Christi Junior on Nostr: Most people are already aware that the original Metroid Prime on the GameCube was a ...
Most people are already aware that the original Metroid Prime on the GameCube was a truly triumphant 3D transition for the Metroid series, and they’ve probably also picked up on how the Switch remaster of the game has been very well received. As such, I’d like to open my Metroid Prime Remastered writeup by talking about something most people probably DON’T know, namely that the best gyro motion aiming control setup is hidden pretty deep within the game’s customization options.
See, Metroid Prime Remastered grants you a bunch of different control options, including dual analog aiming and pointer aiming, but none of the default motion control options work well if you play using a Joy-Con Grip or a Pro Controller, since they don’t let you use the right analog stick for turning Samus around (or otherwise adjust your aim), and having to twist around your controller every time you want to turn is a miserable experience.
Thankfully, the game’s Dual Stick setup actually *does* enable the kind of gyro aiming you’ve come to expect from Switch first-person shooters like the Doom games and Turok 1 & 2 – it just requires you to go to the Camera section within its customization options, and choosing the Gyro + Stick option. It felt wonderful (even with low sensitivity you got all the speed and precision you could ask for), infinitely superior to the Pointer or Hybrid options, and really should have been a separate control option in the menu.
Now, Metroid Prime 1 doesn’t strictly speaking *need* gyro or pointer aiming, the game was actually designed around very simple gunplay (one reason I don’t actually consider it a FPS, more on that later) and even lets you lock on to enemies as you blast away at them, but again, well-implemented and responsive motion aiming in a first-person game just FEELS really good, and more speed and precision is nothing to scoff at. There’s a reason Wiimote aiming was considered one of Metroid Prime 3’s big improvements over its GameCube predecessors (which also ended up being getting the motion controls treatment once ported to the Wii), and it’s a shame that the Switch remaster’s flawed menus will probably cause a lot of people to give up on motion aiming altogether. Oh well, at least you guys now know better.
See, Metroid Prime Remastered grants you a bunch of different control options, including dual analog aiming and pointer aiming, but none of the default motion control options work well if you play using a Joy-Con Grip or a Pro Controller, since they don’t let you use the right analog stick for turning Samus around (or otherwise adjust your aim), and having to twist around your controller every time you want to turn is a miserable experience.
Thankfully, the game’s Dual Stick setup actually *does* enable the kind of gyro aiming you’ve come to expect from Switch first-person shooters like the Doom games and Turok 1 & 2 – it just requires you to go to the Camera section within its customization options, and choosing the Gyro + Stick option. It felt wonderful (even with low sensitivity you got all the speed and precision you could ask for), infinitely superior to the Pointer or Hybrid options, and really should have been a separate control option in the menu.
Now, Metroid Prime 1 doesn’t strictly speaking *need* gyro or pointer aiming, the game was actually designed around very simple gunplay (one reason I don’t actually consider it a FPS, more on that later) and even lets you lock on to enemies as you blast away at them, but again, well-implemented and responsive motion aiming in a first-person game just FEELS really good, and more speed and precision is nothing to scoff at. There’s a reason Wiimote aiming was considered one of Metroid Prime 3’s big improvements over its GameCube predecessors (which also ended up being getting the motion controls treatment once ported to the Wii), and it’s a shame that the Switch remaster’s flawed menus will probably cause a lot of people to give up on motion aiming altogether. Oh well, at least you guys now know better.