Metroid Prime 2: The Ideal Sequel

Analyzing what makes Metroid Prime 2 an ideal sequel to Metroid Prime... and it only took about a year.
PointZ3RO: / @pointz3rogaming
ExoParadigmGamer: / exoparadigmgamer
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Script: docs.google.co...
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Sources:
Zero Mission: • METROID: ZERO MISSION ...
Fusion: • METROID FUSION - The C...
The rest of the footage was gathered by me.
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Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. Analysis. KingK. Wii. GameCube. Review. Critique.

[@KingKlonoa]

when is prime 3 vid

[@hentaiboy4876]

Any chance of Metroid Prime Hunters ? like if you included it with Prime 3 video?

[@Sean27007]

prime 3 was shit compared to 1 and 2

[@An_Ian]

The bubbles in the dark world heal u albeit very slowly I used this to top myself off before moving to the next room thus I never died in the dark world

[@will_of_europa]

Prime 3 is shit

[@natejordan1052]

when is prime 4

[@matthewmuir8884]

Let me get this straight: Metroid Prime 2 was made with a strict deadline in mind, was a direct sequel to a highly-acclaimed series intro to 3D, was substantially more difficult than its predecessor, was darker than its predecessor, ditched a more organic & irregular interconnected layout for a few outer areas in a ring around a central hub area, and utilized brand new villains that have the goal of omnicide while the predecessor used established villains that had the goal of conquest? Metroid Prime 2 was _Metroid Prime: Majora's Mask._

[@user__214]

I read an interview recently with Android Jones, the lead concept artist for the Metroid Prime series. Apparently, Retro Studios got a huge bonus from Nintendo for the commercial succes of MP 1, but then somebody leaked the fact that the studio's producers gave themselves a much bigger cut than people like the artists, which soured the culture at the studio. In the interview, Android Jones suggests that the darker colors of MP 2 might have been a reflection of Retro's culture and Jones' mental state about things at the time. Which is fascinating.

[@sayvionwashington1939]

"The producers gave themselves a much bigger cut." The more things change, the more things stay the same.

[@billj.8690]

Echoes is like the "Majora's Mask" of this series in so many ways. While Prime basically gave us "3D Super Metroid" the way Ocarina gave us "3D A Link to the Past", Echoes and Majora's Mask gave us this darker aesthetic with new mechanics and felt familiar, yet unfamiliar. They are both games that many of us initially thought we didn't like as much, but over time have grown to be many fans favorites in their respective series.

[@tounsi_m7ashesh]

Except prime 2 is an actual polished game unlike the n64 zeldas

[@linkbluu321]

Sorta? although you could argue Prime 2 Echoes takes inspiration from Metroid Fusion.

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@tounsi_m7ashesh The N64 Zeldas are polished games; outside of graphics, the games have held up extremely well, (and even graphically, in Majora's Mask's case, the way that the graphics have aged poorly arguably helps the game by adding to its eerie atmosphere).

[@tounsi_m7ashesh]

@@matthewmuir8884 sorry dude but when the game is crippled by its own performance that clock blocks any clever level design

[@tounsi_m7ashesh]

Plus you can just play newer zeldas like twilight princess since that looks and sounds better with superior dungeons and framerate

[@squeakyclean6836]

i played prime 2s begining when i was 7 and i cried when the soldiers came back to life

[@ghostofsilence2697]

Interesting, would you say that was more out of remorse or fear?

[@squeenixu]

@@ghostofsilence2697 they were a kid, probably fear

[@Shinesprk]

I was probably 8-ish when I played it first, and I also cried. For me it was actually remorse, especially when I watched that cutscene on the computer terminal.

[@touriian8371]

I was 8 and I felt the need for vengeance!

[@phoenixiceflow5755]

I played Metroid prime 1 when I was 4 and was afraid of the tangle weeds. I didn’t like the way they moved.

[@jostingaming3851]

Awesome review for a game that a lot of people don't talk about that much.

[@Barchueetadonai]

They really should talk about it more. It's such a great game. Probably the only reason I would really consider Prime 1 better is that, one, it came first, and two, I did indeed like the more natural area design. I felt that the three-branch structure of the world in Prime 2 made it feel a little less nonlinear, although I do agree with KingK that it did make sense given that this was constructed by the Luminoth as a place to live and it did fix some fetch quest issues with Prime 1. I just like the natural feel and variety of the areas in Prime 1 more. I'm sorry I didn't play this game on the Gamecube first. I could just tell there was something wrong with the bomb guardian due to the spring ball, even though I didn't know at the time that that wasn't originally in the game.

[@jostingaming3851]

Barchueetadonai I agree with you about the areas. I didn't really like the areas from Prime 2 because of how bland and non-organic they were. In Prime 1 they were all different but still made sense to the world and they connected like a web. I guess it is kind of like Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 2 if you think about it.

[@macgeek2004]

+Barchueetadonai Honestly, man, by far the best way to play this game is to emulate the Wii re-release using an XbOne controller. Just map the XbOne controller's left stick to the nunchuck's stick, the right stick to the cursor's position on the screen, RT to B, RB to A, LT to Z, LB to C, the XbOne's D-pad and face buttons (A, B, X, Y) to the WiiMote's D-pad, start and Back to 1 and 2 respectively, and the left and right stick buttons to + and - respectively. This results in some of the best gamepad controls for any FPS *EVER,* IMO.

[@Barchueetadonai]

macgeek2004 Motion controls work great for this game, but if I were to use a traditional controller, I would use either the Gamecube controller (which the game was designed to use) or the Switch Pro Controller. I have noticed though that the Xbox One controller is an enormous improvement over the garbage known as the Xbox 360 controller.

[@subject_changed4690]

Best prime if you ask me..

[@Marcara081]

6:28 - "Not every game must be vibrant or exotic..." Case in point, Shadow of the Colossus. People make light of the color palette in franchises like CoD and GoW, but even they pale (ironically) in comparison to Shadow of the Colossus. It has the color variety of a mudpuddle.

[@unwaveringcomplacence6781]

New Vegas gets a lot of shit for a good use of its color palette, too. Whenever I see people mod in a bunch of colorful stuff it just looks wrong.

[@ddsjgvk]

Twilight Princess gets hate for its choice in colour.

