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On December 4th, 2025, CGM’s Dayna Eileen messaged me, completely unprompted: “You should rank the Zelda games.” Being on the cusp of The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary, it seemed like a worthy challenge. A challenge that would require wisdom, power and of course, courage to complete.
I’ve loved The Legend of Zelda series since I first played Link’s Awakening DX back in 1998, and I’ve definitely developed some strong opinions about it as I’ve gotten older. So now, as we celebrate The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary, here is my humble opinion on how the series stacks from worst to best.
Much like with my Comprehensive Ranking of the Metroid Series, the focus of this list will be primarily on the “mainline” Zelda games; however, I would be remiss not to mention the many spin-offs that also exist within the series. As such, they will also be listed from worst to best in the honourable mentions section.
In all my years, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to genuinely hate a Zelda game, but I HATE The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. A gimmicky tech demo that was released on the Nintendo Wii, five years into its lifespan. Almost everything about this test of patience feels like the antithesis of what The Legend of Zelda should be. Terrible combat that prioritizes motion controls over fluid swordplay? Check. Small areas separated by an empty and pointless Sky World? Check. A companion who handholds you through the entire adventure? Big ol’ check on that.
It took years of established lore and flushed it down the toilet for a pointless retcon, so Din, Faeror and Nayru were replaced by a single goddess Hylia—making the Triforce kind of perfunctory. It failed to include the series’ main antagonist, so Ganon: King of the Moblins was reduced to The Demise—a nebulous concept about hate and anger or some lazy badguy writing. It’s a game so lazy it makes you fight the same terrible boss three times because it couldn’t come up with better Spore creatures for you to fight.
That isn’t to say it’s all bad. I loved the painted art style, and the game’s score is one of the best in the series. But for what it was, when it came out, it failed as both a video game and it failed even harder as a The Legend of Zelda game.
Phew, now that I got that out of my system, let’s move on to less offensively lower entries on this list. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a pretty serviceable game, however there’s no denying its status as an actual tech demo for the recently released Nintendo DS, with the two releasing only three years from each other. It’s not really a bad game, but so much of its design feels in service of showing off what the system was capable of.
It’s a lot of using the touchscreen for movement, which was a particular bugbear for many people. Puzzle solving was certainly interesting, but it’s usually just a lot of drawing lines between obvious points. And as a kind of direct sequel to Wind Waker, it didn’t feel particularly unique. However, that puzzle where you needed to close the DS was GENIUS, and the game had one of the most fun multiplayer modes of any DS game at the time.
This one’s going to seem like absolute blasphemy. I always tell people, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, feels to me like the fully realized version of Breath of the Wild, but I would sooner go back to Breath of the Wild than play Tears of the Kingdom. In a lot of ways, it’s a really good game. Its story is more expansive, its world is a lot bigger, and its mechanics feel far more fleshed out. But it’s a really good game, only if you never played the game that came before it.
When I wrote my list of things I wanted to see in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I was genuinely hopeful Nintendo might have listened to criticisms about the Switch’s flagship title. Instead, we got a lot of half measures. Swords still shatter like glass, but now you can glue sticks together, so it’s kind of fixed. Was constantly switching armour annoying? Good news, we’ve doubled the amount of armour sets you can find. Didn’t like constantly pausing the game to scroll through menus? Well, now we’ve made the menu one long linear list, on top of needing to pause to scroll through menus!
The overarching story is a bit better, but the most important bits—Zelda’s experience in the past—need to be found on the map, and important plot points can therefore be experienced out of order, which made sense in Breath of the Wild cause Link was recovering lost memories…oh, never mind. The weirdest thing to me is that it positions itself as a sequel but almost NEVER references the past game’s events. Which is why I say, there’s a lot to like about Tears of the Kingdom, but it’s only really worth playing if you haven’t played the game that came before it.
This is going to sound very similar to where I put the original Metroid games on my previous list. The Legend of Zelda was, without a doubt, a groundbreaking video game. It pushed the limits of what the NES was capable of and showed gamers that video games could be more than simple distractions—they could be entire ADVENTURES.
However, I think it’s fair to say, The Legend of Zelda hasn’t really stood the test of time. It’s certainly fared better than other games of the era, but it’s a bit clunky, needlessly difficult and almost completely unplayable without a guide—the first example of the “Nintendo Power Game.” While it deserves no shortage of praise for its size and scope—and being one of the first cartridge games to offer a save feature—it definitely hasn’t gotten better with age.
Similar to its immediate predecessor, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link also hasn’t particularly stood the test of time. It shares an equally unnecessary difficulty and borderline unplayability without a guide. While it’s not a particularly bad game, there are a lot of barriers to entry that made it somewhat unenjoyable both then and now. It’s a bit of a weird one because there’s actually a lot I like about Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
It’s shift to a 2D platformer for enemy encounters, or dungeons and caves, gave it a unique style, and its focus on combat created an interesting system that I’m surprised no other entry in the series has explored. Similar to something like Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, it built a world that felt genuinely big within the confines of the most common 8-bit design philosophies. It’s a game I would love to see remade, ala. Metroid: Samus Returns—with modern gaming sensibilities and Link’s moveset from Super Smash Bros.
