LogFAQs > #932438736

#55





Years of release: 2016 (PC)
Beaten?: No, but I should've

Oh, man. How embarrassing is it for Nintendo that this game exists? You know it has to be really annoying for them, given that they came out with Samus Returns a few year later, and I could almost swear it's SOLELY to spite AM2R. Maybe they already had the idea to do it before AM2R but I kind of doubt it. I haven't played Samus Returns yet, maybe it's good! But regardless, when I think of the definitive Metroid 2 remake, I always think of this first. I'll probably never think of Samus Returns first.

I really like the original Metroid 2, despite the fact that is somewhat maligned as a black sheep of the family. It's a little bit annoying to play, with a claustrophobically-zoomed in camera and a non-euclidean map space resulting in really having no idea where the fuck you are at any given time, but damn if I don't love the eerie, creepy atmosphere this old game boy game has. I unironically love the soundtrack to Metroid 2, which mostly consists of the catchy overworld theme, the incredibly bizarre chozo ruins theme, and a lot of weird sound effect ambiance by the same guy who brought you Wario Land 4. But it's definitely a game that could really use a proper remake, in the style of Zero Mission for Metroid 1. It's a game that aged even more poorly than Metroid 1 did (I love Metroid 1 by the way) and a fresh coat of paint and a modernization of style could do it some good.

And so, AM2R did. I absolutely love projects like this that are just a singular person's vision, put together as a labor of love, and given how long AM2R was in development it must have been a labor indeed. It was worth it - the care that went into making this really shines in every aspect. You really couldn't tell it's not an official Metroid game; if there's anything that gives it away, I don't know what it is. Samus looks and controls exactly as she does in Zero Mission and the like, and all the enemies and tilesets look like they're straight out of something Nintendo would make, if not better. It's pretty much exactly what you want, and that's why it must be annoying for Nintendo - I don't think anything they even could make would top this.

I've been saying for a while now that Nintendo should hire people like AM2R's dev and just outsource their franchises to them on the cheap. There's clearly still hunger for classic revivals of old Nintendo games, and it would have made a lot of sense for AM2R to basically be released as an official product. This way Nintendo doesn't have to worry about appeasing fans of their legacy franchises every few years. God, just throw the F-Zero franchise to the people who made Fast Racing NEO or something, poor F-Zero fans really need a break. At least we are getting some Metroid games out of Nintendo every five years or so - who knows when Metroid Prime 4 will come out - but for me nothing beats a classic Metroid like this one.