So, I had this idea to run a sort of "audio journal" of my play through Metroid Prime 3, since it's unlikely Nintendo will release a soundtrack (Twilight Princess, please?).

Anyway, I'm about 25% through the game, and have been recording my gameplay to reference the audio.  It's sort of a mixed bag, but it sounds pretty good so far for the most part.  I'm planning on writing 3-4 articles at each quarter through the game.  Here's a link to the first entry:

http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=167

Let me know what you guys think!  If you like this concept, we may try doing it in the future for other games that don't get soundtrack releases.

Arc, can you do me a favor?

If you hear a song that is similar in style to my two favorite ambient pieces from Prime 1 (Crash Orpheon, Phendrana Drifts), please tell me where that music plays in the game. Prime 2, while having decent music, didn't have ANY songs that compared to these two classics. I'm hoping Prime 3 will make up for it.

Man I need to get a Wii. MP3 makes me so happy!!

Ramza

There is a Phendrana Drifts reprise in the game in an icy area.

That ... is ... awesome.

Wrong.

I'm very particular about composition credits - just like I am with production credits with "regular" music.

Honestly, I think 4 parts is way overkill...I'll be surprised if you find much to fill the remaining three sections which haven't been mentioned already. Good idea and a good read, but you're at the mercy of your source material and if it doesn't change too much from part 1, it's going to become kind of redundant.

Kenology, it'd be useful to me if you offered a correction.  But now that you mention it, yeah, I completely forgot about Fusion (I tend to forget that game ever existed).  I'll be sure to fix that.

Yeah, Gold, I've noticed a few repeated pieces already.  Unfortunately I haven't had time to play beyond this 25%.  I was hoping to do another writeup at 75% and another when I beat it.  I have all month, and the remaining features don't need to be as long as this one is.  Thanks a ton for the feedback, though, I really appreciate it.

I'll be sure to compare stuff to previous Prime titles.  This one is a lot darker, but the tracks are more repetitive.  I liked the Brinstar arrangement in Prime 2 in the Submerged Temple area.  It was one of my favorite moments in the game when I heard that tune come in.  My favorite track on Prime was Chozo Ruins with the hard percussion and pitch-bendy synths.

You may as well. IMO, that game is awful, one of the worst things to happen for the series ...

(though it did invent the "shine spark" and other ways to exploit the speed dash, which ended up working REALLY well in Zero Mission ... which was AWESOME compared to Fusion)

Ramza

I love Fusion. How can you say that without even mentioning Prime Hunters or Prime Pinball?

Personally, I feel that the article(s) need to have some more editorial writing and less talk about what the music sounds like. Reading descriptions about songs that start "with hard-hitting metallic percussion and phasing pads that sound like they’re fading in and out" or any other type of long-winded details about what kind of synth or instruments the music uses doesn't do anything for me. It doesn't make me want to listen to the music in-game, or seek it out.

On the other hand, something like this makes me interested in the source material (taken from Jon Turner's MP review at CC):

That's the kind of editorial that makes me want to go out and check out the music. I'm not trying to bash your writing or the article, I'm just giving my comments.

Uh... shouldn't that say "Gamecube controller"? The last time I checked MP wasn't on the PC.

Sorry.  I'm sad you forget Fusion existed though.   I love that game.

Yeah, I think you're talking about that Meridia arrangment in the Torvus Bog.  Good stuff.

Yeah, I like that editorial style.  I guess I'm still in "review" mode, where I have to talk about specific tracks on albums. 

And as for GameCube Controller / PC controls, I refer to PC control because that's what the Wii control scheme is trying to emulate or replace, and that's what it's closest too in terms of control.

Fusion was alright, but I don't remember a thing about it.  I wasn't overly fond of it, although it wasn't a bad game by any means.  Pinball was fun, and Hunters was okay.  I wish they would drop "other characters" and just leave players with Samus and a lot of exploration.  I still feel that adding too many characters is what ruined Megaman X and Sonic.

I observed long ago that sometimes there's just no pleasing the STC community, no matter how good the product in question may be.  I wish I had kept a list of all the things people prematurely pissed and moaned about or had unreasonably high expectations of over the last year.  Absolutely ridiculous.

... Back on topic, finally - I'm not saying Fusion was the perfect Metroid game, but it was still a lot of fun.  Certainly "one of the worst things to happen to the series" is grossly melodramatic and inaccurate.  If anything, I'd say the original NES game is the most flawed of the franchise.

