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REVIEW -- Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion is an action-adventure game published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld console in 2002. It was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, which had developed the previous game in the series, Super Metroid (1994). Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who investigates a space station swarming with organisms infected with virions known as X parasites.

Like previous Metroid games, Fusion is a side-scrolling game with platform jumping, shooting, and puzzle elements, but introduces mission-based progression that guides the player through certain areas. It was released simultaneously with the GameCube game Metroid Prime in North America; both games can be linked using the GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable to unlock additional content for Prime.

Fusion was acclaimed by critics for its tight gameplay, controls, graphics and music, though minor criticism was directed at the game's length and linearity compared to previous Metroid titles. It received several awards, including Handheld Game of the Year at the 2002 Interactive Achievement Awards, Best Game Boy Advance Adventure Game from IGN, and Best Action Game on Game Boy Advance from GameSpot. It was rereleased on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in December 2011 for select customers as part of the 3DS Ambassador Program, and the Wii U's Virtual Console in April 2014. A sequel, Metroid Dread, is scheduled for release on October 8, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay

Metroid Fusion is an action-adventure game in which the player controls Samus Aran. Like previous games in the series, Fusion is set in a large open-ended world with elevators that connect regions, which each in turn contains rooms separated by doors. Samus opens most doors by shooting at them, while some only open after she reaches a certain point. The way the game unfolds is more linear than other Metroid games due to its focus on storyline; for example, Fusion introduces Navigation Rooms, which tell the player where to go.

The gameplay involves solving puzzles to uncover secrets, platform jumping, shooting enemies, and searching for power-ups that allow Samus to reach new areas. Samus can absorb X Parasites, which restore health, missiles, and bombs. Power-ups are obtained by downloading them in Data Rooms or absorbing a Core-X, which appears after defeating a boss. The game includes features new to the franchise, such as the ability to grab ledges and climb ladders.

The player can use the GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable to connect to Fusion and unlock features in Prime: after completing Prime, they can unlock Samus's Fusion Suit, and after completing Fusion, they can unlock an emulated version of the first Metroid game. In Metroid: Zero Mission (2004), players can connect to Fusion using the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable to unlock a Fusion picture gallery, which includes its ending images.

Plot

Metroid story chronology

Bounty hunter Samus Aran explores the surface of the planet SR388 with a survey crew from Biologic Space Laboratories (BSL). She is attacked by parasitic organisms known as X. On the way back to the BSL station, Samus loses consciousness and her ship crashes. The BSL ship she was escorting recovers her body and transfers it to the Galactic Federation for medical treatment, who discover that the X has infected Samus' central nervous system. They cure her with a vaccine made from cells taken from the infant Metroid that Samus adopted on SR388. The vaccine gives her the ability to absorb the X nuclei for nourishment, but burdens her with the Metroids' vulnerability to cold. Samus's infected Power Suit is sent to the BSL station for examination, although parts of the suit were too integrated with her body to remove during surgery.

When Samus recovers consciousness, she discovers that an explosion has occurred on the BSL station. She is sent to investigate. The mission is overseen by her new gunship's computer, whom Samus nicknames "Adam" after her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. Samus learns that the X parasites can replicate their hosts' physical appearances, and that the X have infected the station with the help of the "SA-X", an X parasite mimicking Samus at full power.

Samus avoids the SA-X and explores the space station, defeating larger creatures infected by the X to recover her abilities. She discovers a restricted lab containing Metroids, and the SA-X sets off the labs' auto-destruct sequence. Samus escapes but the lab is destroyed. The computer berates Samus for ignoring orders, and admits that the Federation was secretly using the lab to breed Metroids. It also reveals that the SA-X has asexually reproduced, subsequently cloning itself. The computer advises Samus to leave the station.

On her way to her ship, the computer orders Samus to leave the rest of the investigation to the Federation, which plans to capture SA-X for military purposes. Knowing that the X would only infect the arriving Federation troops and absorb their spacefaring knowledge to conquer the universe, Samus states her intention to destroy the station. Although the computer initially intends to stop Samus, she calls it "Adam", and reveals that Adam died saving her life. The computer suggests that she should alter the station's propulsion to intercept with SR388 and destroy the planet along with all X populations. Samus realizes that the computer is the consciousness of Adam, uploaded after death. En route to initiate the propulsion sequence, Samus confronts an SA-X, defeats it, and sets the BSL station on a collision course with SR388. As Samus prepares to leave, she is attacked by an Omega Metroid. The SA-X appears and attacks it, but is destroyed; Samus absorbs its nucleus and uses her newly restored Ice Beam to destroy the Omega Metroid. Her ship arrives, piloted by creatures Samus rescued from the station's Habitation Deck, and they escape before the station crashes into the planet, destroying it.

