How AM2R and Samus Returns remade Metroid 2

metroid II is one of my favorite games. like you mentioned, these remakes completely failed to get the mood and tone of the original - a dark, ominous game.

Samus returns was my first metroid game. I knew the general story of the series as a whole, but it made me question this mission once I reached the baby. Killing every last metroid on SR388. I enjoyed it as is, controversial as it may sound.

I just remembered while watching this, In Metroid 2 the refill stations only required you to touch them to fill you back to full. This and another video showed Samus staying on them without needing to. I remember using one and then getting hit and the game reflected the damage I took after it was finished refilling me.

Something interesting regarding Metroid 2 and the timeline of Metroid games in general, is that if you take the Prime series as happening between Metroid 1 and 2 it kind of paints the Federation's decision to wipe out the metroids in a different light. Because, I mean... yeah. Just look at the absolute MESS a rogue metroid eventually caused, snowballing into all-out-galactic war with the space pirates. Look at all the ways they mutated in circumstances nobody could have possibly forseen or prepared for, and the devastation it caused across multiple systems. With that in mind, choosing to eliminate them for the greater good of the galaxy becomes understandable... even if the Federation does develop a severe set of double-standards after getting their hands on the infant metroid later on. Metroids are wildly unpredictable, and who knows what they're doing out there in an uncontrolled environment? Who knows who could get access to them, or when some other crazy space meteor might hit SR-388 carrying who-knows-what-mutagen?

IMO AM2R>SR. It feels like it both respects and understands the source material better than Nintendo, which is frankly baffling. Although, to be fair, Nintendo admittedly had no idea what a bounty hunter IS even as late as around the time Prime was about to be made (how? Look at when Cowboy Bebop came out there's no reason why they shouldn't). They have no idea how to develop the character, or where to take the franchise... so in a way, I'm not surprised.

Look at the games; the loneliness and isolation. Look at her life; filled with tragedy from a young age where everything she loves dies violently in front of her again and again. She apparently has a military background and left. You want to flush her out she HAS to be altered by all of the death including genocides by her own hand. She is death incarnate; everything she touches dies and even exploring a planet is an extinction level event. There is so much BEGGING to be flushed out here if they are intent on giving her a voice and a personality. Think of how it would effect you if you lived through all of those events. It would have to be something really strong to keep you going... so what is it that motivates a character like this?

It's really cool to see how Mercury Steam went from removing that sense of 'dread' from Metroid 2 to absolutely ensuring that sense of Dread is ever-present in... Well, in Dread.

Just rewatched this after Nintendo recently announced GameBoy games coming to Switch Online, which ironically means that the original is the only available version on their current system, a reversal of Mark’s worries.

I just started the Metroid series for the first time with it being available all on Switch. Playing the original Metroid 2 was an incredible experience even in 2023 with no nostalgia for the series.

As much as I hate how siloed off Nintendo keeps their games, I’m glad I played the original green colored GameBoy version rather than the 3DS Remake.

Why are so many clips of Metroid 2 in color? Mark never explained that.

Loved this analysis.
I’m on a Metroid kick and I think I’m gonna replay all the games - original and remakes in order to appreciate one of my all time favorite series.

I prefer AM2R because it's more faithful to the original and I'm not a big fan of the new graphics, too low resolution, plus im not into the cinematic gimmick.

Samus returns from 3DS really sucks, fcking ugly game.

Id love it if someone took a stab at Nintendo 64 style metroid? I think hunters and metroid 2 gave us a taste but at the same time those games wouldn't run on N64 in a million years lol

Couldn't agree more! Loved the original Metroid 2. I really thought it came quite close to an old school game version of Ridley Scott's Alien

Well, here we are in 2023 and somehow, Metroid II is actually the most readily accessible game out of these three lol.

2023 calling to say Metroid 2 on NSO is the way to go 😁👍

100% agree with you. Its like they forgot metroid was originally inspired by the movie alien. Metroid 2 almost perfectly captured that feeling of going alone and diving deeper into an alien nest and eradicating it. Played both remakes and enjoyed them, but they both seemed to miss the point.

Thank you.

Metroid 2 on Gameboy will always be my favorite Metroid.

Thank you for going to bat for an old favorite of mine, the first Metroid game I played through, I was a kid and it was brand new and it was awesome. Everything you said about it is true. It really was an artistic and carefully thought out sci-fi horror game, and it worked extremely well.

TBH I think the adding of enemies into the end was a conscious choice, as a retcon now that we know that the Metroids weren't the worst thing on SR388, but were put there to combat the X parasite.

I still greatly prefer AM2R, but right now I'll at least give them the benefit of the doubt that that's what they were going for

I still say we need to go back to PixelArt / Sprite-Based Games.
They are timeless, they look pretty and they are mostly easier to make. Going for 3D seems like an illogical choise for me.

