As with Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2 benefited from the work of numerous immensely talented artists. Working with an enhanced version of the already impressive Metroid Prime engine, the artists who designed Aether created a captivating new world which managed to match the original title's level of integrity as it portrayed its strangely captivating locales.
And yet, there are those who loathe Aether. It's not surprising, really, nor are all criticisms against it unfounded. In particular, it's hard to argue against
those who complain that the Dark World was
excessively redundant. Indeed, with a shared
color scheme and locales that generally did not
stray far from their light counterparts, there was a
sense of monotony to the dark world, as if they
formed a single environment rather than each
being a unique counterpart to an equally unique
Light World environment.
Less reasonable are the arguments that suggest
Aether's environments lacked originality or, even
stranger, that they somehow represent less of a
Metroid world than Prime!
Let me just say that I understand every individual is unique and can interpret things in different ways from other human beings. Despite this, not all interpretations seem equally reasonable to me, and I confess that the idea that Tallon IV faithfully represented the look of Metroid in 3D is one of those that baffles me.
environments as being excessively open, overly
bright, somewhat familiar, and indeed, even
uncharacteristically welcoming at times. I stand by
these descriptors now as well, but I believe Tallon's
biggest fault can be summed up far more easily:
it's Earthy.
Gamers' connection with these environments is
understandable, as many were conceptual
derivatives of Super Metroid, but in reinterpreting
these concepts for Prime Retro failed to fully translate one crucial, even definitive, aspect: an ostensibly alien look. Whereas almost every corner of Zebes' strange, often bizarre terrain screams out its wholly alien nature at the gamer, Tallon took a far more subtle approach, relying on comparatively tiny details to suggest its alien nature. Instead of blue rock, walls made of odd eyeball-like bubbles, or
brilliant red structures and glowing purple pillars, we have scattered odd plants, some glowing patches here or there, and the occasional strange script or seemingly out of place machinery (which may look alien or merely foreign, depending on your point of view). Tallon IV undoubtedly presents exotic locales, yet not so exotic that you couldn't imagine them in some remote portion of earth. True, there are
certainly portions of Tallon where the alien details go beyond subtle (it would be hard to find an earthy counterpart to the glowing giant mushroom
portions of the Phazon mines, or the Impact
Crater, Tallon's most Zebesian environment), but
for far too many of Tallon's environments the alien
quality is implied rather than clearly shown. For
many these details might be enough to give Tallon
a suitably alien quality, but this is in not unlike
accepting that Naboo in Star Wars or (temporarily
at least) the planet in Planet of the Apes is alien;
we accept it more because we are told that it is
and not because it really looks like it is.
But what exactly is wrong with that? So what if it's
Earthy? Tallon's a different world, it doesn't need to
look like Zebes, right? I'm sure that's a sentiment Prime's ardent devotees must feel when reading this. I can certainly understand why they might feel this way, since the beautiful surroundings Prime portrayed are almost universally captivating. What one has to understand with regards to this, however, is that the "look" of a world is inexorably tied to the "feel" of that world. If an environment does not look like a Metroid environment, then how can it really feel like a Metroid environment? Before Prime's release, Zebes (and arguably SR388 as well, since its similar cavernous environments, "bubble" terrain, and Tourian-like final segments, certainly suggest a monochromatic Zebes) was the Metroid world. As the Metroid world for over fifteen years, Zebes came to define the Metroid look. There are those who might deny its importance, but Metroid's original developers
clearly valued its example as the prototypical Metroid
world, and any new Metroid game hoping to
capture the entirety of Metroid has to take that into
account. That is not to say that new environments
have to identically mimic Zebes, but rather they
should conform to its example. You can create a
regular ice cave, or an ice cave that looks like it
could fit in on Zebes. You can create a familiary
looking jungle, or a "Zebesian" jungle. No one
wants the same environments over and over, but
environments that conform to the Metroid look are
ultimately an asset in establishing the Metroid feel,
and in a series so characterized by atmosphere (it
was inspired by the movie Alien, after all), the
importance of that cannot be overstated.
