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[hipsterpants]

A few days ago I made the decision to finally finish up my playthrough of the Metroid series (I've heard enough about Other M to avoid it) and get Metroid Fusion on the Virtual Console. It was pretty awesome. I don't think I have to drive to make an actual write up with like paragraphs and transitions and stuff, so here's a list instead.

+ The horror aspect of the game was awesome. Seriously, the tense atmosphere, the feeling that I'm basically powerless, the constant threat of the SA-X... it was great. Unfortunately (but expected) that fear disappeared once I got a lot more powerful, and there was a particular moment that I'll get to later that ended any fear I had about the SA-X which was disappointing. Side note: Check out the trailer on the e-shop, it's creepy as hell and sold me on the game right then and there.

+ The control was fantastic, except for trying to grab on to the grabbable areas on the ceiling. Maybe it was just me, but I constantly had the reaction to let go of A whenever I pressed up, which made moments like that more frustrating than necessary. I really like how early I got space jump/morph ball jump, I appreciated getting so many movement options early.

+ The story was pretty good. The knowledge that Samus wasn't being told everything and that it seemed that the federation knew more about the X than was being let on helped add to the "unknown horror" aspect of the game. The Metroid reveal was great (but then the escape sequence was annoying and ruined it). The Adam stuff was okay, not really offensive, but not really fantastic either.

+/- The linearity was okay. I didn't mind it, but having a more natural progression like Prime rather than "Samus, go do this thing next" would have been cool. But I guess that would have interfered with the story. I'm kind of neutral on the whole thing. At least I didn't get stuck or waste a bunch of time running around the wrong area.

- The difficulty occasionally felt unfair. The crazy damage simply touching an enemy caused certainly kept me cautious and made me approach every enemy with care, but it also got annoying after a while, especially when I would get touched by an early game enemy and still be hit for like 40 damage.

- The one "active" escape (as far as I can remember) from the SA-X is immensely frustrating. It basically involved frantically spamming ice missiles, jumping like an idiot, praying that it wouldn't shoot its plasma beam, and hoping that I had enough HP to absorb it all. Pretty much ruined the SA-X for me.

- The bosses were... okay. They started off stupid easy, and then got really difficult near the end of the game, particularly Nightmare and Ridley. I'm sure that there are good strategies for beating them, but the first time through I was basically spamming missiles and hoping that I would kill it before it killed me, especially Ridley. I also wasn't a fan of having to "finish off" the X after a boss fight. Felt unnecessary and anticlimactic. Worst part is how it would release health and missiles when it appeared even though a single hit from it would cause more damage than the health it released. Why???

So yeah, now I've beaten every Metroid game except for the first one (I beat Zero Mission) and Other M. Looking forward to wherever the series heads next!

 

[Nbz]

The SA-X is my favourite villain in any video game. Utterly terrifying.

 

[Enforced]

I like it a lot. I still need to finish it though. Sa-x is pretty scary. D:
This is the part where Nintendo trolled me pretty hard. I was trying to get the missile expansion.

After many tries, I thought I finally will the missle expansion but nope, I fell through at the last part. So I have to try again. I don't know how many tries when I got the missile expansion. :x

 

[Regiruler]

What? Nightmare was a fantastic fight.
Serris is better though.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Shame you put the bosses as a negative, I always felt Fusion had one of the better batches of Metroid bosses after Prime 2 that reward working out their patterns and can require some steady aim (except Ridley who is always just launch missiles everywhere).
And the X parasite at the end coming off as a last ditch effort for survival on their part.
Going back to other 2D Metroid games afterwards makes their bosses seem too easy by comparison.

I don't mind its semi linear approach, it's well adapted for handheld play in short bursts and an objective focus so you don't lose direction with the pick up and play angle of handhelds.

Bugs me that we've yet to get a game to follow up on the ending here, it leaves an interesting thread dangling, instead we got the fusion before fusion in Other M which strays way too close to the ideas already covered by Fusion itself.

