Metroid 2 is a notable step up from its prequel, and is generally a much more functional game. However, it still suffers from some faults that return from the original, such as a general lack of even the smallest amount of player guidance, similar looking locations (understandable as it was on the game boy), and repetitiveness. However, as it is a much shorter game, around 4 hours, it can be forgiven for most of these problems as they don't weigh on you quite so much. Overall, it's worth playing.

A two-steps-forward, one-step-back kind of sequel. A few mechanical tweaks and an added emphasis on narrative made this more memorable on the whole than its predecessor, but there's still a feeling of "not quite there" that's hard to shake. Partly, this stems from the linear cul-de-sac design of the world compared to the circuitous labyrinth of the original - knowing that you can't proceed until you fully explore a giant chunk of the world to find a single Metroid only gets more frustrating as the game goes along, and the lack of a map makes the lack of direction truly painful at points.

The story is the star here, though - it's still indirect like the original, but the harshness of Samus's genocidal assignment begins to seriously weigh on the player as they dive deeper and deeper into the Metroid planet. That ending is a stunner too, a brief ray of hope after a truly harrowing odyssey of extinction.

Can't say I loved it, but much like the first game, my overall respect for this game is boundless.

I popped this on intending to quickly check it out and see if I could relive some nostalgia. Accidentally played the whole thing, woops.

I really like this game. I absolutely have nostalgia glasses and am blessed to remember all of the nonsensical hidden esoteric bullshit, I can't imagine trying to parse this as a first-timer.

But I'm gonna live my truth, this game is great, it's probably a big stupid idiot move by me that I haven't played the 3DS remake, I should fix that asap.

Also first time finishing the game in under 3 hours and getting bikini Samus at the end, go me I guess?

I've been trying to play every Metroid game in order of release because the only one I ever beat was, ironically, this game's remake, Samus Returns, and I'll replay that and review it eventually, but because I had already played that game and my friends wanted me to play Super, I was advised to skip this one here, and I did, I played Super first, really enjoyed it, but then I decided to go back to this anyway, I just felt wrong skipping it, and I'm so glad I did.

Metroid II is very different from the rest I've played, including it's own remake, you're not trying to escape the planet, you're there with a purpose, kill every Metroid, it's pretty fucked up and the game is clearly trying to tell you (especially at the end) that maybe what you're doing here is at least morally dubious, and I absolutely love that. Is the gameplay a little rough? yeah, for sure, but outside of that I think pretty much every technical "limitation" of the gameboy ends up working in it's favor. The screen being so small makes the game feel really claustrophobic the whole way through, the music could barely even be considered music sometimes, it's mostly composed of... weird, creepy sounds, the atmosphere is honestly as good as it got in Super, maybe even better at points. The reason it's not equally rated however, is the bosses, there's 40 Metroids to defeat, and they're all pretty uninspired fights, most of them die in 5 missiles, non of them have any interesting patterns to learn, and I understand that this is also probably due to the gameboy's limitations but I can't justify it in this case because it's such a huge part of the game.

Overall, I highly recommend everyone reading to at least give this game a chance, especially if you skipped it for how it looks or for it having so many remakes out there, this is a completely unique experience that I think every Metroid fan would appreciate.

I'm gonna be honest, it's not worth playing. It's probably the worst aged game on the entire Metroid franchise. You can make excuses for the first one (Because of that) and Super was a masterpiece, but this one is just... boring. Fighting primely metroids is a good concept, but falls flat the moment you have to defeat more than one of each class, the second time onwards there's no surprise or challenge, is just another number needed to progress. Also, this game would be 10 times better with a map, because good luck trying to understand what to do if you stop playing for a couple of days

It's better than it's predecessor. Having a save feature was a big help. But then again i played this game through Nintendo Switch Online, which means if i played this on original hardware i would definitely dislike it. However, it's much more acceptable then the first game, this game really is a big improvement. You don't really get lost if you compare it with the first game, but i still strongly recommend using a map. Anyway, i prefer this game over the first one and every Metroid fan should at least play it once.