[@LadyAhro]

@@ddsjgvk It's my favourite of the lot, and I think the palette is extremely fitting and actually kinda stylised

[@Cheeseisboss]

I mean the colossi and environments are definitely exotic

[@CBGog]

Thank you so much for using torvus bog music for so long. My favorite song from the game by far

[@brandonjohnson9084]

Metroid prime 2 echos is one of my favorite games ever. On key thing I noticed as a kid that I feel like this video missed is just the simple animations with samus. In Metroid prime, when she saves it’s always this heroic stance she takes after that makes you feel like a young adventurer that’s enjoying her time on a new planet. In prime 2 echos, she always looks stressed out out of save and “gathers herself”. It really adds to the immersion to the atmosphere of echos that makes it all fee scary and stressful. My one complaint is that I feel like they should have switched the animation to make her feel more confident after the light suit or so.

[@craigmckenzie4967]

That would have been a nice touch, similar to how the music sort of builds as you progress further into the game

[@dalestoddard2742]

I actually went into prime 2 knowing people's opinion on it. It turned out to be my favorite of the trilogy. The Sanctuary Fortress is my favorite Metroid location, and the bosses are so unique and fun. I did like the harsher gameplay because it made Samus feel cooler for beating it.

[@nillynush4899]

this. the beginning with the dead trooper logs was also GREAT atmosphere.

[@OpticalJesu5]

Torvus Bog and Sanctuary Fortress are some of the most enjoyable levels I've played on games.

[@kirbyrox2]

Awesome video. MP2 is my favorite metroid game and it's great to hear someone articulate why it's great so well.

[@CBGog]

JD Jantz same

[@Tucher97]

well question original or trilogy, i hate original while trilogy made the game tolerable but the temple bosses can suck a dick as they are WAY TO FUCKING LONG and makes me thumb tired

[@rbelmont000]

Prime 2 is great. Darker, harder, more confusing, more exploration, everything I wanted from a sequel. My second favorite Metroid after super.

[@wastingtime2380]

Agreed.

[@romaingrasser400]

This is what I especially like about MP2. These are the best bosses through all of metroid games (in terms of gameplay)

[@corporalkills]

Man I love the start of this game. It’s so creepy in the best way. Reading how the soldiers died in the calculated medical language was so great for mood setting.

[@hyperhedgehog7]

Zelda and Metroid started out as basically the same thing, but evolved in different directions as the franchises progressed. Zelda became more linear via story, while Metroid became more linear via item progression. In a way Metroid games are like a bunch of really big dungeons fused together with a bigger emphasis on exploration instead of puzzle solving.

[@kyledevlugt7400]

Metroid Prime 2 was definitely underrated.

[@anonunknown7999]

I was very young when it came out, but I still get the impression Prime 2 is overshadowed by Prime 1's popularity.

[@mag1011]

You're correct. There was a good bit of hype during the lead up to it's release, but as soon as MP2 was out everyone other than hardcore fans promptly forgot it existed.

[@Verkili]

Because it came out in the same time frame as: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Half-Life 2 And the big one... *HALO 2* The poor game never stood a chance against those heavy hitters.

[@StormsparkPegasus]

I think it's because Metroid Prime was revolutionary, it brought the Metroid series to 3D. While Metroid Prime 2 iterated and improved on Prime 1. Revolutionary games always overshadow evolutionary games in popularity, even when the evolutionary games are the better ones.

[@DropkickNation]

Kyle De Vlugt Underrated is inaccurate. More like overlooked. It was a critical success.

[@ExoParadigmGamer]

My favorite game in the trilogy. It wasn't always. There was a period of time where Prime was my favorite, then Corruption, but I eventually recognized the nuances of Echoes with repeat playthroughs. Really, to me, it boils down to the modular level design. People tend to treat Super Metroid like a be all end all in terms of how these games should be designed, without regard to how well that translates to 3D. The backtracking in Prime 1 just gets worse and worse with every playthrough for me, and I came to appreciate how straightforward Echoes was by comparison without sacrificing a sense of exploration. I've got to wholeheartedly recommend the Wii version, though. The final bosses really benefit from lock-on, free aim, especially Dark Samus 3's Phazon pellets. That, and widescreen is a definite plus. The sequence breaks are fun to pull off once, but in the time it takes to actually make them work, it's just faster to play the game the normal way (unless you're a crafty speedrunner who can pull off these glitches effortlessly). Compare that to wall jumping up for an early wave beam in Super and even shinesparking your way to an early Super Missile and Screw Attack in Zero Mission (which are challenging but far more doable tricks that do notably decrease clear time), and to me the "glitch" sequence breaking in Prime and Echoes is just far too cumbersome to be worth it. Can you tell me that trying to bomb jump glitch over the gate in Tallon Overworld is faster than taking the long way around through the Sunken Frigate (which by the way, has power ups and scans that are required for 100%)? If there's no advantage to doing the sequence break, then it just becomes a cool thing you do once so you can say you've done it, not a valuable speedrunning trick. I can't see that as outweighing the numerous benefits of the Wii version. But I suppose, like you said, we may have to agree to disagree.

[@khav11]

you're an idiot , backtracking in prime made it's charm, metroid prime is claimed the greatest game cube game, echoes is nothing special you must be young thus ignorant. get a clue geek NEXT?

[@zxopixel]

Be respectful man and I think backtracking was boring tho we are all entitled to our own opinionw

[@khav11]

kid you weren't even alive when super metroid came out so you played it what 15 years after it's release lol? metroid prime is a masterpiece echoes is forgotten and is just a good game, super metroid has aged horribly and was always overrated by blind nostalgia so stfu and quit making look yourself like a clueless child metroid prime takes 10-12 hours to complete if backtracking 1-2 hours is too much for you go play CoD like the rest of you kiddies lol NEXT

[@lightbrand_]

Grigori Rasputin1990 You are the most obnoxious "Metroid fan" I've ever met, first NEVER take your opinions as facts, second why are you calling everyone kids because they don't agree with you?! Seriously are you trolling or you're just that god damn stupid?

[@Light_Repairman]

Its not about outweighing, its just that they removed something that is fun to do. Not cool. The game isn't hard, its very easy, so having some things that actually require precision to pull off are a nice change of pace.

