Metroid: Samus Returns for Nintendo 3DS

Samus Returns was an excellent game, and it holds up very well to the older 2D entries in the series. I say this as a life-long fan of the series, having played through every mainline entry Super Metroid and forward many times. Compared to the others, I would personally rank this game above Fusion, but slightly below Zero Mission and Super. My runthrough of the game with 100% items took exactly 20 hours according to the 3DS timer, and ~15 hours according to the in-game timer. That makes this the longest 2D Metroid game by quite a lot, and arguably the lengthiest game in the whole series. The gameplay is extremely smooth and natural-feeling, and once you get used to it you almost wonder how you ever got by without free aiming. All of the abilities are well implemented and the maps are very well thought out and beautiful to look at. I also loved the new Aeon abilities you get in this game, which adds a whole new dimension to the existing gameplay formula. If I have one complaint, it's that the maps don't interconnect in quite the same way as they do in Super or Zero Mission, but that's mostly to stay true to the original Metroid 2 which was laid out differently from those games as well. Also, while I personally enjoyed it, many people aren't fond of the new Melee mechanic, which is essential to progressing through the game. In terms of difficulty, this is certainly the most difficult Metroid game. I feel pretty safe in saying that. The saving grace, however, is that the game is *very* generous with checkpoints. That's right, new to the series, this game has a checkpoint system, and the game gives you these checkpoints a *lot*. As far as I could tell, checkpoints occur after every elevator and teleporter ride, before and after every boss/Metroid fight, and of course whenever you use a save station. So, while you will probably die way more in this game than past Metroid games, you will never lose more than just a minute or two of gameplay. Nonetheless, this game is *not* easy - many enemies take out an entire energy tank or more, and bosses can take out several just with one hit - and that's on Normal difficulty. I haven't started Hard or Fusion (very hard) mode yet, but I can't even imagine how difficult those must be. - And finally, as a second part to this review, I want to compare this to AM2R. For those who don't know, AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) is a fan remake of Metroid 2. It took the sole developer an entire decade to complete, and it quickly spread across the internet and got great reviews once it was finished. It is very possibly the most in-depth and intricate fan game ever created. Some would argue that it is actually just as good as a real 2D Metroid game. The game can be found freely many places in the internet for those who may want to play it. (Hint: googling "Reddit AM2R" isn't a bad start to finding it.) AM2R was finished and released about a year before Samus Returns was even announced. I myself did play AM2R, and I was very fond of it. At the time I would have called it the definitive Metroid 2 experience. So how does AM2R compare to Samus Returns? Personally, I liked Samus Returns more. AM2R was great, and I would argue that it, too, holds up well to the older Metroid games. But Samus Returns was still better, to me. The core gameplay was smoother, the boss fights were more polished, and I enjoyed the new gameplay additions in Samus Returns quite a lot. And not to spoil anything, but the climax segment of Samus Returns was also significantly better than in AM2R. The one thing that AM2R *did* do really well, though, was that it did a much better job interconnecting the different areas. AM2R made an effort to interconnect the different areas with a more advanced overworld/system than Samus Returns has. For whatever it's worth, that one aspect of AM2R is better than Samus Returns. (Also, I personally like AM2R's soundtrack better, but that's really very subjective, and the soundtrack in SR is good too.) That being said, Samus Returns is still my preference. After you play and finish Samus Returns, AM2R is a very interesting case study of a remake of Metroid 2 that comes from a completely different angle, and in my opinion it shouldn't be skipped over if you're a fan of the series. But if you are unfamiliar with Metroid 2 or what happens in the game, Samus Returns is the one to play first.

