"Magmoor Caverns" from Metroid: Samus Returns on the Nintendo 3DS (2017)
Composer: Kenji Yamamoto
Label: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: MercurySteam & Nintendo EPD
Developer: MercurySteam & Nintendo EPD
I know this song as "Norfair - Ancient Ruins Area" from Super Metroid, but this arrangement is closer to the one used in Metroid Prime, although there are some subtle differences between that version from 2002 and this version from 2017. The Metroid Prime version sounds a little more foreboding with the "tick-tock" more in the foreground (or that could be this specific mix, I am not sure as I never made it to Magmoor) while the version here comes across as a lot more aggressive, which is suiting for exploring SR388 and coming across a room filled with lava pools scorching air, and possibly an evolved/mutated Metroid.
Part of me was a little "ehh" that the Norfair theme was used as a general "room with fire" theme but I understand why it was included in Samus Returns since the game is no longer on a monochrome olive-green screen and rooms of varying biomes have since become a key feature in Metroid games. It makes sense to use a song that banks on nostalgia for those who grew up playing Super Metroid in the mid-1990s and those who grew up with Metroid Prime in the early 2000s. But then, I cannot remember specifically which area it was that was in a fire area along with a multi-tiered battle against a Metroid that ended with this music playing and it just made the battle all the more climactic. I did not even care that I still had more Metroids to kill after this particular battle, it still felt great to have this overly dramatic music playing during a mini-boss confrontation.
I love this theme, and I love this specific arrangement which is why we are doing back-to-back MIDI Week Singles with music from Metroid: Samus Returns.
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