djcdubz's Ratings and Reviews
Metroid: Desolation by jasinchen [
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Apr 27, 2023 (
)
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Apr 27, 2023 ( )
No completion stats.
4.5/5 (rounding up to 5 for orbs)
Despite my criticisms, the game is really great and a worthy addition to the jasinchen trilogy, which are the best and most professional MZM hacks by far.
+Clearly a labor of love
+Aesthetics and effects are top notch
+Multiple endings
+Well thought out paths
+Well thought out secrets
+Second quest
+Second quest gameplay
+New items
+Item progression
+Enormous map and lots of exploration
+Addicting to play
+/- Some areas/biomes are really well done, others not so much. Hard to really say "X place has distinct Y feel" at times
+/- 2nd quest mirrors Subversion, however Subversion handles it better because it mixes up not just item order but the items themselves
+/- "Invisible hand" is too invisible. Good Metroid games rely on the player being guided but the player having a sense of self-discovery. Here the player is seamlessly guided but it can seem haphazard and without the sense of self-discovery. It felt like I stumbled upon items instead of taking cues from the environment and using various acquired abilities to find them.
+/- Length is good, but overstays its welcome during the second quest if you play them back to back.
-Room design. Too many business centers (vertical hallways with doors on both sides) and transitional hallways. Not enough variety in platforming. Not enough unique rooms with distinct designs and character. Compare this to MZM or another of his hacks, New Zero Mission, where the gameplay is much more varied and engaging. Rooms there have a unique identity absent in much of this hack.
-Map too labyrinth-y at times. Enormous but can be too compact. Very easy to get confused as to location and can make the player over reliant on the map.
-Ridley in 2nd quest has absurd HP.
-Having to play the entire game again to get the full story/best ending.
Additional thoughts:
1. There are paths to avoid bosses. I only found one, but it's cool that they are there.
2. Unsure about flexibility in item progression and sequence breaking. To me, a good Metroid game (see New Zero Mission) has organic sequence breaks that reward advanced players, can vary up your experience, and invite multiple playthroughs. They may exist here, but it wasn't very clear to me and I'm a very veteran player who is frequently looking for them and has had no problem in both his other major hacks finding them. I also thought there were some killer, multi-room and chained shinesparks in this hack that could have been used to sequence break but weren't. Again, I may be wrong here though.
3. For me, New Zero Mission > Desolation > Lost Chozo
All in all, despite my issues, it's a great hack, is excellent quality, and I recommend it to anyone.
Despite my criticisms, the game is really great and a worthy addition to the jasinchen trilogy, which are the best and most professional MZM hacks by far.
+Clearly a labor of love
+Aesthetics and effects are top notch
+Multiple endings
+Well thought out paths
+Well thought out secrets
+Second quest
+Second quest gameplay
+New items
+Item progression
+Enormous map and lots of exploration
+Addicting to play
+/- Some areas/biomes are really well done, others not so much. Hard to really say "X place has distinct Y feel" at times
+/- 2nd quest mirrors Subversion, however Subversion handles it better because it mixes up not just item order but the items themselves
+/- "Invisible hand" is too invisible. Good Metroid games rely on the player being guided but the player having a sense of self-discovery. Here the player is seamlessly guided but it can seem haphazard and without the sense of self-discovery. It felt like I stumbled upon items instead of taking cues from the environment and using various acquired abilities to find them.
+/- Length is good, but overstays its welcome during the second quest if you play them back to back.
-Room design. Too many business centers (vertical hallways with doors on both sides) and transitional hallways. Not enough variety in platforming. Not enough unique rooms with distinct designs and character. Compare this to MZM or another of his hacks, New Zero Mission, where the gameplay is much more varied and engaging. Rooms there have a unique identity absent in much of this hack.
-Map too labyrinth-y at times. Enormous but can be too compact. Very easy to get confused as to location and can make the player over reliant on the map.
-Ridley in 2nd quest has absurd HP.
-Having to play the entire game again to get the full story/best ending.
Additional thoughts:
1. There are paths to avoid bosses. I only found one, but it's cool that they are there.
2. Unsure about flexibility in item progression and sequence breaking. To me, a good Metroid game (see New Zero Mission) has organic sequence breaks that reward advanced players, can vary up your experience, and invite multiple playthroughs. They may exist here, but it wasn't very clear to me and I'm a very veteran player who is frequently looking for them and has had no problem in both his other major hacks finding them. I also thought there were some killer, multi-room and chained shinesparks in this hack that could have been used to sequence break but weren't. Again, I may be wrong here though.
3. For me, New Zero Mission > Desolation > Lost Chozo
All in all, despite my issues, it's a great hack, is excellent quality, and I recommend it to anyone.
Super Metroid: Subversion by TestRunner and AmoebaOfDoom [
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Sep 08, 2022 ( )
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Sep 08, 2022 ( )
98% in 9:55
Echoing what has already been said. The hack is unquestionably top 5, in my personal top 3 (and I've played 20+ of the best hacks), and an argument can be made for #1. The hack pushes hacking forward with its plethora of custom items, locations, events, bosses, music, etc. To say any more would spoil things. It's an absolute must play.