I have played the original Metroid 2, and while it was fun, going to this is a huge difference for anyone who may be interested. The modern feel and extra features added to Samus Returns creates a more unique experience (oh, and... there's actual color this time). I do not think playing the original is required, but even just watching some gameplay of it would allow one to appreciate the changes showcased in this remake. With its good mix of old and new (i.e. Aeion abilities), I was really curious to see how it would work out. The premise is roughly the same. Eliminate the Metroid threat by journeying further into the depths of SR388, all while having fun enjoying the same familiar aspects the Metroid series has to offer -- exploration, hidden paths, doors that cannot be opened early on until an item is found that will do so, suddenly allowing way more access to areas you couldn't explore before. It's a good thing. One of the differences I was surprised to see was how an Aeion ability has to be used to help expand the map of any area you explore, rather than finding one map room and syncing with it. It's not even a bad thing, just different. I had to get used to it at first, but decided it was easy enough to do as long as I conserved the energy for it (and found expansions that increased said energy for other abilities). The rapid beam ability is pretty awesome, and has numerous spots in the game where it is actually useful, rather than a gimmick (which is good when you're trying to introduce something new). Overall, I liked the addition of all the new Aeion abilities, and how they could be used. The counter ability is also an interesting aspect in some ways. At first, it was redundant to use as it was basically always used to counter little bat creatures (I guess more for practice). Yet, even that gameplay aspect was used for other scenarios later on that ended up being really helpful. While searching for Metroids, it was good to see that regular enemies throughout the game would at times pose a good challenge depending on how long I had explored between save points. I would sometimes wander where I'd risk losing a lot of energy without expecting it, so I'd have to sometimes backtrack throughout lots of enemies and/or dangerous environments to try and not die before getting back to a save location or energy replenish thing. I was at times very relieved to remember that now entrances to Metroid rooms and recent elevator uses created a little checkpoint. That helped me out more than once, especially when Metroids now have many more ways of attacking Samus to make the fights interesting, and at times dangerous depending on how many energy tanks one may have early on. I didn't really try and pick a favorite Metroid form to fight. They were all fun in their own way without spoiling anything. I recommend "Samus Returns" for anyone familiar with Metroid, or for those who want to try something new.

I have a pretty long history with the Metroid series, and I think this is definitely one of the best of the 2D Metroid games. I think too many people get so hung up on nostalgia for the older games that they can't accept how good Samus Returns is. I think it is easily the most playable 2D game in the series control-wise, it's more streamlined making certain movements and weapon switching easier and thus more fun. Being able to stop and aim in any direction is just awesome. People complain about the counter system, but once you get through the early areas of the game, you don't use it nearly as much- but it keeps you on your toes. Having the map on the bottom screen is immensely preferable to having to press a button to go to a second screen, back and forth, back and forth. The 3D effect is excellent in this game- it really feels like you are looking into an alien world, and it really adds to the atmosphere. The graphics are great- nicely detailed polygons, however the frame rate isn't what I would have liked- it's all a bit juddery, and 60fps would have made the game feel and play much better (the Kirby games were able to pull off 60fps- I'd prefer they dial the graphics down if necessary so they can target 60fps). There really should have been a Switch version as well, that does run at 60fps. I do wish there were more boss fights/variety, but that's a weakness of the game that SR is based on- fighting the same Metroids over and over gets a little repetitive. There are only 3 major boss fights. and they are NOT easy fights...they will require multiple tries- I think they could have reduced they difficulty of these fights just a little. But as a total package, I really can't complain. I had an overall great time with it, and recommend it to anyone with a 3DS especially (the 3D effect is worth it- if you only have a 2DS it's still great, but you'll be missing out). I really don't know why Nintendo seems to hate the Metroid series so much that we get games in the series so rarely, but I really would like to get more Metroid games more frequently.

This Samus Returns along with Super Metroid are hands down the best Metroid games to this day! Music in this game can be listened to over and over even outside of playing the game without being bored. The visuals of this game are so incredibly beautiful without me even using the 3D feature, the backgrounds really pop out and make me feel like I'm really playing a 3D game. Just so awesome! This game can be really challenging sometimes and I love how creative some of the boss battles are. There is a counter attack move in this but I never really used it and it's not required to actually enjoy or play the game. I also love how exploratory this Metroid is and how you can get completely lost. There is a map of course but the way the layout is, it's so perfect and so many secret areas to find and explore. There's also some really creative ways to attain some of the items like energy tanks and missile pickups, stuff like that. I also got Metroid Dread but this to me is true Metroid and I want so much this game ported to current systems and want more Metroid's like this one. Definitely get this Metroid game if you want a true Metroid experience, a must buy!

Excellent. As described. Great game. Recommended.