This is going to be the most difficult part of the list because the games are objectively good, but didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me—let’s call it the “mediocre middle.” The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom deserves a certain degree of props for being the first “official” game in the series that featured the titular princess in the leading role. Also, it’s inventive gameplay that borrows the sense of freedom its Switch predecessors pioneered, while tailoring it to a more “traditional” top-down Zelda experience, was genuinely unique.
However, by that same token, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom doesn’t really have a lot of memorable moments. Dungeons are a welcome return, but since they need to be cleared with beds and boxes, they lack the visual and thematic distinction that made previous Zelda dungeons so memorable. Also, Nintendo’s obsession with linear menus and objects that function identically meant half the game is spent sliding through inventory lists to find the thing you need. In the end, it’s not that bad, but it’s not really a Zelda worth returning to.
Now, before you get your torches and pitchforks for this one, just hear me out. I honestly DO like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. For a launch title on the Wii—or Gamecube life-support, depending on how you look at it—it was a genuinely monumental game. It gave us Midna, who is definitely the best support character ever in a Zelda game, Zant, who was one of the best villains in a Zelda game, and its size and scope were pretty impressive for the time. And that Ganon fight? *Chef’s Kiss*
However, I also think it comes out REALLY strong in the first half and then loses a lot of steam in the back nine. While I like its aesthetic, it also feels a little dark for dark’s sake—an obvious correction from the criticism The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker received. It’s got some pretty forgettable dungeons, two genuinely useless items, and a combat system that was a bit of a step back from its predecessor (why unlock the moves Wind Waker just GAVE you?)
Okay, feel free to pick up those torches and pitchforks now. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was genuinely revolutionary for its time. For the first Zelda of the 3D era, it was pretty incredible what it was able to achieve in terms of worldbuilding, story-telling and overall design. It has some of the most memorable moments in any Zelda, some of the best dungeons and boss monsters and all but cemented the idea of the “Zelda formula.”
But on multiple repeat playthroughs, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time just doesn’t really do it for me. Story-wise, it follows a little too closely to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, to feel original or even as a supposed prequel. Its combat is a monotonous game of wait-and-attack. Puzzles usually involve looking around the room for an object and then hitting said object, and it’s all just…kinda boring.
Like I said, it’s rightfully deserving of its praise, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a little overrated.
You may have thought The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening would’ve appeared higher on this list, and honestly…so would I. Link’s Awakening has a real special place in my heart as the first one in the series I ever played to completion, so cracking the top 10 ain’t too bad. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a pretty amazing game when you think about it. Originally conceived as a Game Boy port of A Link To The Past, the project grew into a full-fledged game.
It’s one of those miraculous Game Boy games that really showcase how capable the system was when people knew how to develop for it. Its world felt as big as its SNES inspiration, its dungeons were inspired, and both visually and audibly, it really stood out. Its story was unique and mysterious, constantly hinting at what was really going on, but never saying it outright. If not for Pokémon Silver/Gold, it may just be the crown jewel of the Game Boy.
And if you want to experience it, the Nintendo Switch “remake” is a pretty faithful 1:1 recreation of the original, with improved graphics.
I wrestled with whether The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds should go in the proper list, or in the Honourable Mentions, because in some ways, it is kind of a remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it deserved a spot on the list because of just how much it sets itself apart from its counterpart.
While it does end up being somewhat of a reboot-sequel, it both adds and changes so much about its predecessor that it really stands alone as its own thing. The way it plays with perspective by having Link paste himself onto walls and move in two-dimensional space in a 3D top-down game was unbelievably inventive, allowing for a whole new way to explore dungeons and the overworld.
The way it had players rent items from a shop, allowing for a sense of freedom in how they approached dungeons without subtracting from the overall narrative, was such a stroke of genius that it was probably too good for a second game. It felt so new, while using SFX and subtle nods to pay tribute to its SNES predecessor, and it’s one of the few 3DS games that actually used the 3D to genuinely impressive effect.
I will die on the hill that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is woefully underrated. Unlike its direct predecessor, it actually feels like a fully realized Zelda game on the Nintendo DS and less like a tech demo. All the good ideas The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass had are refined and expanded. It feels a bit better to control; its items are a bit more unique to the game, and the world feels bigger and more interesting.
Not only that, it was the first game to really involve Princess Zelda in a much more active role, setting her as Link’s companion character throughout his entire adventure. Getting to use her within the Spirit Tower, as she possessed Phantom Armor was a really thoughtful and interesting inclusion and set up for a lot of interesting puzzles. Plus, it gave her fun little personality quirks, like a fear of mice that rendered her immobile.
Also, you get a little train, and you can make it go Choo Choo. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!?
It’s hard to describe how incredible The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap was if you weren’t there for it. As the official Zelda game on the Game Boy Advance, following the re-release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it felt every bit as big and inventive as its predecessor—and in a lot of ways, even more.
Developed by Capcom in what was meant to finish off the “Triforce Trilogy,” The Minish Cap made everything bigger by, ironically, making everything smaller. Because of the magic of the Picori—who, at the time, were hinted at being the creators of the Master Sword—Link could shrink down to the size of a bug—turning blades of grass into massive trees, and puddles into vast lakes.
