Metroid II: Return of Samus Playthrough

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Published on March 7, 2023 12:00:42 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruSKHSsXufA

Game:

Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 2:32:29

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1991, GB. Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Samus’s second effort came on the Game Boy rather than a console, but the small screen did not limit producer Gunpei Yokoi’s ambition. In several ways, Return of Samus is a step forward as the famed bounty hunter gets several new weapons and moves to make her more versatile. She can shoot down and shoot from a crouched position, which are very welcome additions. In addition to the usual ice beam, bombs, wave beam and screw attack, the spider ball, spring ball and plasma beam have been added to her repertoire. The Metroids, who are now being targeted by Samus on their home planet SR388, have evolved, as well, which is a good thing because they are the primary focus of the game.

The idea of Samus being ordered to wipe out the Metroids entirely is a neat idea and gives the game a solid throughline. Each area has a certain amount of Metroids and you need to wipe them out to move on to the next area. That makes Return of Samus more linear than it might have been otherwise, but it’s also a blessing because it can be quite easy to get lost. If the camera were a little less claustrophobic, it might have helped the game. Hard to say.

The game design is ambitious with many secrets throughout, but the environments can suffer from a samey feel. SR388 is one giant cave with some ruins here and there. Some new environments, even if they couldn’t be shown to their full potential on the Game Boy, might have broken the monotony.

That said, Return of Samus is still a compelling title and it has one of the more famed endings in gaming history. Like the original Metroid, the developers used the tools from this game to find what worked and what didn’t before they put it all together for the game that would come to define the franchise.

0:00 Intro to SR388 and First Metroid
2:37 Bombs
6:54 Ice Beam
8:07 Spider Ball
10:09 Item and Metroid Cleanup
22:30 Varia Suit
26:38 Spring Ball
31:59 Wave Beam
34:17 High Jump Boots
35:28 Clearing the Ruins
40:16 Metroid Hunting
43:15 Space Jump
52:31 Spazer
58:14 Plasma Beam
1:03:19 Metroid and Item Hunting
1:34:05 Ruins and Screw Attack
2:01:19 Omega Metroids
2:19:35 Path to Queen Metroid
2:25:17 Final Metroid assault and Queen Metroid
2:28:54 Baby Metroid and Escape

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