Topic: I wanna talk about Metroid 2, dammit!

[TrueNerd]

I'm sure a lot of this is that I haven't picked up Mario 3D Land yet but I feel utterly alone in my initial pilgrimage through Metroid 2.

So despite my superfandom in the Metroid franchise for the last 15 years of life, I have avoided Metroid 2. Mostly cuz I never owned it but probably more so from the terrible word of mouth that has surrounded this game. So here I am, four hours in, ten metroids remaining and I'm loving it.

I believe I'm in the minority, but I think this game holds up much better than the original Metroid, if only because I have played through the game thus far without once checking online for a map. I've seen NWR staffers tweeting about needing a map, but I've yet to have a problem without one. Yes, this is a far more linear affair, but I'd argue that makes it more playable. I would suspect that the suspend play on virtual console makes this game much more friendly as well. Just as a whole, I feel this game does a better job of showcasing the "Metroid progression" that I find eternally compelling.

Obviously it's not perfect. Samus' sprite is too large, the screen feels cramped, there's still copying and pasting of rooms (though far less than the original Metroid), and the production values are lower than any other Metroid. But I'm enjoying it despite these faults.

[UncleBob]

I've always been a big fan of this game.  Haven't picked it up on VC yet, but will.

I've never gotten the complaints about needing a map.  The game is small.  Very small.  A map would kill the game.

[gojira]

Metroid 2 was my first Metroid game.  It totally sparked my love of the series.  When I was a kid I had no problem spending hours looking around the caverns of SR388.  Even when I play today I can still remember where everything is.  So I have no need for a map.  I still love playing through the game today.

[Ian Sane]

I think this is superior to Metroid 1 but the first two Metroid games are just rather dated.  If I crap on it, it's entirely because it's rough around the edges.

The reason for a map is not so much because of the size of the area but rather the lack of color.  Because it's a B&W Game Boy game the different areas don't stand out much.  If you put this game down for a few weeks and pick it up again, you're lost.  Everything looks the same.  A map would really help that.

Metroid: Zero Mission turned out so good that I want the same treatment applied to Metroid II.

[ejamer]

When Metroid 2 was first released, it was incredible. There wasn't anything else like this on Gameboy (or at least, nothing I had seen or experienced). Unfortunately expectations for portable game experiences have changed over time and Metroid 2 feels pretty dated now.


What I liked:
- fun power-ups making their first Metroid appearance, especially Spider Ball
- sense of isolation: ambient noise while exploring with music limited to "boss" encounters
- deep labyrinthine world to explore
- sprites are huge and look great compared to many other Gameboy games


What I didn't like:
- quite short and very linear: not great for repeated play
- oversized sprites mean the view is zoomed in too much to get a good feel of where you are
- the way new areas are unlocked (defeat X metroids; lava drains out of the next area) feels forced


In the end, Metroid 2 is still worth playing. It's easy to see why people still dream of a full remake though -- something similar to the Zero Mission remake (which greatly improved on the original NES game) would be much more exciting than having this classic game re-released "as is".

[Nemo]

I got the cartridge, maybe a year ago. I got lost a lot. If it were in color and if the view were zoomed out more, this game would be wayyyy more playable. Of course, if you  played it when it came out, I'm sure it'd have been great then, and you'd have nostalgia for it now. My nostalgia is for Metroid 1- I know where to go and what to do in that game.

[Mop it up]

I'll talk about Metroid II when they remake it and it's actually playable. Otherwise, all I'd be doing is pointing out the many flaws of the game and how poorly it has aged, and judging from the opening post, this topic is better served from more positive responses.

[ejamer]

It's interesting to hear people say that Metroid 2 isn't playable. It has issues, but being difficult or impossible to play isn't one of them in my opinion. However, part of that might depend on how good you are at visualizing and remembering where you've been in the game. If players don't have the natural ability to quickly and easily create "mental maps" then this game could be a real pain and much less enjoyable - and many people simply don't have that ability or have gotten used to having auto-mapping features in their video games.


