I was in college when this came out, and wow was I excited for another open world Metroid romp of figuring out where to go and finding secrets.

Except that’s not what this was - at ALL. And damn was I seething about it. I beat the game, angry the whole time, listening to that stupid fucking AI lead me around by the leash, and instead of appreciating what the game *was* all I could see were the things it weren’t.

Well I’m replaying it again now and trying to keep an open mind. (Replaying it on a sickkkk modded indigo purple classic GBA with backlit screen; so amazing; anyway….).

The game is fantastic, if you don’t view it under the lens of being the sequel to Super Metroid. It’s got diverse areas, just enough side exploration to let you find optional upgrades, a TON of secrets you can *eventually* come back for near the end, and a challenging difficulty curve that actually rewards the optional upgrades you find. Plus the game actually was doing sci fi horror back when the genre really hadn’t solidified yet. We didn’t realize what we were playing, but this was the seed that grew into things like Dead Space one day.

Anyway, it’s a great game… dot dot dot…. So long as you aren’t expecting Super Metroid 2.

I was confused when some anon told me that I should have disliked the game because of some cutscenes.

>>11869571
Ngl the cut scenes are jarring as fuck, and a real symptom of the sickness that would fuck Metroid up for a long time to come.

The beauty of Metroid is the story exists largely inside your own head. You are Samus, exploring the planet, discovering these things and getting lost.

Every time I see a fucking cut scene it’s like a giant klaxon goes off that says “you are playing a game, and the devs are in control of this story, not you. You’re just a guest here.” Seriously, remove those cut scenes and you nearly lose anything at all. They should have been a NG+ feature, if anything. Unless you’re talking about those cute animals - in which case they definitely belong

I played through Fusion last Spring and I had a great time. I used to own it. Got it at release, but my GBA and copy of Fusion have seemingly vanished since then, dunno where they went. Which is sad for me, yet I digress. The first part of the game was a little annoying to be so "on-rails", but it works your exploration skills and memory because you keep coming back to the same areas with different tools. I thought the controls were fucken sick. I loved the ability to easily run and gun and aim while you're doing it. I actually played it on a GC controller through my Wii and I think I probably lost some tightness on mechanics using a control stick instead of a D-pad, but made up for it with ergos and a big screen. I think I ruined myself for Super Metroid because I don't know how well I'm gonna take the big control regression there. Say what you want about Super Metroid, but Fusion is far and away a much more advanced and improved control scheme.

>>11869662
Nah, Super Metroid controls better for the simple reason you can use the R shoulder button to aim up (at an angle), which makes intuitive sense.

And Super Metroid is the superior game, just realize and expect that you’re *supposed* to be lost frequently and not quite sure what to do - that’s part of the charm and experience

>>11869571
I remember that thread. that was like three weeks ago
you're still butthurt about that? lmfao what a fag

>>11869670
>no dude it's actually SUPPOSED to suck

>>11869686

Exploring and figuring out where to go and what to do, that beautiful feeling of being lost and uncovering the secrets of a bizzare alien maze is not “suck”.

I’m sorry if you’re a zoomer who grew up with games that hand held you and told you to click this button, now click this button, now click the other button.

In that case, yeah, I recommend you avoid one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time - you’d probably just get filtered anyway

>>11869754
>no you don't get it man games are SUPPOSED to waste your time

>>11869782
Does the original Legend of Zelda waste your time by not leading you by the nose to each dungeon?

Exploring and discovering things is fun, and I feel bad for you if you don’t think so.

Super Metroid epitomizes that choice, and I’m sorry if you don’t like exploring and discovering things. Sounds miserable

>>11869670
The basis of your argument is it's universally more intuitive to associate an up angle with the right side than the left side. Okay, I'm gonna write you off as fucken retarded.

>>11869792
the original Legend of Zelda is dogshit that aged like milk. the first actually good Zelda game was Link's Awakening

>>11869792
Nta, but the original Legend of Zelda does "lead you by the nose" through the first like four or five dingeons, mate. It's literally part of the manual.

>>11869792
>no dude you don't get it I'm better than you because I like blindly fumbling around in the dark

>>11869795
Fuck no, Zelda 1 is incredibly fun today and has very strong fundamental design. And Link to the Past has aged like fine wine, is a 10/10 without a shadow of a doubt, and is absolutely one of the greatest games of all time

You are insanely fucking delusional.

