Metroid Dread Review Score Predicition Thread

[NabiscoFelt]

Orí is a good looking game, but it is not as good as a platformer as you trying to say. HK has very good platforms and precise jumping, but the world is repetitive and dull. Figths are good, but nothing else.
If anything Celeste beats both hk and ORI.

Metroid has interest lore, interesting caracteres, awesome combat, and over all the map.

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Ok yeah, no. At least not compared to Ori and definitely not HK. And I love Metroid, those just simply are not its strengths in the slightest.

Metroid didn't even have good combat until Returns, let alone "awesome". Before that it was kinda serviceable at best with some standout bosses here and there that managed to make the most of a mediocre system. Now, Returns' combat is great and I'd say it stands alongside the rest of the genre fairly well so that's not really a weakness of the series anymore.

There really isn't much in the way of characters either besides in the Prime games and like, kinda Fusion? And of course Other M but that hardly went over well. Samus and I guess Adam are basically the only characters in the series with a personality that takes more than one word to describe (and for all the other defined characters, that word is "evil")

And the lore is interesting enough but it's also basic sci-fi stuff that's a background element for most of the series. It's certainly no "people have made YouTube careers off of this" like Hollow Knight's, and the story never even gets close to approaching the emotional moments of an Ori game.

Edit: I should note, I don't think Dread needs any of these things to succeed. Metroid can and should succeed off being Metroid, which is, imo, providing unparalleled level design with rewarding exploration and great atmosphere. The fact that it has good combat now is even better. But let's not make light of the excellent work being done by others in the genre just because you might like Metroid better.

 

[chiller]

Chill. Nobody suggested it needs anything like that.

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That's why I asked for input. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Regiruler]

I think high 80s is the safest, a bit higher than Samus Returns.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

That's why I asked for input. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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HK to Silksong looks like its adding a very different way of playing. Ori 1 to 2 was a huge change up with combat and some of the new abilities.

That's just within existing modern games of the genre, so decades later it would be nice to see Metroid reclaim some of the innovative legacy it once had is all. Im not saying it has to go full Yoku's Island Express.

 

[sanstesy]

If it's like SR, game development will be handled entirely by MS with one of the directors and the producer being from nintendo. The rest of the team from nintendo that worked on SR did music and art.

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This time we will also have Yoshio Sakamoto™ on story duty again.

 

[Regiruler]

Can't believe we live in a world where a prediction thread for a Mercury Steam game is this positive. Since Samus Returns reviewed well, I'm sure this one will too.

But I will forever be cautious and skeptical of anything they work on. They really shit the bed with Castlevania, and I can't get the thought out of my head that maybe the Metroid 2 remake kept them from getting too out there with bad ideas.

This game seems to have some stealth sequences in it and MY GOD was that stuff so awful in Lords 2.

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The stealth component in Dread is the core gameplay gimmick of the original design for the game (as one can easily deduce from historical comments), and you can easily see the progenitor of that style in the stealth segment of Zero Mission. If Sakamoto is going to be hands-on on one particular part of the game more than others, it's going to be the EMMI.

 

[chiller]

This time we will also have Yoshio Sakamoto™ on story duty again.

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He seems to do best without access to a Square-Enix level FMV budget.

 

[Panicky Duck]

If Metroid wants to keep up with new games, Dread will definitely need to add:

• a fully featured combo system
• an in-depth stamina system
• a map system where you have to buy area maps from a completely missable NPC
• active reloading
• a hub with npcs to talk to and purchase items from
• gothic architecture
• a resource that drops when you die and then you have to go back and recover it from where it dropped in the world just like that game dark souls

Please, let me know if I've missed anything.

Hollow Knight is... fine I guess.

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I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to say since HK doesn't have combos, stamina, or reloading. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a metroidvania with those mechanics.

 

[undefined]

If Metroid wants to keep up with new games, Dread will definitely need to add:

• a fully featured combo system
• an in-depth stamina system
• a map system where you have to buy area maps from a completely missable NPC
• active reloading
• a hub with npcs to talk to and purchase items from
• gothic architecture
• a resource that drops when you die and then you have to go back and recover it from where it dropped in the world just like that game dark souls

Please, let me know if I've missed anything.

Click to shrink...