La base del juego es buscar a los 47 Metroids existentes, en ciertas areas habrá un numero determinado de estos a destruir para poder abrir nuevas secciones, en el segmento final deberás cazar otros 7 metroids y al jefe final. En el transcurso del juego podrás encontrar mejoras para poder acceder a nuevos sitios, mejorar tú arsenal o para aumentar tu vitalidad y misiles.
El problema principal de este juego es su base de buscar a los Metroids, se hace cansada muy rápido al no tener tanta variedad en cuanto a los combates de estos y que la mayoría del tiempo estarás caminando sin muchas interrupciones ya que hay una gran escasez de enemigos comunes dan como resultado que la exploración se haga tediosa, el pequeño rango de visión ( más con el sprite de samus aparcando demasiado espacio en pantalla) y la falta de un mapa se suman como problemas , aunque esto ultimo no resulta tan molesto al ser un juego algo lineal así como bastante corto de duración.
En los apartados tecnicos, los sprites de los personajes están llenos de detalles representando bien lo que son (especialmente los sprites de Samus y de las ultimas fases de Metroids que resultan bastante impresionantes) aunque varios carezcan de animaciones, los escenarios igual cumplen en representar un ambiente desolador de cavernas pero resultan bastante repetitivos teniendo pocas diferencias en ciertas secciones; En el apartado sonoro tiene un algunos temas bastante destacables pero la mayoría de música del juego se compone de chirridos o pitidos molestos que tratan de imitar un sonido ambiental provocando mas de una vez que le quites el sonido al juego.

Metroid 2 termina siendo en un juego interesante que puede entretener un poco si tienes la suficiente paciencia, pero tiene bastantes carencias aún considerando la época y sistema donde salió, solo seria recomendable como una curiosidad de la franquicia Metroid

I bought Metroid II at a garage sale a long time ago. Child Me was never able to get into it. The small screen of the GameBoy and the lack of a map made it a challenge I wasn't willing to overcome. Now, with a map (thanks internet) and a larger screen (thanks emulation), I played through the whole game. And I'm glad I did it, at least for the satisfaction of conquering a childhood foe. It's a decent Metroid game, especially for how old it is and the hardware it was running on, but it lacks much of what made later entries to the series such good games. Even more, the game is about committing Metroid genocide, but the titular enemies are disappointing. The early ones present almost no challenge, and any challenges presented by the later ones is because they've been programed with cheezy unfair advantages over the player. It's not a bad game, but it isn't a standout in the Metroid series either.

The heyday of the 3DS Virtual Console was a magical time. I would play this and Link's Awakening on long car rides to and from Southern California, an experience that many others probably had before me when they originally released on Game Boy in the 90s. Having renewed access to important moments in Nintendo's history delighted me, elevating an already amazing handheld library to new heights. I had played retro games before, but this time is what made me a fan of retro games.

There's something special about this one in particular. The lack of a map, while annoying, is not as crippling as it was for the original Metroid, and with some trial and error I could still make progress through the winding tunnels of SR388 while keeping the thrill of exploration and isolated atmosphere intact. It was also--and Samus Returns never quite achieved this--genuinely scary! Samus' sprite is comically huge, yes, and it leads to some unfair blind jumps, but it also lends itself to a cozier, more immersively claustrophobic experience than the likes of Super Metroid. You truly are walking around in the dark on an alien planet, anticipating what horror may lurk beyond the next corner or sea of acid. Dissonant beeps and boops in the soundtrack are just eerie enough to pay off in an effective jumpscare when you scroll the screen just far enough for a hatchling Metroid to bust out of the wall and absolutely WRECK you. A simple counter at the bottom of the screen for how many you have left to go is a refreshingly simple objective to shoot for, fittingly placed next to your missile count. This is one of the few Metroid games where the amount you are given is justified and needed to take down the bosses, and there's not so many arbitrary expansions that it becomes too easy.

It's an awesome little game that leaves me excited, lonely, and a little unsettled each time I come back to it. And isn't that what Metroid is all about?