psycho_gamer's Full Review: Metroid Fusion for Game Boy Advance (GBA)
Super Metroid. Ah, two words, that when invoked, bring tears to many gamers eyes. Some shed tears of joy, as it is widely considered the best game on the Super Nintendo system and, some will argue, of all time. Others spurt tears of sadness as it marked the last entry to the Metroid franchise for a very long time, 8 years in fact. For 8 long years, fans of the series pleaded with the big guys at the big N to please, for the love of god, make a sequel, a prequel or anything that would relate to Metroid in any way. Finally, with the release of Metroid Fusion in 2002, fans of the series could stop sobbing and start doing their happy dance. Nintendo finally listened to their fan base and I dare say it was worth the long wait.
The Story
Metroid Fusion is a true sequel to Super Metroid in every way. It opens directly after the events of Super Metroid with our heroine Samus on a routine inspection trip back to Planet SR388 where the events of Super Metroid occurred. She is subsequently attacked by a vicious new enemy known only as the "X" parasite (original, I know). Brought to the brink of death by this new threat, she is saved at the last minute by a vaccine created by the DNA of a Metroid in her system. The same Metroid that saved her in Super Metroid! Now that's good writing. Brought back from the brink of the underworld, where the bad people go when they die, by this vaccine, she is charged by her superiors to investigate and eventually eradicate this new threat to the fragile galaxy, the "X' parasite.
That's the basics of the story and your journey will take you to 7 unique levels throughout the course of the game. The story is told and advanced through the use of cutscenes, a first for any Metroid game, which add a cinematic flare to the series that was missing before. Though they are nothing more than still images with text underneath them, they are still nice to look at and progress the stroy along nicely.
Game Play
We're talking pure Metroidy goodness here people. The game is a classic 2-D side scroller like Super Metroid before it. Game play is simple enough with the task at hand usually being finding a way out of a level which is done by exploration and the solving of certain puzzles.
Samus, at the beginning of the game is armed to the teeth with all her gear and weapons from Super Metroid. Don't get too happy there spanky, after she is attacked by the "X" parasite, which happens in the opening scene, she is stripped of pretty much everything but a basic gun and suit. As you progress through the game, weapon and suit power ups are found, and soon enough, you will have enough firepower at your disposal to once again save the world. Thank god!
All the weapons from Super Metroid make an appearance in Fusion with the exception of the grappling hook. Why it was left out, only the developers know. But to make up for that, Samus now has Ice Missiles and a few other nifty surprises to blow stuff up good with. Happily, the morph ball returns in all its glory and adds extra elements to the game as only the morph ball can.
Samus also will acquire various suits that allow her to perform nifty jumps and the like that will aid in your exploration of the planet and are ultimately needed in order to complete the quest.
The learning curve is gentle, but not to the extreme in Fusion. Mastery of certain types of jumps and actions will take some time for most, but once mastered, it is like riding a bike. The controls are responsive, simple and easy to learn.
The only gripe I have with the game play of Fusion is the inclusion of what I call "Mission Rooms". These are basically rooms you are forced to go into to receive data concerning your mission and goals. The bad part about this is, part of the fun of a Metroid game is exploring the map and finding out the solution of what to do next yourself. These mission rooms suck all that fun straight out of the game in that respect. It will tell you and even mark on your map with a handy blinking dot exactly where you need to go and how to get there. Good for novice players of the game, but bad for those of us who wish to figure our own way out of a level. An option to circumnavigate or turn off these mission rooms would have been nice. It doesn't detract so much from the game as to ruin the experience, it just lessens it.
Graphics
The game looks better than Super Metroid. Considering Super Metroid was released 9 years ago, that's not such a bold or flattering statement. But, when one considers that this is on a handheld, portable system, it's pretty impressive.
The level backgrounds all look fresh and colorful and are nicely detailed. The enemies all are nicely animated and uniquely designed. This holds especially true with the boss battles you will fight. Fusion is one of the best looking games on the GBA and is really an impressive feat considering the limitations of the handheld.
Sound
Classic Metroid stuff here. All the tunes sound great and harkens back fond memories of playing Super Metroid on the SNES. It sounds surprisingly decent on the little speakers of the GBA, but for a truly magical audio experience, use some headphones or better yet, use a Gameboy Player and hook it up to your TV sound system. Very nice.
Overall
There are a few nifty bonuses included with Fusion. If you connect up to a Gamecube with a link cable and a Metroid Prime Gamecube game, you will be able to play Metroid Prime with Samus' suit from Fusion, which is a funky looking blue contraption. Pretty sweet and a nice little bonus for those with both games and a link cable. There are also a few secret areas and multiple endings to be unlocked which will extend the game play time quite a bit for those obsessed with doing absolutely everything in the game. Playing straight through and getting 100% completion rating will take the average gamer 12-15 hours. Solid, especially for a handheld game.
In the end, Metroid Fusion is classic Metroid game play with a few new twists added to it. Some of these twists are good, some not so much. But the end product is a solid entry into the Metroid series and one of the best handheld games ever made that will have Metroid fanboys once again shedding tears of joy.
marioplace store Metroid Fusion YOU ARE PURCHASING USED GAMEBOY VIDEO GAME. GAME COMPLETE WITH MANUAL AND BOX. GAME CARTRIDGE HAS BEEN TESTED AND WORK...More at eBay
While destroying the Metroid threat, Samus' body picked up the X-Parasite, a nasty little bug that will end her life -- unless she returns to the plan...More at Amazon Marketplace
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