 

[John Kowalski]

sa-x was super scary

 

[Spinosaurus]

I loved the bosses minus the spider. That one was bullshit.

Love this game. SA-X is a fantastic concept.

 

[GreatMightySymp]

I loved how you felt powerless when the SA-X showed up, that one part where you run across it after taking out that spider monster to restore the auxiliary power was great.

I always felt the final SA-X boss battle was a bit weird difficulty-wise, since it felt like a damage sponge battle since it was really hard to not get hit when trying to deal damage to it, at least for me.

 

[Piano]

I still can't beat the final SA-X fight. Too damn hard. Or maybe I suck. Any tips?

 

[mrpallyguy]

It was an enjoyable experience for me to finish since I wasn't used to the linear pacing that was in the game. I like how the developers kept giving us new stuff in a short timespan which helped keep up the pace of the game imo. The bosses were alright and once you figured out the pattern it was just spam missiles till they die though nightmare was probably the best boss.

 

[v1perz53]

People hate on the story and linearity, but Fusion is probably my favorite Metroid game of all time (really hard call for me between Super Metroid, Fusion and Prime). The pure terror you feel when you know SA-X is nearby is awesome, the game felt great, I actually liked having a bit more story, and I was able to play through the game without ever once using gamefaqs or a guide. Backtracking in Super Metroid was awesome, but for a portable experience I am very glad for the more linear nature allowing me to just take my GBA on a car ride and have an awesome time and never get lost.

Though some of the hidden Missle/Powerbomb/Energy Tanks are absolutely devilish. Only things that made me sad were removing some of the tricks that let you sequence break in Super Metroid, like infinite bomb jumping if you had infinite skill, or making the wall jump shittier so you couldn't use it to climb a single wall. But I guess more linear game with story necessitated that you couldn't be allowed to do things too out of order.

E: Weird everyone is saying the bosses were bad/hard. I don't remember having a hard time with any of them. Though I loved exploring and generally had close to the max number of energy tanks possible for each boss, but I don't remember any of the bosses having lots of unavoidable damage once you worked out their patterns. Do second the point about having to kill the X after each boss feeling unnecessary tho.

 

[Boney]

It's the greatest cinematic 2d sidescroller ever made in my opinion. It's flawless in that aspect, the way the manage to create such a sinister tone in a GBA is nothing less than mindblowing. The game's action is relentless and has a wonderful wonderful pacing dictated by the short mission structure. In spite of it's linearity it's infinitely replayable and going for a 100% is super fun. It's a shame we never got the Japanese hard mode...

I don't understand your problem with that SA-X encounter.. Seems like you screwed up and barely survived, it's very well thought out, you do need to actively freeze him a few times (the way they build it up is fantastic) but it's not hard to avoid getting hit by it.

As for Other M, there's a huge vocal group of naysayers, but don't let it deter you from trying it out yourself first hand. I think it has it's little flaws here and there but it's still one of my favourite Metroids after the godly SM, Fusion and ZM trifecta, but I dont enjoy the prime games very much.

 

[MrBadger]

+ The horror aspect of the game was awesome. Seriously, the tense atmosphere, the feeling that I'm basically powerless, the constant threat of the SA-X... it was great. Unfortunately (but expected) that fear disappeared once I got a lot more powerful, and there was a particular moment that I'll get to later that ended any fear I had about the SA-X which was disappointing. Side note: Check out the trailer on the e-shop, it's creepy as hell and sold me on the game right then and there.

I thought that was the point, and I loved the game for it. Your enemy is you at full power and as you progress through the game, grow stronger and get more powers, you become more and more resistant to it going from being basically dead if it sees you to being able to fight back and destroy it. Really good way of showing your progress in my opinion.

I still can't beat the final boss. Too damn hard. Or maybe I suck. Any tips?

If you're talking about

Spoiler

SA-X, just get into a good rhythm of jumping over it while charging your beam, shooting it when you land and jumping over it again. The AI is easily exploitable.

