Metroid 2 is a bold sequel. One which looks at the design aspects of Metroid and hones them into a consistent thematic vision. The original Metroid was defined by two main design aspects its nonlinear design and its bleak alien atmosphere. Metroid 2 looks at the limitations of both 8-bit hardware, the game boy, and the portable nature of handhelds, and decides to scrap much of the non-linear design to focus on the story and atmosphere. In this change of focus Metroid 2 becomes one of the most uncomfortable and narratively ambitious Metroid games, with perhaps only Prime 2 reaching that same level of success, while also offering numerous gameplay tweaks to Metroid which make it a far better game.
Metroid 2 directly follows Metroid, discounting any retcons created by Prime, where Samus is tasked with traveling to the Metroid home world of SR388 to kill every living Metroid. This premise is like that of the original game, a set number of alien baddies must be killed to progress: Rildey and Kraid in Metroid and 39 metroids in Metroid 2. Metroid 2 differentiates itself from Metroid in how this goal is accomplished. In Metroid Samus can tackle Kraid and Ridley in any order once she acquires the bombs, while in Metroid 2 Samus must kill every metroid in each area before traveling to the next. The entrance to each now area is covered by a mysterious lava that lowers every time the predetermined number of metroids are killed. This linearity sacrifices the unique design of Metroid, but in return gains a far more consistent difficulty curve and environmental theming.
Metroid 2 ditches the duplicated and surreal rooms of its predecessor in favor of more centralized and realistic ruin environments. Almost every major area is designed around a centralized building whose many floors contain many of the upgrades found throughout the adventure while the caves dotted outside the building house most of the metroids. This new design on a gameplay front makes the lack of a map far more palatable, as you only must memorize small chunks of the map at a time and the areas are more distinct. This design also serves a far greater story function. As you travel to each deeper area each building shows a darker and darker aspect of the chozo: from a temple, to a water treatment area, to a robotics center, a weapons tower, and finally the labs where the metroids were born.
Other aspects of Metroid have also been altered to serve a narrative role. The red doors once used as progression gating to force Samus to grab missiles still exist, but as Samus starts with missiles do not serve a progression purpose. Instead, they are lore entities used to protect Chozo technology from metroids. The few item ruins with broken red doors are in shambles due to Metroid attack. In general Metroid 2 loves to mess with the play with strange set pieces. The spider ball is found in a ruined item room that has collapsed into a pit, the Varia suit is found not on a chozo statue but behind it in some storage room with many empty item shells, and the spring is found in an optional boss who activates the second you shoot the chozo item ball. The game also plays around with its own rules. Metroids are all found near their husks but in area 4 a metroid is found spontaneously in a hall with the husk right behind it. In every area the lava lowers after a set number of metroids are killed, but in one area the lava rises.
Atmosphere wise Metroid 2 is decrepit and distributing in a way that is only enhanced by the hardware. The small screen size leaves the player with low visibility, while the 8-bit graphics make everything seem far nastier than future Metroid games. To save memory less and less enemies spawn in the lower areas of the game, which makes the times when difficult enemies show up even more frightening. Crawling throughout a dark empty pit is far scarier than the action filled rooms of future games.
All of this comes together to tell a dual story: one of the Chozo’s own violence leading to their death, while Samus continues a violent quest to genocide an alien race. As the player sees the sins of the Chozo they may make the connection with Samus’s own quest. The ending of the game further continues this theme. When Samus finally reaches the Queen Metroid she isn’t chasing the player down or planning some evil scheme; she is instead backed in a corner screaming and lashing out at Samus’s aggression (there is in fact an exit out of the fight you don’t have to kill her). Once the queen is finally killed in a surprisingly gruesome death animation Samus walks into in the next room to find that the queen was simply defending her last child. When the baby finally hatches Samus betrays her orders to kill all metroids and spares the baby in an act of mercy. Positioning Samus as a far more complex hero then her contemporaries. In a game all about killing Samus finally realizes the error of her ways and chooses an option unheard of in games at the time, mercy. This concept has been revisited in many future games, but with a heavier story which can make the theme feel forced. In Metroid 2 the story telling is subtle; a player can the play the game and never see a glimpse of a wiser story or they can understand what is happening. As games increasingly try to layer on the emotions and story it is only Metroid 2 which has made me cry and feel bad about my actions. Maybe I am just weird, or maybe less truly is more.
In stark contrast to Metroid which ends with a tense count down Metroid 2 ends with a slow atmospheric climb back to your ship: baby metroid in tow. A soothing theme plays showing Samus’s strength as character while a player is left to reflect on their journey and the choices they made. An ending that still to this day is subversive to the Metroid series. A glimmer of optimism to end a depressing journey. This final tone would be later used by the excellent Metroid Prime 2 to great effect.
Metroid 2 is a sequel which looks at its own limitations and uses them to craft an experience which expands on the story and environmental aspects of the original. Its own sequel Super Metroid would later use the power of the SNES to instead realize the gameplay aspects of Metroid. Considering how the last 4 Metroid games have been mediocre to bad action focused games it is unlikely a Metroid game will reach the story telling heights of 2. Especially since Nintendo has replaced Metroid 2 in the cannon with the awful Samus Returns and that fans have dethroned Metroid 2 in favor of the mediocre fangame AM2R. The days of horror themed Metroid games like 2, Fusion, and Prime 2 may be gone, but even in the darkest times a little optimism for the future doesn’t hurt.