You forgot having to equip an item to be able to see yourself on the map, so you have to decide between getting lost or wasting an equip slot

That being said Hollow Knight is great xD
I just don't see Samus Returns being less "modern" than it and that one was a NES remake

 

[JusDoIt]

High 80s.

 

[ILikeFeet]

He seems to do best without access to a Square-Enix level FMV budget.

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he just jumped too many steps ahead. let him properly build up to that

 

[ryechu]

You forgot having to equip an item to be able to see yourself on the map, so you have to decide between getting lost or wasting an equip slot

That being said Hollow Knight is great xD
I just don't see Samus Returns being less "modern" than it and that one was a NES remake

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Topping off your energy was annoying in Samus Returns. Another thing that's been fixed in Dread with recharge stations always refilling energy.

 

[PersianPrince]

Can't believe we live in a world where a prediction thread for a Mercury Steam game is this positive. Since Samus Returns reviewed well, I'm sure this one will too.

But I will forever be cautious and skeptical of anything they work on. They really shit the bed with Castlevania, and I can't get the thought out of my head that maybe the Metroid 2 remake kept them from getting too out there with bad ideas.

This game seems to have some stealth sequences in it and MY GOD was that stuff so awful in Lords 2.

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I feel like Nintendo is more hands on this one than Konami was with Castlevania: LOS.

 

[Deleted member 42484]

Chill. Nobody suggested it needs anything like that.

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I think it's sarcasm.

Nintendo wouldn't be putting a game on a Mexican billboard if they didn't believe in it. I have no reason to think Metroid V won't be as amazing or timeless as the 4 before it. Atleast we know already, good or bad, it'll be a timeless release because we'll talk about it endlessly while we wait 15 years for Metroid 6.

 

[chiller]

HK to Silksong looks like its adding a very different way of playing. Ori 1 to 2 was a huge change up with combat and some of the new abilities.

That's just within existing modern games of the genre, so decades later it would be nice to see Metroid reclaim some of the innovative legacy it once had is all. Im not saying it has to go full Yoku's Island Express.

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I do think the E.M.M.I. zones are going to be the big new "innovative thing," which I can get behind personally. They've done "stealth Metroid" before (SA-X / Zero Suit) but they felt compromised on the GBA. The SA-X alone can get itself stuck pretty easily if you put it in the right scenario.

Metroid's never really been a combat game imo. It has some pretty slick boss fights but that's always felt ancillary to the exploration and atmosphere. I do understand where you're coming from though, it just doesn't seem like they're trying to make that game, beyond fixing some issues from Samus Returns.

I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to say since HK doesn't have combos, stamina, or reloading. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a metroidvania with those mechanics.

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I'm being facetious. :-)
The features brought up to be grafted in or overcome are starting to morph into a weird pastiche for me.
does shadow complex have an active reload?

You forgot having to equip an item to be able to see yourself on the map, so you have to decide between getting lost or wasting an equip slot

That being said Hollow Knight is great xD
I just don't see Samus Returns being less "modern" than it and that one was a NES remake

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Hollow Knight isn't bad at all, it just very purist about being a souls-like (not my personal favorite) and it just changed up everything with the end game platforming, which I did get through, but exited pretty burnt out.

I think it's sarcasm.

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I knew I forgot something and it was an /s

 

[Johnzyboi]

Also, it doesn't happen too often, like once every 2 years or so, except for 2017 with both BotW and Odyssey, but every now and then Nintendo will just market a game in such a way that comes across like they KNOW they've got a hit, so far every single time they've done it the game has in fact been considered excellent by most enthusiast fans, they seem to be treating Dread the same way. While there's a first time for everything at this point I'm inclined to think Nintendo is pretty good at knowing when they've got something the more enthusiast audience will hold in high regard.

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I agree. Nintendo obviously wants to sell games but they're certain games that Nintendo markets in ways that are because they know it's something special. Botw, Odyssey, I would throw in Fire Emblem etc.

 

[D.Lo]

while Nintendo is leading MercurySteam, it wouldn't be right to diminish their contribution. looking at the credits for Samus Returns, many of the leads were on MS's side as well

Metroid: Samus Returns/Credits

Yoshio Sakamoto Jose Luis Márquez Takehiko Hosokawa Fumi Hayashi Masa Miyazaki Rafael Martínez Alfonso Valladolid Ferrández Fernando Zazo Enrique Jesús García Amezcua Ander Alzola Angulo Alvaro García Arredondo David Llansó Guillermo Bañuls Aizpiri Ander Amo del Ser Gonzalo Flórez Puga Asier...

metroid.fandom.com

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Every single major decision on story, characters, design, gameplay, sound (and probably almost every Minor one) will need Kyoto sign off. MS would be able to make suggestions or contribute ideas but would have zero final say.

