Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid II: Return of Samus | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Ryoji Yoshitomi | | |
Series | Metroid | |
Platform(s) | Game Boy | |
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Action-adventure | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Like the original Metroid released in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Metroid II was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The game introduced several features that became staples of the series, including Samus's round-shouldered Varia Suit, Space Jump, Spazer Beam and Spider Ball.
Metroid II received positive reviews, with praise for its story, setting, and improved gameplay, but was criticized for its graphics and audio. By late 2003, it had sold 1.72 million copies worldwide. It was rereleased on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service in 2011 and on the Nintendo Switch Online service in February 2023. A sequel, Super Metroid, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. A remake of Metroid II, Metroid: Samus Returns, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017.
Gameplay
Metroid II is an action-adventure
The game features two weapons new to the Metroid series: the tri-splitting Spazer Laser Beam, and the Plasma Beam, which passes through enemies when shot. Samus can only equip one beam at a time; however, she can switch between them by returning to where they are first found. Metroid II features the Space Jump, a new suit enhancement that allows Samus to jump infinitely and access otherwise unreachable areas. The game also sees the return of Samus' Morph Ball, a mode in which she curls up into a ball to travel through small tunnels. In addition, the game is the first in the series to feature the Spider Ball and Spring Ball. The Spider Ball allows Samus to climb most walls or ceilings, giving her freedom to explore both the surfaces and ceilings of caverns, and the Spring Ball gives Samus the ability to jump while curled up into a ball in the Morph Ball form.[7][9]
Plot
Metroid | |||
Story chronology | |||
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Main series in bold, remakes in parentheses | |||
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[10][11] | |||
In the events of the first Metroid, bounty hunter Samus Aran foiled the
While exploring the planet, Samus encounters Metroids and destroys them, slowly decreasing the planet's Metroid population. During her mission, she notices the mutations that each creature exhibits: the Metroids grow from small jellyfish-like creatures into large, hovering, lizard-like beasts. After destroying most of the planet's Metroids, Samus kills the Queen Metroid.[13]
Samus proceeds to return to her gunship through the planet's tunnels. Along the way, she finds a Metroid egg. A Metroid hatchling floats out of the broken shell and imprints onto Samus, thinking that she is its mother. Unable to commit to her mission of extermination, Samus spares its life. She exits the tunnels while the Metroid helps clear the way. Reaching the planet's surface, Samus and the infant Metroid board the gunship together.[13]
Development
Metroid II was developed by
The
Release
Metroid II was released in North America in November 1991.
Remakes
An unofficial
An official remake of Metroid II, Metroid: Samus Returns, was developed by Nintendo and MercurySteam and released for the Nintendo 3DS on September 15, 2017.[37][38]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | 7/10[5] |
Entertainment Weekly | A+[41] |
Although considered by a few critics to be the weakest game in the franchise and not as well received as the Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart,[7] Metroid II still received generally favorable reviews.[3] Upon the game's release, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave it a 25 out of 40 score.[22] Because Metroid II has a single large level instead of multiple small ones, Tim Jones of IGN found the game a "refreshing departure from the norm", which made him feel claustrophobic the further into the game he ventured. He praised Metroid II's replay value, considering its non-linearity as the primary reason for this.[40] In their retrospective video on the Metroid series, GameTrailers believed that the game still maintained the high standards set by its predecessor and noted that it also introduced new methods of exploration to the series that have become staples.[7]
Marcel Van Duyn of
Van Duyn praised Metroid II's visual detail, writing that the foregrounds and the enemies are detailed so players can identify them easily.[5] Jones considered the graphics average, and noted that the walls appeared mostly the same, which confuses players when wandering through identical tunnels.[40] Aside from Samus, Parish complained of the visuals, describing the environment as bland and repetitive, full of monotonous rocks and sand with few details to differentiate the various areas, and enemies as simple and boxy. Parish also found the music "downright painful", which he contrasted with the "moody, atmospheric compositions" the series was known for.[39] Van Duyn similarly commented that the music is the only negative point in the game, and said that the ambient sounds tend to get annoying after hearing them frequently.[5] In contrast, Jones highlighted the music positively, stating that the lack of aesthetic detail boosts the game's distinctive atmosphere, and the music playing at the right times. Jones was also pleased with its sound effects.[40]
In September 1997, 12 Nintendo Power staff members voted in a list for the top 100 games of all time.[42] The magazine placed Metroid II at 34th place on their list of top 100 games of all time.[43] In their Top 200 Games list, Nintendo Power also ranked the game as the 85th best game on a Nintendo console,[44] and Videogames.com included it in their list of the best Game Boy games.[45] Nintendo Power listed it as the 12th-best Game Boy/Game Boy Color video game, praising it for introducing several staple abilities to the series.[46] Game Informer's Ben Reeves called it the ninth best Game Boy game and noted that it polarized fans.[47]
Sequel
Super Metroid, the third installment of the Metroid series, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. The game's story takes place after the events of Metroid II, and follows Samus as she travels to planet Zebes in an attempt to retrieve an infant Metroid stolen by Ridley.[48] Metroid director Yoshio Sakamoto said at the 2010 Game Developers Conference that he was "very moved" by the ending of Metroid II, which motivated him to create Super Metroid.[49]
Notes
References
- ^ . Level/area: Nintendo Chronicle.
