Metroid Fusion for Gameboy Advance

To complement the release of Retro Studios' excellent Metroid Prime on the Nintendo GameCube, the original Metroid development team has made an old school style Metroid game for Gameboy Advance. The team had a tough challenge to surpass: themselves. Super Metroid on Super NES, heralded by EGM as the #1 Best Game of all Time, is a seemingly insurmountable game, but the team has delivered on their promise to make a sequel worthy of the name Metroid 4.

Metroid Fusion takes place after the events in Super Metroid. The Metroid race is extinct, but studies continue on the home planet of the energy-absorbing, jellyfish-like creatures. While conducting experiments on the planet SR388, Samus is infected by an unknown life-form dubbed the "X" parasite, which nearly kills her. Shortly she and the scientists learn that the Metroids were the natural predators of the X-parasites, and in their absence the X have repopulated the planet. An injection of Metroid cells saves Samus' life and it changes her into a human-Metroid hybrid. This not only changes her physical appearance, but it also gives her the Metroid's ability to absorb X-parasites as food. The space station is invaded by the X-parasites kept there for research, and a clone of Samus named the SA-X is lurking about, causing mayhem and spreading the infestation. It is up to Samus and a computer named "Adam" to eliminate the SA-X and the X parasites infecting the space station, which is divided into sectors mirroring all types of planetary environments.

Metroid Fusion's plot progresses differently from its predecessors. Unlike the previous Metroid games in which the story progressed by events sans narrative, in Fusion you are guided by a navigation computer which notifies Samus of objectives and destinations. You are free to explore the areas of Fusion at your leisure, however; there will be no guarantee you will have the proper tools to explore areas until later. The navigation computer helps keep the pace flowing smoothly and it prevents those moments of feeling lost and not knowing what to do. The atmosphere is the most frightening of the Metroid games due to the foreboding presence of the SA-X, which is far more powerful than Samus in her weakened, recovering state. The tension reaches unprecedented levels as the SA-X tracks you throughout the dark hallways of the space station, and encounters with it are terrifying (usually leading to death, if you are not careful enough to avoid the SA-X). As Samus recovers her powers by collecting items, weapons, energy tanks and armor suits, you will feel more relaxed yet still on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what may happen next. Boss battles are incredibly fun, innovative and frequent. The rewards for destroying the bosses are bountiful as well, giving the game a great sense of progression.

The classic Metroid 2D platform-shooter gameplay is back, and it is better than ever. All of the enemies are infected with X-parasites, which try to flee when their host bodies are destroyed. Essentially, Samus must now chase after her power-ups before they resurrect a fallen enemy. The controls have been fine-tuned from Super Metroid and the game plays superbly. Samus' previously confusing jumping game has been perfected and she now has the ability to hang off ledges and she automatically rolls into a ball to squeeze into tight places. All of the Metroid conventions are here: Missiles, Super Missiles, Bombs, Power Bombs, High Jump, Screw Attack, Hyper Booster, Rolling Ball, Varia, Gravity Suit and more. Many beam types are available as well, including the Charge Beam, Wave Beam and Plasma beam.

The graphics are some of the best the Gameboy Advance has seen yet. Metroid Fusion features enhanced effects over Super Metroid and illustrated cutscenes, and better animations. The music and sound effects, likewise, are perfectly fitting for a Metroid game and they nearly overcome the GBA's crippled audio output (an option exists for GBA speaker and headphone optimization).

Metroid Fusion has a few flaws, but none of them detract significantly from the sheer enjoyment of the game. Sometimes it will be difficult to find hidden entrances to locations and you may need to resort to a guide or FAQ. The game is also short in length, although all Metroid games are short because they are meant to be played repeatedly to acquire better completion times (and endings, incidentally).

If you are a fan of any Metroid game, especially the older 2D Metroid games for NES, SNES and Game Boy, you simply must play Metroid Fusion. It is old school 2D gameplay tuned to perfection and it is full of exciting, gripping moments. Additionally, if you finish Fusion, you can link your GBA to Metroid Prime for the Nintendo GameCube and unlock the first Metroid game. The original Metroid team has done the impossible: they have designed a worthy successor to the classic Super Metroid.

www.metroid.com/fusion

Screenshots