With that in mind, what did Echoes do right and wrong? Well, on the positive side it was far and away an eerier, more alien world than Aether. The shifting sky over insectoid, tendril-like constructs in the Temple Grounds; the blue-tree dotted, sandfall-riddled desert terrain under a perpetual lightning storm; the neon glowing cliffside techno fortress; each was unmistakably out of this world, and as such, imbued Aether with some of that otherworldly feel Tallon was lacking. To say nothing of the dark world environment, which, despite its lack of variety,
was at its best a wonderfully bizarre nest of
twisted shapes and colors. Those expecting a
new dose of exotic Earthy beauty might have
been put off by this, but for those who longed for
stranger and more ominous environments in
which to get lost in, it was certainly a good thing.
Even its most Tallonesque environment, the
Torvus Bog, was liberally dotted with strange
details in its hanging pods and crystal
eye-cameras, and it provided a very Metroidy
trip into its confined lower levels. Though I was
initially jarred by the almost overwhelming
Sonic-the-Hedgehog-like neon blue bright look
of the Sanctuary Fortress, it's certainly not Earthy, and its Dark World counterpart has an eerier Norfair-like quality to it which I believe shows the importance and impact of color.
Some of the model changes are also definitely worth noting. Although the space pirates played a smaller role this time, they still underwent a design change which puts them favorably closer to their 2D counterparts. Gone are their hands in favor of a more classically styled lobster claw and a deformed scythe. Their eyes now lack the silly monster glow and their faces seem closer to the beaked look of the originals. The end result is an enemy which, though not identical, is far more reminiscent of the originals and more distinctive than Prime's depiction. The ship was also changed, and there's only one way to describe it: perfect. It recreates Samus' original ship beautifully. Samus' own changes weren't as drastic, and she remains iconic and distinctive.
A slew of new creatures greeted us on Aether, eager to be cut down by blaster fire. While the Ing and Luminoth may not be as intriguing as the metroids or chozo, they were undeniably well designed, modeled, and animated. The myriad of new flora and fauna were also quite fitting additions to the Metroid universe, particularly the shining bosses.
Still, not everything on Aether was positive. The Dark World's general monotony was already mentioned.There may have been technical reasons for this, but
greater variety between the environments would certainly have
been a boon. Prime 2 also retained the original's large focus on
open surface environments, taking it to new heights in certain
areas even. The desire to create breathtaking vistas is
understandable, but the desire to create faithful Metroid
environments should be the priority. At this point, I suspect an
almost entirely enclosed Metroid game is, at best, unlikely, but
this origin is still worth recalling. There were also, sadly, no
artifactor statues. True, Aether was not a chozo world, but
seeing how there were chozo artifacts there, would it have been
so wrong to have one reverentially placed on its appropriate guardian?
There are some who may complain that Aether did not capture Tallon IV's appeal. To the degree that this stems from expectations of more earthy beauty, it is an unfortunate misguided complaint, the result of Tallon's initial misrepresentation of a Metroid world . On the other hand, there are some who may specify that it is Aether's relative bleakness that distances them. Certainly that contrast exists between Tallon and Aether, and appropriately so, but is
there something to be said for a different
approach towards creating eerie menacing
worlds? Perhaps so. Zebes was hardly a bright
or cheery world, but it didn't look to muted colors
to create its oppressive environments. The
caverns of Zebes glowed in a kaleidoscope of
vibrant colors. They were no less ominous for
this fact.
Is there a chance Metroid Prime 3 will reunite
the two factions? Well, the small teaser trailer
shown at E3 2005 showed a strangely beautiful
landscape where giant glowing tentacles swayed
behind Samus as she stepped onto purple rock. It was as vibrant as it was alien. Maybe it's too early to celebrate the death of earthy terrain, but perhaps the concept of a pure Phazon world will create a 3D world as twisted and alien as the one from which Metroid was borne. Zebes spiritual successor? One can hope. One can certainly hope.
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