Man, I know you only have a few views and subs since your channel is relatively new but PLEASE do not give up because your content is incredible and I have no doubts that given more exposure your channel can get some serious recognition, keep up the hard work.
To be real, I liked Metroid II WAAAAAAY more than Metroid NES when i was a kid. I never finished metroid on the NES but i played havyly til the end metroid II. The fact that made me the even more emotional when playing AM2R
I wouldn't want to go back to it, but back in the day this was my favorite gameboy game. I think it captures the sense of isolation and claustrophobia better than any in the series. I also like how the enemies diminish as you go further and further down into the planet. It's an extremely creepy game, made even creepier by the weird and repetitive sound tracks. It's not the best game in the series by any means, but it's the creepiest imo.
I regret not mentioning that even though it was limited by its hardware, it is still quite impressive FOR its hardware. This and Link's Awakening are what I think of when ambitious Gameboy games come to mind. It's certainly worthy of being appreciated and talked about for that reason.
I’m kinda amazed by that. I had the Gameboy and the only games I could stand were the ones that didn’t have any screen transitions. In fact, my experience with the Gameboy was so bad, I didn’t buy another handheld system until the Switch. Now I realize what a mistake that was and remedied that and I went on a handheld frenzy during the pandemic. But still, the Gameboy always felt like the system I tolerated but never liked, let alone loved.
This was not only my first Metroid game, but the very first game I ever chose for myself, and began a lifelong love of the series. Dude, firstly thank you for this. Secondly your channel and your videos are amazing and i've been going through them one by one. Please keep it up as and when another metroid game comes out, your channel deserves so much more recognition!
3:55 Hahahahaha yeah! The Federation it's like the Maverick Hunters of Megaman X, only Samus, X, and Zero are useful in those organizations. 4:46 Yeah, I truly love the references to Alien in this franchise. I mean, the larva metroid is basically a floating version of the facehugger.
I have to admit, I always had a soft spot for Metroid 2. My first Metroid game was Fusion, followed by Prime, and then Zero Mission. I think this was my 4th. I was probably around 14 or so, so I don't remember very well, but I think I remember being on a road trip with my family and we happened to stop at a random used game store. I saw Return of Samus in the cabinet and just had to have it. I picked it back up now and then over the years, and while I never finished it, I got down to like 4 or so Metroids left. Getting lost in the game was a little frustrating, but I really liked the more structured level layout as well as the idea of having to hunt down so many Metroids in one area before moving on to the next. I enjoyed Samus Returns a whole lot more, but I still was always one of the few to enjoy the original, and was thrilled when they announced an official remake.
Metroid II: Return of Samus, as a game on a handheld console with replaceable batteries, was built to be played on the go, potentially in shorter play sessions, so it introduced save stations here and there which save your current Energy and Missile count. The game also introduced Energy and Missile recharge stations. They are far and few in between, so there's still the tension and the penalty for dying is time and farming, but entirely progress. Every item in each area can be picked up on the first visit, meaning you never have to go back. You just got the Space Jump? You'll only need it in this area and the following ones. You also can't go forward without killing every Metroid in the local area because the lava / acid is blocking your progression and you're not meant to tank the damage. You usually have the freedom which room you want to explore, but there's a small selection of rooms, and you're limited to the specific area you're in. This makes the game much more linear in terms of forward progression, but still retains the exploration aspect, just on a smaller scale (between rooms in a single area, as opposed to between areas). There's overall less variety in what routes you take on repeat playthroughs and a lower potential for skill expression. There's still the matter of faster time / less Energy Tanks and Missile Tanks, i.e. a harder game vs slower time and more resources, i.e. an easier game, but to a lesser extend. There's some environmental storytelling, but it's very subtle. There are less and less animals in the areas where the stronger Metroid forms live, and what few animals there are, are either tough creatures (like the armored flying and land animals), or have adapted to hiding from the apex predators either through natural camouflage (like the bugs), or burrowing inside the cave walls (like those worm-looking things). There are some crumbling ruins of a mysterious lost civilization. Have the Metroids caused its downfall? Is it something else? The game lets you give your own answers. The best part about the entire game is right at the end: meeting the baby Metroid. It's open to interpretation as to why Samus spares it. Is she showing mercy to a newly-hatched innocent larva? Is it out of a sense of guilt for the genocide of its species and mother? Perhaps it's pragmatism because it might be useful to science? Could it be greed because this would make the bounty pay even more? Other than that, in a meta-contextual sense, Yoshio Sakamoto turned it into the most important turning point for the story of the entire series going forward, despite not even working on Metroid II. Super Metroid happens only because of the baby. Metroid Fusion couldn't happen without the baby. The extinction of the franchise's namesake wasn't a very future-proof idea, so the Prime games had to take place before Samus went to SR-388.
