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So I recently played through Symphony of the Night for the umpteenth time, but my thirst for games in the vein of Super Metroid and the later 2d Castlevanias has not been quenched.
I've played Super Metroid, the game boy metroids, Symphony of the Night and most but not all of the game boy castlevanias (My last one was order of eclessia, which was just okay). Are there any other notable games that have this delicious blend of platforming, tricky bosses and areas you can explore all over?
I've got a 360, Wii, DS and more than capable computer, as well as a few older consoles (PS2, Dreamcast, N64) so I've got most of the bases covered. Can anyone recommend other games in this vein?
Aquaria, which was featured in a prior Humble Indie Bundle, is basically Loom + The Little Mermaid (trust me, this is a plus) + Metroidvania. It is a fantastic game with great narration and excellent art direction... basically, it's Metroidvania "Under The Sea". No platforming (side-scrolling 2D), but clever bosses, unlockable abilities and items which allow you to explore further into the huge underwater world. It's probably the most polished PC indie Metroidvania game.
I can also recommend Cave Story, if you haven't played it yet. It's PC freeware, so I'm sure you can find it out there.
Aquaria, which was featured in a prior Humble Indie Bundle, is basically Loom + The Little Mermaid (trust me, this is a plus) + Metroidvania. It is a fantastic game with great narration and excellent art direction... basically, it's Metroidvania "Under The Sea". No platforming (side-scrolling 2D), but clever bosses, unlockable abilities and items which allow you to explore further into the huge underwater world. It's probably the most polished PC indie Metroidvania game.
Thank you! I've had this sitting around for ages in my backlog, and I'd completely forgotten about it. Now I'll definitely have to fire it up.
I've played Cave Story to death and back. The only thing left is more hell speedruns, but maybe I'll run through it again anyway.
Shadow Complex looks good, I'll definitely check that out. There's some other game I've always heard in conjunction with Cave Story, but I can't remember the name right now... I think it was another two word title, and the game had to do with jungles or something. Is that ringing any bells?
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
edited May 2011
Shadow Complex is pretty great and isn't shy about aping Super Metroid. Outland (Xbox Live) is gorgeous with an interesting Ikaruga-like mechanic. Terraria sorta-kinda-maybe fits the bill, cheap purchase on Steam and currently has a very active community in G&T.
Yeah, finishing Terraria a few days ago is what prompted me to play SotN again. I probably should have mentioned that.
Arkham Asylum is another one of those games I picked up for a pittance on steam and has been sitting in my backlog. I took it for more of a straight up brawler. I didn't realize it had exploration elements. That just moved up to the top of my list behind Aquaria.
Aquaria, which was featured in a prior Humble Indie Bundle, is basically Loom + The Little Mermaid (trust me, this is a plus) + Metroidvania. It is a fantastic game with great narration and excellent art direction... basically, it's Metroidvania "Under The Sea". No platforming (side-scrolling 2D), but clever bosses, unlockable abilities and items which allow you to explore further into the huge underwater world. It's probably the most polished PC indie Metroidvania game.
Thank you! I've had this sitting around for ages in my backlog, and I'd completely forgotten about it. Now I'll definitely have to fire it up.
I've played Cave Story to death and back. The only thing left is more hell speedruns, but maybe I'll run through it again anyway.
Shadow Complex looks good, I'll definitely check that out. There's some other game I've always heard in conjunction with Cave Story, but I can't remember the name right now... I think it was another two word title, and the game had to do with jungles or something. Is that ringing any bells?
I think Eternal Daughter had a jungle as it's first zone. That game was, honestly, way too hard for me, though a lot of it had to do with constant glitches on my PC.
I keep meaning to pick it up on XBLA, but from the demo Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light seemed like a isometric metroid game, although I think it may have been a bit more linear.
Yeah, finishing Terraria a few days ago is what prompted me to play SotN again. I probably should have mentioned that.
Arkham Asylum is another one of those games I picked up for a pittance on steam and has been sitting in my backlog. I took it for more of a straight up brawler. I didn't realize it had exploration elements. That just moved up to the top of my list behind Aquaria.
Arkham Asylum is fantastic. Yeah, the combat is basically about brawling, but there is a lot of exploring, finding walls to blow up for items, etc. It definitely fits the bill for a 3D Metroidvania. You won't regret moving it to the top of your list. The only real weak spot is the "boss" fights, I guess. A bit uninspired.
I keep meaning to pick it up on XBLA, but from the demo Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light seemed like a isometric metroid game, although I think it may have been a bit more linear.
I wouldn't call Lara Croft a Metroidvania. I mean, you can revisit any level with all your new weapons and relics, but you choose them from a level select screen. Still an excellent game, though. Especially in co-op.
Re: other games mentioned in this thread: Shadow Complex is excellent and worth playing. I have Aquaria and sadly haven't touched it yet, but I hear nothing but good things.
La Mulana is supposed to have a Wii release sometime in the hopefully near future. It's very Metroid-esque but set in a Raiders of the Lost Ark setting.
Within a Deep Forest is pretty good and it's freeware.
If you can track down a PSOne and Tomba, you'll get probably one of the best games in the genre.
I remember a year back or so there were people in G&T talking about how great the freeware game Gungirl 2 is. I haven't gotten around to trying it though.
L Ron HowardThe duckMinnesotaRegistered Userregular
edited May 2011
Some other games that I have:
Chelsea and the 7 Devils
Iji
Knytt
Saira
Within a Deep Forest (Last three are Nifflas games, which are all pretty awesome)
Soldexus
The Power
Lyle in Cube Sector for Windows. Metroidvania + item throwing from Super Mario Bros 2. It's slightly rough around the edges and screenshots don't do it much justice, but it's free and has an excellent selection of music.
