So today let’s talk about one of Samus’ other identities. In addition to being one of the most famous female characters in videogames, she is also known as a top bounty hunter. Truthfully this title isn’t as impactful as she pretty much only excepts bounties from the Galactic Federation. It concerns me how often she is called in since it gives the impression that the Federation isn’t equipped to deal with any unexpected situation. Seriously, why do they even bother sending troops or drones in the first place. They are going to lose them anyway so maybe they should call for help first. Maybe Samus keeps answering their calls because she knows how hopeless they are without her. That’s what I like to believe anyway. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter much anyway since they originally gave Samus that title is because it sounds cool. However, it isn’t like she hasn’t done any bounty hunting. It just hasn’t happened very often. The thing is, that is probably for the best. Just hear me out as I talk a bit about the second Metroid game in the series to highlight this point for you all.
Metroid II: Return of Samus is one of the more interesting titles in the series. Not necessarily to play mind you, but that is jumping the gun a little bit. No, it is because the premise of this game is specifically to kill Metroids and wipe them out form existence. Pretty drastic of a sequel to have you go so far as eliminate the very thing your entire series is named after with only two games to go on. However, I have once again digressed. Your main goal is different this time around as you are required to kill every single Metroid on the planet. You are no longer allowed to run from them as you are now being tasked with their elimination so you better find that ice beam as soon as possible. Yes you have lost your arsenal, but I feel this cliché is best saved for next time so I will give it a pass. Doesn’t mean you aren’t any less fragile at the start though. Not only that, but many of the Metroids have started undergoing mutations which have caused them to be harder to kill. So Samus has a lot of work to do so she can find the upgrades she needs on the planet to kill all these Metroids. Not this is a lot closer to how a bounty hunter would operate in the sense that the mission is not considered complete until all targets specified have been eliminated. The main problem with this setup is that it is very different from the normal setup of a Metroid game. A Metroid game consists of you scouring the areas, finding pickups and items to steadily get strong enough to take on foes and defeat whatever threats pop up in your wake and then usually cause something to explode. Is the explosion necessary? Yes. That’s the problem with the sequel to Metroid. There’s just not enough explosions. Also, you don’t really feel like you are getting stronger because the Metroids keep evolving and so you have to keep dishing out more punishment each time you come across one. You’re still making progress, but it doesn’t feel the same.
The main thing about bounty hunting is that while it might be fun in other games, it isn’t really that fun in a Metroid game because if handled poorly it can completely break the pace. That is something you definitely want to avoid, especially in a series that gives you different rewards based on completion times. This game has been remade thankfully into a game that at least controls better known as Metroid: Samus Returns. While the game controls a lot better, it doesn’t still have some pacing issues the game is unfortunately stuck with even if things can be more efficiently done. There are even some new issues with placing such as chasing Gamma Metroids, a mechanic that should be sent to life in prison for the crime of making me waste my time. As you can tell, I quite enjoyed these sections. I can still forgive the remake though for giving us better boss battles and controls at least. The main thing I want you to take away from this is that if you have played another game in the Metroid series and expect this game to be a similar experience, then I just want you to bring your hopes down a peg. It is a game all about Metroids, but I promise it doesn’t really work like a standard Metroid game. If you really want to see this game as it is, then definitely play the remake since it is better in just about every way. However, if you are a hardcore Metroid fan, there may be a fan game that may also do Metroid II: Return of Samus some justice. You might already know about it, but if you didn’t then you just have a little homework to do now it seems. Anyway, that’s it from me. Tune in next time… same site, potentially a similar time.
That Casual Gamer Guy 