6:19 One thing to note about the goofy looking run, it does look odd when you emulate it and on GBC, but if you play it on the original green screen game boy hardware, the motion blur of the screen actually made that look pretty smooth.
Lmao that pitch black room confused the shit out of me too I started messing around with emulator settings thinking it was broken. But yeah I don’t think the slower pace is a bad thing especially with it being on gameboy with the zoomed in screen it just gets egregious near the end of the game with those clearly padding sections and the game I think would be received a lot better had those 2 sections just been cut out or made optional for power ups or something. But yeah overall I agree with you I find myself playing metroid nes much more often then metroid 2
Didn't have much of a problem with Metroid 2 quite a few years back. Didn't really need a guide either. Could be somewhat repetitive at times. When I tried playing the original however.... I just "noped" outta there pretty fast. Anyway, nice series of videos you got there. Very excited to see the next one.
Oh yeah, the original Metroid is definitely worse in terms of navigation. Metroid 2 is a little better at it just from not being as open ended. Thanks for tuning in!
@@PGReviews_ It's not just navigation but controls and pixel art as well. And save stations. And refills. The whole game is just way more modern than the original. I grew up on the original so I have extreme nostalgia for it, but I think Metroid 2 is a better game.
The plasma suffers the wave beam syndome of the first game. Best power up you'll never use. Spazer while weaker, is just better overall and it's what you'll use almost exclusively.
At some level, I can understand playing these older games for the nostalgia, or to appreciate how game design has evolved. But for my part, I think 99% of gamers would be better off playing Zero Mission and Samus Returns, the remakes of the first two games, rather than the originals with their dated design. Great video!
Or also AM2R is also really good too. Samus Returns remake is still good. It would have been nice for the remake to add when the player goes in the lower levels of the plant they should have put less enemies in to add the fact the Metroids are eating them and to show how much a threat they are kinda similar to what they did in the OG.
This was my first Metroid I ever played and didn't have the chance to beat it cause it was my friend's game and played it like 20 min but enjoy it a lot, now I have it on the 3ds and finally beat it, I can say I have a lot of fun with it but it was pretty complicated to go further, the hard part for me was the metroids at the end and still beat the Queen, Love this game.
It was doubly disappointing back in the day - I got Metroid 2 for my original GameBoy (GameBoy Color was still years away) for Christmas the year it came out and I was expecting "Metroid, but better." Instead, I got "Metroid, but slow, easy, eye-straining and repetitive with little flashes of 'oh hey, cool' here and there". Even making my own map of SR-388 on pieces of graph paper taped together didn't feel as rewarding, since the game is basically just "find all dead ends in each (totally separate) area because each one has a power up or Metroid in it, then remember where the lava/acid was and fall down a lot, repeat 7 times, zzzzzzzz". A sad case of some solid ideas (particularly the new power-ups) that were really held back by the limitations of the GameBoy.
I used to play this on the original GB and it was my very first Metroid game. Honestly, I found this game extremely immersive - the non-existent color scheme, the music and the claustrophobic level design - a master piece imo what I can't say about Metroid 1 and 3.
My favourite metroid. It's one of the most immersive and fun but it's also suspenseful. Until we got a "remake" that failed to be anywhere near as good despite being modern
I think the remake is great, but it veers a bit from the aesthetic of the original. It's not as isolating and claustrophobic. The music is "better" but doesn't fit the game as well. Everything about the game is more modern and better imo, but the aesthetic and essence of the original wasn't captured very well.
Yeah, I'm with you... Metroid 2 does overstay its welcome. Considering Metroid: Samus Returns and AM2R exist, I don't see any reason to go back and play this one.
