" Samus Aran has returned to fight for peace in the galaxy!"

In 1986, a game was released for the NES. It relied heavily on exploration, and without patience, and a keen eye...well...you weren't ever going to see the ending of it. The name of the game? It was Metroid. In it, you were a bounty hunter by the name of Samus Aran, and your goal was to infiltrate the planet Zebes, and foil the plans of the space pirates, Ridley and Kraid. You also had to destroy the Mechanical Life Form-Mother Brain. You started off with absolutely nothing. No weapons, except your trusty beam cannon. If you thought you weren't limited enough, the shots of the cannon didn't even go past half of the screen.

Despite these shortcomings, Samus had found the necessities that would enable her to defeat Mother Brain. She found missiles, a suit that decreases damage, known as the Varia Suit, her Screw Attack, and the Ice Beam. With that Ice Beam, she would have to freeze the Metroids that guarded Mother Brain and pump five missiles into those little buggers. She defeated Mother Brain, and peace was restored to the galaxy.

The Galactic Federation knew about the home of the metroids. It was planet SR388. They sent a team over there to bring back samples, so they could study the creatures. They were never heard from again. That is where you, the player come in. The Galactic Federation once again, hired Samus to go to SR388 and destroy every single living Metroid on that planet. After all, she had fought the creatures before, and she could do it again!

Like the Metroid before it, Metroid II also relies heavily on exploration. The game starts with 39 on your metroid counter. There will also be a number of metroids that you have to kill an an area to descend deeper into SR388. You start off with a very limited number of missiles. Only enough to kill 1 or 2 metroids, but these aren't the Metroids you fought back on Zebes. This is the natural habitat. These Metroids have evolved and shed their skin. The jellyfish creatures back on Zebes were only the larvae stage. As you progress through the game, the Metroids will keep evolving. To keep up with them, you better go looking for those missiles, because without them, you're gonna have a really hard time. Missiles aren't the only power-up. You can have up to five Energy Reserve Tanks. Each one adds one hundred power units. The Screw Attack makes another appearance, and coupled with the gravity jump, you can become indestructible. Exploring is a very rewarding experience, once you get the Spider Ball and Bombs. You could use the Spider Ball to find hidden crevices in side walls, and the bombs to blow up other walls.

The game graphically, was very detailed when it was made more than 10 years ago. Remember, this is the Gameboy we're talking about. I was very surprised when I saw that Samus' sprite looked MUCH better than the Samus in the NES version, even though the NES is more powerful. The only problem I have with the game is, some of the rooms like the exact same way. You could easily get lost, as the gameboy has no distinct colors, except black and white. The designers could at least have made the rooms different.

The music in the game fits. Thats all it does...nothing really spectacular. I would've expected more in the music department. This is the Metroid series after all, and it's known for its great, moody music. The only song that really stands out for me is the Main theme. The one that plays when you're descending deeper and deeper into the maze known as SR388.

The Controls don't take a long time to get used to. They are very easy to remember, and there will rarely be any slip ups. Shooting your missiles are a breeze, as you only have to press the select button to switch to them. All in all, you shouldn't have any problems with the controls.

Metroid II can be difficult, if you don't have the right power-ups, enough missiles, or a good amount of Reserve Tanks. You better go looking for them, or you'll be in one hell of a ride!

The Game has many different endings depending on how fast you finished it. If you finish it before 3 hours, you will get the best ending. Also, you could try and get all the powerups you missed, if you missed any. Those would be the only two reasons to play the game over again...but I guarantee that you will not get the best ending first, unless you are really good.
Otherwise, you'd probably play it again.

Overall, Metroid II is very addicting, and is fun to play if you love to explore. You can spend hours looking for every damn missile, or reserve tank, bombing every wall, climbing every wall, there are almost endless possibilities. This game is a MUST for any metroid fan. You might have a hard time finding it, but if you know where to look, you'll be a proud owner of one of the best Gameboy games ever!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/04, Updated 05/12/04