This review is based off a complete playthrough with 100% of items collected. However, as a Metroid game, it still falls short of earlier releases. A great deal of effort clearly went into making this game work and bringing SR388 to life once again. Overall, despite all these faults, I found the game enjoyable throughout. Obviously, I am elated that we have a new functionally 2D Metroid game again but for all the craftsmanship on show within Samus Returns, it feels like a game out of time and broadly unnecessary. As a result, Samus Returns is a game that doesn’t really need to exist. While I loved Metroid: Zero Mission, I felt that was more than enough. My only hope though is that Nintendo will stop with these remakes of 2D Metroid games after this one. It is a very competent Metroid game and definitely a huge improvement over games like Metroid: Other M. This is not to say this is a bad game, far from it. The fact it has had to cater to the structure and elements of Metroid II has ultimately hampered what could have been something truly remarkable. This is not to say that Metroid II was not without its flaws but Samus Returns should have been treated as a new and separate installment in its own right. However, as someone that played the original Metroid II a huge amount, this remake feels off in quite a few distinct ways. A lot of the music also harks back to classic Metroid games and that in itself is something I definitely appreciate. The game itself is well crafted though and it is visually sumptuous for a 3DS game. Not to mention that there is a nod to the events in Metroid Fusion and the X Parasites but it really feels out of place and unnecessary here. In Samus Returns, the Chozo presence is ubiquitous and the various narrative unlocks in the front-end again dispel much of the mystery that the original game had. While in Metroid II the Chozo aspect was there, SR388 was definitely more of a strange alien world that only had a few Chozo smatterings tucked away. In a narrative sense, Samus Returns is also a lot more overt with its Chozo related back-story than the original game. There are also all-new boss fights and these were refreshingly technical with it. Some interesting new additions are the combo with using a Spider Balled Samus with a Power Bomb allowing you to reach previously inaccessible places and the usage of the baby Metroid to obtain new power-ups later on in the game. The level design is nicely done though and the treasure hunt aspect is still present and correct. The various stages of Metroid evolution are reproduced very faithfully. There is also a Fusion Mode unlock, which is effectively an Extra Hard mode, available after you complete the main game. The former show how closely the team on Samus Returns followed the work of Metroid II and that is great to see. Talking of Amiibo, upon completing the game you also unlock concept art galleries and music. While I don’t think this affects your completion rate, having these reserve tanks separate from in-game progression does feel odd. While I found it useful, especially as it lists your item collection percentage for each area, you do lose a lot of the mystery from the original game when you don’t have to mentally map your own progress.Ĭollecting items is still as compelling though but three additional reserve tanks for Energy, Aeion abilities and Missiles can only be unlocked via compatible Amiibo. The latter is probably the biggest transgression from Metroid II, as Samus Returns uses a map setup like in the later Metroid games. The Aeion abilities are a big departure here, which allows you to do things like slow down time, equip energy armor, boost your weapons and scan the nearby area. It's an odd choice and one that feels like it was made to make the Metroid fights artificially more difficult. One odd thing here is that while beam stacking is back again, the Ice Beam is somehow separate from your main weapon. Again, while Samus Returns is meant to be set around the time of Metroid II, the game feels like something post- Metroid Fusion a lot of the time. What’s more, Samus doesn’t just end up with the Varia Suit this time around but gets the Gravity Suit that was first introduced in Super Metroid. It feels closer to a Contra game than Metroid in places, especially with the new Aeion abilities. The melee counter is also not the only thing that feels out of place, as Samus just generally moves and shoots a lot faster now. What used to be more of a game based around shooting skills and evasion, boils down to quick time type events with suitably unnecessary cinematic leanings. For a 3DS game, 'Samus Returns' looks visually sumptuous.
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