The Verdict:

I originally played this game on the Game Boy Advance upon the time of its release in study hall when I was in high school at the time since one of my classmates had a GBA and would let me borrow it during that class period since I would do all of my homework at home the night prior. It's definitely up there as one of my favorite Metroid outings to date, especially with the Mega Man-esque trend of acquiring new power-ups/weaponry or regaining Samus' beloved powers since she's depowered (of course) at the start of this adventure and has to reclaim them by defeating and absorbing the X parasites. I had the pleasure of revisiting the game recently as part of my ongoing Wii homebrew emulation side project and it has reawakened my fondness for this game, especially after playing Metroid: Zero Mission and AM2R: Another Metroid II Remake for the first time and revisiting Metroid: The Other M recently over the past few years. All of these games - including Metroid Fusion - have a similar thing in common, they are all sequels and homages to Super Metroid on the SNES. Super Metroid (along with Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Symphony of Night) is a title that defines the "Metroidvania" genre even to this day with its greatness, but I dare say that there's some aspects of Metroid Fusion that surpass it. What does Metroid Fusion do that makes you utter the blasphemy that makes you say that Metroid Fusion surpasses Super Metroid you ask? It's not a what, but rather a who - the SA-X.

The SA-X's first terrifying appearance in the game.

(Laughs) I never said that the SA-X's AI was perfect though.

The SA-X is an X parasite that is mimicking Samus at full power in terms of all of her powers and abilities. Every encounter with her is terrifying as the game constantly instructs you to RUN if you cross paths with her. That is namely because Samus, now in her weakened state has inherited the Metroids' weakness to cold thanks to the vaccine from that organism that was used to save her life from the X parasite that had infected her entire nervous system. So of course, the SA-X is armed with Samus' signature Ice Beam as well as her other weapons and abilities at her deadliest efficiency. In the earliest parts of the game, Samus has no choice but to hide whenever the SA-X enters a room or area and pray that you can avoid detection. I'm sure that I mentioned in passing that I thought the Metroids (especially the mutating variants late in the game) in Metroid II: Return of Samus were absolutely terrifying to me as a kid playing that game for the first time on the Game Boy, but these tense moments waiting for the SA-X to leave a room while hoping and praying that she doesn't detect my presence in a room are much, much more terrifying. I dare say that it's the Metroid series' equivalent of being stalked by Mr. X in Resident Evil 2 Remake or the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 (original and Remake). You don't get the means to take on the SA-X until the final moments of the game, and even then, it's still an uphill battle.

From the early trailers and gameplay footage from the upcoming Metroid: Dread are any sign of things to come, but it seems like the new E.M.M.I. robots are going to be stalking and hunting Samus in a similar manner as the SA-X. I welcome this challenge as it was definitely one of my favorite, yet frustrating at times, experiences in this entire game in terms of wondering of how to maneuver around her without being detected and narrowly escaping her when you can't avoid her seeing you.

I think the long-time Metroid purists will be turned off by the more linear, mission-style progression of this game. It chronologically takes place after the events of Metroid: The Other M, so it makes sense to see where that game got ideas from its linear progression narrative from. Samus is guided through this space station by her new AI companion that she names "Adam" after her former commander who died in the events of Metroid: The Other M. He essentially gives you an objective to complete in each particular sector of the space station, whereas Samus explores on her own until she either acquires a new weapon or regain one of her lost powers/abilities. Alternatively, some of these sectors are revisited as they will require Samus to defeat a boss running amok in the area or explore the region even further with your newfound powers and abilities as they come available. Samus' job is to eliminate the X parasites on the station before they find the means to spread across the universe. Their intelligence is a concern as proven with the SA-X, the X parasites can replicate and steal all of the knowledge from a host. With the Federation already losing personnel on the station due to the outbreak, it's only a matter of time before they become a threat to the entire galaxy, especially with their natural predators, Metroids, being wiped out to extinction.

As mentioned in my review of Metroid: The Other M, I don't mind a more linear style brought to these games as let's be honest, the original three Metroid games were a tad intimidating from how much of the world is open to you right off the bat. You have literally no idea what you should be doing or where to go, but at least this game gives you a loose idea of your objectives and where you want to end up in terms of exploration. The added bonus is that you still have free reign of exploration that is only limited by what powers and abilities that are available to you at that given time. There's some sequence breaking for speedrunners and even a bonus cutscene/dialogue can be accessed via one particular shortcut. I didn't think the linear nature of this game took anything away from what made this a great Metroid game. In contrary, it made it an even better one, especially for newcomers.

