i Really Want to Give This Game a Higher Score, But I Just Can't.
Plot 7/10
The Plot of Metroid II is decent, but nothing more. Actually, it is pretty standard fare for an early sidescrolling action title. In a nutshell, The Galactic Federation, overwhelmed with joy at Samus' success in defeating the Mother Brain, decided to take action to prevent any further abuse of the Metroids' incredible power. Returning to SR388, the planet where the entire Metroid crisis began, the Federation hoped to wipe out the entire race of Metroids as a means of securing the safety of the galaxy and to rid it from the threat of Metroids falling into the wrong hands. Shortly after sending a team of highly specialized troops to SR388, contact with the team was lost. Desperate to recoup their losses, the Federation called on Samus Aran once again to save the galaxy. With the promise of a well-deserved payment for her trouble, Samus headed out to SR388, intent on finding and eliminating the Metroid threat once and for all. The game begins when Samus lands on SR388. There is no further plot development once the game begins. You fight the Metroids, find the weapons and power ups, then defeat the final boss. The plot is simple to a fault, but this issue is almost reconciled by the fact that this type of game needs very little plot to be fun... Almost, but not quite.
Gameplay 8/10
The Gameplay is solid. Metroid II is a good sidescrolling shooter. The action is smooth and simple, and the learning curve is minimal. Like its predecessor, in Metroid II, your primary goal is to fight your way through a cavernous labyrinth of subterranean tunnels, mindlessly blasting away at the small fry as you carry out a search and destroy mission against the Metroids. Throughout the game, you find a whole bevy of different weapons, most of these are cool and easy to use. You also find power ups that expand your missile and life capacity as well as ones that give you special abilities, such as climbing up walls and jumping in mid-air. In this respect it is almost a carbon copy of the first Metroid game. The map is HUGE, but all the scenery is virtually identical. So, you spend the vast majority of your time lost or running in circles. My other complaint in this category is that the save points are very far apart. So, if you die (Which you most likely will) you have to start from a point several areas back from where you died. This is incredibly frustrating. The game is fun, but the constant circling gets redundant enough to drive a sane person batty.
Graphics 5/10
The graphics in Metroid II are adequate. I wouldn't call them bad, but I wouldn't call them good either. Even for an older Game Boy Title, the graphics are bland and extremely repetitive. This game, even the second time through, takes about five to eight hours to clear, and within about an hour of play time, you've already seen all there is to see visually. There are very few enemy types, and they all look relatively alike. The backgrounds, where Nintendo even bothered to include them, are sparse at best, and the scenery only shifts about four times throughout the whole game. In a game where the maps are already confusing, the repetitive graphical motifs just add to the frustration of trying to figure out where you are and where you're supposed to be going. The only saving graces in the visual category are the great boss sprites, especially the final boss, which looks awesome. However, All in all, the graphics in Metroid II are very unimpressive, but they manage to get the job done somehow.
Sound 3/10
"Metroid II: The Return of Samus" is a game best played with the sound off. The sound effects are minimal, and, while not altogether terrible, they just seem to lack any real ingenuity. The boss roars are all identical, the weapon and battle sounds are a cliche set of digital beeps that don't even come close to making an effort at originality, and the music is almost nonexistent. There is only one actual song that recurs at random intervals throughout the game. The rest of the time, you fight your way through the game scored by a series of obnoxious bleeps and blips. It is supposed to be creepy and atmospheric, but it comes off as being incredibly annoying.
Replay Value 8/10
While lacking in any attempt at originality, Metroid II still manages to stand out as a superb sidescrolling shooter/jumper. The game itself, all else set aside, is well designed and incredibly fun to play. The maps are complex enough and the enemies numerous enough to provide a challenge a second, and even a third time through.
Overall Rating 7/10
Despite low scores in certain categories, this is a game where the sum of its parts are far greater than the individual aspects. Metroid II is a solid action title and, all things considered, a worthy successor to the original. The gameplay is solid enough and the action fun enough that the deficiencies in the graphical and sound departments can be easily overlooked.
Buy/Rent/Ignore?
Buy. If you are a Metroid fan, or even just an action game lover, this is a great title. The gameplay elevates it above any of the above mentioned problems, and it is definitely a title that you will want to play over again.
Bottom Line
This game is such a blast to play that I wish I could give it a higher score. However, I just can't bring myself to overlook the massive amount of small problems. With just a little more effort on the part of the design team, "Metroid II: The Return of Samus" could have been a perfect 10, but, as is, I stand by my score of 7.