Evolution of Save Station Animation in Metroid Games 

I like how in prime 2 Samus does a little "man im tired,i need a vaca"slouch

I really love how in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes you can see Samus’ entire body relax when she steps into the save station; like she’s taking a sigh of relief. Kinda reflects how dark and stressful that game is.

There’s something so satisfying about Super Metroid’s sound and animation for saving

Dread save rooms are so extra, but it lends such a grandeur to this world. I love the detail of the other two Chozo statues looming in the foreground.

I think Metroid Dread may have created the most beautiful save room. The sleek design of the station itself surrounded by the Mawkin statues in both the background and the foreground.

The save animation for Prime 2 lends a TON of immersion to the experience, especially for Dark Aether. I love the feeling of relief in reaching a safe haven in a pocket of light as Samus is visibly exhausted from the toxic environment, I loved the sound redesign of the lasers charging her up as she is visibly re-energized, and that final "wake up, bird person" sound as Samus's attention snaps back forward as if she just woke from a nap, recharged. I remember when I played MP2 for the first time on GameCube shortly after its release. When I saw all the ways they added polish to various animations like item acquisition, I found that the save room animation and sound was polished the most beautifully. Samus no longer stands in that awkward, looping stance animation, you can actually empathize with her visible relief. Also, I have a real soft spot for smoothly-animated pixel graphics so I love both GBA titles' save room animations, but Zero Mission's is stunning with the way this cylindrical field hologram forms around Samus (I used to think it was a glass tube that materializes around her, but who knows). It's that kind of smooth technique that makes pixel style animation so amazing to me, you can make something look incredible if you're working with limited tech. Thank you for another great compilation!

Super Metroid is my favorite when you load the game, but Metroid Prime 1 is the best when you save, the laser beam, the sound effects, and the way the camera goes back inside samus helmet, it's really immersive and freaking cool

Prime 1 certainly has the coolest SFX with a 'getting shit done' posture. In Prime 2 she poses like shes fed up with life. xD

Other Metroid games: has ok graphics Dread: fucking 4K HD

I love how reloading a save SOUNDS LIKE SHE IS BEING BROUGBT BACK

For the record: the Metroid 2 saves are basically the best saves ever. You can hop up, press start, and boom! Done. It's an instantaneous save. I don’t know of any other games with a fast save than Metroid 2 (it was slower in the video for demonstration purposes, but there’s no downtime for the game to save).

Super Metroid is the most legendary, just perfect

Metroid prime 3 is just so satisfying and chill The sound just after the clean save is just 👌

I love how for Metroid Samus Returns and Metroid Dread, Samus stares at the camera as if to say are you sure you want me to do this

Always loved that electric/bot animation in Super Metroid when you come back into the game. So awesome!

I think Prime 2's is always going to be my favorite. The way her shoulders slump in exhaustion and relief, and then that close-up of her eyes through her visor as if she's mentally preparing herself to march back out there and keep fighting - it's so characterful, and so perfectly sells for me both the severity of the situations she finds herself in, and her ability to ultimately come out on top. It's great stuff.

I hope Dread is successful to the point Nintendo feel like they can remake 1,3&4 and remaster the 3DS remake of 2 for Switch at some point

Super metroid is still my fave save. Also it makes it fell like your backing your self up and being cloned. Lol

Nothing says "Welcome back" like this theme, man. :') Zero Mission and the Primes' load-in themes in particular were special to me.

The Fusion save station animation is unique in that we actually see Samus materialize from the save station, compared to all other games just cuts to Samus saving her progress

The first Metroid (NES) didn't have a save room huh. Also, Metroid Prime Hunters (DS) has a save point in Samus Aran's ship, you can save the game in there.

i think your samus returns emulation was missing an effect for the save station

I started with Prime 3, so when the trilogy came out on Wii, and I saw the lasers in Prime 1 and 2, every time I saved I thought I was being sliced into pieces.

My favourite has to be dread, I think it’s the room design, the warm colours and lighting make it feel cozy Those statues in the corners have this guardian vibe about them as well I just feel good every time I found one

Do you know what would probably be cool (but difficult to implement for speedrunners)? A save point that when you attempt to use it, turns out to be a trap that deposits you in front of a boss.

Ain’t no way nobody’s talking about the goat zero mission that save station is immaculate.

Zero Missions startup from save noise is godlike

imagine living somewhere where you have to shoot the door for it to open

I always wondered what the in-universe lore for save stations are. Like, figuring out where the game mechanics end and the lore begins. Because I don't think they literally resurrect Samus (or any creature) back in time. That would be too powerful and beg the question of why don't any enemies use them, or even fellow bounty hunters like Rundas and Gandrayda? Here are some interesting tidbits about them: -They have been constructed by many different species, including the Chozo, Luminoth, Galactic Federation, and Space Pirates. -They range in size and complexity from a whole room filled with machinery to a single machine set up ramshackle in a cave, with no apparent difference in effectiveness. -Only Samus is ever seen using them.

Wow, Prime will be 20 years old in 2022?! That's impossible! It looks so good!

The sound is just so euphoric

Zero Mission has the best save music!