It allowed the game to be incredibly creative with its dungeon and area design, playing with perspective and offering really memorable dungeons and boss monsters. Plus, it took full advantage of the GBA’s power, creating a bright and colourful world with a stellar soundtrack and excellent use of audio clips from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
I’ve spoken at some length about how much The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild resonated with me when it first came out. The circumstances of my life at the time, coupled with the sheer size of the Nintendo Switch’s launch, had the game connect with me in a way few others had. And upon repeat playthroughs, I’ve only been shocked by how new the game always feels. Stepping out onto that plateau always inspires a sense of adventure in me, no matter how many times I see it.
And while it’s certainly not a perfect game, it’s incredible how much the game wants to feel like a big, bold adventure. In a lot of ways, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild feels like a spiritual reboot of the NES The Legend of Zelda. It’s a game that makes my top five Zeldas simply for how new, fresh and big the whole thing felt and still does to this day.
If The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was a showcase of what the Game Boy was capable of, then The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons is a showcase of what the Game Boy SHOULD NOT have been capable of. Two games, larger in scale than their predecessor and made even larger by the unique world-shifting mechanics each one possessed.
Witnessing these two games when they were released in 2001 was like experiencing a miracle in real-time. It gave players incredibly fun items, animal sidekicks, unbelievable dungeons and two really great antagonists. It’s no wonder Nintendo didn’t let any other developers make Zelda games because Capcom set the bar so high with these ones, even the Big N wouldn’t be able to follow them up properly.
Of course, we couldn’t approach the top three without mentioning the one game that really showed what The Legend of Zelda could be as a game. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was like a complete reinvention of the NES classic—feeling similar, but new in all the right ways. It had a bigger story, a bigger world, bigger dungeons, bigger monsters…it was just a bigger adventure!
Similar to Super Metroid, it utilized the power of the Super Nintendo to give players a suite of quality-of-life improvements that actually made the game playable without the need for Nintendo Power magazine. Its sprite-work and soundtrack remain iconic to this day, and it’s the only game in the series to feature a pink-haired Link, which is pretty neat.
It’s hard to know how to describe The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker without getting completely overwhelmed by all the ways it absolutely OWNS. The debut Zelda on the Nintendo GameCube took full advantage of the system, creating an experience that was big, bold and completely unforgettable. It’s got a sweet, Miyazaki-esque story about a boy (not chosen by fate) who sets out to rescue his sister, and chooses to become a hero. It’s got an art style that’s bright, colourful, interesting, and intentionally designed to stand the test of time.
It’s got a world that, despite being 90% ocean, has something to discover around every corner. Literally every square of the map grid has an island on it, on top of all the surprise secrets you can find on the ocean if you sail long enough. It’s got some of the most memorable dungeons in both theme and design, and its combat system is the best Zelda has ever had—using the foundation designed for Ocarina of Time and enhancing it with contextual prompts to utilize special attacks.
It’s amazing to consider that when it was released, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was LAMBASTED by “fans” for being too cartoony and babyish, all because Nintendo put out a tech video of Link fighting Ganon that looked gritty and badass. But history has since come around on The Wind Waker, and it remains the second-best Zelda ever released.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is, without a doubt, the best Zelda, PERIOD. It took the foundation that its predecessor laid and used it to make a game that was bolder, more daring and far more engaging. It’s honestly hard to believe it was released less than two years after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, for how much of an improvement it is over that game.
Its world may be smaller than its predecessor in a pure pixel-ratio sense, but it feels so much bigger and lived-in, thanks to much more dynamic areas and three-dimensional characters and stories that bring it to life. Its combat is far more engaging, made even better by the fact that there are four distinct ways to approach it. Centring so much around the Masks meant items found in dungeons could be used more directly to explore the world, and they felt less like keys required to complete half a dungeon.
Its story is dark and deeply resonant, not simply handed to the player, but slowly discovered as they explore the land of Termania, talk to its inhabitants and complete the myriad sidequests the game has to offer—Kafei’s Quest alone could be the plot of an ENTIRE video game. And allowing players to play as a Deku, Goron and Zora allowed them to experience the full breadth of the Zelda world, which is almost a game crime that no other entry has ever brought it back.
I’ll always find it interesting that the two best Zelda games were the ones people genuinely hated when they first released. I guess it’s true what they say, “true genius is never recognized in its time.”
Some Pokemon Day 2026 reveals appeared ahead of the actual event on February 27, 2026, and it involves Switch releases of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen and a Pokemon Presents showcase stream. The presentation will air first at 6am PT/9am ET/3pm CET, and the digital GBA games will show up on the eShop after.
In the case of the Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Switch releases, there are a few details about these versions. They will be $19.99 each, and the eShop pages for both are live. These will be the exact JRPGs we remember. However, if you want different languages, like English, French, or Spanish, those will be separate purchases instead of an option you select from a menu in-game. (Italian and Japanese aren’t available in the North American eShop.) The Sevii Islands will be present in-game. If you want to battle or trade other people, it is only going to be possible via local multiplayer, and there is no Pokemon Home support at launch. They are both confirmed Switch 2 compatible.
Here’s the official trailer:
As for the Pokemon Presents 2026, there are fewer details about that. We know the time and date. We know it will be on Twitch and YouTube. Presumably, these two Switch versions of the GBA JRPGs will also appear in a spot during it as a reminder of their release after the stream as well.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen will come to the Switch and be playable on the Switch 2 on February 27, 2026, and they are also available on the GBA.
