We don’t need Nintendo to celebrate when we have this
I’m as sad as CJ is that Nintendo doesn’t seem to be celebrating Metroid‘s 30th anniversary. But the indie-developed AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) is finally here. We wrote about it all the way back in 2008, so this is definitely a labor of love.
I’ve been playing it for the last hour and oh my god I am so happy right now.
It’s been a couple years since I’ve played Metroid II: Return of Samus, but all of the memories came shine-sparking back to me as I booted up AM2R. The team has added more story to the beginning, but it’s not overdone and feels like the intro to Super Metroid, which is never a bad thing. As soon as I initiated planetfall, landed, and heard an awesome remix of the intro song, I was pumped.
And it looks gorgeous too! There’s much more detail here than the original Game Boy was ever able to produce, and the colors really pop out of the screen. I did notice some weird screen tearing, but that could be on my end. I plan on checking the forums to look for a solution, but I’m in a bit of a rush today.
AM2R is also very punchy. Instead of the more labored movements of Super Metroid, Samus springs and leaps quickly here, more similar to Metroid Fusion. There’s also the power grip that allows you to grab onto ledges, but it all feels natural and not like an unwelcome departure from the original game.
One of the biggest additions is a lore-justified scanner that provides information about Metroid life cycles, enemies, and the context that brought you to SR388, the titular enemies’ homeworld. Upon killing certain creatures or entering new areas, small messages pop up. There’s a nice little UI that allows you to jump from map to lore to equipment, and it all feels sleek. I’d go so far as to say that if Nintendo ever gets off its ass, it should crib some ideas from this remake.
I’m sure I’ll have more to say in the coming days, but for now I recommend downloading the dang thing and trying it out!
