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.

The second game in the Metroid series also comes with an asterisk. Once again, I have played this with a guide and map. HOWEVER, this game has it's own problems that prevent it from being as good as the original, atleast for me personally. This game does clean up some of the issues that the original had. This one has a much more clear focus, and a slightly more linear path that helps paint a proper picture of where you should be going. There is also some new interesting power additions that are fun to try out. All that being said, this is one of the slowest, most repetitive games I have ever played. Sure, the game "plays" a bit better than the original, but is that really a complement when you have now been thrust into a boring environment with 40 of the exact same boss to search for and kill over and over again. NEStroid can be as short or as long as you want it to be, and with such freedom, comes the enjoyment. You deadass have to do basically the same thing over and over in this game. I do not think it is a bad game, but it is just so drab. It's slow and all of the praises that I had sung for NEStroids environments are gone. Now you are left with the bare color pallet and textures provided by a gameboy, with even worse, grating music. Maybe it is wrong of me to judge these first couple games so harshly on how they feel, but I swear to you, they live and die off of their vibes, especially since this series has a dozen games in it, and pretty much everyone would rather just return to the best ones anyway. Surely a necessary step to clean up the gameplay, but the breakthrough wouldn't come til the following game.

I dunno, I just don't like the feel of it. I mean, it's definitely an improvement over the NES game but I just don't really vibe with how it runs. I feel like some of it is just really clunky compared to other games on the GameBoy (I think Kirby's Dream Land 2 ruined my expectations of the GameBoy forever). The movement and combat isn't terrible but it just feels really awkward, though I will say the game at least doesn't have terrible physics or any slow down. I also just REALLY don't like the lack of a map and the monochrome visuals just feel a sort of worse than other GameBoy games I've played so far. Again, like NEStroid, I might come back to this one day but for now, I think I'll just stick to the remake, sorry. Overall, a definite improvement over the first game, but not something I'd want to invest a lot of time in so I'll stick to trying out the remake.

I'd played this some back in the day but had never finished it as I'd inexplicably found myself stuck and/or lost in a fairly linear game (something a quick glance at the instruction manual would have clarified had I had one in my possession.) Coming back to it now was fairly eye-opening after long since been Metroidvania pilled to an extreme. I'd really expected this to play closer to NES Metroid instead of being the prototype of so much to come. The game itself is extremely straightforward but that's befitting of something on a battery powered portable system. The emphasis on the hunt in lieu of exploration was certainly something I'd forgotten about as well. Given the short length of the game even by series' standards, I can see myself coming back to this now and then. If there's any criticism to be offered, it's probably centered around the metroid evolutions acting as mini-bosses throughout. While typically not a challenge, I was jump scared twice by them in general play and quite anxious against an Alpha that I finished with my last missile so perhaps they're fine as is. I'm looking forward to the opportunities opened up to me after having completed this as AM2R and Samus Returns both await.

It's not as daunting as a you for think for a Metroidvania without a map. The game is split up into sections where you eliminate all of the Metroids in an area and then move on to the next. The game really doesn't ask you to backtrack to the extent that Super Metroid or Dread might. This is probably the Metroidvania where I had to consult the internet the least, although the best method ro defeat the final boss is fairly obtuse. That said you should probably play it within the span of a weekend or so, rather than just pick it up and finish it later, so you'll have a stronger mental map.

To give this game a bit more criticism, I wish there was more than 2 area themes. I implied it's easy to find your way to the end, and it is, but some different tunes would be appreciated . Still this is one of the best Gameboy games in my opinion and definitely has all the Super Metroid vides down( as much as you can given the vastly weaker hardware).

Metroid II feels like a strange middle child between the original and the unrequited masterpiece of Super Metroid but II is not without merit. The gameplay is significantly more evolved and fluid here and the Metroid counter acts as a more clear goal unlike the original game’s utter lack of direction and II’s quest maintains a semblance of non linearity. The story however feels like an odd turn and is somehow more barebones. The original game is the classic fight against the Space Pirates and preventing them from unleashing the Metroids. II’s story is just the ethnic cleansing of the Metroid species, descending down their planet and killing the queen. There’s nothing deeper at play here except from that ending which is a very nice touch. Overall, I found this to be a nice much shorter Metroid experience that was clearly held back by the Gameboy’s limitations and I honestly believe that Dread only being released when the hardware felt right was ultimately a smart move for this franchise as the result could’ve been similar to this.

TL;DR: I feel like it's kind of unnecessary to complain about the obvious shortcomings that the Game Boy imposed upon this game. I feel it's much more useful to consider the benefits of this game being on GB, that being that it adds to the atmosphere that you can't properly see the screen, and how the backgrounds are so dark. Interestingly enough, this means that the original Metroid II has a better, more faithful ambience than Samus Returns, and some ways even AM2R.

That said, this game is a frustrating play, despite being on the better side of early Game Boy titles. Wouldn't really recommend trying this over replaying Samus Returns or AM2R unless you're a really die-hard fan.