5/5 ★ – crimson2877's review of Metroid II: Return of Samus.

yeah that's right i beat another metroid game this one's the original metroid 2 i played it's fanmade remake a few weeks ago the original (this one) is clunky, often annoying, and consistently frustrating it's my favorite 2d metroid though????????????????????????????? like it's got this this *atmosphere* more than usual in metroid, WHICH IS SAYING A LOT. rather than beefy heroic songs, most of the soundtrack is atonal sound effects, something to the tune of water dripping from stalactites in a cave, which.. makes sense. your jump echoes coldly against the walls too. even when songs come in, they seem... wrong, somehow. all jumbled and anxious instead of triumphant. it's Very affecting. on top of that, this game has THEMES isolation and fucking genocide well maybe hunting is the more accurate term but god damn it feels like murder if you don't know the plot of this game, basically samus goes to the metroid homeworld to kill them all all of them there's 40 left and you kill each one, all alone, deep beneath the surface of a hostile planet. it doesn't feel scary, per se. it doesn't feel actioney either. it just feels fucking horrid and uncomfortable. like squirming in your seat uncomfortable. now, me saying this is my favorite metroid shouldn't be misconstrued. it's the least fun to play and the most frustrating outside of the original, but the monotone graphics kind of level it with that original as far as enjoyment goes. what i mostly mean is that it feels like the one that tries the hardest to say something. super metroid plays better and is structured better. zero mission plays *perfectly* and is just pleasant. fusion goes for similar themes, but pairs them with the gba's power and ability to display prose, and controls that are nearly as perfect as zero mission's. it's Not the best one, and that's not particularly arguable. Nor is it even the "best" version of metroid 2! AM2R (the fan remake) is a n even MORE perfect gameplay refinement of zero mission, and expands the aesthetic of this game to match aa typical metroid experience. And then Samus Returns, the official remake, feels like a brand new game (well, it is a brand new game, it just uses metroid 2 as a basis). Despite all this, the original version of metroid 2 feels special, somehow. More considered, maybe. Everything here seems designed to make you feel alone and monstrous. Both remakes (especially SR) lean on the more heroic side of metroid when they're at a loss, rather than letting you stew in what you're doing. And even fusion, a definite spiritual successor to this one, in tone and themes and atmosphere, despite also being a sequel don't even GET me started on that, falls short in focus compared to this one. All the other metroid games feel like action movies. This one feels like an art movie, the kind that's supposed to get under your skin and make you want to leave, but you're still glued to your seat. It's hard to explain, but none of the other games affected me like this. Also if you take a crack at it please pull up a map and abuse the fuck out of save states, otherwise you'll hate it for sure. Why am I not taking a half star off the score for that? Idk, it just doesn't feel right. Anyways yeah give it a try but don't expect to like it as much as me my brain is in sleep mode all the time gn