I don't know if I'd say the first NES game was the most flawed, but it certainly was primitive and, by today's standards, pretty old-fashioned.  On the flipside, it was an infectiously challenging, engrossing game.  I have yet to try METROID PRIME 3, but given that I like this franchise, I most probably will.

I find it very amusing that my review was quoted on this thread.  It feels thrilling to get recognized.  Thanks sincerely. 

-Jon T.

I liked Fusion since it was both reassuring and fresh.  I mean, it logically follows in Super Metroid's footsteps, but it mixes things up enough to feel truly new.  Sure, some of the designs decisions were unusal like Samus' weird relationship with the computer and the game's locking you in and out of certain areas, but it made good sense within the context of the game.  At least in the second case, there were ways to get around the locked areas if you knew where to look which, while not at all obvious, were there for hardcore players to find.  I think I like Fusion more than Zero Mission because while both games took risks, Fusion's risks worked out while Zero Mission's fell on their face (the awful zero-suit section was such a waste; they should have made it play like Blackthorne).

*Shrug* The original Metroid was the best game in the series by far for me*. I thought it was really well-put together, especially for a game from the early NES era and it's aged quite gracefully, I think. I remember it was the first game I bought for my NES and compared to SMB/Duck Hunt, it was a real handful.

*though to be fair, I've only dabbled with later entries...They just haven't grabbed me that much to play more than a little bit into them (only one I didn't like at all was Metroid II though). Been meaning to play Super for ages though.

I could be wrong, but I think he was talking about the Brinstar Red Soil Swampy Area arrangement.

I think you would like Super quite a bit.  It expands upon the concept of the original game in every way.   The only possible negative is that the game is easier than the original.  However, the difficulty in the original game came from the greater damage that you took as you got further and the fact that energy balls still tended to provide terribly meager boosts to your health, which could force you to spend an inordinate amount of time recuperating.

Megavolt, I had meant to reply with that correction.   Brinstar Red Soil forever!  One of the greatest moments in any Metroid Prime title for me.   

I just beat the NES Metroid today for the first time in over a decade, and to agree with GX, for the most part the game has aged well. I think the bad things are that it sucks that you only restart with 30 energy if you die no matter where you are, and some of the attacks are really cheap, like overpopulated corridors or when enemies fly through doors and hit you while the screen is scrolling. I would say "no map", but this game came out before other games used in-game maps, so I can't really comlpain about that at all.

I had a real tough time with it until I got the Varia and Screw Attack, and then all of a sudden the game was really easy. Kraid kicked my ass a bit, but Ridley was a total pushover! I just froze his fireballs and then hopped over them and made him suck missile. I'd say that Tourian is still one of the creepiest and intense parts of any Metroid game to date, and looking back I can say that being afraid of getting sucked dry by Metroids marked the first time I was ever scared to play a video game. I beat Mother Brain with 43 energy units left (all empty tanks), and barely made it out alive during the escape countdown.

Whew. What a rush.

I grabbed the game the night before MP3 came out and plowed through it as well.  I can't figure out the unlimited bomb jump anymore!  What a pain.  I need a turbo controller on this thing.

But yeah, fantastic game.  Kraid was difficult as hell (what's the trick?), but Ridley was super easy using that technique.  I'm still fascinated by the whole "secret world" thing and glitch worlds and such. 

It was much shoter than I rememberd!

Yeah, that's what it is.  Just dug up Super Metroid: Sound in Action to confirm.  My bad.

Oh yes, certainly melodramatic. I'm sure.

I'm not saying the game was bad, but can you name *worse* things that happened to the series? Worse than Fusion?

Prime Hunters and Spinball -- not exactly relevant to the plot. Basically, they are little side-quests.

But Fusion is the game that took the story further, beyond Super Metroid. In doing so, they introduced the X Parasite (ok...?), an evil Samus duplicate (which, according to the chronological plot, she's already dealt with in MP2...yes yes I know Fusion came out first but w/e), a computer with the AI chip of some former commander (I don't care, and this ruins the concept of Samus being this loner bounty hunter with no one's help but the Chozo...), and the concept of the galactic federation being *at least* as bad, if not worse than, the Space Pirates.