[@PrettyObvious7]

"It takes the scale of the backtracking in prime and condenses it into each of the areas." Brilliantly phrased (while I still actually enjoyed prime's backtracking, opening the entire map over time, rather than opening up individual areas all at once) this is what makes prime 2 so good as a sequel, improving, what many others consider to be, the flawed structure and pacing of prime 1. Great video, also love how you touched on the far better boss design in 2.

[@BusaLova]

A few instances I like the most about Prime 2. Sitting in Chykka's room with the Echo Visor pulsing across the walls while the dreary Dark Aether themes play. It's relaxing, in a morbid way. Especially with the Light Suit equipped, you just roam around feeling invulnerable. Like sitting in a car during a storm.

[@Geneolgia]

It's a shame the ammo system is so misunderstood just because it's different than the other games, I think it's brilliant because it was made with Echoes' Light and Dark world mechanics in mind, changing your weapons to find your enemies' weaknesses makes combat more engaging while avoiding to make Samus OP, and the game is actually very generous with ammo as almost every room is filled with containers, combat in Echoes is one of the reasons it's my favorite Metroid game.

[@DoctorFalchion]

Always excited for a new video from this channel. Love your analysis.

[@DoctorFalchion]

Just finished the video, and found myself wishing there was more. To put it bluntly - an ideal sequel video :P I started playing Metroid Prime for the first time in years a couple months ago, having never gotten past the opening segment back when I played it as a kid. I got to Flaahgra and defeated it. . . that was weeks ago now. I got interrupted by life stuff, and when I had free time again, I didn't have as much desire to go back to it. Maybe it's the control, maybe it's the progression. . . something just doesn't hold my interest the way that some games (including Super Metroid) do. Echoes sounds really interesting though - I love 3D Zelda Dungeons, so this might be right down my alley.

[@macgeek2004]

+banks STRONG disagree. ;~P

[@0cellusDS]

I always liked Echoes over the other prime games but rarely find a person who agrees with me. The boss fights have always been my personal highlight of the game, not only because they are better than in Prime 1, but also because there are so much more of them. About half your power-ups are granted by unique Guardian Ing and you also have the Dark Samus Fights to boot. I remember playing the game on Hard Mode as a kid and there were several bosses that blocked my progress for a while and took multiple tries to defeat. I loved the challenge, especially because every boss felt distinct. Meanwhile, Prime 1 used Arenas with a regular enemy as a mini-boss which is only challenging because you do not have that one specific powerup that sits behind it. And once you get that power-up, this previously dangerous enemy suddenly shows up everywhere.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

MidnaSMW I felt like the boss fights were a slog, between their massive health and the constant damage being done to Samus. Heck, even the FINAL BOSS has Samus getting health drained by ingstorm clouds despite having the Light Suit. That said, they were awesomely designed creatures and the encounters are very memorable.

[@dgxkeyboards4535]

Well put

[@LosN209]

MidnaSMW I am spoiled with scan dashing, which prime 2 doesnt have.

[@nikodemus0552]

LosN209 Prime 2 has scan dashing, lol. Even for objects too far away to scan, you can scan dash.

[@meta9492]

@@OtakuUnitedStudio the light suit makes you immune to ing storm, you must be confused by the phazon at the edges of the room you fight the emperor in

[@Dragon_Ryder]

I’d beaten Prime 1 and 3 over ten years ago as a kid, but I just finished this game a couple days ago on Trilogy WiiU, and it is now one of my favorite games of all time. Everything about it, the puzzles, the world design, the exploration, the progression, the pacing, the bosses, the difficulty curve, the music, it’s all so much better than Prime 1, and I already loved that game. I’m still riding the high from the experience, it’s just so good. If the Sky Temple Key hunt was for a useful *optional* upgrade and the Logbook hints were better, I think this would be a near-perfect game, if it isn’t already. I will absolutely replay this game in the future, maybe on the GameCube.

[@CaptainOachkatzl]

just a note on the sky temple keys. for me personally, they were a great way to actually see the light suit in action. it gave me a reason to explore all areas again with my newly gained suit and it was fun to feel completely overpowered, compared to the last time i visited those areas. so at least the first time i played through the game they were actually a welcome addition. i see however, that replaying the game, and not being able to get those keys even though you know they are right in front of you, can be frustrating. that being said, awesome video for one of my most beloved games! keep em coming!

[@Dai_Tallsian]

Videos from both Mark Brown AND King K in the same day? Sweet! Love me some good old fashioned game analysis.

[@jamesbyers5668]

Best 3D game I've ever played. When you're in the depths of Torvus Bog you feel like your ship is almost too far away to be comfortable.

[@nillynush4899]

Samus closing the eye of the dead GFed Trooper at the beginning of Prime 2 without saying a single word... was 100x a better character moment than ANY cut-scene from Other M's melodramatic story...

[@thefallacist4794]

Metroid Prime 2 is the ideal sequel? I think you meant to say Metroid Prime pinball.

[@isetmfriendsofire]

The Fallacist hell yeah!

[@BizerkPixel]

Joking aside, Prime Pinball is actually a really good pinball adaptation of Metroid Prime

[@duckway4733]

@@BizerkPixel better than... blob heads shooting a soccerball and somehow not popping it...

[@bluegaming6788]

Metroid Prime 2 takes place after the events of Metroid Prime. Metroid Prime Pinball is the same formula of a game compared with the first Metroid Prime. Metroid prime 2 is a sequel of the first prime

[@sashimitrash8184]

@@bluegaming6788 sarcasm? I think we know MP and MPPB are in the same time frame and MP2 comes out next

[@AustinPowerz-bn5ry]

I absolutely loved the duality aspect and dark edge of Echos. The scale and creativity in the bosses were astounding.

[@ZiRxRageALoT]

This review is gold, dude. Big ups. I was nearly 12 years old when this game was released. I was 1000% soaked up by this game. The soundtrack, level design, enemies, boss battles are so good, that I still consider this game as one of the best games i ever played and probably will ever have played. That feeling of isolation, desperation and all the exploring made this game so special. I do get some of the critique points (like backtracking), but tbh i didn't mind that too much back in the day. I loved this game so much 15 years ago that, because of your video, i bought the metroid prime trilogy and put my old Wii out of my cupboard again. Thx for making me relive these good memories again ✌️

[@AniGaAG]

I only recently finally finished Metroid Prime 1 and 2, and am currently playing 3. And I will say this: I had my *_problems_* with Metroid Prime 1... but 2? This is what a 9+/10 3D Metroid game looks like. End of story - *_this..._* is what a masterful 3D Metroid game... *_looks like._* God, I love this game.