After the reveal of Metroid Dread, I really wanted to play the game. It looked awesome, but I didn’t really want to drop $60 on a game that I wasn’t sure I would like. Samus Returns is made by the same studio, so I figured it would be a good starting point. If I didn’t like the game I’d resell it, since (at the time of writing) even used copies go for about MSRP. To be brief: I won’t be reselling this game. As my first real entrance into the Metroid genre of games, I’m a big fan and it’s left me even more excited to play Dread now. The gameplay is fluid and fun, the exploration mechanics are excellent, and it looks super good on the 3DS. I’m just getting to the last area in the game now and I’ve throughly enjoyed my play through. There are some tedious parts, but it does a really good job of introducing you to the series’ core mechanics and gameplay loop. Plus the boss fights are super fun. My favorite part is that every fight seems fair. Maybe at first I lost a lot, but the boss’ moves are telegraphed really well, and by the time I finally beat some of them I was able to finally do it without taking any damage because I’d finally learned all its little tricks. Beyond boss fights the game is no slouch in terms of difficulty. I’ve been playing on Normal Mode, but even then there have been times of increased difficulty and I’ve died more than I almost ever do in a Nintendo game. But, again, most every death feels fair. I almost never get absolutely destroyed out of nowhere. Most of the time if I die it’s because I didn’t manage my health or ammo better. Then retreading the paths I lost when I died feels even better because I know what to expect and how to prepare. The exploration is too-notch as well. Some areas are locked off until you can backtrack with stronger items, but exploration is almost always rewarded somehow. It may be an extra ammo or health station, maybe a hidden power-up. The game wants you to explore the planet and does such a good job of motivating you to do it because you get rewarded nearly every time you do

*Mild equipment spoilers. More than two decades ago, a little seven-year-old me, blocky yellow Game Boy in hand, decided to take a chance and spend my holiday cash on an old copy of Metroid II: Return of Samus. I knew nothing about the series - more than anything, I was just tempted by the colorful box art and and low price of a 1991 release game. Within a few minutes of starting, my little 'walk-right-'til-you-can't walk-right-no-more' video game brain was blown. Donkey Kong Land, Super Mario Land...not even the amazing Wario Land could compare. I spent hours making poor Samus space-jump and spider-ball every inch of every cavern and corridor looking for loose metroids and missile upgrades. She - yes SHE, I was amazed to read in the game's gorgeous instruction manual - wasn't afraid to brave those dark, acid-filled caverns and fight those terrifying 8-bit critters to complete her mission. Sufficed to say, when I heard that one of my favorite games was getting an official remake, I was hesitantly ecstatic. Years of sub-par Metroid games and, even worse, complete silence had me worried that Samus Returns would be more Federation Force than Fusion. But in the spirit of the chance my younger self took back then, I decided to pick it up soon after release. Was it worth it? Does Samus Returns capture the same desperate combat and lonely, claustrophobic feeling of exploration as Return of Samus? Thankfully, yes. Mostly. Gameplay remains the same as most 2D Metroid games with a few excellent quality of life changes to save time and frustration. As much as my child self was willing to comb every inch of the landscape, nowadays I can't quite manage that level of dedication; thankfully Samus Returns has taken a lot of the pain out of exploration with useful upgrades like the Scan Pulse, which highlights breakable blocks and reveals a small amount of the nearby area on your map. A big (and I suspect divisive) addition is the Melee Counter, which allows Samus to bash charging enemies to push them away and place them in a brief weakened state. Just about every enemy in the game has an attack that, with good timing, this move is built to counter, While I don't think it's ever crucial to beating an enemy, it can make some fights much, much quicker, and some enemies enemies even provide a really awesome mini-cutscene when you do it right. To me, these felt like all the coolness of quick-time events without the disconnect of having to mash or hit garish onscreen button sequences. In essence, the Melee Counter is the gimmick of Samus Returns - if you like it, you'll like the game. If you don't, you'll likely get frustrated pretty quickly. All-in-all, I'm a fan. As nice as the game looks, I can't help but feel saddened that the dark, beautiful pixel graphics of Zero Mission and Fusion have been replaced by the bright, flat 3D textures that have become the usual for 3DS games. Normally I wouldn't care quite so much about what's essentially an upgrade, but so much of the look and feeling of both the old and new 2D Metroid games were tied to this gritty pixelated look. This was also reflected in the different areas; while each certainly different, I can't actually recall HOW each looked especially different. Compared to Fusion, where each area had different, vibrant color schemes, objects, and enemy types, much of Samus Returns sort of runs together in my mind. This is completely subjective of course, so I certainly wouldn't blame you for enjoying the 3D look more - in its favor, it definitely made things easier to see in a lot of cases. The controls on the 2DS were tight and only rarely frustrating (gotta love that circle pad...) , and the sounds and music are excellent. Most of it's just old stuff remastered, but that's neither surprising nor unwelcome in a remake. Odds are good I'll end up getting the soundtrack. If it's not painfully obvious, the bar I set for this game was very high. It would have taken a lot for it to impress me, and while I think it's an excellent remake and a worthy addition to the Metroid series (and doubly so after so much nothing), I couldn't help but just expect...more. But that more likely speaks more of my own pickiness than it does about the quality of this game. At the end of the day, Metroid: Samus Returns is more than worth the money if you're a fan of good 2D exploration platformers, and doubly so if you're a Metroid fan. Now back to stewing about whether or not its worth picking up a Switch just for Metroid Prime 4....

