Reviewed by CL on 8/15/2004
Metroid Fusion is a very nice game that seems to pick up where Super Metroid left off. In fact, it seems to be almost an identical clone of the Super Nintendo classic with a few flaws to it. The game appears very polished and has some of the nicest graphics that I've ever seen on GBA. In addition to this, the controls are super tight and controlling Samus is a breeze. That's a good thing too because some of the bosses and enemies actually require that you dodge instead of stand there and blast away. However, there is a new system where you destroy an enemy and then suck up this thing that flies out of it to recharge energy. This kind of sucks because it makes the game way too easy. Some of the bosses you can sit there and shoot it and these recharges start flying off it. It is very difficult to get killed since you can simply hold back and recharge before going in and blasting away again. Despite this there is a nice variety of enemies so it usually doesn't get stale.
The gameplay is very similar to Super Metroid in the respect that you start off with almost nothing and slowly build up your arsenal. There are a large variety of weapons and abilities to acquire and many are needed before you are able to proceed. This is one of the areas where the game seems to falter. In Super Metroid, there was a true sense of exploration as you walked through this come in handy. In Fusion, the game tells you exactly where you need to go, and in certain situations, it even locks/destroys old doors so you can only go where you're suppose to go. This makes the game feel extremely linear even though it is suppose to be a non-linear game. This limits the feeling of exploration and what the entire game is about.
The other problem is that the game is very short; you could probably beat it in less than 2 hours if you knew what you were doing. You never really get a chance to use your new abilities. For example, the super dash technique requires that you run for a long time before it charges up. Since the whole game is in a space station, there are only a few places where you can run and charge it up. And if there is a long passage way like it, it's probably because you need to use the super jump near it.
Overall, is a very nice GBA game for the first time Metroid players. has beautiful graphics and controls and it fun to play. However, you've played Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion is going to feel like a watered down game. Also, the fact that it is $30 everywhere I look doesn't help.
