"I've recently rediscovered my love for this game."

Metroid II: The Return of Samus was the second installment in the Metroid series. This game takes Samus to the Metroids' home planet of SR388, in an attempt to eradicate them before they can become an even bigger threat. This is an assignment worthy of the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter.

Gameplay: This is more then just your basic side scrolling action game. You guide Samus though a surprisingly long adventure, considering when this game was made. You start off with just a few basic moves, such as jumping, shooting you beam gun, and shooting missiles. You quickly gain new abilities, including rolling into a ball and dropping bombs. Samus will gather an impressive number of power-ups through-out the game. Samus will also slay an impressive number of Metroids, which come in several diverse types. There will be a Metroid counter on screen to tell you how many of the aliens are left.

Graphics: In it's time, this was one of best looking Gameboy games out there. By today's standards, the graphics aren't very good, but that doesn't deteriorate from the quality of the game. Nothing beautiful, but it gets the job done. Playing this game on a Gameboy Color or Gameboy Advance will add color to the game's original black and white design. This actually makes the game easier to play, since it makes things stand out more. As opposed to things just being slightly different shades of grey, objects will be completely different colors.

Controls: Again, nothing special here, but it gets the job done. One Button fires, another lets you jump. The control pad moves Samus around, and select lets you switch between your regular Beam Cannon, and Missiles. The controls respond well, and shouldn't give you any problems while playing.

Sounds: The sound effects and music are extremely good for a Gameboy game made during this time period. That being said, they won't be very impressive by today's standards. There are the standard jumping and shooting noises, as far as sound effects go. The music is decent, but not varied enough. You'll get tired of hearing the same music after a while.

Overall: This is a great game. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good action/adventure game. Anyone who liked Metroid or Super Metroid should definitely pick this one up. Or, if you need something to tide you over until Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime come out, this one will not disappoint you. This game can be somewhat hard to find, but if you stumble upon it, don't pass it up.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/30/02, Updated 08/30/02