The post Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen and Pokemon Presents Dated appeared first on Siliconera.
Nintendo Switch 2 owners may have avoided a price hike at launch, but that could be about to change. A major component shortage is now pushing costs up across the gaming industry in 2026. The Switch 2 already launched in June 2025 at a higher price than the original Switch, and nobody wants to see it go up further.
According to Gaming Bible, a combination of tech industry problems looks set to force Nintendo into raising prices for the Switch 2 this year. Accessories for the console have already become more expensive, even though the console itself has stayed at its launch price. Nintendo has been managing manufacturing costs against tariffs, but a new and bigger problem has now emerged.
The main issue is a widespread RAM shortage affecting technology manufacturing right now. AI data centers are consuming huge amounts of memory, and companies that used to supply RAM to console makers are now sending most of their production to large AI facilities. This has left companies like Nintendo, and even the makers of the Steam Deck, struggling to get the memory they need.
RAM is not only scarce, but its price has also risen sharply. Nintendo has been absorbing these extra costs to keep the Switch 2’s price stable so far, but it is unlikely they can continue doing this as the year goes on. A well-known leaker called CentroLeaks recently commented on the situation, sharing information that suggests price hikes are on the way.
The problem is widespread enough that it could even affect the release of the PlayStation 6, with rumors pointing to a possible delay as late as 2029. This shows just how serious the RAM shortage is across the entire gaming industry, not just for Nintendo. Nintendo has also been in the news recently after a thumb in one of its ads sparked an AI controversy, showing that the company has had no shortage of attention in 2025.
According to Bloomberg Nintendo is considering raising the price of Switch 2 later this year due to memory shortages and Sony is considering delaying PS6 to either 2028 or 2029.https://t.co/Bax6MimBGp
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) February 16, 2026
It is not yet clear exactly how much Switch 2 prices will increase, but the jump could be large enough to make the console difficult for many families and gamers to afford. The current pricing window does appear to be closing, based on everything pointing in that direction right now.
For anyone who has been thinking about buying a Nintendo Switch 2, getting one sooner rather than later may be the smarter move. Those curious about the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming experience may find it worth acting on now before costs rise. The longer people wait, the more likely they are to feel the impact of these rising costs.
Overall, while Nintendo has done a reasonable job of shielding customers from price increases up to this point, the scale of the RAM shortage makes further delays to a price hike seem unlikely. The combination of AI-driven demand pulling memory supply away from gaming hardware and the added pressure of tariffs creates a difficult situation for the company to manage through 2026.
This week on the Pure Nintendo Podcast, Jemma, Trev, and Kirk celebrate all things Legend of Zelda! That’s right, the iconic series just turned 40.
On last week’s show, we chatted about Mario Tennis Fever. This week, we kick things off with a look at the best games from the long history of the Legend of Zelda. It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since the original game debuted in Japan. Will Nintendo celebrate? What would be like to see next? We give our thoughts!
We also delve into the Virtual Boy, with the Online Classics physical release happening this past week. What do we think of the system, the setup, and the games?
Nintendo also surprised us last week with a few announcements, including a Switch 2 Edition for Xenoblade Chronicles X and a new Pokémon release to look forward to. Plus, we have our usual Kirk’s Corner and the games that we’re playing. Enjoy the show!
It’s an exciting time for Nintendo fans, with this being the first full year of the Switch 2. There’s plenty to look forward to – and we certainly look forward to reporting on all things Nintendo each and every week in 2026.
Don’t forget to follow us on Blue Sky to keep up to date with our news and reviews, and support us over at Patreon.com/PureNintendo! Our next issue of the Pure Nintendo Magazine is just about ready to print, so stay tuned for more details!
Until next time, game on everyone!
The post We celebrate the 40 years of The Legend of Zelda! Pure Nintendo Podcast E151 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.
This week on the Pure Nintendo Podcast, Jemma and Kirk dive into the latest Mario sports game, Mario Tennis Fever.
On last week’s episode, we broke down the latest Nintendo Direct. This week, we catch up on the latest news, including two surprise game announcements for Castlevania and Rayman fans, along with some very interesting sales data from Nintendo. We also go through the big February releases, including Mario Tennis Fever. Plus, Kirk’s Corner delivers a Brigandine sequel, and we delve into the likes of Tomb Raider, Sukia Game Planet, and Shadow Tactics. Enjoy the show!
It’s an exciting time for Nintendo fans, with this being the first full year of the Switch 2. There’s plenty to look forward to – and we certainly look forward to reporting on all things Nintendo each and every week in 2026.
Don’t forget to follow us on Blue Sky to keep up to date with our news and reviews, and support us over at Patreon.com/PureNintendo! Our next issue of the Pure Nintendo Magazine is just about ready to print, so stay tuned for more details!
Until next time, game on everyone!
The post Pure Nintendo Podcast E150 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.
Cassette Boy is a puzzle RPG for the Nintendo Switch. It features a top-down perspective, ticklish brain teasers, and a pixel-based world. Is it worth exploring?
