Metroid II peaks in Area 3, wastes the player's time with the next two mini areas, and then gets mean when Zetas are introduced. Before finally being cruel and insisting on several Omega bouts back to back with 0 ammo stations nearby and the only way to acquire missiles without backtracking for a while being to farm one specific enemy. If Metroid II didn't engage in such bullshit I'd heartily recommend it, instead this one is only for series enthusiasts.
Great sense of tone though. Much moodier than either of its remakes.
- - -
I just realized that the Omegas are probably tuned as such in order to punish players that didn't pick up all 22 Missiles. It incentivizes collecting everything in order to more easily meet the 3hr par time.
The highpoints of Metroid II are engrossing and I believe that it's a triumph as an artistic piece, so it's a shame the second half trends toward being a slog. It's a rough gem for sure.
Great sense of tone though. Much moodier than either of its remakes.
- - -
I just realized that the Omegas are probably tuned as such in order to punish players that didn't pick up all 22 Missiles. It incentivizes collecting everything in order to more easily meet the 3hr par time.
The highpoints of Metroid II are engrossing and I believe that it's a triumph as an artistic piece, so it's a shame the second half trends toward being a slog. It's a rough gem for sure.
This review contains spoilers
If the original Metroid wanted you to feel endangered, its sequel wants you to feel uncomfortable. Samus has indeed returned, and she’s not on the defensive. While the first game was a retaliatory mission to stop a band of space pirates, Metroid II is an all-out assault. Seeing the damage that the Metroids caused on Zebes, the Galactic Federation has sent their top bounty hunter (that’s you) to the Metroid homeworld, SR388. You’re not here to save anyone, or to prevent any great catastrophe. This isn’t about justice, but extinction. You’re here to kill all Metroids, plain and simple.
What really impressed me about Metroid II is how big a piece of shit it makes you feel for playing it. The game is structured around locating and defeating 40 Metroids, each boss fight spread out across the map. You plunge deeper and deeper into their home, checking each corner in search of your prey. If the first game was a riff on Alien, so is this, but with you as the hostile alien threat. The tight Gameboy screen closes in around you, obscuring your field of vision. You could be standing right in front of a Metroid, and you wouldn’t know it until it’s too late to prepare. When you finally find one, you’re not rewarded with a skillful, choreographed boss fight but an ugly, erratic affair. You fire missiles wildly in the hope they connect and inevitably, you win your war of attrition. It’s surprising and tense, but with Samus being so much stronger in this game you’re hardly ever at any real risk. Their deaths were ensured the moment you landed, these encounters nothing more than acts of futile, animalistic retaliation. The genocide counter in the corner ticks down, and your descent into hell continues.
It’s remarkable how well the Gameboy’s limitations are used to enhance the experience. The large sprites minimize the already-small screen, creating a pervasive sense of claustrophobia. Those crunchy square waves create some truly alien sounds, much more overtly dissonant than the previous game’s music. Even playing with GBC colorization like I did, the whole experience feels dimly-lit, an atmosphere built around simple tilesets and a lack of backgrounds. To facilitate playing in on-the-go sessions, the map is structured like a series of segmented chunks moving downward, a choice that makes navigation more intuitive while at the same time codifying your misguided progression: you can’t turn back now, you’ve gone too deep. It’s a really miraculous showcase of what you could do with this technology. Fuck man, this Gameboy game has jumpscares!
The ending really blew me away. It’s everyone’s favorite part of this game, and for good reason. An entire planet lying in ashes behind you, the only thing left standing in your way is one final Metroid egg. It hatches, and starts following you, thinking you’re its mother. After all the death and destruction, Samus can’t bring herself to pull the trigger. It’s the most devastating thing a killer can do: growing a conscience when it’s already too late. You make your way to the surface, climbing your way out of hell, the baby assisting you along the way. It’s a strangely relaxing trip, more relaxing than you know you deserve. You crawl into your ship, exhausted, and end your mission in willful failure. As the credits roll you can’t help but wonder what it was all for, the blood on your hands soaking the controller.
If you couldn’t tell, I think this game is really special. To me these first two primordial Metroids are characterized by ambition above all else, reaching for a type of gameplay the tech of the time just couldn’t quite achieve yet. Metroid II is flawed to be sure: it’s repetitive and janky and I still wasn’t able to beat it without looking up a map online. But when the rest of the experience is this powerfully affecting, it’s easy to sweat the details in the final analysis. I’m extremely curious to see what this team could accomplish with 16-bit hardware, but I’m really glad I played these first. In spite of, and often because of their limitations, they produced some truly unforgettable games.
Don’t skip this one. Play it, and play it with the lights off.
What really impressed me about Metroid II is how big a piece of shit it makes you feel for playing it. The game is structured around locating and defeating 40 Metroids, each boss fight spread out across the map. You plunge deeper and deeper into their home, checking each corner in search of your prey. If the first game was a riff on Alien, so is this, but with you as the hostile alien threat. The tight Gameboy screen closes in around you, obscuring your field of vision. You could be standing right in front of a Metroid, and you wouldn’t know it until it’s too late to prepare. When you finally find one, you’re not rewarded with a skillful, choreographed boss fight but an ugly, erratic affair. You fire missiles wildly in the hope they connect and inevitably, you win your war of attrition. It’s surprising and tense, but with Samus being so much stronger in this game you’re hardly ever at any real risk. Their deaths were ensured the moment you landed, these encounters nothing more than acts of futile, animalistic retaliation. The genocide counter in the corner ticks down, and your descent into hell continues.
It’s remarkable how well the Gameboy’s limitations are used to enhance the experience. The large sprites minimize the already-small screen, creating a pervasive sense of claustrophobia. Those crunchy square waves create some truly alien sounds, much more overtly dissonant than the previous game’s music. Even playing with GBC colorization like I did, the whole experience feels dimly-lit, an atmosphere built around simple tilesets and a lack of backgrounds. To facilitate playing in on-the-go sessions, the map is structured like a series of segmented chunks moving downward, a choice that makes navigation more intuitive while at the same time codifying your misguided progression: you can’t turn back now, you’ve gone too deep. It’s a really miraculous showcase of what you could do with this technology. Fuck man, this Gameboy game has jumpscares!
The ending really blew me away. It’s everyone’s favorite part of this game, and for good reason. An entire planet lying in ashes behind you, the only thing left standing in your way is one final Metroid egg. It hatches, and starts following you, thinking you’re its mother. After all the death and destruction, Samus can’t bring herself to pull the trigger. It’s the most devastating thing a killer can do: growing a conscience when it’s already too late. You make your way to the surface, climbing your way out of hell, the baby assisting you along the way. It’s a strangely relaxing trip, more relaxing than you know you deserve. You crawl into your ship, exhausted, and end your mission in willful failure. As the credits roll you can’t help but wonder what it was all for, the blood on your hands soaking the controller.
If you couldn’t tell, I think this game is really special. To me these first two primordial Metroids are characterized by ambition above all else, reaching for a type of gameplay the tech of the time just couldn’t quite achieve yet. Metroid II is flawed to be sure: it’s repetitive and janky and I still wasn’t able to beat it without looking up a map online. But when the rest of the experience is this powerfully affecting, it’s easy to sweat the details in the final analysis. I’m extremely curious to see what this team could accomplish with 16-bit hardware, but I’m really glad I played these first. In spite of, and often because of their limitations, they produced some truly unforgettable games.
Don’t skip this one. Play it, and play it with the lights off.
death metal on a 3 inch screen
+ literally about descending into hell
+ makes great use of the game boy’s dimensions to create a claustrophobic world
- or +, depending on mood: feels a little like playing NES on cough syrup
+ literally about descending into hell
+ makes great use of the game boy’s dimensions to create a claustrophobic world
- or +, depending on mood: feels a little like playing NES on cough syrup
A fantastic if unorthodox Metroid game. Despite its greyscale presentation and linearity, it has an incredible atmosphere. I recommend using a map if needed.
Technically cheated by playing this on GBC emulation and with a map but fuck do I care. Metroid II: Return of Samus still successfully scared the shit outta me.
A lot of what I have to say has been said already by the top dogs of Backloggd.com so I'll keep it straightforward. By far the best thing about Metroid II is the well-crafted, incredibly creepy atmosphere of SR388 that is backed by not just its uncanny sound design and music, but also its monotone, dull environmental design. An entire planet where everything looks just about the same with long, acid pool corridors and towering pits that blend together so well, the player barely knows where they are half the time, creating the illusion of entrapment. Metroids that are disturbing in design (except the Zeta Metroids which look more cool than creepy) which also emit some of the most haunting and chilling sounds when hit, almost as if it were a wail of pain as you mercilessly tear it to shreds with your missiles.
