Super Metroid: Tips and Tricks

Last weekend, I chipped away at my current Super Metroid adventure, managing to defeat Ridley after two tries. During my first encounter with Ridley, I attempted to bombard him (?) with Super Missiles, and then with Missiles, but neither did much damage and only annoyed him. However, after referring to my walkthrough, I found that charged Ice Beam shots at his head did the most damage and more quickly dispatched the purple beast. Now, what awaits me is the Mother Brain.

What I realized after my most recent foray into Zebes was that, despite the assistance of my trusted walkthrough, there were a few tips and tricks about Super Metroid that many hint-providers failed to mention. So, here are my tips and tricks using the default controller setup:

• To shinespark/rocket boost in a diagonal-up direction, (holding down the B button while possessing the Speed Booster), press down as soon as Samus begins to flash. Then, press the L button to go diagonal-up to the left, or the R button to go diagonal-up to the right. Initially, I tried to press the D-pad diagonal-up in the desired direction, but would end up going left or right.
• To Space Jump with or without Screw Attack and stay airborne, press or tap left or right on the D-pad right before each press of the A (Jump) button. Pressing diagonal-up negates the Space Jump and sends Samus down for a landing. I wondered why my space jumps would end so prematurely and found that pressing diagonal-up killed each jump. Note: it is the intensity of Samus' jump, and not the angle of the D-pad press, that governs how high and where she goes.
• To wall-jump, jump close to a wall. As soon as Samus brushes the wall, press the D-pad into a direction away from the wall and, in quick succession, press the Jump button. If both the D-pad and Jump button are pressed at the same time, the wall jump does not occur.

The wall jump, Space Jump, and Shinespark are the three most difficult, yet necessary, skills to learn in Super Metroid. If you have any more hints or experiences to share, please feel free to post.

Ciao!

Super Metroid without a Walkthrough?! Ugh!

Last weekend, I had some free time after everyone had gone to bed and I had poured a couple of hours into a presentation for Historical Linguistics class, so I decided to pop Super Metroid into my family's Retro Duo console. Up to the point where I had saved my game, I had been using a walkthrough that was posted on IGN. It has been a good walkthrough, but more written from the perspective of a speed player who is trying to beat Super Metroid under 90 minutes. However, I have found that following a walkthrough word-for-word can be tedious, sapping the fun and adventure out of Super Metroid. So, I decided to just wing it and play without the walkthrough...

For the most part, I did well enough. Because I had saved my game in Maridia after defeating Draygon, I still had to find a reserve tank and a missile tank. I found these items easily enough after navigating for 30 minutes using Samus' map screen. It was after that when things got tough as I worked my way to Norfair, where I spent five minutes trying to get a missile tank located on the other side of some crumble blocks, got into a nasty fight with an evil Torizo, and then acquired the Screw Attack. After that, I tried to screw attack/space jump my way up a massive room, only to have the Space Jump (I loathe Space Jump) work half of the time, while I would fall or crash into nigh-invincible Metal Pirates the other half of the time. After 25 more minutes, Samus drowned in rising acid as she failed to complete her space jumps. Sheesh.

Because I didn't (or couldn't) save after beating that Torizo, all of my progress after acquiring the reserve tank was lost. Thankfully, I at least saved when I did, but I realized how hard Super Metroid is without a walkthrough. I'd like to blame the Retro Duo's controller, though; I mean, why can't I string together successive Space Jumps?!

Goof Troop: 3HN Father and Son at Play

Last week, my four-year-old son and I decided to play Goof Troop, a Super Nintendo game based on the animated series of the same name that was broadcast in the early to mid-90s. The basic premise of the game involves Goofy and his son evading pirates, finding keys, using various items, and solving puzzles to rescue their friend, Pete, who has been kidnapped by the aforementioned pirates. The game is played from above with a perspective reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, except that this game is much simpler and involves teamwork if played with another player.

Much to my surprise, the more I play Goof Troop, the more I am impressed by the gameplay and fun factor, particularly the fun of playing such as goofy character as... well, Goofy. I had initially purchased this game from a co-worker solely on the premise that this was a cooperative game which my two sons could play together, but I have found that the game is better played when one more-skilled player (me, in this case) plays with a younger, less-skilled player (my youngest son) because the more-skilled player can bail out the less-skilled one. How? Well, one of the prominent tactics of Goof Troop involves movement from one screen to the next: if one player leaves a particular screen, both players appear in the next screen. This not only allows one player to save another from imminent danger, but it also allows for additional tactics, like one player luring foes to one corner of the screen while the other player leaves; or, one player runs across the screen to retrieve an important item and the other player leaves shortly after retrieval. Besides this, players can throw projectiles to each other if one of the players needs it, and both players can carry different items that may be useful on different screens.

It took my youngest son and I about 20 minutes to pass the first stage of the game, which was a wonderful accomplishment for him, especially because he is only four years old and he has just started learning how to play video games (specifically, retrogames). I really enjoyed playing alongside him to beat the stage. As a dad, I suppose that is what I enjoy most about retrogaming: watching my sons enjoy and do well with games that were relevant when I was younger.