The story follows the adventures of an unnamed character who looks away from the moon, causing it to disappear. Your goal is to set things right again. The entire premise of Cassette Boy is centered around this concept of “if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist”.
What this mantra means in practice is that when an enemy is covered by an object, it’s no longer there, allowing you to safely walk by. Our protagonist sports a pair of headphones that grants the ability to rotate the world at will. The clever part is that you can rotate the environment to make things appear and disappear based on the current perspective, hiding enemies and showing pathways.
This allows the developers to create all sorts of puzzles involving blocked paths, hidden gates, and fun with switches. There are some real brain teasers present, and they’re fun to solve. Cassette Boy also features optional bonus stages, providing longevity if you’re after more to do beyond the main quest.
Aesthetically, Cassette Boy sports a retro look that’s strongly reminiscent of the Game Boy era. The green-tinged monochromatic look will spark nostalgia for older gamers, though it can make it tricky to see things clearly while you’re hunting for those secret paths.
This puzzle mechanic and deliberate retro style combine to create a cute adventure set in a virtual world. The simple story and dialogue keeps things moving briskly, though I found the writing to be a little too cryptic for my liking. As a result, I didn’t find myself bonding with most of the characters, though there are some interesting designs and personalities to interact with.
There’s a light RPG element at play, too, with our hero sporting a number of weapons à la the Legend of Zelda. You can swing your sword, fire an arrow, or plant a bomb as you work through enemies. At times, these enemies felt like a distraction from the main quest, not quite integrating with the overall puzzle mechanic. At other times, the rotating screen is useful to remove pesky enemies you’d prefer not to deal with. There are some fun boss fights thrown in for good measure, keeping you on your toes as well.
Cassette Boy is a short game, but the price is reflective of the time you’ll spend in this pixelated world. You’re in for about a four-hour adventure, depending on how long you take to solve the puzzles and whether you take on the optional challenges and collectibles. There’s also a free demo available, so give it a try to see if it’s your style before diving in fully.
Overall, Cassette Boy is a unique little adventure that will keep you thinking over the course of its short runtime. The classic look sparks nostalgia for older gamers, with a sweet story that could have been fleshed out further.
The post Review: Cassette Boy (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.
Stories in video games are controversial. Many games in today’s market offer impressive, engaging storytelling efforts, which could rival blockbuster movies. Other games prefer to keep things simple by focusing on gameplay, while the plot remains insignificant or exists only through hints and optional side quests.
Like any controversial topic, each side has its supporters. Some prefer video games to be video games and just get engrossed in the challenges ahead. Others believe that a satisfying narrative and characters encourage them to keep playing, as the destination is just as important as the journey. I could make arguments for each side of the debate, but I’d also argue it depends on the game in question and what it’s aiming for.
A series that attempted both approaches to storytelling is Metroid. Nintendo’s long-running franchise, which basically created a whole genre (hence the name Metroid-Vania), is no stranger to storylines and continuity. While the games in the series haven’t been released in chronological order, there is a sense of continuity between each title.
Unlike other Nintendo franchises, such as Mario or Zelda, Metroid has a mostly clear narrative structure. Super Metroid carries on from the ending of Metroid 2. We know for a fact that Metroid Other M starts right after Super Metroid concludes, but it takes place before the events shown in Metroid Fusion. The status quo doesn’t just reset like in Mario. There’s no split timeline like in Zelda. Metroid has a set chronological order.
The main difference between Nintendo’s two golden boys and Metroid, however, is none other than the lead protagonist, Samus Aran.
Samus Aran is a bounty hunter who goes on intergalactic missions, oftentimes on behalf of the Galactic Federation, in order to ensure peace and prosperity across the galaxy. She suffered a tragedy at a young age, watching her family being murdered by the monstrous Ridley. Raised and trained by a group of aliens called The Chozo, Samus grew from that tragedy into a strong, determined, and no-nonsense fighter who would stop at nothing until her mission is accomplished.
That’s the basic backstory. The games themselves have gone several ways in characterizing her. In the first two games, Metroid and Metroid 2: The Return of Samus, there isn’t much to her. Even the backstory I just summarized isn’t present outside of manuals and supplementary material. To be fair to these games, though, besides being on consoles that couldn’t fit much of a story, they didn’t need any deep plots and characters.
Samus was nothing more than your avatar. You interacted with both planet Zebeth and SR-388 through her, all by yourself. Metroid relies a lot on the atmosphere created in exploring these planets by yourself as part of a dangerous mission. There was no need for Samus to have a set character because it didn’t matter. You reacted to the dangers she’s facing instead of her, just like she faced those threats instead of you. Metroid 2 did give her one character moment, in which she spears the baby Metroid she encounters at the end of the adventure.
Things changed in later entries. Super Metroid incorporated more story elements, which became possible on the new hardware. While nothing grand, a prologue connects this new game directly to the ending of its predecessor. Before touching back on Zebeth, there is a whole storyline focusing on Ridley kidnapping the baby Metroid that Samus found in Metroid 2. There's even the first bit of Samus' inner monologuing, shown via the opening text briefing to fill us in on the events of the game. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Metroid Fusion was the first game in the series to have a full-fledged story with a beginning, middle, and end. You didn’t just read the manual or watch a small recap, and then go off to the mission. There was a plot that progressed the more you played, had some twists and turns, and Samus’s character had more to say. In addition to more monologues, which provided exposition to her relationship with her former commander, Samus also spoke to characters in the game itself.