All of which culminates in a final act where immediately after a grueling gauntlet of 3 Omega Metroids with minimal resources, the environment suddenly shifts to a bone-chilling rollercoaster ride where the tension rises tenfold as the Metroid counter suddenly spikes, allowing a looming sense of dread to drip slowly into the player's mind as they struggle against the unexpected onslaught of Metroids. But when all is said and done, Samus, whose journey has been hallmarked and can essentially be written off as federation-mandated genocide, has a rare moment of compassion as it spares a singular, child Metroid as the terrifying shrieks of the final phase die out to be replaced with a melancholic, bittersweet tune that compared to everything the player has experienced beforehand, is relieving and somewhat... calming, yet does not completely brush off Samus' insufficiently justified actions of murder. It's a beautiful game.
But as much as it is a well designed game thematically, just like God of War, in practicality there are a lot of flaws present within Return of Samus.
Despite all its positives Metroid II still suffers from being a game of its era, with all its hardware limitations making modern game standard affairs like an overworld map absent. This also means that the game suffers from clunky controls and questionable design choices. Most notably the space jump, which is not only absurdly precise in its timing, but is also inconsistent in its activation because Samus will either jump without curling into a ball, or awkwardly jump straight upwards. This issue is further worsened by the aforementioned amount of tall pits, especially those in the late-game that mandate the usage of space jump to traverse; it also hurts the Omega Metroid fights substantially, not getting a Screw Attack jump when you want to consistently absolutely stinks.
The spider ball, meanwhile, as a crucial element for Metroid II's exploration is slow, clunky and just as inconsistent with its movement as the Space Jump, with most of my issues stemming from unresponsiveness when I attempt to scale the various pillars needed to unlock extra item expansions.
Finally, there's the... interesting design choice regarding Samus' hit detection. While from a design standpoint, Samus' large sprite enhances the sensation of entrapment within SR388, it also has the unfortunate side effect of making her more prone to getting hit by attacks. And for whatever reason, instead of being granted i-frames for a brief moment after getting hit, Samus instead rebounds in an awkward angle that more often than not results her in getting hit... sometimes even by the same enemy. Yes, you have a recovery jump after getting hit, and sometimes the optimal choice is to intentionally take damage to reach higher ground, but in most cases, especially Metroid boss fights, it becomes a major inconvenience.
Oh, and the plasma beam is fucking useless with its tiny hitbox.
All of these issues combined are sufficient that despite my best efforts to appraise the overall package of Metroid II: Return of Samus as a thematically rich work of art like most have, I am constantly taken out of the atmosphere by one small problem or another that sours the experience. This leads to Metroid II feeling more like a flawed game that happened to accidentally struck upon a stroke of genius. Yes, video games can be works of art, but I suppose the main takeaway here is that despite that being the case, video games are meant to be... viewed as video games to most people, including myself.
And that saddens me somewhat.
Final score: 8/10
Focus: The flaws that claw at Metroid II: Return of Samus' achievement as an artform.
A lot of what I have to say has been said already by the top dogs of Backloggd.com so I'll keep it straightforward. By far the best thing about Metroid II is the well-crafted, incredibly creepy atmosphere of SR388 that is backed by not just its uncanny sound design and music, but also its monotone, dull environmental design. An entire planet where everything looks just about the same with long, acid pool corridors and towering pits that blend together so well, the player barely knows where they are half the time, creating the illusion of entrapment. Metroids that are disturbing in design (except the Zeta Metroids which look more cool than creepy) which also emit some of the most haunting and chilling sounds when hit, almost as if it were a wail of pain as you mercilessly tear it to shreds with your missiles.
All of which culminates in a final act where immediately after a grueling gauntlet of 3 Omega Metroids with minimal resources, the environment suddenly shifts to a bone-chilling rollercoaster ride where the tension rises tenfold as the Metroid counter suddenly spikes, allowing a looming sense of dread to drip slowly into the player's mind as they struggle against the unexpected onslaught of Metroids. But when all is said and done, Samus, whose journey has been hallmarked and can essentially be written off as federation-mandated genocide, has a rare moment of compassion as it spares a singular, child Metroid as the terrifying shrieks of the final phase die out to be replaced with a melancholic, bittersweet tune that compared to everything the player has experienced beforehand, is relieving and somewhat... calming, yet does not completely brush off Samus' insufficiently justified actions of murder. It's a beautiful game.
But as much as it is a well designed game thematically, just like God of War, in practicality there are a lot of flaws present within Return of Samus.
Despite all its positives Metroid II still suffers from being a game of its era, with all its hardware limitations making modern game standard affairs like an overworld map absent. This also means that the game suffers from clunky controls and questionable design choices. Most notably the space jump, which is not only absurdly precise in its timing, but is also inconsistent in its activation because Samus will either jump without curling into a ball, or awkwardly jump straight upwards. This issue is further worsened by the aforementioned amount of tall pits, especially those in the late-game that mandate the usage of space jump to traverse; it also hurts the Omega Metroid fights substantially, not getting a Screw Attack jump when you want to consistently absolutely stinks.
The spider ball, meanwhile, as a crucial element for Metroid II's exploration is slow, clunky and just as inconsistent with its movement as the Space Jump, with most of my issues stemming from unresponsiveness when I attempt to scale the various pillars needed to unlock extra item expansions.
Finally, there's the... interesting design choice regarding Samus' hit detection. While from a design standpoint, Samus' large sprite enhances the sensation of entrapment within SR388, it also has the unfortunate side effect of making her more prone to getting hit by attacks. And for whatever reason, instead of being granted i-frames for a brief moment after getting hit, Samus instead rebounds in an awkward angle that more often than not results her in getting hit... sometimes even by the same enemy. Yes, you have a recovery jump after getting hit, and sometimes the optimal choice is to intentionally take damage to reach higher ground, but in most cases, especially Metroid boss fights, it becomes a major inconvenience.
Oh, and the plasma beam is fucking useless with its tiny hitbox.
All of these issues combined are sufficient that despite my best efforts to appraise the overall package of Metroid II: Return of Samus as a thematically rich work of art like most have, I am constantly taken out of the atmosphere by one small problem or another that sours the experience. This leads to Metroid II feeling more like a flawed game that happened to accidentally struck upon a stroke of genius. Yes, video games can be works of art, but I suppose the main takeaway here is that despite that being the case, video games are meant to be... viewed as video games to most people, including myself.
And that saddens me somewhat.
Final score: 8/10
Focus: The flaws that claw at Metroid II: Return of Samus' achievement as an artform.
i have a strange appreciation for this game. for it's hardware, it's very charming and surprisingly grounded. i do think the screen crunch and monotone colours - while hindering the gameplay genuinely help the atmosphere and the lurking feeling of dread as you gradually descend the planet and life dies out more and more. If you are a fan of the franchise, i would say it is worth checking out to get a grasp of the experience.
My feelings on this one shifted a lot throughout the game. I was really enjoying myself in the beginning. It felt really nice controlling Samus in this game, which was one of my main issues with Super Metroid, that the controls felt a bit clunky. Here they worked really well, although I wish that you would keep your ground speed when jumping, which was something Super Metroid had. I felt like the level design was pretty suited to the game. In Super Metroid, you had a map, which meant that you could make the game very big without having to worry about the player getting lost. Metroid II has no map, and therefore it is much more fitting to have the game being more linear, which it also is. This game is incredibly linear compared to basically all other Metroid games. But it works because of its limitations. I also really enjoy the main premise of this game. In Metroid II, you are basically committing genocide on a planet's population of Metroids. Your goal is simply to kill them all. And you have a counter at the bottom, which helps you keeping track on how many Metroids are left to kill. The game starts off pretty easily, but has a pretty smooth difficulty curve, which towards the end turns into a difficulty spike. The final four metroids and the final boss are without a doubt the hardest parts of the game, which is as it should be, I guess. And this was the point where I was getting a bit frustrated in the game. It all worked out in the end, though, because after countless tries, I finally defeated the final boss, which was incredibly satisfying and kept that mood until the end of the game. And that is a really important thing. It's ok for a video game to frustrate you as long as you feel that reward after the struggle. There were some things I disliked about the game, like some rooms being way too long, but ultimately I felt like this was a really good game. Possibly even better than Super Metroid, but I'll have to replay that game on the original console to see how I feel about that. For now, this stands as a great Metroid game!
DEFINITELY play this with the patch that adds in color. Made a game that I couldn't start into one that I finished in one session. Surprisingly enjoyed this!
I used to absolutely hate this one, but I was finally able to enjoy it after finishing Samus Returns and understanding this one a lot better. I still think there's a lot of issues with it, but I guess that comes with the territory of being such an ambitious original Game Boy game.
Also, you can shoot down in this one. Amazing.
Also, you can shoot down in this one. Amazing.
i, for one, am very impressed they managed to make a game that is both too confusing AND too linear
So, when I beat NEStroid a few days ago I said that my biggest takeaway was how impressed I was by the technological leap to the SNES and Super Metroid. With that fresh in mind, I don't know if anything could have prepared me for how amazed the Game Boy entry would leave me.
To me the Game Boy has always been this antiquated piece of gaming history, like the evolutionary second step from calculator to video game, not entirely there yet. From the few games I'd given real time to, I don't think that was an unfair assessment, and in going through every Metroid game I initially skipped 2 because I thought there was no way it could hold up given the hardware it was chained to. I was wrong.
