Metroid Fusion

"Who says Nintendo makes kiddy games?"

Since the days of the N64 a sequel for Super Metroid has been long awaited. However, it never came. Gamers had to wait until the next war. So, when they first started hearing about Metroid Prime, many were outrageously furious of it becoming a first person shooter. However, their rage was then melted when Metroid 4 (a.k.a. Fusion) was announced. I waited happily for both. When I finally got them I eagerly began to try out Fusion. Since I had yet to complete any of the previous Metroid games, I was eager to try this one out to see if I actually COULD beat it, and see what changes they made. I was pleasantly surprised.

Graphic-wise, it is quite a leap from Super Metroid. While Samus is smaller, the backgrounds have evolved far beyond that of the SNES. They are simply stunning. They are very colorful in many areas, and look as detailed as Symphony of the Night's. Unfortunately, this is one of the darkest GBA games out. I mean, this isn’t just slightly dark, we're talking Circle of the Moon dark here. So, if you can actually SEE them, then you will awe. Otherwise, you will continue popping batteries into your GBA light.

The graphical style has also changed. In Super Metroid most of the areas were either just dark caves or mechanical rooms. In Fusion there is a much larger variety. You now have many more distinguished rooms. Some are cave-like and mechanical like Super. However, some have a more organic feel to them. Some also have a more outdoorsy feel. It’s a nice change from the very claustrophobic feel of the previous Metroids.

As you will notice at first site, Samus has a new look. Because of the story, a bio-organism called the ''X'' parasite attacked Samus and bonded to her. After a long opening of anime still shots (which look awesome mind you), her suit is now changed to an organic blue suit. While some fans don’t like this change, I think it looks awesome. Instead of her old very robotic mech warrior type suit, now she has a very agile smooth suit. I love it! My only complaint it her first blue form is actually the coolest, and while you do play most of the game with it, most of the other half is an ugly green and purple suit.

On to story. This is probably the high point of the game. Never before has a Metroid game had such a high focus on story. This would be the first one to, and I must say they did quite a good job. The story is that Samus is investigating a plan filled with strange parasites called ''X'''s. While investigating she is attacked by one. She has to have many surgical procedures done on her. Because the parasite fuses itself to the suit certain parts had to be gruesomely amputated. Samus is still dying until they bring out a serum of Metroid cells. Fans of the series will know that the Metroid DNA contained materials that could cure almost any disease. Immediately it is injected into her. The X cells are wiped out and she barely survives. When it is done, she is ''reborn'' as she put it with her new suit. She goes to investigate the place. Because she was fused with the X, she can now absorb them to heal her.

As she investigates she finds that the X parasites can take the form of whatever they have attacked...including our hero. Possibly the best moment of the game story-wise is when you are investigating an area, then suddenly an explosion is heard and you see what appears to be Samus in her orange suit walking through with all of her weapons. It was a very dramatic and well done cut-scene. I wont ruin the story for you, but I will say that it bears a strong resemblance to Alien

As I said in my opening line, this game is not kiddy. In fact, this is probably the darkest game Nintendo has ever made.... even more so than Prime. First of all, you find out that all the scientists on this space station were gruesomely killed by the X parasites, and at times you find their bodies and they can even attack you. Later, you find out that several scientists survived longer, but were only used as food for the SA-X. The last surviving one was killed and possessed so that he could disarm one of the high security locks on the station. The more you play, the smarter you find out the SA-X (the Samus in the orange suit) is. The rest of the story you can find out for yourself.

Onto Gameplay. The gameplay is your classic Metroid style. Explore areas, kill stuff, steal their life force in order to heal you, upgrade your suit to get new abilities, fight some Metroids at the end, etc. It's all there. Samus has some new abilities that she did not have in the old ones. She also has some variations on some. For instance, since she no longer has the ice beam, she has an ice missile. She also has a new ability, which allows her to have a barrier around her when she jumps, but that’s near the end. The Metroid games have really never had much of a genre, so I'm not sure how I can explain it to you. If you've played the other ones, you know how it plays. For other gamers, its...weird. Its a mixture between action, platformer, and puzzle. To an extent it is like SOTN, but without all the RPG elements and tons more upgrades.

What most fans that have played this complain about is the fact that they think it is to linear. This is not true. People believe it is linear because there is a computer, which tells you where to go and gives you objectives. However, what most people don't realize is that you don’t HAVE to go see that computer! The game is as linear or nonlinear as you like. If you don’t know what to do, visit the computer. If you don’t feel like progressing any farther in the game and having ''objectives'', fine. You can. Screw the computer! Be a real Metroid fan. Explore on your own! The option is certainly there. No one's gonna stop you (except for the security locks that is).

One more thing Metroid fans get annoyed about is the security locks. In the old Metroid games, when you see a door you cant open you get a new type of missile or beam. In Fusion, those only matter towards enemies. To open new doors and locks you must find security locks, which let you open those doors. This is another thing which fans think makes it more linear, and it does to an extent, but really its no different than getting the upgrades. Now you just do it in a different way.

Sound and Music are no letdown from what we all come to expect. The old tunes we love are still there, but some new ones have also come into play. You have some normal tunes during levels, which are pretty cool, you have some cool techno tunes for the underwater portions, which I love, and then you have some tunes, which are so weird I can't even describe them. There is a huge variety of different tunes that occur throughout the game. No matter what your taste is I'm sure you'll like them. I know I did.

As for replay value, it has quite a bit. People complain that the game is a bit short, and that it is since you can beat it in about 4-5 hours, but as almost all reviewers have said, we wouldn't trade those hours for anything. A nice thing about Fusion is that it borrows alot from Prime and the older ones. There are many endings to get, and now getting them is a combination of both. You can get certain endings just by beating it in a really fast time, but you can also get endings for getting all of the upgrades, so that way if you're a speed demon or a get every crack guy you can see Samus in her bikini (though it doesn’t make much sense since she SAYS her physical form has had some huge alterations from the amputations). There are about 6-8 different endings you can try for, and since the game is short its one of those games which you can play over and over. It's also worth noting that playing through the game with the computer for everything and playing the game without using the computer at all is almost a totally different experience.

So, overall, you have one of the greatest games ever made. Hardcore Metroid Fans will still like Super Metroid more because it was completely non-linear and was very faithful to the original. However, newer gamers, or gamers which like change will find that this is slightly better. It does a wonderful job of taking what you loved about the Metroid games and giving them a newer feel. Again its all in personal preference, and I cant truly say which one is better since I have not yet beaten Super Metroid, but from what I have played this is better. Play them both and find out for yourself.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/24/02, Updated 12/24/02