Metroid II has aged into a ugly, inconsistent mess that can't even be recommended to the most diehard Metroid fans.
Cons: Repetitive, linear progression; Inconsistent level design and difficulty; Fairly short; Ugly art design
It's kind of fitting, really. In what is my most HD year yet, one where I've obtained a PS3, an HDTV (finally), and am looking at upgrading my PC, I decide to return to one of my first games ever: an old black-and-white game for a brick commonly referred to as a Game Boy. As this is one of my first games, and one that got me into the hobby, certainly I might be a little biased and nostalgic.
Not really. Although it's not a horrible game, Metroid II: Return of Samus has AGED horribly and isn't really worth any one's time.
Fulfilling a role that would make Hitler proud, Samus has gone to the Metroid home world, SR388, and is tasked with massacring the entire Metroid population (okay, so these creatures are pretty awful, but really, the whole population?). Of course, you wouldn't know that just by playing the game, but it hardly matters. All you need to know is that you need to find and kill each of these creatures.
What you play FEELS like a Metroid adventure at first, until you realize that it offers none of the same brilliant level design, or great art design found in other entries. The planet of SR388 is inconsistent, occasionally shoehorning you into cramped corridors only to release you into a large area with no clue where to go. There is none of the cool feeling obtained by backtracking with new equipment that you would find in other Metroid games. Instead, you kill enough Metroids and the lava inexplicably drains, opening up a new path. And although it's not as bad as the first game, you will no doubt be confused by some of the obscure paths required to beat the game.
The art design is also bizarre, and everything besides Samus and a few late-game Metroids resembles nothing else in the Metroid universe. The Metroids in this game have varying shapes and designs, but none of them ever feel right, and some of them are downright ugly and impossible to comprehend (seriously, what ARE alpha Metroids in this game?). Corridors are basic, ugly, and look identical from one to the other, and Samus is too large. Although I understand the limits of the Game Boy graphically, Nintendo could have done better than this.
Back on the gameplay side of things, I will concede that the shooting and the exploration are still pretty fun. A couple fights with Metroids are actually pretty cool. But for every neat battle there are a couple others that happen in the worst places, and/or while you are running low on health and missiles (this game doesn't give out many supplies).
The game comes out at around 4-6 hours in length, which is pretty long for a Game Boy game, but pretty short by any other standards. And frankly, it still feels too long given its inconsistencies. There are some good moments buried amid the mess, particularly if you want to see how far games have come, but it's by no means worth anyone's purchase. Avoid this one.
Even if you are a Metroid fan.