Metroid Fusion

"Despite the lack of freedom and exploring, Fusion is a solid Metroid adventure"

After waiting for what seemed like forever, Nintendo finally brought the Metroid franchise back. It had been absent from the gaming scene for 8 years, but in November 2002, two Metroid games were released in one day! The hard thing to do was choosing between the two. I would get one on the day it's released, and I would get the other as a Christmas gift. I decided to finally fill my hunger for a 2D Metroid, so I picked up Metroid Fusion.

Graphics - 9/10
The graphics are very nice. The game is easy to see on any Gameboy Advance, but a few areas are a bit dim. Samus looks good and very nicely detailed. You'll see her shoot, run, jump, roll into a ball, and space jump. Everything she does looks great. The environments look great, also. The whole game takes place in a huge space station with areas with different themes. There's tropical, water, an area that mimics SR-388 (the planet from Metroid II), and more. All the areas are filled with nice looking platforms. The only annoying thing about the areas is the fact that you can see the space station's steel floors and walls in the areas. The enemies look plain amazing. Most of them are well detailed and colorful. When you defeat them, their X host comes out and flies around until you collect it. The bosses are huge, and they are very detailed, too. Their attacks are stunning, and you'll be in awe of them. The graphics also give the game a good atmosphere.

Sound and Music - 9/10
Metroid games always have some good music. Fusion is no exception. The game is filled with quiet, creepy music that brings the outer space feel to life. Some areas, such as the main area, have music that sounds upbeat and heroic. Other areas have the low-pitched and creepy music. I especially love the music that you hear, when you're close by to the Evil Samus. It really makes you feel nervous, and it gets your heart beating, as if you were on some sort of stealth mission.

The sounds in this game are excellent. Every time you blast something, you'll hear a great blasting sound. when you spin jump, you hear this cool sound that's pretty catchy. I loved the sound that you hear, when you absorb X parasites. Explosive sounds are well done, too. Most of the enemies make good sounds, also. One boss has this awesome, chilling scream that you hear every time you shoot it. I loved that. It really brought the battle to life.

Story - 8/10
Metroid Fusion has a great and interesting story. It starts off with Samus helping some researchers. She attacks a life form with a few missiles, and it dies. In its place is a mysterious organism. She later calls the organism "X." The organism hovers around, and then it fuses itself with Samus.

She returns to her ship, and after a while she passes out. The ship began to drift away toward an asteroid belt. An auto-escape pod removed her from the ship before it was destroyed. The researchers in a space station nearby sent a ship to get the escape pod.

Since the time that Samus became infected with the X, the X had multiplied throughout her power suit. She was in critical condition and had a slim chance of surviving. The power suit was partially connected to her body, so the surgeons couldn't remove the power suit, while she was unconscious. They did, however, remove certain parts of the suit, but the virus was spreading throughout her body.

Someone then suggested a cure. They would make a vaccine from Metroid cells (Metroids were the main predator of the X). The Galactic Federation had apparently preserved cells from the last Metroid. They quickly created prepared and used the vaccine. The vaccine worked quickly and well.

After Samus awoke, the surgeons told her that the Metroid had saved her life again. A short time later, they received a distress call from the research station. Samus accepted the mission and was on her way...

Controls - 9/10
Super Metroid's basic controls were nicely moved to the GBA. The only major annoyance is the Speed Booster. You have to run a good distance, before it finally kicks in. It's really useless in Fusion, except for a few time that you need to use it to destroy some special walls.

The rest of the controls are solid. You press "A" to jump and "B" to shoot. "L" aims diagonal (up or down). "R" allows you to use missiles. In the previous Metroids you would have to tap "R" (or Select in past games) once to switch to missile mode, and then once again to switch back to beam mode. In Metroid Fusion you simply hold down "R," shoot as many missiles as you want, and let go to return to shooting beams. It works great and feels comfortable.

Gameplay - 9/10
As soon as you start playing, you'll be filled with those good memories of Super Metroid (if you played it). You'll start by running through a few rooms, shooting enemies along the way. You'll eventually reach a "Navigation Room." Samus will turn on the computer, and it'll tell you about where you need to go and you chances of survival. This seems all right now, but the computer tells you where to go, throughout the entire game. New Metroid players won't mind this hand-holding feature, but veteran Metroid gamers will be a bit sad.

The computer tells you where you need to go, and it even marks the exact location of your current goal on the map. The freedom to explore a vast world is now gone, since the game has become very linear. At one point in the game, I actually became lost and found an area that I shouldn't have reached until later in the game. When I went to a nearby Navigation Room, the computer yelled at Samus, and gave her a small lecture on following the mission. If there is one good thing about the computer, it's the fact that the story is better because of it.

When you put the new linear gameplay aside, you have yourself a great Metroid adventure. You will blast enemies, find secret rooms, pick up weapons and abilities, and fight bosses. The enemies are moderately strong in Fusion. You won't be dying all the time, but you'll die every now and then. Finding weapons is less fun that usual, because you know where it is and what it is. The bosses in this game are impressive. A few of them are extremely hard, and the fun bosses almost make up for the hand-holding gameplay.

Samus also has a new rival... an X parasite that copies her. You'll encounter this SA-X enemy a few different times during the game. You can't harm it, until later in the game, because the SA-X mimics Samus in her Super Metroid suit. The SA-X is very powerful, so you must avoid it.

Replay Value - 7/10
As usual, there's a few different endings. There's also plenty of Missile and Energy tanks that you might have missed. The adventure isn't very long, so you might want to beat it twice.

Overall - 9/10
This is one of the best games on the GBA. If you can accept the fact that you'll be ordered around by a computer, you'll enjoy this spectacular GBA adventure. It's a must have for every GBA collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/04