"Planet of the Metroids"

After the destruction of the space pirates Samus' next mission is onto the planet SR388 the home planet of the metroid.

Graphics 8/10

Samus my only be in black and white, but she still stands out quite well. The graphics are quite amazing for the simple designs usually used in the original gameboy games. For instance the metroids have quite a lot of detail to them especially after they begin the evolution chain. Enemies are clear as crystal, and all look unique in their own way. Some environments begin to look repetitive after awhile, and some seem to be reused. Chozo Statues seem to look just as good if not better than their Nintendo counterpart. You can actually tell a big difference when you pick up varia unlike just switching colors in the original.

Sound 9/10

The music may start off a little too upbeat, but after you encounter your first metroid surprise you will realize the sound is just right. The sharp sound of the metroid music after a metroid pops out of almost nowhere fits right into the creepy environment of SR388. Besides the main room background music, and the last room music the rest of the game has a strange background music that is hard to describe. Weird rhythms provide an even greater on edge theme to the game.

Control 10/10

Not to many controls here to get confused or have any problems with. Shoot with one button, jump with the other switch to missiles with select not much else to say here. There is one very small problem in this area the suit upgrade called the spider ball lets you cling to walls with your morph ball, but when you reach a corner instead of holding the direction in which the corner goes you simply hold the same direction you are already holding. This setup can cause some minor mistakes in some situations, but few and far between.

Gameplay 8/10

This is where the metroid series shines, and this game is no exception. Sure this game may be a little more compact than most metroid games, but it is still a very important phase of the series. Fighting metroids couldn’t be anymore fun, and challenging. The evolution chain used by the metroids continue to up the ante through out the game. Each new metroid will bring in new strategies to fight them with. New beams are given out through the game Ice,Wave,Spazer,Plasma. These are all nice, but I think they should have let you kill metroids with some of them especially plasma seeing the strength it has. Although each games space jumping pattern is just a little different this game seems to be the hardest to perform. New gamers to the series may get discouraged by how hard it is to continue a string of space jumps to a certain platforms. Thankfully the spider ball is in this game to give some relief to this problem. The spider ball can get you to almost anywhere the space jump can. Of course I said “almost” some places will require a good string of space jumps to reach. One of the major problem that this game faces along with the original metroid is the fact that no map is offered throught the entire game. This makes it very easy to get lost within the depths of SR388. Secret passages in the game are nice at first, but when every other power up requires you to go through a secret passage the secret seems to become a normal setup. The difficulty also seems to increase a little to dramatically for people who are new to the series. By the time you get used to fighting the gamma metroids you are forced to fight zeta or even the dreaded omega metroids. Not to mention the final boss, while I won’t give away anything it is quite a tough fight. The game also seems to be one of the shortest metroid games about the same length as the original, but seeing as how my fastest time is a little over an hour and a half there is not much to do here. Different endings are good, but they are hardly worth the reward for beating the game over again to get a better time. Despite some of the problems this game faces it still holds up as a metroid game, and still plays better than most other game boy (original) games out there.

Story 8/10

SR388 is the home planet of the metroids, and spot of samus’ next mission. Metroids were being used by the space pirates on the planet zebes to fight against samus. To eliminate the threat of the space pirates ever getting their hands on the metroid spieces ever again she decides to take a mission to SR388, and wipe them out. Very important part of the metroid series storyline which links together parts one and three. There may be little actual information given to you, but actions speak louder than words.

Overall: 8/10

If you’ve played the original metroid, and want to see the next step in the series here it is. Also if you started the series out at super metroid, and didn’t quite get the introduction here is your chance. Many people proclaim this is the worst in the metroid series, but saying that is not a way I would phrase it. It is more of the least best in the series, and considering it still deserved a high 8 out of 10. It is still a real good game. This is a must have for any fan of the metroid series, or any owner of the original game boy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/04