Review #574: Metroid - Samus Returns

 She's back... and it's SO good.

 While I LOVE the Metroidvania genre, I've never been much fond of Metroid. I tried the original and Super Metroid, but never got too invested into them, and while I finished Fusion... it's a game I never touched again, lastly, Metroid - Other M was the first game I reviewed on this blog, earning a miserable 5 out of 10. Unrelated to that, I've also mused about how the 3DS was lacking a system seller, a game that made it worth it to own a 3DS. I think I just found it.

 Samus Returns is a remake of Metroid 2 on the Gameboy. I never played the original, so I can't say how faithful it is, but it does follow the same story thread: Samus must annihilate the last Metroids. The story is so simple that it sounds straight out of the Gameboy game, and after the initital cutscene detailing the backstory you get thrown into the game, and barring boss introduction and a few other seconds-long mini-cutscenes, there's no story whatsoever. After Fusion and Other M's misguided attempts at a in-depth plot, this is refreshingly good. This is a game that's 95% percent game and 5% watching, and it's exactly what you want on a handheld game.

 In case you've been living under a rock, this is how Metroid works: Played entirely in 2-D, albeit with 3-D graphics, you, as Samus, get to explore a hostile environment filled with obstacles that you may not be able to clear on the first go: Ledges far up beyond reach, doors you can't open, obstacles you can't destroy. But as you explore you'll come across new powers, such as morphing into a ball, shooting missiles, grappling beam, ice beams, etc that will allow you to reach new areas and clear previous obstacles. World design is not as intricate as Castlevania, so while the game is divided into 8 areas, you never need to backtrack to a previous in order to progress through the game... although why wouldn't you? Increasing your missile ammo supplies and maximum health are always welcome. As effective as Samus' default, infinite ammo, arm cannon is, some enemies and bosses require missiles to defeat.... at least until you find her beam upgrades.

 If you've played a Metroid game before, you've already seen most of what Samus will be able to do by the end of the game. The Screwattack, Ice beam, missiles and super missiles, power bomb, spider-ball, grappling beam... everything is here and accounted for, even Samus' upgraded suits are things you've already seen. That said, there are four new 'aeons', power ups that consume an energy gauge, that are entirely new to the series. Scan lets you scan a large area of the map, revealing any power up and breakable wall around you, Armor lets you traverse poisonous roads, Burst that lets Samus shoot so fast even armored enemies will fall to her assault and, lastly, Phase Shift, that slows down time. Honestly? The Scan is the best thing that ever happened to the game, I always found it ridiculous how you had to shoot seemingly innocuous walls in order to find secrets. And if you hate it, you can simply opt not to ever use the Scan. Your loss.

 There is a new ability, and Samus comes equipped with it right from the start, the Counter. By tapping X as a charging enemy is about to hit you, Samus will counter attack and automatically aim at it, for an easy kill. This also works on bosses, although in order to deal massive damage instead of instantly killing them, and it's one of the most effective ways to take them out. Speaking of bosses, while the final three are quite entertaining, and somewhat challenging fights, the rest of the 'bosses' come in the form of three repeated Metroid designs that you have to fight over and over again, 30 times as a matter of fact. It makes sense in-game, since Samus is tracking down the Metroids and there's no reason all of them should look different from one another, but bosses lose a bit of their punch when you already know what you're about to face. Which is probably what makes those three bosses stand out so much from the rest. Lastly, while you could always hold L in order to aim in all eight directions, now you can aim in all 360 degrees, which is more useful than it sounds and allows for some neat strategies.

 What may take a few players by surprise is how massively big the game can be. While speed running is still encouraged, a 100% playthrough of the game took me about 11 hours. Although I could've shaved at least an hour by not backtracking so often in order to search for goodies and simply wait until I had Samus fully decked out. Enemies deal large amounts of damage, so if you're not careful you will find yourself dying more often than not. Bosses have checkpoints before and after each fight, so it's not sadistic in that way... even if Save spots can be few and far between.

 Besides repeated bosses, there're a few other kinks in the game. For instance, gating content behind Amiibo, while a few act as glorified cheats, the Metroid Amiibo is the only way to access Fusion Mode, which grants Samus her Fusion suit and the entire Mode which changes how the game plays a bit. Nintendo, stop, you're better than this. The controls can have a bit of getting used to, for instance, after you get the Ice Beam, you'll be stuck swapping between it and your normal beam in order to access some areas, since the Ice Beam deals no damage but you need it in order to create platforms out of enemies. Thankfully, as soon as you get the Spin-Jump module you'll be able to forget about the Ice beam... at least until you find pure Metroids. Missiles can also be a point of contention, holding R button to use missiles is a mainstay by now, but swapping between Missiles and Super Missiles is done by tapping on the touchscreen... at least they selected until you die.

 Metroid - Samus Returns is not perfect, but it's damn close to it. If you enjoy Metroidvania's, there's a lot of ground to cover here and secrets to find, so much so that you'll surprise yourself backtracking often in order to collect stuff you left behind. And if you can't be bothered to go out of your way, that's just fine too, as the core gameplay is fun enough so as not to become a tedious affair, considering how long the game is.
 9.0 out of 10