Features
Bestiary
Forum
Reviews
Maps & Guides
Wave Beam Podcast
Comics & Manga
MDb Facebook
MDb YouTube
MDb Twitter
MDb Instagram
FAQs
Links
About Us
News Archive
RSS Feed
DeviantArt Gallery
Apps/Downloads
Fan Music
Fan Fiction
The MDb reviews Metroid II: Return of Samus.
MDb Review: Metroid II on the 3DS Virtual Console: by CapCom
Metroid II has finally been re-released for the 3DS Virtual Console! After being out of print for more than 10 years, today’s Metroid fans can now purchase the game direct from Nintendo. But just how does Metroid II play on the VC? And if you already have a copy of the real deal, should you get another one? Let’s find out!
After loading Metroid II, you’ll immediately notice the VC is in black and white, but has a much cleaner picture than even the SP! You can't get an image this clear in black and white except perhaps on the GameBoy Player or an emulator. The graphics are crisp, allowing you to make out small graphical detaile, and the stark grayscale fits well with the sci fi world of Metroid. There’s even the sprite flicker of the original. However, lack of color functionality is a big minus, especially considering how easily it could have been implemented. I get the impression Nintendo made the VC to show how they wanted the GB to play back in 1989, not how we've expected to play it. Hopefully they won’t charge for color...
The audio is startling. While the GB used stereo, unlike the 3DS, it was equipped with a single speaker, so you could only hear stereo with headphones. You can really tell where the sound channels were blocked out due to SFX (like during the earthquakes), and the item collect jingle blares from both speakers.
The controls are a mixed bag. The Circle Pad is decent, but ultimately feels unnatural for a 2D game because it slides around so much, and it is not accurate enough. For instance, when you roll into a corner and activate the Spider Ball, you have to be very precise with the Circle Pad to go anywhere, whereas the D-Pad will get you moving just fine. 2D gameplay simply requires precise controls. Sadly, the D-Pad is not directly opposite the ABXY buttons, so it's more tiring on the thumb, and the buttons are a little small and hard. Worse, only the actual Start button is mapped to Start, and it’s too far away from your thumb, so you have to break concentration to use it. Thankfully, Select was also mapped to Y, which makes using Missiles a breeze. Nintendo could have just as easily mapped Start to X or R, too...
The biggest change to gameplay is the VC has one restore point. You can save your game state by tapping the touch screen, and you can load that restore point as many times as needed. You can make best use of this before a boss, difficult section or, in other titles, a chance game, and it’s real quick to save and reload. Nintendo at least knows how gaming has changed!
Metroid II is $3.99 plus 16 cents tax. Unfortunately, you can't pay just $4.15, as like all the other console download services (except Steam!), you have to buy credits in amounts of $5, $10, $20, or $50. Having 85 cents floating in Nintendo's bank doesn't make me very happy. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you have a million people buying from your shop, it adds up quickly. And you’ll never spend just 85 cents. Of course, it’s still a lot cheaper than the $10 average (including shipping) Metroid II currently resells for, but it still smells like a scam.
Ultimately, if you already have a copy of Metroid II and a 3DS, a clearer picture and save states might not make a sale, but I was ultimately impressed by it. In that case, the only reason you might want to buy it is if your battery has died out, but that only seems to have happened with my Japanese copies... However, if you have a 3DS and haven’t played Metroid II, you’re missing out on a forgotten classic and should go and buy it now! Oh yeah, you can access the instruction manual by hitting the Home button inside the game and hitting the Manual option, or we have one right here in PDF form.
