Metroid Fusion was one of the last good-I mean the last Metroid game canonically, so far anyway. This is also one of the very few games that linked to the Gamecube. This came out two years before Zero Mission, but the engine is the same so there is virtually no difference gameplay-wise. I've seen some mixed opinions to the game also. Which I'll add my own comments to when the time comes. But for now...Samus is a bit more funny looking this time around isn't she? I wonder what's up with that...

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics to this game are actually pretty good! Although I can't think of many examples where there aren't good graphics on the GBA. The backgrounds have nice attention to detail, and they aren't recolored and reused as often as in Zero Mission. Which is something I highly appreciate. The cutscenes and artwork are also really good. They have a spectacular amount of detail in each piece of artwork used. It's actually my favorite out of all the Metroid games in this regard. Samus herself has a lot of detail in her sprites. The Fusion suit is organic. And the yellow parts of her new suit pulsate and move around a lot. I just found it interesting.
A lot of the sprites for enemies are very detailed. I always love that! They are all very different from each other. And there aren't many instances of recolored, yet stronger enemies. There are a few of them, but not as much as Zero Mission did. Which strangely enough, ripped quite a few sprites from this game. The only thing I'd call ugly in this game are the X-Parasites. They just feel like something someone edited into the game. Kinda like a bad special effect. They really stick out, and don't feel like they really belong in the game.

Sound: 9/10

The sounds are really nice here. Almost all of the background music is catchy, and memorable. Each location has it's own theme, and so do certain situations too. I really liked the music here. All the music has notes to it that make you feel that something's off. And it gives you a weird, creepy vibe. Like you're being watched, or followed, or both! And I loved it!
There's even, wait for it...A bit of voice acting?! Yes, there is! But only in two different parts of the game. But it's in shockingly good quality. I was seriously caught off guard when it first happened.
Sound effects sound alright also. Like the rest of the sounds and music, it's all unique, and pretty well done. Although honestly there's not much more to say about them. Especially since the one you'll be hearing the most is "Pew pew pew". Or maybe the siren noises when your health is really low...

Addictiveness: 7/10

This game is pretty addicting! It's really fun to play, and feels satisfying to find out how to progress. Like with Zero Mission, Super Metroid, and other games. Your clear time and item collection percent give you different end screens. They don't add much to the story, or change the ending. But they are nice little rewards, I guess. But going through this game I could hardly stop! I just wanted to get to one more objective, or right after I find another save room. And I'm sure anyone else who's played it could back me up on this game's intense addictiveness.

Story: 8/10

The story here is pretty interesting. It diveates from "You're sent to shoot Metroids. Oh yeah, in the ruins of your home world. Oh yeah, the people behind the Metroids are space pirates. Oh, and did I mention they killed your family?"
Here the story takes place after all of the others so far. Here, Samus is hired by the Federation to escort some troops on Zebes' surface. During this Samus catches a strange bug. Or should I say, she kills a beast, which turns into an X-Parasite latches onto her. It starts to kill her hours later. The Federation saves her by injecting Metroid DNA into her system. Which...made her Power Suit go all funky too. Most of her old suit was surgically removed, and was locked in quarantine. Her, and her new power suit (Lovingly provided by our faceless Federation) are now part Metroid, basically. And with this comes a few weaknesses, and potential for new abilities for our Bounty Hunter. But the X-Parasite which infected Samus and her suit has gotten free. And now the whole research ship is in danger! Good thing the only thing X-Parasites truly fear is Metroids eh?

It's a story that deviates a bit from the formula of "Samus goes to a planet, kills everything, then goes home". But this story doesn't leave you guessing as often as other games. It's like a mixture of  Prime's story heavy games, and the unspoken "all in the manual" type of not totally dwelling on the story of the earlier games.
And for those of you who think Samus was only given a personality (albiet a terrible one) in Other M, you should look to this game. Samus actually has a fair bit of dialogue. Not as much for a game involving her talking directly to others, or giving internal commentary. But it's an example that Other M would have greatly benefited from following.

Depth: 6/10

Like most Metroid games. There's a lot of hidden items. They're everywhere! Although the area you're in is pretty small in comparison to Super Metroid, or Zero Mission. It's a almost disappointingly small. It's still a pretty big game. It's just that this game could have been bigger. Another thing about this is it's pretty linear for a Metroid game. Sure you can explore. But good luck sequence breaking. And you can only unlock certain doors, and you're even prevented from entering areas you shouldn't be in. But there are still a lot of collectible goodies. Just...You're only allowed to explore only so much of the ship at a time. It's just like...a mini Metroid game in terms of depth. Which when you think about it is still pretty deep.

Difficulty: 7/10

The controls in this game are really simple to figure out. It just feels satisfying to shoot down baddies with the responsive and tight controls. But that's where the easy ends. It may be just be my lack of skills, but I died a LOT. Like, everything seems to hurt a lot more than it should. While in other games, upgrading your suits reduced damage taken. This is not the case here, sadly. But you do get more energy tanks here than in others. Although this leads to a higher base health, your defense isn't all that great.
The bosses in this game aren't TOO bad, but it does take a bit to learn what you're supposed to do with each of them. And with how much damage they put out, expect to have your suit fall apart about 8 times before you end up beating them.It's simple once you learn what you need to do. It just takes some time getting there. Overall, this game is pretty difficult, but NOT impossible.

Overall, this is a really good game! And to top it all off, the main selling point is in fact, NOT a soccer minigame. This game is one of my favorite Metroid games. With a story I really wish that Nintendo would continue, but that probably won't happen. This is lesser known gem of the GBA. Any Metroid fan would like it. It's all the same action, platforming, and exploration of older games. But just...not as big. And anyone new to the Metroid series may be a bit confused by a few bits of the game. But they will still have fun regardless, I'm sure.

Overall I rate this game 9/10

This is a really good review.


I remember playing this game a while back but I didn't really get to finish it because I was caught up on some other stuff. But reading your review made me want to play it again.

Although I do agree Samus's suit looks funky. It fits in with the story how she is a lot more vulnerable to enemies because the X-Parasite infected it.

So again great review.

I remember you telling me about a character on smash bros samus was it? You said you play as that character a lot is this where samus was originated from? Apart from the odd questions this is a great review. I am not able to read up to 1000 words for some reason, but you kept me going. Normally I would fall asleep due by it. It isn't as if I do it on purpose it just happens. I'll try and read more of your reviews user.

That was one excellent review! It was well-structured, you gave ample details (without spoiling, as this game seems to have a different story line as you pointed out) and, most importantly, you compared it to previous Metroid games. Keep them coming!