It's a Nintendo first party game with a development partner.

 

[Guru Meditation]

Despite the saturation of metroidvanias, imo the really high quality ones are few and far between. Ever since the Castlevanias stopped the only ones that did it for me were Hollow Knight and Bloodstained. I expect that high end Nintendo game design and polish with Metroid dread. I expect it to be the best metroidvania of the past few years.

 

[froginhotwater]

I'll put this out there but I'm actually expecting a 91 or thereabouts on this one

 

[karmitt]

Every single major decision on story, characters, design, gameplay, sound (and probably almost every Minor one) will need Kyoto sign off. MS would be able to make suggestions or contribute ideas but would have zero final say.

It's a Nintendo first party game with a development partner.

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I'm not sure what the point you're trying to make is. ILikeFeet is saying we shouldn't diminish their contribution, and that's entirely appropriate. For example Luigi's Mansion 3 was a 'first party game with a development partner' but it as much an NLG joint as it was a Nintendo one - they came up with Gooigi, and almost certainly many other major aspects of the game design and story.

 

[D.Lo]

I'm not sure what the point you're trying to make is. ILikeFeet is saying we shouldn't diminish their contribution, and that's entirely appropriate. For example Luigi's Mansion 3 was a 'first party game with a development partner' but it as much an NLG joint as it was a Nintendo one - they came up with Gooigi, and almost certainly many other major aspects of the game design and story.

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I'm sure there's a lot more flexibility with LM than Metroid. It's a sub-series/spinoff without much history or lore (or story consequence). A LM game doing something weird will have little consequence. Metroid is a much more rich and serious franchise.

I wasn't diminishing their contribution (Samus Returns was fantastic), but I have zero doubt they'll have/had final say on anything. And the point of bringing this up is people writing off the game as a 'MercurySteam game' when they're a partner, not a decision making sole dev. Almost everything they've ever done was co-developed too, so using those as points of reference isn't fair either, as I'm sure Kojima/Alchemic etc had quite a say on their co-developed games too.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

If Metroid wants to keep up with new games, Dread will definitely need to add:

• a fully featured combo system
• an in-depth stamina system
• a map system where you have to buy area maps from a completely missable NPC
• active reloading
• a hub with npcs to talk to and purchase items from
• gothic architecture
• a resource that drops when you die and then you have to go back and recover it from where it dropped in the world just like that game dark souls

Please, let me know if I've missed anything.

Hollow Knight is... fine I guess.

Click to shrink...

Get all this shit the fuck away from my Metroid game please :p.

Spoiler

I adore Hollow Knight, but Metroid it aint.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I'm sure there's a lot more flexibility with LM than Metroid. It's a sub-series/spinoff without much history or lore (or story consequence). A LM game doing something weird will have little consequence. Metroid is a much more rich and serious franchise.

I wasn't diminishing their contribution, but I have zero doubt they'll have final say on anything. And the point of bringing this up is people writing off the game as a 'MercurySteam game' when they're a partner, not a decision making sole dev. Almost everything they've ever done was co-developed too, so using those as points of reference isn't fair either, as I'm sure Kojima/Alchemic etc had quite a say on their co-developed games too.

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I don't see how lore has anything to do with it.

and unless someone came out and said "Mercurysteam had no say in what they built" then your beliefs are just that. we can see the credits and all we can do is take them at face value. MS is listed as art direction lead, creative director, level design lead, and more. they probably had a say since they had to build everything

 

[Hero_Select]

I think somewhere in in 84-85 range seems possible if all goes well!

 

[D.Lo]

I don't see how lore has anything to do with it.

and unless someone came out and said "Mercurysteam had no say in what they built" then your beliefs are just that. we can see the credits and all we can do is take them at face value. MS is listed as art direction lead, creative director, level design lead, and more. they probably had a say since they had to build everything

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Like, this is literally a game design Nintendo and Sakamoto have had in the back drawer for 18 years that they've got MS on board to help deliver. Of course individuals can be art director etc, but if anyone thinks Sakamoto is just giving them a vague brief and a deadline and disappearing, it's not happening. There will have been be several internal Nintendo staff working full time on it project and Nintendo would have final say on any decision or point of contention. It is a Nintendo game with a development parter, just like Smash Bros.

