Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’ve been mulling over. Today, Nile ponders whether it’s time to hit the (rewind) button…
Last month, Nintendo announced that it would be adding Metroid: Zero Mission to its Nintendo Switch Online service. For me, that served as impetus to check off an important to-do item on my backlog: completing every 2D Metroid game. With Zero Mission, a 2004 Game Boy Advance remake of the 1986 original, serving as the canonical first game in the series, it’s a perfect place to start.
I’ve had access to the game on original hardware for a long time, but I’ve been waiting for an NSO version for features like save states and rewinds. Now that I’ve completed my playthrough, I’ve come to an important conclusion: using the Rewind feature wisely will ultimately make you a better gamer – or at least a happier one.
I’ll start this off by admitting that my skills as a gamer are pretty modest. No other Nintendo series has managed to humble me like Metroid. That said, it’s also done more to raise my skill ceiling than anything else. When I recently faced one of the series’ most iconic foes, I had two options: hit the rewind button or get well.
I’m referring, of course, to Mother Brain, the cycloptic supercomputer and the final boss of the original Metroid. Since Zero Mission features a brilliant epilogue sequence set after this fight, the giant brain serves as the remake’s penultimate boss, but it’s still easily the game’s toughest encounter. Some might even argue that it’s an unfair fight.
part of me felt like I really had no right to continue the game, knowing how much I had screwed up that decisive battle
The fight takes place in the depths of Tourian, on two small platforms suspended above a boiling pool of lava, with Samus constantly bombarded by turrets, round projectiles, and Mother Brain herself emitting an energy blast from her single eye. The single-screen playfield is claustrophobic, and almost every hit will send you hurling into the life-sapping lava below.
Up until this point, the game has served up some relatively tough boss fights that I could beat within a handful of tries, if not on my first attempt. But Mother Brain cranks things up to 11 and is downright frustrating, with the onslaught of incoming fire making it difficult to even position yourself to attack with Samus being thrown around like a rag doll incessantly.
While searching for strategies for the battle, I looked in a YouTube comments section and saw that I wasn’t the only one feeling stuck and demoralized. “I’m literally being tossed around until I die,” wrote one person. “The design of this boss is terrible… It’s not fun, it’s frustrating,” added another. “This fight is my only complaint about this game.”
I hadn’t used the Rewind feature much in my playthrough thus far, aside from the occasional botched platforming input. I’m no purist and generally don’t have a problem with save states or gameplay rewinds, especially when it makes a historically significant game more accessible. So I opted to hit rewind fairly often during Mother Boss to undo my mistakes and even the odds.
When I finally took her down and moved on with the story, a part of me felt like I didn’t really have the right to continue playing, knowing how badly I’d messed up that climactic battle. As curious as I was about the epilogue, which relies heavily on stealth gameplay as Samus dons her “Zero Suit,” I felt compelled to go back and defeat Mother Brain using skills alone.
So I loaded my save state and went back through Zebes, collecting all the power-ups and energy tanks I had missed. Even then, trying to retry the fight resulted in defeat after defeat. But as I kept going, I found that the longer I stayed in the fight, the closer I got to my goal. After a coffee break (I always play better when I’m caffeinated) I finally managed to defeat her.
(If you’re interested, to defeat Mother Brain you’ll need to crouch down and fire super missiles and regular missiles into her eye. Use the ice bream and screw attacks against the round projectiles as you jump between the two platforms. If you get thrown off, try to grab the side of the platform to avoid falling into the lava. Pressing up while jumping will make it easier to get out of the lava pool.)
For me, this was no longer a hollow victory, but one that felt earned. I continued my playthrough with a sense of accomplishment, finishing the game shortly thereafter. While I consider Zero Mission to be one of Nintendo’s best remakes, it’s still worth asking: is the Mother Brain fight a frustrating blemish on an otherwise masterful reimagining? So let’s do just that:
It’s clear that the original designers had to get creative with this fight, as your enemy is a static brain in a jar with no appendages, and is therefore being shot at in all directions. While the controls in Zero Mission are much more fluid than the NES original, the latter’s playing field is more limited and the action is considerably faster.
Another difference is that Mother Brain attacks Samus directly, which she doesn’t do on the NES. While Zero Mission is generally a more accessible experience than the brilliant-but-dated original, Mother Brain is actually more difficult in the remake. NES players were able to defeat Mother Brain without taking any damage, a feat I simply don’t think is possible in Zero Mission.
But alas, if the combat was a piece of cake, I wouldn’t judge it here. As we all know, there’s something to be said for tough boss battles that force you to prove your mettle and validate your competence. As frustrating as Mother Brain is, it just now manages to remain surmountable without ever forgetting the ordeal.
From that perspective, it’s a hugely successful piece of game design. As for the modern convenience of the Rewind feature, I think it should function as a lifeline for undoing clumsy inputs, but never to the point where it actively detracts from your sense of achievement earned by mastering difficult gameplay through perseverance and honed skills – which is what many of us play games for.
Zero Mission takes a groundbreaking title and elevates it on every front, with new areas and bosses, updated visuals and gameplay mechanics, and a vastly expanded story depth. It’s a definitive remake that surpasses the original and is one of the best entries in the series. So if you’re looking to play Metroid, don’t let the tough combat put you off.