Kisequé's Ratings and Reviews
Metroid II EJRTQ Colorization 1.3 by Quantam [
Improvement],
rated by Kisequé on May 25, 2025 (
)
Improvement],
rated by Kisequé on May 25, 2025 ( )
% in 2:14
why is samus black lmao
It's undeniable that Super Junkoid looks and plays better than its predecessor. The art is immaculate and the world design superb, and I don't think it's a hot take to say Super Metroid's engine controls a bit nicer than that of Metroid 1. However, I do feel that it failed to be quite as impactful as Junkoid NES, perhaps due to the higher level of detail leaving less to the imagination, or perhaps due to the original just leaving an impossibly high bar to clear.
One more defined complaint I do have is there were quite a few reüsed elements which rather stuck out. All sound effects were right out of vanilla Super Metroid, as was all of the boss music (and some related tracks); there was also one area that used a reärrangement of the Lower Brinstar theme, and one that just used the vanilla Tourian music (it's possible other areas also borrowed music, but I didn't recognize any of them). All the bosses were just resprited from vanilla (which, to be fair, was also mostly the case for the original, but Super Metroid's bosses have much more advanced behaviour than those of NEStroid, so it's more jarring to have something attacking you the same way as Draygon than it is for a penguin on the other side of a room to be throwing projectiles at you in a similar pattern to Kraid), and there were a couple sequences borrowed from vanilla that felt out of place (one of which was particularly offensive).
I was initially a bit critical of the abilities, but on reflection I think they were adapted really well. Super Metroid's items have more specialized functions than those of Metroid 1, so it's not as easy to reflavour them, but not only were they reflavoured quite cleverly, there are some very cool mechanical changes to make them more unique and fitting as well! There was even a completely custom power-up!.. though I'll admit I entirely forgot about it until I started this review (it wasn't very useful).
All said, know that I am most critical of the things I love the most. While there were moments in Super Junkoid where I felt like I was just playing a Super Metroid ROM hack, there were many more where I was experiencing something wholly original and unique, something brilliant. I do still hold the original Junkoid closer to my heart, the experience it gave me being truly impactful, but Super Junkoid is a fantastic game in its own right, with an incredible setting and magnifiscent execution of the Metroidvania formula, not to mention heaps of effort and passion put into it.
One more defined complaint I do have is there were quite a few reüsed elements which rather stuck out. All sound effects were right out of vanilla Super Metroid, as was all of the boss music (and some related tracks); there was also one area that used a reärrangement of the Lower Brinstar theme, and one that just used the vanilla Tourian music (it's possible other areas also borrowed music, but I didn't recognize any of them). All the bosses were just resprited from vanilla (which, to be fair, was also mostly the case for the original, but Super Metroid's bosses have much more advanced behaviour than those of NEStroid, so it's more jarring to have something attacking you the same way as Draygon than it is for a penguin on the other side of a room to be throwing projectiles at you in a similar pattern to Kraid), and there were a couple sequences borrowed from vanilla that felt out of place (one of which was particularly offensive).
I was initially a bit critical of the abilities, but on reflection I think they were adapted really well. Super Metroid's items have more specialized functions than those of Metroid 1, so it's not as easy to reflavour them, but not only were they reflavoured quite cleverly, there are some very cool mechanical changes to make them more unique and fitting as well! There was even a completely custom power-up!.. though I'll admit I entirely forgot about it until I started this review (it wasn't very useful).
All said, know that I am most critical of the things I love the most. While there were moments in Super Junkoid where I felt like I was just playing a Super Metroid ROM hack, there were many more where I was experiencing something wholly original and unique, something brilliant. I do still hold the original Junkoid closer to my heart, the experience it gave me being truly impactful, but Super Junkoid is a fantastic game in its own right, with an incredible setting and magnifiscent execution of the Metroidvania formula, not to mention heaps of effort and passion put into it.
Super Metroid: Subversion by TestRunner and AmoebaOfDoom [
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 22, 2025 ( )
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 22, 2025 ( )
100% in 12:09
Wghoahh this game was cool. Easily the best Super Metroid ROM hack I've played, which, admittedly it's also the *only* Super Metroid ROM hack I've played, but like if you imagine I've also played a lot of "pretty good" ROM hacks that still applies probably. Like to be honest I just played this because I was procrastinating starting Super Junkoid (I wasn't ready for it idk) but like, it's a whole videogame in here. The base is genuinely on par with the original Super Metroid, I think, and that's before you even get into all the cool new stuff! The story premise is pretty simple (and I think has some continuity errors?) but it's presented really well, the logbook helping to build a really cool world. Some really cool new mechanics and abilities, as well as just applications of existing mechanics. There were also some *really* cool items, like this one Energy Tank I spent *forever* trying to reach but when I finally realized what I had to do it felt so insanely cool.