Game Boy — 11/1991 Metroid II: Return of Samus
- ^ a b "Game Boy (original) Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon March 15, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ Nintendo of America, Inc.1991. pp. 11–12. DMG-ME-USA-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Van Duyn, Marcel (November 25, 2011). "Review: Metroid II: Return of Samus (Game Boy)". NintendoLife. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- Nintendo of America, Inc.1991. p. 9. DMG-ME-USA-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Metroid Retrospective Part 1 (video). GameTrailers. Defy Media. Event occurs at 06:36–11:29. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
- Nintendo of America, Inc.1991. p. 10. DMG-ME-USA-2.
- Nintendo of America, Inc.1991. pp. 15–22. DMG-ME-USA-2.
- ^ Quick, William Antonio (June 23, 2021). "Every Metroid Game In Chronological Order". TheGamer. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (August 5, 2015). "Page 2 | "I was quite surprised by the backlash": Kensuke Tanabe on Metroid Prime Federation Force". VG247. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
First off, [Yoshio] Sakamoto is behind the main series, taking care of all of that, the timeline. I'm in charge of the Prime series. I had the conversation with him to decide where exactly would be a good spot for me to stick the Prime universe into that whole timeline and the best place would be between Metroid II and Super Metroid. As you know, there are multiple titles in the Metroid Prime series, but everything takes place in that very specific point. Metroid Series go down the line, but with the Prime Universe, we have to stretch sideways to expand it as much as we can in that specific spot.
- Nintendo of America, Inc.1991. pp. 3–6. DMG-ME-USA-2.
- ^ Nintendo of America, Inc.April 18, 1994. p. 4. SNS-RI-USA.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, Rus (August 24, 2007). "IGN Presents The History of Metroid". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
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- ^ a b Kent, Steven L. (May 5, 1994). "Inside Moves -- When You Have To Come Inside, You Can Jam With The NBA, Play Ball With Ken Griffey Jr. Or Fight Evil Metroids With The Hot, New Video Games". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ^ Sakamoto, Yoshio; Osawa, Toru; Kiyotake, Hiroji (August 6, 2004). やればやるほどディスクシステムインタビュー(前編). Nintendo Dream (Interview) (in Japanese). No. 118. Mainichi Communications Inc. pp. 96–103.
- GamesRadar. Future plc. p. 2. Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
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- ^ ゲームボーイ (in Japanese). Nintendo. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e メトロイドII まとめ [ゲームボーイ]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ 2004 CESA Games White Paper (Report). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. December 31, 2003. pp. 58–63.
- ^ Elston, Brett (August 17, 2011). "Metroid II, Mario Land 2, Mega Man and more coming to 3DS eShop this year". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ Bivens, Danny (September 28, 2011). "Japan eShop Round-Up (09/28/2011)". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- ^ Newton, James (November 24, 2011). "Nintendo Download: 24th November 2011 (North America)". NintendoLife. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- ^ Newton, James (November 21, 2011). "Metroid II Returns to 3DS VC in Europe This Thursday". NintendoLife. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c Caron, Frank (March 19, 2008). "Not just Another Metroid 2 Remake". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ^ Castle, Matthew (February 16, 2012). "Metroid II: Return of Samus… returns! We meet the man out to reboot Samus' Game Boy adventure". Nintendo Gamer. Future plc. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ Fahey, Mike (August 6, 2016). "Brilliant Fan Remake Of Metroid II Arrives Just In Time". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ O'Connor, James (August 8, 2016). "This Metroid 2 fan remake celebrates Metroid's 30th anniversary". VG247. Videogaming247 Ltd. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (August 8, 2016). "Metroid 2 fan remake finally released, quickly hit with copyright claims". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (August 8, 2016). "Metroid 2 fan remake pleases fans, but not Nintendo". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ Machkovech, Sam (August 7, 2016). "Fan-made Metroid 2 remake celebrates series' 30th year before Nintendo does". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
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- ^ Pereira, Chris (June 13, 2017). "E3 2017: Metroid 2 Remake Samus Returns Announced For 3DS". GameSpot. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ Byford, Sam (June 13, 2017). "Nintendo brings back 2D Metroid with Samus Returns for 3DS". The Verge. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ 1Up.com. IGN. Archived from the originalon May 29, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
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- ^ Strauss, Bob (February 28, 1992). "The latest videogames". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "100 Best Games of All Time". Nintendo Power. Vol. 100. September 1997. p. 88.
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- from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
Sakamoto: I came in again after Metroid II came out, so that was the sort of environment that I came into. I think I may have discussed a little bit in my GDC speech how I was very moved by the last scene in Metroid II, and that stimulus became my motivation and inspiration in creating Super Metroid.
External links
- Official Nintendo Japan Metroid II: Return of Samus website (in Japanese)
- Metroid II at IGN
- Metroid II at the Metroid Database