[@AstralPhnx]

Currently giving this one a try AGAIN. I've tried to finish this about 3 times and it hasn't worked out, but this time... Damnit I'll get it this time. Personally I don't mind backtracking myself because the "a hah!" Moment of remembering an area I went past where I can use a thing is like, really neat

[@Gokulosestoavirus]

One of the rare games that the difficulty is based on trail and error. Some parts were very unforgiving, but once you figured out how to beat certain bosses. They went down with ease. Loved this sequel so much.

[@iRedditShorts]

Also the most tedious game in the series. Some of the bosses were unforgivingly difficult. Not to mention how annoying it was having to backtrack all over the map to find the Sky Temple Keys. All it did was add artificial game time and made the game even more tedious. The ammo system was just unnecessary, and it sucked the fun out of Samus' most iconic weapon-- her beam. Even the beam combos had no use whatsoever. At least in MP1 the Ice Missile beam combo was very useful. There are so many gripes about this game that it's hard to call it a great sequel. I'd give the game a maximum review score of 7/10.

[@kazoorion7993]

1) The only bosses that were very difficulty were the Boost Guardian, Spider Guardian, Alpha Blogg and Grapple Guardian. The rest of them were fun without being way too difficulty and stressful. 2) The ammo system isn't as bad as people make it out to be since you are rewarded with tons of ammos when you destroy crates/enemies with the respective beams. If Metroid Prime Hunters didn't have any issue with the ammo system, then I don't see why this game should. 3) The beam combos actually has use, specially the Sonic Boom where it instant kill almost any enemy, be light enemy (Rezbit), be Darkling (Dark Ingsmasher), be Ing (Hunter Ing)

[@jaboiii7058]

@@iRedditShorts never be a game reviewer please

[@MelodyMix]

I am glad to finally see a KZbin video who reviews Metroid Prime 2 in a fair way. You look at every single detail that the game offers but also mention the TRUE defaults that it possess. :)

[@LegendThePowerful]

I honestly didn't care much for Echoes, but this video did make me appreciate the game more. While I might not necessarily find it as fun Prime 1 or Corruption, I'm glad that I can now see and understand the improvements that were made from the first game and even how it stands as a game on its own. Thanks for the great video and I certainly look forward to the next one. Keep it up (:

[@anonunknown7999]

As much as I prefered Prime 1, I find it more enjoyable to watch people LP Prime 2. Prime 2 has much better exploration, and watching people explore for hours is really fun.

[@romilrh]

3:25 "If Retro want you excited, you'll be excited" **shows Samus saving her game at a save station** 3:52 "If Retro want you cautious, you'll be cautious" **shows Samus blazing through an area ignoring all enemies as she takes damage** 4:21 "And if Retro want you unsettled, that's what you'll be" **shows Samus solving a Morph Ball puzzle with no enemies** Seriously, who edited this video?

[@NobleHunter21]

In this section, he was referencing how the music influences the mood. Two of these three examples however don't show the proper area as he plays the light world version of the music for the dark world areas.

[@romilrh]

@@NobleHunter21 it wasn't about how music specifically influences the mood, it was just about how Retro is able to create moods. It's just that what's shown in the video are terrible examples of it

[@Cheeseisboss]

@@romilrh he was definitely talking about a thematically consistent tone with the music, but I definitely agree that he could have added matching visuals to boot.

[@romilrh]

@@Cheeseisboss I agree Retro nailed the tone of these games. I'm just talking about how the editing of this video is terrible at conveying it.

[@BompusBepin]

I was about 10-11 when I first played Echoes and something I'll always remember are the nightmares I had after trying to play it. Ings crawling up the side of my dads house, stabbing me while sleeping through the window - dragging me out and throwing me across the street. Purple and black skies. It was terrifying, but I loved every second of it

[@OptimizedOptimism]

Very refreshing to see a retrospective review of my favourite GameCube and (dare I say) Metroid game. I love the light and dark world mechanics and how that ties to the varied enemies of each alignment aswell as mixing it up with the ammo system to balance your firepower. Soundtrack is even more hardcore ambience and the dark suit is one of my favourite suit designs. Loved fighting to save the Luminoth too :)

[@dragonkid365]

Quadraxis is my favorite boss fight in video games. Period. I love how you have to use just about everything you have to fight it. You really feel like you are giving it your all by throwing everything you have in your arsenal. It almost feels desperate. I mean you're fighting a robot and you're about the size of it's foot. That can't be easy and this game made it feel just as hard for you as it is for Samus. I also like how the fight is foreshadowed by having you see bits and pieces of another unfinished Quadraxis in Sanctuary Fortress. You get to see left overs of what seems to be the Luminoth constructing one. You even get use to use parts of it to platform. Just an all round amazing boss.

[@TwoPairSA]

Prime 2 has possibly my favorite opening screen to a video game ever. It's just the perfect way the title comes up with the music. I mean, I love the rest of the game too but it's probably the only game that I let the full intro play out on when I replay it instead of just mashing through it.

[@tedpill8877]

Prime 2 was the first Metroid game I ever played, and it's my favorite.

[@BaselardFE]

Metroid Prime 2 is my favourite Prime game, and my favourite Metroid game period. Thank you for covering this!

[@GiovannyRijckewaert]

Echoes is one of my favourites, really enjoyed the game and the puzzles. Also the story telling is very good.