I never actually heard the Dread fanfare play while my two playthroughs cuz I'd never turn off the software until I beat the game and I'd only respawn through checkpoints so the fanfare wouldn't play

I really hope Nintendo re-release all three Metroid Prime games on Switch like Mario 3D All Stars, especially if Prime 4 is coming. I've never played Prime and I don't have a GameCube.

Dread looks amazing!!!!

I wish all the games, not just Prime, would restore your health when you saved. I always worry about softlocking myself by saving in a dangerous area without enough health...

I always associated the Zero Mission save stations with those from Super but looking at this comparison, it seems the ZM ones are directly influenced by the ones from Prime, with the light and lack of a "tube" Samus steps into, not to mention the save stations in Chozodia restoring your Energy and ammo.

The best and OG 0:58 (Well, not exactly since it's from the first Metroid but considering that Metroid didn't got any save points earlier, let's count Super Metroid as the first Metroid game to include the save theme that will be used on all of the later games)

If anyone is wondering, the computer voice in Other M is saying, "Data recording and shield restoration sequence activated. Sequence complete. Process successful".

It just occured to me that there are no space pirates in dread

Other M had such nice mellow horns for its fanfare then ruins it with all these random ass sounds lol

Metroid Prime is so gorgeous

No save points in the first game was such a pain

So here's my thought in watching this video. "WHAT would the in universe Lore be behind these save points?" They exist in the game world and are places built not only on chazo worlds, but even in the Federation they exist. So what are they doing other then just saving? Armor Diagnostic? A micro stasis chamber?

Its time for a Metroid movie...for real!

Do Elevator evolutions next :P

Dread's save ROOMS might be the sleekest, but let's not pretend Prime 2 isn't the most satisfying

I think there are some emulator shenanigans going on with Samus Returns here. It's definitely missing the save animation that normally occurs. From the sound of it, it seems like the animation somewhat starts up but only lasts a few frames.

Super Metroid has the best save cutscene, but Metroid Prime 2 has the best re-entry cutscene.

Dread and ZM are so fking good man.

Metroid Fusion is my all time favorite

Prime 2 has to be my favorite.

NES Metroid: Saving? What is this, a game for babies?!

Pretty biased but imo metroid fusion is the best, second would be super metroid imo

Zero mission's theme is my favorate

My favorite has either got to go to prime 1 or 2's. 1s has that amazing fanfare while having superb hype levels. 2's has a little less, but makes up for it in flair, and the simple reaction of samus awakening, almost as if she's not in the suit. ...you think when she hits a save point, she's temporarily teleported to her ship for hunter logs?

Prime and Fusion had the best ones.

4:21-4:44 *That was cool.* 💪🏽

Metroid II probably has the quickest save despite being the first one to do it

Prime 1's is easily the most badass one. Come on, now.

0:58 5:55 These are my Bestest ones.

These games are not underrated, but they *are* underplayed. If Metroid Dread won't turn that around, Metroid Prime 4 certainly will.

You can feel the Super Metroid save jingle in your soul

Watching this just made me realize even more how much of a failure other M was

I wonder what the save points are for the people on the planets and ships

Dread's load/ savectime tho

Technically, the elevators in Metroid 1 serve as save stations, because every time you die, you restart there.

Samus looks super sad in Prime 2

1:27 Femur Breaker

Metroid Primeee 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

The one in other m is underated atleast the gunship version

For 2D Metroid; the best getting into animation is Dread while the best loading from animation is Metroid Fusion. For 3D Metroid, my favorite one is Metroid Prime 3.

What I wanna know is why most games after super took the 5th note of the loading sound and split it into 2 notes. It's not consistent, either, Zero Mission doesn't do it, but Fusion, Prime, and Samus Returns do. It honestly sounds like a skipping CD. ...Not that kids these days would know what THAT sounds like.

I wonder what that machine does to samus when we save the game...

No prime hunters? I see how it is

Other m: Beep boop beep

I didn’t know the first game didn’t have save stations until Zero Mission.

Okay but why can't she mount her arm cannon on top of her arm like Megatron?

It still irks me to this day how they messed up the fanfare in Prime 3. You load up the game, ready for an adventure, hell yeah it's Metroid time! ....and then you don't hear the fanfare. Instead they play it everytime you land somewhere and it gets so annoying lol

What do the save stations even do in-universe anyways?

Justin Bailey is a save station.

Super metroid beats all

And Hunters?

You forgot an important one.

Is funny to have a Save Point in a 2021 game

3:30

osea que tu intro es mas importante que el gran metroid de nes. el Inicio de la saga

03:35

All the ones that don't have the save loading music make me immediately disappointed

Where is Metroid Prime: Hunters? D:

4:48

Is it me or is the fanfare in Samus Returns sound a little off.

What about Metroid hunters

No hunters save ?

Wait there was no save in the nes version?

Metroid 1: "We don't do that here." ...unless we're talking about the FDS version. Password systems sucked :(

Why you didn't include the password system of the first game is beyond me. Even if it's not a save station, it would've been funny. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Dread is next level, so sad this game limited by Switch's hardware.. We really need switch pro!!!!!

Dread save animation is beyond mediocre, taking into account how amazing the animation is in prime 1 and 2.

For me, to best to worst is: 1.- Dread 2.- Super 3.- Samus Returns and Prime Trilogy 4.- Other M 5.- Return of Samus 6.- Zero Mission 7.-Metroid(it does have one) 8.-Fusion