Metroid: Samus Returns Review

Samus returns, indeed. It's been seven years since the last time the Metroid series has had a main series game release, and it's been thirteen years since the series has had a game in the traditional 2D side-scrolling shooter style. Coincidentally - or perhaps intentionally - that game was Zero Mission, a remake of the first game in the series. Metroid: Samus Returns is a remake as well, based on the second game of the series, Return of Samus. Unlike how Zero Mission stuck with mechanics present in previous games, however, Samus Returns introduces entirely new mechanics and abilities not present in any other game in the series. To that extent, it's less like a remake and more like a re-imagining. It's almost like a new game entirely - which is a good thing, because the original Metroid II was very rough around the edges.

Being a remake, the plot of the game is nothing new if you played Return of Samus: bounty hunter Samus Aran is tasked with eliminating every Metroid on the plant SR388. Much of the gameplay is also left intact from previous games: Samus can shoot beams and Missiles from her arm cannon, jump, somersault, wall-jump, grab ledges, and not long into the game, she regains the ability to use her signature Morphball move to roll through small openings. In addition, Samus Returns gives Samus the ability to aim in a full 360 degree radius, as opposed to being locked into eight directions as she was previously.

Samus was also given a new melee counter-attack move, which can push back and stun enemies. If this move is used with good timing, it leaves most enemies open to an instant kill shot. Doing this requires just enough skill to not be stupidly easy to do, but not so much where it's something that requires hours and hours of practice. To explain this better: there's a visual and audio cue to know when the counter can be used, but it doesn't account for distance, so it still requires the player to use their best judgement for when to actually use it.

The last new addition to Samus' repertoire are the four Aeion abilities. Each of them run off of a resource called "Aeion," which is obtained from killing enemies and performing successful counter-attacks. These abilities are a bit different from Samus' usual power-ups in that they must be toggled on before they can be used, and once activated, they greatly increase Samus' abilities. Well, except for one: the Scan Pulse, the first Aeion ability acquired. Instead of acting as a powerful passive ability, the Scan Pulse is a bit more active. Once activated, it will send out a pulse that highlights destructible blocks in the room and fills in undiscovered areas on the map. The reason I bring this up is because I wanted to point out how much of a great player aid it is. It's a godsend to anyone who frequently gets stuck or who just wants to have an easier time through the game, while at the same time, it's non-intrusive to players who don't want hints since you're never outright forced to use it.

What I really liked about all four of the Aeion abilities is that they weren't just something that only gets used when they need to be used. They were useful enough for me to want to use them on my own - without the game telling me I should. Contrast this to the Visors in Metroid Prime, which were only useful in preset circumstances.

Now that I mention it, I'd say that all of the items acquired throughout the game were useful for more than one set circumstance, again, contrasting the Visors of Prime. Take the Wave Beam, for example: it allows Samus' primary fire to pass through objects. In past games, I never felt that this power-up was all that useful, but it felt very helpful in Samus Returns. Another great example is the Grapple Beam: in the past, the Grapple Beam would become useless by the end of the game. In Samus Returns, however, the Grapple Beam remains relevant throughout the whole game thanks to a small few alterations.

Speaking of small changes, there are quite a few small changes made to the overall gameplay in comparison to past Metroid games that make the whole experience smoother. To name a few of my favorites: enemy drops float to you automatically, you can easily switch to Morphball by taping the touchscreen, and the Ice Beam no longer stacks with the other Beams and is now it's own item to switch to (see, Prime, that's how you do separate Beams!). All in all, the traditional Metroid formula has made the transition to the modern age quite nicely.

Now, I'm not usually one to gush about visuals - in fact, I usually try to leave out any mention of visuals when reviewing a game since graphic quality is a subjective topic - but in this case, I need to give credit where credit is due; Samus Returns looks amazing. None of the graphical shortcomings of the 3DS are very apparent while playing, save for the occasional stereoscopic 3D error, which you'd never notice if you always play in 2D. Additionally, the environments are very detailed, to the point where it would make one start to wonder why Samus can only move on a two-dimensional plane.

If there's anything bad I have to say about Samus Returns it's that it didn't 100% replicate the experience I wanted. Don't get me wrong, it's 98% of the experience I wanted, but let's go over that 2% for a moment: first of all, wall-jumping sucks. In past games, if you mastered wall-jumping, you could wall-jump against a single wall to get to the top of it. This is one of the things I love about Metroid. It was something skill-based that came in handy quite a few times, especially given Metroid's platform-shooter nature. Unfortunately, single-wall-jumping is not possible in Samus Returns. It pushes you away from the wall for a good bit of time, giving you the sense that it was very much intentionally made so that you can't single-wall-jump. Short-hopping also sucks. Gone are the days of only jumping for exactly as long as you press the button, which is unfortunate because of how good it felt to precisely dodge between two incoming enemy attacks. There was only ever two points in Samus Returns where I felt that it mattered, though, so this is very much a nitpick.

In fact, don't take either of those two things as glaring flaws. If you've never played a Metroid game before (or if your only Metroid experience was Prime), those two small details will likely not affect your experience with Samus Returns at all. In writing this review, I actually had to sit down and actively ask myself "is there anything wrong with this game" to actually come up with anything negative to say.

On that note, I give Metroid: Samus Returns a 5 out of 5. It makes me very happy to see that the first main series Metroid game to release in years is as good as this.

Image Source:

Wikitroid: http://metroid.wikia.com/