[M1] Metroid X

Edit history:

Zeke: 2009-07-05 10:36:04 pm

2009-05-03 12:04:21 am

Time bomb set get out fast!

Yep, it's not just Nate's working title for m2k2. It's also a NES Metroid hack, and a damn fine one. It's been out for years, so it's about time for a thread here. (Okay, technically there's been one, but that was way back in '04; many new members won't have seen it and the Hacks board didn't exist yet.)

Site: Metroid X by Rage Games (download link is broken; get the patch from this post)

I downloaded this years ago and poked around in it, but didn't get very far. I always meant to come back to it; I kept the map I'd been working on as I went along. This week, spurred on by the great time I had with Redesign, I finally dug out my map and started exploring Metroid X again.

And it is fun. I'd forgotten how immersive it is to make your own maps for a game. I did that with the real Metroid, but I've long since gotten to know Zebes too well to require a map. Metroid X brought back that experience. Of course, any NES Metroid hack can say that much, but this is no simple "shuffle the items around" job -- you can tell how much thought went into the level design. For one thing, you get the upgrades in a very different order. More than one obstacle fooled me into thinking I would need the wrong upgrade to get past it.

What's more, if you do play and make some maps, you'll probably be hit by a realization about halfway through. There's a sort of gimmick to this hack. I won't give it away, but I'd like to see if anyone else notices. Post it in spoiler tags if you figure it out.

Difficulty level: Tough, mostly for the same reasons as NES Metroid. You start with 30 health, enemies do big damage (I think the minibosses may even have been powered up), and it'll be a long time before you see your first energy tank. But those who have played the NES game to death like I have will be able to handle it easily.

It's a solid hack. Give it a go.

Thread title:

Yep, it's not just Nate's working title for m2k2.  It's also a NES Metroid hack, and a damn fine one.  It's been out for years, so it's about time for a thread here.  (Okay, technically there's [url=http://forum.metroid2002.com/index.php?topic=668.0]been one[/url], but that was way back in '04; many new members won't have seen it and the Hacks board didn't exist yet.)

Site: [b][url=http://ragegames.classicgaming.gamespy.com/metroidx.html]Metroid X[/url] by Rage Games[/b] (download link is broken; get the patch from this post)

I downloaded this years ago and poked around in it, but didn't get very far.  I always meant to come back to it; I kept the map I'd been working on as I went along.  This week, spurred on by the great time I had with Redesign, I finally dug out my map and started exploring Metroid X again.

And it is [i]fun[/i].  I'd forgotten how immersive it is to make your own maps for a game.  I did that with the real Metroid, but I've long since gotten to know Zebes too well to require a map.  Metroid X brought back that experience.  Of course, any NES Metroid hack can say that much, but this is no simple "shuffle the items around" job -- you can tell how much thought went into the level design.  For one thing, you get the upgrades in a [i]very[/i] different order.  More than one obstacle fooled me into thinking I would need the wrong upgrade to get past it.

What's more, if you do play and make some maps, you'll probably be hit by a realization about halfway through.  There's a sort of gimmick to this hack.  I won't give it away, but I'd like to see if anyone else notices.  Post it in spoiler tags if you figure it out.

Difficulty level: Tough, mostly for the same reasons as NES Metroid.  You start with 30 health, enemies do big damage (I think the minibosses may even have been powered up), and it'll be a long time before you see your first energy tank.  But those who have played the NES game to death like I have will be able to handle it easily.

It's a solid hack.  Give it a go.

attachment:

Metroid X (V1.0) (Metroid Hack).ips

Tyjet66

2009-05-03 12:15:39 am

What'd you say?

Sounds awesome. But sadly I cannot play it just for the fact that I completely suck at the original metroid. Crying or Very sad

Thanks for showing us this again though.

After you beat this a few times do you think you could post a video of it? Or if someone could do a blind LP that would be awesome.

Super KB

2009-05-03 07:57:04 am

ϟ

damn i was getting ready to say something about this hack too
i had this hack for like 5 years and beaten it over and over again

i got this hack from my brother but i didnt know what website he got from

but oh well... anybody need any help to get through this game, feel free to ask me

Obob1

2009-05-03 08:51:34 am

Sounds like fun, but the download link on that page is dead. Would you mind attaching the ips to your post?