If you like Super Metroid, you will probably like this game as well because it shares a great many positives with the former.
If you like Super Metroid, you will probably like this game as well because it shares a great many positives with the former.
Junkoid by P. Yoshi, Mindflower [
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 19, 2025 ( )
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 19, 2025 ( )
No completion stats.
When I saw the top-rated hack on Metroid Construction dot com was a NEStroid hack with a title that seemed to be a portmanteu of the original game and "junk", I imagined it would be some silly but highly polished overhaul that was just really fun. What I got instead was one of the most original and evocative pieces of art I've experienced in a long time. I would not shy away from calling this a masterpiece.
Very cool hack. Start was a bit slow, difficulty felt a bit high at times but never more than a fair challenge, biggest complaint is I got a bit lost in terms of progression some times... could have benefited from a stronger map system, one that showed doors and let you view other areas, but I made it through. Storytelling is easily the highlight, definitely a vibe.
Not entirely sure why I'm only giving 4 cheese balls when I seem to only really have nitpicks. Am I perhaps more deeply upset about getting lost than I realize? Did I find the world design, in terms of exploration and progression, a slight bit weak, and the storytelling not impactful enough to make up for it? Am I just burnt out from playing Metroid ROM hacks? No one can tell, but I'm sure the rest of the reviews here can pick up the slack if you're uncertain on whether to give this a try.
Not entirely sure why I'm only giving 4 cheese balls when I seem to only really have nitpicks. Am I perhaps more deeply upset about getting lost than I realize? Did I find the world design, in terms of exploration and progression, a slight bit weak, and the storytelling not impactful enough to make up for it? Am I just burnt out from playing Metroid ROM hacks? No one can tell, but I'm sure the rest of the reviews here can pick up the slack if you're uncertain on whether to give this a try.
Metroid: New Zero Mission by jasinchen [
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 28, 2025 ( 
)
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 28, 2025 ( )
100% in 8:55
Ooghhh...
This is a pretty good Zero Mission "remix". It has a really big map with lots of cool features and environmental storytelling at some points. That said, it also has some rather frustrating parts, like a few one-way shortcuts or item barriers that make you take the long way around as well as ruined Tourian pulling an Infected Crossroads and just, closing a ton of passages and making navigation a pain. Progression was also really frustrating at times... I must have spent upwards of an hour trying to find how to reach the second half of Norfair (false floor à la the original game, but no crawling Nova to indicate it and under a 1-tile gap you're unlikely to actually roll under), upwards of another hour trying to find the Screw Attack (not needed to beat the game but, you know. The path you'd expect to lead to it is blocked by screw blocks itself which led me to look literally everywhere else) and honestly probably 2 or 3 hours looking for the last missile tank in Brinstar (this one isn't progression and it wasn't even something stupid, just some bomb blocks in an unexpected location, but *woww* that was a lot of time I won't get back). Also spent like 10 minutes thinking I was softlocked because I sequence broke only for the way through (which turned out to actually be regular progression, mind you!) to just be hidden Super Missile blocks (I'll admit I have no idea how I didn't find them for so long, there was even some indication), and a long time trying to find the Power Bombs (you're locked in the mothership until you get them like in the original game, and they're not required to beat the game, but the ship is *huge* and they're hidden like a regular secret). HOWEVER the game does have one really cool detail which in addition to just being a really sick concept would have alleviated at least a lot of the time I spent running around Brinstar past midnight—hidden in each main area of the game is a "secret room" with a letter in it. I thought they were just easter eggs or something but actually, they're the password to an encrypted map! I wanted to get everything completely on my own but after a while I gave up, only to find no map in the forum thread... but I did find out about this, and suddenly, using the map turned from an admission of defeat to a fun challenge of its own, as I ran to the rooms I'd found and snuff out the ones I was missing to build the password. It's such a more satisfying form of assistance to just opening the web and getting answers and I really liked it. I only used the map for two items: that last missile tank in Brinstar and the last Power Bomb tank in Chozodia (though I think I could have found the latter on my own with some time... but I was out of patience for searching by that point). Another big thing to mention about this hack is there was just obviously a lot of care put into it, it's clear it's someone's passion project and I think that's worthy of appreciation in itself. Another thing I want to bring up is they made the acid worm boss actually interesting and challenging (what??) and *almost* did something similar for Ridley, if he didn't die in 2 seconds from Super Missiles. Overall I think the hack was really cool with a few flaws, but a lot of the issues are mitigated if you're not going for 100% or if you play the game for the map. Very rambly review, sorry. It's a good hack.