I also hated the graphics and thought the gameplay was not nearly as good as either Super Metroid or Zero Mission. Level design annoyed the hell out of me too.

So, "one of the worst things to happen to the series" -- IMO a completely fair statement. Tell me about "worse" things that have happened.

Ramza

This thread.

I thought the X-parasites were a welcome addition to the series and were introduced in pretty a clever way.  You know - 'due to Metroids being virtually wiped out, the dangerous X-parasites, Metroid's prey, have become overpopulated and pose another serious threat to the universe'.  It's like ecology 101.  Sounds exactly like what's goin' on in Central Pennsylvania - deer massively overpopulated due to there being no predators (ie. cougars, wolves, etc...).  I do agree with you on the whole CO part.  I could've done without that aspect of the game, but it didn't take anything away from it.  And I actually thought the psuedo mission-based direction of the game was a fresh change of pace... after awhile.  I didn't like it at first - as whenever I get new abilities in a Metroid game, a whole slew of places I remember where I needed to use them come to mind, and I go there immediately.  But, you can't free roam until the latter half of the game.  On my second playthrough though, I enjoyed Fusion far more than I did the first go 'round.

It also has one of the best soundtracks in the series.  Yes.

Haha, maybe I need to go back and play this game.  I remember liking it when I played it, but since then it has sort of faded into obscurity in my mind.  No lasting appeal, I guess.

As far as Metroid Prime 3, has anyone played it much?  It seems like they're trying to do a lot of mainstream things like having other characters, talking NPCs, and a more linear style of gameplay, but I'm not really digging it as much as the other Prime games.  The continuity is sort of gone because you're flying around to different places and such.

Oh snap!

Kenology sorta beat me to addressing Ramza's complaints already.  I completely agree with him on the X-parasite thing, and I thought the idea was fresh and introduced a neat new gameplay mechanic.  As for the evil Samus clone, Ramza negated his own complaint - this idea was done before Prime 2 were released, chronology is irrelevant.  Story has always been secondary to gameplay for me in Metroid games, so Samus' computer was a non-issue.  And finally, if they want to shake up the status quo and give a little depth to the Galactic Federation, I'm not going to stop them.

Back to Prime 3 for a second, I really can't wait to get my copy just to hear the new Phendrana mix!

Zing!!  Didn't this sort of thing happen at the "Console Wars" thread?  Some people like Fusion, others don't.  Don't think that this thread is going to change their opinion...

for the record, fusion was a decent game.  No real exploring like Super, but a good game for the GBA.

Almost at 50%, time for my next entry!  There are about... 5-6 new songs so far.  I've been recording all the main tracks I've encountered.

Since everyone wanted to hear the ice piece so much, I figured I'd link to it here:

http://www.mephtik.net/members/jay/ice.mp3

Enjoy!

Hrm, a little less melodic and a little more atmospheric than I was hoping for, but still nice.  I'm sure it works fine within the context of the environment.

It's interesting that the soundtrack gallery only features a few tracks that can be unlocked, but these appear to be the melodic tracks.

Entry 2, if anyone is interested:

http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=170

First 50% of the game.  Currently at 95%, so I should have the final entry ready soon, and then we have a surprise...

Something to hold you over until the publication of my much-anticipated audio journal finale!

All my recordings as I played through the game (minus a few that had sound effects and I was too lazy to re-record):

http://rapidshare.com/files/55308701/mp3-2.zip.html

Enjoy!

Ah, thanks for that recording, man. Elysia SkyTown and the Bryyo Ice Area themes are fantastic.

Yeah, I hope more people pick out other tracks they like.  I haven't really talked to people about what they think of the score.  It's so much more ambient than previous outings, although SkyTown and Bryyo Cliffside are a throwback to the old style of Metroid Prime.

My personal favorites are "Metroid," "Bryyo Fiery Boss," and "Pirate Home World," which is an arrangement of Crateria from Super Metroid.  I was trying to figure out of "G.F.S. Valhalla" was an arrangement of "Wrecked Ship" from Super Metroid, but it sounds like it just might be a stylistic reference, just like the Bryyo Ice.

The first throwback I heard (after the title screen) was in Samus' ship at the very beginning of the game... remnants of "Theme of Super Metroid". 

It always adds to the appeal of Nintendo franchise games in that I'm always keeping an ear out for little musical easter eggs here and there.