Just My 8 Bits

The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace. Notice I didn't put quotation marks around that; I actually got to outright say  it, this time, because I beat Metroid II: Return of Samus  for the first time, yesterday morning. Granted, because I've already played Super Metroid , Metroid: Other M , and Metroid Fusion , I know that "galaxy at peace" bit is a load of bullocks, but shh. This is a follow-up of sorts to the Metroid 2 initial impressions post I made last week. You might call it a "review," though I don't think that's as accurate of a description as "just an unprofessional dump of thoughts" is. Since it's early morning on Friday 9/15, I know a lot of you have probably been playing Metroid: Samus Returns , and hence won't even notice I posted this. That's totally fine; enjoy your game. I'm excited to enjoy it myself when my copy arrives from Amazon Prime later today. In case you don't remember,...

Bloodborne may be my favorite video game of all time, but my favorite series is Metroid , arguably neck and neck with The Legend of Zelda . Ever since I first played Metroid Fusion when I was 12, I've been hooked on the series. And yet, there are still three games in the series that I haven't beaten (or at least played the majority of). The original Metroid and Metroid Prime: Hunters  will happen someday, but today I want to talk about Metroid II: Return of Samus . Metroid 2 is a game I've dabbled a little in multiple times over the past seven years or so, but never made any  headway in. It didn't matter how I played it: Emulator, virtual console, color hack. I just couldn't get past that first area. It felt clunky, boring, visually unvaried, old . And that's saying something, for how much I love retro games. Then, just over a year ago, AM2R: Return of Samus  finally released. I played it. I loved it. I loved it a lot . I wanted to play the original Met...