Metroid Samus Returns 3DS

 

Last year my kind little Starfish (known by other people as Nollaig) purchased me Metroid Samus Returns on the 3DS for Christmas. I was looking forward to playing it for a long time and while I started it last year it ended up falling to one side, until recently. 

I like Pringles, so many different flavour options, in the last few years they have added even more. Some of the flavours are good, some not so much. I recently tried their Katsu Curry flavour, the first few were okay but was not sure I wasn't fully sold on it but quickly I ended up consuming the entire can. Playing Metroid Samus Returns on the 3DS I found myself asking was it this actually tasty or was the flavour just not for me?

Story

One of my favourite games in the Metroid series is Zero Mission, which is a remake of the original Metroid. Samus Returns on the 3DS is a remake of Metroid 2 on the Gameboy. The story sees the bounty Samus Aran sent to the planet SR388 to investigate the disappearance of a reconnaissance unit.  It is time for Samus to suit up and take on the Space Pirates and the Metroids again. 

Overall the story is fun and simple. I have always been drawn to the Metroid series due to the setting and gameplay, the story is just the icing on the cake and I don't need much icing.

Visuals 

The visuals look really good, and unlike many 3DS games where the 3D can be so-so in the case of Samus Returns it looks awesome. The different areas you visit are mostly under the surface of the planet and features a lot of caves and caverns, along with lava pits of death and the familiar Chozo statues that hold your next coveted power up. 

Overall the visuals look good, and while some areas can look a little samey Nintendo has done a lot to set it apart from the original release on the Gameboy.

Music

There is something very classic Nintendo when it comes to the Metroid music, it could never be mistaken for another series, and Samus Returns is no different. The music always has a retro sound even the newer games in the series and remakes. The soundtrack is created by Japanese composer Daisuke Matsuoka, who works include; Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Super Smash Brothers on Wii and 3DS.

The score is just over an hour, or two depending on which version you find online (I went for the longer version). There are some great tracks, my favourites being; 'Title', 'Samus Appearance Jingle', 'Item Obtained', 'Alpha Metroid', 'Area 1 Caverns', 'Diggernaut Chase', 'Verses Diggernaut' and 'Verses Proteus Ridley (Phase 1-3)'. Overall a fun soundtrack steeped in nostalgia.

Gameplay

Metroid Samus Returns is a 2D/3D side-scrolling game. Any fan of the series will be used to the format of the game. At a Metroid games core; explore an area, if come across something you need a power-up for, move onto another area, later on, once you get the power-up return to the area. This type of gameplay not only pushes the player to explore but gives a reason to go back to areas already visited to try and get 100% completion.

As Samus traverses the planet there will be the opportunity to upgrade your health, power-ups and missiles. New (for me anyway) is the ability to activate abilities for a time such as; rapid-fire, increased protection and one that allows you to reveal the map around you including hidden areas. 

Samus has a ton of great weapons, my favourites being the morph ball and the full upgrades three-way laser beam. The accuracy of weapons is great and taking a moment to aim helps you use a lot less ammo. 

The areas are littered with enemies, while most of them are fine there are some poor ones most notably the bosses themselves. The bosses repeat themselves, a lot, and while I can only imagine it must be difficult to come up with so many different devices in my opinion less is more. There are some cool bosses later but not enough to make up for the repetition of the earlier ones.

Overall the gameplay is classic fun Metroid, and while the repetition of bosses could be annoying it wasn't a deal-breaker either.

Final Thoughts 

So, after thirty hours how did I feel? The story is nothing exciting (apart from near the end), visuals and music are great. The gameplay is awesome with very little to complain about overall. This one gets a solid 4 out 5