I was so lost on where i was supposed to go i accidentally found a speedrunning technique just trying to progress
Lol I lost this game!
as fun as smashing my head into a wall
This game is fascinating. I'm kinda kicking myself for not playing it in all the years it's been out. Better late than never eh?
So this is my second foray into the Metroid series after starting with the fantastic first entry and I'm kinda blown away by how solid a sequel it is especially since its on Game Boy. I can only imagine the reaction of the game at the time. Metroid II is every bit the game Metroid was ALSO with some excellent improvements all on a portable device! Crazy to think. The only way it's lacking a bit is in the graphics department I guess but even that is remedied a bit by playing on Game Boy Color!
As I said, the game is mostly the same strengths as the first one. You explore around with non-linear progression and can find yourself in tricky areas you aren't best equipped for. Hell the game can be beaten without half the power ups. The game, like the last, does reward curiosity as you can find upgrades and additions in areas found through the tiniest hidden passages and they all feel well worth getting. The game is a bit easier on exploration too in general as there aren't really any annoying enemy types like the first game had, nothing dive bombing you or matching you jump and following you through screens. Also there are certain spots you can find that fully replenish your missile anmo and your suit energy. All this makes for a maybe easier experience but to me it's less annoying and enhances the exploration aspect. There are still enemies to fight and challenges to be had but now it isn't as irritating as it could be.
The biggest challenge faced in this game ties brilliantly into the continuing story of the game and offers a unique and interesting change of pace to gameplay. In Metroid II, Samus is tasked with traveling to the homeworld of the Metroids, SR388, and eliminating the rest of them for fear of their threat to the galaxy. So in the game you start with a counter at the bottom if the screen showing how many Metroids you have left to kill through the whole game. Each area has a set number of Metroids and the way to access new sections of the map is not merely by finding appropriate suit upgrades but by finding all the Metroids for an area and defeating them. Throughout the game you'll fight Metroids in various stages of their life cycle which become increasingly ferocious and dangerous the deeper into the planet you get. It's an excellent little twist to the core gameplay mechanic and felt pretty fresh for such a robust sequel.
Metroid II is an excellent game and intriguing sequel. The game plays as good or arguably better than the first one. The events of the game also seem like they'll impact the lore of the game's and Samus' personal journey in a big way. I'm really glad I have the opportunity to play these games in order and as close to the original format as I can in our modern age. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys action and exploration. Bonus points if you can appreciate old games and the achievement of getting something so substantial right on a handheld. I can't wait to see what's next in the series!
So this is my second foray into the Metroid series after starting with the fantastic first entry and I'm kinda blown away by how solid a sequel it is especially since its on Game Boy. I can only imagine the reaction of the game at the time. Metroid II is every bit the game Metroid was ALSO with some excellent improvements all on a portable device! Crazy to think. The only way it's lacking a bit is in the graphics department I guess but even that is remedied a bit by playing on Game Boy Color!
As I said, the game is mostly the same strengths as the first one. You explore around with non-linear progression and can find yourself in tricky areas you aren't best equipped for. Hell the game can be beaten without half the power ups. The game, like the last, does reward curiosity as you can find upgrades and additions in areas found through the tiniest hidden passages and they all feel well worth getting. The game is a bit easier on exploration too in general as there aren't really any annoying enemy types like the first game had, nothing dive bombing you or matching you jump and following you through screens. Also there are certain spots you can find that fully replenish your missile anmo and your suit energy. All this makes for a maybe easier experience but to me it's less annoying and enhances the exploration aspect. There are still enemies to fight and challenges to be had but now it isn't as irritating as it could be.
The biggest challenge faced in this game ties brilliantly into the continuing story of the game and offers a unique and interesting change of pace to gameplay. In Metroid II, Samus is tasked with traveling to the homeworld of the Metroids, SR388, and eliminating the rest of them for fear of their threat to the galaxy. So in the game you start with a counter at the bottom if the screen showing how many Metroids you have left to kill through the whole game. Each area has a set number of Metroids and the way to access new sections of the map is not merely by finding appropriate suit upgrades but by finding all the Metroids for an area and defeating them. Throughout the game you'll fight Metroids in various stages of their life cycle which become increasingly ferocious and dangerous the deeper into the planet you get. It's an excellent little twist to the core gameplay mechanic and felt pretty fresh for such a robust sequel.
Metroid II is an excellent game and intriguing sequel. The game plays as good or arguably better than the first one. The events of the game also seem like they'll impact the lore of the game's and Samus' personal journey in a big way. I'm really glad I have the opportunity to play these games in order and as close to the original format as I can in our modern age. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys action and exploration. Bonus points if you can appreciate old games and the achievement of getting something so substantial right on a handheld. I can't wait to see what's next in the series!