 

[DecoReturns]

Like, this is literally a game design Nintendo and Sakamoto have had in the back drawer for 18 years that they've got MS on board to help deliver. Of course individuals can be art director etc, but if anyone thinks Sakamoto is just giving them a vague brief and a deadline and disappearing, it's not happening. There will have been be several internal Nintendo staff working full time on it project and Nintendo would have final say on any decision or point of contention. It is a Nintendo game with a development parter, just like Smash Bros.

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Not the best example to use, personally.

 

[Mr. Gold]

I'm going to predict this game gets nominated for GOTY (there isn't much competition this year) and sells the 2.5x the normal sales for a Metroid game

 

[HeyNay]

The only thing I wish for the Metroid series is that it actually starts experimenting with the formula and power-ups for once. I just played through the 2D series, and to see yet another entry with Varia / Gravity suit upgrades, ice missiles, triple beams, power bombs, and gravity hooks is a little... disappointing. I understand there will be other power ups, but I just wish the series would shake-up the basics. I guess that would be sacrilege at this point, though.

 

[sanstesy]

I don't see how lore has anything to do with it.

and unless someone came out and said "Mercurysteam had no say in what they built" then your beliefs are just that. we can see the credits and all we can do is take them at face value. MS is listed as art direction lead, creative director, level design lead, and more. they probably had a say since they had to build everything

Click to shrink...

Like, this is literally a game design Nintendo and Sakamoto have had in the back drawer for 18 years that they've got MS on board to help deliver. Of course individuals can be art director etc, but if anyone thinks Sakamoto is just giving them a vague brief and a deadline and disappearing, it's not happening. There will have been be several internal Nintendo staff working full time on it project and Nintendo would have final say on any decision or point of contention. It is a Nintendo game with a development parter, just like Smash Bros.

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This is what Sakamoto has said:

Despite MercurySteam's involvement, Sakamoto has continued to play an active role in Metroid Dread's development along with Nintendo. "My role in Metroid Dread was similar to or the same as what it was on Samus Returns, where NCL and Mercury Steam worked together to be one team. They're different companies of course, but we had one mind. So also in the same as Samus Returns, I was always in communication with MercurySteam on a day-to-day basis, looking at the good and bad of what they were producing for designs. So I guess I was called a producer, but I was more involved on the creative side of things as well."

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In general, I would expect more involvement from Sakamoto because this saga is his baby.

The only thing I wish for the Metroid series is that it actually starts experimenting with the formula and power-ups for once. I just played through the 2D series, and to see yet another entry with Varia / Gravity suit upgrades, ice missiles, triple beams, power bombs, and gravity hooks is a little... disappointing. I understand there will be other power ups, but I just wish the series would shake-up the basics. I guess that would be sacrilege at this point, though.

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It's a double-edge sword, isn't it? Some are rather arbitrary like the Gravity suit or power bombs, but other power-ups like the space jump or shine spark are power-ups that you would always love to have in addition to new power-ups. Just look at all the people that miss the hookshot in BotW for example.

 

[Gunman]

Well then lucky the game is actually being made by Nintendo EPD and produced by Sakomoto (and probably directed by Hosokawa) with Nintendo deciding the story, lore, ideas, structure, and creating all music, with MercurySteam providing the technology and art and some design but following Nintendo orders.

Like literally this is a Nintendo made game with a co-developer. Nobody writes off Smash Ultimate as 'a Namco game' or even Other M as a 'Tecmo game' but somehow lots of haters are obsessed with writing off Samus Returns and this as if it's a fully outsourced project.

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Plenty of people write off Other M.

 

[NabiscoFelt]

Plenty of people write off Other M.

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Well sure, but most of the time people put the blame solely on Sakomoto instead of Team Ninja (which, based on what we've heard about development, is at least partially justified)

The only thing I wish for the Metroid series is that it actually starts experimenting with the formula and power-ups for once. I just played through the 2D series, and to see yet another entry with Varia / Gravity suit upgrades, ice missiles, triple beams, power bombs, and gravity hooks is a little... disappointing. I understand there will be other power ups, but I just wish the series would shake-up the basics. I guess that would be sacrilege at this point, though.