Metroid II: The Return of Samus is mostly fondly remembered for it's fantastic ending that leads right into Super Metroid. There was more to the game at first. Being a Gameboy game it was actually quite an impressive feat and managed to evoke some real classic Metroid tropes such as a great atmosphere and a sense of being lost. Unfortunately, the original Gameboy game hasn't aged well and it's also rather difficult to find. This is where the remake Samus Returns comes into play. It's a remake and an updated one. It takes the best of the classic 2D Metroid games and combines it with some of the finest qualities of Metroid Prime. The end result is perhaps the best Metroid game we've seen in a decade. The story in Samus Returns is pretty simple: Samus has destroyed Mother Brain and has now gone to the Metroid home world of SR388 to get rid of the Metroid menance once and for all. She will go to their homeworld and beging eradicating the Metroid's one by one. But the deeper she gets the more dangerous it becomes. And in this remake she'll run into some harrowing new dangers. The story is simple, but the fun of Metroid storytelling is seeing what unfolds in the story by what you discover as you explore. And there is plenty of that to do in Metroid Samus Returns. Metroid has never been that story centric, though. The most story focused game in the series (Metroid Fusion) ended up telling a GREAT story on its own, but the more story heavy a game is the more likely it is to be linear. As Metroid is more about exploration than that, Metroid Returns relies on the environment and the players deductions about what's going on. In spite of that, though, to call Metroid: Samus Returns a nonlinear experience would also be misleading. Certain portions of the game open up at a time. Your goal is to go roaming through areas and defeat enough Metroids to get a pool of acid to lower even further so that you can explore deeper. The game doesn't really open up until the end of the game. This doesn't mean there's no exploring to do. There's plenty of it. It just means the exploration is more controlled than it lets on. Most of the time your goal with exploring is to find a Metroid to destroy. And often this will take you around the majority of the areas that you're exploring as is. This isn't all there is to exploration, though. As with previous Metroid titles, you'll find power ups that will eventually give Samus better abilities. The original Gameboy game had a surprisingly large number of power ups for such a simple game, but Samus Returns expands on them to provide power ups that would make appearances in other Metroid games such as the gravity suit, power bombs and the grapple beam. All of these additions are weaved in rather well and the game makes sure you'll have to utilize them. The exploration becomes great when you realize you'll have to go back to previous areas to find everything. So yes, it's a more controlled and linear exploration but the fun in exploring is still there. Mostly. In making Metroid Samus Returns more accessible it introduces Aeion abilities. One of them is a scanner that unveils the majority of the map and points out any hidden power ups or strange blocks that can be destroyed with weapons. This is an optional thing, but more die-hard Metroid fans probably want to have their exploration be a bit more exciting than that. That being said, however, what I find the most fascinating about finding powerups (whether they be more missiles or energy tanks) is that getting a lot of them is like solving a puzzle. They're usually not difficult but if finding them feels too easy, you'll be rest assured that the game will make sure you understand its mechanics to get them. Other Aeion abilities allow Samus to do such things as slow down time, utilize a rapid fire effect or put up an additional shield to soak up some damage. Samus can also stop and utilize precision aiming if the player holds down a button. This allows for more accurate shots and you'll know if you'll hit something because the lock on sight line will change colors. While all of these seem like they'd make Samus Returns an easy game, you'll be surprised at just how challenging it can actually be. In particular, the main boss fights require excellent pattern recognition and master of one of the best new additions to Samus Returns: The melee counter. At some points enemies will flash and come in for an attack. When timed correctly Samus can execute a melee counter that will temporarily leave an enemy stunned and allow Samus to shoot them with ease. This isn't just used on standard enemies, bosses and Metroids will have this happen as well. In the case of fighting a lot of the Metroids (and you will fight a lot of them) mastering this technique is required and you'll likely learn it just because you'll fight so many of them. The game's difficulty, however, is definitely more top heavy. By that I mean, the beginning and middle stages of the game are fairly challenging but not so much the last third or so of the game. The difficulty, however, feels rather fair. This isn't the kind of game where you'll find yourself dying thanks to cheap tricks from your enemies. All of the attacks the enemies launch into are telegraphed and can be avoided or countered, it's just a matter of learning them. This is especially true of the game's bosses and the Metroids. You'll find it isn't really that difficult as you fail and begin to learn the attacks of your enemies. Likewise, unlike other Metroid games you not only have a plentiful amount of save rooms and warp rooms, but there's also a checkpoint system outside of boss battles and Metroid battles so that you don't have to constantly start from your last save point. There isn't really a lot that keeps Metroid down to be honest. If there was anything it would be that the fights with the Metroid's often become repetitive. New variants are introduced throughout but most of the time you'll fight the standard alphas more than anything and the layout of the arenas don't often change much. Eventually other types are introduced and they do things like run to other rooms, but after a while you wish that there had been more thrown in there to break up this monotony. For instance, the game has three specific boss fights, but there was definitely room for a couple more. Some Metroid's add in new gimmicks and the like but after you've fought your tenth alpha Metroid the experience feels more like a bump in the road rather than a mission. On the other hand, what bosses you do fight are actually quite enjoyable because the battles go in phases that require you to recognize patterns and really test you on how we'll you've learned the gameplay mechanics. They're fun, exhilirating and lengthy boss fights that really test your mettle. Though they're challenging, I was never frustrated at losing. In part because punishment was usually just putting me one room away and because I could rest assured that I screwed up, not that something unfair happened. Metroid: Samus Returns is a learning experience, and it's actually a fun one at that. The graphics and sound have also been updated. The new look and feel of Metroid Samus Returns is great. It's in 2.5D and has some neat looking backgrounds and environments. The soundtrack is also good, with a lot of themes being remixed from other Metroid titles. There are times when I wanted more Metroid II: The Return of Samus tracks to be updated but I'll have to deal without them. The only real problem with the soundtrack is that it isn't always done well enough evoke exploration but rather action. And sure enough the last third or so of the game is really action heavy with enemies basically being all over the place. Which strangely feels out of place when the original game was so much about isolation the further into this planet you got... only to surprise you with the Metroid Queen. It was a subtle bit of narrative that (whether intended or not) made the trek through the final moments of the game rather haunting. That sense isn't here. Your mileage may vary on that one, but one thing that the original game certainly didn't do was allow it's last moments to be too drowned out in enemies. In particular the original's finale was nice and subtle. The 3DS remake doesn't do that. And while it may be more exciting and it's fun as hell to play, it certainly doesn't make its connection to Super Metroid stronger. Don't take the criticisms to heart, they are merely nitpicks from a fan who rather liked the original. But keep in mind part of the reason the atmosphere of the original game was what it was is because of the limitations of the Gameboy. The 3DS remake has no such limitations. They make great use of the hardware here and a great use of the environment. What's most important, though is that this is simply a solid Metroid game overall. Samus Returns feels like a fitting title for the 3DS remake as it truly is the return of Samus this time around. After Metroid: Other M it seemed like the series would be in disarray after some of the most mixed reception a game in the series ever received. This was not helped when just a few years later the follow up would be Metroid Federation Force, a game that didn't even feel like Metroid. Now we have this gem of a game on the 3DS and it really does feel like a return to form. Small problems and nitpicks aside, Metroid Samus Returns is worth the time to play and worth the time to invest in.

