Metroid Fusion

"Hurry up with the Sequel!"

Metroid Fusion, along with Metroid Prime in 2002 ended the eight year Metroid drought that took place between their releases. This made Metroid fans happy, after the insanely long wait we finally had two new Metroid games to explore, and we were glad that one of Nintendo's best franchises would not be forgotten.

Story: 8

Along with Metroid Prime, Fusion showed how Metroid games were getting more of a plot, and Fusion had a story that was good enough to keep you interested.

The game takes place after the events of Super Metroid, and everything starts off with you, playing as Samus, the first lady of gaming in the neon orange Chozo suit. You are escorting a group of researchers from the Galactic Federation in retrieving bioforms from SR388 so that they could be brought to the BSL Space Station for research.

While you are there, you encounter the X parasite which then infects your suit. Samus thought nothing was wrong, but when she left in her ship she passed out and the ship collided with an asteroid field, and Samus was ejected in time to safe her life. The Federation recovers her and finds out that the X Parasite has infected her central nervous system, and the only way they are able to save her is by making a Vaccine from the DNA of the Metroid that Samus brought to them for research after the events of Metroid II. Since the Metroid is a predator of the X, its DNA allows Samus to absorb the X and use them for energy. The Metroid DNA also changes the appearance of the remaining parts of Samus' Armor, most of which has been removed during the surgery.

Samus is then sent to the BSL station to investigate an explosion, and she discovers that the X have gotten into the station and infected almost every living thing inside of it, and the removed components of Samus' Power Suit have turned into an X Parasite version of her, that has all of her weapons, while Samus lost almost all of her weapons and is somewhere around 10% of what her former strength was.

So, with the help of the AI in her ship which she named Adam, has to investigate the station, and eradicate the X.

I'll stop this section here, since I just covered the beginning. I will say that if you have not played the game, there is a much higher emphasis on the story in this game than previous Metroids, and there are a few good plot twists.

Gameplay: 8

Most of us know how Metroid plays, you are basically in a mixture of the platforming from Mario games, mixed with the item collection in Zelda. And you are given large areas to explore and collect the items that are necessary to move on to the next area, and you have to fight some of the coolest bosses in gaming history.

But, what is new, and what works in Metroid Fusion?

Well, like I said before, Samus was changed by the Vaccine and the loss of her suit, so she takes much more damage from enemies, but she is also able to move a little bit faster. You can now cling from edges without having to get the powerup that allows you to do that, and there are a few new items like the Ice Missiles, which were made to replace your Ice Beam because that the Vaccine made you vulnerable to cold temperatures, you also pick up the Diffusion Missiles which lets you charge the missiles and spread the freezing attack of the missiles across the screen. The Jump Ball and the High Jump were combines, and Missiles and Beams now stack [instead of being able to switch what Beams you have on, and choose different missiles].

You get around in this game with the help of Adam, and you have to explore the BSL Station to find rooms that allow you to open up different security level doors, and you have to find the Data Stations which have the date from your old weapons, that was supplied by the Federation, and these let you restore capabilities of your Suit. You also have to battle massive bosses, and the Core X that is inside, which often contains a new item, or an upgrade to a existing one.

The story driven nature of this game also made everything much more linear. Instead of being able to explore as much as you want, or sequence break, you now have to follow a set path. I will say that some of the hardcore Metroid fanatics hated this, but it wasn't really that bad. I liked how Fusion played, even though I could not explore as much. The detail to the story made up for it.

Challenge: 7

As I mentioned above, the game is much more linear now which makes everything easier. But the challenge was increased by making your health deplete much more when you are hit, and there are still some areas which are really tough to get through. But no matter how easy a Metroid game gets, it will still be a challenge to do 100% completion, which I have yet to do.

Controls: 8

Everything controls really well, the controls are comparable to how fluidly you could move in Super Metroid. The only problem I have is that there weren't 4 main buttons like on the SNES controller on the GBA, which would of made some of the controls slightly easier, and wall jumping is a little bit harder than it was in Super Metroid.

Graphics: 8

Although the preview that was shown when "Metroid IV" was announced looked terrible, when Metroid Fusion came out it was one of the best looking GBA games at that time. The sprites are incredibly well detailed and the backgrounds look gorgeous, and each environmental area of the station has its own distinctive look to it that was very well done. But I did notice that the colors were a little bit brighter than the dark and gloomy look that the previous games had, but that wasn't much of a problem.

Sound: 8

We all know how good most of the Metroid games sound so it is no surprise that this gets a high mark. Music is very important to the atmosphere of a Metroid game and although the soundtrack isn't as good as the one from Super Metroid, the music is catchy, and it fits with the different type of game that this is. The sound effects are also very well done, the weapons, the movement, and the creatures are not annoying to listen to and some of them sound creepy enough to make the atmosphere better.

Atmosphere: 7

I already mentioned what fits for the atmosphere in this game, you feel like you are fighting for your survival against these parasites, and besides the Federation you are on your own, and near the end you are almost completely on your own.

Pros:
Great story, new additions work well, well designed levels, great bosses, good soundtrack.

Cons:
It took 8 years to come out, too linear for some people.

Should you get it:
If you are a Metroid fan, buy this game. Its as simple as that.

Overall:

Metroid Fusion is a great game that finally whetted the appetite of all of the Metroid fans that were getting sick and tired of waiting for the sequel to Super Metroid to come out, and this along with Metroid Prime which were simultaneously released 6 years ago were worth the wait.

8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/08

Game Release: Metroid Fusion (US, 11/17/02)