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axeil's Ratings and Reviews
SM Redesign: Axeil Edition by Drewseph [
Exploration],
rated by axeil on Sep 17, 2016 (
)
Exploration],
rated by axeil on Sep 17, 2016 ( )
100% in 12:58
Well.
I suppose as the namesake of this mod, I should give it a review right? Note that all this was for the 1.52 version.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stats
294.69km traveled
48,944 energy lost
3,355 enemies killed
16,009 shots fired
2,066 doors traversed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off, this update is incredible. It's the outline of the same game I muddled my way through all those years ago but everything has been fixed up. I can tell you put a lot of work into it, and it really seems to be paying off. I think the changes make it a far more accessible game for the average player while still leaving some truly challenging elements for old pros.
Tourian is obviously the most radically altered part of the game from the original so I'd like to take some time to talk about it.
The most important thing is: I love the new Tourian. It's definitely the best part of the hack. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on but once I did I was grinning. Additionally the change in layout for Tourian which makes the area feel more like a giant puzzle is great too. It really feels like you're breaking into a highly secured Space Pirate base instead of wandering in the front door like it does in the original.
The Metroids, while tough, are now much more fair than in the original version. Honestly, by the end of Tourian I was getting to enjoy killing them since the health drain is fairly minimal and they're somewhat easy to get off you. The challenge is getting them arranged in a pattern so you can kill all three in one go. Makes fighting Metroids more of a puzzle and less of a slog.
I also really enjoyed the electricity puzzle. You sort of set this up back in Maridia with the multiple gates you need to bomb by exploring the level. The only suggestion I have is making it a bit clearer where there are hidden morph ball tunnels. A lot of them had that blue circle on them, which I picked up on fairly quickly but not all were like that. Might make navigation easier for newbies.
Small Thoughts/Potential Improvements:
-The hint system is a godsend. No more aimlessly wandering without being sure of where to go. I also like how it will remember if you've seen speed boost blocks you haven't broken so you can remember to come back later.
-I really like the graphical changes to the morph ball. It's a small tweak but it makes everything look so much nicer.
-Some items don't give a dot on the minimap. Is that intentional? Can't remember if the original did that or not. It would be easier to track items if you could give some indication if an item is picked up or not. Or even a tracker for each zone for how many items the player still has yet to collect. It would make it easier to keep track of everything.
-The express elevator system is a really great change and makes the item/Chozo Guardian hunt in the endgame feel like less of a chore.
-Thank you for changing the Ceres Station timer back to 01:00:00
-Is it possible to add info about how many e-tanks you need for the Hell Run to the included readme/FAQ? I wanted to try the Hell Run but didn't know if I had enough tanks for it.
-The extra stats at the end are great. Any way you can add a tracker for how many times you died? :)
Final Thoughts
Despite my little gripes here and there, this is an absolute masterpiece of a game. A definite 5/5 and it would be a 6/5 if the small things I noted would get fixed. I'm proud to have my name attached to this game, and I've enjoyed my playthrough so much I've told some of my friends to check it out. One of them is currently exploring Brinstar and is using me as a guide.
Thank you Drewseph for all your hard work in putting together what I feel is the definitive edition of Super Metroid Redesign. See you next mission!
I suppose as the namesake of this mod, I should give it a review right? Note that all this was for the 1.52 version.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stats
294.69km traveled
48,944 energy lost
3,355 enemies killed
16,009 shots fired
2,066 doors traversed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off, this update is incredible. It's the outline of the same game I muddled my way through all those years ago but everything has been fixed up. I can tell you put a lot of work into it, and it really seems to be paying off. I think the changes make it a far more accessible game for the average player while still leaving some truly challenging elements for old pros.
Tourian is obviously the most radically altered part of the game from the original so I'd like to take some time to talk about it.
The most important thing is: I love the new Tourian. It's definitely the best part of the hack. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on but once I did I was grinning. Additionally the change in layout for Tourian which makes the area feel more like a giant puzzle is great too. It really feels like you're breaking into a highly secured Space Pirate base instead of wandering in the front door like it does in the original.
The Metroids, while tough, are now much more fair than in the original version. Honestly, by the end of Tourian I was getting to enjoy killing them since the health drain is fairly minimal and they're somewhat easy to get off you. The challenge is getting them arranged in a pattern so you can kill all three in one go. Makes fighting Metroids more of a puzzle and less of a slog.
I also really enjoyed the electricity puzzle. You sort of set this up back in Maridia with the multiple gates you need to bomb by exploring the level. The only suggestion I have is making it a bit clearer where there are hidden morph ball tunnels. A lot of them had that blue circle on them, which I picked up on fairly quickly but not all were like that. Might make navigation easier for newbies.
Small Thoughts/Potential Improvements:
-The hint system is a godsend. No more aimlessly wandering without being sure of where to go. I also like how it will remember if you've seen speed boost blocks you haven't broken so you can remember to come back later.
-I really like the graphical changes to the morph ball. It's a small tweak but it makes everything look so much nicer.
-Some items don't give a dot on the minimap. Is that intentional? Can't remember if the original did that or not. It would be easier to track items if you could give some indication if an item is picked up or not. Or even a tracker for each zone for how many items the player still has yet to collect. It would make it easier to keep track of everything.
-The express elevator system is a really great change and makes the item/Chozo Guardian hunt in the endgame feel like less of a chore.
-Thank you for changing the Ceres Station timer back to 01:00:00
-Is it possible to add info about how many e-tanks you need for the Hell Run to the included readme/FAQ? I wanted to try the Hell Run but didn't know if I had enough tanks for it.
-The extra stats at the end are great. Any way you can add a tracker for how many times you died? :)
Final Thoughts
Despite my little gripes here and there, this is an absolute masterpiece of a game. A definite 5/5 and it would be a 6/5 if the small things I noted would get fixed. I'm proud to have my name attached to this game, and I've enjoyed my playthrough so much I've told some of my friends to check it out. One of them is currently exploring Brinstar and is using me as a guide.
Thank you Drewseph for all your hard work in putting together what I feel is the definitive edition of Super Metroid Redesign. See you next mission!