I love the og metroid 2. I have a switch and decided to get the Gameboy thing and saw metroid 2 and I think the og is better. Edit: I'm actually playing through it right now

The og metroid 2 is so criminally underrated

I think what Metroid 2 excels at, atmospherically, is making you feel isolated. The only area with an extended BGM is the main downward tunnel that connects all the areas together. Each area has its own quiet, unsettling ambient track as you Space-Jump throughout the massive, open, empty cavern, and each area shares a ruins theme I... can't quite describe, really, but it does somehow just... make you feel isolated and alone. It's an empty building with no company, other than whatever mindless guard robots are still operational. You are alone on this planet.

I think a cool way to call back to the small view would be to add darker areas and maybe some mechanics tied to it. It's a bit tiring when it's constant, but balancing certain areas around this particular fear and switching it up with other kinds could be great. A lot of people hate Tomb of the Giants from Dark Souls, but I think it was AMAZING. It was a let-down for me when it turned out DkS2 scrapped it's lighting system, the torch mechanic seemed so cool and immersive, making you feel vulnerable by having to drop your shield or weapon for it, especially cause putting it away puts out the torch.

yes thankyou , metroid 2 was the first horror game i ever played , and the design of it is indeed very intentional and amazing , there is still no other game like it , because it is perfect....

also that maze of murderscapes blog was also something special for talking about this game as well , i hope the author is doing well now....

Both of them realized that it needed to happen sooner or later.

After playing the whole Metroid II Trilogy, I keep coming back to this video, and thinking of how each remake could've fixed some of their biggest problems.

SR could've gone crazier with combat and then completely shut off everything after the Metroid Queen is killed. Allow the new backtracking into areas you couldn't reach before with the baby's help, but remove all standard enemies entirely. Really push the envelope that, despite coming here just to kill off the Metroids, Samus has also functionally killed every living creature on the entire planet. This would make the sudden appearance of Proteus Ridley stand out a lot more at the end.

AM2R could've gone further with bringing Metroid II onto the same field as Super or Zero Mission by really crunching down the screen size to keep that claustrophobic feel that Metroid II had while still giving the player more to look at. It could also take some cues with SR's music choice, by bringing some of the Metroid II covers from SR into AM2R.

as a huge metroidvania genre fan, I really give credit to AM2R's learning curve and reward system and I see as a good example of introducing new skills in metroidvania games. They do a nice set up how the frustration you been penting up trying to reach to the new power upis nicely rewarded by easing your previous situations which also teaches its utility. As for veteran metroid fans, it was fun as we start to sense which power up is coming up next as we overcame the obstacles.

Samus Returns kinda sucked.

Love this review. There's something about the charm the older games have, that aren't present in the newer remakes. I remember a quote something along the lines of "limitations foster creativity."

I actually started playing the original Metroid 2 after beating Samus Returns and I have to say it definitely lives up to what others say about it. It's oppressive, claustrophobic, dreadful and it's not afraid to jumpscare you with Metroids. I haven't beaten it yet but I can already tell it's a great game. It feels outdated and clunky in terms of combat compared to Samus Returns and Samus herself moves much slower but moving slower in turn creates the feeling of exploring in a very dangerous place.

I haven't played AM2R but I probably will at some point considering what others have said about it. Metroid 2 has its fair share of problems such as having it be a LOT easier to get lost without a map, repeated design on rooms and lack of color making memorization of where you've come and gone very important. I think each version of Metroid 2 has its own vision that succeeds in its own way. Metroid 2 itself excelled at creating a dark and oppressive atmosphere that no remake has been able to achieve in the same way, AM2R expanded on the lore of the game through bosses and background, basically a 'show, don't tell' way of telling a story which, again, no version of Metroid 2 has been able to achieve, though Samus Returns got close with Chozo memories. Samus Returns made combat and movement much more fluid and fun in a way no other version of Metroid 2 has, unfortunately this comes at the cost of a lack of atmosphere creation and storytelling which the developers didn't seem to understand is part of what made the original and AM2R so great.

(Spoilers for final boss of Samus Returns ahead)
Personally, I didn't mind the addition of a final boss after the Metroid Queen in Samus Returns. Was it sort of pointless? Yes. However it also made Ridley fit into the story just a little more smoothly. It fits into the Prime series by having Ridley being remade after being transformed into Omega Ridley due to Phazon corruption and leads into Super Metroid by having him recovering after that encounter on SR388 in order to invade the space station at the beginning of the game. I would say Proteus Ridley was a fine addition to the game, especially one with the highest focus on combat than any version has before. The real problem in my opinion is just how many enemies there are leading up to him. The puzzles along the way are okay, they don't take away from what you're supposed to be considering at this time (genociding an entire species, that is) but the ungodly amount of enemies in this area leading up to Ridley was just annoying. While barely noticeable, enemies do decrease slightly as you go deeper into SR388 in Samus Returns but barely enough to notice and that amount never evens to zero as in the original. I think what they could have done to make this segment better is having enemies increase as you get closer and closer to the surface once more, it builds atmosphere and a feeling that the environment is recovering from the Metroids while also having puzzles scattered about, giving you time to think about the genocide you just committed while doing them.

actually, i think Samus Returns is great at making you uncomfortable. those old 3DS models really start to strain your hands after a while!