Dude, of course you didn't feel engaged by the game, you played with a map/guide. That's like chosing to do a paint-by-number and then saying you didn't feel creative enough. Maybe use fewer guides and play games as intended. You have no critical authority when you don't play the game the way it was designed to be played - handheld and guideless.
Every other Metroid game after this had a map and I felt completely engaged with them. Even if they didn't have maps, they have landmarks and level design distinct enough to know where I am at all times. I'm not going to give Metroid II a pass since it lacks both of those things. And my first time playing I went in without any sort of guide and I found it just as unappealing. But I have a bunch of respect for those who choose and are able to play the game without outside assistance and still enjoy it. Just as I respect those who choose to use a map to make games with outdated design a little more manageable. And both of their opinions would be valid. Trust me, I would've been more harsh if I played Metroid II "the way it was designed to be played."
If anyone every needed proof that Nintendo can often behave like they are out of their minds, look no further than them releasing the full follow up to Metroid on the fucking Gameboy. While everyone else was treating the Gameboy where you begrudgingly released water downed versions of console games, Nintendo went and thought “huh, we should make a sequel to that game that barely worked on the NES. How about we make it for our portable toaster oven”.
I know it would be less of a game, but why not just bomb the place from orbit? Wouldn't that be much easier and safer? I mean, if you're not going to safe the science teams anyways...
Correction: I mistakenly referred to Zeta Metroids as Gammas and vice versa. Just wanted to clear that up.
Man, I know you only have a few views and subs since your channel is relatively new but PLEASE do not give up because your content is incredible and I have no doubts that given more exposure your channel can get some serious recognition, keep up the hard work.
agree, 100%
To be real, I liked Metroid II WAAAAAAY more than Metroid NES when i was a kid. I never finished metroid on the NES but i played havyly til the end metroid II. The fact that made me the even more emotional when playing AM2R
I wouldn't want to go back to it, but back in the day this was my favorite gameboy game. I think it captures the sense of isolation and claustrophobia better than any in the series. I also like how the enemies diminish as you go further and further down into the planet. It's an extremely creepy game, made even creepier by the weird and repetitive sound tracks. It's not the best game in the series by any means, but it's the creepiest imo.
I regret not mentioning that even though it was limited by its hardware, it is still quite impressive FOR its hardware. This and Link's Awakening are what I think of when ambitious Gameboy games come to mind. It's certainly worthy of being appreciated and talked about for that reason.
I’m kinda amazed by that. I had the Gameboy and the only games I could stand were the ones that didn’t have any screen transitions. In fact, my experience with the Gameboy was so bad, I didn’t buy another handheld system until the Switch. Now I realize what a mistake that was and remedied that and I went on a handheld frenzy during the pandemic. But still, the Gameboy always felt like the system I tolerated but never liked, let alone loved.
This was not only my first Metroid game, but the very first game I ever chose for myself, and began a lifelong love of the series.
Dude, firstly thank you for this. Secondly your channel and your videos are amazing and i've been going through them one by one. Please keep it up as and when another metroid game comes out, your channel deserves so much more recognition!
3:55 Hahahahaha yeah! The Federation it's like the Maverick Hunters of Megaman X, only Samus, X, and Zero are useful in those organizations.
4:46 Yeah, I truly love the references to Alien in this franchise. I mean, the larva metroid is basically a floating version of the facehugger.
Or the BSAA in Resident Evil. Only Chris and Jill do shit.
I have to admit, I always had a soft spot for Metroid 2. My first Metroid game was Fusion, followed by Prime, and then Zero Mission. I think this was my 4th. I was probably around 14 or so, so I don't remember very well, but I think I remember being on a road trip with my family and we happened to stop at a random used game store. I saw Return of Samus in the cabinet and just had to have it. I picked it back up now and then over the years, and while I never finished it, I got down to like 4 or so Metroids left. Getting lost in the game was a little frustrating, but I really liked the more structured level layout as well as the idea of having to hunt down so many Metroids in one area before moving on to the next. I enjoyed Samus Returns a whole lot more, but I still was always one of the few to enjoy the original, and was thrilled when they announced an official remake.