It'll be interesting to see what reviews for the game are like. I suspect that for everyone who loves it, there is someone who hates it just as much.

[Mop it up]

I beat the game (and Metroid NES) just so I could say I gave the game a chance. And really, the lack of a map is the least of the game's issues; I grew up with an NES so I'm used to receiving little or no in-game help. I just feel that gaming has progressed so much since the days of the NES and Game Boy that games like this just don't hold up. I suspect that most of the people who like this game either played it back in its time or are a fan of retro games. Neither is the case with me.

[ejamer]

... I just feel that gaming has progressed so much since the days of the NES and Game Boy that games like this just don't hold up. ...

True enough.

I suspect that most of the people who like this game ... are a fan of retro games. ...

Guilty as charged, although I still don't like the game as much as some people do.
 

[TrueNerd]

It is finished. My initial thoughts still hold true, but I will say it is a bit more linear than I would have preferred. Also there wasn't any backtracking through areas you had already gone through to pick up things you missed or unlocking new areas or anything. I love at the end of Super Metroid/Fusion/Zero Mission/etc when you figure out how interconnected all the areas are and you can just sweep through and find all the upgrades you missed out on. That's not in this game. But still, I had a blast going through this game for the first time. And I never once got lost for more than 15 minutes, nor did I ever have the urge to check a map online.

Metroid 2 is now my 2nd most played 3DS game, behind OoT. Again, that will change when I get 3D Land in a week.

[ejamer]

...

Metroid 2 is now my 2nd most played 3DS game, behind OoT. Again, that will change when I get 3D Land in a week.

How long did it take?  It's a pretty short game, so it sounds like you hardly use the 3DS...

[TrueNerd]

My finish time was 5:15, but the 3DS timer clocks it at 6:30. There's a good half dozen games sitting around 5 hours. But yeah, I haven't used my 3DS nearly as much as I would like to. I should probably play more of DK 94 and Link's Awakening. And finish Shantae sometime.

[Squalid Pumpkin]

Return of Samus is actually my second favorite Metroid game, after Super. I'd like to consider it incredibly underrated, but the more I read other people's opinions on it I realize the game has many fans.

[Halbred]

I love Metroid 2.

The lack of a map doesn't hurt the game as much as the indistinct environments--the lack of color is the main thing wrong here (also the camera is REALLY zoomed in), and if that scrapped DX GBC version had ever come out, this would be a no-brainer game. I will admit that the game is fairly linear, especially after the first three areas, although that third area is a B*TCH because of all the secret passages. It's stupidly easy to just miss a power-up because you didn't accidentally fall through the wrong false wall.

Having said that, playing the game while using a map makes it far more playable but also very easy. Which is fine with me. Getting to Queenie with 210 missiles feels pretty good. Interesting factoid: There is one more E-tank in the game than you can use, in case you just didn't pick one of them up before.

I really like the game because it is SUCH a step up from Metroid 1, and it introduced a ton of concepts that would later be revived in Super Metroid and eventually became standard stuff:

Jump Ball
Varia Suit
The ability to fire down while jumping or falling
Space Jump
Spider Ball
Spazer Beam
Plasma Beam

I'm extremely hopeful that AM2R is completed, because even if it's on the PC, I'd love to play it.
After many tries, I did get the best ending (tank top Samus) with a time of 2:59!

[alegoicoe]

all i have to say as someone who beat the game barely, is a fu*king hard ass game.

[gojira]

The Varia Suit was technically in the first Metroid.  But it was just a color swap for Samus' sprite.  Without colors on the Gameboy they had to actually change Samus' sprite to show she got a more powerful suit.  So while the Varia Suite in name didn't originate in Metroid 2, the actual look of what the Suit has become did.

Also I finished the game for the millionth time and got a time of 1:50.  There was just one point where I missed a Metroid and had to retrack back a bit into a level.

[TrueNerd]

Return of Samus is actually my second favorite Metroid game, after Super. I'd like to consider it incredibly underrated, but the more I read other people's opinions on it I realize the game has many fans.

Yeah, I'm somewhat surprised by the mostly positive response.