A short but sweet adventure in the Metroid universe!
In a world where everybody goes mental for Super Metroid, the handheld outings in the Metroid franchise are often forgotten about. Originally released on Game Boy Advance Metroid Fusion is finally available on the Wii U Virtual Console. The game will hopefully bring the joy of exploration and discovering weaponry to a whole new audience on the Wii U. Does it hold up well? You bet it does!
The game opens as Samus, and a team from the Biologic Research Labs, are researching a place called SR-388. Everything seems normal until the mysterious X parasite starts to attack Samus. She returns to her ship and at first, it seems all fine. The X virus is, however, persistent and infects Samus' central nervous system. She passes out and is about to crash into an asteroid belt, but the ship luckily ejects Samus. Once returned to safe heavens of the Galactic Federation's HQ, things are not looking up for our heroine. Samus is saved in the end by the cells of the baby Metroid from Super Metroid and the X parasite is now no longer a threat to her. Her appearance is forever changed and some of the parts she needs for combat are still on the B.S.L. station. An explosion occurred there though and this is where the game truly begins.
The gameplay is what you have come to expect from a Metroid game and it handles quite well. Players will explore various areas from a sidescrolling perspective and use jumps, ledges and narrow areas to get further down the correct paths. To aid you in combat, you have various missiles and beam weapons that will become available as you progress through the game. What is more impressive about the title is that, despite having strong ties with previous games in the series, it does pack some surprises of its own. It would be crazy to give those elements, but it definitely elevates the experience.
The game looks great on the television and the Wii U GamePad. While it does suffer from some minor slowdown, which occurs during the boss battles of the title, it’s never too terrible. The sound design is great and I highly recommend taking advantage of the game’s headphones setting. A somewhat bigger problem that Metroid Fusion suffers from is a short running time. If you play through all the content available, you will complete the game in roughly five hours. While this makes it the shortest game in the current GBA on Wii U library, the length doesn’t negatively affect the game’s quality. The game is highly replayable and working to improve your skills can bring players back for more.
Metroid Fusion is a fun adventure in the franchise and a must have for fans of the series. The gameplay is smooth, the graphics look great, and the story is not to be missed. While there is some minor slowdown and the entire experience is a bit short, these are minor missteps when looking at the entire picture.