I saw The Geek Critique’s recent video on Metroid II: Return of Samus, and I decided… eh, fuck it, might as well finally beat it myself.
Metroid II is a little rough around the edges and shares some of the same flaws of its predecessor, namely the lack of a map and some copy-pasted room layouts. However, the smaller overall map size, more streamlined progression, decent enemy variety in each area, and even the simple ability to aim down while shooting make this LEAGUES better than its archaic predecessor. Not to mention the ending is absolutely beautiful (which makes the endings of Super and Dread hit even harder).
Metroid II is a little rough around the edges and shares some of the same flaws of its predecessor, namely the lack of a map and some copy-pasted room layouts. However, the smaller overall map size, more streamlined progression, decent enemy variety in each area, and even the simple ability to aim down while shooting make this LEAGUES better than its archaic predecessor. Not to mention the ending is absolutely beautiful (which makes the endings of Super and Dread hit even harder).
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.
a solid action adventure game tbh. very interested in making the player feel uncomfortable.
Esta bien, pero AM2R existe...
The remake is much better. Metroid without a map and on a monochrome screen is hell to navigate. The screen crunch to accommodate the GameBoy makes it even worse.
[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
Enjoyed it, need a map to guide you, aim to get as many energy tanks and missiles or you will have a difficult time.
Game's painful!
The lack of map and monochromatic, same-y room layouts made this an absolute nightmare. However, it was still enjoyable enough to eek out secrets, and see it through to the end. Very impressive for the console!
This review contains spoilers
Impossible to understate how impressive this game is. Not as much from a technical standpoint (though it has aged remarkably well for an early GameBoy game), but instead in terms of its themes and storytelling. The creators had their finger on the pulse of the medium, both for its state then and in the future. Metroid II’s deconstruction of the medium is sad and terrifying. What impressed me most is just how good it is at immersing you in its goal: the Metroids are cumbersome, fearsome, and irritating, and after a while you begin to blend with the cold, mechanical process Samus follows on her mission. Even knowing the thematic angle the game takes, its hard to view the Metroids as something worth preserving until the very end.
And then the end comes. A single, tender moment leaves your victory hollow and turns your relief to guilt and horror.
And then the end comes. A single, tender moment leaves your victory hollow and turns your relief to guilt and horror.
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.
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.
Sûrement le pire jeu de la licence.
This one wasn't quite as enjoyable as the first, but it was still overall a good experience. I liked the types of upgrades you can get more, like the Spider-ball and space jump. Also saving and recharge stations were lovely! But.. Samus' sprite feels too big, it gets hit by everything! And most of the time, the music is nonexistent, or SUCKS like the Chozo Ruins music. (At least 'Surface of SR388' and the credits are bangers)
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.
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
ok
This follow-up on a portable console is honestly better looking than the original. I realy love the whole feel of Metroid II.
But just like the original, it's frustratingly easy to get lost. With all the remake options I feel like it's better to just skip straight to Super or the GBA titles.
But just like the original, it's frustratingly easy to get lost. With all the remake options I feel like it's better to just skip straight to Super or the GBA titles.
Metroid II: Return of Samus is a bafflingly good game by Game Boy standards, I would just hesitate to play it on original hardware.
It's not the best Metroid game, but it's impressive what they did on the Game Boy
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.
Played this really late, but I enjoyed it. Was very difficult to navigate initially.
I played it on the Gameboy when I was a kid then again when I was older and it just always felt bad to play it.
I'm glad they remade it 26 years later so I can finally fully enjoy it.
I'm glad they remade it 26 years later so I can finally fully enjoy it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I played AM2R and Samus returns before coming back to this finally. Honestly I kind of loved it for what it is. Despite being on the gameboy it does a much better job than the first Metroid of distinguishing areas and correct paths to follow. Bosses are simple and it needs a map but it was a pretty good handheld experience and I would’ve loved it if I had played it when it came out.
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.
It's ok. It's really old, but it was able to bring a lot of new stuff to the Metroid series.
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!
Needs a Ridley boss fight