Metroid II: Return of Samus, as a game on a handheld console with replaceable batteries, was built to be played on the go, potentially in shorter play sessions, so it introduced save stations here and there which save your current Energy and Missile count. The game also introduced Energy and Missile recharge stations. They are far and few in between, so there's still the tension and the penalty for dying is time and farming, but entirely progress.
Every item in each area can be picked up on the first visit, meaning you never have to go back. You just got the Space Jump? You'll only need it in this area and the following ones. You also can't go forward without killing every Metroid in the local area because the lava / acid is blocking your progression and you're not meant to tank the damage.
You usually have the freedom which room you want to explore, but there's a small selection of rooms, and you're limited to the specific area you're in. This makes the game much more linear in terms of forward progression, but still retains the exploration aspect, just on a smaller scale (between rooms in a single area, as opposed to between areas).
There's overall less variety in what routes you take on repeat playthroughs and a lower potential for skill expression. There's still the matter of faster time / less Energy Tanks and Missile Tanks, i.e. a harder game vs slower time and more resources, i.e. an easier game, but to a lesser extend.
There's some environmental storytelling, but it's very subtle. There are less and less animals in the areas where the stronger Metroid forms live, and what few animals there are, are either tough creatures (like the armored flying and land animals), or have adapted to hiding from the apex predators either through natural camouflage (like the bugs), or burrowing inside the cave walls (like those worm-looking things). There are some crumbling ruins of a mysterious lost civilization. Have the Metroids caused its downfall? Is it something else? The game lets you give your own answers.
The best part about the entire game is right at the end: meeting the baby Metroid. It's open to interpretation as to why Samus spares it. Is she showing mercy to a newly-hatched innocent larva? Is it out of a sense of guilt for the genocide of its species and mother? Perhaps it's pragmatism because it might be useful to science? Could it be greed because this would make the bounty pay even more?
Other than that, in a meta-contextual sense, Yoshio Sakamoto turned it into the most important turning point for the story of the entire series going forward, despite not even working on Metroid II. Super Metroid happens only because of the baby. Metroid Fusion couldn't happen without the baby. The extinction of the franchise's namesake wasn't a very future-proof idea, so the Prime games had to take place before Samus went to SR-388.
6:19 One thing to note about the goofy looking run, it does look odd when you emulate it and on GBC, but if you play it on the original green screen game boy hardware, the motion blur of the screen actually made that look pretty smooth.
8:00 I think it's acid, not lava. It's the yellow liquid used in Samus's stage in Smash Bros
In 2011, I graduated high school and started college. I feel old now.
You sir, deserve more eyes on these videos. Great content
This os top tier content, you deserve WAY more subs
Thank you so much, that means a lot!
Honestly, I think Metroid II is a masterpiece. Aside from Super Metroid, it’s my absolute favorite in the series.
Lmao that pitch black room confused the shit out of me too I started messing around with emulator settings thinking it was broken. But yeah I don’t think the slower pace is a bad thing especially with it being on gameboy with the zoomed in screen it just gets egregious near the end of the game with those clearly padding sections and the game I think would be received a lot better had those 2 sections just been cut out or made optional for power ups or something. But yeah overall I agree with you I find myself playing metroid nes much more often then metroid 2
Didn't have much of a problem with Metroid 2 quite a few years back. Didn't really need a guide either. Could be somewhat repetitive at times.
When I tried playing the original however.... I just "noped" outta there pretty fast.
Anyway, nice series of videos you got there. Very excited to see the next one.
Oh yeah, the original Metroid is definitely worse in terms of navigation. Metroid 2 is a little better at it just from not being as open ended. Thanks for tuning in!
@@PGReviews_ It's not just navigation but controls and pixel art as well. And save stations. And refills. The whole game is just way more modern than the original. I grew up on the original so I have extreme nostalgia for it, but I think Metroid 2 is a better game.
Loving your videos my guy, started with dk country and now I'm here
The plasma suffers the wave beam syndome of the first game. Best power up you'll never use. Spazer while weaker, is just better overall and it's what you'll use almost exclusively.
"Now you too can play Tetris on a brick"
Me: slain
At some level, I can understand playing these older games for the nostalgia, or to appreciate how game design has evolved.
