Nintendo The METROIDVANIA Thread

[hillelslovak87]

A few off the top of my head (that I don't think have already been mentioned):

The Shantae Series: Excellent set of Metroidvania games that would have been doomed to obscurity outside of a late GBC release. While Half-Genie Hero is great, The Pirate's Curse is bit more polished. I haven't played Shantae and the Seven Sirens (it came out last year in September) yet, so I can't say if it's better than Half-Genie Hero.

Unepic: An homage to gaming and geek culture from the 80's. Unepic is great, and a lot of the story and encounters are proceduraly generated, so replay value on it is high. Some of the challenges can be absolutely brutal, but the game makes it worthwhile.

Strider 2014: I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one. It's a great re-imagining of the classic game and sits well in the Metroidvania genre. The only other Strider that plays this way is the NES version (ymmv on how you feel about that version).

Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone: This one's a little older, and can easily fly under most players radar. The cutesy graphics belie a very high level of challenge and deep gameplay. Three playable characters (each with their own skills and abilities) are available to use during this action rpg. It's not too expensive, and I believe I was able to clock in over 30 hours before I finished it.

The Vagrant: An action platformer that reminds me of Vanillaware titles like Muramasa: The Demon's Blade or Dragon's Crown. The sprite work on this one is excellent, and it's surprisingly deep.

Others that I see just from a quick scan of my STEAM library:

Abyss Odyssey
Cave Story+
La-Mulana/La-Mulana 2
Magician's and Looters

Thanks for the suggestions!! I'm pretty hardcore into indie games, and have been since around 2012-2013 when XBLA was pushing out some good stuff, then on pc where it has BOOMED in the same time.

Yet out of all those? Only played Cave Story and Strider. Good lookin', homie.

 

[Da_Rev_Ong]

Thanks for the suggestions!! I'm pretty hardcore into indie games, and have been since around 2012-2013 when XBLA was pushing out some good stuff, then on pc where it has BOOMED in the same time.

Yet out of all those? Only played Cave Story and Strider. Good lookin', homie.

No prob. A lot of the indie Metroidvania games are too tempting as "impulse buys" for me to pass up. It helps that I absolutely love the subgenre in general.

Although, I do find a lot of the ones I pick up end up playing a lot like old school Legend of Zelda or Mega Man games. Sometimes the genres get muddled. The other problem is that there are too many of them to play!

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Strider 2014: I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one. It's a great re-imagining of the classic game and sits well in the Metroidvania genre. The only other Strider that plays this way is the NES version (ymmv on how you feel about that version).

Totally forgot about Strider. It was awesome and somehow managed to combine the exploration of the NES game with the arcade mechanics. I had a lot of fun with it. Interesting atmosphere too.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Finished up Bloodstained RotN, Nightmare run this weekend. I used a NG+ save file, so it wasn't to difficult. I can see starting a fresh cycle on Nightmare being a big challenge. I wasn't planning on doing the Nightmare run, but figured I'd fly through it before moving on. I had done everything I wanted to accomplish in my previous Hard playthrough, so I was able to blast through Nightmare mode in a couple of hours. My map completion was pretty low as well as I had a ton of gaps in the map, since I was pretty much running from boss to boss and only going after key items.

Need a break from Metroidvania for a bit since I did Blasphemous and Bloodstained back to back, but coming up real soon I want to jump into Savage: The Shard of Gosen. Game reminds me of Simon's Quest and Faxanadu from the NES days. It's still in early access, but it looks like it hits a lot of the nostalgia feels.

 

[Hyperglide]

Jimquistion on if the word "Metroidvania" should be abolished. He makes some good points. I still don't really know what a Roguelike is based off of but I do know it's a random procedural generated usually perma-death style action game. Never played Dark Souls or Bloodborne but I do know what a Soulsborne game is. However I grew up on games like Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN so I know clearly what a Metroidvania is. However, those are games from over 20 years ago and Millenials or Zoomers might not know what the fuck a Metroidvania is seeing as those games aren't quite in the cultural zeitgeist any more.

 

[rob mafia]

Jimquistion on if the word "Metroidvania" should be abolished. He makes some good points. I still don't really know what a Roguelike is based off of but I do know it's a random procedural generated usually perma-death style action game. Never played Dark Souls or Bloodborne but I do know what a Soulsborne game is. However I grew up on games like Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN so I know clearly what a Metroidvania is. However, those are games from over 20 years ago and Millenials or Zoomers might not know what the fuck a Metroidvania is seeing as those games aren't quite in the cultural zeitgeist any more.

