The second entry in the Metroid franchise is one of the more interesting game to come out of Nintendo in the early 90s. Typically speaking, the best Gameboy games were scaled back significantly from their counterparts, yet Metroid II takes an opposite approach, refining a lot of the significant flaws present in the original and converting most of it's best ideas into better ones. The largest barriers to enjoying this game are still the same as prior; that being the lack of a map feature and the sparse visual differentiation. Metroid II fights the further complications of lacking a color pallet and having Samus lord over a much higher percentage of screen real estate. It's efforts to combat this are to make a far more linear experience with much clearer goals toward progression. Areas rarely branch off in confusing ways and significant portions of the map are blocked off by a deadly acid to ensure you stay on track. More than anything, Metroid II is a game which relishes in the concept of depth. You fight some of the weaker Metroids closer to the surface, but as you go deeper into the core of the planet, the Metroids become more confined and more powerful. It all culminates in a relatively empty final area where the true dangers of this species are laid bare right before you eliminate the Metroid Queen and the younger Metroids surrounding her. A lot can be said about how well Metroid II presents it's story and it's atmosphere, and it is especially impressive given that this is, in fact, a Gameboy game from 1991. I don't know that many games had taken such an artistic approach at this point, but Metroid II was an honest effort at creating something far more engaging than what initially appears on the surface. The final sequence of guiding the hatched baby Metroid to your ship as a somber tune plays in the background will forever be etched into my brain. It's a shame the game's flaws make it a chore to play, but this game would eventually receive an upgrade deserving of celebration, despite Nintendo's desires for it to be erased. 3/6