Super KB

2009-05-03 09:05:39 am

ϟ

i would be happy to but i dont know how to put hacks on here

not to mention this is a compressed zipped file, can u show me how?

Shadow34370

2009-05-03 09:10:41 am

Edit your post. At the bottom left cornor of the text box there is a link that says "Additional Options...", click it. For there look for where it says "Attach:", and than click "Choose File". Find your file, select it, and it is attached.

Super KB

Zeke

Edit history:

Zeke: 2009-05-04 04:41:12 pm

2009-05-03 09:13:38 am

ϟ

whoo hoo!!! here you go!!!!!!!!!! thanks! Exclamation

you dont need to extract it, just select the zipped file

Note: ice beam is in

brinstar

snakerbot

2009-05-03 12:36:56 pm

I'll volunteer to do a blind lp, but it will probably be a while because I need to buy a gamepad. The one I'm using for Super Metroid Redesign isn't mine, and will be returning to its owner soon, so I won't have time to use it for this.

Zeke

2009-05-03 01:12:41 pm

Time bomb set get out fast!

Sorry, didn't know the download link was broken.

Quote from tyjet66:

After you beat this a few times do you think you could post a video of it?

You know, I was thinking the very same thing. I've never recorded a run before, and it always makes me feel just a smidge inferior as an m2k2 citizen. I'll play through normally some more now that I've got my maps, and if I do okay, I think I'll learn how to make an emulator recording. (No point in using real DVDs since you can't do a legit run of a hack.)

I think any item locations should be in spoiler tags, KeenenBell. I take it the reason you mentioned the ice beam specifically is that people were wondering in the old thread?

Opium

2009-05-03 02:14:06 pm

This is fun. I'm feeling a little lost, having made it all the way to the real ridley with no energy tanks or no morph ball even. wtf ?!

Obob1

Edit history:

Obob1: 2009-05-03 11:08:22 pm

2009-05-03 06:48:11 pm

Well I just finished this, and I have to say I'm quite disappointed.

After a while you realize that all the items are in roughly the same places they were in the original game, and also that there are absolutely no secrets whatsoever in the entire game. Parts of it are also extremely linear; for instance in Kraid's level at the entrance you can either go left for a missile on the next screen, or go right to arrive at Kraid after 10 minutes with no choices.

Super KB

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2009-05-03 10:42:47 pm

2009-05-03 06:53:01 pm

ϟ

Quote from Opium:

This is fun. I'm feeling a little lost, having made it all the way to the real ridley with no energy tanks or no morph ball even. wtf ?!

u need to get the wave beam in norfair first: it is found right when the elevator stops and you go to the left room and keep following that path

next u need to go back to brinstar and find another way around where you first started in the game using the wave beam. it will take you to the morph ball.

and what i mean by whered you started, meaning the morph ball is on the left side where u begin the game

if i can recall you got to go all the way down after you exit out of the purple room and go to the left hatch

arkarian

2009-05-03 10:43:43 pm

red chamber dream

please don't post spoilers for new (or newly discovered !) hacks without using spoiler tags.

Zeke

2009-05-04 12:19:35 am

Time bomb set get out fast!

Thanks ark. You two, I asked him to spoiler your posts because everybody should have the same chance to explore the game. (He also made me a mod for this board, so next time I can do it myself!)

Obob1, you've found what I referred to as the gimmick of this hack -- namely that

the major items are in the same general places. I see how you might think that's lazy, but I think it's the whole point. How many "half hacks" are out there, with the rooms mostly unchanged but the items moved around? This is the opposite, and it's done brilliantly. That moment of realizing that the Maru Mari was still just left of the starting point, even though I'd gone way around to get it, was worth the price of admission.

By the way, I did things in the same order as Opium. In any other context, "Ridley before morph ball" is the kind of phrase that could give you a heart attack.

