History:

Still pretty new to actually playing the Metroid games, with the first on the NES being my first full playthrough of one. In that regard it's pretty cool going from the first directly to the second.

Expectations:

So the original Metroid game took me from straight up not liking Metroid games to at the very least appreciating them, and actually, maybe even enjoying them. As long as this game isn't terrible I'm hoping to have some fun with it.

Day 1:

Yep, it's Metroid all right. It actually, surprisingly, more closely resembled Super Metroid both in terms of visuals and handling, and the color pallet is MUCH closer to the NES version on the Gamecube's GBA Player than on the Super Gameboy I'm playing it on. I may try playing my next session on the Gamecube, though it's notorious for it's latency...

So this time around you actually have a set mission: Kill all the Metroids. There's even a counter in the lower right corner showing you how many are left. As you kill Metroids, different parts of the map will start opening up, keeping the game feeling a bit more linear than the first. I think this is great! You still have a strong sense of exploration yet the game manages to keep you on track and helps you not to get lost.

Still no map, and still no beam swapping, but at least this time around the Ice Beam actually hits HARDER than your default beam, so you don't feel like you're sacrificing power for function.

There's also some new abilities, like the somewhat clunky yet excessively useful Spider Ball, pictured above.

All in all my initial impressions of the game are not negative! We'll see how long it takes to trek through all of it though...

Day 2:

Yay color! Boo S-Video!

My SNES is RGB modded so the sharpness is much better, but I guess it's no "that" bad on the Gamecube. Control lag isn't that bad either... Colors are great anyway! Right so I ended up sinking another two hours into this game and I'm actually really liking the flow of things.

Since I last played I've picked up the Varia suit and immensely useful Spring Ball, allowing me to jump while in morph ball form without using bombs! I had to do some back tracking as I missed the High Jump Boots, and between those and the Space Jump which is effectively an infinite jump if I can time it right, there's nowhere I can't go!

Well sort of. Each section of the game is gated until you've killed enough Metroids, which I actually really love. As you progress through the game, you start to uncover new types of Metroids.

So far I've encountered the smaller Alpha Metroids and the larger, scarier Gamma Metroids, and still have Omegas to look forward too...

After long play session today it seems I've somehow missed a Metroid and am unable to move to the next area. I looped the current area a few times using a map and still can't seem to find the one I've missed...

Later...

It was late, but I really had to beat this game. That missing Metroid was just bugging the hell out of me!

A second glance at the map showed me it was pretty obvious which one I missed, but getting to him was a different story. I ended up fighting him outside the encounter room and kinda cheesing it through cleve use of game mechanics. So long as he was in that corner I could hit him with a missile or two, then spider ball to the ceiling to lure him back up, and repeat. Took a while, but he did go down...

After that it was basically a gauntlet of Alpha and Gamma Metroids, until eventually I had to face down my first Zeta. At first I thought I wasn't even dealing damage to these guys, eventually realizing that the way to hurt them was with several missiles to the face... just like with most other things...

The whole back half of the game was basically a straight line to the queen, well, straight line as far as Metroid games go anyway. After several more Metroid fights it was time to start taking on Omegas...

Big and scary, sure, but ironically these guys were a lot easier to take down than the Zetas and even Gammas once the patterns were learned. Still took a crapton of missiles though...

I knew that the way to the Metroid Queen would involve taking down some classic Metroids, so the first thing I did was look up whether or not I'd need the Ice Beam like I did in the first game. The internet told me that, while it helps, it's not required this time.

...The internet lies.

After dying to the little head humpers I circled back for an Ice Beam which then allowed me to make quick work of them.

Final boss time...

She took two tries as I learned the timings to stun her, crawl up her throat and into her belly and lay bombs and holy crap Metroid is a weird game...

After a fun if not too terribly challenging final encounter I decided to adopt a baby Metroid and head home!

Conclusion:

So, here's what GamesRadar had to say about this game at the 12th on their list:

"It's easy to dismiss Metroid II as a failed sequel, or at least a game that's aged so poorly it's beyond recommendation. And we'd agree that by today's standards, with its black-and-white graphics, labyrinthine corridors, and complete lack of a map, this is indeed a hard game to praise."