It's funny how back in the day you could just get away with releasing a mainline sequel to a home console game on a handheld.
No one would question you.
"Isn't this gonna severely limit the scope of our game?"
"Don't you think that mechanically this might end up far worse than its predecessor?"
"Can we even do a map as big as the first game, let alone bigger?"
"Do you think people will get tired of the same black and white temple environment for the entire runtime?"
All of these questions and more are ones Metroid II is willing to answer!
No one would question you.
"Isn't this gonna severely limit the scope of our game?"
"Don't you think that mechanically this might end up far worse than its predecessor?"
"Can we even do a map as big as the first game, let alone bigger?"
"Do you think people will get tired of the same black and white temple environment for the entire runtime?"
All of these questions and more are ones Metroid II is willing to answer!
What the hell guys? This game is a masterpiece. A giant leap from its predecessor, introducing almost all skills and items (in 1991!?!?) that the franchise has ever seen and utilizing them in ways that all sequels have not even come close. (The vertical gameplay with space jump and spider ball is just brillant)
They should have called this game „Metroid: Annihilation“. The main plot is as badass as anything I have ever played. Miss Aran travels to the home planet of the Metroids with only one goal: To eridicate every last one of them before the Space pirates can get them. The main objective to actually hunt down all metroids is extremely motivating and delivers great exploration opportunities and encounters with many suprising secrets and clever traps.
Since you have to scan every corner of SR388 to eliminate every last one of the evil brains or whatever the metroids actually are (their various and challenging evolutionary states are both fascinating and horrifying) , I automatically found every uprade which was very rewarding. The map and general presentation is beautiful and feels very authentic and mysterious.
The late game or let’s say Samus' final rampage completely changes the pace of the adventure and really lets you show off all the weapons and skills you have gained on your journey.
The plot twist at the end made me tear up and I will boldly claim that Moon Studios have been paying a huge homage to this narrative in "Ori and the Blind Forest".
It's the perfect Gameboy game. Anybody who does not believe me, please turn on your switch, print out the map and let the great space genocide begin!
They should have called this game „Metroid: Annihilation“. The main plot is as badass as anything I have ever played. Miss Aran travels to the home planet of the Metroids with only one goal: To eridicate every last one of them before the Space pirates can get them. The main objective to actually hunt down all metroids is extremely motivating and delivers great exploration opportunities and encounters with many suprising secrets and clever traps.
Since you have to scan every corner of SR388 to eliminate every last one of the evil brains or whatever the metroids actually are (their various and challenging evolutionary states are both fascinating and horrifying) , I automatically found every uprade which was very rewarding. The map and general presentation is beautiful and feels very authentic and mysterious.
The late game or let’s say Samus' final rampage completely changes the pace of the adventure and really lets you show off all the weapons and skills you have gained on your journey.
The plot twist at the end made me tear up and I will boldly claim that Moon Studios have been paying a huge homage to this narrative in "Ori and the Blind Forest".
It's the perfect Gameboy game. Anybody who does not believe me, please turn on your switch, print out the map and let the great space genocide begin!
Actually, Return of Samus is the best out of the 3 well-known ways to experience the darkest and most genocidal chapter in Samus' life. It's old, I get it, but it uses the Game Boy's limitations to create atmosphere and tension, and that's what this series is best known for. It deviated itself from the formula stablished by the first game, but somehow captures the same feelings of isolation, visceral horror and bittersweet adventure. The ending has to be one of the most impactful and groundbreaking moments in all of gaming, specially in how it tackled one of the hottest topics of debate this medium has sparked, violence in video games, as far back as 1991.
[abandoned]
I can't do this shit man, the piss yellow filter is annoying
I can't do this shit man, the piss yellow filter is annoying
el inicio del juego me aburrió pero el final esta muy bonito.
I’ve always been surprised at how much I don’t dislike this game. It’s a surprisingly okay game, all told, and a colossal improvement over the series’ first outing. Having said that, it’s not a game that really does anything impressive in the gameplay department; its combat is very shallow, shallower than the first game’s, and its traversal isn’t anything to write home about either. Still, it’s not bad, and it does a few things really well when we put gameplay aside; it’s got a great atmosphere, especially for a GBC game, and the game’s ending is incredibly memorable - one of the strongest moments in the whole series.
