Metroid and Parutena FDS questions.

[Issun]

In Metroid on FDS I've read that you don't get to play as armorless Samus once you've beaten the game but also that you're not able to continue with a new game retaining all items (sans energy tanks and missiles) like in the NES version. Does that mean that you've got to beat the game in less than an hour on your first playthrough to get the best ending? Or are there different criteria for the endings in the FDS version?

In Hikari Shinwa: Parutena no Kagami it seems you can't begin a new game retaining all stats from the previous round after you've beaten the game either and there seem to be different rules for the endings. As far as I'm able to tell from searching the net, you add your health and arrow power together and multiply them by 10 then subtract 1 for each time you've used a continue. To get the best ending you'll need 5 health, 5 arrow power (is this even possible during the first time around?) and zero deaths. I was wondering if it's possible to save your progress without dying (and not counting as a continue) like in Zelda (pushing up+A on second controller) or something alike? Doing the game on one life and in a single-segment seems a little harsh with those bottomless pits around.

Edit: The "up+A button on the second controller code" works in Metroid as well. Doesn't work in Parutena though, perhaps there's another trick?

[P]

I don't have Metroid but I can confirm that if you play another round of Parutena on the same save file that you have beated the game with you will start out from zero again. This makes the sacred chamber at the start of the first level in the game impossible to make use of without cheating.

I've been searching for the save button code (if there is one) but I haven't found anything. From what I can see it's not mentioned in the manual. I just checked the Japanese and English Metroid manuals and the "up+A button on the second controller code" is mentioned only in the Japanese one, even though the code works in both versions.

I've also googled the Japanese internet about Parutena and I only find people talking about dying on purpose in order to save. Some say that it's impossible without dying first. However someone said that only choosing "continue" after dying affects the ending. If you choose "save" it will reset and then you load again and it won't count as a death. So you don't have to beat the game in one day to get the best ending.

About the arrows, I'm pretty sure I had 5 in arrow strength when I finished the game (I got the next best Japanese ending though because I died many times). You need to get one in every sacred chamber though (except the one on the first level of course). However the manual says that 4 is max (Bronze arrow → Silver arrow → Gold arrow → Sacred arrow).

According to this interview http://www.metroid-database.com/m1/fds-interview-p7.php Parutena was rushed at the end which is why there's no staff roll in the Japanese version. That could also explain why there's an unusable sacred chamber and why there's no "up+A button on the second controller code".

[Issun]

So it's possible to get 5 arrows in one round? I always went through the game twice on the NES getting my fifth on the second round in that first sacred chamber in the first level like you mentioned. So there should be 6 sacred chambers total in the game then?

The English Zelda manual mentions the code, but not the Metroid one? That's strange 

Ah, if that "save" strategy works towards getting the best ending things shouldn't be all that hard then. I'll have to try it out!

Yeah, and the endings also seems a little rushed as well compared to the NES version.

I did some sleuthing myself, the Japanese Wikipedia mentions the ending requisitions for Metroid. To get the best ending you'll only have to get under 2h as opposed to the sub 1h in the western version. That's totally doable, I usually get around 1:45h on my first round.

Thanks for your help mate!

[fredJ]

Although if you intend to beat it in one life it would have to be played quickly.  I don't see how you could take more than 3 hours if you avoid dying. Maybe if you are very skilled you can walk around the castles for hours without dying.

Loved the game, hated the ending! 

(http://japanspel.blogspot.se/2013/01/kid-icarus-beaten.html)
"you should play harvest moon instead"

The second time I beat it I got an even worse ending. 
It is HARDER to beat it without upgrades! You should get a BETTER ending if you beat it with fewer upgrades!
But if save doesn't count like a death, I should be able to get a better ending, hehe. I have to try that out.  Thanks.

[P]

Yeah it's weird that in both versions of the game the bad ending is one of the hardest to get.

The ending text translates to: "The light of peace has once more returned to Angel Land. But your fighting continues in order to protect that peace." I think it's pretty much the same text as in the English version only that it's still on the same screen as Pit and Parutena (in the English version the text comes on the next screen).

So it's possible to get 5 arrows in one round? I always went through the game twice on the NES getting my fifth on the second round in that first sacred chamber in the first level like you mentioned. So there should be 6 sacred chambers total in the game then?

Yes total amount of chambers are 6, but according to this faq http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587380-kid-icarus/faqs/17485 the number of upgrades (in one round) are actually 4 since you start at level 1 (1+4=5). So that would mean it's just 5 chambers including the unusable one? Nope, stage 2-1 has two chambers, although you can only use one per level.
The manual is actually correct. It's just that Bronze arrow means level 2 strength.

I did some sleuthing myself, the Japanese Wikipedia mentions the ending requisitions for Metroid. To get the best ending you'll only have to get under 2h as opposed to the sub 1h in the western version. That's totally doable, I usually get around 1:45h on my first round.

Hmm according to wikipedia there's no second run with leotard in the FDS version. The endings are also the same but with a different requirement for the best ending as you said. Now I feel like looking for a Metroid disk and play through the game! The farthest I actually ever came in the NES version was Ridely (the game is so confusing with all the identical looking rooms).

Thanks for your help mate!

Thank you as well! These things intrigue me, but I would never bothered to look them up if I was the only one that wants to know.

I hope this thread will help people that's googling for the same answers.


Edit: And so it was confirmed that choosing SAVE instead of CONTINUE in Palutena does NOT count as a continue and thus doesn't affect the ending. http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=164.msg147447#msg147447