...and that's what I went into this game with. As I said just a little bit ago, the internet lies. It's still really weird for me to say that I actually like Metroid games now. I thoroughly enjoyed playing through the first game, giving it a 77 in my review, and I liked this one even more.

Yep, I really liked this game. The pacing was great, having a clear set of goals was great and playing through it was genuinely fun. Sure there were some quirks, like still occasionally needing to glance at a map or look up how an item worked, but as far as I'm concerned this whole game is a marked improvement over the first.

Liked:

- Great graphics for a Gameboy game, acting almost as a visual segue between Metroid and Super Metroid.
- Handling was fantastic, just as good as the NES version and probably better since now you could crouch and shoot down!
- Game was streamlined very well without being too linear, keeping you on track while still allowing you to explore.
- No more mandatory secret paths!
- Even though it was light, the story element was nice, and it gave a lot more meaning to Super Metroid, which I'm now even more looking forward to playing.
- Save system!

Disliked:

- Still no map.
- Items like the Space Jump could have used some explanation.

Personal Score:

Preliminary: Good full-body sprites for a GB game, decent/okay music so far, I like that it's easing me into the gameplay mechanics (and quirks) and it seems some of the original's "unlockables" are already QoL basics here.

Welp beat my first Metroid. I'm really liking this so far. I know this is blasphemous to say but I'm enjoying this more than the first Metroid so far :-X But it's also really early in the game lol. Considering Link to the Past is coming up, I shouldn't be so highly investing in less amazing games, buttttt this was portable/handheld. And it does it well. And kinda wild they did a handheld/portable release as the only sequel to Metroid for what like 8 years?

Some classic Metroidvania tropes already so far, like the lava that was there is gone now that I beat the first boss/Metroid. Neat. Might turn to a guide soon tho cuz I assume it will get more complicated and I got frustrated with the original Metroid's hidden passages and complex pathways. And I wanna have fun! In a negative, though, I'm definitely fighting a virus or something so that sucks. And I have more family stuff tomorrow (i'm writing this right after Christmas 2024). I hope the sickness doesn't get in the way of my enjoying the last games of 91! Not to mention my intensive OSRS Ironman grinding I've been doing :-X

Day 1

Cool-looking shrine and jingle when you get the Bombs from it. Some of the other tunes have been real meh so far tho

The first 2 bosses/Metroids were... really easy? But I don't want to jinx that. I'm loving the Spider Ball and Ice Beam, and am really grateful I chose to just have a guide for reference from the get-go instead of getting frustrated like I did with the first Metroid. Much more approachable that way while still allowing me room to explore/wander a bit.

As per usual some of the backtracking felt tedious/sluggish. And the lava thing turned out to be just a repeated mechanic to limit continuing. Regardless, I'm totally hooked tho have to stop for tonight!

Day 2

Ngl a big part of me enjoying games is when I feel good at them and proud of myself playing them :-p this keeps giving me that feeling. borderline like the Castlevania feeling.

I like the way that you save. Also, impressive for a Gameboy cartridge to have that feature tho I know that is quite expected from GB games. Seems impressive nonetheless :-p

Jeez that boss fight to get the Spring Ball was tough.

Just like with the first Metroid I missed my Ice Beam when I "upgraded" to the Wave Beam :( And hmmm I'm struggling to figure out how to go back up this vertical tube thing to backtrack?

I was somewhat excited to read there are multiple endings based on how long it took you, but disappointed to read what the "best" ending is yet again. Smh.

Day 3

Grateful for some very well-placed Energy Tanks, e.g., after a slew of the upgraded Metroids.Also grateful for it occasionally not requiring a backtrack, like when I suddenly came out right by the lava that had gone down. Nice. Love to see the care they put into this. (Heh, right after saying that, they really had to be tedious and not have that lava be the one that came down, and then pulled something similar a second time >.<) Ugh and I accidentally went the wrong way for that one >.<

Day 4

Okay these 3rd-upgrade Metroids are annoying. Indeed, the level design in late game is getting annoying in general (it kept bringing out the feature issues and clunkiness, rather than the strengths of the controls, like with how you determine what direction you're going as the Spider Ball right at a corner etc). But right as I was burning out, I got the Screw Attack! My favorite from the original!

