Metroid Fusion

The Good
Metroid Fusion is chronologically the last Metroid game(the Metroid Prime franchise takes place between Metroid 1/Zero Mission and Metroid II: The Return of Samus), and it's Samus' first 32bit adventure on the Advance.

Personally, I really enjoyed the game throughout. There were some things I disliked about it but generally the whole experience is very enjoyable. Samus' new abilities, such as climbing ladders and the Power Grip which allows her to grip ledges come in handy for sure. I also like that they made the missiles upgradeable, that really simplified a lot of things for sure. Overall, Metroid Fusion feels simple, easy to play, and something you can just pick up and play, which is how handheld games should be like. The sound effects are very well done in comparison to older games.

The Bad
I didn't quite like the fact I couldn't skip the cutscenes. Having to watch the long intro every time I start a new game is a real pain in the butt. Also, I didn't like how much the game relied on story and mission objectives. I felt that the freedom and non-linear experience I had in Super Metroid was completely absent. Also, the music isn't nearly as memorable as the Super Metroid soundtrack, but it fits the atmosphere well.

The Bottom Line
Metroid Fusion is a game that some will find very entertaining and exciting, with huge replay value as you will try to find more and more items and do it with less playtime, while others might find the increased linear story-driven gameplay boring and uncharacteristic for the series in general. But all in all, Metroid Fusion is not a bad game. It's maybe not the best in the series(I give Super Metroid that title), but it's playable, and it gives room for another prequel.

The Good
Imagine a gameplay screen. Imagine all the different things that can be displayed on such a screen. Now, Metroid Fusion decided to do something epic and fill that screen with crumbling blocks. These are ominous symbols of desolation and sorrow. What Samus has to do is either Space Jump like there's no tomorrow, or remain in a Shinesparking state and run past these blocks. There is also symbolism in this. Some of these rooms require very extensive use of the Shinespark technique. Samus remaining in a state of light (Remain in Light) is symbolic of the ever-present battle between light and dark, good and evil.

There are also Screw Attack blocks everywhere. The thing is that you don't get Screw Attack ability until near the end, and after that, the game will direct you to fight the final bosses, effectively preventing you from exploring the rooms behind the Screw Attack blocks. This adds a sense of distrust and unrest. You shouldn't trust the in-game navigation computer. You're still the rogue agent who answers to no one but her own plans and strategies. After the Screw Attack ability is unlocked, you'll travel in some amazing paths that connect the puzzle pieces you collected throughout the adventure. Things finally make sense.

The Bad
Some puzzles don't make any sense. Bomb the center of a platform to reveal a bridge? Kill a spider and expect it to morph into another creature and kill that and wait for it to morph into yet another?

No X-Ray. The Select button is useless in this game and could have been used to activate the X-Ray ability found in Super Metroid. Without X-Ray, plus the fact that the game violently dictates where you should go next by disabling doors and paths that were previously open, you just feel that the game is bullying you and deceiving you at all times.

Lack of moves and tricks. The map and layout of the rooms aren't memorable enough, probably the least memorable Metroidvania map I've played. I can't tell the various areas apart since they look alike and have similar layout.

The Bottom Line
It took me 15 hours to beat it with 99% item collection rate. Metroid Fusion is solid, but life is too short and I wouldn't really recommend a game that's not excellent. If you have played Super Metroid and liked it, it's probably a better idea to just replay Super Metroid, rather than playing this.

The Good
The game is a good example of how Metroid series could logically be something else than what it usually stands for. So far, Metroid games had been mostly lone adventures where the plot is largely of the implied kind; Fusion, on the other hand, relies on direct narration and even - as unusual it sounds in a Metroid title - dialogue. So, this game is a refreshing change of pace; it's actually quite nice to see Samus, for once, having to cooperate with other people.

Also, the pacing changes are just beautifully done. The space laboratory undergoes changes. Power goes down, and suddenly you have to figure out different routes. There are times when you just have to make quick decisions.

The environments are beautifully done, and the graphics are surprisingly detailed for a 2D sprite game - a tradition which fortunately continued in Metroid: Zero Mission. Music is somewhat different from the usual Metroid tunes, but fit the game very nicely anyway.

The Bad
This game is much harder than Metroid: Zero Mission, and the boss fights, at times, approach Metroid Prime in their careful crafting of annoyance. How hard would it be to put the save points right next to the annoying boss fights? In a few places, I just hated to walk around for several tricky minutes from the nearest save point to the boss room where the boss flattens me in no time at all. And, of course, the last boss fights in particular were a marathon in murder. (Luckily, usually the most aggravating part was first in these...)

It's also a less open-ended game, which obviously comes from having such a strong plot this time... No problem in that in itself, but if you combine the annoying bosses with no freeform exploration, you get a distinct "oh man, I again need to trudge through those annoying rooms to get to the spider from hell, maybe I'll play this next week instead" feeling.

It's almost if this game needs more deliberate planning to play through; it's a game that you plan to play, instead of a game (like Zero Mission) that you can play in small doses and go in random directions and still make progress - something that is a good quality in a game for a portable system.

But maybe that feeling will wear off once you play this through a few times and you develop an understanding of the game, the same way you can develop an "understanding" about Zero Mission. I don't know yet, personally.

The Bottom Line
Fourth 2D part of the Metroid series is a nicely crafted continuation from the groundwork set forth by Super Metroid, and, control-wise, is built to work perfectly on the Game Boy Advance. A lot of strange things are going on this time: a whole new kind of an enemy that is also a master of mimicking, X Parasite, wreaks havoc in a scientific space station. Samus gets infected, disinfected with a new vaccine, and her old Chozo suit gets replaced with something odder.

We also see an evil clone of Samus herself, sure to induce some fear with its awesome weaponry - equivalents of which have traditionally been strewn around the station and you need to go grab them again.

This time, Samus takes orders from an artificial intelligence program which Samus calls Adam, and we also see, much to our non-surprise, that things people would rather not discuss are going on in the space station. Samus talks in this game, (though if you wanted sound samples, we had to wait for Brawl) and also uses her amazing blogging skills more than she used them in Super Metroid, now in form of many diary notes.

So here we have it: Fascinating science fiction tale in crammed, scary quarters of a huge space station - a finely crafted tale at that, if you are into that sort of things. Those new to the series should not take it as a representative of the series what comes to the look, plot and narration, because a lot of things are very different and unique in this game - just the basic gameplay and equipment remains the same compared to the rest of the series. This game works pretty well on its own, but I might recommend trying Metroid: Zero Mission first to get your feet wet - but that's not entirely necessary, I wager.