[@gregbagel791]

Thank you for this video! I watched my brother play prime 2 as a little kid (he used to kick me out and say i wasnt old enough to watch lol) but when i was 10 I bought a gamecube and got prime 1, and then finally my brother gave me his copy of 2 to play and I got to experience for myself and was blown away! i love you attention to the soundtrack, I think its the best of the metriod series and one of my favorites of all time, fusion was my first metriod game on the gameboy advance and I love the darker tone they both share, both are ones i would consider more horror ascetic, which I feel compliments metriod very well. This one is by far my favorite metriod game and I feel is the most underrated of the whole franchise

[@specknacken6507]

Prime 2 imo is a logical and confident sequel. I too think that the rehashes of Super are Prime 1s weakest aspect though it kinda makes sense when you realize at the time it's been 7 years since the last game and Fusion was already a risk by just changing Samus' iconic suit design. I seriously believe that Prime1 in its earliest concept was supposed to be a 3D remake of Super. Too many parallels even at the final boss (Hyper Beam/Phazon Beam fucks up a giant brain monster). Or they just wanted to play it safe. Prime2 though totally stands on its own just by finally introducing us to a new advanced alien species, new enemies, new beam types and new suits. They may be not the most original ideas but it's just so nice to see something fresh after 4 games of "Chozo lore" and i love that Prime3 expands on that universe even further. The only real "retreat" here is Dark Samus because of the SA-X in Fusion but DS to me is more like a "rival character" compared to "Resident Evil Nemesis-Samus" so that's alright as well. MP2 is my favourite one from the supersolid Trilogy.

[@DissedRedEngie]

Oh yeah. This game that just happens to be one of my favorites, but also one that everyone disregarded because it didn't have 2 thousand colors in every tile of each area and had a darker tone to it. What, me? Salty? Pffff, nah.

[@NessKeyi]

I need to play the Prime series. I have owned Prime 1 since 2003 or 04 but never put much time into because I was a kid. After watching this video it makes me want to try the Prime series.

[@orange_man_from]

And you should.

[@DropkickNation]

Being a kid doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. Many people just don't enjoy these games.

[@Joseph-li3df]

@@DropkickNation That's certainly true, but I also think age can play a really big part in it. My dad's a Metroid fan and I tried to get into the series countless times, but it took until I was 16 for the games to really click with me. Now I'm a huge Metroid fan.

[@JJAB91]

Another thing to note is if Samus failed not only would an entire race go extinct but the Ing would spread. I believe the moth dude(I can't remember his name) outright says that if the Ing were to take Aether then they would soon spread and become a threat to the rest of the galaxy including the Federation.

[@eli2210]

To be fair the federation cant handle anything

[@horricule451]

Prime will always be my favorite because it was my first Metroid game and it left a big impression on me. But Prime 2 is better in a lot of ways and it deserves so much more credit than it gets.

[@aperson6505]

People hate on MP2 and I don't get it. Is goooood.

[@rg03500]

I don't hate it by any means, but I'd definitely say it's my least favorite of the series. I still love the game, seeing as how Prime is my favorite trilogy of all time.

[@shadowedspartan3237]

While I don’t really care for Prime 2, I wouldn’t say it’s objectively bad. It’s very.... Brown. It’s way too uninteresting imo. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a similar color pallet, but it seems like 90% of the backgrounds are rock. I also don’t like the ammo for other beams. I understand what they were going for, but it just doesn’t work imo.

[@lmeza1983]

is the same people that think Fusion and Prime 3 are the best metroid games = Casuals...

[@ljpal18]

@@lmeza1983 fusion is a legitimately great game. Context of the game matters. You're on a space station not a planet so it makes no sense for it to be free roaming.

[@swishfish8858]

@Shingeki Motion That's all down to opinion. A good game isn't just about its gameplay. Story, tone and atmosphere all play an important part as well. This is why Prime 1 is my favorite. 2's tone SUCKS. We somehow went from Metroid to Zelda. Where Prime 1 had a vast and forboding planet full of things that wanted you dead, with absolutely nobody but yourself for companionship, now suddenly you have a safehouse to go to after getting each of the sacred orbs, with a giant friendly moth alien to tell you to visit the next dungeon. Why? Samus doesn't need some moth guy to tell her to save the world with the three magic sacred keys or whatever. And it destroys Aether as a planet for me. Tallon IV was great because it felt like a whole world that you were exploring and discovering, finding each path naturally. Aether is just chopped into chunks that you get told are only for visiting after you do the last one. It's dumb. This is Metroid. LET me find the important thing, don't MAKE me find it.

[@Phox-in-a-Box]

I remember back in the original GameCube release, there was a bug where you could get the missile launcher before triggering a cutscene, and then get a second one in the same crate after that cutscene, giving you an extra 5 missiles and allowing you to get 101% item completion.

[@JakeRyanBooth]

Prime 1 and Prime 2 holds so much significance in my childhood. Prime 3 didn’t really hit well. But the first 2 games in the sub series of games were the best.

[@dbgames185]

My favorite game out of the trilogy. I actually liked the ammo system, 🅱ecause it keeps you from 🅱eing too overpowerd right from the 🅱eginning.

[@thebagg4553]

Papa N. 🅱️rime 2 🅱️a 🅱️est

[@jasoninkurai5463]

🅱

[@ShooterQ]

15 years later and the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes intro is still my favorite in all video games.

[@ethanclark640]

i love the intros to both prime 1 and 2, seeing the intro to this game for the first time after beating prime 1 is a moment i will never forget, i wish i could relive it again :P

[@altermann1991]

Really glad to see you enjoy the game a lot, especially since Prime 2 kinda feels like the least popular game out of the trilogy even though it does so many things right.

[@alexknowlton4038]

Echoes is an incredible game. The first two Prime games are god-tier in my mind.

[@gamesystemaddict3949]

I got my GameCube in September 04, with the prime 1 prime 2 demo bundle. I saw the commercial for this when it finally released and I begged my parents for it. I loved it the moment I played the demo and the moment I tore the shrink wrap off the copy I finally received. It’s dark and light world dynamic ignited my imagination when I was 7 and it became a huge part of my childhood. I liked the first one but my brother beat that before I could even touch it. This, was mine to experience. So creepy and fun. I even learned to read from the prime series! I’m glad to have grown up with this amazing series

[@ExtremeAce]

Why do people call exploring in one area and going through Dark and Light Aether 'backtracking'? It's just like exploring around in Norfair or Maridia in Super Metroid but that isn't called backtracking. The only backtracking in Prime 2 is for Seeker Launcher and Power Bomb which makes you actually leave the area you're currently in. That is called backtracking.

