Metroid Fusion
Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2002 1:41 am
For those of you Metroid purists that say "it's a sidescroller!" there's Metroid Fusion (though from what I've seen and heard about Prime, it too is an excellent game) for the Game Boy Advance (GBA).<br><br>Metroid Fusion has the challenge of being compared to Super Metroid, which is one of the best SNES games ever released, and ranks in nicely in what I would consider the best ten games ever made. Does Metroid Fusion surpass the great Super Metroid? From what I've seen so far, it doesn't. But it makes a good challenge.<br><br><br>Here's a quick Primer (pun not intended, but I'll go with it) on what I've felt about the also-newest installment in the Metroid Series.<br><br>Controls: VERY smooth, and very nice. Solid and easy to use. Some new innovations in this game include the ability for Samus to grab ledges that are just out of reach and pull herself up, and if she grabs onto a ledge that leads into a 'morph ball tunnel', she'll roll into a ball on her way up in one smooth go. Wall jumping is, while still challenging, thankfully easier than it was in Super Metroid.<br><br>Graphics: It's no Metroid Prime, but Fusion does it's ancestors proud with the powers of the GBA. The screen is a bit smaller than a television screen, but things haven't seemed cramped yet. At first I thought the characters were a bit blocky and undetailed, but the first time you see Samus' suit as it appeared in Super Metroid (she has a totally new suit in this one, but you see the old one in a few places I won't reveal here) you really do see the detail they put in. We've been teased with new graphics on new consoles (N64/Cube) but for what is essentially a Super Nintendo game, the graphics are great. The stills/animations outside of gameplay itself are excellent, and some landscape shots made me remember some beautiful mountain views from Final Fantasy III.<br><br>Sound: The GBA speakers can't crank out the best of tunes or sound effects, but this game is the first GBA game to have a special option for headphones, and boy, is it great! Using the headphones option enables stereo sound, and some of the effects are just beautiful. A wonderful addition for a game in a series that relies on atmosphere so much.<br>Music: Nothing stellar so far, but nothing bad by any means. I used to get some songs from Super Metroid stuck in my head for days (especially the two Brinstar songs and the two Maridia songs), and Fusion hasn't given me that memorable, eerie music yet. Hopefully, soon, though.<br><br>Atmosphere: At first I was dissapointed. Things seemed blocky and too high-tech. The opening region of the game feels a bit more like a Mega Man level than it does Super Metroid, but once you start getting into the more primal, naturesque parts of the game, it starts feeling more like Super Metroid. There's grime hanging from stones, old looking ruins, mist in the background, and a good use of colour.<br><br>Linearity: Metroid games follow a linear pattern in the respect that some regions can't be accessed by Samus until she gets a new power up. Still, I found that when I would be finished with a region in the game (the game is broken up into six "Sectors" and a few other regions), there were some places I still haven't explored and I'll have to return to. So there's a definite path to follow, but you can return and explore later on with the goodies you've collected. I was terribly worried by the lack of secrets near the beginning of the game, terrified that it would be an easy, simple Metroid without the exploration of Super Metroid, but before long, I'd found a lot of areas I wanted to explore but couldn't because I wasn't equipped enough, and I'm going to have to return later.<br>The game also introduces locked doors: There are four 'security levels' of doors in the game, with security doors in many places. So far I've come across all kinds, and I've only unlocked Level 1. When I get later security clearances, I'll have many doors that I've passed by waiting for me.<br><br>Sectors: The game takes place on a massive science station that is broken up into a few Decks (which look mostly futuristic and metallic) and six Sectors, labelled 1 through 6 and each sporting their own eco-system. It sounds a bit trite, but that's how the other Metroid's have worked, too. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> There's a tropical eco-system, an aquatic one, an arctic one, even one that duplicates the planet of SR-388 (the Metroid home world from Metroid II). When I saw that these sectors were actually numbered from 1 to 6, I was terrified that I'd be exploring them in order like a common video game, and when sector 1 was first, I my fears were almost confirmed, but from there it's branched off and I've explored sectors 2 and 4 by this point, without having touched sector 3. I also think there's going to be some backtracking involved to get more abilities.<br><br>Plot: This Metroid game actually has a plot, and it has a neat feel to it as you see things unfold. A while after you explore a severely damaged cargo bay, you learn that the explosion was caused by the mis-use of a Power Bomb (one of Samus' power ups from Super Metroid and Fusion). You recieve mission updates from a computer, and the mission flows based on what you're capable of and feels perfectly believable. Your first job isn't to stop any bad guy, but to find Missiles so you can defend yourself. Flavour has been added to using elevator shafts by presenting you with an internal monologue of Samus as she travels between regions.<br>Lastly, this is indeed "Metroid 4", and it follows the same story that has been set by the previous games. This gives it a nice connection and stability within the Metroid universe. While every new Zelda game seems to be "The REAL Zelda game we wanted to bring you, now that we have the technology!", and it seems like Link meets Zelda again for the first time every new game you play, Fusion takes what's happened in previous games in forming it's own plot and atmosphere. It's not a HUGE aspect of the game, but it definately gets style points from me, and adds tremendously to the atmosphere of the game where the system's graphics and sound fall a little short.<br><br><br>Overall, Metroid Fusion, while a great game, hasn't quite captured the original atmosphere and glory of Super Metroid, but this is a tough challenge to do. It succeeds, however, at delivering admirably what it's predecessors did before. Think of it as a Tribes 2 to Super Metroid's Tribes 1. In some ways superior, in many ways the same winning formula, but somehow lacking the energy and open-eyed excitement that only the first game gave us.<br><br>If it sounds like I'm comparing to Super Metroid too much, it's because I just love Super Metroid. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, or haven't even played it, go grab it now! It's one of the best three SNES games ever made!!! <p><center><table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=5><td><img border="0" src="http://www.xmenclan.org/avatars/t2red.g ... ><td><font size=5>RedSirus<a href=mailto:redsirus@dragontalonmercs.com>@</a></font><br><br><a target=_top href=http://www.dragontalonmercs.com>Dragon Talon Mercenary</a> > <a target=_top href=http://server2.ezboard.com/bdragontalon ... ><br><font size=2><a target=_top href=http://pub18.ezboard.com/bdtmonlinecommunity>DTM Community</a> > <a target=_top href=http://pub18.ezboard.com/fdtmonlinecomm ... s>RedSirus' Reviews</a></font><br><br><a target=_top href=http://www.xmenclan.org>Brainwashed Fishmonger</a> > <a target=_top href=http://pub3.ezboard.com/bxmenclan>Forum ... </p><i></i>
