughs out of it. It does what it set out to do well, and I hope to see more April Fools hacks from you, cheers.

Super Duper Metroid by Metaquarius, Daltone [

Exploration], rated by Metroid Violinist on Jan 12, 2024 (

)

79% in 3:55

Its a phenomenal hack with a few minor gripes. I enjoyed how truly open the world was, letting me explore each area basically however I wanted, and at no point did the openness feel like a negative. Super Duper Metroid gives players an experience that evokes that of the original game, however, far more rewarding to those knowledgeable on some of the movement tech.

That being said, it isn't perfect:
Whilst I found X-Ray far more useful than in the base game, as others have pointed out, its a bit inconsistent. In addition, I thought the Charge-beam's location and the route leading to it were not very clear. I had spent longer than I'd like to admit finding it.

I also found myself soft-locked in one of Maridia's morph tunnels, specifically the one where you have to guide the snail to break away some sand tiles (due in part to a collision error.) However, it wasn't too much of a dent on my enjoyment, as I had recently saved (Though, I can definitely see it being an issue for those who don't save often.)

Even if you aren't a veteran in terms of skill-level (I'm no expert on the game myself), I'd recommend Super Duper Metroid to anyone looking for a Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels treatment of Super Metroid.

EDIT: Changed the item collection rate to the actual percentage I acquired and adjusted the overall rating to 5 orbs, as despite the few flaws, it deserves the highest rating possible.

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