■■ You’ll be the Hero
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Takabashi
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I’m Samus Aran of Hobo Nichi. |
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Chef
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I don’t think that’s right. You’re Mr. Takabashi. Also, isn’t Samus a woman? What’s happened? Have you been drinking? |
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Takabashi
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You’re right. Maybe I got motion sickness from playing too much Metroid Prime… I only look drunk because I’m intoxicated by the world of Metroid! I guess you could say that I’ve already dedicated this weekend to Metroid Prime. It’s amazing already. I feel like I’m Samus. Mr. Takei, haven’t you played it yet!? |
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Chef
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Well that’s because you took my copy. (You should buy your own). You’re too addicted. You’re a grown man! You’re even getting married soon! |
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Takabashi
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Yes, you’re right. Once I get married, what if my wife bans me from gaming? Hmmm. |
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Chef
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(How would I know?). Well let’s put that aside. Let me ask you this. Is Metroid Prime fun? What’s the world like? What’s Samus like? She has a power suit right? Why does she wear it?
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Takabashi
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Mr. Takei, did you know there’s something called an E-Comic (Electronic Comic) on the official website? |
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Chef
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I didn’t know… |
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Takabashi
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Mr. Takei! You haven’t studied enough. You should read that first.
| Note: E-COMIC Metroid is an electronic version of the Metroid manga serialised in Kodansha Magazine Z, remastered with sound effects and animated effects. You can also find out the secret of Samus’ birth! |
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Chef
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Okay, I get it. I’ll read that first. So, how’s the game? |
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Takabashi
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Well, it’s the first 3D game in the Metroid series. The game is played from Samus’ (the protagonist) point of view. I first heard about it from a commercial on TV. There was this song that played. Even though it was just a commercial, the music really resonated with me, it was really cool. |
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Chef
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Hm, that’s an important element so that you can really get into the story. |
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Takabashi
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It’s very sci-fi. There’s a sense of tragedy in it. There are sounds interspersed within that sound like creatures which gives a sense of uneasiness. And the screen is sort of bio-like, almost as though you’re looking at cellular tissue from within a blood vessel. (Excitedly) It’s amazing! It’s just like a movie. |
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Chef
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Whenever I play games I always watch the pre-title screen demo first. If you boot up the game and leave it alone, it’ll start. You can learn a lot about various techniques when you watch it. |
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Takabashi
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Woah, you’re quite the connoisseur. That’s right. I’m the same way, but this time the demo scene suddenly shows us a fierce fight. Enemies coming at you, firing beams, travelling around lots of places. I don’t think it so much about learning the techniques as it is building up your hype. |
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Chef
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So how does it all start? |
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Takabashi
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Let’s see, the story begins when Samus finds the survivors of the Space Pirates, who she fought in the NES version of Metroid. There’s a short movie of landing in the ship and then it starts. |
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Chef
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You’re familiar with the NES era right Mr. Takabashi? How does this compare? |
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Takabashi
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This is a realistic depiction of Samus. The metallic body makes Samus look strong and cool. It’s a far cry from the days of the NES where it was just a space suit! |
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Chef
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Although the NES did have its own good qualities. |
■■ The use of the different visors is a game-changer
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Takabashi
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But y’know, it’s not just the outward appearance, the way it moves is also cool! When Samus gets down from her spaceship, she doesn’t just do it normally. She does a massive jump spinning through the air. If this was a movie they’d have to use wires to pull it off.
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Chef
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Wow. Are the controls easy to use? There’s no practice mode? |
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Takabashi
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There isn’t. I don’t think I’m particularly good [at game controls] either, but at any rate, it’s from Samus’ perspective right? It’s really exciting and you can pick things up as you progress. You know, you might wonder what pressing certain buttons on the controller does, or what you should do next? The game gives you proper hints. |
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Chef
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I see. In that case I should be okay. Well then, can you give me some advice for when I’m starting out? |
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Takabashi
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The main thing this time is the visor. It’s a real game-changer. |
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Chef
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What do you mean visor? Like a sun visor? |
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Takabashi
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Well this visor is the helmet-like thing that Samus wears. You start off with two types, the combat visor and the scan visor. You use the combat visor while you’re moving around, battling enemies and is probably the one you’ll be using the most.
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Chef
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And the other one? |
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Takabashi
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The scan visor. You can read data from living creatures and computers. At the moment I’m using the scan visor to look for switches and learn about enemies while I use the combat visor to take them out as I go along. |
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Chef
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So that means you can switch between them. Can you attack when you’re using the scan visor? |
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Takabashi
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You can’t. It’s quite exciting when enemies show up. Balancing the dodging of enemy attacks, scanning and counter attacking can get quite hectic. |
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Chef
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Woah! An enemy jumped out!! Gotta scan it first! Scan visor activated! And now I’m going to switch to the combat visor! And attack! Is it something like that? And if you haven’t finished scanning, equip the scan visor again! Are you sure you don’t get frazzled? |
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Takabashi
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It does happen. But you keep getting better and better at it. I love it. |
■■ Roll round and round!
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Chef
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You know, I’m sure I saw something about you rolling around. You know that thing that all the Metroid games have had.