Hace cuatro años me hice de la new 3DS solo por este juego. Es muy bueno, el efecto de 3D se logra muy bien; hay buena música, buen control, guardado fácil. La historia es sencilla y al punto, además de que al avanzar en el juego vas desbloqueando una galería que te da una idea más profunda de los eventos que pasaron en el planeta mucho tiempo antes de tu llegada. Varios comentarios lo manejan como un juego repetitivo y pues en ese caso lo es porque así es la historia: la misión es destruir a todos los metroids que estaban sellados en las diferentes áreas del planeta; en ese sentido, los escenarios donde los enfrentas cambian, así como el tipo de ataque (electricidad o fuego), además de que no todos los metroids que enfrentas están en la misma etapa de crecimiento y conforme avanzas es más difícil derrotarlos. Hay disponibles dos dificultades: la difícil la verdad es muy difícil y es hasta la mitad del juego cuando se pone un poco menos terrible si obtienes las mejoras del equipo de Samus; como no tengo los amiibo, no sé qué diferencias haya al usarlos o si son substanciales. Yo lo recomiendo ampliamente. Como nota aparte, son notables las similitudes en el modo de juego en los promocionales que han salido de Metroid 5-Dread, por lo que parece que ese nuevo título será bastante similar a este.

Another great game for the series. Now a must for collectors

Came in as estimated and brand new sealed with a case and manual great purchase may buy again from em soon 👍👍👍👍👍

Jogo incrível! Um dos melhores jogos de Metroid jogabilidade maravilhosa e esplêndida Recomendo demais.

Excelente.