I do love when you get the 3rd-upgrade Metroids to your side at the right height and you can just spam missile them, happened to me twice and made them much more enjoyable :-p Once on a pillar, and once in Sand. Uff they're really milking this endgame, impressive length for Gameboy game but kinda "overstaying its welcome" as I often say. Calling it for today.

Day 5

An example of a clunkiness to the controls that is unfortunately overly noticeable late game is the clunkiness of turning around to shoot mid-air. It's far too essential a component for these fully upgraded Metroids who have a weakness in their back, so would be nice to turn around quickly mid-air and shoot. But so it goes.

I'm enjoying it for sure but in the end a lot of the initial excitement was actualy pretty weak. Like I loved the lava idea, but really that just results in the game being very linear. Now, I don't really mind that cuz I wound up only needing a map, not a guide, to enjoy it. However, it just turned out not to be a super neat idea, but rather the replacement for a more elaborate and complex system of switches to open new areas.

Phew thank goodness for the Missile and Energy Refills near endgame. It is well-designed, I will still concede. Even if it "overstays its welcome" in late game.

Oooo cute touch of the OG Metroid mechanics at the end there.

150 missiles to kill the Queen is just obnoxious and is an example of elongating a fight with pure numbers rather than interesting mechanics or design. And yea I really didn't like that final boss at all. But I do like the cute baby Metroid idea. And that there is not a timed escape. So those were positives. Good game overall, esp for being a Gameboy game, but the initial excitement definitely gave way to usual Nintendohard tedium.

The whole ending segment was cute with the Baby Metroid's noises, eating away the blocks, and the nice baby-esque/pretty tune after what was mostly meh tunes. Good credits music too. If only all the music had been as good as these 2 tracks. Seems I got the worst ending lol and that was even with a guide during early game and then map during mid and late game smh.

Look: 8/10 Some standout partst but for the most part just Metroid on a portable device. At first I was going to give 7.5, but actually, it's quite impressive how well it translated over.

Sound: 7.5/10 I wanna boost it for the 2 ending songs but really this should be the standard for 1991 and one games. Yes, even for handheld at this point. (Ok fine I boosted it anyway lol)

Play: 8/10 Starts out really strong, and is arguably the better Metroid. Could've earned a 5 star and been beloved but overstays its welcome and becomes more and more like the first Metroid with its emphasis on the faults of it controls and mechanics. Argh, smh Nintendo. But I was hooked for most of it so is what it is.

Feel: 8.5/10 Second of an important series, translated impressively well into handheld, with a lot of replayability nice save feature and if I did this without a guide or savestates, probably would've taken my whole childhood to beat it lol. Plus, that classic Gameboy Look always gets me.

Attachment: 8.5/10 Again, an important series, and tbh if I were to return to early Metroids I'd possibly pick this over the first one. Well, probly not due to the late game and lack of true openness of how to approach it due to the lava feature, but yea. Still very impressive for a handheld sequel.

Overall: 8/10

Completion: Main Story + Extras

Playtime: 5h 45m

Right off the bat this feels slicker in design and gameplay. Samus' jump is a bit more floaty, but you have significantly more control over her. You can now fire while crouching and can aim down to fire at things below. These two additions alone, significantly improve gameplay. You also start with missiles and the morph ball right out the gate. This does lead to a clever moment to teach you that you can now shoot down. You pretty quickly will run into blocks that are clearly destructible but below you. You don't have the morph ball bombs yet, so you clearly need another way to destroy them. Now you understand the key changes to gameplay before fighting your first miniboss. Honestly it is impressive how slick a handheld game could feel. it really shows that Nintendo didn't delegate this game to a B team. The gameboy imposed lots of limitations, but their improvements in game design really show. This time around though, progression is significantly more linear compared to Metroid 1. This is a good and bad thing. Certainly less frustrating (though not without its issues) but at the cost of less freedom.