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Takabashi
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You’re thinking of the Morph Ball. It’s an ability where Samus curls up into a ball and can roll around. It’s just another one of those things that is superb about Metroid Prime. The moment where you transform into a ball is perfectly rendered and the way it moves feels so good! Mr. Takei, did you like playing with remote control vehicles? |
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Chef
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Yeah. |
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Takabashi
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It’s just like that! The feel of using the controller is exactly the same and you can move slowly by gently tilting the analogue stick. And if you tilt it all the way it rumbles a little as you roll around. It’s quite cute! |
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Chef
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It seems as though you won’t be able to stop when you’re on a slope or something. |
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Takabashi
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If you ball up when you’re on a slope you will roll to the bottom. And when a bomb explodes you’ll go flying. I’ve grown quite attached to being round. |
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Chef
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Wouldn’t it be scary if little balls got together and had meetings at night? |
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Takabashi
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That would be scary haha. I wish I was round. Anyway the ability is for getting into tight spaces. |
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Chef
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Hang on, didn’t you say that the game was from Samus’ perspective? If that’s the case isn’t the screen going to start rolling all over the place when you’re the morph ball? |
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Takabashi
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That doesn’t happen. It’s the only time where you’re not seeing things from Samus’ perspective, the camera stays a little behind her. It’s also pretty useful for when you want to see more of what’s going on around you. There have been all sorts of 3D shooters by now but I don’t think there’s been one where you could see it from this perspective? The movement is handled so well that you could probably make a whole game around it. When you’re playing Metroid Prime I want you to be round! I want you to experience the cuteness for yourself! |
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Chef
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Cute you say. Isn’t it scary and heart pounding? |
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Takabashi
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The morph ball is cute but you do spend most of the time being scared and nervous.
The enemies are creepy.
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Chef
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I like that, it’s what Metroid Fusion on GBA was like. |
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Takabashi
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They make noises as they approach you, and they look quite realistic. One of the things I didn’t like in the beginning was the little bug-like enemies that attacked in swarms! |
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Chef
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Ew, no. But I still want to see it. |
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Takabashi
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They approach in their dozens. It gives me goosebumps. I had to kill them with a series of beams straight away. Enemies take a lot more shots than they did in Fusion. |
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Chef
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What about stepping on them? |
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Takabashi
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They can be killed by stomping on them, but if you stomp on them, they can pop and leave a sticky green body fluid on your body. |
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Chef
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Wow. That just makes me want to try it even more. |
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Takabashi
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The first time I stepped on them, my vision got obscured by a green liquid and I panicked a little because I couldn’t see. |
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Chef
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Thank goodness Samus wears a helmet. |
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Takabashi
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Speaking of which, I was surprised by the various effects that showed I was wearing a helmet: my vision fogged up when I passed through water vapour, the water ran off as I came up from underwater, and so on. When I fired the beam in the dark and my face reflected off the inside of my helmet, I thought my heart would stop.
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Chef
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(What a fool…). What was it like progressing through the early game? |
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Takabashi
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Ahem. After I’d played through 6 hours of the game I’d beaten 3 bosses. As someone who isn’t good at 3D games I did my best. |
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Chef
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6 hours… You’re quite tenacious. Was there a time limit or anything? |
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Takabashi
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There was a part in the middle where you have to escape the base within a time limit, but the limit was quite strict… The first time I was taking it easy and thought I would be fine, I ran out of time and it was game over! The second time, I tried to rush and lost my sense of direction, but managed to get through with 10 seconds remaining. |
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Chef
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If it was me, I’d have made a big fuss. My neighbours would be telling me to shut up! |
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Takabashi
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While I was still getting used to the controls I would often say things like “Oh no” to myself. |
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Chef
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It would be fine to play it while bantering with everyone. It’ll be a different kind of fun when you get good. |
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Takabashi
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Yep. I’ve already reached that point. It suddenly becomes a lot more interesting when you get used to controlling things from Samus’ point of view. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I’ve become Samus! |
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Chef
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I see… But Samus is a woman… |
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Takabashi
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I can defeat enemies in a single shot without wasting any of my beams. I lock onto enemies while walking, narrowly dodging their attacks and defeating them. I enjoy drawing out the attacks from the enemy and then finally, victory! Isn’t that manly!? I’m so cool! I get drunk on my own Samusness. |
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Chef
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But Samus is a woman… How far through your playthrough are we? |
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Takabashi
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Now, after much getting lost, I arrived at the fourth boss and he was causing me trouble. How do I beat him? I feel like I know what to do but… what I was trying was sort of ineffective. There had to be a better way. (mutter) And I’m going to keep getting beaten until I discover it! |
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Chef
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Boss fights are a fun part of Metroid aren’t they? |
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Takabashi
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But you often can’t defeat them by simply firing beams and missiles. You have to attack the enemy’s weak points, read their movements and go around them, and always use your head to beat them. So the exhilaration and sense of achievement when you come up with a method to beat them is exceptional. Then, without being able to think of a way to defeat the fourth boss, I reached my limit. |
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Chef
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I see. I’ll probably end up having to ask you for strategies then. |
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Takabashi
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I’m going to be asking my friends about their strategies tomorrow too. |
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Chef
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Still, it looks like this isn’t the end, doesn’t it? |
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Takabashi
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It’s a very challenging game. What enemies and stories await me, and how much longer until I finish the game? I can’t rest when I think of the mysteries of the Chozo and the tremendous enemies that lie in wait for me, which we haven’t seen much of in the series! |
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Chef
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The adventures of Samus Takabashi are still in their early days. Um, but you know what, I’m eagerly awaiting your next report. You’ve already finished Metroid Fusion on the GBA. |
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Takabashi
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Yeah, I smashed it. I’ve beaten it twice. |
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Chef
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That’s right! Why don’t you get your link cable and connect your GBA to your GameCube? You can then play the NES version of Metroid. That’ll be your next report! I’ll be waiting~~~ |
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Takabashi
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Hnng. I’m both happy and sad. Shall we leave Metroid Prime for now? |
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Chef
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We’ll leave it for now! |