[@nakateconroy]

Metroid Prime 2 is a fantastic game, though funnily enough I found it _more_ tedious than Prime 1, and not less. In regards to the bosses, I never found Prime 1's to have terribly egregious health bars whereas I found almost every boss in Prime 2 had way too much health (looking at you, Grapple Guardian). I also found backtracking in Prime 1 a lot more fun because, at least to me, it didn't feel like backtracking. I think that's probably because the world felt more interconnected in Prime 1 while Prime 2's felt very sectioned off and isolated until you needed to backtrack somewhere and the game says "Alright I won't make you walk all the way back." Because the game is so clearly divided into different areas, going from one to another actually _feels_ like backtracking instead of just looking around. Also (and you addressed this) the end-game item collection here is so much worse than Prime 1's. I loved how straight-forward Prime's was and it was a great reason to go back to all the areas I'd been and pick up any collectables I couldn't get earlier. In Prime 2, though, they added a few steps to the process that just made it feel like busy-work. Still better than Prime 3's though. It also kinda bothers me that Samus has no qualms about destroying an entire dimension and sides with the Luminoth so quickly. As a side note, how the hell did I not know that the spring ball was in any Prime game?

[@grassroots15]

Scott Flake Agreed on the tedium, Prime 2 gives me a headache eventually when I can rip through a lot of Prime 1 in one sitting. I still enjoy the game, but the lack of variance makes the game seem longer than it is.

[@kazoorion7993]

Lack of variance? I think this game still have a decent amount of variance.

[@ddnava96]

I think the reason is Prime 2 took longer to interconnect areas. You've already visited all 3 areas and you still have only one single entry/exit point on each one. Then you need to go to another area, and you need to go all the way back to the entrance, go through the overworld to the entrance to the other area, and walk everything again Prime 1 connected them more dynamically. I remember the Chozo ruins having like 3 or 4 entrances. Tallon Overworld like 6. Magmoor like 4. And so on. The only sin was Phendrana, having only 1 entrance for almost its entirety, although it you had the space jump boots you could complete the whole area in 1 go. Phazon Mines was similar, but it was intended to be 1 entrance, and it was intended for you to complete it in 1 go, so it was not a sin

[@unwaveringcomplacence6781]

+David Navarrete I'm pretty sure that's it. You nailed it.

[@Acecard-jl2py]

Someone with the right words to describe my problem with Prime 2. Where back tracking in Prime 1 felt real while exploring unique cool environments, back tracking in Prime 2 felt boring and tedious because half of the world feels the exact same. Once you been in the dark world in Aggon, it looks the same everywhere else. Just slipping into the dark world takes so much time.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I think I have the opposite problem with Dark Aether than most people do - For me, the Dark Suit was a bit too effective at damage reduction, killing a lot of the oppressive, claustrophobic, atmosphere of hopping from light portal to light portal.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

I wouldn't mind that so much if the light crystals restored your health faster. Watching your low energy tanks crawl up like: 29... 30... 31... 32... 33... 34... 35 Is boring as hell.

[@1800Supreme]

yeah I'm conflicted because for one thing I thought they should have accelerated restoration the longer you stayed in the light sphere the faster it would heal with a cap of course. But even still I thought the light spheres were a little too helpful for one they freaking heal you . like you don't have anything like that in the light world . I know that I have done it a few times where I had to take a short breaks, I would go to the dark world and afk in a light sphere to get health back .

[@KeeSomething]

Glad you enjoyed Prime 2. It's the most divisive Prime game, but also my favorite. The sense of dread works really well in a series about isolation, and no other Metroid game comes close to nailing that hopeless atmosphere, imo. I also appreciate that it doesn't try to "look like Metroid" by throwing in Ridley, Kraid, Brinstar, etc. Aether feels like an alien world, completely disconnected from the worlds we've explored in previous Metroid games. That's how Metroid should be! New planets should feel completely new. I could go on about Prime 2, but you're video does a fine job of that.

[@alexmueller828]

I really enjoy your videos. They're very insightful. You look at them logically, and give constructive criticism without hating on the game. This really interested me, because I too also liked Echoes more than the original Prime, it's my favorite in the trilogy I would say. (The following is my opinion of course) It improved on many things of the original game, but that wasn't all. They made it completely fresh - it had many similar mechanics, but the gameplay was still different. The environments and creatures were distinct from the original. Overall it was just a great new experience. But anyways, it improved many things. I agree that the backtracking was less egregious because of the map design and also by making some of the variety of areas be a matter of travelling to a parallel world. The boss fights were VASTLY improved - more creative, harder, less repetitive, more variety (e.g. the Spider-Ball Guardian being fought by puzzles). There were still some, like the Alpha Blogg though that I didn't care for. I thought it had a huge health bar for being so uninspired, basically a bigger version of normal bloggs. I only remember perhaps one memorable fight in the first game, and several in Prime 2. The music was perhaps even better for my personal taste, but they both were phenomenal in that regard. I actually really enjoyed the Lore in this game. I think I enjoyed Prime 3's most, and I enjoyed that of Prime 1, but I found reading about the Luminoth struggle very interesting. They were a very compelling race, as were the Ing, and I don't know why exactly. Dark Samus was also a strange thing that made the story interesting without shoving dialogue or too too many cutscenes at you. It left a sense of mystery and was an interesting aspect to the other conflict with Dark Aether. Echoes is wonderfully atmospheric, especially with the Dark World dynamic. I thought the first game was atmospheric, but this went to another level. The Sanctuary Fortress was just incredibly stunning to me for some reason, especially with my expectations after the comparatively un-technological areas. I actually found the Sky Temple Keys no worse than the Artifacts because of the more easily traversable world and that there are less to find. It took much less time than the Artifact part for me, but yeah, it was rather bothersome.

[@Stratelier]

Speaking of the Sky Temple keys, I personally enjoyed how there were technically ten of them, but the first one was already in place. Sure, this was the means by which you acquired hints for the remaining nine, but for some reason I just really enjoyed the fact that there was this one Luminoth soldier whose log entry basically boils down to "I did it."

[@zayaannashrid1374]

123 views............reviewing Metroid Prime 2..... Is this a sign?

[@KingKlonoa]

Zayaan Nashrid 👀

[@BloodyParalyzer]

Half life 3 confirmed, your move m8

[@zayaannashrid1374]

I'm sorry me matey, but i don't respond to half dead memes.

