I want to rewrite this review because I personally think I can do better.
Part 1 The Gameplay:
Metroid Fusion is a lot more linear and hands on than its predecessors, which personally I find does this game more harm than good. I want to make it clear that this isn't a bad game by any means, the movement is solid, the level design is quite serviceable and it has all the classic metroidvania upgrades we all know and love. In a way the linearity isn't even a horrible thing, if you're new to Metroidvanias I think Zero Mission or Fusion is a great place to start. Can't really get lost when the game goes "HEY! YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO GO HERE!" while locking you to 1 area at a time. But I think that's exactly my problem with Metroid Fusion. The sense of discovery is incredibly hampered when the game quite literally tells you where to go the moment you enter a new area, and the way you can only explore 1 area at a time really limits that feeling of wonder and suspense when you accidentally discover a brand new area to explore and sink your teeth into. In Fusion you know exactly when and where you're suppose to be in order to progress in this game. You always know when you're about to unlock a new area on the map. It takes a lot of the fun of this genre out of it for me. While each area does have a few secrets to discover it just doesn't hit the same as it would in a Metroidvania that's a lot more hands off.
Part 2 The story:
There is a lot of dialogue in this game, which is mostly why I would rather recommend Zero Mission to a new player. To be clear I don't think having dialogue or exposition in a Metroidvania is a bad thing, Sotn and a bunch of other Castlevania games do have cutscenes from time to time but those games know when to just let the player wander around and stumble upon the plot more organically. Metroid's storytelling is at its best when it shows and doesn't tell. Super's sombre environment tells what it needs without ever uttering a word outside of a brief opening. I wish Fusion would have done the same. Instead Samus is accompanied by a computer she names Adam that just won't shut up. I think this hurts the games atmosphere quite a bit. The opening of Fusion sets the stage well enough that the player should be able to piece together the dangers of the x-virus and of the wrecked and abandoned space centre/lab where the game takes place. The x-virus takes control of Samus' old power suit and the feeling of loneliness and despair as you're hunted down by essentially yourself this game could have had would have been incredible. And at times it does nail that feeling perfectly but it's offset by Adam the computer. Samus isn't really alone, for 90% of the game she's accompanied by a computer that will throw exposition at her and tell her where her objective lies. At the end from what I remember the computer finally gets shut down but the dies been cast. At that stage of the game Adam has already done enough damage to this game's sense of exploration and atmosphere for the brief moments where he goes offline to really feel impactful. At least for me.
Part 1 The Gameplay:
Metroid Fusion is a lot more linear and hands on than its predecessors, which personally I find does this game more harm than good. I want to make it clear that this isn't a bad game by any means, the movement is solid, the level design is quite serviceable and it has all the classic metroidvania upgrades we all know and love. In a way the linearity isn't even a horrible thing, if you're new to Metroidvanias I think Zero Mission or Fusion is a great place to start. Can't really get lost when the game goes "HEY! YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO GO HERE!" while locking you to 1 area at a time. But I think that's exactly my problem with Metroid Fusion. The sense of discovery is incredibly hampered when the game quite literally tells you where to go the moment you enter a new area, and the way you can only explore 1 area at a time really limits that feeling of wonder and suspense when you accidentally discover a brand new area to explore and sink your teeth into. In Fusion you know exactly when and where you're suppose to be in order to progress in this game. You always know when you're about to unlock a new area on the map. It takes a lot of the fun of this genre out of it for me. While each area does have a few secrets to discover it just doesn't hit the same as it would in a Metroidvania that's a lot more hands off.
Part 2 The story:
There is a lot of dialogue in this game, which is mostly why I would rather recommend Zero Mission to a new player. To be clear I don't think having dialogue or exposition in a Metroidvania is a bad thing, Sotn and a bunch of other Castlevania games do have cutscenes from time to time but those games know when to just let the player wander around and stumble upon the plot more organically. Metroid's storytelling is at its best when it shows and doesn't tell. Super's sombre environment tells what it needs without ever uttering a word outside of a brief opening. I wish Fusion would have done the same. Instead Samus is accompanied by a computer she names Adam that just won't shut up. I think this hurts the games atmosphere quite a bit. The opening of Fusion sets the stage well enough that the player should be able to piece together the dangers of the x-virus and of the wrecked and abandoned space centre/lab where the game takes place. The x-virus takes control of Samus' old power suit and the feeling of loneliness and despair as you're hunted down by essentially yourself this game could have had would have been incredible. And at times it does nail that feeling perfectly but it's offset by Adam the computer. Samus isn't really alone, for 90% of the game she's accompanied by a computer that will throw exposition at her and tell her where her objective lies. At the end from what I remember the computer finally gets shut down but the dies been cast. At that stage of the game Adam has already done enough damage to this game's sense of exploration and atmosphere for the brief moments where he goes offline to really feel impactful. At least for me.