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Dread does seem to be doing a fair amount to shake up some of Samus' basic moveset but yeah it would be nice to see some variety with the standard power ups

 

[D.Lo]

Plenty of people write off Other M.

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🙄 They don't write it off as Tecmo game. Its problems are correctly blamed on Nintendo and Sakamoto, because just like Samus Returns/Dread, it's a Nintendo game with a development partner.

Dread should be treated the same way. If it's a dud due to poor decisions (eg bad level design or story stuff?) it's ultimately Nintendo's fault.

Well sure, but most of the time people put the blame solely on Sakomoto instead of Team Ninja

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Exactly

 

[Matrix XII]

88 is my guess

really looking forward to playing Dread!

 

[Magic-Man]

I'd say 89 - 91. Pretty damn good reviews, but not god-tier masterpiece level.

 

[Servbot24]

If Metroid wants to keep up with new games, Dread will definitely need to add:

• a fully featured combo system
• an in-depth stamina system
• a map system where you have to buy area maps from a completely missable NPC
• active reloading
• a hub with npcs to talk to and purchase items from
• gothic architecture
• a resource that drops when you die and then you have to go back and recover it from where it dropped in the world just like that game dark souls

Please, let me know if I've missed anything.

Hollow Knight is... fine I guess.

Click to shrink...

This is disingenuous. "Keeping up" does not mean copying random features from other games and you know it.

 

[chiller]

This is disingenuous. "Keeping up" does not mean copying random features from other games and you know it.

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It's /s
and people have literally been naming random features as necessary to cherry-pick or as a bar to be met and exceeded
which is fine, but it has been getting comical

 

[Servbot24]

It's /s
and people have literally been naming random features as necessary to cherry-pick or as a bar to be met and exceeded
which is fine, but it has been getting comical

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It is silly to say that Metroid needs to check off a list of modern features. That is how you get soulless Ubisoft games.

It is also silly to say that Metroid Dread does not need to move the franchise forward in a significant way, at least if it wants to still be seen as a premier franchise in teh genre.

 

[Skyebaron]

Other M was shit, Samus Returns was a dissapointment and inferior to the free AM2R. My hopes are not high. Since its a Nintendo game and not much has been out this year, the score will be inflated to an average of 80.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

It's /s
and people have literally been naming random features as necessary to cherry-pick or as a bar to be met and exceeded
which is fine, but it has been getting comical

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Which features have been named as necessary?

 

[chiller]

It is silly to say that Metroid needs to check off a list of modern features. That is how you get soulless Ubisoft games.

It is also silly to say that Metroid Dread does not need to move the franchise forward in a significant way, at least if it wants to still be seen as a premier franchise in teh genre.

Click to shrink...

k, didn't say either of those things.

Which features have been named as necessary?

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Implied is maybe the better word, especially when posting your favorite fresh Hollow Knight / Ori features (for... contrast?), alongside portraying those games as if somehow objectively better than any Metroid game, which people here have clearly enjoyed. I don't think this game is going to be what you seem to want it to be and that sucks, but that doesn't nullify other people's anticipation or their opinions on what they want from it and other games. At this point I genuinely think that it'd be more productive to ask you directly about what you want in / from this game? If that's just an arbitrary (not meant in the pejorative sense, but rather like, anything in the general area) "something new" on it's own maybe just wait for reviews (lol I know I'm saying this in a prediction thread) to let you know if it matches your barometer.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

k, didn't say either of those things.



Implied is maybe the better word, especially when posting your favorite fresh Hollow Knight / Ori features (for... contrast?), alongside portraying those games as if somehow objectively better than any Metroid game, which people here have clearly enjoyed. I don't think this game is going to be what you seem to want it to be and that sucks, but that doesn't nullify other people's anticipation or their opinions on what they want from it and other games. At this point I genuinely think that it'd be more productive to ask you directly about what you want in / from this game? If that's just an arbitrary (not meant in the pejorative sense, but rather like, anything in the general area) "something new" on it's own maybe just wait for reviews (lol I know I'm saying this in a prediction thread) to let you know if it matches your barometer.