>>11869804
I wouldn't really say that is "leading you by the nose" if you have to read it in the manual. The game does seem afraid that the game may be too overwhelming for the player and gives you a lot of early help in the manual, but there are still a ton of hidden secrets and obtuse progression that aren't covered in the manual.

>>11869794
No you zoomer dipshit, in the SNES game the L shoulder button aimed diagonally down and R is diagonal up, so you really did have full control. God fucking help you if you need to aim diagonal down in Fusion - it’s a shitshow.

Switching between different weapons makes sense - using one of the only shoulder buttons to switch does not. Fusion did its best with two little face buttons and two shoulder buttons, but the controls sucked compared to real Metroid games

>>11869825
>ALttP is 10/10
Absolutely insane that anyone actually believes this

>>11869825
>Zelda 1 is incredibly fun today
lol no
>and has very strong fundamental design
holy fuck no

>>11869827
>God fucking help you if you need to aim diagonal down in Fusion
do you have cerebral palsy or something

>>11869795
>>11869806

Jesus Christ who even are these fucking zoomer retards. Is this what tiktok has done? Do you fucking idiots even like video games? Imagine having a frustration tolerance so razor thin that any freedom or discovery at all makes you screech uncontrollably. I honestly don’t think faggots like you enjoy video games. I think you should go watch TikTok instead and drool on your phone.

>>11869825
This guy gets it. Thanks for the sanity

>>11869792
>Does the original Legend of Zelda waste your time by not leading you by the nose to each dungeon?
unironically yes

>>11869835
>GRR BLINDLY WANDERING AROUND IS FUN GRRR
yeah you seem like a well-adjusted person with a normal sense of what's fun

>>11869838
>>11869829
>>11869828

Yea faggot we get it. You don’t like video games. Go watch Mr beast or something more suited for your 85 IQ. Because you’re not even presenting a compelling argument / you’re just trolling with the most anti-video game nonsense comments imaginable.

“Here’s a whole world to explore, full of dungeons and secrets, treasure and danger alike!”

You: reeeeeeeee

>>11869843

>Blindly wandering around and discovering things is fun

Unironically yes and I can’t believe you are seriously arguing otherwise.

>>11869835
>tiktok tiktok tiktok tiktok tiktok tiktok tiktok
>zoomer zoomer zoomer zoomer zoomer
shut the fuck up nigger, most NES games did not age well and are atrocious to play today, that does not take away the fact that they were great compared to what was done back then.

>>11869851

Your microplastic brain has been raised to only pay attention to two second segments of content and can’t imagine having the agency to freely explore and enjoy temporary frustration and overcoming adversity.

Literally tiktok zoomer brain zombie nonsense

>>11869827
First of all, not a zoomer as I outlined in my first post. Secondly, yer a fucken dingleberry.
>God fucking help you if you need to aim diagonal down in Fusion - it’s a shitshow.
You press L and tap down on the D-pad in Fusion to lock yourself into a down angle whichever direction you run. Works great. Missiles on R is great. Working both shoulder buttons to handle what Fusion can do with one is silly. You are just letting your rose colored glasses and your nostalgia blind you.

>>11869858
>ZOOMER ZOOMER ZOOMER ZOOMER TIKTOK TIKTOK TIKTOK TIKTOK
i told you to shut the fuck up

>>11869828
>>11869829
Anyone who thinks ALTTP is anything lower than a 9/10 is either baiting, a faggot who makes contrarianism his personality, or a subhuman zoomer retard.

It's easily top 3 in one of the most competitive console libraries of all time.

>>11869868
ALttP isn't even the best 2D Zelda game

>>11869825
And I would because I'm the type of person that will read the manual.

>>11869869
LA is great, but LTTP is a momentous achievement in gaming. They are not even close to the same level.

>>11869865

> i ToLd YoU tO sHuT tHe FuCk Up

lol touch soap, I can smell you from over here.

>>11869880
>get proven wrong
>double down
many such case on 4chan. Concession accepted nonetheless.

>>11869880
> i ToLd YoU tO sHuT tHe FuCk Up
i have no horse in this race but anybody who types like this (while redditspacing no less) is absolutely and completely a fag

>>11869674
he doesn't appear to be butthurt about it, but came out of nowhere and you seem butthurt about his opinion. lmfao you're a fag.