Metroid II is a game that, despite having many more, or at least many different, roadblocks than it's NES counterpart, manages to be a rousing success on nearly every front. It improves almost every element from the original and adds dozens of changes and new mechanics that would be series staples from here forward. The lack of a map still makes the game confusing, but the more linear and fair structure of the game makes it fully playable without a guide with very minimal friction.
The more legible structure of the game was a huge boost to my enjoyment already, but what frankly blew me away is the way that movement and combat function moment-to-moment in this game. Super Metroid, for what clunkiness it has, remains one of my favourite-feeling games to play, and so when I started playing Metroid II and found the gameplay to be nearly identical, with crouching, more manageable jumping and rolling, and other QOL features I missed, my jaw dropped to the floor. How was this running on what is functionally a souped up calculator?
It's not perfect. In some very obvious ways it's not perfect, like the lack of real bosses and the holdover of some identical rooms which make it very easy to get yourself turned around, but from start to finish there wasn't really a moment where I felt that the game was failing in any of the things it set out to do. Metroid II is a core link to what we know as Metroid today, and it's no wonder that it has been remade as many times as it has.
To me the Game Boy has always been this antiquated piece of gaming history, like the evolutionary second step from calculator to video game, not entirely there yet. From the few games I'd given real time to, I don't think that was an unfair assessment, and in going through every Metroid game I initially skipped 2 because I thought there was no way it could hold up given the hardware it was chained to. I was wrong.
Metroid II is a game that, despite having many more, or at least many different, roadblocks than it's NES counterpart, manages to be a rousing success on nearly every front. It improves almost every element from the original and adds dozens of changes and new mechanics that would be series staples from here forward. The lack of a map still makes the game confusing, but the more linear and fair structure of the game makes it fully playable without a guide with very minimal friction.
The more legible structure of the game was a huge boost to my enjoyment already, but what frankly blew me away is the way that movement and combat function moment-to-moment in this game. Super Metroid, for what clunkiness it has, remains one of my favourite-feeling games to play, and so when I started playing Metroid II and found the gameplay to be nearly identical, with crouching, more manageable jumping and rolling, and other QOL features I missed, my jaw dropped to the floor. How was this running on what is functionally a souped up calculator?
It's not perfect. In some very obvious ways it's not perfect, like the lack of real bosses and the holdover of some identical rooms which make it very easy to get yourself turned around, but from start to finish there wasn't really a moment where I felt that the game was failing in any of the things it set out to do. Metroid II is a core link to what we know as Metroid today, and it's no wonder that it has been remade as many times as it has.
Why was this considered the black sheep of the series? Metroid 2 holds up a lot better than expected and is way more fun to play than NEStroid. Going for 100% is satisfying and feels rewarding since it makes the later metroids much more manageable.
I really liked the environmental storytelling. I already knew metroid 2's story going in, but the way the planet works and interacts with you throughout is engaging and still provides a nice level of mystery. The ending is really good too, but it felt a little underwhelming without the little additions made is Super's recap. It's still effective, but I'm not sure it would have the same effect on someone going into the game blind and without any prior knowledge of Super's opening.
The controls are a lot better and Samus is starting to feel a lot closer to how she did in super and fusion. Samus is still a little slow but she's just the right amount of floaty and weighty that was missing from the NES original. It's really cool seeing how many series staple upgrades came from this game (even if they can be a little janky). Being able to crouch and shoot downward make the game so much more fun than NEStroid and help fix a lot of those games' issues that should never have been present in the first place.
There are a few little controls quirks that annoyed me but nothing overly frustrating or game ruining. I never fully got used to not being able to activate the morph ball in midair and activating/deactivating the spider ball can be a little janky. The space jump timing feels pickier than later games and took some time to get used to. I also didn't like how if you messed up the space jump timing or were in the air for too long, Samus would uncrouch and you couldn't do anything to recover. This made using the screw attack to deflect bosses a little janky at times and is something that NEStroid does better. It was also a little awkward trying to short hop to shoot enemies at first since samus crouches mid air and you end up shooting a little lower than you'd initially expect. This only happens during the ascending part of the jump and isn't a big deal overall, but I'm happy future games fixed it.
The multiple missile and health recharge stations are very much appreciated and provide a nice way to reward exploration and eliminate the need for tedious grinding sessions.
The bosses are about on par with the NES original since they're all pretty much just missile sponges in those games. The bosses in metroid 2 have a few different attack patterns which makes them a little more engaging than NEStroid's bosses but none of them are as engaging as the bosses in the future entries.
The soundtrack is alright, but definitely a downgrade from the first games. The only track I really like is the SR388 surface theme which is one of the best themes in the entire series. The soundtrack tries to be more atmospheric and contribute to the storytelling and it's very effective towards the end of the game with the final area and the final walk to the surface, but tracks like the ruins were a little too short and repetitive for me.
Overall, Mettroid 2 is a decent time. It feels like a really big improvement on the first and there was never a point where I had to force myself to keep playing like with NEStroid. It's really interesting to see the series develop, but future entries do a lot of what it does better.
I really liked the environmental storytelling. I already knew metroid 2's story going in, but the way the planet works and interacts with you throughout is engaging and still provides a nice level of mystery. The ending is really good too, but it felt a little underwhelming without the little additions made is Super's recap. It's still effective, but I'm not sure it would have the same effect on someone going into the game blind and without any prior knowledge of Super's opening.
The controls are a lot better and Samus is starting to feel a lot closer to how she did in super and fusion. Samus is still a little slow but she's just the right amount of floaty and weighty that was missing from the NES original. It's really cool seeing how many series staple upgrades came from this game (even if they can be a little janky). Being able to crouch and shoot downward make the game so much more fun than NEStroid and help fix a lot of those games' issues that should never have been present in the first place.
There are a few little controls quirks that annoyed me but nothing overly frustrating or game ruining. I never fully got used to not being able to activate the morph ball in midair and activating/deactivating the spider ball can be a little janky. The space jump timing feels pickier than later games and took some time to get used to. I also didn't like how if you messed up the space jump timing or were in the air for too long, Samus would uncrouch and you couldn't do anything to recover. This made using the screw attack to deflect bosses a little janky at times and is something that NEStroid does better. It was also a little awkward trying to short hop to shoot enemies at first since samus crouches mid air and you end up shooting a little lower than you'd initially expect. This only happens during the ascending part of the jump and isn't a big deal overall, but I'm happy future games fixed it.
The multiple missile and health recharge stations are very much appreciated and provide a nice way to reward exploration and eliminate the need for tedious grinding sessions.
The bosses are about on par with the NES original since they're all pretty much just missile sponges in those games. The bosses in metroid 2 have a few different attack patterns which makes them a little more engaging than NEStroid's bosses but none of them are as engaging as the bosses in the future entries.
The soundtrack is alright, but definitely a downgrade from the first games. The only track I really like is the SR388 surface theme which is one of the best themes in the entire series. The soundtrack tries to be more atmospheric and contribute to the storytelling and it's very effective towards the end of the game with the final area and the final walk to the surface, but tracks like the ruins were a little too short and repetitive for me.
Overall, Mettroid 2 is a decent time. It feels like a really big improvement on the first and there was never a point where I had to force myself to keep playing like with NEStroid. It's really interesting to see the series develop, but future entries do a lot of what it does better.
This little Gameboy game fucks hard
This is, as of now, my favorite Metroid game. And that’s a very strange answer, but one that doesn’t get parroted enough imo. This game’s simple approach to level design combats one of my biggest criticisms of early Metroid: a lack of a map. For the most part, you don’t need one, everything is structured tightly enough that simple landmarks will clue you in on where you are and what to look for, and the game naturally funnels explorative players down the right path. The power ups all feel rewarding because they still require a smidge of thought and creativity to find.
I’ll admit, its musically and graphically limited because its a GB game. But its ability to tell a complex narrative with no dialogue is such a breath of fresh air. And the way its game design can instill horror and emotion in the player is something that deserves more appreciation.
My preferred version is the Metroid 2 DX rom hack that adds color and frame rate buffs to the game. You can even find GBA flashcarts for authenticity of playing it on your Gameboy.
I’ll admit, its musically and graphically limited because its a GB game. But its ability to tell a complex narrative with no dialogue is such a breath of fresh air. And the way its game design can instill horror and emotion in the player is something that deserves more appreciation.
My preferred version is the Metroid 2 DX rom hack that adds color and frame rate buffs to the game. You can even find GBA flashcarts for authenticity of playing it on your Gameboy.
Metroid 2 é uma evolução tão majestosa do primeiro que chega a da gosto de tão fodastico que esse jogo é em relação aquela porra.
O 1 é mais servido como objeto de estudo mesmo, tirando isso ele cheira a merda com tanta coisa desgraçada que ele tem. O 2 eu tinha a mesma expectativa, por 2 motivos:
1 - Ele é de gameboy
2 - Ele é de gameb--
mas serio, o fato dele ser de gameboy, um console que tem jogos muito ferrados se tu não souber trabalhar bem, e também por esse jogo não ser falado tão bem pela comunidade, eu tava com um pé atrás absurdo, mas foi a maior surpresa dessa franquia.