Metroid 2 directly follows Metroid, discounting any retcons created by Prime, where Samus is tasked with traveling to the Metroid home world of SR388 to kill every living Metroid. This premise is like that of the original game, a set number of alien baddies must be killed to progress: Rildey and Kraid in Metroid and 39 metroids in Metroid 2. Metroid 2 differentiates itself from Metroid in how this goal is accomplished. In Metroid Samus can tackle Kraid and Ridley in any order once she acquires the bombs, while in Metroid 2 Samus must kill every metroid in each area before traveling to the next. The entrance to each now area is covered by a mysterious lava that lowers every time the predetermined number of metroids are killed. This linearity sacrifices the unique design of Metroid, but in return gains a far more consistent difficulty curve and environmental theming.
Metroid 2 ditches the duplicated and surreal rooms of its predecessor in favor of more centralized and realistic ruin environments. Almost every major area is designed around a centralized building whose many floors contain many of the upgrades found throughout the adventure while the caves dotted outside the building house most of the metroids. This new design on a gameplay front makes the lack of a map far more palatable, as you only must memorize small chunks of the map at a time and the areas are more distinct. This design also serves a far greater story function. As you travel to each deeper area each building shows a darker and darker aspect of the chozo: from a temple, to a water treatment area, to a robotics center, a weapons tower, and finally the labs where the metroids were born.
Other aspects of Metroid have also been altered to serve a narrative role. The red doors once used as progression gating to force Samus to grab missiles still exist, but as Samus starts with missiles do not serve a progression purpose. Instead, they are lore entities used to protect Chozo technology from metroids. The few item ruins with broken red doors are in shambles due to Metroid attack. In general Metroid 2 loves to mess with the play with strange set pieces. The spider ball is found in a ruined item room that has collapsed into a pit, the Varia suit is found not on a chozo statue but behind it in some storage room with many empty item shells, and the spring is found in an optional boss who activates the second you shoot the chozo item ball. The game also plays around with its own rules. Metroids are all found near their husks but in area 4 a metroid is found spontaneously in a hall with the husk right behind it. In every area the lava lowers after a set number of metroids are killed, but in one area the lava rises.
Atmosphere wise Metroid 2 is decrepit and distributing in a way that is only enhanced by the hardware. The small screen size leaves the player with low visibility, while the 8-bit graphics make everything seem far nastier than future Metroid games. To save memory less and less enemies spawn in the lower areas of the game, which makes the times when difficult enemies show up even more frightening. Crawling throughout a dark empty pit is far scarier than the action filled rooms of future games.
All of this comes together to tell a dual story: one of the Chozo’s own violence leading to their death, while Samus continues a violent quest to genocide an alien race. As the player sees the sins of the Chozo they may make the connection with Samus’s own quest. The ending of the game further continues this theme. When Samus finally reaches the Queen Metroid she isn’t chasing the player down or planning some evil scheme; she is instead backed in a corner screaming and lashing out at Samus’s aggression (there is in fact an exit out of the fight you don’t have to kill her). Once the queen is finally killed in a surprisingly gruesome death animation Samus walks into in the next room to find that the queen was simply defending her last child. When the baby finally hatches Samus betrays her orders to kill all metroids and spares the baby in an act of mercy. Positioning Samus as a far more complex hero then her contemporaries. In a game all about killing Samus finally realizes the error of her ways and chooses an option unheard of in games at the time, mercy. This concept has been revisited in many future games, but with a heavier story which can make the theme feel forced. In Metroid 2 the story telling is subtle; a player can the play the game and never see a glimpse of a wiser story or they can understand what is happening. As games increasingly try to layer on the emotions and story it is only Metroid 2 which has made me cry and feel bad about my actions. Maybe I am just weird, or maybe less truly is more.
In stark contrast to Metroid which ends with a tense count down Metroid 2 ends with a slow atmospheric climb back to your ship: baby metroid in tow. A soothing theme plays showing Samus’s strength as character while a player is left to reflect on their journey and the choices they made. An ending that still to this day is subversive to the Metroid series. A glimmer of optimism to end a depressing journey. This final tone would be later used by the excellent Metroid Prime 2 to great effect.
Metroid 2 is a sequel which looks at its own limitations and uses them to craft an experience which expands on the story and environmental aspects of the original. Its own sequel Super Metroid would later use the power of the SNES to instead realize the gameplay aspects of Metroid. Considering how the last 4 Metroid games have been mediocre to bad action focused games it is unlikely a Metroid game will reach the story telling heights of 2. Especially since Nintendo has replaced Metroid 2 in the cannon with the awful Samus Returns and that fans have dethroned Metroid 2 in favor of the mediocre fangame AM2R. The days of horror themed Metroid games like 2, Fusion, and Prime 2 may be gone, but even in the darkest times a little optimism for the future doesn’t hurt.
Mickey
1 year ago