>>11869882
>>11869884

Instead of playing good games like Legend of Zelda and Super Metroid, you enjoy same fagging. Good to know.

>>11869882
God forbid we discuss a game on here without useless zoomer faggots coming on here to troll and shit fling about “ACKSHUALLY I hate old games because you have to play them”

>>11869897
>triple down

>>11869893
i like zelda and metroid, i just saw your post bump and i thought it was very gay that you alternated lowercase and uppercase letters in your reply like a menstruating facebook mom, so i needed to make a point of it. i'll see myself out now.

>>11869906
>>11869902

>instead of discussing video games you should be talking about *me*

The absolute state of these zoomer fucks these days. Go back to tiktok. This is a thread about Metroid Fusion and why it was a good game, but not quite as good as Super Metroid.

>>11869915
>has niggers saved on his HDD
Oooof...

>still sperging about zoomers and tiktok
what still playing TLOZ in 2025 does to a mofo

Holy fuck, this thread went terminal in record time.

>>11869862
I agree with him to an extent. when you ignore its affect on inventory selection it is actually nice to have aiming completely independent of crouch with the dpad, you can objectively get into different aiming positions with fewer inputs. is that worth having your missile beam toggle on the select button? eh, maybe not though to be fair I think they probably could have come up with a better inventory scheme than they did in that game.

I agree with him to an extent. when you ignore its effect on inventory selection it is actually nice to have aiming completely independent of crouch stand inputs with the dpad, you can objectively get into different aiming positions with fewer inputs. is that worth having your missile beam toggle on the select button? eh, maybe not though to be fair I think they probably could have come up with a better inventory scheme than they did even with that complication of the shoulder button being occupied.

>>11869565 (OP)
>this was the seed that grew into things like Dead Space one day.
Hurrrrr muh 2d nintendo game inspired Dead Space, not System Shock 2 from three years earlier.
https://www.pcgamer.com/how-resident-evil-4-turned-system-shock-3-into-dead-space/

>>11869804
>It's literally part of the manual.
You didn't believe in yourself.

>>11869865
DON'T DO IT ANON!
DON'T REMOVE THE DOGSHIT LINEAR RPG PRETENDING TO BE A ZELDA GAME! NOOO

>>11869565 (OP)
>And damn was I seething about it. I beat the game, angry the whole time
>all I could see were the things it weren’t.
Kek wasted time.

Yeah Fusion is cool. It probably didn't help with expectations that people were so fucking hungry for metroid. Super Metroid being so good, and not getting anything for years, skipping N64 completely. Think about it, a kid playing SM had time to become an adult and start a family.

>>11869792
You don't even need to go retro: Breath of the Wild doesn't tell the player which dungein to go to first while in Tears of the Kingdom the NPCs in the hub fort basically pester you about the "correct" order of dungeons. You technically don't have to do it the way they want to, but they very much nudge you.

>>11869846
>if you don't enjoy wandering around blindly you don't enjoy video games
kek based retard

>>11869868
cool but you quoted a post about Zelda 1

It may be linear, but it has some good level desing and does a much better job at showing a more vulnerable side of Samus than Other M

>>11869662
>I think I ruined myself for Super Metroid because I don't know how well I'm gonna take the big control regression there.
Just play Project Base/Redux.

>>11869670
>>11869754
>>11869686
>>11869835
>>11869848
>>11869846

The thing about Super Metroid that makes it more tolerable than modern slop like Hollow Knight is that getting lost actually allows you to find something of value.

Like yeah, you wandered for an hour, but now you have 30 more missiles and 3 new energy tanks, making your next boss battle way easier than it would be on a typical playthrough. You also heard some banging music that will stick with you for decades and probably ran into the Etecoons and Dachoras.
t. millennial who can't stand a lot of modern metroidvanias

>>11871476
>no dude you don't get it removing the challenge is good game design

>>11869565 (OP)
Personally I like the streamlined Fusion approach much more than the open approach of Super. But I can see why people dislike it.

Fusion sucks. Ugly hunchback sprite, clunky animation, quite poor music at some points, and other than reusing Super Metroid's gameplay it doesn't do anything noteworthy on its own. Even the much maligned Other M, despite how similar both games are, is still less linear than Fusion. But of course people who like Fusion won't admit this because it requires Fusion to be thrown under the same bus.