This is a pretty good Zero Mission "remix". It has a really big map with lots of cool features and environmental storytelling at some points. That said, it also has some rather frustrating parts, like a few one-way shortcuts or item barriers that make you take the long way around as well as ruined Tourian pulling an Infected Crossroads and just, closing a ton of passages and making navigation a pain. Progression was also really frustrating at times... I must have spent upwards of an hour trying to find how to reach the second half of Norfair (false floor à la the original game, but no crawling Nova to indicate it and under a 1-tile gap you're unlikely to actually roll under), upwards of another hour trying to find the Screw Attack (not needed to beat the game but, you know. The path you'd expect to lead to it is blocked by screw blocks itself which led me to look literally everywhere else) and honestly probably 2 or 3 hours looking for the last missile tank in Brinstar (this one isn't progression and it wasn't even something stupid, just some bomb blocks in an unexpected location, but *woww* that was a lot of time I won't get back). Also spent like 10 minutes thinking I was softlocked because I sequence broke only for the way through (which turned out to actually be regular progression, mind you!) to just be hidden Super Missile blocks (I'll admit I have no idea how I didn't find them for so long, there was even some indication), and a long time trying to find the Power Bombs (you're locked in the mothership until you get them like in the original game, and they're not required to beat the game, but the ship is *huge* and they're hidden like a regular secret). HOWEVER the game does have one really cool detail which in addition to just being a really sick concept would have alleviated at least a lot of the time I spent running around Brinstar past midnight—hidden in each main area of the game is a "secret room" with a letter in it. I thought they were just easter eggs or something but actually, they're the password to an encrypted map! I wanted to get everything completely on my own but after a while I gave up, only to find no map in the forum thread... but I did find out about this, and suddenly, using the map turned from an admission of defeat to a fun challenge of its own, as I ran to the rooms I'd found and snuff out the ones I was missing to build the password. It's such a more satisfying form of assistance to just opening the web and getting answers and I really liked it. I only used the map for two items: that last missile tank in Brinstar and the last Power Bomb tank in Chozodia (though I think I could have found the latter on my own with some time... but I was out of patience for searching by that point). Another big thing to mention about this hack is there was just obviously a lot of care put into it, it's clear it's someone's passion project and I think that's worthy of appreciation in itself. Another thing I want to bring up is they made the acid worm boss actually interesting and challenging (what??) and *almost* did something similar for Ridley, if he didn't die in 2 seconds from Super Missiles. Overall I think the hack was really cool with a few flaws, but a lot of the issues are mitigated if you're not going for 100% or if you play the game for the map. Very rambly review, sorry. It's a good hack.
holy shit akuma from street fighter
one cheese ball taken off because he kept doing the invul teleport slide and it was very annoying :/
one cheese ball taken off because he kept doing the invul teleport slide and it was very annoying :/
What they did to the Shinespark is *really* funny
Metroid - Rogue Dawn by Grimlock, Optomon, snarfblam [ Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 20, 2025 ( )
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 20, 2025 ( )
67% in 5:14
Good hack. Lots of QoL stuff from the original game, like the saving, quick resets, not spawning with next to no health... but also some really cool stuff I haven't seen uncapping how many missiles you can have out at once (missiles feel *so* much better to use now) and fixing some jump oddities, like not being able to stop aiming up midair after shooting or how somersaults would "expire"as well as not apply at the beginning of your jump (preventing use of the Screw Attack)... though they did also get rid of the midair unmorph stall and double jump :(. Also has some cool new powerups and a custom boss, hell yeah.
The premise and setting are super cool of course and the storytelling definitely delivers too. I also thought the last area was really cool.
One cheese orb taken off for rather frustrating navigation, though. The map helps but when there are a lot of areas where it says rooms connect only for the "connection" to be some sealed off section that completely prohibits passage to anything else in the "room"... not to mention a lot of places where rooms will loop on themselves or connect to rooms that aren't anywhere close to themselves. I *really* didn;t like that, s this SR388 or the Lost Woods? I did make it through without outside help but at more than one point I felt quite lost in the not so fun way.
