Metroid NES hits 3DS eShop this week
NES space-shooty adventure Metroid hits the Nintendo 3DS on Thursday. Pew pew! But should gamers expect more?
Classic NES title Metroid arrives on the 3DS this week, beaming space-shooty antics direct from the late- 80s on to your handheld.
You can download the title -- which became available for 3DS owners in the US at the beginning of the month -- from Thursday 15 March, via the 3DS' eShop, for £4.50.
Metroid sees besuited bounty hunter Samus Aran zapping space pirates on the planet Zebes, hoarding power-ups and morphing into a tiny ball in her pursuit of Mother Brain.
It introduced the world to the platforming, run-and-gun sci-fi Metroid universe, as well as treating gamers to one of the genre's coolest female characters (oh, er, spoiler alert).
I reckon it's well worth downloading if you've never given the series a shot, though our sister site GameSpot notes in its review of the Wii version that Nintendo hasn't fixed issues with flickering sprites. If anyone's found the 3DS version plagued by the same problems, let me know via the comments.
It's a shame 3DS owners have had to wait so long for a slice of classic Nintendo history though -- the console itself was launched in the UK just under a year ago, and I would've hoped that by now the glasses-free 3D marvel would be chocka with all the old-school classics.
£4.50 may be a bit rich as well. The game may be fondly remembered by those who played it in the 80s, but I'm not sure many people will be eager to fork over nearly a fiver for a game so long in the tooth.
A lower price would make gamers who'd never tried the series more likely to take a punt, as well as (and regular readers will know I bang on about this a bit) making the 3DS look more competitive versus the likes of the iPod touch or cheap Android games.
Would you pay £4.50 to run Samus down enemy-infested corridors just like old times? Tell me in the comments, or over on our Facebook wall.