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I illustrated how each game was trying something pretty different in followups. It has nothing to do with what I want for Metroid. There aren't any specific things I even would say the game needs. This is a score prediction thread, so I said its probably a good game despite being very familiar.

 

[Chaofahn]

I would love for Dread to be in the high 90s, but realistically it'll land around the high 80s/low 90s.

Not that it matters of course, I'll be jumping on this right away since it's been centuries since Fusion came out.

 

[chiller]

I illustrated how each game was trying something pretty different in followups. It has nothing to do with what I want for Metroid. There aren't any specific things I even would say the game needs. This is a score prediction thread, so I said its probably a good game despite being very familiar.

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Okay, I'm probably conflating some different stuff said then. Thanks for clarifying.
I think at some point it's a philosophical impasse about sequels and the nature of "new" in media. I do genuinely hope it exceeds both of our expectations though.

 

[Phendrift]

Samus' abilities are part of the core Metroid formula, they should never be replaced with new ones.

They should only add new ones, or make her start off with more unlocked

 

[GrislyRaccoon]

k, didn't say either of those things.



Implied is maybe the better word, especially when posting your favorite fresh Hollow Knight / Ori features (for... contrast?), alongside portraying those games as if somehow objectively better than any Metroid game, which people here have clearly enjoyed. I don't think this game is going to be what you seem to want it to be and that sucks, but that doesn't nullify other people's anticipation or their opinions on what they want from it and other games. At this point I genuinely think that it'd be more productive to ask you directly about what you want in / from this game? If that's just an arbitrary (not meant in the pejorative sense, but rather like, anything in the general area) "something new" on it's own maybe just wait for reviews (lol I know I'm saying this in a prediction thread) to let you know if it matches your barometer.

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People want NPCs in a game thats meant to be isolation?

 

[anaa]

If anything Celeste beats both hk and ORI.

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As a die hard Celeste fan, this comparison seems odd to me. Linear, tight, level based precision platforming vs open ended unlock based exploration?

 

[Servbot24]

Orí is a good looking game, but it is not as good as a platformer as you trying to say. HK has very good platforms and precise jumping, but the world is repetitive and dull. Figths are good, but nothing else.
If anything Celeste beats both hk and ORI.

Metroid has interest lore, interesting caracteres, awesome combat, and over all the map.

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• Metroid Prime is a 9.8/10 but is not 2D so I'm guessing it doesn't count
• Celeste is a 9.6/10 but is not a Metroidvania
• HK is a 9.5/10, best 2D Metroidvania ever
• Symphony of the Night is around a 9.2/10
• The best 2D Metroid games, Super and Fusion, are both around 9.0/10 for me.
• Ori 2 is a superb game and gets around an 8.8/10 from me. I'd also give Zero Mission a very close rating to this.
• Ori 1 is pretty mediocre aside from the graphics honestly. I'll give it a 6 or so. There's 100 Metroidvanias better than Ori 1.
• Samus Returns is also a 6. Very dull game.
• I can't even rate the first 2 Metroid games because they're not good enough to be worth finishing.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

As a die hard Celeste fan, this comparison seems odd to me. Linear, tight, level based precision platforming vs open ended unlock based exploration?

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The "Metroid has interesting characters and awesome combat" bit is more confusing. Like....the game that deliberately goes out of its way to not have characters. Well Except like, Other M.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Samus' abilities are part of the core Metroid formula, they should never be replaced with new ones.

They should only add new ones, or make her start off with more unlocked

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This is what I liked about Prime 2 and 3.

 

[Phendrift]

This is what I liked about Prime 2 and 3.

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Yeah those games actually did do a pretty good job. Specifically with suits - Having Varia at the start paved the way for more new and unique suit looks as the game progressed.

Starting off with Morph ball was also a great choice, as the games could focus on having more complex boost ball and spider ball obstacles that block progression instead of just morph ball tunnels. Pretty sure Prime 3 even started with Bombs and Space Jump.

but it also kinda showed that of course there will be staples that you just can't start with. the screw attack and power bombs will always just be too powerful to begin the game with.

I guess it's just figuring out how big do you want the growth to feel. You can have her start bare minimum with absolutely nothing except the power beam (not even charge), and have a really great growth curve where it feels like you're going from zero to full blown powerhouse. But then you'll have to have much of the beginning of the game dedicated to acquiring upgrades that are second nature to Metroid fans.