Samus' opening inner monologue concerning her new "companion".

The navigation rooms that cap off the start of every new area in the game that offers you objectives and a general sense of what you should be doing and where you should be going to keep progressing in the game's story.

Some of the bosses encountered in Metroid Fusion.

A Core-X with a weak spot that opens and closes periodically, but fires back a powerful beam weapon in retaliation. These are referred to as "Hard Core-X's."

If there was one thing that Metroid Fusion wasn't lacking, it was definitely bosses. Some of these bosses were just flat out annoying, while others were an absolute blast to fight, but they all served as your final exams in terms of the developers wanting to test and grill the skills needed for players to master Samus' newfound weapons and abilities over the course of the game.

Of course, there's your traditional Ridley encounter in this game as well. In hindsight, I think Nintendo were borderline obsessive with Ridley with these Metroid releases around this time frame. Think about it. Ridley appears as a boss in this game, then again in original Metroid Prime that releases in this same month (actually ONE DAY prior to this release) as the final boss. Fast forward to two more years later and we would find out that Mecha-Ridley is the final boss of Metroid: Zero Mission, a remake of the original Metroid title from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), where Ridley already appears as a boss roughly halfway through that adventure.

It should be noted that each of these boss encounters end with a final confrontation with the X parasite that has overtaken the form of the boss organism that the X parasite has claimed as its host. Some of these "Core-X's" are just as formidable as the bosses themselves, especially when your ammunition and energy tanks have been depleted from the battle already. They release smaller X parasites when hit, so you are able to restore your e-tanks and replenish to some extent, but don't get too comfortable as you can find yourself right back on the losing end against one of these Core-X's and having to fight the boss all over again from the start of the battle. When you finally defeat the "Core-X", it restores one of Samus' lost abilities and/or weapons. I always felt a little relief of tension in boss battles when the battle came down to me and the Core-X in those final moments of these battles, but it also added another layer of excitement to the anxiety that comes with these boss encounters that let you know that you can't let your guard down either.

Having two buttons tied to aiming at angles is a godsend in this game.

I am fully aware that it's a minor feature that returns from Super Metroid, but it's something that I feel like should be the standard (if it isn't already) in games like this - two dedicated buttons for firing Samus' weapons up or down at an angle. There is also the added bonus of Samus not being locked into a stationary position when you use this option. It's a minor caveat but I'll take it, especially against some of the game's later bosses that have weak points in specific spots on their bodies. I thought that was hella annoying against Mecha-Ridley in Zero Mission and I can't give it a pass in this game either. If you're like a pixel off on your aim, your missile(s) and/or beam(s) merely bounce off the creature's body completely, causing you to waste precious resources. If you didn't already have anxiety and stress from the SA-X breathing down your neck and how tense some of the late-game boss encounters are, then add resource management to the list as well. Then again, if you're going for 100% item acquisition, then you won't have that problem anyway.

For those Metroid fans that were turned off that Other M didn't have traditional Shinespark inputs/tricks like the 2D outings, they should be happy to know that it returns in its former glory in this game. As previously mentioned earlier in this review, players who have mastered this hidden, yet non-essential technique can perform some unique sequence breaking after acquiring the Speed Booster that allows Samus to be rewarded with a bonus cutscene/dialogue with Adam, who is shocked at your superior abilities.

To shinespark, press A from the ground without pressing a direction. During the start-up animation, press a direction to shinespark in that direction; Samus can shinespark horizontally, up, or diagonally up in either direction. Samus will then shoot herself in that direction, and will not stop until she hits an object.

To shinespark in the air, press A with a shine charge while samus is in aerial standing position, then press a direction during the startup. Samus can spinjump with a shine charge without shinesparking, but to shinespark, you must break out of her spin before trying to shinespark.

If Samus shinesparks horizontally or diagonally into a slope, and the horizontal direction on the d-pad is held, then Samus will continue running on that slope with speed booster. You can then shine charge again and repeat.

Shinesparking is the fastest form of movement in the game, and is very slightly faster than speed boosting and space boosting. However, there is a considerable startup animation and a long bonk animation, which makes shinesparking primarily useful only if you can cancel the bonk by hitting a slope, or usually only for long rooms. In other words, avoid shinesparking short distances, and if you can, space boost.