Gungirl 2 is a fun enough game, and you'd get to play it without ever having to go through that one part near the end. That one part that made like half the people who ever played the game just quit. It was removed.
So, yeah, it's worth playing now.
Bunny Must Die is a decent free option as well. It's got a few neat gameplay things, mostly time stuff you can do, and a few of the bosses are fun. It was all in Japanese last I played it, but you can figure everything out easily enough. Seems the official site is down, but here's a direct download link.
La Mulana is supposed to have a Wii release sometime in the hopefully near future. It's very Metroid-esque but set in a Raiders of the Lost Ark setting.
Within a Deep Forest is pretty good and it's freeware.
If you can track down a PSOne and Tomba, you'll get probably one of the best games in the genre.
Yes! La Mulana, that was the game I always see mentioned in the same breath as Cave Story. I'll have to check that out.
That list is amazing. Sooo many retro titles I can look for now. I've heard good things about Tomba, but short of getting really lucky at a garage sale or home owned store I don't think I'll ever lay my hands on it. Maple Story consumed days of my life in the past and even a few bucks from my wallet. It's too bad it's more about the grinding and less about the platforming+exploring. Although, it does look like there have been some updates since I last played.... Gotta resist the urge to squish slimes.
I haven't seen anyone mention Outland yet, which just came out on XBLA. It scratches the Metroidvania itch pretty well, and is generally fantastic.
Also, they could update Maple Story until the end of the universe, and it still wouldn't be a game anyone should start playing (yes, I used to play too).
I thought about mentioning Outland, but the exploration in that game never really pays off. 19 times out of 20 it's just coins or bafmodads.
It's not a bad game by any means, and the boss fights are some of the best I've ever seen, but ultimately it's pretty linear with minor branches here and there.
Delzhand on
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Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
Shadow Complex is pretty great and isn't shy about aping Super Metroid. Outland (Xbox Live) is gorgeous with an interesting Ikaruga-like mechanic. Terraria sorta-kinda-maybe fits the bill, cheap purchase on Steam and currently has a very active community in G&T.
Yeah I've been playing Outland so far, but the progression is really linear to a fault, and the map doesn't need to be really explored (all fully visible before exploring just by pressing the map button) so it doesn't really scratch that itch. However, it is a great platformer.
Posts
I can also recommend Cave Story, if you haven't played it yet. It's PC freeware, so I'm sure you can find it out there.
Thank you! I've had this sitting around for ages in my backlog, and I'd completely forgotten about it. Now I'll definitely have to fire it up.
I've played Cave Story to death and back. The only thing left is more hell speedruns, but maybe I'll run through it again anyway.
Shadow Complex looks good, I'll definitely check that out. There's some other game I've always heard in conjunction with Cave Story, but I can't remember the name right now... I think it was another two word title, and the game had to do with jungles or something. Is that ringing any bells?
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
I second this suggestion. So much fun.
Electronic composer for hire.
Arkham Asylum is another one of those games I picked up for a pittance on steam and has been sitting in my backlog. I took it for more of a straight up brawler. I didn't realize it had exploration elements. That just moved up to the top of my list behind Aquaria.
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
I think Eternal Daughter had a jungle as it's first zone. That game was, honestly, way too hard for me, though a lot of it had to do with constant glitches on my PC.
I keep meaning to pick it up on XBLA, but from the demo Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light seemed like a isometric metroid game, although I think it may have been a bit more linear.
Arkham Asylum is fantastic. Yeah, the combat is basically about brawling, but there is a lot of exploring, finding walls to blow up for items, etc. It definitely fits the bill for a 3D Metroidvania. You won't regret moving it to the top of your list. The only real weak spot is the "boss" fights, I guess. A bit uninspired.
I wouldn't call Lara Croft a Metroidvania. I mean, you can revisit any level with all your new weapons and relics, but you choose them from a level select screen. Still an excellent game, though. Especially in co-op.
Re: other games mentioned in this thread: Shadow Complex is excellent and worth playing. I have Aquaria and sadly haven't touched it yet, but I hear nothing but good things.
My Backloggery
Within a Deep Forest is pretty good and it's freeware.
If you can track down a PSOne and Tomba, you'll get probably one of the best games in the genre.
and there's always Maple Story.
Here's a good list.
http://www.gamespite.net/toastywiki/index.php/Games/Metroidvania
My Backloggery
Chelsea and the 7 Devils
Iji
Knytt
Saira
Within a Deep Forest (Last three are Nifflas games, which are all pretty awesome)
Soldexus
The Power
So, yeah, it's worth playing now.
Bunny Must Die is a decent free option as well. It's got a few neat gameplay things, mostly time stuff you can do, and a few of the bosses are fun. It was all in Japanese last I played it, but you can figure everything out easily enough. Seems the official site is down, but here's a direct download link.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
That list is amazing. Sooo many retro titles I can look for now. I've heard good things about Tomba, but short of getting really lucky at a garage sale or home owned store I don't think I'll ever lay my hands on it. Maple Story consumed days of my life in the past and even a few bucks from my wallet. It's too bad it's more about the grinding and less about the platforming+exploring. Although, it does look like there have been some updates since I last played.... Gotta resist the urge to squish slimes.
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
Also, they could update Maple Story until the end of the universe, and it still wouldn't be a game anyone should start playing (yes, I used to play too).
It's not a bad game by any means, and the boss fights are some of the best I've ever seen, but ultimately it's pretty linear with minor branches here and there.
Reading ftw. :P
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
Well speak of the devil...