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I didn't use a guide myself as I have a pretty good memory but I still manage to get lost at times because of the similar and barren rooms, makes it feel like I'm going nowhere. Starting with low health is definitely a negative, though I've gotten kind of used to the grinding. Zero Mission gets a better rep these days since it's less archaic in design with some of the issues I've mentioned being fixed such as adding save rooms and a map, as well as adding some new rooms and upgrades. Saying it replaces the original is debatable but I'd still say the NES Metroid is still worth going back to even if it hasn't aged as well compared to games like Super Metroid; there's a reason why it's an unlockable in Zero Mission aside from compare and contrast reasons. But honestly I don't think NES Metroid is as unfair or cryptic as some will say and when compared to other games of it's era.

Back then, the manual told you to draw your own map as you played. Or you could've also bought a guide with a map in it, which you can do easily now by just searching it up. I personally ended up doing neither. I wanted to play it without any outside help, outside of my prior knowledge of the game, and since I played it on the Switch and would sometimes play it away from home, I didn't feel like grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper. Anyway, I just played the game and tried to remember the layout in my head, and most of the time I was fine. And even if I did get lost, it wasn't that hard to find my way again. An in-game map would probably be nice, but I don't think it's necessarily required.
I think the main thing that causes people to get lost is that there's a lot of rooms that look identical, especially in Norfair and Kraid's Lair. That's obviously a technical limitation though.

Really the only thing I don't like about the game is the farming. Having to farm energy every time you die is a bit rough. Otherwise, it's a fun game. Now, I have to figure out how to beat it in under an hour and get the best ending.

BTW, it's kind of dumb when people treat Metroid: Zero Mission as a replacement to the original. I haven't played it, but like, you're not gonna get the experience of playing the original game by playing Zero Mission. They're basically 2 different games.

Honestly, I blame the lack of a ingame map. Really hinders its accessibility these days. Otherwise it's a good game, if rough in a few areas.

Listening to this OST inspired me to try playing the original Metroid again, and the game finally clicked with me this time. This game is actually really good, and it's sad that it gets a bad rep nowadays.

There are a lot of great remixes in those games but there are a few I'm not that fond of.

I've never listened to most Smash remixes in general so...

The Smash Bros remix of Escape is amazing. It made me appreciate that song alot more.

BTW, I did not know this game's OST was so good.
Top 5 songs:
5. Kraids Lair
Idk. I really like this one particularly because of the 0:31. I love the triangle wave.
4. Escape
It's pretty great. It's interesting that the original Japanese FDS only had the first 2 sections of the song, but for the regular NES version, the composer decided to extend the song.
3. Brinstar
The iconic Metroid theme. Obviously it's one of the best.
2. Title (Both versions)
It's beautiful. The FDS version is the best, but the NES version is still awesome.
But easily the best song in this OST is...
1. Ending (Both versions).
Both versions are so overwhelmingly beautiful. Not even kidding. Like the Title theme, the FDS is the best, but the NES version is also amazing.

Is it me, or do the mono versions sound way better than the stereo versions?
Most of these songs do not hit the same with the square channels on different sides. The mono versions sound so much more harmonic with all the channels playing in the same place.
The exceptions here are the songs where the other square channel is only used for an echo/reverb effect (Kraid's Lair, Item Room, Title [FDS version]). It works well with stereo. The other exception is Ending [FDS ver.]. I think it's because both of the square waves act more like secondary instruments because of the FDS synth, but the stereo works well.

But everything else, honestly, just sounds empty compared to the original mono versions. Just saying.

Thank you!

It's ok, man! We all make mistakes on a daily basis.

Yeah. I heard the same music when watching a YouTube video. Sorry about that.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but wasn't it the same theme as the Item Acquisition Fanfare? I have replayed the game for that question, and it seems like nothing is changed there (i played both the NES version and the NES Classic version).

Can someone upload the Missile Acquisition Fanfare for this game? I can't find it anywhere...

interesting to hear the western nes port and the famicom soundtrack side by side, you can really hear the improvement in harmonic content on the famicom ones

Appears to be missing all the higher notes when compared to original game.