digibutter.nerr

[Fancy Wario]

After Super Metroid, the Metroid series was dormant for a while: eight years, to be exact. Then again, there didn't seem to be any more room for a Metroid sequel anyway; the last game had left off with the Metroid species extinct for good now. The lifetime of the Nintendo 64 came and went without a single Metroid installment, and all hope seemed lost.

But then, in 2002, two more Metroid games came out.

The first was Metroid Prime, the series' leap into 3D, and arguably one of the finest games of all time. The second was the long-awaited sequel to Super Metroid, a 2D Metroid game by the name of Metroid Fusion.

Right from the offset, it's easy to tell that this game is much more plot-driven than the others (with the exception of Metroid Prime 3, which wouldn't come for another five years). The game opens with Samus accompanying a research squad on the planet SR388, the previous home planet of Metroids which, in Metroid II: Return of Samus, had been purged of the infestation. It doesn't take long before Samus is attacked by a mysterious being: an X Parasite. It becomes apparent that Metroids had, in fact, been created by the Chozo in order to stop the spread of this terrifying organism. When the Metroids, the X's natural predators, had been exterminated, the X were free to multiply without anything stopping them.

The X are able to kill an organism and copy its DNA. Samus, being infected with it, is given a minimal chance of survival...until she is given DNA from the infant Metroid that she had saved in Metroid II. At this point, the X in her body are eliminated, but they had already infected parts of her Power Suit, which are sent to the BSL for investigation. Not much time passes before the station is overrun by the X, and, more importantly...an X mimicking Samus herself at full power, called the SA-X.

The plot deals with Samus attempting to overcome the X, but, as it goes on, also deals with a certain former CO, a strict computer, and a certain corrupt government. The game ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it all the more infuriating that we still haven't gotten Metroid 5. The plot is the best one to date, even beating out Metroid Prime 3...but just barely.

The gameplay is a mixed bag. Samus has most of her moves from Super Metroid, including the Spin Jump, Screw Attack, etc., as well as a few new toys, such as Ice Missiles and Diffusion Missiles. However, certain moves, such as the wall jump, have been nerfed more than a bit to prevent sequence breaking. In fact, there's only one possible sequence break in the game, which was deliberately programmed into it. This is rather unfortunate; the 2D Metroid games' replayability depends on being able to try and do things out of order.

In addition, the game is notably more linear; you almost always know exactly where to go, and there's no option to turn the "hint" system off. The game gets a bit better with this later on, but it's too close to the end of the game to save it. Plus, you don't even have the OPTION of heading to other areas until you complete the objective; the game locks the door leading to the elevator, which is especially infuriating.

The music...meh. In most cases, the tunes that are unique to each section are dull, and you'll often find music repeating throughout sections. "Meh" is really the only way to summarize it. It's not terrible, but...

The graphics are extremely vibrant and colorful, which is a real shame; if the whole game hadn't taken place on a space station, the environments could have looked amazing. The areas in the game are a mixture of organic and machine components. Some of this works well, such as the jungle area, but others...not so much.

However, the atmosphere certainly doesn't suffer. Early in the game, you learn of an X that's copying Samus at her full power: the SA-X. It's invincible until the very end of the game. However, at many points before this, you WILL encounter it. These moments are extremely tense, especially if you have the misfortune of it seeing you; not only is it capable of freezing you, but it can utterly murder you in just a few shots of its arm cannon. At one point, in fact, you have no choice but to run past it; this is possibly the most exhilarating moments in the game, period; it chasing after you, and you running for your life, trying to open doors and get through obstacles as fast as you can...it's great.

While the game definitely isn't the greatest Metroid game there is, it is a solid addition to the series, and I look forward to the continuation, if there is one (PLEASE, Nintendo?). If you can get past the linearity, the game is rather fun.

FINAL VERDICT: 84/100

[Pure-???]

very nice job. *claps*