Aside from that instance, however, the bounty hunter never spoke much, nor did she really need to. Metroid: Zero Mission, as a remake of the first game, didn’t give her any reason to talk, and neither did the first two Metroid Prime games, despite the much bigger emphasis on lore. While Metroid Prime 3 had other characters interacting with Samus, she herself never speaks. It’s an odd decision, but we’ll loop back around to it.
Metroid Other M is notorious among fans of the franchise. Baffling gameplay aside, the story and characterization received a lot of backlash. The strong and determined bounty hunter was turned into a confused girl with daddy issues. Not to mention that she doesn’t get anything done in the story itself, as everyone else completes the missions she’s supposed to complete as the protagonist. It’s not all bad, as we also get to see Samus’s calm and nice side when she’s talking to survivors, but the game’s storyline didn’t do her character any favors.
Games like Metroid: Samus Returns (a remake of Metroid 2) and Metroid Dread seemed to have corrected the characterization issue. Samus doesn’t talk in any of them, save for one scene in Metroid Dread in which she’s speaking Chozodian. Considering she doesn’t have many characters to speak to yet again in these games, it’s not much of an issue. All of this recap is leading us to the recently released Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (MP4).
Before discussing the recent entry in the Metroid series, I have to give a spoiler warning as I will be discussing many plot details in this article, including the game’s ending. Also, I would like to thank Nintendo for providing a review code for the game.
MP4 features one of the most confused characterizations of Samus Aran in the history of this franchise. While nothing reaches the levels of absurdity that Other M did, the newest entry in the series seems to have the opposite problem. If Other M tried giving Samus a character to the point it betrayed her character, then MP4 doesn’t even try to give her depth at all, which also betrays her character.
MP4 starts with Samus answering yet another distress call from the Galactic Federation. Space pirates are attacking the facility to steal an artifact that the Federation has obtained. Samus arrives amidst the chaos and discovers that the pirates are led by a former enemy of hers, Sylux. While duking it out, Sylux breaks the artifact in question, which teleports him, Samus, and a few other Federation soldiers to the planet of Viewros.
While exploring the new planet, Samus learns the story of the ancient civilization, the Lamorn, which once inhabited the planet. Throughout the game, the bounty hunter reunites with some of the Federation soldiers who were caught in the crossfire. Myles MacKenzie, Reger Tokabi, Ezra Duke, Nora Armstrong, and the battle robot VUE-995 are Samus’s companions for this adventure. In each area, you encounter a different character, who serves as your companion in various sections of the game. Samus’s goal is to find a way to get back home with the troops, while also navigating The Lamorn’s technology and Sylux’s vendetta.
Now, contrary to some discourse I’d seen before the game was released, the side characters aren’t all that bad. MacKenzie may be a quippy nerd, but his technological skills provide Samus with new weapons throughout the adventure. Tokabi is a tough warrior who lends a hand in fights, despite his old age. Duke is a tough, but caring, commander. VUE-95 serves its role as a devastatingly powerful battle robot that brings the pain. Armstrong ended up being my favorite, not just because she’s the rookie who grows more and more confident as the adventure continues, but also because she’s a fangirl of Samus. Call me cheesy, but she represents the fans, and I think it’s adorable.
I really don’t have any issues with the character; they’re not amazingly well-written or anything, but who said they need to be? They get the job done, and the voice acting helps the personalities shine through. If anything, the biggest problem I have with them isn't even about them. You can probably tell where I’m going with this: My biggest problem is their interaction with Samus… or lack thereof.
Similar to Metroid Prime 3, all the characters speak except the galactic bounty hunter. However, while there was no real reason for Samus to talk in that game, in MP4, the silence actually hurts the narrative. There are several moments in the game where one of the characters would ask Samus a direct question, and she just doesn’t answer. From her thoughts on a current situation to how a problm should be solved, Samus remains completely mute.
Now, even in games in which she did talk, Samus is always presented as a “less talk, more action” type of character. There’s nothing wrong with that. The problem here is that she doesn’t talk AT ALL. Besides an occasional nod of her head, Samus doesn’t react to anything her comrades are saying, which honestly makes her out to be an emotionless jerk towards them. I get that she’s not much of a talker; that’s what makes her Samus. However, when a person address her directly, the silence is taking it too far. What, did she forget to unmute her helmet or something?
Metroid Dread is another game in which Samus is mostly silent. She’s in constant silent badass mode throughout the whole adventure. The main difference is that in Metroid Dread, Samus is alone throughout her journey. She has her ship’s computer, yes, but there aren’t any situations where she’s required to talk. The one time she does talk is when she meets another Chozo, and in the Chozo native tongue no less! That’s how you do it! Keep her silent most of the time, but let her speak up when the situation requires it.
