"Worst Game In The Metroid Series"

The Metroid series has always been one of the most loved Nintendo franchises. There have been around 5 games so far, which are Metroid (NES), Metroid II (GameBoy), Super Metroid (Super Nintendo), Metroid Fusion (GameBoy Advance), and Metroid Prime (GameCube). All of them are very good, but it seems as if this game isn't on par with the others.

The controls are fairly easy to get used to. They are also very responsive on top of that. Every so often, you will earn a new ability. When you do, you will have to remember some button combinations to use the new ability that you learn. They can be kind of a pain to remember at first, but you will eventually be able to remember them. Overall, great controls.

The gameplay is where all Metroid games shine. The game is a platformer, but with guns basically. First of all, I would like to say that the main character's name is Samus Aran, not Metroid. I would also like to say that Samus is a girl. Yes that's right. A girl. I just had to say this since so many people get this mixed up.

The gameplay is above average. Like I said before, it is pretty much a platformer with guns. You go around killing metroids and other enemies like space pirates while solving puzzles and jumping around and rolling around and stuff. The levels are pretty fun to explore too. The puzzles in the game are sometimes hard to solve and there a lot of them. Throughout the game, you will run into lots of save points where you can save your progress. The game is battery saved so you don't have to worry about having all of those passwords to pack around. The enemies have pretty good artificial intelligence and are designed well.

The replayability is pretty average. All you can do is play the game over and over again. This may not sound so bad to some people, while turning others off. It just depends on who you are. Overall, the gameplay is around an 8 out of 10 and the replayability is around a 6 out of 10.

The story starts out at the end of the original Metroid. Having killed Mother Brain, Samus is no set on killing all of the metroids on their home world. You have to kill all of the metroids so there powers cannot be used for evil or something like that. Overall, the story is pretty good, but it isn't as good as some of the other Metroid games. I would rate it as a little above average. Maybe a 7 out of 10. Other Metroid games would probably get a 10 out of 10 for story.

The graphics are good. Everything is in black and white, but it really isn't too much of a problem. For an original GameBoy game, it does look really good. It is kind of hard to tell what is happening on the screen at times, but this happens rarely. Overall, good graphics.

The music is average at best. It seems as if they repeat the same couple of short songs over and over. When you get to a boss fight or a very powerful enemy, a different type of music will play. A different type of music will also play when you are in the dungeons. You can hear everything that you should be able to hear and it all sounds good. This includes Samus walking, talking, guns, explosions, and all of that good stuff.

Overall, I would say that you should buy it. I mean, it may not be as good as other Metroid games, but it is still a good game nevertheless. If you have a GameBoy Advance, you should just stick with Metroid Fusion, which is much better than this in my opinion.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/03, Updated 04/07/03