--Mission briefing, Metroid: Samus Returns
Metroid: Samus Returns is a thrilling revamp of Metroid II: Return of Samus, a game that resurrects the traditional side-scrolling style of initial franchise installments while bringing in very modern gameplay elements. It is a very intelligent update that renovates everything from the graphics to the combat system to the cinematics to the weaponry. And it is executed brilliantly.
Unfortunately, this review will likely be one of my two final reviews of 3DS games with screenshots included, because the Miiverse application on the 3DS that allowed for this function closed earlier this week. The last 3DS game review after this to be accompanied by screenshots, unless I find stored screenshots for another game, will be Majora's Mask 3D. I can still use screenshots for future PS Vita and PS4 game reviews, though.
Production Values
Colorful graphics, a very smooth and consistent frame rate, and very fluid animations all contribute to the game having high aesthetic qualities fitting to the Metroid universe. This may be the most attractive game I have ever played on the 3DS platform! The colors are vibrant and sharp, the visuals detailed, and the environments quite varied as players progress.
The cinematic aspects are executed very well and provide a welcome aesthetic variety, whether it's watching Samus physically grapple with a large enemy near the end of the game or viewing part of an iconic scene through her visor, reminiscent of Metroid Prime. Although the gameplay itself is fixed to a 2.5D plane, the cinematics allow for other perspectives. Samus Returns is far more cinematic than its original Game Boy version, which had no touch screen, 3D effects, color, or depth. This remake is definitely a successful update from a technological perspective.
Samus Returns actually brings back a lot of elements from Metroid Prime--sound effects, elevator travel animations, and music, at the very least. The soundtrack reaches into nostalgia to resurrect some classic Metroid tunes, including the Magmoor Caverns music from Metroid Prime. By the way, the North American (US?) special edition, which I purchased, comes with a bonus CD containing iconic soundtrack pieces from throughout the series. This is included for an approximately 10 dollar increase in price. Fans that want more Metroid soundtrack pieces should purchase this edition!
Gameplay
First, I want to praise how efficient the controls and movements in this game are. Samus has never been this agile and flexible in a side-scrolling Metroid game before! Holding the left shoulder trigger button locks Samus in place, at which point players can use the slidepad to aim Samus' shooting arm in any direction at all. This provides previously unattainable accuracy and drastically minimizes having to turn around and back up to make preferred shots. It's a brilliant addition. Likewise, the combat is also enhanced by the new ability to use melee attacks to deflect oncoming enemy strikes and stun them--an effective fusion of Samus' acrobatic physicality from Metroid: Other M and the classic 2D/2.5D Metroid plane. This can feature quite extensively in boss fights, where you can inflict massive amounts of damage up close with the ice beam or super missiles.
Another new addition to the gameplay is the set of "Aeion" abilities Samus accesses. Aeion abilities are a series of powers that accomplish feats like exposing new areas of the map or creating an electrified energy field around Samus. They can drastically reduce the difficulty of certain areas!
The touch screen manages the switching of weaponry, beeping and making noise when metroids are nearby. Players can place markers on the map to remind themselves to revisit old areas with new abilities, which can prove extremely useful for completionists who want a 100% item collection rate. As with other side-scrolling Metroid games, completing the game within certain timeframes leads to different shots of Samus in the "See you next mission!" screen after the credits. Although collected items don't factor into what ending is achieved (though they do unlock images), the items definitely make it easier to overpower enemies and thus make it easier to complete the game more quickly. At the bottom of the review you can see the endings I received.
Story
Metroid chronology:
1. Metroid/Metroid: Zero Mission (NES/GBA)
2. Metroid Prime (GameCube)
3. Metroid Prime Hunters (DS)
4. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube)
5. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
6. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (3DS)
7. Metroid II: Return of Samus/Metroid: Samus Returns (Game Boy/3DS)
8. Super Metroid (SNES)
9. Metroid: Other M (Wii)
10. Metroid Fusion (GBA)
(SPOILERS BELOW)
After defeating Mother Brain and the Space Pirates in the original Metroid game, bounty hunter Samus Aran travels to the planet SR388 to kill a species of creatures known as metroids, organisms that can leech the life force from their targets. She is commissioned with this task by the interplanetary group called the Galactic Federation. The Federation worries about the danger the metroids pose to the galaxy, especially in light of foiled Space Pirate attempts to replicate the creatures.
Samus lands on SR388 to find a population of 40 detected metroids living on the planet. As she kills them, she uses their DNA to unlock Chozo seals, the Chozo being a race of intelligent, bipedal, humanoid bird-like beings that once had a presence on SR388, just as they once did on Tallon IV, Elysia, and other planets from the series. This process enables her to travel further into the planet's subterranean world.
After exterminating a great deal of the metroids and fighting off many native life forms, Samus obtains many suit and weaponry functions, yet a metroid presence remains. She finds and kills the queen metroid, but then stumbles upon a metroid egg as it hatches. The baby is spared by Samus and does not attack her, bonding with her because she is the first thing it sees. It helps her overpower her old nemesis Ridley, a dragon-like creature that attempts to stop her from leaving the planet in her gunship, and Samus takes the baby with her.
There is a post-credits scene, just as there was one in Metroid Prime: Federation Force; it shows what happens on SR388 in the aftermath of Samus' extermination of all but one metroid on the planet. An X parasite (a member of a species heavily featured in Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance) floats around, attacks a creature, struggles with it, and changes the creature's appearance as it infects it. These parasites are the natural prey of metroids, and with the metroids gone no predators exist that keep them in check.
Perhaps Nintendo will soon release a Metroid Fusion remake? A Super Metroid remake even, since that game shows the fate of the baby metroid?
Intellectual Content
There are plenty of collectibles and hidden areas to discover, but an Aeion ability can allow for players to do what no Metroid game allows them to do before: "cheat" by learning of item locations without using the Internet or natural exploration. If you don't use that power to identity the location of power-ups and items, you can still obtain them the traditional way. Since there are so many items, a player could be kept occupied with this aspect of the game alone for hours, as some of them are hidden very well. The secrets are still a major part of the gameplay and can induce great satisfaction upon being found.
Because the game is not played in a first-person perspective like the Metroid Prime games, you can't scan your surroundings to dive into a rich background lore. This unfortunately means that, although the post-credits scene hints at larger Metroid universe events, the game's main story does little to develop new lore information.
Conclusion
It took me more than eight hours to complete the game during my first playthrough, but I reduced that time down to under four hours on a subsequent attempt. After all, many Metroid fans may want to play this game more than once. It represents a bold evolution and a return back to the original series formula at the same time. Fans have waited since the early 2000s to receive another side-scrolling Metroid game, with Samus Returns excellently fulfilling that call by reviving and updating a classic from the franchise's beginning. I recommend Samus Returns to anyone who enjoys the style of traditional Metroid games without hesitation! It's one of the most impressive 3DS games of the year.
Content:
1. Violence: For a Metroid game, Samus Returns can be fairly brutal because of the melee attacks. No kill is graphic, though.
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