WAT

also, saying the term should be abolished because ignoramuses is a pretty dumb argument.

 

[HereticBD]

Jimquistion on if the word "Metroidvania" should be abolished. He makes some good points. I still don't really know what a Roguelike is based off of but I do know it's a random procedural generated usually perma-death style action game. Never played Dark Souls or Bloodborne but I do know what a Soulsborne game is. However I grew up on games like Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN so I know clearly what a Metroidvania is. However, those are games from over 20 years ago and Millenials or Zoomers might not know what the fuck a Metroidvania is seeing as those games aren't quite in the cultural zeitgeist any more.

What else would you call such a distinct game design? It's like arguing getting rid of the term "platformer", because millennials never played Mario Bros. When you hear "Metroidvania", you know exactly what you're getting, regardless of if you've ever played the games that inspired the term. It's a bit insulting to the younger generation to think that because they weren't a part of the generation that inspired a genre definition, that they can't possibly know what it means.

 

[GtehMVP]

Jimquistion on if the word "Metroidvania" should be abolished. He makes some good points. I still don't really know what a Roguelike is based off of but I do know it's a random procedural generated usually perma-death style action game. Never played Dark Souls or Bloodborne but I do know what a Soulsborne game is. However I grew up on games like Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN so I know clearly what a Metroidvania is. However, those are games from over 20 years ago and Millenials or Zoomers might not know what the fuck a Metroidvania is seeing as those games aren't quite in the cultural zeitgeist any more.

That's just retarded. No surprise "journalists" at Kotaku were arguing against the term. They spend more time worrying about pixels being sexually exploited over anything, just total hacks.

It takes two seconds to google what a metroidvania means, so having no prior experience with Metroid or Castlevania is irrelevant.

What's a better alternative? It's a subgenre for side scrolling games, that could also include rogue, rogue-lite, souls-like, platforming, and RPG/adventure elements, to name a few. Being a metroidvania can encapsulate some, or all those tags/descriptions. At the very least you know you won't just be going left to right, as there will be some exploration.

That's why Steam is the best platform. They include more tags/descriptions than just one, and they are crystal clear when browsing games.





Most genre descriptions are muddled anyway. RPG, adventure, and platformer can mean an insanely wide range of titles.

 

[HHJ]

Metroidvania pride world wide!

 

[strebitel86]

SOTN is one of the greatest games ever made.

 

[rob mafia]

That's why Steam is the best platform.

...wtf?

 

[Hyperglide]

WAT

also, saying the term should be abolished because ignoramuses is a pretty dumb argument.

I don't have the time nor the inclination to play those games. Bloodborne being a Sony exclusive too prohibits me from playing it.

What else would you call such a distinct game design? It's like arguing getting rid of the term "platformer", because millennials never played Mario Bros. When you hear "Metroidvania", you know exactly what you're getting, regardless of if you've ever played the games that inspired the term. It's a bit insulting to the younger generation to think that because they weren't a part of the generation that inspired a genre definition, that they can't possibly know what it means.

I don't know I'm not the one making the argument. How about an action platformer like they USED to be called. I personally like "Metroidvania" but that's because I grew up on it. The world doesn't revolve around me though. Do I think it should go away? No. Do I see the other sides argument for it? Yes. I just don't agree with it.

That's just retarded. No surprise "journalists" at Kotaku were arguing against the term. They spend more time worrying about pixels being sexually exploited over anything, just total hacks.

It takes two seconds to google what a metroidvania means, so having no prior experience with Metroid or Castlevania is irrelevant.

What's a better alternative? It's a subgenre for side scrolling games, that could also include rogue, rogue-lite, souls-like, platforming, and RPG/adventure elements, to name a few. Being a metroidvania can encapsulate some, or all those tags/descriptions. At the very least you know you won't just be going left to right, as there will be some exploration.

That's why Steam is the best platform. They include more tags/descriptions than just one, and they are crystal clear when browsing games.

View attachment 719385


Most genre descriptions are muddled anyway. RPG, adventure, and platformer can mean an insanely wide range of titles.

It's Kotaku what do you expect. The only "urinealist" worth his salt over there is Jason Schreier and only because he breaks a lot of news and stories.