The Samus we see in MP4 barely shows any signs of caring for the people accompanying her in this scenario, and that’s not Samus Aran in my eyes. It’s also a problem when, throughout the gam,e there are moments where a character might sacrifice themselves for Samus to succeed. That's a tough situation that would be hard to process, but the bounty hunter barely reacts. If she doesn’t care… why should I? She doesn’t care whenever a character supposedly dies, and she doesn’t care when the same character ends up being alive. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen…
Nothing in MP4 does Samus’s character more disservice than the ending. To quickly summarize the plot: Samus has to find 5 ancient keys in order to operate a teleporter, which will take her and the other troops back home. When they all get to the teleporter, however, Sylux shows up because the game suddenly remembered he’s the villain.
The start of the battle is actually pretty cool because for the first time, you’re fighting alongside all of the other Galactic Federation soldiers. They may require some reviving here and there, but I found them helpful in the fight when they actually landed crucial shots on the boss. That’s pretty cool and allows me to connect with these guys through Samus’s eyes; (Literally, since this is a first-person game).
When Sylux is eventually defeated, Samus activates the portal, and the gang is ready to head home. The portal begins to operate when Sylux suddenly returns. To make sure Samus gets home, the team is holding Sylux back, keeping him busy for long enough time so that Samus can return to their planet. She does and… that’s it! These guys are still stuck on the other planet with no way back, and Samus doesn’t seem to show any emotion to that. She doesn’t even remove her helmet unless you beat the game 100%! She’s just… moving on. What happened here!?
For all intents and purposes, finding a way to bring these guys home was Samus’s mission in the game. She rescued all of them, helped them out, they helped her when they could, and now she’s just leaving them there!? That’s not Samus! Talking or not, Samus Aran wouldn’t leave her teammates behind, teammates she took upon herself to bring back home! I get that it’s supposed to be an emotional scene where we see these troops standing up for Samus and helping her. But the way events play out make it seem like Samus didn’t really care for these people.
Now, there is another bit of the story I didn’t really talk about; The Lamorn. This ancient civilization is referenced a lot throughout the game, as Samus is essentially gathering information about their history before they were eradicated. The Lamorn had a lot of knowledge that they wished to spread out via the life seed Samus obtains during the journey. Considering Samus grew up with the Chozo, another race of aliens with great knowledge that is no more, I can understand how she could relate to this story. Some characters even comment on how they know this may hit a sour note for her.
On paper, this is an interesting idea. Samus has the chance to help a civilization, which resembles the one that raised her, expanding its knowledge from beyond the grave. In theory, this makes her choice a lot more tragic, since she has to choose between her friends and something which holds sentimental value for her. The problem is that once again, the story does nothing with it. If the idea is to make Samus relate to The Lamorn, then I simply don’t feel it.
It all comes back to the scene where she plants the seed in the ground once she goes back home. It grows a small tree, on which Samus hangs the amulet that one of the troops gave her. This tree now provides a new beginning for The Lamorn, while also honoring the Galactic Federation soldiers who sacrificed themselves in order to preserve their history. In any other game, I’d call that ending beautiful as much as it is heartbreaking.
What sadly lessens the impact is that Samus doesn’t really have a connection to anything this ending represents. Her silence throughout the game and lack of connection with anyone and anything prevents the ending from landing in the way the developer surely intended. This tragic choice Samus has to make falls flat because, as the player who’s supposed to relate to her, I don’t feel much of a connection to any of the things that came before the ending.
It is unclear what the future holds for Metroid. Will there be a new 2D game? Is there going to be a Prime 5? Would Prime Pinball get a sequel? The answers may be unclear at the time of this article, but I’m sure of one thing: If you’re going to write a story surrounding Samus Aran, you need to treat this character better. She can speak if she has reason to. She can show emotions if the time calls for it. She’s a silent and determined bounty hunter who’s achieved incredible feats, but she’s also a heroic and caring person whom we want to root for and not just question.
The Monday letters page continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda, as one reader wonders if Far Cry has fans.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Turn and face the strain
Just seen the news about Phil Spencer leaving Xbox and I don’t know what to say really. He should’ve left at least five years ago, as far as I’m concerned, but the person coming in sounds much worse. If it was some boring accountant type I wouldn’t worry so much, but someone whose last big thing was AI? And they’re at Microsoft? It’s going to be slop around the clock.
The best case scenario is that she admits she doesn’t know anything about games, just business, and gets in a bunch of new people to handle the details. But the fact that she promoted Matt Booty sounds like the worst possible first move, as I’d say he was even worse than Spencer.
We’ll see what happens – it’s not like any of us can influence any of this – but this is long overdue and I really don’t know if the Xbox brand can be saved now.
Gaston
Welcome competition
Somehow I doubt Sony is going to be quaking in its boots right now, at the news of Xbox’s new boss. Sounds like Microsoft decided that they’d gone with a gamer as the boss before so now let’s go with the exact opposite. I can kind of see the logic but at the same time… that’s not going to work out is it?
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How’s someone that knows nothing about gaming going to make sensible decisions about Halo or funding some new game or whatever? I don’t know, maybe it is better they know nothing, since they could hardly have done worse than Spencer in recent years, but it doesn’t seem a good starting point.
I’ll admit I haven’t played an Xbox game since the Xbox 360 so I don’t really have any skin in this game but I don’t think anyone would argue that PlayStation 5 couldn’t do with some more serious competition, to wake them up too.