But for my part, I think 99% of gamers would be better off playing Zero Mission and Samus Returns, the remakes of the first two games, rather than the originals with their dated design.
Great video!
Or also AM2R is also really good too. Samus Returns remake is still good. It would have been nice for the remake to add when the player goes in the lower levels of the plant they should have put less enemies in to add the fact the Metroids are eating them and to show how much a threat they are kinda similar to what they did in the OG.
Your video editing is both informative, funny and entertaining :)
One thing you forgot to mention: samus can now crouch & shoot during said crouch
He did mention that
This was my first Metroid I ever played and didn't have the chance to beat it cause it was my friend's game and played it like 20 min but enjoy it a lot, now I have it on the 3ds and finally beat it, I can say I have a lot of fun with it but it was pretty complicated to go further, the hard part for me was the metroids at the end and still beat the Queen, Love this game.
Hope you get more views dude!
It was doubly disappointing back in the day - I got Metroid 2 for my original GameBoy (GameBoy Color was still years away) for Christmas the year it came out and I was expecting "Metroid, but better." Instead, I got "Metroid, but slow, easy, eye-straining and repetitive with little flashes of 'oh hey, cool' here and there". Even making my own map of SR-388 on pieces of graph paper taped together didn't feel as rewarding, since the game is basically just "find all dead ends in each (totally separate) area because each one has a power up or Metroid in it, then remember where the lava/acid was and fall down a lot, repeat 7 times, zzzzzzzz".
A sad case of some solid ideas (particularly the new power-ups) that were really held back by the limitations of the GameBoy.
All hail the magic conch. Ooollooooloo
I used to play this on the original GB and it was my very first Metroid game. Honestly, I found this game extremely immersive - the non-existent color scheme, the music and the claustrophobic level design - a master piece imo what I can't say about Metroid 1 and 3.
My favourite metroid. It's one of the most immersive and fun but it's also suspenseful.
Until we got a "remake" that failed to be anywhere near as good despite being modern
Wow, nice to hear that others did get a lot of enjoyment out of the original Metroid 2!
@@PGReviews_ I think a lot of it comes from the that adventurous music which quickly shifts into something off putting and tense
I think the remake is great, but it veers a bit from the aesthetic of the original. It's not as isolating and claustrophobic. The music is "better" but doesn't fit the game as well. Everything about the game is more modern and better imo, but the aesthetic and essence of the original wasn't captured very well.
Yeah, I'm with you... Metroid 2 does overstay its welcome. Considering Metroid: Samus Returns and AM2R exist, I don't see any reason to go back and play this one.
Playing this game for the video just really made me want to play the remakes. Look forward to the next video!
you need more subs
Comment and loke for the algorithm.
9:17 It is easy to explain why it isnt what re-releases use: it never actually came out.
Dude, of course you didn't feel engaged by the game, you played with a map/guide. That's like chosing to do a paint-by-number and then saying you didn't feel creative enough.
Maybe use fewer guides and play games as intended. You have no critical authority when you don't play the game the way it was designed to be played - handheld and guideless.
Every other Metroid game after this had a map and I felt completely engaged with them. Even if they didn't have maps, they have landmarks and level design distinct enough to know where I am at all times. I'm not going to give Metroid II a pass since it lacks both of those things. And my first time playing I went in without any sort of guide and I found it just as unappealing.
But I have a bunch of respect for those who choose and are able to play the game without outside assistance and still enjoy it. Just as I respect those who choose to use a map to make games with outdated design a little more manageable. And both of their opinions would be valid. Trust me, I would've been more harsh if I played Metroid II "the way it was designed to be played."
If anyone every needed proof that Nintendo can often behave like they are out of their minds, look no further than them releasing the full follow up to Metroid on the fucking Gameboy. While everyone else was treating the Gameboy where you begrudgingly released water downed versions of console games, Nintendo went and thought “huh, we should make a sequel to that game that barely worked on the NES. How about we make it for our portable toaster oven”.
I know it would be less of a game, but why not just bomb the place from orbit? Wouldn't that be much easier and safer? I mean, if you're not going to safe the science teams anyways...