[@BloodyParalyzer]

Zayaan Nashrid thank god we have better games to play anyways

[@zayaannashrid1374]

Technically anything is better than a game that doesn't exist(or will never exist tbh)

[@zetsumeimaru]

I haven't played Prime 1, but I picked up Prime 2 the first chance I got. Definitely my favorite Metroid Game.

[@NightRanma]

Good video, if I didn't already like prime 2 this might have made me reconsider. When the gamecube was a current system I always considered the original prime to be near perfect; not needing a sequel and the light and dark stuff sounding more gimmicky than anything. I grabbed it only a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure that I would put it above the first prime, but it definitely deserves praise

[@Neltharak]

"if retro want you cautious, you'll be cautious" *falls in dark water for ow my health damage*

[@samin90]

BRB gonna buy a VR headset to play this on Dolphin

[@HalfBlindProductions]

samin90 does dolphin support vr?

[@Nayr1994]

I'm playing prime 2 in vr right now. It's wild, man. There are a few graphical glitches. Light beacons in the dark world mirror the world relative to you in a disorienting way and some slowdown with the charge shot. Let me know if you fix these and have fun!

[@HalfBlindProductions]

Ryan Gonzalez cool do you still spoon with the wiimote but look around with your head? also when you do look around do you see Samus body? how does it work?

[@boy6432]

A prime game in VR sounds fucking incredible right now.

[@HalfBlindProductions]

Murdock what I want to see is a hack to bring in beams from other games it wouldn't really with though

[@mariolavoie8545]

Great Video, Prime 2 is probably my favorite or second favorite Metroid game the other contender being zero mission. I agree with most of the things that you say in your video. The one thing I find weird is that I don't mind the sky temple keys as much as the artifacts, maybe it's because of the fast travel or collecting missile expansions and e-tanks I missed, but I get why they can be annoying.

[@Strazz217]

Morning coffee, nicotine, and a new KingK vid. Today is gonna be a good one

[@shadowedspartan3237]

“Prime 2 is the darkest Metroid game I’ve played.” Literally and figuratively...

[@Jdudec367]

literally? yeah figuratively?eh....no

[@shadowedspartan3237]

Yeah that's fair, I was a lot cringer a year ago lol

[@theinfantmetroid]

its japanese title being "dark echoes" makes this funnier

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

I thought Metroid 2 was darker, what with exploring a claustrophobic low-visibility cave system slowly wondering whether your mission is the right thing, being genocide and all. At least until the moment the baby metroid is spared, where your genocide ceases and the atmosphere becomes calming, just a relaxed stroll back to the ship to end the game.

[@madbrosheo1514]

I think I'm the only one who thinks Prime 2 is easier than Prime, and Prime 3. Still my favorite though. And I have to say, I was nodding my head in agreement pretty much the entire video. It's nice to see someone who shares my opinion nearly one hundred percent from time to time.

[@joesheridan9451]

Mad Bro Sheo I’d definitely say it’s the hardest but not as hard as i was expecting from all the hype. The only bosses I didn’t beat first try: -dark splinter (bit embarrassing lol)2 trys -boost guardian 4th attempt -alpha blogg 2nd attempt -spider guardian 3rd attempt -Emperor Ing 3rd attempt -Dark samus 3rd phase 2nd attempt That and dying once or twice being over cocky in the dark world...whereas prime 1 I’m confident I could do a no death run and probably have without realising and 3 is even easier

[@iatemyface]

I think another flaw you forgot to mention was one that wasn't an issue in Prime 1 except in the Phazon Mines - the save station locations. While Alpha Blogg and SPider are complaints in regards to difficulty, their save stations are much farther than they need to be. A big reason I go to Prime more than Echoes in terms of replay is because I can pace myself better in Prime and like it or not the artifacts had better placement. Echoes is still the better game but for myself, I replay Prime more due to those factors.

[@ArafuraMusic]

Whenever you upload an analysis / review, I feel such excitement! Always such good, in depth stuff, seriously. Echoes is still one of my favorite if not favorite Prime game. The atmosphere and concept still really hit home for me. The amount of desolation and anxiety having to roam the dark world and encounter the Ing still makes me clench my buttcheeks whenever I'm in the midst of a replay!

[@morbideddie]

Love your vids and love MP2. Echoes is often considered the black sheep of the series, it's darker and takes more risks than the original and is less polished than the third but imho has always been the best in the series inspite of its flaws.

[@CptTachyon]

While you alluded to it, something I vastly prefer about Prime 2 in comparison to Prime 1 is that the world itself as much more interesting, both in terms of the logs and the visuals. I honestly never got why everyone said Prime 1 had great atmosphere. A lot of the locations felt rather stock, especially Magmoor Cavers which felt more like generic fire world #154 than anything else. The other environments were better, but they didn't quite do enough to shake off the whole plant world/ruins world/ice world/industrial world feel to it. The worlds in Prime 2 felt much more 'lived in' by comparison, and while you could also say the places there are desert world/swamp world/cyberpunk world, they went further to differentiate themselves from the stock location bases than Prime 1 did. The logs (and dialogue cut scenes for that matter) also helped establish the world much better in Prime 2. In Prime 1, by the time I reached Phenderas Drifts, I suddenly asked myself 'Wait, why am I even here again? What's Samus even trying to accomplish?' The log entries are also less interesting. The space pirates weren't interesting as antagonists with no substantial end goal that I felt compelled to stop (We're making super soldiers because...well, reasons), and the chozo ones fall into the 2mysterious4you trap. The luminoth logs however gave insight into their lives and their struggle, and since we can see the bodies and the survivors, it really adds weight to them. TLDR: Prime 2's more interesting world made me really want to explore the world, as opposed to 'well, might as well see what's over here' in Prime 1.

