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Platform: Game Boy
Released: 1991
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Samus' look had evolved by the second game into something a little more menacing. |
After the incidents that occurred on Zebes and the apparent destruction of Mother Brain and the Metroids, the Galactic Federation turned its attention to SR388, the planet from which the Metroids originated. It sent a science team to the planet to study the environments and fauna there, but after initial reports were received, contact with the team was lost. A military detachment was sent to retrieve the missing scientists, and it too vanished. It would seem that something very sinister is lurking on SR388, and the Galactic Federation knows what it is: Metroids. It again dispatches Samus Aran, this time to SR388, to wipe out the source of the Metroids once and for all.
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Black and white, but still ready to rock. |
Shortly after arriving on SR388, Samus encounters a Metroid, but she discovers a shocking truth about the species: the Metroids found on the Zebes excursion were merely the immature form of the creature. The first Metroid she finds is known as an Alpha Metroid, and it has molted out of its original skin and become a more complex creature. After killing the new breed of Metroid, Samus continues to make her way through the caverns of SR388, obtaining new items and weapons and hunting down Metroids. She runs into even more new mutations of Metroid, such as the Gamma form, which can attack with lightning, and the huge Zeta form.
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Samus' first Alpha Metroid. |
Finally, Samus finds the Queen Metroid herself deep in the heart of SR388. After a vicious battle with the gargantuan beast, the Metroid threat seems to be over. Samus discovers a single remaining egg, however, and just as she happens upon it, the egg hatches, releasing a Metroid larva. The small creature sees Samus and forms an immediate parent-child bond. Samus' maternal instincts likewise kick in--she can't bring herself to destroy the tiny Metroid, so she captures it instead and leaves SR388 with the larva in tow.
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The most evolved metroids are quite a threat. |
Little does Samus know that this act of mercy will have dire consequences...
In gameplay terms, Metroid II was a direct continuation of the first game. SR388's geography was a little less diverse than that of Zebes, thanks in part to the black-and-white graphics of the Game Boy, but all the cavern-hopping gameplay was intact. Most of the items and power-ups from the first Metroid made a return, and several new ones were introduced. For instance, the infrared ray scope let Samus see in the dark and detect hidden passageways, while the spider ball let her stick to walls and ceilings when in ball form. New weapons like the spazer rounded out Samus' arsenal.
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The standard energy suckers are still around, too. |
There weren't too many changes to the overall gameplay of Metroid II. Samus' main objective is the elimination of the Metroids, and so the game gave you an onscreen counter that indicated how many of the things you had left to kill. This was basically equivalent to a progress meter--the fewer Metroids you had left, the further you were in the game. Also, Metroid II tossed out the old password feature in favor of a battery backup that let you save your game more easily. In order to save, you had to locate one of the save points scattered throughout the tunnels of SR388. That made staying alive a bit more important--if you died, you couldn't just write down your password for later.
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Samus triumphs once again. |
Metroid II was the worst received of the three released Metroid games, although "worst received" is meant relatively; it was definitely more of the same-old Metroid. The black-and-white graphics and low screen resolution were a little disappointing, though, and they detracted a bit from the expansive feeling that the first Metroid's environments evoked. Fortunately for nostalgic gamers, the Game Boy Color, released in 1998, had new color settings for Metroid II that actually made it look pretty good.
For the most part, Metroid II was a worthy sequel. Nobody was prepared for the caliber of what we'd get next, though.
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