If you mean

Spoiler

Omega Metroid, just keep running backwards and forwards while spamming diagonal ice beams.

I think every boss in this game after

Spoiler

Nightmare

is either fairly easy or has pretty exploitable AI once you know what you're doing.

 

[Diablohead]

I still can't beat the final boss. Too damn hard. Or maybe I suck. Any tips?

the

Spoiler

metroid final boss?

or the last SA-X fight?

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I feel completely opposite on the negatives about the SA-X and boss battles. The final boss fight was perhaps too hard, but it made the fight appropriately intense. It just felt awesome for the fight to start during gameplay. I heard the explosion after I reached the control room door, knowing what was coming, then I just instinctively jumped after the SA-X came screw-attacking right past.

 

[Dl07]

My first Metroid game and my favorite. I really wish they would come out with another one. I loved Zero Mission too, but Fusion was just too good. SA-X absolutely terrified me with every encounter and I enjoyed the story.

 

[Piano]

I thought that was the point, and I loved the game for it. Your enemy is you at full power and as you progress through the game, grow stronger and get more powers, you become more and more resistant to it going from being basically dead if it sees you to being able to fight back and destroy it. Really good way of showing your progress in my opinion.



If you're talking about

Spoiler

SA-X, just get into a good rhythm of jumping over it while charging your beam, shooting it when you land and jumping over it again. The AI is easily exploitable.

If you mean

Spoiler

Omega Metroid, just keep running backwards and forwards while spamming diagonal ice beams.

I think every boss in this game after

Spoiler

Nightmare

is either fairly easy or has pretty exploitable AI once you know what you're doing.

the

Spoiler

metroid final boss?

or the last SA-X fight?

Whoops, SA-X. Didn't even realize there was another boss fight after. Shows you how long ago I gave up on trying to beat it...
There's a whole other boss after SA-X and you can't save? I'm screwed.

 

[Esque7]

I could be wrong, but I don't remember ever having to fire at the SA-X during a chase scene. If you're quick enough you should be able to avoid most, if not all of its attacks.

 

[Ahnez]

Its an incridible game.

I love how it makes you feel how scary Samus is.

Have you ever wondered what those Space Pirates must be feeling while facing Samus? lol

I like it a lot. I still need to finish it though. Sa-x is pretty scary. D:
Nintendo trolled me pretty hard on this part.

After many tries, I thought I finally will the missle expansion but nope, I fell through at the last part. So I have to try again. I don't know how many tries when I got the missile expansion. :x

This image reminds me, I love how Samus' hand is under her cannon in this game, like if she was holding it in place, while in every other game she rests her hand over the cannon instead

 

[Boney]

I could be wrong, but I don't remember ever having to fire at the SA-X during a chase scene. If you're quick enough you should be able to avoid most, if not all of its attacks.

I shoot it once at the beginning but yeah, you can just run away

 

[GreatMightySymp]

There's a whole other boss after SA-X and you can't save? I'm screwed.

IIRC that boss was pretty easy to beat, I didn't have any issues as far as I can remember with it.

 

[Ashodin]

I have fond memories of playing through this game when I was younger on one of my family's trips to Atlantic City.

Chilling in my hotel room with the GBA all up in my face, the horror of the SA-X just blew me away. That first time you're in the room as a ball, and it bursts through above you, stomping through and stalking... so awesome.

 

[DMiz]

Every time I hear SA-X enter a room, I always freeze.

The game does an amazing job making you feel so much inferior to the scary stalker that seems to follow you wherever you go. Simply a top-notch effort from Nintendo to try something new with the formula and have it succeed so well.

 

[Diablohead]

Whoops, SA-X. Didn't even realize there was another boss fight after. Shows you how long ago I gave up on trying to beat it...
There's a whole other boss after SA-X and you can't save? I'm screwed.

boss spoiler

Spoiler

last boss is a pushover because it makes you feel strong again after recovering everything, including the suit parts and the ice beam

 

[Firemind]

Nightmare was such a bitch.

