Overall 9 Graphics 6.5 Sound 5 Addictive 7.5 Story 8 Depth 7.5 Difficulty 7.5
7.4
Metriod II - Return of Samus Review Zircron Swift
The Metriod series always seems to give the fullest sense that you are on another planet, finding new life forms that are trying to kill/eat you, or very rarely just finding new life forms. It was the closest to the real thing. It was almost like the film "Alien", only you could see the alien in the first place....and they were easier to kill....and you have a life support suit which you could heal on energy pellets that were dropped by enemies....not to mention finding new weapons which are used to open doors.....yep, quite a bit different to the film. So what exactly makes them so good? Get your power suit on, and lets go to a new planet as we look at The Return of Samus.
The story follows the first game. Space Pirates found a new life form called "Metriods", which is kind of like RedRum, only see though. What's RedRum? I have no idea. Something that attacks your head or something. You go to the planet Zebes and foil their plans for the Space Pirates to use the Metriods for their own purposes, remember? Now the Galactic Federation sent teams to SR388 (catchy....what was so wrong with calling it a name like "Zebes"?) , but none have returned. They sent you personally, Samus Aran, to go to SR388 and kill the rest of the metriods so the Space Pirates don't try the same plan twice. Just repeating the same plan would totally screw us over. Now go!
*ahem* Now, at the time, when the first game came out, everyone though Samus was a man. "Isn't he?" I hear you ask? Well, when you die, you notice that you are in fact a lady! This shocked many people at the time. Now we have that cleared out of the way, lets continue. You start your game on the surface of SR388 by your ship. You then go down below the surface and the exploring begins. The Metroid series is praised for having the ability to explore around a completely new planet. But half the time, I have no idea were to go! The first parts are easy, get the ball power up, sneak through the small gap, and continue.....how on earth....er...I mean, how on SR388 can she fit into that small ball? It just doesn't seem possible. the ball is smaller than she is, even if she curled up into a ball....
After a while, you'll find a fork in the road, then a fork in that road, then a couple more forks on those roads, and then finally a dead end. You then back track to the last fork in hopes that you are going the wrong way. If I found the right way, I would continue, and then get lost. If I find all the dead ends, then at least I explored every nook and cranny there is, and maybe a power up or two. You come across these creatures called Metriods that will try to kill/eat you. As you get further, the more they mutate. If your not careful, you can get lost and miss a few Metriods along the way. You need to kill these things to get deeper into SR388. There's this acidic water that eats at you when your in it. Killing a certain amount of Metriods will lower the water line with an earthquake.
You can get power-ups such as the famed "missile", the ball bombs, the ice beam,the skrew attack, and many more. You can even get capsules that increase your life (this is a life saver for sure. I can't stress how amazing it is to have more life in this game, they are even kind enough to have little balls of light around the place that heal you completely ^^) and missile packs, to hold more missiles. Some doors only open when you use a certain beam on them, or missiles (you need to press select to use a missile, by the way). The game offers save points at certain points of the game. You stand on them, and you save. Simple. It even saves how much health you have left. That's nice of them ^^ The enemies are quite creepy. There are Metriods, plants, things I can't even describe are out there. They got blades for wings and move in a diamond pattern. You also get these platforms that rise and fall after a while. When you get a decent distance in the game, it takes "search every nook and cranny" to the next level. You will seriously search every were and every place.
The music is a little plain. But it's music that sets the mood. It's atmospheric music. I think it does the job well, and kinda makes you flinch when you meet a Metriod and the music suddenly changes. Although not the scariest, it certainly it a great feeling to meet something that wants to kill you when you have been wandering aimlessly for the past hour. I confess, this is one of the very few games I have played, but never completed. It's not that it's too hard, I can deal with hard. It's just that I have no idea were to go. Yes, I have looked up a map of SR388, and it didn't help at all. the problem was I didn't know were the hell I was. I couldn't find my way back to my ship, I was lost, marooned, with nothing but a pot noodle with me....and I didn't want to start again.
Overall, I give it a 7.4/10 The graphics were pretty good at the time compared to other Game Boy games, and the music was not that bad, if a little annoying after a while. The game play is great, the controls are fluid and smooth, but the fact that you need to go forward, then forcing to go back because you missed something makes a very boring game after hours of aimless wandering. At first, the game was awesome. If you plan on playing this game, then make sure you know were you are, you'll need it.
Graphics 8 Sound 6 Addictive 7 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 10-24-11
Review Replies: 4
7.5
A Good Sequel Austin Winter
Metroid II: The Return of Samus is the sequel to the first Metroid game, simply titled, "Metroid".
While this game may not be the cream of the crop in the Metroid franchise, it surely added on to the first game. In this sequel, Samus can (along with her old abilities) aim downward, as well as up, left, and right.
The graphics on this game are nowhere near the most beautiful, and indeed may cause confusion when traversing the map since all the areas are the same looking. Otherwise, the game is very addictive and enjoyable. The graphics are in black and white because this is the first Metroid game released on gameboy, yet there are rom hacks that allow the game to be played in color (found elsewhere on the site, for example Metroid 2, Metroid II DX, etc.).
The sounds are decent for a game of its time. while some of the soundtracks and noises are piercingly high frequency, they only add to the atmosphere. The beginning of the game opens up with a pretty melodic theme song. I honestly don't understand why it wasn't praised along with the other Metroid soundtracks.
The game is very addictive in terms of not wanting to put the thing down. As you run through the caverns of a metroid infested planet, committing mass genocide on an alien race has never been so much fun. On the down side, after a few hours of gameplay, you might get lost. This causes a ton of stress in finding your way around. Otherwise, this game has a lot of fun to be had.
The story begins directly after the events of the first game chronologically, while it actually follows the prime games in the cannon story line. Samus is sent to planet SR388, home of the metroid species, to eradicate them permanently. As it turns out, the metroids have now evolved. Your mission is to destroy the constantly evolving metroids as they grow bigger and more powerful. This game is actually the first metroid game to end with a setup to the next game, along with a fully developed story. Metroid 1 had a story, but it wasn't until the internet that people really began to notice the connection between the games.
Metroid II has a fan made remake in the works, and can be played free online. The project has been on and off for years but is currently in progress again. The idea was to replicate the remake of the first Metroid game onto the second. Although it is fun, this game will always be a classic. It is still fun to this current day and age and I have beaten it more than plenty times. I highly recommend this game to any nostalgia gamer. Yet another great installment into the Metroid series despite its flaws. I give Metroid II: Return of Samus a 7.5 rating. Overall a very enjoyable game.
Graphics 5 Sound 4 Addictive 8 Story 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3.5/5
Submitted: 04-16-15
Updated: 04-16-15
Review Replies: 3