>>11871602
linearity is naturally more agreeable on a handheld title and it uses its linearity for an effective mission based hook.

>>11871690
It is linear alright (more like reduced to a mere action game), but also holds your hand and guides you place to place on between storybook chapters that you can't press A fast enough to get through because of talkly talky with too much stupid dialogue (which goes against your handheld title excuse). It's also set on a boring space station with themed sectors connected by a central elevator hub as opposed to an actual organic, dangerous world to explore, Adam authorising upgrades, and also features a mystery plot about dodgy federation people doing a Metroid breeding program like Other M.

What was GOOD about Fusion is that it shared some of the gameplay of Super Metroid, but that is about it.

>>11871717
>more like reduced to a mere action game
a mere action game is contra or ninja gaiden, single corridor right left. .
>that you can't press A fast enough to get through because of talkly talky with too much stupid dialogue
it has a story element yes. outside of the beginning and ending it never interrupts a gameplay segment, once you start a segment you always see it to the end before another story pause.
>also set on a boring space station
space station is necessary for the premise, it's fine.

>>11869871
I agree.

The people that complain about Fusion being linear aren't even trying to explore outside of the AI's mission directives.

>>11869565 (OP)
I've been wanting to get this and the Minish Cap for a while now but I'm concerned about buying old carts because supposedly some earlier versions of those two used batteries instead of flash memory and I don't want to pay out the ass for a cart that doesn't save. Any anons had any experience with this?

>>11872417
Just get a flash cart or emulate ffs

>>11872417
Play it on original hardware with MiSTer.

>>11871717
Fusion uses its linearity to double down on its other Metroid-isms. It's very puzzle-oriented compared to other entries, expecting you to be on top of recognizing environmental tells for destructible/fake blocks and obscured paths as well as knowing how the speed booster works, and the bosses are a lot of fun. There's also a big distinction between being directed to an area, and railroaded down exactly one unavoidable path like in Contra. You can still get lost and have to solve the puzzles the game presents using its well fleshed out mechanics. The linearity also serves the story, which has a narrative "sequence break" built in. Regardless of whether you like it or not, it is a reason for the more scripted nature of the game. You can argue it's a bad reason, but it's not literally nothing

>>11872417
If vidya is a hobby of yours, you'll want to know how to replace those batteries, mate. All you need is a soldering kit, some tutorials and some patience. Probably some security screw drivers and other little things, too. You can do it, mate.

Just finished Hunters. Now that the Switch 2 is out, will the DS be considered Retro?

>>11873797
Did you mean to make an OP?

>>11869565 (OP)
Dunno what's the big deal about linearity. All Metroid games have been linear to me.

>>11873809
Nah, just contributing to the Metroid thread. Hunters is probably more forgotten than the GBA games sadly.

>>11873814
Actually I'm the retarded one, I thought I had a tab with a different thread open. Carry on

'the Ai' by which you mean the narrator in the game that is running on a script

The only thing Fusion has going for it is that it controls like Zero Mission, AKA great. Too bad it's great controls in a bad game.

>>11869571
Never take 4chan autists seriously.

>>11873897
>controls like Zero Mission
I wish Super Metroid had them. The floaty controls turn me off from replays.

>>11869565 (OP)
The only metroid I enjoyed. I have no clue why people think the linearity is bad. Is going through every single room in the map dropping bombs on everything to find the next part of the game fun?

>>11869828
It is, many people who grew up on it felt like it was magic. Def a 10/10

>>11869565 (OP)
I didn't even like Metroid games and when I pirated it on my Xbox I beat the game and loved every minute of it.
One of the few games I played emulated to completion.

Peak of the metroid series!

>>11869565 (OP)
People will shit on Other M, but praise this, when it's effectively the same game.

>>11869565 (OP)
Never really got the appeal for these games. Controls suck, combat is mindless and repetitive, bosses are underwhelming, "exploration" of rooms that just consist of colored blocks in a grid is not interesting, and the progression oftentimes consists of just shooting and bombing every single block to see what reacts.