[@Jdudec367]

all of prime 1's areas felt very different and lively to me honestly say what you want about magmoor caverns but agon wastes is pretty bland to like a worse chozo shrine area

[@ve_rb]

Metroid prime 2 start screen theme was a banger ngl. And yes it freaked me out as a kid so much that I didn’t play it

[@Atari11000]

This really is an ideal sequel(for the most part) with a lot of Prime 1’s problems fixed (or debugged I should say which hurt the sequence breaking). I really like Quadraxis as well because it fixed the big health like with Thardus from Prime 1. I have to say my fav boss was Chykka as it really felt like a Metroid game(outside of prime) with the Ing horror vibez. The dark world for exploring, fighting stronger enemy variants and the key collecting at the end(even) was something quite delicious. The much more origins soundtrack (compared to the majority of SM remixes in MP1) was just phenomenal. The design of Torvus Bogg having the underground with the big boss(which I need to see remade the most in HD graphics) was structured so ingenious like the Water Temple from OOT. The Aether r kinda cute & remind me of my brown cat making faces when they look up at the sky😂. Excellent Sexy, rich narrative review as usual 👑 K. I like watching ur retrospects like a podcast 🎧😄

[@ThunderStruck115]

I'm honestly hoping this game gets the same remastered treatment that Prime 1 did

[@ninemugetsu]

Same here, whole trilogy deserves it tbh

[@Doughnuts]

Aren't we all!

[@Koseiku]

I really loved this game and find it to be the best in the franchise, yes even better than Super Metroid. Really a shame that we never got anything similar ever since and even the new Prime will be something else entirely. You cannot reproduce the atmosphere Prime 2 had with a handheld game.

[@AnimusPrime87]

Footage from The Geek Critique. I’ve watched all videos from this channel and his so many times. I love you guys. I love this content.

[@MatthewCampbell765]

With Prime, I think the areas you explore might be more distant from each other than they appear. You often have to take these weird elevator things to get from one place to another, and I suspect that's because you're actually travelling pretty far.

[@EXHellfire]

Enjoyable analysis. This is my #1 Metroid, and possibly my #1 3D game

[@lizstar3630]

So when you're about to go to bed with your partner, do you go "KingK is feeling kinkay" I'm sorry, that's all I can think of when you say your name.

[@KingKlonoa]

Liz the Goddess I don't refer to myself as "KingK" with my partner so

[@Descro382]

@@KingKlonoa you're breaking the immersion man, I think you need to expand your color palette

[@hiphopdmt2167]

That wave. The most perfect moment in gaming. What a journey. Thanks K.

[@zakcolburn]

That intro theme alone is enough to make this one of the best games of all time

[@MrJbone1973]

Prime 2 is The empire strikes back to Star Wars.

[@nikodemus0552]

my man best metroid in the series imo

[@tbanderr]

no doubt

[@therealautman416]

I wish that this game got more attention, because it deserves so much more than it seems to have gotten.

[@gerudoking3180]

This is such a cool channel! I found it looking for a review on the 25th anniversary edition of Earthbound Beginnings, and now Ive watched just about every retrospective/review you have to offer. The Metroid Prime series is one of my favorites, and Im glad you're enjoying it! Can't wait for Metroid Prime series!

[@armandomoncada9551]

My fav of the prime trilogy and my second favorite Metroid, just behind Metroid Zero Mission.

[@mogster3g]

You used morph ball bombs against quadraxis' feet? I used bootsy ball and it did wonders!

[@spickell97]

I always like watching your videos especially since I give games a second due to your analysis changing my mind and Prime 2 is no exception. Personally as a game designer watching people analysis games allows me to think of what gamers like best. Keep up the great work.

[@tgr3423]

I think a minor thing worth mentioning is that by end game, when you get the Light Suit, it enables a sort of fast travel between temples, making any major backtracking becoming almost null. Of course, you still have to backtrack, but that's never been a personal issue for me. But it does greatly speed up the process and gives an incentive to explore as much as you can by end game.

[@blu8093]

very refreshing to see someone actually like this game, most people usually think prime 2 is the worst of the trilogy...I admittedly still think it is the worst of the three games, but I like your arguments, great job as always.

[@RemixerUltimate]

Jacob Blackman well I mean, logic would dictate that the worst of a 10/10 trilogy would only be an 8/10, which still makes it phenomenal

[@Dogman_35]

Most people with taste see it as the best in the trilogy.

[@psychedelicartistry]

MP2 is one of those gems like Majoras Mask or Oracle of Ages where it's hard af and a lot of people are turned off by the intense level of challenge, but it's so god damn rewarding once you give it a chance!!

[@Joistikero1]

I don't need this video to love this game. I simply fucking love it. The music, the atmosphere, the bosses, Samus being more badass than ever, Dark Samus. This game is a gem, I have finished it like ten times (No exaggeration). However, I am not saying this video is bad at all, it is very good. I am just saying that since the beggining I have loved this masterpiece.

[@omegawario7479]

Prime 2 is such a weird game and sticks out against all other Metroids. First time I played on GameCube I got stuck on torvus bog then came back and started fresh several years later. Game was insanely hard but it wasn’t until I beat the game and it said “hard mode” that I realized I had accidentally chosen hard mode from the start lol. But yeah if prime 1 is the star that everyone loves then prime 2 is the quiet edgy brother that is hard to get along with but is ultimately much cooler and deeper to those who understand and respect it.

[@samk8005]

I think my biggest problem with Metroid Prime 2 is that it basically rewards you for just sitting in the light bubbles while in Dark Aether. Because it sends you back so far when you die, I ended up spending copious amounts of time healing up in these safe spots, which destroyed the pacing of the game and made me groan any time I had to go to Dark Aether, which is the main gimmick of the game.

[@Galespark234]

I'm so glad someone else agrees with me on this game. I thought it was strictly better than the first one for the mentioned reasons, but everyone just prefers the original. Keep up the good work man, can't wait for the MP3 one

[@jjc4924]

Everyone has an opinion. I still prefer Prime 1 as well because of the balance of exploration, puzzles & difficulty. But I still enjoy Prime 2 for what it tries to do & I like it. It only depends on the taste of how you prefer. It's kinda like Super Mario Galaxy 1 or 2. Some people like 1 more than 2 & via versa. But they're both great games to there extent. Same with Prime 1 & 2.

[@scheisseamdampfen]

Metroid prime 1 was an awesome transition into shooter genre. Prime 2 perfected it, the atmosphere is incredibly good, the music, the environment, the enemys, the story, everything fitted perfectly like a suit.

[@leodragon4056]

Lowkey, if we don't get a remaster, like an actual remaster like prime 1, then this whole endeavor is a waste of time