Obob1

2009-05-04 07:24:58 am

Zeke, as to the "gimmick":

for the morph ball, it's cool, just because there is a completely different route to get there and a different set of required items for it. For every other item, its lazy and takes away from the game. In particular, screw attack should be much harder to get than it is (I believe it currently has no requirements); maybe make it a reward for beating one of the bosses. Wave beam also comes too early, which makes combat very easy. Combined with the fact that items are in the same rough places, the lack of secrets means that this is just the original game with less creative exploration and more running through long corridors. There is also a complete lack of 1-way passages (such as long shafts to fall through), which makes the exploration much easier.

Zeke

Edit history:

Zeke: 2009-05-04 04:54:30 pm

2009-05-04 04:50:23 pm

Time bomb set get out fast!

KeenenBell, about your attachment... thanks for posting it, but I looked inside the .zip and noticed that it's a whole patched ROM, not just a patch. That's why I removed it. Like most forums, m2k2 doesn't allow direct posting of ROMs due to the legal issues involved. (This is covered in the rules thread.)

Instead, I've made a patch from my own copy of Metroid X and attached it to the first post above. Patch this to the US Metroid ROM and it should work fine.

Opium

2009-05-04 05:00:41 pm

Just finished this one. I had 245 missiles and 3 energy tanks. Were there more energy tanks ? I did enjoy this hack although I did cheat a little when getting the varia. The map layout was nice but I wish more had been done to differentiate the rooms from one another, simply because I like to memorize my surroundings in order to figure out my way around and I always thought that repeated corridors that looked exactly the same was a cheap way to confuse you. I also found zero hidden morph ball tunnels - were there any?

Barely made it out on the escape !

DonnyDonovan

2009-05-04 05:32:22 pm

Quote:

The map layout was nice but I wish more had been done to differentiate the rooms from one another, simply because I like to memorize my surroundings in order to figure out my way around and I always thought that repeated corridors that looked exactly the same was a cheap way to confuse you.

Isn't that the very essence of what the original Metroid is all about?

On topic, I remember playing this a few years ago, and it's one of the better M1 hacks out there, although the criticisms in this thread are fair to a point.

Opium

2009-05-04 05:36:01 pm

Quote from DonnyDonovan:

Quote:

The map layout was nice but I wish more had been done to differentiate the rooms from one another, simply because I like to memorize my surroundings in order to figure out my way around and I always thought that repeated corridors that looked exactly the same was a cheap way to confuse you.

Isn't that the very essence of what the original Metroid is all about?

No, I think exploration is more of the essence of what metroid is about. I was bitching about identical corridors, which is something that happens alot in original metroid. A hack doesn't have to have that, so I had hoped that this one wouldn't.

DonnyDonovan

2009-05-04 06:11:39 pm

I understood that. I was sort of making a joke of the fact that your primary complaint about a hack of the original Metroid was nearly identical to everyone's primary complaint about the original Metroid itself (that, and starting with 30 energy).

Otherwise put, the author of the hack was simply holding true to the original game by including many identical corridors. I wasn't really trying to be argumentative. Sorry if I came across that way.

RT-55J

2009-05-05 09:18:24 pm

Armor Guardian

I just beat the hack with 4 Energy Tanks, 230 Missiles, and ~100 units left on the escape timer.

Anyways, I've had this hack sitting on my hard-drive for years, but I'll admit that I never bothered to play it until yesterday. Anyways, it's pretty cool (especially when you consider when it was made (circa 1998)) and it avoids some of the glaring design flaws of other hacks, but the map is too "linear." If the original game was a labyrinth, then this hack is just collection of forks in the road. Seriously. Anybody who gets lost in Kraid's Lair should be shot.

Oh and concerning the "gimmick:"

The main reason all of the items (sans Wave Beam) are in the same location is to retain password compatibility. The game has some data that correlates each item bit to a unique location (or something along those lines) but that data wasn't known back then, meaning that if the items were moved then the items would have still been present after using a password to reload the game.

Still, I had enough fun playing the hack that I'm almost tempted to make one of my own.

I just beat the hack with 4 Energy Tanks, 230 Missiles, and ~100 units left on the escape timer.

Anyways, I've had this hack sitting on my hard-drive for years, but I'll admit that I never bothered to play it until yesterday. Anyways, it's pretty cool (especially when you consider when it was made (circa 1998)) and it avoids some of the glaring design flaws of other hacks, but the map is too "linear." If the original game was a labyrinth, then this hack is just collection of forks in the road. Seriously. Anybody who gets lost in Kraid's Lair should be shot.

