Written By: Patrick Orquia
TITLE: Metroid: Samus Returns
DEVELOPER: Nintendo, MercurySteam
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
GENRE: metroidvania, action-adventure
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
RELEASE DATE: 15 September 2017
PLATFORM: 3DS system
PRICE: $39.99
Last year, AM2R, or Another Metroid 2 Remake, was released. It was developed by Milton Guasti aka DoctorM64. It was a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus, as the title suggests, with updated graphics, sounds, controls, and other game elements. For years, many fans had been clamouring for a new Metroid game from Nintendo. They wanted a new, proper 2D Metroid game. The last proper 2D Metroid game released on a Nintendo system was Metroid: Zero Mission, in 2004, which was itself also a remake of the first Metroid game released in 1986. In 2007, the last Metroid game to feature Samus Aran, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, was released, and since then Nintendo have not answered with a game to meet the demands of the fans. No, Metroid Prime: Federation Forces, released in 2014, apparently doesn’t count, since it doesn’t feature Samus Aran.
AM2R was hailed by fans as an excellent remake of Metroid II, and who can blame them? Nintendo didn’t want to deliver the goods, so when somebody actually did, the fans were of course delighted. As expected, Nintendo shut down the project. It’s theirs, anyway, so if there is anyone who should be releasing a Metroid game, it should be them.
Fast forward to this year’s E3 event. Nintendo announced that a new Metroid game, Metroid Prime 4, is now currently in development. I have yet to play the Metroid Prime games so I’m not really that excited. Their next announcement was what really captured my attention: a new 2D Metroid game! Metroid: Samus Returns was announced and… it’s a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus… so that’s why they shut down AM2R! But, this is Nintendo, it’s their IP, and if some indie developer can create an awesome remake, so can they. And it is awesome.
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| What a difference of 26 years can do |
Metroid: Samus Returns is not just a remake of Metroid II, it’s also a re-imagining of the game. For all intents and purposes, this is a new 2D Metroid game, since all aspect of the original game, aside from the story, have been overhauled from the ground up. The character design, sounds, level design, map layout, power-ups, enemies, and musical score have been updated. I have played (and failed to finish) Metroid 2 and I can see very little semblance of that game on this new one. AM2R is probably closer to the original, but I like this new game better.
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| So sexy in 3D |
Same with the original, this game features Samus Aran, a bounty hunter, who is sent by the Galactic Federation to go to SR388, the home planet of the metroids. Her task is to exterminate the species once and for all. Like in previous games, Samus has to traverse interconnected caverns and fight enemies along the way. Among these enemies are 40 metroids, in varying stages of evolution. The first few ones are the simple, jellyfish-like kind, with simple attack and move patterns. As the game progresses and Samus goes deeper into the planet, she encounters more complex metroids that are harder to kill and can hit harder. Samus needs to kill these metroids to acquire their DNA sample to activate Chozo Seals that act as gates that close off new areas that she needs to reach in order to progress in the game. Aside from the metroids, there are also some mini-bosses that Samus needs to beat. To help her in her quest, she needs to acquire upgrades and abilities, either from the usual Chozo statues or by defeating mini-bosses. Some parts on the map are closed off to Samus at the start, either being unreachable or behind some blocks that require specific weapons to break, but as she gets new upgrades and abilities, she will then be able to access these parts. Most of these closed off parts contain weapon upgrades, like upgrade to the number of bombs that Samus can carry, additional energy tanks, or aeion energy bar upgrade.
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| Samus now has more ways to kick alien asses! |
There a few additions in the game that are new to the series. One is the use of aeion abilities that Samus can perform. These abilities can allow Samus to scan the map to reveal new areas (Scan Pulse), allow her to activate a protective shield (Lightning Armor), allow her to fire in rapid succession (Beam Burst), and allow her to slow down time (Phase Drift). These abilities consume aeion energy and are unlocked one by one as she progresses through the game. Another new addition is the melee counter. With this, Samus can pre-emptively block an incoming attack of an enemy, stun it, and fire back. And to fire at enemies, Samus can now do 360-degree free aiming for more accurate shooting, instead of the usual up, down, and diagonal aiming from the previous titles. Aside from these new features, the Charge Beam, Grapple Beam, Super Missiles, Gravity Suit, and Power Bombs which were absent from Metroid II, can be acquired in the game. Energy and Ammo stations are situated in different locations in the map to allow Samus to renew her energy and ammo, respectively. Save stations are also present in the game, with additional checkpoints.
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| The trouchscreen displays the map constantly, making getting lost a chore |
Another additional feature in the game is the use of teleport station that allows Samus to visit different areas on the map that she has previously reached. This alleviates the need for extensive backtracking done in previous games. Elevators, absent in the original, are also in the game.
While purists may complain that the use of the Scan Pulse aeion ability (which doesn’t only reveal parts of the map but also which blocks can be bombed to access secret areas and the location of power-ups) and teleport stations make the game much easier compared to previous Metroid games, I can say personally that these are welcome additions. The game itself, even with these new features, is not an easy game to play. For one, the enemies are now more aggressive, as they will attack Samus when they see her on first sight, and thus the need for the melee counter. Another is the metroids are much harder to kill this time around. They don’t just hover around and predictably attack Samus like in the original game, they can now also shoot fire or electrical charges, quickly lunge at Samus, and do other attacks that will keep any player on their toes. The map is also much, much bigger than the orginal. While the original can be finished in 3-5 hours on normal playthrough, this game could take 10-15 hours, and more so if the player decides to collect everything. For me, the new features makes this game a completionist’s dream game, as all locations of power-ups and upgrades are marked in the map, and it is up to the player on how to get them. No need to blast or fire at random walls or blocks to find hidden power-ups. Colored pins, like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, can be used to mark areas of interests on the map, which the player can look up to later and get back to once they get the needed ability to access them.
The Scan Pulse aeion ability is not required to be used, so if the player chooses to not use it, the game gets much more challenging, as there is no other way to reveal portions of the map other than navigating through it. This should make the purists happy as well.
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| Guess who's back, back again? Samus is back, tell a friend! |
Overall, this game is one of the best Metroid games ever made and definitely one of the best games to come to the 3DS system. The 3DS has been around for more than 6 years and a lot of people is now expecting Nintendo to stop publishing games for the console soon because the Switch, a hybrid console, is now making waves and Nintendo is expected to set all its attention gradually to developing and publishing games for it. But while we still have games getting published for the 3DS, we should be thankful that Nintendo, even if it is already this late in the console’s lifetime, still released this awesome game. This is one fine game that every 3DS owners should play, whether they are a fan of the Metroid franchise or not. Indeed, Samus has returned.
REPLAY VALUE: very high
PROS:
- Amazing reimagining of the GameBoy original, with so much added features that this is really much more of a new game than a remake
- The visuals looks great, and the stereoscopic 3D is used very well
- Awesome soundtrack, composed of remixed music from different Metroid games in the past, not just those from Metroid II
- Good variety of enemies and bosses
- Very challenging even on normal difficulty
- Beating the game once unlocks the hard difficulty
- The game supports amiibo, and the new Samus Returns amiibo unlocks Fusion mode, which is an even harder difficulty
CONS:
- Starting a new game on hard mode or higher difficulty is only allowed on the save file where the game is beaten. It is not allowed on a new separate save file. That means if you want to have separate save files for different difficulties (the game provides 3 separate save slots), you will need to beat the game at least once per save file. Which is really not a bad thing, because that means more play time! Though, it would have been better if beating the game once on any save file unlocks the hard mode for good for all the other slots.
RATING: 5/5 Morph Balls
//Originally published on Cowntsikin
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