Having played Samus Returns multiple times, there is DEFINITELY still background storytelling going on. It’s not as overt as AM2R, but it’s there. One of the best examples is how area 7 is full of screens and lab equipment in the background, implying that the Metroids were created in the deepest caverns of the planet, and spread out from there.

Someone should make a horror game version of this game

I wish I had the mindset of a NES/Gameboy kid. Those early games are hard and unforgiving in a way that would feel unfair in a modern release, but that was the norm back then. You only get so many megabytes to put your game in, so might as well make sure the player sees them over and over. Metroid 1, Zelda 1, and Mario 1 are all like that, and I wish I could enjoy them as much for it as I enjoy their modern counterparts.

Since MEtroid II's narrative design is built on the GameBoy's limitation, it is quite necessary for a remake to be limited by lack of limitation to recreate faithfully the same narrative as the OG game. That's really not a bad thing though. That just means that it can never be fully replaced by a remake and should be played alongside it.
Despite that, AM2R tries to respect it as much as it can, while some other bad remake dishes it out completely to transform it into an overly gamified "cool" action game and to which I would have as much respect as it has to the OG game if it didn't later brought Dread into existence.

On one hand, you're right that SR's final boss fight was unnecessary.

On the other hand, it was absolutely fucking badass and probably the best boss fight in the game.

Playing AM2R now on a modded ps4 and it great!😅😅😅😅

Samus Returns was made in mind with the future and context of the rest of the series. This bombastic adventure pairs really well with how much creepier the rest of the series goes from there. After all, it is the last Metroid game to have the uplift of the main theme where as the rest of the series chronologically don't have it.

AM2R was made in mind to mostly be faithful but also to be an anniversary game and love letter to the series.

One was confidently made knowing that they will be the future of the franchise

The other underservingly got smited by Nintendo because they hate us.

Samus returns is ugly and too cartoony. Am2r is an absolute beauty of a game.

Samus Returns on the 3DS is the best Metroid. Dread is good but too many things ruin it. Emmi...they ruin the fun. Getting some upgrades are just too annoying to get and...not fun. Samus Returns doesnt have these issues.

Ibount the Gameboy Player attachment for the GameCube, and can say the bigger screen makes the original easier to see. That said, it is still claustrophobic, as it was meant to be. AM2R is better than Samus Returns in my opinion, but I still like playing the original better. When you beat the game, you get more of a sense of accomplishment than you do with the remakes.

I think what makes AM2R more popular is the take down notice. People see such a notices a jealousy by the owners because the fanmade version is better made. In this case, that premise is actually true. If they don't want fans outdoing them, rather than ban them, hire their developers!

It really sucks that the official remake was dogshit while the fan remake did everything the official should have

DID BRO JUST CHARGE SHOT AND SUPER BOMBS

You forgot the two biggest problems of Samus Returns. The map design is so bloated and full of backtracking they had to put teleportals in the game. Completely going opposite of the tight, well laid out path Metroid II has. And second, they FRICKEN HAVE RIDLEY SHOW UP AT THE END! Which makes NO sense. How does he even know you're there? Why does he choose to attack you right at the end and not BEFORE you destroy all the Metroids? Why does he have his augmented suit when he doesn't in Super Metroid? And it completely kills the mood of the ending of the game that the original set up.

There's so many other things I dislike about Samus Returns. Aside from the really good movement of Samus, it's basically everything you shouldn't do in a Metroid game. Cinematic events, scripted boss fights, half the upgrades you find can't be picked up until near the end of the game, makes you go the most roundabout way to get places, enemies HP and damage are increased to force you to use the melee counter, so many things stall for time in a series known for a time mechanic. And the list goes on. Dread also had some of these same problems. But at least that game had some improvements to combat and world building/tone that kept me interested. But to this day, Metroid II still has my favorite tone of all the Metroid games. And Samus Returns did everything it could to erase what the original Metroid II did. Aside from having Metroids and some music callbacks, it has no connection to it at all.

I just completed Samus Returns for the first time and I think it's very harsh to say it "didn't get" Metroid 2. As the series' lore has developed, we understand that the Metroids were actually bio-engineered to prey upon the X. However because the Metroids were getting far too dangerous to be left unchecked, taking them out was actually necessary for the galaxy's safety - it was a correction of a past (Chozo) mistake, not some malicious exercise in species extinction.

Moreover the X makes a surprise appearance after Samus Return's ending credits, setting the stage for their emergence as antagonists in future games.

Taking these points into consideration, I think the different tone in Samus Returns was a perfectly fine choice by the developers in the grand scheme of Metroid lore.

Uh, no, the Ridley boss fight in SR is actually required, because it's payoff from events from Prime 3.