Announcing the Metroidvania Community Game-Along

April is finally coming to a close, signalling the end of the Atlus Community Game-Along. It was a tough month – participation saw a bit of a lull, perhaps due to the extremely long nature of Atlus games, or maybe Atlus not being as appealing a theme as I anticipated. But no matter! The monthly Community Game-Alongs appear to still be a hit, so onward and upward, I say!

When choosing a theme, I always try to gravitate toward more under-appreciated games and genres. Classic adventure games like Metroid and Castlevania are by no means niche, but the two series are closely connected, and have subsequently spawned a subgenre of non-linear 2D action-adventure games often referred to as “Metroidvania.” Since there are quite a lot of games in this subgenre that haven’t received a lot of publicity, I thought now would be as good a time as any to check them out! 

Metroidvania is actually a subset of games that I’m not very familiar with. The most I’ve ever played of anything that could really be called “Metroidvania” is a couple hours of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow! As such, I’ve consulted a few very good websites for information on what constitutes a Metroidvania game, and what games fall under that umbrella. If you’re similarly not sure where to start, I highly suggest checking out VG Museum’s Metroidvania List. USGamer also has a great article on their top 10 Metroidvania games. While I’m sure we could sit and ponder what constitutes a Metroidvania game and what doesn’t all day, just as in months past, I’m going to leave it up to you to make the final call as to whether x game counts for this month’s game-along. The most important part is to have fun, after all! But if you’re really stumped as to what to play, here are a few suggestions: 

Tomba! (PSN) – Tomba! is rather notorious among collectors due to the original western PSone release having a very hefty price tag (think $100+ for a complete copy), which would normally mean there would be no way I’d recommend anyone try picking it up. The folks at MonkeyPaw Games, however, have brought over both the first game and its sequel to PSN, allowing anyone with a PSP, PS3, or Vita to pick up the games for less than $10 a pop. The only catch is that the second one is only available in the original Japanese, but many would argue it’s worth it!

Muramasa Rebirth (Vita) – Muramasa Rebirth is the recent Vita update of the Wii Vanillaware title, which of course is still a valid option for this month’s game-along, but the Vita version is universally considered to be the superior of the two. Those who like feudal Japanese settings and folklore would do well to check this one out, as it features Vanillaware’s trademark aesthetic polish and pizzaz. The game is still getting (paid) DLC updates with new content, and it also happens to be going on sale on North American PSN this week, as well!

Aliens: Infestation (Nintendo DS) – I hesitate to highlight a game that isn’t on “current” consoles, but since the 3DS is backwards compatible and this game can still be found relatively cheaply, I’m going to go ahead and include it. For those lamenting the lack of good Aliens games, look no further than this hidden gem from WayForward that manages to capture the oppressive atmosphere of the original films through its Metroidvania-style gameplay and use of permadeath. It may be worth a look for those who still feel burned after Aliens: Colonel Marines and need something Aliens-related before Alien: Isolation comes out later this year.

La-Mulana (Wiiware, PC) – First, stew on the game’s official genre for a moment: “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game.” Doesn’t that sound exciting? Now, if you consider yourself the hardest of the hardcore, La-Mulana should be at the top of your list. The game looks and sounds like a MSX game and stays true to its retro roots by being both nail-bitingly difficult and featuring some extremely convoluted puzzles. I’d go so far as to say this is considered one of the most shining examples of a Metroidvania game in recent years!

Honorable mentions: The low-hanging fruit that is any Metroid or Castlevania game pick, Shadow Complex (Xbox 360), the Shantae series, Wonder Boy in Monster World (WiiWare, PSN), and Aquaria (PC/Mac). As always, there are many more possibilities than the ones I’ve listed here!

To participate in the Metroidvania Community Game-Along, simply play a game that falls within the theme of the month and share your experiences on your favorite social platform using #MetroidvaniaMay. There’s also a NeoGAF thread to chat with other participants in, if that’s your thing. I highly encourage long form writing on blogs and websites, or even YouTube videos or podcasts on the subject! Anything is game! If you’d like to submit something for me to include in my roundup post (which will definitely come, I’ve been slack getting up past months’ posts, but they’re on their way), be sure to comment here with a link to your creation or use the hashtag so I can find it.

As for me, I’m in a pickle. I have a surprising number of games that fall into the Metroidvania genre, but I’ve never quite been able to get into them for some reason. My backlog consists of La-Mulana, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Alice in Wonderland (DS 2010, and yes, apparently that counts). I’m also very interested in picking up Muramasa Rebirth while it’s on sale on PSN, and I’ve never actually managed to finish Tomba!. What do you think I should start with? Argue your case in the comments!