Oh and concerning the "gimmick:"
[spoiler]The main reason all of the items (sans Wave Beam) are in the same location is to retain password compatibility. The game has some data that correlates each item bit to a unique location (or something along those lines) but that data wasn't known back then, meaning that if the items were moved then the items would have still been present after using a password to reload the game.[/spoiler]

Still, I had enough fun playing the hack that I'm almost tempted to make one of my own.

Zeke

2009-05-06 06:48:13 pm

Time bomb set get out fast!

Yeah, videogame hacking goes back farther than most people think, and that includes NES games. MetEdit, which is what the creator of Metroid X used, actually hasn't been updated since '99. And long before that, early home computers like the C64 were awash in bootlegged software -- the version of "Mario Bros." that my brother and I grew up with was a hacked version of a game called The Great Giana Sisters (a transparent Mario ripoff, which probably made the hack job easy).

Having played the hack pretty thoroughly now, I decided to use those editors to check a few things. I can unfortunately confirm the impression that we've had so far: there are no secret passages in Metroid X. I'm not spoilering that, because it's something I wish I'd known too. Random bombing is fruitful in Metroid but not in this hack; it's just the nature of it. Best to know that going in rather than waste a lot of time and bombs.

As a matter of fact, this seems to be a feature rather than a bug. You'll find this description of the hack at Zophar's Domain and elsewhere:

Quote from RageGames:

This is a map edit for the original Metroid. Screens, enemy and item placement, palettes, text... you name it, it's been changed. The primary goal was to make the game more playable - the discerning player will note the careful placement of platforms and enemies to make jumps easier. Not that beating the game will be a cinch. I've made items much more difficult to get, contorted the corridors into winding mazes, and completely eliminated many of the energy tanks. Beating this version will be fun but it will not be effortless.

So what we have here is a slightly different take on the Metroid formula. I understand where the maker was coming from. All Metroid games have tried to strike the right balance between hiding secrets well and being fair to the player. Whether they succeed at this will vary from one player to another. (For instance, Super Metroid plays fair with almost all its items, but I've always considered it dirty pool that the X-Ray Visor occasionally just doesn't show something that it really should.)

NES Metroid is famous for its secrets. We know them so well now that we tend to forget how devious some of them are. Random bombing is necessary just to reach Ridley, let alone find powerups. Some of us love this. Others find it needlessly frustrating, but that doesn't mean they aren't true Metroid fans, it's just mileage varying. Metroid X flips these reactions around. Those who prefer a more up-front game get one, and it's the block-hunters who are left a little unsatisfied.

As for me? I'm a little of both kinds and I loved it, so take from that what you will.

Two small things I noticed while I had the ROM open. First, there's a screen in Norfair which sometimes seems to have enemies inside the rock -- as far as I can tell, this is just a glitch, so don't go nuts trying to get down there. Second, although fewer energy tanks are accessible in Metroid X, the rest are still there. They haven't even been moved. But they're either behind solid blocks or in rooms that no longer exist, so we can't get 'em.

Yeah, videogame hacking goes back farther than most people think, and that includes NES games.  MetEdit, which is what the creator of Metroid X used, actually hasn't been updated since '99.  And long before that, early home computers like the C64 were awash in bootlegged software -- the version of "Mario Bros." that my brother and I grew up with was a hacked version of a game called [i][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Giana_Sisters]The Great Giana Sisters[/url][/i] (a transparent Mario ripoff, which probably made the hack job easy).

Having played the hack pretty thoroughly now, I decided to use those editors to check a few things.  I can unfortunately confirm the impression that we've had so far: [b]there are no secret passages in Metroid X[/b].  I'm not spoilering that, because it's something I wish I'd known too.  Random bombing is fruitful in Metroid but not in this hack; it's just the nature of it.  Best to know that going in rather than waste a lot of time and bombs.