Oh yeah also the Wave Beam doesn't go through walls for some reason? It just makes it wiggly and boosts the damage, which like is like good I guess, but, I mean it's weird isn't it?
Anyway, the hack has a low health beep that only plays every once in a while instead of constantly screeching in your ear, so that should tell you about what you need to know about the overall quality. That being that it's good, in case that wasn't clear.
The premise and setting are super cool of course and the storytelling definitely delivers too. I also thought the last area was really cool.
One cheese orb taken off for rather frustrating navigation, though. The map helps but when there are a lot of areas where it says rooms connect only for the "connection" to be some sealed off section that completely prohibits passage to anything else in the "room"... not to mention a lot of places where rooms will loop on themselves or connect to rooms that aren't anywhere close to themselves. I *really* didn;t like that, s this SR388 or the Lost Woods? I did make it through without outside help but at more than one point I felt quite lost in the not so fun way.
Oh yeah also the Wave Beam doesn't go through walls for some reason? It just makes it wiggly and boosts the damage, which like is like good I guess, but, I mean it's weird isn't it?
Anyway, the hack has a low health beep that only plays every once in a while instead of constantly screeching in your ear, so that should tell you about what you need to know about the overall quality. That being that it's good, in case that wasn't clear.
Metroid: Return to Zebes by alexman25 [ Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 11, 2025 ( )
Exploration],
rated by Kisequé on May 11, 2025 ( )
82% in 2:54
I've played a couple hacks now but this is the first one I'm reviewing because it's the first one I have more directed thoughts towards. I was really excited to play this hack because I'm a big fan of Zebes as a setting and how it's appeared so many times across different games, so the promise of a new "remix" of the map was really enticing. Unfortunately, I think the hack wasn't quite for me.
The first thing to note is the physics, of course. Samus moves just kinda, *more*. First thought was it felt like the running jumps in Super—fast, bit floatier—which is what I think they were trying to emulate. Took a bit to get used to but nothing too bad, really fun to play around with at least. The wall jumps are a whole different story though, what the hell. They make Super's look pathetic, you just get launched to the goddamn moon. They literally go higher than your regular jumps, it's insane. And don't even get me started on the Speed Booster or Hi-Jump.
Anyway, my main issue with this hack is the sequence, or lack thereof. I still have literally no idea how you're meant to go through the game and I'm pretty sure I did like half of it backwards. The Gravity Suit was one of my first upgrades and I got the Plasma Beam before the Long Beam. At one point I entered a room I'd already been to from another side and there was a boss?? It's so weird, and the level design was all over the place with overlapping rooms and occasional weird warps... there was this one room where you'd fall into a pit and just keep wrapping across the screen? And you could get out of it somehow and clip back into the map or something but, I dunno. This game was *weird*, felt like a fever dream but not the fun kind of fever dream I would have liked to describe it as, I'm afraid.
I think it's still a good hack with clearly a lot put into it, and I wouldn't say I regret playing it, but it has its flaws and, as said earlier, just isn't really for me. I did have some fun at least, though.
The first thing to note is the physics, of course. Samus moves just kinda, *more*. First thought was it felt like the running jumps in Super—fast, bit floatier—which is what I think they were trying to emulate. Took a bit to get used to but nothing too bad, really fun to play around with at least. The wall jumps are a whole different story though, what the hell. They make Super's look pathetic, you just get launched to the goddamn moon. They literally go higher than your regular jumps, it's insane. And don't even get me started on the Speed Booster or Hi-Jump.
Anyway, my main issue with this hack is the sequence, or lack thereof. I still have literally no idea how you're meant to go through the game and I'm pretty sure I did like half of it backwards. The Gravity Suit was one of my first upgrades and I got the Plasma Beam before the Long Beam. At one point I entered a room I'd already been to from another side and there was a boss?? It's so weird, and the level design was all over the place with overlapping rooms and occasional weird warps... there was this one room where you'd fall into a pit and just keep wrapping across the screen? And you could get out of it somehow and clip back into the map or something but, I dunno. This game was *weird*, felt like a fever dream but not the fun kind of fever dream I would have liked to describe it as, I'm afraid.
I think it's still a good hack with clearly a lot put into it, and I wouldn't say I regret playing it, but it has its flaws and, as said earlier, just isn't really for me. I did have some fun at least, though.
