review: Metroid Fusion (GBA)

After the GBA:SP came to me in a vision pleading me to buy it, I learned very quickly that it came sans gamepak. So I ultimately had to decide which title would be my first taste of console gaming in a long time. Obviously, I chose Aria of Sorrow, and the rest is history. But I did consider purchasing Metroid Fusion. You see, back when I had my monochromalicious Game Boy, there were three games on that device that made me praise the work of Nintendo's developers: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins, and of course Metroid II: The Return of Samus. I am still in posession of only two out of the three, due to an unfortunate incident involving a former friend's brother who decided to sell my game after I lent it to them. But I'm not bitter or anything. And we're talking about the new Metroid game here. Which happns to kick a lot of ass in its own right.

I must commend Nintendo on their efforts of making the storylines of the Metroid games seamless, since they all pick up right where the other left off. In fact, the story for Metroid Fusion is one of its best qualities. The story takes place right after Super Metroid. The openening scenes depict a research mission where Samus Aran has returned to SR388 and is infected by an organism dubbed as "X". In an interesting twist of fate, a vaccine containing Metroid DNA is used to save her. Samus then received a new power suit that can integrate X organisms. And thus was born the Fusion suit. However the parts of her old power suit fused with the X were not destroyed; instead they found their way into a research station orbiting SR388 that is currently observing the behaviors of the X. Naturally, when Samus is recovered from her injuries she is sent to the research station to investigate a disturbance.

The majority of the game is spent trying to regain her lost powers to fight the new alien menace. Power ups such as the Varia, Space Jump, and power bombs are all abilities that have been seen in previous games. And there aren't just X parasites infecting the alien species on the research station - there is a clone of Samus (the SA-X) that was grown from parts of her old power suit. The story is good enough that the power-up hunting is less tedious than it should be. Furthermore, the fact that you start the game extremely weak and the SA-X is hunting you adds a lot of suspense. There are a few encounters with the SA-X in the many darkened corridors of the station that require a bit of thinking as opposed to fighting. Those first few meetups will usually end in death if you choose the latter.

Because of the complex storytelling, you are unfortunately led along via Navigation Rooms where you pick up new mission objectives. Only certain sectors of the research station will be available to you in order to complete given missions, usually through security levels that have locked a particular type of door. This does not include areas that are blocked off by not having a special ability. Being limited in this fashion was kind of frustrating at first, especially after the free form exploration and Metroid-hunting of Metroid II. I learned to live with it though, because as I have said the story is probably the best reason to complete the missions. Samus brings a few new moves to the table this time around - she can now hang from ledges, ceilings and ladders, which proves to be extremely useful when uncovering secret passages with a well-placed rocket or two.

After a few hours of play, I realized that the game seems eerily familiar. It is essentially an updated version of Super Metroid, which is not necessarily a bad thing because that was one of my favorite titles I had the chance of playing on the SNES. However, one of the last bosses you fight in Fusion is an X-infected version of Ridley. Complete with the same music! It's cool, but in the same sense it feels kind of uninspired. On that note, the graphical quality of the game is outstanding, and is probably one of the better titles out there that really shows off the capabilities of the GBA for platformers. There are some cool effects here and there, and some of the level design is pretty interesting. However nothing to really make me think this was anything but a tweaked version of Super Metroid. The music is pretty good; there are themes for every area (as expected), and when tense moments arrive like the encounters with the SA-X, the music changes accordingly (and is quite creepy).

If you own a Gamecube and Metroid Prime and have finished Metroid Fusion, you can hook up your GBA and play using the Fusion suit. Conversely, if you've finished Prime you can unlock the original NES version of Metroid. It's kind of a nice bonus for fans of the game. As I don't own a Gamecube (yet, anyway) I wasn't able to try this out. On a somewhat related note, this type of bonus content is a great way to sell new Gamecubes.

I finished this game in less than a week, and that includes time wasted looking for secrets. It's way too short, and in comparison a lot shorter than Aria of Sorrow. As noted in my initial impressions there is nothing monumental about the gameplay. I mean ever since NES Metroid there really wasn't much beyond find the new ability, backtrack, go to new area, kill boss monster, repeat. Regardless, I had a lot of fun doing it, even though most of my gaming sessions ended up as a festival of button mashing while firing rockets or dropping bombs looking for secret areas. If you're a fan of the series and want a great story invovling your favorite alien-smiting heroine, this is definitely a title to pick up. However, if you're just looking for a good action game with great graphics, sountrack and RPG-lite elements, I'd recommend Aria of Sorrow instead. Metroid Fusion is very good, but sadly it's nothing new.