Metalgearpika's Ratings and Reviews
SM Redesign: Axeil Edition by Drewseph [
Exploration],
rated by Metalgearpika on Sep 24, 2016 (
)
Exploration],
rated by Metalgearpika on Sep 24, 2016 ( )
68% in 15:30
I remember playing the original Redesign, and the many fustrations that came with it. faster falling speed, seemily overpowered enemies, and confusing terrain at times, and lets not forget the notorious lava pits of no escape.
That said, I actually haven't beaten the original. I made it to Maridia and lost interest before Space Jump when i couldn't figure out the route i was supposed to go to progress.
Axeil Edition fixed a lot of the grief that i recall from Redesign, and turned it into a hack that i felt compelled to finish, and capable OF finishing at that. i am not no no-hit death machine that some players are, but i'm not a noob by any means either. the interesting and not too brain-mashing landscapes were nice on the eyes, and really brought out that deep down in the catacombs feel in some places i felt came a bit short in the original SM. while enemies were challenging at times they were not merciless (aside from some...green jelly a-holes from hell >.>) and for the first time in any hack i've played so far, actually found myself having to be mindful of my health as i moved from area to area, even long after exploring with 12+ ETanks in tow.
Others may not agree, but personally i found that not being able to stack your beams as you go and having it as it's own unique powerup brought a challenge of it's own to the table. as in ways you really did not gain any true advantage beam-weapon wise and found missiles both more effective in most cases as well as invaluable even. making collecting them a priority as i carried on in my run.
The physics implemented here was interesting too. and honestly the auto walljump and morph was a nice touch and brought a bit more fluidity when traversing areas. I concur with those who say that its just not the same going back to the vanilla physics and similar of other hacks after playing this, it seems dull and slow.
It's a shame that the wrecked ship was not in this or the original redesign, as it would have been nice i think to see how you may have expanded on that area, nonetheless, the Lost Caves puzzle was as boggling to me as the original and took me a bit to figure out :B cool but boggling, and thats not a complaint, either.
Maridia, sorry to say, was a drag. Though not as confusing somehow compared to the original redesign, seemed horribly drug out. i found it more monotonous than any of the areas, and annoying almost. nice level design tho.
Norfair was pretty cool and had a lot of area to offer for exploration, and the acid in some places made for hairy and dangerous situations that i would have imagined the norfair of the vanilla to be.
I like that way it really gave the feel like you were in a massive volcano underground or at the core of a planet. no where was safe and one wrong move could cost you dearly. and making Hell's run an optional thing saved me a instance of much fustration that i remember from the original.
Crateria was pretty big in it's own right, and the depths was a nice but somewhat bothersome adventure ( i'm not a big fan of water and no gravity *shrugs*) even so, it was a nice surprise to be rewarded with gravity for it, so it made up for it.
Brinstar was interesting take on things, had it's hazards and no shortage of samus-eaters and spikefalls.
Tourian....oh ho ho...they weren't kidding when they said it was a Hellhole. I gotta say, confusing and tedious, as to be expected in a stronghold on lockdown, was a nightmare to traverse, and finding your way through to the end was a trial i have no intentions on undertaking again anytime soon. from the seemingly impossible to get a upper hand against Metroids to the uber-deadly zebetite barriers, Tourian was endgame Up Sh*t Creek without a paddle. but...that was some challenging craziness that definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment when i watched MB's head turn to dust and made one of the most intense escapes i've done in a metroid hack!
All in all Metroid: Redesign Axeil Edition is an amazing step further to an otherwise definitive invisionment of a remade Zebes/Super Metroid. with challenges and puzzles that test even the hardcore of Metroid enthusiasts, but not near as mind numbing as the original Redesign.
That said, I actually haven't beaten the original. I made it to Maridia and lost interest before Space Jump when i couldn't figure out the route i was supposed to go to progress.
Axeil Edition fixed a lot of the grief that i recall from Redesign, and turned it into a hack that i felt compelled to finish, and capable OF finishing at that. i am not no no-hit death machine that some players are, but i'm not a noob by any means either. the interesting and not too brain-mashing landscapes were nice on the eyes, and really brought out that deep down in the catacombs feel in some places i felt came a bit short in the original SM. while enemies were challenging at times they were not merciless (aside from some...green jelly a-holes from hell >.>) and for the first time in any hack i've played so far, actually found myself having to be mindful of my health as i moved from area to area, even long after exploring with 12+ ETanks in tow.
Others may not agree, but personally i found that not being able to stack your beams as you go and having it as it's own unique powerup brought a challenge of it's own to the table. as in ways you really did not gain any true advantage beam-weapon wise and found missiles both more effective in most cases as well as invaluable even. making collecting them a priority as i carried on in my run.
The physics implemented here was interesting too. and honestly the auto walljump and morph was a nice touch and brought a bit more fluidity when traversing areas. I concur with those who say that its just not the same going back to the vanilla physics and similar of other hacks after playing this, it seems dull and slow.
It's a shame that the wrecked ship was not in this or the original redesign, as it would have been nice i think to see how you may have expanded on that area, nonetheless, the Lost Caves puzzle was as boggling to me as the original and took me a bit to figure out :B cool but boggling, and thats not a complaint, either.
Maridia, sorry to say, was a drag. Though not as confusing somehow compared to the original redesign, seemed horribly drug out. i found it more monotonous than any of the areas, and annoying almost. nice level design tho.
Norfair was pretty cool and had a lot of area to offer for exploration, and the acid in some places made for hairy and dangerous situations that i would have imagined the norfair of the vanilla to be.
I like that way it really gave the feel like you were in a massive volcano underground or at the core of a planet. no where was safe and one wrong move could cost you dearly. and making Hell's run an optional thing saved me a instance of much fustration that i remember from the original.
Crateria was pretty big in it's own right, and the depths was a nice but somewhat bothersome adventure ( i'm not a big fan of water and no gravity *shrugs*) even so, it was a nice surprise to be rewarded with gravity for it, so it made up for it.
Brinstar was interesting take on things, had it's hazards and no shortage of samus-eaters and spikefalls.
Tourian....oh ho ho...they weren't kidding when they said it was a Hellhole. I gotta say, confusing and tedious, as to be expected in a stronghold on lockdown, was a nightmare to traverse, and finding your way through to the end was a trial i have no intentions on undertaking again anytime soon. from the seemingly impossible to get a upper hand against Metroids to the uber-deadly zebetite barriers, Tourian was endgame Up Sh*t Creek without a paddle. but...that was some challenging craziness that definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment when i watched MB's head turn to dust and made one of the most intense escapes i've done in a metroid hack!
All in all Metroid: Redesign Axeil Edition is an amazing step further to an otherwise definitive invisionment of a remade Zebes/Super Metroid. with challenges and puzzles that test even the hardcore of Metroid enthusiasts, but not near as mind numbing as the original Redesign.
