Metroid II: Return of Samus Review

Metroid II: Return of Samus was originally released on the Nintendo Game Boy back in 1992 and now will be arriving on the 3DS Virtual console, it is probably the least popular Metroid title; but does that mean it is bad?  

Metroid II: Return of Samus takes place not long after the original NES title (which was recently released on 3DS via the ambassador program) and sees galactic bounty hunter Samus Aran travel to the Metroid home planet of SR388, set task by the Galactic Federation to hunt down and exterminate every last Metroid to stop the Space Pirates plans to utilize their powers to use them as weapons.  

Being the second game was only the second game in the Metroid series so unsurprisingly controls very similarly to the NES Metroid. You control Samus Aran and her arm canon using the d-pad while exploring the depths of the planet, discovering more and more power ups and abilities as you go, which in turn allows you to progress to even more new areas. There are a few twists though that make Metroid II stand out uniquely from the rest of the franchise, for example you are equipped with a ‘Metroid Detector’ which is a counter that displays in the corner of the screen to show you how many Metroids are left to exterminate. Exterminating Metroids is the only way in which you can progress the caverns of the planet which is another difference from what you would be used to from other Metroid titles. SR388 is one huge area and there is little back tracking when compared to the original or Super Metroid, this time you will come across pits of lava that blocks off the deeper depths of the planet, these pits will only drain once you exterminate every Metroid in the section you are currently in. 

The Metroid species you find along the way will not all be familiar either; you will discover that there is a whole evolution chain of the creatures across the planet, each with its own slight differences. Alpha Metroids are the weakest type Samus will come across and are no match for her missiles, next are the Gamma Metroids which are larger and will withstand more missiles, Zeta Metroids are the fourth evolution and infinitely more annoying than its previous forms, they are not only faster and capable of taking more hits, but also shoot projectiles at Samus and are invulnerable to hits from below! Luckily you will only come across three of them. The final form that most Metroid evolve into  is the Omega Metroid, similar to the Zetas they can only be hit from the sides but this time they are slower and therefore deal huge amounts of damage with each attack. 

Fans of the series will defiantly enjoy the game and seeing many of the roots of elements that debuted in Metroid II that have gone on to become familiar parts of the series, such as the Varia suit design which has a rather logical story behind it. The varia suit in the NES game was a different colour from the power suit so that players could distinguish between the two, but because the Game Boy had a monochrome screen they had to find another way to distinguish the two, hence the shoulder pads on the Varia suit that have featured in every game since. Other staple items also debuted in Metroid II such as the spider ball that allows Samus to scale walls and ceilings in morph ball, the Plasma beam that passes through multiple enemies and the space jump that lets Samus jump continually to reach higher areas than previously accessible. The game also has a built in save system through stations scattered across the game, another first for the series, meaning you won't have to write down long passwords as in the first game to record your progress. 


The only real area that Metroid II falls in comparison to later Metroid titles is through the lack of a map system which does make some parts of the game slightly more challenging since many of the caverns can look identical in black and white. There are numerous of fan made maps available online however and not having an in game map isn't too much of a deal if you take your time to get familiar with each area. 

Details on the 3DS version are currently unknown other than it will be available in Europe before the end of the year, but I personally am interested to see if Nintendo add an option to play the game in colour as you can if you play the cartridge in the Super Game Boy on the SNES or Game Boy Colour and Advance. I always thought this was one of the interesting things about the game, since it had an unique colour scheme when used alongside a Super Game Boy, while still being a monochrome Game Boy game. If I remember correctly this functionality had something to do with the developers of the game also being involved in the work on the Super Game Boy and Game Boy Colour so therefore looked forward and added support for the functionality. 

In conclusion Metroid II: Return of Samus is a must buy to any fan who hasn't played it as it seamlessly manages to retain the high standards of the franchise while adding some new and interesting elements to the formula to mix things up. If you have not played a Metroid game before I would probably suggest looking into the series as Metroid II maybe isn't the best place to begin, although defiantly a title you should play. Newcomers to the series may be better starting at a newer 2D game such as Metroid Zero Mission (a remake of the NES game) or Super Metroid (SNES and Wii Virtual Console) and even Metroid Fusion (part of the 3DS ambassador program later this year) because they will give you a clearer representation of the Metroid franchise and its mechanics as a whole. 

 8/10