My only real criticism is that the hack, IMO, suffers a little bit in a few departments: 1) Flow - meaning that the ease of travel and the clarity of progression - is not the best (it's not bad though, just sometimes a little rougher around the edges than it should be for a hack of this caliber); 2) Difficulty is a little uneven in that it's very vanilla (there is a hard mode you can unlock so maybe this is moot) and could frankly stand to be a little tougher/more verteran but then some of the puzzles are far more difficult to solve than you'd expect; 3) Endgame doesn't quite stick the landing and is not as strong as the 90% leading up to it (to sum it up, it's a bit rushed in terms of both time and sequencing); 4) The "optional" area (absolutely brilliant boss included) should be mandatory because it's so good. Players missing this will miss one of the strongest segments of the game; 5) This is personal preference, but it felt like the speed booster and shine sparking were underutilized; 6) Custom music occasionally didn't fit the area as well as it could have.
None of these criticisms detracted from my enjoyment of the hack nor will it with you due to how good so much of it is. 5/5 A+.
Edit: There is a secret in this hack that elevates this hack even beyond what I've written to new heights and it's something everyone playing this needs to find.
My only real criticism is that the hack, IMO, suffers a little bit in a few departments: 1) Flow - meaning that the ease of travel and the clarity of progression - is not the best (it's not bad though, just sometimes a little rougher around the edges than it should be for a hack of this caliber); 2) Difficulty is a little uneven in that it's very vanilla (there is a hard mode you can unlock so maybe this is moot) and could frankly stand to be a little tougher/more verteran but then some of the puzzles are far more difficult to solve than you'd expect; 3) Endgame doesn't quite stick the landing and is not as strong as the 90% leading up to it (to sum it up, it's a bit rushed in terms of both time and sequencing); 4) The "optional" area (absolutely brilliant boss included) should be mandatory because it's so good. Players missing this will miss one of the strongest segments of the game; 5) This is personal preference, but it felt like the speed booster and shine sparking were underutilized; 6) Custom music occasionally didn't fit the area as well as it could have.
None of these criticisms detracted from my enjoyment of the hack nor will it with you due to how good so much of it is. 5/5 A+.
Edit: There is a secret in this hack that elevates this hack even beyond what I've written to new heights and it's something everyone playing this needs to find.
Metroid: Lost Chozo by jasinchen [ Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Aug 18, 2022 ( )
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Aug 18, 2022 ( )
No completion stats.
The above review by Zincoshine is incorrect, factually. I have beaten this game 4 times, broken it down in every way possible, including major rerouting and sequence breaks, and to near 100% completion. There are no soft locks. There are many perceived soft locks because many of the paths to progress are hidden (in a few cases probably too hidden tbh as it plays occasionally like the original Metroid where you have to bomb or shoot every tile). It's possible, because I don't remember, that some more "advanced" techniques are required to progress in a few instances, which may cause some to get "soft locked," but the game is 100% complete, playable, completable, and is frankly incredibly well thought out in its secrets. The other hack (New Zero Mission) by Jasinchen is better, but this is easily a 4.25-4.5/5 and one of the best MZM hacks out there, despite its issues.
Metroid: New Zero Mission by jasinchen [ Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Jul 14, 2022 ( )
Exploration],
rated by djcdubz on Jul 14, 2022 ( )
No completion stats.
4.5++/5
Played without hints (recommended for advanced players; mostly ok minus one bout of getting majorly lost).
One of the best hacks out there and a must play. It is not without a glaring flaw though, namely that Chozodia/Ship is way too large and too "labyrinthy" given that it *SPOILER* contains only one major item - certainly not enough to justify its ridiculous size. It kills the pacing. Post Tourian, the game comes to a crawl as you try to navigate. It's also, unless you have good intuition, easy to get majorly lost scouring the huge world for where to go and for items.
That said, the pacing prior to that is perfect. Big brain secrets/puzzles, veteran difficulty when going for high %, sequence breaking opportunities galore, wonderful item placement including major items, "new" bosses, hell runs, redone map, brand new areas, advanced speed booster puzzles. It has it all. One of the few hacks I've played where upon finishing, I immediately booted it up again so I could play it "right" this time without getting majorly lost as I did at one point on the first play through.
Highly recommended and arguably the best ZM hack of the 4-5 top rated ones I've played and probably my 4th favorite hack of any Metroid game overall.
Played without hints (recommended for advanced players; mostly ok minus one bout of getting majorly lost).
One of the best hacks out there and a must play. It is not without a glaring flaw though, namely that Chozodia/Ship is way too large and too "labyrinthy" given that it *SPOILER* contains only one major item - certainly not enough to justify its ridiculous size. It kills the pacing. Post Tourian, the game comes to a crawl as you try to navigate. It's also, unless you have good intuition, easy to get majorly lost scouring the huge world for where to go and for items.
That said, the pacing prior to that is perfect. Big brain secrets/puzzles, veteran difficulty when going for high %, sequence breaking opportunities galore, wonderful item placement including major items, "new" bosses, hell runs, redone map, brand new areas, advanced speed booster puzzles. It has it all. One of the few hacks I've played where upon finishing, I immediately booted it up again so I could play it "right" this time without getting majorly lost as I did at one point on the first play through.
Highly recommended and arguably the best ZM hack of the 4-5 top rated ones I've played and probably my 4th favorite hack of any Metroid game overall.