You need to always go deeper in the game, but progression becomes hard locked below acid. So you need to methodically clear a section, killing all the metroids, which triggers an earth quake that lowers the acid, allowing you to delve deeper. This wasn't clear to me until much later into the game. It would have been slick if they had acid in the first room you kill a metroid, so you could see the acid drain. Instead you just have to kind of figure it out. The lack of a map does make navigation a bit tricky. But I do think they do a decent job of creating variety in environments, given the extremely limited capabilities of the gameboy, and it being monochrome by default. It sucks there isn't a map, making using an online map or the map that was included in the OG manual feel necessary. It's possible to navigate without it, but it's still pretty easy to get lost, especially if you need to backtrack far to a location where there was acid (which you may have forgotten) to delve deeper.

I did find the first hour or so to be well directed and I didn't get too lost. Once I got the spider ball, one of the newer power ups, I did find that I was a bit lost. Mostly because you need to backtrack kind of far to now dive deeper (assuming you got all the metroids) to progress further. So progression is now locked behind both power ups and the number of metroids you have killed. It's nice that the game gatekeeps you from progressing too far (since all metroids need to be killed to beat the game), but given the labyrinthine design, the lack of a map can lead to frustration.

The new mechanics added to the game are good though. The Space Jump is janky and certainly feels inconsistent. But if you get into a flow, you can technically jump indefinitely. And once you pair it with the screw attack, you are a literal death ball. The spider ball is a cool idea, but it is very slow and can cause pacing to slow to a crawl. Especially when you need to go to specific spots to crawl along certain surfaces, which can lead to painfully long and slow crawls across a ceiling. Sometimes there can be weird mosquitos that fly around erratically. And if they nudge you while you crawl, you will fall and need to start over. I don't mind the spider ball, but I understand being frustrated by it for it's slow movement. The space jump is cool, but feels a bit janky. There are 2 new beam types, a Spazer and Plasma. Which are nice additions, though the plasma has a disappointingly small hit box. While it's the most damage from a single shot, it can have a hard time hitting the small flying enemies. Making the spazer or wave beam feel better. Again though you can't swap beams in a pause menu, but the game does have a few spots where they let you choose which beam you want, and it does give you necessary beams at key moments which is an improved design.

The music isn't as great as Metroid, but I didn't mind the more ambient sound design. Certainly more dreadful. I do think the game has pretty impressive graphics for a gameboy game. Samus has significantly more detail, but there is a downside. Due to the limited resolution of the gameboy, you don't see a whole on a screen, which can lead to some frustrations in some of the metroid fights and there's a lot of those!

I did like how each metroid is telegraphed through their larvae shells. When you see one, you know there's a metroid fight nearby. So it is a fun way to use environmental story telling to have you feel like a literal hunter. Kind of shitty that you are basically forcing an entire species to become extinct, but we're here to be entertained. Not talk about ethics.

The game also starts to throw curve balls at you by having the metroids evolve into harder forms. Which I thought was a neat way to up the ante.

Another nice feature and step in the right direction is the inclusion of health and missile restock stations. These aren't perfect. Sometimes you really need to backtrack multiple areas to get to the closest one, which is frustrating. And was clearly a way to pad out the run time. Still this is a big improvement from needing to farm energy and missiles from the first game. This would eventually be improved by having save stations in later metroid games also heal you. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.

I do think secrets in this game are handled better compared to the first Metroid. To give you one slick example, you exit a room. The next room has you walled off, but you can see on the other side of the wall is both a metroid and a larger room. You go back. You see the husk of a Metroid larvae. You jump into it, and you fall through to a hidden tunnel. This leads to the larger room where you can fight the Metroid. Not every secret is this well telegraphed. But I did find myself stumbling into secrets more organically. But maybe that's also because I jumped straight into this right after beating Metroid 1. I was conditioned!

I really loved this game as one of my few Gameboy games. I never beat it, but it was fun beating it as an adult. I think it holds up, but it certainly has its flaws and rough edges.

The final boss is also a big difficulty spike. Certainly more difficult than Mother Brain from the first game. But overall I still liked it! And the ending is great.