The weakest aspect of this game is the metroid fights. The Omegas are approaching something vaguely resembling a decent enemy, but they still have an annoying move where they can just decide to charge you in a seemingly unavoidable pattern. All the other fights feel like a struggle against the AI RNG to let you hit the enemy without taking too much damage. Other enemies, with a couple exceptions, are a walk in the park to dispatch, so the combat mostly boils down to backtracking to a recharge station or farming an enemy for health, spamming missiles, and hoping for the best. You can certainly play better or worse to mitigate the damage you take, but it doesn’t have much of an effect, and this makes the combat on the whole kind of a letdown.
Exploration here is kind of decent, though. Coming directly off of Metroid 1, 90% of rooms not being a copy and paste job feels way more relieving than it should. The spider ball is a nice tool in that if you spider ball up a wall with a hidden passage, you’ll enter the passage. This was always weirdly satisfying to do while playing, and as a result, I found myself actually kind of enjoying finding these hidden passages, in a way that I mostly didn’t in the first game. The space jump is introduced here, and it’s bizarre how irritating it is to use. Missing a single input with poor feedback locks you out of restarting the space jump until you land somewhere, and it mostly just feels awful.
It’s at this point that I have to admit that I almost didn’t finish the game this time around. I realized while fighting the final boss and dying alarmingly quickly that I had missed the Varia suit. On realizing I was going to have to spend upwards of 15 minutes backtracking just for one item, I almost quit, though I came back after a couple hours and ultimately killed the Queen. The fact that such a critical powerup is so easily missable is something that bothers me more than it probably should. The screw attack is similarly missable (I naturally missed it), though hardly as important, as most of the actually threatening enemies are metroids, which are immune to it.
Despite my lukewarm feelings towards the game mechanically, I have to give it credit for setting a really excellent tone and atmosphere. This is somewhat helped by the cramped screen space on the GBC, but the pitch black background, threatening, dissonant, and somewhat sparse soundtrack, and subtle details like the fading number of enemies as you progress deeper into the planet, all do a great job of instilling an atmosphere of foreboding and hostility. The ending, between the moment with the egg where the metroid counter increases to 9, the battle with the queen, backed into a corner, and of course the final “escape” with the baby metroid in tow, with calming, contemplative music playing in the background, all hit exactly the right notes, and make the game worth playing almost on their own.
This game does end up getting a recommendation from me. I think it’s a game worth experiencing, if for no other reason than its atmosphere, subtle themes, and finale sequence. It’s a pretty middling ride until that point, but it’s not actively off putting for the most part, outside of a couple repetitive shafts in some of the metroid nesting grounds. It’s a hesitant recommendation, and a rather lukewarm one, but it’s enough of a net positive to earn one. It’s not the greatest metroid game, by a long shot, but it’s not a bad game, and I think that’s what I find most surprising about it.
The weakest aspect of this game is the metroid fights. The Omegas are approaching something vaguely resembling a decent enemy, but they still have an annoying move where they can just decide to charge you in a seemingly unavoidable pattern. All the other fights feel like a struggle against the AI RNG to let you hit the enemy without taking too much damage. Other enemies, with a couple exceptions, are a walk in the park to dispatch, so the combat mostly boils down to backtracking to a recharge station or farming an enemy for health, spamming missiles, and hoping for the best. You can certainly play better or worse to mitigate the damage you take, but it doesn’t have much of an effect, and this makes the combat on the whole kind of a letdown.
Exploration here is kind of decent, though. Coming directly off of Metroid 1, 90% of rooms not being a copy and paste job feels way more relieving than it should. The spider ball is a nice tool in that if you spider ball up a wall with a hidden passage, you’ll enter the passage. This was always weirdly satisfying to do while playing, and as a result, I found myself actually kind of enjoying finding these hidden passages, in a way that I mostly didn’t in the first game. The space jump is introduced here, and it’s bizarre how irritating it is to use. Missing a single input with poor feedback locks you out of restarting the space jump until you land somewhere, and it mostly just feels awful.
It’s at this point that I have to admit that I almost didn’t finish the game this time around. I realized while fighting the final boss and dying alarmingly quickly that I had missed the Varia suit. On realizing I was going to have to spend upwards of 15 minutes backtracking just for one item, I almost quit, though I came back after a couple hours and ultimately killed the Queen. The fact that such a critical powerup is so easily missable is something that bothers me more than it probably should. The screw attack is similarly missable (I naturally missed it), though hardly as important, as most of the actually threatening enemies are metroids, which are immune to it.