Focus
Touring circuit
So Phil Spencer has finally left Xbox and, of course, the news comes out in the most skeevy way possible, at the weekend when most people will miss it and the guy is leaving on Monday? That doesn’t sound like a respected veteran finally hanging up his spurs. That sounds like someone getting frogmarched out the building by security, the second the boss reads him his rights.
Normally I’d say we’ll never find out what actually happened but maybe we will with Microsoft, since most everything else usually leaks out from them. My guess is that the head of Microsoft had had enough and Spencer had too.
The guy must be a multi-millionaire by now. If I was him I’d leave it all behind me too and buy a brewery somewhere. Can’t wait for him to start doing the interview rounds in a few years, where everyone has to treat him like some business genius and not the guy that killed Xbox.
Wotan
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No rush
I played Red Dead Redemption 2 this weekend. It’s a game I go back to every so often but not because I love it more than the rest of my games. Not because I’ve beaten it and love the story and gameplay. It’s due to the fact I’ve been playing it since 2018 and still haven’t got round to finishing it. I did manage to complete a new mission and have reached 36% on the story.
I just think this game is like a mood. It’s so chilled out when not in gunfights. The hunting and fishing keeps me occupied. I don’t feel pushed to finish it. There is no urgency. Red Dead Redemption 2 might be the game I’ve owned the longest and not finished. I’ve beaten Minecraft and not Red Redemption 2?
Anyone else have a long-term project like this?
Bobwallett
GC: If it took you this long to get a third of a way through it then you should finish it sometime around 2042.
Far Cry fan club
Far Cry 6 feels like such a long time ago now, I was bit surprised to find out it wasn’t much more than four years. I think that was when Ubisoft lost their way, when that flopped they seemed to give up on everything except Assassin’s Creed… and live service games, of course.
I don’t know what they’re going to do for the next game, to try and make it special, but I don’t think being away for a while is going to be a big enough draw. Games like Far Cry are popular but they’re not the sort of thing people are fans of, I wouldn’t have thought. I mean, we’re not talking Zelda or Resident Evil here.
Or maybe I’m wrong and there’s a big following for Far Cry 6 and… whatever it was about and whoever the characters were. (It was set in Cuba, wasn’t it?)
Cuit
GC: It was a fictional country inspired by Cuba.
Seeing red
I bought the cardboard Virtual Boy ‘headset’ and I’ve been playing the games over the weekend and all I can say is… why is it all red?
That sounds a bad idea before you even try it and when you do it’s just as bad as you think. Like you said in your review, it’s like it’s been raining blood or everything is set on Mars or something.
Even so, I did enjoy trying out all these weird games I’d never heard of before and would certainly never have played any other way. I can’t say I particularly liked any of them, but Wario Land was okay, even though it was a bit slow. It was fun to see the ‘other platforms in the background’ gimmick though, which Nintendo has used in a bunch of games since.
I look forward to playing the other games, especially the cancelled F-Zero one, in the future and even if they’re terrible, I like that it feels that you’re getting this glimpse into a secret world.
Star Fox 2 was good like that too. You could absolutely see why they canned it, but it was interesting getting to play it all the same.
Austin
GC: Red LEDs are cheaper than other colours is the simplest answer.
Marketing decision
I’ve just seen the banned ad for Call Of Duty and I can’t believe anyone would of thought that was a good idea.
I’d like to know if Activision or Xbox gave the greenlight and said, ‘Yes, that’s a good ad, let’s show it.’ I never thought either of them would of made an ad like that and I’m not surprised it got banned.’
David
GC: It would’ve been someone at Activision.
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Lucky accident
That was a great Reader’s Feature at the weekend about Zelda’s 40th anniversary, kudos to Rhion for writing it.
My journey with the Zelda franchise is a little odd. I was about 14 years old and ordered The Legend Of Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link from my mum’s catalogue, on the promise I would pay her back £2 a week from my paper round money until it was paid off.
After all, number 2 is always going to be better than number 1 right? At least that’s what my 14-year-old brain was telling me.
The game arrived.
I got home from school only to find that the catalogue had sent me a substitute game. The original Legend Of Zelda.
I was a little bit gutted and went on my paper round mulling over whether to send it back and wait another two weeks or not at all?
I got home and, as kids do, I had no capacity to wait for another game so I fired it up in my trusty old NES and the rest was history.
On the future of the Zelda games… I’m not completely enamoured by the open world template of Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of A Kingdom, yeah I said it.
I prefer the much more linear titles but if they do go open world again and it’s probably a dead certainty due to the money it brings in.
I would like to see them leave from the skies and head for the sea.
Sailing vast open oceans while learning to plunge new depths and discover new islands. Yes, I know very The Wind Waker-ish but it’s not really been done in a 3D Zelda title since then and that’s been a good 25 years now.
If they used the original Zelda as inspiration for Breath Of The Wild then there is no reason not to use another title as a platform to push off.
freeway 77
Inbox also-rans
In response to Biter and Mario Kart Arcade, where is he playing it for only £1? The arcades near me in Merry Hill and Birmingham are charging 3 quid a turn!
LeeDappa
So are we really expecting the next mainline Pokémon games to be announced this week? I guess that gets that out of the way, but it seems an awful lot of Pokémon games are already on Switch 2 and we still don’t have a Mario or Zelda. Priorities!
Ned
GC: It does seem quite possible.
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