Developer: (Nintendo www.nintendo.com)
Publisher: (Nintendo www.nintendo.com)

Reviewed by (Alik) on 02/25/04

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

Some of the best GBA graphics to date. there are even a lot of neat new effects added, when in morph ball state you actually glow, there are these tiny little bugs in the beginning area that will jump on you, now thats nothing special but if they fall in lava there will be a little splash and a little "Ploop!" sound when they hit, very cool. Some of the badguys have been redrawn, and look great, so far the only real boss I've fought is Kraid, he looks nice, but not that much better from Super Metroid. Still the graphics are simply astounding.

Sound/Music:

Wonderful! just as atmospheric and emmersive as Super Metroid, or Metroid Fusion. I still have to say one of my favorite areas in Fusion was the elevator room with the sterile medical room kind of sound effects.You would hear a creature make a sound andit made me feel so much like I was there. (It also kind of creeped me out a bit unfortunately I havent heard any area's like that in this game yet, but the sounds are still really immersive.)

The music is absolutely fabulous, so far my favorite is the remake of the opening area, although that may be purely because of the nastalgia value. But I must say, I think I still prefer the music in Super Metroid. Still I like the music in this one much better then the tunes in Fusion.

Gameplay:

Ok It's Metroid, so how would it score any lower then a 10? The game plays a lot more like Super Metroid than Fusion, which is a big plus, they even brought back those giant hoppers from Super Metroid. The majority of the areas are totally new which is actually a very good thing.Some of the areas however are still total remakes of the old areas. They all blend together very nicely. Super Missiles, as well as Power Bombs have made their way into this game opening up new gameplay possibillities. The grabbles ceilings are back but with a twist- you no longer go hand over hand on them, you now use a block that rides along it on a track. Most of the time there is an obstacle course along the path that involves either shooting, or dodging.

And from what I hear, there is even a portion of the game where Samus must go through the game..... WITHOUT her Powersuit! This was probably due to the lack of a Justin Bailey code, but there's more to it then simply running around without a suit. From what I have heard, you will also lose are your abillities associated with the suit, so you probably wont be able to ball morph, ledge grab, or perhaps even fire your gun!

Enjoyment:

First I feel it important to say that I STILL play Metroid Fusion, Super Metroid, and the original to this day. I know every puzzle by heart, and yet I keep playing these games. That should go some way to explain how enjoyable this game is. Beating this game yields a picture gallery (shows the ending pics you've earned), a hard mode, and the original Metroid. There are even features that link to Metroid Fusion! (Which makes me really wish I hadn't misplaced my link cable.)

Multiplayer:

This game does not support multiplayer, but thats ok. This game is probably going to take you away from any human contact for a day or so anyways.

Overall Impression:

In case you hadnt learned by now, I love Metroid. This game series is almost as old as me, and the original is technically the first game I ever played. I played it at a stand at Toy's R Us so I have nothing but fond feelings for this series.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

The commercial on TV shows a girl doing gymnastics, I dont know if that counts though, other then that the main character, Samus, is a female. She doesn't run around scantily clad at all. The closest she comes to doing that is towards the end of the game where she is forced to run around in her blue jumpsuit, and even then, it's to show her more vulnerable side.