O jogo é uns 80% justo e divertido, a exploração é foda, os poderes, a progressão, o lance de caçar os metroids, tudo isso é incrível tendo um mapa em suas mãos (algo mais da limitação do console do que um ponto verdadeiramente terrivel)
Alguns blocos invisiveis classicos da franquia voltam aqui de forma melhor, apesar de dar suas escorregadas aqui e ali. Acho que a parte ruim do jogo mesmo são as 2 areas finais, pelos inimigos insuportaveis e pela grande subida na area final, além dos metroids que são um saco de lutar.
Esse jogo daria realmente um puta remake ou remaster, pela ideia de caçar metroids por um grande planeta, acho que só trazer ele de volta com cores e com um mapa... e uma dificuldade e progressão mais otimizada já seria perfeito, mas os caras fizeram um remake oficial pro 3ds, e um remake por fã, vou jogar os dois pra ver como recriaram esse belo jogo.
O 1 é mais servido como objeto de estudo mesmo, tirando isso ele cheira a merda com tanta coisa desgraçada que ele tem. O 2 eu tinha a mesma expectativa, por 2 motivos:
1 - Ele é de gameboy
2 - Ele é de gameb--
mas serio, o fato dele ser de gameboy, um console que tem jogos muito ferrados se tu não souber trabalhar bem, e também por esse jogo não ser falado tão bem pela comunidade, eu tava com um pé atrás absurdo, mas foi a maior surpresa dessa franquia.
O jogo é uns 80% justo e divertido, a exploração é foda, os poderes, a progressão, o lance de caçar os metroids, tudo isso é incrível tendo um mapa em suas mãos (algo mais da limitação do console do que um ponto verdadeiramente terrivel)
Alguns blocos invisiveis classicos da franquia voltam aqui de forma melhor, apesar de dar suas escorregadas aqui e ali. Acho que a parte ruim do jogo mesmo são as 2 areas finais, pelos inimigos insuportaveis e pela grande subida na area final, além dos metroids que são um saco de lutar.
Esse jogo daria realmente um puta remake ou remaster, pela ideia de caçar metroids por um grande planeta, acho que só trazer ele de volta com cores e com um mapa... e uma dificuldade e progressão mais otimizada já seria perfeito, mas os caras fizeram um remake oficial pro 3ds, e um remake por fã, vou jogar os dois pra ver como recriaram esse belo jogo.
The first two Metroid games did not age well. The 3DS remake is much more enjoyable, even though this version still has its merits.
Wait wtf how is this actually pretty good
This game is... not awful! I expected this to be the worst of all the Metroid games (except for maybe NEStroid) but with the help of the colorization ROM hack and a map it ended up being surprisingly decent.
The music (or lack thereof) helped add to the atmosphere of the areas, and the super-cramped screen made it pretty tense when you were exploring with the possibility of a Metroid suddenly appearing at any moment. This definitely isn't a traditional Metroid, though, as there is zero backtracking whatsoever. However, I think the overall difference in its formula makes it that much more charming!
As someone who's played through AM2R and Samus Returns I like to see how differently they interpreted this game. AM2R is very faithful to the original, while Samus Returns takes the ideas and makes it into its own thing.
If you're a big Metroid fan I'd suggest giving this game a play, ESPECIALLY with the colorization ROM hack.
The music (or lack thereof) helped add to the atmosphere of the areas, and the super-cramped screen made it pretty tense when you were exploring with the possibility of a Metroid suddenly appearing at any moment. This definitely isn't a traditional Metroid, though, as there is zero backtracking whatsoever. However, I think the overall difference in its formula makes it that much more charming!
As someone who's played through AM2R and Samus Returns I like to see how differently they interpreted this game. AM2R is very faithful to the original, while Samus Returns takes the ideas and makes it into its own thing.
If you're a big Metroid fan I'd suggest giving this game a play, ESPECIALLY with the colorization ROM hack.
Why did this have to be on the GameBoy, again?
Like it's predecessor, another game that's really good for it's time but hasn't aged well at all and in pretty much every way outside of some minor points the remakes, especially AM2R are just kind of better.
Though I think this game has different strengths and issues compared to the first metroid, on the good side, Samus controls MUCH better in this game than she does in the original, being able to aim in every direction and the physics to the jumps feel nice.
The world is kind of a double edged sword, on one hand, it uses many more unique screens than the original Metroid which had a habit of repeating things constantly. On the other, the game feels much less vast and interesting than the original in my opinion. The Metroid fights aren't very good and there's less cool secrets hidden around the map unlike the first game.
Regardless of that, the strengths of Metroid II are very obvious in what will come 3 years later in Super, the first amazing Metroid game. So I can't say this game is any worse than 1 but I'd consider them equals with very different strengths and weaknesses.
I would definetly try this version out, there's also a pretty cool colorization hack that gives areas a little more of a sense of identity, which is nice. Of course, AM2R and Samus Returns are must plays, but I think you should check out the original first to get an appreciation for it.. It IS only about 5 hours long!
Though I think this game has different strengths and issues compared to the first metroid, on the good side, Samus controls MUCH better in this game than she does in the original, being able to aim in every direction and the physics to the jumps feel nice.
The world is kind of a double edged sword, on one hand, it uses many more unique screens than the original Metroid which had a habit of repeating things constantly. On the other, the game feels much less vast and interesting than the original in my opinion. The Metroid fights aren't very good and there's less cool secrets hidden around the map unlike the first game.
Regardless of that, the strengths of Metroid II are very obvious in what will come 3 years later in Super, the first amazing Metroid game. So I can't say this game is any worse than 1 but I'd consider them equals with very different strengths and weaknesses.
I would definetly try this version out, there's also a pretty cool colorization hack that gives areas a little more of a sense of identity, which is nice. Of course, AM2R and Samus Returns are must plays, but I think you should check out the original first to get an appreciation for it.. It IS only about 5 hours long!
Decided to play this after playing Metroid NES on the NSO service and used a map, and I have to say, it's a major improvement over the original! You can aim downwards now, jump in morph ball without needing to bomb jump, crouch, and have a slew of new handy abilities in this game to traverse the world such as the Spider Ball and the introduction of the Space Jump.
The game is fairly repetitive with mostly easy bosses (other than the troublesome Zeta and Omega Metroids), but the final boss is far better designed than in Metroid NES. I actually had a lot of fun figuring out its pattern on how to stun it and drop bombs in its gut, and the lead up to it with the Metroids guarding it was also well done.
The game is fairly linear which is a good design choice after Metroid NES was insanely labyrinthian and given this was also a handheld game to begin with. Looking up a map will help you get most of the missiles and health upgrades you need and to avoid getting stuck though, even if it's not nearly as easy to get lost as the original game is, and I recommend playing the game with that rather than without.
While this game is even more visually bland/samey than Metroid NES's locales (even if that game also looked like a lot of the same), the atmosphere is a lot better in terms of setting a more dreary tone and the adventure theme is pretty nice for a GB title.
I played this on the NSO service and used the Gameboy Color option for this game which made it look a lot nicer, giving all of the walls and such a nice blue color and Samus a contrasting orange/red that fit her well. I would've gotten more annoyed at the tedium of the scenery if I was forced to look at the game in pure black and white or pure green/black so I'm very thankful that was an option.
While still not an outstanding game, it's a major improvement over the flawed original Metroid, and I can see how this game set up a lot of the foundation that Super Metroid went on to polish to a shine to make one of the best Metroidvanias ever that captured the minds and hearts of many players. Definitely play this with a map if you plan to at all though, it helps a lot in making the game more fun.
With this, I've officially beaten every official iteration of the 2D Metroid mainline games, remakes and all. Now I'll turn my attention more toward the appealing Metroid Zero Mission and Super Metroid hacks that this passionate creative fanbase has made to stave off my Metroid craving, at least until we hopefully get another 2D Metroid title in 2 years or so.
Total playtime (including game overs/rewinds according to my Switch Playtime): Roughly 4 hours
Total playtime from in-game file counter: 2 hours, 23 minutes.
See you next mission!
The game is fairly repetitive with mostly easy bosses (other than the troublesome Zeta and Omega Metroids), but the final boss is far better designed than in Metroid NES. I actually had a lot of fun figuring out its pattern on how to stun it and drop bombs in its gut, and the lead up to it with the Metroids guarding it was also well done.
The game is fairly linear which is a good design choice after Metroid NES was insanely labyrinthian and given this was also a handheld game to begin with. Looking up a map will help you get most of the missiles and health upgrades you need and to avoid getting stuck though, even if it's not nearly as easy to get lost as the original game is, and I recommend playing the game with that rather than without.
While this game is even more visually bland/samey than Metroid NES's locales (even if that game also looked like a lot of the same), the atmosphere is a lot better in terms of setting a more dreary tone and the adventure theme is pretty nice for a GB title.
