Metroid: Samus Returns

I was pleasantly surprised by Samus Returns. I’d already played Metroid Dread, so I knew the series had been effectively revived under developer MercurySteam, but I never expected to find a handheld remake of one of the most forgotten games in the franchise so enjoyable. It’s mainly focused on bringing Metroid II more in line with the feel of Super Metroid, in the same way Zero Mission did for the first game. And speaking as someone who believes that games in general should be brought more in line with the feel of Super Metroid, I can’t believe how much I missed this style of gameplay. Nothing else combines tense action with a deliberate sense of discovery quite as well. Additionally, the 26 years of game design advancement between versions have made the game more immediately playable while extracting more impact from the action, and the retro template ensures a complete experience that respects its audience. I was especially gratified that it offers a solid challenge without going overboard, as in Dread or the original Game Boy release.

As a remake, Samus Returns is complicated. I’m obviously completely on board with integrating new and later-introduced power-ups into the gameplay, but there were narrative elements to Metroid II that were either ignored or simply not noticed in the transition. Item and enemy placements, particularly in the back half of the game, provided environmental storytelling that reinforced the game’s themes, and the complete disregard for them turns the story into a standard “kill all the aliens” plot. The famously subversive ending is still intact, thankfully, though it now has an additional section tacked on that’s blatantly pandering to fans. I’m reluctant to complain about that though, because speaking as a fan, it’s so fucking awesome. This give and take permeates everything about the reimagining. The repeated boss encounters now have more numerous and varied attack patterns, but the variety of regular enemies has been slashed to compensate. The environments appear blocky and rudimentary, but the character models animate spectacularly. Finally, there are several very annoying sound effects, but I absolutely love how the original’s dissonant attempted ambience is transformed into genuinely intriguing music.