Metroid Fusion undermines much of the series' trademark solo exploration in favor of staccato "sectors" and a chatty A.I. commander. It's also really challenging, sometimes to the point of feeling a bit unfair.

And yet, I've been enamored with it for more than twenty years. Why?

Honestly, it's the look.

I remember the Fusion Suit being divisive at the time, but I've always loved the contrast of that classic power suit helmet and arm cannon against the more alien, fluorescent, almost aquatic elements below.

And the boldness of those choices applies to the rest of Fusion's sprites, which are on the whole delicious to my eyeballs. They build on the foundations of Super Metroid, but more saturated and vibrant, so crisp and appealing on a handheld screen.

I could never finish Metroid Fusion as a kid. As an adult, I'd only managed with save states... until recently. I discovered fan-made language patches for the Japanese version of the game, which include difficulty options and other improvements.

Successfully playing through that version's "easy" mode on original (though modified) hardware was a dream. Without the threat of dying constantly, I could appreciate how the segmented map and clear objectives encourage portable "short bursts" of play. And Fusion's uniquely suspenseful set pieces, once mostly discouraging, now felt genuinely gripping to experience.

But most of all, I felt free to take in and appreciate the beauty of this, the penultimate official pixel art Metroid. That can't fully make up for the hobbled exploration... but it comes close.

A classic action adventure gaming staple, the Metroid series is one that gamers for generations have embraced. Fusion is no exception, and follows the same formula of, battle your way through an area, bomb and shoot walls to find goodies, or a secret path forward, and save the day. Samus is back for another guns blazing adventure.

I actually found Metroid Fusion to be very similar to Super Metroid in a lot of ways related to gameplay, except it is like a long hallway. Fusion is far more linear, in the approach of go from A to B as told by the game, however has a lot more story going on. Actually, in comparison, I don't think there is any story of note in Super Metroid that is written out excluding the intro. Linear isn't bad though in this formula, because there is still lots of back tracking and secrets to find. In fact, at a stark 42% item find rate I was shocked considering I felt like I grabbed a lot along the way.

Truth be told, I struggled to give Fusion four stars. There are parts of the game that feel punishingly difficult or not very intuitive, which really pulls away from how good the game really feels, especially for a GBA game. There is nothing particularly thrilling about absolutely drilling a boss full of an insane amount of missiles, just to have to avoid a janky attack pattern and hope that you hold on long enough to survive. Then after that, a cell gets released and floats around which you have to shoot an additional 5-6 times to actually get your power upgrade. The problem here is that the thing actually does significant damage and while fairly easy to avoid if it does hit you, you have to do the entire thing again. Yuck. That being said, the core gameplay is still very positive and engaging, and exactly what you would expect from a 2D Metroid game, and in comparison not even close to the original NES Metroid tedium.

Where the game sometimes doesn't respect your time, in other aspects it does. Every area you enter/re-exit through has a save station and a recharge spot right beside each other, so you are always topped up. These are also not the only save points; many others exist though out the game. Also, while you CAN still wall jump, there is also ladders on the walls in every area that I came across to access, plus no grapple beam (yay!).

Metroid fans rejoice, this one is still a-okay and worth the time if you have the means to play it.

My expectations were really low since it's a handheld console game from 2002 and i went in completely blind (i'd never seen more than 10 seconds of gameplay footage of a Metroid game). I honestly thought the high review score was just because it was a genre defining franchise and it was good for the time it came out, but it turns out it's actually pretty dope? at first i thought it was fine, the combat is nothing special by today's standards and i've never been a fan of having to hit every wall just in case there's a hidden passage, but then the atmosfere started setting in and i got hit with some hints of horror, which i never expected from a Nintendo game, and then a little plot twist, and i noticed the pixel art was great, the bosses started getting more interesting, and then it got challenging in a fun way, and the soundtrack began to stand out... it really surprised me how it kept getting better little by little. I'm eager to play more Metroid games and see what else i've been missing out on (even though i've read that this specific title plays different than most Metroid games).

As for the bad things, well i already said the combat is not great by today's standards, the obstacles you need to destroy in order to advance are mostly just blocks with different pictures on them which is not very creative, i wasn't very fond of the outdated level design, the controls were a little annoying, and there's more but everything's really because of the game showing it's age.

As an out of context review i give it a 75/100, but taking into consideration the year it came out in, it becomes a 90/100 a.k.a. 5 stars.

It's been 8 years since Super Metroid was released. A console generation has been skipped for the Metroid series. Retro Studios, under the pressure of disdain and lack of faith from fans of the series, is putting their blood, sweat, and tears into reaching the imminent deadline for the release of Metroid Prime. Most importantly, Retro Studios & Nintendo R&D1 were redefining what makes a Metroid game with Metroid Prime and the game that I am talking about, Metroid Fusion.