Despite my lukewarm feelings towards the game mechanically, I have to give it credit for setting a really excellent tone and atmosphere. This is somewhat helped by the cramped screen space on the GBC, but the pitch black background, threatening, dissonant, and somewhat sparse soundtrack, and subtle details like the fading number of enemies as you progress deeper into the planet, all do a great job of instilling an atmosphere of foreboding and hostility. The ending, between the moment with the egg where the metroid counter increases to 9, the battle with the queen, backed into a corner, and of course the final “escape” with the baby metroid in tow, with calming, contemplative music playing in the background, all hit exactly the right notes, and make the game worth playing almost on their own.
This game does end up getting a recommendation from me. I think it’s a game worth experiencing, if for no other reason than its atmosphere, subtle themes, and finale sequence. It’s a pretty middling ride until that point, but it’s not actively off putting for the most part, outside of a couple repetitive shafts in some of the metroid nesting grounds. It’s a hesitant recommendation, and a rather lukewarm one, but it’s enough of a net positive to earn one. It’s not the greatest metroid game, by a long shot, but it’s not a bad game, and I think that’s what I find most surprising about it.
Maybe I’ve been spoiled by games I grew up playing in the late 2000s, but I can’t finish this. Even though it’s technically more advanced and more playable than Metroid 1 with the ability to crouch and shoot, having the long beam from the beginning, etc., the lack of a map is made even worse because of the black and white visuals that makes all the locations blend in. I might come back to this, but I’ll have to have a map by me if I do.
I just bought Samus Returns instead and had a better time.
I just bought Samus Returns instead and had a better time.
Very hard
Samus' controls are improved from the first game and a number of series mainstays would make their first appearances here (this game is not given the credit it deserves by Metroid fans)
Biggest problem is the lack of visual variety which can make backtracking confusing. I played it with only the official GBC palette for authenticity, but there's a colorization romhack out there that looks good and gives it different color palettes for different areas. Highly recommended, in hindsight I wish I used it.
Biggest problem is the lack of visual variety which can make backtracking confusing. I played it with only the official GBC palette for authenticity, but there's a colorization romhack out there that looks good and gives it different color palettes for different areas. Highly recommended, in hindsight I wish I used it.
This game has aged way better than Metroid 1. Despite its design flaws, it actually plays pretty well. The exploration is segmented so that you don't really need a map too. Really awesome ending. The most underrated and overlooked Metroid by far
Eh, it's ok. Still a better game than Metroid 1 imo.
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.
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.
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.
O jogo tem limitações gráficas, por falta das cores as áreas são muito parecidas e não ter um mapa atrapalha bastante a navegação pelo cenário.
Se eu puder te dar uma dica procure um mapa, imprima ou pelo celular mesmo vá marcando as áreas por onde você já passou, itens que recolheu e inimigos que já enfrentou, isso melhora muito a experiência!
Apesar desses problemas a jogabilidade se mantém muito boa, o jogo é divertido e essa é mais uma das pérolas do Game Boy que valem ser jogadas até hoje!
Se eu puder te dar uma dica procure um mapa, imprima ou pelo celular mesmo vá marcando as áreas por onde você já passou, itens que recolheu e inimigos que já enfrentou, isso melhora muito a experiência!
Apesar desses problemas a jogabilidade se mantém muito boa, o jogo é divertido e essa é mais uma das pérolas do Game Boy que valem ser jogadas até hoje!
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
You know, back in its day, this game didn’t get a lot of love. In fact, it was considered worse in every way to the first Metroid.
Which is utter BS. This game is fun. I enjoyed exploring this labyrinthine world.
Which is utter BS. This game is fun. I enjoyed exploring this labyrinthine world.
This has issues on its own divorced from the 3DS version, but I appreciate the general freedom to do everything as you will and the way the game signposts progress is neat. Wish health and missile refills were a lot closer in that last stretch, but solid game overall tbh.
It's not the best Metroid game, but it's impressive what they did on the Game Boy
Yeah, the whole object of the game is "commit genocide against an entire race of wild alien creatures that simply don't know any better," but hey, at least there's a crouch button now.
This little Gameboy game fucks hard
This game is impossible to play without a walktrough next to you at all times.
Interesting concept, but game is really boring, and theres a much better remake.
metroid is never bad
This review contains spoilers
Shadow of the Colossus (2005) was found dead in a ditch
I liked this one but.. I just don't have the drive or desire to finish it. the problem with Metroid 1 and 2 is that even with a map, navigating and playing is still a pain because of how stupid it is to heal. There are healing stations in this game yes but they're so out of the damn way it's like they're not even there at all. I'll leave this one behind unfortunately.