Metroid Fusion journal - entry one

Man, I need to stop and take a breath a moment… phew. Alright, so I just started up Metroid Fusion today, as it’s on loan from a friend of mine. Fusion is one of the few remaining Metroid games I have never played before, but I’ve heard only great things about it since its original release around the same time as Prime in the early 2000s. Prime was my first trek into the Metroid series, and quickly rose the ranks as one of my all-time favorite games. I played through the Prime sequels as they were released in subsequent years, and even took a crack at both the original Metroid and its Zero Mission remake, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed (though the latter was host to tighter controls and thus proved far more forgiving). But Super Metroid – the purported crown jewel of the series – eluded me for nearly a decade after I first played Prime. It was just by happenstance that I was browsing the Wii Virtual Console library and opted to spend some leftover points I had gotten as a Christmas stocking stuffer on the SNES classic.

For those who don’t know, I never owned a Super Nintendo console. I also knew hardly anyone that owned one until about the time I entered middle school. Every one of the neighbor kids ran either SEGA Genesis or PC games, and all of my friends were stocking up their libraries for the recently-released N64 by the time I was first getting into the video game scene. While I have played a decent number of SNES games today, most of my lengthy expeditions have been via Virtual Console, not the physical system itself (I know - ‘shun the outcast’, and all that). My standards for games have long been compared to my own first console love, the N64, and while The Legend of Zelda is bar none my favorite gaming saga of all time, I wasn’t really won over with A Link to the Past – certainly I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t anything revolutionary in my eyes when pitted against Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, the Oracle games, Skyward Sword, or even Wind Waker. Knowing that Super Metroid was frequently cited as one of the best games on the SNES, and even as one of the greatest games of all time, I was skeptical going into it, to say the least.

Fast forward past the playthrough of Super Metroid, my written review of it, and the couple of months that have passed between then and today. As it currently stands, Prime is still my favorite Metroid game, but Super is a close second. However, Fusion is proving to be a hell of a contender, and I’m not even an hour into the game yet. It runs on the same engine as Super, though Fusion looks (understandably) better due to the graphical advancements in the decade between the release of their respective native systems. It’s essentially a sleeker, streamlined take on the Super Metroid formula – which is not to say that Super Metroid had much in the way of fat that needed to be cut. But somehow, it works without Fusion feeling like a shell of Super’s glory.

Farming has long been the means of replenishing Samus’ health and missile count, but here it operates differently. Instead of shooting small Geemers and Shriekbats in hopes that they will drop the health/ammo you’re after, every enemy you dispatch ejects a single X Parasite sample, which Samus can walk into to help replenish her stock. Orange X Parasites are for health, green are for missiles, and the odd red ones cover both fronts. While this could present the possibility for the game being too lenient, Fusion in fact retains the difficulty factor of Super Metroid (and then some), offering up boss fights that all consist of two phases – the boss itself, and then a larger Parasite carrying Samus’ next upgrade. As for the standard orange and green X Parasites, should Samus not collect them after they manifest, they have the potential to latch onto nearby enemies and boost their abilities, pitting Samus against tougher foes in a matter of seconds. With any other Metroid title, I might think the chance to obtain three energy tanks and eighty missiles this early in would be overkill. But with Fusion, it feels like just the right amount.

The space station’s layout is much more intelligent from the perspective of this being a handheld game as well. Whereas Super Metroid, Zero Mission, and the Prime games required you to travel through one area to reach another (i.e. – go though Norfair to get to Ridley), each sector in Metroid Fusion is its own distinct region, and only connects to the main hub. None of these areas are exactly huge, either. Sure, there’s plenty to explore and they are all very aesthetically pleasing. But I can already tell that backtracking for further expansions is going to be significantly less of a hassle than in some of the other Metroid titles.

It’s incredibly rare that a game will win me over with so much so early, but Metroid Fusion seems to be pulling all the right punches a just the right times. The bosses are interesting and fun, though certainly challenging. The atmosphere is a perfect blend of creepy suspense and sci-fi adventure. The soundtrack and art style hold a great balance of ‘something old, something new’. This game is off to an awesome start, and while I can’t believe I waited this long to properly experience it, I’m not going to worry about pacing myself with the experience. If I blow through this game in just a few days, at least I expect to have a hell of a time doing so.

25 Days of Christmas - #18: Metroid: Zero Mission

The original Metroid was released in Japan in 1986, and hit the United States one year later. The planet of Zebes was full of life, with creatures large and small sprawling over the planet’s interior. Each area was distinctly different, and housed a tough boss character. Heroine Samus Aran’s gender was kept a secret until the conclusion of the game, shocking many gamers. After the success of the first game, the original girl of gaming headed for the Metroid home planet in Metroid II: Return of Samus. It was the first game in the series to be released on a handheld, and proved to be quite popular. And in 1994, Super Metroid was released, boasting better graphics, a darker mood, and some of the most challenging boss battles in the entire series.

Twelve years passed. Samus made a brief appearance in Super Smash Bros., and there were rumors of a Metroid title for the N64, but no such game was released. Then in 2002 Nintendo released Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion, two Metroid titles that drastically changed the way the series was played. Using the same basic engine as Metroid Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission followed two years later. Zero Mission was both a remake and a re-imagining of the original Metroid game. The graphics were significantly updated and the soundtrack given a cleaner sound due to the capabilities of the Gameboy Advance.



Zero Mission brought back the three most famous villains in all of Metroid history: Kraid, Ridley, and Mother Brain. Their boss fights were changed slightly, as their attacks were now more varied. These villains even received their own cutscenes from time to time, which expanded on their story – something that confused some gamers in the original Metroid. An extended ending was also included, which showed Samus destroying the space pirate mothership after defeating Mother Brain. Players controlled Samus in her zero suit for the first time, and while the controls remained the same, Samus' defensive and offensive capabilities were altered greatly. Because of this, players were required to be more stealthy in the presence of space pirate patrols. The new ending focused heavily on the space pirates, helping to bridge the gap to their story in the Metroid Prime titles.

The game flowed more smoothly, even in the smallest of ways. No longer were load-ins for each individual area present. Granted, they were very short in the original game, but in Zero Mission they were nonexistent. Three separate save files were included, as well as two difficulty settings. Two image galleries could be unlocked, one upon completing the game multiple times with different criteria, and the other by linking Zero Mission to Metroid Fusion. As if Nintendo hadn’t managed to pack enough material into a single cartridge already, the original Metroid was included, completely unaltered from its initial NES release.

Some critics of the series complain about the cast being so small (with the exception of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption). But the story of Metroid is about Samus' growth. Her initial intent is to seek revenge upon the space pirates for destroying her home, killing her parents, and taking away any chance she may have had at a childhood. In Zero Mission, Samus is no-holds barred against the space pirates, as they have now defaced her adopted home planet of Zebes and turned everything the Chozo people worked for towards their own sinister purposes. Samus matures over the course of the game, and the desolation she experiences is both physically and metaphorically appropriate.



Zero Mission is one of few gaming remakes that is arguably better than the original. While it can never replace the first Metroid, Zero Mission took the mechanics of its predecessors and fine-tuned them. Its cutscenes were rendered beautifully and its graphics finely polished. It may not have been as difficult as the original, but then again it was nowhere near as frustrating either. Zero Mission provided some of the best handheld gaming in years, and showed just how well a series can age.