As a dark, atmospheric sci-fi series that has always worn its fondness for the 1979 film Alien on its sleeve, Metroid is Nintendo's most complex game series, and perhaps its most frequently overlooked.
Following bounty hunter Samus Aran as she fights to protect the galaxy against its most dangerous creatures and forces, the series is all about getting lost in subterranean worlds and discovering hidden abilities that can help you delve deeper and stave off aggressive enemies. September will see the release of Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS — a reimagining of 1991's Metroid II for Game Boy — and after playing 90 minutes of the game I think it could be the series' best entry in 13 years.
![Samus is better than ever in the new Metroid game.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170813103526im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/s/z/t/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxszt3.png/1502329800076.jpg)
While the blockbuster first-person Metroid Prime games have become the defacto marquee titles for the series, it's the traditional-style 2D games that, in my opinion, best exemplify what makes the series so great: huge, interconnected areas that are layered with secrets and hidden passages that you discover over time as you return to familiar areas with newly-found techniques and abilities.
Yet the oldest games are becoming a chore to play in a modern setting and — since the Prime games' story is sandwiched between that of the 1986 original game and Metroid II — it makes sense to spruce them up and refine them for new audiences.
![The game sticks close to its side-scrolling roots, but with some modern twists.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170813103526im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/s/z/t/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxszt3.png/1502329800076.jpg)
This is exactly what Nintendo did with 2004's excellent Zero Mission, a reimagining of the original game, and now its Metroid II's turn.
Samus Returns begins with a series of beautiful 3D storyboards to set the scene, but then dumps players on the surface of planet SR388 and leaves them to their own devices from there. Samus has been tasked by the intergalactic government to perform a genocide of the last remaining metroids — persistently dangerous parasitic creatures whose genetics can be weaponised by terrorists — and this is their home world.
I was wary at first of the game's graphical style — it's rendered in 3D in contrast to the pixelly look of other traditional Metroid games — but the first few minutes of the game had me convinced. Samus' movement is perfectly smooth, her stride and jump exactly in line with prior games, and it all looks amazing on the 3DS screen.
Taking some inspiration from Prime and adding its own artistic take on what SR388 should look like now that the lore is much more established than it was in 1991, the planet features dank caves, industrial installations and underground lakes, embellished by the eerie egyptian-style architecture of the Chozo race.
![New combat abilities and cinematic camera angles set Samus Returns apart from other 2D Metroid titles.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170813103526im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/s/z/t/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxszt3.png/1502329800076.jpg)
The quality of the soundtrack is immediately apparent too, a more atmospheric take on the original's tunes with Prime's trademark sci-fi sound and choir. Looking at this game and the original side by side (check the YouTube videos below), it's easy to see the progression, but Samus Returns also feels like a 2017 iteration of the Metroid franchise, rather than a throwback.
Along with the shift in aesthetics comes some updated core abilities for Samus, who's much more dynamic here than she's ever been before. While she can run, shoot, jump and mantle as always, holding a trigger plants her feet and gives her full 360-degree control of her aim, which not only makes her look like the stylishly efficient killing machine she is but also eliminates the need to be constantly managing your position in order to shoot quick-moving enemies. A laser sight shines red when an enemy's in range, which makes targeting a cinch even in mid-air or while clinging to a ledge.
A more impactful change is a new counter ability that Samus can use to swat away incoming hostiles. Enemies will flash a second before they rush you, and once you get the timing down you'll be able to smack them with your blaster before they can touch you. Firing immediately after a counter will send a charged-up shot directly at your assailant without the need to aim manually, making this an important (and incredibly satisfying) strategy to employ while exploring.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170813103526im_/http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/gxt2rl/metroidgif.gif)
While your main objective in the game is to hunt down and destroy every metroid — which range from easily-dispatched jellyfish-like creatures in their larval form to hulking lizards or flying beasts — you'll need to map out the labyrinthine environment and get yourself powered up to do that.
A sonar-like scanning ability fills in the surrounding area on your map (shown on the 3DS' bottom screen) and gives you hints about weak points in the wall, floor or ceiling that may be harbouring secret paths, missile upgrades or game-changing abilities like the Morph Ball or Ice Beam. Purists may think this is cheating (and it will be easy for them to just not use the scanner), but since the alternative is shooting every surface to find weaknesses I found the ability sped up the pace of the game considerably.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170813103526im_/http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/gxt276/metroid5.jpg)
While Nintendo has tapped developer Mercury Steam to do the heavy lifting on this game, it's being overseen by series co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto, who has written and directed the bulk of the traditional-style games. In fact the only one you won't find his name on is Metroid II, and it's perhaps no coincidence that the Game Boy game is considered by many to be a weak link in the series. There's certainly a sense that, with Samus Returns, Nintendo is not merely looking to update an old game like it did with Zero Mission, but rather replace it wholesale with a version more in line with the overall series.
Given the importance of this game to the Metroid story — showing the aftermath of Prime and directly setting up events of series high-point Super Metroid — and given Nintendo's plans for a new Prime game on Switch in the future, I'm excited to see whether Samus Returns can deliver on the promise of its title and bring this franchise out of hibernation for good. At the very least, I can say it gets off to a great start.
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