Also this is the metroid game with the most obvious Alien references. Fantastic game. Shame Intelligent Systems is terrible now.

 

[Jazzy Network]

Enjoyed it very much. I didn't like Sam us telling her side of the story. Seemed out of place. It was like cool story bro let me just kill some shit. I thought Zero Mission was better.

 

[MrBadger]

boss spoiler

Spoiler

last boss is a pushover because it makes you feel strong again after recovering everything, including the suit parts and the ice beam

Yep. Basically this game's equivalent of

Spoiler

wrecking Mother Brain at the end of

Super Metroid.

Nightmare was such a bitch.

Also this is the metroid game with the most obvious Alien references. Fantastic game. Shame Intelligent Systems is terrible now.

Somewhat hyperbolic, no? They've had a few missteps but what company hasn't? EAD did Yoshi's Story and Super Mario Sunshine.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Now I really want to replay this game. Have nothing but fond memories of it, and I wanna get 100% this time.

 

[hipsterpants]

I thought that was the point, and I loved the game for it. Your enemy is you at full power and as you progress through the game, grow stronger and get more powers, you become more and more resistant to it going from being basically dead if it sees you to being able to fight back and destroy it. Really good way of showing your progress in my opinion.

I don't consider that a negative, as it's an inevitable thing that happens in any horror game.

I loved the bosses minus the spider. That one was bullshit.

Love this game. SA-X is a fantastic concept.

Screw that boss. Especially the second phase.

What? Nightmare was a fantastic fight.
Serris is better though.

I liked the first part, but when he started flying around the room it got really annoying. I basically just hung on to the ladder and aimed at his face and spammed missiles like a madman. When I realized the hitbox was actually the size of his face and got smaller I was like fuuuuuu

Part of my problem was probably that I was using the the analog stick rather than the d-pad for whatever reason. Those accidental diagonal inputs were killer lol. Thanks VC for restore points though!

Also, yeah the final fight (not the final fight) was pretty disappointing I just want to jump over you stop screw attacking into me argh.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

The best 2D Metroid game. As great as Super is, Fusion is more enjoyable to me overall.

 

[Nakho]

Wasn't too fan of this game. Take a little too long to give you freedom to explore. Annoying boss battles too.

 

[Miker]

My favorite Metroid game. For what it lost in non-linearity, sequence-breaking, and speedrunning potential, it gained in perfect controls, kick-ass bosses, and actually difficult encounters. Samus' progression from frailty to badass in Fusion is perfect, and second only to Echoes.

 

[ShadowElliot]

This actually made me jump when it happened, SA-X is terrifying.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Shame you put the bosses as a negative, I always felt Fusion had one of the better batches of Metroid bosses after Prime 2 that reward working out their patterns and can require some steady aim (except Ridley who is always just launch missiles everywhere).
And the X parasite at the end coming off as a last ditch effort for survival on their part.
Going back to other 2D Metroid games afterwards makes their bosses seem too easy by comparison.

I don't mind its semi linear approach, it's well adapted for handheld play in short bursts and an objective focus so you don't lose direction with the pick up and play angle of handhelds.

Bugs me that we've yet to get a game to follow up on the ending here, it leaves an interesting thread dangling, instead we got the fusion before fusion in Other M which strays way too close to the ideas already covered by Fusion itself.

I agree with pretty much everything. The bosses are easily the best of the 2D games, and probably third best overall behind Prime 2 and 3. The game may tell you where to go, but getting there is never straightforward. Super may have better world design as a whole, but the room to room progression of Fusion is superior, with more nooks, crannies and puzzles that are essential not just for secrets, but for progressing forward. People like to compare it to Other M, but Fusion EASILY outclasses it in level design (and pretty much every other aspect as well). And yes, it is terrible that we still have no hint of any sort of follow up going on thirteen years now. I would die if Metroid V by Retro were announced at E3.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Beat it earlier this year for the first time on the VC as well.
Loved it, kinda didnt like the adam stuff.
Bosses usually did just devolve to missle spamming bouts of attrition but I was a first timer so its understandable.
So only one question remains.
Nintendo where the fuck is my VC Zero Mission?