I played this on the NSO service and used the Gameboy Color option for this game which made it look a lot nicer, giving all of the walls and such a nice blue color and Samus a contrasting orange/red that fit her well. I would've gotten more annoyed at the tedium of the scenery if I was forced to look at the game in pure black and white or pure green/black so I'm very thankful that was an option.
While still not an outstanding game, it's a major improvement over the flawed original Metroid, and I can see how this game set up a lot of the foundation that Super Metroid went on to polish to a shine to make one of the best Metroidvanias ever that captured the minds and hearts of many players. Definitely play this with a map if you plan to at all though, it helps a lot in making the game more fun.
With this, I've officially beaten every official iteration of the 2D Metroid mainline games, remakes and all. Now I'll turn my attention more toward the appealing Metroid Zero Mission and Super Metroid hacks that this passionate creative fanbase has made to stave off my Metroid craving, at least until we hopefully get another 2D Metroid title in 2 years or so.
Total playtime (including game overs/rewinds according to my Switch Playtime): Roughly 4 hours
Total playtime from in-game file counter: 2 hours, 23 minutes.
See you next mission!
Metroid 2 is a bold sequel. One which looks at the design aspects of Metroid and hones them into a consistent thematic vision. The original Metroid was defined by two main design aspects its nonlinear design and its bleak alien atmosphere. Metroid 2 looks at the limitations of both 8-bit hardware, the game boy, and the portable nature of handhelds, and decides to scrap much of the non-linear design to focus on the story and atmosphere. In this change of focus Metroid 2 becomes one of the most uncomfortable and narratively ambitious Metroid games, with perhaps only Prime 2 reaching that same level of success, while also offering numerous gameplay tweaks to Metroid which make it a far better game.
Metroid 2 directly follows Metroid, discounting any retcons created by Prime, where Samus is tasked with traveling to the Metroid home world of SR388 to kill every living Metroid. This premise is like that of the original game, a set number of alien baddies must be killed to progress: Rildey and Kraid in Metroid and 39 metroids in Metroid 2. Metroid 2 differentiates itself from Metroid in how this goal is accomplished. In Metroid Samus can tackle Kraid and Ridley in any order once she acquires the bombs, while in Metroid 2 Samus must kill every metroid in each area before traveling to the next. The entrance to each now area is covered by a mysterious lava that lowers every time the predetermined number of metroids are killed. This linearity sacrifices the unique design of Metroid, but in return gains a far more consistent difficulty curve and environmental theming.
Metroid 2 ditches the duplicated and surreal rooms of its predecessor in favor of more centralized and realistic ruin environments. Almost every major area is designed around a centralized building whose many floors contain many of the upgrades found throughout the adventure while the caves dotted outside the building house most of the metroids. This new design on a gameplay front makes the lack of a map far more palatable, as you only must memorize small chunks of the map at a time and the areas are more distinct. This design also serves a far greater story function. As you travel to each deeper area each building shows a darker and darker aspect of the chozo: from a temple, to a water treatment area, to a robotics center, a weapons tower, and finally the labs where the metroids were born.
Other aspects of Metroid have also been altered to serve a narrative role. The red doors once used as progression gating to force Samus to grab missiles still exist, but as Samus starts with missiles do not serve a progression purpose. Instead, they are lore entities used to protect Chozo technology from metroids. The few item ruins with broken red doors are in shambles due to Metroid attack. In general Metroid 2 loves to mess with the play with strange set pieces. The spider ball is found in a ruined item room that has collapsed into a pit, the Varia suit is found not on a chozo statue but behind it in some storage room with many empty item shells, and the spring is found in an optional boss who activates the second you shoot the chozo item ball. The game also plays around with its own rules. Metroids are all found near their husks but in area 4 a metroid is found spontaneously in a hall with the husk right behind it. In every area the lava lowers after a set number of metroids are killed, but in one area the lava rises.
Atmosphere wise Metroid 2 is decrepit and distributing in a way that is only enhanced by the hardware. The small screen size leaves the player with low visibility, while the 8-bit graphics make everything seem far nastier than future Metroid games. To save memory less and less enemies spawn in the lower areas of the game, which makes the times when difficult enemies show up even more frightening. Crawling throughout a dark empty pit is far scarier than the action filled rooms of future games.
All of this comes together to tell a dual story: one of the Chozo’s own violence leading to their death, while Samus continues a violent quest to genocide an alien race. As the player sees the sins of the Chozo they may make the connection with Samus’s own quest. The ending of the game further continues this theme. When Samus finally reaches the Queen Metroid she isn’t chasing the player down or planning some evil scheme; she is instead backed in a corner screaming and lashing out at Samus’s aggression (there is in fact an exit out of the fight you don’t have to kill her). Once the queen is finally killed in a surprisingly gruesome death animation Samus walks into in the next room to find that the queen was simply defending her last child. When the baby finally hatches Samus betrays her orders to kill all metroids and spares the baby in an act of mercy. Positioning Samus as a far more complex hero then her contemporaries. In a game all about killing Samus finally realizes the error of her ways and chooses an option unheard of in games at the time, mercy. This concept has been revisited in many future games, but with a heavier story which can make the theme feel forced. In Metroid 2 the story telling is subtle; a player can the play the game and never see a glimpse of a wiser story or they can understand what is happening. As games increasingly try to layer on the emotions and story it is only Metroid 2 which has made me cry and feel bad about my actions. Maybe I am just weird, or maybe less truly is more.
In stark contrast to Metroid which ends with a tense count down Metroid 2 ends with a slow atmospheric climb back to your ship: baby metroid in tow. A soothing theme plays showing Samus’s strength as character while a player is left to reflect on their journey and the choices they made. An ending that still to this day is subversive to the Metroid series. A glimmer of optimism to end a depressing journey. This final tone would be later used by the excellent Metroid Prime 2 to great effect.
Metroid 2 is a sequel which looks at its own limitations and uses them to craft an experience which expands on the story and environmental aspects of the original. Its own sequel Super Metroid would later use the power of the SNES to instead realize the gameplay aspects of Metroid. Considering how the last 4 Metroid games have been mediocre to bad action focused games it is unlikely a Metroid game will reach the story telling heights of 2. Especially since Nintendo has replaced Metroid 2 in the cannon with the awful Samus Returns and that fans have dethroned Metroid 2 in favor of the mediocre fangame AM2R. The days of horror themed Metroid games like 2, Fusion, and Prime 2 may be gone, but even in the darkest times a little optimism for the future doesn’t hurt.
Metroid 2 directly follows Metroid, discounting any retcons created by Prime, where Samus is tasked with traveling to the Metroid home world of SR388 to kill every living Metroid. This premise is like that of the original game, a set number of alien baddies must be killed to progress: Rildey and Kraid in Metroid and 39 metroids in Metroid 2. Metroid 2 differentiates itself from Metroid in how this goal is accomplished. In Metroid Samus can tackle Kraid and Ridley in any order once she acquires the bombs, while in Metroid 2 Samus must kill every metroid in each area before traveling to the next. The entrance to each now area is covered by a mysterious lava that lowers every time the predetermined number of metroids are killed. This linearity sacrifices the unique design of Metroid, but in return gains a far more consistent difficulty curve and environmental theming.
Metroid 2 ditches the duplicated and surreal rooms of its predecessor in favor of more centralized and realistic ruin environments. Almost every major area is designed around a centralized building whose many floors contain many of the upgrades found throughout the adventure while the caves dotted outside the building house most of the metroids. This new design on a gameplay front makes the lack of a map far more palatable, as you only must memorize small chunks of the map at a time and the areas are more distinct. This design also serves a far greater story function. As you travel to each deeper area each building shows a darker and darker aspect of the chozo: from a temple, to a water treatment area, to a robotics center, a weapons tower, and finally the labs where the metroids were born.
Other aspects of Metroid have also been altered to serve a narrative role. The red doors once used as progression gating to force Samus to grab missiles still exist, but as Samus starts with missiles do not serve a progression purpose. Instead, they are lore entities used to protect Chozo technology from metroids. The few item ruins with broken red doors are in shambles due to Metroid attack. In general Metroid 2 loves to mess with the play with strange set pieces. The spider ball is found in a ruined item room that has collapsed into a pit, the Varia suit is found not on a chozo statue but behind it in some storage room with many empty item shells, and the spring is found in an optional boss who activates the second you shoot the chozo item ball. The game also plays around with its own rules. Metroids are all found near their husks but in area 4 a metroid is found spontaneously in a hall with the husk right behind it. In every area the lava lowers after a set number of metroids are killed, but in one area the lava rises.
Atmosphere wise Metroid 2 is decrepit and distributing in a way that is only enhanced by the hardware. The small screen size leaves the player with low visibility, while the 8-bit graphics make everything seem far nastier than future Metroid games. To save memory less and less enemies spawn in the lower areas of the game, which makes the times when difficult enemies show up even more frightening. Crawling throughout a dark empty pit is far scarier than the action filled rooms of future games.