I liked how Zero Mission subconsciously guided you through its complex world, but on the other hand, I hated how if you made one wrong move, it was a long and arduous task going the long way back around.
I liked how Fusion had tougher combat, but enemies constantly regenerating right in front of you was aggravating. So both games are a bit of a double-edged sword for me.

There is something about the aesthetic that I like, and they are comfy and replayable in a sense, but they don't really excel in any area.

>>11871717
>It's also set on a boring space station with themed sectors connected by a central elevator hub as opposed to an actual organic, dangerous world to explore
practically speaking there's no actual difference between that and zebes just because all the environments are artificial. the hub isn't that interesting sure but what makes say, TRO so different from brinstar?
>>11873797
i hope so, but realistically it'll probably be another year. is it worth playing through?

>picking my younger brother up from his school
>my school day ends earlier than his, so i have time to kill
>waiting in his school's hallway outside his class, playing Fusion.
>have sound on slightly, not enough to be heard by classrooms
>this fucker appears

>>11876045
>Controls suck
to go as far as to say that they "suck", aren't just mediocre or unimpressive, you must have a very unusual standard.

>>11877697
It's a Metroid Prime with 4 really small planet that you need to double back each once with new weapons. No upgrades except new 7 weapon types some Missile, Energy and Weapon bullets.
It's not bad, just not good. Like a 6/10 game. It's amazing how much it packed on DS, but honestly, just play on Melonprime. It makes Hunters play as a PC game, otherwise it's unplayable on emulator.
https://github.com/makinori/melonPrimeDS

>>11869686
Super Metroid isn't hard, you're just a scrub

I beat it no guide age ten, and it's an adventure game not a platformer, the exploration IS the fun, scrublord. This is why me and my millennial friends break into abandoned buildings for fun and you sit on discord

>>11869998
Stay mad

>>11882130
I don't get mad cuz I don't lose kids video games

When this came out I was in middle school and this game blew my mind and really felt like a AAA experience on a handheld. me and my friend at the time were both pretty obsessed with the game. it’s probably in my top 5 GBA games I’ve played. While you and other people were disappointed that it wasn’t like another previous game I was disappointed that they hit it out of the fucking park, then released zero mission which was arguably just as good if not close, and then just decided to never bother and never released another 2d Metroid game after that. We got Metroid prime hunters which was a great game but to release 2 great side scrolling games on the gba and to not even bother or try on the DS or 3ds get like they just gave a giant middle finger to the fans. I’m still mad about it today. I know there is that switch game but personally I think that Metroid side scrollers are perfect as a mobile game format and there should have been like 5 made by now between zero mission and today and I don’t want to use a switch because it’s just a lame device. Fuck I would have even settled for the Wii because that had like zero fucking games on it and I got suckered into buying it. Last Nintendo console I bought.

>>11882291
they tried on the 3ds, it wasn't very good though imo (not just compared to am2r but in general). it's basically like a test drive for dread which was a lot better, you should at least emulate it.

>>11882320
Is this a new story entry or just a remaster of an old game? This seems vaguely familiar I think I do remember now people saying it wasn’t good.

>>11882389
remake of 2. decent but not quite as good as AM2R. but honestly no version of 2 actually feels like a metroid game.

>>11869565 (OP)
Super and Fusion are the best Metroids

I think one thing this game nailed really well is atmospheric immersion and ambience say what you will about it not feeling like what a Metroid game should be but the scenario they crafted and the plot and environment all felt very realistic, as realistic as a Nintendo plot can ever be. To me it’s a gold standard videogame example of sci-fi space station horror survival tier shit.

>>11869565 (OP)
I always enjoyed this game for what it was. Never bothered me that is took a departure from Super Metroid's more freer take on exploration. The only thing Fusion takes a hit on is subsequent playthroughs can be more annoying due to not being able to more easily skip the dialogue scenes but besides that the game to me was extremely solid. Its one of the best 2D games ever, perhaps the best GBA game ever, and even one of the best games ever in my eyes.

Fusion is actually my favorite Metroid game.

>>11882583
And II

>>11885964
disgusting

>>11884454
The restricted exploration makes sense I think when you consider the game takes place in a space station. Samus surely would eventually have a mission where they can’t shoot through walls everywhere. And even if they could they wouldn’t want to risk damaging the stations systems or breaching the hull (unless they had no other choice).

>>11886308
filtered