I'll never get tired of seeing that effect for the Shinespark and Speed Booster.

In hindsight, it still amazes me that this game was being developed at the same time as one of Nintendo and Rare's biggest gambles ever for this franchise. We know now how Metroid Prime went on to be a hit for Nintendo and got two more sequels and spin-offs from it (if you don't know that wild and crazy story, then check out Matt McMuscles' "What Happened?" video on that matter above), but what is more interesting about that story is how Metroid Fusion is generally forgotten and/or glossed over in comparison to a lot of Samus' other 2D adventures.

I could fault it for the rather steep difficulty spike that comes out of nowhere in the game's last quarter of the game, but I won't because this game gives you more than enough tools to survive and it's always up to the player's own discretion and general decision-making on whether or not how they are going to manage their resources while progressing throughout the game. I'm just a little disappointed that after all of these years, Metroid Fusion still isn't regarded as fondly as Super Metroid or Metroid: Zero Mission in terms of her "greatest" 2D adventures.

Metroid II: Return of Samus is always going to keep a sweet spot in my heart when it comes to the Metroid series since it was the game that I experienced first to get acquainted with this series with Super Metroid improving on anything and everything I loved about that game and then some.

Was Metroid Fusion really that bad for it's linear-oriented gameplay? No, quite contrary to a lot of beliefs of the hardcore fans of the series. It was a much needed change of pace to peel back the layers and show who Samus Aran is as an individual instead of the mute heroine for roughly two decades at that point. If anything, Fusion should be applauded for showing Nintendo that a narrative can work in this series, especially in these 2D outings for Samus' adventures. Nintendo was so bold to go in a new direction concerning Samus' portrayal in the Prime trilogy but forgot that Fusion did this as well as a much better approach that came from Metroid: The Other M eight years later.

I came away from Metroid Fusion the same way that I came from the original Mega Man X after playing through most of the Blue Bomber's classic outings. Fusion shook up Samus' status quo with not a new Metroid threat, but a brand new adversary and new, yet familiar means to tackle this problem. By the end of the game, Samus Aran was back to a more recognizable state of her former glory while sporting a new look and abilities that left me optimistic about her future. I still feel the same about that today after revisiting the game several years later as I did at its inception.

The Five Endings:

The Metroid series is no stranger to having a special endings that are acquired by finishing the game under specific means, notably tied to how fast you clear the game and whether or not you collected all of the items in the game. Doing so allows players to view Samus Aran without her Power Suit armor. Credit goes to the folks at Metroid Recon for this information and accompanying images.

North American and European Ending 1:

Beat the game over 4 hours without 100% items collected and Samus will pose with her suit still completely on.

North American and European Ending 2:

Same as above - Samus shimmers and her face is revealed, but the final pose is one with her standing side-on with her left arm raised, she still has her suit on apart from the helmet. Beat the game between 2 and 4 hours without 100% items collected to see this.

North American and European Ending 3:

Complete the game under 2 hours without 100% of items collected. When Samus appears her suit shimmers before her helmet disappears, revealing her face. She then appears posing without her armor on wearing a two-piece navy blue outfit.

North American and European Ending 4:

Similar to Ending 3, Samus appears wearing her two-piece navy blue outfit but she's in a different pose. Complete the game over 2 hours with 100% of items collected for this one.

North American and European Ending 5:

Complete the game under 2 hours with 100% of items collected. When Samus shimmers the entire suit disappears, revealing her sporting the navy blue two-piece outfit, you then see her posing with a larger slightly-transparent image of herself in the background.

Play It or Don't Bother?

Play this one for sure. Metroid Fusion gets my stamp of approval for old and newcomers of the Metroid series. Was Metroid Fusion Samus Aran's best adventure? No, but it was definitely a much stronger note for the series to have ended on than the highly controversial game that is set canonical before it, Metroid: The Other M, that is actually released eight years AFTER this game's release. It's crazy to think about now, especially with Metroid: Dread right around the corner of releasing this year in October 2021. My hopes for that game echo what I loved about Fusion; I want that game to recapture the psychological horror and tension that drove me to complete this adventure from start to finish along with building onto the excellent foundation that made Super Metroid into the beloved legend in this genre that it is today.

Happy 35th Anniversary, Samus Aran! Here's to wishing that the Metroid series is around for another 35 years.

If you enjoyed this review, please take a moment and check out my reviews on other Metroid-related games:

Metroid: Zero Mission | AM2R: Another Metroid II Remake (fan-made game) | Metroid: The Other M | Metroid: Dread

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