 

[Prisoner]

My favorite Metroid. Woefully underrated.

And the bosses are up there with best in the series; shame on you, op.

 

[Overside]

The beginning of the downward slide.

 

[roknin]

My favorite in the series, at least tied with Super Metroid.

The SA-X is legit terrifying, and getting to the point

Spoiler

where you can defeat it later in the game

feels very rewarding.

I think the only bosses that made me rage were

Spoiler

Nightmare, B.O.X. 2 and Ridley

(due to being pretty low on energy tanks).

I still need to 100% this game some day soon.

 

[Sterok]

One of my favorites of the series. While the exploration is dialed back from Super (though it still exists), the movement feels much better overall, the atmosphere is tenser, and the bosses are some of the best and hardest in the series. Still hoping for a proper 2D follow up soon.

 

[Gilby]

SA-X was cool, but the level layout was way too simple. Zero Mission was better overall. (And the Fusion suit is ugly as balls.)

 

[MrBadger]

My favorite in the series, at least tied with Super Metroid.

The SA-X is legit terrifying, and getting to the point

Spoiler

where you can defeat it later in the game

feels very rewarding.

I think the only bosses that made me rage were

Spoiler

Nightmare, B.O.X. 2 and Ridley

(due to being pretty low on energy tanks).

I still need to 100% this game some day soon.

Spoiler

B.O.X. 2

is actually incredibly easy if you know the trick.

Spoiler

Stay on the left side of the ladder and none of his jumps will hit you. From there you can also use a regular beam to destroy his missiles and hit his weak point by shooting missiles diagonally.

 

[Mordeccai]

why cant I buy this on the eShop nintendo. I've wanted it on my 3ds for years, but its locked to the ambassador program apparently.

 

[Zom]

Ohohoooo this game is one of my favorites, amazing gameplay and bosses. In my top 5 together with warioland 4 and the minish cap.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Still my all time favorite metroid. Love how I went from disliking the fusion suit, to it being my favorite.

 

[Jobbs]

One of my favorite parts:

 

[Jintor]

My first Metroid game and probably my favourite just for the SA-X atmosphere. (Super Metroid is undeniably probably better but I discovered Fusion myself, so)

 

[HardRojo]

Incredible game and another reason Metroid is my favorite Nintendo IP. Hopefully we'll see a new one soon since Fusion is supposedly the last one in the timeline.

 

[Toa TAK]

One of my favorite parts:

What a little shit. I remember the first time I came across that.

Anyways, this game was my first Metroid game and it's still one of my favorites. I loved the atmosphere, the horrifying and tense SA-X encounters and bosses.

Plus, Samus had a character arc here. Though M.O.M. lovers didn't think that was enough.

 

[Crayolan]

I thought it was okay. I like the atmosphere and love how they handle SA-X, but she doesn't show up that often so it's only prevalent at specific portions. The Adam Malkovich stuff was kind of weird too, though the overall story is still fine and I like Samus's final choice in the end, seems very true to her character.

That said, I didn't feel it was anything special. The linearity definitely hurt the game, and none of the bosses really wowed me. The game was pretty difficult, but aside from SA-X, the fights never really felt intense like in Super Metroid and Prime.

It's hard to explain exactly why Fusion didn't click for me, since it was my first 2D Metroid and I had no expectations at the time. I think Metroid just works best when you're dropped alone on an alien planet with minimal story and dialogue then set free to explore.

 

[Bronetta]

Fusion was the first Metroid I played. Loved the atmosphere, art style, and gameplay design. The linearity worked for me as a newcomer. Loved Zero Mission and loved Super Metroid afterwards.

Haven't really jived with the Prime trilogy yet. One of these days.