On Space Jellyfish
First, some quick info: For whatever it's worth, I'm playing Metroid 2 via the virtual console on Nintendo 3DS. I'm also using occasional save states, something I rarely do, but I'm making an exception for reasons I'll explain later. And as mentioned above, I'm coming into this having already played AM2R. So make of all that context what you will.
Metroid 2 is in the same rank as the original Metroid and Metroid Prime: Hunters as a Metroid game I tried multiple times, but always gave up in, only a small bit through. Especially Metroid 2. In Metroid 1 and Hunters, I was always at least able to get far enough to complete one or more moderate or major objectives before getting frustrated or losing interest. Metroid 2, though? I would kill maybe one or two alpha metroids, get frustrated with how easy it was to get lost when the environments looked so similar, and then give up, never to play again for years. But as I mentioned before, the pressure is on (I'm incredibly anal about playing/watching/reading the original of almost anything before going for a remake), so this time I'm determined to finish.
I think I've learned quite a bit already, enough that I have a lot to say about both my presumptions of the game, and why I think it's remembered... either so little, so unfondly, or both. In short, I think I understand why it's not remembered fondly, but I also don't think it's particularly fair, either. Because despite its flaws (some of which are due to age, but not all of them), Metroid 2 does a lot of things right.
I like happy endings, so let's start with the cons. First, the starting areas. Let's talk about those horrid starting areas, the ones the wiki refer to as phase 1 and phase 2. Everything looks the same, you have barely any missiles, and phase 1's usage of earthquakes feels misleading. You get an earthquake after the first metroid, which leads into phase 2, but the you kill one, two, three metroids without anything happening. It's confusing, and I thought maybe it was just me, but the moment I hit phase 3, everything clicked. No longer was I wandering in circles with no idea what I was doing; everything was clear.
Next, movement... at first. See, when the game starts out, Samus is slow and clunky, and one would assume it's just because of the Game Boy's limited hardware power compared to every other platform a Metroid game has been on. But partway through the game, you find out it isn't. Because the Varia suit increases your movement speed by 10%. It makes a big difference, and suddenly Samus is zipping by everything, almost enough to Fusion and Zero Mission a run for their money. So why the hell was this an upgrade? Samus should've moved that fast from the get go, and I can't imagine any reason to gate it behind an upgrade.Speaking of movement, we're not quite done. Invincibility frames and knockback count as part of movement, right? And this may be the first time where I think a game doesn't have enough knockback. Taking damage, especially in midair from below, means you likely bounce up and down and take damage at least two more times, like a damn pinball. And the lack of any post-hit invincibility frames whatsoever (despite you flickering pointlessly) makes this unavoidable. I could maybe overlook the absence of one, but both? Just, no.
Remember what I said earlier about save states, and how I never use them, but I am using them here? That's because save station placement is woefully inconsistent. There are areas that have save stations only two or three rooms away from one another, and then never again until the very end of the next area. You could lose a good 20 or 30 minutes of progress just because you decided not to backtrack to a save station after killing every metroid (which adds extra time in of itself), and it's frustrating. There should be a save station located at a relative middle point in every phase, but there isn't, for some reason. They're scattered.
This all brings us to the single worst thing about the game, which is... drop rate. The drop rates of an early Metroid game are simple; just health and missiles. I can get health being somewhat rare for the sake of old-school challenge. But why the hell am I backtracking all the way from phase 4 to my ship at the top of phase 1 to only have one enemy drop missiles the entire 10+ minute journey? It's frustrating, stupid, and completely unacceptable. Missiles are arguably more necessary in Metroid 2 than any other game in the series, since you must use missiles to defeat Metroids, and five of them to open hatches. The fact that I'm never using missiles on anything but Metroids and hatches and still running out when I started at 100 perfectly illustrates my point. If drops were going to be this rare, They should have a missile station next to (or included in) every save station. There's just no reason not to, especially for how scarce save stations are, anyway.
Of all these things, I think the sluggish initial movement speed and poor starting areas are what kill the game most for people. It certainly explains why nobody seems to mention issues that are more prevalent later (save station placement, missile drop rate), and makes sense as why people would drop the game so quickly. The movement and first two phases make horrible first impressions.
And that's a real shame, because there's a lot to love about the game, too. Movement feels great once you get the Varia suit. Progression does a great job of masking its linearity with compartmentalized linear areas that you can complete however you like. The trademark Metroid atmosphere is top-notch, and the phase 3 onward are very distinct, making it easy to navigate despite the monochrome color palette. What you love about Metroid as a series is there, and it's done pretty damn well, arguably better than some other 2D Metroids. and that's saying something.
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