All of this comes together to tell a dual story: one of the Chozo’s own violence leading to their death, while Samus continues a violent quest to genocide an alien race. As the player sees the sins of the Chozo they may make the connection with Samus’s own quest. The ending of the game further continues this theme. When Samus finally reaches the Queen Metroid she isn’t chasing the player down or planning some evil scheme; she is instead backed in a corner screaming and lashing out at Samus’s aggression (there is in fact an exit out of the fight you don’t have to kill her). Once the queen is finally killed in a surprisingly gruesome death animation Samus walks into in the next room to find that the queen was simply defending her last child. When the baby finally hatches Samus betrays her orders to kill all metroids and spares the baby in an act of mercy. Positioning Samus as a far more complex hero then her contemporaries. In a game all about killing Samus finally realizes the error of her ways and chooses an option unheard of in games at the time, mercy. This concept has been revisited in many future games, but with a heavier story which can make the theme feel forced. In Metroid 2 the story telling is subtle; a player can the play the game and never see a glimpse of a wiser story or they can understand what is happening. As games increasingly try to layer on the emotions and story it is only Metroid 2 which has made me cry and feel bad about my actions. Maybe I am just weird, or maybe less truly is more.
In stark contrast to Metroid which ends with a tense count down Metroid 2 ends with a slow atmospheric climb back to your ship: baby metroid in tow. A soothing theme plays showing Samus’s strength as character while a player is left to reflect on their journey and the choices they made. An ending that still to this day is subversive to the Metroid series. A glimmer of optimism to end a depressing journey. This final tone would be later used by the excellent Metroid Prime 2 to great effect.
Metroid 2 is a sequel which looks at its own limitations and uses them to craft an experience which expands on the story and environmental aspects of the original. Its own sequel Super Metroid would later use the power of the SNES to instead realize the gameplay aspects of Metroid. Considering how the last 4 Metroid games have been mediocre to bad action focused games it is unlikely a Metroid game will reach the story telling heights of 2. Especially since Nintendo has replaced Metroid 2 in the cannon with the awful Samus Returns and that fans have dethroned Metroid 2 in favor of the mediocre fangame AM2R. The days of horror themed Metroid games like 2, Fusion, and Prime 2 may be gone, but even in the darkest times a little optimism for the future doesn’t hurt.
Held up better than I expected for an early Game Boy game. Definitely holds up more than the original Metroid 1 on NES. Controls decently most of the time, although I was never able to get used to the timing of the Space Jump which can be annoying in the numerous areas where you need to go to the top of a giant pit, and if you mess up your timing you'll fall all the way down to the bottom. Other than that I had a pretty good time! The atmosphere this game is able to summon is very impressive, it feels quite spooky and it can be pretty scary when a Metroid shows up suddenly and breaks the silence, which this game uses very well. It has a similar issue with Metroid 1 where it frequently and noticeable reuses chunks of level, but it's less of a problem in this game due to the linear structure preventing you from getting lost as easily. I still might recommend keeping a map handy though, since it can be easy to forget or lose track of where you've been and where you might need to go. Still, I'm glad I tried it out, it's a cool little piece of the Metroid franchise that often gets skipped despite how vital it is to the overall story. I'll be interested to compare it with the 2 remakes once I replay them.
(This is the 48th game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)
I think if you're looking to get into the much-beloved Metroid series for the first time, Metroid II: Return of Samus (Dev: Nintendo R&D1 / Pub: Nintendo) won't be the best place to start. The game released in November 1991 for the Game Boy, unlike the original which came out for the NES, and if you really don't want to pass by this game, you would probably be best served going for its remake from 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS.
The game isn't 'objectively bad', not even close actually, but it suffers from pretty much all the lack of QoL features that you'd expect from games of this time. This makes it tough to play unless you don't mind looking for the way forward for, potentially, hours at a time, and even then, the future releases will serve you with much more enjoyable gameplay in pretty much every way. But all of that I talk about in detail below.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 3/10
As in the original, you play Samus Aran, who is a Space Hunter working for the Galactic Federation. Her goal is once again to go to the planet SR388, where she is to exterminate the remaining Metroids after both a ship full of researchers and armed soldiers went missing. All of this can be found in the manual. In the game, you press START and are immediately loaded in and stand in front of your ship and are not given any further information.
The main things you will take away from this game in terms of story/characters are the following
Samus is a badass character just simply based on design and she gets shit done when others can't (not unlike many other one hero vs the world games, but effective)
The fact that there was no color for the Game Boy meant that the devs had to add the round metal shoulder pads to differentiate between her Power Suit and Varia Suit, a feature that has stayed with Samus ever since
POSSIBLE SPOILER: The ending cliffhanger, without dialogue and voice acting, is really well done. Samus finds an egg of a Metroid hatchling, which follows her to her ship. What will this cause in the sequel?
So Metroid II doesn't really do much different from many other platformers / Action Adventure types like this in terms of story, but it does manage to stand out a bit thanks to its ending and its main character.
GAMEPLAY | 9/20
You will most likely be familiar with the Metroid formula by now. Start with limited abilities, explore multi-pathed levels multiple times by leveraging new abilities that you gain constantly as you progress. It's a pretty popular genre, and Metroid games pretty much pioneered them. Unfortunately, early iterations come with some growing pains as the developers looked to find a balance of their vision and what they could realistically expect players to be willing to push through.
Before we get there, here is the gist of how this game plays. You control Samus in a 2D side-scrolling game where you can shoot projectiles, jump and even roll up into a ball to squeeze through holes. Your goal is to traverse this map and find all Metroids, which are parasitic creatures that, unsurprisingly, form the main enemy types in this series. Throughout your journey you get access to new skills and attacks, which not only allow you to stand a chance against later bosses, but to also unlock areas that were previously inaccessible.
I personally have a mixed relationship with Metroidvanias, though "utility-gated progression" usually isn't my main issue but rather the convoluted design of the maps and/or the gameplay itself, and both creep up their ugly heads here as well, though I can excuse it much more for a 30 year old game rather than some of the newer entries into the genre.
Firstly, this is a Game Boy game, and unlike the NES version, Samus covers 1/4 of the screen here, which from the get-go makes for an awkward affair when trying to dodge enemies reliably. Her jumps are not sensitive to button presses at all, so you need to press JUMP quite a while in order to make a long jump, and in areas where platforms are separated by some sort of health-evaporating substance in between, these jumps can become quite unreliable and hence frustrating.
Frustrating is actually a big thing with this game. The reason why you want to take hits as few times as possible is because there are few save points here and they are pretty far from each other, so you will constantly find yourself warp all the way back to the checkpoint whenever you die. And due to the level amount of health you're playing with, you'll find yourself die a lot. There are no immediate do-overs. Die and you go all the way back.
The worst part however is the fact that there is no map. So you either have to draw the map along as you play or have great memory. Plus, progress forward isn't as cut and dry as moving forward. Sometimes, progressing means finding some randomly placed hole in a wall that you can only reach by turning into the balled-up shape I was just talking about. It doesn't help that many areas look exactly the same in this game, adding to the confusion of it all.
Overall, the concept of this series I definitely like. This one just didn't age well and I don't know how children at the time could possibly beat this unless they'd spend dozens and dozens of hours of running through walls and having to rely on magazine guides, and whether it's fun to have to use those sources to beat a game is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 7/10
No voice acting. There is an interesting that happens from time to time where the music simply cuts off and you're left playing for a while whilst just listening to the sound effects. It's odd on the one hand, but satisfying on the other because I actually like the various sound effects that you hear, whether it's shooting your projectiles, the sound of each step you take, collecting items and some beep sounds that play that apparently are part of the "Caverns 1 Theme". Whenever the music does play, you've got to understand the limitations of the Game Boy sound engine. So what they managed to do with that is pretty impressive. Obviously, if you give a listen to the 3DS remake OST, you'll see what increased technical capabilities will allow you to do, but the soundtrack here plays into the atmosphere of the levels very well here, and gets downright eerie whenever you get into a boss fight. In contrast, the surface of SR388 theme sounded a bit too playful to me, but I get it considering that's the music that kids will spend most of their time listening to. Do you dare and get further into the game than you're expected to? That's where you are met with tracks that match the increased tension and where this gets a lot more atmospheric.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 5/10
If you rate this based on the capabilities of the Game Boy, the game doesn't look all too bad. If you rate it compared to what you would have gotten had this been an SNES game, it doesn't rate quite well. If you go somewhere down the middle, you can appreciate that this game was the reason that the Samus sprite got changes to it that would last until today, that the Metroids look positively disgusting and .. well yeah, that's pretty much it. The blackground is simply black, levels look very similar in design, the sprite size of Samus looks kind of awkward and creating holes in walls that hide progress and not giving any graphical indicator that something might be behind there is just an odd choice. And overall, the game simply doesn't look so good due to being a Game Boy game, which you might like yourself but is what I'd call an "acquired/nostalgic taste".
