Metroid Fusion: Classic Metroid Action Revamped for the GBA!
Since I am not a Metroid historian, I can only assume that Samus, in all Metroid games past, has battled solely with the Metroid species. In Fusion, she runs afoul of a new foe-the X-parasite-while conducting a standard survey of planet SR88. The parasite, taking the form of a mobile, gelatinous blob, enters Samus and infects her with a deadly virus. Ironically, her superiors notice that the parasite is vulnerable to the Metriod species (who devour them), and subsequently administer a vaccine to Samus which restructures her body to partially become what she previously hunted: Metriod. Meanwhile, while she recovered, her space station fell into ruin at the hands of an unknown culprit, who Samus must now confront.
Metriod Fusion returns to the classic Metroid gameplay of days past-both for the good and the bad of the series. I never have been a fan of the side-scrolling genre; I found the gaming not deep enough, as the role-playing genre-especially Final Fantasy-spoiled me. When I have tried to play Metriod in times past, it has been on an emulator and I did not play longer than five minutes because I either died or could not find my way along. Needless to say, I used to be-and still am at certain times-a pathetic gamer. Unlike the prior Metriod games, which I probably unfairly judged as lacking in gameplay depth and replay value, Fusion caught my eye with its complexity of gameplay.
After starting alone and with only a standard-issue blaster, Fusion takes you along a journey to determine what has gone wrong in the space station while, at the same time, recovering your lost munitions. Furthermore, the enemies that you must face and the steps that you must take to succeed are surprisingly detailed and require more effort than simply going somewhere and eliminating a certain adversary. Along the way, though, there is a good deal of fun to be had destroying a plethora of unique enemies and solving a few select puzzles. I generally do not like a game that rolls over and dies for me by being too simplistic, and, to my liking, Metroid Fusion is neither too easy nor too hard; it provides a nice challenge in side-scrolling gaming for any gamer.
The storyline of Fusion, following the gameplay, surprised me as well. Ignoring the Castlevania series, my experience in side-scrollers has ingrained into me one immutable fact: side-scrollers don’t have to have compelling plotlines to achieve their purpose; Good plots are icing on the cake. Metroid Fusion, unlike its past counterparts (in my eyes, at least), succeeds story-wise as the player is presented with a plot quite similar to that of Alien: many parasitic alien hosts are loose aboard the space station and it is up to you-Samus-to exterminate them before all is lost. Lead by a computer who instructs you as to where to go and how you should approach the situation in order to avoid death, you control Samus as she explores the various reaches of the space station and eventually confront an unfamiliar-and yet strangely familiar-enemy.
The sound, graphic, and lighting effects are both ahead of other GBA games and surprisingly ordinary. Although the GBA does not have a built-in lighting system, if you manage to find adequate lighting, the graphics of Metriod prime are extremely crisp and detailed. For example, when wandering through a room clouded with smoke and fog, the scene appropriately dims and vision can become somewhat difficult.
Also, Samus herself and the enemies that she faces throughout her adventure are animated very well, with detailed, clear bodies and distinct colors that add a certain life-like quality to the alien parasites. The sound is nothing extravagant, but I have no complaints about either quality or clarity. Beyond those details, however, little else shines while, at the same time, little can be said to be wrong. The sound, graphics, and lighting-based effects are quite good, but not revolutionary.
All things considered, Metroid Fusion shined and surprised me; I did not expect it to sway me as much as it did towards the Metriod series. Containing solid gameplay, which is a step up from the previous Metroid games in sophistication, and considering that Fusion can be brought anywhere (I especially recommend Fusion for those long plane and car rides where keeping occupied is at a premium), I believe that, along with Zelda: Four Swords, Metroid Fusion is one of the must-have games of winter season.
Remember: if you are a college student like I am, time specifically set aside for gaming is hard to come by, so having a GBA with Metroid Fusion in it to enjoy while waiting for the bus or to play during a boring lecture is an attractive proposition. And further, Metroid Fusion is compatible with the Gamecube via the GBA link cable; if you hook your GBA up to the Gamecube via the cable with Fusion inside, you will be able to unlock secret areas and new surprises.
