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.
Dalaamclouds
7 months ago