Metroid Fusion is the series at its most thematically rich, if not among the richest in Nintendo's 40+ year lineup. Where Super Metroid was a game about respecting the player through its nonlinear level design and wordless storytelling as a representation of Samus's agency, Fusion forces dialogue and hand holding down your throat as you walk through these cold, linear hallways. Where Samus went to Zebes on her own accord, Samus is being ordered around the BSL. Where you could easily tank a couple of hits in Super Metroid, normal enemies are now a threat and deal a whole lot more damage to Samus, deeming this as Samus at her most vulnerable. That's not to say that Fusion is worse with these deliberate choices, just different. It is rather a compliment to Super Metroid. It is a foil mainly due to how Samus's agency is treated in both games.

Despite the game barraging you with dialogue more than any 2D Metroid before, this game flows with such a breakneck pace; you are always fighting bosses, collecting upgrades, discovering new enemies, opening up new areas, yet the game never dwells on any moment for too long. Everything here has been deliberately streamlined. Levels are now man-made rather than alien. Enemies hit much harder. Bosses are some of the deadliest in the entire series. Missiles are no longer toggled, they’re done through holding a button and comboing that with another. Super missiles stack into missiles, and using power bombs is much easier, done by holding the R button + B. The only thing that holds this game back is how it loves to show no cues for solutions. Outside of MercurySteam's Metroid games, the series always had its fair share of cryptic answers, but Fusion has it the worst here when there are a couple of them in the critical path, but even then, in some aspects like the green rooms of the maps, the areas the map doesn’t want to show you, I could say that it is a case of Samus regaining her agency, by uncovering what the game doesn’t want you to see. This constant loop of finding hidden areas isn’t commended enough and Fusion’s execution of this theme beats Portal’s execution of such by a landslide.

Destruction. Destruction! DESTRUCTION! That is all that is running through whatever cerebral cortex the SA-X has. The SA-X is a manifestation of Samus's consequences for nearly exterminating the entire Metroid species on SR388, both metaphorically and literally; how the X are able to roam free on the planet since all of the Metroids are gone and the X parasites were combated by them. It has every single beam & missile upgrade from your Power Suit. With Samus now having Metroid DNA and being at her most vulnerable state yet, she now knows how it feels to become the hunted, especially being hunted by herself for she is now the Metroid. While not as fun to run away from as the E.M.M.I's in Metroid Dread, this foil is what makes the SA-X my favorite villain in the series. You are no longer who you once were, you are who you are right now, and now, it is time to kill the past.

Not all of Samus’s experiences on SR388 were just killing; the most pivotal point in the series is in Metroid II: The Return of Samus where there is but one Metroid. Instead of killing it like she did the rest, she takes the baby Metroid to her ship for what we now know is a sign of empathy. Her human parents were killed by space pirates at a young age so when you are the only family left, there will be no more once you face death. Her empathy doesn’t stop there. In Super Metroid, the canonical ending is one where she saves Etecoons and the Dachoras from an exploding Zebes, creatures that were the only harmless aliens that she has encountered on Zebes for they taught her abilities such as the wall jump and the Shinespark. Karma is a theme in Fusion. Her near extinction of the Metroid species is what made the X parasite infect her and made her biggest threat yet, but her empathy is what saves her in the end.

The story of Metroid Fusion was always my favorite in the series, but replaying it after the somewhat bad taste Prime left in my mouth made me appreciate it more. It is one of the most thematically rich games that I have ever played, one of my top 3 games in the series, and although highly rated among user review sites, the game deserves a lot more love than it currently has.

I got to play this via Nintendo Switch Online. It's a very rewarding game that holds up well. The GBA graphics still look fantastic and, for a handheld, has a surprisingly strong atmosphere.

You don't talk to anyone except for the computer Adam, who helps drive a cool narrative and direct Samus to where she needs to go next. This makes Metroid Fusion more linear than most other games in the genre, but really cuts down on backtracking and running in circles. Still, I had to rely on speedrun videos to find out which random spots I had to shoot or bomb. There's quite a few areas where you'll get stuck unless you blow up random sections of the walls or floors.

Playing on Nintendo Switch Online also allowed me to save scum most of the hard parts. I can't tell you how long it would've taken to beat the final boss AND the Omega Metroid at the end, considering that there's no way to save between the two.

The other benefit of playing on Switch is that it's much easier to shoot diagonally. It's not something you have to rely on too much, but there are a few fights where it's necessary.