LogFAQs > #904885251

I haven't played too many but I think Super Metroid vs. Metroid Fusion is a good comparison of what to do vs. what not to do. From what I remember, Super is a lot more interconnected and circular, which helps keep down on the backtracking. Fusion is a lot more "go through this area, go back through it, go to the next one", which I don't like. It doesn't feel like a true Metroid game. There's also a lot of opening doors via switches and story events, which I find a bit inorganic. It's better to have progression based on abilities.

I agree with the sentiment that I like the feeling of being more powerful. I'm not sure if scaling up the difficulty or putting harder enemies in early areas is really the right answer. I don't think you need to make everything have some kind of use, either. IIRC, in Super Metroid once you get everything upgraded there are still times you need the plasma beam or the ice beam, but you don't need to turn off the wave beam or go back to the regular power. That's fine with me, there is at least some variation (I think - but I could be remembering wrong and the beams stack completely). It depends on the vibe you're going for with the game but I think Metroid at least is really more exploration focused and they save most of the combat challenge for the bosses.

Black_Crusher posted...

Wii3Kings posted...

I like when there is a usefull telporting system. It minimizes the length of the backtracking so it doesn't feel tidious.

There will for sure be some method of this. Maybe tie it to boss kills or something. I thought about having an elevator too that you have to find at the top and activate, then you can use it on any floor below it afterward.

Be sure that the teleport system doesn't give the players a way to skip over crucial areas. I was playing Metroid Prime recently, pining for some kind of fast travel, but then realized it would be bad because of how the game is designed at many points with two main paths, and often encourages you to take the path you skipped before on the way back from a given area. But since you're working in 2D it's probably a little easier to avoid that issue.