As a matter of fact, this seems to be a feature rather than a bug.  You'll find this description of the hack at Zophar's Domain and elsewhere:

[quote="RageGames"]This is a map edit for the original Metroid. Screens, enemy and item placement, palettes, text... you name it, it's been changed. The primary goal was to make the game more playable - the discerning player will note the careful placement of platforms and enemies to make jumps easier. Not that beating the game will be a cinch. I've made items much more difficult to get, contorted the corridors into winding mazes, and completely eliminated many of the energy tanks. Beating this version will be fun but it will not be effortless.[/quote]

So what we have here is a slightly different take on the Metroid formula.  I understand where the maker was coming from.  All Metroid games have tried to strike the right balance between hiding secrets well and being fair to the player.  Whether they succeed at this will vary from one player to another.  (For instance, Super Metroid plays fair with almost all its items, but I've always considered it dirty pool that the X-Ray Visor occasionally just doesn't show something that it really should.)

NES Metroid is famous for its secrets.  We know them so well now that we tend to forget how devious some of them are.  Random bombing is necessary just to reach Ridley, let alone find powerups.  Some of us love this.  Others find it needlessly frustrating, but that doesn't mean they aren't true Metroid fans, it's just mileage varying.  Metroid X flips these reactions around.  Those who prefer a more up-front game get one, and it's the block-hunters who are left a little unsatisfied.

As for me?  I'm a little of both kinds and I loved it, so take from that what you will.

Two small things I noticed while I had the ROM open.  First, there's a screen in Norfair which sometimes seems to have enemies inside the rock -- as far as I can tell, this is just a glitch, so don't go nuts trying to get down there.  Second, although fewer energy tanks are [i]accessible[/i] in Metroid X, the rest are still there.  They haven't even been moved.  But they're either behind solid blocks or in rooms that no longer exist, so we can't get 'em.

Zeke

2009-07-05 10:34:43 pm

Time bomb set get out fast!

Moving this thread to Now Playing. By the way, I still intend to do a run of this hack; I've been practicing for some time and experimenting with routes. My run will be 100%. I may do any% later, as I've figured out routes for both which I think are about optimal.

The purpose of the run is twofold. First, of course, is to give viewers a look at Metroid X (per tyjet's request upthread). Second is to demonstrate how you survive in NES Metroid. I've been noticing for a while now that many new Metroid players -- people who came in with Super or even Prime -- find the original game unapproachably hard. It is hard, but it doesn't have to stay that way. All you need is patience and practice. I'm hoping to demonstrate that with my run, since I'm in no way an expert, just a solid player who got that way by playing the game a lot.

Like any hack run, this will be emulated, so I'm going to "segment" it with a handful of savestates (only at legal spawn points, i.e. elevator rooms). That's as far as the optimization will go, though. I won't restart for every mistake, just really ugly ones. This will be my first speedrun of anything, so wish me luck.

Moving this thread to Now Playing.  By the way, I still intend to do a run of this hack; I've been practicing for some time and experimenting with routes.  My run will be 100%.  I may do any% later, as I've figured out routes for both which I think are about optimal.

The purpose of the run is twofold.  First, of course, is to give viewers a look at Metroid X (per tyjet's request upthread).  Second is to demonstrate how you survive in NES Metroid.  I've been noticing for a while now that many new Metroid players -- people who came in with Super or even Prime -- find the original game unapproachably hard.  It [i]is[/i] hard, but it doesn't have to stay that way.  All you need is patience and practice.  I'm hoping to demonstrate that with my run, since I'm in no way an expert, just a solid player who got that way by playing the game a lot.

Like any hack run, this will be emulated, so I'm going to "segment" it with a handful of savestates (only at legal spawn points, i.e. elevator rooms).  That's as far as the optimization will go, though.  I won't restart for every mistake, just really ugly ones.  This will be my first speedrun of anything, so wish me luck.

Quietus

2009-07-06 05:08:01 am

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

Looking forward to it. It's always nice to see a run of a hack.

Also, so I don't tarnish the clean Symbols Legend thread, wouldn't '[M]' suffice for hacks of Metroid, with the '1' being unnecessary?

Zeke

2009-07-06 06:18:15 pm

Time bomb set get out fast!

Yes, and in fact that's the symbol Arkarian originally chose. I changed it to M1 since, in my experience, that's a more usual (and less ambiguous) abbreviation for the game. If you guys prefer M I'll change it back.