Metroid: Samus Returns
For once, ‘Samus it ever was’ just won’t do. In typically contrarian Nintendo fashion, the longawaited return of 2D Metroid is a remake of one of the series’ weaker entries. It makes sense the more you think about it. Revisiting a flawed game, after all, offers greater scope for improvement, and MercurySteam has certainly fulfilled its remit in that regard, expanding upon the Game Boy original in such a way that those four-colour foundations are barely recognisable. Or maybe Nintendo had enough doubts about the developer not to risk handing over the keys to an acknowledged classic like, say, Super Metroid. If so, after playing Samus Returns, you’ll understand its reticence.
Broadly speaking, the story remains the same. Samus lands on planet SR-388 and steadily journeys down into its cavernous innards, killing a given number of Metroids to trigger a mechanism that drains the hazardous substance preventing her from exploring deeper. But from the outset there’s an increased focus on combat that makes the opening hours a drag. Enemies hit with surprising force, and when you’ve only got one or two energy tanks there’s little room for error. The claustrophobic environments mean ignoring them is rarely an option, but everything seems to take a few The grapple beam feels oddly awkward to use, requiring you to hold down L and Y and rock the circle pad back and forth to get a good swing going. It’s a lot of fun to pull down Metroids from the ceiling, mind you too many shots to kill. The alternative is to wait for them to attack, a bright flash giving you a split-second to launch a melee counter that stuns them. It’s never explained why a swing of Samus’s arm is so much more powerful than her projectiles, but once a creature is stunned, you have a few seconds to finish it off.
Things improve once you’ve expanded your missile capacity, located a few energy tanks and picked up some new toys, while more traditional gating makes exploration more than just a long, slow descent. Meanwhile, the pace naturally picks up once you’re able to run and jump past enemies instead of stopping to give them a whack. There’s a more propulsive sense of progression, since the Metroids you face steadily evolve the further you go, not only looking more fearsome, but also learning new attack strategies that freshen up encounters. It’s not quite enough. Questionable collision detection is a persistent annoyance, collapsing and respawning blocks make for some needlessly finicky Morph ball sections, and though the 3D effect is used well, there’s something slightly amiss about the visual style. Though they’re mostly backloaded, there are exhilarating moments scattered throughout Samus Returns that ensure it holds your attention to the end. Even so, its ragged edges mean it feels more like a competent cover version that occasionally strays off key, rather than the genuine article.