 

[CleverGirl]

What difference does it make how you call a genre? Doesn't make a game better or worse.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

I beat Blasphemous last week. What an amazing game. It was definitely the hardest Metroidvania game I've ever played and I had some issues with the controls not being as tight as I would have liked but what a game. Enragingly difficult but one of those games I couldn't wait to play after work and then stay up way too late exploring or doing one more quest.

The difficulty will be a turn off for most. I think I spent close to 2 hours trying to beat the 2nd to last boss. Also, the quests and secrets are way too obtuse. I had to look up how to get the good ending and I can't imagine anymore figuring that out on their own without being obsessed.

Looking at my achievements, only 9% of players got the good ending and fully upgraded their weapon. I think that says a lot.

Bloodstained is still my most favorite Metroidvania in recent years just because the controls and exploration was so perfect but I couldn't get into the story at all. Blasphemous is much more interesting in that aspect.

I'm taking a break with playing Valfaris now (another brutally hard game) but I want another Metroidvania game next. I have Owlboy, Dust and Dead Cells on the backlog...

 

[HHJ]

I beat Blasphemous last week. What an amazing game. It was definitely the hardest Metroidvania game I've ever played and I had some issues with the controls not being as tight as I would have liked but what a game. Enragingly difficult but one of those games I couldn't wait to play after work and then stay up way too late exploring or doing one more quest.

The jumps and pitfalls that you dont know are going to kill you until you fall into it are brutal,but its so satisfying to play.

 

[rob mafia]

I beat Blasphemous last week. What an amazing game. It was definitely the hardest Metroidvania game I've ever played and I had some issues with the controls not being as tight as I would have liked but what a game. Enragingly difficult but one of those games I couldn't wait to play after work and then stay up way too late exploring or doing one more quest.

The difficulty will be a turn off for most. I think I spent close to 2 hours trying to beat the 2nd to last boss. Also, the quests and secrets are way too obtuse. I had to look up how to get the good ending and I can't imagine anymore figuring that out on their own without being obsessed.

Looking at my achievements, only 9% of players got the good ending and fully upgraded their weapon. I think that says a lot.

Bloodstained is still my most favorite Metroidvania in recent years just because the controls and exploration was so perfect but I couldn't get into the story at all. Blasphemous is much more interesting in that aspect.

I'm taking a break with playing Valfaris now (another brutally hard game) but I want another Metroidvania game next. I have Owlboy, Dust and Dead Cells on the backlog...

 

[HereticBD]

I'm taking a break with playing Valfaris now (another brutally hard game) but I want another Metroidvania game next. I have Owlboy, Dust and Dead Cells on the backlog...

"Dead Cells" is pure crack. I'd suggest that one first. Although, it is more of a rogue like than a true "Metroidvania" game with a singular focus of just beating it. It still has some hefty "Metroidvania" aspects though, and the way they balance it all out is perfect. There is an actual end game to it, but you'd have to be extremely good to get there. Once you "beat" it, you start unlocking these "boss cells" to ramp up the difficulty. The more boss cells you activate, the harder the game. I hit my ceiling at two boss cells. You gotta beat it with five, if you want to get the true ending, which is just insane to me.

 

[rob mafia]

"Dead Cells" is pure crack. I'd suggest that one first. Although, it is more of a rogue like than a true "Metroidvania" game with a singular focus of just beating it. It still has some hefty "Metroidvania" aspects though, and the way they balance it all out is perfect. There is an actual end game to it, but you'd have to be extremely good to get there. Once you "beat" it, you start unlocking these "boss cells" to ramp up the difficulty. The more boss cells you activate, the harder the game. I hit my ceiling at two boss cells. You gotta beat it with five, if you want to get the true ending, which is just insane to me.

lolz. the first time i ever played that (as in, literally my first run) i made it to the end. i then figured it was too easy and uninstalled. does it get more varied/etc, or just scaled (hp, dmg, etc)?

 

[Slick_36]

I got Dead Cells and Blasphemous last night. I wasn't sure about Blasphemous until I realized it was a fictional religion and I flipped completely and was really excited to see what they did with it.

 

[Slick_36]

Blasphemous so far has been a lot more artistically interesting than I thought. I expected gore and goats, but it really leans in to the dark side of religion in a fascinating way. The writing in particular really stands out which says something given the visuals.