Metroid Musing: Did You Like Metroid Prime 2’s Ammo System?
Ask a Metroid fan what genre the Metroid Prime games fall under, and you’ll more than likely hear the buzzword that Nintendo created back in the early 2000’s to assuage peoples fears that the first 3D Metroid game would be a mindless shooter: First Person Adventure.
While there is no difference really between a First Person Shooter and ‘First Person Adventure’ – especially given how FPS games have evolved over the years – many Metroid fans still liked to cling to that FPA designation, with admittedly, your writer among them.
Perhaps that’s why I’ve never liked the ammo system introduced in Metroid Prime 2 Echoes; I felt like it veered that particular entry too far into ‘Shooter’ territory versus the traditional Beams that I was used to and comfortable with.
Even today playing Echoes, the ammo system still bothers me, but now that I’m a bit more secure in my Metroid fandom, I can look at the legit gameplay issues that the ammo system raises and point to that; why do enemies give you opposing beam color ammo when you more than likely need ammo for the beam you’re using? Why would I dare use the Annihilator Beam when it depletes not one but two ammo reserves? W
ith missiles and power bombs already in abundance, was another item that forced you to manage your resources really needed? Or maybe, I just never got over the feeling that ammo belonged in “regular” FPS games?
Whatever it is, I’ve never been a big fan of the ammo system in Echoes. What about you? Am I sounding crazy, or does anyone else agree with me? Sound off in the comments below!
Andy Spiteri is the Webmaster of Omega Metroid and Host of the Omega Metroid Podcast, The Zelda Cast, and Virtual Theater. Probably drinking a Tim Horton’s Double Double as you read this.