ATMOSPHERE | 8/10
The game does a pretty good job actually of throwing you into hostile territory filled with vile and disgusting creatures. Whenever the non-music track plays or the tracks that hit the eerie tones of the graphical presentation play, this can become quite atmospheric and immersive, and downright scary I'd imagine for young gamers whenever a Metroid is chasing you down.
CONTENT | 5/10
Many different abilities that you can get your hands on as you play the game. The journey there can be rough however, as you will spend many hours trying to figure out where to go next, which some might call intentional and I'd call boring and not well executed here. Apart from that, there isn't much content here, but if you enjoy the bashing your head against walls aspect of it, this will be enough to keep you occupied for a dozen hours+.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 3/10
I appreciate the idea behind this game of having to traverse a hostile environment and find your way through it without any hand-holding. Unfortunately, my idea of a fun game is in contrast to what the game design philosophy of Metroid's creators is, at least for the early entries in the series. No map is tough on its own, but progress hidden in walls (forcing you to check every wall), same looking areas and abilities that don't control all that well (the spider ability) makes for too many (subjective) issues here.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 6/10
The concept remains intriguing, though I'd say the sequel has not yet gotten it to where it will eventually go in this series.
REPLAYABILITY | 1/5
There isn't really any particular reason/motivation given for replaying this. Chances are, if you somehow beat this, you'll be satisfied and ready to move on.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
The game worked well at all times.
OVERALL | 53/100
Unless you really enjoyed the original or really, really enjoyed the later entries in the Metroid series, I think this game is very skippable. Even if you did enjoy later Metroid games, you will likely miss the QoL features that will be introduced later. What this game does well is create a tense atmosphere, but I would agree that that's the gist of it, unless you are a big fan of the concept of hitting early wall to see if you can go through some of them, or if you enjoy drawing a map as you go. Otherwise, you will likely have to rely on guides to make progress, and have to do so many times. So right now I would call this a good proof on concept, just like the original, but the next step hasn't really been taken yet in my opinion.
I think if you're looking to get into the much-beloved Metroid series for the first time, Metroid II: Return of Samus (Dev: Nintendo R&D1 / Pub: Nintendo) won't be the best place to start. The game released in November 1991 for the Game Boy, unlike the original which came out for the NES, and if you really don't want to pass by this game, you would probably be best served going for its remake from 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS.
The game isn't 'objectively bad', not even close actually, but it suffers from pretty much all the lack of QoL features that you'd expect from games of this time. This makes it tough to play unless you don't mind looking for the way forward for, potentially, hours at a time, and even then, the future releases will serve you with much more enjoyable gameplay in pretty much every way. But all of that I talk about in detail below.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 3/10
As in the original, you play Samus Aran, who is a Space Hunter working for the Galactic Federation. Her goal is once again to go to the planet SR388, where she is to exterminate the remaining Metroids after both a ship full of researchers and armed soldiers went missing. All of this can be found in the manual. In the game, you press START and are immediately loaded in and stand in front of your ship and are not given any further information.
The main things you will take away from this game in terms of story/characters are the following
Samus is a badass character just simply based on design and she gets shit done when others can't (not unlike many other one hero vs the world games, but effective)
The fact that there was no color for the Game Boy meant that the devs had to add the round metal shoulder pads to differentiate between her Power Suit and Varia Suit, a feature that has stayed with Samus ever since
POSSIBLE SPOILER: The ending cliffhanger, without dialogue and voice acting, is really well done. Samus finds an egg of a Metroid hatchling, which follows her to her ship. What will this cause in the sequel?
So Metroid II doesn't really do much different from many other platformers / Action Adventure types like this in terms of story, but it does manage to stand out a bit thanks to its ending and its main character.
GAMEPLAY | 9/20
You will most likely be familiar with the Metroid formula by now. Start with limited abilities, explore multi-pathed levels multiple times by leveraging new abilities that you gain constantly as you progress. It's a pretty popular genre, and Metroid games pretty much pioneered them. Unfortunately, early iterations come with some growing pains as the developers looked to find a balance of their vision and what they could realistically expect players to be willing to push through.
Before we get there, here is the gist of how this game plays. You control Samus in a 2D side-scrolling game where you can shoot projectiles, jump and even roll up into a ball to squeeze through holes. Your goal is to traverse this map and find all Metroids, which are parasitic creatures that, unsurprisingly, form the main enemy types in this series. Throughout your journey you get access to new skills and attacks, which not only allow you to stand a chance against later bosses, but to also unlock areas that were previously inaccessible.
I personally have a mixed relationship with Metroidvanias, though "utility-gated progression" usually isn't my main issue but rather the convoluted design of the maps and/or the gameplay itself, and both creep up their ugly heads here as well, though I can excuse it much more for a 30 year old game rather than some of the newer entries into the genre.
Firstly, this is a Game Boy game, and unlike the NES version, Samus covers 1/4 of the screen here, which from the get-go makes for an awkward affair when trying to dodge enemies reliably. Her jumps are not sensitive to button presses at all, so you need to press JUMP quite a while in order to make a long jump, and in areas where platforms are separated by some sort of health-evaporating substance in between, these jumps can become quite unreliable and hence frustrating.
Frustrating is actually a big thing with this game. The reason why you want to take hits as few times as possible is because there are few save points here and they are pretty far from each other, so you will constantly find yourself warp all the way back to the checkpoint whenever you die. And due to the level amount of health you're playing with, you'll find yourself die a lot. There are no immediate do-overs. Die and you go all the way back.
The worst part however is the fact that there is no map. So you either have to draw the map along as you play or have great memory. Plus, progress forward isn't as cut and dry as moving forward. Sometimes, progressing means finding some randomly placed hole in a wall that you can only reach by turning into the balled-up shape I was just talking about. It doesn't help that many areas look exactly the same in this game, adding to the confusion of it all.
Overall, the concept of this series I definitely like. This one just didn't age well and I don't know how children at the time could possibly beat this unless they'd spend dozens and dozens of hours of running through walls and having to rely on magazine guides, and whether it's fun to have to use those sources to beat a game is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 7/10
No voice acting. There is an interesting that happens from time to time where the music simply cuts off and you're left playing for a while whilst just listening to the sound effects. It's odd on the one hand, but satisfying on the other because I actually like the various sound effects that you hear, whether it's shooting your projectiles, the sound of each step you take, collecting items and some beep sounds that play that apparently are part of the "Caverns 1 Theme". Whenever the music does play, you've got to understand the limitations of the Game Boy sound engine. So what they managed to do with that is pretty impressive. Obviously, if you give a listen to the 3DS remake OST, you'll see what increased technical capabilities will allow you to do, but the soundtrack here plays into the atmosphere of the levels very well here, and gets downright eerie whenever you get into a boss fight. In contrast, the surface of SR388 theme sounded a bit too playful to me, but I get it considering that's the music that kids will spend most of their time listening to. Do you dare and get further into the game than you're expected to? That's where you are met with tracks that match the increased tension and where this gets a lot more atmospheric.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 5/10
If you rate this based on the capabilities of the Game Boy, the game doesn't look all too bad. If you rate it compared to what you would have gotten had this been an SNES game, it doesn't rate quite well. If you go somewhere down the middle, you can appreciate that this game was the reason that the Samus sprite got changes to it that would last until today, that the Metroids look positively disgusting and .. well yeah, that's pretty much it. The blackground is simply black, levels look very similar in design, the sprite size of Samus looks kind of awkward and creating holes in walls that hide progress and not giving any graphical indicator that something might be behind there is just an odd choice. And overall, the game simply doesn't look so good due to being a Game Boy game, which you might like yourself but is what I'd call an "acquired/nostalgic taste".
ATMOSPHERE | 8/10
The game does a pretty good job actually of throwing you into hostile territory filled with vile and disgusting creatures. Whenever the non-music track plays or the tracks that hit the eerie tones of the graphical presentation play, this can become quite atmospheric and immersive, and downright scary I'd imagine for young gamers whenever a Metroid is chasing you down.
CONTENT | 5/10
Many different abilities that you can get your hands on as you play the game. The journey there can be rough however, as you will spend many hours trying to figure out where to go next, which some might call intentional and I'd call boring and not well executed here. Apart from that, there isn't much content here, but if you enjoy the bashing your head against walls aspect of it, this will be enough to keep you occupied for a dozen hours+.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 3/10
I appreciate the idea behind this game of having to traverse a hostile environment and find your way through it without any hand-holding. Unfortunately, my idea of a fun game is in contrast to what the game design philosophy of Metroid's creators is, at least for the early entries in the series. No map is tough on its own, but progress hidden in walls (forcing you to check every wall), same looking areas and abilities that don't control all that well (the spider ability) makes for too many (subjective) issues here.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 6/10
The concept remains intriguing, though I'd say the sequel has not yet gotten it to where it will eventually go in this series.
REPLAYABILITY | 1/5
There isn't really any particular reason/motivation given for replaying this. Chances are, if you somehow beat this, you'll be satisfied and ready to move on.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
The game worked well at all times.
