Topic: Are other people as sick of "Metroidvanias" as I am?

[GuyStarwind]

Yeah, I'm a Classicvania guy to the end. I don't hate Metroidvanias, but they really don't take any skill. If something is too hard, you can just grind and level up (yes I know there are some games with level cap modes).

Personally, I thought Infernax was the first blend of Classicvania and Metroidvania.

[JR]

I agree with you on that. It feels like the extra modes are the preferable way to play a lot of the Metroidvania games, or at least the modes that provide additional challenge.

I just miss the difficult, frustrating-but-hard Castlevanias, I guess. I don't feel 100% fulfilled if a game doesn't make me cuss at the screen a few times, lmao

[crisis]

I remember breezing through Dawn of Sorrow & Portrait of Ruin (aside from a few sections that gave me problems), but Order of Ecclesia kind of kicked my ass the first few times. They actually ramped up the difficulty which I wasn’t expecting. There was a certain attention to detail that wasn’t present in the previous DS entries.

Mirror of Fate, however, that game didn’t offer a challenge to me at all. And it has 0% replay value. No extra modes, no secrets, no boss rush, nothing. I never understood why.

[Belmontoya]

I'll be sure to let Mig know that you guys think Metroidvania games aren't challenging enough. 😉

[Inccubus]

Nope. I still actively search out Metroidvanias.
I do still love the regular platformer format, tho.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

No metroidvania, for me, has ever topped the wonder and intrigue of either Super Metroid or SotN. Those games all feel like art pieces with organic environments, as opposed to designed gameplay loops that happen to feature good art.

Not that I think the genre is stale or anything, I just think it's one of those things that's incredibly difficult to get right. SM and SotN have many more detectable flaws than modern metroidvanias but their shadow looms impossibly tall over the genre. It's like boxers.

[Inccubus]

I dunno, man.
Metroid Dread seems pretty on point, tho I only played the demo.

[PFG9000]

You might not know it from, you know, just playing the demo.
But Dread is a really okay game.  The EMMI segments brought it way down.  They killed the flow of it.  The music was pretty lacking too.  MercurySteam just has a knack for doing great surface-level work while missing the heart and sould of a game.

Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night really are the best, but Aria of Sorrow is pretty great too.  Same with Metroid: Zero Mission and AM2R, and maybe Dawn of Sorrow.  I've played around 70 Metroidvanias, and I don't think anything else is up there with those.

[Inccubus]

AM2R is a fantastic game.
1000% better than the official remake.
I definitely like it better than Zero Mission and Fusion.
I dare say I even like it better than SM.