About Anne

Also known as apricotsushi. Anne can be written with the kanji for apricot (杏), and sushi was the most quintessentially Japanese thing I could think of when I was 13, resulting in my goofy, albeit memorable, nickname.

17 thoughts on “Announcing the Metroidvania Community Game-Along”

  1. I won’t ever ‘get’ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It has never done much for me.

  2. Really? That’s a shame. From what I’ve heard, it’s considered one of the best? I found it hard to get into Aria of Sorrow many years ago, so maybe the genre isn’t for me…

  3. Oh, boo. I was hoping you’d make this one “Madou Monogatari May”! OK, so I wasn’t really hoping that 🙂

    Anyway, I’m fairly inexperienced in this genre, too. Not sure why. I guess these games, in general, just haven’t jumped out at me so far.

    That said, I *think* I’m finally going to pick up a copy of Aliens: Infestation for this game-along. I’m a HUGE fan of the Aliens franchise and as a result I’ve been eyeing up this game for ages now, so maybe I should finally bit the bullet? I’ll let you know shortly…

  4. Oooh, Aliens: Infestation might be a good one if you love Aliens! I actually have it, but I’ve only played about 20 minutes or so. As I said, there’s some kind of roadblock for me getting into Metroidvania games, I think. Not sure why either! Hopefully this month will help us get into the genre ^^

  5. I have Alice in Wonderland as well! I really want to do La Mulana. Also maybe an actual Metroid game lol. My video game blog get restarted on May 1st! First entry is about the video game along months. Trying to restart the blog took a while lol.

  6. I didn’t actually know Alice in Wonderland was a Metroidvania game until I saw it appear on a couple lists while I was researching for this post! I might give it a go just to see what it’s like – I think I played a few minutes of it when I first got it (it was a gift), but never went back to it.

    Do send me a link to your blog when you start it so I can share the post!

  8. Hmm, well the US version of Tomba is by SCEA…should be in English else the European version by Monkeypaw is in English. Tomba! 2 is in Japanese though, by Gungho, :/

    Anyway, yes they are fun.

    Personally for me…I have no clue…just got over my Spelunky/La Mulana addiction… But hey a few more thousand deaths have never bothered anyone before…right? 😋

  9. Oh my, thanks for the correction. I had a look into it and I guess I was confused by Tomba! 2 being the Japanese version and the fact that MonkeyPaw helped put the first one on PSN, since they usually do imports. I’ll fix that!

    And yes, you could always hone those La-Mulana/Spelunky skills if you can’t find anything else to play!

  10. Skills? Hone? Tsk tsk, this is a battle with sanity , an eternal struggle against the dark forces in the universe and that beyond. This is about survival Ms. Anne -middle naming you- Lee!

    My sanity set aside, I wonder if Popful Mail could be considered a Metroidvania. Really feeling that game atm.

  11. I don’t know what it is about this genre that doesn’t sit all that well with me, either. I mean, I *used* to like the genre, but these days I don’t quite have the interest in it. BTW, I completely forgot about the Alice the Wonderland DS game until you mentioned it here. I’ve always liked that game’s art style. Hmmm, which one to go with?

  12. Hehe, well if you get tired of struggling against the dark forces, you could totally play Popful Mail! A few people are playing it in the Metroidvania GAF thread

  13. Well, I’ve downloaded Castlevania: Symphony of the Night onto my Vita, bought Muramasa while it was on sale on PSN, and am strongly considering booting up my copy of Alice in Wonderland. I’m going to be busy! Hahaha

  14. Ahh yes well to out myself. I was the one who posted that “make a man out of you” pic. It’s a wonderful game so far. Beautiful and tricky.

    Anyway, just tried to separate and speak here as well instead of who I am on GAF.

  15. Oh whoops, sorry! I didn’t realize it was you. Well I’m glad you went ahead and started playing it anyway 😉 Does it live up to the (kinda loose and undefined) definition of a Metroidvania?

  16. Side scrollin platform game with RPG elements? Yepp.

    One of the best thing is the old style anime art. I seriously don’t mind dying just to see the continue/game over screen. The surprisingly good VA, for its time. The ultra cheesy lines from early 80s anime. Yepp it is wonderful. Even considering importing Japanese game just to compare the VAs.

    I know how I harp on about Falcom’s games(Brandish and Kiseki entries) but this took the throne for me. And I wish they would at least release a PC remaster just in case the discs break 🙂

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