OVERALL | 53/100
Unless you really enjoyed the original or really, really enjoyed the later entries in the Metroid series, I think this game is very skippable. Even if you did enjoy later Metroid games, you will likely miss the QoL features that will be introduced later. What this game does well is create a tense atmosphere, but I would agree that that's the gist of it, unless you are a big fan of the concept of hitting early wall to see if you can go through some of them, or if you enjoy drawing a map as you go. Otherwise, you will likely have to rely on guides to make progress, and have to do so many times. So right now I would call this a good proof on concept, just like the original, but the next step hasn't really been taken yet in my opinion.
👍
be sure to play it on the game boy color palette, NOT the super game boy palette.
be sure to play it on the game boy color palette, NOT the super game boy palette.
As weird as it is to say, I consider Metroid 2 a rare example of a Nintendo-made horror game. You're all alone on a dangerous planet, full of lifeforms that are continulously evolving into ever more dangerous forms. It feels like you're in a race against the clock, before the Metroid race evolves to a level where not even you will be able to stop them from consuming the rest of the galaxy. So, there you are, wandering deeper into the caverns, caverns that seem to be stretching on for infinity, your footsteps the only audible sound, until... wham! A metroid is flying straight at you, and a frantic battle of survival ensues.
Okay, so it's not actually scary at all, but I think that's what the developers wanted to evoke, I think that element of claustrophobia and "hunt or be hunted" is Metroid 2's core goal. The attempt at creating this kind of atmosphere for a Gameboy game is a respectable one, and is really the game's most redeeming aspect. I will always think of that "moment" when you enter the final area, it gives me goosebumps everytime. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself has aged even worse than the original Metroid 1, which is why I cannot ultimately recommend this one.
Taking away color and zooming the screen in did Metroid's exploratory focus absolutely no favors. Areas look even more dull than they used to be. There's caves upon caves, all repetitive, most difficult to memorize and distinguish from each other. And there's still no map, other than the one I heavily relied on from a guide.
There's something to be said about the pros of getting lost in video games, but I think that only applies when the areas you stumble into are distinct enough to a point where the feeling of discovering a new location heavily washes over you. Like when you decide to explore a different part of town in real life, after wandering throughout the same locales you've known for years, and this intense feeling of unfamiliarity hits you. I hope whoever reads this gets the analogy, because I have no better one to offer at 2AM in the night.
Anyway, Metroid 2 does not offer the feeling of getting lost in unfamiliar territory, all it has is the uncertainty of whether you're even lost or not. Constant doubt gets in the way of genuinely enjoying the game, and by a certain point, I get impatient and just want it to be over.
Other than the neat little thought about this being a horror game in disguise, I've gotten little out of the experience. The next Metroid game, Super Metroid, will be where I have more positive things to say. There's also the fanmade remake of Metroid 2, AM2R, which is so good that I treat it as an official Metroid game and wholeheartedly recommend you make that version of the game one of your top priorities.
Okay, so it's not actually scary at all, but I think that's what the developers wanted to evoke, I think that element of claustrophobia and "hunt or be hunted" is Metroid 2's core goal. The attempt at creating this kind of atmosphere for a Gameboy game is a respectable one, and is really the game's most redeeming aspect. I will always think of that "moment" when you enter the final area, it gives me goosebumps everytime. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself has aged even worse than the original Metroid 1, which is why I cannot ultimately recommend this one.
Taking away color and zooming the screen in did Metroid's exploratory focus absolutely no favors. Areas look even more dull than they used to be. There's caves upon caves, all repetitive, most difficult to memorize and distinguish from each other. And there's still no map, other than the one I heavily relied on from a guide.
There's something to be said about the pros of getting lost in video games, but I think that only applies when the areas you stumble into are distinct enough to a point where the feeling of discovering a new location heavily washes over you. Like when you decide to explore a different part of town in real life, after wandering throughout the same locales you've known for years, and this intense feeling of unfamiliarity hits you. I hope whoever reads this gets the analogy, because I have no better one to offer at 2AM in the night.
Anyway, Metroid 2 does not offer the feeling of getting lost in unfamiliar territory, all it has is the uncertainty of whether you're even lost or not. Constant doubt gets in the way of genuinely enjoying the game, and by a certain point, I get impatient and just want it to be over.
Other than the neat little thought about this being a horror game in disguise, I've gotten little out of the experience. The next Metroid game, Super Metroid, will be where I have more positive things to say. There's also the fanmade remake of Metroid 2, AM2R, which is so good that I treat it as an official Metroid game and wholeheartedly recommend you make that version of the game one of your top priorities.
better than the first game in every way imaginable, but still not quite 'great'. hit detection is kinda bad at times and the zeta/omega metroids are incredibly annoying, but for its era and its console this game's a certified classic. pretty good controls and pacing and far fewer bullshit traps. the map was fun to run through and things weren't as copypasty as the first game, and it felt like a far far more cohesive experience. the devs have grown, and super metroid's reputation makes me even more excited to finally see how much they improve on more powerful hardware.
While nearing the bottom of this list, Metroid II was where I really found my place with this series. I went into Metroid expecting to not like either of the first two games. I was surprised by how much I liked the first game but I was floored by how much I loved the second. It isn't the most mind-blowing or inventive game, not then or now, but I admire what it was able to accomplish on the Game Boy. Samus looks less cartoony and feels a lot better to play. After Super Mario Land, it's a nice refresher to see a Game Boy game actually one-up its NES counterpart in those regards. I'll gladly sacrifice color if it means Samus has this much of an upgrade.
Also, this was the moment that I noticed I don't mind linear design in Metroid. This would later be more relevant when I played Fusion, but Metroid II offers a similar idea: Take the player down a path but let them explore it as they like. You can still find secrets throughout the entire map, even if that map is often linear. This is helped by the size of the rooms which, in comparison to the first game, are structured less like hallways and more like open caverns. It isn't as if they are neverending, but they are more engaging to explore than any single area of the first game.
I also was surprised by the story of the game. While simple, it effectively makes the player question why they or Samus would wipe out a species on the merits that another species could take advantage of them. It doesn't feel right killing the queen or her children, but it suggests that it must be done. The ending is poetically beautiful and sets the tone for Super Metroid, where the story becomes fully realized. The first game may be more important to the series in design but this game is more important for the story going forward.
Ultimately, this game is limited by its devices but not overly flawed. It was surpassed many times over by its sequels, but that doesn't mean this wasn't a good step in the right direction. In fact, this game paved the way forward.
*This review was originally written as a note for my Metroid: Best to Worst list.
Also, this was the moment that I noticed I don't mind linear design in Metroid. This would later be more relevant when I played Fusion, but Metroid II offers a similar idea: Take the player down a path but let them explore it as they like. You can still find secrets throughout the entire map, even if that map is often linear. This is helped by the size of the rooms which, in comparison to the first game, are structured less like hallways and more like open caverns. It isn't as if they are neverending, but they are more engaging to explore than any single area of the first game.
I also was surprised by the story of the game. While simple, it effectively makes the player question why they or Samus would wipe out a species on the merits that another species could take advantage of them. It doesn't feel right killing the queen or her children, but it suggests that it must be done. The ending is poetically beautiful and sets the tone for Super Metroid, where the story becomes fully realized. The first game may be more important to the series in design but this game is more important for the story going forward.
Ultimately, this game is limited by its devices but not overly flawed. It was surpassed many times over by its sequels, but that doesn't mean this wasn't a good step in the right direction. In fact, this game paved the way forward.
*This review was originally written as a note for my Metroid: Best to Worst list.
Metroid II is a pretty decent improvement over the first game, thanks to it’s more linear structure, the absence of a map isn’t anywhere near as bad here as it was in the original game.
Its got problems, like how there are no real bosses aside from the final boss, everything else is just metroids, which are decently fun to fight but man the repeats of them just get stale after a while.
Oh yeah, I had to play this on switch online since I have no access to Samus Returns or AM2R, and since I used switch online, I had to experience this game in good ol gameboy vomit green.
One last thing I do like about this game is the ending sequence after the final boss, it’s honestly nice to play a Metroid game that doesn’t end in the planet imminent explosion sequence.
Overall it’s a fun experience that I was pleasantly surprised by, idk if I’ll ever play it again but it’s pretty nice.
Now onto Super Metroid
Its got problems, like how there are no real bosses aside from the final boss, everything else is just metroids, which are decently fun to fight but man the repeats of them just get stale after a while.
Oh yeah, I had to play this on switch online since I have no access to Samus Returns or AM2R, and since I used switch online, I had to experience this game in good ol gameboy vomit green.
One last thing I do like about this game is the ending sequence after the final boss, it’s honestly nice to play a Metroid game that doesn’t end in the planet imminent explosion sequence.
Overall it’s a fun experience that I was pleasantly surprised by, idk if I’ll ever play it again but it’s pretty nice.
Now onto Super Metroid
Metroid games are broken up into two groups: the good ones are 5/5, and the bad ones are 2/5. This is one of the good ones.